The San Francisco Post Mar. 27, 2014 Issue

SAN FRANCISCO — State Senator Leland Yee, one of the most powerful Democratic politicians in California, was ar-

rested Wednesday morning in a major series of federal raids in the Bay Area and Sacramento targeting corruption and gang ac-tivity. Federal agents arrested Lee at his home in San Francisco Wednesday morning and he was driven to the federal courthouse while his offices in Sacramento were raided. Also arrested in the raid was Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, a former Chinatown gangster who currently heads the Ghee Kung Tong masonic organization in San Francisco commonly referred to as the Chinese Freemasons. Agents Wednesday also raided a

San Francisco Chinatown build-ing at 36 Spofford St. which houses the Ghee Kong Tong. The federal complaint filed March 24 and unsealed Wednes-day alleges Sen. Yee was engaged in wire fraud and involved in a conspiracy to traffic firearms. The complaint also alleges Chow was engaged in money-launder-ing, conspiracy to transport sto-len property and conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.

SAN FRANCISCO -Thurs-day, March 27 has been

designated as the Commu-nity Call to Action Day urg-ing members of the Filipino community in the United States to call the US State Department (202-647-6575) and urge US Secre-tary of State John Kerry to recommend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for

the Philippines to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The March 27 Call for Action was agreed to by a coalition of Filipino Ameri-can community groups in a national telephone confer-ence call held on March 18 to discuss the status of the campaign to grant

MANILA — Communist Party of the Philippines

(CPP) leaders Benito and Wil-ma Tiamzon were charged yes-terday with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, tight-ening the government’s hold on the couple amid questions on the legality of their arrest. A case of illegal possession of firearms is a bailable offense but the inclusion of possession of explosives in the charge

sheet would make it a non-bail-able offense. Senior Supt. Robert Fajardo, director of the Criminal Inves-tigation and Detection Group-National Capi ta l Region,

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Monday re-

iterated his support for the security of the Philippines in its dispute with China over some islets and shoals in the West Philippine Sea. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the president also expressed his support for the security of Japan in talks with President Xi Jinping in The Hague on the sidelines of a Nuclear Security Summit. In Manila, Spain expressed support yesterday for a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes. Rhodes said President Obama stressed the need to reduce maritime tensions in the South and East China Seas. Rhodes said Obama expressed US

concern over the Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) created by Beijing last November in the East China Sea in an area that includes is-lands at the heart of a bitter territorial row with Japan. Japan and China are locked in a dis-pute over islands administered by Ja-pan as the Senkakus but claimed by China as the Diaoyu Islands. There is concern in the Philippines and the US that a similar ADIZ might be formed in the South China Sea. “He (President Obama) underscored the need for resolutions to these issues based on dialogue and international law and expressed continued US sup-port for that effort. In that context, of course, the President reiterated his support for the security of our allies,

Japan and the Philippines,” Rhodes said in a video conference briefing to reporters in Washington. The situation in the South and East China Seas was one of a number of global bilateral issues that Obama raised with Xi, Rhodes said. The Obama-Xi meeting at The Hague coincided with the 7th round of Phl-US negotiations in Manila on a deal granting the US greater access to Filipino military bases as part of a Philippine strategy to achieve “mini-mum credible defense” in the face of Chinese aggressiveness in the South China Sea. President Obama will visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Phil-ippines in April to meet with the

VOL. 2 ISSUE 22 MAR 27, 2014- APR 2, 2014WWW.SF-POST.COM

Obama vows support for security of PH

Agents from the FBI and the IRS carry boxes from a home at 608 42nd Avenue in San Mateo, Calif., on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. FBI Agent Greg Wuthrich said the raid was part of an investigation involving the arrest of State Sen. Leland Yee early Wednesday morning. (John Green/Bay Area News Group)

TPS: Call To Action

Top Red leaders nabbed, charged

Heart: “There are certain guys I should’nt have dated” -page 13

Yael in tears as Karylle walks down the aisle- page 13

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Atty. Lozano went on and guested on the Kapatid network TV5’s Aksyon Solusyon by Alex Tinsay then he went on live with “ Sa Ganang Mamamayan” program of TV Net25 hosted by former Congressman Rodante Marcoleto and Gen Subardiaga.

(Cont. on Page 5)

State Senator Leland Yee Arrested, Offices Raided In

Massive FBI Sweep

(Cont. on

Page 9)

Sen. Leland Yee

PAGE 2Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 The San Francisco Post

PAGE 3Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post NATIONAL

You need to report as income IRS Form 1099c unless exemption applies

If you received Form 1099c from your lender because of foreclosure,

short sale, loan modification or debt settlement, the general rule is it is a reportable income. There are however few exceptions that may apply. The exceptions are Home Affordable Loan Modification Pro-gram reduction of debt on principal residence. The other exceptions are Bankruptcy and Insolvency.

Question: My second home has been foreclosed and I received a Form 1099c from the bank for the differ-

ence between the amount I owe and the fair market value of the house. Should I file for bankruptcy?

Answer: Yes. The best way to resolve the issue that you made an income on the forgiven indebtedness is

to consult with a bankruptcy attorney who will evaluate if you need to file bankruptcy.

Question: I was given a Form 1099c by my lender for the forgiven debts as a result of debt settlement.

Should I file for bankruptcy?

Answer: The debt forgiven as a result of debt settlement is also a taxable income. You must consult with a

bankruptcy attorney if you need to file bankruptcy.

Question: How may I qualify for the Insolvency excep-tion?

Answer: Insolvency means you have more liabilities than asset or property. You need to figure out how

much you are insolvent to determine how much you can exclude from income. Do not include a canceled debt in income to the extent that you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation. You were insolvent immediately before the cancellation to the extent that the total of all of your liabilities was more than the Fair Market Value of all of your assets immediately before the cancellation. For purposes of determining insolvency, assets include the value of everything you own (including assets that serve as collateral for debt and exempt assets which are be-yond the reach of your creditors under the law, such as your interest in a pension plan and the value of your retirement account). Liabilities include almost everything you owe.

Question: How should I report my Form 1099c based on

insolvency in my tax return?

Answer: The analysis is complicated and requires legal background. You need to consult with a

bankruptcy attorney to help you how to report the Form 1099c cancellation of debt based on insolvency.

Bankruptcy Basics

1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your credit within one year because your unsecured debts are

discharged. Although the bankruptcy will be in your records for 10 years, not filing bankruptcy will make your credit even worse until most of your debts are paid in full.

2. If you are being sued by your creditors, most mon-ey judgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy.

3. Collection actions continue and you can be sued if you are in debt settlement.

4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured debts. If you are near retirement age, you must eliminate

most of your debts.

5. Bankruptcy will stop foreclosure actions. If your trustee sale date is 10 days before, you can still file

for bankruptcy.

6. If your salary is being garnished, you have a court case about debts or you are being harassed by credi-

tors, bankruptcy can stop garnishment, court cases, ha-rassing creditors and eliminate the debt.

7. Bankruptcy is cheaper, faster and safer than debt settlement which has no guaranteed success.

8. Preserve your health, eliminate stress and live a happy life by eliminating your debts which is the

root of all problems.Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration law and bankruptcy law. [email protected].

By Atty. Crispin C. Lozano

BUSINESS

ARLINGTON, Washington -- Authorities say the death toll from a massive mudslide in a ru-ral part of Washington state has risen to 14 after searchers found six additional bodies among the debris, as dozens more remain unaccounted for. Authorities said earlier in the day that over 100 missing person reports have been filed, but the accuracy of those reports could not be immediately verified. This is due to the fact that it is pos-sible people have called in mul-tiple reports about the same per-son, authorities told Fox News. The 1-square-mile mudslide struck Saturday morning in Sno-homish County, critically injur-ing several people and destroy-ing about 30 homes. Authorities have described the search for additional survivors to be “grim”

as crews battle uneven ground and rising waters. John Pennington, emergency response managing director, said there are reports of up to 108 people missing in the mudslide, but noted that number is uncon-firmed. “This is a large scale di-saster event,” Pennington said. “We have 108 individual names, or likeness ... It’s a soft 108.” Other authorities said they have not been able to determine whether there were multiple calls about the same missing person. “It was Saturday and probably a higher number than what you would see on a week day,” he said of the victims during a press conference Monday. Penning-ton said it remains unclear how many structures were impacted at the time.

14 killed, 100 missing in Washington landslide

NEW YORK—A 16-year-old Filipino-American teenager described as a thrill-seeker bypassed an inattentive security guard in the middle of the night and climbed a ladder to the spire of 1 World Trade Center, where he apparently took pictures, authori-ties said Thursday. Justin Casquejo was arrested at 6 a.m. local time Sunday at Amer-ica’s tallest building and was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass, police said. Nobody answered the door Thursday at his Weehawken, New Jersey, home. According to a criminal complaint, Casquejo was quoted as telling police: “I walked around the construction site and figured out how to access the Free-dom Tower rooftop. I found a way up through the scaffolding, climbed onto the sixth floor, and took the elevator up to the 88th floor. I then took the stair-case up to 104th (floor). I went to the rooftop and climbed the ladder all the way to the antenna.” He was arrested, and his camera and cellphone were seized after authorities obtained a search warrant, said Joe Pen-tangelo, a spokesman for the police de-

partment of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the trade center site.

Casquejo was re-leased without bail after being arraigned Monday on one count of third-degree crimi-nal trespass and one count of trespass. His lawyer declined to comment. Casquejo’s next court date was scheduled for April 2.‘Shocking, troubling’ The episode raised questions about how

such a breach could have happened at one of the most security-conscious sites in the world. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called it “shocking and trou-bling.” Casquejo got onto the construction site of the nearly completed tower through a 1-foot (0.3-meter) opening in a fence and eluded an inattentive security guard on the 104th floor, Pentangelo said. The guard, who worked for a contractor, not the Port Authority, has been fired, the spokesman said. The criminal trespass charge is a misdemeanor punished by up to three months in jail. The simple trespass is a violation punishable by up to 15 days in jail.

FilAm teen climbs atop World Trade Center undetected

WASHINGTON, DC – A bill to spur con-tributions to Typhoon “Haiyan” relief in the Philippines passed the House of Represen-tatives, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.-15) today announced today, Mar. 24.The Philippines Charitable Giving Assis-tance Act, H.R. 3771, a bipartisan bill, is co-led by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Joe Heck (R-Nevada), and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The version of H.R. 3771 seen by the House will encourage Americans to donate to Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts by allow-ing people to deduct contributions to Philip-pines recovery efforts from their 2013 taxes, if they are made after the bill is signed into law and before April 15, 2014. Without this bill, a person would have to wait until he or she filed their taxes next year to claim the deduction. Typhoon Haiyan was the most powerful storm in history to ever hit landfall. It is estimated that $788 million will be needed for the United Nations’ Strate-gic Response Plan through November 2014, but only $369 million has been given so far. Congress enacted a similar law in 2010 to encourage monetary dona-tions to help Haiti after the devastating earthquake there. An identical version of this bill, sponsored by Sena-tor Mazie Hirono (D-HI), already has passed the Senate. The bill will be sent to the President for his signature.“I am pleased that this bill is on its way for the Presi-dent’s signature. Given the great deal of help still needed, the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act will help spur another round of new contribu-tions when charitable giving has tapered off and help American families get more back from their tax returns this year,” said Senator Hirono.

Bill giving incentive for PH relief donations passes

US House

The Democratic State Sen. Yee represents California’s 8th District which includes part of San Francisco and the Peninsula. He is currently a candidate for California Secretary of State. Yee has been an effective lawmaker who has been dogged by controver-sies over the years. He serves on a

number of California Senate committees and chairs three committees, including the Se-

lect Committee on California’s Pub-lic Record and Open Meeting Laws. “That’s shocking news to me,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee when asked about the arrest of Sen. Yee. “It’s many years of public service so, I don’t know what’s occurred there … I hope for the best.” (KPIX 5)

A house is seen destroyed in the mud on Highway 530 next to mile marker 37 on Sunday, March 23, 2014, the day after a giant landslide occurred near mile marker 37 near Oso, Washington.

Justin Casquejo

Three extreme-skydiving enthusiasts accused of parachuting off the 1 World Trade Center tower last fall were arrested Monday, authorities said, in a sec-ond criminal case in two weeks arising from surrepti-tious stunts at the nation’s tallest skyscraper. The three daredevils and someone accused of be-ing an accomplice were facing charges including felony burglary in a Sept. 30 leap from the build-ing, where a teenage boy was arrested on March 16. Authorities said the teen had slipped through a gap in a fence, eluded an inattentive security guard and spent about two hours atop the 1,776-foot-tall tower.

4 arrested in World Trade Center jump

(Cont. from page 1..SEN. LELAND)

After President Aquino finally admitted and apologized for

the slow government response in the wake of the devastation brought by super typhoon Yolanda, comes now another apparent neglect on the part of the agencies responsible for the relief and recovery efforts in the areas hardest hit by the typhoon, particularly Leyte and Samar. It was first reported that several food and other relief goods were secretly buried outside of Ta-cloban after they were found rotten and unfit for human consumption. A week later, local of-ficials and typhoon survivors were shocked to find that many canned goods that were being distributed to several survivors were similarly rotten, some of them even teeming with worms. That thousands of relief goods that were do-nated perhaps several weeks ago were not immediately distributed, resulting in most of them being rotten and contaminated with worms, is, to say the least, revolt-ing and nauseating. Why these relief goods, which were donated by overseas Filipinos and international organi-

zations, were kept in government warehouses instead of being given immediately to hundreds of thou-

sands of survivors when they needed them most, should be explained by whoever was responsible for these goods. In the wake of continued complaints from typhoon sur-vivors of government neglect of their plight, the fact that agencies allowed these donated relief goods to be wasted is another black eye in the government’s ability to come to the aid of hapless Filipinos. In the few days after the tragedy in early November, there were complaints from volunteers that instead of bringing sacks of rice and other food items immediately to Leyte and Samar for distribution, officials of the De-partment of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Food Authority ordered them stored in government warehouses for repacking into small bags that had the seals of the DSWD and NFA stamped on them. As a result, it took several days before the items could reach the suffering survivors, who urgently needed to fill their stomach at that time. I could imagine that the food items that were found to be rotten and had to be buried were the result of the same bureaucratic red tape and poli-ticking by some government officials. This should explain why many overseas Filipinos are hesitant to course their donations, either in cash or in kind, through government agencies, fearing a repeat of past disasters when even donations meant for the victims are pilfered by some officials, or given only to favored supporters, or simply left rotting in warehouses because of government red tape. One reason being cited for the delay in the distribution of relief goods is the hesitance of administration officials to turn over donated items to towns controlled by politi-cians from the opposition. If this were true, the concerned government officials should be condemned for playing politics in the midst of disasters and suffering. Another reason cited is the bad habit of certain officials and politicians to take credit for every project, including the distribution of relief goods. That is the reason the DSWD and the NFA would rather repack the goods in bags sealed with their agencies’ seals than bring them im-mediately to those in need. The government must thoroughly investigate this shameless criminal neglect by agencies concerned, such as the DSWD, and dismiss and file criminal charges against those found responsible. While we are willing to give the government time to push its rehabilitation program in the affected areas, we simply cannot forgive those who laid to waste the thou-sands of tons of food that could mean life and death for thousands of typhoon survivors.

A series of events that

led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea have made many to wonder: why didn’t the western powers do anything to stop Russia from grabbing Crimea. What happened to Crimea and what’s likely to happen

next to Ukraine, reminds us of what happened to Europe in 1938 when Hitler demanded for a tiny slice of Czecho-slovakia. To appease Hitler, the European powers signed an agreement that ceded Sudetenland in exchange for peace. It was a small price to pay to preserve peace in Europe. It became known as the “Munich Appeasement.” Czechoslovakia was forced to abide by the agreement after Britain and France told her that she either give up Sudetenland or fight Germany… alone. Czechoslovakia chose to surrender Sudetenland. But Germany got more than what she bargained for: de facto control of the rest of Czechoslovakia for as long as Hitler kept his “solemn pledge” not to go any farther. Britain and France didn’t realize that appeasing Hitler was like feeding a hungry viper with little mice – it would only increase the viper’s appetite for a much bigger meal. And to their horror, Hitler broke his “solemn pledge” and his tanks and troops rumbled into Prague on March 14, 1939. That’s when all hell broke loose and World War II began! What’s happening today in Ukraine has an uncanny simi-larity to what happened 75 years ago in Czechoslovakia. Putin’s Putinism and Hitler’s Nazism, although they differ in ideology, have similarities in their expansionist goals; that is, to lord it over Europe. While Hitler surrounded himself with the notorious Schutzstaffel (SS), Putin sur-rounds himself with the “siloviki,” a group of former members of state security and intelligence agencies (e.g., KGB, GRU, FSB) who now occupy high-ranking posi-tions in Putin’s government. Step-by-step sanctions While Obama had discounted the use of the military against Russian aggression, he is using economic sanc-tions that had been successfully tested with Iran. Last March 17, Obama signed an executive order freezing the assets of 11 Russians and four Ukrainians involved in Russia’s intervention in Crimea as well as visa bans and economic sanctions. The sanctioned individuals won’t have access to US financial institutions and would have difficulty doing business in dollars. On March 20, Obama announced sanctions against Bank Rossiya and 20 officials and business tycoons who are close friends or associates of Putin. Bank Rossiya is

the personal bank for senior officials of the Russian gov-ernment, and many bank officials and shareholders are members of Putin’s inner circle. The sanctions prohibit US banks, firms or individuals from doing business with Bank Rossiya and likewise the bank is prohibited from conducting transactions in dollars. In addition, US-based MasterCard and Visa had stopped servicing Bank Rossiya. Obama also announced that he signed a third executive order authorizing the Treasury Secretary to put sanctions on Russia’s financial services, energy, metals and mining, engineering, and defense industries. These step-by-step sanctions are bound to compel Pu-tin to reassess his vision of the rebirth of an empire with Mother Russia as the spoke that will hold together all of the former Soviet republics including the Soviet Union’s former client states, into a new world order, Pax Russica, which would put an end to American dominion or Pax Americana. However, he knows that his dream of restor-ing Russia’s former glory is beyond his reach for as long as the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) remain cohesive militarily, politi-cally, and economically.NATO reaction Indeed, the Ukraine crisis has brought the 28-member NATO closer together. But one wonders how NATO would react should Russia invade Ukraine? Would NATO send her armed forces to defend Ukraine? If so, would Putin use Russia’s nuclear arsenal? And would NATO strike back with nuclear weapons? If that were the case, then it would lead to a nuclear holocaust and Putin knows that. But while Putin may be harboring delu-sions of grandeur, he is not crazy enough to press the “red button” that will lead to MAD; that is, Mutually Assured Destruction. End game However, Putin is aware that if he’d cross the border into Ukraine – just like what he did in Crimea – the US and NATO might not be able to deter Russia’s advancing mechanized divisions with conventional weapons because the US has withdrawn her Abrams battle tanks from Ger-many a year ago. That would leave Obama with limited options, none of which is military. His only viable option then are economic sanctions, which would cut off the flow of natural gas from pipelines that run through Ukraine to reach the European market, which, by the way, is dependent on Russia for 30% of her energy. The US, which is the world’s largest producer of natural gas, can then provide Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to her European allies. And this is where Putin would face a dilemma. If he continues with his military incursion into Ukraine, his largest exportable commodity – natural gas – will be cut off; thus, plunging Russia into economic chaos. On the other hand, if he stops his military incursions, he will not fulfill his dream of Pax Russica. At the end of the day, Obama’s gambit may have given him an opening to checkmate Putin. ([email protected])

PERRY SCOPEBy

Perry Diaz

Obama’s gambit

PAGE 4Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 The San Francisco PostOPINION

Two feisty woman officials reminded

us last week why cam-paigns against corrup-tion in the Philippines never succeed. They don’t succeed because after the corrupt acts are exposed and pub-licized, there is no follow-up, much less prosecution of the ac-cused. Chairman Grace Pulido-Tan of the Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered the

agency’s officials to monitor compliance with recommenda-tions contained in annual audit reports to ensure that gov-ernment agencies and institutions take them seriously and act to implement such corrective measures.Tan hopes the new system would put an end to auditors reporting the same recurring problem every year because there are no follow-ups to recommendations. Audit find-ings will then not suffer the same fate as dreams in the song “Mona Lisa,” Tan said, where they “just lie there and die there.” Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, on the other hand, is ex-asperated that no charges have been filed in court against those named in numerous exposes and Senate committee hearings, and said the Ombudsman should start filing cases against those implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel scam. “Since it has been six months, I think it would be best if the Ombudsman could at least file some of the cases in court now because the public are getting jaded with these public revelations in the Senate probe plus they are not seeing any action,” Santiago said. “We don’t want public interest to die on this matter because it’s just too important. Plunder is just too important to the national economy.”

One wonders why despite the voluminous evidence and the many witnesses who have willingly testified to the ex-tent of the corruption involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or the congressional pork bar-rel, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) or the presidential pork barrel, the Malampaya Fund and several programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Depart-ment of Agrarian Reform, the Ombudsman has not filed any formal charges before the Sandiganbayan against those im-plicated in the shameless scams. Are the exposes being squeezed dry by the administration and its allies to damage the reputation of some leaders of the opposition and possible contenders for either the presi-dency or the vice presidency? Is the Aquino administration really serious in prosecuting the big fishes in these scams regardless of party affiliations, or will these scandals go the way of previous corruption scandals that have been left un-resolved? Let us look at the numerous corruption scandals that have shocked the nation in the last few years, but have remained unresolved: The P1.3-billion election computerization deal with Mega Pacific to supply the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which the Supreme Court voided because the deal was taint-ed “with graft and legal infirmities;” the alleged P532.9-million overpricing of the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in the Manila Bay reclamation area, which the Ombudsman deemed as overpriced by 250 percent and the bridge by 67 percent; The P200-million Jose Pidal case, wherein Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused Mike Arroyo of amassing more than P200 million from campaign contributions of her wife and put-ting the money in secret bank accounts, including that of “Jose Pidal”; the $503-million Northrail project, which former Senate President Franklin Drilon described as one of the “colossal corrupt deals” of the Arroyo administra-tion; the $329-million National Broadband Network; the $466-million Cyber Education Project; the P728-million fertilizer fund scam; the still to be probed P3.1-billion ir-rigation project just before the 2004 elections whose funds the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas claims were divert-ed to the campaign; the P455-million ice making machine scam also under the Department of Agriculture; the P5-billion swine scam; and the P120-million Ginintuang Ma-sagani Ani (GMA) project scam. Add to these the P10-billion pork barrel scam, the P900-Malapampaya fund mess, the billions DAP funds illegally doled out to senators and congressmen before, during and after the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, and the billions more in agriculture funds that were alleg-edly coursed through fake NGOs. In most of these cases, the culprits remain free, the whistle-blowers have either been silenced or are now six feet under, and only the case against Abalos and Neri in the NBN-ZTE deal has been filed by the Ombudsman, and the Executive Department has blocked investigations by fraudulently in-voking executive privilege. The only case that landed in court – the $2-million bribery case against former Justice Secretary Hernani Perez – was obviously mishandled by the Ombudsman and was dis-missed two years ago. All these corruption scandals hogged the headlines for days, only to die down when another scandal, either in government or in show business, displaced them on the headlines. In the Philippines, corruption scandals are never resolved; they just fade away. Or as the COA chief said: “They just lie there, and they die there.” ([email protected])

‘They just lie there, and they die there’

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Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Philippines, a move that may benefit approximately 200,000 Filipinos in the United States who are currently out of status. Arnedo Valera of the Migrant Heritage Commission, the Washington D.C. group which initiated the call for TPS for the Philippines last November, reported that Philippine Desk Officer David Arulanantham at the US Department of State confirmed that the favorable recommenda-tion for TPS for the Philippines is now on the desk of Secretary John Kerry, awaiting his re-view and signature. Under US immigration law, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of State, may designate a country, or portions of a country, for TPS when conditions exist - such as an ongoing armed conflict or an environmental disaster in the country - that temporarily prevents the country’s nationals in the US from returning safely. Once a country receives TPS designation, na-tionals of that country residing in the U.S. would not be deportable and may receive temporary legal status that allows them to receive employ-ment authorization and even permission to travel abroad. Community groups represented at the confer-ence call were urged to ask everyone they know, even non-Filipinos, regardless of their immigra-tion status in the US, to call the US State Depart-ment Comment Line at 202-647-6575 on Thurs-day, March 27. People can call that message board even before March 27 but an extra effort

should be made to call in on March 27. After a voice message is heard, press:

4 for operator, then ask for the comment line, and then leave the following sug-gested message: “Temporary Protected Status for the Philippines must be des-ignated. I urge Secretary of State John Kerry to recommend to the Department of Homeland Security that TPS be des-ignated for the Philippines. My name is (say name) from (say city and state).” A bipartisan group of 20 US senators led by New York Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) sent a letter to Pres. Barack Obama urging him to grant TPS to the Philippines. “Typhoon Haiyan has wrought unparalleled destruction and tragic loss of life in the Philippines,” declared the senators in their letter to Pres. Obama. “Victims of Typhoon Haiyan clearly meet the eligibility requirements for TPS, and we urge you to extend this designation as soon as possible. The United States has demonstrated its commit-ment to assisting the Philippines with the recov-ery effort through foreign aid, military assistance and relief supplies,” the letter added. “Granting TPS to the Philippines would allow hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the US to send billions of dollars of their income to the Philippines to aid an economy that was devas-tated by Supertyphoon Yolanda,” said Dr. Celia Lamkin, a TPS advocate from Saipan who par-ticipated in the March 18 conference call. “For the sake of our mother country, we urge all Filipinos in the US to save the date and make the time to call the State Department on March 27,” said Loida Nicolas-Lewis.

Lozano for his part even travelled to the Phil-ippines recently to specifically promote aware-ness among Filipinos on the positive impact of approving TPS by the US State Deparment. He was a resource person in the morning program “ Good Morning Boss” hosted by Sandro Hermoso and Dianne Medina on the government owned PTV Channel 4. He was interviewed by Jake Maderazo and Arlyn Dela Cruz, radio anchors at DZIQ 990 which is the radio station for nation-ally known publication Philippine Daily Inquirer. Attorney Lozano went on and guested on the Kapatid network TV5’s Aksyon Solusyon by Alex Tinsay. Finally, he went on live with “ Sa Ganang Ma-mamayan” program of TV Net25 hosted by former Congressman Rodante Marcoleto and Gen Subardiaga. In all of those invites, he actually encouraged everyone to call or write to the US Embassy in the Philippines, the US State Department, the US De-partment of Homeland Security and even US law-makers for the approval of TPS. The “Call To Action” today is spearheaded by several Fil-Am community leaders and Atty Rodel Ro-dis, representing the group US Pinoys On Good Gov-ernance..

PAGE 5Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post WORLD BRIEF

Russia may target Moldova next – NATO chiefBRUSSELS – NATO’s top military com-mander said on Sunday Russia had built up a “very sizeable” force on its border with Ukraine and Moscow may have a region in another ex-Soviet republic, Moldova, in its sights after annexing Crimea. Russia was acting more like an adversary than a partner, NATO’s Su-preme Allied Command-er Europe, US Air Force General Philip Breed-love said, and the 28-na-tion alliance should re-think the positioning and readiness of its forces in eastern Europe. Russian troops, using armored vehicles, automatic weapons, and stun grenades, seized some of the last mili-tary facilities under Ukrainian control on Saturday in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russian President Vladimir Putin for-mally annexed the day before. Breedlove was one of several Western of-ficials and politicians to warn on Sunday that Russia may not stop there in a crisis that has taken East-West relations lurching back towards the Cold War since pro-Western protests in Ukraine ousted Moscow-allied President Viktor Yanukovich last month. “The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrai-nian border now to the east is very, very

sizeable and very, very ready,” the NATO commander told an event held by the Ger-man Marshall Fund think-tank. US President Barack Obama’s deputy na-tional security adviser Tony Blinken said the

build-up m i g h t just be aimed at i n t i m i -d a t i n g Ukraine’s new pro-Wes te rn l e a d e r s but that R u s s i a could in-vade the

country’s mainly Russian-speaking east. “It’s possible that they are preparing to move in,” he told CNN. A meeting of the G7 group of industrial-ized nations has been hastily convened for Monday in the Netherlands to allow leaders to discuss a response to Russia’s actions. Obama will also meet Russian Foreign Min-ister Sergei Lavrov for bilateral talks. Russia said it was complying with inter-national agreements and had no plans to invade. It has called the soldiers who took over Ukrainian bases in Crimea “self de-fense forces”. The United States and the European Union

have targeted some of Putin’s closest politi-cal and business allies with personal sanc-tions and have threatened broader economic sanctions if Putin’s forces encroach on other eastern or southern parts of Ukraine with big Russian-speaking populations. Germany, which has close trade ties with Russia, said the European Union was united in its readiness to impose sanctions on Rus-sia if necessary, and that Moscow had the most to lose. “None of us wants to escalate, but if Rus-sia changes things unilaterally, then it must know that we won’t accept it and that rela-tions will be bad,” Finance Minister Wolf-gang Schaeuble told German television. Ukrainian marine standards were still fly-ing on Sunday alongside the Russian flag at the Crimean base of Ukraine’s top military unit in Feodosia, but the Ukrainian troops were getting ready to leave after the Russian military takeover. “Our only issue is that we want to leave this place with honor, weapons and vehicles,” one Ukrainian soldier said. Blinken said Washington was considering all requests for military assistance from the government in Kiev, but that it would be unlikely to prevent an invasion of Ukraine, which is not part of NATO. Breedlove said the military alliance needed to think about its eastern members, particularly the former Soviet Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

NOVOOZERNOE, Crimea — Russia’s foreign minister met with his Ukrainian counterpart for the first time on Mon-day and demanded more autonomy for Ukraine’s regions, even as Ukraine un-der pressure ordered its troops out from Crimea after the Russian seizure of mili-tary bases there. Foreign Minis-ter Sergei Lavrov in an unexpected move agreed to the highest level meeting yet be-tween the Russian government and a representative of the new Ukrai-nian government that Moscow has opposed vocifer-ously over the past month.The meeting took place on the side-lines of a nuclear security summit in the Hague, Netherlands. Lavrov told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia that Russia continues to want constitutional changes in Ukraine that would give more autonomy to all re-gions of Ukraine.

Russia is eager to retain its influence in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking eastern re-gions and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. It has pushed for the new Ukraine to become a loose federation — demands the new Ukrainian government has re-jected.

Before the meeting, Desh-chytsia said his government fears a Russian mili-tary buildup near Ukraine’s border. “The possibility of a military inva-sion is very high. We are very much worried about this concentration of troops on our east-

ern border,” he said. The concerns have been deepened in by the intense military pressure Russia has applied in Crimea since Russian Presi-dent Vladimir Putin formally annexed the peninsula last week. Russian forces have commandeered ships and broke into walled military installations with armored person-nel carriers.

Ukraine orders troop pullout from Crimea

US, allies oust Russia from Group of 8THE HAGUE — The United States and its clos-est allies on Monday cast Russia out of the Group of 8 industrialized democracies, their most exclu-sive club, to punish President Vladimir V. Putin for his lightning annexation of Crimea, while threatening tougher sanctions if he escalates ag-gression against Ukraine. President Obama and the leaders of Canada, Japan and Europe’s four strongest economies gathered for the first time since the Ukraine crisis erupted last month, using a closed two-hour meeting on the sidelines of a summit about nuclear security to project a united front against Moscow.

But they stopped short, at least for now, of im-posing sanctions against what a senior Obama administration official called vital sectors of the Russian economy: energy, banking and finance, engineering and the arms industry. Only further aggression by Putin — like rolling his forces into the Ukrainian mainland — would prompt that much-harsher punishment, the countries indi-cated in their joint statement, called the Hague Declaration. “The biggest hammer that can drop is sectoral sanctions, and the clearest trigger for those is eastern and southern Ukraine,” the senior admin-istration official said.

Some critics of the administration said the suspension of Russia from the G-8, which ad-ministration officials acknowledged was largely symbolic, showed a lack of resolve among the allies to take tougher steps to undo Putin’s an-nexation of Ukraine. But it signified a firming of Western resolve compared with the early days of the Crimea crisis, when Germany and some other allies said it was premature to consider excluding Russia from the club of industrial democracies. Having Russia as part of that group since 1998 was meant to signal cooperation between East and West, and its exclusion inevitably raises new echoes of Cold War-style rivalry.

TAX CORNER

There are a few basic tips to keep in mind about the new

health care law. Health insurance choices you make now may affect the income tax return you file in 2015.1. Most people already have qualified health insurance coverage and

will not need to do anything more than maintain qualified coverage throughout 2014.2. If you do not have health insurance through your job or a government plan, you may be able to buy it through the Health Insurance Market-place.3. If you buy your insurance through the Marketplace, you may be eligible for an advance premi-um tax credit to lower your out-of-pocket monthly premiums.4. Your 2014 tax return will ask if you had insurance coverage or qualified for an exemption. If not, you may owe a shared responsibility pay-ment when you file in 2015.

What should you do now? If you or your family does not have health insurance, find out more now. Talk to your employer about the coverage they offer, or visit the Marketplace online. This article was provided by the IRS to help consumers on making tax preparation choic-es. Al Maglan is a CPA licensed in California and Nevada. You can contact him @ 510 432 7438. You may e-mail tax ques-tions at [email protected] or [email protected].

Facts about the Health Care Law for Individuals

by: Alvin C. Maglan, CPA

BEIJING—Relatives shrieked and sobbed uncontrollably. Men and wom-en nearly collapsed, held up by loved ones. Their grief came pouring out after 17 days of waiting for definitive word on the fate of the passengers and crew of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet. Malaysia’s prime minister gave that word late Monday in a televised an-nouncement from Kuala Lumpur, say-ing there was no longer any doubt that Flight 370 went down in the southern Indian Ocean. Relatives of passengers in Beijing had been called to a hotel near the air-port to hear the news, and some 50 of them gathered there. Afterward, they filed out of a conference room in heart-wrenching grief. One woman collapsed and fell on her knees, crying “My son! My son!” Medical teams arrived at the Lido hotel with several stretchers and one elderly man was carried out of the con-ference room on one of them, his face covered by a jacket. Minutes later, a

middle-aged woman was taken out on another stretcher, her face ashen and her blank eyes seemingly staring off into a distance. Wang Zhen, whose father and moth-er, Wang Linshi and Xiong Yunming, were aboard the flight as part of a group of Chinese artists touring Malaysia, heard the announcement on television from another hotel where he had been staying. He said some of the relatives had received a text message in English from the airliner advising of the find-ings to be announced in a late-night news conference by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib said an unprecedented analysis of satellite data concluded that the flight, which disappeared March 8 with 239 people aboard while on a night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, must have ended in the sea far from any possible landing site. “My mind is a mess right now. Can we talk later?” he said in a telephone interview.

(Cont. from page 1..TPS:CALL FOR)

Relatives sob after announcement on missing plane

The San Francisco PostPAGE 6Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 HOMELAND

Obama signs Yolanda tax relief lawWASHINGTON -- United States President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday a bipartisan bill that provides expedited tax relief for Americans making charitable donations in support of typhoon Yolanda (in-ternational name: Haiyan) recovery efforts in the Philip-pines. The bill, initially co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Thomp-son and three other congressmen, allows taxpayers to claim a charitable deduction on their 2013 tax returns for donations made by April 15. Taxpayers usually must wait until the following year to claim any deduction for charitable donations.The House, known for partisan gridlock, unanimously approved the bill on a voice vote Monday and sent it to President Obama’s desk with the tax filing deadline three weeks away. “A lot of people in our communities have family and friends who were impacted by the typhoon,” Thompson said in a written statement. “Passing this bill will help make sure aid keeps coming during these early stages of a long-term rebuilding effort.” Thompson and Reps. Eric Swalwell, Darrell Issa, and Joe Heck were lead co-sponsors of the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act, which ultimately

gained 34 co-sponsors. The United States has provided $87.7 million in re-lief funding to the Philippines following the devastation caused by typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 8, 2013. Other gov-ernments have pledged an additional $573 million.More than four million people were displaced and 16 million affected by the typhoon, which killed 6,201 people. The American Red Cross has received $76 million in donations for Philippine typhoon relief, including $250,000 from the organization’s California Northwest Region with offices in Santa Rosa, Napa and Eureka. Red Cross has spent or committed $28 million through Jan. 27, 2014. Catholic Relief Services has spent $8.4 million, with $600,000 donated by the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. Thompson said he backed the bill because many resi-dents of his district, which includes Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Sonoma Valley, have relatives in the Philippines. He also considers the Philippines “one of our closest allies” and believes that “when tragedy like this strikes, Americans don’t sit on the sidelines, we help.”

Aquino orders probe of P515M porkMANILA—President Benigno Aquino III has ordered an investigation into the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that more than P500 million in pork barrel funds went to questionable nongovernment organizations through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), an agency under the Office of the President. Aquino on Monday said he had in-structed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to provide him with “a thor-ough report on this particular issue.”“I told them I need it as soon as pos-sible and I want it as thorough and as complete and as correct as possible,” he told reporters in an interview in Malacañang. The President admitted the NCMF had been used for the implementation of projects funded through the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers, popularly known as pork barrel. “To be perfectly candid about it, there are so many functions embodied in

their charter which I reviewed today, and I was not clearly aware or imme-diately aware that they were a conduit or an implementing agency for various PDAF projects,” he said of the com-mission. Based on the COA findings, more than P514 million was allegedly coursed through the NCMF in 2012, or two years after Aquino took office. Of the amount, P25 million was alleg-edly made available through the admin-istration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), whose constitutional-ity is being questioned in the Supreme Court. The President said he was still seek-ing “clarification” if the information was based on a COA “finding” or an “observation audit moratorium.” He said the latter “means that there are cer-tain questions and they await answers or replies from the government entity concerned.” “The second step is, even before we get their answer, I want [to know] exactly what went to whom, and why it was coursed through the NCMF,” he said.

BIR wants bank secrecy law repealedMANILA -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) wants the law on bank secrecy re-pealed as this hinders the government’s anti-corruption campaign and may soon affect the country’s economic devel-opment. BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Heneres said the re-moval of Republic Act 1405, a law protecting the secrecy of bank deposits, is inevitable as several countries, particularly those developed nations like the United States, have winded down their secretive policy on bank records. “Sooner or later, we have to remove that bank secrecy law for tax purposes, because globally that will be a require-ment. That’s the movement in the OECD and the US — all of

them are requiring that there’s transparency in data, including bank data,” Jacinto-Henares told reporters. OECD, which stands for Or-ganization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an elite group of rich and developed nations that helps governments in tackling eco-nomic, social and governance challenges of a globalized economy. “Whether we will like it or not, eventually, we will get to that point [where there’s bank data transparency]. Otherwise, we will be blacklisted as a country, so our economic de-velopment will be affected by it,” Jancinto-Henares said. But Jacinto-Henares admit-ted that the removal of the bank secretary law is currently

a wishful thinking and will not happen during President Aqui-no’s term as BIR knows that several groups would block such a proposal. Aside from the country’s compliance with international standard, Jacinto-Henares also said that transparency on bank record will boost the govern-ment’s tax collections as BIR will have access to assess a person’s real income based on bank accounts. “Right now with the bank secretary law, we cannot get the whole picture of a taxpay-er’s income because we can’t monitor his or her bank ac-counts. If this law is removed, then the BIR can easily say what’s the correct taxes that need to be settled,” the tax col-lector chief said.

As of my last count the offi-

cial list of members of the House of Rep-resentatives is 289. A new report on the PDAF or Priority Development Assis-tance Fund that was allegedly funded to NGO’s( Non Gov-ernment Organiza-tions) by members of congress is 141. Since most of these funding are in ques-

tion, I think it is safe to say that most of the members of the House, if not all is needed to be investigated or looked at how they used their respective PDAF funds. The amount of money involved is so staggering leaving the ordinary Filipino to ask where did the funds went? The only problem is the investigative body is also the body needs to be investigated. What a predicament.

…..Commission on Audit Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan has sounded of ( in other words “ nagpaparinig”) this early to PNoy that she is ready for another government post. Critics say Tan is eyeing the position of Supreme Court Associate Justice Roberto Abad who is set to retire on May. Well, she might just get it after a successful selective special report on the congressional pork barrel that implicated several known Presidential timbers for 2016. Good luck. …..Greetings to all the newly elected PCCI or Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board of Direc-tors. They are Alfredo M Yao; President, Atty Miguel B Varela; Chairman, Dr Francis Chua; Chairman Emeritus, Sergio R Ortiz Luis Jr and Edgardo G Lacson both as Honorary Chairman, Amb Donald Dee; Honorary Chair-man/COO, Jose T Pardo; Chairman Council of Business Leaders. They were all sworn into office by PNoy in Malacanang together with some officers of PhilExport. Also taking their oath are Antonio S Abacan Jr; Bank-ing & Taxation, Roberto C Amores; Agriculture, Jose S Alejandro; Energy, George T Barcelon; Services, Ra-

mon D Escueta; Business Councils, Felipe L Gozon; Environment, Alegria S Limjoco; Corporate & Social Responsibility, Antonio A Lopa; Membership, Joseph C Sy; Mining, Benedicto V Yujuico; International, Danilo A Sanchez; AVP for NCR, Alfonso T Lao; AVP for North Luzon, Eduardo R Nicolas III; AVP for South Luzon, Jose T Ng; AVP for Visayas and Annie O Ty AVP for Min-danao. Congratulations and good luck. May you bring business to the Fil-Am Community and to the rest of the Filipino community all over the world. Good luck. …..FACC. Greetings and congratulations also to the newly elected set of Board of Directors of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Santa Clara County. They are Debbie Abad; Accounting Manager of Santa Clara Coun-ty Fairgrounds, Benjie Fernandez; General Manager of La Quinta Inns and Suites, Alma Ramirez; Assistant Vice President / Branch Sales Manager of Bank of the West, Anne O Ramirez; Founder / CEO of Core Dimensions International and yours truly. The newly elected Board will serve for 2 years with 5 other Board members who were past presidents of FACC. Good Luck. …..

SHORTS. Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares is proposing a lifting on the Bank secre-cy law for tax purposes. Some senators namely Francis Escudero, Grace Poe, Vicente Sotto, Nancy Binay and Sonny Angara are wary since the commissioner has a penchant to overdo things especially on taxation….Erwin Tulfo, TV5 news anchor has a filed a libel case against the Philippine daily Inquirer for reporting that he allegedly benefited from the pork barrel funds. This is mediaman versus mediaman…..According to Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate committee on urban planning and housing he will be asking PNP Chief Alan Purisima to the mysterious arrest and removal from the police force the name of Delfin Lee from the most wanted list ( Bakit nga kaya?)…..Communits leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who has remained defiant has been captured in an entrapment in Cebu Saturday. Jose Maria Sison has hinted an escalation of war between the government and the CPP/NPA people…..The Philippine Postal Service have launched a stamp honoring our current Miss World Megan Young. I think this is something the government should do for all Filipino achievers. For comments please email me at [email protected].

Congratulations and Good Luck II

LET’S HAVE COFFEEBy

Don Augusto Orozco

MANILA – The chairper-son of the National Demo-cratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) rebuked the mili-tary’s claim that the ar-rest of two top communist leaders would result in a “leadership vacuum” for the organization. NDFP chair and peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said in an interview over Inquirer Radio 990AM that the group may re-place the spouses Benito and Wilma Tiamzon with “trained” and “effective” cadres. “There are many cad-res and leaders who were trained in their several years of struggle,” Jaladoni said in Filipino on Monday. Benito Tiamzon was said to be a head of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New

People’s Army. The NPA has been waging one of Asia’s longest running

communist insurgency. Meanwhile, Wilma Tiam-zon was a top-ranked central committee member and CPP finance officer. The spouses were arrested in Cebu City on Saturday over

murder charges particularly involving 15 civilians in In-opacan, Leyte, who were bur-ied in a mass grave that was later discovered in 2006. Jaladoni asserted that their “revolution” would per-sist even with the leaders’ fall. He cited the arrest of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison during the Marcos regime that failed to dampen the armed insurgency then. “(The Tiamzons’) defiance and militant opposition in-spire our cadres and other militant and revolutionary forces to continue the strug-gle of the masses,” Jalandoni

said. The NDFP chairman was reacting to a military report that said “the NPA will suf-fer a leadership vacuum that will eventually spell doom for their organization.”

Jalandoni says trained cadres toreplace Tiamzons

Police escort Communist Party of the Philippines chairman Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma after their inquest in Camp Crame on Monday.

PAGE 7Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post

There was a time where the only cars to lust after were the big Germans, sharp Italians, suave English, a smat-

tering of hatches that would blow your socks off and some Japanese rockets. All for different reasons these kinds of cars would evoke the sense of want, the desire to be driven. In most recent times, though, the more people are able to afford those big Germans and the like, the less appealing these cars have become. It’s a mix between everyone in the neighborhood driving one With the ever-growing need to make more efficient cars, manufacturers have had to go back to basics. Smaller, sim-pler and lighter machines are much more efficient and make the world a happier place. But they have very seldom made the driver a happier person. The ‘cheap and cheerful’ slogan Top Gear often heralds is a double edged sword: ‘cheerful’ usually depicts the ‘so nice you want to punch it in the face’. And they haven’t been just cheap, but generally shit cars. The new crop of city cars, though, are starting to turn this all around. They are starting to mate that good kind of cheer-ful to a cheap that doesn’t equate to the thing falling apart in a matter of weeks. It’s an exciting time for young people especially. No longer does the younger generation have to wait until the golden age of 50 -plus to own a desirable car. 1. Cheap - City cars are not only billed to be cheaper to buy initially, but are significantly cheaper to run. Not only fuel expenses, but general maintenance, insurance and that ever more expensive road tax. Depending where you live, road taxes are becoming astronomical. The only way to really af-ford it and not be a millionaire be reasonable with your ride.

As much as you may not want to look at it, economics are a fact of life. It comes as no surprise that some of VW’s most interesting cars in the past couple years have had a mind for efficiency. Take the VW XL1, a limited production super-city car, if you will. Made from super light materials like Carbon Fiber Rein-forced Polymer, it weighs well under 800kg, and is powered by a hybrid system. This allows it to go 100km for each liter of fuel, making it the most fuel efficient car in the world. This may not be a cheap option at the moment, but the VW Up Is looking to follow in its footsteps, and that is almost as cheap as they come. 2. Small -- Cities may be getting bigger, but living space is becoming anything but. If you’ve ever tried to parallel-park a big saloon car on the side of a busy road, you know what an absolute ball-ache it can be. And if you try to go out on the town somewhere busy, parking alone is a nightmare. If you’re in a small car, you may just get lucky. Smaller goes hand-in-hand with cheaper too. Smaller is lighter, meaning the engine doesn’t have to work as hard, and nor does the driver to keep control over the car. It’s also much easier to negotiate around town. Simple maths, really. 3. Fun and plenty quick -- James May of Top Gear is a bit fan of the small car. Instead of driving a big German like the other lads, he drives a Fiat Panda — a 1.1 liter. His reasoning? That you can reach the limits of its performance at a much more reasonable speed, like those you can do on the road legally. It might not be the safest idea to try and reach the limits

of your car on the public road, but you don’t have to reach the limits to have fun in a car. It’s mighty hard to have much fun in an expensive car these days, what with all those elec-tronic aids. This isn’t to say that the only fun to have is when a car is out of control, but when the car is doing the driving for you, what’s the point? The engines you can find in small cars will rival those big cars of not too long ago, and factor in the size, and you pretty much have gokart-like handling. If you live anywhere near a city, you know how handy a car like that can be. And if you can do 0-100kph quicker than a bus, what’s to complain about? 4. No-nonsense and all you need -- Unless you’re making millions of pound-dollars, you really don’t need to be look-ing for anything fancy when it comes to four wheels. The Fords out there are competing well with the BMWs in as much as you can reasonably want in a car.Status symbols aside, the fun and practicalities of a car can be had pretty cheap — if you live in a city, then perhaps even cheaper. Fun is most-definitely a factor, but doesn’t have to have a price. When’s the last time you saw a Mer-cedes driver looking like they were having fun in their car? Now compare that to the last time you saw a Ford Fiesta driver having fun. Cars need to be fun again. And it’s hard to have fun if you’re constantly thinking about how much it’s costing you to keep it on the road, or when you’ll find your next parking or if you’re going to hit that guy’s side mirror. It’s the simple things in life that can sometimes take the edge off of living.

4 reasons why city cars are the future of driving pleasure

BMW ActiveAssist: Sheer

automated driving pleasure

THE driverless car of tomorrow is far closer than most of think. At the re-

cent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 in Las Vegas, BMW showed us just how close it is. To demonstrate its ActiveAssist sys-tem, a package of partially and highly automated driving technology, BMW let loose two research prototypes for highly automated driving onto a predetermined closed course marked out by a target line. The goal was to let these systems active-ly intervene and guide the car close to the target line, to demonstrate maximum safety up to the car’s dynamic limit. The prototype adheres to a marked out circular course, piloting its way at high speeds and with precision on a slalom run between cones, regardless of the friction coefficient of the road surface, and ex-ecutes an obstacle-evading lane change to perfection. It makes optimum use of the potential of both engine and chassis. Even when the rear is deliberately pro-voked into sliding out (oversteer) — the very edge of a vehicle’s grip — the high-ly automated prototype makes the neces-sary corrections to follow its path safely and consistently, time after time.

PAGE 8Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 The San Francisco Post

PAGE 9Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014

The San Francisco Post

If you are granted U status, you will be given the opportunity to stay in the U.S. for up to

four years and you may also be eligible for per-manent residence (a “green card”) after three years of continuous presence in the United States.

Q. Which Family Members Qualify for De-rivative U Status?

A. The crime victim who applies for U status is known to USCIS as the “principal appli-

cant” and – if approved – will be granted U-1 status allowing the person to live and work in the U.S. for a specified period of time not longer than four years. If you are a principal applicant, you can also petition for derivative U status for certain family members by submitting Form 918A, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of U Visa Recipient, either at the time of your application or after you receive approval. Which relatives qualify for derivative U sta-tus will depend on your age – and in some in-stances, your family member’s age and marital status.If the principal applicant is over 21 years old, he or she can include the following family mem-bers in the application:• a spouse (U-2) and• unmarried children under age 21 (U-3).If the principal applicant is under 21, the fol-lowing relatives qualify for derivative U status:• a spouse (U-2)• unmarried children under age 21 (U-3)• parents (U-4), and• unmarried siblings under age 18 (U-5). Please note that principal applicants older than 21 cannot petition for derivative visas for their parents or siblings. Derivative U-4 parents and U-5 siblings will not lose their eligibility if the principal applicant turns 21 years old before their derivative visas are issued. In addition, U-5 siblings who reach their 18th birthday be-fore their applications are decided upon main-tain their eligibility as long as they do not marry before entering the United States. USCIS also recently issued a new rule that will prevent U-3 derivative applicants from “aging out “if they turn 21 while their application for U status is pending. Derivative U visa applicants do not need to meet the U visa eligibility requirements that the principal applicant does – such as being the vic-tim of a serious crime, suffering serious abuse, and possessing helpful information for law en-forcement.

However, the grounds of inadmissibility listed at I.N.A. § 212(a) will apply to derivative applications for U status. If your application for derivative U status is approved and you live outside the U.S., you will need to undergo additional processing in your home country.

Q. How may Derivative Family Members Apply for Work Authorization?

A. The principal applicant will be automati-cally issued an employment authorization

document (also known as an “EAD” or a work permit) if his or her U visa application is ap-proved. However, derivative family members must submit separate EAD applications if they wish to legally work in the United States.

Q. May a family member apply for U status as “Indirect Victim”?

A. If the principal applicant is unable to file for U status or if his or her application is

denied? Unfortunately, if the principal appli-cant’s U petition is denied, family members no longer qualify to be derivative beneficiaries of that petition. However, certain family members who would otherwise qualify for derivative status (see the list above) may have the option to apply for U status as an “indirect victim” of the qualifying crime. The family member may be eligible to apply for U status as a principal applicant if the direct victim is:• dead due to murder or manslaughter, or• incompetent or incapacitated (due to age or disability) and is unable to provide helpful in-formation about the crime to assist law enforce-ment.

SUCCESS STORIES

1.On March 25, 2014, we received another ap-proval from the Immigration Court for waiver of misrepresentation for a client who entered the U.S. as single but actually married.2. On January 24, 2014, we received another approval for waiver of misrepresentation from the Immigration Court for an alien who entered as single but actually married.3. On January 14, 2014, we received an approv-al from USCIS of a green card under law on Registry for a person who has been in the U.S. since before 1972. 4. On January 6, 2014, we received an approval

of waiver of misrepresen-tation from Immigration Judge for a client who entered as single but ac-

tually married.5. On November 21, 2013, we received an ap-proval from USCIS for adjustment of status un-der SAME SEX MARRIAGE.6. On November 14, 2013, we received an ap-proval of adjustment of status from Immigra-tion Judge for a client who was originally de-nied adjustment by USCIS.7. On November 4, 2013, we received an ap-proval of waiver of misrepresentation from the Immigration Judge for a client who entered the U.S. as single but actually married.8. On October 24, 2013, we received an ap-proval by an Immigration Judge on the review of I-751 Application to Remove Condition on Residence that was previously denied by US-CIS.9. On October 2, 2013, we received an approval

of adjustment of status based on SAME SEX MARRIAGE.10. On June 3, 2013, we received an approval from USCIS of a petition that continued despite the death of the petitioner under Public law 111-83.11. On May 8, 2013, we received an approval of adjustment of status for a client who has a prob-lem with entry document but has Sec. 245(i) eligibility.Crispin Caday Lozano is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Association of Consumers Bankruptcy Attorneys. He specializes in immigration law and bankruptcy law. He earned his Juris Doctor at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California. He is also a Certified Public Accountant, a Real Estate Broker and a Bach-elor of Business Administration Cum Laude graduate. He has offices in San Francisco, Hayward, San Jose, and Cerritos, California. You can contact him at 1-877-456-9266. Email questions to [email protected]/. Visit our website at www.crispinlozano-law.com.

Family members of U visa holder may also qualify for U visaBy Atty. Crispin C. Lozano

said the case stemmed from the four fire-arms and two hand grenades seized from them during their arrest in Cebu province last Saturday. President Benigno S. Aquino III said the arrest of the CPP leaders is a “serious blow” to the communist rebels. “I believe it does deliver a serious blow. And it shows you also the competency of our security forces,” Aquino said, adding that the Tiamzons were the “big fish” he was mentioning last week that the law en-forcers were already tracking. The Tiamzons and five other communist leaders were subjected to inquest proceed-ings yesterday in Camp Crame.“They were subjected to inquest proceed-ings here based on the authority of the De-partment of Justice,” said Fajardo. But the legal counsels of Tiamzons ques-tioned the legality of the inquest proceed-ings, saying the proceedings against couple and their five other companions should

have been held in Cebu where they were arrested. Lawyer Rachelle Pastores, legal counsel of the CPP leaders, said they were sur-prised by the move of the Philippine Na-tional Police to hold inquest proceedings in Camp Crame. “The inquest officers have no jurisdiction to conduct inquest proceedings here (Camp Crame). The alleged crime was committed in Cebu so why hold inquest here in Ma-nila,” she added. But Fajardo stood ground and argued that inquest proceedings could be done any-where based on the authority of the DOJ. He argued that it was the hearing of the charges that should be done in the area where the crime was committed. In the case of the Tiamzons and the five other ar-rested, he said they expect the trial to be done in Cebu. Pastores, however, stressed that the pro-ceedings are invalid. “We will not recognize this process,” said Pastores.

(Cont. from page 1..TOP RED LEADERS)

Atty. Crispin. C. Lozano represented Mr. Conrado Orante. Jr with USCIS in his applica-tion for naturalization. His case was approved although some attorneys believed he could not pass.

SPECIAL FEATUREPAGE 10Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 The San Francisco Post

VALLEJO – It has been almost two months since Keepin’ It Island opened

in this city and people are still talking about the Guamanian restaurant that serves deli-cious and authentic Islander foods topped with warm home-like service. More than 3,200 came to the grand open-ing weekend of Keepin’ It Island last January 18 and 1,400 more on the soft open-ing day on January 4, and now h u n d r e d s continue to flock daily to the Gua-manian res-taurant at at 3730 So-noma Blvd., Vallejo , Ca 94589; Tel. (707) 552-7500. Couple Joey and Lisa Mesa, the owners, are just thrilled to see fellow Guamanians and even non-Guamanians come in droves to have a

taste of their exquisite Islander dishes, des-serts and cakes.

The native Guamanians are happy that they can finally taste again the many native foods that they enjoyed when they were still in Guam and nearby islands while the non-Guam natives are just thrilled to taste the different, but delicious food from the Islands. They come in groups to the restau-

rant every single day to enjoy the authentic Islander cuisine and the native Guam am-biance.

Some come from faraway cities, such as Hercules, Mon-terrey, San Jose, Bakersfield and Salinas, which are an hour or more drive to Vallejo. And they are all ex-cited to feel like being in the Is-lands again. The very posi-tive reviews in Yelp and other social network are encouraging Joey and Lisa to keep the high quality of their food and bakery products. One Jessica Ann of San Francisco, for example, who was so thrilled by both the food and service, sums up the enjoyment that Keepin’ It Is-land provides its customers daily: “I walk in and am greeted by a young girl with a friendly, “Hello, how are you?” I place my order for the BBQ Tri Tip Combo Plate and a side of Digao. I grab a seat and when

my food was ready, I just started digging in. The food was soOo ONO (Delicious) that

I don’t think I ever put my fork down or took a breath. The tri tip wasn’t dry and had a nice flavor to it. The red rice was bomb dig-gity and I liked the spice to the digao as well. I totally enjoyed my meal and the chill vibe of the restaurant (Bonus points for playing is-land jams in the background, who doesn’t love listening to

J-Boog while they eat?!). As I was sitting at my table a really nice lady asked me how I was doing. I’m going to guess that her name was Lisa because as more customers started to roll in that’s the name I kept hearing. She offered me a sample of the chicken soup she made, but I politely declined since I was already so full. I did ask if there were any desserts since I have a major sweet tooth. She named a few and offered me a sample of the Latiya. OMG!!! Can

I just say that the Latiya was AMAZ-ING, my tummy was doing backflips because it was so happy. I ended up ordering two containers of the Latiya and an order of coconut candy to go. The food and warm hospitality will most definitely keep me coming back. Thank you Keepin’ It Island for turning my gloomy day right around.” The favorites of customers so far are the Chicken Kelaguen (the restau-rant’s signature dish that is a barbecued chicken cooked with lemon juice, green

onions, donne peppers and shredded coco-nut), BBQ Tri Trip combo, the red rice, chicken empanada, lumpia, finadene and latiya. Keepin” It Island serves Guamanian and Pacific islands dishes like chicken kelaguen, barbecued tri-tips, ribs and chicken, red rice, chicken empanada, coconut tamales, pickled papaya, and potu, which is very similar to Filipino puto but with coconut milk. The bakery section accepts orders

for cakes for special occasion such as weddings and birthdays, cup cakes and cake pops. “We’re very happy that people are en-joying our food and our service. We are happy to introduce Guam and Pacific islands foods to Americans, and we’re even happier to let our fellow Guama-nians enjoy a piece of their beloved is-land,” Lisa said. Advertorial.

(Pictures by Jong Arcega Photography)

Hundreds flock to Keepin’ It Island daily for Chicken Kelaguen and other Guamanian foods

Patricia Mesa, mother of owner Joey Mesa (right), cutting the ribbon at the Grand Opening of “Keepin’ It Island”, Saturday, January 18th, 2014.

Joey and Lisa Mesa (far left) with Mesa Family and friends before the Grand Opening.

Hafa Brown Designs, just one of the many vendors that came out to suport the Grand Opening of Keepin’ It Island.

Just a fraction of the first wave of customers who came out to support “Kee-pin’ It Island” on the day of their grand opening.

The line was out the door and extended into the parking lot full of people from far and wide eagerly waiting to try the restaurant’s “Chamorro Cui-sine”

PAGE 11Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post AROUND TOWN

The story on our issue last Mar. 20- 26, 2014 on page 11 titled “Con-gressman Mike Honda to host Korean Ambassador to US as he honors Korean War Veterans” should have read “INC embark on housing and eco-farming to benefit typhoon victims”.

ERRATUM

Angel Lobaton of GLOBE TNT in San Jose California recently celebrated his birthday with family and friends. File picture was taken recently with his wife Marivic, daugther Angelica and his only son in front of their store at Story Road.

Prime Star Productions, based in San Jose is introducing the Bay Area’s new rising stars, “The Prime Star 6” in a gala concert showcasing hit songs from the favorite Playlist of these new young talented amazing voices. The show titled “Playlist” slated, Saturday, April 26, 2014 at Union City Apostolic Church. Written and directed by Gene Granadosin of Show Masters Entertainment. Watch and be a part of a unique nostalgic musical experience.

leaders of all four nations and discuss dip-lomatic, economic and security issues with them, the White House said.At The Hague, Xi told Obama that the US should adopt a “fair” attitude on the East and South China Seas, where China is in-volved in a series of increasingly bitter ter-ritorial disputes.“On the issues of the East and South China Sea, the US side ought to adopt an objec-tive and fair attitude, distinguish right from wrong, and do more to push for an appro-priate resolution and improve the situa-tion,” state news agency Xinhua cited Xi as saying. It provided no other details.China has repeatedly urged the US not to take sides in the maritime disputes, and has watched warily as Washington moves to strengthen its military alliances in the region, especially with Tokyo and Manila.Xi added that he hoped China and the US deepen their military cooperation and carry out more joint exercises to help “prevent misunderstandings and miscalculations.”China’s foreign ministry said the two lead-ers reached 10 agreements, including one to form rules for safe maritime and airspace military actions in international waters, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.The risks of a mishap in the region were highlighted in December when the guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens had to take evasive action in the South China Sea to avoid hitting a Chinese warship operating in support of Beijing’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

Amid China’s bullying in the West Philip-pine Sea, Spain reiterated its support for peaceful resolution of the maritime dispute in accordance with international law, in-cluding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).Visiting Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo declared his country’s position on Monday during a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.“On the issue of South China Sea, or the West Philippine Sea, I’d like reiterate that we share the view of a peaceful and negoti-ated settlement, always mindful of interna-tional law. Let us be reminded that in that part of the sea over 40 percent of the world trade goes through it,” Garcia-Margallo said.The Philippines and Spain held high-level political consultations in keeping with the two countries’ framework Treaty of Friend-ship and Cooperation signed in 2000.Meanwhile, an advocacy group headed by a former military rebel is launching a nationwide motorcycle caravan to protest China’s occupation of some areas in the West Philippine Sea.The caravan will start in Davao del Orien-tal on April 1 and end in Palawan, accord-ing to the National Center for Unity and Patriotism (NCUP) headed by ex-Marine Nicanor Faeldon.“This is aimed at promoting national con-sciousness and support for our country’s position at the West Philippine Sea as well as rallying international consciousness and support and also establishing possible world record,” Faeldon said.

(Cont. from page 1..OBAMA VOWS)

PAGE 12Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 SPORTS The San Francisco Post

MANILA -- As if pleading on bended knees, Timothy Brad-ley is asking Manny Pacquiao

to be ruthless, someone who is devoid of feelings and emo-tions, when they get it on for the second time on April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Reacting to a statement from Pacquiao’s camp last week with trainer Freddie Roach saying the Filipino star simply “took it easy on him (Bradley)”, the un-beaten US fighter told The Des-ert Sun, his hometown paper, that he wants none of that stuff come fight. “Don’t show no compassion. Don’t show me none of that,” said Bradley, still bitter that he didn’t receive the credit due him

for beating Pacquiao on a split decision in June 2012. Bradley stressed: “If he’s com-

passion-ate, he w o n ’ t be able to deal with me, period.” Roach has also ordered P a c -quiao to set aside b e i n g a good g u y since he is in dire

need of a huge victory. A few days ago, Roach said from the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, training headquarters of Pacquiao, that he wants his No.1 fighter to show “no mercy.” Recently, Pacquiao, 35, has been doing just that as reported by those given access to see him spar and train. Bradley, 30, said Pacquiao bet-ter come armed to the gills be-cause he will be hard to beat.“I’m so fired up, I’m so deter-mined, Manny Pacquaio gotta kill me to stop me.”

Bradley to Pacquiao: Be ruthlessMICHAEL Farenas scored a controversial second round technical knockout win over Hector Velazquez late Sunday due to a cut suffered by the Mexican.In the main event of MAG PACMAN Boxing Interna-tional Promotions second fight card, Farenas kept his knockout streak alive but the ending of the bout was highly questionable. Farenas and Velazquez clashed heads which caused an ugly gash on the Mexican’s right brow but veteran referee Bruce McTavish decided the cut came from a punch to reward Farenas with the TKO victory. Farenas upped his ring record to 38-4-4 with 30 knockouts as he gears up for a possible world title shot in his next fight. Velazquez on the other hand dropped down to 56-21-3 as he moves closer to retirement.

The outcome took the luster somewhat from what had been highly touted as a battle royale, with Fare-nas looking for a resounding victory over an opponent who once went up against ring icon Manny Pacquiao.The accidental head clash and the referee’s disputed decision put an end to all that however. In the undercard, Dave Penalosa scored one of the best victories of his career against Alem Robles of Mexico. Penalosa invested with body punches early in the fight but the tough Mexican refused to give the young Filipino an inch. The two battled for six back and forth rounds but in the end, Penalosa won a unanimous decision victory with scores of 58-56, 58-56, and 59-56. Penalosa raised his record to eight wins with five knockouts without a defeat.

Farenas in TKO win

Spring break offers college women -- and men -- a wel-come respite from the pres-sures of school, but they need to make sure they protect their health while having fun. For women looking ahead to spring break, the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-tration offers a number of tips, starting with sun safety.Wear a hat and protective cloth-ing, and stay in the shade as much as possible. Use sun-screens that protect against UVA and UVB rays and have an SPF of 15 or higher. Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, or ev-ery 40 to 80 minutes when swimming or sweating.If you use spray tans or bronzers, understand that they do not protect against UV rays. If you take medications, get information about them before you go on your trip. For example, ask your doc-tor about possible side ef-fects and interactions. Don’t skip doses, don’t share medication and don’t take

more than the recommend-ed dose. Keep a detailed list of the medicines you’re tak-

ing and carry your medicine with you when traveling. Be sure to drink enough water to stay hydrated. If you plan to spend a long time at the beach, for in-stance, be sure to bring wa-ter and drink even before you’re thirsty. Avoid ice or tap water in regions where water isn’t safe for drink-ing. If safe drinking water isn’t available, consume an internationally known brand of a sugar- and caffeine-free carbonated beverage, said Shirley Blakely, a senior nu-trition advisor at the FDA. Healthy eating is also important. To get enough

fiber and other essential nu-trients, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables

and be sure that half of your grains are whole. “If you’re faced with a smorgas-bord, build your plate with fruits, vegetables and whole grains first, then add the protein s o u r c e , ” B l a k e l y said in an FDA news

release. Think twice about getting a permanent tattoo or tem-porary henna decorations. Tattoos can cause allergic reactions and put you at risk for infections such as HIV or hepatitis. Henna is not approved by the FDA for skin use, and some people have experienced serious problems, including allergic reactions such as rashes and scarring. Never use colored or deco-rative contact lenses sold in beauty-supply stores and in boardwalk shops. These products can damage your eyes.

HEALTHCollege women: Have a healthy

spring break

Bradley and Pacquiao

Donaire arrives in PH, sets up campMANILA - Former three-time world boxing champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. arrived from Las Vegas on Monday to set up training camp here in preparation for his fight against WBA/IBO featherweight titlist Simpiwe (V12) Vetyeka of South Africa at the Cotai Arena in the Venetian Resort Macau on May 31. Donaire flew in with wife Rachel, their 8-month-old son Jarel and a few friends. They will stay at their home in Alabang Hills Village. Donaire will start working out at the Elorde Gym in Sucat next week. His father-trainer Nonito Sr., however, will join the camp in two weeks after a work as-signment in Mexico. Donaire, 31, will take a brief break from camp and appear as a commen-tator on Wowow TV in Tokyo for the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley bout on April 12. A Japanese trans-lator will facilitate Donaire’s com-mentary. Right after Pacquiao’s fight, Donaire will head back to Manila and resume training for Vetyeka. Donaire said former world superfeatherweight champion Robert Gar-

cia is not sure to work his corner in Macau.

“At the moment, Robert is busy training (Marcos) Maidana for his fight against (Floyd) Mayweather on May 3,” said Donaire in an overseas telephone interview. “Robert has other commitments so it’s not cer-

tain if he’ll have the time to work with me for this fight. But I’m comfortable with my dad. Nobody knows me better than Papang. We’ve been together from the start. We were together when I won the WBC flyweight title in 2007. My strength and conditioning coach (Mike Bazzel) will also not be around but we’ll be in constant communication through skype.” Donaire said his father will as-semble a gang of sparring part-ners to get him ready for Vetyeka. “We’re not bringing over any sparring partner from the US,” he said. “There are a lot of tough Filipino featherweights whom Pa-

pang will line up for sparring so that’s not a concern. I’m confident we’ll get competitive sparring done.”

Donaire

WE PROVIDE PRESS COVERAGE FOR ANY EVENTS, PROMOTIONS and PUBLICITIES.Coverage for Business Grand Opening, Advertising

Promotions and other private functions.

Call us at1-855-454-7678 or email us at [email protected]

PAGE 13Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post SHOWBIZ

Bianca and JC set wedding this yearNEWLY engaged couple Bianca Gonzalez and JC Intal want to get married before the year ends, especially since the latter doesn’t believe in long engagements. The Barako Bull Energy told ABS-CBN News, “I asked her if it’s okay if we get married this November or December and okay naman sa kanya… I think it’s about time na rin sa amin (to settle down). Basta church (wedding).” Gonzalez, on the other hand, took to Ins-tagram to express happiness following her engagement to Intal. Among photos she posted on Thursday is that of her two-carat diamond engagement ring. She also posted a series of photos de-picting the many ways Intal surprised her while she was on board a plane bound to London. “My fiancè is the sweetest part 1: dur-ing breakfast on the plane, I was served this note (‘Thank you for saying YES my love’) in a wine glass,” she wrote. “My fiancè is the sweetest part 2: around 5 hours into the flight, while eating my in-flight adobo lunch, this note (‘I am the hap-

p i e s t m a n in this w o r l d r i g h t n o w ’ ) c a m e in an-o t h e r w i n e glass,” t h e second p o s t read. Gon-z a l e z also posted Intal’s last note, which read: “Let’s plan your dream wedding when you get back, Sweetheart. I love you.” She shared, “When I woke up on the plane, the pilot (yes, as in the pilot of the plane!!) comes out to talk to me and congratulate me, hands me JC’s passport holder (that I was borrowing from JC before I left pero he said no), and inside was this third and final note.”

Bruno Mars donates $100,000 for ‘Yolanda’FIL-AM hitmaker and two-time Grammy awardee Bruno Mars turned over yesterday a check for $100,000 for the relief of super-ty-phoon “Yolanda” victims. Mars donation was received by the Bantay Bata 163 of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc., represented by Program Di-rector Tina Monzon Palma and members of the board of advisers. The funds are to be utilized by Bantay Bata 163 to initially conduct feeding pro-grams, medical mis-sions, and delivery of basic needs. They will also carry out stress debrief-ing to deal with the children’s emotional and mental trauma, as well as hold work-shops on disaster preparedness. Ultimately, the funds will be used for scholarships that should help the children build a brighter future. Mars faced select members of the media yes-terday at Solaire Resort and Casino’s Eclipse Entertainment Lounge to award his donation.Mars’ return to the country had been a promise he made in 2011 to his fans, but it has taken a deeper meaning with his intent to help those who lost their homes and families in the on-slaught of Yolanda. Before Mars was called on stage, Palma said, “I would want to tell him that you turned the lives of the kids (around) when you visited us in 2011… The children are not here because most of them have come back to their homes, inspired to become better… They must be grad-uating from college now.”

After the turnover, Mars noted, “I’m really excited to be back here in Manila.” He added, “One of the most special moments for me in my career, coming here a few years ago and per-forming with my whole Filipino family watch-ing.” Mars is back in the country for a sold-out one-night concert tonight at the Mall of Asia

Arena as part of his “The Moon-shine Jungle Tour.” Trending on Twitter on the day of his arrival, Friday, his fans are expecting a show tonight that takes a cue from some of his best performances of late – including a show-stopping performance at

the Super Bowl half time just last February. Born Peter Gene Hernandez in October, 1985, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a Filipino mother, Ber-nadette Bayot, and Puerto Rican/Eastern Euro-pean father Peter Hernandez, Mars grew up in a musical household. Mars’ mom – who died mid-2013 from a brain aneurysm – was a singer and a hula dancer, while his father was also a musician. They exposed their six children to a diverse mix of rock to R&B and everything in between. Mars began performing at young age with the family band, becoming known in the island for his impressions of Elvis Presley. He would con-tinue performing through high school and later learn to play the guitar before eventually mov-ing to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career further.

Yael in tears as Karylle walks down the aisleSPONGE COLA vocalist Yael Yuzon was in tears on Friday afternoon as his bride, singer-actress Karylle, walked down the aisle to final-ly exchange wedding vows after more than three years as a couple.Yuzon and Karylle got married at San Anto-nio ng Padua Church in Silang, Cavite, a day before the “It’s Show-time” mainstay’s 33rd birthday. Karylle wore a white, all-lace gown by Fran-cis Libiran. Her mother, singer Zsa Zsa Padilla, had on a similar dress, only in pink. The wedding entou-rage was composed of several celebrities, including Karylle’s co-host, Anne Curtis, who handled the candles with Tim Yap as secondary sponsors.

Yuzon’s three Sponge Cola band mates -- Ted-mark Cruz, Gosh Dilay, and Armo Armovit

-- were among the groomsmen. Karylle’s brides-maids, meanwhile, included celebrities Iza Calzado and Di-vine Lee. Among the princi-pal sponsors were celebrities Kris Aquino, Kim Atien-za, Jose Mari Chan, Martin Nievera, Ryan Cayabyab, Sharon Cuneta, Ben Chan, Ricky Reyes, Robin Padilla, Lor-na Tolentino, Gary and Angeli Valen-ciano, and Audie

Gemora. The 30-year-old Yuzon had singer Paolo Valenciano as one of his best men, while Karylle had both her sisters Zia and Coco as her maids of honor.

Bruno Mars with ABS-CBN executives.

Gonzalez shows off her 2-carat diamond engagement ring

Heart: “There are certain guys I should’nt have dated” Last year, Heart Evangelista was scouting around for another place she could call home. She had ear-lier left her posh Makati condo-minium unit, which was in the same building as the unit occupied by her estranged parents. Luckily, she found one such place in a quiet village in New Manila, Quezon City. It was a three-story townhouse not too far from GMA, her home network. It was also a mere 120 or so steps from the home of her boyfriend, Senator Francis “Chiz”

Escudero. It took Heart three months to renovate this

house and retrofit it to suit her style. “May mga binaklas and talagang in-ayos siya, pati ’yong mga floor, lahat. But it’s sulit for me, kasi matagal din naman ako titira dito, e. I mean, I’ll stay here till I get married, and it’s still a while.” In the YES! April 2014 issue, Heart opens her home and her heart about her passion for painting, her “not nor-mal” relationship with her parents, and her perfect match—her boyfriend Chiz. “I know they said you shouldn’t re-gret things,” she tells YES! “But really, if I just knew the things that I know now, there are so many things I wouldn’t have done be-

fore. There are certain guys I wish I didn’t date, if I knew that Chiz was coming into my life. I would have probably just waited…”

Heart Evangelista and her bf, Chiz Escudero

NEW YORK -- Borrowers with bad credit were shut out of the mortgage market after the housing bubble burst, but now a handful of small lenders are starting to offer subprime loans again. Once synonymous with toxic, ad-justable-rate mortgages -- like the “exploding ARMs” that led many homeowners to lose their homes to foreclosure during the housing bust -- subprime mortgages are once again being offered to bor-rowers who pose a higher credit risk, typically those with credit scores that fall below 640. But this time around, the loans are much more costly. During the housing bubble, lenders were handing out subprime loans with cheap teaser rates and little or no down pay-ments. Now, lenders are charging interest rates of as high as 8% to 10% and requiring borrowers to make down payments of as much as 25%-35%. The premium price is worth it for some borrowers who are try-ing to build or repair their credit, according to Bill Dallas from Sky-line Financial, of Calabasas, Calif. Skyline started offering subprime loans a few months ago under its NewLeaf Lending division. Among his firm’s subprime mort-gage customers: young, first-time homebuyers and former home-

owners whose credit was ruined in the housing bust. “They’re just Americans who want to buy homes but can’t,” said Dallas, who used to run First Franklin, a subprime lender that went bust in the mortgage melt-down. Most of these borrow-ers have nowhere else to turn. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back 80% of all U.S. home loans, won’t back loans is-sued to s u b -

prime borrowers. Only the Federal Housing Ad-ministration continues to support low-credit score borrowers in the wake of the housing bust. But it has hiked fees and premiums. To help protect borrowers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requires strong consumer

protections. The loans cannot car-ry interest rates that increase after default, or prepayment penalties, for example. And lenders must provide these borrowers with homeownership counseling from a representative approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and

Urban Development. In addition to the

small lenders who are issuing subprime loans, Wells Fargo re-cently lowered the minimum credit score it requires of bor-rowers to get

FHA loans. Wells Fargo is now approving applicants who have scores of be-tween 600 and 640 for FHA loans, which remains well within FHA’s guidelines, according to spokes-

man Tom Goyda. “It will open up access to

credit for many lower in-come families, including first-time homebuyers,” said Goyda.

And Dallas points out that these borrowers don’t neces-sarily have to pay those high in-terest rates for the life of the loan. Once they demonstrate they can repay their loans regularly, their credit scores should improve and they should be able to refinance into a lower-rate loan.

REAL ESTATESubprime mortgages making a comeback

“exploding ARMs” that led many homeowners to lose their homes to foreclosure during the housing bust -- subprime mortgages are once again being offered to bor-rowers who pose a higher credit risk, typically those with credit

But this time around, the loans are much more costly. During the housing bubble, lenders were handing out subprime loans with

The premium price is worth it

Most of these borrowers have nowhere else to turn. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back 80% of all U.S. home loans, won’t back loans is-sued to s u b -

Urban Development. In addition to the

FHA loans. Wells Fargo is now approving applicants who have scores of be Wells Fargo is now approving applicants who have scores of be Wells Fargo is now approving

tween 600 and 640 for FHA loans, applicants who have scores of between 600 and 640 for FHA loans, applicants who have scores of be

which remains well within FHA’s guidelines, according to spokes

man Tom Goyda.guidelines, according to spokes

man Tom Goyda.guidelines, according to spokes

“It will open up access to man Tom Goyda.

“It will open up access to man Tom Goyda.

credit for many lower in “It will open up access to

credit for many lower in “It will open up access to

come families, including credit for many lower in

come families, including credit for many lower in

first-time homebuyers,” come families, including first-time homebuyers,”

come families, including

PAGE 14Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 CLASSIFIED The San Francisco Post

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Libra September 22 - October 21A lot of paperwork, perhaps involving contracts, could lead to financial gain on the job, Libra. You could make or save some money for your employer, which could prove important.Scorpio October 22 - November 20Today you might want to put your innate business sense into making a success of a pet project of your own. This is a good idea, Scorpio, because all signs indicate that whatever you begin today, whether it’s for your employer or yourself, could well lead to success.Sagittarius November 21 - December 20Today you might want to put your innate business sense into making a success of a pet project of your own. This is a good idea, Scorpio, because all signs indicate that whatever you begin today, whether it’s for your employer or yourself, could well lead to success. Capricorn December 21 - January 18You may have plans to get together with friends, and you’re probably looking forward to it. However, Capricorn, delays could get in the way, although you aren’t likely to let them stop you. Aquarius January 19 - February 17Your hard work on the job may appear to be finally paying off, Aquarius, as all signs indi-cate that a raise, promotion, or other form of advancement is coming your way.Pisces February 18 - March 19Studying in solitude may appeal to you to-day, Pisces. A new interest has captured your imagination, so you may decide to sequester yourself at home or in the li-brary to learn about it.

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PAGE 15Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014The San Francisco Post

PAGE 16Mar. 27, 2014 - Apr. 2, 2014 The San Francisco Post