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VOL. 2 ISSUE 1
WWW.SF-POST.COM
SHOWBIZ
Phil on
breakup with
Angel: No one
to blame
-page 13
OCT 31, 2013- NOV 6, 2013
Aquino stands firm on DAP
M
ANILA, Philippines
– A defiant President Benigno Aquino III
on Wednesday night defended the Disbursement
Acceleration
Program
(DAP) despite widespread clamor for the abolition of the program that
has been slammed as unconstitutional and another
pork barrel fund with a
different name.
Aquino, in his address to the nation that
was broadcast live on
television and news
websites, maintained
that the DAP is constitutional and has been
effectively used as a
mechanism to stimulate economic growth.
President Aquino
Kapunan quits as Napoles
lawyer in detention case
ANILA, Philippines - The lead
defense counsel of Janet LimNapoles in the serious illegal detention case before the Makati Regional
Trial Court branch 150 has withdrawn
from the case.
In a phone interview, lawyer Lorna
Kapunan said she had a difference in
opinion with co-defense counsel Alfredo Villamor which could jeopardize the defense of Napoles.
“You cannot have a difference in
opinion when you strategize for defense,” she said. “That’s why we are
withdrawing from the serious illegal
detention case.”
Kapunan said Napoles has been informed about the issue, and that she
has chosen Villamor to continue representing her in the serious illegal detention case.
“That’s the policy in our law firm,”
she said. “If we are not the handling
lead counsel, we withdraw from the
case.”
Kapunan said she had informed the
court through a letter to Judge Elmo
Alameda that Villamor would become the lead counsel of Napoles.
She will still formally manifest with
the court her withdrawal of appear-
M
ance for Napoles, she added.
Speaking to reporters, lawyer Diosfa
Valencia, Makati RTC Branch 150
clerk of court, said Kapunan has yet
to file a formal motion informing the
court that she has withdrawn from the
case.
“As of now, our records show
that she is still a counsel in the
case,” she said. “She has yet to
file a motion to withdraw.”
Valencia said Kapunan’s withdrawal will not affect the case of
Napoles as Villamor is still representing her.
The court will have to approve
Kapunan’s withdrawal, she added.
At the hearing, Villamor’s crossexamination of Benhur Luy was
cut short when Alameda left the
bench and went to his chambers.
Shortly thereafter, Alameda reappeared in court with a note which
he asked to be handed to Prosecutor Christopher Garvida.
“That is confidential,” he said.
“That is not from me.”
Earlier, Kapunan went to the office of Alameda to hand the note.
(Cont. on Page 7)
FREE
PROUD MEMBER
He said there has been are sowing confusion;
no anomalies involving they want to dismantle
the implementation of all that we
DAP projects, unlike have worked
the Priority Develop- so hard to
ment Assistance Fund achieve on the
which the administra- straight path.”
tion claims has already
“We were
been abolished.
stolen from,
“The issue here is we were detheft. I did not steal,” ceived—and
he declared in a fiery now we are
12-minute speech that the ones being
purportedly sought to asked to exset the record straight plain? I have
on the stimulus pro- pursued truth
gram and on what crit- and justice,
ics have described as and have been
presidential pork bar- d i s m a n t l i n g
rel.
the systems
“Those who have been that breed the
accused of stealing are those who
(Cont. on Page 15)
SF Post marks first
anniversary
S
AN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Post, one of the newest Filipino
newspapers in Northern California, celebrates with this issue its first anniversary
with a renewed commitment to “inform
and educate varied communities primarily in Northern California, and to bridge
the information highway by disseminating factual news and informative issues
that are relevant with the times.”
“As The San Francisco Post celebrates
one year of uninterrupted service to the
community, we take this opportunity to
thank you for helping us succeed and to
invite you to join us in a celebration of
this accomplishment,” said Teresita Estanislao, CEO and editor-in-chief of the
weekly newspaper.
“For the last 12 months, we have communicated with the Filipino-American
community, providing excellent news,
advertising content, and service. We
believe we have made significant contributions to the Fil-Am community and
we will continue to inspire and focus
on newsworthy stories and articles. We
constantly
seek ways (Cont. on Page 3)
22 killed in Philippine
barangay elections
oo much violence!” Joseph
Dechavez of Muntinlupa
City blurted out. “What’s with
these people? Is government money really worth all this trouble?
And to the lowest levels? Ugh!”
Dechavez remembered that barangay (village) elections used to
be colorless, boring and amateurish, reminiscent of high-school
politics.
T
But the campaign for this year’s
barangay elections had been
bloody, and Dechavez complained about being bombarded
every day with news of shootings
and ambushes involving candidates.
The Philippine National Police
reported on Monday that 22 candidates—11
of them (Cont. on Page 15)
USD to PHP Rate
$1.00 = P43.11
as of Nov. 6, 2013
NATIONAL
PAGE 2
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post
HAPPY 58th BIRTHDAY
Brother Eduardo V. Manalo,
Executive Minister, Iglesia Ni Cristo on Oct. 31, 2013
Greetings from
Law Offices of Crispin C. Lozano
& The San Francisco Post
Brother Angel Lobaton Sister Edna Navarro Brother Don Orozco, Metro Uno Wirless, San Jose CA
408-280-6099 408-794-9336 408-667-1641
Delay sanctions vs Iran,
US Congress urged
WASHINGTON – The
Obama administration is
asking Congress to hold off
on enacting new sanctions
against Iran. It says a pause
in the push to impose new
penalties would give negotiators flexibility in talks
now under way to get Iran
to comply with demands it
prove its nuclear program
is peaceful.
Even as US officials argue that tough sanctions
are what brought Iran to
the negotiating table in the
first place, the White House
and State Department said
Friday the administration
wants lawmakers to wait on
new sanctions legislation to
give the negotiations time
to get traction. Some lawmakers have argued that
now is not the time to ease
pressure and that pursuing
new sanctions will give the
US additional leverage in
the talks.
But, State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki
said it was the consensus
of the administration’s national security teams that
a pause “would be helpful in terms of providing
some flexibility while we
see if these negotiations
will move forward.” She
said the position was delivered to lawmakers and
congressional aides at a
White House meeting on
Thursday.
“We have conveyed that
any congressional action
should be aligned with our
negotiating strategy as we
move forward. So while we
understand that Congress
may consider new sanctions, we think this is a time
for a pause, as we asked for
in the past, to see if negotiations can gain traction,”
Psaki told reporters.
She noted that additional
sanctions can always be
imposed later if the Iranians fail to meet their obligations, and she stressed
that no existing sanctions
are being lifted.
At the White House,
national security council spokeswoman Caitlin
Hayden said the negotiations would not last indefinitely without progress
and movement from Iran,
which has long defied international demands to come
clean about its nuclear intentions.
“The window for negotiation is not open-ended, and
if progress isn’t made, there
may be a time when more
sanctions are, in fact, necessary,” Hayden said. “We
have always said that there
would be no agreement
overnight, and we’ve been
clear that this process is going to take some time.”
Bipartisan pressure in
Congress to ramp up sanctions on Iran has been rising for some time and hit
a new high last week after
negotiators from the United
States, the other four permanent members of the
UN Security Council and
Germany met with Iranian
officials in Geneva.
HealthCare.gov up again after data system crash
The website at the center of the U.S.
healthcare reform law was back up Monday
after a data center outage prevented Americans from enrolling in subsidized health insurance, the latest technical problem to plague the
online insurance exchanges.
The outage, which started before dawn on
Sunday, affected not only the federal government’s online exchange, HealthCare.gov, but
also those run by 14 states and the District of
Columbia, the Department of Health and Human Services said.
HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters said on
Monday the website itself as well as a crucial
piece of Obamacare – a data services hub that
determines if people are eligible to buy health
insurance on the exchange – were both back
online as of 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) after being
restored late Sunday and tested overnight.
The outage was the latest problem in the
troubled rollout of the online health insurance exchanges set up by President Barack
Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act. Since
the exchanges’ problem-plagued October 1
launch, information technology experts from
both the government and private contractors
have been scrambling to fix the technical issues that
plague the system, with a “tech surge” of additional experts beginning about a week ago.
HealthCare.gov was working on changes to
its online account creation when the outage
occurred, Peters said in a statement.
Representatives of the Connecticut and New
York exchanges said earlier Monday they were
able to access the federal data hub again.
Verizon Communication Inc, whose Terremark unit
operates the data center that failed on Sunday,
did not respond to a request for comment.
In a conference call from Washington on
Monday, HHS spokeswoman Julie Bataille said
the tech surge team had installed enhanced monitoring
tools on HealthCare.gov, enabling it to see which parts
of it are stumbling badly.
The team has reconfigured system components to
make two improvements, she said: web pages that show
which insurance plans are available now take seconds
rather than minutes (or more) to load, and notices that
tell people what subsidies they are eligible for show up
properly rather than being blank pages.
On Friday, the government said HealthCare.
gov would be operating smoothly by the end
of November.
Sunday’s outage severed connections with
the federal data services hub, which links
the online health insurance marketplaces
with numerous federal agencies and can
verify people’s identity, citizenship, income, and other information.
Without the hub, consumers are unable
to apply online for coverage or determine
their eligibility for federal subsidies to
help pay for insurance premiums. The
hub was built by a technology unit of
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
$1M settlement for campaign fund
violations bared
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney
General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Attorney General’s Office and the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) have jointly secured a
$1 million civil settlement against two outof-state organizations for violations of the
California Political Reform Act.
According to the terms of the settlement, the Arizona-based Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR) and Arizona-based Americans for Responsible
Leadership (ARL) have admitted to
making millions of dollars in unlawful
intermediary contributions in connection with the November 2012 election
in California and have agreed to each
pay a fine of $500,000.
“This case demonstrates in clear terms
that California’s campaign finance laws
are in desperate need of reform,” Attorney General Harris said. “California
law currently contains a loophole for
certain groups to evade transparency
by maintaining the anonymity of their
donors. I fully endorse swift legislative
action to change the law.
In October 2012, $11 million was funneled to a campaign committee supporting Proposition 32 and opposing
Proposition 30. A civil investigation
was initiated by the FPPC, which was
represented by the California Department of Justice’s Civil Law Division. Following the election, the California Department of Justice’s Criminal Law Division
opened an investigation to examine potential criminal wrongdoing.
PAGE 3
BUSINESS
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
BSP bullish on GDP growth
Your top actions to
MANILA -- The Philippine tic product (GDP), grew by my as shown by the country’s
keep your home out economy
will likely sustain or 7.6 percent in the first half of below-target inflation rate, the
even
surpass
its first semester 2013, surpassing China’s per- value of publicly listed shares,
of foreclosure
growth until the end of 2013, formance in the same period.
and low exports and imports
The San Francisco Post
D
id you receive
a Notice of Default on your home?
Are you denied a
Loan Modification?
If this is your situation then your home
by:
is in danger of being
Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
foreclosed and you
must have a plan of
action to keep your
home. Below are some of the ways you can do to help
you keep your home while your financial situation is in
trouble.
1. If you have two loans on your house and it is underwater, the second loan probably has no equity and its lender
would not be able foreclose if you have been late in payments even for years. If this is your case, then your payment priority is to the first loan because this is the lender
that is in position to foreclose your home.
2. If your available money is not enough even for the first
loan of your house, you have to analyze your financial
position. If you have plenty of credit card debts, you can
eliminate those debts by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. By
this time your credit score is already very low and filing
bankruptcy will pull it down just a few points. However
after your discharge from bankruptcy you can immediately rebuild your credit. Debt settlement or debt consolidation will not solve your problem because it is a process
that will take three to five years with your credit keep
going down. Debt settlement is a waste of money and
almost everyone who paid large sums of money for debt
settlement ended up filing bankruptcy. After filing bankruptcy you can rebuild your credit within three years.
You can buy again real property after three years. Credit
cards and auto loans will be offered to you within months
after your discharge from bankruptcy.
3. You should review all your expenses and eliminate
whatever expenses that can be dispensed with or eliminated.
4. You should try again to modify your loan even if you
have been denied before. After your bankruptcy discharge, your financial situation will improve a lot because
you have no more unsecured debts and you will have a
better chance of getting approval. I have clients who
were previously denied for loan modification because
of large unsecured debts but after their discharge from
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, their financial situation improved
and they were now approved for loan modification.
5. In addition, your chance for loan modification application is improved with the settlement by the U. S. government of its lawsuit against the banks. The top five banks
agreed to set aside $17 billion to modify your loan and
possibly reduce the principal amount by about $20,000
on the average if your house is underwater. You may
also be able to refinance your mortgage is you are current
in your payment.
6. If you received a Notice of Trustee Sale, you can stop
the sale by filing bankruptcy before the Trustee Sale date.
If you have filed a Chapter 7 before and you were already
discharged, you can file a Chapter 13 even immediately
after your discharge in Chapter7. The purpose of filing
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is to stop the Trustee Sale and
to offer a payment plan for your secured debts such as
your house and autos. With the automatic stay from the
Court, creditors are prohibited from selling your house
until the court approves your payment plan. While you
are in Chapter 13 proceedings you can continue to apply
for loan modification.
7. If you are a victim of mortgage fraud, you can litigate
your case. A Temporary Restraining Order from the court
will stop the foreclosure of your house.
ankruptcy Basics
1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your
credit within one year because your unsecured
debts are discharged. Although the bankruptcy
will be in your records for 10 years, not filing
bankruptcy will make your credit even worse
until most your debts are paid.
2. If you are being sued by your creditors, most
money judgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy.
3. Collection actions continue and you can be
sued if you are in debt settlement.
4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured debts. If you
are near retirement age, you must eliminate most of your
debts.
5. Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure actions. If your
trustee sale date is 10 days before, you can still file for
bankruptcy.
6. If your salary is being garnished, you have a court case
about debts or you are being harassed by creditors, bankruptcy can stop garnishment, court cases, harassing creditors and eliminate the debt.
7. Bankruptcy is cheaper, faster and safer than debt settlement which has no guaranteed success.
B
PLANNING F0R
2013 YEAR END TAXES
by:
Alvin C. Maglan, CPA
tarting your own business can be
a challenging but rewarding endeavor. There are essential steps that
should be taken to ensure that your
efforts will be profitable:
1. Naming Your Company. Your
company name is the first impression
of potential clients or customers.
Think of a name that is unique, and
lets potential customers understand
what you do so you spend less money on advertising and marketing.
You should consider filing a trademark on the name you’ve chosen.
2. Writing a Business Plan. A strong
business plan shows potential in
making the business succeed. Every
budding enterprise should have a
business plan to focus the direction,
one that helps secure investors. The
more prepared you are before you
start your business, the more successful it will be in the long run. Below are some essential elements of a
strong business plan:
- Cover page-short identification and
description of your business
- Table of contents-allow readers to
reference a specific section.
- Executive summary-overview of
your total plan, outlining the steps
you will take.
- Business background-highlights
your skills and experience in the
field.
- Marketing plan-details the products and services you’re offering,
your marketing strategy, and plans
for marketing and advertising your
S
business.
- Action plan-details the specific
action-items you will utilize to create and deliver the products and services.
- Financial management, statements,
and projections-source of start up
capital, budgets, projected expenditures, expected return on investment,
projected cash flows, accounting
strategy and more.
- Operations-hiring procedures, insurance, leasing equipment and other
expenses and costs.
- Appendix-statistical analyses,
sample marketing materials and resumes.
3. Financing Your Business. Securing start-up capital is essential.
If you use your own money to start
your business, you’ll have more control and fewer debts to repay in the
future. However, using your own
capital may necessitate that you start
with a smaller business.
If you plan to rely on outside investors, be prepared: Securing a loan or
finding investors may require anywhere from two or three months, or
longer. You may also be expected to
obtain money to finance between 2530% of the start-up costs.
Many small businesses receive
funding from friends and family.
When using these contacts, make
sure that everyone understands the
inherent risks of investing and that
full disclosure is advised.
4. Choosing a Location. The right
location is key to your success. Operating a home based business is one
way to keep initial costs down. If
it’s necessary for you to maintain an
office or storefront, there are a few
important factors to look for:
- Consider rental costs, parking, accessibility, and the strength of the
surrounding community.
- Think about the size of the location,
and whether it allows room for your
business to expand in the future.
- Remember to budget for any potential renovations on your location, as
these will impact your start-up costs
and dictate how soon you can operate
Your business.
Before finalizing your location,
contact the local zoning office to
ensure the space to allow your type
of business. As a general rule, don’t
sign any contracts or enter into
agreements until the most important
details of your business are settled,
including licensing.
5. Establishing your Business. Acquire the appropriate licenses to operate and choose the business entity
type that best meets your needs. The
type of licenses required for starting
a new business vary from state to
state and county to county. Before
operating your business you need
to ensure that you contact the state,
county and local government agencies for permits required for your
business. Next, you’ll want to establish yourself as a business entity.
There are many reasons to establish
a business entity to protect your personal assets and create additional tax
benefits.
6. Finally, success is never final.
Arm yourself with knowledge. The
internet is a great tool for conducting your primary research. Other
resources include business publications or hiring business consultants,
lawyers or accountants that could
help you in starting your own business.
Al Maglan is a CPA licensed in
California and Nevada. You
can contact him @ 510 432
7438. You may e-mail tax
questions at amaglan@
aol.com or taxsaverspro@
gmail.com.
buoyed by positive business
and consumer sentiment that
has resulted in industrial production and consumer consumption.
Most of the economic indicators tracked by the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
pointed to signs that the
country’s growth for the year
would likely breach official
government targets.
“The safe way to say it is that
we will be close to 6 to 7 percent. After all, we already did
over 7.5 percent in the first
half,” BSP Deputy Governor
Diwa C. Guinigundo said late
last week.
“If you look at the overall
economic growth, it may even
be higher than what we have
today,” he added.
The Philippine economy, as
measured by gross domes-
The Philippines was also the
fastest-growing economy in
Southeast Asia.
At a press briefing last week,
Guinigundo said seven of
the 11 economic indicators
tracked by the central bank
showed that growth may have
continued to accelerate in the
second half of the year.
These positive indicators
were results of the BSP’s
quarterly Business Expectations and Consumer Expectations surveys, total orderbook
index for businesses, book-tobill ratios of local firms, commercial electricity consumption, average price-to-earnings
ratios of publicly listed firms,
employment, and the volume
of production index for manufacturers.
These measures outweighed
the signs of a slowing econo-
numbers.
Guinigundo said the National Statistics Coordinating Board (NSCB) follows a
similar method in projecting
growth. Indicators tracked by
the NSCB include hotel occupancy, the number of new
businesses in the country,
merchandise imports, tourist
arrivals, domestic liquidity,
and power consumption.
He said the NSCB was just as
optimistic, with eight of its 12
economic indicators pointing
to faster growth in the second
half of the year.
Given these signs, Guinigundo said it would be highly
improbable for the Philippine
economy to grow below the
government’s target range for
the year.
MVP sees start of exploration
at Recto Bank
MANILA, Philippines - Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan
expressed hopes that fresh
talks between Philex Mining
Corp.’s Forum Energy plc
and China’s state-owned oil
producer China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. (CNOOC)
would finally pave the way for
exploratory works in the disputed Recto Bank in the West
Philippine Sea.
“That’s what we’re aiming
for. We hope to do that to reach
a commercial basis for further
exploratory and drilling work
on the concession but further
subject to approval of their
government and our government,” Pangilinan told report-
ers on Friday.
However, Pangilinan declined to provide details on
how the talks were going, citing confidential agreements.
He said Forum is waiting for
the conclusion of negotiations with
CNOOC prior to engaging talks with
other interested parties.
From a business perspective, he
said, Forum Energy is keen to start
drilling on the disputed territory “as
soon as possible” but security issues
prevent them from doing so.
Any agreements would also
have to conform to sovereign
laws, he said.
“We are a Philippine contractor so we are bound by Philippines law so we cannot do that
if we do not conform to Philippine laws.
We have to recognize Philippine
sovereignty,” Pangilinan said.
Forum Energy has a 70-percent
stake in the area, which is covered
by Service Contract 72 while Monte
Oro Resources and Energy Inc. holds
the remaining 30 percent.
The Energy department has granted Forum Energy an extension
to August 2015 to complete
the second sub-phase obligations of drilling wells on SC
72. The area is estimated to
contain prospective resources
of as much as 16.6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 416 million
barrels of oil.
(Cont. on p 1...SF POST)
Source of Information” and
became a weekly publication, coming out every
Thursday.
Since then, several veteran
journalists have joined the
newspaper, including Val
G. Abelgas, who has been
a professional journalist for
42 years and has served as
managing editor of various daily newspapers in
Manila and editor of various Filipino publications in
the United States, as editorial consultant and political
columnist; and Perry Diaz,
also as political columnist.
Also writing political columns for The San Francisco Post are Atty. Crispin
C. Lozano, who also serves
as the publication’s general
counsel, and Don Orozco,
bureau chief in Silicon Valley.
Other members of the staff
are Adda Humady, advertising manager; and Alvin
Maglan, controller.
The San Francisco Post
has a website, www.sf-post.
com, that enables the publication to reach Filipinos all
over the world. It has its offices at 1290 B Street, Suite
203 Hayward CA 94541,
and may be reached thru
telephone number (510)
885-8827; Fax (510) 5387115; and e-mail: infos@
sf-post.com.
to improve on what we are
doing in order to satisfy the
needs of our community
and bring the newspaper
to a new level,” Estanislao
added. “Thank you for
helping us make the past
year successful!”
The newspaper, which is
based in Hayward, started
as SF Fil-Am Post “Your
Bridge to the Fil-Am Community” with the first issue coming out on Oct. 25,
2012. It was then a monthly
publication but on March 7,
2013, the newspaper was
renamed The San Francisco Post “Bay Area’s best
PAGE 4
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
OPINION
The San Francisco Post
O
A good time to listen to his
“bosses”
he
people
cheered
when President
Aquino called
them his “bosses” as he thanked
them for treading “the straight
THE NUCLEUS OF
and
righteous
THE MATTER
path” and creatBy
ing change durVal Abelgas
ing his second
State-of-the-Nation address on
July 25, 2011. Now, more than two years
later, his sincerity in calling the people
his “bosses” and in promising to tread the
“daang matuwid” with them is in question.
The President has obviously chosen to ignore the voice of his “bosses” who have repeatedly called for the abolition of the pork
barrel system in protest marches, through
the internet and through the media. His
“bosses” made clear their stand against the
abuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the congressional pork
barrel, and the illegal use of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), one of
several presidential lump sum pork funds,
when they brought Aquino’s approval ratings down by at least 15 percentage points
in separate surveys by Social Weather Sta-
T
(An Employees owned Publication)
Distributed weekly in Northern California
1290 B Street, Suite 203,
Hayward, CA 94541
Tel # 510-885-8827, Fax # 510-538-7115
infos@sf-post.com
Teresita Estanislao
Editor-in-Chief & CEO
Val Abelgas
Editorial Consultant
Crispin C. Lozano
General Counsel
Adda Humady
Advertising Manager
Don Orozco
Bureau Chief, Silicon Valley
Alvin Maglan
Controller
Inquirer.Net
Content Syndication Partner
San Francisco FilAm Post, LLC
Publisher of San Francisco Post & SF Filam Post
The San Francisco Post will be happy to hear from you.
Comments, letters to the editor, contributions, story/picture
submissions can be sent via email to infos@sf-post.com or
via snail mail to: ATTN: San Francisco Post, 1290 B Street,
Suite 203, Hayward, CA 94541. All submissions are subject to editing for style and accuracy. All Rights Reserved.
NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS
San Francisco Post reserves the right to refuse any advertising not in
keeping with the publication nature of San Francisco Post, sf-post.com,
and all or any other material published under Sf FilAm News, a Limited
Liability Company. For Corrections: Advertisers agrees to verify the
corrections of the advertisement. San Francisco Post will be responsible
for only one incorrect insertion. Any error must be reported immediately. For Damages: Advertisers agrees San Francisco Post, sf-post.com
and all or any other material published under the company shall not
be liable to the customer for damages resulting from failure to include
in the advertisement any item of advertising or from errors in spelling
or grammar or omission printed or not printed in the advertisement in
which the error or omission occurred, including but not limited to the
loss of business by Advertiser. For Content: Advertisers assumes full
responsibility containing the right to use any name, address, trademark,
service mark, trade name, or other copy in any advertisement. Advertiser assumes full responsibility for determining that the advertising
will conform in all respects to all applicable laws, including but not
limited to, all licensing requirements of federal, state or local licensing authorities.
tion and reportedly a survey commissioned
by Malacanang.
According to the SWS survey, conducted
from September 20 to 23, Aquino’s approval rating dropped to +49 percent from
a high +64 percent in June. This was one of
the steepest drops suffered by Aquino since
he took office on July 1, 2010.
Not ready to believe the SWS survey because his approval and trust ratings barely
changed in a similar survey by Pulse Asia,
Malacanang, according to the Philippine
Star, commissioned a survey that showed
an even worse drop – a net approval rating
of only +35 percent, 44-percent less than
Pulse Asia’s figures and 14-percent lower
than those of SWS.
It was even worse for both the Senate and
House of Representatives, whose approval
ratings dropped by at least 14 percentage
points -- +39 percent for the Senate and
+32 for the House. The worst drop was
on the ratings of Senate President Franklin Drilon, the biggest supporter of pork
barrel in Congress whose approval rating
dropped to 50 percent from 62 percent in
June and a trust rating of only 46 percent.
The surveys reflected the anger of the
people over the misuse of pork barrel and
DAP funds as the surveys were conducted
at the peak of the pork barrel controversy
in late September and early October.
But obviously, the surveys didn’t matter
to Aquino and his congressional cohorts.
The senators later voted to realign their
PDAF funds into Aquino’s calamity fund,
while the congressmen passed in less than
one hour a General Appropriations Bill that
included their pork barrel as line items for
projects of their choice.
Aquino, on the other hand, continued to
defend his illegal use of the DAP funds,
which were culled from unspent or unappropriated funds of the various government agencies in 2012. He said he smelled
a conspiracy among suspects in the plunder
charges and some elements of media, and
insisted that the DAP funds should be treated as stimulus to economic growth. How
could the billions stimulate the economy
when most of the funds went to the pockets
of the lawmakers and unscrupulous businessmen like Janet Lim Napoles?
The sentiment of the people did not seem
to matter to Aquino, who said in 2011 that
he would vow to the wishes of his “bosses.” His arrogance in the pork barrel controversy has betrayed his insincerity and
dishonesty in dealing with the people’s
trust and money.
Even former Sen. Panfilo Lacson,
(Cont. on page 15)
Dictatorship sans
martial law
n
September
21, 1972, then
President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared
a craftily dePERRY SCOPE
signed – nay,
By
conjured
-Perry Diaz
martial
law;
thus began an
authoritarian
regime that lasted 14 years until it ended in an
attempted coup d’etat that morphed into a successful “people power” revolution.
Another coup d’etat that was promoted as a
“people power” revolution ousted then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada in 2001, which
brought his vice president, Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, to power. For the next nine years, Gloria ruled with a tight grip on the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the Armed
Forces of the Philippines. The only body that
she couldn’t control was the Senate.
Man of destiny
Then came Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, a
lackluster senator, who suddenly found himself
in the limelight upon the death of his mother -the wife of the martyr Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino
Jr. -- who was catapulted to the presidency in
the aftermath of the EDSA people power revolution in 1986. The only son of Ninoy and
Cory, Noynoy was bandied about as a “man
of destiny.” Regrettably, while Cory remained
“iconic” until her death on August 1, 2009, democracy never took hold after the ouster of the
dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. EDSA was nothing more than a transitory event that bridged the
oligarchic rule of Marcos to the oligarchic rule
of Cory. But, curiously, one had to look up the
“social registry” of the country’s elite to realize
that while the president was replaced, the same
people played the field, plundering the treasury
– or whatever was left of it -- with gusto.
And now, 27 years after that momentous passage from an authoritarian regime to a democratic regime, things didn’t change much. As a
wise man once said, “The more things change,
the more they stay the same.” Indeed, the Phil-
ippine economic landscape changed and pronouncements of growth abound. The ruling
elite is celebrating; the Philippines is no longer
the “Sick Man of Asia,” they say. While that
might be true from their lofty standpoint, it is
not what the suffering people -- masang tao -feel. And underneath all that hyperbole about
an “emerging Asian tiger,” the people remain in
a perpetual state of bondage.
Scandals galore
And it is in this context that the administration of PNoy -- short for “President Noy” -- as Aquino wants to
be called, is going through a conglomeration of scandals
and anomalies involving lawmakers, Cabinet officials,
members of the Judiciary, military officers, local government officials, scam operators, and non-government
organization (NGOs). Never in the history of the nation
had so many people been caught in a web of corruption
that was spun to snare billions of pesos from pork barrel
allocations.
With the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping further disbursement of
pork barrel funds, known officially as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the Aquino administration continues to use the controversial Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP), which was created without
any congressional authorization.
In a speech before the Philippine Constitution Association on October 24, 2013, former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said:
“Recently, a newly minted program named
Disbursement Acceleration Program or
DAP, which the DBM [Department of
Budget and Management] claims to be
in existence since 2011, surprised everyone, including myself and all the senators
and congressmen, both active and retired.
“Further, DBM has claimed that the P50
million to P100 million in additional pork
barrel allocations to most senators after
the conviction of the former chief justice
in May 2012 came from DAP, funded by
savings in 2011, or what is termed in the
GAA as Unused Appropriations amounting to P238.8B. When we speak of Unused
Appropriations, it consists of two items,
namely (a) Unreleased Appropriations
(P79.6B) and (b) Unobligated Allotments
(P159.2B).”
(Cont. on page 15)
Jail the tax evaders
the prosecutors’ office and
filed with the courts.
Only one tax evader has
ever been convicted with
finality by the courts, but
the guilty party remains
at large, so actually not a
single tax evader has ever
been jailed in the PhilipMY HUMBLE
pines. And to think that we
OPINION
read of several complaints
By
by the BIR against show
Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
business people and businessmen. Whatever haphy were we not sur- pened to all these highly
prised when Bureau publicized complaints? Did
of Internal Revenue chief the suspected persons setKim Jacinto-Henares said tled with the government
that no Filipino has ever and paid their tax arrears, or
been jailed for evading were they settled privately
taxes? Henares, a no-non- and a portion of the tax arsense lawyer, expressed his rears went to the pockets
frustration over the slow of some BIR examiners or
wheels of justice as she said DOJ prosecutors? Or were
that while the BIR has filed the complaints filed against
almost 200 complaints with the show business celebthe Department of Justice rities announced only for
against suspected tax dodg- publicity purposes?
ers since she took over the
It is so unfair to ordinary
tax agency’s helm three citizens who dutifully and
years ago, only 10 of these properly file their income
complaints have gone past
tax
returns
when
you
know that so
The San Fancisco Post
many wealthy
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businessmen
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and
politicians manage
to dodge paying the right
taxes on their
income by utiFREE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION FORM
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know how to
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W
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who are willing to turn a
blind eye on irregularities
in the income tax return for
a few thousand pesos.
Just look at the list of the
top taxpayers in 2012 and
you will find that not one
of the top 10 wealthiest
Filipinos are in the top 10
taxpayers list. Only a handful of these billionaires are
even in the top 50 of the
taxpayers list. And interestingly, not a single senator,
congressman or Cabinet
member is in the top 500 of
the taxpayers list either.
The government often has
to resort to borrowing from
foreign institutions to make
up for budget deficits, and
yet tens of billions of pesos
are lost annually to uncollected income taxes, tariffs and duties, and other
taxes that are imposed on
income, good and services,
etc.
It is not surprising that
among the government
agencies deemed as most
corrupt are the Bureau of
Internal Revenue and the
Bureau of Customs, which
are tasked with collecting
revenues for the government.
Congress continues to
enact tax laws to generate more revenues for the
government, but because
of corruption in agencies
tasked to collect them, the
government always end up
short on revenue collection
targets, and thus has to either accumulate huge budget deficits, borrow from
foreign institutions, or cut
down on expenditures, thus
resulting in sharp reduction
(Cont. on page 7)
WORLD BRIEF
The San Francisco Post
PAGE 5
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
Merkel may have been monitored by US since 2002
BERLIN – German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Sunday that U.S. intelligence
agencies broke German laws if they monitored
cellphones in Germany, following a new report
that the United States may have been monitoring Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone since
2002.
Merkel’s communications may have been
tapped even before she became leader of Germany in 2005, according to the German news
magazine Der Spiegel, citing a leaked National
Security Agency document from former contractor Edward Snowden. Eavesdropping activities were run out of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin as well as in about 80 other embassies and
consulates around the world, including 19 in
Europe, the magazine reported, citing another
document leaked by Snowden.
If it were disclosed that diplomatic facilities
were being used to do spying, “serious harm”
could be done to relations with host countries,
Der Spiegel reported one document said. But
the magazine said that it was not clear from the
leaked documents whether intelligence agencies had been listening to Merkel’s conversations or whether they had simply been collecting connection data.
The allegations over spying have created an
uproar in Europe, especially in Germany, where
furious officials have said that they felt U.S. spy
agencies had treated them not as being among
America’s staunchest allies but as though they
were untrustworthy enemies. Merkel said last
week that she would press for clear guidelines
about what U.S. intelligence agencies were permitted to do on German soil.
Friedrich, the interior minister, was quoted on
Sunday as saying that he wanted legal consequences if crimes had been committed.
“If the Americans eavesdropped on cellphones
in Germany, they broke German law on German soil,“ Friedrich, the interior minister, was
quoted as saying on Sunday by the Bild am
Sonntag newspaper. “Eavesdropping is a crime
and those responsible must be held accountable,” he said.
Merkel spoke to Obama by telephone on
Wednesday to demand an explanation about the
alleged spying. In their conversation, Obama
told Merkel that he had not known that her
cellphone had been monitored, the German
newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on Sunday, without citing
its source.
U.S. spy agencies sometimes use “false
architectural features or roof maintenance
sheds” on diplomatic outposts to hide antennas used for intelligence gathering, according to one NSA document published
Sunday by Der Spiegel. On its cover, the
magazine printed a photograph of the U.S.
Embassy in Berlin, circling the roof shed that
it said it believes contains monitoring equipment. The Berlin embassy is unusually central
for an American diplomatic seat in this securityconscious era, 300 yards away from the German parliament and within sight of the
chancellery where Merkel works.
11 dead as storm lashes northern Europe
LONDON—At least 11 people were killed on Monday as
a fierce storm tore across northern Europe, causing mass
disruption to transport.
Four people were killed in Britain and three in Germany as
heavy rain and high winds battered the region. The storm
also claimed two victims in The Netherlands, one in France and
one in Denmark.
Rough conditions at sea also forced rescuers to abandon the
search for a 14-year-old boy who disappeared while playing in
the surf on a southern English beach on Sunday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron described the loss of life
as “hugely regrettable.”
Winds reached 99 miles (159 kilometers) per hour on the Isle of
Wight off the southern English coast, according to Britain’s Met
Office national weather center, while more than 500,000 homes
in Britain and France were left without power.
Heavy rain and winds of 80 mph elsewhere brought down thousands of trees and left hundreds of passengers trapped in planes
at Copenhagen airport.
In Britain, a 17-year-old girl died after a tree fell on the parked
caravan where she was sleeping, while a 51-year-old father of
three died when a tree hit his car, police said.
The bodies of a man and a woman were later found in the rubble
of three houses in London that collapsed in an explosion thought
to have been caused by a gas pipe being ruptured in the storm.
A woman in Amsterdam was killed by a falling tree as she
walked along a canal, while in Germany three people were
killed when trees fell on their cars.
A 22-year-old man was killed by a falling branch in the central
Dutch town of Veenendaal, although high winds had died down
by early evening.
In France, a 47-year-old woman was swept away by waves on
the island of Belle-Ile in Brittany and her body was
found on a beach several hours later.
The storm claimed an eleventh victim in Denmark
when a man was hit by a flying brick as a wall collapsed in the port town of Gilleleje.
Some 460,000 homes lost power across Britain, with
a further 75,000 homes affected in northern France,
according to industry organizations. Thousands were
later reconnected.
The electricity also went down at a nuclear power sta-
Syria meets deadline for chemical weapons plan
UNITED NATIONS -- The Syrian government has submitted a
formal declaration of the chemical weapons in its possession and
a plan for their removal, a crucial
step in an international agreement
to destroy or remove its stockpiles
and weapons.
The declaration was in line with
the deadline set by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international
agency overseeing inspections of
Syria’s chemical weapons.
The organization made the announcement Sunday, saying Syria had submitted its declaration
Thursday, three days before the
Sunday deadline. The OPCW governing council will review Syria’s
plan by Nov. 15.
The organization did not release
details of the Syrian declaration,
but analysts have said the removal
and destruction of Syria’s chemical stockpiles will likely be an extensive international effort.
International inspectors have al-
ready been getting access to sites
within Syria. Michael Luhan, a
spokesman for OPCW, said Sunday the Syrian government has so
far been cooperative.
Washington estimates Syrian
leader Bashar Assad’s military has
about 1,000 metric tons of deadly
chemicals and precursors, including nerve agents and mustard gas.
Most of the chemicals are precursors, which can be collected and
then shipped out of the country,
said Paul Walker, an analyst at
Green Cross International, an environmental group based in Geneva.
Chemical weapons or bulk chemicals would be difficult to ship out
of the country. But precursors are
not that different than other industrial chemicals that are shipped
around the world.
But officials still face an unprecedented challenge in the form of a
tight deadline and removing chemicals from a country mired in civil
war.
Under the agreement, Syria has
until the middle of next year to
complete the destruction or removal of the weapons.
Most of the chemicals are in areas
controlled by the government, but
Assad’s regime is facing countless
rebel groups whose actions are difficult to predict.
Norway has already turned down
a U.S. request to assist in the destruction of the weapons, citing
regulatory concerns and the tight
deadline.
Still, Walker and other analysts
point out that both the United
States and Russia have extensive
experience in disposing of chemical weapons. Both Russian and
U.S. officials have discussed the
plan with Syrian officials.
“For the United States and the
Russians this is just heavy duty engineering,” Walker said. “It’s very
doable.”
PRESS RELEASE
oday we dwell on a
subject matter that
will make all my column
readers whether what
they read and hear is true
or false. We will try to
see if there is something
behind the news or is
just another propaganda.
LET’S HAVE COFFEE
Good or Bad, at the end
By
of the day it will still be
Don Augusto Orozco
a PRESS RELEASE.
…..
According to reports, the
Philippines is currently
the most improved country when it comes to doing
business. Fact is our country jumped from 138th
place to 108th place. It is in the top 10 most improved
economies in business regulation over the past year.
World Banks “Doing Business 2014” by the World
Bank ranks us highly. What do you think? Is this another of those PRESS RELEASE.
…..
Senator Jinggoy Estrada has announced his plan to
accompany his wife to the US to seek a second opinion on his wifes’ medical condition. Precy, wife of
Senator Jinggoy was recently diagnosed with a lump
and cysts in her breast. On the other hand Justice Secretary Leila De Lima has been pushing for a Hold
Departure Order for Estrada and several other political figures involved in the Pork Barrel scam. Now,
it seems De Lima has turned around and kept quiet
about the plan of Estrada. She even added that she
nor the immigration department cannot stop the senator from leaving. Is that double talk or just another
PRESS RELEASE.
T
…..
In the meantime, the question now is whether Senator Jinggoy needs to ask permission from the Senate
President about his plan of travelling to the US. He
apparently had planned this trip long time ago and
that he need no travel authority from the Senate Chief because this is not an official trip but a trip on his own. He also
added that he faced a more formidable foe during GMA’s
term and never did he tried to escape from any so called
warrant of his arrest. Make sense. PRESS RELEASE.
….
Senate Bill 1863 or the “Anti-Rice Wastage Act of 2013”
which will mandate restaurants and other related establishments to serve half-cup rice orders. The goal is to lessen
rice wastage especially for those who wanted a low carb
diet. The bill wsa also been considered by 2 members of the
House of Representatives as a counterpart bill for the senate. Does this lawmakers have nothing else to do? Another
PRESS RELEASE.
…..
Several celebrities are running for barangay elections. Angelica Dela Cruz, Jeremy Marquez, Chris Tiu to name a
few. Usually Barangay elections have higher percentage of
participation as this elections are actually people that you
personally know and people that is a part of your neighborhood.
…..
JOKE. MOTHER: Son, will you be kind enough to call your
Dad on his cellphone and asked him to go home…Now na!
SON: Yes, Mommy! (after a few minutes) MOTHER:
Son, did you call your Dad? SON: Yes, Mom but a
woman answered Dad’s phone. MOM: What? What
did the woman say? SON: “I’m sorry! The number
you dial is not in service at this time, tapos paulit-ulit
pa! NGEK! For comments please email me at don.
orozco@sf-post.com
tion in southeast England. Dungeness B station automatically
closed down both its reactors, leaving its diesel generators to
provide power for essential safety systems.
Transport chaos
The storm sparked mass cancellations of train services across
southern England, Denmark, The Netherlands and parts of Germany, while a spokeswoman for Copenhagen’s main airport said
some 500 people were trapped in their planes when strong winds
made it impossible to connect stairways to the exits.
The airport later said it was closed for all inbound and outbound
traffic.
HOMEL AND
PAGE 6
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post
Aquino seen to keep P600-B lump sum fund
MANILA, Philippines - President
Aquino is likely to continue enjoying his discretion over about
P600 billion in lump-sum appropriations under the 2014 budget.
Senate finance committee chairman Francis Escudero had endorsed the approval for plenary
debates of the multibillion-peso
President’s Special Purpose Fund
(SPF) before Congress went on a
three-week break last Wednesday.
“No member indicated to the
chair (any intent) to propound
questions,” he said after the committee scrutinized and approved
the P997.5-million budget of the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad seemed to have satisfactorily explained before the committee the DBM’s budget for next
year, as well as the President’s
SPF.
Escudero’s recommendation
came as the Senate has yet to finally decide whether to delete the
P4.8-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)
in the 2014 budget or allow each
senator to enjoy discretion over
their P200-million annual allocation.
Prior to the endorsement of the
SPF for plenary debates, Escudero issued a caveat that the use
of the DBM budget and the President’s SPF should be subject to
reportorial requirements to Congress.
Upon resumption of session on
Nov. 18, the Senate is expected
to tackle in the plenary the 2014
budget, the approved version of
which the House of Representa-
tives transmitted last week.
During the committee review of
the DBM budget, Escudero outlined the President’s SPF divided
under 11 items: assistance to local
government units, P361.3 billion;
pension and gratuity fund, P120.5
billion; miscellaneous personnel
benefits fund (MPBF), P80.7 billion; calamity fund, P7.5 billion;
contingency fund of P1 billion;
international commitments fund,
P4.8 billion; e-government fund,
P2.5 billion; and feasibility studies fund, P400 million.
The Department of Education
(DepEd)’s School Building Program, the lawmakers’ PDAF and
the unprogrammed fund are also
under the SPF.
The PDAF amounts to P24.5 billion for the House of Representatives and some P4.8 billion for the
Filipina killed, 3 other Pinoys injured
in Beijing car crash
BEIJING — A sport utility vehicle plowed through a
crowd in front of Beijing’s Forbidden City before crashing and catching fire Monday, killing the three
occupants and two tourists and injuring 38 visitors and security officers, police said.
The dead included a female traveler from the
Philippines, according to a statement on the
Beijing police’s microblog and a Philippine
official. Police said three other Filipinos and a
Japanese man were among the injured, but gave
no details about their condition.
No information was released about a possible
cause of the incident, which closed one of the
most politically sensitive and heavily guarded
public spaces in the country. Authorities quickly erected screens to hide the aftermath and
cleaned up the scene, while images of the crash
were taken down from the Internet.
The police notice said they were investigating and taking “effective measures to ensure
the capital’s safety and stability.”
The injured were among the crowds in front of
Tiananmen Gate, where a large portrait of Mao
Zedong hangs near the southern entrance to the
former imperial palace.
The vehicle burst into flames after crashing
into a guardrail for one of the ancient stone
bridges leading to the gate, police said.
The statement said the driver veered inside of
a barrier separating a crowded sidewalk from
busy Chang’an Avenue and then drove along
the walkway to Tiananmen Gate, which stands
across the avenue from the sprawling Tiananmen Square.
Chang’an Avenue was closed as police and
rescue services converged on the area, but the
police statement said traffic was restored just
over an hour later.
Any incident in the area is considered sensitive
because the square was the focus of a 1989 prodemocracy movement that was violently suppressed by the military. The square is still heavily policed to guard against political protests,
which occasionally happen on sensitive dates.
The incident had every appearance of being
deliberate, since the driver apparently jumped a curb
and traveled about 400 meters (yards) to the spot where
the car was said to have caught fire while avoiding trees,
street lights and at least one security checkpoint.
Police did not immediately release any information about who was inside the car.
Photos of the scene that briefly circulated on
the Internet showed a vehicle emitting thick
smoke at the gate. Injured people, including a
young girl, lay on the ground, many of them
bleeding heavily.
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs
spokesman Raul Hernandez said their information indicated that the dead Filipino woman and
the three injured Filipinos — two women and a
man — were tourists. “Our embassy is working
to gather more details about this incident and to
extend the necessary and appropriate assistance
to the victims,” he said in a statement.
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Senate.
Administration critics have categorized the SPF as presidential
pork barrel.
Opposition Sen. JV Ejercito has
been vocal in expressing concern
over the President’s discretionary
funds amid recommendations.
“Are we not giving the executive branch too much power over
these funds?” he said.
Ejercito would rather have the
senators’ P200 million in PDAF
be itemized under the annual budget.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce
Enrile has been pushing for the
deletion of the P4.8-billion PDAF
from the 2014 budget.
“As part of the minority, I am in
favor of that,” he said.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader
Vicente Sotto III is also in favor
of deleting the allocation from the
proposed budget for next year.
Senate President Franklin Drilon’s proposal to abolish the P4.8
billion from the 2014 budget was
met with some resistance at the
Senate.
Senators have agreed in a caucus
to submit before the Senate committee on finance by Nov. 11 their
respective stands “whether they
wish to amend or realign funds to
agencies or programs,” Sen. Juan
Edgardo Angara said.
In his presentation, Abad said the
DBM’s proposed budget for 2014
is P997.5 million, representing a
P35.5-million increase from this
year’s budget of P962 million.
Jinggoy plans US trip amid DFA review
MANILA - A government proposal to cancel the passports of senators implicated in
the pork barrel scam will be put to a test as
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada announced he would
leave this week for the
United States.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is
still studying a request
from the Department
of Justice (DOJ) for the
cancellation of the passports, in anticipation of
plunder charges to be
filed by the Office of the
Ombudsman with the
Sandiganbayan against
Estrada, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce
Enrile and Sen. Ramon
“Bong” Revilla Jr.
With the case filed in
court, warrants of arrest
are expected to be is- Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
sued. A plunder charge
normally does not allow bail.
Estrada said he needed to go to the US to
seek a second opinion for the medical condition of his wife, Precy, who was recently
diagnosed with a lump and cysts in her
breast.
He assured the public that he would not
evade any charges filed against him in connection with the alleged misuse of the congressional pork barrel.
“I was born here, I was raised here and
I will die here,” Estrada said in Filipino,
echoing a statement of his father, former
President and now Manila Mayor Joseph
Estrada, when plunder charges were filed
against them in 2001.
The elder Estrada was detained without
bail for six years and was convicted but
immediately pardoned by then President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Jinggoy Estrada, detained for a shorter period, was
acquitted.
Yesterday, Senator Estrada expressed hope
that the wheels of
justice would turn
faster to end what he
described as a personal ordeal.
“I hope this ends,” he
said as he expressed
hope for a quick acquittal. “I am confident that I did not
misuse the funds of
the government.”
Asked if he would
file counter-charges
against certain individuals implicated
in the scam, Estrada
said he would consult his lawyers.
“The heads of the
implementing agencies should be held accountable,” the senator said.
Certain quarters have slammed the DOJ
request, pointing out the absence of arrest
warrants for the senators.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, however,
said the request could be justified.
She also said the government could invoke
the United Nations Convention Against
Corruption, which went into effect in December 2005, to run after any individual
accused of plunder who will try to evade
justice by leaving the Philippines.
A special audit report prepared by the Commission on Audit (COA) covering 2007 to
2009 implicated nearly 200 lawmakers in
alleged anomalous disbursements from the
pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) using bogus nongovernment organizations.
Lacson reveals ‘pork’ deals
among lawmakers
MANILA, Philippines - Confronted by images of his fellow legislators wheeling and dealing among themselves for share in the Priority
Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) during
budget deliberations, former senator Panfilo
Lacson said he realized the controversial mechanism “was a ticking bomb ready
to explode in our faces.”
“The question, when it would happen was the only thing I thought
was uncertain. I had a practical
reason for believing so,” he said recently in a speech before the Philippine Constitution Association.
“In this material world, satisfaction is a myth. It is greed that is
real. It has now exploded,” Lacson
said.
Each senator is allocated P200
million annually in PDAF while a
congressman receives P70 million.
Lacson, who had never availed
himself of his PDAF allocation,
said he saw first hand how legislators would discuss among Sen. Lacson
themselves ways to increase
their respective allocations.
“Every year, just before the period of
amendments of both chambers, small and
big group caucuses decide how much each
member would get as additional pork, usu-
ally at least P100 million more for senators,” he said.
“The second tranche of how much more
should come just before the bicameral conference committee meetings, traditionally
referred to as the third and most powerful
chamber of Congress,”
Lacson said.
It’s in bicameral
conference meetings
where representatives
of the Senate and the
House try to reconcile
any conflicting provisions in their respective
versions of the budget
measure. Most of these
meetings were held behind closed doors.
“The smarter ones
manage to wrangle
as early as during the
committee
hearings
held to tackle the budgets of departments
and agencies; likewise
during plenary debates
when questions are addressed by individual legislators to heads of the different
agencies through the budget sponsors,” he
added.
IMMIGRATION
The San Francisco Post
PAGE 7
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
What relief is available for those who obtained a green
card as single but actually married at time of U.S. entry
f you obtained an
immigrant
visa as single son or
daughter of a
Lawful PerPATH TO
manent ResiIMMIGRATION
dent or a U.
by:
S. citizen but
Atty. Crispin C. Lozano
you are actually married
at the time of
your entry to
the U. S., you committed a misrepresentation of material fact in obtaining a visa
because you did not disclose your marital
status at the time of the interview and/or
at the time you entered the United States.
Even if you are actually single at the time
of the interview but you get married the
day before entering the U. S. you still committed a misrepresentation. Although you
have a document which is your green card,
your actual status is that of a person not in
possession of a valid visa. An alien not in
possession of a valid visa is inadmissible
and deportable. If you applied for naturalization the USCIS will likely find it out.
Your naturalization application will be denied and you will be sent to an Immigration Judge for removal proceedings.
uestion:Mario was petitioned by Jose,
his father who is a Lawful Permanent
Resident in 1985. His father became a
U.S. citizen in 1993. Mario got married
to Linda in 1988. Mario and Linda have a
child born in 1989 named Cindy. In 1991,
Mario was interviewed at the U. S. Embassy, Manila for an immigrant visa. He declared that he was single and has no child.
Based on this declaration he was given a
visa and entered the U. S. in 1992. Mario
married Linda again in 1993 and filed an
immigrant visa petition for his wife and
daughter. The petition was denied because
the USCIS discovered his prior marriage to
Linda in 1988 and he committed a misrepresentation of material fact by not disclos-
I
Q
(Cont. from page 4..HUMBLE OPINION)
ing his marriage to Linda in 1988 and the
existence of his daughter. Mario received a
Notice to Appear to the Immigration Court.
What is Mario’s immigration status?
nswer: Mario committed a fraud or
misrepresentation of material fact in
obtaining a visa at the U.S. Embassy. By
entering the U.S. without disclosing his
marriage and children is again a misrepresentation to the U.S. Immigration Officer.
These two acts of misrepresentation made
Mario inadmissible and deportable.
uestion: What is the relief available to
Mario?
nswer: Mario may request the immigration court for a waiver of the misrepresentation. To avail of this waiver Mario must have a parent or son or daughter
who is Lawful Permanent Resident or U.S.
citizen.
Note: This is not a legal advice. We
have successfully represented clients who
entered as single but actually married at the
time of entry to obtain a waiver of misrepresentation.
A
Q
A
S
UCCESS STORIES
1. On October 24, 2013, we received an
approval by an Immigration Judge on the
review of I-751 Application to Remove
Condition on Residence that was previously denied by USCIS.
2. On October 2, 2013, we received an approval of adjustment of status based on
SAME SEX MARRIAGE.
3. On August 14, 2013, we received a
grant of waiver of misrepresentation from
the Los Angeles Immigration Court for an
alien who entered the U.S. as single but actually married.
4. On July 11, 2013, we received an approval from the Immigration Court for a
waiver of misrepresentation for a green
card holder who entered the U.S. as single
but actually married at the time of entry.
The grant of waiver stopped his removal
and allows him to apply for naturalization.
5. On June 3, 2013, we received an approval from USCIS of a petition that continued
despite the death of the petitioner under
Public law 111-83.
6. On May 8, 2013, we received an approval of adjustment of status for a client who
has a problem with entry document but has
Sec. 245(i) eligibility.
7. On January 25, 2013, we received an approval from the Immigration Court for an
adjustment of status for an alien who originally entered as a
Philippine
Government Official under
A2 visa.
8. On November 30,
2012, we
received an
approval
from Immigration
Court of
waiver
for use of
different
name upon
entry to the
U.S. and
adjustment
of status.
9. On October 25,
2012, we
received an
approval of
green card
from the
Immigration Court
based on
Cancellation of
Removal
of a client
under the
Immigration
Success Story
in services to the people and slowdown in economic
growth.
President Aquino has to give full support to the efforts of the
BIR and Customs chiefs to go after those unscrupulous businessmen and politicians that are shortchanging the government
of its rightful revenues.
With these revenue-collecting agencies always short on collection targets and politicians pocketing government funds or
abusing their pork barrel perks and privileges, it is no wonder that teachers and other government workers are underpaid,
there is always shortage of classes, roads are unpaved or unrepaired, there is not enough fund for calamities and other contingencies, and a majority of the people remains poor.
Henares has to make good on her promise to jail tax evaders in the remaining two-and-a-half years of her tenure at the
BIR and Customs chief Ruffy Biazon must also work double
time to go after both unscrupulous businessmen and corrupt
customs examiners. Only a no-nonsense anti-corruption drive
that results in jail terms for tax evaders will make these greedy
Joyce Singh was approved for green card based on
businessmen toe the line.
These two government agencies cannot operate on a “busi- petition by spouse. Atty. Crispin C. Lozano representness-as-usual” mode. They have to do their job the right way. ed her case with the USCIS
Magallanes Village, Makati.
Fr. Peter Edward Lavin of the
Alagad ni Maria Seminary in
Antipolo said that on Dec. 20, 2012, after
saying Mass at the Heritage Park in Taguig
for the birthday of Napoles’ late mother,
Magdalena, Napoles’ brother and co-accused, Reynald Lim told him Luy wanted
to undergo a religious renewal.
“After the Mass, Reynald approached me
and told me that Benhur wanted a spiritual
retreat for drug addiction and anomalies for
a loan that the company was not aware of,”
he said.
Lavin told the court that he offered a retreat house adjacent to their seminary in
Antipolo and to act as Luy’s spiritual adviser during the retreat.
However, Luy did not appear at the Antipolo retreat house, he added.
Lavin said he later learned that Luy had
chosen to go to the Bahay ni San Jose at 52
Lapu-Lapu St. in Magallanes Village with
Monsignor Josefino Ramirez as his retreat
master.
“Monsi (Ramirez) told me that Benhur has
already started his spiritual counseling with
him,” he said.
Lavin said he saw Luy last Dec. 26 praying
(Cont. from page 1..KAPUNAN QUITS)
When Luy’s cross-examination resumed,
Garvida stood up and asked Alameda that
they, along with Villamor meet in chambers.
They later returned to court and proceeded
with the hearing without Kapunan.
During a break in the trial, Villamor would
neither confirm or deny the report that Kapunan had withdrawn from the case.
“I don’t know,” he told reporters. “I don’t
know.”
At the Senate, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said
yesterday Kapunan’s withdrawal as counsel is a big blow to Napoles’ defense.
“That is not good if you are abandoned
by your own lawyer,” he said. “That means
that you’re not united in the strategy to be
carried out. And that’s probably the reason
why attorney Lorna Kapunan resigned.
“But again, I am only guessing. You just
told me that she resigned. I would assume
that there is some disagreement in strategy.”
Defense presents priest
The defense presented yesterday as witness a 53-year-old priest who testified that
Luy was not illegally detained but had spent
a spiritual retreat at a house of Napoles in
while walking in the garden at that house.
In another visit, he again saw Luy praying at the chapel in that house and later
talking with someone on a mobile phone,
he added.
Lavin said he was not aware that Luy was
being held against his will as they would
greet each other whenever he would visit
the Magallanes house.
He had visited the Magallanes
house six times since Dec. 26,
2012, he added.
During cross-examination, Lavin
told Garvida that he does not know Napoles personally.
He would just help Monsignor Ramirez
say Mass at Napoles’ office or at her mother’s mausoleum, he added.
However, Garvida said Lavin was
an incorporator of the JLN Corp.
“If you don’t know her well, how
come you became an incorporator
of JLN Corporation?” he said.
Lavin said: “I don’t know.”
Lavin said he had visited Napoles at her
place of detention in Fort Sto. Domingo in
Sta. Rosa last Monday to inform her that
he would be testifying in her illegal detention case.
Violence against Women Act. She originally entered under a Fiancée visa but the
marriage did not worked and she ended up
filing a self petition.
Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member of the State
Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers
Association and the National Association of Consumers
Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration
law and bankruptcy law. He earned his Juris Doctor at
Western State University College of Law in Fullerton,
California.
PAGE 8
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post
Sta. Lucia holds groundbreaking for Splendido Taal Tower 2
remiere Philippine developer Sta. Lucia
Land, Inc. recently held groundbreaking
rites for Splendido Taal Tower 2, the latest development in the masterplanned enclave of the
Splendido Taal Residential
Golf and Country Club.
A joint venture of SLI
with JAKA Tagaytay Holdings Corp., Splendido Taal
Tower 2 is the second of four
planned luxury towers along
the prime Tagaytay ridge,
overlooking a majestic view
of the Taal Lake and the
greens and fairways of the
Splendido Taal Golf Club.
SLI president and CEO Exequiel Robles led the groundbreaking rites with Jayson
Robles (VP - Project Development) of SLI; Juan Rodrigo Ponce Enrile, senior
executive vice president of
JAKA Investments Corp.;
Persiverando Lukban, general manager of Jaka Tagaytay Holdings; longtime Sta.
Lucia team manager Buddy
Encarnado; EVP James Aguila, and Hon. Randy James Amo, mayor of Laurel, Batangas.
Expected to be completed in 2015, Splendido
Taal Tower 2 will stand 18 storeys high, comprised of residential and condotel (hotel) units.
Splendido Taal Tower 2 is Sta. Lucia’s 5th condotel project, counting operational projects in
P
Sotogrande and La Mirada in Mactan, Cebu;
La Breza in Quezon City; and set to rise, Arterra Residences at Discovery Bay in Mactan.
Under Sta. Lucia’s condotel concept, unit own-
income through rental revenues within the contract period, with a high return on investment.
Unit owners also get to enjoy free membership to the Splendido Country Club and all its
amenities, with access to
the 14 different country
clubs of SLI mationwide.
The Splendido Taal
Tower Golf Club is also
within the complex,
with an 18-hole allweather championship
course designed by golfing great Greg Norman.
The golf club’s signature
hole, the picturesque
Hole No. 8 is a 200-yard
drive over a deep ravine
has been touted as one
of the most challenging
in the country.
Splendido is an hour
and a half away from
Manila, and a short
drive from the Tagaytay
nightlife, the beaches of
Nasugbu and Calatagan
ers get to vacation free anytime, with 30 com- or the dive sites of Anilao.
plimentary room nights per year, transferrable, Sta. Lucia Land now holds office at Milpitas,
across all Sta. Lucia hotels and condotels in the Ca. Their office/showroom is located at 1613
Philippines. Splendido Taal Tower 2 condotel S. Main St. Suite 102 Milpitas, Ca. 95035
units will be placed under the management’s For details, please call:
hassle-free rental program initially for 15 Ofc: 408-946-8067 / 408-620-5205.
ADVERTORIAL
years, while unit owners are assured of steady Mobile: 707-3638058
The San Francisco Post
PAGE 9
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
AROUND TOWN
PAGE 10
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post
New York Life launches Filipino Market
The Silicon Valley General Office of
New York Life Insurance Company
launched its first FILIPINO MARKET Event at Fort Mckinley (South
San Francisco) last October 24, 2013.
Ms. Julie Estrella Adams who initiated and hosted the event explained
that New York Life Insurance Company hopes to build closer affinity to the
Filipino community. She added that
the re-introduction of the company to
the community will allow both parties to further help and support each
other. That’s why the event featured
Prof. Tony Villegas, a professor at the
College of Alameda who talked about
the presence of Filipinos in America.
He emphasized that we are now the
second largest Asian immigrants in
the country; and now number one in
California. He also expounded on
the $ 88.6 billion purchasing power of
Filipinos in the country and shared the
demographics of the population.
Another key objective is for the
company to have a more meaningful
approach to the community so that
Agents and Financial Services Professionals are more attuned to the needs
and goals of their clients. Ms. Odette
Keeley, News Anchor and Producer of
New America and Comcast TV shared
the Filipino values, character and culture of the Filipinos that helped pave
the way for this goal to be met. The
Parangal Dance Company, a worldclass performing group danced two
folk dances that reflected the community’s cultural heritage.
The members of the Philippine
American Press Club were there too
to support the goals that the company
wants to achieve. PAPC, through its
Executive Secretary Mr. Jojo Peralta
extended its appreciation and offered
its support to help meet the overall objectives of the event.
Hector Vilchis, Corporate VP of the
Hispanic Market and Michelle Louie,
Senior Associate of the Women’s
Market, executives from New York
Life Insurance Company’s home office flew all the way from New York
City to show to the community its
commitment towards the realization
of its future financial growth. The
Managing Partner of the Silicon Valley General Office, Mr. Victor Vuong also emphasized its dedication to
reach out to the Filipino community
and made it a point that his office is
committed to be of greater value and
service to their clients.
The presence and support of the
Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon
Ascalon of the Philippine Consulate
General Office gave impact to the
event as he expressed his support to
the Filipino agents and Financial Services Professional on their mission of
helping and reaching out to the community.
The event was well attended and supported by influential Filipino personalities, executives and other government officials.
Guests commented that the event
was very informative, very inspiring
and very motivating.
By Don Orozco
From L to R: Hector Vilchis – Corporate Vice President, (Hispanic Market) New York Life Insurance Company, Joseph Peralta – Executive Secretary of PAPC, Vice President and General Manager of Asian Journal Publications (Norcal), Professor Tony Villegas, Jr. – Speaker on Presence of
Filipinos in America & $88.6 Billion Purchasing Power of Filipinos, Julie Estrella Adams – Agent
& Host of Filipino Market Event, Lani Judal – Financial Services Professional & Host of Filipino
Market Event, Victor Vuong – Managing Partner, Silicon Valley General Office, New York Life Insurance Company, Michelle Louie – Senior Associate, Women’s Market, New York Life Insurance
Company,
Carlos Garcia – Corporate VP (Hispanic Market, Pacific Zone) New York Life Insurance Company, Odette Keeley – Speaker on Filipino Values & Culture, Director National Network
Building & News Anchor/Executive Producer New America Media & Comcast TV, Jaime Ramon
Ascalon – Deputy Consul General, Philippine Consulate Office in San Francisco and Cecile Ascalon – wife of Jaime Ramon Ascalon
MON CARGO, Serving Filipinos for 27 Years
Tweny seven years of serving
Filipino kababayans, safe and reliable door-to-door service since
1986. Established
in 1986,
M O N
C a r g o
Services
Incorporated is an
authorized
NVOCC
of Federal
Maritime
Commission and
a holder
of Ocean
Transportation Intermediary
License
N o .
12964N,
duly authorized to
forward BALIKBAYAN BOXES
for personal effects and household goods to the Philippines.
From inception, the goal of Mon
Cargo Services, Incorporated is
to reach out to the needs of the
Filipino
comm u nity
w h o
continuously
look
for the
most
reliable
company
with
proven
track
record
o
f
honesty, efficiency,
dependability and trustworthy.
Customer’s satisfaction has always been the company’s top pri-
ority.
The growth of Mon Cargo Services, Inc.
is
really
fast,
its
expansion
program
will soon
open
in
various
locations.
Part of the
expansion
program is
to purchase
additional
trucks to
meet the
company’s
massive
demand of
balikbayan
box collections in the
whole of
Bay Area..
More than
a
business, the
manage-
concern to its customers effort
in filling up the balikbayan
ment and staff
of Mon Cargo
are known for
epitomizing the
company’s nature that is, it
puts
utmost
boxes that they send to the
Philippines.
“The firm gives customers
an assurance that balikbayan
boxes are handled with extra
care from the time they are
picked up to the time they are
delivered to the destination address” “We build customer’s
loyalty by
treating
them how
they want
to be treated” Agnes
Doniego
S i n g h
says…
Other Services Offered:
• Container
Shipments for
Returning
Residents
•
Home
Appliances, Furniture-Any
• Househ o l d
Goods
• Vehicles
• Crating
• Air Fare
Tickets
FREE:
Pick-Up
Service,
Replacement, Box, Strapping.
Know more about our services
and promos by calling our toll
free 1-800-432-4300 or visit our
website www.moncargoservices.
com.
AROUND TOWN
The San Francisco Post
PAGE 11
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
Via Mare Celebrates 2nd Year Anniversary
For businesses to thrive, especially, a specialty restaurant business, it takes about
six months to a full-length
year to realize whether it
would ‘click’ in the market
or not.
Via Mare of America,
known for its authentic
Filipino-Spanish cuisine, is
one of the luckiest Filamrun restaurant to survive
the stiff competition in the
restaurant industry.
“Not everyday is a bed
of roses, “ said Via Mare’s
Executive Chef and partowner, Ed Mission, “ But
we’re trying our best to
stay above the competition,
and maintain the quality
of food and services especially, cleanliness in our
restaurant. “
On October 30, Via Mare
is celebrating its second
year anniversary and Mission was all busy and excited to impart a word to
his patrons, “ We are giving
away free appetizers (Calamares and Tokwa’t Baboy)
whole day for a minimum
order of $30. “
Several changes has yet
to take place in the near future. “ We are in the process
of applying for a beer and
wine license, after which,
we will have a nightly entertainment through a musical pianist from 9:30p.m.
to 1:30a.m, “ Mission said,
adding that music played in
piano will add more enjoyment for beer and wine lovers as they dine.
At the same time, he said
that Via Mare will continue
their Loyalty Diner Coupon Program. “ When you
order a minimum of $30
including tax, your coupon
will be stamped, and if you
already accumulate five (5)
stamps you could redeem it
for free appetizers. “
Admittedly, Mission said
the business “ is getting
strong. “ Since Via Mare
opened its doors to the public on Mondays (starting
Aug. 26) for a full-week
operation, the food facility
could now accommodate
huge catering services that
comprised 30-percent of
Via Mare’s total sales.
“Dine continues to dominate our whole services,
“ Mission stressed, “ This
is the reason why we have
to re-invent and
change
our concept every now
and then,
to better
serve the
needs of
our market. “
Via Mare
comes with lots of surprises
and innovations these holiday season.
“Our social media network presence is also undergoing construction, “ he
said, “ Customers and avid
patrons could like us on
facebook and twitter soon.
“
Overall, two years have
revealed all kinds of challenges Via Mare has to
undergone in order to keep
above competition. “ We’ve
gone too far, “ Mission said,
“ We didn’t expect we’ll be
these tenacious and community-oriented business. “
“We hope that our friends
and the regular diners will
continue to promote and
patronize us because by
doing so we will be able to
maintain our Filam staff to
support livelihood in our
community, “ Mission said.
At present, Mission said
the company employs
a lean staff of 11-- Via
Mare’s way of giving back
its blessings to the Filam
community.
“I take pride in the fact
that you were able to give
employment to our Filipino
‘kababayans‘ who badly
needs livelihood locally, “
he humbly said, although,
he noted he strives hard
to beat
competition.
Mission,
one of
the pillars of
the succ e s s
of Via
Mare of
America along with other three
partners, formed Via Mare
in the last quarter of 2011
with the aim in view of
complementing with the
community through putting
up a restaurant business in
the thickly Filam-populated district of Daly City.
He came to the fore and
form Via Mare of America,
from his humble beginnings in 2006 when Mission was one of the cor-
nerstones (as founder)
of Tribu, another Filam
restaurant located in the
Peninsula.
A consistent restaurateur,
Mission recalled how the
corporation founded Via
Mare: “ Via Mare means
‘By the Sea‘ and, because
we’re in the Bay Area- we
came up with the idea- all
fresh from the sea. “
For almost two years,
Via Mare of America-a great dining place for
huge groups and party
gatherings conveniently
located at the heart of
Mission St. in Daly City,
offers a variety of specially-cooked food from
the fusion of SpanishFilipino cuisine.
Catering large audiences from 10, 50 to 100
persons even for private
parties, Mission, one of
the best Executive Chef in
town, said that more added
innovations in their Menu
has yet to take place come
holidays.
Christian Singers All: After a smashing and well attended Christian concert at the Shorleine Amphitheatre in Mountain View Darwin Fontanares (4th with sunglasses) poses with
co-performers Jay Tolentino,Oliver Tolentino, Jayson Quintin, Lew Randy Cortes,Nick Morales, Bryan Quintin, Ann Mendoza Kroll,Justin Lugtu, Marc Cruz, Chynna Villanueva,
Henry Nery, Meltwo Gice, Jeremiah Kroll, Reynard Silva,Albert Jerome Tejada, Clayton Laje, Armily Mosquito, Rj Repollo, Clint Labson, Denielle Anne Barcelona, Kevin Guanzon,
Shalina Kroll, Gil Castro,Sara Sabino Gutierrez, Pauline Genove Aguinaldo,Sydney Flores, Shaina Avery, Criselle Cahayag,Cherie Faye Mora, Michelle Thomas, Rius Chua,Kathy
Mae Sana, Chessica Manangan and Nicole Coates.
2 Divas 2 gether. Frontlining the entertainment part of the Outreach Program was
Shaina Avery of Ohlone University, daughter of Brian and Nerissa Avery and Armily
Mosquito, daughter of Arnel & Amy Mosquito.
BAY AREA VISITOR: Apple Meneses of the
Kapatid Network TV5 in Manila visited the
Bay Area recently. Picture was taken in front
of the Daly City Police Headquarters as she
interviews Fil-Am cops in the City.
CABE FAMILY. A reunion of some sort and a wacky pose rendered by the Cabe’s. This was recently held in the Berryesa
District in San Jose of the Cabe family highlighted of course by the family of Wayne, Olive, Ate Faye & Olgier.
Bay Area residents and lovely sisters Cindy Navarro and Alma Ogana recently visited
Budapest, Hungary for some relaxation avoiding the United Stress of America. Cindy
& Alma is behind the monument of President Ronald Reagan, as the former president
was honored during Gorbachev’s time.
WHAT A BLAST: Crizel Gatlabayan Raneses celebrated her birthday with a Neon Glow Theme Party
at The Supper Club in SOMA District San Francisco with her friends Ray Cosca, Pia Cosca, Heidi
Rivera, Nelson Baun, Patrick Rubio, Jason Almayda, Ross Almayda, Pierre Paderna, Luisa Aquino,
Rosalie Anonuevo, Sam Liu, Hang Wong, Rachel Roll, Tess Cadiz, Crizel Gatlabayan Raneses, Stephen Dong, Joe Hunter & Harumi Sugai.
SPORTS
So seals chess crown with quiet draw
PAGE 12
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
MANILA, Philippines Grandmaster Wesley So
held top seed English GM
Michael Adams
to a draw in 21
moves to officially
clinch the 17th
Unive Tournament
crown in Hoogeveen, Netherlands yesterday.
With the title virtually in the bag,
So still went for a
win, opting for a
complicated tactical line of the
Nimzo-Indian and
emerging from a
minor piece exchange with an active pair
of bishops.
But Adams, the world No.
13 and boasting of the highest rating here with 2753,
neutralized whatever slight
advantage the Filipino had
with sound knight countermoves, forcing the Filipino
to a draw via repetition
moves.
Still, the standoff proved
enough for So,
ranked No. 40
in the world, to
secure the title
with 4.5 points
in the doubleround tournament.
Adams finished joint second with Dutch
GM Robin Van
Kampen with
3.5 points.
It was So’s
second victory
following his
gold medal effort in the
Universiade in Kazan, Russia in July.
The San Francisco Post
Cards score shocker, lead 2-1
over third base in
ST. LOUIS –
Game 2 and into the
The Boston Red
Fenway Park stands,
Sox keep stumturning Matt Carpenbling.
Forget
ter’s tying sacrifice fly
about getting in the
into two runs.
path of opponents,
When this one ended,
they can’t even
stay out of their
Middlebrooks
approached the umpires
own way.
and raising his arms
The crazy 5-4 loss
wide, as if to say
to the St. Louis
“What could I do?”
Cardinals on Sat“He was on top of
urday night, which
me. There was noended with third
Louis Cardinals’ Allen Craig trips over Boston Red
baseman Will Mid- St.
Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks as he tries to score where for me to go
dlebrooks, flat on from third in the ninth inning during Game 3 of the World there,” Middlebrooks
his stomach, rais- Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Craig was awarded said. “If I dive and
then Army-crawl to
ing both legs and home due to interference on the play.
second as soon as I hit
obstructing Allen
we can’t come back from.
the ground, that’s the
Craig, joins the bizarre Boston lore that include You just don’t expect to lose a only way I get out of the way
Johnny Pesky holding the ball game that way. It’s shocking.” there.”
Thirty-eight years after an
Back in 1975, Cincinnati
on Harry Walker’s hit in 1946
and Bill Buckner allowing interference non-call did in pinch-hitter Ed Armbrister
Mookie Wilson’s grounder to the Red Sox in World Series wasn’t called for interferGame 3, an obstruction ruling ence by plate umpire Larry
through his legs in 1986.
Barnett when he blocked Red
“It’s a crying shame to lose finished them off.
“This game is not going to Sox catcher Carlton Fisk on a
a game like this. I’m absolutely shocked a game of this define our team,” Dustin Pe- 10th-inning bunt at Riverfront
magnitude ends on a play droia said. “We lost tough Stadium. Fisk’s throw went
like that. It just doesn’t seem game. We’ll come out and off the glove of shortstop Rick
right,” said Jake Peavy, whose play tomorrow. This won’t Burleson, putting runners on
second and third. Joe Morfour gritty innings were pretty stop us.”
Hope for a third Series sweep gan’s RBI single gave Cincinmuch forgotten. “We’ve been
able to come back all year. I in a decade disappeared when nati a 6-5 win, and the Reds
don’t think this is something Craig Breslow threw wildly took the title in seven games.
Pacquiao wants to fight again in April
Manny Pacquiao is not exactly underestimating Brandon Rios but the
Filipino icon has told Hall of Fame
promoter Bob Arum of his desire to
fight in April 2014.
Arum spent three days in Pacquiao’s
training camp in General Santos City
last week and the Top Rank big boss
told the Bulletin that he has never
seen Pacquiao appeared sensational
in the runup to a big fight.
“This is the best that he’s looked
since he was getting ready for the
(Oscar) De La Hoya fight,” said
Arum, noting the fire in Pacquiao’s
eyes and his sense of urgency in
proving to everyone that even at
nearly 35 years of age, he still has it.
If indeed Pacquiao is so pumped up
to show the world what he’s got,
then Rios is going to be in deep,
deep trouble come Nov. 24 at The
Venetian in Macau.
Still, Pacquiao wants Arum to reserve an April date for his first fight
in 2014 against an opponent yet to
be determined although he mentions
two names: Tim Bradley and Ruslan
Provodnikov of Russia.
And why April and not not May as
tradition dictates?
“Well, (Floyd) Mayweather has
reserved a May date whether he’s
fighting a Hispanic or some guy at
the MGM Grand so we’ll do it in
April,” he said.
And where could it take place?
“Maybe in the US or overseas (out-
side the US),” said the Harvard-educated Arum.
Bradley is in the mix following his recent victory over
Juan Manuel Marquez, while
Provodnikov, a one-time Pacquiao sparring partner, also entered the scene after he beat up
Mike Alvarado last week.
Arum said Pacquiao, whose
last fight on US soil was the
sixth-round knockout by Marquez, might end up making a
return to the US with an appearance at the 19,500-seat
Thomas and Mack Center, site of
Pacquiao’s third fight against bitter rival Erik Morales in November 2006.
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
SHOWBIZ
Phil on breakup with Angel:
Showbiz Weekly Post
No one to blame
France honors Pinoy film official
PAGE 13
The San Francisco Post
France has named the chairman of the
Film Development Council of the Philippines, Briccio Santos, a Chevalier or
Knight of the Legion of Honor for developing and promoting the Philippine cultural identity through cinema.
Santos, who was appointed FDCP chairman in 2010, was recognized for his efforts to preserve Philippine film heritage
through the creation of the National Film
Archives, an advocacy that France supports.
In his acceptance remarks during his
conferment Friday at the official residence of French Ambassador to Manila
Gilles Garachon in Forbes Park, Santos
spoke first in French as he expressed his
gratitude to the government of France for
the honor bestowed on him.
Santos noted the long relationship between France and the Philippines that
dated back to Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition here in 1521, with 15 French nationals who were part of the group.
Santos also said France welcomed
the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal,
when he took refuge in Paris along with
Antonio and Juan Luna and other Filipino
patriots.
France was also among the first countries to recognize the election and government of President Corazon Aquino in
1986.
“France was always there standing by
us,” said Santos, one of the earliest exponents and practitioners of independent
filmmaking in the Philippine. “That’s
what matters most.”
Garachon described Santos as “a genuine artist, a painter, sculptor, director and
a man of passion and of creation.”
“Cinema is creation, it is about human
feelings, human histories, about our lives.
This is the kind of cinema that Briccio is
fighting for, and we French are extremely
senstive to that,” he added.
As a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor,
Santos joins the ranks of Aung San Suu
Kyi, the late President Corazon Aquino,
actor and film director Richard Attenborough, Salvador Dali and the late Carlos
P. Romulo.
James Yap kisses girlfriend after San
Mig win
In a rare moment, an elated James Yap
gamely showed
his affection for
his Italian girlfriend shortly
after the star
cager’s team,
San Mig Coffee,
clinched
the PBA Governors’ Cup title
on Friday night.
The 31-yearold basketball
player,
who
has repeatedly
evaded discussing his relationship with Michela Cazzola,
was seen kissing his girlfriend of more
than a year before some 20,000 spectators
at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The candid moment, which saw a beaming Cazzola with Yap planting a kiss on
her cheek, happened minutes after San
Mig Coffee defeated Petron Blaze, 87-77,
in their seventh and last match in the PBA
Finals.
Also among the personalities spotted at
the event were actress Danica Sotto, the
wife of San Mig Coffee’s Marc Pingris;
and UAAP
stars
and
siblings Jeric and Jeron
Teng, with
their father
Alvin.
While Yap
appeared
to be open
about
his
relationship
with Cazzola as he took
to Instagram
to share their
private moments starting June, the basketball star would
always remain tight-lipped in interviews on the subject
of his girlfriend.
Cazzola is a secretariat specialist at the Asian Development Bank in the Philippines. She is
no stranger to the country, ABS-CBN News
has learned, as her father also worked here for
a time.
Yap was previously in a relationship with actress-host Kris Aquino, with whom he has a son.
The former couple’s marriage was declared null
in February last year.
Jasmine is no longer just Anne’s little sis
For Jasmine Curtis-Smith,
being part of the acclaimed
indie drama “Transit” was a
defining moment in her still
blossoming career.
In her first film, the
19-year-old actress delivered a noteworthy performance that earned her the
best supporting actress
trophy in the New Breed
section of the Cinemalaya
Philippine
Independent
Film Festival this year.
Prior to “Transit,” CurtisSmith’s exposure was being featured in TV5 drama
series. She was also better known as Anne Curtis’
younger sister.
But with her award, the
Kapatid talent felt she was
finally getting recognized
on her own merit.
“I’m just happy and overwhelmed because viewers and credible critics are
starting to notice me; they
acknowledge the fact that
I’m good in what I do,”
she told the Inquirer in an
interview at the recent TV5
trade launch. “I was also
happy that I was given the
opportunity (to work) with
veterans like Irma Adlawan.”
But Curtis-Smith admitted
there was now pressure on
her to show she deserved
the award. “More eyes will
be on me,” she pointed out.
“I can’t be complacent.
Kailangan galingan ko every time.”
CurtisSmith
said she
intended
to hone
her skills
by doing
more indie films
and accepting
different types
of roles.
( S h e
costarred
in a Cine
Filipino
entry,
Mike Alcazaren’s
“Puti” as
followup
to Jasmine Curtis-Smith
“Transit.”)
The young star, however,
drew the line at taking off
her clothes or doing kissing
scenes.
“Aside from those things,
I’m okay as long as what’s
being asked of me will help
the film. I’m still quite conservative,” she said.
“Transit”—directed by Hannah Espia and produced by
Paul Soriano—apart from
being declared best film by
Cinemalaya, also got a special
mention in
the New Currents section
of this year’s
Busan International Film
Festival
in
South Korea.
Last month,
“Transit,”
which tells
the struggles
of
overseas
Filipino workers
(OFWs) in
Israel whose
children face
deportation,
was chosen
by the Film
Academy of
the
Philippines as the
country’s official entry in
the 2014 Oscars’ foreign language film category.
Curtis-Smith said, more than
the trophies and citations she
and “Transit” had received,
their most important accomplishment was to touch the
hearts of OFWs around the
world.
Philippine Azkals player
Phil Younghusband finally
opens up following news of
his split with actress Angel
Locsin.
On the photo-sharing site Instagram,
Phil wrote: “I personally apologize
for taking time to
let everyone know
about the situation.”
This came on the
heels of Angel’s
very public admission that she and
Phil have gone
on separate ways,
which came out on
her Twitter account
recently.
“Sa lahat po ng
nagtatanong kung
totoo bang hiwalay na kami ni Phil,
Totoo po,” Angel
declared.
She, however, refused
to give details about the
break-up.
“Sana po maintindihan
nyo kung hindi na po namin
sasabihin ang dahilan,” she
said, stressing that “maayos
po kaming naghiwalay at
mutual decision po ito.”
Addressing the separation issue, Phil posted, “Hi
everyone, in lieu of the
separation, I would like to
thank you for all your support throughout our relationship. It was definitely a
happy one, as much as we
tried to make it work we
would just like to request
for all of you to support
us in our choice and that
we respect one another in
keeping our personal lives
to ourselves.”
Saying that it was a “sensitive matter,” he went on
to address those that supported his more-than-ayear relationship with the
Kapamilya actress.
“I am grateful for your
support and we hope you
continue to support both
of us in our each of our endeavors,” he said, noting
that “neither of us regret the time we spent
together, we enjoyed
each others company
and really made the
most of it.”
Phil stressed that
there’s really not one to
blame for the collapse
of his romance with
Angel. After all, it was
something that they
have mutually agreed
upon.
“There are no faults
in this, it was not an issue of who did or didnt
do something, it was a
mutual decision and although it was difficult
we just both felt that
this would be the best thing
to do given our circumstances,” he posted.
They may have gone on
separate ways now but the
friendship, Phil said, is still
intact.
“Although we have parted
as a couple, we are thankful
that we remain friends and
we only wish the best for
each other…”
Phoemela Baranda reveals she’s a mom,
presents 14-year old daughter on TV
Popular model and television host
Phoemela Baranda on Sunday revealed
that she has a 14-year old daughter named
Kim.
Baranda, 33, made the revelation on the
ABS-CBN entertainment talk show “Buzz
ng Bayan,” which she used to co-host under its former name “The Buzz.”
“I’ve been wanting to do this,” Baranda
told hosts Boy Abunda, Janice de Belen
and Carmina Villaroel, pertaining to her
admission.
“I’m proud of Kim and I want to acknowledge her. I want to show her to the
whole world,” Baranda said.
Kim said she understood that her mother
had to hide her for her show biz career.
“I appreciate all the things you did for me
and all the catching ups you are making…
I love you,” Kim told Baranda.
Baranda used to be the entertainment anchor of “TV Patrol” and appeared on various television shows and numerous advertisements. Don Lejano
Phoemela and daughter Kim
CLASSIFIED
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CROSSWORD PUZZLE
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To solve a Sudoku puzzle, place a number into each box so that each row
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than once in any row, column, or smaller 3x3 square. Working with the numbers already given as a guide, complete
each diagram with the missing numbers
that will lead to the correct solution.
HOROSCOPE
Aries March 20 - April 18
You’re apt to be drawn to lively and exciting
things today. Dramatic and dynamic activities are the ones that you’ll be most comfortable with. If you’re in a boring situation, think
about ways you can spice it up.
Taurus April 19 - May 19
You may have to take major action today in order to defend your position.
Your current mindset has brought you
to a certain point and now you’re faced
with having to defend that point.
Gemini May 20 - June 19
The more action you take today, the bigger
the hole you’re apt to dig for yourself. You
could be engaged in one of those situations
in which you say one thing and then are
forced to stretch the truth or outright lie in
order to defend your point.
Cancer June 20 - July 21
Your thinking is right in line with the
group dynamic today, and you’ll find
working with a team to be extremely
rewarding.
Leo July 22 - August 21
No matter how many maps you look
at and how many times you stop and
ask for directions, you’ll still be unsure
which road to take. All routes have appeal, and you don’t want to miss any
sights along the way to your destination.
Virgo August 22 - September 21
Your well-considered actions will be effective today. There’s strength in your mental
power. You shouldn’t hesitate to direct others toward avenues that would be good for
them. You have the vision to see things that
other people might not notice.
Libra September 22 - October 21
Indulge in a day of laughter. Things get
much more serious tomorrow, so use today
to have some fun before it comes time to get
down to business.
Scorpio October 22 - November 20
Share your thoughts with those who can
help execute them today. If you have something that needs to be moved, don’t try to
do it by yourself. Ask around for someone
with the vehicle or tools you need to get it to
where it needs to go.
Sagittarius November 21 - December 20
Try not to get too caught up in trying to penetrate to the core of everything today. Enjoy
the simple pleasures that are free. Be entertained by a bug walking on your windowsill.
See trees as art. See the shapes and colors
around you.
Capricorn December 21 - January 18
There’s a fast-paced energy in the air
that suggests a dramatic change of
some sort in your life. Things may not
go so well for you if you fail to notice the
opportunities open to you. You may not
need to work so hard simply because
so many things are going your way.
Aquarius January 19 - February 17
Your mind may be playing tricks on you,
so it isn’t necessarily in your best interests
to trust your perceptions completely. Consider other methods of solving problems
that confront you.
Pisces February 18 - March 19
Today may be one of your last chances to
say what you want about a certain situation.
Take advantage of the opportunity to get
your words out. Your thoughts may be quite
progressive, so use this forward-thinking attitude to break new ground in your project.
PAGE 15
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post
opposed pork
(Cont. from page 4...THE NUCLEUS )
barrel, said the
one of his closest friends and allies,
country
was
distanced himself from Aquino’s now saddled with a P5.684-trillion
stance on PDAF and DAP when debt that enabled the government to
he assailed in a speech before the accumulate “savings” of P669 bilPhilippine Constitution Association lion that was being used to impose
(Philconsa) the President’s “consti- a “fiscal dictatorship” to control all
tutionally infirm act” of augment- branches of government and to pering” non-existing” items in the bud- petuate greed and corruption.
get law and realigning the savings of Lacson said the national budget had
the executive branch to the legisla- more than doubled under Aquino
tive, referring to the disbursement by just in his first year.
Aquino of P50 million to P100 mil- “In 2002, the first national budget
lion to senators and P10 million to under former President [Gloria]
P15 million to congressmen in DAP Arroyo was P782.9 billion. Nine
funds shortly after the impeach- years later, in 2011, the first national
ment and conviction of Supreme budget under President Aquino had
Court Chief Justice Renato Corona more than doubled to P1.645 trilin 2012.
lion,” Lacson said.
Lacson, who never availed of his
“An ordinary citizen’s valid quespork barrel allotment when he was tion is — Why do we keep on bora senator and who has consistently rowing when we keep on saving? I
(Cont. from page 1..PEERY SCOPE)
P700-billion piggy bank
Lacson also disclosed that P-Noy had P700 billion at
his disposal in 2012, which was the same year when Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached
and found guilty of culpable violation of the Constitution.
P-Noy insisted that the DAP is not pork barrel and
claimed it as his “economic stimulus package,” which
he created to increase government spending; thus, stimulating growth.. In all appearances, the DAP is an illegal
extension of PDAF used to funnel “savings” from budget
items and released to lawmakers as extra pork. But since
DAP doesn’t exist in the eyes of Congress, DAP evades
congressional scrutiny. Yet, the recipients of DAP funds
are members of Congress themselves!
It is interesting to note that the Supreme Court had re(Cont. from page 1..AQUINO STANDS)
abuse of power—and yet I am the one now
being called the ‘Pork Barrel King’?” he
added.
Aquino then vowed to go after those who
pocketed millions in pork barrel funds.
“If you think that this will stop me from
going after you, if you think that you can
divert the public’s attention, if you think
you can get away with stealing from our
countrymen—you have sorely underestimated me and the Filipino people,” he said.
“If there still remains some vestige of
kindness in your hearts, I hope that you
stop acting in self-interest, and instead act
to help your fellowmen.”
The President called attention to the purported strategy being employed by those
accused in the pork barrel scam.
“If you can’t explain it, muddle it; if you
can’t deodorize it, make everyone else
stink; if you can’t look good, make everyone look bad. You have heard what they are
saying: that we are all the same,” he said,
claiming that his accusers “have taken
the advice of an old politician from their
camp.”
The presidential address Wednesday night
marked the first time President Aquino had
“asked networks for airtime to directly address the Filipino people,” Malacañang
said.
Aquino’s televised address came at a time
when his approval ratings among Filipinos
will venture a guess for an answer:
Para may mapaglaruang pondo ang
mga nasa gobyerno, (So that those
in the government will have funds to
play with),” Lacson said.
The business community had criticized Aquino for under-spending
in the first two years of his administration, resulting in huge budget
surpluses and billions of unspent
appropriations that were eventually
used to control Congress in the matter of Corona’s impeachment and the
approval of the controversial Reproduction Health Law.
And yet, despite these savings,
Lacson correctly pointed out, the
Aquino administration increased its
foreign borrowings as it increased
the national budget year after year.
Now, every single Filipino owes
almost P62,000 each mostly to foreigners. (valabelgas@aol.com)
fused to issue a TRO against the DAP, an action – or inaction – that “pork watchers” criticized. If PDAF were
bad enough to warrant a TRO, why didn’t the high court
issue a TRO against the DAP, which is far worse than the
PDAF? One of the “pork watchers,” seasoned columnist
Emil Jurado, made an observation, which he shared in
his column, “Is the President virtual dictator?” He wrote:
“With the House of Representatives ruled by the administration majority under Speaker Sonny Belmonte, and
Senate President Frank Drilon acting like an extension
of Malacañang protecting the President from allegations
of abuse and misuse of public funds, with the Supreme
Court under Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, and with
most junior anti-graft court Justice Amparo CabotajeTang as Presiding Justice of Sandiganbayan, the President now appears to rule over the three branches of government.” (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
were being eroded by growing public outrage
over the misuse of pork barrel by lawmakers.
His administration has been also heavily criticized for the little-known DAP a program
created by Budget Secretary Florencio
Abad in 2011 to pump-prime the economy.
The budget department belatedly admitted
last September that an additional P50-P100
million in pork barrel projects were given
to each of the 20 senators who voted to
convict then Chief Justice Renato Corona
in May 2012.
The legality of DAP is now being discussed in the Supreme Court, which scheduled oral arguments on Nov. 19.
Several senators and a host of constitutional experts, including Fr. Joaquin Bernas, averred that the Constitution prohibits
the transfer of funds in the General Appropriations Act from one department to
another.
The uproar over pork barrel prompted
Malacañang to admit on Oct. 14 that although an “overwhelming majority of Filipinos remain supportive of the President and
his agenda, we recognize that the increase in
those dissatisfied reflects the depth of anger and
disappointment of the people at the way public
funds have been stolen.”
The Palace recognized this “general outrage about how these funds have been spent
or how these funds have been misused, and
some of that may be directed again to the
present administration.” With a report from
Christian V. Esguerra
(Cont. from page 1...22 KILLED ) violence was worse than
the last village elections in
incumbent officials—and supporters
2010, when 15 people were
had been killed in prepoll violence, killed, said Senior Supt. Reuben
an unsettling hallmark of Philippine Theodore Sindac, chief of the PNP
elections but particularly disturbing public affairs office.
in this year’s village elections that Thirty-seven other people had been
were supposed to be nonpartisan.
wounded in campaign violence
Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokes- linked to rivalries, mostly in shootman for PNP Director General Alan outs, Sindac said.
Purisima, said eight people, includ- The wounded included two policeing a barangay captain and a baran- men and two election officers who
gay councilor, were reported miss- were ambushed by unidentified guning.
men in Masbate province on Sunday,
“We expect the number of casualties Sindac said.
to increase as we are still receiving At least 588 people had been arrestreports from our field units,” Mayor ed for violating the election gun ban,
said.
with police confiscating 516 fireDespite President Aquino’s efforts to arms, 18 gun replicas, 200 knives, 68
curb the power of political warlords grenades, 290 explosives and 4,328
and their private armies, this year’s rounds of ammunition.
More violence
Another killing was reported in Masbate and a supporter of a candidate
died in an ambush in Maguindanao
province on Monday.
PO1 Haidelyn Pimentel Arevalo, a spokesperson for the
Masbate police, said a certain
Larry Canale, 49, a resident
of Baang village in Mobo
town, Masbate, was shot dead
around 1:30 p.m. by one Richard “Andoy” Ramos outside
an elementary school that was
being used as a polling center in
the village.
Canale was a supporter of Bobby
Zarsuelo, who was challenging incumbent Samuel Bolong for the
chairmanship of Baang village, Arevalo said.
PAGE 16
Oct. 31, 2013 - Nov. 6, 2013
The San Francisco Post