Maniolas

Daly City Councilor Ron Canepa Daly City Councilor Mike Guingona DALY CITY, California — The election for San Mateo County’s District 5 seat is not happening till June of 2016, but two incumbent Daly City council members are already positioning for the Filipino vote, including that of Daly City Mayor Ray Buenaventura. Councilmembers David Canepa and Mike Guingona, both also former mayors of Daly City, are eyeing the post currently held by Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, whose four-year term ends next year. Daly City, where more than 55 percent of residents are Asian, is one of the biggest Fil-Am enclaves in the United States. Along with Colma, Brisbane, unincorporated Broadmoor and a portion of South San Francisco, it is part of San Mateo County’s District 5. On two separate occasions last week, Manila Mail had the opportunity to sit down with Canepa and Guingona, who have served together on the Daly City council for seven years but have known each other longer. Canepa was first elected as a councilmember in 2008, while Guingona became the first FilAm to be elected to the Daly City council in 1993 and the city’s first Filipino mayor three years later. Asian face As a favorite of the Fil-Am community, Guingona inspires dreams of finally having an Asian face on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. A team of Fil-Am supporters joined Manila Mail’s meeting with Guingona. They were: Daly City’s Planning Commissioner Ray Satorre and Bradley Roxas, former library commissioner; Walter Batara, Association of Read More …

WASHINGTON – DNA tests indicate one of the United States’ “most wanted terrorists,” Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was possibly killed in a raid by police in the Philippines last week, the FBI said on Wednesday. The results of the tests conducted by the FBI “do not provide absolute identification,” said David Bowdich, assistant director for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. Bowdich said a sample of biological matter gathered from the scene of the Jan. 25 raid and analyzed by the FBI resembles bin Hir’s DNA. Further tests are being carried out to fully verify the identity of the sample. The FBI had offered $5 million for the arrest of bin Hir, a Malaysian member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah militant group behind numerous bombing attacks in the Philippines. The raid to arrest bin Hir and another militant went awry, and 44 police were killed. The FBI said it had no prior knowledge of the raid. The clash shattered a three-year ceasefire between Philippines police and Muslim rebels in the south of the country. It also dealt a temporary setback to peace talks, Manila’s chief peace negotiator said on Saturday, appealing for renewed efforts to keep the process on track.  — Reuters

The suspended head of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force apparently took exception to the claims of the Armed Forces that there was inadequate coordination on the part of the police commandos that resulted in the huge number of casualties during the Mamasapano operation.  Director Getulio Napeñas said the PNP-SAF went by the rules that say coordination may be made before or during a mission. He said he would have kept silent until AFP officials made claims that apparently put the police in bad light. He added that the PNP-SAF repeatedly sent the coordinates of the embattled commandos to the military in the area. This was in contrast to the military’s claim that it was ready to assist in the operation but couldn’t do so because it was unaware where the commandos were. “Minabuti ko na hindi muna magsasalita dahil  gusto kong hintayin, bigyan natin ng galang yung board of inquiry pero dahil sa nga statements na lumabas ngayon lang na sinisira na yung puri ng director ng SAF pati na yung SAF, at boung kapulisan, kapag hindi ako magsasalita, magkakaroon ng public opinion,” Napeñas said. “Magse-set  in yan. Para magkaroon lang ng balance at sana amg pinakamaganda ay intayin natin yung resuta ng board of inquiry para sag anon yung ang magpapatunay kung ano ang tunay na nangyari,” he added. He asked the public to give due credit to the police commandos in the operation that netted the death of suspected international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan. “Nais Read More …

popular Aquino knew of Mamasapano mission; Purisima called the shots – SAF chief Poe says Purisima must explain role in ‘Oplan Wolverine” Maguindanao bomb expert on US wanted list The ballad of Rey Valera Mamasapano: From peaceful community to land of conflict Slain SAF officer planned to marry fiancée next year Purisima’s call AMLC shows how Jinggoy Estrada got Napoles ‘kickbacks’ videos MNLF: Mamasapano clash not a massacre, both sides fought valiantly Widow wants ‘all-out war’ against SAF 44 killers Bongbong urges gov’t, MILF: Develop trust in each other’s intentions Pasay court clears Abalos in electoral sabotage case Santiago: President Aquino may be charged before ICC MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis has said that he will never forget how Leyteños showed faith and endurance during his short visit to the province last January 17. In a letter sent to Palo Archbishop John Du dated January 21, Pope Francis said that he would continue to include the Leyte faithful in his prayers. “I thank you, too wholeheartedly, for the witness of faith and endurance which your people showed me in the midst of trials. I will never forget this—may the Lord never permit to—and I will keep them in my prayers,” the Pope said. The Supreme Pontiff apologized anew for his shortened visit in the province. Pope Francis waves as he leaves Tacloban, Philippines, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. AP FILE PHOTO “I was deeply saddened that the weather warning forced us to anticipate our departure by four hours; this prevented a Read More …

Expat Rovaira Dasig Rovaira Dasig remembers when she first saw Monday Street and the house in Mandaluyong to where her mother had been sending balikbayan boxes packed with American goods for as long as she could remember. “I felt really tall,” Dasig, who stands about five-foot-three, says. The roads were cramped, the rooms were tiny, the ceilings low, everyone was shorter than she was. She saw a kid pooping in the street. The houses were made of exposed cement blocks, cobbled together as materials became available. Everything was bathed in the cold, dim light of cheap fluorescent bulbs. That neighborhood, where she might have grown up if her mother hadn’t made their way to the United States, isn’t a slum. The people who live there own their homes and have decent, working-class jobs. But it’s a far cry from where she grew up in America. The small town where her mother eventually settled the family sits at the foot of Mount Rainier, outside Seattle. The air was clean, and it was the sort of place that had homecoming football games, county fairs and Daffodil Princess contests. It was a place where Dasig could grow up and be class president and valedictorian, then study economics at Wellesley College, the elite East Coast institution. The Pulse website at http://pulse.ph/ (Source: pulse.ph) Binan-born Dasig, 26, was born in Biñan, Laguna, and moved to America as a toddler. Her life has followed the trajectory imagined by every Filipino ever to have applied for an immigrant visa at the US Read More …