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For the past 20 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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AS WE observe Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 14, let us remember Filipino women who helped give birth and cradle the ideals of freedom and democracy that we now hold sacred as a nation.
Below is a random list of women who have distinguished themselves by either rearing the nation during its infancy or nurturing it during its most trying times.
Melchora Aquino, more popularly known in history as Tandang Sora, who hosted the historic Katipunan meeting in her house in Pugadlawin on August 23, 1896. Tandang Sora continued to help the movement by feeding hungry troops and taking care of sick and wounded revolucionarios.
Gabriela Silang, whose name was immortalized by a militant women’s group, assumed leadership of the rebel forces when her husband, Diego Silang, was killed by an assassin’s bullet. Four months later, Gabriela was captured and hanged.
Felipa Culala, more popularly known as Kumander Dayang-Dayang during the anti-Japanese guerrilla resistance movement. She led 100 men in launching the first ever guerrilla action against Japanese forces in Central Luzon.
The women of Hongkong, Filipinas based in Hongkong who made the red, white and blue flag with three stars and a sun with eight rays.
The “women” of Samar, who were actually men who dressed up like women to be able to penetrate a camp set up by American troops. The foreign troopers were lulled into complacency by the presence of these “women”. Too drunk to even lift their rifles, the American soldiers were massacred by these native men in women’s clothing, who were out to avenge the rape of their women.
The women of Cordillera, specifically the Kalingas, who stopped government bulldozers and armalite-wielding Marcos soldiers from building the Chico River Dam and from destroying their towns and ancestral lands by going topless while forming a human barricade in 1981.
Lorena Barros, the chairman of the first militant feminist group, the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (Makibaka) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The nuns of EDSA, who, armed only with rosaries and flowers, stopped the tanks from rolling down EDSA and saved Johnny Enrile and Fidel Ramos from imminent death from loyal Marcos soldiers.
And of course, Corazon Aquino. Although her presidency was wracked by problems of crisis proportion, still, that cannot take away the fact that there was a moment in our history when she served as the rallying symbol of Filipinos fed up with 20 years of Marcos’ dictatorial rule and hungry for freedom and democracy.
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Shooting ourselves in the foot
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BANGKOK --- Even before the new officers and directors could take their oath and assume their respective roles, it is as if the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) had its future written on the wall. As a result of a bitter election and two lawsuits that followed it, one expected that it wasn’t going to be an easy ride for PIDCI.
Would that expectation hold true for the rest of this year’s term? Cynics would probably say it would but for some people, they say that whatever is going on boils down into one aspect. That is, as a community, especially our so-called leaders are shooting themselves in the foot.
In an event that is commemorated every year and is supposed to bring our community together to show our love of our country, our people and our culture, some of our leaders are driving us to the opposite. And for Gani Puertollano, president, leading PIDCI in the midst of continuing problems, he probably feels that his administration is not a walk in a park either. Even members of his so-called “action team” are having some difficulties getting their acts together, unsure of which direction to go.
With divergent priorities in its hands let alone the problems that it is facing with uncooperative and resentful groups within the community, putting together a good independence commemoration poses a challenge.
Imagine this group telling people and potential sponsors not to support this year’s PIDCI? How could anyone have a vengeful heart and a mean spirit? Why would they wish PIDCI to fail? Must they continue to politicize every move PIDCI takes a position on?
The latest setback PIDCI is saddled with is its financial reports, which have not been filed with the attorney generals’ office of New York and New Jersey since PIDCI received its 501 (c ) (3) tax-exempt status three years ago. PIDCI was allegedly told not to raise funds until its reports were submitted.
Before anyone else can make his or her own conclusion, this latest episode wasn’t a result of a few disgruntled people with PIDCI but was apparently triggered by an Internal Review Service audit of insurance giant AIG..
According to PIDCI inside sources, AIG’s donation to PIDCI in the amount $10,000 for the past two years was disallowed by IRS and has now provided New York’s attorney general’s office a paper trail for it to initiate a review of PIDCI’s status.
And last year’s $10,000, which was apparently used to fund the Leyte Dance Project, is among the issues raised in a lawsuit filed by PIDCI’s last year’s treasurer and a few others. In the complaint, PIDCI is being asked to explain an alleged discrepancy between what was reported as receipts and what was actually deposited for the project.
I myself had been promised a financial report by several sources involved in the project. The report was supposed to prove that the Leyte Dance Project did not lose money. Up to now, however, that promise is still worth a thousand words.
Perhaps a financial report of the project was submitted and signed for by the project chairman. Obviously, what explanation would the past treasurer ask if the report wasn’t submitted at all? What would be her basis?
Again, the point of all these inquiries goes back to what this space has been advocating about not only from PIDCI but also for all organizations which are involved in handling public money.
Responsibility begins and ends with a board member that is accountable for his or her action or inaction. No one can and should do a patch-up work every time an official inquiry is sought just like what is being done now (or has been done as of this writing) to comply with the attorney generals’ financial reporting requirements.
A president or a chairman cannot say that this reporting responsibility is the treasurer’s alone. As leaders of organizations, they have to ensure that such reports are done and filed with the authorities. If they fail their own duty of care, they are ultimately responsible as well.
There is always that experience of shooting ourselves in the foot. People make their own problems and as soon as these problems become unwieldy to be resolved, these are dropped like a hot potato to let another person deal with it.
Encouraging people or sponsors not to support this year’s PIDCI is a prime example of shooting ourselves in the foot. We, as a community, must rally behind a cause that concerns and affects us all as Filipinos.
Mistakes happen. Winners take the crown. And most of all, losers need to hold their heads high especially at a time commemorating our homeland’s independence. PIDCI must be the message of our unity and not our differences.
In the eyes of everyone that sees us celebrating our freedom, we are all winners. They don’t have to see winners waging their swords or losers showing their battle scars, they only want to see all of us – united in mind and spirit -- marching in honor and dignity down Madison Avenue in the greatest city in the world. Not shooting ourselves in the foot.
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Immigrants’ Shock and Awe!
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Chicago, ILLINOIS --- Because people have short memory, leaders of the immigrant community who were able to assemble and inspire hundreds of thousands to troop to the streets should take advantage of the opportunity by mobilizing them again to follow-up their causes until they are able to attain their objectives. They should not just rest on their laurels. They should only stop until the law on immigration reform is signed into law.
I know the marchers last March 10 and May 1 have already caught the attention, if not surprised, the movers and shakers in Washington, D.C. but nobody is admitting it. If the US military has its “shock-and-awe” military doctrine that tried to destroy Iraqi’s will to fight thru spectacular displays of power, the supporters of two huge marches for immigrants’ rights just blew the politicians’ minds away.
National Day of Immigrants
The mere sight of the mammoth rally by the 700,000 marchers across the country last May 1 should send chills down the spine of the congressmen and senators opposing the Senate Bill No. 1033, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, sponsored by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and supported by eight other senators, including Democrats led by Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, both of Massachusetts and Barack Obama of Illinois, that would allow some of the estimated 10-12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to get legal jobs and eventual citizenship.
What made the march scarier was that it was very peaceful and orderly. Images of recent French violent youth demonstrations should scare the hill out of these politicians if these immigration rallies turn violent.
In fact, as a tribute to the peaceful and orderly rally, I would suggest that Congress should declare May 1 as a non-working National Day of Immigrants so immigrants can attend future annual rallies for this particular day without the risk of losing their jobs or skipping from their schools.
Organizers should now draw up plans to hold other rallies that will contribute towards the realization of their “American Dreams.” The plan to hold rally to encourage one million immigrants to go out and vote should be subtle warning to congressmen and senators that they should now give serious considerations towards passage of the immigration reform law.
Rallyists should encourage and remind absentee voters to register and vote. House-to-house visits or telephone calls, fax messages or emails of these voters their respective politicians should be planned systematically. Voters, who cannot physically go to the election precincts because of their health condition or disability or work and other legitimate reasons, should be encouraged to mail-in their votes.
Inventory of politicians against the bill
They should get hold of the list of congressmen and senators who are opposing the bill. Then, they can make plans to hold rallies around the homes or home district offices of these politicians.
Topping the list should be the district field office at 120 Bishops Way, Room 154, Brookfield, Wisconsin (Tel. 262.784.1111) of Wisconsin Republican Representative James F. Sensenbrener, the principal author of the notorious immigration bill, Illegal Immigration Control Act. H.R. 4437, which criminalizes illegal immigrants and those supporting them.
They should tell Sensenbrenner that he should temper his bill in such a way that a compromised version will be soft and friendly to the illegal immigrants.
Marchers should support the rally scheduled this Saturday, May 13, at the Batavia office of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a key player in the ongoing congressional debate over immigration reform.
Rally vs. Hastert and Lipinski
According to the Chicago event organizer Martha Rodriguez, they have chosen Mother’s Day weekend to urge Hastert “not to separate families” and instead back a bill that would legalize the nation’s 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants.
Neighborhood groups have planned a protest at the Chicago district office at 6245 South Archer Avenue (Tel. 312.886.0481 and Fax No. 773.767.9395) of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), who backed an enforcement-laden bill approved by the House.
Another event that deserves strong support is the one Labor Day weekend where organizers are aiming to get hundreds of thousands of people to rally for immigrants rights around the country.
If these politicians will shelve the immigration reform bill, the rally organizers should make sure that when election comes around the names of these anti-immigrant legislators should be exposed so that they can be voted off.
Carpe Diem
Rally organizers should only support candidates who have co-sponsored the immigration reform bill legislation and political upstarts, who will support this bill.
The pressure on politicians to pass the immigration reform bill should be continuous in order to obtain results.
As the Roman poet Horace encourages us to “Seize the Day (Carpe Diem), anything less will only reduce those huge marches down the drain.
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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VISITORS to our cities are often appalled by the garbage, traffic gridlock, water shortages and urban blight. That’s bad. The more discerning are stunned by trash passed off as “urban policy.” That’s worse.
“Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two: one the city of the poor, the other of the rich,” Plato wrote 400 years before Christ.
Mounting population and economic change have long dispersed these fragmented urban clusters beyond their old paper borders. They’ve spilled over into suburban “edge cities.”
Yet, many officials act as if tomorrow’s cities will simply be more of the decrepit. We know, in our bones, this situation won’t carry us very far. Poverty, population and expectations, stoked by information revolution, are “imploding” Plato’s fractured cities.
Today, the mayors of 65 cities are debating the Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM’s) Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project.
Davao, Las Piñas, Makati, Marikina and Muntinlupa topped the metro category. Why Cebu didn’t measure up flummoxed Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
Bacolod and Iloilo were among mid-size city topnotchers. Naga made it again, in the small city category, with Tagbilaran and Tagum, among others.
Some upset mayors are conducting in-house reviews. These signal that the AIM objective -- “to promote healthy competition among Philippine cities” -- is being partly achieved.
Many city officials, however, think small and old. Now, they must think different and new, if their cities are to break out of stagnation.
Will this reverse the “multiplying cities” trend? In 1995, there were 60 cities. Today, we have 117. Talisay and Naga, in Cebu province, want to join the club. So do a dozen others.
The tougher chores, however, lie ahead: how to mount sustained policies and programs to make cities engines for economic growth and at the same time keep them livable.
The formula for success is not new. But it is, as G.K. Chesterton said, rarely tried. “Foremost is the leadership value of the local government officials,” AIM says. Next are “a strong support system, offered by business alliances and responsive civil society.”
The simplest definition of good governance still remains the best: “the way those with power wisely use that power.” And Princeton University’s Robert Putnam identifies “four pillars” of that nugget of wisdom, namely:
1. Transparency: Is there consistent access to relevant, timely and understandable information? This is critical with budgets and conflict-of-interest issues.
Naga City publishes and posts on the Internet its budget, data on awarded bids, etc. This trimmed waste and graft. Cebu City backtracked on a similar plan, which would have thrown Mayor Osmeña’s secrecy-blanketed yen loans open to public scrutiny.
2. Accountability: Are officials held to account? Or can they get away unquestioned, unscathed, for arbitrary decisions?
Mayors who offer time-bound performance targets are the exception. Most of them mouth motherhood rhetoric. A constructive opposition is essential in pinning down responsibility. A press that is always moving on to the next headline often leaves follow-up questions unasked.
3. Predictability: Are laws and rules fair, clear, known in advance and uniformly enforced?
Mayor Osmeña decided to funnel local taxes away from Lahug -- where the multi-awarded barangay leader Mary Ann de los Santos presides -- to other barangays where his partisans rule. The only predictability is the unpredictability of political whim.
4. Participation: The growth of civil society and information media is reshaping citizen participation, especially in oversight functions.
In Abra province, a community group helped “audit” public works projects. It earned the respect of the government and people such that it was included in the bids and awards committee. But it also triggered an assassination. “Such examples are celebrated because they seem to require willingness to take risks in a political environment that is permissive about civil and political violence,” ADB notes.
In the future, the World Bank says, cities will need to turn away from obsolete 19th-century models where the City Hall provides most infrastructure and service that are invariably shoddy and inadequate.
“In the present lies not only the nightmare of what the city will become if current trends continue,” Anne Spirin writes in “The Granite Garden.” It also contains “dreams of what the city could be.”
(E-mail: juan_mercado@paci-fic.net.ph)
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Soaring stock market; soaring incidence of hunger?
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THE combination of stories on the front pages of May 6’s Manila newspapers was puzzling. “Stocks soar in biggest single-day gain in 5 years”. “April inflation slows to 7.1% in March”. “Social Weather Station: Hunger in RP hits new record high”.
The Philippine Star bannered, “(Quoting Francis Lim, president of the Philippine Stock Exchange) the economic reforms that the government is putting in place, along with reforms that we at the PSE are implementing, have started to bear fruit. Lim believes favorable developments in the political front, like the peaceful holding of Labor Day celebrations, have convinced investors of political maturity and sobriety ... Our show of political maturity, combined with sound economic fundamentals, strong corporate performance, and more transparent stock market operations, will definitely fuel a further surge of stock prices.” So much for spin.
Our take: Investing in stocks especially in a market situation such as at present becomes simply a matter of perception of special risks. Political instability is very much taken into account when one is dealing with hot money. Some volatile investors apparently perceive the Arroyo government as exhibiting weakness and an opportunity is seen in a possible quick regime change of making a profit. Hot money artists thrive in such a market environment, not in a market of “political maturity and sobriety.”
The slowing of inflation? This can be good or this can be bad. In this case, it is bad. This is due to an unusual deceleration of consumption, since the Filipinos are running out of purchasing power. Demand is going south. The strong sign is the popular practice of manufacturers to put out most products in cheaper sachet packages. It’s the only size the impoverished masses can afford -- from shampoo to soy sauce. From ketchup to vaginal wash.
Such being the case, why should the Social Weather Station survey indicate a contrary trend? Its most recent survey two months ago reports a new record high of hunger being experienced by Filipinos. SWS said the hunger trend has been rising since the end of 2003, reversing a declining trend, from a high of l6.1% in March 2001 to 5.1% in Sept. 2003, and then rising to 16.9% in March. Since the second quarter of 2004, the incidence of hunger has been at double digits. A total of 2.8 million families is cited in the incidence.
Going by the unfeeling statistical numbers, it is easy to gloss over and not even imagine the ache that gnaws in the bellies of the hungry. Dennis Murphy of the Urban Poor Associates in a published report this week in the “Phillippine Daily Inquirer” describes the problem more starkly.
“The first people I talked with were two young mothers from Daang-Tubo, Quezon City: Lisa Elinida, 24, married with three children and Melanie Juntilo, l9, married with two children. Each nursed a baby as we talked....
“Their husbands are unemployed. They survive by borrowing food and money from their neighbors and by scavenging when they can for plastics and metals. I asked about food: for example, what they ate at night. They said they often have no food at night, so they drink water and try to sleep. These are the exact words told me just a few days earlier by a woman in the government relocation center in Cabuyao, Laguna. The two women buy bread when they can, and if they have two pesos they buy Dimples (a fish flavored cracker, a junk food.)
“The two babies looked malnourished. A medical person with me said one of the babies should be twice its weight. They are nice-looking babies but very frail and they don’t move as quickly as well-fed children. Melanie’s baby has a sore near his eye. The medical person asked her what it was, and was told ‘chicken pox’. No money for doctors, Lisa explains.
“’What do you want the government to do?’ I asked.
“’Give us jobs so we can eat.’
“I interviewed Maricris Yamasirap, 20, single and unemployed. She lost her job as a security guard. She lives by herself. ‘I borrow from my friends to buy bread. That’s all I eat. Look at me, I used to be mataba (fat). Now I’m so thin...
“’What do you want our government to do?’ I asked.
“’We want GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) out. We’re hungry.’”
The Daily Tribune reported that Malacanang, reacting to the survey, said it did not know what has been causing such a bad predicament as hunger, as it maintained the national government has not been remiss in addressing the primary needs of the people, particularly that of providing food.
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USCIS warns of potential amnesty fraud
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MUCH has been written about proposals in Congress that seek to provide a path to legalization for millions of undocumented aliens in the United States. Among the measures being considered is a temporary guest worker program that would not only give visas to workers but could lead to possible green cards, and eventually to citizenship.
Understandably, there is great anticipation among the close to 12 million illegal immigrants. As in previous proposals that have been submitted to Congress, the anxiety and confusion have resulted in some unscrupulous immigration consultants already looking for ways to make fast bucks. In fact, some consultants have been luring people by already advertising that a guest worker program or amnesty is already here, and that aliens should start applying for these benefits right now.
In response, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a public notice, advising people that, as of now, no temporary workers program exists for aliens unlawfully present in the US. USCIS reminded people that although Congress has been debating immigration reform legislation, which includes a temporary guest worker program, such a program has not yet been approved or passed by Congress.
The USCIS said there are no benefits currently available under this proposed program, and people should, therefore, not pay any fees or other money to “any person or organization claiming they can help apply for or receive benefits for a temporary worker program.”
In their over-eagerness to finally solve their immigration problems, people become susceptible to fraudulent schemes by unscrupulous individuals who will make promises they cannot fulfill, and then disappear with the hapless clients’ money. Over the years, thousands of individuals have fallen prey to these immigration consultants, whether it be for asylum, fake marriages, fake jobs, etc. But these consultants never seem to run out of ideas and opportunities to fleece people out of their hard-earned money.
Although we all hope that some kind of legalization program for the millions of illegal immigrants will pass in Congress and signed into law, these measures are still just proposals. Unless and until a proposal is passed by both the Senate and the House, and is signed by the president, it is not a “law.” It is only a “proposal.”
I suggest that people be aware of, and read the news on the current debate on immigration reform, so that they would not be victimized by fraudulent schemes. If you should hear that a guest worker law was passed,
I suggest you consult with a reputable attorney, to be sure, rather than rely on rumor, gossip, or advice from these consultants. We will continue to monitor and inform you of new developments on these proposals. In the meantime, be cautious of immigration fraud.
Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 25 years, and is an active member of the State Bar of California and New York, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.He has always excelled in school:Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California.
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you:
LOS ANGELES: 219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203 Telephone: (818) 543-5800
SAN FRANCISCO: 966 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103 Telephone: (415) 538-7800
NEW YORK: 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300
PHILIPPINES: Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227 Telephone: 894-0258 or 894-0239
(This is for informational purposes only, and reflects the firm’s opinions and views on general issues. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of a particular case. All immigration services are provided by an active member of the State Bar of California and/or by a person under the supervision of an active member of the State Bar. No prediction, warranty or guarantee can be made about the results of any case.Should you need or want legal advice, you should consult with and retain counsel of your own choice.)
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