Fil-Ams Warrior- inside Frisco-born Romance takes join UN turned-artist Xian gets taste backseat to World Youth promotes of making MTV UN for K.C. Assembly Filipiniana in America Concepcion Page 5 Page 16 Page 22 Page 22 MANILA MAIL A fortnightly Filipino Newspaper in Washington, D.C. Vol. XXIV, No. 17 Online: www.manilamail.us August 16-31, 2015 Navigating challenges ASEAN calls out of caring for elders China on sea FAIRFAX, Va. Retired US Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba will US Secretary of State John Kerry and China’s share his family’s experience Foreign Minister Wang Yi talk at the 5th East Asia Summit at the 48th ASEAN foreign after the siblings learned ministers meeting in Kuala Lampur, Malay- their mother was dying of can- building frenzy sia Aug. 6. cer, which coupled with a de- mentia-stricken father, thrust By JUN MEDINA them into the unfamiliar role as caregivers during a talk ASHINGTON D.C. here on Aug. 29. China’s land rec- “My siblings and I were in lamation in the constant arguments,” he in- W timated. “I was going home South China Sea has “in- to Hawaii every other month. creased tensions” in the Eventually I had to quit my region, the Association of job. Care giving is exhausting and can be very turbulent,” he Southeast Nations (ASE- said in an interview published AN) said at the close of in the Fairfax Connection. its just-concluded For- Taguba leads a panel that eign Ministers Meeting ...................................................... in Kuala Lumpur, Malay- NAVIGATING P21 sia. This alarming declaration was contained in the joint com- muniqué of the top-level meeting of the 10-member regional bloc, even as United States Secretary of State John Kerry served notice that Washington would not toler- ate any restrictions on freedom of navigation in the strategically Ex-DILG Sec. Mar Roxas important waters. with Pres. Aquino “Let me be clear: the United States will not accept restric- BACK TO SUBIC: The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine USS Chicago docks at Subic Bay, Phil- P-Noy ‘anoints’ tions on freedom of navigation ippines. She’s 360 feet long and weighs 7,000 tons when submerged, according to a fact sheet from the ...................................................... US Embassy in Manila. She has a crew of 170 offi cers and men, including a number of Filipino Americans. Roxas but ASEAN P21 The port call coincided with the regional forum in Malaysia. ‘winnability’ GOP debate draws huge audience as Democrats eye Biden bid doubts linger MANILA. It had been a WASHINGTON D.C. The Republi- only 3.2 million viewers. The pre- much-touted political event can party showed off its bench vious record, broadcast by ABC since last year, so when Presi- for next year’s presidential during the same election cycle, dent Benigno Aquino III final- elections and drew a record au- reached 7.6 million. Trump’s ly “anointed” Local Govern- dience on Fox, the first of a se- show “The Celebrity Apprentice” ment Secretary Mar Roxas ries of televised debates that, if used to reach 20 million viewers last month as the ruling Lib- all goes according to plan, will a week but has plummeted in eral Party’s standard bearer help the party faithful choose a about six million for recent sea- – and Daang Matuwid’s new candidate who can actually win sons. poster boy – it signaled the a national election. Immigration was one of the unofficial kick-off to the Phil- On the other hand, the race subjects in the debate. Google ippines’ political season. for the Democratic presidential Trends data showed it was the Roxas’ anointment as the nomination took a fresh twist 4th most search topic on the GOP official administration presi- after Vice President Joe Biden debate issue. dential candidate in the 2016 refused to rule out a possible Trump, running ahead in the elections will pit him against run and challenge the leading pack of 17 candidates according Vice President Jejomar Binay, candidate, Hillary Clinton. THE LONG RED LINE: Front-running GOP candidates face off at the to a variety of polls, refused to now estranged from the Aqui- The Fox GOP debate last Aug. fi rst televised debate on Fox that drew a record audience back down from previous alle- no administration and the 6 was watched by 24 million of those viewers were drawn by ensured voters got a chance to gations that Mexico is sending opposition’s standard bearer viewers, according to Nielsen the promise of fireworks from get a measure of the candidates. criminals into the US although running under the UNA party. data, the highest-rating primary Donald Trump is uncertain but In contrast, the first GOP pri- ...................................................... ...................................................... debate in history. Just how many the unprecedented TV ratings mary debate four years ago drew GOP DEBATE P20 P-NOY P20 2 MANILA MAIL August 16-31, 2015 August 16-31, 2015 NEWS Manila Mail 3 New Obama guidelines Immigration influx turning Virginia blue FAIRFAX, Va. The influx of immigrants is patch. fueling the transformation in the Common- “Virginia’s demographic changes have wealth of Virginia, explaining in part why also transformed political leanings in the reduce illegals on this previously “solid red” state is turning state that, before President Barack Obama’s blue, according to a study by the University win of electoral votes in 2008, had not of Virginia. backed a Democratic presidential candidate priority deportation “Until 1970, only one in 100 Virginians since 1964,” the paper said in a 2012 ar- was born outside of the United States; ticle. ASHINGTON D.C. About 9½ million of the estimated 11 by 2012, one in every 9 Virginians is for- This seemed to reaffirm perceptions that million undocumented immigrants in the United States eign-born,” the 2014 UVA report entitled the GOP has been largely ineffective in win- would be shielded from deportation under the guidelines “Immigrants in Virginia” said. ning over immigrants. A report by Reuters’ W The UVA survey noted that the immigrant Andy Sullivan claimed that “Immigrants laid down by President Obama’s executive orders, according to an population in Virginia has grown more favor Democratic candidates and liberal analysis by the Migrant Policy Institute (MPI). mixed over the years. “The set of sending policies by a wide margin, and they have countries is much more diverse, with most moved formerly competitive states like Il- The MPI report released of the immigrants from either Asia (42 per- linois firmly into the Democratic column last month showed that cent) or Latin America (35 percent) while and could turn Republican strongholds like only 13 percent of undoc- Europe (10 percent) and Africa (10 percent) Georgia and Texas into battlegrounds in the umented immigrants have lag far behind.” years to come.” criminal records or recent- The top five countries of birth for the The UVA study also analyzed the drivers ly crossed the US border foreign-born population of Virginia in 2012 that shape this transformation in Virgin- illegally. Under the Obama were El Salvador, India, Mexico, the Phil- ia: ippines and South Korea. More than two- Age was identified as a key factor. For administration’s new de- thirds live in Northern Virginia and account the foreign-born, it noted the “dispropor- portation guidelines, an- for 23 percent of the population. tionately large” share of 24-44 year-olds, nounced in November and In the decade 1990 to 2000, the in- the “golden age for participating in the put into effect July 1, these crease in the number of foreign-born in workforce”. The result is labor force par- individuals will be a prior- Fairfax communities included 323 percent ticipation for natives is about 65 percent ity for deportation. for Centreville; 168 percent for Herndon; compared to more than 73 percent for for- The MPI’s Marc Rosen- 88 percent for Fairfax City; 78 percent for eign-born, who comprise 15 percent of Vir- blum, who wrote the re- Springfield; 63 percent for Burke; and 10 ginia’s workforce. port, said this “would percent for McLean. Most foreign-born residents are also at effectively offer a degree ries of unauthorized immi- cure Communities infor- “Immigrants to this region come from that stage of raising families, the report of protection to the vast grants and other potential- mation-sharing program nearly every country in the world, and added. “Their presence is a significant con- majority – 87 percent – of ly removable non-citizens with the new Priority En- some localities are home to people from tributor to non-native diversity within the unauthorized immigrants are priorities for enforce- forcement Program (PEP), more than 100 countries,” Audrey Singer, a Commonwealth. Migration not only brings now residing in the United ment. Top on the list are il- which focuses on targeting senior fellow in metropolitan policy at the news people into the state but many im- States.” Brookings Institution, was quoted in a re- migrants who settle here have families and legal immigrants who are individuals convicted of port by the Fairfax Connection community their children will add to the demographic The President’s execu- national security threats, significant criminal of- newspaper. diversification of Virginia.” tive action on immigration gang members, convicted fenses. This changing demographic has brought Significantly, while the influence of con- includes two key policy felons and recent border As a result the share of changes in the political landscape of Vir- servative voters in Virginia continues to changes from which the crossers. unauthorized immigrants ginia as well. diminish, Republican officials, including results of the report come. The second major deemed to be “enforcement “The population shift, most notably in former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, First, the Department change in the adminis- priorities” has decreased Northern Virginia, is changing the state’s have led the push for some aspects of im- of Homeland Security tration’s policies that the from 27 percent under the educational, political and social land- migration reform such as the foreign worker (DHS) issued new policy report addresses is the 2010-11 policy guidelines scape,” observed the Richmond Times Dis- visa program.