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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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THE murder of an Aglipayan bishop in Central Luzon proves that the perpetrators of the political killings in the Philippines know no bounds in their drive to eliminate those who critical of the Arroyo government. The brazenness with which these criminal hatchet men carry out their dastardly acts could be described in our native parlance as “walang kinikilala, walang sina-santo”.
Alberto Ramento, head of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente’s (Aglipayan) Supreme Council of Bishops was found stabbed to death inside his church Tuesday morning. Police said Ramento, who was also the parish priest of the IFI church in Barangay Poblacion, Tarlac City, may have been killed by robbers. But those close to the bishop contend otherwise. They suspect political rubout; Ramento has actively opposed the series of political killings in the country, which now unfortunately count him as its latest victim.
The Ramento murder has confirmed the fear within the political opposition in Manila that everyone now is fair game. Even those whose devotion is to minister to the spiritual and soceital well-beings of their brethren. Ramento is definitely not the first man of the church felled by the bullets of political intolerance and repression.
The unabated political killings in the Philippines is a matter that should not concern only those who are politically involved. It should concern the whole nation, every peace-loving and democracy-embracing Filipinos. Because if the murderers can kill those who are brave enough to speak out for the majority, what can prevent these thugs from training their guns at the powerless?
It would help us to recall the words of German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, who was a prominent anti-Nazi theologian. In his poem, he said:
“First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.”
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia --- The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) elections set for this Saturday, October 7 has illustrated another chapter in its five-year history as a corporate entity. Gani Puertollano, the outgoing president, is seeking re-election since he “wants to redeem himself from all the bad things that are being said about him.” His quest is the first ever in PIDCI and a bold step indeed, which caught everyone by surprise and left those seeking to succeed him unprepared to mount a challenge.
In addition to that avowed mission of his, if re-elected, Puertollano wants to clear the $18,000 deficit which he admits his administration has incurred due to the “actions of some members of the board” who he had expected highly to perform. The resignation of a director from a key committee earlier during his administration had led to a resignation of another key official on the day of the project itself.
These directors -- who were in charge of committees – say they resigned out of respect of their office and of themselves. They claim that “the president was giving in to the wishes of people who were not even members of the committee or the board.” Instead of empowering the committees, they claim that the president “usurped their role and authority” which was tantamount to a slap to their faces. As an example, they cited the change in the Independence Ball venue and the work of the Street Fair committee.
Their assertion was short of calling the president as authoritarian and dictatorial. For his part, the president said that whatever he did was for the “good of the organization.” He said that if HE didn’t do anything about what they were doing, the results “would have been disastrous.”
These spats among board members have led cynics to believe that PIDCI is in a mess and would “always remain the same with no improvement in sight or in the years to come.” As a result, these same people are now advocating PIDCI’s dissolution and are clamoring to have it replaced with another institution.
This suggestion is outrageous and shortsighted. It is a view that is normally taken by people who are losers and are unable to comprehend the dynamics of politics and their role in community development. They have a myopic view of politics and their lack of leadership and vision lead them to nowhere as they slowly self-destruct.
I thought this practice of losers putting up another organization – where they become the founder, chairman, president and treasurer -- has stopped. Years ago, this was undeniably prevalent in certain associations whose membership wrangle with their choice of a leader at election time.
Would Puertollano matter add to this suggested extreme measure? Perhaps one will never know until Puertollano accomplishes or not the goals he has set for himself. One of the contenders to the presidency wrote in his e-mail: “Gani’s accusation against his directors is unfair. If he wins and can’t do the job, he’ll lay the blame again to his directors.”
But this is all a classic example of “he said, I said syndrome” which, in reality, doesn’t help much even if a statement is proven true or false. What matters most is the bottom line: “What has each team member contributed to the overall success of a project?” Is that the Puertollano matter that everybody wants to know about? Or is that a matter that directors should be asking themselves?
I dare say that PIDCI is here to stay regardless of the Puertollano matter some people think about. I see PIDCI like a country of our own. Do you deny your citizenship just because you don’t like the people running the country? It is either you’re in it or out of it. One can only change the way it is being managed and directed if one has a voice in it. That is accomplished by getting involved in its activities, building bridges with everyone instead of undermining each other and running for an office: win or lose.
His opponents, including close friends who have turned against him, claim that Puertollano had planned his re-election bid all along, citing a number of organizations which have renewed their membership. They assume these associations would vote for Puertollano.
The question is: so what if Puertollano had planned it earlier? That’s a mark of a determined and organized person. Shouldn’t this be how one sets a goal? If one fails to plan, he or she plans to fail. Period. No one should cry foul if he or she wasn’t ready when opportunity knocked.
Paul Versoza has the wit, the determination and the energy to sustain a fight to the finish in his first attempt at the presidency. His strength in numbers may not be showing at the moment but he could pull a surprise string just like he did when he ran for a board seat. All he needs to do is a consistent follow through; once he gets there, perhaps even Puertollano, his former friend, mentor and business partner, may get the biggest surprise of his life.
As for Wilson Versoza, will his award-winning trend continue or falter? His smooching may help but without the support of Friends Indeed or his Bergenfield connection, it would be difficult for him to muster a win. Even he, I think, wasn’t prepared to line up his ducks in tow. I don’t think even Zonny Lerum, his friend, can help out. Lerum’s organization failed to renew its membership.
That leaves the matter of Puertollano, who has a number of organizations supporting him and the backing of a full board, the strongest contender. Will he set a record? That seems to be in everybody’s mind. The answer will be known by October 7.
And the question of the will of the majority, which was posed in last week’s article, may come up again if less than 50 percent of the voters cast their votes. Will this haunt Puertollano and derail him to achieve his goals?
That is a matter for Puertollano to work on.
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Never again: The evils of martial law
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CHICAGO – The karmic effect of martial law in Thailand last week is a dagger waiting to pierce the heart of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. But Mrs. Arroyo is ready to deflect it.
A good student of history, Mrs. Arroyo knows by heart the evils that martial law brings. But she is not panicking. She was about 24 years old when she witnessed how Marcos crippled press freedom and civil liberties with martial law.
But if she keeps on ignoring its lessons much further, she could be wallowing in quicksand. She could sink faster than she could ask for help.
Good Riddance
The military in Thailand simply waited for a proper timing. It came last week when Prime Minister Thanksin Shinawatra left town and told him not to return.
Despite the warnings on the wall, Thanksin, who made the mistake of not cultivating a loyal general who could tip him off of the impending coup, moved ahead with his trip to the United Nations in New York.
Earlier, the corruption-driven Thanksin promised to step down after merely polling 57 percent of the votes when he ran unopposed in a referendum the opposition boycotted. But he did not keep his promise to step down.
But then, again, even if things unraveled in Thailand, Mrs. Arroyo was unperturbed. She was even quoted as saying that the events in Thailand do not deter her from traveling. Really? Let’s see why.
Bad timing of Thailand martial law
And to think that the martial law declaration in Thailand came a couple of days before the 34th anniversary martial law declaration of President Marcos on Sept. 21, 1972,
Actually, Marcos implemented martial law on Sept. 23, 1972 after a two-day cooling off period when his soldiers started padlocking and taking over newspaper offices and radio and television stations around the country after rounding up known opposition leaders.
So, when community leaders and guests discuss the killings of journalists, political activists and clergies who attended the Kapihan sa Chicago on September 23, the martial law of Marcos was the main course.
Why? Because most of the extra-judicial killings under martial law were left unsolved. In short, martial law, which subverts civilian supremacy, was and is an enabler of human rights violations.
And it looks like the succeeding governments of Marcos could not get it. So, the killings of journalists and civil rights fighters continue from Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and now to Arroyo administration.
It’s All Economics
For me, most of the killings of journalists are rooted in economics -- money.
When you do not compensate journalists for their struggles in getting the facts to the deadlines, they succumb to temptation of people who wanted to stop them from spilling the beans. This is called bribery of journalists.
If publishers do not pay their journalists or underpay them, journalists succumb to temptations to kill the story or refuse to get the sides of all concerned in the story.
And people, who are placed in a bad light, are forced to either sue the journalists or maim them.
Because it is very hard to get a court conviction of journalists in libel cases, instead of paying a lawyer, these corrupt people will pay hitmen to kill or harm journalists.
Publishers don’t get ads and subscribers
Some publishers, however, complain that businessmen don’t advertise in their newspapers. Those in radios and televisions would likewise complain. And readers do not subscribe to their publications, either. So, they do not have sources to pay their writers, photojournalists and cameramen.
And if parties who are libeled by journalists are really interested in seeking redress, they should lobby the Philippine Congress to decriminalize libel violations.
In addition, publishers should also buy “libel” insurance so that if they are sued for multi-million pesos, they have insurance coverage to fall back on.
These issues that came up at the Kapihan are going to be presented to the Conference of Filipino Media and Philippine Democracy at the four-day 4th Global Networking Convention and 7th National NaFFAA Conference between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1, 2006 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Arroyo’s Dubious Record
There, they will tell delegates that the administration of Arroyo has the highest number of journalists killed, compared to other post-Marcos presidents.
But I’m sure she is not going to listen.
She already told the Filipino people that she would not run for president but she lied and run. She was already impeached for stealing her election but she hanged tough.
Major corruption allegations have been thrown at her and her family. But she is still in office. I have an idea why she has been a survivor.
She packed her government with former military generals. Among them are the executive secretary and the transportation secretary. Arroyo usually awards plum positions to retiring Armed Forces generals to keep them from staging coups. She knows that generals, like journalists, are lowly paid workers. They don’t have financial security after their retirements. So, by re-hiring the retired generals in command of the Philippine government, Arroyo believes that nobody in the military would ever dare pull a coup.
(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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THE almost well-kept secret from the public will finally be happening this Saturday, October 7. It is the 2006 PIDCI election for President and for the Board of Directors.
The election, however, is all but a formality. The Board of Directors has seven elective seats, but only six filed for candidacy. The candidates only have to cast a single vote for themselves to validate their election. Perhaps, to save time for those who will come to vote on Saturday, PIDCI should make the candidates the first to vote. With their votes cast, the rest of the voting public be allowed to vote only for the President. Then everybody could go home early and get the election over and done with.
This year’s election never got any official public notice in the media. PIDCI talked only among themselves and took it for granted that the voting public will know it anyway.
What is pathetic, however, is that only 40 percent of the membership opted to renew their membership. Could this be a sign of the coming demise of PIDCI? If so, what is killing PIDCI?
This past summer, PIDCI tried to ratify the so called revised constitution and by-laws three different times. Three times they failed to generate the 20 percent quorum they needed to have a vote. All that was needed was 49 member organizations to come. Considering that almost a hundred new members were recruited for the election last year, inflating the membership to 248, PIDCI could not even bring half of the new recruits to show up.
What happened to the Class A Directors of 2003 and 2004? They worked so hard to have the new PIDCI get off the ground. The first two PIDCI presidents did not show any interest in the effort to resuscitate the gasping PIDCI. I thought leadership is a continuing process.
There are three candidates vying for the presidency. They are, in alphabetical order: Gani Puertollano, Paul Verzosa and Wilson Verzosa (no relation).
Yes, the incumbent Puertollano is running for reelection and also running for a seat in the Board of Directors. The Comelec chair, Lolit Gillberg, tried to declare him ineligible to run, but the legal adviser argued that there is no provision prohibiting Puertollano to run again.
It was argued that no one could be a member of the executive committee for more than two consecutive years. Ergo, the by-laws does not require the President to be a member of the executive committee. Puertollano served a year when he was a Vice President and then another year as President. If he gets reelected, he could choose not to be a member of the executive committee.
However, he has to give up the shoo-in spot as Director in the Board, thus creating two vacancies in the new Board. If he loses his reelection bid, he is guaranteed to a seat as Director in the Board. By running in two spots, does it mean that he is not confident in winning a reelection as President?
The late Mayor Cunningham of Jersey City did a similar scenario when he ran for mayor, which he won, and at the same time for a seat in the Hudson County legislature which he also won. He was able to serve in both post as they were distinctly separate political bodies.
The Puertollano move was more comparable to Senator Joe Lieberman who ran for Vice President in 2000 and at the same time running for US senator of Connecticut. When he lost the Vice Presidency, he served the Senate seat.
Puertollano’s motivation to run again as President was to prove he could do the job, claiming that the opposition in the Board deliberately prevented him from having a successful term.
The next two candidates are the Verzosas, not related to each other. Paul Verzosa believes he is the one to turn around the PIDCI. With favorable write-ups from Ricky Rillera ( reprints of two previous Rillera articles included in his campaign mailer) he feels he is the anointed one.
Early last month, I received a series of emails from Paul Verzosa explaining why he is running and he should be President. Other emails tried to explain why Mr. Puertollano was ill-advised in his reelection quest, including violations of by-laws.
In another email, Paul was explaining why Wilson Verzasa should be disqualified and not be allowed to run because of faults in the candidacy application process. In an email dated 9/5/06, with the subject: PIDCI election….. malapit na, he sent an animated cartoon where two people were standing across each other, each one by the side of a toilet bowl, throwing each other sh…..! I wonder if the cartoon represents what is happening to PIDCI or is that a prophecy of how the conduct of the election would be. I cannot second-guess his mind.
The third candidate, Wilson Verzosa sent me his campaign appeal with a long list of what he has done for PIDCI and the community since he moved to America from Saudi Arabia. He offered himself as the catalyst of change and the magnet of unifying the PIDCI and the community. A difficult promise in these tough times.
They are all my friends, however. But what is at stake here is the future of PIDCI and its self-appointed leading role within the Filipino American community.
This election might be the last chance for PIDCI.
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THERE is a Filipino word for the conduct being followed by the loyalists of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her government in dealing with everybody that threatens her interest. The latest case is the Commission on Elections involving the purchase of the vote counting machines for the 2004 national elections.
The Supreme Court in its earlier decision prohibited the use of the machines, since the Comelec made the purchase without the required bidding. The SC also forbade the Comelec to pay the balance to the supplier, the Mega Pacific.
At that time, the Ombudsman also made a decision finding the entire Comelec body guilty of the illegal purchase. Then last week, the Ombudsman made a complete about face and reversed its own findings, declaring the Comelec commissioners and the officers of the supplier company who were all found guilty in the earlier decision, completely innocent.
The Filipino word that best describes this action is garapal.
The same head sits at the helm of the Ombudsman, a known diehard follower of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Merceditas Gutierrez. She has become notorious for her consistent bias in favor of GMA in practically all her actuations as head of the anti-graft body.
The Supreme Court spokesman Ismael Khan made the clarification that the previous decision of the Court disallowing the purchase stands. While everybody scratches his head, does this mean the matter will somehow be revived in the Supreme Court (we don’t know how) and the SC justices will reconsider their previous decision?
Why do we wonder when someone observes why foreign investors are not encouraged to invest their money in the Philippines?.
With such a development, we should now really be worried what will happen when two forthcoming voting events take place in the country. First, the local elections next year (although the latest buzz in the coffee shops says there will be no such elections) and the plebiscite to approve the charter change, or Cha Cha.
Imagine, the same vote counters will again be tallying the votes. And if you’re hoping that maybe by chance, the voting machines might preserve the integrity of the elections, forget it. It is already announced that the machines, mostly paid for and very likely the kickbacks already spent or deposited in private accounts, will stay in the warehouse gathering rust.
There is another very timely Filipino word that is apt at this time. Igting. Taut. tense. These words describe emotional distress Filipinos feel, at their total helplessness to help themselves. Where o where is that proverbial last straw that will break the camel’s back?
In the meantime, we are dizzy with all the spins filling the air. The peso broke all records and hit 49 peso per one US dollar in the currency bourse. The stock market indexes are all up.
Read behind the line. The continued improvement of the peso versus the US dollar is simply because our hardworking overseas Filipino laborers have no choice but to go outside the country in continuously increasing numbers to escape hunger at home. And as it becomes harder and harder for their families to survive back home, they have to send more and more foreign currency that fetch fewer and fewer pesos.
At the same time, local exporters complain because the prices of products they send abroad become more and more expensive for foreign consumers.
The local equity bourses continue to attract hot money which go out faster than when they came in at the slightest indication of instability. Such hot money create no jobs.
The real test of improved economic conditions continues to be still less Filipinos getting hungry and more laborers finding employment, which are not happening.
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Schwarzenegger vetoes financial aid for illegal college students
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THE Los Angeles Times recently reported that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a proposed law that would have allowed certain illegal alien college students to be eligible for student aid and scholarships.
According to Schwarzenegger, “While I do not believe that undocumented children should be penalized for the acts of their parents, this bill would penalize students here legally by reducing the financial aid they rely on to allow them to go to college and pursue their dreams.”
In other words, even if your child is an “honor student,” but his or her status is not lawful, then your child would not be eligible for financial aid or scholarships.
By way of background, a few years ago a law was passed, exempting illegal aliens from paying the higher “non-resident” tuition at colleges, if they had attended high school in California for three or more years, graduated from a California high school, and submitted an affidavit that the student (or the student’s parent) were seeking to obtain legal status. (This existing law is known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act).
A new bill, called the California Dream Act (introduced by Sen. Gil Cedillo), would have allowed these illegal alien students to not only be exempt from paying non-resident tuition, but would also allow them to apply for financial aid. Although it passed both the California Senate and Assembly, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.
I know that many Filipinos came to America for their children—in order to provide them with better opportunities, including an excellent education. These children were among the top of their class, and want to go to college.
Although many of these parents have been in the U.S. for several years, they have not yet legalized their status. Now their children are graduating from high school and want to go to college. Since the parents did nothing about their immigration situation, their “American Dream” is turning into a nightmare, because their child might not get into college because of lack of financial aid or scholarships.
That is why it is so important that if you are in the U.S. without legal status, you should seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can evaluate your situation and perhaps there could be a way by which you can legalize your status. You should do this not only for yourself, but especially for your children, who are the very reason you came to America in the first place!
Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 25 years, and is an active member of the State Bar of California and New York, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He has always excelled in school:Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California.
WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com
Four offices to serve you:
LOS ANGELES:
219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, 91203 Telephone: (818) 543-5800
SAN FRANCISCO:
966 Mission Street, San Francisco, California, 94080 Telephone: (415) 538-7800
NEW YORK:
60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300
PHILIPPINES:
Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227 Telephone: 894-0258 or 894-0239
(This is for informational purposes only, and reflects the firm’s opinions and views on general issues. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of a particular case. All immigration services are provided by an active member of the State Bar of California and/or by a person under the supervision of an active member of the State Bar. No prediction, warranty or guarantee can be made about the results of any case. Should you need or want legal advice, you should consult with and retain counsel of your own choice.)
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