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DATELINEUSAFROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Poe saddened exhumation of bodies needed to prove ‘natural-born’ status

by MARLON RAMOS Inquirer.net

by HELEN FLORES Philstar.com

MANILA—Vice President Jejo-mar Binay on Wednesday, Dec. 30 called for an end to vindictiveness and selective justice as he hoped for a more compassionate and respon-sive government in 2016.

“I pray that the New Year will usher in a new hope that the era of vindictiveness and selective justice will soon end,” he said in his New Year’s Day message.

MANILA—Sen. Grace Poe was “sad-dened” that the remains of her possible bio-logical parents had to be exhumed just to prove her status as a natural-born Filipino and hurdle legal obstacles to her presiden-tial bid, her spokesperson said on Wednes-day, Dec. 30.

In a statement, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian confirmed that the bodies of the members of Rodriguez clan in Guimaras province had been exhumed in a bid to get DNA samples from them.

But he clarified that the Rodriguez clan had only been communicating with Poe’s lawyers and not directly with her.

“I am saddened that it had to come to this just to prove my citizenship,” Gatchalian quoted Poe as saying.

Mayor Gatchalian said members of the Rodriguez family came up to Poe during her latest visit in Iloilo and told her that they could be her missing kin.

Gatchalian said the clan members “offered for the exhumation of the bodies of Senator Poe’s supposed biological parents.”

California minimum wage increases to $10 in New Year

ON New Year’s Day, California employ-ees will get a raise.

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the state mini-mum wage will go up one dollar to $10 an hour. As signed by California Gover-nor Jerry Brown, and voted on in July by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervi-sors, workers will also have job-protect-ed leave to address child-care or school emergencies.

The scheduled wage hike bring Cali-fornia workers’ minimum wage (currently at $9 in the Golden State) up more than two dollars over the $7.25 federal mini-mum wage, reported CBS Los Angeles.

LA City Council voted in July to contin-ue increasing the minimum wage slowly each year, to reach $15 by 2020.

The widely anticipated wage hike to $10 by Los Angeles, the largest local government in the United States, applies to unincorporated areas and thousands of employees, joining at least 12 states. Within a few years, according to reports, more than half of the countywide work-force will be guaranteed a base income more than 60 percent higher than the current rate.

With some exceptions to the new law, the statewide change is expected to affect over 9 million workers being paid at or below the federal minimum wage in Cali-fornia, according to a recent report from US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We’re at a turning point,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Ana-

ANOTHER year has passed and many events happened so quickly that many people tend to forget. As 2015 closes, the Asian Journal Edito-rial Team pooled together the top stories that made it to the front pages of our six editions.

POPE FRANCIS GRACES THE PHILIPPINES

When Pope Francis visited the Philippines in January for a four-day trip, at least two million Filipinos waited on the street to watch him ride away in his non-bulletproof “Popemobile.” Af-ter 20 years, Pope Francis was the third leader of the Catholic Church to visit the country, and came to personally show sympathy for the thousands who were killed after Super Typhoon Yolanda in late 2013. The pope was reportedly impressed with the hospitality of Filipinos, with whom he met at various places

in the Philippines, including the Mall of Asia Arena, Tacloban and Leyte.

MAMASAPANO MASSACREOn January 25, special forces were massa-

cred after encounter with rebel troops.Forty-four members of the Philippine Na-

tional Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao following a clash with armed fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. The PNP-SAF’s objective was to pursue Zulki-fli Abdhir — also known as Marwan Usman — and Basit Usman as part of Oplan Exodus;

they were successful in killing the former. The deaths of the PNP-SAF of cers ignited debate on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be the foundation of a new autonomous entity called Bangsamoro.

FIGHT OF THE CENTURY: PACQUIAOLOSES TO MAYWEATHER

After months of hype surrounding the long-awaited “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., many boxing fans and Filipinos were left disappointed, as the People’s Champ failed to tarnish Mayweather’s undefeated record

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers of 2015

FILIPINOS/Filipino-Americans have been very active this year, bringing in recognition to our community and excelling in their respective fields.

In Philippine politics, the race for the highest position in the country is just as noisy. With more presi-dential candidates bringing their platforms, issues and drama, no one can be sure who among them would really win.

With the end of this year, we look forward to what the Filipinos, Fil-Am community and the Philip-pines can do. For now, the Asian Journal Editorial Team gives you the top Filipino/Fil-Am newsmak-ers of 2015.

THE BEST MISTAKE: MISS PHILIPPINES PIA WURTZ-BACH IS MISS UNIVERSE

Half Filipina, half German actress and Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, 26, took home the crown for Miss Universe 2015 on live television on Sunday, Decem-ber 20th at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wurtzbach’s final crowning did not go without drama and a sur-prise ending when show host Steve Harvey accidentally announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo as the winner, but back-tracked a few moments later to pro-claim Wurtzbach as the true Miss Universe. Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, southwest Germany, and grew up in Cagayan de Oro. A winner of Binibining Pilipinas and

Binay, a presidential candidate ac-cused of amassing ill gotten wealth during his stint as Makati City may-or, has repeatedly criticized what he claimed was “selective justice” under the Aquino administration.

Binay and his allies have hit Malacañang’s alleged double stan-dard in enforcing orders to suspend officials involved in anomalies.

He said that 2016 has been desig-nated as the Holy Year of Mercy by Pope Francis.

“As Pope Francis declared, the Holy Year is a response to the world’s need for a ‘revolution of tenderness’ from which ‘justice and all the rest derives,’” he said.

The Vice President said he also prays that every Filipino will reap the benefits of economic progress under the new administration. “A new hope that we will have a gov-ernment that is just and compas-sionate and responsive to the needs

Binay calls for end to vindictiveness, selective justice

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Binay calls for end to vindictiveness...of the poor and needy.”

“All of our so-called economic achievements mean nothing if these are not felt by everyone,” he added.

Binay also urged the elector-ate to choose competent leaders “who will build a truly benevolent nation that respects the dignity of

all Filipinos,” and has vowed to be a “unifying leader” if he gets elected president in May.

‘House to remain united, fo-cused in 2016’

Meanwhile, Speaker Felici-ano Belmonte Jr. said that the House of Representatives will remain “united and focused on serving the highest welfare and

interests of the Filipino people” in 2016 despite the limited time left for the 16th Congress.

Belmonte pledged to maxi-mize the remaining workdays to deal with significant business.

“We will never renege on our constitutional mandate to promote good governance and protect the national interest and our people’s welfare, despite the time constraint now faced by the 16th Congress,” he said.

Congress will resume session on Jan. 19 and go on a break in February to give way to the electoral campaign. It will re-sume session in May, but a sig-nificant portion of lawmakers’ work will be taken up in can-vassing votes.

Despite time constraints, Bel-monte expressed confidence that priority bills including the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the public-private partnership (PPP) bill and the amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution would be passed within the term of the 16th Congress.

When Congress adjourned for the Christmas break last Dec. 16, he summed up the collective performance of the House as focused on quality and respon-sive legislation rather than on quantity.

He also thanked his col-leagues from the majority co-alition, minority and indepen-dents, for their cooperation and collective efforts in facing squarely the challenges of gov-ernance reforms and national development.

“We have been mindful of the demands and imperatives of our time as we have supported competitiveness-raising, job generation and more sustain-able development through the policies we have enacted,” Bel-monte said.

While noting that serious challenges were faced dur-ing the year 2015, the Speaker confidently surmised that the passing year’s positive develop-ments outweighed them, stress-ing that we have “a House unit-ed and focused on serving the highest welfare and interests of our people.”

He said the 16th Congress was able to enact nearly 100 laws since 2013.

last May. Pacquiao later revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury and was denied a request to get an injection for it the night before the fight. Over 30 lawsuits seek-ing refunds were filed, claiming that the fight was a fraud and that Pacquiao should have disclosed his injury.

THE REIGN OF TERROR: PARIS ATTACKED TWICE,

MASS SHOOTINGIN SAN BERNARDINO

Gunmen killed 17 individuals in Paris throughout a three-day attack that began on Jan. 7 at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly pro-vocative French satirical magazine that typically features cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The attackers were two brothers who were born, raised and radicalized in Paris. The brothers were shot dead by police three days after they fired shots at Charlie Hebdo.

Paris was again the site of mul-tiple terrorist attacks on Nov. 13, coordinated by the Islamic State extremist group. Explosions oc-curred outside of the Stade de France, the national sports stadium, where an anticipated soccer match between Germany and France was taking place. Several street shootings and bombing attacks also occurred at four populated outdoor plazas, where a 23-year-old American student from Cal State Long Beach was killed. The worst massacre of the night was a mass shooting at the Bataclan music hall venue, where the Eagles of Death Metal was performing to a crowd of over 1,000 people. Three men entered the hall and opened fire. The deadly attacks, which reportedly left at least 129

people dead and 352 wounded, prompted French President Fran-çois Hollande to declare a state of emergency and that France is “at war.” He further said that France is committed to “destroying” the Islamic State group, and France has launched airstrikes in ISIS territories’ Iraq and Syria. While several of the gunmen have been killed or detained, police are still on the search for others involved with the ISIS-coordinated attacks.

Terror hit close to home when on Dec. 2, a practicing Muslim couple entered the Inland Regional Cen-ter in San Bernardino, California, and opened gunfire in a room full of county health employees who were celebrating a holiday party. Fourteen people were killed and 21 injured in the attack, which officials later learned was premedi-tated, and it became the deadliest incident of gun violence in 2015.

The radicalized husband and wife, identified as 28-year-old Syed

Rizwan Farook and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, were killed hours after the rampage in a shootout with a police. Farook was also an employee for the San Bernardino County Public Health Department. Investigators believe the attacks were radicalized because of their organized nature, the weapons used, and the couple’s recent travel to and from Saudi Arabia. Upon search of the couple’s home and electronic devices, officials dis-covered that Malik advocated jihad in secret messages with friends, and had also pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State. FBI said that both attackers were “homegrown violent extremists” who acted on their own, inspired by the actions of foreign terrorist groups like ISIS.

Following the attacks, as well as deadly massacres by ISIS mem-bers in Paris, The Obama admin-istration announced changes to the visa waiver program that allows millions of immigrants from 38 countries into the US every year without a visa, for stays of 90 days or less if they meet certain require-ments. The program will include more stringent screenings at air-ports and security restrictions and watch lists for suspect individuals. Republican presidential front-run-ner candidate Donald Trump has also called for a controversial ban on all Muslims entering the United States, arguing that it “cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.” Mean-while, Republicans in Congress announced that they would not take immediate action to bring up new gun control legislation in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks, saying it was “unconsti-tutional” to deny the right to bear arms, but wanted to focus on an overhaul of the country’s mental health system..

PHILIPPINES HOSTSAPEC SUMMIT

With the theme “Building Inclu-sive Economies, Building a Better World,” this year’s Asia-Pacific Eco-nomic Cooperation (APEC) summit gathered prominent heads of state and business leaders from member states and territories in Manila. The Philippine government allotted P10 billion in hosting the annual meet-ing of the 21-member Asia Pacific economies. Held on Nov. 17-20, the global leaders—which included Pres. Barack Obama and Chinese

California minimum wage increases to...lytics research firm, told the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’ll be a breakout year [in 2016] for wage growth.”

With an estimated 2.5 million working mothers with children under 18 in California, SB 579 will also provide job-protected leave to address child-care or school emergencies, and pro-hibit employers with 25 or more employees from discharging or discriminating against employ-ees for taking up to eight hours a month to participate in school or day-care activities with their children.

Another new law that went into effect on July 1 allows eligible part-time and hourly workers to accrue sick time, giving them ac-cess to benefits already enjoyed by white-collar professionals.

Economic growth in 2016 is projected to remain moderate, but about half a point stronger than this year’s pace of just over 2 percent, said the LA Times.

Reactions were mixed, mostly among small business owners, who both welcomed and were disgruntled at the change.

“We don’t really have a choice

Poe saddened exhumation of bodies needed...“The Rodriguez family offered

this option because they also wanted to know the truth once and for all,” he said. “Through-out this interaction, the Rodri-guez family was making ar-rangements with the lawyers of Senator Poe and not Senator Poe herself.”

He said Poe’s counsels “made

and it’s going to happen,” said Chris Ulrich, co-owner of First Awakenings restaurant in Pacific Grove, California.

Ulrich added that under the new law about 17 of their employ-ees will get a raise, meaning the restaurant will have pay to more than 130 extra dollars a day to their staff.

“As a business owner you al-ways want to try and keep your expenses down,” said Ulrich. “We’re not happy about it be-cause it drives our customers away that are used to a certain amount. But we just raised every-thing a small percentage not even 10 percent.”

Gaby Granados with Medina’s Bridal Shop in Salinas already makes $10 dollars an hour.

“We have bills, insurance, rent, food,” Granados told CNN news partner KION, applauding the new wage increase but arguing that 10 dollars an hour is not much. “We’re still trying to fit in school it’s really, really hard. I think they should do at least $12 and I still don’t think that’s enough.”

She also expressed her fears that some businesses will not im-plement the new wage increase.

“There’s a lot of people who take advantage of field workers or even people who don’t have papers and I think that’s really wrong,” Granados said, adding her belief that with the minimum wage going up, so will everything else, leaving her and other em-ployees “stuck in the same place financially, instead of moving ahead.”

“No matter how much we’re getting paid things are just gonna keep going up and up and up,” said Granados.

LA cities like Santa Monica and West Hollywood are considering their own wage hikes. Many oth-er local cities—such as Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Torrance and Long Beach—have yet to de-cide whether to boost wages.

“With more proof that gradual wage increases won’t shock the economy, more states are going to follow suit,” said Bill Scher, an activist and analyst for the Cam-paign for America’s Future.

Four other states--including New York, Oregon, and Wash-ington DC--are also considering proposals in the coming year to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

arrangements for DNA samples to be taken” from the remains of her possible parents.

A forensic pathologist hired by Poe’s camp “needed more DNA samples,” he added.

Poe, the adopted daughter of the late action superstar Fernan-do Poe Jr. and veteran actress Susan Roces, had been disquali-fied by the Commission on Elec-

tions for her failure to prove that she was a natural-born citizen and for not meeting the 10-year residency requirement for those running for President.

However, the Supreme Court issued two temporary restraining orders stopping the election body from implementing its two sepa-rate decisions disqualifying Poe from the presidential race.

WITH the New Year just days away, several new, important traffic-related laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, designed to ad-dress issues of roadway safety and directly impact California drivers, motorists and bicyclists.

The new laws, which cover everything from hit-and-run, to DUI laws, electric bicycles and hover-boards, were signed by Gov. Jerry Brown during the 2015 legislative session. The California Department of Mo-tor Vehicles released the list of approved Senate and Assembly bills, poised to go into effect on the first day of the year.

Traffic amnestySB 405 amends the criteria for

a person to be eligible for the traffic citation amnesty program, approved through the 2015-16 Budget Act. A person is eligible for the traffic amnesty program if he or she has not made any payments after Sept. 30, 2015, to a collection program for fines or bail already due. The law also indicates that payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment is not required in or-der for the court to remove the civil assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear in court.

Yellow Alert System for hit-and-runs

Starting Jan. 1, a Yellow Alert notification system will be estab-lished for hit-and-run incidents that result in death or major in-juries, according to a California Highway Patrol (CHP) news re-lease.

Similar to Amber Alerts, CHP would work with requesting law enforcement agencies to de-termine whether a hit-and-run warrants activation of the emer-gency system, including wheth-er changeable message signs on freeways should be used. The criteria for a Yellow Alert in-cludes whether there is informa-tion about the hit-and-run driver or their vehicle.

The legislation was introduced by local Assemblyman Mike Gat-to.

Consumer Protection - Start-er Interrupt Warning

AB 265 requires a “buy-here-pay-here” dealer to make cer-tain disclosures and notices to a vehicle buyer when a vehicle is sold with tracking and starter interrupt technology installed.

New tra�c laws to be enforced in Californiaby ALLYSON ESCOBAR

AJPress

This law also requires advance warning be given to the pur-chaser prior to engagement of the starter interrupt technology, if the buyer fails to make timely vehicle payments. A “buy-here-pay-here” dealer is defined by law as “a used car dealer that assigns less than 90 percent of their conditional sales and lease contracts to third party lenders; and therefore provide direct fi-nancing to car buyers.”

Silver Alert SystemThe Silver Alert notification

system will be amended starting Jan. 1 to allow it to be commu-nicated on changeable message signs when a vehicle is involved in the missing person incident. Regional and statewide emer-gency alerts can be activated when seniors or individuals with developmental disabilities go missing or are believed to be in danger.

DUI: Ignition Interlock De-vice

A new law (SB 61) for 2016 grants a one-year extension to the existing Ignition Inter-lock Device (IID) pilot project, in which a person convicted of drunken driving may be required to install an ignition interlock device to their vehicle. The IID registers alcohol on the driver’s breath, and can prevent the ve-hicle from starting based on the result. The project requires a person convicted of a DUI to in-stall an IID for five months upon a first offense, 12 months for a second offense, 24 months for a third offense, and 36 months for a fourth or subsequence of-fense.

The extension would impact Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacra-mento and Tulare counties, ac-cording to the CHP.

Highway Lane UseA law requiring slow-mov-

ing passenger vehicles to safely pull over and let traffic pass will expand and apply to bicyclists come Jan. 1, according to the CHP. The law requires slow-moving cars and bicycles to use the next available turnout or oth-er area to let vehicles pass if five or more are backed-up behind them.

Hoverboard safetyAccording to AB 604, an

electronically motorized board — defined by the CHP as “a wheeled device designed to be stood and powered by electronic propulsion,” and includes hover-boards — will be able to go no more than 15 mph, and will be

permitted only on roadways with a speed limit of 35 mph or less and on designated bikeways.

Hover-board riders must be at least 16, cannot be under the in-fluence of alcohol or drugs, and must wear a helmet at all times.

No Earbuds or Headsets Supported by the Transporta-

tion Committee, SB 491, which was filed with the Secretary of State in early October, is a provi-sion that would prohibit anyone operating a vehicle from wear-ing earphones that cover, rest on, or are inserted in both ears. The prohibition does not apply to persons operating authorized emergency vehicles, construc-tion equipment, and refuse or waste equipment while wearing a headset or safety earplugs.

“Laws previously barred mo-torists and cyclists from wearing ear plugs in both ears or wear-ing a headset, subject to some exceptions,” the bill stated.

California Residency Re-quirement

AB 1465 will require an appli-cant for an original driver license or identification card to provide proof of California state residen-cy, starting on July 1, 2016 and it will bring the DMV into compli-ance with a federal law require-ment. The DMV will also need to adopt regulations relating to the procedures for verifying that the applicant is a California resi-dent.

CA New Motor Voter Pro-gram

AB 1461 creates an automatic voter registration process for qualified individuals who apply for a driver license or identifi-cation card, or submit a change of address to the DMV. Under the new law, Californians who obtain or renew their driver’s license would be automatically registered to vote, with an opt-out option also abailable.

The Los Angeles Times report-ed that information by the DMV will not be sent to the Secretary of State until regulations are de-veloped, a statewide database system is established, and fund-ing to implement the program is secured. The DMV is required to implement the New Motor Voter Act no later than a year after the Secretary of State certifies these regulations. Consequently, it is not exactly clear still when the law will take effect.

Complete information on the new statewide traffic laws can be found at http://leginfo.legisla-ture.ca.gov/.

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers...Miss Universe-Philippines beauty pageants, she attended secondary school in Quezon City, culinary arts school in Metro Manila, and speaks Tagalog, English, and German. On the live Miss Universe stage, Wurtz-bach publicly shared her support of US military presence in the Philip-pines, and told viewers, “I want to show the world—the universe, rather—that I am confidently beau-tiful, with a heart.” Since her crown-ing, she has also apologized to Miss Colombia and to her supporters for the confusion that happened.

JASON DAY WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Filipino-Australian golfer Jason Day in August won the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Champion-ship golf tournament where he defeated Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 golfer. Day now ranks as the No. 2 golfer by the Official World Golf Ranking. He holds an average of 10.9398 points and a total of 437.59 points. Philippine Communi-cation Secretario Herminio Coloma said the Philippines is proud of Day, whose mother hails from Visayas.

ROBERT MURPHY, FIL-AM CO-FOUNDER OF SNAPCHAT

AMONG WORLD’SYOUNGEST BILLIONAIRES

A young Fil-Am, Robert “Bobby” Murphy, 26, is on Forbes’ list of world billionaires for 2015. Co-founder of the popular social media app Snapchat with his fraternity brother Evan Spiegel, both Stanford students, Murphy has a net worth of $1.5 billion—making him the second youngest dollar billionaire in the club, Forbes reported. He has an estimated stake of at least 15 percent in the business. Murphy now serves as Snapchat’s chief technology officer, developing prototype and infrastructure for the app.

JUDGE JULIAN RECANA SWORN INTO LA COUNTY

SUPERIOR COURTJulian C. Recana became the

newest Fil-Am judge in Los An-geles County in August, following his appointment by California Gov. Jerry Brown in July. Recana has served as deputy district attorney in the Long Beach Courthouse for 11 years and has been with the County District Attorney’s Office since 1999, seeking justice for victims of crime and murder. His father, Hon. Judge Mel Red Recana, was the first Fil-Am judge in the US when he appointed 34 years ago. There are over 2,000 judges in the state of California — 11 of them Filipino-American, nine of whom serve in LA County, and only one

father-and-son duo, the Recanas.JOEL JACINTO HONORED

BY MAYOR GARCETTI AS LA BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS

COMMISSIONERIt was a historic occasion for

the Fil-Am and Asian Pacific Is-lander (API) communities when Joel Jacinto, executive director of the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) was confirmed as the new Los Angeles Board of Public Works Commissioner last August 11.

Jacinto’s appointment makes him only a handful of Asian Americans who have served in such a capacity. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said that he selected Jacinto as Commissioner because of the difference he has made in his community and to help organize the API community so it can “have the muscle inside City Hall to get things done.” Gar-rett also said that Jacinto has an infectious way of bringing people together, and a belief in pushing his community and the larger com-munity forward.

With his appointment, Jacinto took a two-year leave of absence

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DATELINE PHILIPPINESPhilippines out of list of deadliest for journalists

by ARTEMIO DUMLAO Philstar.com

China ‘strongly dissatis�ed’ over Filipino protesters on Pagasa Island

by FRANCES MANGOSING Inquirer.net

CHINA seemed unhappy with the group of young Filipino pro-testers who landed in a Philip-pine-claimed island in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a statement on Monday, Dec. 28 that China was “strongly dissatisfied with the ac-tions and words of the Philippine side.”

Less than 50 protesters, mostly youth, sailed for Pagasa Island

last Thursday and arrived on Sat-urday, despite lack of encourage-ment from the government and the military due to security and safety reasons. They were joined by former Marine officer Captain Nicanor Faeldon and will stay there for three days.

Originally, the group “Kalayaan Atin Ito” aimed to bring 10,000 youths in a month-long protest from November 30 to Decem-ber 30 on different islands in the Spratlys. The act’s purpose was to show their stand against China’s sweeping expansion in the South

China Sea.However, China maintained its

“indisputable sovereignty” over the islands.

“China has indisputable sover-eignty over the Nansha Islands, Zhongye Island being a part of it. We once again urge the Philippine side to withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the Chinese islands and reefs it is illegally oc-cupying and stop doing anything that undermines regional peace and stability and weighs against the relations between China and the Philippines,” Lu said.

After Zapanta’s death, Palace calls on Filipinos to follow int’l laws

by YUJI VINCENT GONZALES Inquirer.net

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday, Dec. 29 called on Filipinos all over the world to abide by the laws of other countries, follow-ing the execution of overseas Filipino worker Joselito Zapanta in Saudi Arabia.

“We call on all Filipino na-tionals to abide by the laws of their countries of work and resi-dence,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma.

Zapanta was executed on

Tuesday for the murder of his Sudanese landlord over rent. The victim’s family refused to execute an Affidavit of Forgive-ness in exchange for blood money.

The family previously demand-ed P48 million, but only P23 mil-lion was raised for Zapanta.

Coloma noted that Zapanta’s execution “could not be fore-stalled under the laws of Saudi Arabia” despite the Philippine government’s efforts.

“The government extends its sympathy and condolences to the

family of Joselito Lidasan Zapan-ta. Despite efforts to preserve his life, appeals for compassion and forgiveness were unheeded and his execution could not be fore-stalled further under the laws of Saudi Arabia,” Coloma said.

“Government will continue to extend all the necessary support and assistance to our citizens working or residing abroad, through our diplomatic posts,” he added.

Zapanta was survived by his father, mother, sister, and two children.

BAGUIO CITY—For the first time since 2007, the Philippines is not on the list of the “World’s Most Deadly Countries for Jour-nalists.”

The New York-based press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its yearend analysis that it did not document a single journalist killed in direct relation to work in the Philippines.

The CPJ, however, noted that at least seven Filipino jour-nalists were killed in unclear circumstances. It continues to in-vestigate these cases for a work-related motive, it said.

The Philippines was always in the list of World’s Most Danger-ous Countries for the Press, along with warn-torn countries like Syr-ia and Iraq, peaking in November 2009 when at least 30 journalists were killed along with 28 others in Maguindanao, perhaps the single most deadly mass killing of journalists in the world.

CPJ began compiling detailed records on all journalist deaths in 1992.

Syria and France topped the countries around the world with 40 percent of 69 journalists killed in the line of duty in 2015.

Muslim extremist groups that included al-Qaeda and the Islam-ic State systematically kill jour-nalists in Syria.

Nine of 69 killings took place in France, which came second to Syria.

The number of journalists killed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 23, 2015 was higher than the 61 journalists killed last year, the CPJ said, while vowing it was in-vestigating the deaths of at least 24 more journalists during the year to determine whether they were work-related.

The CPJ noted that unlike the past three years, the deaths were widely distributed across coun-tries, citing that at least five jour-nalists were killed each in Iraq, Brazil, Bangladesh, South Sudan and Yemen.

In 2012, 2013 and 2014, deaths in Syria far outnumbered those in the rest of the world. The declin-ing number of deaths in Syria – where 13 were killed in 2015 – “reflects in part the reduced num-

ber of journalists working there, after many major international news organizations chose not to send staff to the country and lo-cal journalists fled into exile,” the CPJ yearend analysis said.

It was acknowledged by CPJ that while there was lower num-ber of confirmed killings in Syria, researching cases was increas-ingly difficult there and in other places ravaged by conflict, in-cluding Libya, Yemen and Iraq.

CPJ said it undertook a research mission to Iraq this year to inves-tigate reports that up to 35 jour-nalists from Mosul were missing, dead or held captive by Islamic State. But the CPJ wasn’t able to confirm the deaths because of the militant group’s stranglehold on information about the city.

The press freedom watchdog said it has received reports of dozens more journalists killed in Syria and Iraq, but was unable to independently confirm this and whether work was the reason.

Those left practicing journal-ism in these conflict-ravaged countries are often affiliated with groups party to the conflict, fur-ther complicating CPJ’s endeav-ors to determine the reasons be-hind their deaths.

Worldwide, more than two-thirds of the journalists killed in 2015 were singled out in reprisal

for their work – “in line with the historical average but a greater percentage than CPJ has record-ed over the past five years.”

One-third of killings worldwide came at the hands of criminal groups, government officials or local residents – in most cases, drug traffickers or local authori-ties suspected of being in collu-sion with organized crime, the CPJ analysis said.

It specifically cited how Brazil-ian Gleydson Carvalho was shot dead by two men while on his af-ternoon radio show, which often criticized local police and politi-cians for corruption and wrong-doing.

Brazil, with six murders, regis-tered its highest number of kill-ings since CPJ began keeping detailed records in 1992.

While the level of violence is unprecedented, Brazilian judicial authorities made strides in com-bating impunity with six convic-tions of murder in the past two years.

The world’s newest country – South Sudan – registered for the first time on CPJ’s database of killed journalists when gun-men ambushed an official con-voy in Western Bahr al Ghazal state, resulting in the death of five journalists traveling with an official.

Pres. Xi Jinping—discussed some of the region’s most pressing issues including economic integration, trade liberalization, sustainable growth and international security particularly in the South China Sea. Milestones of the APEC Summit include the agenda for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the adoption of the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth, which will guide member economies in undertaking robust, comprehensive, and ambitious structural reforms over the next five years and the approval of the APEC Services Cooperation Framework, which underscores the importance of the services sector, which makes up approximately two-thirds of the GDP in the APEC region.

JUAN PONCE ENRILE GRANTED BAIL

In a 8-4 vote on Aug. 18, the Philippine Supreme Court granted Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s plea to post bail in connection with his plunder trial over his alleged involvement in the P10 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as the pork barrel scam. Enrile is accused of plunder for allegedly pocketing P172 million in commissions in the PDAF scam. He was under hospital arrest at the Philippine National Police General Hospital since July 2014, before his appeal was granted. The high court cited “humanitarian reasons” for grant-ing the 91-year-old senator his temporary liberty.

SUPREME COURT RULES FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE A divided Supreme Court made

a landmark decision in June by rul-ing in favor of same-sex marriage, making the United States the 21st country in the world to legalize this nationwide. The decision, which also applies to US territories, al-

lows married same-sex couples to have the same legal rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples.

US MARINE JOSEPH PEMBERTON FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING JENNIFER

LAUDEJoseph Scott Pemberton, the US

Marine Private First Class charged with murder for the death of Fili-pina transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in October 2014, was found guilty on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the Philippines, where he will remain in prison.

Pfc. Pemberton, who was on a break after taking part in joint

military exercises in Subic Bay, was charged with the homicide of Laude, whom he reportedly strangled to death in the hotel room they had checked into in Olongapo City, near the former US naval base. The young Marine first testified that he was intoxi-cated at the time of Laude’s death, and that he became enraged after discovering Laude was a man, which led to a fight in the room and prompted a defensive choke-hold. The Olongapo City Regional Trial Court threw out Pemberton’s defense that he merely rendered Laude unconscious in a choke-hold, and that someone else had strangled and drowned her n the toilet bowl after he had left the scene. Pemberton has been charged with murder but was convicted of the lesser offense of homicide, which does not require malicious intent. The court found no treachery, abuse of strength, or cruelty on the part of the Marine soldier. Sentenced for six to 12 years, Pemberton will be held by the US-controlled Bureau of Corrections, guarded by the Phil-ippine National Police, and has been ordered to pay more than 4.5 million pesos ($95,350) to Laude’s family. He can still appeal against the verdict and sentence.

OPINION FEATURES

8AM, Tuesdays in the San Francisco Bay Area is 12:00 midnight in Manila, because of Daylight Saving Time. This is when the Wednesday online edition of Busi-ness World is posted. I watch out for this proverbial witching hour (which is, in fact, breakfast time for folks like me in California) because that’s when I can go over my column of 27-plus years in the country’s leading business daily.

Except for burglars and security guards and, oh yes, witches, you hardly expect anyone to be awake in Manila just to post comments on someone’s newspaper column. But the other week, as soon as my piece, “Duterte’s Way Isn’t the Best Way,” went online, it was immediately pelted with a barrage of negative comments (well over a dozen) that appeared, interestingly, like an or-chestrated counter-propaganda blitz by paid social media trolls.

Note that the commentaries were posted almost immediately after mid-night, which means that a team had been placed on standby to take potshots at my column (if was it was about or against Duterte, my piece in the previous week having been entitled, “Duterte, Trump, Hitler and Nardong Putik”).

I’ve been writing for a living for much longer than most people have been alive, so I can spot from a mile away any effort to make a letter to the editor look “authentic.” The fellows who posted the adverse comments were probably sleepy or poorly-paid and thus tended to copy from each other, as well as use similar phraseology (lines like, “Whatever you say, Duterte pa rin kami!” and “We are rock solid behind Duterte!”).

Worse yet (for whoever is paying their wages), the trolls tried but failed to seem like “average Pinoys” with bad grammar and poor spelling. They certainly did not

fit the readership profile of Business World. You might describe their verbiage as “pang-tab-loid.”

Apparently, my com-mentaries on the presi-dential aspirations of Davao City Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte have be-

come reason for me to be caught in the cross-hairs of the social media snipers. Of course, I have no worries about being given the dreaded Duterte extra-judicial treatment. I’m too old to get scared of that. Besides, Duterte’s legendary kill rate, by his own admission, is more fic-tion than fact.

At any rate, Duterte’s presidential campaign isn’t the specific focus of this piece. Rather, it is the use of social me-dia as a means for influencing minds and, by extension, influencing a politi-cal contest like the coming presidential elections.

The question is: How effective is so-cial media in doing so?

One clue could be in the fact that Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who claims to be the hands-down favorite for presi-dent among Facebook habitues, regis-ters rather poorly in the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys, both of which provide a relatively fair idea of the rankings (ex-cept when a survey is commissioned by a candidate).

In a report on Inquirer.net, dated No-vember 25, Carlo Ople, managing part-ner and director of digital advertising agency DM9 Digit, described Santiago as a “social media darling” who “leads the pack among presidential aspirants with 3,205,407 followers on Facebook and 2,094,618 on Twitter.” In contrast, Ople pointed out, “Senator Grace Poe, lags in social media: She only has 737,711 fans on Facebook and 58,154 on Twitter.”

However, a completely different story is revealed by a December 4 to 12 Stan-dard Poll, conducted nationwide by vet-

eran pollster Junie Laylo among 1,500 registered voters. The survey tells us that Poe, in spite of being disqualified by two Comelec divisions, is in the lead with 28 percent, followed by Vice-Presi-dent Jejomar Binay with 23 percent, LP standard bearer Mar Roxas with 22 per-cent and Duterte with 19 percent. Santi-ago just managed to register a wee beep with 3 percent.

In truth, we do not know enough about the impact of social media on the attitudes of Filipinos as voters (as dis-tinct from their attitudes as social media butterflies). What we have observed, however, is that the mainstream media – meaning, the national dailies and the TV and radio networks – closely moni-tor postings on social media and, when-ever there appears to be a “trend,” they recycle the postings as “fresh news.” A further recycling happens when TV and radio newscasters and commentators, read the news straight from the pages of the newspapers and pass that off as “nagbabagang balita” (red hot news).

According to available data, national TV has the most influence on the per-ceptions and attitudes of the citizenry – whether as voters or as consumers of entertainment news. In that regard, the-oretically, one could influence the voters by, first, influencing the content of TV newscasts and commentaries.

Of course, in the age of envelopmen-tal journalism, one does not need social

media to achieve that objective. The cof-fee shop scuttlebutt tells us that broad-casters are just as prone to bribery as politicians (but then, who is to provide proof of that?)

In any case, one reason PR and propa-ganda specialists consider social media a vehicle of choice to sow disinforma-tion, feed outright lies, create confusion and generate the impression of a band-wagon for their clients is because they only pay for the cost of labor and, next to newspaper clippings, it is a convenient way to show “proof of performance.”

Social media postings are easy to click and clip or produce a screen shot of for showing to clients and thus, for earning their retainers. It’s not as easy to do with broadcast media because that requires tedious monitoring, re-cording and submission of affidavits of performance.

An online article in July 2014, en-titled, “Research Confirms: The Philip-pines is Still the Social Media Capital of the World,” cited a global study called Wave7 that stated, “Filipinos are using social media to primarily connect (with) their families living overseas.” The same study listed “how Filipinos use social media”:

• To keep company – 62 percent• To share new experiences to (sic)

friends and followers – 63 percent• To have fun – 65 percent• To meet new people – 70 percent

• To stay in touch with friends and family – 74 percent

There was no mention of “keeping up with current events” or “political news.” But then, the study was conducted in 2006. Presumably, a lot has changed since then. However, if the disconnect between the results of public opinion polls and social media popularity is an indicator, it looks like the social media trolls who have been assigned to snipe at my columns may not be helping Duterte very much.

In truth, if you were to closely follow social media, you will note the same fa-miliar names over and over again, post-ing commentaries, exchanging views, philosophizing and passing on profundi-ties to each other, over and over again. It’s almost like incest.

In a Facebook exchange with a dear friend of mine, creative and communica-tions wonder boy, Greg Garcia, he made an oblique reference to the impact (or lack of impact) of social media:

“In social media we are all just talking to each other, sa totoo lang. And active participants are really committed any-way to a candidate with a passion.”

Greg’s advice: If you want to effec-tively promote your candidates – at least at this point in time – use mainstream media.

He should have added: And be pre-pared to invest millions. (gregmacaben-ta@hotmail.com)

Will the presidential contest be won on social media?

GREG B. MACABENTA

Street Talk

BEFORE we charge 2015 to history, we are again reminded to look back and reflect on all the important events that have happened in the past 12 months. This year we celebrated triumphs and suffered defeats. Which way does the Philippines go? Will Filipinos learn from mistakes and lead themselves to better lives, or will we constitute a false dawn?

Re�ection

In a nutshell, 2015 will go down as one of the most eventful years, for it has shaped and changed the world by leaps and bounds.

The Philippine economy is boom-ing -- it stands strong by sustaining a steady growth. Remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are forecast to reach $29.7 billion this year, making the Philippines the world’s third largest recipient of remittances, just behind India ($72.2 billion) and China ($63.9 billion). The labor markets for Filipinos are now expanding and de-mands for Filipinos workers are seen.

With sound government spending, the econom-ic potential of the country is now confident to go head-to-head with its aggressive neighbors. The current administration has also led development to agriculture, education, health and social welfare.

2015 started on a high note when Pope Fran-cis visited the country in January. In November, Filipinos welcomed global leaders for the Asia-Pa-cific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Summit in Manila. The leaders from the 21-member associa-

tion discussed some of the region’s most pressing issues including eco-nomic integration, trade liberaliza-tion, sustainable growth and energy security.

On Dec. 20, 26-year-old Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the Miss Universe crown, the third crown for the Philippines. Besting 80 beauties from around the globe, Wurtzbach won the hearts of the judges by displaying her intellect, cultural values, sense of poise and of being. She did not only epitomize what the world considers beautiful, but she also represented what a Filipina has to offer.

Along the victories Filipinos rejoiced were ad-versities that the country had to bear. The ongoing Spratlys dispute between China and the Philip-pines remains unresolved. Travel advisories were issued against the Philippines for purported ter-rorism. Many Filipinos were affected by the series of typhoons that hit the country. Some lost power for days, others had their homes flooded and a number lost their homes altogether, while dam-ages amounted to billions.

Editorial

During the latter part of the year, difficulties have posed threats on the integrity of the country’s po-litical system. Political vendettas and government procrastination have cast doubts on the Filipinos’ practice of democracy. To say that Philippine poli-tics has never been more controversial this year is an understatement.

While 2015 proved to be a challenging year, it

also fortified our courage, vigilance, resilience and hope as a people, in the face of adversity. No mat-ter how dreadful some of the unfortunate events are, Filipinos have still managed to score achieve-ments, solve problems and most of all, set goals. The work is not yet done for Filipinos. Challenges will still come and improvements must still tran-spire. (AJPress)

I HOPE you all had the merriest Christmas with your loved ones. This happy holiday season also her-alds the ending of the year, and the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.

No matter how crazy and busy our schedules ha-ven been in the last days of the year, let us find those solemn moments to be quiet and reflect on the gift and lessons 2015 has brought us as we welcome the coming of 2016.

As we aspire and strive to make 2016 a better year, let us be guided by positive healthy thoughts on the first day of the year, and everyday thereafter. Remember that the battle starts in our minds, and so let us feed our minds with thoughts of hope, faith and victory.

HAVE A BLESSED 2016!Below are some of my favorites that I gather from

many sources.“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but

a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” - Oprah Winfrey

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” - T.S. Eliot

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” - Helen Keller

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous chang-es. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao Tzu

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson“All our dreams can come true, if we have the

courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney“All of us every single year, we’re a different

person. I don’t think we’re the same person all our lives.” - Steven Spielberg

“Make New Year’s goals. Dig within, and discover

what you would like to have hap-pen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an af-firmation that you’re interested in fully living life in the year to come.” - Melody Beattie

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has

passed.” - Cavett Robert“For a new year to bring you something new,

make a move, like a butterfly tearing its cocoon! Make a move!” - Mehmet Murat Ildan

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -- Eleanor Roosevelt

“Success means having the courage, the determi-nation, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” - George Sheehan

“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but rather that we should have a new soul.” - G.K. Chesterton

“You are never too old to set another goal or to

dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance,

you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein“I hope that in this year to come, you make mis-

takes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, chang-ing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” - Neil Gaiman

“Here’s to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold.” - Unknown

“Forgetting the things that are behind and reach-ing out for the things that are ahead..” - Philippians 3:13

* * *

The battle starts in our mindsVictorious thoughts to guide us in 2016

GEL SANTOS-RELOS

The Fil-Am Perspective

Abad accused of lying, hiding ‘pork’ in 2016 budget

MANILA—Budget Secretary Florencio Abad was lying when he declared there was no “pork” in the 2016 national budget, one of the lead petitioners in the Su-preme Court against the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) said.

“(Abad) is using the same pork barrel system the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional, but in greater amounts. Almost half of the budget are pork bar-rel funds of the President,” Greco Belgica said in a statement.

He warned that funds put at the discretion of the President or administration officials might be used for election purposes, spe-cifically for bribing polls officials and even Smartmatic, which is the provider of election counting machines.

He said that in the SC ruling against DAP and PDAF, any lump sums and discretionary funds

CBCP: Restoring death penalty won’t deter crimes

MANILA—Hanging a crimi-nal in public would not solve criminality.

That’s the belief of Catho-lic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Af-fairs Committee chairman Je-rome Secillano, who reacted yesterday to a recent statement of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that he would restore the death penalty by public hanging if he is elected presi-dent.

“Duterte is misled into think-ing that the death penalty de-ters crimes,” Secillano said.

“You do not deter crimes by hanging criminals. You deter crimes by having efficient and effective law enforcers, incor-rupt judges and lawyers and strict and fearless prison ad-ministrators.”

While it would appear at first that killing criminals is an effec-tive way to stop crimes, in truth this problem could only be cor-rected by having an efficient criminal justice system, Secil-lano said.

“If criminals believe that they can buy their freedom, of what use then is the death penalty?” he asked. “Reforming our crim-inal justice system is the ulti-mate solution to crimes.”

Archbishop emeritus of Lin-gayen-Dagupan Oscar Cruz, a former CBCP president, yester-day said that he was surprised by Duterte’s statement.

“At this age and time, doing these atrocities against human life is a pity, precisely because civilization has already moved forward.”

Cruz said he does not agree with the method that would be applied by Duterte if he be-comes president.

“I disagree with Mayor Duterte as far as taking human life, so cheaply and lightly as if it is just getting rid of mosqui-toes, getting rid of rats and the like,” he said.

Palace still hopeful on BBL passageby AUREA CALICA

Philstar.com

MANILA—Malacañang is not giving up on the Bangsamoro Ba-sic Law (BBL) despite Congress becoming preoccupied with the upcoming elections in May 2016.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Her-minio Coloma Jr. said the Aquino administration would have to see what pieces of legislation could still be reasonably tackled in the few session days left before the start of the campaign in February.

“BBL remains number one pri-ority,” Coloma said.

“We continue to work with lead-ers and members of Congress for the enactment of the BBL as this is essential to the peace build- ing process,” he added.

Congress went on a Christmas break last Dec. 18 and would resume session on Jan. 19 until Feb. 5 before the start of the of-ficial campaign period.

Despite failure to pass the BBL before Congress’ adjournment, the peace panels of the govern-ment and the Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front (MILF) said Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was still optimistic that the BBL would still be passed by the current Congress.

“I am confident that the Sen ate would do its best to pass the proposed measure within the remaining session days of Con-gress after considering all the amendments introduced by the senators,” Marcos said in a letter addressed to peace panel chairs Miriam Coronel- Ferrer of the

government and Mohagher Iqbal of the MILF dated Dec. 1 but just recently received by the panels.

Marcos, chairman of the Sen-ate committee on local govern-ment who drafted a substitute bill to the BBL, earlier claimed that the controversial BBL was dead because it could not be passed during the term of Aquino for lack of time.

Marcos’ letter was in response to the open letter of the peace panels sent to Congress on Nov. 26.

In the joint letter, the peace panels underscored the impor-tance of passing the BBL to con-tinue the decommissioning of MILF forces and weapons, gen-erate positive effects on the suc-ceeding administration and arrest the spread of extremism.

given to politicians or officials are unconstitutional, regardless of whether such officials belong to the executive or legislative de-partments.

He added special purpose funds, automatic appropriations fund and unprogrammed funds remain to be lump sums and dis-cretionary to the President.

Belgica said lawmakers follow the dictates of the DBM so they can get their share of pork for the elections.

“Most of them don’t even bother to go through the GAA (General Appropriations Act) be-cause of the established system of collusion between the execu-tive and the legislative body to get their share of the pork the Supreme Court declared uncon-stitutional,” he added.

Belgica explained that “bot-tom up” budgeting is a system prescribed in the Local Govern-ment Code and that instead of following the law by making it go through the process of the lo-cal development council, “they (administration officials) opted

again to cut short the process by not organizing the councils, therefore directly putting the request and so the money to the national agencies.”

“Thus, discretionary and once again lump sum funds to the President and for Mar’s cam-paign,” he said, referring to administration standard bearer in next year’s elections Manuel Roxas II.

Abad, he said, cannot point an accusing finger at Congress be-cause he proposes and controls the budget while dangling funds to lawmakers.

“I challenge Abad to answer in public our evidences of pork barrel allocations in the GAA one by one and face to face like true leaders and gentlemen,” he said.

“If I prove him wrong then he must resign, face the conse-quences of his actions and allow us to correct their mistakes. If I am wrong then I will keep quiet and face the consequences of my allegations,” Belgica pointed out.

by MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN Philstar.com

by EVELYN MACAIRAN Philstar.com

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers...as executive director of SIPA, but will remain involved in the orga-nization.

PH PRESIDENTIALCANDIDATES

Next year’s Philippine presi-dential election could be one of the most interesting in history, considering who the candidates are and the drama they bring into the race.

Frontrunner Senator Grace Poe, who was leading the polls for next year’s presidential elec-tion was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Com-elec). Two Comelec divisions had disqualified Poe, who led voters’ preference polls, for fail-ing to meet the 10-year residency requirement for a presidential candidate, citing her certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in 2013. Poe said she erred in the COC. Poe’s disqualification case, however, was junked by the Sen-ate Electoral Tribunal, although Supreme Court justice members ruled that Poe was not a natural-born citizen. As provided in the 1987 Constitution, only natural-born Filipinos are allowed to assume the presidency.

On Dec. 29, the Supreme Court (SC) amended the temporary re-straining orders (TROs) against

the Comelec’s decision to dis-qualify Poe candidacy. The private petitioners of the disqualification cases against the senator and the poll body are given ten (10) days from notice to file their comments. Oral arguments are scheduled on Jan. 19, 2016.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, considered as the dark horse from Mindanao, finally filed his COC in December, after months of denying his intention to run for president. Duterte entered the presidential race under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan, or PDP-Laban, as the substitute of anti-corruption advocate Martin Diño, who withdrew his certifi-cate on October 29. Diño named Duterte as his possible replace-ment. He withdrew from the Davao City mayoral race and has been substituted by his daughter, Sara Duterte (who was also a former Davao City Mayor). As of press time, surveys have showed Duterte as a top contender for the country highest post in spite of criticisms about his vigilante style of leadership.

Wanting continuity on his “tu-wid na daan” administration, Pres. Benigno Aquino III troduced former Interior and Local Govern-ment secretary Manuel “Mar”

Roxas II as the presidential can-didate of the ruling Liberal Party in next year’s Philippine elec-tions. Roxas vowed to continue the reforms made by the Aquino administration and to never stray from the “tuwid na daan” or straight path platform of the Aquino government. Despite the President’s backing, Roxas still trails behind leading presidential candidates Poe, Duterte and Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay based on recent surveys.

Probably one of the most intel-ligent presidential candidates, Senator Miriam Defensor San-tiago announced her intention to run last October, with Senator Bongbong Marcos as her running mate for Vice President. Notable for having served in all three branches of the government—ju-dicial, executive and legislative—she ran in the 1992 presidential elections but lost.

Initially polled highly among expected presidential candidates, Binay’s charisma towards the masses—especially in the City of Makati—is what will pull people to vote for him. Despite of the number of corruption cases filed against him and his family, Binay remains a frontrunner with his promise to alleviate the lives of the Filipinos.

THE ASIAN JOURNAL ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINEJANUARY 1-7, 2016

MAY 30-JUNE 5, 2014www.asianjournal.com

2

JANUARY 1-7, 2016 22015 in showbiz: Top 6 Pinoy TV moments of the year

by LOUIE JON SANCHEZ Philstar.com

MANILA—There might be little need to argue about this year’s top Pinoy television moment in 2015.

Finally, after 42 years, the Philippines has come home with the Miss Universe crown, but it did not go that way immediately at �rst. Minutes after Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach quietly slipped back to take her place as �rst runner-up. and after the three-minute queen Ariadna Maria Gutierrez basked into the limelight of her supposed win, the anticlimactic announcement commenced. Holding the card, host Steve Harvey started apologizing and correcting his mistake.

The rest, of course, is history, and Wurtzbach, in her gown of dazzling blue, claimed what was rightfully hers.

The win was momentous, even made more memorable because of the circumstances. For millions of Filipino viewers who set aside Miss Universe live airing days yearly and have been used to our beauties just placing in the top 5 for the past few years, it would have been just another year. The organizers were also very quick to �x things up. Later photographs showed that almost immediately, a cameraman was deployed to catch Wurtzbach’s reaction. The readiness of the production sta�, so to speak, made the faux pas look staged. Some in social media speculated it was, with the intent of making Miss Universe trend and reclaim a particular relevance as global culture.

Harvey’s mea culpa went viral in social media too, especially after he made another blunder of mispelling the Philippines and Colombia—and this again, showed why this Miss Universe moment deserves to be above all else, one for the books.

Television does not, and could not exist on its own nowadays,

and social media indeed plays a vital part in continuing its discourse. For some, it might be merely a matter of perpetration, of extending viewership and media visibility. It however could also be read as another platform for media decoding, especially that social media users are not only empowered to comment, express their sentiments by way of emojis, or create memes to, say, poke fun at Harvey, much less access materials not made available by television, like backstage events.

Almost all of Pinoy television’s notable moments were �red up by social media, and the platform made these moments not only exciting but more engaging for viewer-social media users who enrich the moments with more cultural meaning.

It would have been Eat Bulaga’s “AlDub” phenomenon which had taken the top spot. As television events, both Miss Universe and “AlDub”, so speak, follow the same mode of high social media usage. Eat Bulaga, ever reliant on ratings for long, banked on the millions of tweets it garnered to reiterate the phenomenal following of its “Kalyeserye” couple Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza.

The mere fact that it employed Mendoza, erstwhile Dubsmash queen and Internet sensation, illustrates how it values social media as a game changer in the media landscape. It wanted to expand its constant following, and subsequently gained mileage in social media, where a supposed “AlDub” nation rose and grew. This same AlDub nation of millions was said to have catapulted Wurzbach’s online campaign that consistently placed her on top of the favorites.

The genre of the institutional show also transformed by adapting social media modes and cutting down portions into digestible

parts for the millennial audience known to have short attention spans. Watching Eat Bulaga today is like watching a compendium of social media footage, the highlight of which is a split-screen romance where the audience and their reactions are part of the spectacle. The television spectacle has been successfully de-centered, the space democratized.

Another television moment that de�ned 2015 was the Alma Moreno interview with Karen Davila over ANC. Perspectives vary since some people believe that the actress should not have experienced such embarrassment. She was, after all, running for Senator very earnestly, with prayers to guide her and some years of local government service in her portfolio. While others were forgiving (in the same way that they were forgiving of Wurtzbach’s US bases position in that fateful Miss Universe question) some had to weigh in and say that people running for public o�ce need to face tough questions concerning their politics and platforms.

The Moreno �asco may have yielded sarcastic social media memes containing her reservations in many issues, as well as her espousal of the use of pills (with an exclamation point, as in pills!) and always turning the lights on for couples as means of population control, but it did open discussions relevant to the upcoming national elections.

There was also the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather �ght, which was discussed extensively in social media, but made history when it was broadcast in the country across all major television networks—de�nitely a �rst and a notable one. For the �rst time, competition appeared to have been set aside by networks to expand viewership, all in support of the boxing legend.

The outcome may not have been as positive as that of Miss Universe’s, but Wurtzbach, over Twitter, made a promise to her countrymen: “Kalma lang guys. Ako bahala. Babawi tayo sa Miss Universe!!!” That drew �ak because Filipinos generally have a distaste for overcon�dence. She however delivered seven months after the �ght, with poise, grace, and helpful faith in herself. The US bases answer was acceptable by usual beauty contest standards—though politically problematic, as many think—but not really that convincing. Except that she really delivered her words very clearly, and to the point. The twist in the format—a �rst in many years—proved to work to her advantage. She was asked the question all Filipina beauty queens—from barangay pageants (gay and female) to the national ones—know to answer by heart: why should you become Miss Universe?

Wurtzbach was merely like answering a question from Boy Abunda in The Buzz, which folded up this year, and whose last episode also deserve to be listed in this year’s notable television moments. Filipina beauty queens are trained to think fast and intelligently for make or break questions, and Abunda basically perfected the craft of time-pressured questioning in his enduring career on television. The end of The Buzz’s long reign on air basically spelled death for the showbiz talk show genre, which reemerged on television after the 1986 revolution, and after people seemed to have gotten tired of public a�airs shows. With conviction, Abunda announced that “hindi mamamatay ang showbiz talkshow”. He said those words, waxing ironic, which sounded more of a dirge considering the folding up of another institutional talkshow, Startalk. Startalk was soon replaced with CelebriTV, which was more of a game show than a talk show.

Did it die, really, that long, lamented genre? There’s still Tonight with Boy Abunda, and before that Aquino and Abunda Tonight. It must be undergoing some reinvention. It had to take a Willie Revillame, whose return to television this year must also be considered notable, to unsettle it.

Meanwhile, the most moving among TV events, which may also be argued to be the moment of moments was the Papal Visit. Filipinos fell in love with the astonishing, unpredictable, and storm-treading Pope Francis when he visited last January. Seen on TV, almost all of his moments were touching—his gestures, his every wave to the swelling crowd, his words. The highlight of the visit was the trip to Yolanda-stricken Tacloban, almost cancelled following the threat of a storm. The trip’s itinerary was shortened instead, and the insistent Pope greeted the crowd during his

homily with, “It’s late, but I’m here nonetheless.” His decision to speak from his heart, by way of his native Spanish, endeared him, not only to people who were soaking wet from the rains, but also to people who followed his visit on television. He reminded all Filipinos to have faith and keep the resilience, things Wurtzbach also embodied in her years of pursuing the dream of the elusive crown.

Social media was �lled with the beauty queen’s struggles, which was accentuated by her three years of joining Binibining Pilipinas. Wurtzbach’s story is the Filipino story, after all, and it has proven to be weatherproof time and again. Her slight episode with the Spanish-speaking Colombian queen struck as very uncanny, considering how for some, Pope Francis’s Spanish turns easily reminded of colonial rule.

For a lot of observers, it reeked of colonialism too, and our over-dependence on American intervention, that answer that Wurtzbach gave in the penultimate interviews. She clearly knew she was in American space, and she con�dently—and if it may be said,

astutely—responded. Ages of participating in Miss Universe may have made us competent enough in this game, which has of course invited a lot of critique, especially from feminist groups from time immemorial.

Apart from the said expansion of televisual discourse, social media has enabled us to textualize this event in real time by letting us read the transcript of our queen’s answer, or watch her clips over and over again, aside from reliving that anticlimactic moment. It gave us a chance to read through her words, albeit speculatively, and see that mentioning America’s historical colonialism may actually be double edged.

The pageant may be a very serious matter for many Filipinos, but it should not be forgotten that it remains to be a game, a space for play and signi�cation, rightly described by one in social media as also a “game of thrones”. It is neoliberal, it is colonial, it objecti�es women as well as celebrates them, it is all sorts of culture, global and local, that need to be decoded in a more engaged way.

By PHILSTAR.COM

Philippine entertainment in 2015IT was the year of the

Kalyeserye and the one that ended the 42-year Miss Universe drought. These are the stories that made waves in show business in 2015.

AlDubAn accidental love team

eventually turned into a phenomenon. The Alden Richards-Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza team-up, popularly known as AlDUb, took the noontime TV block by storm.

A new character named Yaya

Dub joined the “Juan For All, All For Juan” segment of Eat Bulaga! who was introduced as Lola Nidora’s maid. In July, the camera accidentally panned toward Alden and the host Allan K noticed how Yaya Dub’s snob image turned soft after she saw the Kapuso actor.

Since then, viewers followed how their love story developed, until the day they �nally met in person at the “Tamang Panahon” event at the Philippine Arena in Meycuayan, Bulacan in September. Now their love team will go a notch higher as they star in their �rst �lm

My Bebe Love, which also features Vic Sotto and Ai Ai delas Alas. The �lm is an entry to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.

‘Eat Bulaga!’ vs. ‘It’s Showtime’

As the Alden Richards- Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza gained popularity, the already booming rating of Eat Bulaga increased further. This made netizens say that rival ABS-CBN noontime show “It’s Showtime” is nearing its end.

Yet even before the show started, It’s Showtime host Vice Ganda acknowledged that Eat Bulaga could not be defeated. He even described the show’s hosts, particularly Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon and Tito Sotto, as their “idols.”

Vice Ganda’s co-hosts Anne Curtis and Billy Crawford agreed to what he said. Anne said that the shows’ “competition” somehow proves that “people are still into noontime shows.” While Billy said that the two shows’ intention is clearly to make people laugh and have fun.

Celebrity weddingsSome of the most talked-about

weddings this year were those of Heart Evangelista and Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Toni Gonzaga and director Paul Soriano, and Nikki Gil and BJ Albert.

But the ceremonies themselves were not only those that made the news. Even at the preparation

stage, some weddings stirred controversy. Heart and TV host Cesca Litton had a rift over their reservation for Balesin Island in Quezon province. Cesca claims that her February 14 reservation was “bumped o�” since Heart and Chiz are friends with the owner of the club. The Kapuso actress then claimed that she and her lawmaker boyfriend are reserving the place for their February 15 wedding. In the end the ladies were able to iron out their issues, with Cesca opting to wed in Eskaya Beach Resort in Bohol.

Fans, meanwhile, were abuzz over the wedding the wedding of Toni and Paul, dubbed the “ideal couple.” It was well known that Toni comes from a protective family that set up dating rules for

her and Paul.Nikki’s wedding to BJ was

also the talk of the town for two reasons: Critics said the wedding was her vindication for her failed relationship with Billy Crawford, while others �nd their wedding too sudden. Yet for Nikki, it was the “perfect time” since she felt “at peace” with their relationship.

Other celebrity weddings that made news in 2015 were:

• Saab Magalona and Jim Bacarro (Jan 24, St. Ignatius Chapel, Baguio City)

• Yeng Constantino and Victor Asuncion (Feb 14, Hacienda Isabelle, Indang Cavite)

• Cesca Litton and Tyke Kalaw (Feb. 14, Eskaya Beach Resort & Spa, Bohol)

• Heart Evangelista and Francis

“Chiz” Escudero (Feb 15, Balesin Island, Quezon Province)

• Eric Tai and Rona Samson (March 6, The Church of Jesus Cjrist of Latter Day Saints, Cubao, Quezon City)

• Patrick Garcia and Nikka Martinez (March 21, Blue Leaf Filipinas, Paranaque City)

• Gab Valenciano and Tricia Centenera (March 27, Highlands Golf Club, Tagaytay City)

• Diana Zubiri and Andrew Smith (May 10, Sampaguita Events Place, Quezon City)

• John Prats and Isabel Oli (May 16, Nuestra Senora Dela Paz Y BUen Viaje, Batangas)

• Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano (June 12, Methodist Church, Taytay Rizal)

Continued on Page 6

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What’s in store for Pia Wurtzbach after winning Miss Universe?

Holiday wish list for my fave starsMaking 2016 the best year yet

by ANNA MARIE CRUZ

HELLO kababayans. It’s that time again when we resolve to change some of our habits for good. We’re naturally feeling optimistic with the arrival of a new year, a cosmic reset – a time for new beginnings. So we sign up for gym memberships, �ll our pantry and fridge with sugar-free, fat-free, �avor-free foods, and declare to quit other vices cold turkey. But how do we stick with these resolutions throughout the year? Many have given up on keeping resolutions entirely and I don’t blame them. For a lot of us, once the newness of 2016 wears o�, our commitment to changes we said we would make just vanishes. And then we feel guilty and end up punishing ourselves by going back to old habits. And so the cycle goes.

Well, let me share with you my secrets on how you can make 2016 your best yet without feeling defeated so you can �nally move closer to making those lifestyle changes for good.

1. First, let’s talk about mindset using simple astronomy. While the New Year has been celebrated for thousands of years as the beginning of a new revolution around the sun, or new calendar year, this detail alone ignores other variations in the cosmos. After a visit to the local planetarium, I learned that while planets revolve around the sun consistently, “how” they do so is inconsistent. The planets tilt di�erently, the stars relocate, and in general, there are unnoticeable changes in the Universe everyday. This got me thinking about how we see ourselves in the context of change and growth. If the entire Universe in its very nature is changing each day, why are we keeping resolutions that are often in�exible, restrictive, and designed for failure? This means that if my original resolution is “Work out 5 days a week” and I learn that my body simply can’t tolerate that much activity because my baseline is “Sit on the couch and watch tv,” why isn’t it ok to change this to “Walk for 30 minutes 2-3 days a week”? Accept that change is part of the plan.

2. Next, remember that Every Day is a Brand New Day, an attitude

that helps us make better decisions without the residual guilt. Get excited about each new day, which gives you the opportunity to start over. You don’t need to let the mistakes of yesterday be the same mistakes today. In other words, this is your chance to forgive yourself. Likewise, do not rest on your laurels of yesterday either. If you were successful at avoiding junk food yesterday, guess what? Today is a completely di�erent day and your body needs healthy, high quality fuel for today’s activities! Everyday is a new beginning.

3. By far, this is the biggest game-changer for myself and for many of my clients: Crowd out the Bad with the Good.

a. More Kindness to Self, Less Self-Criticism. Are you even aware of all the negative self-talk you tell yourself throughout the day? Many of us have to work on quieting the inner critic. And this critic can really do a number on your con�dence to tackle new challenges. So, take some time now to think about 5 things you appreciate about yourself. Write these down and keep this list somewhere you can see everyday. Remind yourself of your great qualities and show yourself the same kindness you would give to your best friend.

b. More Gulay, Less Tinapay When I lead people through clean eating programs, I always advise them to give allowances for unhealthy foods. What if for every slice of pizza, you have 2 plates of salad? Not only will you feel better about doing so, your body will also have an easier time eliminating all that processed starch. Think of other

less healthy habits this way. More walking, less sitting. More water, less soda. More in-person meet ups, less texting.

4. Next, think “I Am” instead of “I will be.” This is also called “Fake it ‘til you make it.” When you tell yourself that who you aspire to be is who you are now, you will notice that habits aligned with that identity come with ease. A long time ago, I signed up for my �rst half-marathon thinking “I am a runner.” Of course I had been training, but given it was my �rst long distance race, I did not feel 100% con�dent. What if I told myself “I will be a runner after I complete the half marathon?” It probably would have been a struggle to complete that race repeating in my head “I am NOT a runner.”

Remember that the journey is about progress, not perfection. It’s about the lessons. So rather than just making a list of resolutions, ask yourself in what ways would you like to grow? What experiences, activities, habits would help you evolve so you may continue to live out your potential? Because just like the stars, where you are today will not be the same as where you will be next year. You will be even brighter!

Contact me for a FREE 30 minute strategy session!

Instagram: i_am_wellnessFacebook: Health Coach Anna

Mariewww.annamariecruz.com

* * *

SINCE we are still caught up in the holiday frenzy, I came up with a list of gifts that I wish I could give to some of my favorite people in the biz. They have everything money can buy, so material gifts are immaterial.

’Tis the season to be giving. That’s a Christmust! But if your Christmas list has left you with no more money to count, keep counting your blessings, instead.

Vilma Santos: A clone. Show biz will be a kinder place if there are more good souls like her.

James Yap and Mic Cazzola: Since they love to travel, I wish

by DOLLY ANNE CARVAJAL Inquirer.net I could give them the power to

teleport together, so they can visit as many countries as possible.

Pops Fernandez: More hours in a day, so the “Superwoman” in her can accomplish everything she puts her heart into.

Cesar Montano: A dispensing machine of his joie de vivre, so it would be easily available to those who need some cheering up!

Aga and Charlene Muhlach: Since they love the beach, I wish I could give them their own private island.

Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera: To be able to freeze time, so their Baby Z won’t grow up too fast.

Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez: An amusement park named after their son Nate (Natelandia), inspired by all his cute antics which they post on social media.

Boy Abunda: Immortality, because the biz won’t be the same without him.

Aiko Melendez: An anti-heartache vaccine.

Vina Morales: A lifetime guarantee from Cupid for lasting love

Mother Lily Monteverde: A “kindness recycling machine,” so all her kindness will come back to

her a hundredfold.Boss Vic del Rosario: A “Show

Biz Hero” monument.Ryan Cayabyab: A good old-

fashioned jukebox containing all his classic compositions.

Noel Cabangon: A folk village in his honor where his songs will be played all day long.

MANILA—Ever wonder what’s in store for Pia Wurtzbach after winning the 64th Miss Universe pageant?

As Wurtzbach mentioned during the question and answer portion of the pageant held on December 20 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, “To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and responsibility.”

There’s so much more to being Miss Universe than bringing home the bejeweled Miss Universe crown.

To start her journey as Miss Universe, Wurtzbach �ew to New York City to begin a media tour to grace various events.

a New York City apartment for the duration of her reign, including living expenses

3. One-year scholarship from the New York Film Academy College of Visual Performing Arts

4. One-year supply of haircare

Over the last years, it has been the responsibility of the titleholder to go around the world to partake on di�erent charitable activities and raise awareness about the most pressing issues of the world.

Moreover, Wurtzbach is also given the opportunity to enhance her personal career by giving her access to various New York City events including casting opportunities, movie premieres, screenings, Broadway shows and launch parties.

Below is the complete list of the Miss Universe 2015 prize package:

1. Year-long salary as Miss Universe

2. Luxury accommodations in

by ALIXANDRA CAOLE VILA Philstar.com

Continued on Page 5

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JANUARY 1-7, 2016 5www.asianjournal.com

MONETTE

ADEVA MAGLAYA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

Tweaking our own life story“A useless life is an early death.”

-Goethe

IF we are blessed with a grateful heart, we will see beauty and light amid darkness especially during Christmas, when hope wells within many hearts.

A grateful heart is one that is mindful of the abundant blessings of family, friends, and other people who orbit our lives. A grateful heart is well aware of all the in�nite number of graces, seen and unseen, that abound and permeate our daily lives, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Each day becomes even more meaningful particularly for those whose lives are suddenly shattered by a life-changing experience. To be given the chance to �nd one’s purpose in life and rewrite one’s story midstream is a rare and precious gift coming directly from above. Use it or lose it.

If you’ve been given the chance to restart a new life after you’ve gone through some life-changing, miraculous experience, you will know exactly what I mean.

If you survived a horri�c accident when everyone else

perished, or if you found yourself inexplicably healed from a deadly disease, then you’ll know what it feels to be given a reprieve.

It is a new lease on life — a fresh slate, a clean paper, what the Greeks call tabula rasa, on which you can start writing your new story. Or if you use a computer, click on a new blank document and chase the cursor until the rest of your life story unfolds.

How does one use this new lease on life?

Most people lucky enough to be given a second chance, will quickly realize that this new lease can just be an extra few months or years, and in the most blessed scenarios, a decade or two.

Each day beyond that critical turning point is a bonus, every single moment, a gift. Sometimes, God mercifully knocks some sense into us through drastic means by throwing us a curve ball to bring us down on our knees so that we have no choice but to look above and beyond our own petty, sel�sh concerns and total self-involvement

in order to grasp the concept of our own mortality and to know that we are here for a purpose.

We’re not here to merely consume resources or take up space. Consider the fearsome dinosaurs. Grazing the earth for millions of years, that is essentially what they did — consumed resources and took up space.

Not by intelligence but by sheer size and numbers, they had dominion over all other species for millions of years, until one day, as scientists try to explain their extinction, a rogue asteroid about 7 miles long, possibly got unhinged o� its orbit in the asteroid belt, hit the earth with such impact, setting o� a series of volcanic eruptions that covered the atmosphere with ash far above the stratosphere, so that sunlight could not penetrate through the haze for years, killing o� the plant life, upsetting and destroying the food chain balance and e�ectively starving and wiping the dinosaurs o� the face of the earth 65 million years ago.

Here is earth’s tabula rasa

story — starting on a clean slate, a new lease on life. When the reptiles died, mammals, of which we are classi�ed under, began their ascent. Human beings with purpose came to be.

Yet each man’s purpose is nebulous and not always obvious. Purpose does not come as clear as the light of day. We have to seek it out. Either by choice or circumstance, some exceptional ones �nd their purpose early enough and proceed to ful�ll it. Sometimes, it is as simple as blooming where God planted us.

But the great majority of people on the bell curve don’t have the nose to sense their true north. Most of us of the garden variety meander about our lives trying di�erent things until we �nally stumble upon it by trial and error. The annals of history are rife with such stories.

St. Paul played a critical role in the beginnings of the early Christian church through his numerous travels. But he didn’t start out that way. He was just as passionate about persecuting Christians before he was tapped from above to do what he did.

Edwin Hubble, the great astronomer who lived in the nineteen twenties and for whom the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

is named for his outstanding achievements in expanding our view of the universe, tried di�erent things before �nding out what he was meant to do. In college, he played championship basketball and even tried boxing. After �ghting in World War I, he studied law, tried lawyering for a year and obviously didn’t like it.

Something must have happened because he went back to college to study astronomy and �nally found his footing and his purpose in life.

That’s what most of us do. We try di�erent lives until we �nd the one that matches heaven’s purpose. Just don’t run out of time. No one wants to leave with un�nished business.

If our stations in life allow us the luxury of choice, then more than likely, we will be meandering too and trying di�erent things before coming on board to the ship that will likely bring us to the port of our purpose.

Try reading all or portions of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life.” Warren, who has just gone through some di�cult personal trial, is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California. His book continues to be received widely for its clear, well-

structured and succinct explanation of what living with purpose means. True, its skewed towards his ministry but there are valuable truths about purpose and meaning to be gleaned by both the secular and spiritual.

We don’t really have to wait for something dramatic, traumatic or tragic to happen to get us on track to �nding that purpose. But do go to the right source. Nix the harebrained ideas coming from most of the media about what that purpose might be. When it comes to things that matter, most of the mainstream media has proven itself to be unworthy of trust. It pushes its own agenda of power that comes from pro�t.

Tune out of the external world and go deep within. If you pray hard enough and long enough and live in the silence for a little while, chances are, you’ll �nd it. You can then begin tweaking your own story on a new document page — your own life story that will get heaven’s stamp of approval on it.

TO ONE AND ALL, A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND BLESSED 2016!

* * *

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All are cordially invited to the Feast of Santo Niño de Cebu on Saturday, January 9, 2016, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Bellflower, California, organized and sponsored by the Santo Niño de Cebu Association of Southern California, Inc., a non-profit religious organization. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided by the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, His Excellency Bishop Oscar A. Solis at 10:00 am followed by the traditional procession of the image of Santo Niño de Cebu, fiesta lunch and Sinulog presentations. Food and financial donations are welcome, and all donations are tax deduct-ible. For further information, you may contact the association President, Danny C. Diluvio at (323) 252-4991 or email at: dannydiluvio1@gmail.com.

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, Carmen 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).

Fr. Jose Joseph Parathanal of Holy Trinity Parish, San Pedro District, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, invites all to join Fr. Joseph Parathanal’s Pilgrimages to EASTERN EUROPE, OL-GUADALUPE/Colonial Mexico, and INDIA. During the journey, pilgrims will pray to God for healing of body, mind and spirit especially for healing of the world from violence, terrorism and climate changes. Trip dates are: Divine Mercy/Infant Jesus of Prague/Austria/Hungary/Medjugorje (Eastern Europe) April 17- April 30; OLGuadalupe and Colonial Mexico - June 20 - June 27; and Mother Teresa/St. Thomas/St. Alphonsa/St. Euprasia/St. Chavarra (India) - Sept. 15 - Sept. 29, 2016. For more details and pilgrimage information, please contact Bernadette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com or call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

Attention all graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine College of Commerce: join us in our FIRST GLOBAL REUNION being organized by the Poly-technic University of the Philippines Alumni Association, USA Inc. scheduled on May 27-29, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. We promise a weekend of fun-filled activities, of friendship and camaraderie as we reminisce our best memories during our high school and college days. There will be lots of entertainment, singing and dancing and photo opportunities with your classmates and friends.

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 or loiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 or Monette_santillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 ormarispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at 661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 or honey@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 or vee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

St. Francis of Rome Church annual �esta celebrationST. FRANCIS of Rome Church

celebrates annual �esta on January 10, 2016.

Join the procession of Nuestro Señor Jesus Naxareno, with mass at 5pm followed by the candlelight procession. Reception follows at Fr. Edward Landreau’s Auditorium.

For more information, please

contact: Linda (626) 965-4988.Schedule of masses:Sat., Jan. 2 - 2:30pm - Novena

followed by mass at 5pmSun., Jan. 3 - 2:30pm - Novena

followed by mass at 5pmMon., Jan. 4 - 5:15pm - Mass

followed by Novena at ChapelTues., Jan 5 - 5:15pm - Mass

followed by Novena

Wed., Jan 6 - 5:15pm - Mass followed by Novena

Thurs., Jan 7 - 5:15pm - Mass followed by Novena

Fri., Jan 8 - 5:15pm - Mass followed by Novena at Chapel

Sat., Jan 9 - 2:30pm - Novena followed by Mass at 5pm

Sun., Jan 10 - 2:30pm - Novena followed by Mass at 5pm

29th Anniversary Feast of Santo NiñoSANTO 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, Carmen Estrada (213-413-2881), Fe Montana (323-218-1587), Ester Paredes (213-864-1149), Fe Reyes (213-413-5286), Laurie Dolor�no (213-407-0097), and Cherry Guerrero (213-632-2096).

MEMBERS of the Beta Rho Fraternity and Sorority International Incorporated and Beta Rho Upsilon of USA (UST students from the Colleges of

Engineering, Architecture, Science and Liberal Arts) gathered for a Christmas party and Dennis Lapuz’s birthday celebration on Dec. 13, 2015, at the latter’s

Long Beach house. The next get together will be in March 2016. For more information, contact: Frank Lota (818) 633-9221 or Dennis Lapuz (562) 301-2303.

UST alumni gather for Christmas and birthday celebrations

Duarte residents invited to provide input During Parks And

Facility Needs Community WorkshopDUARTE—Duarte residents

are invited to participate in a Parks and Facility Needs Community Workshop on Monday, January 11, 2016 beginning at 7 p.m. and ending no later than 9 p.m. The workshop will be held at the Duarte Community Center located at 1600 Huntington Drive. A delicious dinner and refreshments will be served. Day care will be available and opportunity drawings will be held throughout the program for present attendees to win various prizes. This meeting will be used to identify Duarte’s community-speci�c needs and determine priority projects.

The County of Los Angeles is conducting a countywide assessment of the need for parks and recreation in both cities and unincorporated areas. The goal of the Park Needs Assessment is to engage all communities within the County in a collaborative process to gather data and input for future decision-making on parks and recreation. The Park Needs Assessment will increase the County’s understanding of existing park and recreation assets, and help to determine how to improve, expand, and make them more accessible. Speci�cally, the �nal report will determine Study Areas and will identify, prioritize and outline

costs for potential park projects within each Study Area.

For additional information and to RSVP please call (626) 357-7931 extension 201.

About the City of DuarteThe City of Duarte was

incorporated on August 22, 1957. With integrity and transparency, the City provides exemplary public services in a caring and �scally responsible manner with a commitment to our community’s future. For more information visit www.accessduarte.com or call (626) 357-7931. Follow the City of Duarte on Facebook at facebook.com/duartecommunity; Twitter @CityofDuarte; Instagram @city_of_duarte and LinkedIn.

What’s in store for Pia Wurtzbach after winning...products and tools from CHI Haircare

5. A new custom diamond tiara and jewelry designed by D.I.C

6. A shoe wardrobe from Chinese Laundry Shoes

7. Swimwear by Yamamay8. A year’s worth of skincare

products from Image Skincare9. Personal services including

membership to Gravity Fitness @ Le Parker Meridien Hotel and hair

services from John Barrett Salon10. Modeling portfolio by

leading fashion photographer Fadil Berisha

11. Dermatology and skincare services provided by Dr. Cheryl Thellman-Karcher

12. Professional health and nutrition consultation by Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD and dental services by Dr. Jan Linhart, D.D.S.

13. Professional representation by The Miss

Universe Organization14. Extensive travel

representing sponsors and charitable partners

15. Access to various New York City events including casting opportunities, movie premiers, screenings, Broadway shows and launch parties; and

16. Personal appearance wardrobe and styling by the o�cial Miss Universe Organization fashion stylist

From Page 4

JANUARY 1-7, 2016 6www.asianjournal.com

Philippine entertainment in 2015• Nikki Gil and BJ Albert

(November 21, Sta. Elena Gold and Country Club)

First-time celebrity momsAfter the big wedding, another

highlight of a couple’s life is the first child.

Marian Rivera’s pregnancy with her first child with Dingdong Dantes was highly anticipated. Last year, the couple was planning to have a child two years after their wedding in 2014, but it was given to them in February 2015. The Kapuso actress gave birth to Maria Letizia on November 23.

After the announcement of her pregnancy in August last year, Cristine Reyes gave birth to her daughter with boyfriend Ali Khatibi. It was on February 8 when she gave birth to Amarah, the same year the couple got engaged.

Some other first-time moms who gave birth this year were Melissa Ricks, who gave birth to Kiera Kelly on January 12. After years of waiting, Ciara Sotto and husband Jojo Oconer finally had a child on February 28, whom they named Vincezo Xose.

Pinoy artists go internationalAside from beauty queens

taking home the crown, a number of Filipino talents also raised the Philippine flag internationally. Singer Rachelle Ann Go, meanwhile, became part of the West-End musicals Miss Siagon as Gigi and Les Miserables as Fantine. Both roles were portrayed before by Lea Salonga.

Another big winner was the shadow dance group El Gamma Penumbra, hailed the first grand winner of Asia’s Got Talent in May. Three other Filipinos were made it to the finals of the competition namely Gerphil Flores, Junior New System and Gweyneth Dorado.

More Filipinos tried their luck in different international competitions. Filipino-Australian Cyrus Villanueva was named X Factor Australia. On X Factor UK, Filipino girl band 4th Impact made it to the third week before being eliminated, while Neneth Lyon made it to the top ten.

‘Heneral Luna’ / ‘A Second Chance’

Heneral Luna and A Second Chance couldn’t be more different from each other. One is an independent historical movie starring John Arcilla and directed by Jerrold Tarog—two names who aren’t exactly known for their box office draw. The other is a sequel of the 2007 romantic movie One More Chance starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, two of the country’s biggest movie stars. But would the sequel to what is essentially a modern pop culture classic live up to the hefty expectations attached to it?

Yet somehow, the two movies managed to become the country’s biggest movies of the year. Heneral Luna, despite being a slow burn in the box office, became an online sensation, a hit among millennials. In a way, its lack of box office appeal was its appeal.

Viewers in general were tentative to the idea of a One More Chance sequel at first (although the property was alive and well this year, even without it; a novelization

and an anniversary DVD were released even before the movie was announced to be in the offing). But in the end, it seems people wanted to know what happened to Popoy and Basha. According to its producer Star Cinema, A Second Chance is now the Philippines’s highest grossing movie of all time.

PH own international pageant scene

Three-time Binibining Pilipinas aspirant Pia Wurtzbach did what scores of Filipinas have failed to do: win the Miss Universe crown. The 26-year-old bested 79 other candidates in the 64th Miss Universe pageant—the second Miss Universe pageant this year, after the 2014 contest was held in January 2015. Her win was not without controversy. Show host Steve Harvey erroneously announced Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner first; it took more than two minutes before he realized the mistake and fixed the mix-up. She’s the first Pinay to win the crown since Margarita Moran took home the crown in 1973

But Pia isn’t the only titleholder this year—Ann Colis won the Miss Globe pageant and Angelia Ong won the Miss Earth pageant. Angelia’s victory was also historic as this is the second year in a row a Filipina won the Miss Earth crown, following Pinay Jamie Herrell’s victory in 2014. These victories overshadowed a number of pageant issues earlier this year: the flak against the Philippines’s bet Mary Jean Lastimosa’s national costume and evening gown during the 63rd Miss Universe and the criticism against Toni Gonzaga’s lively but flamboyant hosting during the 2015 Binibining Pilipinas pageant.

No more showbiz talk shows?Local TV had many big

moments this year—AlDub, 64th Miss Universe and the Pope Francis news coverage come to mind—but there is a sobering note to 2015’s television victories. In April, Boy Abunda unceremoniously announced that the ABS-CBN showbiz talk show The Buzz is ending its run after 15 years of being on the air.

It was a huge deal: showbiz talk shows were staples in local television since the early 90s, dating back to Cristy Fermin’s Showbiz Lingo with Butch Francisco (and perhaps even further). Its long-time rivals in GMA-7—for S Files to Showbiz Central to H.O.T. TV—had long folded. For a time, the network pitted its Saturday showbiz talk show Startalk against The Buzz on Sundays, but later

returned it to its original timeslot.But later this year, GMA-7

also canceled Startalk. In its place is CelebriTV, still headlined by Joey de Leon, Lolit Solis, STAR entertainment editor Ricky Lo—but with Ai Ai delas Alas added to its cast. The show, however, is more of a game show than a talk show. Hence, the end of an era in local television—an era where showbiz talk shows are no longer part of the weekend viewing habit of Filipinos.

Celebrities misbehavingOne of the year’s biggest

scandals is Enrique Gil’s “drunk incident” on an airplane en route to London for a show. The incident allegedly involved his onscreen partner Liza Soberano, actress Jessy Mendiola and TV host Luis Manzano; according to reports, Enrique’s allegedly disrespected Jessy and Liza on the plane, heading to a confrontation that was stopped by Luis. None of these are confirmed, although the young actor apologized for his actions. The incident coincided with reports that Jessy and boyfriend JM de Guzman have broken up—amid reports that the That Thing Called Tadhana actor will be sacked from his TV show All of Me and movie Walang Forever. The reports turned out to be true.

This scandal lords over the other controversies that happened this year, although not by much—Melissa Mendez’s altercation inside an airplane, Jiro Manio’s vagrancy inside an airport due to personal problems and Chris Brown being barred from the leaving the country due to his failure to fulfill his earlier commitment to perform at the Philippine Arena for the INC’s New Year countdown celebration on Dec. 31, 2014.

Kris Aquino makes newsIt’s not a year in showbiz

without Kris Aquino making some sort of news, and 2015 is no exception. This year, the Queen of All Media became the talk of the town by simply being herself.

She was criticized by netizens for defending her brother, President Benigno Aquino III, from being blamed for the tragedy in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. She was similarly panned for allegedly trivializing the hardships of Metro Manila residents during the APEC summit by equating it to her sunburn (after hosting the APEC leaders’ spouses for lunch in Intramuros). She was even criticized for working despite being sick. All of these made the headlines, simply because the subject of criticism was Kris Aquino.

But perhaps her lowest moment this year was when she was criticized yet again for backing out of the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival entry All You Need is Pag-Ibig. She gave out a couple of reasons, although fans and haters were quick to point out that the real reason for her decision was her relationship (or non-relationship) with Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, her supposed leading man in the movie. All turned out well in the end though, as most Kris Aquino stories do: she ended up doing the movie after all, without Herbert.

From Page 2

Young �lmmaker makes big leap to the MMFFby BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR

Inquirer.net

FOR young filmmaker Randolph Longjas, jumping from the indie scene to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is as nerve-wracking as directing his entry, the omnibus horror flick Buy Now, Die Later.

He admits to feeling the “pressure.”

“My writer Allan Habon and I really didn’t expect that our material would qualify for this year’s MMFF,” he remarks. “When we got the news, we didn’t know how to react! Of course, we were overwhelmed, but the more important question was: Were we ready to handle bigger responsibilities?”

Longjas, who turned 27 last month, admits to suffering from more than a few sleepless nights in the run-up to the MMFF.

“It felt surreal directing top stars and competing in the country’s biggest film festival,” he discloses.

The thriller topbills celebrities from the country’s major TV networks: Vhong Navarro, TJ Trinidad, Alex Gonzaga, Rayver Cruz, John Lapus, Lotlot de Leon and Janine Gutierrez.

“I’m just thankful that the cast and crew were supportive and helpful during the shoot,” he recalls. “Good thing that most members of the team were also young and came from the indie scene. That’s why we were all on the same page and handled challenges one day at a time.”

Among the indie vets in the crew are producer Alemberg Ang,

editor Carlo Manatad, music scorer Jerrold Tarog and sound man Addiss Tabong.

Longjas, who made his feature film debut with the CineFilipino comedy, Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin in 2013, acknowledges that he’s more at ease making people laugh than scaring them silly.

(Turkey was turned into a sitcom, Kano Luvs Pinay, aired on TV5.)

The fact that Buy Now is not “hard-core horror” helps the transition a bit. “It’s a mix of horror and comedy,” he points out. “It’s really challenging to shift from comedy to horror, which is a completely different world. To think, I get spooked easily!”

He confesses that he doesn’t relish “tapping into the audience’s deepest fears.” Making matters worse, he is a self-admitted night owl. “I work at night. I get frightened when I’m alone in the office lobby, parking lot, even in my own bedroom,” he quips. “I felt like a fool scaring myself at 3 a.m.”

He finds it “interesting” that

Filipino moviegoers love watching horror flicks during the holiday season. “My theory is that people want to escape from the real world,” he says. “When you enter the movie house, you’re ready to get scared. But no matter how prepared you are, you still end up screaming or grabbing your companion’s arm. That’s the power of horror films: You kind of know what to expect, but you really don’t. When you leave the theater, you can go back to the Christmas revelry. If you watch horror films during Halloween, the effect isn’t the same.”

The shoot was quite tricky, he recounts. “Filming was held in the middle of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) meet last month,” he relates. “We had to deal with traffic jams, apart from the usual delays caused by unpredictable weather.”

For his next film, Longjas will go back to the indie scene, with the family drama, Van Damme Stallone, an entry in the CineFilipino fest next year.

Dingdong, Marian, baby Letizia in 1st family photoACTOR Dingdong Dantes

on Thursday, Dec. 24 posted a photo of himself with wife Marian Rivera and their one-month-old daughter Maria Letizia in their first portrait as a family.

The celebrity couple are celebrating their first Christmas with their daughter who recently made headlines for “winning the genetic lottery.”

“This Christmas, we offer you our warmest wishes as we glorify the birth of the Child who came and filled the world with a love so true,” the actor said on his Instagram account.

“May the love of the Father, personified through His son, embrace you and fill your hearts and homes this holiday season.

#MariaLetizia”The couple celebrated the

first month of Maria Letizia’s birth on Wednesday, sharing photos

of the baby on their respective Instagram accounts.

Maria Letizia was born on Nov. 23. (Inquirer.net)

Kim, Xian: No-label relationship a sign of ‘respect’MANILA—Xian Lim and Kim

Chiu want to keep to themselves the details about their relationship as a sign of “respect” for each other.

“It’s a sign of respect na din at the same time because everything is just so out in the open and it’s just something for us,” Xian explained in an interview in Tonight with Boy Abunda.

The two have been linked with each other since they started working together in the primetime series My Binondo Girl in 2011.

Since Xian is good in painting and always had his eyes on Kim, he was asked if he’s willing to do a nude painting of Kim.

It was the Kapamilya actress who first reacted saying, “’Wag naman! Hindi ko kaya!” followed by a laugh.

Xian agreed with her, saying that his talent is not enough to “give justice” to Kim’s painting.

The two stars in the Metro Manila Film Festival entry All You Need is Pag-ibig, and soon in the TV series Story of Us. (Philstar.com)

JANUARY 1-7, 2016 7www.asianjournal.com

JANUARY 1-7, 2016 8www.asianjournal.com