Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016

Shaina on Bea-

John Lloyd: ‘It’s none

of my business’

See Page 5W W W . U S A S I A N P O S T . C O M

Vol. 5 No. 31 LOS ANGELES A BALITA MEDIA PUBLICATION

See GRACE PLAN B, page 12

Seen by fans and foes alike as a real-life “Dirty Harry” made infa-mous by shadowy vigilante death squads, the 71-year-old mayor of Davao City is the surprise favorite in the race to succeed President Benigno Aquino.

“The drug pushers, kidnappers, robbers, fi nd them all and arrest them. If they resist, kill them all,” he told about 2,000 people who cheered and shook their fi sts during a central Manila rally shortly after midnight.

“Go ahead and charge me with

murder, so I could also kill you.”Duterte had earlier pledged to

kill 100,000 criminals and dump so many in Manila Bay that the “fi sh will grow fat” from feeding on them.

More than 50 million people in the mainly Catholic Asian nation are qualifi ed to vote on May 9 with Duterte holding a clear lead over four other candidates, including Aquino’s preferred successor.

Analysts say Duterte’s profan-ity-laced campaign resonates in a

Presidential candidates Vice President Jejomar Binay, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas share the stage during the 3rd presidential debate “PiliPINASDebates2016” at the PHINMA University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City on Sunday.(MNS photo)

MANILA, April 25 (PNA) – PDP-LABAN standard bearer and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was the clear winner in the third leg of the Pilipinas Debates held at the Phinma University of Pangasinan, Da-gupan City Sunday.

This was disclosed by polit-ical analysts who monitored the presidential debate sanc-tioned by the Commission on Elections.

MANILA, Apr 25 (Mabuhay) – Liberal Party (LP) vice-presi-dential candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo on Monday said she hopes to widen her lead over erstwhile frontrunner Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the vice-presidential preference surveys in the last two weeks of the election campaign.

“Noong nag-uumpisa ako, at least iyong fi rst few months, pa-rang napaka-imposibleng kakay-anin na humabol. Pero ngayon, nagkatotoo na,” Robredo said.

“Hindi pa comfortable ang lead. Hairline pa iyong gap pero sana kaya kayaning ma-maintain sa last 14 days,” she added.

Robredo, the running mate of former Interior Sec. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, posted the biggest jump

in the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from April 18 to 20.

She posted a rating of 26 per-cent, a one-point lead over Marcos, who got 25 percent. The two can-didates are statistically tied in the survey of 1,800 registered voters with sampling error margins of ±2 points.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escude-ro, meanwhile, was at third place with 18 percent, a three-point drop from his previous rating. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano trailed closely behind with 16 percent.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Gringo Honasan, meanwhile, garnered 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Robredo attributed her im-

By Jelly F. MusicoMANILA, April 25 (PNA) – Vice

presidential candidate Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero on Monday denied speculations that his run-ning mate presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe is the secret candidate of President Benigno Aquino III.

”Yung napabalitang usapan diumano ni Senator Grace at ni Pangulong Aquino, wala pong ganoong nangyaring kaganapan. Tinitiyak ko sa inyo, hindi po ako o kami ang Plan B dahil wala naman po yatang Plan B si Pangulong Aquino,” Escudero said in a media forum in Quezon City.

Escudero said the last time he talked with President Aquino was when he greeted the President on his birthday through text message last Feb. 8.

”Huli kaming nagkapalitan ng text, ni walang tawag o usap, ni Pangulong Aquino, ay noong gri-neet ko siya ng ‘Merry Christmas’, ‘Happy New Year’ at ‘Happy Birth-day’, at nagpasalamat po siya,” Escudero said.

Last year, President Aquino tried to convince Poe to be the run-ning mate of Liberal Party’s stan-dard-bearer Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas.

The lady senator, however, turned down the offer and instead decided to run as independent presidential candidate.

Due to the poor showing of Roxas in the previous presidential survey, rumors have circulated in the social media that President Aquino is secretly helping Poe’s presidential bid.

”It is not true. Secret, second or

MANILA, Apr 23 (Mabuhay) – Former senator Francisco Tatad will ask the Bureau of Immigra-tion (BI) on Monday to investigate claims that the husband of presi-dential bet Sen. Grace Poe is an American national who is working in the Philippines without a valid permit, a lawyer said Saturday.

Tatad’s counsel, Manuelito Luna, said “unnamed sources” at the BI tipped off the former law-maker about the residency status of Neil Llamanzares, who was a former serviceman of the United States Air Force.

“He (Llamanzares) has to clear his name, considering that he’s claiming to be a dual [citizen] or a Filipino when in fact he is an American. If the sources here could be validated by the BI, then it’s up to the Philippine government to undertake the necessary pro-

ceedings. If there is a prima facie case for deportation, so be it,” Luna said at a weekly media forum in Quezon City.

The lawyer said they will seek the probe because Llamanzares’ status is a “matter of national in-terest” as he is a spouse of someone who could be the country’s next president.

Tatad, represented by Luna, is one of the four petitioners who sought Poe’s disqualifi cation from the presidential race.

Acting on the petitions, the Commission on Elections disquali-fi ed the senator from the presiden-tial race, but the Supreme Court had ruled against it with fi nality.

In a statement, Poe’s camp slammed Luna for dragging Lla-manzares into politics.

“It is so sad that his political

MANILA, April 25 (PNA) – The Philippine Veterans Affairs Offi ce, in collaboration with the Filipino War Veterans Foundation Inc., offi cially launched to the general public the digitized surviving re-cords of Filipino soldiers and guerillas during World War II that were retrieved from the Philippine Collection of the US National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland, USA.

Offi cials present in the event were Undersecretary Ernesto G. Carolina, Philippine Veterans Affairs Offi ce (PVAO) Administrator; Gen. Renato De Villa, FILVETS Chairman; Col. Paterno Villoria; Dr. Senen Asuan; Col. Cesar Pobre; Brigadier Gen. William Esplana of Veterans Federation of the Philippines; Capt. Marlon Dantes of Philippine Veterans League; Teddy Atienza of National Historical Commission of the Philippines; Police Director Rufi no Ibay, Pres-ident of AFP Museum; Lt. Gen Raul Urgello and Gen Alexander Yano of FILVETS; Major General Jose P. Magno, Chairman of PVAO Multi-sectoral Governance Council; and Lt. Gen. Delfi n Lorenzana.

“What PVAO, FILVETS, and Mr. Licuanan have ventured into is aimed at putting together the bits and pieces of the history of World War II in our country which are scattered in different institutions. However, the bulk of the documents about World War II in the Phil-ippines are in the custody of the US National Archives and Records Administration in Maryland, USA. With the digitization project, we just started to put the pieces back together. Later on, we shall build a Philippine Center for World War II Studies at the Dambana ng

By Priam F. NepomucenoMANILA, April 25 (PNA News

Feature) -- The Fairchild Republic A-10C “Thunderbolt II,” the US military’s premier tank-busting aircraft, participated in the fi rst American maritime situational awareness flight which took off from Clark Air Base last April 19.

The fl ight consists of four A-10Cs and two HH-60G “Pavehawk” he-licopters.

These aircraft are part of the US Pacifi c Command’s Air Contingent deployed to Clark Air Base, in An-geles City, Pampanga.

The A-10 has an excellent ma-neuverability at low air speeds and altitude, and is a highly accurate and survivable weapons-delivery platform.

Duterte pushes ‘kill criminals’ messageMANILA, Apr 23 (Mabuhay) – Presidential candidate

Rodrigo Duterte Saturday renewed his vow to kill criminals as the tough-talking favourite hit the stump in the capital heading into the home stretch of a controversial campaign.

Political analysts say Duterte clear winner in fi nal debate

Sen. Grace Poe is not Plan B of President Aquino: Escudero

Leni Robredo hopes to widen lead in campaign homestretch

Digitized World War II records launched Premier US tank-busting aircraft fl ying off from Clark Air Base

Tatad will ask BI to probe ‘status’ of Poe’s husband

See LENI ROBREDO, page 12 See DUTERTE, page 12 See WINNER, page 12

See TATAD WILL ASK, page 12See TANK-BUSTING, page 12See WORLD WAR II, page 12

Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016 THE US ASIAN POST2

Fisherfolk and marine conservation advocates sail the Fisherfolk’s Flotilla from Pogaro-Dagupan to Talab-Dagupan river on Sunday. The group urged candidates to include fi sheries in their agenda to address poverty in coastal communities and the deteriorating conditions of Philippine fi shing grounds.(MNS photo)

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (PNA/Xinhua) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said that although new malaria cases have fallen by 18 per-cent since 2000, the world is still far from eliminating malaria, and Africa remains the biggest victim.

“In Africa, where the bur-den of malaria is greatest, the mortality rate has fallen by two-thirds,” Ban said in his message for the World Malaria Day, which falls on April 25.

Between 2000 and 2015, an estimated six million deaths from malaria were averted, thanks in part to ef-forts linked with the Millen-nium Development Goals, a set of eight anti-poverty targets which was replaced in 2016 by the Sustainable Development Goals, the secretary-general said.

“The increase in global financing for malaria has yielded impressive results,” he said, adding that more than half of the people in Africa are now protected by mosquito nets, up from less than 2 percent in 2000.

“The development and distribution of rapid diag-nostic tests means cases can be identifi ed and action taken quickly to prevent fur-ther spread of the disease,” Ban said.

“Investment in malaria prevention and treatment is one of the most cost-effec-tive ways to spend money,” he said. “The World Health Organization estimates that anti-malarial efforts have saved USD900 million in healthcare costs alone since 2001, in addition to the economic contributions of people who would otherwise be sick.”

“Today, on World Malaria Day, we should celebrate these remarkable achieve-ments in the battle against one of the world’s biggest killers,” he said. “But sadly, we are still far from elimi-nating malaria.”

Last year, there were 214 million new malaria cases and more than 400,000 deaths, he noted, adding that nearly nine in 10 cases were in Africa.

“Malaria is a formidable opponent, so there is no

guarantee that progress will continue,” he said. “If we lower our guard, experi-ence shows that the disease may come back. Mosquitoes develop resistance to insecti-cides and malaria parasites can become resistant to medicines.”

Ban has commend the World Health Assembly for setting ambitious goals for 2030: reducing malaria cases and mortality by at least 90 percent; and elim-inating malaria in at least 35 countries.

“Reaching these goals will require signifi cantly greater investment in fi ghting ma-laria. But it will take more than money,” he said. “It will take political will and leadership.”

“On World Malaria Day, as we celebrate our progress against this ancient killer, I call on everyone involved to redouble our efforts to reach the 2030 malaria goals,” he said. World Malaria Day is an international observance commemorated every year on April 25 and recognizes global efforts to control ma-laria.

By Joann SantiagoMANILA, April 25 (PNA)

– President Benigno Aquino III on Monday highlighted the need to be prepared in any calamities.

In his speech during the launching of the Listong Pamayanan (Fast/Ready Community) and Listong Pamilyang Pilipino (Fast/Ready Filipino Family) in Royce Hotel and Casino in Pampanga, the President said that being prepared during times of calamities has enabled the government and the communities lessen the impact of disasters.

He cited as an example the experience when Ty-phoon Chedeng hit Regions 2 and 3 in April 2015, or more than a year after Ty-phoon Yolanda (Haiyan) damaged several provinces in the Visayas, particularly Leyte, and nearby provinces in November 2013.

He explained that Oplan Listo was launched in 2014 to help local government units (LGUs) prepare for disasters, thus, preventing

or lessening impact of ca-lamities both on people and properties.

“Sa pagpapatupad na-tin ng Oplan Listo, naging mas handa ang ating mga lokal na pamahalaan, gaya nang nanalasa si Bagyong Chedeng noong 2015, kung saan nagkaroon tayo ng zero casualty sa mga apektadong lugar sa Region 2 at Region 3, kasama na ang Pampan-ga, sa kabila ng pagtaas natin ng storm signals sa mga lalawigan dito,” he said.

Thus, the launch of two new components of Oplan Listo - - the Listong Pa-mayanan and Listong Pam-ilyang Pilipino.

U n d e r L i s t o n g P a -mayanan, the government will conduct dialogues among stakeholders as well as simulation drills on tsu-nami and storm surge.

For Listong Pamilyang Pilipino, the Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment will distribute guide maps that will teach people what to do during disasters as well as E-balde (emergen-

cy pail), which in turn will have emergency provisions like three gallons of water, ready-to-eat food, medicine, first aid and hygiene kit, shirts, fl ashlight and radio.

The President stressed that people cannot control nature but they can do some-thing to be prepared for any eventualities.

“Nagsisimula ang kalig-tasan sa tamang kaalaman at kahandaan, at ito nga po ang ginagawa natin sa ilalim ng ating programa,” he said.

“Hangad natin: Hindi lang agarang lingap, kundi maibsan din ang pinsa-la ng pagbaha at mailayo sa peligro ng pagbaha at mailayo sa peligro ang ating mga Boss,” he added. (PNA)

PUDTOL, Apayao, April 25 (PNA) – An endangered female Philippine eagle has been rescued by local fi shers in this town while in search for food at the Nagan river, a hall of fame awardee as the cleanest and greenest inland body of water in the country.

P r o v i n c i a l T o u r i s m Officer Rebekah Tamak-en-Mamba told the PNA on Sunday a local fi sher iden-tifi ed as Richard Tumas of Aurora village along with six others nearby saw a giant bird lost control when trying to catch an approximately four-kilo freshwater fish locally known as “carpa” or carp. Its feathers got sub-merged into the river.

Though unknown to them that it was a rare Philippine eagle, they immediately in-formed an employee Teddy Zuniga at the Pudtol local government who reported it to local authorities.

Mamba said the four-year-old eagle was found and rescued on April 21 and released on Sunday morning

to its natural habitat – the Agora wildlife sanctuary in Barangay Lydia, this town.

Joining a group of the Philippine Eagle Foundation who is actively monitoring the presence of giant raptors in Apayao province includ-ing representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Pro-vincial Veterinary Office, Local government unit of Pudtol and other local of-ficials, Mamba said they were amazed to hear a “cry” of another eagle as they re-leased “Ingagan” on Sunday or barely two days after she was rescued.

Ingagan’s name was de-rived from the Nagan river where she was found and rescued.

Prior to the release, In-gagan was brought by local authorities to Laoag City for an x-ray examination be-cause of an old wound found in the body. Result showed an airgun bullet was found inside the body but authori-ties said it can be outgrown

over time.Apayao residents take

pride of its nature’s richness as the provincial govern-ment of Apayao continue to implement measures and programs to protect its en-vironment while promoting various eco-tourism sites here to provide alternative livelihood and investment.

Last year, a live nest of the Philippine eagle was found in Calanasan town including more sightings in Mt. Lambayo in Pudtol, and in Mt. Asi in Kabugao.

To date, the Calanasan town government placed at least 25,000 hectares of its forests under the lapat system to ensure the protec-tion and preservation of its fl ora and fauna. For a giant raptor like the Philippine eagle, it takes about 13,000 ha of untouched forests as its exclusive territory, prompt-ing the Apayao government to draft a long-term plan to ensure that this natural heritage is preserved for generations.(PNA)

MANILA, Apr 25 (Mabu-hay) – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Mon-day assured the public that Philippine financial insti-tutions are now imposing stricter know-your-customer (KYC) protocols, in the wake of the recent hacking which leaked personal data of mil-lions of voters.

BSP Core Information Technology Specialist Group Head Mel Plabasan said banks have strengthened their KYC measures to avoid cases of identity theft after the recent “Comeleaks.”

Hackers broke into the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) website and exposed the personal infor-mation of millions of regis-tered voters.

The stolen data from the

COMELEC was reposted on Thursday, April 21, as a searchable database on an independent site.

B a n k s a r e n o w cross-checking the identi-ty of new customers with other institutions, on top of the 11 fi elds of information required to open an account, Plabasan noted.

For existing clients, cus-tomer sales associates are now going beyond asking for “static information” such as the maiden name of the applicant’s mother, address, and birth date.

Banks are now asking for previous transaction details to verify the identity of ac-count holders.

Plabasan emphasized that clients must change passwords regularly and

avoid online transactions using a public network or unsecure Wi Fi.

“It has become dangerous these days to divulge too much information,” he said

The BSP on Friday issued a memorandum ordering all fi nancial institutions to strengthen KYC practices.

“Customer identifica-tion procedures of BSFIs (BSP-supervised financial instititioins) that rely on static information which may be obtained from the disclosed Comelec records should be supplemented by requests for additional proof or secondary informa-tion to establish the true identity of new and existing clients,” BSP Deputy Gover-nor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said. (MNS)

MANILA, Apr 25 (Mabu-hay) – The Ombudsman has ordered the immediate fi ling of graft charges against for-mer Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) acting chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. and three other former officials over the allegedly questionable sport-ing event sponsorship in 2010.

Also ordered indicted were former LWUA dep-uty acting administrator Wilfredo Feleo, former se-nior deputy administrator Emmanuel Malicdem and former administrator Daniel Landingin.

The case stems from the P1.5 million LWUA funds released to sponsor a chess event named after Pichay.

The Ombudsman inves-tigation stated the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, chaired by Pichay, wrote to LWUA on August 2010, asking for sponsorship of the “2nd Chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Championship”.

A week later, former ad-ministrator Daniel Landin-gin issued a memorandum suspending LWUA’s support to all sports and cultural ac-tivities to give way to their

operations expenditures.Despite this, Feleo and

Malicdim allegedly recom-mended the grant of sponsor-ship request for the Pichay Chess Championship.

Meanwhile, Feleo and Landingin signed the P1.5 million check to NCFP.

Pichay allegedly received and benefi ted from the ques-tioned funds.

The Ombudsman said the favor to NCFP was clear after it was given P1.5 mil-lion, which was “way more than the allocations for other sporting events amounting only to tens or hundreds of thousands.”

World still far from eliminating malaria: UN chief

PHL eagle rescued and released in Apayao

Tighter KYC measures now in place: Bangko Sentral

Ombudsman orders graft raps vs Pichay, 3 LWUA offi cials

Aquino leads launching of disaster preparedness programs for communities, families

Mag

Tayo!

THE US ASIAN POST Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016 Visit www.usasianpost.com 3

Supporters of various candidates struggle to get thru the thick crowd to get to the University of Pangasinan where they have tickets for the Pilipinas Debates 2016. All of the presidential candidates confi rmed attendance to the fi nal presidential debate prior to the May 9 elections.(MNS photo)

MANILA, Apr 25 (Mabu-hay) – Davao City May-or Rodrigo Duterte has pulled away from the pack of presidential candidates while Rep. Leni Robredo and Sen. Bongbong Marcos are in a statistical tie in the vice-presidential race, according to the latest Busi-nessWorld-Social Weather Stations (SWS) pre-election survey.

Duterte, in the April 18-20 survey conducted after his controversial April 12 statement on the rape-slay of an Australian woman, saw his voter preference rating rise to 33%.

He had a 27% voter pref-erence rating in an earlier BusinessWorld-SWS survey

held March 30-April 2.His nearest rival, Sen.

Grace Poe, has a 26% voter preference rating, up one percentage point from pre-vious poll.

Administration stan-dard bearer Mar Roxas is in third place with 19%, while Vice-President Jejomar Binay dropped to fourth place with 14%.

Sen. Mir iam Defen-sor-Santiago is in fi fth spot with 2%.

The survey, which cov-ered 1,800 validated vot-ers, has an error margin of plus-minus 2 points.

A signifi cant development is the surge of Robredo in the vice-presidential race.

It showed the widow of

the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo gaining seven percentage poings with 26%, while erstwhile race leader Marcos has 25%.

Sen. Francis Escudero dropped to third place with 18%, followed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano with 16%.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has 5%, while Sen. Gregorio Honasan II has a 2% voter preference rating in the vice-presidential race, the survey said.

Reelectionist senators Franklin Drilon of the Lib-eral Party and Vicente Sotto III of the Nationalist Peo-ple’s Coalition are in the top two slots in the race for 12 upper House seats, accord-ing to the survey.

MANILA, April 25 (PNA) – Sen. Grace Poe’s lack of leadership experience was exposed when she claimed that she will go to war to resolve the decades-long Mindanao confl ict.

This stressed by Peter Laviña, spokesperson of PDP-LABAN standard bear-er Rodrigo Duterte, in a statement Monday.

“Senator Grace Poe re-vealed herself as someone who will resort to war in-stead of peace to resolve the Mindanao problem,” he added.

“This character and pref-erence of war over peace is the manifestation of Poe’s lack of understanding of the history of the Mindanao confl ict and the appreciation of the state of unpeace on the island,” Laviña stressed.

During the third leg of Pilipinas Debates which was held in Dagupan, Pangasin-an on Sunday, Poe said she will launch an all-out war against what she termed as terror groups that will refuse to negotiate and forge an agreement with the gov-ernment.

“This revelation is star-tling as it showed that she is a threat to the Moro people and to Mindanao and to the peace-loving Filipinos who

have worked hard to put an end to the Moro armed rebellion,” Laviña said.

He also scored Poe’s ap-parent lack of understand-ing of the decades-old Moro struggle against discrimi-nation, abuses, poverty, and other forms of injustice that pushed many of them to join the rebellion.

“It’s clear that Poe hasn’t seen the suffering of Mind-anao because of the armed confl ict. It’s clear that she hasn’t seen how ugly war can be to the civilians, es-pecially to the children, the elderly, the women. It’s clear that she hasn’t seen too many deaths and grief because of the war in Mind-anao,” Laviña disclosed.

In sharp contrast to Poe’s war prescription, Duterte said the confl ict in Mindanao can only be resolved through inclusive peace negotiations.

Among the presidential candidates, it was only Dute-rte who provided a context to the Mindanao problem.

He said settlers came in droves to Mindanao because the Moro people would not work for the Americans in the early 20th century.

But the conflict that erupted from this cannot go on forever, he said.

“We have to talk. We can-

not fi ght forever,” Duterte said.

“We have to talk and we have to correct the historical injustice committed against our Moro brothers and sis-ters.”

One of the keys to estab-lishing sustainable peace in Mindanao is federalism, Duterte said.

The PDP-LABAN stan-dard bearer said he will pursue peace negotiations with the New People’s Army (NPA).

“There can be no peace, there can never be a Fed-eral Government until we talk to the NPA, which has been fi ghting us in the 70s, estudyante pa ako. Ngayon, 70 years old na ako,” he said.

“It has to be development, but you have to make the peace there. Bago ka mak-agalaw. Kapag hindi mo nakausap ito in peace talks, everything will fail,” he said.

Duterte also underscored the importance of fulfi lling the aspirations of the Moro people.

“I would like to tell you, and I’m telling you now that in the Republic of the Philippines, nothing will ap-pease the Moro people if you do not give them the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law),” he said. (PNA)

DAGUPAN CITY, Apr 25 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Monday dismissed alle-gations that administration bet Mar Roxas had received “advanced information” that helped him during the fi nal presidential debate held in this city the night before.

Presidential spokesper-son Edwin Lacierda told the media that all candidates were briefed about the de-bate topics beforehand.

“The topics were given to all the candidates ahead of time to prepare,” he said in a text message.

Referring to to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is now leading the presiden-tial race, Lacierda said:

“Ang problema kay Di-gong (Duterte) at ang team nya, mahilig sa soundbite at tamad mag research, hindi nya alam na sarili nyang Davao City, nakikinabanang sa Philhealth.” (The problem with Digong and his team is that they prefer soundbites and are lazy when it comes to research. He does not know that in Davao City people are benefi tting from Philhealth.)

Lacierrda said that Roxas was more knowledgeable than Duterte and Vice Pres-ident Jejomar Binay, whom he said were experienced only on local governance.

“So sa mga undecided po na mga voters (So for the

undecided voters), the third debate presented an oppor-tunity to see who among the presidentiables will be able to lead our country forward … and without corruption,” Lacierda said.

Some analysts said Rox-as and Senator Grace Poe performed well during the debate held at the Phinma University of Pangasinan on Sunday evening. How-ever, they added it did little to erode the support that Duterte had been receiving.

Duterte continues to en-joy high preference ratings despite his controversial comment on the rape-slay of Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill.(MNS)

MANILA, Apr 23 (Mabu-hay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV may be just seeking attention when he claimed that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte per-sonally told him how he killed people mercilessly.

This is what Duterte told reporters in Silang, Cavite on Friday evening.

“I know the purpose, para nasa news siya. Baka sakali manalo siya,” he said.

The statement came after Trillanes said in a report that he personally heard Duterte talk about shooting people in their head, kneel-ing down during a meeting April 2015. He said that the meeting was set up by a com-

mon friend. They discussed the possibility of running together, Trillanes said.

Trillanes is running for vice president without a running mate. In surveys, he is either at second to the last or last spot.

Duterte admitted that he met with Trillanes, but did not provide specifi cs on the meeting. He said that Trillanes asked him to be his president when he runs for vice president. But Duterte said he closed the possibility right away.

“Alam mo si Trillanes, hindi ko kilala. Nag-pic-ture kami isang beses. Na-kiusap siya sa akin sa Lin-den [Suites] na gawin niya

akong—vice president siya. Sabi ko, ‘Huwag ka lang magalit. You are not deserv-ing.’ Nagkudeta ang gago. Sinira ang hotel. Pinagka-kalat sa mundo at ngayon nagyayabang pa,” he said.

“Sabi ko, ‘Hindi ka pwede. Madumi ang record mo. Sa militar, pinag-iinsulto mo pa,’” Duterte also said.

He repeated these sen-timents during his rally in Pandacan, Manila later that night.

The Davao City mayor repeatedly denied hand in killing people while they are helpless. But he has been open about killing criminals in line with law enforcement duties. (MNS)

By Leilani S. JunioMANILA, April 25 (PNA)

– Almost 10,000 benefi ciaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) gath-ered on Monday afternoon at Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City to express their support to the Roxas-Robredo presidential and vice presi-dential tandem in the May 9 elections.

The gathering was attend-ed by 4Ps parent-leaders and household benefi ciaries from the National Capital Region (NCR) who shared their sen-timents and assessments of what other candidates are promising to them just to win their votes.

Most of them said that obviously, there are candi-dates who have criticized the program before but are now enticing them with shin-ing promises. “Maraming kandidato ang nanganga-kong ipagpapatuloy ang 4Ps, pero sa lahat sa kanila, kay Mar at Leni lang talaga kami nagtitiwala. Sila ‘yung matagal nang sumusuporta sa programa bago pa man mag-eleksyon,” said Maria Elena Lagumbay, a 4Ps Par-

ent-Leader from Quezon City.Lagumbay was one of the

4Ps mothers who spearhead-ed the event dubbed as “Lak-as ng Pantawid: Kami naman ang Magtatawid sa Daang Matuwid.”

The participants came from the 16 cities and one municipality of Metro Ma-nila, including Quezon City, Caloocan City, Malabon City, Valenzuela City, Pasig City, and Makati City.

They said that it is their way of showing their support to the “Tuwid na Daan” path that has provided opportu-nities for them to enjoy the benefi ts of seeing their chil-dren in school, healthy and can have a better future.

“Ang mensahe ng aming pagkilos ay ‘Kami naman ang Magtatawid sa Daang Matu-wid.’ Anim na taon kaming itinawid mula sa hirap ng programang ito, kami naman ang magtatawid sa kanila ngayon,” said Lorie Mejica, another 4Ps benefi ciary from Caloocan City.

The 4Ps is the govern-ment’s conditional cash transfer program that was started in 2008, or during the time of former President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.It was continued and en-

hanced under the “Daang Matuwid” program of Pres-ident Benigno S. Aquino III in support of his agenda of inclusive growth wherein no one will be left behind, especially the poorest sectors of society. In the past years, critics have tagged 4Ps as a dole-out program that makes its beneficiaries lazy, even calling it “limos” (alms) in some instances.

The parent-leaders said that some legislator have also questioned its sustainability and effectiveness in reducing poverty in the country.

However, in the months leading up to the May 2016 elections, candidates both in the national and local level—including some who previously criticized it – have publicly declared their sup-port for 4Ps and promised to add innovations to the pro-gram. It can be recalled that sometime in March, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey noted that four out of fi ve Filipinos would vote for a candidate who will sustain this conditional cash trans-fer program.

By Jelly F. MusicoPANGASINAN, April 25

(PNA) – Independent pres-idential candidate Senator Grace Poe has expressed appreciation for the support extended to her by the six governors of Bicol region.

”The supports of the local leaders are very important for what we fi ght,” Poe told the media in an ambush media interview during her campaign sortie on Monday in Malasiqui here.

Poe was referring to the support given to her by Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay, Gov. Migz Villafuerte of Cama-rines Sur, Gov. Edgardo Tallado of Camarines Norte, Gov. Raul Lee of Sorsogon, Gov. Rizalina Seachon Lan-ete of Masbate, Gov. Arceli

Wong and Vice Gov. Jose Teves of Catanduanes.

While thanking the sup-port of the Bicol region’s top local leaders, Poe said it still the people who will decide on the election day.

”It will depend on the peo-ple. It’s really the candidate assuring the people that the platform of government is really something that will address their needs, some-thing that will resonate to them; otherwise, no mat-ter how good your political machinery is, if the people won’t accept your message, your platform will be mean-ingless,” Poe explained.

Among the platforms of government that Poe will offer for the Bicol region is the revival of the rail-

way system; subsidy for the farmers; improved health services, free college educa-tion and intensify local in-dustry. ”The time has come for Bicolanos to rise up from poverty,” Poe said.

Poe’s running mate Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero also got supports from Tallado, Villafuerte, Lee and Sal-ceda.

Meanwhile, Ako Bicol partylist has expressed its full support for the decision of all six governors of the Bicol Region to support the presidency of Poe.

The partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe said their group has already forged an alli-ance with all the governors of the Bicol Region to ensure the victory of Poe.

Poe’s lack of leadership experience exposed in Mindanao statement

Palace cites ‘well-prepared’ Roxas, hits Duterte performance

Duterte on Trillanes’ killing allegations: ‘It’s all for news’

Senator Grace Poe elated by support of six governors from Bicol region

SWS: Duterte widens lead; Robredo, Marcos in a tie

Thousands of 4Ps benefi ciaries express support to Roxas-Robredo tandem

Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016 THE US ASIAN POST4

OPINIONMANILA, April 23 (PNA) – The Filipino public must make the right

choice this coming May polls to sustain the economic gains by the admin-istration and avoid reverting back to uncertainty, a Palace offi cial said.

Standard & Poor Ratings Services affi rmed the the country’s ‘BBB’ long-term and ‘A-2’ short-term sovereign credit ratings of the Philippines citing the country’s strong external position, its big foreign reserve and low external debt.

But Standard & Poor’s warned that the country’s ratings could drop if there is a slow down in the government reform agenda or reverse the current economic gains.

The Philippines has obviously improved its credit standing and this refl ects in the domestic loans that became favorable to consumers, Un-dersecretary Manuel Quezon III of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Offi ce (PCDSPO) said in a radio interview Saturday.

“At kung sinasabi na investment grade ang Pilipinas. Ibig sabihin ‘nun may tiwala din ang merkado sa lahat ng mga Pilipino at dahil ba-hagi tayo ng pambansang ekonomiya,” he told dzRB Radyo Ng Bayan.

Standard & Poor’s is right in its cautioning note because the country strived hard to attain such high credit rating, Quezon said.

“Ito ay naidulot dahil nagkaroon tayo ng fi scal prudence, maayos ang paggastos, pag-handle ng salapi ng sambayanan at responsable ang mga patakaran ng gobyerno,” he said.

As the new administration takes offi ce in the middle of this year, Quezon said it is free to alter, reverse or amend the existing economic government policies.

The country’s high ratings isn’t infi nite and they must be nurtured and protected because they are based on a track record. And if these ratings are taken for granted, there will be consequences, he said.

“So, it’s a timely reminder to all of us to vote on the basis of a respon-sible frame of mind,” Quezon said. (PNA)

By Edwin O. FernandezKORONADAL CITY, April 23 (PNA) – More than 200 of the farmers

who trooped here on Thursday night were duped by organizers they will receive one sack of rice from the local government, offi cials said Saturday.

Roberto Bagong, municipal disaster risk reduction and management council (MDRRMC) offi cer of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, said the farm-ers from his town were not informed about the protest action at the SOCCSKSARGEN regional center where about 2,000 farmers from other parts of Region 12 converged to demand for rice from the Department of Agriculture (DA-12) here.

“They were told that if they want to receive one sack of rice from the government and a Php 20,000 livelihood assistance, they should board the hauler truck from Lake Sebu town to nearby Surallah where the distribution will take place,” Bagong said in Filipino.

“Upon reaching Surallah town, they were told not to disembark from the truck and wait for further instruction,” he added. “Later in the afternoon of Thursday, they were told that rice distribution will take place in Koronadal City, so they agreed to go here and stayed overnight along the national highway,” Bagong said.

On Friday morning, they were hauled again to the regional center located in Barangay Carpenter Hills where tents were put up and told to wait for rice distribution.

“After we were told, the local government ‘rescued’ them, all those from Lake Sebu, and brought back to town where rice distribution will take place Monday,” Bagong said, adding that the only authorized to distribute rice for drought victims is the Philippine National Red Cross as provided for under Omnibus Election Code.

South Cotabato has been placed under state of calamity due to long dry spell.

Bagong said the farmers belonging to the Indigenous Peoples sector were from the villages of Tasiman, Lamfugon and Ned, in Lake Sebu.

After they were given breakfast by the Lake Sebu MDRRMC, they were sent back home.

“Akala namin may bigas at livelihood assistance, pagdating namin dito rally pala, ayaw namin ganito mabuti kinuha kami ng LGU namin,” said Jerome Blasan, one of the farmers from Barangay Tasiman, Lake Sebu.

“We were told by organizers whom we do not know personally, to bring extra clothes because the distribution of livelihood assistance my take some time,” he added.

Another farmer from Saranggani province, Sonia Bastida, 45, said the organizers told them to join the rally so they can receive Php 20,000 livelihood assistance and one sack of rice.

“That is why we boarded the truck to join the protest because life back home was really hard (due to drought),” Bastida, a corn farmers, told reporters. Supt. Barney Condes, Koronadal City police chief, said the local police were exercising maximum tolerance to prevent violence.

“So far the protest action is peaceful and no untoward incident have occurred,” Condes said. “We remained on alert following reports of pos-sible communist infi ltration.”

Rally organizers said they would only leave the regional center if South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Fuentes would come and talk to them.

Wrong choice of leaders this May election may impact on the economy, says Palace

Farmers: ‘We were promised P20K livelihood aid, rice’

By Cielito M. ReganitDAGUPAN CITY, April 25 (PNA) – Liberal Party

standard bearer Mar Roxas on Sunday provided the most concrete platform on how to solve the most press-ing issues facing the country while his rivals mostly made promises and issued general plans during the third and last presidential debate held at the Phinma University of Pangasinan here.

All the presidential candidates were present in the town hall style debate with Roxas being joined by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Miriam De-fensor-Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Grace Poe.

The administration bet came out as the most pre-pared among the candidates as he tackled issues on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) territorial dispute, contractualization and job security, traffi c and issues plaguing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

On the WPS issue, Roxas said that he would simul-taneously address the personal problems being faced by affected fi sherfolk while addressing the issue in the diplomatic front.

“We would enrol all affected fi shermen into the government’s cash for work program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Philhealth and ensure that their children would all have fee educa-tion. This is to ensure that they would not be helpless while the issue has not been resolved,” he said.

At the same time, the administration bet said that his government would pursue the arbitration case the Philippines had fi led in the United Nations (UN) as the country cannot deal with powerful China alone.

In contrast, Binay said he would talk with China and ask the superpower to let Filipino fi shermen fi sh in the disputed waters while the issue is being heard in the UN.

Santiago said that she would tackle the issue diplo-matically while Duterte said that while he would not go to war, he would jetski and plant the Philippine fl ag in the disputed reefs no matter what the Chinese would do to him.

Meanwhile, Poe said that she would ask help from other countries while ensuring that we do not surren-der Philippine sovereignty in the process.

On the traffi c issue, Roxas’ rivals mostly vowed to build new railway systems and expand both the pres-ent Light Rail Transit and Mass Rail Transit system.

Roxas retorted that while what they said were mostly plans, the present administration had already laid the groundwork to such expansions and vowed to see them to conclusion at the designated completion date should he be elected.

“More coaches are already being added to the MRT at the rate of 12 coaches per month – or 144 new coaches in the end o a year. Meanwwhile, we have already broken ground for MRT-7 and LRT-2. The

extension of LRT-1 to Bacoor has already being bid out while plans for its Phase 2 extending it to Calamba, Laguna is already fi nished,” he said.

MRT-7 is to be completed by 2018 while LRT-2 on 2017.

“Pina-plano pa lng nila, tayo, ginagawa na natin [They are still planning it but we have either done it or doing it],” Roxas said.

The Team Daang Matuwid standard bearer also came out on top on the issues of contractualization and support for OFWs..

While each of his rivals vowed to end contractual-ization, with Duterte even saying to stop the unfair labor practice the moment he wins, only Roxas pro-vided a concrete time frame to end it.

“I will end the practice within three months into my term, the time it would take for Congress to enact a law that will plug the loopholes in the Labor Code. Babanggain natin ang mga malalaking interest kung kinakailangan tulad ng pag-bangga natin sa mga malalaking interest noong isinusulong natin ang Cheaper Medicine Act,” he said.

“But more importantly, my administration would act to generate more jobs. We will bring in more investments that provide permanent jobs. More per-manent jobs would mean that OFWs would not return abroad anymore because they would have permanent employment here in their own country,” Roxas said.

However, the LP bet said that despite the various accomplishments of the administration in stamping out corruption and ushering in a period of unham-pered economic growth, Roxas twitted his rivals for using the frustrations of the people on these issues to make them forget that true change could not just be attained through insults and sound bites.

“True change could be attained because we act on it. And this is what the elections have come down to - the talkers versus the doers. Those that bring out the worst in us versus those that bring out the best in us; those ‘yung mga susunugin lahat ng pinaghirapan natin, kontra doon sa mga magdidilig at magbabantay sa mga itinanim natin,” he said.

He said that turning the country from the Sick Man of Asia to Asia’s Bright Star is just the beginning.

“This is just the foundation; the best is yet to come,” he said.

“Another six years of honest, decent, hardworking governance at mararating na natin ang ating pina-pangarap - isang Pilipinas na maunlad at disente, puno ng pagkakataon, malaya sa takot, at malayang mangarap. Ito ang maunlad at disenteng Pilipinas, may dangal, may takot sa Diyos, maipagmamalaki mo. Ito ang Pilipinas na ipinaglalaban natin. Dakila ang ating lahi. Dakila ang ating bansa. This is a fi ght worth fi ghting. This is a fi ght for our country,” Roxas said. (PNA)

By Johanne Margarette R. MacobDAGUPAN CITY, April 25 (PNA) – Political ana-

lyst and University of the Philippines (UP) vice pres-ident for public affairs, Dr. Prospero “Popoy” de Vera, believes Senator Grace Poe was the best in terms of consistency in the three presidential debates.

De Vera, who was at the last presidential debate held at Phinma University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City on Sunday said, “Because this is the third in a series of debates, Grace Poe was the best in terms of consistency- grasp of issues, clarity of solutions, ability to explain position on issues- from the 1st to 3rd debates.”

“The format (town hall) and issues (health, edu-cation, employment and those that affect families) in the debate also helped her emphasize her being a mother that cares for the family,” he added.

The town hall format allowed ordinary Filipinos- representing different sectors in the society- to ask questions to the fi ve presidential bets.

De Vera also noted that Poe’s closing statement, particularly her reference to the parent and child in the audience, “was powerful and brought tears to people in the audience and possibly those watching on television.” Poe, in her closing statement, remarked, “Jhessa, ikaw ang dahilan kung bakit ako naririto. Dahil ako ay may anak na katulad mo rin. Bilang isang babae, bilang isang nanay: matitiis mo ba na malaman na milyon milyong bata ang hindi makakain sa ating bansa?”

The aspiring president also vowed that a woman

can perform the responsibilities of a president, the way she performs her responsibilities as a mother.

“Ang mga babae ay mapagtimpi, ang mga babae pasensyosa, ang mga babae ay mapagmahal pero pag nilagay mo sa alanganin ang mga mahal nila sa buhay, ang mga babae ay hindi sumusuko,” she said.

Meanwhile, De Vera noted that Vice President Jejomar Binay “performed better than expected given that he did not do well in the second debate.”

The debate format gave him enough time to explain details of what he wants to do for families, he added.

On the other hand, administration bet Mar Roxas, in an interview after the debate, hit Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for his answer in regard the Philippines’ claim over the South China Sea.

Roxas said Duterte’s answer was not realistic and would only endanger the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Duterte, during the debate, said he would talk to China and if the China insists on its claim, he would go to the nearest Philippine-China boundary.

He said he would ride on jetski and bring with him a Philippine fl ag in the area to mark the country’s sovereignty.

“Then I would say this is ours and do what you to do with me,” said Duterte.

“Sabi niya pupunta siya ro’n, alam ba niya na the AFP are supposed to protect him e kung maraming mamatay?’ Yan ba ay responsableng kilos ng isang pangulo, dahil lamang sa pa-drama, pa-hero?.” said Roxas.

By Jelly F. MusicoMANILA, April 23 (PNA) – A spokesman of Sen-

ator Grace Poe on Saturday described as baseless a petition by lawyer Manuelito Luna to fi le deportation case against presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe’s husband Niel Llamanzares.

”Mr. Llamanzares is a natural born Filipino citizen, born to Filipino parents. The allegations of Mr. Luna are baseless lies concocted by a troubled mind,” Poe’s spokesman Mayor Rex Gatchalian said in a press statement.

Luna is the lawyer of former Senator Francisco Tatad who fi led a petition in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cancel the candidacy of Poe. The disqualifi cation was eventually junked by the Supreme Court.

”It is so sad that his political obsession has now reached a point where non-candidates are being harassed. Since he did not get what he wanted when he attacked Senator Poe, he is now on a rampage and unfairly harassing the family of Senator Poe,” Gatchalian, a reelectionist mayor of Valenzuela City, said.

”This political oppression has to stop immedi-

ately. We are calling on Mr. Luna to spare private individuals and to focus the electoral discourse on important issues facing our country like poverty and unemployment,” he added.

Poe’s running mate Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escu-dero said Luna’s move was a politically-motivated attempt to harass Poe, one of the leading presidential candidates.

”Mr. Neil Llamanzares is natural-born Filipino, having born of Filipino parents, and can stay as such or as a dual citizen under Republic Act 9225, or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003,” Escudero explained.

Escudero, a lawyer by profession, said Luna’s petition was bound to fail “because such petition has no basis at all.

”It will not prosper. Anyone who attempts to peti-tion the deportation of Mr. Llamanzares is ignorant of the law,” Escudero said.

After their incessant attacks on Sen. Grace Poe, her detractors are now training their sights on Mr. Llamanzares, and we would not be surprised if their next targets are their three children. These, too, will not succeed,” he added.

In debate, Roxas outshines rivals, provides concrete answers to issues

UP exec picks Poe winner of presidential debate

Petition to deport Poe’s husband baseless: spokesman

THE US ASIAN POST Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016 Visit www.usasianpost.com 5

Former “Goin’ Bulilit” mainstay, Kiray Celis de-scribes her career as siz-zling. “Yes, like the weath-er. Ang init init na ‘di mo mawari.

“And I’m just so grate-ful to Mother Lily (Mon-teverde) and her daughter, Ate Roselle,” Kiray beamed.

Kiray has just inked a five-picture contract with the Monteverde’s Regal. And her fi rst assignment is “I Love You To Death,” with no less than Enchong Dee as her leading man. The Kapamilya star happens to be one of Kiray’s crushes.

Directing “I Love You To Death” is Miko Libelo.

Kiray was last seen in the Regal movie, “Love Is Blind,” which co-starred her with Derek Ramsey and Solenn Huessaff. (MNS)

KC CONCEPCION’s one wish during her 31st birth-day last April 7 was to fi nally meet her “love match.”

“Sana mahanap na ako ni ‘The One’. Hindi yung ako ang naghahanap. Hanapin niya ako! Sweep me off my feet,” said the actress.

She added that if there is someone worth mentioning, she will share it to the public but said she would still keep the relationship private.

“Kapag talagang super special na siya saka ko na lang iku-kwento. Ang dami ko nang pinagdaana sa love life ko. You know why? Kasi feeling ko ang dami nang nagyayari sa akin. It’s not just my love life,” she said.

“Hindi ba pwedeng bi-gyan niyo ako ng chance pag-usapan ang trabaho ko kasi nagwo-work naman ako? Ang ganda lang na, for once, hindi lang about lovelife ang sinasabi ko,” she added.

But she assures everyone that even though she is sin-gle now, she is very happy.

Meanwhile, Concepcion shared that she is hesitant to work opposite her mother, Megastar Sharon Concep-cion.

The actress explained that she gets shy when act-ing in front of Cuneta and it’s enough already that their life is open to the public. “Nahihiya ako kay Mama. I’ll learn a lot from my mom (sa acting), I’m sure. Pero makiki-sit in na lang siguro ako sa kanya.”

As to working with ex-boyfriend Piolo Pascual,

the actress did not discount the possibility but said they should both approve the project.

“If there’s anything na may project we would have to talk about it and of course pareho kaming 100 percent. Kasi ang hirap na hindi ka 100 percent, kasi unfair naman ‘yun sa mga manon-ood,” she ended.(MNS)

Jasmine Curtis-Smith did not shy away from questions regarding her rumored re-lationship with surfer Jeff Ortega.

In an interview, the 22-year-old Jasmine admit-ted that she and Ortega are already a couple.

“Oo,” she simply said.Rumors about the two

fi rst swirled when Jasmine was spotted with Ortega in a photo uploaded by her sister, actress and “It’s Showtime” host Anne Curtis. Early April, Jasmine also celebrat-ed her 22nd birthday with her rumored beau.

Anne, who was with Jas-mine, said that she approves of Ortega.

“Masaya ako. Mabait ta-laga. Parang nakikilala ko na siya before pa. Tapos nakikita ko kung paano siya um-effort kay Daddy, kay Mommy ...cute,” she said.

Anne, who has admitted to being vocal about her thoughts on the guys her sister dates, was rumored to have been the reason behind

makilala ang buong pamilya niya,” he said. “Alam ng dad-dy niya na siguro du’n talaga kami papunta, in due time.”

Crawford, however, re-fused to discuss other details of their conversation.

According to him, he still wants Garcia to take advan-tage of her youth by achiev-ing her career goals.

“Well, for me, I would love to get married as soon as now, kung gugustuhin ko lang. But she’s only 23, turn-ing 24 this September,” he said. “She has a lot of goals pa that she wants to achieve, so I’ll give her the time.”

Crawford also expressed how proud he is of Garcia, when she accepted the offer to wear a “barely there nude swimwear” for a fashion magazine.

“Of course, I am proud, pero akin lang siya,” he quipped. “Sexy siya, oo, agree ako sa lahat, pero akin lang siya.” (MNS)

TV host Billy Crawford revealed that he has already asked for the blessing of Coleen Garcia’s father in case they decide to tie the knot soon.

The 33-year-old “It ’s Showtime” host said he con-siders his girlfriend’s father as part of his “barkada.”

“We just really click. So-brang nag-effort din ako na

Curtis-Smith’s split with singer Sam Concepcion.

Her name has since been

cleared by Curtis-Smith, who said that her sister “had nothing to do with it.” (MNS)

Shaina Magdayao refused to comment when asked about reports romantically linking her best friend Bea Alonzo to her ex-boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz.

“Dapat pa ba akong mag-react? I don’t think kailangan kong mag-react. That’s totally out of the en-vironment kung saan ako gumagalaw ngayon and it’s actually none of my busi-ness,” Magdayao said at a press conference announcing the second season of the Cinema One series “Single/Single.”

Magdayao also declined to comment when asked about the breakup of Cruz and Angelica Panganiban.

In a previous interview, Panganiban hinted that she might be the reason why Magdayao broke up with Cruz.

“Dapat wala din akong say doon because that’s to-tally out of my world. Until now hindi ko alam if it’s even confi rmed. Hindi kasi ako nagsasalita sa mga things na hindi ko naman alam to begin with. Mahirap maki-sawsaw sa buhay ng ibang tao, the same way na I don’t want them to do that to me also. Magkaibang mundo kami ngayon. Magkaibang mundo ang ginagalawan namin so ayaw ko munang mag-comment,” she said.

Magdayao did say that she is now friends again with Cruz and have even worked

together in last year’s fanta-sy series “Nathaniel.”

But asked if she’s friends with Panganiban, Magdayao said: “I guess I’m okay with everyone but we are not close to begin with. But you know life is short, madami ng namamatay ngayon. Bakit ka pa gagawa ng friction with any other individual?”

“You know, I’m just here sa showbiz, sa mundong ito, to work and that’s it. Noth-ing else. Lahat ng ginagawa ko it’s just work and my life, my personal life, is bigger than this world. Siguro ito lang ang exposed sa inyo but madami pang nangyayaring maganda sa buhay ko out-

side of show business.”Magdayao also dismissed

the idea that there is a chance that she and Cruz could get back together.

“Wala namang nangya-yari talaga ngayon. It’s re-ally far from my world. My world is really big but the industry is very small. At ano ba, four years na ang nakalabas. It’s not naman new that we bump into each other. Nagkatrabaho din naman kami sa ‘Nathaniel.’ I think mas importante na I’m okay with him, we are okay, we say hi to each other and I think ‘yun lang yon, nothing more, nothing less,” she said.(MNS)

Singer-actress Jolina Magdanagal shared new de-tails about her new morning show, “Magandang Buhay.”

Co-hosted with Karla Es-trada and Melai Cantiveros, “Magandang Buhay” will air weekdays after “Umagang Kay Ganda.”

The new show will be a reunion of sorts for the Magdangal, Estrada and Cantiveros, who first co-starred in reality singing competition, “Your Face Sounds Familiar.”

The television host asked Magdangal if it is pressure for the three to be on the timeslot previously occu-pied by “Queen of Talk” Kris Aquino, who went on a showbiz hiatus.

“Iba syempre. Iba sy-empre ‘yung kay Ate Kris kasi s’ya ‘yun eh. Kumbaga, ‘yung sa amin, hind rin kami nagpapaka parang alam namin lahat. Kaya parang sinasabi namin na

pare-pareho tayong matu-tuto dito,” Magdangal said.

Siguro, ‘yung sa amin, kunga no ‘yung gustong

makita ng mga tao. Iba ‘yung kay Ate Kris, iba rin ‘yung sa amin.,” the actress added. (MNS)

KC Concepcion’s birthday wish: To meet ‘The One’

KC Concepcion

Kiray’s red-hot right now

Kiray Celis

Billy on Coleen: ‘Sexy siya, pero akin lang siya’

Billy Crawford and Coleen Garcia

Shaina on Bea-John Lloyd: ‘It’s none of my business’

Shaina Magdayao

Jasmine admits relationship with new beau

Jasmine Curtis-Smith

Jolina talks about new morning show with Karla Estrada, Melai Cantiveros

Jolina Magdanagal

Visit www.usasianpost.com Friday - Thursday, Apr. 29 - May 5, 2016 THE US ASIAN POST6

By Abner GalinoTHE ABS-CBN Interna-

tional’s Lifestyle Network has been launched recently on Charter’s Spectrum TV, a leading provider of in-lan-guage television program-ming in the US.

Held at Out of Asia, a Filipino-owned antique fur-niture shop in Los Ange-les, the modest launch was hosted by three-time Emmy nominated Filipino-Amer-ican producer-turned-host Marc Anthony Nicolas and Keesa Ocampo, ABS-CBN International’s corporate affairs offi cer.

Nicolas also runs his own talk show titled “On your Marc!” for the Lifestyle Network.

According to the duo, the Lifestyle Network will be a blend of programming from the Philippines, the U.S. and other countries.

It will strive to cover con-certs and local festivals, a

mix of entertainment, food, travel, culture and lifestyle programs in both English and Tagalog.

Lifestyle Network is the fi rst network to target fi rst and second generation Fili-pino-Americans.

In a brief speech, Jun del Rosario, head of Carriage and Marketing for ABS-CBN Global, said that aside from bringing in shows to the US, the Lifestyle Net-work would also export shows to the Philippines.

Among the shows that will be included in the chan-nel are the food show called “Chef’s Table,” a lifestyle magazine program called “Us Girls,” the news pro-gram “The World Tonight” and Nicolas’ talk show called “On your Marc.”

Charter’s Spectrum TV is offering TFC and Life-style Network as part of the Filipino View Package for $19.99 per month, featuring

a total of six channels.TFC is a 24-hour gener-

al entertainment channel featuring daily news, soap operas or dramas, game and reality shows, and children’s programs in Tagalog.

“With over 20 years of experience, TFC has become and continues to be the global brand of excellence in Filipino content. Together, TFC and Lifestyle Network create a strong and compel-ling package that appeals to the fast-growing Filipi-no-American community. We are grateful to Charter for including both networks as part of their Filipino View Package,” Del Rosario said in a statement.

I n t e r e s t i n g l y , t h e 43,000-square-foot Out of Asia owned by Edna Luer fi ts right into the mold of stories that the Lifestyle Network would be covering to showcase arts and trades involving Filipino-Ameri-

Keesa Ocampo, ABS-CBN International’s Corporate Affairs Offi cer, and host Marc Nicolas guide guests into the contents and features of Lifestyle Network. Photo: Joe Cobilla

Charter carries ABS-CBN International’s Lifestyle Network into TFC package

Los Angeles, CA – Volun-teers with the Build Better LA Coalition on Monday spoke to thousands of vot-ers living in the City of Los Angeles about the Build Better LA ballot measure, a housing affordability and high-quality jobs initiative expected to go before Los Angeles voters. The Build Better LA initiative, which was launched in February 2016, would incentivize

developers to create more housing residents can afford near transit, and it will ensure that a percentage of residential units are set aside for low-income res-idents in Los Angeles on rental and for-sale projects that receive discretionary approvals like zone changes or General Plan amend-ments. The initiative also includes a local hire provi-sion that ensures a living

wage with good job stan-dards.

Residents, housing advo-cates, housing developers, and construction trades workers from through-out the City converged at Casa del Mexicano in Boyle Heights and at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) in South Los Ange-les. They walked door-to-door in Los Angeles neigh-borhoods to bring a shared

cans and other expatriates. Out of Asia has a wide

range of product collections that originated from the Philippines, Indonesia, In-dia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The antique col-lections were mostly from

China, Korea, Japan, Spain, Netherland, France and Great Britain.

Many of the furniture items there were made from indigenous materials such as bamboo, rattan, raffia and hemp. Others were

made from teak, mahogany, molave, ebony, shell, stain-less steel, aluminum and copper.

Out of Asia is also an event venue for filming, fashion shows, seminars and private events.

vision of healthy, accessible housing and good jobs to the homes of City residents.

The Build Better LA Coalition, a partnership between labor and afford-able housing advocates, has grown into a large multi-sector coalition and includes wide support and endorsements by dozens of community organizations, including groups advocating for immigrant rights, envi-ronmental sustainability, low-wage worker rights, and educational justice.

Many res idents ex-pressed concern about the rising cost of housing, stag-nant wages, and the lack of good quality jobs for local residents. They see the

proposed measure as a cat-alyst for the development of housing that low- and middle-income families can afford.

“The Build Better LA measure will help more families stay in Los Ange-les. It will also help those in most need of work get access to a good paying job in housing construction,” said Laura Raymond, Cam-paign Director for Alliance for Community Transit-Los Angeles and member of the Build Better LA Coalition.

Nearly all new private, residential development getting built in Los An-geles is luxury and high-priced housing, with only two percent of non-subsi-

dized units built in 2014 being affordable for median income earners. “Current development in Los Ange-les is displacing thousands of working families across the City and changing the character of Los Angeles. We need to ensure that more housing is affordable for the heart and soul of Los Angeles: working people,” said Rusty Hicks, Execu-tive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and convener of Build Better LA. “Build Better LA will ensure Angelenos of pres-ent-day LA are not being siloed by the rising cost of homes and the inability to fi nd a good, local job.”

Aff ordable housing, local jobs ballot initiative on path to qualify for November ballot

By Abner GalinoA M U L T I - R A C I A L

feminist organization has opened a travelling art ex-hibition over the weekend in a gallery in Chinatown, Los Angeles to honor women who were victimized in the society in different ways.

Titled Recuerdo / Alaala / Remembrance: Earrings of Shadow and Light, would be the “fi rst traveling art exhi-bition of its kind,”according to the offi cials of the femi-nist group AF3IRM.

The artworks were creat-ed by local and internation-al artists, jewelry makers, musicians and community folks. All the creative imag-inations were focused on the creation of art around earrings. But each of the participants was asked to create only one earring in-stead of a pair.

In a commemorative booklet, the organizers ex-plained that the reason for

that was: “Across borders, earrings are ornaments that have been worn from pre-co-lonial times to the present with various purposes and signifi cance, and in Recuer-do / Alaala / Remembrance, they hold deep meaning. Earrings are typically worn in pairs; however, partici-pants were asked to create just one earring as a tribute to a particular woman or issue. The single earring not only honors women’s histories and experiences, but sheds light onto those whose stories have gone unheard, whose lives have been taken, and whose voic-es have been erased.”

“The exhibition seeks to remember women – not only with the visual story told through the earring displayed, but also through the void present within the incomplete pair. As trans-national/women of color, we are all too familiar with the

absence and disappearance of the lives and stories of women. The works on dis-play seek to tell the stories and honor the women that history, the mainstream media, and so many within our society refuse to ac-knowledge. We bear witness to all of our sisters through this illumination of the ear-ring displayed and the loss portrayed in its shadow.”

Ivy Quidro, AF3IRM international organizing director, said around 20 artists participated and 40 pieces of artworks were created for the exhibit. She said that the art exhibition will attempt to highlight the fate of millions of girls and women who went missing, murdered and/or traffi cked around the world.

Quidro still could not say how long the exhibition would stay in its current gallery at Chung King Road in Chinatown, Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County Regis-trar-Recorder /County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean C. Logan is proud to announce a large-scale, innovative partnership to encourage voter registration and par-ticipation for the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election. The RR/CC is collaborating with local media outlets to engage and inform voters through television, radio, online and social media.

The media partnership campaign will encourage

every voter to “Make Your Mark” at the polls on June 7.

Media partners for the campaign include both En-glish and ethnic language outlets, including CBS Radio Los Angeles, iHeart Media (KIIS-FM, The Real 92.3), Entravision Commu-nications (Super Estrella 107.1 and Jose 97.5/103.1), LA 18 (Asian language programming), Facebook and AM 870.

“Our goal is to ensure we are always engaging and informing voters in

new and creative ways,” said RR/CC Dean Logan. “This partnership is a way for us to promote a strong message to the County’s diverse electorate and en-courage them to participate in the democratic process.”

The mission of the Reg-istrar-Recorder/County Clerk is to serve Los An-geles County by providing essential records man-agement and election ser-vices in a fair, accessible and transparent manner. For more information, vis-it www.lavote.net.

L.A. County Registrar of Voters partners with L.A. media outlets to get out the vote

Travelling exhibit for victimized women opens in LA

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My daughter is a stage perform-er and a classical singer. As a moth-er, I take pride and joy in all her accomplishments. I share her anxi-ety whenever she prepares for an audition. I feel the excite-ment when she gets ready for a performance. I guide her to aspire for her best talent and make her dreams a reality.

Does this make me a stage mom? I think not.

I am a supportive moth-er. I take care of my child’s physical and emotional well-being, giving her an endless supply of uncondi-tional love. I have to admit that it’s not easy. It’s man-ageable. I just have to pri-oritize her needs over mine, and I happily oblige.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

Then I thought of a celeb-rity mother who parallels my experience. Both our daughters are artists whose passion is performing in the world of entertainment. They recently advanced from their teenage years, turning 20. The activities that surround our daugh-ters’ chosen careers become our tasks. We manage the path to their fulfillment. However, there is a remark-able difference between us.

Her daughter is the multi-awarded actress,

Kathryn Bernardo, Teen Queen of Philippine show-biz. Admired by millions of fans all over the world, Kathryn’s biggest supporter is her mother, Min Bernar-do.

“She wanted to be an ac-tress at a very young age,” said Min when I asked her how Kathryn got into show-business. “Kathryn was inspired to work,” she ex-plained. Min saw Kathryn’s passion and determination to get that break into the business. The long rides from Cabanatuan City to Metro Manila and then lin-ing-up for hours to audition was tedious but worth it.

Eventually, she got a role that marked her star in the entertainment industry. That’s when Min and Kath-ryn moved to Manila. “My husband and I made that decision to support Kath’s budding career, ” she re-called, “We used to go home to the province once a week. But when her career took off that all changed.”

How do you manage that? What if your child finds huge success early in life?

Constant guidance and tireless support keeps her relationship with her daughter close. “Kathryn knows that she can come to me for anything,” she explained. “I am not judge-mental. I encourage her to open up. I trust her and she knows her limitations. She is not spoiled,” and with a big smile on her face she continued, “She’s not a ce-lebrity at home.”

That’s the impression that I got when I met Kath-ryn. She’s sweet, kind, re-spectful, and very charming. Stardom has not affected her ability to stay grounded.

To raise a talented daughter in the dog-eat-dog world of creative media is a challenge. The world is not

Child’s Dream Is Mother’s Quest

for the love that our children have for us.

At birth, there is pure mo-tivation of love of the mother to her child. That purity of love never diminishes, it be-comes stronger in time. That bond is never more apparent when you watch your loving child at a distance up on stage or on the big screen. It is a crucible, where only those who can reach out with their emotions can draw the audience into a singular experience with them. When that emotion-

al fl ow happens, it’s a sensational feeling. To know that the child has mastered so much talent, has such an ex-ulted place for the mother. It doesn’t take any special talent for mothers and chil-dren to love each other. What’s im-portant is how that exceptional mother’s love can be so high over other emotions.

I remember one day on the

set when I was chatting with Min, someone came up to her and told her that Kathryn needed help with her outfi t. Min’s eyes bright-ened. When she got up to deal with her daughter, it struck me how little it mat-tered if the support that we, as mothers, can offer is great or simple. What matters is that we’re there for our chil-dren, always and forever.

And that’s the joy that Min Bernardo and I both share.

forgiving. Min’s daughter is a constant spectacle to the public, loved and hated by many.

This can be dishearten-ing. Every little thing that she does is examined, crit-icized or praised by people who don’t know her. “Kath is not comfortable being the center of attention,” Min said. “She’s timid and very conscious not like me,” and with a playful tone she continued, “I am verbally expressive and speak my mind.”

When is a mother’s quest a mission or advocacy?

Min is an advocate, not just a shield or a dreamer. She promotes her daugh-ter but she does not live through her. That’s a very fi ne distinction when mil-lions of fans want their say in her daughter’s daily life. Most of all, being an advocate as a mom means dealing with the daily grind.

“I’m with her all the time,” she says with a laughter in her voice, “but seriously, it’s important for me to be by her side all the time, espe-cially when she is working.” Min endured the long hours of taping, traveling on loca-tion, seeing after her needs, and dealing with the endless details that make the daily life on the set possible.

It takes more than pa-tience. Is this an expression of a mother’s love?

A mother’s labor of love is not like a bank or an in-vestment where you make a deposit and expect a return. It is more like cultivating a delicate fl ower. You care for it, nurture it.You pour your hopes and dreams into it, and at some point, sooner or later, it blossoms.

When this blossoming of love happens, it gives us joy unlike any other. It is both selfless and without any measurement. I see this joy around me. We have a special place in our hearts My daughter Becca with me

Kathryn and her mother Min Bernardo

Min and I hanging out / fooling around the set

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Chinese drivers are rush-ing to buy sport-utility ve-hicles in an “arms race” for safety on the country’s hair-raising roads, ana-lysts say, as SUV sales hit the gas despite a slowing economy.

SUV purchases in the world’s number one car market surged more than 50 percent in the fi rst quar-ter of 2016 from a year earlier, while sedan sales fell 9.3 percent, according to industry data.

“The primary reason is a fairly primitive one,” says Robin Zhu, auto analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong. “It’s about survival.

“It’s about people’s desire to feel safe on the roads. Because [SUVs] are bigger, and in low-speed collisions, from a consumer psycholo-gy point of view, you’d rath-er be the one in the SUV.”

Another 50 models new to the Chinese market will go into production in the country this year, according to consultancy IHS Auto-motive, many of them to be showcased at the Beijing Auto Show opening Mon-day. China’s roads have a reputation for danger, with footage of horrific traffic accidents from the country’s ubiquitous surveillance cameras broadcast daily on television.

The World Health Or-ganization estimates that more than a quarter of a

million people are killed on the country’s roads every year – over four times offi -cial government statistics.

Death rates remain com-paratively high because of inadequate rescue systems and poor treatment, accord-ing to a study by Chinese researchers published last year in medical journal The Lancet.

A businessman in an SUV in Beijing, who asked not to be named, told AFP he chose it “because it makes me feel safe when I drive”.

Bill Russo, automotive chief of advisory Gao Feng in Shanghai, said the ap-peal of an SUV comes from a feeling of “command” and the perception “you can deal with anything the road throws at you”.

Rising road rage on Chi-na’s congested streets has also made SUVs more pop-ular, said Zhu. Traffi c police handled more than 17 mil-lion cases of driver aggres-sion last year, according to public security ministry statistics.

“There’s a bit of an arms race going on,” he explained.

‘Sedans on stilts’ Analysts say that while

consumers in the US and other countries may be drawn by the image of SUVs going off-road in rough con-ditions, in China most of them are based on ordinary cars.

“The so-called SUVs to-

day are sedans on stilts,” said Zhu.

More Chinese buyers have turned to SUVs as their fuel economy has im-proved and a drop in oil prices have made the vehi-cles more affordable to run.

The most popular models are “small, car-based cross-over types”, said Russo, not-ing that “the vast majority” have engines smaller than 2.0 litres.

“They’re economical SUVs, they’re not big, gas-consuming environ-mentally unfriendly vehi-cles,” he said.

Chinese buyers are con-tent with small engines in large bodies, said Michael Dunne, CEO and strategist at Dunne Automotive in Hong Kong.

Ten years ago educated urbanites preferred sedans because larger vehicles were associated with rural people and construction workers, he said. But in the last two years, SUVs have become “fashionable”.

“They’re not that inter-ested in acceleration, pass-ing, speed. They’re more interested in the look,” said Dunne.

But the boom may not last, executives warn. “Even if now the SUV is popular, in the future there will probably be a change,” said Toyota China head Hi-roji Onishi, suggesting that minivans could see their appeal widen.

Visitors look at the Haval SUV exhibition at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 25, 2016. Global carmakers gathered in Beijing on April 25 to show off their wares as competition intensifi es and growth slows in the world’s biggest auto market, with the key SUV and new energy vehicle sectors the focus of attention. © WANG ZHAO / AFP

Electric cars have their highest-profile prophet in US-based entrepreneur Elon Musk and their widest adop-tion in Norway, but China’s vast auto market will decide their worldwide future, ex-perts say.

Top global brands will be fighting it out to elec-trify buyers at China’s premier car show open-ing Monday in Beijing.The country is already the world’s largest auto market and took the number one spot for electric models last year, with some 247,000 “zero emission” cars sold – quadruple the number in 2014 – according to the China Association of Au-

tomobile Manufacturers.So far only around one percent of cars owned in China are electric, but au-thorities are pushing them as a potential solution to the country’s crippling air pollution health crisis.The central government gives buyers subsidies of up to 55,000 yuan ($8,500) for each car and electric vehicles are exempt from traffic restrictions in Chi-na’s congested major cities.While electric cars are be-coming more popular world-wide, particularly high-end brands like Tesla, their hefty price tags and restricted driving range mean they are still only a niche market.

Their evolution has been mainly state-subsidised, as in Norway, which has the world’s highest pen-etration at 17 percent o f new sa les in 2015 .But experts say winning even a small chunk of Chinese sales – which totalled 24.6 million last year – could be a game-changer for electric cars.

Given the size of the mar-ket, it would be a powerful driver” at a global level, Fla-vien Neuvy, auto expert at Ob-servatoire Cetelem, told AFP.Jean-Francois Belorgey, an expert with consultancy EY, predicted that by 2020, up to 750,000 electric cars will be sold in China every year.

Survival of the hugest: Chinese consumers seek safety in SUVs

China could electrify global rechargeable car market

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US researchers have found yet another reason to get suffi cient shut-eye, with those that favor an early to bed, early to rise routine showing more heart-healthy behavior than night owls.

A team of researchers from the University of Del-aware, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel Uni-versity and the University of Arizona College of Medicine looked at the duration and approximate timing of sleep to see if there was a pattern between this and three ma-jor cardiovascular risk fac-tors—smoking, poor diet and sedentary habits – which to-gether contribute to around 40 percent of cardiovascular deaths in the US and the UK.

By using data from the UK’s Biobank Resource proj-ect, which aims to improve the prevention and treat-ment of a range of life-threat-ening illnesses including car-diovascular disease, the team were able to look at a large sample of 439,933 adults aged of 40-69 for a four-year period between 2006-10.

During the study par-ticipants were asked about their sleep habits, with short sleep defi ned as less than six hours, adequate sleep as sev-en to eight hours, and long sleep as nine hours or more.

Participants also defi ned themselves as a morning person, a more morning than evening person, more evening than morning, or an evening person.

To find out more about

how heart-healthy their daily behavior was they were also asked about their levels of physical activity, time spent using a computer or watch-ing TV, fruits and veg intake, and smoking habits.

Results showed that get-ting the right amount of sleep, and at the right times, reduced the unhealthy life-style behaviors associated with poor heart health, with those whose sleep was either too long or too short, and those who went to bed later, more likely to smoke, remain sedentary and eat fewer fruits and vegetables than those who got an adequate amount of sleep and went to bed earlier.

Commenting on the re-sults, Freda Patterson, one of the study’s co-authors said, “These data suggest that it’s not just sleep deprivation that relates to cardiovascular risk behaviors, but too much sleep can relate as well.

“If we can modify sleep as a central risk factor, we might be in much better po-sition to leverage or modify some of our most stubborn cardiovascular risk behav-iors such as tobacco use.”

However Patterson did also acknowledge that the study had limitations. De-spite a huge number of par-ticipants the sample lacked diversity, and as a large part of the data was based on self-report, it was also sub-ject to errors. The team now recommend further study in the area.

The study was published online in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

US reseachers have found yet another reason to get suffi cient shut-eye, with the those that favor an early to bed, early to rise routine showing more heart-healthy behavior than night owls. © Lars Zahner / shutterstock.com

LEGAZPI CITY, April 23 (PNA) – Health Secretary Janette Garin has admitted that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Phil-Health) reserve fund has depleted due to fraudulent claims and huge amounts of collectibles pending with the Department of Budget and Management.

Garin, however, said the problem was being ad-dressed and corrective fi-nancial measures had been instituted.

In an interview Thursday, she said the social health in-surance provider was check-ing it closely and apprehend-ing and fi ling cases against persons and hospitals with questionable or fraudulent claims which, according to her, indeed affect the reserve fund of PhilHealth.

When asked if the DBM should also be blamed for the delay in replenishing the billions of funds paid to hospitals’ claims for millions of seniors citizens, she said the agency was overhauling the master list of bonafi de members—including the names of senior citizens en-rolled with PhilHealth.

PhilHealth records indi-cate that there are 6 million senior citizens across the country that are enrolled as lifetime insurance bene-fi ciaries.

“It is partially true that there was a delay in the re-plenishment of funds by the DBM, but the problem was the agency could not present to the DBM as a require-ment the list of names of senior citizens that benefi ted to program,” Garin said.

She said the data base problem have been the situ-ation six months ago.

“This was the problem when I assumed offi ce,” she added.

Earlier, Dr. Eddie Doro-tan, PhilHealth Board mem-ber, said the agency reserve fund this year would only be good for ten months due to billions spent to cover claims for millions of senior citizens and the delay by the DBM to replenish billions of funds used to pay hospital claims.

Dorotan said it lost Php1 billion last year after it spent Php97 billion for payment claims while it only received Php96 billion in contribu-tions.

To prevent the fi nancial strain in its reserve, the PhilHealth has to maintain a two-year reserve funds of at least Php100 billion which when used should be immediately reimbursed by the DBM.

The defi cit was attributed to the Php10 billion spent to cover claims for millions of senior citizens, he said.

In Bicol, PhilHealth has spent Php3.5 billions for claims while it only earned Php980 million in collection.

As this developed, Garin turned over hundreds of medical equipment under the Department of Health (DOH) “TseKap” program to various Rural Health Units-Barangay Health Sta-tions (RHU/BHS) in the provinces of Albay, Cama-rines Sur, Sorsogon, Mas-bate and Catanduanes.

In Albay, Garin was as-sisted by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and City Mayor Noel Rosal in turning over Php3.8 million worth of medical equipment to 207 RHU/BHS in a ceremony at the Divine Word College Gymnasium on Thursday.

The medical equipment is composed of two non-contact thermometers, stethoscope, digital BP apparatus, glu-cometer set, two nebulizers and wound dressing set.

DOH data reveal that the agency is spending some Php700 million for the pur-chase of TseKap medical equipment for distribution nationwide.

On the dengue vaccina-tion program, Garin said, it has covered 200,000 grade 4 elementary public school pu-pils in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

By Leilani S. JunioMANILA, April 25 (PNA)

– The Department of Health (DOH) clarifi ed on Monday that the reported death of an 11-year-old boy in Bataan last April 11 “was not related to the administration of the free anti-dengue vaccine but be-cause of underlying illness.”

In a press briefi ng held at the DOH Media Relations Unit in Tayuman, Sta. Cruz, Manila, DOH Secretary Ja-nette L. Garin said that based on the fi ndings and as verifi ed from the guardian of the boy, he was suffering and diag-nosed with a congenital heart disease since childhood.

The boy, a grade 4 pupil in a public elementary school in Bagac, Bataan, died last April 11 due to cardiac arrest wors-ened by complications such as pulmonary edema, acute gastroenteritis and moderate dehydration.

The child received the Dengvaxia vaccine last March 31.

“The 11-year-old child died because of congestive heart failure. Ito po ay bata na may sakit sa puso. Unfortunately, nagkaroon siya ng amoebiasis and this led to other compli-cations dahil wala siyang maintenance na iniinom na gamot,” said Secretary Garin. The DOH made the clarifi ca-tion to allay fears of some peo-ple or groups that may spread wrong information that the Dengvaxia vaccine can cause death. Based on clinical re-cords, the child was referred to a medical specialist last September 2015, but due to some intervening circum-stances, the guardian of the child was not able to pursue the necessary treatment.

During the immuniza-tion day last March 31, the patient was screened by the rural health physician inside the school and the guardian, who gave the consent for the conduct of the vaccination,

had assured that the child had no fever or illness and was not taking maintenance medications.

Based on the temperature taken, the child also did not manifest any fever during that time. The rural health physician and those who conducted the immunization had also checked if the boy and other children who were vaccinated on the same date had taken the meals prior to vaccination.

On April 3, the patient was brought to Bagac Community Medicare Hospital due to di-arrhea, fever and dizziness.

“The impression during that time was gastroenteritis with no dehydration and he was considered as outpatient then. The next day, it was seen in the laboratory that the stool sample of the patient turned positive with amoebi-asis,” Garin said.

The patient then was al-lowed to be sent home because amoebiasis could be manage-able at home.

However, on April 9, the patient was brought back to the hospital after suffering from face puffi ness and “facial and pedal edema.”

The patient was admitted at the Isaac Catalina Medical Center after suffering from diffi culty of breathing and the diagnosis was severe pneumo-nia, congestive heart failure and electrolyte imbalance.

On April 10, the patient was transferred to the Bataan General Hospital, but died the next day due to cardiac arrest, pulmonary edema and other underlying causes such as congenital heart disease, gastroenteritis, with moder-ate dehydration.

Health authorities say pulmonary edema happens if there are excess fl uids that cannot be pumped out and stagnated in different organs or parts of the body of the patient. Since the lungs are

connected with the heart, there is greater pressure on the part of the heart to pump more heavily and this can lead to cardiac arrest.

The case of the patient was presented to the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC) last April 21 to asses the hospital fi ndings.

Secretary Garin said the assessments of the NAEFIC were consistent with the fi nd-ings of the hospital.

They further said that the death of the boy was coinci-dental.

Meanwhile, according to Secretary Garin, the pres-ence of ulcer condition of the patient also aggravated his situation or condition as indicated by low blood count.

She clarifi ed that congen-ital heart disease is not con-tra-indicated with vaccina-tion. “In fact, we can see other patients, pag nagkakasakit sila sa panahon na di sila symptomatic, lalo na yung mga baby, binibigyan sila ng bakuna because the need to protect them is more—kasi mas prone silang mahawa ng sakit dahil mas iba ang resistensya nila as compared sa normal na mga bata,” she explained.

The DOH further said that what is important is that the children who will be vaccinat-ed as well as their guardians will really be honest in fi lling up the form and in answering the health-related questions prior to vaccination.

Health offi cials said they are recording any events related with the patients vaccinated with Dengvaxia as part of the transparency commitment of the Sanofi Pasteur, manufacturer of the vaccine, wherein details like any side effects that are felt and even other adverse events not related to the vaccine are being put on record and made open to the public.

Garin admits PhilHealth standby fund low

DOH clarifi es death of 11-year-old boy in Bataan not due to anti-dengue vaccine

Early to bed, early to rise could be better for heart health

Mag

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WORLD WAR IIFrom page 1

LENI ROBREDOFrom page 1

DUTERTEFrom page 1

WINNERFrom page 1

TANK BUSTINGFrom page 1

TATAD WILL ASKFrom page 1

GRACE PLAN BFrom page 1

Plan B. She (Poe) is not Plan B of President Aquino,” Es-cudero, a friend of President Aquino, said.

Based on the previous surveys, Poe is running sec-ond while Roxas, who was endorsed by the President, is in fourth spot.

President Aquino en-dorsed the candidacy of Roxas but Escudero believed that the President’s endorse-ment has nothing to do with the poor showing of Roxas in the surveys.

”Maliwanag, lahat ng pumapabor kay Pangulong Aquino, hindi pumapabor kay Secretary Roxas na ininedorso niyang kandida-to,” Escudero said.

Escudero served as cam-paign manager of Poe when the two ran and finished third and fi rst in the 2013 senatorial elections. (PNA)

proved ranking in the survey to her campaign sorties.

“Malapit na malapit na pero tingin ko naman, mabu-ti naman iyong naging re-sulta ng ilang buwan na pag-iikot,” she said.

“Iyong surveys kasi, na-pakahalaga din iyon kasi, iyon ang nag-ga-guide sa amin kung saan pa kami kailangang mag-ikot, kung saan kami mahina, saan kami malakas,” Robredo added.

Robredo is scheduled to attend an assembly of baran-gay leaders in Central Luzon on Monday with Roxas and President Benigno Aquino III. (MNS)

grudgingly issuing an apol-ogy over the rape comments.

He has also vowed to hold direct talks with China to resolve overlapping claims in the South China Sea, in a reversal of Aquino’s policy of multilateral discussions with other claimants and international arbitration.

Prior to the Manila rally, Duterte met late Friday with Eduardo Manalo, chief minister of the conservative religious group Church of Christ to seek the support of the infl uential organisation, known by its initials INC.

The group, which does not disclose its membership size, votes as one in line with what followers describe as biblical doctrines on unity. Politicians routinely make a beeline for its support during elections.

“I laid out my program to fi ght crime, illegal drugs and corruption.... Should God will me to win, I will fi ght for the rights as well as the religious freedom of millions of INC members,” Duterte said in a statement.

INC spokesmen confi rmed the meeting Saturday.

The Duterte meeting meant all four of the major presidential candidates have met with the INC leader.(MNS)

who was killed in a 1989 prison riot in Duterte’s own city.

His April 12 comments, in which he suggested that as mayor he should have been the fi rst in line to rape the victim, drew widespread public condemnation, in-cluding from the ambassa-dors of key allies the United States and Australia.

The unrepentant candi-date later told the envoys to “shut up” and steer clear of domestic politics, while also

chaotic, high-crime society with limited opportunities for a vast underclass work-ing for a tiny elite.

This was despite having called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” and making crass comments about the jail-house rape of an Australian lay Christian missionary

Speaking before ABS-CBN’s “Huling Harapan,” Manila Bulletin’s Leandro Coronel stressed that of all the candidates who partic-ipated in the debate, Dute-rte proved to be the clear winner.

“Duterte was not mor-tally wounded contrary to what we expected because of the issues (that have been thrown against him). The clear winner (in the debate) was Duterte,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, in Rappler’s blow-by-blow coverage of the debate, De La Salle Uni-versity assistant professor Richard Heydarian pointed out how the PDP-LABAN standard bearer was able

to show his political will in trying to address Mindan-ao’s enduring problem on terrorism.

“On that Mindanao issue, (Mayor Duterte) showed conviction,” Heydarian said.

In an opinion article pub-lished on Sunday, Inquirer columnist Randy David also gave his analysis on why many Filipino voters con-tinue to support Duterte’s presidential bid.

“Duterte’s rise has equal-ly been made possible by the grievances of Mindan-ao’s non-Muslim majority… Davao’s long-time mayor deftly articulates their sen-timents by harping on the big disparity between Min-

danao’s contribution to the country’s gross national product and the pittance it receives in internal revenue allotments. In this regard, Duterte’s rise mirrors the re-volt of the periphery,” David explained.

Despite the rise of count-less politicians who portray themselves as men of the masses, none of them chal-lenged the prevailing system the way the Davao mayor did.

“Duterte has made it a point to mock the system and its conventions, see-ing in its openings nothing more than channels through which to undermine it,” Da-vid stressed. (PNA)

Kagitingan at Mt. Samat, Bataan which will be the depository of the complete history of World War II in the Philippines. Step by step, slowly but surely, this dream is now becoming a reality,” said Usec. Carolina in his welcome message.

The digitization project was proposed by a former historical researcher, Ma-rie Vallejo. Along with her team, they began the under-taking last 2015.

Speaking about what led her to doing the project, Ms. Vallejo said: “Nine years ago, I embarked on a per-sonal quest to fi nd out what my father did during World War II…Continuing my search in the US, the US National Archives in Mary-land yielded a gold mine of Philippine WWII records called the Philippine Collec-tion composed of 1,665 boxes of primary source records of our World War II history.”

“This is just the begin-

ning. A pioneering team has successfully done the fi rst phase. There are more boxes of our history waiting to be digitized and brought back. Help us bring them home,” Vallejo added.

Orientation on how to search the digitized fi les in the Philippines Archives Collection portal was also conducted by PVAO Man-agement Information Divi-sion. Said portal is intended to be made part of PVAO website and will be installed in libraries and museums nationwide. PVAO, in coor-dination with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, also plans to make the fi le available at the Center for World War II Studies once it is established in Mt. Samat Shrine in Pi-lar, Bataan. The digitized collection includes memoirs of freedom fi ghters, offi cers, soldiers, and civilians. The digitized fi les were indexed and categorized into military units, regions, prominent leaders, personalities, anec-

dotes, historical chronology, timelines, among others.

The project output was collectively presented as the “Bgen. Francisco H. Licuanan, Jr. Collection,” in honor of the memory of the late BGen. Francisco H. Licuanan, Jr., the father of the project sponsor, Mr. Francisco H. Licuanan III.

In his message, Mr. Lic-uanan III said: “Hopefully, the results of this project will serve as a base for historians and historical writers to fi ll in some blanks in our na-tion’s history.” He also talk-ed about his recollections of his father: “Our father never talked that much about his exploits. It is only after Ma-rie chanced upon these re-cords that we found out that he was actually the head of his unit. I say this not to glo-rify what my father did but to say that there are so many vignettes of Filipino history that individual Filipinos can access and find out what their parents or grandpar-ents did,” he added. (PNA)

The aircraft can loiter near battle areas for ex-tended periods of time and operate in low ceiling and visibility conditions.

The wide combat radius and short takeoff and land-ing capability permit opera-tions in and out of locations near front lines.

Using night vision gog-gles, A-10 pilots can con-duct their missions during darkness.

Thunderbolt IIs have night vision imaging sys-tems (NVIS), goggle com-patible single-seat cockpits forward of their wings and a large bubble canopy which provides pilots all-around vision. The pilots are pro-tected by titanium armor that also protects parts of the fl ight-control system.

The redundant primary structural sections allow the aircraft to enjoy better survivability during close air support than the previous aircraft.

The A-10 can survive direct hits from armor-pierc-

ing and high explosive pro-jectiles up to 23mm.

Their self-sealing fuel cells are protected by inter-nal and external foam.

Manual systems back up their redundant hydraulic fl ight-control systems. This permits pilots to fly and land when hydraulic power is lost.

The A-10 has received many upgrades over the years. In 1978, the aircraft received the “Pave Penny” laser receiver pod, which sensed refl ected laser radia-tion from a laser designator.

“Pave Penney” has now been discontinued in favor more capable advanced tar-geting pods.

The A-10 began receiving an inertial navigation sys-tem in 1980.

Later, the low-altitude safety and targeting en-hancement (LASTE) up-grade provided computer-ized weapon-aiming equip-ment, an autopilot, and a ground-collision warning system. In 1999, aircraft

began to receive global po-sitioning system naviga-tion systems and a new multi-function display.

In 2005, the entire A-10 fleet began receiving the precision engagement up-grades that include an im-proved fi re control system, electronic countermeasures, upgraded cockpit displays, the ability to deliver smart bombs, moving map dis-play, hands on throttle and stick, digital stores man-agement, “LITENING” and “Sniper” advanced targeting pod integration, situational awareness data link (SADL), variable message format (VMF) and global position-ing system (GPS) guided weapons, and upgraded power systems.

The entire A-10 fl eet has been modifi ed through pre-cision engagement and now carries the A-10C designa-tion.

The Thunderbolt II can be serviced and operated from austere bases with limited facilities near battle areas.

obsession has now reached a point where non-candidates are being harassed. Since he did not get what he wanted when he attacked Sen. Poe, he is now on a rampage and unfairly harassing the family of Sen. Poe,” said Poe’s campaign spokesman Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian.

“This political oppression has to stop immediately. We are calling on Mr. Luna to spare private individuals and to focus the electoral discourse on important is-

sues facing our coun-try like poverty and unemployment,” he

added.Gatchalian also insisted

that Llamanzares is a natu-ral-born Filipino.

“Mr. Llamanzares is a natural born Filipino citizen, born to Filipino parents. The allegations of Mr. Luna are baseless lies concocted by a troubled mind,” Gatchalian said.

A former employee of di-versifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp., Llamanzares is a dual citizen of the US and the Philippines.

Poe, however, had said her husband is already in the process of giving up his American citizenship just like what she did in 2010 when she took up the post of chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classifi cation Board.

Sen. Francis Escudero, the running mate of Escu-dero, also insisted that Lla-manzares is a natural-born Filipino “having born of Fili-pino parents, and can stay as such as a dual citizen under Republic Act 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003.”