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Founded in 1986
Founding Publisher/Editor:
Lito A. Gajilan
Columnists:
Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel
Joseph G. Lariosa
Gani P. Tolentino
Ted L. Reyes
Atty. Reuben S. Seguritan
Photographers:
Butch Gata
Sheryl Garcia
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not reflect the opinion of the paper nor that of the publisher
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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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SACRIFICE: Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim. This is the essence of Holy Week.
Every year, the Church reminds us of the importance of sacrifice. It does so through the ultimate example of all –The Passion of Christ.
This week, we are reminded that Jesus suffered and sacrificed his life for the salvation of man. He bore the pain of every spike that scraped his flesh when he was being scourged by Roman soldiers. He endured the piercing of his scalp by those thorny branches that the soldiers forced into his head. He embraced the weight of the heavy cross and ultimately accepted the pangs of death through crucifixion - all for the good of humankind. Now that is sacrifice.
How often do we give something of value for the good of many?
How often do we think of laying down our interests for the greater good?
How often do we care about our community more than we care for ourselves? Not a lot.
Our nature as humans is to tend more to ourselves than others. It must be the instinct of self preservation that compels us to do that. Sometimes, we think of ourselves too much, we are inching closer to the borderline of greed. This is very much the case in our Filipino community. There is indeed a shortage of sacrifice.
Consider the ongoing feud between organizers of Philippine showcase events this Spring. We have 365 days in a year, 366 this year because it is a leap year. Yet, the organizers are holding their events on the same weekend– dividing the community and eliciting venomous insults among its members.
It is not healthy. Feuding Filipinos are a disgrace. We are becoming the laughing stock of other ethnic groups. Other ethnic groups compete also, but rarely among themselves. They help and support one another. However, we Filipinos do it. We spit at each other.
This Holy Week, the organizers of these events should look at a different icon. They should refrain from looking up at Manny Pacquiao and start emulating Jesus for a change. He who gives gets the glory.
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Last Minute Filing Tips For H-1B
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Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For further information, you may call him at 212 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com
THE United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has clarified certain last-minute issues regarding H-1B filing that starts on April 1.
In a conference call with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on March 19, the USCIS said that it has transmitted for publication a final interim rule that would prohibit multiple filings by the same employer for the same employee. But related employers would be allowed to file separate petitions for the same employee.
The USCIS also said that cap-subject H-1B petitions received through April 5 would be included in the random selection process that would be held if the number of petitions exceeded the quota. The lottery process will also be modified so that the 20,000 advanced degree cap cases will be selected first and if there are any such cases left, they would go into the 65,000 pool.
With the mad rush in H-1B filing, here are some pointers in order to meet the deadline with timely submission of complete and correct paperwork and fees to the appropriate agencies.
First, obtain a labor condition application (LCA) from the U.S. Department of Labor. An LCA is a prerequisite to an H-1B filing. The LCA certifies that the employer will pay the prospective employee the actual wage given to similarly employed individuals or the prevailing wage, whichever is higher; that the working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers will not be adversely affected; and that there is no strike or lockout at the worksite or the occupation for which the foreign worker is sought to be hired.
If the employer has to file the LCA before April 1, he/she has to make sure that the employment start date on the LCA will be six months from its filing. The employment start date on the I-129 form petition for H-1B will however be October 1, 2008 which is six months from April 1. The expiration date for employment indicated on both the LCA and the I-129 should jibe and not be more than three years from the start date indicated on the LCA.
Second, the H-1B beneficiary should be qualified for the specialty occupation offered and should provide proper supporting documentation, particularly a U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or higher. For beneficiaries with master’s or higher degrees from U.S. institutions, the USCIS has allotted 20,000 H-1B slots. If the prospective H-1B employee does not have a diploma yet, but can prove that he/she has “earned” the degree and just waiting for graduation, the USCIS will accept the H-1B petition upon other satisfactory proof of completion of course requirements. It is important, however, that the document/s submitted should be from a verifiable authorized official of the school. Questionable documents may lead to charges of document fraud with serious implications.
Third, correct filing fees must be paid by check or money order to the USCIS. The current fees are $320 for H-1B basic filing fee; H1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (ACWIA) fee in the amount of $1,500 if the U.S. employer has more than 25 full-time employees, or $750 for employer with 25 or less full-time employees; $500.00 Fraud Detection Fee; and $1,000 for Premium Processing fee to expedite the processing.
While payment of fees may be combined in a single check, the USCIS prefers that separate checks be issued for each applicable filing fee (I-129, Premium Processing and ACWIA fees.) A separate check must be issued for the Fraud Detection fee of $500.
Lastly, it is important that complete forms, documentation and fees be filed in a timely manner with the appropriate USCIS agency having jurisdiction over the application. The I-129 H-1B petitions should be sent through proper postal or courier services that provide verification of exact dates of delivery and receipt to the applicable USCIS Service Center.
The H-1B petition should be sent to either the USCIS California Service Center in Laguna Nigel, California or to the USCIS Vermont Service Center in St. Albans, Vermont, depending on the work location.
In the Vermont Service Center, deliveries by the United States Postal Service (USPS) are handled differently from courier deliveries. In these cases, the receipt date for USPS delivery is the date the letter is picked up by the USCIS at the post office in St. Albans during the scheduled pick-up time on that day. Mails received at the post office after the second pick-up time are considered to have been received the following day.
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Filipino Now Worth $ Million!
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CHICAGO – Early bird catches worms, so the saying goes. But not always the big ones!
This was the lesson learned by survivors of 21 passengers of Air Philippines Flight 541, when they immediately grabbed the $25,000 dangled to them by the management of the ill-fated Philippine airline company shortly after the crash that killed 131 passengers and crews off Samal Island near Davao City on the early morning of April 19, 2000, the 63rd birthday of then President Joseph Estrada.
Instead of waiting a little longer to find a good lawyer to handle the class action suit, the unlucky 21 heirs of the plane passenger victims immediately jumped at the opportunity and missed the chance of a lifetime to join the survivors of 110 other fatalities, who won a court-supervised settlement of an unprecedented amount of $165-M, raising the worth of the civilian Filipino passenger to a staggering $1.5-M!
FROM US$1,250.00
A former Philippine Department of Justice prosecutor from my home region in Bicol, Atty. Carlos “Apo Caloy” Cortes, Jr., who immigrated to Chicago, Illinois recently, told me that the last he heard, the cost of a Filipino life, who meets a fatal vehicular accident, will be routinely settled out of court for 50 thousand pesos (US$1,250.00). But he added there are now plans to raise the ante to 300 thousand pesos (US$7,500.00).
With the unprecedented settlement of the wrongful death suits involving Air Philippines, Atty. Donald J. Nolan, founder of the Chicago-based Nolan Law Group, told this columnist “we treated fairly the Filipino survivors. We were able to get more money for every Filipino passenger than the offer of victims of (an international flight) Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006 that crashed in Taiwan on the same year. A passenger of that crash was offered $400,000 for each victim’s survivor.”
SHOCK WAVES TO ABS-CBN & AYALA
No doubt the $1.5-M settlement should send shock waves to such giant Filipino companies, like the ABS-CBN and Ayala Land Inc., which are facing damage suits for the death of 71 television fans and 11 mall shoppers and injuries to hundreds. If they try to settle the victims, who died in their premises, for one-tenth of the amount settled in the Chicago court, it will not only cripple but could probably cause them to go bankrupt!
This is exactly what happened to a big Chicago (Ravenswood) hospital which closed shop several years ago after a patient sued the hospital for medical malpractice and won $55-Million in damages in 2000!
As I told Mr. Raffy Lopez, the bossman of the ABSCBN International in California, if his business is catering towards massive audience watching their programs live, he better recommend to his family to buy “disaster insurance” which is usually covered by big insurers, like Lloyd’s of London, the same company that settled the Air Philippine crash out of court.
DISASTER INSURANCE
Thankfully, Mr. Lopez welcomed the idea, saying that he will raise the matter up with his parent company in the Philippines.
As I told Mr. Lopez the death of 71 TV viewers would have been avoided if the ABSCBN management limited the audience to “seating capacity,” just like in movie houses, restaurants, discos and other public places, where “no standing” should be strictly enforced. Only a shout of “fire” by a crazy patron is needed for a mega disaster to happen.
Nolan said that the
Philippine Congress should draft a law that will prevent the Philippine government’s Air Transportation Office (ATO) from conducting air disasters by themselves when they don’t have competent investigators.
He said there should be an “oversight” body that will audit the ATO investigators, adding that ATO should adopt transparency in its investigation, by cutting red tapes.
Nolan’s assistant Tom Ellis, director of litigation support of Nolan Law Group, who traveled to the scene of the Air Philippine plane crash, was disappointed when ATO authorities, refused to provide the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago transcripts of the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recovered from the scene.
BREAK IN THE CASE
Were it not for the mishandling of Lloyds of London representative, who tried to conceal the evidence by burying parts of the plane in concrete, the case would have been still pending in court since the transcripts from the FDR and CVR are being withheld by ATO.
Michael S. Danko, managing partner of the San Mateo, Califonia-based O’Reilly & Danko, one of the three law firms that handled the Air Philippine case, confirmed a news item that says that “four separate reports were released by the Philippine government on the crash, all reaching different conclusions. The exact cause of the accident remains unknown.” The third law firm handling the case is Gerald Sterns and Mike Verna, of Oakland and Walnut Creek, also in California.
It now appears that the ATO is like an orchestra, with its members playing different music.
PINATUTUBUAN NG TALABA!
The ATO must have competent personnel, who can investigate the air-worthiness of an airplane. In the case of Air Philippine plane that crashed, Atty. Nolan said, the aircraft was actually a 22-year-old Boeing 737-200 that had been put out to pasture by Southwest Airlines, one of the airlines in the U.S. In Filipino, the plane was pinatutubuan na ng talaba (left to gather oysters)!
The plane was due for its quarterly D-Check, which is a part of a ten-year overhaul plan required by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). The D-Check virtually takes the plane apart and rebuilds it, costing the airline between two and eight million dollars. Rather than submitting it to the costly test, Southwest retired the plane to the Arizona desert. AAR Aircraft & Engine Group then purchased the plane, gave it a new paint job and the Fleet Business Credit Corporation leased it to Air Philippines.(lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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(Palm Sunday starts the Holy Week season. As the Passion is re-read, many will again identify with the bystander who was reluctantly “shanghaied” into greatness. Like many of us, Simon of Cyrene “was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time” writes Oblate priest Fr. Ron Rolheiser in his article “Helping Simon of Cyrene” See below. – JLM )
"It seems as though through purely earthly accidents we are made responsible for what is heavenly and divine.
“( The Jesuit scholar ) Karl Rahner wrote those words to describe what happened to Saint Joseph when he was asked by an angel to be the husband to Mary. ( He was to ) support her in the birth and raising of Jesus: "Take the child to yourself."
‘Something of God was entrusted into Joseph’s care. Not because he wanted it or planned it. He himself was (not) central to the event. He was asked to do something simply because of circumstance: he was engaged to someone inside a great drama. Moreover, what he was asked to do radically reshaped his life, in a way not according to his own choosing.
“Rahner's words are just as accurate when applied to the man conscripted to help Jesus carry his cross : Simon of Cyrene.
“The Passion accounts tell us that, when Jesus was too weak and wearied to carry the cross, a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him carry it. We aren't given any details as to how this happened other than that Simon was someone who was incidentally there. (He was) a "passer-by", a victim of circumstance. This was not something for which he had planned or volunteered. He was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time.
“No doubt too, being conscripted to help carry the cross was an irritation. It was also guilt by association with a condemned criminal, and there fore something humbling and shameful for him. Helping a scorned person carry his or her humiliation, in front of a jeering crowd, doesn't exactly bring the same reaction as helping Tiger Woods carry his golf clubs.
“Whatever Simon's feelings, there can be no doubt that helping Jesus carry his cross was something that was unwanted and unpleasant. It was experienced, at the time, as an unfairness, bad luck.’
“Yet, ironically, this would be the most significant thing he would do in his whole life. ( It ) earned him a place in history and folklore that can only be envied by the most famous of athletes, entertainers, politicians, writers, and religious figures.
“Simon of Cyrene will forever be famous. Thousands of years from now his name will still be remembered --- and for the right reason: he helped carry the cross of Jesus.
“There's a wonderful mystical image here, namely: the picture of a man or woman being victimized by circumstance so that he or she -- simply by being at a given place at a given time -- is conscripted to do a task that is unwanted, unplanned for, humbling. (It will) disrupt his or her own agenda and dreams. And yet this unwanted thing becomes, in the end, the most important thing he or she will ever do.
“How does that happen to you? How do you become a Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry his cross?
“The cross of Jesus appears in many forms. You are Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry the cross: Whenever you are the one who has to take care of an aging parent because circumstance arranges that you are the one who happens to be living close by; whenever you are the parent of a handicapped child and are asked to do things ordinary parents aren't asked to do;
“Whenever you are the one to whom the emotionally needy person, at work, chooses to reach out; whenever you are the one whose gentle nature makes it difficult to say no and people take advantage of you; whenever you are the one who is the first at the scene of an accident; whenever you are the one whom the drunk accosts on the side-walk;
“Whenever you are the one who forever finds herself caught up in duties, not of your own choosing, that always have you around when the less-glamorous work needs to be done; whenever you are the one whose plans and dreams can be sacrificed because everyone else's are deemed more important; whenever you're the one whose life is disrupted by unwanted circumstance… Then, you are Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus carry the cross.
“Simon of Cyrene was not central to the drama or meaning of Jesus' passion and death. He was an unimportant figure who happened to be standing at the edges of things when the drama accidentally enfolded him and forced him to play an un-glamorous, self effacing, but needed, role. His own agenda and plans had to be sacrificed and his response was, no doubt, less than fully enthusiastic.
“Yet this unplanned for, conscripted, humble service became the most important thing he ever did, his signature piece. And (it) gave him a place in history beyond the thousands and millions whose place in the drama of life was deemed important.
“There's a lesson here. ‘I used to get upset about all the interruptions to my work until one day I realized that the interruptions were my real work,' Henri Nouwen once wrote
“Pure earthly accidents often do make us responsible for what is divine'. And they conscript us to our real work.”
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Philippines Can't Protect Foreign Investors?
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ON March 17, 2008, we came across a news item in the Philippine Star which shocked us. It says the new commander of the Army's 10th Infantry Division urged mining companies and banana plantations in southern Mindanao to take steps to organize their own militias to protect their investments in the region against New Peoples Army rebels.
Two things surprised us. The first is the presence of New Peoples Army in great strength to pose a threat to those doing business in the country. The second is the admission that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not capable of providing such protection to the mining industry and banana plantations.
Before this, the government has given the impression that routine national concerns such as that mentioned are under control. Public information announcements from the national police and the military make the public understand that they do not have problems, manpower wise and equipment-wise, to allow private business to conduct their operations peacefully.
Now, openly and publicly, here comes the admission that this is not true. Yet top government officials, including the president, carry on as if such vital problems do not exist. That the only concerns the ordinary citizens have to worry about are the occasional robberies and thefts and petty crimes against persons.
It turns out that when the government invites foreign investors to invest in the country, they should remember to add they have to set up their own militias to safeguard their investments. Beyond looking after the safety of their personnel against ordinary criminals, they should form, train and equip their own private armies and be prepared to do battle with well organized and well equipped militarized criminal groups that can do considerable damage to their installations; the government can no longer do this for them. If such is the case, how many medium sized foreign investors do you think can afford to do business here. Not to talk of local investors.
Yet you can see our police, military and other security officials attending international conferences arrayed in expensive business suits with nary a sign that they care about such security matters. Phalanxes of heavily armed bodyguard escort President Arroyo and top public officials around the country. They perform ceremonial drills in parade grounds to impress visiting dignitaries. But when it comes to securing visiting businessmen, who provide the lifeblood that keep our industries running and give millions of our countrymen badly needed jobs, they are unable to do so adequately.
And when we hold glamorous sports events such as the recent Paquiao- Marquez international boxing fight in expensive Las Vegas, Nevada, we witness our public and military officials outdoing each other in making sure their faces are captured by international television. They want to show they can afford it.
It's hard to understand this preoccupation to impress the public with media visibility, to show we can afford to hobnob with the beautiful people. For a country with a piss-poor economy such as the Philippines, "hindi bagay" (it's not suitable, not proper).
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Visionary Awardees: Fusion Of Filipino And Fil-Am Achievers
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THE Filipino and Fil-American awardees honored at the Kodak Theater came together on a Friday night marked a milestone for the Kayumanggi race in the Southland. Coming just a week after the Oscars, it was not glitzy nor glamorous as the annual gathering of brightest stars in Hollywood. The Boulevard was not blocked off but still, the traffic was heavy. Some limousines were provided for the honorees who were flown in from the Philippines by NuVision Worldwide Media.
To name the privileged ones: Senator and Mrs. Bong Revilla (Lani Mercado), comedy King Dolphy who was one of the last to arrive with actor-director son, Eric Quizon and his longtime love, Zsa Zsa Padilla who did not seem like the divine diva that night. It was a letdown to see the comedy king's longtime significant other underdressed. No make-up nor hairdo and dressed in a daytime suit.
The last to arrive was Nora Aunor escorted by her perennial consort, John (Rendez) Robert Porter Jr. She presented the trophy to Dolphy's, who she announced as her kumpare, being the godfather of her son by Christopher de Leon, Ian. Dolphy, by the way, was given honored twice for his comedic career and the lifetime achievement award presented to him by his son, Eric.
Nora and John sat on the first row on the right aisle. Two rows behind them were former in-laws, Lilia Dizon and Pinky de Leon seated beside their spouses, Tony Abad and Tom Cotle, respectively. Pinky looked fabulous in her elegant black and silver gown by Fanny Serrano. Mother and daughter presented the Visionary award to action star, Rudy Fernandez, who came with better half, Lorna Tolentino. Rudy and LT were early so they trekked the red carpet and were interviewed by Jet and Edith Montelibano.
I was also impressed with Bong Revilla's wife, Lani in a flaming red gown. She presented and accepted on behalf of recipients Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera of GMA-7's Marimar fame who were named favorite/ popular actor and actress.
There were two standing ovations accorded that night - to Dolphy and former basketball star Senator Robert Sonny Jaworski, the other life achievement awardee who gave a rather wordy acceptance speech unlike Mr. Quizon who made it short and funny.
Other awardees included Fil-Am actress Nia Peeples, comedic trio Tito, Vic and Joey, rap artist and songwriter Francis Magalona, Manny Pacquiao, Martin Nievera who was presented the Entertainer of the Year statuette by Brian McKnight and Camarines Sur Congressman Luis Villafuerte who was represented by his nephew, Nick Enciso.
Entertainment galore was provided by Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, the rising star awardee, who is the granddaughter of Sylvia La Torre, Jessa Zaragosa, Billy Crawford, Martin Nievera who sang acapella and Kuh Ledesma, the grand finale doing her national anthem, Ako ay Pilipino in her authentic costume and headdress.
ABS-CBN was the pioneer Television awardee, and Charo Santos Concio recently appointed president of the Network, was also honored for hosting the much awarded, Maalala Mo Kaya. GMA-7 was cited for excellence in programming.
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