Manila Mail (April 1-15, 2015)

1
April 1-15, 2015
Vol. XXIV, No. 10
Thousands
join Death
March
reenactment
Online: www. manilamail.us
April 1-15, 2015
Fil-Ams top Mrs. DC America pageant

WASHINGTON D.C. Two
Filipinas finished 1-2 in the
annual Mrs. DC America pageant last March 8 and will represent the capital region in the Mrs.
America contest
From a field of empowered women, 37-year-old Elaine
Espinola Keltz (Mrs. Georgetown) took the title as well as
separate awards for Mrs. Fitness
and Sponsorship. She will tout
the platform of Empowering
Women through Entrepreneurship during her year of service.
1st runner-up Lindagrace
Filipino Americans Elaine Espinola Keltz and Lindagrace De La Cruz

(center and 3rd from right, respectively).
Amb. Jose Cuisia greets Fil-Am soldier carrying Philippine flag.
By Jennie L. Ilustre
ALAMOGORDO,
New
Mexico. Over 6,000 people joined
a grueling desert re-enactment
of the Bataan Death March last
March 22.
Being here with you on
the year that we commemorate
the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Philippines, is the
least I can do to pay tribute to the
Filipino and American soldiers
who gallantly fought together in
Bataan during the Second World
WASHINGTON D.C. A
somber crowd paid homage to 44
slain police commandos, whom
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr.
noted paid a heavy price that
brought grief to the nation,
during rites held at the Philippine Embassy last March 11.
In Manila, a Senate panel
revealed the results of investigation into the Mamasapano
debacle that concluded, among
others, that agents of the United
States played a significant role in
Continued on page 23
US personnel medevacs wounded SAF commando in Mamasapano.
PH, China word war

heats up anew
MANILA. With conditions
improving at sea, the Philippines and China word war
seem to be heating up after both
sides revealed reclamation and
construction plans in the South
China Sea.
The
Philippines
possible undertaking of necessary
maintenance and repairs on its
existing facilities in the West

Philippine Sea... is in no way
comparable to Chinas massive
reclamation activities which not
only violate international law...
but also unnecessarily raise tensions, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
said in a statement.
De La Cruz and 2nd runnersup Sabrina Campbell and Gift

Hughs (tie) complete Keltzs
court with the awards for Mrs.
Congeniality given to Jennifer Brande, Most Photogenic to
Tonoah Hampton and Leader
Award to Campbell.
The Mrs. DC America is
open to local married women
living or working within a
25-mile radius of Washington
DC to showcase their personal,
professional and community
the police raid where one military officer allegedly pressed his
Filipino counter-part to bomb
Islamic militants.
Some 60 Fil-Am community
leaders led by Cuisia extolled
the sacrifice of fallen Philippine
National Police Special Action
Force (PNP-SAF) commandos
killed during a raid to arrest top
terror suspects in near Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.
The event was timed with the
traditional 40th day commemoration after the passing of relatives or friends.
They lived up to their motto
as Tagapagligtas (Rescuers),
Cuisia said, adding they successfully neutralized the Malaysian bomber known as Marwan
(Zulkifli bin Hir) who nearly
killed Ambassador Leonides T.
Caday in Indonesia several years
Pacquiao, Mayweather vent on sparring partners

LOS ANGELES. Filipino
boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and his unbeaten rival
Floyd Mayweather pummeled
their sparring partners as both
camps expressed confidence in
their preparation for the May 2
mega match at the MGM in Las
Vegas.
Pacquiaos
workout
at
the Wild Card Gym included
five hard rounds with a pair of
sparring partners. Coach Freddie Roach was happy with the
results, anxious for his ward to
start swinging at foes following
nearly two weeks of other train-
Cop in pageant
Page 9
Manny Pacquiao practicing blows with coach Freddie Roach.

ing.
After 13 days of strength
and conditioning and boxing
drills at Wild Card plus weeks
Marine trial starts

Page 11
Liezl mourned
Page 14
April 1-15, 2015
April 1-15, 2015
More funds for PG, 4 other Md school districts

WASHINGTON D.C. Montgomery County and Prince
Georges County school systems
are among five Maryland school
districts that qualified for a share
of the $20 million supplemental
school construction allocation
this year.
This is our best stab to come

up with the right legislation and
the right formula to help school
districts experiencing increasing
enrollment, said state Sen. Nancy
King in a report on The Washington Post.
Baltimore, Anne Arundel
and Howard counties also qualify for the additional funds.

Montgomery, where enrollment jumped by 16,000 students
in the past seven years, would
receive $5.8 million and Prince
Georges would receive $4.8 million.
Elderly Fil-Am hits P10-M jackpot

LAS
VEGAS.
Trinidad
Torres, who lived in a Utah lowincome seniors apartment, hit
the jackpot at a Westgate Casino
Trinidad Torres
slot machine here and took home
over P10.7 million.
A report on the Fil-Am Star
said Torres, 78, came to Westgate
Resort and Casino in Las Vegas
to watch a friend play in a blackjack tournament and decided to
try her own luck at a $1 Megabucks, placing $100 and making
several $3 bets before hitting
the jackpot around 1:00 PM last
March 14.
Westgate
spokeswoman
Amy Chasey said it was Torres
first visit to the casino.
Were thrilled that she won

on our property, David Siegel,
Westgate Resorts CEO, said in a
statement.
W i t h
her earnings,
Torres, plans to
visit her family
in the Philippines and buy
her
dream
car a yellow
Mustang,
according
to
filamstar.net.
To r r e s ,
a huge Elvis
Presley
fan,
plans to return
to
Westgate
Las
Vegas,
formerly Las
Vegas Hilton,
next
month
for the grand
opening
of
the
newly
announced
Graceland Presents Elvis: The

Exhibition The Show The
Experience, Chasey said.
To qualify, a county must

have a student enrollment
growth rate that exceeds 150 percent of the state average over the
past five years and an average
of more than 300 portable classrooms over the past five years,
the Washington Post report said.
The state capital budget

includes $300 million for school
construction throughout Maryland. The $20 million announced
last March 28 is additional funding.
April 1-15, 2015
April 1-15, 2015
Pinoy couple gets 8 years

for mortgage fraud
LAS VEGAS. Filipino couple Alex
Soria and Sonia Rodis was meted an
Alex Soria and Sonia Rodis

eight-year prison sentence for mortgage
lending fraud.
Authorities said the pair was involved
in a fraudulent mortgage and foreclosure
scam where they promised homeowners
that their mortgages will disappear while
they maintain the property title.
The couple collected about $63,000 in
payments from their victims, a number of
whom are Filipino.
The judge sentenced Soria to up to
eight years in Nevada state prison. Rodis
received the same sentence, but it was
suspended for a probation period not to
exceed five years.
PH infra bids
WASHINGTON, D.C. Philippine
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. has urged
American companies to bid for major
infrastructure projects in the country.
Tremendous opportunities exist in
the Philippines for infrastructure development, he said at the recent 8th Global
Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New

York City.
The two-day forum drew 300 attendees from all over the world, including
Philippine Public Works and Highways
Secretary Rogelio Singson presented various investment opportunities in infrastructure projects in the country.
Among the other Philippine projects
presented were the Laguna Lakeshore
Expressway Dike; the Batangas-Manila
Natural Gas Pipeline; and the Mass Transit System Loop Project.
The forum was highlighted by the
signing by Cuisia and US Commerce Secretary Arun Kumar of a Memorandum
of Cooperation establishing a US-Philippines Infrastructure Collaboration Platform that seeks to facilitate US industry
participation in Philippine infrastructure
projects.
Racist cop
SAN FRANCISCO. A fired cop
claimed alleged racist text messages
against blacks, Mexicans and Filipinos
were all a big joke.
San Francisco Police Department
(SFPD) Sgt. Ian Furminger was earlier
dismissed for robbing drug suspects. He
is now being investigated for his allegedly
bigoted statements.
Furmingers phone included slurs
against Filipinos as filthy Flips and
disgusting.
But he told reporters the messages
were dry humor and he apologized if
anyone was offended.
April 1-15, 2015
Pinoy first-responders honored by American Red Cross

GREENWICH, Connecticut.
A group of Filipino first responders has been recognized by the
American Red Cross for its contributions to aiding victims of
calamities in the East Coast.
When Hurricane Irene pummeled the East Coast nearly
four years ago, members of the
Filipino Amateur League in
Connecticut (FALConn) became
part of a team of first responders. They are known today as
FALConn Injury Response and
Safety Team (FIRST).
They are this years recipient of the American Red Cross
Good Neighbor Award, an
award presented to an individual or organization making significant humanitarian contribution in support of the American
Red Cross chapter.
FALConn member Ariel
Magtibay said first responders
can serve as role models for other
members of the community by
leading by example to encourage
emergency preparedness.
Forced labor
LOS ANGELES. A group of
Filipino workers has filed a civil
case against Analiza and Goncalo De Almeida, owners of a
French-style bakery in Los Angeles for alleged labor and wage
violations.
They shouldered the visa
and travel fees of 11 Filipino
but ordered a reimbursement of

$11,000 each unless they commit
to working in the bakery for
three years.
The Filipinos were promised work as skilled bakery
chefs and managers but
were reportedly put into
oppressive and discriminatory conditions as
domestic servants, physical laborers engaged in
landscaping and building maintenance.
The workers allegedly ended up earning
the same wages they
earned in a baking venture by Alameida in the
Philippines, or $3 an
hour for 14-hour workdays at LAmandes two
branches.
Laboni
Hoq,
a
lawyer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice,
said the Filipinos were
brought in using the
E-2 visa that he alleged,
allows
unscrupulous
foreign investors to
accept workers who can
be forced to accept abusive working conditions
or risk deportation and
retaliation in their home
country.
Invest in PH
WA S H I N G T O N ,
D.C. Philippine Ambassador

Jose L. Cuisia Jr. urged businessmen attending the two-day
8th Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New York City to
take advantage of tremendous
opportunities in major infrastructure projects being developed in the country.

The forum was attended by
over 300 top executives, including Public Works and Highways
Secretary Rogelio Singson who

led the Philippine delegation.
Singson said there has been a 250
percent growth in the countrys
infrastructure budget from 2010
to 2015.
April 1-15, 2015
April 1-15, 2015
April 1-15, 2015
Police lieutenant joins Ms. Earth PH pageant

MANILA. With her expressive eyes, Filipino-Romanian
Sophia Loren Deliu has been
turning heads even before she
marched out of the Philippine National Police Academy
(PNPA) last year. And now
Baguio-born Inspector Loren
scheduled to be held in April.

Being a police officer was
not part of her plans but when
she saw an Internet ad calling for
police cadets, she decided to give
it a try.
She knew training would be
difficult, but it was a whole dif-
Police Inspector Sophia Loren Deliu on and off uniform.

Deliu has joined this years Miss
Earth beauty pageant.
The 25-year-old already
held a bachelors degree in tourism management before graduating from the PNPA, the breeding ground of the polices future
leaders. She was Miss Teen Philippines in 2006 and Miss Baguio
in 2008.
She is one of 24 hopefuls
vying for the Miss Earth Philippines crown. Pageant night is
ferent ballpark when her training began. Both male and female
cadets lived under one roof,
though the women had their
own barracks. To teach them discipline, they had to ensure the
cleanliness and orderliness of
their own barracks.
Sophias
training
programs included Jungle Environment Survival Training (JEST)
Camp, Air to Ground Operations
Support (AGOS), Crisis Manage-
ment and Disaster Preparedness,

among others.
Shes the 2nd police officer
to enter the world of beauty pag-
eants after PO2 Niel Perez, who

represented Philippines at the
Mister International competition
in Seoul, Korea.
I think this will be a great

opportunity for us to reach
the people, that policemen are
approachable, she said.
PAL resumes Manila-New York

run after long absence
NEW YORK. Flag carrier
Philippine Airlines is back, completing a maiden sortie to New
Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport last March 16,
nearly two decades after it last
served its most distant point in
the United States.
The Fil-Am community
in the East Coast lauded the
resumption of PALs fourtimes-a-week service ManilaNew York via Vancouver route.
The resumption of PAL flights
to and from the East Coast is
something that thousands of
our kababayans in this part of
the United States have long
been waiting for, said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
This new service that PAL
is commencing today not just
offers Filipinos an alternative
route back to the Philippines,
Cuisia added. More importantly, it provides them with a
deep sense of pride knowing
that it is the national flag carrier
that is bringing them home.
Cuisia, along with New

York Consul General Mario de
Leon and DCs Consul General
PAL at JFK Airport

Emilio Fernandez and PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime Bautista were at JFKs
Terminal 1 to welcome passengers of PR 126 from Manila that
included PAL Chairman Lucio
Tan as well as send-off passengers for PR Flight 127.
The US market contributes the 2nd biggest arrivals in
the Philippines with about 15
percent of total visitor volume
based on figures from the
Department of Tourism. Cuisia
revealed
passenger
arriv-
als from the US reached over

600,000 last year.
It is my wish that with
PALs expansion, business and
travel for pleasure to the Philippines will be further heightened. The tourism industrys
contribution to the nations
economy is in the tens of billions
of dollars and we are very much
aware of the income generated
for business and households,
employment and revenue from
taxation. Thus, PALs success
is the nations success, the top
envoy averred.
Some
Filipinos
from
Washington, D.C., Maryland
and Philadelphia have told the
Embassy that they are willing
to go all the way to JFK to take
PAL even if they have the option
to fly out to Manila from their
respective gateways, Cuisia
said.
PAL also flies out of Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.
10
April 1-15, 2015
Federal appeals court to look into Texas judges order

WASHINGTON D.C. The
5th US Circuit Court of Appeals
will listen to oral arguments on
April 17 whether to overturn a
Texas court ruling blocking the
White House from carrying out
President Obamas executive
orders to slow deportations and
grant benefits to millions in the
country illegally.
US District Judge Andrew
Hanen of Texas issued an injunction, arguing the administration
overstepped its authority. He
again blasted the government for
allegedly lying to him, after he
was told that over 100,000 unauthorized immigrants received
relief despite his order.
Hanen rued he was made to
look like an idiot and is now
contemplating sanctions against
the Department of Justice if its
proven that it lied. Government
lawyers explained the confusion
stemmed from the terminologies
used and they notified the Texas
court after the misinterpretation
became apparent.
Marrow donor
ROCKPORT, Maine. Filipino-American doctor Tracy
Jalbuena, diagnosed with blood
cancer, is looking for bone
marrow donors because her
mixed ethnicity made the search

difficult.
Jalbuenas father is a Filipino Chinese-Spanish mestizo
from Iloilo province, while her
mother is of Irish and German
descent.
The National Donor Marrow
Program explained that having
the same racial or ethnic back-
carried out.
Jalbuena and her family
launched multiple donation
drives and Internet campaigns
in an effort to spread awareness
among Filipino-Americans and
others who could help her fight
multiple myeloma. Interested
donors may have a free test kit
mailed to them by Be The Match
or contact the Jalbuenas through
jalapeno1@roadrunner.com
or
772-6723.
many years in the Philippines

and was actually born in Makati,
posted on his Instagram account.
Tebow later flew to Davao
Tebow & Pacquiao
Dr. Tracy Jalbuena needs marrow

donor.
ground makes donor matching
easier.
To receive a transplant, most
of her donors HLA tissue markers must match her own. If the
initial cheek swab matches the
patient at a basic level, additional
cheek swabs and blood tests are
LOS ANGELES. Former

NFL quarterback Tim Tebow
made a side trip to the Wild Card
Gym to share his wishes with
Filipino boxing champion and
fellow Bible advocate Manny
Pacquiao training for the May
2 mega bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
He thanked Pacquiao for
taking time from his training to
meet him, who also seemed to be
pleased with meeting the former
Denver Broncos quarterback.
The two deeply religious athletes
later went with friends to dinner
to get to know each other better.
Awesome being with my
Filipino and Christian brother,
Tebow, whose parents are American missionaries who spent
Manny Pacquiao and Tim Tebow

City to visit a six-story hospital
he helped build for Mindanaos
impoverished children.
Retirement home
WASHINGTON
D.C.
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr.
is pushing the Philippines as a
retirement destination for Americans, including Filipino Americans who want to spend their
twilight years in the country of

their birth.
Cuisia, in his meetings with
the Filipino community in San
Diego,
California and El
Paso,
Texas
has
revealed
the Philippines
made it to the
Top 10 retirement destinations according to the 2015
Global Retirement Index.
It
noted
most
expats
can live comfortably in the
country
for
about $800 to
$1,200 a month.
More and
more
foreign
retirees are looking to settle in
the Philippines. Aside from the
affordable cost of living, expats
enjoy things the country is
known for such as its beaches,
tropical climate, warm and hospitable people, discounts for
senior citizens, and the duty-free
import of household goods,
said Cuisia.
11
April 1-15, 2015
Trial starts for US Marine in transgender murder

OLONGAPO CITY. The trial
of US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scotty
Pemberton finally began last
March 23 as the clock continued
to tick for the Philippine justice
US Marine PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton (2nd from right) in Olongapo

court.
system to finish the job before the
deadline set by a forces agreement with the United States.
Pemberton, of Bristol, Massachusetts, is accused of strangling Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude after allegedly discovering her gender in a motel
in this former US Navy liberty
town in October last year. He
was escorted to court wearing
handcuffs after a plea bargain
negotiation with Laudes family
reportedly bogged down.
Government
prosecutors
expressed confidence they could
convict him this year. The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) provides for a one-year prescription
period for criminal cases involving US personnel filed in
Philippine courts.
The case comes at
a time when the longtime allies are trying to
strengthen security ties
that allows greater US
access to Philippine military camps. The accord
will help Washingtons
bid to reassert its presence in Asia, and enable
Manila to deter what it
calls Chinas aggressive
moves to reinforce its
claims in disputed parts
of the South China Sea.
Napoles bail
MANILA.
Jeane
Napoles, the 24-year-old
daughter of alleged pork
barrel scam mastermind
Janet Lim Napoles has
posted a P50,000 bail at
the Court of Appeals for
her tax evasion case.
The
younger
Napoles is facing a P17.8
million tax evasion case
filed by the Department
of Justice. Her mother
Jeane Napoles evades arrest by preemptively posting bail
claims she is still in the US but

the Bureau of Immigration
refutes this. Her lawyer pointed
out there is no arrest warrant
against Jeane and the posting of
bail has pre-empted it anyway.
The DOJ filed the case after
it determined she owned two

properties in California and Pangasinan that were not declared in
her tax return. Napoles lawyer
argued she was a student and
was not yet working when she
acquired them.
12
If youd like to include your

organizations events in this calendar, kindly send your information
to Maurese Oteyza Owens at mpapoose@aol.com.
APR 10-11 (Fri-Sat) NAFFAA
Region 2 Empowerment Conference. Bull and Bear Club, 901 E
Cary St., 26th Fl. Richmond, VA
23219. Registration $25. Contact:
Bing Branigin at mcbranigin@
April 1-15, 2015
aol.com
APR 10-12 (Fri-Sun) Filipino Intercollegiate Network
Dialogue (FIND) Conference.
Hosted by District VI. University of Maryland, College Park.
Theme: Lakas Loob: Strength
without Shame. Contact: Anika
Aquino at 68 Aquino@cardinalmail.cua.edu
APR 12 (Sunday) (5:30

dinner,6:30
program
starts)
George Washington Universitys
Philippine Cultural Society Tandaan XV: Long Way Home. Jack
Morton Auditorium of GWUs
Media and Public Affairs Building, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. Program features a play and cultural dances.
$10 with student ID, $15 without
ID, $20 door. Tickets may be purchased in advance at pcsgwu.
com. Contact: Kelsey Genuino (732) 485-1276 or psculturalshow@gmail.com
APR 18 (Saturday) 9:00a.m.12:00noon. Philippine American Foundation for Charity,
Inc. Salu-Salo. Kick-off of PAFC
activities for the Philippine Festival. Volunteers welcome to join
various committees and to share
their organizations calendar.
Fellowship over breakfast. Philippine American Multicultural

Center, 7500 Livingston Road,
Oxon Hill, MD. Contact: Bing
Branigin at mcbranigin@aol.com
APR 18 (Saturday) 7:00pm
12:00mn Fil-Am Association of
Manassas and the Washington
Metropolitan Area, Silver Anniversary Celebration, Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel (900
South Orme St., Arlington, VA
22204). Registration 6:00-7:00
p.m. Attire: Formal. Ticket is $65
prepaid and $70 at the door. Proceeds go to the construction of
much-needed classrooms in the
Philippines. Contact Danny/
Mila Lunaria, 703-256-7603.
APR 18 (Saturday) 11am
Pedro Calungsod Memorial
Mass at Our Lady of Good
Counsel Catholic Church, 8601
Wolftrap Road, Vienna, VA
22182. An image of San Pedro

will be installed at OLGC School
after Mass, followed by a salusalo/reception at the Counsel
Room.
Contact: filminolgc@
gmail.com
APR 18 (Saturday) American University Philippine Cultural Coalition presents Philippine Culture Night showcasing a play and cultural dances.
Contact: Cheryl Tolentino at
ci8455a@student.american.edu
APR 18 (Saturday) George
Mason University Filipino Cultural Association Culture Night
features FilAm culture, Philippine history, dialogues about
issues and folk/modern dances.
Contact: Denise Diokno at
diokno.denise@gmail.com
APR 18 (Saturday) 7.30
pm. Filiipino Community of
St. Bernadette Catholic Church
Monthly Filipino Mass. St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 7600
Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, VA 22152, 703-451-8576.
Contact: Tess Saldana at 703)
569-1054
APR
22
(Wednesday)
6:30pm-8:30pm
Philippine
American Chamber of Commerce with Philippine American Foundation for Charities,
Inc. Spring 2 Connect a Happy
Hour Mixer. Grow your network
and increase your business.
Clydes Restaurant, 8332 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182.
$13 for PACC members, $15
nonPACC members. $17 at door.
RSVP Apollo Bala at apollobala@
truenorthtraveltours.com
APR 24 (Friday) 7:00
pm-12:00 am The College of the
Holy Spirit Metro Washington
DC Chapter Spring Fling 2015.
New Fortune Restaurant, 16515
South Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Dinner,
dancing, and raffle. Tickets $45.
Contact Ellie Cabanayan ellise1@
yahoo.com/(202) 607-3504
APR 25 (Saturday) 5:00pm10:00pm. Mayon Global Foundation Spring Fling. Lincolnia
Senior Center, 4710 North Chamblis St., Alexandria, VA 22312.
Features dinner and dancing.
Proceeds to benefit the various
humanitarian and charitable
activities of the Foundation.
Contact: Danny Orino: 202-5504991
MAY 2 (Saturday) Towson
University Filipino Cultural
Association Cultural Night. This
free event showcases food, cultural dances, a play and talent
show.Contact: Victoria Sanchez
at Fcatd6reps@gmail.com
MAY 2 (Saturday) Filipino
Cultural Association (FCA) at
the University of Maryland at
College Park Philippine Culture Night. Adele H. Stamp Student Union, College Park, MD
20742. Showcases FCAs many
talents including a play written,
directed, and produced by members, modern and cultural dance,
and more. Contact Jonathan
Reyes at president@fcaatumd.
com.
April 1-15, 2015
News in Pictures
13
The National Federation of Filipino

American Associations (NaFFAA)
Region 2 (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West
Virginia will hold its empowerment
conference on April 11, at the Bull
and Bear Club, Richmond, Virginia.
In photo, 1st row from left, Region
2 Chair Bing Cardenas Branigin,
NaFFAA communications director Jon Melegrito, Vi Baluyot of
Washington D.C., Nony Abrajano
of Virginia Beach and Rita Gerona
Adkins; 2nd row: Elvi G. Bangit,
Nancy Ceniza, Beth Wong of Maryland, Mitzi Pickard, KAYAs Emil
Trinidad; 3rd row:
JC Videna of GMU-FCA, Bert Dayao of Virginia Beach and Eric Macalma, Region 2 Vice Chair. The scheduled
conference will tackle issues affecting Filipino Americans such as immigration, voter registration, Filipino veterans,
business and entrepreneurship, and senior health care. National and regional experts on those issues will be in attendance, including elected and appointed officials of Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. For more information
and registration please go to www.naffar2conferencerva.com
On March 11 2015, former Virginia resident Jennifer Burgos Phommasack

received the Presidents Award for Service Excellence from Cutler Dawson,
President of Navy Federal Credit Union who flew to Pensacola, Florida from
Virginia to personally present the award. Jennifer is the daughter of Joe
and Christy Burgos who also relocated to Florida with the Phommasacks
last year.
The Philippine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC) will be hosting a

salu-salo brunch from 9 AM to 12 noon at the Filipino American Multicultural Center, 7500 Livingston Road, Oxon Hill, Md. on April 18. Planning
the event, from right, Beth A. Wong, PAFC Chair for the 2015 Philippine
Independence Gala Ball, PAFC PRO Maurese Owens, PAFC board member
Bobby Tamayo in Reston, Va. The salu-salo event is free but need to register
with Bing Cardenas Branigin,at mcbranigin@gmail.com. For more information please go to www.PAFC-DC.org
From left, Tata Enriquez, Col. Iking Enriquez, Deputy Defense Attache Col.
Badong Suarez, Maricor Jesalva of the Philippine Embassys Public Diplomacy office, Tito Al Alpapara, Min. Elmer Cato, Defense Attache Commodore Elson Aguilar, Manila Mail editor Bing Cardenas Branigin, and Police
Attache Sr. Supt. Jojo Gentiles at the weekly get-together between the Philippine Embassy and community leaders at the offices of TWOA Marketing in
Oxon Hill, Maryland.
The University of Maryland, College Park hosted merienda with the Philippine Embassy Youth Forum last March 22
at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. Posing for picture are from left, Alexandra Goodison of George Washington
University; Ronelle Bautista, Cultural Chair of FIND, Inc. District 6; Firestarter Group CEO Eric Macalma; Kristoffer Collo, CEO and President of MicroPact Inc.; Prof. Francis Tanglao Aguas of College of William and Mary;
Brandon Punsalan Beyer, Business Specialist at US Department of Transportation; Mencie Hairston of the University of Marylands Asian American Studies Scholarship Committee and Filipino Cultural Associations Adviser;
Consul General Emil Fernandez; Joel Vasquez of the UMDCP-FCA; Anika Aquino of Catholic University-FCA; and
Cris Carreon of UMDCP-FCA. Panelists discussed various topics with the students such as being Filipino American;
and future, failures and myths after college. (Photo by Bing Cardenas Branigin)
The KAYA Group of Washington, D.C. held meeting and reception for their 2015 initiatives for the Asian American
and Pacific Islanders in the Metro DC region. Photo shows, from left, Emil Trinidad, Marita Etcubanez, Romeo
Ymalay,Jian Zapata, and Melvin Tabilas. The event was hosted by Jennie and Matt at their residence in Washington,
D.C. (Photo by Bing Cardenas Branigin)
Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. with the Filipino-American community in Metro DC offer prayers during a mass
last March 9 for 44 police commandos killed in Maguindanao. From left, John Eda of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW), Elvi G. Bangit of Tanghalan Pilipino, Manila Mail editor Bing Cardenas Branigin of National Federation of
Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), visiting Philippine Postmaster General Josie De La Cruz, Manila Mails
Angelyn T. Marzan, Cuisia, Mitzi Pickard and Maurese Owens of the Philippine American Foundation for Charities
(PAFC), Gloria Federigan of the UST Alumni Association of America, Manila Mail columnist Bobby Federigan and
Father Dacusin. (Photo by Bing Branigin)
14 Fan Page
April 1-15, 2015
Liezl can never be replaced - Martinez

MANILA. Veteran actor
Albert Martinez paid tribute
to her young wife, Liezl who
passed away last March 14 after
a protracted battle with cancer.
We will miss all the wonderful things that she was in our
lives, he said.
Amalia Fuentes, who continued

to protest how Martinez allegedly drove a wedge between
them. They eloped and got married in Las Vegas in 1985, while
Liezl was still a teen.
The union produced three
girls, Alyanna, Alfonso and
Liezl Martinez (center) flanked by her family during better times.

Although I lost her, she will
forever remain a precious jewel,
a gem that can never be replaced
in my heart. Please continue
praying for our family as we try
to overcome our grief and loneliness in the coming days.
He concluded: A thousand
white roses for you, my Liezl.
The two met on the set of
the 1984 film Ibulong Mo Sa
Puso. They soon became a
couple although their relation
was bitterly opposed by the
Liezls mother, film industry icon
Alissa. She was 47 years old.

My family and I are grateful for the outpouring of love
and support during the most
trying time in our lives. Your
concern and prayers show us
that my wife Liezl is well-loved
and will be sorely missed, Martinez said in a statement released
to the press.
Thank you for honoring
Liezls wish for privacy as she
fought cancer in the last few
months of her life. She remained
strong, courageous and unwav-
ering throughout the battle

which made me love her all the
more.
Manila Showdown
MANILA. Filipino-Americann Hollywood stars Tia Carrere
(Waynes World, Relic Hunter)
and Mark Dacascos (Iron Chefs
Chairman, Mortal Kombat)
are teaming up for Showdown
in Manila, a martial arts movie
where Dacascos is acting and
directing.
The movie wrapped up
filming in Manila last month.
Its been so great. Ive been
spending so much time with
my cousins and tasting all the
food of my childhood that my
grandma used to make, Tia said
in a media event for the movie
last March 22.
I love the Philippines. I
think there is so much beauty.
The land, and the people and so
much talent. Its a joy to be able
to show that in this film and I am
so very excited and honored,
Dacascos chimed in.
Carrere was born in Hawaii
to Filipino parents and has
known Dacascos for 30 years
after meeting on the soap General Hospital. Hes Filipino, Im
Filipino, I have family here. I
came here half to visit my family
and half to do the movie and eat
the food. Sarap! (Yummy!) Tia
enthused.
Tadhana run
MANILA. That Thing
Called Tadhana, reputedly
the highest grossing Philippine
independent film, opened in the
United States last March 27.
and Anthony (JM de Guzman),

strangers who meet at an airport
in Rome, as they decide to go on
a road trip in Luzon to help each
other mend their broken hearts.
As of March 15, the film had
already earned P134 million in
Philippine theaters.
That Thing Called Tadhana was also selected in various international film festivals.
After taking part in the Osaka
Asian Film Festival 2015, it will
also be screened at the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival and the
Hawaii International Film Festival.
So sorry
MANILA. Former actress
Melissa Mendez has apologized
to businessmen Rey Pamaran
after slapping him in a spat over
a plane seat on a Pagadianbound Cebu Pacific flight last
Angelica Panganiban and JM de March 20.
Guzman
She wrote on Instagram: In
light of the recent incident that
The Antoinette Jadaone film involved me and Mr. Rey Pamawill be shown in 31 theaters in ran, I would just like to simply
Arizona, California, Florida, apologize for my untoward
Nevada, Texas, New Jersey, actions and move on from this.
Virginia, Maryland, New York, This incident has caused a lot of
Washington, Ohio and Illinois pain and trouble to me and my
until April.
family, as well as the other party
Originally an entry to the involved.
Cinema One Originals Film
I am owning up to my misFestival last year, That Thing take. No matter what the reason
Called Tadhana tells the story might be, I had no right to physiof Mace (Angelica Panganiban) cally hurt Mr. Pamaran.
15
April 1-15, 2015
San Pedro Calungsod offers inspiration

By Jennie L. Ilustre
SILVER SPRING, Md. About
a hundred Filipino Americans
came to watch Pedro Calungsod, Ang Batang Martir (The
Young Martyr) at a church hall
here last March 15, curious about
the second Filipino saint (after
San Lorenzo Ruiz.).
Frankly, Id like to know
about him. Im also here because
Im a strong supporter of the
community, said event sponsor
Remigio Cabacar.
He said it was important
to support opportunities for the
young. Recently, he went to the
Philippines and donated his
Philippine veterans pension for
the last 20 years for the construction of two schoolrooms in San
Marcelino, Zambales, where I
went to school.
Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) Executive Director
Arnedo S. Valera expressed the
hope that the guests would

come away after watching the
film realizing that young people
can be saints too.
They can spread the word and

be witnesses to the faiththat
Jesus is a reality, not a product of
the imagination.
Organizers, event partners and sponsors pose for a souvenir photo after the
screening of Pedro Calungsod, Ang Batang Martir (The Young Martyr)
last March 15. Photo shows Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) Executive
Directors Arnedo S. Valera (middle back row), Jessie Gatchalian (3rd from
right) and Grace Valera-Jaramillo (seated with microphone); also in photo,
Sapphire Films Jun Caringal and WWII veteran Remigio Cabacar, among
others. (Photo by Manny Lopez)
Of course, people dont
necessarily have to die to become
saints, ordained minister Valera
stressed in his remarks during
the program that followed.
The film shows Pedro

Calungsod (played by actor
Rocco Nacino), a Filipino teenager leaving his Visayas town to
join Spanish priest Fr. Diego de
San Vitores in his mission to the

Marianas Islands (Guam) in 1668.
A trained catechist and mission
assistant, he helps Fr. Diego in
baptizing the Chamorro natives.
Despite death threats, they also
persisted in preaching the gospel
and spreading the good news of
salvation through Christian faith
among the pagans. Guam is now
a devoutly Catholic state.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Calungsod in Saint Peters
Square on Oct. 21, 2012, which
Carl Abella of Alpha Travel
attended with a travel group.
I
saw
hundreds
of
our kababayans and I felt so
proud to be there, he said. As
emcee, he included pins and
book souvenirs among the
raffle prizes. Co-emcees were
2011 Teen Philippines-America
Chessa Taboada and 2014 titlist
Angela Nicole Dizon.
Sapphire Films representative Jun Caringal flew from Los
Angeles.
MHC Executive Director
Grace S. Valera-Jaramillo said the
event was part of MHCs Spiritual Program. She noted the film
was an official entry at the Metro
Manila Film Festival.
An increasing number of FilAms have been joining European
package tours. Religious tours
are very popular, said Gloria
Mongia of Travelco International. She invited area Fil-Ams
to join the Pilgrimage to the
Holy Land in November.
Antonio Calaro of the MHC
Board of Advisers welcomed the
guests. Organizers thanked St.
Michael the Archangel Parish
for the use of Williamsburg Hall.
Other event partners were the
Fil-Am Ministry of St. Michael,
Valera Law offices, Event Technology Solutions (ETS) and Sapphire Films. Maryland accountant Monette Reyes brought her
two teenaged children.
Saying farewell to Tatay

by Eric Green, Contributor
ARLINGTON,
Va,
My
father-in-law died today. He was
95 years old. I only met him three
times in my life because he lived
in the Philippines so far away
from my wife and me here in
the D.C. area. I didnt know him
all that well but what I do know
about the man, whose name was
Sergio Feguro, I want to share
with the world because he was
a nice, gentle human being who
deserves recognition and admiration for the life he lived.
He was a farmer, worked
with his hands, and kept in great
physical shape with a macrobiotic diet that he stuck to long
before that diet became such a
fad.
He hated air-conditioning
despite the fact he lived in a tropical climate and used a fan when
the heat got too oppressive.
He and his wife were always
poor, never had any money but
he never seemed to care about

material things because what
interested him was reading the
newspaper and listening to the
news on his little transistor radio,
The author (right) with wife share a

last photo with their Tatay Sergio
Feguro (seated).
never television except when it
came to watching boxing, his
favorite sport along with baseball.
Much later in his life in
Dumalag (Panay), the municipality where he lived staged
each year the Sergio Games
in honor of his interest to pro-
mote sports participation among

young people.
He and his wife had 12
children, with the middle child
Rosario later becoming my wife.
Rosario used to regale me
with stories about her father,
who they called Tatay meaning Father.
The story I liked best about
him involved painting her shoes
white to look like tennis shoes so
she could participate in sports
activities at her school. Another
story I liked was the reason her
father and mother had so many
children stemmed from the fact
they were so poor and there was
no lighting in their house which
left them with nothing else to
do at night.
I admired Sergio especially
because he wanted his children
to get a good education that
would allow them more opportunities in life than he had.
However, because the family
had no money, some of the older
kids had to drop out of school

at an early age to help raise the
younger ones.
Rosario was one of the lucky
children, in that even though
she too had to help care for her
younger siblings, she was able
to finish high school and college
and get a job as an elementary
school teacher.
Several years ago Sergios
health, which had been so good
for so long because of the way
he took care of himself, began to
decline.
Last year when I saw him
for the second time he looked
even more frail and debilitated
than what I had imagined hed
be, and as it turned out while we
were at his home he suffered a
stroke.
A few weeks ago my wife
and I went back again to her parents house, where by now her
father slept most days and when
awake, you wondered if he was
processing what you were saying
to him since he seemed to slip in

and out of coherence.
Eventually,
Sergio
was
taken back to the hospital when
his condition deteriorated even
more and after a weeks stay
there the doctor said he had
done all he could for him. My
wife and I didnt talk about it
because it was too upsetting to
her especially, but she had to
know that her fathers days were
numbered.
A few days ago the phone
rang and from another room I
heard my wife cry out in shock
and disbelief when she was told
her father was on his deathbed.
That gave her time to tell him
not to worry, she and the rest of
their family would take care of
his wife and that it was okay if
he wanted to slip away.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
Eric Green is a free-lance writer in
the D.C. area with articles published
in the Washington Post, Baltimore
Sun and Arlington Sun-Gazette.
16
April 1-15, 2015
Fil-Ams top Mrs. DC... from page 1

achievements while vying for the
chance to represent the city at the
Mrs. America pageant.
Keltz, a graduate of Loyola
College in Baltimore, is currently
a stay at home mother juggling
two part time business ventures:
Younique and teaching Zumba
Kids.
Combining her love for
dance, fitness and spending time
with her children, Elaine received
a licensed to teach Zumba Kids.
She is also an Exclusive-level
Presenter with Younique Products. In her first year with Younique, Elaine was promoted five
times and currently oversee a

sales team of 30 women and has
over 800 women in her directsales network.
Alongside her husband of
nine years, Keltz is raising three
children, 7, 6 and 4. Her hobbies
include hiking, traveling through
Europe and spending time on the
beach with her children.
Elaine
graduated
from
Loyola College in Baltimore, Md.
with a degree in Psychology and
a minor in business.
After graduating from college, Keltz spent a year living
in Bangkok, Thailand teach-
Commandos paid... from page 1

ago. He was the top Philippine
envoy in Jakarta at the time and
also served in Washington D.C.
in the 1980s.
Marwan was killed in the
clash although the commandos
were forced to leave his corpse
behind. They however cut off a
finger and sent it to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in Washington to verify his identity. The
FBI placed a $5 million bounty
for his capture, dead or alive.
These police officers died
doing their duty, PNP Officerin-Charge Leonardo A. Espina
said in a message read by Police
Chief Supt. Jose L. Gentiles, the
countrys police attache in Washington. We will cherish their
memories and they will never be
forgotten.
In Manila, the Senate and an
internal police fact-finding inves-
tigation revealed their findings

that seem to zero in on sacked
PNP-SAF commander Getulio
Napenas Jr. and resigned PNP
chief Alan Purisima.
During the mass, 44 attendees individually placed lighted
candles on a table near the altar
as the names of the slain cops
were called by Gentiles.
Tanghalang Pilipino choir
members made the ceremony
more solemn, at one point singing the church hymn, Hindi
Ka Kalilimutan (You Will Not
be Forgotten). An image of Ina
Poonbato (Blessed Virgin Mary
as Lady of the Rock), courtesy of
devotee Stella Aguila-Famoso,
graced the side table.
Cuisia said Marwans neutralization came at a high cost...
that brought all the Filipino
people in grief. He noted the
PH, China word war... from page 1

China denounced the Philippine plan. This does not only
violate Chinas territorial sovereignty but also reveals (the Philippines) hypocritical nature,
said Chinese foreign ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying
last March 27.
The Philippines has recently
stepped up its criticism of Chinas development of isolated
outcroppings in the waters into
large facilities capable of hosting
bases and even airstrips.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.),
chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and Sen.
Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman
of the Armed Services Commit-
tee, were among US lawmakers

who assailed Chinas reclamation activities in the South China
Sea.
In a letter to State Secretary
John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter, they warned that
the simultaneous reclamation
and building activities at different sites could place longstanding interests of the United States,
as well as our allies and partners,
stand at considerable risk.
The March 20 letter was also
signed by ranking Democratic
committee members Sens. Jack
Reed of Rhode Island and Bob
Menendez of New Jersey.
The United States main-
Pacquiao, Mayweather vent... from page 1

more of working out in the Philippines in February, it was great
to finally put on the headgear
and spar, Pacquiao said.
Mayweather sparred with
Zab Judah and according to his
uncle Jeff Mayweather, he beat
Judah in three lopsided five-minute rounds. Just beat the (bleep)
out of him, he declared.
While Pacquiao, 36, and
Mayweather, 38, a notorious
trash-talker, have both been
saying little since the fight was
signed, its not been the case with

Roach. He told ABS-CBN in a
recent interview that he believed
Mayweathers
manager, Al
Haymon, was offering potential Pacquiao sparring partners
money to not spar with him.
Im hiring sparring partners, Al Haymons people calls
them up and offers more money
for them not to come, Roach
said. (But) Im not worried
about those guys. We have four
very good sparring partners for
ing English at the prestigious

Assumption University. Elaine
spent that year immersed in Thai
culture, and traveling throughout Southeast Asia.
Fil-Am Lindagrace De La
Cruz (Mrs. West End) is a Certified Trainer, Public Speaking
Coach, Presentation Specialist,
and SAG/AFTRA Performer.
De la Cruz is as much business-minded as she is artistic,
bringing a top-level consultancy skill-set paired with a passion for the stage to her role in
teaching others how to present
the best version of themselves
and deliver their unique mes-
sage to the world.

Everyone needs to be
a strong communicator, she
averred, and theres no better
way to be one than by acquiring both business communication and performance skills.
Named an Emerging Training Leader to Watch last year by
Training Magazine, Lindagrace
has been involved in several US
government contracts tapping
her training expertise and presentation prowess.
Holding live and virtual
events for audiences one to several thousands, her client list
includes the US Department of
Treasury, FBI, Department of Justice, Supreme Court of the United

States, and the US Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Lindagrace has lived abroad
for more than half her life, in
locations to include Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia; Mexico City,
Mexico; and Madrid, Spain. She
also speaks Spanish, Tagalog,
and Portuguese.
When Lindagrace is not
working, she can be found doing
Beachbody workouts, curling
up with personal development
books or singing karaoke with
her family.
death of 44 SAF men was not in

vain, because they saved countless Filipinos from becoming victims of senseless violence from
Abu Sayyaf and other terrorist
groups.
In his homily, Fr. Willie
Jones Ducusin prayed that the
death of the gallant 44 may not
be rendered meaningless, but
rather lead to greater resolve in
the pursuit for lasting peace.
He also urged those present to remember that Jesus said,
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for
they shall be satisfied.
Community leader Margi
Paglinawan, reading the evenings intentions, asked the
attendees to pray that the Filipino people may be reminded
that justice and forgiveness
go hand in hand in promoting
genuine peace, and also to pray
for the families and loved ones
of SAF 44.
We honor the gallant police

officers, and extend our sympathies to their families, added
Ador Carreon, former Veterans
of Foreign Wars Metro Washington Department commander.
The Philippine Senate report
said US forces played a substantial role in Oplan Exodus the
police operation to capture fugitive terror leaders and led to the
death of 44 police commandos.
US personnel played a role
in the training before, and monitoring, of the ... operation, Sen.
Grace Poe declared after releasing to the public findings of a
committee inquiry. It noted the
US provided equipment, training and intelligence. At least
three US officials were at the
army 6th Infantry Division headquarters during the fighting, the
report claimed.
One of the American offi-
cers reportedly demanded Philippine artillery fire on the MILF

and BIFF to help the beleaguered
SAF troopers but was rebuffed
by a senior army commander.
Filipino field commanders said
earlier the SAF did not tell them
about the Mamasapano raid until
they got into trouble and could
not fire their howitzers for fear
they may hit the commandos.
The Senate called the $5 million US bounty on Marwan a
staggering amount that could
have enticed law enforcers to
conduct the risky operation.
Though not eligible for rewards,
the officers could have hoped to
obtain the money by channeling
it via a civilian third party, the
Senate inquiry noted.
The separate PNP report
also revealed the US deployed
two Blackhawk helicopters in
Mamasapano but they were used
to fly out the wounded as well as
corpses of slain policemen.
tains vested interests in the

Indo-Pacific region, including
the security of our allies and
partners, in the freedom of navigation, in free and unimpeded
commerce, in respect for international law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes, the senators
wrote,
Chinas land-reclamation
and construction activities on
multiple islands across the
Spratly chain, and the potential
command and control, surveillance, and military capabilities
it could bring to bear from these
new land features, are a direct
challenge not only to the interests of the United States and the
region, but to the entire international community, they averred.
Foreign Secretary Albert

del Rosario said the Philippines would resume its own
construction of facilities in the
sea.Chinas recent statement...
should not distract us from the
real issues in the South China Sea
which are Chinas illegitimate
nine-dash line claim and Chinas unilateral and aggressive
behavior in asserting that claim
as exemplified by its massive
and unrestrained reclamation.
Presidential spokesperson
Abigail Valte explained on March
28 that any repairs of Philippine facilities would not violate
a Declaration on the Code of
Conduct sealed between China
and Southeast Asian countries in
2002.
The non-binding accord is

intended to avoid raising tensions in the disputed territory.
Valte said the Philippines
had made its position clear in
a challenge it had filed before a
United Nations tribunal in March
2014 to declare what Manila said
was Chinas claim to 70 percent
of the sea as illegal.
The Philippines has also
filed numerous diplomatic protests against what it calls China
efforts to assert its claims to the
territory shown in a nine-dash
line in several Chinese maps.
The UN tribunal is due to
rule early next year on Manilas
challenge to Beijings claims.
Manny that are Mayweather

look-alikes.
Roach
was
especially
pleased with Pacquiaos form
considering he had not been
inside the ropes since defeating
Chris Algieri last November in
Macau.
Manny looked so fresh
today. Im very happy with what
he showed me, Roach said.
You couldnt tell he had been
away from the ring since the Algieri fight in November. Manny is
on fire in the gym.
Reports have indicated
that tickets for the super bout

have become harder to find.
Pacquiaos
promoter
Bob
Arum revealed that, over the
last month, ticket prices have
gone up and are now selling for
between $1,500 and $7,500.
And while the fight was
originally expected to generate
somewhere around $50 million
in ticket sales, the expectation
is that the fight will now make
about $74 million based off the
sale of about 15,000 tickets.
Its crazy, Arum told
ESPN, but it is what it is. Its
amazing.
In Manila, the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) revealed
that Pacquio is now the top taxpayer in the country despite his
continuing feud with the agency.
Pacquiao, who is battling a tax case filed by the BIR,
paid P163.84 million in regular
income taxes in 2013. The tax
evasion case against Pacquiao
stemmed from his P2.2-billion
tax liability based on an assessment by the BIR.
US role substantial
17
April 1-15, 2015
On Understanding Metro Manila
K
The Binays dangerous
gambit
MANILA
ayor Junjun Binay of
Makati City has been
suspended
for
six
months by the Ombuds(wo)man,
the governments arm that investigates wrongdoing by public
officials. But he got a temporary
restraining order from the Court
of Appeals and thus escaped suspension.
But before the TRO came
down, Binay was defiant
and didnt want to obey the
Ombuds(wo)mans order. (The
current ombudsman is a woman,
former Supreme Court associate justice Conchita CarpioMorales.)
By their defiance of the
Ombuds(wo)man, the Binays
(yes, including his father, Vice
President Jejomar, who slept
with him at city hall during
the wait for the TRO) not only
played a dangerous game but
also showed their disrespect for
the law.
They also openly accused
Interior Sec. Mar Roxas (a potential rival of Veep Binay for the
presidency in 2016) of orchestrating the young Binays suspension and Carpio-Morales of playing politics. Thats inflammatory
talk and uncivil speech.
That kind of in-yourface demagoguery has no place
in high-level politics. It doesnt
enhance the quality and dignity
of political discourse.
Besides taunting Roxas
and baiting him to dish out the
same inappropriate language or
behavior, the Binays were playing to the emotions of voters
who may still prefer Veep Jojo as
the next president.
They were trying to salvage
whatever is left of the base of
support the vice president had
before the bombshell of alleged
corruption exploded last year.
And they were trying to inflame
their supporters into potentially
explosive street action.
They were hoping that the
people would rally behind them
as oppositionists being persecuted by the Aquino government. But its doubtful whether
the general public would buy
that gambit of defiance.
The Binays, with Veep Jojo in
the forefront, have succeeded in
entrenching themselves as Makatis keepers of power. Theyve

allegedly amassed wealth and
power over the years through
corrupt means. Their political
enemies allege that theyre rich
way beyond their legal capacity
to accumulate wealth.
Recent surveys indicate that
the Filipino people believe the
charges against the Binays are
credible, as evidenced by the
steady decline in the vice presidents popularity numbers (in a
survey just out, his popularity
rating was up a bit).
Were the Binays using the
standoff at city hall as their makeor-break exit from their continuing dilemma over the corruption
allegations? Would the drama
over barricading themselves
inside city hall have elicited the
Filipinos natural sympathy for
the underdog?
Veep Jojo has pursued a successful career out of playing the
underdog since he came onto the
political scene in the precursor
events leading to the 1986 Edsa
People Power Revolution. He
has projected himself as a David
bold enough to challenge the
political Goliaths.
Later, as a long-serving
mayor of Makati (the richest city
in the Philippines), he continued to play the role of a Robin
Hood out to protect the welfare
of Makatis poor. But his political enemies picture him as a robbing hood who pockets as much
money as he gives away, or even
much, much more.
The city hall stalemate is
over for now. But questions
remain. First, how will the people
at large react to the Binays defiant and inflammatory rhetoric?
Second, how will the public
read the Binays accusation
against the Ombuds(wo)man
herself? Does their act of defiance and disrespect for the law
give us an indication of how the
Binays would behave if Veep Jojo
does become president?
And, finally, when they
accuse Ombuds(wo)man CarpioMorales of being a tool of their
perceived political enemies, do
they really believe someone who
painstakingly built an illustrious
career with integrity and dedica-
nowing,
quoting
sages of the ancient
Greece, is understanding, now undeniably the
guide of any thinking individual
to the pursuits of his or her daily
activities, in maintaining personal relationships, accomplishing the demands of a job, choosing permanent or temporary
residences, or in times of leisure,
in opting for a place to visit. Geographical points of journey are a
dime a dozen. And Metropolitan
Manila, one of the dots on a map,
is in need of understanding.
Filipinos working and living
here in the United States or elsewhere in the globe know only
of Metro Manila as the place of
ones birth; the font for quenching the thirst for elementary, college, and higher education; historical site of church, cathedral,
or mosque for religious worships; a vault for secured financial transactions; an anchor for
profitable job or commerce; the
seat of elected political policymakers and authority; a dining
place for fusion or home-grown
menus; and as a center of cultures. All these are external manifestations of landmarks within
a defined boundary, but do not
open, to an onlooker, a window
to what is within.
Metro Manila, as the primary city, is the soul and fiber of
the Philippines. It defines what
the country is all about. It is
one of the oldest artifacts of the
Philippines civilized life. From
the large migration of Malays
aboard wooden ships known as
barangays in 200 BC to form
permanent settlements along
the banks of what is now known
as the Pasig River, expanding
through hundreds of years to a
16th Century medieval fortress
of Intramuros, a walled city built
by the Spanish colonizers, and
finally growing into, beginning
in the 19th Century, an urbanized city. Metro Manila remains
the symbol and carrier of Philippine civilization.
Around and outside the
stone-walled city various towns
were established on both sides of
the Pasig River and later spilled
north and south of the estuary
to create an urban sprawl measuring about 630 in square kilometers. With four cities and 13
municipalities in its embrace,
Manila has evolved into a thriving metropolis with a population
of nine millions and growing.
Its population density is one of
the highest in Asia, if not in the
world; a teeming populace pulsating a city life that is the image
of a society, not just a special
form of social life. The growth of
Metro Manila is entwined with
civilization and thus, the story
of this city is also the story of the
countrys civilization.
For those living outside

her boundaries, it is not hard to
imagine the United States without conjuring the bustling New
York City or Chicago City. In
like manner, one cannot talk of
or describing the Philippines
without
mentioning
Metro
Manila, now called by urban
planners, mapmakers, sociologists, and anthropologists as a
modern colonial city, along
with Jakarta, Saigon, Bangkok,
Singapore, and Calcutta. With
the political independence from
Spain in 1898 and released of
administrative control from
United States in 1946, the cultural influences of Spanish rule
for 333 years and the Americans
educational initiatives fostered
for 50 years, however mitigating, did not lessen the strength of
the Filipino customs, traditions,
and behavior which are handed
down from parents to descendants through generations and
which are indigenous to the
countrys cultures.
The growth of Metro Manila
did not start from within, but
from without. As with the transforming Venice in the 14th Century wrought about by sea trades
and the prospering Manchester
at the height of the Industrial
Revolution in the 17th Century,
Metro Manilas formative years
resulted from human migrations
of people from other countries
or islands bringing with them
their labor skills, knowledge of
economics, profitable methods
of capital formation, tested ways
of assuring returns from investment, experiences in architecture
and designs, and inherent artistic temperaments. Metro Manila
today is a cosmopolitan city of
permanent residents and transients from Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, Brunei, South Korea,
Japan, Great Britain, the United
States, Spain, Portugal, South
and Latin Americas, Taiwan, and
China, all exhibiting a variety of
life styles, but are allowed the
greatest degree of their individuality.
Metro Manila started as an
old river city; it was borne, and
a beneficiary in history, of the
Pasig River. On its delta grew
a mangrove plant with flowers
of white petals called nilad.
People of the nearby village were
called maynilad, evolving into
Manila. Seen from about ten

thousand feet from above, Pasig
River was formed over the centuries from an overflow of water
from the Laguna Lake in eastern Luzon flowing south downwards the Manila Bay. Aside
from providing the best vantage
point of seeing the sun sets at the
end of a summer day, Manila Bay
is one of the worlds best anchorages for commercial and luxury
ships as they wait for their turns
to load or unload cargos at one of
the designated 10 piers.
Unlike Washington in the
District of Columbia, USA,
Metro Manila was formed without the visions and foresights
of the French architect Pierre
Charles LEnfant. Commercial
buildings, residential towers,
and structures for institutions
were added to existing ones as
the needs arose. With the edifices now lining the contours of
streets, avenues, and boulevards,
Metro Manila boasts of having
met the universal standards for
what constitute a true metropolis. Majority of its colleges, universities, and other institutions
for higher learning are worldaccredited, one of which was
founded in 1611, older than
Harvard; hospitals and clinics
are manned by licensed professionals treating patients suffering from traditional diseases and
ailments, conducting researches
and experiments in the prevention of new ones, and providing care to the aged; a center for
cultures, with its museums, art
galleries, stages for the performing arts, cinemas, robust print
and electronic media, and TV
and radio stations; regular and
upscale restaurants and diners
catering to local and international tastes; and dozens of shopping malls, one of which is the
biggest in Asia.
The role Metro Manila plays
in the formation, maintenance,
spread, decline, (heavens forbid!)
and transformation of Philippine civilization is still unrecognized officially. Historians and
other professionals with similar
inclination will someday look at
the progress made from a river
settlement into a Metropolitan
Manila, always modernistic in its
outlook. Metro Manila is a city
that never sleeps.
18
April 1-15, 2015
Immigration Notes
By: J. G. Azarcon, Esq.
Children out
of wedlock
Hit the Reset Button
RICHMOND, Va.
alling all readers!
We interrupt your
daily regular programming to give you this special report! Greetings to all our
friends out there! I would like
to take a step back and give our
readers a look outside of our
regular scheduled program with
our bi-weekly walks through the
neighborhood of Informadio and
take a step towards a glimpse
at warmer weather ahead as we
make way into the first days of
Spring.
Speaking of Spring, its that
time of the year hitting the reset
button welcoming back the fresh
new season in all her elegance on
March 20 along with the March
equinox (or Northward equinox)
when the Sun appears to cross
the celestial equator, heading
northward. Many around the
world from different cultures
celebrate this special phenomenon, for starters the Persian
and Indian Calendar start collectively on the day and the day
after, while the Jewish Passover
falls on the first full moon, and
Easter is celebrated on the first
Sunday after. In Asia this time
marks the middle of the spring
for many, while Japan marks it
as the Shunbun no hi a National
Holiday when families spend
time visiting family graves and
holding family reunions.
Where everyone around the
world has their own traditions,
for me I for one, will be doing
my annual spring cleaning ritual
rewinding and unwinding my
daily schedule along with refocusing my short and long term
goals.
Doing this is a great way to

re-align oneself with their business plan as well which I tend
to do at this time. I encourage
you to take a step back during
this time and take a look at your
business plan and more importantly look at your personal life.
Am I meeting my own expectations?, am I meeting the lifestyle that I want to have, Is my
current trajectory directed right
towards where I envision myself
reaching? are questions that we
should all ask ourselves.
Also this is a great time in
the year to just stop and smell
the roses so to speak, as we only
can accomplish so much in such
little time, which is why its a
great time to re-organize and
prioritize.
Its great letting go of the
excess baggage and cutting
the fat focusing on what matters most to us, so as you spend
your time this Spring rewinding, I leave you with one last
thought. What do I value the
most, and what would life look
like without them? Sometimes
life moves so fast that we often
forget whats most important to
us and get ourselves trapped in
our own little world.
So take the time to enjoy the
warmer weather bringing the
light breeze of Spring along with
all the colorful full blooms and
take in the emerald green grass
rising up at the nearest park or
your in the convenience of your
backyard. Enjoy Gods green
earth and take a step into the
great outdoors, along with the
kisses from the sun.
What a great time to rewind
and hit the reset button.
The Binays dangerous... from page 17

tion to the law would now suddenly throw all of that away just
to please a bunch of politicians?
Its a thought worth pondering
with deep introspection.
The Binays were playing a
dangerous game. If the Court of

Appeals decides after 60 days to
let the Ombuds(wo)mans case
against them proceed, would
they again be defiant?
hildren born outside the

U.S. and out of wedlock
to an alien father and a
U.S. citizen mother automatically acquires U.S. citizenship at
birth provided that the U.S. citizen mother had previously been
physically present in the U.S. or
one of its outlying possessions
for a continuous period of one
year.
Children born outside the
U.S. and out of wedlock to an
alien mother and a U.S. citizen
father can acquire U.S. citizenship provided the following
requirements are satisfied:
1. A blood relationship
between the person and the
father is established by clear and
convincing evidence,
2. The father had the nationality of the U.S. at the time of the
persons birth,
3. The father (unless
deceased) has agreed in writing to provide financial support
for the person until the person
reaches the age of 18 years, and
VISA PRIORITY DATES FOR THE PHILIPPINES

APRIL 2015
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried sons/daughters
of US citizens
Feb. 01, 2005
Second:
A: Spouses/minor children of
permanent residents:
Aug. 01, 2013
B: Unmarried sons/daughters 21 years
of age or older of permanent residents April 01, 2004
Third: Married sons/daughters of citizens Aug. 08, 1993
Fourth: Brothers/sisters of citizens
Sep. 22, 1991
EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES
First: Priority workers
Current
Second: Professionals holding advanced
degrees or persons of exceptional ability
Current
Third: Skilled workers, professionals
Oct. 01, 2014
Other Workers
Oct. 01, 2014
Fourth:
Certain Religious Workers
Current
Fifth: Employment creation/
(Million or half-million dollar investor)
Current
4. While the person is under
the age of 18 years(a) the person is legitimated
under the law of the persons
residence or domicile,
(b) the father acknowledges
paternity of the person in writing
under oath, or
(c) the paternity of the
person is established by adjudication of a competent court.

(This article is for information only and is not intended
as a substitute for professional
legal advice. Legal consequences
differ from each set of facts. For
questions, you may call 703 893
0760 x2)
10 Mistakes to Avoid When

Financing Your Home
uying and financing a

home is the most important personal financial
decision we will make in our lifetime. Over a lifetime, the average
homeowner may pay one-half of
a million dollars or more in mortgage interest, many times more
than any other single expense.
Yet, the process and substance of home finance remains
a mystery to the average American. We tend to know much
more about our automobiles
than we do about mortgages
that make our home purchase
possible. Because of our unfamiliarity, many Americans have
no idea if they are making the
right decision in relation to their
personal financial situation. This
is because we tend to make up
to ten essential mistakes when
involved in the home buying
process.
We do not have a relationship with a loan officer. An individual formulates a multitude
of professional relationships in
his or her lifetime. These include
a doctor, attorney, accountant,
financial planner and even a car
dealership. We tend not to have
a relationship with a mortgage
lender because the need for the
home finance transaction arises
much less frequently than our
trips to other professionals such
as a tax preparer. With the advent
of adjustable rate mortgages and

refinances, chances are you will
need the help of a professional
more frequently. If you have no
relationship with someone qualified, you are much less likely to
find qualified advice when the
need arises.
We have no idea whether the
lender we pick is qualified. Since
we do not tend to have long-term
relationships, we do not tend to
shop for the right reasons. We
know how to ask about a companys rates, but not the background of the entity with whom
we are dealing. For example,
what is their experience level?
You are about to make your most
important financial decision.
Would it not make sense to check
references?
We do not know how to
shop. Most homebuyers know
how to ask: what is your rate on
a mortgage? We do not know
how to ask about lock options,

miscellaneous fees, annual percentage rates, or even the variety
of programs available.
We do not know enough
about mortgages in general
especially how the choices might
affect our economic gains or
losses. Since we do not know
about mortgages, it is not likely
we will know how to shop or
what to look for in a mortgage.
We tend to know that there are
fixed rates and adjustables. We
may not know that there are
options that may require less of a
down payment or closing costs.
We tend to be clueless when
asked how the down payment
might affect our overall rate of
return on our investment in the
long run.
We think we know what
type of loan we would likewith-
19
April 1-15, 2015
BAKED MINI DONUTS
egular donuts are usually

associated with kids and
also with adults of all ages.
But I never was fond of donuts
because they are deep-fried and
too sweet in the first place. Nowadays, I have been exploring recipes for the kids because I have
11 grandchildren going 12 early
next month. Here is a donut
recipe that children and parents
alike will love because they are
baked and also I have regulated
the sweetness. These donuts
are so cute and so tempting to
eat. They can be eaten plain or
dusted with icing sugar.
Yields 14-18
with vegetable spray.

Slightly beat eggs, sugar and
corn oil until blended then add
milk.
Whisk or sift together
all the dry ingredients (cake
flour, baking powder, salt and
nutmeg).
Fold the dry ingredients
into the egg mixture until well
blended and fold the butter last.
In a 16-inch piping bag,
transfer the batter; close the top
end with your hands or rubber
band and cut the tip about an
inch to have an opening.
Pipe into each doughnut cup
half full (or about 1 tablespoon)
of batter. Spread the batter with

your fingers around center post
to edges of cup.
Bake about 6 to 7 minutes
or until the top of the doughnuts
spring back when touched. Cool
in pan for 2 to 3 minutes and
remove from the doughnut pan.
Serve plain or with cinnamon sugar.
Editors Note: Master Chef
Evelyn --100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S., 2009, Filipina Womens Network; MHC Most
Outstanding Migrant Award in
Culinary Arts, 2011; PAFC Dakila
Special Achievement Award, 2011;
Owner/Master Chef, Philippine
Oriental Market & Deli, Arlington,

Virginia; Founder and President of
CHEW (Cancer Help Eat Well)
Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) public
charity formed to help and cook probono for Filipino-Americans who
are afflicted with cancer and other
serious illnesses; Culinary writer;
Member, Les Dames dEscoffier

International, Washington DC
Chapter; Member, International
Cake Exploration Society, Member,
Culinary Historians of Washington,
D.C.; Master Chef, French Cuisine
and Patisserie, Le Cordon Bleu,
London.
Pulubi: Puwede na tong

isang espresso macchiato sa Starbucks!
is Sexuality?
Pedro: Sexuality
lesson for today, mam.
Tired of a listless sex life, the

man came right out and asked
his wife during a recent lovemaking session,
How come you never tell
me when you have an orgasm?
She glanced at him and
replied, Hellooo! Youre never
home!
CLASS
MULTO
Juan: Pare, noong mayaman

pa kami, nagkakamay kaming
kumain. Ngayong mahirap na
kami, nakakutsara na.
Pedro: Baligtad yata?
Juan: Mahirap kasing kamayin ang lugaw, pare!
SAGOT
Sa loob ng Mega Mall...

Boypren: Mahal, nakikita
mo ba yung babaeng yun?
Girlpren: Oo, bakit?
Boypren: Iyan ang ex-girlfriend ko.
Girlpren: Hindi naman sexy,
at ang pangit-pangit pa!
Boypren: Talagang ganun.
Ganyan talaga ang weakness ko,
noon pa man.
Inday: Sir, Mam... may

multo po tayo.
Sir: Kalokohan, huwag kang
maniwala sa multo. Hindi totoo
ang multo!
Mam: Bakit mo naman nasabing may multo tayo, Inday?
Inday: Kasi po, nawawala
yung tatlo kong panty, nahanap
ko po sa cabinet ni Sir.
Sir: Ahh.. kung ganun, talagang may multo nga tayo.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn oil
3/4 cup milk
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter, melted
and cooled
Needed:
Doughnut Pan
with 12 cups or molds (available
at gourmet kitchen stores);
Piping Bag
Methods:
Preheat oven to 395 F.
Spray doughnut pan (see photo)
JOB HUNTING
A retired man went into the
Job Center in downtown DC,
and saw a card advertising for a
Gynecologists Assistant. Interested, he went in and asked the
clerk for details. The clerk pulled
out the file and read:
The job entails getting the
ladies ready for the gynecologist. You have to help the women
out of their underwear, lay them
down and carefully wash their
private regions, then apply shaving foam and gently shave off the
hair, then rub in soothing oils so
theyre ready for the gynecologists examination. The annual
salary is $65,000, and youll have
to go to Crystal City, Virginia.
Fair enough, the man
said, Is that where the job is?
No sir . . . thats where the
end of the line is right now.
FISHING TIPS
Two women are fishing. Lisa
always catches the most fish.
Wanda asked her, How do
you do it? Every time we go fishing you always catch the most
fish.
Lisa replied, When I wake
up in the morning, if my husbands thing is hanging off to the
left, I fish off the left side of the
boat. If his thing is hanging off to
the right, I fish off the right side
of the boat.
Wanda says, What if his
thing is standing straight up?
Lisa says, Then I dont go

fishing, silly!
DOCTORS FEE
A guy goes to the doctor. He
says to the doctor, Doc, you got
to help me, Ive had this erection
for weeks. It hurts so bad, I cant
put up with it anymore. So, can
you help me?
The doctor says, Sure, I can
help you.
So the doctor licks his two
fingers and smacks the guys
thing-a-ma-jing. Then a bug flew
off and his you-know-what went
back to normal.
Then the guy says, Doc, I
feel great now! How much do I
owe you?
The doctor says, Help me
find that bug and you dont owe
me a damn thing.
THE MILKMAN
A milkman, who is dying in
the hospital, is surrounded by
his two sons, daughter, his wife
and nurse. He says to his eldest
son:
To you, Shankar, I leave the
Beverly Hills houses.
To you, my dear daughter
Pooja, I leave the apartments in
the Los Angeles Plaza.
To you, Akash, being my
youngest son with a large future,
I leave the City Center offices.
And you, my dear wife
Punam, the three residential
building towers in downtown
L.A.
The nurse, impressed, tells
the wife: Madam, your husband
is very rich. He is bequeathing
many properties! You all are so
lucky!
And the wife retorts: Rich?
Lucky? Are you kidding me?
Those are his routes where he
delivers milk!
HOW COME
Judge: Ano ba talaga ang

nangyari?
Juan: (Di nagsasalita)
Judge: Sumagot ka sa
tanong.
Juan: Naman eh!!! Akala ko
ba hearing lang to. Eh bakit may
speaking pa?
HIGH CLASS
Juancho: Nakakamagkano
ka sa isang araw?
Pulubi: Nag-uumpisa kasi
ako ng 8 am. Alas nuwebe na
ngayon... naka 80 pesos na ko.
Juancho: Hindi din masama,
noh? Anong mabibili mo niyan?
WEAKNESS
LESSON
Teacher: Okay class, our
lesson for today is sex education.
What is Sexuality?
Pedro: Ako mam! Ako mam!
Teacher: Okay, Pedro, What
is
our
PINAPILI
Mister: Mahal, naalala mo
ba noong pinapili ako ng tatay
mo kung kasal o kulong? Pag
kulong, sampung taon ako doon.
Misis: Oo.
Mister: Di ba pinili ko kasal?
Misis: Eh, bakit ka malungkot?
Mister: Kung kulong ang
pinili ko, laya na sana ako
ngayon. Sampung taon na kasi
tayong kasal, eh.
20
April 1-15, 2015
When Winter Retreats and Spring Calls Again
Y
Lola Pita
indness in words
creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. This
quote sums up this dear noble
lady. She has a generous spirit
with an inexhaustible compassion for us who people her
world.
She is at once wise and innocent, able to comprehend the
gravity of any given situation yet
remains artless in her belief that
things will be all right in the end.
Ah basta. Gay-on na lamang.
Well, that is how it is.
How does one express
appreciation and thanks to a
woman whose generosity provided a safe home for our two
daughters while Mitch and I
strove to make a success at the
start of his medical practice?
Lola Pita turned 90 this
March. I still remember my first
meeting with her at a park in
Springfield (Virginia) 34 years
ago. She was on a swing with a
baby girl on her lap whom she
introduced as her granddaughter. She had a ready albeit shy
smile as she greeted us.
I just had my second daughter a month before. Our first
daughter clung to Mitchs hand,
not quite sure how to react to
Lola Pita who spoke with a thick
Lipeno accent. I grew up in Lipa,
Batangas so I welcomed the
chance to converse with someone in the dialect of my youth.
Ineng, ikaw gay ka aanak
lamang? Miss, did you just give
birth? I looked at my sleeping
baby and nodded my head. Ala
eh bakit ka ga nag suot agad ng
pantalon? Then why are you
wearing pants already?
I was so startled at her candidness. I was discomfited at her
meaning and looked at Mitch.
We both started to laugh. Lola
Pita laughed with us. The lady
had a good sense of humor. Cool!
We visited her home within
a months time and were quickly
absorbed into and enveloped
by the warmth of the extended
family. There was good food and
plenty of laughs. She had three
granddaughters whose ages
intersected with my two girls.
Together they were a giggly
whispery group who became
fast friends. They had a habit of
disappearing into the girls bedroom as soon as we arrived and
would reappear some minutes

later looking like quintuplets
with matching hairdos. We were
entertained by hastily choreographed dance or song numbers.
Mitch opened up his practice within a year of meeting Lola
Pita. We were in desperate need
of a sitter but our finances precluded registering our daughters
at any nursery school in the area.
The fees were too high for our
budget and the hours were too
short for the unpredictability of
our schedule.
Enter Lola Pita. She volunteered to look after the girls for
a fee that embarrassed Mitch and
me. She was doing us a favor but
had the uncanny skill of convincing us we were helping her with
extra money. The arrangement
relied heavily on her willingness
to adjust to our irregular times.
We held office hours on Saturdays as well and that was ok
with her too.
We arrived in the early evenings to pick up our daughters. I
was too tired and grumpy by the
end of the day and had no energy
nor inclination to cook proper
meals. We made the rounds of
the Chinese restaurants and
diners around Springfield. We
became regulars who ordered
the same food from the menu. It
was amusing to sit down at the
table and be greeted with a wink
from the wait staff. The usual?
They asked. We nodded yes, of
course.
Lola Pita began to set up two
more places at her dinner table.
She insisted it was no trouble
adding us because she was used
to cooking for a big family. My
daughters welcomed the delicious home-cooked food.
We were loved. We were
well fed. And I felt uncomfortable. Lola Pita gave of her time
and her affection freely. Without
complain. She didnt even ask for
a raise. So I decided every other
grocery I bought would be delivered to her. She refused of course
but I eventually convinced her
how much better I would feel if
she acquiesced.
About two years later we
knew Lola Pita wanted to take on
more children to babysit but Lolo
Cesar, her husband, vetoed the
plan. He didnt want any attention taken away from our two
es, for sure, but when? On

the 20th of March, spring
was supposed to have
started. Problem is the pristine
snow white wont leave us just
as, yet. She is unpredictable with
her mood changing attitude. At
some places she falls gently and
not much and at other places,
furious and destructive as if
she has a mind of her own like
people.
But what is so confusing
is when a series of different
weather conditions happen in
one day like- the sun shines in
the morning till noontime, then
it rains, and by late afternoon,
snow falls. Then rain comes
back again till midnight. With
this kind of weather, we end up
just cooped up in the confines
of our home. This sounds better
for those who are retired, but
for the working people, going
home is challenging with the
heavy traffic encountered along
the way. The childrens schedule
of classes is another matter to
deal with. Schools could cancel
classes, open late or be open as
scheduled.
Time to Go Snow White

Admittedly, we appreciate
the aesthetic value of winter, the
postcard-like winter wonderland
scenes adding to our serene and
crisp surroundings. But winter is
only one of the four seasons that
we look forward to every year.
Each season has its own
time, beauty and life and nature
dictates that transitions should
happen from one season to the
next. It seems that winter is adamant to leave. It is overstaying
and there must be a scientific
reason for this. Like the topic of
polar vortex, it might be better
explained at another time as a
separate topic. The lawns are
about to wake from months of
sleep, the bulbs are ready to
shoot up and the spring buds are
preparing to blossom to fill the
landscape with beautiful colors,
but the stubborn snow keeps on
coming back.
This year, its frequency and
excessiveness results to from
mild discomforts and disruptions like in Northern Virginia, to
chaotic situations of destruction
of properties and lives in places
like the New England states.
Apparently, Mother Nature has
forgotten the wisdom of the
saying, All good things must
come to an end. Winter must
end so as spring might come
out to present its own colorful
life. The grass and plants seem
to be hungry and the squirrels are already tired of hibernation. They are ready to reappear
to renew life, just as each blossom eager open, so are we. After
months of having wintry passive
activities, we are now ready to
welcome the promise of invigorating spring.
On that official first day of
spring, I woke up feeling good

that I can now wear my outfits
of pale colors that I have previously picked and took care of.
My mind, body and spirit were
all ready to feel the change of
season, but when I looked out
through my bedroom window,
what did I see? The snow was
falling with big flakes! Winter
has not ended and it looked gray
outside. Peoples moods can
also change fast! Feeling cold, I
went back to my bed and tucked
myself again under the warm
blanket and comforter. I felt
snug, but not sleepy anymore.
During the past couple
of weeks, we kept on saying,
Thats the end of winter, but
it did not happen. One time, I
measured the snow fall in front
of our main door. It was one and
a half inches, the next time, three
inches, and then, eight inches
high. It was quite a feat shoveling the snow from our front
door to the end of our drive way.
Theres no way my husband and
I could do it. I was ready to call
and pay the services of a couple
of teenagers in our subdivision,
but luckily a friend called and
had offered to do it for us free!
In turn, he enjoyed our lunch
of a hearty homemade soup of
chicken-macaroni-asparagus,
adobo and steamed shrimps. The
day turned out to be an enjoyable
one in the company of our friend
instead of having the negative
moments of complaining.
Waking up every morning
to enjoy our coffee, our topic was
almost always about the weather
condition as we watched the TV
weather news. In one of these
reports, it was mentioned that in
the New England states which
included Providence, Rhode
Island where my son lives and
work now, the snow was a towering three feet high!
I immediately called him
to ask how he was coping. He
informed me that the houses,
buildings, offices, other business
establishments and all streets
and parked motor vehicles were
buried in 3 feet of snow. Individual shoveling was out of the
question. To resolve, pools of
trucks picked up the mounds
and mounds of snow and
stacked them somewhere else.
I was concerned about Ricks
safety, food, water, his work and
other physical discomforts that
he might be encountering under
this abnormal environmental

condition. He assured me that
he had provided himself with a
stack of ready-to-eat food and
water plus the emergency things
needed just in case.
He was alright and did not
have to go to office even after the
removal of the snow. He could
work at home with his computer.
Nevertheless, I told him to take
care. Massachusetts, Vermont,
Connecticut and other neighboring states were also greatly
affected. Lucky is my daughter,
who lives in sunny Florida with
a temperature of mid 70s.
Spring Has Sprung?

In the past, the first manifestation of spring was the show
of forsythia, crocuses, hyacinths,
daffodils, iris and tulips. However, I have not seen any of these
in my neighborhood and in my
front yard. I am missing these
colorful flowers by my front
door. There are no signs of floral
life, yet. Are they still sleeping underneath? Before Easter
Sunday, the Easter Lilies should
have been out already proudly
showing their white flowers on
graceful stems. When I woke up
this morning, I thought I heard a
faint chirping of a bird.
As a habit, before going to
the kitchen to prepare our breakfast, I always open our front
door to see the outside world.
However, I already blocked out
in my brains, the sight of snowflecked surroundings. This time,
to my delight, I saw a small
white crocus flower peeping
out of the brown soil and looking a little further, a lavender
daffodil springing out of the
elongated leaves, and did I see a
small yellow tulip bud showing?
Behind me, I heard my husband
sneezed three times in succession. Lo and behold, spring has
finally come! It means the season
of new life is here.
Without doubt, I now can
now start to feel, see, hear, touch
and smell the essence of spring.
Spring represents renewal of
life, hope, pleasant disposition,
delightful attitude, giving and
forgiving, and a great sense of
gratitude. And with spring blessings, come the hope of new possibilities that might soon become
probabilities,
following
the
natural order of life. Yes, finally,
spring is here to stay. Ergo, goodbye winter, your time will come
again.
Editorial
April 1-15, 2015
21
Message of Lent
As Christians across the globe observe a fervent week of
prayer, penance and renewal, there are ominous signs their
faith would become severely tested.
Pope Francis, leader of the largest Christian church, on Palm
Sunday paid tribute to the victims of Islamic State militants,
murdered because they were Christians.
We think of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted
because they are Christians, the martyrs of our own time, the
pontiff said in a March 29 homily, marking the start of the Catholic Churchs most solemn week.
They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure insult and injury
with dignity, he declared.
The persecution of Christians is almost as old as the Catholic Church. Tertullian, a pioneering Christian theologian wrote
The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.
Christianity certainly faces immense challenges amid changing social norms and the demands of a shifting constituency.
The vicious assault of the Islamic State may be alarming but the
true call for Christians this season of Lent may be more mundane.
The tests are relentless and often unnoticeable. Human
beings continue to be persecuted because of their faith or religious affiliation just as much as by their gender, age, political
beliefs, ethnicity, associations, even their education or lack of
it. Fighting persecution requires a keen sense of awareness and
courage to speak up, to act even if one has to go it alone or worse,
fall victim himself. By equal measure, the dangers for todays
Christians hide behind the mask of racism, bigotry, arrogance
or even intolerance.
The Bible teaches, There is no greater love than to lay down
ones life for ones friends (John 15:13).
This is how Christians can truly share in Easters glory of
the Risen Christ, a fitting reward for a faith thats anchored on
obedience, personal sacrifice and the selfless giving to others.
Lets Not Forget

By Ian Alfaro Flores
SAN JOSE, California
here are only a few things in life you
can tell future generations about
that will instantly make them jealous. There are things that you think make
them jealous but they dont really. How
things used to be cheaper? 5 on the 1-10
jealousy scale at best. How there werent
as many restrictions on absolutely everything? Jealously only for those who see
them as restrictions instead of obstacles.
And theres plenty that future generations
will have that older generations didnt
that will make us jealous. Internet is one.
Internet on our phones is another. Internet everywhere on everything is number
three. You can see where Im going here.
Even things we thought were special to
a time exclusive to us really arent. Great
books? Movies? TV Shows? Speeches? Reissued. Re-released. Syndicated. YouTube.
Almost all of what was special to a certain
time can be re-lived without losing too
much of what made it special in the first
place. Almost.
Sports, genuine heart-in-mouth,
edge-of-your-seat and more phrases
that only make sense when written with
dashes-in-between-them moments in
sports are impossible to recreate without losing everything special about the
moment itself. Moments that only exist
that once, in times that only come around
once. Getting to say you saw a sports
star do their thing, in their prime, without knowing the outcome, not because
you were able to avoid finding out, but
because it literally hadnt happened yet?
If youre looking for things that no one
can take from you, ding ding ding, we
have a winner.
We live for these moments, we
remember them, we cherish them, we
appreciate them... most of the time, after
the fact. So this is just your reminder, your
friendly PSA, that on May 2nd, youre
going to be able to watch arguably the
greatest sports figure the Philippines has
ever produced fight in the biggest boxing
event in over 30 years. This is tell-yourkids-about stuff, once-in-a-lifetime stuff. I
dont need to tell you this, you know its
big. But lets not act like this is the only
time weve watched history be made.
Brutal knockout aside (big aside I know,
but humor me), Mannys run has been
nothing short of historic. Tell-your-kidsabout stuff. Once-in-a-lifetime stuff. And
Im not sure were appreciating it as much
as we should. Its so easy to get used
to it. Lets take a minute to look over
Mannys Used-To resume. Following

Manny has taken us from Used-to-winning to Used-to-winning-and-destroying
to Used-to-winning-and-making-history
back to just Used-to-winning. Just used to
winning. Its our new normal. Oh Manny
won? Of course he did, thats what he
does. Its so normal, its boring. And
somewhere along the way, while Manny
was forming his legacy, we began to form
our expectations. We began to demand
more. It became harder and harder to
appreciate what we were actually witnessing, what we actually already had. When
our hero started exceeding what weve
expected from them for so long, we figured we needed to raise our expectations
just to not be continuously floored every
time he annihilated what was expected
of him. And suddenly, normal wasnt
good enough, especially the new normal
we created. Nevermind that Manny had
given us W after W (were still going with
the heart-wrenching knockout aside, and
Im not even going to get started on Bradley I because no one needs to hear that
story again), we always found something
to downplay the achievements and took
our present for granted.
Lets create our new new normal.
You may not get it, but you cant deny it.
Mannys done things we didnt think was
possible. No one thought when Manny
beat Erik Morales at 126 lbs that hed be
winning titles at 154 lbs. No one thought
years ago that Manny would have a
chance to be a true lineal champion in 8
different weight classes, and to get there,
hed have to beat the only other guy with a
legit shout at being considered the best of
this generation if not one of the best of all
time. Lets not forget what he has accomplished by being disappointed in the way
he accomplished it. Lets just revel in the
fact that we were there for the accomplishments in the first place.
Who knows how many more fights
well get after May 2nd. Lets take the
time to appreciate this one. Take the time
to know that were getting to watch one
of the best ever do his thing in the biggest
fight well be able to watch in many of
our lifetimes and that we have absolutely
no idea whats going to happen. If you
appreciate it, youll remember it fondly. If
you remember it fondly, youll remember
it longer. If you remember it longer, youll
remember where you were when it happened, because youll want to tell your
kids and their kids where you were when
22
April 1-15, 2015
Affirmative
action?
T
Ferguson in my Mind
ike a horror movie, Ferguson is running in my mind

as I wait for my turn in a
Prince Georges District Court in
Upper Marlboro.
The Department of Justice
just released a scathing report
exposing the police and court
system in this Missouri town
for grave violations of the civil
rights of Black residents. It
details how they have been routinely harassed and punished
with low-level citations and
hefty fines.
Apparently, Ferguson was
more interested in aggressively
large courtroom. All 100 seats

fill up quickly. We all have traffic
citations, ranging from speeding
to texting while driving.
Several thoughts are running through my mind as we
wait for the Judge: Given the
long list in the docket, I could
be here for hours. Should I plead
not guilty and hope for dismissal? What if the officer who
issued the ticket shows up? But if
I plead guilty, would the Judge
show compassion and mercy? Or
will the Judge also use the system
to fill Prince Georges coffers?
Judge
Lewis
promptly
he youth in college campuses are many things,

including restless, rebellious, socially sensitive, intellectual, responsible, irresponsible
and unpredictable. That was true
in my time. It is still true today.
At the University of California in Berkeley, the Black Student
Union last month demanded
that university officials rename a
building in the campus to Assata
Shakur, a convicted cop killer
and former Black Panther who
was the first woman named to
the FBIs most wanted terrorist
list. According to these students,
Shakur is an icon of resistance
within the oppressed communities who represents black resilience in the face of state-sanctioned violence. They claim that
black students on campus have a
feeling of isolation and marginalization approaching crisis level.
In addition to renaming
a building, the student union
wants UC to budget $300,371.00
for two black admissions staff
focused on black recruiting,
$113,932.00 for another staffer
charged with black retention,
two black psychologists who
understand
racially
hostile
campus, two black advisers

to mentor black athletes and a
fully-funded Get into Graduate
School mentoring program.
I can appreciate black students honoring and looking up
to the likes of Martin Luther
King, Pres. Barack Obama,
former Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, media icon
Ophra Winfrey, Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas, Gen.
Colin Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
world renowned neurosurgeon
Dr. Ben Carson. They personify
struggle and success, never mind
the odds. But honoring a convicted felon? This reminds me of
Ferguson where protestors made
a hero out of a bully who just
robbed a little store owner.
There is obviously a desire
among black students to see more
of their own in campus. According to a news report, out of UC
Berkeleys 36,000 students, 3 percent are black, 40 percent Asian,

30 percent white and 13 percent
Hispanic. Statewide population
is apportioned 7 black, 14 percent Asian, 37 percent Hispanic
and 42 percent white.
As you can see, except for
Asians are overrepresented
while blacks, whites and Hispanics are underrepresented in
the campus population compared with their percentage of
the statewide population. I just
cant see racial bias playing a big
part here; otherwise the whites
who comprise the highest percentage of the statewide population would have dominated the
campus population in numbers.
I have serious doubts that
spending more money for the
benefit of a particular racial
group would solve the under
FBI reward and balato
T
Lulu Alexander (right) shows her Citizens Police Academy diploma after
her graduation in December 2014. With her are Mencie Hairston and Capt.
Philip J. Davis of the Prince Georges County Police Dept. (Photo by Jon
Melegrito)
raising funds instead of main- appears at 1:30, says something
taining the peace. These finan- to break the tension in the room.
cially driven policies by Fergu- Shes got a good sense of humor,
sons court system led to wide- I say to myself. Maybe shed give
spread discrimination and abuse. us all a fair shake.
One example cited is that
The crowd is mostly people
of a 62-year-old disabled mili- of color African Americans,
tary veteran who was jailed for Latinos, a couple of Chinese
three days after trying to pay Americans and one Filipino.
the $100 monthly installment
One man charged with
for his outstanding traffic fines speeding 40 miles over the limit
on the second day of the month gets off with a fine reduced from
rather than the first, when it was $100 to $25. Judge Lewis tells
due. He was arrested and jailed him to slow down next time. A
three more times in the following young woman, caught texting
years when he was unable to pay while driving, brings along her
the monthly charge.
counsel, an older woman. The
This disturbing story is play- Judge notes they have the same
ing in my head as I find myself surnames. Shes my daughter,
one day this month in Judge says the lawyer. I know its a
Patrice Lewis courtroom to con- special day because I can tell by
test a $25 parking ticket. I am the way you sat with each other,
opting to appear in court person- the Judge quips, eliciting some
ally, thinking I just might get off laughter. She reduces the fine
scot free.
and tells her not to do it again.
Shortly before 1 oclock, a
Another pleads not guilty
large group is ushered into a
he flurry of reports on the

Mamasapano debacle from
Congress, the MILF and
the PNP itself, gave credence to
much of what the public already
knew; but it could have added
import in what they didnt say.
The reports shed light on the
flawed decisions and failed execution of Oplan Exodus to capture two top terror suspects with
multi-million-dollar bounties on
their heads and instead led to the
loss of 44 police commandos.
Not giving advance notice
to the MILF seemed logical
because the law enforcers were
convinced it was harboring the
raids targets. But deliberately
keeping key decision-makers
and resource-providers in the
dark was perplexing and disturbing.
Senator Antonio Trillanes,
who exposed the pilferage of fuel
intended for the navys patrol
boats during a mutiny in Makati
in 2003, let slip a portion of
closed door testimony on Mamasapano that SAF commanders
had allegedly bought dinner
for army commanders based
in the area one day before the
botched raid. Everybody knows,
as one general once put it to me,
theres no such animal as a free
dinner, and thats especially
true for police-military dynamics, particularly in conflict zones.
They usually do it to make sure
the armys howitzers or armored
vehicles are available when
needed. But in this case, Trillanes
alleged, the free dinner was to

make sure the army stayed away
from the police raid.
From the outset, there was
wide speculation the reason Alan
Purisima, the former national
police chief and presidential confidante, and sacked PNP-SAF
commander Getulio Napenas Jr.
went for the raid alone was for
them to get all the credit, if it had
succeeded. Purisima was serving a six-month suspension for
graft, with an uncertain future
even with his presidential connections. Napenas was rising
quickly through the ranks and
putting down one of the most
wanted terrorists in the world
was practically a ticket to the top.
There were some however
who questioned whether the
$5 million bounty for Zulkifli Abdhir alias Marwan, the
Malaysian-born leader of Jemaa
Islamiya, al-Qaedas franchise in
Southeast Asia, had any role in
the failed SAF operation.
A former ABS-CBN col-
league revealed the findings of

her own investigation on alleged
abuses of the governments
rewards program. Gigi Grande
said the government paid some
P280 million ($6.5 million) in
reward money to so-called tipsters from 2004 to 2014.
She interviewed retired
Supt. Jess Kabigting, a former
unit head with the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection
Group (CIDG), who admitted
it was normal practice and
an unwritten rule for cops to
get a cut from the bounty paid
to informers allegedly a third
goes to the tipster, a third goes to
his police handler and the final
third to the handlers superior
officer. The handler is responsible for balato to a slew of
people, from desk-bound investigators to office clerks who process the payment of the reward.
Grande reported there have
been at least 51 cases of wrong-
23
April 1-15, 2015
Ferguson in my Mind... from page 22

to unlawful use of a historic
vehicle. The judge lets him go.
One not wearing a seatbelt is
ordered to pay $25. Its for your
own safety, the judge admonishes. She finds three others not
guilty, and tells them to Be
careful out there, Please be
more cautious, and Tell everybody you know to follow the
rules.
By the time the judge calls
my name an hour later, most of
the 40 or so defendants have left,
happy.
Now its my turn. The
judge reads out my citation
then calls for Officer 3721, who
wrote the ticket. He is present.
My heart sinks. I decide right
then I couldnt lie. How do you
plead? asks the Judge. Guilty,
your honor, but I am asking for
mercy and forgiveness. She is
startled, perhaps amused by my
impertinence. This is not how it
works, she says. I hear laughter.
But, I am reducing your fine to
$2.50. I heave a sigh of relief.
Plus $22.50 in court costs, she
adds. Ouch. I end up paying $25
anyway. Oh, well.
Still, my day in court is
instructive. The atmosphere is
almost light-hearted, thanks to
the Judges conduct, which is
lenient, fair and efficient. Definitely a far cry from the raciallymotivated and financially-driven
policies of Ferguson that led
to the arbitrary jailing of poor
defendants unable to pay hundreds in fines. It was, as DOJ
investigators found, a toxic

environment, defined by mistrust and resentment that had
been set off like a powder keg
by a white policeman killing an
unarmed black youth named
Michael Brown.
Response by community
leaders here to what happened
in Ferguson is largely one of
dismay, followed by calls to
action.
I was deeply affected by
the DOJ Report calling on the
Ferguson Police Department
to basically reform its practices
and establish better relations
with the community it serves,
says community leader Mencie
Hairston of Bowie, MD. One
would think (as I erroneously
did) that a police force in a predominantly black city would be
more attuned to the needs of the
population it serves. According
to the 2010 Census, the racial
makeup of Ferguson was 67.4%
African American, with Whites
constituting 29.3%.
Early on, my husband and
I had carefully made choices
regarding where we live and
what schools to send our children to because we wanted them
to grow up seeing people of different races and backgrounds
working together and getting
along. We had surrounded them
with people who are race-blind
(as we learned early on that racial
prejudice existed across race
lines). Now, Im seriously starting to doubt if we did enough.
FBI reward and... from page 22

ful arrests, many of them cases
of mistaken identity, where
rewards ranging from P150,000
to P3.5 million were paid.
Rewards have become a
facet of law enforcement but
has gained heightened prominence with the war on terror. Its
not difficult to see how it can be
abused. China for instance has
sold Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in its border
with Central Asia, to the US and
taken to Guantanamo Bay. Interrogators reportedly found little
or no grounds to keep them, and
are now in a dilemma on how to

release them.
The US has placed a $5
million prize on two Filipinos:
Isnilon Hapilon and Raddulan
Sahiron have been indicted on
terror charges in a Washington
D.C. federal court. Sahiron is
the leader of the al Qaeda-linked
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and
Hapilon his top deputy.
Reacting to initial speculation about the role of the FBI
reward against Marwan in the
Mamasapano fiasco, the US
declared the reward cant be paid
10 Mistakes to Avoid... from page 18

out knowing all the options.
Many of us begin by shopping
for a 30-year fixed or a one-year
adjustable because we are familiar with only one or two options
and we have made our decision.
There are several additional
major loan types that should
be considered. Are you familiar with buydowns, long-term
ARMs and 20-year loans?
When we refinance our
mortgage, we forget about the
long-term. With lower rates, we
think that we come out ahead
when we refinance. Many times
we use the equity in our homes
to finance additional debts. It
seems very attractive to lower a
payment from $500 monthly to
$200 by stretching out the term.

Did you know there are options
that can accelerate your mortgage payoff?
We have no idea how the
approval process works. Many
of us sign a contract to purchase
a home and then address the
idea of obtaining a mortgage.
Most do not know that it makes
more sense to obtain an approval
first. This helps our own piece
of mind while we shop and also
increases our bargaining power
with the seller.
We do not know that the
lock options may be as important as the rate. Most shoppers
have no idea that many lock
options exist. There are options
Lulu Alexander of Lanham,

MD. has lived in Prince Georges
County for more than 30 years.
She, too, is disturbed by the
events in Ferguson. She recently
graduated from the Citizens
Police Academy as a form of community service. I now have a
greater appreciation of the police
and its public safety role, she
says. The key to good policing
is good relations with the community and continued cultural
engagement with the countys
diverse residents. A founder of
Mabuhay Inc., Lulu plans to use
her leadership position to help
influence policies that will foster
greater trust in law enforcement.
She is delighted to learn, for
instance, that Prince Georges
County police is planning to
introduce body cameras. They
are designed to protect residents
from overly zealous officers
during arrests as well as to protect officers from any unfounded
complaints.
What happened in Ferguson, adds Rita Gerona Adkins of
Arlington, Va. is an eye-opener,
an opportunity for our community, and other communities
of color, to come out, raise their
voices and tell their own stories
and ideas not only as victims
of experienced racism and/or
racial discrimination but also,
and especially and more importantly, as reformers for making
the United States a truly fair,
equitable, improved, ideal society.
to policemen or soldiers. But
if Grandes report is accurate,
theres already an unwritten
rule in place to go around that
prohibition.
The quest for justice for the
44 slain SAF troopers shouldnt
be just about assigning blame.
If the blood spilled is to have
meaning, reforms must follow
to stamp out corruption in all
its forms. And the US should be
conscious of this effort and discourage it, if not make it impossible to commit. Thats the only
way to avoid a tragic reprise in
the hunt of Hapilon and Sahiron.
which allow us to lock in the rate
and points from 15 to 90 or more
days. Some of the lock options
may cost money up-front and the
fees may or may not be applicable to closing costs. Many people
shop different companies in
order to save $250 in points and
then make the wrong decision
with regard to lock options.
Ramon M Llamas, NMLS#:
483757, has been in the lending
business for more than 20 years. He
has helped thousands of homeowners saved money in their mortgage
needs, purchase or refinance. Any
mortgage question or free personal
mortgage analysis, please email him
at homemortgage101@yahoo.com or
call his cellphone at 703.980.3984.
Affirmative action?... from page 22

representation of blacks in the
university. More on target, I
believe, is understanding the
reasons why Asians are advancing in college campuses. For
sure, it is not because college officials love their tan or their exotic
tongue-twisting accents.
In New York, state and city
officials are taking notice of the
declining numbers of blacks and
Hispanics in New York Citys
elite specialized high schools
including Stuyvesant and Bronx
High School of Science. The
Assembly Speaker and Mayor
Bill de Blasio are supporting
a bill to eliminate competitive
examination in math, verbal and
logical reasoning as the criteria
for admission.
An article for the City Journal by Denis Safran reports that
Asians now make up 60 percent
of enrollment in New Yorks
specialized schools though they
only constitute 15 percent of
the public school population,
while blacks and Latinos make
up 13 percent of the specialized schools population though
they comprise 70 percent of the
overall public school population.
Whites account for 24 percent
of specialized school enrolment
and 14 percent of overall public
school population. While white
enrolment is still comparatively
higher than blacks and Hispan-
ics, it has also declined over the

years as Asian enrolment rose
rapidly.
Safran tells a story of sevenyear old Ting Shi who arrived in
New York in 2004 from China
speaking almost no English.
He shared a bedroom in a Chinatown apartment with his
grandparents, a cook and factory worker while his parents
put in 12-hour days at a small
Laundromat they operated. Ting
mastered English and when he
was in sixth grade, he took the
subway from his parents apartment to a downtown high school
to pick up prep books for the
eighth- grade exams. He digested
the prep books for the next two
years and supplemented his
preparation by attending classes
offered by the citys free tutoring
programs. Ting passed the rigorous exams and got accepted to
the elite Stuyvesant High School.
The story of Ting and many
others like him in the specialized schools debunk claims that
minorities are hindered by racial
bias and poverty in the pursuit
of higher education. More than
natural talent, it takes hard work
and the obsessive drive to succeed that bridge the gap between
dream and achievement.
Lola Pita... from page 20

daughters. They were special to
him. (I tear up when I remember
how gracious he was. His hearing worsened over the years but
he had a smile and a grandfatherly pat on the head for my
girls. I imagine him now with a
grin as he looks on at his great
grandchildren. Im sure he has
a big enough heart to love my
five as well. Rest in Gods loving
peace, Lolo Cesar.)

I am now a lola and help
babysit my grandchildren. I
am proud to say Lola Pita was
a great role model. I know she
would dismiss such praise with
an uncomfortable shake of her
head and a giggle. Ala naman!
Oh shucks.
Lola Pita, salamat.
Thousands join Death March... from page 1

War, Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia
Jr. said in his early morning
address to participants.
About 72,000 people have
joined the Bataan Memorial
Death March, considered the
largest commemoration of the
Bataan Death March outside the
Philippines, for the past 26 years.
The 26-mile march at the White
Sands missile range was started
by the Army ROTC Department
of the New Mexico State University in 1989.
The event is in remembrance
of the more than 75,000 Filipino
and American soldiers who were
force-marched 65 miles by Japanese troops following the surren-
der of Bataan on April 9, 1942.

As many as 10,000 men
9,000 Filipinos and 1,000 Americansperished in the march
while many more died at the
concentration camps in Capas
and Cabanatuan and in the sinking of prisoner of war ships that
were transferring them to Japan
and Manchuria.
The
Bataan
Memorial
Death March began and will
continue to provide a way to
honor those who perished and
those who lived through a horrific chapter of World War II,
said Brig. Gen. Timothy Coffin,
commander of the White Sands
Missile Range.
Lets Not Forget... from page 21

it happened. And theyll listen.
Theyll listen to your stories
about what it was like because
history books give you recaps,
they dont give you experience.
So dont just consume it, experi-
ence it. And try not to make them

too jealous.
(This section is reserved for
guests columnists, young and oldED)
24
April 1-15, 2015

Manila Mail (April 1-15, 2015)

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Manila Mail (April 1-15, 2015)

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1

April 1-15, 2015

Vol. XXIV, No. 10

Online: www. manilamail.us

April 1-15, 2015

Fil-Ams top Mrs. DC America pageant

Filipino Americans Elaine Espinola Keltz and Lindagrace De La Cruz

Amb. Jose Cuisia greets Fil-Am soldier carrying Philippine flag.

US personnel medevacs wounded SAF commando in Mamasapano.

PH, China word war

existing facilities in the West

De La Cruz and 2nd runnersup Sabrina Campbell and Gift

Pacquiao, Mayweather vent on sparring partners

Manny Pacquiao practicing blows with coach Freddie Roach.

drills at Wild Card plus weeks

Marine trial starts

April 1-15, 2015

April 1-15, 2015

More funds for PG, 4 other Md school districts

This is our best stab to come

and Howard counties also qualify for the additional funds.

Elderly Fil-Am hits P10-M jackpot

Were thrilled that she won

Graceland Presents Elvis: The

To qualify, a county must

The state capital budget

April 1-15, 2015

April 1-15, 2015

Pinoy couple gets 8 years

Alex Soria and Sonia Rodis

Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New

April 1-15, 2015

Pinoy first-responders honored by American Red Cross

but ordered a reimbursement of

D.C. Philippine Ambassador

opportunities in major infrastructure projects being developed in the country.

Secretary Rogelio Singson who

April 1-15, 2015

April 1-15, 2015

April 1-15, 2015

Police lieutenant joins Ms. Earth PH pageant

scheduled to be held in April.

Police Inspector Sophia Loren Deliu on and off uniform.

ment and Disaster Preparedness,

eants after PO2 Niel Perez, who

I think this will be a great

PAL resumes Manila-New York

Cuisia, along with New

PAL at JFK Airport

als from the US reached over

April 1-15, 2015

Federal appeals court to look into Texas judges order

mixed ethnicity made the search

many years in the Philippines

Tebow & Pacquiao

Dr. Tracy Jalbuena needs marrow

LOS ANGELES. Former

Manny Pacquiao and Tim Tebow

twilight years in the country of

April 1-15, 2015

Trial starts for US Marine in transgender murder

US Marine PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton (2nd from right) in Olongapo

Jeane Napoles evades arrest by preemptively posting bail

claims she is still in the US but