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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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AS expected, Filipino WWII veterans did not get what they want and what they deserve. S1315 was passed in Capitol Hill without the monthly pension package. Instead, H.R. 6897 will take its place as the bill that will give equity to the Filipino war veterans, or will it?
H.R. 6897 calls for a one-time, lump sum benefit of $15,000 to Filipino veterans that are American citizens and $9,000 to non-American Filipino veterans– A travesty. The Filipino war veterans were shortchanged. The US just could not afford to give these brown veterans the same treatment as American-born veterans. It is not a surprise, but it is frustrating nonetheless.
What happened to senator Akaka’s bill? Dramatic turnarounds like these are consistent with US policy on Filipino veterans. As early as 1946, the US reversed their original promise to newly-enlisted Filipino volunteers who pledged their blood to the Americans. The Americans promised these young Filipino soldiers full benefits once the war ends. However, as soon as the war ended when Japan waved the “Bandera Blanco,” Capitol Hill passed the Recissions Act of 1946, and broke the Filipinos hearts. The Filipinos must have felt like being stood up at their own wedding. They must have felt cheated. No wonder they are still begging their groom to fulfill the forgotten promise. Tragically, they are not lucky once again, and perhaps ever will be.
These Filipino war vets dying one by one, and they will do so with worry and pain in their hearts. Who wouldn’t? After their sacrifices in behalf of Uncle Sam, they would even get something to benefit their loved ones once they do pass on. The passed bill would not grant any benefits to deceased veterans. Only those who are still breathing will get the lump sum.
What can we do to get them the fair treatment that they deserve?
Staggering amounts of money and effort have been utilized to lobby the passing of S1315 with the compensation package yet it did not make it in spite of. What we can aim for is a change of heart on every lawmaker in Washington.
We can pray to the heavens so these American politicians could look at the fading Filipino soldiers who fought under the stars and stripes and see them in a more compassionate light.
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IMMIGRANT PROGRAM FOR NON-MINISTER RELIGIOUS WORKERS SET TO EXPIRE
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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
Individuals seeking to immigrate to the U.S. as non-minister special immigrant religious workers must adjust status or apply for and be admitted with an immigrant visa before October 1, 2008.
This deadline affects two categories of religious workers: religious professionals and non-professionals, including their accompanying or following to join spouses and children.
The sunset date does not affect religious workers who are ministers of a religious denomination.
Unless the deadline is further extended, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reject Forms I-360 and I-485 filed on or after October 1, 2008.
The House of Representatives passed a legislation on April 14, 2008 seeking to extend the deadline and the Senate is also looking into the matter. However, as of press time, Congress has not yet passed a legislation extending the deadline. Absent such legislation, processing of I-360s and I-485s for special immigrant non-minister religious workers will be held in abeyance beginning October 1, 2008.
Under immigration laws, there are three types of religious workers that can be classified as special immigrants under the EB-4 employment-based classification. While only 7.1% of the overall 140,000 visas are allocated for the EB-4 classification worldwide, the visa availability for this category remains current for all countries.
The INA describes a religious worker as “a person who has for the past two years been a member of a religious denomination which has a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States; and who has been carrying on the vocation, professional work, or other work, continuously for the past two years; and seeks to enter the U.S. to work solely as: a minister of that denomination; or in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation for that organization; or in a religious vocation or occupation for the organization or its nonprofit affiliate.”
Only the latter two are affected by the October 1 deadline.
On September 19, 2009, the USCIS issued guidance for handling and processing non-minister special immigrant religious worker petitions.
For those with pending I-485 adjustment of status based on an underlying I-360, the USCIS will seek to expedite the adjudication of their cases. For those with approved I-360 petitions but waiting for their visas abroad, their cases would be promptly forwarded to the National Visa Centers so that they may receive their immigrant visas and enter the U.S. before October 1. The immigrant visa applications of their spouses and children who are following to join will also be expedited.
An I-360 petition may be filed by a qualified religious organization. The petition must be accompanied by proof of qualification such as a letter from the authorized official of the religious organization attesting to the applicant’s membership in the religious denomination. The letter must also explain in detail the person’s religious work and all employment during the past two years for the religious organization and the proposed employment.
Evidence is also required establishing that the religious organization, and any affiliate which will employ the person, is a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the U.S. and is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
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CHICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) – Like a teenaged child, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), which is now 11 years old, is saddled with problems that can be solved by avoiding past mistakes.
On the weekend of Sept. 26-28, 2008, hundreds of officers and members and their guests are attending the three-day 8th National Empowerment Conference at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington.
Just like the previous conferences, the upcoming biennial gathering will become the venue for face-time of officers and members, who only communicated during the past months thru emails, faxes and voice mails, renewing acquaintances, networking , and the works. The most important goals that can be achieved in this conference are obtaining unity and empowerment for the members of the Filipino community.
Since I attended at least two of the past national conferences (the 5th in Chicago in 2004 and the 7th in Hawaii in 2006) of NaFFAA, which is trying to pattern itself after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), I believe NaFFAA has still a lot of challenges ahead of it.
MORE CHALLENGES AHEAD
Tagalogs will say marami pang bigas ang kakainin ng NaFFAA bago mapantayan ang NAACP at NALEO. (NaFFAA still have a lot to do before it can match NAACP and NALEO.) To this end, one of the ways by which NaFFAA can advance is to shake off its culture of deference. It is a false assumption that an old hand or expert in a particular field of work cannot make mistake.
This means that a subordinate cannot make any suggestion to improve a certain craft. And this reminds me of the tale about the boy who said the “Emperor has no clothes.”
I remember an analysis of plane crash off Samal Island near Davao City eight years ago that showed that the subordinates of the pilot, who noticed some problems in the cockpit, could not tell the pilot of the problems because they deferred to the judgment of the pilot. As a result, all the 124 passengers and seven crews aboard Air Philippine Flight 541 died in that plane crash.
I don’t want this to happen to NaFFAA.
Alex Esclamado was one of the founders of NaFFAA when it was conceived in Washington, D.C. in 1997. Because he built a solid reputation as a fearless anti-Marcos critic that vindicated him when Marcos was finally ousted from power, Mr. Esclamado has developed an aura that he could not make mistake.
I remember when NaFFAA was holding a fund-raising during its gala night in Chicago in 2004, NaFFAA officers, region-by-region, had each made a pledge to support its programs.
WHERE IS THE BEEF?
In a scene reminiscent of public bidding in an auction sale, other guests also made pledges outbidding each other. When it came to the last man to make the pledge – Mr. Dylan Wilk of Kawad Kalinga – said he was donating US$200,000. Because it was the biggest pledge of the night, Mr. Dylan got the loudest ovation. But before Mr. Dylan could sit down to acknowledge the ovation, Mr. Esclamado stood up to match Mr. Dylan’s pledge of US$200,000 from “FAPA” (Filipino American Political Alliance,) a political action committee.
I want to ask Mr. Esclamado something NaFFAA officers defer to ask him during the last four years: Did Mr. Esclamado make good his pledge?
Needless to say, I also want to find out if Mr. Wilk or others who made the pledge had delivered on their pledges. Lessons learnt here: if one cannot deliver the pledge, why even try? And NaFFAA officers should never defer to demand accountability from their colleagues if they want to gain the public trust.
BEN MENOR CASE
And in another case -- the Ben Menor case – NaFFAA never bothered to conduct its own internal investigation at the first sign of trouble.
A non-profit organization, like NaFFAA, should keep its “internal auditor” in motion by setting up mechanisms that will raise the red flag to avoid a brewing trouble. If an officer or member notices that there is something wrong in the way its finances are being handled, they should immediately conduct a discreet internal investigation that can snuff out the problem before it gets out of hand.
Remember the sayings that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” or “conflagration can start from lighted cigarette butt?”
Court records showed that Mr. Menor was soliciting sponsorships on behalf of NaFFAA and the San Jose Northside FilAm Senior Opportunities Development Council (Fil Am SODC), that he headed. Instead of splitting the donations to NaFFAA and the Northside FilAmSODC, Mr. Menor co-mingled them by opening separate bank accounts. Mr. Menor could have just sent the donation for NaFFAA to the NaFFAA treasurer and the donation for Northside FilAm SODC to the treasurer instead of opening separate bank accounts.
And Mr. Menor should have avoided conflict-of-interest issues by not having “questionable financial transactions” with the NaFFAA Treasurer, Lourdes P. Corrales, president of CLO Funding Corporation in New Jersey, who extended a bridge loan in the amount of $15,000 on Nov. 4, 2004 to Fil-Am SODC and was paid back over a month later on Dec. 6, 2004 with $16,500, which consist of the principal loan of $15,000 plus $1,500 interest, which the San Jose City Auditor, described as “usurious” since the CLO charged the Fil-Am SODC “an exorbitant rate of $159 %” annual percentage rate whereas Fil-am SODC can secure a similar loan at 11 % APR elsewhere.”
ACCOUNTABILITY WANTED
After years of court litigations, Mr. Menor is being asked to pay up $46,000 by the court and his three felony cases could be reduced to misdemeanors and be finally dismissed on Oct. 9, according to Mr. Greg Macabenta, who attended on Sept. 18 Mr. Menor’s sentencing in San Jose, California that was re-scheduled on Oct. 9. Mr. Macabenta was a former NaFFAA national vice chair, running for NaFFAA national chair during the election in Seattle next week.
Mr. Menor, however, will still have to contend with the civil case aspect of the case.
I’m sure Mr. Menor is not proud of the trouble and humiliations that caused him his job and sullied his reputation before the Filipino com munity.
I hope the new NaFFAA national chair, who will be elected in Seattle, will try to prevent the Esclamado and Menor incidents by being pro-active, assertive and by being sensitive to possible problems that crop after every fund-raising.
When I sent out a set of questionnaires to four candidates running for NaFFAA national chairs, only Mr. Ernie Ramos, Immediate Past Chair of Florida NaFFAA Region IV, who responded “to walk on the straight and narrow path of Accountability, Transparency, Integrity and Credibility” when it comes to handling NaFFAA’s financial situation.
Come to think of it, if donors know how much moneys are being raised and how much moneys are being spent by any non-profit organization, like NaFFAA, in a timely manner, I’m sure it will inspire others to donate to NaFFAA. Without accountability of monetary collections, nobody will be a repeat donor to NaFFAA. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
P.O. BOX 805072
CHICAGO IL 60680-4112
Telefax 773.283.5986
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WHEN SOME DOCTORS “CHA-CHA”
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“After reading Viewpoint column “Heal Yourself” ( PDI / Sept 18 ) I shed tears and covered my face ( for ) shame” over the Philippine Medical Association’s latest “Summit.”
The writer is Dr Primitivo Chua. He serves as adviser to Association of Medical Doctors of Asia. From 1992 to 1994, Chua headed PMA. That capped 25 years of serving in every other Association post.
Did Chua’s grief also stem from what the Washington Post reported : “The proportion of Filipinos, dying without medical attention, has risen to 70 percent -- a figure not seen in this country since the mid-1970s….A health-care brain drain is strangling rural hospitals across the Philippines”
The Philippines exported more than 164,000 nurses in recent decades. “Since 2000, at least 11,000 Filipino doctors retrained as nurses and joined the exodus,” the Post reported.. “More than 6,000 doctors-turned-nurses have left the country, and about 5,000 more are soon to go…
The Post article validates concerns, reflected in earlier detailed analysis by former Health Secretary Dr Jaime Galvez Tan. Out of every 100 Filipino doctors, 68 work abroad. And eight out of ten public health doctors are training to be nurses -- as first step towards a visa..
Essential services, like immunization, have declined. Local health expenditures have shrank. Local officials grant themselves bonuses from the 20 Per Cent Development Fund, originally meant to meet basic needs of the poorest.
Here’s a health system on the verge of collapse. And the law ( RA 8423 ) on traditional and alternative medicine, so essential for the poor, given short shrift.. This crisis deserved the Summit’s full attention. Instead, it dithered over a “Doctors’ Cha-Cha”: The Association’s charter on ethics, critics claim, had been changed to “legitimize filching from drug companies.”
PMA drafters squirreled a new Section 7 into General Principles ( Article 1). Thus, the phrase “the health products industry’ was injected into the traditional priority of patient care over physicians benefits.
New provisions -- Articles IV, Sections 10 to 14, plus Section 3 of Article – gut Code strictures on perks: subsidies, honoraria, travel costs, “gifts”, scholarships etc.. Drug companies often pick up the tab.
”The American Medical Association’s Opinion 8.061 similarly dealt with “gifts to physicians from the industry,” Viewpoint noted. “It is far more stringent.”
Politicians lost their monopoly over charter change. The watered down PMA Code proves some doctors can cha-cha too. But they’re not the only ones who, when standards prove rigorous, scramble to lower them.
Take the old National Elementary and Secondary Achievement Tests.: “Mean scores below 50 were typical,” noted Philippine Human Development Report, But the tests were “transmuted”. That’s a polite term for adding unasked-for 60 points. “The message conveyed is we are doing well…But whom are we kidding?.”
“Shameless conduct unfairly hurts other upright doctors. “In nothing do men nearly approach gods than in giving health to men,” the Roman philosopher Cicero wrote in 106 B.C..
Many doctors live up to his ideal. All of us have, at one time or another, benefited from their skills. And places without a doctor are severely deprived. . “Is there no balm in Gilead? / Is there no physician there?.” The Pintuyan ( Southern Leyte ) district hospital, for example, has only one doctor: And she spent time scrounging for funds to get medicine and supplies for patients. “
”Chua helped draft the original PMA Code. And the Association traditionally invites Senior Members whenever major issues arise. . But the September 15 Summit pointedly shut out Senior Members and local drug firms. .PMA instead rolled out the red carpet for multi-nationals, e.g. .Pharmaceutical Health Care Association of the Philippines.
“The general membership never saw any draft of any amendments” now embedded in the new. Code, Chua wrote. “(This ) was revised without our knowledge…If invited…we would have cautioned our present leaders to slow down on these questionable amendments (They are not ) consistent with our PMA Code of Ethics.”
“In a radio interview, I called upon our PMA leaders, ( to ) "take back" the PMA Code of Ethics for a second look", Chua said. . ( Only then) should they present and seek the concurrence to amended provisos from all component Medical Societies, without interference of drug companies.
Hindi siya nag-iisa. “We urge the leadership of PMA to immediately repudiate and remove… all the new provisions therein”, wrote a group of physicians to PMA president Dr Rey Melchor Santos. These provisions “make it permissible and ‘ethical’ for doctors and medical associations to receive contributions from commercial companies.”
Instead, “add to the Code of Ethics new provisions that excise conflicts-of-interest, wrote Doctors Gary Sy, Edwin Bien, Elinor Roquel, Francis Raz and Rainier Villanueva. “Unethical practices should “be subject to the severest sanctions by the Professional Regulatory Commission.
Don’t hold your breath. Bickering over what “reasonable benefits are ethical”, spawned this new charter of values. Yet, the loftier the calling, the more demanding are the responsibilities. Does this gutted Code square with that principle?.
Perhaps, PMA may like to try this yardstick for size: Be perfect as the Divine Physician is prefect? .
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