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Volume 26 - No. 47 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

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ASEAN COMMUNITY. President Benigno S. Aquino III links arms with Republic of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Kingdom of Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Socialist Republic of Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Lao People’s Democratic Republic Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Kingdom of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, Republic of Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Republic of the Union of Myanmar President Thein Sein for a group photo before the signing ceremony of the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the establishment of the ASEAN Community and the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre during the 27th ASEAN Summit on Sunday, Nov. 22. Malacañang photo by Benhur Arcayan

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US issues travel advisory amid global terror threat

Duterte on presidential bid: ‘The die is cast’

by Jose KatigbaK Philstar.com

ASEAN creates unified economic community

Fil-Am doctor to open endoscopy surgicenter in Southern Nevada

WAshINGtoN—the Us state De-partment issued a worldwide travel alert on monday, Nov. 23 alerting American citizens to possible risks of travel due to increased terrorist threats in the wake of the coordinated assaults in Paris and the recent attack in Bamako, mali.

As millions of Americans prepare to travel for the Us thanksgiving holiday

on thursday, Nov. 24, the agency said potential attackers could target private or government interests.

the department did not advise people against travel but said Us citizens should be vigilant, especially in crowded places.

the state Department has regularly issued such worldwide travel alerts since the sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United states. A state Department official said

the latest alert, which expires feb. 24, effectively updated past warnings.

In the statement on its website, the state Department said: “Current infor-mation suggests that (Islamic state), al-Qaeda, Boko haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions.”

Although it did not mention the Nov. 13 Paris attacks claimed by the Islamic state (Is) group in which 130 died, the

department noted that militants had carried out attacks in france, Nigeria, Denmark, turkey and mali during the past year.

“Authorities believe the likelihood of terror attacks will continue as members of (Islamic state) return from syria and Iraq,” it said. “Additionally, there is a con-tinuing threat from unaffiliated persons planning attacks inspired by major ter-

KUALA LUmPUr—thir-teen years after mooting the idea, southeast Asian leaders on sunday, Nov. 22 formally created a unified economic community in a region more populous and diverse than both the european Union and North America, and one that hopes to compete with China and India.

the 10 leaders in the As-sociation of southeast Asian Nations (AseAN) signed a declaration during their sum-

mit establishing the AseAN economic Community (AeC), as part of a larger AseAN Community that aims for political, security, cultural and social integration.

the summit’s host, Prime minister Najib razak of ma-laysia, hailed the AseAN Community as a “landmark achievement,” and urged members to accelerate in-tegration. “the region is primed to expand exponen-

the sole filipino-Ameri-can gastroenterologist in southern Nevada, Dr. Noel fajardo, is set to unveil a new, state-of-the-art endos-copy surgicenter in the re-gion this December.

LV surgery Center will be the first surgicenter accred-ited and approved by the Ne-vada Department of health following a 2008 outbreak of hepatitis that was linked to colonoscopy centers that were reusing syringes and anesthesia vials with multiple patients.

“When we decided to put up an endoscopy or surgery center geared toward endos-copies, we wanted to be the first one that would provide the best care. And that’s why,

by agnes ConstanteAJPress

Dr. Noel Fajardo, the only Filipino-American gastroenterologist in Southern Nevada Photo courtesy of

Las Vegas Gastroenterology

Seals tandem with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as VP for 2016by MiKe Frialde

Philstar.com

mANILA—After blowing hot and cold for several months, Davao City mayor rodrigo Duterte announced on monday, Nov. 23 that he had made up his mind and would run for president in 2016, with sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as his running mate.

“the die is cast. I have crossed the rubicon river. rubicon is a bridge toward slaughter, according to Julius Ceasar,” Duterte said when asked if he was still having second thoughts.

Duterte told reporters in san Juan City that he would confer with the leadership of his party, the Partido

Vice presidential contender Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano bows to his guest, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, during the senator’s 45th birthday party in Taguig City. Inquirer.net photo by Richard Reyes

Maguindanao massacre: Slow pace of justice dismays int’l media group

the WorLD is dismayed at the slow pace of justice in the maguindanao massacre.

“Justice remains elusive,” the International freedom of expres-

sion exchange (Ifex) said in a statement.

Ifex is a montreal-based net-work of 104 organizations cam-

RELIVING THE HORROR. A Tamaraw FX vehicle with license Plate No. UTG 234 is recovered from a shallow grave where the bodies of at least 50 of 58 victims of the Nov. 23, 2009, Maguindanao massacre have been found in Datu Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province. Inquirer.net photo by Rem Zamora

Asian American lawmakers oppose House vote halting Syrian refugees

DesPIte the house of representa-tives’ swift vote last week that would halt President Barack obama’s program to admit syrian refugees into the Unit-ed states, the large majority of Asian-American members of Congress voted against the bill, arguing that it went against basic American values.

“No refugees [on American soil] have committed a terrorist act,” rep. ted Lieu (D-Calif.) told NBC News. “If you look at what happened in Paris, those attacks were committed by french na-tionals and Belgian citizens. so by the republican logic you should be banning travel to the United states by french and Belgians. And if that sounds ridicu-lous, so should the idea of scapegoating syrian orphans, widows, and senior citi-zens fleeing persecution.”

Clinton proposes tax break for family caregivers

DemoCrAtIC presidential candidate hillary Clinton on sunday, Nov. 22, pro-posed a new tax credit offsetting up to $6,000 in costs for middle-class fami-lies who care for their aging parents or grandparents and disabled family mem-bers.

“We need to recognize the value of the work that caregivers give to all of us, both those who are paid and the great number who are unpaid,” Clinton told a crowd of more than 400 gathered at a town hall-style meeting in Iowa on sun-day, according to the Associated Press.

her proposal, the latest in a series geared toward America’s middle class, seeks a credit to 20 percent of up to $6,000 in caregiving costs for a total savings of up to $1,200. It also calls for providing caregivers with additional social security benefits, and reforming work-family policies to support paid and unpaid caregivers, a Clinton aide said.

from a Department of health perspective, meaning [the] Nevada state Department of health, we were closely

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From The FronT Page

US issues travel advisory...PAGE A1

rorist organizations but conducted on an individual basis.”

France and Belgium have launched a manhunt following the attacks in Paris, with a focus on Brussels barkeeper Salah Abdeslam, 26, who returned to the city from Paris hours after the attacks and is still at large.

Abdeslam’s mobile phone was detected after the attacks in the 18th district in the north of Paris, near an abandoned car that he had rented, and then later in Chatillon in the south, a source close to the investigation said.

Detectives were examining what appeared to be an explosive belt found in a litter bin in the town of Montrouge, south of the capital and not far from Chatillon.

The source said it was too soon to say whether the belt had been in contact with Abdeslam, whose elder brother blew himself up during the gun and suicide bomb attacks.

One theory was that Abdeslam had intended to blow himself up in the 18th district but had aban-doned the plan, although it was not clear why.

“Maybe he had a technical problem with his explosive belt,” a police source said.

Fearing an imminent threat of a Paris-style attack, Belgium ex-tended a maximum security alert in Brussels for a week but said the metro system and schools could reopen on Wednesday.

“We are still confronted with the threat we were facing yesterday,” Prime Minister Charles Michel said. Potential targets remained

shopping areas and public trans-port.

Belgium has been at the heart of investigations into the Paris attacks since French law en-forcement bodies said two of the suicide bombers had lived there. Three people have been charged in Belgium with terrorist offences, including two who traveled back with Abdeslam from Brussels.

Soldiers patrol BrusselsAs authorities tried to estab-

lish Abdeslam’s movements and whereabouts, a source said he traveled through Italy in August with a companion, but his pres-ence caused no alarm because he was not a wanted man at the time.

His companion was Ahmet Dahmani, a Belgian man of Mo-roccan origin who was arrested in Turkey last week on suspicion of involvement in the Paris attacks, the investigative source said.

In Belgium, prosecutors said they had charged a fourth person with terrorist offences linked to the Paris attacks.

They released all 15 others de-tained in police raids on Sunday. Two of five people detained on Monday were also released while the other three had their custody prolonged.

Soldiers patrolled the streets of Brussels, the bustling European Union capital, which has been in lockdown since Saturday.

On the Grand Place, a historic central square that usually draws crowds of tourists, an armored military vehicle was parked under an illuminated Christmas tree.

NATO, which raised its alert

level after the Paris attacks, said its headquarters in the city were open, but some staff had been asked to work from home. EU institutions were also open with soldiers patrolling outside.

Interior Minister Jan Jambon told RTL radio, however, that the capital was still operating. “Apart from the closed metro and schools, life goes on in Brussels,” he said.

Workers were also setting up stalls for the city center Christmas market, which is due to open on Friday, and organizers of the Davis Cup tennis final between Belgium and Britain in the city of Ghent, 55 kms from the capital, said it would go ahead this weekend.

Aircraft carrierFrench jets from the Charles

de Gaulle aircraft carrier struck IS targets in Iraq and Syria on Monday, while Britain offered France the use of an air base in Cyprus to hit the militants behind the Paris attacks.

French President Francois Hol-lande met British Prime Minister David Cameron in Paris as part of efforts to rally support for the fight against IS. Hollande is also due to visit Washington and Moscow this week. The French president and US President Barack Obama will hold a joint news conference on Tuesday morning, the White House said.

French jets taking off from the country’s flagship in the eastern Mediterranean destroyed targets in Ramadi and Mosul in Iraq on Monday in support of Iraqi forces on the ground, the French armed forces said in a statement.

ASEAN creates unified economic...tially,” he said.

In his opening speech at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III said the establish-ment of the ASEAN Community “signals to the world that a stron-ger ASEAN will be an enduring mainstream built on solidarity and communal progress.”

The AEC is already a reality and many of its fundamentals have been applied in the region, including the removal of tariff barriers and visa restrictions. It has also led to greater political and cultural cooperation.

The AEC will bolster income and employment, and provide the region with stronger economic muscle in facing the other gi-ants, said Michael G. Plummer, a professor of international eco-nomics at the Europe Center of Johns Hopkins University, based in Bologna, Italy.

“ASEAN integration will help balance the economic power of China and India,” Plummer said. “Individually, ASEAN countries are, perhaps, too small to be im-portant players in the economic and security game, but as an in-tegrated group of more than half a billion people, they would be in the major league.”

A long way to goBut there is a long way to go

before the AEC becomes fully functional after becoming a legal entity on Dec. 31. The region’s diversity can sometimes be a hindrance.

ASEAN has 630 million people, speaking different languages, following various faiths and gov-erned by various systems, includ-ing rambunctious democracies, a military dictatorship, quasi-civil-

PAGE A1 ian, authoritarian, monarchy and communism.

“The AEC is arguably the most ambitious economic integra-tion program in the develop-ing world,” Plummer said. “But implementation of the AEC is increasingly uphill. Much remains to be done and the region faces many challenges in finishing. The AEC is a process.”

It falls short in more politically sensitive areas such as opening up agriculture, steel, auto produc-tion and other protected sectors.

ASEAN citizens will be allowed to work in other countries in the region, but they will be limited to jobs in eight sectors, including engineering, accountancy and tourism.

This accounts for only 1.5 per-cent of the total jobs in the region, and host countries still can put up constitutional and regulatory hurdles restricting the inflow of talent.

Intraregional trade has re-mained at around 24 percent of ASEAN’s total global trade for the last decade, far lower than 60 percent in the European Union.

Diplomatic rowsASEAN members are also

struggling to resolve diplomatic flare-ups among each other, such as border disputes between Cam-bodia and Vietnam, or Indonesia’s inability to fight annual forest fires that spew noxious haze for months over Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Plummer said progress had been slow in services liberal-ization. Cross-border flow of investment is also restricted by large exclusion lists and caps on foreign ownership. Govern-ment procurement and curbing monopolies by state-owned en-

terprises are highly sensitive and untouched, he said.

Although the four poorer econ-omies—Burma (Myanmar), Cam-bodia, Laos and Vietnam—have until 2018 to bring down tariffs, economic integration could fur-ther reinforce income equalities in the region, he said.

The AEC “is not the finished article. Neither is it officially claimed to be. There is much work to be done,” said Mohamad Munir Abdul Majid, chair of a council that advises ASEAN on business matters.

“There is a disparity between what is officially recorded as hav-ing been achieved … and what the private sector reports as their experience,” Majid added.

Other hurdlesThere are also other hurdles,

such as corruption, uneven in-frastructure and unequal costs of transportation and shipping.

A wide economic gulf divides Southeast Asia’s rich and middle-income economies—Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines—and its four less developed mem-bers—Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

The AEC was envisaged in 2002—and a blueprint was cre-ated in 2007—to face competi-tion from China and India for market share and investments. While China’s economic growth is expected to slow to an aver-age of 6 percent annually over the next five years, India’s ex-pansion is likely to pick up to 7.3 percent in the same period, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Inquirer.net with reports from AP and Dona Z. Pazzibugan)Duterte on presidential bid...

ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)-Laban, particularly former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and his son Sen. Koko Pimentel, before mak-ing the formal announcement.

“When I get to confer with the PDP leadership, I think it would be a formal announcement. When? I

cannot really tell you. We haven’t met yet. I have to talk to the (Pi-mentel) father and son and the other leaders,” he said.

Duterte said there is no le-gal obstacle barring him from seeking the presidency as their lawyers have cured the defect in the certificate of candidacy

filed by Martin Diño, head of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

“I don’t know how the lawyers would fix the problem,” Duterte said. “I think the lawyers were able to sort it out, how to correct a wrong.”

Near the deadline for filing of COCs last month, Diño filed his candidacy for president under PDP-Laban.

Diño eventually withdrew his bid for the presidency and named Duterte as his substitute.

Duterte also assured Cayetano that the senator would be his run-ning mate.

Duterte said he would be fil-ing his COC to substitute for Diño before the deadline set by the Commission on Elections on Dec. 10.

“At the most convenient time for everybody. Before Dec. 10,” he said.

Duterte added that there is also no reason for him to withdraw from the race.

“All of them are greatest op-ponent,” Duterte said, referring to the rest of the presidential bets.

Meanwhile, Cayetano said he was prepared to let go of his vice presidential dream as the price of his full support for Duterte.

Maguindanao massacre: Slow pace of justice...paigning for freedom of expres-sion in 65 countries. In the Philippines, it counts as member the media development group Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

Ifex pointed out that the “gla-cial pace of the [legal] proceed-ings” of the massacre case was contributing to the “ingrained culture of impunity” in the coun-try.

Such a culture of impunity “not only denies justice to the victims of this [massacre] case” but also sows fear in society, hence “muzzles the media and promotes self-censorship,” it added.

Throughout the Ifex network, Nov. 23 is commemorated as International Day to End Impu-nity.

Since Nov. 2, the Philippines has shared with Mexico, Ukraine and Yemen the impunity spot-light throughout the world in a three-week campaign by inter-national groups to call attention to the grave problems faced by journalists in these countries.

No one has yet been convicted for involvement in the Maguin-

danao massacre. A total of 193 people are accused as having a role in the crime, 18 of whom car-ry the surname Ampatuan. Some 80 people are still at large.

Dismiss 62 policemenDesperate for some measure

of justice, relatives of journalists slain in Maguindanao turned to the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to press for a small victory—the dismissal of the 62 policemen indicted in the case.

On Monday, five families rep-resented by lawyer Harry Roque went to the Napolcom center in Quezon City to reiterate their appeal for the resolution of the administrative case they filed in 2010 against the accused policemen.

One of the widows who went to the Napolcom, Erlyn Umpad, wife of slain camera man Mac-delbert Arriola, started to cry as she recounted her struggle to obtain justice, while raising a son that never got a chance to know his father.

“The case has dragged on for six years. My son is also now six years old. And justice still remains elusive,” Umpad said, tears streaming down her face.

Umpad’s son, Japeth, was only more than a week old when his father was killed. “Before I came here, he asked me ‘Mama, where are you going? Are you going to another hearing?’” Sumpad said.

“To the people who made promises, where are you? Please fulfill them. We are not from here (Metro Manila). We’re from Mindanao. We have families and we put out money for this. So please fulfill your promises,” the widow said.

At Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Manila, widows of the slain journalists asked the public not to forget the massacre.

“I was touched to see my husband’s picture here,” Noemi Parcon, wife of Pronterra Balita publisher Joel Parcon, told PUP students.

She greeted the students with a smile but before she could pro-ceed, she paused to take a deep breath. But she still failed to hold back her tears.

She was one of the five wid-ows who spoke for the com-memoration of the massacre,

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Dateline USa

by AJPress

GETTING READY. Five division world champion Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr. shows off his preparation in a Media Workout at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 19 for his upcoming fight against Cesar Juarez of Mexico. Donaire will be challenging Juarez in a 12-round rumble for the international junior featherweight title on Dec. 11 in Puerto Rico. AJPress photos by Robert Macabagdal

Asian American lawmakers oppose...Those three categories, Lieu

said, represent the majority of the 2,220 Syrian refugees that have been admitted to the US so far.

Lieu also mentioned how re-cent public comments made by David Bowers, mayor of Roa-noke, Virginia, shows the recur-ring fear which has distorted American politics. Bowers re-ferred to the racist Japanese-American internment during World War II as justification to deny Syrian refugees’ entry.

Rep. Mike Honda of Califor-nia, chairman emeritus of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and a former internee, sad he was “disappointed by the vote, and by how some in Congress would use war hysteria, racial prejudice and religion…and not provide the necessary political leader-ship in the face of popular senti-ment that is wrong headed.”

“I voted NO on HR4038. This bill is just a political symbol, not a real solution for the refugees crisis #SyrianRefugees #Never-Again9066” Honda tweeted on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Honda said the bill actually would create a new system of vetting the refugees that could take up to five years to imple-ment which “would essentially allow legislators to avoid ad-dressing resettlement.”

In his remarks on the House floor on Nov. 19, Rep. Mark Takano of California addressed Mayor Bowers’s comments, saying, “What takes wisdom is recognizing that history is now repeating itself. And what takes

courage is sending a message to the world that America will pro-tect innocent people regardless of their nationality or religion.”

Members of CAPAC, com-prised of Asian American and Pacific Islander members of Con-gress who advocate for the needs of the Asian American Pacific Is-lander (AAPI) community, were nearly unanimous in their vote against the restrictive measure.

Of two members who joined nearly 50 Democrats to forge a bipartisan majority for the bill was Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Ha-waii, vice chair of the Democrat-ic National Committee (DNC), who in 2014 called for the im-mediate suspension of the Visa Waiver Program for countries “that have large numbers of Is-lamic extremists actively fight-ing alongside groups such as ISIL in the Middle East and else-where.”

Gabbard did not comment to press on her vote, but posted on her Facebook: “I’m doing my due diligence to find out exactly how these refugees are going to be vetted, and getting details from the Department of Home-land Security and relevant intel-ligence agencies responsible for vetting Syrian refugees before they are allowed to enter the United States.”

Rep. Ami Bera, the only In-dian American currently serving in Congress, was the second CA-PAC member who voted in favor of the bill.

“It is critical that our first pri-ority is to keep America safe--that is why I voted today for a bill to ensure that all Syrian refu-gees are thoroughly vetted. This

additional screening step will ensure that we know those com-ing into the country are not a se-curity threat,” Bera announced in a statement.

Rep. Lieu, however, dis-agreed, saying the House bill’s creation of extra security for every refugee--who already en-dures an 18 to 24-month vetting process before determining eli-gibility into the US--is a waste of time and effort by national secu-rity agencies.

“We should make our intel-ligence gathering better and that would prevent a Paris-style attack, not focusing on widows fleeing Syria,” said Lieu. “The bill gives terrorists exactly what they want, which is an overreac-tion from Western countries that feed into their rhetoric to get more recruits.”

“We should be doing what France is doing. France suf-fered these horrific terrorist at-tacks last week and are letting in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.”

The 289-137 majority vote makes the bill veto proof, and it is unclear if the Senate will take a look after they return from the Thanksgiving holiday. The mea-sure also faces an uncertain fu-ture in the Senate, where Minor-ity Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he would try to block the bill.

Congresswoman Rep. Judy Chu, CAPAC chair, also tweeted her sentiments shortly after the vote: “It’s time to stop the xeno-phobic rhetoric around #Syri-anRefugees before we regret it. Again.” (Allyson Escobar / AJPress)

Donaire seeks to redeem career in upcoming fight

NONITO Donaire Jr.— also known as “The Filipino Flash” — is ready to re-enter the ring and get back on top.

But during his upcoming fight in December, Donaire asserts that the audience will see a different side of him.

“You’ll see a much smarter fighter in me: someone who is very observant and will dissect my opponent’s movements to gain favorable punches,” the 33-year-old five-division world champion said during his media workout in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 19.

The boxer originally from Gen-eral Santos City, Philippines will be challenging WBO International junior featherweight champion and No. 1 contender Cesar Juarez (17-3, 13 KOs), of Mexico City, in a 12-round rumble in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Dec. 11.

“I’m ready to fight,” Donaire said. “If it was tomorrow, I’m ready to go 12 rounds.”

Donaire, who has a record of 35-3, 23 knockouts, has been training with his father Nonito Donaire, Sr. to physically and mentally prepare himself for what he arguably calls the most “important [fight] for my boxing career.”

Coming back from two major defeats, including the TKO loss against Nicholas Walters and his unanimous decision loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux, Donaire shared that those experiences jolted him to be more serious about boxing.

“The beauty of life is that you learn the good and the bad. I got used to it because I learned the habit of knocking guys out without training as hard as I normally do. I started knocking guys out early and so easily… it was like, ‘why work 100 percent when I could do it at 10 per-cent?” the Filipino boxer said, adding that he relied on landing a left hook.

However, this time around, Donaire is making a habit out of training and realizes that there is no room to slack off.

“The only thing different that I’ve done here is [make] a habit to wake up in the morning to train and to compare each day — if it was great, excellent or out-standing,” he said. “I always say, don’t waste the moment for each day…that’s why I live to the most

Maguindanao massacre: Slow pace of justice...organized by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

“It’s been that long, so I thought I would no longer cry,” said Monette Salaysay, widow of Mindanao Gazette journalist Napoleon Salaysay. “But until now, what happened is still a nightmare to me.”

Iloilo CityIn Iloilo City, journalists on

Monday also decried the slow pace of the Ampatuan massacre trial, saying this has helped encourage more attacks against the media.

In a forum to mark the sixth an-niversary of the massacre, media groups called on the government

and law enforcement agencies to end the culture of impunity through swift and comprehensive investigation of all cases.

“The government is powerless or inept if it cannot stop or re-solve media killings. [Unresolved cases] will only embolden attacks against the media,” Francis Allan Angelo, president of the Iloilo Press Club, told about 40 journal-ists and journalism students at the forum at the Casa Real, the restored old provincial capitol.

Representatives of Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster sa Pilipinas, Iloilo Provincial Capitol Press Corps and the Iloilo chapter of NUJP joined the forum.

John Paul Tia, station manager of radio station dyOK Aksyon

Radyo Iloilo, said the culture of impunity against journalists was encouraging other attacks.

On Thursday, Nov. 19 uniden-tified men, several of whom were armed, tried to forcibly enter the premises of Aksyon Radyo Iloilo at the Carlos Uy Building on Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue in Mandurriao district.

They failed to enter the locked gate leading to the third floor office of the station. They were believed to have removed and brought with them a closed-cir-cuit TV camera, but footage from the camera clearly showed the faces of the men. (Aie Balagtas See, Jaymee T. Gamil, Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Ryan D. Rosauro/In-quirer.net)

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each day, to have that energy and state of mind.”

No matter the outcome of the December fight, Donaire said he’s here to stay in the boxing world for now.

“I think I have [many years] left. I don’t get hit much in fighting or in sparring. As long as I can com-pete with the younger generation, why not catch up?” he said.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Diamante Pro-motions, Donaire’s fight will be televised live, from Roberto Clem-ente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on “MetroPC Friday Night Knockout on truTV,” on Friday, December 11, beginning at 10pm ET/PT. The live boxing series is presented by truTV and Top Rank, and produced in association with HBO Sports.

november 26-decdember 2, 2015 • LAS veGAS ASIAn JoUrnAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678A� Dateline USa

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Fil-Am doctor to open endoscopy surgicenter...watched from the planning [stag-es],” Fajardo said.

At Fajardo’s new clinic, three features will ensure top safety and care.

First, the new surgicenter will follow new rules set by Nevada’s health department, which state that colonoscopes -- the tubes used to inspect the inside of the large intestine -- must be thor-oughly cleansed in four rooms. This is a change from the old rules, which allowed the cleans-ing to be done in one room.

In the first room, the tube will be manually washed. In the second, it will be sterilized in a machine. Third, it will be dried with another machine. The fourth room is the sterile room where doctors can obtain a new scope.

The second feature of the new surgicenter is that everything it will use will be monitored by the Department of Health. It will be using one syringe one time per patient.

A third feature Fajardo high-lights is that the center will use equipment that is not yet stan-dard of care, such as a new de-vice with three cameras that will provide a 330-degree view, which helps in looking for precancerous growth in the colon. Current de-vices now provide a 170-degree view, Fajardo said.

Fajardo is currently one of two main doctors at Las Vegas

Clinton proposes tax break for...In the United States, there are

approximately 12 million who require long-term care. By 2050, as the population ages, that num-ber is expected to hit 27 million, according to a Clinton campaign fact sheet. The presidential can-didate said the economic value of unpaid work performed by family caregivers in 2013 for ag-ing and disabled individuals was $470 billion.

“As baby boomers age, more and more families will need to

provide care for or will need care from loved ones,” her campaign said. “Many family members, most often spouses and adult daughters, spend time out of the workforce, cut back on hours, or use personal days, vacation and family time to provide needed care.”

Clinton also said that lost wag-es and work especially comes at a cost to women, who constitute the majority of paid and unpaid caregivers.

“Whether a woman leaves the

workforce to care for children or leaves the workforce to care for a spouse or parent, it means that there is not then an income com-ing in that could be used to help calculate Social Security benefits later. And I think we have got to recognize that for many women, this has a very serious impact on the amount of money they then draw from Social Security, in or-der to take care of themselves,” Clinton said.

Campaign estimates put the cost of the plan at $10 billion throughout a 10-year period. However, it would not add to the nation’s debt, the campaign said, as it would be financed with tax increases Clinton has previously proposed.

“Hillary Clinton’s solution to every pressing issue is to expand government and raise taxes, and this plan is no different as it will cost hardworking Americans bil-lions,” said Ninio Fetalvo, Asian Pacific American press secretary at the Republican National Com-mittee. “Clinton is simply check-ing a box to score political points at the expense of middle-class Americans.”

Wall Street Journal political reporter Laura Meckler, who covers Clinton and the 2016 presidential campaign, wrote that the Clinton campaign did not provide more specific details about a revenue source for the proposal, other than a variety of other pay-fors.

Assisting adults attending to their elderly parents, often while simultaneously raising their own children or assisting with their grandchildren, has become a theme at Clinton’s campaign stops, Reuters reported.

Clinton’s plan would also in-vest additional money into pro-grams providing grant dollars for respite care needs, such as short stays in caregiving fa-cilities, according to CBS. She would also launch a government-wide “Care Workers Initiative,” which would guide training and placement for care workers and ensure they are paid fairly, CBS reported.

The presidential candidate previously proposed the creation of a new, refundable $5,000 credit for out-of-pocket health costs and a new credit for busi-nesses that create apprentice-ships, Politico reported. Her campaign said she will offer ad-ditional middle-class tax breaks in the coming months. (Agnes Constante / AJPress)

Duterte on presidential bid...“I don’t want to but I’m serious.

I said that on my birthday. I told the mayor that it’s easy to ask one to sacrifice. I was challenged. I told him I want us to work along-side each other, a one-two punch. But if he does say it, then I have to seriously consider it,” he said.

Cayetano added that he would campaign for Duterte even if the Davao mayor asks him to abandon his vice presidential dream.

“All I know is that I will follow him and that I will campaign for him. I don’t even want to be sure that he wants me to be his vice president. My support for him is unconditional; I’d still campaign for him, whatever position he will give me… it’s a bonus if he wants to work with me,” he said.

“That would be a big sacrifice but the bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the reward. So, whatever he needs. If he needs a vice presi-dent, then side by side with him, if he needs an advance… I am there. If he needs for me to withdraw so that I can support him,” Cayetano added.

Cayetano only demands that Duterte would keep his promises of instituting changes in the coun-try in exchange for his stepping down as vice presidential bet.

Cayetano also gave assurance that there would be no shortage of campaign funds for Duterte as people are more than willing to pitch in.

Disagrees with PiaCayetano also took a swipe at

his elder sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, for siding with Sen. Grace Poe on the issue of nationality.

“I disagaree with my sister. I always respected her. We don’t dictate on each other. Even on divorce, she’s pro, I’m anti. There are many issues where we don’t agree. I think she is wrong. I think she voted as an advocate rather than a cold neutral judge,” he said.

Cayetano said his sister’s de-cision was influenced by her advocacy for child welfare as he stressed that there was no pres-sure to influence her on Poe’s case.

Duterte has informed the PDP-Laban of his intention to run for president and all that he needs to do now is to go to the Comelec to

file his certificate of candidacy.The decision and call upPDP-Laban president Sen. Aq-

uilino Pimentel III said yesterday that Duterte called him up last Saturday informing him of his decision to run for president.

Pimentel said that Duterte told him that what pushed him to fi-nally seek the presidency was the ruling of the SET on the disqualifi-cation case of Poe, which he said totally disregarded the provisions of the Constitution.

“He was very angry. For him the Constitution is sacred,” said Pimentel.

He said the SET decision was just one of the reasons that pushed Duterte to run for president.

“It was an accumulation of his frustrations or concerns due to the complaints given to him, like the laglag-bala (bullet planting extor-tion scam at the airport) and now like what Senator Alan (Cayetano) calls the tanim citizenship (citi-zenship planting). I guess he had enough already,” Pimentel said.

According to Pimentel, every-thing is set for Duterte to file his COC for president because the PDP-Laban has opened its arms to him.

At the time of Diño’s withdraw-al, Duterte was still undecided on his plans to run for higher office and he had said that he was not interested in the presidency.

Pimentel claimed that Diño’s filing was not a ploy to allow Duterte to run as his substitute because at the time his COC was filed, Duterte had no presidential aspirations.

He said that Diño is a capable candidate for PDP-Laban because he can stand on the key principles of the party, including the push for federalism.

Pimentel said that the entry of Duterte as a presidential candi-date of PDP-Laban has rejuve-nated the party.

“The party is re-energized and is now flexing its political muscle,” he said.

Pimentel said that Duterte’s experience, reputation and per-formance, particularly on three major issues, make him a strong candidate for president.

He said that Duterte has a clear and credible stand and platform on the “all-out war against crimi-

nality, the fight against corrup-tion and the need for structural changes like federalism.”

Senator Poe, for her part, re-fused to comment on Duterte’s claim that she would be an “Amer-ican president.”

Poe said that she would rather keep her thoughts to herself.

“If he wants to engage in name calling, let him be. As my mother taught me, respect your elders and help others,” Poe said.

Poe denies Duterte’s claimPoe also denied the claim of

Duterte that she offered herself as his vice presidential running mate earlier this year when she was not yet performing well in the surveys on presidential candidates.

Poe confirmed that she met Duterte once in the first quarter of this year at her home in Quezon City but said that they never discussed the 2016 general elections.

According to Poe, at the time of that meeting, she had not yet decided if she would seek higher office.

Poe said that a common friend invited Duterte to meet her.

She declined to identify the common friend except that the person is a friend since high school and one of the children of former foreign secretary Alberto Romulo.

Duterte told reporters over the weekend that Poe offered to be his running mate when she was still not performing well in the surveys.

By the time that she started moving up in the surveys, Duterte said that Poe asked him to be her vice presidential candidate.

“That did not happen. What we discussed there was about the past elections and some per-sonal issues. If I was the one who wanted something from him then why would I ask him to come to my place,” Poe said.

“I met him in 2013 and he helped me. That is why I was surprised at what he said. As far as I am concerned, everything that I said is true and I can stand by what I said because there were other people who were there,” she added.

Poe said that it is not in her na-ture to dictate on any person what he should or should not do, espe-cially on political decisions.

Gastroenterology. He graduated from the Uni-

versity of the Philippines College of Medicine and completed his residency and chief residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Affiliate in New York.

Following his residency, Faja-rdo specialized in gastroenter-ology and hepatology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. There, he also obtained an advanced fellowship degree in gastrointes-tinal motility.

Fajardo, who moved to Las Vegas in 2007, said he initially opened his clinic with the desire for it to provide a type of health care that wasn’t about a patient seeing a doctor because he or she is sick.

“I want the patient to be aware of the diseases so that they can take care of themselves first and we, as doctors, are tools toward this achievement of healthcare,” he explained. “And this is very self-empowering because it has to be the patient actually know-ing that they can take care of themselves... So when I ... started the practice in 2009, it became my mission to educate the com-munity on the things I know can help the individual.”

Fajardo has also been a strong advocate for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B in the Asian community throughout the United States. He said he

has partnered with community groups as a means of outreach, which in turn helped Fil-Ams be more educated about hepatitis B and colon cancer prevention.

“In the past it was really a chal-lenge to really convince nanay[s] and tatay[s] to get a colonoscopy because the concept is not some-thing that they understand. Why would you go for a test which is very invasive, yet you don’t feel anything?”

Now, however, Fajardo says the number of Fil-Ams requesting for colonoscopies has risen sig-nificantly throughout the past few years and that patients are the ones asking doctors to refer them to get a colonoscopy done.

For Filipinos and anybody else with health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, Fajardo wanted to send a reminder that preventative services -- including colonoscopies, mammograms, pap smears, and tests for prostate cancer, among other things -- are covered 100 percent without additional cost to the insured individual.

An open house for the LV Surgery Center is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 from 10 am to 4 pm at 7315 S Pecos Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89120. An invite-only inaugural red carpet reception at the Mandarin Oriental will take place that evening, with special guests Martin Nievera and pianist Raul Sunico.

PAGE A1 Mayweather blasts Roach for Cotto loss

FLOYD Mayweather Jr. took a swipe at Freddie Roach, blam-ing the multi-awarded trainer for Miguel Cotto’s defeat at the hands of Saul Alvarez over the middle-weight title fight in Las Vegas on Sunday, Nov. 22.

Speaking recently to fighthype.com, the retired Mayweather claimed Roach gave Cotto the wrong advice in between rounds of his showdown with Alvarez, who came away with a unanimous decision win to claim the WBC middleweight title.

“I can understand him being a little hurt, but Cotto didn’t have the right trainer. He wasn’t giving him the right advice. What fight was he watching? When you’re a trainer, you know what you have to tell a fighter if the fight is close? ‘Listen, you gonna have to pick up the [expletive] pace! You know what? The fight is extremely close,’” Mayweather told fight-hype.com’s Ben Thompson.

Mayweather and Roach have had a history of animosity toward each other, with the latter working against the former in two previous fights. Roach trained Oscar De La Hoya in his showdown with May-weather in 2007, then worked the

corner of Manny Pacquiao during his turn to face the former pound-for-pound king last May.

The undefeated American out-pointed both De la Hoya and Pacquiao. Now he’s gotten back again at Roach for Cotto’s setback against Alvarez.

“If you’re losing, your coach don’t need to wait for you to get to the 10th round to tell you that you losing. If your coach knows you’re losing in the fourth round, if that was the case, that’s when a trainer needs to step up and say, “You know what? Pick up the fucking pace. You losing” or “[Exple-tive] it! Go out like a soldier! Go for the knockout,” Mayweather continued.

Mayweather went on to further downplay Roach’s achievements as a boxing trainer. The bespecta-cled cornerman has been named Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America for a record seven times (2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014).

“I hear people talking about Freddie Roach is a legendary trainer, but I think Cotto was fighting the same way before he got with Freddie Roach. I

think Pacquiao was fighting the same before he got with Freddie Roach. Both guys were already world champions before they got to Freddie Roach,” said May-weather.

“But when Pacquiao lost to [Juan Manuel] Marquez and he lost to me, they still keep talking about how legendary the coach is. When are y’all going to get on the coach’s ass and say, “You know what? This coach done a [exple-tive] job.” (Philstar.com)

PAGE A2

Floyd Mayweather Jr. AJPress photo Robert Macabagdal

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Dateline PhiliPPinesAFP won’t adjust alert levels despite US travel warningComelec eyes higher absentee

voting turnout in 2016 polls

Aquino not convinced on ‘tanim-bala’

by Mayen JayMalin Philstar.com

MANILA—More Filipinos abroad are expected to come out and par-ticipate in the May 2016 elections.

Commission on Elections Chair-man Andres Bautista said the Com-elec is eyeing higher turnout for the overseas absentee voting (OAV).

Bautista said Filipinos abroad are not only expected to register but also actually participate and vote in the coming elections.

“We are also trying to beat that of the voter turnout. We are target-ing hopefully at least half-a-million to vote for the 2016 elections,” Bautista said.

In 2010 national and local polls, Comelec posted a 25.99 voter turnout or a total of 153,323 voted out of the 589,830 who registered for the OAV.

In the 2013 midterm polls, the Comelec only recorded 16.11 per-cent voter turnout when 118,823 Fil-ipinos voted out of the 737,759 reg-istered voters in the OAV.

For next year’s elections, the Department of Foreign Affairs – Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) reported a total of 1,400,767

Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista said Filipinos abroad are not only expected to register but also actually participate and vote in the coming elections.

who registered in various foreign service posts, Manila cultural of-fices, and local overseas voter registration centers.

The Comelec said it’s the first time the country exceeded one million active overseas registered voters.

Comelec – Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) head Commissioner Arthur Lim earlier announced the poll body’s plan to implement OAV mobile voting to promote a higher

voter turnout.Under the planned mobile vot-

ing system, members of the OAV Board of Election Inspectors would be bringing the vote counting ma-chines to areas with large concen-trations of Filipinos.

There will also be voting in Phil-ippine embassies and consulates via the personal manual and au-tomated voting; and mail voting, where accomplished ballots are mailed.

by Frances MangosingInquirer.net

ThE Armed Forces of the Philip-pines said on Tuesday, Nov. 24 it will not adjust its alert levels even after the United States issued a worldwide travel alert.

“As we mentioned before, alert levels are only adjusted based on the existence of verified threats but since there is none, we have

not [adjusted the alert levels]. The repeated calls of the security sector is for all citizens to be vigilant, alert and to adopt a collective, coop-erative, and participative security partnership with all government security agencies to ensure that our communities stay terrorism-free,” said AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla.

he said that the US advisory

was a “unilateral move” and they respect their decision to issue it.

“The US as a matter of practice sends out travel advisories as a pre-cautionary and proactive measure to ensure their citizen’s safety all over the world,” he said.

The US warned its citizens in the worldwide travel advisory of “increased terror threats” in the wake of Paris attacks.

by Dona Z. PaZZibuganInquirer.net

SPEAKING for the first time on the infamous bullet-planting controversy at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Presi-dent Aquino said he doubted an organized “tanim-bala” extortion scheme existed.

And just like his Transporta-tion Secretary Joseph Abaya, who earlier drew widespread condemnation for dismissing the questionable arrest of passengers as merely a small percentage of the total number of air travelers, Mr. Aquino likewise downplayed the controversy by citing similar statistics.

“how many people pass through the NAIA per year? The figure is 34 million. how many of those were involved in a bullet case? What they reported out of the 34 million is 1,200 incidents,” the President said in a press conference last Sunday, Nov. 22 in Kuala Lumpur where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations sum-mit.

“Medyo ang liit naman yata (That seems a little small),” he told reporters.

he said he was told of three pas-sengers who complained that air-port personnel had tried to extort money from them to drop illegal possession of ammunition charges so they could board their flight.

One of the three eventually ad-mitted the bullet found in his bag was his, Mr. Aquino said.

“If the report that three out of three million is true, how can we say there is an epidemic—that there is a high probability you will get into trouble or that you can say there is a chance you will fall victim to the racket?” the President said.

he said he felt bad for the in-nocent airport security scanners who were doing their jobs and had actually intercepted firearms and ammunition in other incidents at the airport.

“I have to balance it. In the end [we need] proof. Is there proof that will confirm or deny the tanim-bala scam?” the President said.

But he said he also felt bad for the passengers.

“So I am not saying there is no such [scam]. That is what should come out in the investigation. But those are the initial statistics,” he said.

he then accused the media of sensationalizing the news on the tanim-bala cases.

“Like out of 10 (people) who will go to the airport, how many will be victimized? For every 10—two, three? That is not what happened. It was sensationalized and there were those who benefited to sen-sationalize it,” he said.

“Those who thought of this, we will include them in the investiga-tion,” he added.

Meanwhile, the initial police investigation into the tanim-bala scam at the airport practically de-bunked it as an “urban legend.”

“There is no such thing as tanim-bala, there is only extortion,” a source from the Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup) told the In-quirer.

“It is just not possible for a secu-rity screener to carry bullets in his pocket and plant them in passen-gers’ baggage. Sleight of hand is out of the question. Nobody’s that fast or that bold,” he said, adding that the Avsegroup had not found proof of tanim-bala.

A review of closed circuit TV footage of the security checkpoints showed no evidence of the scheme, he said.

The source, who sought ano-nymity for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said the surge in supposed bullet interceptions was due to a reward system put in place by the Office for Transporta-tion Security (OTS), an attached agency of the Department of Trans-portation and Communications.

he also pointed out that in

many of the cases, the passengers admitted carrying the bullets either as souvenirs, mementos or talismans.

“Unscrupulous OTS personnel jump at this chance and extort cash from these passengers who do not want to be inconvenienced by a trip to the police station and risk missing their flights,” the source explained.

OTS Deputy Administrator Rob-ert Villanueva said the agency did set up a system of citation for security screening officers aimed at improving their efficiency and boosting their morale.

“Awardees are given certificates of commendation and cash,” he said.

Justice Secretary Alfredo Ben-jamin Caguioa, meanwhile, has agreed to extend by 15 days the deadline given to the National Bureau of Investigation task force investigating the tanim-bala inci-dents at the NAIA.

Roxas: Nobody wants a foreigner to become the presidentMANILA—Nobody wants a for-

eigner to become the president.This was Liberal Party presi-

dential candidate Manuel Roxas II’s reply when asked if he agrees with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s reason for seeking the presidency.

“I think, without any specificity, all of us do not want a foreigner to become the president right?” Roxas told reporters in Pasay last Monday.

After repeatedly saying that he is not interested in the presidency, Duterte announced over the week-end that he has changed his mind because he was disappointed with the Senate Electoral Tribunal’s junking of the disqualification case against Sen. Grace Poe.

Voting 5-4, the SET denied last week the petition to remove Poe from office over her citizenship is-sue. The petition, filed by defeated 2013 senatorial candidate Rizalito David, claimed that Poe is not a natural-born Filipino and should not remain in the Senate.

Duterte said he cannot accept an American president and that he would not mind if another candidate wins in 2016 as long as he or she is a Filipino.

Roxas refused to comment on whether Poe’s citizenship issues would cause her trouble in the event that the petition is brought to the Supreme Court. Three high court justices who are SET mem-bers – Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, and Arturo Brion – voted in favor of Poe’s disqualification.

“Regardless of whether the case against Sen. Poe wins or loses at the SET, we at the (Koalisyon ng) Daang Matuwid, (vice presidential candidate) Leni (Robredo) and

I are focused on presenting our platform, our character and our capabilities to ourccountrymen,” Roxas said

“I’m not the one with the legal problem. I think the ones with the legal problems should be the ones to respond to these questions about the legality of their status,” he added.

Despite questions about her citizenship, Poe continues to be the frontrunner in surveys on presidential bets.

In a Pulse Asia poll conducted from Oct. 18 to 29, Poe was preferred by 39 percent of re-spondents while Vice President Jejomar Binay ranked second with 24 percent. Roxas placed third with 21 percent while Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago ranked fourth with 11 percent.

by alexis roMero Philstar.com

Presidential candidate Mar Roxas

TANIM-BALA SCAM. What used to be a routine procedure at NAIA is now viewed with suspicion. The Philippine government vowed to make travelers feel safe again at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after an investigation was ordered into the “tanim bala” racket that extorts money from airline passengers. Inquirer.net photo

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OpiniOn Features

Inquirer.net photo

THE APEC summit, for which the Aquino government was will-ing to create horrible incoveniences and economic losses for the country, concluded amidst self-congratu-latory applause and back-patting by its or-ganizers.

The good news is that, in spite of the threat of a terrorist attack, in the wake of the massacre in Paris, the delegates clearly enjoyed the warmth and good-ness of the Filipino people, even while they might have shaken their collective heads in amusement at the efforts of the Philippine government to impress them. Surely, this was not the first time that international conference hosts had gone to great lengths to put up a good show. Some simply did it better than others. Worldly wise heads of state could easily see through the preten-sions.

One thing the APEC delegates were assured of, however, was that the hos-pitality showered on them at the confer-ence was heartfelt and sincere. We are a genuinely caring and friendly people – to a fault. In truth, the monstrous in-convenience that the government made the citizenry suffer, in order to offer the delegates an “impressive” experience, was a typical manifestation of that fault.

If they were to visit a Filipino home, be it ever so humble, they would be offered the most comfortable bed (even if the hosts themselves have to sleep on the floor) and served the choic-est dishes (while the

family members make do with mor-sels).

This curious characteristic of our people is by no means new. In Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel, Noli Me Tangere, Kapitan Tiyago, hosts a reception for everyone in town, particularly the most important personages, namely, the Spanish friars and colonial officials. In the course of the party, discreet instructions are given to the house help that the kind of fare served the guests would depend on their stature. There would also be a code to distinguish the important guests from the ordinary ones: tsokolate eh, a richer, tastier blend, for the former and, for the latter, tsokolate ah, a watered down serving.

Not surprisingly, the Spanish friar, Padre Damaso, the quintessential vil-lain in Rizal’s novel, had nothing but contempt for the lowly Indios and for the pretentious Kapitan Tiyago, who was falling all over himself to impress his colonial masters.

Dr. Rizal wrote with bitterness and bluntness about this unsavory trait and

other instances of hypocrisy, decrying them as symptoms of the social cancer afflicting the Filipino people. To this day, many of us are subconsciously burdened by this colonial mentality. Inflicting inconvenience and economic losses on the Filipino people in order to look good in the eyes of foreign digni-taries was just one more indication of this mindset.

Thus, the APEC delegates saw a spic-and-span Metro Manila, specifically in the vicinity of the conference and the routes taken by official convoys. Air-line flights were cancelled, schools and offices closed, beggars and vagrants rounded up and kept away from view, neighborhoods with unsightly shanties boarded up and painted over, and the main thoroughfares reserved exclu-sively for APEC delegates and the om-nipresent security personnel.

The daily traffic anarchy, which be-came even worse, was consigned to the areas that the delegates did not visit. It was pretty much the equivalent of dirt being swept under the rug.

In a manner of speaking, the APEC delegates were served tsokolate eh, while the rest of our people had to make do with tsokolate ah.

Of course, now that the conference is over, things have reverted back to normal, meaning congested airports, congested highways, urchins and the homeless populating the streets, ven-dors hawking their wares in the middle

of traffic, and shanties and ramshackle store fronts exposed once more.

To the credit of the organizers, strin-gent measures were taken to guarantee the safety of the delegates. In fact, had there been a terrorist attack (God for-bid), security personnel would not have hesitated to take a bullet for them. Our police force may not be the most effi-cient or best equipped, but the courage of our uniformed men and women is beyond doubt (ask the Americans who fought alongside Filipinos in Bataan and Corregidor).

People have wondered: couldn’t the government have planned a successful and impressive conference without ex-acting a heavy toll on the citizenry? Why did the government decide to stage the APEC summit in Metro Manila which, aside from being overcrowded and traf-fic-plagued, presented a security night-mare?

It was simply a case of good inten-tions but poor decision-making owing to incompetence or, at best, lack of ex-perience.

It may be recalled that the first time the Philippines hosted the APEC sum-mit, back in 1996, it was held at the former Subic Naval Base which had already become a bustling export zone.

The president then was Fidel V. Ra-mos, who was not only steeped in op-erations management but also had the support of an efficient and competent team. The Subic Freeport itself was

under the management of Dick Gor-don who, with the help of volunteers, had taken over an abandoned US naval facility and transformed it into a show-case of the Pinoy can-do spirit.

In contrast, planning for the current APEC summit began during the incum-bency of President Benigno S. Aquino III, whose qualifications, capabilities and work ethic pale beside that of Presi-dent Ramos.

In fairness, PNoy never claimed to be anything more than being the son of il-lustrious parents when he was swept to the presidency by a wave of grief over the death of President Cory Aquino and disgust over the alleged corruption of outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As it turned out, this was a classic example of the Peter Principle – promoting someone to his level of incompetence – and many of us should say mea culpa for that.

In presiding over preparations for the APEC summit, Aquino could at least have sought the advice of Ramos. Un-fortunately, Aquino seems averse to seeking advice on things he knows not. Worse yet, he apparently knows not that he knows not.

At any rate, the APEC summit over and done with and one can almost hear Noynoy Aquino tell the loudly com-plaining Filipino people: “Pasensiya na kayo sa tsokolate ah. Buhay pa naman kayo, hindi ba? “ (gregmacabenta@ho-tmail.com)

Noli Me Tangere and the APEC Summit

GreG B. MacaBenta

Street Talk

OVER the weekend, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered for its annual summit in Kuala Lum-pur, Malaysia. The global leaders discussed some of the region’s most pressing issues including economic integration, trade liberalization, sustainable growth and energy security.

AFTER the coordinated terrorist attacks con-sisting of mass shootings, suicide bombings, and hostage-taking in Paris that killed 130 peo-ple and injured 389 on November 13, people all over the world have been debating about the possible security threat posed by the Syrian refugee program being shared by progressive countries in Europe and North America for hu-manitarian purposes.

A majority of people in the United States and Canada are opposed to the acceptance of any more Syrian refugees who have been displaced because of the ongoing war in Syria. They fear that this program may potentially be used by ISIS, the same extremist group that has claimed responsi-bility for the Paris attacks, and other acts of terror in other parts of the world.

This position has been pushed by the Republi-cans in government, especially by those who are vying for the GOP nomination for the presidency

in 2016. CNN reported that the US

House of Representatives passed a measure last week that will ef-fectively pause the processing of Syrian refugees into the country. Such bill insists that no refugee will be admitted without certi-fication by the Department of Homeland Security.

The measure secured enough veto-proof ma-jority votes from Republicans and even House Democrats, despite the White House’s pleas to oppose it.

“It’s a security test, not a religious test. This re-flects our values. This reflects our responsibilities. And this is urgent,” Speaker Paul Ryan told report-ers at his press conference on Thursday, Nov. 19 prior to House members casting the vote.

Thirty-one governors likewise released state-

ments that they oppose letting refugees into their states.

Pres. Barack Obama defended his position on the issue, and ac-cused those who oppose the Ref-ugee program of political postur-ing, NBC News reported.

“Slamming the doors in their faces would be a betrayal of our values,” Obama said at the con-

clusion of the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, adding that Syrian “refugees are the victims of terrorism.”

Obama administration officials have under-scored that those seeking asylum in the US under-go rigorous background screenings from several federal agencies and lengthy in-person interviews with Homeland Security officers.

NBC News says so far, none of the terrorists identified in the Paris attack have been Syrian

refugees.Despite the tragedy, French President Francois

Hollande declared on Wednesday, Nov. 18 that his country would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees over next two years, a stark contrast to the US position.

In the meantime, kababayans in America share the cautious stand of the Republicans about the issue. In an online poll by The Fili-pino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang Amer-ica”, a big majority of those who voted — 67 percent — say the US should stop letting Syr-ian refugees into the country for safety and se-curity reasons.

* * *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

Poll result: Fil-Ams do not want any more Syrian refugees in the US over terrorism fears

Troubled water

With some of its members em-battled with China on the con-tested waters of South China Sea, ASEAN expressed serious concern over the brewing tension.

In recent months, China drew ire for its aggres-sive stance and sweeping claims over almost the West Philippine (South China) Sea. The Philip-pines and China, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to parts of resource-rich water, which is believed to have significant oil and gas deposits.

China has also been busy militarizing the stra-tegic water in the last two years through the cre-ation of new outposts by piling sand atop reefs and atolls, and then adding buildings, ports and airstrips big enough to handle bombers and fight-er jets.

Despite continuous calls from the international community to halt the construction, China re-mained adamant over its assertion to the South West Philippine (South China) Sea. The country maintained that its military activities are con-sistent with its position that the construction of artificial islands was designed to provide public service to the region by helping ships and fisher-men and disaster relief efforts.

Chinese President Xi Jinping who attended last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Summit in Manila, said that the sea is a common home and encouraged fellow members of the regional bloc to foster an environment of peace and focus on development.

“It is important that we establish an all-round partnership on development and mobilize the government, enterprise and social resources in concerted efforts for implementation of the sus-tainable development agenda,” Xi told his APEC counterparts.

For his part, Pres. Benigno Aqui-no III took the podium at the ASEAN in Malaysia over the weekend to ap-peal to the rule of law amid increas-ing tensions and invite his fellow

ASEAN leaders to take a stand against China.Aquino also noted that the maritime disputes

have been a subject of concern, not only to the region, but to the entire international commu-nity as well. He said that many countries have expressed serious concerns that China’s recent actions threaten freedom of navigation and law-ful commerce in one of the world’s most strategic waterways.

Citing peaceful resolution on the jurisdiction over the disputed waters, the Philippines has pleaded its case to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). It is now awaiting results of the preliminary hearings over the Phil-ippine claim.

“As the arbitration process we have entered into continues to its logical conclusion, we are hopeful that China would honor its word and re-spect the rule of law. The world is watching and expects no less from a responsible global leader,” Aquino said.

During the summit, ASEAN leaders adopted the Declaration on Enhancing Regional Maritime Cooperation, which promotes peace, stability and security in the region. It aims to initiate coop-erative efforts within its members by encourag-ing more countries to accede to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UN-CLOS), which ensures the universal application of international law and respect for sovereignty. It guarantees that all countries enjoy and exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accor-dance with international law.

The leaders also signed the Kuala Lumpur Dec-

Editorial

laration on the “ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together,” the region’s post-2015 vision which charts the direction of the ASEAN Community in the next 10 years.

Allies not only by common interests, but by shared values and aspirations among its people, ASEAN will set precedents for creating solution

to global challenges. Despite obstacles set by conflicts among nations, ASEAN is moving for-ward to pursue higher goals. By 2025, the ASEAN community is sure to meet its vision of becoming an alliance that has withstood the test of time, as-suring regional peace and stability for its people. (AJPress)

Gel SantoS-reloS

The Fil-Am Perspective

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Dateline PhiliPPines

BUDGET DELIBERATIONS. Senators Sonny Angara, Grace Poe and Franklin Drilon with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. (extreme right) talk before the start of the Senate’s deliberation of the proposed 2016 budget on Monday, November 23. First among the agencies whose proposed budgetary allocations were examined by the Senate was the P2.83 billion budget of the Office of the President. Senate photo by Cesar Tomambo

SC suspends Arroyo plunder trial until Feb. 2016by Patricia Lourdes Viray

Philstar.com

MANILA—The Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 24 issued an or-der suspending the plunder trial of former president and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo before the Sandiganbayan until February 2016.

The high court extended the status quo ante order (SQAO) for 90 days, which suspended the plunder trial against Arroyo in connection to the Philip-pine Charity Sweepstakes fund anomaly.

“The Court issued a SQAO for 90 days or until Feb. 19, 2016 di-

recting the parties to observe the status quo prevailing before the issuance of the assailed orders of the Sandiganbayan dated April 6, 2015,” SC spokesperson Theodore Te said in a press conference.

Arroyo earlier filed a petition before the high court, seeking to reverse the ruling of the San-diganbayan last February which denied her bail.

The former president is cur-rently under hospital arrest at the Veterans’ Memorial Medical Center for plunder charges filed against her for her alleged in-volvement in the misuse of PCSO funds from 2008 to 2010.

SIx years after the world’s largest-ever sin-gle attack on media workers, the Foreign Cor-respondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) presses its call on the judiciary and the government to speed up the prosecution of those behind the barbaric atrocity.

FOCAP joins its colleagues in the local press in demanding justice. We note that none of the nearly 200 accused have been convicted, with at least one of them freed on bail and re-portedly preparing to contest a local post in Maguindanao. Scores of suspects remain at large.

One of the alleged masterminds has also died in jail due to natural causes, depriving both the accused and the victims of the right to a speedy trial.

“As foreign correspondents it is our duty to continue to report on this pressing issue, that

this brutal attack on journalists, their families and press freedom itself may never be far from the public’s consciousness,” FOCAP president Simone Orendain said.

On November 23, 2009 58 people, including 32 journalists/media workers, were killed when an election convoy was stopped and attacked by about 100 armed men allegedly working for the powerful Ampatuan clan.

Rights groups have reported that several po-tential witnesses have been killed.

With elections on the horizon next year, FO-CAP strongly calls on the authorities to speed up prosecution of the suspects.

Justice has been elusive in the past six years and FOCAP vows to be vigilant in calling for government action on what is considered as the most atrocious attack on media workers in modern times.

FOCAP statement on Ampatuan MassacreFormer President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been accused of misusing millions of sweepstakes funds during her term.

Sotto questions proposed P15.3-B increase in DILG fundby MaiLa ager

Inquirer.net

SeN. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Tuesday, Nov. 24 questioned the P15.3-billion increase in the local government support fund (LGSF) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) next year and its projects that were already being undertaken by other agencies.

Sotto, member of the minority bloc in the Senate, noted during plenary debates on the DILG budget that from P3.1 billion in 2014, the agency is now propos-ing P18.4 billion for its LGSF in 2016.

“May we know the reason for the substantial increase? This is an increase of P15.3B,” Sotto said.

Sen. Loren Legarda, who was defending on the floor the pro-posed budget of the DILG next year as chair of the Senate com-mittee on finance, explained that the LGSF was a source of fund of the bottom-up budgeting (BUB), which she said was previously known as the grassroots partici-patory budgeting.

Legarda said the projects under the BUB were local infra-structure, small water projects, small roads, access roads, and small evacuation, among oth-ers.

But Sotto noted that the DILG budget already included P1.8 billion for water supply, P647 mil-lion for housing, and P41 billion for community projects.

After a series of questions from Sotto, Legarda assured that the funds under the BUB would not be used for political purposes.

The DILG is being headed by Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento, a party-mate of for-mer Secretary Mar Roxas, who is running for president in 2016.

The number of beneficiaries rose from 590 towns in 2013 to 1,490 towns in 2016, Legarda said in explaining the budget increase.

“Are these projects included in the mandate of the DILG? That’s my question,” Sotto said.

“Yes … because the DILG is tasked to ensure that local gov-ernment provides its constituents and its people with the best ser-vices in so far as infrastructure, health , irrigation, etc. and so it’s within their mandate that local governments are empowered to live in livable communities that’s why the process of consultation of BUB was initiated and contin-ued,” Legarda answered.

Besides, she said, the Commis-

sion on Audit could do a perfor-mance audit to determine if the projects were effective.

“If it was not used as a political tool to prop up anyone’s candi-dacy, then it must be continued by government in the next ad-ministration. However, if it’s be-ing used politically and the P15 billion you’re asking me will be given as dole outs in a campaign, that is completely wrong and I’m sure and I’m certain that Secre-tary Sarmiento would not risk his good name just for his political party,” Legarda added.

“I’m not saying anything like that,” Sotto said.

“I thought you were thinking that way,” Legarda answered.

Sotto clarified that he was ask-ing those questions only because if the said projects were already under the DILG, other agencies should stop working on the same endeavors.

Malacañang: ‘We can account for APEC’s P10 B’by deLon PorcaLLa

Philstar.com

MANILA—Malacañang assured the people that the administration would make a full accounting of the P10 billion that was allocated for the Asia-Pacific economic Cooperation (APeC) meetings that concluded last Thursday, Nov. 19.

“Of course, it goes without saying that it will be audited. All government expenses are open to the people,” deputy presiden-tial spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“We are not hiding anything and we know that by the end of the hosting, every single peso will be accounted for,” she assured.

Sen. Francis escudero had called on the Aquino administration to

release the breakdown of expenses for the APeC events.

Valte said the APeC expenses went to the local economy, espe-cially since delegates and visitors spent for their hotel stay, food and other activities during their stay.

She said the expenses went to local hotel accommodations and the infrastructure that would be used later by the people.

Valte clarified that the host gov-ernment only shoulders the hotel and food expenses of the visiting world leader but not their staff and other foreign delegates.

escudero noted there have been allocations for the APeC in the years prior to 2015, most of which went to building and fixing infra-structure in Iloilo City, where meet-ings and dialogues between APeC

member economies had been held since July.

The senator said he would also want to know if the government was the one who financed the vehicles used during the APeC or were they donated.

He noted that Toyota Motors Philippines pledged to provide 483 vehicles, including Altis, For-tuner and Hiace, with drivers for the APeC Senior Officials’ Meetings, private sector-related meetings and the CeO Summit.

He added BMW provided more than 200 units of BMW 7 Series long-wheelbase sedan, BMW 5 Series sedan and Gran Turismo to be used by the ministers and heads of state during the leaders’ meeting, and Mercedes Benz is also an APeC mobility partner.

Lack of quorum threatens BBL passageby aLexis roMero

Philstar.com

MANILA—Malacañang is hope-ful that lawmakers will heed Sen-ate President Franklin Drilon’s ap-peal for them to attend sessions to pass the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which is in danger of being bypassed because of lack of quorum in Congress.

Presidential spokesman edwin Lacierda said the passage of BBL would “redound to the benefit of all the peoples of Mindanao and, in general, to the people of the Philippines.”

“We certainly would hope to see the passage of the BBL. It has been debated in the commit-tee level; it has been discussed in public; all angles have been addressed. So it’s time for the legislators who will pass the law to buckle down and we request them to take a hard look at the BBL,” Lacierda told radio station dzRB.

“We hope our lawmakers listen to the appeal of Senate President Franklin Drilon and I’m sure all of us have an interest and we have a stake in the development of Mus-lim Mindanao,” he added.

A priority measure of the Aqui-

no administration, the BBL aims to form a new Bangsamoro political entity with enhanced autonomy. The new entity will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, one of the poorest regions in the country.

However, the low attendance numbers at the House of Rep-resentatives is obstructing the passage of BBL, raising concerns among peace advocates who claim that failure to enact the mea-sure would prolong the poverty and violence in Mindanao.

Concerns about the fate of the BBL has prompted Drilon to re-

Enrile proposes to raise OVP’s 2016 budget to P500-MAFTeR scrutinizing the pro-

posed budget of the Office of the President (OVP) in 2016, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce en-rile softened his stance on Vice President Jejomar Binay’s office that he even proposed to almost double its proposed budget raise next year.

From the P230.5 million budget of the OVP as approved by the House of Representatives, enrile proposed to raise it to P500 mil-lion.

“Mr. President, I have no ques-tion on this budget except to say that it’s so small. Kawawa naman ang Vice President natin, dinagdagan man lang sana,” the opposition leader said.

Senator Loren Legarda, who was defending the OVP’s budget as chair of the Senate committee on finance, said she was open to adjusting “because any of our colleagues could be the next vice president.”

L e g a rd a w a s re f e r r i n g

to Senators Francis escude-ro, Alan Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong”Marcos Jr. and Anto-nio Trillanes IV, who are all run-ning for vice president in 2016.

“Gawin man lang nating half a billion,” said enrile. enrile, Binay, and former President and Manila Mayor Joseph estrada head the United Nationalist Alli-ance (UNA).

“I think we should not deni-grate the Office of the Vice Presi-dent; everybody will bow to him if something happens to the President,” the minority leader added.

Legarda and Senate Presi-dent Franklin Drilon, who was presiding over the session, said the chamber would consider enrile’s proposal at the appropri-ate time.

“All my cuts will go to the Of-fice of the Vice President,” enrile added, referring to his proposed budgetary cuts in some agencies of government.

Before this, enrile scrutinized the budget of the OVP, particu-

larly the P250 million budget for intelligence expenses and another P250 million for confidential funds of Malacañang.

“My question is: why is the President having an intelligence fund when he’s an intelligence user? He’s not an intelligence gatherer,” he said, referring to President Benigno Aquino III.

by MaiLa agerInquirer.net

Sen. Tito Sotto

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile

new his call to his colleagues to be present in the plenary hearings and to actively participate in the discussions.

“I call on my colleagues not to abandon this piece of legislation so crucial to the establishment of peace and development in Mind-anao. We can make the most of out our remaining session days by passing this bill, along with other important legislation such as the 2016 national budget,” Drilon said in a statement last Saturday, Nov. 21.

Drilon said the Senate leader-ship is working closely with their counterparts at the House of Rep-resentatives led by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to closely monitor the progress of BBL.

Aside from the quorum prob-lems, another impediment to BBL’s passage is the strong op-position of lawmakers and legal experts who believe that the mea-sure violates the Constitution.

Opponents of the bill have ques-tioned the inclusion of areas that do not want to be part of the new Bangsamoro entity and the sup-posed delegation of taxing powers to a region, something prohibited by the Constitution.

Senate President Franklin Drilon

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Fil-Aussie Cyrus Villanueva wins ‘X Factor Australia’MANILA—Filipino-Australian

Cyrus Villanueva is declared the winner of the seventh season of X Factor Australia during the show’s grand finals on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

The 17-year-old singer bested two other finalists, Jess and Matt and Louise Adams, to win the competition.

Jess and Matt from the Groups category were eliminated earlier during the finale, which left Louise from the Over 25s category and Cyrus from the Under 25 Boys category as the last contestants standing.

But in the end, it was the Fil-Aus-sie who took home the crown.

“I can’t thank everyone enough,” Cyrus said after being announced as the winner. “I want to thank my beautiful family and friends, all the

other contestants, the judges, Chris [Isaak], of course. I couldn’t have had a better mentor than you.”

On Monday, Nov. 23, Cyrus performed three songs: his audi-tion song “Earned It” by Canadian singer The Weeknd, Nick Jonas’ “Jealous” for his Grand Finals song and “Stone” for his winner’s song, which will be his debut single as the winner of “X Factor Australia.”

His mentor Chris Isaak said of his performance: “That’s it for me mentoring you, I guess. It’s sad for me in a way because I had so much fun working with you. I have learned so much from you. You know, I might ask back for that handkerchief I gave you early on when you started crying, because now I’m crying.”

“There has been a level of perfec-

tion to your performances tonight that no one can deny,” judge Danii Minogue said. (Philstar.com)

US food magazine: Go try Jollibeeby Janvic Mateo

Philstar.com

MANILA—An American food and entertainment magazine recently recognized Jollibee as one of the fast-food chains rapidly gaining popularity in the United States.

US-based magazine Bon Appe-tit included Jollibee in the “Foreign Invasion” category of its list of fast-food restaurants to watch for in 2015.

“Jollibee has started popping up in the States, primarily on the West Coast but with a smattering in Houston, Queens, Jersey City, Las Vegas and Virginia Beach,” the magazine said.

“Store openings are often met with long lines of curiosity seekers and Asian expats,” it added.

The magazine also cited Chick-enjoy, Jolly Spaghetti, Aloha Burg-er and Palabok Fiesta as among Jollibee’s signature dishes.

“We are very pleased to be included in the list of Bon Ap-petit alongside other similar fast food chains that are continuously growing and making their mark in the US quick service restaurant industry,” said Jollibee Global Brand chief marketing officer Francis Flores.

“This is another positive step

towards our goal of becoming one of the top three fast food chains in the world, as we aim to bring our signature langhap sarap meals and the joy of eating to more families,” he added.

Jollibee joined British Pret A Manger, Guatemalan Pollo Camp-ero, South Korean Paris Baguette and South African Nardo’s Peri-Peri in the “Foreign Invasion” category.

Also included in the list is American fast-food chain Smash-burger, of which Jollibee recently acquired a 40-percent stake.

Jollibee opened its first US store in Daly City in California in 1988. It

currently has 32 stores in the US, located in California, Nevada, New York, Washington, Hawaii, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.

Jollibee also has branches in Vietnam, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore and Hong Kong, bringing its total number of overseas branches to 132.

The company has announced plans to open more stores this year and is projected to have a total store count of 144 by year-end.

In 2014, Jollibee became the number one fast-food company in Asia in terms of market capitaliza-tion.

MANILA—Dingdong Dantes on Tues-day, Nov. 24 expressed his joy over the coming of his first-born child with Marian Rivera.

The Kapuso actress gave birth to a baby girl, Maria Letizia, on Monday, Nov. 23.

The Kapuso actor posted photo of his daughter’s hand and on the caption said, “Twenty-three November, 2015: The day God decided to deliver His most precious gift.”

“This morning, I witnessed a miracle... and during that moment, I realized that my life would never be the same again,” he added.

In the end, Dingdong thanked ev-eryone who supported him and wife Marian in the course of her pregnancy. (Philstar.com)

Dingdong Dantes: Daughter to change my life forever

Cyrus Villanuva is this year’s ‘X Factor Australia’ winner.

Dingdong Dantes

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John Arcilla rekindles celeb status via ‘Heneral Luna’by BoBBy yalong

All stars in the firmament seemed aligned signaling the na-scence of a much brighter heavenly body in the person of John Arcilla who exuded eye-blinding bril-liance in his latest movie, “Heneral luna.”

They say good film project like this comes as rare as raindrops in a mid-summer day but the phenomenon worked in Arcilla’s favor… being just propitious to be at the right place at the right time with lady luck by his side. After having already justifiably proven his mettle in the acting depart-ment with numerous awards and citations to boot and had profitably survived the industry’s topsy-turvy setting for more than a score, star-tlingly, Arcilla’s moniker refuses to emit the luster that it should have discharged.

Talent like Arcilla’s begets a highly sensible acting vehicle and time must have just come for him to claim the elusively long overdue spot via “Heneral luna.”

Critically acclaimed movies in-frequently amass huge box-office returns. It’s either one rakes in vo-luminous ticket returns in hundreds of millions but fails to win the nods of award-giving bodies or vice-versa. However, “Heneral luna’s” current top box-office status might change the dwindling perspective of the local movie industry and en-liven the dormant spirit of untapped talents.

Incidentally, last Wednesday, November 3, 2015, this writer un-expectedly received a luncheon in-vitation for a one-on-one interview with “Heneral luna’s” principal character, John Arcilla himself, who quietly breezed into town in con-nection with the film’s east coast promotion.

Set in the posh liberty Park Restaurant overlooking the scenic Hudson River with the panoramic view of towering New York City skyscrapers, Arcilla came sport-ily donned in pristine white dress shirt, black suit jacket over blue denims sans any trace of jet lag or lack of sleep.

The meeting went comfortably warm before a sumptuous food-laden table courtesy of Bergenfield councilman Atty. Arvin Amatorio (who happens to be Arcilla’s relative and townmate from Baler, Aurora) and affable marketing specialist and Hudson RehabSpa co-owner Mike Florendo.

Heartily enjoying his sirloin steak in between exchanges of pleasantries, our tete-a-tete went

as casual as old-buddy-talk after vivid reminiscence of some fond memories of our early acquaintance back home. Actually we initially met in Baguio City on the set of one of Director lav Diaz’s Regal Films projects, “Burger Boys,” where one of my talents was the lead actor.

I calmly threw my first question without sounding too inquisitive:

Bobby T. Yalong (BTY): How did the project (Heneral Luna) land on your lap?

John Arcilla (JA): According to my director, Jerrold Tarog, I was his first choice even before the project reached its final revision. What hap-pened was he saw two of my films during an international screening and immediately considered me for his project. But I was still called for audition and luckily delivered what was expected of me.

BTY: How did you prepare for the role?

JA: Actually, I already have a vague idea of General Antonio luna after having briefly played the role on stage and on the wide screen but not really too detailed. I spent time doing researches about his private life and his peculiar personality.

BTY: From the way the movie was presented, it must have been shot in various settings. What are the locations? How long did it take to finish the film?

JA: We went to a lot of locations:

JA: Tony Mabesa in “Ang Al-kalde ng Salamea” presented at the Dulaang UP way back in 1989.

BTY: What were the musical productions you’ve done?

JA: I have done a lot: “Orosman & Zafra,” “Walang Sugat,” Ryan Cayabyab’s Rizal trilogy, but my pivotal role as lakshmana in the 1999 musical production of “Rama at Sita” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines remains one of my favorites.

BTY: Who you consider your mentor-discoverer?

JA: That would be Raymond Red when he cast me in “Bayani” and in almost all his projects.

BTY: Who among the directors that handled you do you consider the best?

JA: (John took a brief pause… seemingly trying to quantify his reply before verbalizing it) I’m just too lucky to be given the opportu-nity to be under knowledgeable directors but I would say, Carlitos Siguion Reyna… he’s my director in “ligaya Ang Itawag Mo sa Akin” that gave me my first ever Best Actor award from Urian. He’s very meticulous not only in delivering lines and emoting but exceptionally particular in nuances, blocking, and execution. Needless to mention my director in “Heneral luna” He’s one of the best we have today.

BTY: It’s a common knowledge among local showbiz authorities that every award has a curse. Do you believe in such or were you also “victimized” by the “curse of the statuette?”

JA: Well, I guess so. After my first Best Actor award, I tried to raise my talent fee as everybody did but offers came scarce … actually, none at all. Good that I have the the-ater to back up my financial needs. I suffered a lull for almost two years after my first acting trophy.

BTY: After the said “drought” what film project revived your almost dwindling career?

do you equate the instant success of the “AlDub” phenomenon? Do you think it will last?

JA: It may be a fad or craze but let’s face it … who could argue with success? Theirs is a wholesome picture of the Filipino youth that demonstrates Pinoy conservatism despite the modernity of society. Yes, I guess, it will continue to enjoy success. Hopefully they’ll be able to sustain the same thrill and enthusiasm that made Eat Bulaga’s “Kalye-Serye” segment, not only a television phenomenon but a world sensation.

For his unprecedented achieve-ments and exceptional stature as one of the country’s most ac-claimed actors in theater, films, television, and advertising, Arcilla was deservingly conferred with the “Dangal ng Aurora” in 2005. low-key despite overwhelming success, Arcilla is professionally armed with a Mass Communications degree from St. Joseph’s College of Que-zon City.

He prides himself with his Hol-lywood debut in The Bourne leg-acy in 2011 and has experienced attending various international film competitions abroad where his films were screened.

As a multi-awarded actor, Arcilla has been nominated several times in both Best Actor and Best Sup-porting Actor categories including another Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 16th British Inde-pendent Films Awards in 2013.

His latest movie, “Heneral luna,” is currently enjoying unpar-alleled success being regarded as the longest running movie shown in the Philippines and one of the highest grossers at more than 275 million pesos (as of press time) and still grossing while infectiously penetrating the northern American cinemas. Fresh from his personal appearances all over the Philip-pines and in various key cities in the US promoting the Philippine entry to the 2015 Oscars (for Best Foreign language Film), the inde-fatigable actor actively makes the rounds of almost all theaters where “Heneral luna” is showing.

For comments and suggestions, please email: gemini0646@yahoo.com

JA: A Regal project came … “Sa Iyo lamang” which starred Richard Gomez and Aiko Melendez. Then a renewed flow of luck came… one movie assignment after another.

BTY: Going back to ‘Heneral Luna,’ is there, at some point, some similarities between you and the character you played? How do you characterize him?

JA: Well, I could also be arrogant in some instance but there should be a forceful provocation to flare me up. But with regard to intense patriotism, as a Filipino, I would say “Heneral luna” is an imper-fect person who loves his country perfectly. He might be known for his arrogance but comparatively, I want to immortalize my passion through my art.

BTY: While enjoying the suc-cess of “Heneral Luna,” what are your future plans?

JA: I may sound ambitious but I want to take advantage of this op-portunity. When I dream, I dream big. I want to penetrate the interna-tional scene … the mainstream … and be marketed as “a Filipino in America” unlike those Asians who were actually born in the US. At the moment, I’m starting to scout for a competent agent to represent me while simultaneously compiling all things I may need for my profes-sional profile.

BTY: After “Heneral Luna,” will you be choosy with projects being offered to you?

JA: The audience provided me with the chance to be choosy fol-lowing the success of “Heneral luna.” I guess I deserve to be a bit selective or demanding not only to sustain the honor attached to my name as an actor but also to create a new level of status or an escalated dimension for my career. If I won’t then I will be forever where I am or could even lag behind, in worst case scenario.

BTY: Let’s take a “bite” of what’s “in” at the moment. How

Director Jerrold Tarog

John Arcilla as Heneral Luna in one of his intense scenes

John Arcilla at his best.

Split image. The original Heneral Luna and actor John Arcilla could be twins separated at birth

The actor as a singer-performer

The lone warrior in the battle front

Heneral Luna star John Arcilla paid a courtesy call on Consul General Mario L. De Leon, Jr. at the Philippine Consulate General in New York recently. Arcilla was in town to help promote the US screenings of Heneral Luna, the Philippine entry to the Oscars. Photo courtesy of PCGNY

Batangas, Bataan, Quezon, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga … literally, all over luzon with most of the war scenes shot in Tarlac. It took us 31 days to shoot… braving the rain, the heat, and the physically-ex-hausting location changes. I had no break since I was in almost every scene … and I couldn’t afford to lose the momentum … my pres-ence was essential.

BTY: Now that the movie is re-ceiving good reviews, would you consider “Heneral Luna” your new crowning glory?

JA: I should say, yes! The fact that this is my first title role and although I always gave my best in every project I did, be it lead or support, I doubled my effort in this project. Every scene was demanding, physically exhausting and mentally draining but very rewarding.

BTY: Prior this movie, what did you consider the best that you’ve done? Why?

JA: Well, that would be “Anino” by Raymond Red … and yes, “Metro Manila” by Sean Ellis, of course, simply because I won local and international recognitions in both films. And those are the two movies that convinced Director Jer-rold Tarog to cast me as “Heneral luna.”

BTY: By the way, how did you enter showbusiness?

JA: Actually, it was a childhood obsession. I loved singing first. Believe me, I was an amateurista (regular singing amateur contes-tant) during my youth … and I was always a winner. I was active in school plays during my high school days then when I was in college, I did a television commercial that became a household phrase: “Cof-fee na lang, dear…” I was also into theater and musical productions under Irma Adlawan, Ryan Cayaby-ab, Nonong Padilla and became a scholar of laurice Guillen’s School of Actors Workshop Foundation.

BTY: What sort of musical genre composed your reper-toire?

JA: I sing Broadway pieces, ballads, and classical music. I’m a pop-tenor with no formal train-ing. Actually I was offered by Viva Records in 1990 but I was then pre-occupied with theater.

BTY: Who handled you in your initial theatrical project?

‘Heneral Luna’ is this year’s Philippine entry to the Oscars. Photos from Henerallunathemovie.com

(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 26-dEcEmbER 2, 2015 B�

‘KathNiel’ adds star power to Mar Roxas’ presidential bid

The camp of administration presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas II has now tapped the help of teen actress Kathryn Bernardo to help in Roxas’ bid to reach a younger part of the electorate.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Nov. 22 broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas revealed that Ber-nardo has followed the lead of her onscreen partner Daniel Padilla to campaign for the administration bet.

The teen actors, dubbed as the “Teen King and Queen,” were seen wearing yellow outfits and flashing the “Laban” sign alongside with the Roxas and Sanchez-Roxas.

Sanchez-Roxas captioned the photo with: “#KathNiel is for Mar! Teen King and Queen Daniel Pa-dilla and Kathryn Bernardo go for Mar Roxas for President in 2016!#DaangMatuwidPaMore”

Netizens’ reactions to the photo were mixed: some said that they support the teen loveteam’s deci-sion while some questioned the amount paid in order to secure the pair’s endorsement.

The Liberal Party first tapped Padilla’s star power in a video where the teen actor and Roxas discussed Manila’s horrible traffic situation.

In the said three-minute video, Roxas laid out his plans to solve the traffic woes in the metropolis which include the construction of the connector road linking the North and South Luzon expressways and revamping the system of granting franchises to public utility buses.

Another video of Padilla with Roxas showed the administration candidate answering questions regarding the rehabilitation of Tacloban City following the on-slaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” (haiyan).

Team Daang Matuwid spokes-person Barry Gutierrez has earlier said that they tapped Padilla to fix the “masa appeal” of Roxas.

“We want him (Padilla), as a matinee idol, to draw people in and engage them in a discussion of the important issues. Initially, we want to attract his fans to our message,” Gutierrez was quoted as saying in an Inquirer report.

The latest Pulse Asia presidential poll survey showed Roxas placing only third from front-runner Sena-tor Grace Poe and second placer Vice President Jejomar Binay. (Inquirer.net)

(L-R) Daniel Padilla, Korina Sanchez, Kathryn Bernardo and presidential aspirant Mar Roxas

A Heart of beauty in ‘This Is Me, Love Marie’by Tessa Mauricioa-arriola

ManilaTimes.net

She is one of those women who never has a hair out of place, never sweats, and never breaks out. And besides her extremely good looks, she has a talent for acting that has made her famous, as well as a gift for painting that has allowed her celebrity to tran-scend art forms.

Still, heart evangelista is like-able as she is enviable, especially since she is trying to make this world a fairer place for woman-kind by releasing a book of her beauty secrets in “This Is Me, Love Marie.”

Published by Summit Books, the GMA Network star describes writing the title much like writing her diary.

“It contains 30 years of every-thing I’ve learned [in beauty], and I’m sharing it with everyone,” she excitedly said at her book launch-cum-signing event at Glorietta in Makati City.

Touted as the very first beauty guide authored by a Filipino ac-tress, heart—who was born Love Marie Ongpauco—is certainly credible in this department as one of the country’s most beauti-ful faces.

The book is filled with the 30-year-old’s philosophies about beauty, her top make up tips and tricks, skincare suggestions, as well as her personal picks from the flood of beauty products in the market today. A sure come-on for fans of the actress are the step-by-step demos that photograph the author herself.

“I’m really excited about this book, and I also hope to inspire women on not just looking good but feeling good about them-selves, through my little notes and messages throughout the book,” heart added.

On to politicsNo matter what the agenda is

at heart’s every interview these

Heart Evangelista holds up a copy of her beauty guide book

days, she cannot seem to avoid a discussion about 2016’s national elections, what with her husband Sen. Chiz escudero running as vice president to Sen. Grace Poe.

ever gracious in answering questions, heart indulged ques-tions regarding her mother Cecil Ongpauco’s latest statement that she is supporting the presiden-tial bid of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago.

It will be remembered that it was in fact Santiago who played cupid to heart and escudero, set-ting them up a few years back.

“Ang tagal na naming friends ni Tita Miriam and she’s like a mom to me. She’s my mom’s mentor. We knew about it, we talked about it and it was perfectly fine for all of us,” the actress claimed. “It’s not a problem because we’re all entitled to who we want [to support].”

heart said she even talked to Santiago about supporting Sen. Poe’s bid. “Tita Miriam said, ‘You know, it’s right that you stand by your husband. And I respect that.’ [even with this], we’ll always be friends. even if we don’t talk, or we talk after how many years,

friends don’t forget each other. So, wala kaming problema.”

Moreover, the actress revealed that even Sen. Poe understands her mom’s decision to vote for Sen. Santiago. “She said, ‘I un-derstand her sentiments. I only met her maybe a month ago, samantalang matagal na niyang kilala at mentor niya si Senator Miriam’.”

Beauties campaigningheart also confirmed talks that

she and her best friend Lovi Poe will be active in campaigning for Senators Poe and escudero around the country by 2016. Lovi is Sen. Poe’s half-sister.

heart clarified, however, that her husband has never pressured her to campaign for him, since he has always respected her inde-pendence in her career.

“If anything he wants me to prioritize my career since we’ve always agreed it will be good to go home and have different worlds to talk about and learn from. Niloloko din niya ako na baka pa-gusmama ako sa kanya, ako lang daw ang pansinin ng tao!” heart ended with a loving laugh.

How Martin Nievera plays Santa to his familyFOR Concert King Martin Nie-

vera, who has planted roots in the Philippines, hawaii and the United States, during different stages in his life, home—especially in the yuletide season—home is indeed where the heart is.

With family in all these differ-ent countries, his loved ones agree that Christmas becomes more special whenever he is home.

“Christmas is more special when Martin’s around because he is Santa Claus to all of us,” shares twin sister Vicky Nievera-Davis. “he always goes out of his way to get the perfect gift, puts lots of thought in what he chooses, and he shops on his own and does not send anyone out to shop for him.

“he sets the tone for Christmas, loves to decorate all areas of the house and the Christmas tree,” she goes on. “And of course, he plays Christmas music the whole time when we decorate to get us in the mood.

“Christmas is more special for me when he’s around because we both have kids that live away from us now in the States; so when we’re not able to travel to be with our kids then, it helps that we can be together,” the doting sister rounds up.

For another sibling, Rachel Nievera-Zdzieba, “Christmas becomes more special with him around because he is like a child with such excitement to give his gifts, which he puts so much thought into. his generosity is one in a million.”

“My Tito Martin is the family’s ‘Secret Santa’,” shares nephew Miguel Tabuena, son of yet another sister named Tere. “he doesn’t just buy gifts for every-one. No matter where he is or how busy he is, he makes such a big effort to find out what we need or what we wish for. For the longest time, I even made him believe I am his inaanak (godchild) even if I am not so that I get a bigger gift.”

Over here in the Philippines,

Martin Nievera is all set to usher in the holidays with a special concert.

godson Paolo Valenciano—son of Martin’s good friend Gary Valen-ciano—joins in with his own tidbit, saying, “Tito Marts usually isn’t here during Christmas. he comes back usually towards the end of the season. And right when you think Christmas is over, he shows up like a late Santa with gifts and goodies for everyone! Christmas in January.”

Concluding the happy remi-niscences, Paolo’s wife Samantha Godinez-Valenciano enthuses, “Christmas with Tito Martin is al-ways special because of the same reason why we all love the idea of a Santa Claus. It’s not about the gifts he gives but the idea of why he’s giving. he wants everyone to be happy. his main purpose in life is to make people happy. he thinks of every single gift he gives and you can see how excited he is when he gives it.”

It is for all these reasons too that Martin’s family and loved ones were elated with the news that the Concert King will mount a holiday concert in Manila on December 1. Aptly dubbed Mar-tin home for Christmas, it will be held at The Theater at Solaire Resort and Casino, and produced by Fullhouse Asia Production Studios, Inc.

According to the Concert Roy-alty, the show will usher in merri-est season in the same way those close to him describe his magic touch for Christmas.

“So whether you have been naughty or nice, you’re assured of a wonderful time,” Martin jokes.

Lined up besides classic Christ-mas carols are the popular ballad-eers most sentimental hits, with long-time friend Louie Ocampo, and the ABS CBN Philharmonic Orchestra. (ManilaTimes.net)

Tête-à-tête with Nora AunorI CAN’T help but get nostalgic

every time I see Nora Aunor. Ate Guy and my late mom (Inday Badi-day) were partners in crime. They rose to fame together.

Ate Guy saw me grow up. As I write about her now, my mind goes on flashback mode. I am happy that the Superstar is back in the TV scene via GMA 7’s “Little Nanay.” The family-oriented drama series has such a positive and happy vibe which we all need in this time of IS crisis. If only the world could have a group hug.

Also in the series is eddie Gar-cia. Two show biz giants in “Little Nanay” make quite a formidable combination.

here’s my chat with Ate Guy.What made you accept the of-

fer of GMA 7?First of all, I accepted the offer

to do “Little Nanay (Mommy)”

by Dolly anne carvajalInquirer.net because it has a good story. Com-

pared to the movies I make, the show is light, which is a welcome change for me. There is a lot to be learned from the show, especially by mothers. Secondly, I am com-fortable with the staff and crew, whom I have worked with before in “Pari Koy.”

Do you agree with what some quarters say, that Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza is the “Nora Au-nor” of this generation?

It’s hard for me to answer that because I have not watched her on TV—I have not met her personally. I would rather leave it to the audi-ence to answer that.

What advice did you give your granddaughter, Janine Gutierrez, about show biz?

To keep her feet on the ground and not to forget all the people who helped her along the way. To love her job so she will have staying power.

Who is the foreign celebrity you would like to have dinner with and what would you ask him or her?

My idols, Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep. I will have my picture taken with them and ask for their auto-graphs. I would be too shy to ask them any questions.

What’s your fondest memory of your struggling days?

Trying my luck and going against all odds for the sake of my family.

What’s your reaction to people who impersonate you?

I’m fine with that because I know they keep people entertained, but I just hope they won’t exaggerate. Some of their movements, I don’t really do.

Among all your classic lines in your movies, which one is your favorite?

“Walang himala! (There is no miracle!)” and “hayop! (Ani-mal!)”

EntErtainmEnt

november 26-december 2, 2015 • LAS veGAS ASIAn JoUrnAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678B� PeoPle and events

Asian American Group gives turkeys to underprivileged Las Vegas families ON Monday, Nov. 23, the

Asian American Group (AAG) held a turkey giveaway to needy Las Vegas families at Downtown Area Command. They were joined by the Sheriff along with Area Captains.

The AAG donated over 1,200 turkeys to underprivileged fami-lies in Las Vegas for Thanksgiv-ing.

The AAG in cooperation with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Po-lice identified the families and the area where this donation will be greatly needed. The turkeys where distributed at Carlen El-ementary School, Downtown Area Command, and Matt Kelly Elementary School.

Mike Vaswani is passionate to help anyone in need.

The Asian American Group is a community association with a mis-sion of unifying and strengthening the community. It has united Asian leaders in the community to work with law enforcement, other charities, elected officials, recognizing the outstanding con-tributors to our community each year and to identify and help areas of the community in need. Matt Kelly Elementary School has been “adopted” by the AAG and is helped yearly with books, toys and meals for the students. In the last several years, AAG has developed and distributed col- lege scholar-ships to students in need.

AJPress photos Robert Macabagdal

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(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 26-dEcEmbER 2, 2015 B�Features

Atty. RobeRt ReevesMilleR ZhAng & DiZA, A PlC

Your ImmigrationSolution

PAGE B7

For immigrants contribution to America: A Thank You!

PhiliP s. ChuA,MD, FACs, FPCs

Health@Heart Aspirin daily: safe or risky?

HAVE you ever considered that America’s most famous icon is an immigrant? That’s right! The Statue of Liberty was “born” in France and brought to Amer-ica by ship. The quintessential symbol of American liberty and freedom, Lady Liberty herself, is an “immigrant.”

As the late Senator Ted Ken-nedy said “Immigration is the story of American History.

Over the centuries, immigrants came to America from every part of the globe and made the Ameri-can dream. They created a nation that is the envy of the world.” “They came to a land that offers freedom and opportunity to those willing to do their part.” And do their part, they have! Immigrants have contributed to and enriched

every aspect of American life. They built our cities, our railroads and highways. They cultivated our farmlands. They fought to de-fend their adopted home in every branch of the US military.

And, they even gave us Thanks-giving, the quintessential Ameri-can holiday. The first recorded Thanksgiving ceremony took place on September 8, 1565 when 600 Spanish settlers landed in what is now St. Augustine, Florida and immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving for their safe delivery to the New World. The Mass was followed by a feast and celebration. A Spanish expedi-tion party rested and conducted a mass at San Elizario (near El Paso, Texas) in celebration of thanksgiving on April 30, 1598. On December 4, 1619, 38 Eng-lish settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred, which is about 20 miles north of Jamestown, Virginia. The group’s charter required that the day of arrival be observed

yearly as a day of thanksgiving to G-d.

The modern Thanksgiving holiday is associated with a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plan-tation where the Pilgrims held a feast after a successful growing season. Sqauanto, a Native Amer-ican who served as an interpreter for the English-speaking colony had taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn. The Pilgrims set aside a day to cel-ebrate immediately after their first harvest. That Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days and provided enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. It consisted of fowl, venison, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, squash and turkey.

Since that time, a Thanksgiving Day has been proclaimed and cel-ebrated periodically throughout our nationhood. However, the date was not officially set as the fourth Thursday of November until 1942.

Regardless of where the im-migrants came from and no matter when they arrived, they shared something in common with each other and with those who come to our shores today. They all wanted a better life for themselves and their families. They were also willing to work hard to get that better life. And, they were profoundly grateful to the country that gave them the opportunity for betterment. That is all still true.

It is also still true that the coun-try that benefitted so much from the early immigrants continues to benefit from those who come to our shores today. They bring energy and skill that enrich the lives of those with whom they come in contact. They start busi-nesses and create jobs. They provide wonderful examples of family devotion by the sacrifices they make to unite their families here and support their loved ones back home.

At RMZD, we know how impor-tant families are. We recognize how much America owes to each person who has brought a unique contribution to this country. And we continue to strive to obtain justice and fairness for them. Fairness and justice means grant-ing lawful status to those who devote their life and energy to make and keep this country great. It is fulfilling the promise of Lady Liberty who lifts her light of lib-erty beside the golden door.

Since 1947, each year for Thanksgiving the President of the United States has pardoned a live turkey to allow it to live out its days in peace. Surely a country that has compassion for its turkeys can show compassion for its people. We are profoundly grateful to our President for doing what he can to “fix the broken immigration system” and prevent the breakup of loving families. We hope that the members of Congress (most of whom are either immigrants or

descendants of immigrants) will put partisan rhetoric aside and allow themselves to be motivated by respect for families and the good of the country and pass a fair and equitable bill for Comprehen-sive Immigration Reform in 2016 so that American immigrants will truly have something to be thankful for.

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

***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)

My column on “Aspirin, the Wonder Drug,” came out in 2002, when this common house-hold item was on the spotlight for sometime for its new role in staving off heart attack, medi-cally termed Acute Myocardial Infarction (the killer, Acute MI). In 1962, a year after I gradu-ated from medical school, my 46-year-old father succumbed to a heart attack, and at that time, the medical community did not even have a clue that aspirin was useful in lowering the risk of Acute MI and that taking aspirin immediately when chest pains developed was a prudent thing to do as one prepared to go to the emergency room. Today, these are all “common knowledge,” especially in this wonderful age of the internet, where Dr. Google is on-call 24/7.

Studies involving 11,000 per-sons in the United Kingdom is underway to find out if aspirin could really reduce the recur-rence rate for cancers, or even prevent cancer as suggested by preliminary data. For more than 4 decades, this popular and cheap pill has been used,

not only as antipyretic (against fever), analgesic (for pain), and anti-inflammatory (against arthri-tis), but also to prevent inflam-mation in the veins in the pelvis and legs (phlebitis) and resultant blood clots (thrombophlebitis) in the legs which could travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolus) and cause death. Here, aspirin acts as a mild blood thinner.

But, since all drugs, almost without exceptions, have “natu-ral” side-effects, does aspirin have any?

What is aspirin?Aspirin (medically known as

acetylsalicylic acid) is a common household medication for pain (analgesic), fever (antipyretic), and inflammation (anti-inflam-matory). This “simple” and in-expensive drug is so much un-derrated and practically taken for granted. Aspirin is really a versatile drug, with a lot of uses, much more than the lay public realizes.

How was aspirin discov-ered?

In 1827, Leroux of France first came upon salicin, an active in-gredient in the willow bark, and in 1838, Piria produced salicylic acid from salicin. In 1899, Dreser introduced acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) into medicine. This has been in popular use since then, with about 20 tons used annually

today in the United States alone. More than 100 million standard aspirin pills are produced every year, globally. The enteric-coated form is preferred to minimize gastric irritation.

How is aspirin versatile?Besides being used as an an-

algesic for pain of various causes (headaches, body aches, arthritis, dysmenorrhea, neuralgia,gout, etc), and for febrile states, as-pirin is also useful in the treat-ment of rheumatic disease, and as an anti-platelet (to thin the blood and prevent blood clots) in coronary (heart) artery and in the deep veins in the legs and pelvis, as we stated above. There have also been articles written in the medical literature postulating reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer by 20% and also lowers the risk for colorectal cancer, as reported in the Jour-nal of National Cancer Institute. Many physicians themselves and patients today take low-dose aspirin (baby aspirin or 81 mg.) daily to reduce the chances of getting a heart attack and stroke by its anti-platelet (blood thin-ning) action by blocking the production of a prostaglandin called thromboxane, It is be-lieved the drug produces the an-algesic/anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of pain-producing chemicals called

prostaglandins.Are there other known uses

for aspirin?Aspirin has also been used

with success in the treatment of children with Bartter’s Syn-drome, and also in enhancing the closure of Patent Ductus Arte-riosus, an abnormal connection between the aorta (main artery connected to the heart) and the pulmonary artery (to the lungs) in the newborn. If the PDA does not close normally, surgery may be needed to ligate it (close with sutures) before the child starts school.

There are also studies that suggest regular aspirin use in-creases the chances of concep-tion and a successful pregnancy, among those women who have had dilemma in getting preg-nant or having miscarriages or stillbirths.

How does aspirin reduce risk for heart attack and stroke?

Aspirin, as we stated earlier, thins the blood by preventing platelet aggregation. Platelets are blood component that plays a role in blood thickening or clot formation. When they aggregate (clump together) blood thickens and clots form. Clots tend to clog arteries and veins. When arter-ies to the heart (coronary) get severely blocked by clots, heart attack occurs, and when this clogging happens to the arteries to the brain, stroke happens. As

simple as aspirin, this wonder drug plays a very vital role in these conditions, together with a change in lifestyle (no smoking, low carb/cholesterol diet, regular exercises, etc.) to maintain a thinner blood condition.

Is aspirin safe for children?Pediatricians all over the

world have, for almost 5 de-cades, discontinued prescribing aspirin for children for pain and fever, because aspirin has been implicated in the occurrence of Reye’s Syndrome in children fol-lowing a viral (upper respiratory or gastrointestinal) infection, which syndrome could be fatal. For fever or pain, physicians now prefer to prescribe acetamino-phen (like Tylenol) or Ibuprofen, but for some specific illnesses (like Kawasaki Disease, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc.) aspi-rin is still being used effectively by Pediatricians.

What are the side-effects of aspirin?

Besides Reye’s Syndrome in children, allergy (especially those with asthma), life-threat-ening gastrointestinal bleeding, long-term intake of aspirin (for arthritis or any condition, or even for prevention of cardiovascular diseases), have also shown that it increases the risk for the de-velopment “age-related” macular degeneration, the major cause of blindness in older adults. Taking aspirin also raises the bleeding

risk of those on blood thin-ners, like warfarin (Coumadin), dabigatran, apixaban, and on food supplements like evening primrose oil and fish oil. Minor side-effects include headache (believe it or not), bruising, nau-sea, vomiting, tinnitus (ringing in the ear).

In spite of all this, the new guidelines issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “recommend daily low-dose aspirin for heart at-tack and stroke prevention for individuals aged 50-59 who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease.”

“Taking aspirin every day will increase your chance of survival against serious diseases; this is clear-cut, and aspirin is cheap and effective,” says Peter El-wood, professor of epidemiology at the UK’s University of Wales.

Before embarking on an aspi-rin therapy, consult your attend-ing physician.

***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

MonetteAdevA MAglAyA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

WITHOUT assimilation by every immigrant to his or her adoptive country through the generations, no nation can re-tain the structural integrity of the foundational values that created it in the first place. That nation’s collapse is not a matter of “if” but “when.”

More simply put: Immigration without assimilation is nothing more than invasion.

Two opposing forces on the issue of immigration are align-ing. There could only be one of two ways. you are either for or against it. It was too hot to handle for previous administra-tions. Presently, the conscious non-enforcement of the laws in the books appears to be a long-term sinister agenda of seeding future electorate for one particu-lar party. America has placed this divisive issue of immigration far too long in the back burner.

Unchecked illegal immigration has reached critical mass and the time has come to confront this is-sue head on.

For Election 2016, the sick American economy is still issue number one for a majority of voters. A debtor nation plagued with a serious job crisis with over 92 million workers unemployed and owing $19 trillion dollars in debt is in no position to wield its big stick in the global stage. It is losing its superpower status to other nations, notably Russia and China. There is a new sheriff in town wielding the big stick in dealing with ISIS and his name is Putin. There are serious doubts ex-KGB Vladimir Putin can be trusted as he has been itching for years to rebuild the lost glory of Russia on the world stage.

However, to engage Russia over Syria just as theUS had fool-ishly done in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, costing trillions of dol-lars and thousands of American lives lost over essentially noth-ing is certainly not in America’s best interest at this time when its economy is severely battered and the psyche of most Ameri-cans dealing with day to day existence, at an all time low. Stupidity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result.

Tied in closely with American economic woes is the issue of

Melting pot or salad bowl? The serious case for assimilation

“Immigration without assimilationis nothing more than invasion.”

immigration. Whether deliber-ately or not, Donald J. Trump has yanked the issue of illegal immi-gration front and center. Anyone applying for the post of top dog must deal with it. It seems that Trump has tapped into an an-gry pulsating nerve of a “yUGE” swath of the American popula-tion.

To the absolute dismay of both the Republican and Demo-cratic parties, Trump’s message is resonating. Over the last 4 months since June this year, he seems to have morphed into the microphone for many Americans who have no voice and who are plainly sick and tired of political correctness. It can no longer be business as usual.

As an added attraction to the protracted front act of the prima-ry election and nomination that precede every national election, Trump seems to instinctively know how to play the liberal me-dia like a fiddle to the delight of many. After 2 national elections during which media played the role of an in-your-face partisan hack, majority view major net-works and big publishers as dis-honest and completely untrust-worthy.

There seems to be seething cold anger. Something tectonic is afoot. Major unpredictable shifts will take place. Professional life-long politicians who have made it their life’s work to keep running for office and serve the interests of those who bankroll their runs are in for a rude awakening.

Immigration, legal and illegal, is now a white hot issue. While it is true that immigration has always been a cornerstone of the foundation, structure and substance of this amazing coun-try, recent historical events and the current state of the US as a debtor nation, need to be taken into serious consideration when dealing with immigration.

An estimated 12 million immi-grants or about 4% of the total American population of over 300 million are illegal. Some experts say that it could be far more mas-sive than this lowball estimate. It is entirely possible that there might be an effective thinning out of the numbers among the

12 million, beginning with those who have committed crimes and/or are gang members.

But the lousy economy, per-haps more than anything, is al-ready causing natural attrition in the numbers, with jobs difficult to come by. This might be fol-lowed by a steep rise in depor-tation proceedings, a buttressing of border measures, the building of an impenetrable wall as Trump proposes it, a near paranoid check of the flow of goods and people in the ports and airports, a tightening of the screening pro-cess from source countries now made more possible by advanced monitoring and communications technology.

While the laws are in the books and the personnel to enforce them are in place, the political will to wield the ax and deal with immigration problems once and for all, is clearly absent. Big busi-ness that funds candidates has an agenda that runs completely opposed to the interests of the American public. These are glo-balist interests opposing national interests. Only one can win.

At this point, it’s anybody’s guess how this will pan out. But drastic measures must be imple-mented effectively to address the issue in a much changed world where invasion is dangerously posing as legitimate immigra-tion.

There are increasingly strident advocates who seek to shut the doors of America to immigration with the argument that recent immigration has created, instead of the melting pot society, a salad bowl of disparate, disjointed eth-nic groups unwilling and unable to assimilate into the main fabric of American life.

Some compare current Ameri-can society as a mosaic that ap-pears to be whole but is essen-tially fragmented. They further claim the absence of a common purpose poses a threat to the unity and structural integrity of this country.

To some extent, the argument is valid. Anti-immigrant groups reserve their biggest contempt and vitriol towards first genera-tion immigrants who refuse to as-

november 26-december 2, 2015 • LAS veGAS ASIAn JoUrnAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (702) 792-6678B�

by Pam PastorInquirer.net

Features

Grammy award-winners to perform in Vegas

By Monet Lu

One-on-one with the Man of the Year, Jeff Nino Lim

It takes a lot to be a man. But it takes everything to be the Man.

Island Pacific Supermarket CEO Jeff Nino Lim, who is hon-ored as the Beautiful Life Cele-bration’s Man of the Year 2015 tells us more.

Question: What is a typical day like for Jeff Lim as a busi-nessman?

Answer: Very busy. As a mat-ter of fact I wish I could spend more time with my children. that’s the pitfall of being in the grocery industry; business is opened 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Describe a typical day for you as a father

As a father, I would probably give myself a big F! But I am so fortunate that Krista as a mother is an A++++, which more than compensates for my failure as a father. Growing up I never really had a father figure so it’s really hard to know how to be one. All I can say is that each of my chil-dren matters more to me than anything in this world.

How do you balance your time as a businessman, a father and a husband?

Work/life balance is not one of my virtues but no matter where I am, even if I am as far as Seattle, I always make sure that I come home at the end of the night. I cannot sleep by myself! My wife, Nate, Natalie, and I all sleep in the same bed and it is during this time that we talk about anything and everything. Since Krista and I got married and had a family, I also made sure that weekends have become my day off. Never-theless, because of the industry I am in I still do phone calls on the weekends or find myself working in my home office. I think what we enjoy the most, as a family is our yearly vacation. this year we went to tokyo for half a month and it was just great.

What do you consider the most important ingredient to a successful marriage?

Krista and I have just been married for over 5 years and it may be premature to label our marriage a success. But what I can tell you is that if I just had one day left in my life and I could

pick just one person to spend that day with, I know that I would be looking for my wife. So for a successful marriage to begin you got to make sure you marry the one you love.

[As a successful parent] Al-ways let your children know how much you love them. Verbalize it and don’t think that of course they know you love them.

How about a successful busi-ness?

Passion!!! Because if you are not passionate about what you do you will fail because starting and having a business is just so difficult. It is so difficult that the moment you fail at something you will give up. Passion keeps you going and passion cannot just come from the reward of profit since once you get the money your perspective may change. to keep the passion in business going you need to believe that what you are doing is bigger than yourself. It’s more important than just profit. You need to believe that what you are doing can improve the lives of others.

Is there a particular reason you chose to venture into the grocery chain industry, particu-larly an Asian grocery chain?

I grew up in the grocery in-dustry. My Mom used to have a small grocery store in West Covi-na named Philhouse. Our entire family worked in that store. My uncles were the meat and sea-food manager. My sister worked as the cashier, and I worked in the grocery department. that small store is all that my Mom

had and it meant everything to her. A few years later seeing that Philhouse was doing really well, a family friend opened the larg-est Filipino supermarket at that time just a few blocks away from Philhouse. With all the below cost prices and major giveaways, my Mom’s small operation could not compete and within a few months she had no choice but to close the only thing she re-ally cherished and owned. As a young kid, I was just heartbro-ken seeing my Mother cry and I remember trying to comfort her and telling her that when I grow up I will compete. I guess Island Pacific is just a promise that a young kid made to his Mother and I will not stop until I over deliver on that promise.

This year, you will be hon-ored as Beautiful Life Cele-bration’s Man of the Year for 2015. Do you have any words of wisdom for us?

I still do not understand nor can I grasp why I am being hon-ored as Man of the Year. If it’s a celebration about the success I have accomplished in life then I do not deserve this award since there are many more successful men than me. What I believe I am more proud of are my fail-ures and my struggles in life. As Elizabeth Kubler Ross once said, “the most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, know suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.” It is the suffering, the struggles, the loss, and the defeats that have made me who I am today. It is not success that has defined me but it is actually failure that has served me even more and has made me the man that I am today.

***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

Jeff Nino Lim, CEO of Island Pacific Supermarket

ON November 27 and 28 at the Suncoast Hotel & Casino, Grammy Award-winning group, All-4-One, will be celebrating their 20th anniversary singing their chart topping hits and some new songs off their milestone album, twenty+. As Jamie, Delious, tony and Alfred head to Vegas fans are bound to fall in love all over again hearing their favorite classic love

songs like “I Swear” and “I Can Love You Like that.”

Known for their classic love songs, All-4-One, has been ser-enading their fans with timeless hits like “I Swear,” “I Can Love You Like that,” and “So Much In Love” for almost two decades. the Grammy Award winning group is now celebrating their landmark twentieth anniversary

with a new album, twenty+ (re-leased July 24, 2015 through their label AFO). With this album fans will get to fall in love again with their favorite chart topping hits in addition to some brand new songs. Delious, Alfred, Jamie and tony continue to tour the world. For information on tour dates and everything All-4-One, head to: all-4-one.com

How Rachelle Ann Go claimed the role of Fantine in ‘Les Mis’

WHEN Rachelle Ann Go was in London two years ago for her final “Miss Saigon” audition, Cameron Mackintosh asked her what West End show she’d like to see.

“I want to watch ‘Les Mis,’” she told him. He gave her two tickets.

the night she watched “Les Mis-erables” with her uncle, Rachelle was so riveted by the character Fantine, she said to herself, “I will do that role. I will do that…”

It wasn’t the first time she did something like that, Rachelle told Inquirer Lifestyle theater in an interview on Skype. “Noong pina-nood ko ’yung ‘Miss Saigon’ sa Canada, sabi ko, ‘One day, I will do this.’ I claimed it… Wala namang masama, i-ke-claim ko rin ’to (‘Les Mis’).”

And both times, it happened.In 2014 she went on to play Gigi,

a stripper and one of the major characters in “Miss Saigon”; and in June this year, she joined the cast of “Les Miserables” as Fantine, a role she will also play when producer Cameron Mackintosh brings the show to Manila next year.

“I’m so excited. When they of-fered it to me, gusto ko na umuwi,” Go said, laughing. “Gusto ko nang lumipad, I want to do it now.”

Like a grown womanWe interviewed you just as

you were starting in “Miss Sai-gon.” Have you adjusted to life in London? How much have you changed?

Oh gosh, a lot of things have changed. I feel like I’m a grown woman. Nagdalaga ako. Before I came here, I didn’t know how to cook, and I didn’t really commute in the Philippines. I learned a lot as a person. Ang dami ko ring natutunan as an artist—discipline foremost. I was really shy when I first got here; the culture is differ-ent. But I’ve gained lots of friends

already…What’s it like being the only

Asian in the ‘Les Miserables’ West End cast?

Of course, I feel proud as a Filipino. I feel like, oh gosh, naka-pasok ulit ang Pinoy dito after Ms Lea Salonga and Ms Joanna Ampil. Nakakatuwang isipin ’yun. Nakaka-proud pero, at first, siyempre andun ’yung takot na, “Oh my gosh, can I do this? Ano kayang iisipin nila?” Andun din ’yung insecurity na si Fantine, based on the book, dapat blonde, matangkad, blue eyes, matangos ilong. I’m the smallest. Height-wise, ako talaga ’yung pinakamaliit. I felt like the total op-posite of Fantine. Pero ngayon, I feel comfortable doing the role.

And this time, the costume isn’t as revealing.

Oh yes! tell me about it! Ngay-on, especially my family, sobrang kampante sila na very conservative na this time.

Were there lessons you learned while playing Gigi that you take with you as Fantine?

You know, kahit si Claude-Mi-chel Schönberg (“Les Miserables” composer), he also said this… Gigi and Fantine, meron silang common factor na pinagdaanan—struggles sa buhay, sacrifices, they both sold their bodies to earn money, to be out of that situation. Siguro kaya madali to do Fantine kasi nagawa ko as Gigi, you know, ’yung dig-nity nandoon kahit na mahirap ’yung pinagdadaanan. Even the song “Movie In My Mind” talks about dreaming, and “I Dreamed A Dream” is basically the same thing. Costume lang ang pinagkaiba.

We were all excited when you joined the West End cast of “Les Mis.” Can you talk about that process?

they offered me to do Gigi again for another year. Sabi ko, magiging happy pa rin kaya ako? I enjoyed it for a whole year, ang dami kong

Rachelle Ann Go as Fantine

natutunan [but] kung gagawin ko ulit, tapos one year, eight shows a week, baka magsawa ako. I talked to my management and my parents. My family actually told me not to renew; they said to just go back to Manila and do pop music again. For weeks I was so confused. I talked to my manager, “What should I do?” And they were like, “You just need to follow your heart, kung saan ka at peace, kung saan ka masaya.”

I prayed about it. I felt like I wanted to move on, do something else, learn other stuff and challenge myself, so I told the company I want to do other roles. they said they were having auditions for “Les Mis.” I auditioned for the role of Fantine. they asked me if I wanted the role of Fantine or Eponine. Pinili ko ’yung Fantine.

I went through the whole pro-cess, medyo mahirap, ang daming levels. In the final round, kasabay ko ang isa who played Fantine in Spain. So I was really nervous. I felt like I wasn’t going to get the role. ’Yung kasabay ko ilang years na niya ginagawa ’yung role. I didn’t hear from the company for weeks. I thought, ah wala, hindi na siguro ako makukuha. And then they called me, nandun si Schönberg. they played “I Dreamed A Dream” and asked kung saan daw ako com-fortable na key. So I was thinking, “Binibigay niyo na ba sa akin ’yung

PAGE B7

(702) 792-6678 • http://www.asianjournal.com LAS VEGAS ASIAN JOURNAL • NOVEmbER 26-dEcEmbER 2, 2015 B�Features

How Rachelle Ann Go claimed the role of...role?” Then, after a few days, they called me, set up a meeting and said, “How do you feel about play-ing Fantine?” Hindi ko ma-absorb nung time na ’yun biglang may migraine ako! Hindi ako makapa-niwala nung sinabi nila ’yun.

How do you feel about bring-ing the show to Manila?

I’m so excited. Siyempre unang-una makikita ko family ko, and gusto ko rin siyempre i-share sa Filipinos what I’ve been doing in London for the longest time. Dada-lhin namin ’yung new production, hindi pa nakikita ng Pinoy ’yan.

Theater fans here are excited, too; tickets have been selling well.

Oo nga. I’ve been checking it, and I’ve been promoting it on Twit-ter also. I’m very grateful because ngayon pa lang, matagal-tagal pa ’yung opening, ’yung ticket sales sobrang ganda. I think nagdadag-dag na rin sila ng shows, which is good. Hopefully, next year sold out lahat. Nakakatuwa.

What is it about “Les Mis” the musical that people love so much? It’s been around for 30 years and people still can’t get enough of it.

I guess because there are lots of different characters, different stories that people can relate to. I can relate to Fantine, I can re-late to Eponine. If you bring your entire family, bawat isa sa kanila makaka-relate sa story. It’s about love, sacrifices, forgiveness and grace. And my favorite line in the show, toward the end, is when we sing, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” Spiritually, nakaka-relate ako sa story.

Would you like to do Eponine, too, like Lea Salonga did? Or is that a weird transition, starting with Fantine and then doing Eponine?

Actually medyo weird nga ’yun. It’s like doing Gigi and then Kim.

PAGE B6

"SIMBANG GABI" - December 13-23, 2015 BACKGROUND: In the Philippines, "Simbang Gabi" is a daily mass/novena just before Christmas, celebrated early in the morning, 4-5am or in the evening 6-7pm. It is also called “Misa de Gallo” (mass when the cock crows) or “Misa de Aguinaldo”. This is a very much desired Filipino religious tradition. Back home, families wake up early, attend mass and fill up many

churches. After the liturgy, delicious Filipino food and delicacies are served and shared by families. Thus this becomes both a religious and social gathering.

ACTIVITIES: In the Las Vegas valley, “Simbang Gabi 2015” is celebrated in eleven different parishes. The schedule is published in parish bulletins and all parishioners, especially Filipino Catholics, are invited to attend, participate & complete the novena. It is recommended that the Pastor/Associate at the assigned parish presides the liturgy. Other priests are welcome to concelebrate. The readings of the day are read and proclaimed. A simple reception/fellowship takes place after mass.

SCHEDULE of Mass/Novena: Dates, Time and Places

1. December 13, Sunday – 5:00PM at Saint Francis of Assisi 2300 Sunridge Heights Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89052

2. December 14, Monday – 6:00 PM at Saint John Neumann 2575 El Campo Grande Ave., North LasVegas, NV 89031

3. December 15, Tuesday – 5:30PM at Saint Thomas More 130 N. Pecos Road, Henderson, NV 89074

4. December 16, Wednesday – 8:00AM at Saint Joseph, HOM 7260 W Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89117

5. December 17, Thursday – 7:00PM at Our Lady of Las Vegas; 3050 Alta Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89107

6. December 18, Friday – 6:00PM at Christ the King 4925 S. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89118

7. December 19, Saturday – 5:00PM at Saint Bridget 220 N. 14th Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101

8. December 20, Sunday – 12:30PM at Holy Spirit 5959 S. Hualapai Way, Las Vegas, NV 89148

9. December 21, Monday – 6:00PM at St Elizabeth Ann Seton - 1811 Pueblo Vista Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89128

10. December 22, Tuesday – 6:00 PM at Saint Anne 1901 South Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89104

11. December 23, Wednesday – 6:00PM at St Peter the Apostle; 204 South Boulder Hwy, Henderson, NV 89105 Released: Fr. Manny Guico 10-14-2015/rsj

Parang ganun eh. I don’t know, because I feel like the company sees me as Gigi and Fantine already. And with my age, parang mahirap na bumaliktad pa. I don’t know. I can try. One day maybe. You’ll never know. It’s all about acting naman. Ang Asian naman kayang magmukhang bata eh.

Did you watch the other ac-tresses’ take on Fantine? Is your portrayal of the role inspired by anyone?

I didn’t watch any videos. Kasi ako ’yung tipong ’pag may nakita ako, nagagaya ko, even if it’s not my intention. Even before the audition, I tried not to watch anything para magawan ko ng sariling atake ’yung role. The director is really good. He helped me a lot kung paano dada-lhin ’yung story. Gusto niya may sariling flavor ko ’yung character. I didn’t watch any videos except of course the 10th-anniversary and 25th-anniversary concerts of “Les Mis.”

What was it like performing with Patti LuPone in the 30th-an-niversary show?

Oh my gosh, it was like a dream. When they told me and Carrie (Hope Fletcher) they were planning to do that quartet with Patti LuPone and Frances (Ruffelle, the very first Eponine), parang … “Seryoso ba ’to? Talaga bang mangyayari ’to?” And then when it happened, during rehearsals, we just couldn’t stop giggling kasi talaga … legend ’yun ’di ba, lalo na si Ms Patti LuPone. It was very surreal. I was really nervous during the concert. I was shaking. But yeah, I had fun and enjoyed the moment.

Is it true you play multiple roles in the show?

I’m part of the ensemble. Since I’m the smallest, ako ’yung urchin, one of the little boys running around the barricade. Hindi mo ako makikita kasi lagi akong tu-matakbo.

What’s the most challenging

thing about playing Fantine?Alam mong maikli lang ’yung

spot mo so you have to give your all, 110 percent. You have to give it every single night. I feel like I can’t mess this up. Wala ka nang chance para bumawi eh. ’Yun na ’yun. There are nights na ’di mo maiiwasan na hindi ka pa focused, dun ako natututo … kumbaga sa makina, nag-sa-start pa lang ’yung makina, tapos na ’yung role, nun pa lang uminit ’yung makina. Kaya sabi ko, kailangan intro pa lang nung show, nag-re-ready na ako even in my dressing room, focused na.

All your West End dreams have been coming true. Do you have other dream roles?

Well, I always say I want to go green, I want to do Elphaba. Sabi ko nga, “Gusto ko i-claim, sige na Lord, i-ke-claim ko na rin ’yan ngayon.” I don’t know, maybe one day kung merong opportunity… I want to go to Broadway also. Sana may opportunity doon.

Doon ka mag-Elphaba!Oo nga! Kasi dito, kapag dito

(London) British accent ang “Wick-ed” nila dito… Medyo mahirap.

Do you plan to keep working in the West End for a while?

I still don’t know. Ilang months pa eh. Siguro malalaman ko ’yan by January, before I go to Manila. But I’d love to stay here.

So you really want to focus on theater for now?

You know, I want to do pop music at the same time. Parang gusto ko nga mag-record ng album. Since the show is every night, I have time during the day. I want to do something else if that’s possible. Actually, Cameron asked me, “Do you want an album back in the Philippines or here in Lon-don?” I said, “Definitely.” And he said, “You can do both, you know. Go back to the Philippines and do stuff there, and then do stuff here.” So maybe.

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

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ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS!PRE-EVENT AND POST-EVENT

GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW.CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES

FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS

AAPA Awards Gala Asian American Professional Association (AAPA) will host The Achievement Awards &

Graduation Gala, honoring prominent leaders who trailblaze and inspire others to become leaders, and celebrating the 2015 graduating class of AAPA Mentees. The theme is “Waves of Change, Oceans of Opportunity.” The gala will take place on Thursday, Dec 3 from 5:30pm - 9:30pm, at the Hilton San Gabriel (225 West Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776). Expose your brand to the professional community who are your customers, clients, poten-tial employees, entrepreneurs, corporate and community leaders. Your support will directly benefit the AAPA mentees in the program. To purchase a ticket or ad, the cost is $50 each (limited time only); full/half/quarter page ad sizes are available in full color. Please visit http://aapaawards.eventbrite.com/ for more details and to RSVP by Nov. 13. Please get involved by emailing lia.andika@aapamentoring.com.

dEcEmbER 3

Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award for Excellence Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award For Excellence In Medicine, Education, Arts & Literature and The

Youth When: Saturday, November 28, 2015, 1-6 pmWhere: Astoria World Manor in Astoria, Queens, NYHosted by: Knights of Rizal - New York For More Information, please contact: Atty. Ferdinand G. Suba, Esq., KCRCommander, Knights of Rizal - NYE-mail: SUBALAW@aol.com

NOVEmbER 28

Santo Nino de Cebu Association Annual Dinner Dance The Santo Niño de Cebu Association of Southern California, Inc. will hold its ANNUAL

CHRISTMAS DINNER DANCE on December 5, 6pm - 12:00 midnight, at Almansor Court (700 S. Almansor St., Alhambra, CA 91801). For more details and reservations, please contact Helah (626) 215-2684, Gemma (909) 997-1026, Nelia (818) 425-9926, Joy (909) 228-0437 or Willo (818) 458-0779.

dEcEmbER 5

Pampanga High School Class of ’65 Golden Jubilee CelebrationThe Class of 1965 of the Pampanga High School will hold “TULA ampong SAYA,” its 50th

Anniversary Reunion, this coming December 29-30, in San Fernando Pampanga, Philippines. All 1965 graduates of the Pampanga High School (PHS), formerly the Jose Abad Santos High School (JASHS), and their spouses are welcome to all scheduled events. Admission is free. The celebration will begin with BISPERAS on December 29 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, enjoying fun games, old music, and togetherness at the DIASPORA FARM RESORT in Santa Barbara, Bacolor, Pampanga. On December 30, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, join us for KAPIYESTAN, a provincial fiesta luncheon featuring familiar Kapampangan dishes, at the Mulang Galang orchard in San Antonio, Mexico, Pampanga. The evening of Dec. 30 will conclude with TERAKAN, a gala dinner-dance from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight, at the Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant in the San Fernando, Pampanga. Enjoy a fun evening of dancing to the retro music of Decadas and the mellow songs of folksinger Jerry. Class ‘65ers, please join us in celebrating our 50th Golden Anniversary! Full details on preparations, events and venues can be found on “TULA ampong SAYA,” on Facebook. For donations, interest in the 50th Anniversary Reunion souvenir memory book, highlighting the successes of individual Class ‘65ers and the accomplishments of the PHS Class ’65 Foundation, Inc., please contact the jubilee reunion organizing committee in the Philippines: Joseph Deang (0927-228-8588); Erlie Aquino Estandarte (0929-219-0248); Corazon Cunanan (0939-118-2888; 0926-660-35540); Cecille Morales Bernas (0932-509-2646); and Marcial Morales (0918-915-9095); and Dan Galang 0929-427-9308; 045-966-0764). In the US and Canada, please contact Dan Galang at (510) 487-5551 or at (510) 648-1047.

dEcEmbER 29-30

Pasigueñans of Northern California 30th Annual Fiesta CelebrationThe Pasigueñans of Northern California invites all Pasigueñans, families, and friends to its

30th Annual Fiesta in honor of its patroness, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The annual fiesta will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2015 from 1:00pm to 8:00pm at Joseph A. Fernekes Building, in Orange Memorial Park (781 Tennis Drive, South San Francisco, CA 94080). Celebration of the Holy Mass will be at 3:00pm, which will be followed by a sumptu-ous dinner, dancing, entertainment, and raffle drawing. For more information, please contact Flery Santos-Panganiban (707-567-4779), Polly Santiago-Cortez (925-876-7695), Edna Balido-Reyes (925-260-9764), Edith Balido (925-681-9770), Chit Santos-Dalangin (707-704-7887), Marico Enriquez (650-483-8306), Oscar Rosales (707-332-4991), Jerry Field (925-681-0974), Marivic Beltran-Tuazon (707-656-1081), or Pete Saguisag (650-994-0701).

mAy 2016

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

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 entertainment, 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 or loiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 or Monette_santillan@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 at 661-794-8906 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 orconnieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 or vee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

Briefing on Coverage Programs & Services for Overseas Filipinos - Social Security

In cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) of Chicago, you are invited to a briefing on Social Security coverage programs and services for overseas Filipinos on Saturday, Nov. 28 at PCG Multi-Purpose Hall (122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600, Chi-cago, Illinois, 60603). The info briefing session and onsite services (new SS number registra-tion, verification of records and existing reactivation, enrollment in Flexi-fund Program, data amendments, compliance with Annual Confirmation of Pensioners Program, benefit claim applications) starting at 10:00 am. Please contact Ms. Marites Marin through marinmc@sss.gov or in Viber at *6598444384 for SSS inquiries, and Mr. Alvar Rosales through chica-gopcg@att.net to confirm attendance.

St. Joseph School presents WRAPPING ALL THE WAY What: Annual Christmas Presentation Featuring TK through 4th Grade and Parish When: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 7:00 pm Where: St. Joseph Parish (1150 W. Holt Avenue Pomona, CA 91768) The St. Joseph School Annual Christmas program serves as an opportunity for all

students and parishioners to come together to celebrate the joyful season. All are welcome to come and be merry. Donations are welcome. For more information, please call: Director Ning Manahan at (909) 629-4101 or (909) 622-3365

dEcEmbER 9

Blessed Hope Christian Church Night of PraiseCome celebrate the birth of Christ and praise God with the congregation at our upcom-

ing Christmas Praise Night, on Friday, December 18 at 7:30pm. Our church can be found at 474 North Summit Ave. Pasadena, CA 91103. Please contact Jun Recio (818) 472-5244 for more details.

On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 10:27 AM, Allyson Escobar <a.escobar@asianjournalinc.com> wrote: ONE MORE thank you!

dEcEmbER 18

Melting pot or salad bowl? The serious case...similate and in their view, come here to America to merely take what they can, identifying and exploiting the holes and flaws of a largely generous, humanitarian system.

Tourism citizenship or the concept of “anchor babies” per-taining to pregnant women giv-ing birth in the US just to get citi-zenship for their babies is now in sharp focus. Some countries like

Britain and Australia may have already rescinded this privilege and plugged this loophole.

After streamlining the system and enforcing the laws already in the books, immigration should be hinged to some degree, on meritocracy. It must continue as a tightly controlled, highly regu-lated way of attracting people, possibly the best and brightest from around the world, but per-haps more importantly, ONLY

those with the ability and willing-ness of heart to assimilate and become part of a whole.

The founding fathers envi-sioned America in 1776 clearly.

E pluribus Unum. Out of many, ONE.

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

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