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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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Consulate warns not to give Medicare numbers in “medical survey”
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NEW YORK, May 12, 2005 --- For Filipino-American veterans here, do not give Medicare numbers in exchange for money for participating in a “medical survey” or “clinical testing.”
That was the warning given early this week by the Philippine Consulate General in New York after learning about a scam allegedly directed against elderly Filipino-American veterans. The scam, which was reported by the Philippine consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles, is allegedly operated by medical con artists who promise $100 to elderly Filipino-American veterans if they participate in a survey and give their Medical numbers.
According to the report sent by the New York consulate to the Filipino Express, the con artists then use the Medicare numbers they have fraudulently obtained to bill Medicare for health services, as well as the medical equipment, which the elderly veterans did not receive.
In many cases, the report said, the the health services that are being billed Medicare were not even needed by the veterans.
Bartolome Gorero, 80, together with his wife, Estelita, participated in the fraudulent clinical tests. Each of them received $100 for taking a van ride to a sleep clinic in San Jose, California, where they were asked to lie on beds for four hours with wires attached to their bodies and watch movies. However, the clinic operator later billed Medicare $7,950 for sleep studies on the elderly couple. The operator said the two had no sleep problems.
For Apolonio Ladia, 81, several individuals claiming to be medical representatives paid him to go to three clinics in the Bay Area, in California. Despite being physically fit and had no major medical complaints, he underwent 46 medical and laboratory tests. His Medicare was billed more than $8,500 by the clinics.
Consul General Cecilia Rebong said in the report that she was informed by the Philippine Consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles that the insidious scam appears to mirror medical fraud rings that have been investigated and prosecuted in Los Angeles and dozens of other cities.
While there have been no reported cases in the Northeast area so far, Rebong wanted Filipino-American veterans to be aware of the scam.
“Our FilAm veterans in this part of the U.S. ought to be extra vigilant if and when participating in any medical surveys as this just could be another scam. They should never reveal or give their Medicare numbers unless they are sure of the identity and legitimacy of the persons or companies they are dealing with,” Rebong said.
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Greg Racelis on his way inside the voting room on Election Day
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JERSEY CITY, May 10, 2005 --- The night before the Election Day, optimism filled the confines of a Filipino restaurant on West Side Avenue as supporters of Greg Racelis gathered together and promised him of their votes.
But a few hours after the polls closed Tuesday night, a pall of gloom descended on the Filipino community as Racelis lost his bid for councilor in Ward B.
For hundreds of thousands of Filipinos here, Racelis’ candidacy was considered a test of their strength and unity, and winning in the election could resonate the voice of Filipinos in the City Hall.
Racelis, a real estate agent, lost 52.37 percent of the votes to his strongest contender, Mary Spinello, a director with the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and an ally of re-elected Mayor Jerramiah Healy.
This is the third time that Racelis ran for councilor. He never succeeded.
While members of Racelis’ camp were still reeling in defeat, it still remains for them to ask the question: how far did Filipino-American voters support Racelis?
“I’m saddened that Filipino-Americans were lukewarm over the candidacy of Greg,” said Ed Toloza, 51, Jersey City tax assessor. “During the campaign period, we didn’t even see a lot of Filipino-American leaders of different organizations who could have strongly consolidated essential efforts for Greg.”
There will never be a Filipino-American to win a seat in the council, Toloza said, unless the Filipino community will become united, adding that it’s time for Filipinos to start all over again.
For Carmen Flores, 57, who rigorously campaigned for Racelis, one of the reasons that he lost in the election was because he ran as an independent candidate.
“When you are all alone and not part of any political party, it would be so hard to pull the mainstream voters,” she said.
But Flores, of Broadman Parkway, still believed that if Filipino-American voters solidly vote for Racelis, it would have been a sure win.
“We estimated to have about 2,000 eligible Filipino-American voters in Ward B. But where were they?” she said.
According to the official results posted on the Web site of Hudson County Clerk Office, Racelis garnered 820 votes, second to Spinello’s 1,702 votes.
Tom Simba, 67, another Filipino-American voter who was one of the poll-challengers for Racelis during the Election Day, said that the residence of Filipino voters should also be taken into consideration.
“True, there are thousands of Filipino-American voters here. But we have to realize that many of them voted for Ward C because they actually belong there,” Simba said.
Ted Reyes, 27, of Montgomery Street, did not agree that ethnicity should be the basis of voting behavior among Filipinos.
“I have nothing against Racelis, but this election showed us that Filipino-Americans are intelligent voters. We don’t just vote because the candidate is our own kind. We vote for someone we believe is competent,” Reyes said.
Meanwhile, Racelis, who recently donated $10,000 to the Cunningham Foundation, was endorsed by Sandra Cunningham, wife of the later Mayor Glenn Cunningham. The donation was collected from many Filipino-Americans, according to members of the Philippine American Friendship Committee, and was originally intended to pay the flight of the Cunningham couple for a social and exposure trip to the Philippines.
While Racelis could not be reached, his wife, Mecita Racelis, mum on the results of the elections. “I have nothing to say,” she said.
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NEW YORK, May 12, 2005 --- President George W. Bush signed into law on May 11, 2005, the supplementary spending bill for tsunami aid and Iraq which included a rider that recaptures 50,000 unused immigrant visa numbers from 2001 to 2004.
The 50,000 visa numbers are specifically allocated for registered nurses (RNs) and physical therapists (PTs), most of whom are from the Philippines.
Thousands of immigrant visa applications of RNs and PTs which have been stalled by the retrogression since January this year will be processed immediately as a result of this law.
The Department of State had earlier imposed a cut-off date for the third preference employment-based category (EB-3) which includes RNs and PTs. This translated to an estimated 3-year delay in the entry of Filipino professionals.
This month, the cut-off date has been moved to June 1, 2002. Thus, immigrant applications with priority dates before June 1, 2002 could now be processed.
Passing the EB-3 measure as a rider to the appropriations bill, underscored the urgency of filling the severely understaffed US hospitals with registered nurses. Unlike other legislative measures, the appropriations bill had to be passed immediately as a matter of course.
The “recapture” provision comes as a relief as well to hundreds of US medical facilities that are in critical need of RNs.
The American Hospital Association has reported that some 75 percent of hospital vacancies are for nurses. The Department of Labor has identified RNs as the top job growth occupation.
An estimated one million nurses will be needed by the US through the year 2012, as nurses age out and more baby-boomers require healthcare.
Editor’s Note: The author has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 1975. Any questions about this article may be directed to Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq., at 450 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1400, New York, NY 10123 by phone 212 695 5281 email seguritanlaw@yahoo.com. You may visit his website at www.seguritan.com
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Vivian Alvarez (left), a Filipino-Australian national who was wrongfully deported in 2001, narrates her past experience as she sits beside Australian priest Fr. Michael Duffin in Olongapo City. Alvarez, who as dual citizenship, was injured in a car accident and was mistakenly deported after claiming she was not an Australian and had been allegedly held captive as a sex slave in Brisbane, Australia. (MNSwirephoto)
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MANILA, May 12, 2005 --- A Filipina-Australian deported by Australian immigration authorities four years ago due to a bungled process will finally get justice and have her chance to return to the country.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said that the Australian federal government has offered to facilitate the return of Vivian Alvarez, also known as Vivian Wilson and Vivian Young, to Australia.
“Consular officials will be offering all appropriate consular assistance which will obviously include an offer to facilitate her return to, if that is her wish, and appropriate support in Australia,” Vanstone said.
Vanstone also said that consular officials from the Australian Embassy in Manila have spoken to a Catholic priest in Olongapo City. The priest has been taking care of Alvarez at a local hospice since her deportation, she said.
“It now seems, on the basis of that discussion, that the woman is Vivian Alvarez who was removed from Australia in 2001,” Vanstone added.
Vanstone’s statement followed pronouncements made by no less than Prime Minister John Howard on the case of Alvarez.
“I am very sorry if anything unfair has happened in relation to that and on the face of it that does appear to be the case,” Howard told Southern Cross Radio last week.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie also called on the federal government to conduct an inquiry into the deportation blunder.
Beattie has jurisdiction over the municipality of Caboolture where Alvarez reportedly lived during her short stay in Australia. (MNS)
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