BY MYNARDO MACARAIGMANILA, December 8, 2013

(AFP) - The Philippine govern-ment and Muslim rebels on Sun-day signed a crucial power shar-ing accord, paving the way for a fi nal peace agreement aimed at ending a decades-long insurgency that has killed tens of thousands.

The power sharing annex had been considered highly conten-tious, with Moro Islamic Libera-tion Front (MILF) rebels seeking greater authority over a proposed autonomous region in the south which will cover Muslim-dominat-ed regions of this mainly-Catholic archipelago of 100 million.

The accord, signed by nego-

tiators from the government and MILF representatives in Kuala Lumpur, is yet another step to-wards fi nally ending the bloody insurgency in the southern Phil-ippines.

A joint statement said both sides had signed “the agreement on the delineation and sharing of power between the central gov-ernment and the Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) Government” within the projected autonomous area.

The statement added that both parties were now “confi dent” that they could soon sign the last re-maining annex on normalization

President Benigno S. Aquino III distributes vouchers for Scholarship Grants to beneficiaries during the Ceremonial Launch of Sajahatra Bangsamoro Program: Peace Dividends of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) at the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI) in Barangay Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Monday (February 11, 2013). The strong partnership between the government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has become more evident as both sides work together in the process of identifying beneficiaries and their immediate needs that will be addressed by the Sajahatra Bangsamoro program. The FAB indicated that “the Parties agree to intensify development efforts for rehabilitation, re-construction, and development of the Bangsamoro, and institute programs to address the needs of MILF combatants, internally displaced persons, and poverty-stricken communities.” In photo is MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. (Photo by: Ryan Lim / Malacañang Photo Bureau).

WASHINGTON, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry is to make his fi rst visit to the Philippines since taking offi ce to see fi rst-hand the damage left by last month’s ty-phoon, and will also tour Vietnam where he fought during the war.

Kerry’s next trip from Decem-ber 11 to 18 will start on Wednes-day, his 70th birthday, when he fl ies to Israel and Ramallah.

But he will then travel to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, before heading to Manila, and the storm-hit city of Tacloban, a US offi cial said Monday.

Since becoming the top US diplomat in February, Kerry has

dreamed of returning once again to the country where his political activism was forged in the horrors of the Vietnam War.

He had also planned to visit the Philippines back in October, but the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute as Tropical Storm Nari bore down on the Southeast Asian nation.

“Within the Asia-Pacifi c rebal-ance, Southeast Asia holds special importance, and the secretary’s travel to Vietnam and the Philip-pines demonstrates the enduring US commitment... to the region,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

LOS ANGELES – Five crimi-nal cases that charge a total of 18 current or one-time deputy sheriffs of various ranks were un-sealed today as part of ongoing and wide-ranging FBI investiga-tion into allegations of civil rights violations and corruption involv-ing members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Four grand jury indictments and one criminal complaint allegde crimes that include unjustifi ed beatings of jail inmates and visi-tors at downtown Los Angeles jail facilities, unjustifi ed detentions and a conspiracy to obstruct a fed-eral investigation into misconduct at the Men’s Central Jail.

Federal authorities announced the charges after 16 of the defen-dants were taken into custody earlier today. Those defendants are expected to be arraigned on the charges this afternoon in

Miss Earth 2013 Alyz Henrich of Venezuela (second from right) has been crowned Miss Earth 2013 at the pageant’s fi nale held at Alabang, Muntinlupa City, in the Philip-pines. The coronation ceremony took place at the Versailles Palace and was telecas-tlive on Star World. Her court are composed of (from left) Katia Wagner of Austria (Miss Air), Catharina Choi of Korea (Miss Fire) and Punika Kulsoontornrut of Thailand (Miss Water) (From Miss Earth Facebook Page)

Muslim rebels sign ‘power sharing’ accord

MANILA, December 7, 2013 (AFP) – The Philippines is unlike-ly to hit its target of fi ve million tourists this year due to damage caused by twin disasters, a tour-ism offi cial said Saturday.

Killer Super Typhoon Haiyan hit on November 8 and a 7.1-mag-nitude earthquake on October 15, causing devastation in tourist ar-eas which resulted in many can-celled reservations, said Domingo Enerio, chief of the government’s Tourism Promotions Board.

PHL to miss tourism targets due to disasters

18 L.A. sheriffs charged with civil rights abusesFBI s says current and former depu-ties charged with federal crimes, including illegal beatings of jail inmates and obstruction of justice

Kerry to tour typhoon-hit PHL

MANILA, Dec 7 (Mabuhay) – The United States Embassy in Manila has issued its fi rst fi ancé visa to a same-sex couple on Mon-day.

Noel “Aeinghel” Amaro and Robert Cotterman were the fi rst gay couple in the Philippines to receive a fi ancé visa.

The embassy said Cotterman serves in the US military and is scheduled to return from a tour in Afghanistan in January 2014.

The two met online and will be married January 2014 in the US.

The embassy said that al-though same-sex marriage is not recognized in the Philippines, gay Americans are now able to petition for family-based visas on behalf of their Filipino spouses, fi -ances, and their children.

This comes after the US Su-

preme Court struck down the por-tion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defi ned mar-riage as a union between one man and one woman. This means that the US federal government must extend all federal rights and priv-ileges of marriage to any married couple, regardless of sexual orien-tation.

Currently, gay couples can marry in 16 of the 50 American states, and the nation’s capital.

The embassy said that Filipina Maria Cecilia Limson Gahuman and American Maria Carla An-tonio also received a fi ancé visa. The couple met through a mutual friend over a decade ago.

“With their fi ancé visa, the cou-ple will transition their 10-year relationship from long-distance to

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – The new US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg on Monday said the Philippines and the United States are now work-ing out the fi ner points of the framework agreement on the in-creased rotational presence (IRP) of US troops in the country.

The new US envoy said the agreement will not involve estab-lishing new US bases in the Phil-ippines.

“We’ve had several rounds of negotiations. We’re down to brass tacks, sort of as we say, which means there are still some issues we need to resolve. We’re sensi-tive to some of the issues and

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez on Monday accused the national government of engag-ing in partisan politics by failing to con-duct rescue operations immediately after super typhoon “Yolanda” (international code name Haiyan) ravaged the city.

Speaking before the post-disaster as-sessment at the Senate, Romualdez said his pleas to national government offi cials to deploy more soldiers to Tacloban were ignored despite reports of widespread loot-ing in the city.

He said he was unable to talk to Presi-dent Aquino during the latter’s fi rst visit to Tacloban last November 10, two days after the typhoon hit. He said he told Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras that

First US visa for same-sex couples issued in PHL

Goldberg: More US troops yes, bases no

Tacloban mayor Romualdez blasts Aquino, Mar politicking after storm

See SAME-SEX VISA, page 7

See GOLDBERG, page 7

See KERRY, page 7

See CIVIL RIGHTS, page 7 See MISS TOURISM, page 7

See TACLOBAN MAYOR page 7

See MUSLIM, page 7See MORE TROOPS, page 7Justin Bieber shares moments for rare photo opportunities with his fans in the City of Tacloban as posted by Edward Cabiasa in The Bieberhood Fan Site Facebook Page. Story on page 2

Vol. 3. No. 13 LOS ANGELES Wednesday - Tuesday, December 11-17, 2013

Bruno Mars to hold concert

in Manila in March

See PAGE 8

Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez turns emotional as he narrated his city’s ordeal during the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda before the start of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee hearing on the Philippine Disas-ter Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 at the Senate Building in Pasay City. (MNS Photo)

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The Metro Manila Development and Authority (MMDA) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) jointly imple-ment the beautifi cation of the Nagtahan fl yover in Sta. Mesa, Manila. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – The death toll from super ty-phoon Yolanda (Haiyan) moved closer to 6,000 on Monday, even as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council noted the assistance to affected families has exceeded P1 billion.

In its 6 a.m. update, the NDRRMC said the number of confi rmed fatalities reached 5,924 with 27,022 injured and 1,779 still missing.

Also, it said Yolanda has af-fected 2,602,584 families or 12,279,561 people in 44 provinces

Of these, 21,379 families or 103,604 people are staying in 386 evacuation centers.

Last Sunday, residents of ar-eas affected by Yolanda marked the fi rst month after the howler ravaged Visayas and Southern Luzon. The international com-munity had assured the Philip-pines of continued assistance.

Meanwhile, the NDRRMC

said Yolanda destroyed 585,134 houses and damaged 592,060 others.

Damage wrought by Yolanda was estimat-ed at P35,527,886,330.67 as of Monday, including P18,206,735,334.29 in infrastruc-ture and P17,321,150,996.38 in agriculture. Also, the NDRRMC noted the estimated assistance extended to affected families has reached P1,036,779,736.67. (MNS)

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – The Philippine government should build “safer” evacuation centers after a series of calami-ties hit the country this year, the head of the National Disas-ter Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) proposed Monday.

Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, NDRRMC executive di-rector, said these evacuation cen-ters should be made resilient to earthquakes, fl ooding, and storm surges and should be built on

“safe zones.”During a post-disaster assess-

ment conducted by the congres-sional oversight committee on the Philippines’ law on disaster risk reduction and management, Del Rosario noted how even evacua-tion centers were damaged by the storm surge brought by Typhoon Yolanda to Tacloban City in Leyte last month.

Public schools and churches were used by the government to house evacuees during the on-slaught of Yolanda.

The NDRRMC chief also pro-posed a review of the country’s Water Code and the Building Code to make them more respon-sive to disasters.

Close to 6,000 individuals have been confi rmed dead after Yolan-da ripped through central Philip-pines last month.

Some 2.6 million families were affected, and P35.5 billion worth of properties were damaged by the weather disturbance, based on latest government records. (MNS)

MANILA, Dec. 7 (Mabuhay) – Poor students can soon get dis-counts on tuition fees, food, medi-cine, textbooks and school supplies. HB 3093 authored by Rep. Czarina Umali (3rd District, Nueva Ecija) entitles underprivileged students to fi ve percent discount on them.

“Just like the Senior Citizen’s Act that gives discounts to our el-derly, a similar law should also be enacted to benefi t these underprivi-leged students whose future is a re-sponsibility of the State,” she said.

“Although mechanisms are in place for scholarships, loans, grants and other support systems, these prove to be inadequate as most underprivileged students still struggle with other fi nancial woes like food, transportation, school supplies and others, sometimes forcing them to drop out of school,” she noted.

The proposed Underprivileged Post-Secondary and Tertiary Stu-dents’ Discount Act of 2013 shall

not grant discounts to students who fail to enroll for one semester in majority of their academic sub-jects unless a valid cause is pre-sented.

Discounts shall also not be giv-en if the student fails to fi nish the course within two years from the time he or she should have gradu-ated if this person stops attending school for one semester or is con-victed of any crime.

Umali said discounts granted by establishments to underprivi-leged students should be treated as allowable deductions from gross income in computing income tax in accordance with the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall determine qualifi ed tertiary or college benefi ciaries un-der the measure through its Offi ce of Student Services.

Violators shall be penalized with suspension of business permits for not more than four weeks and a

fi ne of not more than P200,000.If the offender is a corporation,

organization or any similar entity, the offi cers shall suffer the same penalty imposed on any person found in violation of the measure.

Filipino students who opt to take part-time jobs to subsidize their education and whose income combined with the annual gross income of their parents do not ex-ceed P100,000 shall be considered underprivileged students also and qualifi ed to avail of discounts.

CHED and TESDA shall issue identifi cation cards which shall be valid nationwide as the students’ proof of eligibility for the discounts. Both agencies, in coordination with NEDA, Department of Social Wel-fare and Development, Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Finance shall issue implementing rules and regulations for carry-ing out objectives of this measure. (MNS)

MANILA, Dec. 9 (Mabuhay) – Acting on instructions issued by President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) re-leased a total of P6.2 billion to support the Productivity En-hancement Incentive (PEI) for government employees, which was made available to govern-ment workers as early as end of November. wwThe PEI, which is normally distributed to public servants in December, was re-leased a full month ahead of its regular release schedule to ac-commodate the urgent needs of government employees nation-wide, particularly those stricken by a succession of severe calami-ties, including the more recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Bohol and typhoon Yolanda.

The Productivity Enhance-

ment Incentive (PEI) – which is distributed to employees at P5,000 each – shall be granted across the board to all public offi cials and employees hold-ing regular plantilla positions in departments/agencies, state universities and colleges, and government-owned or controlled corporations.

Uniformed/military person-nel will likewise be supported by this release, as well as con-tractual and casual personnel who have rendered at least nine (9) months of service for 2013. “President Aquino understands the urgent needs of those af-fected by typhoons and disas-ters, especially our government employees who’ve worked tire-lessly to help other Filipinos recover in the wake of so many calamities.

NDRRMC: Yolanda death toll nears 6,000

NDRRMC chief: Govt needs to build ‘safer’ evacuation centers

Bill seeks underprivileged students’ discounts on school fees, food, medicine prices

MANILA, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – The Philippines Monday banned its citizens from taking up new jobs in Yemen, following a militant attack which killed dozens including seven Filipino medical workers.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement the government was also offering to repatriate an estimated 1,000 other citizens already employed

there as medical workers or construction laborers.

He said the labor depart-ment would “impose a to-tal deployment ban”, while Filipinos wishing to travel to Yemen for other purpos-es are advised to postpone

their trips.Saturday’s attack, mostly by

Saudi militants, on Yemen’s de-fense ministry killed 56 people in-cluding the seven Filipinos.

Twenty-nine Filipinos were wounded.

The Philippines has condemned the violence as a “senseless and barbaric act” and called on the Yemeni government to hold the masterminds accountable.

About one-tenth of the Philip-pines’ 100 million people work abroad, mainly as domestic help-ers, laborers and seamen.

Their remittances fuel the economy but many of them fi nd their way into hostile environ-ments.

PHL bans worker deployment to Yemen

President Aquino orders early release of bonuses for gov’t workers

Former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste getting out of the Muntinlupa Bilibid Pris-on Friday (Dec. 6) as he was one of the 40 prisoners who were given parole this year. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said he is looking into the possibility of imposing sanctions against offi cials of the Board of Pardons and Parole who approved the parole application of former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste.

“Pinahanap ko na rin, meron bang sanctions puwede doon sa Board of Pardons and Parole; ni-review ko na rin paano ba naa-ap-point diyan sa Board of Pardons and Parole. Ni-review iyong bu-ong system para hindi mangyari uli itong ganito,” Aquino told re-porters in a chance interview dur-ing the anniversary celebration of the Department of Labor and Em-ployment in Quezon City.

In questioning the approval of the parole application, Aquino noted that Leviste’s “escape” two years ago is not indicative of good conduct.

“Paano magiging good conduct iyong nasa labas ng piitan ha-bang nagse-serve ng sentence? So hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit maco-consider man lang,” he said.

Leviste was charged with mur-der for the 2007 shooting of his long-time aide Rafael de las Alas. He was convicted in January 2009 for the lesser offense of homicide, with the court saying the killing of De las Alas did not appear to be premeditated.

He was punished to serve a minimum sentence of six years

and a maximum sentence of 12 years, but it was slashed to just a little under fi ve years after he earned “good conduct time allow-ance.”

He re-emerged in the headlines in May 2011 when he was report-ed to have “escaped” from prison. He was re-arrested, transferred to the maximum security facil-ity, and was slapped with fresh charges of evasion of service of sentence.

Last November, the Board of Pardon and Parole approved Lev-iste’s parole application, allowing him to be released last week.

SurprisedAquino, however, said he was

surprised after learning about this, prompting him to order a probe as announced by the Palace on Sunday.

“Hindi ko maintidihan kung bakit napalaya ang isang taong ... nakapiit na ay hindi pa rin sumu-sunod sa batas,” he said.

The problem, Aquino said, is that the parole grant supposedly went through the proper process and that the victim’s family did not object. “Ganunpaman ... sabi-hin na nating may letter of the law na nasunod; merong tinatawag na spirit of the law at iyon ang gusto kong mai-review nang husto,” he said.

Asked if there is still a possibil-ity that the parole may be taken back, he said they are still review-ing the possibility.

Aquino wants sanctions for offi cials who approved Leviste parole

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OPINIONMANILA, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – Philippine President Benigno

Aquino Monday hailed a power sharing deal with Muslim rebels, say-ing a fi nal accord to end the decades-long rebellion was within reach but warned that “contentious” issues remained.

The crucial power sharing annex signed in Kuala Lumpur on Sun-day had been considered highly contentious, with Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front (MILF) rebels seeking greater authority over a proposed autonomous region in the south which will cover Muslim-dominated regions of the mainly-Catholic archipelago.

But Aquino cautioned that the next round of negotiations could be even more diffi cult as it involves convincing MILF’s 12,000 fi ghters to hand over their weapons and return to mainstream society.

“This is not going to be simple because here we would have to dem-onstrate our full trust in each other,” Aquino told reporters.

“When we talk of normalization, this will mean their return to the folds of the law, and one aspect is the safeguarding of their arms.”

Persuading the rebels to give up their weapons will be a “heavy and contentious” issue, he added.

But Aquino said he was optimistic that Sunday’s agreement would accelerate the peace process.

The MILF has waged a rebellion since the 1970s, and the insur-gency has left some 150,000 people dead and parts of the southern Philippines mired in deep poverty and instability.

Apart from the MILF, many other armed groups operate in the south, including former rebels who had resorted to banditry and ter-rorism.

Sunday’s power sharing annex had been one of four preliminary ac-cords that had to be completed before a fi nal peace deal could be signed.

Two other annexes on transitional arrangements and sharing of rev-enues were signed earlier this year.

The fourth and last annex on normalization will include disarming of MILF guerrillas.

Aquino has promised to end the insurgency by the end of his six-year term in 2016, but other armed groups have violently opposed the talks.

In September, followers of Nur Misuari, founder of the older Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), from which the MILF sprang, besieged the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, sparking three weeks of fi ghting which left over 200 people dead.

BY KARL MALAKUNASTACLOBAN, December 8, 2013 (AFP) – A month after one of the

strongest typhoons ever recorded hit the Philippines, masses of sur-vivors are living amid rubble in rebuilt shanty homes and experts say reconstructing destroyed communities will take years.

The sight of people sleeping and cooking in wasteland towns high-lights the overwhelming problems as an initial, frenzied emergency relief effort transforms into one focused on long-term rehabilitation.

“A lot of people have received emergency assistance, but this is just the beginning,” Matthew Cochrane, a spokesman for the United Na-tions Offi ce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the worst-hit city of Tacloban, told AFP.

The Philippines endures more than 20 major storms a year but Su-per Typhoon Haiyan was the most destructive on record, with at least 5,796 people killed and another 1,779 missing, according to govern-ment data.

Haiyan also made history as having the strongest winds ever record-ed to make landfall, striking the eastern island of Samar with gusts of 315 kilometers (195 miles) an hour.

But surprise storm surges proved to be more devastating than the winds, sending walls of water up to two storeys high through dozens of mostly poor coastal communities on Samar and neighboring Leyte island.

More than a million homes were damaged or destroyed, while water rushed through schools and other supposedly safe coastal buildings used as evacuation centers, killing many people sheltering there.

Permanent homes a top priorityCochrane said one of the top priorities, exactly one month after Hai-

yan struck on November 8, was building new homes and communities for roughly 500,000 families.

But with the process expected to take up to fi ve years and cost bil-lions of dollars, many people have already left evacuation centres and started the rebuilding themselves, often using salvaged material.

In Tacloban, 81-year-old Gnerio Trinidad sat at the weekend inside her tiny wooden home that was rebuilt on stilts above a putrid swamp of debris, as her neighbors threw broken furniture and shattered coco-nut trees onto a fi re.

“I’m afraid that another typhoon will come, but there’s nowhere else to go... if the government gives us another place to live, we will move,” Trinidad said as her three grandchildren played in the house.

In a neighbouring district, 18-year-old Ronnie Melafl or had recently fi nished erecting a makeshift Christmas tree using a bamboo pole and tinsel. It stood on broken concrete and tiles next to his family’s wooden hut.

“We can’t put a tree inside, but I still want to celebrate Christmas,” said Melafl or, who escaped the devastation wrought upon his com-munity by sheltering with his seven siblings and parents in a nearby school. Outside of the cities, the government and relief workers are rushing to help tens of thousands of farmers who lost their livelihoods in the storm.

The next rice harvest must be planted this month, so urgent pro-grams are underway to clear farms of debris, fi x irrigation channels and get seeds out to remote areas.

BY KARL MALAKUNASTACLOBAN, December 7, 2013 (AFP) – A rag-

gedy cloth banner in a Philippine town torn apart by one of the most powerful typhoons on record de-clares that its residents are “roofl ess, homeless, but not hopeless”.

Super Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,500 peo-ple dead or missing and ruined the homes of about four million others when it tore across some of the Philippines’ poorest fi shing and farming communi-ties.

A month after the typhoon struck, the battle for survival remains undeniably desperate in squalid towns, where masses of survivors huddle on roads still choked with debris while waiting for noodles, rice, water or other essentials being handed out by relief workers.

But the hand-painted message on the banner, hanging above a shop front being repaired on the outskirts of the hard-hit port city of Ormoc, repre-sents a spirit of hope and resilience that resonates throughout the disaster zone.

International relief workers, who spend their lives visiting disaster zones around the world, have expressed surprise and admiration at the outwardly jovial determination of the survivors to “bangon”, or rise, again.

“People are really struggling and yet the vast ma-jority have got this incredible spirit where they just refuse to be defeated by this disaster,” Internation-al Federation of the Red Cross spokesman Patrick Fuller told AFP on Friday after visiting some of the worst-hit areas in and around the coastal city of Ta-cloban.

And while much of the international focus in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon has been on the enormous relief effort that was initially dominated by a giant US military contingent, many survivors have quietly started rebuilding their lives using their own initiative.

In the tiny farming community of Kananga on Leyte island, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of Tacloban, virtually all of the coconut trees that have sustained families for generations lie worthless on the ground after being ripped apart by Haiyan’s monster winds.

Farmer Pepito Baring and a group of young men were on Friday using a chainsaw in the badly dam-aged local cemetery to cut coconut trees, which were resting on shattered concrete graves, into planks of timber.

“It takes two trees to get enough wood to rebuild a temporary shelter,” Baring, 56, said as he stood bare-chested in the fi erce early afternoon sun wear-ing only a pair of dirty shorts and fl imsy rubber san-dals.

Along the 100-kilometre road between the devas-tated towns of Ormoc and Tacloban, there are many similar, improvised saw mills that have spurred an

astonishingly fast construction boom, albeit of fl im-sy homes that would be equally unable to withstand another typhoon.

Countless homes of farming and urban communi-ties have been resurrected using the “coco lumber”, as well as the recycled materials of their destroyed houses and sometimes tarpaulin roofi ng donated by relief organizations.

The number of people listed by the government as homeless has dropped from more than four mil-lion shortly after Haiyan struck to just 94,000, with one important factor, the determination of survivors to rebuild their homes themselves using whatever means they can.

Healing Haiyan’s wounds to take yearsNevertheless, the poorly rebuilt homes are just

band-aids over a gruesome wound that authorities say will take many years and billions of dollars to heal.

Most areas of the central Leyte and Samar islands that were the worst hit by Haiyan remain without electricity and supplies of drinking water.

And nearly three million people remain reliant on life-saving food aid or farming support, such as crop seeds, according to the United Nations.

People living in ruined communities along the sides of major roads on Leyte write messages on boards, such as: “Help us, we need food”, in the hope of getting a relief truck to stop.

Yet, desperation should not always be confused for despair.

In one devastated coastal community on the out-skirts of Tacloban, hundreds of people queued on Friday for what they said were their fi rst supplies of bottled water for a week.

Among them was Rosalinda Tabao, 55, a mother-of-six who lost her shanty home, her vegetable-stall business and three cousins when Haiyan’s tsunami-like storm surges swept across their town.

Tabao said her family lost everything, including all their money and the vegetable crops on a small plot of land they rented and which supplied her veg-etable stall.

But Tabao refused to be defeated.Four days after Haiyan struck, Tabao made a

seven-hour bus trip to Ormoc and bought 500 pesos ($12) worth of Chinese cabbage seeds using money donated by her mother-in-law, and sent her hus-band to plant them on their tiny farm.

“They should be ready in a month,” Tabao said as she stood in the queue waiting for water. “Once they are ready, I’ll sell them and use the money to buy more seeds, maybe eggplant.”

Like her neighbors, Tabao and her husband had also quickly rebuilt a temporary shelter where their old home stood using salvaged materials.

Asked about her strongest emotions over the past month, Tabao said: “I hope. As long as I live, I’ll con-tinue to hope.”

MANILA, Dec 9 (Mabuhay) – One of the children of Rafael delas Alas denied that his family received money from former Batangas governor Antonio Le-viste, who was recently granted parole after being convicted of killing his long-time friend and aide.

Delas Alas’ son Nazareth said he and his family have already accepted the parole board’s decision to grant Leviste freedom.

He, however, said he is offended by insinuations in social media and even text messages that his family received money from the Leviste camp in ex-change for supporting the homicide convict’s parole.

Leviste was convicted on January 14, 2009 for killing de las Alas. The Makati City Regional Trial Court sentenced him to six to 12 years in prison.

Last week, Leviste was freed after the Board of Pardons and Parole granted his parole.

There were several conditions in granting Lev-iste’s parole. The former governor, widely believed to have been able to freely go in and out of his cell during his incarceration, supposedly had also served his minimum sentence of six years.

Old age was also taken into consideration, and the 73-year-old was also no longer considered a threat.

President Benigno Aquino III has since ordered a probe into the granting of parole, saying Leviste’s caper should have been taken into consideration.

Nazareth said he is leaving it up to authorities to decide whether Leviste will be brought back to jail.

“Kung kailangan ibalik, eh di ibalik,” Nazareth said.

Meanwhle, Dinna, delas Alas’ daughter, said the decision to forgive Leviste is part of the family’s moving on.

“What if daddy ko ang nasa kalagayan ni Lev-iste?” she asked.

Dinna suspects Aquino only ordered a probe be-cause he was not informed about the developments before the decision came out.

Toni Leviste, Antonio’s daughter, meanwhile re-fused to discuss the possibility of her father being brought back to jail. She believes it was God’s plan for her father to be released. (MNS)

SANAA, December 6, 2013 (AFP) – Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility Friday for a brazen attack on the Yemeni defence ministry that killed 52 people, saying the complex hosted US personnel behind drone strikes against its militants.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), re-garded by Washington as the jihadist network’s most dangerous affi liate, has been hit by intensifi ed US drone strikes in Yemen this year.

There was no immediate evidence to support its allegation that the Sanaa complex attacked on Thursday played any role in the drone war or housed any US personnel.

The 52 were killed in a hospital inside the sprawl-ing facility. It bore the brunt of an armed assault af-ter a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into the main gate.

The city centre compound was “stormed... after the mujahedeen (holy warriors) proved that it ac-commodates drone control rooms and American ex-perts”, AQAP said in a statement published by its media arm on Twitter.

“As part of a policy to target drone control rooms, the mujahedeen have dealt a heavy blow to one,” it said.

“Such security headquarters in partnership with the Americans in their war on these Muslim people are a justifi ed target wherever they may be.”

Washington condemned the attack which came as Yemeni Defence Minister Mohammed Nasser headed a military delegation on a visit to the United States.

Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said she had no information about any US ca-

sualties.Among the dead were medics from the Philip-

pines, Germany, Vietnam and India.The others were all hospital patients, some of

them soldiers and some civilians, Yemen’s supreme security committee said.

Huge search operationResidents said they heard gunfi re and explosions

throughout the night from the area which was still cordoned off on Friday morning by armored vehicles.

Reports that the militants had readied two more car bombs prompted a massive search operation, se-curity offi cials said.

Up to 25 militants took part in the assault, the offi cials added. The state Saba news agency said 11 of them were killed.

President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said none of the attackers escaped and several were captured.

Thursday’s broad daylight attack followed a spate of hit-and-run strikes on military personnel and of-fi cials, as Yemen struggles to complete a thorny po-litical transition.

Yemeni analyst Saeed al-Jamhi, who specialises in Al-Qaeda affairs, said the attack refl ects “the level of the network’s penetration into security and military services” and shows it has access to “high-level information”.

UN special envoy Jamal Benomar arrived in San-aa on Friday to lend his support to a stalled national dialogue.

He said the attack should not be allowed to dis-rupt the transition from the 33-year rule of strong-man Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted early last year after 11 months of deadly protests.

PHL hails rebel deal but warns of ‘contentious’ issues

One month after super typhoon, PHL faces huge challenges

Typhoon survivors determined to hope

Victim’s kin: No money involved in Leviste parole

Al-Qaeda says deadly Yemen attack targeted US drone war

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LOS ANGELES, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – Former San Diego mayor Bob Filner was sentenced Monday to three months of home confi nement and three years of probation for sexually harassing female staff members.

The 71-year-old, who resigned in August over the scandal involving at least three women, was also barred from seeking public offi ce while on probation.

But he escaped jail under the terms of a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of battery and one of false im-prisonment, involving putting one of the women in a headlock and grabbing the buttocks of another.

In a statement released with the sentencing, he apologized to his family and his victims and vowed to “earn back my trust

and integrity, no matter how long it takes.”“I have already started on that path and am grateful to all

those helping me. The letters submitted by my family show the progress they have already seen,” he said.

“I am confi dent I will come out of this a better person, and I look forward to making future contributions to the city I love.”

During the three months of home confi nement – starting January 1 – he will wear a GPS tracking device. After 18 months he can apply to have his probation reduced to infor-mal probation. He must also undergo mental health treatment, and was fi ned $1,500.

Filner resigned on August 30 after nearly 20 women came forward with claims that he had groped or sexually harassed

them over several years. They include his former communi-cations director, Irene McCormack Jackson, who has fi led a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.

Her lawyer Gloria Allred criticized the sentencing Monday“Probation for three years and confi nement to his house for

three months sounds ominous, but let’s not ignore the fact that he will not have to spend one day in jail or prison,” she said.

“A criminal such as Bob Filner, who has pleaded guilty to a felony and two misdemeanors, should not be able to simply stay at home for three months and avoid any time in custody.”

The San Diego mayor’s downfall was precipitated be-fore the wave of disclosures about Toronto mayor Rob Ford, stripped of most of his powers after a lurid string of claims, admissions and media appearances.

Disgraced San Diego Mayor Bob Filner escapes jail over sexual harassment 

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 2013 – AARP proudly sponsored “Nisei Widows Club: How Tomi Got Her Groove Back,” a production of East West Players, the nation’s pre-miere Asian American theater company, in Los Angeles, California.

“Nisei Widows Club: How Tomi Got Her Groove Back” was the third and fi nal installment of a comic tril-ogy following the lives of a group of widowed Nisei (“second generation”) women who only have each other in the face of loss and the search for love in their golden years. Written by Betty Tokudani (a pseudonym for co-writers Dang, Marilyn Tokuda and Denise Iket-ani) and directed by Amy Hill, the show concluded a successful 4-week run on

“Do we get an AARP discount?” (from left) Tui Asau as hula teacher Kimo, Emily Ku-roda as Hana, June Kyoko Lu as Betty, Takayo Fischer as Sumi, and Jeanne Sakata as Tomi in East West Players’ The Nisei Widows Club: How Tomi Got Her Groove Back. Photo Credit: Michael Lamont.

Sunday, December 8.“AARP is proud to partner

with organizations like East West Players that play a criti-cal role in refl ecting the rich-ness of diversity in communi-ties where our members live and work,” said Daphne Kwok, AARP Vice President of Multi-cultural Markets and Engage-ment. “AARP seeks to support stories that refl ect and improve the lives of all people aged 50 and older.”

“Thanks to the generous support of sponsors like AARP, East West Players continues to produce artistic works and educational programs that introduce audiences to Asian American Pacifi c Islander ex-periences,” said Tim Dang, Producing Artistic Director of East West Players.

AARP also sponsored the Sun-day, December 1 performance pro-viding complimentary tickets to the Asian American community of Los Angeles.

The production reunited the original four “Nisei Widows” ac-tresses: Takayo Fischer as Sumi, Emily Kuroda as Hana, June Kyoko Lu as Betty, Jeanne Sakata as Tomi. The play also introduced Tui Asau as Kimo the hula teacher. The pro-duction was part of East West Play-ers’ 48th Anniversary Season.About AARP

AARP is a nonprofi t, nonpar-tisan organization, with a mem-bership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real pos-sibilities, strengthens communi-ties and fi ghts for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and in-come security, retirement plan-ning, affordable utilities and protection from fi nancial abuse.

We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel,

and services. A trusted source for lifestyle

tips, news and educational infor-mation, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine; AARP Bul-letin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Español, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public offi ce or make contribu-

tions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP Foundation is an affi liated charity of AARP that is working to win back opportu-nity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face to-day: housing, hunger, income and isolation. AARP has staffed of-fi ces in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more atwww.aarp.org.

AARP sponsors East West Players’ Nisei Widows Club

Los Angeles County Public Works Department will host a free used motor oil and used oil fi lter recycling event at Califor-nia High School (Mills Avenue parking lot), 9800 South Mills Avenue, on Saturday, December 14, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In exchange for turning in their used oil, participants will be rewarded with free oil con-tainers, oil fi lter containers,

shop towels, and funnels while supplies last. In addition, resi-dents can drop-off used motor oil and used oil fi lters for free at weekend County-sponsored Household Hazardous Waste/Electronic Waste Collection Events or at local Certifi ed Col-lection Centers. A full calendar of collection events and a list of these centers can be found at www.CleanLA.com.

Residents are asked to pre-pare items for drop-off by plac-ing used oil fi lters in sealed plas-tic bags and storing used motor oil in leak-proof containers with-out mixing the oil with other liq-uids, including water.

For additional information on the County’s oil and oil fi lter re-cycling program, call Edna Gan-darilla, Program Manager, at (626) 458-6536.

throwing light strands or elec-trical cords into trees near pow-er lines or on utility poles, not using decorative lighting with broken fuses or lightbulbs and keeping electrical connections away from moisture.

“The joy that festive decora-tions bring can lead people to overlook their potential dan-gers,” said Bill Messner, prin-cipal manager of Health and Safety at SCE.“It is vital that families follow instructions, in-spect decorations and practice safety to minimize the risk of electric shock, fi res or injuries.”

U.S. fi re departments re-spond to an average of 230 home fi res annually that start with Christmas trees, result-ing in an average of six deaths, 22 injuries and $18.3 million in property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association. About 5,800 peo-ple annually also are treated in hospital emergency rooms for falls associated with holiday

decorations, with more than half of them coming from lad-ders or roofs while decorating outdoors, the fi re association said.

SCE recommends some oth-er safety tips for the holidays:

Never place lights closer than 10 feet to power lines and always be aware of power lines.

Use wooden or fi berglass lad-ders when decorating outdoors. Metal ladders conduct electric-ity.

Always inspect your ladder before using it to ensure that it is safe. If the ladder is dam-aged, buy a new one that is safe to use.

Be sure electrical cords are not placed at an angle or posi-tion that pinches them, like in windows.

Use plastic zip cords when hanging lights instead of sta-ples, tacks or nails.

Use no more than three strands of light per extension cord. Overloads can cause fi res

or lines to short circuit.Keep lights directly away

from carpeting, furniture, drapes and other fl ammable materials.

Use only decorations bear-ing the Underwriters Laborato-ries (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or Inter-tek (ETL) labels.

Always unplug decorative lights when leaving home or before going to bed.

More safety tips are avail-able at www.sce.com/holiday-lighting. Follow us on Twit-ter and Facebook.

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, South-ern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Dec. 9, 2013 – As families decorate for the holidays, Southern California Edison (SCE) urges its customers to ensure the experience is joyous by always being aware of power lines when adorning outdoors. They also are encouraged to avoid shock and fi re hazards such as frayed electrical cords and overloaded outlets.

With people decorating their homes for the holidays, it is imperative to prac-tice electrical safety, such as not

Give the gift of safety during the holidays

County to host used oil recycling event in South Whittier

UCLA Medical Center fi rst hospital to support campaign While many families are busy in De-cember holiday preparations, a group of registered nurses – including Paolo Montenegro, a Burbank, Ca. resident who works at UCLA Medical Center – are getting ready for their own spe-cial gift – heading to the Philippines to provide medical support for those who continue to be affected by after-math of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

California Nurses Associa-tion/NNU members will host Montenegro in a media avail-ability send off event Monday, December 9, at10 a.m. in front of the entrance of UCLA Mat-

tel Children Hospital, 660 Galey Ave.

Montenegro is a part of a fourth team of RNs, participating in the National Nurses United’s Registered Nurse Response Network, most of whom will depart today Monday, December 9, linking up with RNRN nurses already on the ground in Rox-as on northern end of the island of Panay, which was in the direct path of the storm.

While the RNs in the program have volunteered their time and de-pended on RNRN to fund their relief deployment, Montenegro’s assign-ment breaks new ground with support from his employer, UCLA, which is

funding the cost of his fl ight, accom-modations in the Philippines, and two weeks of full pay during his relief as-signment.

Montenegro will join a fourth delegation of RNs from Maine, Mas-sachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, Ari-zona, and California. They are among the more than 3,000 RNs from all 50 states and 19 nations who volunteered in the days after the deadly storm to assist with the relief project.

NNU, which intends to con-tinue sending RNs to the Philip-pines long after the world’s spotlight has faded, is inviting the public to contribute to the effort, at http://www.nationalnursesunited.org.

UCLA RN to Join 4th national nurses group to head to PHL for Haiyan relief effort

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, Dec. 11-17, 2013 Visit www.usasianpost.com 7MUSLIMFrom page 1

KERRYFrom page 1

CIVIL RIGHTSFrom page 1

MISS TOURISMFrom page 1

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SAME SEX VISAFrom page 1marriage in California on Decem-ber 30, 2013,” the embassy said.

Meanwhile, the embassy wants to educate gay Filipinos about new visa opportunities. Filipinos

in same-sex relationships with Americans are encouraged to view the Visas section of the Em-bassy website for more informa-tion. (MNS)

some of the history here,” he said.Goldberg said the IRP aims to

boost bilateral cooperation in di-saster relief and help the Philip-pines build a minimum defense capability, particularly in tense areas such as the West Philippine Sea.

He declined to speculate whether China would eventually impose an air defense identifi ca-tion zone (ADIZ) there similar to the one it recently announced in Northeast Asia.

He highlighted the need to en-sure that there are no miscalcula-tions that could further heighten

It will be Kerry’s fourth trip to Asia while in offi ce.

In Ho Chi Minh, the city once known as Saigon which fell to the communist North Vietnam forces in April 1975, Kerry will “under-score the growth of our bilateral trade relationship and the em-powering role of education.”

He would also visit the Me-kong Delta to show how “Ameri-cans and Vietnamese can work together on critical issues such as climate change and renewable en-ergy,” Psaki said.

During the war, Kerry served with the US Navy as a naval lieu-tenant and Swift Boat skipper pa-trolling the rivers of the Mekong Delta, for which he was decorated with three Purple Hearts.

It was on his return that Ker-

United States District Court in Los Angeles.

“The fi ve cases allege a wide scope of illegal conduct,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “This investigation started by focusing on misconduct in county jails, and we uncovered examples of civil rights violations that included excessive force and unlawful arrests.

“Our investigation also found that these incidents did not take place in a vacuum – in fact, they demonstrated behavior that had become institutionalized. The pattern of activity alleged in the obstruction of justice case shows how some members of the Sher-iff’s Department considered them-selves to be above the law. Instead of cooperating with the federal in-vestigation to ensure that corrupt law enforcement offi cers would be brought to justice, the defendants in this case are accused of taking affi rmative steps designed to en-sure that light would not shine on illegal conduct that violated basic constitutional rights.”

Bill Lewis, the Assistant Di-

rector in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Offi ce, commented: “The defendants charged in this case are facing serious allega-tions, including violating the trust of the public they were sworn to serve. It is equally as important to point out that these charges should not refl ect on the thou-sands of men and women of the Sheriff’s Department who proudly serve the citizens of Los Angeles County, and who partner with the FBI in a variety of crime areas.”

This morning, FBI agents took into custody 16 of the 18 defen-dants named in four indictments and one criminal complaint. Most of the defendants were arrested at various LASD facilities.

The fi ve cases, which are part of an ongoing investigation, were unsealed this morning.

United States v. Brunsting and Branum, CR13-573

Two deputy sheriffs – Bryan Brunsting and Jason Branum – are charged in a six-count indict-ment with civil rights violations and making false statements in reports.

TACLOBAN MAYORFrom page 1

and complete the comprehensive peace agreement by January 2014.

“The signing of the Annex on Power Sharing ensures the achievement of a genuine and vi-able autonomy for the Bangsam-oro,” Teresita Deles, the head of the government peace panel, said in a statement.

“It has been a very diffi cult round but we were able to over-come a lot of obstacles.”

President Benigno Aquino congratulated both parties on the annex, his spokesman Her-minio Coloma said. Copies of the agreement, released late Sunday, outline the powers that will be reserved by the national govern-ment, those that will held by the government of the autonomous area and those that will be shared by both.

The accord also sets the param-eters of the “Bangsamoro assem-bly” that will govern the autono-mous area while ensuring that tribal groups, Christian settlers and women are represented.

While foreign policy, defense, monetary policy, immigration and global trade will remain under the control of national government, the Bangsamoro government will have powers over agriculture, em-ployment, urban development, public works and environmental protection, the agreement said.

In an interview with ABS-CBN television, Deles described the move to power-sharing as “the

heart of the entire peace accord.”The two sides in October last

year had signed an initial pact on ending the confl ict that has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives, in preparation for a fi nal agreement.

Under the plan, the 12,000-strong MILF would give up its quest for an independent homeland in the southern island of Mindanao in return for signifi -cant power and wealth-sharing in a new autonomous region there.

Lingering obstaclesThe newly-signed power shar-

ing annex had been one of four preliminary accords that had to be completed before a fi nal peace deal could be signed.

Two other annexes on transi-tional arrangements and shar-ing of revenues had already been signed earlier this year while a fourth annex, on normalisation, including the possible disarming of MILF guerrillas, is still being discussed.

The normalisation annex may also prove diffi cult as the reb-els will likely be reluctant to lay down their arms.

MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal was quoted by ABS-CBN as saying that the next round of talks would also be diffi cult and that both sides should not be com-placent.

Even after the treaty is signed, the Philippine parliament would still need to pass a “basic law” for the Muslim self-rule area, and

people in the planned autono-mous region would need to ratify it via a regional plebiscite.

However President Aquino in October had expressed confi dence that the insurgency could be set-tled before he steps down in 2016.

Completing the agreement dur-ing Aquino’s term is considered vital as there is no guarantee his successor would have the political strength or enthusiasm to push ahead with the peace process.

Muslim rebels have been fi ght-ing since the 1970s for an autono-mous or independent homeland in the southern Philippines in a confl ict that has left the resource-rich region mired in poverty and instability.

Other Muslim armed groups have violently opposed the MILF’s moves towards peace.

Followers of Nur Misuari, founder of the older Moro Nation-al Liberation Front (MNLF), from which the MILF sprang, besieged the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga in September, spark-ing three weeks of fi ghting which left over 200 people dead.

Misuari allegedly ordered the assault, fearing a peace accord with the MILF would leave him sidelined.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters, a guerilla group that splintered from the MILF, has also tried to derail the peace process, launching bloody attacks against government forces in the south.

he needed more footsoldiers to as-sess the damage left behind by “Yolanda” and to rescue possible survivors in the wreckage. “Many sitios and barangays were only accessible by foot. People were feeling frustrated seeing all these military planes and trucks and yet yung mga patay nila katabi nila. Yung mga naririnig nila mga bo-ses na pwede pang ma i-rescue.There was never, ever any rescue up to today,” he said.

“Constantly, as the days went on I was asking for support, more footsoldiers to scour the area, to secure the places and conduct a rescue of the people. I was never given that,” he added. He said he asked President Aquino and Inte-rior and Local Government Sec-retary Mar Roxas to augment the police force.

“Hindi na augment ang secu-rity ng Tacloban City, tinanggal pa yung chief of police,” he said, referring to the decision to relieve Chief Superintendent Elmer So-ria, chief of Philippine National Police Region 8, of duty.

The PNP said Soria was re-lieved of duty due to stress after he said that an estimated 10,000 people died in Leyte due to the ty-phoon.

In the briefi ng, Romualdez said he had “diffi culty communicating” with the national government of-fi cials because “there were things asked of us .”

“They wanted an ordinance immediately for a curfew. And I said: it is diffi cult to have an or-dinance for a curfew because we have no fi scal’s offi ce, no court. If these people violate the curfew and be arrested, how can they post bail? Why don’t we just have checkpoints? And this went on and on, and yet every day. We were meeting every day, every morning. I could not understand why we could not get that sup-port,” he said.

He said that in one meeting,

Both the 2013 target and the 6.8 million target for 2014 may have to be revised in the face of the damage, he said.

“We have been beset by huge challenges: the earth-quake and typhoon. It was a double whammy for the Phil-ippines,” he told AFP.

Tourist arrivals up to Sep-tember have already reached about 3.6 million, up from 3.2 million in the same period last year, he said.

But the disasters will af-fect arrivals in the last three months which are the peak season for tourists, he warned.

The earthquake, which killed more than 220 people, shattered historic churches and tourism facilities and damaged roads in the central islands of Cebu and Bohol, both popular tourist destina-tions.

Less than a month later, Super Typhoon Haiyan swept through the central islands, leaving more than 7,500 dead or missing and devastating whole towns including popular hotels, beach resorts, surfi ng and dive sites.

Worldwide news coverage of the destruction has discour-aged visitors, Enerio said.

“These resorts are in that particular area which is very well known in international markets,” he said. “It is not just one destination. The whole country’s image has been affected,” he added.

To counter this, the govern-ment and private sector are making an effort to tell tour-ists that there are many other attractions in the archipelago which have not been affected by the recent disasters, he said.

Despite the setbacks, the government is still sticking to its target of 10 million tour-ist arrivals in 2016, up from about 4.3 million in 2012, Ene-rio added.

“We can come back with a very strong campaign that will inform the world about how beautiful our country is. It still has a warm and welcoming people who are still hospitable to all foreigners,” he said.

He said he is not too con-cerned about the issue of ac-countability in the Philippine government’s use of US fi nan-cial assistance for the disaster.

“I am not too concerned. We work very well with the Phil-ippine government on how our money is spent, how we deliv-er aid, so I don’t think that’s a concern from our part. But we need obviously to make an ac-counting to the American Con-gress and people on how we’re spending money. But we’re working well with the Philip-pine government. I think that the aid is accounted for. All that we’re doing is known, we publicize it everyday,” he said.

tensions.“We all know that in Northeast

Asia, Southeast Asia and this part of South China Sea - there’s tension and there is possibility for miscalculation and those are nev-er good things. And so the idea of more consultation, reducing ten-sions and making sure there are no miscalculations - we don’t rec-ognize the ADIZ but we need to take steps to lower tensions and make sure that miscalculations and accidents don’t happen,” he said.

Goldberg also said the United States is ready to continue help-ing with ongoing rehabilitation and recovery efforts in areas hit by super typhoon Yolanda.

Roxas asked him to “legalize ev-erything” by passing an ordinance allowing the national government to conduct relief and rescue ef-forts in the city.

“I told him: why is it illegal? As far as I know, the President is the president of the Philippines and he is also president of Tacloban City. I don’t see anywhere in the law, that you need a letter or or-dinance from me for you to come in and do what you are doing,” he said.

“He answered me: ‘You have to remember: we have to be very careful because you are a Romual-dez and the president is an Aqui-no,’” he added.

Romualdez again denied re-ports that he was being asked to resign his post as Tacloban may-or. He said Roxas’ request was for him to write a letter saying that he could no longer do some of the functions as mayor of Tacloban, which would allow the national government to step in and help the city.

However, he said his own law-yers advised him not to write the letter since it could be deemed as a resignation letter.

Both the local and national governments have come under fi re for the alleged slow response to the super typhoon, which has left nearly 6,000 people dead in Central Visayas as of today (De-cember 9).

Earlier reports said the nation-al government could not bring in relief goods and soldiers to Taclo-ban and other parts of Samar and Leyte after the typhoon damaged roads, airports and seaports.

Romualdez has also come un-der fi re for allegedly failing to give proper warning to his con-stituents and evacuating them to higher ground. A CNN report described the mayor as the “ghost of Tacloban City” after some resi-dents thought he had died in the typhoon.

ry became a fi erce campaigner against the war.

“How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?” he agonized in a 1971 Senate hear-ing.

Kerry will also hold talks with senior Vietnamese leaders in Ha-noi, before travelling on to long-time US ally the Philippines, still struggling to recover after Ty-phoon Hiayan hit on November 8.

The typhoon swept through the nation’s central islands, leaving more than 7,500 dead or missing and devastating whole towns in-cluding popular hotels, beach re-sorts, surfi ng and dive sites.

After talks in Manila, Kerry plans to tour the storm-hit city of Tacloban “to witness fi rst-hand the recovery efforts that are tak-ing place there.

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Grammy winning artist Bruno Mars is set to return to the Philippines to stage a concert.

Set to happen on March 22 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Mars’ one-night show in Manila is part of his Moonshine Jungle Tour 2014.

Tickets for his concert, which cost as much as P21,710 for the best seats, were released through SM Ticket Outlets on Sunday.

In a report of The Philippine Star, Mars will reportedly “take Filipinos on a romp through a time-warping musical jungle where fedora hats, disco balls, Motown, funk, soul and hip-hop all come together.”

The Grammy winner’s Moonshine Jun-gle Tour 2014 will be produced by Music Management International.

Mars, whose mother is Filipino, last visited the Philippines in 2011 when he staged concerts at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu and at the Araneta Coliseum in Que-zon City.

Among Mars’ many hits songs are “Just The Way You Are,” “Grenade,” “Marry You” and “Nothin’ On You.” (MNS)

KAPUSO actress Heart Evangelis-ta shared boyfriend Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is proud of her sexy calendar pictorial.

The television host was recently unveiled by a liquor brand as their calendar girl for the year 2014.

According to Heart, Chiz was aware of the said project and she asked for his opinion even before she did the sexy photo shoot.

“I told him na meron akong offer and ‘what do you think?’ Sabi niya, ‘go’. He said that as long as I feel comfortable doing it. Tingnan ko daw yung mga pegs kung kaya ko,” Heart said.

When the fi nal product was done, Heart said that the Senator liked the photos and even thought of hanging it on his offi ce wall.

She said, “Natuwa siya and he’s very happy. Nasa phone niya and sinave niya. Sabi niya gusto daw ni-yang ilagay sa offi ce niya pero hindi pa daw niya alam kung ilalagay niya or sa loob na lang daw ng kwarto

niya.”Heart said doing the calendar is a

liberating feeling for her because she learned how to express herself, espe-cially with the things she wants to do.

“It’s an outlet for me to exercise say-ing no or saying yes, na paninidigan ko, kasi ako yung klase ng tao na hin-di marunong mahindi,” said Heart.

When asked if her parents knew of the said project, the actress said her father is well-versed on the topic but she’s still in no-speaking terms with her mother.

Meanwhile, Heart clarifi ed there’s no wedding proposal yet coming from Escudero. She also said that she’s too busy to think of settling down in the future. “I’m a very open person, I like to say whatever is one my mind. So defi nitely I would let the fans know kung ikakasal na ba ako or hindi,” said the actress-host.

“I’m in this point that I just want to do what I need to do, what I always wanted to do, and now is not the time to get married,” she said. (MNS)

Bruno Mars to hold concert in Manila in March

Heart says boyfriend is proud of sexy photos

Bruno Mars

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us who have recourse to Thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your

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(Relaxnews) - Research shows that in the US, smartphone features are driving interest in con-nected car features – particularly music and navi-gation.

According to Parks Associates, 33 percent of US broadband households want the ability to lis-ten to their music libraries in their cars, and there is also a growing demand for navigation, vehicle performance and diagnostics features and, of course, hands-free phone access. However, only 16 percent are interested in in-car online video access, even for their passengers.

“One-third of car owners, and over 50% of luxury car owners, now have connected-car capabilities, and most of them use the features on at least a monthly basis,” said Jennifer Kent, Senior Analyst, Parks As-sociates. “The ability to play MP3 fi les on the car stereo is most common by far, but

communication features such as the abil-ity to listen to texts/email read aloud are becoming more popular. Twenty percent of U.S. vehicle owners in broadband house-holds have this feature.”

As well as turning their noses up at video, half of driving households surveyed aren’t interested in website access or the ability to access news apps.

“The rapid growth in smartphone adop-tion combined with the development of a robust app industry has educated consum-ers on the benefi ts and possibilities of in-car connectivity,” Kent said. “Smartphone owners are far more likely to value con-nected car capabilities, and roughly three-quarters of those valuing connected car capabilities have smartphones.”

According to ABI Research, by 2018, 50 per-

cent of all new cars will feature Apple’s connect-ed car technology – iOS in the Car, which enables a driver to mirror his or her iPhone and many of its apps on a vehicle’s dashboard screen for a combination of touchscreen and voice-activated access to everything from music libraries to turn-by-turn navigation, search queries and message dictation. The fi rst car ever to feature the technol-ogy, the 2014 Honda Civic, will go on sale in the US this December.

Earlier this month, German carmaker, Audi announced that its new A3 sedan, which goes on sale in the US this spring, will be the fi rst car ever to offer an integrated 4G LTE high-speed internet hotspot which will enable passengers to stream HD video to their phones, tablets or notebooks while providing the driver with more detailed, faster and more graphics-rich navigation infor-mation.

Connected car technology will eventually help to avoid collisions as vehicles communicate with one another. However, for now it is focused on bringing web fea-tures into the cabin. Photo: hxdbzxy/Shutterstock.com

One in three households want connected car features

(Relaxnews) – A scientif-ic study suggests that men experience more emotion when looking at images of car design than they do when looking at images of children.

The results of the re-search that monitored the brainwave activity of men and women when shown a series of images chosen to elicit an emotional re-sponse, show that, for men at least, car design is ca-pable of evoking feelings on a par with the most ba-sic of human emotions.

Participants were asked to rate a series of images including happy and crying babies, men and women considered to be beautiful and pictures of modern and outdated cars while wearing a dry sensor EEG headset.

As well as showing a greater emotional re-sponse to car design than to children, 75 percent of men involved in the exper-iment also demonstrated more emotion when shown a beautiful car than when shown a beautiful woman. Whereas only one third of women rated images of car design higher than an im-age of an attractive man.

The experiment, con-ducted by Volvo and EEG specialists Myndplay, was followed up by a survey asking participants their thoughts and feelings in relation to car design.

A parallel survey con-ducted by OnePoll of 2000 participants revealed that 43 percent of men said that they found the car shape and design to be the most appealing aspect, over the interior, gadgets, wheels and engine.

The front of the car was the most attractive fea-ture for men, in contrast to the reaction from women where the rear of the car scored the most highly.

Almost three quarters (74%) of men said that good design made them feel positive, and 60 per-cent of men also said that driving a car they perceive as beautiful made them feel both confi dent and empowered.

When asked about the most important aspects of a car, from a design perspective, 43 percent of men put the car’s overall exterior shape above en-gine size, interior, speci-fi cations or wheel design. Women rated a car’s rear as its most attractive feature while men over-whelming said that a car’s front was its most attrac-tive feature.

Of the results, Dr David Lewis, a UK leader in the neuroscience of consumer-ism and communications stated: “Appreciating an aesthetically pleasing design is an experience which combines under-standing and emotions.

What do men feel when they look at a beautiful car?

MOTORING

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(Relaxnews) – ‘Tis the sea-son for holiday eating. And that means that most of us will pack on about one to two pounds (.5-1 kilo) this time of year. While that might not sound like much, annu-al weight gain adds up year after year.

But rather than put down the eggnog and fruit cake altogether, Dr. Amy Moore, assistant profes-sor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University in the US, offers a few sensible approach-es to enjoying the season while keeping your waistline intact. Be picky about your splurg-es. Holidays are a time to sample special seasonal treats that people have spent a lot of time preparing, Moore says.

“If Aunt Helen’s delectable Christmas Buche de Noel choco-late dessert beckons, enjoy a slice but pass on the brownies or soda.” Be mindful. Pay attention to what you’re eating. Slow down and savor every bite, taking the time to appreciate what you’re putting into your mouth. Plan ahead.

If you know you are going to a party in the evening, eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. “Bring some-thing healthy to potlucks so at least you can count on one healthy option being offered,” Moore says. “Fruit – pomegranates, clemen-

Enjoy the holidays without gaining weight by being selective about your in-dulgences. Photo: luckyraccoon/shutter-stock.com

Seven ways to battle the holiday bulge

reduced risks of cancer and cardiovas-cular disease compared to non-nut eat-ers.

Both studies also showed that people who ate nuts also tended to have a lower body mass index and a smaller waist, and were also less likely to smoke and be more physically ac-tive, than those who rarely or never ate nuts.

The Spanish study also found that nut eaters ate a better diet in general, with more vegetables, fruit, and fi sh.Nuts are packed with a winning com-bination of plant sterols, monounsatu-rated fats and fi ber, which can lower

cholesterol levels. A 2009 Harvard University study concluded that eat-ing walnuts resulted in a signifi cant decrease in both total cholesterol and levels of LDL, or “bad cholesterol.”Walnuts also get a nod for protecting a woman’s breasts from cancer, with a study published in 2011 in the jour-nal Nutrition and Cancer fi nding that munching about two small handfuls of walnuts everyday may “signifi cantly” curb a woman’s risks of the disease. Walnuts also have almost twice as many antioxidant polyphenols as al-monds, peanuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamias, Brazil nuts,

and pecans, researchers said.But almonds are a great snack for

between-meal nibbles, with a recent study from Purdue University fi nding that a handful of almonds could fi ll you up and cut cravings throughout the day, without piling on the pounds.How best to eat nuts? In small portions, since they are dense and high in calo-ries, which can easily add up. Experts say aim for around 30-50 grams a day, which could be around 42 cashews or 10 Brazil nuts, for example. Also skip the salted and chocolate-covered vari-eties, since added salts and sugars can negate a nut’s healthful benefi ts.

(Relaxnews) – Women who are happy with their body image are more likely to be in happy roman-tic relationships, a new UK study fi nds.

Study author Sabina Vatter of Tallinn University presented her fi ndings Friday, December 6, at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology in York.

The study involved quantita-tive data from 256 women aged between 20 and 45, of whom 71.5 percent were cohabiting with

their partner and 28.5 percent were married. The women an-swered questions about their body weight, previous experience of di-ets, their self-esteem and body image self-consciousness, as well as about the intimacy and satis-faction of their relationships.

Finding showed that women who were satisfi ed with their re-lationship also tended to be more satisfi ed with their body weight whether or not they were at their “ideal” weight. Such women also had higher self-esteem and lower self-consciousness. “We also found

that women who had previously been on a diet or [were] on diet during data collection were less satisfi ed with their body weight, weighed themselves more often, were more self-conscious and had higher BMI’s than women who have not been on a diet.”

Vatter said these fi ndings sug-gest that our satisfaction with body size, shape and weight has more to do with how happy we are in important areas of our lives, like our romantic relationships, than it does with what the bath-room scales say.”

Get cracking: How nuts can improve your health(Relaxnews) – Few foods pack a

nutritional bang for your buck quite like the humble nut. Here are a few good scientifi cally backed reasons to add nuts to your daily diet.

New research published last month in the New England Journal of Medi-cine involving nearly 119,000 sub-jects found that eating one serving of unsalted nuts daily could even ex-tend your life. Nut eaters had fewer incidences of cancer and heart and respiratory disease, and eating nuts was “associated with a 20 percent reduction in total mortality, indepen-dent of other predictors of death.”This summer, a longitudinal study of more than 7,000 people over 50 years old in Spain found that those who ate nuts more than three times a week had

A good body image equals happier relationships: study

tine oranges and cranberries – are terrifi c holiday dishes because they are pretty, festive and, best of all, easy.”

Conversation is calorie-free. Focus on family and friend-ship, not the food.

Water is calorie-free, too. “Alternate a glass of wa-ter with every alcoholic bev-erage to pace yourself as you celebrate and prevent a next day hangover,” Moore advises. Exercise.

“While it’s not necessary to count every calorie, it is good to have a rough idea of how your calorie intake corresponds to your exercise, and know that it can take more exercise than you might think to balance out your food intake,” adds Ethel Frese, as-sociate professor of physical ther-apy and athletic training at Saint Louis University.

Fight the urge to hiber-nate. Bundle up and get out for fresh air and exercise, Frese adds. Run errands, stop by to see friends and neighbors, drop off canned goods at a food pantry, check out an exhibit at a museum or build a snowman. The point is to keep moving.

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CYPRESS – A Cypress-based company launched recently a new system that , it said, would revo-lutionize the way the world uses electricity.

ADC Energy Inc. said its new product, the ADC Power System, allows both AC and DC energy to be transmitted and used simulta-neously through the same wiring infrastructure in most residential and commercial buildings.

The launching was held to co-incide with the open house for the company’s new corporate headquarters on Knott Avenue in Cypress last Nov. 18. Business owners, prospective investors and Cypress offi cials were in atten-dance.

“In essence, the ADC Power System eliminates energy conver-sion loss and provides a solution to use each electric current type independently, while on the same electric circuit. All power source types such as, power from the electric grid, solar photovoltaic panels, gas generators and even your automobile can all be con-nected to the ADC Power System to power your home or business,” said Hun Y. Choe, CEO of ADC

Energy.In S. Kim, ADC Energy presi-

dent, said the ADC Energy Sys-tem is the most effi cient way to transmit and use energy.

“Using energy from our sys-tem is just as simple as plugging in a device. Since the System is able to differentiate the current type automatically, all electrical devices are able to connect to the System through the same plug. Whether it is powering a wash-ing machine through AC power or charging a smart phone through DC power, the System is able to provide the correct current type without the need to change plugs or install new lines to an existing circuit,” he said.

ADC Energy also manufactures LED light bulbs, which, it said, are the most energy effi cient and eco-friendly source to light a home or business. However, LED light bulbs use DC power and since most homes and buildings have AC energy systems, AC energy still has to be converted to DC, which results in energy loss. With the ADC Power System, there is no need to convert AC energy to DC, thus conserving energy that

is lost during the conversion.ADC Energy also produces so-

lar panels, which also utilizes DC energy and need conversion. With ADC Power System, solar pan-els can be used without convert-ing AC to DC. There is no need to change the existing wiring sys-tem.

The revolutionary ADC Power System and the two other prod-ucts will soon be introduced in the Philippines by a group of busi-nessmen, led by Eugene C. Po-lendey, a retired Boeing engineer who now works for Raytheon, and businessman Joel Bautista.

Polendey and Bautista said the ADC Power System will be a great boost to Philippine govern-ment, businesses and households since the country has one of the most expensive power rates in the world.

“With the ADC Power System, the LED light bulbs and solar panels, the government can save billions of pesos annually if used in government offi ces, hospitals, parks and street lighting,” Po-lendey said.

Bautista said businesses and homes, on the other hand, can

Revolutionary power system uses both AC, DC energy

ADC Energy executives after the launching: (front) Hun Y. Choe, CEO, (behind left to right) Sang Y. Yi, Executive Director, Americas; Eugene Coloma Polendey and Joel Bautista, Executive Directors, Philippines; In S. Kim, President; Dean Applegreen, Ex-ecutive Director, Africa. (Photo by: Dan Baltazar/PPP-USA)save a lot if any combination of the three ADC Energy products were utilized to power lights, computers, refrigerators, TV sets, neon signs and many more appli-ances and equipment.

They said the other advantage is that establishments that use the ADC Power Systems won’t have to worry about power outag-

es because the system automati-cally stores AC and DC power in batteries that automatically dis-penses power in case of power out-ages, without any interruption, for days. With the Philippines of-ten experiencing power outages, ADC Power System is a perfect solution to the country’s energy problems.

People from all walks of life in the Republic of China (Taiwan) continue donating funds and re-lief supplies to the Philippines following the disaster caused by super Typhoon Haiyan.

The storm devastated the cen-tral Philippines Nov. 8, 2013, causing more than 5,000 deaths and affecting over 10 million peo-ple. In accordance with President Ma Ying-jeou’s vision of the ROC as a provider of humanitarian aid, the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs has worked closely with non-governmental organizations to provide prompt relief and assist in the reconstruction of affected areas.

Earlier this week, while lead-ing a trade delegation to the Philippines, Wang Chih-kang,

chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAI-TRA), donated US$120,000 col-lected by the organization.

On Nov. 25, Sun Wen-hsien, president of the Chiu Chang Mathematics Education Founda-tion, took a group of 27 school-children to the Philippines to participate in the International Mathematics and Science Olym-piad for Primary School Students, with each child carrying 10 kilo-grams of rice, noodles, biscuits or canned food to be donated to storm victims through the event’s organizing committee.

These efforts follow the airlift-ing of more than 150 metric tons of aid supplies in 18 fl ights by ROC air force C-130 Hercules car-go planes Nov. 12-21, as well as

the transport of 530 metric tons of relief goods to Cebu Port aboard an ROC naval vessel.

Supplies included prefabri-cated housing, solar generators, tents, rice, clothing, ready-to-eat food and potable water, donated by private citizens and a wide range of civic organizations and charity groups, including the ROC Red Cross Society, Bud-dhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Bliss and Wisdom Foundation, Namchou Chemical Industrial Co. Ltd., I-mei Foods Co. Ltd., ROC I-Kuan Tao Asso-ciation, and National Fishermen’s Association.

The goods were distributed with the assistance of volunteers working for ROC charity groups in the Philippines, joined by over

16,000 Filipinos affected by the typhoon who were employed by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.

As of Dec. 5, the total value of monetary and material donations made by the ROC government, civic groups and individual citi-zens had reached NT$358.5 mil-lion (US$11.09 million).

In addition, within days of the disaster a 35-person team orga-nized by the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps arrived in the affect-ed area to provide free medical as-sistance.

ROC government agencies, coordinated by Minister with-out Portfolio Lin Junq-tzer, have worked together closely. The Ministry of Health and Welfare promptly established a special

bank account for monetary do-nations, while MOFA and the Ministry of National Defense designated two aid supply col-lection centers, one in northern Taiwan and one in the south. As mentioned above, the MND also dispatched aircraft and a ship to transport relief supplies, as well as mobilizing soldiers to help col-lect, sort, pack, load and ship the goods.

Local governments in Taiwan have also set up special accounts to enable citizens to easily make donations. Moreover, the Council of Agriculture collected canned fi sh and frozen vegetables, and the Overseas Community Affairs Council marshaled ROC fi rms and nationals in the Philippines for participation in relief efforts.

Taiwan relief to Philippines continues unabated