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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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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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WHETHER the Arroyo administration admits it or not, the death of a American Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines is another international embarrassment for the Philippine government. Julia Campbell, 40, of Fairfax, Virginia, was reported missing April 8 in the village outside Banaue town in Ifugao province north of Manila, where she had planned to view the famous rice terraces. On Wednesday, April 18, Philippine soldiers found her body in a shallow grave in a dry creek in the mountainous town of Batad in Ifugao.
Based from initial reports, Campbell’s death was anything but accidental. The Philippine National Police suspects that Campbell was a victim of foul play, and has already ordered a manhunt for her killers. President Arroyo herself promised the US her full cooperation in getting to the bottom of Campbell’s death.
Although Campbell’s death seems like an isolated case, it bolsters the image of lawlessness in the country. Recall that just in December last year, the governments of Britain, Australia and the US issued advisories against travel to the Philippines. These countries cite intelligence reports saying that al-Qaeda-linked groups are planning to launching bomb attacks. To these countries and many others in the international community, the Philippines has become a haven for international terrorism.
Moreover, the killing of an American citizen reinforces the perception of ‘a culture of impunity” that is pervading in the country. There is now a heightened sensivity within the US Congress and the State Department concerning the unsolved political killings in the Philippines. Just recently, the US State Department’s human rights report linked the Philippine military and police to the extra-judicial killings. A week after, a US Senate subcommittee raised the possibility of cutting military aid to the Philippines if the Manila government fails to assure that American taxpayers’ dollars are not used to trample on the Filipino people’s basic human rights.
The Arroyo government’s failure to stop the killings has been widely blamed as the major contributory factor to the spread of this culture of impunity. By failing to arrest and penalize the killers, the government is emboldening would-be assassins who now feel that they could take out anybody without fear of any consequence for their dastardly acts.
The best deterrent against the commission of crime is the certainty of punishment. And in the Philippines, that punishment is non-existent.
The death of Campbell seems to echo earlier stated accusations against the Arroyo government that it cannot protect people’s lives; it cannot protect the lives of its foreign guests, and surely, it cannot protect the lives of its own people.
The Arroyo government should do everything humanly possible to bring the killers of Campbell to court and apply the full extent of the law against them -- not because Campbell is a foreigner and a citizen of major giver of military aid, but because her death symbolizes another unnecessary lost of a human life.
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Priority date for skilled workers moves up; visas for domestics run out
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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
THE priority date for the worldwide and Philippine employment-based third preference (EB-3) has moved forward by about a year, according to the May 2007 Visa Bulletin of the US State Department.
Benefiting under this latest visa report are skilled workers or those individuals in positions that require a minimum of two years of training or experience and professionals or those who must possess a baccalaureate degree or foreign equivalent.
On the other hand, the visa numbers for the “Other Worker” sub-category of EB-3 was reported as unavailable and will remain so for the remainder of the fiscal year. Those included in this sub-category are nannies, adult companions, general houseworkers, home health aides and other unskilled workers with less than two (2) years of training and work experiences.
Unskilled workers with a priority date earlier than October 1, 2001 may still file for adjustment of status before the end of April. They should rush their application to get an employment authorization as well.
The EB-3 is probably the most commonly utilized category for employment-based immigration because this covers a wide range of jobs, including those that are considered shortage occupations. Among those that are usually included in this category are accountants, architects, engineers, teachers, and medical professionals like registered nurses (RNs) physical therapists (PTs).
According to the May 2007 Visa Bulletin, the immigrant visa petitions with priority dates before August 1, 2003 will be processed starting May 1, which is a year forward from the August 1, 2002 priority date being processed in April 2007.
This is good news to the thousands of visa applicants whose deployment in the US had been stalled by the visa retrogression.
Among those who will benefit are foreign RNs and PTs whose Schedule A visa allocation had run out late last year.
This is particularly good news to the thousands of skilled workers and professionals who are pining away at the temporariness of their H-1B status.
In January 2005, the State Department announced that the EB-3 category for India, China, Mexico and the Philippines had regressed to January 1, 2002. This, in effect, stretched the processing time for immigrant visa applications by about 3 years.
The information on the priority dates being processed by the State Department is updated on a monthly basis.
Eventually the retrogression affected not just the four high-volume countries of origin (China, India, Mexico and the Philippines), but already affected all EB-3 categories on a global scale. Among the hardest hit when the retrogression occurred in 2005 were employers who recruited foreign RNs and PTs.
Congress heeded the call of US medical facilities and passed a law directing the recapture of 50,000 unused visas, specifically allocating them to Schedule A workers such as RNs and PTs. Congress is being pressured to address the ill effects of retrogression by reconsidering the annual quotas.
Last March, STRIVE Act was introduced in the House and it included provisions that would wipe out the retrogression.
Among these provisions are the increase of EB visas from 140,000 to 290,000, the recapture of unused visas from previous years and the exemption from the numerical cap of Schedule A workers and professionals with advanced degree.
Meanwhile, President George Bush had expressed his intention to pass an immigration reform law within the year. Hopefully the overhaul of the immigration system will include realistic provisions that will enable the US to bring in much-needed workers to make it globally competitive.
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CHICAGO, Illinois – Escolta was Manila’s thriving mix of wall street and fashion capital of the Philippines during peacetime just as Chicago has its Magnificent Mile (North Michigan Avenue) and La Salle street in the Loop.
But during World War II, this one street block with the surrounding Binondo and Sta. Cruz districts was turned into some kind of a “buffer or green zone,” a demilitarized-like zone, where business was transacted as usual. Even Hollywood’s “The Great Raid (2005)” movie featured scenes of Escolta.
I surmised that when Bataan and Corregidor also known as Fort Mills fell, Escolta became the “Lost Command” headquarters, where underground activities of both the guerillas (militias) and above-ground business establishments were being transacted.
In the book, “Filipino Veterans of WW II An Endangered Human Specie” (Philippine Veterans Legion, 2005) written by Francisco G. Cedula, it was disclosed that during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1944, “Capitalists buy and sell with traders; agents and informers frequent the Crystal Arcade, Calvo and Samanilla buildings in Escolta. They (capitalists) are the favorite targets of guerillas who are assigned to collect money to be sent to the hills.
Mickey Mouse money
Cedula said, “I have first hand knowledge of guerilla agents from several organizations. Without knowing each other, they solicit ‘donations or contributions’ from ‘buy and sell traders.’
“Millions of pesos in “Mickey Mouse” currency were collected for the resistance movement. Collection in millions are not difficult under threat of kidnapping, death or be labeled as a ‘collaborator.’”
“Organizations like Hunters, Markings, PQOG, Andersons send procurement officers who are authorized to coerce, extort or harm the ‘collaborators.’ Businessman Jose J. Roy (a post war senator), Emerito Ramos (post-war industrialist), Carmen Planas (pre-war Manila councilor) and even Manuel Roxas (third Philippine president) were some of the personalities like Katy de la Cruz and Rogelio de la Rosa who assisted the movement by offering safe houses.
Trading with the enemy
“Many businessmen, who traded with the Japanese, selling them iron, scraps or metal and food stuffs, were identified after the war. Many of them were charged in the Peoples Court, established by the administration of President Osmena, upon recommendation of the U.S. Army.” Unwritten in the book, however, was the role played by the “Escolta Boys” in bloating the number of guerillas claiming to be members of the Resistance Movement against the Japanese Forces. It’s hard to figure how many “sundalong kanin” (fake soldiers and guerillas) were recommended by the shakers and movers at Escolta.
But according to the book, “The (U.S.) War Department has received a total of approximately 1,070,000 claims for (war service) recognitions, which number is considered grossly excessive. As of November 26, 1946, recognition has been extended to 246,981 persons, whose services in the Resistance Movement meet the criteria formulated by the Commander-in-chief, SWPA (Southwest Pacific Area). It is estimated that eventual recognition will totally approximate 330,000, of which 275,000 will be recognized as members of units, 2,000 as individuals, and 61,000 as casualties. Of this number, 214,000 will be entitled to back-pay in an estimated amount of $105,512,000.
Payments to back-pay to recognized guerillas were initiated on 15 November 1946.
Some deserving left out
According to the book, “applications of 593 guerilla units with a total of 417,887 individuals were under pending investigation and processing when AFWESPAC (Armed Forces Western Pacific) arbitrarily terminated the recognition program for no reason at all.”
This left out unprocessed such prominent names as Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, who was included in a picture with Gen. Douglas MacArthur wading at Leyte shore. Also left out were Gen. Ernesto Mata, leader of the guerilla forces in Negros for four years, Ambassador Amelito Mutuc, Oscar Ledesma, Salvador P. Lopez, Agustin Mangila, Emilio Bejasa, Pacific Evangelista, Roberto Benedicto, Justice Fred Ruiz Castro, and Sen. Gerardo Roxas, son of the third President of the Republic.
I can surmise that if the list of recognition for our veterans was padded, it was really part of the chaos that attended any war. If it were basketball, the undertrained Filipino guerillas employed more players to neutralize the better armed Japanese to win the game. The bottom line was that the Filipino soldiers and guerillas helped the Allied Forces in beating Japan. After all, all is fair in love and war. The bloating of the record of the number of veterans could be the reason the Rescission Act was passed by the US Congress in 1946.
But with the number of Filipino veterans both in the Philippines and in the United States now down to 20,000, perhaps, the US Congress can now repeal the 1946 Rescission Act and restore the benefits due to the remaining survivors and their next of kin. And add to these benefits the annual percent rate interest to the unpaid back pay and an apology for its delayed payment.
lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net
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Those ‘mom and pop’ stores
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EQUAL access to opportunities for public service” remains elusive for most Filipinos, the Inquirer’s Randy David noted in his Sunday column titled, “The case against political dynasties.” Kamag-anak Inc. [Relatives Inc.] does face growing challenges, David notes. But the problem of 80 or so families monopolizing governance for kith, kin and bank account is wider and more deep-rooted than many believe.
“What is possibly the most complete list of Filipino political families” provides a useful glimpse. Author Roger Olivares’ “Anti-Dynasty Movement” cobbled this inventory www.endpolitical-dynasty.com. For now, it covers 48 provinces and cities.
Between Rounds 1 and 8 of the Paquiao-Solis slugfest, we surfed this work in progress. It includes “the usual suspects”: the Marcoses of the Ilocos region, the Macapagals of Pampanga province, the Estradas of San Juan town, the Aquinos and Cojuangcos of Tarlac province and the Antoninos of General Santos City.
Dynasties clamp gridlocks on home bases, it notes. Senate President Manny Villar’s family sprawls over Las Piñas City. This pattern is cloned by the Plazas in Agusan del Sur province; the Imperials, Lagmans and Salcedas in Albay province; the Acostas and Zubiris in Bukidnon province; the Cayetanos in Taguig City. In the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Davao, the Emanos and the Dutertes swap, among themselves, the posts of mayor and vice mayor.
The virus sweeps in spouses, children, aunts, in-laws as governors, board members, congressmen, councilors, “barangay” [village or neighborhood district] captains. Nine Singsons spread-eagle over Ilocos Sur. In Sarrangani province, the name is Chiongbian: James, William and Erwin rotated the congressman’s chair, Priscilla and Benito were governors. Now, Vice Gov. Bridget Chiongbian-Huang is running for “numero uno.” “One family digs a well but two families drink from it,” the Chinese say.
This plague infects postage-stamp provinces. Abads rule Batanes province, as Espinas do Biliran. The media haven’t tracked this sprawl since they’re locked into mainly metropolitan coverage. It overlooks budding dynasties. Congressmen from Bohol province ending their terms now groom their kin to take over.
Muslims and non-Muslims play the game. In Lanao del Sur, Macarambons cling to the congressman’s post. In Lanao del Norte, Abudullah, Imelda and Mohammad Khalid, all surnamed Dimaporo, rotate positions.
The Constitution thumbed down in Article 2, Section 26 political dynasties. But that hinged on Congress crafting an enabling law. Most of Kamaganak Inc. members are legislators. “Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a congressman can,” Mark Twain once said. So, the country never got the anti-dynasty law it needed.
“Having kin take over one’s position after a mandatory limit of three terms ensures dark secrets of corruption will be perpetually hidden,” a Bohol Chronicle editorial notes. “The same (corrupt) contractors and suppliers will be maintained, with the same system partly run by gambling, drug lords … and private armies.”
Dynasties are rooted in the 16th century, notes the Journal of Asian and African Studies in the article, “Power in the Philippines: How Democratic is Asia’s First Democracy?” Some highlights:
The Philippine elite always comprised powerful family dynasties, social scientists O.D. Corpuz and Carl Lande noted. Even in Magellan’s time, “the extended family was the significant unit.” Colonial society merely provided chieftains with additional means of enrichment. Spanish pueblos kept the barangays’ social structure intact.
“The ‘datu’ [chieftain] became the ‘cabeza’ [head].” Intermingled with Spaniards and influential Chinese families, “this aristocracy evolved by the late 19th century ‘ilustrado’ class over the centuries turned toward the family as the sole source of security” in the face of repression. “The American new colonial authority was wise enough to assimilate and utilize the native elite, which became entrenched further.”
Ateneo’s Mary Hollnsteiner documented how the political party system merely provided formal structures within which family dynasties grappled for power. And interests that dynasties bring into the political arena are not long-term concerns of the nation but of extended families.
Year 2007 dynasties will not challenge today the monopolization of power by ruling families any more than they did when the Journal analysis was published before martial law. “Because of tight, interlocking family connections, this elite is uniquely capable of closing ranks and protecting itself,” the Journal noted.
This elite has developed into a dangerously unified “family compact” with a narrow range of economic and social interests. Despite their rhetoric, they make short shrift of workers, tenant farmers and unemployed.
David notes the mass media’s impact, “an expanding group of administrators and growing literacy and education and citizen awareness.” Philippine society has not remained static.
Cotabato’s Mindanao Cross reports that an 11-year-old Grade 5 student at Notre Dame University’s electoral education program wrote: “Will Mr. Veggies become a good leader just because his name sounds like a green leafy vegetable? (Attention: Candidate Pichay.) And will ‘Mr Palengke’ be a good leader just because he goes to market?” (Attention: Sen. Mar Roxas.)
“But the mechanisms of mobility, now present in the structure, operate as powerful screening devices to prevent the ascent of revolutionary or even reformist leaders through legitimate channels,” the Journal adds.
Mom and pop stores will remain, for now.
(juanlmercado@gmail.com)
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PULSE Asia’s latest survey measured the trust and distrust ratings among political personalities. Its highlight showed big a plurality of 41 percent of Filipinos of voting age distrust Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who registered a low trust rating of only 23 percent.
Former President Erap Estrada scored a trust rating of 38 percent and a distrust rating of 40 percent, inspite of having been charged with plunder by the Arroyo administration and jailed for the last six years.
Opposition personalities registered much higher trust ratings: former Senator Loren Legarda was tops with 63 percent, Senate President Manuel Villar 55 percent, Senator Francis Pangilinan 54 percent, Senator Manuel Roxas II 52 percent and House Minority Leader Francis Escudero 53 percent. All are senatorial candidates for next month. Candidates from the administration showed increases in distrust ratings.
Uncharitable as it may seem, even the serious sickness of GMA’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, was the subject of distrust. Some media sectors speculated that the event probably is being used as a distraction from whatever possible problem Malacanang wants downplayed. As we have pointed out in our recent columns, much of what is being played out in media is smokescreen for the same reason.
Latest suspected smokescreens are the moves of Commission on Elections Chairman Abalos to delist up to 5 million from the voters list as fake. What possible contrived result is being covered up from the public eyes by this unprecedented move?
Now it does not seem remote to include as suspected smokescreens the candidacies of Garcillano for congressman and Chavit Singson for senator. Or even pitting movie actor Lito Lapid against Jejomar Binay in the mayoralty fight in Makati. These can be perceived as win-win situations. That is, if these candidates win, inspite of public perceptions of their negative political records, then it’s a win for the administration. On the other hand, if they lose, then it’s still a win for GMA, because she could claim a credible election.
In guessing which opposition votes will be counted, it’s the votes of the frontrunners.
Probably the top three or four. It would show the elections are clean. Malas na lang (unlucky for those) number five or six, if the administration wants number l3 and l4 to sneak into the winning column.
It’s becoming harder and harder to discern what’s real and what’s not real.
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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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Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227
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