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JANUARY 1-7, 2021 Volume 14 - No. 8 • 16 Pages

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Duterte warns US: No vaccine, no VFA

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that he will terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) if the United States fails to provide the country with COVID-19 vaccines.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte In a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Malacañang photo by Alfred Frias Force for the Management of Emerging In-

DATELINE

fectious Diseases on Saturday, December 26, the chief executive urged the country’s ally to deliver at least 20 million doses of the vaccine. “‘Yung Visiting Forces Agreement matatapos na. Ngayon ‘pag hindi ako pumayag, aalis talaga sila. ‘Pag di sila naka-deliver maski minimum ng 20 million vaccines, better get out (The Visiting Forces Agreement will be ending. If I don’t extend it, they will really

USA

Census Bureau releases 2020 demographic analysis estimates u PAGE 7

u PAGE 2

Trump signs long-awaited COVID-19 relief bill

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

THE U.S. Census Bureau released its 2020 Demographic Analysis, which provides a range of estimates — low, middle and high — for the nation’s population as of April 1, 2020. Instead of collecting responses from households like the

leave. If they cannot deliver even a minimum of 20 million vaccines, better get out),” he said.

“No vaccine, no stay here,” Duterte added.

Malacañang clarified the president’s remarks, however, saying that it was an exercise in the Philippines’ independent policy.

“Wala pong masama dyan, hindi po ‘yan

House passes legislation on $2K stimulus checks

CLOTHES, ANYONE? A vendor arranges ready-to-wear clothes and other merchandise along F. Martinez Street in Mandaluyong City on Monday, December 28. Several business establishments have resumed operations as the country continues to pick up from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

DAYS after expressing doubts over Congress’ coronavirus relief bill, President Donald Trump on Sunday, Dec. 27 signed the bill, leaving the U.S. government scrambling to send out the one-time stimulus check as soon as possible.

The $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill — which adds up to $2.3 trillion when factoring in other government spending — includes a one-time $600 direct payment to millions of American taxpayers and an extension of unemployment benefits to the jobless, gig workers and independent contractors, as previ-

Lawmakers urge signs P4.5-T travel ban to keep Non-profit offers US citizenship Duterte 2021 national budget test materials in 9 languages, out coronavirus including Tagalog variant

by KRISSY

AGUILAR Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Philippines should shut its border to all countries with known cases of the new coronavirus variant, lawmakers from the House of Representatives said on Sunday, December 27.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday approved the extension of a two-week travel ban on the United Kingdom up to mid-January to keep the variant from reaching the Philippines.

u PAGE 4

THE path to U.S. citizenship may be more difficult as the naturalization test now features an expanded version of the civics portion — but a free educational tool is helping applicants prepare with study materials in their native language.

USAHello, a non-profit dedicated to providing an online center of information and education for refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers, has released translations for the 2020 ver-

sion of the U.S. citizenship test in nine languages on its website (usahello. org).

The organization partnered with Translators Without Borders to translate the civics test in Spanish, Arabic, French, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Swahili, and Vietnamese.

“For the citizenship test in particular, we have found that many people in preparing for the exam were focused

u PAGE 4

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, December 28 signed into law the P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.

The President signed the spending measure for next year in a ceremony in Malacañang attended by select members of the Senate and the House of Representatives as seen in a pre-recorded video aired over PTV.

u PAGE 7

“Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you today happy and proud to sign the 2021 General Appropriations Act,” Duterte said in the pre-taped speech.

“This important piece of legislation attests to the importance of active and fruitful collaboration between the executive and the legislative branches of the government, especially this time when the health and welfare of the people are at stake.

u PAGE 4

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From the Front Page

Black Fil-Am Raiders player Josh Jacobs named to 2021 NFL Pro Bowl

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa inside the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila on Thursday, February 14, 2019 Philstar.com photo by Krizjohn Rosales

Appeals court again rejects Ressa’s bid to visit ailing mother in US

by KRistine Joy

Philstar.com

Patag

MANILA — The Court of Appeals has denied Rappler CEO Maria Ressa’s bid to leave the country to visit her ailing mother in the United States.

The CA’s Special Twelfth Division, in a resolution dated December 18 but made public Thursday, December 24, rejected Ressa’ appeal to be allowed to travel to the U.S., saying she again failed to prove the necessity of her travel.

It added that “there exist circumstances sufficient to prohibit her from leaving the country.”

The CA is currently handling her appeal to overturn the Manila court’s conviction of her and Rappler’s former researcher Rey Santos on cyber libel.

Ressa had also filed separate motions to travel in other courts where she is facing charges. The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 157 where she faces tax-evasion cases and Branch 159 where the anti-dummy and violation of Security Regulations Code cases are pending granted her motion.

The Court of Tax Appeals 1st Division where Ressa is facing four tax evasion cases has also given approval to travel.

The Makati RTC Branch 147— where a second cyber libel charge against her has been filed — also granted her motion.

Ressa’s latest appeal The CA has junked twice

Ressa’s motion to travel, but the journalist again sought the court’s permission in an urgent motion filed December 1, citing humanitarian considerations.

Ressa told the court that her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in October. While Ressa noted that in her previous motions, she said part of the reasons for travel to the U.S. was to visit her family, she opted not to disclose her mother’s illness due to privacy considerations.

In her latest appeal, she said that her mother and father cannot travel to the Philippines, necessitating her to go to the U.S. “Mrs. Ressa’s illness is serious. That Mrs. Ressa, a senior citizen, is afflicted with such a serious illness during a pandemic, with mobility restricted, is certainly reason for concern for her family, especially Ms. Ressa who is not with her. That she is afflicted with such a serious illness and continues to be deprived, even briefly, of actual contact with her children, makes her—and Ms Ressa’s situation even more difficult,” her motion read.

She also stressed that even with technological advances in the medical field, human contact in healing, physical and mental, cannot be trivialized and cannot be replaced by online calls.

Court ruling In resolving Ressa’s appeal, the CA said this latest pleading is tantamount to a second motion for reconsideration, which is prohibited

under the rules of court.

The CA also said the two cases Ressa cited in her motion were not applicable. It noted that while Ressa is out on bail following the lower court conviction, it “warrants the exercise of greater caution in allowing her to leave the Philippines.”

The court also said the medical abstract they submitted to the court did not indicate that she is urgently needed in the U.S. The CA also said that the pandemic might compel Ressa to stay longer in the U.S. despite her intention to return to the country.

The appeals court also pointed out that Ressa did not fully divulge facts related to her motion to travel in previous pleadings, noting she “deliberately withheld” the reason why she wanted to visit her parents in the U.S. “Considering that this is the third time that Ressa has concealed a material fact, we deem it necessary to enjoin her from repeating a similar act since this Resolution is without prejudice to future necessary and urgent travel,” it said.

“In view of Ressa’s failure to prove that her travel to the [USA] is necessary and urgent, coupled with the exceptional circumstances that warrant the restriction on her right to travel, there is no basis to grant her motion,” the court added.

Ressa, through her counsels from the Free Legal Assistance Group, has already sought the reconsideration of the CA’s latest dismissal. n

LAS Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been named to the 2021 NFL Pro Bowl roster.

The NFL on Monday, December 21, announced its 2021 AFC Pro Bowl roster, which includes Jacobs as well as his Raiders teammate, tight end Darren Waller.

Jacobs, who is Black and Filipino American, is currently sixth in the league with 970 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games, according to Sports Illustrated. He developed a promising 2019 rookie campaign after rushing for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns.

The 5’10” 22-year-old from Tulsa, Oklahoma played college football at the University of Alabama and was drafted by the Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

The 2021 Pro Bowl Game originally was scheduled to be played Jan. 31, 2021 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo from Instagram/@iam_joshjacobs

The venue will host the 2022 Pro Bowl instead.

According to the NFL, it is working with EA Sports to create a week-long series of matchups featuring celebrities, NFL Legends, current players and streamers playing the official Pro Bowl rosters

on Madden NFL 21.

“The week culminates in a virtual Pro Bowl game with 2021 Pro Bowl players playing within Madden, which will be available for fans to watch across a variety of platforms,” it said in a statement on its website. n

Duterte warns US: No vaccine, no VFA...

PAGE 1 blackmail. ‘Yan po ‘yung ibig sabihin ng independiyenteng panlabas na polisiya o independent foreign policy. Hindi po tayo sunud-sunuran.

Hindi po tayo didiktahan ng kahit sino (There is nothing wrong with that, it’s not blackmailing. That’s what independent foreign policy means. We are not blind followers. We cannot be dictated by anyone),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

The Philippines on February 11, 2020 sent a notice to Washington that terminated the defense agreement.

In June, the abrogation of the VFA was suspended “in light of political and other developments in the region.”

Duterte admitted that he became “a cynic” to the U.S., stressing that if the country really wants to help the Philippines, it should show through delivering vaccines against COVID-19.

“Do not believe in that

sh*t, na America delivering kaagad. Hindi nga nila ma-deliver agad sa kanilang lugar, dito pa (Do not believe in that sh*t that America will deliver immediately. They can’t even deliver it right away in their area, what more here)?” he said.

“Naging cynic ako sa kanila. Kung ibigay, eh di ibigay (I’ve become a cynic to them. If they give it, then give it). If you want to help, you deliver (and) stop talking. What we need is the vaccine, not your verbose speeches,” he added.

Pfizer applies for EUA in PH U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. has applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines, according to Malacañang.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) DirectorGeneral Rolando Domingo confirmed Pfizer submitted

its application on Dec. 23.

“It will take FDA 21 days to evaluate and approve the EUA but vaccination would start as soon as stocks become available,” he explained Saturday.

Domingo, for his part, said Pfizer will not have difficulties in obtaining the EUA for its COVID vaccine.

“Pag nanggaling na sa (If it has already come from) stringent regulatory authority like the U.S. FDA and UK, there would be minimal requirement,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. announced that U.S. drugmaker Moderna is “on board” and “accelerating” a huge shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to the country.

“More good news from [Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez]: Moderna on board and accelerating huge shipment.

Everything’s falling back into place,” he said in a tweet. n

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Where before it used to crawl with passengers at this time of the year, the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport is all but empty in this photo taken three days before Christmas. The Philippines has extended its ban on flights from the United Kingdom to the middle of January next year to prevent the entry of the new COVID-19 virus variant.

Inquirer.net photo by Lyn Rillon

Lawmakers urge travel ban to keep...

PAGE 1 He also approved mandatory quarantine for travelers from countries where the variant had been reported, such as Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

But for some members of the House, that is not enough.

Community transmission Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, a deputy House Speaker, said on Sunday a “travel ban from countries with known mutant coronavirus must be highly considered now.”

“We cannot afford to be laid back, again, and wait for local transmission,” Legarda tweeted, recalling how she recommended to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to impose a travel ban on China in January, but the health chief did not heed her recommendation.

She said Duque told the House then: “That is not needed. We can handle it.”

“And now we must wait for community transmission? We can ill afford that,” Legarda said.

On Saturday, Duque said the government would consider a travel ban on other countries only when local transmission of the variant occurred in those countries.

In a statement, BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co urged a ban on all flights from the United Kingdom, where the coronavirus variant was first reported in mid-December.

“I appeal to all airlines [that] have direct and connecting flights to and from the UK to voluntarily stop all those flights. I make this appeal for the sake of travelers and all your airline workers. Please do your part to stop the new [coronavirus] variant from spreading,” Co said.

Citing statements from UK officials, Co said the United Kingdom had recorded 1,000 fresh cases of the variant.

No plan “That means there is al-

ready local transmission. This runs counter to the assertions of Secretary Duque. Either he is unaware of the latest developments in the UK or he lacks the ability to safeguard our people’s health,” Co said.

The Kabataan party list criticized the government for the absence of a plan to prevent the variant from spreading to the Philippines.

“With the new strain of the virus, the government should immediately act and have a scientific plan to prevent it from entering the Philippines,” the groups said in a statement on Sunday.

But the government, it said, has chosen “to become passive once again” and “wait for community transmission before acting.”

Kabataan said the government’s decision was “not only illogical, but also incredibly dangerous” to the people.

“Why wait for community transmission when you can act now and prevent [the variant] from entering the Philippines?” the group said.

President Duterte approved biosurveillance and border control plans to keep the variant out. He also stressed the importance of intensified local surveillance, warning mayors and barangay officials that they would be sanctioned if there were lapses on their part in preventing the spread of the virus.

“The ones really [in charge] there are the mayors and barangay captains. So make it an obligation for them to really strictly follow also the whatever direction that we take in this fight against COVID,” Mr. Duterte said at Saturday’s meeting, addressing Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

The President said the government, even though there was no recorded case of the variant in the Philippines yet, must be prepared by tightening border control, surveillance, and improving the

monitoring of cases in other countries.

Surveillance is key “The key here is surveillance. [That’s] the only way we can be prepared—not avoid.

We cannot avoid it but [we must] be prepared to confront the new virus if we know in advance how it will progress in coming into our country,” Mr. Duterte said.

On Sunday, authorities in Sulu and Basilan provinces tightened border control following a report that the variant had reached Sabah, Malaysia.

The report prompted Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan to request a maritime blockade in Jolo, as Sabah is just 29 hours away by boat.

President Duterte suggested the formation of a panel dedicated to the coronavirus variant.

“I would suggest that we create a panel … whose job could be only to observe the different progression and the identification of the new strain,” he said.

The Philippines has seen a spike in coronavirus infections since the start of the holiday season rush in mid-December.

On Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) logged 883 additional infections, raising the overall number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 469,886.

The DOH reported that 7,635 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 438,618. But the death toll rose to 9,109 with the deaths of 42 more patients.

The deaths and recoveries left the country with 22,099 active cases, of which 80.2 percent were mild, 9.9 percent asymptomatic, 0.43 moderate, 3.2 percent severe, and 6.2 percent critical. (Reports from Nestor Corrales, Jerome Aning, Julie Alipala, and Dona Pazzobugan/Inquirer.net) n

CHRISTMAS JOY. Children play with gifted toys received for Christmas along Salvia Street, Saint Dominic Novaliches, Fairview in Quezon City on Saturday, December 26. Gift-giving to children is a tradition in the area on Christmas day.

PNA photo by Oliver Marquez

Duterte signs P4.5-T 2021...

PAGE 1 Among the salient provisions of the budget is the P72.5 billion allocated for the government’s vaccination program against COVID-19.

Of this figure, P2.5 billion is lodged under the Department of Health (DOH) while the rest is under unprogrammed appropriations.

“Let me stress that one of the most important items in the 2021 budget is the allocation of P72.5 billion for the purchase of storage, transportation, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines,” Duterte

noted.

“Every centavo of this budget must be spent to ensure the nation’s recovery, resilience, and sustainability. Let me, therefore, serve an assurance to the Filipino people— this coming year, we intend to recover as one nation,” Duterte added.

The education sector, which covers the Department of Education, state universities and colleges, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, accounts for the larg-

est bulk of the budget at P708 billion.

The Department of Public Works and Highways received the second-highest allocation at P694 billion.

The health sector came third with a P287 billion allocation. This funding covers the Department of Health, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, specialty hospitals, the Philippine Institute Of Traditional And Alternative Health Care, and the Health Facilities Enhancement Program, and the COVID-19 vaccine. n

Non-profit offers US citizenship...

PAGE 1 solely on memorizing the English questions and corresponding answers,” Sarah Ivory, president of USAHello, told the Asian Journal in an email.

“Time and time again we found that when people failed to pass the civics portion of their exam, it was because the phrasing was slightly different in the in-person interview and the memorization tools they had used were not triggered,” she added.

The free translations aim to not just help future Americans study for and pass the exam, but to help them fully understand the content so they are answering the questions with the benefit of the larger context.

“Rather than repeating memorized responses, people who learn in their first language may be more likely to comprehend the material,” Ivory explained.

USAHello released the translated study materials based on the number of speakers of those languages

inside the U.S. Of the nine offered languages, seven represent the top languages spoken in the country.

Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, ranked fourth, with 1.7 million speakers in the U.S. Spanish leads the ranking right after English with 41 million speakers. Other languages in the top seven are Chinese (3.5 million), Vietnamese (1.5 million), Arabic (1.2 million), French (1.2 million), and Korean (1.1 million).

USAHello said it is planning to add more languages soon.

The naturalization test has two components: an English test, which has not changed, and an expanded version of the civics test.

The English test allows the applicant to demonstrate an understanding of the language including the ability to read, write, and speak basic English.

Meanwhile, the revised civic test assesses applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and civic val-

ues. An immigration officer will ask the applicant 20 questions from a list of 128 civics test questions. The applicant needs to answer at least 12 of the 20 questions correctly to pass the revised version.

Previously, the civics test only asked the applicant up to 10 questions from the list of 100 civics test questions. The applicant needed to answer six questions correctly to pass the test.

The revised civics test did not change the passing score, which remains at 60%.

Applicants who apply for naturalization on or after December 1, 2020 will take the updated version of the test.

USAHello also offers trustworthy and verified information about recent news and policy updates, such as changes to immigration programs like the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, as well as articles about understanding American laws and cultures, educational opportunities, and job preparedness. (Ritchel Mendiola / AJPress) n

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OPINION

5

FEATURES

Christmas tragedy

Philstar.com photo

FOR a family in Taguig, it has been a horrifyingly tragic Christmas. It started on Christmas Eve, when 28-year-old mother of two Karina Siacunco was found dead at their home. Relatives disputed her husband Aiko’s claim that she had hanged herself.

On Christmas Day, Aiko, wearing a bloodstained shirt, showed up at a police station in the city and said he had strangled to death his threeyear-old daughter and one-year-old son in their room. Aiko himself had reportedly tried to hang himself. Police rushed to his home, where they found the children’s bodies on a mattress.

Police said Siacunco had been depressed and had been fighting with his wife, who worked at a call center, over his failure to find a job since lockdowns were imposed in mid-March to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The tragedy that befell the Siacuncos is an extreme manifestation of the mental distress that health professionals say has been on the rise as a result of the difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. For household breadwinners in particular, the loss of jobs

or sources of livelihood can be deeply stressful and can put a strain on family relationships.

The Department of Health, the University of the Philippines and private civic organizations have been operating hotlines to assist those who are suffering from mental distress and to dissuade people from committing suicide. The hotlines have recorded spikes in calls since the start of the COVID lockdowns.

Such mental health services, however, remain limited. Even in organizations that provide psychological counseling and require members to pass psychiatric exams, the services can be inadequate. This has been manifested in the cold-blooded murder of a mother and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac on Dec. 20 by police M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca during a heated altercation.

The government has institutionalized the

Editorial

promotion of mental health, with the enactment of Republic Act 11036 in 2018. Yet limited resources and the lack of trained personnel have slowed down the rollout of mental health programs, and millions of Filipinos lack access to such services.

This campaign also calls for support from

local governments as well as the engagement of the community and various sectors such as schools and spiritual counselors. The tragedy that befell the Siacuncos lends urgency to the need for a more aggressive campaign to promote mental health together with physical wellness in this pandemic. (Philstar.com)

Honoring our heroes on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19: What happens when the doctor becomes the patient?

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS THE doctors, nurses, and caregivers who are fighting on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic are our

modern-day heroes. They work long hours and are exposed to the COVID-19 virus on so many levels. What happens when these heroes get infected by the virus? What happens when the doctor becomes the patient?

Let me share with you my interview with a colleague of my husband at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Redwood City, California.

Dr. Eric Kwon is an Asian American urologist and is among the frontliners who have no choice but to continue serving and providing care to his patients despite the threat of COVID-19. In March, when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, and just when the whole world was still learning more about this new virus, Dr. Kwon was infected by CO-

VID-19. The doctor became the patient.

Q: Tell me about how you found out you were infected by the coronavirus.

Dr. Kwon: It was late March. We were learning how to put on and take off PPE, what to do in case someone had symptoms.

And it was just it was actually very confusing. There was a lot of change, a lot of

information. A lot of uncertainty. And a lot of change, all at once.

And then one Saturday morning, I woke up and I felt I felt a little sick. A little runny nose, a slight cough headache. But mostly I was tired.

That was [an] overwhelming feeling that I had throughout the entire disease process.

So, took some Tylenol took a nap, what I thought would

be a nap and eight hours later, I woke up. And to my surprise, the entire day had passed. And, but I felt better.

So I didn’t think much of it.

So I went about my evening.

The next day, Sunday, no problem, no symptoms. I thought, ‘Oh this must have been just a hard week at work, and I was just tired.’

You know sometimes when PAGE 10

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

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Dateline PhiliPPines

Find best vaccine, set aside geopolitics, Zubiri urges Duterte

by DJ

Yap Inquirer.net

MANILA — Malacañang needs to set aside geopolitics for now and give priority to finding the best coronavirus vaccine available, instead of giving preferential treatment to China’s more expensive and less effective Sinovac brand, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Sunday, December 27.

Zubiri made the call a day after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go ahead with the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) unless the United States guaranteed at least 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the Philippines.

He urged Duterte “to temporarily stop looking at our geopolitical relationship” with China and the United

States, among other allies, and instead focus on the welfare of the Filipino people.

“What I am asking Malacañang is to choose the best [vaccine],” the senator said in a radio interview, pointing out that even China recently ordered 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine codeveloped by Pfizer of the United States and BioNTech of Germany.

“We have so few resources. Tax collection is down.

Not enough cash is circulating. Let us [put our money] to maximum use. We need the most affordable [option] and most importantly, reviewed by science,” he said.

“COVID is not a joke. I was infected twice. This is not a joke,” said Zubiri, who has recovered after testing positive twice for the coronavirus.

The senator said he under-

stood Mr. Duterte’s “frustration” after the President leveraged the VFA in vaccine procurement talks.

“If they are not able to deliver a minimum of 20 million vaccines, they better get out.

No vaccine, no stay here,” Duterte said during a meeting in Malacañang on Saturday, alluding to the VFA, a 1999 agreement allowing periodic visits of American troops in the Philippines and the holding of war games with Filipino soldiers.

In February, Duterte announced the termination of the VFA, citing the country’s independent foreign policy.

But in June, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the nullification had been suspended amid the pandemic and geopolitical tensions.

Zubiri said the President’s threat might have been a sign

RAINY SUNDAY. Traffic begins to build up along northbound of Roxas Boulevard in Manila due to heavy rains on Sunday, December 27. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned of moderate to heavy rains in Metro Manila and many parts of the country due to two low pressure areas (LPAs) that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

of his growing anger “because other countries have jumped ahead of us” in procuring COVID-19 vaccines.

“Nevertheless, we have other alternatives anyway.

India has one and it requires two doses for only P366 per

person. It’s really cheap but we have other options. Pfizer is one of them but we should look at others,” he said. n

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Census Bureau releases 2020...

PAGE 1 2020 Census, Demographic Analysis uses current and historical vital statistics records and other data to estimate the size of the U.S. population. By releasing these estimates ahead of the first results from the 2020 Census, Demographic Analysis offers an independent measure of the population for comparison with the official census counts.

Based on varying assumptions about the population, Demographic Analysis produced three different estimates for the size of the U.S. population on April 1, 2020: Low: 330,730,000 Middle: 332,601,000 High: 335,514,000 “The Census Bureau goes to great lengths to ensure the quality of our work,” said Dr. Ron Jarmin, Census Bureau deputy director and chief operating officer.

“Demographic Analysis is a valuable resource to help us analyze the completeness of the 2020 Census population count.”

Demographic Analysis estimates are developed using birth and death records, data on international migration, and Medicare records.

The range accounts for the levels of uncertainty in the input data and methods used to produce the estimates.

For example, birth and death estimates are regarded as relatively precise since they’re based on the National Vital Statistics System which is very accurate and complete. However, there is greater uncertainty in the estimates of international migration because administrative records are not available to produce those estimates.

Instead, we use data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and other sources to estimate international migration.

“Demographic Analysis enables us to utilize already existing data, such as current and historical administrative records and survey data, to estimate the size of the population,” said Dr. Eric Jensen, senior technical expert for Demographic Analysis in the Population Division. “We have done Demographic Analysis since the 1960 Census, and over time our estimates have benefited not only from methodological improvements, but improvements

to the available administrative records.”

The final 2020 Census results will be compared against the 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates to produce estimates of potential net coverage error by age, sex, broad race and Hispanic origin groups.

A report detailing the 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates of net overcounts and undercounts is planned for release in 2021.

Additionally, in 2021 and 2022, we plan to produce new, experimental sets of estimates, including: Estimates for the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations by sex for ages 0 to 39 (expanded from ages 0 to 29 released today) in 2021.

Estimates for young children (ages 0 to 4) will be available for the first time at the state and county levels in 2022. These estimates will incorporate current birth records, which are not yet available from local jurisdictions.

Estimates for the population ages 0 to 17 for White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races, and by Hispanic origin in 2022. These estimates incorporate race detail available in both birth and death records since 2003.

The Demographic Analysis estimates are one of two methods used to measure coverage in a census and help us understand what population groups may have been undercounted or overcounted. The other method is part of the Coverage Measurement Program and uses information from the Post-Enumeration Survey, an independent Census Bureau survey, to estimate how many people and housing units were missed or counted erroneously in the 2020 Census. Coverage estimates from the PostEnumeration Survey are scheduled to be available in November 2021.

The Census Bureau is working hard to process 2020 Census data in order to deliver complete and accurate state population counts as close to the December 31, 2020, statutory deadline as possible.

Demographic Analysis Highlights In addition to the esti-

mates of the total population for the nation, 2020 Demographic Analysis also provides national-level estimates of the U.S. population by age, sex, broad race and Hispanic origin groups.

Specifically, estimates are available for the number of people who are: Black alone/non-Black alone by sex for ages 0 to 85 and above.

Black alone or in combination/non-Black alone or in combination by sex for ages 0 to 85 and above (expanded from 0 to 29 in the 2010 Demographic Analysis).

Hispanic/non-Hispanic by sex for ages 0 to 29 (expanded from 0 to 19 in 2010).

These estimates can only be produced in limited race detail because they rely on historical records and measures of race that have changed over time.

Other highlights from today’s release include, in order of low, middle and high estimates: The median age of the U.S. population was estimated to be 38.4, 38.5 and 38.7, respectively.

The percentage of the U.S. population estimated to be Black alone was 13.5, 13.7 and 13.9, respectively.

The percentage of the population estimated to be Black alone or in combination with other races was 14.9, 15.1 and 15.4, respectively.

The sex ratio (number of males per 100 females) for the total population was 98.1 in the low and high series and 98.2 in the middle series. The sex ratio for the population under the age of 30 was 104.2 in the low series and 104.3 in the middle and high series.

For the population under the age of 30, the percentage estimated to be Hispanic was 23.0, 24.6 and 26.0, respectively. Demographic Analysis estimates of the population by Hispanic origin are not produced for all ages because the Hispanic origin option was not widely available on birth and death records until the 1990s.

Demographic Analysis only estimates the national population for these demographic categories, so its estimates cannot be compared to more detailed 2020 Census data that will show the population in states, cities, counties, census tracts and at the block level. n

Trump signs long-awaited COVID-19...

PAGE 1 ously reported in the Asian Journal.

The bill was chock full of other financial allocations that were originally in the omnibus government spending bill, leading the president to call the bill “a disgrace” that strayed too far from the original intent of COVID-19 relief legislation.

Trump’s signing of the bill on Sunday night was not without conditions; according to a statement confirming his formal approval of the bill, the bill’s passing was contingent upon the Senate’s consideration of further legislation that would increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

This likely catalyzed the House to gavel in on a holiday week, and in a bipartisan vote on Monday, Dec. 28 passed legislation that would increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

The bill is now in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the Republican-heavy Senate, who have opposed the $2,000 figure for months arguing it will increase the country’s debt. As of press time, it is unclear whether McConnell will consider the

updated legislation but Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote on Twitter in support of the increased stimulus check.

“I am concerned about the debt, but working families have been hurt badly by the pandemic,” Rubio said. “This is why I supported $600 direct payments to working families & if given the chance will vote to increase the amount.”

Whether they end up being $600 or $2,000, it is unclear when the payments will arrive, but some experts predict the payments should arrive in the next two weeks.

During the first roll-out of the $1,200 stimulus checks sent out in the spring, it took about two weeks between the time of Trump’s signing and the arrival of the first checks.

Those who have bank information on file with the IRS will likely receive money first via direct deposit; others will receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards in the mail.

Trump’s eleventh hour signing of the bill — which was passed in Congress earlier last week — may provide temporary relief for an economically struggling American public, but the

delay comes at the expense of those enrolled in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs.

Both programs were part of the historic expansion of the federal unemployment system that Congress enacted in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability (CARES) Act passed in late March. The former allowed independent and self-employed workers as well as those who can’t work due to the pandemic to qualify for up to 39 weeks of payments. The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, on the other hand, provided an extra $300 weekly payment to people who run out of state payments.

Both programs would have expired on Dec. 31, 2020.

Roughly 12 million people were enrolled in either program and would have received their last payment this weekend. The passage of this new bill means an extra 10 weeks, but because of Trump’s delayed signing of the bill, beneficiaries won’t receive a payment for the final week of the year. (By Klarize Medenilla/AJPress) n

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Some Cabinet members, troops get vaccines ahead of FDA approval MANILA — A number of Cabinet members and soldiers have already been inoculated with coronavirus vaccines, government officials confirmed, despite an earlier statement that medical frontliners would be top priority and despite no vaccines being authorized for use yet.

The confirmation was prompted by President Rodrigo Duterte’s comments that many people had already received vaccines from Chinese governmentrun Sinopharm.

“I know some from the Cabinet and the Presidential Security Guards,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in mixed Filipino and English in an interview aired over dzMM TeleRadyo. “Until those people confirm it for themselves I cannot say their names.”

In a separate statement Monday afternoon, the Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed that the soldiers who were vaccinated first belonged to the Presidential Security

Group. This came after Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, initially stressed at the Laging Handa briefing that there is no vaccination happening within the military.

Asked if the AFP would be willing to submit to an inquiry by the FDA, Arevalo said: “That’s a hypothetical question. Let’s find out what happened first.”

The Palace earlier in December said that 1.76 million health workers are first on the list of priority beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccination. Uniformed personnel like the military are fifth priority in the government plan to vaccinate 24.7 million Filipinos against COVID-19.

As reports of military personnel getting jabs of unauthorized COVID-19 vaccines circulated, the Department of Health maintained in a statement later Monday that all vaccines should undergo the evaluation and regulatory process of the country’s regulatory and expert bodies.

“We also reiterate that

the use of unregistered products poses harm to a person’s health and safety.

This is why only vaccines which have been approved and found to be safe should be administered,” it said.

US drugmaker Pfizer has applied for Emergency Use Authorization, which would make vaccines that have yet to be registered available for use. The FDA has not issued any authorizations for any COVID-19 vaccine.

But Palace spokesman Harry Roque saw things differently, saying at a press briefing later Monday: “It’s not illegal to be vaccinated with an unregistered vaccine. What is prohibited is the distribution and sale.”

“Let’s just accept that our military who guards our security is now safe from COVID when they can do their job. I don’t think [Duterte authorized the inoculation of soldiers.] It must have been the decision of the commanders and the soldiers,” he also said. (Franco Luna with a report from Gaea Katreena Cabico/Philstar.com) n

House survives bitter speakership row

by Divina nova Joy Dela Cruz ManilaTimes.net

THE drawn-out, emotionally charged change of leadership ratcheted up the political tension in 2020 in the House of Representatives that was already struggling to adjust to the new realities brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The dispute centered on the term-sharing deal arranged by President Rodrigo Duterte to smoothen the transition in the speakership.

The President convinced the two contenders, Taguig-Pateros’ Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque’s Lord Allan Velasco, to be speaker by turns during the 18th Congress.

Everyone seemed agreeable to the set-up. University of the Philippines Political Science Prof. Maria Ela Atienza saw it as a way to unite different political parties and factions into a “supermajority” that supports Duterte.

Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 elections, while Velasco was

Taguig Congressman Alan Peter Cayetano and newly-appointed House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco ManilaTimes.net photos

the choice of the President’s party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), for speaker.

The early months of the agreement went smoothly, with Cayetano assigning his allies to key House positions and Velasco content with staying in the background, patiently waiting his turn.

But soon relations between the two camps began to fray.

There were heated debates between the supporters of Cayetano and Velasco.

Cayetano began to complain about attempts to topple him even before his turn was up, while Velasco’s camp decried the “inequitable” district allocations in the national budget.

Things came to a head in September, when Cayetano declared he would hang on to the post because the House needed a strong hand in coming up with an effective coronavirus response, something which he claimed Velasco was incapable of doPAGE 9

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House survives bitter speakership...

PAGE 8 ing.

On September 30, Cayetano offered to resign, but decided to stay on as speaker after the House voted to turn down his offer.

The night before, Cayetano and Velasco met with the Duterte, assuring him they would abide by the termsharing deal.

Velasco blasted Cayetano’s “political maneuverings” and “theatrics,” insisting that the turnover must take place by October 14.

The speakership row incensed Duterte, who saw it as a major obstruction in the swift passage of the 2021 national budget.

As the dispute heated up, the House was forced to suspend session without passing the 2021 budget. But more politically significant, it prevented an October 14 transition.

The President finally put his foot down, calling Congress to a special session from October 13 to 16 specifically for the passage of the budget.

Velasco seized the chance to go on the offensive. As-

sembling majority of the House membership at the Celebrity Sports Complex on October 12, his allies convened a session that voted to replace Cayetano with Velasco.

Questions on the legality of Velasco’s election were put to rest the following day, when 186 congressmen attended a special session at the Batasang Pambansa to ratify Velasco’s speakership.

Hours later, Cayetano announced his resignation in a Facebook post.

The Velasco-led House hit the ground running, reopening deliberations for the 2021 budget and passing it on third and final reading on October 16.

Velasco vowed to unite the House and restore its “integrity” and “sense of statesmanship” after what he called an “unnecessary turmoil.” He consolidated his hold on power, establishing a supermajority in the House which included Cayetano’s Nacionalista Party.

By December 16, Velasco’s ascendancy was complete.

He also named 32 deputy speakers, 10 more than Cay-

etano had appointed.

While many regard the appointments as a way to reward Velasco’s allies, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who was among the new deputy speakers, said it was “a move in the right direction,” ensuring equal representation of all regions and political parties.

During Cayetano’s stint, Velasco’s allies were also stripped of sensitive posts.

Among them were Oriental Mindoro First District Rep. Salvador Leachon, Velasco’s PDP-Laban partymate, who had been booted out as chairman of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, and 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Michael Romero, president of the Party-list Coalition that supported Velasco, who had been stripped of the deputy speaker post.

As soon as Velasco assumed office, Leachon was elected as senior deputy speaker and Romero regained his deputy speaker post.

Cayetano could not help but take a final swipe, accusing Velasco and his allies of prioritizing plans for the

BUSINESS AS USUAL. Two men prepare bouquets of flowers at the Manila Flower Center on the intersection of Laong Laan Road and Dos Castillas Street in Sampaloc, Manila on Saturday, December 26. Several business establishments have been allowed to operate to slowly revive the country’s economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

2022 elections instead of ensuring funding for a coronavirus vaccine.

Velasco believes the House is up to the challenge of passing key legislation amid the pandemic and the calamities that have struck the country.

“Never has the mettle and resolve of government and our public servants been col-

lectively and consecutively tested in recent memory than it has been this year. Pero nandito pa rin tayo, lumalaban at nagtatrabaho (But we are still here, fighting and working). After all that we have been through, I could truly say, we are a Stronger House,” he said before Congress went into a Christmas break on December 16.

Velasco reported that since he assumed office in October, the House has processed a total of 185 measures, with 7 Republic Acts and at least 20 more measures awaiting Duterte’s signature.

The House has also approved 83 measures on third and final reading and 50 more measures on second reading, he said. n

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Honoring our heroes on the...

PAGE 5 you’re really tired, you can feel sick.

That Monday, I went to work. I was okay. That next Tuesday, I went to work, and around nine in the morning when our team huddled to talk about the day, I remember having a headache. And I said, ‘Oh, that’s funny, you know, I got a good night’s rest, took an Advil, got through my morning.’

And then right around noon, when we’re finished with the morning patients, my partner came over to me and said, ‘Hey let’s go get lunch.’ I remember putting on my white coat, and as I put my arms into the sleeves, I could feel it was like sandpaper. My body just ached and I felt a slight fever. ...My whole body was just very achy [and at] lunch, [I] didn’t think much of it...And I was thinking to myself, I wasn’t thinking I have coronavirus. I was just thinking: ‘Gosh, I hope I’m not getting sick with the flu.’ Because the very next day, Wednesday, was the start of spring break for my kids, and I was supposed to be off for two weeks. And the trip that we had planned was already canceled. So we were thinking, what else are we going to do, we’re going to, maybe, you know, do something local, you know, spend some time with the family.

And then that night, I got home. And that’s when it really got serious with fevers, chills, more body aches, headache, joint pains, but really just feeling terribly tired.

I just wanted to lay down, I could not get out of bed. And so that was the beginning of it.

Q: How do you think you got infected?

Dr. Kwon: The next morning I get up, I’m thinking I’m looking back [at] what happened. At that time, we were not wearing masks...So, we did not understand that this was an airborne disease. So we were talking about six feet social distance. We were talking about hand washing and cleaning surfaces. But really, in hindsight, we now know that this is an airborne virus. So, if you’re indoors, even if you’re six feet apart — it doesn’t really matter.

Masks can help. It’s not everything. But you really need to provide protection for your airway.

So before I became sick, even though we knew this virus was raging, we did not

even in the hospital, and in the clinic here at the Medical Center, we did not have a mask policy. In fact, we were worried about using up the limited supply of masks that we had. So we were very much in the mode of preserving masks and PPE rather than just making sure that everyone was using them everywhere.

And of course, depending on the advisory coming from [the] CDC and the health officials. But the fact is we’re just learning more about this on COVID-19... In my personal opinion, I think probably a lot of people would agree that the way we responded, our initial response to this virus was a complete public health failure.

Q: How did this experience change you?

Dr. Kwon: You know, I’m middle-aged. Before this happened. I considered myself to be young and healthy.

Now, I know that I’m old.

And I know that because I realized that I am no longer invincible.

When you’re young, when you’re healthy, you don’t think that something bad like this can happen to you.

And as a physician, maybe as health care workers, we might have this little voice in our head, that says, I’m one of the good guys. Right. So, in a moral universe where there’s maybe you believe in karma. If you do good, good will come to you, if you work hard, you will be rewarded. If you do the right thing. Maybe that will somehow protect you from being in harm’s way. All of those myths evaporated in a heartbeat — being young being healthy, never, ever hospitalized, don’t really go to the doctor ever, and wasn’t taking any medications.

Occasionally, you know, go in for vaccination for work, get the flu vaccine once a year. But other than that, my interaction with the medical world actually as a patient was quite minimal.

And so, I had this thinking that it would not affect me at all — what a mistake that was. And now on the other side of having gone through a relatively severe bout of COVID, being in the ICU for several days, being sick and symptomatic for a couple of months. And now having some residual long haul symptoms that I’m still recovering from.

Q: How was it like being a patient? What insights did

you learn from this health crisis in your own life?

Dr. Kwon: It’s been very humbling. And the thing that I think the way that I really changed is my perspective on the people, the people that we depend on that.

They’re always there quietly doing their work. And they’re in the background... when you really need them.

These are exceptional people that do the work every single day with hardly any recognition. They’re not getting awards. This is not Hollywood. These are real life, everyday heroes. And the people who are most impactful for me, who have been the most impactful have been the nurses.

They are the ones that are literally on the frontlines putting themselves at risk, more, more than anybody else really and doing the hard work, providing the care. So, before all of this, of course, I am friends with the nurses and I know them, some of them personally, mostly in the operating room, where we have teams and we work together.

But after being a patient and directly receiving that care that that human touch, literally. You know I was quarantined for a total of five weeks. And during that five weeks, the only people that ever touched me were nurses, and that warm hand on my arm was reassuring.

The reassuring words, the medicine they brought, the ice packs that they put around me. When my body felt like it was on fire. Those are the people. They are my heroes, and I appreciate them way more than I ever did.

Our mothers, our fathers in this war against the coronavirus...It’s really important to understand that, because there are only so many of them.

Our nurses have gotten sick, particularly in the spring, when PPE was in such short supply...You know nobody likes to admit this but the United States, our healthcare system, we just were not prepared for, for many reasons. Supply chain being one of them. We just didn’t have what we needed.

Let’s just face the facts.

So we were making do with what we have reusing and N95 masks. We’re still reusing them. So, unfortunately, a lot has not changed. But at least we are. We’ve learned. But it’s not like we have a whole

INDIGNATION RALLY. Members of the League of Parents of the Philippines and Liga Independencia Pilipinas hold a rally in Mendiola, Manila on Saturday, December 26, as they condemn the atrocities perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). The rally was held during the CPP’s 52nd founding anniversary.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Marcos files bill prohibiting untraceable firearms PHILIPPINE Senator Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos has filed Senate Bill (SB) 1937, seeking to prohibit untraceable firearms or “ghost guns.”

Her “Anti-Untraceable Firearms Act,” Marcos said, avoids the proliferation of loose or unregistered firearms, which have been the major concern of law enforcement agencies for decades and as statistics show that more than 90 percent of all crime incidents involved the use of loose or unregistered firearms.

The senator, who chairs the economic affairs committee, said in recent years, law enforcement agencies in many parts of the world have voiced their concerns over the existence of ghost guns.

Ghost guns refer to firearms, including frames or

receivers, which lack serial numbers engraved on the frames or receivers by a licensed manufacturer, importer or dealer, including those made through three dimensional (3D) printing machines. These undetectable and untraceable firearms are illegal.

The United Nations on Drugs and Crime has reported that with the advent of 3D printing, illegal software produced individual 3D printed firearms that looked rather unlike weapons on the legal market and pose a grave threat to public safety.

With the advent of 3D printing, 3D printed firearms have become an emerging source of illicit firearms.

The 3D printed firearms are untraceable and are mostly or entirely made of materials undetectable by traditional security scanning systems.

Marcos said the govern-

ment should act immediately in putting a stop to the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking of firearms, their parts, components and ammunition that pose a major threat to the security and welfare of the people.

SB 1937 seeks to penalize the manufacturing, selling, offering to sell, transferring, purchasing, importing, acquiring, possession or receiving of a ghost gun or parts thereof, machinery, tool or instrument, including 3D printing machines used or intended to be used in the manufacturing of ghost guns or parts thereof, among others, to put a stop and prevent the threat such firearm/s poses.

Under the bill, any person found guilty of any of the prohibited acts mentioned shall be punished with imprisonment of prison mayor to reclusion temporal or a fine of P1 million to P3 million or both at the discretion of the court. n

army of nurses that we can just call upon to fill in. We have a limited workforce.

You know they’re working very hard, under extremely stressful situations.

And we have to protect them. We have to treat them as a valuable resource and a limited resource. And the way we do that is with our

own behavior [and] to protect each other.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. ***

Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.

by Javier Joe ismael ManilaTimes.net

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 1-7 2021

COMMUNITY Journal

11

Roxanne reveals she got married amid pandemic

By Ian

BIong Inquirer.net

SPECIAL THANKSGIVING EPISODE OF CITIZEN PINOY THIS SUNDAY PROVIDES ANSWERS TO YOUR IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS! In the Thanksgiving episode of Citizen Pinoy, Atty. Gurfinkel answers questions from Kapamilya in Hawaii and in Texas. Mercy (center) has a childcare business in Honolulu, HI, and would like to know if she can petition her niece, who is a Psychology graduate and who passed the board exam, to work in her facility. She asks why her mother was subjected to the 10-year ban after her mother went home to the Philippines to get her visa. Teemmie from Houston, TX (right) would like to petition her husband but is currently receiving SSA and SNAP from the government. Can her sister-in-law provide the affidavit of support as a co-sponsor? Atty. Gurfinkel offers answers as well as thoughts on gratitude on a special Thanksgiving encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot – Social Distancing Style” this Sunday, January 3 at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

January 2021 priority dates Immigration Corner

THE January 2021 priority dates, continue to provide great news for workers in the EB-3 (skilled/professional) and “other worker” (unskilled workers like caregivers). The priority dates for all countries (except India and China) are CURRENT! This includes the Philippines! This means visas are available, regardless of the person’s priority date. If a person is being petitioned by an employer, and their Form I-140 employment- based petition has been approved or is pending, they could possibly be eligible to file for adjustment of status and work authorization, assuming they are otherwise eligible for adjustment of status (i.e. no issues re maintaining status, no fraud/crimes, etc.) People with approved or pending I-140 petitions should see an attorney about their eligibility to file for adjustment, now that the priority dates for these employment-based categories are current.

Each month, the Visa Of-

Roxanne Barcelo got married to her partner earlier this year.

Photo from Instagram/@roxannebarcelo

lockdown back then), all we knew was we were going to get married before the year

ends,” she added.

“Totoo pala ‘yung ‘When PAGE 12

The Priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: FAMILY CATEGORY: First Preference

Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

KAPUSO Star Roxanne Barcelo revealed that she got engaged and married earlier this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barcelo shared the good news to her fans via her YouTube vlog titled “Hear Me Out,” which she released on Christmas Eve. “I got engaged. My partner asked me to marry him.

And he said he wants to start a family with me. It was such a beautiful moment because he asked me twice,” Barcelo said.

“He asked me for the first time a few months after quarantine. Pero since naka-lockdown pa noon (but since we were under the

Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens (over 21 years of age)

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

October 08, 2012

January 01, 2012

(2A) Spouse and Second Preference minor children (below August 01, 21 years old) of green 2020 card holders

Current

(2B) Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years old or older) of green card holders

April 01, 2012

August 15, 2011

Third Preference

Married sons and daughters of US Citizens

December 22, 2002

March 01, 2002

Fourth Preference

Brothers and sisters of US Citizens

September 01, February 01, 2002 2002

LABOR CERTIFICATION:

Application Filing Date

Visa Issuance Date

Second Preference

Advanced Degree (Masters)

Current

Current

Third Preference

Professional/ Skilled Workers

Current

Current

Other Workers

Non-Skilled Workers

Current

Current

fice of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment-based categories.

A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be avail-

able for persons whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below. If your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved backwards” and became unavailable) before your immigrant visa was issued (or before you adjustPAGE 12

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY

EVERYDAY

9:00am - 11:00am

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Did the nurse die?

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS THE other day, I received a startling video clip from a friend in Texas who forwarded it from his Messenger account, showing a nurse being interviewed after getting the anti-COVID-19 vaccine.

The video showed she felt ill right there and then, and passed out. The video clip ended there. The printed message on the video said, “Nurse died after taking shot of COVID vaccine.”

Tiffany Dover, a nurse at CHI Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who fainted after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, was wildly circulated in the social media around the world as having died from the shot.

News like this will obviously create fear and panic among people who are waiting to get the vaccine and may opt out of it. That would be a disaster. The public is already worried about the safety of the vaccines because they were developed rapidly (about 11 months rather than the old conventional way, which took years, even decades, to develop).

COVID-19 data update Currently, worldwide, there are almost 81.3 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 1.8 million deaths: U.S. – about 19.6 million, with about 342,000 deaths; the Philippines – around 471,000 cases and 9,200 deaths.

A new strain (variant) with 20 mutations of SARSCoV2 (COVID-19) virus, 70 percent more transmissible, is spreading in the United Kingdom and first detected on December 14, 2020. Other countries with this new strain include Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. All passengers on flights from the UK to the U.S. are now required to have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their flight. It is not certain at this point that if this new strain is already in the U.S. An egregious act Whoever circulated the incomplete video and the resultant half-truth – fake news –must be censured.

CHI Hospital confirmed Tiffany is alive and well and

back to work. Fake news – false information like this – instantly circulates throughout the world in this day and age of the internet and social media. The harm this person had done, obviously intentional, could kill countless people, especially those gullible, innocent and ignorant who would develop deathly fear of the vaccine and refuse to get it. The act, an abuse of our first amendment right by an apparent mentally deranged person, borders on criminality. It is a great disservice to humankind as a whole. If we cannot help end this ravaging pandemic, we must at least not endeavor to worsen it and kill more people around the globe. As recipients of fake news, we, on the other hand, have the responsibility not to disseminate them, without doing a due diligence first.

All lives matter. All lives are valuable. We have more than enough deaths!

Hurried vaccines?

Scientifically, the impressive speed with which these anti-COVID-19 vaccines evolved was due to a newly discovered faster, more efficient, process (with mRNA) in vaccine manufacturing.

There was no rush or shortcuts taken here. The same strict, rigid, intensive laboratory and 3-stage clinical, evidence-based, randomized studies and trials were followed, involving at least 80,000 subjects for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and released for public use a week ago only after passing the stringent safety milestone of, and approval by, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

With this new and improved process of vaccine production, future vaccines will also be developed faster.

As we have stated in an earlier article, simply because vehicles today are manufactured a lot faster than those of 80 years, or even 50 years ago, does not mean our cars of today are less safe. As a matter of fact, with the amenities and smart features in vehicles today, they are a lot safer, more comfortable and a joy to drive. The faster speed of development is due to the more efficient, more precise way of manufacturing vehicles today.

Of course, vaccines, medications and surgical procedures are not perfect, not 100 percent without risk or possible complications. Life

is full of risk. We have all read about people crossing the streets, climbing ladders, biking, skiing, etc., who were killed. That is reality. The trick is not to abandon them, but to evaluate and take all precautions.

Shot or no shot As far as the vaccines against the SARS-CoV2 virus of COVID-19, what we have to weigh is which one is less risky, less deadly to have. The scale definitely, scientifically, practically and wisely tips in favor of getting the vaccine. It’s a no-brainer. We must take advantage of what modern medicine has to offer to save our life and maintain good health.

Those with history of allergies are observed at the place of vaccination for at least 15 minutes after the vaccine is given. All those facilities have anti-allergy medications, steroids, etc., in readiness, even for the more severe reactions. This is reassuring.

In one clinical study of a quarter of a million people given the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, there were six who developed severe allergic reactions, a miniscule incidence of 0.000024 percent. Evidently, as the manufacturers announced, these vaccines are safe. More common side effects noted are pain in the area of the shot, fever, tiredness, and headache, which last for a day or two.

The world, each country, would acquire herd immunity and stop this pandemic only when 75 percent of the(ir) population get the anti-COVID-19 two-shot vaccine.

Post-vaccination behavior After getting the shot, all of us should behave as if we have not had it yet, continuing our frequent handwashing, limiting ourselves to essential travels, using facemask and doing social distancing. This is the safe demeanor post-vaccination because there are a lot we do not know about the clinical course of the vaccines.

The vaccines are new, and the medical community and the public should (would) learn more about it: How long after the vaccination does protection (immunity) start, and at what level (about 52 percent after the first week? How about after the first day, second day, etc.?). During this first week of vaccination, can we still PAGE 15

Jodi Sta. Maria and son Thirdy pose in front of a street art during a trip in Portugal.

Photo from Instagram/@jodistamaria

on Instagram, Dec. 23.

“You brought so much joy anak hindi lang sa buhay ko pero sa buhay naming nagmamahal sayo (You brought so much joy not just in my life, but in the lives of those who love you).”

As per the actress, watching Thirdy grow has been delightful and a bit scary. Nevertheless, she cannot help but feel excited to watch Thirdy achieve his dreams and conquer life’s mountains.

“I know struggles and

tears are inevitable… but my prayer is that you will grow into the person you were meant to be,” she said.

“Maligayang Kaarawan, Muy! Mahal na mahal ka namin. Hindi ako titigil sa pasasalamat sa Diyos dahil ibinigay ka Niya sa akin (Happy birthday, Muy! We love you so much.

I will never stop thanking the Lord for he gave you to me),” she added.

Thirdy is Sta. Maria’s son with ex-husband Panfilo Lacson Jr.

Jodi pens sweet birthday message for son Thirdy

By Cody

Cepeda Inquirer.net

JODI Sta. Maria penned a sweet birthday message for her son Thirdy, now 15 years old.

The saying time goes fast when you’re a parent rang true for Sta. Maria, when she said it seemed just recently when she first held Thirdy. “[Fifteen] years na pala mula nung una kong nahawakan ka (It’s been 15 years since I first held you),” Sta. Maria wrote

January 2021 priority dates...

PAGE 11 ed status in the U.S.), you would have to wait until it becomes current again. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 40 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California.

Each case is different and results

may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and reenactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorneyclient relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Fo l l o w u s o n Fa c e b o o k . com/GurfinkelLaw, Twitter @ GurfinkelLaw and YouTube: US Immigration TV Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

Roxanne reveals she got...

PAGE 11 you know, you know.’ I knew from the start na siya ‘yung para sa akin (So the saying “When you know, you know” really is true. I knew from the start that he is the one for me),” Barcelo said.

Barcelo also took to Instagram on Christmas Day to share two wedding photos

with the public, which both celebrities and fans alike enjoyed. She did not disclose, however, the dates of her engagement and marriageq to her non-showbiz partner.

“Merry Christmas from me and my husband.[emoji] #flashbackfriday,” Barcelo said in one post.

“My Creator’s best gift ever,” Barcelo said in the following post.

Aside from her marriage, Barcelo also updated fans on several things that have happened or are happening in her life, including the founding of the Doc B Foundation in honor of her late father.

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com

Cherie on ‘fearless’ Andi’s engagement

By Dolly

anne CarvaJal Inquirer.net

CHERIE Gil is best known for her brilliant portrayals of “kontrabida” characters.

But when she talks about her niece Andi Eigenmann, Cherie turns into a softie. “Just like me, Andi is fearless,” she points out. “She’s a risk-taker and a lover of life.”

What are her thoughts on Andi’s engagement to Philmar Alipayo? “I wish I could give her marriage advice, but I’m not the best person to do so. Instead, I will just wish her everything wonderful in this new junction of her life,” she says. “Andi is obviously very happy. She’s been clear from the get-go on how she wants to see herself hereon in this life. She’s got it all figured out. She found her niche with her beautiful babies and the man of her dreams.

Too bad the other important man in Andi’s life is no longer around, her dad Ralph (aka Mark Gil), who was a dear friend of mine. I remember when he told me during the time Andi began making waves, “Andi used to be known as ‘anak ni Mark Gil.’ But now, it’s more of me being known as the ‘dad of Andi Eigenmann.’”

According to Cherie, she’s sure that Ralph is smiling from up above as she sees Andi living her “happy-everafter.”

Then, I told Cherie, “If only we could also find our perfect match, like Andi has.” She shot back, “Nothing’s perfect. The only perfection is to be complete with yourself.” I replied, “The line ‘You complete me’ must be changed to ‘You complement me.’”

Suddenly, our interview turned into a love consulta-

Milo Severo Philstar.com

KAPUSO actress Glaiza de Castro is now engaged to Irish boyfriend David Rainey.

In her Instagram account, Glaiza posted photos of her with David showing her engagement ring.

“Who would’ve thought I’d say yes in freezing cold weather… it just felt right,” Glaiza captioned the post.

Celebrities such as Solenn

13

Angeline misses ‘Mama Bob’ on first Christmas without her

By CoDy

CepeDa Inquirer.net

Cherie Gil

Inquirer.net photo

tion sesh. Ah! I could listen to that Eigenmann “woman of substance and grace” all day.

John not sitting on his laurels In last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), John Arcilla played a mean jail superintendent in “Miracle in Cell No.7.” This time around, John portrays a good guy (Father Suarez) in the MMFF entry, “Suarez: The Healing Priest.” Show biz insiders say that he’s a shoo-in for the festival’s best actor award. That Arcilla bravura never fails.

Here’s my chat with John: What’s your fondest memory of Fr. Suarez?

It was our first meeting, when he told me stories about his life. What I saw was a very positive person, who wasn’t even affected by the sexual molestation controversy at all. He was not even trying to justify nor defending himself. He just entrusted his whole fate to God and wholeheartedly submitted himself to the will of the Almighty. This charismatic priest, admittedly a proud fan of ‘Heneral Luna,’ told me he

John Arcilla

Inquirer.net photo

personally handpicked me to portray him.”

What’s your fave scene and line in the movie?

It was when I, as Fr. Suarez, was locked inside a rehab center with drug addicts and criminals. It was an act of disciplinary action through the recommendations of his Bishop mentor, and I was praying and crying, asking God why I had to go through it. But I said, “If it is God’s will, I will accept the suffering.”

The next real incident was not used in the film: It is when a cyclone directly hit the rehab center, took off its roof and totally wrecked the facility.

After bagging countless awards already, what makes you not sit on your laurels?

I still want to do a lot of things. I still want to tell a lot of stories. This world still has a lot to talk about “loving, living and laughing.” Our country is still “young” in a lot of aspects … we still need a lot to learn as a nation, and I wish I can contribute something to make this world a friendlier place.

Glaiza engaged to Irish boyfriend

By Jan

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 1-7 2021

Heusaff, Jasmin Curtis, Angelica Panganiban, Marian Rivera, Maxene Magalona, Alessandra de Rossi, Sarah Lahbati, to name a few congratulated Glaiza on her engagement.

Glaiza previously admitted that she’s experiencing challenges in keeping a longdistance relationship with David. They reunited last September to celebrate their anniversary as a couple.

Glaiza and David have been dating for two years.

Glaiza de Castro Photo from Instagram/@glaizaredux

CHRISTMAS was different for singer-actress Angeline Quinto this year, as it is the first time she celebrated it without her adoptive mother she fondly refers to as Mama Bob. Quinto remembered Mama Bob, whose real name is Sylvia Quinto, on Christmas Day, showing a photo of the two of them on Instagram during better days.

“Ito ang unang pasko na wala ka Ma. Ibang iba ang pakiramdam pero sa 30 years ng buhay ko na kasama kita walang patlang ang pag mamahal na pinaramdam mo sa akin,” said Quinto.

(This is my first Christmas without you, Ma. It feels so different, but in the 30 years I’ve spent with you, you have shown me nothing but constant love.)

Quinto also said there is nothing more she would thank the Lord for other than

Angeline Quinto with her adoptive mother, fondly called Mama Bob. Photo from Instagram/@loveangelinequinto

allowing her and Mama Bob to cross paths when she was just a baby.

“Ikaw ang buhay at mundo ko Mama Bob,” said Quinto.

“Maligayang Pasko Ma dyan sa langit.” (You are my life and world, Mama Bob. Merry Christmas in heaven.)

In the end, the singer urged her friends, colleagues and relatives to hug their mothers tight.

“Lagi niyong ipaalala sa kanila na mahal na mahal niyo sila,” she said. (Always

remind them how much you love them.)

Quinto confirmed the death of her mother on Nov. 7 following months of hospitalization. Mama Bob underwent surgery back in July 2019 involving her heart’s pacemaker.

In September, Quinto asked for prayers for Mama Bob. Although she did not disclose her mom’s ailment then, Quinto said she was going through the greatest challenge of her life.

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JANUARY 1-7, 2021 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

• (212) N E W http://www.asianjournal.com YO R K / N E W J E R S EY 655-5426 JA N UA RY 1 , 2 0 2 1

people events arts culture entertainment

Filipino traditions to welcome 2021

by RITCHEL

2

MENDIOLA / AJPress

020 has been a turbulent year all around, offering no reprieve as it doled out concerning news and tragedies month after month, and changed everyday life as we knew it.

It’s no wonder then, that everyone is eager to say goodbye to this year and welcome 2021 with boundless hope that it will be better than the last. Countries like the United Kingdom and the United States have already begun their COVID19 vaccine campaigns, so the new year is looking a little less bleak.

Just like with Christmas, we can’t celebrate the new year the way we used to.

Restrictions are in place to keep the public from contracting COVID-19 and everyone is still encouraged to stay at home.

Even without the usual fanfare, we Filipinos can still welcome 2021 by partaking in traditions that are supposed to help in making the new year better, happier, and more bountiful

— right in our own homes.

Here are some of those traditions: 1. Eating media noche Filipinos love eating — but more than that, they love eating together with their families. New Year’s Eve gives them that opportunity to celebrate, complete with an impressive spread to welcome the incoming year.

Roughly translated as “midnight,” Media Noche is a Filipino custom where family members, their relatives, and friends all gather together to eat and drink.

The menu differs for every family but there will always be some food that remain a staple in every household, such as pancit (long noodles), which represent good health and long life; and sticky rice, which

represents tighter family bonds.

2. Having circles/round shapes everywhere Filipinos and Chinese alike believe the round shape is a symbol of prosperity, so it’s common to see circles during New Year’s Eve. More often than not, you’ll see 12 round fruits displayed on the dining table (one fruit per month for a prosperous year) or people wearing polka-dotted clothes.

3. Jumping when the clock strikes 12 The most popular tradition that Filipino adults and kids do as soon as the clock strikes January 1. Jumping as high as you can is believed to be a way to help you grow taller in the new year — there’s no scientific explanation to support this

belief, but it’s fun and exhilarating to do anyway.

4. Opening doors and keeping all the lights on When the new year arrives, Filipinos would open all the doors in their houses to allow good energy and good fortune to come in, and turn on all the lights to welcome a brighter year.

5. Making loud noises to drive off evil spirits Firework displays are a common sight in every country when they welcome the new year, but in the Philippines, fireworks light up the sky because it is believed loud sounds would scare off evil spirits that bring bad luck. Aside from this, Filipinos usually play loud music in the open, and use horns or toy instruments to produce earpiercing noises.

Vice Ganda admits missing MMFF

By Jan

Milo Severo

Philstar.com

K APAMILYA host Vice Ganda admitted that he misses the Metro Manila Film Festival after his movie didn’t make the final cut.

In his Twitter account, the “It’s Showtime” host said he feels relaxed this Christmas season.

“Dec. 25, 2020. Walang MMFF first day kaba and ngarag. Walang cinema tours. Walang mall tours.

Walang kaliwa’t kanan na

texts and calls from VIVA and Star Cinema kung magkano na ang gross every after screening hours,” Vice wrote.

“Tahimik lang. Kalmado lang. ibang iba. Kakamiss din,” he added.

Vice’s MMFF entries during the previous years were top grocers at the festival. Vice began his MMFF tradition with “Sisterakas” in 2012 followed by “Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy” in 2013, “The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin” in 2014 and “Beauty and the

Bestie” in 2015.

Vice and Coco Martin’s movie “The Super Parental Guardians” failed to make the cut in 2016 but his “Gandarrapiddo: The Revenger Squad ” made it in 2017, followed by “Fantastica” in 2018 and “The Mall the Merrier” last year.

The MMFF announced that his film “Praybeyt Benjamin 3 ” was part of the first four official entries in the festival. The film, however, didn’t make it on the submission deadline.

Vice Ganda

Photo from Instagram @praybeytbenjamin

Self-care in 2021: Resisting commercialized wellness and appreciating what you have Plus, taking a look at the radical history of self-care

by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA / AJPress

IT could not be said enough: 2020 was awful.

Nearly everybody could agree, and no matter what kind of silver-lining spin you try to put on it, it’s an immovable fact that this was a year marked by the ongoing coronavirus crisis which has threatened economic stability, political security and, most importantly, the health of millions of people across the globe.

According to the World Health Organization, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus globally as of Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020.

Nearly 1.8 million people have passed away from complications over the virus.

On a local level, the staggering numbers paint a much more dire situation, especially in Los Angeles County, in which hospitals continue to be swamped with COVID19 patients and where a new stay-at-home order may be on the horizon.

All in all, the current climate doesn’t make conducive the prospect of optimism and safety. But no matter what the circumstances are in the outside world, there’s always room for self-care.

Self-care isn’t a new phenomenon but it quickly became shorthand for mental health around 2016. Searching the #selfcare hashtag on Instagram yields more than 15 million posts that depict everything from a fresh manicure and a haircut to collections of luxury aromatherapy and yoga poses on mountain tops. Google searches for

the term doubled in 2016, and interestingly, the term was Googled twice as much in April and May of this year, signaling the pandemic as a catalyst for self-care.

But what does self-care actually entail? A concept so individualistic means that one person’s vision of selfcare differs from the next, but popular conceptions — taking breaks from social media, adopting an exercise or diet routine, Marie Kondo-ing your closet — seek to provide universal balms to the burns of anxiety, depression and mental exhaustion.

The popularity of self-care has devolved the phenomenon into a commodifiable concept; for $492 you can buy a vial of sandalwood essential oil. For about the same price, you can book a spot at The Silent Meditation Retreat in North Carolina (if you book by Dec. 31, the price is a special COVID-19 discount at the relatively equally astonishing price of $295). Online marketplaces like Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness empire GOOP regularly hawk quirky, exorbitantly priced self-care products and services (like a $135 at-home coffee enema designed to detox your rectum and, allegedly, provide a caffeine boost).

By 2018, the global health and wellness space became a $4.5 trillion industry, obscuring the point of self-care from an authentic mission to care for oneself to a muddy marketplace rife with grifts and sham cures.

PAGE 15

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 1-7 2021

Self-care in 2021: Resisting...

PAGE 14 The truth is that there isn’t (and, some would argue, shouldn’t be) a price tag on self-care. And it wasn’t designed that way.

The term self-care was first documented in the 1950s among the medical community to describe behavioral and attitudinal changes in institutionalized patients who needed to preserve physical independence through daily tasks like personal grooming or exercising.

In the 1960s, academics began to look more closely at the concept of self-care, particularly in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders: hospital workers, social workers and firefighters who all became overworked during one of the most tumultuous times in American history. This included expanding the list of needs that affected folks required to establish boundaries between work and personal life — an explicit precursor to the plight of front line workers of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the concept of selfcare took off in a big way in the 1970s at the cross section of the women’s liberation and civil rights movements. The Black Panther Party promoted it to the Black community as a way to maintain strength of character while experiencing repeated abuses of systemic racism.

Notably, the Black Panther Party wanted to provide a channel of care at a time when the American medical system — which, at that time, lacked racial diversity — failed to diagnose illnesses rampant among the Black American community, like sickle-cell anemia and lead poisoning.

Simultaneously, women’s clinics began popping up around the country as a way to escape a white, patriarchal medical system, a radical corrective to the “claiming [of] autonomy over the body as a political act against institutional, technocratic, very racist and sexist medicine,” Natalia Mehlman Petzrela, associate professor at the New School and author of many academic articles about the wellness industry, told Slate in 2016.

There became a push to reexamine health care beyond just the physical and the socioeconomic factors that contribute to low mental health, according to Jennifer Nelson’s book “More Than Medicine:

A History of the Feminist Women’s Health Movement”: women in poverty were constantly described as “vectors of disease,” hostility toward reproductive rights increased and racist attitudes and practices over who deserves the best medical care.

This era of self-care was built upon the idea that, at the heart of it, self-care relies on agency, awareness and nuance: understanding that there may be mental and emotional issues present and it is a valid and radical act to preserve physical, emotional and mental autonomy.

As Audre Lorde wrote in “A Burst of Light” in 1988, “Caring for myself is not selfindulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

So in a climate that is so charged by quarantine fatigue and rampant political division, what does self-care look like? The COVID-19 crisis has taken a huge toll on our lives, whether it’s putting front line family members at a daily risk or causing an economic plunge that threatens basic livelihoods.

Given the cultural and political implications of selfcare, and the current state of affairs, it makes sense that there is a hunger for meaningful introspection and ways to achieve peace of mind; if you’re willing to spend $500 for a silent retreat, essential oils or whatever newfangled wellness commodity the marketplace offers, then there truly is no expense spared when it comes to self-care.

The new year often brings to the fore resolutions, ways to stimulate productivity and positive change and, in general, feel better mentally and emotionally. Losing weight, spending less time in front of a screen, learning a new language and decluttering are common long-term goals, but new year’s resolutions famously don’t last longer than a month.

This idea of a new year’s resolution is usually based in self-care and rooted in the idea that we become newer, better versions of ourselves.

But what that kind of rhetoric does is encourage a way of thinking that values productivity over mindfulness and ignores the fact that maybe what we need, we already have. That there isn’t a sweeping master plan toward self-care that involves major life decisions or purchases.

Jenny Odell — a Filipina American artist and profes-

sor at Stanford — wrote in her best-selling book “How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” that perhaps the secret to living a more fulfilled life is by “doing nothing.”

What that means is resisting the persuasions of a cultural, political and media landscape that forces us to believe in a toxic view of upward mobility, that to remain in one place is to remain mentally stagnant. It’s the radical thought that there is plenty to learn from and build up what we already know how to do.

“But beyond self-care and the ability to (really) listen, the practice of doing nothing has something broader to offer us: an antidote to the rhetoric of growth,” Odell writes.

“In the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous.

Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and the regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”

As members of a culture that prioritizes optimization over maintenance, it makes sense that we generally don’t see what’s directly in front of us, our focus moving away from the attainable foreground to an ideal faraway place of perfection. Maybe what we need to do in the name of self-care and self-satisfaction doesn’t truly thrive in the supposed utopias that modern technology and capital enterprise promise.

Many of us, especially in the Filipino American community, have lost friends and family members to COVID-19 — possibly the most tragic, unconscionable loss in a year full of losses. Earlier this year, in a story about the Lakers championship win, the Asian Journal spoke with Annalynn Rosario, a graphic designer in Lake Forest who lost her father to COVID-19 in June.

For that story, Rosario recounted what it was like to watch the Los Angeles Lakers win their 17th title without her father, who was a fervent Laker fan and with whom Rosario bonded over the Lakers.

“There’s nothing like losing your parent. It happens all the time, and everyone can agree is sad and tragic, but experiencing it, especially if you were close to that parent

15

Lani reveals she’s devastated after loss of hearing

By Jan

Milo Severo Philstar.com

KAPUSO singer Lani Misalucha revealed the reason she left GMA’s singing reality show “The Clash.”

In a video posted by GMA on its YouTube channel, Lani said she and her husband Noli are now deaf in one ear due to bacterial meningitis.

“Ang nangyari kasi sa amin, nagkaroon kami ng bacterial meningitis, it’s called the streptococcus swiss. Both coming from ICU, first yung husband ko ang pumasok noong October 9. On October 10, ‘di na talaga maganda ang pakiramdam ko, masakit ang buong katawan, pounding headache and then diniretso na rin ako sa ICU,” Lani said.

“Mayroon lang kaming patuloy na nararamdaman which is yung dizziness at pagkahina ng pandinig, para kang nasa ilalim ng tubig so muffled talaga at saka high pitch,” she added.

“The Asia’s Nightingale” admitted that she felt devastated with the loss of her hearing, saying it’s difficult for her to sing if she can’t hear.

“Di ko pa rin talaga maabsorb na ito yung nang-

Lani Misalucha

yari. Parang paano to?

Singer ako, kailangan ko ng pandinig ko. Parang sinabi ko na lang sa sarili ko na, ‘okay singing might not be for me anymore,’” she said.

She added that she feels helpless and hopeless as she continues to search for answers.

“Feeling ko helpless ako

Photo from Instagram/@lanimisalucha

at hopeless na rin. Wala pa kong nakitang answers right now e. Actually nagsesearch pa rin ako. I keep on searching, meron pa rin siyang ibang sagot. Hindi lang natin nakikita kasi iba yung gusto nating sagot na matanggap. Ito yung binigay na challenge, then I’ll take the challenge,” Lani said.

Did the nurse die?

PAGE 12 get the infection, and can we still transmit the virus to others? After the required second shot (21 days for the Pfizer-BioNTech and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine), how much protection do we get and when do we get the 95 percent the manufacturers reported, and for how long? Do we have to get the vaccine every year like the Flu vaccine? Anyway, hope is now here.

In the meantime, let us rejoice that the vaccines are here – the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel

– which hopefully symbolizes the beginning of the end of this COVID-19 pandemic within the next year. We are all in this together globally.

Let love, compassion, and peace reign as we usher in a healthier and more prosperous new year for the world. *** The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended

to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, a Health Public Advocate, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian and anti-graft foundation in the United States.

Visit our websites: philipSchua. com and FUN8888.com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com.

like I was, was life-changing, in good and bad ways believe it or not,” Rosario said in October.

Rosario added that the loss of her father made her “really re-evaluate what I value in life. If I knew that I was going to die tomorrow, what would my thought processes

be? Would I be wishing that I made more money or went on more vacations? Would I be full of all these regrets?”

She continued, “I don’t think it would be, and I don’t think that was what my dad thought either. I would be making a plan to spend time with my family, speak with

my friends [and] play with my dog and listen to my favorite music because what I have and who I have in my life is more than enough. I don’t need anything else.”

In other words, maybe selfcare, real self-care, lies in what we already have and not what we don’t.