NEW YORK, February 10, 2014 (AFP) – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the city would give undocument-ed immigrants identity papers to allow them to live more normal lives.

“To all of my fellow New York-ers who are undocumented, I say: New York City is your home too, and we will not force ANY of our residents to live their lives in the shadows,” de Blasio said in a speech at Queens College.

The initiative’s aim is to ensure that undocumented residents are

able to do things like open bank accounts, sign leases and gain ac-cess to basic services.

“We will protect the almost half-million undocumented New Yorkers whose voices too often go unheard,” de Blasio said.

New York has an estimated eight million residents, 2.3 mil-lion of whom are of Hispanic ori-gin.

De Blasio was elected mayor in November with the massive support of the city’s Hispanic and black communities, who respond-

See ISSUE IDs, page 7

Vol. 3. No. 22 LOS ANGELES Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014

Engaged: Aiza

Seguerra, Liza Diño

See PAGE 12W W W . U S A S I A N P O S T . C O M

BY MARLON TANOTACLOBAN, February 8, 2014

(AFP) – The Philippines said “Thank you” on billboards around the world Saturday in gratitude for the massive outpouring of in-ternational help after a typhoon that killed about 8,000 people three months ago.

Electronic billboards lit up with “Thank you” signs at New York’s Times Square, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Tokyo’s Shibuya Cross-ing, London’s Piccadilly Circus and fi ve other cities at 2040 GMT Friday, exactly three months af-ter Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines.

“The number of lives lost and

affected is unprecedented. But ever since then, the world has been one with the Philippines in helping rebuild the nation,” the tourism ministry behind the ad and social media campaign said on its website.

“The Philippines wants to say a big thank you to everyone who are helping us rebuild after Typhoon Haiyan,” the ministry said on its offi cial Twitter page, where it lat-er posted the billboard pictures.

Haiyan, one of the strongest ty-phoons ever to hit land, smashed across 171 towns and cities in the central islands with a combined land area the size of Portugal, wrecking the homes of more than

four million people.The government is still collect-

ing corpses and looking for nearly 2,000 missing people with 6,201 deaths already confi rmed, many of them swept away by giant, tsunami-like waves unleashed by Haiyan on coastal communities.

In the hard-hit central city of Tacloban, many shops have re-opened in a frenzy of rebuilding but tents and lean-to structures remain the norm in many ruined neighbourhoods, most of which are still without power.

“We’re traumatised but there’s nowhere else to go,” Helen May Gabornes, a 27-year-old mother

Electronic billboards lit up with “Thank you” signs at New York’s Times Square (shown above), Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing, London’s Piccadilly Circus and fi ve other cities at 2040 GMT Friday, exactly three months after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines. (From the Facebook page of ‎First Secretary and Consul Elmer Cato, Philippine Embassy)

NY to issue IDs to undocumented

With billboards, tweets, PHL thanks world for typhoon aid

With zero medals even with a large population that says 105.7 in the fi lm clip, the tropical country that is the Philippines has a lone athlete competing in fi gure skat-ing. Michael Christian Martinez will see action this Thursday at the Sochi 22nd Winter Olympic Games. (From the Facebook Page of Michael Christian Martinez)

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – As it wished good luck to the Philippines’ bet in the ongoing Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Malacañang on Saturday called on Filipinos to show their support for him as well.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Palace is confi -dent Michael Christian Martinez will excel in fi gure skating despite the lack of snow in the Philip-pines.

“We hope the Filipino people are behind Christian and his

quest for gold at the Sochi Olym-pics,” Lacierda said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

Martinez, 17, is representing the Philippines in the fi gure skat-ing competition.

Lacierda said the Palace is “very, very proud” of such ath-letes, and is confi dent they can excel when given the chance.

“Sana pagpalain kayo ng ating Panginoon. Kayang kaya natinyan (We hope God will be with you. You can do it),” he said. (MNS)

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – Despite a recent exchange of words, the Philippines and Chi-na continue to enjoy close ties in other aspects, Malacañang main-tained Saturday.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said both countries are “responsible enough” to continue other aspects of their ties despite confl icting positions in one sub-ject.

“Patuloy ang ating relation-ships with China on different levels (such as) tourism, culture (Our relationships with China on other aspects continue, such as in tourism and culture),” he said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

The Philippines and China are engaged in a territorial dispute over parts of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Earlier this week, President Benigno Aquino III was criticized in an article of China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency over the territorial row between the two countries.

But on Friday, the President noted criticisms that appeared in Xinhua, a state-owned publi-cation, that resorted to vicious name-calling instead of address-ing the maritime confl ict.

Instead of getting offended, the President said the criticism bol-

BY SHAUN TANDONWASHINGTON, February 7,

2014 (AFP) – Secretary of State John Kerry vowed Friday that the United States would defend Japan against attack including over islands claimed by China as tensions boil between the Asian powers.

Kerry, who said he would visit China next week, met in Wash-ington with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and reaf-fi rmed the 1960 treaty that com-mits the United States to protect its ally.

“That includes with respect to

University of the Philippines President Alfredo E. Pascual (left) and Japanese Am-bassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe exchange views before the start of an international conference entitled “Japan’s Noh Theater and the Philippine Practice of Western Performance Traditions: A Dialogue on Global Cultural Exchange and Diplo-macy” on Feb. 10, 2014 at the Dalisay Aldaba Recital Hall, University Theater Stage, UP Diliman, Quezon City. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang indicated Saturday it is open to third-party help in resolving its row with Hong Kong, which recently imposed sanctions stemming from the hostage trag-edy in Manila in 2010.

But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said such third-party help should be “consistent” with Philippine national interest and the position of the Philippine government.

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – Ruby Tuason, a potential state witness in the Priority Develop-ment Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, will undergo normal pro-cedures in the case, Malacañang said Saturday.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said there are require-ments Tuason must meet to be-come a state witness in the case.

“Meron tayong batas at stan-dard na tinitingnan (We have laws and standards to observe). Kung pumasok sila sa standard,

pwede sila mag-avail of the wit-ness protection program. This does not apply only to Ruby Tu-ason. For any criminal offense where a person who participated in the crime (and) whose partici-pation is not the most guilty, the law allows them to testify and shed truth to the matter,” he said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bay-an.

He said that even in the United States, the law allows whistle-blowers to “help facilitate and ex-

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – The Inter-Agency Council Against Traffi cking (IACAT) sternly warned the Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters (BIFF) and other groups involved in armed hostilities to stop recruiting teens as part of their ranks.

Otherwise, the IACAT said, they will be held liable for human traffi cking charges with the highest possible penalties imposed by the law.

Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima, chairperson of IACAT, ex-pressed alarm over reports of teenagers, as young as 15-16 years old, being among the casualties in the recent skirmishes between the government forces and insurgents in Mindanao.

“Any form of recruitment of children to aid in armed confl ict is a reprehensible practice and is rightfully condemned by all nations,” De Lima said.

De Lima added that BIFF leaders will also likely face human traffi cking charges aside from terrorism.

According to Section 5(h) of Republic Act No. 9208, or “The Anti-Traffi cking in Persons Act of 2003”, as amended by R.A. No. 10364, or “The Expanded Anti-Traffi cking in Persons Act of 2012”, recruit-ing, transporting or adopting a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad are considered an act of traffi cking in persons.

Palace wishes PHL bet to Winter Olympics good luck

Palace: Despite ‘word war’ over territory, other aspects of PHL-China ties continue

IACAT condemns use of child warriors

US vows to defend Japan against China

Palace: Latest PDAF scam witness to undergo usual state witness procedure

Palace open to ‘help’ from third party on row with HK

See WORD WAR, page 7

See IACAT CONDEMNS, page 7

See THANKS WORLD, page 7

See DEFEND JAPAN, page 7

See PALACE OPEN, page 7 See LATEST PDAF, page 7

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MANILA, February 9, 2014 (AFP) – Five people have been killed in a bus crash in the northern Philippines, the second deadly bus accident in two days, authorities said Sun-day.

The bus was carrying more than 30 peo-ple when its brakes malfunctioned and it toppled into a ditch in the northern prov-ince of Abra Saturday, police said.

One person died on the spot and four others in hospital, said regional military spokesman Superintendent Davy Vicente Limmong.

Twenty-eight others were injured in the crash, which came a day after a tourist bus plunged into a deep ravine in a remote northern mountain pass on Friday.

Fourteen people were killed in that acci-dent, including a Canadian man and Dutch woman.

The bus which crashed Friday was headed to the mountain town of Bontoc, a popular tourist jumping-off point to a rustic mountain town famed for hanging coffi ns embedded on the sides of a cliff.

Also among the dead was a popular Fili-pino comedian and his artist friends who were supposed to visit a tribal area.

Presidential spokesman Herminio Colo-ma said that in the wake of the accidents, a nationwide safety audit of all public trans-

port had been ordered.“We are investigating the roadworthi-

ness of all types of public transportation, specially buses and public utility vehicles that are the main mode of transportation nationwide,” Coloma said on public radio.

He said initial investigations showed that the bus that killed 14 on Friday was not authorized to travel that route.

Old buses are the backbone of land trans-port in the Philippines. But they have been involved in frequent accidents due to poor-ly-lit and badly-maintained roads and driv-ers working long hours.

Police said 32 other people on board. The deputy provincial police commander, Ramir Saculles, said disfi gured corpses were strewn along the hillside, while some others fell into rice paddies at the bottom of the hill.

A local police spokesman, Davy Vicente Limmong, said the authorities suspect ei-ther the driver made a mistake or the bus suffered a mechanical failure, since no oth-er vehicles were involved and the weather was clear.

Poorly-maintained buses are the back-bone of land transport in the Philippines but they have been involved in frequent ac-cidents, leading to calls for tighter regula-tions.

Five dead in new bus crash 

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – Another lawmaker has supported the proposal for the mandatory installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) or a surveillance camera in all public utility buses nationwide to de-ter potential perpetrators from holding up and/or robbing the helpless commuting pub-lic.

Rep. Eric Olivarez (1st District, Para-ñaque City) fi led House Bill 3704 requiring the mandatory installation of a CCTV or se-curity video camera in every public utility bus to enable bus operators to detect real-time whether or not a bus is being held-up.

“This will allow the bus operators to timely alert the law enforcement authorities that a crime is currently happening inside a certain bus in a certain place. It will give the police a better window of opportunity to prevent the crime and/or apprehend the criminals. The probability of timely catching the criminals will surely increase,” Olivarez said.

In pushing for the approval of the bill, Olivarez cited the numerous robbery and

hold-up cases involving public utility buses. He said criminals take all the precious and valuable belongings of all the bus passen-gers as well as the money/bus fares collected by the bus conductor for the day.

“To make things worse, such situation may even escalate to a violent one wherein passengers are harmed, injured and even killed. These victimized passengers and bus employees are rendered completely helpless and powerless once a crime has been indis-criminately committed against them,” Oli-varez said. Olivarez said as a consequence, the safety of every passenger’s life, liberty and/or property is completely jeopardized and the criminals sometimes get away with their crime due to lack of witnesses.

“Being aware that their movement can be traced through the security cameras, the potential criminals will be effectively de-terred from victimizing passengers even if the police don’t make it on the scene on time, the faces of the criminals have already been recorded and this will facilitate post-crime investigations better,” Olivarez stressed.

Mandatory installation of CCTVs in public utility buses pushed

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Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz leads the lowering of the time capsule during the groundbreak-ing ceremony Friday (Feb. 7, 2014) for the construction of the “Green Innovation Technology Center” at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Complex in Taguig City. Also in photo are (from left) Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) Executive Vice President Angel Ngu, TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva, FFCC-CII president Dr. Alfonso G. Siy, and FFCCCII Chairman Emeritus Lucio Tan. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz clarifi ed on Monday that the gov-ernment does not plan on signing any agreement that will in effect “rent out” overseas Filipino work-ers (OFW).

“I think the word rent is not the appropriate term. We will never negotiate anything that would re-duce the level of protection of our workers,” Baldoz told reporters after the awarding of outstanding recruitment and manning agen-cies at the Palace.

She issued the statement after Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello was quoted by news site Arab News as saying that a planned agreement

between DOLE and Saudi re-cruitment fi rms will “legally allow Saudi companies and recruiters to independently recruit Filipino workers and rent them out to pri-vate and government employers.”

Bello also said that the sala-ries of OFWs will be determined by the agencies and in effect be reduced.

But Baldoz said the govern-ment has no plans to sign such a deal and that OFWs continue to be hired either directly or through foreign placement agencies.

She explained that the only change was that recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia came together to create 10 “mega” re-

cruitment agencies, to whom the Saudi Ministry of Labor issues working visas in bulk.

“That means a better handling in terms of monitoring of their op-erations [but] the issue of mega recruitment is the Saudi regula-tion, not ours,” she said.

Baldoz added that this is the reason she sent a technical team to Saudi Arabia to negotiate the implementing protocol.

“We [will] see to it that wheth-er they are operating in mega re-cruitment system or under a new system, the level of protection that our workers have before will continue to be guaranteed,” she said. (MNS)

DOLE chief: Govt not ‘renting out’ OFWs

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – Don’t discredit witnesses, support the government in pursuing pork barrel-related cases.

This was the message on Mon-day by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to Vice President Jejomar Binay after the latter described as a ‘dud’ the former’s statement that the affi davit executed by po-tential state witness Ruby Tua-son was a ‘slam dunk evidence’ against at least two senators fac-ing plunder charges in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The two senators – Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada – are political allies of Binay.

De Lima said that while she re-spected Binay’s opinion, the vice president should also “inspire, encourage, and support” govern-ment investigators and prosecu-tors in pinning down the suspects in the fund mess.

“Nakakalungkot lang in that

instead of encouraging us to fur-ther strengthen evidence, encour-age us to pursue what we are do-ing now, eh parang minamaliit nila, bine-belittle or they’re even scoffi ng at our evidence,” De Lima told reporters.

De Lima said Filipinos, espe-cially those in government, should be praying and hoping that people behind the controversy are held liable for their crimes.

Last week, Tuason returned to the Philippines from the US after fi ve months and executed a sworn statement implicating Enrile and Estrada, saying she had person-ally handed them their kickbacks in the misuse of Priority Develop-ment Assistance Funds.

Tuason once served as former President now Manila Mayor Jo-seph Estrada’s social secretary. The elder Estrada, Binay and En-rile are among the leaders of the the opposition party, United Na-tionalist Alliance. (MNS)

De Lima to VP Binay: Don’t scoff at us, encourage us

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile has recently resur-rected his pet bill exempting the sale of electricity to residential consumers with consumption not exceeding 250 kWh from the Val-ue Added Tax (VAT).

Senate Bill Nos. 2547 and 2159 respectively, pushing the same exemptions, were fi led by Enrile during the 14th and 15th Congress-es, respectively.

During the 2010 senatorial elections, Enrile campaigned un-der the banner of “Gusto ko Hap-py Ka!, advocating lower price of electricity.

In Senate Bill No. 2101, Enrile said that prior to the enactment of Expanded Value Added Tax Law, the cost of electricity in the Philip-pines was already one of the high-est in Asia and the imposition of VAT on power further increased the cost.

“The bill is limited to exempt-ing residential users or house-holds only because households cannot avail of output of VAT to mitigate their VAT liability un-

like industries, and business and commercial establishment which could pass on the cost of electric-ity to the user of their service,” Enrile said.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), residential con-sumers or household would have to shell out additional 0.592 cen-tavos per kWh due to the imposi-tion of VAT.

“If a household consumer an average of 250 kWh per month, household members would be able to save P148 in electricity pay-ment if VAT is removed, a rather substantial amount especially to those who belong to the lower middle income bracket and be-low,” Enrile said.

Lastly, Enrile said, household are also the last point in the VAT claim so the exemption will not adversely affect VAT collection effi ciency in terms of establishing paper trail of “VATable” transac-tions.

“The measure aimed to amend Section 109 of the National Inter-nal Revenue Code of 1997,” Enrile said. (MNS)

Enrile resurrects bill exempting electricity users from VAT

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday reminded employment and manning agencies against exploit-ing Filipinos seeking work abroad, saying overseas Filipinos have al-ready sacrifi ced so much and de-serve their countrymen’s full sup-port. The President made the call at a ceremony in Malacañan Pal-ace, where the outstanding agency awards of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration were held.

“Alam po natin: May ilan sa ating employment at manning agen-cies, kung ituring ang ating mga kababayan, parang naglalakad na pitakang puwedeng pagkakitaan, at saka kakalimutan kapag hindi na mapapakinabangan (We know some employment and manning agencies treat OFWs as walking wallets to be exploited, and abandoned when they are no longer profi table),” he said in his speech.

Citing fi gures from the Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs, the Presi-dent said there are about 6.3 million Filipinos based abroad.

“Wala man po sila ngayon dito sa Pilipinas, malayo man po ang kanilang kinalalagyan, malinaw na

malinaw ang ating paninindigan: Kabilang sila sa ating mga Boss. Kasama sila sa mga nagtitiwala sa atin na pangalagaan ang kanilang mga karapatan; sumaklolo at mag-bigay-lingap sa oras ng kanilang pangangailangan; at magpalawak ng pagkakataon para sa propesyu-nal at personal nilang pag-unlad (They may not be in the Philippines, but we still consider them among our bosses. They are among the Fili-pinos who trusted us to safeguard their rights and welfare, especially when they need help. They also trust us to give them all possible op-portunities),” he said. The President thanked the awardees and other agencies like them who he said un-dertake programs to help OFWs get to their host countries and do not seek excess fees. Many agen-cies even implement programs to make sure OFWs get adequate com-pensation for their work, he added. “Wala rin kayong kung anu-anong mga kaltas at hokus-pokus, kaya naman hindi nababaon sa utang ang mga Pilipinong nangingibang-bayan para tuparin ang kanilang mga pangarap. Humahanga rin po ako sa mga inisyatiba ninyo upang mapaunlad ang kakayahan ng mga

OFW na masigurong mayroon si-lang pag-usad sa mga napili nilang karera (You do not impose various fees or make deductions, so OFWs need not be mired in debt. I also sa-lute you for your initiatives to im-prove the well-being of our OFWs as they pursue their careers),” he said.

The President stressed employ-ment and manning agencies are at the frontline of the government’s efforts to help OFWs pursue their dreams abroad.

He said he is confi dent the govern-ment and these manning fi rms can work together in helping the OFWs. “Matagal na kayong nagbibigay-ser-bisyo sa ating mga kapwa Pilipino; umaasa akong lalo pang titibay ang inyong pagiging lingkod-bayan, lalo pa kayong makikiambag, at lalo pa tayong magtutulungan para maabot ang ating kolektibong pangarap. Sa ngalan ng mga natulungan ninyong OFW at ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay, maraming-maraming sal-amat sa inyo (You have been serv-ing our fellow Filipinos for so long, I expect our partnership in nation building to grow stronger. On be-half of OFWs and their loved ones, I thank you for the role you play),” he said.

Aquino to employment agencies: Helping, not exploiting OFWs the way to go

MANILA, Feb 8 (Mabuhay) – A lawmaker has fi led a measure increasing the monthly stipend of senior citizens from P500 to P1,000.

House Bill 3731, authored by Rep. Anthony del Rosario (1st District, Davao del Norte), also seeks to lower the age of cover-age from the present 77 years old to 70 years old. Del Rosario said the present age requirement is no longer reasonable considering today’s average lifespan of senior citizens. “The coverage should be lowered so that our elderly will be able to avail of the benefi ts longer into their twilight years,” Del Ro-sario said. The measure amends Republic Act 7432, as amended, otherwise known as the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

“The time is ripe to re-visit the provisions embodied in the ex-isting law and uphold the time-

Bill seeks to increase monthly stipend of senior citizens

honored principle that those who have less in life should have more in law,” Del Rosario stressed.

“It cannot be denied that over the years the prices of commodi-ties have increased and by increas-ing the senior citizens’ purchasing power, this bill hopes to alleviate the situations of our indigent el-derly,” Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario also cited Article XV, Section 4 the 1987 Constitu-tion, which states that the family has the duty to care for its elderly members but the State may also do so through just programs of so-cial security.

“The principles enshrined in the Constitution do not only serve to protect the less privileged and the most vulnerable sectors in our society such as the elderly but also affi rm their important role in the community as partners in nation-building,” Del Rosario said.(MNS)

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – The goal of the Aquino administration for the country to be rice suffi cient can be achieved faster by amending the aged charter of the Nation-al Irrigation Administration (NIA) specifi cally the provision on Irrigation Service Fees (ISFs).

COOP-NATCCO party list Representatives Anthony Bra-vo and Cresente Paez said that abolishing Irrigation Service Fees (ISFs) being collected by NIA on Filipino farmers will be of great help.

Bravo and Paez who penned House Bill 3849 seeking to amend the Charter of NIA said abolishing the ISF will give farmers additional income.

“Irrigation is a key factor in increasing agricultural pro-ductivity of our farmers. It should be given for free to en-sure adequate food supply especially rice. If we are rice self-suffi cient, there would be no more room for rice smuggling,” Bravo said in their explanatory note.

According to Bravo, NIA collects around P3-B irrigation fees annually from farmers.

“Free irrigation services will certainly lower the cost of palay production of our farmers which is now at P18 per kilo. We need to develop the competitiveness of our local farmers and one way is for the government to subsidize some of the production costs,” Paez explained.

The party-list lawmakers earlier fi led HB 3226 amending the Charter of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to require a payment of 80-100% of the actual value of the projected harvest of farmers. The bill aims to protect subsistence farmers from the rigors of calamities. (MNS)

Amending NIA charter can increase agricultural productivity: Party List solon

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MANILA, February 7, 2014 (AFP) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Friday brushed off a barrage of Chinese insults that were triggered by him comparing China’s rulers with the Nazis, as the two sides traded further angry accusations over a territorial dispute.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency released a blistering com-mentary on Wednesday in which it labelled Aquino “amateurish”, “ig-norant” and “lame”.

The commentary came a day after Aquino said China’s efforts to seize disputed parts of the South China Sea were similar to Nazi Ger-many’s actions before World War II, and called on global leaders not to make the same mistake of appeasement.

“Well, I thank Xinhua because they are re-affi rming the validity of our position. As the saying goes, if someone cannot answer an is-sue, then he resorts to name-calling,” Aquino said when asked for a response to the Xinhua commentary.

“If you are intentionally insulting me, I thank you because it shows the Philippine position is correct.”

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei main-tained the pressure on Friday, insisting that comparing China’s ac-tions to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler were “inconceivable and un-reasonable”.

“China is strongly dissatisfi ed with the relevant remark. We hope that the Philippine side will correct its mistake,” he told a press brief-ing.

China insists it has sovereign rights over almost all of South China Sea, even waters approaching the coasts of neighbouring countries and down as far south as Borneo.

The Philippines, as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan, also claim parts of the sea, and the disputes have for decades made the waters a potential trigger for military confl ict in the region.

Tensions have escalated in recent years as an increasingly muscular China has built up its naval and coast guard presence in the South China Sea, drawing complaints from the Philippines of Chinese bul-lying.

Hong said the Philippines had created the most problems with its “illegal occupation” of islands in the South China Sea.

But Aquino said the disputes could be resolved if all countries abid-ed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both China and the Philippines are signatories.

The Philippines launched legal action with a United Nations tribu-nal last year, asking it to rule if the Chinese South China Sea claim was invalid. China refused to participate in the UN process.

BY MARTIN ABBUGAOSINGAPORE, February 9, 2014 (AFP) – Asia’s top aerospace and

defense show opens Tuesday in Singapore, with major global arms makers seeking to cash in on rising military spending in China and elsewhere as territorial disputes escalate in the region.

A wide range of air and maritime attack and surveillance systems will be showcased at the biennial Singapore Airshow, which will also feature the latest developments in commercial aviation, such as Air-bus’ A350-XWB long-range aircraft.

“The Asia Pacifi c region is extremely important to us particularly as we broaden our global focus, and Singapore is a key market,” said Da-vid Perry, vice president and chief global business development offi cer at US weapons fi rm Northrop Grumman.

“Our objective is to continue to... provide the most advanced capa-bilities to help meet the region’s defense and security needs,” he said in a press statement ahead of the event, which runs until Sunday.

Among Northrop Grumman’s exhibits is the Triton unmanned air-craft system especially adapted for maritime surveillance.

US fi rm Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-16 fi ghter, will also have a big presence to promote anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The defense wings of passenger aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus are also exhibiting their latest wares, including unmanned aerial sys-tems.

Among Boeing’s displays is the P-8A Poseidon, which it describes as the world’s most advanced anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft.

Airbus will display the C-295 versatile tactical transport plane con-fi gured for maritime patrols.

Analysts say the balance of military power is gradually shifting to Asia, with countries beefi ng up their armed forces as their economies grow and regional tensions simmering because of territorial disputes.

China is embroiled in overlapping claims over islands in the South China Sea with Taiwan as well as the Southeast Asian states of Bru-nei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Beijing lays claim to almost the entire sea, including waters close to the shores of its smaller neighbours, and its aggressive moves to enforce its claims have sparked concern over its ambitions.

Diplomatic tensions between Japan and China are also rising be-cause of a dispute over uninhabited islands in the East Sea which To-kyo refers to as the Senkakus and Beijing calls the Diaoyus.

Meanwhile, the Korean Peninsula remains a potential fl ashpoint for an armed confl ict between South Korea and its nuclear-armed neigh-bor, North Korea.

Rising Defence Spending“Asia Pacifi c is the only region where from 2009 onwards we have

seen a steady rise in defense expenditure,” said Craig Caffrey, senior analyst at IHS Jane’s, a defense industry consulting and analysis com-pany.

He said in a report that, based on IHS Jane’s latest projections for defense budgets, the Asia Pacifi c’s share of the global budget spend would grow to 28 percent, or $474 billion, by the end of the decade – up from the current 24 percent.

WASHINGTON, February 10, 2014 (AFP) – President Barack Obama’s health care law suffered a new blow Monday, as his administration delayed a key component requiring small businesses to pro-vide insurance to employees or face a fi ne.

The decision was the latest glitch to Obama’s signature domestic achievement which has been plagued by political attacks and a disastrous debut for a sign-up website.

Department of Treasury offi cials writing rules for the Affordable Care Act decided that business with fewer than 100 workers but more than 50 would have an extra year – until 2016 to offer health care to employees or face a fi ne.

The requirement, known as the employer man-date had already been put off by one year.

“While about 96 percent of employers are not subject to the employer responsibility provision, for those employers that are, we will continue to make the compliance process simpler and easier to navi-gate,” said Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur.

Firms with over 100 employees will get more time to complete the insurance process but will still have to start paying a fi ne for some workers in 2015 if they fail to offer health insurance to workers.

Republicans seized on the new adjustment to the law to accuse Obama of usurping his powers to cov-

er up for what they see as the health care reform’s failure.

“The White House seems to have a new exemp-tion from its failed law for a different group every month,” said Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate.

“It’s time to extend that exemption to families and individuals – not just businesses.”

Republicans are making controversy over the health care law the centerpiece of the campaign to win mid-term elections, in the hope of taking back the Senate.

As well as the website debacle, Obamacare was also hit by the president’s now discredited prom-ise that if Americans liked their existing plans and doctors they could keep them.

Obama however argues that after early glitches, the law is gathering pace.

He says nine million people have now signed up for new insurance policies or joined an expanded Medicaid program for the poor.

He also touts reforms that now prevent private insurance fi rms from turning away patients with pre-existing conditions from taking out new poli-cies.

Children of policy holders who are not in full time work can now remain on plans held by their parents until the age of 26.

WASHINGTON, February 10, 2014 (AFP) – In low-income countries, people with cars, televisions and computers at home are far more likely to be obese than people with no such conveniences, re-searchers said Monday.

Eating more, sitting still and missing out on ex-ercise by driving are all likely reasons why people with these modern-day luxuries could be gaining weight and putting themselves at risk for diabetes, researchers said.

The fi ndings in the Canadian Medical Journal suggest extra caution is needed to prevent health dangers in nations that are adopting a Western life-style.

“With increasing uptake of modern-day conve-niences TVs, cars, computers –

low and middle income countries could see the same obesity and diabetes rates as in high income countries that are the result of too much sitting, less physical activity and increased consumption of calo-ries,” said lead author Scott Lear of Simon Fraser University.

“This can lead to potentially devastating societal health care consequences in these countries.”

The same relationship did not exist in developed nations, suggesting the harmful effects of these de-vices on health are already refl ected in the high obe-sity and diabetes rates.

The study included nearly 154,000 adults from

17 countries across the income spectrum, from the United States, Canada and Sweden to China, Iran, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Televisions were the most common electronic de-vice in developing countries – 78 percent of house-holds had one –followed by 34 percent that owned a computer and 32 percent with a car.

Just four percent of people in low-income coun-tries had all three, compared to 83 percent of people in high-income countries.

Those that did have electronics were fatter and less active than those that did not.

People with all three were almost a third less active, sat 20 percent more of the time and had a nine-centimeter (3.5 inches) increase in waist cir-cumference, compared to those that owned none of the devices.

The obesity prevalence in developing countries rose from 3.4 percent among those that owned no devices to 14.5 percent for those that owned all three.

In Canada, about 25 percent of the population is obese and in the United States, about 35 percent of people are obese.

“Our fi ndings emphasize the importance of limit-ing the amount of time spent using household de-vices, reducing sedentary behavior and encouraging physical activity in the prevention of obesity and diabetes,” said the study.

BEIJING, February 10, 2014 (AFP) – China con-demned the US Pacifi c air force commander Monday for “irresponsible remarks” after he warned it would be provocative if Beijing declared an air defense zone over the South China Sea.

The response ratchets up a war of words also in-volving the Philippines and Japan over territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas respec-tively.

Beijing set up an “air defense identifi cation zone” (ADIZ) over the latter waters in November that in-cluded contested islands claimed by it and Tokyo, prompting condemnation by Washington.

Amid concerns Beijing may do the same to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea, US Pacifi c Air Force Commander Herbert Carlisle said on Sun-day such a step would be “very provocative”.

At a regular press briefi ng on Monday, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying hit back, saying that “setting up an air defense identi-fi cation zone is a reasonable right for any sovereign state to exercise.

“Relevant offi cials should refl ect carefully on what standing they have to make any irresponsible remarks about China’s exercising its own reason-able and legitimate rights.”

Pointing out that the US and other countries also have ADIZs, she asked, “Why can only China not (do the same)?”

“We hope that relevant countries and offi cials can stop making irresponsible comments,” she said.

Beijing requires aircraft fl ying through its ADIZ to identify themselves and maintain communication with Chinese authorities, but the zone is not a claim of sovereignty.

Carlisle also criticized recent actions by Manila and in particular Tokyo, saying that many countries needed to act to de-escalate tensions.

“Some of the things, in particular that have been done by Japan, they need to think hard about what is provocative to other nations,” he said in an inter-view in Singapore with the US news agency Bloom-berg.

Last week Philippine President Benigno Aquino compared China’s efforts to seize disputed territo-ries to Nazi Germany’s actions before World War II, and urged world leaders not to repeat the mistake of appeasement—comments Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed as “unreasonable”.

Meanwhile China and Japan have slammed one another over disputed islands, as well as Beijing’s grievances over Japan’s history of imperial aggres-sion until its defeat in 1945.

Tensions spiked even further after Japan’s na-tionalistic Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December visited the Yasukuni shrine, which commemorates Japan’s war dead, including a handful of war crimi-nals executed at the end of World War II.

In opinion pieces in January, both countries’ am-bassadors to the UK invoked the fi ctional evil wiz-ard of the Harry Potter series, Voldemort, in accus-ing the other side of escalating the confl ict.

On Friday Beijing had denounced a US offi cial’s call for China to clarify or adjust its claims in the South China Sea, calling the remarks “irresponsi-ble”.

Beijing claims the sea almost in its entirety, even areas a long way from its shoreline, but portions are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Chinese insults show PHL is right: Aquino

Arms makers try to cash in as Asian disputes escalate

New blow for Obama health law 

TVs, cars, computers linked to obesity in poor nations

Beijing slams ‘irresponsible’ US warning on S. China Sea

WASHINGTON, (AFP) – Catholics believe Pope Francis is doing a good job, but many disagree with Church doctrine on hot-button issues, especially con-traceptives, according to a global poll out on Sunday.

The survey by the US-based Spanish-language network Univision of Catholics in 12 countries found that those most likely to support Church teachings are married men and women 55 years and older who attend mass frequently and live in rural areas.

For the rest, opinions on issues such as gay mar-riage, abortion, divorce and female priests vary by region, age, geographic location and income.

According to the poll, 87 percent of Catholics be-lieve that Francis is doing a good or excellent job as his papacy reaches its fi rst anniversary in March.

Yet 78 percent favor using contraceptives, a viola-tion of Church doctrine.

On other issues there are marked regional differ-ences: for example 80 percent of Catholics in Africa and 76 percent in the Philippines support the ban on female priests, but only 30 percent in Europe and 36 percent in the United States are in favor.

The most controversial subject is gay marriage: opposition to such unions is overwhelming in Africa at 99 percent, compared with 40 percent in the Unit-ed States.

“On average, fi ve percent more women, 18 percent

more young people and 10 percent more upper and upper middle class members are in favor of gay mar-riage compared to their counterparts,” the pollsters said.

Catholics in Spain – which for centuries enforced Church doctrine through the Holy Inquisition – are among the most liberal in the world, according to the survey, along with those in France.

Catholics in Africa and the Philippines are the most conservative, while those in Argentina and Brazil are mostly liberal.

The poll by Bendixen & Amandi International for Univision surveyed 12,036 Catholics in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Uganda and the United States.

The countries represent 61 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, and pollsters say the survey has a 0.9 percent overall margin of error.

On February 11, the Catholic Church marked one year since Benedict XVI became the fi rst pope since the Middle Ages to resign, with Vatican insid-ers defending his troubled eight-year papacy.

“Today I ask you to join me in prayer for His Holi-ness Benedict XVI, a man of great courage and hu-mility,” his successor, Pope Francis, said in a mes-sage on Twitter.

Catholics support Pope Francis, but many split on teachings: poll

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 Visit www.usasianpost.com 5

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GLENDALE, CA – PLDT US Mobility’s comptroller and fi rst vice president, June Cheryl “Chaye” Cabal-Revilla, has been named one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardees for Community Service in 2013 for her work in PLDT’s Gabay Guro program which signifi cantly con-tributed to improve the lives of the Filipino people.

Organizing the program with the support of the PLDT Man-agers’ Club Inc. and the PLDT Smart Foundation, Cabal-Revilla has selfl essly honored and helped the country’s teachers through the Gabay Guro program. Under her leadership, Gabay Guro has already provided more than 700 scholarship grants to aspiring teachers and conducted training to more than 40,000 teachers na-tionwide. Since 2007, Gabay Guro has conducted trainings and pro-grams that fortify the teachers’ knowledge and skills; provided for teachers opportunities for ad-ditional livelihood and income; helped in broad banding public schools and in computerization; provided initial funding to fi nance housing projects and educational facilities; and initiated events

and campaigns that pay tribute to teachers.

“I am fortunate to be part of a company that has a deep sense of service for the Filipino people and believes that we are here to change lives. Thus, when we or-ganized Gabay Guro, the support was really there and this inspired us to pursue programs that will truly change the lives of those who changed ours – our teachers,” said Chaye Cabal-Revilla, who also serves as the Chief Finance Offi -

cer of PLDT Global Corp. (PGC). “I am thankful that companies with-in the PLDT Group such as PGC, extend their invaluable support to Gabay Guro by putting up com-puter labs and schools in Cebu, Bohol and Leyte - areas that were severely devastated by the earth-quake and Yolanda.” She further adds that she draws her strength “from God. If you have a purpose and it’s according to His will, God gives you all the strength you need.”

Manuel V. Pangilinan, who is at the helm of the PLDT Group of Co, shares the same heart for the Filipino people when he said in the PLDT-Smart Foundation’s website, “we are determined to make an impact on the lives of as many Filipinos as possible with the resources we do have.”

This is the reason why PLDT has launched its operations in the United States. “True to the calling of changing lives of the Filipinos wherever they may be, PLDT US Mobility is here to give our kababayans in the US a slew of services that will bring them closer to home,” said Enrique G. Yu, General Manager of PLDT US Mobility.

This is how the country you serve can serve you back: provide you with skills set that are useful in order to excel in your personal and professional life; put your through college with fi nancial as-sistance; make excellent health care accessible to you and to your family; give you an edge in the work force; and the list goes on and on.

These benefi ts were enumerated by Lieutenant Colonel J. Scott Peterson, Commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion in Los Angeles. He should know, as he has been serving for about 20 years now, starting right out of college when he enlisted.

“I joined the Army for a combination of reasons. I was drawn to the discipline, esprit-de-corps, and camaraderie the Army pro-vides. The opportunity for adventure, travel, and new experiences was also central to my decision,” Peterson explained his personal reasons for joining the Army.

“The Army represents a moral, honorable lifestyle, both per-sonal and professional, that I have always wanted to be a part of. “The Army is the ground component of our military. It is the larg-est service in all of the military,” Peterson added in an interview on Kababayan Today.

Peterson and his staff sought the help of America’s fi rst and only daily talk show for the Filipinos to educate the community about the military; and to hopefully recruit more kababayans.

And for non-U.S. citizen recruits, there’s even another incen-tive to join – the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program. The Army website explains this as a program that “permits the enlistment of certain legal aliens into the U.S. Army.”

“MAVNI is designed to further strengthen the US Army by in-fusing greater language and cultural diversity into our ranks. This program includes multiple language categories of which Tagalog is one,” said Peterson, adding that for successful applicants to MA-VNI, a path to citizenship is also in the offi ng, in addition to the many standard benefi ts the military avails people in the service.

Peterson said that as they seek to hire the best and the bright-est to grow the L.A. Battalion, he is intentionally making an effort to reach out to Filipinos based on his favorable experiences con-cerning the work ethic of kababayans.

“Our Filipino-American soldiers are outstanding, as are all sol-diers serving in our Army. I am continuously encouraged at the tremendous levels of patriotism, commitment, and intellect of those we enlist here in Los Angeles,” he said.

“Soldiers often have varied motivations on why they enlist, but all share a common desire to honorably serve our country.”

PLDT US exec Cabal-Revilla, 2013 TOYM awardee

June Cheryl “Chaye” Cabal-Revilla

wenty seven years after it debuted as the Pili-pino Cultural Night as a vehicle to create aware-ness, nurture and propagate the Philippine cul-ture among high school students in Southern California, four high schools of the ABC School District have banded together again to stage its 30th edition on March 22, 6 p.m. at Lakewood High School,

This Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) is the culmi-nation of Club Kaibigan’s major activity at Whit-ney High School, the Filipino-American student body founded in 1984 by now Cerritos City Mayor Pro-tempore Mark E. Pulido.

Three years thereafter since 1987, Whitney’s Fil-Am students spearheaded by 15 club cabinet members organized the PCN as a cultural pro-gram to encourage the students to connect to their roots and learn more about their rich Filipino her-itage. Since then, this Filipino cultural extrava-ganza soon caught fi re. Other high schools in the school district took part in this tradition, among them Cerritos High School, Artesia High School and Gahr High School.

This cultural showcase is categorized into sev-eral main suites which start with Maria Clara then transitioned to Regional, Muslim Mountain and Rural.

In Maria Clara Suite, it features Paseo de Iloi-lo, Lanceros de Tayabas, Mazurka and Carinosa; Regional (Mindayan, and Raffi a); Muslim (Singkil and Katsu); Mountain (Salip and Pattong); Rural (Bulaklakan, Sakuting and Tinikling).

“Every year, we infuse innovations and varia-tions to our folk dances to be different from previ-ous years. We do our research and then meticu-lously choreograph these folk dance routines and eventually teach our peers,” shared Ann Munoz,

president of Whitney High School’s Club Kaibigan who is leading this year’s cultural show. Whitney High has a reputation as a “nationally recognized school of excellence.”

“Our organization is a testament to the power of neighborhood solidarity. The night is a culmi-nation of the efforts of over 100 people who have all worked together to make the Pilipino Cultur-al Night a success,” chimed in two other Co-Vice Presidents and Co-Dance Troupe Coordinators Cyrus Salvani and Carlo Salonga.

An authentic Filipino rondalla will perform as the ensemble will dance their routines that will somewhat approximate the world-famous Bayani-han Dance Company.

To deviate from purely Philippine cultural show, the up and coming Filipino Band DRH Band headed by Ruben Cuatrona will perform some pop-ular songs of Justin Timberlake like “Mirror”

One thing is certain to emerge from this Pilipi-no Cultural Night. Student participants who were interviewed said, “We hope to keep this on-going tradition alive for future high school generations to come and to allow them to be able to fi nd connec-tions and appreciation of their Filipino heritage through song and dance.”

For ticket reservation which is $10 per person, interested parties may contact Ann Munoz at 562-833-6751 or acdmunoz@gmail.com; Mark Ruiz at 562-650-6207 or mark@arstructures.com; Cyrus Salvani at 562-331-9785 or cyrus.salvani@rock-etmail.com; Carlos Salonga at 562-303-7017 or carlosalonga3@gmail.com; parents Elvie Munoz at 562-480-1780 and Cookie Ruiz at 562-682-8359. Lakewood High school is located at 4400 Brier-crest Ave., Lakewood, CA with Tel. No. 562-425-1281. – DAN E. NINO

Pilipino Cultural Night to be staged on March 22 at Lakewood High School

Enlisting in the military pays off

“Love is in the Air, Show that You Care” were deeply felt by the people who came to support the Incarnation School benefi t concert for typhoon Haiyan victims. It was held at the school auditorium in Glendale on February 7, 2014. All the perform-ers did a great job! Everyone was on their feet especially when the members of the faculty led by Mrs. Imelda Rodriguez sang “Lean on Me” and the 8th graders’ group performance of “Man in the Mirror.” The school was able to collect $2144 which will be sent to the Philippines through the Catholic Relief fund.

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 THE US ASIAN POST6

TEMECULA, Calif., Pebrero 6, 2014 – Pechanga Resort & Casino, ang pinaka malaking resort/casino ng estado, ay nagbukas kamakailan la-mang ng kanilang bagong hotel lobby na pumailalim sa isang multi milyong dolyar na renobasyon. Kasama rin ang renobasyon ng dalawang restawran at ang pagbubukas ng dalawang bagong kainan. Para ipakita ang walang ku-pas at eleganteng espasyo, ang mga opisyal ng resort ay nag-imbita ng mga miyembro ng Asian Media para sa isang araw ng kaganapan kung saan nakilala nila ang mga opisyal ng re-sort, nakita ang mga binagong bahagi nito, natikman ang mga tradisyonal na pagkaing Intsik, at nakahalubilo ang ambasador ng resort na sanay sa ibat-ibang salita at kultura. Makikita sa paligid ng resort mga kultural at masasayang dekorasyon na kabilang sa selebrasyon ng Lunar New Year. May mga 100 na miyembro ng Asian Media ang dumalo sa Media Tour na ito na ginanap sa unang bahagi ng Pe-brero.

Kasunod ng malaking renobasyon, makikita ng mga panauhin ng Pechan-ga Resort & Casino ang panibagong Blazing Noodles Asian restaurant. Tampok ng panibagong menu ng Blazing Noodles ang mas maram-ing tradisyonal na pagkaing Intsik, kasama pa rin ang mga nakagawiang paborito at mga Westernized na selek-siyon.

Ang mga ulam na tulad ng Roasted Duck Noodle Soup, Oxtail with Red Wine Sauce, Poached Duck Wings, Duck Tongue, Tofu at Pork Belly ay kasama sa menu. Para sa mga pan-auhin na mas sanay sa Western Asian cuisine, ang menu ay binabalanse ng mga kilala at nakasanayang putahe, tulad ng Orange Chicken, Chinese Beef Broccoli, Pad Thai, Fried Rice at marami pang iba.

Napapaloob sa pinaka-malaking resort/casino sa California, ang Blaz-ing Noodles ay bukas para sa pan-aghalian at hapunan araw-araw. Mula Lunes hanggang Huwebes, ito ay bu-kas mula 11:30 ng umaga hanggang 11:00 ng gabi. Tuwing Sabado, mula 10:00 ng umaga hanggang 1:00 ng umaga, at tuwing Linggo, mula 10:00 ng umaga hanggang 11:00 ng gabi. Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, bumisita sa www.Pechanga.com/din-ing.

Tungkol sa Pechanga Resort & Casino Inaalok ng Pechanga Resort & Casino ang pinakamalaki at mala-ganap na kasiyahan na pang resort/casino kahit saan sa dakong kanlu-ran ng EstadosUnidos. Hinirang na “Four Diamond property” ng AAA mula pa noong 2003, ang Pechanga Resort & Casino ay nagbibigay ng walang katumbas na paraan, para sa isang araw o pang-matagalang mar-angyang bakasyon. Naghahandog ng

mahigit sa 3,000 sa pinaka mainit na slot machines, table games at world-class entertainment, 517 na kuwarto sa hotel nito,mga kainan, spa at cham-pionship golf sa Journey ng Pechan-ga, ang Pechanga Resort & Casino ay tampok na destinasyon na tumutugon at humihigit sa kagustuhan ng mga panauhin nito at ng komunidad. Ang Pechanga Resort & Casino ay pag-aari at palakad ng Pechanga Band

ng mga Luiseño Indians. Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, tumawag sa 1-888-PECHANGA (1-888-732-4264) o pumunta sa www.Pechanga.com. Sundan ang Pechanga Resort & Casino sa Facebook.com/Pechanga at Twitter @PechangaCasino. Ang Pechanga Resort & Casino ay bukas ng 24 oras. Ang mga panauhin ay dapat na may edad 21 anyos at pataas para makapasok sa casino.

Handog ng Pechanga Resort & Casino ang Asian Media Showcase para sa multi milyong dolyar na renobasyon at mga bagong restawran

Pechanga Resort & Casino Asian Hosts garbed in their respective national costumes, including our kababayans Verghie Dejesus (7th from right), Marylou Bean (5th from right) and Dolores Salvador (4th from right).

Asian Media Interview with Lee Torres VP of Marketing.Asian Media taking photos to Pechanga Asian Hosts.

Lobby walkway by restaurants Mr. Dennis Khanh VP of F&B interview with Vietnamese Media.

Lunar New Year DecorationBlazing Noodles Exterior

Umi-Caterpillar Roll with chopsticks

Umi-Albacore Tuna Sashimi

Mr. Bill Anderson VP of Player Development with Asian Host and iGraphix Team wish everyone have the best Year of Horse.

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ed to his promise to fi ght to close a growing gap between rich and poor.

He took offi ce January 1, suc-ceeding billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who was mayor for 12 years. The NY decision came in the wake of reports that the Republi-cans may not tackle the immigration this year. House Speaker John Boehner said his “restive conservative caucus” did not have confi dence that President Barack Obama would be able to imple-ment any legislation.

Boehner the president’s vow to go around Congress and use executive powers to implement his political pro-gram if lawmakers refuse to cooperate with him had harmed trust in the White House.

Republicans also argue that adjust-ments the president made to his signa-ture health care law raise doubts over whether he could be trusted to properly carry out the requirements of an immi-gration reform bill.

The White House counters, howev-er, that the president had done more to enforce America’s southern borders—the source of most illegal immigra-tion—than any previous US leader.

Obama, seeking a genuine second-term legacy achievement, strongly supports the Senate bill to reform im-migration that passed last year, which offers a path to eventual citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.

The bill also includes tighter border monitoring, an overhauled work visa program and other key reforms.

stered the country’s position in the territorial row with China.

“Nagpapasalamat nalang ako sa Xinhua dahil ang sabi nga parang nire-reaffi rm iyong valid-ity nung ating posisyon (I thank Xinhua because it reaffi rmed the validity of our position),” the President said in a media inter-

view after the change of com-mand ceremony at the Philippine Army.

The President however point-ed out that if the Xinhua writer believed China has a good case, (the article) should have focused on the facts to argue and explain its position. (MNS)

This is elevated to ‘qualifi ed human traffi cking’ if “by reason or on occasion of the act of traffi ck-ing in persons, the offended party dies” as stated in Section 6(g) of the same law.

“Children used as combatants suffer in a number of ways, most of them suffer in silence,” De Lima said.

Section 10(e) of R.A. No. 9208 states that “any person found guilty of qualifi ed traffi cking shall suffer the penalty of life imprison-ment and a fi ne of not less than P2 million but not more than P5 million.”

“It is incumbent upon us to put an end to these horrors,” De Lima added.(MNS)

of two, said as she cooked a meal of tinned sardines at a muddy school yard near downtown.

The fi sherman’s wife and her extended family are among about 500 people living in blue tarpaulin tents and on relief goods there.

She told AFP her family went to live with Manila relatives on November 12, but returned after Christmas because they could not fi nd jobs and were becoming a burden at her sister’s home.

“We came back because we heard the government is giving free housing, but so far, noth-ing.”

Amid the continuing diffi cul-ties, the tourism ministry urged the world’s 100 million Filipinos on Saturday to join its “#PHthan-kyou” campaign on social media.

It suggested they download some of the ministry’s “The Phil-ippines says thank you” notes from its website and adorned with pictures of the country’s top tourist draws, and post them on Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social networking sites.

Russell Geekie, spokesman

for the UN disaster agency in the Philippines, told AFP the government-led relief effort has addressed many of the survivors’ most acute emergency needs.

It was shifting to an “early recovery” phase with a focus on restoring livelihoods for millions of people, he added.

However, “shelter needs re-main enormous”.

“Obviously we talk about resil-ient people, but the scope of the disaster and destruction is such that it’s very hard. There are remaining psycho-social needs that need to be met,” he said.

These include fi nding the hundreds missing to give their families “closure”.

The United Nations launched an international aid appeal in December for $788 million to fi -nance the humanitarian effort for this year. Geekie said the ap-peal was about 45 percent fund-ed.

President Benigno Aquino has said the rebuilding effort would take at least four years and re-quire more than $8 billion in funding.

the South China Sea,” he said, be-fore correcting himself to say the East China Sea, where China and Japan have confl icting claims.

Fears of confl ict rose in Novem-ber when China imposed an Air Defense Identifi cation Zone over much of the East China Sea.

Beijing says it now requires notifi cation from planes crossing a group of islands administered by Tokyo, known in Japanese as the Senkaku and in Chinese as Diaoyu.

“The United States neither rec-ognizes nor accepts China’s de-clared East China Sea ADIZ and the United States has no inten-tion of changing how we conduct operations in the region,” Kerry said.

The United States and its allies

are increasingly concerned China will take similar action in the South China Sea, where the Phil-ippines in particular has voiced worries about Beijing’s maritime claims.

Kishida, for his part, extended an invitation for President Barack Obama to make a state visit to Ja-pan.

Diplomats say Obama is likely to visit Japan on an April tour of Asia, although Kerry is not ex-pected to stop in Tokyo on his up-coming trip.

Kishida was visiting Washing-ton after a rare open disagree-ment between the two allies.

The United States voiced dis-appointment in December when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his conservative views,

paid a pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including con-victed war criminals from World War II.

Abe’s visit outraged China and also fellow US ally South Korea. Both countries frequently accuse Japan of insuffi cient remorse for its aggression a century ago.

Kishida told Kerry that Japan valued its relationship with South Korea despite their “diffi cult is-sues,” saying the two democracies needed to work together in the face of nuclear-armed North Ko-rea.

“Going forward, we will make tenacious efforts in order to build a cooperative relationship with the Republic of Korea from a broad perspective,” Kishida said.

“(If) it is a private initiative that will effect better relations with Hong Kong and (is) consis-tent with national interest, why not?” Lacierda said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

A report on BusinessMirror newspaper had quoted physician and Chinese General Hospital director James Dy as saying he plans to appeal to Hong Kong chief executive C.Y. Leung to re-consider the Hong Kong govern-

ment’s decision.Earlier this month, Hong Kong

revoked the visa-free privileges of holders of offi cial Philippine passports after the Philippines refused to apologize for the 2010 tragedy.

The August 2010 tragedy in-volved a dismissed policeman who took a busload of tourists hostage in Manila to demand his rein-statement.

But the policeman and eight

Hong Kong tourists were killed in a botched police rescue operation.

While the Philippines ex-pressed regret over the tragedy that killed eight Hong Kong tour-ists, it has not issued an apology.

President Benigno Aquino III, in an interview with The New York Times, reiterated that he has no plans to apologize as doing so could create a “legal liability.” (MNS)

pedite the revelation and uncov-ering of (the) truth” in a judicial proceeding.

But Lacierda stressed there are procedures and requirements for one to become a state witness.

Tuason returned to the Philip-pines on Friday and offered to tes-tify on the PDAF mess.

President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by outgoing Army Chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, inspects the troops during the Philippine Army Change of Command Ceremony at the PA Grandstand in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Friday (February 7). Major General Hernando Iriberri, the 56th PA Commanding General replacing Coballes, is the commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Divi-sion (ID) and a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class of 1983. (MNS photo)

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 THE US ASIAN POST8

MOTORING

(Relaxnews) – From BMW to Volvo, the continent’s leading au-tomakers are uniting with sup-pliers, universities and research institutes on a three-year project aimed at accelerating the devel-opment and im-plementation of self-driving cars.

The project, called Adap-tIVe (Automated Driving Applica-tions & Technol-ogies for Intel-ligent Vehicles) and scheduled to run for the next 42 months, will see some of the world’s biggest and most important car compa-nies – as well as a host of sup-pliers, universities and research institutes – coming together to pool their resources with the aim of pushing autonomous driving further into reality.

The ultimate goal is to create more effi cient and – crucially –

safer self-driving solutions.“This complex fi eld of research

will not only utilize onboard sen-sors, but also cooperative ele-ments such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure

communica -tion. There-fore, I am glad that most Eu-ropean auto-motive com-panies are coopera t ing in this pre-compet i t i ve fi eld to create new solutions for automated

driving,” says Professor Jürgen Leohold, Executive Director of Volkswagen Group Research.

The project, which will be based in Volkswagen’s home-town of Wolfsburg, Germany, has attracted BMW, Fiat, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, Daim-ler, Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, Re-nault, Volvo, Ford and of course

VW. But as well as carmak-ers, the EU-funded project also counts Bosch and Continental – two leading automotive driving technology suppliers – among its members.

As well as enhancing existing technologies and developing new features, the project will serve as a platform for exploring the po-tential legal implications of au-tonomous driving. Who is liable for an accident caused by a self-driving car and what changes need to be made to existing road traffi c laws to enable the intro-duction of new technologies?

AdaptIVe will be using seven cars and one truck as test sub-jects for experiments and tech-nological developments and will be examining ways of making autonomous features dynamic, i.e., able to react to the environ-ment—be it highway cursing or parallel parking in a narrow busy inner-city street – and to the responsiveness and state of the driver.

European project ‘AdaptIVe’ moves automated driving: The 42-month project involves all of Europe’s major car companies and is led by Volkswagen. ©Volkswagen Group

European car companies race to develop autonomous driving technology

The project, called AdaptIVe (Auto-mated Driving Applications & Tech-nologies for Intelligent Vehicles) and scheduled to run for the next 42 months, will see some of the world’s biggest and most important car companies – as well as a host of suppliers, universities and research institutes ....

(Relaxnews) - The Next Two is the French carmaker’s take on the future of personal mobility, one where the car takes the strain, giving its driver and passengers more free time and less road rage.

The compact electric prototype, based on the current Renault Zoe, is a showcase of what Renault be-lieves will be standard features by the end of the decade. As Renault’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn, explained: “With Next Two, we wanted to combine the worlds of delegated driving and connectivity. Not only will autonomous driving enhance safety, but it will also free up time for drivers. Being connected will enable them to make the most of this extra time by providing them with access to new in-car services such as video-conferences, on-line shopping, travel information and more.” The car’s autonomous sys-tems are built around what the company describes as simple but ingenious sensor technologies. Their primary functions are to en-able the car to take over respon-sibility for driving in congested traffi c at speeds of up to 18mph (30km/h); and a fully automated valet parking system.

This would mean taking care of every element of the maneu-ver, including locating a suitable space. It would also enable the car to collect its owner simply with the push of a button within a smartphone app.

To keep the driver and occu-pants entertained and engaged while the car takes the strain, the Next Two is hyper connected, providing high-speed internet ac-cess so that everyone on board can work or play and make the most

of their time.“Everybody is looking to save

time, particularly when it comes to driving. Next Two has conse-quently been designed to help occupants optimize the way they manage their time and ensure that wasted or lost time becomes useful or enjoyable by freeing up opportunities to relax, educate oneself, have fun or work,” ex-plains Frédéric Mathis, the man in charge of the Next Two project.

There are still a number of ob-stacles that need to be overcome if fully-autonomous cars are to be allowed on the road. Currently no system, no matter how techno-logically advanced, is 100 percent foolproof and responsive in every permutation of driving situation and it will take years to develop and test such a system.

The second biggest barrier is legislative. Laws would need to be signifi cantly altered to legal-ize autonomous car use and is-sues such as liability would have to be addressed. Is the carmaker or the driver responsible when an autonomous car has an accident?

All of which is why Renault is looking to develop ‘delegated driving’ systems, which keep the driver in overall control but, step by step, will become more respon-sible for piloting the car. As such, there is a good chance that the technologies on this concept will be making it to market in 2020, Renault’s ultimate goal. “Next Two is a realistic prototype which incorporates technologies that are suffi ciently well-developed to be built into production models in the medium-term future,” notes Mathis.

Renault Next Two interior: Inside, the driver can relax and let the car take over at speeds below 30km/h. ©Renault

Renault unveils its vision for driver-less driving

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(PARIS-AFP) – A Harley-Da-vidson motorbike that briefl y be-longed to Pope Francis was sold to a mystery European buyer for 210,000 euros ($285,800) at a high-profi le auction in Paris on Thursday.

“It’s a record for a post-vintage motorbike, from the 21st century,” said Bonhams France, the auction house. Including fees, the uniden-tifi ed buyer paid a total of 241,500 euros to obtain the bike.

The US motorbike maker gave the 1,585cc Dyna Super Glide

to the pope in June to mark the brand’s 110th anniversary, and while the 77-year-old never rode it, he signed it before donating it to Roman Catholic charity Cari-tas Roma.

The funds from the sale will go towards the restoration of the charity’s hostel and soup kitchen at Rome’s Termini railway sta-tion.

A jacket that was also given to the pope by Harley-Davidson was snapped up for 57,500 euros, in-cluding fees.

The bike is on show at the Grand Palais in Paris – where the auction took place – among hun-dreds of other iconic vehicles such as Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs.

According to Bonhams, Pope Francis has another Harley-Da-vidson, although the famously humble pontiff is more of a fan of buses.

He opted to ride one the day af-ter his election last year instead of taking a limousine, and regu-larly used them in his homeland Argentina instead of taxis.

A Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide motorcycle offered to Pope Francis on the occa-sion of 110th anniversary of the brand in June 2013, is displayed on February 5, 2014 at the Grand Palais in Paris on the eve of an auction of luxury vintage cars. ©AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS GUILLOT

Pope Francis’ Harley sells to mystery buyer for 210,000 euros

The QUANT e-Sportlimousine: The car will be unveiled on March 4. ©nanoFLOWCELL AG

(Relaxnews) – We already have sports cars, sports utility vehicles, and, if nanoFLOWCELL AG has its way, we’re about to get sports limousines as well.

Due to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March, the QUANT e-Sportlimousine is over 5 meters in length, seats four passengers, and will be powered by a special “fl ow cell” electric powertrain.

As the company behind the car, nanoFLOWCELL AG, explains, the car “offers a unique combination of innovative technology, outstanding de-sign and an entirely new energy storage system.”

The company published two teaser images to pique interest ahead of the offi cial unveiling next month.

The car could indeed be revolu-tionary and start stealing custom from more established companies such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, but the last company to go all-in on a sporty lim-ousine was Aston Martin whose Lag-onda was such a failure that it nearly destroyed the company.

Then there’s the fact that the ‘Quant’

car name is quickly becoming synony-mous with vehicles that never move past the concept stage. In 2009 the admittedly beautiful NLV Quant by Koenigsegg made its debut at the Ge-

neva motor show, then was never heard of again. In 2010 another Quant concept was unveiled and then dis-appeared again. Let’s hope that it’s go-ing to be third time lucky.

(Relaxnews) – The Audi RS 4 Avant Nogaro selection has been built to pay homage to the Avant RS2, an epic sportscar cunningly disguised as a fam-ily station wagon.

The RS 4 Avant Nogaro will be making its fi rst appearance at the Gene-va Motor Show in March before going into limited production later this year.

Based on the existing Audi A4 Avant (which the company calls an estate car), it will be equally at home hauling furniture back from IKEA or hauling itself around the Nurburgring.

This ferocious vehicular multi-task-ing is thanks to the inclusion of a high-revving, 4.2-liter, 450hp V8 under the hood. Good for a 0-100km/h (62mph) time of just 4.7 seconds and an elec-tronically limited top speed of 280 km/h (174 mph), it boasts performance statistics that would be impressive if it were a two-seater, focused track car. But it isn’t: it’s a big, fi ve-seat station wagon with enough space for suitcases and a dog. All of which makes the fi g-ures all the more remarkable.

Keeping the car under control, no matter what the road-going situation, is Audi’s celebrated Quattro perma-nent four-wheel drive system, which as well as keeping all wheels spinning all of the time, can send exactly the right amount of power and therefore grip to each of the vehicle’s corners to further maximize road holding.

Making the car easier to drive, es-pecially along congested city streets, is the seven-speed S tronic gearbox. Pad-dle shift up or down the gears for light-ning fast changes when racing, or leave

it in full automatic mode when the road ahead has ground to a standstill.

As well as an ‘automatic’ mode, the car also has three performance settings, each of which unleashes different driv-ing characteristics, be it tighter steer-ing, faster gear changes or softer sus-pension. Well, you don’t want the kids getting carsick.

So that admiring onlookers know it’s the anniversary edition, the RS 4 Avant Nogaro selection comes in a spe-cial customized Nogaro blue pearl ef-fect paint fi nish while the interior will be fi nished in black leather with con-trasting blue trim and stitching.

Since Audi launched the RS2 back in 1994, a superfast estate version has become a standard offering in a host of executive car makers’ ranges. BMW, Volvo and Mercedes all offer mon-strously powerful ‘touring’ versions of their fastest sedans (as did Saab until it went out of business). But Audi was the fi rst to take a gamble, and the on-going popularity of its Avant RS cars proves it was a gamble that was worth taking.

Prices for the Audi RS 4 Avant Nog-aro selection will start at €87,300.

Does this car have a sporting chance? Audi’s latest superfast wagon pays tribute to original Avant RS

The Audi RS 4 Nogaro selection. ©Audi

(FRANKFURT-AFP) – Germa-ny’s Volkswagen overtook US ri-val General Motors to become the world’s second-biggest car maker after Japanese giant Toyota, last year sales fi gures showed on Friday.

The German group said that it sold a total of 9.73 million vehicles in 2013.

That fi gures covers all 12 of

VW’s brands, including truck mak-ers MAN and Scania, a spokesman explained.

“These are the defi nitive of all our brands. They are compa-rable with our rivals, who also include heavy trucks,” he said.

Toyota sold a total 9.98 million vehicles last year and General Mo-tors a total 9.71 million.

Volkswagen owns the Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Porsche, VW, Lam-borghini, Bentley, Bugatti, VW Commercial Vehicles, Ducati, MAN and Scania.

Analysts believe the group may achieve its long-term target of an-nual sales of more than 10 million vehicles ahead of its target date of 2018.

(Relaxnews) – A head-to-head race with a 2014 Corvette Sting-ray Z51 reveals that the executive sedan’s performance – as well as its powertrain – is electric.

On paper there shouldn’t be any doubt. The current Corvette is one of the fastest homegrown production cars currently on sale in the US. It boasts a 0-60mph (100km/h) time of 3.8 sec-onds and over 400hp on tap for when needs arise.

The Tesla Model S on the other hand is a car for eco-minded executives that worry more about the effects of burning fossil fuels than of the ability to burn rubber. Even in its more perfor-mance-orientated guise, the SP85, the car is fi rst and foremost a luxury cruiser, not a track bruiser.

Yet when the two cars met at a drag race, the Tesla beat the Corvette over the standing quarter-mile track by 0.235 seconds, achieving a speed of 116 mph in the process.

Luckily enough, for the Corvette owner’s pride, in the re-match, later the same day, the Tesla was knocked into second place, but only by 0.0774 of a second.

As well as a drag race victory, Tesla is this week celebrating the completion of its US supercharging network. It means that a Tesla owner can now drive from LA to New York and then along the coast to Florida for free using nothing more than Tesla-sup-plied electricity.

In honor of the achievement, the company is on Thursday un-dertaking what it calls the Coast to Coast Supercharger Rally. A car will set off from Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne, Los An-geles and attempt to get to New York by Sunday. In the process it hopes to set a new world record for the lowest charge time for an electric vehicle traveling across the country.

Watch the Tesla vs Corvette drag race: http://youtu.be/VO-qWlOrlkIg

VW overtakes General Motors as world’s number 2 car maker

Watch: Tesla sting Stingray in drag race

(Relaxnews) – Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show, the Soul EV will be going on sale in the US and Europe in the autumn.

The Korean company al-ready makes hybrid-powered cars but the Soul EV is Kia’s fi rst mass-produced plug-in electric vehicle and in or-der for it to be a success, the brand is trying every techno-logical trick in the book to extend the car’s usable range and ease of charging.

The regenerative braking system has been tweaked to capture as much as 12 percent of the car’s kinetic energy and push it back to the battery to increase range. And when the battery is running out of power, it can be charged from a standard household power socket or via a dedicated elec-tric car charging point.

The battery is good for a realistic range of 80-100 miles (up to 160km) and if connected to a 50W-output charger can be topped up by 80 percent again in as little as 33 minutes. Otherwise, a full recharge from a standard household socket can take 24 hours or fi ve hours when using a 240-volt outlet.

On the road, the car promises to be nippy and agile; the battery pack is in the fl oor for a lower center of gravity and better weight distribution. It can accelerate to 100km/h (62mph) in under 12 seconds and power to the wheels goes via a single-speed constant ratio gear reduction unit.

Kia hopes to create a buzz with fi rst electric car

All-new Kia Soul EV unveiled at Chicago Mo-tor Show: The car offers a range of up to 100 miles (160km). ©Kia

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 THE US ASIAN POST10

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PRAYERSPRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Holy Spirit Thou who make me see everything and show me the way to reach

my ideal, You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that

is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short

dialogue, want to thank You for everything and con rm once more that I never

want to be separated from You no matter how great the material desires may

be. I want to be with You and my loved ones in Your perpetual glory. Amen. A

person must pray this for three consecutive days without stating his wish. After

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Feb-ruary 6, 2014) –

Couple’s workouts are a great way to get in shape together. I enjoy creating exercise programs for couples who are ready and committed to making a change. Here are several key exercises to be a “fi t healthy couple”.

Buddy Squats with a Twist: 2 sets of 15 reps.

The couple should face each other with a 5lb. medicine ball. Stand with the feet slightly more than shoulder width apart. Each person should do a squat and the person holding the med-icine ball should do a twist to the right and to the left while in the squat position.

The person doing the squat without the medicine ball should stay in the squat position while the other person does the twists. After arising from the squat, the

medicine ball is given to the oth-er person to do the same squat with twists.

Couple’s Clap Push-Up: 2 sets of 15 reps.

The couple should face each other in the opposite direction. Each should be in the standard push-up position. The push-ups can be done from the knees or the standard style. As the push-up is done, you should clap the opposite hand of the mate in front of you. Keep your back straight during this exercise.

Jumping Rope: 20 minutes Couples jumping rope is al-

ways a great way to improve cardiovascular endurance. I rec-ommend jumping at a pace of 60-100 skips per minute. Con-sider a goal of 1000-1200 skips in 20 minutes.

Couple’s Stretching: 10 min-utes

Couple’s workout:

Dr. Levi’s exercise sets for two

Dr. Levi Harrion, MDConsider standard ham-

strings/calf and quadriceps stretches steps for 10 minutes before and after your workout. Remember to hold all stretches for 20-30 seconds.

Good luck on achieving fi t-ness as a couple. Keep exercis-ing. Exercise is life.

(Relaxnews) – A team of US sci-entists has created a pill packed with powerful antioxidants they claim could help make older adults smarter.

In a University of South Florida study, the supplement, made from blueberry and green tea extracts as well as vitamin D3 and amino acids, was found to improve cognitive processing speeds and mental function in older adults.

Developed by a team of neu-roscientists and gerontologists, the polyphenol-rich pill was de-signed to work as a moderator of age-related oxidative stress and infl ammation.

For their research, scientists

enlisted older adults between the ages of 65 and 85. After a two-month test period, the group of 52 participants who took the pill demonstrated im-proved cognitive function based on a battery of tests that mea-sured their memory, processing speed, verbal ability, working memory, executive functioning and complex speed.

Compared to the placebo group (53 volunteers), those on the supplement posted im-proved performances on process-

ing speeds.“Processing speed is most

often affected early on in the course of cognitive aging,” ex-plained co-author Brent Small in a statement.

“Successful performance in processing tasks often underlies more complex cognitive outcomes, such as memory and verbal ability.”

The fi ndings were published in the journal Rejuvenation Research.

Though the supplement is packed with high concentrations of some of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, it’s been well established that eating foods like blueberries, green tea and fatty fi sh high in omega-3s in their unprocessed form can also act as di-etary brain boosters.

Could this pill make you smarter?Scientists have created a supplement made with antioxidants like blueberries and green tea that claims to be able to improve cognitive function.

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 THE US ASIAN POST12

FORMER child star and sing-er Aiza Seguerra is now engaged to girlfriend, actress and former beauty queen Liza Diño.

The “Be Careful With My Heart” actress went down in one knee and asked Diño’s hand in marriage at the fi nal segment of the play “Kung Paano Maghihi-walay,” which they are both part of, staged recently at Teatro Her-mogenes Ylagan in University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The wedding proposal was witnessed by theater goers, the couples close friends and family. Aiza’s parents were also present in the said occasion.

The singer has always been vo-cal of her feelings towards Diño.

In December, Aiza dedicate her Best Supporting Actress trophy for the fi lm “My Little Bossings”

to her girlfriend.She said Diño inspired her to

better her craft.“I’ve always been an actress but

Liza gave me that direction. Where to take it, how to har-ness it and make it effective. Never akong nag workshop or anything. So, siya yung critic ko. Fina-fi ne tune niya ako, and in return, ganun din ako sa sarili ko. It’s all her.”

The singer added that meeting her girlfriend was the highlight of her 2013.

The couple is most likely to wed in the

United States, where more than 15 states have already approved same-sex marriage. (MNS)

The father of Angel Locsin is supportive of his daughter’s rela-tionship with television host Luis Manzano.

Locsin revealed that Manzano already visited her father.

“Gusto niya si Luis eh,” said Locsin who recently admitted that she is still in love with Manzano and is hoping for a reconciliation.

According to Locsin, she and Manzano are not offi cially togeth-er yet but are “getting there.”

“Inaayos pa namin. Sa lahat pa ba nang pinagsasabi ko, may itatago pa ba ako, o magtatago pa ba ako?” Locsin, adding that they are offi cially dating again.

“Inaayos lang namin ‘yung mga hindi namin na settle na issues.

Pero ‘yung mahal, love, andun pa din naman, di ba? Hindi naman nawala ‘yon. Inaayos lang talaga namin.”

Locsin was also humble enough to admit that she spoke too soon when she said she will never get back with her ex-boyfriend.

“Kinain ko lahat ng sinabi ko na hindi nakikipagbalikan sa ex. Nilamon ko naman lahat ‘yon. Happy naman ako eh,” she said.

Locsin, however, again stressed that she had a clean break with former boyfriend, Azkal player Phil Younghusband, before going out again with Manzano.

“Iniisip ng tao na pinagsabay namin, hindi po. Sobrang hindi po talaga,” she said. (MNS)

Actress Ruffa Gutierrez ad-mitted that it felt good that she fi -nally had the chance to work with former boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz fi ve years after they co-starred in the ABS-CBN series “I Love Betty La Fea.”

Gutierrez appeared in Sun-day’s episode of the sitcom “Home Sweetie Home,” where she played the role of Cristina, the ex-girl-friend of Cruz’s character.

Gutierrez said she had fun act-ing alongside Cruz.

“After fi ve years, it’s the fi rst time na nakatrabaho ko siya ulit. Maayos naman. Masaya na-man siya kasama… For us to be working together again sa ‘Home Sweetie Home,’ natuwa ako. Okay na pala sa ABS na magkasama kami, cool,” the former beauty queen said.

Gutierrez pointed out that

she and Cruz have maintained a healthy friendship even after they parted ways.

“Si JL naman, nakakasama ko naman ‘yan sa labas as friends. We always bump into each other na walang mga cameras…Happy ako,” she said.

In a previous interview, Cruz

praised Gutier-rez for “being a good sport” when she agreed to play the role of his character’s ex-girlfriend on the show.

“ N a t u t u w a ako dahil naging game siya,” he said.

The actor is currently in a re-lationship with

actress Angelica Panganiban.

“Magkaibigan naman kami kaya walang point para hin-di kami maging kumportable. Walang isyu naman dapat,” he said of Gutierrez, with whom he had a “special relationship” in 2010. (MNS)

Aiza, Liza Diño now engaged

Aiza and Liza

Ruffa had fun working with John Lloyd anew

John Lloyd and Ruffa

Angel’s dad approves of Luis Manzano

Angel Locsin and Luis Manzano

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 Visit www.usasianpost.com 13

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – The Philippine economy must grow by 9 percent every year to reduce poverty, foreign businessmen said.

Top offi cials of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Phil-ippines, Inc. and Australian - New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines said the economy’s cur-rent performance of 7% has yet to translate to more jobs.

“There has been a lot of talk about the trickle-down effect. It takes a long time to trickle down, but 7% for us is not enough. [We want] the economy to grow by 9%, but it needs to grow by 9% for many, many years,” Ian Porter, president of ANZCHAM, said.

The Philippine economy grew by 7.2% in 2013, exceeding both the government’s 6-7% target and mar-ket expectations of 7%.

More jobs could be created if gov-ernment boosts the manufacturing sector.

“Manufacturing is a tremendous

opportunity. If you would set up in certain areas in provinces for a low-er cost manufacturing… [and] have some fl exibility on minimum wage and for some way to provide lower costs, you could set up zones and create opportunities for thousands and thousands of people in manu-facturing,” AMCHAM president and FedEx Philippines managing director Ricke Jennings said.

However, some economic provi-sions of the Constitution are dis-couraging foreign manufacturers from building more factories here.

According to Porter, recent Su-preme Court decisions and econom-ic provisions in the Constitution have made it diffi cult for foreign investors to see the Philippines as a good place for investments

“There are a lot of barriers to fund direct investments in the Philippines... The court has made decisions recently that have made a big impact on the way investors see the Philippines. This is also on

the economic provisions of the Con-stitution... [the] 60-40 rule. There have been some decisions of the Su-preme Court which have reinforced the idea that foreigners are not welcome unless they partner with a Philippine company,” Porter said.

Foreign chamber groups are holding their third anniversary fo-rum of “Arangkada Philippines,” where they are expected to hammer out policy recommendations for the Aquino government.

The groups have been monitor-ing 471 recommendations made back in 2010, to which they review the progress on key issues in in-dustries such as mining, tourism, health care and services.

“We monitor all these recom-mendations continually, then each year we bring all those recommen-dations together and we make an assessment as to how the govern-ment has performed in carrying out these recommendations,” Jennings said.

Using an improvised boat, a man collects from the Pasig River assorted recyclable plastic bottles, containers and other fl oating objects which he sells for a living. Government continues promoting solid waste management nationwide to help protect people and the environment from adverse effects of indiscriminate garbage dumping in waterways and other areas. (MNS photo)

‘PHL economy must grow by 9 pct to cut poverty’

MANILA, Feb 10 (Mabuhay) – Some 12.1 million Filipinos were jobless at the end of 2013, as un-employment rose to 27.5 percent in the last quarter of the year, ac-cording to a Social Weather Sta-tions poll.

The SWS’s fourth quarter un-employment fi gures were six points higher than the 21.7 per-cent (9.6 million Filipinos jobless) in September.

The SWS also pointed out that the unemployment fi gures were the highest since August 2012, when it reached 29.4 percent.

The highest unemployment rate in the last 20 years was reached in February 2009 at 34.4 percent.

The Dec. 11-16 survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,550 adults nationwide. Sampling er-ror margins of ±2.5% for national, ±4% for the Visayas and ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon and Mindanao percentages applied to the survey.

But Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the SWS’s unemploy-ment rate is always higher than the government’s records because the pollster uses a different meth-odology from the National Statisti-cal Coordination Board.

“So parang hindi fair na mag-compare ka hindi siya apple to ap-ple. Iba ang methodology, totally different,” Baldoz told reporters after the awarding of outstanding recruitment and manning agen-cies at the Palace on Monday.

She added that they have al-ways been “guided” by the NSCB’s labor force survey which says that unemployment rate stands at 7.2 percent. She also noted that there was signifi cant improvement not in the quantity but in the quality of the jobs being produced in the country.

Unemployment defi nitionThe SWS explained that it had

a different defi nition of joblessness from that used by the government.

The SWS defi nition covers those who are 18 years and older, com-pared to the lower offi cial bound-ary of 15. Persons with jobs are those currently working, including unpaid family members.

Also, the SWS defi nition is based on two traditional qualifi ca-tions: not working at present and

looking for a job.Those without a job but and are

not looking for one, such as house-wives and students, are excluded from the labor force.

The government’s defi nition of unemployed uses three concepts: not working, looking for work and available for work.

The government excludes those not available for work, even though they are looking for work.

Those available for work but not seeking it due to illness or are waiting for the results of a job in-terview are included in the govern-ment’s unemployed numbers.

Using the government’s defi ni-tion, the SWS said the jobless rate among adults 18 years old and above would be 17.1 percent, or about 6.6 million Filipinos.

Causes of unemploymentThe SWS poll found that of

those who were unemplyed at end-2013:

13.5 percent resigned,10.4 percent were retrenched,

and3.5 percent were fi rst time job-

seekers.Adult joblessness “has been tra-

ditionally dominated by those who voluntarily left their old jobs and those who lost their jobs through economic circumstances beyond their control.”

The 13.5 percent who quit their jobs is an increase from the nine percent in September, while the number of fi rst-time job seekers went down from 5 percent in Sep-tember.

Of those who were retrenched, 6.8 percent did not have their con-tracts renewed, 1.6 percent had employers close shop, and 2 per-cent were laid off.

Those whose contracts were not renewed increased from 5 percent in September, and those whose employers closed shop and those who were laid off increased from 1 percent in September.

Geography, sex, ageUnemployment increased in

nearly all regions, with more men fi nding themselves without work in the last quarter compared to September (21.2 percent, up from 13.4 percent). There was a similar ris with women (35.9 percent from 32.4 percent).

Pinoys bullish on jobs despite 12.1M unemployed at end-2013 – SWS

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, Feb. 12-18, 2014 THE US ASIAN POST14

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That’s how undefeated two-division world cham-pion Timothy “Dessert Storm” Bradley would like to punctuate his rematch against eight-division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. Admitting that because his controversial split decision victory over the Filipino boxing champ in 2012 was not con-vincing enough for many, Bradley said he needs this fi ght for a chance to win a more conclusive win.

“I beat this guy already, but nobody believe (sic) that I did. And I did not get credit for it. This fi ght has to happen so I could sleep at night. I’m sick of walking down the street and people saying ‘You didn’t win that fi ght. They gave that to you. They robbed Manny.’ Do you know how that make (sic) me feel? And I’m the champ? Man, c’mon! And it tears me up, dude. It just tears me up…,” Bradley told members of the media who attended the press conference held early this week to announce the up-coming rematch to be held on April 12th 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

At the gathering, Bradley also confi dently re-minded everyone that he not only beat Pacquiao during their fi rst outing; but he also subsequently beat Juan Manuel Marquez, the man who knocked out the Fighter of the Decade.

“My confi dence comes from my ability – what I’ve done in the past; what I’ve done through the years; how hard I work. I’m a student of the game. I study fi ghters,” he added. “I’ve been studying Pacquiao … sheeesh… forever, dude. It just comes from me be-ing competitive, my competitive nature, my mental toughness. I believe in myself when nobody else be-lieves in me.”

Bradley recalled that even when nobody thought he would beat Marquez, he went on to claim a split decision against the “Dinamita.” And he says he’s convinced that if he beats Pacquiao “again,” that would raise his “stock even higher.”

But despite the confi dent talk, Bradley could not promise to deliver a KO.

“If the knock out comes, that’s great. I think that will be the exclamation point that I need to silence everybody. But everybody knows that I’m not a big huge puncher; and Pacquiao is a very, very clever guy; very hard guy to hit… I don’t know if I can knock him out,” he said.

Nonetheless, the champ who ended Pacquiao’s welterweight reign and 15-bout winning streak promised to train hard: “I’m training like an animal.

I’m gonna do 8 weeks of training this time around; not 12. I think maybe I was a little bit burnt out for the fi rst fi ght; may be over-trained a little bit. But this time around I’m doing 8 hard weeks, typical training camp for a championship fi ght.”

Bradley added that while this fi ght is a “must win” for him, the pressure is on Pacquiao.

“I feel no pressure. I already beat him once. The pressure is on him. My career still goes on. I’m the champion here, if he wants what I got, he gotta come earn it,” he said.

Kababayan Today is bringing you the sidelights and highlights of this rematch, from the training, all the way to fi ght night in Las Vegas. Catch all the features and interviews on America’s fi rst and only daily talk show for Filipinos – weekdays at 4:00p.m. on LA18 in Southern California, and at 3:30p.m. on Kiku in Hawaii. For more, log on to www.youtube.com/kababayanla18.

“I remember last time believing that I won the fi rst fi ght against Tim Bradley. I thought I was leading after every round. I thought I won the fi ght easily. I controlled the fi ght every round,” said Manny Pacquiao (left) on Tuesday when he and Timothy Brad-ley faced the members of the media in Los Angeles. As it turned out Bradley won the fi rst fi ght and Pacquiao lost the crown even after a review by boxing offi cials who said that Pacquiao did indeed win. The two will have a rematch on April 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Story on page 12). Photo:

Redemption with an exclamation pointNot just with a period; but with an emphatic exclamation point!

MANILA, February 7, 2014 (AFP) – Ex-US skipper Thomas Dooley was named head coach of the Philippines’ national team Friday, vowing to boost the profi le of football in a nation that much prefers basketball.

His predecessor, the German Michael Weiss, was sacked last month after a three-year stint in which he took Asia’s former whip-ping boys up 25 places to an all-time high of 127th in the FIFA rankings.

“The potential that this country has in developing (soccer) play-ers is huge,” Dooley told reporters at a Philippine Football Federa-tion press conference.

The 52-year-old has secured a one-year contract as head coach of the men’s team - known as “Azkals”, local slang for “feral dogs”.

Dooley’s immediate task is winning the Asian Football Confed-eration (AFC) Challenge Cup in Maldives in May.

“We hope to win the tournament. That’s why we took the neces-sary step to bring in a new coach to the team,” Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta said.

Dooley admitted he had only seen his new team play twice.“Technically they are pretty good...Tactically I think that we

have to work a little bit,” he said.About half the team play their club football in Europe, the re-

sult of an extensive global scouting programme for players with part-Filipino parentage.

He likened the rising popularity of soccer in the Philippines, a former US colony, to the game’s own take-off in the United States ahead of the 1994 World Cup that the Americans hosted.

“I know that basketball is the number-one sport in this coun-try. Not everybody can play overseas basketball in the professional league, but in soccer you can,” Dooley said.

“This could be something for the future, for the young kids to get involved in soccer.”

Dooley has both German and American heritage and was born in Germany. He played in the German Bundesliga before moving to the US.

He captained the US national side during the 1998 World Cup in France.

He coached German lower-division side Saarbrucken in 2002 and also assisted US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann in 2011, but the Philippines role is his fi rst stint as national team head coach.

Ex-US captain Dooley is new PHL football coach

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