Asian Journal March 18-24, 2016 Edition

(1)

Encinitas is the site of the future Divine Mercy Shrine. The site is on Encinitas Blvd., east of I-5, about a mile and a half from Moonlight Beach and two miles south of the Paramhansa Yogananda Self-Realization Center. If you would like to know more about the project, please contact Zarina Cruz at [email protected] or check for updates on www.divinemercyhills.org, the official website of the Divine Mercy Hills Foundation of Southern California (DMHFSC).

A project of the Divine Mercy Hills Foundation of Southern California (DMHFSC), a 501(c)3 non profit.

Preliminary Architectural Concept by DOMUS Studio

GPS 701 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas 92024 or Google “Divine Mercy Shrine Encinitas” for directions to site. GPS 701 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas 92024 or Google “Divine Mercy Shrine Encinitas” for directions to site.

Visit www.divinemercyhills.org

Mission Statement. The DMHFSC is dedicated to the design, development, and maintenance of a Divine Mercy Shrine located in Encinitas, CA. for the purpose of spreading to an aching world the Divine Mercy message and devotion. To draw people of all nations, cultures, and beliefs to a vessel with which they are to keep coming in prayer for graces to the fountain of mercy - the Image of the Divine Mercy. For meditational and contemplative prayers venerating this image with trust in our Lord Jesus Christ who said, "I promise that the soul that will venerate this Image will not perish. I also promise victory over its enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory... By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls." Through this shrine we shall proclaim to the whole world God's unfathomable Mercy.

Future Site of the Divine Mercy Shrine Encinitas CA

Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hand are crowned with mercy. -- Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (Diary #301)

Jesus I Trust In You!

March 18-24, 2016

( Continued on page 3 )

Economic prosperity under Marcos ‘a myth,’ says solon

( Continued on page 6 ) ( Continued on page 4 )

‘Poe citizenship hangs’

Duterte to crush land-grabbers

victimizing OFWs -- PDP spox

Filipinos

in U.S. laud

the late

Senator

Jovito Salonga

$81-M bank heist money trail

hits dead end in casinos

Penitensia, Senaculo, Siete Palabras

and other Filipino traditions

Msgr. Gutierrez

The Visit

Arts and Culture

Entertainment

Christ’s Dark Nights: Consolation by Negation— p. 10

The road to Baguio and the “Golden Buddha” — p.2

Zena Babao: Healing for our beloved land — p. 8

Kapuso dramas to air in Mexico and Canada — p. 16

Holy Week Memories

Inquirer.net | SAN

FRANCIS-CO, 3/15/2016 — U.S.-based

Filipinos extolled the late Senate

President Jovito Salonga, who

passed away at 95 on March 10

as a towering ﬁ ghter for

democ-racy, in the Philippines and while

he was in exile in the United

States.

Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara,

sister of Salonga’s contemporary

Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino

Jr., fondly recalled that Ninoy

called Salonga “Prof,” a sign of

Rappler.com | MANILA,

3/15/2016 – Philippine

authori-ties were not able to trace the

exact location of the

$81-mil-lion stolen money from

Bangla-desh Bank's account, citing the

country's "strict bank secrecy and

weak anti-money laundering act

(AMLA)" as hindrances to reach

a meaningful probe.

After 5 hours of questioning,

the Senate Blue Ribbon

Com-mittee on Tuesday, March 15 got

frustrated with Rizal Commercial

Banking Corporation (RCBC)

Jupiter, Makati City branch

manager Maia Santos-Deguito

and RCBC president and CEO

Lorenzo Tan for invoking bank

secrecy and their right against

self-incrimination.

Anti-Money Laundering

Coun-cil (AMLC) Executive Director

Julia Bacay-Abad also expressed

her frustrations during the

hear-ing, conceding that "the money

trail ended at casinos. It's a dead

end. Non-inclusion of casino in

AMLA just increased the

prob-ability of money laundering in

the Philippines."

The law, which was ﬁ rst

intro-duced in 2001, left casinos off

MANILA, Mar 16 (Mabuhay)

-- A presidency by PDP Laban

standard-bearer Rodrigo Duterte

shall provide socialized

hous-ing for homeless Filipinos, but

will not condone illegal settlers,

especially those with connections

to land-grabbing syndicates.

PDP Laban spokesperson Atty.

Paola Alvarez stressed this today,

saying Duterte and his running

mate Alan Peter Cayetano shall

put a stop once and for all to

those who, illegally and

often-times by the use of force, take

the land of others, including

those owned by overseas Filipino

workers (OFWs).

"OFWs are the most vulnerable

to the nefarious activities of

il-legal settlers with ties to

syndi-cates according to reports and

complaints reaching the ofﬁ ce of

Senator Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel

III," said Alvarez.

"Our OFWs work long years

on foreign soil only to ﬁ nd out

that the properties they've bought

"These days Jesus Christ’s sacriﬁ ce is vividly depicted in Mel Gibson’s blockbuster ﬁ lm, ‘The

Passion of Jesus Christ’. Many are moved by Christ’s sufferings including Filipino Catholics

who have been fully aware of them since childhood.”

BySimeon G. Silverio, Jr.

Publisher & Editor

The San Diego Asian Journal

The Original and First Asian Journal In America

San Diego, California

April 10, 2004

O

n Good Fridays, some Filipinos all over the Philippines would fulﬁ ll their

reli-gious vows by physically punishing or hurting themselves as a penance for their

sins. Others would do so in gratitude to God for fulﬁ lling their wishes; like the

time when they vowed to God that if He would heal their sick child, they would

under-take such a sacriﬁ ce on Good Fridays,

The Good Friday sacriﬁ ce or "Penitensiya (penitents)” was done in various ways. Many would walk half-naked in the street as they struck their backs with small branches of trees for hours till blood would cover their body.

When I was in the province of Marinduque for a Holy Week vacation with a friend. I witnessed some

people cutting the skin at the back of the penitents with a razor blade so that blood could easily ooze

out when the back is struck with a whip. Others would carry a wooden cross for miles in the heat of

the sun. In an ironic way, some people avoided much suffering by putting wheels at the end of their

wooden cross. The most notorious Good Friday spectacles were staged in towns of San Fernando,

Pampanga and Angono, Rizal where people were actually nailed to a cross as fulﬁ llment of their

reli-gious vows!

Solemn Good Friday

People were supposed to observe solemnity on Good Fridays. Television stations and movie theaters

Philstar.com MANILA,

3/14/2016 – The issue of Sen.

Grace Poe’s citizenship and how

it affects her eligibility for the

presidency is apparently not yet

over despite the Supreme Court

(SC)’s ruling last week favoring

her presidential bid.

Senior Associate Justice

Anto-nio Carpio said in his 55-page

dissenting opinion that there was

no majority ruling on Poe’s

quali-ﬁ cation as a natural-born citizen

because the SC’s voting on the

issue of citizenship was 7-5-3.

“What is clear and undeniable

is that there is no majority of this

Court that holds that petitioner

Mary Grace Natividad Poe

Lla-manzares is a natural-born

Fili-pino citizen,” Carpio declared.

Rule 12, Section 1 of the SC

Internal Rules requires that all

decisions and actions in court

cases “shall be made up upon the

concurrence of the majority of

the Members of the Court who

actually took part in the

delibera-tion on the issues involved and

voted on them.”

For a case where all 15 justices

voted, at least eight votes are

needed to achieve a majority

ruling.

Manuelito Luna, lawyer of

Inquirer.net | DAVAO CITY,

3/18/2016 —Bayan Muna

party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate

on Thursday described as a myth

claims that there was economic

prosperity during the Marcos

regime.

“The country’s foreign debt

skyrocketed from $599 million

in 1966 to $26.7 billion in 1986.

We are so sunken in debt that

we have been paying the Marcos

debt for the past 30 years since

the downfall of the Marcos

dic-tatorship. We will be paying the

Marcos debt, which mostly went

to their own pockets, until 2025,

or almost 40 years after Edsa,”

he said.

Zarate said the possibility of

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos winning

the vice presidency in the coming

May elections is a tragedy.

“It is utterly repugnant that

another Marcos is attempting to

recapture Malacañang. It is as

tragic as it is reckless, especially

since Sen. Bongbong is not only

unapologetic—even defensive—

of the many sins of his father’s

regime.

“He even refuses to

acknowl-edge the gross abuses during the

time of Martial Law,” Zarate said

in a statement.

“Marcos attempts to rewrite

history for his family’s

self-serving interest. His propaganda

machinery, aided by the lack of

historical consciousness in our

education system, has spun a

fairy tale of better times during

the dictatorship. However, by all

indicators, it was one of the

dark-est times in Philippine history,”

he said.

The militant lawmaker said

many families lost their best and

brightest sons and daughters

ﬁ ghting the regime that violated

democratic rights, plundered our

coffers and abused the rights of

the people.

“Marcos is not the answer to a

more democratic, equitable and

just society. He represents the

worst of state terrorism, plunder

and tyranny,” he said.

“We must never forget, we must

teach the next generations of

Fili-pinos not to let the remotest

pos-sibility of another Marcosian era

to blacken our nation’s history,”

he said. Nico Alconaba, Inquirer

Mindanao

(2)

The Visit

_

8998 Miramar Road, San Diego, CA 92126

Tel. 858-566-1888 or 858-566-6188

Seaside Buffet

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) 10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +)

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available

Banquet Rooms Available

Banquet Rooms Available Banquet Rooms Available

10% OFF FOR MILITARY MEMBERS AND SENIOR CITIZENS (65 +) Catering, Party Trays, Carry-Out, Gift Certificates, Bar and

$2.00 OFF DINNER BUFFET

Dine In Buffet Only

Valid up to 5 adults. Cannot be combined with any other

offers or discounts. Limited to 1 coupon per table/visit/time. May not be used for split checks or tables.

Must present ORIGINAL PRINTED coupon. Excludes Holidays Sales Tax Not Included.

Seaside Buffet Coupon Expires 03/31/2016

$1.00 OFF LUNCH BUFFET

Dine In Buffet Only

Valid up to 5 adults. Cannot be combined with any other

offers or discounts. Limited to 1 coupon per table/visit/time. May not be used for split checks or tables.

Must present ORIGINAL PRINTED coupon. Excludes Holidays Sales Tax Not Included.

Seaside Buffet Coupon Expires 03/31/2016



_Beef



_Chicken



_Pork



_{Soft Serve Ice}

Cream & Yogurt



_Beef



_Chicken



_Pork



_{Soft Serve Ice}

Cream & Yogurt



_{Brazilian BBQ}



_Teppanyaki



_{Noodle Soup}



Seafood



_Sushi



_{Chocolate Fountain}



_{Cotton Candy}



_{Beer & Wine}



_{Brazilian BBQ}



_Teppanyaki



_{Noodle Soup}



_Seafood



Sushi



_{Chocolate Fountain}



Cotton Candy



_{Beer & Wine}

$2.00 OFF DINNER BUFFET

Dine In Buffet Only

$1.00 OFF LUNCH BUFFET

_{$2.00 OFF DINNER BUFFET}

Dinner Buffet Items:

Hot and Cold Crab Legs,

Raw and Cooked Oysters,

Sea Snails, Sea Cucumber, Crab,

Frog Legs, Clams, Crawfish,

Sashimi, Shrimp, Beijing Duck, Roast Beef

Ribs, Fish Maw Soup, Shark Fin Soup,

and much more.

Chapter 30 of the book, "The Visit &

Other Treasured Memories" by Simeon G. Silverio, Jr.

It was December 26, 1995, the day after Christmas. My family and I woke up late after staying up the night before savoring the joys of Christmas in the Philippines with relatives.

The rest of the people in Manila had gone back to work, although the holiday spirit would hang in the air till a week after New Year’s. But for my Filipino American family from California, we were still onl vacation as we recovered from lost sleep by sleeping in the morn-ing after.

At ten in the morning, I was surprised to ﬁ nd everyone dead asleep in our hotel room even though my wife’s two uncles were on their way to pick us up for our

planned trip to Baguio, the mountain resort city some 600 kilometers from Manila. After contending with Manila’s notorious congested trafﬁ c during out ﬁ rst week, I realized we could make the most of the remaining week of our two-week vacation by going out of the city. This way, my American-born daughters would get to enjoy the countryside, breathe fresh air, and visit my wife’s relatives in the north.

I knew that I could not drive all the way from Manila to Baguio and then to Ilocos Norte for a good 1,000 kilometers away on the country’s narrow, two lane highways. Although I had been driv-ing in the Philippines for ﬁ fteen years moving to the United States, I realized I would not want to risk relearning the intricate tricks of Manila’s driving tech-niques after being way for so long.

Ac-customed to the wide streets and orderly trafﬁ c in California, I worried I could no longer squeeze the vehicle in between those on Manila’s streets, with at most three inches of space to spare.

Hearing about my predicament, my wife’s uncle, who had traveled the coun-try before retiring, gave up his planned activities for the week and volunteered to drive us. Another uncle was invited to join the party, and I borrowed my mother’s van for the trip.

At exactly eleven o’clock, the tele-phone rang. The two uncles were already at the hotel lobby as we had agreed, but the vacationers were still getting ready. Ready to go, I alone went down to invite the two for breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. It took another thirty minutes for my wife and three daughters to get downstairs. Then they of course had to

“Golden Buddha”

Gawad Kalinga Visionary and Founder Tony Meloto (middle) is surrounded by social enterprise advocates from GK-eRotary led by Ernie Delfi n and offi cers from the Orange County based chapter. Delfi n (second from left) will be leaving for the Philip-pines to attend to several club projects, The photo was taken during the GK Summit in Los Angeles on March 11-13, 2016.

(3)

( Continued from page 1 )

Filipinos in US

( Continued from page 2 )

The road

Download the

Asian Journal

digital edition at www.

scribd.com/asianjournal

( Continued on page 6 ) WASHINGTON, D.C., March 18, 2016 – There are only two weeks left to submit your nominations for AARP's Asian American and Paciﬁ c Islander Community Hero Awards. Acknowledge the hard-working staff and volunteers of non-proﬁ t organizations now until March 31, 2016 at AARP’s AAPI Com-munity Facebook page.

“We encourage everyone to nominate the passionate and committed individu-als in our community for their work helping older adults,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Mul-ticultural Leadership, Asian American and Paciﬁ c Islander Audience Strategy. “This award is our way to say thank you to individuals who are making the lives of our older adults better. This award is also an opportunity to inspire others to work for or to volunteer time assisting our elders.”

To submit a nomination, visit

face-book.com/AARPAAPICommunity to ﬁ ll

out the online form. Eligible nominees include any employee or volunteer of a non-proﬁ t organization that serves Asian Americans and Paciﬁ c Islanders age 50-plus. Nominees can be any age and ethnicity.

Finalists will be chosen from the submitted nominees and featured on a Facebook photo album for open voting. Users can “Like” the ﬁ nalist to cast their vote during Asian American and Paciﬁ c Islander Heritage Month in May. Three heroes will be announced in June, and they and their organizations will each receive a cash prize of $1,000.

For more information about how AARP Good News Pilipinas | MANILA,

3/15/2016 — Angelo Casimiro, a 17-year-old De La Salle University student, made a fully functional, life size, and smartphone operated BB-8 using only household items and Arduino circuitry.

BB-8 is the charming orange droid from the latest instalment of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. The droid quickly captured a lot of attention from the Star Wars fandom, including Casimiro, who admitted to not being a fan of the franchise until he saw the lat-est episode.

Casimiro told GadgetMatch, a multi-platform technology network, that seeing BB-8 in the fi lm was like love at fi rst sight because the droid was so adorable and that its spherical design intrigued him. Casimiro’s BB-8 does not have a voice command nor a hologram feature like the one in the fi lm, however it does make droid sounds, rolls and patrols.

by Benjamin Pimentel, INQUIRER. NET | MANILA, 3/15/2016 --

J

ovy Salonga’s greatness

was, in a way,

symbol-ized by his scarred left

eye.

It was the result of a cynical act of political violence which highlighted his wisdom and courage in dealing with a major political force: the Left.

We should revere Salonga not just because he helped lead the ﬁ ght against dictatorship and for Philippine sover-eignty.

He was also a visionary leader who, throughout his career, worked with and inspired young Filipino progressive activists — even those from a movement whose leaders once tried to kill him.

Salonga was one of the victims of the infamous bombing at Plaza Miranda in 1971, the attack that killed nine people and wounded hundreds of others. Among those who died was a 10-year-old boy selling cigarettes at the Liberal Party mit-ing de avance.

For years, many believed it was part of a series of terrorist attacks unleashed by Ferdinand Marcos as a way of later justi-fying the declaration of martial law.

Then, in 1986, came stunning allega-tions that the Communist Party leader-ship, including founder Joma Sison, were behind the bombing.

Salonga himself publicly blamed Sison for the Plaza Miranda bombing in his 2001 memoir “A Journey of Struggle and Hope.”

Sison dismissed Salonga’s claim as the result of “an obsession” and “a psycho-logical problem.” “I think he’s so driven by his obsession that he is unwittingly exculpating Marcos,” he told the Philip-pine Daily Inquirer.

The idea that Salonga would be so obsessed with a serious allegation that he would include it in his own memoir is hard to accept.

Like the two other giants of the anti-dictatorship opposition, Senators Jose Diokno and Lorenzo Tanada, Salonga was a renowned intellectual and re-spected scholar.

Ka Jovy took scholarship and writing seriously. I realized this 10 years ago when he agreed to write the foreword for

Jovy Salonga’s scarred left eye

my book, “U.G. An Underground Tale,” about the life and times of activist Edgar Jopson.

I knew the senator, who was then in his mid-80s, was a very busy man, and I was expecting him to write a short essay of no more than 700 words.

But Jovy Salonga didn’t take the as-signment lightly. And he had a lot to say. His foreword was more than 6,500 words long, a detailed review and cri-tique of “U.G. An Underground Tale.”

My book delves into allegations about the CPP’s role in the Plaza Miranda, in-cluding how it troubled Ed Jopson when he was already a ranking Party member.

In his foreword, Salonga writes: “The book says that if the accusations are true, then the debate over the bombing – the biggest unsolved crime in the Philippine history–– ‘also highlighted an ironic twist in modern Philippine history: it meant that Marcos, who is remembered as one of the most ruthless liars in the country’s history, was actually telling the truth when he denied having anything to do with the attack.’”

“I have quite a different interpreta-tion––there is very little difference between Marcos and Joma Sison: Both had been playing God. In a sense, both were terrorists, as deﬁ ned by the CPP/ NPA itself. As the book reminds us: ‘The radicals who joined the CPP and the New People’s Army viewed armed strug-gle as the highest form of sacriﬁ ce for

the revolution. But they also embraced another basic principle: taking up arms must never include acts of terrorism. Bombing a demonstration and killing in-nocent civilians were unacceptable.”

This brings us to one of the things I admire most about Salonga: Despite what he discovered about the bombing, despite the physical damage the crime caused to his face, he never launched into a sweeping condemnation of the young activists who aligned themselves with the Left. He never resorted to the mean-spirited red-baiting that other small-minded politicians who endured what he did would have done.

Jovy Salonga had such an powerful intellect, and had such a huge heart, that he saw clearly that the rank-and-ﬁ le activists of the Left did not share the capacity for dogmatic violence of the movement’s leaders.

In fact, he didn’t just accept the young activists, he helped celebrate their hero-ism.

Salonga became a prominent supporter of Bantayog ng Mga Bayani where many of the progressive activists, including

Edjop and others who joined the UG movement, have been honored for their sacriﬁ ces.

In his foreword, Salonga demonstrated a deep understanding what moved these young Filipinos to take the radical path — and of the limitations and pitfalls of the road less traveled.

“In my view, Christians in the Philip-pines where massive, grinding pov-erty exists and where the yawning gap between the many poor and the few rich has been worsening, may fall under three categories: Those who were so enamored by armed struggle to liberate the ex-ploited poor they soon forgot the abiding presence of God in their lives; those who isolate themselves from the cause of the poor and the helpless and build their own private stairway to heaven. They prefer to just pray and worship God in adora-tion and praise; those who place God at the center of their lives and at the same time come to the succor of the poor, the wounded and the powerless.”

Visit the Kuwento page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/boyingpimentel On Twitter @boyingpimentel To: From: GEN SILVERIO Herewith is proof of your classified ad for publication in the Asian Journal. Please proofread it and fax back the correction if any or call us for your approval. The ad is tentatively scheduled to be published in the

issue of the Asian Journal if we receive your approval on time. At $4 per line

lines, it costs $______.00 to be paid upon your receipt of the invoice and tear sheet. Thank you.

Fax #

If approved please

sign and fax back to

(619) 474-0373 or

acknowledge via

email

__________________

Asian Journal

First Asian Weekly Newspaper in Southern California & San Diego’s Most Widely Circulated Asian-Filipino Newspaper 550 East 8th Street, Suite 6, National City CA 91950 • Tel. (619) 474-0588 • Fax (619) 474-0373

AJ-CA_03.18.16

Judi Stark

SDUSD

Advertisement for Bids

Notice is hereby given that the San Diego Unified School District, acting by and through its governing board, will receive sealed bids for the furnishing of all labor, materials, transportation, equipment, and services to:

REMODEL WOODSHOP FOR CCTE FABRICATION AND DESIGN LAB AT UNIVERSITY CITY HIGH SCHOOL

A mandatory site visit is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on MARCH 24, 2016 in front of the main office of University City High School, 6949 Genesee Avenue, San Diego, CA 92122. PLEASE SEE BID FOR DETAILS (No.CZ-16-1073-29).

GENERAL CONTRACTORS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO INVITE SUBCONTRACTORS TO SITE VISITS.

All bids must be received at or before 1:00 p.m. on APRIL 8, 2016, at the Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Department, 2351 Cardinal Lane,

Bldg. M, San Diego, CA 92123, at which time bids will be publicly opened and read aloud.

Under Public Contract Code 3400, the District has made a finding that the following particular materials, products, things, or services are des-ignated by specific brand or trade name in order to match other products in use on the particular public improvement either completed or in the course of completion:

Specification Section 28 31 11 Digital Addressable Fire Alarm

The project estimate is between $1.1 million and $1.5 million. This is a PSA project and requires prequalification.. The District requires that Bidders possess any of the following classification(s) of California State Contractors License(s), valid and in good standing, at the time of bid opening and contract award: B.

All late bids shall be deemed non-responsive and not opened. Each bid shall be in accordance with all terms, conditions, plans, specifications and any other documents that comprise the bid package. The Bid and Contract Documents are available in three formats, hard copy, CD, or online

from Plan Well. Hard copy bid documents are available at ARC Document Solutions, LLC, 1200 4th_{Avenue (4}th_{and B Street), San Diego, CA}

92101, phone number 619-232-8440, for a refundable payment of Three Hundred Dollars ($300) per set; CD’s are available for a non-refundable charge of $50. Payments shall be made by check payable to SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. If the payment for Bid and Contract Documents is refundable, refunds will be processed by the District only if the Bid and Contract Documents, including all addendums, are returned intact and in good order to ARC within ten (10) days of the issuance of the Final Bid Tabulation. Online documents are available for download free of charge on PlanWell through ARC. Go to www.crplanwell.com, click on Public Planroom, search SDUSD (Questions? 714-424-8525). All bids shall be submitted on bid forms furnished by the District in the bid package beginning March 15, 2016. Bid packages will not be faxed.

SENATE BILL (SB) 854 REQUIREMENTS: Effective July 1, 2014, no contractor or subcontractor may be listed on a bid proposal, or awarded a contract for a public works project (awarded on or after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) pursuant to Labor Code §1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code §1771.1(a)]. This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the DIR. Prime contractors must add the DIR Registration Number for each of their listed subcontractors to the Subcontractors List AND submit a certificate of registration for their own firm and those of their listed subcontractors upon request by the District. Failure of the bidding prime contractor to list their subcontractors DIR Registration Number on the Subcontractors List at time of bid will result in rejection of their bid as non-responsive.

Refer to the following DIR Website for further information: www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/PublicWorks.html

PREVAILING WAGES: Prevailing wage requirements apply to all public works projects and must be followed per Article 17 of the General

Conditions of this bid.

PROJECT STABILIZATION AGREEMENT (PSA): This project is subject to the Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA) adopted by the

Board of Education on July 28, 2009. The complete agreement is available for viewing and downloading at www.sandi.net - Proposition S & Z.

DISABLED VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PARTICIPATION PROGRAM: Pursuant to Resolution In Support of Service Disabled

Veterans Owned Businesses (SDVOB) and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) approved on May 10, 2011 by the Board of Education, the Bidder is required to satisfy a minimum DVBE participation percentage of at least three percent (3%) for this project. In compliance with this Program, the Bidder shall satisfy all requirements enumerated in the bid package.

Each bid must be submitted on the Bid Form provided in the bid package and shall be accompanied by a satisfactory bid security in the form of either a bid bond executed by the bidder and Surety Company, or a certified or cashier’s check in favor of the San Diego Unified School District, in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of their bid value. Said bid security shall be given to guarantee that the Bidder will execute the contract as specified, within five (5) working days of notification by the District.

The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any irregularities or informalities in any bids or in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of 120 days after the date set for the opening of bids. For information regarding bidding, please call 858-522-5831.

PRE-QUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS: Pursuant to Public Contract Code (PCC) §20111.6, each contractor wishing to bid as a prime to the

District for projects estimated at $1,000,000 or over, or any subcontractor performing the license classifications of A, B [if performing the work of] C-4, C-7, C-10, C-16, C-20, C-34, C-36, C-38, C-42, C-43 and/or C-46 wishing to submit a bid to a bidding prime contractor must be prequalified in order to bid. Contact Glenda Burbery at [email protected] to request a pre-qualification questionnaire. Completed questionnaires must be submitted to the District no later than 10 business days before the bid opening due date. Any questionnaires submitted later than this deadline will not be processed for this Invitation for Bids. The District encourages all general contractors bidding as a prime contractor, and all MEP subcontractors to request a questionnaire, complete it and submit it as soon as possible

SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Arthur S. Hanby, Jr., CPPO, C.P.M., CPPB, A.P.P

Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Officer

Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Dept. NO. CZ-16-1073-29

8 x 2 x 10

Filipino student creates DIY Star

Wars BB-8 Droid

Some of the household items Casimiro used were canvas as ﬁ berglass, half a Christmas ball for the eye, a deodorant cap for the mic, an old router antenna for the antenna, and roll-on deodorant balls for BB-8’s mechanism. He only spent approximately Php5,700 for the whole project, certainly cheaper than the Sphero miniature BB-8 toy that costs around $210 in the Philippines.

Casimiro is a National Robotics champion, competed in the Google Sci-ence Fair and the International Robotics Olympiad. He has been making DIY gadgets since he was only 4. He said that anyone, if they follow the instructions he put up on instructables.com, can make their own life size BB-8. He also posted a video on his own YouTube channel showing the making of BB-8’s body up to the programming of the software used to control the droid. The video has earned over 100-thousand views since its January posting.

respect and admiration for the

lat-ter’s intellect and role as one of

Ninoy’s lead lawyers during his

“kangaroo trial” before a military

tribunal during Martial Law.

“I remember Jovy (Salonga) as

one of the leaders of the

opposi-tion forces who fought against

the tyranny of dictatorship, both

in the Philippines and during his

exile in the U.S. He was a man

of principle and vision, qualities

that seem to be in short supply

among those who are in the

po-litical arena. He will be missed,”

shared Kashiwahara.

Philippine Consul-General in

San Francisco Henry Bensurto

Jr. believe the whole country was

saddened by the passing of “a

very good man who was a very

integral part of contemporary

history, a very valiant defender of

democracy, an institution when it

comes to human rights, and the

struggle for freedom and dignity.”

“Having participated in those struggles for democratic rights, I am saddened to see a good man die,” Bensurto intimated. “His legacy includes all the things that he fought for, democracy, human rights, freedom, human dignity, these are values that we will continue to hold dear to our hearts and continue to ﬁ ght for and en-sure not to lose again. This is something we will carry in the next decades or so and have to ﬁ ght for and exert a lot of effort to preserve. The whole country and the next generations will forever be grateful to him and he has our love and admiration.”

Senator Heherson Alvarez, erstwhile secretary-general of the Movement for Free Philippines (MFP also led by

Senator Raul Manglapus) and a founding chairman of Ninoy Aquino Movement (NAM), recalled that Salonga was a gue-rilla ﬁ ghter maltreated in prison during the Japanese occupation.

“We deeply mourn the loss of a fellow freedom ﬁ ghter against a home grown oppressor,” Alvarez said in an email message. “The clarity of his democratic vision was the spine for his vigorous

conscientious objection to martial rule, contrary to the current attempts of twisting history that the dark era of the Marcos conjugal dictatorship was the ‘golden age’ in our country.”

Alvarez recalled that under a restored democracy, Salonga vigorously asserted Philippine sovereignty, helping terminate the U.S. bases agreement.

“He impressed me as an intelligent man with high principles and integrity,” said attorney Ted Laguatan who worked closely with Salonga in uncovering “the billions (of dollars) stolen from the Filipino people by the Marcoses,” preparing the mechanism for the search “even before the dictator’s downfall. He devoted his entire life to public service and continued even after the serious injuries he suffered in the Plaza Miranda bombing. Truly an admirable man.”

Rodel Rodis, also an attorney and an INQUIRER.net columnist said Salonga w was his inspiration in becoming a law-yer: “I knew he topped the bar in 1944 and that he went to Yale.”

“I met him personally in 1986 after he was appointed by President Cory Aquino as chair of the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG) tasked with the recovery of the billions of dol-lars Marcos and his cronies stole from the PH government. He came to San Francisco and I met him as a volunteer PCGG attorney,” Rodis said.

Rodis recalled that Salonga went to Pasadena and interviewed Marcos paramour Dovie Beams about what she knew of the Marcos wealth. Beams told them that she didn’t know that much because she barely got out of the country after Imelda tried to get her killed.

“I got to know him personally and I was impressed by the sharpness of his intellect and inspired by his passionate love of our country. He was a patriot of the ﬁ rst order,” Rodis said.

For her part, author, editor and journal-ist Gemma Nemenzo believes that if Senator Salonga was set as the standard by which Filipinos choose their leaders, no one in the current crop of politicians would pass.

“He was the last of the great statesmen, along with Senators Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Tanada, Jose W. Diokno — people who made us proud at a time when being a legislator was considered a sacred trust, not a means to plunder or to abuse.”

Submit your nominations for

AARP’s Asian American & Paciﬁ c

Islander Community Hero Awards

helps Asian American & Paciﬁ c Islander families get more out of life, visit aarp. org/aapi, facebook.com/AARPAAPI-Community and @AARPAAPI.

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofi t, nonpartisan or-ganization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fi ghts for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from fi nancial abuse. We advocate for indi-viduals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public offi ce or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. The AARP Foundation is an affi liated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offi ces in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.

eat their breakfast ﬁ rst, and the planned departure at eleven o’clock became delayed till one o’clock.

I relaxed as our vehicle passed the boundary of Metro Manila and Bulacan. It would be open country from then on as we traversed the Northern Diversion highway up to Dao, Pampanga, From there, we had to take the old and narrow McArthur Highway,.the only highway traveling north before the North Diver-sion freeway was built in the late 1960s.

Our anticipated “smooth ride” turned to a big hassle, however, when we reached the end of the freeway. Still devastated by the Mount Pinatubo eruptions in 1990, Pampanga was inundated with lahar, the sandy material spewed by the volcano, which burned several towns. When I ﬁ rst visited the area in 1991, I could only see the protruding rooftops of some houses in some barrios. In 1995, dikes were being built to prepare for the rainy season, as the resident’s predica-ment was far from over. Trafﬁ c had to be diverted to small streets, and our vehicle again crawled inch by inch just like in Manila. Exasperated, I pulled down the glass window because the vehicle’s air conditioner had been turned off to prevent the engine from overheating.

What would have taken us thirty minutes to speed through took us ninety. I saw rivers being dredged and roads cleared for lahar. I thought of a friend who once told me, “in every calamity, there is an opportunity.” He had cited the examples of several people amassing fortunes dur-ing the times of calamity. One example is the Kennedy family in Boston, Mas-sachusetts, which made its fortune when the patriarch, Joseph Kennedy, allegedly turned to bootlegging during the time of prohibition. During wartime, some people made a good deal of money in the black market while the population suffered. And during the Mt. Pinatubo devastation, there were again many who suffered – from the loss of life and home – yet some politicians grew rich overnight. They were given the tasks of distributing the government-allocated funds as well as private contributions to alleviate the plight of the victims. Not all of the money found its way to those in need. The contracts of the construc-tion of the dikes, for instance, were given to those willing to give kickbacks to the public offi cers in charge. The dikes, which were made of poor quality materials so that contractors could make money after sharing their profi t with the crooked offi cials, gave way the very fi rst time a typhoon hit the place. In Ambles province alone, the government allocated