Asian Journal Jan 7, 2011 Edition

Music for my soul...p. 17

When Jesus makes God smile

... p. 15

(Continued on page 3)

Warning: The California Department of Real Estate has not examined this offering, including but not limited to the condition of title, the status of blanket liens of the project (if any), arrangements to assure project completion, escrow practices, control over project management, racially discriminatory practice (if any), terms, conditions, and price of the offer, control over annual assessments (if any), or the availability of water services, utilities, or improvements. It may be advisable for you to consult an attorney or other knowledgeable professional who is familiar with real estate and development law in the country where this subdivision is situated.

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Suhi nang ipanganak si Sebastian. Una ang paa, sa halip na una ang ulo. Sinubukan ng doktor na paikutin siya habang nasasa loob pa ng tiyan ng ina, nguni’t hindi ito umobra. Tigas-ulo si Sebastian. Una ang paa nang lumabas, sa “caesarian section” ng ospital.

Nang dalawang taon na si Sebastian ay na-kaaakyat na siya sa mga silya, mesa at kahon. Ang bata ay uupo muna, gaga-pang, tatayo, lalakad, at saka aakyat. Ganyan ang unti-unting pag-unlad ng kanyang kakayahan. Hindi pa man marunong magsalita, pa-ungol-ungol man siya bagama’t nakauunawa na, ay tigas-ulo na si Sebastian. “Baba!” sabi ng ina. Aakyat pa rin sa mataas na lugar si Sebastian at kung minsan ay mahuhulog at iiyak. “Iyan

Tigas-uloMaikling Kuwento ni Percival Campoamor Cruz

na nga ang sinasabi ko, e,” pa-subali ng ina, “ang tigas kasi ng ulo mo.”

Nang siya ay tumuntong na ng pitong taong gulang ay pumasok si Sebas-tian sa isang elementarya. Naibigan siya ng mga guro sa

dahilang mahusay ang ulo niya. Laging tama ang mga sagot niya sa “recitation” at pati na sa mga “written test”. Mahusay ding tumula si Sebastian kung kaya’t sa

tuwing may seremonya sa eskwela ay siya ang pinatutula ng prinsipal.

“Palaging mag-susuot ka ng sapatos

kapag papasok sa esk-wela,” payo sa kanya ng ina. May mga araw na maulan at bumabaha nang bahagya sa kalye at pati sa loob ng paaralan. Sa gayong kalagayan ay hindi isi-nusuot ni Sebastian ang kanyang sapatos upang ang mga ito ay hindi masira sa tubig. Minsan ay nakatapak ng basag

na bote si Sebastian at kinailangang dalhin siya ng ina sa “emergency” upang

Barona Resort & Casino will kick off the New Year with a celebrity appearance by Gabby

Con-cepcion, one of the Phil-ippine’s most popular actors and sing-ers. On

Film Star Gabby Concepcion To Sign Autographs at Barona On Jan. 7

January 7, 2011, the “P.S. I Love You” and “White House” star will meet and greet guests and sign autographs at Barona on the casino floor from 7 to 9 p.m. Throughout the evening, Barona will also be giving away thou-sands of autographed pictures of Gabby Concepcion to guests. Barona Resort & Casino is located at 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside. For more information, visit www.barona.com or call 619-443-2300.

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Manila Call (619) 746-3416 for reservations.The SM condo locations are as follows: SEA Residences - Macapagal Ave (near Mall of Asia; JAZZ - Bel-Air Makati (with 2-level SM hypermart at the grd floor); FIELD - Sucat Paranaque (beside SM Sucat); LIGHT - along Boni Edsa; SUN - Welcome Rotonda in E. Rodriguez Manila; BLUE - Katipunan , QC; My Place - Mother Ignacia, QC (near ABS-CBN; GRASS - North Edsa QC ( beside SM City); PRINCETON - New Manila, QC; MEZZA - Sta Mesa (near SM Centerpoint); HAMILO - Batangas City (by the beach)

January 7 - 13, 2011

Zena Sultana BabaoMsgr. Gutierrez Ogie Cruz


Osang inireklamo dahil sa 25,000

pesos... p. 21

Never in recent years have Filipinos seem prouder of who they are than in 2010 when many of their kaba-bayans achieved remarkable feats both here and abroad.

So, just before we usher in 2011, GoodNewsPilipinas.com raises a glass yet again to the year’s winning moments:

Manny Pacquiao

Filipino pride soars to new heights in 2010

Pacman breaks record, rewrites sports history

Clinching seven world boxing titles in different cat-egories was historical enough, but when Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao won his eighth plum, he not only smashed boxing records but rewrote sports history in general for becoming the only boxer to achieve such a feat.

Pacman nabbed his eighth win, the WBC super wel-

terweight title, after beating Antonio “Tijuana Tornado” Margarito in November. The historic feat even had numer-ous international celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Beiber and David Cook rooting for him.

Charice gains worldwide recognition

Who would’ve thought that “Little Big Star” runner-up Charice Pempengco will become world-famous even before she turns 20?

Mentored by acclaimed music producer and star maker David Foster, Charice’s achievements in 2010 alone included her international eponymous debut album top-

Happiest Ever“You know what I want for my birthday?” he

asked Helene.“What?”

“I want you not to tell the waitress that it’s my birthday.”

He didn’t want the restaurant’s waiters and waitresses to walk towards their

table, holding a cupcake with lit candle on it, and singing “Happy Birthday” in a

snappy tune. In short, Roberto didn’t want to be the center of attention.

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Journal in America

See page 10

By Alex Lacson

After the August 23 hos-tage drama, there is just too much negativity about and against the Filipino.

“It is difficult to be a Filipino these days”, says

a friend who works in Hongkong. “Nakakahiya tayo”, “Only in the Philip-pines” were some of the comments lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles received in her Facebook. There is this email supposedly written by a Dutch married to a

The Filipino Today: Let Us All Rise As One People

Filipina, with 2 kids, mak-ing a litany of the supposed stupidity or idiocy of Fili-pinos in general. There was also this statement by Fermi Wong, founder of Unison HongKong, where she said – “Filipino maids have a very

low status in our city”. Then there is this article from a certain Daniel Wagner of Huffington Post, wherein he said he sees nothing good in our country’s future.

Clearly, the hostage crisis has spawned another crisis – a crisis of faith in the Filipino, one that exists in the minds of a significant

number of Filipinos and some quarters in the world.

It is important for us Fili-pinos to take stock of our-selves as a people – of who we truly are as a people. It is important that we remind

Page 2 January 7 - 13, 2011Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com


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LawOfficesofChuaTinsay&Vegawww.ctvattys.com

by Atty. Jean Tinsay, Esq.Legal Buzz

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

Sylvia came to America carrying her hopes and dreams for a better life. Sadly, those dreams quickly turned into a nightmare. While working as a volunteer back in the Philip-pines she met Gordo who was the nephew of one of her pa-tients at the hospital. Gordo was a U.S. citizen who having been laid off from his job in the U.S. work was vacation-ing in the Philippines. Af-ter a whirlwind courtship, they were married and he brought her to the United States.

Upon her arrival and at the prodding of her husband, she immediately took the nursing examina-tion. Unfortunately, she failed to pass the test. Jobs were hard to fi nd and since Sylvia had no local experience the only work she could get was that of a caregiver. Sylvia, however, was just glad to be work-ing and able to contribute her meager salary to the family coffers as well as send some money to her family back home. Not Gordo whose plan of having a registered nurse for a wife to support him was thwarted. He started taking out his frustra-tion on Sylvia. At fi rst, it was

The Battered Spouse just berating her and fi nding fault in everything she did. The yelling and screaming turned into threats and quickly escalated into physical vio-lence. On two occasions, well meaning neighbors had called the police to their house. Gordo threatened to have her deported if she ever fi les a complaint against him. Since she came to the United States

as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, Sylvia was granted condi-tional resident status which expires in two years from the time she entered the United States as an immigrant.

A person who obtains im-

migrant status in the United States through marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resi-dent is granted a conditional two-year resident status in the United States. In order to remove the conditions on resi-dence, the conditional resident is required to fi le together with the U.S. citizen or per-manent resident spouse a joint petition to remove the condi-tions on residence. The joint petition must be fi led within 90 days before the second an-niversary of the grant of con-ditional residence. Failure to fi le a joint petition to remove conditions on residence will result in the automatic termi-nation of resident status as of the second anniversary of the grant of conditional residence and subject the conditional resident to removal proceed-

ings. However, the condition-

al resident may request for a waiver of the joint fi ling requirement if the condi-tional resident can establish that:

1. The marriage was entered in good faith, and the U.S. citizen or perma-nent resident spouse subse-quently dies;

2. The marriage was entered in good faith, but the marriage was later ter-minated due to divorce or annulment;

3. The marriage was entered in good faith, but the conditional resident

was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse; or

4. The removal of the conditional resident from the

United States will result in extreme hardship.

In this case, Sylvia leaving her abusive husband need not result in termination of her resident status and subsequent removal from the United States. As a battered spouse, she can request for a waiver of the joint fi ling requirement and fi le the petition to remove conditions on residence on her own. She will need to estab-lish her eligibility for a waiver (as a battered spouse) by submitting credible evidence of the abuse she suffered from the hands of her U.S. citizen husband such as copies of the police reports, medical re-ports, statements from neigh-bors and photographs show-ing her injuries. If Sylvia is successful in establishing that she is a battered spouse and that she entered the marriage in good faith, the CIS will ap-prove her petition, the condi-tions on her residence will be removed and she will obtain permanent resident status in the United States.

Atty. Jean S. Tinsay is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general infor-mation only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. The CTV attorneys will be holding regular free legal clin-ics at the Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

GOTCHABy Jarius Bondoc

The Philippine Star

News from San Francisco stunned Filipinos on March 5, 2009. Ian Carl and Juan Paolo Garcia had been granted bail of $2 million as their trial began for dollar smuggling into the US fi ve years prior. The sons of Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, Armed Forces of the Philippines ex-comptroller, supposedly were to post the amount that Thursday noon. They had been ready with it since Monday, March 2nd. But then, federal prosecu-tors appealed the bond ruling before a higher court, which revoked it.

Both US citizens, the Garcia brothers eventually would plead guilty to the charge and be sentenced to time served. Still, then-Rep. Roilo Golez pounded on their enormous bail money, worth almost P100 million. Either it was their way of showing economic clout, he said, or their father was fronting for the true plunderer of AFP funds. More likely it’s the lat-ter, retired naval offi cer Golez added. A secret profi teer from Garcia’s P303-million plunder could have raised the bond. Ever since Garcia’s wealth, stashed through the sons, was bared in 2004, talk has been that a higher-up in the AFP or defense department made him do it.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV brought up the $2 million anew Monday in relation to the 2003 military strike he had led against crooked generals. The soldier-turned-legislator viewed Garcia’s sneaky plea bargain in light of who else might benefi t from it. Tril-lanes and Garcia had become

Remember Garcia sons’ $2-M bail?

acquainted inside the Camp Crame stockade, where they were held for coup d’etat and plunder, respectively. Presum-ably they had traded notes about their cases, so Trillanes knows whereof he speaks.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Trillanes’ mentor, said some-thing similar last week about Garcia being but a cog in the system. Being offi cer-school classmates, Honasan too must have gotten from Garcia info on how one can fi lch P303 million from the AFP by his lonesome.

It’s unclear if the $2 mil-lion form part of Garcia’s guilty plea to the lesser of-fenses of bribery and money laundering. He is to surrender P135 million in exchange for dismissal of the P303-million plunder rap. The Ombudsman had kept the deal secret since approving it, military sources say, in October 2009. A Sandi-ganbayan gag order last week conveniently excuses the Ombudsman from explaining it now.

The $2 million, the P135-million-for-P303-million, and the desire to expose a possible real plunderer serve as back-drop to a growing military an-ger with the plea bargain. The discontent that Rep. Rodolfo Biazon warns about, as former AFP chief, adds to the issue’s urgency.

The AFP Judge Advocate General last Thursday asked the Solicitor General to object to the deal in its behalf. JAG Brig. Gen. Gilberto Roa acted on orders of AFP chief Gen. Ricardo David. The latter hinted at surveying the sen-timent of the rank and fi le. “The position of the soldiers, the position of the Armed

Page 3Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comJanuary 7 - 13, 2011

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Tuesdays in January from Noon to 10pm.

Beginning Friday, January 7 at 9 p.m. and continuing until the start of service Monday, there will be no Trolley service at the San Ysidro Transit Center, Beyer Boulevard Trolley Station and Iris Avenue Trolley Station. Southbound Trolley service will terminate at the Palm Avenue Trolley Station.

Two bus services will be available for riders:

Trolley Shuttles• will serve the San Ysidro, Beyer Boulevard, Iris Avenue and Palm Avenue Trolley stations. This shuttle will run in both directions. Trolley Express• will operate non-stop between the Palomar and San Ysidro Trolley stations in

San Ysidro, Beyer and Iris Trolley Stations Closed This Weekend

both directions. MTS encourages riders to ex-

pect delays and give themselves extra time when traveling. The bus services will run every 8-15 minutes during normal Trolley service hours. Regular Trolley service will resume in time for the start of service on Monday. Trolley tickets, day passes or monthly passes are required to board the Trolley Shuttle and Trolley Express bus services. No tickets are sold on board these buses.

The construction schedule is set to change next week, for the first time since the beginning of the project in October. Infor-mation is regularly updated at www.sdmts.com/trolleyrenewal.asp and on the Trolley Renewal hotline at (619) 557-4533.


Filipino pride soars to new heights in 2010(Continued from page 1)

ping music charts worldwide and even reaching Gold status in Japan; her ranking 4th on Billboard’s “21 Under 21;” and her being cast in the hit TV-musical “Glee.”

UST Singers is ‘Choir of the World’

In July, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Singers bagged for a second time, the prestigious Choir of the World – Pavarotti Trophy at the 2010 Llangollen Interna-tional Music Eistedfodd in North Wales. It’s the first time in history that a choir won the title twice.

The group also reaped honors in various European singing contests such as at the 17th Bangor International Competition in Northern Ire-land, the 6th Mundus Cantat International Choral Festival in Poland, and the 56th Cork International Choral Festival in Ireland last April; and the 28th Festival International de Musica de Cantonigros in Spain.

‘Azkals’ advance to the AFF Suzuki Cup semis

Soccer has always been less popular in the country

until the underdog Azkals beat 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup host country and defending cham-pion, Vietnam, 2-0, on Dec. 5. The Azkals follow-up matches against Myanmar and Indo-nesia on the road to the finals made Filipinos even more soccer crazy.

And though they didn’t reach the final round after los-ing to Indonesia, the Azkals nevertheless makes history books for becoming the first Philippine soccer team to have reached the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup.

VenusRajandotherbeautyqueens‘majorma-jor’moments

Her memorable answer is said to have cost her the crown, but Venus Raj plac-ing fifth at the Miss Universe 2010 last August was more than enough for us to declare, “Taas noo, Pilipino!”

Venus’ triumph marks but the 7th time a Filipina figured in the beauty tilt’s Top 5. The

last time one did was in 1999, when Miriam Quiambao ended up as 1st runner up.

The respective pageants of other Binibining Pilipinas beauties Krista Kleiner (Miss Internationa) and Czarina Gatbonton (Miss World) were also anticipated. While Czari-na did not place at her pag-eant, Krista made it to the Top


by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Founder, President & CEO Kalusugan Community Services

Contemporary Asian American Issues

Read Dr. Dirige’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe first Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern CaliforniaAn award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most

widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

The Asian Journal is published weekly and distributed in all Asian communties in San Diego County. Publication date is ev-ery Friday of the month. Advertising deadline is Thursday prior to publication date at 5 p.m. For advertising rates, rate cards, or information, call (619) 474-0588. Subscription by mail is available for $50 per year (56 issues). The Asian Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs but welcomes sub-missions. Entire content is © 2009 copyrighted material by Asian Journal. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced without specific permission from the publisher.

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

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

by Miles Beauchamp

Feel like doing a bit of skiing? Me either. But for those overly ambitious friends of yours, TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, recently announced its list of the top ten US ski rental home destinations. The list highlights some of America’s hottest ski destinations that of-fer a wealth of vacation rental options for travelers.

Time to hit the slopesThe top 10 ski resorts in the US

Rental homes can be a great accommodation choice for groups of travelers look-ing to spend a week or more in their destination. According to the TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals Calculator, groups of four or more can potentially save thousands of dollars by staying in a vacation rental as opposed to a hotel in these top ski destinations. In addi-

tion, rentals offer many of the comforts of home to travelers, including full kitchens, large living rooms, multiple bed-rooms and even fireplaces for those chilly winter nights.

Top10SkiRentalHomeDestinations:

1. Mammoth Lakes, Cali-fornia

Located in the Eastern

Sierra region of California, Mammoth Lakes has long been one of the West Coast’s premiere destinations for winter sports. Whether travel-ers enjoy skiing, snowboard-ing, snowshoeing, sledding or simply sipping hot cocoa from the lodge, the town’s Mammoth Mountain has them covered. In addition, there is a wealth of vacation rental op-tions for travelers looking for the perfect base camp for their winter trip.

2. Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada

Straddling the California

and Nevada state line, Lake Tahoe is a scenic destination year round, but it really shines in the winter with its numer-ous downhill and cross coun-try ski areas, as well as unique activities like dog sledding and sleigh rides. For travelers looking to warm up after a day on the trails, the area also boasts six casinos where they can try their luck.

3. Breckenridge, Colorado While travelers flock to

this Victorian-style town each winter for its many nearby ski resorts, Breckenridge also offers visitors a wealth of din-ing, shopping and spa options. Breckenridge Ski Resort itself provides more than 2,300

acres of terrain, giving skiers and snowboarders plenty of room to explore and enjoy. With many vacation rentals in the area offering ski-in/ski-out access, it’s easy to get out and hit the slopes early.

4. Big Bear Lake, Califor-nia

Surrounded by the San

Bernardino National Forest in a region just northeast of Los Angeles, Big Bear Lake is a resort community that is perfect for a winter vaca-tion rental stay. Visitors have access to a wealth of winter fun options including skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding, downhill inner tubing and snowshoeing, ensuring that there won’t be a dull mo-ment whether they’re out on the slopes or enjoying time together at their cabin.

5. Park City, Utah Home of the 2002 Win-

ter Olympics, Park City has cemented its place among the top winter vacation spots across the country with its premier ski resorts and its many winter activities, rang-ing from snow tubing to heli-skiing. Add in plentiful vacation rental options and travelers have a fantastic des-tination for enjoying the snow without breaking the bank.

6. Killington, Vermont Featuring the highest lift-

served terrain in Vermont, Killington is one of the most popular winter wonderlands in New England. Skiers and snowboarders have nearly 200 trails to choose from, giving them nearly endless possi-bilities on the slopes, while travelers who aren’t keen on zipping downhill have options

from ice skating to snowmo-biling to fill their days.

7. Taos, New Mexico Located at the foot of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Taos is a perfect destination for nature lovers year round, but is a haven for skiers during the winter months. With a number of ski resorts in the area, including Angel Fire, Red River and Taos Ski Valley, staying at a vacation rental near a traveler’s slope of choice can save money and also allow for more time out on the trails.

8. Winter Park, Colorado As its name suggests,

Winter Park is a snowy play-ground for skiers, snowboard-ers and lovers of the season in general. While the mountain has trails for downhill thrill-seekers of all levels, there are also plenty of other activities available like snowshoeing, 13-passenger snowcat sight-seeing tours and ice skating.

9. Vail, Colorado This famous ski resort of-

fers travelers a mix of amaz-ing winter recreation and luxury. While its world class trails have made it a top spot among skiers for years, its wide array of stunning vaca-tion rental properties ensure that visitors have as much fun

off the mountain as they do while they’re on it.

10. Jackson Hole, Wyo-ming

Nestled in a valley sur-

rounded by scenic peaks, Jackson Hole is home to three outstanding ski areas and a wealth of winter activities, ranging from wildlife safaris and ice skating to dog sled-ding and cross country skiing. It’s also an ideal destination for families or groups on a budget, with numerous rental home options throughout the valley.

“During the winter ski season, vacation rentals re-ally shine due to their great value and the extra space they provide to guests,” said Hank Hudepohl, director of vacation rentals at TripAdvisor. “Af-ter a long day on the slopes, travelers can make dinner in fully-stocked kitchens and warm up around the fireplace with friends and family. At these top ski destinations, travelers can expect to have a blast without giving up any of the comforts of home.”

About TripAdvisorTripAdvisor is a registered

trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

Introduction: At the last two issues, we

talked about acculturation, the process of adjusting to a dif-ferent culture. Foreign immi-grants undergo different ways of adjusting to the American

Myself with my Mexican Grandparents Maria and Heriberto, and my Filipino Grandparents Cristina and Ananias on my fif-teenth birthday.

My Nuclear family Christmas 2009: Dad Arnold, Mom Cin-dy, Brother Tommy, Myself, Brother Nick, Sister Cristina

Jean Rascon

Third of a Series on Cultural Identity

Navigating between two cultures: Mexican and FilipinoEven though I have some specific ties to both of my cultures, I still consider myself a cultural alienist. Unfortunately, I do not

make an effort to learn more about either culture. And I feel that even though I do know more than the average American

about Mexicans and Filipinos, I don’t know enough of each to consider myself bicultural.

Guest Writer: Jeannette Rascon

or western way of life as they settle in the U.S. Their way of adjustment frequently deter-mines their identity and how they eventually identify them-selves.

According to Stanley Sue and Derald Sue, there are four personality structures for interpreting Asian American identity. They are assimilation-ist, traditional, marginal and bicultural. This corresponds to Darder’s sphere of bicultur-alism as cultural alienation, cultural separatism, cultural dualist, and cultural negotia-tor.

The last two issues were on the cultural dualist and cultural negotiator (bicultural person). The cultural dualist or marginal person reject both Asian and American cultures and are left isolated, alienated and alone. They are alienated from both cultures. These are

individuals who are Ameri-can born and are trying to learn more about their native culture by attending Filipino school clubs and enrolling in culture and language classes. Frequently they have iden-tity conflicts or crisis. These individuals will strive for bicultural affirmation or be a cultural negotiator by learn-ing the language so they can navigate easily between the two cultures.

This issue will feature “Cultural Alienation” or “as-similationist”, one who chose to fully adopt American values and behavior norms as their own. They tend to have little ethnic identity and generally associate with people outside of their own ethnic group. The term for them is “white-washed” or “Oreo”, i.e., brown in the outside but white in the inside. They conform to the majority culture in the so-ciety for the sake of fitting in, often at the expense of losing part or one’s entire cultural heritage. The cultural separat-

ist or traditional person will be featured in the last article of the series.

CULTURALALIEN-ATION

It did not take me long to

figure out where I stand on Darder’s Sphere of Bicultural-ism. I believe I stand in the Cultural Alienation sphere, where one is considered to be “whitewashed.” However, I have a very interesting combi-nation of ethnicities.

FAMILY BACK-GROUND: I am half Mexican and half Filipino. My mother was born in the United States, while my father moved here from Tijuana, Mexico when he was 13. My Filipino grandparents chose to teach their five children English and no Tagalog. The reason being was that while my grandfather was away with the Navy, it was easier for my grandmoth-er to only teach her children English. My father actually

didn’t learn to speak English until he moved to the United States. He was able to learn in school and now you could not even tell that Spanish was his first language. He adopted many American traditions that included music and sports. Since my mother and my father (after adapting to the American lifestyle) were basi-cally cultural alienists, it was natural that this transferred to me and my three siblings. In my home, the main language is English, and most of our traditions are American.

Even though I have some specific ties to both of my cul-tures, I still consider myself a cultural alienist. Unfortu-nately, I do not make an effort to learn more about either culture. And I feel that even though I do know more than the average American about Mexicans and Filipinos, I don’t know enough to consid-er myself a dualist or separat-ist. I do consider myself to be a negotiator at times. Grow-ing up in my house, English was the main language.

MEXICANSIDE: There were some periods of time when I was very young that my younger brother, my parents and I lived with my Mexican grandparents. The

neighborhood and elemen-tary school that I went to was predominantly of Mexican ethnicity. Therefore, I did learn some Spanish, and in fact, knew more Spanish than my siblings since I was the oldest. Even though I did not learn to speak Spanish fluent-ly, knowing just enough gave me a somewhat stronger tie to my Mexican side. Although, it also made things just a little bit harder, knowing “just enough” Spanish language.

Since I look Mexican, I was always expected to speak

Spanish fluently. This made it very difficult to obtain a retail job near my home. Eventu-ally I did receive a retail job a little more north, but there were some times when my Caucasian coworkers would push me to try to communi-cate with our Spanish speak-ing customers. This would sometimes be embarrassing, and frustrating. People would realize that I did not speak Spanish and I would feel as if I was a disappointment. Those were the times that I wished that I looked more Filipino. Now that I am an adult, it does not seem to af-fect me. I currently work for a company that actually deals with Mexico directly. Since we mostly have non-Spanish



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By Dr. Cesar D. Candari39th in a series of articles

“Anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm.”-PUBLILIUSSYRU

Writing this memoir on a problem that happened 18 years ago is water under the bridge. We certainly had disagreements in the past, but this metaphoric phrase alludes to water that has flowed over a spillway and thus is gone forever. It has truth in it, not fiction. The supporting papers and documents are potted. It is a significant event in my life. It was fun and I enjoyed the experience.

In August 1991, one month after I was elected Speaker of the House of Delegates, the HOD’s APPA Bulletin was published under the editor-ship of Dr. Edwin Yorobe, President of PMA San Diego, with contributing editors Dr. Jun Paraguaya and Dr. Urbano Dauz. This “new medium”-- a HOD Bulletin--had not been done in the past years in the annals of HOD. This was not a new idea that I concocted but was rather embedded in the rules of the HOD. The idea was to disseminate the legislative actions and agenda of the house to get more of the budding leaders to share and contribute towards a common goal. The hallmark of a great organization is the increasing involvement of its member-ship and as the saying goes, the more, the merrier.

The bulletin was profes-sionally designed in an at-tractive 4-page pamphlet. Of course it was not meant

From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor Speaker of the House of Delegates

to compete with the APPA Quarterly Journal but to com-pliment it. In order to have an open communication with the Editor of APPA Quarterly, there should be no duplication of news coverage.

I wrote my first message as a Speaker to express my pro-found gratitude to everyone for granting me the exciting and challenging opportunity to lead the assembly. I felt very proud to be a part of a

milestone in the history of APPA when the HOD had achieved vital changes in the Constitution and Bylaws at the recent meeting in Atlantic City, N. J. The needs and the wishes of the members had been answered.

In my editorial I declared it an unprecedented 20th anniversary of APPA for the HOD to come at a landmark decision- “one man one vote”, full and unrestricted rights and direct participation in the election of the APPA officers

by the general membership including those not attending the convention. Indeed, these are the clamors and wishes of the members who are de-manding greater involvement and participatory leadership. For a long time the members have been increasingly apa-thetic. They are outright nega-tive and “turned off” towards participating in any manner while the APPA is engulfed in discord. The onerous provi-

sions in the constitution and Bylaws somehow impair the development of leadership at the membership base. It is perceived that the elections of the officers of the Execu-tive Council may not be an accurate reflection of the prevailing sentiments of the members. Some felt that a small hard core of old guards are unwilling to relinquish control over the APPA affairs. We contend that these nega-tive scenarios belong in the past and that the power to se-

lect the officers rests with the general membership where it rightfully belongs.

Now we needed to increase our membership base. I have written about this subject before and I’m doing it again. For $50 membership dues an-nually, a Filipino physician in this country can be a partici-pant to organized medicine. Simply stated, 13 cents a day will help preserve the freedoms of our profession in this country. Realistically speaking, organized medicine within our group of Filipino physicians is a real bargain.

It is lamentable to know that Filipino doctors who are practicing in the US and not members of the APPA are

benefiting from the accomplish-ments promoted by a small group of their col-leagues who are protecting our principles. Please, do not shy away from the mainstream of organized medi-cine.

We need every Filipino physi-cian practicing in America to be actively support-ive of our cause. We must have that support if we

are to continue to protect and defend our profession and the future including our children who follow us.

If in the perception of many the HOD has been rel-egated to a second-class status throughout the years in the archives of APPA, now it will be changed. Through this Bul-letin, we urge the delegates to take up the light and keep the mill rolling. Keep those reso-lutions coming. Get the House on track. And start tilting the

balance.”In the first issue of the

HOD Bulletin, the highlights of the recently approved amendments were published. APPA’s HOD standing com-mittees were listed. Proposed amendments for the fall meeting in October 1991 were written. Resolutions that were filed and tabled, as well as those that were rejected, were discussed. The members of the House welcomed the HOD Bulletin. However, the Execu-tive Council requested to re-sort to typewritten newsletters due to budgetary constraints that will be clarified below.

Active as I was, the second HOD bulletin was published in a typewritten form two weeks before the fall meet-ing with 11 resolutions listed for the HOD’s deliberations. It was sent to the members of the HOD and Executive Council reminding them that it needed a quorum of 37 delegates.

APPA’sFINANCIAL

CRISIS

This subject was a partial report of the Speaker of HOD Session in the Fall Meeting on October 26, 1991 (Joint Assembly). It took place in Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, N.J. three months after I was elected as Speaker.

The following was my speech:

Allow me to take this op-portunity to thank each and everyone of you. Especially the members of the HOD who came to attend this Fall meeting. We realize how busy you are and how difficult it is to leave your office, even for one day. We also realize the energy and time you spent during this trip to Atlantic City. Somehow, it is quite difficult to get a direct flight to this city. Today, my dear

colleagues, in our meetings, I must emphasize and it is imperative that we must make the most of it, so that we can address the business that the Council and HOD expected us to accomplish. We must remember that we came here to perform out duties we are expected to do and we have a long agenda to attend to. I will try to make this report short. I will report to you of the near one hundred days and to be exact, 90 days of being your speaker in the HOD. I will also address the financial crises that we are now faced with.

As your speaker, I have 275 more days to look for-ward to having the privilege of working as your leader in the House assembly.

In the last 90 days of ten-ure of office, the speaker have endeavored to inspire every-one, especially the officers of the house and would like to share with you the following activities.

1st. One of the first moves of the speaker was to assure the President, Dr. Lupo Car-lota in a memorandum, that the HOD should give its full support to his administration. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a firm believer of the support value system of cooperation. Accordingly, the actions taken by the HOD in the July House sessions have been forwarded to the council for implementa-tion.

2nd. The committee chairs and members for he different committees of the HOD have been appointed promptly.

3rd. The executive com-mittee of the HOD as pre-scribed in the Rules if the House, was activated. This committee in its first meeting established the HOD newslet-ter for opportunity of com-munication in the legislative



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The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) was signed into law on August 6, 2002. It was essentially enacted to provide relief to children who might “age out” of their benefi ciary status because of administra-tive delays in visa processing or adjustment application ad-judication. A child is defi ned for immigration purposes as unmarried individual under the age of 21. In my previous article and blog, I explained how to compute a child’s age using the CSPA formula. This article will address the reten-tion of priority date or conver-sion clause found in CSPA. Maria was 20 years old when her U.S. citizen sister fi led an I-130 petition. At the time, Maria has a one-year-old daughter, Abby. She is a de-rivative benefi ciary of Ma-ria’s petition. When the visa number became available, Abby was 23 years old. Abby can no longer immigrate with Maria because her CSPA age was over 21. How does the automatic conversion clause of the CSPA affect Abby’s case?

The automatic conversion clause is found in section 203(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as amended. Subsection (1)(A) of this provision states that for purposes of determining

The automatic conversion clause of the Child Status

Protection Act (CSPA)


whether an alien satisfi es the age requirement, the age of the alien on the date on which an immigrant visa number becomes available for such alien (or, in the case of a de-rivative benefi ciary, the date on which an immigrant visa number became available for the alien’s parent), but only if the alien has sought to acquire the status of an alien law-fully admitted for permanent residence within one year of such availability. Subsection (3) also states that if the age of an alien is determined to be 21 years of age or older, the alien’s petition shall automati-cally converted to the appro-priate category and the alien shall retain the original prior-ity date issued upon receipt of the original petition. Under these provisions, Abby is entitled to the “original prior-ity date” of her mother. Also, Abby’s fourth preference category would be converted to the appropriate category which is F2B or unmarried daughter of a legal permanent resident. As such she would be able to immediately immi-grate to the United States.

In June 2009 the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a decision in Matter of Wang, which eliminates the automatic conversion


Unholy Allied Mountains

The book “Unholy Allied Mountains” by R.D. Liporada is available from Amazon.com.

ByRDLiporada

Publisher’s note: The com-plete novel serialized here is on Unholy Allied Mountains byRDLiporada.Forthosewho would want to procure a copy of the book online, go

to unholyalliedmountains.com. In the previous series, theNPAssuccessfullyam-bush Philippine Govern-

ment soldiers.

Chapter 15 (Last of a series)

As soon as the plane reached forty thousand feet, Ding stood up, opened the baggage compartment above him and reached out for his laptop. He flipped down the tray from the back of the seat in front of him and gently laid down the laptop. He opened it and pushed the on button. The creaking sound as the icons on his desktop flickered to open, mingling with the sonorous sound of the plane’s engine to which he became unmindful of. After he opened a Word page, he started tapping on his keyboard.

DRAFTDRAFTDRAFT-DRAFT

For the Ventura County Star

Lead Article, side bars (the trek, Amazon story, others ) to follow.

Item: NPA’s in the Philip-pines

Suggested Title: Philippine Independence, Balikatan, and the Communist Threat

By Ding Rodriguez

Deep in the deepest nooks of the Cordilleras in Northern Luzon, Philippines, Montano says “We are not terrorists.”

Using only his nom-de-guerre, Montano is the spokesperson for the Cor-dillera Mountains’ regi-ments of the New People’s

Army (NPA) in that part of the Islands. The NPA is the armed might of the Commu-nist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Tagged as a terrorist group after 9/11, the NPA had been waging guerilla warfare against the Philippine govern-ment for the last 35 years. “We are only fighting because we are not yet free.”

Immersed in Iraq, Afghani-stan and other fronts, the US does not really consider the NPAs in the prime list of so called terrorists to be quashed by the US armed forces. However, even before 9/11, the US and the Philippine government had instituted the Balikatan Exercises. Balikatan literally means ‘shoulder to shoulder’. Under the pro-gram, US forces are to share their military high technology methods and armaments with the Philippine Armed Forces while their counterparts share experiences in warfare in gue-rilla terrains through actual operations. In joint operations against these tagged terrorists, however, US forces are not supposed to engage in battle except in self defense.

The Balikatan found stron-ger justification after 9/11 and when the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim group identified with Osama Bin Ladin’s terrorists, kidnapped foreign tourists for ransom. The group which had recently beheaded an Ameri-can tourist, operates in Mind-anao, the southern part of the Philippines which is, predom-inantly, a Muslim region.

“Although, they say they are after the Abu Sayyaf,” says Montano,” they are actu-ally a reaction to the growing NPA threat in the region.” Of the 128 NPA fronts in the Archipelago, 23 are in the Mindanao area.

Although the US has no more bases in the Islands, it is estimated that around 2000 US military forces are in the Philippines under the cape of the Balikatan.

“If we are not a threat, they won’t be here,” says Montano. “When the local boys (Philip-pine armed forces) of the US imperialists cannot handle us anymore, they won’t hesitate to bring in US forces like they did in Vietnam and now in Iraq.”

RootsoftheCPP-NPAstruggle

And for this reason, Mon-tano questions the Philippine celebrations held every June 12 commemorating the dec-

laration of Philippine inde-pendence from Spain in 1898. Montano roots his question to the fact that when the Filipino rebel Katipuneros were on the throes of their victory over the former Spanish colonizers, US Admiral George Dewey’s fleet appeared at Manila Bay to pursue the American Spanish War in the Far East. The War was ushered by the sinking of the USS Maine off the coast of Havana, Cuba in February 15, 1898. At the time that the Katipuneros have surrounded the last stronghold of the Spaniards, Dewey sank the dilapidated Spanish flotilla moored at Manila Bay.

In the Treaty of Paris in December 10, 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. for $20Million as a trophy among other former Spanish colonies like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for winning the war.

Given this, Montano says that “We just had a change of colonizers. Why would the United States, pay so much an amount at that time for the Philippines if she did not have economic interests in the country? It would be uncapi-talistic or against the prin-ciples of free enterprise not to expect anything in return for such an investment. Lobby-ists in the US congress at that time saw the Philippines as a source of cheap raw materials like hemp, sugar, coconut, and the like. And the Cordillera Mountains became a mining enclave of Americans.”

After a pacification cam-paign that lasted through the first decade of the 1900s, the United States cuddled the Philippines under a Be-nevolent Assimilation Act and declared the Philippines only independent from being a commonwealth nation in July 4, 1946.

During the period of US tutelage, the US and the Phil-ippine Government instituted parity amendments which de-fined the countries’ tariff laws, mutual defense pacts, and po-litical and cultural ties. “These tied the Philippines to an onerous economic relationship with the United States,” says Montano. “We have become a source of cheap raw materials and a dumping market of ex-pensive imperialist products. The effect is our economy worsened over the years. And they taught us English so we could understand their com-mands for we are a source of cheap labor for them and, culturally, so we can think like

Americans and not perceive the imperialists as exploiters of our resources.”

The CPP and the Current Situation

The Communist Party of the Philippines reestab-lished itself in December 26, 1968 and organized the New People’s Army in March 29, 1969. They then only had 60 red fighters armed with nine automatic rifles and 26 single shot rifles and handguns. Cel-ebrating their anniversary this year, the rebels proclaimed that “currently, the NPA has a sum total of at least three divisions or nine brigades or 27 battalions of full-time red fighters with high-powered rifles. These are augmented by tens of thousands in the peo-ple’s militias and further on by hundreds of thousands in self-defense units of the mass organizations.” The Philip-pine Government estimates the strength of the NPAs to be from 8,000 to 9,500 cadres.

It would appear that the growth of the communist movement in the Philippines is fueled by the worsening conditions in the country. The Philippine economy has further deteriorated where the peso is now 56 to a dol-lar compared to 30 before the toppling of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. According to the Philippine National Statistics Office, unemployment is up by 10.8% where the minimum wage is 280.00 pesos or $5.00 a day. Minus taxes and other expenses, a worker’s fam-ily subsists on a dollar a day. Also, according to the Philip-pine National Police (PNP) records, crime rate more than doubled from 1990 to 2003. Given all these, the Philip-pines had sunk among the last ranked third world countries compared to her Asian neigh-bors. This has further bred corruption and according to a Transparency International study last year, the Philippines is ranked the third most cor-rupt nation in Asia and 11th among the countries with the worst corruption cases in the world.

It would appear that the NPA insurgents will not stop unless genuine economic and social reforms are instituted. It would appear that like in Vietnam, these insurgents cannot be stopped by arms alone even with the help of the powerful armed forces of the United States when it becomes needed – which is proving to be inutile in the face of guerilla warfare.

Maybe it would be good to heed the words of Oriental Mindoro Governor Bartolome L. Marasigan who says, that the communist threat can only be solved “if the Philippine Government truly recognizes that the only solution to the communist movement that is plaguing the Philippines is

to solve the problems of the ‘small people.’ The govern-ment must be brought to the people. It should not be iso-lated. It should be responsive to the needs of every farmer, even the resident of the most far-flung sitio in the remotest barrio in the hinterlands. If the government cannot do this, cannot listen to the problems of the smallest tao, then it cannot solve their problems. It will then create a climate of discontent and the people will rebel.”

Maybe, if the US will truly help the Philippines, it should be more on economic and social thrusts, not in arms like in the Balikatan.

Otherwise, Montano says “we are just continuing the unfinished Philippine revolu-tion of 1896 and this time, no matter how long it takes, we will succeed.”

-30-

Satisfied with the draft, Ding became aware again of the sonorous sound of the plane’s engine which he had successfully zoned out. He pushed the button summon-ing a stewardess who came momentarily.

“Yes?” the stewardess said.“Red wine, please.”

(End of Series)

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

journalusa.com

A trove of generally useless information - Part 3

1. The average person presses the snooze button on their alarm clock three Times

each morning.2. The three wealthiest

families in the world have more assets than the Combined wealth of the forty-eight poorest nations.

3. The first owner of the Marlboro cigarette Company died of lung cancer.

4. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

5. The world’s youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

6. Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our

noses and ears Never stop growing.

7. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

8. A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

9. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

10. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

11. When the moon is directly overhead, you weigh slightly less.

12. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the tele-phone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.

13. A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeat-edly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

14. “I am.” is the short-est complete sentence in the English language

15. Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command “go hang Yourself.”

16. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is dif-ferent.

17. “Bookkeeper” is the only word in English lan-guage with three consecutive Double letters.


Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjo-urnalusa.com

byAtty.RogelioKaragdag,Jr.Member,StateBarofCalifornia&Integrated Bar of the Philippines

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Dear Atty. Karagdag,

My wife and I have ad-opted a little boy in the Phil-ippines who is now six years old. We decided to go for domestic adoption because we are both Filipino citizens and are also not eligible to adopt for some other reasons under inter-country adoption. The adoption case was finalized about three months ago. We are just waiting for the Court to issue its decision. I read in your previous article that the USCIS requires that we should have at least two years of physical custody and that the adoption decree should also be at least two years old. We do not have any problem about the physical custody be-cause the child has been with us since he was an infant until we migrated to the United States last year.

Our problem is the legal custody. The petition for adoption was filed in March 2010. If we were to strictly comply with the two-year

Can The Two-Year Legal Custody Be Waived?

requirement, that would mean that we would have to wait until March 2012 before we could petition our child to join us here in the United States. Is there a way we can have this requirement waived?

Thank you.

JM

Dear JM, As you mentioned

in your letter, United States immigra-tion laws require two custody requirements to bring in an adopted child. The first is physi-cal custody for at least two years, which means that the petitioner must have had exercised primary parental authority over the

child for at least two years. This is usually the more dif-ficult requirement, requiring not only the court findings in the adoption decree but also other factual evidences such as medical and school records, sworn statements, and other relevant proof. In many cases, the immigrant petitions are denied because the petitioners either were not with the child for two years in the past, or are unable to leave the United States to spend the required time with the child. You are fortunate that you do not have to worry about this.

The second is the legal custody requirement which means that the adoption de-cree must be at least two years old. Under Philippine law, the adoption decree retroacts to the date of fil-ing of the original peti-tion. In your case, this

would be March 2010. Some courts

forget to put this clause in

the dispositive portion of the decision so it is best that you make sure it will be there before the court issues the decision.

There is also a legal con-cept called “nunc pro tunc” which means that the order retroacts to an earlier date. In a recent decision of the US Court of Appeals, it upheld a nunc pro tunc order of a US state court which backdated the adoption decree to before the child turned 16, in order to comply with US immigration law requirement. Likewise, USCIS says that if the adopt-ing parent was granted legal custody by the court or rec-ognized governmental entity prior to the adoption, that period may be counted toward fulfillment of the 2-year legal custody requirement.

I am not sure if your court will be able to backdate your adoption decree by two years in view of the clear provi-sion in Philippine law that the decision retroacts to the original date of filing, which in effect says that it could not be earlier. The general rule is that the decision takes effect upon its finality, so backdat-ing it to the petition’s filing date serves as an exception to the general rule. Under the rule on statutory construction, exceptions expressed in a law

shall be construed to exclude all others.

USCIS is very strict about the two year requirement. The only exception that we are aware of is inter-country adoption under the Hague convention, but that process is unavailable to you. We are afraid that you will just have to wait until March of 2012 before filing the petition for your child. Anyway, by way of a side note, you may really have no other choice since the waiting time for F2A has retrogressed this month to January 2008.

Again, many thanks and best wishes for the coming year.

Sincerely,

Atty. Karagdag Atty. Rogelio Karagdag

, Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an of-fice in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Ma-nila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475/(858)536-4292 or email him at rkaragdag@attyimmigra-

tion.com. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information. Readers must seek legal consultation before taking any legal steps.

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Philippine Stories

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

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Roberto opened his eyes and saw the sunlight piercing through the window of their bedroom. He just had a very long sleep. Roberto looked at the clock at his bedside, saw the 7:30am time fl ash in scarlet red, and calculated that it was 10:30am in the East Coast which was three hours ahead. He felt the other side of the bed and realized that his wife had already got-ten up and left the room while he slept. Roberto picked up the phone beside his bed and pressed the cell phone number of his second daughter Joan, who was at Georgetown Uni-versity in Washington D.C., trying to receive her Masters in Business Administration. After two rings, he heard her answer.

“Hello?” she asked.Roberto began singing.“Happy birthday to me,

happy birthday to me.”“Dad, happy birthday!”

Joan blurted.“Happy birthday, happy

birthday, happy birthday to me!” he continued.

“I was about to call you and greet you with a ‘Happy Birthday,’ but I was afraid you might still be asleep,” Joan responded.

It had been his practice to sing “Happy Birthday” to his wife and three daughters at the earliest possible time of their birthdays. Today, he wanted to jump the gun on them due to his fear they

Happiest Evermight turn the table on him.

“How are you doing?” he asked his daughter.

“I am alright,” she replied. “I have two fi nals today, one tomorrow, and my last one will be on Tuesday. Then I fl y back home for Christmas!”

Joan fi nished college seven years ago, but, as she jokingly told people, she had taken the “scenic route”. While her two sisters went straight to work after college - and in the case of the eldest, after graduate school – Joan spent a year in Spain and two years in Ja-pan teaching English before pursuing her graduate studies. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish and decided to take up a Masters in Business Administration.

When Joan told them that she could not go home for Thanksgiving due to her heavy workload, Roberto and his wife decided not to join the rest of their clan in a family reunion in Sacramento; rather, they fl ew to Washing-ton to join her for a week. It was worth the trouble because they could enjoy each other’s company while enabling Joan to attend to her studies.

“How’s the weather out there?” he asked.

“It’s very cold. I missed the sunny weather in San Diego,” she replied. “Yester-day it snowed here for the fi rst time.”

“That was your fi rst snow, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she answered. “My friends from California and I got excited as we took pic-tures. The locals were amused with our behavior.”

Roberto then called his eldest daughter, Helene, a fourth-grade teacher, married, and living several kilometers away from their San Diego home. He got the answering machine.

“Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me,” he sang again. Roberto hung up after fi nishing the song.

Next it was his third daughter’s turn. Anne had completed Finance and International Business at George-town fi ve years ago, worked as an invest-ment analyst in New York City for three years, and fi nally moved to San Fran-cisco for a promotion.

He sang the same “Happy Birth-day Song” to himself after hearing the answering machine.

Roberto then went down-stairs and saw his wife read-ing a newspaper.

“Happy birthday to me,” he surprised her.

“I didn’t greet you ear-lier because you were still asleep,” she apologized.

He took advantage of the opportunity.

“Let’s go to Denny’s and have breakfast.”

For days, he had limited his breakfasts to oatmeal and cheerios due to his diabetes.

This time, he wanted to make an exception and celebrate since it was his 63rd birthday. Denny’s offered a discounted grand slam breakfast for only $4. It consisted of two lay-ers of pancakes, two fried eggs and one slice of bacon and sausage. His wife got the same order.

From there, they went to the nearby Bonita Mall for a walk. Every day after dinner, he walked inside the mall four times for exercise. He was

grate-

ful the place was only a fi ve minute drive from his house. He liked walking inside the enclosed mall since its temperature was controlled. It was neither too cold during winter nor too hot during the summer, no matter the time of day or night. While Roberto used to walk on a treadmill at home, he would get bored before the hour was up even with a movie or TV show playing in front of him. Roberto also got bored walking around the

neighborhood and the can-yon trail nearby. Moreover, he was at the mercy of the outdoor weather unlike the comfortable interior of a mall. There was another reason why Roberto preferred the shop-ping mall. There, he saw a lot of people walking around and shopping, making the atmo-sphere festive and less boring. On his fourth and last walk around the mall, he would say his rosary, which helped eliminate the onset of bore-dom. He walked two times on the fi rst fl oor and two times on the second fl oor.

For lunch, his wife cooked bistek, or steak

marinated in soy sauce and calamansi, which were served

with sautéed on-ions and potatoes. By that time, Anne returned his call and wished him a happy birthday. While taking a nap, the phone rang, awakening him.

“What do you plan for your birthday?” He-

lene asked. “Can we take you out to

dinner?”“Yes,” he replied.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Chevy’s.”Chevy’s was his favor-

ite Mexican restaurant. He always ordered a pina colada and steak fajita with refried beans and vegetable shred-dings topped with sour cream and guacamole. Roberto particularly liked the sweet cornball served with it.

To his surprise, the parking spaces in the area were full. It was the Christmas season and the shops and restaurants in the complex had too many patrons. After a few minutes, they found a parking space in

front of a Baja Fresh Restau-rant. A sign in front read, “For Baja Fresh customers only: Unauthorized vehicles will be towed away.” They were hesi-tant to take it, but they noticed that there were a lot of cars parked around the restaurant with few customers inside. It meant that the parked cars were not customers of Baja Fresh and that the restaurant tolerated the violators.

Helene and her husband Dave were already seated at the table when they entered. They all gave the waitress their orders and waited, eating freshly-made chips dipped in salsa sauce.

“You know what I want for my birthday?” he asked Helene.

“What?”“I want you not to tell the

waitress that it’s my birthday.” He didn’t want the restau-

rant’s waiters and waitresses to walk towards their table, holding a cupcake with lit candle on it, and singing “Happy Birthday” in a snappy tune. In short, Roberto didn’t want to be the center of atten-tion.

His family laughed and grudgingly acceded to his birthday wish.

“We came from our La-maze class today,” Helene happily announced to her parents. She was fi ve months pregnant, and the day before, she had announced that they were going to have a baby boy.

“Here’s the sonogram photo,” she handed a piece of paper to her parents. “See that thing? That’s his bird.”

It took a while for the couple to conceive Roberto’s fi rst grandchild. They were married six years ago but took their time to enjoy themselves and travel. When ready to raise a family, they planned her pregnancy.



By the time you read this article published by the Asian Journal USA, I will be in Las Vegas, Nevada attending the International Consumer Elec-tronic Show (CES). This is the world’s largest show where the latest and emerging tech-nologies are launched, exhib-ited, demonstrated, explored, examined, and reviewed. It “represents the crossroad where technology is the thread that binds many disparate interests.” As stated in its web site the goal of CES is “to gather the “passionistas” from different high tech lifestyles to exchange ideas.”

I intend to take advan-tage of this large gathering which I am sure would affect the lives of all living beings on earth not only presently but most espe-cially the immediate and mediate future. I hope to collect, absorb, fi lter, store and organize for easy retrieval data, information, intelligence and knowledge as I have done for years when in attendance.

The world’s biggest IT and electronic companies are expected to be represented except Apple, Inc. which may be absent physically but overwhelmingly present virtually. Indeed, many new products were developed and now being launched as reac-tions to Apple products such as the IPAD, IPHONE, IPOD TOUCH and their correspond-ing applications. I hope to be able draw an intelligent comparison between and among these new products. I understand that Micro-soft Windows 7-based gadgets and those of Google’s Android / Droid will have a strong presence and some special surprises will be unveiled. A battle of tablets and smart phones are in the offi ng!

“There is nothing in the intellect that is not fi rst in the senses,” says a scholas-tic dictum. I expect to gain substantial knowledge which is in the intellect. That’s why I see the need to go and see, touch, smell, taste and/or hear all about these products. After the conference I expect to have gained knowledge which would be available at my fi nger tips. I am bring-ing with me my portable and mobile devices whose ap-plications would easily allow

Consumer Electronics 2011me to retrieve knowledge I already have, acquire knowl-edge I still do not have, store and organize what I expect to procure and absorb. My hand-held business card scan-ner would immediately store the contact information col-lected. My portable hand-held scanner would immediately digitize accumulated bulky documents gathered. My MacBook Pro which also has Windows 7 and Windows XP will give me access not only to my offl ine data but also to the Internet through Wi Fi and

broadband connection. My sling media connection will also allow me to access all my favorite tv shows at home even though I am away. Being in Las Vegas, the entertain-ment capital of the world, and the fact that the Pornog-raphers’ Convention is also held at the same time also at the Strip where I am stay-ing, would probably redirect the attention of many of the attendees. I will exert extra effort to avoid unnecessary distractions.

Aside from exploring the many exhibits, I will also attend most, if not all, of the summits. This is a

consumer show. It targets con-sumers from all walks of life: the kids, the moms, and the baby boomers. Many of the technologies are health, fi tness and higher education related. Attendees in the summits are encouraged to participate and exchange views. New market trends or demands would most likely be created and the new products and / or technologies would hopefully create their own demand.

The Mobile Applications Showdown and the Last Gadget Standing summits

would showcase some of the best among the best of both software and hardware. These are two showdowns which attendees like me would like to witness, be exposed to, and experience.

Among the fi nalists in the Mobile Apps Showdown are: 1. DriveSafe.ly 2.0, an app that aims to protect drivers from their own text-hungry fi ngers; 2. IDEAL Item ID, a free, open source, talking barcode reader and barcode maker that allows the visually impaired to identify things; 3. Line2, which adds a second number to your iPhone or An-droid phone; 4. ooVooMulti-partyMobileVideoChat, a video chat service with both video and voice calling that can accommodate up to six people; 5. Pageonce Personal Finance, which allows you to stay atop many of your per-sonal fi nance accounts and all from a single place; 6. Quick-officeConnectMobileSuite, a full-featured productiv-ity suite to view and edit; 7. Twonky Mobile, streams personal and online media from your Android phone to any Web-connected gadget or device; 8. SwiftKey, one of the smartest and swiftest pre-dictive keyboards we’ve seen for a mobile device; 9. Web-MD Mobile, which brings to the Smartphone the medical resource site’s top tools, in-cluding its Symptom Checker, a comprehensive drug, supple-ment and vitamin treatment database, and essential fi rst aid information. Another one will be announced during the summit.

In the Last Gadget Stand-ing showdown, the fi nalists include: Acer’s Iconia two-screen notebook; Barnes & Noble’s Nookcolor e-reader; Fujifi lm’s Finepix Real 3D W3 camera; Google and Samsung’s Nexus S smart-phone; Loocie’s wearable camcorder; Sifteo Cubes digital blocks; Sonomax’s Soundcage headphones; Fu-

jitsu’s Skinniest ScanSnap Scanner; Intel’s Potent New Platform. A still undisclosed

special surprise gadget will be announced at the summit.

In the Digital Health Summit, I hope to see

advances in diagnosing and battling of disease as well as a new generation of high-tech healthcare products and ser-vices. They are advertised as “being the catalyst for better managed healthcare, patient/doctor communication, shorter hospital stays and faster re-covery time, lowered costs for health insurance, early pre-vention and detection, digital patient information records, medical attention over dis-tances, and so much more.”

In this fi eld, we are ex-pected to see the following: Telehealth Systems; Thera-

peutic & Diagnostic Medical Devices; Remote Monitoring Devices; Mobile Health Ap-plications; Secured Wireless Communication Medical Devices; Medication Monitor-ing Equipment; Mobile Health Devices; Robotic Prosthet-ics; Personal Health Record; Communications Networks; and Telemedicine Systems.

I belong to the generation of baby boomers (born be-tween 1946 and 1964). There are now 450 million of us worldwide (78 million are in the US) described as “hitting their peak earning and spend-ing”. Like the kids and the moms who make most of the shopping decisions, we boom-ers are targeted consumers. That is the reason why there is a separate summit showcas-ing the products and services that keep boomers engaged, entertained and connected .

I am an educator so the HigherED Tech Summit also greatly interests me.

The Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg will give his unvarnished insights into where digital technology is heading at the summit. He co-edits the All Things Digi-tal web site.

“No more pencils, no more books…” I expect to “peek inside a high tech backpack and see what today’s students take to college and what they will crave in the future.”

The role of technology in our economic and socio-political lives has become more signifi cant than ever. Its effects are exponential and its impact are at times sudden. So we have to keep up and pay serious attention to every new development.

CES, this digital Boy Scout is all prepared for you. Here I come!

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15 and bagged two special awards: Miss Talent and Miss Expressive.

Pinoyindiefilmsatint’lfilmfests

Films that took home top honors from different interna-tional fi lmfests include Chito Roño’s “Emir” (Youssef Cha-hine Prize at 34th Cairo Film-fest), Mark Meily’s “Donor” (Best Actress for lead Meryll Soriano and Best Picture at the 37th Brussels International Independent Film Festival) and Ralston Jover’s “Bakal Boys” (Best Film at the 16th Lyons Asian Film Festival).

Adolf Alix Jr’s “Chassis” made history when it became the fi rst Pinoy fi lm to be nominated at the 25th Mar del Plata International Film Fes-tival in Argentina. Accolades were also given by various fi lm critics, including Hol-lywood’s “Variety” magazine, to “Chassis” lead actress Jodi Sta. Maria.

Acclaimed independent fi lm director Brillante Men-doza’s “Lola” won the Grand Knight Award at the 27th Miami International Film Festival, and was dubbed Best Film at the 8th Rome Asian Film Festival. More, Mendoza was conferred the Visionary Award at the 37th BIIFF.

Pinoy actors nominated at award-giving bodies for TV

Sid Luceros’ role as an-tagonist on the Kapamilya serye “Dahil May Isang Ikaw” earned him a Best Ac-tor Nomination at the 38th International Emmy Awards. Likewise, the TV series was

Filipino pride soars to new heights in 2010

(Continued from page 3) nominated in the Best Tele-novela category.

Dingdong Dantes also received a Best Performance by a Drama Actor nomina-tion at the recently concluded 15th Asian Television Awards for his role as Cholo in the Filipino remake of hit Korean drama “Stairway to Heaven.” Co-Kapuso talent Michael V was nominated in the Best Comedy Performance by an Actor/Actress category.

‘TheRiches’win‘TARA4’

After three seasons of Filipino teams almost mak-ing it to the top, “The Riches” Richard Hardin and Richard Herrera fi nally outraced their opponents and fi nished fi rst at the recently concluded “The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) 4.”

The Riches arrived at the Singapore pit stop merely seconds ahead of Indonesian father-daughter tandem Hus-sein and Natasha and Singa-porean rebel friends Claire and Michelle.The Philippines has been rep-resented on “TARA” since the show started airing in 2006. During its second season, Filipinos Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez placed third, while Geoff Rodriguez and Tisha Silang fi nished sec-ond the next time.

Other Pinoy teams who have been part of the race were Aubrey Miles and Jacqueline Yu, and Ernie and Jeena Lopez (season 1); Terri and Henry Reed (season 2); and Jacinta James and Lani Pillinger (season 4).


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Entertainment

Movies to Watch(Following are movies now showing or

soon to be shown in San Diego.)

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

3492810/28/09

IW Group

01 100 240 Con JC F-I

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REDWOOD CITY, CA, January 3, 2011 – ABS-CBN International’s Starry Starry Store is starting the New Year with a big bang, bring-ing to U.S. shores on January 7 the most awarded entry to the 37th Metro Manila Film Festival: Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na ‘To), the third and final (supposedly) install-ment of the Tanging Ina (The Special Mother; The Only Mother) franchise from ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema. The film

37th MMFF’s biggest winner, Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na ‘To), to screen in 8 U.S. cities this January

Star Cinema’s Best Picture entry is also among filmfest’s top-grossers

bagged 7 of the 21 awards handed out at the “Gabi ng Parangal” (Awards Night) last December 26 held at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City, Philippines.

Comedy Queen Ai-Ai delas Alas was named Best Actress for reprising the role of Ina Montecillo, the serial monogamist, repeatedly wid-owed mother of 12 children, beating Marian Rivera of Super Inday and the Golden Bibe and Carla Abellana of

Shake, Rattle & Roll XII. Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na ‘To) also won as Best Picture and is currently among the top three entries in the box-office. Other winners from the film are Wenn Deramas for Best Director, Eugene Domingo for Best Supporting Actress, Xyriel Manabat for Best Child Performer, Best Screenplay and Best Story for Mell Del Rosario, and Best Musical Score for Jessie Lasaten. The film was also given a Special Citation, the Gender Sensitive Award.

In Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na ‘To), Ina Montecillo (Ai-Ai) returns after her acci-dental stint as President of the Philippines, seemingly enjoy-ing life as a former president, gracing various public oc-casions and ceremonies and savoring the benefits that go with them. But she later finds out that such good things don’t last: she is diagnosed with a malignant tumor and given just several months to live. Her problem is how to tell her brood of 12, many of whom are experiencing their own personal crises and strug-gling to get along.

Ina’s eldest, Juan (Marvin Agustin), is overcome with debts. Daughter Tudis (Nikki Valdez) has marital problems. Tri (Carlo Aquino) is doing well but refuses to help his siblings as he resents being forced to be the family bread-winner during Juan’s absence. Por is gone, doing missionary work in Africa. Gay son Pip

(Alwin Uytingco) discovers that he has a daughter, a result of his alcohol-induced indis-cretion. Beautiful Sev (Shaina Magdayao) is getting married to a much older man who her family thinks looks like, uh, a catfish (Empoy).

Meanwhile, Ina’s reli-able BFF Rowena (Eugene Domingo) is distracted by an unexpected pregnancy from her May-December love affair with Frank (Jon Avila). As Ina starts seeing look-alikes of her departed husbands, she

goes into panic mode. But who can she turn to?

If the plot looks more like a tearjerker than a riot-ous comedy, it is because the movie will actually elicit cheers and tears from the audience. As director Wenn Deramas said, “There is nothing funny about dying so the challenge was how to present it in a hilarious way without entirely losing the seriousness of the situation.”

“We want to start the year with a family film offering

that brings loads of laughs but also hammers home a reality-based positive message about life and love for everyone,” said Kerwin Du, ABS-CBN Inter-national’s head of theatricals. “Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na ‘To) captures all of those as evidenced by the reviews, box-office reception and awards it has garnered back home. This is a good New Year gift for our kapamilya in the U.S.”

When we think of ‘60s revolutionaries, the women of Dagenham don’t fit the clichés—but these feisty, funny factory girls shook their world with spirit and courage, and achieved lasting social change (yes, even the grannies were “girls” to the men of Ford management and their own labor union). Based on a true story, Made in Dagenham portrays a decisive moment in that decade of upheaval, when the fight for equal rights and pay at the Ford Dagen-ham car plant was led—unexpectedly—by ordinary working-class women with one foot in the kitchen, one foot on the factory floor, and ears glued to the pop coming over the radio and telly from far-off London (19 kilometers and a world away). Throughout the campaign, the women of Dagenham rely on their humor, common

sense and bravado to stand to-gether, take on their bosses and face an increasingly belliger-ent local community. Daring to stand up and push boundar-ies, they changed the rules of the game not only for factory workers but also for the rights and expectations of women ev-erywhere. Directed by Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls) and star-ring Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky), Miranda Richardson, Bob Hoskins, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike (An Educa-tion), Andrea Riseborough and Rupert Graves. www.sonycla-ssics.com/madeindagenham/#/home/

This film is Rated R by the MPAA. Running time 113

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Happy and Prosperous and Peace New Year everyone! It’s a brand new year, are you still making another set of New Year’s Resolution? Many people do.

About twenty years ago, I stopped making them. Instead, daily after my personalized morning prayers, I remind myself that today may be the last day of my earthly life, that whatever work I do for the day is also a form of a prayer, an offering to serve my own God and my fellow-men. Unconsciously, I direct my life’s true north compass daily to a framed “RESOLU-TION” (below) that hangs in my office.

How about you, as one human being, or as a com-munity leader? Many of us seem dead at age 40 but only buried at age 80! Some of us contribute our energy (or the lack of it) to our own clubs or any organization, and cumu-latively that degree of posi-tive (negative) energy sipped into our own clubs and soon it contaminates others and then our club declines and for some weaker clubs they even die from man-made causes of death.

I am glad and have been blest that on my own way to heaven here on earth I have met many interesting, lively, inspiring individuals who have contaminated me with their vigor, spirit and love for life. One man I admire and respect is one who was not degreed (no college diploma) but quite educated about life and living, who told me early on, here in America, that education happens every day, even outside the classroom. The secret to success and fulfillment he shared with me is to be forever curious and excited all the time, like a toddler with a new toy, and become truly passionate with a new cause and/or being engaged in noble projects that also benefit others aside from one self. There should be a great project year after

The MetamorphosisRead Ernie Delfin’s previous articles by visiting our website at

www.asianjournalusa.com.

byErnieDelfin

Some reflections as we grow older for the New Year

year, like an African safari or a religious pilgrimage, a new career, that you are totally engaged and excited just pre-paring for it. That is a very demanding formula but it is not impossible to do. I have applied that formula for sev-eral years now and it worked for me.

* * *

De-cades ago,

sourc-es of our ex-citement were dif-ferent as young-er people tend to be more materialistic and motivated by many physical attributes. To be young means you feel invincible. Trappings of worldly success such as new car, a bigger home, yachts, expensive vacations, excite many people. After 60, those “things” appear less impor-tant. I think I now understand why. But there are still many people, however, who grew older but never matured nor have become wiser. Bereft of spirituality or a sense of ethics and morality, they were caught in their own cobwebs of false pride and material-ism, wearing their invisible masks daily pretending that they were super rich to be a able to buy their way out ev-erytime. For instance, lately I knew a few educated people, M.D.’s at that, in their sixties and seventies who were still trying to prove to themselves that they were invincible by trying to out-smart the USA’s Medicare system and con-tinued to bilk the system via fraudulent Medicare billings. But lo and behold, they were finally caught and finally been convicted. I really pity these

people, (two are even a hus-band and wife team) as they will experience wearing those colorful prisoners’ garbs in their senior citizen years. Very sad. (If you want to know more details, email me and I will email you back the court docket numbers and/or L.A. Times stories)

When we become older (hopefully wiser) we begin to realize that many things are not that important after all. Other intangible things appear to manifest and become more important, like our families and friends, our good health and balanced social and spiritual life. When we see our children and their own chil-dren playing, we are remind-ed daily of our faded youth. Even our theme songs change from “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and other energetic songs like ”Let’s Do it, Baby” to nostalgic songs like “Re-

member When” or “The Impossible Dream” by

Frank Sinatra. At 60,

our vocabu-lary or topics

of conver-sations also meta-morpho-

se

from career paths to our kids education and now what healthy maintenance pills we are taking! At 65, we feel so guilty not at home at 7:00 pm whereas at 21, we were just preparing to leave home at 7 :00 pm to hang out with friends. Our life’s paradigm and the same world seem different with another eye-glasses that offer us another perspectives. And with that change, we relive what our own parents often told us “Wait till you become a par-ent yourself”. For some of us, that is now being relieved by our own children who do not yet understand our own parental “wisdom”.

Ah, life is indeed a mystery to be lived, and not a prob-lem to be solved…. That is the way it was, the way it is and the way it will be. Life simply is.

When you are gone, the world will continue as if you never lived on this planet… unless you are truly missed by those whom you have touched. And that is one area that true Servant Leaders are

doing everyday to leave a legacy, to make this world a better place than we found it. Many people live their lives giving back to their com-munity and their fellow men. You can see these “silent he-roes” in many churches of all faiths. Many service associa-tions like the Lions Kiwanis or Rotary or religious mis-sionaries, like Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity exemplify this Service Above Self. Cu-mulatively, they contribute greatly to a better world for our children and their chil-dren. Let’s all pray for them, and help them in any way we can, wherever we are!

May the New Year bring us all closer to our dreams and may our plans blessed by HIM that makes even the impossible become possible!

Now here is :

RESOLUTIONS

By Lloyd Shearer

No one will ever get out of this world alive.

Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable sense of values.

Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth.

Without it, happiness is almost impossible.

Resolve to be cheerful & helpful. People will repay you in kind.

Avoid angry, abrasive persons. They are generally vengeful.

Avoid zealots. They are generally humorless.

Resolve to listen more & to talk less.

No one ever learns any-thing by talking.

Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it and fools won’t heed it.

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving & tolerant of the weak and strong. Some-time in life you will have been all of these.

Do not equate money with success.

There are many successful money-makers who are miser-able failures as human beings.

What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.

----

The end

speaking people in our office, our Mexican counterparts are required to speak English. There have been some periods in my time with this company where a Mexican counterpart has been completely floored at the fact that I don’t speak fluent Spanish, but I have no problem letting them know that I am not fluent.

In my office, the dominant

ethnicity is Caucasian, and then Mexican. There are only three other Asians in our of-fice. I am one of them. Being that the Mexican population is so plentiful at work; my bicultural issues only seem to revolve around that cul-ture. However, I believe that my next point could relate to both. Even though both of my parents grew up with strong Catholic influences in their lives, we did not keep it as a staple in our household. My brothers, sister and I were all baptized, and I received a First Holy Communion, but we did not continue with our religious education. After my brother (the second oldest) was diagnosed with autism in 1989, my family has experi-enced many harsh experiences with public outings. This included church. My lack of religious practice never both-ered me, until I started work-ing in an office with predomi-nant Mexican and Caucasian employees. On Ash Wednes-day, I am usually the only eth-nic person at the office with-out ash on my forehead. This wouldn’t bother me so much if I didn’t get so many inqui-ries as to why. Or if I didn’t get the assumptions, “Aren’t you Catholic?” I notice that I will get asked this, while my Caucasian coworker that sits next to me is not questioned.

FILIPINOSIDE: Even

though most of my bicultural issues revolve around being Mexican, I have been asked if I spoke Tagalog, although not as often as I get asked about speaking Spanish. However, I did have the same tie, if not stronger tie to my Filipino side, when it came to food. Even though my Filipino grandparents did not teach their children much about the Filipino culture, and therefore my generation lacked that knowledge as well, they did make sure that we still had the popular Filipino dishes at family gatherings. We were very much aware of lumpia, pancit, chicken adobo, and fried rice. They were always staples at all family gather-ings, even at Thanksgiving and Christmas, which usually have a very specific menu in the United States.

Unfortunately I can some-times forget that I am half Filipino. When I feel that way I turn to what I consider the “backbones” of my heritage: my grandparents, their food and their love of music. It didn’t dawn on me until just a year ago that my love for mu-sic and performing arts must have come from my Filipino grandparents. At my Fili-pino grandfather’s funeral we played the entire soundtrack from The Sound of Music, one of his favorite films. I always knew that Filipinos were very involved with the performing arts, but I never considered myself Filipino, therefore never made the connection. Once I made this conclusion, I felt like I had another tie to my background. Some might call it a stereotype, but I con-sider it a revelation, and a part of myself that is true Filipino.

CONCLUSION: When

Navigating between two cultures: Mexican and Filipino

(Continued from page 4) I have children, I imagine that they will also be cultural alienists. My significant other is Lebanese American (born overseas, raised in the U.S.). He is mostly a cultural nego-tiator but at times can be an alienist. His parents still prac-tice many traditions including religion, food, language, and media. He, however, speaks perfect English, enjoys popu-lar music and football. If we end up starting a family, I will be happy for my children, be-cause they will have an Arab last name, and most likely will not have the Spanish language barrier that I was privy to.

I also believe that since I lived in California, and even more specifically San Diego or Chula Vista, this made me even more tied to my cul-tures. Since there is a high population of Mexicans and Filipinos in the area, I did end up having many friends that were full Mexican or Filipino. Oddly enough, I did not have many friends that were bicultural. Having these friends opened the door to many things I may not have experienced otherwise. For example, I did attend a few Quinceneras and Debuts and weddings which have very specific cultural traditions. There are also an abundance of Mexican and Filipino shops or eateries in this area, which make me somewhat more knowledgeable in these two cultures.

I believe that I will con-tinue to remain a cultural alienist. I do plan to attempt to keep the popular dishes from either culture in my family, but otherwise I do not have much else to offer culture-wise. That does make me disappointed, however, I’m not sure if I will ever gain the time or drive to attempt to learn more traditions or keep them in my life. I am actually very content being a cultural alienist.

***Jeannette Rascon is a

student at San Diego State University. She is a student of Dr. Dirige in Asian Studies 310, “Contemporary Issues in Asian American Communi-ties” this Fall 2010.

***

FREEPHYSICALACTIVITYWORKSHOP

FORSENIORSSTRETCHING,AEROBIC

ACTIVITYANDSTRENGTHTRAINING

(SAS) As people age, their par-

ticipation in physical activity declines and that is not good to their health and well be-ing. It is important for seniors to be active and to maintain their SAS. This workshop is to show seniors how to move safely and effectively and give trainers the basics on how to get seniors up and moving in a safe and effective way.

KCS, in conjunction with Champions for Change, Nutri-tion Network for a Healthy California, will be conducting this workshop led by Larissa Johnson, Physical Activity Coordinator.

Raffle prizes, recipe books, handouts, pedometers and other give a-ways will be available. Free continental breakfast and light lunch.

Date: January 13, 2011 Time: 9 AM to 11 AMPlace: FilAm Wellness

Center, 1419 East 8th St, Na-tional City

91950If interested, please sign up

by calling Demy Din or Dr. Dirige at (619) 477-3392.

Please call to make reser-vations.


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

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

byVirginiaH.Ferrer

Ang Dalangin Ko Para sa IyoIdinadalangin ko na sana ayang makita lamang niyang iyong mga mataay ang tunay na kagandahan sa tuwi-tuwinamaipadama mong lubusan tunay na pagmamahalsa lahat, ngayon at bukas at magpakailanmanang pasasalamat ay manaig sa puso mosa diwa at sa lahat ng gawa, saan pa mang dakosa mga kabutihan mo sana’y maraming mahawaat sana ay dumami pa ang tulad mong nilikhaang mga ngiti mo’y makapawi ng kalungkutanng mga nasa paligid mo na abang nilalangang kalooban mo na laging masaya’t magaanay makikita ko din sa ‘yong mga kaibiganang mga salita mo sa tuwina’y laging magiliwat maging ang mga kilos mo ay nakakaaliwang buod ng lahat ng iyong pagkakawanggawaay dalisay na pakikiramay sa iyong kapwaang mga butil ng pagpapatawad ay makahanapng matabang lupa para dito ay mamulaklakay maaantig mo ang puso ng malapit sa iyoat maging sino pa man na nasa malayong dako.(may karugtong)

Joke of the week: In a cer-tain parish it was the practice to give instructions to the parents and sponsors, and also the custom to invite relatives and friends to a buffet lun-cheon afterward. Just before the ceremony, the priest asked the daddy of the baby, “Bap-tism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?” “I think so,” answered the daddy, “my wife has a couple platters of finger food, plenty of cookies and cake ...” “I don’t mean that,” interjected the padre. “I mean, are you prepared spiritually?” “Oh sure, padre,” exclaimed the father of the baby, “I’ve got a case of beer, a gallon of wine, and a case of whiskey. Don’t you think that will be enough?”

Scripture: First Read-ing: Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7. The identity of the servant has not been rightly estab-lished. Some think of him as representing the nation of Israel. Still others believe that he is an individual person, a prophet, a king, or a messiah. Second Read-ing: Acts 10: 34-38. In the Mediterranean world of Jesus it is customary to introduce a person to the community through some kind of ritual. At his baptism, Jesus has been empowered by the Spirit to begin his mission of healing and transformation. Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17. Jesus’ baptism by John is not for the forgiveness of sins, because he is sinless. His baptism is for the purpose of fulfilling “all righteousness;” his bap-tism is done as part of God’s plan that is accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Reflections: This Sunday is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. The Christ-mastide ends on Monday after the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the purification of the world, through Christ himself.

In the Mediterranean cul-ture, water is used as a ritual purification before someone assumes a role in a commu-nity or takes part in a religious ceremony. Jesus’ first step into the water of the River

When Jesus makes God smile

Jordan was a first step into his mission. This mission that would culminate on the cross reveals also who Jesus Christ is: he is the beloved Son with whom God his Father is well pleased. This identity is the pivotal point of everything that Jesus will undergo in his ministry, death, and resurrec-tion. The identity and mis-sion of Jesus are inseparable. He is the beloved Son with whom God is well pleased, because he obediently fulfills his mission. He accomplishes his mission in full obedience to his Father even to the point of death, because he is God’s beloved Son.

Even though he has no need to repent, because he is

without sin, yet Jesus went to John to be bap-tized. By accepting the baptism of repen-tance from John Jesus is completely

identifying himself with us, even to the point of dying for own sinfulness. Sinless, yet on the day of his baptism he publicly assumed our sins. However, Jesus does not only redeem us from sins, he wants us also to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, who de-scended upon him at baptism. Jesus wants our lives to be transformed into his likeness. Jesus wants us to be fully true to our identity as God’s sons and daughters.

True to his identity as the beloved and obedient Son, Jesus pleases his Father. God the Father is happy with Jesus who makes him smile. Hap-piness makes us smile. Hap-piness gladdens the heart. We too can make God happy and smile when we live as his sons and daughters. Someone said that most of the times we are pleased with God because he bestows us with manifold blessings. On the other hand, is God pleased with us? That is a question we all have to honestly answer.

Quotation of the week: “The day when a person is baptized is more important than the day when a person is ordained priest and bishop.” Raymond E. Brown.

©2010 Virginia H. Ferrer. All rights reserved.

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

branch of governance in the APPA. In the last 3 months, you have received two issues of this medium of communi-cations-solely to disseminate the actions and agenda, to provide information onto HODs current activities and future agenda in planning. It is also intended to encourage responses from members of the HOD to get more of the budding leaders to share and participate. I am very glad to say that there have been many good comments and comple-ments about the newsletter.

4th. We worked hard to finalize the mechanics of the general elections under the chairmanship of the delegate from California, Dr. Amable Aguiluz. The implementa-tion of the general elections will be finally decided in this morning’s meeting of the House. We invite you for your input.

5th. We are continuing house cleaning process as regards to the ratified amend-ments to the constitution and Bylaws. The proposed amendments that were not de-liberated in the July HOD ses-sion are going to be discussed whenever a legal quorum is established; likewise, addi-tional proposed amendments submitted by the constitution and Bylaws committee will be also deliberated in this meet-ings.

There are also proposed amendments to the House Rules streaming the creden-tialing procedure – the peren-nial problem area and Dr. Grace Rabadam, chairperson of the Credentials committee, is introducing this.

As you may all know, the terminology and position of the Electoral College is now history. The ratification of the general election for the officers of the council and the amendments in the impeach-ment procedures has impacted the functions of the Electoral College. Our chairman of the constitution and Bylaws committee, Dr. D.S. June Paraguya, who by the way have done a tremendous job, have discussed this subject in his letter mailed to you an it shall be addressed here today in the House assembly. Many things are yet to be done. Our time is limited. I wish to thank those delegates who wrote letters to the speaker and expressed their concerns and suggestions about this organization. I assure you that I will continue to seek and listen to your views. I must tell you that there was an

From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor Speaker of the House of Delegates

(Continued from page 6) initial vacuum of communica-tion between your speaker and the President. My letters were never answered. I underscores the need for an open and on-going dialogue and inter-consultations and conjoined cooperative efforts between these two senior officers of this bicameral organization as regards to APPA activities in general. I firmly believe that although the HOD is a legislative body and by defini-tion makes policies and laws for this organization, does not preclude the HOD to be informed, consulted and par-ticularly actively participate in our major activities in this organization. It is discour-aging to note that the HOD officers were excluded from the organizing committee of the Manila APPA/PMA con-gress. You will notice them in the flier mailed to you. I have discussed this matter with the president. We all agree, ladies and gentlemen that the convention in Manila is that of APPA; it is neither the council alone nor one person. The senior officers of the HOD strongly protest this omission. We wanted to make this convention a success. Minor as this omis-sion may be, inadvertent or not – is certainly perceived as counter productive, divisive. Blatantly partisan and sends a wrong signal to the compo-nent societies whose members represent them in the HOD. If this was a practice in the past, we must stop it and not let anyone propagate this flawed practices in this organization. Like I said before, we must support the goals and objec-tives of any administration that is in conformity with the Bylaws. I must appeal to you once more and let me repeat the statement of the APPA we should work together despite our political philosophical and personal differences because

without unity our strength is divided” very appropriately stated. This organization will survive the test of time if only we practice what we preach rather than practice contrary to what we say. Once again, I implore upon you, leaders, to stop this hardball politics, stop this nonsense partisanship and factionalism. It must simply stop period!!

I hope that both bodies in our bicameral structure will be working in tandem in many of our important activities, remove duplications o efforts, work side by side and con-solidate our forces with proper division of labor, however maintaining defined responsi-bilities and duties. Let me say

this to the HOD, let us make sure that the Manila congress be a success, however, we can not afford another red mark in our finances. I will be in Manila joining the medical missions of PMA San Diego to the province of Bicol.

Having said all these, I will now comment on the current state of affairs of our financial condition.

(To be Continued)

To order this book, “From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doc-tor”, call (619) 474-0588.


Computer Manager F/T. San Diego. Project and develop network implementation; manage backup, security, and user help systems. Mail resume to: Mission Hills Health Care Center, PO Box 530429, San Diego, CA 92153.

Another year has passed and we’re still here trying to enjoy the rest of our lives. It’s time to figure out what we’re going to do this year. It’s always nice to think on the positive side and get our priorities straight. We may never forget the past but, we can learn from it. We can stop worrying too much about the future. We’ll do our best at the present time.

If you’re still trying to get your home loans modified and

A New Perspectiveseemed to go nowhere, get a second opinion. Maybe your house is not worth keeping at all. Consult professionals for the best option. I can’t blame you for falling in love with that dream house. Maybe it’s hard to swallow your pride but, is any house worth dying for?

During the last two years, not too many homeowners were able to get their loans modified at favorable terms. If you have not paid your

home mortgage for months or even years and still residing in it, don’t expect a miracle to happen. You should have saved all that payment money and be ready for eviction any time. Act responsibly and do what you need to do and move on. Other people are tired of listening to all the sad stories. Nobody was forced to buy an overpriced home or take an equity loan. All of us have suffered enough for the stupid decisions made by some.

We can stop playing victims and help our govern-ment revive the economy. Think of what you can do for your government and not just the benefits you can collect. If you can’t find a new job, maybe it’s time to try self-employment. Turn skills into a business.

We can start a new year with a new attitude towards life. Stop procrastinating and get things done soon if not right away. Make a list of things to accomplish and get on it. You can have a family meeting and solicit inputs or suggestions. Schedule fun days too for the entire family.

If you can afford it, max out your deferred contribu-tion at work. If not available, open an IRA account. Self-employed people need to save for their retirement too. Time is your friend when saving money.

Other times you have to use common sense. Try to pay off your high interest credit card loans first, before investing money earning low interest. Then live within your means.

Look inside your house and check drawers and clos-ets. You may find how much stuff you have collected all these years. Some of these items will never be used again and collecting dust or taking up spaces. You can always donate them, sell them or send them to your needy relatives. Your car garage is not for storage of junks while your expensive cars are parked outside. You may also have to get rid of the unused old cars since you will never have time

to fix them.Review and update your

insurance policies, last will or living trust since nobody can tell what happens tomorrow. If you have a digital camera, then take pictures of your valuables, items inside and outside your house then store them online or somewhere safe. Digitally save old family photos in your albums. These are memories of the past.

It is not always easy to makes changes but, TRY!!

Time Running Short for 2010

Tax MovesSAN DIEGO — The Internal

Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers they have about two weeks left to make their final finan-cial moves for the 2010 tax year. Taxpayers may find tax planning done now may well save time, and money, later. Several key points to consider:

· Charitable Contributions – Make 2010 deductible charitable contributions no later than Dec. 31. If the taxpayer’s goal is a legitimate tax deduction, give to a qualified public charity and keep a paper trail. Clothing and house-hold items must generally be in good used condition or better to be deductible. Donations charged to a credit card by Dec. 31 are deductible for 2010 even if the bill is paid in 2011. Taxpayers must be itemizing deductions on a Schedule A in order to benefit.

· Winterize Now, Save on Taxes Later – The Energy Tax Credit provisions from the 2009 Recovery Act are set to expire at year’s end. Two credits provide tax incentives for individuals to invest in energy-efficient products. Up to $1,500 can be claimed in 2010 for quali-fied home improvements such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy-effi-cient heating and air conditioning systems. Also, taxpayers can take a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost for qualified residential alter-native energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines.

Sell the Losers – Check invest-ments and consider a portfolio adjustment. Up to $3,000 can be deducted in capital losses each year.

Retirement Account Contribu-tions– The maximum 2010 IRA contribution is $5,000 ($6,000 if age 50 or over). Eligible taxpayers can also take a tax deduction for making an IRA contribution. The Retirement Savings Contribution Credit or “Saver’s Credit” is also available to taxpayers who contrib-ute to a retirement plan and whose income is generally less than $55,500. This under-the-radar tax credit may be worth up to $2,000 for eligible taxpayers.

Required Minimum Distribu-tions –. Taxpayers 70.5 or older

are required to take 2010 required minimum distributions from IRAs before Jan. 1, 2011. This require-ment was suspended in 2009 but for 2010 they must be taken.

Consider a Roth IRA Conver-sion – Taxpayers may convert other IRAs to a Roth IRA in 2010 regardless of their income. Those who convert before Dec. 31, get two choices to pay the taxes due from the conversion: Pay in entire-ty when filing their tax year 2010 return next year, or divide income from the conversion between 2011

and 2012.Gift Giving – Taxpayers can

give a gift worth as much as $13,000 in cash or property in 2010 to another person without having to file a gift tax return. Gifts to individuals are not deductible.

Save Receipts and Paperwork –Accurate recordkeeping is a must and also provides a good reminder.

For more year-end tax informa-tion and to access all IRS forms and publications, visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov

Letters to the EditorRead previous articles by visiting our website at www.asian-journalusa.com

Bill’s Corner

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

by Bill Labestre, MBA

(619) 702-3051

Sim:

I read your New Year’s article a few minutes ago, as I have not been out of the house on New Year’s Eve for about 25 years or so.

Enjoyed your story especially about the early years. Hope-fully you will remain in good health to share the holidays with your grandchildren when you are 90 years old. Even if you are not, your stories will still be there and your stories are good as openers when yourt grandchildren ask their mothers about their holidays; theoretically your stories will still be available for your great-great gandchildren to read, while for most of us, we will just be a name, with dates of birth and death with little more. Have a happy and healthful New Year.

Richard JensenSan Diego, California


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

journalusa.com

Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

Next time you think your hotel bill is too high, you might want to consider this:

My wife and I are traveling by car from Point A to Point B . Being seniors, after almost eleven hours on the road, we were too tired to continue, and decided to take a room. But, we only planned to sleep for four hours and then get back on the road. When we checked out four hours later, the desk clerk handed us a bill for $350.00.

I exploded and demanded to know why the charge was so high. I told the clerk although it’s a nice hotel, the rooms certainly aren’t worth $350.00 for four hours. Then the clerk tells me that

The Hotel Bill$350.00 is the ‘standard rate’. I insisted on speaking to the Manager. The Manager ap-pears, listens to me, and then explains that the hotel has an Olympic-sized pool and a huge confer-ence center that

were available for us to use. ‘But we

didn’t use them,” I said.

‘’Well, they are here, and you could have,” explained the Manager.

He went on to explain that we could also have taken in

one of the shows for which the hotel is famous. “We have the best entertainers from New York, Hollywood, and Las Vegas perform here,” the Manager says.

“But we didn’t go to any of those shows,” I said.

“Well, we have them, and you could have,” the Manager replied.

No matter what amenity the Manager mentioned, I re-plied, “But we didn’t use it!”

The Manager is unmoved, and eventually I gave up and

agreed to pay.

I wrote a check and gave it to the Manager.

The Manager is sur-prised when he looks at the

cheque. But sir, this cheque is only made out for $50.00.”

‘’That’s correct. I charged you $300.00 for sleeping with my wife,” I replied.

“But I didn’t!” exclaims the Manager.

I said, “Well, too bad, she was here, and you could have.”

Don’t mess with Senior Citizens

I love poetry! Poems have a certain magic to it! The rhyme and rhythm lulls my senses and takes me into an incredible journey of the imagination. Poems are mu-sic for my soul!

The haunting melody of poems brightens my days as it fills the inner reaches of my mind. It calms me as it ener-gizes me, and translates my emotion into motion!

Allow me to share with you ten stanzas of ten of my favorite poems that all of us poetry lovers have known through the years:

“Auguries of Innocence” by William Blake:

To see the world in a grain of sand,

And Heaven in a wild-flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,

And Eternity in an hour.

“The Night has a Thousand Eyes” by Francis Bourdillon:

The night has a thousand eyes, and the day but one,

Yet the light of the bright world dies, with the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes, and the heart but one,

Yet the light of the whole life dies, when love is gone.

“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.

“Invictus” by William Henley:

It matters not how straight the gate,

How charged with punish-ments the scroll,

I am the Master of my FateI am the Captain of my

Soul.

“The Rubaiyat” by Omar

Music for My SoulKhayyam:

Oh threats of hell and hopes of paradise,

One thing is certain – this life flies,

One thing is certain, and the rest is lies,

The flower than once has bloomed forever dies.

“Elegy Written in a Coun-try Churchyard” by Thomas Gray:

Full many a gem of purest ray serene,

The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear:

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,

And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

“Crossing the Bar” by Alfred Tennyson:

For tho’ from out of Time and Place,

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face,

When I have crossed the bar.

“The Prophet” by Kahlil

Gibran: Love one another but not

make a bond of love,Let it rather be a moving

sea between the shores of your soul,

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping,

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

“One Solitary Life” by an Unknown Author:

Nineteen centuries have come and gone

And today He is still the centerpiece

Of the whole human race And the Supreme Example

of Love.

“A Psalm of Life” by Hen-ry Wadsworth Longfellow:

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing leave be-hind us

Footprints on the sands of time.”

“What are you going to name him?” Roberto asked.

“We haven’t decided yet as we could not agree. I wanted ‘Elliot’ but Dave wanted ‘Aristeo’. We also have other names in mind.”

Roberto quietly listened to the conversations as he sipped his drink.

“Why don’t we name him

Happiest Ever(Continued from page 10) ‘Roberto’ after my dad?”

Helene suddenly asked her husband.

“I like it,” Dave replied. “But it’s too long.”

“We can shorten it to ‘Rob-ert’,” she replied.

Suddenly, various thoughts crossed Roberto’s mind. He was a junior, being named af-ter his father; however, among his four other brothers and

two sisters, he was the only one without a son. This was not a problem since he had really wanted girls over boys and was more than happy for his daughters. Still, it meant that the name of his father would not be passed on to the third generation of his family. Having a grandchild named “Roberto” would mean that it would at least appear on the fourth generation.

“On second thought, I think I still prefer the name ‘Elliot’,” his daughter abrupt-ly decided.

“Okay then,” Dave agreed. “Elliot it is.”

The sudden decision doused water on Roberto’s aspirations. He picked a piece of chip and put it in his mouth as their food arrived.

“How’s your birthday, Dad?” Helene asked him after they were done eating.

“It’s the happiest birthday I’ve ever had.”

Helene rolled her eyes and laughed, knowing fully well it was his standard answer every time he was asked the ques-tion.

Roberto looked at his family around him and sin-cerely believed that with all the blessings he had been bestowed in life, his latest birthday was a bonus – and is always the happiest ever. - AJ



(619) 474-0588

Balik-Tanaw: The Filipino Stars

of Yesteryears

Read Dr. Romy Protacio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

byDr.RomyR.Protacio

Movie fans of Lucita Soriano may not believe me when they read this chapter on Lucita’s life now. The former character actress and sexy bomb shell icon in the Philippine movie industry is now a church Pastor! Really? How did that happen? Let us turn the hands of time and look back at the memo-ries of Lucita Soriano’s life as a movie actress before she joined the ecclesiastical world.

Lucita Soriano was born in Taguig Rizal and spent her early years in Pateros, Rizal. Her father, the late Eugenio Adriano was originally from Taguig, Rizal. Her mother is Elvira Jamon Soriano. Lucita has her roots from Bicol and Iloilo. Lucita’s mom is still very much alive at the age of 91.

Lucita spent her elementary years in Taguig and then completed her high school at the Rizal High School. According to Lucita, Rizal High is now a university in Pasig and enjoys the honor of being the world’s largest university, ac-cording to the Guinness Book of World Records! She studied at the University of the East and tried to earn a college degree, but as was typical of the lives of many movie

Charles & Lucita before they were married

Lucita in 2005.

Lucita in the 50’s

Lucita & Charles -- the happy couple.

Lucita Soriano: The Pastorstars back then, her busy shooting schedule prevented her from finish-ing her college years.

Her first movie contract was with Premier Productions, who was then headed by the film company’s matriarch, Dona Adela vda de Santiago. Dona Adela told Lucita to keep her real name, in honor of a movie actress back then named Lu-cita Goyena. It must have been a good decision, for her name stuck in moviegoers’ minds and soon, Lucita Soriano was on her way to stardom.

Movie Career It was always Lucita’s dream to

become a movie star. She remem-bers cutting classes with some of her classmates in order to go to the movie studios. Together with her classmates, they would hire a jeep to visit LVN Studio, Sampaguita Studio and Premier Production, in the hope of meeting their favorite movie stars. Although all of the girls she would go with to these studios dreamt about being in the limelight, it was only Lucita who got selected for a bit player role. She had a movie with Romeo Vasquez in “Lover Boy.” Romeo Vasquez was a playboy in the movie and Lucita was one of the many women in his life. Lucita recalls the funny shooting incident that would eventually lead to suc-cess in her movie career.

In the movie, “Lover Boy,” there was one scene where they were required to jump into the swimming pool. When asked if they knew how to swim, the bit players said they all did. When they jumped into the pool, only a few of them surfaced. The director was so upset because it was quite obvious that the bit players were so determined to get into the movie that they would even lie just to get the part. “That was an experience I enjoyed because even though we

lied, I became an actor,” Lucita said. “I was so thrilled when I saw my name in the credits!”

Lucita’s big break in the movies came when she auditioned for the movie “I Believe.” She read in the news magazine that Premiere Production was about to produce this movie and was out looking for a leading lady. Her aunt suggested that she sends her picture. Lucita looked for her prettiest picture and mailed it to the studio. In a few days, she received a letter from Premier Production, asking her to report to their offices in Caloocan. She remembers how she had cold feet, after seeing there were thousands aspiring for the role. Of the thousand applicants, she was the one chosen for the screen test. Ignoring the instructions from the studio that they are allowed to read the lines from the script during the screen test, she memorized her lines. Lucita believes that memorizing the lines helped her get selected. She was one of the

three finalists --- the first was Mina Aragon (of the Salvador clan), she ranked second, and the third place went to Juliet Pardo.

It was a dream come true for Lucita! Premier Production signed her in for her first picture! She was no longer out sitting in the background waiting for her favorite movie star to appear after a long day of shoots. She is the movie star! One picture led to another and Lucita became a hot item in the movie industry.

Lucita was no ordinary movie star. She worked hard to improve her craft, painstakingly learning whatever the role demanded, even horseback riding and karate!

In the movie, “God Smiled at Me” starring Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III, she won the Best Support-ing Actress award. In 1965, she did “Pasko ng Limang Magdalena” with Divina Valencia, Daisy Ro-mualdez, Ruby Regala and Miriam Jurado. The male counterparts were Robert Campos, Eddie Garcia, Max Alvarado, and Rod Navarro.

In 1967, Lucita did “Ako … La-ban sa Lipunan.” The controversial movie was about the tragic incident in the life of Lucila Lalu. It was not an easy decision for Lucita to accept the role of Lucila in “Ako, Laban sa Lipunan.” Her friends were worried about her own safety. Lucita herself was worried. After so many sleepless nights, Lucita finally accepted to do the role. She did the movie with Boy Garcia and Etang Discher with Artemio Mar-quez directing the movie.

As a bread winner of the fam-ily, Lucita accepted any role that would be offered to her. “Nung panahon ng action picture na, lahat kinakaya ko, kasi gusto ko maram-ing pelikula dahil ako ang bread winner sa pamilya,” Lucita said. When her contract with Premier Production ended, she became a free lancer. “Duon na nauso yung mga sexy, sexy movies, mga bikini. Ang mga sikat nuon si Stella Suarez at Divina Valencia,” Lucita continues. “Ako ang pangatlo kaya may kanta nuon, “Divina Valencia, Stella Suarez nag-boborles. Lucita Soriano … (she cannot remember the continuing lines). “Ako naman hindi ako pwedeng maghubad, magagalit ang nanay at lola ko. Pa-bikini, bikini lamang ako. Kasi nga, tinatanggap ko lahat ang role dahil ako ang bread winner.”

Lucita remembers with fond memories her trip to Hongkong to do the movie “The Lady with an Iron Fist” under the production of

Ran Ran Shaw. When she arrived in Hongkong, Lucita and her mom were treated like royalties. She was featured in this movie because of her knowledge in karate. Her leading man in that movie was Charlie Davao, who was, by then, also making a name for himself in action movies.

She went to the US in 2000, but had several stints here again, do-ing major roles in television show operas. For three years, she did “Valiente” with Michael de Mesa. In 2003, she appeared in “Pangako sa ‘Yo” with Kristine Hermosa and Jericho Rosales.

Lucita spent over 50 years in

the entertainment industry. She de-lights in reminiscing, although she could not really remember all the titles of the movies she made.

Although we did not talk about it, I remember very well that Lu-cita was figured in a hair-pulling spectacle with Stella Suarez. The incident ended up with a deep cut on Lucita’s face inflicted by Stella with a broken bottle. It was an ugly incident between Lucita and Stella that ended up in a law suit and counter law suits. Both believed that the other one started the fight. As reported in the news-papers and tabloids, the incident started with “dagger-eyes” look in a movie set, progressed into a bitter exchange of dirty language and finally claws and kicks which resulted into body injuries. There were contusions and bruises that each protagonist suffered. Al-though I did not verify from Lucita if she’s now in speaking terms with Stella Suarez, I am confident that Lucita has found in her heart to forgive and forget. She is a born again Christian whom I am sure has let bygones be bygones.

HerLoveLife Lucita told me that when she

was young, she promised to herself that she would never fall in love with a movie star. But promises are made to be broken. When Lucita was paired with Rodolfo “Boy” Garcia in a movie, he fell in love with Lucita. Marissa Delgado was the bridge between the two of them. “Mapagmahal si Boy,” Lucita said. “Wala siyang bisyo kundi manigarilyo,” she added. Like many movie stars, Lucita lived a complicated love life. For many years, she lived with Rodolfo “Boy” Garcia as his partner in reel and real life. The two were blessed with two sons, Garry Boy Garcia and Marco Polo Garcia.

As was common with showbiz couples, their lives together was quite stormy and ended in separa-tion for a while. Their love life end-ed up in a court battle over child

custody. Unfortunately, Lucita lost. Losing the court battle over child custody changed her heart and she decided to give her relationship with Boy another try, for the sake of their children. True to their vows of “till death do us part,” Boy passed away in the arms of Lucita on July 17, 1997.

Her son, Gary Boy Garcia, is based in the United States and works as a network programmer. Marco Polo Garcia stayed in the Philippine. He inherited the acting talents of his parents and became a regular in the TV program “That’s


Street Poetry

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

byMichaelR.Tagudin

©2010 Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved. About the Author: Michael R. Tagudin Educated as an engineer in the Philippines, the City of Los Angeles employee hopes his legacy of poems will provoke a dialogue about the human condition. He is donating the proceeds from the book “Crushed Violets” to the “Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Traffi cking (CAST)”, a non-profi t that provides public awareness and advocacy efforts against human traffi cking in the City of Angels. To learn more, visit www.castla.org. To help, call the CAST 24 hour hotline 888.KEY.2.FRE(EDOM) or 888.539.2373. Contact [email protected] for more information about ordering the book “Crushed Violets.”

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

asianjournalusa.com

by Joe Son

Are “pasma” and “ban-gungot”, myths or facts? In a sense, just like superstition, Pinoys medical beliefs are again based on myths not facts. We are now on a jet age, 2011, perhaps, some are doing changes in their lifestyle, by virtue of the so-called “New Years resolution,” but not much on beliefs handed to us by our elders, including those highly educated, except maybe those medical profes-sionals, who can shed light on these beliefs.

When I was a boy my Mom would always tell me,”Don’t wash your hands right after doing something, especially in sports, you will get “pas-ma.” “Pas-ma”, is only a Pinoy folk illness, which I believe has no English medical translation. It is not even recognized by contemporary and alternative medicines. This is only a term used by Pinoys to describe how muscles react to a sud-den change of temperature, just like how my Mom dry me up with my perspiration after playing before giving me a shower or letting me go out under the heat of the sun (hot-cold and vice versa).

A Physcal Therapist I talked about this condition, agreed to Medical experts explanation that hand tremors, numbness, pain and exces-sive sweating associated with a so-called “pasma”can also be individually found in all sorts of illnesses like diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunc-tions, neurologic problems, and even hand overuse and sometimes may be caused by hand tiredness, which means psychological.

Most common Pinoy medical myths!

My Lola always tell me, “Don’t go to bed right away after a meal, you’ll have “ban-gungot.” “Bangungot” is not only a very common belief by Pinoys but most Asians, too. Medical experts again explain that big meals may make one feel dizzy and sleepy due to the decrease in the blood sup-ply going to the brain more

blood is diverted to the busy gastro-intestinal system that is loaded with food). A good example is snake, who always fall asleep right after a big meal.

This condition may not necessarily end in death but there is a real fear that it might be fatal. Those who experienced “bangun-got” usually describe it as being trapped

in their nightmare, and that although they were already conscious, they cannot move. There may be other medical conditions that may cause one to die during their sleep, like sleep apnea and other unde-tected diagnoses. So the next time you have a big meal, don’t lie down immediately. It’s better to walk in a slow pace in your living room or just move around while diges-tion is taking place.

More common Pinoy med-ical myths are coming your way next issue, but let me remind you, that we always believe, Mom knows best and Mom copied some practical know-how from Grandma, that’s why all Moms always change out wet clothes into dry ones from babies to pre-vent them from getting sick. Myths or facts, these common beliefs will still be practiced by Pinoys.

clause of the CSPA. In that case, a U.S. citizen sister fi led an immigrant visa peti-tion for her brother and his wife and daughter in China in 1992. By the time the par-ents became green card holds in 2005, the daughter had aged out because she was 22 years old. In 2006, her father submitted a F2B visa peti-tion on her behalf. In a cover letter sent with the visa peti-tion, Wang requested that his daughter be assigned a priority date of December 1992, which was the priority date given to the fourth-preference visa petition that had been fi led on his behalf by his sister. The director approved the second-preference visa petition on March 25, 2008, but she gave it a priority date of September 2006, which is the date the visa petition was fi led. In her decision, the director noted that the regulations allows for retention of a priority date solely with regard to deriva-tive benefi ciaries of a second-preference visa petition, not to derivative benefi ciaries of a fourth-preference visa peti-tion. As the 1992 visa petition was a fourth-preference peti-tion, the director concluded that the second-preference petition fi led by the petitioner in 2006 could not retain the more favorable priority date of the 1992 visa petition. Since there was no published precedent, the director certi-fi ed her to the BIA.

The BIA has this to say: “When the benefi ciary turned 21 years of age before the fourth-preference visa peti-tion became current, she no longer qualifi ed as a “child” under section 203(h)(1) of the Act. Further, the automatic conversion and priority date retention provisions of section 203(h)(3) do not apply to the benefi ciary, as those concepts are used historically in Fed-eral regulations and codi-

fi ed elsewhere in the CSPA. First, there was no available category to which the benefi -ciary’s petition could convert because no category exists for the niece of a United States citizen. Moreover, the second-preference petition fi led on behalf of the benefi ciary can-not retain the priority date from the fourth-preference petition fi led by her aunt because the second-petition has been fi led by her father, a new petitioner. Absent clear legislative intent to create an open-ended grandfathering of priority dates that allow derivative benefi ciaries to retain an earlier priority date set in the context of a different relationship, to be used at any time, which we do not fi nd in the history of the CSPA, we decline to apply the automatic conversion and priority date retention provisions of section 203(h) beyond their current bounds.”

Using Wang’s BIA ruling in Abby’s case, Maria has to repetition Abby under the F2b category. This means that de-spite Maria and Abby having waited in line for more than 20 years to get their green cards, they will be forced to endure 11 years of separation from each other before Abby could get her own green card. If Abby gets married before Maria becomes a U.S. citizen, the petition will automatically be terminated or revoked.

Currently, there are at least seven lawsuits in Federal Court challenging the govern-ment’s restrictive interpreta-tion of the “automatic conver-sion” clause of CSPA. In one of these lawsuits, Costelo v. Chertoff, a Federal Judge of the Central District of Califor-nia has certifi ed a nationwide class of petitioners of family-based visa petitions for their sons and daughters. Immigra-tion law practitioners are con-

fi dent that the Federal Judge will overrule the BIA ruling in Wang’s case.

We welcome your feed-back. If you have any im-migration questions, please

feel welcome to email me at [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone con-sultation.

The automatic

conversion clause of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)

(Continued from page 7)

CrushedVioletsNote: 1.11.2011 is National Anti-Traffi cking Awareness Day

I thought I was a hero.That was a mistake.I recall somebody saying,“Don’t be a hero. Heroes are so sad!”l bleed baby! I bleed for you!I just wanted help to forgive you.To understand the design why yo u bought me such pain.To ease down my mind and to be able to say everything’s okay.But it is not happening that way.Instead, I am greeted by your wall of silence.It is a beautiful day, babe. Every things bright and magnifi ed.So is my conf usion and emptiness. I heard from someone that, “The ultimate act of forgiveness is the scent ofa crushed violet left at your heels. “ I wish to forgive. But how can I, if it is not even asked, like saying to a wall, I forgive you and feel okay!And I wish to forget. But it’s not that easy. This goes through my head every day.But life goes on. Time heals. By your design I have faded awayfrom you, but the hurt you brought is like a sore wound that never heals.I will always carry this with me forever and ever.And I am not going to be a hero anymore, nor any one’s angel as you have called me.Today a hero died.Long live the HERO!



AMERASIAN CUISINE

As the Bamboo Sway

Read Rudy Liporada’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

byRudyD.Liporada

The basic question is: Will the New People’s Army (NPA), led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) ever stop their over forty two years of armed revolu-tion in the Philippines with the resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philip-pines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Phil-ippines (NDFP)?

The prelude to the resump-tion of informal talks was held in Hong Kong last Decem-ber 1-2, 2010. The second round would be held in Oslo, Norway on January 15-17, 2011 before the formal peace negotiations would be held in February also in Norway.

Undersecretary Alex Pa-dilla, chair of the reconstituted GRP peace panel, the counter-part of NDFP Luis Jalandoni, is optimistic that within three years, the armed conflict with the NPA will be settled.

If true, that would really be great because talks between the GRP and the NDFP had been off-and-on for 25 years, making the negotiations the

New Year, New Peace Talks to stop the NPAs?

longest attempt series to end the longest insurgency war-fare in the world.

However, another question is: Why have the talks been off and on?

Padilla said that Presi-dent Benigno Aquino III is sincere in ending once and for all the insurgency war. Did he mean to say that Corazon Aquino who initiated the talks during her term and Fidel Ramos who followed her were not sincere? The Communist Party of the Philippines also charged Arroyo’s govern-ment to have connived with the United States government to tag the CPP as a terrorist group, thus withdrawing from formal talks in August 2005.

Moreover it had always been the position of the GRP

that before negotiations could resume, there should be a ceasefire or that the NPAs first lay down their arms. You can almost hear the CPP leadership retorting “ano kami, bali?” (what are we, stupid?). The CPP claims to have learned from history. Look what happened to the Huks, the leaders say. When they came to negotiate, had a cease fire, and laid down their arms, they were systemati-cally killed if not imprisoned. No more times of Magsaysay, no way.

Furthermore, why should the GRP even negotiate with the communists? Since the time of Juan Ponce Enrile as secretary of defense dur-ing the Marcos regime in the early 70s, the GRP had always harped that it could quash the

NPAs. The rebels were just a ragtag group then isolated in Tarlac with a forward group in Isabela.

If the GRP could quash the NPAs, why negotiate?

Is it be-cause even with the GRP continually saying that it

could annihilate them, the NPAs expanded into, virtually, all the nooks of the Islands? Is it because even with her series of Opera-tion Bantay Laya strategy, the ten year goal of Arroyo since 2001 to demolish the rebels clearly failed - that the rebels are still out there?

Note, too, that while it is reported that Noynoy “is sincere in ending once and for all the insurgency war” presumably through media-tion, he actually increased the budget for the Department of National Defense (DND) by 81 percent from the previous year which translates to 104.5 billion pesos out of the total proposed budget 1.645 trillion pesos for 2011. His justifica-tion is that the population of the Philippines has increased so the protection scale should also be increased. From the CPP’s point of view, this actu-ally indicates an act of all-out-war.

So, on the part of the NDFP, why would it even go to the peace table? Or why has it gone in the past?

First, it must be reiterated that the NDFP is but part of the revolutionary trinity led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Per its program, the CPP heads the movement with the New Peo-ple’s Army (NPA) as its armed might. The CPP calls the NDFP as a shield, composed of all the various organiza-tions, both legal and illegal that are against the prevailing GRP. By its logic, the NDFP only serves to protect the CPP and the NPA or bolster the positions and programs of the CPP.

When the CPP celebrated its 42nd anniversary last De-cember 26, 2010, it boasted that the NPA are now in 120 fronts in the Islands. In one of its areas in Mindanao, an almost open program, known by the military just two miles away, was covered and report-ed by journalists, even aired on TV. The program showed a company of uniformed NPAs with strong guns marching in front of hundreds who were proclaiming support for the revolution.

The CPP also claims that the NPA has reached a critical mass that could place the reb-els in strategic stalemate with-in five years. By its definition, strategic stalemate means the number of NPAs would have equaled the number of GRP military combatants; that a critical mass has been reached where it could no longer be crushed, militarily.

So, why should the NDFP negotiate?

It is the contention of the

NDFP that peace would only be achieved when the root causes of the social and eco-nomic ills of the Filipinos be identified and abrogated. This would mean wala ng korap (no more corruption), genuine land reform, and national in-dustrialization, among others.

These would appear to be tall orders for the beneficiaries of the status quo. Jueteng is still rampant with members of Noynoy’s cabinet reported to be allegedly also on the take. And can you imagine land-lords like Noynoy who control the government really willing to give up tracts of lands for genuine land reform?

So, while the GRP hopes for prolonged ceasefires to which the NDFP would not agree to; and while the NDFP contends for uprooting causes of ills to which bearers of the status quo benefit from, where will the peace negotiation talks lead to?

While we hope that peace would really reign in the Philippines between the GRP and the insurgents, it is appar-ent that unless the government really uplifts the common “tao” from their desolate im-poverished state, contentious forces will continue to riddle through, trying to abrogate the status quo. It is apparent that the NDFP will only poke on negotiations to further prove that legal means alone will not work to save who they call the masses from their impoverish-ment.

Already, early in the year, Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, spokesman of the CPP has al-ready declared that Noynoy’s government will fail to deliver his campaign reform promises and called for the revolution-aries to be resolute in their armed struggle. The CPP also said right after the New Year celebrations that they are bracing for a more intensified campaign of military suppres-sion under the new counter-insurgency Operational Plan Bayanihan (Oplan Bayanihan) authored by President Aquino. GRP functionaries reacted, saying that Rosal’s and the CPP’s statements jeopardize the preparations towards the formal peace talks. Padilla, however, said that no matter what posturing would be done by elements of the CPP-NPA and the GRP, the talks would definitely be held.

They better be for Filipinos would still hope that the new negotiations within the New Year would bring forth new beginnings in the Islands.

Whatever new means.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – A new community-based study by UC Davis researchers has found that children with developmental disabilities in Southeast-Asian-American families face significant ob-stacles to receiving interven-tion services. Barriers include lack of accurate information, language difficulties, lack of trust and limited outreach.

Despite these findings, study participants said that with education, outreach and culturally responsive support, families would likely accept services, which led research-ers to continue to work with the community groups to develop educational opportu-nities to improve access and services.

Entitled “Understanding Developmental Disabilities in Families of Southeast Asian Origin,” the study is the first to examine the perceptions of families of Hmong and Mien children with disabilities as well as the barriers to service. It is published online today in a special supplement to the journal Pediatrics, “Children and Youth with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs from Traditionally Un-derserved Communities.”

“These families care very deeply about their children,” said Dian Baker, a postdoc-toral scholar at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (CEDD) at the UC Davis MIND Institute. “It’s not that they don’t want to help them. It’s that they don’t know what to do.”

Nearly one fifth, or 17 percent, of all children in the United States have de-velopmental disabilities, and nearly four million Americans have a developmental disor-der. But information on the needs of underrepresented and underserved families of children with developmen-tal disabilities is limited. In California, the Department of Developmental Services reports a lower overall rate of referral for Southeast-Asian people relative to the portion of the overall population they represent. California is among states with the largest Hmong and Mien populations, con-centrated largely in the Central Valley.

Baker said she became interested in doing the study while working as an in-home

Study finds Hmong families face barriers to service

outreach worker for a Cen-tral Valley school district. She recalled encountering a 10-year-old Southeast-Asian child with Down syndrome who was not attending school. When asked why, his parents said they didn’t send him to school because they thought that nothing could be done for him.

Baker said the purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between South-east-Asian-American families’ attitudes toward receiving services for their developmen-tally disabled children and the reasons why they are under-represented among recipients of special education and social services. She said the study was particularly unique be-cause of the community-based participatory methods used that included members of the Hmong community as well as an interdisciplinary team of researchers representing nursing, medicine, education and social services. Because community-based research is conducted as a partner-ship between researchers and community members, partners participate in all aspects of the research process. After the data is collected and analyzed, researchers continue to work with their community partners to develop and implement strategies, such as an educa-tional campaign, to address the barriers discovered.

For the study, Baker and her colleagues partnered with the Hmong Women’s Heritage Association and the United Iu-Mien Community, Inc., both of Sacramento, Calif., to interview representatives from the communities including Hmong and Mien individuals with developmentally disabled children and shamans who perform healing rituals. The interviews were conducted in Hmong and Mien and later translated into English.

The participants identified a variety of cultural and socio-logical reasons why they be-lieve Southeast-Asian-Amer-ican families receive fewer special education and social services for their children with developmental disabili-ties. The researchers found that a predominant theme was the perception that reliance on governmental support services is not appropriate because having a family member with a developmental disability is


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

Ni Romeo Nicolas

Mga Tulang Tagalog

Showbiz Watcher

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

by Ogie Cruz

Simbang Gabi“Simbang Gabi” sa Virginia ay hindi ko malimutan,Kung paano nasimulan at paano nagtagumpay.Sa anim na kasangbahay ang pangarap sinimulan,Upang diwa nitong Pasko’y maging walang katapusan.

Dumalas ang pagtitipon, binalangkas ang mithiin,Sa basbas ng paring Pinoy at dasal na mataimtim.Bawat isa’y nagsumiglang “Simbang Gabi” ay purihin,Maging kultura ng Pinoy sa bansa na hiram natin.

Unti-unting nabubuo, pangarap sa kapaskuhan,Dumami rin ang kasaping, sandigan ng katuparan.Siyam na gabi ng programang aakit sa karamihan,Italiano, mga Intsik, Espanyol at sino pa man.

Inyong lingkod ang sya na ring bumuo ng kalipunan,Nangalap ng kababayang sa pagawit, mayrong tapang.Mayron kaming kaming Alto, Tenor, Baho’t Sopranong ma-huhusay,Pinoy na “Choir” ay nabuo, Paskong awit, nagkakulay.

Mga himig ng awitin na para sa kapaskuhan,Ay labis na hinangaan ng marami sa simbahan.Mayroon din na “sing along”, aawit ang kalahatan,Pagpupuri’y bigyang buhay, unang gabi, gabing banal.

Ang lahat ng matatanda, maging mga kabataan,Itong unang Simbang Gabi, mapapansi’y kasiglahan.Marami ang nasasabik ‘tong kultura ay mabuhay,Na sabay na nagaganap sa mahal na Inang Bayan.

Gabi-gabi, may SALABAT, sa tapang ay sobra-sobra,Paulit na iniinom, Pinoy, Kano at iba pa.Marami ang nagtatanong, paano ang pagtitimpla?Sikreto ‘to kaibigan, basta’t sariwa ang luya.

Simbang Gabing ika-siyam ay luwalhati na sumapit,Bawat isa ay masaya at masiglang umaawit.Parokya ay takang-taka sa dami ng nagsianib,Makiisa sa tradisyon, umpisa sa Virginia Beach.

Pagkatapos ng programa sinundan ng salo-salo,Sari-sari ang putahe, putahe ng Pilipino.May kakanin pa at suman, puto bumbong pa at biko,May “eggroll” din, pansit kanton, may “fried rice” pa at adobo.

Di ko ito malilimot kahit ako’y nasa ‘Pinas,Mga tanging kaibigan, buhat sa “Holy Spirit Church”.Tinaguyod ang adhika, kultura ay pinamalas,Simbang Gabi sa USA, nasimulan at kumalat.

Salamat kay Father Joseph, paring samin ay gumabay,At Monsignor Caraluzza, gabay sa pangkalahatan.Salamat sa nagsitulong, Simbang Gabi’y umpisahan,Manatiling ‘sang tradisyon sa bansa na “Hiram Lamang”.

Tulang handog sa lahat ng Pilipino sa USA. Lalo at higit samga miyembrong bumuo ng Simbang Gabi sa”Holy Spirit Church”, Virginia Beach, VA

RomeoS.Nicolas25 Dec. 2010

WALANG TAKOT binuy-angyang ni Cristy Fermin sa kanyang show na “Juicy” ang hindi pagbalik ng pera ng Rosanna Roces ng 25,000, bayad sa isang show na hindi sinipot ni Osang sa La Union, last Dec.28,2010.

Ayon sa istorya, isa show organizer na si Ericka Lo-pez ang nagsumbong kay Ate Cristy tungkol sa hindi pagsipot ng show ni Rosanna Roces sa Bangger , La Union kaso yung binayad sa kanya na pera ay hindi naman bina-lik nito.

Tawag daw nang tawag si Ericka sa kanya at pati daw yung Mayor ng La Union pero hindi raw sumasagot si Osang, hanggang nagpalit na raw ito ng cellphone number.

Nagmamakaawa ng nga raw ang naturang show or-ganizer kay Osang sa text na ibalik ang pera kaso dedma pa rin ang Osang at hindi sumasagot.Kwento nga ni Cristy Fermin, “Nandun na nga lahat ang artista at ikaw na lang ang wala pero sabi mo susunod ka.May sasakyan ka naman para sumunod pero hindi mo nagawa, resputuhin mo ang kasunduan nyo,kaya dapat lang na ibalik mo ang 25000,”.

11,000 daw ang down pay-ment kay Osang 5 days before the show,sabi ni Ericka at yung balance para sa whole amount ng 25,000 nilagay daw sa bank account ni Osang ng Mayor ng La Union na hindi alam ng naturang show organizer.Kaso matagal na raw nilang kinokontak ang aktres pero hindi ito sumasag-ot at hanggang ngayon hindi binabalik ang pera.

Sabi nga ni Ate Cristy, advice ito para sa iyo Osang ibalik mo na ang pera na kung dati ay dalawang kanta mo lang e halos 300,000 ka o umaabot pa ng kalahating milyon, e ngayon 25000 ka na lang.

Nakakagulat din si Ms. Cristy Fermin sa kanyang mga rebelasyon about Osang, hindi talaga siya paaawat kapag mali ang nagawa ng isa niyang kaibigan talagang tutu-ligsain niya ito.Dyan hinan-gaan ang pamosong showbiz talkshow, dahil sa wala niyang takot magsalita against sa isang artista kapag mali ang nagagawa nito.Anu kaya ang reaction ni Ms. Rosanna Ro-ces tungkol sa bagay na ito ?

Osang inireklamo dahil sa 25,000 pesos!!!

Rosanna Roces

Samantala,Tuesday na-man ito ibinulgar sa “SNN” ni Boy Abunda. Iba naman ang atake ni Kuya Boy tungkol sa iskandalong ito involving Rosanna Roces.Kaibigan daw niya si Osang, bago daw niya tuligsain si Osang dapat daw malaman din niya ang panig ni Rosanna at bakit hindi isinoli ang pera.Ganon din daw sila sa “D Buzz”, kapag may isang report kailangan malaman din ang kabilang panig.

Ang tanong, hindi kaya pinariringgan ni Kuya Boy si Ate Cristy tungkol sa issue na ito dahil magkaiba ang atake nilang dalawa patungkol sa iskandalong ito?

Ang alam namin may sama ng loob si Cristy Fermin matagal na kay Boy Abunda at hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin nag-uusap ang dalawa, lalo pat magkatapat ang kanilang dalawang shows.

Pero para sa amin, kaibig-an namin ang dalawa at wala kaming kakampihan dahil alam namin na magkaiba ang kanilang personalidad na tanggap namin.Saludo ang karamihang movie report-ers sa dalawang ito, kapag showbiz reporting ang pag-uusapan.

Kayo kanino kayo Boy Abunda o Cristy Fermin?

PNOY ,ASHTRAY ANG NIREGALO SA WEDDING NINA OGIE AT REGINE.Anu ba itong nakarating na balita sa amin, as in super kuripot daw si Pres. Noynoy Aquino dahil lalagyan lang ng sigarilyo ang niregalo niya sa kasal nina Ogie Alcasid at Regine Velasquez?

Samantalang ang kanyang kontrabersyal na sister na si Kris Aquino ay isang check ang niregalo na hindi pa namin alam kung magkano ang halaga nito.Pero sabi sa

amin, bongga raw ang halaga ng cheke ni Kristeta almost a million daw.Wow!

Hindi kaya may usapan ang dalawang magkapatid sa kanilang ireregalo bago ang kasal nina Ogie at Regine, pero paano naman kumalat ang ashtray na niregalo ni Pres. Aquino sa showbiz lan-dia.Sino ang nagpakalat nito?

Sa kabilang banda na-man, hindi naman masama ang loob ni Ogie alcasid kay Sharon Cuneta dahil hindi ito nakapunta sa araw ng kanil-ang kasal. Ayon kay Ogie ang pagtanggap ni Sharon bilang maging ninang nila sa kasal ay sapat na yun.

Tuwang-tuwa nga sina Ogie at Regine, instead na gifts ang binigay ng kanilang mga guests ay cash ang kara-mihan ang binigay,umaabot nga daw ito ng almost a Mil-lion at ido-donate raw nila ito sa isang charitable institution.

MARAMING DISMAYA NA TFC SUBSRIBERS, dahil walang kapalit ang “Win na Win” nung mamaalam ito last Friday ,Dec.31 last year, dahil wala itong kapalit na isang lunch show.

Sa Pilipinas naman ,hina-baan nila ang oras ng “Show-time” na marami na rin ang

nagsasabing nakakaumay na rin ang paligsahan sa dance ng mga grupong sumasali rito.

Kahit dito sa Amerika, hindi rin gaano patok ang na-sabing show, nakakasawa rin ang sayawan nang sayawan.Pero kapag oras dati ng “Win na Win”, teleserye ang mga pinalit nila , yung shows nina Powang,Melai and co. na puro patawa ang tema na hindi naman nakakatawa at yung SNN.

Aminado ang mga TFC Sibscribers na kahit paano nagustuhan na rin nila ang tema ng show nina Rico,Rey,Marco at Nonoy na halos malapit sa tema ng show noon ni Willie Revillame na “Wowowee” pero ngayon wala na rin ang naturang show kaya hinahanap nila ang ganong tema na sana ipinalit nila.

Hindi ganon kapatok ang mga teleserye rito sa Amerika, mas gusto nila yung mga show na may live audience na may puso ang dating kagaya ng show ni Willie.

Antayin na lang natin ang usapan ng PinoyTv at ang kampo nina Mr. Revillame, na habang wala pa ang TV5 In-ternational ang PinoyTv muna ang magpapalabas ng “Will-ing Willie rito sa Amerika.

Study finds Hmong families face

barriers to service(Continued from page 20)his or her responsibility.

Study participants also said that language barriers prevent families from understanding the type of health care or edu-cational services their children may need or receive.

“We do not have Hmong words for all the diagnoses, no word for Down’s syndrome … someone has to take the time to help make the understand-ing,” one male Hmong partici-pant said.

“I know that my child goes to a special school because a special bus comes every morning to take her to school,” said one female par-ent of a child with cognitive and mobility challenges, “but I have no idea what kind of school it is and what kinds of services the school is provid-ing my child because I do not speak or understand English and I have no way of commu-nicating with the school staff.”

“In Thailand, my child was able to attend school and I knew about school … here there are so many appoint-ments, he can’t be in school, can’t learn, I do not know what to do, what is best? He is falling behind, how come so many appointments and meet-ings?” said a female parent

of a child with cognitive and mobility challenges.

Baker said that the study identified a variety of ap-proaches to helping Southeast-Asian-American families of children with developmental disabilities. These approaches include creating social sup-port groups for families with developmental disabilities, disseminating information through cultural events, developing partnerships with accepted community-level health-care providers, such as shamans and herbalists, and providing more culturally and linguistically appropriate information.

To that end, Baker and her UC Davis collaborators, in association with their com-munity partners, are develop-ing a public service campaign aimed at helping Southeast-Asian communities increase awareness and use of the services that are available for their children.

“Reducing health dispari-ties in underserved and under-represented populations, along with promoting early identi-fication and intervention for children with developmental disabilities are primary goals of the CEDD,” said Robin Hansen, professor and chief of the Division of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics at UC Davis and director of the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, who also collaborated on the study.

Other study authors include pediatrician Elizabeth Miller of UC Davis; Michelle Dang, a nurse and lecturer at Sacramento State University Division of Nursing; and Chiem-Seng Yaangh, a founding member and current board president of United Iu-Mien Community, Inc.

Funding for the study is from the Center for Excellence in Develop-mental Disabilities of the UC Davis MIND Institute.

About the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis

For 100 years, UC Davis has en-gaged in teaching, research and pub-

lic service that matters to California and to transform the world. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nurs-ing at UC Davis was established in March 2009, UC Davis’ first major initiative to address society’s most pressing health-care problems in its second century of service. The school was launched through a $100 million commitment from the Gor-don and Betty Moore Foundation, the nation’s largest grant for nursing education. The vision of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is to transform health care through nurs-ing education and research.


mapatigil ang pagdudugo at mabigyan siya ng “antibi-otic” upang hindi magka-im-peksyon. Suot niya ay tsinelas at hindi sapatos. “Iyan na nga ba ang sinasabi ko sa iyo, Sebastian, kung nakasapatos ka ay hindi ka matitibo. Tigas-ulo ka kasi!”

Sa “high school” ay nag-ing “star student” si Sebastian. Kapag may paligsahan ang iba’t-ibang “high school” ay siya ang ipinadadalang kina-tawan ng prinsipal na pambato ng eskwela sa mga paligsahan sa pagtatalumpati o pagtula. Minsan ay dumalaw sa eskwe-la ang isang pangkat ng “gang members” – mga maligalig na “teenagers” sila na sa halip na pumasok sa eskwela ay nag-bibigay ng problema sa mga kapuwa estudyante. Naniniga-rilyo sila, umiinom ng alak, at nangingikil ng salapi sa mga kapuwa nila estudyante upang magugulan ang kanilang masasamang bisyo. Nakita nila na may suot na magan-dang relo si Sebastian. Nilapi-tan nila si Sebastian at pinilit na ibigay sa kanila ang relo at kung hindi ay bubugbugin siya. Pag-uwi ni Sebastian ay ipinagtapat sa ina ang nang-yari. “Sabi ko ay huwag mong isusuot sa eskwela ang relo,” paalaala ng ina.

“E, kung hindi ko po isusuot sa eskwela ang relo ay saan-saang lugar ko pa siya maisusuot? Bakit pa ninyo ako binigyan ng relo?” sagot ni Sebastian na papilosopo.

“Ang problema sa iyo, anak, ay tigas-ulo ka. Matal-ino ka nga, pero hindi ka nakikinig.”

Nang makatapos sa “high school” si Sebastian, siya ay nagbalak na pumasok sa kolehiyo upang maging isang abogado. Sabi ng ina, “bakit ka mag-aabogado, anak. Tingnan mo ang tatay mo, abogado, pero walang kaso. Magkomersyante ka, anak.

Tigas-uloMaraming pera ang kikitahin mo!”

Nag-abogado si Sebastian sapagka’t iyon ang karerang itinuturo sa kanya ng kanyang puso. Nang makatapos na ay kumuha siya ng “bar exam” at naging isa sa mga “to-pnotchers”. Natuwa ang ina at ipinagmalaki siya sa mga kamag-anak at kaibigan.

Lipos ng trabaho at pana-nagutan ang pagiging isang abogado. Walang tigil ang pag-aaral sa mga batas at ang pagsulat ng mga demanda, apela, “memoranda”, at kung anu-ano pang papeles na isinusumite sa korte. Higit na marami ang trabaho kaysa sa kita; katulad halimbawa ng pagtatanggol sa isang nakasa-gasa na tsuper ng jeepney. Katungkulan niya bilang abogado ang ipagtanggol ang sino man na mangangailangan ng kanyang serbisyo. Nguni’t gaano na ang makakayanang ibayad sa serbisyo niya ang isang “driver” ng jeepney? Naikukuwento niya sa ina ang nararanasang pagsubok sa piniling karera.

Sumagi sa alaala ng ina, “hindi ba ang sabi ko ay mag-komersyante ka, anak? Inibig mong maging abogado. Tigas-ulo ka kasi. Pangatawanan mo ang iyong ipinasiya.”

Makaraan ang maikling panahon, “Ingat ka, anak, sa pagpili ng mapapangasawa mo,” pakli ng ina nang maki-tang si Sebastian ay naninin-galang-pugad na, “kung ako ang tatanungin mo, maka-bubuti na ang mapapangasawa mo ay kalahi natin.”

Nakilala ni Sebastian si Natividad sa “high school”. Intsik ang tatay niya. Nang sila ay nasa “high school” pa ay naalaala niya na malimit siyang dalhan ng regalo ni Natividad. Regalong pag-kain. Nagdadala ang dalagita sa eskwela ng pansit gisado na may bola-bola at ito’y pinagsasaluhan nila tuwing

“recess”. May pansiterya noon ang tatay ni Natividad na naroroonan sa hanay ng mga pansiterya sa Benavidez, malapit sa kanilang “high school”. Kung araw ng Ling-go, makailang ulit din na may dumarating na tao sa bahay nina Sebastian, at naghahatid sila ng sari-saring pagkaing-Intsik. Padala ni Natividad.

May “crush” o naiibang pagtingin si Natividad sa kaeskwelang Sebastian. Sa dinami-dami ng kaeskwela ay bakit si Sebastian lamang ang nabibigyan niya ng pansit? Noong mga panahong iyon ay wala pang malay sa pag-ibig si Sebastian. Si Natividad ay may higit na maunlad na ka-malayan sa pag-ibig, nguni’t bilang babae ay hindi naman niya maipahayag sa lalaki ang nilalaman ng kanyang loobin. Natapos ang “high school”, tinahak ni Sebastian at ni Natividad ang kani-kanilang naiibang landas at tumakbo ang panahon.

Minsan ay napadpad sa dako ng Benavidez ang batang-batang abogado na si Sebastian. Pumasok siya sa isang malaking “restaurant” at doon ay nananghali. May magandang dilag na lumapit sa mesa niya.

“Kung hindi ako nagkaka-mali ay ikaw si Sebastian dela Paz!” bati ng dilag.

“Napatingin si Sebastian sa nangusap, inalis ang suot na salamin, at sinipat ang kaharap na magandang dilag. Nag-isip sumandali, bago nasambit ang, “Natividad! Natividad Sy! Laking sorpresa nito! Kumusta ka na?”

At nanumbalik ang dating pagkakaibigan na sa di mal-aon ay nauwi sa pag-iibigan. Ang tatay ni Natividad ay malaking negosyante na. Hin-di lamang sa mas malaki na ang “restaurant” niya, ang gu-sali na kinalalagyan ng “res-taurant” ay pag-aari na niya; samantalang noong araw ay inuupahan lamang niya iyon. Bukod dito ay may sosyo siya sa mga itinatayong iba pang mga gusali na magiging mga “commercial centers” sa iba’t ibang panig ng Maynila.

Sa madaling sabi ay naging kabiyak ng puso ni Sebastian si Natividad. Naging engrande ang kanilang kasal na ang nagbayad sa lahat ng gastos ay ang ama ng babae. “Naka-hihiya!” pagtanggi ng ina. “Sa ating kaugalian ay ang magu-lang ng lalaki ang gumagastos sa kasal!”

“Bayaan na ninyo, Inay. Ibig nilang masunod ang ka-nilang kaugalian.” Pakiusap ni Sebastian sa ina.

“Parang binibili ka nila, anak. Sabi ko ay huwag kang mag-aasawa ng Instik. Tigas-ulo ka. Ngayon ay makikibagay ka sa kanil-ang kaugalian na taliwas sa kaugalian natin.”

Hindi na kinailangan ni Sebastian na magtrabaho pa bilang abogado. Pinakiu-sapan ng kanyang biyenan na tumulong na lamang sa pagpapatakbo ng lumalak-ing negosyo. Hinirang siyang “vice-president” at “general manager” ng kanilang “fam-ily corporation”. Kumita nang malaki si Sebastian at sila ni Natividad at ang mga naging supling nila ay nagkaroon ng masagana at masayang pamu-muhay.

“Naliligayahan ako, Sebas-tian, sa nangyayari sa iyong buhay. Isang matagumpay na komersyante ka na! Ang tigas ng ulo mo kasi. Sabi ko ay mag-aral ka ng commerce; ipinilit mo na mag-abogado.” Paalaala ng ina.

“Ngayon, anak, ay ituon mo sa negosyo ang lahat ng iyong nalalaman at lahat ng iyong panahon at lakas. Hu-wag mong bibiguin ang iyong asawa at biyenan. Tulungan mo silang mapalago ang ka-nilang kayaman,” dagdag pa

ng ina.Noong araw pa ay may

pusong-makabayan na si Se-bastian. Kaya siya nag-aral ng abogasya ay upang mairaos ang pagnanasa na matutuhan ang batas at ang “political sci-ence” – ang kaalaman tungkol sa pagpapatakbo ng gobyerno at sa pagsisilbi sa masa. May hangarin siya na magkaroon ng katungkulan sa pamaha-laan at nang siya ay maging instrumento sa pagpapabuti at pagpapaunlad ng bayan.

Naging masipag na kasapi siya ng Rotary – ang samahan ng mga babae at lalak-ing propesyonal at ng mga matatagumpay na negosyante na ang pakay ay ang makatu-long sa pagpapabuti ng lipu-nan. Hindi naglaon at hinimok siya ng mga kasamahan sa Rotary na tumakbo bilang “congressman” sa kanilang distrito.

Sumama ang loob ng kanyang biyenan sa pasiya ni Sebastian na kumandidato bilang “congressman”. “Paano ang hanap-buhay natin? Iiwan mo ang iyong katungkulan sa iyong pamilya upang kaharap-in ang katungkulan sa mga ta-ong hindi mo naman kakilala at hindi mo naman kadugo,” paghihinanakit ni Mr. Sy.

“Itay, lalo kong mapan-

gangalagaan at mapauunlad ang ating hanapbuhay kung may magagawa ako sa pagpa-paunlad ng trabaho, sa pagka-karoon ng higit na maayos at mapayapang lipunan, sa pag-tatatag ng higit na malusog na ekonomiya . . . Pangmalawa-kan ang aking pananaw, Itay,” paliwanag ni Sebastian sa biyenan.

Sabi naman ng kanyang ina, “Sebastian, matanda na ako. Matigas pa rin ang iyong ulo. Ano man ang sabihin ko sa iyo ay ang kabaligtaran ang iyong ginagawa, sinusunod mo ang ano mang ibigin mo. Wala akong sama ng loob sa iyo, anak. May mga pagpa-pasiya ka na maganda ang kinalalabasan. Ang mga payo ko ay alang-alang sa iyong kabutihan. Nguni’t ako ay tao lamang at kung minsan ay nagkakamali sa mga pay-ong ibinibigay. Kaya mo na ang magpatuloy na walang nagbibigay sa iyo ng payo. Matalino ka at busilak ang iyong puso. Sundin mo ang ibinubulong sa iyo ng iyong puso at ikaw’y magtatagump-ay. Tigas-ulo ka, anak, nguni’t iya’y katangian mo, aaminin ko sa iyo, na isang mabuti at kanais-nais na katangian. Pagpalain ka nawa ng Diyos, anak.”



Entertainment.” Marco Polo re-cently passed away due to cirrhosis, a chronic liver disease. He left a 2-year old son, John Steven Garcia and wife, Analie Delasan.

After 11 years of being wid-owed, Lucita decided to give love another try. Through friends, she met Michael Charles Mayr, a retired civil engineer. “It was an answered prayer,” said Lucita. “Pinagdasal ko talaga na sana born-again Christian din ang mapan-gasawa ko. The love developed during Bible study sessions that the two attended. Mayr is a widower. He’s a civil engineer whose three children are all engineers too. Fi-nally, Michael and Lucita got mar-ried in a Christian wedding, held at a Filipino restaurant in Rancho Cordova where the reception was also held. The wedding was offici-ated by Pastor Wally Magdangal.

The Pastor When Lucita was young, she

Lucita Soriano: The Pastor


recalls watching the “prusisyon” in Pateros. At that time, she asked herself, “Bakit ang dami-daming Dios? Sino ba talaga ang Dios?” Although she never really asked her mom about this, she continued to wonder who God really is. It was in 1980 when she got converted into being a “born again” Christian. From then on she vowed to herself to open her heart to God’s revela-tions through His holy Word. “O sige, pag-aaralan ko itong Bible, sabihin mo sa akin kung sino talaga ang Diyos? That’s the way Lucita talked to God. She read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Fi-nally God showed Lucita the truth. She studied the teachings of God. Unfortunately, Lucita could not enroll in a formal Biblical studies class because she was not a college graduate. When the “Kingsway Fellowship International” visited the Philippines, she attended the training in U.P. Lucita became a Pastor then, together with 70 others who attended the class.

After the training, they were asked if they wanted to attend the convention in Des Moines, Iowa. They were asked to prepare their passports and travel documents. “Aba, nag-pray agad ako sa Panginoon,” said Lucita. “Dum-

adapa ako tuwing 12 midnight at sabi ko Lord gusto kong makita ang America. Tulungan mo naman ako,” she added. Lucita prays at 12 midnight because it’s quiet and she believes God could hear prayers more clearly. The follow-ing day, she got a call from her son, Garry, from Texas who invited her to visit him. Lucita believes it was an answered prayer.

Lucita also worked as a fund-raiser representative of the Philip-pine Children’s Fund of America (“Building Better Lives and Stron-ger Communities”). It is a 17-year-old charity organization, which helps Amerasian children trace and reunite with their fathers, sustain the educational needs of Aeta children in the indigenous commu-nities, help build school buildings in different areas of the Philippines, operate feeding centers and sponsor the Lakbay Puso project which is said to be “a life-changing travel mission to the Philippines” for young Filipino-Americans which would enable them to know more about their roots and heritage.

Since 2000, she has been conducting Bible study sessions in Elk Grove, California. She man-aged to work for a church in the United States through the help of a Pastor friend in Pampanga, Pastor Bernard Cruz. When Pastor Cruz learned that she was leaving for the United States, she was invited to preach and in Sacramento, Califor-nia. Soon she became a born again Christian. It was a blessed time for Lucita, who preached for one month all over California.

Today

Lucita is now living a simple life by serving the community and preaching God’s word. She is happily retired from show business and now lives a quiet life with her husband, Michael Charles Mayr. “Ang bisyo ko ngayon ay ayusin ang bahay, maglinis ng bahay dahil hindi naman uso rito ang katulong,” said Lucita. “Nag-gagardening kaming magasawa and attending bible study and conducting also bible study class.”

Although Lucita is still beauti-ful and has kept herself slim (“Kasi ayaw na ayaw ni Boy na ako ay tumaba” she said), it is quite dif-ficult to reconcile the now simple woman with the once femme fatale of the Philippine cinema. Her ca-reer in the industry lasted for over five decades and she has delighted both moviegoers and TV soap opera lovers with her rare breed of talent.

Today, away from the scream-ing movie fans and klieg lights, Lucita is happy being a loving wife, mother and grandmother, a simple life that is only adorned by her love for God as she spreads His love by playing her new character - the faithful, Pastora Lucita.

WASHINGTON – The Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Asian American Jus-tice Center, Asian American Institute, and Asian Law Cau-cus -- members of the Asian American Center for Advanc-ing Justice -- along with other civil rights and civic engage-ment organizations, issued the following statement regarding the recently released reappor-tionment data:

The organizations listed below are civil rights and civic engagement organiza-tions that intend to have significant involvement in the state and local redistricting processes to be undertaken in 2011 and 2012. These organi-zations have a long history of collaboration and partnership, and in preparation for this redistricting cycle, they are meeting and consulting with one another and expect to continue to meet and consult

Civil Rights And Civic Engagement Organizations Issue Joint Statement

On Reapportionment DataFocus Should Not Be on Partisanship, But People

about our community educa-tion, advocacy, and litigation efforts in this area. These organizations believe that media and public reactions to the recently-released reappor-tionment data from the 2010 Census have focused inordi-nately and inappropriately on the expected partisan impacts of the geographic shift in seats in the United States House of Representatives and have overlooked the impact of the new numbers on communi-ties.

The following principles serve to refocus the discussion on the core considerations for analyzing reapportionment data:

1. Redistricting is a process that centers on people and groups of people, not po-litical parties. While parties seek to influence redistricting to their advantage, and map drawing involves politics and

affects political outcomes, it must focus first and foremost on communities of people.

2. It is therefore critical that communities of people understand redistrict-ing as a process that demands their attention and involve-ment; the process must not be ceded solely to partisan politi-cal interests. All communities must feel able and welcome to participate meaningfully in their state and local redistrict-ing processes.

3. Communities of color, in particular, have faced numerous obstacles to their meaningful participation in the political process, includ-ing the redistricting process. The federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) includes the protec-tion of these communities’ effective involvement in the political process. Therefore,


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ourselves who the Filipino re-ally is, before our young chil-dren believe all this negativity that they hear and read about the Filipino.

We have to protect and defend the Filipino in each one of us.

The August 23 hostage fi asco is now part of us as Filipinos, it being part now of our country’s and world’s history. But that is not all that there is to the Filipino. Yes, we accept it as a failure on our part, a disappointment to Hong Kong, China and to the whole world.

But there is so much more about the Filipino.

In 1945, at the end of World War II, Hitler and his Nazi had killed more than 6 million Jews in Europe. But in 1939, when the Jews and their families were fl eeing Europe at a time when several countries refused to open their doors to them, our Philippines did the highly risky and the

unlikely -thru President Man-uel L Quezon, we opened our country’s doors and our na-tion’s heart to the fl eeing and persecuted Jews. Eventually, some 1,200 Jews and their families made it to Manila. Last 21 June 2010, or 70 years later, the fi rst ever monument honoring Quezon and the Filipino nation for this “open door policy” was inaugurated on Israeli soil, at the 65-hect-are Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel.

The Filipino heart is one of history’s biggest, one of the world’s rare jewels, and one of humanity’s greatest trea-sures.

In 2007, Baldomero M. Ol-ivera, a Filipino, was chosen and awarded as the Scientist for the Year 2007 by Harvard University Foundation, for his work in neurotoxins which is produced by venomous cone snails commonly found in the tropical waters of Philippines. Olivera is a distinguished pro-fessor of biology at University of Utah, USA. The Scientist

The Filipino Today: Let Us All Rise As One People

for the Year 2007 award was given to him in recognition to his outstanding contribution to science, particularly to mo-lecular biology and ground-breaking work with conotox-ins. The research conducted by Olivera’s group became the basis for the production of commercial drug called Prialt (generic name – Ziconotide), which is considered more effective than morphine and does not result in addiction.

The Filipino mind is one of the world’s best, one of humanity’s great assets.

The Filipino is capable of greatness, of making great sacrifi ces for the greater good of the least of our people. Josette Biyo is an example of this. Biyo has masteral and doctoral degress from one of the top universities in the Philippines – the De La Salle University (Taft, Manila) – where she used to teach rich college students and was paid well for it. But Dr Biyo left all that and all the glamour of Manila, and chose to teach in a far-away public school in a rural area in the province, receiving the salary of less than US$ 300 a month. When asked why she did that, she

replied “but who will teach our children?” In recognition of the rarity of her kind, the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States honoured Dr Biyo a very rare honor – by naming a small and new-discovered planet in our galaxy as “Biyo”.

The Filipino is one of hu-manity’s best examples on the greatness of human spirit!

Efren Penafl orida was born to a father who worked as a tricycle driver and a mother who worked as laundry-woman. Through sheer deter-mination and the help of other people, Penafl orida fi nished college. In 1997, Penafl orida and his friends formed a group that made pushcarts (kariton) and loaded them with books, pens, crayons, blackboard, clothes, jugs of water, and a Philippine fl ag. Then he and his group would go to the public cemetery, market and garbage dump sites in Cavite City – to teach street children with reading, math, basic literacy skills and values, to save them from il-legal drugs and prevent them from joining gangs. Penafl or-ida and his group have been doing this for more than a decade. Last year, Penafl orida was chosen and awarded as CNN Hero for 2009.

Efren Penafl orida is one of the great human beings alive today. And he is a Filipino!

Nestor Suplico is yet another example of the Filipino’s nobility of spirit. Suplico was a taxi driver In New York. On 17 July 2004, Suplico drove 43 miles from

New York City to Con-necticut, USA to return the US$80,000 worth of jewelry (rare black pearls) to his pas-senger who forgot it at the back seat of his taxi. When his passenger offered to give him a reward, Suplico even refused the reward. He just asked to be reimbursed for his taxi fuel for his travel to Connecticut. At the time, Suplico was just earning $80 a day as a taxi driver. What do you call that? That’s honesty in its purest sense. That is decency most sublime. And it occurred in New York, the Big Apple City, where all kinds of snakes and sinners abound, and a place where – according to American novelist Sydney Sheldon – angels no longer descend. No wonder all New York newspapers called him “New York’s Most Hon-est Taxi Driver”. The New York City Government also held a ceremony to offi cially acknowledge his noble deed. The Philippine Senate passed a Resolution for giving honors to the Filipino people and our country.

In Singapore, Filipina Marites Perez-Galam, 33, a mother of four, found a wal-let in a public toilet near the restaurant where she works as the head waitress found a wallet containing 16,000 Singaporean dollars (US $11,000). Maritess immedi-ately handed the wallet to the restaurant manager of Impe-rial Herbal restaurant where she worked located in Vivo City Mall. The manager in turn reported the lost money to the mall’s management. It took the Indonesian woman less than two hours to claim her lost wallet intended for her son’s ear surgery that she and her husband saved for the medical treatment. Maritess refused the reward offered by the grateful owner and said it was the right thing to do.


Forces is: no plea bargain as far as corruption cases of of-fi cers are concerned… Discus-

Remember Garcia sons’ $2-M bail?


sions (have been held) and it’s not yet over.”

Roa was to meet yesterday with Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz. The Ombuds-man had failed to secure the AFP’s consent to the plead bargain as the offended party in the plunder.

Garcia was the highest military offi cer to be court-martialed for “conduct unbe-coming and prejudicial.” US authorities arrested his two sons in December 2003 at the San Francisco airport for sneaking $100,000 cash into America. Requesting return of the money months later, his wife Clarita justifi ed their ownership of the huge amount by detailing their graft. She said Garcia received “com-missions” and “gratuity” for signing military contracts and releasing payments as AFP comptroller. They also allegedly received $10,000-$20,000 “shopping money” from contractors and suppli-ers every time they traveled abroad. US authorities turned over to Philippine counter-parts her two sworn state-ments (see Gotcha, 22 and 27 Dec. 2010). Disclosure of the incident prompted congressio-nal inquiries on military cor-ruption. Garcia’s consequent arrest and trial by a civilian court was hailed as a victory in the fi ght against graft.

Washington at the time was implementing O-Plan PEP (Politically Exposed Persons). President George W. Bush wanted exposed all foreign of-fi cials who were stealing US military aid from their gov-ernments. Garcia reportedly was the third offi cer caught in the dragnet.

Garcia was comptroller under fi ve AFP chiefs of staff and one defense secretary from 2001 to 2004. Then-President Gloria Arroyo had a “revolving-door policy” in naming AFP chiefs. She appointed all senior offi cers in line, even if they would sit for less than three months and thus be unable to do much.

During the congressional hearings of 2004, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago revealed one of the comptroller’s dirti-est jobs. This was to raise P50 million “pabaon” (sendoff money) for the retirement of the chief.

redistricting in every state and locality must comply with the VRA. This imperative has nothing to do with partisan interests, and such interests must yield to VRA compli-ance.

4. Partisan affi lia-tion is not an immutable char-acteristic. Individual people and communities of people have changed and can change their party preferences. In ad-dition, over time, the behavior of parties and the growth and movement of particular com-munities of people can change the historical party preference of a state or other geographi-cal area.

5. Finally, because redistricting addresses popula-tion movement and commu-nity growth, even states that have lost congressional seats or maintained their current number of seats unchanged could see signifi cant changes in the composition of districts and the partisan affi liation of elected offi cials based on communities’ relative growth within a state.

These basic principles demonstrate the folly of focusing inordinately upon historical party preference, the current control of state legis-

Civil Rights And Civic Engagement Organizations Issue Joint Statement On

Reapportionment Data(Continued from page 22) latures, and the movement of

House seats between states and regions in analyzing and evaluating Census reappor-tionment data.

Organizations: Advance-ment Project, African Ameri-can Redistricting Collabora-tive of California (AARC), Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Democracia USA, Demos, Indian Legal Clinic, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State Univer-sity , LatinoJustice PRLDE, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), Mexican American Legal De-fense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (NAACP LDF), Nation-al Association for the Ad-vancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Associa-tion of Latino Elected and Ap-pointed Offi cials Educational Fund (NALEO Educational Fund), National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Na-tional Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative at Seattle University, School of Law*, One Voice, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), United States Hispanic Lead-

ership Institute (USHLI)William C. Velasquez

Institute (WCVI) * The refer-ence to Seattle University School of Law is for purposes of identifi cation and affi lia-tion only. The reference to Seattle University School of Law should not be construed to suggest or imply that the statements, viewpoints and arguments contained in this joint statement are sup-ported or endorsed by Seattle University and/or Seattle University School of Law. Seattle University and/or Seattle University School of Law have not authorized the inclusion of these statements, viewpoints and arguments in this joint statement, nor do they represent the statements, viewpoints and arguments of Seattle University and/or Seattle University School of Law.

The Asian American Cen-ter for Advancing Justice and its members -- the Asian Law Caucus, Asian American Jus-tice Center, Asian American Institute, and Asian Pacifi c American Legal Center -- strive to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacifi c Island-ers and other underserved communities.


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Tucked away in the back of Mesa Town Center, home of Seafood City in Mira Mesa, is an ever-popular but hidden gem of culinary de-lights. Happy Sushi, known for its fun atmosphere, great food, and affordable prices has been around for over five years serving California style sushi with a hint of island food. Happy Sushi has been recognized by Citysearch as the Best of Sushi 2009 as well as being nominated in the top 10 by the San Diego Union Tribune’s 2010 Best of Sushi category. The menu ranges

Happy Sushi iPad giveaway

from fresh sashimi, eclectic and creative rolls, to numer-ous hot dishes ranging from teriyaki chicken, sizzling rib eye steaks, ramen, to even a touch of the islands with their spam musubi, kalbi ribs and popular tempura banana ice cream. The menu is built to please everyone’s diverse ap-petites.

Happy Sushi is a Filipi-no-owned corporation that includes Maria “Tina” Ar-

rieta Balch and operated by her husband Tress Magbanua Balch. Happy Sushi is running a promotion for December through January 2011 that

offers chances of winning an Apple iPad. There are 3 ways to enter the drawing, you get 1 ticket for every $20 gift cer-tificate purchase, $30 dine-in or to-go (except Fridays) and $100 catering order. Contest will end 01-11-11 at close of business day (9:00pm). Look (or like the page) them up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/happysushisd for video result of winner.

Happy Sushi8973 Mira Mesa Blvd,San Diego, CA 92126Phone 858-536-3178www.happysushisd.comwww.facebook.com/hap-

pysushisd

LAS VEGAS and BASK-ING RIDGE, N.J. – The operator of the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States unveiled a suite of 10 consumer-oriented devices that will run on its 4G LTE network by the middle of this year.

At a news conference at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today, Verizon Wireless announced a suite of 10 forthcoming 4G LTE de-vices – including smartphones from HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; tablets from Mo-torola and Samsung; a MiFi from Novatel Wireless and

Verizon Wireless Unveils Suite Of 4g Lte Smartphones, Tablets, A Mifi, Hotspot And Notebooks

World’s First Large-Scale 4G LTE Wireless Network Ex-pands to More Than 140 Additional U.S. Markets in 2011

a mobile hotspot from Sam-sung; and two notebooks from HP – which will transform the wireless experience and offer consumers new ways to con-nect and share their lives at blazingly fast speeds. Verizon expects these consumer-ori-ented devices to be available by mid-2011, with some avail-able as early as March 2011.

The company also an-nounced it is expanding its 4G LTE network to an additional 140 markets by the end of this year.

Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, said, “Today, we’re unveiling the

next evolution of 4G LTE for consumers. During this three-year journey, from acquiring spectrum to launch, we not only transformed our network, but also our business by engaging in a strategy of collaboration and openness, while driving partnerships that will make 4G LTE successful across the globe. The result is true magic – the sum of a powerful network, applica-tions, software systems and devices that bring 4G LTE to life.”

Marni Walden, vice presi-dent and chief marketing of-ficer of Verizon Wireless, said, “For consumers, our 4G LTE network isn’t about simply doing things faster. It’s about doing things we couldn’t do before. In the consumer electronics arena, it’s not just about devices. It’s about those powerful devices with deeply integrated applications and how our 4G LTE network truly transforms the wireless experience with rich multi-media and real-time response intervals.”

4G LTE devices avail-able from Verizon Wireless by the middle of 2011 include:

Smartphones• HTC ThunderBolt (ex-

clusive to Verizon Wireless) • LG Revolution • DROID Bionic 4G • Samsung Inspira-

tion™, a Galaxy S™ Smart-phone

Tablets• Motorola XOOM • 4G LTE-enabled Sam-

sung Galaxy Tab™ MiFi and Mobile Hotspot• Novatel MiFi® 4510L

Intelligent Mobile Hotspot • Samsung 4G LTE Mo-

bile Hotspot Notebooks• Compaq CQ10-688nr • HP Pavilion dm1-

3010nr

Verizon Wireless also introduced new applications that are being fully integrated

into the new smartphones and run seamlessly over the 4G LTE network. An upgraded version of Skype mobile takes advantage of video capa-bilities enabled by 4G LTE’s incredible speed, allowing us-ers to see and hear friends and family when making or re-ceiving Skype-to-Skype video calls. EA’s ROCK BAND leverages the high-speed, low-latency 4G LTE network to provide the next generation of multiplayer gaming. At launch, this will be the first time the game can be played with friends over the mobile network, which means con-sumers can rock out with their friends like never before with 20 favorite hits – while on the go.

Since its launch 32 days ago, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network has provided laptop users with speeds up to 10 times faster than the com-pany’s 3G network. In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, laptop users experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

Tony Melone, execu-tive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon, said, “We will aggressively continue launching 4G LTE markets over the next 36 months. We’ll cover two-thirds of the U.S. population in the next 18 months, and by the end of 2013 we’ll offer our 4G LTE network from coast to coast – everywhere that we offer 3G today. In order to get there, we’ll add more than 140 markets in 2011, includ-ing Detroit, Raleigh-Durham, Memphis, Milwaukee, Ho-nolulu, Boise, Mobile, Little Rock, Sioux Falls and Salt Lake City.”

Since 2007, when Verizon Wireless jump-started the global 4G LTE ecosystem with its selection of LTE for its 4G technology, the compa-ny has developed deep part-

nerships to spearhead a broad LTE ecosystem, including the LTE Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass., and an LTE Applications Center, soon to open in the San Francisco area.

Melone concluded, “2011 will be a gang buster year, especially as we combine our growing 4G LTE network with our amazing lineup of

4G devices and applications that take advantage of high speed and low latency.”

For more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, visit www.veri-zonwireless.com/lte. To see a replay of the Verizon 4G LTE News Conference webcast from CES 2011, visit http://www.verizonwebcasts.com/ces/2011/news.

Documents

Asian Journal Jan 7, 2011 Edition