MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By  

AG Ernie D. Delfin

Newport Irvine Rotary Club

District  Chapter Development Chair

                                     “ I  cried and cried because I have no shoes

                                             until I saw a man  with no feet at all!”

                                                                                           --- An old Hindu proverb

               My life’s journey  so far has been exciting and wonderful considering my humble beginnings in a farm village in the Philippines where there was not even electricity till I was in high school and where our knowledge of another world was only glimpsed through the pages of a book.  Visualize this daily occurrence:  there was no TV in the entire village and only a few families owned transistor radios.  Like in the camp grounds,  we used firewood to cook our daily food (and that was three times a day!) but we survived!  Miraculously, to this day, we have dozens in our family tree who are now over 100 years and many of them never visited the hospital!  Many  people there were probably healthier than the average  resident of Orange County.  To this date,  the village where I was born has  no psychiatrists,  marriage counselors  or  massage therapists  unlike  our  opulent Orange County that the rest of the world that has TV envies!  (Update as of today:   most  families now have TVs, satellite dish,  cell phones  and internet access  courtesy of  a globalized economy.)

               With that background,  my life in Orange County is completely “different”  in terms of  material comforts  YET    it does not necessarily follow that I am happier nor more fulfilled because of those “things”…It only means that NOW I can suffer in comfort!   For instance, now  I complain about terrible traffic, three  decades or so ago, our family did not even a car!  To have our drinking water, we had to pump a well, now we just get bottled water from  the refrigerator.   Yes,  that indomitable  American spirit that there is a better way led to the creation of many  things that benefited the world.  That the American dream in each one of us made the world better  in so many ways!  But not in all aspects of our lives,  I think. 

                As I travel back to the Philippines and  also visit other countries,  there seems to be a  sense of   contentment and happiness of  people in these third world countries despite what they have or what they do not  possess compared to us in America.   As I have  seen  the socio economic conditions  of the very poor and the very rich,   I  am inclined that  mysteriously there is that degree of happiness and  human fulfillment that is not only really measured in terms of material opulence  but  also in  many   aspects beyond matter.  This observation  is confirmed everytime I attend a Rotary meeting in any club in any city or country.   Whenever  we Rotarians talk,  share what we  do (utilizing  our time, talent and treasure)  with  our local or international communities  to help alleviate the sufferings of the least  of our brothers and sisters,  we become  human BEINGS,     not just robots or machines producing things.   There is so much to be done in our world and  there is a great need for more Rotarians  to do what Rotarians do best: Service to Humanity as the best work of life.  Indeed,  as America’s  foremost guru, Dr. Steven R. Covey  writes that   there comes a time when a man craves and is drawn to  a life that is more balanced in the four quadrants of his being:   physically (TO LIVE),  mentally (TO LEARN) socially (TO LOVE) and spiritually (TO LEAVE A LEGACY).   I  believe that as many Rotarians pass the mid century mark of  their earthly existence, the last quadrant, leaving  a legacy,  becomes a great motivator  for them to do more Service Above Self.   As a  Rotarian,  I  am also doing what I am doing because I love doing it,  not  in the quest for human applause but simply to leave the world a better place for my children and their children.

           At this stage of my life when my two children are now adults,  I can now understand and appreciate  different kinds of books like  “Purpose Drive Life”  authored by Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren and “Mans Search for Meaning” by a Holocaust Survivor Dr. Victor Frankl   and many other books with  spiritually sprinkled  messages.   Twenty five  years ago  I  was fascinated with  and devoured hundreds of books like   “Art of the Deal”  by Donald Trump and  “Nothing Down” by Allen  and “Speed of Thought” by Bill Gates,  and many  books on how wealth is created.   When all is said and done, however,   I believe that this kind of  profound metamorphosis  happens to any normal  man once he  is reminded and accepts  his own mortality!

            To end this column,  let me share one definition of success that I see every day that  is hanging in my home office,  to sum it all:

WHAT IS SUCCESS?

You can use most any measure

When you’re speaking of success.

You can measure it in fancy home,

Expensive car or dress.

But the measure of your real success

Is the one you cannot spend.

It’s the way your kids describe you

       When they talking to a friend!                                                           

                                                                                     ---by  Martin Buxbaum

                                                                 --- 3 0 -

MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By  

AG Ernie D. Delfin

Newport Irvine Rotary Club

District  Chapter Development Chair

MAN’S  SEARCH FOR MEANING

                                     “ I  cried and cried because I have no shoes

                                             until I saw a man  with no feet at all!”

                                                                                           --- An old Hindu proverb

               My life’s journey  so far has been exciting and wonderful considering my humble beginnings in a farm village in the Philippines where there was not even electricity till I was in high school and where our knowledge of another world was only glimpsed through the pages of a book.  Visualize this daily occurrence:  there was no TV in the entire village and only a few families owned transistor radios.  Like in the camp grounds,  we used firewood to cook our daily food (and that was three times a day!) but we survived!  Miraculously, to this day, we have dozens in our family tree who are now over 100 years and many of them never visited the hospital!  Many  people there were probably healthier than the average  resident of Orange County.  To this date,  the village where I was born has  no psychiatrists,  marriage counselors  or  massage therapists  unlike  our  opulent Orange County that the rest of the world that has TV envies!  (Update as of today:   most  families now have TVs, satellite dish,  cell phones  and internet access  courtesy of  a globalized economy.)

               With that background,  my life in Orange County is completely “different”  in terms of  material comforts  YET    it does not necessarily follow that I am happier nor more fulfilled because of those “things”…It only means that NOW I can suffer in comfort!   For instance, now  I complain about terrible traffic, three  decades or so ago, our family did not even a car!  To have our drinking water, we had to pump a well, now we just get bottled water from  the refrigerator.   Yes,  that indomitable  American spirit that there is a better way led to the creation of many  things that benefited the world.  That the American dream in each one of us made the world better  in so many ways!  But not in all aspects of our lives,  I think. 

                As I travel back to the Philippines and  also visit other countries,  there seems to be a  sense of   contentment and happiness of  people in these third world countries despite what they have or what they do not  possess compared to us in America.   As I have  seen  the socio economic conditions  of the very poor and the very rich,   I  am inclined that  mysteriously there is that degree of happiness and  human fulfillment that is not only really measured in terms of material opulence  but  also in  many   aspects beyond matter.  This observation  is confirmed everytime I attend a Rotary meeting in any club in any city or country.   Whenever  we Rotarians talk,  share what we  do (utilizing  our time, talent and treasure)  with  our local or international communities  to help alleviate the sufferings of the least  of our brothers and sisters,  we become  human BEINGS,     not just robots or machines producing things.   There is so much to be done in our world and  there is a great need for more Rotarians  to do what Rotarians do best: Service to Humanity as the best work of life.  Indeed,  as America’s  foremost guru, Dr. Steven R. Covey  writes that   there comes a time when a man craves and is drawn to  a life that is more balanced in the four quadrants of his being:   physically (TO LIVE),  mentally (TO LEARN) socially (TO LOVE) and spiritually (TO LEAVE A LEGACY).   I  believe that as many Rotarians pass the mid century mark of  their earthly existence, the last quadrant, leaving  a legacy,  becomes a great motivator  for them to do more Service Above Self.   As a  Rotarian,  I  am also doing what I am doing because I love doing it,  not  in the quest for human applause but simply to leave the world a better place for my children and their children.

           At this stage of my life when my two children are now adults,  I can now understand and appreciate  different kinds of books like  “Purpose Drive Life”  authored by Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren and “Mans Search for Meaning” by a Holocaust Survivor Dr. Victor Frankl   and many other books with  spiritually sprinkled  messages.   Twenty five  years ago  I  was fascinated with  and devoured hundreds of books like   “Art of the Deal”  by Donald Trump and  “Nothing Down” by Allen  and “Speed of Thought” by Bill Gates,  and many  books on how wealth is created.   When all is said and done, however,   I believe that this kind of  profound metamorphosis  happens to any normal  man once he  is reminded and accepts  his own mortality!

            To end this column,  let me share one definition of success that I see every day that  is hanging in my home office,  to sum it all:

WHAT IS SUCCESS?

You can use most any measure

When you’re speaking of success.

You can measure it in fancy home,

Expensive car or dress.

But the measure of your real success

Is the one you cannot spend.

It’s the way your kids describe you

       When they talking to a friend!                                                           

                                                                                     ---by  Martin Buxbaum

                                                                 --- 3 0 -

RESOLUTIONS (SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS AS WE AGE)

The Metamorphosis

By Ernie Delfin, PP

Fountain Valley Rotary Club

District 5320, Southern California, USA

RANDOM THOUGHTS AS WE AGE

  FOR THE NEW YEAR 

         Another year,  are you still making another set of New Year’s  Resolution?   Many people do.

      About twenty years ago, I stopped making them. Instead,  daily after my  personalized morning prayers,  I  remind myself that today may be the last day of my earthly life, that whatever work I do for the day is  also a  form of a prayer, an offering to serve my own God and my fellowmen. Unconsciously, I direct my life’s true north compass daily to a framed   “RESOLUTION” (below) that hangs in my office.

             How about you,  as one human being,   or as a Rotarian?  Many of us seem dead at age 40 but only buried at age 80!  Some of us contribute our energy (or the lack of it) to our own clubs or any organization,  and cumulatively that degree of  positive (negative) energy sipped into our own clubs  and soon it contaminates others  and then our club declines and for some  weaker clubs they even die from man-made causes of death.

              I am glad and have been blest  that on my own way to heaven here on earth I have met many interesting, lively, inspiring  individuals  in and out Rotary who have contaminated me with their vigor, spirit and love for life.  One man I admire and respect is one who was not degreed (no college diploma) but quite educated about life and living, who told me early on,  here in America that education happens every day,  even outside the classroom. The secret to success and fulfillment he shared with me is to be forever curious and excited all the time,  like a toddler with a new toy,  and become  passionate with a new cause and/or  engaged in noble projects that also benefit others aside from one self.  There should be a great project year after year,  like an African safari or a religious pilgrimage that you totally engaged and excited just preparing for it.   That is a very demanding  formula but it is not impossible to do.    I have applied that formula for several years    now and it worked for me.

 * * *  

            Decades ago,  sources of our  excitement were different as younger people tend to be more materialistic and motivated by physical attributes.   To be young means you feel  invincible.  Trappings of worldly success such as new car, a bigger home, yachts, expensive vacations, excite many people.  After 60,  those “things” appear less important.  I think I now understand why.  But there are still  many people,  however,  who  grew older but never matured nor have become wiser.  Bereft of spirituality or a sense of ethics and morality, they were caught in their own cobwebs of false pride and  materialism, wearing their invisible masks daily pretending that they  were super rich to be a able to buy  their way out.    For instance, lately I knew a few educated people, M.D.’s at that,  in  their sixties and seventies who were still trying to prove to themselves that they were invincible by trying to out-smart the USA’s  Medicare system and continued to bilk the system via fraudulent Medicare billings. But  lo and behold, they were finally caught and finally been convicted.  I really pity these people, (two are even  a husband and wife team)  as they will experience wearing those colorful   prisoners’  garbs  in their senior citizen years. Very sad.  (If you want to know more details, email me and I will email you back the court docket  numbers and/or  L.A. Times stories)

        When we become older (hopefully wiser)  we begin to realize that  many things are not that important after all.  Other intangible things appear  to manifest and become  more important, like our families and friends, our good health and balanced  social and spiritual life. When we see our children and their own children playing,   we are reminded daily  of  our faded youth.    Even our theme songs change from  “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and other  energetic songs like ”Let’s Do it, Baby”  to nostalgic songs like   “Remember When”  or  The Impossible Dream” by Frank Sinatra.  

         At 60,  our vocabulary or topics of conversations also metamorphose  from career paths to  our kids education and now what healthy maintenance pills  we are   taking!  At 65,  we feel so guilty  not at home at 7:00 pm whereas at 21,  we were  just preparing to leave home  at 7 :00 pm  to hang out with friends.   Our life’s  paradigm  and the same world seem different with another eyeglasses that offer you  another perspectives.   And with that change,  we relive what our  own parents   often told  us “Wait till you become  a parent yourself”.  For some of us, that is now being relieved by our   own children  who do not yet understand our own parental “wisdom”.

        Ah, life is indeed a mystery to be lived, and not a problem to be solved…. That is the way it was, the way it is and the way it will be.    Life simply is. 

         When you are gone, the world will continue as if you never lived on this planet… unless you are truly missed by those whom you have touched. And that is one area that true Rotarians are doing everyday to leave a legacy, to make this world a  better place than we found it.  Service Above Self as we Rotarians Share with our thinking, time, talent and treasures.  And as Socrates admonished centuries ago,  An unexamined life is not worth living for.  That should be our “New Year’s Resolution”  today and everyday!

        Happy and Prosperous and Peace 2008 everyone!

        Now here is :

R   E   S  O   L  U  T   I   O  N   S

By Lloyd Shearer

 No one will ever get out of this world alive.

 Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable

                sense of values.

Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s

          major source of wealth.

Without it, happiness is almost impossible.

Resolve to be cheerful & helpful. People will repay you in kind.

Avoid angry, abrasive persons. They are generally vengeful.

Avoid zealots.  They are generally humorless.

Resolve to listen more & to talk less.

No one ever learns anything by talking.

Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it

        and fools won’t heed it.

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,      

       sympathetic with the striving & tolerant of the weak and strong.  Sometime in life you will have been all of these.

Do not equate money with success.

 There are many successful money-makers who are miserable

                    failures as human beings.

What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.

                              ----     The end

---

Email writer:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com

                      or     edelfin@blueoceanmarketingandconsulting.com 

TO LIVE, TO LEARN, TO LOVE & TO LEAVE A LEGACY (3rd of Coming Home articles)

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By

Ernie D. Delfin

TO LIVE, TO LEARN, TO LOVE  &  TO LEAVE A LEGACY

(3^rd of ‘Coming Home” series of articles)

“I have always dreamed of the sweetness of a rose,

                                         but I forgot that  a rose is full of thorns!”     --- By Author 

                   In his classic book “As a Man Thinketh”, James Allen  wrote that what a man thinks and holds true to his heart, so he will become.   Oftentimes, a man’s constant dreams  becomes prophetic  as his  dreams propel him to live out  and work passionately towards it. Thousands of people, living or dead, like Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln,  Mahatma Gandhi or  Mother Teresa  have accomplished so much for humanity who were driven to do what they did,  not for the material riches  but to leave this world a better place than they found it.  Probably no one among us can  be another Lincoln, Gandhi,  Mandela nor Mother Teresa, but we can be the best we can be to make a difference,  like my friends,  Tony Meloto (founder of Gawad Kalinga) and Alex Lacson (founder of Kabayanihan Foundation and author of ’12 Little Things that a Filipino can do for his country” series)

                  This year, as I entered another phase of life, as a cancer survivor,  I have resolved to do what matters most to do my own share of “Living, Learning, Loving and Leaving a Legacy, the four quadrants (physical, mental, social and spiritual) of a balanced life according to America’s foremost guru, Dr. Steven R. Covey, who died this year at 79. (Bless his soul!)  According to the Good Book,  what matters most is never the accumulation of material wealth like millions of people from America to Zimbabwe (including many Filipino public and private leaders) do  but  what we accomplish  during our lifetime that  really  impact others’ lives  positively when we are  gone.   Indeed,  that sobering thought inspired me to continue what I am doing in my church as a Peace & Justice (Prison) Ministry volunteer, a columnist-writer, and also as a Rotary leader, despite occasional human disappointments and “ is it worth it” questioning moments.  In silent prayer, I promised to myself and to the spirits of my departed parents when  I visited their humble tombs along side my two sisters’ resting place  in my hometown of Laoac, Pangasinan, last month.  With nostalgic memories of their short life on this earth, they have indeed  in their humble ways positively contributed  much in the improvement of their  community as well as in the betterment of the lives of their  children and their grand children  through their life’s   example of industry and integrity.                 

           During my recent 5-week-trip to my homeland, the Philippines,  I have travelled to many places and met hundreds of people, but let me take especial mention of two people who are also charter members of  Global Kalinga e-Rotary Club that I founded officially a year ago this month. First is Tony Meloto, who is possibly the most trusted Filipino at this time, despite that he has no official government  title except the fact that his name is now synonymous to Gawad Kalinga, the Asian version of  Habitat for Humanity that started in the Philippines about 10 years ago.  GK’s vision is to build a nation, empowered by people with faith and patriotism; a nation made up of caring and sharing communities, dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity. Its mission is to end  poverty for 5 million poor families by 2024: Land for the Landless. Homes for the Homeless. Food for the Hungry.

           I first heard and met Mr. Meloto around 2004 when our Rotary Club of Cerritos where I was its Centennial president donated $1,000 for one house, then,  built in the GK-Rotary International-Brookside Village in Quezon City.  With occasional visits to GK villages, I was hooked of helping this fine organization in not only building houses, but building communities and empowering people. Last month,  I was privileged to be Tony Meloto’s guest together with another Rotarian friend, Jess Cifra, the immediate Past District Governor of QC’s District 3780, in GK’s Enchanted Farms, another GK innovative model of a viable  entrepreneurial agri-business  in the town of Angat, Bulacan.   With the great reputation of Gawad Kalinga worldwide,  Tony told us that multi-national corporations (MNC), from Shell to Hyundai to E-Bay, as well as dozen foundations and several European countries are now actively  supporting the GK Movement to empower the poor to become more self-sufficient and economically independent.

            Major corporations now have become Gawad Kalinga’s  partners in empowering  millions of poor people, the primary beneficiaries of GK, to earn more, and eventually they too become  consumers and clients of these MNC supporters.  To see is to believe, so I respectfully recommend highly to all my readers, especially those in America who may be travelling to the Philippines to take time out of their hedonistic shopping or just visiting and eating with friends to visit  Enchanted Farm, that no less than President Noynoy Aquino  has visited this model farm a few times. (Email me and I can help arrange your visit to this Enchanted Farm of Gawad Kalinga)

        The fruits of Tony Meloto’s vision of one man, propelled by his dream of ‘Walang Iwanan’   and “Less for Self and More for others”  which are  quite parallel to our Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”,   are causing ripple effects beyond the shores of the Philippines. Countries like Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Europe Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and the USA are catching the GK phenomenon and many of them have adopted the  GK model in their serious fight against poverty. Please visit www.gk1world.com  or www.gk-us.org  or email me how you can also be involved in Gawad Kalinga or in our Global Kalinga e-Rotary Club, www.gkerotary.com.           

                                                             ****

         Another Filipino bayani, worth working with is Alexander Lacson,  another  unsung hero,  whose  series  “12 Little Things” book about the Filipino people, his culture and his country is becoming a best seller author among Filipinos as well as  Filipino expatriates.   Although a lawyer by profession, Alex is fast  becoming more of a popular author and speaker than a lawyer,  having written 5 books so far and now  have over 200 speaking engagements a year!   He founded a foundation which promotes KaBayanihan as Culture of Greatness for the Filipino KaBayanihan  (www.kabayanihan.org)  that is anchored on Kapatiran and Bayanihan, two old but beautiful values of our people since the olden times.  He believes deep in his heart that KaBayanihan should be the cultural anchor of the Filipino people  that can bring out the “Kapatid and the Bayani” in every Filipino wherever he resides  in the world!

              Meeting him twice for dinner, we had many hours just sharing dreams and projects, and in my own little ways to help him spread his message,  I am promoting his books in North America.  For a small donation to our Foundation for Next Generation,  I can send you his latest book, “12 WONDERFUL THINGS about the Filipino and our Motherland,  for your Thanksgiving  or Christmas gift giving.  (Just  email me at ernie.delfin@gmail.com)

                                  *****

           Last, but not the least, let me also plug in our very own   GK e-Rotary Club’s  flagship project,  Entrepreneurship Development 4 Socioeconomic Advancement (nicknamed EDSA, the new revolution)  a entrepreneurship training program for the Filipino Youth, which we will launch next year with a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation, with partnership with dozen of Rotary Clubs in the Philippines, like Metro Baguio Rotary Club, San Pablo City Rotary Club, Dagupan City Rotary, and dozen of Rotary Clubs in the United States.

          With the rapid rise of unemployment and underemployment of millions of people around the world, especially among the youth,  Rotary International has made Entrepreneurship and Job Creation as its 6^th Avenue of Service and has allocated millions of dollars towards this top priority.  Even the World Bank is now fully supportive  through their  lending programs and humanitarian grants  towards  entrepreneurial initiatives especially  in third world countries to hasten the development and creation of  jobs for the teeming millions of people who are entering the workforce every day. Without jobs and economic opportunities to keep them busy and productive, these educated but restless youth will cause more Arab Springs in the world due  very easily as they use all the social tools of their generation to be  connected with their unemployed peers.   

             Our young GK e-Rotary Club has sent three of our members to Nigeria last summer as a part of the Entrepreneurial Training Team, with a $50,000 Rotary Matching Grant with the active participation of District 5300 in California and they have initially trained, (Part 1) over 4,000 college students. With the local Rotary Club partners in Nigeria, business plans are now being collected and  professionally evaluated and selected  for implementation, as Part 2 of this Rotary Entrepreneurial project.

           The primary purpose of my recent trip in the Philippines was to identify and solidify this EDSA Training project  with our local  Philippine Rotary clubs as the project partners of our GK e-Rotary Club. The  training module is now being refined to be ready for implementation by mid next year. We plan to have a minimum of two pilots, one in District 3790, possibly Baguio City or Dagupan City or Urdaneta City as a venue) and another pilot center in District 3820, San Pablo City, Laguna as the venue.  An urban model is also being prepared for Quezon City where our District 3780 is situated.   There will be at least 5 retired Rotarian  entrepreneurs and businesspeople from the United States to assist our Philippine Rotarian entrepreneur-trainers  counterpart.

              The training module  that is being seriously considered is to present and market this Rotary pilot project to a couple  thousand of college age youth, 18 to 25 years old,  and select no more than ten percent for an intensive month long “HOW TO” training, and go into the fine details of a successful business enterprise from aptitude-personality  testing, to detailed business plans, accounting, budgeting, management, manpower, marketing and financing the business.  With the computer facilities of a few of our  local partners, like ATIKHA and MSC College in San Pablo City and other universities, we intend to match  each student (mentee) based on his or her profile and business plans to an appropriate ONLINE mentor in North America (or anywhere in the world) to have a one-on-one  mentor-mentee relationship for at least one year that we in Rotary will try to  oversee, monitor and evaluate.  We believe based on some models that we have seen that this personalized mentoring  will lead to a higher success ratio of the would-be-entrepreneur, especially if the motivated mentor can assist in the financing and marketing aspect of the new business, which are perceived to be the top challenges of any new enterprise.

               As in any  Matching Grant application to the Rotary Foundation, we the participating Rotary Clubs are now raising the seed money, which we have to have in 90 days or so, that will be approximately be a third of our $50,000  goal which is about $17,000.  We  have already pledges of approximately half of that amount, but we still  need more generous supporters and partners to raise another $8,000. Any generous reader or organization  out there that  can contribute towards the realization of this ambitious and noble project  is very much welcome.  Contributions to this Rotary Foundation Matching grant are tax deductible donations in the USA  and can also count towards a Paul Harris Fellow recognition by  Rotary International.

                 For more details, please contact this writer-Rotarian.

                                                                 ---  3  0 ----

The Metamorphosis Food for Thought:

         “We make a living by what we get,

              We make a life by what we give!”   ---- Winston Churchill

      

Email writer:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com  and drbannatiran@yahoo.com

DEATH COMES LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

A VOICE FROM AMERICA By ERNIE D. DELFIN COMMODORE RAMON A. ALCARAZ (Ret) JOINS MAX V. SOLIVEN, EVELIO JAVIER, NINOY AQUINO AND OTHER FREEDOM LOVING FRIENDS IN THE LIFE BEYOND June 2009 was a very unusual month for me in Southern California. Instead of starting to enjoy the start of summer doing things that I cannot do months ago, like gardening, picnicking or biking to the beach, it is very sad month with a couple of shocking news, the untimely deaths of two great friends of mine, two very warm, intelligent, witty and caring human beings whom I dearly loved and admired. On June 8th, my spiritual confidant-counselor and friend, Franciscan friar-author, Emery Tang died and then followed by Commodore Ramon A. Alcaraz (ret.) who was not just a client but a father figure to me and a very close friend. His daughter, Ramona “Monet” Alcaraz-Marshall told me that his loving dad “chose to die with a big BANG” on June 25th, the same day when the King of Pop Music, Michael Jackson died at 50! The Commodore was just about two months shy before his 94th birthday on August 31st. When this issue of the STAR comes out (Sunday, July 5th) many of us, friends and family of Commodore Ramon “Monching” Alcaraz will be visiting him to pay our last respects at the Fairhaven Mortuary in Santa Ana, California, to be followed by a funeral mass and burial on Monday morning, July 6th, at the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in the City of Orange where the Alcaraz family live the last several decades. Since the Marcos Martial law era, whenever the late ‘Uncle’ Max Soliven visited California, Max, the Commodore and I always got together and spent many hours just talking and enjoying each others company. We had so much in common: zest for life, love for politics (and women…just kidding!) and good conversation coupled with uncommon wit and sense of humor, laughing and often oblivious of time and the craziness of the world around us. The three of us cherished and yearned for the return of the old fashioned conservative values of the Filipinos of yesteryears. Those values appear to be vanishing with the gradual demise of their generation. Although I am much younger than they were, I am quite blessed and privileged to have known these two Filipino icons (and others) quite close and personal. Who can replace them to share more insights and wisdom into my own life and the life of others whom they may have touched? Death is still a great mystery to me. Although I accept my own mortality, I am still scared about death simply because I will be forced to go through a morbid process I have never experienced before. It seems to me that death comes when everybody around you is relatively happy, when the promise of the future appears brighter and more promising. For instance, a week before Father Emery died, we had an unusually long lunch at our favorite dim sum restaurant in Little Saigon, Westminster, California, with my wife Benita, Father Wayne Adajar, Milette Estrada, who is coordinating our Glorious Italy Tour (Rome, Assisi and other shrines) next September, where Father Emery was also scheduled to join us. That last meeting was quite extraordinary because it lasted over three hours that included with an unscheduled visit to my farmyard, sharing our mutual love for gardening and nature. To this date, I am still in denial because I will absolute miss our monthly lunches that have started many years ago. Now, my client and above all my friend, Commodore Alcaraz is also gone to the life beyond where there is no more physical suffering and pain. Born from a modest family in Bulacan, he went to school through “boxing scholarships” and belonged to the first batch of graduates of the Philippine Military Academy in 1940, before the outbreak of WW II. The Commodore rose through the ranks that culminated with his appointment as Commodore of the Phil. Navy by Pres. Macapagal, only to be fired by the Pres. Marcos in 1965. The Commodore belonged to an era when the Philippines was a much different country than what it is today, considering what the country is ashamedly undergoing through economically, educationally and politically. Like Ninoy Aquino, Evelio Javier and Max Soliven, Commodore Alcaraz died without witnessing the dawn of Philippine Renaissance in the socio-economic and political arena that they have actively advocated during their lifetimes. His generation suffered much during the Japanese occupation and WW II (like Benito Soliven, the father of Uncle Max) but his generation, in my view, was the golden era of the Philippine society as the words “palabra de honor” (word of honor) or “delicadeza” (propriety) and true public service were the norm. I had a brief experience of those golden times as my own grandfather, then followed by my father were chosen to be the “teniente del barrio” (that office, then, was a position of honor, even WITHOUT salary, when the people asked somebody quite respected to be their “cabeza” (head) who oftentimes acted not only as an “executive” but also as a “judge or arbitrator” for minor conflicts in the barrio. Those were the days that are long gone, nostalgic topics that always come up whenever the Commodore and I had a long conversations. To celebrate Commodore’s his 85th Birthday in year 2000, his daughter Ramona “Monet” and I planned a totally surprise Birthday Party for him at the Disneyland Hotel, where over 50 of his military, business and political friends, and some relatives came together to pay tribute to him. He really got the greatest surprise of his life as he admitted in his remarks and felt somewhat “embarrassed” that he was not dressed “appropriately” for the occasion. Monet successfully tricked him to accompany her to buy something for her “apos” (grandchildren) but suddenly they have to drop by the Disneyland Hotel for Monet to give somebody something. As the promoter of that event, I remember saying that we were gathered to honor and give him tribute ( not eulogy) so that he would still see us and hear our words of our love and respect for him. A dozen of us delivered our tributes to this remarkable man. Asked what his secret to a long healthy life, he instantaneously said his family and friends (that love him), daily “siesta” (nap) and the unexpected the punch line (that I will never forget) “Pay your Debts!” Having known him for over 30 years, not only as a client but more of a friend and father-figure to me , I am saddened by his death but also happy with the thought that he is now in paradise and probably being given a warm reception by his many political (mutual) friends whom I have also met, like Ninoy Aquino, Evelio Javier, Raul Manglapus, Tony Villegas, Raul Roco, and Max Soliven, as well as his other friends that I don’t even know. With nostalgia and gratitude, I am indeed blessedly fortunate that I have met the Commodore and the other Filipino icons mentioned above here in the United States (a great country that is the greatest “equalizer” of people) which most likely could not happen in the Philippines to an ordinary Filipino like me. Now, all these freedom loving and idealistic people are all gone! Who can replace their idealistic life’s philosophy from the present leadership of the Philippines? At my age, will I ever see the Renaissance of a new era that will bring back those “golden” years of Philippine society? Can somebody please tell me or show me a ray of hope that there that that era will ever come back? With acceptance of my own mortality and faith in the life thereafter, I hope and pray that we will meet again in heaven and hopefully resume the friendship that was just started on earth. May your Rest in Peace, Commodore, and may our mutual friends welcome you in their company! May the Good Lord reward you for what you have done to your country, to your people to your brothers and sisters while you were on Earth! Paalam, mahal kong kaibigan! ----- ------- Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

AN UNPLANNED MEDICAL VACATION THIS LENT LEADS TO A MORE BALANCED LIFE AND DIET

THE METAMORPHOSIS By Ernie D. Delfin AN UNPLANNED MEDICAL VACATION THIS LENT LEADS TO A MORE BALANCE LIFE AND DIET In a person’s lifetime, there will be a few major events that will cause some significant life-style adjustments or profound metaphysical changes in his life. Those events are often planned or patiently worked for its fulfillment, such as one’s college graduation, wedding or even a divorce. Some occurrences, however, like a major accident or illness, come along like a thief in the night and the person must deal with it as best as he can. March 7, 2012 was one of those days that I will never forget as I underwent a Da Vinci Robotic Laparoscopic surgery where I was put to sleep for over three hours at the Torrance Memorial Hospital. That hospital stay was just the second time I ever slept in a hospital bed; the first time was in a Dagupan City (Philippines) hospital due to serious car accident 35 years ago. This surgery hopefully has prolonged my life but also changed it dramatically altered my life-style, including my diet! After I was asked to sign a document giving the doctors full authority to do anything to save my life in the event of any unexpected occurrences that may happen during the surgery, I felt completely vulnerable and have accepted my own mortality. And yes, the feeling of complete surrender to my God was all I could do in silent prayer, to achieve some degree of peace and tranquility within myself. With the wonders of science and technology, I really did not know nor feel anything from the time I was given a laxative drug prior to the anesthesia injection in the surgery room. When I woke up, several hours later, I was already in the recovery room, and noticed for the first time those intravenous tubes and computer screens beside my bed that were obviously monitoring my vital signs to the nurse’s station. With a grateful heart, I thanked God that the surgery was successful and that I was alive! Due to the wonders of modern medicine and technology, I was discharged the following day, which started my forced vacation at home for several weeks, but with a tube attached to my body for a week! Although with some degree of pains and discomfort, the mind and the spirit appeared to become sharper and fortified as if to compensate the weakening of the physical body. The three weeks since the surgery (so far) have given me a lot of hours thinking, pondering, reminiscing, reading and writing. It was a rare luxury of time, that I never had before in my six decades of earthly existence. It’s a grand vacation without much expense in the confines of my own home with very light physical activity in my farmyard during this unusually cold springtime. Surprisingly, I also felt happy and contented with my newfound life status as a semi-retired businessman with reduced commitments and the absence of my normal activities, as per doctor’s orders for about month or two. -------- My forced vacation during this Holy Week had me contemplating what truly matters in my own life. This medical leave is causing my mind, spirit and body to live in harmony, a much needed equilibrium in my life. A real metamorphosis is happening for me this Springtime, including my food intake. The doctor advised me to abstain from meat as it is the best food to attract the cancer cells to come back. Now, those inviting juicy advertisements for steak and lobsters or rich-in-cholesterol foods that are quite prevalent in our society are gradually becoming unattractive for me. For about three weeks now, my palate’s craving for a medium rare prime rib steak with sautéed mushrooms and baked potatoes with gravy with red wine is almost gone! If the doctor is right, getting rid of my prostate that was afflicted with aggressive cancer cells at that early stage has given me another l5-25 years of life will be a great bonus. With God’s blessing and mercy, I have resolved to make each day, each week worth living for by doing something positive every day, not only for myself and family’s welfare but also for others. I hope that I can continue to make a difference to somebody and leave this world a better place for my children and their children. What is truly important in one’s life? Nobody can answer that philosophical question for us, but when we are alone, divorced from the busyness and noise of the world, in the deep recesses of our soul, there lies a silent voice that whispers an honest answer that breathes life unto our spirit to become more vibrant and joyful. The past few weeks that I have been physically down, I felt quite blessed and fortunate that I am again in deep communion with my mind and spirit, that somehow were neglected and not been adequately nourished as they should have been in the past. The Lenten Season biblical stories have given me fresh perspectives and renewed my faith more profoundly this time. For instance, last Sunday’s gospel tells of a story how Christ was moved by so much compassion for Lazarus’ relatives’ mourning over the former’s death, that He brought Lazarus back to life. Likewise, I have that inexplicable belief that Christ also loves me that much despite my sinfulness that He is making me recover very well to live fully to do His will. Next week, Christian churches will celebrate Christ’s passion that will lead to His death on the cross but He will come back to life during His Resurrection on the third day. Man’s sufferings, like my recent ailment, can never be compared to Christ’s suffering and sacrifice for our redemption. The timing of my surgery during Lent has given me priceless lessons and fortified me in my own share of human sufferings and struggles during my lifetime. Now, I realize that being sick and forced into an unplanned vacation is a part and parcel of our human condition; imperfect as we human beings are, we probably need these warning signals to remind us of our mortality and to purify us from the many toxins that we accumulate in our topsy-turvy world. The interdependence of all human beings was made more profound this time of my life. The virtue of trust (to my doctors, nurses and all who ministered my needs) and the virtue of gratitude (to all who expressed love and concern, especially my family and friends, including those scientists and inventors of this expensive Da Vinci Robot and the powerful medicines) touched the core of my being profusely especially the times when I felt very down and vulnerable. As that popular song of yesteryears declares “People need people”. Yes, indeed, we are just one world, and a very small world after all! This Holy Week and every week for the rest of my life, as I continue to receive the countless gifts of life-giving love from others, I pray that I am also able to give the same to others. Then, and only then that my life is worth living for, in complete gratitude to HIM who gives us life. HAVE A BLESSED HOLY WEEK, EVERY ONE! - 3 0 --- Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org
A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org
A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org
A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org
A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org
A VOICE FROM AMERICA
By Ernie D. Delfin
SOME THOUGHTS OF HOPE AND RANDOM GOOD NEWS
THIS EASTER WEEK AND SPRING SEASON

“An unexamined life is not worth living for” -- Socrates
Today is Palm Sunday 2004, a beautiful spring day in Southern California. I love this Spring season simply because many trees and plants including those in my “farmyard” that lost their leaves last Fall started to show off their green luscious leaves again; various flowers start to bloom attracting birds, butterflies and many living creatures that contribute to the cycle of earthly life. All these wonders of nature unfold their magnificence as if responding to a magic wand of an Invisible Director before our naked eyes as they continue the healthy balance of life around us. God’s work is a miracle every day, which is unfortunately taken for granted by millions of people especially those in many metropolitan areas.
I did not realize until about two decades ago that I would enjoy nature this much considering that I hated farm work because of the demanding physical work from sunrise to sunset during my growing up years in the farming village in Pangasinan. Now, farm work or gardening has become a priceless hobby, an effective but inexpensive therapy for businessman’s stressful life in the city. Today is another awesome weekend that helps me enjoy the day despite the chaotic or depressing news in many parts of the world, including the political circus in the Philippines.
Palm Sunday, a great holiday of our Church, is the beginning of the Passion of Jesus Christ. To all Christians, the Lenten Season gives timely reason to pause and reflect on the Passion of Christ to have some personal retreat (from a topsy-turvy world) for reflection to infuse some meaning to our lives. The worldly acclaimed Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, which opened on the first day of Lent on Ash Wednesday in the United States indeed has not only fueled some heated controversy but also prompted many people to examine or meditate what is truly important in their lives. Christians who have seen it, like this writer with his entire family, are reminded that world is indeed an imperfect one since the beginning of time as we ardently hope that there is another more peaceful world in the afterlife. To us believers and followers of Christ, the promise of our redemption that is fully paid by Christ suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate reward that all Christians hope for.
* * * *
From my perspective in America, there are also many good things happening in our world despite the gloom and doom prediction fueled by heated political campaigns and the pessimistic news that we continue to read in the papers or see on TV. To augment some pounds of optimism for my STAR readers this Easter Week, let me share some good news and developments emanating from America:
* As the U.S. economy continues to contract, and some jobs are lost due to globalization (outsourced abroad like in India, China, Malaysia and Singapore and also Philippines) families are adjusting by living together to share expenses. Due to spiraling costs of living especially in housing in California, many families are opting to just add a room or two so that family members can come back for economic reasons. The median price of a house in Orange County now is almost half a million dollars. A rent for one bedroom apartment is already over $1,l00 dollars before other expenses like utilities, food and transportation. The upside of this dramatic increase in housing costs is that families are again beginning live closer as a family, probably living happier and hopefully longer too.
* More children of many Filipino American families now, compared a generation ago , are now much more interested to learn about their Filipino culture and even enrolled to learn how to speak the Filipino language. There is now an increased demand for Philippine Studies and Culture. I read that even the University of Hawaii has some very unique subject, Ilocano Dialect, Culture and Values!
Another phenomenon is the continued growth and vibrancy of our Catholic Covenant Community City on the Hill (COH), an affiliate of Ligaya ng Panginoon and Couples for Christ in the Philippines, is attributed to the Singles Group of Young Adults whose Music Ministry has added much needed energy to the entire COH community. Christian songs in Tagalog are often sung more often now. Furthermore, the popular singing group from the Philippines, Bukas Palad, is arriving to perform in a concert here in Southern California on May lst because of our COH Single Group. This promises to be a special treat to many Filipinos in Southern California.
• In the media, especially in broadcast journalism, the beauty and talent several Filipino women are also being noticed. For instance, in the Los Angeles area, two beautiful ladies appear almost daily in prime time TV. They are Denise Dador of ABC Channel 7, whose parents are from Cebu, and Maria Quiban who was born in Hawaii of Ilocano parents (like the former Miss Universe the former Miss Baraquio) who is a regular at Fox Channel Eleven. The Asian American Journalists Association (www.aaja.org) also had a National President several years ago, Ms. Camia, and the LA local chapter has two members of the board, namely: Richard Fruto, a Philippine born who has a journalism degree before becoming a lawyer, is the treasurer and my own daughter, Donna Karen Delfin, is now the secretary. The National Executive Director, Rene Astudillo, is also a Filipino. And there are more Filipino American personalities in other cities and states.
• In the health care field, the presence and importance of Filipino doctors and nurses are very obvious. It is said that no hospital in the US, especially in California, will survive without the Filipino doctors and especially the nurses! Thousands are also working as private caretakers of many elderly or disabled Americans. Even the celebrity, Christopher Reeves is reported to have some Filipino nurses in his employ. These private caregivers who go to the American homes are the fastest growing but seemingly invisible occupation of many Filipinos many of them have college degrees. Caregiving might be a lowly and non-glamorous job but many Filipinos do not mind because the salaries are very good. I know a family (both parents and one daughter) as they are my tax and real estate clients, made over $100,000 last year just being caregivers!
• In U.S. politics, although the Filipinos are still way behind the other Asian groups like the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, we are slowly adding some names to the roster of elected officials. In Carson, California, after the shameful exit of Mayor Pete Fajardo and Councilman Manny Ontal (both Filipino Americans) l due to corrupt practices, another Filipino, Elito Santarina, a teacher who hails from Nueva Ecija, won a Council seat last year. He tried to run for Mayor this year but he did not make during his first try, but I predict that as his name becomes more recognized, he will be the next Filipino American mayor. In the City of Walnut, the mayor is also a Filipino by the name of Antonio Cartagena. In the City of Milpitas, CA the mayor is a certain Mr. Esteves (originally from Pangasinan) who succeeded another Filipino American mayor, Henry Manayan, who unfortunately did not win the March 2nd primary to have been the first Filipino American member of the California State Assembly. In the City of Daly City, Mr. Guingona is also the mayor. A lawyer-friend David Valderrama, (a fluent orator in both English and Tagalog from Laguna) is the first and only Filipino American elected delegate to the Maryland Assembly. And in the Cerritos ABC Unified School District, 3 of the 7 members of the Board of Education are Filipinos: Cecy Groom, Mark Pulido and Armin Reyes. The City Finance Manager is also a Filipina CPA-friend of mine who is a fellow Rotarian, Becky Lingad. With an estimated 3,000,000 Filipinos in America, of course, there should be more in politics and government… but slowly and gradually, our numbers will also increase with time.
• In Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, among the Asians or foreign-born entertainers, the Filipinos are most likely the most popular group… Martin Nievera had a long-standing show at the New Orleans Hotel & Casino and just recently Regine Velasquez also had a successful show.. The Society of Seven has also appeared there many times in the past. The popular American Idol show had two Filipina contestants who are now among the semi finalists…. Coincidentally, our visiting Rotarian guests from Japan acknowledged, during our welcome dinner last night upon learning that I was originally from the Philippines when I was introduced as the President Elect of our Cerritos Rotary Club, that there are many entertainers in hotels are working in Tokyo and in Osaka where we will be going next on May 22 for the Rotary International Convention. Indeed the talents and popularity of the Filipinos in the entertainment field is now a worldwide phenomenon !
• The brotherhood of men is also evident in our Rotary Clubs worldwide. Through our Rotary Avenue of International Service, our Rotary Club of Cerritos and our sister club in Gifu, Japan are donating a couple thousand dollars to the Loyola Heights Rotary Club, Quezon City to help them in their Loving Village affordable housing project for the poor in joint project with the Couples for Christ. During this forthcoming 2004-2005 Rotary Centennial Year, we have also committed to help our sister club of Makati Bel Air Rotary Club in their Gawad Kalinga Poverty alleviation program project. We plan to hand them a few thousand dollar check when we visit them in June this year.
• It is also very heartwarming to learn that many overseas Filipinos also are getting more involved in lending a hand to many Filipinos in the Philippines even in a small but positive way. For almost a year now, dozens of overseas Filipinos especially from the United States have formed a ProgressiveTimes Action Group (visit www.ptag.org website) and without much fun fare or publicity are now involved in sending some dozen Sagip Bata scholars in different schools coordinated by our Filipino PTAG volunteers. We have also sent some needed books to some places like the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in Cainta, Rizal, and in San Pablo City in Laguna and to Pangasinan and also in Bacolod. Dozens are also volunteering to assist with the Namfrel volunteers in monitoring a clean and honest election.
As the founder of this PTAG, I am very pleased of the response of many volunteers and the growing benefactors of PTAG. We have now some presence in San Pablo City because of Gigi Fellizar and MeAnn Pineda-Gonzales, in Cainta and Taytay because of Austri Basinillo and Faith Malazarte and Mario Firme, in Hagonoy Bulacan, because of Paddy Padilla, in Marbel-Koronadal City because of Jing Ureta and also in Pangasinan because of Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal and yours truly. And soon we will have the Payatas Resettlement Project in Palawan because of Fred Antonio and Celia Ruiz Tomlinson and their recruited volunteers.
This coming school year, we believe that we will have more beneficiaries as we have more volunteers and benefactors. Our vision and our ultimate dream is to have a PTAG chapter in every barangay in the Philippines to serve as a an effective and graft-free conduit between pre-selected beneficiaries in the Philippines and the Overseas Filipinos and their friends who are able and willing to assist improve the quality of life of many economically challenged Filipinos by motivating and teaching them the how-to-fish mentality and not just through dole-outs which many Overseas Filipino dependents have been accustomed to.
With such an ambitious programs of PTAG --- in addition to hundreds of other organizations doing parallel work for the Philippines ---- there is great hope that the Philippines will change for the better! But we still need more people to lend a hand to make this social and charitable work expand larger, faster and wider. Any one interested, please email this writer or simply join us at: ProgressiveTimesAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and visit our website at: www.ptag.org.
With that, I wish all you, my STAR readers, A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER WEEK!
----- 30 ----
E-mail writer at: erdelusa@hotmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com
Visit: www.katipunan-usa.org and www.ptag.org