asian journal july 2-8, 2010

Aguinaldo Awards / Miss Philippines CA USA

Condo units in Tagaytay. While you are away, you can rent out your unit as a condotel and make money on your investment. Presentations available in August, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Asian Journal office at 550 East 8th Street Suite 6, National City, CA 91950 (in Old Schoolhouse Square). Call (619) 474-0588 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Attend a free presentation for MONTELUCE -

the high point of Tagaytay

The Philippine Map and being Proudly Pinoy

Carmen Colet has been appointed Commissioner of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

She is the first Filipino to be appointed in the world renowned repository of Asian Art in America.

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is one of the largest mu-seums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian Art, with a collection of over 17,000 artworks spanning 6,000 years of history.

Images courtesy of the Asian Art Museum.

Fil-Am is new SF Asian Art Museum

commissioner

(Continued on page 13)


What’s in your bag?July 2 - 8, 2010

CommunityMsgr. Gutierrez EntertainmentGabby, KC star in

father-daughter drama, “I’ll be there”


By Joey Concepcion

Last 2008, my sister Liza and brother in law Dondi San-tos gave me a unique shirt for my birthday. It drew inspira-tion from the polo brand shirts that we frequently use when we come from the states. This time, the shirt had the Philip-pine map instead of the horse.

Joey Cua’s family owns Collezione. I remember the brand from way back. I used

to buy Collezione shirts when we were growing up. The brand eventually faded as they were not able to innovate.

Well, the family’s sec-ond generation, under the leadership of Joey, worked with Rhett Eala to come up with something different in 2007. They also renamed the brand Collezione C2. It is a brilliant idea to use the Philippine Map. It is amazing to see that so many people today are using shirts by C2. Unfortunately for Joey, one cannot register the Philippine map as a logo. Many clothing manufacturers and designers have now come up with their version of shirts and clothing with the Philippine map.

Just yesterday in a restau-rant in Tagaytay, I saw that about 20 percent of the people inside are wearing the shirt with the Philippine map in different styles. Definitely, not all of those shirts are from C2. But, it is great to see that more and more people want to be proud of being Pinoy. Whoever thought that the Philippine map would look good in these shirts?

While C2 started a great idea, the growing sense of nationalism has pushed more people to wear clothes with the Philippine map. It’s about time that the Pinoy craze cen-ters on embracing our nation-ality and our roots.

For quite a while, a great number of Filipinos wanted to be US citizens or wished that the Philippines was the 52nd state of America. I would say that the resurgence of Pinoy nationalism started with the EDSA revolution. We all felt good being a Filipino, espe-cially those who were part of the major change. But, from there, the Philippines’ cycle of misery started all over again.

In a way, during PGMA’s tenure, the growing sense of nationalism was pushed high-er. Pacman’s phenomenal box-ing record is making Filipinos

Cynthia K. Nagura (left), Director of the Family Re-source Center, receives a Congressional award from Manny Doria, Special Assistant to California’s Border Congressman Bob Filner during the Microenterprise Family Childcare Program’s“Celebration with Community Partners” at South County Regional Education Center in National City. Also in the picture is the Honorable Yolanda Salcido, President of the Southwestern Community College District Governing Board.

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, takes his oath before Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the Philippines 15th President during inaugural ceremony in Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Manila Wednesday (June 30) .Looking on are from (L-R) former president Fidel Ramos, for-mer president Joseph Estrada, Presidential Sister Kris Aquino-Yap and, Father Catalino Arevalo, (holding the Holy Bible). REY S. BANIQUET/OPS/ PNS

By Aurea Calica

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino promised yesterday the dawning of real change and to make the people his “only boss,” as he rallied them to unite since “we’re all in this together.”

“You are the boss so I can-not ignore your orders. We will design and implement an interaction and feedback mechanism that can effec-tively respond to your needs and aspirations,” Mr. Aquino said in his inaugural address after being sworn in as the country’s 15th president by Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Mo-rales at the Quirino Grand-stand in Manila’s Rizal Park at noon yesterday.

“You are the ones who

P-Noy to Pinoys: You are my boss

At the Queen Mary Museum in Long Beach, California, Isabel had her first experience aboard a cruise ship and enjoyed what she saw. She was impressed and wondered on how the Americans were able to put together such beautiful places in just one small area in the world.

By Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Asian Journal San DiegoThe Original and First Asian Journal in San Diego

See story page 3

Promised LandAmerican Dream

By Dr. Cesar D. Candari

Eleventh in a series of articles I am proud to be an Anti-

queno. I was born and raised in the town of Pandan, the north-ernmost municipality of the province of Antique, in Panay Island, Philippines. Although I have been away from my hometown for many years, I still long for the veritable source of simple, homespun pleasure…a place where one can spend the day lolling on sandy beaches or quiet brooks, unmolested by the

From Antique to America:Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor

Antique, My Hometown “ Any event, once it has occurred, can be made to appear

inevitable by a competent historian.” - LEE SIMONSON

noise and hustle of the me-tropolis.

Antique is rich in history and legends as it is beautiful with its white beaches and majestic peaks. In Antique one can experience nature’s beauty and adventure at its best. With its pristine waters, the province is a temptation to explorers and na-ture lovers. The heritage that we, the Antiquenos, have acquired has made us a very flexible peo-ple. We have adapted gracefully to the various cultural climates to which we have been exposed

to and have culled the best from each of these divergent cultures. All these fashioned the genuine Antiquenos of their hospitality. They would go out of their way to extend assistance to visitors and guests. They are a seafar-ing people, friendly, industrious, sweet and hardworking.

Perhaps I traveled more than

July 2 - 8, 2010Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

With the recent economic downturn, we have seen a lot of businesses who have either closed shop or sold its business operations to an-other entity. Individuals who have been petitioned by these businesses have suffered the brunt of this recession. These individuals have not only lost their jobs, but also the opportunity to obtain perma-nent residency through their employers.

The effect on these spon-sored employees will depend on a number of factors, such as: (1) Has the immigrant petition been approved? (2) If an immigrant petition has already been approved, has the sponsored employee fi led his application for adjustment of status with the US Citizen-ship and Immigration Services (USCIS)? (3) Has the com-pany totally closed shop? (4) Did the company sell its as-sets and liabilities to another entity?

If the company has totally closed, then as a general rule, the sponsored employee will no longer be able to continue with the immigrant petition

My employer who sponsored me closed its business... What’s next?

fi led by his company. Howev-er, if the company has closed shop but the sponsored em-ployee has already fi led his or her application for adjustment of status with the USCIS, and the application has been pend-ing for more than 180 days, the sponsored employee can still proceed with his or her adjustment application. All he or she needs to do is look for another employer who will be willing to employ the individ-ual for the same position.

If the employer has sold its business to another entity, the sponsored employee may still continue with the petition fi led by his former employer, if the following can be estab-lished: (1)

The job opportunity of-fered by the company who purchased the business (new company) must be the same as the job opportunity origi-nally offered on the labor certifi cation; (2) The new company must show that it has the fi nancial ability to pay the offered wages of the sponsored employee; (3) The new company must be able to describe and document the

transfer and assumption of the ownership of the old company by the new company,

There are certain steps to be undertaken by the new company so that the spon-sored employee can still continue with the immigrant petition fi led by the new com-pany. Depending on whether the immigrant petition has already been approved or not, the new company might have to fi le an amended immigrant petition with the USCIS for the sponsored employee.

All is not lost for those sponsored employees whose employers have closed shop or sold its business opera-tions to another entity. The employee may still be able to continue with his or her immigrant petition. It is thus important for the employee to check if current regulations will allow him to continue with his immigrant petition.

Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV) - a full service law fi rm with offi ces in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The infor-mation presented in this ar-ticle is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. The CTV attorneys will be holding its regular free legal clinic at the Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo, California on August 30, 2010. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consul-tation to discuss your particu-lar situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]

By: Father Shay Cullen

When Sheila O'Hara, that intrepid social investigator continued her journey in the Philippines, with Melinda her friend and interpreter, she went to the cities and towns well known for their sex tour-ism business to gather data for her theses. They arrived in Angeles City, one hour bus ride north of Manila rented a room off Fields Avenue not far from the notorious glitzy sex bars that saturated the area. It was like a sexual Disneyland.

Hundreds of young scant-ily clad girls stood outside the sex clubs lit by the fl ickering multi-colored neon lights en-ticing middle aged Caucasian men to go inside to buy drinks and choose a girl for the night. Sheila and Melinda met the bar girls when they came to eat at a canteen nearby. They were open about their lives. "I came from Samar", Ellen said "we have nothing there, our family is always hungry and as kids we have to work in the fi elds". Her companion Rosa added "Here we don't earn much, but it’s better than nothing. For eight hours pole dancing we can earn 150 pesos (US$3, £2) she said, and if we strip we get another 50 pesos (US$1, £0.67). If we get a customer into the VIP room at the back for sex we get 300 pesos ($6). Ellen added "it’s not fair, the bar owner gets 3000 pesos ($65, £45). If he gives the cherry girls (virgins) he earns thirty thousand pesos ($530. £450)

“There are many, young

Sheila O’Hara Visits the Sex Bars

Sexual traffi cking is an in-ternational phenomenon, in-cluding sexual slaves from around the globe. Men and boys are sexually traffi cked, but 90 percent of this trade in human fl esh happens with women and girls.

ones, they bring them in from the far villages, like us” she said casually. Are the custom-ers generous? Sheila asked. "If we go out to a hotel the customer sometimes gives us a big tip, if he is a nice man, that is, and doesn't beat us, some do", Rosa said, "I think that kind of man enjoys it, he imagines he is beat-ing his wife, he's a brute". Rosa wiped away a tear as bad memories came fl ooding back. "How long have you been here" Sheila asked. "A long time, too long", Ellen Said, "I started when I was 14, I was forced to live with an uncle. He raped me. I went to the police but he went free in two days after pay-ing money. Then I ran away from home. A pimp brought me here, gave me a fake birth certifi cate and got me a job. I had to go with men to pay her back or I could have been jailed". She said. "I hate it but it’s all I have. I told my family I work in a hotel as a receptionist and I send them money, so my sisters don’t have to come here ".

Rosa joined in the con-

versation "I was 15, but after six months I got the venereal disease and the boss man, a big Australian, threw me out, most of bars are run by foreigners. I had to go to the social hygiene clinic to get cured". She said.

Later that night Sheila and Melinda went to a club and were allowed in after they paid an entrance fee. They stood at the back in the shad-ows. It was the Doll House, a big spacious hall with a circular stage and bar around it. Six dancers were gyrating suggestively to the beat of disco music. About 200 girls in bikinis were on the fl oor or up on a balcony. The place was full.

The house pimps were inviting the half-drunk sex tourists to pick a girl or have another drink if they didn't already have both. "It’s a sex circus" Sheila told herself, wondered about how many of the men and girls were STD or HIV positive. Rosa had told her that, the social hy-giene personnel sometimes go to the club to test the girls, not the customers.

The next day Sheila was determined to learn more and went to the government-run social hygiene center. She met the chief nurse Angie Santos. "Yes, we make visits to the clubs when the girls don't come here for their monthly check up. The check up cer-tifi cate is a requirement like the mayor work permit. The mayor can’t let any infected girl work you know, it’s bad for business. If the bar own-ers don't bring them here, he will cancel their permit and license". Sheila then planned to go to the police to research the cases of traffi cking. (to be continued) [email protected], [email protected]

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Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comJuly 2 - 8, 2010

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Chapter 13

From the lobby of the air-port, Albert and Isabel crossed the street into the parking ga-rage. They stopped by a two-seater BMW red sportscar.

“Is this your car?” Isabel asked her husband. “It’s beau-tiful.”

“It’s a bachelor’s car,” he replied.

“Maybe you have dated a lot of women with this car.”

“No. It was my ex-wife who chose it. When we divorced, this was what I got. I am just a simple guy with simple needs. In fact, I want to replace it with a van.”

“Why?” she asked. “A van is too big.”

“Won’t we need a family vehicle to accommodate our kids?” Albert asked.

Isabel smiled. “You’re rushing things,” she

said.“I have to. I’m already old.” “But you’re only thirty years

old.”“I want to have a lot of

kids.”Isabel was pleased.


ISABEL’S TWO SUITCAS-ES WERE ABLE TO FIT in the trunk of the small car. She noticed a small bag inside.

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s my clothing for the next three days. We will stay here in Los Angeles before we go home to San Diego.”

“Why?” “I want to show you around

fi rst.”“How far is San Diego?” “About two hours from

here.”The two then went inside a

nice restaurant for dinner.

“It’s expensive here,” Isabel commented while looking at the menu. “A meal for one person is already twenty dol-lars? For that price, you could feed ten people in the Philip-pines.”

“You are already in Ameri-ca,” her husband advised her. “Think in terms dollars, not in pesos. Don’t convert all your expenses here in pesos. You will just always think every-thing here is expensive.”

Isabel was reminded of the comment of Alicia, who was seated next to her on the plane, that everybody in

America could afford to eat steak. She decided to try the dish although she was wary at fi rst upon seeing its $30-cost.

“How do you want it done?” the waiter asked her.

She couldn’t answer. Finally she asked Albert, “What does he mean?”

Albert smiled. “Do you want it well-

cooked, medium-cooked or rarely-cooked?” he explained to her.

“I’ll try medium-cooked.”“She’ll have medium rare,”

Albert told the waiter.“No, I said medium-

cooked,” she corrected her husband.

“It’s the same. A well-cooked steak is called ‘well-

done,’ a medium-cooked is ‘medium rare’ and a little bit raw is ‘rare’,” Albert ex-plained to her.

“I didn’t know that there are so many ways to cook a steak.”

She blushed. In her mind, she knew she still has a lot of things to learn in living in America.

Albert could not help but smile. He leaned forward and lovingly kissed her forehead. He didn’t want her to feel embarrassed.

“All of us pass through that learning process. It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “You should see what those from the farms went through.”

“There’s one guy who made kalamansi juice out of the kalamansi and hot water given to him by a waiter. He didn’t know he was supposed to use it to clean his hands.”

“It’s such a waste to use ka-lamansi that way,” Isabel said innocently.

This time, Albert could not help but laugh. He was just telling Isabel a joke and she thought the incident actually happened.

OVER DINNER, Isabel was noticeably concious of her behavior. Albert observed it.

“Just keep eating. Don’t be ashamed. You will get used to it eventually,” her husband advised her.

“I need to buy you a car,” Albert said out of the blue.

Isabel could not believe what she heard. She had barely set foot in America, and her husband was already planning to buy her a car. In the Philippines, millions of people have not owned a car in their lifetime.

“Why? It ‘s just a waste of money,” she said.

“You need a car here. You have to move around. It will take you hours if you use pub-lic transportation.”

“Does Ditas have a car?” she was referring to her cousin Ditas.

“No.”“Why?”“She needs the money to

send to her sick mother.”“How come her husband

doesn’t buy one for her?”“I don’t know,” Albert re-

plied.He could not tell Isabel that

her cousin Ditas was being maltreated by her husband, who was making her use her pay for their household expenses and attend to the needs of her in-laws. What-ever was left from her pay as a McDonald’s employee, she sent to her sick mother in the Philippines.

Vowing not to do the same

thing to his wife, Albert told her: “Even if you already have work, I will still give you your allowance and money for our household expenses. Your pay will be yours alone so that you can have extra savings.”

Isabel was pleased. The parting words of her mother Marta was still ringing in her ears: “Send us dollars right away.”

“Just be sexy in the eve-ning,” Albert smilingly told his wife.

“I won’t have a problem with that,” Isabel told herself. She fl ashed a mischievous smile.

“THAT’S A BIG TIP,” she told her husband as she noticed the money he left on the table. “In the Philippines, loose change will do.”

“That’s in the Philppines. Here you have to give at least


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Community News

SAN DIEGO, California (June 16, 2010) – The June 8th Primary Elections was but a prerequisite to an exciting and possibly monumental fall campaign. In California, it’s being called “Ladies Night” with overwhelming victories for first-time GOP candidates Meg Whitman, running for Governor; and Carly Fiorina seeking a U.S. Senate seat. Despite a heated and highly visible campaign, voter turn-out in San Diego County was lukewarm at best – estimated at 35%.

Filipino American Com-munity Empowerment (FACE) President, Mitz Lee, observed the need to aggres-sively promote increased voter participation. Accord-ing to Lee, “As citizens, we are individually responsible

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher Keynotes FACE 1st Spirit of Freedom Gala Dinner

for preserving and sustain-ing the blessings of freedom by engaging in the political process … understand the issues, understand candidate positions, vote, and encourage others to do the same.”

It was with this simple message that FACE hosted its 1st Annual Spirit of Freedom Gala Dinner on June 12th at the Town and Country Hotel in Mission Valley. The event brought together close to 350 attendees comprised of orga-nizational supporters, com-munity leaders, and political figures from throughout San Diego County. Lee empha-sized, “We wanted our com-munity and friends to cel-ebrate the Spirit of Freedom because freedom is the foun-dation that makes everything possible in America.” During

a solemn invocation, Mrs. Aurora Cudal, past President of COPAO and one of the founding members of FACE, reminded everyone that, “freedom is not free … there are many men and women in foreign lands sacrificing their lives, leaving their homes and families so that we can live in peace in the comfort of our homes.”

The keynote address delivered by 75th District As-semblyman Nathan Fletcher hushed the large crowd, as he recounted stories of self-less patriotism embodied in the young American men and women fighting in the Middle East. Other political notables in attendance included 78th District Assemblyman Marty Block, National City Mayor Ron Morrison, San Diego City Councilmember Carl De-Maio, President of the Sweet-water School District Board of Education Arlie Ricasa, U.S. Congressional Candidate Michael Crimmins, and Chula Vista Council Candidate Larry Breitfelder.

This evening of fine din-ing, entertainment, and politi-cal awareness was a success by all measures. But there’s no time for rest as FACE prepares to educate Filipino American voters and promote political participation in the coming elections. They must overcome several challenges including voter apathy and perceptions that a single vote won’t make a difference. Lee cites a recent victory in the passage of San Diego’s Prop-osition D which makes per-manent, the “Strong Mayor”

initiative. However, it may also establish a new 9th Coun-cil District in north San Diego where a large concentration of Filipino Americans and Asian Pacific Islanders reside. This will mean a new council member who will hopefully represent the issues important to district constituents. “We want our Filipino American voters to be informed and active, with the understand-ing that even a single vote can

make a difference,” concluded Lee.

FACE is currently regis-

tered in the State of CA as a non-profit, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee. It was founded in 2005 to empower the Filipino Ameri-can community by creating positive change through the political process. Activities include voter registration, voter education and increasing

voter turnout; political advo-cacy and political endorse-ments; legislative advocacy and holding public officials accountable to the voters; and working with other commu-nity organizations to increase voter involvement in politics. For membership information, please contact Ms. Katrina Benfer, VP of Membership, at [email protected] or visit the FACE website at http://www.filamvote.org/


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Call Asian Journal San Diego619-474-0588

Bill’s Corner

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

by Bill Labestre, MBA

Days are moving so quick that we seem to grow old faster than we realized. Look at yourself on the mirror and what do you see? Is it a tired old man, a wrinkly faced old woman or a person still hav-ing fun and enjoying life? You can create your own reflec-tion. Life should be how we made it and not how it made us.

Our govern-ment provided us with the list of things we can do legally. Our religious belief guided us with our moral obligations to society. We grow up learning how to handle various respon-sibilities. But, who’s teaching us how to grow old gracefully and en-joy life before we kick the bucket?

As children, we tried our best to help our older par-ents. We should take care of them as much as we can. We may not like their attitudes sometimes but, we can never replace them. Let them know how you feel or how you re-ally appreciate them. Be glad that you still have them.

As parents, we should not expect too much from our children. This is a different world and time we live in. We

Reflectionscan only do the best we can in raising them. Some par-ents will be fortunate to have respectful and responsible children. Some kids will go astray and create problems to their parents. A number of them will never grow up and became dependents forever.

Nobody is perfect so please don’t blame yourself. Maybe

you made mistakes in raising them but, it happened already. How long you can tolerate their irresponsible ways is en-tirely up to you. One day you may need to cut the cord.

Unintentionally, we created most of our problems. We can not blame anybody for our mistakes. It’s no one’s fault that you’re currently stuck

with a bad mortgage loan on your dream house. No one forced you to sign the papers. Maybe you even lied on your application just to qualify for the enormous loan. Now you’re claiming lesser income so the loan may get modified.

Life has to go on whether we like it or not. Homes maybe lost and cars get repos-sessed. Debt maybe cancelled or sent to collectors. If you took home equity loan in the past and lost your home, you may owe hefty income taxes to IRS and the Franchise Tax Board.

Older employees should now focus on their retirement. If the children are done with school or out of the nest, it’s time to plan for your golden years. Why do you believe that it is still your responsi-bility to raise or take care of

your grandchil-dren? What’s wrong with your children? You raised them and sent them to col-lege, bought their cars and even helped them buy their homes yet, they cannot take good care of their own children.

Keep stressing yourself and you will grow old fast-er. When you’re over 60, dying is no longer a far future event but it’s like a trailer for a movie that is coming soon.

Maybe, we just worry too much about the future. We can still re-learn how to enjoy life. Getting old is no big deal, really! Think of it as a bottle of good wine, the older the better. So ladies, next time you look, ask this “Mirror, mirror on the wall, how can I stay healthy, sexy and always beautiful“?

dent and you the Vice-Pres-ident. I realize this does not mean I can order you around or fire you just as I can my Cabinet members. Nonethe-less I would appreciate it if you not give my boys a hard time by, for example, foisting your people on them, call-ing for favors or bad mouth-ing them. They have a hard enough job cleaning up the mess we inherited.

You are a man of a few words which is one of the things I like about you. How-ever, when invited at Cabinet meetings, I request that you not speak unless asked. My people are a talkative bunch so yours would just add to the confusion.

You requested (some peo-ple say demanded) the DILG portfolio. My advisers tell me that would be like introducing a fox among chickens which metaphor I do not quite get. I can only surmise it is a bad idea so I am shelving it.

On the other hand I thought that Foreign Affairs might interest you. It requires you to visit each of our 26 for-eign embassies at least twice

a year, attend all funerals of foreign dignitaries and proc-lamations of newly elected presidents.

I do not mean to exile you except Elenita has al-ways mentioned how you never take her anywhere. Now might be a good time to see the world in style. It also piles up Frequent Flyer miles rather quickly which is always nice.

Since you gave him as reference in your bio-data I called Erap to find out what else might interest you. He was so full of expletives over the phone I never got a clear answer. He seemed not to be a happy camper.

I also checked with Nestor Mercado, your colleague in Makati. He had nothing to say but it may have been because his ears were fuming. You may want to erase them both from your CV as job refer-ences.

So here we are, six years of togetherness separated only by my heartbeat. For the sake of the nation and yours I hope we can work it out. It might even be fun.

Regards to Elenita and the kids,

NP.S. Thanks for the 50 car-

tons of cigarette you sent me.

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Posted by Leo Alejandrin

June 20 2010 Dear Jojo, Congratulations on your

election as Vice-President. You must be very excited.

Congratulations also to Jun-Jun and Abby for their election as Mayor of Makati and Congresswoman. I am glad to know that your family dynasty is coming along well. It is so heartening to build a practice and know that your children are interested in the business.

I am sorry if I was not so enthusiastic in raising your hand at the victory proclama-tion. Understand you were not my first choice for Vice-Pres-ident but this does not mean I love you less. You remind me time and time again how close you were to Mom. At least we were able to keep it within our families.

There has been a lot of talk about our future relationship. People tell me how much you want my job, how you can’t wait, how you are taking such an unusual interest in my sleep habits; so I thought we should have a heart to heart.

Let’s start with the easy things.

Since I am now quite grown up I thought you could stop addressing me as “hijo”. For my part I will stop calling you Tito Jojo.

The nation is looking at us for unity, the gossip columns for discord. I have asked my sisters to say only nice things about you and your family, especially Kris who does tend to speak her mind. I hope you will not make it difficult for us to continue to do so.

It would help if you stayed away from my “kamaganaks”. Just between you and me, they are not all good people.

Jojo, I am now the Presi-

Letter to Jojo


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

Contemporary Asian American Issues

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

I was spinning around the web the other day and found this interesting site for India. I’ve included some stories from it below. Anyone feel like traveling?

Indian theater

“The history of the origin of Indian theatre goes way back to the mythological age, when the need to free humanity from the clutches

The sights of IndiaTheatre, festivals and more

of corruption and power led to the creation of a source of entertainment by the universal creator Brahma.

Brahma created “Natya Shashtra” or the art of drama, and enlightened the sage Bharata with its nuances, who later taught the art form to his disciples, thereby spreading it throughout the world. Thus came into existence one of the oldest forms of performing art, which prevailed through-

out numerous stages to enrap-ture the minds of onlookers who ever beheld any dramatic performance. Indian theatre speaks a lot about the cultures and traditions of India, the colors of its festivities, and the vibrancy of the people. Theatrical performances in India started off in a narrative style, which included much narrations, songs, and dances. It is because of the compila-tion of all these art forms that theatre has prevailed over all other forms of perform-ing and creative art.

Indian theatre, as Brah-ma himself had endowed it upon the world, had been a constant journey of dedications and tributes to the Gods during the initial days, later developing to a subtler form of dramat-ics called contemporary theatre.

Indian theatre has roughly been classifi ed into three prominent stages of development - the classical period, the traditional period, and the modern period. These stages have determined the events and developments, which have given shape to the face of the Indian theatre that is prevalent today.

Classical period

This period witnessed the concentration of drama around the act of writing of plays, and the techniques of presenting stage acts or plays. It was also during this pe-riod that Indian theatre saw the creation of masterpieces by playwrights such as Ka-lidasa, Patanjali, Bhasa, and Sudraka, who have contrib-uted immensely to the glory of Sanskrit drama. The play-wrights created their plots, mostly based on stories they garnered from epics, folklore, history, legends, etc. This made the plays easily compre-hensible to the audiences who

attended the shows to see the creative presentation of the stories that they were already familiar with. The actors were therefore required to be skilled enough in the art form to enthrall the audiences with such plays.

Traditional period

Drama during the tra-ditional period was mostly based on the traditional or

oral method of representation. Folklore that had been passed on through generations was the epicenter of theatrical con-ventions, as diversifi cation in linguistic order proved to be a hindrance for writing of plays. It was during this period that drama developed at various places in India in various languages.

People started improvising dramatic art with their own rendition of traditional pre-sentations. The mediums of dramatic presentation, such as songs, dances, narrations, etc, remained the same as in the classical period, thus leading to the unfolding of popular traditional acts like Ramlila, Rasleela, Nautankis, and so on.

Modern period

The modern period saw the intermingling of the Indian theatre with the West-ern theatre during the British rule, and the development of a form of theatre that was based

on a realistic or naturalistic presentation. The modern theatre started concentrat-ing more on practical issues, thereby portraying the more naturalistic elements of life. Theatre in India went through a sea change in collaboration with various improvisations and developments spanning the three periods, and gradu-ally gave way to the evolu-tion of the contemporary theatre of the present times.

Various national societ-ies and academies have now come to the fore to promote theatre in India, which can now boast of world-renowned artistes who have been honoured with numerous awards and respects in the inter-national circuit.

Festivals and fairs

India is a land of festivals and fairs. Virtually celebrating each day of the year, there are more festivals celebrated in India than any-where else in the world. Each festival pertains to different occasions, some welcome the seasons of the year, the harvest, the rains, or the full moon. Others celebrate reli-gious occasions, the birthdays of divine beings and saints, or the advent of the New Year. A number of these festivals are common to most parts of India. However, they may be called by different names in various parts of the country or may be celebrated in a differ-ent fashion.

One example of these myr-iad festivals is Janmashtami. Lord Vishnu is invoked in his human incarnation as Krishna on his birth anniversary in the festival of Janmashtami. This festival of Hindus is celebrated with great devo-tion on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Sravana (July-August) in India. According to Hindu

mythology, Krishna was born to destroy Mathura’s demon King Kansa, brother of his virtuous mother, Devaki.

Men and women fast and pray on the occasion of Janmashtami. Temples and homes are beautifully deco-rated and lit. The temples of Vrindavan, in Uttar Pradesh witness an extravagant and colorful celebration on this occasion. ‘Raslila’ is per-formed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha. This festival is also known as Krishnastami or Gokulastami.

The image of the infant Krishna is bathed at midnight and is placed in a cradle. Devotional songs and dances mark the celebration of this festive occasion all over Northern India.

In Maharashtra, Jan-mashtami witnesses the exu-berant enactment of Krishna’s childhood endeavors to steal butter and curd from earthen pots beyond his reach. A matka or pot containing these is suspended high above the ground and groups of young men and children form human pyramids to try and reach the pot and eventually break it.”

National Portal of India

Perspectives

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

widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

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

Guest Writer: Brian Cuevas Songco

No one ever said that being a military brat was the easiest thing

in the world. You really have to sacrifi ce a lot as a military person, a spouse and as a child. This type of lifestyle is not stable at all with the frequent moves and uncertain work schedules it presents. But despite all that, it is a great feeling knowing your parent is serving and protecting this na-tion.

Growing up in a military family certainly has its ups and downs. When my dad was in the Navy, I felt a sense of pride and gratitude because he sacrifi ced a lot to serve this great country and help ensure the freedoms we all enjoy. My father being in the military also allowed my family and I to enjoy the good lifestyle and gave us fi nancial security as well. It also however, had its downsides which had an effect on all of us. Extended deploy-ments, long work days, and frequent moves certainly took their toll at times. I will dis-cuss such factors like cultural impact, different relationships I had and built, and the effect my dad’s Navy service had on me personally.

Author Brian Songco with family during the winter holiday season.

Growing up as a Fil-Am Navy Brat

My dad in the Navy: My fa-ther served in the United States Navy for twenty years from 1974 to 1994 and I was born in the middle of his service in 1984. I saw and learned a lot about the American, Filipino, and Navy cultures during and after my dad’s military service. Obviously, being born in the United States allowed me to be exposed to U.S. culture and customs which still has a lot of infl uence on me. I also got to know a lot about my roots by learning and being exposed to the Philippine culture as well. Even though my dad was in the U.S. Navy and we lived here in America, my mom, dad, grand-parents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives still taught me

about the culture they grew up in and why it was important. In fact, when I was a toddler, my paternal grandparents essential-ly raised me and that is where I learn to speak Kapampangan and some Tagalog.

The culture of the United States Navy was also obviously exposed to me. Living on a Navy Base and my father being away for long periods of time was something I experienced at least once. The Navy and military life for that matter is a culture that is built on sacrifi ce from everyone involved. Not

only does the military person make sacrifi ces, the spouse and the kids have to sacrifi ce being away from their parents. That is a signifi cant risk because it can strain a relationship and cause confl ict between the fam-ily which may or may not be repairable. Luckily for us, that was not the case, but there were times when my dad’s service did cause some confl icts and problems.

When my dad was serving in the Navy for the fi rst ten years of my life, I did not see him as much as I do now. I did see him quite a bit and he was still a big part of my life, but there were times when he was gone the whole day and even longer. When I was in

elementary school, he would work well into the late after-noon and therefore I had to carpool home. When he was able to come and pick me up from school, I appreciated those days because they were at a premium. But despite, all that, my father and I had a very good relationship and have an even better one now.

When it came to making friends, being a Navy brat was actually very benefi cial because many of my peers were in the same exact situa-tion. They were, not surpris-ingly, mostly Filipinos and my commonality with them helped me get along well with them. Most are still my friends now. We were able to relate with one another, we had common experiences, and could go to one another if we had prob-lems. Most of my friends then and now are second generation Filipino-Americans who had a parent in the U.S. Navy. It cer-tainly also helped in my growth as a person because I was able to build good rapport with not only the friends I made, but people who came from a dif-ferent background and environ-ment.

Relocation: One very impor-

tant aspect of growing up in a military family is relocation. If one grows up with one parent on active duty, it is pretty much inevitable they will relocate at least once during that time. This is one of the toughest problems that one has to deal with when growing up and one of the biggest sacrifi ces that has to be made. Luckily for me, I only dealt with this once while my dad was in the Navy. During my dad’s Navy career, he had been stationed here in San Diego four differ-ent times. He had also been stationed in the Philippines, Hawaii, and the Bay Area. When I was born in 1984, my

dad was stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay and I was born in the Bay Area. We moved back down here for good in June 1986. Relocation really did not have an effect on me personally since I was only 20 months old when we moved back to San Diego.

Extended deployments: are also some of the toughest things a military family has to go through because a loved one is gone for at least six months. My father had one long West Pac in late 1990 and early 1991 during the fi rst Gulf War. I was in fi rst grade during that time and he was gone for eight months from September to April and it was very tough to be away from my dad. We kept in touch with him by writing letters and also sending him work I did in school. It is a very diffi cult moment when he went off on West Pac knowing you won’t see him for months. But at the same time, it is a really a great moment when he comes home and one the best feelings one can have. Another part of Navy life that separates the family for some time is Navy Underway where ships replenish and refuel while at sea. This sometimes resulted in my dad being on duty for several days straight and it hap-pens a few times a year. These were just parts of being in a Navy family and were things we just had to deal with. These West Pac missions and other deployments also helped me grow mentally because it taught me how to deal with tough times. It also made us men-tally strong as a family because it showed we can overcome whatever obstacles are present-ed to us.

My dad’s retirement: When my father retired from the Navy in 1994, I felt very proud of him because he sacrifi ced a

lot to ensure this country got to enjoy the freedoms we all love. At the same time, I was also very happy because he would be home with us a whole lot more and we were able to build a better relationship with him. I was able to talk to him anytime I wanted to and let him know what was on my mind which was something I really could not do while he was on active duty. My dad would start working again after retire-ment but his work hours where not as long as they were when he was in the Navy and he was home more often.

Since I was only ten years old when my father retired, his mil-itary service did not affect my relationships in terms of having a girlfriend. As I mentioned with the relationship I had with my friends, most girls I grew up with were in the same situ-ation as I am and I could relate to them better than others. But whoever I end up with will be a result of me wanting a woman who has some commonality with me. My dad’s Navy ser-vice has also helped me men-tally and I can use that in any relationship I may have.

No one ever said that being a military brat was the easiest thing in the world. You re-ally have to sacrifi ce a lot as a military person, a spouse and as a child. This type of life-style is not stable at all with the frequent moves and uncertain work schedules it presents. There is also the worry of their safety because they are usually in harm’s way and that can take its toll. But despite all that, it is a great feeling knowing your parent is serving and protecting this nation.

Brian is a senior student ma-joring in Social Science at San Diego State University. He is a student of Dr. Dirige in Asian Studies 460, “Contemporary Issues in Filipino American Communities.”



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How does one become a green card holder through a family member? The fi rst step in the process is fi ling the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) and its support-ing documents. The petition must establish that the peti-tioner is either a U.S. citizen (USC), a lawful permanent resident (LPR), or a U.S. national and the claimed re-lationship to the alien benefi -ciary is a legally qualifying one. Spouses, children and siblings of the petitioner are the only qualifying relatives for an I-130 petition. A USC or LPR cannot fi le a separate I-130 for his or her grandson, niece or nephew unless they are adopted.

Who may fi le an I-130 petition? Number one in the list is immediate rela-tive, which is defi ned as the spouse, parent, and unmarried children under 21 years old of USC’s. All other qualifying relationships fall within the preference category such as: 1) F-1 or unmarried sons and daughters (over 21 years old) of USC; 2) F-2A or spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years old) of LPR; 3) F-2B or unmarried sons and daughters (over 21 years old) of LPR; 4) F-3 or mar-ried sons and daughters of USC; and 5) F-4 or broth-ers and sisters of USC. The intending immigrant is called the benefi ciary. The term “de-

The application process for permanent residence

rivative” includes the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of the principal benefi ciary in the preference category. For example, Maria is married and has two minor children. Maria’s USC father fi led an I-30 on behalf of Maria. Ma-ria is the principal benefi ciary under the F-3 category while Maria’s husband and minor children are derivative benefi -ciaries. Maria’s USC father needs to fi le one Form I-130 only and need not fi le a sepa-rate petition for the derivative benefi ciaries. When Maria’s visa becomes available, the derivative benefi ciaries can immigrate with Maria provide they continue to have that relationship at the time Maria immigrates and at the time the derivative benefi ciaries im-migrate. If the minor children are over 21 years old by the time Maria’s visa becomes available, they can no longer immigrate with Maria sub-ject to the rules on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). Different rules apply in the case on immediate relatives. The petitioner needs to fi le separate petitions for the im-mediate relative and deriva-tives. For example, Maria has a U.S. citizen son. The USC son must fi le separate peti-tions for Maria, her husband, and children. If the husband does not qualify as stepparent, he should wait until Maria


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15 percent tip, otherwise, the waiters will give you a dirty look.”

From the restaurant, the couple went straight to a nearby hotel.

“I’m tired,” Isabel told Al-bert as they retired to bed.

“I know,” Albert told her. “But I’m not.”

That evening, Albert col-lected her long overdue favors from his lovely wife.

IT WAS ALREADY 8 O’CLOCK IN THE MORN-ING when Albert woke up the next day. His wife was still fast asleep. He took a shower and went down to the hotel’s restaurant to eat breakfast. Isabel woke up two hours later when Albert was already back in the room.

“Get ready,” he told his wife. “I will take you around Los Angeles.”

“Mrs. Mendoza, can we clean your room?” a house-keeper asked her as they were about to leave.

Isabel thought she was refer-ring to somebody else, but then she realized the house-keeper was talking to her. It was the first time Isabel heard somebody called her by Al-bert’s last name. It reminded her once more that the man who was a total stranger to her a few days before they got married was now her hus-band.

“Yes, you may,” she an-swered her with a smile.

THE TRAFFIC IN LOS ANGELES WAS QUITE HEAVY THAT MORNING although they left the hotel way passed rush hours. Albert wanted to show his wife around L.A. At the Griffith

Observatory, they stood be-hind the low concrete fence of the parking lot and enjoyed a panoramic view of L.A. Isabel was fascinated. She could see the patterns formed by neatly aligned houses from above. There were no shanties like in the Philippines and everything was clean and orderly.

“Do you know what’s this place is famous for?” Albert asked his wife.

“No,” she replied.“This was where the racing

scene in the movie ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ starring James Dean and Natalie Wood, was filmed.”

“I see,” Isabel hardly an-swered. She didn’t know what he was talking about for she had not seen the classic film. Growing up, she had viewed only a limited Tagalog films for lack of movie money.

They then proceeded to downtown L.A. They cruised along Wilshire Blvd., passing in between the tall buildings of downtown up to Bev-erly Hills. They then turned around and drove along Sun-set Blvd. At the historic Grau-man’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd., they parked their car and walked along the sidewalk where huge stars bearing the names of famous movie stars were embedded. They boarded a city tour bus and were shown the various tourist spots, including the houses of famous movie stars in Beverly Hills and nearby Bel-Air. Isabel tried to absorb everything although she could not appreciate them at the mo-ment for lack of background information.

“Someday,” she told herself. “I will be able to read more about these places and appre-ciate my visit here.”

(Continued from page 3)

They had lunch in China-town before proceeding to Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits where they saw the reproduction of tar pits and mammoths during pre-historic times.

At the Queen Mary Museum in Long Beach, California, Isabel had her first experience aboard a cruise ship and en-joyed what she saw. She was impressed and wondered on how the Americans were able to put together such beautiful places in just one small area in the world.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to see everything here in Amer-ica in my lifetime,” she told herself.

The thought of bringing her family to the United States, especially her idealistic father, crossed her mind.

“I hope he’ll have more years to live until I become capable of petitioning and showing him around,” she muttered to herself.

She knew her mother would not appreciate much of the beautiful scenery. All that’s important to her was to have shopping money. Isabel was also aware that she need not work hard and sacrifice to achieve financial gain. She had achieved it through her husband Albert, who already did the hard work and sac-rifice for her, and was now handing her the American Dream in a silver platter. - AJ

(To be continued)

To read the previous and weekly installments of this series, visit www.asianjour-nalusa.com– AJ

From Antique to America:Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor

Antique, My Hometownfifty times in two years dur-ing my teens when I was out of school for two years. The trips were from Pandan, my home-town, to Iloilo City passing San Jose de Buenavista the Capi-tal of Antique, which was one hundred thirty kilometers away, and another ninety kilometers to Iloilo City. These trips were free since my uncle, Benjamin Candari, Sr.,my father’s younger brother, owned a passenger bus that regularly made trips to Iloilo City. My purpose was to watch movies in Iloilo. You may wonder why I had to make these trips to the movies. Believe me, as Milon Mayer’s saying goes, “What can a man do who doesn’t know what to do?” There was absolutely no job to find in my hometown for a college-educated person like I was in those days.

The trip from Pandan to Iloilo would take a whole day yet the distance was merely 124 miles. Since I was riding in an open passenger bus, it frequently stopped to pick and drop off passengers on the way. The road was unpaved, rough, and gutted. The awfully dusty trip is be-yond one’s imagination.In those days, floods often destroyed the bridges in Antique and passenger buses had to go through the wa-ter, making sure that they did not get stuck midway or the engine did not stop running. Those were the olds days, in the early ’50s. These were typical experiences that I can never forget. All these trips imprintedin my mind not only the facade of the different towns of the province but also painted a beautiful picture of the surrounding mountains covered with lush forests of centuries-old trees, rich vegetation, and diverse fauna. Extensive rice paddies, coconut trees, wa-ter systems that crisscross the roadways, major rivers, creeks, streams, and beaches are fre-quently along the side of the national road of Antique.

Now, the national roads of the province are fully paved, ce-mented, and single-laned road-ways.

Shaped like a Seahorse Before narrating the folkloric

stories and legends that became the pride of every Antiqueno, al-low me to describe our province.

Antique is invariably likened by some to ashape of a sea-horse, a mythical sea creature, half fish and half horse. I will

(Continued from page 1) describe it as a long stretch of focally narrow width of lowland to the widest of 33 kilometer and a 155 kilometers from the northernmost part to the south most of the province, hemlin-ing the entire western border of the three-cornered scarf-like landmass that is Panay Island. It nestles between the blue China Sea to the west and the tall mountain ranges to the east. The steep slopes and the rugged long mountain ranges of Antique have isolated it from the rest of Panay. If indeed it has the appearance of a seahorse, my hometown Pandan , anatomically speaking, is situated at the neck---a sig-nificant location for the carotid arteries. The absence of pulses in this area signifies death, but oh no, Pandan has normal, regular strong pulses that Antique must never worry about. I am only kidding. There is a saying by Woody Allen: “The structure of a joke is the juxtaposition of the trivial and the mundane…we have to reconcile the paradox of it all. The joke mirrors that paradox.” Seahorses have no carotids!

Antique is a 2nd class province composed of 18 municipalities stretched along the coast of the South China Sea. The province of Aklan is in the north; Capiz, Iloilo and Guimaras are in the south. The 18 municipalities that make up Antique include the coastal towns of Anini-y, Tobias Fornier, Hamtic, San Jose de Buenavista, Belison, Patnongon, Bugasong, Laua-an, Barbaza, Tibiao, Culasi, Sebaste, Pandan and Libertad, and the inland towns of Sibalom, San Remigio and Valderrama. These places are endowed with nature’s scenic exquisiteness worth exploring as tourist destinations and attrac-tions and for sumptuous delica-cies and world-class products. Nature has gifted Antique with many natural beauty spots. The following are taken from articles addressing the attractions for tourists:

“Home of lush green forests and verdant mountains, Antique offers a wide array of adventures ranging from mountain climb-ing, hiking and biking, snorkel-ing, spelunking, fishing, diving, kayaking, aqua-sporting, sailing, jet-skiing and island-hopping.

Worth witnessing for nature lovers is the picturesque rising and setting of the sun accompa-nied with the serene and rustic scenario along Antique’s beach-es of crystal blue waters. One can experience nature’s beauty and adventure at its best in this place.

“Batbatan Island on the other hand, appeals to scuba divers because of the well-preserved coral reefs. Mt. Madia-as, in the town mountains of Culasi, thirty kilometers from Pandan and the highest peak on Panay, is a dormant volcano with lakes and 14 waterfalls. It is said to be the legendary home of Bulalakaw, the supreme god of the ancients and beckons as a challenge for hikers and trekkers.

“Fascinate your eyes with the enticing beauties of wild flora and fauna endemic only in Antique’s mountain ranges, sightings of precious gemstones and endangered species of wild animals such as spotted moun-tain deer, wild boar, cloud rat, Panay monitor lizard (Varanus Mabitang), Dulungan (Visayan Hornbill), serpent eagle and

various genus of butterflies and birds.

“Precious to behold and the highlight of nature enthusiasts’ curiosity are the world’s largest and tallest flowers, the Rafflesia and Amorphophallus. Worth witnessing for nature lovers is the picturesque rising and setting of the sun accompanied with the serene and rustic scenario along Antique’s beaches of crystal blue waters.

PANDAN Phaidon Beach

Resort,Antique’s Best Recom-mendation

“The Resort is located at an unspoiled whitesand beach sur-rounded in a tropical garden. All Rooms, Cottages or Villas are very well maintained with AC, hot/cold water, terraces and some of them with its pocket garden. An Information / Desk Office at the Entrance gives you a warm welcome with a drawn signboard. Wherever you like an activity you are already on the right spot. Is it a day tour through the rain forest, a boating at Bugang River, Scuba diving or a waterfall package, renting a bike or a tour around Antique or Panay here you find always something to do. The beach has its own beach beds and even a BBQ whenever you like to grill something. Great views at sunset, amazing clean and clear sea, a small Kiddy Pool for the youngsters and a great Restau-rant with international cuisine.

“Pandan boasts of its Bugang River, President’s Award for En-vironment “Gawad ng Pangulo sa Kapaligiran” cleanest Inland Body of Water in the Philippines. Pandan organized the BUGANG COMMUNITY BASED ECO-TOURISM ORGANIZATION which manages and runs the Bugang River Tour Package.

“Another eco-tourist attraction Pandan is very proud of is the Malumpati Health Spring and Tourist Resort believed to have medicinal properties for heal-ing. It is located near Barangay Candari.

At the dead-end of Mag-aba barangay road going to Barangay Tingib stands a dreamer’s dream little by little coming into a real-ity: the Vera Mar Retreat House and Tourist Resort of Pandan. It is also a place where one can go down to the bowels of the earth and see the beautiful caves. One can also dive down the deep sea and admire the beautiful gardens inhabited by the multi-colored fishes and coral formations.”

(Continued next issue) (About the author: Dr. Cesar

D. Candari, a native of Pandan, Antique in the Philippines was a long time resident and medi-cal practitioner of San Diego County where he was an ac-tive community leader, having been one of the three Filipino American doctors who founded Operation Samahan and its medical clinic. He had served in various capacities as officer of different professional, civic and community organizations. He is now retired and living in Henderson, Nevada. This book, “From Antique to America: Memoirs of a Filipino American Doctor” is being published by Green Mango Books, a division of Asian Journal San Diego and will be released in August 2010. To order copies of the book with a 20% pre-publication discount off the $12.95 selling price, call (619) 474-0588.)

(Read previous installments of

this memoir in www.asianjour-nalusa.com)

Reach the lucrative

Asian Pacific Islander Market by advertising in

the Asian Journal!Call

(619) 474-0588


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

Dear Atty. Karagdag,

I came here to the United States as a tourist, then changed my status to H1B. Eventually, I became a per-manent resident through an immigrant petition filed by my employer. After I got my green card, I filed an I-824 requesting the U.S. embassy in Manila to begin process-ing the immigrant visas of my wife and kids so they can join me here in the United States.

After three years of wait-ing, my family is still in the Philippines, even though they have already undergone three medical examinations. Each time they got interviewed, the officer told them that their immigrant visas were still not available because of retrogres-sion. I am really confused by what this means. Please enlighten me on what I should do so they can come to the United States as soon as pos-sible.

Byron

Dear Byron,

Although you did not men-tion it in your letter, I am as-suming that your employer’s I-140 petition included you as the principal beneficiary and your wife and minor kids as derivative beneficiaries. Since they are outside the United States, they are referred to as “follow-to-join” ben-eficiaries because, as the term implies, they are allowed to fol-low you to the United States at a later time. FTJs also include family members who decide to postpone their trip to the United States for some reasons (such as to fin-ish their studies) and to let the principal beneficiary immi-grate ahead of them.

FTJs must have their immi-grant visas available to them at the time they decide to come here. This is not much of a problem for family-based petitions where retrogression is quite rare. Retrogression means that the priority dates for petitions being issued immigrant visas have moved backwards. If you will notice, priority dates for family-based petitions always move for-ward; at the worst, they just stagnate for a few months. On the other hand, priority dates for employment-based peti-tions have considerably ret-rogressed, such that the visa bulletin for July 2010 indicate a backlog of seven years for skilled workers, profession-als and other workers (EB-3). Currently, immigrant visas are available for EB-3s with pri-ority date of August 15, 2003 or earlier.

On the other hand, the waiting time for family-based second preference category for spouse and minor children of immigrants (F-2A) has considerably accelerated in re-cent months. What used to be 4-5 years of waiting has been

What’s taking my family too long to get their visas?

reduced to two years. The visa bulletin for July 2010 says that immigrant visas are now available for F-2As filed on July 1, 2008 or earlier. As mentioned, it is not likely for family based petitions to retrogress.

So, what should you do? You have three choices.

First, you can file an F-2A petition for your wife and minor children. Since they are not considered your immedi-ate relatives (because you are still an immigrant), you can file a single petition for all of them. Be mindful of your oldest child’s age because he or she might age out before the immigrant visa becomes available.

Second, you mentioned that your family has already waited for three years, so this means that you have been an immigrant for at least three years, and perhaps longer. If you are already eligible, you can apply for naturaliza-tion and once you are already a U.S. citizen, you can file separate (individual) immedi-ate relative petitions for them. The good thing about an immediate relative petition is that your child’s age is frozen at the time you file the peti-tion, even if he or she comes here after reaching 21 years of age.

Third, if you are con-cerned about the cost, you can just wait until the EB-3 visas be-come cur-rent. But, again, be mindful of your children’s age and make

sure they do not age out before the immigrant visas become available.

We hope that we have enlightened you about your concerns. As we have al-ways advised our clients, you should consult with an expe-rienced immigration attorney before taking any legal step.

Sincerely,

Atty. Karagdag

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an of-fice in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Ma-nila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at [email protected] for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheti-cals intended as general, non-specific legal information.

SAN DIEGO– Authori-ties seized 107 fraudulently obtained or altered travel documents including 60 U.S. Passports during a week-long, joint operation in Southern California by the U.S. Depart-ment of State’s Diplomatic Se-curity Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego.

From June 7 through June 13, “Operation Goalkeeper” targeted persons attempting to use stolen, lost, counterfeit, or altered travel documents to illegally cross into the United States at ports of entry along the California/Mexico bor-der: San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico, and Andrade.

CBP officers stopped 47 individuals with counterfeit or altered passports or visas and 60 imposters, persons with a genuine document that does not belong to them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecut-ing 27 cases of passport fraud and eight cases of visa fraud brought by special agents of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and 12 cases that CBP’s Criminal Enforce-ment Units, working with DSS agents, prepared for prosecu-tion. Approximately 60 indi-viduals using U.S. passports or visas illegally were formally deported to Mexico in lieu of criminal prosecution. The documents were seized and the violators will never be granted lawful entry into the United States.

According to federal of-ficials, the joint enforcement operation disrupted smuggling and trafficking efforts along the California-Mexico border and developed information on illegal travel document vendors, trafficking cells, and border smuggling methods and operations.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), implemented June 1, 2009, requires U.S. and Canadian citizens, age 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable travel document that denotes both identity and citizenship when entering the U.S. by land or sea. WHTI approved-travel documents include a valid passport, a U.S. passport card, a Trusted Traveler Program card, or an Enhanced Driver’s License from a participating state or province.

Under WHTI, CBP is able to run automated checks against law enforcement databases more easily. CBP also can validate the travel documents against informa-

More than 100 Stopped at California Ports of Entry for

Passport and Visa Fraudtion from their issuing agency, thereby substantially increas-ing the ability to identify fraudulent documents and the fraudulent use of legitimate documents.

WHTI is the joint Depart-ment of State-Department of Homeland Security plan that implemented a key 9/11 Commission recommendation to establish document require-ments for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda.

“The word is out that you need an approved travel docu-ment to cross the border into the United States,” said Paul Morris, director of CBP field operations in San Diego. “We have seen those attempting illegal entry adjust to this new requirement from last year, and have observed increased illicit use of U.S. passports and visas by smugglers. We will recommend vigorous prosecu-tion of those we apprehend with fraudulent documents.”

CBP officials note that Tijuana and Mexicali serve as key transit points for illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States. From October 1, 2009 through April 30, 2010, CBP officers in the San Diego Field Office seized 2,238 U.S.

passports and 11,712 border crossing and legal permanent resident cards that were used by aliens attempting to enter the United States illegally.

U.S. travel documents have a high value for criminals and smugglers. This fact prompted the initiative, which included DSS agents from offices in San Diego, Los Angeles and the U.S. Embassy and consul-ates in Mexico. In terms of numbers, duration and scope, this was the largest DSS-led operation ever conducted along the California-Mexico border.

“The success of this inves-tigation and enforcement op-eration – more than 100 cases of documents seized – shows that the Department of State and the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) are commit-ted to protecting the integrity of U.S. passports and visas – the most sought after travel documents in the world,” said Garth Pettijohn, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the DSS Los Angeles Field Office.

“DSS has a very strong relationship with the U.S. At-torney’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and many other federal, state and local law enforcement agen-cies in Southern California,” he said. “With this type of col-laboration and teamwork we can more effectively combat travel document fraud and illegal entry into the country. There are foreign nationals who fraudulently acquire U.S. passports and visas to carry out criminal activities inside

our borders. These crimes threaten the national security of the United States, plain and simple.”

The agencies look forward to conducting regular joint enforcement initiatives in the future. These initiatives are important to maintain control and security at the internation-al border.

U.S. citizens or legitimate document holders will be prosecuted in cases where it has been determined they sold or made their documents avail-able for others to use, officials said.

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy said, “The Southern District of California has six land border ports of entry through which millions of people enter each year, including San Ysidro, liter-ally the world’s busiest. This high volume of traffic presents very real and tangible national security issues. Therefore, in all cases in which false or stolen documents are used for entry, the United States At-torney’s Office is committed to reviewing the evidence and determining the viability of prosecution.”

Those convicted of passport and visa fraud face a maxi-mum of 10 years in federal prison. Offenders also may be charged with aggravated identity theft, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of two years to be served con-secutively with the underlying offense.


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SAN DIEGO, 6/26/2010 -- Last Saturday, June 26th, the Aguinaldo Foundation, a public benefit company, celebrated its 9th Annual Phil-ippine Independence Grand Ball at The Westin Hotel in downtown San Diego. Dur-ing the gala celebration, the Aguinaldo Foundation hon-ored seven individuals for their outstanding contribu-tions to the Filipino American community with the General Emilio Aguinaldo Leadership Awards.

Zeny Mascardo Ravelo, Founder of the Aguinaldo Foundation lauded the indi-viduals for their “exemplary work and services through special projects and contribu-tions that made a difference in the Filipino American com-munity.”

They are: • Congressman Bob

Filner of the 51st District, “Excellence in Community Service – Government”

• Wendell B. French, Wells Fargo Regional Vice President for Community Development, Southern Cali-fornia Region, “Exellence is Community Service – Bank-ing”

• Francisco J. Urtasun, “Excellence in Community Service: Utilities”

• Audie J. de Castro,

Myrna Pascual, Audie de Castro among

Community Service Awardees in 2010 Aguinaldo

Leadership Who’s Who

Aguinaldo Awards / Miss Philippines CA USA

Pictured (L-R): Host Jojo Co, Aguindaldo Foundation President and CEO Zeny Mascardo Ravelo, Awardees Myrna Pascual, Ignacio de la Torre, Audie de Castro, Robert Olivas (who accepted the award on behalf of Francisco Urtasun), Manny Doria (who accepted the award on behalf of Congressman Bob Filner), Wendell French and Faith Bautista, President and CEO of Mabuhay Alliance.

sole shareholder of the Law Firm de Castro, PC, “Excel-lence in Community Service: Business”

• Ignacio de la Torre, AT&T Executive Director of External Affairs, who over-sees regulatory and legislative matters, “Excellence in Com-munity Service: Telecommu-nications”

• Myrna Bryn Pascual, Founder of Housing Oppor-tunities Collaborative (HOC) who established HOME Clinics that provide indi-vidual assistance to distressed homeowners, “Excellence in Community Service: HOC-HUD”

Faith Bautista and Jojo Co presided over the award cer-emonies. Marlon Austria also introduced the outgoing 2009 Royal Court and serenaded the 2010 Beauty Queens and Royal Court capping another successful conclusion to the annual beauty pageant that serves as a fundraising plat-form for the Aguinaldo Foun-dation. The foundation seeks to build a landmark perform-ing arts center and museum for the Filipino American community in San Diego County honoring Philippine Revolution President General Emilio Aguinaldo.

The 2010 Philippine Festi-val Queens are Mikayla Skye

Ravelo Abrenica, Brit-tany Ann Reyes Sanchez, Makaila Straub, and Nina Mag-pusao. The 2009 Court include Isabella H. Moncada, Juliana Corinna Ravelo Conde, Amanda Linayao Putman, and Pat Barrera Aboy.

The outgoing 2009 Royal Court and incoming 2010 Beauty Queens and Royal Court for Miss Philippines CA USA.



SAN DIEGO, Calif., June 21, 2010 – The Walmart Foun-dation’s California State Giv-ing Council today announced two $25,000 grants to North County health nonprofits, North County Health Services and Tri-City Hospital Founda-tion. The grants will support community awareness and re-source accessibility programs in the areas of pediatric physi-cal fitness and youth prescrip-tion drug abuse.

The North County Health Services Pediatric Physical Activity Program links pediat-ric patients to existing commu-nity resources, such as neigh-borhood parks, recreational centers and local gyms to encourage physical fitness. In addition, the patients’ parents will be able to attend educa-tional workshops and medical professionals will be able to help patients move beyond obesity-related illnesses such as diabetes and asthma.

Irma Cota, CEO of North County Health Services said, “Thanks to the Walmart Foundation’s support we can expand our efforts in reducing childhood obesity. We will be able to link 500 of our pediat-ric patients to free and dis-counted community resources such as gyms, parks and activ-ity classes so they and their parents can exercise and lose weight.”

Dr. Edward Curley, Pedia-trician at NCHS Mission Mesa Pediatrics in Oceanside said, “We couldn’t be more thrilled Walmart Foundation is help-ing us address the problem of obesity by creating opportuni-ties to change lives.”

Walmart Foundation’s Cali-fornia State Giving Council also awarded a grant to the Tri-City Hospital Foundation to support its Prevention of Teen Abuse of Prescription Medica-

Walmart Foundation Gives $50,000 in Grants to Local

North County Health NonprofitsNorth County Health Services and Tri-City Hospital Foundation Awarded Grants for

Community Education Programstions community awareness program. With the $25,000 grant, hospital pharmacists will seek to educate 1,200 par-ents of teens through a series of forums about the prevalence of prescription medication abuse.

“Teenagers everywhere can easily obtain and abuse prescription medications and parents are not informed of all the potential hazards within their own home,” said Craig Lindholm, Foundation Chair of the Tri-City Hospital Foundation. “The Walmart Foundation’s support will not just help parents keep their children safe, it will support a community’s vision to reduce substance abuse.”

“The Walmart Founda-tion’s California State Giving Council supports community organizations focused on help-ing people live better lives, and we are proud to support the unique health programs offered by the North County Health Services and Tri-City Hospital Foundation,” said Kimberly Sentovich, Senior Vice President of the Pacific Division of Walmart. “Both of these programs are committed to providing essential services that will help young people and their parents improve their quality of life.”

The Walmart Founda-tion’s California State Giving Program is accepting grant applications from non-profit organizations across the state. Interested organizations may apply online at www.walmart-foundation.org.

Mark Martin, CBN News | Children are spending more time exploring technology than ever before. Recent in-formation indicates more than 93 percent of kids are online, not just at home.

For many parents this can be a nightmare. But a new safety program designed just for mom and dad could help.

“Internet Safety 101” includes a DVD teaching series and other resourc-es put together by Internet safety expert Donna Rice Hughes, from the orga-nization

“Enough is Enough.” The purpose of the program is to keep young Web users away from Internet threats like pornography.

The Power of Pornogra-phy

“Even if you’re not looking for it, you could be innocent,” said 15-year-old Zach. “If you go on the computer, on the Internet, and you’re looking for something good, it will find you.”

That “it” is pornography, and it’s hardcore.

“It is graphic,” Ernie Allen, president of the National Cen-ter for Missing and Exploited Children, emphasized. “It is explicit. It is deviant. It’s ab-errant. Kids are seeing content that no 12 or 13-year-old is mentally, psychologically, or emotionally prepared to deal with.”

Child psychiatrist Dr. W. Dean Belnap said pornogra-phy actually shuts down a part of the brain.

“There is a loss of free agency because it demands a repetition of the experi-ence over and over again,” he explained.

“Pornography shaped my want for sex and what I wanted to do whenever I started having sex, big time,” 16-year-old Justin confessed. “It wasn’t just like, ‘Oh, I want to have a relationship with this girl and have sex with her.’ I just want to have sex with as many as I can and then sex was pretty meaning-less, you know what I mean. I just wanted to do what they did on the porn.”

It’s not just boys becoming addicts.

“It pretty much kind of destroyed our lives because we depended on it and it just broke friendships... relation-ships,” Courtney, 18, admit-ted. “It broke, like, our respect for ourselves and our respect for others.”

“The children are sup-posed to imitate what the adult society says is good for important women and men,” psychologist Dr. Judith Reis-man added. “We show them those pictures. We show them those acts. They will do that because that’s what children are supposed to do.”

“Does it destroy them? Yes it does,” she continued. “Is it their faults? No, it’s our fault.”

Dustin, 18, advises parents to be aware of what is actu-ally on their kids’ computer screens.

“Just be aware of what they’re looking at because they can be sitting there look-ing at it and then be with the door closed, and their parents walk in, and they’ll just click it and minimize it,” he said. “So, like, sometimes you have to come up to it and look at the bottom, at the tool bar and see what they’re looking at.”

Internet Safety 101: Protecting Your Kids

One Mother’s Story

If parents don’t know what to look for or how to protect their kids online, a click of the mouse can usher in a night-mare. “Rene’s” story is one example.

“Through a minimized porn site and our computer’s history button, we discovered that our precious 11-year-old son had been to hundreds of Internet pornography sites in the middle of the previous few nights,” she shared.

Her son became intensely addicted to porn.

“We have spent the last 10 years trying to keep our son away from this ‘drug,’ with little success,” she said. “Seeking counselors who could help him and being frustrated and angry that we were unable to protect our child.”

The mother’s story is a warning to parents that it can happen to anyone. The good news is the harm may be pre-ventable.

Giving Parents Knowl-edge

Various partners, including the U.S. Department of Justice and America Online, helped with the Internet Safety 101 project.

“It fills the void in the market because it’s the only multimedia program that is designed to educate, equip and empower parents, educa-tors, law enforcement and other caring adults to protect children under their care,” Hughes explained at a news conference for the national launch of Internet Safety 101.

“You don’t have to be an expert on all the devices that your child’s using, but simply be aware of what they’re us-ing and what it’s capable of,” AOL’s Holly Hawkins said. “And then take advantage of the parental control that’s been built in, whether it’s a gaming device or a cell phone or a computer. Take advantage of what the industry is giving you.”

However, it seems many parents and caregivers aren’t following her advice. A study found one in five children under the age of seven use the Internet without parental supervision. Mobile devices that kids can use to access the Web make it more crucial for parents to establish safety rules and control content.

“Internet Safety 101” is designed to make this process easy to understand.

“Parental controls should be utilized on all Internet-enabled devices, including desktops, laptops, cell phones, PDAs, gaming and music devices,” Hughes instructs viewers on an “Internet Safety 101” DVD.

Steps that Can Save Lives

“If I had had even the most basic software -- software that blocked chat rooms -- we may have had a different outcome,” said Mary Kozak-iewicz.

Her daughter, Alicia, was

abducted by a sexual predator when she was just 13, but was miraculously recovered.

“It was a million to one against my recovery, a million to one, and as easily as that a child’s life is reduced to a simple statistic,” Alicia Ko-zakiewicz shared. “But by the grace of God, I was rescued. I was gifted with a miracle -- with my life and with a mis-sion.”

Alicia wants to share her experience with the hope to save others the pain she and her family endured.

“In actuality, my abduction began long before this man physically ever touched me,” she explained. “It began eight months earlier. It began the very day we first made virtual contact.”

Alicia said her parents were clueless about her online interactions with the sexual predator. She wonders if her kidnapping could have been prevented by a training tool like “Internet Safety 101.”

The pilot program in Vir-ginia reached more than 5,000 adults. At least 95 percent of the participants surveyed said they felt motivated to imple-ment measures to protect kids from the dangers in cyber-space.

“Know what your kids are doing online and stay engaged with them,” Hughes told CBN News. “Recognize that you can’t do it alone. You need some help.”

That help is definitely needed in a society where porn is free, and predators can gain access to your kids, even inside your home.

*Original broadcast March 9, 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO - At-torney General Edmund G. Brown announced today that 3,500 investors, whose hold-ings in auction rate securities were frozen in the financial crisis of 2008, have recovered $1.4 billion through a settle-ment the Attorney General hammered out with Wells Fargo affiliates.

“We went to bat for people who believed their invest-ments were like cash,” Brown said, “but discovered after the financial meltdown that they couldn’t get their hands on even a dime of their money for two long years. Now, be-cause of the settlement, they have all of their money back.”

The investors, big and small, included retirees, work-ing families, small business-

Investors Recover $1.4 Billion Under Settlement Forged by

Attorney General Brownmen, and charities. Nearly half are Californians, who received $695 million through buybacks of their securities by Wells Fargo.

Many invested in the securities because of assur-ances they were “like cash” -- safe and liquid. The securi-ties turned out to be neither. Unable to sell the securities, investors were stuck.

More than 90 percent of the owners of the securi-ties elected to take the Wells Fargo buyback offer under the settlement.

“Getting this money back takes a lot of pressure off me,” said Johanna Markley of Newport Beach, who suffers from cancer. “I wondered who would fight for us.”


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HELP BUILD THE AIRPORT!

Kiewit/Sundt is currently looking for small and local contractors to start work for the landside improvements of the Green Build Project. There will be 5 bids coming out between June and September covering the following scope:

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Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao

Nick Popaditch at an East County Tea Party this year.

SSgt. Popaditch drilling recruits in 2000.

SSgt Popaditch and his Tank crew: Lcpl Conkwright, Cpl Schroeder and Lcpl Hagewood in a Baghdad suburb in 2003.

Nick Popaditch as a soldier in Iraq.

Nick “Gunny Pop” Popa-ditch, candidate for Califor-nia’s 51st Congressional Dis-trict.

Our country may not yet be in the brink of collapse, but if we let the country run its present course, it may. And for such a time as this, a warrior-statesman or a soldier-statesman is needed.

Samuel P. Huntington, a famous Harvard professor and author of the best-selling book The Clash of Civilizations, described soldier-statesmen as possessing courage, com-petence, commitment, and candor. One such soldier-statesman is Nick Popaditch, whom I wrote about in my article “An American Hero for Congress” (May28-June 3,

“Every time a nation comes to the brink of collapse, a warrior- statesman comes forward to save that

nation.” – Anonymous

Gunny Pop’s Key Issues

2010 issue of this paper).Popaditch, lovingly called

“Gunny Pop” by his peers and supporters, is about to turn politician, but will not and never will be like most of those who populate the Hill right now. His courage has been tested in combat, unlike those who show courage only when it’s politically conve-nient.

“Since returning home,” Gunny Pop said, “I’ve seen our liberties under assault and our children’s future being sold away by an ex-panding government that limits individual freedom and

responsibility. This is not the country that I will leave to my children. It is time for me to redeploy again, and Take the Hill!’”

Gunny Pop almost lost his

life serving his country, and he ended up losing an eye. But he never lost his vision! His vision is this: to bring back what our Founding Fa-thers had in mind when they promulgated our country’s Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This war hero running for the 51st Congressional Dis-

trict has the competence, the courage, and the commitment to see his vision through. He is a no-nonsense outspoken conservative who walks his walk and talks his talk, and his promises are not written in the sand.

This weekend, as we

celebrate our country’s 234th Independence Day, I present to you Nick Popaditch’ key issues – issues that affect us all, our children, and even our children’s children.

Here are these key is-sues, in our candidate’s own



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Entertainment

REDWOOD CITY, CA, June 21, 2010 – The last time KC Concepcion saw her father, Gabby, as a child, she was 10 years old. Her actor-father, then at the peak of his career but also at the height of several controversies which included a failed marriage to megastar Sharon Cuneta, quit from showbiz in 1995 and went into self-exile in the U.S. It would take 13 long years before KC, an adult and a budding superstar celebrity by then, before she laid eyes again on her father in San Francisco. While KC before had felt confusion, pain and even anger over the separation of her parents, she revealed that she felt like she was “five all over again, but I’m not because I’m able to talk with him about so many issues” and that she saw her father “in a different way” when they finally reunited.

People are saying that the Father’s Day film offering

Gabby, KC star in father-daughter drama, “I’ll Be There”

Jericho Rosales co-star in Star Cinema blockbuster to be shown in 9 U.S. cities this June

from Star Cinema, I’ll Be There, hews very closely to the true life story of KC and Gabby. Both say it’s fiction, but the father-daughter emo-tions during the shoot were all real. This June, fans will get to see the much awaited historic father-daughter tan-dem on screen, which made audiences cry at the Manila premiere last June 16, when ABS-CBN’s Starry Starry Store brings “I’ll Be There” to nine U.S. cities in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington and New Jersey.

KC plays the role of Maxi dela Cerna, a young, aspir-ing New York-based fashion designer who returns to the Philippines shortly after her mother’s death to find her father. She had been swindled by her ex-boyfriend and hopes to pay off her debts by selling the piece of pro-vincial land that her parents co-owned. But this means spending time with her father whom she hates for walking

out on her and her mother 15 years ago.

As the uptight and guarded Maxi struggles to immerse herself in farm life and deal with a father she despises, she crosses paths again with Tommy (Jericho Rosales), her childhood friend, now an architect who is trying to heal from his own mistakes in the past with his 7-year-old son.

Will a daughter full of pain and anger be able to forgive her father? Will a father be able to heal the deep wounds in the heart of his daughter? And how will a woman who had very painful experiences with men she had loved be able to open her heart to lov-ing again?

Award-winning director Maryo J. De Los Reyes is

now winning raves following the premiere for his master-ful helming of yet another powerful drama in his litany of critically acclaimed film obras. The unanimous ver-dict by media is that KC has improved her acting by leaps

and bounds, shin-ing in her dramatic exchanges with Gabby and generat-ing perfect onscreen chemistry with Jericho. Gabby proves anew why he remains, without doubt, among the top drama actors of the country in de-cades. And Jericho validates observa-tions that he is, indeed, one of the best young actors in Philippine cinema today.

But even more salient is how audi-ences are reacting to the film, with many writing, blog-

ging or commenting that the film’s story resonates so much because they either identify with the characters or they know someone who has gone through the same experiences.

“I’ll Be There is a story that underscores the value of love, acceptance and for-giveness in our lives,” said ABS-CBN International Head of Theatricals Kerwin Du. “Each time such universal themes are crafted and com-municated well in a medium like film, our human nature is to respond to it with passion and understanding. As a father myself with a daughter who I love, this film means more to me than just your regular summer movie and I believe many moviegoers will feel the same way.”


President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is met by President-Elect Benigno Simeon Aquino III at the Malacanang lobby during the traditional transition of presidential leadership. JULIUS B. REYES /PCPO/ PNS

brought me here: our vol-unteers – old, young, celeb-rity, ordinary folks who went around the coun-try to campaign for change; my household help who provided for all my per-sonal needs; my family, friends, colleagues at work, who shared, cared, and gave their support; my lawyers who stayed all hours to guard my votes and make sure they were counted; and the


millions of Filipinos who pre-vailed, kept faith, and never lost hope – I offer my heartfelt gratitude,” Mr. Aquino said.

“This is the end of the gov-ernment that does not care for the people. It is not Noynoy who found a way. You are the reason why the suffering of the nation is about to end. This is the beginning of my Calvary, but together we can carry this cross, no matter how heavy it is,” Mr. Aquino said.

“Through good governance in the coming years, we will lessen our problems. The destiny of the Filipino will return to its rightful place, and as each year passes, the Fili-pino’s problems will continue to lessen with the assurance of progress in their lives,” he said.

“Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at walang pag-

nanakaw. Panahon na upang tayo ay muling magkawang-gawa (No more cheating, no more patronage politics, no more stealing. It’s time for helping one another),” the President said.

“Inaanyayahan ko kayo ngayon na manumpa sa ating mga sarili, sa sambayanan, walang maiiwan. Walang pangingibang-bayan at gas-tusan na walang wastong dahilan. Walang pagtalikod sa mga salitang binitawan noong kampanya, ngayon at hang-gang sa mga susunod pang pagsubok na pagdadaanan sa loob ng anim na taon (Today, I am inviting you to pledge to yourselves and to our people, no one shall be left behind. No more junkets or senseless spending. No more turning



An Unauthorized History of the Philippines

27th of a seriesBy Rudy D. Liporada

In the first series, the author stated that history is written by those who have the time to interpret events based on their perspectives and believed by those who do not know better. In the subsequent series, the author traced why Spain, the United States, and Japan came to the Philippines and why the Filipinos failed to see their economic intentions; and how the subjugated the Filipinos who eventually rose in arms against the colonial-ists in spite of the complicity of the landed elites with the colonialists.

The Brain and Brawn Exodus of Filipinos from their Beloved Motherland – Part III – Servants of the East

In March 31, 2009, a re-nowned Chinese writer, Chip Tsao, made a remark in his column: “…there are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working at a HKD $3,580-a-month (US$460.88) cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a na-tion of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.” He lectured, harshly, on his domestic helper, Louisa, who holds a degree in International Politics from the University of Manila.

Protests against and bash-ing of Chip Tsao for his so called “racial slur” was harsh and immediate from groups with the likes of the Cen-ter for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), Kaunlaran Center Foundation, and the Migrante International. Nonetheless, invariably, the groups admit that the Philippines has really become a nation of overseas domestic helpers.

Kimberly Jane Tan of the GMA News, TV reports on April 3, 2009: “There are almost nine million Filipi-nos abroad – half of whom are overseas Filipino work-ers (OFW), yet we deny that we are a ‘nation of servants.’ Kanlungan resource and advo-cacy assistant Alladin Diega did say, however, that the Philippines being called such is not a new thing.”

“Tsao is not the first and will not be the last. [The] Philippines being a nation of servants is not a new thing,” Diega told GMA News. “This is what we get by letting the government deploy thousands of Filipinos everyday to other countries instead of focusing on creating jobs locally.”

Initiated in 1960 during the presidency of Diosdado Macapagal, the exportation of Philippine Labor was insti-tutionalized in the following decade at the direction of then Labor Secretary Blas Ople. There was a surge of brawn out movement because, according to Dante Ang, chairman of the Commission of Filipinos Overseas, Ople “thought of deploying Filipino workers to the Middle East to take advantage of the oil boom and at the same time, temporarily solve the grow-

ing unemployment rate in the country…To the credit of the government, the policy of sending Filipino workers abroad helped defuse what could have been a social vol-cano.”

By “social volcano,” Ople could have only meant the further growing revolution-ary movement that recruited adherents to its cause. Plagued with more strikes and protest movement in the 1970’s in spite of Martial Law, there was a need for the govern-ment to place a stop gap on the underemployment and unemployment scenes in the Philippines. One way was to deploy Filipino contract work-ers abroad to defuse, as a stop gap, the intensely growing revolutionary explosion.

The stop gap, however, had become permanent and with more intensity as the Philip-pine economy continued to spiral down. Further on, the deployment became institu-tionalized where the Philip-pine government even sought out overseas countries that would, through their public and private citizens, contract workers from the Islands. The Philippine government became very upfront in its desire to deploy its citizens overseas so, not only to lessen the number of under and un-employed but also to rake in dollars in terms of remittances from these contract workers. The denial of Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 stating that the govern-ment “does not promote over-seas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national develop-ment” is pure hogwash. While tooting the principle that the government enters into rela-tions abroad to create and help Filipinos gain employment abroad, remittances from these Overseas Filipino Work-ers (OFW’s) actually keeps the Philippine coffers afloat.

Thus, according to Migran-te International, “More than 2,000 migrant Filipinos leave the country each day and ap-proximately one-third of these are composed of unskilled workers. They can be found in 182 countries worldwide…From 1990 to 1995, remit-tances of migrant Filipinos were registered at US$14.543 billion. In 1999 alone, it regis-tered a high of US$6.9 billion. The government recognizes this contribution. In fact, they are hailed as ‘new economic heroes.’”

The Philippine Over-seas Employment Agency reports that in 2008, there were 1,236,013 OFW’s or an average of 3,377 living the Philippines on a daily basis. This is an increase of 14.75% from 2007 where there were 1,077,623 or an average of 2,952 living the country everyday. In 2008, these OFW’s remitted or added to the Philippine government coffers $16,426,854,000 or an average of $1,368,905,000 monthly. This is an increase of 13.71% from 2007 which reg-istered at $14,449,928,000 or an average of $1,204, 161,000 monthly..

Going abroad had become a dream of many in the Philip-pines. Teachers, economists, bank tellers, and the like, even stoop down from their professions to even become domestic helpers overseas just to receive pittance pay from the perspective of their employers, who are just at glee, acquiring overqualified domestic helpers for cheap wages. Those who aspire to go abroad would not bat an eye to borrow huge sum of money, mortgage land and

private properties, and the like just to raise the necessary amount for their papers for abroad to be processed.

Migrante adds: “The Phil-ippine government extracts exorbitant fees from them as requisite to their deployment abroad. Government rakes in millions daily in the pro-cessing of their papers alone. These include payments for passports, NBI and medical clearances, administrative fees, forced contributions and a litany of other expenses.”

Many also fall victims of unscrupulous fake recruiters who offer them non-existent contracts and only to be sent back to the Philippines as soon as they land at their pur-ported port of entry abroad. They would then have no way of paying the huge amount of money they owed or to retrieve whatever properties they have pawned - driving them into misery deeper than before.

Moreover, though tooted as ‘economic heroes’ by the Philippine government, as in the case of Flor Contempla-cion, the government fails to protect these heroes from their predicaments abroad. Migrante assails: “The abuses and exploitation they experi-ence in their place of work are prevalent. These range from contract violations, rape, sexual harassment, mysteri-ous deaths, among others. Yearly, hundreds of thousand of Filipinos are reported to have suffered various forms of abuse and exploitation in the hands of their employers. Women migrant workers in particular are most vulnerable to abuses and maltreatment. They are subjected to sexual and physical abuses, as in the case of domestic helpers, while many become victims of white slavery.”

Furthermore, the mental anguish of missing families, especially their children, is a daily burden to OFW’s. Yet, for the sake of assumed future blessings like being able to send their children to school, erect a modest a house, or invest in a small business, OFW’s endure all because their country – the Philippines – could not provide them enough work so their fam-ily could together savoring a decent subsistence in their beloved homeland. This has gone beyond the definition of mere domestic helpers. This is slavery.

And then there are the Fringes

And then there is the case of my Aunt who taught she was lucky because her Aus-tralian employer married her. To my chagrin, I could not tell her what I thought of it. First her former employer was much older. At the time that he employed my Aunt, who was a teacher by profession, as a domestic helper, he had to pay her per contract. She was free to go home during her agreed vacation time.

When he proposed and she agreed to marry him, he was no longer obliged to pay her plus he could make love to her anytime he wanted to. She had to take care of him as he grew older as she was the dot-ing young wife who thought they had conjugal properties. When my ‘uncle’ died, she was left with no inheritance and had to pay taxes on the ‘home’ she presumed she now owned. She was also faced with inheritance issues filed by my ‘uncle’s’ children from the previous wife who thought that the old men did leave some wealth which he did not.

There could have been true

love between my Aunt and my ‘uncle’ but they way I look at it, he needed a domestic helper who would take care of him towards his dying days, for free, which my Aunt did. Here, I would state that my Aunt would be a slave of love.

The Internet Hunters

And then there are those who fish for Filipinas through the internet. Among friends, they have heard of Filipinas to be very servile. These Filipi-nas would marry even those much older than them just to escape their impoverishment in the Philippines and be able to send dollars to their fami-lies. This would be the case of a former cousin-in-law of mine who even left my cousin for an old Idaho man. I do respect her, however, because she really sends dollars to their children back in the Phil-ippines. These are from her savings for being a chamber maid in Des Moines. Though promoted to be a dollar earner, in the barest sense, this would still be slavery to me.

The Truck Driver And then there is the case

of David (not his real name). He is a truck driver from Texas who plies West to East coast and vice-versa trips. He went to a far-flung poor village in Cebu and plucked Miranda (not her real name), he says, “from being poor”. “Her family now has a T.V. and a fridge,” he says. She now has been all over the U.S. and Canada, cooking for him and serving him as a wife, sleeping most of the time in the cramped quarters of the truck. He tells her “you have to serve me as I serve and your family.” I believe he would have been paying more if he had hired her as a domestic servant. His friend, who had known about how servile Miranda was, went also to the Philippines to marry her cousin. To me, this is sugar coated slavery.

The First Circumnaviga-tor and Balikbayan of the World

It would seem that the phe-

nomenon of Filipinos being slaves from the East was pre-ceded by a Visayan as early as the 16th century in the person of an Enrique. This would also dispute the historical fact that El Cano, when he took over Magellan’s command, when the latter died in Mac-tan, as the first circumnaviga-tor of the world.

It is chronicled that during his earlier ventures, specifi-cally in the Mallaccas, Magel-lan was able to adopt, who he called a Malayan boy by the name of Enrique. Magel-lan had put Enrique under his ward upon his being inden-tured (meaning given as a slave) to him in 1511 and was with him during Magellan’s

campaigns in Africa, during his ill fates with the king of Portugal, and his being under the graces of Spain.

In William Manchester’s best selling book, A World Lit Only by Fire, he wrote: “Shortly after they had landed in the Visayan Islands of the enormous Philippine archi-pelago, Magellan heard a great cheering and, moving on toward the noise, found his servant Enrique sur-rounded by merry natives. It took awhile to sort things out. Born in the Visayas, Enrique had been sold into slavery in Sumatra and sent to Malacca, where Magellan had acquired him. Since leaving the Ma-layan Peninsula in 1512, he had accompanied his owner to India, Africa, Portugal, Spain, and, the past eighteen months on this voyage. An apt linguist, he was fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish, but here, on Limasawa, for the first time since his childhood, he had overheard people speaking his native language. He had joined in, and they had welcomed him as one of their own.”

Magellan then was able

to communicate with Rajah Humabon and his tribe be-cause Enrique spoke their language. It would then be said that, before El Cano ever circumnavigated the world, Enrique had already done so when the Spaniards landed in Homonhon.

It is also chronicled that when Magellan died in Mac-tan and his crew left back for Spain, Enrique stayed with his people.

It could then be said, too, that when Magellan discov-ered the Philippines, Enrique, while being the first circum-navigator of the world, was also the first balikbayan slave from the East.

Continuing in this series

US Statehood – A Solu-tion?

The Unfinished Revolution of 1896

Statistics shows that almost 90 percent of the Filipinos are literate giving us the edge in the international employ-ment. It is as if the educational system was patterned to make Filipinos serve the needs of the world.

from all over the world proud to be Pinoy. Even the record success of the Black Eyed Peas, with our very own Allan Pineda Lindo or Apl.de.ap, made more Filipinos proud. Of course, let us not forget the continuous success of Lea Salonga, Mig Ayesa, Charice Pempengco, and Paeng Nepu-moceno. Recently, we also have the recognized CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peña-florida. Likewise, the OFWs who struggle to beat poverty continue to inspire many.

If our country is in a mess, I wonder if Pinoys would still want to wear the Philippine map shirts. We even have politicians using them as their uni-

The Philippine Map and being Proudly Pinoy

(Continued from page 1) forms. I wonder if I do make sense. Why would you want to be proud of your country if there was nothing to be proud off? We are proud because there are a lot of things to be proud of in our country; like our heritage, history, indepen-dence and continued eco-nomic resilience amidst the global financial crisis that hit last year.

Congratulations to Joey Cua and Rhett Eala for reviv-ing a symbol for Filipinos and creating something that says “I am proud to be a Pinoy” in so many ways. Indeed, the

Philippine map is such a beauty. When you start visiting the 7,100 is-

lands of the Philippines, you will feel a greater

sense of nationalism.


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets Balintataw

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

by Virginia H. Ferrer


Ang Kanyang TinigMalakas, maliwanag, hindi mo baga naririnigsa aki’y nagpapatatag ang kanyang mga tinig nakakawala ng pangamba at pati na ng nginighalika’t dinggin, pakinggan mabuti aking kapatid.

Naririnig ko ang kanyang malumanay na pagtawagat tanging nais niya na ako’y hindi mapahamaksa sinumang naghahangad na sa akin ay magtulaksa mga patibong sa daan na aking tinatahak.

Totoong naging mahina ako sa maraming bagaynaging makasarili nakalimutan kong magbigay mayroong mga taong hindi ko pinahalagahankung kaya’t tinig niya ngayon sa aki’y pumupukaw.

Joke of the Week: Be-cause of several problems, an ordained minister decided to leave the pulpit for good. However, he could not find another job. At last, in des-peration, he accepted an offer from the local zoo, which had lost their gorilla, a favorite entertainer of the children. Dressed like a gorilla, he hopped around the cage, waved at the kiddies, and in general enjoyed the work. At least people were paying more attention to him there than they did when he was in the pulpit. One day, he felt so frisky that he tried to trapeze. Unfortunately, he lost his grip and sailed over into the next cage, which was occupied by a lion, which came charging at him. Scared to death, the human go-rilla screamed, “Help! Help!” Coming closer, the lion mut-tered, “Quiet, you fool. I’m a minister too.”

Scripture: First Reading: Isaiah 66: 10-14. The prophet affirms God’s power to trans-form Jerusalem according to his purpose. Jerusalem is a place of injustice to the

What’s in your bags?poor and weak. But through God’s transforming grace this city becomes a divine dwell-ing and a place of peace and prosperity (shalom). Second Reading: Galatians 6: 14-18. Paul boasts of the power of God in Je- sus

Christ that brings about a “new creation.” He trusts solely on that grace that makes him endure all his missionary trials and troubles. Gospel: Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20. Jesus teaches his disciples not to rejoice in their missionary success as if it is due to their own power. Jesus reminds them that it is he who calls them to discipleship and who makes it possible for their names to be written in heaven.

Reflections: It is not really

encouraging to know that the Prince of the Apostles, Pe-ter, denied Jesus Christ three times. Despite that failure to acknowledge his Master when he needed him most, Peter nevertheless had been chosen to be the “rock” on which the Church is built or the leader to lead Christ’s Church on earth. I have a friend who entered the seminary who later on did not persevere and left the in-stitution. His younger brother, the least expected to become a priest, went into the same seminary and made it to the priesthood. I know that there are lots of stories like this that testifies to the maxim, “man proposes, but God disposes.” Man wills it, but at the end of the day, God has the final

say.All of us

have our own weak-nesses and id-iosyn-crasies, yet God still be-lieves in us,

because he sees the

tremendous things we can do

for him and for others. Be-cause he sees the goodness in our heart, he calls, transforms, and empowers us to work in his behalf. No matter who we are, what we do and what we have done, as long as we allow his transforming grace to do its miracle in us, our environment and those around us will experience peace and joy through us. Jerusalem that used to be a place of corrup-

tion and injustice has become a haven of peace, joy, and a sign of prosperity for all nations, because it had been transformed into a divine place. Similarly, Christ had appointed and empowered a bunch of unlearned fishermen and peasants as the laborers in God’s vineyard.

As we journey through life and we get older and older, we acquire more bags and lug-gage. Some of these bags con-tain what we cherish most in life, such as family heirlooms, mementos and souvenirs of important events, love letters. We attribute great value to these things that it is difficult for many of us to part ways with them. Sometimes they are our security, they define who we are or our identity. To lose these bags and what they contain could be traumatic to many, to say the least.

Today’s gospel reminds us about trusting primarily in the Lord, “carry no money, no bag, no sack, no sandals.” Jesus did not say not to worry about providing for our own provision. God will take care of that for us, if we trust in him first. He did not say either not to save for our future, not to keep remembrance of important milestone in life. But to make our bags and all that they contain the most important things in life over and above God is to substitute for our faith and trust in him those that would not afford us eternal life. In effect, it is another way of admitting that our gods are the material things in our bags and lug-gage!

Quotation of the Week: “Before Christ sent the Church into the world, he sent the Spirit into the Church. The same order must be observed today.” John R. W. Stott.

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words (as published in his website, www.Popaditch-forCongress.com):

Limited GovernmentGovernment solutions to

everyday problems are not “free,” efficient or effective. Every Government “solution” comes with a price tag and requires a sacrifice of some of your individual freedom. Our Constitution is a limit-ing document. That means it guarantees a small, limited Federal government. Wash-ington, D.C. is expanding out of control and would be unrecognizable to our Found-ing Fathers.

Our political “leadership” has ignored the Constitu-tion and the clear will of the American people. Congress stuffs bills with earmarks, rid-ers, and even bribes. Legis-lators confiscate your hard-earned dollars and bloat bills to over 2000 pages of waste, corruption, and deception. Even worse, this is done with deficit spending – borrowed money from our children’s generation.

My Solution

As your Congressman, I pledge moral clarity and real commitment to the limited government promised to you by our Constitution. I will vote “No” on any bill that is not constitutionally justified, that contains earmarks or unrelated “riders,” or requires deficit spending, regardless


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

Ni Romeo Nicolas

Mga Tulang Tagalog

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

journalusa.com

A carpet installer decides to take a cigarette break after completing the installation in the first of several rooms he has to do. Finding them miss-ing from his pocket he begins searching, only to notice a small lump in his recently completed carpet-installation. Not wanting to rip up all that work for a lousy pack of cigarettes he simply walks over and pounds the lump flat. He decides to forgo the break continues on to the other rooms to be carpeted.

At the end of the day he’s completed his work and load-ing his tools into his trucks when two events occur almost simultaneously: he spies his pack of cigarettes on the dash-board of the truck, and the lady of the

house calls out “Have you seen my para-keet?”

***

Bubba was from the lower valley, and he de-cided he

wanted to get married to his sweetheart. So, while enjoying some grits and gravy for dinner one evening, Bubba brought up the subject with his Ma and Pa. “Bubba, you can’t get married yet,” insisted Ma. “You’re the baby of the family.” “But Ma,” Bubba protested, “I just had my 38th birthday last week.” “We know that, Bubba,” Pa chimed, “but your Ma and me think you should put off getting married until after you graduate from high school.”

***

Bernie was invited to his friend’s home for dinner. Morris, the host, preceded every request to his wife by endearing terms, calling her Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc. Bernie looked at Morris and remarked, “That is really nice, that after all these years that you have been married, you keep calling your wife those pet names.” Morris hung his head and whispered,” To tell

The Parakeetthe truth, I forgot her name three years ago.”

***

Person turns on the com-puter without a keyboard plugged in. When she turns on the computer, the com-puter finds out that there is no keyboard attached and it gives a “Keyboard Error” message. She then asks “Why did it give me a keyboard error? There isn’t even a keyboard attached?

***

Jones came into the office

an hour late for the third time in one week and found the boss waiting for him. “What’s the story this time, Jones?” he asked sarcastically. “Let’s hear a good excuse for a change.”

Jones sighed, “Everything went wrong this morning,

Boss. The wife decided to drive me to the sta-

tion. She got ready in ten minutes,

but then the drawbridge

got stuck. Rather

than let

you down, I swam

across the river -- look, my suit’s still damp -- ran out to the airport, got a ride on Mr. Thomp-son’s heli- copter, landed on top of Radio City Music Hall, and was carried here pig- gyback by one of the Rockettes.”

“You’ll have to do bet-ter than that, Jones,” said the boss, obviously disappointed. “No woman can get ready in ten minutes.”

Huling Dasal‘Di na muling natuto pa ang magmahal at umibig,At ang init ng damdamin, tuluyan rin na nanlamig.Bawat oras, bawat araw, piping hikbi, maririnig,Ang hinagpis abot-abot, nagdarasal ng tahimik.

Mga luha’y umaagos, habang siya’y nagdarasal,Na ang usal, sana naman, ay marinig ng Maykapal.Hintay pa rin na tugunin ang tangi niyang katanungan,Bakit dapat na mabigo kung tunay ang pagmamahal?

At sa kaniyang pagdarasal, yakap pa rin na kay higpit,Larawan ng minamahal na labis na iniibig.Sa ‘di alam na dahilan, kapwa landas, napalihis,Naiwan s’yang nasasaktan at ang lungkot, labis-labis.

Ang lahat ng pinangarap, nawala ng parang bula,Na ang ningning ng bituin na siyang tanglaw ay nawala.Dating lakas, kalusugan, unti-unting nanghihina,Ngunit hindi mapagbago, una’t huli niyang sumpa.

Huling dasal sa buhay niya, bago siya ay pumanaw,Ipabatid sa mahal niyang siya’y tapat sa sumpaan.Puso niyang nagiisa, minsan lamang na nagmahal,Tanging siya ang inibig, mula nuon at kailanman.

Pagsapit ng takipsilim, paligid ay tahimik na,Liban lamang sa isang awit na ang himig kakaiba.At kung iyong pakikinggan, sumasamo yaong nota,Sobrang lungkot na awiting naging saksi ng buhay n’ya.

Tahimik na, tahimik na, wala na rin yaong dasal,Nagwakas na ang damdaming, sadyang tapat at dalisay.Sa babaing minahal n’ya ay huli na ng malaman,Nang mabatid ang totoo, wala na ang nagmamahal.

At sa lungkot ng awitin, hagulgol s’yang napaiyak,Sinisisi ang sarili, ngunit huli na ang lahat.Naganap na ang siyang dapat, tanggapin niya yaong bigat,Bilang pataw, kabayaran, sa damdaming pinaghirap.

Love Poem #9Romeo S. Nicolas3/25/2010


Street Poetry

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

by Michael R. Tagudin

©2010 Michael R. Tagudin. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Michael R. Tagudin Educated as an engineer in the Philippines, the City of Los Angeles em-ployee hopes his legacy of poems will provoke a dialogue about the human condition. He is donating the proceeds from the book “Crushed Violets” to anti-human trafficking efforts in the City of Angels. Contact [email protected] for more information.


of the party who initiates or supports the bill. I will make it my mission to scrub our legislation and bring clean bills for honest votes.

Strong National Defense

America stands as the world’s champion of freedom against tyranny. Septem-ber 11, 2001, demonstrated unequivocally that there are those in this world who hate

liberty and our way of life. I am not interested in under-standing them or capitulating to them. Did President Frank-lin Roosevelt ask Americans on December 8, 1941, to understand why the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor or learn how to work with them? No. Americans must be as safe as possible, and our country as strong as possible. “Opening dialogue” or the closing of detention facilities to make our enemies “like us” cannot accomplish this. This behav-ior is cowardice in the face of our enemies.

My Solution As your Congressman I

pledge to rebuild our military to pre-1990 levels, which is absolutely necessary in today’s dangerous world. Our Constitution clearly defines the RESPONSIBILITY of the Federal Government to pro-vide for the Nation’s security. More troops, equipped with the best technology this great Nation can build, supported by empowered intelligence to fight both traditional wars and asymmetrical conflicts.

Secure Borders Until we control our Na-

tion’s borders and know who is crossing them, talk about “immigration reform” is just that: talk. Until we enforce our immigration laws in our cities, “immigration reform” means absolutely nothing. A lone border patrolman was murdered last summer here in our community. There is no excuse for this in our country.

My Solution As your Congressman, I

will reject any legislation re-garding “immigration reform” that does not also guarantee the completion of the border fence. This does not mean our border should be closed. Many people come here legally to work, seek citizen-ship, or conduct commerce.

We need to know who they are and why they are

here. Our immigration laws must be followed and I will propose legislation to cut ALL Federal funding to any city that is operating as a so-called “sanctuary city.” Your Federal tax dollars will not go to those who ignore Federal law.

Finally, as one of my first priorities, I will work to increase funding to put more border patrol agents where they are most needed: on our borders protecting our na-tional security. Your tax dol-lars will pay for more patrol agents who are equipped with the latest technology. Our Constitution DEMANDS that the Federal Government pro-vide security for its citizens. This includes preventing drug dealers from crossing our bor-ders and infecting our streets.

More Jobs in the 51st District

Here’s the good news. Fol-

lowing the Constitution will create JOBS. Limited Federal Government requires less of your money. This means lower taxes – for EVERY-BODY. Don’t be fooled by misleading promises of only raising taxes on the “wealthi-est Americans.” Any tax in our community affects all of us. If taxes are raised on the owner of the grocery store, he raises the price of the grocer-ies. If a local corporation is taxed at a higher rate, people lose their jobs and the price of their product goes up. We ALL pay the tax. Worse still, the money goes to Washing-ton to employ bureaucrats who don’t know you, don’t care about you, and get their raises by taking more of your money or borrowing some of your children’s.

My Solution Reverse the flow. Lower

taxes for EVERYBODY, not just some. Keep the money here in the 51st District. You decide how to spend YOUR money, not Washington. Business owners can hire new employees, instead of send-ing their money out of the

community to Washington. Increased defense and border spending brings money from Washington to our commu-nity. The military and Border Patrol not only live in and protect our community, but also bring Federal tax dollars to our community.

Reverse the flow. Don’t send money to Washington. Bring money from Washing-ton to our community. Let’s work together to bring jobs and prosperity back to the 51st District.

Strong Family Values

Our children do not have a lobby group or an ability to vote politicians out of office who do not represent them. They are left to face the con-sequences of an out of control government that is failing to protect them and is recklessly spending and leaving the bill for them to pay.

My Solution

As your Congressman, I will stand for our children. I will protect their right to life, beginning at conception. I will support School Vouchers to ensure a quality educa-tion and the opportunity for a bright future. I will propose Federal Legislation to put stronger sentencing mandates on pedophiles. Activist judg-es will no longer victimize our children or our values. I refuse to allow the will of the California voter to be ignored. I support defining marriage as between one man and one woman and I will support the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

My campaign office is located at: 303 & 305 F St. Chula Vista, CA 91910. Campaign lines: (619) 422-4700 & (619) 422-4722. Call me, or drop by!

Poem 9

Why should every time be...Once...

Once upon a time!Why can’t it be forever!

Like a never ending story...From some fairy tale book

The saga continues...The adventure begins...

It never ends...Me and you forever...

Upon a time...Forever together!


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LOS ANGELES, CALI-FORNIA (June 21, 2010) - Farmers Insurance® and the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), the largest non-profit organization in the U.S. that provides college scholar-ships to students of Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) descent, recently awarded $80,000 in scholar-ships to high school students from around the country. To-day, several of these scholar-ship recipients from the Los Angeles area were presented with certificates of recogni-tion at a reception hosted by the insurance company.

Kevin Beltran, Jamie Crisostomo, Frances Lee, Christina Lim and Sidney Vu were among the more than 32 scholars selected nationally to each receive the $2,500 Farmers/APIASF Scholar-ship. The students are gradu-ates from Camino Nuevo H.S.,

Immaculate Heart H.S., Beverly Hills H.S., Down-town Magnets H.S., and Ver-dugo Hills H.S., respectively.

“We are proud to recog-nize the accomplishments of these outstanding young scholars from the Los Ange-les area,” said Farmers agent Shelley Liu. “We are pleased to award them these scholar-ships, and we wish them well as they pursue their dreams and aspirations.”

The APIASF/Farmers Scholarship is the result of an ongoing partnership between Farmers Insurance and APIASF. It is designed to provide direct scholarship support and student outreach initiatives aimed at increasing access to higher education in underserved communities across America.

“It’s an honor to be able to recognize deserv-ing students for their hard work both in the classroom and in our community,” said Daniel Chang, Director of Multicultural Marketing for Farmers Insurance. “We know that investing in these future leaders like Kevin, Jamie, Frances, Christina and Sidney will help make our

Los Angeles Area High School Students Awarded Scholarships

from APIASF and Farmers Insurance®

communities stronger and more vibrant. This partner-ship with APIASF embodies our company’s commitment to education and the Asian-American community.”

To date, the Farmers/APIASF partnership has provided 64 students with $160,000 in much-needed scholarship funds. This year’s Farmers Scholars included students from across the country, including states such as California, Minne-sota, and Texas.

“Thanks to support from Farmers Insurance, APIASF is able to help students such as these from the Los An-geles area to access higher education and reach their true potential,” said Neil Horiko-shi, President and Executive Director of APIASF. “This group of students has already shown a desire to give back to their community and truly represent the future leaders of this country.”

About APIASF

Based in Washington, D.C., the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) is the nation’s largest non-profit organi-zation devoted solely to providing scholarships for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIA). Since 2003, APIASF has provided a critical bridge to higher education for APIA students across the country by award-ing more than $3 million in scholarships to deserving

students. APIASF manages two scholarship programs: APIASF’s general scholar-ship and the Gates Millen-nium Scholars/Asian Pacific Islander Americans funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Corporate supporters include, but are not limited to: AT&T Inc., The Coca-Cola Compa-ny, Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, ING, Macy’s Inc., McDonald’s, Sodexo Foundation, United Health Foundation, USA Funds, Wachovia Wells Fargo Foun-dation, Walmart, Walmart Foundation and Wells Fargo. For more information on APIASF, please visit www.apiasf.org.

About Farmers Group, Inc.

Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farmers Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its sub-sidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Financial Services Group. The Farmers Ex-changes are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Ex-change and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyhold-ers, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiar-ies. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.

WASHINGTON, June 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A proposed one percent Social Security Cost of Liv-ing Adjustment (COLA) cut would cost seniors as much as $54,954 throughout a 25-year retirement, according to a new analysis released today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).

TSCL is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors advocacy groups with 1.2 mil-lion supporters.

The proposal to slash the Social Security COLA was

detailed last month in a bipar-tisan report released by the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging. That report is ex-pected to serve as a blueprint for President Obama’s Com-mission on Fiscal Respon-sibility and Reform, which will offer recommendations to slash the federal budget deficit.

The Commission is sched-uled to meet on June 30, and is expected to consider this proposal.

TSCL’s study looked at three different scenarios compiled by the Senate Com-mittee: a one percent COLA cut, a one-half percent COLA cut, and the introduction of a “chained” COLA, a cut of roughly three-tenths of a percent. It then analyzed the amount of money seniors would lose in Social Security

Proposed Social Security Cut Would Rob Seniors of up to $54,954 During Retirement

payments over a 10-, 20-, and 25-year retirement period:

“We recognize the need for the Social Security program to be put on more solid financial ground, but this is not the way to do it. We strongly oppose narrow-minded efforts to slash the COLA,” said Daniel O’Connell, TSCL chairman. “America’s seniors know better than anyone how badly their Social Security checks have trailed inflation, and it would be bad policy to pass along even more severe pain

to future retirees.”A recent analysis by TSCL

found that seniors have lost 24 percent of their purchasing power since 2000. A majority of the 37 million Americans aged 65 and over who re-ceive a Social Security check depend on it for at least 50 percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income.

TSCL is delivering a let-ter and issue brief to every Member of Congress today, both of which strongly advo-cate against cutting the Social Security COLA for seniors. TSCL is also encouraging its members to contact their lawmakers to help fight for a more fair COLA.

TSCL is lobbying for a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used to determine

the COLA. The government currently calculates the COLA based on the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a slow-rising index that tracks the spending habits of younger workers who don’t spend as much of their income on health expenditures.

However, the government does track the spending pat-terns of older Americans, and has done so since 1983 with the CPI for Elderly Consum-ers, or CPI-E. By tying the an-nual increase in the COLA to

the CPI-E, seniors would see much needed relief in their monthly checks. For example, a senior who retired with a benefit of $460 in 1984 would have received $12,856 more over the past 26 years with the CPI-E.

With 1.2 million sup-porters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to pro-tect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired En-listed Association. Visit www.SeniorsLeague.org for more information.


(619) 702-3051

Housing and Real Estate

SAN DIEGO (June 21, 2010) – Construction is now under way on Phase 8 at Clo-ver at Windingwalk by San Diego builder Shea Homes. Expected to be completed in time for September move-ins, Phase 8 homes are now selling. Currently, just three of eight in the phase remain available for sale. Prices range from the mid $300,000s for the two- and three-story con-dominium homes adjacent to the neighborhood’s pool and spa.

“With interest rates at historic lows, we are having great success qualifying more buyers for homes at Clover,” said Vanessa Linn, vice presi-dent of sales and marketing for Shea Homes.

The four-plex condo-minium homes at Clover span approximately 1,579 to 1,891 square feet and have two to four bedrooms, two to three bathrooms and two-car garag-es. For more information, call community representatives at 619-397-0964.

Phase 8 Under Construction at Clover at Windingwalk by

Shea Homes

In addition to its own neighborhood pool, Clo-ver residents have access to Windingwalk community amenities. Offering an array of close-to-home recreational opportunities, amenities with-in the master-planned com-munity include three parks, an extensive trail system, and two recreation centers. The renowned Winding Oaks Rec-reation Center boasts a resort-style pool, Olympic-style pool, spa, showers, locker rooms, restroom facilities, grassy play areas, conference and event spaces, including an open courtyard area with cov-ered gazebo, and an exercise room, and patio.

Planned new schools at Windingwalk and other schools nearby are located within the highly regarded Chula Vista Elementary School District and Sweet-water Union High School District, ensuring a variety of educational opportunities.

Shea Homes (http://www.SheaHomes.com) offers new homes ranging from afford-ably priced condominiums and townhomes to traditional single-family detached homes and magnificent luxury resi-dences.

About Shea Homes

Shea Homes, an indepen-dent member of the Shea fam-ily of companies, is among San Diego County’s biggest homebuilders. The Shea fam-ily of companies is investing in the future of children and communities across America by sponsoring a multi-faceted literacy awareness program that urges parents to “Read With Your Child 15 Minutes a

Day.” For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.Shea-Homes.com.

Shea Homes San Diego is located at 9990 Mesa Rim Road in San Diego. To contact Shea Homes, please call 858-526-6500.

At the urging of housing advocates, California’s At-torney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., has launched an investigation to ensure com-pliance with tenant-protection laws by banks and private investors acquiring tenant-oc-cupied, foreclosed properties. The investigation, announced this week, comes after Tenants Together and 20 allied hous-ing rights and public interest groups from across California brought rampant violations of tenant protection laws to the attention of the Attorney General. The coalition urged Attorney General Brown to take action in response to a pattern of illegal conduct and tenant harassment by banks, real estate agents, and lawyers in their treatment of tenants after foreclosure.

“Tenants who live in properties in foreclosure are the forgotten victims of the collapse of the housing mar-ket,” Attorney General Brown said. “We’ll fight every step of the way to ensure they aren’t rousted from their homes in violation of the law.”

In its 2010 report: Califor-nia Tenants in the Foreclosure Crisis, Tenants Together con-servatively estimates that at least 37 percent of foreclosed units are rentals, directly af-fecting more than 200,000 tenants annually.

Advocates praised the Attorney General’s announce-ment. According to Dean Preston, Executive Director at Tenants Together, “We commend Attorney General Brown for moving forward to stop the illegal displacement and harassment of innocent tenants. Banks acquiring tenant-occupied foreclosed properties have shown a complete disregard for tenant-protection laws. Unless they are held accountable, they will continue to devastate commu-nities across the state.”

The Attorney General’s press release provides further detail on the demands to the industry:

As a part of his investiga-tion, Brown today sent letters to 24 banks, loan servicers,

California Attorney General Announces

Investigation into Banks’ Treatment of Tenants

after Foreclosureprivate investors, and law firms demanding informa-tion about whether they are complying with federal, state, and local laws regard-ing foreclosed properties and their treatment of tenants… In his letter, Attorney Gen-eral Brown requires banks, loan servicers, private inves-tors and law firms to provide information by July 19 about their policies and procedures when dealing with foreclosed properties and current ten-ants. It specifically asks the recipients to outline how they ‘promote or preserve tenan-cies after foreclosure.’

The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) became law in May 2009, expanding tenant rights in the foreclosure context and clarifying that post-fore-closure owners step into the shoes of the pre-foreclosure owner and have all obliga-tions of landlords toward their tenants. Under the federal law, tenants have the right to a 90-day notice to vacate after foreclosure. The law also specifies that leases survive foreclosure, giving most tenants the right to remain in their homes through the end of the lease. In addition, tenants who live in cities with just cause for eviction laws may have the right to remain indefinitely after foreclosure.

Post-foreclosure owners are responsible for widespread violation of these laws. Ac-cording to Gabe Treves, Pro-gram Coordinator at Tenants Together, “banks and private investors routinely displace tenants in violation of tenant-protection laws. One of the biggest problems is that they contract with real estate agents and eviction lawyers that harass and mislead ten-ants into moving out of their homes prematurely.”

Tenants Together oper-ates a hotline for tenants in foreclosure situations. Since launching in March 2009, the Tenant Foreclosure Hotline has counseled over 4,000 ten-ants. California tenants can reach the foreclosure hotline toll-free at 1-888-495-8020.

SAN MARCOS (June 23, 2010) – More and more families are becoming part of a growing trend toward multi-generational and two-family living, a trend new-home builder Brookfield Homes is meeting with optional dual master bedroom suites at Ma-hogany at Old Creek Ranch in San Marcos neighborhood.

“The Plan 2 floor plan at Mahogany is a excellent example of how an extended

Dual Master Bedroom Suites Ideal for Multi-Generational

Or Two-Family Living at Mahogany by Brookfield Homes

family or even two families may live under one roof very comfortably,” explained Lora Heramb, vice president of sales and marketing for Brookfield Homes (www.brookfieldsd.com). “Unique family and friends living situations have created an increased demand for more flexible floor plans. Having two master bedrooms al-lows everyone to feel more at home.”

One of the reasons multi-generational living is becom-ing more common is baby boomers who find themselves caring for elderly parents or accommodating children who have returned home following college graduation.

“Two master bedroom suites is an ideal solution to extended family living ar-rangements,” Heramb said. “Everyone gets more pri-vacy.”

Two-family living also comes as a result of younger families who decide to team up together to buy a home, a bigger home in a nicer neigh-borhood than anything they could afford on their own.

“Related or not, two close families will find their liv-

ing experience more pleasant when each has sufficient space of their own, beyond shared living areas,” Heramb said.

With prices from the mid $600,000s, Mahogany fea-tures one- and two-story floor plans ranging from 2,410 to 3,875 square feet. The flex-ible floor plans have three to five bedrooms, three to 4.5 bathrooms and two-car-plus garage spaces.

Mahogany at Old Creek Ranch is located just east of Carlsbad in the amenities-rich city of San Marcos. Hom-eowners are close to multiple community parks and an extensive network of hiking trails. Just east of Rancho Santa Fe Road and south of San Elijo Road, the area has an abundance of retail shopping, conveniences and restaurants.

For more information about Mahogany at Old Creek Ranch, call 888-559-7734 or visit the sales office at 1756 Burbury Way, San Marcos.

Brookfield San Diego Builders, Inc. builds homes throughout San Diego and Riverside counties. Brookfield currently is building in the master-planned communities of The Foothills in Carlsbad, Windingwalk in Chula Vista, The Estates at StoneBridge east of Scripps Ranch in San Diego, Old Creek Ranch in San Marcos and Morningstar Ranch in Winchester. For more information about Brookfield communities and to learn about the company’s signature construction differ-ences, visit www.brookfield-sd.com.

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My barber was quite emphatic in his observation, “This seems to be the season of Recycles: TV shows like “Hawaii Five-O”; Movies like “The Karate Kid”; and Philip-pine Political Dynasties like the Aquino and the Marcos families.”

Then he thought with my tacit agreement that for the benefi t of the new generation of Filipino voters, he should also recycle the jokes that he used to tell and hear in his barbershop during the Martial Law years.

**********

My barber heard this story in the barbershop years ago. He thinks it was untrue but it spread all over the Philippines anyway.

“After coming back from schooling in London, Bong-bong Marcos wanted to to open his own business. So, he looked around and noticed that FLORO FOTO, a pho-tography business owned by Floro, was doing quite well. Since he was always inter-ested in photography anyway, he decided to open one. It was named FOTO BONGBONG. When Imelda heard about it, she was envious and insisted on opening one herself. She didn’t know what she would call it, so asked for sugges-tions. One of the suggested

Recycling TV Shows, Movies, Political

Families and Jokesnames was FOTO NG INA NI BONGBONG.”

**********

“Doctor,” said the patient, “do you remember you told me to go out with Imelda’s Jet Set girls so I could get away from business?”

“Yes, I do,” the doc re-plied.

“Well,” said the patient, “now will you help me get back my business?”

**********

How do you describe a Filipino politician?

My barber: “He is a guy who shakes your hand before an election and your confi -dence afterward.”

**********

My barber says that life in the Philippines is so terrible that people have to borrow continuously to feed them-selves. His friend made this comment: “Running into debt isn’t so bad – it’s running into creditors that hurt.”

**********

“Time separates the best of friends,” said one Imelda Blue Lady to another.

“How true,” replied the other. “Twenty years ago we

were both fi fteen, now I’m thirty-fi ve and you’re twenty-nine!”

***********

According to my barber, Marcos always consults his soothsayer. He says that Mar-cos called his soothsayer once to fi nd out when he is going to die. The soothsayer said that it’s going to be on a Muslim holiday.

“Which one?” Marcos asked.

“I do not know,” the sooth-sayer said.

“You must know,” shouted Marcos angrily. “I insist upon the truth.”

“I do not know,” persisted the soothsayer, “because any day you die will be a Muslim holiday in the Philippines.”

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Health and Family

Sandy Van, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center| LOS ANGE-LES (June 24, 2010) – The nerve cell-damaging plaque that builds up in the brain with Alzheimer’s disease also builds up in the retinas of the eyes – and it shows up there earlier, leading to the pros-pect that noninvasive optical imaging of the eyes could lead to earlier diagnosis, interven-tion and monitoring of the disease, according to new research.

Scientists discovered characteristic amyloid plaques in retinas from deceased Alzheimer’s disease patients and used a noninvasive optical imaging technique to de-tect retinal plaques in live laboratory mice geneti-cally modified to model the human disease. The combined results sug-gest the possibility that noninvasive retinal imag-ing may be helpful in early diagnosis of the disease.

The research was conduct-ed by a team of scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in collaboration with col-leagues from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the University of South-ern California. Results were published online June 13 in the journal Neuro Image, and related findings will be pre-sented July 13 at the Alzheim-er’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating condition that is becoming more prevalent worldwide as the baby-boom generation advances into its senior years, but there is no conclusive, noninvasive way to diagnose it. Previ-ous studies have suggested that changes in the brain may begin years or even decades before symptoms occur – em-phasizing the need for earlier, reliable detection for early therapeutic intervention to achieve effective remedy. The new study suggests the possi-bility of monitoring Alzheim-er’s disease through a simple

Hallmark Alzheimers disease changes found in retinas of humans

and imaged in live animalsScientists discovered characteristic amyloid plaques in retinas from Alzheimer’s

disease patients and used a noninvasive optical imaging technique to detect retinal plaques in live laboratory mice, suggesting the possibility of early

noninvasive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

retinal imaging approach.Abnormal deposits in the

brain called beta-amyloid plaques, which damage cells and interrupt cell-to-cell communications, are recog-nized as a hallmark sign of the disease. However, because existing noninvasive brain imaging technologies can-not provide sufficient detail about these changes, the most definitive diagnosis of Al-

zheimer’s disease comes after an autopsy.

The research team consid-ered the retina a better target for noninvasive imaging of Alzheimer’s disease because it is readily accessible and, unlike other components of the eye, it is part of the central nervous system, having a di-rect connection and thus many similarities with the brain. Previous studies have docu-mented non-specific visual disturbances, eye disorders and certain types of retinal abnormalities occurring with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, but this is the first to identify human retinal plaque deposits that could provide a specific diagnostic marker of Alzheim-er’s disease.

Among the new findings:

1) In lab tests, plaques in the retinas of mice genetically modified to model Alzheim-er’s disease could be detected at a very early, pre-symptom-atic stage – before the plaque appeared in the brain.

2) A high-resolution, noninvasive optical imaging

approach was developed to monitor individual beta-amy-loid plaques in the retinas of live mice. The system is based on a harmless specific marker and the adaptation of an exist-ing optical system used to examine rodent eyes.

3) The research team used a fluorescent compound called curcumin to label and detect retinal plaques. This is believed to be the first use

of curcumin as an imaging agent to detect Alzheimer’s disease-related plaques in the retinas of live animals. Curcumin, a natural compo-nent of the spice turmeric, binds to beta-amyloid plaques and makes them visible when viewed micro-scopically. In the Cedars-Sinai research, curcumin injected into the blood-stream of live mice crossed the blood-retinal barrier and specifically bound to the retinal plaques, allow-

ing them to be viewed in high resolution with a noninvasive procedure.

4) Observations from mul-tiple genetically engineered mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease demonstrated a corre-lation between retinal plaques and brain plaques as disease progressed.

5) In the laboratory mice, a unique immune system-based therapy that reduces the amount of plaques in the brain also reduced plaque load in the retina to the same extent, suggesting that the retina could faithfully represent the brain in assessing response to therapy.

6) Beta-amyloid plaques were identified in retinal samples from human patients who had died from Alzheim-er’s disease, and their features correlated with the diagnosed stage of the disease. Impor-tantly, plaques were clearly detected not only in patients who definitely had the dis-ease, but also in the retinas of some people who were sus-pected of having early-stage Alzheimer’s disease based on clinical diagnosis and micro-scopic examination of brain tissue after death.

Together, the results offer the first evidence for the exis-tence of Alzheimer’s-specific plaques in the retina of hu-man patients and the ability to detect individual plaques in live mouse models, creat-ing a strong basis for future research building on these findings. According to the au-thors, these studies establish the potential of direct retinal

beta-amyloid plaque imaging in live subjects as a tool for early Alzheimer’s disease di-agnosis and prognosis, as well as assessment of therapies.

Specialists in neurosur-gery, ophthalmology, imaging systems, neuroimmunology, pathology, neurology and bio-medical engineering collabo-rated on these studies, which were conducted at Cedars-Si-nai Medical Center by scien-tists from Cedars-Sinai, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and the University of Southern California.

The journal article’s first authors are Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, Ph.D., a research scientist and assistant pro-fessor of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and a principal investigator in the

Neuroimmunology Labo-ratory at Cedars-Sinai; and Yosef Koronyo, M.Sc., LL.B., a research associate in the departments of Surgery and Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai. Michal Schwartz, Ph.D., visiting professor in the De-partment of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai, and the Ilze and Maurice Professorial Chair of Neuroimmunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is a senior author.

The work was supported by the Marciano Family Foundation, the Maxine Dun-itz Neurosurgical Institute, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medi-cine and Surgery, the National Eye Institute, the Winnick Family Foundation, and a Na-tional Institute on Aging grant to the University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Dis-ease Research Center.

Fort Washington, PA (June 15, 2010) McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., is recall-ing five product lots as an addition to the list of products included in the company’s January 15th, 2010 product recall. The additional lots involved are four product lots of BENADRYL® ALLERGY

McNeil consumer healthcare recalls four product lots

of Benadryl® Allergy Ultratab™

Tablets, 100 count, and one product lot of extra strenght

Tylenol® Rapid Release Gels, 50

Count

ULTRATAB™ TABLETS, 100 count, sold in the U.S.; and one product lot of EX-TRA STRENGTH TYLE-NOL® Rapid Release Gels, 50 count sold in the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago, Bermu-da, and Puerto Rico (FULL RECALLED PRODUCT LIST BELOW). This recall is a follow-up to the product recall that McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced on Jan-uary 15th, 2010 and is being taken because the products were inadvertently omitted from the initial recall action. McNeil Consumer Healthcare identified the omission and informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its decision to add these product lots to the recall list. All these products were produced before the Janu-ary 15th, 2010 recall. Since January, McNeil Consumer Healthcare has continued to analyze and evaluate 2,4,6-tri-bromoanisole (TBA) and has shared that information with the FDA. This further analysis confirms that the risk of serious adverse medical events is remote. This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the FDA.

BENADRYL® ALLERGY ULTRATAB™ TABLETS is sold over-the-counter and is indicated for the relief of allergy associated symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat, and itchy and watery eyes. EXTRA STRENGTH TYLENOL® Rapid Release Gels is sold over-the-counter and is indicated for the temporary reduction of fever and for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains due to head-ache, muscular aches, back-ache, minor arthritis pain, the common cold, toothache,

pre-menstrual and menstrual cramps, and flu.

The January 15th, 2010 recall was initiated as a result of consumer complaints of a musty or moldy odor that has since been linked to the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tri-bromoanisole (TBA). After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the source of TBA was the result of a breakdown of a chemical that is applied to wood used to build wooden pallets that transport and store product packaging materials.

Consumers who purchased product from the lots included in this recall should stop us-ing the product and contact McNeil Consumer Healthcare for instructions on a refund or replacement. For these instructions or information regarding how to return or dispose of the product, con-sumers should log on to the internet at www.mcneilpro-ductrecall.com or call 1-888-222-6036 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time). Re-quests for reimbursement can be made at www.mcneilpro-ductrecall.com. Consumers who have medical concerns or questions should contact their healthcare provider.

Any adverse reactions may also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Program by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the Med-Watch website at www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/default.htm.

The product lot numbers for the recalled products can be found on the side of the bottle label.


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

journalusa.com

License # 01113433

Very interesting letter. Share this with your friends and associates who still hon-estly believe that our beloved Philippines is worth saving. I salute the person (Remedios C. Paningbatan) who wrote this letter.

To all Filipinos Every-

where: I used to think that corrup-

tion and criminality in the Philippines were caused by poverty. But recent events tell me this isn’t true. It is one thing to see people turn into drug ad-dicts, prostitutes, thieves and mur-derers because of hunger and poverty, but what excuse do these rich, educated people have that could possibly explain their bizarre behavior? And to think I was always so relieved when petty snatchers got caught and locked away in jail because I never fully realized that the big time thieves were out there, making the laws and running our country.

Every night, I come home & see these “honorable” crooks lambast each other on TV , call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of commit-ting the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and apalling that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to

A Letter From A Brave Filipina

power, bear titles like “Honor-able”, “Senator”, “Justice”, “General” and worse, “Presi-dent”. Ironically, these law-less individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation - Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? “Rob the poor, moderate the

greed of the rich.”It makes me wonder what

kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environ-ment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people . It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new gen-eration of improved Filipino crooks and liars with equally negligible conscience. They all go to mass & receive com-munion! Heaven forbid!

I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my fam-ily’s, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation’s coffers. I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services

that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educa-tional system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have always thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.

We see Scandalous gov-ernment deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time law-yers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his term has ended, Enrile inquiring about someone’s morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo wanting more money than they or their great grand-children could ever spend in a lifetime. Joker making a joke of his own “pag bad ka, lagot ka!” slogan.. Defensor

rendered defense-less. Gen. Razon involved in kidnap-ping. Security men providing anything but a sense of securi-ty. The average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving

to go work in other countries?They say the few stupid

ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same national-ity with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won’t make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it..

I am writing this because I need to do something con-crete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain luke-warm to issues that would later affect me and my chil-dren. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something bet-

ter for the Philippines. I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fair-ness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell because it is the only coun-try I call mine and it is my responsibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.

We can pray.. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!

I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can . I beg all fathers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, hon-esty, fair play, sharing, dig-nity and compassion - right from the sandbox till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, every-where you go. Be good role models.

I call on educators and teachers - . . Instill in them love of their country,, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us into. The youth is our future - and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, law-makers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.

I ask all students, young people and young profession-als everywhere to look around and get involved .. . YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard.

Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you be-come parents yourselves. You

will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.

Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country.. You

can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. Be

good lawyers, civil servants, accountants, computer techs, engineers, doc-tors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.

For love of this country, for the future of our children, , I urge you to do what

you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philippines than sit around and let crooks lead us to per-dition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.


Tidbits from this book inquiring minds want to know:

How many children does Tessie Agana have?Who are the two movie star cousins of Robert Arevalo?Seeking an autograph from what famous comedian led Perla Bautista to

become a movie star?What physical attributes did Bernard Bonnin have that made him a top

sprinter in college?Who is the other movie star brother of Robert Campos?Who was the Manila couturier instrumental in making Charlie Davao a

movie star?Who was the top actor with whom Myrna Delgado had a love child?Who was the legendary actor who gave Dolphy his first break in the mov-

ies?What is the relationship of Linda Estrella to Judge Jose Vera, the famous

founder of the Sampaguita Pictures?With which famous Sampaguita Pictures movie star did Bella Flores have a

rift that led to a hair-pulling incident?How did Amalia Fuentes get her last name?To which military outfit did Eddie Garcia used to belong?What sports makes Shirley Gorospe stay in good shape these days?What other talent does Liberty Ilagan have?Who is the legendary movie director who gave Anita Linda her screen

name?What was the first screen name of Mona Lisa?What was Liza Lorena’s profession before she became a movie star?What was German Moreno’s first job at the once famous Clover Theater?What comic strip characters did Oscar Obligacion portray in the movies?Who was the famous Hollywood star Paraluman is always compared with?Why was Barbara Perez asked by a famous couturier to tone down her at-

tire?How much was Delia Razon paid for her first dance number in a movie?Who was the top government official Boots Anson Roa considered as her

“little sister” in high school?What was Susan Roces’ first lead role in the movies?What kind of business Pepito Rodriguez is involved in these days?How was Ramil Rodriguez discovered?Who was the movie star brother of Gloria Romero?What prestigious award did Rosa Rosal receive for her public service

deeds?Why was Caridad Sanchez considered not a typical movie star?Who was the ambassador husband of Gloria Sevilla?In what Manila public market did Luz Valdez sold wares before she was

discovered?What was the connection of Norma Vales with top Hollywood entertainer

Mitzi Gaynor?Who was the famous comedienne and next-door neighbor of Nova Villa

who introduced Nova to the movies?Which top Sampaguita Pictures actor and the drinking buddy of Zeny Za-

bala’s father was instrumental to Zeny’s movie career?What title did Marita Zobel win that earned her the lead role opposite Lou

Salvador, Jr. in the movie “Bad Boy”?

Get all the answers in this entertaining book, “Balik Tanaw: The Fili-pino Movie Stars of Yesteryears”!

1

B

alik Tanaw:

The Fi l ipino Movie

Stars of Yest eryears

By Dr. Romy Protacio

Order a copy of“Balik Tanaw”

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Featuring the profiles and rarely seen photographs of your Filipino movie

stars of yesteryears including:

German Moreno Oscar Obligacion Paraluman Barbara Perez Delia Razon Boots Anson Roa Susan Roces Pepito Rodriguez Ramil Rodriguez Gloria Romero Rosa Rosal Caridad Sanchez Gloria Sevilla Luz Valdez Norma ValesNova Villa Zeny Zabala Marita Zobel

Tessie Agana Robert Arevalo Perla Bautista Bernard Bonnin Robert Campos Charlie Davao Myrna Delgado Lilia Dizon Dolphy Linda Estrella Bella Flores Amalia Fuentes Eddie Garcia Shirley Gorospe Liberty Ilagan Anita Linda Mona Lisa Lisa Lorena

You can order and pick up copies of the book, “Balik Tanaw: The Filipino Movie

Stars of Yesteryears” at $12.95 a copy at the office of Asian Journal San Diego, 550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City, CA 91950 (Inside Old School House Complex on the

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Published by Green Mango Books, a division of Asian Journal San Diego,

the original and first Asian Journal in America, E-mail: [email protected]

Balik Tanaw: The Filipino Movie Stars of Yesteryears


back on pledges made during the campaign, whether today or in the coming challenges over the next six years),” he said.

The 50-year-old President drew loud cheers from the crowd the moment he arrived at the grandstand with former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

His speech touched on his campaign promises and the most applauded were his references to fighting corrup-tion and on empowering the people.

His speech was rich in messages of hope, change, reforms, unity, self-reliance, perseverance and hard work.

Top local artists came to sing inspirational and patriotic songs. The crowd cheered, flashed the L or Laban (fight) sign, waved yellow flags and many had fun with the music. The national anthem was sung by international singing sensa-tion Charice.

True strength

President Aquino said he felt humbled by the people’s show of trust, declaring “my pres-ence here today is proof that you are my true strength.”

“I never expected that I will be here taking my oath of of-fice before you as your presi-dent. I never imagined that I would be tasked with continu-ing the mission of my parents. I never entertained the ambi-tion to be the symbol of hope, and to inherit the problems of our nation,” he said.

“I had a simple goal in life: to be true to my parents and our country as an honorable son, a caring brother, and a

good citizen,” Mr. Aquino said.

“My father offered his life so our democracy could live. My mother devoted her life to nurturing that democracy. I will dedicate my life to mak-ing our democracy reach its fullest potential: that of ensur-ing equality for all. My fam-ily has sacrificed much and I am willing to do this again if necessary,” he said.

“I know and feel the prob-lems of ordinary citizens. We all know what it is like to have a government that plays deaf and dumb. We know what it is like to be denied justice, to be ignored by those in whom we placed our trust and were tasked to become our advo-cates,” Aquino said.

“Have you ever been ignored by the very government you helped put in power? I have. Have you had to endure being rudely shoved aside by the siren-blaring escorts of those who love to display their position and power over you? I have, too. Have you experi-enced exasperation and anger at a government that instead of serving you, needs to be endured by you? So have I,” Aquino said, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd.

“I am like you. Many of our countrymen have already voted with their feet – migrat-ing to other countries in search of change or tranquility. They have endured hardship, risked their lives because they be-lieve that compared to their current state here, there is more hope for them in another country, no matter how bleak it may be,” he said, referring to overseas workers.

“In moments when I thought of only my own welfare, I also

wondered – is it possible that I can find the peace and quiet that I crave in another coun-try? Is our government be-yond redemption? Has it been written that the Filipino’s lot is merely to suffer?” he asked.

No more indifferenceMr. Aquino promised that his

administration would be sensi-tive to the needs of the people.

“We are here to serve and not to lord over you. The man-date given to me was one of change. I accept your march-ing orders to transform our government from one that is self-serving to one that works for the welfare of the nation,” he added.

“It is the promise I made dur-ing the campaign, which you accepted on election. During the campaign we said, ‘If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor.’ That is no mere slogan for posters – it is the defining principle that will serve as the foundation of our administra-tion,” he pointed out.

He said his administra-tion’s foremost mission was to lift the nation from poverty through honest and effective governance.

“The first step is to have leaders who are ethical, hon-est, and true public servants. I will set the example. I will strive to be a good model. I will not break the trust you have placed in me. I will en-sure that this, too, will be the advocacy of my Cabinet and those who will join our gov-ernment,” Mr. Aquino said.

“I do not believe that all of those who serve in our govern-ment are corrupt. In truth, the majority of them are honest. They joined government to serve and do good. Starting to-day, they will have the oppor-tunity to show that they have what it takes. I am counting on them to help fight corruption within the bureaucracy,” he noted.

He assured his “impover-ished countrymen” that “start-

ing today, your government will be your champion.”

Education

“We will not disregard the needs of our students. We will begin by addressing the glaring shortage in classrooms and educational facilities. Gradually, we will lessen the lack of infrastructures for transportation, tourism and trade. From now on, mediocre work will not be good enough when it comes to roads, bridges, and buildings be-cause we will hold contractors responsible for maintaining their projects in good condi-tion,” he said.

“We will not be the cause of your suffering or hardship. We will strengthen collections by the Bureau ofInternal Rev-enue and we will fight corrup-tion in the Bureau of Customs in order to fund our objectives for the public welfare, such as: quality education, includ-ing vocational education, so that those who choose not to attend college or those who cannot afford it can find dignified livelihood; improved public health services such as PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance coverage) for all within three years; a home for every family, within safe com-munities,” Mr. Aquino said.

“We will strengthen the armed forces and the police, not to serve the interests of those who want to wield power with impunity, but to give added protection for ordinary folk. The armed forces and the police risk their lives daily so that the nation can live in peace and security. The population has doubled and yet their numbers remain unchanged. It is not right that those who make sacrifices are treated pitifully,” he said.

Farmers’ securityMr. Aquino also said there

would be greater security for farmers under his administra-

tion.“We are directing (Agricul-

ture) Secretary (Proceso) Al-cala to set up trading centers that will directly link farmers and consumers thereby elimi-nating middlemen and oppor-tunities for corruption. In this way, funds can be shared by farmers and consumers,” he said.

“We will make our country attractive to investors. We will cut red tape dramatically and implement stableeconomic policies. We will level the playing field for investors and make government an enabler, not a hindrance to business. This is the only means by which we can provide jobs for our people,” Mr. Aquino said.

He said his government’s goal would be to create jobs at home so that there would be no need for Filipinos to look for employment abroad.

“However, as we work towards that end, I am order-ing the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), POEA (Philippine Overseas Em-ployment Agency), OWWA (Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration), and other relevant agencies to be even more responsive to the needs and welfare of our overseas Filipino workers,” he said.

ConsultationMr. Aquino also said his

government would strengthen the process of consultation and feedback.

“We will strive to uphold the constitutional right of citizens to information on matters of public concern. We relived the spirit of people power during the campaign. Let it take us to good and effective gover-nance. Those who believe in people power put the welfare of others before their own,” Mr. Aquino said.

“If I have all of you by my side, we will be able to build a nation in which there will be equality of opportunity, because each of us fulfilled our duties and responsibilities equally,” he said.

After the elections, Mr. Aquino said the people “proved that it is the people who wield power in this coun-try.”

“This is what democracy means. It is the foundation of our unity. We campaigned for change. Because of this, the Filipino stands tall once more. We are all part of a nation that can begin to dream again. To our friends and neighbors around the world, we are ready to take our place as a reliable member of the com-munity of nations, a nation serious about its commit-ments and which harmonizes its national interests with its international responsibilities,” Mr. Aquino said.

“We will be a predict-able and consistent place for investment, a nation where everyone will say, ‘it all works,’” he stressed.

Mr. Aquino said he attained victory because the people stood together with him.

“We had no resources to campaign other than our common faith in the inher-ent goodness of the Filipino. The people who are behind us

dared to dream,” he said.“Today, the dream starts to

become a reality. To those among you who are still unde-cided about sharing the com-mon burden I have only one question: Are you going to quit now that we have won?”

Parents’ legacy

“I will not be able to face my parents and you who have brought me here if I do not fulfill the promises I made. My parents sought nothing less, died for nothing less, than democracy and peace. I am blessed by this legacy. I shall carry the torch forward,” the President said.

“My hope is that when I leave office, everyone can say that we have traveled far on the right path, and that we are able to bequeath a better future to the next genera-tion. Join me in continuing this fight for change,” he told Filipinos during his inaugural address.

After his inauguration, Mr. Aquino proceeded to the Malacañang for lunch with his family and guests and admin-istered the oath of office to 200 local officials as his first official act, after which he presided over his first Cabinet meeting. - PhilStar

Investors Recover $1.4 Billion Under

Settlement Forged by Attorney

General Brown“I’m retired and over

70 years old,” said William O’Brien of El Dorado County. “It was frustrating to have that money just sitting there for over two years and being unable to access it when we needed it.”

“Getting the investment back has helped save jobs in our company,” said Boris Levine, a San Francisco busi-nessman.

Brown said Wells Fargo was co-operative throughout the repayment process and did what it said it would do.

In November, the Attorney General reached a settlement with Wells Fargo Investments, LLC; Wells Fargo Broker-age Services, LLC; and Wells Fargo Institutional Investors, LLC. The buybacks were made pursuant to that agree-ment.

Auction rate securities are long-term bonds whose inter-est rates are adjusted frequent-ly at auction. If there are no takers for the bonds, they can become frozen and effectively worthless.

The Attorney General’s Office has submitted a request for dismissal of its action against Wells Fargo in San Francisco Superior Court, sig-naling the successful comple-tion of the repayments.




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City of San DiegoDraft San Diego Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice

Under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, The City of San Diego invites citizens to participate in the preparation of the San Diego Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Hous-ing Choice (AI). The AI is an analysis that represents conclusions about impediments to fair housing choice, as well as actions necessary to address any identified impediments.

Notice is hereby given that the AI is available for a 30-day public review from July 1, 2010 through July 30, 2010. The purpose of the review is to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the analysis, conclusions on impediments to fair housing choice and solutions to mitigate or remove such impediments.

The draft document will be available in the reference section of all City of San Diego libraries and at the CDBG Program office located at 1200 Third Avenue, Suite 1400, San Diego, CA 92101. The plan will also be available for review on the City’s CDBG Program website (www.sandiego.gov/cdbg/general/) and the Housing Commis-sion’s website (www.sdhc.org.).

A schedule of community meetings in which the draft AI will be presented is listed in the City’s CDBG Program website. Public comments may be provided at these meetings or can be submitted in writing to the CDBG Pro-gram office in person, via mail, or via e-mail ([email protected]). All information and updates regarding this process will be posted on the City’s CDBG website.

gets her LPR status.Where to file the I-130 Pe-

tition. The place of filing de-pends on the residence of the petitioner and beneficiary. If the petitioner and alien benefi-ciary are both residing abroad, they may file the I-130 peti-tion with the nearest U.S. consulate or embassy. This applies to USC petition for his or her spouse or children. If the petitioner resides in the United States, the I-130 peti-tion is filed with the Chicago lockbox. If the beneficiary resides abroad, the approved petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will then transmit the file the petition to the appropriate U.S. consulate once the priority date is cur-rent. If the beneficiary resides in the United States and the I-130 petition is filed with ad-justment of status, the USCIS retains the file and the local USCIS office will adjudicate the adjustment of status.

The second step in the pro-cess is the interview. If the beneficiary is residing abroad, the interview is conducted at the consulate. In the case of marriage petition, the inter-view is conducted to deter-mine the validity of marriage. The parties should be ready to prove the relationship through pictures, letters, and affidavits of friends and relatives. If the beneficiary is residing in the United States, proof that the parties are living together and of commingling of funds such as joint lease contract, joint bank account, and joint life, health and auto insurance. Situations that may raise suspicions that the marriage

The application process for permanent residence

is fraudulent include: big age differences and the fact the parties are not living together. The interview is not as dif-ficult when the qualifying relationship is parent-child.

The third step is the adjust-ment of status or consular pro-cessing. The USCIS or con-sular officer will determine if the applicant is eligible to adjust status or obtain a visa. If the applicant entered the United States without inspec-tion, committed a crime, used illegal drugs, or made false claim to U.S. citizenship; he or she will not be eligible to adjust or get a visa unless he or she applies for a waiver. In the case of false claim to citi-zenship, waiver is generally not available.

The fourth step is the in-spection and admission by the Customs and Border Protec-tion (CBP). For applicants who received their immigrant visa at the consulate, the last and final step is presenting themselves at the port of entry for inspection and admission. The fact that the alien is hold-ing an immigrant visa is no guarantee that he or she will be allowed entry to the United States. The CBP has the right to make a separate determi-nation that the applicant is eligible for admission to the United States. The alien must remain eligible for admission as an immigrant at the time of entry to the United States. If the intending immigrant’s visa is based on marriage, he or she must remain married to the petitioner at the time of entry. If the alien is holding a visa for unmarried son of a USC, he or she must remain unmarried at the time of entry. If the intending immigrant commits a crime after his or her visa was issued, he or she may be denied admission to the United States.

We welcome your feed-back. If you have any im-migration questions, please feel welcome to email me at [email protected] or call 619 819 -8648 to arrange for a telephone con-sultation.

Jewel has seen and even spent time in an adjacent ex-hibit to her new herdmates, but she hadn’t physically met them since arriving at the San Diego Zoo from Texas until Tuesday.

The Asian elephant took her first step forward to form one large herd instead of three small groups of elephants that cur-rently live at the Zoo’s newest exhibit, The Harry and Grace Steele Elephant Odyssey.

“Jewel came out this morn-ing, moving close to Cha Cha and Sumithi,” said Rod Owlett, San Diego Zoo animal care supervisor. “There was a little touching and smelling. It was a very quiet introduction, which makes the keepers happy.”

Cha Cha, a petite elephant that moved to the Zoo from its sister park, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, when Elephant Odyssey opened in May 2009, was chosen to be one of the first pachyderms to meet Jewel because of her quiet nature. Sumithi, the matriarch of the original San Diego Zoo herd, also was selected with the hope that a strong bond between these three females will be the foundation of a new nine-member herd.

Zookeepers are closely monitoring the elephants as they meet. The animals’ behav-ior will dictate the pace of the meet and greets. If things prog-

The Political World of Asian Americans: A UCLA Tribute to

Don T. NakanishiLos Angeles-- “ A Tribute

to Don T. Nakanishi,” a com-memorative 200+ page edition of AMERASIA JOURNAL, Is now available for educators, the media, and students to learn about the scholarship and the career of the director of the re-nowned UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Prof. Nakanishi recently stepped down after twenty years of leading the Cen-ter to its national and interna-tional prominence in research, teaching, publications, library, and community programming.

Nakanishi, as an undergradu-ate student at Yale in 1970, was the founding publisher and co-editor of Amerasia Journal. In the past four decades Amerasia has become the core interdis-ciplinary journal in the field of Asian American Studies with a diverse scholarly readership in North America, Asia, and Europe. Its 50,000 pages are also available online through colleges and universities.

*CONTENTSAccording to its long-time

editor, Prof. Russell Leong, Don T. Nakanishi has broadened the definition of the “political world of Asian Americans reveal-ing that Asian Americans have historically, and continue to play, a significant role on both the domestic and the interna-tional stages of war and peace, minority and constitutional rights, meshing both their lo-cal interests with transnational concerns.”

This issue gathers a number of Don T. Nakanishi ‘s most significant scholarship between the covers of one volume, in-cluding his seminal 1975 essay, “In Search of a New Paradigm: Minorities in the Context of International Politics,” which provides lessons for today about the relationship between minor-ity groups within the American nation, and their linkages to their countries of origin.

Included here also is: “Asian American Politics: An Agenda for Research” (pub-lished in Amerasia in 1986) that is widely used as a teaching and research tool. In an additional essay, “Surviving Democracy’s ‘Mistake’: Japanese Americans & the Legacy of Executive Or-der 9066,” Nakanishi examines Japanese Americans after in-ternment and draws upon other insights from the Holocaust and atomic bombing of Hiroshima

and Nagasaki to analyze the “collective political and psycho-logical experiences” of ethnic minorities across the globe.

For this issue, Amerasia invited scholars, journalists, and activists from across the nation to comment upon twenty-years of Asian American Studies at UCLA under the leadership of Don Nakanishi. These writers include: Profs. Tritia Toyota, Shirley Hune, Glenn Omatsu, James S. Lai, and Susie Ling, former U.S. assistant attorney general Bill Lann Lee, together with renowned lawyer Dale Minami, scholar Karen L. Ishizuka, and former staff and students at UCLA including Elsie Osajima, Mary Katayama, and Gann Matsuda. This com-memorative issue is illustrated with rare family and archival photos from pre-World War II to the present and designed and produced by Mary Uyematsu Kao of the UCLA Asian Ameri-can Studies Press. A unique life history profile is provided by Karen Ishizuka.

*PUBLIC FORUM RSVP:With the release of this issue

and the current “Art, Activ-ism, Access” UCLA Fowler Museum exhibit, the Center is sponsoring “Globalizing Asian American Politics 1971-2010: A Forum with Amerasia Journal’s Scholars, Activists, & Cultural Workers” on May 20, 2010 at the UCLA Fowler Museum. This event will bring together the scholars, activists and cul-tural workers who look at both the domestic and international dimensions of Asian American participation. It will be a unique opportunity to hear, see, and read about the globalized world of Asian American Politics first-hand. Amerasia Journal will be available at the booksigning. Center Director David Yoo will open the event, followed by a panel with Shirley Hune, Tritia, Toyota, and Susie Ling. For more information, email: [email protected] or call 310-267-2474.

*AMERASIA JOURNAL ORDER INFORMATION:

Amerasia Journal costs $15.00 plus $5.00 for ship-ping and handling and 8.25 percent sales tax for California residents. Make checks payable to “Regents of U.C.” VISA, MASTERCARD, and DIS-COVER are also accepted; in-clude expiration date and phone number on correspondence. The mailing address is: UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, 3230 Campbell Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546. Phone: 310-825-2968. Email: [email protected]

Order on-line at: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/aascpress/comer-sus/store/ Annual subscriptions for Amerasia Journal are $99.99 for individuals and $445.00 for libraries and other institutions. The institutional price includes access to the Amerasia online database, which has full-text versions of all Amerasia Jour-nals published since 1971. Am-erasia Journal is published three times a year: Winter, Spring, and Fall.

(June 2010 San Diego, CA ) - Philippine Ambassa-dor to the U.S., Willy C. Gaa, will be in San Diego, CA on Wednesday, the 14th of July 2010 to present the BENIGNO “NINOY” AQUINO, Jr. Yellow Ribbon to U.S. Public Officials who have championed a Filipi-no cause. The recipients of the award are Congressman Bob Filner (Dem.) of the 51st Dis-trict for his work with Filipino Veterans and Retired Califor-nia Legislator Shirley Horton (Rep.) who authored AB420 while at the State Capitol. AB420 allowed the teaching of Filipino language (Tagalog) and culture to continue to be taught in California schools.

The event, “STARBlazers and TOP HATS Give Back,” hosted by Philippine American Business Improvement and Development (Phil Am BID) will also honor people who are successful in their chosen profession/field and who have consistently “given back” to the various communities.

His Excellency Willie C. Gaa will also be presented the Felipe Agoncillo Award by the three mayors in Southern Cali-

Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., Willy C. Gaa will be in San Diego,

California to Present BENIGNO “Ninoy” AQUINO, Jr. Yellow Ribbon to U.S. Public Officials who have

championed a Filipino causefornia who have won the hearts of their Filipino-American con-stituents: Mayor Cheryl Cox of the City of Chula Vista, Mayor Ron Morrison of National City, and Mayor Jerry Sanders of the City of San Diego.

USN Retired Rear Admiral Connie Mariano, the White House Doctor to three sitting Presidents, will be the Key-note Speaker of the event. Dr. Mariano’s memoir, The White House Doctor, will be in the major bookstores on June 22nd. Dr. Mariano will be presenting autographed copies of her book to Ambassador Gaa, Mayors Cox, Morrison and Sanders and Phil Am BID Founding Co-Chairs Edna Consing Con-cepcion and Marilyn Calangi Mesina.

The “STARBlazers and TOP HATS Give Back” Awards Din-ner will be held on Wednesday, the 14th of July 2010 5:00 to 9 p.m. at the San Diego Country Club at 88 L St. Chula Vista, CA 91911.

For more information regarding the event, contact Rosanna Salcedo at [email protected] or Sheila Matias at [email protected].

Mammoth step taken to form new herd at San Diego Zoo

Former Texas elephant meets her new roommates for first time

ress as well as they did today, Owlett says, the next step will be to introduce Tina, Jewel’s companion from Texas, to the group.

Jewel and Tina arrived at the Zoo after the duo was removed by officials from the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture’s Ani-mal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) from the care of a private owner in Texas.

The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is dedicated to the conserva-tion of endangered species and their habitats. The organization focuses on conservation and research work around the globe, educates millions of individu-als a year about wildlife and maintains accredited horticul-tural, animal, library and photo collections. The Zoo also man-ages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, which includes a 900-acre native spe-cies reserve, and the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conserva-tion Research. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.

B-roll includes:Video of Jewel meeting two

female elephants for the first time at the San Diego Zoo.

Interview with Rod Owlett, San Diego Zoo animal care supervisor.

asian journal july 2-8, 2010

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