L A S V E G A S

DECEMBER 31, 2015-JANUARY 6, 2016

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Volume 26 - N

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Aquino, Filipinos ‘look forward to a peaceful, prosperous 2016’

by AGNES CONSTANTEAJPress

by FRANCES MANGOSINGInquirer.net

Emboldened by SC’s TROs, Grace Poe rants: ‘I’m not a liar’

ANOTHER year has passed and many events happened so quickly that many people tend to forget. As 2015 closes, the Asian Journal Editorial Team pooled together the top stories that made it to the front pages of our six editions.

POPE FRANCIS GRACES THE PHILIPPINESWhen Pope Francis visited the Philippines in January

for a four-day trip, at least two million Filipinos waited on the street to watch him ride away in his non-bulletproof “Popemobile.” After 20 years, Pope Francis was the third leader of the Catholic Church to visit the country, and came to personally show sympathy for the thousands who were killed after Super Typhoon Yolanda in late 2013. The pope was reportedly impressed with the hospitality of Filipinos, with whom he met at various places in the Philippines, including the Mall of Asia Arena, Tacloban and Leyte.

MAMASAPANO MASSACREOn January 25, special forces were massacred after en-

counter with rebel troops.Forty-four members of the Philippine National Police-Spe-

cial Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao following a clash with armed fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. The PNP-SAF’s objective was to pursue Zulkifli Abdhir — also known as Marwan Usman — and Basit Usman as part of Oplan Exodus; they were successful in killing the former. The deaths of the PNP-SAF of cers ignited debate on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be the foundation of a new autonomous entity called Bangsamoro.

FIGHT OF THE CENTURY: PACQUIAOLOSES TO MAYWEATHER

After months of hype surrounding the long-awaited “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., many boxing fans and Filipinos were left disappointed, as the People’s Champ failed to tarnish Mayweather’s undefeated record last May. Pacquiao later revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury and was denied

WITH six months left in office, President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday, Dec. 29 touted his achievements during his term in his last New Year message as the country’s leader.

“I join all Filipinos as we bid farewell to a historic 2015 and expectantly look forward to a peaceful, prosperous 2016. Our country’s soaring economy, ro-bust democracy, and magnified presence on the global stage not only promise a great start to the coming year but also highlight the Philippines’ ongoing narrative of resurgence under the Daang

Matuwid (straight path),” he said in a statement.

Aquino also took another jab at the Arroyo administration, saying that he assumed office five years ago when it was full of “despair and uncertainty.

“I am filled with pride by how far we have come since we began our journey in 2010. Just a little more than five years ago, we faced a future full of despair and uncertainty; reports of plunder, mismanagement, and corrup-tion dominated our headlines. Today, progress, opportunity, and growth fill news about the Philip-pines both here and abroad,” he said.

by YUJI VINCENT GONZALESInquirer.net

A DAY after getting reprieve from the Supreme Court on the disqualification suits against her, Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday, Dec. 29 slammed the Commis-sion on Elections (Comelec) for supposedly insinuating that she was a liar.

“Pinaka ayoko sa lahat ‘yung sinasabing sinungaling ako. (What I don’t like most is calling me a liar),” Poe said in a press briefing, alluding to the deci-

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers of 2015

FILIPINOS/Filipino-Americans have been very active this year, bringing in recognition to our community and excelling in their respective fields.

In Philippine politics, the race for the highest position in the country is just as noisy. With more presi-dential candidates bringing their platforms, issues and drama, no one can be sure who among them would really win.

With the end of this year, we look forward to what the Filipinos, Fil-Am community and the Philip-pines can do. For now, the Asian Journal Editorial Team gives you the top Filipino/Fil-Am newsmak-ers of 2015.

THE BEST MISTAKE: MISS PHILIPPINES PIA WURTZ-BACH IS MISS UNIVERSE

Old peso bills no longer valid starting Jan. 1

WITH the new year less than a week away, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is reminding the public that beginning Jan. 1, old Philippine peso bills will no longer be accepted when pay-ing for goods and services.

The old banknotes, however, can still be exchanged in banks and BSP offices through the end of 2016 free of charge for the new notes that were launched in 2010.

Half Filipina, half German actress and Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, 26, took home the crown for Miss Universe 2015 on live television on Sunday, Decem-ber 20th at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wurtzbach’s final crowning did not go without drama and a sur-prise ending when show host Steve Harvey accidentally announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo as the winner, but back-tracked a few moments later to pro-claim Wurtzbach as the true Miss Universe. Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, southwest Germany, and grew up in Cagayan de Oro. A winner of Binibining Pilipinas and Miss Universe-Philippines beauty pageants, she attended secondary

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

a request to get an injection for it the night before the fight. Over 30 lawsuits seeking refunds were filed, claiming that the fight was a fraud and that Pacquiao should have disclosed his injury.

THE REIGN OF TERROR: PARIS ATTACKED TWICE,

MASS SHOOTINGIN SAN BERNARDINO

Gunmen killed 17 individuals in Paris throughout a three-day attack that began on Jan. 7 at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a weekly pro-vocative French satirical magazine that typically features cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The attackers were two brothers who were born, raised and radicalized in Paris. The brothers were shot dead by police three days after they fired shots at Charlie Hebdo.

Paris was again the site of multiple terrorist attacks on Nov. 13, coordinated by the Islamic State extremist group. Explosions occurred outside of the Stade de France, the national sports stadium, where an anticipated soccer match between Germany and France was taking place. Sev-eral street shootings and bomb-ing attacks also occurred at four populated outdoor plazas, where a 23-year-old American student from Cal State Long Beach was killed. The worst massacre of the night was a mass shooting at the

Bataclan music hall venue, where the Eagles of Death Metal was performing to a crowd of over 1,000 people. Three men entered the hall and opened fire. The deadly attacks, which reportedly left at least 129 people dead and 352 wounded, prompted French President François Hollande to de-clare a state of emergency and that France is “at war.” He further said that France is committed to “de-stroying” the Islamic State group, and France has launched airstrikes in ISIS territories’ Iraq and Syria. While several of the gunmen have been killed or detained, police are still on the search for others involved with the ISIS-coordinated attacks.

Terror hit close to home when on Dec. 2, a practicing Muslim couple entered the Inland Re-gional Center in San Bernardino, California, and opened gunfire in a room full of county health employees who were celebrating a holiday party. Fourteen people were killed and 21 injured in the attack, which officials later learned was premeditated, and it became the deadliest incident of gun vio-lence in 2015.

The radicalized husband and wife, identified as 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, were killed hours after the rampage in a shootout with a police. Farook

was also an employee for the San Bernardino County Public Health Department. Investigators believe the attacks were radical-ized because of their organized nature, the weapons used, and the couple’s recent travel to and from Saudi Arabia. Upon search of the couple’s home and electronic devices, officials discovered that Malik advocated jihad in secret messages with friends, and had also pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State. FBI said that both attackers were “homegrown violent extremists” who acted on their own, inspired by the actions of foreign terrorist groups like ISIS.

Following the attacks, as well as deadly massacres by ISIS mem-bers in Paris, The Obama adminis-tration announced changes to the visa waiver program that allows millions of immigrants from 38 countries into the US every year without a visa, for stays of 90 days or less if they meet certain require-ments. The program will include more stringent screenings at air-ports and security restrictions and watch lists for suspect individuals. Republican presidential front-run-ner candidate Donald Trump has also called for a controversial ban on all Muslims entering the United States, arguing that it “cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in ji-had, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.” Mean-while, Republicans in Congress announced that they would not take immediate action to bring up new gun control legislation in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks, saying it was “unconsti-

tutional” to deny the right to bear arms, but wanted to focus on an overhaul of the country’s mental health system..

PHILIPPINES HOSTSAPEC SUMMIT

With the theme “Building Inclu-sive Economies, Building a Better World,” this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit gathered prominent heads of state and business leaders from member states and territories in Manila. The Philippine govern-ment allotted P10 billion in hosting the annual meeting of the 21-member Asia Pacific economies. Held on Nov. 17-20, the global leaders—which included Pres. Barack Obama and Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping—discussed some of the region’s most pressing issues including economic integration, trade liberalization, sustainable growth and international security particularly in the South China Sea. Milestones of the APEC Sum-mit include the agenda for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the adoption of the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth, which will guide member economies in under-taking robust, comprehensive, and ambitious structural reforms over the next five years and the approval of the APEC Services Cooperation Framework, which underscores the importance of the services sector, which makes up approximately two-thirds of the GDP in the APEC region.

JUAN PONCE ENRILE GRANTED BAIL

In a 8-4 vote on Aug. 18, the Philippine Supreme Court granted

Aquino, Filipinos ‘look forward...Aquino said the successes of

his administration were achieved because of Daang Matuwid, or what he described as “the straight and righteous path.”

This path “transformed dam-aged public agencies into stronger, more transparent, and responsive institutions; turned a demoralized government workforce into dedi-cated civil servants; galvanized an apathetic populace into active, empowered nation-builders; and reinvigorated a sluggish business sector into a major driver of eco-nomic growth.”

“Indeed, the Daang Matuwid is a roadmap that will catapult us into First World Status and make us a $1-trillion economy by the year 2030,” Aquino cited.

He said this righteous path should also guide voters in the coming 2016 presidential elec-tions.

“The same thought should guide us as we choose our leaders this coming election: to maintain the upward trajectory of our growth and keep our nation on the Daang Matuwid. As long as we bear in our hearts and minds the welfare of our people, we will realize our inherent greatness and usher in a Philippines that we can proudly bequeath to the coming generations,” Aquino added.

Filipinos welcome 2016 with hope

Majority of Filipinos or 89 percent are welcoming 2016 with hope, a survey of the Pulse Asia revealed.

“Hope is the predominant sen-timent among Filipinos as far as the year 2016 is concerned,” the study conducted from Dec. 4 to 11 showed.

The sentiment is shared by most Filipinos across geographic areas with 85 to 95 percent and socio-economic classes with 86 percent to 92 percent.

The study surveyed 1,800 reg-istered voters who are 18 years old and above with 2 percent error margin at the 95 percent

confidence level.In Metro Manila, residents are

more inclined to be hopeful than those in the Visayas with 95 per-cent versus 85 percent.

However, one percent of Filipi-nos say they will face the next 12 months without hope.

One in 10 Filipinos expressed indecision as they could not say whether they will face the com-ing year with or without hope. This sentiment was slightly more pronounced in Visayas than in Metro Manila (14 percent versus 4 percent), Pulse Asia said.

In the weeks leading up to the fieldwork for this survey, Pulse Asia noted some of the following local and international issues that dominated the headlines:

-The filing of certificate of can-didacies (COCs) by candidates for various positions in the May 2016 elections from Oct. 12 to 16

-The filing of COC of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte last November 27. He was also contro-versial for cursing Pope Francis in his speech

-The decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal, denying the petition questioning the citizen-ship of Senator Grace Poe

-Commission on Elections’ ruling in favor of the canceling of Poe’ COC

-The dismissal from service for grave misconduct and dishonesty of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.

-The Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera-tion Summit from Nov. 18 to 19

-The National Bureau of Inves-tigation made public that there is indeed a “laglag-bala” (bullet-planting) scam

-The Paris Climate Change Con-ference from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 which resulted in the signing of a universal agreement that would hold governments accountable for their failure to limit green-house gas emmissions

-The terrorist attacks in Paris last Nov. 13 which killed 130 persons and injured 400.

Emboldened by SC’s TROs...sion of the poll body to cancel her certificate of candidacy for president over citizenship and residency issues.

The Comelec en banc affirmed previous ruling of its first and second divisions to disqualify Poe from the presidential derby, saying that the lady senator de-liberately attempted to mislead the electorate in the entries in her COC.

Poe said the Comelec did not even take a look at the evidence that her camp presented, noting that she herself can go personally to the commissioners to prove that she was not lying.

Poe also maintained that she was still a candidate for Presi-dent in next year’s polls, saying she was encouraged by the high court’s issuance of temporary restraining orders against the Comelec rulings.

“Inaamin ko po na ang desi-syon ng Comelec ay nagdulot sa amin ng kalungkutan, lalo na ito’y lumabas ilang araw lang bago ang Pasko. Ngunit pinanumbalik po ng Korte Suprema ang ating pag-asa na siyang tunay na ka-hulugan ng Kapaskuhan. (I admit the decision of the Comelec has brought us sadness, especially when it came out a few days be-fore Christmas. But the Supreme Court brought us hope, which is the true meaning of Christmas),” Poe said, thanking SC justices led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for the TROs.

“Maraming salamat din po sa ating mga kababayan na hindi natinag ang suporta sa kabila ng kalituhang hinahasik

ng iba. Hindi pa po tapos ang laban… Kandidato pa rin po ako. Ang ating pangalan ay hindi po tatanggalin. (Many thanks to our fellow citizens who didn’t waver their support despite the confusion that the others have been spreading. The fight is not yet over. I am still a candidate. Our name won’t be removed),” she added.

Poe said she was confident that she would win her case before the Supreme Court, but reiterated her hope that the three justices who voted against her in the Senate Electoral Tribunal would inhibit.

“Tinuruan po ako ng tatay ko na manalig na ang katotohanan ay laging iiral sa huli. Tinuruan din niya akong magtiwala sa ba-tas dahil, sabi niya, kung walang batas, walang puedeng pang-hawakan ang maliliit at walang kapangyarihan. (My father taught me to have faith that the truth will prevail in the end. He also taught me to have faith in the law because, he said, if there’s no law, the powerless and those who have little in life have nothing to hold on to),” Poe said.

“Aasahan ko po ang inyong patuloy na tulong sa pagpapan-day ng maunlad at inklusibong kinabukasan. Harapin po na-tin ang Bagong Taon na may bagong lakas at paniniwala na ang katotohanan at tinig ng bayan ang mananaig. (I expect your continuous support for a progressive future. Let us face the New Year with newfound energy and belief that the truth and the voice of the people will prevail),” she added.

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school in Quezon City, culinary arts school in Metro Manila, and speaks Tagalog, English, and German. On the live Miss Universe stage, Wurtz-bach publicly shared her support of US military presence in the Philip-pines, and told viewers, “I want to show the world—the universe, rather—that I am confidently beau-tiful, with a heart.” Since her crown-ing, she has also apologized to Miss Colombia and to her supporters for the confusion that happened.

JASON DAY WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Filipino-Australian golfer Jason Day in August won the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Champion-ship golf tournament where he defeated Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 golfer. Day now ranks as the No. 2 golfer by the Official World Golf Ranking. He holds an aver-age of 10.9398 points and a total of 437.59 points. Philippine Com-munication Secretario Herminio Coloma said the Philippines is proud of Day, whose mother hails from Visayas.

ROBERT MURPHY, FIL-AM CO-FOUNDER OF SNAPCHAT

AMONG WORLD’SYOUNGEST BILLIONAIRES

A young Fil-Am, Robert “Bobby” Murphy, 26, is on Forbes’ list of world billionaires for 2015. Co-founder of the popular social media app Snapchat with his fraternity brother Evan Spiegel, both Stanford students, Murphy has a net worth of $1.5 billion—making him the second youngest dollar billionaire in the club, Forbes reported. He has an estimated stake of at least 15 percent in the business. Murphy now serves as Snapchat’s chief technology officer, developing prototype and infrastructure for the app.

JUDGE JULIAN RECANA SWORN INTO LA COUNTY

SUPERIOR COURTJulian C. Recana became the

newest Fil-Am judge in Los An-geles County in August, following his appointment by California Gov. Jerry Brown in July. Recana has served as deputy district attorney in the Long Beach Courthouse for 11 years and has been with the County District Attorney’s Office since 1999, seeking justice for victims of crime and murder. His father, Hon. Judge Mel Red Re-cana, was the first Fil-Am judge in the US when he appointed 34 years ago. There are over 2,000 judges in the state of California — 11 of them Filipino-American, nine of whom serve in LA County, and only one father-and-son duo,

the Recanas.JOEL JACINTO HONORED

BY MAYOR GARCETTI AS LA BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS

COMMISSIONERIt was a historic occasion for

the Fil-Am and Asian Pacific Is-lander (API) communities when Joel Jacinto, executive director of the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) was confirmed as the new Los Angeles Board of Public Works Commissioner last August 11.

Jacinto’s appointment makes him only a handful of Asian Americans who have served in such a capacity. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said that he selected Jacinto as Commissioner because of the difference he has made in his community and to help organize the API community so it can “have the muscle inside City Hall to get things done.” Gar-rett also said that Jacinto has an infectious way of bringing people together, and a belief in pushing his community and the larger com-munity forward.

With his appointment, Jacinto took a two-year leave of absence

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers...Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s plea to post bail in connection with his plunder trial over his alleged involvement in the P10 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as the pork barrel scam. Enrile is accused of plunder for allegedly pocketing P172 million in commissions in the PDAF scam. He was under hospital arrest at the Philippine National Police General Hospital since July 2014, before his appeal was granted. The high court cited “humanitarian reasons” for grant-ing the 91-year-old senator his temporary liberty.

SUPREME COURT RULES FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE A divided Supreme Court made

a landmark decision in June by rul-ing in favor of same-sex marriage, making the United States the 21st country in the world to legalize this nationwide. The decision, which also applies to US territories, al-lows married same-sex couples to have the same legal rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples.

US MARINE JOSEPH PEMBERTON FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING JENNIFER

LAUDEJoseph Scott Pemberton, the US

Marine Private First Class charged with murder for the death of Fili-pina transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in October 2014, was found guilty on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the Philippines, where he will remain in prison.

Pfc. Pemberton, who was on a break after taking part in joint military exercises in Subic Bay, was charged with the homicide of Laude, whom he reportedly strangled to death in the hotel room they had checked into in Olongapo City, near the former US naval base. The young Marine first testified that he was intoxi-

cated at the time of Laude’s death, and that he became enraged after discovering Laude was a man, which led to a fight in the room and prompted a defensive choke-hold. The Olongapo City Regional Trial Court threw out Pemberton’s defense that he merely rendered Laude unconscious in a choke-hold, and that someone else had strangled and drowned her n the toilet bowl after he had left the scene. Pemberton has been charged with murder but was

convicted of the lesser offense of homicide, which does not require malicious intent. The court found no treachery, abuse of strength, or cruelty on the part of the Marine soldier. Sentenced for six to 12 years, Pemberton will be held by the US-controlled Bureau of Corrections, guarded by the Phil-ippine National Police, and has been ordered to pay more than 4.5 million pesos ($95,350) to Laude’s family. He can still appeal against the verdict and sentence.

China ‘strongly dissatis�ed’ over Filipino protesters on Pagasa Island

by ALLYSON ESCOBARAJPress

Filipino and Fil-Am newsmakers...as executive director of SIPA, but will remain involved in the organization.

PH PRESIDENTIALCANDIDATES

Next year’s Philippine presi-dential election could be one of the most interesting in history, considering who the candidates are and the drama they bring into the race.

Frontrunner Senator Grace Poe, who was leading the polls for next year’s presidential election was disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Two Comelec divisions had disqualified Poe, who led voters’ preference polls, for fail-ing to meet the 10-year residency requirement for a presidential candidate, citing her certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in 2013. Poe said she erred in the COC. Poe’s disqualification case, however, was junked by the Senate

Electoral Tribunal, although Su-preme Court justice members ruled that Poe was not a natural-born citizen. As provided in the 1987 Constitution, only natural-born Filipinos are allowed to assume the presidency.

On Dec. 29, the Supreme Court (SC) amended the temporary re-straining orders (TROs) against the Comelec’s decision to disqualify Poe candidacy. The private peti-tioners of the disqualification cases against the senator and the poll body are given ten (10) days from notice to file their comments. Oral arguments are scheduled on Jan. 19, 2016.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, considered as the dark horse from Mindanao, finally filed his COC in December, after months of denying his intention to run for president. Duterte entered the presidential race under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng

Bayan, or PDP-Laban, as the sub-stitute of anti-corruption advocate Martin Diño, who withdrew his certificate on October 29. Diño named Duterte as his possible re-placement. He withdrew from the Davao City mayoral race and has been substituted by his daughter, Sara Duterte (who was also a former Davao City Mayor). As of press time, surveys have showed Duterte as a top contender for the country highest post in spite of criticisms about his vigilante style of leadership.

Wanting continuity on his “tuwid na daan” administration, Pres. Be-nigno Aquino III troduced former Interior and Local Government secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II as the presidential candidate of the ruling Liberal Party in next year’s Philippine elections. Roxas vowed to continue the reforms made by the Aquino administration and to never stray from the “tuwid na daan” or straight path platform of the Aquino government. Despite the President’s backing, Roxas still trails behind leading presidential candidates Poe, Duterte and Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay based on re-cent surveys.

Probably one of the most intel-ligent presidential candidates, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago announced her intention to run last October, with Senator Bongbong Marcos as her running mate for Vice President. Notable for having served in all three branches of the government—judicial, executive and legislative—she ran in the 1992 presidential elections but lost.

Initially polled highly among expected presidential candidates, Binay’s charisma towards the masses—especially in the City of Makati—is what will pull people to vote for him. Despite of the number of corruption cases filed against him and his family, Binay remains a frontrunner with his promise to alleviate the lives of the Filipinos.

by FRANCES MANGOSINGInquirer.net

CHINA seemed unhappy with the group of young Filipino protesters who landed in a Phil-ippine-claimed island in the South China Sea (West Philip-pine Sea).

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a statement on Monday that China was “strongly dissatisfied with the actions and words of the Philippine side.”

Less than 50 protesters, mostly youth, sailed for Pagasa Island last Thursday and arrived on Saturday, despite lack of encour-agement from the government and the military due to security and safety reasons. They were joined by former Marine officer Captain Nicanor Faeldon and will stay there for three days.

Originally, the group “Kalay-aan Atin Ito” aimed to bring 10,000 youths in a month-long protest from November 30 to December 30 on different islands

in the Spratlys. The act’s purpose was to show their stand against China’s sweeping expansion in the South China Sea.

However, China maintained its “indisputable sovereignty” over the islands.

“China has indisputable sover-eignty over the Nansha Islands, Zhongye Island being a part

of it. We once again urge the Philippine side to withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the Chinese islands and reefs it is illegally occupying and stop doing anything that undermines regional peace and stability and weighs against the relations between China and the Philip-pines,” Lu said.

Old peso bills no longer valid starting...Filipinos residing abroad with

old peso bills who are unable exchange the notes in 2016 can register online between Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016 on the BSP website. The old notes can then be exchanged with the BSP within a year of the registra-tion date. OFWs are limited to exchanging P10,000, and only the amount they register will be honored by BSP.

By Jan. 1, 2017, the old notes, which use a design that has been used since 1985, will be consid-ered demonetized and no longer

have any monetary value.BSP Deputy Gov. Diwa Guini-

gundo said all local banks should begin releasing and circulating new banknotes, according to CNN.

“We have always encourage[d] the banks of release and circu-late brand new notes. We have ample delivery from our produc-tion staff both printed in house and outsourced. So there is no excuse for any bank not to re-lease new notes,” Guinigundo said.

The old notes, New Design Series, will be replaced with new

notes called New Generation Currency, which incorporates enhanced security features to help guard against counterfeit-ing.

The phasing out of the old notes is in line with provisions of Section 57 of the New Cen-tral Bank Act - or Republic Act No. 7653 - that authorizes BSP to replace banknotes that are in circulation for over five years.

Guinigundo said there are a total of 2.42 billion pieces of new peso bills valued at P753.42 bil-lion ($15.94 billion), according to Rappler.

California minimum wage increases to $10 in New Year

ON New Year’s Day, Califor-nia employees will get a raise.

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, the state minimum wage will go up one dollar to $10 an hour. As signed by California Governor Jerry Brown, and voted on in July by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, work-ers will also have job-protected leave to address child-care or school emergencies.

The scheduled wage hike bring California workers’ mini-mum wage (currently at $9 in the Golden State) up more than two dollars over the $7.25 fed-eral minimum wage, reported CBS Los Angeles.

LA City Council voted in July to continue increasing the mini-mum wage slowly each year, to reach $15 by 2020.

The widely anticipated wage hike to $10 by Los Angeles, the largest local government in the United States, applies to unin-corporated areas and thousands of employees, joining at least 12 states. Within a few years, ac-cording to reports, more than half of the countywide work-force will be guaranteed a base income more than 60 percent higher than the current rate.

With some exceptions to the new law, the statewide change is expected to affect over 9 mil-lion workers being paid at or be-low the federal minimum wage in California, according to a re-cent report from US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We’re at a turning point,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics research firm, told the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’ll be a breakout year [in

2016] for wage growth.” With an estimated 2.5 million

working mothers with children under 18 in California, SB 579 will also provide job-protected leave to address child-care or school emergencies, and pro-hibit employers with 25 or more employees from discharging or discriminating against employ-ees for taking up to eight hours a month to participate in school or day-care activities with their children.

Another new law that went into effect on July 1 allows eli-gible part-time and hourly work-ers to accrue sick time, giving them access to benefits already enjoyed by white-collar profes-sionals.

Economic growth in 2016 is projected to remain moderate, but about half a point stronger than this year’s pace of just over 2 percent, said the LA Times.

Reactions were mixed, mostly among small business owners, who both welcomed and were disgruntled at the change.

“We don’t really have a choice and it’s going to happen,” said Chris Ulrich, co-owner of First Awakenings restaurant in Pa-cific Grove, California.

Ulrich added that under the new law about 17 of their em-ployees will get a raise, mean-ing the restaurant will have pay to more than 130 extra dollars a day to their staff.

“As a business owner you al-ways want to try and keep your expenses down,” said Ulrich. “We’re not happy about it be-cause it drives our customers away that are used to a certain amount. But we just raised ev-erything a small percentage not even 10 percent.”

Gaby Granados with Medina’s

Bridal Shop in Salinas already makes $10 dollars an hour.

“We have bills, insurance, rent, food,” Granados told CNN news partner KION, applaud-ing the new wage increase but arguing that 10 dollars an hour is not much. “We’re still trying to fit in school it’s really, really hard. I think they should do at least $12 and I still don’t think that’s enough.”

She also expressed her fears that some businesses will not implement the new wage in-crease.

“There’s a lot of people who take advantage of field work-ers or even people who don’t have papers and I think that’s really wrong,” Granados said, adding her belief that with the minimum wage going up, so will everything else, leaving her and other employees “stuck in the same place financially, instead of moving ahead.”

“No matter how much we’re getting paid things are just gon-na keep going up and up and up,” said Granados.

LA cities like Santa Monica and West Hollywood are con-sidering their own wage hikes. Many other local cities—such as Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Clar-ita, Torrance and Long Beach—have yet to decide whether to boost wages.

“With more proof that gradual wage increases won’t shock the economy, more states are going to follow suit,” said Bill Scher, an activist and analyst for the Campaign for America’s Future.

Four other states--including New York, Oregon, and Wash-ington DC--are also considering proposals in the coming year to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITYSouthern Nevada Regional Housing Authority

340 North 11th Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101Phone (702) 922-6060

Position Title: Maintenance Supervisor -external Posting

Announcement No.: 15-021EXT

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES: Under direct supervision of the Asset Manager, this position is responsible for ensuring the overall physical aspect of the property, meeting company standards, managing and responding to resident maintenance issues and repairs, scheduling, monitoring and performing preventative maintenance projects for all housing units, multi-family complexes, and commercial facilities. The maintenance supervisor is responsible for training, assigning, and supervising all maintenance staff under his/her direction. The duties listed below illustrate the various types of work

similar, related, or logical assignment in association with this position.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS/DUTIES www.snvrha.org.

Applicants must submit complete Employment Application, with updated Resume attached, and

submitted to the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, 5390 E. Flamingo Rd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89122, or by calling (702) 922-1636, TDD (702) 387-1898. An incomplete Employment Application and/or failure to meet the

closing date.

Applications must be received in the Human Resources Department by 5:00 p.m. on the closing date. Applications become the property of the Housing Authority and will not be copied or returned.

Notice To Disabled Applicants: To request an accommodation contact the Human Resources Department.

DEPARTMENT: $44,441 - $71,052 per annum Thursday, January 7, 2015

DATELINE PHILIPPINESUS embassy warns against Sayyaf, BIFF threats

by EDITH REGALADO Philstar.com

DAVAO CITY—American citi-zens have been alerted against traveling to areas in Mindanao as well as in Palawan, southern Ne-gros Island and the resort island of Boracay, citing threats by the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsam-oro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

“The United States embassy would like to alert US citizens residing in, or traveling to, the Philippines to recent statements by Philippine security officials regarding an increase in the Terrorist Threat Level to Level III (High) in seven cities and nine provinces across the coun-try due to persistent reports of kidnapping for ransom plots and potential bombings by the Abu Sayyaf and BIFF members,” the embassy said.

The separatist BIFF rebels warned of more attacks following the three-day military operations against local jihadist factions.

“The embassy wishes to re-mind all US citizens to review your personal security plans,

remain aware of your surround-ings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates. Be vigilant and take ap-propriate steps to enhance your personal security.”

The US embassy also pointed out that Philippine security of-ficials indicated that cities under the increased terrorism alert are Zamboanga, Marawi, Isabela, Kidapawan, Dipolog, Dapitan and Cotabato.

Philippine security officials were also quoted to have further indicated that provinces under increased terrorism alert are Sultan Kudarat North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.

The areas in Palawan, southern Negros island and Boracay island in Aklan have also been placed in the same situation by the US embassy.

The embassy also said Philip-pine officials in several of the areas have announced increased security measures.

Malacañang said government forces will hunt down the BIFF rebels.

Quoting military spokesman

Col. Restituto Padilla, Presiden-tial Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Co-loma Jr. said the BIFF’s “lightning raids and harassment are still ex-pected following losses incurred” in military operations conducted during the last few weeks.

“They intend to show that they are not yet a spent force following recent debacles,” Padilla said.

Padilla, however, said the Armed Forces of the Philippines had determined these activities were localized and focused ongo-ing military operations against the BIFF.

Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer added the BIFF’s sporadic attacks across the three provinces of Maguin-danao, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato “indicate an attempt to gain momentum for their bid to destabilize the situation in these areas and garner attention for themselves and their flagging cause.”

Ferrer asked the leaders of the BIFF to reconsider their vio-lent ways and take heed of the people’s desire for peace and normalcy in their lives.

Moro rebels step up attacks in MindanaoBIFF kills 11 villagers, loses 5 fighters in raids

by EDWIN O. FERNANDEZInquirer.net

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguin-danao—Moro rebels opposed to peace talks with the government on Sunday, Dec. 27 vowed more violence after Christmas attacks that left at least 16 people dead in Central Mindanao and may have been partly influenced by the notoriety of the Islamic State (IS) group.

“We will continue attacking government forces, their detach-ments, at a time they least expect,” Abu Misry Mama, spokesperson for the Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters (BIFF), said in a radio interview.

Mama confirmed the BIFF was behind the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day attacks in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Ma-guindanao and North Cotabato, where the rebels killed 11 civilians and lost five of their own in clashes with government troops.

“I am announcing now, we will continue our attacks against soldiers so they better prepare,” Mama said.

Strike anytime“The soldiers should be ready

all the time, because we will strike anytime. We don’t want them in our land,” he said.

About 200 BIFF insurgents took part in at least eight attacks on Thursday and Friday, according to Capt. Joan Petinglay, spokes-person for the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Other reports gave the number of insurgents at 300 and said eight farmers were killed in the border towns of Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat and Datu Abdulla Sangki in Maguindanao early on Thursday, Dec. 24.

The attacks forced 200 families, or 6,000 people, from their homes in the villages of Paitan in Esper-anza and Kakal in Datu Abdulla Sangki, according to Chief Insp. Bryan Bernardino, Esperanza police chief.

They are now sheltering at the Esperanza municipal stadium, he said.

“They celebrated Christmas in the town stadium. They return to their communities at daytime but return to the gym at night,” he said.

Military warningPetinglay said the military

learned about the impending attacks and secured towns and villages and warned villagers not to venture out, preventing a large number of casualties.

Despite warnings from the military, five farmers went to their farms on Thursday to spray insecticide on their crops in Ma-guindanao and were captured and executed by the rebels, Petinglay said.

In Esperanza, rebels fleeing from Army troops took a family hostage on Thursday, freeing a mother and her child but killing three farmers, she said.

The rebels also stormed the vil-lages of Simsiman and Malagkit in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, killing a village official. They also fired a grenade at a Roman Catho-lic chapel during Christmas Eve Mass, killing two churchgoers.

Petinglay said villagers in one area hid in a Roman Catholic church after word of the rebel as-saults spread.

Five rebels deadAt least four rebels died in

a clash when they assaulted a military outpost in Esperanza on Thursday, sparking a gun battle, she said.

One other wounded rebel was reported to have died in a village clinic, she said.

Lt. Col. Ricky Bunayog, 33rd Infantry Battalion commander, said two homemade bombs were left by the rebels in a jungle trail where pursuing troops would pass, but the soldiers found the explosives.

Mama claimed the people killed by his group were militiamen, and said the attacks were inspired by IS, the group of jihadists that holds swaths of Iraq and Syria.

IS has claimed responsibil-ity for the downing of a Russian commercial plane over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, killing all 224 people onboard, on Oct. 31, and the multiple attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead and 352 oth-ers wounded on Nov. 13.

But Petinglay disputedMama’s claim, saying in a ra-

dio interview that the BIFF only “wanted to project it is still a force to reckon with after [being] reduced to a ragtag [band] of bandits following Army offensives in January.”

Petinglay said all units of three Army brigades in the region had been placed on full alert for pos-sible BIFF attacks.

Opposed to peace dealThe hardline BIFF broke off

from the larger Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front (MILF) in 2011, op-posing the MILF’s decision to hold peace talks with the administration of President Aquino and opting

to continue to fight for a separate Islamic homeland in Mindanao.

The government and the MILF signed a peace agreement in March last year and proceeded to work out a plan for the establish-ment of a Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The proposed Bangsamoro Ba-sic Law is stalled in Congress, but administration allies in the House and in the Senate have expressed hope the bill will be passed before President Aquino steps down at the end of June next year.

Riding on IS fermentGovernment chief negotiator

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said on Saturday the breakaway rebels may have carried out the attacks to ride on the restiveness fostered by IS and to exploit delays in the enforcement of the peace deal between the government and the MILF.

“They’re riding on the ferment of [the Islamic State group] and, second, they see uncertainties precisely because of the delay and they want to generate some momentum,” Ferrer said.

She warned of increased at-tempts by the BIFF to “destabilize” security in Central Mindanao, but Col. Restituto Padilla, spokesper-son for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the military was ready, as it expected more raids and harassment by the rebel group in retaliation for losses it had suf-fered in a series of military opera-tions early this year.

Padilla said the military and the police were keeping the clashes “localized,” as government forces hunt down the rebels behind the attacks.

The latest attacks were the most brazen by the BIFF since a military offensive against the group left more than 100 rebels dead early this year.

The BIFF still has about 100 armed fighters who may have been joined by relatives and new recruits to stage the attacks, the military said.

Palace hopes optimism continues beyond holidaysMANILA—Malacañang ex-

pressed hope that Filipinos’ op-timism will prevail during the Yuletide season and the year ahead.

The Palace released the state-ment following the results of a Social Weather Station survey for the last quarter of 2015 showing that optimism is at its peak in 12 years.

The survey conducted early December revealed that seven

by ROSETTE ADEL Philstar.com out of 10 Filipinos expect a happy

ChristmasPresidential Spokesperson Ed-

win Lacierda stressed that this is a rise in expected level of happiness and the return to the 70s level as the expectations declined to the 60s level from the years 2004 to 2013.

“May this optimism energize and encourage all of us to truly serve our country and work to-gether so that all Filipinos will experience peace, prosperity and contentment in the year to come,”

Lacierda said.The SWS survey showed that

only seven percent of the re-spondents expect to be sad this season while 20 percent were neutral on expecting happiness and sadness.

Meanwhile, 77 percent of the 1,200 respondents believe it is better to give than to receive. This result was the highest since 2003.

Only 20 percent believe it is better to receive, according to the survey.

2016 Philippine national budget loaded with pork, lump sums, says watchdog

MANILA— The P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016 recently signed by President Aquino is full of “pork” and lump sum appropria-tions, a corruption watchdog said.

Leonor Briones, lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines, said that while the National Expendi-ture Program (NEP) totals P3.002 trillion, more than P930 billion is in automatic appropriations, and P408 billion and P67.5 billion rep-resent Special Purpose Funds and Unprogrammed Funds.

Just like the 2015 national bud-get, the 2016 General Appropria-tions Act “reinforces the redefini-tion of savings and authorizes the transfer of DAP-like funds already declared by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional,” she said.

“As in previous election years, small infrastructure projects were embedded in the 2016 budget and were specifically identified by legis-lators during the preparation phase of the budget which amount to huge sums worth of public works,” Briones said. She said additional insertions were introduced by both chambers of Congress and the bicameral conference committee during budget deliberations.

Concrete examples are farm-to-market roads, which are identified with legislators who claim credit for them during election sorties, she said.

She said “revisions” and “bud-getary adjustments” made by Congress include the P326-million increase for Farm-to-Market Road Projects under the Department of Agriculture, or P7.377 billion from P7.051 billion; P987.930-million increase for Assistance to Indigent Patients under the Department of Health-Office of the Secretary (P2.783 billion from P1.795 bil-lion); and P2.54-billion increase for Government Internship Pro-gram and Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers Project under the Department of Labor and Employment-Office of the Secretary (P3.267 billion from P727.3 billion).

The other adjustments are the P403-million increase for Training for Work Scholarship Program un-der the DOLE-Technical Education

and Skills Development Authority (P2.206 billion from P2.203 bil-lion); P1.248 billion-increase for Local Infrastructure Program under Department of Public Works and Highways-Office of the Secretary

(P19.813 billion from P18.566 bil-lion); P5.382-billion increase for Protective Services Program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Office of Secre-

by PAOLO ROMERO Philstar.com

OPINION FEATURES

8:00AM, Tuesdays in the San Francisco Bay Area is 12:00 midnight in Manila, because of Daylight Saving Time. This is when the Wednesday online edition of Busi-ness World is posted. I watch out for this proverbial witching hour (which is, in fact, breakfast time for folks like me in California) because that’s when I can go over my column of 27-plus years in the country’s leading business daily.

Except for burglars and security guards and, oh yes, witches, you hardly expect anyone to be awake in Manila just to post comments on someone’s newspaper column. But the other week, as soon as my piece, “Duterte’s Way Isn’t the Best Way,” went online, it was immediately pelted with a barrage of negative comments (well over a dozen) that appeared, interestingly, like an or-chestrated counter-propaganda blitz by paid social media trolls.

Note that the commentaries were posted almost immediately after mid-night, which means that a team had been placed on standby to take potshots at my column (if was it was about or against Duterte, my piece in the previous week having been entitled, “Duterte, Trump, Hitler and Nardong Putik”).

I’ve been writing for a living for much longer than most people have been alive, so I can spot from a mile away any effort to make a letter to the edi-tor look “authentic.” The fellows who posted the adverse comments were probably sleepy or poorly-paid and thus tended to copy from each other, as well as use similar phraseology (lines like, “Whatever you say, Duterte pa rin kami!” and “We are rock solid behind Duterte!”).

Worse yet (for whoever is paying their wages), the trolls tried but failed to seem like “average Pinoys” with bad

grammar and poor spelling. They certainly did not fit the reader-ship profile of Business World. You might de-scribe their verbiage as “pang-tabloid.”

Apparently, my com-mentaries on the presi-dential aspirations of

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte have become reason for me to be caught in the cross-hairs of the social media snip-ers. Of course, I have no worries about being given the dreaded Duterte extra-judicial treatment. I’m too old to get scared of that. Besides, Duterte’s leg-endary kill rate, by his own admission, is more fiction than fact.

At any rate, Duterte’s presidential campaign isn’t the specific focus of this piece. Rather, it is the use of social media as a means for influencing minds and, by extension, influencing a political contest like the coming presidential elections.

The question is: How effective is so-cial media in doing so?

One clue could be in the fact that Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who claims to be the hands-down favorite for presi-dent among Facebook habitues, regis-ters rather poorly in the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys, both of which provide a relatively fair idea of the rankings (ex-cept when a survey is commissioned by a candidate).

In a report on Inquirer.net, dated No-vember 25, Carlo Ople, managing part-ner and director of digital advertising agency DM9 Digit, described Santiago as a “social media darling” who “leads the pack among presidential aspirants with 3,205,407 followers on Facebook and 2,094,618 on Twitter.” In con-trast, Ople pointed out, “Senator Grace Poe, lags in social media: She only has 737,711 fans on Facebook and 58,154 on Twitter.”

However, a completely different story is revealed by a December 4 to 12 Stan-

dard Poll, conducted nationwide by vet-eran pollster Junie Laylo among 1,500 registered voters. The survey tells us that Poe, in spite of being disqualified by two Comelec divisions, is in the lead with 28%, followed by Vice-President Jejomar Binay with 23%, LP stan-dard bearer Mar Roxas with 22% and Duterte with 19%. Santiago just man-aged to register a wee beep with 3%.

In truth, we do not know enough about the impact of social media on the attitudes of Filipinos as voters (as dis-tinct from their attitudes as social me-dia butterflies). What we have observed, however, is that the mainstream media – meaning, the national dailies and the TV and radio networks – closely moni-tor postings on social media and, when-ever there appears to be a “trend,” they recycle the postings as “fresh news.” A further recycling happens when TV and radio newscasters and commentators, read the news straight from the pages of the newspapers and pass that off as “nagbabagang balita” (red hot news).

According to available data, national TV has the most influence on the per-ceptions and attitudes of the citizenry – whether as voters or as consumers of entertainment news. In that regard, theoretically, one could influence the voters by, first, influencing the content of TV newscasts and commentaries.

Of course, in the age of envelop-mental journalism, one does not need

social media to achieve that objective. The coffee shop scuttlebutt tells us that broadcasters are just as prone to brib-ery as politicians (but then, who is to provide proof of that?)

In any case, one reason PR and propa-ganda specialists consider social media a vehicle of choice to sow disinforma-tion, feed outright lies, create confusion and generate the impression of a band-wagon for their clients is because they only pay for the cost of labor and, next to newspaper clippings, it is a convenient way to show “proof of performance.”

Social media postings are easy to click and clip or produce a screen shot of for showing to clients and thus, for earning their retainers. It’s not as easy to do with broadcast media because that requires tedious monitoring, re-cording and submission of affidavits of performance.

An online article in July 2014, en-titled, “Research Confirms: The Philip-pines is Still the Social Media Capital of the World,” cited a global study called Wave7 that stated, “Filipinos are using social media to primarily connect (with) their families living overseas.” The same study listed “how Filipinos use social media”:

• To keep company – 62%• To share new experiences to (sic)

friends and followers – 63%• To have fun – 65%• To meet new people – 70%

• To stay in touch with friends and family – 74%

There was no mention of “keeping up with current events” or “political news.” But then, the study was conducted in 2006. Presumably, a lot has changed since then. However, if the disconnect between the results of public opinion polls and social media popularity is an indicator, it looks like the social media trolls who have been assigned to snipe at my columns may not be helping Duterte very much.

In truth, if you were to closely follow social media, you will note the same fa-miliar names over and over again, post-ing commentaries, exchanging views, philosophizing and passing on pro-fundities to each other, over and over again. It’s almost like incest.

In a Facebook exchange with a dear friend of mine, creative and communi-cations wonder boy, Greg Garcia, he made an oblique reference to the im-pact (or lack of impact) of social media:

“In social media we are all just talk-ing to each other, sa totoo lang. And active participants are really committed anyway to a candidate with a passion.”

Greg’s advice: If you want to effec-tively promote your candidates – at least at this point in time – use main-stream media.

He should have added: And be pre-pared to invest millions. (gregmacaben-ta@hotmail.com)

Will the presidential contest be won on social media?

GREG B. MACABENTA

Street Talk

BEFORE we charge 2015 to history, we are again reminded to look back and reflect on all the important events that have happened in the past 12 months. This year we celebrated triumphs and suffered defeats. Which way does the Philippines go? Will Filipinos learn from mistakes and lead themselves to better lives, or will we constitute a false dawn?

Re�ection

In a nutshell, 2015 will go down as one of the most eventful years, for it has shaped and changed the world by leaps and bounds.

The Philippine economy is boom-ing -- it stands strong by sustaining a steady growth. Remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are forecast to reach $29.7 billion this year, making the Philippines the world’s third largest recipient of remittances, just behind India ($72.2 billion) and China ($63.9 billion). The labor markets for Filipinos are now expanding and de-mands for Filipinos workers are seen.

With sound government spending, the econom-ic potential of the country is now confident to go head-to-head with its aggressive neighbors. The current administration has also led development to agriculture, education, health and social welfare.

2015 started on a high note when Pope Fran-cis visited the country in January. In November, Filipinos welcomed global leaders for the Asia-Pa-cific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Summit in Manila. The leaders from the 21-member associa-

tion discussed some of the region’s most pressing issues including eco-nomic integration, trade liberaliza-tion, sustainable growth and energy security.

On Dec. 20, 26-year-old Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the Miss Universe crown, the third crown for the Philippines. Besting 80 beauties from around the globe, Wurtzbach won the hearts of the judges by displaying her intellect, cultural values, sense of poise and of being. She did not only epitomize what the world considers beautiful, but she also represented what a Filipina has to offer.

Along the victories Filipinos rejoiced were ad-versities that the country had to bear. The ongoing Spratlys dispute between China and the Philip-pines remains unresolved. Travel advisories were issued against the Philippines for purported ter-rorism. Many Filipinos were affected by the series of typhoons that hit the country. Some lost power for days, others had their homes flooded and a number lost their homes altogether, while dam-ages amounted to billions.

Editorial

During the latter part of the year, difficulties have posed threats on the integrity of the country’s po-litical system. Political vendettas and government procrastination have cast doubts on the Filipinos’ practice of democracy. To say that Philippine poli-tics has never been more controversial this year is an understatement.

While 2015 proved to be a challenging year, it

also fortified our courage, vigilance, resilience and hope as a people, in the face of adversity. No mat-ter how dreadful some of the unfortunate events are, Filipinos have still managed to score achieve-ments, solve problems and most of all, set goals. The work is not yet done for Filipinos. Challenges will still come and improvements must still tran-spire. (AJPress)

I HOPE you all had the merriest Christmas with your loved ones. This happy holiday season also heralds the ending of the year, and the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.

No matter how crazy and busy our schedules haven been in the last days of the year, let us find those solemn moments to be quiet and reflect on the gift and lessons 2015 has brought us as we welcome the coming of 2016.

As we aspire and strive to make 2016 a better year, let us be guided by positive healthy thoughts on the first day of the year, and everyday thereafter. Remember that the battle starts in our minds, and so let us feed our minds with thoughts of hope, faith and victory.

HAVE A BLESSED 2016!Below are some of my favorites that I gather from

many sources.“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but

a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” - Oprah Winfrey

“For last year’s words be-long to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.” - T.S. Eliot

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficul-ties.” - Helen Keller

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao Tzu

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney

“All of us every single year, we’re a different person. I don’t think we’re the same person all our lives.” - Steven Spielberg

“Make New Year’s goals. Dig within, and discover

what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you’re interested in fully living life in the year to come.” - Melody Beattie

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” - Cavett Robert

“For a new year to bring you something new, make a move, like a butterfly tearing its cocoon! Make a move!” - Mehmet Murat Ildan

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“Success means having the courage, the determi-nation, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” - George Sheehan

“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but rather that we should have a new soul.” - G.K. Chesterton

“You are never too old to set another goal or to

dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance,

you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein“I hope that in this year to come, you make mis-

takes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, chang-ing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” - Neil Gaiman

“Here’s to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold.” - Unknown

“.Forgetting the things that are behind and reach-ing out for the things that are ahead..” - Philippians 3:13

* * *

The battle starts in our minds

GEL SANTOS-RELOS

The Fil-Am Perspective

Victorious thoughts to guide us in 2016

by ARTEMIO DUMLAO Philstar.com

Roxas mum on SWS survey showing him tailing Poe, Binay

PH out of list of deadliest for journalists

by PAOLO ROMERO Philstar.com

MANILA—Liberal Party presi-dential candidate Manuel Roxas II was mum on the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed him in second place in the 2016 presidential race.

Roxas declined to comment when asked by reporters in Calumpit, Bulacan about the SWS poll, which showed him obtaining 22 percent, behind independent presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay, who were statistically tied

in first place.However, Pulse Asia, which

also released the results of its poll earlier this week, showed that Roxas ranked fourth with 17 percent, down from 20 percent in September.

“Merry Christmas!” was all Roxas said when reporters pressed him for a comment on the SWS survey.

Allies of Roxas said they are hop-ing the erratic voters’ preference will be to his advantage, and he could steadily improve in the polls until the elections next May.

Roxas earlier said he was un-

fazed by the Pulse Asia survey, say-ing “the most important survey is on Election Day in May 2016.”

“We’ve seen this long before that it’s erratic — last month, Grace was first; last week, it was Duterte. Now it’s Binay. Maybe in the next (survey), it’ll be me,” Roxas said in a statement in Filipino.

“What’s important is that our record is clean, we’ve a clear plat-form on where we want to bring our country and clear benefits of daang matuwid (straight path). I’ll just continue my campaign,” he said.

2016 budget loaded with pork, lump sums...tary (P6.698 billion from P1.315 billion); P144-million increase for Tulong Dunong Program under the Commission on Higher Educa-tion (P1.130 billion from P986.231 million); and P662.538-million increase for Financial Assistance

to LGUs under Local Government Support Fund in the Allocation to Local Government Units (P862.538 million from P200 million).

She said Social Watch earlier estimated that around P33.2 billion went to pork-like funds distributed across five agencies, adding that

estimates from other groups are more or less similar to what the watchdog has arrived at.

She said Social Watch is call-ing for more details on the 27 amendments from the bicameral committee, which are subject to “conditional implementation.”

BAGUIO CITY—For the first time since 2007, the Philippines is not on the list of the “World’s Most Deadly Countries for Journalists.”

The New York-based press free-dom watchdog Committee to Pro-tect Journalists (CPJ) said in its yearend analysis that it did not document a single journalist killed in direct relation to work in the Philippines.

The CPJ, however, noted that at least seven Filipino journalists were killed in unclear circumstances. It continues to investigate these cases for a work-related motive, it said.

The Philippines was always in the list of World’s Most Dangerous Countries for the Press, along with warn-torn countries like Syria and Iraq, peaking in November 2009 when at least 30 journalists were killed along with 28 others in Ma-guindanao, perhaps the single most deadly mass killing of journalists in the world.

CPJ began compiling detailed records on all journalist deaths in 1992.

Syria and France topped the countries around the world with 40 percent of 69 journalists killed in the line of duty in 2015.

Muslim extremist groups that included al-Qaeda and the Islamic State systematically kill journalists in Syria.

Nine of 69 killings took place in France, which came second to Syria.

The number of journalists killed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 23, 2015 was higher than the 61 journalists

killed last year, the CPJ said, while vowing it was investigating the deaths of at least 24 more journal-ists during the year to determine whether they were work-related.

The CPJ noted that unlike the past three years, the deaths were widely distributed across countries, citing that at least five journalists were killed each in Iraq, Brazil, Bangladesh, South Sudan and Yemen.

In 2012, 2013 and 2014, deaths in Syria far outnumbered those in the rest of the world. The declining number of deaths in Syria—where 13 were killed in 2015—“reflects in part the reduced number of journalists working there, after many major international news or-ganizations chose not to send staff to the country and local journalists fled into exile,” the CPJ yearend analysis said.

It was acknowledged by CPJ that while there was lower number of confirmed killings in Syria, re-searching cases was increasingly difficult there and in other places ravaged by conflict, including Libya, Yemen and Iraq.

CPJ said it undertook a research mission to Iraq this year to investi-gate reports that up to 35 journalists from Mosul were missing, dead or held captive by Islamic State. But the CPJ wasn’t able to confirm the deaths because of the militant group’s stranglehold on informa-tion about the city.

The press freedom watchdog said it has received reports of dozens more journalists killed in Syria and Iraq, but was unable to independently confirm this and

whether work was the reason.Those left practicing journalism

in these conflict-ravaged countries are often affiliated with groups party to the conflict, further complicating CPJ’s endeavors to determine the reasons behind their deaths.

Worldwide, more than two-thirds of the journalists killed in 2015 were singled out in reprisal for their work – “in line with the historical average but a greater percentage than CPJ has recorded over the past five years.”

One-third of killings worldwide came at the hands of criminal groups, government officials or local residents – in most cases, drug traffickers or local authorities suspected of being in collusion with organized crime, the CPJ analysis said.

It specifically cited how Brazilian Gleydson Carvalho was shot dead by two men while on his afternoon radio show, which often criticized local police and politicians for cor-ruption and wrongdoing.

Brazil, with six murders, regis-tered its highest number of killings since CPJ began keeping detailed records in 1992.

While the level of violence is unprecedented, Brazilian judicial authorities made strides in combat-ing impunity with six convictions of murder in the past two years.

The world’s newest country—South Sudan—registered for the first time on CPJ’s database of killed journalists when gunmen ambushed an official convoy in Western Bahr al Ghazal state, re-sulting in the death of five journal-ists traveling with an official.

by JEANNETTE I. ANDRADEInquirer

DOT upbeat about reaching 6M tourists in 2016MANILA—With visitor arrivals

to the Philippines breaching the 5 million mark, officials of the De-partment of Tourism (DOT) remain upbeat on drawing even more tourists next year with projects lined up to improve the country’s airports and seaports.

Greater connectivity and service quality upgrade, according to DOT undersecretary for tourism devel-opment Benito Bengzon Jr., are the agency’s current focus to eas-ily achieve next year’s target of 6 million tourists.

Bengzon pointed out that while the DOT has successfully built global awareness of the country as a whole, the agency would still work to create “a bigger demand for specific destinations,” hinged on the Philippines’ advantage of having multiple gateways.

Among such destinations are: Manila, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay, Palawan, Davao, Iloilo, and Siar-gao Island.

“It is part of the strategy of the DOT to position ourselves as a multiple-gateway destination. We have that unique advantage over the others because many countries in Southeast Asia, at best, only

have three or four destinations,” the tourism official said.

“We are able to push eight des-tinations. This is why connectivity is very important,” he stressed and added that connectivity means better transportation facilities and infrastructure, thus, accessibility.

Bengzon said that the agency has become focused on comple-menting the marketing strategy with infrastructure for greater con-nectivity and expanding our ca-pacity to absorb visitors. Likewise, the DOT is looking to upgrade the quality of services delivered by frontliners in the tourism industry.

He said that while the country has faced challenges since 2010, including: the Quirino grandstand hostage crisis; supertyphoon Yolanda; foreign embassy-issued travel advisories; and the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) debacle that hit the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the tourism indus-try has remained strong.

From January to October this year, visitor receipts grew by 8.24 percent at P186.89 billion compared to the same period last year’s P172.66 billion.

Korea is still the top visitor spending market, followed by the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Chi-na, Malaysia, the United Kingdom,

India, and Taiwan. Korea also con-tributed the most number of arriv-als at 1.1 million.

On December 21 the country’s 5 millionth visitor for 2015, Fili-pino-American Gabby Grantham, arrived at the NAIA terminal 2 on a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles. She was surprised by of-ficials of the DOT and the Bureau of Immigration with a bouquet and a VIP tour voucher for her next visit.

Looking forward, Bengzon as-sured the continuity of whatever project the DOT would undertake before the change in administra-tion next year, saying that there would be a smooth transition with the plan in place and strategic in-frastructure projects already em-bedded in the work programs of the Departments of Public Works and Highways and the Transporta-tion and Communications.

“The overall framework is in-tact. In fact, now we are working for the next phase of tourism de-velopment for 2016. We call it the successor plan which will be from 2016 through 2025,” he said.

Bengzon further assured, “There will be a solid corps of technocrats and bureaucrats who will make sure the programs will be implemented.”

SEAFOOD CITYFPFC

VEGAS&STYLEJOURNAL

By PHILSTAR.COM

Philippine entertainment in 2015IT was the year of the Kalyeserye

and the one that ended the 42-year Miss Universe drought. These are the stories that made waves in show business in 2015.

AlDubAn accidental love team even-

tually turned into a phenomenon. The Alden Richards-Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza team-up, popularly known as AlDUb, took the noon-time TV block by storm.

A new character named Yaya Dub joined the “Juan For All, All For Juan” segment of “Eat Bu-laga!” who was introduced as Lola Nidora’s maid. In July, the camera accidentally panned toward Alden and the host Allan K noticed how Yaya Dub’s snob image turned soft after she saw the Kapuso actor.

Since then, viewers followed how their love story developed, un-til the day they finally met in person at the “Tamang Panahon” event at the Philippine Arena in Meycuayan, Bulacan in September. Now their love team will go a notch higher as they star in their first film “My Bebe Love,” which also features Vic Sotto and Ai Ai delas Alas. The film is an entry to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival.

‘Eat Bulaga!’ vs. ‘It’s Show-time’

As the Alden Richards- Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza gained popu-larity, the already booming rating of “Eat Bulaga” increased further. This made netizens say that rival ABS-CBN noontime show “It’s Showtime” is nearing its end.

Yet even before the show started, “It’s Showtime” host Vice Ganda acknowledged that “Eat Bulaga” could not be defeated. He even described the show’s hosts, par-ticularly Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon and Tito Sotto, as their “idols.”

Vice Ganda’s co-hosts Anne Curtis and Billy Crawford agreed to what he said. Anne said that the shows’ “competition” somehow proves that “people are still into noontime shows.” While Billy said that the two shows’ intention is clearly to make people laugh and have fun.

Celebrity weddingsSome of the most talked-about

weddings this year were those of Heart Evangelista and Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Toni Gonzaga and director Paul Soriano, and Nikki Gil and BJ Albert.

But the ceremonies themselves were not only those that made the news. Even at the preparation stage, some weddings stirred controversy. Heart and TV host Cesca Litton had a rift over their reservation for Balesin Island in Quezon province.

Cesca claims that her February 14 reservation was “bumped off” since Heart and Chiz are friends with the owner of the club. The Kapuso actress then claimed that she and her lawmaker boyfriend are reserv-ing the place for their February 15 wedding. In the end the ladies were able to iron out their issues, with Cesca opting to wed in Eskaya Beach Resort in Bohol.

Fans, meanwhile, were abuzz over the wedding the wedding of Toni and Paul, dubbed the “ideal couple.” It was well known that Toni comes from a protective fam-ily that set up dating rules for her and Paul.

Nikki’s wedding to BJ was also the talk of the town for two reasons: Critics said the wedding was her vindication for her failed relation-ship with Billy Crawford, while oth-ers find their wedding too sudden. Yet for Nikki, it was the “perfect time” since she felt “at peace” with their relationship.

Other celebrity weddings that made news in 2015 were:

• Saab Magalona and Jim Ba-carro (Jan 24, St. Ignatius Chapel, Baguio City)

• Yeng Constantino and Victor Asuncion (Feb 14, Hacienda Isa-belle, Indang Cavite)

• Cesca Litton and Tyke Kalaw (Feb. 14, Eskaya Beach Resort & Spa, Bohol)

• Heart Evangelista and Francis “Chiz” Escudero (Feb 15, Balesin Island, Quezon Province)

• Eric Tai and Rona Samson (March 6, The Church of Jesus Cjrist of Latter Day Saints, Cubao, Quezon City)

• Patrick Garcia and Nikka Mar-tinez (March 21, Blue Leaf Filipinas, Paranaque City)

• Gab Valenciano and Tricia Centenera (March 27, Highlands Golf Club, Tagaytay City)

• Diana Zubiri and Andrew Smith (May 10, Sampaguita Events Place, Quezon City)

• John Prats and Isabel Oli (May 16, Nuestra Senora Dela Paz Y BUen Viaje, Batangas)

• Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano (June 12, Methodist Church, Taytay

Rizal)• Nikki Gil and BJ Albert (No-

vember 21, Sta. Elena Gold and

Country Club)First-time celebrity momsAfter the big wedding, another

highlight of a couple’s life is the

first child.Marian Rivera’s pregnancy

with her first child with Dingdong

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Maine Mendoza on MMFF Best Supporting Actress award: ‘Why me?’

Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach wants to move past nightmare

MANILA—Miss Universe 2015 winner Pia Wurtzbach called on everyone to stop fighting about the controversy and gaffe surrounding the finale night.

Days after the most bizarre night of her life, Wurtzbach is still wres-tling with a controversy that turned a dream moment into a nightmare and threatens to ruin her reign as the year’s Miss Universe.

Now, the 26-year-old Filipina wants to put everything behind her. In a note on her Instagram page, Wurtzbach implored every-one to stop fighting.

“Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats” what the Miss Universe pageant stands for, which is about ‘uniting empowered women from all over the world’.

“I’m excited to begin my duties as Miss Universe,” she said.

To Colombia’s Ariadna Gutier-rez, 22, Wurtzbach said: “You are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience.”

Wurtzbach and Gutierrez had been at the center of a contro-versy that had ironically given Miss Universe a wider reach than it normally gets.

In what has been described as one of the most embarrassing mo-ments in TV history, the pageant’s host, American comedian Steve Harvey, 58, misread both his cue card and teleprompter and gave the US$300,000 (P14.1 million) blue diamond and topaz Miss Universe crown to Gutierrez.

When the dust settled, Wurtz-bach was the one wearing the crown. But Harvey’s gaffe had already spoilt the evening for everyone. Recalling the unfortu-nate evening, Wurtzbach told a reporter: “I was confused.”

She was not certain she had won, even after the curtains went down. She kept asking her man-ager: “Am I really Miss Universe? Are they going to take the crown from me now?”

Off-camera, emotions ran high. In a video posted on Facebook, a group of candidates could be seen huddling around a sobbing Gutierrez. Wurtzbach tried to join in, but she was kept out of the circle, with Miss Montenegro Maja Cukic, 20, pointedly telling her to “step back”.

Wurtzbach was then led off the stage by a pageant staff member. The women around Gutierrez began chanting: “Colombia! Co-lombia!”

“She was crying, and there was a crowd around her… I wanted to apologize to her for what hap-pened,” said Wurtzbach, recalling that moment.

On being kept away from Guti-errez, she said: “Maybe it was bad timing.”

Marketer Albert Almendralejo, who flew to Las Vegas, US, to watch the pageant live, said the atmosphere at the venue quickly

shifted from jubilatory to tense, as soon as Mr Harvey corrected him-self and declared: “Miss Universe 2015 is Miss Philippines.”

The crowd began taking sides, with chants of “Colombia! Co-lombia!” and “Philippines! Philip-pines!” filling the hall. Almendral-ejo said he half-expected a fight to break out.

But in the Philippines, a pag-eant-crazy nation of over 100 mil-lion, Filipinos were by then already rallying around their “queen”.

On social media and talk shows, and in celebrity columns and gos-sip corners, people riled at the “snubbing” Wurtzbach endured, and called out Gutierrez for being ungracious in defeat.

Gloria Diaz, the first Filipina to become Miss Universe in 1969, said someone should sue Har-vey for the embarrassment he caused.

Another Filipina Miss Universe, Margie Moran, who won in 1973, said the snafu “robbed (Wurtzbach) of the glory of that moment”.

“It was unfortunate, but she won. That’s all that matters really.” (Inquirer.net)

‘Walang Forever’ runaway winner at 41st MMFFMANILA—“Walang Forever,” a

romantic comedy starring Jenny-lyn Mercado and Jericho Rosales, was the runaway winner at the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival awards ceremony at the Kia Theater, Que-zon City on Sunday, Dec. 27.

“Walang Forever” took the Best Picture, Best Story, and Best Screenplay awards as well as the FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence.

Rosales was named Best Actor, while Mercado was Best Actress for their performances in “Walang Forever.”

“Buy Now, Die Later” bagged the Second Best Picture award while My “Bebe Love” was Third Best Picture.

The Best Supporting Actress award went to phenomenal star Maine Mendoza (My Bebe Love) while the Best Supporting Actor was given to Tirso Cruz III (Honor Thy Father).

Krystel Brimner (Honor Thy Father) got the Best Child Per-former award.

Erik Matti (Honor Thy Father) was named Best Director.

“My Bebe Love” also bagged the Gatpuno Villegas Award.

Other awards/winners were

Amid MMFF ‘scandal,’ Erik Matti tells �lmgoers: You deserve better

MANILA—Thank you for the free publicity.

Thus said Erik Matti of “Honor Thy Father” after he won the Best Director award at the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Gabi ng Parangal at the Kia Theater in Quezon City on Sunday, Dec. 27.

It can be remembered that “Honor Thy Father” was disquali-fied from the Best Picture category of the MMFF on Saturday due to its inclusion in the 2015 Cinema One Originals as the film festival’s opening film.

The issue has made a buzz on social media. Netizens tagged the issue as the (hashtag) “MMFF-2015scandal” on Twitter and other social networking sites.

Matti did not attend the MMFF awards night; Shiel Calde of “Honor Thy Father” producer Reality En-tertainment accepted the award and gave the acceptance speech in behalf of the director.

Read Matti’s acceptance speech for the Best Director award be-

low:Kahit kalian po, hindi ako guma-

wa ng pelikula para magka-award. At kung may mga reklamo man ako sa MMFF, hindi ‘yun tungkol sa pagdisqualify n’yo sa ‘Honor Thy Father’ from the Best Picture category… Mas malalim kaysa d’yan ang disappointment ko sa MMFF—mula sa pagpili n’yo ng sineng isasali hanggang sa pag-kunsinti n’yo sa masahol na trato ng mga sinehan sa ibang pelikula, lalo na sa mga maliliit na producers. Para sa isang die-hard movie fan na gaya ko, hindi ko na halos makilala ang film festival na lagi kong hinan-

gaan at nirespeto.Maraming salamat po sa libreng

publicity at, higit lahat, para buk-san ang pinto para pagusapan na sa wakas ng filmmakers, lalo na ng filmgoers, ang mga hinangad nilang pagbabago para sa MMFF.

Para naman sa mga Pilipinong hindi pa rin nagsasawang manood ng mga pelikulang ginagawa na-min dito, salamat po sa inyo. You deserve better. Kaya tulungan n’yo naman po kami. Demand for better films. Demand for more choices in the cinemas. Kaya pa nating ba-guhin ito. Hindi ako titigil hangga’t di kayo tumitigil.

His speech also references the yearly problem in the MMFF of cinemas pulling out entries a few days into the festival due to poor performance in the box office.

Other filmmakers who are part of the 2015 MMFF also expressed their disappointment over the dis-qualification of “Honor Thy Father” and the decision of cinemas to pull out entries that are not performing well in the box office.

“Panoorin po natin lahat ng peli-kulang Pilipino na kasal sa MMFF, especially ang ‘Honor Thy Father.’ Napanood ko po siya, I highly recommend it,” “Walang Forever” director Dan Villegas said during his acceptance speech for his Best Story award (which he won with Antoinette Jadaone).

Joji Alonso of Quantum Films, the producer of “Walang Forever,” said when her movie own Best Pic-ture: “This should be a very joyous moment, but I’m not that happy. I only wish that ‘Honor Thy Father’ was also part of this category, and I mean that with all sincerity.”

by JOYCE JIMENEZ Philstar.com

Best Story, Dan Villegas and An-toinette Jadaone, Walang Forever; Best Editing, Nilalang; Best Cin-ematography, Nilalang; Best Fes-tival Float, Buy Now Die Later;

Best Festival Sound Award, Di-toy Aguila, Nilalang; Best Musical Score, Jessie Lasaten, Nilalang; Best Original Theme Song, “Tao” by Armi Millare, Honor Thy Fa-ther; Best Festival Visual Effects,

Nilalang;Best in Makeup, Honor Thy Fa-

ther; and Best Festival Production Design, Buy Now, Die Later.

Mercado was named Female Celebrity of the Night, while Cesar Montano was Male Celebrity of the Night.

The event was hosted by KC Concepcion and Richard Guiter-rez. (Philstar.com)

Philippine entertainment...Dantes was highly anticipated. Last year, the couple was planning to have a child two years after their wedding in 2014, but it was given to them in February 2015. The Kapuso actress gave birth to Maria Letizia on November 23.

After the announcement of her pregnancy in August last year, Cristine Reyes gave birth to her daughter with boyfriend Ali Khatibi. It was on February 8 when she gave birth to Amarah, the same year the couple got engaged.

Some other first-time moms who gave birth this year were Me-lissa Ricks, who gave birth to Kiera Kelly on January 12. After years of waiting, Ciara Sotto and husband Jojo Oconer finally had a child on February 28, whom they named Vincezo Xose.

Pinoy artists go internationalAside from beauty queens tak-

ing home the crown, a number of Filipino talents also raised the Philippine flag internationally. Singer Rachelle Ann Go, mean-while, became part of the West-End musicals “Miss Siagon” as Gigi and

“BAKIT ako?”Even Maine “Yaya Dub” Men-

doza herself could not believe that she bagged the Metro Manila Film Festival’s (MMFF) Best Supporting Actress award for playing her role in Jose Javier Reyes’ comedy film “My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore”

On a Twitter post on Monday, Mendoza of the “AlDub” fame an-ticipated the bashing that she would get from critics after besting other nominees in the category, including veteran actresses Nova Villa, Lotlot de Leon and Iza Calzado.

“Bago pa ako ibash ng sam-bayanan, mauuna na ako… Bakit

ako? Pero maraming salamat po! Magandang umaga sa lahat!” she tweeted.

(Before the public bashes me, I will say it before they do… Why me? But thank you so much! Good morning to everyone!)

Mendoza was not in the cer-emony to receive her award as she was in Japan for vacation.

“My Bebe Love,” which also starred Mendoza’s on-screen part-ner Alden Richards, Vic Sotto and Ai-ai Delas Alas, was hailed 3rd Best Picture during the MMFF awards night on Sunday, Dec. 27. (Inquirer.net)

of the 2007 romantic movie “One More Chance” starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, two of the country’s biggest movie stars. But would the sequel to what is essen-tially a modern pop culture classic live up to the hefty expectations attached to it?

Yet somehow, the two movies managed to become the country’s biggest movies of the year. “Hen-eral Luna,” despite being a slow burn in the box office, became an online sensation, a hit among mil-lennials. In a way, its lack of box office appeal was its appeal.

Viewers in general were tenta-tive to the idea of a “One More Chance” sequel at first (although the property was alive and well this year, even without it; a noveliza-tion and an anniversary DVD were released even before the movie was announced to be in the offing). But in the end, it seems people wanted to know what happened to Popoy and Basha. According to its producer Star Cinema, “A Second Chance” is now the Philippines’s highest grossing movie of all time.

“Les Miserables” as Fantine. Both roles were portrayed before by Lea Salonga.

Another big winner was the shadow dance group El Gamma Penumbra, hailed the first grand winner of “Asia’s Got Talent” in May. Three other Filipinos were made it to the finals of the com-petition namely Gerphil Flores, Junior New System and Gweyneth Dorado.

More Filipinos tried their luck in different international competi-tions. Filipino-Australian Cyrus Villanueva was named “X Factor Australia.” On “X Factor UK,” Filipino girl band 4th Impact made it to the third week before being eliminated, while Neneth Lyon made it to the top ten.

‘Heneral Luna’ / ‘A Second Chance’

“Heneral Luna” and “A Sec-ond Chance” couldn’t be more different from each other. One is an independent historical movie starring John Arcilla and directed by Jerrold Tarog—two names who aren’t exactly known for their box office draw. The other is a sequel

Kim, Xian: No-label relationship a sign of ‘respect’

Janine Gutierrez and her answered prayersMANILA—Janine Gutierrez

says that the year 2015 will be a very memorable one for her.

“I have so many answered prayers this year,” Janine says. “When the year started, I prayed that God would give me a chance to do a movie. And He gave me not just one, but three movies.”

She adds, “I’m now in ‘Buy Now Die Later’ for direk Randolph Longjas of Quantum Films. I also finished shooting ‘Lila’ for direk Gino Santos and Dagsin for direk Ato Magadia. And all of them are entries in local filmfests. ‘Buy Now Die Later’ is in the Metro Manila Filmfest this Christmas, ‘Lila’ is in Sinag Maynila Filmfest in March and ‘Dagsin’ is in Cinemalaya in July.

“I also prayed to have a prime-time soap and that was granted in ‘More Than Words’ early this year. Then I got another show, ‘Dangwa,’ with Mark Herras and Aljur Abrenica now being shown in the mornings. It will run daw until

by MARIO E. BAUTISTA Philstar.com

February. Another wish granted is for me to be able to work with my mom (Lotlot de Leon) and grandma (Nora Aunor) — and that happened in an episode of “Karelasyon.”

“This year, I was also able to buy my own condo unit and hopefully, the interiors will soon be completed so I can move there in January. I got my own place to learn to be more independent. It’s important to learn to live on your own for you to grow up, be more mature and responsible in making your own decisions.”

What are her roles in the movies she did? “In ‘Buy Now,’ my mom Lotlot de Leon plays Maita, who wanted to be an actress when she was younger. Through a magic cream she got from the mysterious TJ Trinidad, she did look like when she was in her 20s. When she transforms into her younger self, nagiging ako yun. In ‘Lila,’ a thrill-er, I feel so guilty with the death of my younger brother in a car crash where I’m the one driving. I go to our Lola named Violeta or Lila, and that’s when horrifying things start happening. In ‘Dagsin,’ which means ‘gravity,’ the story revolves on an old couple, Marita Zobel and Tommy Abuel. In the flashback scenes during World War II, they’ll be seen when they were young at kami ni Benjamin Alves will play their younger selves.”

Is her relationship with boy-friend Elmo Gutierrez adversely affected by his moving over to ABS-CBN? “No, we’re okay, do-ing great. It’s his and his man-agement’s decision and I really don’t have anything to say about it except that, whatever happens, I will support him for sure.”

Some writers point out that her love team with Elmo is known as JanElmo. Now, it’s still JanElmo, but it’s for Elmo and Janella Sal-

vador. “Ay, ano raw sila, ElmElla kasi nga, ginamit na sa’min ang JanElmo. I’m really hoping the viewers will support their show.”

A lot of writers predict that their relationship will not last very long now that he is with ABS-CBN and they say the best example is LJ Reyes, whose relationship with Paulo Avelino also ended soon after he became a Kapamilya.

“Grabe nga po, it’s as if they really want us to break up. We just laugh about it because as of now, nothing has changed between us. We still see each other, although not as often as before. Nakaka-missdin because for two years, we’re always together at the taping of Villa Quintana and later, ‘More Than Words,’ but I remain very supportive about his transfer as it gives him new opportunities for growth as an artist. I watched him when he was officially introduced in ‘ASAP’ and I’m really happy for him. So, we just don’t want to dwell on the negative predictions na maghihiwalay kami.”

“Doing Buy Now Die Later” is a special treat for her since she’s in it with her own mom Lotlot. “I’m glad that this is my first movie kasi nga kasama ko si Mommy. I also enjoyed working with my co-stars here, who are mostly Kapamilya like Vhong Navarro, Rayver Cruz, Alex Gonzaga and John Lapus. They’re all very warm and easy to work with,” Janine says. “It’s also great to have a young and talented director like Randolph Longjas with very fresh ideas. He has a great concept for the movie where our five senses are involved in a story that is both funny and scary. They built a special set in a vacant building in Binondo, representing the antique store of TJ Trinidad. It’s very expensive but at the climax of the movie, they burned the whole thing down.”

MANILA—Xian Lim and Kim Chiu want to keep to themselves the details about their relation-ship as a sign of “respect” for each other.

“It’s a sign of respect na din at the same time because everything is just so out in the open and it’s just something for us,” Xian ex-plained in an interview in “Tonight with Boy Abunda.”

The two have been linked with each other since they started working together in the prime-time series “My Binondo Girl” in 2011.

Since Xian is good in painting and always had his eyes on Kim, he was asked if he’s willing to do a nude painting of Kim.

It was the Kapamilya actress who first reacted saying, “’Wag naman! Hindi ko kaya!” followed by a laugh.

Xian agreed with her, saying that his talent is not enough to “give justice” to Kim’s painting.

The two stars in the Metro Manila Film Festival entry “All You Need is Pag-ibig,” and soon in the TV series “Story of Us.” (Philstar.com)

Dingdong, Marian, baby Letizia in 1st family photoACTOR Dingdong Dantes on

Thursday, Dec. 24 posted a photo of himself with wife Marian Ri-vera and their one-month-old daughter Maria Letizia in their first portrait as a family.

The celebrity couple are cel-ebrating their first Christmas with their daughter who recently made headlines for “winning the genetic lottery.”

“This Christmas, we offer you our warmest wishes as we glorify the birth of the Child who came and filled the world with a love so true,” the actor said on his Instagram account.

“May the love of the Father, personified through His son, embrace you and fill your hearts and homes this holiday season. #MariaLetizia”

The couple celebrated the first

Matteo spreads his wings in a new directionLATELY, Matteo Guidicelli

has been spreading his wings in a new direction. If you’ve been following his recent career moves, you’d know that the former racer-turned-triathlete, actor and TV host has now of-ficially added singer, recording artist and concert star to his list of achievements.

Matteo staged a successful solo concert, titled MG1, and also released a single, titled Ipapadama na Lang. Before that, last July, he starred in another concert, Dreamboys, with JC de Vera and Daniel Matsunaga. But Matteo clarifies that his decision to get into all these projects and explore the musical side of him is not necessarily due to the influence of his girlfriend, Sarah Geronimo.

“She’s always there to support me, but I’ve loved this (music) since before pa. The thing is that it’s only now that doors have been opening to all these opportuni-ties,” he explains. “It only started two years ago, when I guested in Sarah’s concert in America.”

That time, Matteo was with Louie Ocampo, and before they came back to the Philippines, Louie talked to Matteo about the possibility of producing an album for him. “That’s when I said, ‘Oh my God, let’s do it!’ It had actu-ally been my dream since a long time ago.”

month of Maria Letizia’s birth on Wednesday, sharing photos of the baby on their respective

Instagram accounts.Maria Letizia was born on Nov.

23. (Inquirer.net)

It’s true. Matteo has always been interested in music—in fact, he studied musical theater when he was attending college in the US—but he just never had the confidence to explore what he could do with the musical talent he had. If there is one thing he realized, it’s that it is all down to the right timing. “It’s all about timing. You can’t force things to happen when you want. It just happens when it happens. So I guess it’s happening now,” he says with a big, contented smile.

He had a lot of fun preparing for the concert. There was an anxious moment, though, when he lost his voice two weeks be-fore the show. “I didn’t expect it was going to be this hectic and mind boggling and exciting,” relates Matteo. “Because I had a hosting gig, and in hosting you tend to overuse your voice, so the next morning, boom, I woke up with no voice, I panicked, I said, oh no, what am I going to do? Luckily we managed to fix everything.”

The show went off without a hitch, and got good reviews, which made Matteo very happy.

Meanwhile, as far as he and Sarah are concerned, Matteo clarifies they’re fine. Their re-lationship is founded on mutual respect. They give each other space, especially when it comes to their careers. According to Matteo, “She doesn’t really force me to do anything, she just tells

me to follow my heart, and if it’s pangit she tells me, and if it’s not, she tells me also. Same with her, if something she does is pan-git, I tell her also, which doesn’t happen often, but ‘yon, we’re very open with each other.”

One thing that both Matteo and Sarah are big on is giving back, since they’ve both been very blessed in terms of their careers. Matteo has his Forza Foundation (forza is an Italian word meaning force or strength; Matteo is half-Filipino and half-Italian. He traces his Pinoy roots to Cebu, where his Fernan rela-tives on his mother’s side are from). According to Matteo, the Forza Foundation mainly sup-ports athletes. He is also involved with Sun Life Asset Management, which teaches people how to invest. His latest involvement is with Boardwalk’s Share.ph, which he happily says, is “very nice because it doesn’t just give our Filipino kababayan business-es, it teaches us how to sustain the business and how to make our money grow. We have the starter kit, and they go through this 10-month seminar, and they just learn how to keep the money rolling. In other words, we teach them how to ‘get it and use it, not lose it.’”

He just hopes that fate will be kind and continue to give him op-portunities to reach out to others. “I’ve just been so blessed, I feel I should bless others in turn,” he says.

by BOY ABUNDA Philstar.com

Gloria, Margie didn’t train for Miss U as hard as Pia didby RICKY LO

Philstar.com

WE can’t have enough of Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, can we?

We gobble up with gusto every morsel of every story about Pia, don’t we?

We want to know every little part of Pia’s life as much as we can, can’t we?

Now, did you know that Pia is far different from Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973)?

Pia dreamed of becoming a beauty queen since she was a kid. Recalled her mom Cheryl Alonzo in a TV interview, Pia would wear mom Cheryl’s high heels and sashay like a, well, beauty queen while she would ask Pia, “What is the essence of being a woman?” (the deciding question that helped clinch the title for India’s Sushmita Sen when the Miss Universe pag-eant was held here the second time in 1994, after the first in 1974).

“I never thought of myself as a beauty queen,” Gloria told Funfare. “I don’t even NOW imagine myself being that!!!”

“No, I didn’t,” replied Margie. “I joined (the Bb. Pilipinas pageant) because Auggie Cordero con-vinced me.” (Auggie designed the gown Margie wore when she was crowned Miss U in Athens.)

Shown on TV a few days ago was Pia during her rigorous training for the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas, stretching every part of her body, pumping iron, bending and sitting up, running on treadmill, eating healthy, reviewing the Q&A segments of previous Bb. Pilipinas pageants in which she finished

runner-up and semi-finalist, never giving up, and generally adopting a positive attitude and psyching her-self walking on stage with the Miss U crown perched on her head.

“During my time,” added Gloria, “there was no training, no plastic surgery. With Bob Barker as host, the pageant went like clockwork. No voting by the audience, just a simple ‘you win or you lose’ by the judges. No country participation.”

“During my time,” recalled Margie, “we had no training. I was a model and I danced on stage at CCP and Meralco Theater so I knew how to walk and to project. I worked out and got a tan before I left for Athens. I read a lot and made sure that I was aware of current events. It was more simple then.”

Now in New York which will be her home during her year-long reign, Pia has appealed to “those fighting about this” (referring to the post-pageant brouhaha): “Please let’s all stop now.” In short, come on guys, move on!

“I am very happy about Pia’s Miss Universe win,” said Madame Stella Marquez-Araneta, head of the Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI), who won the first Miss Interna-tional crown for her home country (Colombia). “It is a well-deserved crown! All the hard work in her training at BPCI paid off. She did consistently well in the pre-pageant activities and impressed everyone with her excellent performance during the coronation night. Our heartfelt thanks go out to those who supported Pia in her journey. Congratulations!”

Here’s what Paula Shugart,

president of Miss Universe Orga-nization (MUO), said: “The past Sunday night, human error caused an unfortunate incident that is now being talked about around the world. My heart broke, not only for Ariadna Gutierrez (Miss Colombia, first runner-up) but for Pia and all the young women who worked so hard to be on that stage that night.

“However, knowing Pia’s sole desire was to ensure Ariadna was okay and witnessing Ariadna’s grace right after the show and ever since, knowing that destiny has other great things in store for her, only reinforced my faith in the in-credible women we have the privi-lege of working with at the Miss Universe Organization. My sincere congratulations to Pia and Ariadna, both for a job well done. And to our reigning Miss USA, Olivia Jordan, thank you for your kindness and support these past few days. You continue to make us proud.”

Now, this trivia (reported by Funfare’s “other beauty expert Celso de Guzman Caparas): Pia’s roommate, Myanmar’s May Thaw, visited Pia at her suite (where she was transferred after she won) to bid her goodbye before she flew back to Myanmar. Revealed Pia, “I gave her my last pearl earrings to keep and remember me. I’m so thankful to have met so many amaz-ing women during this journey.”

Meanwhile, Celso has filed a report on the country’s 2015 golden harvest in world/universe/global pageants. The winners and runners-up are pictured on this page.

4th Impact still feels like a winnerby LEAH C. SALTERIO

Philstar.com

MANILA—Just when Filipinos thought the Philippines had a chance to win the 12th season of “X Factor UK,” strong contender all-girl quartet 4th Impact was elimi-nated three weeks before the finals. The Cercado sisters (Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina) from Santiago, Isabela nonetheless are set to join the X Factor Live Tour 2016.

The show concluded its 12th season last Dec. 14, with 17-year-old Louisa Johnson proclaimed as winner. Mentored by new judge Rita Ora, Louisa edged out the Reggie ‘N’ Bollie duo in the finals, much to the disappoint-ment of judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.

Louisa was in tears after her name was called out as winner. At 17, she is the youngest champion of the international singing com-petition. Her debut single, “Forever Young,” was also released.

The night before the finals, Louisa and her mentor Rita did a powerful duet of Jennifer Hudson’s “And I Am Telling You,” while Reg-gie ‘N’ Bollie performed with UK garage artist, Craig David.

With a steady decline in TV rat-ings and the disappointing perfor-

mance of its new hosts throughout the season—Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, the first duo to present the show—”X Factor UK,” none-theless, remained a prestigious singing competition for the next big pop star.

Simon Cowell, a judge for nine seasons who mentored the Over 25 talents, was the first to lose all his artists before the finals—Bupsi, Max Stone, Anton Stephans.

Cheryl, a judge for five seasons, handled the Groups. She got her biggest upset of the season when 4th Impact was voted out. On the first week of the performances, Cheryl lost the group, Alien Un-

covered.Cheryl and first-time judge Rita

(who coached the Girls) were the last, two judges whose talents slugged it out in the finals. Another Rita talent, Lauren Murray, was voted off in the semi-finals. Kiera Weathers and Monica Michael were earlier eliminated.

Nick Grimshaw, meanwhile, was in charge of the Boys. His last talent standing, Che Chesterman, was eliminated in the finals. But Che even got to share the stage with Rod Stewart before the former’s exit. Nick’s other two talents, Seann Miley Moore and Mason Noise, were booted out earlier.

Licad and prize-winning cellist get standing ovation in North Carolina

PIANIST Cecile Licad’s first chamber music team-up with cellist Gary Hoffman in North Carolina last Dec. 4 got a standing ovation.

Recital was part of the Asheville Chamber Music series, which opened with Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 69.

American critic Jason DeCristo-faro noted that the opening piece proved an excellent showcase for both musicians: “Hoffman cap-tured the expansive six-measure cello solo with all the bravura one would expect of a soloist. When joined by Licad’s soft and delicate countermelody, something be-came immediately apparent—both artists, while consummate solo performers, were also two keen listeners who had developed an al-most telepathic musical connection. Both Hoffman and Licad exhibited synchronized precision throughout all three movements and captured the stormy and relentless rhythms of the sonata with a passionate intensity that would have made

Beethoven proud.”The critic singled out Licad’s

interpretation of “Alborada del Gracioso” from Ravel’s “Miroirs,” which he noted as a kaleidoscope of musical effects.

“Licad captured each mood with exceptional attention to detail,” said DeCristofaro. “She maintained the syncopated 6/8 ostinati throughout the movement with a rhythmic vigor similar to her performance of the Beethoven earlier in the night. Her rendition of the cascading pentatonic runs on the second half of the movement was executed with the gracefulness of a harpist. It is a joy and a privilege to hear a pianist who can evoke so many textures and timbres from a single piano. One could see how immersed Licad was in her performance, her dra-matic gestures reinforcing the wide variety of articulations and colors she extracted from the piano.”

The critic further noted that the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata, No. 19

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All are cordially invited to the Feast of Santo Niño de Cebu on Saturday, January 9, 2016, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Bellflower, California, organized and sponsored by the Santo Niño de Cebu Association of Southern California, Inc., a non-profit religious organization. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided by the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, His Excellency Bishop Oscar A. Solis at 10:00 am followed by the traditional procession of the image of Santo Niño de Cebu, fiesta lunch and Sinulog presentations. Food and financial donations are welcome, and all donations are tax deduct-ible. For further information, you may contact the association President, Danny C. Diluvio at (323) 252-4991 or email at: dannydiluvio1@gmail.com.

Santo Niño Cruzada USA, with the participation of the Cathedral Knights of Columbus and a Sinulog group, is inviting everyone for a holy mass to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the Feast of Santo Niño, the Divine Infant Jesus, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles (555 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012) on Sunday, January 17, at 3:30pm. The main celebrant is Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, with Father David Gallardo as concelebrant. For more information, please contact any of the following officers: Romy & Tess Esturas (213-387-9682), Rey & Tess Edpao (818-469-7292), Lilia Figuracion (626-394-2661, Carmen Estrada (213-413-2881), Fe Montana (323-218-1587), Ester Paredes (213-864-1149), Fe Reyes (213-413-5286), Laurie Dolorfino (213-407-0097), and Cherry Guerrero (213-632-2096).

Fr. Jose Joseph Parathanal of Holy Trinity Parish, San Pedro District, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, invites all to join Fr. Joseph Parathanal’s Pilgrimages to EASTERN EUROPE, OL-GUADALUPE/Colonial Mexico, and INDIA. During the journey, pilgrims will pray to God for healing of body, mind and spirit especially for healing of the world from violence, terrorism and climate changes. Trip dates are: Divine Mercy/Infant Jesus of Prague/Austria/Hungary/Medjugorje (Eastern Europe) April 17- April 30; OLGuadalupe and Colonial Mexico - June 20 - June 27; and Mother Teresa/St. Thomas/St. Alphonsa/St. Euprasia/St. Chavarra (India) - Sept. 15 - Sept. 29, 2016. For more details and pilgrimage information, please contact Bernadette at bcorp1114@hotmail.com or call 323-344-1548 & 323-547-6618.

Attention all graduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine College of Commerce: join us in our FIRST GLOBAL REUNION being organized by the Poly-technic University of the Philippines Alumni Association, USA Inc. scheduled on May 27-29, 2016 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the New Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. We promise a weekend of fun-filled activities, of friendship and camaraderie as we reminisce our best memories during our high school and college days. There will be lots of entertainment, singing and dancing and photo opportunities with your classmates and friends.

For more information, please contact any of the following: Loi Herrera at 562-544-8210 or loiherrera@yahoo.com; Monette Santillan-Rivera at 818-970-8317 or Monette_santillan@yahoo.com; Rose Mejia at 323-997-3838 or Rosemariemejia@kw.com; Marissa Sugay-Palanca at 818-281-7460 ormarispalanca@yahoo.com; Rose Maghari at 661-794-8906 or rmaghari@gmail.com; Sally Mendoza at 323-695-0235 or sally.mendoza616@yahoo.com; Honeylette De Leon at 562-480-5743 or honey@worldclassfreight.com; Virginia Herbito at virginiaherbito@gmail.com; Connie Acosta at 323-854-5303 or connieacosta1@att.net; Violeta D. Cristobal at 310-880-5808 or vee@cristobalcpa.com; Jun Mapoy at 323-627-5326 or jcmapoy@yahoo.com.

ATTY. ROBERT REEVESRAFAEL TORRES, IIINANCY E. MILLER

Your ImmigrationSolution

Help for children in need of legal status

MONETTEADEVA MAGLAYA

ImmigrantLiving: 101 and Beyond

Tweaking our own life story“A useless life is an early death.”

-Goethe

CHILDREN who come to the United States unaccompanied are among the most vulnerable types of persons to arrive in the United States. These children are sometimes all alone and often have suffered mistreatment or abuse in their home country, which prompts them to take the extraordinary risk of traveling to the United States without an accompanying adult or parent.

About 15 years ago, Congress drafted legislation which led to the creation of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) as an avenue to United States Citizen-ship for unaccompanied children.

About 8 years later, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (“TVPRA”) was enacted, which provided additional protec-tions for unaccompanied children, including expanded qualifications for SIJS.

In order to qualify for SIJS, the child must be under 21 years of age and must be physically pres-ent inside the United States at the time of filing, cannot be married (either at the time of filing or at the time a decision is made on the child’s application), and must have an order from a state court in the United States with the following findings: 1) that the child is a de-pendent of the court or was legally placed in the custody of a state agency, private agency, or a private person; 2) that it is not in the best interest of the child to be returned

to their home country; and 3) that the child cannot be reunited with 1 or both of the child’s parents due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar basis under state law. If the child is granted SIJS, the child is immediately eligible to adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status, as well receive employment authorization, and eventually may apply to become a Citizen of the United States.

Securing the state court order is a complicated process, but one that can be managed by a knowledge-able and experienced immigration attorney. The process can become especially complicated if the child is able to reunite with one of his or her parents, but not the other, or if one of the parents is deceased. As the rules indicate, the child only has to show that reunification with one parent is not viable.

However, some courts have been reluctant to issue the needed order if a child is living with one of his or her parents and the other parent is deceased. This situation iscommonly referred to as “Single-Parent Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.” Just a few months ago, the California Court of Appeal issued a decision in the case of Eddie E. v. Superior Court, in which the Court found that a parent’s death in and of itself does not disqualify the child from seeking SIJS. The Court clarified that the relationship between the deceased parent and child prior to the parent’s death should be reviewed. Ultimately, the Court found that if a parent abandoned their child prior to the parent’s death, theparental abandonment of the child does not end with the parent’s death, but is instead cemented as the

ultimate form of abandonment. It is important to note that if the child is granted SIJS, the child will never be able to enter a petition as an immediate relative of the other parent.

An unfortunately common sce-nario is the following. A mother gives birth to a child, and the father abandons both mother and child shortly thereafter. The single mother leaves her home country to come to the United States in order to seek opportunities to provide for her child. The father dies, cement-ing his abandonment of his child forever. The child then eventually travels to the United States to re-unite with the mother. In this basic scenario, the child would likely be able to establish that reunification with one of his parents is not viable due to abandonment and neglect despite the fact that the father is

deceased. There are many other sce-

narios which would allow a child to qualify for SIJS. In order to find out if a child you know may be qualified to seek SIJS, consult with a knowledgeable and experienced immigration attorney.

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Kissing diseasePHILIP S. CHUA,MD, FACS, FPCS

Health@Heart

THERE will be more kissing this New Year’s Eve as we usher in 2016. Kissing among healthy individuals is healthy and very rarely, if at all, could it cause any health problems.

What is kissing disease?The Kissing Disease, medically

known as Infectious Mononucleo-sis, or Mono for short, is a viral illness that presents as a fever, sore throat, enlarged neck lymph nodes, and fatigue (severe tiredness). Mono is very common, affecting children, adolescents and adults. In the United States, about half of the child population have had the infection, usually mild, before the age of five. The incubation period (time from exposure to Mono to appearance of symptoms) is from 30 to 50 days.

Is this caused by kissing?No, kissing is not the cause of

Mono. The illness is caused by a virus called Epstein-Barr Virus (EPV), one of the herpes viruses, which can be transmitted by a per-son with Mono to another person through mouth-to-mouth kissing or through intimate contacts. Persons who are not infected with the virus can kiss all they want -- French kiss-ing and all -- and be as intimate as they want, and not catch Mono.

Why is Mono transmitted by kissing?

The Epstein-Barr virus abounds in the saliva of a person that is in-fected with Infectious Mononucleo-sis, and mouth to mouth kissing transfers the virus from the mouth of the infected person to the mouth of partner. The mucus membrane

(inner lining of our mouth) absorbs the virus into the body.

Can the virus be transmitted by hand-holding or hugging?

No, physical skin-to-skin con-tact alone does not transmit the vi-rus, unless the skin is contaminated by EPV infected saliva. The virus is NOT very contagious. However, since Mono could be very debilitat-ing, it is best to be prudently careful when dealing with someone with this condition. Washing hands is a simple and yet very effective way of preventing many infectious illnesses.

How does the illness start? Among children under five years

old there are usually no symptoms. In other age groups, there may or may not be symptoms either. Mono usually starts as a feeling of malaise (being sick) that lasts for several days, followed by fever, sore throat and enlarged lymph nodes, most notably in the neck. The fever could peak to 103 F in the afternoon or early evening, and there could be pus-like material at the back of the throat. Fatigue is usually marked in the first 14 to 21 days. The acute phase is about 14 days, after which the individual can usually go back their daily routines. In some cases, fatigues could continue for several more weeks.

Is Mono fatal?No. While there are rare reports

of deaths from Mono (around 1%), usually these are caused by the complications like asphyxia (airway obstruction), encephalitis (inflam-mation of the brain), meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) or rupture of the spleen. This is most seen among those with impaired immune system like transplant patients or persons with AIDS. In general, most Mono patients recover fully.

What causes airway obstruc-tion?

In a few cases, airway obstruc-tion with dyspnea (difficulty breath-ing), and asphyxia in more severe situations, occurs as a result of the swelling of the lining of the throat and breathing pipe. In these cases, corticosteroids are prescribed by the attending physician.

Does Mono cause cancer?Infectious Mononucleosis does

not cause cancer. The EBVirus is reportedly associated with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a form of malignancy that is seen in Africa. In those patients with impaired immune system, it could cause B Lympho-cyte tumors, and some cancers of the throat and nose. The role of the EBV in these conditions is not clear.

What can a partner of one who has Mono do?

Both partners must totally abstain from mouth-to-mouth kissing and intimate contacts for at least 2 months from the onset of the acute phase. Since kissing mouth to mouth and sex are two of the most pleasurable romantic expressions among humans, especially among adolescents, the total prevention of Mono may be difficult. But since prevention is the key, as with other human diseases, this is the only prudent option a concerned partner can take if this viral infection is to be avoided.

Is Mono the same as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

While Chronic Fatigue Syn-drome (CFS), which is twice more common in females and mainly happens to adults (20 to 40 years old), is an entity whose cause is unknown. Hence, a syndrome. The EBV has been implicated before

IF we are blessed with a grateful heart, we will see beauty and light amid darkness especially during Christmas, when hope wells within many hearts.

A grateful heart is one that is mindful of the abundant blessings of family, friends, and other people who orbit our lives. A grateful heart is well aware of all the infinite num-ber of graces, seen and unseen, that abound and permeate our daily lives, from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Each day becomes even more meaningful particularly for those whose lives are suddenly shattered

by a life-changing experience. To be given the chance to find one’s purpose in life and rewrite one’s story midstream is a rare and pre-cious gift coming directly from above. Use it or lose it.

If you’ve been given the chance to restart a new life after you’ve gone through some life-changing, miraculous experience, you will know exactly what I mean.

If you survived a horrific acci-dent when everyone else perished, or if you found yourself inexplicably healed from a deadly disease, then you’ll know what it feels to be given a reprieve.

It is a new lease on life — a fresh slate, a clean paper, what the Greeks call tabula rasa, on which you can start writing your new story. Or if you use a computer, click on a new blank document and chase the cursor until the rest of your life story unfolds.

How does one use this new lease on life?

Most people lucky enough to be given a second chance, will quickly realize that this new lease can just be an extra few months or years, and in the most blessed scenarios, a decade or two.

Each day beyond that critical

turning point is a bonus, every single moment, a gift. Sometimes, God mercifully knocks some sense into us through drastic means by throwing us a curve ball to bring us down on our knees so that we have no choice but to look above and beyond our own petty, selfish concerns and total self-involvement in order to grasp the concept of our own mortality and to know that we are here for a purpose.

We’re not here to merely con-sume resources or take up space. Consider the fearsome dinosaurs. Grazing the earth for millions of years, that is essentially what they did — consumed resources and took up space.

Not by intelligence but by sheer size and numbers, they had do-minion over all other species for millions of years, until one day, as scientists try to explain their extinction, a rogue asteroid about 7 miles long, possibly got unhinged

off its orbit in the asteroid belt, hit the earth with such impact, setting off a series of volcanic eruptions that covered the atmosphere with ash far above the stratosphere, so that sunlight could not penetrate through the haze for years, killing off the plant life, upsetting and de-stroying the food chain balance and effectively starving and wiping the dinosaurs off the face of the earth 65 million years ago.

Here is earth’s tabula rasa story — starting on a clean slate, a new lease on life. When the reptiles died, mammals, of which we are classified under, began their ascent. Human beings with purpose came to be.

Yet each man’s purpose is nebu-lous and not always obvious. Pur-pose does not come as clear as the light of day. We have to seek it out. Either by choice or circumstance, some exceptional ones find their purpose early enough and pro-

ceed to fulfill it. Sometimes, it is as simple as blooming where God planted us.

But the great majority of people on the bell curve don’t have the nose to sense their true north. Most of us of the garden variety meander about our lives trying different things until we finally stumble upon it by trial and error. The annals of history are rife with such stories.

St. Paul played a critical role in the beginnings of the early Chris-tian church through his numerous travels. But he didn’t start out that way. He was just as passionate about persecuting Christians before he was tapped from above to do what he did.

Edwin Hubble, the great as-tronomer who lived in the nineteen twenties and for whom the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is named for his outstanding achievements in expanding our view of the universe,

Tweaking our own...tried different things before finding out what he was meant to do. In college, he played championship basketball and even tried boxing. After fighting in World War I, he studied law, tried lawyering for a year and obviously didn’t like it.

Something must have happened because he went back to college to study astronomy and finally found his footing and his purpose in life.

That’s what most of us do. We try different lives until we find the one that matches heaven’s purpose. Just don’t run out of time. No one wants to leave with unfinished business.

If our stations in life allow us the luxury of choice, then more than likely, we will be meandering too and trying different things before

Kissing diseasebut there is no scientific proof today that EBV is causally related to this syndrome. Severe and de-bilitating tiredness, and lack of concentration, are features of this condition. In some cases, there is a low-grade fever and swelling of lymph glands.

Are there any similar condi-tions?

Other illnesses that can be confused with Infectious Mono are CMV (Cytomegalovirus dis-ease), Toxoplasmosis, and even some side-effects from some drugs can mimic the symptoms of Mono. A blood test can confirm the presence of Infectious Mono and rule out the other suspected illnesses. This is the reason why consultation with a physician is essential, if only to make sure the symptoms are not due to a more

BY MONET LU

Announcement of Miss Universe 2015: The ‘most beautiful’mistake ever made in history

I WAS about to step out of the auditorium disappointed – once again – when suddenly I heard louder cheers; I turned around and saw the host, Steve Harvey onstage and Miss Colombia just standing there. I wondered, ‘Isn’t she supposed to take her first walk as Miss Universe?’ Then Harvey confessed about what seemed to be the most wonder-ful ‘mistake’ that will change the course of the ‘universe.’

Last December 20, the Miss Universe 2015 Beauty Pageant held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas scored yet another unforgettable moment in the pageant history – and perhaps in the hosting arena – when Steve Harvey an-nounced the winner, only to take it back five minutes after. Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez was initially crowned as Miss Uni-verse 2015 but by some twist of epic-failure made by the host, the crown was taken off her head and was put on the head of its right-ful bearer – our very own – Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach. I was there watching it all unfold right before my eyes. It was like watch-ing a documentary slash prank show slash Telenovela! The sur-realism is just unexplainable.

A few months before the un-imaginable happened, I was preparing to leave for Vegas to watch the pageant. I didn’t want to keep my hopes up because I have not gotten over Janine Tugonon’s placing 1st Runner-Up in Miss Universe 2012; I was con-fident that she was going to bring home that crown – only, it didn’t happen. So here I am three years after, and sworn never to expect anything at all. When I got to the hotel, I was touched by the sup-port of fellow Filipinos who flew all the way there to cheer for our lovely candidate. The men were all wearing Barong Tagalogs while the women slipped into their most fashionable Filipini-ana. So much love and patriotism, I thought.

The competition started with the usual parade of beauties in their national costume. All the women were stunning and very confident. But the one thing that stood out like the rest of the

candidates, is the loud-est cheer you will ever hear from the Filipino supporters. As most for-eigners described it, it did seem like we (Filipi-nos) brought the whole country there. Pinoys were waving Philippine flags and screaming their lungs off when-ever Miss Wurtzbach’s about to strut her stuff. It was so moving. It is very evident that most Filipinos, regardless of gender, still go gaga over the Miss Universe pageant. As I call it in one of my past columns, this is the “Superbowl” of countless Filipinos worldwide.

As I watched Ms. Wurtzbach beam with pride as she introduced herself, I affirmed her place in the top 15. I was sure she would make it. It was later confirmed through the pre-judging results that she indeed made it to top 15. Then came the swimsuit round. Slowly but surely I started breaking my vow of not expecting anything as I confidently told myself that this lady is definitely going to be on the top 10, and she actually did. I was so excited and have moved on from the disappoint-ment I felt 2 years ago. When it came down to the top 5 where the ladies were asked their individual questions, I was holding on to my seat like a passenger on a fast-and-the-furious-race car. In the same breath, our Kababayans too were all praying and hoping that Ms. Philippines would give a good answer. Then the question was asked. I held my breath as I listened intently to Ms. Wurtz-bach’s answer to the question of US military presence in the Philippines. To which the brilliant half-Filipino, half-German beauty concluded with, “…we are very welcoming with the Americans and I see no problem with that at all.”

That was it. All it took was a wise answer and I knew, we (Ms. Philippines) are going to be on the Final 3. Not very long after that, the final question was asked to each of the candidates.

Ms. Philippines’ answer was by far the most honest, precise and straightforward. I was so sure we are going to take home the crown.

We all know that the moments that followed the last Q&A por-tion were the most intense; yet at the end of it all, beauty, grace and humility resigned. Ms. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was crowned Miss Universe 2015.

I want to congratulate Ms. Pia Wurtzbach’s Mentor, Jonas Gaf-fud. And To Aces and Queens, More power and be encour-aged.

To the new Miss Universe who has both beauty and brains, Ms. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach: Mabuhay Ka! You are indeed ‘confidently beautiful with a heart.’

serious disease.Is rest important in the treat-

ment?Yes, rest is very important be-

cause use the patient usually has severe fatigue and malaise for 2 to 3 weeks. Since the spleen in this individual is congested and enlarged, contact sports, heavy lifting and other strenuous activi-ties should be avoided for at least 2 months to prevent rupture and hemorrhage.

Does the drug Acyclovir help?

While the drug Acyclovir mini-mizes the production of the Ep-stein-Barr virus in the body of the patient, this medication has insignificant effect on the clinical presentation of the patient with Infectious Mononucleosis.

Is aspirin used in Mono?In adults, acetylsalicylic acid (as-

pirin) may be used as antipyretic (to lower the fever) and as an analgesic (pain killer), but aspirin is no longer prescribed for children, because of the possibility of the occurrence of Reye’s Syndrome, which can be fatal. Important warning: Aspirin should never be given to children unless specifically prescribed by a Pediatrician for a distinct medical reason.

***

Licad and prize-winning cellist get standing...was the gem of the evening. “Hoff-man and Licad were of one mind in the first movement, displaying tight rhythmic accuracy without sounding metronomic. Both per-formers engaged in a symbiotic rubato during the Lento section, never losing the underlying pulse. Almost miraculously, both artists created the illusion of time sus-pended, without abandoning their respective rhythmic duties. Licad’s dynamic range was enormous. Her softs were like whispers, and her execution of Rachmaninoff’s notoriously stacked chords shook like thunder. Hoffman displayed his

most tender voice of the evening on the cello, gliding across the strings with a beautifully weeping sound. The final movement was especially mesmerizing, as Licad deftly navigated the melody amidst the oscillating major and minor harmonies. Her graceful touch on the piano shimmered besides Hoffman’s heartfelt rendition of the theme.”

After the standing ovation, the piano and cello duo obliged with two encores: the second move-ment of Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata No. 5 and the third movement from Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G Minor.

“The almost jocund march-like rhythm and conjunct melody of this selection provided a refreshing contrast to the sweeping, almost symphonic grandeur of the Rach-maninoff,” wrote DeCristofaro.

Licad will be heard anew in an intimate solo performance at (Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 and Bleecker Streets in New York on Jan. 20, 2016.

Meanwhile, Filipino classical guitarist Aemilio Engingco, a senior guitar student at the Conservatory of Music of the University of Santo Tomas, won third prize at the recent Hong Kong International Guitar Competition.

coming on board to the ship that will likely bring us to the port of our purpose.

Try reading all or portions of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life.” Warren, who has just gone through some difficult personal trial, is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, Cali-fornia. His book continues to be received widely for its clear, well-structured and succinct explana-tion of what living with purpose means. True, its skewed towards his ministry but there are valuable truths about purpose and meaning to be gleaned by both the secular and spiritual.

We don’t really have to wait for something dramatic, traumatic or tragic to happen to get us on track to finding that purpose. But

do go to the right source. Nix the harebrained ideas coming from most of the media about what that purpose might be. When it comes to things that matter, most of the mainstream media has proven itself to be unworthy of trust. It pushes its own agenda of power that comes from profit.

Tune out of the external world and go deep within. If you pray hard enough and long enough and live in the silence for a little while, chances are, you’ll find it. You can then begin tweaking your own story on a new document page — your own life story that will get heaven’s stamp of approval on it.

TO ONE AND ALL, A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND BLESSED 2016!

* * *

Dimples Romana aims for longevitySHE might not be what you

would call a “box-office star,” but Dimples Romana has never really been about big movies or big roles. Rather, her priority has always been to transform herself into what they call a “character actress” and a consistently “work-ing actor.” Her biggest desire is to achieve career longevity and stability, much like her idols Angel Aquino and Cherry Pie Picache.

So far, she seems to have achieved it, because Dimples has turned out to be one of those actresses who has not stopped, and who goes from project to project, almost without a break in between.

“I guess for me, what I’m work-ing on now, more than fame or stardom, is longevity and stabil-ity,” says Dimples, who’s playing a major role in the Dreamscape Entertainment teleserye And I Love You So. “I really love my job so much, I don’t see myself doing anything but acting and hosting and performing, so for me, what I’m working on now is the career path of Ms. Cherry Pie, kahit alam ko naman na malayo pa po ako doon, pero ‘yun ‘yung gusto ko, as well as the career of Ate Angel Aquino.”

Despite her busy schedule, Dimples is aware of her priori-ties, and on top of that list is be-ing a wife to husband Boyet and mother to her two children, Callie and Alonzo. “I guess I now have a greater drive to work because there are two children, and ang saya,” gushes Dimples, who had Callie for 11 years before baby Alonzo came along. Having another baby after more than 10 years is hard — “super nan-gananay ako kasi si Callie is 11 years old already, and now I have a son” — but she has learned to adjust.

It is different because Callie is a girl, plus she’s a tween now, says Dimples, and Alonzo is a boy. Alonzo, she adds, is such a joy. “Every time I come home, I’m so happy to see him. Ang sarap pala nana-e-enjoy mo ang anak mo.”

Her two children have different personalities. “They’re total op-posites,” laughs Dimples. Callie, she says, “is very reserved, may pagka-artistic, she designs and she paints, and she’s really good at it, but ‘yun nga, she speaks only when asked. She’s really shy.” Fortunately, Callie is starting to grow out of her shell now that she’s older.

Alonzo, on the other hand, is the artista. “My God, that kid likes to socialize at nine months! I brought him to ASAP one time, andpinagpasa-pasahan siya. I didn’t know na kung sino ang may hawak, at times it was Luis (Manzano), then it was John Lloyd (Cruz), then Bea Alonzo, nakatu-log na kayBea, so hinahanap ko, and he’s always just so happy to be around people. And when you ask him to do something, he does it right away, so willingly, that it’s so funny!Pinapalakpakan niya ang sarili niya. Kunyari nagsayaw siya, ayun pinapalakpakan ang sarili niya. So that’s the difference between him and Callie. I think (my daughter) got more of my academic qualities; she is really good in school, while Alonzo got more of my pagka-performer.”

In the meantime, Dimples intends to keep her career going. Her husband has never made her feel like she has to stop it to be a wife and mother. Dimples also feels very blessed that she con-tinues to get projects, including her latest one, And I Love You So. “I feel very blessed and thankful to Dreamscape that they give me jobs all the time,” happily says Dimples. (Philstar.com)

PH own international pageant scene

Three-time Binibining Pilipinas aspirant Pia Wurtzbach did what scores of Filipinas have failed to do: win the Miss Universe crown. The 26-year-old bested 79 other candidates in the 64th Miss Uni-verse pageant—the second Miss Universe pageant this year, after the 2014 contest was held in Janu-ary 2015. Her win was not without controversy. Show host Steve Harvey erroneously announced Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner first; it took more than two minutes before he realized the mistake and fixed the mix-up. She’s the first Pinay to win the crown since Margarita Moran took home the crown in 1973

But Pia isn’t the only titleholder this year—Ann Colis won the Miss Globe pageant and Angelia Ong won the Miss Earth pageant. Angelia’s victory was also historic as this is the second year in a row a Filipina won the Miss Earth crown, following Pinay Jamie Herrell’s victory in 2014. These victories overshadowed a number of pageant issues earlier this year: the flak against the Philippines’s bet Mary Jean Lastimosa’s national costume and evening gown during the 63rd Miss Universe and the criticism against Toni Gonzaga’s lively but flamboyant hosting during the 2015 Binibining Pilipinas pageant.

No more showbiz talk shows?Local TV had many big moments

this year—AlDub, 64th Miss Uni-verse and the Pope Francis news coverage come to mind—but there is a sobering note to 2015’s televi-sion victories. In April, Boy Abunda unceremoniously announced that the ABS-CBN showbiz talk show The Buzz is ending its run after 15

Vic Sotto in high spiritsVIC Sotto is ending this year,

and welcoming the next one, in high spirits.

While he’s busy promoting his entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, the romantic com-edy movie, “My Bebe Love: #Kilig-PaMore,” Vic’s fiancée, Pauleen Luna, has been taking charge of preparations for their wedding in January next year.

And amid this outpouring of blessings, the actor-television host couldn’t be more grateful. “God is good. Things have been going well, not just for me, but for everyone in my life—my family, friends. I think when you do good things, they come back to you ten-fold,” he told a group of reporters at a press conference.

After four years of dating, Vic confirmed last September that he and Pauleen were finally engaged. Settling down, Vic pointed out, was just a matter of right timing.

Right woman, moment“I found the right woman at

the right time, at the right mo-ment,” said the Kapuso star, who

by ALLAN POLICARPIOInquirer.net

years of being on the air.It was a huge deal: showbiz talk

shows were staples in local televi-sion since the early 90s, dating back to Cristy Fermin’s “Showbiz Lingo” with Butch Francisco (and perhaps even further). Its long-time rivals in GMA-7—for “S Files” to “Showbiz Central” to “H.O.T. TV”—had long folded. For a time, the network pit-ted its Saturday showbiz talk show “Startalk” against “The Buzz” on Sundays, but later returned it to its original timeslot.

But later this year, GMA-7 also canceled “Startalk.” In its place is “CelebriTV,” still headlined by Joey de Leon, Lolit Solis, STAR entertain-ment editor Ricky Lo—but with Ai Ai delas Alas added to its cast. The show, however, is more of a game show than a talk show. Hence, the end of an era in local television—an era where showbiz talk shows are no longer part of the weekend view-ing habit of Filipinos.

Celebrities misbehavingOne of the year’s biggest scandals

is Enrique Gil’s “drunk incident” on an airplane en route to London for a show. The incident allegedly involved his onscreen partner Liza Soberano, actress Jessy Mendiola and TV host Luis Manzano; accord-ing to reports, Enrique’s allegedly disrespected Jessy and Liza on the plane, heading to a confrontation that was stopped by Luis. None of these are confirmed, although the young actor apologized for his ac-tions. The incident coincided with reports that Jessy and boyfriend JM de Guzman have broken up—amid reports that the “That Thing Called Tadhana” actor will be sacked from his TV show “All of Me” and movie “Walang Forever.” The reports turned out to be true.

This scandal lords over the other controversies that happened this

year, although not by much—Me-lissa Mendez’s altercation inside an airplane, Jiro Manio’s vagrancy inside an airport due to personal problems and Chris Brown being barred from the leaving the coun-try due to his failure to fulfill his earlier commitment to perform at the Philippine Arena for the INC’s New Year countdown celebration on Dec. 31, 2014.

Kris Aquino makes newsIt’s not a year in showbiz without

Kris Aquino making some sort of news, and 2015 is no exception. This year, the Queen of All Media became the talk of the town by simply being herself.

She was criticized by netizens for defending her brother, Presi-dent Benigno Aquino III, from being blamed for the tragedy in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. She was similarly panned for alleg-edly trivializing the hardships of Metro Manila residents during the APEC summit by equating it to her sunburn (after hosting the APEC leaders’ spouses for lunch in Intra-muros). She was even criticized for working despite being sick. All of these made the headlines, simply because the subject of criticism was Kris Aquino.

But perhaps her lowest moment this year was when she was criti-cized yet again for backing out of the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “All You Need is Pag-Ibig.” She gave out a couple of reasons, al-though fans and haters were quick to point out that the real reason for her decision was her relationship (or non-relationship) with Que-zon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, her supposed leading man in the movie. All turned out well in the end though, as most Kris Aquino stories do: she ended up doing the movie after all, without Herbert.

holds the same mind-set when it comes to having a baby. “In God’s time. We’ll just wait for that. If we’re blessed with that, we’ll be thankful.”

The couple related that they prefer to keep the ceremony private and intimate. Asked for additional details about the wed-ding, Vic urged show biz observes to stay tuned to “Eat Bulaga!” “You’ll find out all about it there,” he said.

After the wedding, Vic and Pauleen plan to go on a short vaca-tion. “Then, it’s back to the grind. Anyway, araw-araw naman dapat honeymoon!” the

61-year-old quipped, breaking into a cheeky smile.

Pauleen will likewise resume her work, added Vic, saying that he wouldn’t stop his soon-to-be wife from doing what she wants. “Show biz is in her blood. Maybe she’ll work less should her priori-ties change, but it’s really all up to her,” Vic said.

Meanwhile, he has expressed “all-out” support for Vico—his son with Coney Reyes—who’s running for councilor in Pasig City’s first

district.“He has always wanted to do

public service and work for the government since he was young. And Vico thinks now’s the right time,” Vic said of his child, who works for the Ateneo School of Government. “He’s very pas-sionate and sincere. We’re all for him.”

As for his film, which many pre-dict to top the box office, Vic said he’s not pressured—he doesn’t want to think about it. “But I’m optimistic that moviegoers will like it,” he said.

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