Maniolas

Convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Bugai SAN FRANCISCO –A jury on February 3 found Jeffrey Bugai, 36, of San Francisco, guilty on 17 felony counts, for he preying upon undocumented immigrants, with some of his crimes being committed with the use of a handgun and others by drugging the victims. “The facts of this case highlight why we desperately need immigration reform,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “When victims are afraid to come forward and cooperate with authorities because of their immigration status the whole community suffers,” Gascon explained. “Had some of the undocumented victims come forward earlier, authorities could have intervened and prevented others from being victimized by this predator,” he added. Evidence presented at trial showed that Bugai, a licensed security guard, would lure unsuspecting male victims to his house to sexually assault them. Bugai, under the color of authority, used a handgun to intimidate his victim on at least one occasion.  In other instances he drugged his victims in order to make them comply with his demands.  In one instance, Bugai used his fictitious authority to extort money from an unsuspecting victim. Bugai victimized five adult males between January 2008 and the end of March 2014.  The jury found him guilty of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, sodomy, assault, sexual battery, forcible oral copulation, attempted forcible oral copulation, false imprisonment, extortion and unlawfully administering a drug. He faces life in prison and will be sentenced on March 6. This successful prosecution would not have been possible without the hard work Read More …

Community advocates (from left): Rafael Morales,Wendy Ho, Gabriel de la Cruz and  Fahad Qurashi.  MOUNTAIN VIEW, California – Deadlier than a loan shark is the predatory payday lender. Both offer short term loans at extremely high interest rates, target the low income and keep them in a cycle of debt. But only the payday lender operates with varying degrees of legality, depending on which state they do business. Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) Economic Security Program Officer Rafael Morales said, “To give you a sense of this: there are more payday lenders in the US than there are McDonalds and there are more payday lenders than there are Starbucks. In California alone, the payday loan industry is about $3 billion a year.” Morales also said, “Until several years ago, the major banks were essentially funding a lot of these payday lenders. But most of the banks have gotten out of the payday lending business because of federal regulations.” Morales added that it grew out of the check-cashing model, and the SVCF didn’t tackle the issue until 2009. United Way Silicon Valley Advocacy & Public Policy Manager Wendy Ho, a Filipino-Chinese stated, “I think payday loans really came about in the 1990s with the downturn of the economy when people really started looking for quick cash fixes. Desperate times called for desperate measures to make ends meet.” Morales explained that some immigrants, not necessarily undocumented, bring their grave mistrust of banks when they come to the US and prefer to stash their Read More …

SAN FRANCISCO — There’s a new face for the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign in this city. The Philippine Consulate General here welcomed Purificacion Suanding-Molintas, a native of Baguio City, who arrived January 26 to take over the tourism attaché post previously held for nearly two decades by Rene de los Santos. Molintas was introduced to the local media over lunch at Patio Filipino in San Bruno. In an interview with Manila Mail, Molintas explained that De los Santos’ departure is “part of the reorganization the government is doing for the rationalization. I think all the government agencies are doing rationalization at hindi naiiba ang DOT [and the DOT is no different].” Though Molintas has been to San Francisco four times, this is her first overseas posting. She has a term of three years, which could be extended for up to six years. DOT has three offices in the US: SF, Los Angeles and New York City. The jurisdiction of SF includes the west of California, up north all the way to Canada, Alaska and a portion of the Midwest. “Although we have our own jurisdiction, we have to coordinate closely with each other since the flights are interrelated among these three cities,” Molintas said. DOT aims to bring in 10 million foreign tourists to the Philippines by the end of 2016. “We’re about 60 percent right now,” she said. “But of course there are international challenges, issues that we have to hurdle.” New Read More …

LOS ANGELES — The Obama administration has ordered immigration officials to find out if undocumented immigrants they encounter are eligible for President Barack Obama’s recent plans to spare them from deportation. Agents at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been instructed “to immediately begin identifying persons in their custody, as well as newly encountered persons” who may qualify for protection from being deported, the Associated Press reported. The move complements Obama’s plan to focus resources on deporting immigrants who have serious criminal records or pose a threat to public safety or national security. Those whose sole offense is staying in the country illegally are not supposed to be a priority. The new order also marks a big change, as it has been the responsibility of immigrants or their attorneys to secure their own protection against deportation. Even with the recent change, immigrants caught crossing the border illegally are still a top priority, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Carlos Diaz. One of the training documents issued lists encounter scenarios between agents and immigrants, and outlines the way in which agents should proceed. It also includes a checklist of questions to help figure out if immigrants are eligible for Obama’s new plan. Crystal Williams, executive director for the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, told the Associated Press that the training will assist the government in its goal to filter those who should not be a priority. She also told the news agency that this is the Read More …

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO WASHINGTON, DC –Leaders of Filipino-American organizations lauded a bill that would amend the Immigration Act of 1990, which led to the naturalization of Filipino World War II veterans but did not apply to their spouses and children. The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) commended Congressman Mark Takai (Dem-Hawaii) for introducing the bill known as the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act of 2015 (HR 483). “We thank Congressman Takai for resuming previous efforts to reunite Filipino veterans with their families, many of whom have been waiting for more than 20 years to obtain a green card,” says NaFFAA National Chair JT Mallonga. “Because of numerical limits in the 1990 law, children of Filipino World War II veterans have had to wait up to 23 years to come to the US,” Mallonga added. “Our veterans are in their late 80s and early 90s and being separated from their loved ones is a big sacrifice. We hope Congress will act on this bipartisan bill soon, as a humanitarian gesture and as a way of thanking our veterans for their own sacrifice and service during the war.” The organization also thanked Rep. Joseph Heck (GOP-Nevada) for co-sponsoring the measure. This latest initiative comes on the heels of another legislative proposal by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, Sen. Dean Heller and US Rep. Grace Meng to ensure that Filipino World War II veterans receive their rightful benefits. Called “The Filipino Veterans Promise Amendment,” the bill would provide Filipino World War II Read More …