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JANUARY 14-20, 2016

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

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Binay’s vow: No Filipino will be forced to work abroad

DATELINEUSAFROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

No IS jihadists in PH; video mere propaganda -AFP

In last State of Union speech, Obama has hopeful message for America’s future

by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

Fil-Am sworn in as president of Nevada State Board of Nursing

Hillary Clinton seeks support from Fil-Am, AAPI voters

THE Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan. 12, upheld the constitutionality of an executive agreement between the Philip-pines and the United States that permits increased rotational pres-ence of US military troops in the country.

In a 10-4-1 vote, the top court ruled in favor of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which was signed by the Philippines and US in 2014 but was not implemented due to legal challenges. The agreement, which has a 10-year lifespan, also allows troops access to Philippine military

bases. Furthermore, the US will be allowed to store and pre-posi-tion weapons, defense supplies, vessels, and aircraft, among other things.

The decision comes amid the ongoing dispute between the Philippines and China regarding conflicting claims in the South China Sea involving six Asian gov-ernments competing for control of small islands in the region. It will also support US efforts to reassert its presence in Asia, the Associated Press reported. The US has also indicated it opposes China’s claims in the disputed territory, citing the need for freedom of navigation in the area, GMA News reported.

The Court’s ruling is based on Article 18, Section 25 of the Philip-pine Constitution, “which allows the president to enter in an execu-tive agreement on foreign military bases if it is not an instrument that allows foreign military bases or it aims to implement existing law or treaty holding that EDCA is one such agreement,” Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said, ac-cording to GMA News.

Among those in agreement with the decision was the Department of Foreign Affairs, stating the Philip-pines and US can finalize the full implementation of an agreement that is key in efforts to bolster

by CHRISTINA M. ORIEL AJPress

PRESIDENT Barack Obama de-livered his seventh and final State of the Union address on Tuesday, Jan. 12, in which he focused on the country’s future and his legacy as president, rather than urging Congress to pass specific proposals.

“For my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the next five years, 10 years,

and beyond,” Obama said. ”I want to focus on our future.”

In a roughly hourlong primetime speech — one of his last chances to capture Americans’ attention before the November election — the president remarked that it is “a time of extraordinary change,” a condition that has “made the progress of these past seven years possible.”

Some of the accomplishments he chose to highlight early on were: economic recovery, the passage of the landmark Afford-

able Care Act and the historic Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.

Obama took a swipe at oppo-nents who have undermined the state of the economy under his tenure, asserting “a basic fact” that the United States has the “strongest, most durable economy in the world.” He reported that over 14 million jobs have been created and the once failing auto industry had a record year in 2015.

by ALLYSON ESCOBARAJPress

Filipino-American Dr. Rhigel Jay Alforque-Tan took oath as president of the Nevada State Board of Nursing on Jan. 6, in a ceremony presided by Hon-orable Judge Cheryl Moss and joined by Honorable Judge Bill Henderson.

Tan’s election makes him the first Asian American male elected to the position in the 92 years of the board’s existence.

Originally from Cebu, Philip-pines, Tan came from humble beginnings, making ends meet by peddling bananacue (cara-melized bananas on sticks) and boiled eggs. He had dreams of going to medical school to

become a doctor, but given his financial situation, he took nursing instead.

At the Cebu State College-Cebu City Medical Center Col-lege of Nursing (CCMC), he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in nursing in 1990, then migrated to the United States years later.

“Being educated in the Phil-ippines brings with it the re-sponsibility to influence the nursing profession in a global perspective,” Tan previously told the Asian Journal. “Beyond just making a living, [nurses] should also be involved in pro-moting public safety through participation in regulatory

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines has denied anew the existence of the Islamic State jihadists in the Philippines.

This was after a video circulat-ing online showed consolidated militant groups in Mindanao with black flags claiming their links to the IS. A report said that it suggested that the IS may soon put up a satellite extension

by FRANCES MANGOSINGInquirer.net

in Mindanao.“The video may be authen-

tic, kinuha yun ng mga tunay na tao na andun. But sa back-ground nun, kung meron ba ta-laga silang pinanghahawakan sa likod, wala. You can just gather a group of people, let them wear black and say ISIS kami. That does not mean may ISIS dito,” AFP public affairs chief Colonel Noel Detoyato said on Monday, Jan. 11.

He said the group on the video is merely riding on the popularity of the international terror group.

“Those are propaganda. We consider them as propaganda. They are not ISIS,” Detoyato said.

He said the Abu Sayyaf, Ansar al- Khalifa and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are sympathizers of

by NESTOR CORRALESInquirer.net

WORKING abroad will be-come “a matter of choice and not necessity” was how Vice President Jejomar Binay assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) if elected president in the 2016 elections.

Binay was in a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which started on Tuesday, Jan. 12, to strengthen bilateral ties with Middle East countries, home to over 2.7 million OFWs.

Binay said that this will be achieved by his projected admin-istration by providing more jobs in the Philippines.

“Mahirap higitan ang uri ng pagmamahal na araw-araw nin-yong inaalay. Ang paglaban sa lungkot at pangungulila sa inyong pamilya at sariling tahanan, ang

HUNDREDS of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), including elected officials and busloads of Filipino-Americans from across California and Nevada, flocked to the San Gabriel Hilton on Thursday, Jan. 7 to rally their support behind Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Part of her two-day campaign stop in Southern California, Clinton’s appearance at the launch of AAPIs for Hillary was an effort to appeal to that population, which is considered the fastest-growing minority group in the country that could be the criti-cal swing vote in the next several presiden-tial election cycles.

And what better place to reach them than in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, where over half of its residents are of Asian descent.

Taking the stage after an introduction by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) — the first Chi-nese-American woman elected to Congress — Clinton said being in the area holds a

Trump: Syrian refugees ‘could be ISIS’

Silent Muslim protester removed from campaign rally

GOP frontrunner Donald Trump said Syrian refugees are “probably” ISIS during a campaign rally in South Carolina that was quickly disrupted by protesters, including a Muslim woman wearing a traditional head covering.

Refugees from Syria “could be ISIS ... and by the way, it is turning out that they probably are ISIS,” said Trump at a Win-throp University rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina. “There’s so many men, they’re so young, they are very strong. Where are the women? Where are the children?”

During his speech, a woman wearing a traditional hijab stood in silent protest and was swiftly escorted by police, along with a few other anti-Trump hecklers, NBC News reported. Some Trump supporters jeered and booed the woman, who was identified as 56-year-old Rose Hamid. She was wear-ing a T-shirt that read “Salam, I come in peace.”

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FROM THE FRONT PAGE

national security and disaster re-lief capabilities, according to The Associated Press (AP).

“This decision bodes well for deepening our defense coopera-tion with a key ally,” and will “re-dound to improving our capability to perform our mandate to protect our people and secure the state,” said armed forces chief Gen. Her-nando Iriberri, AP reported.

Washington welcomed the court’s ruling. In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said the United States welcomes the high court’s decision and that it is a mutually beneficial pact and would strengthen the two countries’ bilat-eral relationship.

“We look forward to working closely with our Philippine part-ners on the implementation of this agreement,” the statement said.

The Court emphasized that the EDCA is an executive agreement, not a treaty requiring Senate concurrence. It added that the president has the option to select a form of agreement that is not a treaty, as long as it is not the prin-cipal agreement that first allowed foreign military bases, troops or facilities entry or presence in the Philippines.

“EDCA is not constitutionally infirm as an executive agreement,” Te said during a news conference following the ruling.

PH vows to work on implemen-tation of EDCA

During the second Philippine-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Consultations on Tuesday, Jan. 12, top diplomats from the Philippines and United States met at the State Depart-ment, following the high court’s ruling in favor of the EDCA,

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said both countries discussed how the defense pact could be used to fortify maritime security capa-bilities and strengthen their role to maintain peace in the region, Inquirer reported. Carter added that the Philippines is an important ally, as the US looks to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, Inquirer reported.

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario also spoke favorably of the agree-ment.

“The recent validation by the Supreme Court of the constitution-ality of the EDCA opens up new opportunities to further deepen our enduring alliance with the US, and we have committed to work towards the prompt and mutually beneficial of this agreement,” del Rosario said in an email detailing the meeting.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States has an “ironclad commitment” to the Philippines’ security and that they share a commitment to democracy and human rights, according to Inquirer.

Del Rosario also said the Philip-pines is exploring the possibility of joint activities with the United States in the South China Sea, but stopped short of saying they were entertaining the prospect of joint patrols, according to Inquirer.

Other topics of discussion at the meeting focused on maritime secu-rity, maritime domain awareness, and the 2nd Millennium Challenge Compact for the Philippines. It will build on the success of the first compact, which has helped alleviate poverty, contributed to inclusive growth and contributed to eliminating poverty.

The meeting took place as both countries approach the 70th an-niversary since they established diplomatic relations.

OpponentsDespite praise from advocates,

the pact has faced opposition from groups and individuals who argue it is more beneficial to the United States than the Philippines. Other opponents, including Justice for Filipino Americans (JFAV), a na-tionwide alliance of Filipino World War II veterans organizations and community advocates, say the benefits of the court’s decision to uphold the agreement are “super-ficial” because it has “disturbed” the balance of powers between the branches of government.

“They are using the constitution against the constitution,” Arturo Garcia, national coordinator of JFAV, told the Asian Journal.

“They are circumventing the process because [EDCA] should be a treaty, not an executive agree-ment.... The US is not account-able to the Philippines because

it’s a mere agreement - it’s not a treaty.”

Garcia added that the decision “reeks” of opportunism.

“We don’t have respect for the Supreme Court because they are subservient to foreign interests,” he said.

Left-wing activists in the Philip-pines said they would consider filing an appeal.

Opponents also said increasing US military presence would not address the Philippines’ concerns about China in the disputed ter-ritory.

“This is another sad day for Philippine sovereignty,” said left-wing activist Renato Reyes, who was among those who challenged the legality of the defense accord before the high court, according AP. “We maintain that the EDCA is not the solution to the problems of China’s incursions.”

Some, including former sena-tors, filed petitions against the EDCA, but were denied by the Supreme Court.

One petition filed by former sen-ators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada said that the terms and pro-visions of the EDCA were “lopsided in favor of the Americans.”

Another petition stated that the agreement would give the United States “carte blanche power to establish and operate de facto military bases anywhere on Philip-pine soil, minus the cost of paying for one.”

The Philippines has one of the weakest armed forces in Asia, GMA News reported, and has been heavily dependent on US military aid for weapons and training.

The AP reported that the Phil-ippine military said at least eight local camps have been designated as harboring areas for Americans, including some near the South China Sea and in areas susceptible to natural disasters.

Fil-Am sworn in as president of Nevada...tasks.”

He added, “Filipino nurses are not only world-class care provid-ers, but also global profession-als capable of contributing to general welfare and safety of the public.”

With only $200 in his pocket and the H1-A visa (or temporary work permit for nurses) that he received from the US Embassy, Tan moved to the United States after being hired by a nursing home in Las Vegas. There, he took on the tasks of a nursing as-sistant, such as bathing patients, helping them use the bedpan, and changing their diapers.

In 1995, Tan passed the Na-tional Council Licensure Ex-amination for Registered Nurses [NCLEX-RN], allowing him as a nursing assistant in health-care to become a professional licensed Registered Nurse.

He also worked with Na-than Adelson Hospice to start a program for nursing students to be “Hospice-oriented” and educated in Hospice Principles. The program’s success garnered $85,000 in funding by the MGM Mirage Foundation, and was later presented at the National Hospice Leadership Convention in Washington, D.C.

As a health care professional, Tan has focused on researching

and developing an Evidenced-Based Practice (EBP) training program along fellow educated nurses, and the use of human patient simulation technology in nursing. Over the years, he craft-ed policies and procedures that impacted the outcomes of his patient’s lives patient satisfac-tion. He also established a pro-gram accredited by the Nevada State Board of Nursing to help jobless Nevadans get back in the work force as Certified Nursing Assistants, and provided them with opportunities to work in a skilled nursing facility. Tan’s program helped 200 successful nursing candidates get back into the work force.

Based on a vision that is in-formed by personal experience, commitment and a deep passion for education, Dr. Tan became a clinical instructor in Nursing at the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN), and as a college professor, was awarded tenure in 2005.

He soon joined the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), College of Nursing, becoming an assistant professor and finishing his doctorate in nursing practice in 2011.

Tan’s positive influence in promoting nursing as a career did not go unnoticed. He was awarded “Health Care Hero” by the Nevada Business Com-munity and Anthem Blue Cross. His passion for medical research also paved the way for multiple Nursing Education studies and publications in several interna-tional journals.

Continuing his passion for community service, Tan estab-lished a mental and psychiatric clinic to provide services for Las Vegas and Clark County resi-dents. He also founded a mental health non-profit called The Goal Foundation, which raises aware-ness in decreasing social stigma attached to mental illness, and to outreach to communities about the biological and genetic com-ponent of mental health issues.

In November 2011, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval ap-pointed Tan to the Nevada State Board of Nursing, with an appointed term until November 2015. He lobbied for the pas-sage of Assembly Bill 170, which allowed autonomous practice for Advanced Practice Nurses,

and became Nevada law in July 2013.

Tan was also a member of the Nevada State Board of Nursing Advisory Committee for Ad-vanced Practice Nursing from 2008-2010, the Clark County Emergency Corps, and the Zetta Kappa Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nurses, according to his biography.

Along with multiple recogni-tions and awards, Tan is also actively involved in the Asian American community of Las Vegas, particularly among his fellow Filipinos. He co-founded the KALAHI Philippine Folkloric Ensemble, a cultural commu-nity-based organization aimed to unite the community through preservation and promotion of the Filipino heritage through arts and culture. He was a board member of the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada, and initiated the formation of an EBP Committee of the as-sociation.

He also spearheaded a fund-raising campaign during the 2013 Philippine Typhoon Hai-yan, raising enough money to build a new settlement in the typhoon-ravaged Leyte islands. The settlement was named “Las Vegas Village.”

Through his Yolanda Alforque-Tan Scholarship Foundation, named after his mother, and the Maria Libron Nursing Scholar-ship Foundation, Tan assisted 20 young scholars in the Phil-ippines who have shared the same vocation of service and dedication, but could not af-ford the cost of education. The scholarship has helped students become full-time nurses.

Sandoval re-appointed Tan as a board member of the nursing board on Dec. 16, 2015.

Despite Tan’s various accom-plishments, he is now pursuing his second Doctorate degree in nursing at the University of Arizona, focusing on genetics and genomics.

“I made my own story [a] guiding encouragement for [oth-er Filipino nurses] to achieve a sense of professional achieve-ment even while away from the Philippines,” he said.

(With reports from Amelia Abello and Dymphna Calica-La Putt/AJPress)

hirap ng kondisyon ng trabaho sa ibang bayan, ang mga pan-gambang bunga ng pagiging isang dayuhan – ilan lamang ito sa araw-araw ninyong pagsubok bilang isang OFW. (It’s hard to top the kind of love you offer everyday. Your battle against depression and homesickness, the difficulty of working abroad, and the fear of being in a foreign land—these are some of the challenges OFWs encounter ev-eryday),” he said.

He said he envisioned OFWs to “come home to a progressive and caring country that can sup-port Filipinos’ aspirations of a good life.”

“Isang bayan na kayo na-man ang kayang alagaan at protektahan. Sama-sama tayong magtataguyod ng isang lipunan na walang mapipilitang man-gibang-bansa para guminhawa. (I envision a country that will take care of you and protect you. Let us work together to form a society where people will not be forced

to work abroad so they can gain comfort),” he said.

“Lubos ang aking paninindigan na uuwi kayo sa isang maunlad at mapag-kalingang Pilipinas – kung saan ang maginhawang buhay ay makakamit sa sarili nating bayan, kapiling ang bawat Pilipinong minamahal ninyo sa buhay. (I am confident that you will be able to come home to a developed and compassionate Philippines—where you can attain a comfortable life in our own country with all the Filipino people you love),” he added.

Binay was a former Presidential Adviser for OFW Concerns under the Aquino administration.

The vice president reiterated his proposal to create a special government office that will help families whose OFW relatives are facing “blood money” cases.

During his first day, Binay met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Command-er of the UAE’s Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

In a statement on Wednes-day, the vice president said the meeting was “very warm and cordial.”

“The meeting was a surprise, we were told only this (Tuesday) morning. It wasn’t part of the schedule. But it’s a good oppor-tunity,” Binay said.

“Sheikh Mohammad said he would very much like to visit the Philippines in the future,” the vice president added.

He said they also discussed po-tential investment opportunities in areas of power and infrastruc-ture in the Philippines.

He also had lunch with 39 wards of the Philippine Labor Office, among them victims of maltreatment and human traf-ficking.

He promised to provide assis-tance to facilitate their return to the country.

He asked Senator Nancy Binay, who is part of the delegation, to look into the possibility of extend-ing help even to undocumented

Binay’s vow: No Filipino will be...

No IS jihadists in PH; video mere...the IS in the Philippines.

Detoyato said they are keeping an eye on these groups, despite the lack of possibility that the IS will put an extension in the Philippines.

“Wala namang ISIS dito….There is a difference between ISIS-directed and ISIS-inspired,” he said.

Other videos of Philippine militants showing sup-port for IS circulated in the past but the government has repeatedly denied the existence of the group in the Philippines.

“Anyone claiming that Amer-ica’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction. Now, what is true -- and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious -- is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes that started long before the Great Re-cession hit; changes that have not let up,” he noted.

On health care, the president said “nearly 18 million people have gained coverage so far. And in the process, health care inflation has slowed. And our businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law.”

However, there is work that still needs to be done, such as “give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security,” “make technology work for us,” “keep America safe and lead the world” and “make politics reflect what’s best in us.”

The president chose not to go deep into policy prescriptions for Congress — recognizing that not much might get done in an election year — but mentioned his goals for the remainder of his term include closing Guantanamo Bay prison, authorizing use of military force against ISIS, and looking into a “new moonshot” that can cure cancer, an initiative that will be led by Vice President Joe Biden.

“And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us on so many is-sues over the past 40 years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families that we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all,” he said.

Not directly naming any of the Republican presidential candi-dates, Obama slammed rheto-ric that “enemies [are] getting stronger and America [is] getting weaker” and said that the Islamic State is not a threat to the coun-try’s existence.

“The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. It’s not even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations com-bined,” he said. “Our troops are the finest fighting force in the his-tory of the world…when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead — they call us.”

The president went on to ad-dress hateful sentiments target-ing Muslims, arguing it betrayed American values.

“When politicians insult Mus-lims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandal-ized, or a kid is called names, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is,” he said. “It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. It be-trays who we are as a country.”

Though most of the speech was about his accomplishments, Obama recognized one of his shortcomings: failing to ease the political divide in the country.

“It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency — that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of bet-ter,” he said. “There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guaran-

tee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.”

But ending with a glimmer of hope (one of his campaign mes-sages in 2008), he gave examples of the diverse demographics of the country.

“That’s the America I know. That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Undaunted by challenge. Optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hope-ful about our future. I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people,” the presi-dent concluded, which was met with applause. “And that’s why I stand here confident as I have ever been that the State of our Union is strong.”

ReactionsDemocratic presidential can-

didate Hillary Clinton released a series of messages on Twitter, including “@POTUS is confirm-ing what we know: Our economy — and our country — are stronger under a Democratic president.”

Arnel Dino, vice chair of the Filipino-American Democratic Caucus of the California Demo-cratic Party, told the Asian Journal that the president will be remem-bered for “trying to change the tone of our political system. He really made the attempt to better the economy and increase access for groups to be part of the sys-tem… He wants to leave a legacy of collaboration and cooperation between the different political factions in our country.”

“Whoever succeeds him, hope-fully a Democrat, should continue

In last State of Union speech, Obama has...

Trump: Syrian refugees ‘could be...Other protesters wore yellow

eight-pointed stars with the words “Muslim” and “Stop Islamopho-bia” written on them, symbolizing the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust (where the Jews were forced to wear six-pointed stars).

Women in headscarves have protested silently at two previ-ous Trump rallies, but were not removed.

In December, Trump caused an uproar when he called for a temporary ban on all Muslims en-tering the US, including Muslim American citizens, tourists and those trying to enter the country on visas.

Trump described his proposal as “very salient, very important, and probably not politically cor-rect.”

Despite Hamid’s silence, Trump supporters around her be-gan chanting Trump’s name, jeer-ing and pointing at her and Marty Rosenbluth, the man alongside her who stood up as well. Mem-bers of the crowd roared as the pair was escorted out of the rally, booing and shouting at them to “get out,” reported CNN.

One person shouted, “You have a bomb, you have a bomb,” Hamid said. “The ugliness really came out fast and that’s really scary.”

She also said she did not plan to shout or disrupt the event, but simply wanted to give Trump and his supporters a real idea of how Muslims are, through the silent protest.

“I figured that most Trump supporters probably never met a Muslim so I figured that I’d give

them the opportunity to meet one,” she told CNN before the rally on Jan. 8. “I really don’t plan to say anything. I don’t want to be disrespectful but if he says some-thing that I feel needs answering I might--we’ll just see what strikes me.”

Major Steven Thompson of the Rock Hill Police Department told CNN Hamid was kicked out of the event because the campaign told him beforehand that “anybody who made any kind of distur-bance” should be escorted out.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking why Hamid was escorted out of the venue.

“There is hatred against us that is unbelievable,” Trump said, im-mediately after the disturbance. “It’s their hatred, it’s not our ha-tred.”

Within hours, leading Mus-lim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned Hamid’s re-moval from the rally, and called on Trump to apologize publicly.

“The image of a Muslim woman being abused and ejected from a political rally sends a chilling mes-sage to American Muslims and to all those who value our nation’s traditions of religious diversity and civic participation,” CAIR Na-tional Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. “Don-ald Trump should issue a public apology to the Muslim woman kicked out of his rally and make a clear statement that American Muslims are welcome as fellow citizens and as participants in the nation’s political process.”

In his rally proposal, which are

viewed by many as anti-Muslim, Trump also lashed out at President Barack Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

“In Los Angeles, in California, you had the two people, the two wackos that came in,” he said, ref-erencing the radicalized Muslim couple in San Bernardino, who killed 14 people during a shooting rampage. “How about that? Came in on a what, a marriage visa?”

One of the perpetrators, Syed Rizwan Farook, was born in the US, while his wife, Tashfeen Ma-lik, immigrated through a mar-riage license.

“And we have a president, we have a president that doesn’t even want to talk about what’s really happening,” he added. “We have a president that wants to kill the second amendment...We have Hillary Clinton who wants to de-stroy and take your guns away from you, by the way. She wants to take your guns away.”

Despite her chaotic early exit, Hamid was able to speak with the Trump supporters sitting around her in the stands, several of whom held her hand and said “sorry” as she was forced to leave the venue.

“The people around me who I had an opportunity to talk with were very sweet,” she comment-ed, remaining optimistic. “The people I did not make contact with, the people who Trump influ-enced were really nasty.”

“This demonstrates how when you start dehumanizing the other it can turn people into very hate-ful, ugly people. It needs to be known.” (Allyson Escober/AJ-Press)

Binay’s vow: No Filipino will be...Filipino workers by setting up a special assistance fund.

The vice president also visited Philippine Global School-Abu Dhabi, an all-Filipino primary and secondary academic institution of more than 2,000 students.

Meanwhile, migrant group Mi-grante-Middle East (M-ME) has urged Binay to also visit hundreds of distressed and stranded OFWs in Saudi Arabia.

“We are urging VP Binay to consider having a side trip here in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar, all in Saudi Arabia, so that he too can personally hear the appeal of the hundreds of distressed and stranded OFWs staying at various Filipino Work-ers Resource Centers (FWRCs)

or Bahay Kalinga,” said M-ME regional coordinator John Leon-ard Monterona.

Monterona said there are about a hundred distressed female OFWs at the Bahay Kalinga in Ri-yadh, while about 60 male OFWs are stranded at a rented shelter in Exit 8, Riyadh.

Most of them have been victims of labor malpractices, and physi-cal and sexual abuse, he said.

The migrant leader said the dis-tressed and stranded OFWs have long been pleading for the Philip-pine government’s assistance.

“One of the stranded OFWs at Riyadh’s Bahay Kalinga is Fahima Alagasi Palacasi who was alleg-edly scalded by the mother of her employer. Since then, she is still staying at the Bahay Kalinga for

more than 2 years,” Monterona said.

Monterona said Palacasi want-ed to convey to Binay her plea for her to repatriated so that she can be with her two kids in Mindanao and start working again to sup-port her kids.

He said Palacasi was still await-ing the outcome of the cases she filed and the counter-case filed by the mother of her employer which she said is taking so long.

“We call on VP Binay to come here in Saudi Arabia since he is already in the UAE. He often visited Saudi Arabia in previous years. This time not as a presiden-tial candidate but in his capacity as PH vice president or maybe as an OFW advocate,” Monterona said.

In last State of Union speech, Obama has...on his [progress] and not go back to where the country was before he was president.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said the speech “was just what our country needed” — “reassurance about the terrorist threat. And yet it also needed to hear that we should not scapegoat one another, and appre-ciate the diversity of our country,” according to NBC News.

Another Asian American law-maker Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) praised the speech, but empha-sized that comprehensive immi-gration reform is crucial.

“The need for immigration reform cannot be forgotten. Any serious proposal advanced by Congress to achieve this should be comprehensive,” said Honda in a statement released on Tuesday night.

Honda shared plans to rein-troduce the Reuniting Families Act and gave the example of his guest Fil-Am Irene Bueno, who “is a reminder of why our nation needs a families-first immigration policy — her family was separated for 20 years by our heart-wrench-ingly slow immigration laws.”

Meanwhile, Republicans took to

Twitter to share their reactions. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump

described the speech as “really boring, slow, lethargic,” while for-mer Florida Governor Jeb Bush wrote “President Obama is living in a different world to think our country is safer and stronger,” and Ted Cruz called it “a state of denial.”

Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul, both candidates in the Republican field, were not present for the president’s address.

Fil-Am Matthew Alonsozana tweeted that “Despite the rhetoric, it’s clear Pres. Obama is drawing a pretty partisan framework for the election.”

After the president’s remarks, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley delivered the GOP response and said Obama’s record hasn’t lived up to his promises.

“Barack Obama’s election as president seven years ago broke historic barriers and inspired millions of Americans. As he did when he first ran for office, tonight President Obama spoke eloquent-ly about grand things. He is at his best when he does that,” she said. ”Unfortunately, the president’s record has often fallen far short

of his soaring words.” Haley refuted Obama’s posi-

tive view of the economy, health care and safety, contending that Americans are suffering from “a crushing national debt,” health care has become less affordable and accessible and cities across the US are experiencing “chaotic unrest.”

Shifting away from taking jabs at the president, the governor even criticized others within her own party.

“Today, we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory. During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation,” she said “No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”

While placing some blame on Democrats, Haley said “they do not bear it alone,” and called on Republicans “to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America’s leader-ship. We need to accept that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken. And then we need to fix it.”

Hillary Clinton seeks support from Fil-Am...personal meaning to her.

“When I think about this part of California, the first thing I think about is my mom, and how kind people were to her here when her own family was not,” Clinton said, as she recalled her mother who worked as a maid and went to high school in nearby Alhambra.

“I know how important family is to all of you. That is how I see our country. I see us when we are at our best, as lifting up families, helping families be strong, helping families get the support they need to do the best they can for their children and for their parents.”

Clinton touched upon several issues “that keep families up at night” and those that resonate with AAPIs, such as college af-fordability, tax breaks for family caregivers and immigration.

In a $350-billion proposal called the New College Compact, Clinton aims to end student loan debt by cutting tax deductions from the wealthy and instead, give grants to states so students can cover tuition costs at four-year public colleges and universities.

She also proposed a new tax credit last November that offsets up to $6,000 in costs for middle-class families who care for their aging parents or grandparents and disabled family members. The plan also outlined providing caregivers with additional Social Security benefits and reforming work-family policies to support paid and unpaid caregivers.

On immigration, Clinton de-fended her vote on a comprehen-sive bill in Senate and promised to continue on President Barack Obama’s executive actions.

“When I was a senator, I worked to reduce the backlog on visas and reunite immigrant families — I will keep up that fight. Immigrants from the Asia Pacific region make up 40 percent of the family visa backlog,” she said. “Some from the Philippines have been waiting for a visa for 23 years.”

Fil-Ams for HillaryBuses of Fil-Ams bearing “Fili-

pinos-Americans for Hillary” signs came from Los Angeles, San Di-ego, San Francisco and Las Vegas on Thursday morning.

Amid chants of “Mabuhay Hill-ary,” Fil-Ams were one of the largest groups represented in the crowd, and were acknowledged in Clinton’s remarks.

In her speech, Clinton also men-tioned Cheska, a Fil-Am DREAMer from Las Vegas who now works for the campaign.

“The day after I announced that I was running for president, Ches-ka volunteered with our campaign. Now she’s a field organizer in Las Vegas. She put her own college education on hold because she wants to shape the country that has given her so many opportuni-ties,” Clinton said. “I want to give young people like Cheska every change to succeed…but I need your help to do that.”

When asked what a Hillary Clinton presidency would mean for Fil-Ams, Melissa Ramoso — a member of the National AAPIs for Hillary Leadership Council and a founding member of Filipino Americans for Hillary — said that it would bring more recognition to the community.

“[She] and her husband’s ad-ministration have had Filipino Americans as their top advisers and have elevated Filipino Ameri-cans into positions of leadership. Secretary Clinton understands the important issues relevant to our community, such as immigration reform and caring for the elderly. These are issues important to me personally and am grateful for a candidate that understands that they are for Filipino Americans,” Ramoso said.

Added Fil-Am businesswoman and community leader Loida Nicolas-Lewis, who flew from New York for the launch, “Filipino-Americans should really be voting for her because she’s the only candidate — whether Democrat or Republican — who has recognized the Fil-Am community. In 1999, she was the keynote speaker at the National Federation of Filipino American Associations’ (NaF-FAA) event, the first White House occupant to come to a Filipino event…She knows our issues very well. Early on, she has been for Filipino World War II veterans, for immigration reform, for educa-tion and for more funds for small businesses, all of which are issues important to Fil-Ams.”

Arnel Dino, vice chair of the Filipino-American Democratic Caucus of the California Demo-cratic Party, said that “it’s her time — she has the experience and we want someone who is a friend of AAPIs.”

Las Vegas-based community leader Gloria Caoile noted that the presence of Fil-Ams in the crowd showed that “it is a great time for us to speak out with our voices at the ballot box.”

Together with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and NaFFAA, Caoile and Rozita Lee have been getting AAPIs to register to vote in Southern Ne-vada, and will organize town hall meetings in the coming months.

“In this room today, as a veteran

— and I say that with pride — it’s a great reunion of folks who have worked on campaigns for the last 30 years and have empowered AAPI communities all over the country,” Caoile said, adding that a Clinton presidency would be advantageous to the Fil-Am community.

“Our voices will be heard, our issues will be addressed. Her record has really been tested for her stand on social and economic justice, for families and minorities. As a two-fer — as a Filipina and a woman — I really feel comfort-able that we will now be part of this great political infrastructure,” Caoile said.

Added Lee, “Hillary under-stands our culture and she’s going to protect us.”

Republicans reactIn 2015, 56 percent of US-born

Asian American registered vot-ers were young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, while 29 percent were middle-aged (34-54) and 16 percent were 55 and older, according to a study by UCLA and the Asian Pacific American Insti-tute for Congressional Studies.

As both sides of the aisle ramp up campaign efforts, they will be courting AAPI voters.

Clinton called out the “hateful rhetoric” of the GOP, including that of frontrunner Donald Trump, who recently proposed barring Muslims from entering the United States.

“[Republicans] forget a fun-damental lesson about our great country. Being an open and tol-erant society does not make us vulnerable — it’s at the core of our strength of who we are,” she said. “Either we are going to defend the progress we have made and build on it or we are going to let a Re-publican president rip it all away. Make no mistake about it, what you’re hearing from all of them are the same, failed policies that led to the great recession.”

Despite the outpour of support for Clinton, Republicans immedi-ately listed reasons why the former secretary of state is unfit for the presidency.

“Hillary Clinton’s policy pro-posals will not benefit our Fil-Am communities here in California or across the country. We need a Republican candidate who will fight for our values – lower taxes, religious liberty and protecting our national security,” said Cecile Ramos of the Fil-Am Republican Party of Los Angeles.

A memo released on Wednes-day, Jan. 6 by Jason Chung, direc-tor of APA engagement, and Ninio Fetalvo, APA press secretary at the Republican National Committee (RNC), said that Democrat poli-cies “harm, rather than benefit” AAPI communities. Among the affected segments that the memo cited are AAPI entrepreneurs, small businesses and youth, and suggested that the demographic will instead “stand with the Re-publican Party.”

Fetalvo further said that Clin-ton’s interactions with AAPIs are for “her own political fundraising” gains.

“The reality is Democrats have long taken the AAPI community for granted, and Hillary Clinton will be no different as she con-tinues to support the same failed policies that hurt AAPIs across the country,” he said.

Fil-Am Ron Falconi, mayor of Brunswick, Ohio, said that AAPIs should “see which party can provide the right answers to national security, lower taxes, and a stronger economy,” while Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes added that the Republican Party aligns with what many AAPI cul-tures value.

“As an Asian American Pacific

Islander on both sides of my fam-ily, I have always been drawn to the Republican Party’s emphasis on rewarding self-reliance, hard work and the risks inherent with owning a small business with lower taxes, less government interference and economic pros-perity. The policies and principles of the Republican Party should appeal to AAPI’s more than the unfulfilled promises, false hope and burdensome regulations of the Democrats,” Reyes said.

Though Clinton is fairly popular among younger voters, some Fil-Am millennials active in the GOP, including Gerard Gosioco, call on AAPIs to look into Clinton’s record.

“In light of the AAPI for Hillary launch, I implore Asian Ameri-cans and Pacific Islanders alike to really do their research before supporting Hillary Clinton. Al-though it may seem like she will be advocating for issues that are important to our communities, her voting record and the policies she has supported in the past say otherwise,” Gosioco said.

Get out the vote initiativesAlso present on Thursday were

Norm Mineta (the first Asian American to hold a post in the presidential cabinet, who was secretary of commerce during Bill Clinton’s administration and transportation secretary during George W. Bush); California state treasurer John Chiang; Irene Bueno, who led AAPI outreach in Clinton’s 2008 campaign; and San Gabriel Mayor Jason Pu.

Michelle Kwan, who now serves as surrogate outreach coordinator for the campaign, emphasized Clinton’s commitment to women.

“The difference is…[that] she is fighting for women’s rights…there’s so much at stake in terms of women’s rights and LGBT rights in this election, so it’s for every-one,” Kwan said.

The former Olympic figure skat-er and five-time world champion appeared at the AAPI Democratic Caucus (AAPIDC) meeting in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 12, where she said Clinton is the kind of “person I want to see in the White House.”

“When you look at the debates and see how Hillary conducted herself during the Benghazi hear-ing, [you see] her experiences in both domestic and foreign policy and her understanding [of] how to get things done. I think we need a candidate with [that] experience and with that sort of leadership.”

Rocio Nuyda, who organized Clinton supporters throughout LA for the AAPI movement launch, noted that this year, her focus is to get more Fil-Am Democrats to register to vote.

“They could be here watching what’s going on and cheering, but if they don’t register and they don’t vote, then that’s useless,” Nuyda said.

Dino added that more has to be done to raise awareness on issues that are at the forefront of this election.

“We have a lot of people in our community who aren’t accessing services and who aren’t voting. When issues that come up that affect them, they don’t educate themselves,” he said.

Over the weekend, Clinton’s campaign held workshops in Los Angeles and the Bay Area on how to gather community support for the presidential candidate.

Clinton will once again appear in a Democratic debate on Janu-ary 17, which Fil-Am community members will closely be watch-ing. There are plans for a debate watch party that night in vari-ous areas, such as Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown. (Christina Oriel/AJPress)

DATELINE PHILIPPINESTROs vs Comelec in Poe cases a�rmed

by TARRA QUISMUNDOInquirer.net

THE SUPREME Court on Tues-day, Jan. 12 upheld the temporary restraining orders (TROs) stop-ping the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from enforcing its resolutions canceling Sen. Grace Poe’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for President.

Voting 12-3, the Supreme Court said the TROs issued in Poe’s fa-vor would remain effective “until further orders” from the court.

The Comelec last month can-celed Poe’s COC, saying that she was not a natural-born Filipino because she was a foundling and that she failed to meet the 10-year residency requirement because she used to live in the United States.

But Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno issued last Dec. 28 a TRO in favor of Poe just hours after the senator’s camp filed two petitions asking the high tribunal to stop the Comelec from disqualifying her from the May election.

While the TRO remains in effect, Poe’s name remains on the ballot as a candidate for President.

Poe position boostedPoe said her position that she

was qualified to run for President received a boost Tuesday when the Supreme Court upheld the TROs against her disqualification.

The tribunal’s ruling was also good for democracy, the presi-dential candidate said.

“This strengthened my posi-tion that I am qualified to run for President in the elections in May,” Poe said in a statement, where she expressed her happiness over the ruling.

“This decision is good not only for my case and for my support-ers, but also for democracy in

general,” she added, vowing to continue her fight.

Poe’s spokesperson, Rex Gatch-alian, said the court’s newly up-held TRO “prevented an injustice from taking place.”

“We are grateful to the good justices for their swift action, impartiality and wisdom. We are hopeful that in the coming days once the merits are discussed, they will see the basis of our posi-tion,” Gatchalian said.

Sen. Francis Escudero, Poe’s running mate, also thanked the Supreme Court.

“We hope that the high court will also uphold the laws and long-established jurisprudence when it decides on the other petitions in connection with the candidacy of Senator Grace,” Escudero said.

Petitions consolidatedAlso Tuesday, the high court

en banc consolidated the two Poe petitions against disqualification orders from the Comelec’s First and Second Divisions. The con-solidated case was scheduled for oral arguments on Jan. 19.

The court also required Solici-tor General Florin Hilbay to “give

his views” on Poe’s cases against the Comelec, even while he had manifested that he could not represent Comelec having already entered his appearance for the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) in the separate case.

“While the Solicitor General had inhibited himself from the Poe cases, the court will nonethe-less notify the SolGen and require the SolGen to give his views in these two cases,” said court spokesperson Theodore Te.

Solicitor General Florin Hilbay earlier told the court that he could not defend the Comelec in the Poe petitions, as he was already counsel for the SET, which held a divergent position on the presi-dential candidate’s citizenship.

Disqualified presidential candi-date Rizalito David has a pending plea against the SET ruling in the high court, asserting that Poe, a foundling with unknown parent-age, is “stateless.”

“Originally set to be heard also on Jan. 19, the court reset oral arguments on this separate case “to another date, to be an-nounced.” (With a report from Leila B. Salaverria)

Aquino a capable leader during crises, says Palaceby KRISTINE ANGELI SABILLO

Inquirer.net

A MALACAÑANG official on Wednesday, Jan. 13 defended President Benigno Aquino III after Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile accused him for “failure of leadership.”

“President Aquino has demon-strated his capability as a leader through several crisis situations during his administration,” Com-munications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

“He (Aquino) has kept faith with the people’s mandate by serving with integrity, dedication and courage,” he added.

Coloma said the public’s trust in Aquino was seen when many of the President’s candidates won during the 2013 elections, in ad-dition to the “consistently-high performance, approval and trust ratings which he has maintained throughout the last five-and-a-half years.”

In an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM, Enrile said,

“there was a failure of leader-ship in Mamasapano, there was a failure of leadership in that fiasco in Luneta. It’s always a failure of leadership. There was a failure of leadership in Yolanda.”

He added: “I’m not about to

be an adviser to a president but I would suggest to him to reexamine himself, and don’t be paranoid on imputing any motive against other people. Reflect on yourself, and assert your leader-ship.”

Comelec: All’s well that ends wellALL’S well that ends well, ac-

cording to Election Commissioner Arthur Lim.

Lim and six other commission-ers appeared together at a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 12 to assure the public that all had been settled in the poll body after the publicized verbal tussle between poll Chair Andres Bautista and Commissioner Rowena Guanzon over the latter’s “unauthorized” submission of a legal comment to the Supreme Court.

All seven commissioners pre-sented themselves to media to emphasize that they had settled their differences and were united amid legal challenges.

“We would like to give assur-ance to our people that the Com-elec (Commission on Elections) is firmly committed to the holding of a clean, honest, orderly, peace-ful and credible election in 2016, and we shall not be sidetracked by any other issues other than to focus on the 2016 elections and make it a successful exercise for our people,” said Commissioner Arthur Lim, who spoke on behalf of the commission.

“We are united and focused to do the mandate that the Constitu-tion has given to us,” he added.

“In the past few days, you have been witness to certain issues or controversy that involved the commission, particularly our good chairman and good commissioner Guanzon. But that is to be expected in the light of any collegial body. The important thing is that we are able to address the issues and we have now decided to move forward and to leave all these controversies behind us,” Lim said.

“All is well that ends well,” Lim added.

Ahead of scheduleHe also said that the Comelec

was on track in all the election timelines.

“Even as we speak the voting machines are arriving in the port of Manila and the warehousing requirements and all other related activities are on track. We are even ahead of schedule and we shall, with the help of divine providence, fulfill our mandate to the best of our ability,” Lim said.

“All the controversy in the past has finally been resolved and settled,” he claimed.

Earlier this week, Bautista branded as “unauthorized” a legal comment submitted by Guanzon to the Supreme Court on the petition of Sen. Grace Poe to overturn the Comelec’s decision to disqualify her from the presidential race.

Bautista issued a memorandum directing Guanzon and Maria No-rina Tangaro-Casingal, director of the Comelec’s law department, to “explain within 24 hours under whose authority” Thursday’s com-ment was filed.

Guanzon fired back, insisting that only the full commission, not Bau-tista, could say that the comment she filed was “unauthorized.”

In an interview with reporters a few hours after the commissioners

faced the media, Guanzon said: “What is important now is what’s good for the country and the Com-elec. We should just move forward from here.”

But all is still not well from the point of view of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, another presi-dential candidate facing disquali-fication cases.

Duterte wants Guanzon to in-hibit from participating in the disqualification cases filed against him.

In a petition, Duterte said Guan-zon had shown bias when she became the lone dissenter in the commission’s decision last Dec. 17 to accept the certificate of candi-dacy of Duterte without prejudice to pending disqualification cases against him.

The petition noted how Guan-zon’s dissenting opinion pointed at issues against Duterte that were not even mentioned by the petitioner (broadcaster Ruben Castor), showing her prejudgment of the case.

Due process, fair play“Respondent Duterte humbly

submits that Commissioner Guan-zon, consistent with due process and fair play, should have refrained from making any adverse conclu-sions with respect to the election documents of a candidate without first seeing and reading an actual petition raising such allegations and issues,” it added.

Aside from her questionable dissenting opinion, Duterte’s camp also pointed to Guanzon’s close association to the lawyer of another petitioner against the Davao mayor—University of the Philippines Student Council chair John Paulo Delas Nieves. The lawyer, Maria Sheila Bazar, and Guanzon are both members and founders of the Gender Justice Network, Duterte’s peti-tion said.

Duterte is facing four disqualifi-cation cases filed by Castor, Delas Nieves, Rizalito David and lawyer Eli Pamatong.

The cases all allege that Duterte cannot substitute for Martin Diño, whose certificate of candidacy is materially defective and, therefore, invalid.

Duterte vows to become respectable national leaderby ROBERTZON RAMIREZ

Philstar.com

MANILA—Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to transform himself from a local executive to a respectable na-tional leader if elected president in May.

“The clock is ticking. The transformation must begin now. It is time to decide if you and I will make the sacrifice needed and transform ourselves so we will be worthy of our country. The transformation must start with me. From a local leader, I have to become a national leader worthy of your respect and trust,” he said in a recent interview aired on dzRJ 810 AM.

Duterte, standard-bearer of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), also promised to be a Philippine president that the world would re-spect as the country is a member of the community of nations.

Duterte is known for being tough-talking. He drew flak for bragging that he is a womanizer and that he killed criminals. He was also lambasted for cursing at Pope Francis during the procla-

mation rally of PDP-Laban where he complained about the traffic jams caused by the papal visit in January last year.

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes took a swipe at Duterte in a televi-sion interview, saying that the mayor’s disciplinary method “may have worked in Davao but it’s definitely not going to work in the national scale.”

“You don’t run the country like that. There should be a vision, a program of action that you would actually have to enumerate,” Trillanes added.

But Duterte asked the people if they would still want another six-year presidential term full of criminals, drug addicts, and con-tinuing poverty and corruption.

“Or do we once and for all fix our country so our coming generations will have a future?” he added.

Duterte stressed that the 2016 presidential elections are the best opportunity for the people to unite in seeking reforms the country badly needs.

Duterte and his vice presiden-tial running mate Sen. Alan Peter

Cayetano started their nationwide campaign tour last week.

Duterte said among his plans for the Philippines is for it to become a drug-free country with less crime incidents.

He vowed to reduce the cost of food by 50 percent by getting rid of unscrupulous middlemen and loan sharks, and by mus-tering government’s resource to build infrastructure for the delivery of food to lessen spoil-age.

He promised to create employ-ment by putting up a steel indus-try “that will spawn factories and create jobs.”

He also vowed to build more classrooms, raise the salary of teachers, and double the shifts of classes with the use of large-screen television sets.

“Government media and our schools must also teach values of honesty, hard work, respect for the law and above all dignity and pride as Filipinos,” he said.

“I have done many of these in Davao even with existing limita-tions of our government struc-tures. With your help, we can do it nationwide,” he added.

by TINA G. SANTOSInquirer.net

S:4.775 ‘’T:4.9 ‘’

S:10.375 ‘’T:10.5 ‘’

OPINION FEATURES

A RECENT public opinion poll conducted for Manila Standard by research specialist Junie Laylo indicates that “corruption” is considered “the most important problem of the country,” rat-ing 31%, or more than twice the next highest ranking issue, “pov-erty” (15%). These are followed by “drug addiction/illegal drugs” (14%), “unemployment/lack of jobs” (10%), “high prices of goods/services” (9%), “criminality” (7%), “low salary/income” (4%) and “traffic” (1%).

To the political strategists with an eye on the 2016 presidential elections, corruption, therefore, would seem to be the logical thrust of their cam-paigns: skewer the competition with allegations of corruption and consign them to the bottom of the survey rankings. This practically calls for a recy-cling of “Kung walang korap, walang mahirap!” (If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor), the 2010 slo-gan that supposedly catapulted Benigno S. Aquino III to the presidency.

But then, why has Vice-President Jejomar Binay surged back to the top of the recent poll rankings, in spite of the longest, most vicious character assassi-nation campaign ever mounted against a presiden-tial aspirant? And why is Binay’s principal “assas-sin,” Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, with pretensions of incorruptibility and integrity, a tail-ender in the vice-presidential race?

Even fellow Senate sub-committee tormentor, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, is behind Senator Bongbong Marcos in the vice-presidential rankings, despite Marcos’ carrying the burden of his father’s legacy of corruption?

And why is Liberal Party presidential standard bearer, Mar Roxas, having so much difficulty catch-ing up with the lead pack in spite of being the prime proponent of Aquino’s anti-corruption platform, Tu-wid na Daan (Straight Path)?

The clue may be in the adage: Research should be used as a lamp to illuminate, rather than as a lamp post to lean on.

Ten different analysts can interpret the same re-search data in ten different ways. Research findings must be analyzed and interpreted in relation to cul-tural and attitudinal nuances, as well as the current socio-political environment.

This brings to mind the con-sumer research we conducted for Nescafé Instant Coffee, back in the early 80’s, to serve as ba-sis for a new ad campaign. After a Focus Group Discussion (FGD), a member of the marketing team excitedly informed me that he had identified the reason why people drank coffee.

“They drink coffee to warm their stomachs,” he said eagerly. ”Let’s take it from there.”

“So what do you want us to say in our ad?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face. “’Drink Nes-café because it warms your stomach better!’?”

It took a deeper understanding of the Filipino psyche to pinpoint the consumer benefit that would give Nescafé a competitive edge. While most of the respondents declared that the reason they bought Blend 45 was because “it tasted good enough,” they conceded, after probing, that if they won in the Sweepstakes, they would buy Nescafé “because it tasted better.” Probed some more, they said it was because Nescafé was “imported.” It was colonial mentality at play! In fact, Nescafé was already be-ing made locally.

We took the cue and I wrote the campaign, “Ne-scafé – Enjoyed in the Great Cities of the World,” It became the longest-running and most successful ad campaign for the brand.

Like the Nescafé research findings, “corruption” as an issue may not give a candidate a competitive edge – at least, not for the 2016 elections. The rea-son is because, just as all brands of coffee can warm the stomach, all politicians are perceived as corrupt, and that appears to be truer now than in 2010.

Whether fairly or unfairly, these days, the term “honest politician” is an oxymoron. The pork bar-rel scam, the unconstitutional Disbursement Ac-celeration Program (DAP), the alleged bribing of Senators to ensure the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, the unexplained with-holding of millions in Yolanda disaster relief funds, the suspected use of Bottom Up Budgeting (BUB) and Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) funds to buy votes, the selective prosecution by the Ombuds-man of political opponents while sparing allies, the shady dealings in the Department of Transportation

Is corruption the key issue in the 2016 election?

GREG B. MACABENTA

Street Talk IT is President Benigno S.

Aquino’s criminal negligence that resulted in 44 police commandos massacred; that should convince us never, never again to have such kind of yellow leadership, especially that of a haciendero scion.

It is the criminal mismanage-ment by his candidate, Manuel Roxas 2nd, of the main mass transport system of Metro Manila that has made the MRT-3 a daily hell for hundreds of thousands of commuters. That should be enough to convince every Filipino never ever again to vote into any position of power any-body from the yellow cult, especially a haciendero scion.

Consider the facts and tell me if I am exaggerat-ing.

For 10 years after MRT3 started operations, the Japanese firm Sumitomo Corp. maintained the sys-tem under a contract with Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), the MRT-3 builder. The train was so effi-cient that Sumitomo would boast about MRT-3 in its sales pitch for bidding for similar projects around the world.

Sumitomo’s contract expired July 2010, and was renewed on a six-month basis only, but for four times by the MRTC, subject to DOTC’s approval. MRTC chairman Robert Sobrepeña told this writer that Sumitomo was in a bind – it required a longer time frame, so it would estimate how much of main-tenance inventory it needed to keep, which actually cost half of its more than $1 million monthly con-tract. Sobrepeña and Sumitomo continually wrote letters to the DOTC to request a bidding for a lon-ger-term contract. “We got absolutely no reply,” he said.

In the letter of DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya published in response to columnist Jarius Bondoc’s well-researched exposes, the secretary wrote:

“On 4 October 2012, the MRTC wrote the DOTC, informing the latter that it would no longer procure a maintenance service contractor once Sumitomo’s contract would expire (sic) on 19 October 2012.

Given the short period of time left before said

contract would expire, the DOTC resorted to a simplified bidding process in line with the Procure-ment Law (Republic Act No. 9184) beginning in the first week of October 2012.”

Abaya lyingAbaya was lying so the blame

would be on MRTC, that it sud-denly stopped Sumitomo’s con-

tract.It was the DOTC’s MRT-3 General Manager Al

Vitangcol who told the MRTC in early September that it would no longer agree to extend Sumitomo’s contract.

The DOTC officially informed the MRTC on Oc-tober 4 that Sumitomo’s contract would not be ex-tended. It then scheduled a bidding in two weeks, a “simplified” one, which involved simply the sub-mission of bids, and for government to negotiate with what it felt was the best bidder. It justified this by claiming it was an emergency move taken in order to prevent, to quote its letter, “a stoppage of MRT-3’s operations, which would have severely disrupted the daily transportation needs of its close to 600,000 riders.”

That was the start of MRT-3’s deterioration.Note that all this time, when a proper bidding

could have been undertaken and bidders given all the time to prepare for it – two years after Sumito-mo’s contract expired July 2010 – the head of the DOTC, the Cabinet member in charge of this crucial mass transit system, was Roxas.

Totally unexpected however – although con-spiracy theorists allege another scenario – was the death of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo Aug. 18, with Aquino announcing Aug. 31, 2012 that Roxas would replace him.

However, Roxas assumed his DILG post only Oct. 19, the day the Sumitomo contract expired, and an obscure PH Trams-CB&T, was designated winner of the simplified bidding.

PH Trams-CB&T was a brand new company only two months old, and had a subscribed capitalization of only P2.5 million, or equivalent to only a 120th part of the P300 million cost of the MRT-3 mainte-

ALONG WITH MAMASAPANO, SENATE SHOULD ALSO INVESTIGATE THIS

Roxas squarely responsible for MRT-3 mess

RIGOBERTO TIGLAO

Commentary

THE historic two-term tenure of the first Afri-can-American president is almost over.

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union (SOTU) ad-dress.

Deemed as his valedictory speech, the president reported to the American people what his admin-istration has accomplished and set the road map to where he hopes the next leader of the most powerful country of the world would stir the na-tion moving forward.

He also declared, with a sense urgency, what he would still want to complete and deliver in the last 12 months of his presidency, appealing to Con-gress to work with him for the good of the Ameri-can people they all have sworn to serve beyond party lines and personal interests.

In his SOTU, Obama also set the agenda on what the American people should be looking for, not only in his successor, but in other elected pub-lic officials, to make sure they continue to build

on the gains his administration has worked on and fought so hard for.

Ahead of Tuesday’s SOTU, Pres. Obama sent out messages to his supporters, inviting them to watch his last report to the na-tion. Here is an excerpt:

“When we took office, we were losing nearly 750,000 jobs a month. But over the last 69 months, our business-es have created more than 13.7 million new jobs -- the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record -- and the unemployment rate is down to 5 percent.

For the first time, more than 90 percent of Americans are now covered, and more than 17 million people have gained health insurance under Obamacare. Insurance companies can’t discrimi-nate against people with pre-existing conditions, or charge women more just for being women.

And America is now leading by example on climate change. The Clean Power Plan will cut car-bon pollution from power plants by 32 percent by 2030. We’ve cut our oil imports by more than half, while doubling clean energy production from wind, solar, and geothermal -- creating steady sources of good jobs that can’t be

outsourced. Even as our economy is growing, America has

cut our carbon pollution overall more than any other advanced nation on Earth. And we just helped secure the most ambitious global climate agreement in history.

These are your accomplishments, and that’s what I want to celebrate with you on January 12. As long as you’re out there organizing, on what-ever issue you’re organizing around, America has a bright future ahead.”

The stagecraft of his SOTU told much of his nar-rative. Each of his special guests were real people who stood for what his administration fought for, and what would have to be done -- economic re-bound after the recession; health care and educa-tion for all; immigration reform; keeping America safe and secure; stricter gun control measures; ad-dressing the challenges of climate change; hope, equal opportunities and help the middle class and ordinary Americans regardless of economic sta-tus, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual preference, reli-gious beliefs, immigration status, etc.

WHAT do you think? In the past seven years, has Obama delivered what his campaign prom-ised?

* * *

WHILE every life is a cause for celebration, taking care of the next generation by keeping tabs on the population is a daunting chal-lenge. Stabilizing the population — to not outstrip economic growth and the country’s resources — is a more challenging task.

Cost cutting

Environmental stress, biodiver-sity loss, climate change and pres-sure on natural resources signal that the Philippines is already over-populated. But the numbers are still exploding.

The Philippine population hit 102.4 million by the end of 2015. This year, it is expected to in-crease to 104 million as 1.5 million babies are ex-pected to be born. Based on the data gathered by the Commission on Population (PopCom), in five to 10 years, the country will probably have the “big-gest number of women of reproductive age that we will ever see, at 25 to 30 million.”

With these alarming numbers, a hard look on the country’s population control policies is the best option. The government needs to vigorously implement its population policy, which are respon-sible parenthood and the advocacy for natural fam-ily planning.

Health Secretary Janette Garin stressed the need to provide young and poor couples with fam-ily planning services to allow them to make better choices and to give their children a better future. She took note of the Philippines’ very young popu-lation, wherein women as young as 14 years old are getting pregnant. However, this option was made unavailable after the Senate struck off the P1 billion allotted for family planning commodities for

2016 from the national budget.Garin said the Department of

Health (DOH) originally earmarked P1 billion out of its proposed budget of P124 billion from the P3 trillion

national budget for this year to cover the free pro-vision of condoms, IUDs, birth control pills particu-larly for breastfeeding mothers, in health centers.

Following the budget cut, Garin said that the department will have to exhaust its resources to provide for 6.7 percent of the country’s population with “unmet” family planning services. She added that to be able to sustain its health program for the rest of the year, the DOH would now need to be aggressive in tapping its international partners like the United Nations Population Fund and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Sen. Loren Legarda justified the budget cut say-ing that the P1 billion will be used for increases in other agencies, “including for DND air assets upgrading, which is timely and equally important given the West Philippine Sea issue.” A part of the P1 billion, according to Legarda, will be redirected to the increase of budget for state colleges and universities.

Senators Pia Cayetano, author of the Repro-ductive Health law in the Senate, and Miriam Defensor-Santiago both were shocked by the budget cut.

Editorial

“This abandonment is immoral in a country where some 200 out of 100,000 women who give birth die. The enemies of reproductive health never sleep. We, too, must not rest in fighting for women’s health,” Santiago said.

Perhaps it is best to remind the people who allot budget appropriations that a ballooning popula-tion interlinks a myriad of issues and its control simply equates a matter of survival of the human race. While the causes of hunger, scarcity, disease,

poverty, war do not rest on the number of this planet’s inhabitants alone, controlling the popula-tion renders a chance for a better future.

It may be too late for this year, but in 2017, in preparing the country’s national budget, may the government also appropriate prudence and dis-cover why managing population is an essential formula to achieve poverty alleviation, disease eradication, and even safeguarding the economy and national security. (AJPress)

Last State of the Union address: Has Obama ful�lled his campaign promises?

GEL SANTOS-RELOS

The Fil-Am Perspective

Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine docks in Subic Bay

by TETCH TORRES-TUPASInquirer

Some Bilibid inmates embrace vanity, turn metrosexuals, latest raid reveals

Is corruption the key issue in the...and Communication (DOTC), to mention a few, have generated as much criticism as the allegations of overpricing, bribery and bid-rigging in Makati.

From another perspective, the attitude of people towards cor-ruption appears to be in direct proportion to their perception of a politician’s competence and beneficence. The better he per-forms in office and the more ser-vices and benefits he provides his constituents, the more tolerable – even acceptable - his alleged corruption becomes. Think Robin Hood.

You may ask, why then did the anti-corruption platform work in the presidential campaign of Noynoy Aquino?

While that admittedly helped, it may not have been the most im-portant factor. The death of Presi-dent Cory Aquino may have had a much greater emotional impact on the citizenry. And her squeaky clean image was also a stark con-trast to that of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Towards the end of her term, Arroyo had become the principal poster girl for corruption, its vir-tual personification, due to her long, 9-year tenure (next only to Marcos’ two decades-plus). That negative image was so toxic that it severely affected the presiden-tial hopes of Senator Manny Vil-lar. Being branded as “Villarroyo” – by inference, a clone of the outgoing president – became the mark of Cain for Villar.

In contrast, the cloud of cor-ruptibility has hovered like a pall over the entire Aquino gov-ernment, and the ruling Liberal

nance contract it was given.One of its six investors was

known in Pangasinan province as a Liberal Party financial supporter – Wilson de Vera. He had been accused by the Czech ambassa-dor of attempting in July 2012 to extort $30 million from the Czech company Inekon in exchange for winning the contract to supply MRT-3 its train cars.

On Dec. 15, the Ombudsman filed charges against Vitangcol, who signed the contract for MRT-3 and all of PH Trams incorpora-tors for corruption involving the contract’s award. That’s another case why I question the Ombuds-man’s integrity: Why weren’t Vi-tangcol’s bosses, first Roxas, and then Abaya, charged?

Why did Roxas drag his feet for a month-and-a-half to leave his DOTC post Oct. 19, even if Aquino had appointed him to the DILG post Aug. 31? Is this a huge coincidence that Oct. 19 was after the PH Trams closed the contract with MRT-3?

Am I too biased to suspect that Roxas was a segurista, that he wanted to make sure that his two-year plot to get a favored con-tractor in place before he stepped down pushed through? Was it even a better scenario for him that his apparently witless lack-ey, Abaya, and Vitangcol signed the contract papers and, there-fore, would be accountable if the scheme wax exposed?

What these morons did not real-ize, though, was that Sumitomo’s maintenance contract was not as

Roxas squarely responsible for...

Party, as much as those they have aggressively tarnished.

Recalling the Nescafé market-ing case, if all brands of coffee warm the stomach, using that as a consumer appeal would not make sense. Similarly, if all politicians are perceived as corrupt, accus-ing a political rival of corruption is like spitting in the wind.

In sum, to correctly analyze and interpret research about the aver-age Juan, Pedro and Maria, you must have the ability to fit in their shoes as well as in their tsine-las (slippers). And to understand the mind of the masses, you must feel their pain. Needless to say, if one were to the hacienda born and the only exposure to aver-

age folks is by way of the house help and the tenant farmers, that would not be easy to do.

Thus, to refer back to the find-ings in the Manila Standard re-search, while “corruption” may appear to be the biggest problem of potential voters, what could be more important to them is know-ing who among the candidates can help them with food, jobs, education and good health.

Take it from our neighborhood tricycle driver:

“Kung pare-parehong korap ang mga politiko, duon na ako sa makakatulong sa akin.” (If all poli-ticians are corrupt, I’ll go for the one who can help me). (gregma-cabenta@hotmail.com)

profitable as it seemed. Half of the contract price was the cost of inventory for the MRT-3’s parts, which were expensive because many of them were precision-en-gineered and of the highest-qual-ity steel.

What the idiots didn’t knowWhat these idiots did not know

was the typical Japanese business model that is so different from the Americans. Japanese companies have a longer-term strategy, so that they agree to the smallest margins, as long as their repu-tation is built up for more and bigger projects. Its MRT-3 main-tenance contract barely made a profit, but Sumitomo used the rail’s efficiency as a sample of its expertise in light rail building.

Indeed, Sumitomo has built up a reputation as one of the best light-rail builders in the world, with its latest projects being the $500 million contract signed in 2012 to build Vietnam’s first ur-ban rail system and a $398 mil-lion supply contract for Chicago Metra’ commuter rail cars.

Trying to scrimp on cost as much as it could from its con-tract, PH Trams didn’t build up a stock of spare parts that it had to cannibalize its other cars for the required parts. The result: the number of cars running at pres-ent stands at 14 at the most, down sharply from 70 when Sumitomo was running MRT-3.

Without replacements, the trains’ steel wheels have also be-come squeezed into ovals so that now these have to run slower or they would be derailed. With

maintenance becoming so messed up, MRT-3 trains have been stop-ping at mid-stations, are so few, or run so slowly.

But Abaya may not really be the person he may think he is, since he appears so “what-me-worry?” confident even if it has become obvious to many that he messed up MRT-3, that it is an accident waiting to happen.

On Christmas eve, Abaya awarded a new P4 billion contract to a Korean-Filipino consortium consisting of Busan Transporta-tion Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mer-cantile Inc., TMCI Corp Inc., and Castan Corp. As what hap-pened during Roxas’ time, Abaya claimed there was an emergency situation so that the “winner” of the bid was determined through negotiations.

Roxas, when he was about to assume the six-year term of the top DOTC post, awarded only six-month contracts for the MRT-3. Abaya – who is also the Liberal Party president, by the way – hav-ing only less than six months to go before he leaves the DOTC as its secretary, signs a contract for three years, i.e., until 2018, long after he is gone. I think Abaya turns out to be more clever than Roxas.

If the Senate is reinvestigat-ing the Mamasapano massacre, they might as well investigate the MRT-3 mess, which could, if un-corrected, lead to accidents killing more than those murdered by the Moro insurgents in Mamasapano. (tiglao.manilatimes@gmail.com)

MANY crave for beautiful and glowing skin, even those inside the Maximum Security Com-pound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

As proof, during the raid on Wednesday, Jan. 13, authorities have confiscated a diamond peel machine used to rejuvenate the skin and lighten dark pigmentations among other contrabands.

Authorities also seized one unit of electric massage machine, shower water heater and micro-

wave oven.The raid was conducted at

Quadrant 1 of the NBP’s Maxi-mum Security Compound cover-ing Dormitories 1, 6 and the NBP Hospital.

Authorities also seized a cali-ber .45 pistol “STI edge”, one cal. .45 magazine, seven pieces of cal. 45 live ammo and three pieces of .9mm live ammo, as-sorted bladed weapons such as J-Hooks, fan knife and scissors.

Also seized were assorted drug paraphernalia, four containers of fermented yeast, 200 grams of yeast and power tools such

as electric drill, grinder, wood router, submersible pump.

There were also assorted mo-bile phones seized as well as laptops, dual band transceiver, photocopier, pocket wifi, gaming consoles, LED television, cable black box and refrigerators.

Author i t i es a l so se i zed P119,000 cash.

During the raid, authorities have also dismantled several kubols (inmates’ quarters).

The operation is part of “Oplan Galugad” to rid the national peni-tentiary of illegal activities and prohibited items.

A LOS ANGELES-class fast-at-tack submarine docked in Subic Bay on Tuesday, Jan. 12 as part of its routine Indo-Asia- Pacific de-ployment, the US embassy said.

The USS Topeka followed USS Texas which stopped by in Subic last week. Topeka’s visit was a few hours before the Supreme Court upheld the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) as constitutional.

The EDCA is a defense agree-ment between the Philippines and US signed in 2014, which allows the increased rotational presence

of troops and access to Philippine military bases.

“With a crew of 160 Sailors, Topeka will conduct a multitude of missions and maintain profi-ciency of the latest capabilities of the submarine fleet,” the embassy said.

Topeka is a capable of operating at depths greater than 800 feet at speeds up to 25 nautical miles per hour.

Measuring more than 300 feet long and weighing more than 6,000 tons, Topeka is one of the stealthiest submarines in the world. This submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of mis-sions, including anti-submarine

warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, surveillance and recon-naissance.

It will also be an opportunity for Filipino-American Sailors aboard will connect with their heritage.

“Having moved from the Phil-ippines and been raised in Cali-fornia from the age of three, I never really had a chance to experience true Filipino culture outside of my own family,” said Machinist Mate 1st Class Juan Paulo Reyes. “This trip to Subic that the Navy has offered me is a great opportunity to explore my heritage and connect with members of my family still in the Philippines.”

Santiago hits rivals over ad splurgeMANILA—Sen. Miriam De-

fensor-Santiago accused her presidential rivals of engaging in premature campaigning.

Santiago noted reports that four of the presidential candidates spent as much as P2.3 billion for campaign ads last year.

She vowed to call for a Senate probe on the ad splurge, which she said adds a sense of urgency for her colleagues to finally con-sider her proposed Anti-Prema-ture Campaigning Act and the related CIRPO Act, requiring any person interested in running for public office to file a certificate of intention to run for public office six months before the deadline for filing of a certificate of candidacy (COC).

She also urged voters to treat as red flags for corruption the billions presidential candidates are spending for ads even before the campaign period.

“The question we must ask is this: how will these politicians recover the scandalous amounts they spend for their campaign? The simple answer is that they will steal from public funds, or will at least be tempted to do so,” Santiago said.

Although sidelined by lung cancer, Santiago did not let go

by FRANCES MANGOSINGInquirer

by CHRISTINA MENDEZ Philstar.com

unnoticed the ad splurge of her presidential rivals, adding that they might be forced to return favors to affluent campaign con-tributors once they are elected into office.

“An alternative would be to give favors to rich contributors, to the detriment of public interest,” Santiago said.

Santiago took to task four of her rivals in the 2016 presidential elections after they reportedly spent a total of P2.3 billion for television ads from January to December 2015.

Liberal Party candidate Manuel Roxas II was the top spender, shelling out P774 million, fol-lowed by Vice President Jejomar Binay, P695 million; Sen. Grace

Poe, P694 million, and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, P129 million.

She noted that almost all can-didates have spent beyond the expected limit for campaign expenses. By the standards set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), every presidential candidate may spend only P10 per voter, or a total of P545 million for the projected 54.5 million voters in 2016.

“A president’s salary is only P120,000 a month. He or she may thus expect to earn only P8.64 million for the six years that he or she is in office. These big spend-ers therefore cannot say that they will earn theirmoney back if elected,” Santiago said.

VEGAS&STYLEJOURNAL

GETTING PERSONAL WITH PIA ALONZO WURTZBACHMiss Universe sits down with Asian Journal for a one-on-one interview

By MOMAR G. VISAYAAJPRESS

BY now, the world…the uni-verse, rather, already knows who Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is.

Chalk it up to a confluence of things, or maybe an alignment of stars. When the Steve Harvey debacle happened on December 20, 2015 where he announced the wrong name as the Miss Universe winner, people’s minds went on full gear.

Conspiracy theorists made more than enough noise; was the wrong announcement planned all along? Other people said it was a design issue, saying that it wasn’t Steve

Harvey’s fault since the design of the card that he was supposed to read was well, badly-designed. And still, others, including one of the evening’s judges Perez Hilton believed it was a human error. “He had a job and he didn’t do it well,” Hilton said.

The most beautiful mistake is now almost a month old, yet people are still talking about it. Slow news cycle, yes, maybe the week that it happened. But week after week since the coronation, people have not run out of things to talk about.

But what happened to the main players?

Steve Harvey seemed to be the

fastest to move on as he tweeted “Merry Easter, y’all!” on Christ-mas Day.

Ariadna Gutierrez in her back-stage interview said “things hap-pen for a reason” and posted a statement on Instagram with a photo of her wearing the crown and saying “Forever your Miss Universe” and followed it up a few days later with a post congratulat-ing the Filipinos for having a Miss Universe. A week later, she was on Colombian radio saying that she was embarrassed big time and that she wanted to share the Miss Universe crown. And in between, she was also offered a million dol-lars to do a porn film.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach had graciously accepted her fate when Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner. There she stayed, away from the spotlight, on one dimly lit corner of the stage she shared with the second runner-up, Miss USA. Less than two minutes later, a camera was in front of them; Steve Harvey was walking back near Miss Colombia.

“I think you just won Miss Uni-verse,” Miss USA Olivia Jordan whispered to Pia’s ear.

“I didn’t know what to do, I was looking for the stage managers and I was waiting for the announce-ment to make sure. I did not want

Golden Globe winner Rachel Bloom talks Filipino culture and TV diversity

Lea Salonga to appear on ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’

CREATOR, writer, producer and comedienne Rachel Bloom took home the Golden Globe on Sunday, Jan. 9 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical, for her CW show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”

“The CW has supported us creatively every step of the way,” Bloom said onstage Sunday night. “All those things you hear about networks trying to stifle creativ-ity--CW lets creators create and gives us freedom. I think the CW is fan-f---ing-tastic.”

Musical comedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” follows Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch, a suc-cessful, miserable young woman who impulsively leaves her job as a real estate lawyer in New York in search of love and happiness in West Covina, California, also the suburban hometown of her Filipino ex-boyfriend, Josh Chan,

played by Fil-Am actor Vincent Rodriguez III.

“‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ explores this idea of feeling crazy over someone,” Rodriguez told the Asian Journal last year, adding that the show --which premiered in October-- includes themes of family, friendship, and finding home away from home. “When you’re in love, it’s fun, ridiculous, and exciting.”

“My Thanksgiving With Josh,” an episode that aired on Nov. 16, 2015, made television history when the family of Josh Chan was introduced together with actors Amy Hill, Tess Paras, Alberto Is-sacs and Coryn Mabalot, all playing members of Josh’s immediate fam-ily, respectively. It was the first time a Filipino-American family was introduced to US broadcast televi-sion, reported FilAm Creative.

While in production for the first season, Bloom said she’d learned a great deal about storytelling

and the importance of diversity in television. Backstage at the Golden Globes, she also said she was “surprised” by the strong reaction

By ALLYSON ESCOBAR AJPRESS

Miss Universe sits down with Asian Journal for a one-on-one...to assume,” Pia said as she recalled the moment leading up to her coro-nation, the moment many pageant diehards believe was stolen from her because of what happened.

That ‘moment’, and the inau-gural walk, Pia had a chance for a do over as TV host Kelly Ripa asked her on their morning show just because she was deprived of that chance.

As gracious as she was in her initial loss, Pia was equally mag-nanimous in victory.

“I was concerned about Ariad-na’s feelings, that is why I was not in a full celebratory mode,” she remarked.

She was concerned yes, but she was a little firm when she was asked about her thoughts on sharing the crown with Miss Colombia.

“I think it would be difficult for two girls to share a crown, but I have high hopes that this will give great opportunities for me and Miss Colombia and the rest of the contestants,” Pia told Good Morning America. Quite the right response since she won the title fair and square based on the unanimous votes of the judges, the viewers and their co-candidates.

The Philippines waited for 42 years before winning another Miss Universe crown. Pia now joins the elite group of Gloria Diaz who won in 1969 and Margie Moran who won in 1973.

With her reign, she hopes to shine some light on three of the causes near and dear her heart – HIV and AIDS awareness, help-ing calamity-stricken countries with relief operations and cyber-bullying.

Despite, and maybe because of her stature as a beauty queen, Pia was the center of cyber-bullying herself when she posted some-thing back in May 2015 immedi-ately after Manny Pacquiao lost against Floyd Mayweather.

“I watched the fight and I was so affected that he didn’t win. Just like everybody else, I wanted him to win. It was meant as a joke. I wasn’t trying to threaten anybody,” she said, recalling what transpired in those moments. “To me, I said it in jest. I was just trying to be funny. A lot of people were not so happy with that tweet.”

The people who were not happy with that tweet bashed her end-lessly on social media, saying she was too over-confident and that she should be more humble.

“I guess my mistake was that I did not put any emojis. It was for me, something to be taken lightly,” she explained.

For her diehard followers – some call themselves Pianatics – the tweet was not a big deal, that Pia was – that early – just claiming the Miss Universe title already.

For that, she was quick to dispel the issue.

“I have claimed it ever since 2013! I always said, ‘I’m going to be Miss Universe’. I’ve said it so many times in my head and I’ve claimed it so many times, even in public when I was with my friends,” she said.

And it became her mantra.A couple of years later and here

we were, doing this interview a stone’s throw away from the Miss Universe Organization offices along Manhattan’s Avenue of the Americas.

The irony is that her being Miss Universe hasn’t totally and fully sunk in yet for her.

When we ask about her current state of mind, Pia replied quickly.

“It’s starting to sink in because I am finally working. It is different when you are at home and resting. You don’t get a grasp of what’s going on but when you’re actually at work and doing the duties and responsibilities of a Miss Universe, that’s when it started to sink in.”

Chasing PiaJanuary 4, 2016 was Day 1

for Pia and her new job as Miss Universe.

It was a very busy and produc-tive day (but very organized and well-managed too, she said) for her and she spent the day doing ten interviews. Her first one was with “Good Morning America,” followed by” Live with Kelly and Michael,” and ended with “CNN with Don Lemon” and ABC’s “Nightline with Juju Chang.” In between, there was “Access Hollywood,” “Inside Edition,” “Entertainment Tonight,” a live interview broadcast in the Philippines for ABS-CBN’s morn-ing show “Umagang Kay Ganda.”

The following day was step and repeat as she went through more interviews and guestings on Fox and Friends and other local shows.

What follows are excerpts of our one-on-one interview with the reigning Miss Universe.

On meeting Samuel JacksonI’m so happy that Samuel L.

Jackson was the first famous per-son I met because I am really a fan and I watch his movies. He’s such a good actor and he is so warm and friendly. When he saw me, he said, “Miss Philippines!” and we shook hands.

On her emotional sendoff in Manila

I was just so relieved that it was finally my turn for a press confer-ence and sendoff. I was also under a lot of pressure, it was so close to my flight to Las Vegas. And of course, we really wanted to win Miss Universe. It has been building up for so many years and I didn’t want to be the one to break that streak, of course not.

If for anything, I wanted to win, not just for myself but for every-body. All of that, the pressure, the relief, it was like I won again.

On being a breadwinner at a young age

It was not hard as I was never

forced into it. It was something that I enjoyed doing and I want to go back doing it after Miss Universe. It felt so natural to me. I went to school on weekdays and weekends I had shoots and tapings. To me, it was a pretty cool job for somebody my age at that time. I matured quite a bit compared to my peers because of that and that actually had some benefits as well.

On her third attempt for the title

I was in London because I was waiting for my sister Sarah to give birth. She was due around Christ-mas pero January na, wala pa and we had so many false alarms. It was almost my flight back home and she hasn’t given birth yet. I asked her if she wanted me to stay until she gave birth and she said, ‘You go! We’ve heard enough about this Binibining Pilipinas, it’s all you have been talking about since you got here. You obviously want it. Go!’

I flew back to Manila and I wasn’t really pageant-ready. I had to rush the preparation for the pageant, the rest of the training I did after na.

On destinyI believe in destiny but success

is not handed to you, you work hard for it.

On loving museumsI love visiting museums, even

when I was in England or in the Philippines. I usually go during my free time and I’m there for hours. It’s fascinating to me. After an in-terview earlier, we walked past the Museum of Modern Art and I was making mental notes on where it is so I can go back if I have time.

On NYC as a foodie cityI’m still trying to find out what

is the local cuisine here because it is so diverse. We (she then pauses for a while) have everything here. It’s actually my first time to say we, I mean, live here. I just noticed that everywhere you look, there are different cuisines. What is home-grown New York cuisine, that’s what I am trying to figure out.

On her culinary capabilitiesMy mom is a better cook, I’m

sure of that. She’s my biggest critic when I cook Filipino food because she’s the best. She has many dishes. I was not a fan of pancit before but now, when I think about it, I would love to eat her pancit, her lumpia and kare-kare, that’s my favorite. It’s my celebra-tory meal back in the Philippines. And pan de sal with Cheez Whiz, that’s my favorite thing to eat for breakfast.

On her Miss U friendsI was really close with Myanmar,

who was my roommate; Malaysia and China. We were under one supervisor and we had to stick to each other because you don’t want to get lost. If your supervisor is looking for you, you should all be together. They were my comic re-lief because at times, things would get so serious and competitive but

Ticker tape parade, courtesy call on Aquino await Pia in PH

by THELMA SIOSON SAN JUANInquirer.net

A ROUSING welcome awaits Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the coun-try’s first Miss Universe after a 42-year drought, when she ar-rives late afternoon of Jan. 23, a Saturday.

Expect the world’s most hos-pitable people to pull out all the stops when they celebrate Wurtzbach’s homecoming with a ticker tape parade, a citation of excellence, a medal of distinction and a courtesy call with President Benigno Aquino III no less.

Some 300 members of the foreign media are expected to fly to Manila to cover Wurtzbach’s hectic schedule, starting with a press conference and interviews with media on Sunday, and a courtesy call on President Aquino at Malacañang on Monday morn-ing.

She then motors to the Senate where she will be given a citation of excellence.

From the Sofitel hotel at the Cultural Center complex in Pasay City, a ticker tape parade will bring the beauty queen around Manila, the Makati central busi-ness district on Ayala Avenue, and finally, Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Grueling scheduleThe parade, which is expected

to run into early evening, is part of what appears to be a grueling schedule that would faze even the strongest. But then again, the 26-year-old Wurtzbach lived for this day, wearing the Miss Universe crown having been her lifelong ambition.

Young as she is, Wurtzbach took a relatively arduous route to the crown—losing twice in the Binibining Pilipinas pageant, learning to perform and model as early as her pre-teens, finally being a model, and recently, a contributing beauty writer/stylist

for Inquirer Lifestyle’s ToBeYou.Congressional medal of dis-

tinctionIt has been a journey that

brought to the fore this young woman’s tenacity, discipline, in-nate intelligence and fierce sense of independence.

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, this year’s Miss Universe will pay courtesy calls on Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and acting Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña.

In Quezon City, the House of Representatives will honor Wurtzbach with the congressional medal of distinction.

AdvocaciesThe succeeding days will be

devoted to the beauty queen’s advocacies, including raising awareness on HIV/AIDS. The incidence of HIV/AIDS in the country has risen sharply in the last few years.

On Thursday, Jan. 28, a Miss Universe homecoming special is scheduled at Smart Araneta Coli-seum in Cubao, Quezon City.

Capping Wurtzbach’s home-coming is her return on Friday to Cagayan de Oro City, where she grew up. She was born in Germany where her German fa-ther and Filipino mother initially settled.

ExceptionalWurtzbach’s homecoming

visit is being arranged by the Miss Universe officials with the Binibin-ing Pilipinas Charities chaired by Stella Marquez-Araneta.

Marquez-Araneta, a former Miss Colombia, remains effusive when she talks of Wurtzbach.

“She’s really exceptional. She’s always on time, never ever late,” she told the Inquirer. “Even the mentors were impressed with her. She’s always curious, always wanting to learn.”

Asked if she was surprised that Wurtzbach won, Araneta said, “Not at all.”

Pia is relaxed and refreshed in her Las Vegas hotel room after the confusion and controversy at the finals night, in this photo taken from her Instagram account.

when I was with them, I could just sit down and be me.

On her ideal manI like guys who have a sense

of humor. He has to be smart as well.

On the legacy she wants to leave as Miss Universe

I would like the people to remember me as someone who is very natural and relatable. I don’t want to be so stiff. I want to erase the image some people have of beauty queens, that we are so unreachable and poised all the time, that we can’t com-mit a mistake. That’s not true. We’re real people, we’re just like everybody else. I want to show that we’re human.

On Lea Salonga’s open letter welcoming her to New York

I love her advice for me and the things that I have to remember. I have yet to reply to her so thank you for reminding me.

On the last thing she listened to

(She went on to sing a few bars of a song with the lyrics ‘You are the universe…’ and asked if I knew that song.) I was singing it yester-day during a shoot and I asked if anybody knew that song. Nobody knew it. Is it just me? Did I make this song up? (laughs)

Last thing she ate(It was almost 2:00 pm) I haven’t

eaten anything yet, I had raw juice from a local juicer. I have them send it every day. Green juice.

On her nightly prayersI say thank you.Do you wish on stars?All the time.On what color she would be if

she were a crayon.Red, because I’m hot. (She

giggles and follows it up with ‘I’m just kidding.’) Green. That’s my favorite color.

Favorite drinkCoconut water.Favorite sportI don’t play but I love to watch

football, or soccer.Favorite toy as a kidMy Barbies. I had so much,

my dad spoiled me with so many Barbie dolls.

What is Pia Wurtzbach afraid of?

Regrets, that’s why I always try to do my best because I don’t want regrets.

Best assetsPhysical? My eyes. Character-

wise? My personality and my sense

of humor.On why she is where she is

right nowI had very good teachers, men-

tors, parents who made sure that I was on the right path.

High-wire balancing act for Vilma Santos

Filipina chosen as Asia’s Best Female Chefby RAOUL J. CHEE KEE

Inquirer.net

THE Philippines is in the news once again with the announce-ment on Tuesday, Jan. 12 of restaurateur Margarita Fores as Asia’s Best Female Chef 2016 by the group Asia’s 50 Best Res-taurants.

Fores was emotional at the announcement held at Lusso, one of her restaurants at Greenbelt 3 in Makati.

“I’ve been hyperventilating since they told me this morning. I had to keep asking whether they were going to take it back,” she said, in reference to the Miss Universe 2015 brouhaha where Miss Colombia was mistakenly crowned the winner. Miss Phil-ippines’ Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was eventually declared the real winner.

Fores was unanimously chosen the best female chef by a group made of 300 gourmands and ex-perts in the service industry.

The awarding will be held in Bangkok, Thailand on Feb. 29.

KathNiel bags foreign best actor and actress awards in Vietnam

MANILA—Philippine showbiz’s Teen King and Queen Daniel Pa-dilla and Kathryn Bernardo recently brought honor to the country after winning accolades in Vietnam’s Face of the Year Awards for their performances in the hit series Got to Believe, which has captured a massive following in the Southeast Asian nation where the Philippine teleserye is currently airing on TV.

The series proved to be a big hit in Vietnam after Today TV started airing it on primetime tele-vision every day from 7pm to 8pm. Vietnamese viewers were indeed captivated by the love story of Joaquin and Chichay, as proven by the high ratings the show registers every night.

The phenomenal Kathniel tan-dem personally received the Best Foreign Actor and Best Foreign Actress awards last Friday during the gala night held in Ho Chi Minh city’s Opera House.

Organized by IMC, the parent company of one of Vietnam’s larg-est TV networks Today TV, the “Face of the Year Awards” aims to honor films and artists who had sig-nificant contributions to the indus-try over the past year and are voted by the Vietnamese audience.

For their respective categories, Kathryn and Daniel beat actors and actresses from other countries such as India and Thailand.

“Thank you for this opportunity. And to all our supporters here in Vietnam, thank you so much for loving our characters, Joaquin and Chichay, and for loving the show Got To Believe. We love you!” said

Kathryn.“I’d like to thank Today TV.

We just feel very humbled, very blessed, and we are very thankful. Maraming salamat,” said Daniel.

Prior to the gala night, Kathryn and Daniel already felt the love from Vietnamese Kathniel fans when they arrived at the Saigon Airport Friday, Jan. 8. Armed with banners, shirts, posters and caps, Vietnamese fans chanted “Kathn-iel,” and some even sang the “Got to Believe” theme song.

Fans also flocked to a local mall in Ho Chi Minh last Saturday,

Jan. 9 for Kathryn and Daniel’s meet-and-greet, where the two stars gamely posed for photos, signed autographs and answered questions.

In 2014, Be Careful with My Heart was also a phenomenal hit that earned lead stars Richard Yap and Jodi Sta. Maria the same Face of the Year Awards.

Got to Believe and Be Careful With My Heart are among the many ABS-CBN dramas that aired in different countries through the efforts of ABS-CBN International Distribution. (Philstar.com)

YOU’LL have a hard time find-ing an actress busier than Vilma Santos these days, but the seem-ing ease with which she juggles her chores as a movie queen, a hands-on wife and mother and a dynamic public servant dem-onstrates how she embodies the prized appellation attached to her name: Vilma is the Star for All Seasons—and Reasons! She works very hard, but she makes the high-wire balancing act look like a walk in the park.

Ate Vi, who’s on her last term as the first female governor of Batangas, was in the middle of meetings when we texted and asked her for an interview for this piece last month, but it took her only a few minutes to reply—no annoying handlers, no cordon sanitaire.

She doesn’t make you feel like her schedule is more important than yours. One time, she called us at 9 a.m. so we could meet our deadline for an article that we were writing for NUT (Nestor Torre, editor of Saturday Special). Another time, we got a call from her a few minutes after deplaning from her US trip! Would other big stars be as accessible—and approachable?

The actress’ answers are as honest as they’re straightfor-ward, but she isn’t beyond asking you for your opinion about the issues being discussed—from Pia Wurtzbach’s triumph as the country’s first Miss Universe in 42 years (“Regardless of the mixup, the crown belongs to her now”) to the phenomenal tandem of Alden Richards and Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza (“What they have is a gift—but they need to sustain their popularity with projects that’d prove that they’re more than just overnight sensations”).

Her impeccable people skills and her openness for discus-sion and discourse are among the reasons why the 62-year-old acting icon is good at what she does: She doesn’t just talk—she also listens.

by RITO P. ASILOInquirer.net

tearjerker, “Trudis Liit”) and she was still at the top of her stellar show biz career when she decided to give politics a try.

What convinced her to take the big leap to public service?

“I was dubbing for ‘Bata, Bata Paano Ka Ginawa?’ when I finally agreed to run (in 1998). I prayed to God and asked for white flowers from Him—and got them on the last day of the filing of certificates of candidacy! I cried, because I knew that it was going to change my life! When I won, I turned to Ralph (Recto, her senator hus-band) and said, “I won, paano ’yan (what now)?

“I was lucky I had Ralph to show me the ropes and lay the cards on the table. He presented me with different options and enumerated the sacrifices I would have to make—that instead of getting pampered and served (as I’m used to, as an actress), I would have to do the serving (as a politician)!

“I took a crash course in Public Administration at UP (University of the Philippines) and asked about things I knew nothing about. It’s been 18 years since, but while it hasn’t gotten easier, I must say that it’s a fulfilling job—because the position allows you to change people’s lives for the better.”

The celebrated actress was ea-ger to learn everything she could about her new career trajectory. In fact, during the course of our conversation, Vilma often used jargon—continuity, sustainability, inclusive growth, etc.—common to public administrators and de-velopmental strategists we know.

No sacrifice“As for the vice presidential

post—yes, I was asked to make a go at it. But I don’t want to do something I can’t give my full at-tention to, because I also have my immediate family to dote on and take care of. I’m a hands-on mom and wife—I want to be there when (her youngest son) Ryan needs my advice about what to wear to the prom, or take care of the grocery list when Luis drops by to have dinner with us on certain

Vilma is busy wrapping up her scenes for her latest film, Joyce Bernal’s “Everything About Her,” about a tough-as-nails executive who is diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. The dramedy, which will open on Jan. 27, is her first starrer with Angel Locsin, her son Luis Manzano’s lady love.

She shares, “My role is inspired by the character of Meryl Streep in ‘Devil Wears Prada’—what happens when someone like her is faced with a life-or-death situation—and intimations of mortality?”

Vilma is just as passionate talking about show biz as she is about the breakneck pace she follows as the governor of Batan-gas. She says that running for the vice presidency was never an option—in fact, in May, she’s aiming for Lipa’s lone congres-sional seat.

Extra-special experience“It’s a homecoming of sorts,”

she says. “I was Lipa’s first female mayor, but the experience was ex-tra-special, because it was my first time to dabble into politics—and they accepted me, even despite their reservations! It’s high time for me to repay its residents’ kind-ness, especially now that I have learned so much about leadership and governance.”

Vilma has been a star since she was 9 years old (she played the title role in Jose de Villa’s 1963

from viewers to the show’s Fili-pino characters, which reflect the show’s setting of the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina, according to Variety.

“I have learned so much about Filipino culture. What’s insane is we are not fresh off the boat about specifically being Filipino. One of our characters [Rodriguez] happens to be Filipino, so when we realized no one else had even made the effort to show a Filipino family on an American comedy, it taught me a lot about Filipino culture,” Bloom said to reporters in the Globes press room. “Mabu-hay!”

“But it’s also taught me really about how important diversity is, if you want to tell a new story.”

Bloom also used the oppor-tunity to announce that Filipina Broadway star Lea Salonga will also be a guest star in the show’s first season finale.

“In episode 18, we are so proud Lea Salonga will be guest-starring, and when Vincent saw [her], he literally fainted to the ground,” Bloom laughed.

Salonga also previously tweet-ed, “I guess the news is out!!! I’ll be appearing on the season finale of [Crazy Ex-Girlfriend]! And singing, too! How fun is that?!”

Golden Globe winner Rachel Bloom...

Fil-Am wins Golden Globe award for best animated �lmby NIMFA U. RUEDA

Inquirer.net

BEVERLY HILLS—A Pixar animation film codirected by a Filipino-American has won best animated feature at the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday night, Jan. 10.

“Inside Out,” codirected by Fil-Am Ronnie del Carmen triumphed over “Anomalisa,” “The Good Di-nosaur,” “The Peanuts Movie” and “Shaun the Sheep Movie.”

“I feel so honored,” said Del Carmen, who watched the 73rd Golden Globe Awards night from his northern California residence with his wife and two children.

“I’m so lucky to be part of direc-tor Pete Docter’s team for the past five years,” he added.

The film is a colorful look at a young girl’s inner emotions.

“It felt like growing up is really hard, and that was an interesting subject to make a movie about,” Docter said in his acceptance speech.

Though Del Carmen could not make it to the event because of work commitments, he felt the excitement as he watched Docter receive the award. “I had a big smile on my face.”

It was the seventh Pixar movie to win in the 10 years since the award was created.

Dream bigDel Carmen said he hoped the

recognition would inspire Filipinos to dream big and tell their story.

“I had dreams and aspirations

just like anybody,” he said. “I con-centrated on what I loved to do.

He encouraged Filipinos seeking success to work hard, keep going, be seen, show up and “seek men-tors who can show you the way.”

“You also have to take risks … and start telling your story,” said Del Carmen, who was recently honored by the University of Santo Tomas as an outstanding alumnus.

He said he was very grateful to Docter and John Lasseter, Pixar

The CW show will return with its midseason premiere at its usual time on Monday, Jan. 25, at 8pm ET, reported Entertainment Weekly.

“This has shown me how im-portant diversity is if you want to tell a new story. Anything else I do from now...I would want to make it about people who are diverse, gay,

trans; because those are stories that have not been told before, and America is a melting pot of immigrants, and I don’t think it is acknowledged half as much as it is on television. We’re proud to be a show that supports diversity because that’s what America is. We’re just showing it how it is,” Bloom said.

‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ new judges ready for actionby ARVIN MENDOZA

Inquirer.net

TWO judges are out but three new ones are in.

With veterans Kris Aquino and Ai Ai de las Alas dropping out of the judging panel, “Pilipinas Got Talent” (PGT) is gearing up for its upcoming season with new judges Angel Locsin, Robin Padilla and Vice Ganda.

Aquino will not be returning this season after reportedly citing health problems, while De las Alas is already tied with GMA Network after transferring last year.

Retired ABS-CBN head Freddie M. Garcia will remain as the fourth judge for his fifth consecutive sea-son. “We have a lot of talent in the Philippines. We hope to discover them this season,” he said.

Real-life best friends Luis Man-zano and Billy Crawford are keep-ing their hosting duties as well.

The four judges were all pres-ent during the show’s red carpet opening and taping of the first set of auditions on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at Kia Theater in Quezon City.

“I am super ready, super ex-cited to be a judge,” said come-dian-host and box office star Vice Ganda in an interview.

Acknowledging that the compe-tition would be very tight among the contenders, Vice Ganda said he was looking for an act who “will affect him and touch his heart and soul.”

“I don’t want this show to be “Pilipinas Got Awa (sympathy),” he said. “I want that this would all be about talent and the winner would be really deserving.”

Vice Ganda, who had previous-ly served as a temporary judge for the show, expressed excitement and said he was ready to have a fun time with his cojudges.

Padilla, meanwhile, believes that the latest season will be much more exciting than the previous

ones. “The judges would be more excellent, as well as the talent of the performers,” the actor said.

He said he would be an ally of the contestants throughout the competition. However, he added that he would not be too kind nor too strict.

“I will not show off. And I will say things from my heart,” said Padilla, who also had previous experience in hosting a talent show.

For Locsin, talent is not the only key to succeed and win people’s hearts.

“I want good attitude. I want magic,” the award-winning ac-tress said.

Locsin said she was lucky to have opportunities to showcase her talent in the past and now was the time to repay the acceptance and chances people had granted her.

“I want to say yes to all but that’s not possible because we have to be honest and fair to the contestants,” she said.

A new element in this year’s PGT is the power of each judge to pick one act that will dart straight to the semi-finals using the “Gold-en Buzzer,” according to business unit head Lui Andrada.

First introduced in the country six years ago, PGT is the local franchise of the “Got Talent” format created by Syco Enter-tainment, a company co-owned by music and television mogul Simon Cowell.

It is coming back for its fifth season this month, following the success of four Filipino acts who got through the grand finals of AXN’s first “Asia’s Got Talent” (AGT) last May, two of whom are PGT alumni.

Season 3 finalist shadow-play group El Gamma Penumbra emerged as the grand cham-pion of AGT, while singer Gerphil Flores from Season 1 finished in third place.

The talent reality show show-cases performers across the country such as singers, dancers, magicians, jugglers, ventriloquists and other entertaining aspirants, all competing for the chance to win P2 million.

The previous winners, who are all singing acts, include Jovit Baldivino, Marcelito Pomoy, the Maasinhon Trio and Roel Man-langit.

Cristine Reyes says motherhood has changed her life

GONE is the happy-go-lucky Cristine Reyes. Having a child, she said, has given her life a new “focus” and “direction.”

“When I was single, I didn’t have to worry much about any-thing. But now that I’m a mother, I always think about my future with my family. They inspire me,” related the 26-year-old actress, who has a 10-month-old daughter, Amarah, with mixed martial arts fighter Ali Khatibi.

Among those who observed such change in Cristine was Chris Martinez, her director in the “Asawa ni Marie” episode of Viva Films’ “Lumayo Ka Nga sa Akin”—an upcoming three-part anthology that spoofs the various clichés found in local movies and television shows.

“She’s more serious and less playful on the set. She comes pre-pared and is more professional. Cristine has changed a lot; ang bait-bait niya ngayon!” he said at a recent press conference. “That’s not to say she wasn’t nice the previous time we worked!” the filmmaker quickly added, draw-ing laughs.

Cristine and Ali are set to tie

by ALLAN POLICARPIOInquirer.net the knot on Jan. 27 in a private

Christian ceremony to be attended only by their pastor and a witness. The actress, however, assured that there will be a big wedding in the future, in which family and friends will be invited.

“We want to make things right this year; I want our relationship to be blessed,” Cristine said. “We’re both very busy these days, so we want to have something small and intimate first. Planning a full-blown wedding will be stressful and difficult right now.”

Asked if she’s more discerning now when it comes to accept-ing projects, Cristine, who used to do sexy drama flicks, shows and photo shoots, said it would depend on the material. “Ayoko namang magsalita nang tapos,” the Viva star stressed, adding that she doesn’t think her future husband would object to her do-ing such type of work.

“Ali is understanding—if you explain to him that this or that project is good, I think he would approve,” she said of her fiancé, whom she described as “kind and trying his best to be a responsible father and partner.”

Being pregnant, Cristine re-called, was a “great feeling”—

“miraculous,” even.Yes, she wants to have another

baby, but not any time soon. “I want my body to fully recover and relax,” she said. “And I’m still enjoying Amarah (her baby) right now. I bring her with me when I’m shopping or eating out. She’s so fun to be with!”

“Lumayo Ka Nga sa Akin,” which opens on Jan. 13, has two other episodes: Mark Meily’s “Bala sa Bala, Kamao sa Kamao, Satsat sa Satsat,” which stars Benjie Paras and Candy Pang-ilinan; and Andoy Ranay’s “Shake, Shaker, Shakest,” with Maricel Soriano and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista.

Fil-Am wins Golden Globe award for best...Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, for supporting projects like “Inside Out,” which he described as a “unique and courageous” movie.

Fil-Am achieversHFPA’s Janet Nepales, who

wore a Michael Cinco gown, said she was proud to bring the media and Fil-Am achievers, including filmmakers, tourism promoters and fashion designers, to the presti-gious Hollywood event to represent the Philippines.

“It’s always nice to have the Phil-ippines represented in a Hollywood establishment because you bring the perspective of other countries, not just the rich nations,” said Ru-ben Nepales, the first Filipino chair of the HFPA board.

Among the Fil-Ams at the event was Oliver Tolentino, who was re-cently in the news for helping Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach win her crown when he sent her gowns for the crucial preliminary competi-tion, following a last-minute plea of

the Miss Philippines team.Hope for FilipinosTolentino was accompanied

by his business manager Andrew Caruthers. Also at the event was renowned dermatologist Tess Mauricio and her husband James Lee, filmmaker Senedy Que and Jose “Boboi” Costas, a grass-roots tourism and heritage conservation

advocate.“Being here gives me hope

that Filipino filmmakers can also make it big in Hollywood,” said Que, a multiawarded movie and TV screenwriter whose film credits include cowriting “Small Voices,” the 2002 Oscar entry of the Philip-pines in the best foreign language film category.

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Santo Niño Cruzada USA, with the participation of the Cathedral Knights of Columbus and a Sinulog group, is inviting everyone for a holy mass to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the Feast of Santo Niño, the Divine Infant Jesus, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles (555 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) on Sunday, January 17, at 3:30pm. The main celebrant is Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, with Father David Gallardo as concelebrant. For more information, please contact any of the following officers: Romy & Tess Esturas (213-387-9682), Rey & Tess Edpao (818-469-7292), Lilia Figuracion (626-394-2661, Car-men Estrada (213-413-2881), Fe Montana (323-218-1587), Ester Paredes (213-864-1149), Fe Reyes (213-413-5286), Laurie Dolorfino (213-407-0097), and Cherry Guerrero (213-632-2096).

The Batangas City Santo Niño Devotees, USA invites you and family to the 23rd Annual Santo Niño Fiesta on Saturday, January 16 at the St. Christopher Catholic Church (629 South Glendora Ave, West Covina, CA 91790). The fiesta starts with Holy Mass at 2:30pm at the Parish Hall, followed by the procession of the Santo Niño images and our Little Princes and Princesses around the church. Food and refreshments will be served, along with games for children and adults. Drawing of raffle prizes and dancing until 11:00 pm. Come, let’s adore and honor the Santo Niño. For more information, please contact: Tony Panganiban (714) 828-3904, Emma Gutierrez (626) 913-5236, Edna Medrano (323) 605-8090, Marina Maranan (818) 894-9745, May Cabrera (626) 264-7822, or Evelyn Masongsong (626) 222-1287.

- Saturday, January 16 – Feast of Sto. Niño celebration. Sinulog starts at 11:30am. - Saturday, January 23 – Thanksgiving Mass, in honor of San Ildefonso, patron saint of San

Ildefonso, Bulacan, at 5:00pm. Followed by lunch celebration from 12:30 - 3:30pm at New Town Buffet.

- Saturday, February 6 – Valentine Dinner dance from 7:00 - 11:00pm. Cost of ticket is $30. For more information on all events, please contact Marian Nobleza at 818-219-6463.

The Infant Jesus of Prague Apostolic Group is celebrating 32 years of service and prayer, and will hold its 32nd annual 9-hour Novena and Mass in honor of the Divine Child Jesus on Saturday, January 30, at Saint Joseph the Worker Church (19855 Sherman Way, Winnetka, California). The Novena starts at 7:00am with Mass following at 3:20 pm. Based in San Fern-ando Valley, the Apostolic Group aims to promote the Gospel message of Jesus and spread devotions to the Infant Jesus. For more information, please contact Leo Nevada at (818) 633 3926 or visit www.IJPAG.com.

AS the New Year begins, there is hope that comprehensive immigration reform will legal-ize the status of millions, thus permanently uniting them with their families here in the United States. Unfortunately, the year has not begun on a positive note and the outlook for passage is not good. As 2015 came to a close, the Department of Homeland Security revealed plans to physi-cally deport thousands of Central Americans while moving to strin-gently enforce the Real ID Act in a manner which could affect the ability of many individuals, both documented and undocumented, from entering federal facilities and boarding commercial airlin-ers even with a valid state-issued driver’s license. Is this a portent of things to come? It is certainly possible.

THE HEART, the symbol of love, of Valentine’s Day, even of religious adoration, is always fascinating but still a mystery to most of us. The amazing facts about our most loyal and dedicated pumping organ are mind-boggling and a constant source of wonderment. Winning hearts, stealing hearts, break-ing hearts, and for us cardiac surgeons, mending hearts, are easier to understand and do, than to comprehend fully the wonders of this hard-working, ceaselessly pumping, untiring, and unique muscle in our body.

How large is our heart?The size of the adult heart is

about the volume of two hands clasping each other, with the fingers intertwined. In children, it is the size of the kid’s one fist. The heart is located, not to the left, as often thought of, but in the middle of your mid chest, en-closed in its own compartment, an envelope called pericardial sac, and located between the left and right chest cavity, where the left and right lungs are, respec-tively. Its tip is pointed slightly to the left.

Does the heart ever rest?The heart beats about an aver-

age of 70 beats per minute, 4,200 an hour or about 100,800 times in one day, roughly about 36 mil-lion times in a year. In an average life span, the human heart will beat about 2.5 billion times. But contrary to what seems obvious, the heart rests for a split second in between beats. This happens between contractions, when the heart relaxes to accept more oxy-genated blood from the lungs, and prepares to pump blood out of its chambers again.

How powerful is the heart contraction?

The heart contraction is so powerful that it approximates the force one needs to give a tennis ball a hard and full squeeze with all your might. The cardiac mus-cles work twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person running full speed. The hydraulic force generated is necessary to propel rapidly the blood that circulates about 13 kilometers per minute, or 780 kilometers per hour, about four times the speed of the fast-est racing car there is.

Will an isolated heart beat

on its own?The muscle of the heart is a

specialized one that beats on its own (automaticity) and one that has its own rhythm (rhythmicity), even when cut off from the body and lying on a surface. The iso-lated heart in this situation will beat continuously until its own residual energy is used up, which is within about 4-5 minutes. It then ceases movement.

What is the normal heart rate?

This varies from individual to individual, depending on the age, condition of the body, and the health of the person. A well-conditioned athlete may have a heart rate of 35 a minute and feel great, but this rate would cause almost all of us, non-athletes, to feel faint and pass out, or in the very least, feel very dizzy and weak. On the average though, the normal resting rate (medically speaking) is from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Anything below 60 is called bradycardia (too slow heart rate), and a rate higher than 100 is tachycardia (too fast a heart rate). Among children the range is between 90-120 beats a minute.

How much blood does a per-son have?

The adult human body has about 5.6 liters (6 quarts) of blood in the circulation. These 6 quarts completes a full round of circula-tion throughout the body about every 20 seconds. The blood travels a total of about 19,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) in 24 hours, which is about four times the distance from California to New York, or roughly five times the air miles from San Francisco to Manila. About one million bar-rels of blood is pumped by the heart in an average life span, a volume enough to fill more than three super tankers.

Where does the blood go?The blood pumped by the

heart goes out through the as-cending aorta, the largest ar-tery in the body (about half the size of an average wrist), that is connected to the heart, and circulates through the various arterial branches and capillaries to the brain and to all other vital organs (liver, pancreas, kidneys, adrenals, intestines, sex organs, etc.). The capillaries are terminal or end arteries, the size of which is about one-tenth the size of the human hair. These are the tiny vessels that actually bring blood to the tissues and cells of the various parts of the body.

How does blood get oxygen and nutrition?

The nutrition and oxygen in the blood are used up by the tis-sues and cells. The used blood (now containing much less oxy-gen and more carbon dioxide, lactic acid and other “waste products”) travels back from the tissues and cells to lungs for oxy-genation. Then blood goes to the heart for pumping to all organs, like the liver where toxins will be detoxified, to the kidneys that will filter the waste products and passed out through the urine, to the stomach and intestines where it will be replenished with new nutrition. The used blood then flows back to the lungs. After the oxygenation, the blood flows into the heart, ready to be pumped back into the circula-tion once again. And the cycle goes on.

How strong is our heart?A healthy heart can take a lot

of beating (no pun intended). It is one of the most powerful pumps in the world, even when com-pared to the mechanical ones built by man. Self-contained, self-propelled, energy-efficient, the heart works without stop-ping, and can survive grave insults and abuses we, humans, subject it to day in and day out.

Is mechanical heart better?Certainly not. Not yet, anyway.

The man-made hydraulic-driven artificial or mechanical heart prosthesis available today is still no match to the one we were born with. Besides being a bulky foreign body and made of hard-ware not as soft and tender as our body tissues, it also requires electrical energy from outside the body and the use of antico-agulants to prevent thrombosis (blood clots, which can cause stroke). The mechanical heart is also prone to infection and not as durable as a natural heart. At the present, the artificial heart leaves too much to be desired. Let’s take good care of our heart; it’s the only one we’ve got.

***

For decades, the violence from civil wars and gang vio-lence in Central America has led to an influx of individuals seek-ing refuge in the United States. While many of these individuals have obtained permanent or temporary status in the United States, countless more have not. Some continue to reside in the United States having been ordered deported by an Immi-gration Judge, desperate not to return home. In a rather unprec-edented move, and following on the heels of the recent arrival of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America, the Department of Homeland Security has formally announced that it has specifically targeted certain Central Americans for physical deportation.

DHS is currently focusing on those individuals from Central America who have remained in the United States despite having been ordered deported by an Im-migration Judge. Some fear be-ing harmed if they return home;

others are waiting for their fam-ily petitions to become current. While some of these individuals have been ordered deported due to criminal convictions or other serious immigration violations, many of these people were or-dered deported solely because they remained beyond their visas or entered the United States without papers. And the result of this newly-announced policy has already sent shock waves across many Central American commu-nities in the United States.

Adding to these shock waves is the very aggressive stance which the Department of Home-land Security has taken regard-ing enforcement of the driver’s license provision of the Real ID Act. Congress passed the Real ID Act in an effort to prevent future terrorist attacks after 9/11. One element of the law was a federal mandate pertaining to security features on all state-issued drivers’ licenses. While many states have complied with these requirements, others have

not. For those states which have not, privacy concerns have proven a central concern. Now, in an apparent effort to force full compliance, the Department of Homeland Security is raising the stakes against those states which have not complied. The threat now looms that non-com-pliant identification – including drivers’ licenses and ID cards – may be deemed legally insuf-ficient proof of identity to enter a federal facility, and may even preclude the use of non-com-pliant identification to board a commercial airline flight. Such a policy would affect United States citizens and others lawfully pres-ent in the United States as well as thousands of individuals who have secured valid and lawful driver’s licenses although they are without legal status in the United States.

As was very-well-publicized, last year California began to issue drivers’ licenses to in-dividuals residing in the state without legal status. Should the

Department of Homeland Secu-rity proceed as planned, many of the benefits which have attached to this historic program could be notably curtailed. In one irony, these perfectly valid forms of identification under state law could lose all significance for those seeking to utilize these documents in an effort to legalize their status in the United States. If these forms of identification, which are valid under state law, are deemed legally insufficient to enter a federal facility, indi-viduals could be prevented from entering the very facilities where their immigration interviews are being held.

No matter how limited, any step forward on the path to im-migration reform is welcomed. However, this year has not begun on a strong note with certain Central Americans being tar-geted for physical deportation from the United States, and some state-issued driver’s licenses ap-pearing not as valid as some had hoped. Fortunately, for many,

there may be options available – even if an Immigration Judge has issued an order of deporta-tion. Regardless, the New Year presents a fresh opportunity to consult with an experienced and knowledgeable immigration at-torney to see what options may exist as the law now stands. As the old saying goes, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. However, one can only do so by knowing all of their available options.

WGU ranks as a top educator of minorities in nursingOnline, nonprofit university makes Diverse magazine’s top five list

for both bachelor’s and master’s degreesNEVADA—For the second

year in a row, Western Gov-ernors University (WGU) was among the top producers of nursing degrees awarded to minority students nationally, according to a recent issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Educa-tion magazine. According to the magazine’s “Top Health Science Degree Producers” list, WGU ranked fourth in the nation for the volume of nurses with minor-ity backgrounds who earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the university. In Nevada alone, the number of degrees from WGU Nevada awarded by the College of Health Profes-sions to Nevadans has been 147 so far.

The magazine’s report, pub-lished annually, lists the top 100 health science degree producers in the U.S. for African Ameri-can, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander students. This year, WGU moved up the list from ninth largest producer of mas-ter’s degrees to fourth. Since its founding, WGU’s College of Health Professions has awarded 15,000 graduates with degrees. Recently, the National League for Nursing named the nursing programs offered by WGU as a 2015 Center of Excellence™ for Creating Environments that

Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development, one of only 12 nursing schools se-lected for this designation.

“WGU maintains a strong commitment to a diverse student body and encourages a diverse workforce of highly qualified nurses nationwide,” said Dr. Jan Jones-Schenk, National Director of WGU’s College of Health Pro-fessions. “Since the beginning, our goal has been to educate and prepare future nursing staff and leaders to be highly competent and well-versed in a multicul-tural healthcare environment.”

The leader in competency-based education, WGU’s learn-ing model is ideal for working nurses as it allows them to study and learn on their own schedule and at their own pace, advancing as soon as they demonstrate that they have mastered course ma-terial. Because WGU measures learning rather than time and charges tuition at a flat rate per six-month term, regardless of the number of courses complet-ed, healthcare professionals with knowledge and skills from work and previous college experience can often move through their programs more quickly, saving both time and money. Students receive personalized one-on-one faculty support and have 24/7 access to course materials.

For more information about WGU’s nursing programs, go to wgu.edu/healthprofessions.

Now with 65,000 students and 55,000 graduates nationwide, WGU offers more than 50 online, competency-based bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in the high-demand fields of busi-ness, K–12 teacher education, in-formation technology, and health professions, including nursing. The online university is accred-ited by the Northwest Commis-sion on Colleges and Universities and its nursing degree programs accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)*. WGU has been named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” and featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” NBC Nightly News, CNN’s “Schools of Thought,” and in The New York Times.

WGU has earned the support of more than 20 leading corpo-rations and foundations, includ-ing AT&T, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lilly Endowment, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, SunGard Higher Education, USA Funds, and Zions Bank. More in-formation is available at wgu.edu or by calling 866.225.5948.

*One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036, 202-887-6791

JAMM Band brings all-new show to M Resort Spa Casino

MONETTEADEVA MAGLAYA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

ONE man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

Flex the power of the dollar by hitting garage sales just for a little fun. There aren’t as many in the summer season as there are in spring. Despite the linger-ing malaise that currently afflicts the country and despite 93 mil-lion plus people still unemployed, many have to still deal with their accumulated stuff, a lot of which have long ago outlived their use-fulness.

There are moving out sales or yard sales held to decongest and reclaim their living spaces, divest themselves of clutter or simply to make a few extra bucks. If you have too much stuff and would like to simply reclaim your breath-ing space or to get rid of what has become dust catchers, you can have fun clearing out your stuff and convert them to cash by be-coming the seller. The pace could be faster than selling your stuff on ebay.

Don’t just kibitz if you are a buyer. Enter the flow. Don’t for-get to bring along a few kindred souls, some cash and have some fun garage “sale-ing.”

A note of caution is in order. Ga-rage “sale-ing” is one fun activity that can get out of hand if you let it. Particularly during these tough times, a good number of people are becoming creative on how to stretch the fast shrinking dollar and are looking at garage sales, either to sell or to buy. People are selling their stuff accumulated over the years, either at ebay or Craig’s List or right in their own front lawn to generate some extra cash.

Particularly for newly arrived immigrants or newly married couples starting a new life who are wary of getting into a whop-ping financial burden by going into debt at the outset, going to garage sales particularly in afflu-ent areas might be an option.

Cash remains king. With a little cash, you can go to garage sales, tag sales, estate sales, swap meets and thrift shops to find practically everything that you will need, and more besides, to set you up in your new place — practically for pennies on the dollar, at least during the beginning years, when you are conserving your resourc-es to prep yourself for the big pur-chase decisions, e.g. like buying a car or a condo or house, when the time is right.You will be amazed at what you can find.

Newer communities with yup-pies as residents will have newer, modern, mass-produced plastic

On how NOT to become a Pack Rat

or vinyl stuff, the kind that you get at Ikea while older communities will have items from the past, per-haps still in working condition but in outdated styles. Unless those wily antique collectors and estate handlers beat you to estate liqui-dations as they most often will, if you’re lucky, you might stum-ble upon treasures or heirloom pieces that you only get to see on “Antiques Roadshow” ringing up unbelievable appraisals.

Be warned. Appraisals are just benchmarks of value given as ex-pert opinions, from which buyer and seller can begin negotiation and arrive at a purchase price, which can be higher or lower than appraisal value, depending on the motivation and time frame of both buyer and seller and the perceived intrinsic value of the item being sold.

Simply because manufacturers are not making more of it, good handcrafted furniture pieces made from mahogany and other prized hardwood of over 100 years or porcelain ware, hold up their value comparatively well as sought-after prized antiques than disposable, ready-to-as-semble furniture made from par-ticle board and melamine mass produced in China. Still, there’s no accounting for taste and indi-vidual preferences. The younger ones prefer the sheen and gloss of lacquer or the spanking new, modern furniture of plastic, steel or formica over the patina of old, seasoned wood.

Whatever your choice, dare to be different. Be creative. Im-merse yourself in the books writ-ten about styles you would like to emulate. You can have your own style with very little money. Let your imagination and a little elbow grease help you create your own unique haven. The really creative ones do it on a shoestring budget and still have great fun along the way while earning themselves some bragging rights in creating treasures out of junk. Also, you’re doing your environmental bit by recycling.

America is a consumer soci-ety and the amount of discarded things is simply staggering. Out with the old, in with the new. Ev-ery season brings new fashions and trends and since closet, base-ment and garage spaces are lim-ited (most times, bursting at the

seams) and public storage units cost money, there is an endless round of garage sales going on in America, more so these days when money is tight for many households.

You will find that a lot of items, specially for babies and younger children who outgrow their things pretty fast, look almost new and highly usable. Plates, silverware, kitchen items, small and big ap-pliances, decor, furniture, framed art, clothes, videos, audio and vid-eo tapes and tools are the usual fare. Many items are still new and in their original packaging. Some-times, there are genuine antiques or priceless works of art hidden in dust and grime. That’s when you hit paydirt. But such instances are few and far-between, so keep yourself grounded. There is no sales tax. Check your local com-munity newspapers or go online for these weekend events.

The early bird gets the early worm. The earlier you come dur-ing the day, the better the selec-tion but the prices will be marked a tad higher unless the seller wants to seriously dispose of his merchandise fast and pack up ear-ly. The later in the day you come — from noon to early afternoon — the prices are cut drastically, practically at giveaway rates, but the selection is much less, with junk a-plenty.

Learn to negotiate. In America, what you get is not what you de-serve. Very often, it is what you negotiate. If you are uncomfort-able with haggling and if you hap-pen to be with someone who can dicker with the seller in a courte-ous, pleasant way, get him to do it for you. The key is to be respect-ful. Never disparage what is being sold in the transparent attempt to get a lower price.

Many crafty buyers use this as a tactic and instead of getting a bet-ter price, all it does is irritate the seller. If you want a lower price on an item you like, ask politely, “Would you take less for this?” And then state the price you are willing to pay. Very often, the seller will counter with a lower price and then you can proceed from there with the price getting tossed back and forth until you agree on the final figure.

Merchandise is sold on an “as is” basis and most of the time, is

Why do we do it? Why do we encumber ourselves with possessions? — Alice Thomas Ellis

BY MONET LU

Winter beauty guide

DURING the winter our hair experiences dehydration because of unavoidable exposure. we need to be proactive about maintain-ing moisture in our hair. For the entire winter months, we want to help you keep your hair and skin keep it shiny and healthy.

Hair Reborn, Brazilian keratin treatment, shimmer and shine are the perfect respite for hair that has been subjected to chemical treatments—such as perming, straightening, or tinting. This is also recommended for people who are just aiming to combat dryness during this freezing weather. I tend to sound repetitive about this but I can’t emphasize this enough: moisture, moistur-ize, moisturize!

Remember when a good hair-cut was enough to put a smile on our faces? If we hold on the little positives in our everyday lives, I have a feeling we’re going to pull through these tough times quite famously.

For someone who has been in the business of making people look good, I have some new hair-style recommendations that are sure to add some hot tone to this cool weather.

For long-haired women who have heart-, square- or round-shaped faces, layers will work wonders, provided that it is mold-ed closely to the edge of the hair so that it elongates the face. For an oval-shaped face, shorter lay-ers are more appropriate. Sassy layers are very easy to manage as well. If you have curly hair, bangs should be administered with caution. Make sure it’s slightly above your lashes so that it looks flattering. The thing about bangs though is you have to maintain the ideal length that works for you, otherwise, the effect is not quite there.

The bob haircut is here to stay. It’s ideal for women who have straight to wavy hair textures. This is especially flattering for women who have round faces. This type of cut usually requires blow-drying and to maintain the ideal length, you need to have it cut every six weeks.

The pixie is ideal for people who have strong facial features. The pixie is easy to manage.

A quick blow-dry and a dab of hair product, and you have a chic style that will last the en-tire day.

Just make sure that you apply a little shine serum to towel-dried hair before you put up your hair so that natural texture can be enhanced. This style is so comfy and will also have you feeling relaxed.

A slick ponytail can accentuate your features, while also getting annoying tendrils of hair out of your way. To prevent frizzy hair, use a leave-on conditioner or hair tonics that are specific for frizzy hair. If the ponytail is getting boring, try a French braid. It will look chic and will also prevent you looking bedraggled.

For your skin, exfoliation is a must to clear away dead cells that can otherwise clog up your pores and cause unsightly pimples that can spoil your summer look. Use a scrub that does not dry your skin or make your own; sugar mixed with a little olive oil is very natural and skin-friendly.

Feet need to look good in winter. Scrub your feet with foot scrubs or make your own with some granular salt or sugar and olive oil. Rubbing this into your legs in a gentle upward motion will have dual effects of exfoliat-ing dry skin.

Winter is one of those times when less is best. Trying to en-hance your natural looks with minimal embellishment will work best.

A matte powder over founda-tion with SPF is better than heavy foundation lotions and creams that will look patchy once you sweat a little. Gloss is best for lips. Lips

need protection as well and it would be best to apply a lip gloss or lip balm with an SPF of 15 or more to keep your lips looking fresh and pert.

Eye make-up is a zone of error in winter and you can avoid gaffes by sticking to near-neutral tones of eye shadow and waterproof mas-cara and liners. A creamy lipstick will be friendlier on the lips than matte lipsticks and will also last longer. Leave your foundation or tinted moisturizer in the refrigera-tor. When you smooth it on, the heat from your face will melt it into your skin making it look like you have naturally perfect skin. Smudged eyeliner can look great on evenings and you can get this effect by heating the tip of your eye pencil with a lit match just before lining your eyes.

Keeping yourself adequately hydrated, adding essential nutri-ents to diet to avoid the heavier fats and proteins, taking plenty of vitamin C in the form of citrus fruits and juices, and getting the minimum 8 hours of sleep can help you going through winter with good looks and great relaxation.

Enjoy your winter and stay beautiful!

LAS VEGAS—JAMM, Las Ve-gas’ favorite local band, will bring a new vibe to Ravello Lounge at M Resort Spa Casino on Friday nights. Kicking off Friday, Jan. 15, The Old School Show will have guests up on their feet as they grove to a medley of soul, R&B, Motown and funk hits from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

Doors open at 9 p.m. with DJ Arty on the turn tables and JAMM on stage at 9:45 p.m. There is no cover charge with a two-drink minimum purchase. Guests must be 21 or older.

Ravello Lounge offers a va-riety of settings for an ideal nightlife experience. Grab a cocktail at the central bar or a enjoy bottle service at a VIP booth near the Ravello stage. A high-energy dance floor also provides ample space to dance the night away.

JAMM will transport audiences back in time as they deliver a med-ley of old school favorites from artists like Earth Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, Bobby Brown, Prince, Billy Joel and Boyz II Men, with genres ranging from Motown, to disco, to R&B. Lead singer Jonathan Potenciano’s deep, rich vocals captivate as he performs hits from Elton John, Luther Van-dross, Lionel Richie and Marvin Gaye. His female counterpart April Develos belts out her pow-erful, dynamic vocals on Chaka Kahn, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston while vocalist Ricky Bascones effortlessly channels

Michael Jackson and DeBarge. Rounding out the six-person band is guitarist Justin Centeno, drum-mer Steve Grantham and Pete Sprague on the keys.

M Resort Spa Casino is a Forbes Travel Guide Four Star-rated re-sort located on more than 90 acres at 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. S. on the southeast corner of St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boule-vard. Situated higher in elevation than other resort-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the M Resort pro-vides optimal views of the world-famous Las Vegas skyline from its guest rooms, suites, conference center and restaurants. The resort offers 390 guest rooms and suites,

over 92,000 square feet of gam-ing, multiple restaurants and bars, more than 92,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center and a 100,000 square foot events piazza. M Resort is oper-ated by Penn National Gaming, Inc. and was named one of the Top 10 Las Vegas hotels by Condé Nast Traveler in 2014.

M Resort Website: www.theM-resort.com

M Resort Facebook: www.Facebook.com/mresortspacasino

Blog: www.theMresort.com/blog

M Resort Twitter: www.Twitter.com/mresort

The Boulevard Mall celebrates the Year of the MonkeyOne-day event February 10, 2016 in the Boulevard Mall in the main Atrium in front of J.C. Penney features International performances,

children’s crafts and lantern station, and a cultural fashion showLAS VEGAS—The Boulevard

Mall announces that it will host its 1st annual Chinese New Year in the Desert Celebration on February 10, 2016 to usher in the Year of the Monkey.

“We are excited to be a part of this city-wide celebration,” said Timo Kuusela, Vice-President of The Boulevard Mall. “We wel-

come the Las Vegas community to come out and celebrate with us. The Lunar New Year is a time for family, friends, and giv-ing thanks.”

The festivities will take place from 5pm to 7pm.

The celebration will include lion dances, martial arts dem-onstrations, a cultural fash-

ion show, acrobats, traditional Chinese music performances and folk dances. Children can make lanterns in the Craft Area throughout the day. All enter-tainment is free and open to the public.

A full schedule of events can be found: http://www.CNYinth-eDesert.com.

Favorite local band presents Old School Show Friday nights at Ravello Lounge

On how NOT to become a...not returnable. Buyer, beware. Inspect closely. There are more trustworthy sellers than there are hucksters. They will tell you if the item is working or if there is a crack or a flaw on it. If you are uneasy about not being able to re-turn things, buy the item new in a department store which will usu-ally take it back, if it is defective.

There are no guarantees when you buy stuff at garage sales. You decide on the spot and there is no turning back — most of the time. If you want to hone and practice your decision-making, buying and negotiating skills as an im-migrant, this is one inexpensive (translate that to cheap) way to go. It is also a lighthearted learn-ing experience of what people value and discard on the material level and a personal and up close method of interacting with people of various cultures no book or classroom can teach you.

Above all, have fun garage “sale-ing”. The joy of discovering something that you need or want practically at a price of a song and a dance is part of the whole

experience. But as in all things good and bad, do this with bal-ance and moderation. If you be-come obssessive-compulsive with even as trifling a thing as going to garage sales as a matter of habit, you can become a pack rat. Em-ploy self-correction.

With time and as you accumu-late things, you will find yourself holding your own garage sales because you have encumbered yourself with too much stuff. Or you might find yourself renting storage spaces for stuff that won’t fit in your home. When this hap-pens you’ve reached a danger-ous tipping point. The time has come to trim your possessions down to size and take back some of that breathing space you used to have.

Better yet, when you buy one thing, discipline yourself to get rid of 2 items at the same time. It is a feng shui principle to clear the pathways in your home. Avoid “plaque build-up” in the spaces of your home. Expedite the flow of “chi” or life force by becoming a minimalist. Toss things out.

Less is more. From a practi-

cal standpoint, you get back the breathing space you had when you first moved in to your emp-ty abode. Having less stuff also means possibly having more in your piggy bank, that will allow you to have better, more mean-ingful, fulfilling life experiences at the right time.

The ironic thing a recovering pack rat discovers about himself is that as he travels down life’s highways and byways, it is so much more liberating and more fun to travel light, refusing to be bogged down by mere posses-sions. The bonus is that one gets to journey farther without stress-ing and straining while loading up instead on life’s precious experi-ences.

In our final journey, the only thing we might bring with us in that big blue yonder, if Alzheim-er’s doesn’t wreck our brains first, are our memories. Stuff, after all, is just stuff.

* * *

Opportunity Village celebrates Elvis Presley’s birthday

LAS VEGAS—On Friday, Jan. 8, Opportunity Village celebrated Elvis Presley’s 81st birthday with a special performance by the OV Elvi group alongside Jesse Garon, the Official Elvis of Las Vegas, at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The OV Elvi group is part of Opportunity Village’s Fine and Performing Arts Program and is the ‘World’s Only All Elvis Dance Troupe.’

Crowds gathered for the free performance as the OV Elvi im-personated Elvis, performed The King’s signature dance moves and sang backup vocals to some of his biggest hits in front of a larger than life Elvis statue. After the per-formance, the OV Elvi journeyed through ELVIS: The Exhibition at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

UP Concert Chorus Saliw Himig in Las Vegasby DR. MICHAEL STA JUANA

Rresident, Asian Community Resource Center

THE UP Concert Chorus, UPCC, or simply Korus, is the official choir of the University of the Philippines. As an internationally-competitive performing group, Korus has mas-tered versatility in singing classical, folk, pop and Broadway musical genres with signature vibrant cho-reogra- phy. Korus has become a veritable icon of performance arts, as the pioneer of ChoreoCapella or choreographed a capella, in the Philippines.

Korus garnered the Grand Prix at the 6th International Krakow Choir Festival in Poland on June 14, 2015 for being the best choir of the festival, besting 23 other choirs from all over Eu- rope and the USA. Along with this, Korus also won 1st Place in the Mixed Choirs Category, and 2nd Place in the Folk, Pop, and Gospel Category, astounding an international jury com- prised of world-renowned music giants. In another acclaimed festival also held in Poland, the 12th International Festival of University Choirs, Korus left multitude of audi-ences awestruck with its signature outstanding performance. This earned Korus a spot in the local and in- ternational news headlines, be-

ing the only choir receiving multiple standing ovations during its festival performance alongside 10 other choirs from all over the world.

In its Golden Year tour in 2012, Korus joined prestigious interna-tional competitions and tri- umphed in all of them. Korus won the First Prize in the Folk Category and Sec-ond Prize in the Mixed Category at the Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros in Catalonia, Spain, Korus also won the Gold Diploma and Audience Prize at the 9th Cantemus International Festi- val in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. With all of these international recognitions, Korus was feted with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Aliw Awards Foundation and the 2013 Ani ng Dangal Award by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Throughout the years, Korus has proven that it has done more than just showcasing exception-al talents. With a brilliant 53-year tradition of compelling interpreta-tions, vibrant choreogra- phy, the-atrical expressions, eye-catching costumes, and a charisma that is uniquely Filipino, UPCC continues to revolutionize choral performance arts in the country and even across the world.

For the Las Vegas concert it will be held on Jan. 23, 2016 from 7pm at the Celebrity Center, Celebrity Centre, 2761 Emerson, Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89121, is presented by the ACRC. Asian Community Resource Center in collaboration with the the UP Alumni Association of Nevada, Seek Jesus First Ministry and Las Vegas Asian Journal.

High-wire balancing act for...Sundays.

“I am effective as a government official because I put a premium on the indispensability of a close-knit family! If I go national and serve the country’s 100 million people, where does that leave my family? I can’t sacrifice them just to satisfy my political ambition. I can serve people better if I’m also effective as a mother and wife—that’s my priority!”

What does she tell her fol-lowers when they ask for advice about whom to choose in the up-coming presidential elections?

Vilma says, “I belong to the Liberal Party. It’s crucial to choose a leader who knows the impor-tance of continuity—how do you

sustain the country’s economic gains under President Aquino’s leadership? If we want those gains to reach the grassroots, we need the reforms to continue. We need to focus on intervention and innovation—those could be key to reach our all-encompassing objective. I don’t tell them whom to vote for—but it’s important to make informed choices! At the end of the day, nakasalalay ang kinabukasan ng inyong pamilya sa taong ibo-boto ninyo (the future of your loved ones are on the line, so you have to choose wisely). If you don’t, you’ll be putting them at risk!”

On a lighter note, Vilma played both Darna and Dyesebel, two of the most coveted roles in Philip-

pine cinema. If she were to pick just one, which iconic character would she choose? Ate Vi an-swers, “I’d pick Darna, because I played her four times, in ‘Lipad, Darna, Lipad,’ ‘Darna and the Gi-ants,’ ‘Darna and the Planet Wom-en’ and ‘Darna at Ding’—she’s tough and empowered like me! I portrayed Dyesebel only once.”

Is she looking forward to be-coming a lola (grandmother)? The legendary actress laughs, “Yes! I envy my friends. Co-ney Reyes keeps telling me that grandchildren are more adorable (laughs)—iba daw ang apo! I keep urging Lucky and Gel to give me one soonest, ‘Sige na naman, I’ve waited long enough—at matatan-da na kayo (laughs)!’”

Special performance by the OV Elvi and theOfficial Elvis of Las Vegas, Jesse Garon