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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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No Hard Feelings For Ramiele
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THERE will be no tears for our latest American Idol bet. No hard feelings for Ramiele Malubay, who just got booted out by American Idol viewers for a series of lackluster performances in the show.
No, we will night file protests, nor join any picket lines on her behalf.
We are content that she made it to the Top 10. That’s enough- we know where we stand, and for some reason we feel that her axing was the right result. Ramiele did not give her best on American Idol. She did not shine at all. Her demeanor on perhaps the biggest stage she will ever set foot on showed a girl lacking confidence. She did not act like a star, nor she dressed like one.
But perhaps the killer blow was that in her three weeks in the top 10, she never performed like an American Idol. Her performances were mostly half-baked and unsure. There were many missed notes and skipped beats. If we FilAms were to sit on Simon Cowell’s chair, we would have rendered her harsher verdicts than the British judge himself.
We have supported Ramiel’s campaign on the show ever since the news broke that she made it into the top 24. We have made her our latest bet to gain international acclaim– joining Manny Pacquiao, Lea Salonga, Apl De Ap, and the likes. However, when she sang the Beatle song, ‘In My Life,’ she was in trouble.
Soon, week after week, as America shaved off the wannabes, her mediocrity emerged. She showed signs of insecurity, immaturity and bad taste– America is unforgiving with aspirants like her. So, it happened. After all, it was inevitable.
For most of us, it was a relief. We didn’t want her to be like Sanjaya, who almost got the big prize despite his obvious lack of talent.
Ramiele fell short of becoming the first Filipino-American, and Asian winner of American Idol, however, we are not bitter. In fact we are proud. We are proud that she made it to the top 10 of the most popular talent show on earth. We are proud that she speaks Filipino, and sings Parokya ni Edgar songs. We are proud of Ramiele. American Idol is huge, but it is not everything. With time and practice, Ramiele could be a great star and she has to acknowledge it.
Unfortunately, although we know the amazing potential she has to become a worldwide star, we agree with America’s decision. She’s not cut to be the next American Idol – yet.
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Extending H or L Status Beyond Maximum
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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 H and L visas are non-immigrant visa categories that authorize the holders to tay and work temporarily in he U.S.
The H-1B visa allows professionals or specialty occupation workers to enter the .S. and work in their fields for a maximum period of six years. The L-1 visa allows international companies to bring their foreign employees to the U.S. to work for a limited period of time not exceeding five years for specialized knowledge workers, and a maximum of seven years for intra-corporate managers and executives.
The H-1B workers may bring with them their spouse and children under twenty-one years of age as dependents under the H-4 visa. H-4 holders may enter and remain in the U.S. for the duration of the principal H-1B holder’s authorized stay.
L-2 visa may be issued to the L-1 holder’s spouse and dependent children under twenty one years of age. The duration of their stay is the same as that of the L-1 holder. Once the maximum period of stay is reached under these categories, the principal alien-beneficiaries under the H-1B and L-1 visas must either change to a different visa category (other than H or L, respectively) or leave the U.S. for at least one year. The status of their dependents likewise expire.
Under immigration regulations and USCIS guidelines, if the alien changes to a different visa category or has been out of the U.S. for at least one year, he/she can later apply again for the H-1B or L-1. These new visas will allow the aliens and their dependents another six-year period under H-1B, or five or seven-year period under the L-1 categories.
If the dependent spouse under H-4 should decide to apply to become the principal recipient of the H-1B, then her/his time spent in the U.S. as a dependent H-4 will not be counted against the six-year maximum stay under H-1B. She/he will be entitled to a full six-year period applicable to the H-1B classification. Her/his spouse who was previously the H-1B status holder can then opt to change to H-4 non-working dependent classification. The same guidelines may be applied with respect to a derivative L-2 spouse. However, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cautioned against using the derivative H-4 or L-2 visas for dependents whose principal alien spouses are in the U.S. only infrequently and are working or stationed mostly abroad.
There are exemptions to the six-year maximum stay under the H-1B. For those H-1B employees who were being sponsored by their employers for permanent residence (employment-based green card) and were subject to lengthy processing delays, they are eligible to request for extensions of stay beyond the six-year period. This is regardless of whether they are currently in the U.S. or abroad; or whether they are currently holding the H-1B status.
Under these circumstances, the USCIS will look at several factors to grant the extension of stay. These will include: evidence of job requirements, credentials of the alien, labor condition approval, previous H-1 status, pending immigrant petition or labor certification, approved I-140 petition, unavailability of immigrant visa number and admissibility or maintenance of nonimmigrant status.
Moreover, for those have been outside the U.S. for one full year prior to exhausting the six-year maximum period under H-1B, the USCIS will allow the alien to opt to be re-admitted for the remainder of the initial six-year admission period without being subjected to the H-1B cap or to seek to be admitted as a new H-1B alien subject to the H-1B cap. The cap refers to the numerical quota limitations that Congress gives for H-1B beneficiaries
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IN the early 19th century, Filipinos, who hailed from Manila, Philippines, were entered in the United States Census records as “Provencia Manila, Spain” as their place of origin.
On the other hand a Filipino immigrant in the United States, whose loyalty was divided between the United States and Spain, before the Spanish American War and would rather remain neutral to evade going to war, had opted to change his family name by assuming his mother’s maiden name.
To preserve the Filipino identity and culture like Catholic religion, Filipino women had to marry from among their own fellow Filipino descendants, not another race.
These are some of the nuggets of information a family historian, who descended from the “Manilamen of Louisiana,” told this columnist.
Rhonda Lee Richoux may have a French name but she prides herself as a Filipino. She sent me an email two weeks ago after reading my column floating on the Internet during the last two years that discussed the sloppy account of Ms. Marina E. Espina about the “Manilamen of Louisiana” in her book, “The Filipinos of Louisiana” (1988, A.F. La Borde, New Orleans).
Ms. Espina’s inclusion of “Bernard Ducusen (sic), the American boxer, who nearly defeated Sugar Ray Robinson,” as a descendant of the Manilamen, drew fire from NaFFAA regional director Ed Navarra of Michigan, who happened to interview Mr. Docusen, himself, who provided him a copy of a 100-page journal. Mr. Docusen turned out to be a son of a Philippine Scout, who arrived much later than the Manilamen, and a French mother, who raised him in New Orleans.
Although, the Manilamen were said to have arrived in Louisiana in 1763, Ms. Richoux, a free lance writer and amateur genealogist, was only able to document the arrival of her Filipino ancestor as early as 1860 while her French/Irish ancestor dates back before 1400.
When super typhoon Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, she said, it “changed our lives forever. Most of us lived in the St. Bernard community, outside New Orleans, the entire community was destroyed by the floodwaters that rushed in through failed levees of Katrina.
CAMPS ARE NOW GONE
“The camps on the lake where we spent our summers together are now gone, lonely stilts jutting through the water are the only evidence that they ever existed.
“We are no longer living in our small community together. Most of us are relocated to other towns and states. Things will never be the same again.”
Ms. Richoux, whose family was extensively cited by Ms. Espina in her book, said in the family tree she is building since 2005, her main sources of her family research are interviews with the family members, the family oral history and the existing government records, like the U.S. Census.
According to the records in her possession, she is a de- scendant of Felipe Madriaga of the Philippine Island and Bridgett Nugent of Ireland. Felipe and Bridgett started their family in Southeast Louisiana back in the 1800’s, but because they have no sons, she traced a matriarchal family line.
She said many “people in the 19th and early 20th centuries were illiterates, and records clerks, priests and census takers spelled the names phonetically.”
In her genealogy, she listed more than 600 names as part of her family tree. According to her findings, her ancestor, Felipe Madriaga, was born about 1815 in Ilocos Norte in the Philippines, and died in Louisiana. He married Brigette Nugent, who was born about 1832 in Ireland and died in Louisiana. She said although her great grandmother pronounced the family name of Felipe as “Madrigal,” documents show that it is spelled “Madriaga.”
U.S. CENSUS RECORDS
According to family elders, Felipe and Brigett were likely buried near one of the fishing villages, where they stayed. They remembered a great storm that flooded the area, and that the coffins were dislodged from the ground and floated away.
According to the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Parish of St. Bernard, State of Louisiana, Felipe was listed as “Philippe Madriaga Age 45 Occup Fisher Origin Provencia Manila Spain.” (Manila was actually a province of Mexico, or “New Spain.”)
“Brigett Nogant Age 27 relationship not shown Origin Ireland;
“Elizabeth Madriaga Age 2 Origin Louisiana.”
Rhonda Lee Richoux was born in New Orleans in 1952. Her father is Joseph Dudley Richoux, a Cajun (Canadian
Indian), and her mother is Lilian Mae Burtanog Richoux, a fifth generation Filipino descendant.
Rhonda Lee said her grandmother, Rosalie Borabod Martinez, told her about her husband, Benito Yabut. She said that Benito was a crewman when he was just 18 or 19 years old. When he learned that war between Spain and America was imminent, he decided to jump ship. He changed his name to Martinez, his mother’s maiden name, and found his way to the Filipino community in Louisiana. He became a fisherman, met her great grandmother and started a family.
She said the women in her family line married Filipino men up to her mother’s generation so the Filipino identity is evident and the descendants easy to recognize. The next challenge Rhonda is facing is how to find out how her ancestor, Felipe Madriaga, managed to come to America.
She said the present generation has now become a “melting pot.” Yet her blue eyed niece, Brooke Faxon, will proudly tell people, “I’m a Filipino.” (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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HAVE rapacious elites, here as well as in countries from Thailand, Kenya to Venezuela, triggered a “powerful authoritarian undertow” that’s choking democracy?.
“A number of countries typically counted as democracies today -- including Georgia, Mozambique, the Philippines, and Senegal -- may have slipped below the threshold,” says the influential quarterly: “Foreign Affairs” ( March-April 2008 ).
Hoover Institution’s Larry Diamond documents how avaricious governance and corrupted elections set off this skid. His analysis is titled: “Democratic Rollback: Resurgence of Predatory States”. It picks up from where “Deepening Democracy in A Fragmented World” study left off in 2002. The democratic wave, of the early 1980s into mid-1990s, toppled dictators from Ferdinand Marcos to Mobutu Seseke, this UN “Human Development Report” noted then.
Towards the century’s end, rising expectations curdled into frustrated hopes,, “Of 81 countries that took steps to democratization, only 47 are considered full democracies,” HDR added.. “Many do not seem to be in transition to anything. ( Some ) lapsed back into authoritarianism.”
Today, even success stories, like Chile, Ghana, Poland, and South Africa, grapple with festering disaffection, the “Foreign Affairs” essay notes. India is hemmed in by unstable dictatorial states. And Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, among others, thwart democratic aspirations in the Arab world. There are 50 plus of these “at-risk-democracies” today. Aside from the Philippines, these include: three of Asia’s eight democracies, most Latin America and Caribbean nations, all of post-Soviet democracies outside European Union ranks, plus virtually all of Africa’s democracies.
In years ahead, democracy’s prospects will not hinge on whittling down remaining dictatorships like Burma or North Korea. It will depend, instead, on how at-risk-democracies, like the Philippines or Kenya, curb endemic corruption and electoral fraud.
“The most urgent task of the next decade is to shore up democracy in these countries,” the study adds. “A January 2008 Freedom House survey found that, for the first time since 1994, freedom around the world suffered a net decline in two successive years --.the “worst since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Therefore, “celebrations of democracy's triumph are premature,” Diamond cautions. In fact, ‘the world has slipped into a democratic recession. Predatory states are on the rise, threatening both nascent and established democracies”.
“Predatory states produce predatory societies”, the study adds. Only the names of oligarchs change. Does Malaysia’s Daim Zainuddin differ from Indonesia’s Sigit Suharto whose family got slabs in 1,251 companies during the dictator’s lifetime?.
Who’d be Filipino equivalents for Pakistan’s Asif Zardari? Bongbong Marcos, Miguel Arroyo, Joseph Estrada, Lucio Tan, Eduardo Cojuangco, Enrique Razon et al?
Many democracy-atrisk nations are blighted by abusive police, domineering oligarchs, weak bureaucracies. Elections “become a bloody zero-sum struggle in which… no one can afford to lose… Ordinary people are not truly citizens but clients of powerful local bosses…Every transaction is manipulated to someone’s immediate advantage”
“These conditions make it easy for a predatory oligarchy to prey on an incoherent bureaucracy,” observes Filipino theologian Aloysius Cartagenas The Catholic church should consider urgently ‘a prophetic cutting off relations with oligarchs and elite (who) prey on the nation”.
Bishops wisely rejected having “the ultimate say to depose or not a corrupt president and install a new one,” this San Carlos Seminary professor writes in a paper titled: “Easter Imperatives.” But they still must create a “structure that makes the poor real participants in shaping a public policy.”
“Predatory states cannot sustain democracy….Sustainable democracy requires constitutionalism, compromise, and a respect for law”, Diamond argues. . But they can break free thru “vertical and horizontal accountability”.
Free honest elections – from registering voters to counting votes -- - is a prime example of “vertical accountability”. So are public hearings, citizen audits, and a freedom-of-information act
“Horizontal accountability” is seen in independent counter-corruption commissions.
“In at-risk democracies, these institutions do not function well, largely because they are not meant to”. Civil service must be improved.
“An inept state drives people toward informal and corrupt networks to get things done.” And reforms should limit state's role thru an open market economy. This clips .“graft by predatory elites.”
“Momentum is now going against democracy,” the quarterly notes. “A resurgent and oil-rich Russia flexing its muscles, and China emerging as a major aid donor in the rest of Asia and Africa, makes it more difficult to encourage reforms”.
The international donors’ habit of keeping predatory states afloat must end. They can make foreign aid contingent on good governance. They’d help thereby “reverse the democratic recession”
“There is hope,” Diamond insists. “Public opinion surveys show that majorities in every region believe democracy is the best form of government. Social Weather Stations surveys, in fact, show that 53, out of every 100 Filipinos, preferred democracy over authoritarian rule.
“States must constrain the nearly unlimited discretion that predatory rulers enjoy… and hold them accountable,” the essay adds. “This is the fundamental challenge that all at-risk democracies face.”
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THE usually cool and collected denizens of the world of finance and investments in Wall Street are showing signs of uncharacteristic confusion and panic these days. The reason they are upset is because the anticipated uncertainties in the market have started to descend.
The instability was started by the subprime real estate market crisis, which continues unabated. The patchwork of remedies the federal government has put into action has not caught traction yet. How does this program thus far resonate among the average Americans? It is expected to rewrite the demographics of the market.
For example, Jennifer Levitz of the Wall Street Journal reports: "Many aging Americans are delaying retirement. As the logical tool to smooth their path to retirement, they are delaying retirement. By this time, countless have started their countdown but has instead delayed selling their big old home, their nest egg, to launch their life of leisure by buying and moving into a smaller apartment or condo. The execution of this plan has to be done at a more appropriate time when market conditions become more favorable. The net effect of such a decision multiplied many times over is to slow down the economy. It will contribute to speeding up the recession.
A typical example is a homeowner we met at our favorite coffee place. He took note of the changing business landscape and told us how he postponed the sale of his home. The underlying reason is he delayed executing his plan to sell. In the meantime, the market value of his house went down by $100,000 to $350,000. His dilemma now is the more he delays, the more his loss will grow. Meanwhile, he faces a pressure. He had earlier committed to move from New York to the gentler climes of California. He had made commitment to buy his West Coast home.
We quote the Wall Street Journal: "In February the proportion of people aged 55 to 64 in the workforce rose to 64.8% up l.5 percentage points from last April. This translates to more than an additional million people in the job pool, according to the US Labor Department. The ranks of those 65 and over in the work force rose to 16.2% from 16% in the same time span. The number for March continues to show a sharp increase."
Americans worriedly watch the daily erosion of securities and real estate they own. House prices have fallen 10% or so in the past year. The quarter ended last week marked the worst period for stocks in five and a half years, with equities off 15.5% from their October high. This is unprecedented in recent decades. The last time this took place was the era of the Great Depression, according to financial historian Richard Sylla of the New York University Stern School of Business.
The way out? Expect to see more senior citizens postponing retirement and staying on the job longer. It is consequently going to be a tighter job market, with Americans entering employment having a more difficult time finding jobs.
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FASGI Honors L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa
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ON March 13th, the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI) celebrated its First Annual Gala with the theme: Quality of Life for All and honored four distinguished personages at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles.
Leading the honorees was Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa who received the highest accolade: the Leader of the Year Award; Vicente Ching, Executive Director for Contract Accounting at Paramount Pictures, who has served as FASGI Board President and Chairman, was the honoree for Community Service.
Other awardees were Melvin N.A. Avanzado, Esq., Advocate of the Year for demonstrating excellence as an opinion maker and advocate for the Filipino American community and Josie Jones, the American Dream awardee for demonstrating excellence as an entrepreneur, corporate blazer and philanthropist.
Villaraigosa who came after dinner explained that his schedule got mixed up and was in conflict with a dinner he was hosting at his residence that night. So right after accepting the award and photo ops, he immediately left to get back to his event.
The 41st mayor of the City of Los Angeles was sworn into office on July 1, 2005, after his election on May 17 that year. He is lauded for building broad bi-partisan coalitions and is considered a leading progressive voice in this country. His mayoral platform puts emphasis on education, transportation, public safety, economic development and ethics.
Born in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, he began his involvement in the labor movement early at age 15 with the farm workers. He was first elected into office in 1994 to the California State Assembly. He was later elected by his colleagues as Assembly Speaker and held that position for 25 years. As Speaker, Villaraigosa oversaw passage of landmark legislation which included modernization of public schools, the toughest assault ban in the country, the largest urban neighborhoods parks initiative in America and the "Healthy Families" program providing healthcare for over a half a million Caifornia children.
In 2003, he won the 14th District Los Angeles City Council Seat. During his tenure in the City Council, he was credited with resolving the MTA transit strike and protecting funding for the Arts.
Former FASGI Board President Vic Ching was recognized for being a problem- solver, community gatekeeper and role-model in the Filipino American community. Ching is currently Charter President of the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown, External Vice-President of the National Council of Philippine American Canadian Accountants and Vice President of Finance and Board Treasurer of Millennium Momentum Foundation.
For our readers' knowledge, FASGI, was incorporated in 1981 as a nonprofit neighborhood-based health and human care provider. It has grown through the years as a leading independent provider of health and social services for low income, underserved Filipino American families and others in Los Angeles County. For over 20 years, FASGI has helped prevent unnecessary or early institutionalization of thousands of underserved individuals, especially seniors.
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