Maute rebels down to 100 – AFP - FilAmstar

Beheadings continue as more Marawi survivorsrescued; Maute rebels down to 100 – AFP

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent

Vol. IX Issue 429 1028 Mission Street, 2/F, San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel. (415) 593-5955 or (650) 278-0692 [email protected] June 29 - July 5, 2017

WEEKLY ISSUE 70 CITIES IN 11 STATES ONLINE

Trillanes talks to BBC about Duterte’s waron drugs, deal with China, martial law

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent

Pacquiao must defeat Horn or lose contract – Arum

By Daniel Llanto | FilAm Star Correspondent

(L-R) Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn(Photo: www.boxingscene.com)

(L-R) Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera and Brig. Gen Restituto Padilla(Photos: www.fourwinds10.com / www.dailystarph.com)

Bill proposed to curb ‘fake news’By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent

Trump - Putin to meet?

WORLD NEWS | A9

Celebrating the Sf Pride

FEATURE STORY | B8SPORTS NEWS | A5

Fil-German tojoin Gilas teamClean no moreNo militarization

in gov’t

PH NEWS | A4PH NEWS | A2

Despite the beheading of several persons by the IS-inspired Maute terror group, Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for Task Force Marawi, said the AFP is winning the war and that victory is ir-reversible.

While they have not recovered any proof of beheadings, AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said these were based on accounts of rescued civilians from the battle zone.

He also said those who escaped from the stronghold of the terror group after being held hostage by the Maute group gave the same stories about the executions of Christians.

The escapees also told the military that the beheadings did not just happen only at the beginning of the conflict but still continues.

The AFP official also disclosed that there were still around 500 civilians trapped in the heart of the city, where the clashes have been the most intense.

He said this was based on the information from the local government. Although Herrera said there were only around 100 to 200 individuals trapped or being held hostage by the Maute rebels.

According to Herrera, 1,704 civilians taken hostage or caught in the hostilities between govern-ment troops and Maute and Abu Sayyaf fighters were freed during the military rescue operations.

Herrera also said Fr. Teresito “Chito” Suganob, the vicar general of the prelature of Marawi City, held captive by Islamist is still alive. He said one of the hostages they rescued saw the Catholic priest together with the other civilians held captive by Maute militants.

TO PAGE A7

The bout with Australian Jeff Horn at the Suncorp Stadium in Bris-bane on July 1 is a

do-or-die battle of sorts for Manny Pacquiao as his promoter Bob Arum threatened not to renew

Pacquiao’s contract with Arum’s Top Rank Inc., which expires with this bout if Pacman loses to the unbeaten Horn.

In Brisbane, Jeff Horn told Filipino sportswriters that he studied closely how Mexican Juan

Manuel Marquez decked and beat up Pacquiao and would adopt the same fight strategy.

The 29-year-old Horn said he will shock the world on Sunday, admitting to focusing on

TO PAGE A7

(L-R) Sen. Antonio Trillanes III and BBC’s Stephen Sackur(Photo: www.getrealphilippines.com)

Opposition Sen. Anto-nio Trillanes IV said on June 27 his interview by anchor Stephen Sackur over British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) HARDtalk is one of the “proudest moments” in his public life.

Following attacks from netizens for allegedly sham-ing the Philippines before the world, Trillanes conceded that people who watched the full interview (not the spliced

one) are entitled to their own opinions.

“The haters will hate; the believers will believe, knowing the impact of the interview to the global audience and know-ing now that HARDtalk is very popular yet the most dif-ficult talk show for any guest,” he said.

“Setting aside the trolls, the critics who gave very nega-tive

TO PAGE A7

Sen. Trillanes says Duterte ordered charges downgraded vs. alleged death squad member

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent MANILA – Sen. Joel Villanueva on June 22 filed a pro-posed measure to curb fake news with stiffer penalties for public officials spreading false information from fake news sites.

The filing of Sen-ate Bill no. 1492 or An Act Penalizing the Malicious

Distribution of False News\TO PAGE A7

Sen. Antonio Tril-lanes IV said he believes President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the downgrad-ing of charges against the policemen led by Supt. Marvin Marcos, whom he named as belonging to the “death squad,” carrying out the country’s extra-judicial

killings.“I believe this was the

order of President Duterte himself,” Trillanes told reporters in a news forum. He noted that Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre II was just a “foot soldier” who will not act without an order (from

TO PAGE A7

FilAm StarA2 June 29 - July 5, 2017

ph news

By Lara Climaco | FilAm Star Correspondent

Palace: No creepingmilitarization in gov’tInfo tech dept. to fine subdivisions, homeowners’

associations refusing to allow cell sites, expedite permits for accessible internet

Faster internet at a more affordable cost and universal coverage in the Philippines within five years, with all local government units connected to a high-speed government broad-band backbone, households enjoying minimum speeds of 10 megabits-per-second (Mbps) even in remote areas, all national government services accessible through a single portal and free Wi-Fi in public spaces nation-wide. This is the ambition of the Duterte administration in the telecommunications arena, where opportunities will be cre-ated for new local and foreign players through an open access policy.

“We promise you that your concern about the internet, about costs or affordability, about availability and about speed will be addressed. And in this connection, our term is only six years, we are good for five (year) . . . In that length of time, we hope to bring what is best to the Filipino people because that is public service and our duty,” said Rodolfo Salalima, secretary

of the Department of Informa-tion and Communications Tech-nology (DICT), at the launch of the National Broadband Plan last June 23.

Noting that ICT is to the knowledge-based 21st century what electricity was to the In-dustrial Age, the DICT secretary called on Tarlac Rep. Victor Yap, chairman of the House commit-tee on ICT who was present at the event, to prioritize legislation penalizing “uncooperative Fili-pinos” that prevent telcos from installing cell sites in private subdivisions. He said various ho-meowners’ associations in Metro Manila have kept their commu-nities closed to telco facilities, resulting in poor service.

This has to change, ac-cording to Salalima, because hampering the roll-out of such facilities is a human rights viola-tion. Global statutes have long recognized communications as a basic human right, therefore it is high time to impose sanctions on those who refuse to give way, the DICT secretary asserted.

Legislative support is criti-

cal to the fruition of the National Broadband Plan. Existing laws are considered outdated and insufficient to allow open access to backbone networks or to pursue opportunities that would attract new players. Over the next three years, the focus will be on tweaking the regulatory framework to level the play-ing field. So far, Congress has reconciled the Senate and House versions of the Free Internet Ac-cess in Public Places Act, which is expected to be signed into law by next month. The DICT is also waiting on Malacañang to issue an executive order that would require all government agencies to migrate their services to the National Government Portal, or the www.gov.ph website.

In terms of political will, the DICT secretary has shown his mettle with the successful launch of free Wi-Fi along EDSA during Philippine Independence Day. Salalima only had a month to execute the project, which is the model for nationwide free Wi-Fi services. To make the deadline, he up-ended local permitting constraints, which have been the bane of telco roll-outs. As a result, free Wi-Fi has been avail-able since June 12 to commut-ers at all 13 MRT3 stations and street-level connectivity from the Guadalupe to Cubao stretch along EDSA—some measured at speeds of up to 250 Mbps.

“If I can do it at (Metro) Manila, I will do it also in the countryside. I will not budge an inch on this because I feel that it is my obligation under the law and on mandate of the Presi-dent,” Salalima said.

The agency’s goal is to provide free Wi-Fi services across 100,349 public places nationwide by 2026, prioritiz-

ing ports, airports, train stations and school buildings. So far, 381 project sites have gone live. DICT officials said 904,588 unique devices have accessed the free service as of June 19. By next month, street-level connectiv-ity along EDSA, traversing the MRT3 route from Taft Avenue in Pasay City to North Avenue in Quezon City, should be available. By the end of August, the free Wi-Fi service will be extended to Balintawak to cover a portion of the LRT Line 1 system. The roll-out will eventually cover Metro Manila’s entire train system, along with 1,634 municipalities and cities nationwide.

Meanwhile, DICT is also negotiating with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) about piggy-backing the government broadband back-bone on the latter’s transmission facilities. NGCP maintains and operates the nationwide power grid. The cost of deploying a full broadband network is estimated to reach PHP 70 billion to PHP 240 billion, according to DICT officials. A tie-up with NGCP and other owners of existing fiber-op-tic networks will drastically cut this cost and allow DICT to com-plete the nationwide broadband network in one year. Otherwise, the roll-out could take two to three years, they said.

Once the government broadband backbone is complet-ed, www.gov.ph will become a one-stop shop for acquiring birth and death certificates, passports, NBI clearances and the like. It is also designed to eventually host a digital ID system, where registered Filipino citizens can gain full access to e-government services aside from receiving a data allowance of 3GB per month for free.

Malacañang on Tuesday defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of at least 59 former military and police officers to the Cabinet and government agencies.

Presidential spokesper-son Ernesto Abella dismissed concerns about creeping mili-tarization in the government bureaucracy under the Duterte administration.

Abella said the President appointed people from the military and the police because he wanted a “more disciplined, more efficient and less corrupt” government.

“The President has never made secret any of his inten-tions, which [include] a more industrious, more disciplined, more focused and less corrupt bureaucracy,” he said.

Mr. Duterte was scheduled to attend public events on Tues-day, including the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Malacañang.

Abella said the President vetted the appointees before giving them civilian posts in the government.

“I would say that these are the people that he has vetted. In a sense, it’s not whether they’re military or not,” he said.

“It’s just that these are the people within his scope of

attention that, you know, that fulfill, that tick all the boxes that what he wants,” he added.

The appointees “are people who are efficient, people who are not corrupt, people who will do things according to what they have been commissioned to do,” said the Palace official.

An Inquirer report showed that Mr. Duterte had appointed at least 59 former military and

police officials, including gener-als, admirals and colonels to his Cabinet and other agencies.

They were either from Mindanao or were assigned to Davao City where he served as mayor for 22 years.

Political analyst Ramon Casiple said the President’s appointment of retired military officials to his Cabinet was an astute move.

“He’s expecting that he can still have a good relationship with the military,” Casiple said. (Philip C. Tubeza / inquirer.net)

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella(Photos: www.sabc.co.za)

DICT Sec. Rodolfo Salalima(Photo: www.newsbyte.ph)

FilAm StarJune 29 - July 5, 2017 A3

ph newsPresident alive, very well,says Malacañang official

Pinoys the most emotional in the world for the 3rd time – Gallup poll

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent

For the third year in a row, the Philippines remained Asia’s most emotional country and one of the countries in the world with the highest positive experiences, tied third among 142 countries surveyed.

The Gallup 2017 Global Emotions Report (GER) gives world leaders a “picture of hap-piness and well-being in their countries and quantifies what makes a life worth living” and measures life’s “intangibles” which are feelings and emo-tions through Gallup’s Negative and Positive Index

In summary, the 2017 GER measures people’s positive and negative daily experiences based on (nearly) 149,000 interviews (telephone and face-to-face with 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older) in 142 countries of the previous year with a margin of error ranging from ±2.1 to ±5.3 with 95 percent confidence level.

According to the 2017 GER findings, in general, more than 70 percent of people worldwide smiled and “experienced a lot of enjoyment or laughed a lot yesterday, felt well-rested, and felt treated with respect” with 50 percent of the people sur-veyed saying that they learned or did something interesting before the interview day.

The global scores ranged from the highest at 84 (Para-guay) to the lowest at 51 (Ye-men).

“Paraguay also led the world in 2015. Syria earned the lowest score in 2015, but Gal-lup could not survey the coun-try in 2016 because of security issues,” the Gallup report said.

In the 2017 Gallup Emo-tions Report’s Positive Experi-ences Index (as of 2016) which was topped by Paraguay with

a score of 84, the Philippines ranked fourth with a score of 82.

Rounding off the Top 11 countries with Positive Experi-ences are the following:

Costa Rica – 84 Panama – 83Uzbekistan – 82Ecuador – 81Guatemala – 81Mexico – 81Norway – 81Chile – 80Colombia 80 “The only countries out-

side this region that top this list are Uzbekistan, the Philip-pines and Norway,” the Gallup Report noted.

Also, in one of the cat-egories of the report entitled “Learned or Did Something Interesting” the worldwide per-centages range from the lowest of 18 percent (Bangladesh) to the highest of 78 percent (Philippines). This category is the four of the five items that completes the Positive Experi-ence Index.

According to The Philip-pine Star, the Philippines’ 2017 score of 78 percent in the Positive Experiences Index is higher than the global percent-age of 70 percent.

In the “Total Emotions” category of the report, the Philippines was part of the Top 3 with a score of 58 percent, Ecuador topped the list with a score of 60 percent.

According to Gallup, global percentages of this category range from the highest at 60 percent (Ecuador) and the low-est at 37 percent (Belarus).

“On average, nearly six in 10 residents in each of these countries reported experi-encing positive or negative emotions the previous day,” the

Gallup report noted.The Philippine Star story

also noted that for the 2015 edition of the Gallup Global Emotions Report, the Philip-pines tied with Ecuador for the second spot with a score of 58 percent, a post behind Bolivia and El Salvador with the high-est score of 59 percent in terms of the most emotions category.

The report also noted that in the latest release of the report, it was only for the year 2017 that the Philippines broke into the Top 10 of the Positive Experiences Index.

As for the Negative Index of the Global Emotions Report, Iraq topped the Negative Expe-rience list for the fifth time in a row.

Greeks, with a score of 67 percent were the most stressed in the world.

In his introductory mes-sage for the report, Gallup’s Managing Partner Jon Clifton said that through this report, people’s sentiment and emo-tions are not only considered as “soft data” and neither GDP and unemployment rate of a country could determine its future.

“According to this field of study, only 30 percent of individual behavior is rational — the other 70 percent is emo-tional,” Clifton wrote while also noting that the result of the Gallup 2017 Global Emotions Report will serve as a caution and introduction for another measure, behavior economics.

“And while organiza-tions are starting to apply this concept at a micro-level, governments have been slow to do it at a macro-level,” Clifton added.

“First and foremost, he’s alive and well. He’s very well. He’s just busy doing what he really needs to do.”

Malacañang on Tuesday sought to downplay widely publicized speculation about President Rodrigo Duterte’s health, sparked by his disap-pearance for six days — the longest he had vanished from the public eye.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the Presi-dent was “very busy” and was “on top of the situation” even though he did not make any public appearance from June 21 until June 26.

The President appeared in good shape and spoke extem-poraneously during a nationally televised address on Tuesday evening at Malacañang’s Eid al-Fitr celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

“Being out of the public eye, that is when he is really able to do office work. He signs papers. He reads. He consults. He’s actually very busy,” Abella said.

“The thing that is very important to note is that he’s on top of every situation. He is aware of what’s happening. He’s updated regularly,” Abella said.

“He reads. He views … He listens to this and he is quite aware,” he added.No public appearance

His absence starting last week was the second time this month that Mr. Duterte has not made any public appearance for days.

The President, who is 72 years old, missed the Indepen-dence Day celebrations at Rizal Park in Manila on June 12 and remained out of the public eye

until June 16, raising concerns about his health.

At that time, Abella said Mr. Duterte needed “some time off to rejuvenate” after spending 23 days on the road to oversee the implementation of martial law, declared on May 23 in Mindanao, following the siege of Marawi City by Islamic State-inspired militants.

“I’m saying that there is nothing to worry about in terms of sickness, major sickness. Considering the schedule that he has given, he needs to rest,” Abella said.

“He’s just taking some time off to rejuvenate … Tired. He’s just tired. Like I said, he has been on the road for about 23 days,” he said.Photo releases

On June 16, the Palace released photos of the President working at Bahay Pagbabago in Malacañang and in Villamor Air Base as he was about to leave for Davao for the weekend.

The President then visited wounded government troops in Cagayan de Oro City and Marawi evacuees in Iligan on June 20 and was not seen again in public until Tuesday.

Abella said on June 22 that Mr. Duterte’s rest period was “not yet over,” adding that it was the President’s “work mode” or “style” to do his work out of the public eye for several days.

“And again, you know, this is just his, like we said, working style and it was not meant to cast aspersions upon anybody. But this is the way he works,” Abella said on Tuesday.Health rumors

Known for his busy schedule and lengthy speeches, often several times a day, Mr.

Duterte’s low profile has fueled rumors he is in declining health and that the government is try-ing to keep that under wraps.

Mr. Duterte’s known ail-ments include back problems, migraines due to nerve dam-age after a motorcycle accident and Barrett’s esophagus, which impacts his throat.

He also suffers from Buerger’s disease, caused by his heavy smoking in younger days, which can cause blockages in the blood vessels.

His aides have recently said he has been experiencing fatigue. His closest aide, Chris-topher “Bong” Go, on June 15 posted images on social media of Mr. Duterte signing docu-ments and standing in front of a television showing a news bulletin, adding further fuel to rumors that something was wrong.

Presidential Communica-tions Secretary Martin Andanar said Filipinos should not be concerned.

“The public should not worry,” he told dzMM radio. “Our President is healthy.” (Philip C. Tubeza / inquirer.net)

President Rodrigo Duterte(Photos: www.forbes.com)


FilAm Star Classifieds (650)278-0692 . (415)593-5955

Experienced caregiver, CAN, LVN, RN, and Administrator. For San Rafael. CA ARF Facility.

Flexible Hours, Competitive compensation. Live in position available.

Applicant may qualify for 15% to 20% pay raise immediately.

Please Email your resume and cover letter to [email protected] or call 415-225-6868

Caregiver & Administrator

FilAm Star, one of the fastest growingFilipino-American newspaper companies is

expanding and has immediate openings.

Please send resume to: [email protected] call (650) 278-0692/

(415) 593-5955

WANTED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Private Duty Home CareRegistry/Staffing ProviderSenior Referral Services

Come apply directly at our office during Monday through Friday 9AM-3PM

Hiring experienced Caregivers,CNA, HHA, RN, PT, OT & SLP

7216 Mission St., Daly City, CA 94014T: (650) 997-3200 F: (650) 997-3204

HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, INC.

Accounting StaffPlease send resume to: [email protected] Fax 1-800-446-6191

WANTED

Duterte’s first year in office marked by ‘human rights calamity’—HRW

ph news

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent

‘Poor water quality, beach erosion, decrease in coralcover, waste surrounding island’ beset Boracay

President Rodrigo Duterte has unleashed a “human rights calamity” in the Philippines in his first year in office, a New York-based human rights group said on Wednesday as it called for a UN-led probe to stop the killings in the country and hold the President accountable.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the government’s “murderous” war on drugs, drug-related overcrowding of jails, and alleged harassment and prosecution of drug war critics had caused a “steep de-cline in respect for basic rights” since Duterte’s assumption in office.

“President Duterte took of-fice promising to protect human rights, but has instead spent his first year in office as a boister-ous instigator for an unlawful killing campaign,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of HRW, said in a statement.

“Duterte has supported and incited ‘drug war’ killings while retaliating against those fearless enough to challenge his assault on human rights,” Kine added.

Duterte will mark his first year in Malacañang on Friday, June 30.

The group noted that since Duterte assumed office on July 1, last year, security forces and “unidentified gunmen” had reportedly killed at least 7,000 suspected drug users and deal-ers, including the 3,116 killings by police based on govern-ment’s data.

Yet, the HRC said the Duterte administration had rejected all domestic and international calls for account-ability for these abuses, and instead, denied any government responsibility for the thousands of drug war deaths.

“During his first year in office, President Duterte and his government have demonstrated a fundamental unwillingness to respect rights or provide justice for people whose rights have been violated,” Kine said.

“A UN-led international investigation is desperately needed to help stop the slaugh-ter and press for accountability for Duterte’s human rights catastrophe,” he said.

Duterte had already been charge at the International Criminal Court for alleged

crimes against humanity.The group, citing its own

research, also branded as “bla-tant falsehoods,” the govern-ment’s claim that the deaths of suspected drug users and dealers were lawful.

“Interviews with witnesses and victims’ relatives and analy-sis of police records expose a pattern of unlawful police con-duct designed to paint a veneer of legality over extrajudicial executions that may amount to crimes against humanity,” the HRW said.

“While the Philippine National Police have publicly sought to distinguish between suspects killed while resisting arrest and killings by ‘unknown gunmen’ or ‘vigilantes,’ Human Rights Watch found no such distinction in the cases investi-

gated.”“In several such cases, the

police dismissed allegations of involvement when only hours before the suspects had been in police custody. Such cases call into question government assertions that the majority of killings were carried out by vigilantes or rival drug gangs,” it further said.

The HRW said Duterte’s war on drugs has also “wors-ened the already dire condi-tions of Philippine jail facilities, including inadequate food and unsanitary conditions.”

“Government data indi-cates that the country’s jail facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which have a maximum capac-ity of 20,399, currently hold nearly 132,000 detainees, an overwhelming majority of them

awaiting trial or sentencing,” it said.

“The bureau attributes the overcrowding to the arrest of tens of thousands of suspected drug users and dealers since the anti-drug campaign began.”

The drug war, the group said, has also boosted the num-ber of “secret jails” in which police had reportedly detained suspects unlawfully, demand-ing bribes in exchange for their release.

The HRC, likewise, mentioned how the Duterte administration had subjected to harassment, intimidation and even arrest some of its promi-nent critics like Senator Leila de Lima.

De Lima was arrested and detained last February over her alleged involvement on illegal

drugs.“Other critics of the killings

– including activists, journal-ists, international officials, and ordinary Filipinos – have been threatened online by pro-Duterte supporters and trolls. Among those targeted were Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and international experts on drug dependency,” the group added. (Maila Ager / inquirer.net)

(Photo: www.missclub.info)

Call to advertise1-415-593-5955 x141

visit our websitewww.filamstar.com

Travel AgentWANTED

SEND RESUME TO:Fax #: 1-800-446-6191

Email address: [email protected]

Should have at least 2 years experience with Sabre

WANTED

COMPUTER LITERATEABLE TO T YPE 40 WPMFLUENT IN ENGLISH & TAGALOG (A PLUS)GOOD IN ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Milpitas, CA or Union City, CA (Part Time/Weekends) Customer Service Clerk

CANDIDATES MUST BE:



WANTED

COMPUTER LITERATEABLE TO T YPE 40 WPMFLUENT IN ENGLISH & TAGALOG (A PLUS)GOOD IN ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

San Francisco, CA(Full Time) Customer Service Clerk

CANDIDATES MUST BE:



To ensure long-term sus-tainability. Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento said there might now be a need for the government to strictly regulate the development and influx of tourists on some of the coun-try’s major tourism spots like Boracay.

While Boracay and other popular tourism destinations in the country are bringing a lot of revenues for the people and the government, he said there is a need to protect these places from over development and overcapacity which is the main cause of pollution.

Believing the need for Congress’ intervention, he filed House Resolution 1087 which urges the House Committee on Tourism to conduct an inquiry “into the roadmap, programs, projects and action plans of the Department of Tourism (DoT) that aim to regulate tourists spots in order to promote sus-tainability.”

As it is, Sarmiento noted that the DoT’s thrust only seems to be centered on how to gener-ate tourists but not on how to protect the country’s tourist destinations.

When members of the House of Representatives embarked on the so-called “Western-Eastern National Highway Expedition” which was a brainchild of Speaker Panta-leon Alvarez and House Major-ity Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Sarmiento said he immediately noticed the rapid degradation

of Boracay Island which is one of the country’s top tourism spots.

“The members of the House have also observed what several news agencies have reported, specifically, that there is an abundance of algae growth which may be related to pollution and the presence of waste matter surrounding the island,” Sarmiento said in his resolution.

Sarmiento expressed con-cern that overdevelopment and overpopulation is now causing too much stress on Boracay which has attracted 1.7 million visitors in 2016 alone and has long been considered as one of the best islands in the world.

“Several studies have shown the detrimental environ-mental impacts that tourism has caused Boracay, such as poor water quality, beach erosion, and decrease in coral cover. The Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources also found out that some areas around Boracay are too dirty to swim on,” Sarmiento’s resolu-tion said.

“The massive influx of tour-ists and the explosive popula-tion growth in the island places it at the risk of destruction. This is highly detrimental as our citi-zens are reaping numerous ben-efits from the thriving tourism industry in the area. Moreover, the environmental degradation is a proof of the state’s failure to preserve our natural resources,” Sarmiento lamented in his

resolution. To save Boracay from turn-

ing into a wasteland, he cited the need for DoT and the DENR to immediately adopt policies and practices that would stop the island’s rapid environmental decline.

“Congress should also come up with a law that would clearly define policies in managing tourist destinations such as Bo-racay to promote tourism while ensuring the protection of the environment,” said Sarmiento.

In the case of Boracay, he said that the DoT should start setting up specific parameters in terms of capacity and start limiting the number of resorts and inns that are coming out like mushrooms even in interior areas.

Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento(Photo: www.congress.gov.ph)


sports news

Fil-German Standhardinger namedto Gilas team set for SEA Games

Ravena gets shot at another gold for PHGunning for a record-

setting fourth gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games, Kiefer Ravena feels blessed beyond belief as he was named to the Gilas Pilipinas roster on Tuesday.

“I’m very honored. I have the chance to get my fourth gold medal and be the only one to do it, so I guess hopefully, I get to repay the trust that coach Chot (Reyes) has given me, especially that I’m one of the newcomers in the team,” he said.

Ravena is no stranger to representing the country in the regional tilt, leading the country to the pole position in 2011, 2013, and 2015.

And for the 6-foot play-maker, he was overwhelmed with the trust the national team backers has been giving him, as he gets a crack on topping the three gold medal haul in basket-ball previously set by Rommel Adducul from 1997 to 2001.

“It’s been six years since I first played in the SEA Games. I was 17 years old then with coach Norman (Black). I’m very thankful for the opportunity that until now, I get a chance to represent a country in such a prestigious competition like the SEA Games,” he said.

“This is something we re-ally look forward to every two years, and in the SEA Games, we aspire to prove that we’re the best in terms of basketball in Southeast Asia.”

Ravena said that adjusting to the system isn’t really much of a concern given his famil-iarity with the dribble-drive system, which is almost the same scheme used in the past iterations of the national team.

“It’s really not that hard for me since this is the system that we’ve been running in the past couple of SEA Games with coach Jong (Uichico) and coach Tab (Baldwin). So adjustment-wise, there’s nothing really big on it. I guess it’s more of the players, but again, I’m lucky

Kiefer Ravena(Photo: www.ridiculousupside.com)

that I’m familiar with these players who I’ve been team-mates with and I’ve played against one way or another, so it’s easier for me,” he said.

Ravena also isn’t going to the regional tilt as the lone veteran, with Kevin Ferrer and Bobby Ray Parks seeking their third gold medal, as well as Troy Rosario, Baser Amer, and Almond Vosotros eyeing their second.

With this wealth of experi-ence, the two-time UAAP MVP eyes to share the knowledge to SEA Games rookies, like Kobe Paras, as they seek to further extend the Philippines’ domi-nance in the said event.

“I guess it’s very important to share that knowledge, share that glory which you could only feel in the SEA Games. It’s not gonna be a walk in the park, un-like what other people say that it’s already a sure-ball, because it won’t. The other countries are improving, so it’s important that we improve also,” he said.

But Ravena knows this won’t be easy, with countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia hungry to upset the Philippines come August 19 to 30 in Kuala Lumpur.

“We’re in for a dogfight. I was watching the SEABA Championships here, and from what I’ve heard and what I saw, that was their preparation for the SEA Games. So some of the teams came to the SEABA Championships not really to win but to beat the Philippines in the SEA Games. So that’s bigger target on our backs. Each and everyone of us will be play-ing, and we have to be aware of that, and we have to see and re-ally accept the fact that some of the teams are already improv-ing. It won’t be as easy as before or the previous years,” he said.

“As I said before 2011, they have a program that’s really set, that one of these years, can beat the Philippines. But we won’t let that happen.” (Randolph Leongson / inquirer.net)

National team coach Chot Reyes surprised many on Tues-day when he enlisted Christian Standhardinger as part of Gilas’ lineup for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

Though the Fil-German forward has yet to attend any practice sessions, the outspo-ken mentor said that their past knowledge of him was enough to give him a slot in the Philip-pine team.

“We’ve seen him. He’s been here for a few times, not with this group, but we know how he plays. We’ve been monitoring him,” he said.

Standhardinger will arrive in the country late Tuesday night and will immediately join the team practice on Wednes-day afternoon.

Reyes noted that the inclu-sion of the 6-foot-7 Stand-hardinger will be a huge boost to the country’s frontline in the regional tilt, as he is set to team up with undersized big men like Kobe Paras, Troy Rosario, Raymar Jose, and Carl Bryan Cruz.

“I think we have quite a good lineup of big men. That was the biggest deficiency of having an all-cadet team, that we didn’t have enough quality big guys. They are all undersized, but then with the addition of Christian and Kobe, we were able to address that. Hopefully, that would be enough to get the job done in the SEA Games,” he said.

However, Reyes said changes could still be made with the team.

“There’s always a pos-sibility of changes. People get — God forbid — get injured, or they don’t come to practice and

stuff, we have time to still make changes. The reserves are the other guys in the pool,” he said.

“But for now, the way were looking at it, that’s the kind of lineup we’re hoping to field in the SEA Games. It’s a combina-tion of cadets and new guys, plus two PBA vets.” (Randolph Leongson / inquirer.net)

Christian Standhardinger (Photo: www.alchetron.com)


opinionDigong’s ‘new’ friendsPerryScope

PERRY DIAZ

As I See It

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO

The hazards of creating a tourism ad campaign (second of two parts)

Street Talk

Headquarters: 1028 Mission St., 2/F,

San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (650) 278-0692 or (415) 593-5955

Email: [email protected]

FilAm Star is published weeklyby Fortune News Media Inc.www.filamstar.com

The Opinions expressed by our writers and contributors do not in any way reflect the opinion of the management of Fortune News Media Inc.

Fortune News Media Inc.Publisher

Edwina AniagVice President for Marketing and Operations

Gary De GuzmanVice President for Community Relations

Anchet ManoscaCreative and Production Manager

Atty. Crispin LozanoDr. Philip Chua / Rodel Rodis

Ben Lou / Perry DiazFederico Espiritu / Elpidio Estioko

ColumnistsMacon Ramos-Araneta

Corina OliquinoDaniel Llanto

Correspondents

Ann GaunaMarketing Associate

Harvey BarkinEditor-in-Chief

Jho BulePhotographer

Glenda BuleEvent Coordinator

GREG B.MACABENTA

Happy 4th of July, Filipino-American Friendship Day

On May 23, 2017 while President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte was enroute to Moscow for a five-day visit, the rebel group Maute struck. At about 2:00 PM, the Battle of Marawi began. At least 500 members of Maute attacked a Philippine

Army brigade stationed at Camp Ranao in Marawi City. They were seen rampaging through the streets waving ISIS black flags. While in Moscow, Duterte declared martial law at 10:00 pm that same day. He cut short his visit after meeting his new friend Rus-sian President Vladimir Putin for a short time.

Last June 2, Duterte complained about the quality of “secondhand” American military hard-ware. “I will not accept any more military equip-ment that is secondhand. The ones the Americans are giving, I do not want that anymore,” he said. He threatened to form alliances with China and Russia and asked them to provide weapons to the Philippine military.

But a few days later, on June 5, the U.S. handed over – I mean, given free -- $150 million worth of brand-new weapons that included 300 M4 assault rifles, 100 grenade launchers, and four M134D Gatling-style machine guns that can fire thousands of rounds a minute. The U.S. Embassy issued a statement, saying: “This equipment will enhance the [Philippine Marines’] counterterrorism capabili-ties, and help protect [troops] actively engaged in counterterrorism operations in the southern Philip-pines.”

The Pentagon also confirmed the presence of 50 to 100 special-operations forces that were pro-viding technical support to the Philippine Marines. Another force of 300 to 500 U.S. military personnel are involved in providing regular bilateral training, exercises, and other activities. However, in a press conference, Duterte claimed that he didn’t ask for the American weapons and found out their presence in Marawi after they had arrived. Battle of Marawi

Today, with the battle of Marawi intensifying, the Philippine spokesman confirmed the Philippine military’s deaths amounted to the biggest single-day loss in the fighting. “There were intense firefights, house-to-house gun battles,” the spokesman revealed during a press conference in Marawi. He added that the government suffered 58 casualties and more than 20 civilians killed. It was estimated that 10% of Marawi is still under the Maute group’s control. Tens of thousands have fled the city, with more than 200,000 people displaced. About 2,000 people are believed to have been trapped in insurgent-held areas. Duterte believed that the militant attack was part of a wider plot by ISIS to es-tablish a base in Mindanao. He declared martial law hoping to quell the threat, which begs the question: Does Duterte have sufficient military personnel and weaponry to stop what seems to be cancerous spread of hatred and violence? Or does it take more than a military remedy to remove the cancer? Military solution

By virtue of Duterte’s declaration of martial law, it is presumed that he believes the Marawi problem can be solved militarily. He even suggested that he just might declare martial law nationwide to deal with the threat of “Islamist” militancy. But some social scientists would disagree with Duterte’s approach in solving the Marawi problem; that is, to apply military solution to a social problem. And as most of us know, Mindanao is the hotbed of social unrest ever since the Spaniards arrived in this country.

For one thing, Mindanao – or more specifically, the Muslim region of Mindanao – is the poor-est region in the country. The bigger the Muslim population is, the poorer the region. Why so? This

has baffled social scientists ever since the country gained her independence. So should it be fair to presume that the Muslims of Mindanao aren’t self-sufficient enough to maintain a higher economic production?

That’s farthest from the truth. On the contrary, Mindanao is the richest region in terms of natural resources and agricultural productivity. So, what’s the problem? How can Mindanao’s calculus change to make it as rich as Luzon or Western Visayas? Let’s use a simple example of how productivity works: A small city’s production output is P500 mil-lion, which she turns over to the central government in Manila, who in turn allots P50 million back to the small city and puts the remaining P450 million in the national treasury. As you can see, for every 10 pesos generated by the small city, the central government allots only 10% back to the small city. Meanwhile, the central government spends the money earned by the small city on projects or pro-grams that don’t benefit the small city. What results is a disproportionately funded small city who has no other source of income. Interestingly, the regions closest to the central government are where most economic projects and programs are being spent. Out of the 10 poorest provinces in the country, seven are predominantly Muslim: Lanao del Sur (poorest), Sulu, Sarangani, Maguindanao, Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, and Zamboanga del Norte. Marawi City is located in the province of Lanao del Sur. Which makes one wonder: Is poverty the catalyst to social unrest? You betcha! Dutertenomics

So what is Digong doing to solve the poverty in Muslim Mindanao? We all know that military solu-tion doesn’t relieve the plight of the poor. On the contrary, it puts the poor in a worse situation.

Meanwhile, what are Duterte’s economic proj-ects that would uplift the poor in Mindanao? Last April, Duterte’s economic team announced several big-ticket projects aimed to reduce poverty and fill the country’s infrastructure gap. They call it “Du-tertenomics,” whose 10-point socioeconomic agenda primarily aims to reduce poverty from 21.6 percent in 2015 to 13 to 15 percent by 2022.

In addition to the poverty reduction, a major plank of Dutertenomics will be a big infrastructure push, which they said would usher a “golden age of infrastructure” in the Philippines that includes a railway system for Mindanao. But what does Dutertenomics do for the Muslims of Lanao del Sur and the six others that are high on the poverty list? Is Dutertenomics going to change how provincial revenues are distributed?

But Dutertenomics has hit a snag before it could even take off. That “snag” is the Battle of Marawi and it seems that it is getting bigger and bigger and getting out of control. With foreign fighters from the Middle East joining the ranks of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, the rebellion is escalating to a point where America might find herself directly fighting the militants in support of Philippine troops – not just technical support but “boots on the ground” as well.

But military operation alone would only exac-erbate the poverty situation of Muslim Mindanao. What Digong should do is find ways constitutionally or by congressional fiat to alleviate the poverty situ-ation. The bottom line is: the central government should – nay, must! – find ways to stimulate the economy in Muslim Mindanao to sustain a healthy development of the region.

At the end of the day, the timely arrival of Duterte’s “new” friends – the Americans—to help quell the Maute rebellion is a quantum improve-ment in U.S.-Philippine bilateral relations. It is also a great opportunity for him to pursue structural and economic reforms and to defeat poverty -- which is the real enemy – and achieve social justice for the poor. Failure to do so would only perpetuate the simmering social discontent in the region that could explode into another – if not larger – uprising. Duterte has his work cut out for him. ([email protected])

The question I asked at the end of the first part of this two-part piece was, “…is it really a harsh real-ity that the DoT and this country’s ad agencies can find nothing uniquely at-tractive in our country, so that they are constrained

to resort to generic appeals…?” If one were to believe the pundits and opinion

makers, even the generic menu of tourism appeals does not adequately apply to the Philippines.

One commentary on the DoT’s newly-launched “Experience Philippines” ad campaign listed the bad experiences that a tourist would encounter upon arriving in the country, from the pandemonium at NAIA, to the horrible traffic, to who-knows-what-other-hellish negatives are conceivable.

The point made by the columnist was that the government should first fix “the product” (namely, our country’s tourism infrastructure) if the Philip-pines wants to launch a successful campaign.

This reminds me of the difference between the way a Japanese and a Pinoy start a business.

Says the Japanese, “First we gather the fruits and carry them in our arms. If we have too many fruits, we get a basket. And if we work hard and God is kind, one day we will have many, many fruits in many, many baskets.”

And how does the Pinoy start a business? “First we must make a big basket…”

Certainly, the tourism infrastructure should be fixed. But that’s like making a big basket first. That could take a long time. Meanwhile, the fruits of tour-ism will continue to be gathered by the rest of Asia.

The DoT and the tourism industry should be perfectly capable of mounting a respectable tourism development and promotions program with what-ever assets and resources are already available. With hard work, management skill, wise use of resources, and creativity, much can be done to generate tourist traffic.

I consider significant the comment to media made by former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez: “The biggest reason for our low numbers [of tourist arrivals] is not our infrastructure, crime, negative reports in the media or even the cost of flying into the Philippines.”

Jimenez, a colleague in advertising, said that the main problem is “ignorance.” Said he of inter-national travelers, “They just haven’t heard of the Philippines.”

Rene de los Santos, former Tourism Attaché in San Francisco, echoed Jimenez’s comment about low awareness. According to De los Santos, “the US is the Philippines’ second largest tourist market by nationality, just behind South Korea.” But the prob-lem is the prohibitive cost of media advertising and DoT’s limited promotions budget.

As a US-based Pinoy, I did offer to help Jime-nez when he had just assumed the tourism post. In an email, I suggested that the problem of high media cost in the US and could be partly addressed by tak-ing advantage of existing resources.

I specifically mentioned the annual Philippine Independence Day festivals organized by FilAm communities across the US, including one held in August in San Francisco, called Pistahan, which features a parade in the city’s main thoroughfare.

The cost of mounting the festivals is already being covered by the communities and by corporate sponsors and vendors. However, the organizers have tended to limit their promotional outreach to fellow Pinoys, with little effort to attract the Ameri-can mainstream. While the DoT usually has a booth in these festivals, its presence has been passive and unimaginative, with little impact even among FilAm festival goers.

I suggested to Jimenez that this was an op-

portunity for the DoT to reach out to mainstream Americans at a relatively low cost - by playing a more active role in organizing the festivals, enrich-ing the content, and expanding the promotional outreach.

For whatever reason, Jimenez never respond-ed. Sayang.

At any rate, if the DoT is interested, this com-ing August, the Pistahan will once again be staged by the Filipino American Arts Exposition (FAAE). It will be a two-day affair with a parade on Market Street. The festival itself will be held at the Yerba Buena Gardens, across the street from Moscone Center, the city’s premier convention venue.

What could be a better vehicle to create aware-ness for Philippine tourism?

Last June 4, Philippine Independence Day was celebrated with a parade in Manhattan and last June 18, a festival dubbed Kalayaan was held at Union Square in the heart of San Francisco.

These events would have been a great oppor-tunity for foreigners to “experience the Philippines,” just as the recent Pista sa Nayon in Vallejo, Califor-nia and Pagdiriwang in Seattle, Washington were, as well as other festivals in Filipino enclaves across the US.

What will it take to harness these potent promotional vehicles? Just a bit more hard work, imagination, creativity, enthusiasm, professionalism and love of country.

I’m willing to bet that simply inviting curious American passersby at these festivals to dance the tinikling will impress more prospective tourists than the experience of a blind man.

However, these are tactical moves. What is needed is a longer-term tourism promotions strat-egy. Not one that revolves around a “slogan” and is replaced with every change of administration.

But what, in the first place, can be said about the Philippines that will appeal to tourists and give our country a competitive edge?

The DoT and its ad agencies have struggled with this question and have had a streak of bad luck of late. From the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” campaign created by Campaigns & Grey for then Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, to BBDO Guerrero’s “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” under Jimenez, to the controversial “Sight” commercial produced by Mc-Cann Worldwide for Secretary Wanda Teo, the usual “kreative kibitzers” have slammed the promotional efforts as plagiarized or copied (from Poland, Swit-zerland and South Africa) and as outright “uncre-ative.”

Lim had to beat a hasty retreat and the DoT found a convenient fallback in former Tourism Secretary Dick Gordon’s handiwork, “WOW Philip-pines”, which had enjoyed relative success. Jimenez and BBDO Guerrero braved the barrage of criticisms and produced interesting variations on “It’s more fun” that silenced the kibitzers.

And now comes Secretary Wanda Teo, order-ing the “Sight” commercial pulled out and McCann’s contract cancelled, along with a demand for a public apology from the agency.

It’s called passing the buck. But where does that leave our country’s tourism promotions pro-gram? Back to “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” in the meantime?

It’s, frankly, generic in the sense of what it offers to tourists, but it, at least, stimulates the expectation of something enjoyable about to be experienced, which is what tourists look for.

The beaches, the sights, the food, the shop-ping and the people should all be part of the “fun” package, of course, but isn’t there something unique and “more fun” about the Philippines that foreigners can readily associate our country with? A “Unique Selling Proposition” (to use an aged advertising term that today’s creative geniuses may call obsolete)?

As a virtual tourist every time I visit the Philip-pines, I find the festivals as the most unique, vivid, exciting and participatory portrayal of “more fun.”

TO PAGE A7

July 4th or 4th of July is Independence Day of the United States of America. While it used to be Philippine Inde-pendence Day too, it was changed to Philippine Republic Day and then to Filipino-American Friend-ship Day! It is a huge

event for many Filipino-Americans to rekindle their origin and heritage, remembering their long-standing friendship and relationships even before July 4, 1946.

With the election of Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte, however, the relationship somehow became sour as Duterte intended to separate from the Obama administration. Then when Pres. Donald Trump was elected president, Digong somehow changed his position and recognized Trump as an ally of the Philippines, even inviting him to visit the Philippines at the end of the year.

It was formerly an official holiday designated as Independence Day, celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which granted Philippine Indepen-dence from the United States of America in 1946. From 1898 to 1946, the Philippines was an American territory. Between 1941 and 1945, the Japanese Em-pire occupied the country during World War 11 and at that time, the Commonwealth government in exile headed by President Manuel L. Quezon was based in Australia and later in the US.

In October 1944, General MacArthur landed in Leyte, along with Sergio Osmena, who succeeded to the presidency after Quezon’s death in 1944. The country gained complete independence on July 4, 1946 until President Diosdado Macapagal moved the

July 4th Philippine Independence to June 12, 1898 on which Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo issued the Philip-pine Declaration of Independence at his residence in Kawit, Cavite. The July 4th Filipino-American Friendship Day was created in place of the June 12 Independence Day and was kept as a holiday under Macapagal. It coincided with the United States’ own Independence Day, until subsequently, Filipino-American Friendship Day was no longer a national holiday.

It is celebrated here in the US and Americans who are in the Philippines also proclaim their celebration of Filipino-American Friendship on July 4. The celebration is meant to remind us—and Americans—of our two countries’ long-standing friendship. This developed after the forces of the First Philippine Republic were defeated by those of the United States and our archipelago became an American colony. The Philippines and the United States have maintained closeness that some Filipi-nos call a “special relationship.” We celebrate July 4 as Filipino-American Friendship Day to highlight the enduring relations between the Philippines and the United States. Various factors strengthen these ties, including a shared history and a common com-mitment to democratic values.

Actually, Filipino-American relations formally began on December 10, 1898, when Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. Until July 4, 1946, the United States governed the Philippines and transformed it into a “show window of American de-mocracy.” The period of American regime was also the period that witnessed many changes in Filipino life and culture. Public education and democratic institutions are two of America’s many enduring contributions to the Philippines. They built public schools and made English as the medium of instruc-tion from elementary to college. These two contribu-tions molded Filipino-American relations.

The United States is the Philippines’ major trading partner – accounting for almost 20 percent of annual Philippine trade. The United States is home to more than three million Filipino migrants as well as Filipino-Americans who have made America their home.

We celebrate Filipino-American Friendship Day to bring to the awareness of the peoples of the Philippines and the United States and to the rest of the world the numerous beneficial effects generated by mutual trust and friendship among nations – that friendly ties are the foundations of lasting interna-tional ties.

According to Alireza Nurbakhsh in her article Friendship, “the act of friendship is different from the act of loving. In a relationship of friendship both parties care for each other and give and receive ben-efits from each other. This reciprocity may not exist in the act of loving, for we may love someone with-out our beloved giving anything in return or even knowing that he or she is being loved by us.” Does this apply to relationships among nations? Well, we knew that at the onset of his term as president, Pres. Duterte had sour relationship with the US, most par-ticularly with President Barack Obama. He was very vocal about this. When President Donald Trump became president, Duterte changed his mind… this time saying he likes Trump and the US-Philippine relations was restored. As a sign of friendship, the US, upon the request of the Philippine government, helped logistically in the current Marawi war against the ISIS-inspired group of the Maute Brothers. Duterte thanked the US for their support although he said he didn’t ask for it.

Aristotle was one of the first philosophers to write about the nature of friendship. In hisNico-machean Ethics, he sets forth three main reasons why people become friends with one another. “These reasons are pleasure, utility and good character. Of these, Aristotle believed that only a friendship based on good character can turn out to be a perfect friendship. This is because it is only in such a friend-ship that one likes or loves the other person for the

TO PAGE A8

FilAm StarJune 29 - July 5, 2017 A7BEHEADINGS CONTINUE

... FROM PAGE A1

When hostilities erupted on May 23, the Maute militants kidnapped Suganob together with several staff members of the local church and church-goers. The rebels also torched the Cathedral of Our Lady of Help of Christians on the day when the Christian community in the town was supposed to celebrate the feast of its patron saint.

“We don’t have details of his health. We were just told that he was sighted alive,” said Herrera.

Herrera also said rescue operations continue to reduce the number of hostages trapped in the city to several hundreds. He related there were about 100 civilian hostages still in the hands of the gunmen, being used as “human shields,” am-munition carriers and stretcher-bearers.

He said the Maute rebels are now fewer than 100. He said they are confined to around four vil-lages in Marawi City.

Despite its superior air support and ground troops, he said the military has struggled to defeat the Islamic fighters and has failed to meet several self-imposed deadlines.

He said the government forces are focused and will accomplish their mission to retake Marawi City.

“Troop morale remains very high and we ap-peal to everyone to continue to support and pray for our troops,” said Herrera.

“Troops continue to get deeper into once enemy-held positions as evidenced by the recov-ery of cadavers of terrorists and their firearms, computers and peripherals as well as communi-cation equipment and accessories,” he added.

At present, he said the clashes have so far claimed the lives of more than 350 individu-als, most of whom are from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf local terror groups. He said 69 security personnel and 27 civilians have been killed in the fighting that sent most of Marawi’s 200,000 residents fleeing their homes and livelihood for safer grounds.

The fighting began after government troops launched a failed attempt to arrest Isnilon Hapi-lon, an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader and the appointed emir of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the region. Hapilon has report-edly abandoned the Maute group as government troops continue to near their lair.

The hostilities led to President Rodrigo Du-terte’s declaration of military rule in Mindanao, an island of 22 million, which holds vast natural resources but faces security threats in some areas.

PACQUIAO MUST DEFEAT... FROM PAGE A1

Pacquiao’s fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in his quest for a massive victory.

“The Marquez knock-out has definitely been the main point,” the Brisbane native told the media on Monday before working out. Horn, like others before him, will try to duplicate Marquez’s success in scoring the most decisive win over Pacquiao.

“Marquez has fought Pacquiao brilliantly; (he’s) the best to have fought Pacquiao. So, he’s someone whom we’ve looked at a lot,” explained Horn, whose mind is still fresh with memories of the Mexican star’s sixth-round knockout win Pacquiao over five years ago.

Marquez capped his epic four-bout rivalry with Pacquiao by having the last laugh when he caught his rival with a perfect counter right to knock him out cold in their 2012 duel in Las Vegas.

It was one of the best punches ever, as Mar-quez landed it on Pacquiao’s face with pinpoint accuracy and tremendous power. Now, Horn has made it his goal to repeat the same.

“And to land the same punch that Marquez did in that fight which is a big overhand right, that’s definitely what we’re looking for,” he added.

Horn can’t wait for Sunday to prove that he’s capable of achieving the same feat. “I’ve trained the hardest I’ve had for this fight and to finally get in the ring and show what I’ve done is all I want to do at this stage. I’ve finished all that hard work and I’m just ready to show that in the ring,” Horn said.

Arum said whether Manny Pacquiao can

take bigger fights in the future will depend largely on how he performs against Jeff Horn at the Suncorp Stadium this Sunday. The longtime pro-moter of Pacquiao seemed hesitant to say if the Filipino champion still got what it takes to prevail over the Australian challenger.

“I’ve gotta really see what he has left. How good he is,” Arum told Filipino scribes at the sidelines of Horn’s media workout Monday.

Even coach Freddie Roach, who claims Pacquiao is in the best shape heading to the Horn fight, can’t convince the veteran promoter to think otherwise.

Arum said: “I had breakfast with Freddie to-day, and Freddie says that this is the best Manny he has seen in over a year. But a lot of times Fred-die says things that aren’t necessarily objective.

He believes them, he’s honest but he sees things subjectively.”

That’s why Arum wants to see for himself whether Pacquiao can still compete at the top level.

Asked if he sees Pacquiao fighting younger, more dangerous foes like featherweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko and rising star Terence Craw-ford somewhere down the road, Arum declined to speculate.

On the part of Pacquiao, his camp is look-ing at no less than a knock-out victory against Horn in a bid to re-invigorate fan interest in the Filipino star’s boxing career. But Pacquiao is not looking past his mandatory challenger Jeff Horn before a large crowd of Horn’s boxing fans.

Pacquiao will be battling the very tough and unbeaten Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), who has never tasted defeat as he’s marched through the first 17 fights of his career.

TRILLANES TALKS... FROM PAGE A1

feedback presumed that they can do better. But we very well know that they cannot,” he em-phasized. Trillanes exhorted everyone to move forward.

In the said interview last June 21, Trillanes said Filipinos would soon realize the damage President Rodrigo Duterte has done to the Philip-pines since he assumed the presidency.

When Sackur confronted the Senator on his views being “out of tune” with the general public’s sentiment towards the President, the Senator said he is positive that things would soon change.

“After all, Duterte’s public approval numbers have gone down in his first year in office. In less than a year, his numbers went down 17 percent-age points,” said Trillanes.

However, Sackur said Western politicians would be happy to get the same ratings but Tril-lanes noted that the bulk of the Filipino people are not really aware. He described as “very, very effective” the propaganda machine of the current administration.

Trillanes said the bulk of the Filipino public is busy with day-to-day living and don’t really get to know the magnitude of the damage Duterte has done.

“Historically, popularity ratings will change as the information radiate to the general public. It will take a little time but his numbers continue to go down and I’m quite confident towards end of the year, it will be way below 50,” he said.

Citing the Philippines’ economic growth and the public support for the President, Sackur also said “Duterte-ism seems to be working” for the country – something that Trillanes countered.

But the Senator said the economy continues to boom “despite of Duterte” because of OFW remittances.

When asked if he thinks Duterte’s war on drugs is working, Trillanes replied: “Definitely not.” He related that only the poor people, sus-pected users and drug pushers are being killed.

“Running total, at least, would be more than 9,000 already. But he has yet to touch the big-time drug lords already in the list of various law enforcement agencies,” said the former navy captain.

The Senator who mounted a coup d’état against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said he believes the International Criminal Court would take up the case of crime against humanity which he filed against Duterte.

Regarding the impeachment complaint which they filed against Duterte but was junked by the House dominated by the President’s allies, Trillanes said they can still file an impeachment complaint next year if the Philippine is still a democracy.

“Because I believe the only way for Duterte is to install a revolutionary government for Martial Law, that’s the only kind of governance he knows. As you mentioned, in Davao, he ruled as a tyrant, a king, a whimsical king at that. So, that’s the world that he lives in, that’s why he can’t deal with active members of the opposition. He cannot deal with the objective media, foreign and local,” explained Trillanes.

Trillanes also assailed the “much-hyped” multi-billion-dollar deal with China, saying it will just be passed on to taxpayers. He said on paper, it may appear so but “let me just talk about the much-hyped $15-billion or $24-billion deal with China.”

“It’s basically ODA – Official Development Assistance – a loan again hinged on the tax re-form bill that economic managers of Duterte are pushing. It is inflationary; anti-poor. We cannot afford to give additional burden to the public,” he said.

“Once more information is radiated to the public, (it will change). I’ve seen it happen before. It may take a little while, but it does happen,” he added.

Meanwhile, Trillanes also told BBC Director Gen. Tony Hall it is not true that he would file charges against BBC after the HARDtalk inter-view.

Reports on social media said Trillanes will sue BBC due to the “destructive” interview.

The one-page letter dated June 23 attributed to Trillanes read: “I would like to bring to your attention that I would be filing a legal suit against your company after my interview with Mr. Ste-phen Sackur on his program HARDtalk.”

“Let me just say it was an honor to be invited as a resource person on BBC’s World HARDtalk Program. So, please be assured that I have no plans of suing your company. On the contrary, I am very satisfied how the interview was conduct-ed by Mr. Stephen Sackur, as I was given a chance to give my insights about the real situation in our country,” also said Trillanes.

Trillanes, a staunch critic of Duterte, also informed Hall that he has been a target of a mas-sive and well-funded propaganda campaign by the social media troll organization of the Duterte administration.

This propaganda machine, Trillanes said, is also being used to swarm various media organiza-tions and personalities to create an impression that there is an overwhelming support for Presi-dent Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.

“I hope that you would continue covering current issues in the Philippines and won’t get deceived by the tactics of the Duterte social media trolls.

Sacker and the program’s producer/director Ian O’Reilly were also furnished a copy of Tril-lanes’ letter.

BILL PROPOSED... FROM PAGE A1

and Other Related Violations, apparently ad-dresses the false claims by Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre a week ago, implicating some of the opposition senators as involved in the current conflict in Marawi City.

In a press statement by the Senate, it also noted the incident on May 2017 where Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Eduardo Año ordered a probe on the complaint against soldiers who posted their comments on fake news online.

“The recent events involving our public officials who failed to validate information that resulted in the spread of false information make matters worse. The proliferation of fake news should not be tolerated especially when the public interest is at stake. This is why we want stiffer penalties for erring public officials,” Villanueva said.

Senate Bill no. 1492 defined fake news or in-formation as those which “either intend to cause panic, division, chaos, violence, and hate, or those which exhibit propaganda to blacken or discredit one’s reputation.”

“The effect of fake news should not be taken lightly. Fake news creates impression and beliefs based on false premises leading to division, misunderstanding and further exacerbating, otherwise strenuous relations,” Villanueva stated in a press release while also noting that it is time for the legislative body to pass a measure that will curb the spread of fake news in the country.

Under the proposed measure that seeks to penalize any person or entity who will “mali-ciously offer, publish, distribute, circulate, and spread false news or information in print, broad-cast or online media” with a fine ranging from Php100,000 to Php500,000 and imprisonment ranging from 15 years.

The Bill also seeks to slap public officials with stiffer penalties. Under the bill, “if the of-fender is a public official, he or she will be made to pay twice the said amount of fine, and twice the period of imprisonment; and absolute disqualifi-cation from holding any public office.”

“Meanwhile, if a violator was proven to have aided and encouraged the malicious creation and distribution of fake news, he or she will be slapped with a fine ranging from P50,000 to P3,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 3 years,” the Senate press statement read.

As for social media platform and any mass media enterprise violators, under the new mea-sure will be penalized with a fine ranging from Php10-million up to Php20-million and impris-onment from 10 to 20 years if they fail, neglect or refuse to remove false news.

Moreover, Villanueva urged the immediate passage of the proposed bill that was also aimed at promoting responsible use of social media and other platforms.

“The passage of this bill will encourage our citizens, especially public officers, to be more responsible and circumspect in creating, distrib-uting and/or sharing news. Addressing national and global concerns should not be made more complicated by false news calculated to cause dis-unity, panic, chaos or violence,” Villanueva said in a press statement by the Senate.

In another report by GMA News’ State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, University of the Phil-

ippines’s Journalism Associate Professor Danilo Arao believed that the proposed bill’s definition of fake news is so broad and may cause censor-ship even in the media organization.

“Definition of fake news or information un-der Sec. 2 is so broad that it includes practically anything perceived to cause, among others , panic and hate (obviously hard to define), as well as discredit one’s reputation,” Arao told GMA News.

CBCP vs. fake newsOn July 21, through its Pastoral Guidelines

on the Use of Social Media, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued its first pastoral letter urging the public to take action against fake news, calling the act as a “sin against charity.”

“The duty to speak the truth is so elemental a demand of morality and of good social order that it can hardly be reduced to more elementary precepts,” CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagu-pan Archbishop Socrates Villegas told ABS-CBN News.

“Sadly, we see this happening today. There are persons who have given themselves to the service of reporting what never happened, con-cealing what really happened, and distorting what should be presented in a straightforward man-ner,” Villegas added.

In another report by Rappler, CBCP in their pastoral letter has included a partial list of 29 websites “carrying fake or unverified sources.”

According to the report, five (Guard1an, Kalye Pinoy, Trending Balita, Trending News Portal, and TrendTitan) of the 29 websites listed were either dead or under construction with one website (OKD2) supposedly to morph into the Pinoy Pride website.

Palace-backed proposalIn an interview with radio station dzBB on

June 24, Presidential Communications Opera-tions Office (PCOO) Sec. Martin Andanar said that he is aligned with the proposed measure.

According to Andanar, it is important to dis-tinguish the difference between legitimate media organizations and fake news.

“The problem with fake news is about de-termining the fake organizations and the bona fide media organizations. That is what we should do first. Once we identify them, let us look at the cause,” Andanar told radio dzBB.

“I support calls in the Senate and Congress to conduct a hearing in aid of legislation on fake news,” Andanar added.

In a story by The Philippine Star, from the same radio interview, Andanar noted that the relaying of inaccurate information by any govern-ment organization was not intentional.

“If it is inaccurate information from legiti-mate media organization, perhaps the reason is shortcoming in the workflow and procedure. Definitely, it is not intentional,” Andanar said.

“Well, it depends. Of course, it will be crafted by the Senate and Congress. What is important is identify first the fake and the legitimate,” An-danar explained when asked if a law is needed to curb fake news.

“The media is self-regulated. We are not cov-ered by the PRC (Professional Regulation Com-mission). It is just right that we are not covered by PRC. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press should not be regulated by the govern-ment,” Andanar added while noting that the media should remain free from any government regulation or control.

SEN. TRILLANES SAYS... FROM PAGE A1

the President),” said Trillanes. He remembered Duterte earlier said he may

pardon and re-instate the policemen led by Mar-cos, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Region 8 (CIDG-8) director, implicated in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa inside the sub-provincial jail in Baybay, Leyte, last November 5.

“This was what President Duterte said from the very start -- that he would be responsible for policemen,” recalled Trillanes, a rabid critic of Duterte.

During those times, Duterte said he might pardon, and even re-instate and promote the cops involved in the death of the Albuera mayor, earlier tagged as coddler and protector of his son Kerwin Espinosa.

The younger Espinosa was named as the top drug lord in the Eastern Visayas region. He implicated detained Sen. Leila de Lima in his illicit drug trade.

Trillanes also mentioned that Duterte’s previous admission ordered PNP Chief Direc-tor Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to re-instate Marcos who was also linked to the illegal drug operation.

Espinosa and his men were originally charged with murder but the Department of Jus-tice (DoJ) downgraded it to homicide, a bailable offense.

“Pinahupa lang yung balita tapos bigla na lang binaba (yung kaso) hoping na hindi na ma-papansin,” said Trillanes.

Aguirre insisted he has nothing to do with the downgrading of the charge as he did not sign the resolution.

“Based on the information we gathered, their classmate in the PNPA initiated these ac-

tivities,” said Trillanes.He said the death squad is composed of ac-

tive police members and they belonged to PNPA Class ‘96. He also identified the “point person” of the group as one “Superintendent Leonardo.” He said Leonardo had direct contact to Duterte and is said to be close to the President’s son, Davao City Vice-mayor Paolo Duterte.

The police official, he said, had been as-signed in Davao City and his name was also mentioned in the complaint filed against Duterte at the International Criminal Court.

“That Sonny Buenavetura of the Davao Death Squad, that (Leonardo) is the Sonny Buenaventura of the Philippine Death Squad of Duterte,” Trillanes said.

“That’s their organizational set-up. So they have an organization within an organization that reports directly to Duterte and facilitate their own reward system,” related Trillanes.

According to Trillanes, they got the infor-mafion from the senior commanders in the PNP who are not involved in these activities. He said information was “validated” and based on several sources.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimen-tel III called for the reopening of the probe on Espinosa’s death.

The minority bloc will file a resolution denouncing the downgrade of charges. One of its members, Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, has filed a separate resolution seeking Aguirre’s explanation about it.

Trillanes said Aguirre should be summoned by the Senate to explain the DoJ’s decision to downgrade the case.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate public order and dangerous drugs committee, which earlier investigated the Espinosa killing, expressed apprehensions on the re-opening of the Espinosa hearing.

“How can I re-open when my committee report on the Espinosa killing has already been sponsored and, in fact, unanimously approved in plenary? The senate rule on the matter men-tions of oversight as a justification to conduct a hearing but the same rule says that the senate committee that has the competence is mandated to conduct such hearing,” said Lacson.

“Having said that, since the issue at hand is the prosecutor’s move to downgrade to homicide the murder case involving Supt Marcos et al, I believe that the justice committee has that com-petence,” added Lacson.

Lacson said, “ I would like to think that it is more prudent to wait for the senate resolution to be referred to the proper committees and there-after a hearing should be heard.

“Now, in case the referral is made to the public order committee, I as chair will immedi-ately calendar the hearings,” added Lacson.

STREET TALK... FROM PAGE A6

The Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Sinulog in Cebu, MassKara in Bacolod, Moriones in Marinduque, Sangyaw in Tacloban, Lang-Ay in the Mountain Province, Parada ng Lechon in Balayan, Batangas, the Kasilonawan fertility dancing in Obando, Bulacan, the Flores de Mayo processions, and the dozens of pistahan in the country’s many provinces and towns (there is probably one every month of the year).

What’s more fun than that? Come to think of it, back in the late 80’s or

early 90’s, the DoT had an original description of the Philippines that immediately called to mind these festivals. Fiesta Islands

I don’t know of any other tourist destination that can lay claim to that. And it can be a sharper ex-pression of the “More fun in the Philippines” theme. ([email protected])


business &tech newsItama po natin!

Q: Can money buy happiness?

A: Some people are obsessed with money that the quest for more is the only thing in mind. Re-member, “Money will never, ever buy you

happiness!” In most cases people confuse hav-ing a lot of money as being happy. Although money can buy us more possibilities, this is all it gets us. Not necessarily happiness.

Here’s a scenario of why money cannot buy happiness. A man had more wealth than he can use in a lifetime. His obsession is how to get more money, and keep all of what he already has. In his quest for more, he has forgotten his family. Soon the wife became unhappy and filed for divorce. Sure enough he has to split his money with his wife and pay child support every month until his kids turn eighteen. The question, is how happy is he now that while his family now lives away from him and can only see his children every other weekend? I don’t think this is a happy situation.

Here’s another. A man who has dedicated his life in acquiring more and more money is dying. As he is slowly dying, the wives and husbands of his children start pushing the man’s children to get as much as they should get. The man hasn’t died yet and the children will end up arguing as to who gets how much due to the pressures from the spouse.

Ang ating lesson, Taong mayaman, saan itatago ang yaman ay di malaman.

At Debt Aid Consulting, we pride our-selves with providing only Federal Trade Com-mission compliant programs. Our programs are here to help you get out of debt sooner

BEN LOUthan later and we do not send your informa-tion outside of the country.

If you need help in getting out of payday loans, or any other unsecured debts, call Debt Aid Consulting. We have free Credit Repair while and after your program. We do not use call centers which keeps your infor-mation safe. We have a new program that reconstruct debts for half of what you would pay our competitors. We also provide legal assistance that keeps collectors away. We take Federal Credit Unions, Military Debts, Payday loans and high interest personal loans in our program too. This is exclusively available for Debt Aid Consulting clients. None of our competitors provide this pro-gram. You are well protected.

We only provide Federal Trade Com-mission compliant programs. Debt relief companies who charge non refundable upfront fees are in violation of the ban. Go with Debt Aid Consulting!

Do not fall for marketing gimmicks say-ing that they have the right program for you. Most marketing companies only have one program and will enroll you in that program whether it fits you or not. So beware!

Ben Lou at your service! I have over 30 years of real financial experience. If you would like sound financial advice, call us at Debt Aid Consulting. We do not use call centers like Financial Rescue. No one has the right to put your information at risk. Say no to LLC corporations in Canada! Debt Aid Consulting is the first and only Filipino debt restructuring company incorporated in the US and Canada.

Now serving the Caribbean Islands!Tawag na po sa 1-888-341-5234 at tutu-

lungan po namin kayo. Itama po natin ang mali!

Watch: Token ring stores passwords, makes payments, opens house doors

visitwww.filamstar.com

Laptops, smartphones, email and social media accounts all require passwords just as doors and cars require keys to open. But in this information-run tech age, most people have a difficult time of keeping track of passwords. This is where the Token ring comes in.

Made by tech company Tokenize, the Token ring is being marketed as the keyring of all keyrings for both digital and physical access. This ring is essentially a waterproof near-field communication (NFC) and Bluetooth device that allows us-ers to log in to computers, open doors and even make payments.

Token can also be paired to an Android or iOS device to share biometric information with a smart device.

Fingerprint scanning tech-nology and an optical proximity sensor are used to recognize a ring’s owner so that not just anybody can pick up your To-ken ring and use it to access all your digital information. Fur-thermore, the Tokenize claims that personal data is protected with advanced cryptography.

According to the specifi-cations listed on the site, the Token is even rated with an EAL5+ certified secure ele-ment. This means that a lot of effort and money was put into developing a secure system which can keep personal data personal.

Two knocks unlocks a Macbook through a Bluetooth connection. Image: Tokenize

The company blog states that companies like Microsoft,

Mastercard, HID and Visa are included in the list of partners that are involved in the develop-ment of the Token ring. Having such big names attached to the product may help drive demand as it will make it safe and con-venient to log-in to Windows-powered computers or make payments through credit cards.

Keys will become artifacts of an old world, or at least that’s how the makers of Token see it. Image: Tokenize.

The Token ring could also integrate with the United Na-tion’s global digital ID project which aims to give every person in the globe a digital identity by 2030.

Pre-orders are currently up for the Token ring (in United States sizes of 6 to 12) and it will cost early adopters $249 a piece. Shipments are scheduled to start in December while a global release is still pending an

announcement.Adding $100 to the basic

order gives the DoorLock func-tion for unlocking house doors. Another $100 adds CarLock for unlocking and driving sup-ported cars. There are also three different finishes to choose from, namely Brushed, Black Rhodium and 14K Rose Gold.

Brushed is the basic; the other two cost an extra $50. This brings the total of $499 for a fully equipped and customized Token ring. Battery life is listed as roughly two weeks.

Three colors to choose from to match the users’ lifestyle or personality. Image: Tokenize.

The Token ring offers a lot of potential. For such an important piece of technology, let’s hope the makers have also thought of ways to keep clumsy users from losing it. (Alfred Bayle / inquirer.net)

call to advertise650-278-0692

AS I SEE IT... FROM PAGE A6

other person’s sake. In friendship based on pleasure or utility, though we may confer benefit to our friend, our basic motive is to receive benefit for ourselves.”

According to Aristotle, “a true friend is one who not only likes us for who we are but also one who wants what is good for us. Friendship is a relationship of reciprocal goodwill in which each party likes the other party for the other person’s sake, always want-ing what is good for the other.”

Independence Day, especially in the US, is commonly associ-ated with fireworks, parades, meet and greet, barbecues, carni-vals, fairs, picnics, playing golf, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. They culminate their day-long activities with a 15 – 30 minute fireworks display, depending on the sponsoring organization. Finding a parking and leaving the park is always a problem, taking longer hours waiting for the fireworks display, then another hour or so leaving the park-ing lot, as everybody is rushing home after the fireworks.

As we celebrate America’s birthday on the 4th of July, greet-ings come from all parts of the globe! We are proud to be Filipino-Americans! Happy 4th of July to all!

San Francisco-based Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon Ascalon urges all Filipinos to say -- Pinoy Ako, Taas Noo! (For feedbacks, comments… please email the author @ [email protected]).

JG Summit sets Php48.2Bcapital spending

Industrial conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. has budgeted P48.2 billion for capital spending this year as the group starts a new phase of expansion program for its pioneering petro-chemical business.

JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei reported to stockhold-ers in an annual meeting late Wednesday that this year’s capital outlays would be bigger than the P41.9 billion spent last year.

Outside of the regular capital outlays in 2016, JG Summit had invested additional P33.4 billion last year with its acquisition of a 35 percent stake in Global Busi-ness Power Corp. for P11.8 billion and the purchase by food unit Universal Robina Corp. (URC) of a 65 percent interest in leading Australian firm Snackbrands for P21.6 billion.

This year, the capital spend-ing budget of P48.2 billion covers only outlays for the expansion of existing businesses and does not include any budget for prospective acquisitions.

Gokongwei estimated that the airline business under Cebu Air would account for P18-P20 bil-lion of capital spending this year while property arm Robinsons Land Corp. would likely spend P15 billion. URC has an estimated budget of P7 billion. The banking business under Robinsons Bank will spend a few hundred millions. The rest is of the budget is for pet-rochemicals, Gokongwei said.

“We think we’ll be able to have a world-class cost structure to compete in this business,” Gokongwei said.

The engineering, procure-ment and construction contract for the petrochemical expansion will be bid out soon and expected to be awarded before yearend, Gokongwei said.

JG Summit’s $700-million petrochemical business expan-sion will have five components: expansion of the naptha cracker plant, expansion of the polypro-pylene plant as well as building of a brand-new polyethylene factory, aromatics factory and butadiene plant. These are targeted to be op-erational by 2021. (Doris Dumlao-Abadilla / inquirer.net)

Lance Gokongwei(Photo: www.wealthx.com)

SM’s 63rd PH mall Cherry Antipolo opens

Southeast Asian property giant SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH) has expanded its foot-print in Rizal with the opening of a modernized Cherry mall in Antipolo, its 63rd shopping center in the country.

SM Cherry Antipolo, which is set to open on June 30 (Friday), is located along Marcos Highway with a gross floor area (GFA) of 27,000 square meters. This ad-ditional mall brings the total retail footprint of SMPH in the country to 9.1 million square meters in the Philippines and China.

“This three-level mall will open with 55 percent of its space leased awarded and will feature an enhanced shopping environment for the community,” SMPH said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The mall plans to offer ex-panded services beyond tradition-al grocery, and a Skygarden with covered dining areas and walking paths in its second level for shop-pers to witness a comfortable and inviting outdoor experience.

“SM Cherry Antipolo is the third Cherry Foodarama outlet in the country that SM Prime re-opens to public after acquiring the brand. The opening of this mall provides the company a stronger foothold in the eastern part of Metro Manila along with our three other malls in Rizal province, the SM City Masinag, SM City Taytay and SM Center Angono,” SMPH

president Jeffrey Lim said.The mall is set to expand

the presence of the SM Group in the Rizal province by bringing SM Supermaket, Ace Hardware, Watsons, and BDO closure to consumers.

SMPH recently opened SM CDO Downtown Premiere last May 12, S Maison at Conrad Manila last June 14, and is yet to open SM City Puetro Princesa in Palawan this year.

In 2015, two of the Cherry stores under the management of SM Markets were opened in Shaw Boulevard and Congressional Avenue.

According to SM Markets, the stores offer world-class shopping at everyday affordable prices. Cherry stores also have clothes, toys and home improvements made available for buyers. (Ode-linne Jan Lina / inquirer.net)

PHOENIX — A wildfire burning Wednesday through a dense Arizona forest has forced hundreds of people from their homes, closed a major road and created a huge plume of smoke over the same area devastated by a blaze that killed 19 firefighters four years ago.

The fire near the small city of Prescott, fanned by 56 kph (35 mph) winds, has charred more than 73 square kilometers (28 square miles). More than 500 firefighters were battling the blaze.

Elsewhere across the west-ern US, Utah firefighters braced Wednesday for more high winds as they try to slow a stubborn wildfire that has burned 13 homes and forced the evacuation of 1,500 people from a ski resort town.

And in California, a wildfire destroyed the home of “Big Bang Theory” star Johnny Galecki on a ranch in the San Luis Obsipo area, said Nicole Perna, a spokes-woman for the 42-year-old actor.

The Arizona fire forced the evacuation of the town of Mayer along with several other moun-tain communities in the area, and one of the main roads into Prescott was closed. Mayer has about 1,400 residents.

Many residents have painful memories of a 2013 wildfire that killed 19 members of a Prescott-based hotshot crew almost four years to the date.

The current blaze is burning in chaparral that has not had a fire in more than 40 years, helping fuel its growth. It’s also in steep, rugged terrain that makes it difficult for firefighters to reach.

“Firefighters are being directed to not put themselves in situations where the risks are high and probability of success is low,” the Prescott National For-est said in a statement.

The communities of Pine Flat and Breezy Pines already have been evacuated with po-

tential evacuations ordered for Walker, Potato Patch Camp-ground, Mountain Pines Acres and Mount Union if the fire con-tinues to grow, Yavapai County spokesman David McAtee said.

In Utah, firefighters hope Wednesday to douse areas with intense blazes at the Utah fire’s southern end so residents can return to homes in the town of Brian Head. Homes there have been evacuated since June 17 since authorities said the fire was started by someone using a torch tool to burn weeds on private land.

The Utah fire is the largest in the nation at 201 square kilo-meters (78 square miles).

In California, crews were making gains against two

new fires that spread quickly.Firefighters in Idaho battled five lightning-sparked wildfires burning in grass and brush. (inquirer.net)


world newsFirefighters battle wildfires in Arizona, Utah, California

Mexican journalists cry ‘SOS’ after6th colleague murdered

Russia assumes Trump, Putin willmeet at G20 summit: Lavrov

Moscow “assumes” that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his US counter-part Donald Trump during next week’s G20 summit in Ger-many, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

“We assume that a meet-ing will take place, given that the two presidents will be in the same town at the same time, same building, even the same room. It wouldn’t be normal if they didn’t talk,” Lavrov told a press conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.

Lavrov said any such meet-ing would see the presidents address “several questions” but did not elaborate, save to add that “above all, we must norma-lise dialogue” between Moscow and Washington.

The G20 leaders will meet

in Hamburg on July 7 and 8 and Gabriel welcomed the pos-

sibility that the summit could facilitate bringing together Trump and Putin, who have yet to meet.

During last year’s US presi-dential campaign, Trump often

intimated he wanted improved ties with Russia.

At the end of March, Putin said he was ready to meet with Trump at the G20 summit, but neither Moscow nor Washing-ton has confirmed plans to that effect. (AFP)

Trudeau pushes EU to apply free trade pact provisionally

(L-R) President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin(Photo: www.nybooks.com)

Mexican journalists protested Wednesday after a col-league’s charred body was found -- the sixth murder of a reporter this year in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media.

Colleagues of slain journal-ist Salvador Adame painted the words “SOS Press” in giant let-ters on the ground in Michoacan -- the western state where he was abducted and killed -- as well as the capital Mexico City and six other states around the country.

“The idea is to raise aware-ness about the vulnerable situation we all find ourselves in -- photographers, camera operators, editors, writers -- all journalists,” said Enrique Castro, who organized the protest in the Michoacan state capital, Morelia.

“In Mexico, you never know when someone will come and kill you for whatever reason

-- whether because of your work, as in our case, or because of random crime or a personal vendetta.”

Some 50 journalists protested in front of the seat of government in Morelia. Dozens turned out in Mexico City’s cen-tral square, the Zocalo.

They silently held up photos of Adame, 44, who was the head of regional TV station Canal 6.

“The problem is there are never arrests, there are never convictions. They just keep killing us and attacking us,” freelance photographer Victor Galindo told AFP in the capital.

Adame was surrounded by gunmen and kidnapped on May 18 in the town of Nueva Italia.

Authorities announced Monday they had found his body dumped along a local road.

The Michoacan state pros-ecutor said the likely motive was

a “personal” dispute.But that has drawn condem-

nation from Adame’s family and colleagues, who are urging police to examine his investigative jour-nalism as a possible motive.

Adame was kidnapped a day after President Enrique Pena Nieto had vowed to strengthen protections for journalists and prosecute those who attack them.

Violence against journalists has surged since 2006, the year the Mexican government sent the army to fight the country’s powerful drug cartels.

Since then, at least 100 jour-nalists have been killed and more than 20 have disappeared. More than 90 percent of the cases remain unsolved.

The violence is part of a wave of bloodshed in Mexico over the same period that has left more than 200,000 people dead or missing. (AFP)

(Photo: www.pe.com)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on Europe Wednesday to immediatly apply a bilateral free trade agreement while the two sides work through a final hurdle pertaining to agri-cultural quotas.

Trudeau spoke by telephone with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker late Tuesday to try to get the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) rolling, according to a readout of their conversation released the follow-ing morning.

“Noting the important role that CETA will serve in increas-ing jobs, strengthening economic relations and promoting new eco-nomic opportunities for Canadian and European businesses, Prime Minister Trudeau urged proceed-ing with the provisional applica-tion of the agreement as soon as possible so that its benefits can be realized,” it said.

The pact has been approved by both the European and Cana-dian parliaments but must still be ratified by all European Union member states.

On Monday, a European dip-lomat and a Canadian official said the agreement was weeks away from implementation.

All that was left was to decide what cheeses Canadian distribu-tors would import. They have sent their demands to Ottawa for what varieties they wish to bring in to sell to domestic clients.

Canada’s trade minister is ex-pected to make an announcement soon, his spokeswoman told AFP.

Trudeau’s office said both he and Juncker are “enthusiastic” about the free trade deal.. (AFP)

FilAm StarJune 29 - July 5, 2017 B1

travel &culinaryLeyte Island: Touring Tacloban

When I booked the flight to Tacloban, I expected a quiet, somehow melancholic city. After all, it’s only been less than four years since typhoon Haiyan destroyed it. The news showed boats and ships washed ashore, homes and dead bodies swept away to sea. Everything left be-hind lay flattened and rotting.

But for this city of nearly 250,000 people, located northeast of Leyte Island in

the Visayan group, four years was more than enough time to rebuild and recover.

The typhoon may have destroyed the land, but nothing can put a dent on Tacloban City’s spirit. While one can still see

Story and indicated photos by Lovel Aniag

remnants of the nightmare, the city has clearly bounced back. Homes once again line the shore, establishments rebuilt and land-marks restored.

But what really got me most was how the people were able to turn the devastating damages of the typhoon into iconic land-marks of hope: The grounded ship on the coastal community of Anibong was salvaged, painted and turned into a memorial

marker. Likewise, an abandoned

building was restored and turned into one of the more chi-chi hostel I’ve ever been to: Yellow Door Hostel. Yellow Door Hostel

One month after the destruction of typhoon Haiyan, Tacloban siblings Jack and Lucia returned to their hometown to help. While assisting some volunteers to find accommoda-tion, Jack stumbled upon an abandoned building. Due to lim-ited availability, housing prices skyrocketed at that time. The sib-lings decided to fix up the place for volunteer friends to stay in.

From being a volunteer quarters, the location was eventually turned into a hostel. The name “Yellow Door” was a tribute to their family home that was completely destroyed by the typhoon. The house used to have a yellow main door. San Juanico Bridge

The most iconic landmark in the Leyte is the San Juanico Bridge – the longest bridge in the Philippines spanning 2,200 meters. It was built during the Marcos regime, connecting the provinces of Leyte and Samar. It was believed to be a symbol of Ferdinand Marcos’ love for his wife, Imelda.

The bridge can be crossed by jeepney or by foot. We decid-ed to do both. From the central terminal in Tacloban, we rode a jeep (PHP 10) heading for Samar and asked to be dropped off at the Samar welcome rotunda.

To cross the bridge back on foot, we had to log in our names at the bridge checkpoint. Real-izing I was not from the area, the policemen suggested we go to a secret beach under the bridge for a perfect view of the San Juanico.

Floating hut at the secret beach and the San Juanico Bridge.

We walked back the entire stretch of the bridge which took us around 30 minutes. You can

literally feel the bridge swaying with every passing vehicle. Scary fun! MacArthur Landing Memo-rial Shrine

We then headed out to Palo Leyte to visit the MacArthur Shrine. Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal in the Philippines dur-

ing World War II. After escaping Japanese forces and leaving the Philippines, many American and Filipino troops felt betrayed. To inspire hope (and maybe save face, in a way), he famously declared, “I shall return!” This promise he kept when he, indeed, returned to the country two years later and became an instrumental figure in the libera-tion of the country.

MacArthur and his boys How to get there:

To TaclobanBook a flight to Tacloban via

Cebu Pacific, Air Asia or Philip-pine Airlines.

To San Juanico BridgeTake any jeep or bus going

to Samar from Abucay Terminal. From the terminal, ride any jeep heading to Samar.

To MacArthur Landing Memorial Shrine

From San Juanico bridge, take any jeep, bus or van heading back to Abucay Terminal.

From Abucay Terminal, take any public transport heading to Palo, Tolosa or Dulag. Ask to be dropped off at Philippine Science Junction.

From Philippine Science, take a tricycle to take you directly to the shrine. Where to stay:

Yellow Door HostelFrom the airport, take a jeep

heading to downtown Tacloban and ask to be dropped off on Juan Luna St. If you are not carrying much, you can walk and ask people where the hostel is. PHP 500/night

Thank you to my good friend, Angela Go for touring me around Leyte! Follow her on instagram: @ladysuadersz

Ingat and see you on the road!

Know a place I should discover? Or want to travel together? Email me at [email protected]

B2 June 29 - July 5, 2017FilAm Star

TFC in SF Bay Area celebrates Philippine Independence month with flag-raisingceremony in Daly City and partnership with Kalayaan SF gala and festival

DALY CITY, CA, June 22, 2017 – ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC) supported and participated recently in three major Philippine Independence Day celebrations in the Bay

Area where the largest Filipino media and entertainment net-work’s international headquar-ters is based.

For a full story on the flag-raising ceremony in Daly

City, visit https://www.bali-tangamerica.tv/philippine-flag-raised-in-daly-city/ Mean-while, below are the colorful sights of the flag-raising and the Kalayaan SF Gala and Festival:

The Rotary Club of Daly City / Colma Evening ‘s Honor-ary Member Joe Santos with Past District Governor Leo

De Guzman , Past Rotary International President Mat Caparas, the only Filipino to become Rotary International

president in 1986 & Rotary International Director Elect Raffy Garcia, only the 9th Filipino to become Rotary Inter-

national Director.

Care Indeed was at the 2017 CALA Spring Conference & Trade Show which was held last June 5-7 at the Hyatt

Regency in Burlingame. CALA stands for California Assisted Living Association. Photo shows Apryl Ryder, Client Services Manager, and Karen Simmons, Quality

Assurance Supervisor-RCFE. Care Indeed sponsored the event’s Tuesday Continental Breakfast.

Happy Birthday Marilyn de Castro. Realtor at Better Homes & Garden

Philippine International Aid’s Golfing for the Children 2017 at Lake MERCED Golf Club! Congratulations Mona Lisa Yuchengco for a very successful golf tournament! MABUHAY! From right to left - Ricky Tejada,Willie Sales,Tito

Gonzales, Caloy Serrano, Fernando Sucgang

At the Daly City Flag-Raising Ceremony are, from left, ABS-CBN Regional Accounts Management Head Audie Avecilla-Riola, ABS-CBN Global Head of Marketing Pam Castillo, ABS-CBN Foundation International

Managing Director Jerry Bennett, ABS-CBN North America Managing Director Olivia De Jesus, Deputy Consul General Jaime Ascalon and wife Cecile, ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez, ABS-CBN Global CIO

Genemar Simpao, Consul General Henry Bensurto, Jr. and wife Mariza, San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, ABS-CBN Global Head of Customer Service & Supply Chain Management Emma Endaya, Consul

Rachel Oronce, ABS-CBN Global Head of Business Development Enrique Olives, Daly City Vice Mayor Juslyn Manalo and Daly City Mayor Glenn Sylvester.

Happy Birthday Jayem Maglaque of Daly City. Thank you,St Expedite for the answered prayer for my 54th Birthday.

Shutterbugs Photography Group, Volunteer Photogrpahers at Kalayaan event held last June 18,2017 Photo L to R: Steve Panes, Dennis Chan, Ed Datiles Mary Jo Montano Warren Chiang, Jong Arcega, Ricky

Domonise and Grant Montecillo

Congratulations to Ian Torres- graduated BS Math-ematics from Stanford with University Distinction,

shown here with parents Angela and Rowie Torres.


community awareness

Myx TV GM Miguel Santos moderates panelat 3AF 2017 Asian Marketing Summit

Gabby Giffords applauds Gov. Brown for authorizingCalVIP funding to help reduce gun violence

4 dead in most common type of active shooter crime, according to FBI analysis

Law Center to prevent gun violence statementon mass shooting at UPS facility

SAN FRANCISCO — The Law Center to Prevent Gun Vio-lence recently responded to the tragic shooting at a UPS facility in San Francisco.

Three were killed and two more were shot before the shooter turned the gun on himself, in yet another example of the horrific gun violence that occurs far too frequently in our nation and echoes the rampage killing at 101 California Street in 1993 that led to the Law Cen-ter’s founding.

The shooter was an employee of UPS, armed with a semi-automatic pistol, and reports suggest he suffered from mental illness. We know workplace shootings are the most common type of active-shooter situation, according to

an FBI analysis.“This morning, newscasts

across the country had to inter-rupt coverage of a tragic mass shooting to bring live coverage of yet another horrific shoot-ing — this time at a UPS facility in San Francisco,” said Robyn Thomas, executive director of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Our organization was founded by the survivors of an all-too similar massacre that occurred not far away, at a law firm at 101 California Street. We share our community’s sorrow and anger today, and we are heartbroken for those whose lives were shattered or lost. Details are still emerging about this attack but we know its victims will be among the

300 Americans shot by guns every day — over 114,000 every year, over one million in the last decade. Workplaces are among the most common targets of mass shootings, and it’s impera-tive that we do more to protect our citizens from horrific trag-edies like this and support the smart gun laws we know save lives.”

Related Resources from the Law Center:

• Gun Laws in California• California’s Gun Violence

Restraining Order Law• FAQ About Gun Violence

Restraining Orders• California’s Assault

Weapons Law• National Assault Weap-

ons Policy Summary

Jehovah’s Witnesses welcome all to 2017“Remain Loyal to Jehovah” Convention

WASHINGTON -- Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Gif-fords, Co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS), recently issued a state-ment applauding California Governor Jerry Brown for authorizing funding for the California Violence Intervention Prevention Program (CalVIP), formerly CalGRIP.

The 2017-2018 California State Budget includes over $9 million for CalVIP, which is one of the only sources of state-level funding for locally driven violence prevention strategies. Earlier this year, attorneys from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Americans for Responsible Solutions testified in support of CalVIP.Gabrielle Giffords:

“Under the leadership of Governor Brown, California continues to be a national leader in reducing gun vio-lence and the CalVIP program is another shining example of how strategic, localized gun violence prevention strategies can reduce violence and save innocent lives. California’s gun violence prevention advocates and public safety officials have long called on their state’s lead-ers to do even more to protect families from gun violence. By funding this important pro-gram, California is taking yet another strong step in the right direction.”

In recent years, CalGRIP grantee cities across Califor-nia, including Los Angeles, San Jose, and Oakland, have achieved life-saving, cost-effective reductions in both violent crime and incarceration by implementing programs that provide focused outreach, counseling, and other services to at-risk youth. For example:

• The program has pro-

vided Los Angeles $3 million over the past three years to help fund its Gang Reduction and Youth Development project. Los Angeles has seen a 38 percent reduction in homicides and 46 percent reduction in aggravated assaults since launching the project in 2007. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports)

• Over the past three years, the program has provided the City of Richmond $1.5 mil-lion to help fund the Office of Neighborhood Safety — a city agency dedicated exclusively to the prevention of violence. Richmond has seen a more than 50 percent reduction in fatal shootings since ONS launched in 2007. (Office of Neighbor-hood Safety)

• The program has pro-vided $1.5 million to Oakland

to fund Operation Ceasefire, the city’s project to reduce gun violence. Oakland has seen a 34 percent drop in gun homicides and a 39 percent reduction in non-fatal shootings since launching Operation Ceasefire in late 2012.(California Partner-ship for Safe Communities)

In March 2016, the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a groundbreaking report, Healing Communities in Crisis, highlighting the impor-tance of locally driven violence prevention and intervention strategies — exactly the kind of solutions supported by CalVIP funding.

To learn more about the CalVIP program, or to arrange time to speak with an expert, contact Sean Simons at [email protected].

Gabrielle Giffords(Photo: www.youtube.com)

Governor Jerry Brown(Photo: www.cocosouthla.org)

FAIRFIELD, CA—On July 28, 2017, Tagalog circuit in Northern California of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses will begin their three-day annual conventions with the theme “Don’t Give Up!” The program will be held in 2020 Walters Road, Fair-field CA. As in years past, the Witnesses are participating in a global campaign to person-ally invite the general public to attend.

Admission to each event is free and no collections are tak-

en. “Nearly thirteen million per-sons attended our conventions last year worldwide,” states David A. Semonian, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at their world headquarters in Warwick, New York. “We hope to have an even larger audience this year.” Angelito Roque, the Tagalog’s local circuit convention spokes-man, has estimated 1,900 Filipino to attend this years’ convention which is similar to last years’ attendance.

The program is divided into

52 parts and will be presented in a variety of formats, includ-ing brief discourses, interviews, and short videos. Additionally, one segment of a three-part feature film entitled Remember the Wife of Lot will be shown each afternoon. Media outlets may contact Mr. Roque for reporters planning to cover the convention.

“Challenges in life can rob us of peace and even cause some to think about giving up,” says Mr. Semonian. “Our convention this year will benefit both Witnesses and non-Wit-nesses because it promises to empower individuals not only to keep enduring but also to cope with challenges productively.”

For more information, please go to https://www.jw.org then click the “Convention” section under the “About Us” heading.

(Photo: www.newsday.co.zw)

From left, Brian Lee, founder of the New York-based Nomad Amory, a digital media company specializing in short form video publishing. The company launched its first brand, FOMO Daily which specializes in English language video content around Asian pop culture; Popular broadcast journalist, writer and editor Emil Guillermo, whose former “Amok” column in AsianWeek was considered to be the most widely read column on Asian American issues; and New America Media Director for National Media Network Odette Keeley who directs high-level projects for NAM, were the panelists for “English Speaking Asian Media: Presence and Persistence = Progress” at the recently held 3AF Asian Marketing Summit held in Koreatown in Los Angeles.

At rightmost is Myx TV General Manager Miguel Santos who moderated the panel. Santos made his debut at the summit as a new 3AF Board Member. He was also recently accepted as a member of the Producers Guild of America, the first from ABS-CBN International, owner and operator of the award-winning Myx TV, the only English-language multicultural Asian American cable network in the United States, which is distributed in more than 15 million households nationwide. (Photo from 3AF)

Part of the audience at the 3AF 2017 Asian Marketing Summit. The Summit agenda featured experts who discussed the multiple dimensions of Asian American consumers from civic participation and entrepreneurship to building a successful case for diversity and inclusion and various approaches and channels to reaching this consumer. Speakers include executives from Buzzfeed, McDonald’s Corporation, Nielsen, Tufts University, the National Asian American Survey, Sparkle Insights, Selffii Intelligence, Inc. and others.

3AF (Asian American Advertising Federation), is made up of Asian American advertising agency principals, media, advertisers and strategic partners. Its mission is to grow the Asian American adver-tising and marketing industry, raise public awareness of the importance of the Asian American com-munity and further professionalism in the industry. (Photo from 3AF)

What you need to know beforeapplying for Provisional Waiver

I. DiscussionThe Provi-

sional Waiver is the process where an applicant who is applying for a green card is granted a for-giveness or waiver of his or her unlaw-ful presence only. Other inadmissibil-ity offenses are not

waived. An individual accrues unlawful presence when he or she is “present in the United States after the expiration of the period of stay autho-rized by the Attorney General or is present in the United States without being admitted or paroled.” Generally, unlawful presence happens when an alien came to the United States on a visitor visa and has overstayed their visa or authorized stay as allowed in the I-94 arrival departure card. It can also happen when an alien entered the United States without inspection like “jump ship” or crossing the border.

What are the Statutory Exceptions to Unlaw-ful Presence?

The statute recognizes six categories of indi-viduals who do not accrue unlawful presence:

a) Those under 18 years of age;b) Applicants for asylum during the penden-

cy of the application, provided the applicant did not work without employment authorization;

c) Those who have been granted Family Unity during the authorized period;

d) Battered spouses and children, provided there is a substantial connection between the abuse and the unlawful presence;

e) Victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons if the trafficking was at least one central reason for the unlawful presence; and

f) Nonimmigrant’s who have made a timely, non-frivolous application for an extension of stay or change of status, during the 120-day period after filing the application.

The most important exception is for children under 18 years of age. For purposes of the three and 10-year bars, unlawful presence begins ac-cruing the day after the child turns 18.

Note: This is not a legal advice.II. News from the U.S. Supreme Court

On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court de-cided to hear the Trump travel ban at a date to be set. Meantime the travel ban will be enforced for the entry of nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen into the United States. It will also suspend the admission of all refugees for 120 days. SUCCESS STORIES

1. On May 25, 2017, we received an approval of Form I-140 for a caregiver from the Philip-pines.

2. On April 28, 2017, we received an approval of N-400 for a client who was under Removal Proceedings before.

3. On April 21, 2017, we received an approval of I-601A Provisional Waiver for a client who was denied I-601A before from a previous lawyer.

4. On March 22, 2017, we received an Im-migrant Visa approval for a child of Permanent Resident who is already 25 years of age but classi-fied as minor under CSPA.

5. On March 8, 2017, we received an ap-proval of Provisional Waiver from USCIS for a seaman client.

6. On March 2, 2017 we received an approval of Dismissal of Criminal Case for a client who is in Removal Proceedings.

7. On February 23, 2017, we received an ap-proval of Naturalization of a client whose spouse had a prior misrepresentation.

8. On January 7, 2017, we received an ap-proval of Provisional Waiver for a client who entered as crewman but has two autistic children.

If you have immigration problems the Law Offices of Crispin C. Lozano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and family separation.

Crispin Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the Ameri-can Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. He special-izes in immigration law and personal injury. For free consultation email or call ([email protected]/ 1-877-456-9266)

FilAm StarB4 June 29 - July 5, 2017

legal & law

ATTY. CRISPIN CADAY LOZANO

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that starting Monday, June 26, the agency will resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver program, as well as interested government agency waivers. The Conrad 30 program allows certain medical doctors to stay in the United States on a temporary visa after completing their medical training to work in rural and urban areas that have shortage of physicians.

“This program improves health care access for Americans living in underserved areas, and we are pleased to resume premium processing for these petitions,” said USCIS Acting Director James McCament.

Starting June 26, eligible petitioners for medical doctors seeking H-1B status under the Conrad 30 program, or through an interested government agency waiver, can file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Form I-907 can be filed together with an H-1B petition or separately for a pending H-1B petition.

USCIS plans to resume premium processing of other H-1B petitions as workloads permit. We will make additional announcements with specific details related to when we will begin accepting premium processing for those petitions.

Until then, premium processing remains temporarily suspended for all other H-1B peti-tions. USCIS will reject any Form I-907 filed for those petitions, and if the petitioner submitted one check combining the Form I-907 and Form I-129 fees, USCIS will have to reject both forms.

For more information on USCIS and its pro-grams, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook(/uscis), and Instagram (@USCIS).

USCIS to Resume H-1B Premium Processing forPhysicians under the Conrad 30 Waiver Program

More than 100 federal agencies fail to report hate crimes to the FBI’s national database

How to handle the decedent’s affairs. First steps: What to do

1. Obtain certified copies of the Death Certificate. When a person dies in

California, an official Death Certificate is filed in the county healthdepartment or vital statistics office of the county where the decedent died.Mortuaries often assist in obtaining the Death certificate.2. Locate the decedent’s most recent will. If the decedent left a will namingan executor this is normally the person who will be the estaterepresentative. If there is no will, the decedent is said to have died“intestate.”3. Locate and examine the decedent’s safe deposit box. A certified copy ofthe Death Certificate is usually required.4. Collect the decedent’s mail and/or have it for-warded. If the decedent livedalone, it is a good idea to notify the post office to have the mail forwarded.5. Cancel credit cards and subscriptions. To pre-vent unauthorized use, allcredit cards in the decedent’s name should be either destroyed or cut inhalf and the credit card company should be noti-fied.6. Notify Social Security Administration and/or

the California Director ofHealth Services. If the decedent was receiving monthly Social Securitybenefits, you must notify the Social Security office that the decedent hasdied. If the decedent was receiving benefits under MediCal, you must notify the Director of Health Services of the death within 90 days.

What will happen to your family after you die? Will there be confusion or have you made the necessary arrangements to help your family cope during this difficult time? Did you know that a will does not avoid probate, and that a trust not only avoids probate, but it prevents Medi-Cal from seeking reimbursement for medical expenses. If you have a trust, when was the last time you had it reviewed, there have been signifi-cant changes in the law. WHAT IS A REVOCABLE TRUST

A Revocable Trust sometimes referred to as a Living Trust is an estate planning tool designed to avoid probate. Similar to a will, a trust states who will be in charge of a decedent’s estate upon death (the trustee) and who will receive that property (the beneficiaries). The person making the trust (the trustor) transfers title to their home and other real property to the trust by means of a quitclaim deed. A “pour over will” is also pre-pared at the time the trust is created. This specific type of will insures that any assets acquired after the creation of the trust, but not transferred to the trust, will be distributed in the same manner as those assets in the trust. In other words, the assets are poured over into the trust.

If you want to make things as easy as pos-sible for your family, call the Law Office of Robert L. Ferris for a free thirty-minute consultation.

In violation of a longstanding legal mandate, scores of federal law enforcement agencies are failing to submit statistics to the FBI’s national hate crimes database, ProPublica has learned.

The lack of participation by federal law enforcement represents a significant and largely unknown flaw in the database, which is supposed to be the nation’s most comprehensive source of information on hate crimes. The database is maintained by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Infor-mation Services Division, which uses it to tabu-late the number of alleged hate crimes occurring around the nation each year.

The FBI has identified at least 120 federal agencies that aren’t uploading information to the database, according to Amy Blasher, a unit chief at the CJIS division, an arm of the bureau that is overseeing the modernization of its information systems.

The federal government operates a vast ar-ray of law enforcement agencies — ranging from Customs and Border Protection to the Drug En-forcement Administration to the Amtrak Police — employing more than 120,000 law enforce-ment officers with arrest powers. The FBI would not say which agencies have declined to partici-pate in the program, but the bureau’s annual tally of hate crimes statistics does not include any offenses handled by federal law enforce-ment. Indeed, the problem is so widespread that the FBI itself isn’t submitting the hate crimes it investigates to its own database.

“We truly don’t understand what’s happen-ing with crime in the U.S. without the federal component,” Blasher said in an interview.

At present, the bulk of the information in the database is supplied by state and local police departments. In 2015, the database tracked more than 5,580 alleged hate crime incidents, includ-ing 257 targeting Muslims, an upward surge of 67 percent from the previous year. (The bureau hasn’t released 2016 or 2017 statistics yet.)

But it’s long been clear that hundreds of local police departments don’t send data to the FBI, and so given the added lack of participation by federal law enforcement, the true numbers for 2015 are likely to be significantly higher.

A federal law, the 1988 Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act, requires all U.S. govern-ment law enforcement agencies to send a wide variety of crime data to the FBI. Two years later, after the passage of another law, the bureau began collecting data about “crimes that mani-fest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” That was later expanded to include gender and gender identity.

The federal agencies that are not submitting data are violating the law, Blasher told us. She said she’s in contact with about 20 agencies and is hopeful that some will start participating, but added that there is no firm timeline for that to happen.

“Honestly, we don’t know how long it will take,”Blasher said of the effort to get federal agencies on board.

The issue goes far beyond hate crimes — fed-eral agencies are failing to report a whole range of crime statistics, Blasher conceded. But hate crimes, and the lack of reliable data concerning them, have been of intense interest amid the country’s highly polarized and volatile political environment.

ProPublica contacted several federal agen-cies seeking an explanation. A spokesperson for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, which handles close to 50,000 offenses annually, said the service is adhering to Defense Depart-ment rules regarding crime data and is using a digital crime tracking system linked to the FBI’s database. But the Army declined to say whether its statistics are actually being sent to the FBI, referring that question up the chain of command to the Department of Defense.

In 2014, an internal probe conducted by Defense Department investigators found that the “DoD is not reporting criminal incident data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for inclusion in the annual Uniform Crime Reports.”

ProPublica contacted the Defense Depart-ment for clarification, and shared with a depart-ment spokesman a copy of the 2014 reports ac-knowledging the failure to send data to the FBI.

“We have no additional information at this time,” said Christopher Sherwood, the spokes-man.

Federal agencies are hardly the only ones to skip out on reporting hate crimes. An Associated Press investigation last year found at least 2,700 city police and county sheriff’s departments that repeatedly failed to report hate crimes to the FBI.

In the case of the FBI itself, Blasher said the issue is largely technological: Agents have long collected huge amounts of information about al-leged hate crimes, but don’t have a digital system to easily input that information to the database, which is administered by staff at an FBI complex in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Since Blasher began pushing to modern-ize the FBI’s data systems, the bureau has made some progress. It began compiling some limited hate crimes statistics for 2014 and 2015, though that information didn’t go into the national hate crimes database.

In Washington, lawmakers were surprised to learn about the failure by federal agencies to abide by the law.

“It’s fascinating and very disturbing,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who said he wanted to speak about the matter with the FBI’s govern-ment affairs team. He wants to see federal agen-cies “reporting hate crimes as soon as possible.”

Beyer and other lawmakers have been work-ing in recent years to improve the numbers of local police agencies participating in voluntary hate crime reporting efforts. Bills pending in Congress would give out grants to police forces to upgrade their computer systems; in exchange, the departments would begin uploading hate crime data to the FBI.

Beyer, who is sponsoring the House bill, titled the National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act, said he would consider drafting new legislation to improve hate crimes reporting by federal agencies, or try to build such a provision into the appropriations bill.

“The federal government needs to lead by example. It’s not easy to ask local and state gov-ernments to submit their data if these 120 federal agencies aren’t even submitting hate crimes data to the database,” Beyer said.

In the Senate, Democrat Al Franken of Min-nesota said the federal agencies need to do bet-ter. “I’ve long urged the FBI and the Department of Justice to improve the tracking and reporting of hate crimes by state and local law enforcement agencies,” Franken told ProPublica. “But in order to make sure we understand the full scope of the problem, the federal government must also do its part to ensure that we have accurate and trustworthy data.”

Virginia’s Barbara Comstock, a House Re-publican who authored a resolution in April urg-ing the “Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal agencies to work to improve the reporting of hate crimes,” did not respond to requests for comment.

The Documenting Hate Project is spear-headed by the not-for-profit news outlet ProPub-lica, which has created the form below to allow witnesses or victims to come forward and report their experience. Reports will be verified before entering a national database that will be made available, with privacy restrictions, to news-rooms and civil rights organizations across the country. The form is not a report to law enforce-ment or any government agency. (NAM)


Answers to this week’s Krosword on NEXT WEEK’S issue

Aries(Mar. 21- April 20) Your stubbornness coupled with your mate’s jealousy don’t make for a favorable time. Do not overspend on entertainment. You could find that children will be a handful. Catch up on any correspondence you’ve neglected. Travel for business or pleasure. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday. Taurus(Apr. 21- may 21) You may have problems with those you live with. Involvement in fitness clubs will be conducive to engaging roman tic connections. Changes in your home will be positive. Property in vestments should payoff. Be primed to use your intellect in order to get what you want.Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Gemini(May 22-June 21) Make amends if you can. Conflicts over joint finances are likely. Don’t let your emotions interfere with your professional integrity. Problems with your partner are apparent. Your lucky day this week will be Monday.

Cancer(June 22-July 22) Sort situations out as best you can. Watch your spending habits. Make alternate plans just in case you need to make a career shift. Knowledge can be acquired if you listen. Now is the time for completing hobbies that you’ve been working on for a long time. Your lucky day this week will be Monday.

Leo(July 23-Aug 22) You may find yourself in the limelight for the wrong reasons. Expand your knowledge and sign up for courses and seminars. Make changes that will heighten your appeal. New love connections can be made through group associations.Your lucky day this week will be Thursday. Virgo(Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Romance will unfold if you take trips or get together with friends. Travel opportunities should be your first choice. Don’t overspend to impress someone who interests you. You can make changes that will enhance your appearance. Your lucky day this week will be Monday.Libra

http://www.starlightastrology.comHOROSCOPE

KrosWord(Source: Classic Pilipino Krosword, as edited by Ramon S. Lorenzo)

Silent heart attackHealth@Heart

PHILIP S. CHUA,MD, FACS, FPCS

health &lifestyle

(Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Try not to be too emotional with those around you. Need some adventure in your life? Exotic destinations beckon you. Opportunities for romance will develop through activities with large groups. Coworkers may not be completely honest with you; try not to rely on help from others.Your lucky day this week will be Saturday.

Scorpio(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Get involved in the activities of children. Be careful not to consume too many spicy foods, or minor health problems could put you out of commission for the day. You won’t have much time for your mate this week. A little volleyball or other outdoor sports should be on your agenda.Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday.

Sagittarius(Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) Changes in your home environment are likely. Your self esteem will come back if you take part in organizational functions that allow you to be in the lime light. Do something together and you’ll be surprised how sweet a deal you can make. You may find it difficult to communicate with someone at work. Your lucky day this week will be Tuesday.

Capricorn(Dec 22.- Jan. 20) You could have a need to make some changes this week. Don’t lend or borrow money or belongings. Compromising could be on the agenda this week. You have to know what your boss wants if you expect to do your job correctly. Your lucky day this week will be Friday.

Aquarius(Jan. 21.- Feb. 19) Be prepared to take care of the issues at hand. Stick to your own projects and by the end of the day you’ll shine. Good day for romance. Overindulgence may be a problem. Your lucky day this week will be Thursday.

Pisces(Feb. 20-Mar. 20) You may be up for some changes in your home. Try to make arrangements with close friends or relatives to spend a few days away. You must take care of health problems that have been lingering. Be careful not to push your luck or take too much for granted when dealing on either a personal or professional level.Your lucky day this week will be Wednesday

Beat the heat – stay cool, stay hydrated

Many patients with coronary heart disease have no chest pains or other symptoms indica-tive of ischemia (dimin-ished blood flow and oxygen to the coronary arteries that supply the muscles of the heart). As

such, this silent (asymptomatic) type of ischemia is treacherous and increases the risk of sudden and unexpected death and other cardiac events. Symptoms, in any illness, are the body’s defense alert system, a good warning sign that allows the affected individual time to do something pre-emptive to protect itself and prevent serious complications, like in seeking prompt medical help. Silent ischemia could strike an individual surreptitiously, causing heart attack or even cardiac arrest. These are the sudden deaths we all hear about every now and then, where the victims do not even know or realize the dangerous situa-tion they are in. The Mechanism

The muscles of the heart require oxygen and nutrition to function properly. These vital ingredients are in the blood which is supplied to these structures by the coronary arteries. If the blood supply is diminished because the coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked by arterioscle-rosis (hardening of the arteries that reduces the luminal diameter of these arteries), the muscles are deprived of vital oxygen and nutrition. As a result, theoretically, angina pectoris (heart pains) ensues. But a significant number of heart patients, even with their coronary arteries nar-rowed, some of them blocked severely, somehow

1610111213141517182024252628293132353738394142

123

45678

Ginagawang ketchupSimbolo ng ArsenicSakit sa pakikipagtalik:daglatLaruang PinoyMatigas na bakalBanderas ng SpainBahagi ng mukhaBating Espanyol

91016192122232730

Lucero, artistaLugar ng La Mesa DamDulo ng tagaHindi mabaitPangalang pambabaeMalamyosMay kaugnayan sa AsiaKasunod ng oroManager ni Pacquiao

32

33

343640

Lagayan ng tubig sabanyo: InglesManloko sa pamamagitanng pagbola sa kapwaPaniki: InglesBata (Bicol)Simbolo ng Silver

KasukatUri ng kawayanHindi maginooSi KabayanSabaw-sinaingPantina ng buhok: InglesUri ng palaka: InglesPantukoy KastilaTatak ng biskwitMabutong prutasPag-asa (Ilokano)Uri ng prutasKinang ng gintoUgaliTangi: InglesPungloSize ng bateryaAlak ng niyogMs. Mina; artistaSimbolo ng ManganeseJazz ng NBAMagkapangalanGarapaKaibigan: Espanyol

PAHALANG

PABABA

do not develop chest pains. These are the asymp-tomatic or silent ischemia patients who could be a walking time bomb.Why “Silent”?

When there is myocardial ischemia, it is logically expected that the individual will have chest pains, much like lack of blood to the leg will cause “Charlie Horse”-type pains, medi-cally termed claudication (pain and spasm of leg muscles) and even gangrene. The explanation for silent ischemia of the heart muscles (asymp-tomatic patients) is not fully understood. Some of the theories include: the patient may have a high threshold for pains; the size of the affected muscles in the heart may be small; there may be some collateral circulation to the ischemic area; the ischemia may be of short duration; some persons may have self-denial; the person may have a defective “warning system,” related to some past brain injury, past heart attack (known or unknown), diabetes, past heart bypass or transplantation.Etiology

The etiology or cause of narrowing of the arteries is multi-factorial. While heredity plays a role in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis, lifestyle appears to be the major culprit. This in-cludes a high-cholesterol, high-fat, high-carbohy-drate, low-fiber diet of red meat, eggs, dairy prod-ucts, bread, potato, rice, pasta, cakes, and sweets, instead of fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains. The other important factors are smoking, the lack of daily regimented physical exercises, excess body mass index (weight), and poor stress man-agement. Alcohol abuse, inadequate treatment of existing or undiagnosed hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes mellitus are aggravating conditions that hasten the build-up of cholesterol plaques in the inner walls of the arteries that lead to blockages and resultant ischemia.

The Minimum TestObviously, the early detection of myocardial

ischemia, especially among those asymptomatic (silent) cases, is essential. This can prevent sud-den cardiac death. Since many of these persons have no indication whatsoever about the state of their coronary arteries and they all may be feeling “100% healthy,” the only prudent strategy is to do prophylactic (preventive) investigation. Based on medical statistics, the minimum test recommend-ed is a stress electrocardiogram (Stress EKG) for those with chest pains or other symptoms suspicious of coronary heart disease. Those with a strong family history of coronary heart disease or heart attack and/or hypercholesterolemia and di-abetes, regardless of age, should also have Stress EKG every 2 to 5 years, depending on the severity of their hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes or hyperthyroidism. For those with none of these illnesses and with no familial history of coronary heart disease, Stress EKG is nonetheless advisable when they are 45 and older, especially for those who smoke, and a mandatory test for pilots and some giant corporate executives. There are other more sophisticated tests available.The Supreme Court of Heart Tests

To arrive at the final confirmatory diagnosis, a cardiac cath is performed. This is the “court of last resort,” the “supreme court” of heart tests, that will tell us, once and for all, with 100% ac-curacy, if there are stenoses (blockages) in the coronary arteries or not, how powerful or weak the ventricular contraction is, the integrity of the heart muscles, in segments and as a whole, and if there are any other cardiac abnormalities present, like heart valve disease, etc. If there are coronary artery stenoses present, this angiogram, which is recorded in a video film(movie of the heart in ac-tion), will also show which arteries are blocked,how many percent obstruction there is (are) and

the exact location of the blockage(s). The find-ings will also help the cardiologist and the cardiac surgeon make a final decision if heart surgery is needed or not, and if it is, what procedure to do, which arteries to bypass, blocked arteries) will be, the percentage of risk of the surgery, and the prognosis.Clinical Highlights

Various investigative studies have been done to address this particular issue on silent ischemia, its diagnosis and treatment. To of these trials are the ACIP (Asymptomatic Cardiac Ischemia Pilot) and the ASIST (Atenolol Silent Ischemia Study). The findings are as follows: (1) Silent cardiac ischemia could lead to sudden cardiac death; (2) In the ACIP trial, it has been shown that revascu-larization, using coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery provided more effective relief of the isch-emia than medical (pill) therapy alone; (3) In the ASIST study, those treated with Atenolol showed great reduction of ischemia and the risk of future events compared to those who were given placebo (“sugar” pills, in the controlled group); (4) the prevalence and risk of cardiac events have been much less where ischemia has been treated with revascularization; (5) that risk factor modifica-tion (lifestyle and behavioral changes: cessation of smoking, abstinence from red meat and eggs, a diet of fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains, daily exercises), together with aggressive treat-ment as in numbers 2 and 3 above, reduces or eliminates myocardial ischemia, left ventricular dysfunction, and the incidence of sudden cardiac death. It is obvious that a pre-emptive strike, a prophylactic strategy, on everyone’s part is the only way to beat sudden cardiac death.

Visit philipSchua.com Email: [email protected]

Temperatures are expected to exceed 100 de-grees in many areas of the East Bay Regional Park District. Park visitors are urged to stay safe and keep cool. The Park District offers these summer heat safety recommendations:

If you visit a park, be sure to wear sunscreen and lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect some of the sun’s energy;

During the hottest parts of the day, keep physical activities to a minimum. Stay in the shade.

Drink plenty of water even if you do not feel thirsty;

Slow down while hiking. Avoid exertion during the hottest part of the day. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day – in the morning between 7 and 10 a.m., and in the evening;

Never leave infants, children or the frail el-derly unattended in a parked car. The same goes for your pets!

“We need the public to be aware of the dan-gers of heat-related illness and to use precaution-

ary measures to avoid a medical emergency,” said EBRPD Assistant Fire Chief Paul Cutino. “Every summer emergency services are called on a frequent basis to assist visitors who have become overheated. Prevent a life-threatening situation this summer by being summer heat smart. Stay cool and stay hydrated.”

EBRPD Police Chief Tim Anderson adds, “Dogs are also vulnerable to heat-related ill-nesses. Protect your canine companion by keep-ing him home on hot days, and going outdoors another time.”

For more outdoor safety tips visit www.ebparks.org/parks/safety.

For the Park District’s 11 swim facilities visit www.ebparks.org/activities/swimming .

The East Bay Regional Park District is a system of beautiful public parks and trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco Bay, established in 1934. The system comprises 120,000 acres in 65 parks including over1,250 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horse-back riding and nature learning.

Safety tips for healthy swimmingA dip in the pool is one of the most pleasant

ways to cool off, but splashing around does come with some safety concerns, especially for kids. Pool time, and time spent in hot tubs, water play areas, lakes and oceans, can spread recreational water ill-nesses (RWIs), increase the chances of burning and even drowning, especially with young children.

Here, we’ve put together some safety tips and advice to help the whole family stay healthy in the water all summer long.Check the water

Properly treated recreational water is less likely to spread germs that lead to illness, so check if the water’s pH and free chlorine or bromine concen-tration are correct. Also make sure that a trained lifeguard is on guard and adequate safety equipment

such as a rescue ring or pole is available.For more tips, you can do your own inspection

using a simple 4-step checklist.Check and clean yourself

Please: keep dirt and bodily fluids such as pee, poop, sweat and blood out of the water.

Shower before you get in, and stay out alto-gether if you have an open wound (for example, from surgery or a piercing) that is not covered with a waterproof bandage, or if you have diarrhea. For parents, remember that swim diapers and swim pants should not be used as a replacement for frequent diaper changing and regular trips to the bathroom, and do not protect against diarrhea (the most serious water contaminant) from leaking into the water.Protect from the sun

You can still burn when in the water, as the sun’s rays reflect off its surface, so don’t forget the sunscreen. Protect yourself by using a sunscreen with at least SPF 15 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.Stay healthy and safe once in the water

Don’t pee or poop in the water, or swallow the water.

Pay special attention to children and keep an eye on them at all times, kids can drown in seconds and in silence.Take hourly breaks

To keep the water clean, take kids on bathroom breaks every hour and check and change diapers away from the water.

To keep the whole family safe, reapply sun-screen and drink up, to ensure everyone is taking in plenty of fluids in the heat.

Also remember to dry ears thoroughly with a towel after swimming to prevent ear infections.

For more information on how to stay safe in the water, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthy Swimming pages. (inquirer.net)

Maureen Wroblewitz on Wednesday became the first contestant from the Philippines to win the “Asia’s Next Top Model ” Season 5.

The 19-year old Filipina model bested Malaysia’s Shikin Gomez and Vietnam’s Mnh Tu Nguyen in the final round. (inquirer.net)


entertainmentPauwi Na’ tops A-list Shanghai fest Filipina Maureen Wroblewitz

wins ‘Asia’s Next Top Model’ilipino filmmaker Paolo Villaluna proudly admitted that he almost fainted onstage when his latest movie, “Pauwi Na (Pedicab),” won the top prize at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Pardon Villaluna for being a bit flabbergasted. After all, Shanghai is an A-list festival

(one of only three in Asia—along with Tokyo and Goa) and, as bonus, he got to receive the Golden Goblet trophy from jury president Cristian Mungiu.

Needless to say, the Filipino director admires the Romanian filmmaker who won the Palme d’Or for “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days” in 2007 and best director for “Bacalaureat” last year in Cannes.

Villaluna later scored a selfie with Mungiu after the awards ceremony held at the Shanghai Grand Theater in China last Sunday.

Mungiu earlier told the Hollywood Reporter: “I have tremendous respect for Asian films… [but] what’s more valu-able than awards is that the

film festival provides a fantastic opportunity for exchange and exploration concerning films and life in general.”

Previous Shanghai jury presidents were Luc Besson, John Woo, Danny Boyle and Barry Levinson.

It was quite a heady night for Villaluna, who attended the

fest with “Pauwi Na” lead actors Bembol Roco and Cherry Pie Picache.

Roco said of the big win: “It feels great to bag the top award in an international film fest. It is significant because we have proven again that Filipino filmmakers are as competitive as their peers from around the world.”

Picache enthused: “We are ecstatic that our hard work and long wait have finally paid off. I feel happy and proud for our country. As Direk Pao would say: We need this good news—especially for Filipino filmmak-ers. Iba talaga ang Pinoy!”

She hailed the award as a “huge honor.” “I am reminded how much I love this job.” As

icing on the cake, she got to meet and snap pics with such luminaries as Milla Jovovich and Isabelle Huppert.

Picache said she was particularly glad for her direc-tor who “worked so hard and passionately to put this film to-gether.” She described the film as a “wonderful comeback” for Villaluna, who had been absent from the filmmaking scene for seven years.

At the awards ceremony, Villaluna, although flustered, readily shared the award with his countrymen. “[In my speech,] I dedicated the award to Filipinos,” he told the Inquir-er. “The film has always been about the Filipino family and our national story of struggle and hope. It is thankless, pain-ful and difficult, but we are resilient. I’m happy it resonated well with the audience and the jury.”

The film, which was inspired by an Inquirer article, tells the story of a poor family that travels from the city to a faraway province, in a pedicab. It won six trophies in the first ToFarm film fest last year.

Before leaving for China, Villaluna expressed concern that foreign audiences may not be able to relate well with the film which is inherently Filipino in its theme and storytelling.

Still, “Pauwi Na” was able to transcend cultural differ-ences. On Facebook, Villaluna posted photos of a Chinese viewer who openly wept while chatting with Picache and Roco after a screening. “She said that we changed lives and told the truth well,” Villaluna recounted.

In awarding the Golden Goblet to Villaluna’s film, Mun-giu commended “the humanism and universality of its story… the simplicity of the style and realization… the nonconform-ism with which it represented our desire to believe that there is a sense in this Universe.”

The Filipino film competed with 13 other entries, includ-ing movies from Iran (Mostafa Taghizad’h’s “Yellow,” which won the grand jury prize), Russia (Ivan Bolotnikov’s “Kharms,” best screenplay and cinematographer) and Poland (Maciej Pieprzyca’s “I Am a Killer,” best director). (Bayani San Diego Jr. / inquirer.net)

The Kapuso heartthrob has just renewed his contract with GMA last June 27 in the presence of his manager Popoy Caritativo, GMA Network chair-man and CEO Felipe L. Gozon, president and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr., and Entertainment SVP Lilybeth G. Rasonable.

The actor said that GMA is both his home and playground.

“I feel very very much at home here… Ang gandang environment so feeling mo may

playground ka (It’s a good envi-ronment, its like a playground) to stretch your arms and really feel the space. I love it,” he said in an interview with GMA’s 24 Oras.

He remains thankful that the network trusts him with some its biggest projects: “I’m very glad that GMA not only gambles on me continuously and trusts me, but [also] gives me the platform to spread my wings and not just enjoy my work, pero

even to learn and grow from it.”In closing, he said he is very

happy to continue his career with the network.

“I really do feel like it’s the right fit for me kaya I’m very happy that I’ve been given an-other opportunity to cement my place here,” he said.

Tom Rodriguez’s 2013 transfer to GMA was made with a bang when he top-billed the hit first gay-oriented prime-time TV series “My Husband’s Lover” with fellow Kapuso actors Dennis Trillo and Carla Abel-lana. His career skyrocketed to overwhelming heights when he played the closet king character of Vincent.

Since then, he has been a household name and a well-respected actor, especially by the LGBT community. He is currently in a relationship with Abellana. (Clarissa Abanilla / inquirer.net)

Tom Rodriguez remains a Kapuso: ‘I feel at home here’

Answers to LAST WEEK’S Krosword

(Photo: www.mymovieworld-coolman0304.blogspot.com)

(Photo: www.starmometer.com)

Mulawin vs. Ravena and My Love From The Star amongthe top ten most-buzzed-about new shows worldwide

Two of GMA Network’s biggest primetime series this 2017, Mulawin vs. Ravena and My Love From The Star, earned spots in the top ten most-buzzed-about shows worldwide according to a New York-based international media business website.

WorldScreen.com released their Social Wit List for May 2017 where the sequel Mulawin Vs. Ravena ranked third and the network’s local adaptation of the Koreanovela My Love From The Star ranked fifth in the list of top ten new shows with the most number of Facebook and Twitter comments during their premiere across the globe.

According to the site, Mulawin Vs. Ravena’s premiere “drew around 104,000 com-ments, and there was much buzz about the #GreatCast and #Cinematography that had many viewers honoring the #Nostalgia and #GoodMemo-ries it brought about: #Kudos-ForTheFlashbacks.”

On the other hand, My Love From the Star garnered around 50,000 comments and was speckled with the hashtags #KudosToJennylynMercado, #FunPlot, and #GoodDirection.

The two GMA-produced series are the only dramas from the Philippines that made it to the list, topping over popu-lar global productions which included ones from the U.S. and France.

Meanwhile, the other pro-grams included in the list are U.S.A.’s Dirty Dancing, Twin

Peaks, Beat Shazam, Michael Jackson: Searching for Never-land, World of Dance; France’s Emmanuel Macron, Baisers caches; and U.K.’s Three Girls.

Catch Mulawin vs. Ravena and My Love from the Star only on GMA’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV.

(L-R) Jennylyn Mercado and Gil Cuerva(Photo: GMA Pinoy TV)

On July 2 (Sunday), three decades after it pioneered docu-mentary, news magazine, and public service programs in the Philippines, GMA Public Affairs looks back on some of its most unforgettable reports to discover the positive transformations these helped bring about in “Sa Serbisyong Totoo, Nabago Ang Buhay Ko”.

Hosted by GMA News Pillar Jessica Soho, “Sa Serbisyong To-too, Nabago Ang Buhay Ko” fea-tures some of the most powerful stories told by shows produced by GMA Public Affairs and how these stories changed the lives of the people involved.

I-Witness’ 2009 documen-tary “Ambulansyang de Paa” gave viewers a visual of an ambulance as it makes its way down a steep mountain, carrying a patient who has never seen a doctor in his life. Yet the “ambulance” is nothing more than a hammock, trans-ported on foot by residents des-perate to get medical aid. In the documentary, one-year-old John Lloyd was but skin and bones. The make-shift ambulance-on-foot in Bansud, Oriental Mindoro served as his only lifeline.

Today, John Lloyd is in much better health, starting his second year in elementary school. He says there is now a health center nearby, and parts of the once-rugged road have been paved for better access to basic services.

Ten years before John

Lloyd’s story aired, Brigada Si-ete’s 1999 documentary “Batang Alipin” brought to light the situation of laborers working in slave-like conditions inside a vin-egar factory. One of the youngest workers rescued was 15-year-old Zaldy.

Eighteen years later, Zaldy now has his own family and works as a mechanic. After being freed from his harrowing experi-ence as a child, Zaldy says he is determined to secure a better life for his own children.

In 2013, GMA News TV’s Reel Time told the heart-wrench-ing story of 10-year-old Mary Rose in the documentary “Salat”. Never knowing when the next meal would come, Mary Rose and her siblings were severely malnourished.

The documentary saw an outpouring of generosity for the family. Mary Rose is now fourteen and in the pink of health. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, Mary Rose has been able to continue her schooling and is now in her second year of high school.

Many more stories of hope and transformation abound. Pio-neering public service program Wish Ko Lang has been instru-mental in reuniting long-lost family members. Twins Judy and Danica, who were separated at birth, saw each other again for the first time in thirty years through the wish-granting pro-gram.

Bringing family members together has also been an advo-cacy of public service program Imbestigador which has facilitat-ed countless rescues of trafficked women and children, including those from Sabah, Malaysia.

For years, flagship Public Affairs Program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho and long-running issues-oriented program Re-porter’s Notebook relentlessly followed the stories of those devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda. Four years later, GMA Public Affairs meets the families of Marvin and Raphael building a new life in their new homes.

And there are many more tales of transformation behind GMA Public Affairs’ thirty years on the air.

After four George Foster Peabody Awards, eleven (11) New York Festival Gold Medals and three (3) Emmy nomina-tions, GMA Network remains the most internationally-awarded in Philippine Television through its News and Public Affairs pro-grams. More than any accolade, however, the stories of those whose lives have been changed by public service programming remain the greatest reward.

On July 2, watch how GMA Public Affairs helped changed the lives of people, one story at a time. “Sa Serbisyong Totoo, Nabago Ang Buhay Ko” hosted by Jessica Soho airs on GMA Pinoy TV.

The most internationally-awarded broadcast network in Philippine Television has once again brought honors to the coun-try, winning seven medals and five certificates at the prestigious 2017 US International Film & Video Festival, including a Gold Camera award and “Best of Fes-tivals” nomination for top-notch documentary program I-Witness.

I-Witness’ winning episode, “Busal,” earned a Gold Camera award in the Documentary: News Programming-Public Affairs Programs category. The docu-mentary produced by the team of GMA News Pillar Howie Severino showed members of the urban poor airing their grievances and hopes amid the present adminis-tration’s anti-drug campaign. It gave a face on the direct conse-quences of the anti-drug cam-paign through the eyes of those who belong to this marginalized sector of society.

“Busal” is also in the run-ning for the Best of Festival Award, a recognition presented to an outstanding entry from among the Gold Camera winners in each production type.

Meanwhile, another GMA Public Affairs program, Front Row, took home two Silver Screen awards for documentaries “Bata sa Bintana” and “Mga Barya ni Lola Maria”.

“Bata sa Bintana”, which won in the Documentary: Health/Medical category, featured the story of 13-year-old boy Zoren whose health conditions rendered him so weak that his contact to the outside world was only through their window. After its airing, the government sent regional representatives to check on the child’s situation. A group of doctors and other individuals have also committed to extend help for Zoren.

“Mga Barya ni Lola Maria”, meanwhile, emerged as winner in the Documentary: Biography cat-egory. The documentary showed how a 74-year-old woman from the Badjao tribe worked at the port in Lucena City by waiting for boat passengers to toss her coins which she would dive for. She did this to feed and send her grand kids to school.

Another I-Witness docu-mentary, “Body Collector,” won a Silver Screen award in the Documentary-Current Affairs cat-egory. The documentary by Cesar Apolinario was produced at the time when the issue on extrajudi-cial killings was already gaining traction in the local and interna-tional media. “Body Collector” aimed to give viewers an insight on the bloody drug war through different perspectives.

Motorcycle Diaries’ “Lason sa Paraiso” gave GMA Public Affairs its fourth Silver Camera award, winning in the Documen-tary-Environment, Ecology cat-egory. The episode visited Boac, Marinduque and its residents who were still trying to recover from the 1996 mine disaster.

GMA News TV’s Reel Time, meanwhile, won a Silver Screen award for its “Maling Akala” episode in the Documentary: Political, Government category. The winning piece tackled the deaths amid the anti-narcotics drive since President Rodrigo Du-terte took power in 2016. Several deaths resulted from what many are believed to be vigilante mur-ders, which Duterte has refused to condemn. Reel Time gathered accounts from the victims’ rela-tives and reporters who cover the police beat.

GMA Entertainment group also took home a Silver Screen award for I Bilib in the Entertain-ment: Children’s category. The weekly infotainment show hosted by Chris Tiu features scientific experiments and explores differ-ent scientific facts and theories surrounding everyday events presented in magical manner.

In addition to the above-mentioned awards, GMA Network also took home “Certificate for Creative Excellence” for the fol-lowing: Alamat (Entertainment: Children category); “Pasan-Pasang Pangarap” by Reporter’s Notebook (Public Affairs Programs category); GMA News TV programs Brigada (Magazine Format category) and Reel Time’s “Isinulat sa Tubig” (Social Issues category); and GMA Entertain-ment TV’s Idol sa Kusina (Cook-ing category).

Now on its 50th year, the US International Film & Video Festivals has been recognizing outstanding corporate, education, entertainment, documentary, and student productions all over the world.


GMA Public Affairs:Changing lives, one story at a time

entertainmentGMA Network wins 1 Gold and 6 Silver medals at 2017 US International Film & Video Festival


In January of this year, the SF Pride Board of Directors began discussing how to express these growing concerns. After careful consideration, they collectively made the decision to lead off the 47th Annual Parade with a protest contingent. Eschewing the usual floats and music, representatives from about 20 diverse organizations will lead the Parade with an all-on-foot March down Market Street. Highlighting concerns ranging from women’s rights to immigration policies and the profiling persecu-tion of African Americans, these voices will lead the normally celebratory event with a political state-ment reminiscent of the very milestone it commemorates — The Stonewall Rebellion.

The Resistance Contingent, led by the SF Pride Board of Directors, wilI immediately follow the traditional Parade openers: Dykes on Bikes and bicycle contingents. The Resistance Contingent will include The Bayard Rustin LGBT Club, SF Black Community Matters, Justice for Mario Woods, Afri-can Human Rights, DeGenderettes, Bay Area Queer People of Color, Guardian Group, International Migrants Alliance, Mission High School Queer Students Alliance, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, Action Action, Indivisible, The Brady Campaign (with Pulse nightclub survivors), several local unions, and one of our 2017 community grand marshals — Alex U. Inn.

Immediately following will be the “We Fought Back” contingent, comprised of 1977-78 SF Gay Freedom Day organizers who challenged the Briggs Initiative and notorious homophobe Anita Bryant. Among the remaining 250+ contingents will be our 2017 grand marshals and honorees such as El/La Para TransLatinas and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, as well as contingents organized by the Women’s March and Planned Parenthood, to name only a few. We encourage all contingents to send a message that embraces diversity as the strength of our movement, as well as resistance to any attempts to roll back our rights or exclude anyone from equal protection.

It has been a tradition for San Francisco Pride to showcase a facet of the LGBTQIA community to represent at the front of the parade each year — a unique commitment to maintaining the roots of Pride and honoring our collective history. This year’s theme, A Celebration of Diversity, illuminates the capacity of our movement to face divisive and regressive challenges with dynamic strength and vigor-ous dialogue. (Photos by Jho Bule)

feature story47th SF LGBT Pride & Celebration, June 24-25, Civic Center Plaza Park

Maute rebels down to 100 – AFP - FilAmstar

Documents

Transcript of Maute rebels down to 100 – AFP - FilAmstar