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Founded in 1986
Founding Publisher/Editor:
Lito A. Gajilan
Columnists:
Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel
Joseph G. Lariosa
Gani P. Tolentino
Ted L. Reyes
Atty. Reuben S. Seguritan
Photographers:
Butch Gata
Sheryl Garcia
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher
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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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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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THE Filipino Express is one with the Christian world in observing the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. April 8.
The Risen Lord is the most eloquent symbol of redemption of liberation from sins and anything that oppresses mankind.
As such, no other event in the history of Christianity evokes hope and empowerment more than Christ’s triumph over death.
Our long suffering as a nation has always been likened to the passion and death of Christ. Political and economic inequities were like a heavy cross which our people have carried around on their collective shoulders for a long time now.
The economic hardship that has worsened through the years only served to make that cross heavier. Even the years of the country’s so-called economic turnaround failed to ease the suffering the majority of the Filipino people had to bear.
Worse, the worsening poverty of the people is a grim reminder that the resurrection of our nation - the deliverance of our people from the clutches of poverty is nowhere in sight.
And perhaps worst of all, government officials, both local and national, were hardly a factor in the people’s search for their resurrection. In most cases, they make the people’s cross heavier as they transform public service into personal aggrandizement.
But Easter is the time for triumph of hope and renewal of faith. And we the people, should never lose faith in our capability to improve our lot and create a better quality of life, not just for ourselves, but for our children and their children’s children.
In this election year, we have a chance to choose our leaders who will help, not themselves, but the people in bearing the cross all the way towards national salvation. That is, perhaps, the most Christian act we can do in the May elections.
We can heed the words of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal in his Easter message: “Elect leaders of integrity.”
It was faith that carried Jesus through all 14 stages of pain and suffering. Faith will also carry us through the painful but necessary search for national deliverance.
Happy Easter.
THE Filipino Express is one with the Christian world in observing the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. April 8.
The Risen Lord is the most eloquent symbol of redemption of liberation from sins and anything that oppresses mankind.
As such, no other event in the history of Christianity evokes hope and empowerment more than Christ’s triumph over death.
Our long suffering as a nation has always been likened to the passion and death of Christ. Political and economic inequities were like a heavy cross which our people have carried around on their collective shoulders for a long time now.
The economic hardship that has worsened through the years only served to make that cross heavier. Even the years of the country’s so-called economic turnaround failed to ease the suffering the majority of the Filipino people had to bear.
Worse, the worsening poverty of the people is a grim reminder that the resurrection of our nation - the deliverance of our people from the clutches of poverty is nowhere in sight.
And perhaps worst of all, government officials, both local and national, were hardly a factor in the people’s search for their resurrection. In most cases, they make the people’s cross heavier as they transform public service into personal aggrandizement.
But Easter is the time for triumph of hope and renewal of faith. And we the people, should never lose faith in our capability to improve our lot and create a better quality of life, not just for ourselves, but for our children and their children’s children.
In this election year, we have a chance to choose our leaders who will help, not themselves, but the people in bearing the cross all the way towards national salvation. That is, perhaps, the most Christian act we can do in the May elections.
We can heed the words of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal in his Easter message: “Elect leaders of integrity.”
It was faith that carried Jesus through all 14 stages of pain and suffering. Faith will also carry us through the painful but necessary search for national deliverance.
Happy Easter.
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Employment-based 2nd Preference as a faster option
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Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For further information, you may call him at 212 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com
MANY Filipino professionals and skilled workers who are badly needed by US employers could not enter the US under the more common route referred to as the third preference employment-based immigration or EB-3.
This category of workers had been mired in visa retrogression for some time now. Unless the US Congress comes up with a visa relief measure soon, it would take some five (5) years before these foreign workers can obtain their green cards.
Sponsorship of a foreign worker under the second preference category of priority workers (or EB-2), however, may be a viable option for qualified Filipino professionals or workers. The visa numbers under the EB-2 category for the Philippines are current which, in practical terms, implies that visa numbers are immediately available.
Foreign workers who may qualify for the EB-2 category fall under either of two (2) sub-groups: First, the so-called “advanced degree professionals” who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent; and second, the so-called “exceptional ability workers,” or those with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business who will substantially benefit the US. An INS (now the US Citizenship and Immigration Services) regulation in 1995 included athletics in the
EB-2 category.
Advanced Degree Professionals
A foreign professional may be sponsored by a US employer for a job that requires an advanced degree, which is defined by law as “any degree beyond the baccalaureate.”
The law further defines the “professions” as those occupations for which a US baccalaureate degree or foreign degree equivalent is the minimum requirement for entry into the occupation.
Foreign professionals who do not have a Master’s or doctoral degree, however, may still qualify as an advanced degree professional if s/he possesses a baccalaureate degree and at least five (5) years progressive experience in the field.
The baccalaureate degree is an essential qualification and work experience may not be substituted for both the baccalaureate and the advanced degree.
“Progressive experience” has no official definition, but precedent cases have led to a legacy INS memorandum dated March 20, 2000 which states that “progressive experience is demonstrated by advancing levels of responsibility and knowledge in the specialty.”
Exceptional Ability Workers
Exceptional ability workers are those who have demonstrated a degree of expertise in their field that is “significantly above the ordinary.”
To prove this, at least three (3) out of six (6) criteria provided by law should be met:- An official academic record showing the alien has a degree, diploma, certificate or similar award from a college, university, school or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability;
- Letters documenting at least ten years of full-time experience in the occupation being sought;
- A license to practice the profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation;
- Evidence that the alien has commanded a salary or other remuneration for services which demonstrates exceptional ability;
- Membership in professional associations;
- Recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, government entities, professional or business organizations.
Comparable evidence of exceptional ability may be submitted if the above criteria are not met.
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A Muslim Princess among Christians
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CHICAGO, Illinois – There are only very few Filipino Americans in Wisconsin. That’s why if there are problems that come their way, looking for somebody to turn to for consolation, comfort and support will be very few and far between.
One of the more active Filipino American civic leaders is often seen in various community activities in Chicagoland area in Illinois despite the hour-long drive distance when she is running out of events to attend in Milwaukee.
If Princess Emraida Kiram is not attending community events in Milwaukee or in Chicago, chances are she must be in some out-of-state community events.
A journalist by training, Emraida has been working at University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for all the last 27 years.
But a few weeks ago, Ms. Kiram missed one of the civic engagements she penciled in her calendar a long time ago – a gathering of Filipino American political leaders and activists in what was billed as “FILVOTE” that kicked off the national Voter Outreach Campaign as part of the educational campaign of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations in Las Vegas, Nevada that took place on March 9 and 10.
FILVOTE event
“I have reserved those dates a long time ago,” the Princess told me, “But a local commitment prompted me to cancel the FILVOTE event. And I have no regrets missing the Las Vegas event.”
The ‘local event’ she was talking about was the invitation for her to be one of those trusted people, who will accompany Dr. Jefferson Calimlim and his wife, Elnora, also a medical doctor, in their self-surrender to two separate Federal prisons.
“You see, two days before their self-surrender or on Saturday, the Calimlims are already out of their house and they would let me know where we are going to meet each other the following Sunday,” Emraida said guardedly.
I asked her if I can talk or see the Calimlims before they drive them off, Emraida indicated that the Calimlims were trying to avoid media interviews.
Because I wanted to interview the children the Calimlims were leaving behind, I and Chicago photo journalist Manny Zambrano drove to the Calimlim residence in the morning of Monday, March 12, in the western Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield.
Out of luck
However, we ran out of luck as nobody from the children came to the door to welcome us.
When I called up Emraida as we were pulling away from the Calimlim residence, she told me, “We are on board a van approaching Virginia. It is a very somber atmosphere. Dr. Elnora Calimlim is very reflective.”
Emraida said she was in the company of the wives of two doctors – Mrs. Rica del Rosario and Anita Go—who are both past presidents of Philippine Medical Association of Wisconsin (PMA-W) Auxiliary and Dr. Jefferson Calimlim’s brother, Dr. Johnny Calimlim, a veterinarian practicing in Los Angeles, California. It was at the PMA-W, where all this friendship came from, Emraida explained. This must also the same group, where Emraida met Dr. Eufrocina Suson, who was previously inadvertently identified as Dr. Elnora Calimlim in an ABS-CBN video grab.
“We dropped off Dr. Jefferson Calimlim at Youngstown, Ohio’s Correctional Institute Northeast last night and it’s now noon and we are now approaching the (United States Penitentiary Hazelton at Bruceton Mills,) West Virginia.” she said. The court order calls for their self-surrender on or before 2 p.m. that Monday.
The following morning, I got a message from Emraida telling me she has my business card I left on the door of the Calimlims. She said, “Although, I missed the FILVOTE of NaFFAA in Las Vegas, I would not trade my trip to federal prisons for it. Giving comfort to people going to prison is its own reward.”
Equally fulfilling
Indeed, while NaFFAA’s voters’ outreach will be enriching the awareness of the importance to vote. But extending consolation and emotional and moral support to two Filipino Americans who badly need them are just as equally fulfilling.
The decision of Emraida to accompany the Calimlims is just another feather in the cup of NaFFAA, where she is the vice chairman for Region 3.
When she represented the Philippines as the first candidate to the Miss World in 1966, Emraida was originally known as Miss Vivien Lee Austria. A Muslim princess from Cotabato, Princess Emraida Kiram is the daughter of Sultan Kiram and Sultana Bai Labi Laila Kiram. The Kiram clan is one of the oldest Muslim families in Mindanao and their ancestry can be traced back to 1450. Princess Kiram possesses degrees in English Literature, Law and Journalism from the Philippines, London and Madrid. She has worked as the Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, in the Public Relations Office to Expo ‘74 in Washington and for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the past 27 years.
A promoter of the knowledge of the Muslim-Christian conflict in the Philippines, Kiram is also chair of the Wisconsin Chapter of NaFFAA and president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Filipino-American National Historical Society.
Although a Muslim, Emraida is actively attending Christian events.
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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“NO Visitors Allowed” the hospital room sign cautioned. The wife, nonetheless, pressed me forward. So, we tiptoed in.
Hooked to tubes, the gaunt man on the bed was a friend of many years. His kindnesses to me were many. Earlier, a priest anointed him and gave the “Viaticum” It means, our catechism teacher told us, as kids decades back, the “way with you” My friend would cross not the passageway alone. Hindi ka nagi-isa.
“I’m fighting,” he gasped with his old grit. He never wasted time on self pity. But now, a tear trickled down. He squeezed my hand hard. “It was good you came,” he said haltingly.
Goodbye can be said in many ways. As we closed the hospital door softly on leaving, we realized that sooner, rather than later, we too would go the same way.
“Man is here today and gone tomorrow,” the 14th century monk Thomas a’ Kempis wrote. “You’re a fool if you assume you’ll live long when you’re not even sure of one day.”
Last week, folk cenaculos, pabasa, siete palabras, veneration of the cross, visita iglesia, and Easter Sunday mass and salubong stressed the mysteries of death – and resurrection.
Some 2500 years before an empty garden tomb burst upon an incredulous world, a man spoke of the resurrection in “words engraved in rock.” Pastor Lino Pantoja wrote.
“We Filipinos use the idiom itaga mo sa bato ( anchor to a rock ) to assert our utmost confidence. The “unrecognized prophet of Easter” was Job. And he cried: ‘Oh that my words were engraved in rock forever.’ …
“They were words of his primitive theology of the resurrection: “I know that my Redeemer lives. And in the end, He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19: 25-27) God had then reduced Job to ignominy. God remained silent to his cries. Here is the ageless question: Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
Job’s De Profundis is : his Redeemer will stand on the earth someday. This is a prophetic insight into God’s coming to earth -- or the Incarnation -- Pantoja says. And Jesus did exactly that, as we know from historical hindsight.
The malignancy that corroded Job’s skin resigns him to death.. Yet, Job confidently affirms his bodily resurrection: that he will see his Redeemer personally and physically.
Thus , we learn that pain and suffering are temporary -- even when they lead to death. Neither pain nor death is final.
Still, many of us are captives of pre-conceived ideas of Easter, notes Irish theologian Eamonn Bredin. Some assume that Easter is “little than the simple resuscitation of a larger-than-life Jesus.” Thus, we lump His raising with that of Lazarus.
If that be the case, “then, we have no hope,” Bredin writes in Rediscovering Jesus. “ That’s only a brief reprieve before falling back into the strictures of death.
“If for this life only we hoped in Christ,” St. Paul says, “ we are, of all men, most to be pitied.”
Today, four out of every 10 teenagers (aged 13-19) do not believe in life beyond death, a survey of 1,300 urban students by Philippine Jesuits found. “ Those who believe ‘there is no resurrection’ are majority of the young around us,” Loyola School of Theology’s Catalino Arevalo, S.J. points out.
What is the empty Garden tomb and folded burial shroud, to them? Will these kids, like the women on Easter morning, futilely “seek the living among the dead?”
Luke and John come close to a physical description of Jesus after his death by crucifixion. Time and space no longer bind Him. He comes and vanishes, even if doors are shut. Nor do they recognize Him immediately, in the Upper Room or on Lake Galilee’s shores.
They encounter the crucified Jesus in a new way. “ He had become another,” Fr. Arevalo notes. “I think of that quaint expression people sometimes use in Taglish: You are very another na.”
“Their eyes were opened,” the evangelists add, “and they recognized Him in the breaking of bread”—description of the Eucharist, since Pilate’s time.
The disciples, too, were from the D and E basement of society then. They abandoned their master. So, what transformed them after Easter?
They met Jesus after Calvary and arrived at an absolute certitude: this Jesus who died on the cross had entered into a radically transformed life.
They “brought Peter the Rock out of Simon the betrayer, or a crucified Paul out of a crucifying Saul, or the church of martyrs out of the scattered disciples.”
Itaga sa bato, the disciples’ experience has been refracted to us over the centuries. Those who live out the implications of Easter—Mother Teresa or John Paul II —stammer to articulate its meaning.
“Not everything has a name,” Solzhenitsyn writes. “Some things lead us into the realm beyond words…For an instant, you glimpse the Inaccessible. And the soul cries out for it.”
( E-mail : juan_mercado@pacific.net.ph )
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Philippine politics pre-GMA, post-GMA
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AFTER next month’s elections, Philippine politics will probably not be the same ever again.
We expect the rules of the political game to undergo drastic changes.
A Quezon, an Osmena or a Roxas, if transplanted in the present milieu, would be totally lost. They belong to an entirely new breed. It is as if they came from another planet. Even a trapo (traditional politician as we define the term) as recent as ten or 15 years ago would probably feel like a stranger in Philippine politics today.
The radical changes are caused by events that happened during the reign of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The factors that produced the political evolution are as usual the three G’s -- no, G does not stand for Gloria. As usual, they stand for guns, goons and gold. Old tested tools of the old political rogues of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s. But used with different slants.
An important factor that brought about the transformation is the militarization of the government. The cloud that surrounded the 2004 presidential election has never been totally dispersed. The stigma of that political exercise stained not only the hands of the Commission on Elections but the judiciary and most especially the military.
As a matter of fact, it is believed that the continued stay in power of GMA is due to the group of generals who has retained control of her and in effect, of the government.
As expected, after 2004 GMA was threatened by a coup d’etat. But the GMA-military combine has craftily stiffled the coup attempt. With the full resources of the government behind them, with the use of the judiciary and the Comelec, they have succeeded in winning over to their side many of the coup plotters, capitalizing on greed or fear.
It was suspected that at one time or another, the combine had considered staging a coup from within, a la Marcos. But without assurance of American support, this plan was apparently discarded. The present ploy evidently was pursued, to achieve basically the same thing, to perpetuate themselves in power while remaining a democracy on the outside.
In the process, the rules of politics are being rewritten. Witness what is happening in the campaign period. Political party lines have been blurred. Candidates in effect flit from one party to another. Principles do not matter. Everybody is out for himself. There are only two things a candidate has to watch: he must have the funds to spent and his votes must be counted.
And he must survive the undeclared martial law. The GMA-military combine control all vital agencies, not only those concerned with national security but even civilian departments that are critical sources of financial rewards to distribute around. For law enforcement, there are two groups. The overt and the covert. Many suspect the latter include the apparatus that conducts the highly controversial extra judicial killings. To tie loose ends, many suspect the justice department has been harnessed. The Supreme Court is still a loose canon, so only selected cases are allowed to get out of the prosecutorial stage.
The present crop of candidates, although branded by parties loosely, are incapable of being defined or labeled. Political principles appear non-existent. But wait until the May elections are over. You have seen nothing yet. There will be further party realignments. At that time, we believe the true colors of our politicians will show.
The monotonous color of power and money.
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Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 26 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
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Telephone: (818) 543-5800
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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
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