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Volume 27 - No. 12 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

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OVER THE $81-M MONEY LAUNDERING SCAM

Comelec asks SC to reverse decision allowing Poe to run

by TeTch Torres-TupasInquirer.net

DND: EDCA bases to enhance PH defense, disaster response

ROUND 2. Presidential candidates (from left) Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and former DILG chief Mar Roxas take the stage for the second round of the ‘PiliPinas Debates 2016’ at the Performing Arts Hall of the University of the Philippines campus in Cebu City on Sunday, March 20. Philstar.com photo by Krizjohn Rosales

Education, health issues snubbed insecond Philippine presidential debate

Pacquiao camp on LA mall ban: It’s a shame

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the Commission on elections (Comelec) on tuesday, march 22 asked the supreme Court to reverse its decision allowing sen.

Grace Poe to run for president and sought a redeliberation on her qualifications.

In its 56-page motion for re-consideration, the poll body said Poe’s petition should be

dismissed for lack of merit.taking a cue on the dissenting

opinions of several justices in-cluding senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Comelec insisted that there was no majority vote finding the lawmaker natural-born filipino.

“hence, there is no factual or legal basis for the ruling that the petitioner is a qualified can-didate for president in the may 9, 2016, national elections,” the motion stated.

“there is therefore a need for the court to redeliberate and revote on the issue of citizenship to avoid the dire repercussions that the majority decision has brought in its wake … With due respect, the court should reexam-ine its majority decision, for its le-

by Janvic MaTeo Philstar.com

mANILA—Discussions on the second presidential debates steered away from the issues of health and education, which were supposedly part of the top-ics to be covered by the second debate.

Previous reports said the sec-ond leg of the Pilipinas 2016 presidential debates held at the University of the Philippines in Cebu would cover issues such as climate change, disaster pre-paredness, corruption, education and public health.

While there were discussions on climate change, disaster preparedness and corruption, the issues that were discussed noticeably skipped education and public health.

other issues that were dis-cussed include the freedom of Information bill, the use of coco levy funds, the use of typhoon Yolanda funds, addressing crimi-nality, the West Philippine sea dispute and the mamasapano incident.

Kabataan party-list group first nominee sarah elago expressed disappointment over the lack of

discussion on education.“the venue is a state univer-

sity. most of those tuned, in both on tV and in social media, are millennials, students. Yet for unexplained reasons, there was not even a single question about education fielded during tonight’s presidential debate. We cannot emphasize how disap-pointed the youth sector is,” she said in a statement.

“education is a primordial is-sue that needs to be thoroughly debated upon. Issues ranging from K-12 to education spending

Kim Wong is back, vows to tell all during Senate hearing

by DaxiM L. Lucas / Inquirer.net

mANILA—midas hotel junket casino operator Kim Wong is back in the country and is ready to tell all he knows about the $81-million money launder-ing at the rizal Commercial Banking Corp., before the senate Blue ribbon Committee on march 29, according to a statement issued by his counsel tuesday, march 22.

Lawyer Victor fernandez said his client returned to the country last sunday from singapore. he is ready and willing to testify before the senate, ac-cording to fernandez.

As this developed, fernandez questioned the timing of the filing before the Department of Justice (DoJ) of a money laundering complaint against his client by the Anti-money Laundering Council.

“the timing of the case filing is suspicious, he said. “It is our impression that some very powerful people are afraid of what our client will disclose that’s why a premature case was filed against him by AmLC.”

the lawyer said authorities “probably think that filing the case will deter our client from coming

Kim Wong Inquirer.net photo

the camp of manny Pacquiao said it is “a shame” that an upscale mall mall in Los Angeles banned the boxer for his recent comments on same-sex relations.

Balitangamerica.tv carried the statement of Pacquiao’s adviser mi-chael Koncz saying that while it is the Grove’s prerogative to ban Pac-quiao, they are saddened by the decision.

“It is America and the owner of the Grove is entitled to make that

decision to ban manny Pacquiao. however, it is a shame that he is punishing someone for expressing his religious beliefs,” Koncz’s state-ment read.

It was reported last week that Pacquiao has found the doors of the Grove, a high-end shop-ping center, slammed before him when he took his entourage to a movie date.

this after Grove own-er rick Caruso tagged

3 ISIS-claimed attacks in Brussels kill at least 34, wound over 230

At least 34 people were killed and more than 230 were wounded tuesday, march 22, in explosions claimed by the Islamic state at an airport and metro station in Brussels, Belgium.

three attacks went off tuesday morning, with twin blasts at the Brussels airport at around 8am and one at the maelbeek metro station near the european Union (eU) headquarters at around 9am. As of press time, 14 people were killed at the airport and 20 at the metro station.

A third bomb at the airport was neutralized, said florence muls, a spokeswoman for the Brussels Airport, according to the Chicago tribune.

“What we feared has happened,” Belgian Prime minister Charles michel told reporters, according to the Los Angeles times. “In this time of tragedy, this black moment for our country, I appeal to everyone to remain calm but also to show solidarity.”

In response to the attacks, Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level. flights in and out of Brussels Airport are canceled until further notice, the entire city’s transport system has been shut down, as well as international train travel into the country.

Brussels police have issued a wanted notice for a man pictured in CCtV footage who was seen pushing a luggage trolley in the airport, along with two other suspects. the three suspected participants in the attack are believed to have died in the explosions, according to BBC.

Belgian federal prosecutor frederic Van Leeuw has called the three blasts in Brussels “terrorist attacks,” according

by agnes consTanTe / AJPress

by JuLie M. aureLioInquirer.net

mANILA — the selec-tion of five Philippine bases to be utilized in the enhanced Defense Coop-eration Agreement will increase the military’s capability for maritime security and humanitar-ian assistance and disas-ter response, according to the Department of National Defense.

the DND has wel-comed the development, noting that at last, the eDCA has reached the fi-

nal stages of preparation for full implementation.

DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said the agency was “greatly pleased that the hard work put into by both parties has reached this milestone of an out-come.”

“this would greatly advance our capabilities not only for maritime se-curity, as we train togeth-er, but more importantly,

Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro in ‘historic’ visit

PresIDeNt Barack obama became the first sitting Us president since 1928 to visit Cuba when he landed on the is-land nation for a three-day visit on sun-day, march 20.

“this is a historic visit, and it’s a histor-ic opportunity to engage with the Cuban people,” obama said, according to the Associated Press (AP).

on monday, march 21, in an unexpect-ed moment, obama and Cuban President raul Castro held a joint press conference, a rarity in a country where media is sub-ject to stringent state control.

the United states severed diplomatic ties with Cuba in 1961 and imposed a trade embargo after the country’s former president, fidel Castro, led a revolution that incited fears of communism spread-ing to the Western hemisphere. In De-cember 2014, obama announced the Us

AAPI director leaves Clinton campaign

the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) outreach director for Democratic candidate hillary Clinton has left the cam-paign.

Lisa Changadveja, who was first ap-pointed outreach director last August, is moving to Colorado to take a position with the Democratic Party, Clinton campaign spokeswoman Xochitl hinojosa told NBC News.

“the campaign is expected to announce a new director of AAPI outreach very soon,” hinojosa added.

Changadveja, who first joined Clinton’s campaign team in 2007 during her first presidential bid, broke the news in an email first dated march 18, according to reuters.

the resignation comes two months af-ter the Clinton campaign formed an AAPI

Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3, Civic Construction Action Detail Cebu, place a concrete slab that will become the floor for a new two-classroom school building at Biasong High School. NMCB-3 is deployed to several countries in the Pacific area of operations conducting construction operations and humanitarian assistance projects. Navy photo by Steelworker 1st Class Honer Villanueva

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Sen. Grace Poe Inquirer.net photo

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Comelec asks SC to reverse...

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gal and constitutional infirmities and more importantly, for having heightened political passions in the country that could ignite civil strife,” it added.

Carpio, in his dissenting opin-ion, said only seven of the 15 justices voted on the issue of citizenship.

Comelec pointed out that un-der Section 2, Rule 12 of the Supreme Court Internal Rules of Procedures, when “the nec-essary majority vote cannot be had, the court shall deliberate on it anew.”

“Such action of redeliberating and revoting will serve as a shin-ing example to the Bar and Bench that in deciding a case especially

one involving the fundamental law, nothing but the Constitution, law and jurisprudence should be the overriding factors and consid-erations,” Comelec said.

Comelec also insisted that Poe failed to meet the 10-year residency requirement as it echoed the arguments raised by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro in her dis-senting opinion.

Voting 9-6 in allowing Poe to run for president, the high court gave weight on Poe’s “good faith” defense that the mistake in her COC was an honest one.

It added that statistics could not be used to determine whether an individual was a natural-born Filipino or not.

The majority ruling of the high court relied heavily on the statis-tics presented by Solicitor Gen-eral Florin Hilbay saying majority of the people in Iloilo, where Poe was found, were Filipinos.

“The statistics presented by the solicitor general and the petitioner does not constitute even substantial evidence that petitioner was born to a Filipino parent, and hence is a natu-ral-born citizen,” the Comelec said.

“By considering the statistics presented by the solicitor gener-al, the ponencia unfairly ascribed grave abuse of discretion to the Comelec on the basis of evidence that it had no opportunity to rule upon,” it added.

Pacquiao camp on LA mall...Pacquiao’s highly controversial anti-gay comments last month to be “statements of hatred.”

“These are statements of ha-tred,” Caruso told TMZ. “A lot of people from the gay community come to The Grove and they have a right not to feel uncomfortable. Manny Pacquiao is no longer welcome.”

The same mall actually banned Pacquiao in 2012 for similar comments on gay people, but it was eventually found that he was misquoted. (Dino Maragay with Abac Cordero/Philstar.com)

Kim Wong is back...home and testifying before the Senate. They are wrong.”

The counsel of the controversial casino junket operator said he was surprised that a criminal com-plaint was filed against his client based solely on the statement of RCBC bank manager Maia Santos Dequito before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“The investigation is still on-going yet the AMLC used the transcript of stenographic notes as their only basis for the com-plaint. Why is the AMLC in such a hurry?” he asked.

DND: EDCA bases to enhance PH...our humanitarian assistance and disaster response capacity,” Galvez said.

Over the weekend, the Phil-ippines and the United States announced the five bases where American forces would have ac-cess to under the EDCA, including one near the disputed South China Sea region.

These locations are the Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princ-esa City, Palawan, which faces the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea; the Lumbia Air Base in Ca-gayan de Oro; the Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; and the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu.

The announcement was made after strategic talks in Washington between the two countries over the weekend.

An agreement was reached that the four air bases and one military reservation would be used for the deployment of US forces under the EDCA.

During the talks, both sides expressed firm opposition to China’s aggressive militarization in the South China Sea, which has escalated tension among the claimant countries, including the Philippines.

The 10-year EDCA was signed by the US and Philippine officials in 2014 and immediately ques-tioned by groups before the Su-preme Court but it was declared constitutional by the high tribunal

last January.Galvez said the finalization of

the five locations was discussed by both sides, noting that sev-eral military installations were considered previously as pos-sibilities.

“We are happy that the five locations have been finally agreed upon… We can say that the EDCA

is now in its final stages of imple-mentation now that the agreed locations have been identified,” the DND spokesperson said.

He added that the US troops would be allowed to construct or upgrade the existing facilities in the said military installation-swithin 10 years based on the EDCA.

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AAPI director leaves Clinton...leadership council, comprised of more than 150 elected officials and community leaders, who are tasked to organize support in AAPI communities.

Members of the AAPI leader-ship council include Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA.), Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), and Democratic Representative Gregorio Sablan from the North-ern Mariana Islands.

Both Democrats and Republi-cans have made great efforts in this year’s presidential race to court AAPI voters, who are nota-bly the least active participants in past elections. The electorate is expected to double by 2040, ris-ing to 12.2 million, according to a report last year from the UCLA Center for the Study of Inequality and Asian Pacific American Insti-tute for Congressional Studies.

“AAPI voters could play a key role in upcoming primaries and caucuses in states with sizeable AAPI communities, including Washington, New York and Cali-fornia. Asian Americans make up 5.4 percent of the U.S. popula-tion,” according to the US Cen-sus.

“Clinton’s track record of con-sistent flip-flops on the issues, and support of failed Democrat policies that continue to hurt AAPI communities are a clear indication Clinton is the wrong choice for AAPI voters across the country,” said Ninio Fetalvo,

PAGE A1 AAPI press secretary for the Re-publican National Committee (RNC).

Clinton targets Trump on Is-rael

Continuing on the campaign trail, Clinton spoke at the Ameri-can Israel Public Affairs Commit-tee (AIPAC) on Monday, March 21, where she challenged Re-publican front-runner and real estate billionaire Donald Trump, without explicitly naming him.

“The next president will sit down at that desk and start mak-ing decisions that will affect both the lives and livelihoods of every American and the security of our friends around the world. So we have to get this right,” Clinton told a large crowd at the AIPAC, held at the Verizon Center in Washington. “Candidates for president who think the United States can outsource Middle East security to dictators or that America no longer has vital na-tional interests at stake in this re-gion are dangerously wrong.”

Trump’s impending speech at the conference was called a source of controversy, largely due to the businessman’s rheto-ric singling out immigrants, and calling for a ban on Muslims en-tering the States, the Washington Post reported.

“Yes, we need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who knows what on Wednesday, because every-

thing’s negotiable,” she added, saying that one of her first acts as president would be to invite the Israeli prime minister to the White House.

“Some things aren’t nego-tiable. And anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.”

Trump’s specific views on foreign policy have sparked na-tionwide debate. In the past, he has asserted he was the “most pro-Israel candidate,” but also said he would enter negotiations between Israel and Palestinians, framing himself as “somewhat neutral” in hopes of reaching a peaceful deal, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Clinton was the only Democrat candidate who spoke at AIPAC on Monday, but shared the stage with all three Republican candi-dates--Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Ohio Gov. John Ka-sich.

Although it invited several big political figures to the event, the AIPAC did not endorse any one candidate.

“Let us never be neutral or si-lent in the face of bigotry,” Clin-ton said, finishing her speech as a campaign platform. “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him….Togeth-er let us defend the shared values that already make America and Israel great.” (Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

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Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro...would work toward normalizing relations with Cuba.

During their session with re-porters, both leaders agreed that the 54-year economic em-bargo needs to end.

“That is essential, because the blockade remains in place, and it contains discouraging elements,” Castro said, accord-ing to Al Jazeera. He also called steps made by the Obama ad-ministration “positive but insuf-ficient.”

list of the political prisoners and I will release them directly. Give me a name or names … It is not correct to ask me about political prisoners in general.”

CNN, however, reported that while Obama was on his way to Havana, many anti-Castro dis-sidents from the group Ladies in White were arrested and de-tained following their weekly demonstration in the country’s capital.

Cubans said they were sur-prised to see Castro answer questions from media live on state television.

“It’s very significant to hear this from our president, for him to recognize that not all human rights are respected in Cuba,” said Raul Rios, a 47-year-old driver, according to Al Jazeera.

Obama also gave credit to Cuba for its progress and said part of normalizing relations with the country means both parties would directly discuss their differences.

“The future of Cuba will be decided by Cubans – not by any-body else,” Obama said, accord-ing to Al Jazeera. “At the same time, as we do wherever we go around the world, I made it clear the US will continue to speak up about democracy, including the right of the Cuban people to de-cide their own future.”

While Obama was in Cuba on Monday, Cruise giant Carni-val Corp won approval for Cuba

PAGE A1 Obama said the embargo would end, although he isn’t sure when, Al Jazeera reported, also noting it is up to Congress to finish it.

Sharp differences on human rights and democracy emerged from the press conference. In response to one reporter who asked about the Cuban govern-ment’s human rights record, including the imprisonment of protestors and dissidents, Cas-tro said: “Did you ask if we have political prisoners? Give me a

Manny Pacquiao AJPress file photo by Robert MacabagdalPAGE A3

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Dateline USa

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Angela Guanzon, 38, a Filipina caregiver who was trafficked to Southern California.

Former caregiver shares traffickingstory, urges victims to fight for their rights

IN the Philippines, when someone is asked to work in the United States, it’s tantamount to winning the lottery.

So when the option to do so was presented to Angela Guan-zon, 38, a Filipina who relocated to America about a decade ago to work as a caregiver, she grabbed the opportunity and applied for the position.

“If you were born poor [in the Philippines], you’re going to die poor,” she said.

Back home, Guanzon attained an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management but was unable to find a permanent job. She wound up working as a cashier where she got paid P200 (about $4) per day and subse-quently in the government where she made about P5,000 (about $100) per month. These were all contractual positions, and if there was no project, there was no work.

Guanzon didn’t meet her traf-

by Agnes ConstAnteAJPress

ficker, Ilene Reyes*, until she arrived at Los Angeles Interna-tional Airport in 2005, but the two had previously spoken on the phone. Although Guanzon said she did not have money to pay for the visa or plane ticket, Reyes said she would take care of the expenses.

At the airport, Guanzon was overwhelmed with happiness and didn’t think twice about handing over her passport when Reyes re-quested to hold it for safekeeping.

“[I was] so happy and over-whelmed and I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t realize it’s not right for her to take my pass-port,” Guanzon said.

When the two arrived at Reyes’s home in the South Bay, Guanzon said she was told she owed Reyes $12,000 for her visa fees and transportation, and had to work under Reyes for 10 years. After that time, Guanzon would be permitted to return home if she wished. However, she would not be allowed to work for any-one else.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, 10 years is fine.’ It was my first time [here] so I didn’t even realize what she was saying.... I was just so eager to start. She even hugged me and told me we would be like a family, and she told me, ‘I’ll take care of you and you will take care of my business. We will be like a family’,” Guanzon said.

She further thought the con-ditions were OK because it was her utang na loob, or debt of gratitude, toward Reyes, as she was the reason she made it to the United States.

Guanzon was promised two days off a month, a monthly sala-ry of $600 and a raise if business did well. However, $300 would automatically be deducted from her monthly pay for the $12,000 she was told she owed. And sometimes, she ended up getting only one day off per month.

Reyes had two caregiving fa-cilities, Guanzon said, and each was staffed by two workers. Guanzon lived in the facility with the patients and wasn’t provided a room to sleep in. Sometimes, she would sleep on the floor in the hallways or on the couch. In addition, Guanzon was told to store her clothes in a garage where Reyes kept a dog.

“How can we put our clothes in the garage [if a] dog is there?” Guanzon said.

At the beginning of her em-ployment, Guanzon trained at the facility close to Reyes’s house starting at 4 am. She would go to bed at 10 pm and was required to get up every two hours to check on patients who would have sei-

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Phil-ippine officials huddled with US legislators March 15-16 to mus-ter Congressional support for key Philippine advocacies such as military aid, Filipino WWII veter-ans and opposing China’s claims in the West Philippine/South China Sea.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cui-sia, Jr. and Acting Secretary of Justice Emmanuel L. Caparas on 15 March led the Philippine delegation in separate meetings with Senator Bob Corker (GOP-Tenn) and Senator Ben Cardin (Dem-Maryland), Chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), respectively.

The Philippine officials noted the SFRC’s instrumental role in sustaining US interest in the Asia-Pacific region and in giv-ing substance to the Asia pivot policy.

“We recognize the consider-able impact that the Committee’s initiatives has had on increasing US foreign military financing (FMF) to the Philippines and in ensuring that the United States continues to be engaged in our region,” said Cuisia.

Senator Corker observed the importance of raising military in view of China’s behavior.

On the other hand, Senator Cardin reiterated that while the US maintains its neutrality with regard to the South China Sea dispute, his country takes a strong position against pro-vocative actions. He also ex-pressed his firm belief in the rule of law and recognized the leadership of the Philippines in developing a regional Code of Conduct.

Representative Randy Forbes

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Pio Batino (left), Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., Rep. Randy Forbes Executive Director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement Eduardo V. Oban, Jr., and Undersecretary Emmanuel T. Bautista. Contributed photos

PH officials lobby in D.C. for military aid, Filvets, W. PH Sea

sailings, which are set to begin in May. Priceline unit Booking.com also became the first US online travel agency to strike a deal for Americans traveling to Cuba, making hotel rooms in the country available to US custom-ers, Reuters reported.

During the president’s visit, he and his family first stopped in Havana, after which they toured Old Havana on foot. In the city, he paid tribute to Cuban inde-

(GOP-Virginia), a senior mem-ber of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the US-Philippines Friendship Cau-cus, largely echoed the views of his colleagues in the Senate.

Forbes recently scored China’s recent actions in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the impor-tance of the alliance between the US and the Philippines to the maintenance of peace and pros-perity in the region.

“China’s behavior in the Asia-Pacific has undermined regional stability and unnecessarily an-tagonized the Philippines and other partners in the region. The United States has an obligation under its decades-old security treaty with the Philippines to re-sist acts of aggression against our ally,” a portion of Forbes’ statement read.

Forbes expressed the opinion that the United States needs to be more present in the South China Sea and that joint patrols would be “hugely important,

helpful and useful.”The Philippines’ campaign to

combat trafficking in persons was likewise discussed with the Senators.

The meetings with the US law-makers also aimed to shore up greater support for a bill seeking to award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the more than 260,000 Filipino veterans of World War II.

The bill entitled “Filipino Vet-erans of World War II Congres-sional Gold Medal Act of 2015,” was introduced in the House (HR 2737) and the Senate (S1555) in June 2015. Cardin and Forbes are among the bill’s co-sponsors.

The bill includes a historical account of the dedicated service of Filipino and Filipino American servicemen and service women during World War II and rec-ognizes them for their courage, bravery, and valor as they served under the command of the Unit-ed States Armed Forces of the Far East.

pendence hero Jose Marti, by adjusting a wreath at the foot of his statue, AP reported.

“It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland,” Obama wrote in the guestbook, according to the AP. “His passion for liberty, freedom, and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today.”

Obama also visited the US embassy in Havana, which was re-opened in August 2015.

“Having a US Embassy means we’re more effectively able to advance our values, our inter-ests and understand more ef-fectively the Cuban people’s concerns,” he said, according to USA Today.

In an interview with ABC News taped Sunday evening, March 20, Obama said: “Change is going to happen here and I think that Raul Castro under-stands that.” (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

Obama meets with Cuban Pres. Castro...PAGE A2

Illustration by Kendrick Tan

march 24-30, 2016 • LaS VEGaS aSIaN JOUrNaL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678A� Dateline USa

GRAND OPENING. Rep. Dina Titus graced the opening of The Institute for Taiwan-American Studies (ITAS) in Washington, DC. ITAS was established to provide a venue in Washington, DC for the study of US-Taiwan relations and increasing mutual understanding. As Taiwan’s role in Asia and global affairs continues to grow, ITAS is charting a new direction to define a strategic agenda for the US-Taiwan relationship. ITAS is a unique platform to raise consciousness of US-Taiwan policy issues on the bilateral, regional and global levels.

Education, health issues snubbed...to the viability of free education should share the same national platform that other issues were able to garner today. Sadly, that was not the case,” she added.

Elago challenged candidates to concretely lay down their platforms for education.

“We challenge all the presi-dentiables to hear the youth’s de-mand for affordable, accessible and even free education. We call on all aspirants to join us in the fight against tuition and other fee increases,” she said.

Former caregiver shares trafficking story...zures and those who wandered around at night.

While she worked under Reyes, Guanzon was cautioned not to talk to anyone, including Filipinos, as she was told she couldn’t even trust her own peo-ple. And if Caucasians found out she had no papers, they might call law enforcement who could put her in jail, Guanzon recalled Reyes saying.

Part of Guanzon’s caregiving responsibilities involved taking the elderly patients outside for exercise and sun exposure.

It was through that part of her job that the escape door began to crack open for Guanzon, when, two years into her employment, a neighbor who noticed some-thing seemed wrong: she didn’t appear to have any days off.

“Every time he asked [if I re-ally had a day off], I got scared and panicked so I always said, ‘Yes, I was off yesterday.’ And he always [said] that, ‘Every time I ask you, you’re off yesterday, it’s always yesterday,’” Guanzon said. “He said people my age go out and have fun, especially on the weekend.”

Reyes noticed the exchange she had with the neighbor so she instructed Guanzon to exercise the patients in the backyard.

“I think the neighbor got cu-rious that he didn’t see us any-more,” she said.

One day, Guanzon received a text message from someone named Trisha from the FBI who said she received her number from her neighbor. Guanzon feared the text may have been Reyes testing her to see if she would talk, so she didn’t reply until a week later.

Guanzon said she wasn’t phys-ically abused, but saw Reyes’s harsher treatment toward care-givers at her other facility.

“She [swore] at them and [screamed] at them and [I was] kind of scared the time [would] come [where I would] be like them. I’m not used to that. Even when we were poor in the Philip-pines, my mom doesn’t scream

at us,” she said.Her employment situation with

limited days off and long work hours was also taking such a toll on her mental and physical well-being that she was scared she might go as far as to kill herself or one of her patients.

“I said, ‘What if I can’t think straight and do something?’ I don’t want to come to the point that I’m going to do that.... So I said, ‘Whatever. I’m in a worse situation already.’ If I reply and if it’s [my trafficker], OK she kills me then. At least, if she kills me it’s finished. It’s gone. My life is gone and all the suffering is fin-ished.”

It was Trisha who responded to Guanzon’s text message, as-suring her she wouldn’t end up in jail and that the FBI would help her in whatever way it could.

Guanzon was given the option to return home if she wanted or help the FBI build a case against Reyes.

Although she wanted to go back to the Philippines, she chose to do the latter.

“I’m thinking, if I’m going to go home, I’m safe. But how

about the other three [workers]? I feel bad if I leave them here. Then she [would] get another person [from] the Philippines and do what she’s doing to me. I was thinking maybe this is God’s plan for me. I’m the way to stop what shes doing. All I wanted was my freedom and freedom of the other three and for [Ilene] to stop what she was doing,” Guan-zon said.

Guanzon convinced one other caregiver to talk to the FBI to make a stronger case against Reyes. She also got her trafficker to confirm that she had in fact held her pass-port, had paid $300 per month for two years, and had eight years left before she could go back home to the Philippines, while she was equipped with a wire.

Reyes was arrested and im-prisoned in 2008.

“I can’t remember [Reyes’] sentencing, but [we] caregivers were there. [We] saw her with a chain and shackle in her hands. It was painful but [we were] kind of happy to see her there. She learned from her mistake,” Guanzon said.

Since fighting for her freedom, Guanzon obtained a T visa, which is designated for victims of human trafficking, got her green card in 2010 and visited the Philippines in 2012. She currently works as a certified nursing assistant in an assisted living facility in Santa Monica and commutes via bus to work from Koreatown, where she lives, via bus. She also attends night classes for medical billing and coding, and hopes to become a registered nurse in the future.

Guanzon has also been a vo-cal advocate for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Traf-ficking (CAST), a not-for-profit organization she was referred to by the FBI, where she serves as committee membership chair of its Survivor Advisory Caucus. Through CAST, Guan-zon has gone to Sacramento and Washington D.C. to attend conferences about human traf-ficking, and has helped de-velop training for law enforce-ment and health care providers on how to identify trafficking victims. Guanzon has further shared her story on multiple occasions, which she says is a way of healing for her.

“The first thing is that here in the US, everyone has rights,” Guanzon advised to Filipinos and others who may find them-selves in a situation similar to hers in 2005. “It doesn’t matter if you’re undocumented. You have a right as a human being and we all have freedom. It’s not right if someone’s holding your pass-port, if someone’s threatening u. I know it’s scary, but no one can help us to get out of that situation except us.”

[*Editor’s note: Ilene Reyes’s name has been changed for the purpose of this article. This article is part of an ongoing series on human trafficking in the Filipino-American community. If you think you may be a victim of human trafficking, contact the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking hotline at: 888-539-2373]

PAGE A3

PAGE A1

3 ISIS-claimed attacks in Brussels kill...to the Associated Press.

Multiple Americans were in-jured in the explosions, including three Mormon missionaries. A US service member and his fam-ily may have also been injured, though they have not been iden-tified by the US European com-

mand, the LA Times reported.“I think this is the worst thing

I’ve ever seen in my career,” said local firefighter Pierre Meys, who described seeing “war injuries,” according to BBC.

At the Maelbeek station, the explosion hit the second carriage of a three-carriage train while it

was departing the platform.“The metro was leaving Mael-

beek station when there was a really loud explosion,” Alexandre Brans, 32, told the Associated Press. “It was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro.”

US President Barack Obama, who is in Cuba as America works toward normalizing relations with the communist country, urged international unity in the battle against terror.

“We will do whatever is neces-sary to support our friend and ally Belgium in bringing to peace those who are responsible,” he said, according to CNN.

In the United States, airports and transit systems nationwide were placed on heightened alert due to concerns about potential copycat attacks, the LA Times reported. Among these airports include those in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Miami and Phila-delphia.

In a joint statement, 28 EU leaders mourned the victims of the attack.

“It was an attack on our open democratic society,” they said.

Belgium will observe three days of mourning in response to the attacks, Interior Minister Jan Jambon announced.

“This la test at tack only strengthens our resolve to de-fend the European values and tolerance from the attacks of the intolerant. We will be united and firm in the fight against hatred, violent extremism and terror-ism,” the EU leaders said in the statement.

Information contained in this report is accurate as of press time.

PAGE A1

President Barack Obama talks on the phone in the Green Room of the White House with President François Hollande of France and Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium. Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, stands at right. White House Photo by Pete Souza

(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com A�LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • mARch 24-30, 2016

Dateline PhiliPPines

HOLY WEEK MUST-HAVE. Jomarie Yumol puts finishing touches on a wooden image of Jesus Christ in his Quezon City shop. Demand for these sculpted images rises during Holy Week, when Catholics pause to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ManilaTimes.net photo by Mike De Juan

Santiago joins Cebu debate via tweetsby Dona Z. PaZZibugan

Inquirer.net

Binay admits being hurt by Poe’s attacks during Cebu presidential debate

SHE MAY have been absent from the second presidential debate on Sunday, March 20, but presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago man-aged to make her views heard loud and clear.

The senator, who said she was undergoing a new cancer treatment, joined the televised presidential debate on Sunday through the social networking site Twitter, where she has 2.4 million followers.

During the debate, Santiago’s staff posted tweets about her stand on the issues asked of the other four presidential candi-dates on stage: Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe, and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

OverwhelmingSantiago’s tweets received

hundreds of likes and retweets, with her stand on divorce getting the most reaction: 3,617 likes and 3,163 retweets.

“The overwhelming social me-dia reaction to staff tweets about the senator’s positions on key issues last night is testament to the effectivity and responsiveness of (her) program of government,” the senator’s media liaison officer, Arveen Patria, said on Monday.

“Senator Santiago was not at the debate, but she answered the questions she would have been asked,” Patria continued, add-ing that the senator’s program of government was available on her website.

Supports divorceOn Thursday, March 17, San-

tiago announced that she would skip the second televised debate on March 20 at the University of the Philippines Cebu, because she would undergo a clinical trial for a “new, unnamed anticancer pill.”

“I am very sorry to miss out on the debates, but it would be a disservice to the country if I forgo the opportunity to get rid of my cancer completely and strengthen myself further to serve the Filipi-no people,” said the senator who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2014.

While none of the other four candidates supported divorce, Santiago’s staff said she sup-ported it on two grounds: “at-tempt on the life of a spouse by the other, and adultery or concubinage.”

When Duterte and Poe raised their hands in favor of the death penalty, Santiago’s staff tweeted that the senator was “open to the death penalty for drug traffickers. She also maintains that the justice system should be improved.”

When Duterte pressed Poe on what she would do if Philippine Coast Guard ships were attacked

by China, Santiago’s staff said the senator would “assert Philippine national integrity and will join the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in facing China.”

While Binay, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Duterte tangled over criminality and police supervision of local ex-ecutives, Santiago’s staff said the senator “wants a leaner, better equipped police force.”

Climate changeWhen the debate touched on

climate change, her staff tweeted about Santiago’s plans to create “a new department to focus on disaster risk reduction, manage-ment and recovery.”

While the other presidential candidates promised to lower income taxes, Santiago’s staff said the senator planned to lower income and corporate taxes to 25 percent.

Like the other candidates who promised to support a proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) law, Santiago also vowed to certify the bill as urgent, her staff tweeted, adding that the senator had “in-terpellated on and introduced amendments to the FOI bill at the Senate to improve it.”

After the debate, Santiago her-self posted the last tweet: “Thank you very much to my volunteers who watched the (debates) in Cebu. Hugs and kisses!”

Santiago’s final tweet showed a photograph of her group of sup-porters in red campaign shirts.

She will “try” to participate in the third and last debate set on April 24 in Dagupan City “if the ongoing treatments do not inhibit” her, Santiago said.

by Marc Jayson cayabyabInquirer.net

MACTAN, Cebu—Vice Presi-dent Jejomar Binay on Monday admitted being hurt by accusa-tions hurled by Sen. Grace Poe who he said is his “kumare.”

Binay called a press confer-ence a day after the second “Pili-Pinas” debate at the University of the Philippines Cebu, where his rivals ganged up on him for his alleged involvement in graft and corruption.

Binay lamented that Poe ap-peared to be acting like an attack dog for the administration when she held Binay accountable for failing to appear in the Senate to answer the corruption allegations when he was Makati mayor.

Binay said Poe’s adoptive fa-ther, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr., even asked Binay to be the godfather of his grandchil-dren through Senator Grace.

He said FPJ made the request

when he was serving as the latter’s campaign manager dur-ing the 2004 elections.

He said he just reminded him-self that the bashing he is receiv-ing from his opponents is just part of the political campaign.

“Medyo (nasaktan ako). Pero sa loob ko na lang na pulitika ito. Ganun talaga. Yan ang malungkot na bahagi ng pulitika. Nagkaka-limutan yung pinanggalingan,”

Binay said.In the press conference, Binay

reiterated his insult to Poe dur-ing the debate that the senator was ashamed of being a Filipino which compelled her to renounce her Philippine citizenship.

Binay shared a story when he rejected renouncing his Filipino citizenship because he could not compel himself to turn his back on the Philippines.

CA rejects Junjun Binay’s plea to stop suspensionby Tarra QuisMunDo

Inquirer.net

MANILA—The Court of Ap-peals (CA) has junked a petition from ousted Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay for the court to stop his suspension, ruling that the case was already moot due to the Ombudsman’s decision dismissing Binay.

In a decision released on Tuesday, the appellate court’s former Sixth Division also dis-missed for lack of merit Binay’s bid to hold his father’s political rival, presidential candidate Mar Roxas and several others in contempt for enforcing the Ombudsman’s first suspension order against him on the same day that he secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the appellate court.

Binay, who has been fre-quently seen on the campaign trail supporting the presidential bid of his father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, was first ordered suspended a year ago while under investigation for his role in the alleged overpricing of the P2.3-billion Makati City Hall Building II.

He was forced to step down on July 1, 2015, when he failed to get a TRO from a separate appellate court division to stop a second suspension order from the Ombudsman, this time while under investigation for alleged bid-rigging in the construction of the 10-story Makati Science High School building.

The Ombudsman eventu-ally dismissed Binay in October, finding him liable for grave mis-conduct and serious dishonesty for his involvement in the City Hall building II project. He was banned from ever holding public office.

In Tuesday’s ruling penned by Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., the appellate court said that

in view of the Ombudsman’s Oct. 9, 2015, decision finding Binay administratively liable and imposing on him the penalty of dismissal, it found Binay’s peti-tion questioning the March 10, 2015 preventive suspension of the Ombudsman “already moot and academic. Its dismissal based on mootness is therefore in order.”

The court also dismissed for lack of merit Binay’s contempt bid against Roxas as the then interior secretary, former Jus-tice Secretary Leila de Lima, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Makati City Mayor Romulo Peña and several police officers for defying the TRO that the appellate court had issued against his suspension.

The Department of the In-terior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police had enforced Binay’s first suspension in March 2015, installing Peña as acting mayor a few hours before the Court of Appeals issued a TRO in Binay’s favor.

De Lima at the time issued a legal opinion that the TRO no longer had any effect as Binay’s suspension was already enforced when it was handed down.

The appellate court found none of the respondents liable for contempt.

It said the DILG was merely performing a “ministerial duty” in enforcing Binay’s suspen-sion.

Peña was also spared, as the court ruled that his commitment to his duties as acting city mayor was “not contemptuous.”

“A conduct, to be contuma-cious, implies willfulness, bad faith or with deliberate intent to cause injustice, which is not the case here,” the court ruled.

The Ombudsman, who was impleaded for contempt for

issuing a manifestation on the case, could not be held for in-direct contempt as her pleading “merely reflects her legal opin-ion, contains neither offensive nor derogatory language, and thus, not contumacious,” the court said.

The CA also ruled that De Lima was not at fault for issuing a legal opinion in favor of the suspension order.

Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago

LOCKED PRAYERS. A devotee inspects her padlock at the “prayer lock” station, the latest spiritual attraction at Kamay ni Hesus Shrine in Lucban, Quezon. Up to 6million pilgrims are expected to visit the place during Holy Week. Inquirer.net photo by Delfin Mallari

Dismissed Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay

PH schools included in world university rankings per subject

MANILA—Three Philippine universities were included in the latest world university rankings per subject released by ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

The University of the Philip-pines was ranked in four subjects this year, but less stellar than its performance last year with rank-ings in eight subjects.

According to QS, the country’s national university is included

by Janvic MaTeo Philstar.com

in the 2016 subject rankings for English, Language and Litera-ture (101-150), Agriculture and Forestry (101-150), Modern Lan-guages (101-150), and Medicine (301-400).

But UP dropped out of the list of rankings for development studies where it was in the Top 100 last year; communication and media studies; politics and international studies; and sociology.

Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University ranked 151-200 in

English, Language and Literature, down from the 101-150 range last year. Ateneo ranked 24th in the said subject in 2012.

De La Salle University main-tained its 151-200 rank in English, Language and Literature and also entered in the rankings for Educa-tion at 201-300.

The rankings highlight the world’s top universities in 42 subjects, based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact.

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OpiniOn Features

Philstar.com photo

“THE world today no longer counts on God. We count on money, arms, private armies, intimidation and connection, and if we continue to do these, it is very easy to lose mercy [for] our neighbors,” said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle as he celebrated a Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Sunday, March 20.

Holy Week message

In his sermon, Tagle encouraged Filipino faithfuls—who were clutch-ing olive branches and braided palm fronds—during Palm Sunday to forego their dependence on money, forsake violence and be merciful to neighbors and enemies.

“How can we learn from Jesus’ mercy and com-passion in a world without mercy and compas-sion?” Tagle asked. “This Holy Week, let us learn from Jesus Christ how we can bring back mercy and compassion to our world.”

The days making up this week hold a deep mean-ing to Filipino Catholics. Lent season comes to an end during the last week of Jesus’ life—traditionally called Holy Week. During this week, the important events of His finals days on Earth are revisited.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ hold a fundamental place in the lives of most Fili-pino Catholics. It is central, not as an abstract belief, but rather as a medium of experience and tradition that provides continuity in life, a structure in the community, and principled purpose for existence.

These are the same lessons Manila Archbishop

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shared to Catholics.

“Jesus was hurt but he chose to be silent and not to seek vengeance...He even begged God to forgive those who hurt him. Let us put our

faith in God [so] we will have peace of mind and we will learn to love our enemies,” Tagle said.

Remembering these events is more than a history lesson. To many devout Catholics, the Holy Week is a chance to reenact the significant moments of Jesus Christ’s life. Pinoy Catholics reflect on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through prayers.

Some pray for good health and fortune, while oth-ers wish for deliverance. Some ask for a miracle, a few want to give thanks. Regardless of one’s desire behind his or her reflections, this week is all about attesting one’s faith.

Aside from prayers and sacrifices, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bish-ops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said this Holy Week could be more meaningful if Filipinos perform acts of charity.

Editorial

“If you want to truly make a good Holy Week love much. Love more. Give to the poor. Visit the jail. Visit hospital wards. “This pilgrimage to the poor will add to the holiness of our times,” Villegas said.

The archbishop added that what makes these days holy is not self-inflicted pain, not publicized pi-ous devotion, and not daydreaming meditation.

“What makes this week holy is the immeasurable,

unequaled love that Christ poured into these days,” he said.

The life and times of Jesus Christ leave us with a great example to emulate. We are called to live like saints, not to make a mark in the world through suf-fering or death—but to appeal similar honest lives. Saintly people live life the best way they can, to sim-ply make a difference. (AJPress)

LAST DECEMBER 8, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Mercy of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, inaugurating the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Mercy is defined as getting the grace that we do not even deserve, including God’s compas-sionate forgiveness of our sins, liberating us from condemnation so that we could start life all over again.

This, to me, sums up the true meaning of Eas-ter, God’s passion and death — the mercy of God so we may be with Him in His resurrection.

Let me share with you how Pope Francis talked about this in his homily, so we may reflect on what Mercy means to us in our own lives, and how we are called to show mercy to others in return:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,In a few moments I will have the joy of opening

the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about to enfold her: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).

The Virgin Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and

impenetrable of mysteries be-came for her a cause for joy, faith and abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do some-thing so great as to change the course of human history.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception expresses the grandeur of God’s love. Not only does he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobe-dience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them in opposition to God’s plan.

Yet the history of sin can only be understood in the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy. The word of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about this. The Im-maculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged

witness of this promise and its fulfillment.

This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes ev-eryone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This

will be a year in which we grow ever more con-vinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)!

But that is the truth. We have to put mercy be-fore judgment, and in any event God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us ex-perience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.

Today, as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which 50 years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a great

advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her mis-sionary journey.

It was the resumption of a journey of encoun-tering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vat-ican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council.

May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.

—Pope Francis’ Homily During the Inaugura-tion of the Jubilee of Mercy, Dec. 8, 2015.

* * *Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

Observing Holy Week in the Jubilee Year of Mercy: What does this mean to Christians?

Faith Bautista andJeFF nino Lim

Community Voice

GeL santos-ReLos

The Fil-Am Perspective

President should secure Supreme Court that is diverse

PRESIDEnT Obama, as is his right, has nominated to the US Supreme Court another white man from Harvard, Merrick Garland.

Yet Mr. Garland is highly un-likely to ever be confirmed given the Republican leadership’s unani-mous position that no Presidential nominee will be confirmed while President Obama remains in of-fice.

The question raised by Califor-nia’s more than six million Asian Americans and the nation’s twenty million Asian Americans is why did the President forgo an opportunity to win over our nation’s 130 mil-lion minorities and those who did not graduate from Harvard Law School?

As the President and Congress know well, in our nation’s more than 225-year history, no Asian American has ever been nominated for or served at the U.S. Supreme Court. However, an increasingly large pool of highly qualified, non-controversial Asian American ju-rists are available to be nominated. This includes California’s highly qualified ninth Circuit Appellate Justice Jacqueline nguyen and Sri Srinivasan, also highly qualified and noncontroversial from the D.C. Court of Appeals.

We raise the question of ignor-ing Asian Americans in the context

of both Asian American judges being highly qualified immigrants and being relatively noncontro-versial. Further, nomination of an Asian American jurist would be consistent with both President Obama’s call for more diversity and the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s call for more diversity, including end-ing the Harvard/Yale law school monopoly at the Supreme Court.

We are particularly mystified given that Mr. Garland is one of the oldest candidates nominated for the Supreme Court since Richard nixon’s day and President Obama has the opportunity to win over the Asian American vote over the long term whether or not an Asian American candidate is confirmed. In contrast, both Jacqueline nguy-en and Sri Srinivasan are under 50, as was Justice Scalia when he was successfully nominated by President Reagan (President Obama’s nominee is 63, which is a little too old to provide an endur-ing legacy. This is particularly so since a number of Americans believe that a mechanism should be put in place for mandatory or strongly encouraged retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court after the age of 75.)

Since the President’s nomina-tion of Mr. Garland will be futile, perhaps the President should consider an option that will en-courage Mr. Garland to withdraw and provide the President the op-

tion of nominating our first Asian American to the Supreme Court. This is a viable option since some nominees have withdrawn in the past when facing strong hurdles to confirmation.

The advantage to the Presi-dent includes the potential to convert what will be 50 million Asian Americans by 2050 to the Democratic Party. Although Asian Americans now strongly tilt to the Democratic Party in national elec-tions, this was not the case under President Reagan. Therefore, a reinvigorated Republican Party whose Presidential candidate sup-ports immigrants could evenly split the Asian American vote includ-ing securing a majority of Asian American business leaders.

Although the authors of this article have different political views, one generally supporting the Republican Party and the other supporting the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, we both concur that the Asian American vote, given its growing size, educational attainment and wealth accumulation should not tilt toward any major party. As other minorities have learned, we are often far more influential when our votes are up for grabs in both national and local elections. For example, the general absence of viable Republican candidates, par-ticularly on a statewide level, has

“That’s old news,” cuts in Ka Danny, an old hand in divining Philippine politics. “Poe’s hus-band works with San Miguel and Ramon Ang, COO of the corpora-tion has long been rumored to be bankrolling the Poe campaign. Siyempre, where Ang is, Danding is right behind.”

The conversation sparks my interest. “But I thought that it’s noynoy Aquino who is secretly supporting Poe,” I say. “Which is why some people refer to Grace Poe as Grace Poe-noy.”

“Poenoy, Poejuangco, same-same,” snaps Ka Danny. “It’s all in the family.”

“How about Poenocchio?” asks Jimmy, a newcomer to the water-ing hole.

“Poenocchio – as in Poe and Pinocchio, the wooden dummy? What makes you say that?”

“Well,” says Jimmy, “What makes you think that Grace Poe is charting her own political course? She’s obviously the dummy of big corporate groups with major in-terests to protect like the coconut levy. And a President Poe can do that for them.”

They all turn to me for con-firmation, as if I’m supposed to know these things. I shrug my shoulders and admit that what I know is what I read in the pa-pers.

“But the Manila papers all have different versions of the news, depending on which powerful

group is behind them,” complains Jimmy.

“Well, there you are,” I say. “All we can do is guess. Or make de-ductions.”

“For instance, what you can say about the rumor that Poe is the secret candidate of noynoy Aquino?” asks Pete.

“Well, why not?” butts in Ka Danny. “Everyone in the Phil-ippines has a number Two – I mean, a number One-A, One-B, etcetera. Ask Erap Estrada.”

“Ka Danny means that noynoy is supporting both Mar Roxas and Grace Poe and bahala na, which one of them wins,” Gerry explains.

“Isn’t that a double-cross?” asks Jimmy.

“That’s nothing new forAquino and Roxas,” says Ka Danny who seems to know everything about Philippine politics. “Remember what happened during the 2010 presidential campaign? Roxas was running for vice-president as the running mate of noynoy but the Aquino camp secretly sup-ported Jojo Binay. That’s why Roxas lost.”

“I remember that,” says Pete. “They called it noy-Bi or noynoy and Binay.”

“now it’s Poe-noy or Grace Poe and noynoy Aquino,” adds Gerry.

“But do you think noynoy Aquino knew that people in his

From Noy-Bi to Poe-Noy: The anatomy of a double-cross

GReG B. macaBenta

Street Talk

IT helps to visit my favorite wa-tering hole in Daly City. I pick up insights from folks who can still see the forest from the trees, with respect to the passing political scene in the Philippines.

“Have you read the latest about Grace Poe in the Manila papers?” asks Pete from behind the bar and, without waiting for an answer, he reads from the online edition of the Philippine Daily Tribune:

“The senator also debunked the impression that there are emerg-ing ties with influential business tycoon Eduardo ‘Danding’ Co-juangco, founder of the national-ist People’s Coalition (nPC) and whom Poe recently defended over the coco levy issue.

“’That is not true,’ the senator said when asked on the alleged ‘Poejuangco’ being coined by crit-ics pertaining to her and Cojuang-co that is supposed to be similar to the ‘Villarroyo’, the purported unholy alliance formed in 2010 presidential elections by then can-didate, Sen. Manuel ‘Manny’ Villar with unlikely ally, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.”

“Poejuangco? Meaning, Poe and Cojuangco?” pipes in Gerry from his table, while sipping from a mug of San Miguel Beer. “That’s Danding Cojuangco, the chairman of San Miguel Corporation.” PAGE A7PAGE A7

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Dateline PhiliPPines

54% of Pinoys say quality of life unchanged under Aquino – poll

by Janvic Mateo Philstar.com

From Noy-Bi to Poe-Noy: The anatomy of...group were supporting Binay against Roxas?” asks Jimmy who is the youngest and most naïve of the group.

Ka Danny shakes his head at Jimmy. “Talagang may gatas ka pa sa labi, iho. Do you really be-lieve Noynoy Aquino was not aware that his own relatives were double-crossing Roxas?”

“Of course, Noynoy would deny it,” butts in Gerry.

“Isn’t that what Aquino does all the time?” snaps Ka Danny. “He denied knowing that the SAF troopers were being massacred in Mamasapano. He denied bribing the senators to impeach Corona. He denied knowing about the pork barrel scandal and that the DAP was unconstitutional.”

“Imposibleng hindi alam ni Noynoy that his own camp was promoting Binay. Even his own sisters were for Binay,” says John-ny who has been listening quietly from another table. “Lahat ng tao sa Pilipinas, alam. Si Aquino pa?”

I finally manage to put in a word edgewise.

“What do you think will Mar Roxas do about it? The rumored double-cross, I mean.”

Johnny holds up a FilAm news-

paper. “According to the papers, Roxas already called on those in the Liberal Party who are support-ing his rivals to speak out. Sabi pa niya, if they are supporting some-one else, thank you na lang daw.”

“Isn’t that a very passive state-ment?” I ask.

Ka Danny shakes his head. “Poor Mar Roxas. There’s really nothing he can do at this point. If he breaks away from Aquino be-cause of the double-cross todas siya. The funding could be cut off.”

“What funding?” I ask.“The Bottom Up Budgeting

funds and the Yolanda funds that are controlled by the LP,” says Ka Danny, sounding as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. “Siyempre, hawak pa rin ni Noynoy iyong susi sa kaban.”

“So what do you think will Rox-as do?” asks Jimmy, giving away his naivete.

Pete has a mischievous glint in his eyes when he butts in. “What do you think does a wife do when she finds out that her husband has a Number Two, este, Number One-A? She either leaves the hus-band or she accepts it as a fact of life and makes the most of it, hindi ba?”

“Aywan ko,” is my response. “Maybe Erap Estrada can answer that.”

Ka Danny heaves a knowledge-able sigh. “In Philippine politics, they call it gamitan. Meaning, everyone is using everyone else. Roxas will continue to use what-ever support Aquino will give him because that’s better than nothing. Of course, if Roxas wins, todas na-man si Aquino. Roxas will get back at him for the double-cross.”

“And what about Poe? Asks Johnny.

“Siyempre, Roxas will do ev-erything to make Poe lose. Who do you think has been putting out the stories about Poe using an il-legal social security number in America?”

“Pero, that’s true, isn’t it?” asks Jimmy.

Ka Danny lightens up at this new topic. “Let me give you the lowdown on that,” he says. “Alam mo iyang si Grace Poe…”

There is a conspiratorial look in Ka Danny’s eyes, as if he doesn’t want everyone to hear what he is about to say.

Ka Danny seems to know ev-erything about Philippine politics. He should be a Manila columnist. (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

PAGE A6

President should secure Supreme Court...meant that minorities in California are disproportionately ignored since their votes are far too pre-dictable.

As of the writing of this Op-Ed, we are endeavoring to meet with the President on this matter. The meeting will include a broad range

of Asian American leaders from both parties. However, we are not unduly optimistic given that the President rejected our mid-February request to meet with him in D.C. during a time when we met with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the Chairs of the FDIC and FTC, and the Director of CFPB on

income and wealth inequality.* * *

Faith Bautista is the President & CEO National Asian American Coalition and an immigrant

* * *Jeff Nino Lim is the owner of 15 Island Pacific

Supermarkets and Chair of National Asian American Coalition and an immigrant

PAGE A6

SEPARATE WAYS. One Cebu, headed by its standard bearer Winston Garcia, has severed its ties with Vice President Jejomar Binay and the United Nationalist Alliance. Among the Garcias in One Cebu are former Cebu Governor Pablo Garcia, incumbent Cebu third district Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia who is seeking reelection and former congressman Pablo John Garcia who is seeking a House seat in Cebu’s newly-created seventh district. Philstar.com photo

MANILA—Fifty-four percent, or more than half of the population, said that the quality of their lives remained unchanged during the tenure of President Benigno Aquino III, a mobile survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and TV5 Bilang Pilipino showed.

The survey, conducted on March 16, showed that more than half of the 766 respondents said their lives remained the same.

Meanwhile, 36 percent said their quality of life became better as compared with the administration of President Arroyo, while six per-cent said it got worse. Four percent answered they do not know.

The survey had a sampling er-ror margin of plus or minus four percent.

The same survey showed a “neutral” satisfaction rate on the government’s response in the af-termath of Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.

Eleven percent of the respon-dents said they were very sat-isfied, while 31 percent were

somewhat satisfied.Twenty percent were undecided,

while 17 percent and 20 percent were somewhat dissatisfied and very dissatisfied, respectively.

“This gives a net satisfaction score of four percent (the difference of 41 percent satisfied and 37 per-cent dissatisfied), classified by SWS as neutral,” said the survey firm.

The SWS-Bilang Pilipino is a pioneering project to rapidly sur-vey opinions from a random na-tional sample of voters, deliberately equipped with mobile phones.

A sample of 1,200 validated vot-ers was invited to be a part of the panel of respondents, who received the questions through mobile phones.

Clean, honest serviceAnother mobile survey con-

ducted by SWS and TV5 Bilang Pilipino on March 15 showed 59 percent of respondents agreeing that the daang matuwid (straight path) policy of President Aquino is about clean and honest service of the government.

The survey – which had 755 respondents and a margin of error

of plus or minus four percent – re-vealed that 21 percent disagreed with the statement, while 19 per-cent were undecided.

“This gives a net agreement score of 38, classified by SWS as strong,” read the results released yesterday.

The same survey showed that 55 percent selected Liberal Party stan-dard bearer Manuel Roxas II when asked who among the presidential bets is being promoted as a candi-date for daang matuwid.

According to a recent poll, 54% of Filipinos said that the quality of their lives remained unchanged during the term of Aquino.

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VEGAS&STYLEJournal

Dancing his way to fameHow John Philip ‘Balang’ Bughaw

became an Internet sensationBy Christina Oriel

AJPress

AMONG the many talents that Filipinos display on the global stage, dancing is one of them. The latest source of Filipino pride is 7-year-old John Philip Bughaw, better known as ‘Balang.’

Hailing from Bacoor, Cavite, Balang has won over millions of Internet users across the globe with viral videos of himself enthusiasti-cally dancing along to pop hits.

His energetic m o v e s e v e n c a u g h t

the at-tention of Ellen

D e -

Sit back, relax, reflect and watch these recommended movies for Holy WeekYOU can still spend the Cath-

olic holidays in a productive and meaningful way even at the comfort of your own homes by watching these films that are not only religious in nature, but also teach values and give inspiration to those who badly need it.

Sit back, relax and reflect with these must-watch films that In-quirer.net would like to suggest to you. Rest assured, these classics will nourish your mind and soul during this important religious ob-servance that will cap the Lenten season.

1. “God’s Not Dead” (2014)This 2014 Christian drama-

comedy film revolves around the story of devout Christian student Josh played by Shane Harper who is on a mission to prove the existence of God to his college philosophy professor Mr. Jeffrey Radisson. An atheist, Radisson asks his students to sign a decla-ration saying that God is God to pass his class, but Josh refuses to do so and stands by his belief.

The rest of the film will focus on Josh’s series of debates with Radisson to prove God’s existence that will also reveal the professor’s background.

2. “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973)

This 1973 musical drama film deals with Judas Iscariot’s be-trayal of Jesus Christ which led to the latter’s crucifixion. Based on the rock opera of the same name, the performance of Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson earned them nominations for the Golden Globe Awards in 1974.

3. “The Passion of the Christ” (2004)

This highly successful religious film depicts the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life starting with the agony in the garden of Geth-semane, based on the accounts

on the New Testament, par-ticularly the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, the movie was nominated for three Oscars at the 77th Academy Awards and was dubbed as the highest grossing religious film of all time despite mixed reviews from critics due to its very visual and sometimes violent scenes.

4. “The Bucketlist” (2007)This American comedy-drama

film follows the journey of two men played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman with ter-minal lung cancer who went on a road trip after they escaped from the hospital they were confined in. The two, who are total strangers, become friends and list the things they want to do before they die.

5. “The Pursuit of Happy-ness” (2006)

This biographical drama film based on a memoir tells the story of a homeless salesman and single father played by Will Smith, who has to endure a lot of difficulties, aside from having no place to go, to give his only son a better life.

6. “Pay It Forward” (2000)This novel-based film title was

the name of the charitable pro-gram devised by seventh-grader

“God’s Not Dead” (2014) “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1973)

Trevor McKinney as part of his assignment given by his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet. Eyeing to make the world a better place to live in, the goodwill move-ment did not only affect the life of his mother but also hundreds of people as his movement turned into a social phenomenon.

7. “Magnifico” (2003)This highly acclaimed Filipino

film revolves around a boy named Magnifico who is from a poor fam-ily and community. He touches the lives of the people around him with one little act of kindness at a time. Directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes, this movie won the Famas Best Pic-ture and Best Child Actor for Jiro Manio. Upon learning that his sick

grandmother was dying of stom-ach cancer, Magnifico devotes his time in preparing a proper funeral for her. (Inquirer.net) “Magnifico” (2003)

“The Bucket List” (2007)

The Passion of the Christ ( 2004)

Generes, who has invited him to appear on her talk-variety three times now.

With no formal training, Balang started dancing at 4 years old, emulating motions picked up from videos or by simply just moving along to the background music heard on TV shows.

“Natuto akong sumayaw sa pamamagitan ng panonood ng mga videos (I taught myself how to dance by watching videos),” Balang shared during a recent interview with the Asian Journal, adding that artists Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor, among others, have inspired him to dance.

But it wasn’t until he was 6 years old when his dancing garnered international attention.

Danica Doma, a neighbor and

close family friend, started up-loading videos of Balang dancing on YouTube and Facebook. The first video posted that gained popu-larity was a dance cover to Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass.”

“Nag like and share yung video. Doon na ako sumikat (The video was liked and shared. There, I got famous),” Balang said.

Doma explained that fame wasn’t the intention, as the videos were initially meant to be shared among family and close friends. “It was supposed to be for fun. We didn’t expect that his videos would go viral,” she said.

She has since become Balang’s interpreter, and accompanies him during his various appearances

and trips.Balang’s subsequent

video was for “Bang

Bang” (by Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande), which caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres, who played a clip on her show.

After that video was posted, a producer from the show contacted Doma about bringing Balang to the US for an appearance.

“The producer and I kept on talking…and we were told we were going to be on ‘The Ellen DeGe-neres Show.’ They gave us money for the visas, then we went to the US Embassy for the interview. The next day was the release of our visas,” Doma said.

Balang, accompanied by Doma as his interpreter, made his US debut in May 2015 on DeGeneres’s show.

“A couple of months ago I showed you this video of a young boy dancing ‘Bang Bang’ in the Philippines. I said ‘bring him to me’ and I’m happy to say he has been brought,” DeGeneres said during her introduction of the Filipino dancer, who was then 6 years old.

During the interview, Balang made the crowd laugh, joking about how there is a lot of choco-late in the United States. He also shared his aspirations to become a Zumba instructor to “help every-

one be healthy.” Clad in a beige fedora, red col-

lared shirt and black and white suspenders, Balang wowed the audience with a live dance perfor-mance of “Bang Bang.” The video, which has been uploaded to show’s YouTube channel, has over 5 mil-lion views as of this writing. After the performance, Balang was gifted with lots of sweets, including a chocolate fountain.

In late 2015, DeGeneres invited Balang again to perform a dance to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and have a dance off with the show’s resident DJ tWitch to Silento’s “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae).”

Being in the spotlight, he said, is exciting because he gets to help his family financially and entertain people around the world.

“Masaya, po, kasi, nagkakapera kami. Natutuwa din mga tao (It is fun because we are getting money. Also, people are amused),” he said.

Earlier this year, Doma up-loaded a video of Balang dancing to Justin Bieber’s hit “Sorry” on Facebook, accumulating over 28 million views. Bieber himself re-posted a link of the video on his Twitter account, writing that

Balang “kills it.” Balang returned to DeGeneres’s

show for the third time to dance to “Sorry” in February.

Ditching the outfit preppy com-bination from the two previous ap-pearances, Balang wore a sleeve-less tiger print top, a look he said was inspired by Bieber.

After the three appearances on the talk-variety show, Balang shared that he was gifted an iPad, chocolates, art materials and a sta-tionary bike, which he uses a few times a week to work out.

Balang was back in the US in early March — along with Doma and his mother Mary Jane — to tape an appearance on “¡Qué Noche! con Angelica y Raul,” a va-riety and entertainment show with Angelica Vale and Raul Gonzalez on Telemundo. The episode, which was filmed at the network’s studios in Miramar, Florida, is slated to air this July.

Balang and his mother Mary Jane both remarked how he re-ceived special, red carpet treat-ment during the taping, and that they were both picked up in a limousine.

“Balang is a very rare talent that is why he is a phenomenal Internet sensation,” Vic Perez, Balang’s international manager, told the Asian Journal. “This dance prodigy kid will soon be the next Filipino

pride globally.” Balang is the newest talent

under Perez’s LA-based entertain-ment company, V Entertainment, which has several projects lined up for him this year.

“We’re planning to have a record for him here [in the United States]. The title is ‘Big Bang Bounce’ and it’ll have its own dance like ‘Gang-nam Style,’” Perez said. “By June it should be out.”

Balang will also be involved with Operation Smile — an international charity that provides children with cleft lip and palate repair surgeries — as a goodwill ambassador.

Now that he’s visited the United States several times and is continu-ing to build his dancing career, Balang said he hopes to visit and perform in London and one day meet his idols Bieber, Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj.

But even with the fame, he isn’t backing down on his dreams to become a police officer and Zumba instructor.

“Gawain yung gusto mo para magiging masaya din kayo at pamilya mo. Patulo magaaral at mag matapos na maaral, sundin ang iyong mga pangarap (Do what you like so you and your family can be happy. Continue to study and after you finish your educa-tion, follow your dreams),” Balang said.

Photos from Facebook.com/ JPLBalang

Photo by Gerry Edra

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Pia Wurtzbach confirms dating a ‘Mr. Universe’

Guinness: #AlDubEBTamangPanahon among Twitter’s ‘record-breakers’

In an interview with Mario Lopez on “Extra” which was aired on Monday, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach admitted that she is dating someone.

Lopez asked Wurtzbach: “Is there a Mr. Universe?”

To which the Filipina beauty queen coyly replied: “I’m dating.”

Wurtzbach did not explicitly say that she is dating Mikhail Var-shavski, whom People magazine referred to as the “sexiest doctor alive.”

Yet Wurtzbach’s admission came after Varshavski’s revelation that he is dating the most beautiful woman in the world the universe, rather.

The 26-year-old doctor told wonderwall.com: “I am dating Pia. It’s a fairly new relationship, but I’m really excited to see where it can go!”

Photos of Wurtzbach and Var-shavski first circulated last month, sparking dating rumors.

A photo of Wurtzbach’s al-leged relationship status with the doctor posted on her personal Facebook account also circulated last week.

Meanwhile, the “Extra” inter-

view also featured Wurtzbach’s best friend Miss USA Olivia Jor-dan who said that she is also currently seeing someone but not yet at the point of getting hitched. (Inquirer.net)

Kim Chiu: Xian helped me move on from GeraldMAnILA—Kim Chiu admitted

that Xian Lim has helped her get over her heartbreak from Gerald Anderson.

It was in 2010 when Kim ad Gerald ended their “special relationship” to focus on their respective careers.

“Siguro self-worth, self-re-spect and then ‘yong mga taong nakapaligid sa akin ‘yon ang sinasabi nila,” Kim replied when asked how she was able to say that she was over Gerald, in an interview in “Tonight with Boy Abunda” on Monday, March 21.

“Then si Xian, dumating siya,

e,” she added, smiling.Since they were paired to-

gether, Xian has always been vocal of his feeling for Kim. now that some reports say they’re already an item, Xian remained firm that they don’t want to put a label on their relationship.

However, he didn’t deny that “nagmamahalan kami.”

Asked where she sees their relationship ten years from now, the Kapamilya actress replied, “Siguro naman ano, magkasama pa rin kami.”

Meanwhile, Kim reacted to some comments saying she

doesn’t deserve to have a con-cert since she’s not a singer.

She will have a ten-year an-niversary concert titled “Chinita Princess The FUntasy concert” that will happen on April 9 at the Kia Theater.

“Pagbigyan n’yo na ko, ten years ko naman!” she said, laughing.

On a more serious note, she continued: “Okay lang. Siguro talagang normal lang sa isang tao na may masasabi talaga sa iyo. It’s up to you if magpapa-apekto ka o hindi.” (Philstar.com)

THE love team of Alden Rich-ards and Maine Mendoza, popu-larly known as AlDub, was recently cited by the Guinness World Re-cords.

In lieu of Twitter’s tenth year celebration, Guinness released an article naming the media platform’s “record-breakers.”

AlDub’s “Tamang Panahon” event hashtag “AlDUbEBTamang-Panahon” was named as the most used hashtag in 24 hours. The event happened October 24, 2015 at the Philippine Arena.

Meanwhile, the record for most tweets per minute was set made Germany’s victory over Argentina during the 2014 World Cup.

Some of the other Twitter re-cord-breakers are Caitlyn Jenner

by Joyce Jimenez Philstar.com

The Alden Richards-Maine Mendoza love team, more popularly known as AlDub, is one Twitter’s record-breakers, according to Guinness World Records. Photo courtesy of Eat Bulaga’s official Facebook page

who was named as “fastest ever time to reach one million follow-ers,” and Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars

selfie which was named as “most retweeted message” in Twitter. (Philstar.com)

by oliver m. PulumbaritInquirer.net

US-based Pinoy artist learns humor from ‘Simpsons’ talents

“WHAT I am going to share is my experience on how I’ve been able to have a place in the mainstream motion picture in-dustry in Hollywood,” US-based Filipino artist Jess Española said of his participation in the Fil-Toon Comic Con 2016 in Clark-field, Pampanga, in an e-mail interview. The event will be held at the Fontana Hot Spring and Leisure Water Park from March 19 to 20.

Española, who moved to the United States over two decades ago, told the Inquirer that his involvement in the coming event was made possible by a freed-up schedule: “[The convention] co-incides with the ‘off season’ of the animation industry, when most animators are on hiatus.”

Formerly an animator in a stu-dio that handled foreign cartoon shows in Pasig back in the 1980s, Española works as assistant di-rector on the long-running “The Simpsons.” He won an Emmy for an episode, “Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind,” which bagged the outstanding animated program award in 2008.

He elaborated, “I have been working alternately as assistant director—making sure that es-tablished qualities and ‘funni-ness’ of episodes I work on are met—and as a character layout

artist, equivalent to an animator, on 20th Century Fox shows such as ‘King of the Hill,’ ‘Futurama,’ and ‘The Simpsons.’”

On what he has learned from working on “The Simpsons,” he explained, “It’s not like Saturday morning shows we grew up with; it’s the longest-running animated sitcom which [satirically depicts] a working class lifestyle. I have learned from the great script writers and voice actors… what makes people laugh, which is the main substance in producing [this] show.”

Española described having a Filipino background as advanta-

geous in his chosen profession. “Filipinos are getting known as hardworking people, with atten-tion to detail,” he said. “Besides our Western orientation, part of our abilities is to adapt to any situation, when we decide to find jobs in other countries. We have our heritage, homegrown outlooks, storytelling [skills]… that we are able to integrate into the [other culture].”

Other guests of the Fil-Toon convention include “Johnny Bravo” creator Van Partible, comedian Joey Guila, and local comic book creators and anima-tors.

He will expound on his career, Española said, in a straightfor-ward manner during the event: “A direct, simple conversation, I think, would be more interesting to the attendees—I find it more convenient to speak in my native tongue, in the presence of fellow Filipinos.”

Those who aspire to work in the animation industry require patience and determination, according to the artist, who has over 30 years of experience un-der his belt. “Find your creative strength and focus your energy on that—keep practicing to the point of mastery,” he advised. “Learn from others, watch award-winning shows, explore and experiment… you just have to keep going, and you will see your reward in the end!”

Jess Española won for his work as assistant director.

Pia Wurtzbach with Dr. Mike Varshavski. Screengrab from Pia Wurtzbach’s Twitter account

Kim Chiu saus one person who helped her get over her heartbreak from Gerald Anderson was Xian Lim. Philstar.com photo

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Alex Medina: Acting is about truth and reactionby Dolly Anne CArvAjAl

Inquirer.net

I have always liked alex Medi-na’s style. The award-winning indie film actor is ahead of his time. Just like his father Pen Medina, who’s a seasoned actor, alex knows when to be intense and when to be re-strained on-cam.

he topbills the horror-comedy film “echorsis,” a parody of the iconic horror film, “The exorcist.”

It revolves around a gigolo, Carlo, played by alex, who is pos-sessed by a gay demon after he deceived his closeted gay lover portrayed by John Lapus. Kean Cipriano is Father Nick, the priest who will exorcise the devil out of Carlo’s system.

The hilarious trailer of the movie has gone viral and has reached almost 2 million views. It looks like “echorsis” will send chills down our spine while tickling our funny bone.

here’s my tête-à-tête with alex:

What’s the best advice your father gave you about acting and about love?

acting is about truth and reac-tion. Really talk and let the words flow as they should in real life, so the truth will come out.

Dad never really mentioned any-thing about love to us, but through his example, I learned to respect something I love.

What’s the best part of being the son of Pen Medina?

Best part of having him as a dad is basically just being his son—to be his student in the ways of life is awesome. I get to learn his many philosophies for free. and we get secret acting tips and tricks (laughs).

What’s the toughest part of be-

ing his son?The level in which my dad op-

erates cannot be replicated; Not just in acting, but also in how he sees life.

It’s a challenge for us, but I know he just wants the best for us.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve done?

I once rode a bronco. If you want to know, Google it (laughs).

What’s your favorite scene in “Echorsis”?

It has to be before the wedding scene… I don’t want to spoil any-thing, but I found it really funny.

If you are to be possessed by the spirit of a famous dead per-son, who would you want it to be and why?

It will have to be Nikola Tesla. With the current problem of cli-mate change, I think he’d be able to propose a solution to our prob-lematic weather, and… share his invaluable knowledge of energy sourcing, especially free energy, with everyone.

What changes do you want the industry to implement?

The working hours should be changed in light of all the recent

deaths. I hope they make restric-tions, especially for veteran actors who work until early morning, sacrificing their health.

What are you most proud of?I’m proud to be where I am

despite the hardships I’ve gone through in my life. however hard the trials are, just have faith that you will rise above it all, [as stated in] my favorite verse from the Bible, Jeremiah 29: 11-13, [to quote]:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then, you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” That is my mantra.

What’s your fetish?Maybe not a fetish, but I like

being spoiled sometimes. I like taking care of the girl when I’m in a relationship, but I love it when my girl knows how to pamper me.

If your life story will be made into a movie, what would the title be?

“To be continued…”

Bb. Pilipinas 2016 candidates reach out to kids with cancerThe Bb. Pilipinas 2016 candi-

dates remained true to the pageant’s tag, “beauty with a purpose.”

On Friday, March 18, the 40 candidates had some quality time with the cancer patients of the Phil-ippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

They gave them food, some toys and treats. They also had a storytell-ing session and the kids enjoyed a magic show.

This kind of activity prepares the ladies for bigger advoca-cies after the next batch of beauty queens are crowned on april 17 at the Smart-araneta Coliseum. (Philstar.com)

Donna Cruz is back... but not totallyby Boy ABunDA

Philstar.com

DuRING her heyday, Donna Cruz was local showbiz’s original Multimedia Star, making her mark in music as well as other forms of media.

Looking back now, Donna real-izes what a big risk she took, giv-ing up her career just when it was peaking.“ang dali ko siyang na-give up,” she reflects.

Donna was only 21 years old when she married Dr. Yong Lar-razabal and gave up her career for a new life as a wife and mother. Following her marriage, Donna moved to Cebu (where her husband is from) and settled there, leaving Manila and her showbiz life behind. her mother Yollie admits that she shed tears over Donna’s decision, although it turned out to be the right one. Says Donna: “It was a big risk (that I took), pero no regrets. Sobrang blessed ako.”

Donna is now a mother of three. her kids Belle, 16; Sean, 13; and Gio, 8 all support her showbiz comeback, even if they were too young to remember their mother during her prime as a singer-ac-tress. Donna has officially returned to singing with the release of a new album under Star Music, titled Now and Forever.

Donna says her return to the scene though, is not really what one would call a full comeback. “It’s only for singing muna, kasi ‘yon naman ang first love ko talaga,” she says, adding that she’s glad Star Music waited until she was really ready. “If I really missed something ever since I got married, it’s singing and the feeling that people like listening to my songs and my singing. It’s one of my greatest joys in life. Singing is my first love and I will always go back to it.”

a lot has changed about the busi-ness since she first entered it in the ’90s, but Donna’s not worried about competition or adjusting to the new scenario. In fact, she’s pleasantly surprised that people still remem-ber her music and that some of the young artists today — like Janella Salvador, who did her own version of Donna’s original hit, Kapag Tu-mibok ang Puso for her own album — are still singing her songs.

Star Music audio content head Jonathan Manalo says they really waited for Donna to become avail-able for this project. “We have what we refer to as ‘legacy artists,’ ‘yung mga nakapag-iwan talaga ng tatak sa industry. Lani (Misalucha) was the first. after her album, nag-iisip kami kung sino pa ang pwede,

and that’s when we thought of Donna.”

Speaking of “legacy,” in this album, Donna is reunited with composer vehnee Saturno, who has also built a significant legacy of his own in local music. It was vehnee who wrote the two original songs in the album, a Love to Last and Langit ang Pag-Ibig.

Donna is glad to be working with him again. “Tito vehnee had a huge part in, and should take a lot of credit for the success of my previous albums and songs, so you can expect to hear the ‘Donna Cruz’ kind of songs in this album,” she says. “People will also recog-

nize my way of singing or style when they listen to the songs, only with more feelings or emotions now because I have experienced and I know the feeling of loving someone so much and feeling so much love.”

although she has chosen to focus on her music for now, Donna is not closing her doors to other opportu-nities that might come along. “May mga offers,” she confirms. The only concern is that since she is based in Cebu, doing a teleserye, with its shooting schedule, might pose a bit of a problem, but otherwise Donna is excited to be back and return to where it all began.

Although she has chosen to focus on her music, Donna Cruz is not closing her doors to other opportunities that might come along.

The ladies chat with the child patient during their charity work at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. Philstar.com photo by Efigenio Toledo IV

Alex Medina

march 24-30, 2016 • LaS VEGaS aSIaN JOUrNaL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678B� Features

A clean and green Plaza Binalonanby Paulo alcazaren

Philstar.com

From last week’s trip down to Cagayan de oro in mindanao to visit Gaston Park, we head back to Luzon for the ninth in our series on Philippine plazas. We visit a town in Pangasinan whose origin traces itself back to where farm-ers used to take their packed food (balon or baon) to enjoy a midday break in the fields just outside modern-day Urdaneta City.

I was traveling north on busi-ness and decided to take a road trip with a few associates to as many towns in our weekday jaunt as we could. The object was to do a quick documentation of these towns’ and cities’ plazas. I’ll fea-ture the other plazas of Pangas-inan and Pampanga in the follow-ing weeks, but we start with the expansive and well-maintained plaza of Binalonan.

The town’s origin was as a land grant to a Spanish official named Don Salvador. The story goes that he ordered workers to construct a simple fence along his entire property, a project of no small size. Don Salvador’s men would bring their food and eat under shady camachile trees near the center of the property as it was breezy there.

Don Salvador eventually of-fered his land for tilling and, when asked how to find it, an-swered, “It is the place where people bring their balon to eat.” Binalonan in Ilocano means “a place where people bring and eat their baon (or balon).”

The more formal history of the place indicates that the town was established as a settlement of Ilocano immigrants who worked as herdsmen and laborers in the early 1800s. records state that a Fr. Julian Izaga set the original site of Binalonan in the barrio of San Felipe. It was later moved to the barrio of Santa Catalina, where the good father construct-ed a church and a convent. Ini-tially made of light construction materials, the church complex was rebuilt several times after an earthquake in 1882 and the Filipino-American war.

The town grew and established itself as a key municipality in rice production for the province. The town today boasts a population of close to 60,000. Its proximity to Urdaneta City has contributed to its growth. mangoes augment its main produce of rice. The town also hosts an airfield for civil

aviation and a college related to it, the WCC Aeronautical and Technological College.

In 1968 Binalonan was award-ed “The most Beautiful and Cleanest Town in the Philip-pines” by malacañang Palace. Since then it has garnered sev-eral citations, as “most Beautiful Plaza and Parks,” “outstanding Community Development model” and “Urban model Community,” among others.

From Urdaneta City one en-ters the town off the main high-way via mcKinley Street. The town’s streets are wide and the streetscape noticeably clean and green. Less than a kilometer in, you will hit the town center, a large four-and-a-half-hectare oasis of green. This greenery is made distinctive because of a forest of mature acacia trees. The majestic canopies remind me of UP Diliman. The town’s website claims they are a century or so in age.

The Binalonan city hall com-plex is inset from the main street about 80 meters and is accessed by a wide driveway, which cul-minates in a grand fountain. on both sides of the driveway are manicured lawns. When we stopped to take pictures, we saw two horses grazing on the lawn.

The city hall structure itself appears to be a ’60s-era struc-ture, a two-story affair, which would benefit from a more im-posing façade. It gets lost in pro-portion to the open space in front of it. Unlike other town plazas, Binalonan’s is less defined by structures along the perimeter than by the trees which frame and are contained in the space. It might be more appropriate to

call the complex a park, as the plaza component is embedded within the green.

The locals call the center of this greenery the Binalonan rock Garden. The park and the church complex behind is accessed by a tree-lined “mystic pathway.” The entrance to this pathway holds the 1968 marker that declares the town the most beautiful and cleanest in the country.

An odd portal structure was built over this entry, probably in the 1970s, and houses one of the municipal offices above. more recently, on both sides of the pathway, the town has added more small but modern structures, housing a Commu-nity E-Center and a Techno-Hub. The rest of the area contains a gymnasium, a large concrete tree house and other elements providing a good variety of facili-ties to the public.

The Sto. Niño parish church at the rear appears also to be a post-war reconstruction or renovation. It sits comfortably in a complex of about a hectare and is accessible from three sides. We noticed several small build-ings under construction around the area, but nonetheless the pervasive shade and structure of the acacia canopies seem to smooth out all these separate elements and the space seems to be very popular and well used by the townspeople.

I give this plaza a 7.5 out of 10. The town has done a good job of keeping its generous area of green conserved, clean, and well maintained.

more Philippine plazas next week as we rediscover public space and its importance to our increasingly urban lives.

Binalonan plaza’s wide expanse is as expansive as the Central Plains around it. Philstar.com photo

By Monet Lu

Bohol’s most luxurious resort,‘Eskaya’: A sanctuary like no other

Richard and Phoebe Lim of Eskaya Resort

AFTEr having visited real, Quezon, Boracay and Bohol dur-ing my month-long vacation in the Philippines, I came to a conclu-sion that I am certain my friends (who came with me) would like-wise agree: my three-night stay at “Eskaya” in Panglao, Bohol is by far the best one ever.

Adding the fact that my recent vacation to the Philippines was indeed the most memorable and the one where, I admit, I enjoyed the most. Like any Balikbayan-Bakasyonista, my itinerary surely includes beaches. After all, we have one – if not the most– beau-tiful beaches in the world. one of my beach destinations is “Es-kaya.” I didn’t have a clue where and how famous the resort was until I saw it for myself. An invite stay at the resort was arranged by – and thanks to – my friends reu-ben and Janet Nepales, who are friends with Phoebe and richard Lim Sr.,, owners of Eskaya. I met them at the Golden Globe Awards 2 years ago

When I told my friends that I am invited to this heavenly sanctuary, it literally sent them into vacay-mode overdrive! (It was later brought to my attention that Eskaya is the most luxurious resort in the Philippines, not only in Bohol).

So off we went; six of us (Le-nit, Payat, Joel, Ero, oning and I). my friends kept telling me great things about the resort. It just dawned on me that the mere mention of its name would really cause anyone to pack up and go. Apparently, the resort bears such an esteemed reputation.

The entire place is just oozing with romantic ambiance and zen-like sceneries. Everything – from the sceneries, powdery sand beach front, top-notch facilities to the roofed villas, the food, the lush mountains and crystal-clear beach – is perfect.

According to one of the articles written about the resort, “After making an initial P200-million

investment in 2007, richard Lim Sr., who first made a fortune in salt and cement richard Lim Sr and his wife, Phoebe opened Eskaya’s first phase in 2009 consisting of 15 Filipino-inspired villas with semi-outdoor bath-rooms designed by [renowned] architect Bobby mañosa. Three of the couple’s four sons—ralph, richard Jr. and rex—have since joined the family enterprise.

Eskaya’s Architect, Francisco “Bobby” manosa designed the famed Amanpulo resort in Pala-wan, and is famous for using the nipa hut or bahay kubo as inspira-tion for his designs.

my eyes feasted over the sce-nic beach that boasts of powdery sand stretching up to five kilome-ters. It’s the best resort I’ve ever been to, bar none. We were ush-ered to our room which I believe is called the “Balai Datu,” or the Presidential suite. It is actually the largest villa. It has 6 spacious rooms and a view of the infin-ity pool. most of the villas have their own private pool, outdoor showers and whirlpool tubs, and a stunning view. By the way, the bathroom itself is already a treat! Even the complimentary toiletries are ‘branded’ (and I meant, Bul-gari- branded).

They also have the Handuraw Spa situated atop a hill overlook-ing the vast Bohol Sea, which offers traditional Filipino and Asian spa treatments. During our stay we were welcome to use all of these amenities, including the swim-up bar, mini library and sport facilities such as the golf cart, mountain bike, kayak and other water sports gears.

my favorite of all is the din-ing experience. All meals are included and guests can choose to dine under the stars by the poolside, or at the beachfront with a romantic bonfire, and the smell of food grills wafting through the air and mixing with the sea breeze, or simply enjoy the warm ambiance of Lantawan restaurant. The guests are also serenaded with wonderful music as they dine.

We had the pleasure of dining with the owner, richard Lim Sr. on our first night. He was gra-cious enough to accommodate my request for a short interview. He said he wants Eskaya to re-deem Bohol’s place in being a top tourist destination, after its slight decline in tourism caused by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in 2013. He spoke of plans to

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Atty. RobeRt Reevesben LovemAn nAncy e. miLLeR

Your ImmigrationSolution

USCIS reveals provisional waiver expansion coming soon

USCIS recently announced that it expects the expanded provi-sional waiver program to be open for business within the first part of 2016. Seeing as March is already upon us, it would seem the pro-visional waiver expansion could be here any day now. Before the expanded waiver program could go into effect, USCIS was required to publish proposed new regula-tions and allow time for public comment. At last announcement, USCIS was completing review of public comments and anticipated publishing the final rule shortly.

With the new rule and program expansion right around the cor-ner, now is a good time to take a look at the provisional waiver program and how the expansion of the program may be able to benefit you or your family. Im-portantly, the program expansion will open up the waiver to many applicants who previously could not qualify.

The provisional waiver is a rela-tively recent and much welcomed program for those subject to the 10-year bar for being unlawfully present in the United States for a year or more. The bar is invoked when one leaves the US so it affects those who are unable to adjust their status (meaning com-plete their immigration process in the US) Typical applicants include persons who entered the US to serve as crew members aboard a ship or airplane, persons who entered with fiancé visas but never married their fiancé petitioner, and persons who entered without papers.

For those eligible, it provides the opportunity to apply for a waiver before departing the US to consular process for their green card. Thus, the immigrant can remain with their family pending a decision on their waiver. Once the waiver is approved, the intending

immigrant leaves the United States with the confidence and relief that they will only be gone a short time and will be able to return as a law-ful permanent resident.

This process is a welcome contrast from the regular waiver process which requires applicants to depart the US and then apply for a waiver. Under that process, the person may be outside the US for at least six months while wait-ing for a decision on their waiver, which, of course, they hope will be favorable. That uncertainty has caused many people to forgo applying to legalize their status. The pain of being separated from their family for a long period of time and the possibility of denial was too great a risk. However, the provisional waiver process eliminates most of the uncertainty by allowing for pre-approval prior to departure from the US.

Originally, the provisional waiv-er only benefitted those who had petitions filed by by a US citizen spouse or child. However, the ex-pansion to the provisional waiver program will open it to another large group of potential applicants. The new open the program to all applicants eligible for immigrant visa processing. Thus, under the new regulation, all persons with an approved petition and available visa, regardless of visa category, will be eligible to participate in the provisional waiver program, if otherwise eligible. This means that those who have overstayed their authorized period of stay and have a visa petition filed on their behalf by a parent, sibling, or employer may be eligible to apply for the provisional waiver.

Of course, obtaining a provi-sional waiver still requires es-tablishing extreme hardship to a ‘qualifying relative’ which means a US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. Here too, there are some positive de-velopments. On October 7, 2015 USCIS disseminated a draft policy

memorandum which, if made ef-fective, will significantly impact the way the agency makes deci-sions on applications for ‘extreme hardship’ waivers. The new policy would impact all types of waiver applications, including provisional waivers for unlawful presence.The new policy will provide clarifica-tion and uniform instruction to USCIS officers as to the standard that should be used to decide what factors “strongly suggest and support a finding of ‘extreme hardship’”. Some of the factors identified include substantial dis-placement of care of applicant’s children, Travel Warnings against travel to country of residence, active military duty of qualifying relative, and prior grant of asylum or refugee status. Up until now, USCIS adjudicating officers have been inconsistent in the weight or significance they gave to these and other factors. With the new policy guidelines in effect, those whose provisional waivers were denied and who chose to remain in the United States and wait for better times, should consider re-applying. This could be that time for them.

If you or a loved one may benefit from the coming expan-sion to the provisional waiver program, you should contact an experienced immigration attorney to discuss your situation.

***Atty. Reeves has represented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regarding INS action and immigrants’ rights. His offices are located in Pasadena, Irvine, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Makati City. Telephone: (800) 795-8009 E-mail: immigration @rreeves.com Website: www.rreeves.com.

***The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representation that is essential to every case. (Advertising Supplement)

PhiLiP s. chuA,mD, FAcs, FPcs

Health@HeartCardiomyopathy: Causes of a flabby heart

What is cardiomyopathy?Cardiomyopathy is a serious

disease of the muscles of the heart, where they become en-larged, flabby, and weak, severely reducing the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. The heart may also be dilated (stretched out of shape) due to the loss of effective “recoil” contraction after it has relaxed open to ac-commodate the inflow of blood into its chambers. The inability to contract causes poor pump action and the backup of blood, with some degree of pooling, in the lungs and other vital organs. This leads to accumulation of the fluid in the lungs, liver, kidney and legs, among other parts. Most patients with dilated cardiomy-opathy end up with heart failure. The rhythm of the heartbeat may also be disrupted to a dangerous degree.

What is the incidence of ICM?

About 50,000 Americans have idiopathic cardiomyopathy (ICM). ICM is prevalent among young people unlike many other forms of heart diseases, and is by far the leading indication for heart trans-plantation, closely followed by cardiomyopathy from end-stage coronary heart disease, where even coronary bypass surgery can no longer be done. The disease is usually progressive, and in many cases, it gets worse rapidly.

What causes cardiomyopa-thy?

The muscle damage could be caused by coronary artery disease, such as heart attacks (the ischemic type). Most car-diomyopathies (the non-ischemic variety, which is subclassified as dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive) are called idiopathic, where the cause of the damage is unknown. However, there are some factors which have been implicated, among them are: diabetes, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, illegal drugs (i.e. cocaine), infections (usually

Bohol’s most luxurious resort...expand in order to appeal to their high-end clientele.

As of writing, the plans for expansion includes construction of 9 more villas from the 15 that they have. They plan to have 24 villas and 60 more deluxe rooms. There are also plans to put up resorts in Palawan, Tagaytay and other areas outside of Bohol where tourism is currently on the

viral) leading to inflammation of the heart muscles (myocarditis), toxins (like cobalt, once used in beers), some pregnancies, and uncommonly, heredity. Some prescription medications and particular anti-cancer agents (like doxorubicin and daunorubicin) have caused cardiomyopathy too in some patients.

What are the symptoms? Dilated cardiomyopathy may

be present for years without symptoms. However, in due course, the heart gradually weak-ens and enlarges. The symptoms and signs are those of congestive heart failure: progressive short-ness of breath, fatigue, weakness, coughing spells, especially when lying down, or, after physical ex-ertion, a sense of drowning due to lung congestion, edema (swell-ing) of the feet and legs, abnormal weight gain from fluid retention. Advanced stages of cardiomyopa-thy can cause severe heart failure, with chest and/or abdominal pains, and serious arrhythmia (ir-regularity of the heartbeat), which can be life-threatening. Sudden deaths have been reported among these cases.

how is the diagnosis made?In the majority of cases, an as-

tute clinician can make a tentative diagnosis based on the patient’s medical history and physical ex-amination. However, it behooves the attending physician to dif-ferentiate this from various other heart conditions that cause heart failure. In general, the following are done: chest X-ray, electrocar-diogram and echocardiogram. The more specific tests which may be needed include radio-nuclide ventriculogram and/or cardiac catheterization.

What is the treatment for cardiomyopathy?

Early diagnosis of cardio-myopathy is not easy; many patients are seen when they are at the beginning or already have full-blown heart failure, in the advanced stage of the disease. The principle of treatment is to control the symptoms of heart failure, manage causal or com-plicating factors (like alcohol intake, smoking, etc.) to minimize the progression of the disease. Weight control and dietary chang-es, especially salt restriction, is a beneficial part of therapy. There is no cure for cardiomyopathy. For those who are under 60 years of

age, otherwise healthy, and who satisfy the other criteria for heart transplantation, this procedure is the only viable alternative.

What is the prognosis of car-diomyopathy?

The disease is progressive and as time goes by, the heart continues to enlarge and get weaker, and the efficiency of the cardiac pumping diminishes. As a consequence, some individuals with this disease are unable to do even simple physical activities, such as walking, and, in severe cases, even talking long sentenc-es without being short of breath. Some luckier patients, who are disciplined and under regular medical care, remain fairly stable for years. Since patients are usu-ally seen in their advanced stage of cardiomyopathy, about 50 percent with dilated heart live five years, and about 25 percent sur-vive 10 years, after the diagnosis of heart failure is made.

how beneficial is heart trans-plant?

Survival is greatly improved with cardiac transplantation. About 75 percent of these pa-tients live five years or longer af-ter the transplant. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of heart donors (only about 2000 per year in the US) and those who satisfy the criteria have to wait for months or years, many of them dying before the donors’ hearts are available. A few, somehow, have improved while waiting, and are taken off the transplant list.

What are LVaDs?These are left ventricular as-

sist devices (LVADs) -- small implanted mechanical pumps -- that are used as a “bridge” to heart transplantation. They are temporary pumps that circulate blood, partly taking over the work of the failing heart, allowing the heart to “rest a little,” while wait-ing for a donor’s heart.

***Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac

Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

upswingWell, I bet they would need

the expansion especially this summer. I can go on and on about how beautiful Eskaya is but there’s only one way to find out. And like me, expect to be mes-merized by this sanctuary that is just incomparably magnificent.

***Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-

winning celebrity beauty stylist with his

own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration. To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at monetsalon@aol.com

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Eagle Rock High School Monthly Open House Tours laureate Open House Tours, from 8-10am during the spring semester on Friday, April

1. Eagle Rock Junior/Senior High School serves students in grades 7-12, and was the first school in the LAUSD to be authorized to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (grades 7-10) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (grades 11-12), a project-based program for concept and content-based learn-ing to promote global mindedness and service to others. The IB Open House is open to all interested students, and will include an introductory presentation in the ERHS library, followed by campus tours, classroom visits, and a short question-and-answer period. To register for the Open Houses, please visit www.erhs.la, and click on the “IB Open House Registration” link. Please email Mylene Keipp mylene.keipp@lausd.net for more informa-tion. We look forward to your visit!

APRIL 1

Prisoners of War Day at the Filipino Veterans Education CenterAll WWII veterans and families, please join us as we commemorate the historic 74than-

niversary of Prisoners of War Day and the Fall of Bataan, the Day of Valor, on Saturday, April 9th. In the spirit of reconciliation, friendship and international cooperation, let us leave the past behind us as we move forward with joined hands to attain peace for all mankind. The formal Commemoration and remembrance ceremony will start at 2:00pm in the Filipino Veterans Education Center, at the War Memorial Performing Arts Veterans Building (401 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94102). This event is open to the public. Please RSVP RudyAsercion@gmail.com; naffaasf@gmail.com. Tel: 415 564 6262.

APRIL 9

Pilgrimages to Eastern Europe, Mexico and IndiaAmazing Pilgrimages for the Jubilee Year of Mercy! All are welcome to join Fr. Joe

Joseph of Holy Trinity Church for the spiritual and fun-filled experiences of EASTERN EU-ROPE (April 17- 30): Poland, Czech., Austria, Hungary, Medjugorje; COLONIAL MEXICO/OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE (June 20 - 27): Mexico City, Theotihuacan, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Ocotlan, Xochimilco, Guanajuato, San Miguel De Allende, Guadalajara, San Juan De Los Lagos, Cristo Rey, Zapopan, Tonala; and INDIA (September 15 - 29): Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kerala. For more pilgrimage information and detailed flyers, please contact Berna-dette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com OR call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

APRIL — SEPTEmBER

PUP/PCC to hold 1st Global ReunionAttention all graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philip-

pine College of Commerce: join us in our FIRST GLOBAL REUNION being organized by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Alumni Association, USA Inc. scheduled on May 27-29, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. We promise a weekend of fun-filled activities, of friendship and camaraderie as we reminisce our best memories during our high school and college days. There will be lots of entertain-ment, singing and dancing and photo opportunities with your classmates and friends.

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 orloiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 orMonette_san-tillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 or marispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 orhoney@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 orvee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

mAY 27-29

Piyesta Pinoy BolingbrookPlease join us on Saturday, June 4 for the 3rd Philippine Fest Celebration (Piyesta Pinoy

sa Bolingbrook) at the beautiful Bolingbrook Performing Arts Center (375 W. Briarcliff Rd. Bolingbrook, IL). This year’s event will include a variety of food vendors, business, merchan-dise, and non-profit organizations, as well as hours of dance, games, and musical entertain-ment, including special guest performances. The Philippine American Cultural Foundation (PACF) is proud to promote and share our rich Filipino cultural heritage and traditions in America. Your participation and support are always valuable and critical to the survival of PACF and its programs. For more information, or to volunteer, perform, exhibit, or donate, please visit www.piyestapinoy.net,

JUNE 4

FREE Citizenship Workshop in Los AngelesOn Saturday, March 26, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles will help local

green card holders take the first step towards becoming citizens through a free event as part of the New Americans Campaign. This workshop will provide lawful permanent resi-dents with free naturalization application assistance by professional and trained volunteers. Legal counsel by probono attorneys and legal experts will be available. Services are avail-able in English, Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and Spanish.

WHAT: Free Citizenship Workshop WHERE: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, 1145 Wilshire Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90017WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 2016 at 9:00 am RSVP: Registration for this workshop is required. For more information and to register,

call 888-349-9695

mARch 26

An Evening with Jose Antonio VargasFilipino American, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Var-

gas will be speaking at Pasadena City College (1570 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA) on Monday, March 28, from 6 to 8 pm in Sexson Auditorium at the Pasadena City College. Vargas’ work centers on advocating for undocumented immigrants, and in June 2011, through The New York Times Magazine, he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, Vargas appeared on the cover of TIME maga-zine worldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote. Now, he is the head of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organiza-tion that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America. We excited to bring this speaker to campus and we hope that you will join us. Doors open at 5pm. This event is open to the public and tickets are FREE, so please feel free to share with your networks! Tickets are available at http://joseavargas-mar28.eventbrite.com/

mARch 28

Chino Hills Multicultural FestivalInspired by last year’s successful celebration of the community’s diversity, the Rotary

Club of Greater Chino Hills Foundation will host its second Multicultural Festival on Satur-day, April 23, from 3 to 9 pm, at the Chino Hills Community Center (14250 Peyton Drive, Chino Hills, CA 91709). Admission is free. There will be food booths, live entertainment, music, dance and performances by an array of participants. Sponsorship and advertisement packages are available for non-profit organizations to fundraise, and for businesses inter-ested in market their products and services. For more information, contact rotary.chino-hills@gmail.com or visit www.chinohillsrotaryclub.org. Contact: Ted Alvarez (909) 456-0359, tedalvarez@verizon.net; Tessie Lightholder (909) 576-4152,tessielightholder@gmail.com, or Ginny Mondonedo (951) 212-4624, vmondonedo55@gmail.com.

APRIL 23

COSC celebrates 27th Anniversary The Candonians of Southern California (COSC), under the leadership of their newly

elected president, Mrs. Elizabeth Gacula Singh, will celebrate their 27th Anniversary on April 30 at the Doubletree Hotel-Monrovia (924 W. Huntington Dr., Monrovia). Music will be provided by The Midnight Motion Band. For questions and those interested, please email thecandoniansofsocal@gmail.com.

APRIL 30

PAGE B4

march 24-30, 2016 • LaS VEGaS aSIaN JOUrNaL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678B� Features

City Of Las Vegas Day camps and swimming pool programs/lessons begin in June

MonetteAdevA MAglAyA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

THE practice of deferred grat-ification is a painful one. And who wants pain? It means let-ting go of the perceived whim-sical, multiple yet tiny pleasures of the moment over a length of time in order to be in a financial position to afford the more sig-nificant purchases in one’s life.

It involves avoiding spending money on trivialities in order to save and accumulate substantial sums for the really important things in life — like being able to afford to have more time to do the things one likes to do: study, travel, paint, dance, write and a host of other things that one would have liked to do if there was time enough. In the mun-dane world, it means quite sim-ply, to be able to afford to buy what he believes to be important to his life, whatever these may be.

Deferring gratification in-volves discipline, patience and sacrifice and having to make do with what one has and forgoing the things one wants right at that moment. Our natural tendency is to get the things that we want right at this moment to satisfy a whim or placate that impatient part of ourselves — even if we have to go into debt to do it.

Most trailblazing, first genera-tion immigrants who have had to start from scratch and have had to make do during the early part of their immigrant lives, do not have a problem with sacrifice. It is part of who they are and what has made them strong and resil-

The art of deferring gratification“In the world of ordinary, earned money, it is not what you make that counts, it is what you get to keep.”

ient in the face of adversity. The supreme irony is that pa-

tience as a virtue is not some-thing that is automatically, ge-netically passed down to young people. We all have a natural aversion for pain and sacri-fice yet this feeling is strongest among the young ones in an af-fluent society.

Teaching a person to save and not spend all the money that he has in one fell swoop in consum-able, useless, mere image-build-ing items is done best at a very young age. Parents who suc-ceed in teaching their children to save even small amounts of money will have laid one of the basic foundations of building character in a young person.

The way to save money has al-ways been to pay one’s self first and accumulate small amounts prodigiously over a length of time. In the world of ordinary, earned money, it is not what you make that counts, it is what you get to keep.

Out of any amount earned, won or received, and before buying anything, a minimum of 10% is taken out and is socked away in a savings account that should earn interest. In some cultures, parents teach their children to put away 20% or more of whatever money their children receive. This account is maintained and added to on

a regular basis and kept until it reaches a critical mass and can then be placed in safe fi-nancial instruments for longer terms that can earn compound interest. This practice teaches patience and a healthy respect for saving money over time and keeps a run-away consumer frame of mind in check.

Be warned that at certain points, young people will be tempted to spend it all on one big purchase that they feel is some-thing that they need or they may feel like giving it all away on a worthy cause. It is their money after all and they should be able to do so. Their decision to spend it all after they have taken the time and the effort to save it can provide them one valuable learning experience about how to make judgment calls when it comes to money.

The idea is to start them think-ing and developing the disci-pline of paying one’s self first with any amount of money they earn or receive as a gift. They will begin to regard small bits of money as tiny droplets that in time can form a pond or a lake that is ready to be tapped when a really important need arises.

* * *Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

Las Vegas celebrates grand opening of Valley’s first Ronald McDonald Family

Room at Sunrise Children’s HospitalKeeping Families Closer Than Ever

LAS VEGAS—Ronald McDon-ald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas, McDonald’s Owner-Opera-tors, Sunrise Children’s Hospital, community leaders, and Ronald McDonald himself, gathered on Wednesday morning as we cut the ribbon and welcomed our first families into the Ronald McDon-ald Family Room.

Kris Engelstad McGarry pre-sented Executive Director Alyson McCarthy with a gift of $185,000 on behalf of the Engelstad Family Foundation. Larry Johnson of the Del E. Webb Foundation was also in attendance and presented a check for $30,000. RMHC is able to bring comfort and care directly

to the families where they need it most – right on hospital grounds - due to the support of Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Speedway Children’s Charities, NV Energy, Lexus of Las Vegas, and numerous other community supporters.

Having a critically ill or injured child in the hospital puts an enormous emotional, physical, and financial strain on families. “The only thing on these parents’ minds is their child’s recovery, and they will often go days, even weeks, without a full night’s sleep or a healthy meal,” said Alyson McCarthy, Executive Di-rector of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas.

“This new Fam-ily Room will provide these families in crisis with a peaceful and supportive place to eat, sleep, shower, nap, and relax -- away from the critical care en-vironment, yet right down the hall from their b a b y ’s b e d -side.”

B e l i e v i n g that every child

deserves a safe and supportive place to grow, Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) of Greater Las Vegas creates and supports programs that directly improve the health, education and well-being of children in our community. We fulfill our mission by providing a home-away-from-home at the Ronald McDonald House® for families who travel to Las Vegas to receive critical medical treatment for their chil-dren, and manage programs that service the immediate needs of children and families in our com-munity. For more information on RMHC of Greater Las Vegas, visit www.rmhlv.org.

Summer camp and pool programs registration opens on April 11

KEEP the kids active during summer vacation with summer day camps offered at six city of Las Vegas community centers. Save the date to reserve your spot at summer day camp, swim lessons or pool sports teams. Online registration at www.las-vegasparksandrec.com for both activities starts April 11 at 9 a.m. Click on “Camps” or “Aquatics.” Walk-in registration at the com-munity centers below will start April 13 at 9 a.m. Registration will continue until camps are full; some camps fill on the first day. Day camp hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., except at East Las Vegas, which will be 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Summer camp is scheduled Monday-Friday, June 6-Aug. 19, with no camp July 4. Cimarron Rose and Mirabelli also will offer camp Aug. 22-26. There will be specialized activities each week focusing on sports, science, art, dance and more. The types of summer camps include Tot Camp (4-and 5-year-olds who have not completed kindergarten), Kids Camp (ages 5-11 and have com-pleted kindergarten), Teen Camp (ages 12-15), Teen Adventure Camp (12-15) and a Counselor-in-Training program (ages 15+). Prices for camps vary by location. Mirabelli and Veterans Memorial will offer specialty themed-week camps. Mirabelli also will offer Elite camps. See the Mirabelli and Veterans Memorial camp lists. Teen Adventure Camp is new this year and will feature bus trips to fascinating spots all over Southern

Nevada Tuesday-Thursday. This camp is offered only at Mirabelli and Cimarron Rose. Call centers for details.

Adaptive Recreation at ELVCC, 250 N. Eastern Ave., 702-229-4900; (ages 5-21); $100/week.

Cimarron Rose Community Center, 5591 N. Cimarron Road, 702-229-1607; (ages 5+); $100/week.

Doolittle Community Center, 1950 N. J St., 702-229-6374; (ages 5+); $75/week.

East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., 702-229-1515; (ages 5-11); $100/week.

Mirabelli Community Center, 6200 Hargrove Ave., 702-229-6359; (ages 4+); $150-$200/week.

Stupak Community Center, 251 W. Boston Ave., 702-229-2488; (ages 4+); $35 half-day tot camp; $75/week full-day ages 5+.

Veterans Memorial Leisure Services Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive, 702-229-1100; (ages 5+); $150/week.

Splash right into summer with “Learn to Swim” lessons at all city of Las Vegas pools. Swim lessons begin in June, with varying start dates depending on the type of “Learn to Swim” classes taken. Children can be registered for lessons in a group setting for $30 ($5 at select pools), semi-private for $65 or private for $125.

Registration for all youth team summer pool programs begins April 11, including synchronized swimming, water polo, competi-

tive swim and diving teams for ages 7-17. Aquatics team pro-grams are available at all city pools, priced at $35 per youth for the entire 10 weeks. Municipal Pool and Pavilion Center Pool are open year-round; all other pools are open during the sum-mer only.

Municipal Pool, 431 E. Bo-nanza Road, 702-229-6309.

Pavilion Center Pool, 101 S. Pavilion Center Drive, 702-229-1488.

Baker Pool, 1100 E. St. Louis Ave., 702-229-1532.

Carlos L. Martinez & Darrio J. Hall Family Pool at Gary Reese Freedom Park, 889 N. Pecos Road, 702-229-1755.

Doolittle Pool, 1950 N. J St., 702-229-6398.

Garside Pool, 250 S. Torrey Pines Drive, 702-229-6393.

Pavilion Center Pool will offer Junior Lifeguarding Camp, Mon-day-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $150/week for youth ages 11-14. This is an American Red Cross program in which successful par-ticipants will earn essential pool lifesaving skills and Junior Life-guarding certification. Camp will be offered June 20-24, July 11-15, 25-29, Aug. 8-12 and 22-26.

For more information, call 702-229-PLAY or one of the community centers or the Mu-nicipal/Pavilion Center pool listed above. Financial assistance is available for qualified families. Ask for a financial assistance ap-plication at the center you wish to attend.

NSHE Board of Regents grants tenureLAS VEGAS—In March, the

Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education granted promotion and tenure to University of Nevada Cooperative Extension faculty YaeBin Kim, Ph.D. During the Regents meet-ing, Kim was also promoted to Associate Professor.

Kim joined Cooperative Exten-sion’s Children, Youth & Families team in 2010 as a specialist in Parenting Education and Family Literacy. Kim received a Master’s Degree in Seoul, Korea, and a doctorate in Child Development & Human Studies from the Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Madison.

University of Nevada Coopera-tive Extension is the College of the University of Nevada, Reno that is engaged in every Nevada county, presenting research-based knowledge to address critical community needs. It is a county-state-federal partnership providing practical education to people, businesses and com-munities. For more information on its programs, visit www.unce.unr.edu.

Nevada’s land-grant university founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno ranks in the top tier of best national universities by US News and World Report and is steadily growing in enrollment, excellence and reputation.

The University serves nearly 21,000 students. Part of the Ne-vada System of Higher Educa-tion, the University is home to the University of Nevada School of Medicine, University of Ne-vada Cooperative Extension and

Wolf Pack Athletics. Through a commitment to world-improving research, student success and outreach benefiting the communi-ties and businesses of Nevada, the University has impact across the state and around the world.

YaeBin Kim, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of Cooperative Extension

(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • mARch 24-30, 2016 B�Features

Obama highlights Cox’s leadership in internet access for low-income students and familiesCox Las Vegas is integral component of plan to connect 100,000 low-income Americans to Connect2Compete Program in 2016

PRESIDENT Barack Obama recently unveiled ConnectALL, an initiative to help Americans from across the country, at every income level, get online and have the tools to take full advantage of the Internet. As part of the announcement, Cox Communications was recognized for new investments it is making in Connect-2Compete, its discounted Internet service program for low-income K-12 families.

“Today’s digital classrooms are tomorrow’s connected businesses. The investments we are making in closing the digital divide help ensure our stu-dents are prepared for their careers and life-long success after school,” said Mike Bolognini, vice president and market leader of Cox Communications of Las Vegas. “Together with partners like Uni-vision, we are committed to closing the homework gap for all students, no matter where they live.”

With a focus on making the process even easier for every eligible low-income family with K-12 children in its foot-

print, the company will host more than 200 events across the country in 2016, signing up at least 100,000 low-income Americans for the program. Later this year, the company will launch a media campaign in partnership with Univision, promoting discounted internet service and digital literacy tools available to Hispanic families through Univision’s stations and across Cox’s media proper-ties. The campaign will reach Cox’s six million customers nationwide through live programming, public service an-nouncements and community events in such markets as Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego.

In Southern Nevada, Cox Las Vegas announced its Connect2Compete kick-off during a June 20, 2013 press conference at the Henderson Boys & Girls Club, Boyd Unit. Since then, Cox Las Vegas has con-nected thousands of low-income families through the program. Connect2Compete provides eligible families with at least one K-12 child enrolled in the National School

Lunch Program access to high-speed Internet service for only $9.95 per month for up to two years. A broadband modem providing in-home Wi-Fi access and pro-fessional installation are also included at no charge. In addition, through a host of hardware and software partners, Con-nect2Compete is providing the oppor-tunity to purchase new and refurbished computers for under $200.

Cox is a founding partner of the Connect2Compete program, and has connected nearly 160,000 people to the Internet in the last four years. K-12 fami-lies who are eligible for the National Free School Lunch program, TANF and SNAP benefits are eligible. Public housing resi-dents in Macon, Georgia; Meriden, Conn.; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La. also are eligible through the company’s sup-port of ConnectHome, the US Housing and Urban Development pilot program that seeks to increase Internet adoption among public housing residents.

Connect2Compete is promoted in

partnership with dozens of community organizations, agencies and community leaders across the company’s 18-state footprint. The company’s public service campaign focuses on the impact the Internet has on school performance. ”Smart Tools for School” is a campaign that shows how Internet access at home can boost confidence and curiosity, ultimately increasing classroom per-formance.

In addition to providing access to Internet service in the home, Cox has been a National Technology Partner of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than a decade, funding more than 75 Cox Technology Centers – including five Cox Technology Centers in Southern Nevada – across its 18-state footprint. Its commercial services division, Cox Business, provides Internet services to more than 7,400 schools serving 4 mil-lion students.

Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment com-

pany, providing advanced digital video, Internet, telephone and home security and automation services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-larg-est U.S. cable TV company, Cox serves approximately 6 million residences and businesses. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and digital media advertising. Cox is known for its pioneering efforts in cable telephone and commercial services, industry-leading customer care and its outstanding work-places. For eight years, Cox has been recognized as the top operator for women by Women in Cable Telecommunications; Cox has ranked among DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity nine times, including the last eight years. More in-formation about Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enter-prises, is available at www.cox.com and www.coxmedia.com.

IF YOU ask actor John Arcilla, this latest honor is the most un-forgettable award he has ever received so far.

Arcilla and the other crew members of the historical epic film, “Heneral Luna,” were feted at the Camp General Antonio Luna in Limay, Bataan, on March 8.

“Camp Luna is also known as the Government Arsenal, an agency under the Department of National Defense,” Arcilla told the Inquirer. “It is where all the ammunition in the Philippines is manufactured.”

Team “Heneral Luna” received a rousing welcome from the camp’s officials, led by Amelita Q. Omadto and Major Don de Dios.

They were greeted by drum roll, trumpet-playing and a gun salute.

Organizers awarded General Luna statuettes to producer Fer-nando Ortigas, scriptwriter Ed Rocha, director Jerrold Tarog and Arcilla.

“The organizers told us that the General Luna award is the highest honor given by the Government Arsenal,” Arcilla related. “It was the first time that it was given to people who are not government officials.”

The organizers wanted to rec-ognize the film’s unique achieve-

Unforgettable award for ‘Heneral Luna’by Bayani San Diego Jr.

Inquirer.net

ments—particularly, in reinvigo-rating nationalism, especially among the youth, he said.

Arcilla, who toured the com-pound and the museum with costar Alvin Anson and other “Heneral Luna” staffers, scored a selfie with a huge solid brass statue of his screen alter ego.

“The officers saluted me as

if I were a real general,” he re-counted. “I got misty-eyed, over-whelmed by a sense of joy, grati-tude and pride.”

Arcilla was also nominated for best actor and “Heneral Luna” for best production design and costume at the 10th Asian Film Awards, held in Macau on March 17.

Jake Cuenca: Arci Muñoz not causeof breakup with American girl friend

ACTOR Jake Cuenca has denied that Arci Muñoz, his screen partner in the recently concluded TV series, “Pasion de Amor,” was the cause of his breakup with his American girlfriend, Sara Grace Kelly.

The 28-year-old actor said the fact that he had several kissing scenes with Arci “never became an issue with her (Sara Grace).”

“Yes, we discussed it (kissing scenes), but she was never jealous of Arci. They even met each other,” he recalled. “[However], she did admit to feeling uncomfortable, seeing her boyfriend kissing some-one on TV.”

He cited “unresolved conflicts” in their long-distance relationship as the reason Sara Grace decided to call it quits. The 20-year-old fashion model is based in the United States.

“This relationship affected me differently,” Jake confessed at a recent luncheon organized by the clothing brand Guitar, which he endorses. “Compared to my previ-ous breakups—[when] I was happy to be single again and to finally go out and party—this time, I just want to stay home and be alone. I just don’t see myself in another relationship right now. I have to rest first.”

Cuenca said what made his relationship with Sara Grace spe-cial was that “in the beginning,

she didn’t know I was an actor. She made an effort to really know me.”

But their relationship didn’t work because “I guess the timing was not right,” Jake said.

The actor added: “I still have to learn from this experience, something that I will be able to ap-ply to the next relationship. That’s actually what’s sad about breakups, you don’t get to apply what you’ve learned to the person you really love.”

The actor said he didn’t have the heart to ask Sarah Grace to stay with him in the Philippines because she is still young “and also

has dreams of her own. She liked me because I was able to show her that she can eventually achieve her dreams, that she only has to believe in herself. I couldn’t ask her to just stay with me, because she also has a family to take care of.”

In the beginning, the ABS-CBN star said he had hoped to balance work and flying to the States to be with his girlfriend. “But there were situations I couldn’t control, like the airing of ‘Pasion’ getting extended several times. My plans got delayed, and the problems that could have been easily resolved had we been together here weren’t resolved.” (Inquirer.net)

John Arcilla

Jake Cuenca and Arci Muñoz

march 24-30, 2016 • LaS VEGaS aSIaN JOUrNaL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678B�