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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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MANILA -- No less than President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should take the blame for the latest foul-up in the peace process, an official from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said Thursday.
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the government peace panel, which Malacañang scuttled in the wake of recent MILF attacks in Mindanao, was merely a sacrificial lamb.
"Ang pananagutan sa highest level of government, sa taas sa Cabinet, then up to the President. Isipin mo di alam ng president ang ginagawa ng panel (Responsibility should go to the highest level of government, beyond the Cabinet and up to the President. Can you believe the President did not know what her peace panel is doing)?" he said.
Iqbal referred to the government panel's initialing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain, which Malacañang junked after it was questioned before the Supreme Court.
Reached for comment, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said that he will reply to Iqbal's statement during his press briefing later in the afternoon.
Malacañang ordered the peace panel scuttled Wednesday, citing MILF attacks in Mindanao following the Supreme Court's blocking of the signing of the MOA-AD.
"Hindi dapat sila panagutin, in fairness to them. Sila ay agent ng gobyerno, napakalaki ng principal nila kasi gobyerno mismo. Hindi gagawa ang isa ng anumang gagawin na walang authority sa principal. Ang MILF ganoon din, lalo if we commit the MILF to something very crucial," Iqbal said.
"May sympathy kami sa kanila, sila naging sacrificial lamb lamang (Our sympathies go to the government peace panel members. They were made sacrificial lambs)," he added.
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Filipino Express receives special copy of New York State Senate resolution commemorating the 110th anniversary of RP independence
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Fil-Am newspaper is one of only three recipients of rare document
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JERSEY CITY– On June 12, 2008, the New York State Senate adapted a special resolution commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain.
The resolution was formally signed on August 8, 2008 in Albany, and here copies of the historic document were sent to three very recipients: Consul General Rebong, Merna Littleworth of the Filipino- American organization, and to Ted Reyes, editor of the Filipino Express.
The hard-bound original document states various facts about the June 12, 1898 declaration by general Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite.
The complete text of the resolution is printed herein:
LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 110th Anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 2008
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body, in keeping with its time honored traditions, to recognize and pay tribute to those who foster ethnic pride and enhance the profile of cultural diversity which strengthens the fabric of the communities of this great Nation; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the 110th Anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 2008; and
WHEREAS, The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898, in the Philippines, where Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo (later to become the Philippines' first Republican President) proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain after the latter was defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War; and
WHEREAS, The Philippine Independence festivity was led by General Emilio Aguinaldo in his mansion on June 12, 1898; the flag of the Philippines, which was made in Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad was first flown in that event; it is also where the Philippine National Anthem, composed by Julian Felipe, was first played by the San Francisco de Malabon band, and the song was played under the name Marcha Filipina Magdalo, later renamed as Marcha Nacional Filipina; and
WHEREAS, On June 12, 1998, the nation celebrated its centennial year of Independence from Spain; the celebrations were held simultaneously nationwide by then President Fidel V. Ramos and Filipino communities worldwide; a commission was established for the said event, the National Centennial Commission headed by former Vice President Salvador Laurel who presided at all events around the country; and
WHEREAS, One of the major projects of the commission was the Expo Pilipino, a grand showcase of the Philippines' growth as a nation for the last 100 years, located in the Clark Special Economic Zone (formerly Clark Air Base) in Angeles City, Pampanga; and
WHEREAS, Through their long and sustained commitment to freedom, the people of the Philippines have so heroically advanced that spirit of united purpose and shared concern which is the unalterable manifestation of our shared humanity; the valiant service and contributions of the people of the Philippines during World War II created a bond of friend-ship between US citizens and the Filipino community that will never be forgotten; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 110th Anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 2008; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Consul General Rebong, Consulate General of the Philippines; Merna Littleworth of the Filipino-American Organization; and to Ted Reyes, editor of the Filipino Express.
The Filipino Express, as the leading Filipino-American publication in New York and New Jersey is grateful to the New York State Senate for entrusting this very special document to our archives. The Express is aware of the document’s historic significance and vows to treasure it in behalf of the Filipino-American community.
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CHICAGO – It was an unsolicited birthday gift Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” I. Bolante is better off without. On the eve of his 57th birthday last Aug. 27, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit based in Chicago, Illinois denied his “petition for review and affirmed the judgement of the Chicago Immigration Judge (IJ) as supplemented by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).”
In a nine-page opinion written by Circuit Judge William J. Bauer for the three court panel, the Seventh Circuit ruled that Mr. Bolante, the former Philippine Agriculture Undersecretary, “cannot meet his burden of proof on his asylum claim, withholding of removal (deportation) claim must fail a fortiori.”
The Court added, “Bolante’s fear of persecution is objectively unreasonable. Bolante has not produced enough specifics or details about the fear of persecution that he faces in the Philippines to carry his burden.”
The lawyer of Bolante did not respond to email message, seeking comment on the latest ruling. Bolante turned 57 last Aug. 28.
Bolante can delay his deportation if he files a petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. if he wants to appeal the circuit’s ruling. If not, he is in line to be deported to the Philippines and end his more than two years of detention at the Kenosha County Detention Center in neighboring Wisconsin.
Court records show that Bolante was appointed as Undersecretary for the Philippines Department of Agriculture by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001. In 2004, Bolante resigned to become a member of the Board of Directors of Rotary International. Following his resignation, the Philippine Senate formed a committee, alleging that President Arroyo diverted funds from the Department to fund her reelection committee and investigated claims Bolante took direction from Arroyo to divert the funds in what became “Fertilizer Scam.”
The Committee found Bolante as main architect of the diversion of funds and recommended that he face criminal charges, along with Felix Montes, the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture.
Bolante’s son, Owen, flew from the Philippines to testify at the hearing of his father. The young Bolante stated that “he and his family have received numerous threats, including a threatening text message. One such warning involved a threat of kidnapping.
He further stated that he and his family have seen suspicious cars near their home. Bolante’s son could not state who threatened him or elaborate on how the threats related to his father.”
A witness, Montes, who testified before the Immigration Court in Chicago, said “President (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo’s enemies are using Bolante as a tool to get to the President. He also testified that Bolante’s life would be in certain danger if he returned to the Philippines, but could not give specific details about the threat, and used equivocal words such as ‘might,’ ‘could,’ and ‘may’ to describe the harmful consequences of Bolante’s return.”
Another witness, Adolph Estrada, a retired Major General with the Philippine Air Force, testified about the nature of the danger facing Bolante upon his return. Though Estrada insisted that Bolante would be harmed, he, like Montes, could not give any specifics on the nature, source, or motivation of the threat facing Bolante.
On Feb. 9, 2007, the Immigration Judge denied Bolante’s application for asylum although it found Bolante “credible” because Bolante “failed to meet his burden of past persecution or well-founded fear of future persecution.” The IJ ruled that because “Bolante failed to meet the lower burden of proof of asylum, he could not meet the higher standard for withholding of removal.” The BIA affirmed IJ’s decision and issued its own decision and order.
Bolante filed an appeal before the Seventh Circuit, saying “he has met the standards for both asylum and withholding of removal.” He argued that he has a “well-founded fear of persecution upon returning to the Philippines, and that the central reasons for persecution were on account of his political opinion and membership in a particular social group.”
In denying Bolante’s fear of persecution, the Seventh Circuit said, the “testimony of Montes and Estrada that Bolante would be in danger upon return also fails for lack of specificity, particularity, or substantiality. Bolante points to the bounty (of 200,000 pesos or about US$4,651.00 reward money raised by the Philippine Senate for Bolante’s capture) as support for his fear, but the details of the bounty, and the use of bounties in the Philippines in general, lack any real clarity.
“Even if the bounty still exists, it does not show any threat of long-term harm to Bolante; the sole purpose of the bounty is to secure Bolante’s testimony before the Senate Committee.”
The Seventh Circuit said, “Bolante may be correct that he is but a pawn in the opposition party’s efforts to oust President Arroyo. But if he concurrently acted to further a scheme to defraud the Philippine public trust and divert funds to a political campaign -- activity that would certainly be illegal under our own laws -- then facing prosecution for his acts would not be ground for asylum.
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