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For the past 17 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 --- Former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano has returned to the Philippines more than five months after disappearing from public view, the Manila-based TV network ABS-CBN News Channel reported on November 22.
An ANC reporter was able to interview Garcillano’s wife, Grace, at an undisclosed location in Mindanao after meeting at the ABS-CBN office in Cagayan de Oro.
Mrs. Garcillano admitted that she and her husband returned to the Philippines last week from an undisclosed country.
She said her husband is alive and well and is willing to come forward on condition that all his wiretapped conversations be made public.
Mrs. Garcillano said her husband is wondering why only his telephone conversations with a person who sounded like President Arroyo have been made public, when in fact he had talked to a lot of candidates in the 2004 polls, including several opposition figures.
She said one of them was “a lady persistent caller.”
She said her husband decided to drop out of public view because he feared for his safety.
Garcillano was also upset by media reports portraying him like he was a criminal, she said, according to the network.
Opposition Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said he had instructed his men to locate and arrest Garcillano “on sight” based on the warrant issued by the House of Representatives.
Lacson said the “men” he was referring to were the same people who spotted Garcillano’s wife in their farm either in Marawi City or Bukidnon “five or six days ago.”
In the House of Representatives an opposition congressman on November 22 demanded the reopening of the investigation into the wiretapping controversy and the arrest of Garcillano.
Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur asked during the plenary session whether the House sergeant at arms tasked to arrest Garcillano is aware of the reports Garcillano is in the country.
He called on House sergeant-at-arms Bayani Fabic to immediately arrest Garcillano, who was reported by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to have flown secretly to Singapore on July 14.
Another opposition lawmaker, Rep. Jacinto Paras of Negros Oriental, asked if the House joint committees’ probe into the controversy would end or not, considering that Garcillano, the key figure in the wiretapping probe, is in the country.
“And because of that reason, there’s no valid excuse to terminate the investigation. I’d like an explanation from the management of this House.”
Pro-administration Rep. Arthur Defensor of Iloilo underscored the need for the five House committees to reopen hearings “if based on very reliable information [about Garcillano]... so that we can resolve the query.”
Rep. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, head of the House probing committees on wiretap conversations of President Arroyo, reminded the House’s sergeant at arms “to do his task and exert efforts to find Garcillano.”
Remulla also said that his commission is confirming the reports.
In the Senate, Rear Adm. Mateo Mayuga said the military’s investigation report on the involvement of four generals Garcillano had mentioned will be ready by December 15.
Appearing at the budget hearing of the defense department, Mayuga said the report will be submitted to Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chair of the Committee on National Defense, had requested then-Armed Forces chief of staff, Efren Abu, to investigate if Rear Adms. Rey Quiamco and Hermogenes Esperon, Brig. Gen. Eduardo Habacon and Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani were indeed involved in poll fraud.
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NEW YORK --- Fighting off loneliness and other psycho-social burdens attendant to migrants and overseas workers, some 70 Filipino women recently managed to shake off the engulfing individualism of American culture and decided to connect and bond together so they can help take care of each other.
It was the elderly or seniors who were the first to respond to the call initiated by the Filipino-American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI), a not-for-profit organization working for the welfare of Filipino migrants and workers in New York City.
The women discovered through a series of consultation and planning sessions that they face similar concerns and challenges, explains Vilma Nafarrete-Braga, FAHSI program director. With FAHSI acting as facilitator, the women engaged in workshops that allowed them to identify their needs and come up with corresponding responses to effectively address these concerns.
Depression, sense of isolation, empty-nest syndrome, feelings of regret for not having accomplished much, self-pity and feeling of having outlived usefulness -hence, no longer needed by loved ones, were among the concerns that the seniors were able to identify.
Eighty year-old Virginia B. Bersamin, a retired nurse and teaching staff of the City University of New York (CUNY), said there is also the growing uneasiness in the relationship between the adult children and their elder parent(s) where the former see them as mere caretakers and babysitters of children.
This is further exacerbated by the adult children’s being too much engrossed with their respective jobs and careers which oftentimes blur their sensitivity to the needs of their elders.
Going back to the Philippines is an option that most of them agree with. But considering, many, especially among the seniors, have already brought their families here in the US, going back may turn out to be counter-productive.
Lita R. Solis, a retired nursing assistant of Parkway Hospital, is a case in point. Her son Edgar, 43, suffered brain damage in 2001. Since then, she has taken cared of him.
Others managed to maintain a balance between independent living and dependency. The set-up of Flordeliz Garcia, also a retired nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital, is quite creative.
She rented an apartment very proximate to the apartments of her children. “This way, I maintain my being independent, but at the same time, I can call on them immediately when I really need some assistance,” Garcia beams.
FAHSI, according to Braga, has now become a new home for these senior women. Here, they engage in socials, regularly do some line and ballroom dancing, attend Broadway shows, learn or brush up on arts and crafts as well as listen to guests talking on seniors-related topics.
Araceli Gamboa, a retired employee of NYC’s Department of Transportation, describes her day-to-day activity as quite full. “It’s basically how you manage your day where you always set goals to accomplish something on a daily basis, ” she said.
And between work at home and bonding with fellow seniors, Gamboa also finds time to minister to her kababayans back home in Pozorrubio, Pangasinan by supporting the establishment of prayer groups and assisting in livelihood projects. This allows her to travel to her hometown every year.
Ninety year-old Juana Feliciano Espejo, however, has a totally different story.
Already hard of hearing and until now still speaking only Ilocano, she continues to dream of returning home. She still has a son there. But more importantly, she said she wants to die in her native country.
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NEW YORK --- There’s a new hope for undocumented students.
A bipartisan DREAM Act has been introduced in the Senate by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act addresses the problem of young people who grew up in the United States and have graduated from U.S. high schools, but couldn’t go to college or work due to lack of immigration papers.
The bill, refiled on November 18, would allow them the chance to be legal US residents.
The National Immigration Law Center said that under current law, these young people generally derive their immigration status solely from their parents, and when the parents are undocumented or in immigration limbo, their children have no mechanism to obtain legal residency.
The DREAM Act (S. 1545), introduced on July 31, 2003, provides such a mechanism for those who are able to meet certain conditions.
The leading bill in the House addressing the same issue is HR 1684 (Cannon, R-UT), known as the Student Adjustment Act. HR 1684 was introduced this spring and currently has 66 cosponsors from both parties.
Like last year’s version of the DREAM Act, which was also sponsored by Sen. Hatch, S. 1545 would enact two major changes in current law:- Eliminate the federal provision that discourages states from providing in-state tuition without regard to immigration status; and
- Permit some immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S. to apply for legal status.
But S. 1545 differs in some important respects from its predecessor.
Unlike last year’s bill, DREAM 2003 sets up a two-stage process for applying for legal status. Immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S., graduated from high school here, and can demonstrate good moral character would initially qualify for “conditional lawful permanent resident” status, which would normally last for six years.
During the conditional period, the immigrant would be required to go to college, join the military, or work a significant number of hours of community service. At the end of the conditional period, those who meet at least one of these requirements would be eligible for regular lawful permanent resident status.
If enacted, DREAM 2003 would have a great impact on the students who qualify, dramatically increasing their average future earnings -- and, consequently, the amount of taxes they would pay -- while significantly reducing criminal justice and social services costs to taxpayers.
The NILC said that S. 1545 has a reasonable chance of passage in this session of Congress, in large part because Senators Hatch and Durbin were willing to bridge the bitter partisan divisions that have plagued the Senate this year.
The bill is being backed by 15 cosponsors representing a wide swath of the political spectrum; others are expected to announce their support now that Congress has reconvened after its summer break.
The Asian American Legal Project of New Jersey (AALP-NJ) lauded the refiling of the DREAM Act, but at the same time cautioned the public against expecting too much.
“DREAM act gives young people the possibility of pursuing their dreams where that possibility does not exist now,” said the AALP-NJ.
“But DREAM Act is not a government hand-out. It does not require any additional federal or state funding. It simply makes it legal for hard-working, determined young people of good moral character to go to college,” it added.
Under the DREAM Act, regular lawful permanent resident status would be granted if, during the conditional period, the immigrant had maintained good moral character, avoided lengthy trips abroad, and met at least one of the following three criteria at the end of the conditional period:- Graduated from a two-year college or a vocational college that meets certain criteria, or studied for at least 2 years towards a bachelor’s or a higher degree; or
- Served in the U.S. armed forces for at least two years; or
- Performed at least 910 hours of volunteer community service.
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RAGE AGAINST RAPE. A Filipino woman rallyist shouts anti-U.S. slogans during a protest in front of the Hall of Justice in Olongapo City, where the pre-trial of six US servicemen accused of raping a Filipina began on November 23. (MNSwirephoto)
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MANILA --- The six US Marines accused of raping a Filipina in Subic did not appear at the the preliminary investigation of the case, with the US Embassy saying that the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office did not require the six to attend.
US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said they did not receive a letter from the prosecutor’s office requiring the presence of the six accused during the November 23 hearing.
“The six Marines alleged to have been involved in the rape of a Filipino citizen have filed their sworn statements. Their physical presence, of all the Marines today, was not required by the office of the city prosecutor although all six remain in US custody in the Philippines,” Lussenhop told reporters at the Olongapo prosecutor’s office.
“The physical presence is an issue between their lawyers, the prosecutors and the fiscal. Under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the US needs to make the people available once requested,” he added.
A suspect, Albert Lara, arrived at the prosecutor’s office around noon hours before the 2:30 p.m. start of the probe. Lara had earlier motioned to have a face-to-face confrontation with the complainant.
The five US servicemen, the complainant and key witness Timoteo Soriano were all no-shows during the hearing.
Lussenhop said no charges have been formally filed against the six accused after the preliminary investigation.
He added that US and Philippine authorities will continue separate investigations into the incident but added that American authorities did not set a timetable for their probe.
He said the US Embassy has yet to respond to a request from the Department of Foreign Affairs seeking custody of the six accused.
“We’ve received a formal request for formal custody but we do not have yet a response to that request,” he said.
The case is the first test of the VFA, which allows both governments to investigate the allegations if the crime violates laws of both countries.
The Olongapo City Prosecutorís Office earlier assured the public that the preliminary investigation of the rape case involving six US marines in Subic Free Port will be impartial and objective.
“We are assuring the public that our decision will be based on evidence and in accordance with the law,” Olongapo Assistant Prosecutor Raymund Viray told DZMM.
Viray said the investigation will determine if there is probable cause on charges the US servicemen raped a 22-year-old Filipina on All Saints Day. (MNS)
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