-
I ask everybody to call me mayor lang, he said. Mayor of the
Philippines nga lang.
Nonetheless, his spokesperson Peter Lavia previously said that
the public should sometimes for-mally address Duterte to respect
the Offi ce of the President.
But as I said, you can call him by whatever name you prefer but
there will be times that you have to
address him offi cially and formally as Mr. President, he
reminded.
Duterte, who will become the Philippines 16th President by June
30, has been given several nicknames including Digong, DU30 and
Rody.
Lavia had said that they will ask netizens to help them come up
with a name for the next president.
MANILA, May 16 (Mabuhay) Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte
will focus on easing re-strictions on foreign direct invest-ments
specifi cally on land owner-ship and share of capital, Ernesto
Pernia, one of the members of his economic team, said on
Monday.
Hes willing to go for a land lease for 50 years, renewable for
another 50 years. And then on the share between the capital of
foreign investors and local inves-tors, now its 60 percent local,
40 foreign. He said he is willing raise the foreign share up to 70
percent and 30 percent to local investors, Pernia said.
Those are what foreign inves-
tors are interested or have been complaining about in the past.
If those measures are combined along with easing of constitutional
restrictions in foreign direct in-vestment, Im sure we will have a
surge in foreign direct investments in the coming years, he
added.
Pernia, also the University of the Philippines economics
profes-sor emeritus, said they also plan to raise infrastructure
investment to 5 percent of the gross domestic product, where
infrastructure spending shall go to the improve-ment of the
agriculture sector in the regions.
Meanwhile, the next adminis-
T H E
Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016
E N T E R T I N M E N T
Iza Calzadoto go
toplessfor
new fi lm
See Page 7W W W . U S A S I A N P O S T . C O M
Vol. 5 No. 34 LOS ANGELES A BALITA MEDIA PUBLICATION
See CALL ME MAYOR, page 10
President-elect Mayor of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte on the
cover of Time Magazine as posted by one of the countrys top
photojournalists, Edwin Tuyay.
MANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) Administration candidate Maria Leonor
Leni Robredo dominated 10 regions as she maintained her lead in the
vice presidential race, latest data from the Parish Pasto-ral
Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) showed.
As of 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, Robredo got 14, 014, 440 votes or
35.12 percent. Her closest rival Sen. Ferdinand Bongbong Mar-cos
Jr. had 13, 798, 059 votes or 34.58 percent. Robredo is leading by
216, 381 votes.
PPCRV data showed Robredo
led in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Ne-gros
Island Region, Mimamoropa, Calabarzon, and in regions 5, 6, 7, 10,
9, 13.
Marcos, meanwhile, led in the National Capital Region (NCR),
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and in regions 1, 2, 3, 8,
12. The senator also led in the overseas absentee voting (OAV).
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who is in third place in the vice
presi-dential race, got 5, 676, 902 votes or 14.23 percent.
Cayetano led in
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) Poll technology provider
Smartmatic-TIM insisted on Friday that the change in the program
script to the Comelecs transparency server has not altered the
tally of votes for the vice presidential race, which is being hotly
contested by Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Ro-bredo and Senator Ferdinand
Bongbong Marcos Jr.
Bongbong has alleged that the new script boosted the
con-gresswomans votes, allowing her to overtake him in the par-tial
and unoffi cial tally, hours after polling centers closed last
Monday.
In a letter, Marcos asked the poll body to shed light on the
is-sue. But the Comelec, however brushed aside insinuations that
cheating might have occurred during the cahnging of the server
program script.
In its written explanation, Smartmatic said an observer called
the attention of the Comelec IT officer, Rouie Pealba, who was
stationed at the Parish Pastoral Council for
MANILA, May 13 (Mabuhay) The spokesperson of Davao City Mayor
and presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday re-vealed the
respective assignments of each member of the transition team in the
search and selection of next Cabinet members.
At a press conference in Davao City, Peter Lavia said the
fol-lowing will have their respective assignments:
MANILA, May 16 (Mabuhay) Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday
disputed presumptive president Rodrigo Dutertes claim that the
country has lost Scarbor-ough Shoal to China after a tense standoff
in 2012.
Citing statements made by senior defense officials during two
Senate hearings on the issue in 2013 and 2015, Trillanes said it is
clear that the area remains
a part of the Philippines.Hindi totoo that we have lost
Scarborough Shoal, Trillanes said. Tinanong ko mismo sa mga
defense and security offi cials ng ating bansa kung nawala na ba sa
atin ang Scarborough, at lahat sila sinasabi hindi.
Scarborough is still ours and it is still the main subject of
our arbitration complaint, added Trillanes, who chairs the
Senate
committee on national defense and security and a vocal critic of
Duterte.
Trillanes said he is clarifying the status of Scarborough Shoal
because it is very dangerous of Duterte to say that the country has
already lost it.
Its very dangerous for the pre-sumptive President to say weve
lost Scarborough Shoal because it
MANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) The Palace made an assurance on
Saturday that it is strictly moni-toring Zika virus in the country
fol-lowing reports of recent infections.
In a radio interview Saturday, Communications Secretary
Her-minio Coloma Jr said the Depart-ment of Health is on top of the
situation.
Nakikita naman natin Lany na masigasig ang ating Depart-ment of
Health sa pangunguna ni Secretary Janette Garin sa pagsubaybay at
pagtutok sa lahat ng kaso. Kayat agad na na-detect
at nai-report, na-quarantine, nagamot, na-identify kahit na
nangibang-bansa na sila, he told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
The DOH is also coordinating with other centers for disease
pre-vention in other countries to fi ght the virus, he said.
There is also a need to under-stand the nature of Zika virus.
Like dengue fever, Zika virus is trans-mitted through mosquito
bite. If the public observe cleanliness, there will be no
transmission of Zika virus or other diseases.
Ballot boxes containing Certifi cates of Canvass (COCs) for the
2016 general elections on Thursday continue to arrive in Pasay City
at the Senate, which will do the offi cial tallying of the votes.
The COCs will be taken to the House of Representatives where the
canvassing will take place.(MNS photo)
Duterte: Call me Mayor of the PhilippinesDAVAO CITY, May 16
(Mabuhay) Do not call him Mr.
President. Call him Mayor of the Philippines.Presumptive
President-elect Rodrigo Duterte told re-
porters late Sunday that he is not comfortable with being
addressed as President. Rather, he wants to retain the title he
held for 22 years.
Robredo dominates 10 regions, keeps lead over Marcos
Duterte economic team vows to ease restrictions on foreign
investments
Duterte camp bares transition teams search and selection
assignments for Cabinet execs
DOH strictly monitoring Zika virus infectionsTrillanes disputes
Dutertes claim, says Scarborough Shoal still part of PHL
Server script wont affect vote tally: Smartmatic
See ROBREDO, page 10
See ZIKA VIRUS, page 10See TRILLANES, page 10
See SMARTMATIC, page 10
See ECONOMIC TEAM, page 10 See TRANSITION, page 10
-
Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016
THE US ASIAN POST2
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) The camp of pre-sumptive
president-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Friday thanked all their social
media volunteers and cam-paigners for their valuable support in
helping him achieved victory in the May 9 presidential
elections.
Peter Lavia, Duterte campaign spokesperson, said social media
was a game changer that helped them win.
On behalf of Mayor Dute-rte and the campaign team, we would like
to express our thanks to all our online
supporters, both here in the Philippines and abroad, who
tirelessly worked to raise awareness about his candidacy, platform
and programs, Lavia said.
And given our lack of funds to defray campaign costs, social
media outlets like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter gave us the
platforms to convey and propagate our messages, he added.
The Duterte digital cam-paign involved hundreds of social media
account groups, countless individ-uals and hundreds of infl u-
encers with a membership reach of over 14 million.
The Philippines has over 40 million Facebook ac-counts and pages
alone and more than two million Twit-ter and Instagram handles.
In a related development, Lavia welcomed the sup-port being
mulled by social media platform Facebook for the incoming Duterte
presidency, saying that the connectivity afforded by Facebook is
essential in building Filipino com-munities and pushing the reform
agenda of the Presi-dent-elect.(MNS)
Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon speaks
before media on Friday calling for an investigation of a protocol
breach by poll technology provider Smartmatic. The transparency
server script was tweaked by Smartmatic to correct a character in
the names of candidates with in them.(MNS photo)
Duterte camp lauds social media volunteers, campaigners for May
9 victory
MANILA, May 16 (Mabu-hay) The Commission on Elections on Monday
con-firmed reports that three SC cards were thrown away in
Kabankalan in Negros Occidental.
At a press conference, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez quoted
offi cials as saying that the SD cards were placed in envelopes
that were taken out as trash
after the elections.What happened was
after the elections, election paraphernalia were gath-ered by
the election offi cer and prepared for transmis-sion. Those
envelopes were missing. They rearranged the offi ce na and taken
out the trash. Hindi napansin na nasama yung envelopes na may laman
na SD cards, he said.
He added that the SD cards were found in a dump site.
They were then returned to the provincial offi ce.
Jimenez assured that the contents of the SD cardswhich accounted
for three clustered precincts in a ba-rangay therewere already
uploaded before reports of the missing SD cards circu-lated.
(MNS)
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) Election technology provider
Smartmatic on Friday received a dressing down from Commission on
Elections (Comelec) com-missioner Rowena Guanzon for making changes
in the script of transparency serv-ers without due permission from
the Comelec en banc.
Guanzon made the state-ment just as Smartmatics Marlon Garcia,
who led its technical support team, fi n-ished demonstrating before
the media how it tweaked the script to correct the ? in the names
of candidates with .
The Smartmatic, in my opinion, breached our proto-col and for
that, they should be liable to the Comelec. They should be liable
to the people of the Philippines, a visibly irked Guanzon told the
media at the Comelecs canvassing center inside the Philippine
International Convention Center in Pasay
City.Smartmatic should have
informed the Comelec en banc about whats the prob-lem, the
consequences and gave us recommendation how to fi x it. They
shouldnt have touched that program without our prior knowl-edge and
offi cial consent, she said.
H o w e v e r , G u a n z o n echoed Smartmatics assur-ance that
despite the latter breaching protocol, results of the unoffi cial
vote count have not been altered.
She said the Comelec assures the people that they will have the
said incident investigated.
The feisty Comelec com-missioner also stressed that Smartmatic
should not have effected changes on the servers without the en
bancs go signal as these are properties of the gov-ernment.
If you do any change, perhaps to make it look nic-
er, its our property. Its not their property. This auto-mated
system is a property of the Comelec and theyre accountable to the
people, to the Congress, theyre not supposed to touch it without
our permission, she said.
Asked if the Comelec is considering ending their contract with
Smartmatic, Guanzon said: Well see if the breach is enough to
disqualify them.
She said she would vote for the cancellation of the poll bodys
contract with Smartmatic if the matter would be discussed.
G u a n z o n s l a m m e d Smartmatic for not apolo-gizing for
causing anxiety among the Comelec offi cials and the
electorate.
The least that they could do now is to say that, we are very
sorry. But Im not hearing it. The Comelec en banc didnt hear Im
sorry. It caused you worry, she said. (MNS)
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) The Smartmatic offi -cial who tweaked
the script of the transparency server on Thursday maintained that
the update was just a straightforward minor cosmetic change that
did not require the permission of the top officials of the
Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In a press conference on Friday, Marlon Garcia, Smartmatics
project direc-tor, said the changecor-recting the ? in displays to
read as required only simple instructions.
We are changing all the ? to so it will not look
ugly when you are looking at the fi le. When you read Osmea, you
will see Os-me?a, he said as he showed the part of the program that
was changed.
On a screen, he showed that the change consisted of just a
single line of code that replaced instances of ? with .
Garcia said that the tweak changed the pro-grams hashcode, but
not the poll results.
At any point in time, re-gardless of the change of or not,
results can be seen. Anybody can take a look at any of the results
and see nothing was changed. You
can take any printed data. There was no result change. Only the
was replacing the ?. A was still there. B was still there.
Everything remained the same, he said.
He also stressed that the change was announced and conducted in
full view of both Comelec and Smart-matic officials, and was fully
documented via CCTV camera.
Garcia also said that the change could only be done after the
Comeled and Smartmatic offi cials input their individual passwords,
implying consent from both agencies.
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) Poll technology pro-vider
Smartmatic-TIM insisted on Friday that the change in the program
script to the Comelecs transparency server has not altered the
tally of votes for the vice presidential race, which is being hotly
contested by Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Senator Ferdinand
Bong-bong Marcos Jr.
Bongbong has alleged that the new script boosted the
congresswomans votes, allowing her to overtake him in the partial
and un-official tally, hours after polling centers closed last
Monday.
In a letter, Marcos asked the poll body to shed light on the
issue. But the Comelec, however brushed aside insinuations that
cheating might have occurred during the cahnging of the server
program script.
In its written explana-tion, Smartmatic said an observer called
the atten-tion of the Comelec IT of-fi cer, Rouie Pealba, who was
stationed at the Parish
Pastoral Council for Re-sponsible Voting Center (PPCRV)
heaquarters in Manila on Monday evening, about question marks (?)
in some candidates names in place of the usual character.
Pealba in turn called the attention of the Smart-matic technical
support team led by Marlon Garcia.
Upon being notifi ed by the Comelec and after val-idating that
changing the character ? required a minor cosmetic change to
appease the observers at the PPCRV Transparency Center, the
Smartmatic technical support team addressed the concern by
introducing a correction on the script in the presence of everyone
present there, said Smartmatic project director Elie Moreno in his
letter to the poll body.
Both Pealba and the Smartmatic team then an-nounced to everyone
(in-cluding members of po-litical parties) inside the PPCRV
Transparency Cen-ter that the correction was made and all
subsequent
displays would refl ect the candidates names properly, with
instead of ?.
No one in the room ob-jected on the change, Peal-ba said in an
incident report submitted to Comelec en banc.
He (Garcia) saw it as simple and cosmetic. Look at it also on
the engineer-ing perspective. I am an engineer. I am trained to
solve problems. So if I see a problem, I automatically try to solve
it, Moreno said in a chance interview on Thursday.
Moreno also assured that there was no change in the results, the
counting and canvassing of votes, and in the source code of the
automated election system.
The change in the script did not, in any way, alter any result
for any candi-date, he said.
To dispel insinuations of cheating, Moreno sug-gested to
interested parties to compare the results in the transparency
server with the printed election returns of all vote counting
machines.
MANILA, May 16 (Mabu-hay) The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) on
Monday formally dismissed multiple counts of tax evasion cases
against former Supreme Court (SC) chief justice Re-nato Corona,
following his demise last month.
In a brief hearing Mon-day morning, the CTA Sec-ond Division
granted the motion to dismiss fi led on the same day by Coronas
legal counsel Reody Antho-ny Balisi.
In the motion, Coronas camp cited Article 89 of the Revised
Penal Code (RPC), which states that criminal liability is totally
extin-guished by the death of the convictor when the death of the
offender occurs before
fi nal judgement.Coronas camp further
pointed out that Article 89 of the RPC also states that death of
the convict or the accused also extinguishes his or her personal
and pecuniary liabilities.
The prosecution did not manifest any objection on the motion,
prompting Second Division chairman Associate Justice Juanito
Castaeda to rule in favor of the dismissal of all the cases. Corona
was charged with six counts of violation Section 254 of the
Nation-al Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) for allegedly failing to pay
his income tax for years 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
He is also facing before
the Second Division a case of violation of Section 255 of NIRC
for failure to fi le or to supply correct information in his income
tax returns (ITRs), also for the same years.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) with the Department of Justice. According to
the complaint, Corona owes the state around P120.5 million,
inclusive of interests and surcharges, for his failure to pay his
right taxes.
Present during the hear-ing was Coronas wife Cris-tina. She
immediately left the courtroom after the proceedings, refusing to
grant an interview with the media.
3 SD cards thrown away in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental
Smartmatic o cial insists code update was cosmetic,
straightforward
Guanzon: Smartmatic broke protocol, should be held
accountable
Server script wont affect vote tally: Smartmatic
Tax court dismisses cases vs. late ex-Chief Justice Corona
-
THE US ASIAN POST Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016 Visit
www.usasianpost.com 3
People joining the celebration of the 33rd International AIDS
Candle Lights Memorial on Saturday at the Quezon Memorial Circle
train their lights at the Quezon Memorial as a message is fl ashed
on its columns signifying the fi ght against HIV/AIDS. The
Department of Health and QC government organized the event.(MNS
photo)
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) The Ombudsman on Friday ordered the fi
ling of graft charges against six offi cials of the Department of
Budget and Management in relation to the purchase of substandard
inflatable rubber boats.
Facing charges for violat-ing Section 3(e) of Republic Act No.
3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) are Undersecretary
Eve-lyn Guererro, Director IV Lourdes Santiago, Procure-ment
Management Offi cer V Julieta Lozano, Procure-ment Management Offi
cer III Mervin Ian Tanquintic, Administrative Assistant III Alvin
John Perater and ad hoc member Lt. Malone Agudelo.
Anthony Hernandez of JOAVI Philippines Corpo-ration, which sold
the boats to the government in 2010, will also be charged.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales cited pro-curement violations
such as JOAVIs non-compliance
with the DBM-Procurement Service technical specifi ca-tions.
The boats were deemed substandard as they are not equipped with
intercommu-nication or infl ation valves, over-pressure valves and
roll-up fl oor. Instead of mil-itary model boats, the boats
purchased were sports model, the Ombudsman said.
It was also discovered that a falsified technical evaluation
report and post-qualification report were submitted.
Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 declares the following act as a
corrupt practice: Causing any undue in-jury to any party,
includ-ing the Government, or giving any private party any
unwarranted benefi ts, advantage or preference in the discharge of
his offi cial administrative or judicial functions through manifest
partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable
negli-gence.(MNS) M A N I L A , M a y 1 3
(Mabuhay) Department of National Defense Secre-tary Voltaire
Gazmin and French Ambassador Thier-ry Mathou formally signed on May
11 the arrangement which will serve as frame-work of defense
cooperation between the Philippines and France.
The two countries have been negotiating for the defense
arrangement since 2014, DND spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez said
in a statement on Friday.
Under this framework, both countries agreed to focus their
cooperation on high-level dialogues and de-fense policy
consultations, visits of defense and armed forces authorities,
educa-tion and training exchanges and cooperation in the fi elds of
defense equipment, logis-tics and defense industry.
Our relationship would be further enhanced as we
institutionalize our cooper-ation through this agree-ment, Gazmin
said.
The conclusion of the
Philippines-France Defense Arrangement is very timely given the
increasing de-fense and security chal-lenges both countries are
confronted with. The coop-eration provided for in the agreement
could enhance the two countries defense capacities and capabilities
essential in addressing such challenges. Furthermore, this would
enable France and the Philippines to co-operate in various regional
security concerns to include humanitarian assistance
and disaster response, mar-itime security and
count-er-terrorism, among others.
Both countries look for-ward to the initiatives that would be
implemented in accordance with the defense arrangement.
Now that the agreement has been signed, we could start working
on its imple-mentation. I am optimistic that we would be able to
draw up a tangible coopera-tion pursuant to this agree-ment in the
near future, Gazmin said. (MNS)
DAVAO CITY, May 16 (Mabuhay) One of the in-justices that
presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte wants to correct during his
administration is how Fili-pinos see Lapu-Lapu.
On early Monday morn-ing, Duterte told reporters that he will
make Lapu-Lapu a proper hero for being the fi rst to fi ght the
Spanish forces who landed on the island of Cebu over 300 years
ago.
I will raise to level to the stature of a hero si Lapu-Lapu. He
was the fi rst native who fought and even killed the imperialists,
si [Ferdinand] Magellan. To honor his feat, he said.
Lapu-Lapu should be given the highest honor. Siya ang unang
nakipag-bakbakan eh kasi ginawa lang nila si Lapu-Lapu na isda and
I do not like it, he
added.In his campaign speech-
es, Duterte made it a point to remind the crowd about how
Lapu-Lapu fought for the freedom of his land and eventually killed
Magellan who is often credited as the one who discovered the
Philippines.
But Duterte would also tell them how Islam had been long
established in the Philippines long before the Spaniard conquerors
came and introduced Christian-ity.
It is now time to rec-ognize the people who did something to our
native land. Lapu-Lapu was one of them, he said.
Duterte is leaving it to the National Historical Commission of
the Philip-pines to fi gure out when and how Lapu-Lapu will be
rec-ognized nationwide. (MNS)
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) The camp of Sena-tor Ferdinand
Bongbong Marcos Jr, is urging the Commission on Elections to open
its automated elec-tion system and platform for audit to dispel
doubts about the accuracy of the automated election results.
In a press conference, transparency advocate Glenn Chong said
there was a breach of protocol when a Smartmatic offi-cial
introduced a script in the Comelec transparency server that changed
the character ? to .
Chong said it is not enough that Comelec shows the original and
changed script to prove that there was no cheating. Any IT
expert worth his salt will not accept that, he said.
What is the overrid-ing necessity? Ano ang pinakamabigat na
dahilan bakit ninyo rinisk ang in-tegrity ng buong halalan para
lang palitan ang ques-tion mark sa ?
He added that because of the change in the script, the results
of the vice-presi-dential race as well as other elections down the
line - in-cluding the senatorial race - will be put into
question.
The Marcos camp also showed a chart that showed Marcos lead in
the VP race dwindling until he was overtaken by Liberal Par-ty bet
Leni Robredo by Tuesday morning, May 10. (MNS)
M A N I L A , M a y 1 3 (Mabuhay) Filipinos in Iraq have been
advised to remain vigilant and restrict their movements amid the
recent spate of terrorist bombings in Baghdad that left almost 100
people dead and many more wounded.
Charg dAffaires El-mer G. Cato said Friday that there were no
Fil-ipinos among the dead and wounded in the car
bomb attack in Sadr City on Wednesday and the attack by two
suicide bombers in Abu Ghraib on Thursday.
Fortunately there were no Filipinos among the dead or wounded in
the latest attacks but just the same we would like to un-derscore
the need for our kababayan in Iraq to re-main vigilant, Cato said
in a statement.
Cato also warned the 300
Filipinos living in Baghdad to avoid demonstrations as these
could also be targeted by extremists.
He also urged the 2,000 Filipinos working in Iraq to provide
their contact details to the Philippine Embassy so that they could
easily be reached in case of emergencies.
Filipinos who wish to be repatriated may also reach the
Philippine Embassy for
assistance.More than 50 Filipinos
have been repatriated since Iraq was placed under Alert Level 4
in 2014.
Only Filipinos with ex-isting job contracts in the Kurdistan
regions may travel to and from the Phil-ippines as all processing
and deployment of new workers to Iraq remain on hold to the
unstable securi-ty situation there. (MNS)
MANILA, May 13 (Mabu-hay) Warmer-than-nor-mal weather will
continue nationwide this year de-spite the weakening El Nio
phenomenon.
State-run Philippine At-mospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (PAGASA) said the country will still
experience above-average temperature due to El Nio.
Were reminding people that warm days arent over yet so they must
exercise precaution and prepare accordingly, said Anthony Lucero,
PAGASAs Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section OIC.
In its latest outlook this week, PAGASA forecast
maximumtemperature in the country to range from 30C to 42.3C this
month, 29.7C to 40C in June and 28C to 42.6C in July 2016.
The countrys maximum temperature can range from 27.7C to 37.5C
in August, 28C to 40.4C in September and 27C to 39.6C in October
this year, PAGASA continued.
PAGASA said mean an-nual temperature in the Philippines is about
26.6C only.
People must observe precautions against ex-treme heat, noted
Lucero.
According to Department of Health (DOH), exposure to
hightemperature can cause heat cramps, heat ex-haustion, heat
injury, heat stroke and other illnesses.
A m o n g D O H - r e c -ommended precautions against extreme
heat are drinking more fluids and avoiding strenuous physical
activity.
Wear light clothing, DOH also advised people.
Experts said El Nio and the La Nina phenomenon are
thecorresponding warm and cool phases of a recur-ring natural
climate pat-tern called El Nio-South-ern Oscillation (ENSO) across
the tropical Pacifi c.
They noted an EN-SO-neutral state is one in which conditions are
near long-term average.
Citing latest available data, PAGASA said the prevailing but
weakening El Nio will likely return to ENSO-neutral condition by
mid-2016.
PAGASA clarified El N i o - i n d u c e d w a r m
-er-than-normal weather, rainfall shortage and dri-er-than-average
conditions
will still linger for some time after ENSO-neutral condition
returns, however.
For May and June 2016, PAGASA forecast below-normal rainfall in
Luzon and the Visayas but expects Mindanao to expe-rience
near-normal rainfall then.
Rainfall will still be be-low-normal in Luzon this July but
near-normal in the Visayas and Mindanao that month, PAGASA
said.
Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao will likely expe-rience
near-normal rainfall in August, September and October this year,
PAGASA continued.
PAGASA also expects 37 provinces comprising some 46 percent of
the country to experience drought by May
2016s end.Likely under drought by
Junes end are 28 provinces comprising about 35 per-cent of the
country, PAGA-SA further said.
The southwest monsoon or habagat is expected to be around by
then but it wont be enough to ease drought in the country, noted
Lucero.
He noted onset of the 2016 rainy season asso-ciated with habagat
is likely between late May to mid-June.
PAGASA forecast inci-dence of drought to further ease, however,
expecting this condition in 14 prov-inces, six provinces and two
provinces by the end of July, August and Septem-ber this year.
DBM offi cials face graft raps for buying substandard rubber
boats
Duterte plans to make Lapu-Lapu a proper hero
Marcos camp wants public audit of automated poll system
Gazmin, French ambassador sign arrangement for defense
cooperation
No Pinoys hurt in latest Iraq bombings: offi cial
Weakening El Nio to still fuel hot weather
MANILA, May 16 (Mabuhay) The Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV) is already considering stopping its
quick count, its co-founder and chairperson said on Monday.
Ambassador Henrietta De Villa told reporters that the
Constitution, the PPCRV is not allowed to tally 100 percent of the
votes, since doing so is the role of the Congress as the National
Board of Canvassers to process all the election returns (ERs).
PPCRV is one of the accredited citizens arms of the Commission
on Elections (Comelec) this 2016 polls.
She disclosed that she would meet with Comelec Chairperson
Andres Bautista within the week to discuss the matter since the
canvassing has already started. Impossible talaga eh. I will ask
the clear di-rection from Comelec when we should fold up or close
the electronic results that we are getting. I will try to work out
an appointment para maresolve na naming ito, De Villa said.
She added that terminating the quick count would allow them to
focus on the manual encoding of ERs.
Kailangan matapos rin naming iyon at maverify so that we can
compare it with the electronic results we receive, the PPCRV
chairperson said.
PPCRV eyes stopping quick count soon
-
Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016
THE US ASIAN POST4
OPINIONMANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) Filipinos must maintain an
opti-
mistic mindset as the country transitions from one
administration to another after the conduct of presidential
election this month, a Palace offi cial said.
In a radio interview Saturday, Communication Secretary Herminio
Coloma Jr was asked if the Palace worries about loosing economic
momentum as the Aquino administration hands over the leadership to
the incoming administration.
As a response, Coloma said that in the last six years, the
Aquino government has strived hard to maintain investors confi
dence for the Philippines.
Kaya nga sa nakaraang anim na taon ay masigasig nating itinatag
ang matibay na pundasyon, matibay na imprastraktura sa pamam-agitan
ng good governance o sa mabuting pamamahala, Coloma told dzRB Radyo
ng Bayan.
Paulit-ulit ngang pinupunto ni Pangulong Aquino: Good governance
translates to good economics. At panatag naman tayo na ang
pundasyon na inilatag ay matibay, hindi ito mabubuway dahil lang sa
hangin.
Staying positive will be good for the country, he said. Mahalaga
dito ay ang pagkakaroon ng positibong mindset. Hindi
na dapat tayo mag-inject pa ng mga negatibong ideya sa ngayong
panahon, according to Coloma.
Mas importante ang pagiging positibo, ang pagiging optimistiko,
at ang pagkakaroon ng matatag na paniniwala natin sa ating sarili
na tayo ay mabubuting tao at kaya natin lumikha ng maaliwalas na
kinabukasan para sa ating bansa.
With regards to the plan of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to
retain some Cabinet members from the Aquino government, Coloma said
it is up to the newly elected president to decide.
Duterte must be given a free hand in choosing the composition of
his Cabinet for him to get the best and the brightest, Coloma
said.
At sa aking personal na opinyon, makakatulong din yung mayroong
karanasan sa nakaraang administrasyon kumbaga ay mababawasan ang
learning curve, yung paghahanda, yung pagiging maalam dahil meron
ng nakaraang karanasan na pagbabatayan, he said. (MNS)
MANILA, May 16 (Mabuhay) The Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
and the Catholic church will oppose presumptive President-elect
Rodrigo Dutertes plan to ask Congress to revive the death penalty
in the Philippines.
Aantabayanan natin ang [magiging] deliberasyon sa Kongreso, at
kami sa Commission on Human Rights ay magsa-submit ng posisyon
doon. Ang kasalukuyang posisyon ng [CHR] ay iyong death penalty is
contrary to human dignity and human rights, CHR chairman Luis
Martin Chito Gascon said.
Gascon said they are against the death penalty because of the
coun-trys weak justice system.
Sa isang weak justice system na maraming loophole, madalas ang
resulta ay may mga napapatawan ng capital punishment ay maaaring
later on ay mapatunayan na hindi pala nagkasala, he explained.
In an interview late Sunday in Davao City, Duterte said he will
ask Congress to restore the death penalty on heinous crimes.
He added he wanted the death penalty carried out by hanging.In a
separate interview, Archbishop-emeritus Oscar Cruz told Bali-
tanghali that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
will also oppose Dutertes proposal.
Siyempre po naman tututulan po namin iyan, lalo na ng CBCP.
Hindi maaaring maupo lamang ang Simbahan diyan. Tatayuan iyan, Cruz
said.
Wala pong binigyan ng buhay ang estado na kahit sino kay ahindi
po siya puwedeng kumuha ng buhay ng kahit sino. Iyan po ay
mali-naw, he added.
The prelate also said that instead of reviving the death
penalty, the next administration should help improve the countrys
justice system.
Global trendGascon, meanwhile, cited that the global trend is
for the abolition
of the death penalty.Ang trend po ay para sa abolishing ng death
penalty. Kada taon
dumadami ang mga estado na nag-a-abolish nito, he said.He added
that it has proven that death penalty is not an effective
deterrent to crime.He added that the countrys criminal justice
systems intention is
to rehabilitate convicts.Sa pamamagitan ng criminal justice
sytem sinasabi natin sa mga
nagkasala at mga nagkamali na kailangan silang parusahan pero sa
pamamagitan na matututo sila., Gascon said.
Sa death penalty, wala nang pangalawang pagkakataon pa ang mga
salarin at mga convicted na magbagong buhay dahil kikitilin na ang
buhay nila.
Gascon, meanwhile, said that it will respect the decision of
Congress.If ever the death penalty is revive, he said the CHR will
closely
monitor how it will be implemented.
MANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) It is still a neck and neck battle
between Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Senator Bongbong Marcos
for the vice presidency.
While nothing is defi nitive yet about their race, a
spokesperson of presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte said the
winning vice-president may get any Cabinet position he or she
wants.
Dutertes spokesperson Peter Lavia said in a press conference on
Friday that the President is willing to give any Cabinet position
to the winning vice-president.
While Lavia was careful not to name anyone, it seemed that he is
anticipating the winner to be Robredo.
We have not determined who will be the VP. But we have already
said that there will be a Cabinet position for whoever wins. And it
will not be a, as I said earlier as a joke, it will not be a fl
ower vase, Lavia said.
Mayor is a very generous person naman. He can deal with anyone.
So, it will be a post that will be mutually discussed between the
two highest posi-tions in the land... Baka may personal preference
ang winning vice president, so we can immediately say that this
post is vacant and that she can take it if she wants, di ba? Or she
can hand to the president-elect a list of her preferences, he
added, referring to the
next vice-president in a feminine pronoun.Lavia, however,
clarifi ed that the executive sec-
retary position is not up for grabs.All the positions are
possible, except of course
executive secretary. Its the only one siguro na non-negotiable
because it is a full-time job. Number one among equals. Plenty of
work for the executive secretary. But down the line, I think its
open, Lavia said.
Asked if the vice-president will have a free hand in choosing
the Cabinet position and in recommending appointees, Lavia said
this may not be a possibil-ity at all since Robredo, as he
mentioned, is polite enough not to demand for herself.
Its not really a free hand. I dont think the personality of Cong
Leni, if we are talking about Congresswoman Leni Robredo, I dont
think shes the type that will demand or will present herself, Lavia
explained.
I think she will be polite to ask the incoming President what
also will be fi tting for her so she can contribute to the
administration, he added.
Meanwhile, not a few noticed that Duterte has been missing from
the public eye in the past few days.
His executive assistant Bong Go said the pre-sumptive president
is taking a rest to recover from fatigue caused by the campaign
period. (MNS)
MANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) The incoming Duterte administrations
stock is rising among lawmakers in the Lower House as more come out
to support the presumptive president in the 17th Congress.
The latest is the countrys second largest politi-cal party, the
Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC), party of former Ambassador
Eduardo Danding Cojuangco, which backed Senator Grace Poe in the
2016 elections.
The party plans to work alongside President-elect Rodrigo
Duterte for the betterment of our country, NPC spokesperson Mark
Enverga said.
Enverga, however, said the NPC is still on the fence on the
Speakership.
For now, we intend to sit down and hear out the legislative
agendas both of Cong. Bebot Alvarez and Speaker Sonny Belmonte,
Enverga said.
Duterte has endorsed the Speakership bid of long-time friend and
PDP-Laban party-mate, incoming Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon
Alvarez. 16th Con-gress Speaker Sonny Belmonte currently leads the
Liberal Party (LP) in the Lower House.
There are about 100 LP lawmakers in the Low-er House, the
largest bloc of congressmen. NPC is second with over 40
congressmen, followed by the National Unity Party, Nacionalista
Party, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Lakas.
The party-list coalition is a separate group of 40 congressmen,
excluding the Makabayan bloc.
The House of Representatives has traditionally been led by
surrogates of the sitting president, with congressmen historically
switching loyalties to the president in offi ce.
The Makabayan bloc, in a separate statement, said it welcomes
the victory of Duterte, who has a
commanding lead of six million votes over his closest rival, LP
standard bearer Mar Roxas.
We recognize such victory as an expression of popular outrage
over and rejection of the regime of Daang Matuwid and a cry for
sweeping change in the elitist and anti-people system, it said.
The bloc then challenged the Davao City mayor to hold outgoing
President Benigno Aquino III and Budget Secretary Butch Abad
responsible for the allegedly illegal and graft-ridden Disbursement
Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Priority De-velopment Assistance
Fund (PDAF).
Aquino and other responsible offi cials must also be held to
account for the Mamasapano carnage and the killing and maiming of
protesting farmers in Kidapawan, it added.
Belmonte, for his part, is still mulling his options. In 1998,
Manny Villar led congressmen to the Estra-da fold and this helped
him secure the Speakership even if Estrada had other candidates for
the job.
On the fl ip side, Lakas-CMD may coalesce with other lawmakers
to form a bloc with the UNA and see if they have enough numbers to
form the new minority in the House.
Returning Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez told ABS-CBN News by phone:
Siguro ang direction namin is coalesce pero magfo-form kami ng
bloc, maybe Lakas-UNA. Thats our fi rst direction. But if we will
have suffi cient number, you will try to run for the minority.
Suarez believes they might end up battling with Belmonte.
Question siguro ilan matitira sa kanya at ilan mag-stick sa
amin. We will try to form a coalition of different members and bid
for the minority, he said.(MNS)
MANILA, May 14 (Mabuhay) A Church-based poll watchdog on
Saturday insisted that the un-offi cial tally of votes for the vice
presidential race is credible based on anomaly tests conducted on
Friday night.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) made
the statement in response to allegations that the security of the
transparency server had been breached to make sure that the poll
results it releases would favor administration vice presidential
bet Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.
At a press conference, PPCRV communications director Ana de
Villa-Singson said their IT per-sonnel on Friday night ran anomaly
tests on the results and found out that the data transmitted by the
vote-counting machines remained untouched.
We ran several anomaly tests to demonstrate the credibility of
the partial unoffi cial results. No single anomaly found, she
said.
De Villa said that they usually conduct anomaly
tests after the elections, but the revelation of the camp of
Sen. Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. about the changed hash code
prompted them to conduct the tests earlier.
The thing is after the explosion of the hash code incident, the
credibility of the result has been put to question, she said.
The tests were done on poll results from precincts with problems
including multiple transmissions, de-layed transmittal of results
(after the 5 p.m. closing time), transmittal with more than 95
percent of votes went to one presidential candidate, exactly 10
votes for vice president, and multiple results for a given
candidate in different election returns.
Meanwhile, precincts that went missing on May 12 and 13 from
results fi les also caught the PPCRVs attention.
These precincts are located in Barangay San Antonio, Paraaque
City and Barangays Isabela Proper, Busay and Calvario in Isabela
City, Basilan.
Filipinos must be positive as new administration assumes offi
ce, says Palace
CHR, CBCP to block Dutertes plan to revive death penalty
VP can get choice Cabinet position: Duterte spokesman
NPC, Makabayan bloc express support for Duterte
PPCRV: Partial, unoffi cial tally for VP race passes anomaly
tests
MANILA, May 13 (Mabuhay) The camp of pre-sumptive President
Rodrigo Duterte has appointed heads for six clusters to effect a
smooth transition of power to the incoming administration.
Dutertes campaign manager, Leoncio Jun Evasco, will head the
cluster on social development while his executive assistant,
Christopher Bong Go, will focus on peace and security.
Former agriculture secretary Sonny Dominguez will head the
economic development cluster while Dutertes lawyer, Salvador
Medialdea, will focus on the justice system.
Another lawyer, Loreto Ata, will zero in on gov-ernment-owned
and controlled corporations.
His spokesperson, Peter Lavia, will focus on infrastructure
development.
The Duterte transition team is a holdover of the relatively
small campaign team that oversaw Dutertes rise from reluctant
candidate to winning the elections with one of the largest mandates
since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
What is important for the mayor is getting people who can
deliver. We have a lot of promises to meet and we have to have
impact immediately,
Dutertes spokesman, Peter Lavia, earlier told ABS-CBN News.
Foes turned allies, old pals help Duterte build new govt
Lavia said the team has received a list of nom-inees for
potential Cabinet members and heads of various agencies.
He pointed out that the criteria for the selection of future
leaders include shared vision, integrity, competence and
willingness to sacrifi ce. We will announce the names of the
Cabinet as soon as they are ready, even piecemeal, he said.
Lavia said the team is aware that Duterte must immediately
appoint an economic team and a foreign affairs secretary to
immediately convey to the busi-ness community and the world that we
are ready to immediately go down to business.
Some current Cabinet men of the Aquino admin-istration will also
undergo the selection process, he said.
He said that in the Armed Forces and Philippine National Police,
the future offi cials will be chosen based on merit, seniority and
loyalty to government and country.
Duterte takes page from Justin Trudeau, eyes balanced
Cabinet
-
THE US ASIAN POST Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016 Visit
www.usasianpost.com 5
U T R E A C HWASHINGTON, D.C.
The Flavors of the Philip-pines is getting ready to take the
largest diplomatic community in the world by storm at the 8th
annual Embassy Chef Challenge that will be held on 25 May 2016 at
the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in
Washing-ton, D.C.
As Washingtons lead-ing international culinary event, the
Embassy Chef Challenge is the night when participating Embassies
wield their respective cui-sines as the main diplomat-ic tool.
This is the fi rst time that the Philippines will join the
Embassy Chef Challenge. It is a signifi cant step for our culinary
diplomacy as cultural and economic ob-jectives drive our
participa-tion. We want to celebrate our cuisine, bridge cultural
differences and foster in-ternational understanding, and promote
Philippine ingredients and products, Philippine Ambassador to the
United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said.
Embassy chefs from di-verse nations will prepare world-class
cuisine and compete for the Judges Choice and Peoples Choice
Awards, the latter being selected by the guests at the event.
I n t e r n a t i o n a l l y - a c -claimed Filipino chef
Claude Tayag will represent the Embassy in the high-profi le
competition. The Embassy Chef
Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to showcase not just the
unique fl avors of Philippine cuisine but also the accessibility of
our food. It has been said that food culture is a refl ection of a
nations soul, and so I intend our offering to be a culinary
demonstration of our peoples inherent open-ness and generosity.
After all, Filipino cuisine is meant to be shared, Chef Claude
Tayag said.
Chef Claude Tayag was born in Angeles City in the province of
Pampanga, the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. A renowned
artist, food writer, and chef, Claude Tayag is no novice to
international festivals, where he showcases his delicious creations
and car-ries his passion for Pam-pango cuisine. He was the
Philippines culinary expert during the Memphis in May International
Festival in 2012 and was part of Team Philippines in the
interna-tional gastronomy congress of the Madrid Fusin Ma-nila in
2015.
Together with his wife Mary Ann, Chef Claude es tab l i shed
Bale Du-tung (Wooden House), his abode turned into a restaurant
serving tradi-tional Pampango cuisine. The by-reservation-only
restaurant gained popular-ity when world-renowned chef and writer
Anthony
Bourdain personally visited and featured the restaurant in his
TV show, No Reser-vations in 2008.The couple also co-authored
Linam-nam: Eating Ones Way Around the Philippines, a culinary guide
book on what food to eat in every region of the country as well as
what makes each dish unique and outstanding in its own right.
Chef Claude has likewise written an award winning book, Food
Tour: A Culi-nary Journey and was the co-author of Kulinarya: A
Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine.
He will take on eighteen (18) chefs from other Em-bassies,
including that of Venezuela whose cuisine topped last years
challenge as both the Judges and Peo-ples choices.
Aside from the actual competition, this years Em-bassy Chef
Challenge will also feature silent and live auctions, premium
beers, wines, and spirits, and cul-tural performances. Tick-ets are
available at www.eventsdcembassychefchal-lenge.com.
Chef Claudes partici-pation is a joint project of the Philippine
Embassy, Philippine Trade and In-vestment Center and Offi ce of the
Agricultural Attach in Washington D.C., in part-nership with the
US-Phil-ippines Society, Philippine Airlines and Seafood City
Supermarket.
Hundreds of stations to be added for area employees, customers,
residents and students
ROSEMEAD, Calif., May 16, 2016 Southern Cal-ifornia Edisons
Charge Ready program will bring representatives of local businesses
and other or-ganizations together on Wednesday in Irwindale to
learn how they can take part in the pilot program that will add as
many as 1,500 electric vehicle charging stations to SCEs service
area.
The $22-million Charge Ready pilot aims is to get more electric
vehicle charging stations installed at locations where cars are
parked for extended periods for example, at workplac-es, apartment
and condo complexes, fleet vehicle parking lots, campuses and
recreational areas.
We are excited to part-ner with employers, land-lords,
universities and other organizations to make it more convenient to
charge electric vehicles in Southern California, said Caroline
Choi, SCEs vice president for Energy and Environ-mental Policy.
Under the Charge Ready program, participants, or site hosts, will
own, operate and maintain electric vehicle charging stations, and
SCE will install and maintain the supporting electrical
infrastructure at no cost to participants.
As an additional incen-tive to participate, SCE will offer
rebates to offset some or all of the cost of the charging stations
and their installation, depending on the location and type of
es-tablishment. The program also calls for at least 10 per-cent of
the charging stations to be installed in disadvan-taged
communities.
What separates Charge Ready from other electric vehicle charging
programs is that it encourages broad market participation,
cus-tomer choice and technol-ogy innovation, Choi said.
Participants will have the ability to select equipment suppliers
and charging ser-vices based on their sites needs.
Charge Ready will also help support state envi-
ronmental improvement goals and make better use of the power
grid, she said. Additionally, the pro-gram provides funding for
education and outreach to develop awareness about the benefi ts of
driving elec-tric vehicles and charging from the power grid.
At the pilots conclusion, SCE plans to seek authority from the
California Public Utilities Commission to ex-pand the program to
about 30,000 charging stations.
The event will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday at SCEs Energy
Educa-tion Center, 6090 North Irwindale Ave., Irwindale. Parking is
available in the centers lot, which has eight EV chargers available
for public use.
About Southern Cali-fornia Edison
An Edison Internation-al (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California
Edi-son is one of the nations largest electric utilities, serving a
population of nearly 14 million via 5 mil-lion customer accounts in
a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coast-al and
Southern California.
Chef Claude Tayag to showcase Flavors of The Philippines in
annual Embassy Chef Challenge
SCE launches Charge Ready Electric Vehicle Charging Pilot
Program
The $22-million Charge Ready pilot aims is to get more electric
vehicle charging stations installed at locations where cars are
parked for extended periods
RODOLFO LACSON TIRONA re-cently retired after serving 43 years
at California, Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services.
Mr. Tirona worked in various county de-partments and currently for
the Los Angeles County + University of South-ern California Medical
Center as a Patient Financial Services Control Worker.
He is thoroughly knowledgeable about the medi-cal program. He
established himself as a genuine and warm individual with
sympathetic relationship with both patients and co-workers in the
hospital. He assisted in the fi nancial aid program benefi cial to
patients and the department. He enjoyed working, helping patient fi
-nancially and was fortunate to have his career where he makes a
differ-ence serving the diverse population of the Los Angeles
County community. He is exceptionally well like and received
written recognitions in the performance of his job.
Mr. Tirona is a 1959 graduate of Jose Abad Santos High School,
Binon-do, Manila, Philippines. He graduated with a degree of
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1965 at the
Philippine Normal University and completed masteral units in
Gener-
al Education in 1972 at Manuel L. Quezon University, both in
Manila, Philippines.
After graduating in college Mr. Tiro-na taught fi fth and sixth
grade school children at the Division of City Schools Manila,
Philippines for seven years. He migrated to the United States in
April 1972 and lived with his wife Merla Diaz Tirona in Los
Angeles, California. He is a member of the prominent Tiro-na Family
Clan from Imus, Cavite, Philippines.
Tirona recently retired at LA County, Department of Health
Services after serving for 43 years
May 5, 2016 LOS ANGE-LES Councilmember David Ryu and the City of
Los Ange-les will be rounding off the end of Los Angeles Asian
Pacifi c American Heritage Month (LAAPAHM) with Pacific Bridge, a
high energy family-friendly concert that invites some of the most
renowned Asian Pacifi c American(APA) artists and entertainers for
an evening of celebration and live performances. This free event
will debut on May 21, 2016 between 6:00pm 9:00pm on the steps of
Los Angeles City Hall.
Pacifi c Bridge aims to rec-ognize the historical and cul-tural
ties between the City of Los Angeles and the Asian Pacifi c
American community through art, food, and live performances.
This community concert is a new effort from the City of Los
Angeles to highlight the talent and diversity of APA artists and
entertainers in the entertainment industry said Councilmember David
Ryu. Pacifi c Bridge gives an opportunity for residents and
families all over Los Angeles to join us in celebrating Asian
Pacific American Heritage with a fun, and free evening of live
performances.
Pacifi c Bridge is part of a series of events LA APAHM is
hosting throughout the month of May to highlight that APAs are part
of the fabric of the City of Los Angeles and re-inforce the 2016 LA
APAHM theme We Are LA.
Below is a sneak peak of the performance lineup:
Awkwafi naAwkwafina is a Queens-
born rapper, comedienne and actress. She is best known for her
viral music videos with a feminist tint, and has been featured in
the New York Times, Vice/Noisey, New York Magazine, The Daily
Beast,
NBC News, Jezebel, Gawker and more. She is currently a featured
cast member on MTVs Girl Code and will appear in the upcoming fi
lms Neighbors 2 and Dude. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New
York.
DumbfoundeadFrom the battlegrounds to
silver screen, Jonathan Park (a.k.a.Dumbfoundead) in less than a
decade has built a legendary history in the LA hiphop scene. While
he grew up listening to all genres of music, the hip hop scene in
the nineties was no doubt bustling and through that Dumbfoundead
found his ini-tial hip hop clique that clicked and clacked from a
Macarthur Park community center to Project Blowed, an open mic
workshop in south central LA. Dumbfoundead developed his skills
with an exponential rise to local and even national acclaim with
everything from rap battle videos with views in the millions, to
spotlights on shows like Late Night with Carson Daly, to most
recently his curator role in one of Ktowns most happening parties:
Spamneggs along-side Far East Movement and Tokimonsta.
Tribal TheoryTribal Theory of San Diego,
California has established themselves as the originals of Urban
Reggae music. Con-tinuously producing fresh musical compositions
that are undeniable masterpieces.
Formed in 2005, Tribal Theorys signature is the fusion of their
Pacifi c Island culture with the feel good vibes of Reggae,
grittiness of Urban Ska, and thesoul-ful harmonies of R&B. This
hybrid sound has the depth and versatility to span across many
different genres includ-ing Reggae, IslandReggae, R&B,
Alternative, Roots, and
World music.Run River NorthSince the bands begin-
nings just over four years ago, their rise has been steadily
spectacular, marked by ap-pearances on national tele-vision, sold
out shows at his-toric venues, tours with rock and roll royalty and
heaps of praise from fans and critics alike. As they blossomed,
they embraced their initially folk driven sound, which found its
harmonic home alongside rootsy, foot stomping, sing-along leading
peers like Mum-ford & Sons, The Head and the Heart, and Of
Monsters and Men. Powered by the acoustic-guitar and vocals
songwriting of frontman Alex Hwang, their 2014 self titled debut
record, produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Modest Mouse, Band of
Horses), was released with their lineup rounded out by the strings
duo of Daniel Chae and Jennifer Rim, Joe Chun on bass, Sally Kang
on keys, and John Chong on drums.
In addition to live perfor-mances and entertainment, Pacifi c
Bridge will host some of Southern Californias most popular food
trucks.
This event is free and open to the public. Visit
http://apahm.lacity.org/ for more information.
About Los Angeles Asian Pacifi c American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacifi c Amer-ican Heritage Month (AP-AHM), a
celebration of Asian Pacifi c Americans(APAs) in the United
States.
For the last three decades, the City of Los Angeles has held a
series of events throughout the month to high-light the signifi
cant contribu-tions that APAs have made to the citys past, present
and future. Visit http://apahm.lac-ity.org/ for more
information.
City of Los Angeles announces entertainment lineup for Pacifi c
Bridge Concert
-
Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, May 20 - 26, 2016
THE US ASIAN POST6
Being on the heavier side may not be as dangerous as it was in
the 1970s, at least when it comes to the risk of dying, according
to a study Tuesday.
The optimum ratio of weight and height known as body mass index
or BMIis now on the upper side of the healthy range, according to
the report in the Journal of the Amer-ican Medical Association
(JAMA).
Compared to the 1970s, todays overweight individ-uals have lower
mortali-ty than so-called normal weight individuals, said Borge
Nordestgaard, clin-ical professor at the Uni-versity of Copenhagen
and Copenhagen University Hospital.
The reason for this change i s unknown. The report was based on
more than 100,000 people in Denmark. The study spanned three
groups, or cohorts, whose risk of dy-ing for any reason was
ex-amined in 1976-78, 1991-1994, and in 2003-2013.Currently,
doctors define the normal range for BMIcalculated by weight in
kilograms divided by height in meters squared as between 18.5 and
24.9.A BMI of 25-29.9 is con-sidered overweight, while 30 or higher
is obese.In the 1970s, the opti-
mal BMI for the lowest risk of death was 23.7.This would be the
equiva-lent of a six-foot (1.83 me-ter) tall man who weighs 170
pounds (77 kilograms), or a fi ve-foot-fi ve (1.65 me-ter) woman
who weighs 143 pounds (65 kilograms).By 1991-94, the optimal BMI
had risen to 24.6.A n d i n 2 0 0 3 - 2 0 1 3 , i t r e a c h e d 2
7 .Compared to four decades ago, that would mean add-ing 30 pounds
(14 kg) to the frame of the a person who stands six-feet tall, or
19 pounds (nine kg) to the frame of someone
five-foot-five.Researchers also found that obese people in the
1970s were more likely to die than normal weight people, but this
association disap-peared in the 2000s.
The increased risk of all-cause mortality asso-ciated with
obesity com-pared to normal weight decreased from 30 percent
1976-78 to 0 percent in 2003-13, said principal investigator Shoaib
Afzal, of Copenhagen Universi-ty Hospital in Denmark.Health
authorities have long warned of the risks of being overweight, in-c
lud ing d iabetes and cardiovascular disease.Nordestgaard said the
cur-rent fi ndings suggest a need to revise the categories
pres-ently used to defi ne over-
weight, which are based on data from before the 1990s.However,
experts cautioned that the biological mecha-nism behind the new fi
nd-ings remains poorly un-derstood, and the results should not be
interpreted to mean that people can cease caring about what they
eat.According to Naveed Sat-tar, professor of metabolic medicine at
the University of Glasgow, the study is of interest but dos not
merit changing advice on obe-sity and preventing extra pounds.
In recent years, as pop-ulations become more obese and with
wider availability of cheap preventative med-ications many more
such individuals are likely to be better treated for abnormal blood
pressure, abnormal cholesterol and, if also pres-ent, type 2
diabetes, lead-ing in turn to lower death risks, said Sattar, who
was not involved in the study.
In other words, the cur-rent fi ndings do not mean that being
overweight is protecting you from death, far from it rather, many
confounding factors may give the current result and we know from
many other studies that being overweight or obese does increase
mortality risks, in the same way that it in-creases risk for many
other conditions.
The optimum ratio of weight and height -- known as body mass
index or BMI -- is now on the upper side of the healthy range,
according to the report in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) connel/shutterstock.com
Heavier is now healthier than in 1970s: study
New research suggests that yoga and meditation may not only give
you a fl ex-ible body and inner peace but that a combination of the
two could also help improve cognitive function.
The study, led by a team of researchers from UCLA and Australias
University of Adelaide, is the fi rst to compare yoga and
medita-tion against memory train-ing, which has often been
considered the best way to manage mild cognitive impairment.
The team followed a group of 25 participants all aged 55 and
over during a three-month course of either yoga and meditation or
memory training.
Participants had all shown signs of mild cogni-tive impairment,
reporting problems with their memo-ry such as easily misplacing
things, or forgetting names, faces or appointments.
Participants were split into two groups. Eleven par-ticipants
attended memory enhancement training and practiced memory
exercis-
es daily, while the other 14 participants attended classes of
Kundalini yoga and practiced 20 minutes of Kirtan Kriya meditation
daily, which involves chant-ing, hand movements and visualization
of light, and has already has been prac-ticed in India for hundreds
of years as a way to prevent cognitive decline in older adults.N
All participants received brain scans and completed memory tests at
both the beginning and end of the three-months.
The results showed that although all participants demonstrated
similar im-provements in verbal mem-ory skills, the skills that are
needed for remembering names, it was the partic-ipants in the group
who practiced yoga and medita-tion that showed better im-provements
in visual-spa-tial memory skills, which help with recalling
locations and navigating.
In addition, participants in the yoga and meditation group also
showed bigger improvements in levels of
depression, anxiety, cop-ing skills and resilience to stress,
all of which are especially important when coming to terms with the
onset of cognitive impair-ment.
Commenting on the sig-nifi cance of the results Har-ris Eyre,
the studys lead au-thor, said, Historically and anecdotally, yoga
has been thought to be benefi cial in aging well, but this is the
scientifi c demonstration of that benefi t. Were convert-ing
historical wisdom into the high level of evidence required for
doctors to rec-ommend therapy to their patients.
Senior author Helen Lavretsky added, If you or your relatives
are trying to improve your memory or offset the risk for
develop-ing memory loss or demen-tia, a regular practice of yoga
and meditation could be a simple, safe and low-cost solution to
improving your brain fi tness.
The study was published in the Journal of Alzhei-mers
Disease.
A combination of yoga and meditation can reduce cognitive
impairment
A team of US researchers have declared that physical activity is
the most effective way of tackling the global epidemic and
cardiovascu-lar disease, comparing its effects to a magic
bullet.
The team of professors from Charles E. Schmidt College of
Medicine at Flori-da Atlantic University made their conclusions
after eval-uating evidence on physical activity and its benefits,
publishing their conclusions in an editorial in the current issue
of Cardiology.
However despite the huge body of evidence revealing the health
benefits of ex-ercise, including decreased risk of heart attack,
stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoar-thritis and certain cancers as
well as improved mood, energy, sleep and sex life, only around 20
percent of Americans take part in the recommended levels of
reg-ular physical activity and around 64 percent never do any
physical activity at all.
Europeans are not much better, with just 33 percent taking part
in regular ex-ercise and 42 percent never getting active.
Physical exercise also becomes more important as we get older,
as we tend to gradually pile on the pounds. Many individuals will
start to gain an extra 1
to 3 pounds per year in their 30s, leading to some being as much
as 30 to 50 pounds overweight by age 55.
The authors also warned that that with obesity a large factor in
cardiovascu-lar disease, now the leading cause of death worldwide,
more emphasis and educa-tion needs to be placed on the importance
of physical exercise, which could also be a more effective way of
maintaining weight than calorie control.
There are a lot of misper-ceptions about the role of regular
physical activity, caloric intake and calories burned during
exercise, commented Steven Lewis, one of the co-authors of the
paper, As a result, calorie restriction dieting has been
recommended as more prac-tical for weight control than regular
physical activity, and this is a big problem.
Most people have great difficulty achieving and maintaining
weight loss solely by restricting their calorie intake, added
co-au-thor Charles H. Hennekens, with the authors pointing out that
brisk walking for just 20 minutes a day can burn around 700
calories a week, as well as reducing the risk of heart disease by
as much as 30 to 40 percent.
Activities such as walk-
ing can also be enjoyed by most people, even the el-derly,
although the authors also recommend adding in resistance exercises
such as weight lifting for added health benefi ts.
But despite their recom-mendations the authors believe that
regular exercise is still too much time and effort for many, with
42 percent of the Europeans surveyed citing lack of time as the
main reason for their sedentary lifestyle.
If regular physical activ-ity were a pill, then perhaps more
people would take it, commented Hennekens.
Researchers recommend physical activity as magic bullet in fi
ght against obesity and cardiovascular disease
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E N T E R T I N M E N T
Ready na ako. Kasi feeling ko noong time na yon, ginamit ko muna
siya para sa sarili ko. I wanted to fi x myself also and I wanted
to spend time with my family and my friends. So ngayon, pwede na.
Okay na, Magdayao said.
Magdayaos last relationship was with John Lloyd Cruz. The two
broke up in 2012.
After that, the actress was linked to Sam Milby and Piolo
Pascual.
Magdayaos older sister, Vina Morales, said: You know what,
honestly, ang daming tumatawag sa kan-ya, nagpaparamdam sa kanya.
But I think that time, she wasnt ready, kaya siguro hindi niya
nakikita na may chance pala... o possibility na maging boyfriend,
ganyan.
Ngayon, nag-pray na siya. Pagbalik niya, sinabi ni Shaina kay
Padre Pio, gusto na niyang mag-boyfriend, she added. (MNS)
If given the chance, is actor John Lloyd Cruz ready to be
father?
The 32-year-old Cruz said that marriage will have to come fi
rst, as well some alone time with his future wife to get to know
each other more.
Ideally, Id still want to get married fi rst and may-be enjoy a
couple of years just with my wife. Kami lang muna. Theres so much
discoveries to realize with one another na wala pang bata, he
said.
But Cruz quickly added that he is also open to fa-thering a
child should circumstances have it. Kahit sinasabi ko na ideally
hindi ko pa gusto, maaring hindi ko pa kaya o hindi ko pa handa,
pero sino ba naman ang makakapagsabi kung kailan ka handa?
Cruz was asked to clarify a report quoting him to have said that
he is ready to have a child. I think Im ready kung anak lang ang
pag-uusapan, he said in a press conference about Just the 3 of Us
held last month. (MNS)
Actress Iza Calzado is all set to go topless for her new fi lm
to be helmed by Jerrold Tarog, the direc-tor behind the acclaimed
historical biopic Heneral Luna.
Actually, its more sen-sual than sexy. Pero mara-mi talaga
siyang nudity, shared Calzado, adding that she is more than ready
to bare it all for the upcom-ing thriller movie.
I think Im a bit of a risk-taker. Para sa akin, work is work,
she rea-soned. As long as the role is kind of fun or challeng-
ing, Im going to accept it. It doesnt matter.
Asked if her boyfriend, British entrepreneur Ben Wintle,
disapproved of her plans to go nude, Calzado replied: I dont know.
Hes very cool. Hes very ded-ma. Even his parents, Ive already told
them.
Meanwhile, Calzado also addressed questions about her marriage
plans. Wala pa. And so many people are getting married this year so
parang wala na silang budget para pambilig rega-lo sa amin. Defi
nitely, not this year, she said. (MNS)
Iza Calzado to go topless for new fi lm
Is John Lloyd ready to have a baby? After four years of being
single,
actress Shaina Magdayao is ready to fall in love again
Shaina Magdayao
John Lloyd Cruz
Iza Calzado
-
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THE US ASIAN POST8
&Fil-Am News Lifestyle
Balita.comYour premier source for Fil-Am
Lifestyle. Updated daily with local, national and
internation
al news.
Actor Richard Gomez will be taking a break from show business
now that he is the mayor-elect of Ormoc City.
Last Tuesday, the 50-year-old Gomez was proclaimed the mayor of
Ormoc City in Leyte after he defeated Liberal Party candidate Ondo
Codilla.
Pahinga lang muna ako sandali sa showbiz. Tutal Im sure every
once in a while ay makikita nila ako, Gomez said.
Gusto ko nga sana kung pwede silang mag-taping sa Ormoc,
mag-ASAP sila sa Ormoc. We will make Ormoc an open city para makita
ng mga tao (ang ganda nito), Gomez told the radio shows host Amy
Perez.
Gomez said this is his way of giving back.
Alam mo tayong mga artista, nakikita nila na magandang tao,
magandang lala-ki, pero kapag umuuwi kami ng probinsya namin
nakikita ko na ang daming tao na
ang hihirap talaga ng buhay. So, siguro ito na yung payback time
para makatu-long ako sa kanila. Ito kailangan ngayon giving back
tayo, ma-improve man lang natin ang buhay nila ay okay na ako doon,
he said.
This is Gomezs fi rst win in several tries for an elective post.
Party-list group Mam-amayan Ayaw sa Droga (MAD), which named him as
a nominee, was disqualifi ed by the Supreme Court in 2001.
In 2007, he ran for senator but lost. He again tried for a seat
in the House of Rep-resentatives in 2010 but was disqualifi ed due
to residency issues.
In 2013, he lost the mayoralty race to Edward Codilla by a slim
margin of fewer than 3,000 votes. Gomez admitted that this years
election wasnt easy for him.
It took me a lot of perseverance. Kasi ang nakalaban ko sa
Ormoc, 21 years sila nakaupo, tuloy-tuloy. Ganoon kab-
igat yung tinibag natin na political family. ... Mahirap talaga
pero sa tulong ng maraming tao ay nanalo din tayo, he said.
As the new mayor, Gomez said that he will be working on
improving the peace and order of the city.
Ang pinaka-importante dito sa Ormoc ay yung peace and order.
Kung maayos ang peace and order madali ng ma-develop ang tourism at
cultural programs dito. Gusto din namin na tumaas ang economy ng
Ormoc, may pumasok na malaking negosyante at ma-improve namin yung
agriculture namindito, Gomez said.
Gomezs wife Lucy Torres also won as the congresswoman of the 4th
District of Leyte. (MNS)
ag natin na politicalap talaga pero sa
ming tao ay nanalod.ayor, Gomez said
working on improving rder of the city.mportante dito sapeace and
order. Kungce and order madali ng tourism at cultural
Gusto din namin na nomy ng Ormoc,,,,,,, a malaking
ma-improve riculturemez said.Lucyas the of the eyte.
JC de Vera could not hide his excitement working again with his
previous on-screen partner Jessy Mendiola.
De Vera said he is thankful to have another project with
Mendiola because he is already comfortable working with her.
Masarap talaga sa pakiramdam na mer-on kang katrabaho na sobrang
komportable ka, yung walang issues. Pag nasa work lang kayo
talagang masaya lang kayo, kom-portable at wala na kayong iniisip
na iba, the actor said. De Vera and Mendiola will star in the
upcoming Wansapanataym installment Just Got Laki, which started
airing recently.
Although the two already dismissed ru-mors linking them roman-t
ical ly , the young actor cannot help but praises and offer
ro-mantic ges-tures to the actress.
This is why fans of their o n - s c r e e n tandem con-tinue to
won-der if there is a chance for
them to become a real-life couple.For de Vera, whats important
is to pre-
serve their friendship.Im sure yung mga taong nakapaligid
sa amin nakikita rin na were both relaxed and were both steady.
Pero proud ako kasi never pa kami nag-away or ayaw namin na maging
magkatrabaho alam mo yun. Kasi ang sarap lang sa pakiramdam na
nagta-trabaho ka ng magaan, he added.
Despite this, de Vera thinks Mendiola would make a good
partner.
Siyempre along the way nakikilala mo ng mas deeper kasi nga yun
nga, ino-ob-serve ko lang siya everyday na ganun. Girlfriend
material siya, he said.(MNS)
The younger sister of actress Julia Barretto is now a recording
artist.
Claudia Barretto signed a re-cording contract with Universal
Records on Wednesday and is looking forward to share her music with
her fans.
Its something Ive always wanted to do, she said in a vid-eo
posted on the Facebook page of Universal Records, adding, I decided
that it was time to start making music.
Claudia said people can expect her songs to be a mix of pop and
RnB, and is hoping to have the chance to work with Yeng
Con-stantino and Sam Concepcion.
When asked how Julia reacted to her decision to be part of the
local music scene, the younger Bar-retto replied: She was so happy
because shes wanted this dream for me as much as I wanted it.
Claudias mother, former actress Marjo-rie Barretto, said in a
previous interview that she will support whatever her daugh-
ters decide to pursue.She (Claudia) is pretty serious with
her
studies so feeling ko I dont have to worry about her entering
show business. Gusto lang niya maybe someday hosting, maybe
singing, pero pag-aartista hindi pa niya nababanggit, she said.
(MNS)
After win, Richard Gomez to take a break from showbiz
Richard Gomez
Julia Barrettos sister Claudia now a recording artist
Claudia Barretto
JC de Vera describes Jessy as girlfriend material
Jessy Mendiola and JC de Vera
-
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email: [email protected]
C L A S S I F I E D STEL.: (818) 552-4503 ext 402 Fax: (818)
550-7635 MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRITHoly Spirit Thou who make me see
everything and show me the way to reach my ideal, You who give me
the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me
and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short
GLDORJXHZDQWWRWKDQN
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THE US ASIAN POST10
Mag-
tayo!
Life and Leisure News for Filipino-Americans
www.usasianpost.com
SMARTMATICFrom page 1
ROBREDOFrom page 1
CALL ME MAYORFrom page 1
ZIKA VIRUSFrom page 1
ECONOMIC TEAMFrom page 1
TRILLANESFrom page 1
TRANSITIONFrom page 1
We solicited help from the people, particularly on social media.
We will let their creativity flourish. Many would call him
Pres-ident Digong, President Rody, President D-U-3-0 or President
Duterte, he said.
We just let the people do it on their own. Meron daw
PRRD, PRody, PGong, he added. Speaking with mem-bers of the
media on Sun-day night at Hotel Elena, Duterte laid down his
initial plans once he takes over the presidency.
He said he will implement a nationwide liquor and smoking
ban.
Duterte also said that he will impose a curfew and will order
the arrest of the parents of children who will be caught violating
it.
The Davao City mayor also said that once he as-sumes the
presidency, he will ask Congress to revive the death penalty.
(MNS)
region 11.In the presidential race,
presumptive president Ro-drigo Duterte cemented his lead as he
is close to getting 16 million votes. As of 10:45 a.m., Duterte had
15, 956, 395 votes or 38.95 percent.
The Davao City mayor led in 11 regions. (MNS)
Kaya lahat ng yan dapat ay pagtuunan natin ng pansin at
handang-handa naman ang ating pamaha-laan, maagap at masipag ang
ating Department of Health at ang mga ahensya nito sa pagharap sa
mga vi-rus at sa iba pang mga banta sa ating kalusugan, he
said.
Coloma also said the pub-lic must also support DOH especially
after the launched of AIDS hour aimed at rais-ing awareness about
the dis-ease. Part of the government initiative is disseminating
information about HIV and AIDS to warn the public about the
virus.
Pagtulungan po natin yan, nag-uumpisa po sa awareness,
nag-uumpisa sa kamalayan na kung ano ang dapat gawin, kung
isasapu-so natin ito ay mas madali nating mapagtutulungan ang
pagtugon sa banta ng HIV virus at ng AIDS, Co-loma said. (MNS)
Responsible Voting Center (PPCRV) heaquarters in Manila on
Monday evening, about question marks (?) in some candidates names
in place of the usual character.
Pealba in turn called the attention of the Smartmatic technical
support team led by Marlon Garcia.
Upon being notifi ed by the Comelec and after val-idating that
changing the character ? required a mi-nor cosmetic change to
ap-pease the observers at the PPCRV Transparency Cen-ter, the
Smartmatic techni-cal support team addressed the concern by
introducing a correction on the script in the presence of everyone
present there, said Smart-matic project director Elie Moreno in his
letter to the poll body.
Both Pealba and the Smartmatic team then an-nounced to everyone
(in-
cluding members of political parties) inside the PPCRV
Transparency Center that the correction was made and all subsequent
displays would refl ect the candidates names properly, with instead
of ?.
No one in the room object-ed on the change, Pealba said in an
incident report submitted to Comelec en banc.
He (Garcia) saw it as simple and cosmetic. Look at it also on
the engineer-ing perspective. I am an engineer. I am trained to
solve problems. So if I see a problem, I automatically try to solve
it, Moreno said in a chance interview on Thursday.
Moreno also assured that there was no change in the results, the
counting and canvassing of votes, and in the source code of the
auto-mated election system.
The change in the script
did not, in any way, alter any result for any candidate, he
said.
To dispel insinuations of cheating, Moreno suggested to
interested parties to com-pare the results in the trans-parency
server with the printed election returns of all vote counting
machines.
Thats the perfect proof that nothing has been done (to change
the results), he said.
He also said the CCTV coverage can be reviewed to validate that
the process was done transparently. (MNS)
tration plans to lower mar-ginal tax rates on low and middle
income earners, and increase taxes of the upper income class.
Corporate taxes will also be reviewed and compared with other
ASEAN coun-tries.
Pernia said the foregone revenues will be compen-
sated by reduced losses from tax evasion, smuggling, and other
illegal activities.
He also stressed a need to rebalance the gains of the economy,
where a big-ger share of the economys growth will go to the poor
rather than the upper in-come class.
But he clarifi ed that the
fi scal and monetary policies of the Aquino administra-tion will
be maintained.
Those things will be continued and maintained, theyre good. To
complement good macroeconomic poli-cies, you need good sectoral and
micro policies at the lower levels, said Pernia. (MNS)
will weaken our claim unless nagpapauna siya at ituturo lang sa
amin, he said.
I will not allow that to happen because I have it on record na
bago siya (Dute-rte) mag-assume ng office ay sa atin ang
Scarborough Shoal, Trillanes added.
During the Senate pan-els fi rst hearing on October 30, 2013,
Trillanes asked National Security Council Director General Cesar
Gar-cia if the country has lost the shoal, also known as Bajo de
Masinloc, to China.
In response, Garcia said: No sir, we have not lost Scarborough
Shoal.
Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino affi rmed Garcias
statement at the hearing.
Nearly two years later, on May 7, 2015, Trillanes posed
the same question to Garcia at another Senate hearing, which was
jointly conducted with the Senate committee on foreign
relations.
Garcia issued the same response and added that the shoal is the
subject of the Philippines arbitration case before the Permanent
Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.
On the campaign trail, Duterte blamed Trillanes, who ran for
vice president, for the countrys supposed loss of the Scarborough
Shoal, saying China started building structures on the area after
the senator made his 16th visit to Beijing as part of backchannel
negoti-ations. Trillanes, however, said China has not under-taken
any reclamation ac-tivity in the area.
Contrary to the mayors belief that the backchannel negotiations
with Beijing caused Manila to lose Scar-borough Shoal, Trillanes
said his backchanneling mission was a success.
Ako, nung nag-back channel ako doon, ang only mission ko was
pahupain ang tensyon kasi nung mga panahon na yon, naggigi-rian na
ang mga barko ng Pilipinas at Tsina at maaar-ing mapunta sa
putukan. Hindi namin pinag-usapan yung sovereignty claims. So
nagawa ko ang aking misyon at napahupa ang tensyon kaya nga walang
reclamation diyan at wala ring girian ng mga barko, he said.
Trillanes had earlier claimed that his action had the blessing of
President Benigno Aquino III. (MNS)
National campaign head and Maribojoc Mayor Leon-cio Jun Evasco
will handle search under Social Ser-vices and Development.
Executive assistant and campaign sortie manager Christopher Bong
Go will lead the selection in the Se-curity and Peace and Order
cluster.
Businessman and cam-paign fi nance manager Car-los Dominguez III
will fi nd people to handle Economic Development.
Dutertes Personal law-yer, Salvador Medialdea,
will lead the Judiciary.Lavia himself will han-
dle the search for people under Infrastructure De-velopment. And
another personal lawyer Loreto Ata will handle search for
GOCCs.Lavia previous-ly revealed that outgoing Sen. Pia Cayetano
will serve as their adviser and recommend women to be considered in
various posts.
In appointing the Cab-inet members, Lavia stressed that
prospective members must share the vision of the Duterte ad-
ministration, must have the integrity, competence and abilities
to handle the post, and must be willing to sacrifi ce.
Shared vision, meaning they adhere to the program of government
of the next administration, he said.
Meanwhile, an addition-al criteria has been set to appointing
heads of the police and military.
The mayor said this would be based on merit, seniority, of
course on loy-alty to the government and the country, Lavia
said.
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K I T C H E N O M I C S
Grilled Hawaiian Ham SandwichBy Amanda FolkensServes: 1
1 tablespoon brown sugar1/2 tablespoon seasoning pepper
1 to 2 1/4-inch thick ham slices (about the same thickness as
the bread)
Cooking sprayPineapple slices (can be fresh or