DATELINEUSAFROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

SENATE President Franklin Drilon reiterated the govern-ment’s commitment to peace-ful settlement of conflicting claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) when he addressed the Federal Council

by MAILA AGERInquirer.net

of the Federal Assembly of Rus-sia on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Drilon is in Russia on the invi-tation of Mme. Valentina I. Mat-vienko, chairperson of the Fed-eral Council, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

“The Philippines is commit-ted to the peaceful settlement

of conflicting claims in the West Philippine Sea in accordance with international law, in par-ticular the United Nations Con-vention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS,” the Senate leader said.

“Consistent with these norms, we have instituted arbitration

proceedings with the appropri-ate UN tribunal with the firm hope that through international law, peace and justice will pre-vail,” he said.

The Senate leader also thanked Russia for backing the peaceful resolution on the disputes in accordance with in-

ternational law.“We are grateful to Russia

for your continuing interest in this issue. Your support for the peaceful settlement of inter-national disputes is consistent with, and supports, our prin-cipled position that the West Philippine Sea dispute should

be settled,” said Drilon.Aside from speaking at the

Federal Council, the Senate President also met with several top Russian officials during his stay. He also signed with Mat-vienko an agreement that will strengthen ties and boost co-

ALTHOUGH it has weakened into a low pressure area, “Lando” is the most destruc-tive typhoon to hit the country so far this year, leaving behind more than P7.3 billion in damage to agriculture and infrastructure, and at least 41 lives lost.

“So far, for this year, Lando is the worst in terms of the casualties and the damage it caused. We hope this will be the last,” said Romina Marasigan, spokesperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Man-agement Council (NDRRMC.)

Typhoon ‘Lando’ the most destructive this year

by ADOR MAYOL, CARINE

ASUTILLA, NIÑA P. CALLEJAInquirer.net

MANILA—The international community started efforts to bring relief to thousands affected by Typhoon Lando (Koppu) in the Philippines.

Australia will provide P33 million in emer-gency relief supplies to assist communities and families affected by Lando.

France also expressed its solidarity with the Philippines and offered assistance.

“As the Philippines had just been struck by Typhoon Lando, which has led to dozens of casualties, France assures its solidarity to

International community o�ers aid to ‘Lando’ victimsby PIA LEE-BRAGO

Philstar.comthe Philippine government and to the Filipi-no people,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development said in a statement. “We extend our condolences to the families of the victims.”

The French ministry said France “stands together with the Philippine government as we express our readiness to give favor-able consideration to any request for assis-tance.”

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ju-lie Bishop announced the Australian govern-ment’s assistance to the typhoon victims.

THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said two Chinese diplomats being held over a gun attack that killed two colleagues and wounded the Chi-nese consul general in Cebu City on Wednesday had immunity and would be sent back to China.

China’s consul general in Cebu City, Song Rong Hua, was wound-ed, and two of his staff mem-bers—Deputy Consul Sun Shan and finance officer Hui Li—were shot dead during the lunchtime

PH to yield 2 diplomats in Cebu killings to China

CREATING jobs for millions of Filipinos will be the focus of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., if he is given an opportunity to serve the country as Vice President.

To effectively carry out his mission, Marcos said, he would choose to lead the Depart-ment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) if the next President will allow him to pick a Cabinet position.

According to the senator,

‘Vice President’ Marcoseyes Labor or DOTC

by JEFFERSON ANTIPORDAManilaTimes.net lack of jobs is one of the big-

gest problems facing the coun-try and it is the role of the gov-ernment to provide the people employment to free them from poverty.

Section 9, Article II, of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states, “The State shall pro-mote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the pros-perity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies

WASHINGTON, DC—The Phil-ippine government is allocating increased resources to infrastruc-ture improvement and expansion, opening up numerous opportuni-ties for investment in the Philip-pines.

Opportunities for doing busi-ness in the transport and infra-structure sectors was one of the main topics during the second leg of the 4th Philippine Private Sec-tor-led Investment Roadshow in Dallas, TX on October 21.

Some 165 participants includ-ing senior executives from Amer-ican Airlines, Fluor Corporation, Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, Texas Instruments, World Affairs Council and heads of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and Greater Dallas Asian Ameri-can Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the Manila busi-ness delegation agreed that the Philippines is serious in improv-

ing its infrastructure to meet de-mands of the country’s economy. This is reflected in the govern-ment’s increased budget alloca-tion to infrastructure projects in order to meet population and economic demands.

According to Mr. Ronaldo El-epaño, 1st Vice President for Business Development Interna-tional at DM Consunji, Inc., the 2015 Budget invests 569.9 billion pesos in strategic infrastructure projects. Infrastructure outlays for this year represent 4 percent of the country’s GDP, a 28.95 per-cent increase in allocated budget from the previous year.

Additionally, 287.8 billion pe-sos is earmarked for transport infrastructure projects including road, maritime, air, and railway transport. Of this amount, 53.1 billion will go to agricultural in-frastructure which includes irri-

Infrastructure and transportation projects make PH ripe for investment

MOST Filipino workers living in the United States are overqualified for the jobs they do, according to respondents of a survey con-ducted by international money transfer firm Transfast.

In a survey of 400 Philippine natives who re-mit money back home from the United States, more than 80 percent said they possess more skills than what is required in their jobs; 72

Remittance �rm survey reveals many Filipinos working in the US are overquali�ed for their jobs

FACING increasing pressure both at home and abroad, President Barack Obama has made his decision regarding the state of American troops in Afghanistan.

Obama on Thursday, Oct. 15, pledged to keep US troops in the region throughout the end of his presidential term, halting ini-tial plans for withdrawal and abandoning his often-stated promise to end the US’s longest war before he leaves office.

Under the new plan, the United States will keep 9,800 service members in Afghanistan

Obama to leave US troops in Afghanistan past his term

Abandoning promise to end Middle East wars he inherited

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

operation between the upper houses of the legislatures of the Philippines and Russia.

Drilon, in his address, noted that the shared interests and common sacrifices of Russians and Filipinos form the firm foundation of a lasting relation-ship.

“While geography has des-tined us to be far away from

each other, this has not pre-vented us from forging a friendship based on shared in-terests and enriched by paral-lel experiences,” he said, citing in particular the suffering and sacrifices of both countries in World War II.

The Senate also pushed for cooperation in other areas, say-ing that the Philippines wants Russia “to be one of our global

partners.”He then cited the mutual

assistance to nationals caught in conflict and crisis in Third-World countries, cooperation in fighting transnational crimes, including “practical coopera-tive actions to combat and pre-vent terrorism, including ter-rorist financing, and build the capabilities of its international partners.”

On economic cooperation, the Senate leader said the Phil-ippines is keen on working with Russia as this would contribute to economic growth for both countries.

He said the Philippines is one of the fastest growing econo-mies in Asia and that the long-term economic outlook is in-deed optimistic. He attributed this to reforms implemented at home, aimed at promoting good governance, curbing cor-ruption, and strengthening the rule of law.

“I am proud to say that our Senate of the Philippines has contributed greatly to advance this agenda by enacting much needed laws that are both time-ly and highly relevant to these objectives,” Drilon said.

“To sustain the country’s growth momentum, we need to expand the horizons of our eco-nomic partnership . . . to look beyond traditional partners and develop new ones.”

“This is where the Philip-pines and Russia, one of the largest economies in the world, can work together with tangible and immediate benefit for our people. Because of our shared interests, Philippines-Russia re-lations have consistently grown since we established diplomatic relations almost 40 years ago – no matter what the global con-text was,” he further said.

Typhoon Lando (internation-al name: Koppu) was the 12th storm to batter the Philippines this year. When it first struck the east coast of Luzon on Sunday morning, its gusts reached 210 kilometers an hour, making it the second strongest storm to hit the country this year.

As of Thursday, Oct. 22 the low pressure area was spotted 240 km east of Basco, Batanes.

Of the damage recorded all over Luzon, P6.43 billion was ac-counted for by agricultural crops and P902.39 million by infra-structure.

So far, the agency has con-firmed 41 deaths in Luzon, 78 injured and five still missing.

In its update, the NDRRMC said the typhoon affected 1,242,239 persons in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabar-zon, Bicol, Metro Manila and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Of the affected people, 113,584 are still in 455 evacuation cen-ters.

So far, local authorities, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and nongov-ernment units have given P23.21 million worth of assistance to the affected families.

Blackout, floodingProvince-wide power outages

remain in the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Au-rora, Quezon, Kalinga and Moun-tain Province, as well as five cit-ies and 86 towns.

Sixteen passengers, three mo-torized bancas, and four rolling cargoes are still stranded be-cause of rough seas.

Since hitting land on Sunday,

Typhoon ‘Lando’ the most destructive...Oct. 18 the NDRRMC has moni-tored 765 flooding incidents in the provinces of Pangasinan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bu-lacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Ca-gayan and Benguet.

Floods and landslides caused 101 roads and 11 bridges in northern and Central Luzon to be impassable, while 18,758 houses were damaged.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) placed Lando’s damage to na-tional roads, bridges and flood control facilities in five Luzon re-gions at P927.71 million.

In a report, DPWH Bureau of Maintenance Thursday said that damage to flood control projects alone amounted to P435.56 mil-lion.

Central Luzon topped the list with damage reaching P448.96 million, including more than P218 million worth of flood con-trol facilities and P145 million in damaged bridges.

Region III was followed by CAR with P209.24 million; Ca-gayan Valley, P201.63 million; Ilocos, P67.35 million and Bicol, P520,000.

The DPWH also reported that as of Thursday morning, sections of 39 national roads in northern and Central Luzon remained closed to vehicular traffic due to landslides, floods, sunken road-ways and fallen electric posts, trees and other debris.

Twenty-five of these roads are in CAR while the remaining 14 are in Central Luzon.

The closed thoroughfares in-clude Kennon Road and three other roads in Baguio City—Le-garda Road, Western Link Cir-cumferential Road and Military

Fort Road.Also impassable to all types of

vehicles are eight roads in Ben-guet province; five in Tarlac; four each in Kalinga and Pampanga; three in Mountain Province; two each in Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija; and one in Aurora.

Dalton Pass now openThe DPWH office in Cagayan

Valley said the landslide-prone Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya had been cleared and opened to two-way traffic on Wednesday morning.

DPWH Director Nerie Bueno in Cagayan Valley told the In-quirer that the regional office had “prepositioned road-clear-ing equipment and field person-nel who will promptly respond to rescue and clearing operations along national highways and bridges in the region.”

Contacted by phone, Bueno recalled that on Oct. 19 evening, “massive landslides took place in Barangay (Village) Villa Flores in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, causing road closure and traffic build-up.”

However, the “road sections were promptly [cleared] and opened to traffic at 8:30 a.m. the following day,” she said.

Later that day, an undisclosed number of vehicles were stalled in Sta. Fe after three trailer trucks broke down in separate locations in the municipality.

“This led some undisciplined motorists to counterflow on both lanes, causing traffic buildup,” said Bueno.

The DPWH field staff “coor-dinated with the provincial gov-ernment in controlling the situa-tion.”

International community o�ers aid... World Food Program and the Philippine Red Cross to affected communities.

These include dignity kits through the UN Population Fund, containing malong cloths, bath towels, slippers, combs, nail clip-pers, maternity napkins, under-wear, bath soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, laundry bar and toilet paper;

Family kits through the Philip-pine Red Cross, containing sleep-ing mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, hygiene kits and tarpaulins as emergency shel-ter; rice supply and high-energy biscuits through the World Food Program.

communities and provide timely assistance,” she said.

“As a good friend and neighbor, the Philippines can expect that Australia will continue to support its close friend and partner dur-ing this time. We will work closely with the Philippine government and partners to support the ty-phoon relief efforts as required,” Australian Ambassador Bill Twed-dell said.

In support of the Philippine government’s response efforts, Australia will release preposi-tioned in-country stores with the United Nations Population Fund,

“Australia, as a close friend of the Philippines, is saddened by the loss of life and damage to homes and property in the wake of this tragedy,” Bishop said.

Despite the high number of ca-sualties, Bishop commended the Philippine government for its di-saster preparedness in mitigating the damage to lives and property caused by Lando.

“I commend the government of the Philippines for its leadership and preparedness measures, and for quickly mobilizing its domes-tic resources to support affected

through most of 2016. The num-ber of troops would be reduced to 5,500 beginning in 2017, as-suming the next president stays on the same course, said the Los Angeles Times.

White House aides said Obama was confronted daily with problems caused by the collapse of US-trained security forces in Iraq, where he has been forced to send additional troops and warplanes to com-bat the growing militants in the Islamic State, and did not want to risk a similar scenario in Af-ghanistan.

“As your commander in chief, I believe this mission is vital to our national security interests in preventing terrorist attacks against our citizens and our na-tion,” Obama said in a White House appearance last Thurs-day, insisting that he was “not disappointed” in the decision, but “absolutely confident” that this was the right move for the country.

He emphasized that US’s com-bat mission in Afghanistan is over, and the remaining troops will stick to pursuing potential terrorist threats, and helping Afghans.

In May 2014, Obama said it was “time to turn the page on a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” He also promised to with-draw the last American troops from the former country by 2016.

Obama said that he contin-ues to oppose the idea of “end-less war.” But he also said that a longer-term American pres-ence in Afghanistan was “vital to the security of the US, and a country that is beset by the Tal-iban their allies from Al Qaeda, and militants from the Islamic State,” according to the New York Times.

“Our commitment to Afghani-stan and its people endures,”

Obama to leave US troops...said Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and other top military leaders. “I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to at-tack our nation again.”

However, he also acknowl-edged that security remains fragile, and the risk of death of American troops being in the country is still very likely, though far fewer than during the height of the war. So far this year, 25 Americans have been killed overseas.

The decision – which was reached after what White House officials called an “extensive, lengthy review” – ensures that Obama will leave office next year going back on his seminal promise to responsibly end the military involvements started by his predecessor, George W. Bush, by keeping troops in the Middle East.

Critics have said that the pres-ident is conveying a message of “weakness” to potential danger-ous adversaries, such as terror-ist groups and militants.

The Taliban are now spread through more parts of the coun-try than at any point since 2001, according to the United Nations. Last month, they seized the northern key city of Kunduz and held it for more than two weeks before withdrawing.

Noting these dangers, Obama said, “In key areas of the coun-try, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some areas, there is risk of deterioration…after 2017, American forces will remain on several bases [in Af-ghanistan] to give us the pres-ence and the reach our forces require to achieve their mis-sion.”

“In part, it’s the actual day-to-day interactions [between US advisers and Afghan troops] that matter,” said Melissa Dalton, a former Pentagon official, adding that the presence of US troops would help fortify training ef-forts for Afghan soldiers, and

provide political and psycholog-ical benefits to the nation.

It “demonstrates the US is not walking away” from a situation that remains “very rocky terrain and uncertain,” Dalton said.

Critics said Obama’s actions did not go far enough to con-front Al Qaeda and other threats in Afghanistan.

Soon-to-retire House Speak-er John Boehner said in a state-ment that he was “glad the administration finally admits President Obama’s arbitrary political deadlines are ‘self-de-feating.’”

It’s what we were dreading…I do think I retain hope some-where inside of me [that the war will end] because I think I have to,” Mary Hladky, whose son is in the National Guard after serv-ing in the Army for several years and in Afghanistan, told the International Business Times. “But it’s just terrible what we’re doing to our men and women who serve. It’s really sad--very, very sad.”

“What it’s actually doing is helping [the Islamic State group],” Hladky continued. “Ev-erything we do just helps them and it hurts us. We’re not mak-ing progress, so why do we do the same thing? To us, it’s very, very frustrating.”

“As in Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated by the time Obama inherited it, making the conflict difficult to end,” said Gordon Adams, pro-fessor emeritus of International Relations at American Univer-sity. “And there’s no evidence that keeping a large US mili-tary presence in either country would have brought stability.” (Allyson Escobar /AJPress)

percent said workplaces in America are more stressful than those they experienced in the Philippines.

Yet 93 percent of survey par-ticipants said they believe there are still more opportunities in their US jobs than those in the Philippines.

“What I have achieved here in the US, is a lot,” said respondent Joanna Loresto, 47, of San Ra-fael, California. “I just left my job and I’m so fortunate I could go wherever I want to, and employ-ers will hire me. Owning a home, buying any car I want – I’m proud of it. I can give my son the best education. I have three sib-lings in the Philippines and a lot of cousins, and I’m thankful that I can be the one helping out.”

Respondent Ruben Espiritu, 56, of Garner, North Carolina also called the US the land of op-portunity with many jobs avail-able, but pointed out that the Philippine economy is improv-ing.

Remittance �rm survey reveals...“People who come here for

work are playing vital economic roles by contributing to the US economy and also adding to the GDP of their home country when they send money back to family and friends,” said Transfast CEO Samish Kumar.

The remittance firm conduct-ed the same survey with respon-dents across all nationalities, noting a number of similarities with Filipino immigrants. How-ever, there were differences in responses about how much im-migrants were expecting to earn versus what they expected (37 percent of overall immigrants said they were making what they expected, while 61 per-cent of Filipinos responded as such), and where they planned to retire (18 percent of all immi-grants said they intend to retire in their home country, while 53 percent of Filipinos said they plan on retiring in the Philip-pines; 31 percent of Filipinos said they intend to retire in the US). (Agnes Constante/AJPress)

Infrastructure and Transportation Projects...gation, farm-to-market roads, and fishery infrastructure.

The growing population is a major driving force in infrastruc-ture expansion. According to Mr. Juan Olondriz Peña, President of RAJI INC., population growth and the expansion of the metropolis demands that infrastructure de-velopment extend to places out-side Metro Manila.

“The Philippines has a popula-tion of approximately 100 million people, growing at an average rate of 1.8 to 2.3 percent annually. The main population center is in the Metro Manila area and within the next six to eight years, Great-er Manila will extend as far North as Angeles City in Pampanga, to Lucena City, Quezon Province in the South, and to Batangas City in the West with a radius averaging 80 kilometers from the center of Manila,” said Mr. Peña.

He added, “Looking at the po-tential growth of Greater Manila to include the outlaying provinces North, South & West of Greater Manila, the Philippine govern-ment needs to focus and fast track the infrastructure projects that will support the projected growth of both the population and its economy.”

Philippine Port Authority sta-tistics show an overall increase in cargo throughput or the average quantity of cargo and passengers that can pass through Philippine ports.

According to Mr. Peña, the increase in cargo throughput presents numerous private sector opportunities for the expansion of port facilities and railroads, specifically projects at the Port

of Batangas, Port of Abra de Ilog in Mindoro Occidental and Port of Calapan in Mindoro Oriental. Expansion of the three ports will benefit Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, the Ca-gayan Region, Southern Tagalog Islands, Quezon Province, and the Bicol Provinces.

Philippine National Railways is also working on providing an improved, sustainable railway system running from Manila to Legazpi that will provide a rail service to carry cargo to and from Manila International Container Terminal, North Harbor, and Batangas. This will also open up even more investment opportuni-ties for the private sector.

The mentioned multi-billion peso infrastructure and transport

projects, along with an estab-lished Public-Private Partner-ship Program and a government dedicated to battling corruption, make the Philippines ripe for in-vestment.

The conference in Dallas is the second leg in a three-city Private Sector-led Investment Roadshow and was made possible with the cooperation of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Ange-les and the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce in Texas, led by its Executive Director, Mr. Gus Mercado.

The Manila delegation was well received by the audience from the Dallas Fort Worth Area. Break-out sessions during the conference were also well attended, leading to continued dialogue among participants and members of the Manila delegation.

Other members of the Manila business delegation led by Dr. Bernardo Villegas, Visiting Pro-fessor at IESE Business School in Barcelona and Professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific, includes Mr. Engelbert Camas-ura, Partner at Ward Howell In-ternational Consulting Firm; and Mr. Jose Mari Mercado, Presi-dent and CEO of the Information Technology & Business Process Association of the Philippines. The delegation was accompanied by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.; Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim; and Honorary Consul Ethel Mer-cado, outgoing President of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce.

The delegation will head to Se-attle for the final leg of the road-show on 23 October.

consider the country for their business operations because of its strategic importance as a gateway to the Asian region.

Dr. Bernie Villegas provided the context of the Philippine economy to complement the other presentations, citing the necessity to pay attention to the countryside, and focus on agricultural sufficiency, including building more farm-to-market roads and irrigation systems. The current adminis-tration can be credited for part of the current economic boom for its anti-corruption platform and ongoing construction/ in-frastructure projects that sup-port economic recovery. He gives credit where is credit is due when he attributed the sustainability of the country’s economy to the BPO industry’s $22 Billion dollar contribution to the national GDP as well as the 1.1 million employment it provides. He also cited the $25 Billion remittances of Over-seas Filipino Workers and the English-speaking work force to this sustained economic growth.

Dr. Villegas underscored the Philippine advantage citing positive trends such as a stable democracy, strong macroeco-nomic fundamentals, educated and young population, stra-tegic geographic location in ASEAN, which resulted in in-creased manufacturing activi-ties, and dollar and personal savings. This made the Philip-pines least vulnerable among countries in the region to ex-ternal shocks as it is not depen-dent on exports. However, the Philippine economy continues to experience structural weak-nesses such as corruption, red tape, the anti-foreign direct investment provisions of the Constitution and the Mindanao tribal conflicts, he added.

Mr. Elepano spoke on the country’s energy prospects and the booming property market. He urged investors to invest in the power sector because of the gap in the required mini-mum capacity and buffer ener-gy requirements in the Visayas and Mindanao. Citing the rise of BPO business and the need for more commercial space to host BPO operations, Mr. El-epano urged US investors to set up BPO operations in the country.

Mr. Johnny Pena, who served as the Philippine Ports Author-ity Manager in 1990’s, spoke about opportunities in trans-portation, ports management and railways in his presenta-tion. He explained that the Greater Metro Manila area will stretch as far as Angeles City, Pampanga in the north and Lucena City, Quezon province in the south. That being said, there will be a huge demand to serve the transportation re-quirements of local businesses and residential populations. A government and private sector collaboration to improve and achieve sustainable in the rail-way system and port services, as well as the freight cargo in-dustry, is necessary to sustain economic growth in major cit-ies, he underscored.

Mr. Engelbert Camasura mentioned the idea of the Global Pinoy in a a video pre-sentation which gave the audience an idea of unique Filipinos traits – malasakit (compassion), concern, and selflessness – and underscored that the Philippines is in a de-mographic sweet spot where a young, highly-literate, and English speaking labor force is driving the economy and at-tracting potential investors to find opportunities in the Philip-

that provide adequate social services [and] promote full em-ployment, a rising standard of living and an improved quality of life for all.”

“Siguro kung mayroon akong hihingin na portfolio, palagay ko gusto kong makatulong sa DOLE [If there is a portfolio I will ask for, I want to help DOLE],” Marcos said in a tele-vision interview.

Marcos is the author of Sen-ate Bill 1862, which seeks the creation of an inter-agency council for the creation of jobs.

The council will serve as the overall advisory and coordinat-ing mechanism that shall de-sign policy program directions for all job creation endeavors in the country.

It will be composed of 15 heads of different government agencies with the secretary of the Labor department as chair-man.

The proposed measure re-mains pending before the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Re-sources Development.

Marcos noted that 90 per-cent of jobs come from the pri-vate sector, the reason why the government should lay down an enabling environment to en-courage growth of the private sector, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

SMEs, he said, are the big-

‘Vice President’ Marcos eyes...

attack in a private room of a res-taurant in Cebu City, according to police.

Police detained a husband and wife who were at the lunch—Li Qing Ling, 60, and Consul Gou Jing—who, according to DFA spokesperson Charles Jose, were accredited diplomats.

“They are diplomats accredited to the Philippines so they enjoy diplomatic immunity,” Jose told reporters.

“Custody will be given to the Chinese side and they will un-dergo the legal process in China,” Jose said.

He said China had already in-voked diplomatic immunity as its right under the United Nations’ Vienna Convention.

The 1961 Vienna Convention on

PH to yield 2 diplomats... turn over the custody to the Chi-nese side,” Jose said.

He said the two would undergo legal process in China and the Philippines respected the couple’s right not to give any statement to Philippine police.

“That’s the essence of having diplomatic immunity,” Jose said.

Asked if the Chinese govern-ment had given the Philippines assurance that the suspects would not be allowed to get away with the crime, Jose replied: “I am sure that the Chinese will do it.”

China imposes the death penal-ty, while the Philippines does not.

Malacañang said, however, that the Philippine National Police was investigating Li and Gou, as required under Philippine laws.

Communication Secretary Her-minio Coloma Jr. said all legal processes were being followed although the Chinese couple had

Diplomatic Relations, signed by both the Philippines and China, and the 2009 consular agreement between the two countries put diplomats outside the criminal ju-risdiction of their host states.

Li and Gou are in police custody in Cebu City on a request from the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

“If we are going to strictly fol-low the Vienna Convention, [the suspects] cannot be detained. But the Chinese Embassy requested that they remain in the Philippine authorities’ custody,” Jose said.

Chinese security teamHe said the Chinese Embassy in

Manila and the Chinese consulate in Cebu were waiting for the arriv-al of a security team from Beijing to take custody of Li and Gou.

“As soon as their security team from Beijing arrives here we will

gest contributor to the coun-try’s economy and has played a major role in employment generation.

Marcos suggested that the government embark on busi-ness-driven infrastructures, lead in the research and de-velopment and provide appro-priate training and access to credit facilities.

The senator said if DOLE is not available, the Department of Transportation and Communica-tions is also an important govern-ment agency that needs focus.

Marcos expressed confi-dence that he could contribute toward solving pressing prob-lems facing the department, including traffic jams in Metro

Manila and lack of mass trans-port system.

In an earlier interview, he noted that while the Philip-pines has an existing light rail system that could help ease the traffic in urban areas, it is plagued not only with serious safety and reliability issues, poor maintenance and over-crowding but also allegations of corruption.

The next administration, Marcos said, should expand the transportation infrastruc-ture.

A study conducted by the Ja-pan International Cooperation Agency said the country is los-ing P2.2 billion a day because of traffic jams.

IN an effort to ensure that all students have access to a world-class education that prepares them for college and careers, the US Department of Education released a resource guide on Tuesday, Oct. 20 to help educa-tors, school leaders and commu-nity organizations better support undocumented youth, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.

“Our nation’s public schools should be welcoming, safe, and supportive places where all stu-dents, regardless of their zip code or where they were born, are given the opportunity to suc-ceed. We know undocumented youth face unique challenges and we also know that educa-tors and other caring adults in schools and colleges can play a major role in helping all stu-dents, including undocumented students, to achieve at the high-est levels,” said John King, se-nior advisor delegated the duties of deputy secretary of education. “This guide provides actionable information and resources that educators and school and cam-pus leaders can use to help im-prove outcomes for high school and college students.”

“It’s been three years since we unveiled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, for those eligible young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as chil-dren,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez. “We strongly

encourage those who might be eligible for DACA to use this resource guide. We applaud the Department of Education for providing these resources to the undocumented young people in this country who can benefit from DACA.”

The guide includes resources aimed at high school and col-lege students and includes: an overview of the rights of un-documented students; tips for educators on how to support undocumented youth in high school and college; key infor-mation on non-citizen access to federal financial aid; a list of private scholarships for which undocumented youth might be eligible; information on feder-ally-funded adult education programs at the local level; and guidance for migrant students in accessing their education re-cords for DACA.

The aim of the guide is to help educators and school staff sup-port the academic success of undocumented youth, to debunk misconceptions by clarifying the legal rights of undocumented students as well as sharing help-ful information about financial aid options open to undocu-mented students, and to support youth in applying for DACA con-sideration or renewal.

King announced the guide during a roundtable with undoc-umented students at San Fran-cisco State University, which is a leader in supporting the suc-cess of undocumented youth.

The university has advisers to help undocumented students successfully navigate financial aid options and other university resources, as well as a task force of faculty, staff and students dedicated to supporting the aca-demic, professional and person-al success of undocumented stu-dents and prospective students.

As a nation of immigrants, America has benefited from the vitality and enthusiasm brought to its shores by those seeking a better life. Successful immigrant and refugee integration efforts build the capacity of schools and early learning programs, com-munities, organizations, and other stakeholders to support the civic, linguistic, and economic integration of immigrants.

Since 2012, the US Depart-ment of Homeland Security has allowed certain undocumented people who came to the US as children and meet other crite-ria to request two-year relief from removal. These requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. More than 680,000 young people have received DACA. Researchers estimate that nearly 1.5 million undocu-mented youth in the US are currently eligible for DACA, and another 400,000 children will become eligible in coming years.

In coming months, the de-partment plans to release a re-source guide for early learning and elementary school settings. (AJPress)

Dept. of Education releases resource guide for supporting undocumented high school, college students

PHILIPPINES, led by Am-bassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. and Dr. Bernardo Villegas, par-ticipated in a Philippine In-vestment Roadshow, in co-operation with the Allegheny Conference on Community De-velopment (represented by Mr. Bill Flanagan, Chief Corporate Communications Officer), the Filipino -American Community in Pittsburgh (FAAP), and the Consulate General and Phil-ippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)in New York led by Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr.

The Investment Roadshow is a private-sector led annual event that highlights the posi-tive economic developments and growth industries in the Philippines, as well as invest-ment and trade opportunities for the US business commu-nity. This year, the cities of Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Seattle were selected as venues for the Roadshow. First organized in 2012, previous years’ Invest-ment Roadshows were held in Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, among other US cities.

In Pittsburgh, Dr. Villegas, who headed the delegation and a leading economist, gave a presentation about the Philip-pine macroeconomic situation, followed by presentations by Mr. Ronaldo Elepano, Jr. First-Vice President for Business Development of DM Consunji Inc.; Mr. Juan Pena, President of RAJI Inc.; Mr. Engelbert Camasura, Partner of ZMG Ward Howell – International Consulting Firms; and Mr. Jose Mari P. Mercado, President and CEO of Information Tech-nology and Business Process Associations of the Philippines (IBPAP).

In his remarks, Mr. Flanagan welcomed the participants and the collaboration established between the Philippines and Allegheny Conference as the latter hosts the Philippines in its venue which is actually the first such hosting for a South-east Asian economy. He saw many pluses in this activity which raises the profile of the Philippines among the busi-ness community of Pittsburgh and hopes that the event is a start of deepening relations between the Philippines and the Allegheny Region on mat-ters of trade and investment, particularly in areas covering healthcare, ICT and renewable energy.

In his opening remarks, Am-bassador Cuisia said that this was the first Investment Road-show held in the Allegheny Re-gion and Pittsburgh. He wel-comed the partnership with the Allegheny Conference on Com-munity Development which is allied with major regional business councils in Pennsyl-vania. He cited the importance of bringing Philippine CEOs to establish contact with potential US investors, pointing to the success of previous roadshows in North America. He gave credit to the efforts of Dr. Ber-nie Villegas and his co-partici-pants who traveled to the US, at their own expense and out of service for the Philippines, to encourage US investors to

Philippine economic sustainability andinvestment opportunities highlighted in private

sector-led investment roadshow in Pittsburgh

DATELINE PHILIPPINES

ORMOC CITY—Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe and her running mate Sen. Francis Escu-dero have no alternative plans if she is disqualified from the presi-dential race.

“There is no Plan B because we believe Senator Poe won’t be disqualified,” Escudero said. “We are running as independents… we have no options.”

He said they chose to run as independent candidates because they believe the president should not belong to any party.

“I have seen how divisive party politics is,” he said, citing his ex-perience during the term of for-mer President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“For nine years our district did not benefit from any government project… The president should serve as president for those who voted and did not vote for him or her, whether he or she likes him

Escudero: No plan B on Poe’s disquali�cation casepines, particularly in the BPO and contact center industry.

Mr. Jomari Mercado, who has served in the BPO indus-try since its inception, empha-sized that earnings from BPO businesses will overtake Over-seas Filipino (OF) remittances – now at US$25 Billion – in a few years as BPO is growing at an 18% clip compared to OF remittances growth of 3-6% only. He believes in the busi-ness potential of BPO – now the biggest in the world surpass-ing India – in the US market, citing that, historically, 77% of BPO business came from US companies and that customer satisfaction ratings spike when an American becomes that he is speaking to a Filipino con-tact point. There is a huge po-tential for US investors outside Metro Manila, in the next-wave cities like Metro Cebu, Clark, Bacolod and Iloilo, that offer a talented and scalable

Philippine Economic Sustainability...labor pool, he added.

In his closing remarks, Con-sul General De Leon said that the importance of the Invest-ment Roadshow is to re-tell the narrative of the country to inspire confidence and boost the profile of the Philippines in the US He believes that the US will remain the Philippines number one trading partner for many years. He thanked the Allegheny Conference for partnering with the Philippine Embassy and the Consulate General, and to Ambassador Cuisia for his leadership that inspire positive change and out-of-the-box thinking in the Foreign Service.

The 2015 Philippine Invest-ment Roadshow will continue on to Dallas, Texas and then Seattle,Washington. The Phil-ippine Investment Roadshow in the US was initiated by Am-bassador Cuisia as a flagship project during his assumption as Philippine Ambassador to the United States.

by LALAINE JIMENEAPhilstar.com or her, whether they are party

mates or not,” Escudero said.Escudero attended a forum

with students and barangay offi-cials at the Western Leyte College gym here. Poe was supposed to accompany him, but she begged off because of an upset stomach.

Escudero and Poe were also set to visit a temporary shelter in Barangay Cabalawan, meet with businessmen and the youth and attend a coconut fes-tival in Tacloban City after their visit here.

The senator told The STAR he and Poe planned to visit Leyte rather than the areas hit by Ty-phoon Lando in northern Luzon so as not to distract the rescue and relief operations there.

Escudero also noted that almost two years since Super Typhoon Yolanda struck Leyte, the rehabil-itation funds have not been fully distributed.

He assured residents of Ormoc and Kananga in Leyte that he

would look into their complaints on the distribution of emergency shelter assistance.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Poe does not need to appear during the Nov. 3 hearing of the disquali-fication case filed against her by losing senatorial candidate and now presidential aspirant Rizalito David.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the subpoena issued by the poll body’s law department only asks Poe to submit her coun-ter-affidavit.

David, who also filed a disquali-fication case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), claimed Poe had “misrepresented” the facts of her being a natural-born citizen when she ran for senator in the 2013 elections.

Poe’s legal counsel George Er-win Garcia said David was “guilty of forum shopping.”

“What he cannot get from the other body, he intends to get it

here. This is abhorred and abso-lutely prohibited. With all due re-spect, the Comelec should either dismiss this case or suspend pro-ceedings as a matter of judicial courtesy,” Garcia said.

Poe’s allies at the House of Representatives said her oppo-nents were behind the disquali-fication cases because they were threatened by her high ratings in recent surveys.

“I don’t understand why her critics keep on filing these dis-qualification cases in the first place because these moves do not really strengthen the case,” party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III told a news forum.

“They just want the public to have a notion that many people are questioning her qualifica-tions... It’s like everybody is fil-ing cases because for sure, it will make the news. This is engaging in foul play,” Bello said. (With Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo, Rey Galupo)

Editorial

ON my recent visit to the Phil-ippines, I found myself sharing a case of beer with the vice-mayor of a small provincial town, along with some of his ward leaders. The in-sights that they provided on grass-roots politics could be of interest to social media pundits who may be of the impression that their post-ings on Facebook and Twitter will influence the results of the coming presidential elections.

If you recall the “million people” anti-pork barrel gathering at the Luneta many months ago, fueled mainly by a social media activist, you are probably one of those who believe that your daily online com-mentaries on the political scene are helping “educate” the bobo-tantes out there in the provinces and your clever insults and memes are helping erode the SWS and Pulse Asia rankings of the candi-dates you dislike.

Well, okay, mass action was enough to make Noynoy Aquino budge on the PDAP issue, but it fell way short of gathering a million and way short of the im-pact that social media had on the Arab Spring.

On the other hand, who can argue against the power of Face-book and Twitter, considering the 25 million tweets generated by

Insights from a small town politician

AFTER the five-day filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs), from October 12-16, the Commission on Election (Comelec) reportedly re-ceived 130 applications from Filipino presidential aspirants.

Chosen one

As granted by the law, these ap-plications were accepted. Howev-er, not all these aspirants will make it to the ballot as the Comelec win-now the grain from the chaff.

When asked about the high turnout of people wanting to be the next Philippine president, Com-mission on Elections (Comelec) reiterated its pro-visions on “nuisance candidates.”

Citing the Omnibus Election Code, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told the media that the poll body has the authority to reject the COCs of individuals who make a mockery of the election system; those who seek to confuse voters through similarity of names between candidates; and those who have no bona fide or good faith in running for office.

While the filing of COCs appeared to be a circus, Malacañang said that the high turnout of presi-dential hopefuls “attests to the dynamism of our democracy and reflects the desire of well-mean-ing Filipinos to actively participate in the electoral process.”

“Come election time, we expect our bosses to exercise sound judgment in their selection of fu-ture leaders of the country,” Communications Sec-retary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

A presidential wannabe only needs to meet five requirements: a natural born Filipino; a registered

voter; must be able to read and write; 40 years of age at the day of the elec-tion; and must have resided in the Philippines 10 years before the elec-tion is held.

From the 130 names tossed in the ring, only few will make it to the next cut. And when election time is over, one will be named the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Four are expected to make it through to the de-liberation process, those who have the machinery, resources and potential to launch a nationwide campaign. They are Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), independent candidate Sen. Grace Poe and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who will be running under her People’s Reform Party.

Meeting the requirements is easy, winning the Filipinos’ approval is the hard part. Instead of working double time on increasing popularity and gaining plaudits, current leaders and those aspir-ing for a public post should do more groundwork and to do more for the people.

Whether wanting to be a president is wise or not, this ambition will adhere to the requirements of due process. Eventually, it is the Filipino voters who will decide if this dream can turn into reality.

Getting the job done is no cakewalk either. As

defined by the Constitution, the president is the Head of State and Head of Government, and func-tions as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As chief executive, the president exercises control over all the executive departments, bureaus and offices.

It is every Filipino’s undertaking to identify these duties and responsibilities. When the winner is declared, they are expected to transcend from the latest poll results and staunch existing political mentality, and aid the next leader in utilizing them for the next six years. (AJPress)

IT is very heartwarming to see and hear how very engaged kababayans in America have in-creasingly been when it comes to what is going on in the Philippines. Despite the distance away from the Motherland, most of us -- especially those who still have family living there -- still care about what is going on in the country.

There are Fil-Ams who may have challenges paying their own bills, yet they feel obligated and compelled to send money to their families because they know if they are remiss in helping out, their loved ones would not be able to survive. Many of these Fil-Ams lament that if only there are more and better employment opportunities back home, then their families would not be very dependent on them financially. If only…

That is why news about corruption and incom-petence of those in public office infuriate a lot of kababayans in America. The Internet, social me-dia and ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” have provided these kababayans the platform to help them voice out their concerns and opinions about the political situation in the Philippines. However, we can do more to effect change in the Philippines. This is through exercising the right to suffrage.

Filipino citizens residing abroad, or those who

may have already naturalized citi-zens of other countries but have come dual citizens, can vote -- and these votes will count. There may have been very low turnout in the past election cycles, but again, because of the power of the Internet, social media, and global broadcast organizations like ABS-CBN, more and more kababayans are now compelled to register as Overseas Absen-tee Voters (OAV).

There have been some flaws and loopholes in Philippine election laws that discourage more kababayans outside of the country from participat-ing in Philippine elections, but with the advocacy of Filipino community leaders abroad, especially from the United States, these laws have been chal-lenged and amended so more of global Filipinos can cast their sacred and consequential votes.

One of these advocates is Atty. Ted Laguatan, an active Fil-Am leader based in San Francisco, California.

Laguatan filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) -- on behalf of US Pinoys for Good Governance (USPGG), Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), European Network of

Filipinos in the Diaspora (ENFID) and thousands of overseas reg-istered voters — requesting the Comelec not to disenfranchise about 167,000 registered voters who failed to consecutively vote twice. As a result, Laguatan sent “Balitang America” the good news: the Comelec had a meeting en banc to consider such petition

and came out with a very positive resolution.The resolution stipulates that on May 27, 2013,

Congress amended RA 9189 of the Overseas Ab-sentee Voting Act of 2003, replacing it with RA 10590 and making it mandatory and not discre-tionary for the Comelec to deactivate overseas registered voters who fail to vote twice consecu-tively.

Affirming the arguments presented by Lagua-tan in the petition, the resolution recognized the clamor of overseas voters not to disenfranchise them for failing to vote twice. This resolution also affirms the importance of the right of suffrage of every Filipino, wherever they may be.

Laguatan reported that the final policy decision, which was approved unanimously, extends the date for reactivation from Oct. 31, 2015 to Dec. 9,

2015. It also made reactivation a very easy pro-cess. Just mail, fax or email the Comelec before this date and the deactivated overseas voter can still participate in the May 2016 elections.

Laguatan enthused: “Registered overseas voters now have exceed-

ed the one million mark and with time continue to grow in numbers. They can be a real force for good. In general ORVs [Overseas Registered Vot-ers] cannot be bought nor coerced by goons. They are also better informed. As such, they tend to vote for the best candidates in terms of integrity and competence. They can change the quality of our national leadership with their votes and the votes of their relatives in the Philippines whom they help and who will follow their directions on which candidates to vote for. This is one way in which we can change the political culture in the Philip-pines, have good honest non-corrupt leaders and create a better life for Filipinos everywhere in the world.”

* * *

Fil-Ams can help decide who will be the next Philippine president

the AlDub phenomenon of GMA Network’s Eat Bulaga? That has certainly brought home the point that the Internet can have a tre-mendous impact on average folks.

But does that power extend to politics? Not quite.

According to my drinking bud-dy, the small town vice-mayor, down at the grassroots the magic word is “mobilization.” That’s a euphemism for vote-buying.

The cost of running for pub-lic office, at least in my friend’s hometown, can drive the likes of Grace Poe, with her supposed halo of honesty and integrity, to steal from the public coffers upon being sworn into office (or allow her big business funders to do it). I’m afraid the situation isn’t very much different anywhere else in the Philippines.

There’s one more fallacy that the “electoral reformists” need to swallow. A presidential campaign is a Big Money Game and the King of Kurakot or Potentate of Plunder is not necessarily the one being relentlessly investigated by the Senate and crucified on TV and the dailies.

In a recent story in Philippine Star, Paolo Romero wrote: “Some P45 billion in lump sums under the so-called Bottom-Up Budget-ing (BUB) provisions in the budget program for this year and for 2016 will be used to boost the presiden-tial bid of Manuel Roxas II, an op-position lawmaker said yesterday.

“Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon raised the issue during plenary debates on the proposed budget of the Department of the

Interior and Local Government (DILG), which Roxas headed until last month. ‘There is a reason why Roxas has been going around the country in the past months to pro-mote BUB and even inaugurate BUB projects in the past months,’ Ridon said.”

That, according to my drinking buddy, is just one part of “mobili-zation.” Manny Villar’s fabled war chest in the 2010 campaign (said to be at P3.5 billion) is chicken feed compared to that of Roxas. If you think that spending the people’s money for a presiden-tial campaign isn’t kurakotand plunder, then you must be like the monkey who sees, speaks and hears no evil.

Several decades ago, on a trip to Leyte, I happened to have a ca-sual conversation with someone who had just run for congressman and had lost. He was furious at the way his opponent – who had won – had bribed voters to the tune of P100 per head. I was about to shower him with sympathy but did a double-take when he added that he could only afford to give P50.

Well, these days, P100 won’t win you a congressional seat any-more, said my drinking buddy. He recalled how he had to spend one million pesos when he ran for vice-mayor the last time. And he just barely won. How a vice-may-or of a third class municipality can justify spending a million for a po-sition that officially pays peanuts may be explained by the fact that the potential unofficial earnings

Being Filipino American in the GOP

RON FALCONI, MAYOR OF BRUNSWICK,OHIO

Commentary

DR. Jose Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines, placed a high value on civic involvement wherever he was, whether it be the Philippines or travelling around the world. He wanted the Philippines to be more involved in shaping its destiny and wanted the people to have more control of their govern-ment – ideals similar to those of the Republican Party. As we celebrate Filipino American History Month, I reflect on my Filipino heritage and the values I share with the Republican Party and Rizal’s words from the 17th century, which still ring true today.

I was born and raised in northeastern Ohio as the son of two Filipino immigrants who came to America in the 1960’s in search of the Ameri-can dream. My parents taught me the importance of God, fam-ily, hard work, and self-reliance. Growing up during the Reagan Revolution, I found a home in the Republican Party because I realized that the values my parents taught me were also the bedrock principles of the party. Ever since I attended my first political gathering, this Party has always made me feel wel-

comed, accepted, and included. Over my lifetime, I have worked with three different Republican Party County organizations in two different states, but no mat-ter where I go, my friends from the Party are more like my fam-ily. The Grand Old Party (GOP) has always encouraged me to be involved in the political process because we share the same common principles. The GOP continues to stand for a strong national defense, lower taxes, religious values, and of course, smaller government.

As the mayor of Brunswick, Ohio, a town of approximately 35,000 people, I am proud of my heritage. My wife was born and raised in the Philippines. We raise our two teenage kids with the same values that have been taught to us. We work hard, go to church, and contribute back to our community. These values are not only Filipino values or Republican values, but more importantly they are also Ameri-can values. Even though we speak Tagalog at home and eat Filipino food, we are Americans first, and we celebrate these core principles that are shared across cultures, across tradi-tions and in my Party.

Recently, Republican Na-tional Committee (RNC) Chair-man Reince Priebus spoke on the importance of the role that Filipino Americans play in our society as well as the great contributions they have made to our country. The RNC continues to engage and build meaningful

relationships with Filipino com-munities across the country, and encourage them to get involved in our political process as we continue to build upon the American dream.

I believe that Dr. Rizal’s words and actions of greater civic en-gagement have a direct impact on how our communities move forward and thrive. Recently, I addressed the National Fed-eration of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA Region 3 East) and talked about further-ing our community’s political involvement. At the Knights of Rizal International Conference last year in Greater Cleveland, I spoke about leadership and how it affects our Filipino communi-ties here in America. There is a need for greater participation of the Filipino American com-munity in the political life of our cities, townships, states, and even our federal government in Washington. The GOP can help us get there.

As we celebrate Fil ipino American History Month this October, I ask all of you to be open to the message of the GOP. As Americans of Filipino de-scent, we share similar beliefs and values, and we want a bet-ter tomorrow for our children. The GOP is an inclusive party made up of many different kinds of people with diverse back-grounds and is the best vehicle for turning our country in the right direction. It is my home – and it can be yours too. I ask

OPINION FEATURES

GEL SANTOS-RELOS

The Fil-Am Perspective

GREG B. MACABENTA

Street Talk

Being Filipino American...all of you to join our Party and help us to restore the American dream.

Insights from a small town...are more than peanuts.

I asked him what the going rate was these days in his hometown. According to him, it’s P50 per vot-er if you’re running for councilor, P100 to P150 if you’re a candidate for mayor or vice-mayor, P500 if you want to become a congress-man and as much as a thousand if you are aiming for the presi-dency.

“A ward leader usually ac-counts for about a dozen voters,” my friend continued. “When he attends a meeting called by the provincial coordinator of a can-didate, he is expected to bring home the ‘mobilization.’ Other-wise, he will lose face as well as his credibility.”

Now, that’s just for buying votes. The cost of maintaining the campaign machinery is an-other thing altogether. In an ar-ticle for Bulatlat, Karl G. Ombion and Max Cordero, related how an independent activist group in Ba-colod computed the expenditures of a trapo or traditional politician running for congress or for mayor in the province.

“Payroll accounts for the high-est expenditure of politicians,” the article stated. “As many as 6,000 ward leaders are maintained by trapos. Ward leaders con-

stitute the backbone of election campaign organizations. They are the campaigners in the puroks or barangays (villages) where they live. They receive a minimum of P2,000 per month for three months prior to the election. This alone costs P12 million per month or P36,000,000 for three months.” The article broke down the “mini-mum expenses” of a candidate in Bacolod, on top of the budget for ward leaders, and that added up to more than P73 million.

What happens if you don’t have enough funds for “mobilization”?

“Don’t bother to run,“ was the reply. “Or run to lose.”

That last statement reminded me of a certain senator who has insisted on running for vice-presi-dent even while his survey ratings have been pitifully low. “He’s sure to lose,” said one commentator. “But he will win.”

What the commentator meant, of course, was that the senator-cum-VP aspirant is expected to make a neat sum from contribu-tions from businessmen and the usual election bettors, namely, gambling lords and assorted rack-eteers. So, even if he loses, he still wins. Besides, he won’t have to give up his Senate seat.

I asked my drinking buddy if the improved political awareness

of the provincial voters, due to the extensive reach of network TV and the Internet, will have any influ-ence on their voting preferences.

“Of course that will influence their votes, TV particularly,” he replied. “But the mobilization will have a greater influence.”

“Does it mean that whoever has billions in his campaign chest is a sure winner?” I pressed.

My drinking buddy hastened to clarify the point. “The big spend-ers have a major advantage,” he said. “But the voters could also accept the money from one candidate but vote for somebody else.”

“And why would they do that?”“There’s one thing that works

as well as mobilization,” he ex-plained. “And that is the personal touch. When a candidate actually goes out of his way to personally talk to the voters, that could neu-tralize the influence of money. ”

And then he added: “People also don’t forget being told ‘Baha-la kayo sa buhay niyo!’ and ‘Buhay ka pa naman, hindi ba?’”

“But an opposition candidate will still have to provide mobiliza-tion,” I clarified.

“Siyempre,” was his reply. “But, at least, it will cost him less.” (gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)

diplomatic immunity.Jose said the DFA recommend-

ed the police investigation.“We still need to continue the

investigation because the Chinese authorities cannot do their own here,” Jose said, explaining that any case to be pursued in China would be based on findings by the Philippine National Police.

Jose said the shooting in Cebu was the first case of diplomats get-ting involved in a serious crime in the Philippines.

“I was surprised that this tragic thing happened,” he said.

“The shooting was an extreme act of a relative of a staff of the consulate,” he said.

China’s foreign ministry said it was investigating what had hap-pened. Spokesperson Hua Chu-nying said she had no details to provide.

“We are deeply distressed that this kind of incident has taken place. The relevant situation and reasons are in the process of be-ing investigated and understood further,” Hua told a daily press briefing in Beijing.

MysteryStaff at the upmarket Light-

house Restaurant on General Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City ear-lier told journalists a group of nine people had gathered to celebrate the birthday of a Chinese consul-ate staff member, Jong Song Hua.

They said the group had or-dered a banquet, but no alcohol, and loud shouting could be heard before the shots were fired.

Aside from the diners, there were no witnesses because the shootings occurred in the private room.

Video footage from the restau-rant’s security camera showed Li first fired at Song and his deputy, Sun. Hui ran outside the room but Li followed and shot her

Li then put the gun down on the table and it was picked up by Gou, who was shown carrying the pistol and walking out of the restaurant.

Police said they recovered a

PH to yield 2 diplomats...semiautomatic .45 cal. Colt De-fender pistol, three spent cases, and three slugs from the scene.

Chief Supt. Prudencio “Tom” Bañas, Central Visayas police di-rector, admitted on Wednesday the first officers on the scene initially let all the surviving din-ers go, then arrested Li and Gou a short time later at the Chinese consular office in Cebu Business Park without resistance.

At the police station on Wednes-day night, Li and Gou were pho-tographed sitting apparently very calmly talking to a lawyer.

Bañas said Thursday both of the suspects had claimed they could not speak English, making it impossible to determine why the attack occurred.

“We don’t have a motive. We can’t talk to them. When we talk to them, they say ‘no speak English,” Bañas said.

He said Cebu authorities would turn over Li and Gou to the Chi-nese security team.

He said it would be up to the Chinese consulate office to decide what to do with the bodies of Sun and Hui, which were in a funeral parlor in Cebu City.

The consulate office was tem-porarily closed down. A notice posted on the door said business would resume on Oct. 26.

Rey Lawas, a police spokesper-son in Cebu City, said investiga-tors believed the shooting could be the result of a personal grudge over financial matters between Li and Sun or Hui, the woman fi-nance officer.

“They have been at odds for a long time over personal finances,” Lawas said, adding the fight “was purely personal.”

Sun was shot in the neck and Hui in the head. They died later in separate hospitals.

A senior police officer said in-vestigators were looking into how Li, Gou’s 60-year-old husband, had acquired a Colt Defender, a highly reliable concealed-carry pistol with low-mount night sights.

“In Cebu, it’s easy to procure a

gun because of a large cottage in-dustry for homemade guns,” said the officer, who asked not to be identified.

‘Twin’ pistolPolice investigation showed

the Colt Defender had a “twin” in Metro Manila.

Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said a check at the Firearms and Explo-sives Office showed that the Cebu Colt Defender and the Manila pis-tol had the same serial numbers—126238.

“Our investigators are checking these two guns. What we can say now is we have two guns with the same serial number,” Mayor said.

The Manila pistol is registered to Theodore Calaveras of Valen-zuela City.

Calaveras claimed that he sold his pistol to a certain Mago, from whom Valenzuela City police re-covered the gun on Wednesday night, Mayor said.

The license for the firearm had already expired, Mayor said.

He said investigators were try-ing to determine which pistol car-ried the original serial number.

The National Bureau of Inves-tigation stepped into the investi-gation Thursday for “reportorial purposes,” said Ricardo Diaz, the agency’s Central Visayas direc-tor.

Diaz said NBI Director Virgilio Mendez ordered the regional of-fice to make a report for submis-sion to the Department of Justice and to President Aquino.

The NBI had not determined the motive for the shooting, he said.

“The motive is deeper than what transpired in the crime scene. It would need interviews with peo-ple inside the [private room of the restaurant], but they all enjoy immunity so we cannot interview them,” Diaz said.

But the NBI could interview secondary witnesses like people in the vicinity of the restaurant when the shooting happened, he said.

“If we need to get our Chinese-speaking agents in Manila then we will,” he said. (With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada and Julie M. Aurelio in Manila, AFP, AP)

MANILA—Sen. Gregorio Ho-nasan said he has no hard feel-ings for his mentor Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile after failing to get the latter’s endorsement for the 2016 elections.

Enrile has endorsed the bid of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vice president, while Honasan is the vice presidential candidate of the opposition United National-ist Alliance (UNA). Both Enrile and Honasan played key roles in ousting the Marcoses during the 1986 Edsa Revolution.

The 67-year-old Honasan said he asked for Enrile’s blessing the day before he filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president, and the day after the former mar-tial law administrator raised the hand of Marcos.

“He told me ‘I didn’t know you’re running’,” Honasan said during a roundtable discussion at TV5 Media Center in Manda-luyong City with News5, Inter-Aksyon.com, BusinessWorld, Philippine STAR and Bloomberg Philippines.

“The reason why we’ve been friends for a long time now is

Gringo to Enrile: No hard feelingsby HELEN FLORES

Philstar.com

because we don’t interfere with each other’s decision. We’re not like ‘if you get one, you get two’,” he added.

Asked if Enrile could still have a change of heart because of his candidacy, Honasan said, “No, I give that judgment call to him.” However, he remains confident of his mentor’s support.

Meanwhile, If elected vice president, Honasan said he would like to be appointed as national security adviser and that he would address issues on infor-

mation management.“In my 18 years as senator, we

debate based on conflicting and sometimes ridiculous data,” he said.

He also described as “prema-ture” the Philippines’ move to file a case against China before the United Nations arbitral tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands.

“In my opinion, the filing of case before the international tribunal is premature. We should have done serious back channeling without the media,” he said.

NEWLY appointed Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa assured that the de-portation order for a US Ma-rine facing trial for the death of Filipina transgender Jennifer Laude will not be immediately implemented.

Caguioa explained that a for-eigner cannot be deported until the cases against him pending in Philippine courts have been decided, and if a foreigner is found guilty of the charges, he has to serve his sentence first before he could be deported.

He said the murder case filed against Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton for the alleged murder of Laude is still pending before the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.

“Hence, Pemberton is under the jurisdiction of the trial court and the deportation order is-sued by the BI cannot be imple-mented during the pendency of the trial on the case,” Caguioa said.

by TETCH TORRES-TUPASInquirer.net

DOJ: If found guilty, Pemberton must serve sentence �rst before deportation

Earlier, the Bureau of Immi-gration (BI) ordered Pember-ton’s deportation for being a risk to public interest and an undesirable alien.

The BI based its resolution

on the filing of murder case against Pemberton.

Citing Memorandum dated Nov. 24, 2014, the BI said “a foreign national is undesirable if he commits an act constitut-ing a criminal offense punish-able by imprisonment of one year or more.”

“In this case, respondent was charged before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 74, Olonga-po City for the crime of murder. Obviously, such serious crimi-nal offense carries a penalty of more than one year. Thus, the case of Pemberton falls within the ambit of the said Op-erations Order. He is therefore presumed to be undesirable,” the resolution stated.

While Pemberton is still pre-sumed innocent considering that the court has yet to rule on the evidence presented by the both parties to the murder case, the BI said in deportation proceedings, “even an iota of evidence that an alien is unfit to remain in the country is suf-ficient.”

peopleevents

artsculture

entertainmentOCTOBER 23-29 2015

An Asian Journal Magazine

by MOMAR G. VISAYA/AJPress

OCTOBER is Filipino American History Month and �ttingly enough, there were many community events to choose from.

Among these events were Spoliarium, an opera about the life and times of the celebrated painter and hero Juan Luna, speci�cally focusing on his tumultuous life while he lived in Paris. The opera revolves around (and named after) the painting that won the Gold Prize at the 1884 Exposicion National de Bellas Artes in Madrid and its relationship to the passionate love story of its creator, Luna.

Soprano Fides Cuyugan-Asensio is the librettist/lyricist of Spoliarium, set to music by Ryan Cayabyab who joined the orchestra during the last performance in New York.

After the three-night run of Spoliarium at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Asensio was invited to talk about the project at the Asia Society, which is currently home to the Philippine Gold exhibit happening till January 3, 2016.

“She has been the shining star of opera in the Philippines and she is our equivalent of Maria Callas,” remarked Loida Nicolas Lewis. “Her contribution to the arts has helped shape the history of opera in the Philippines.”

“When I wrote Spoliarium 13 years ago, I wanted not only Filipinos to be able to appreciate it so I wrote it in English. Coming to America was a dream. And I would

like to thank Aida Bartolome for spearheading the team to bring it here to New York. We have two singers coming from the Philippines and the rest coming from here,” Asensio said in her speech.

The Foundation for Filipino Artists, Inc. (FFAI) spearheaded the project along with Pierre Le Saint Events NYC and the Mid Atlantic Foundation for Asian Artists. FFAI brought the neo-romantic opera to New York to celebrate the organization’s 27th anniversary.

A formidable artistic team was also brought in to help in the staging of the opera. Internationally respected and multi-awarded director and professor, Dr. Anton Juan directed it. Rene Dalandan was the musical director and the cast was led by Michael Kuhn (a quarter Filipino), Bianca-Camille Lopez, Ivan Nicolo Nery, Aida Gamboa, Andrew Fernando and the chorus master, Dennis Bernardo.

Michael Kuhn played the role of Juan Luna for two performances while Ivan Nicolo Nery performed in one. Bianca-Camille Lopez played the role of Luna’s wife, Paz “Chiching” Pardo de Tavera; Aida Gamboa was Dona Juliana, the mother of Paz and Andrew Fernando played the role of Trini, brother of Paz.

Kuhn, a quarter Filipino, was most recently heard at Central City Opera performing as Padre in Man of La Mancha, the title role in Britten’s Prodigal Son and as Sancho in Boimortier’s Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse. Earlier this season, he

made his New York City debut as Rustighello in LoftOpera’s critically-acclaimed production of Lucrezia Borgia.

Lopez on the other hand was a member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers for nine years starting in 2007 when the group won the European Grand Prix in Arezzo, Italy until this year. She has done numerous concerts with the Madz throughout Europe, North and South America and to di�erent parts of Asia. Her most recent production was playing the title role in Antonin Dvorak’s Rusalka held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Spoliarium is her �rst opera production outside of the Philippines.

State of opera“I don’t know why I am doing

it, I keep writing. I crossed career boundaries. When a singer gets to a certain age, we have human instruments and we have to gradually step back and since I had a little talent in writing and I loved to tell stories, so I started writing,” remarked Fides Asensio at the Asia Society event.

She also talked about the �rst opera that was written in the Philippines in 1902 by Ladislao Bonus, considered as the “Father of Philippine Opera” and it was called “Sangdugong Panaguinip”. He is the great grandfather of National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon, who wrote the �rst full-length Filipino opera, “Noli Me Tangere.”

As for the state of opera in the Philippines, Asensio came up with

one word: dismal.“We’re inundated by musicals.

Operas never took o� in the Philippines, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the language. Maybe it’s because it is so di�cult to sing

opera. It is so much easier to do musicals. To put an opera is very, very di�cult,” Asensio lamented.

Despite these challenges, she continues to soldier on.

“Why do it? It’s like asking mountain climbers why they do what they do,” she explained. “It’s because the mountain is there. They just have to climb, and we have our own Mount Everest. So many has fallen trying to conquer it.”

And Asensio has climbed many mountains during her career, starting when she received a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia after her graduation from the Philippine Women’s University. It was 1951 and she was the �rst Filipina singer ever admitted there. At the Institute, she performed “The Telephone” and the composer Gian Carlo Menotti commented, “It’s as if I composed the work for her.”

She returned to Manila in 1954 and married Manuel Asensio. She reigned supreme as the premiere coloratura soprano for three decades. She essayed the role of Sisa two years later at the world premiere of Felipe De Leon’s Noli Me Tangere with the Manila Symphony.

The Brothers LunaIn the Philippines, one �lm has

been the talk of the town in the past couple of months. It is called Heneral Luna, and it is about the life of General Antonio Luna, Juan Luna’s brother.

Through social media and the classic word of mouth marketing, the �lm became viral and the call for Filipinos to support it reached fever pitch when the �lm was selected to represent the Philippines in the Oscars race for Best Foreign Film.

“It is no small coincidence that very recently, New Yorkers were privileged to view the premiere of a �lm devoted to another Luna, the General of the Revolutionary Army Antonio Luna,” Consul General

Mario L. de Leon, Jr. said in his message. “It could be said that brilliance ran in the Luna family, with Antonio’s talent in military tactics and Juan’s gift in the arts.”

The consul general went on and said that both brothers were blessed with gifts and both were burdened with the a�iction of �ery tempers, which led to eventual tragedies – the double murder of Juan’s wife and mother-in-law and the assassination of Antonio himself.

Joseph Francia, GMA International vice president couldn’t agree more. Francia was in New York recently and he made it a point to catch Spoliarium.

“Coming from Heneral Luna, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and now to Juan’s life, I think I’ve come full circle,” he said. “Both are brilliant and genius men and both had �aws as well. As for the opera, I enjoyed the music. Kudos to Mr. Cayabyab.”

After the �rst act of the opera, Francia rushed outside to purchase a playbill.

“I knew parts of the story but I did not know the details. I knew about the tragic part but not what led to it,” he said.

The tragic part, of course was when Luna shot and killed his wife Paz and her mother, and he was acquitted by the Paris court and declared him not guilty of all the accusations brought against him. This series of scenes prefaced a high point of the opera, that very dramatic moment when the remorseful Luna declared himself guilty.

It is almost parallel to the tragic ending of Juan’s brother Antonio as graphically portrayed on screen. And if you watch it, you’ll see how the �lm’s director Jerrold Tarog paid homage to the work of Juan Luna in Spoliarium.

(Heneral Luna will open in New York and New Jersey at the AMC Empire in Manhattan and Loews in Jersey Garden on October 30.)

A closer look into theParisian life of Juan Luna

SPOLIARIUM,THE OPERA:

An Asian Journal Magazine

ATTY. MICHAEL

GURFINKEL, ESQ

ImmigrationCorner

IF a person commits certain immigration violations (such as fraud, or overstaying in the US for over six months and then departing, etc.), the person may not be eligible to receive a green card, unless the person applies for, and is granted, a “waiver of inadmissibility” on a Form I – 601. To be eligible for the waiver, the person must demonstrate he or she has a spouse or parent who is a US citizen or a green card holder (“qualifying relatives”), and the qualifying relative would su�er “extreme hardship” if the applicant is not granted the waiver.

But what is extreme hardship? How does a person demonstrate or prove extreme hardship on the qualifying relative? How should the immigration o�cer evaluate the qualifying relative’s extreme hardship?

On October 7, 2015, the USCIS published a draft policy manual (PM), to provide some guidelines on establishing extreme hardship. In the past, applicants had to rely on published cases that discussed extreme hardship, memos, etc. to �gure out what constitutes extreme hardship and how to go about proving it. USCIS is now accepting comments on this draft policy manual, and will come up with a “�nal” version after November 23, 2015.

This policy manual aims to clarify “how USCIS would make extreme hardship

USCIS publishes draft policy manual on ‘extreme hardship’determinations”. Among the items to be considered are:

• hardship to the qualifying relative if they had to relocate overseas, or remain in the US, separated from the applicant

• strong family ties in the US • social and cultural impact

if the qualifying relative had to relocate overseas to be with the applicant

• economic impact on the qualifying relative if the hardship waiver is not granted

• health conditions and medical care of the qualifying relative

• country conditions, and State Department travel warnings for the particular country where the qualifying relative would have to relocate.

The PM lists dozens of speci�c factors which could constitute extreme hardship on a qualifying relative, and points out numerous factors which would not be considered extreme hardship. The policy manual provides some hypothetical examples where the claimed hardship would be considered normal or a “common consequence of relocation”, as opposed to being “extreme”.

Many people, when faced with having to �le a waiver of inadmissibility, do it on their own, rather than seeking the advice or guidance of an attorney. While hiring an attorney does not “guarantee” approval, the determination and evaluation of extreme hardship can be a complex and complicated task. Putting together an e�ective

presentation is also critical. The PM is 28 pages long. The instructions for �lling out the Form I – 601 are 21 pages. The I– 601 itself is 13 pages long. The stakes are so high in applying for the waiver. For example, if a person is not granted a fraud waiver, it could result in a lifetime ban. If the 3/10 year bar waiver is not approved, the relative may not be able to apply for a visa to come to the US for at least 10 years.

That is why when you have something as complex as a waiver of inadmissibility, you should seek the advice and guidance of an attorney, rather than doing it on your own. Learning immigration law by doing the waiver on your own could have lifetime consequences on your relative.

* * *

THE American Cancer Society on Tuesday, Oct. 20, announced new guidelines for mammograms, recommending that women with an average risk of breast cancer begin getting mammograms annually at age 45.

The organization, which has long taken an aggressive approach to screening for the condition, also recommended that once women reach the age of 55, mammograms continue once every other year. Additionally, the society no longer recommends clinical breast exams for breast cancer screening among average-risk women at any age, as these have not been shown to save lives.

The society’s new guidelines, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, come after it thoroughly examined research data questioning the bene�t of yearly mammograms for women in their 40s.

American Cancer Society recommends women undergo mammograms later and less frequently

by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

“We’re moving to an era where people are recognizing the limitations of screening tests,” said Dr. Nancy Keating, professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School who wrote an editorial accompanying the new recommendations. “For many years, we convinced everybody, including doctors, that mammograms are the best tests and everyone has to have one. But now we’re acknowledging

that the bene�ts are modest and the harms are real.”

The recommendations only apply to women who have no personal history of the condition or known risk factors based on family history, genetic mutations or other medical problems. Women who have a genetic risk for the condition are advised to begin undergoing the exam sooner.

The move re�ects shifting

PEOPLE in their 30s and 40s who are not getting enough sleep could �nd themselves with dementia by their 60s, sleep expert Michael Chee has warned.

He issued the warning as growing evidence has shown that adequate sleep is necessary to clear the accumulation of “junk” in the brain, which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia

that can result in extreme forgetfulness.

Professor Chee, director of the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, said that a paper published in 2013 showed that sleep helps clear metabolite – the junk that develops when the brain processes the energy it needs – in adult brains.

While doctors are not sure if it is the protein beta amyloid – the metabolite junk which Prof Chee spoke of – that causes Alzheimer’s, they do know that there is a huge amount of these proteins in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

Prof. Chee said that as people get older, their ability to clear this junk from their brain is

Not enough sleep? Beware of dementia

Continued on Page 6 Continued on Page 6

Retired US Army Major General

AARP_15_Taguba_Testimonial_HP_FIL_AJ.indd 1 10/15/15 3:18 PM

An Asian Journal Magazine

BOBBY T. YALONG

On thePEP FrontPeople, Events, Places

(Part 1 of 2)IN the company of an

all-nurse practitioner, I was persuaded to break out of my shell to embrace new culture, enjoy life like never before, and acquire an invaluable experience in a well-planned European tour. So together with my wife, Venny, her college friend from PWU Jessette Loredo and her colleague Josie Destajo (from Bayley Seaton in Staten Island), and our in-law Helen Latoja with her friend Judith Tatuy (from Woodhall Medical Center), we were all set to undertake a rare chance of a lifetime.

Dateline: Fatima, Portugal (Sunday, Oct. 11- Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2015)

Aboard a United Airlines aircraft bound to Lisbon, Portugal we took o� at exactly 8:00 PM amid bone-chilling winds and hazy skies. ..and after an eight-hour leveled �ight our aircraft touched down at Portela International Airport in Lisbon at 7:35 AM (Portugal time). (Portugal is 5 hours ahead of NY-NJ although Portugal has two time zones).

From the airport we were picked up by our booking agent that drove us to Fatima, a civil parish in the municipality of Ourem in the Santarem District. Being permanently associated with the Marian apparitions that occurred in Cova da Iria in 1917, the former peaceful village 76 miles north of Lisbon became the most visited and popular urban agglomeration of Leira and primarily relies on religious tourism and pilgrimages, although the place was also known for carving, sculpture, and �neries.

Primarily dominated by Holly oak (Quercus ilex),

Continued on Page 7

An unforgettably mostcherished European escapade

LAW OFFICE

EMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT FOR SALE

An Asian Journal Magazine

NEW YORK, NY—Abramorama has announced that they will release the Philippines’ entry for Best Foreign Language Film, Heneral Luna, in theaters nationwide. The highest grossing independent Filipino �lm of all time, Heneral Luna has become a cultural phenomenon in its homeland. Not only has it broken box o�ce records, it has caused the Philippine president to ask the country’s Department of Education to consider making history a required subject in the lower elementary grades. Set during the Philippine-American war in the late 1890’s, the �lm is based on one of the country’s bravest heroes, General Antonio Luna. Abramorama plans an October 30th release in New York, followed by Los Angeles and additional markets on November 6, 2015.

Abramorama President Richard Abramowitz states, “Heneral Luna is an extraordinary �lm with a loyal, de�nable, motivated audience, exactly what we look for when taking something on. We’re honored that the producers are entrusting us with this record-breaking release.”

Adds Fernando Ortigas, the �lm’s executive producer, “I would hope ‘Heneral Luna’ is well-received in America, as it’s got an engaging and fast-paced narrative that’s unusual for most foreign language �lms.”

Set during the Philippine–American war, the epic �lm recounts the heroic yet tragic story of General Antonio Luna, commander of the Philippine Revolutionary Army and the

most brilliant Filipino general, who faced an enemy more treacherous than any foreign colonizer: his own countrymen. The �lm stars award-winning veteran actor John Arcilla (Bourne Legacy, Metro Manila) as General Luna.

Unanimously acclaimed by the country’s �lm critics and applauded by everyday audiences as credits roll at virtually all show times in all cinemas, the �lm opened slow at the box-o�ce, but steadily gained strength through the power of social media and good word-of-mouth. Says its screenwriter-producer Ed Rocha, “The numbers grew exponentially. From one million to two to �ve to ten, and by the third weekend, the �lm was grossing Php 20 million pesos a day (the equivalent of about 500,000 US dollars).

It’s clear that our �lm touched a nerve, which is why the movie going public ended up taking ownership of the �lm. We’re proud yet very humbled by how the �lm has found its way into people’s hearts.”

In explaining the �lm’s unprecedented success, op-ed journalists have pointed to the �lm’s ability to speak to a modern audience, in particular, the millennials, the new generation of young people who, until this movie, were impossible to engage on any level. Says Jerico Aguado, a college student in his teens, “The �lm spoke to me on a personal level. What it did was that it posed questions that I never asked myself before. It brought me to that rare moment where I thought about our nation, and our future

Acclaimed film opens in NY, NJ on Oct. 30,Nov. 6 in 8 major US cities

‘Heneral Luna’, o�cial PH entryto the Oscars, to screen in NY, NJ

as a people, and whether or not we were stuck in repeating our same mistakes, our fate, over and over. It moved me.”

Directed by a young Filipino �lmmaker Jerrold Tarog who’s in his early thirties, the �lm broke another rule by casting theater actors in lead and key supporting roles, non-stars with no followers or fan based among movie audiences. It now remains to be seen whether Filipinos in America will react to the �lm with the same enthusiasm as their brothers back home.

An independent distribution and marketing company, Abramorama is an industry leader in the focused, personalized form of �lm distribution that provides invaluable alternatives to �lmmakers and content owners. Over the course of more than 20 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of �lms, including Asif Kapadia’s Senna, Robert Stone’s Pandora’s Promise; Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam Twenty; Sacha Gervasi’s Anvil! The Story Of Anvil, and Banksy’s Oscar-nominated, Exit Through The Gift Shop. Abramorama released the surprise indie hit Awake: The Life Of Yogananda, the critically acclaimed documentary Particle Fever, New York Times critics’ pick An Honest Liar, and Tribeca FF Opening Night’s Live From New York!, and is currently releasing Laurie Anderson’s astonishing Heart Of A Dog (Venice, Telluride, Toronto, NYFF 2015). Abramorama continues to lead in event cinema distribution, with recent titles including the Royal Opera House Ballet and Opera Cinema Season, Shakespeare’s Globe on Screen, Matisse at the Tate, Hermitage Revealed, Planetary (launched theatrically on Earth Day, 2015), and the visceral action sport feature The Search For Freedom, Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything, and Green Day’s Heart Like A Hand Grenade. For more information visit www.abramorama.com

GOLD reigns at Asia Society on Park Avenue in New York City. Part of the Philippine Gold Exhibition, ladies with the golden touch are featured at Asia Society. Bea Valdes presents her distinctive designs of tradition. Sheria Irving and Mariko Nakasone Parker lead the ensemble of Ma-Yi Theatre Company in ALAMAT, stories of Philippine Gold on Oct 26. Grace Nono brings traditional music forms to Asia Society on Oct. 30. Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue and 70th Street. For more info and tickets, visit www.asiasociety.org.

GOLDEN TOUCH: Bea Valdes talked about “moments into momentum” narrating her journey from a young girl fascinated by her Grandmother Fe’s hand embroidered mantels-table cloths to her mission to “bring Philippine embroidery and beadwork to a global audience.”

As an artist and writer, Bea weaves stories into her collections. Her pieces are not just accessories, but “symbols of a heroic feminine narrative.” Taking inspiration from various cultures, Bea has received global recognition as a creative architect of distinctive luxury goods. Bea designs and produces her pieces in her Manila based studio, working with modern Filipino artisans. She maintains a focus on traditional embroidery, supporting local artisans and their craftsmanship, while shining a light on the Philippines as a design hub.

Bea’s hand-made designs are available at Asia Society. She invites you to “explore and experience the pieces displayed – run your �ngers of the work and read our stories, written in invisible knots. In the end, it is all bound by

Golden Ladies at Asia Society

needle and thread, but it is about binding and connecting,” she said, “And nothing connects us with our shared humanity quite as gently as working with our hands.”

GOLDEN TALES: Sheria Irving and Mariko Nakasone Parker are ladies in the Ma-Yi cast of ALAMAT to be presents on Monday, Oct. 26, 8PM, golden tales from Philippine folk lore will be at Asia Society. Written by Ralph Pena, “Alamat: Stories of Philippine Gold” is a compelling evening of theater that retraces the evolution of Philippine Gold as uniquely Filipino. Chris Bannow, Alexis Camins and Ron Domingo join Sharia and Mariko with Jack Tamburri directing.

ALAMAT brings to life a community of wildly di�erent characters from all over the Philippine islands to explore the ways that gold has been valued: a husband and wife whose life is transformed by a miracle baby hatched from a watermelon, two strangers from di�erent worlds

bound together by inexplicable desire and an enchanted gold

GOLDEN VOICES: Grace Nono and Ensemble performs on Friday, Oct. 30, 8PM. Grace Nono is renowned as a vocalist dedicated to traditional music forms in the Philippines. She hails from the area in the Southern Philippines where the Butuan kingdom where the Philippine gold was located. Nono champions traditional Filipino music while simultaneously striving to make these traditions accessible to a new generation.

In Voicing the Ancestral Sacred, we witness a gathering of ancestrally-informed voices from selected areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (the Philippines’ three island clusters); indigenous, Muslim, and Christian populations; hinterland, rural and urban communities. Fragments of these sonic landscapes will be re-contextualized within a new urban landscape.

An Asian Journal Magazine

Americaalendar of EventsacrossC

ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS!PRE-EVENT AND POST-EVENT

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

FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS

sa Amerika” at the Gold Coast Casino & Hotel (4000 Flamingo Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89103) in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 25-27, 2015. Reminisce with your schoolmates from 50+ years ago and re-live memorable high school days! Reconnect with your old friends and make some new ones! This is the first reunion gathering in the US since our 50th grand reunion. For more information, please contact: Dan Hidalgo - danielh616@hotmail.com; tel. (914) 310-0864 / (914) 740-7028. Ester Tadeo Celestino - cesarucelestino@yahoo.com; tel. (201) 433-0727/ (551) 574-8511. Minda Cuario Cameron - meandatwo@aol.com; tel. (813) 633-5642. Ed Bondoc - bondoced@yahoo.com; tel. (415) 342-9877. Gertrudes “Nette” Descallar Collyer - mycolly@roadrunner.com; tel. (818) 767-8175.

MANDACAL (Mandaluyong Civic Group of Southern California) would like to invite you to attend its 26th Anniversary Dinner Dance on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Glendale (800 North Central Ave. Glendale, CA 91203). The event is a sit down dinner with live music by the Hill Tops Band #1, providing your favorite dance music from 5pm until midnight. There will be raffle prizes and many fabulous door prizes to be given away. Come enjoy a night of great food, excellent music, and pure fun with your family and friends! Tickets are $55 each. For tickets and information, please call: Becky 818-572-3261, Espee 626-383-3621, or Julie 858-337-9224.

Presented by Bible Christian Fellowship Church, the one-of-a-kind Bohol Children Bam-boo Ensemble, hailing from Alicia, in Bohol province, will perform at various locations during their first-ever tour in the US. 23 young performers from Katipunan Elementary School and the Bohol community will perform using traditional bamboo instruments, including a ukulele, drums, flutes, and bass. There will also be special guests, inspiring music, and traditional dances of the Philippines. For many of these young performers, it is their first time to visit the US, and they are eager to share their talents with the community. The show on Saturday, Oct. 24 will take place at Rosemont Elementary School Auditorium (421 Rosemont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm; on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Bible Christian Fellowship Church (456 Rosemont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm; and on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Search to In-volve Pilipino Americans (SIPA - 3200 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026) at 6:30pm. Light refreshments will be served. Ticket prices vary from $10, $25, and $50. For tickets and more information, please call 213-249-6672.

Couples, please join for the Marriage Enrichment Seminar on Saturday, October 24 from 9am to 5pm at Helping Hands Adult Day Health Care (9051 Woodman Ave, Arleta, CA 91331). Featuring fun games and prizes, biblical teachings, and engaging interactions rel-evant to couples’ everyday life. Price for couples is $50, and $20 for single participants. Call Henjie Pimenta at 818-486-7481 for more information.

All are invited to attend the Rosary Rally for the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sponsored by the Federation of Filipino Rosary Groups. Inc). This is an annual celebration which calls everyone to prayer for world peace. A reception follows immediately after the liturgy at Potthoff Hall.

When: Sunday, October 25, 1:30 pm Mass; Pre-liturgy at 1:15 pmWhere: St. Denis Parish (2151 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., Diamond Bar, CA 91765)Celebrant: Monsignor James Loughnane, P.A.

Save the date! The 24th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) will be cel-ebrated on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at El Pueblo de Los Angeles (125 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012). and will feature contemporary and traditional Filipino food, music, dance, crafts and culture. FPAC is the longest-running Filipino cultural celebration in Southern California. This year’s theme for the City of Los Angeles’ Filipino American Event is “Balik tanaw, Pananaw bukas” a Tagalog phrase meaning “looking backward, looking forward, and celebrates the rich experiences of being Filipino American. As a community we honor the cul-ture paved by our ancestors, and move forward with a grateful understanding of our Filipino American history. This is the spirit that keeps FPAC going. Please check www.filmarts.org for more event updates. For Sponsorship Inquiries please contact us at 213-380-3722; or info@filamarts.org. For exhibitor (food and business) information, contact John Swing at jswing@esipa.org. #FPAC24

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

The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) brings the best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles from Oct. 26 - Nov. 2, 2015 in order to draw greater recognition to the region’s wealth of filmmakers, strengthening ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. With films from 50 countries across Asia, from Turkey to Japan to India and the Philippines, the AWFF focuses on cinema-lovers, especially fans of foreign and independent films. Screenings will be held at the ArcLight Cinemas and iPic Theater in Culver City, and VIP festival passes (including access to filmmakers lounge, professional panels, cocktail recep-tions, and screenings) are available. A special showing of Paul Soriano’s “Kid Kulafu,” the story of a young Manny Pacquiao, will also premiere on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 8pm at ArcLight. For more information and ticketing prices, please visit http://www.asianworldfilmfest.org/.

This coming Halloween, come to the newest ultra-lounge located near Glendale’s Ameri-cana, the chic 103 LOUNGE (103 E. Broadway Ave., Glendale, CA, 91025, across Marshalls and Bloomingdale’s)! Brought to you by EMEX Events, ToneDef Music, Bounce Electronic Mu-sic & DJ School, with support from MISS PHILIPPINES USA, HALLOWBACK is a one-of-a-kind Halloween dance music/clubbing event. Featuring dance tunes from the mid 90’s until the year 2000 by DJs Mon Maramba and Josh Evangelista, and curated by Louie Ysmael together with Arnel Castillo, as well as local retro hero Ricky Fabre of ClubManila. Doors for this popu-lar Halloween event will open at 9pm, so make sure you secure a spot on the dancefloor! 21+ only, with $10 entry fee. Reserved seating with bottle service and birthday specials/VIP areas available. Please email tonedefmusicph@gmail.com for more info.

(First of 2 parts)FESS up J. K. Rowling. That

scene in one of the Harry Potter books where eerie sounds and strange occurrences caused by a ghost in residence were coming from — of all places— the toilet stalls, in Hogwarts is not all that original. Because it happened years ago, not as �ction but as part of reality — my reality, that is.

Just for kicks during my halcyon days as a full-time working /full-time grad student at the University of the Philippines long ago, I had agreed to act as medium for a séance or a hypnotic session to conjure or call the spirit or spirits that were causing a disturbance. I took over from another medium in a previous session weeks earlier conducted by a Jesuit priest from the Ateneo, Fr. Bulatao. There were repeated paranormal disturbances at the old building where I worked, a stone’s throw from the Institute of Mass Communication (now called by another name) where I was a grad student at night while working during the day as a full time research associate of what was then the Institute of Environmental Planning, now called the School of Urban & Regional Planning. That haunted building has been razed and there stands a newer multi-story building.

At night, the custodian claimed that when all the rooms were locked up and no one was inside, there were eerie noises that would make the hair on the back of one’s neck stand on end. The occurrences were so frequent and so disruptive, ignoring them and pretending life was normal was no longer an option. Someone �nally did something about it and called on Fr. Bulatao to help shed light on the mysterious goings-on at the institute. I simply avoided the rest rooms and steered away from isolated areas of the building and never stayed in the building past sundown.

Professor Cynthia Turingan

The curious case of Stephen C. Davis: A ghost story

“…Quite plainly, there are things in this world that cannot be de�ned, completely understood and pegged in a nice, neat box …”

was the �rst medium. Under hypnosis, she revealed that an American soldier, an enlisted man, by the name of Stephen Davies (his name was spelled with an e in the surname) was murdered at the location right smack dab where the building stood. Details of a murder story �owed out of her like a gusher. But then it came to an abrupt halt when the door to the room where the session was being held, for no apparent reason, suddenly burst open. The medium snapped out of the hypnotic trance feeling extremely limp and exhausted as though she had traveled many miles across a desert without water. I stood up and with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders calmly closed the door.

Dissatis�ed with the aborted session, the group decided to hold another. Professor Turingan was unavailable for the next session and I was drafted to act as medium, a role which I accepted on a lark and a dare.

There was a thunderstorm raging outside but I don’t remember much of what I said when I went on a trance. I do remember feeling very light, as though weightless, while someone gently whispered things to my ear. Later, I learned that under hypnotic suggestion, I was instructed to go back to 1945, the year that the medium revealed when the alleged murder of the American soldier occurred.

I described the place as I saw it — an open �eld, a moonless night, quonset huts and a heavy sense of foreboding in the air. During the session, the same Stephen Davies revealed the name of his murderer. He said he

was hit on the head by a piece of wood while he was out on patrol one night and was robbed of his money. The ghost revealed details about his murderer: his assailant’s name, the exact address where he lived, describing him as an old man by that time, languishing in jail for other crimes he committed and that the house where the murderer used to live on J.P. Rizal Street in Makati was eventually destroyed by �re.

He was asked about the name of his wife and where she lived, questions upon questions which the ghost said were “not important” but pressed further, he said that his wife had remarried and pleaded not to bother his wife anymore. He said that he was not the only spirit hovering in the area and that there were many others. Asked about how he felt, he said that he was lonely and that he just wants to be remembered. Over and over again, he said he wanted to be remembered. He ignored questions about his past brushing them aside for the one thing he wanted — that he be remembered. His bones, he said, lay scattered and mixed with the soil in the same area which was leveled years earlier by a bulldozer. The ghost of the dead soldier requested that a mass be said on a sunny day in his remembrance — a request the group readily granted him. Shortly after, the eerie occurrences seemed to stop. (To be continued)

* * *

MONETTE

ADEVA MAGLAYA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

From Page 3

Not enough sleep...

diminished.Sleep is important in helping

to clear away these proteins, he noted, adding that the rate of clearance is about six times during sleep, compared with when one is awake.

“If you are sleep-deprived, the rate of clearance of beta amyloids is reduced, so you have more junk �oating around in the brain.”

It is like having a blocked sewage system in the brain, Prof. Chee said. As the sewage piles up, there comes a time when there is so much that it does damage to

the brain.Pharmaceutical companies

have invested billions of dollars trying to produce medicine that can clear beta amyloids from the brain, but have yet to succeed, he said.

It takes years of accumulation for damage to be done, typically 10 to 20 years, he said. That is why people in their middle years who do not get enough sleep could �nd themselves su�ering from Alzheimer’s, becoming forgetful by the time they are in their late 50s or 60s.

In general, Prof. Chee said, people need at least 61/2 to seven hours of sleep a night, with peak performance generally associated with seven hours of sleep.

Busy people often think they can get by with four to �ve hours of sleep a night and that it is all right as they can still manage their daily activities, he said.

People who use their brains a lot, he said, “are able to compensate better and they hide it to a point where they cannot hide it any more, then they go bang and get it very bad”.

“By the time you’re diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s too late.”

But Prof. Chee admitted that more studies are needed, as it is still not known if sleeping longer on weekends, for example, can help clear the backlog of beta amyloids and, if so, to what extent. Similarly, is just having seven hours of sleep a night enough, or must it be a deep sleep?

Nevertheless, Prof. Chee said, it is irrefutable that having enough sleep is critical for good health.

Aside from dementia, insu�cient sleep is also known to raise the risk of diabetes, some cancers, heart attacks and stroke.

“If you take care of your sleep, you can improve many aspects of your health,” Prof. Chee said. (Inquirer.net)

American Cancer Society recommends women...attitudes in cancer screening. Six years ago, the cancer society spoke out against a federal task force that suggested most women could wait until the age of 50 to begin screening for breast cancer. They said postponing mammograms would result in increased deaths among women.

“Despite some face validity in the idea that younger women, who often have more aggressive cancers, might bene�t from shorter screening intervals, the actual clinical e�ects and importance remain uncertain,” Keating wrote in an editorial.

Breast cancer is among the top killers of American women. This year, more than 200,000 new cases are predicted and more than 40,000 deaths as a result are expected in the United States.

The society said it set

From Page 3 changed its recommendation for annual mammograms at age 45 because that’s when a woman’s risk for breast cancer spikes. By the time women reach age 55, when most have passed menopause, tumors are usually less aggressive and grow at a slower rate. Additionally, changes in breast tissue make it easier to read mammograms.

Overdiagnosis was another result of mammograms that researchers in a separate study found, which means women received unnecessary treatment and procedures, and underwent emotional distress. Younger women have more dense breast tissue and mammograms beginning at age 40 could result in false positives. One study revealed that a number of women su�er intense anguish after being called for a follow-up mammogram because a

radiologist saw something suspicious, NBC News reported.

Most women overestimate how much mammograms actually help, Lisa Schwarts, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, told NBC News. The exams decrease the risk of death from breast cancer by anywhere between 15 percent to 40 percent, depending on studies considered.

“About 85 [percent] of women in their 40s and 50s who die of breast cancer would have died regardless of mammography screening,” Keating said. “More sophisticated screening tests that confer a greater reduction in breast cancer mortality would likely decrease breast cancer mortality much more than expanding

Continued on Page 7

An Asian Journal Magazine

An unforgettably most cherished...From Page 4

Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea), Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo), and Olive trees (Olea europaea), Fatima was an unknown village involved in shepherding and agriculture until the apparitions that occurred between May 13 and October 13, 1917 before siblings Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marto (7) and their cousin Lucia Santos (10) all of Aljustrel, a small barrio where the three children were born.

Both Francisco and Jacinta died due to the 1918 in�uenza epidemic that hit Europe and their bodies were entombed in the Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima after being beati�ed on May 13, 2000 by Pope John Paul II (who, himself, became a saint) but Lucia survived until February 13, 2005 at age 97 at the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Coimbra, Portugal.

Being in the Western part of the Iberian Peninsula, the early Celtic tribe was believed to be its �rst inhabitants and currently being ruled by a Parliamentary Democratic government. Portugal’s monetary unit, Euro (formerly Escudo), has a higher buying power than our US dollar.

We immediately explored the vicinity after a hearty brunch near our hotel. It could have been a perfect start for our initial sojourn if not for the scarcity of money changers…actually, none at all. Even local banks won’t sell Euros if you’re not a depositor…but still, that didn’t dampen our high spirited escapade. We excitedly scrutinized every single store and eatery for some adventurous �nds that made us discover what the place was well-known for among gourmands: grilled fresh sardines �sh. One has to really experience its irresistible aroma and scrumptious savor to �nally conclude it’s worth the trip.

Tuesday, October 13, being one of the most signi�cant dates of the apparition and the ninetieth anniversary of the phenomenal Marian sighting, the more than hundred acres of well-developed Fatima Shrine looked too small to accommodate the millions of pilgrims from all over the world. After a three-hour solemn high mass during midday, a solemn procession of candles concluded the religious festivity.

We took a local mini-train (which actually looked like a connected wagon) to visit the remote area of Aljustrel where tourists converged at the original birthplace of Francisco and Jacinta, then had a brief stop by an old church where they were baptized and visited the nearby cemetery where the siblings were initially buried before being exhumed and re-entombed at the Basilica.

The place could have been more of an authentic site for a religious pilgrimage had the authorities restricted the building of modern-day structures, commercial stores, and residential houses that totally weakened the e�cacy of the supposed religious location.

We went back to our hotel a little past 12 midnight that allowed us only to pack our stu� and took a brief respite for our service was scheduled to pick us up at 3 AM to the airport for our next destination: Paris!

Our three-day stay in Fatima made us feel spiritually reborn, physically recharged, and

sanctimoniously sealed with divine grace.

American Cancer Societyrecommends women...

From Page 6

screening mammography for women in their 40s and 50s.”

Wender said he hoped the changes would put an end to debates and confusion about mammography, The New York Times reported, but others doubt they would bring clarity.

“I think it has the potential to create a lot of confusion amongst women and primary care providers,” Dr. Therese Bevers, medical director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told the Times.

Other groups still recommend that women begin undergoing mammograms earlier, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, which suggests

annual mammograms begin at age 40. Similarly, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends the test every one to two years between the ages of 40 to 49, and once per year after that. Furthermore, it suggests annual clinical breasts exams starting at age 19.

But the most important thing, most groups agree, is that women to discuss their risk for breast cancer with their doctors and decide what she’s most comfortable doing, according to NBC News.

“A woman should make a personal decision as whether she should start screening before age 45 but we clearly recommend that by age 45 all women should start regular screening every year,” Wender told NBC News.

MAYBE it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us but according to Condé Nast Traveler the best island in the world is right here in the Philippines. Palawan topped the list of the Best Islands in the World Awards category in this year’s Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards. Also in the list are Cebu and Boracay at no. 19 and no. 15, respectively.

Garnering an overall ranking of 85.937, Palawan beat out famous and historical destinations like Mykonos, the British Virgin Islands, and Bali. It is also the second time the island topped the said list, getting the honor at last year’s awards as well. In the write-up, Condé Nast notes how tourists are mainly attracted to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.

Boracay got a rating of 80. 856 and was commended for its beautiful sunsets along with its booming nightlife. On the other hand, Cebu got a rating of 80.404 along with praises

3 Philippine Islands declared as the best in the world by Condé Nast Traveler by OLIVIA ESTRADA

Inquirer.net

for its beaches, shopping areas, and food spots.

The awards also include different categories that rank the best hotels, resorts, and cruise lines around the

globe. Votes were taken from 128,000 travelers who were also asked for their comments and ratings before each list was narrowed down to the top 20 picks.

An Asian Journal Magazine

Content: Philippine GoldPublication: Asian Journal Issue: October 23, 2015Trim: 11.5" x 21.25" (full page ad)

725 Park Ave. (at 70th St.) • New York • 212.288.6400 • AsiaSociety.org/NYC

Join us during Filipino American History Month for an exhibition of over 100 spectacular works of gold, highlighting

the prosperity and achievements of 10th–13th century Philippine kingdoms. A point of great pride for the Filipino community, this exhibition is a rare opportunity to experience the rich culture and heritage of the Philippines. A season of related programs celebrates Philippine culture, performing arts, film, design, cuisine, and more.

Exhibition organized by Asia Society, New York, and Ayala Museum, Philippines.

Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms is made possible by Ayala Corporation with additional support provided by Bank of the Philippine Islands; Del Monte Foods, Inc.; Philippine Airlines; ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel; Tourism Promotions Board Philippines; and other generous benefactors.

Asia Society Museum, New YorkSEPTEMBER 11, 2015 through JANUARY 3, 2016

ON VIEW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE UNITED STATES

EXHIBITION

Video Spotlight: PhilippinesThrough January 3, 2016

LOBBY SHOWCASE

Filipino Design Now Through January 3, 2016

ASIASTORE SALE EVENT

JewelmerWednesday–Thursday, November 4–512:00–3:30 PM

FILM

ApparitionSaturday, November 14 • 5:00 PM

FAMILY DAY

Kinding SindawSunday, November 15 • 2–4 PM

FILM

On the JobSunday, November 15 • 5:00 PM

ASIASTORE SALE EVENT

Lenora CabiliTuesday, December 112:00–3:30 PM

PERFORMANCE

A “Golden” Opportunity Filipino New York StoriesFriday, December 4 • 8 PM

Special Group Tour Packages available for $20.00 per person; includes: A docent-led tour of the exhibition, a snack and drink from the Garden Court Café, and 10% off purchases at AsiaStore. Reservations required. Please email PhilippineGold@AsiaSociety.org or call 212.327.9237.

For details and tickets, visit AsiaSociety.org/Philippines2015 or call the box office at 212.517.ASIA(2742) Monday through Friday, 1–5 PM.

(Detail) Kinnari. Surigao. Ca. 10th–13th century. Gold. Ayala Museum, 81.5189. Photography by Leandro Y. Locsin, Jr.; Image courtesy of Ayala Museum