asian journal jan 09.2009

(Continued on page 14)

FILIPINO AND CULTURE: Is language that important in our efforts to build an ethnic identity?



By Des Ferriols January 07, 2009

Philstar

London-based Fitch Rat-ings has maintained its stable outlook for the Philippines, saying the country is “rea-sonably healthy” despite the tumult in the global economy.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi-nas Governor Amando Tet-angco said the outlook indi-cated Fitch’s confidence in the Philippines’ ability to weather the global slowdown or even recession in the country’s major trading partners.

A stable outlook means that the Philippines stays at its current credit ratings until the next Fitch review.

In a television interview, Fitch managing director James McCormack said the Philippines, China and Indo-nesia are the only countries that are not in Fitch Ratings’ negative watch.

Speaking at the weekly

Fitch Ratings retains ‘stable’ outlook for RP

Eastwood farewell to 2008 - People watch as fireworks mark the end of 2008 at Eastwood, Quezon City last New Year’s Eve. PhilStar photo by FERNAN NEBRES

A man, covered with firecracker powder, works in a firecracker factory in Bocaue, Bulacan. Authori-ties are discouraging people from using firecrackers during New Year celebrations because of possible accidents that can result in serious injuries, destruc-tion of property and even death. PhilStar photo by ERNIE PEÑAREDONDO

ROSES & THORNS

By Alejandro R. Roces

January 06, 2009

Philstar

In a Tao-ist text dat-ing from the mid-800s the discovery of gunpowder was detailed: “Some have heated together sulfur, realgar and saltpeter with honey; smoke and flames result,

Gunpowder and the New Year

so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned

down.” Interestingly, the Taoist monks who discov-ered gunpowder were actu-

By Mayen Jaymalin Philstar

Two more tourist spots in the country have been includ-ed in the list of the world’s best travel destinations.

The Department of Tour-ism (DOT) yesterday reported that scuba diving experts have included Malapascua and Apo

Willie Revillame got the biggest thrill in his hosting life when US Ambas-sador to the Philip-pines Kristie Ken-ney dropped by as ‘special guest’ of the ABS-CBN noontime show Wowowee.

‘She arrived one hour before show-

Willie’s ‘shining moment’ in Wowowee

time,’ Willie told Funfare, ‘and she told me that her staff at the US Embassy are avid followers of my show,’ just like Filipinos abroad tuned in to TFC (The Filipino Channel).

‘The ambassador was very gracious,’ added Willie who gamely requested her to swing and sway to the show’s theme song.

She obliged with pleasure, much to the amusement of Willie and his co-hosts (among them Pokwang, in white). ‘She had a lot of fun,” said Willie, addressing Ambassador Kenney, ‘Thank you, Ma’am, for dropping by.’ - PhilStar.

Snapshot of Philippine Life

Hundreds of cops to be deployed for Black Nazarene festivities -The Feast of the Black Nazarene is celebrated today, January 9 at the Quiapo District in Manila, Philippines. Photo shows devotees of the Black Naza-rene from different parts of Metro Manila brought their replicas of the ven-erated image during the procession . PhilStar photo by Jonjon Vicencio Candice Y. Cerezo

I will never forget Edward Fabish; he made me rich.

I never thought things would turn out this way. Eight

years ago, I was working as a stenographer at the Manila

Prosecutors’ Office in City Hall.

When I left my job, my bosses –all prosecutors,

my colleagues, and fellow stenographers never thought

I would take the job of a caregiver. They said I was not the type. An officemate warned me not to take the

job of caring for the elderly because I might become

intellectually obtuse. They learned three years after I

set foot in the United States of America that I became a

millionaire.

See page 8

Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers Stories:

Caregiver, millionaire

By Ashley SilverioManaging EditorThe San Diego Asian Journal

Murdered with sev-enty members of his parish during wartime, Father Francisco is not yet a saint. Still, many speak of his miracles, including Rose and Ben Hinahon, the owners of Hong Kong Boutique. The Hi-nahons want to share their personal testimo-nials about how Father Francisco has touched their lives.

See page 2

Father Francisco Truong Buu DiepDevotees spread the word on miracles

attributed to martyred Vietnamese priest, praying for his eventual sainthood

2 more RP sites among 100 top

dive spots

Father Francisco Truong Buu Diep devoteesBen and Rose Hinahon and their friend Francis Rivera Burga pose

infront of Father Francisco’s shrine inside the Hinahon’s Hong Kong Boutique in National City. Members of the public are invited to get prayer materials for free at Hong Kong Boutique’s store in asking petitions through the intercession of martyred Vietnamese priest.

January 9 - 15, 2009

Msgr. Gutierrez EntertainmentMartin & Pops:

You can never tellIdentity Defines

Mission

Riz A. Oades

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

The San Diego Asian Journal

If there is a person that can aptly be called “the son of a bitch”, which in Pilipino, is synonymous to the phrase,

“the son of a whore” (“anak ng puta”), it would be

Tikboy. Tikboy was one of Eric’s playmates on Platerias Street where Eric lived with

his family on the second floor of his father’s printing

business in the Quiapo, Manila, Philippines in 1957. Eric was ten years old then.

See page 5

Quiapo Memories

Tikboy

Quiapo street scenes

January 9 - 15, 2009Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

The store shelves of Hong Kong Bou-tique are replete with

images of prosperity and spiritual significance: Jesus Christ, Buddha, El Santo Niño, and the lucky cat. But tucked among these recognizable figures is the small portrait of an Asian priest, with a gentle, steady look. He is Father Fran-

Father Francisco Truong Buu DiepDevotees spread the word on

miracles attributed to martyred Vietnamese priest, praying for his

eventual sainthood

by Ashley Silverio

On the moveRead Ashley Silverio’s previous articles by visit-

ing our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

cisco Truong Buu Diep, a Vietnamese Catholic martyr of growing renown.

Murdered with seventy members of his parish dur-ing wartime, Father Francisco is not yet a saint. Still, many speak of his miracles, includ-ing Rose and Ben Hinahon, the owners of Hong Kong Bou-tique. The Hinahons want to share their personal testimoni-als about how Father Francisco

has touched their lives. Free information cards about the life and miracles of Father Francisco are now available at Hong Kong Boutique, next to Seafood City in National City.

Father Francois Xavier Truong Buu Diep was born on January 1, 1897 in Vietnam. His mother died when he was still a child and he traveled with his father to Cambodia. As a young adult, he entered the seminary and then estab-

lished parishes throughout Viet-nam and Cambodia. In 1945, war broke out in Vietnam and he was advised by a superior to leave his parish for a safer loca-tion. Father Francisco refused, saying, “I will live with the flock and if necessary, I will die with them.” The follow-ing year on March 12th, Father Francisco and seventy of his parishioners were captured and killed.

Ten years ago

Ben and Rose Hinahon first went to Father Francisco’s shrine ten years ago in Ca Mau, located on the southern tip of Vietnam. Ben is from Olongapo City in the Philippines while his wife, Rose is from Vietnam. The couple met and fell in love in Vietnam when Rose was in her early twenties. Ben was a contract worker there at that time. After they got married, they settled in Olongapo City where they raised their four daughters. Rose speaks fluent Tagalog and is often mistaken for a Filipina. In fact, she has spent more time in the Philip-pines than in her native Viet-nam. They later migrated to San Diego, California and put up their Hong Kong Boutique business.

Traveling by car and by boat for hours, the couple was sur-prised when they first arrived at the shrine. Father Francisco’s remains were housed in an old, two story building with a non-descript façade, befitting an office building rather than a holy place. There were no

restrooms. Still, thousands of pilgrims came from all over Vietnam, after hearing of the miraculous healing of fellow visitors.

Rose prayed to Father Fran-cisco at Ca Mau. Moved by the humble surroundings, she promised to return and help re-store his final resting place. In return, she asked for guidance and miracles.

Ten years later

Ten years passed. Ben and Rose dedicated long hours to their business in National City. Their family grew through weddings and births. But then, difficult times set in. Preoc-cupied about the future, Rose prayed to Father Francisco at the altar dedicated to him in her home. She reiterated her promise to return to Vietnam and asked him to show her how to overcome her troubles.

At one point, she was at a dead end. She was encounter-ing several problems that she could think of no other solu-

Father Francisco Truong Buu Diego, a martyred priest from Vietnam, has been gaining a lot of devotees because of the miracles attributed to him. Many people claim that their petitions have been granted when they prayed for him to intercede in their behalf in seeking God’s favors. These devotees are now telling people about Father Francisco’s miracles and martyr-dom. They hope that more miracles by him may occur that would result to his eventual sainthood. If you want to seek God’s favor, please pray the following. If your favor has been granted, please let us know. Thank you.

PrayerDear Lord, Dear FatherYou are the greatest saint within.

The all-powerful savior. Please hear my prayers and help me overcome the hardships that I now endure.

(Please say hardships or peti-tions)

Thank you, Lord.

Biography of Father Francisco Truong Buu Diep

Father Francisco Truong Buu Diep was born on January 1, 1897 and was baptized on February 2, 1897 at Con-Phuoc Parish, An Gi-ang Province in Vietnam. In 1904, when he was seven years old, his mother passed away. He followed his father to Bactantang, Cambodia. In 1909, he entered Cu Lao Gieng Seminary then the Phnompen Seminary in Cambodia. In 1924, he was ordained into priesthood in Phonmpen, Cambodia. From 1924 to 1927, he was a reverend of Ho-Tru Parish, a Vietnamese mission in Kandal, Cambodia. He taught at the seminary in Cu-Lao-Gieng from 1927 to 1929. In March 1930, he became the pastor of Sac-Tay- Par-ish. Father Diep helped establish other parishes including Ba-Doc, Cam-Do, An-Hai, Chi-Chi, Khuc Treo, Ding-Go and Rach-Ran.

Between 1945 and 1946, the war years, havoc and disarray forced people to evacuate to safer areas. Father Diep’s superior had ordered him to evacuate and only return when thing settled. But he refused and said: “I will live with the flock and if necessary will die with them. I shall not abandon them.”

On March 12, 1946, he was cap-tured along with 70 parishioners of Tac-Say and imprisoned. He fought and died in place for the people that were imprisoned together with him.

He was buried in a catacomb of the Khuc-Treo Church. In 1969, his remains were moved to the Tao-Sau Church. He served 16 yeas as pastor.

“A good Shepherd sacrificed his life for the flock,” Father Francisco Truong Buu Diep had indeed fol-lowed the word of the Lord, He had offered his life to God and sacrificed for his flock.

When his tormentors were about to kill all of them, he offered his life and asked his captors to let his flock go. He was beheaded and his body was thrown away in an undis-closed area.

Some of the miracles people be-lieve he had performed are:

1) He was believed to have led people to the discovery of his body.

2) When people did not have the construction materials to build a proper shrine for him, constructions materials were delivered, allegedly ordered and paid for a person bear-ing Father Francisco’s image.

Thousands of people troop to his shrine on March 12 to pray for and ask him to intercede in their behalf in seeking God’s favors.

If you want more information or help spread the word on Father Francisco, please call Rose Hina-hon of Hongkong Boutique beside Seafood City in National City at telephone number (619) 336-2456.

Send your petitions to God through Father Francisco Truong Buu Diejo

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Rose Hinahon in front of her shrine for Father Francisco inside her Hong Kong Boutique store beside Seafood City in National City.

Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comJanuary 9 - 15, 2009

Vendors of noisemakers in Divisoria, Manila try out their wares to entice buyers. PhilStar photo by JONJON VICENCIO

ROSES & THORNS By Alejandro R. Roces

Tomorrow, December 28, is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Many of us may well know that this day is especially dedicated to honor the memory of the innocent children killed because of Herod’s fear about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As narrated in the Holy Bible, Herod, the King of Judea, got alarmed at the prospect of the “new born king” taking over his rule, so he ordered the massacre of all boys, two years old and below, in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Since the sixth century, the Church has venerated the memory of these children killed because they gave testimony to the Messiah “not by words but by their blood”. These children were the first martyrs and they literally died in the place of Christ.

Today, it is the street children who represent the Holy Innocents of our times. It is saddening to know that even with this so-called “progress and development”, children continue to

The Holy Innocents

of our timesbecome victims of poverty, violence and abuse, albeit in many different forms. There are approximately over 100 million street children worldwide. Here in the Philippines, street chil-dren are fast becoming a significant problem. We do not have the latest statistics, but according to a 1998 report, there were already an estimat-ed 1.5 million street children at that time. According to the Department

of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), this number increases by 6,365 annually. Everyday, these chil-dren are faced with numerous kinds of cruelty and exploitation. Their parents push them at a young age to help earn income for the family. It is not

surprising therefore that, aside from, or among the streetchildren, there are reportedly 20,000 child prostitutes, 4 million child laborers with 2.4 million working under hazardous conditions. As if this is not enough, we learn of children being kidnapped or even sold by their impoverished parents and their organs extracted and sold in illegal markets abroad. In the south, minors are being recruited and trained as soldiers by communist and extrem-ist groups.

For this reason, we have long advocated that the Feast of the Holy Innocents be officially dedicated to the street children and other disadvan-taged youth. We are happy to note that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has breathed life to this advocacy. On December 28, 2006, Malaca-ñang released Proclamation No. 1207, officially declaring December 28 as a “Special Day dedicated to street children and other abandoned, orphaned, abused and marginalized youth”. What’s important, however, is how the occasion is celebrated. Last year, to commemorate the occasion’s first year, some government agen-cies launched different programs geared towards making possible “a convergence of cooperativism and synergized cultural initiatives for vulnerable groups”. The proclama-tion further stated that “focusing on their needs, conditions and celebrat-ing their capacity to social transfor-mation and achievement would be inspiring to forge broader community

and national support for advancing their welfare”. We commend the efforts of certain government agen-cies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor (DOLE) and non-government organizations like the Council for the Welfare of Children, Bantay Bata Foundation, the Virla-nie Foundation and the Don Bosco Streetchildren Program, to name a few, in monitoring the plight of these young victims and giving them protection and help. But because the statistics are increasing, these ongoing efforts seem inadequate to completely remove the children from the streets, hazardous working circumstances, from exploitation, abuse and violence.

We hope that with the initiative shown by these groups, more orga-nizations and local government units will follow suit and launch their own programs that will further the cause of these street children. We, in our own individual capacities and resources, can also help contribute in helping one or two or more street children become more responsible and proud members of society. Like the Holy Innocents who proved the Messiah’s existence with their lives, this time, let us give testimony to His existence in our hearts by doing everything we can to help these poor children.


Tuesday Club breakfast forum at the EDSA Shangri-La yester-day, Tetangco said Fitch’s action reaffi rmed the view of monetary offi cials that the country’s external position is strong enough to but-tress the economy even amid the global slowdown.

“The Philippines is still reason-ably healthy. Public fi nance is well-managed in the last couple of years,” McCormack said.

McCormack said weaker growth in the region was not necessarily negative from a sovereign credi-tor’s perspective.

China, according to McCormack, was still exceptionally well based on its “extremely high” foreign exchange reserves.

The Philippines’ reserves may not be as big as China’s but its external position is strong.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the country’s reserves stood at $36.2 billion as of November 2008 and Tetangco said authorities expect a further buildup this year.

Tetangco said that even with the anticipated slowdown in foreign short-term investments as well as in exports and remittances, the coun-try’s external position would be robust because remittances would still come in and some export sec-tors might even benefi t from the global slowdown, particularly busi-ness process outsourcing.

“I think in case of the Philippines, it’s been largely left aside in terms of what’s going on in international capital markets; and it still benefi ts from reasonably strong remittance fl ows,” McCormack said.

Remittances would probably suffer but McCormack said the country would remain reasonably healthy.

“Public fi nance is well-managed in the Philippines in last couple of years,” he said. “We don’t think it’s sustainable in the medium term but I think the recent record has been quite good so the Philippines looks okay.”

According to Tetangco, Fitch’s action has validated the BSP’s view that the country’s external position is resilient and healthy. He said the Fitch outlook would boost inves-tor confi dence amid the panic that struck the markets last year.

Tetangco said the country has enough foreign exchange buffers

Fitch Ratings retains ‘stable’ outlook for RP

(Continued from page 1)

despite portfolio outfl ows because of the adequate reserves built up by the BSP in response to the expected slowdown in investments and ex-ports in 2009.

“It is diffi cult to predict the extent risk appetite will retreat from the market,” Tetangco said. “But as I said, our reserves continue to be at comfortable levels. We also have buffers to slowing, even reversing, portfolio fl ows.”

After its mid-year review last year, Fitch Ratings affi rmed the country’s credit ratings, keeping its outlook at “stable” on expectations that external debt ratios would be kept afl oat by infl ows from over-seas Filipinos.

Fitch currently rated the Philip-pines’ long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BB’. Likewise, Fitch said the country’s long-term local currency IDR would be kept at ‘BB+’, while

short-term foreign currency IDR would stay at ‘B’ and the country ceiling at ‘BB+’.

Fitch said the country’s “rela-tively strong” external fi nancial position continued to support its current sovereign credit ratings, boosted largely by robust infl ows from overseas workers.

However, Fitch said it still con-siders the country’s public fi nances fundamentally weak and that sig-nifi cant improvements in revenue base would have to be made to make the Philippines at par with similarly-rated countries.

“Ongoing current account sur-pluses, driven largely by overseas workers’ remittances, are contrib-uting to a steady reduction in the country’s external debt ratios, and have allowed for a signifi cant in-crease in offi cial foreign exchange reserves,” said Fitch in its June 2008 report.

by G. Tagudin - Silverio

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

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My adversary beats me to the punch each time. He is

one click ahead amassing deals and cornering the market for broker price opinions in the low income neighborhoods that have become one of the worst hit areas in the aftermath of the subprime debacle.

His weapon of choice comes in a small form factor. The harm-less but lethal business weapon is a cell phone which has morphed into a data-rich, internet-centric handheld computer. It is known by an alias, a “smart phone.” By the time the text message arrives on my own phone alerting me to the opportunity, he has already linked back to the site where all broker price opportu-nities reside and clicked on “accept”. The act blocks all other real estate brokers, agents and apprais-ers out of the game.

It is the nth time this wizard of tech toys has beat everyone else to the deal. In my mind, he is probably one of the kids who has honed his skills on Nintendo, Wii and Xbox, and has now taken his warrior craft into the next level by scoring deals which come at the defl ationary price of fi fty to eight fi ve dollars a pop. I imag-ine the smart phone is probably a holiday gift from a relative who wants him out of the house. But that is, of course, sour grapes. The kid is good. The worthy

Street fi ghteradversary has scored fi ve out of fi ve of the last seven deals that my cell phone says has come my way.

It gets better each time. On the last deal, his tracks were still fresh four minutes after the text was sent. I turned around to log onto my computer only to fi nd that it happened again. Five times fi fty bucks is $250 dol-lars, which is equivalent to two months of data service on my phone network. He has covered his overhead for two months.

It is the question I have asked myself before: So what good can

come out of video games?The answer comes after

the years of wondering as a parent what will

become of chil-dren who spend too much time on video games.

The answer that has eluded me has overtaken most con-ventional business strategies

in a way that only a kid who has practiced on video games know how. And that is prob-

ably what makes it exciting to this kid: its feels just like

a video game where money, not magic swords or fl ying

capes, endow the user with power. Because the spate of wins has happened in the last few weeks, I can only surmise that it was done with an iPhone, not a Blackberry, which has been on the market for some time. Own-ers of Blackberry phones are too high in the income bracket to worry about miniscule deals in the fi rst place.

Indeed as a whole our children have grown up and they are us-ing a different tack to reach the same goal.

Its a whole new world. The trend is not unique to America. The move towards “smart phones” that can access the internet refl ects the rising pervasiveness of these wireless handheld devices over traditional computers even in emerging countries according to a report by the Editors Weblog although it does back up the claim with hard numbers. It reports, “Mo-bile phones are the primary way of accessing the Internet for people in “emerging markets,” or those with poor fi xed-line telecommunications, mobile technology companies are re-porting. Improvements in mobile technology have made it easier and quicker to go online via cell phones. The cost can also be cheaper than buying a computer or paying for home Internet service.” Tell that to the wire-less companies that went under a decade ago because the bets were made too soon. But here we are. People are actually check-ing emails, texting, watching the news, and taking videos on their smart phones.

The business paradigm of the Mac and the PC battling it out on the streets has come to my neighborhood. This time the smart phone is taking it out on the computer.

Although I have lost to another whiz kid, I feel good that some-how, on a day like today, my own children will fi nd a way to see opportunities that my peers, who neither know what but-tons to push on a game box or a TiVo console, will invariably miss. After all, this generation has already made history us-ing technology and grassroots democracy to elect Obama.

And it a cause for cautious optimism. Craigslist founder Craig Newmark sees technology and teamwork as the spark that will lead to the recovery. But the road ahead is dark and long. The upside is the challenge to rebuild the country may yet turn our sons and daughters into the next greatest generation according to Newmark.

I may not be able to run the race but I can still cheer on a new generation with a great shout out of “Go get ‘em!”


Happy New Year to all!!!

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Third in a series of articles

If there is a person that can aptly be called “the son of a bitch”, which

in Pilipino, is synonymous to the phrase, “the son of a whore” (“anak ng puta”), it would be Tikboy. Tikboy was one of Eric’s playmates on Platerias Street where Eric lived with his family on the second floor of his father’s printing business in the Quiapo, Manila, Philip-pines in 1957. Eric was ten years old then.

Tikboy’s mother, Purita, worked as a prostitute in a brothel across the street from Eric’s house. The prostitution den had been in operation since before anyone could remember, presumably because the authori-ties were on the take. Purita, a matronly type woman with a voluptuous body, moved in to a one room on the second floor of a building beside the whore-house with her ten-year-old son, Tikboy, and seven-year-old daughter, Ana, during the sum-mer of 1957. She was a classic beauty with Indian features: dark long hair; deep black eyes; sharp nose; pouty lips; and prominent cheekbones. She may have been heavy-set, but her body was curvaceous, with large breasts and a small waist. Eric never knew whether she was a widow or separated from her husband.

One morning, Eric played a card game called “teks” with Tikboy. A teks is a two inch by three inch card that has a comic strip drawings and dialogue baloon. Each frame has a num-ber printed on the upper right hand corner. Placing the frames in sequence, one can read the complete story. There are three ways to play the game. One can play the game “lucky nine” with it. Another game variation is played by shuffling the cards, and putting two cards down.The one who chooses the card with the higher number wins the bet. For the final game two players choose their respective cards. The cards are placed on top of a closed fist, and when one flips up his end finger, the cards are tossed up in the air. Whichever card falls face up on the ground wins the bet.

Tikboy and Eric started with 100 cards each. During the first game, Eric was able to win over all of Tikboy’s cards. But then, Tikboy wanted to play once more and get his cards back, plus Eric’s. Tikboy bought back his one hundred cards for one peso and they played again. But Tikboy lost the second game again. Still, Tikboy wanted to play and win back his cards on the third try.

“I will pay you tomorrow,” he pleaded, “just give me back my cards and let us play again.”

But Eric refused, knowing that it would be hard to collect from him. Tikboy then grabbed Eric’s hand. He was afraid Eric would go home and end their game.

“Come on, let us go to my mom and I will ask for money,” Tikboy urged.

The dark, three foot wide alleyway leading to the prostitu-tion den inside was a foreign place to Eric and his family. No one among his family mem-bers had seen the inside. All they could do was look at it from across the street. Tikboy dragged him inside a room with a light at the end of the tunnel. Eric smelled the strong scent of alcohol permeating the room,

which had a small reception area and six cubicles, across from each other. One of the prostitutes, Juanita, was sitting on a chair, talking to a customer. Outside one of the cubicles, Tikboy shouted: “Nanay, nanay, penging piso (Mother, mother, give me one peso)!”

There was no response.Tikboy shouted again: “Nanay,

nanay, penging piso!”His mother who was inside a

curtain-covered cubicle shouted back.

“Putang nang bata ka, huwag mo akong istorbohin (You son of a whore, don’t disturb me).”

But Tikboy ignored her response and shouted again: “Nanay, nanay, penging piso.”

When his mother did not respond, Tikboy shouted once more like a broken record: “Nanay, nanay, penging piso!”

It seemed that he was black-mailing his mother, taking advantage of her helpless and compromising situation.

When she realized that her son would not stop, Tikboy’s mother told somebody inside the cubicle: “Abutan mo nga ng piso ang anak ko, para huwag tayong istorbohin (Give one peso to my son so that he won’t disturb us)”.

Slowly, a hand holding a peso came out from a side opening of the curtain. Tikboy grabbed the money and ran out of the whorehouse and into the street. Eric followed him. Tikboy bought one peso worth of cards from Eric and they played the game of teks once more. This time, Eric lost, prompting him to buy back 100 cards with the money Tikboy paid him. When Eric lost four consecutive times, Tikboy was able to get back all the four pesos that he paid his playmate. It was Eric’s turn to look for money to buy back his cards so that he could continue the game, and if lucky, recover all the money. He went inside

their printing press and saw his 20-year-old cousin Lita, who was working as his father’s re-ceptionist, with her hand resting on the desk and her face on her hand as she dozed off. Slowly, he opened her side drawer and picked up a five peso bill inside a box where he knew the cash receipts for the day were placed. His Ka Lita would get mad at him once she discovered that the money was missing, but he would tell his father beforehand and promise that he would work for the money by doing some bindery work in the printing press. If he won his money back from Tikboy, he would just re-turn it. In the end, after winning two games, he ended up losing all his money to Tikboy.

Tikboy, his mother and his sis-ter moved out of the neighbor-hood by the end of summer. Eric always wondered if Tikboy’s father returned and took care of the family, or a rich customer

had married Purita and shoul-dered the paternal responsibility. The thought of Tikboy’s mother transferring to another prostitu-tion den never crossed Eric’s mind, because he would like to believe that their move was for the better.

In their young, innocent minds, the fact that one boy was the son of a whore did not mat-ter. Unlike adults, kids do not pass judgement on others. Just like Jesus Christ who asked “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” on a woman sinner, all Eric knew was that Tikboy’s prostitute mother was just like

his own, or any other mother. She simply didn’t want her children to get hungry. While her choice of “the world’s oldest profession” may not absolve her from sin, the matter was between her and her Creator, and was not his concern. But his memories of the summer of 1957 make him realize that he should be careful uttering the expression, “son of a whore”, because other people, like his playmate Tikboy, simply could not help the fact. Their moth-ers just wanted to survive and maybe provide their children their place in the sun. – AJ

One of the streets of Quiapo

Our Life and Times

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

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

Quiapo Memories

Tikboy


Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

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

In Pursuit of Excellence

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

Read Miles Beauchamp’s previous articles by visiting our web-site at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Miles Beauchamp

by Riz A. Oades

Voices & Images

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

The holidays are now past, the lights and decorations are put away, and the house bulges

with more stuff than it was ever designed to hold. You’re tearing up each time you wonder what to do with it all and how to store it. Not to worry, today’s column is designed to answer all those horrendous ques-tions.

This is about a store and as many of you may know, that doesn’t happen very often. This is about The Container Store. I absolutely, positively, love this place. This is the store that carries all the things you need to store all the things you buy at every other store on earth.

The Container StoreA store that helps get your life in order

Or so it seems. Have you ever been to The Con-

tainer Store? If not, you don’t know what you’re missing. And yes, I know, it’s a bit strange to be excited about a store – particularly a store that sells containers. But this is much more than that; this is a store that helps you get your life in order. Now as good as Nordstrom’s may be, can they do that?

A short history

“In 1978, co-founders Kip Tindell (CEO and president) and Garrett Boone (Chairman) with Dallas architect John Mullen, decided to

open a store devoted to helping people streamline and simplify their lives by offering an exceptional mix of storage and organization products. As the two embarked on a quest to launch this new retail concept, the fi rst challenge was to fi nd products to sell. They often had to persuade commercially oriented manufacturers to supply them with retail products. And those com-mercial products were precisely in line with Kip and Garrett’s original concept - to sell multifunctional products that would save custom-ers space, and ultimately, save them time.”

“Today, more than 26 years later, and with locations coast to coast, our stores range in size from 22,000 to 29,000 square feet and show-case more than 10,000 innovative products. The store layout is divided into lifestyle sections marked with brightly colored banners such as Closet, Kitchen, Offi ce and Laun-dry. Wherever you look in the store, there’s always someone in a blue apron who is ready to help solve ev-erything from the tiniest of storage problems to the most intimidating organizational challenges. Custom-ers receive unparalleled service, along with fresh ideas and a very interactive shopping experience.”

An idea whose time had come

A lot of places sold boxes, a lot of places sold plastic boxes, and a lot of places sold plastic kitchen containers. But no place sold all of those things – plus thousands more – all under the same roof. If ever there was a time and place that needed a store like the Container Store it was the United States in the late seventies and it’s still true today.

We are a nation populated by people who have more things than we can adequately store. We have always needed help in getting orga-nized – now we have that help.

One of the greatest things about the store – besides their products – is the fact that they can take the place of so many other stores. For instance, you no longer need to shop for containers at Home Depot, Offi ce Depot, the grocery store, the drug store, Wal-Mart, or any one of hundreds of other stores that sell various kinds of containers. Those are all great stores with excel-lent products, but when you need specifi c types of containers, The Container Store carries them all.

It’s not about boxes

Yes, The Container Store carries hundreds of various kinds of “box-es” but the store isn’t simply that. For instance, I was trying to fi nd a pots and pans rack for the kitchen ceiling. Off and on I would look in stores, on the web, in magazines. I never found exactly what I wanted. So one afternoon I picked up the phone and called The Container Store. I asked, they checked, they had exactly what I had been looking for. And it was in stock, the price was good, and it was easy to install. That rack is now suspended from my ceiling, holding the pans, look-ing great. Hey, sometimes it doesn’t have to take a lot to make us happy.

The Container Store has loca-tions coast-to-coast, online at www.containerstore.com, and more are on the way. Speaking of shopping on-line, their web site is excellent. It’s easy to navigate; everything is laid out intelligently, and can be used not only to shop, but also to plan. For instance, the site has “Plan a Space”, “Organize a Project”, and one that’s been needed for decades, “Organize Your Dorm” sections that can help you short cut your way around and save time. But you may not want to save time – if you breeze your way too quickly through the site you may miss something incredible. Or even better, something incredible that’s on sale.

That same thing holds true – only much more so – for the stores. This is a store you can really browse in; fi nd things you didn’t know you needed, or didn’t know existed. And now that you see it you realize how much better your life will be with it. That’s how I am every time I go in the place.

Right now, in addition to the rack and a lot of other containers in the kitchen, a great deal of my garage is stored in various ways in The Container Store products.

Here’s a fi nal important point. Too many of us throw something away only to fi nd that we need to buy it again later. If there’s a way to keep that something and store it effi ciently and safely, why not do it? We benefi t economically and environmentally.

Hey, anytime I fi nd something that makes my life easier, saves me money, and lets me contribute less to a landfi ll, I’m happy. The Con-tainer Store makes me very happy.

Information for this piece includ-

ing the history, store specifi cs and more came from The Container Store web site at www.container-store.com

Traditional Filipino dance during Samahan Philip-pine Dance Company’s Annual Gala

the “fob” factor? Maybe learning how to speak the language would make more of me “fob-like?” Since my family all spoke Eng-lish, could it be that I did not have the pressure to learn Tagalog? Or was it because I did not sense its relevance to my later life?

I had an ex-girlfriend who knew how to speak Tagalog, and for this sole reason my mother, I believe, loved her. My mother was com-pletely enamored by the fact that she could speak to her in Tagalog. She felt comfortable. It was at this time that I realized how much speaking Tagalog helped connect and link generations.

For myself I never had that curi-osity about my family history and heritage until my late teens. It was then that I began to appreciate and respect my Filipino culture and felt the desire to learn Tagalog.

I did regret the fact that I was never taught or even forced to acquire this language as a young child. Although at the back of my head I’m quite sure that I would have put up a major resistance had my parents compelled me to learn the language? But the bottom line, I think, is my parents uncon-sciously opted not to teach us the language.

At certain stage of parenting, some Filipino parents do make a choice, consciously or uncon-

sciously, whether or not to teach their children their native language. Unlike with other ethnic minorities, language is an issue with Filipino par-ents – fuzzy or undefi ned as it can be.

A good case in point is with Mexican Americans. Here in Southern California, the norm is for the U.S.-born child of Mexican heritage to learn Spanish. His Filipino counterpart, however, is not neces-sarily held to the same expectations.

Why do these two groups differ in raising their children as they relate to retention of native language? Does distance of the homeland

Maria Clara Dance number performed by Samahan dancers.

(i.e., Mexico) have something to do with it? But what about the Chinese and Vietnamese Ameri-cans, their parents’ homelands are not that far from the Philippines, yet these people usually retain their Asian languages? Unlike Filipinos, these immigrant groups have consciously established private language schools here.

I do not know how to explain this language phenomenon. But I know for certain that the sight of young Mexican Americans speaking Spanish to each other is common, while it’s rare to see a group of Filipino Americans speaking to each other in Tagalog. If one sees young Filipinos speak Tagalog amongst themselves, it’s almost certain that they must have been born and

raised in the Philippines. Why is there a language is-

sue or lack of it within the Filipi-no-American community? This is something that bogs my mind. For if Pilipino is that important in our cultural lives here in the U.S., how come our parents or those leaders and educators in the community do not address it?

The more I think about problems -- the lack of commu-nication between generations, the separation of the U.S.-born Filipinos and “fobs” or 1.5-gen-eration Filipinos and other com-munity issues -- the more I realize that language is a key factor in all this. It is the root of many stereo-types and assumptions that hinder rather than promote our search for ethnic identity and progress in this country.

There must be a direct cor-relation between language and

culture, what say you?

By the Way … On the urgings of Sim Silverio,

I’m scheduling a Saturday Kapi-han, an informal gathering of people who like to get in touch and chat about with each other (every-body is welcome to join), to take place on Saturday morning, 8:30-10:30 a.m., January 31, 2009 at the KCS FilAm Wellness Center. Bring your opinion or issue and just have fun with us.

The Filipino Voters Coalition, a PAC (Political Action Committee), was just formed January 7th; and I accepted the interim Chairman until paper works and by-laws are done and adopted. Hopefully, other individuals and/or groups, will partner with the coalition, espe-cially FACE Al Villamora, Arlie Ricasa, Marisa Acierto, Fil-Am Causes. I’m not interested in run-ning for public offi ce. I’m just in-terested to help in building Filipino civic and political engagements.

A Fear a Day: We all know that life is full of failures, rejection and

more than a fair share of discour-agement. How then you overcome discouragement? Scott H. Young writes: “I believe that the differ-ence in how persistent people are often comes down to how they handle the discouragement that come the same situation.

“While some people can im-mediately brush themselves off, others can enter a negative cycle of thoughts that persists for weeks, months or even years…. Unfortu-nately, these emotions can cripple you to the point where you avoid taking small risks that have huge potential rewards.”

I sincerely hope that some people, friends and colleagues who entertain “negative thoughts” about my involvement in political action do not consume them to a point of losing a good friend and a contributor. - Riz

Sol Poetry

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

by Soledad O. Bautista

THE CADDIE’S FACEWhenever needed, she treads the big golf courseBehind the player tugging his clubsShe doesn’t frown or show any sullen Resignation over the vagaries of lifeTaking her to this job.

There’s only the contentment in doingA decent honest workRather than selling her soul to the devil.A discriminate artist observed the faceSo serene, so peacefulWithout any cynicism against the worldJust plain acceptance and obedienceLike the one who said,“Let it be done unto me according to thy word”.

The artist wanted to perpetrateThat beautiful, inscrutable expressionof submission in canvasHe invited her to model for himWhich she gladly didThus the face of female humble caddieJoey Velasco immortalized when hePainted the Virgin MaryShades of Mona Lisa, but Joey’s much better methinks.

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

Knowing one’s na-tive language, how important is it to a

second-generation Filipino living in America? Many say that language is a key part of our culture. Is Ta-galog or Filipino, for ex-ample, truly a component of Philippine culture? Or is it simply a tool of communi-cation that can be replaced with another language?

While some Filipino parents choose to hand down their native language to their U.S.-born kids, many more opt for English only. Which child – the monolingual or bilingual -- holds an advantage?

Whether held for Christmas, New Year or just to circulate the latest family gossip and just to share food, my family, as with oth-er Filipino families, usually holds reunion. The plates fi lled with pancit and lumpia, patio clouded by cigarette smoke, and clatters of conversation surround me.

I do not fully understand those talks. A random word that I un-derstand will fall upon my ear not really giving many clues to the gist of their conversations.

I do not speak Tagalog and my understanding of it is very limited.

Gossip (JPEG Image)

FILIPINO AND CULTURE: Is language that important in our efforts to build an ethnic identity?

By Lito de los Reyes

I had an ex-girlfriend who speaks Tagalog, and for this sole rea-son my mother loved her. It was at this time that I realized how much speaking Tagalog helped connect and link generations.

So I become, in my own way, deaf or unmindful at these gatherings, unable to understand phrases and sentences that surround me. I have mixed feelings about these family gatherings. I experience a feeling of ease, at home with the family. But I also felt somewhat segregat-ed and, in a way, out-of-place.

Those moments of “deafness” are also accompanied at times by “muteness,” because of my inability to communicate with

elders whose grasp of English is almost as inadequate as my grasp of Tagalog.

Although not intentional, there are times as if I feel walled off from much of the family. Since I was raised here in America and do not speak Tagalog, I sense that they are not as comfortable carry-ing on a conversation with me than those Tagalog-speaking kids from the Philippines.

As a young kid, not knowing how to speak Tagalog was never an issue to me. I could barely speak my native language of Eng-lish, why would I want to know another language? My major concerns consisted of making sure I won my battles in kickball, four squares or whatever other play-ground game was on my agenda.

It wasn’t until junior high school that the topic of Tagalog came up. It was through the ever-popular term of endearment, “Fob” (Fresh-of-the-boat) that I realized that language becomes an issue.

What was it about these “fobs” that fi rst struck me as different? The accent, the distinctly Filipino accent. The P’s and the F’s and the swapping of each. These kids were from the Philippines and they knew how to speak Tagalog and I didn’t. Could this be the only difference?

It seemed to be, since in any other aspects of comparison these “fobs” didn’t really seem to be that much different from anyone else, and so my 7th-grade mind focused upon the language issue.

At my junior high school, the student body consisted of a good number of Filipinos. For this rea-son one of the foreign languages offered to students was Tagalog. I did not take this class for reasons I can not recall, and now regret it.

Refl ecting, I am surprised that throughout my academic history, junior high, high school and now San Diego State University, the only institution that offered Taga-log was in my junior high school. I’m aware that there are schools with a good percentage of Fili-pino students yet they do not offer Tagalog classes.

Why? Could it be that there was no demand for it? As a young student is it possible that I did not want to learn Tagalog because of


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Certainly, San Diego has en-joyed the good years in Real Es-tate Market. Home equities went soaring high, some people made good money, investors made a killing and many Filipinos went back to school and became Real Estate Agents and Loan Offi cers. Those were the wild and crazy years where even the timid and calculating people got excited and joined the action.

Some of us felt bad we could not join the crowd making quick money in the Real Estate mar-ket. It was either we have no money to invest or we were too afraid to take a big risk. We felt ridiculed and were left behind in the old neighborhood in our very old homes. We got stuck with the old Zip Codes with our fi xed mortgage loans with lower property taxes. Most of our friends and neighbors moved to their new mansions in new communities with classy Zip Codes. Some other times we get invited to housewarming of these elegant homes. We got awed and mesmerized by their huge living spaces and their very expen-sive landscaping. Sometimes we wondered how these people afford such life of luxury. We were just like most of them, the middle class employees or ac-tive military personnel who are married to hardworking Nurses. They seemed to belong to the new “Cliques”, driving new cars and living in their castles. They always talked about their vaca-tion homes or their Condotels in the Philippines. Well, some of us stuck with our principles and accepted our destiny. We stayed in our old homes and planned to pay off our mortgage by the time we retire. Old boring folks like

us deserve the old and boring homes anyway.

Then one day an ugly thing happened and the housing mar-ket started to collapse. The prices of both old and new homes went down and the teaser rates of some interest only mortgage loan started to expire. The pressure was on for those who purchased their overpriced homes and rental properties. The investors could hardly cope up with all their mortgage and property tax payments. Many rental proper-ties were vacant or rented below the market rate. The home equi-ties were gone and it’s almost impossible to refi nance any mortgage loan. There’s a lot of stress on the panicky homeown-ers and investors. Even owners of older homes who took large equity loans were in trouble. Most of the money borrowed was already spent on other shaky investments or nice personal items. The sad reality is now starting to sink in and the “For Sale” signs are seen sprouting almost everywhere.

Well, those few old boring homeowners can still afford to smile. They never took any risk and decided to be mere specta-tors when the market went up and down.

For those who jumped in and lost, don’t feel bad. Always remember that in business, there is risk and reward. Learn from your experience and be proud that at least you tried. For some, at least you have lived in your “Dream Castle” even for a short while unlike some boring old folks who never got out of their old homes in the very same and un-gated neighborhood.

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RAMONA ALVIR as told by CANDICE Y. CEREZO

OFW Journalism Consortium

I WILL never forget Edward Fa-bish; he made me rich.

I never thought things would turn out this way. Eight years ago, I was working as a stenographer at the Manila Prosecutors’ Office in City Hall.

When I left my job, my bosses –all prosecutors, my colleagues, and fellow stenographers never thought I would take the job of a caregiver. They said I was not the type.

An officemate warned me not to take the job of caring for the elderly because I might become intellectu-ally obtuse.

They learned three years after I set foot in the United States of America

Overseas Filipino Workers Stories

Caregiver, millionairethat I became a millionaire.

I didn’t know I was the talk of the town until I got back in the country and someone told me people from my workplace were talking about my luck. News, indeed, travel fast.

But what happened to me, I guess, changed their prejudices on menial jobs, like caregiving.

I also never planned on being a caregiver.

***

I ARRIVED in San Francisco De-cember 13, 2000, after my husband, a Filipino born and raised in the US, petitioned me.

I met him in the Philippines, though his family is based in the US.

Three days after I arrived, I started

working in my husband’s office. The job was very temporary and I could not get work in law firms since I don’t have a local experience as stenographer or court employee.

Then I heard from our landlady’s friend that someone needed a care-giver. At once, I applied for the job.

I started working “under the ta-ble,” or without credentials, earning $90 a day for staying five straight days in an elderly’s house.

On weekends, I took another care-giving job. I was rarely home during those days.

After three months, I was em-ployed by a Filipino-owned agency where I got a higher rate of $145 a day taking care of another elderly woman. It was fortunate because I was looking for a much better sal-ary.

The agency derives income from 5 percent of each caregiver’s monthly income. The good thing is that the commission they get from caregiv-ers is very low. Caregivers also directly receive pay from clients before turning in the agency’s share.

On hindsight, my situation was better than other caregivers whose income is coursed through an agency. In other agencies, the cost of caring for an elderly is double its worth while in commission-based agencies the cost is lighter on the pockets.

But my service for the elderly woman was brief. It was fortunate, too, because “sakit sa ulo yung alaga kong yun” [She gave me headaches].

The agency then assigned me the third elderly I cared for, with the rate of $120 a day during weekends. That elderly was Edward Fabish, my first male patient.

***EDWARD was of German-Irish

descent and a Catholic like me. He was 88 and lived in West Portal, Bay Area of San Francisco. He used to be a railroad worker, doing heavy, manual labor until he had a hip fracture.

I took care of him for four-and-a-half days a week with the rate of $170 a day.

I cleaned his house, gave him medicine, cooked for him, and even washed his clothes. Though some of these chores were not required by the job, I did them nonetheless since I used to do them in the Philippines.

My first week with Edward was difficult. He couldn’t accept his con-dition and would shoo me away.

“I will jump from the window if you don’t let me go down by myself!” he yelled at me when I blocked his way at the top of the stairs going down to his garage.

“Go ahead, jump!” I yelled back. Though I never really meant what I said; I never moved from my spot. As a caregiver he hired, I was responsible for him. I would have to answer for whatever happened to him.

Edward was at the stage of denial because he used to be strong and able, judging from the framed pho-tographs on the shelves and on the walls. Most of the pictures showed him in tip-top shape built through hard work.

***

EDWARD was unmarried and childless and with no other relatives except his younger sister who was also with a caregiver. Their brother, the youngest, had died before them.

Aside from his hip fracture, he had a catheter, a tube attached to his side where his urine passed through. He had it when I started taking care of him until the day he died. Whenever I would clean him, I would also clean the catheter and the catheter bag.

Taking care of him also meant encouraging him to do the things he used to do, like gardening and driv-ing. I admit, though, I got nervous with him driving; we almost had two accidents. But he wanted to drive despite his physical limita-tions.

Edward was not that difficult to take care of, mind you, but I always had to be there with him. He would have fallen several times had I failed to hold him up. Despite my being just above 4 feet, with Edward’s just a few inches taller, I was still able to help him walk or stand. If I had to go on an errand, I brought him with me – I walked beside him as he rode a scooter.

***WHEN Edward’s sister, a spinster,

died, he had my husband Gary and I live with him since he had no one. I volunteered to pay rent for our room because I didn’t want him to think I was abusing his kindness or that I was guilty of elderly abuse.

I also wanted to avoid the moment he becomes “goopy.”

You see, the elderly tend to be-come “goopy,” or start to lose them-selves, suddenly changing attitudes.

Sometimes they would say their illness has returned, causing them pain. Sometimes it would come to a point where they would accuse you of robbing or taking advantage of them.

From my experience, that’s how the elderly are. You really have to be patient with them.

But, yes, there are many cases of elderly abuse in America. If you’re found guilty, you’re dead. If the elderly does not feel like eating, you cannot force him to eat. If you leave or neglect him, dupe money out of him, verbally abuse him, you could be charged with elderly abuse.

That is because the elderly may not be able to report abuses done to them unless somebody, sometimes a fellow Filipino, reports it.

So I paid Edward $300 in monthly rent, aside from sharing in paying the water, electricity, and telephone



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

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

by Conrad I. Reloj, Jr.

L to R. (seated) Josefina Inuman Reloj, Reine I. Reloj & Conrado Yabut Reloj, Sr. Standing: L to R: Ramon, Nina, Florie and Arthur.

I am very thankful for being blessed with two extraordinary parents. The life and achieve-

ments of my mother, Josefina Inu-man Reloj, and my father, Conrado Yabut Reloj, Sr. with their devoted service to Malinao is well known. The dedication of their lives together for family, relatives, the church and community was done with imagination, love of life and generosity especially towards those who truly need a friend.

My mother was warm, gracious but also a very private person. She didn’t care about publicity or recog-nitions for her volunteering services to the local parish, schools and the community. She firmly believed that your name should only appear in the official records only three times: when you’re born, when you marry, and when you die. In her letters to me while I was away serving in the U.S. Navy, she confided first, how she endured in silence, and then agonized over her decision to face a land-grabbing dispute (with a relative) head-on in a court of law only after all else failed. She stood firmly for what she believes is right and noted, “I have to do it … to defend our legal rights and family’s honor.”

It is from mother that we got the everyday care and attention; the love that can give a child the sense of worth and warmth that makes possible a secure, full inner core in adulthood. When we are about to undertake a family project, we are often told: “God is in the details.” Is this not true in how we live our lives today? Mama was the “softie”, the one we turned to for sympathy, understanding, comfort,

The road my Papa and Mama took

Now that my parents have both gone to their eternal rest-ing place, I realize fully the beauty, dignity and courage in

the small things of life as well as in the large, in the un-noted as well as the noted. Most reassuring of all, I sense there is truly a path to heaven in one’s simple way of liv-

ing – the road my Papa and Mama took.Seated: Mrs. Josefina I. Reloj, Standing L.to R.

Mrs.Nena Reloj, Idolog, Conrado I. Reloj, Jr. and Mrs. Florita Reloj, Irapta.

or at least a more merciful sentence. She was ready with the hugs, quick to forgive one lousy test scores, and never reproached our not-so-glow-ing athletic ability. She often re-minded us of the famous quotation, “It is not winning the game, but how you played it that counts….” She never seemed disappointed in our shortcomings. She took us for what we were. I am grateful for that; growing up is hard enough. A disapproving, or even worse, an

indifferent parent would have made it insufferable.

Excitement of daring to try

From my father, I learned the ex-citement of daring to try the unusual and doing it in front of others, where your success or failure would be there for all to see. He grew up as a leader, in school as student body president, in the band where he also played the violin and guitar, and later on working as movie photog-rapher and laboratory technician in “Malayan Movies” in Manila. He later worked as film distributor of Malayan Movie Films and traveled extensively throughout the Philip-pines from as far north as Cagayan and all the way south to Sulu. After WWII, he returned home to Malinao and established the first professional photography business in the Prov-ince of Aklan he named “Reloj Stu-dio” with its main office in Malinao and branch studios in the neighbor-ing towns of Banga and Numancia. He also played the “Bandurria” as a band member of the Malinao Town

Rondalla. When my fa-

ther was asked by his party to run for town council-man of Malinao under the banner of the Nation-alista Party, he responded positively and garnered the highest votes. As a councilman, my father’s other duties include the public work constructions and continued beautification of the town plaza. In 1952, the construction and completion of Malinao’s Municipal Town Hall led by Mayor Sancho Yerro Inserto and Vice Mayor Eustaquio Villan-ueva happened during their terms

in office.While the influence of my father

to our family may be easier to recount and document, the impact of my mother was warmer, more profound, especially for us boys: Arthur, Ramon, Reino and me. My father was the family disciplinar-ian. When we roused his anger with some egregious wrong, we fully understood what the Bible meant when it talked of the ‘wrath of God’. I wonder even to this day

how that thick leather belt displayed in wall of our living room had influenced all of us during our pre-adoles-cent days.

Intolerance

About the only thing my parents did not tolerate was intoler-ance. People were to be judge by character, not appearance. My father exuded energy and strength. This was inspiring, but also intimidating to me while I was growing up to realize how I could work with him in our photography business and even thrive and blossom with him. But the understanding and insight would have been impossible with-out Mother’s nurturing and unbounded support during those formative and precarious years of childhood and early

adolescence.One subject that she taught me

early in life is confidence in one’s ability in spite of all odds. Com-plying with one’s religious duties and obligations, the rudiments of farming, the love of gardening and love of neighbors. For years she su-pervised the farming of our meager family rice lands in Barrio Manha-nip and Dangcalan and was very successful in providing fresh fruits and vegetables for our daily needs.

While mother was quieter, more easygoing than our father, she had grit and considerable courage and strength. She had her seven children delivered by natural birth and did not rely on nannies or baby-sitters. That she actually finished among the top tier of her high school graduating class while caring for all of us children is by itself an accomplishment. She continued her adult education and went on to college in Maya-as Institute. As she prepared herself for a teaching credential, she realized that teaching her own children during their grow-ing up years was more important than the (BSEED) Bachelor of Sci-



The Law that Matters

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

by Atty. A. Erwin Bautista

How Will Bankruptcy Affect Your Military Security Clear-ance?

Question: I am a service member and drowning in debt because of my failed real estate investments, how will bankruptcy affect my security clearance?

Answer: The status of your secu-rity clearance can be affected, but it is not automatic. The outcome depends on the circumstances that led up to the bankruptcy and a num-ber of other factors, such as your job

Bankruptcy: Militaryperformance and relationship with your chain of command. (See U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School and its website)*

What is the military’s policy

on Bankruptcy filing of service members?

The military does not have a policy against filing bankruptcy, but courts have accorded the military wide latitude in issues of national

security. (Applegate v. March (In re Applegate), 64 B.R. 448 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1986).

Although a reduction in rank, pay, or other benefits solely be-cause a service member had filed Bankruptcy would violate Sec. 525 (Protection against discriminatory treatment) of the Bankruptcy Code but the Bankruptcy Court will defer to the military’s decision on an issue of national security.

However the Air Force policy concerning bankruptcy petitions is one of strict neutrality. Air Force members have a statutory right to invoke the procedures of the Bankruptcy Act. No adverse actions may be taken against a member of the Air Force for filing a petition for bankruptcy, receiving a discharge of debt in bankruptcy, or consolidat-ing his debts under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. (See Legal Office of the U.S. Air Force Academy at www.usafa.af.mil/superintendent/ja/bankruptcy.cfm?catname=ja)

What are the underlying cir-cumstances considered as financial irresponsibility, mismanagement or dishonorable?

Mismanagement of personal affairs, dishonorable failure to pay

just debts, the amount of unpaid debts by itself, refusing to honor NSF checks prior to filing bank-ruptcy, wrongful appropriation of funds entrusted to your care and debts incurred due to uncontrollable gambling habits maybe factors that may form a basis for adverse action against the service member.

What should be your basis in filing bankruptcy?

According to the U.S. Army JAG Legal Center and School the security section will weigh whether the bankruptcy was caused primar-ily by an unexpected event, such as medical bills following a serious accident, or by financial irresponsi-bility. The security section may also consider the recommendations and comments of your chain of com-mand and co-workers. This is an issue that can be argued both ways, so as a practical matter your security clearance probably should not be a significant factor in making your decision about whether to file bank-ruptcy. The amount of your debt and your inability to pay should be your basis.

Filing bankruptcy maybe viewed as financial responsibility.

Using a government-approved means of dealing with your debts (Bankruptcy) may actually be viewed as an indication of financial responsibility. Eliminating your debts through bankruptcy may make you less of a security risk.

Because in Anderson v. Wien-berger (In re Anderson), 84 B.R. 426, 428 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 1988) the Court observed “The need to guard against possible corruption is nowhere greater than in the military. A service member susceptible to

bribery and corruption because he has placed himself in dire financial straits may present a risk to national security. It is well settled that the de-partment of the Navy is not immune to such corruption.”

Consult an attorney who practices bankruptcy law before your acts are considered “financial irresponsibil-ity” and to find out if you have a good faith basis in filing for bank-ruptcy to minimize any future prob-lems with your security clearance.

*The above discussion, rendered with some analysis and opinions, was taken in whole and in part including citations from the article “Military Members Deep in Debt” Vol. Two NACBA 2007 Annual Convention, Published by NACBA.

(We invite readers to set up their initial consultation with The Law Offices of A. Erwin Bautista. Atty. Bautista practices Immigration, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, Family Law and Audit Representation/In-come Tax Preparation. Atty. Bautista obtained his law degree from West-ern State University College of Law at Fullerton, CA and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the Philippines. He can be reached in Los Angeles at (213) 365 7690 at 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 or in San Diego at (619) 474 7755 at 550 E. 8th St., Ste. 11, National City, CA 91950)

ence in Education Degree. During this time of career preparation, she gave birth to two daughters, who are now successful teachers and model parents as well.

The road my Papa and Mama took


Living tribute

Mrs. Florita Reloj Irapta and Mrs. Nena Reloj Idolog and their families in the Philippines are living tribute to our mother’s devotion to the proper upbringing. Mama’s boys, Arthur, Ramon, and Reino Reloj obtained their BA degrees in the Philippines before migrating with their families to the California and Nevada. My mother was also the recipient of the “Mother of the Year Award” from her Alma Mater, the St. Joseph’s Academy. She wrote, “I won the award mainly because of my wonderful children, a loving husband and family who loves me very much.” She showed us her true humbleness and humility in every way.

Some of my warmest memo-ries growing up come from those periodic bouts of illness – mumps, measles, chicken pox, and bad cold. Mama would spend considerable time reading bedtime stories, with such beginning words, “Once upon a time….”. She would prepare plen-ty of chicken rice soup, linogaw, and ‘Sunkist’ oranges juice.

Being away from home since the early 60’s, starting my own family in Corpus Christi, Texas and now retired in San Diego, California, I feel real sad that I did not have the opportunity to return the favor, or to be around to care for them during their last days here in this world. Now that my parents have both gone to their eternal resting place, I realize fully the beauty, dignity and courage in the small things of life as well as in the large, in the unnoted as well as the noted. Most reassur-ing of all, I sense there is truly a path to heaven in one’s simple way of living – the road that my Papa and Mama took. - AJ


SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - Intro-duced in 1999, “In the Company of Women” is the largest annual fundraiser for the YWCA of San Di-ego County. On Thursday, February 12, “In the Company of Women” will host keynote speaker, Angela Bassett, one of the entertainment industry’s premier leading ladies. The event, now in its eleventh year, is fully underwritten by committed corporate and individual sponsors, which means that 100 percent of the contributions from the event benefit San Diego’s women and children who are survivors of domestic vio-lence and homelessness. For more than 100 years, the YWCA of San Diego County has supported local women with social services.

Ms. Bassett’s talent and abilities as an actress and executive pro-ducer in both television and film have earned the respect and acclaim from her peers and her fans to prove herself time and time again. Perhaps best known for her intense portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It opposite Laurence Fishburne, Bassett earned the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture, and an Acad-emy Award nomination for her pow-erful performance. She is currently starring as Dr. Kate Banfield on the hit television show, E.R.

More than 1,200 attendees are ex-

Tickets now available for fundraiser luncheon on February 12, 2009

Academy Award® Winner Angela Bassett is keynote speaker at “In the

Company of Women” Fundraiser

Angela Bassett

pected, and the event is expected to sell-out quickly. Registration begins at 11:15 a.m. followed by lunch and the compelling presentation by Ms. Bassett from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. The YWCA’s “In the Company of Women” will be held at the San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Dr., Ballroom 20. Tickets are $120.00 per person and a table of ten is $1,200. Sponsorships are also available.

For ticket information, please contact CarolAnn Chatel at 619-239-0355 ext. 218 or [email protected].

tion except pray hard to Father Francisco to intercede in her behalf for God’s help. Like a miracle, her problems were solved. She also heard of the other miracles attributed to Fr.

Father Francisco Truong Buu DiepDevotees spread the word on miracles

attributed to martyred Vietnamese priest, praying for his eventual sainthood

(Continued from page 2) Francisco by other people. She vowed to dedicate part of her time and effort in encourag-ing people to pray for Father Francisco’s intercession in their petition to God. And if Father Francisco has perfomed a

miracle on their life, she would like them to vouch for them, so that he would eventually be proclaimed as a saint.

One day, an older Filipino woman entered Rose’s store. Rose offered her an informa-tion card about Father Fran-cisco in her quest to tell more people about his good deeds. Without prompting, the woman produced an identical informa-tion card out of her bag and said that her daughter, Francis Rivera Burga, had also visited Ca Mau.

Francis is a Filipina born in the Philippines. At the age of seven, her family moved with her United States Navy father who was assigned to different

military installations around the world. They finally settled in San Diego where she got married at the age of 18, had a daughter and later divorced. She eventually became a man-ager in a computer company, until she put up her own com-puter parts manufacturing plant in San Jose, California. Since most of her workers are Viet-namese, she went to Vietnam to explore the possibility of put-ting up a manufacturing plant there. In the process, she got to learn about Father Francisco.

Rose and Francis got into contact. They both made a promise to tell others about Father Francisco’s miracles.

A new church dedicated to

Father Francisco is now rising alongside the old facility in Ca Mau.

According to believers, Father Francisco has already performed two posthumous miracles. His remains were lost until he appeared in a vi-sion and disclosed the location. During the construction of the new shrine, a local company delivered materials to the build-ing site unexpectedly. The shrine officials did not know who paid for it. The company representative pointed to a picture of Father Francisco and said that he had paid. Many also claim to have been healed after praying to him and visit-ing his shrine.

In the back office of Hong Kong Boutique where long hours are spent running the business, there is a large image of the martyred priest. The Hinahons set aside this corner for Father Francisco after he touched their lives with mira-cles. As they pass, barefoot, into the office, he looks over them. - AJ

“Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.”- Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tarta-kower (1887-1956)

San Diego News Update


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

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

journalusa.com

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and com-plained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

‘I’ve gone for 30 years now,’ he wrote, ‘and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.

But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them.

So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.’

This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column, much to the delight of the editor.

It went on for weeks until some-one wrote this clincher:

‘I’ve been married for 30 years now.

In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.

Why Go To Church?But, for the life of me, I cannot

recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.

But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.

If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.

Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!’

When you are DOWN to noth-ing... God is UP to something!

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

bills. That time, my job with the agency became seven days a week. I rarely rested.

Since I could not just leave him alone in his house, I brought him to family gatherings, usually hosted by my in-laws.

One day, the agency sent a reliever to take care of him on weekends.

“I fired her,” Edward said when I came home not finding my reliever around.

He said he felt my reliever was not sincere and was after his money. That was how I ended up working 24/7 for Edward.

At night, whenever I slept in his room, I would be so exhausted I’d fail to notice I was already slumped on the floor. I would be so tired that the moment my back touched the floor, I would be in a long-deep sleep. I relied on an alarm clock to wake me up.

One time, he heard me coughing.“If only I could sleep on the floor,

I would have traded places with you,” Edward said from his bed.

I told him not to worry since we Filipinos are used to sleeping on the floor.

When he was about to die, he always wanted me beside him.


Caregiver, millionaire(Continued from page 8)


He got used to having me sleep on the floor at the foot of his bed he wanted me beside him up to his death.

He got angry one time when he didn’t find me in his room to answer his demands.

***

BUT Edward was thrifty, so much so he didn’t buy anything for him-self. With his extreme frugality, I never thought of him having money to spare.

When I started taking care of him, he had three pieces of underwear that had holes in them.

He didn’t even want to buy a recliner chair he needed to lift his swollen foot because he didn’t want to pay the $25 delivery charge! I paid for it instead just so he could get that chair.

So aside from buying him food, I shopped clothes for him: long sleeves, pants, shoes, and under-wear.

When he got really sick, I brought him to the hospital. He was about to die and was already with an oxygen apparatus and yet he wanted to go home because an aspirin would cost him $2. He even removed his oxygen mask and insisted on going to the bank to pay his taxes.

I didn’t know if he turned purple at the bank because he had to pay taxes.

It surprised me, hence, when he gave me $5,000 during the first Christmas we spent together.

“This is for the kids,” Edward said. He explained he held on to it because he was afraid I would spend

the money gambling.We had been frequenting casinos

that time.It’s a common gesture for the el-

Joke of the week: Policeman: “Ok, what’s your name?” Speeder: “Size Six Smith.” Policeman: “What kind of name is that?” Speeder: “You’re right. That’s not my name. My real name is Size Six and Seven-Eights Smith.” Policeman: “How did you ever get a name like that?” Speeder: “When I was born my parents put a batch of names in a hat and my father pulled out the tag that said ‘Size Six and Seven-Eights’.”

Scriptures: first Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-4; 6-7. This poem-prophecy tells of a special person who had been called from the womb to fulfill the mission God would entrust him. His mission would include setting free those who are imprisoned, giv-ing sight to the blind, and render-ing justice to the oppressed. This he would accomplish in a unique way – quietly and in a manner that would reveal God and this special Someone. Second Reading: Acts 10: 34-36. St. Peter makes it clear that Jesus started the mission God has given him after having been baptized by John and anointed by the Spirit. In spite of the obstacles, Jesus had faithfully fulfilled his mis-sion, because God was always with him. Gospel: Mark 1: 7-11. Jesus’ baptism starts his public ministry, reveals his complete obedience to his Father, even to the point of dying on the cross, and marks the beginning of his entrance into the community of those eagerly longing for God’s Kingdom. Reflections: We are celebrating

today the Baptism of the Lord. This feast concludes the Christmas-Epiphany season and introduces us into the Ordinary Sundays of the li-turgical year that begin next week. It does mean though that all the good preparations we had accomplished before and during the Christmas season should be shelved into the closet to be resurrected when Lent comes. I saw a church sign that says, “What to do with the Baby

Identity Defines MissionJesus?” The Baby Jesus grew in age and wisdom. He had begun his public ministry as the Gospel this Sunday tells us. He did not remain a child forever.

During the Second Sunday of Advent we read from St. John’s Gospel (1: 6-8; 19-28) about the questions the Jews from Jerusalem and the priests and Levites posed to John the Baptist. Since it was a Jewish rite symbolizing cleansing, purification, and conversion, they were curious about his motive. The Jerusalem representatives under-stood that John’s baptismal action was symbolic; it is a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” If those representatives of the Jewish community were puzzled by John’s baptismal activity, more puzzling to many is today’s Gospel. Here we read how Jesus approached John for baptism. If Jesus is sinless why did he allow John to baptize him? Does he need repentance and purification?

The baptism of Jesus shows his complete solidarity with our human-ity. He who is sinless enters into complete solidarity with us and joins us in our weakness. This is ex-actly his mission for which he was sent. By his complete obedience to the Father in fulfilling this mission, Jesus is truly the “Beloved.” His mission clearly identifies who Jesus is- the Messiah, the Beloved. His mission – to be among us –flows out from his identity. Identification with Christ is carrying out in earnest the mission that he had started.

It is believed that in the widely known Roman armies, the decisive act of becoming a soldier was called the “sacramentum,” that is, the military oath. The Church adopted this military word to signify that profound act of becoming a soldier of Christ at Baptism, and most especially the vows that the baptized profess during this rite. By becom-ing a Christian through the “sac-ramentum,” a person ceases to be

an ordinary citizen, and becomes a soldier actively engaged in Christ’s battle for the world.

The following story shows what a decisive impact one’s Baptism could do to a person and to the world. When Clovis, King of Franks, became a Christian, he was baptized by St. Remigius in Rheims Cathe-dral. After the ceremony, the saintly bishop took away the king’s coat of arms that had three frogs, signs of ugliness, and replaced them with three lilies, symbols of purity. A tradition had been born. The Fleur-de lis has ever since been the coat of arms of France and its kings.

Quotation of the week: “Baptism challenges all to be and to live as community of faith based on the Word and on the freedom and love that Chris has brought.” Leonard Dooban.


Community

Work Visas (H1B, H2B)• PERM – Labor Certifi cation• Green Cards• Family Visa Petitions• Marriage/Fiancee Visas – K1• Citizenship• L1 Visas – Company Transfer• Investor Visas E2 (Business • search assistance)

FREE IMMIGRATION SEMINAR UPDATES AND NEW CHANGES FOR 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009 from 5-8 P.M.at SIZZLER Restaurant, 1325 E Plaza Blvd., National City 91950

With America’s growing immigrant population and with the changes in the administration, many immigrants are anxious to now what the future will hold for Immigration Law. This seminar will present an Immigration law basics, covering the various categories of immigration and inadmissibility in the United States. The seminar will address some potential changes in Immigration law in 2009 and beyond. This is an exclusive seminar for the Filipino community and is offered as a public service to our community readers

Space is limited so RESERVE YOUR SEAT as soon as possibleEmail: Jacob - [email protected] or call (619) 819-9204

Susan - [email protected] or call (619) 819-8648

Presenters:

Atty. Susan PerezAtty. Jacob Sapochnick

Cost: FREE OF CHARGE ($11 for salad bar and drinks)

Topics Covered:

Student Visa Issues (Job search • Support)Extension of Stay• Business Visas• J1 Visas for Trainees/ F1 Student • VisasConsular Support in Manilla• Immigration Reform plans and • the Obama Administration

Daly City – The Daly City Library is pleased to announce the dona-tion of 6 volumes from the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines most prestigious literary awards. This book donation was arranged by

Tony Joaquin, a Daly City resident who has long supported the Library and its growing Filipiniana and Tagalog Materials Collection. The donated titles are: An Anthology of Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards winners, English Division; Volumes 2, 3, and 4; 1955-1970, and the Don

Carlos Palanca Award Winners in Daly City Library

Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature: an anthology of win-ning works: 3 volume set: [1] The 1980s one-act play -- [2] The 1980s poetry -- [3] The 1980s short story.

The Don Carlos Palanca Awards, often dubbed the “Pulitzer Prize”

of the Philippines, were established in 1950 and the first award was given in 1951. The aim of the awards is both to help develop Philip-pine literature by providing incentives for writers to craft exceptional works and to assist in the distribution of these works to the pub-lic, particularly to students. Mr. Joaquin arranged for this do-

nation from the Palanca Foundation, and the Library is very grateful for his generosity. The books are now available for checkout at the Ser-ramonte Main Library, 40 Wembley Drive, Daly City. Please call Carol Simmons, Library Director, at (650) 991-8025 for further information.

Washington, D.C.-- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) took issue with a South Carolina car dealer’s advertising campaign which ran a radio ad entitled “Wake Up America” in which he characterized Japanese-made cars as “rice ready” rather than “road ready.” The car dealer, O. C. Welch, criticized people who buy Japanese cars and asked why vehicles made by Toyota don’t have that new car smell.

Floyd Mori, National Executive Direc-tor for the JACL, responded to various press inquiries on the issue. Mori was quoted as saying that Welch’s remarks evoke the same anti-Asian sentiments of-ten aimed at Japanese and Chinese immi-grants to the United States from the 1930’s through World War II. He noted that many Japanese automakers’ cars are manufac-

Car Dealer Apologizes for Racist Adtured in America. He further stated: “It’s a blatant, ignorant, racist remark from somebody who should know better.”

Mr. Welch issued a press release and sent the apology for his comments in the recent advertisements to the JACL. He stated: “I would like to apologize for my comments in recent radio advertisements. I am passionate about my0Alove for Ford, and I mistakenly and wrongly conveyed this passion. I do not and will not condone discrimination and am sorry for any hurt I have caused.” The JACL acknowledged the apology and noted that car dealers are one of many businesses suffering as a result of the economic downturn.

The JACL issued a letter to Mr. Welch in which it stated that the remarks were hurtful and potentially harmful to all Asian Americans because they were reminiscent

NATIONAL CITY, CA: After three brainstorming sessions, the participants to a coalition-building process, finally voted to call the new group Filipino Voters Coalition (FVC). They unanimously adopted the mission statement – “to develop a non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to mobilize and solidify Filipinos for civic and political engagements.”

The group also approved the coalition’s objectives as originally formulated by Dr. Riz A. Oades, an SDSU Emeritus history professor and the proponent of the Filipino

Did your vote count in the recent election? How do you know?

Filipino Voters Coalition Organized to Boost Voter Registration,

Education and Get-Out-the Vote

Voters Coalition. “We have to develop a database

of registered voters and network,” Oades said. “Among other things, we have to identify Filipino Ameri-cans who can energize and moti-vate the community into political action.”

A lengthy discussion on whether the organization would be a non-profit 501 © (3) or a political action committee ensued. The “Yes” vote went to building a strong political action committee. It is envisioned that representatives from the County’s political action committees

and private individuals themselves would join the movement.

“Coalition partners retain their distinct identities and often special sets of interests,” Fred Gallardo noted. A FVC that will provide a voice for everyone is absolutely the way to go. Its unified voice may be found around five areas of work that encourages voter registration, monitoring the polls, and advocating for voter rights.

Elected as officers in an interim capacity are: Dr. Riz A. Oades, Chairperson, Ben Macayan, Co-Chairperson, Pete Corpuz, Secretary and Ralph Dimarucut, Treasurer. Present at the meeting were Ditas Yamane, Mitz Lee, Bill Flores, Xena Sultana Babao, Jim Perman, Ben Macayan, Lawrence Lazaga, Villy Simbulan, Romy Marquez, Joseph Roley Arzaga, Joe Son, Bert Andrade, Pete Cortez, and Dr. Aurora S. Cudal.

Participants to the previous brainstorming sessions include Fred Gallardo, Liezl Mangonon, Julio de Guzman, Vince Bumanlag, Dr. Myr-na Lazaga, Ariel Iglesia, Joy Garcia,

Grazella Valdez, Elsa Sievert, Larry Breitfelder, Carl Batuyong, Cornelio Evangelista, Winlove Cudal, Dr. Ofelia Dirige, Michelle Krug, Arlito Reclosado, Ed Vergara and Femie

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of racist sentiment during the recession in the 1980’s that acutely affected the auto industry in Detroit. During that period, Japanese automakers were often scape-goated as the sole source of the economic hardships. It was in this environment that Vincent Chin, a young Chinese American, was beaten to death on the streets of a Detroit suburb by two autoworkers who blamed Chin for their problems, saying, “It’s because of you that we’re out of work.” Chin was not Japanese, nor was he or Japan responsible for all the unemploy-ment caused by the recession. Instead, Chin was the tragic victim of a climate of economic fear abetted by racism. He was victimized by racism in the same manner as Japanese Americans who were incarcerated in concentration camps in remote areas of the United States during World War II. It is for this reason that the JACL abhorred the remarks of the radio ad for the racism it invoked and for any misplaced anger it may have inflamed.

The=2 0JACL has worked with Ameri-can automobile companies on various pro-grams in the past and partners with Ford Motor Company on a youth leadership and empowerment program which includes anti-hate issues.


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

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

Phil - Am Law 101

On August 3, 1988, the Family Code of the Philippines took effect under the presidency of Cory Aqui-no. The most salient and revolution-ary feature of this law is Article 36 which allows marriages to be declared void based on psychologi-cal incapacity.

Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of mar-riage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)

At first glance, one would consider it ironic that it took a convent-edu-cated and devout Catholic president to finally pass a divorce law in the Philippines. Many sectors had clam-ored for Congress to pass a divorce law but those efforts were always blocked by the Catholic Church. In truth, however, Article 36 was a victory for the Church because it is based on Canon law which states:

Can. 1095. The following are incapable of contracting marriage:

those who 1. lack sufficient use of reason; those who 2. suffer from a grave lack of discretionary judg-ment concerning the essential matrimonial rights and obli-gations to be mutually given and accepted;

Divorce, Philippine Stylethose who, because of 3. causes of a psychological nature, are unable to assume the essential obligations of marriage.

We should however clarify that even if you get an annulment from the Court, if you were previously married in church, you can remarry but only in a civil wedding. If you want to bring your next spouse to the altar, you should still go to the Ecclesiastical Court of the Roman Catholic Church.

We should also explain that although Art. 36 has been referred to as “de facto divorce”, it is very different from divorce as we know it here in America. Because it is based on Canon law, strict requirements have been imposed on Art. 36. For instance, “serious irreconcilable differences” alone is not enough. Neither is infidelity, alcoholism, gambling, abandonment, physical abuse, nor irresponsibility. Instead, according to the Supreme Court, “psychological incapacity” should refer to no less than a mental (not physical) incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive of the basic marital covenants that concomitantly must be assumed and discharged by the parties to the marriage which, as so expressed in Article 68 of the Family Code, include their mutual obligations to live together, observe love, respect and fidelity and render help and sup-port.” (Santos v. Court of Appeals, 310 SCRA 1)

In our experience, some trial court

judges appear to be more lenient in granting annulments. But, be wary. Sometimes, the Office of the Solicitor General steps in and appeals your case all the way to the Supreme Court. Statistics would show that a majority of the deci-sions are reversed by the Supreme Court. Beyond anything else, this is due to poor presentation of the case in the trial court. Your case may qualify for psychological incapacity, but since the trial court was inclined to grant it, and the public prosecutor was very cooperative, your attorney may have made a token effort in presenting your case. To your shock, the OSG intervened and appealed your case all the way to the Su-preme Court.

According to the Supreme Court in Republic vs. CA and Molina, 268 SCRA 198, the root cause of the psychological incapacity must be psychologically or medically identified, must be alleged in your petition, and must be proven by experts, and must be explained in the decision of the court. This strongly suggests that you should get an expert clinical psychologist. The incapacity must be psychologi-cal, not physical, must have existed even before the marriage, must be permanent or incurable, and must relate to the failure to perform mari-tal obligations.

It is therefore important that you present your case properly. Get a lawyer who is not only experi-enced but is also thorough in both the preparation of your petition and in presenting your case before the court. Get a reputable clinical psychologist who is an expert in this field. Inquire about their tract record and be clear about the fees they charge. Find out what are included. Most lawyers charge a package fee, but it may not include other fees and expenses, such as the fee for the psychologist, filing fee, appearance fees in court, the stenographic notes, and other costs.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the

Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Phil-ippines 1007, with telephone num-bers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 for your free consultation. We also encourage readers to write us ques-tions about both U.S. immigration and Philippine laws to be future topics in this column. Our email address is [email protected].

ally searching for the elixir of immortality: There are references dating to the mid-1st century AD that detail combinations of saltpe-ter and sulfur used for medicinal purposes. Soon after the discovery, the Chinese put gunpowder to mili-tary use; the revolution in warfare soon spread throughout the world, with devastating effect. The earliest known gunpowder driven weapon, called a fire-lance, is depicted in a mid-10th century Chinese silk ban-ner; the oldest discovered gun dates from 1288. A natural extension of the destructive discovery was fireworks. Denoting their Chinese origin, Arabs in the 13th century re-ferred to early fireworks as Chinese flowers, with rockets being called Chinese arrows. Even saltpeter, an integral ingredient in gunpowder, was called Chinese snow. How-ever, the perfection of pyrotechnic technology (and fireworks) was accomplished by European crafts-men. It is likely that gunpowder and rockets were introduced in Europe around 1241 by Mongol traders. Subsequently, during the Renais-sance period (14th-17th centuries) two schools of pyrotechnic thought evolved. Italy focused on elabo-rate fireworks, while the Germans worked on advancing and perfecting the art of gunpowder warfare. By the mid-17th century, fireworks for entertainment purposes were wide-spread and incredibly popular in Europe. Pyrotechnics (fireworks) have now become an integral part of any major celebration. In China, the folkloric reason for fireworks was to frighten away evil spirits. They are commonly used during the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Throughout the rest of the world, the largest and most elaborate fireworks displays are saved for New Year’s Eve; the larg-est display, according to the Guin-ness Book of World Records, is in the town of Madeira, Portugal. The United States also utilizes complex pyrotechnic displays during their Fourth of July, or Independence Day, celebrations.

Pyrotechnics is a mingling of beauty and danger. It is important to remember that the beauty of fireworks is actually derived from a very destructive and danger-ous source. Already, in the earliest mention of gunpowder (the core of fireworks), the danger to people and property is noted. Of lesser note, but no less important, is the polluting effect of fireworks. Upon combus-tion, they produce a potentially toxic mix of chemicals, heavy met-als and sulfur; this combination is especially dangerous for asthmatics and allergy sufferers. This year, the city of Sydney even took the step of buying carbon credits to help offset the negative impact that fireworks may have on the environment. This mix of environmental and personal danger has made some countries re-strict the manufacturing and sale of fireworks to consumers; leaving the pyrotechnic displays in the hands of professionals.

The day after New Year’s Eve always seems to bring sobering news of maiming, injury and death by malfunctioning or improperly used fireworks and firecrackers. However, in a positive development this year the reported number of firework and gun related injuries de-

Gunpowder and the New Year


creased. As of January 1, there were 346 injuries nationwide: this repre-sented a 25 percent decrease over last year and a 50 percent decrease from the four-year average. Sadly, 38 percent of the injured were children. Fireworks and firecrackers are an integral part of our New Year celebrations; however, we hope that the government will continue to regulate the manufacturing and use of pyrotechnics. Even in 9th century China, they learned to respect the explosive nature of gunpowder and, by extension, pyrotechnics.

Island among the world’s top 100 dive spots.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said Sport Diver, the of-ficial magazine of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, named the two local dive spots in its special report entitled “100 Dives to Do Before You Die.”

Durano said Malapascua was picked for its consistent thresher shark sightings while Apo Island was chosen for its excellent spots that attract underwater photogra-phers.

It said that Apo Island Marine Sanctuary is replete with a continu-ous chain of underwater life, with hard and soft corals attracting reef

Over 40 congressmen

joining GMA in Peru(Continued from page 1)

fish like snappers, surgeon fish, damsel fish, parrot fish, anemone fish and wrasse, which, in turn, invite large species like barracuda, tuna, white tip and black tip sharks, turtles and manta rays.

Sport Diver said they scoured the globe to come up with the list of underwater sites that divers should not miss.

Durano said the inclusion of the Philippine sites in the United Kingdom’s publication proved that the country is a must see site and is among the world’s best.

“The list is based on the opinion of experts who were looking for sites that have rare characteristics which stand out from the usual dive haunts,” Durano pointed out.

Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque said the country is expected to register a banner year with the quality and quantity of sales and promotions programs implemented by the department.

“We are confident that arrivals from the United Kingdom may breach the 90,000 mark by year-end,” he added.

“In our participation in vari-ous travel trade fairs, we seldom encounter questions on the coun-try’s security. Instead, we get rave comments about our sites,” said Domingo Ramon Enerio, Philippine tourism attaché to London.

The UK market has consistently been a significant source of tourists and the arrival of British visitors had increased by 18 percent during the first half of the year.

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BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer

Pagpalit ng TaonO, kay ganda ng pagsapit nitong panibagong taonsa maraming lugar putukan dito’t putukan duonmayroon din namang abala sa kanilang pagsalubongsa taon na darating luto dito at luto duon

Aking inaalaala ang masasayang lumipas ang mga sandaling yaong kapiling ko silang lahatmagulo man at maingay ay wala nang kasinsarapang makita mo ang pamilyang maligaya at ligtas.

Kapayapaan sana ang sa ati’y ipagkaloobsa pagpalit ng taon ibaon ang mga himutoksimulan natin ng masaya at magaan ang loobang taon na darating at isa na namang pagsubok.


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DIRECTLINE By Boy Abunda

It’s a “V” date with Martin and Pops! The estranged partners are back on each other’s arms…on stage. Royal couple of the concert scene Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez are now getting their act together as they prepare for a reunion outing in what is dubbed as the most extravagant concert ever to be produced for the Concert King and Queen.

Missing You, the much-awaited reunion concert promises an overfl ow of love on Feb. 6, 2009 at the Araneta Coliseum.

With naughty Cupid just around the corner, who knows what might just happen in this red-letter day as saccharine love songs fi ll the cavernous Araneta dome? Missing on Missing You would

Martin & Pops: You can never tell

be a nasty gift you can give your Valentine date, so mark your calen-dar this early.

Reunited and better than ever, Martin and Pops are set to treat loyal follow-ers to their

greatest performance. Everything is unpredictable except the great music. Will they hold hands while they sing their love songs? Will they stare at each other? Will they be on speaking terms on this day? No one will ever know. But this is the magic of Martin and Pops tandem.

But it will surely be a time for Martin and Pops to relive the love and reclaim their day. “Valentine used to be our day,” Martin shared. “Back then, Valentine wouldn’t be complete without a Martin and Pops concert. We actually never had a Valentine’s date because we’d always have a concert.”

But the concert would be differ-ent from their previous ones. Aside from the fact that they’re no longer together, they have also grown a lot

as concert performers.“What’s different now is that there’s more maturity in our music,” Martin

said. “What’s also good to note is that Pops and I would always get along really well during our concerts. This concert brings back our chemistry as concert artists. We live for this. And, yes, we miss performing to our loyal fans.”

With their sons Ram and Robin

joining them on stage, you might as well expect a family concert, which could have been a perfect Christmas gift for their devoted fans. The fam-ily is extended even wider to include Pops’ current beau Jomari Yllana as concert producer.

“Pops and I have been talking about working together again even before,” Martin revealed. “At fi rst, I didn’t really know Jomari was pro-ducing it, but when Pops said he is part of this project, I said sure. I’m not choosy naman.”

Martin is happy Pops and Jomari’s relationship is going stronger. The Concert King considers it a privi-lege working with Jomari. He has expressed full support to the debut-ing producer on his fi rst concert production venture.

“In our production meetings, they would always have professional arguments but would always end up with a nice compromise,” he shared. “I noticed how Pops is more vocal with what she wants these days and Jom would always have expensive ideas. But at the end of the day, they get along just fi ne, which is good.”

Jomari is a hardworking producer seriously getting into production, according to Martin. “He’s working 24/7 just to make sure everything is working well. “It’s a good trait for a fi rst-time producer like him. I believe he has a bright future ahead of him.”

Aside from being comfortable working with his ex-wife’s current boyfriend, Martin is happy on Jo-mari’s closeness to his sons, Robin and Ram.

“I can see that the boys are having a great time with him,” he shared. “Jomari was so concerned for the boys that he even got Robin a stint in a coffee shop in BF Parañaque. Pops wants him to pay his dues fi rst if he really wants to make a name for himself in the music scene. He has to experience how it is to per-form for any kind of crowd.”

For Christmas, Martin is happy he’s spending it with all his sons. “It’s my fi rst time again to be with my sons on Christmas after four years. I’m happy Pops allowed our sons to spend the holidays with me in the US.”

After the holidays, Martin looks forward to busier days as he pre-pares for his much-awaited concert. He also looks forward to a brighter 2009. “2008 has been a year of broken promises, but I believe that brighter days are ahead of me.”

Missing You will also celebrate the Concert King’s 26 years in the business. Stage direction is by Row-ell Santiago while musical direction is by Homer Flores.

Movies to Watch(Following are movies now showing or

soon to be shown in San Diego.)

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

BEAUTY IN TROUBLE (opens 01/16) - The Robert Graves poem of the same name inspired director Jan Hrebejk and writer Petr Jarchovský (col-laborators on Divided We Fall and Up and Down) to tell the romantic story of Marcela (the radiant Ana Geislerová), a young woman with two children who is caught in multiple dilemmas. Her husband Jarda (Roman Luknár), a mechanic, is a great lover but a poor provider. The recent fl ood of Prague has forced them to live above the garage and Jarda to chop up stolen cars. Fed up, Marcela moves back to her mother, but is harassed by her stepfather. Jarda is arrested, and at the police station Marcela meets the handsome older man whose car he stole, a Czech émigré (Josef Abrhám) who is soon romancing her and inviting her to his Tuscan villa. But Jarda still loves her and tries to win her back. Dramatic and sexy, with fascinating characters and unexpected plot turns. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and three Czech Lion Awards (for Actor, Actress and Supporting Actress). (Fully subtitled) - http://menemshafi lms.com/beauty-in-trouble.html - 110 minutes. – Not Rated. - LANDMARK’S KEN CINEMA – Exclusive Engagement


Health

MIND YOUR BODY By Willie T. Ong, MD

How does one handle stress com-ing from a bossy employer, a philan-dering husband or unhappiness with life? Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Stress Situation 1: Arguments With Spouse

Dr. Jessy Ang, a psychiatrist from the University of Santo Tomas, gives these practical tips on how to deal with marital problems.

• First, give your partner some room to relax first when he or she comes back from work. Let him watch TV first or tinker with his gadgets for around 30 minutes before launching your offensive.

• Second, agree on some ground rules before engag-ing. Rule number 1 is to not bring up past mistakes. (“You always nag me and don’t support me.”) Rule number 2 is to not involve rela-tives and mothers-in-law in the argu-ment. They’re off the topic. (“Your mom always looked down on me.”)

• Third, once the rules are set, gently list down one or two issues you’d like to solve. Ask your partner to help you using this mini problem-solving technique. What steps can we make to solve this? Is there something I don’t know about?

• Fourth, never use the word “you” when discussing, always use “I.” For example, “I am disappointed because of what happened. I feel bad about the situation.” When you start using the word “you,” the argument heats

How to deal with life’s stresses

up. (“You never allow me.” “You always do this.”)

• Fifth, when one party begins to raise his/her voice, it’s time to call a “Time-out!” A time-out can last from an hour to a day. Respect the other person’s feelings until he/she is ready to talk again. Whew, what a life!

Stress Situation 2: Dealing With A Bossy Employer

Another eminent psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Lee, gives the following advice when dealing with a difficult employer.

• First, list down the things you want to say to him. You can write down your feelings on paper to release the brewing tension.

• Second, look at your boss’ complaints from his point

of view. Maybe he’s just stressed. Maybe he’s not

really angry at you but at his life (mad at the world). Next, try to find an appropriate time to open up to your employer. Try to make him see you in a

positive light, like what you can offer to the company. And if he’s still rav-ing mad, you can humor him saying, “Sir, you look more handsome when you’re not angry.”

It’s really difficult, but try to find the good in every bossy boss.

Eight Stress-Reducing Tips

1) Identify the things that bring you stress. Sometimes, just finding out what stresses you already dissipates the stress. At least, you now know in your mind what you’re angry at or about.

2) Share some responsibilities. A shared burden is lighter for you to carry. You may even develop a new friendship in the process. Just make sure the other person also gets some-thing in return for helping you out.

3) Find some humor even in the worst situation. Try to find a silver lining in every seeming disappoint-ment. (“Well, I didn’t think he was husband material anyway.”)

Verbalize and release it. Say, for example, “I am so afraid to make this speech.” Talking about your fears will help you release it, and you can then refocus yourself.

4) Do things little by little. Don’t deal with a gargantuan problem in one sitting. Just make these teeny-

weeny steps. A Japanese philosopher believes you can change the world by making little baby steps. Ask oneself, “What little improvement can I do to help my community? What little thing can I do to make my husband happy?” The key word is “little.” It gets you going in the right direction and it’s not stressful because it’s just a little, right?

5) Say, “So what, I don’t care!” This “devil may care” attitude helps you postpone your stress until you are ready to deal with it another day. Schedule a worry time. Tell yourself, “I’m going to sleep and forget about the problem. I’m going to deal with the issue at 11 a.m. tomorrow.” We must understand that there are times our body is weak in dealing with

stress and there are times we are strong. If you get hit during your low point (you’re tired, it’s late in the evening, you’ve got other problems), tell yourself that your weakness is only temporary. You will beat that problem at the right time.

6) Get into a healthy mindset. Research shows that people who effectively handle stress have three things in common: a) They consider life a challenge; b) They feel they have a mission in life and are com-mitted to fulfilling it; c) They don’t feel victimized by life but believe that setbacks are only temporary. In short, they have a positive outlook.

7) Do the things that relax you. For example, listening to music, lying in a dark room, taking a siesta, reading

humorous books, watching a funny movie, talking with a friend, fixing up your house, taking a warm bath or just plain doing nothing. Health tips to relax you include avoiding coffee, doing aerobic exercises, breathing slowly and deeply in and out, and thinking of something peaceful and happy.

8) Finally, our best strategy for stress reduction is — helping other people. Just helping someone sicker, weaker or poorer than you will help you rethink your priorities and put things in the proper perspective. Happiness and richness are relative. And with all the blessings you are receiving, you can be happy today. Take care!


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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

Shakespeare once wrote that the storms of life are “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” He was right! These “slings and ar-rows” have hit us hard and hit us deep and it hurts! To compound our pain, the dreaded Murphy showed its ugly face and everything that can go wrong went wrong. And it is still going wrong. We are still being bombarded left and right, front and back, by these “slings and arrows.” And it seems that there is no respite.

President-elect Barack Obama even said that the economy “is worse than we expected” and it will take some time, even years, before we can recover. Unemployment has hit an all-time high, people and businesses are suffering, and our investments are going down the drain. Economists are predicting that this economy will get much worse before it gets better.

What do we do? Don’t call it quits. Quitting is not an option. If we wait it out and be patient, once we hit bottom there is no other place to go but up. Let’s look down the road ahead and hope and pray that the worst is over. Which it will, eventually! Everything has an end, and the problems that we are expe-riencing now will end, we just don’t know when. But it will. Things change. We change. Circumstances change. Nothing is forever!

We just have to look at the posi-tive side of life, and not be mired

Quitting is not an Optionto a catatonic state by all these problems. Trouble and despair have a way of taking us down to the darkest pit of despair. That was what happened to one of Bernard Madoff’s investors. When he found out that he lost all his hard-earned money, he decided to call it quits, and he shot himself.

Remember that there are always two sides to an equation, and we can always view the glass as half-empty or half-full. Let’s view it as half-full! If we do not lose hope, life has a way of turning out for the best. Wait and see! Trust in the Lord our God. He is the source and giver of life, and he will never fail us or forsake us.

Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” If we choose to stand in the shadow of God’s wings, and have an abiding faith in him, we can surmount and overcome all “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

There are two things we can do now to make us feel better. First, we can read again our Lord God’s words and promises as stated in the Bible. For example, in one of the Bible passages, it tells us to consider the lilies of the field for they reap not, neither do they plant, but our Lord God takes care of them. We are more important to God than the lilies of the field, so we can be sure that we will be taken cared of.

Second, we can also re-read some of the inspirational poems and pas-sages that have inspired us in the past. I always like reading the poem “Don’t Quit!” and “A Creed to Live By” – both written by anonymous authors. Here they are:

Don’t Quit!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will.

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.

When funds are low and the debts are high.

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.

When care is pressing you down a bit.

Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns aboutWhen he might have won had he

stuck it out.Don’t give up though the pace

seems slowYou may succeed with another

blow.Success is failure turned inside outThe silver tint of the clouds of

doubt.And you never can tell how close

you are.It may be near when it seems so

far.So stick it out when you’re hardest

hit –It’s when things seem worst that

you must NOT QUIT!

A Creed to Live By

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to encounter the risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give love, and fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly, and the best way to give love is to give it wings.

Don’t dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope, to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is not a race but a journey to be savored each step of the way.


Caregiver, millionaire(Continued from page 12)derly to give their caregivers money. They would say they are satisfied with how they’re taken care of and that they feel the sincerity of the caregiver.

Filipino caregivers exude this characteristic because most of us really know how to take care of our own elderly.

Of course, there are some who hope to find luck while taking care of a well-off elderly and be reward-ed for what they have done. That is not only true of Filipinos but of other nationalities as well.

It did not occur to me, however, that he would reward me with any-thing because he was too frugal.

But one day, Edward asked me if I wanted to receive a monthly allow-ance from him or include me in his will.

I told him to just put me in his will. I was not one to decline his offer. Alangan namang tanggihan ko di ba? [I would be a hypocrite if I said no.]

He did not know he had left as much as $2.5 million when he died.

He gave me 25 percent of the inheritance while he gave the rest to charity.

***OF COURSE, a lot of caregivers

hope they will be rewarded for their service. Almost everyone wants that to happen.


Sa loob ng simbahanPari: Sana ang donation mo ay

katumbas ng ganda ng pakakasalan mo.

Groom: Eto P5,Father.Tinignan ng pari ang bride.Pari: Eto P4 sukli mo iho.

Si Erap Talaga

Erap: (sa telepono) Hello, I would like to inquire… how long is the flight to San Francisco?

Operator: Just a minute, sir.Erap: Really? Thank you. (klik)

Sirena

Isang Araw Nilunod Ng Tatay Ang Anak Niyang Bakla

Tatay: (Hawak Sa Ulo Ang Anak at Sabay Lulub Ito Sa Tubig) Saka Nagtanong. Lalake O Babae?

Bruno: Babae Po TayTatay: Ano Kamo? Sabay Lulob

Ulit at Itinaas! Lalake O Babae?

Bruno: Babae Po TayTatay: (Asar) Nilublob Ulit.

Mga Limang Minuto Bago Ulit Itinaas Ang Ulo Ng Kanyang Anak. Ngayon Isa Pang Tanong! Lalake O Babae. Sabay Lublob Ulit!

Pag Angat Sa Ulo Ng Knyang Anak

Bruno: Sirenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Use in a sentence

Gamitin sa sentence ang SCHOOLING.

phone ring:Hello whoschooling

PALIMOS

PULUBI: Boss, palimos po!KULAS: Iinom ka o’ magyoyosi?PULUBI: Wala po akong bisyo.KULAS: OK, sumama ka sa’kin

sa bahay ko’t para malaman ng misis ko kung anong nangyayari sa taong walang bisyo!!

Sa Simbahan


ROSES & THORNS By Alejandro R. Roces

January 08, 2009

The entire Christendom marks today the end of the Solemnity of the Epiphany, a traditional celebra-tion of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles and the visit of the Wise Men, or the Magi, to the Christ child. Many people ask what prompted the Magi, or the Three Wise Kings, to have a deep desire to leave everything and begin the journey from the East to look for the Child Jesus. The Magi comes from the Greek word magoi, transliter-ated from the Persian word refer-ring to a select sect of priests, and rooted from the Latin word meaning “sage”.

It is also the same root word for “magic”, the reason why the Magis were misconstrued to be magicians and sorcerers, rather than astrologers and skilled interpreters of dreams, especially in finding the Christ. They are a hereditary priesthood of the Medes, known for their profound wisdom and knowledge, par-ticularly in the sciences. From this sacred caste of the Medes also came great dreamers such as Darius the Great and the biblical prophet, Dan-iel, who was fed to lions in the den, but went out unscathed, and who was also given the title Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi. The Magi, being experts also in astrology, saw an extraordinary brilliant star ris-ing in the East, “around which the sun, moon and other stars formed a chorus” (Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, Chapter 19). The wise men followed the star to Beth-lehem of Judea, and to where Jesus lay in a manger. Before this Daniel had a Messianic vision that the “Savior of the world”, the Messiah, will be announced by a “star”. He had entrusted this vision to a secret

Let us not forget the Solemnity of the Epiphany

sect of the Magi because he knew this would be fulfilled in due time.

The Epiphany also refers to the Adoration of the Kings. Immedi-ately upon arriving in the infant Jesus’ dwelling, the Three Kings worshipped Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts symbolize the deity of Jesus, who God is and what He did and taught. Gold symbolizes his Kingship as this precious metal was given to royalty. Myrrh foretells the sacrifi-cial death of Jesus; it was one of the burial spices used on Christ’s body many years later. It also foretells His ministry as the Great Healer. Frank-incense symbolizes the divinity and priesthood of Christ. Incense, used in worship by ancient Jews and Greeks, was believed to carry prayers to heaven. These expres-sions embody the “epiphany” of the

Magi, after they encountered the Messiah and under-

stood His birth was the start of the fulfillment

of His divine role here on earth.

Various customs and traditions

have evolved from the introduc-tion of the Epiphany since the

third century. Most significant to me was the exchang-ing of gifts “of Christian character” to honor the solemnity of the feast, gifts that express piety and were not extravagant, luxurious or wasteful; and, the blessing of homes on whose lintels are inscribed the Cross of salvation, together with the year and the initials of the Three Wise Men “C+M+B”, Caspar, Melchor and Balshazzar, which was also inter-preted to mean “Christus Mansion-em Benedicat” (Christ Bless This Home), written with blessed chalk.

The Casino Espanol of Manila fastidiously celebrates the Feast of the Three Kings every year. Three of its members dress up as the Three Kings and riding on horses, they distribute gifts to the poor. Few in our generation remember that this

used to be a solemn holiday that was part of the Christmastide, the “twelfth day of Christmas”. By recalling these practices and tradi-tions, we understand why changes today tend to denigrate society rather than improve in character.

Today, I wish to inspire my read-ers to reflect on the solemnity of these celebrations, not in any way be pharisaical or fanatically reli-gious, but to bring out in them and the families of today the spiritual values that serve to strengthen our characters and hence, the moral fiber of the nation as a whole.

Likewise, tomorrow, when thousands of devotees again flock to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, may their minds be filled only with adoration and worship for God as they lift up their individual supplications. May their worship be like the Magi’s epiphany, a realization of God’s di-vinity that deserves pure and solemn exultation and a genuine expression of faith.

But not all elderly give allowances to their caregivers; it’s for them or their family to decide.

If you are a caregiver, you have to be sincere and patient since the elderly already have memory lapses. They get easily irritated and are lonely most of the time.

Sometimes, to make Edward happy, I cooked chicken adobo. He called it “bobo.” It became his favorite dish.

Other Filipino dishes he learned to love and which I cooked for him were pancit bihon, lumpiang shang-hai, and sinigang.

Edward’s staple food was a small serving of rice or oatmeal in the morning and steamed chicken and beans during full meals.




One time after a full meal of beans, he wanted to cut a branch of a tree on his front yard.

I was behind, holding onto his belt to keep him steady him while he climbed a ladder. And then he released gas.

I almost dropped him.I still fed Edward beans but his

tree-branch cutting days were over.Still, caregiving is easier than

office work where you have to be early everyday, dress up, rush things, and spend for your transpor-tation.

In my experience, caregivers need only to go to their workplace and leave after a week. It’s a practical and financially-rewarding job.

Of course, there are sacrifices. You can only be with your family during weekends. The most you can do is call them. I go to work on Monday mornings and I go home on Satur-day mornings.

***EDWARD might have known

he would die soon as his physical condition worsened.

His lungs had been retaining wa-ter. He had congested heart failure. He had cancer on the skin and face.

He must have felt his time was nearing when we were cleaning his sister’s grave.

Soon after, we arranged every-thing for his burial. The costs for the burial were also included in his will.

We could not go to church on Sundays anymore. In his last days, the priest would come by the house everyday to give him communion.

I saw him through his deathbed.Edward died at the age of 89 at his

home, where he wanted to be.Coincidentally, my husband

Gary was rushed to the hospital for appendicitis at the time Edward breathed his last.

I could not be there for my hus-band because no one else was there to take care of Edward’s funeral.

Gary, with the care of my in-laws, recuperated without me by his side. He got out of the hospital just when Edward was about to be buried.

Edward’s lawyer told me I re-ceived 25 percent of what he left behind.

I didn’t know then how much he had or if he was rich because he held on to money with closed fist.

***WHEN I got the money Edward

left me in 2003, I was surprised; it was worth P30 million.

The money was that much that by October of that year, I was able to buy five houses in Sacramento, California, and put them up on the market for lease.

When Edward was still alive, he

wanted to give me his house.“Do you like this house?” he once

asked.“It’s up to you,” I replied.But his lawyer said the will was

already done.“Besides, whatever you provided

her would be enough for her to buy her own house,” his lawyer added.

I didn’t insist because I felt it was wrong for me to aspire for more. What Edward gave me was really more than enough.

His house, worth $0.575 million, was liquidated and the rest of his money went to his church and other charity groups.

I consider myself really, really lucky that after all the hardships, Edward came into my life so sud-denly.

Although things did not come easy working for him, he gave me a good life.

I can help my family now. I can

send my nieces and nephews to pri-vate schools. I can give my daugh-ters a good life when I, myself, grew up in hard times.

I never thought of owning houses in the US because I never even had a house of my own in the Philip-pines.

My mother used to wash clothes for a living and my father was an employee, so I have never experi-enced studying in a private school either.

I have my two duplexes rented and earning well; the same with the two other houses. We are living in my third house.

Real estate prices, however, have gone down because of the reces-sion and as the US dollar weakened. Some tenants have been causing me problems since they can’t pay on time unless I give them penalty for the delay.


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But I’m a kind landlady; my pen-alty’s just 5 percent of the monthly rent.

***MY time will come – I am 40 and

my husband is 49 – so I still need to work hard for my family.

Yes, we are workaholics.My husband and I fl ew here in the

Philippines together but he’s already back to work now after a week stay.

By now our three daughters –Hazel, 19, my daughter from a previous relationship, and Princess, 13, and Reyna, 12, Gary’s daughters from his previous relationship– are used to not having us around the house. I’m usually out for 12 straight days.

I also have a child patient who is dying of cancer of the lymph node. He is 14 years old. I have been help-ing in his medication since 2006.

When my mother is not with my children, we pay a day care center near where we live $50 a day for the kids.

I may build a foundation in Edward’s name for the education of street children in the Philippines.

Maybe I can do that when my chil-dren, nieces, and nephews are done with their schooling.

I still work because I help my sib-lings send their sons and daughters to school. All in all, I help send 14 students to private schools.

The eldest of my scholars has entered college while the rest are in grade school and high school.

Supporting them fi nancially for their education is the only help I can give them. I advise all of them to take up nursing because that’s where the money is.

I would have wanted to study again and enroll in nursing but I am already doing so many things. So what I did was enroll in a Certifi ed Nursing Assistant course, which is a step higher than caregiving.

If you are a CNA, you can work in a fi eld nursing facility such as a nursing home and take care of six to eight patients. The salary is higher but the job is much harder. Itong liit kong ito lalo akong liliit. (I bet I’d get even smaller if I do the work of a CNA.)

If you are a caregiver, you only take care of one elderly. It’s a lighter load than a CNA’s but still earns big.

Job and money are always there for caregivers because the US will never run out of old people that need care.

Today I’m living a good life, but I’m still a caregiver.

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A boy lures passersby to buy paper horns along Roxas Boulevard in Manila . PhilStar photo MANNY MARCELO

SKETCHES By Ana Marie Pamintuan

On New Year’s Eve the dogs again ran for cover, hating the pol-lution and noise, and I had to wear a mask as a steady drizzle kept the fireworks fumes from being dispersed by the wind.

There are people in our commu-nity who always welcome the New Year with the brightest lights and loudest, longest bang. I didn’t real-ize how much I had become ac-customed to the neighbors’ revelry until I thought the fireworks had disappeared the other night.

The fireworks started much later than usual this New Year’s Eve. Everyone I know noted a marked reduction in the decibel of mer-rymaking in their own neighbor-hoods.

This must have been a source of great relief in the animal kingdom. But those who grew up steeped in the Philippine tradition of greeting the New Year with a bang must have felt a bit depressed as mid-night approached and there were only a few powerful explosions. I didn’t relish a “silent night” on New Year’s Eve. It was like the end of childhood and innocence.

A few minutes to midnight the

explosions and fireworks finally intensified. It was with relief that I welcomed the deafening noise of sawa or “pythons” – those extra-long coils of firecrackers strung together and designed to explode for up to two minutes.

At close to 1 a.m. the intermittent explosions of “Judas’ belt” or sin-turon ni Hudas, the shorter version of the python, could still be heard

We know the noise and pollution from firecrackers and fireworks are bad for the health of both humans and animals. There are people who leave Metro Manila during New Year’s Eve because family mem-bers suffering from asthma need to escape from the toxic fumes. For the careless and the luckless, handling firecrackers can also lead to serious injuries and even death. The Department of Health should be commended for its relentless warnings to the public about the hazards of setting off firecrackers to greet the New Year.

But in the first hour of the year the brilliant fireworks and staccato explosions were a source of com-fort and joy, reassuring me that the traditions of my childhood were still intact.

* * *

In a global economic slowdown, it was a surprise that the tradition could be maintained at all. At hun-dreds of pesos for a few seconds of noise and bright lights, greeting the year with the usual fireworks can be as costly as a New Year’s feast.

The tradition is supposed to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck. The maintenance of the tradi-tion is certainly good luck for the country’s fireworks industry.

Silent night: New Year’s celebration in the Philippines

There were news reports that the manufacturers of Bulacan were all sold out. Either they cut produc-tion volume this year or Filipinos actually bought more firecrackers and fireworks, even if it didn’t seem like it on New Year’s Eve. Or perhaps the local industry is now producing goods similar to the awesome fireworks made by the Chinese. One local manufacturer has said the industry is studying the imported competition and moving to catch up.

Imports were mostly what I think I saw on New Year’s Eve. Even the “crying cow” was different: the moan of cattle being led to the slaughter was the same (animal rights activists are probably not amused), but the sound accompa-nied fireworks spiraling up into the sky before exploding in a shower of sparks.

If those were local products, then there’s hope that the industry will survive the forces of globalization.

For some Filipinos, it wasn’t just the economic slowdown that made them forgo their annual splurge on fireworks. It was also the unpleas-ant experience of buying expen-sive local products such as “super fountains” that turned out to be duds, with no possibility of getting

a refund.If the local fireworks industry

wants to stay in the game, it must tighten its quality control.

Some defenders of the traditional New Year’s Eve revelry point out that in most cases, stupidity and carelessness are the real hazards, not firecrackers.

For some revelers, the risk adds to the thrill. But it’s not impos-sible to make firecrackers safer to handle. Even a prominent warn-ing on every product and simple instructions for safe handling can help prevent firecracker-related injuries.

Among the most popular prod-ucts this New Year’s were the “pla-pla” and the “piccolo” – both cheap but powerful firecrackers. Both are also banned. The pic-colo has replaced the “watusi” or dancing firecrackers and “pulling strings” of my childhood, which were banned because kids tended to swallow them. Even minor wounds caused by the tiny fire-crackers could cause potentially fatal tetanus.

In recent years there have been efforts to promote common fire-works display areas in every com-munity, with local governments bankrolling the New Year’s Eve show with support from the private sector.

Several local governments, shop-ping mall owners and property developers have been sponsoring such fireworks shows in the past years.

This is the way the New Year is greeted in many other countries. Despite recession woes, govern-ments again spent millions on spectacular fireworks shows this New Year’s Eve in Australia, Britain, New Zealand, the United

States and Singapore.Though big-budget fireworks

shows are breathtaking, the trend has been slow to catch on in the Philippines. On New Year’s Eve families traditionally gather to prepare the media noche and other feasts for New Year’s Day. Fearing burglars or a fire, many are reluc-tant to leave the house to watch fireworks shows in a nearby park or mall.

Workers in the fireworks indus-try will also want to preserve the tradition of setting off firecrackers and staging fireworks shows in front of every home.

There’s a generation growing up with the idea that firecrackers are dangerous and fireworks shows should be staged in common areas, and only by people trained in safe product handling.

But until this emerging trend becomes another generation’s tra-dition, the local fireworks industry still has a big market whose flag-ging demand can be revived.

If the local industry does not want to lose that market to foreign competition, product upgrading and quality control should start now.

MANILA, Philstar, 12/14/08 -- Filipinos are now selling their kidneys and other organs online. Medical experts reported yesterday that syndicates are now using online marketing, offering organs to pro-spective foreign and local buyers.

Dr Benita Padilla of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) said online organ selling has become rampant in the country de-spite the ban on organ trafficking.“If you will check the websites, there are numerous kidney-for-sale advertisements. This form of online

Filipinos selling kidneys onlineadvertising should be prohibited,” Padilla said.

A 34-year-old Filipino from Manila, who claims to be financially distressed, is among those offering one of his “healthy” kidneys for sale on the website Pinoyambisyoso.com.

But Padilla admitted that Filipinos are not the only ones selling their organs on the Internet as people of other nationalities, like Colombians, are doing the same.

According to Padilla, organ traf-ficking is a common problem in

the Philippines and other countries where poor people are forced to sell their organs to get some money. She said the worldwide shortage of available organs for transplantation has encouraged commercial traffick-ing of human organs, particularly among living unrelated donors.

Dr Alberto Chua of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Me-morial Medical Hospital noted that 51 percent or 536 of the total kidney transplant recipients last year were foreigners.

asian journal jan 09.2009

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