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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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Washington, D.C. --- A Filipino-American woman from Hawaii serving in the United States military in Iraq was killed in a Christmas Eve attack.
The US Defense department’s website reported that a rocket-propelled grenade attack last December 24 near Hawijah in northern Iraq killed Army Sergeant Myla L. Maravillosa, 24, of Wahiawa, Hawaii.
Her death drew expressions of sympathy from the Philippine government, addressed both to her Hawaii-based family and hometown relatives in Bohol province in Central Visayas.
In Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo said in a statement the Philippines honors Maravillosa’s “bravery and unselfish dedication to the mission of bringing peace and democracy in Iraq as the Filipino people join the freedom loving people of Iraq in their efforts to rebuild their country and establish democratic governance.”
“I convey the heartfelt condolences of the Filipino people to the family of Sergeant Maravillosa in their hour of grief over the death of a loved-one that happened on Christmas eve,’’ he added.
Maravilla became the second female service member from Hawai’i to lose her life in the nearly three-year military operation.
Maravillosa was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion out of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
She joined the U.S. Army Reserve after graduating from high school, said her mother, Estelita Maravillosa in Hawaii.
Having moved to Hawaii in 1997 from the Philippines, Myla Maravillosa wanted to serve her adopted country, her mother said.
“She was doing a heroic job,” her mother said.
Estelita Maravillosa, 62, said she was notified Saturday, Christmas Eve, of her daughter’s death. She said when military personnel approached her Wahiawa apartment, she began to panic.
“She is my only child; she is my only daughter,” she said.
Maravillosa said her daughter had dreams of working for a United States embassy in foreign relations. She said Myla had planned to attend Hawaii Pacific University this year but was sent to Iraq on Nov. 20. She previously attended Leeward Community College, her mother said.
Maravillosa said her daughter’s death comes as a shock because she was only in Iraq for a little more than a month.
“She had only been there [in Iraq] a month,” she said of Myla, who never had a chance to unwrap the macadamia nuts and homemade cookies her mother mailed her last week.
Estelita Maravillosa spent Christmas Day with family in Mililani. She said Myla Maravillosa’s extended family is devastated by the news. “This is a very bad Christmas,” she said.
Maravillosa was a devout Catholic who attended church at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.
“She was friends with all the nuns and sisters,” said her mother, noting that St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston held a Mass in her daughter’s honor.
“That is where she went for her holy retreat after her military training,” the elder Maravillosa said.
The last six years, Maravillosa volunteered at the Daughters of St. Paul Book and Media Center. She and the nuns became fast friends. Myla even accompanied them on retreats. For them, her death is hard to swallow.
“She had a big smile and a gentleness about her,” said Sister Irene of the Catholic order Daughters of St. Paul.
“She made sure to come and visit the sisters even when she was in training,” another nun, Sister Susan said.
“I just cried,” Sister Irene said. “It was the only thing I could do because it was such a shock.”
Sister Susan said Maravillosa emailed the nuns often from the frontlines. She was always honest.
“She just sent us an email last Sunday,” Sister Susan said. “She talked to one of the sisters in Boston that she knew well on Thursday. She did say she was pretty scared.”
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Jersey City, NEW JERSEY --- A long -time city official who was back as deputy mayor. The consul-general who came under fire for her $10,000-a- month condominium. A former superstar who was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, or what is known in the Philippine as shabu. Twins conjoined at the heads who underwent a series of surgery to separate them.
These are among the winners and losers within the Filipino American community for the year that was.
These are stories of success that make us proud to be Filipinos. These are also stories that do not bode well for the community.
Stiil and all, when taken together, these stories paint of the triumphs and travails of Filipinos as they try their darndest best to live the American Dream in 2005. Below are some of the year’s newsmakers.
Winner
Ador Equipado, deputy mayor of Jersey City.
He was appointed as deputy mayor of Jersey City for the second time. His first tour of duty as deputy mayor came under the term of then-Mayor Bret Schundler.
Equipado’s asset was his long years of service in government. He is an example of a successful immigrant who made good in the US.
Loser
Cecile Rebong, Consul General of the Philippine Consulate to New York.
She was the object of protest, as news about her $10,000-a-month condominium unit at the Trump Towers Plaza was reported in the Filipino American media.
Instead of addressing the accusation, the controversy was further fanned when Consulate people and officials of the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc., backed by NYPD cops, threw out members of Philippine Forum, who expressed their objection to the expensive apartment, during the Philippine Independence Day parade in June.
Rebong said she needed a decent apartment because she had to host important meetings in her residence.
The Philippine Forum countered that the cost of Rebong’s lavish apartment could easily build three schoolhouses in the Philippines.
Winner
Carl and Clarence Aguirre, formerly conjoined twins.
A year after their successful surgery, Carl and Clarence amazed everyone when they started to walk during a press conference at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM).
Their mother Arlene couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.
Since their series of operation, the two has been showing signs of progress, from crawling to walking to saying few words. Their separation was like a rebirth for the boys who were in danger of dying when they were in the Philippines.
The outpouring of support for the boys is really endearing as Arlene dreams of giving a normal life for the boys.
Loser
The tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipino workers.
The recent passage of a bill making an undocumented immigrant a criminal is a bane and a big threat to the community.
It will also discourage advocacy group to aid undocumented immigrants because they are deemed criminally liable.
The Sensenbrenner-King bill seeks to criminalize the 11 million undocumented immigrants all over the U.S.
Advocates for immigrants believe this could hardly be a solution to the national security issue because this could drive many immigrants to go underground.
The Filipino American community supports a comprehensive immigration reform legislation that could allow many Filipinos to work permanently in the U.S. and would recognize their contributions to the U.S. economy.
Winner
Filipino World War 2 veterans.
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) filed a new Equity Bill for 2006, which would grant $200 monthly pension to Filipino veterans.
Filipino American veterans saw a glimmer of hope with this new bill, hoping to could get supplemental benefits from the U.S. government.
Loser
Nora Aunor.
The arrest of the Filipino actress-singer in Los Angeles for possession of crystal methamphetamine was a blackeye to the Filipino community. She was a superstar , who has made over 170 movies, a singing sensation and an icon in the Philippines and should be a role model.
Instead, she was charged with one count of possession of illegal drugs and was freed on $10,000 bail.
She asked the court to allow her to enter a drug diversion program to clear the charges.
Winner
The Filipino people.
The Wyoming Veterans Commission voted 7 -4, last March 26 to return two bronze bells to Balangiga, in Samar.
The bells were taken from the fishing village in October 1901 by soldiers of the 11th United States Infantry as war trophies. The decision came after lengthy meetings of veterans who analyzed historical data.
Philippine Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Samar, flew to the U.S. before July 4th and asked the U.S. Congress to return the historic Balangiga bells.
Medroso said the church bells reflect a healing and great hope for an island battered by a violent past. It symbolizes a beacon for the aspiration of the Filipino people and their vision for the future, he said. “The bells embody the life and history of our people. We miss the bells. The longing of my people must be fulfilled,” Medroso said.
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Olongapo City, PHILIPPINES --- The case of the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Filipino woman by US Marines at the Subic Bay Freeport is now in court.
Olongapo Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni and Assistant Prosecutor Raymond Viray yesterday filed rape charges against four of the original six American suspects and their Filipino driver, and demanded custody of the Americans and their detention in an Olongapo jail.
The four Americans are the first foreign soldiers to be charged with rape since the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) was implemented in 1999 to allow military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
But in Manila, Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the VFA, has all but given up on the Philippine government’s efforts to gain custody of the soldiers. The VFA allows the US government to keep custody of the accused “until the completion of the case,” Paredes said.
“Warrants of arrest can be issued, but they can’t be served if the US invokes the VFA. They can be refused unless the US grants our request,” he said.
“When there’s a clash between a domestic procedural law and a treaty like the VFA, the treaty prevails,” he added, conceding that the provisions on custody were “really in [the Americans’] favor.
Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño told reporters that the Department of Justice would “abide by the VFA agreement that the US Embassy can retain custody of all the accused.”
But Zuño said this did not mean that private prosecutors could not ask the court to assert its jurisdiction and order local authorities to acquire custody of the Americans.
He said the “final decision” would “come from the court.”
Zuño also said it would not be far-fetched for the custody issue to reach the Supreme Court. But he said this would be disadvantageous to the prosecution given the fact that it had only one year to complete the judicial proceedings.
Sought for a reaction, the 22-year-old woman and her family -- who have since returned home to their native Zamboanga City -- said they were “very happy.”
Those charged were Staff Sergeant Chad Brian Carpentier, Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood, and van driver Timoteo Soriano Jr.
Two other American soldiers -- Lance Cpl. Albert Lara and Cpl. Corey Burris -- were cleared after a month-long preliminary investigation.
“We believe that the victim was raped,” the prosecutors said in a resolution filed before lawyer John Aquino, clerk of court at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.
“The US military authorities holding them in custody pursuant to the [VFA] are hereby authorized to release them [to local authorities] unless held for some other cause or causes,” the prosecutors said.
The alleged rape occurred on Nov. 1. The woman filed a complaint on Nov. 3.
The prosecutors dismissed the complaint against Burris and Lara because “it cannot be inferred from the records that they were inside the van when the incident occurred, despite the earlier allegation of the unreliable Soriano.”
Jalandoni said Silkwood and Duplantis were the “least guilty” and could turn state witness.
Soriano was named a principal accused because he “drove the van in a slow and roundabout way, precisely to give Smith more time to sexually ravish the victim,” the prosecutors said, adding: “Thus, Soriano, like Carpentier, having exhibited overt acts, conspiracy among them is established.” They said Carpentier, the platoon leader, failed to exercise his “moral ascendancy” over his men.
Citing VFA provisions, Viray said the prosecution would leave it to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to determine the appropriate detention center for the four Americans.
Among the possible detention sites are the jails in Olongapo, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the “brig,” a prison facility maintained by the US Navy until 1991 at the then Subic Naval Base, now a free port.
The raffle of the case to at least three RTCs in Olongapo is set for Jan. 3, said clerk of court Aquino. The judge assigned to the case will then issue arrest warrants for the five accused.
But according to Jalandoni, the accused may also voluntarily surrender.
But even as the four accused undergo trial in a Philippine court, the US Navy has set court-martial proceedings against them in Okinawa, Jalandoni said.
Katrina Legarda, lead counsel of the complainant, said that while the legal team was glad about the filing of charges, it was “seriously considering” a petition for partial review questioning the exclusion of Lara and Burris.
She pointed out that Smith, in a report on his interrogation by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service, admitted the presence of the two other Marines in the van.
Benjamin Formoso, counsel for Smith, said he would file a motion to quash the resolution.
He claimed that what had transpired between Smith and the woman was sex with consent.
Formoso also said the resolution had “prejudiced” the business climate in Olongapo and the free port.
“No ship will dock anymore,” he said, adding that “two big [US military] ships” were diverted to Singapore in November as a result of the incident.
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Jersey City, NEW JERSEY --- Think back fondly or quickly forget, but 2005 was a noteworthy one for Filipinos and Filipino-Americans across the country.
Among the top stories within the Filipino American community are the arrest of Leandro Agoncillo and former Philippine police official Michael Ray Aquino; the appointment of Cristeta Comerford as chief White House chef; the refusal of American Gold Star Mothers to allow a Filipina mother who’ve lost her US soldier son to the Iraq war into the group; and the untiring efforts of Filipino war veterans for full recognition of their rights and benefits.
One of the biggest headline grabbers of the year had local ties.
In October, Aragoncillo, of Woodbury, N.J. and Aquino, of Queens, N.Y., were accused of passing classified government documents to political leaders in the Philippines, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
Arangoncillo, a naturalized Filipino-American military officer and a former security specialist at the White House from 1999 to 2001, allegedly stole classified intelligence documents in what is believed to be the first known case of espionage within the White House in modern history.
Federal agents also claim that while Aragoncillo worked at an FBI intelligence center at Fort Monmouth from 2004 to 2005, he managed to download more than 100 classified documents from its computers. Federal agents have accused him of sending information about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to opposition party leaders in an attempt to stage a coup.
Aquino, a former Deputy Directory of the Philippines National Police Intelligence Group under former President Joseph Estrada, was arrested as a co-conspirator.
Arangoncillo was being held in the Hudson County Jail and was negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Aquino pleaded not guilty in federal court in October and was being held in the Passaic County Jail. A trial date was left open.
In other White House news, Comerford, a 10-year veteran of the presidential kitchen, was named executive chef by First Lady Laura Bush in August, making her the first woman and Filipino-American tapped for that position.
Many Filipinos heralded the selection of Comerford, a naturalized American citizen, as a milestone.
“Maybe she can start offering lumpias in the White House,” Evan Garcia, deputy chief of mission at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, told The Washington Post.
But Filipinos in 2005 found acceptance hard-won in other settings.
In May, media outlets reported the refusal of the American Gold Star Mothers, a national group of mothers who’ve lost military children in combat, to allow Filipino Ligaya Lagman, of Yonkers, as a member. Lagman’s 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. She, however, is a permanent resident, but not a U.S. citizen — criteria for joining the group.
The mothers stood by their rejection. Several officials voiced their displeasure.
“Whatever the excuse, American Gold Star Mothers’ decision smacks of xenophobia and is in stark contrast to what Mrs. Lagman’s son fought and died for,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), told the Associated Press.
Also garnering attention, Filipino-American World War II veterans continued their push to get pension benefits for their military participation more than six decades after the fall of Bataan.
One of the more vocal groups has been in California, where 4,000 Filipino World War II veterans reside. Veterans there have been asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to support a measure, even after he vetoed a bill earlier in the year that would have allowed teachers to include the contribution of Filipinos during World War II in textbooks.
But Schwarzenegger has been more perceptive to this long-standing request by veterans. In December, he wrote to President Bush asking that he support legislation granting full benefits.
The “Filipino Veterans Equity Act” is expected to be reintroduced into Congress in 2006. But critics have said its price — at $100 million to $150 million annually over 10 years — is an unaffordable luxury during a time of war and ongoing reconstruction of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.
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