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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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San Diego, CALIFORNIA, November 12, 2004 --- Two Filipino-Americans here had been sentenced to prison by a Superior Court judge after pleading guilty to conspiracy and identity theft in what authorities called “the largest identity theft ring” in the county.
The two were among 21 indicted several months ago under multiple charges of victimizing hundreds of San Diego area individuals and businesses. Except for one American, the defendants were all of Filipino ancestry in various occupations.
The two, Guiller Serame, 30, and Richard Gordon, 37, along with an American man whose identity was not disclosed, were the last of 19 to be sentenced.
Another two Filipinos, Karlo Laroco and Ronnie Perez, are currently at large and believed to have fled to the Philippines.
Appearing before Superior Court Judge John Davidson, whose court handled most of the identity theft ring cases, Serame was sentenced to nine years and Gordon to two years. Both will be serving their sentences at a state prison.
In addition to being sentenced to prison, the two defendants were also told that they would be on probation after serving their terms and are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunitions.
The judge said that if they committed another felony, they would get mandatory prison sentence of one year for every violation.
Other defendants were sentenced from 16 months to 13 years with David Ramirez, tagged by authorities as the mastermind, getting the maximum sentence. Ramirez’s wife, Maria, a former Navy sailor aboard the carrier Nimitz, was sentenced to five years in state prison.
Because most of the defendants are not US citizens, they are now either undergoing deportation proceedings or will soon be. As a matter of fact, it was learned that one immigration judge has already ordered the deportation of one defendant.
The ring allegedly targeted hundreds of victims countywide, including National City, Escondido, Alpine, Chula Vista and members of the military, authorities said.
According to authorities, majority of the cases involve checks being cashed for money. The defendants reportedly made counterfeit IDs, which include military and civilian driver’s licenses, so they could pass stolen checks.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said many victims were unaware that their identities had been stolen. She said stores, banks and residents were all victims of identity theft.
Deputy District Attorney Corinne Miesfeld prosecuted the cases against the defendants and also appeared before Judge Davidson during the sentencing of the two defendants.
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After elections, President Bush vows to tackle immigration
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NEW YORK, November 4, 2004 --- Buoyed by optimism and faith that their lives will be better, Filipino-Americans were energized and felt a deep sense of affirmation with the victory and re-election of President George Bush.
“We feel very gratified that Asian-Americans have succeeded in re-electing President Bush. He is a firm leader who will help ensure a safe country and a safe world. He will promote a more vigorous economy, a pro-life and pro-family leader,” said Filipino-American Dr. Lupo Carlota, chairman of the National Asian American Republican Coalition (NAARC), who mobilized Filipinos and other Asian-American groups in Tennessee to deliver solid votes to Bush.
Bush was the clear winner on Wednesday in the U.S. elections as he gathered 259 electoral votes as reported by the Associated Press, against 252 electoral votes of Senator John Kerry. Fueled by strong backing of evangelical and conservative votes, Bush declared he won the elections after Kerry conceded Wednesday afternoon.
“A new term is a new opportunity. We have one country. One Constitution and one future that binds us,” said Bush in his victory speech.
The President also won the popular votes, garnering 51 percent against Kerry’s 48 percent votes or a wide margin of three and half million votes.
“America has spoken, I’m humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens,” Bush said.
Kerry gave a concession speech calling for unity and healing. “ In America , it is vital that every vote counts, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters , not by a protracted legal process,” said Kerry.
For Carlota, the victory of Bush means a new opportunity for Filipinos and Asian-Americans to participate in nation-building.
He said he was honored to be appointed as chairman of the sub-committee on health for Asia Pacific Islanders from 2001-2003.
He sees that more Asian-Americans will be appointed by Bush.
Prior to the elections, Bush so far appointed 206 Asian-Americans in government. With passion and determination, the Asian-American community hoped that Bush re-election would lead to greater diversity.
With the victory of Bush, Lupo also sees a stronger bilateral relation for the U.S. and the Philippines. “President Bush will help a secure and stable Philippines. We will remain a strong ally of the U.S.,” he said.
Lupo said they were preparing a victory party and celebrations in Washington, DC, for Filipino-Americans and other Asian-Americans Republicans. No exact date has been set yet.
Echoing the sentiments of other Filipino-American Republicans, Ernesto Gange, chairman of National Federation of Filipino-American Republicans in Pennsylvania, and founder of International Network of Filipino Overseas, said he was happy on the results of the recent elections.
“Our efforts have paid off and our prayers have been answered. President Bush is the right man to continue the job he has started. For the Philippines, this is a good news. Bush has invested a lot to cultivate historic relations between the us and the Philippines,” said Gange.
Quoting an independent survey, Gange said most Filipino-Americans, who are predominantly Catholics and members of other Christian sects, voted heavily for Bush.
“The biggest issue is abortion, we are Christian people, we don’t want abortion and we don’t want to kill babies and human beings,” said Gange.
Kerry openly supported abortion while Bush firmly declared his pro-life position in previous debates. Bush also opposed same-sex marriages.
There are over three million Filipinos in the U.S. Of that figure, a million of them are registered voters.
Other Filipinos are hoping Pres. Bush would push for legalization of illegal workers in America that would lead to immigration reform.
Filipinos who voted for Kerry believes Kerry has a strong pro-immigration positions and were disappointed by Kerry’s defeat.
“In the past four years, there were no major immigration reforms passed. With the Bush presidency, I doubt if there’s new immigration laws to be passed. Bush has a guest worker initiative, but he really didn’t push for it. Kerry supported immigration reform reform act that would grant undocumented aliens to become legal residents,” said immigration lawyer Reuben Seguritan, based in New York City.
“I’m disappointed. We really campaigned for Kerry. Asians came out for Kerry and new voters were for him There was a great response in Phildelphia and he won overwhelmingly in New Jersey. The problem was he didn’t reach out in middle states to talk about his religious values. Religion took a big part in the elections as well as moral values,” said businesswoman Cara Arevalo, who campaigned for Kerry in NJ.
But Paulo Blanco, chairman of Filipino-American Republican voters of South Bay California, based in Long Beach, the victory of President Bush means a lot to him.
“Bush has been a very strong supporter of Filipino veterans, a supporter of international trade and strong supporter of quality education, champion of freedom, fighter against terrorists and a friend of Filipino- Americans,” he said. “My hopes are: he would strengthen our national defense, provide more jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” Blanco has been a Republican since 1986.
For Filipino-American World War II Veteran, Joe Genito of Jersey City, his vote for Bush meant that he knew how to pay his loyalty.
Genito said the older George W. Bush, signed a bill that granted citizenship to thousands of Filipino veterans in 1990. The younger Bush, he said, signed health care benefits for Filipino American WW II veterans.
“We are hoping that President Bush will help us so that we could get equal benefits as veterans. We want Senate bill 68 and House Resolution 677 to be passed to grant pensions to both Filipino-Americans and Filipino veterans who fought during World War ll,” Genito said.
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NEW YORK, November 12, 2004 --- A Filipino organization holding a beauty contest and dinner events was given temporary restraining orders by a New York City court, after allegedly using similar name of another Filipino group.
The court gave the restraining order against the defendants for the Mrs. Philippines USA, Inc. for “the use of the name” by the plaintiff, Filipino Social Club, which originally holds the Mrs. Philippines USA contest, according to a court statement sent to the Filipino Express.
The defendants are also restrained “from proceeding with the dinner” on Nov. 27, and “from engaging in further ticket sales,” the statement said.
While the restraining orders are not the formal decision on the preliminary injunction, the court put the orders in writing.
According to the statement, “the evidence, both in quality and in its nature, is clear” that the Filipino Social Club has the exclusive use of the title “Mrs. Philippines USA”.
“It is clear to me that while there was a corporation formed a number of years back, Mrs. Philippines USA, Inc., that there has been no exercise by that entity of an independent identity,” the statement said. “There has been no exercise by that entity of any independent rights that it may have in that name.”
The court said the defendants have “made out irreparable harm” on the dimunition “as to who is the rightful operator of the pageant.”
Evidence showed, the statement added, that ticket sales of Filipino Social Club’s Mrs. Philippines USA contest have been reduced.
Also, the court said the defendants have “made out likelihood of success on the merits,” and have “made out a basis under the Deceptive Trade Law, without attributing specific bad faith.”
The defendants can make appeals before the court renders a written decision on the preliminary injunction.
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REELECTED MAYOR.
Filipino-American Jose Esteves wins reelection bid in Milpitas, California.
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Milpitas, CALIFORNIA, November 8, 2004 --- Filipino migrant Jose Esteves has won reelection as mayor of this city despite what he called anxious moments fueled by fears of division within the local Filipino community.
Esteves, born and raised in Dagupan City, got 58 per cent of the votes to clinch another two-year term as mayor of this fast-developing city in the Silicon Valley. He will be formally sworn in on Dec. 7.
He described the recently-concluded campaign as more difficult than his first one, which he won by a landslide, mainly because of attempts to divide the Philippine vote.
Former Mayor Henry Manayan, a half-Filipino, supported Esteves’ main rival, former city councilor Jim Lawson, while another Filipino, Victor Nejal, joined the race for mayor as write-in candidate.
Esteves said experience had shown that whenever there were two Filipino candidates for a particular position, both lost. He said this knowledge had given him and his supporters anxious moments, impelling them to work harder than in the previous election.
“Fortunately, the people were smart. Filipinos realized that Manayan was using them only for his own selfish interest,” he said.
He said that Filipinos compose only 13 per cent of the city population, and he could not possibly win based only on their support.
“And with Manayan supporting my Caucasian rival [Lawson], and with another Filipino [Nejal] running for mayor, the race had become more challenging.”
Esteves said he reached out to the other Asian communities, and even to the Hispanics.
“I am very strong among the Chinese, Indians and the Vietnamese. I also won a big number of Hispanics because I also speak Spanish,” Esteves said.
He said the Filipino commu¤nity backed him up rather than the candidate of Manayan because he speaks the language. He has been in their company since he migrated to the United States in the 80s.
“Manayan was born in Hawaii and his orientation is more American than Filipino. He was not known by the Filipino community until he ran for political office,” Esteves said.
Lawson got 40 percent of the votes, Nejal a negligible amount of votes although his campaign was well funded.
Esteves said he had always publicly avowed he is proud of his Filipino roots. He said that after he won his first term, he initiated the move to make Dagupan City the sister city of Milpitas, and that promotes tourism to Dagupan, particularly the “Pawil-Dagupan” (Balik-Dagupan) program.
The last time he visited Dagupan was in December during its fiesta, where he met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., Mayor Benjamin Lim of Dagupan City and former mayor now Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr.
Esteves, a former vice president of Concepcion Industries and UP engineering graduate, is married to the former Susan Melendez Reyes, an MBA graduate who grew up in DasmariÒas Village in Makati. They have a daughter, Irene, who was born in Milpitas 20 years ago but who speaks fluent Tagalog.
“Irene finished high school maxima cum laude at Saint Francis, a private school in Mountain View,” Esteves proudly said.
He said Irene is now a regent scholar at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she is a second year dentistry student. (MNS)
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ARLENE AGUIRRE, mother of formerly conjoined Filipino twins, Carl and Clarence, said she wants her boys to be successful doctors someday.
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Valhalla, NEW YORK, November 12, 2004 --- Last year, Arlene Aguirre was a mother who wanted to do everything to separate his sons, Carl and Clarence, who were conjoined at their heads. Nowadays, holding her two separated sons, Arlene has been preparing for their future as two normal kids.
“I feel like floating. I can’t believe I have two separate boys now,” Arlene said, in an exclusive interview for The Filipino Express.
Expressing hope and optimism, she wished her sons would grow normally and become doctors in the future.
“I still need a lot of prayers that there will be no problems in their surgery, “ she said.
The three of them would start their morning with a brunch of pasta or noodles, Arlene said. Afterwards, they go to a special school in Valhalla to develop their verbal and artistic skills, and then, they’re ready to do occupational, physical and speech therapies in the afternoon.
Later in the day, Arlene said, they play with their toys like singing Wiggles dolls and toying with their cute wooden puppets.
“They still need to strengthen their muscles and build neck control,” she said.
Although Carl and Clarence are continuing to recover well with no obvious neurological defects, both twins are suffering from colds for few days now, worrying their mother.
The twins neck are also not properly aligned because their heads were attached for more than two years, and it would take a lot of therapies before it could be straightened.
“My greatest fear is that they might suffer from side effects after the operations. They still need more surgeries to reconstruct their skulls,” Arlene said.
At Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, the two boys were very bright and playful. Despite having colds, the twins sat and clapped their hands happily.
Carl was trying to stand up on the stroller and smiled sweetly as cameras flashed on, and Clarence tried to talk to their mothers using sign language. The boys usually used their hands to show what they want as they spoke only very few words.
Aged two and half year old, the twins were together in one room, each one has his own bed. Dressed in blue denims and shirts, they played with their favorite toys. They enjoyed rhythm on the television with a rattle and jingle bells set.
Arlene said the boys are bright and love to engage in brotherly kicking and pushing skirmish as they tried to pull of the other’s closest sneaker.
In a previous statement, plastic surgeon David Staffenberg said they had to wait and see how the twins continue to progress.
“We let the boys determine when they are ready for more surgery. There’s still a long road of wound healing ahead. We need to keep a close watch on them,” said Staffenberg, who will reconstruct the skulls of the boys. He works at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, which performed the surgery for the final separation of the boys last Aug. 4.
Myrna Yao, chairperson of the National Commission on the role of Filipino Women, who flew from Manila, offered assistance to the twins.
She told Aguirre of different government agencies and Philippine hospitals that could help her in case she plans to go back to the Philippines once the boys are ready.
“We need to equip you to help the children,” Yao told Arlene. She advised Arlene to weigh all her options and start planning for the future of her kids.
A native of Silay City in Negros Occidental, Arlene, who is a nurse, said she’s a single mom and has to take care of everything for her boys.
Her most recent problem, Arlene said, was her mother, Evelyn Aguirre, 57, who was stranded for four days, last month in Los Angeles, Calif., because Philippine Airlines, one of their sponsors couldn’t give an airplane seat to her mother, while she was on her trip to go back the Philippines.
Her mother’s visa has expired when she was stranded with no family to help her in California, Arlene said. Her mother was able to reach Manila only two weeks ago.
For more than a year in the U.S. now, Arlene and her boys have survived through the kindness of various donors. She said was heartened when some Filipino- Americans and Americans visited the boys and donated toys, clothes and money for them.
Ernesto Gange, a board member of Pearl S. Buck Foundation, expressed his support for the twins.
He told Arlene in a meeting that the Foundation could find sponsors to support the twins financially when they go back to the Philippines.
But Nellie Birog Naoe, a leader of the Filipino American Executive Council of Greater Philadelphia, who also visited the twins in Valhalla, said it would be better if Arlene could find a sponsor to convert her visa and work part-time in the U.S. as a nurse.
Naoe said due to complicated surgery of the boys, they need a long-term health care and help and only specialists in the U.S. hospitals could help the twins, adding that for humanitarian considerations, the twins and their mother should be allowed to stay permanently in the U.S.
Naoe added that Blythedale Hospital should sponsor Arlene and her boys to stay longer in the U.S.
Meredith Gosin, social worker of Blythedale, helping the Aguirre family, said the boys still need intensive rehabilatation. The hospital is doing everything it can to help Arlene and the twins. They provided free medical help to the twins, food and medicine. Arlene also stays freely in the hospital housing in the compound.
As for Arlene, she said she still has no plans to find work in the U.S. because all her time was focused on her twins.
“I believe in prayers to strengthen me. It’s number one. The twins separation is really amazing and it’s a miracle,” she said.
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