asian journal dec 25 2009

(Continued on page 6)

To Eric’s surprise, hidden within the walls of the cemetery was a thriving community. There were a few sari-sari stores by the roadside.

Some mausoleums had a second storey, obviously occupied by a family, complete with television antennas. There were a few shanties in between the tombs. Eric’s American-raised daughters, who were visiting the place for the fi rst time, were amazed to see tombs above

ground. In the United States and modern memorial parks in the Philippines, simple tombstones mark graves. It was obvious that the North Cemetery was as congested as the rest of the city. Some tombs

were built like a high-rise and stacked with at least fi ve decks.

By Simeon G. Silverio Jr.Publisher & Editor, Asian Journal San DiegoThe original and fi rst Asian Journal in America

See page 3

A Philippine Christmas

Christmas at Manila’s North Cemetery

By Perla Di-rige Belo, MRE, MTH

Here’s how a Christian im-migrant family from the Philip-pines celebrates Christmas and what Christmas truly means to them.

When a person comes to our

How Our Family Celebrates Christmas

“Christmas in California” by Evelyne Di-rige Resella

the ceiling of our living room is a home made blue and white paper star called “parol.” In many homes in the Philippines, parols are hung both inside and outside of homes. But in rainy Seattle the outside is no place for a parol. The parol is one Filipino tradition

home in Seattle during Christmas time, the decorations are a fresh noble fi r Christmas tree decorated with nativity scenes, stars, bells, hearts, and different kinds of angels, a white porcelain dove, and fi gures of Mary with the baby Jesus. Multi-colored Christmas lights in the shape of candles adorn our tree. Hanging from


Wall Street Journal cites Jollibee one

of Asia’s bestMarking Filipino excellence

across Asia. The Philippines’ largest fast food chain Jollibee received a plaque of recognition from The Wall Street Journal Asia for being one of the top re-gional companies in the publica-tion’s Asia 200 survey.

Jollibee President Ernesto Tanmantiong received the award from the Associate Editor Peter Stein of the WSJA at the recent-ly held event in Beijing, China.

Asia’s most-renowned busi-ness publication awarded JFC as The Most Admired Company in the Philippines.

The country’s biggest food business corporation was rec-ognized after its sales increased by 18 percent, maintaining its number one ranking in terms of company reputation and innova-tion as voted by business execu-tives and readers of The Wall Street Journal Asia.

JFC owes majority of its suc-cess to its biggest food chain, Jollibee, which captured the loyalty of Filipinos by provid-ing quality meals at affordable prices.

From Good News Philippines

December 25 - 31, 2009

Balik TanawMsgr. GutierrezChristmas is God’s

Homecoming

Philippine Scene

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Ramil Rodriguez: Stars ‘66 Baby


A Life Well Lived - In the New Year Refl ections

by Fr. Shay Cullen # 465 | OLONGAPO, 12/25/09

-- Just before Christmas, I received a text message, the best gift one could imagine from Mina and Sheila, Preda Foundation jail rescue work-ers – “Two more children released from jail, bringing them home”. A few days later, another Christmas gift – “good news, cases against Jonathan and Darryl dismissed! Hurray! - Joan”.

Joan, a Preda paralegal worker has succeeded in get-ting dozens of charges against children dismissed with the help of compassionate judges. Joan is living out her dream and fulfi lling her ideals in life as an advocate for children’s rights. She is a very dedicated and effective paralegal offi cer. Together with her court work, she is studying evening col-lege courses striving for higher qualifi cation.

Mina and Shiela likewise are fulfi lling their ideals and mission in life and studying at night too. They are helping to get impris-oned teenagers released to the Preda Children’s Homes where they will have a better life with a new found self-respect, and be-ing drawn closer to God.

The happiest thing in the lives of these idealistic young profes-sionals helping troubled youth is that their idealism is highly motivated by their spirituality. They are inspired by the example and message of Jesus of Naza-reth and have taken on a mission

in life based on the ideals that he shared with the world.

The New Year is a time to think about living a more meaningful goal-driven life, a life with great-er purpose and mission. We can be encouraged and inspired by the example of many good peo-ple, retirees, business people and young professionals and artists who are deeply involved in chari-table work helping the sick, the needy and the downtrodden, and lifting them up and restoring their dignity. All of us can be inspired by the thousands of committed missionaries whose heroic and unsung lives are spent imitating Christ and serving the victims of injustice and poverty. But draw-ing young people of this next generation into a life of service and commitment based on Chris-tian values is a real challenge. There are many competing al-ternative opportunities available and many distractions and temp-tations of the modern world that

Manny Pacquiao in TIME, ESPN 2009 top listsPound-for-pound king Manny

Pacquiao has earned three more honors with his inclusion on the lists of top media groups.

Manny was named by maga-zine giant TIME as one of the “25 people who mattered” in 2009, while sports network ESPN listed him as one of the “Top 10 athletes of the year.”

Based on the global online poll conducted by greatestever.com, Manny ranks second among the world’s greatest boxers.- From Good News Philippines

Manny Pacquiao

The Greatest Gift of All

Zena Sultana Babao

Tourists visit the Philippines at an increasing rate.

Tourist arrivals to the coun-try’s tourist destinations in the third quarter of 2009 grew by 17% to 5.2 million.

Cebu regained its lead as the most visited destination with 1.24 million visitors, posting a growth rate of 1.8% vis-à-vis the previous year volume of 1.21 million. The opening of new tourism destinations, products, facilities and ac-tivities as well as increased in fl ight frequencies of major

RP tourism sustains growth in 2009

airlines from Manila and other islands in the Visayas and Min-danao to Cebu gave impetus for enhanced domestic travel movement.

Tourist infl ux to Camarines Sur remained robust as domes-tic visitors increased by 163% while foreign arrivals rose by 29% for an overall growth of 124.6% or 1.23 million tourists. Major events such as the Inter-national Kite Boarding Com-

December 25 - 31, 2009Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.com

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

From actual church bulletins:This being Easter Sunday, we

will ask Mrs. Lewis to come for-ward and lay an egg on the alter.

The service will close with “Little Drops of Water”. One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.

Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so.

The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

For those of you who have chil-dren and didn’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

Church bulletin bloopersDon’t let worry kill you- let

the church help.Thursday night - Potluck sup-

per. Prayer and medication to follow.

This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

Tuesday at 4:00 pm there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come

early.Wednesday the ladies liturgy

will meet. Mrs. Johnson will sing “Put me in my little bed” accompanied by the pastor.

Thursday at 5:00 pm there will be a meeting of the Little Moth-ers Club. All ladies wishing to be “Little Mothers” will meet with the pastor in his study.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?”

Come early and listen to our choir practice.

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Balik-Tanaw: The Filipino Stars

of Yesteryears

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

by Dr. Romy R. Protacio

Rene Moreno Rodriguez, bet-ter known by his screen name, Ramil Rodriguez, was born on August 22, 1941. He is the older brother of another popular movie star Pepito Rodriguez. While both brothers were born in Bacolor, Pampanga, they grew up in Manila. Both Ramil and Pepito spent their high school days at Lourdes school in Kan-laon, Quezon City.

He was and still is a very pri-vate person. He declined even to talk about his personal love affairs during my interview with him. Sensing that this is a matter that he would not want to tackle, I just focused our conversation on his movie career.

His Movie Career

Although he is older than Pepito, his showbiz career started later than his brother’s. Pepito was already a contract start of Sampaguita Pictures when Ramil used to tag along with him. Later on, Dr. Perez, Sampaguita’s patriarch noticed him and gave him an opportu-nity to appear on movies as well. As I mentioned on my article about Pepito, both Rodriguez brothers were launched as mem-bers of “Stars ’66”. It was in 1963 when Sampaguita Pictures introduced a bunch of young teenage stars which they called the Sampaguita-VP (Vera-Perez) All-Stars (later known as STARS ’66). The breed of young stars were composed of Rosemarie (sister of Susan Roces and moth-er of Sheryl and Renzo Cruz), Blanca Gomez (sister of Daisy

Ramil Rodriguez: Stars ’66 Baby

Ramil (seated far R) with the Baliksamahan group

Ramil Rodriguez in Florinda

Susan & Ramil in Kulay Rosas ang Pag-ibig

Romualdez), Gina Pareno, Shir-ley Moreno, Loretta Marquez, Sarah Calvin, and Nori Dalisay and their male counterparts - Lito Legaspi, Dindo Fernando, Bert Leroy, Jr., Pepito and Ramil Rodriguez, Edgar Salcedo (son of the great Leopoldo Salcedo), Romeo Rivera, Jose Morelos, the comic duo of German Moreno and Boy Alano.

It was unfortunate that (like me), Ramil already has his senior moments and cannot remember most of the titles of the mov-ies he made during his younger years. I thank Simon Santos’ Video48 website which was very helpful in my research about Filipino movie stars of yester-years. I found Ramil’s fi lmogra-phy on Simon’s blogspot.

Ramil was introduced in the movie “Leron-Leron Sinta” (1964) starring Susan Roces,

Eddie Gutierrez, Liberty Ilagan together with Meldy Corrales, Bella Flores, Gina Pareno and the late Vic Pacia. The movie was directed by the well-known movie star of yesteryears, Rosa Mia, who was considered as Sampaguita Pictures’ drama queen. A drama movie would be incomplete without her crying a river as described by entertain-ment writer Ricky Lo. (The eternal suffering movie martyr mother and/or wife is enjoying her inheritance from her late American husband. Rosa Mia has been a happy pensionada liv-ing in Reno, Nevada as reported by Ricky Lo. I have no recent report about Rosa Mia).

Some of the memorable fi lms Ramil appeared in were “Bye-Bye sa Daddy” (1965) starring Eddie Gutierrez, Jean Lopez,

Gina Pareno together with Ric Rodrigo, Boy Alana, German Moreno, Shirley Moreno and Nori Dalisay, “Apat na Kagan-dahan” (1965) starring Josephine Estrada, Blanca Gomez, Gina Pareno, Loretta Marquez with Dindo Fernando, Bert Leroy, Jr., Edgar Salcedo and Carmen Rosales, “Paano Kita Lilimutin” (1965) starring Gloria Romero, Lolita Rodriguez, Luis Gonzales, Blanca Gomez, Gina Pareno, Edgar Salcedo together with Etang Discher, Ven Medina and Venchito Galvez, “Magnifi cent Bakya” (1965) starring Gina Pareno, Edgar Salcedo together with Sarah Calvin, Ven Medina, Jose Morelos, and Marie Victo-ria, “Walastick sa Downtown” (1966) starring Eddie Gutierrez, Gina Pareno, Loretta Marquez, with Bella Flores, and Sarah Calvin, “Maraming Kulay ang Pag-Ibig (1966) starring Rose-marie, Dindo Fernando, Blanca Gomez, Bert Leroy Jr., Gina Pareno, Pepito Rodriguez, Edgar Salcedo and Shirley Moreno, “Mama” (1966) starring Blanca Gomez, Gina Pareno, Bert Leroy Jr, with Rosa Mia, Norma Blan-cafl or, Etang Discher, and Sarah Calvin, and “Paula” starring Gloria Romero, Gina Pareno, Lauro Delgado, Rico Roman, Alicia Alonzo, Victor Wood and Bella Flores. Ramil’s best fi lm was his title role movie, ‘Kulay Rosas ang Pag-ibig” (1966) with Susan Roces.

Ramil appeared in TV series like “Mula sa Puso” (1997), “Bakekang” (2006), E.S.P.

(2008) and “I’ll Take Care of You” (2008).

Today

Many Filipinos would always remember Ramil as an actor of the fl amboyant decade of the 60s, when many of the movies created depicted young love.

He has evolved since then as a good dramatic actor and is still in demand for father roles in teleseryes. Unlike his younger brother Pepito, who has chosen to live a more private life now as a successful businessman in the US, Ramil is one of the few 60’s stars who continue to share their talents to the Filipino audi-ence.

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Asian Journal - (619) 474-0588 Visit our website at http://www.asianjournalusa.comDecember 25 - 31, 2009

Fourth in a series of Christmas Stories

Manila, PhilippinesDecember 25, 1996

It’s Christmas Day. “Merry Christmas,” his three

daughters and his wife hugged Eric while he was still half-awake in bed.

It was eight o’clock in the morning. Everyone had only six hours of sleep, since they left his mom’s house one hour past midnight. His youngest nudged him with his gift when everyone started opening theirs. It was a green, hooded jacket and a card signed by the four of them. He knew that it was his wife who bought it for him.

He still remembers his excite-ment as a child when it was time to open gifts that he had loudly wished for during the season. Days before Christmas, he would drop his parents hints to make sure he would not be disappoint-ed. But even when he didn’t get what he wished for, it was alright. A new toy for most kids is as exciting as any kind.

“Better get ready, Jojo will pick us up by nine,” his wife reminded everyone.

Jojo, her cousin, was supposed to take them to his wife’s rela-tives in Marikina for lunch. But beforehand, they would pass by the cemetery to pay respect to his father who passed away two weeks earlier.

The traffi c in Manila that Christmas morning was relative-ly light. Scores of children were walking around in the streets dressed in brand new clothes presumably to visit their relatives and godparents and collect their gifts. If anything, Christmas is the day when a child gets to wear a-brand new outfi t. As a child, Eric would look forward to wear-ing new pairs of shoes and socks, new pants and new shirts. It was as exciting as receiving gifts. Even the poorest of the poor would stretch their meager pesos to indulge in this small luxury. He remembers a family of tenant farmers in Bulacan who was so dirt poor that their seven children wore tattered clothing through-out the year. But on Christmas day, their mother would make sure each would get a new outfi t, no matter if it meant she had to scrimp on basic necessities for herself.

“Just imagine,” she would complain to Eric’s mom. “There are seven of them, seven shoes, seven pants and shirts. How many bundles of grass would I gather to be able to pay these off?”

To augment their income, the wife of this farmer would gather grass to sell as horse feed. Eric’s mom would occasionally give them old clothing for her chil-dren to use. His mom said that the wife used to be one of the most beautiful girl in the barrio.The farmer she married was one of the handsomest. Unfortunate-ly, good looks do not guarantee food on the table.

Flower vendors

As they approached the en-trance of the North Cemetery in Manila, Eric asked Jojo to park the car so that he could buy fl owers for his dad. Ambulant fl ower vendors swarmed around thrusting fl owers at them. Eric was wary of buying them since he knew that some of those fresh fl owers were retrieved from the tombs where visitors had left them behind and were now being resold. But then, he realized that there was nothing he could do if the fl owers he now held in his hands were goig to be stolen. He could not stay the whole day in the cemetery and wait until they wilted in the harsh tropical sun.


Christmas at Manila’s North Cemetery Parols for sale during Christmas time in the Philippines

Nor could he bolt them down so no one would carry them off. The thefts decried the desperate condition of the city’s poor who must choose between moral val-ues and their own survival. As

Vendors selling candles and fl owers outside of Manila’s cemeteries.

the car went past the gates, Eric saw some familiar sights. On the right side past the entrance were the tombs of former Philip-pine President Ramon Magsay-say and former Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson.

“Do you know that your Tito Buddy took his driving lessons here?” he asked his kids.

It was 1957, his maternal grandfather had just died. For one whole year, his mother would take their grandmother along with the children to visit the cemetery after school. The family car was a long, 1949 Dodge limousine with folding seats in the middle that sat an extra row of people. Once they reached the entrance of the cem-etery, their driver, Riz, would ex-change places with fi fteen-year old Buddy, the eldest son in the driver’s seat.

The fact that he could hardly

see the road ahead hardly mat-tered. They would put books for him to sit on. He looked puny in that oversized car, a limou-sine which their mom got from a former lady senator when the latter was unable to pay for the printing of campaign materials she ordered from Eric’s father’s printing press. But Buddy could reach the pedals and steer the wheel. That was enough.

The road inside the cemetery had few cars and therefore was a good place to learn to drive. Practicing it every day, Buddy acquired the skill and fi nally got his license at the age of sixteen. This was two years below the legal driving age of eighteen. But Eric’s godfather happened to be the governor of the province where the license was issued.

Eric relished his memories about their family car. It was one of a kind, one of the few limousines in the country. It

was so big that it could hold seven children, their parents and still have room for two or three maids. Whenever they went to the province of Bulacan on Sundays, they would all get out as they reached a steep small bridge at their town’s entrance. Their collective weight made the elongated car sag so severely that its underside would have scraped the surface of the bridge had they not gotten off.

One evening Eric’s brothers and sisters, together with fi ve workers in their printing press, went out for a joy ride. It turned out to be the car’s last hurrah. The car rolled to a fi nal stop to breath its last at the Luneta Park, the site of the infamous execu-tion of the national hero, Jose Rizal. The driver forgot to re-lease the handbrake and was now trying to restart it when another driver of a passing car shouted

that a fi re was burning under the car. Everyone scampered out of the vehicle and into the traffi c lanes as other cars swerved out of their way while the driver desperately battled to snuff out

the fl ames with a rag. When the ordeal was over, they kidded around with one of the workers who managed to get out from the front seat without even open-ing the car’s door. Fearing for

his life, he was able to squeeze himself like a rabbit through the half-open car window!

A thriving community

To Eric’s surprise, hidden within the walls of the cem-etery was a thriving community. There were a few sari-sari stores by the roadside. Some mau-soleums had a second storey, obviously occupied by a family, complete with television anten-nas. There were a few shanties in between the tombs. Eric’s American-raised daughters, who were visiting the place for the fi rst time, were amazed to see tombs above ground. In the United States and modern me-morial parks in the Philippines, simple tombstones mark graves. It was obvious that the North


Philippine Stories

Read Sim Silverio’s previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Simeon G. Silverio Jr.

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RP tourism sustains growth in

2009petition, World Wakeboarding Competition, Ironman Run, and the International Dragon Boat Competition have greatly contributed not only towards increasing awareness but also growth in international travel to the destination.

Despite the lean season in the third quarter, tourist arrivals to Boracay Island rose by 5.3% with domestic visitors fast increasing by 10% for a total volume of 506,896.

Bohol registered a 21% growth in foreign arrivals and 10% increase in domestic visitors. Tourist volume to this destination accounted for 4.3% of the total traffic to major destinations in the third quarter of 2009. The North East Asian market accounted for the bulk of the total foreign tourists at 59%, with the Chinese and Tai-wanese arrivals posting a share of 23% and 16%, respectively.

Arrivals to Puerto Princesa City rose by 18% with foreign tourist growing faster at 23% vis-à-vis domestic visitor vol-ume which went up by 17%. In the third quarter alone, influx of tourists to Puerto Princesa City posted a 34% growth, the high-est registered among all desti-nations during the period under review. Increase in the meet-ings, conferences and incentive travel market in the destination triggered the hefty growth in visitor volume.

During the first nine months, the volume of domestic tourist increased by 21% while for-eign tourist grew by 2.7%. This performance positioned the industry for greater growth in the fourth quarter.

(Continued from page 1)

NEW YORK (December, 21 2009) - In this vulnerable economy, consumers are looking for ways to cut costs and save while maintain-ing a comfortable lifestyle. MetLife is educating consumers on effec-tive and creative ways to save.

Saving doesn’t have to be diffi-cult; consumers can begin by cut-ting back on everyday spending. For example, if gas prices continue to increase, a person could take the train or car pool with a neighbor or a friend. Here are five additional tips for saving on everyday ex-penses:

Frugal Food: The grocery bill is one of the easiest places to cut costs. According to an October 2009 Consumer Reports article, some store brands are manufac-tured by the same big-name com-panies that make national brands—but cost 27 percent less. Shoppers should consider these brands to save money.

Frugal Fashion: Instead of head-ing to the local mall, consumers could save by shopping at an outlet mall. Outlets have the same fashion finds, including shoes, clothing and more, without the hefty price tags.

Frugal Fix-It: Those people with a knack for building, repairing

Metlife Recommends Creative Ways to Save

or growing things should put these skills to work. Labor charges are usually the most expensive part of any repair, maintenance or contrac-tor bill. Also, in general consumers can easily learn to change their own oil or spark plugs, for example, and reduce the cost of maintaining their vehicles.

Frugal Fitness: Exercise is a key to good health, but can hurt con-sumers’ wallets. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association reports that the median yearly cost of a gym membership is $775. If the gym or a trainer is a must, consumers should make sure they get their money’s worth and go regularly. If not, there are economi-cal ways to exercise at home with exercise DVD, a pair of weights and a jump-rope, for example.

Spending less on everyday pur-chases and maintaining an overall sensible budget, is one of the first and most important steps in weath-ering tough economic times and securing a family’s financial future. For more information about how to develop a financial plan, consumers can call call 1-800-MET-LIFE to find an experienced representative or visit www.metlife.com to review free online resources.


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Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year to All

From the officers and staff of the

San Diego Asian Journal

The original and first Asian Journal in America

Los Angeles, 21 December 2009 – The Consulate wishes to announce that the Consular Outreach will be in National City and not in Chula Vista, CA, as earlier announced.

The team from the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles will conduct a Consular Outreach Program in National City, Califor-nia on 9 January 2010:

Location : HOLIDAY INN (Cor-onado Room) 700 National City Blvd., National City, CA 91950

Service Hours :9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The consular outreach program is being undertaken in cooperation with the Council of the Philippine American Organizations of San Di-ego County, Inc. (COPAO).

The following consular services will be rendered:

Applications for Machine Read-able Passport (Cost: $50), to be re-turned to the applicant by mail at an additional cost of $6.

Applications for the retention and re-acquisition of Philippine citizen-ship pursuant to Republic Act 9225 or Dual Citizenship Law (Cost: $50). Oath-taking will be sched-uled on the same day for qualified applicants.

Applications for Report of Mar-riage & Birth (Cost: $25) will be accepted but this will be processed in Los Angeles and returned to the applicant by mail at an additional cost of $6.

Notarization of documents (Cost: $25) will be accepted but this will be processed in Los Angeles and returned to the applicant by mail at an additional cost of $6.

STRICTLY BY APPOINT-MENT ONLY (by following the applicable scheduling steps below) AND WITH COMPLETED DOC-UMENTS ONLY. No walk-in ap-plicants will be entertained.

1. Appointment Scheduling Steps for Machine Readable Pass-port (MRP) Applicants

Visit the Philippine Consul-ate website (www.philippinecon-sulatela.org) and print the passport application form;

Complete the passport applica-tion form; and,

No later than 7 January 2010, send an advance copy of the completed passport application form and data page (bearing the name and photo) of the old passport to the Consulate

Jan 9 Consular Outreach moved to

National City, CA

by fax (213) 639-0990. Thumbprint and photo are not necessary; these will be done on site. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

2. Appointment Scheduling Steps for Dual Citizenship Appli-cants

Visit the Philippine Consul-ate website (www.philippinecon-sulatela.org) and print the Dual Citizenship Application form;

Complete the Dual Citizenship Application form; and,

No later than 7 January 2010, send an advance copy of the com-pleted Dual Citizenship application form and supporting documents to the Consulate by fax (213) 639-0990. Thumbprint and photo are not necessary; these will be done on site. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

Note: Oath-Taking will be sched-uled on the same day for qualified applicants.

3. Appointment Schedul-ing Steps for Report of Marriage (ROM) & Birth (ROB)

Visit the Philippine Consul-ate website (www.philippinecon-sulatela.org) and print the ROM or ROB form;

Complete the ROM or ROB form; and,

No later than 7 January 2010, send an advance copy of the completed form and supporting documents to the Consulate by fax (213) 639-0990. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

4. Appointment Scheduling

Steps for Notarization of Docu-ments

No later than 7 January 2010, send an advance copy of the docu-ment to be notarized to the Consul-ate by fax (213) 639-0990.

Information FOR ALL APPLI-CANTS

The Consulate regularly updates the appointment schedule posted on the website as they receive the completed applications.

The final list of all applicants with pre-processed applications will be posted at the Consulate’s web-site (www.philippineconsulatela.org) by 7 January 2010. Personal appearance is required for all ap-plicants for data verification, fin-ger-printing and signature capture. Applications by mail are no longer accepted.

All applicants are advised to transact their business directly with Consulate officials and not through travel agencies.

Private photographers, who are knowledgeable of the photo re-quirements for the machine read-able passport, will be present at the

venue during the Consular Out-reach for those who will need pho-tos for passport renewal. To obtain details regarding the new passport photo requirements, applicants may visit the Consulate’s website (www.philippineconsulatela.org).

FeesFees must be paid in person at the

scheduled appointment. The Con-sulate will only accept payments in cash, postal money order or ca-shier’s check. Personal checks will not be accepted.

Machine Readable Passport: $50 processing fee + $6 for pass-ports to be returned to the appli-cant by mail

Dual Citizenship: $50 processing fee

Civil Registry: $25 processing fee + $6 for documents to be re-turned to the applicant by mail

Notarization of Documents: $25 processing fee + $6 for documents to be returned to the applicant by mail

Contact InformationFor information on consular mat-

ters, interested parties may wish to call Vice Consul Charmaine Serna-Chua at Tel No.: 1-213-637-3004.

General Summary of Machine Readable Passport Requirements & Processing Time

For the information of the public, the Philippine Embassy and Con-sulates General in the U.S. started to accept and to process applica-tions for Machine Readable Pass-ports (MRP) on 2 June 2008. This is in compliance with the require-ments of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for its member states, including the Philippines, to issue MRPs not later than 1 April 2010.

Since applications are sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila via diplomatic pouch, it may take six (6) 1weeks for a passport to be released to the ap-plicants, from the time the applica-tion is accepted.

While some countries may still honor valid green Philippine pass-ports beyond 1 April 2010 as bona fide travel documents until they expire, most countries will require travelers to be holders of either machine readable passports or e-passport for their sojourn by 2010.

In this regard, all Philippine passport holders are advised to renew their Phil-ippine passport six (6) months prior to its expiration, in accordance with ICAO regulations, and to secure their plane tickets only after they have received their new passport.

All Filipinos, including those with val-id green passports, are therefore encour-aged to apply for their machine readable passports as early as possible.


by Dr. Ofelia Dirige Co-Founder and Exec. Director, Kalusugan Wellness Center

Contemporary Asian American Issues

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

Margie noticed him the fi rst time as Septem-ber was drawing to a

close, walking quietly past The Sea Shanty. Margie had worked at the Shanty – a small bar with a tourist name that served tourist food - for years. That’s how it was at the end of the kitschy pier, rustic with sea salt and tourists. But now the summer crowds had left and only the year-‘rounders still came down to the pier.

Margie probably would never have noticed him except that she took a break at the same time he

A Christmas Story

Down at the Piertook his walk, that time after the day but before the night. At fi rst they didn’t acknowledge each other – but then, as the evenings went on – they began to nod. Margie was the fi rst to nod and the man, after a bit of hesitation, nodded back.

Of course Margie wondered who this man was. Then she started making up lives for him. In her head he became a failed mercenary, a successful basketball player, an FBI agent, an Olympic distance runner, an Amazon snake catcher. But she

realized the silliness of it all – the man was barely three feet tall and that just wouldn’t work with the lives she had imagined.

And on the two of them went, day after day, through September and October, a nod, a smile, a glance. But around the fi rst part of November, the routine – this long dance almost – changed. Margie left the restaurant at the usual time, leaned on the pier railing, put her usual Hershey’s Kiss in her mouth and reached to smooth out her sweater.

“Pardon me.” The small man had, for the fi rst time, approached her and said some-thing.

“I’m sorry?” Margie asked, not sure if she really heard him.

“Hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you had a match.”

“Oh, a match. No, sorry, I don’t,” she answered, noticing the faint aroma of pipe tobacco around him.

“Thanks anyway. I thought I had a few left but the box is empty.” As he spoke he twisted a box around in his hands – a small, heavy, wooden box.

Margie stared at the box in the man’s hands and then quietly said, “I haven’t seen a match box like that in years. My grand-mother used to keep matches like that by the fi replace.”

“I guess it is old fashioned…just like me.”

“I didn’t mean that. And you’re not old fashioned, I guess. And what if you are old fashioned? What’s wrong with that?” Wonderful, another needy guy who craves validation for everything he does. I never should’ve come out here tonight, she thought.

“No, I am a bit out of touch I guess.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Margie softly replied. Go away; leave me alone to suck on my choco-late in peace will ya please? she thought. “Why do you say that?” she asked him while at the same time thinking, don’t answer, please don’t answer.

“Easy, I’m an old guy who’s done nothing but make toys his whole life. And now no one wants the toys I know how to make.”

“What toys do you make?”

“Just wooden toys. Puppets and things like that. Specialized toys they call it now and there’s not a big enough market for it.”

“I had a wooden puppet,” Mar-gie whispered, almost to herself.

“I know.”“You know? How could you

know?”“’Cause just about every kid

used to have one. But not any-more.”

“Yeah, probably not. Now its computer this and computer that.”

And so the two of them stood there, gazing out to sea, for the next few minutes, both lost in

their own thoughts. “Well,” Margie said, “I guess I gotta go back to work.”

“Yes…So, want to have a drink sometime?” he asked while con-tinuing to look out to sea.

Sorry, you’re too fat, too old, and your nose is too damn red, she thought. “Okay,” she replied.

“Good. Maybe next week?”“Sure – after I get off work. At

10.”“Alright, I’ll see you next week

– at 10.” And with that the two turned away – he to walk on as always, she back to work.

Margie left the Shanty at 10:30 that Tuesday night. She got off work at 10 but in all the years she had been there 10:30 was the earliest she had ever man-aged. And that was tonight, and that was because she had a date, and that was because the small man had actually reappeared, and that was because, well, she didn’t know why. But she was glad. Not glad in a giddy “I’ve got a date” kind of glad, but in a “Something to do besides go home alone” sort of way. Re-gardless, she almost smiled when

she left the Shanty and the man walked up to her.

“You’re on time.”“Still feel like having a drink?”

the man asked.“Sure. But what’s your

name?”“I’m sorry. My name is Jarl

Holger.”“Jarl Holger, that’s unique.

What kind of name is that? Mar-gie asked.”

“Oh, sort of Scandinavian and Norwegian.”

“Ah,” Margie sighed. “Do you smoke a pipe?”

“No, but the man I used to work for did….does. Why do you ask?”

“Just thought I caught a slight aroma of pipe tobacco,” she replied. The two of them had been walking down the pier as they talked and very shortly they reached the end and needed to decide where to go. “There’s a good pub just a short way from here. They serve pretty good food there.”

“Okay, sounds good, Jarl said in little more than a whisper.”

The pub, though busier than the Shanty, was still more than half empty. The couple sat in a darkened corner, ordered hot buttered rum.

Margie decided to be the one to get into the heavier conversa-tion. “So where do you work?”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”“Oh, sure I would.” Okay,

so what line of nonsense is he going to try to give me now, Margie wondered. Can’t one of these guys ever just be honest?

“Fine”, he quietly said. “I’m an elf.”

“That’s cool. What shopping center do you work at? Do you mind all those little kids climb-ing on you all day long?”

“I mean a real elf – North Pole, Santa Claus, Christmas kind of elf.”

“Well good. Hey listen, I bet-ter be going now.”

“I knew you’d react like that.”“What did you expect? Tell

someone you’re one of Santa’s elves…good grief.”

“Remember I said I know you had a wooden puppet? Well, I made that puppet. Red clothes, black hair, tiny gold belt and slippers.”

“How did you know that?”“I told you, I’m an elf.”“Okay, just for the heck of it,

let’s pretend it’s all true. You’re an elf. Why aren’t you at the North Pole?”

“I told you that too. I build wooden puppets – know how to build one or two hundred pup-pets an hour. But not many want those anymore.”

“Why don’t you make some-thing else?”

“I like puppets. I like working with wood, painting their faces, attaching the strings in just the right length. I’ve been doing it forever. But I guess that’s past. Now I like to come here, look at the water. It’s nice, the water…would solve so many things.”

Margie looked at him and closed her eyes. “Please no,” she thought to herself. “Please don’t let this happen; I don’t want to mess with some guy who thinks he’s an elf and wants to end it all.” But at that moment, for whatever reason, Margie took a long, second look at Jarl Holger. She saw his face by candlelight, looked into the eyes that had seen a thousand Christ-mases, saw the hands that had carved puppet after puppet, and somewhere, deep inside her, saw the smiles those puppets brought. And then she knew. “You really are one of Santa’s elves,” she whispered. “An elf can’t… No, no, no. That just means you have to go back – even if you end up making just one puppet for one kid. That’s Christmas, Jarl.”

And Jarl sighed, a deep, tiny sigh. “I know.”

Jarl’s pager sounded – it’s how Santa keeps in touch – playing “Jingle Bell Rock.”

“I’ve gotta go – it’s getting busy at home. Thanks for the company.” Jarl slid out of the booth and saunters off, whis-tling the carol almost to himself. Margie didn’t mind paying the check – and left a large tip. It was, after all, Christmas.

From the Beauchamp Family to yours, whether you are cel-ebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, the Winter Solstice or in some other way with your family, wherever in the world you happen to be, Happy Holi-days!

How Our Family Celebrates Christmas

that we keep. All around one will notice several nativity and manger scenes collected through the years and from different countries, and also several wreaths hang in our living room walls.

“Noche Buena “ (midnight meal) is not celebrated in our family any-more, maybe due to the abundance of food in America. When my siblings and I were young in the Philippines, we celebrated the No-che Buena at Christmas Eve with a simple meal of “arroz caldo” (chicken soup), “jamon dulce” (sweet ham), apples and grapes. By the time the meal is over, it was past midnight and we greeted each other with “Merry Christmas” to celebrate the arrival of Christmas Day!

As a family, we also attended Christmas Eve services in our church, a tradition my family con-tinues to practice in the U.S. At-tendance of Christmas Eve service is one major act of remembering and worshipping God to honor the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth as a human being and as Sav-ior of mankind. The name Jesus means “Savior” and Christ means “The Anointed One.” Jesus Christ is also called “Emmanuel” which means God with us.

Our faith in Jesus shapes and in-fl uences our practice of Christmas. The reason for this is our under-standing of the true meaning of Christmas as told in the scripture or the Bible. The story of Christ-


mas is the greatest “good news” that the world and humankind will ever get.

The Story of Christmas

In Luke 2:4-19 we read: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her fi rst born, a son. She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fi eld nearby, keeping watch over their fl ocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to

The Belo Family. L to R; Reverend Perla Belo, husband Gasat, Ariele, Nathan. Front, Ezekiel.

them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrifi ed. But the angel said to them, ‘do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you; you will fi nd a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor

rests. “

The True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas begins with God. The great-est gift to human kind is God’s gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus. God gave this most precious gift of Jesus because of His love for us, men and women, and desire to reconcile us to Himself in spite of our sin. The sin of mankind began when

the fi rst human beings, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that time when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin became a part of our nature as humans. The only way for sin to be taken away is from an act of God.

So God, who loved us so much, sent His only begotten Son to be a man. Jesus who was both divine and human eventually died on the cross to be our savior from sin. The birth of Jesus as man is called the “incarnation.” God came down in bodily form in the birth of His son, Jesus - this is Christmas!

Christmas is fi rst and foremost a spiritual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a special time to celebrate Christ as both Savior and Lord, to thank Him for sending His only Son to be born and to die on the cross

for our sins, so we can become “partakers of the divine nature” (1 Peter 1:4), following the good and godly qualities of God instead of our evil and sinful nature.

To truly celebrate Christmas, is to personally receive Jesus Christ by faith in one’s life as Savior from sin and as Lord to be obeyed, if you have not yet become a true child of God.

One will be delivered from the secular craziness of the Christmas season (shopping, parties, over-spending, and overeating, etc.) if the practice of Christmas centers on celebrating the birth of Jesus as the Savior of the world. As one Christian wrote:

“Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart; you will then have a ‘Merry Christ-mas.’ The joy and peace you will receive will last all year (and the rest of our life) as you look to God (for your life) and for all your needs to be met. “

Reverend Perla Belo is a retired Director of Asian Ministries for the American Baptist Churches. She now resides in Seattle, Wash-ington with her husband Gasat, two children (Nathan and Arielle) and two grandchildren (Ezekiel and Jaedon). She is the eldest sister of Dr. Ofelia Dirige.

“JOY to the world the Lord is come......” Christmas song

by Evelyne Dirige Resella

CHRISTMAS DAY Is cel-ebrated around the world differ-ently. In my former homeland, the Philippines, we call CHRISTMAS

“PASKO.” We say both “Merry Christmas” and “Maligayang Pasko.” Although I live most of my life here in the United States and spent more Christmases here, I still have good memo-ries of past Christmases in the Philippines. I have been away from my homeland for about forty years but our

Americanized-Filipino family Christmas celebration hasn’t lost it’s Filipino fl avor. We learned to adopt the good things from our beloved America and cherished old traditions from our heritage and homeland. By having bi-cultural infl uences our Christmas celebra-tion is enriched with different fl avors and traditions.

DESCRIPTION: This is another painting I did for my art show

Filipino food, but also added American fl avors, like shrimp cocktails, champagne, wine, fresh green salad, pasta salad, cookies, pies, rolls, cakes and more. Tra-ditionally, a rich Filipino Christ-mas has lechon (roasted whole pork), pancit palabok (noodles) embotido, morcon, fresh lumpia, paella, camaron rebosado (shrimp) and more. Desserts are favorites like leche fl an. brazo de mercedes, sweet ube, etc. Because America is a very rich country, part of our festive celebration is having huge, fresh, ever green pine Christmas tree with countless of adoring ornaments and overwhelming presents surrounding them.

“Wishing You All A “Merry Christmas” or (“Maligayang Pasko”).

Evelyne Dirige Resella is an artist from Valencia, CA who

last September 27, 2008. Here’s my short story behind the paint-ing. One of our greatest blessings when our family immigrated to the United States was having our big family together at Christmas time. There were only a few years of separation from one another, and we were all united. Being in a foreign country, we were happy and secure to have our family together. It’s diffi cult to be happy at Christmas time when one has loved ones left behind in the Philippines. In California, Christ-mas feels warm compared to other states that have snow and dreams of a white Christmas. Our family continues to celebrate Christmas with abundant and traditional

recently moved with her husband, Rhod, to San Diego. Ebb, as we call her, graduated from the Univer-sity of the Philip-pines College of Fine Arts. She has been a commercial artist and has re-tired also just like her husband Rhod. Both are helping

KCS on a voluntary basis. Ebb is a younger sister of Dr. Ofelia Dirige, KCS’s Executive Director.

Evelyne Dirige Resella

Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

“Christmas in California” by Evelyne Dirige Resella

them, and the glory of the Lord “PASKO.” We say both

Perspectives

ASIAN JOURNALThe fi rst Asian-Filipino weekly in Southern California

An award-winning newspaper, it is San Diego’s most widely circulated Asian-Filipino newspaper!

Ashley SilverioAssistant Editor

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

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

Dr. Rizalino “Riz” Oades, (1935-2009)

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

Genevieve SilverioManaging Editor

Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.Publisher & Editor

Miles BeauchampAssociate Editor

Santi SilverioAssociate Publisher

At Large...

Read Miles Beauchamp’s previous articles by visiting our web-site at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Miles Beauchamp


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Bill’s Corner

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

by Bill Labestre, MBA

If you are married to the same woman for so many years and still care and respect each other, then you should be thank-ful. You have found your lifetime partner. What else could you ask for this Holiday Season?

On the other hand, you should have learned from past experiences. When your wife tells you that she doesn’t need anything for Christmas, don’t be silly and remove her name from your list. What she really meant was that you should use your imagination and your good de-tective skills to fi nd out what she really wished for. Never forget that for most women there’s no such thing as too many pairs of shoes, matching clothes, jew-elries and designer handbags. There is always room for one more item in her closet.

Why do most men make the same mistake year after year? They waited for the very last minute to shop when the store shelves are almost empty. So, they ended up buying some items that are cheesy or those that are too expensive. Men should observe and learn from their wives’ shopping skills. For women, shopping is not a waste of time but it’s an art that has been perfected through life. That’s why young daughters have to tag along when Mom go shopping. So men! “Live and Learn” if you want to enjoy watching the football games uninterrupted.

It’s easy for us men to be-come too relaxed and boring. We have to be creative at times. Most wives still like surprises and they never get tired of being fl attered. After all, she is the love of your life.

Maybe, I’m just old but, I

A Silent Wishdon’t want any more material things for Christmas. I am happy with what I have. A good health is enough for me.

For many years I have a wish I could never tell anyone. As a young boy, I prayed to God I’ll have my answer one day. I was afraid to ask questions then. I waited for somebody in my family to tell me but, no one did. It’s only a few years ago, when my sister told me the story in her letter.

Life can be cruel sometime but, I believe that some thing happened for a reason. At a very young age, I remembered crying silently at night and asking God why me? Later, I understood why and did not blame anybody for what happened in the past. It’s over.

When I attended fi rst grade at a public school in our town, I started hearing stories about me. This was 1960 and even then, some kids were cruel. I’m sure they heard it from their parents or other adults. I was confused and for the fi rst time I took notice that I looked so much dif-ferent from the rest of my family. I have no courage to ask my parents. They gave me uncon-ditional love so, in return I told myself I will be a good son they can be proud of.

As years go by, I overheard more stories when visiting my parents’ relatives. It hurts, but I was good in hiding the pain. I learned how to pick friends but mostly I was okay by myself.

For many years it was the most hated word in my own vocabulary. Adopted don’t sound so bad in the English language than in Visayan dialect. Silently, I still wish to meet my biological mother and hear the real story.


In the stillness of the night, Christmas Eve 2009, she sat alone in her darkened living room, eyes misty with tears. She is remembering past Christ-mases – when her home was aglow in lights and decorations, with a towering Christmas tree surrounded by boxes and boxes of gifts. This Christmas, all that are gone – no lights, no décor, no tree, not even one tiny gift!

“This is such a stark Christ-mas,” she told herself, “I don’t have any gifts for my family at all.” Filled with self-pity, she looked around her bare living room, fi nding no joy at all. She said to herself once more, “God has surely forsaken us this year. I have no money, no job, no gifts, noth-ing!”

She started to cry silently, tears falling freely from her eyes, weeping at the unfairness of it all. She continued crying, louder this time, and said out loud, “I am so miserable! God, why did you forget me?” Her pronouncement was met with silence. Silence and darkness all around! And then, tired from crying, she fell asleep on her couch.

While sleeping, she had a

The Greatest Gift of Alldream … a dream so utterly real it was like no dream at all. She saw a ray of light pierced the darkness and illuminate her darkened living room. The ray of light was pointing towards a black book sitting on her mantle. That incredible bril-liance suddenly woke her up, and indeed it was no dream. It

was such an amazing sight!

She slowly stood up, si-lently tiptoe-ing towards the mantle. She picked up the book and said, “Oh, it’s my Bible!” Opening it slowly with quivering fi ngers, a piece of paper fl ut-tered down, and on it was writ-

ten: “Read this book, my child, so you won’t ever forget that you have already received the greatest gift of all!” Also in-serted in the pages of the Bible was a copy of a beautiful poem entitled “One Solitary Life” that she had clipped from a maga-zine years ago.

Still amazed, she started to read the poem again, to savor the beautiful words of the poem “One Solitary Life”:

“He was born in an obscure village,

The child of a peasant woman,

He grew up in a still another village where

He worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty.

Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book, he never held an offi ce,

And he never had a family or owned a house.

He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city.

He never traveled two hun-dred miles from the place where he was born.

He did none of the things one associates with greatness.

He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty-three When the tide of public opin-

ion turned against him.His friends ran away. He was

turned over to his enemies, And went through a mockery

of a trial.He was nailed to a cross be-

tween two thieves. While he was dying, his exe-

cutioners gambled for his clothing,

The only property he had on earth. When he was dead,

He was laid on a bor-

rowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Centuries have come and gone,

And today he is the central fi gure of the human race,

And the leader of mankind’s

progress;All the armies that ever

marched,All the navies that ever sailed,All the parliaments that ever

sat, andAll the kings that ever reigned

– Put together, they have not affected the life of man on earth

As much as that - One Solitary Life!”

Smiling now, her earlier mis-ery forgotten, she instead felt incredible joy. And she started to pray, “Lord God Heavenly Father, I am so sorry. I have been so selfi sh and so self-cen-tered. I have forgotten that you have given me, you have given us, the greatest gift of all, your only Son, Jesus Christ.”

It does not matter to her now if she doesn’t have a towering Christmas tree with boxes of gifts. For this night, a miracle has happened. God in his infi -nite love and mercy came down to her in the form of a light to show what is more important in life. She realized that she really

has things to be happy for even in the darkest times, she has the joy of salvation.

She opened her Bible again, and she started to read the pas-sages that she loved, starting with the prophecy of the com-ing of Jesus thousands of years before he was born.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ” – Isaiah 9: 6-7

Then she went on to read Jesus’ words in the New Testa-ment: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

And she kept on reading until it was almost dawn. All her misery gone, now her mind and her heart knows only joy, because she knows that she has received the greatest gift of all!

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Light &Shadows

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

by Zena Sultana Babao


In previous articles, we warned our readers that im-migrants have the obligation to reside in the United States, and that a stay abroad of more than one year is generally consid-ered an abandonment of U.S. residency and results in the loss of one’s green card. The excep-tion is to apply for a re-entry visa, but this must be done before the immigrant leaves the United States.

Our hypothetical today is the case of Ruth, a demure Filipina in her mid-40s. Ruth came to the U.S. in 2007 on a multiple entry visa. After 3 months, she went back to the Philippines, and then returned again after a year. During that second visit, she met a nice African-American guy named Gilson. They dated and fell in love, and Gilson did not let her leave the U.S. without marrying her. Soon, she got her green card, entitling her to reside in the United States.

However, Ruth missed her parents in the Philippines, especially that she is their only child. With Gilson’s prodding, she went home to be with them. It was supposed to be for only a couple of months, but it got extended again and again for some reasons. Ruth was ready to return on the 5th month, but Gilson got deployed to the U.S. Naval station in Singapore. There was no reason for Ruth to immediately go back to the U.S.; instead they decided that she would just go to Singapore to visit him. On the 11th month

Returning Resident Visas(Avoiding Airport-to-Airport)

of her stay abroad, as Gilson was returning to the U.S. from his deployment, Ruth was all set to go, but her mother got ill and took 2 months to recover. By that time, Ruth was already passed the one-year deadline.

Ruth wants to return but is concerned that she has already forfeited her green card. She fears that the immigration of-ficials at the LAX will send her back to the Philippines without even letting her see the outside of the airport. She told me in the vernacular “Attorney, baka ma-airport to airport ako”. Amidst all her anxieties, Ruth has asked for our advice on what to do.

There is one thing that Ruth can do without incurring the “airport-to-airport” risk. She can apply for what is called a “boarding letter” from the U.S. Embassy in Manila. The purpose of her application is to find out beforehand -- before she even boards a plane to the U.S. -- if she can still enter the United States as a permanent resident, despite her absence from the U.S. of more than one year. The USCIS office inside the U.S. Embassy in Manila can make a determina-tion if Ruth is still a permanent resident and, if she still is, issue her a boarding letter which she can show to both the airlines and the immigration officers at the LAX.

What happens if the USCIS Manila office finds Ruth to be not eligible for a boarding letter? Then, Ruth can apply to

be a “returning resident” or a “special immigrant” as defined in Section 101(a)(27)(A) of the Immigration and National-ity Act (INA), as amended. According to the lNA, a “spe-cial immigrant” or “returning resident (SB1)” is any im-migrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence who is returning to the U.S. following a temporary visit abroad. That temporary visit can be for more than a year. The key is for the USCIS to determine that Ruth’s visit to the Philippines is only temporary, despite being more than one year.

Ruth must convince the consular officer that she left the U.S. with the intention of returning after a stay of less than one (1) year abroad, and her failure to return to the U.S. as planned must be shown to have been for reasons beyond her control. In her case, Ruth can cite Gilson’s deployment abroad and her mother’s illness. Ruth must also meet all other documentary and legal require-ments as if she was applying for a new immigrant visa, including a $400.00 application fee.

What if Ruth is denied a “returning resident” status? Then, Gilson can always file another spousal petition for her. It may take awhile, but it’s a lot better than being an “airport-to-airport” case.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continu-ously been a trial and appel-late attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His of-fice address is located at 16486 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite 228, San Diego, CA 92128. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philip-pines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at [email protected] for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently.


Read previous articles by visiting our website at www.asianjo-urnalusa.com

by Atty. Rogelio Karagdag, Jr.Member, State Bar of California & Integrated Bar of the Philippines

Phil - Am Law 101

A Life Well Lived - In the

New Year

draws them away. There is too disillusionment with uninspiring traditional religious practice and church scandals. We need new ways to inspire and attract young people to mission. One effective way is by inviting them to join on-going challenging apostolate and social action projects as appren-tices. By engaging them in mis-sion from the start of their train-ing, they become apprentices of Christ. Their youthful idealism, urgently striving for expression and action, is satisfied, then later with experience, when it is chal-

lenged by the hardness of reality and disappointment, a maturing process begins.

A directed spirituality based on Gospel truths and human affirma-tion and encouragement is neces-sary to help them find their way and to keep them growing and coping with set-backs and new challenges.

This combination, a life of ac-tion and prayer, reflection and study, team work and affirmation is what gives trainees the cour-age and dedication to work daily for others. It is the daily contact with the needy, the imprisoned, the refugees and the downtrod-den that inspires them to be more competent and effective, to study and learn and achieve.

During our reflective gospel group sessions with apprentices and staff, all learn from the life, practice and message of Christ.

At Christmas, we ask especially why and how did he come into the world? Born as a poor deprived child? Yes! As one that was hunt-ed by the politically powerful, because he was a danger to their corrupt regime? Yes! A baby in swaddling clothes marked for as-sassination? Yes! His parents had to flee abroad as migrants and asylum seekers? Yes! And what did he grow up to be?

A spiritual leader, a son of God and man, a champion of the downtrodden, one trusted and loved by the poor, the outcasts, the hungry and the sick? Yes! And much more, he was a prophetic thorn in the side of the authori-ties; he challenged the injustice of his times and gave his life for his friends. He is the inspiration of young people if they can only know him as he really was.



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Winter Special

By Rudy D. LiporadaSecond of a series

In the first series, we described that history is written by those who have time to write it from their perspectives and believed by those who do not know better than what they are presented. Somewhere between the story telling and believing lies the truth. This writer is no different. The series is from his perspec-tives and beliefs.

The Evolution of Filipinos as Slaves of the East

How did Filipinos evolve as Slaves of the East? That would be tied up with the history of the Philippines which should only be a minute particular from the gen-eral history of the world – from the beginning - at a time long past when there were no notions of slavery.

Slavery, according to Wikipe-dia, “is a form of forced labour in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation (such as wages)”.

According to Historical Mate-rialism by Karl Marx, slavery is the first relationship of man with man where one man exploits an-other man and a conflict between them ensues. This conflict arose when nature began to be stringent

An Unauthorized History of the Philippines

to provide for the economic needs of man. This was a long ancient process.

At the beginning of mankind, there was no slavery. Meaning, emphatically, there were no slaves or masters. The only conflict was between man and nature.

Meaning, as man then had to satisfy his basic needs – food, clothing, and shelter – he had to contend only with nature which could be harsh and which he still had to learn to use and control. It was also at this time that, not un-derstanding nature, man strongly believed in supernatural beings that supposedly controlled their environment. Thus you have the gods of thunder being angry when the skies roared or the sun god being pleasured when the rains abate and the skies turn blue with the warmth of the sun.

It was at this time, specifi-cally during the Pleistocene age, that, according to historians, the aborigines of the Philippines crossed land bridges from as far as Africa to people the Islands. They are now called Negritoes and tribes of them can still be found as nomads in the remote mountains of Cagayan Valley in Luzon and other parts of the Phil-ippines. They were able to cross because, according to Wikipedia, “the modern continents were es-sentially at their present positions during the Pleistocene, the plates upon which they sit probably having moved no more than 100 km relative to each other since the beginning of the period”.

These negritoes, also called pygmy, aita or agta, though much of the world have mod-ernized beyond their mountains, still leave basically in communal style where there are no masters or slaves among them. They are just a horde of families who move from one place to another, leaving only lean-to dwellings along the way. They trudge the mountains in search of better games such as wild boars, deer, with the chang-ing seasons.

I was once in a mission in the hinterlands of Aurora Province.

We had to hike through the

mountains with an Aita as our guide. This, no taller than four feet, pygmy had only a loin cloth to cover his manhood. His bare-feet seemed to have flashlights in the dark as he guided us through trails in moonless and starless nights. His dark skin did not even glisten in sweat during our mid-day mile walks.

He had this bow that was taller than him. Though hard I tried I cannot stretch the string of this bow to fire an arrow which he could do like he was just drawing a curtain aside. Once, we chanced upon a murky stream. He armed the bow with a meter long arrow and aimed at something in the water which I could not see. The arrow flew with a whizzing sound and dove into the water. When the pygmy retrieved his arrow, on its end was a fish in its last throes of wiggling.

The arrow, however, after prick-ing the fish, struck a rock and the shaft’s neck broke with the sharp head dangling. The negrito totally broke the neck of the shaft, un-wound the vine that kept the head and tied the head on the remain-ing stem of the shaft to produce a shorter arrow.

He aimed the arrow at the murky water again and after a whiz, an-other fish flapped dead picked by the arrow. Again, the arrow was broken.

After several more attaching the head to the shortening shaft, aiming, and whizzing, we had a dozen fishes ready to roast even though the meter long shaft had now been reduced to almost half.

Of course, the arrow head was made of metal – far more modern when compared to the first arrow heads fashioned from stones dur-ing the earlier times of mankind.

Evolution of Slavery was Eco-nomically Driven

In fact, there were no bows and arrows during the beginning of mankind.

Long before the homo sapiens became truly human, our ances-tors during the early prehistoric ages had no bows and arrow nor any type of weapons. According to Wikipedia, early men or “cave-men are portrayed as wearing shaggy animal hides, and armed with rocks or cattle bone clubs,

unintelligent, and aggressive. Cavemen are often shown as

living in caves, possibly because that is where the proponderance of ritual paintings and artifacts have been found. Although it is probable that neanderthals and early humans lived elsewhere as well as in caves, artifacts proving this would have been destroyed over millenia, while that which had been left in caves survived to be discovered. Nevertheless, expressions such as ‘living in a cave’ have become cultural meta-phors for a modern human who supposedly displays traits of brut-ishness or extreme ignorance.”

With this, we could interpolate that due to ignorance, before the cavemen had bone clubs, they re-ally had nothing. Yet, they have to survive. Survival means two

things. One, they had to feed themselves. Food included ani-mals they had to hunt. Two, they had to protect themselves from the harsh elements of nature which included, often depicted, animals such as dinosaurs.

In both, without anything to arm themselves with, the early men found it hard to hunt for their food and to protect themselves. In these situations, men had no re-course, no matter how ignorant they were, but to help each other.

In this regard, when they are able to capture an animal so they could be fed, they had to share the booty because they needed each other. They cannot afford to have one man hungry, hurt or killed because they needed all the forces they could muster for future hunts and protection from

environmental threats.At this juncture, there could

have been no slaves as each treat-ed each one equally. There was no conflict among men. The only conflict was between man and na-ture.

Eventually, as necessity is the mother of invention, man discov-ered the use of stones and clubs to make his foraging for food easier and protecting themselves better from those who hunt them.

Hunting, of course, was the ini-tial economic activity of man in order to find food which is a basic need of man. Survival is the very activity that propelled man to im-prove his hunting and the tools that he must use. Eventually, he evolved from using stones, cop-per, bronze, and other metals to


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Mayr’on namang nagiisip na ang tingi’y nakapako,Kaharap nya ay kawalang hindi man lang kumikibo.Ang mata ay nakadilat na ang tingi’y sa malayo,Wala namang nakikita’t nagtatawang tumatango

Paano ba mapipigil ang senyales sa pagtanda?Na sinadyang tayong lahat daratal sa itinakda.Ano man ang ipahid mo sa tumanda nating mukha,Sadyang hirap “i-camoufl age” babalik din pag nawala.

Magbihis man ng magarbo at kumilos parang bata,Panandalian lamang ito upang hindi mahalata.Maitatago mo bang lahat yaong kirot, panlalata,Paggaang ng ‘yong timbang at ng ganang nawawala?

Idaan man sa tawanan ang lahat na nangyayari,Tunay naman at totoong tayong “gurang” dumarami.Sadyang tayo’y mapalad lang, buhay tayong nagsisinti,Kahit nasa OTSENTA na, may lakas pang nalalabi. Oo, gurang tayong ngayon na mayron ng hinihintay,Hindi natin alam naman kung tayo ay hanggang kailan.Baka tuloy si San Pedro ay malimang sa bilangan,Abutin ang ating gulang, humigit na isang-daan.

Sa “sex’ naman ok tayo, kahit minsan isang buwan,O di naman kaya ito’y madalas na malimutan.Tanggapin ng pagnanasa’y sinaid nang kabataan,May latak mang natitira, pumatak man ay madalang.

Iba nama’y makunwaring may init pang nadarama,Basta’t bulsa’y lagi na lang na ang laman ay VIAGRAKwidaw pare! Ingat ka lang, lalo’t bata ang kasama,Baka mata’y magdumilat sabay tigil ng paghinga.

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Gawang tula ni: ROMENICO1 Dating makata ng: Francisco Balagtas Academy Sa Bocaue, Bulacan-Philippines

An Unauthorized History of the

Philippines

prime his discovered bows and arrows, knives, mallets, spears, and the like.

Now, economics, as defi ned by Lionel Robbins in a 1932 essay is “the science which studies hu-man behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.” Scarcity means that available re-sources are insuffi cient to satisfy all wants and needs.

Considering also the law of uneven development, groupings of prehistoric men became more developed faster than the others. With this fact coupled with the scarcity of available resources, men began to fi ght one another for the goods to be distributed among themselves. Thus, groups began to war with each other and those subdued became subser-vient to the victorious groups. Thus, slavery came about where man enters a confl ict with man for nature to serve man and man to still protect himself from na-ture.

Slavery began in prehistoric times and has been practiced ever since. The slavery of ancient times reached its peak in Greece and the Roman Empire.

The fi rst known slaves formed the lowest class in the civilization developed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia (now mostly Iraq) about 3500 B.C. Slavery also existed in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Persia, and other ancient societies of the Middle East. In addition, it was practiced in an-cient China and India and among the early blacks of Africa and the Indians of America.

Slavery expanded as commerce and industry increased. This growth of trade created a demand for a disciplined labor force that could produce goods for export. As a result of this demand, an-cient slavery reached its fullest development during the great empires of Greece and Rome.

Slavery in the Philippines

According to Philippine historians, when the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they found two types of slaves: the aliping namamahay, who were household servants; and

the aliping saguiguilid, who were slave workers.

The other classes during the pre-Spanish Philippines that lorded over the alipins were the ruling class (datu), the freemen and notable per-sons (maharlika), and the common-ers (timawa).

According to H. Oatley Beyer, founder of the Anthropology Depart-ment of the University of the Philip-pines, the mentioned classes existed in the Philippines in grouping called barangays.

Specifi cally, Beyer says that “Frag-mented ethnic groups established numerous city-states formed by the assimilation of several small political units known as barangay each head-ed by a Datu or headman (still in use among non-Hispanic Filipino ethnic groups) and answerable to a king, ti-tled Rajah. Even scattered barangays, through the development of inter-is-land and international trade, became more culturally homogeneous by the 4th century. Hindu-Buddhist culture and religion fl ourished among the noblemen in this era. Many of the barangay were, to varying extents, under the de-jure jurisprudence of one of several neighboring empires, among them the Malay Sri Vijaya, Javanese Majapahit, Brunei, Melaka empires, although de-facto had estab-lished their own independent system of rule. Trading links with Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand, Java, China, In-dia, Arabia, Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom fl ourished during this era. A thalassocracy had thus emerged based on international trade.

Each barangay consisted of about 100 families. Some barangays were big, such as Zubu (Cebu), Butuan, Maktan (Mactan), Irong-Irong (Iloi-lo), Bigan (Vigan), and Selurong (Manila). Each of these big baran-

gays had a population of more than 2,000.”

Coming in this seriesHow the Spaniards conquered

the Philippines

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Post Offi ce

How did Moses really free the Israelites

About the Philippine fl ag being made in Hongkong


Spiritual Life

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

by Msgr. Fernando G. Gutierrez

Lower Your Nets

Mayroon akong kapitbahay ang pangalan ay Damianmabait, masipag s’ya at mapagkakatiwalaanang tanging nahihiligan niya ay ang maghalaman kung kaya nga’t ang hardin niya ay makatulo-laway.

Minsa’y nabagabag si Damian sa kanyang pagtatanimnapakaraming damo sa halaman kanyang napansinnagbasa at nagtanong kung ano ba ang dapat gawinmaiwasan itong mga damo sa kanyang pananim.

Walang nagawa itong si Damian sa kanyang problemaat walang lunas na sa kanya ay nairekomendatanging ang nabatid niya’y mahalin na lamang niyaang lahat ng ito na ipinagkaloob sa kanya.

Mahalin mo Sila

Joke of the Week: Dialogue from a nativity play, written directed and acted by a class of nine-year olds. Innkeeper: Can’t you see the “No Vacancy” sign? Joseph: Yes, but can’t you see that my wife is expecting a baby any minute? Innkeeper: Well, that’s not my fault. Joseph: Well, it’s not mine either.

Scriptures: First Reading: Isa-iah 9: 1-6. The Northern King-dom of Israel conquered by the Assyrians hopes to be delivered by a Davidic king. The prophecy testifies to the truth that the hope for future peace lies in justice rather than on military prowess. The child to be born, the God-Hero, will bring an era of peace and will sit on the throne of his father David.

Second Reading: Titus 2: 11-14. God has appeared in his glory for all people. This plan is realized in Jesus Christ who has redeemed us by his sacrifice. Salvation is a radical shift from sin to grace, and from lawlessness to righteousness. Gospel: Luke 2: 1-14. The shift in location from the lonely wilderness of Judea and the rural villages of Galilee to the greater horizon of the Roman Empire signifies the global impact of this momentous event. The fact that Mary gave birth to her “first-born son” does not mean she had other children. “First-born son” is a legal desig-nation of privileges and position under the Mosaic Law. The birth of the child wrapped in swad-dling clothes parallels the birth of another royal figure -Solomon- who was nurtured in “swaddling clothes.” The very first Christian feast was the celebra-tion of the life, death and resur-rection of Christ or the Paschal Mystery. It is understandable because the foundation of Chris-

Midnight Mass

Christmas is God’s Homecoming

tian life rests on the resurrec-tion of the Lord. Easter was the Christian great feast and still is today. It was not until the middle of the fourth century that the birth of Christ came to be celebrated. It was not clear how it came to be. Most likely its introduction was

meant to Christianize a pagan festival, natale solis invicti, (birth of the unconquered sun god). It was Emperor Aurelian, in the third century, who had decreed that December 25 be observed as a festival. He used the occa-sion in order to unify the Roman Empire. This festival was associ-ated with sun worship, which was very strong in the East. There was also a strong indication that the emperor himself was consid-ered the sun god. In 330, when Constantine built St. Peter’s Ba-silica on the Vatican hill, where the Romans used to worship the Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun god), the people’s attitude toward this festival started changing.

However, even before Con-stantine’s decisive move to favor Christianity over paganism, the Christians were already acknowl-edging Christ as the true Sun or Light of the world who brings justice, life and peace to the world. When the early Christians started celebrating the birth of the Son of God made-man, it

was more than a commemoration or remembrance of a historical event. The birth of Christ is an event that persists through the present. Through the ministry of the Church, Christ remains with us. The Child of Bethlehem, the Emmanuel, (God-with-us), the Son of God, the Father’s love assumed our flesh so that we can be reborn through the Spirit, and become God’s sons and daugh-ters. Pope St. Leo in his homily on Christmas day said, “It is thus that we can perceive the birth of

the Lord as present and not simply as a past event which we recall. The proclamation of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks has filled our hearts also.” It does not mat-ter much whether Jesus Christ was born on Dec. 25th or in March (as some scholars thought). There is only

one important fact that matters: Christ came and was born of the Virgin Mary so that God will be with us for all times! This is rea-son enough for men of good will to rejoice.

The gospel mentioned that Jesus Christ “pitched” his tent or he came home and lived among us: a homecoming. Through the human flesh that he took from the Blessed Virgin Mary, he became man so that we can become di-vine. Christmas is a time for us to renew this important truth: we are sons and daughters of God. Since we are made sharers in that divine dignity, we should not return to the former life of sins. Christmas is a time when those who have received the power to become children of God should allow the Lord to live with us. Let us keep ourselves open to the ever-present “birth” of the Lord through good will among us.

To all Christians who are cel-ebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25th: Merry Christmas. Christmas is not just a holiday;

personally it is also a holyday. To our broth-ers and sisters of Jew-ish faith who are cel-ebrating on Dec. 26th the Festival of Lights: Happy Hanuk-kah. To our African -American brothers and sisters and those who are observing the festival of the First Fruits of Harvest (Dec. 26th to January 1st), a

celebration of family values, com-munity responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement: Happy Kwanzaa. We all can live in unity in spite of our differences. We can celebrate and respect each other’s differences as we observe the im-portant festivals of our own faith tradition. Why do we have to gen-eralize those individual festivals, put them in one basket and label them “Happy Holidays”? There is unity in diversity and diversity in unity. Let us give glory to God in the Highest and wish all people of goodwill His peace.

Quotation of the Week: “The Word of God became man that you may learn from a man how a man becomes a God.” St. Clem-ent of Alexandria.

BalintatawRead Virginia Ferrer’s previous articles by visiting our website

at www.asianjournalusa.com

by Virginia H. Ferrer


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

journalusa.com

Why is it when two planes al-most hit each other it is called a “near miss”?

Shouldn’t it be called a “near hit”?

What does Geronimo say when he jumps out of a plane?

Why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?

How do you KNOW it’s new and improved dog food?

Why do they put locks on the doors of 24-hour stores?

What do they use to ship styrofoam?

Why is it called rush hour when everything moves so slow?

Why do they call them ex-press lanes when during rush hour everything is stopped?

If sour milk is used to make yogurt, how do you know when yogurt has gone bad?

Why call it a building if it’s already been built?

Why do kamikazee pilots wear helmets?

Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?

Does ‘virgin wool’ come from sheep the shepherd hasn’t caught yet?

If the front of your car says ‘DODGE’, do you really need a horn?

What do sheep count when they can’t get to sleep?

Do they have reserved park-ing for non-handicap people at the Special Olympics?

How come wrong numbers are never busy?

If you shoot a mime, should

Too many points to ponder you use a silencer?

If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

Why do they put braille on the number pads of drive-through bank machines?

What’s another word for thesaurus?

What would we have called the color orange if it wasn’t a fruit?

After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hos-tage situation?

Instead of talking to your plants, if you yelled at them would they still grow, but only to be troubled and insecure?

Is there another word for synonym?

Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do “prac-tice”?

Just “before” someone gets nervous, do they experience cocoons in their stomach?

It is hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial cost and blamed it on the cost of living.

We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there’s a 90% probability you’ll get it wrong.

A fi ne is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fi ne for doing well.

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Paskong Kabataan Tuwing pasko’y daratal ating naaalalaPaskong kabataan o anong saya,Hirap di alintana lalo’t may barkadaLalo na pag nagkasama-sama.

Pananapatan o caroling ‘yan ang tawag natinKinaugalian natin bago pasko’’y dumating Tantsan o takip ng bote lamang‘Yan ang umaalalay sa atin.

“Sa may bahay ang aming batiMerry christmas na maluwalhatiAng pag-ibig pag siyang naghariAraw-araw ay magiging paskong lagi.”

Pambungad na pagbati ‘yan ang tawag naminSa awiting ito na may storya sa amin.Dito sa awiting ito nagsimula ang barkadaNguni’’t bakbakan muna bago nagkasama-sama.

Ilang paskong nagdaan kaming magkakaibiganSa isang bahay ay nagkakasayahan.Nang may tumapat ilang kabataanSinimulang umawit ng paskong awitin./

Hindi namin alam isang barkada naminBigla na lang binato ang grupong di kilalaGumanti at bumato din ang nasabing grupoDito na nagsimula ang hindi unawaan.

Madilim ang gabi kaya’t hindi alamSuntukan at paluan ‘yan ang nagyaring hindi inaasamDumating mga pulis lahat ay dinalaSa presinto lahat magdamag na nag dusa.

Simula ito ng pagsasanib ng dal’w’ang tropaHigit pa sa magkakapatid turingan ng dalawaBuong pagkakaisa sa kabutihan napuntaMaraming proyektong ginawa ng magkakasama.

Kaya’t tuwing pasko ay nananapatanItong dalawang tropa na magkakasamaLimos na natatanggap ginagamit nilaSa mga proyekto sa distrito nila.

Ito ang paskong di malilimutanMahirap masaya ngunit naging pakinabangMagsilbi nawa ito isang malaking aralSa mga kabataan ngayon saan mang lugar.

Ang wakas ng aming pananapatan ay:“Thank you, thank youMerry Christmas to you

Thank you.”

By Pete G. CortezSan Diego, California


Simbang Gabi mass.

Christmas Treesby Narrie Babao


Christmas at Manila’s North Cemetery

Cemetery was as congested as the rest of the city. Some tombs were built like a high-rise and stacked with at least fi ve decks.

“Are these people living here?” Eric asked Jojo, pointing to the children playing on the side of the road and some fami-lies gathered around a store.

“Yes!” was Jojo’s nonchalant, what-about-it reply.

Eric realized that Manila was so congested that squatters took to putting up their shanties not only on the grassy dividers of the once picturesque Roxas Boulevard by the bay; but had now even invaded the cemetery, squeezing out the dead! He was told that one popular comedi-enne, Moody, the former partner of comedian Roody Manglapaz when the duo performed at the Manila Grand Opera House, used to live in a house construct-ed above her relatives’ tombs. When she died, she didn’t need to go any farther, as she was buried underneath the house she once occupied. Her family, who still live in the place, did not, in a sense, miss her departure!

Somehow, this incredible ar-rangement between the dead and the living made sense to Eric. Not only would the squatters get free rent and water; they would be near their work as most of them earn a living by taking care of rich people’s graves, and occasionally stealing the fl owers brought by visitors to the ped-dlers who sell these appealing bouquets at the entrance. On the east side of the cemetery, along A. Bonifacio Avenue, there were makeshift holes in the concrete fence where cemetery inhabit-ants could pass through. Some-times, Eric would see school-girls coming out. Who would ever imagine that these girls live with their families inside the cemetery? Looking neat and freshly showered in clean, pressed school uniforms, no one could tell! Eric was reminded


A Philippine church illuminated for Christmas.

of the story in Asia Week Magazine of a poor family of four in Manila, who could not afford to rent a house and had to live in a pushcart parked by a side street near Roxas Boulevard. The par-ents sold sampaguita fl owers, and watched or cleaned parked cars to earn a living. No one could tell that their daughter, who went to a nearby high school lived in the pushcart. Her parents would bribe a security guard so that she could take a shower in the restroom of an offi ce building, hours before offi ce workers would report to work.

Rotunda

Soon after, they reached a Rotunda enshrining a national fi gure, Manuel Roxas, who was the fi rst presi-dent of the Philippine Republic. Across the road, was the equally famous mausoleum of Manuel Quezon, the fi rst president of the Philippine Com-monwealth. Quezon’s wife, Aurora, and some members of his clan were also buried in that site, although Eric noticed that they now seemed to have been moved out of their tombs. Dona Aurora was ambushed by the Huks, the national communist rebel movement in the 1950s, together with some members of her family and a few security offi cers. One of the security offi cers slain was the father of Dan Lazam, a realtor in San Diego, who was a baby then. He was brought to the United States where he grew up after his mother

married an American she met in the Philippines.

Near Quezon’s tomb are the graves of Eric’s maternal grand-parents. The enclosed site is supposed to accommodate three tombs side by side. But already,

it is occupied by fi ve, with one to spare. The tombs of his grand-parents were stacked on top of another; so were his cousin’s and her husband’s while another uncle’s resting place unobtru-sively lay on one side. His mother bought the adjacent lot, which was three times the size of its neighbors’.

Eric’s daughters listened in disbelief as he told them that during November 1st, on All Saint’s Day, people stayed in the cemetery the whole day and evening to pay respect to their dead. Some people would play mahjong with friends in their family’s gravesite. Still others

would take to visiting the gravesites of celebrities. The most popular was the tomb of movie idol Fernando Poe Sr. where they might chance upon seeing some movie stars who were also paying their dead colleague a

visit. As a boy scout, Eric would camp out overnight in the cem-etery with his friends during such occasions.

Eric and his family prayed over his father’s grave that Christmas morning of 1996. This was the

fi rst Christmas without him. He put the fl owers on his grave, touching the tombstone as he whispered a beloved Christmas greeting. He prayed for the eternal repose of his soul and asked God to forgive his sins and allow him to go to heaven. That’s the most he could ask for that Christmas time. - AJ

Twas the night before Christmas,

He lived all alone, In a one bedroom house

made of Plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney

With presents to give, And to see just who

In this home did live.

I looked all about, A strange sight i did see, No tinsel, no presents,

Not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle,

Just boots fi lled with sand,

On the wall hung pictures

Of far distant lands.

With medals and badges,

Awards of all kinds, A sober thought

Came through my mind.

For this house was

different, It was dark and

dreary, I found the home of a

soldier, Once i could see

clearly.

The soldier lay sleep-ing,

Silent, alone, Curled up on the

fl oor In this one bedroom

home.

The face was so gentle,

The room in such disorder,

Not how i pictured A united states sol-

dier.

Was this the hero Of whom I’d just read? Curled up on a poncho,

The fl oor for a bed?

A Soldier’s Night Before Christmas I realized the families That i saw this night, Owed their lives to

these soldiers Who were willing to fi ght.

Soon round the world,

The children would play, And grownups would celebrate

A bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom Each month of the year, Because of the soldiers, Like the one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder How many lay alone,

On a cold Christmas eve In a land far from home.

The very thought Brought a tear to my eye,

I dropped to my knees And started to cry.

The soldier awakened

And i heard a rough voice, “Santa don’t cry,

This life is my choice;

I fi ght for freedom, I don’t ask for more, My life is my god,

My country, my corps.”

The soldier rolled over

And drifted to sleep,

I couldn’t control it, I continued to

weep.

I kept watch for hours,

So silent and still And we both shiv-

ered From the cold

night’s chill.

I didn’t want to leave

On that cold, dark, night,

This guardian of honor

So willing to fi ght.

Then the soldier rolled over,

With a voice soft and pure,

Whispered, “Carry on Santa,

It’s Christmas Day, all is secure.”

One look at my

watch, And i knew he was

right. “Merry Christmas

my friend, And to all a good

night.” Source: TruthorFiction.com. An article on SpecialOperations.com says the poem was actually written by Corporal James M. Schmidt, described as a former U.S. Marine Scout-sniper and that is was published in LEATHERNECK MAGAZINE in December of 1991, two years before Lt. Col Lovely claimes to have written it.


What do you need to pay while waiting for Confi rmation of your Chapter 13 Plan?

Question: After my Chapter 13 petition was fi led are there any pay-ments I have to make even before my plan is confi rmed?

Answer: You have to make the plan payments, car payments, home mortgage payments, domestic sup-port obligation payments, among others, even if your plan is not yet confi rmed?

What payments are required prior to confi rmation?

As soon as a Chapter 13 petition is fi led monthly plan payments starts the following month (within 30 days of the fi ling of the plan as required by Section 1326(a)(1) of the Bank-ruptcy Code).

The mortgage payment on the house should be paid in accordance with the original contract. So if the mortgage payment should be paid on the 1st of the month then it should be paid on the 1st of the month.

Car payments should be paid on the date it is due on the original contract. And if the value of the car was crammed down then adequate protection payments should be paid directly to the lender even if it is in-cluded in the plan. Proof of such pay-ments should be sent to the Trustee as evidence of such payments so debtor can get credit for such payment or payments.

Child support and spousal support payments should also be made if re-quired to make such payments.

What are the consequences of non payment of pre confi rmation pay-ments?

Failure to pay plan payments, home

Bankruptcy: Chapter 13mortgage payments, car loan pay-ments whether included in the plan will cause a delay of confi rmation of the plan if not outright dismissal of the petition.

If mortgage payments are not made then the lender might fi le a motion for relief from automatic stay so it could proceed with the foreclosure. It might feel that the debtor cannot really afford to pay the mortgage and waiting will just erode the value of the house that it might need to act right away to prevent further loss of value of the house. Most of the time the Trustee might be the one to ob-ject to confi rmation and thus prevent a Chapter 13 plan. This will result in the dismissal of the petition. Once a petition is dismissed the automatic stay that is in place will be lifted and the creditors will be able to start col-lection efforts again. This means the mortgage lender can proceed with the foreclosure again.

Failure to pay monthly car pay-ments will result in the lender fi ling a claim for arrears which will affect the plan confi rmation because such debt needs to be taken cared of in the plan. This will cause a delay if the debtor has to amend a confi rm-able plan just because a month’s car payment has been missed. The worst that can happen is if the debtor can-not fi nd the income to pay for such arrear in the plan then the plan cannot be confi rmed. Sometimes it is better to deal with the lender and pay the arrear outside the plan so it will with-draw a claim for the arrears. Then it does not have to affect the plan or the income or the monthly expenses of the debtor computed and allocated on Schedule I and J for income and

expenses respectively.Should you be in this type of situ-

ation and you feel the need to avail of the protection of the Bankruptcy Code consult an attorney sooner to avoid any unnecessary delay on the confi rmation of your Chapter 13 plan or outright dismissal of your petition.

(We invite readers to set up their initial consultation with The Law Offi ces of A. Erwin Bautista. Atty. Bautista practices Immigration, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury, Family Law and Income Tax Preparation/Audit Representation. Atty. Bautista obtained his law degree from West-ern State University, Fullerton, CA and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the Philippines. You can reach him in Los Angeles at (213) 365 7690 at 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2700, LA, CA 90010 or in San Diego at (619) 474 7755 at 550 E. 8th St., Ste. 11, National City, CA 91950)

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is a graduate of Florida State University, with a Business Administration. He has been honored with several industry and company awards including the Million Dollar Round Table since 2005,Prudential’s President’s Citation in 2005, Prudential’s Annuity Council since its inception in 2007, and Prudential’s President Conference 2006-2008. He also holds the LUTCF AND CLTC industry designations.Tcruz, a resident of Chula Vista, can be reached at [email protected] and (619) 498 4920.Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a fi nancial services leader with approxi-mately $580 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2009, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging itsheritage of life insurance and asset management expertise,

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