auGust 25, 2012 Hawaii filipino cHronicle 1 ♦ ♦FEBRUARY AUGUST 25, 19, 2012 2011 ♦ ♦ HAWAII-FILIPINO NEWS PHILIPPINE NEWS LEGAL NOTES Hawaii-Born Gymnast cavite Boy Guidelines wins olympic Gold nominated for for requestinG medal cHild peace prize deferred action HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE PRESORTED STANDARD 94-356 WAIPAHU DEPOT RD., 2ND FLR. U.S. POSTAGE WAIPAHU, HI 96797 PAID HONOLULU, HI PERMIT NO. 9661 2 Hawaii filipino cHronicle auGust 25, 2012 EDITORIALS FROM THE PUBLISHER Publisher & Executive Editor loha! The Primary Election was Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D. Aftermath of the nearly two weeks ago and we haven’t heard the last of it. On the Publisher & Managing Editor Big Island, election day irregulari- Chona A. Montesines-Sonido Primary Election ties that caused the late opening of Associate Editors any Filipinos across the state were glued to their A polling places have led the Hawaii television sets on the evening of the Primary Dennis Galolo County Clerk to call for a review Edwin Quinabo Election, as results flashed across the screens. of the State Elections Office. Stay tuned for more Some cheered, while others shook their head in on this. Creative Designer Junggoi Peralta disappointment. Speaking of review, our cover story for this issue, which was M Candidates of Filipino ancestry were in- Design Consultant written by Dr. Belinda Aquino, takes a closer look at the results of Randall Shiroma volved in several hotly-contested races, particu- the 2012 Primary Election, particularly at how Filipino candidates larly for the State House of Representatives and Honolulu City fared in their respective races. Many familiar names as well as new- Photography Council. There was the usual finger-pointing, name-calling and comers either won outright with 50 percent of the vote plus 1, or Tim Llena wild accusations, as expected, in the days leading up to and even have advanced to the General Election. Others failed in their bid to Administrative Assistant after the election—despite calls by leaders in the Filipino com- win election to federal, state or county offices. Win or lose, these Shalimar Pagulayan munity to tone down the rhetoric and negative campaigning. Un- candidates should be congratulated for courageously deciding to run Columnists fortunately, candidates and their supporters ignored the pleas and for office. Those who are in the know, realize that it takes a lot of sac- Carlota Ader continued to “talk stink” about each other. rifice, dedication and hard work to run for office. If you want to Carlo Cadiz, M.D. Our system may not be perfect. We admittedly suffer from elec- know how your candidate(s) fared, please turn to page 4. Sen. Will Espero tion day glitches and anemic voter participation levels, but we should Grace F. Fong, Ed.D Our post election coverage includes an analysis of Tulsi Gab- Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Ph.D. be thankful that we are better off than in the Philippines, where elec- bard’s stunning win over opponent Mufi Hannemann in the 2nd J.P. Orias tions are marred by violence, vote buying and other attempts to Congressional District race (see “Congressional Candidate with Fil- Pacita Saludes Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq. cheat. ipino Ties Wins in Upset” on page 3). Attorney Emmanuel S. Tipon The fact remains that Filipinos are passionate indeed when it Charlie Sonido, M.D. delves into Tulsi’s family background and analyzes the near-perfect Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq. comes to politics and will stand firmly by their candidate(s). We strategy she utilized to victory. Atty. Tipon didn’t stop there and pro- Felino S. Tubera hope that in due time, hard feelings will be put aside and fences ceeded to submit a second article on Ben Cayetano (see “Cayetano Sylvia Yuen, Ph.D. mended for the sake of unity. Let’s not allow election-related ill will Tops Primary for Mayor; Advances to General Election” on page 7), to divide and conquer us. More than anything, the Filipino commu- who topped the race for Honolulu mayor but failed to win the 50 Contributing Writers nity must remain united and work together for the greater good. percent plus one vote required to give him the victory outright. Po- Belinda Aquino, Ph.D. Clement Bautista litical observers expect a dogfight in the General Election between Teresita Bernales, Ed.D Cayetano and opponent Kirk Caldwell who are on polar opposites Serafin Colmenares, Jr., Ph.D. Gabbard and when it comes to the controversial rail project. Linda Dela Cruz In other news, Filipina business executive Elsa Talavera was re- Fiedes Doctor Danny De Gracia, II, MA Hannemann: A Tale of cently honored with the Hawaii’s Fastest 50 Award from Pacific Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand Business News. Her company, All Island Case Management Corp., Amelia Jacang, M.D. Two Stars This was 21st out of the fastest growing 50 small businesses from 2009- Caroline Julian 2011. Congratulations to Ms. Talavera and best wishes for continued Maita Milallos Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D. Primary Election success! Glenn Wakai t's estimated that a new star is born and a less massive In closing, we would like to thank those of you who took the Amado Yoro star dies each year. Perhaps this astronomy cycle relat- time to vote in this past Primary Election. Mahalo for carrying out Philippine Correspondent ing to stars has figurative significance in describing this your civic duty and responsibility as a citizen of this great country Greg Garcia year's primary election race between Tulsi Gabbard and that we are so blessed to live in. Our thanks also for faithfully sup- Big Island Distributor Mufi Hannemann. porting the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle. Grace Larson I Gabbard's victory over Hanneman by 20 percent As always, please feel free to contact us at: filipinochroni- Ditas Udani was so impressive that even political legends Sens. Dan [email protected] if you have ideas, concerns or questions regarding Maui Distributor Inouye and Daniel Akaka couldn't resist getting their fair share of Hawaii’s vibrant Filipino community. Cecile Piros photo opts with Gabbard at the Democratic Unity breakfast the day Until next time… aloha and mabuhay! Molokai Distributor after her stellar victory. Meanwhile, Hannemann, who many could Maria Watanabe remember being in that exact limelight when he first burst onto the Advertising/Marketing Director political scene, was nowhere to be found in attendance. For pro rail supporters, the criticism is that the project ought to Chona A. Montesines-Sonido Could it be the end politically for Hannemann who just suffered have been on solid footing before Hannemann exited. For anti-rail Account Executives his second consecutive trouncing? The former mayor's defeat against supporters, the process was just bad from the start and who else was Carlota Ader the venerable Neil Abercrombie in the 2010 gubernatorial primary to blame but the leader who pushed it through? The fact that a size- J.P. Orias election by a whopping 21 percent could reasonably be explained as able number of the population still disapproved of rail despite a char- The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle is published weekly by The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle Inc. a formidable candidate unluckily being outsprinted by an even more ter vote victory in favor of it should have been sufficient reason for It is mailed directly to subscribers and dis- formidable candidate. But this most recent loss for Hannemann Hannemann, or any mayor for that matter, to move forward with the tributed at various outlets around Oahu and the neighbor islands. Editorial and advertis- against newbie Gabbard has even the most casual political watchers project with sensitivity and input from the opposition. ing deadlines are three weeks prior to pub- thinking that the once promising political career of Hannemann just While some voters may be pleased with the primary election lication date. Subscriptions are available at may have reached an expiration date. outcome, which could be argued as a composite of pro-Hannemann, $75 per year for Oahu and the neighbor is- lands, continental U.S. $80, foreign country Many people in the community have offered various reasons for anti-Hannemann and pro-Gabbard votes, there are many in the com- $90. Copyright 2006-2012. The Hawaii Fil- the fall of Hannemann. Some point to his leadership style and in- munity who are saddened with the results. Hannemann is a brilliant ipino Chronicle Inc. is located at 94-356 Waipahu Depot, Waipahu, HI 96797. Tele- ability to collaborate effectively with others; some people remember public servant and a far more deserving candidate than Gabbard as phone (808) 678-8930 Facsimile (808) 678- the negative campaign he led against Duke Bainum in the race for far as experience goes. He has also been a friend to the Filipino com- 1829. E-mail [email protected]. Website: www.thefilipinochronicle.com. Honolulu mayor; others have a difficult time watching the discon- munity for many years, celebrating with us at major events, club an- Opinions expressed by the columnists and nect between the Mr. Aloha personality projected on election com- niversaries, even small, personal parties. He has served our city with contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle manage- mercials and the real Hannemann whose tough-and-rumble good intentions and has been a decisive leader. ment. Reproduction of the contents in whole reputation hardly epitomizes the spirit of aloha. But perhaps the For Gabbard, only time will tell if she is in fact a bona-fide, po- or in part is prohibited without written per- mission from the management. All rights re- biggest turnoff for voters started during Hannemann's second term litical star in Hawaii when she defends for the first time (assuming served.