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For the past 22 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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PGMA makes last minute appeal to the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Veterans Equity bill
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WASHINGTON DC -— President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo made a last minute strong pitch to the United States House of Representatives to pass the Veterans Equity bill to give honor and recognition to the thousands of Filipino soldiers who fought side-by-side with the American soldiers against the Japanese during World War II.
The President issued her strong call when she visited this morning (Wed. June 25, Washington time) the Veterans Committee Hearing Room at the Cannon House Office Building of the US Capitol Complex here.
''It is time we honor the past as we build our future,” the President told the RP-US Friendship Caucus, a group of some 90 members of the US House of Representatives supportive of Philippine interests and concerns, especially the Veterans Equity bill.
The President noted that the US Senate overwhelmingly voted for the passage of the bill and that she expected that the House of Representatives would do the same
''It is time to come here and tell you and press for the passage, for your support,'' the President said.
The President recalled that “when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called on the Filipinos to serve in the US Armed Forces after Pearl Harbor, our fathers of the greatest generation heeded the call.''
''The President of the US was our commander-inchief. Filipinos fought as US soldiers side by side with Americans and died under the banner of the stars and stripes,'' she said.
''They suffered from some of the most brutal acts during the last war, including the notorious Bataan Death March,'' she continued.
''Yet, they prevailed and together vanquished the enemy and brought freedom and human dignity back to Asia and the world,'' she added. She stressed though it is not yet too late ''to honor the service of all our fathers--Americans and Filipinos.''
''They fought for America. They believed in the promise of America,'' the President said.
Paraphrasing President Abraham Lincoln,” we must now call on the better angels of our nature and set our sights high,'' the President said as she stressed that on top of her 10- day visit to the US was to push the US House of Representatives to pass the bill that would finally end 62 years of waiting for the Filipino veterans to receive what is due them as their American counterparts.
''That's why during this trip, I'm personally working to promote the interest of the Philippine veterans of World War II with Pres. Bush and your coalition,'' she said.
She said equity for Philippine veterans has never been this close---getting the Senate nod and a simple majority in the House of Representatives, as she thanked the Caucus for their support.
''We thank your friendship caucus for keeping faith and we hope you can find a way to enlist this...and do justice to the greatest generation,'' the President said.
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MANILA-- The death toll from Typhoon Fengshen in the Philippines has risen to 622 with nearly 1,000 people still missing, mostly from the sinking of a passenger ferry, officials said.
The Coast Guard said 124 people who were on board the MV Princess of the Starshave been confirmed killed after it capsized Saturday in turbulent seas off Sibuyan Island, 300 kilometres south of Manila. More than 680 passengers and crew members were still missing and feared dead in one of the country's worst maritime disasters.
At least 498 people were killed in other accidents caused by Fengshen with 263 still missing, the Office of Civil Defence said. Most fatalities drowned in flooding that authorities described as the worst in decades in some affected provinces, including Iloilo.
The Coast Guard said 56 people survived the sinking of the Princess of the Stars. It said eight additional survivors found earlier in two villages on Sibuyan Island were confirmed to have been aboard the ill-fated ferry when it capsized. More bodies have been spotted in waters and shores as far as 100 kilometres away from the site of the accident. Some coastal communities have buried the decomposing bodies in mass graves because of a lack of equipment and chemicals to preserve them.
Coast Guard and Navy teams were continuing to scour nearby waters and shores for the missing as authorities study a plan to cut into the submerged vessel to speed up the retrieval of bodies. Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista said experts were plotting out areas that must be avoided to prevent an oil spill.
‘We know where the fuel is, so we know which are not to touch,’ she told a Manila radio station. ‘We also have to avoid the cargo compartment.’
Bautista said divers have been instructed to open all doors and windows of the ship to allow faster recovery of bodies trapped inside the vessel.
Maritime authorities have began an investigation into the accident while all 14 remaining vessels of the Sulpicio Lines, which owns the capsized ferry, have been grounded.
The Princess of the Stars was the fourth Sulpicio Lines ship to sink since 1987 when its passenger ferry Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker just before Christmas, killing 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster.
In October 1988, another Sulpicio Lines ferry sank during a typhoon, killing 250 people. In 1998, another of the company's ships sank, leaving 70 dead and 80 missing. (MNS)
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CHICAGO – A 52-yearold Filipina won the jackpot at a suburban casino of Elgin, Illinois last June 8th, 2008 but run out of luck when she tried to collect her winnings.
Cristina V. Franquia of 907 Shorewood Drive in suburban Bartlett, Illinois is due in court on June 26th, 2008 before Judge Grant Wagner of Kane County 16th Judicial District in St. Charles, Illinois for felony possession of two fraudulent I.D. cards that could earn her jail time and deportation to the Philippines.
It was reported that instead of collecting her winnings at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, an 83-year-old man also from Bartlett tried to collect the winnings for her. Police said that from her actions, it was Ms. Franquia, who was the apparent winner.
When police asked for her identification information, she flashed two cards – one a resident alien card (Green card) and a Social Security card – which both turned out to be fake. Franquia said she got the cards from a man named only as “Amigo” several years ago for free, police said. The amount of her winnings was not disclosed.
Police said that even if Franquia’s ID’s were authentic, Franquia would still not be able to collect her winnings because she placed her name in the casino’s “banned” list. According to gaming officials, if you place your name in the banned list and win at the casino, your winnings will go to a charity.
During a court hearing last June 9th, Franquia, who spoke thru a Tagalog interpreter, was told that if she pleads guilty or is found guilty of the charges, she could be deported to the Philippines because she is not a U.S. citizen. She is now free after posting $1,500 bond last June 9th. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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