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For the past 21 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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LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Rudy Distrito went to court for the last time on the morning of March 16 and was meted a relatively light sentence.
It was his date with destiny. The former PBA player, who came to be known as “The Destroyer” had pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter last month, a lesser offense, for the killing of Mexican Juan Amaya in 2004.
To family and friends, Distrito, who was in a blue prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, remained a hero. About 20 people, led by his wife, Jocelyn and four children—Sweet, Mark, RJ and Ina showed up in court to support him.
Former PBA player Abe King drove all the way from Washington State and former coach Rino Salazar flew in from Alaska. Other friends came from Texas and California.
For about two hours, District Judge David Wall considered the prosecution and defense arguments before handing down the sentence. Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo sought the maximum punishment for Distrito, displaying pictures of the fatal stab wounds sustained by Juan Amaya. Amaya’s mother broke into tears upon seeing the graphic images.
Public defender Dan Silverstein argued that Distrito had no prior criminal record and painted a profile of the former cager as a good man and a role model before he got caught up in a violent incident.
Silverstein asked for probation, explaining that Distrito, an illegal alien, will immediately be deported to the Philippines after he gets paroled. This was rejected since the conditions of probation do not apply overseas.
Speaking to the court, Amaya’s mother, Maria Gonzales said through an interpreter, “I want him to pay for whatever he has to pay here, not in his country . . . all I ask is that justice be done here.”
When his turn came to address the court, Distrito sobbed as he asked for forgiveness, “I apologize to the family of Juan Amaya, to my wife and family, my friends, my fans. Judge, can you give me one more chance to come back to my life?”
Judge Wall sentenced Distrito to 4 to 12 years in prison, and ordered him to pay $10,000 in restitution to Amaya’s family. The more than two years or 832 days he spent in jail will be credited to the sentence.
Atty. Silverstein explained that in two years, Distrito will be eligible for parole, allowing him to be deported to the Philippines. He added that Distrito will not be allowed to return to America.
It was the end of the line for Distrito and his family and friends, who tried to raise funds for his legal defense, but could never raise enough.
“We expected this and my Dad is already at peace with whatever he got,” said daughter Sweet Distrito. His wife, Jocelyn stayed away from the media for a long time to avoid questions about Distrito’s infidelity. “Matagal ko na siyang pinatawad [I’ve long forgiven him],” Jocelyn said.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on Wednesday, March 21, began hearing charges against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, US President George W. Bush, and their respective governments.
The two leaders are accused of “gross and systematic violations” of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, and the right to national self-determination and liberation.
The opening of the tribunal’s five-day second session on the Philippines in The Hague, The Netherlands was supposed to be broadcast over the Internet to the Sulô Hotel in Quezon City in the Philippines.
However, local organizers said the webcam in The Hague had to be replaced.
As of this posting, only audio streaming of the proceedings was available. But the quality was poor and the speakers were not identified.
Renato Reyes, secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance), said the hearings will culminate in a verdict on March 25.
He explained that while the Permanent People’s Tribunal may not have the power to enforce its decisions, it is an international opinion court whose decisions are legally and morally binding.
Reyes said Bayan, one of the complainants in the case, and other groups have gone to the international community for help to stop the killings after exhausting all legal venues in the country.
“We tried. The three cases of murder we raised to the Department of Justice against [retired major general Jovito] Palparan were dismissed. We tried to block Palparan’s promotions at the Commission on Appointments by presenting these cases against him,” he said in Filipino to the crowd of activists and journalists who were at the Sulô Hotel to witness the proceedings.
“We tried to use the small legal space we have here but we were not successful. That’s why we had to go to the international community to ask for help to stop the extrajudicial killings, abductions, disappearances, massacres, and tortures. We know we cannot do this on our own,” he added.
Reyes said that a decision in favor of the victims would increase the pressure on Arroyo to stop the killings. “The world will know that there are human rights violations in the Philippines,” he said. He said even without the presence of Arroyo or any of the accused, the court is not a kangaroo court. He said the Philippine government had been served copies of the complaints.
Aside from Bayan, the other complainants are Hustisya (Victims of [the] US-Arroyo Regime United for Justice), Desaparecidos (victims of forced disappearance), and Selda (political detainees).
Also named respondents in the case are the International Monetary Fund-World Bank, and multinational corporations and foreign banks doing business in the Philippines.
The eight-member jury for the Permanent People’s Tribunal includes Professor Francois Houtart of Belgium, Professor Richard Falk of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Dr. Hans Koechler of International Progress Organization, Dr. Irene Fernandez of Malaysia, Oystein Tveter of Norway, Makoto Oda of Japan, Dr. Ties Prakken of The Netherlands, and Professor Lilia Solano of Colombia.
Opening the event, Bishop Eliezer Pascua of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, hoped the “elusive justice” under the Arroyo administration would be achieved as the proceedings in The Hague unfold via the Internet.
Pascua, who also testified last week at a US congressional inquiry into the killings, said more than 800 people have been killed. Of these murders, he singled those of Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church) on October 3, and that of Siche Gandinao, who was killed in front of her daughter in Misamis Oriental, as indications of the “virtual impunity” with which the killings are carried out.
Gandinao testified before United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston when he was here in February to conduct his own 10-day inquiry into the extrajudicial killings.
“The carnage continues despite international condemnation. The administration failed to address the spate of political killings,” Pascua said. “The dignity of life is desecrated in so many ways where hundreds are abducted and tortured.”
Pascua said that while Arroyo condemns the killings, she also extols the military for doing a good job.
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FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia -- A Filipino former Catholic priest in Louisa County was indicted on Monday, March 12, on 12 additional counts of embezzlement.
Rodney Lee Rodis, 50, now faces 13 counts of felony embezzlement. He’s accused of stealing from his former parishes, St. Jude and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches. Police have said the thefts may have exceeded $1 million. The Free Lance-Star reported.
Rodis was indicted on the first embezzlement charge January 8. An arraignment on that charge had been scheduled on March 12, and Louisa defense attorney Jack Maus had indicated that Rodis might plead guilty.
The arraignment was pushed back after the Louisa Circuit Court grand jury indicted the former priest on the 12 additional chargeson March 12. The change frustrated several parishioners there to watch.
“It’s going to go on for years,” said St. Jude parishioner Ellen McGough. “They keep delaying and delaying.”
Maus said after court that the case is going through the legal system as normal. “The wheels of justice move slowly,” he said.
Rodis’ next court hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 30. He could be arraigned that day, and Maus said it’s possible that he might enter a plea.
The initial indictment accused Rodis of stealing from the churches between September 2001 and October 2006.
The March 12 indictments charge him with stealing during 12 separate six-month periods between September 1995 and September 2001.
Rodis will remain free on a $10,000 bond until his next court appearance. He lives in the Sheraton Hills area of Spotsylvania County. He is a native of the Philippines and had to surrender his passport to get bond.
He had been living with 44-year-old Joyce Sillador and three girls, but those four recently moved to New Mexico. Rodis remains to face the charges in Louisa.
Neighbors assumed Rodis was married with children. They have said they didn’t know Rodis was a priest. Maus said Rodis is not married, but the attorney has referred to Sillador and the girls as the priest’s family.
Rodis was pastor at St. Jude and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches for 13 years. He retired in May, citing health reasons.
State police began investigating last year when a parishioner donated $1,000 and asked for a receipt. There was no record of it.
Rodis can no longer present himself publicly as a priest. The Catholic Diocese of Richmond hasn’t said whether it will try to defrock Rodis, but the sacraments he gave will remain valid.
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EL PASO, Texas -- A federal judge in El Paso, Texas declared a mistrial on Monday, March 19, in the case against three Filipinos in Houston accused of “smuggling” teachers from the Philippines after two jurors admitted to reading a newspaper article about the proceedings.
US District Judge Kathleen Cardone has yet to set a new date for the trial of Noel Cedro Tolentino, his wife, Angelica Tolentino, and his mother, Florita Tolentino, all officers of OMNI Consortium, who were indicted on about 40 counts of criminal offenses including conspiracy to smuggle aliens, visa fraud and money laundering, Texas-based El Paso Times reported in its online edition Tuesday.
The case has been on trial for almost two months.
El Paso Times came out two weeks ago with an article about the termination of the prosecution’s evidence against the Tolentinos. Recruited teachers from the Philippines who ended up having no jobs in Texas appeared to testify against the Tolentinos.
The Texan newspaper said the article in question stated that officials at El Paso school districts had pleaded guilty last year in the case. Although that information had been reported before, it hadn’t come up in trial and defense attorneys said it was prejudicial to their clients.
The jurors had been instructed not to read newspaper articles or watch televised news segments about the case.
The newspaper said the Tolentinos were allegedly involved in “white-collar smuggling scheme” to import Filipino teachers to Texas school districts.
It said the Tolentinos, through OMNI Consortium based in Houston, have recruited 273 teachers from the Philippines, but only fewer than 100 of them actually had jobs waiting for them in Texas. The jury on the case was supposed to start hearing the evidence and testimonies of the Tolentinos on Monday.
The prosecution rested its case two weeks ago after more than a month of testimony in the case against officials from the OMNI Consortium, the Tolentinos.
El Paso Times reported that officials from several El Paso school districts who hired some Filipino teachers are key players in the trial.
The government’s case against the Tolentinos includes a series of alleged junkets to the Philippines, all-expenses-paid trips during which school administrators were expected to offer Filipino candidates teaching jobs in Texas.
The Tolentinos stand trial for fraud for making it appear that Filipino teachers were legally hired by Texas school districts. The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines issued visas for jobs that did not exist. The teachers said they did not know they would end up coming to the United States illegally.
The Tolentinos charged each teacher about $10,000. Many of their recruits had to take on loans to put up the money.
According to the El Paso Times report, government accused the Tolentinos of bribing Texas school district officials with trips to the Philippines in exchange for commitments to hire Filipino teachers.
Last week, Ron Ederer, the lawyer for Noel Tolentino, took offense with the government’s assertion that the trips were bribes.
“It’s like saying I’m going to give you a free trip to Juárez, or worse. To consider this a bribe is a real stretch,” he said. “It’s almost embarrassing to be arguing these things.”
Last year, Mario Aguilar, former superintendent of the Socorro Independent School District, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of failing to report gifts, including a trip to China within the trip to the Philippines, to a public official and was sentenced to one year of probation.
Aguilar’s wife, Vista Del Sol Elementary School Principal Magdalena Aguilar, has reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office in which charges will be dismissed against her next month in the Filipino teachers immigration fraud case, her lawyer Miguel Torres said.
Aguilar did not plead guilty to any crimes, nor was she found guilty in the matter.
Raye Lokey, former Ysleta Independent School District associate superintendent for human resources, was sentenced to six months of probation for aiding illegal entry.
The defense contends the trips to the Philippines were working trips.
But prosecutor Bill Lewis said a quid pro quo was involved.
SISD officials who went on the trip testified that there was an understanding that each had to sign 10 letters of intent to hire during the trip. Lewis said the letters were used by OMNI to file I-129 petitions for H-1B work visas in the United States, El Paso Times reported.
But school districts then scaled down their request for teachers. For example, the Brownsville Independent School originally wanted to hire 55 teachers but later said it needed only 19. The government said that instead of canceling the H-1B application for the unwanted 36 teachers, Tolentino continued the process.
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