011321 - Los Angeles Midweek Edition

January 13-15, 2021 Volume 31 - No. 3 • 2 Sections - 14 Pages

USA

DATELINE Fil-Am Catholic priest in Utah dies of COVID-19 FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Public urged to comply as 10 LA County residents contract COVID-19 every minute Orange County opens ‘vaccine super site’ at Disneyland

A FILIPINO American priest in Utah has

by KLARIZE MEDENILLA died after a short battle with the coronavirus.

AJPress Father Reynato “Rene” Rodillas succumbed AS the coronavirus situation in Los Angeles to COVID-19 at the age of 58, a few days after testing positive, Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, County continues to aggravate hospitals and intenvicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City sive care units (ICUs), officials issued a desperate announced on Friday, January 8.

“Date of death has yet to be determined by the medical examiner, but was probably on Friday, January 8, 2021,” read the announcement on the Intermountain Catholic website.

Rodillas tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, January 5, and was sent home from the emergency room with oxygen to quarantine and to recover at home.

The Fil-Am was the pastor of Saint James the Just in Ogden, Utah at the time of his death.

He also served as the spiritual advisor for the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.

Born on January 25, 1962, in Ilocos Sur, Philippines, Rodillas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering (BSCE) from

plea for the public to “avoid, as much as possible,” contact with people outside the household.

To date, there have been 944,319 positive cases of COVID-19 across the county and 12,674 deaths related to the virus. In one week alone, 1,606 peo-

by AJPRESS

MORE than 22,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19 last week, setting a record for the second week in a row.

According to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports on Tuesday, January 12, California is the country’s hot spot with a death toll of 3,315 in the week ended Jan. 10, or about eight out of every 100,000 people, up 44% from the prior week.

Meanwhile, Arizona had the highest death rate per capita at 15 per 100,000 residents. It is followed by Rhode Island at 13 and West Virginia at 12 deaths per 100,000 people.

“On average, COVID-19 killed 3,239 people per day in the United States last week, more than the number killed by the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001,” said Reuters in an article.

“Cumulatively, nearly 375,000 people in the country have died from the novel coronavirus, or one in every 873 residents. The total could rise to more than 567,000

by April 1, according to a forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME),” it added.

Last week, the U.S. reported more than 1.7 million new

UC system plans to return for in-person classes in fall 2021

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US sets COVID-19 death record for second week

u PAGE A2

AFTER over a year of virtual classes, the University of California announced that it is planning to return to mainly in-person instruction starting in the fall semester.

In an announcement on Monday, January 11, students will be welcomed back to the 10 UC campuses this fall as COVID-19 vaccines start to become available to students, staff and faculty.

“As the University continues to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, we are also carefully planning a safe return to in-person classes,” President Michael V. Drake said in a statement. “Current forecasts give us hope that in the fall our students can enjoy a more normal on-campus experience.”

Specific plans for resumption of fall classes, including additional safety measures and starting dates, will be announced by individual UC campuses as they continue to coordinate closely with local public health agencies and follow all local and state health guidelines.

ple died due to COVID-19, an average of 230 deaths per day since Jan. 5.

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, the county reported 288 new deaths and 11,994 new confirmed cases since

ALLOWED IN GCQ. A man is about to hit a golf ball with his club as the caddy takes his photo on the greens at the Veterans Golf Club, Quezon City on Tuesday, January 12. The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) allows sports such as golf, running, biking, golf, swimming, tennis, badminton, equestrian, and skateboarding in areas under general community quarantine.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

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Groups criticize Biden admin as new Cabinet PH gov’t targets vaccinations lacks AAPI secretary for first time in 2 decades for up to 70-M Filipinos in 2021

by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

AS the administration of President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take over the White House, fellow liberal lawmakers, activists and operatives excitedly await the new administration that has promised policies and public servants that represent the growingly diverse American public.

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), who comprise the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S., have become more visible and vocal over the last decade

in American politics, with activists and lawmakers propelling the community’s issues to the forefront.

Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, has already made history as the first female, Black and AAPI to serve in the position.

In addition to Harris, Biden appointed Chinese American Katherine Tai to serve as United States Trade Representative, the head of the government agency that is responsible for the development and recom-

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Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rollout to start in February

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

every day. Yun po ang gagawin natin para at least magkaTHE Philippine government roon tayo ng record-breaking is aiming to vaccinate 50 to 70 daily vaccination rollout (We million Filipinos in 2021, with are trying to vaccinate at least up to 200,000 individuals re- 100 to 200,000 people every day. That’s what we’re trying ceiving jabs every day.

“We are trying to vaccinate to do so that we can have a reat least 100 to 200,000 people u PAGE A4

Coalition launches effort to get Rob Bonta appointed as CA’s attorney general

by CHRISTINA

M. ORIEL

AJPress

SEVERAL Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) elected leaders and organizations are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint Assemblymember Rob Bonta as the state’s next attorney general.

Current Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been tapped to join the Biden administration as the Health and Human Services secretary, creating a vacancy in his seat if he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate later this year.

Since Becerra’s nomination last month, Bonta — who was

elected to the Assembly in 2012 and became the state’s first Filipino American legislator — has been floated as a top candidate to be the state’s chief law enforcement officer.

The 48-year-old lawmaker in November 2020 was reelected for a fifth term to represent the state’s 18th Assembly district, which covers the East Bay areas of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He currently serves as the assistant majority leader, and sits on several committees, including appropriations and health.

Bonta was reportedly among the contenders for attorney gen-

eral in 2017 when Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Becerra, then a congressman representing the 34th congressional district in Southern California, was ultimately selected by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Now, a grassroots effort has been brewing to double down on why Bonta is the best choice given his track record as the state grapples with a multitude of issues from the ongoing pandemic to a racial reckoning.

“Not only is he eminently qualified — probably the most qualified — he comes from communities that demand justice, that need this justice,”

outgoing Rep. TJ Cox, the first Fil-Am to represent California in Congress, said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday, January 6.

Cox added that in addition to the litigation side, Bonta in the top seat would provide “the example to be what you can see.”

Bonta’s appointment would be a win for representation, advocates argued, as California is home to the largest AAPI population in the U.S. with over 5 million. Fil-Ams are among the top two largest Asian ethnic groups in the state with a population of over 1.6 million.

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A group of elected leaders and organizations is calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) to appoint Assemblymember Rob Bonta (right) as state’s attorney general amid Xavier Becerra’s appointment to the Biden administration. File photo from October 2019 shows Newsom after signing AB32, authored by Bonta, which moved for California to be the first in the nation to ban for-profit, private prisons and civil detention facilities.

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A january 13-15, 2021 • SoCal aSIan jOurnaL

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From the Front Page

Public urged to comply as...

PAGE A1 the previous day. There are also a total of 7,926 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and 22% are receiving intensive care.

The surge is likely due to holiday gatherings in late 2020, and people who are testing now may have contracted the virus over the holiday break. But LA County Public Health asserted that businesses and places of commerce play a significant role in increasing the rate of transmission.

“The risk of acquiring and spreading COVID-19 continues to be elevated in LA County and businesses and employers play a key role in preventing and slowing the spread of COVID19 within the workplace and community,” the county said in a statement released on Tuesday. “All employers must follow Health Officer Orders and Public Health protocols that are in place to prevent unnecessary spread.”

There have been 538 outbreaks at businesses across the county with the most heavily affected store being Target, which has had more than 323 positive cases in at least 14 locations; 41 were recorded at a Van Nuys location alone, according to the county.

Other businesses with significant outbreaks include Whole Foods (92 cases at six locations) and Home Depot (236 cases at nine locations.)

It’s unclear whether customers have been affected by the outbreaks, but Public Health officials stress the importance of maintaining social distancing and face-covering when in public, and advise that time outside the house should be limited to essential workers or running essential errands like grocery shopping.

The rate of spread has become so uncontrolled that LA County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a press briefing on Monday, Jan. 11 that officials are now recommending that people who live with others who may be vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure should wear face coverings at home.

“If you’re a worker who’s leaving every day or you’re somebody who has to run the essential errands in your family, [wearing a face mask at home] will just add a layer of protection while we get through this surge,” Ferrer said.

According to LA County Public Health, 10 residents test positive for COVID-19 every minute, on average. Additionally, “15,000 individuals who test positive each day were capable of infecting others for two days before they had any symptoms or knew they were positive,” a reminder that leaving the house makes that risk even more probable, the county said in a statement.

The county advises the pub-

lic to be cautious as the vaccine rollout continues across the state. In addition to Dodgers Stadium and Padres Stadium, Orange County officials announced on Monday that the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim will reopen as a massive COVID19 vaccination site.

“Disneyland Resort is proud to help Orange County and the City of Anaheim with the use of our property, and we are grateful for all of their efforts to combat COVID-19,” Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, told ABC7. “After a year in which so many in our community have faced unprecedented hardship and uncertainty, there is now reason for optimism with the administration of a vaccine.”

Since March, the Disneyland park has been closed due to the pandemic, but last summer, Downtown Disney, the adjacent shopping and dining district, reopened. In the fall, the Buena Vista entrance of California Adventure reopened.

As of Tuesday, Orange County has had 195,685 positive cases and 2,148 deaths of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

There are currently 2,200 patients being treated at area hospitals and 535 receiving intensive care. n

Fil-Am Catholic priest in Utah...

PAGE A1 the University of Northern Philippines before entering the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City, Philippines. He was ordained as a Divine Word Missionary in 1997.

In 2007, Rodillas came to the Diocese of Salt Lake City and served as a parochial vicar at Saints Peter and Paul Parish, West Valley City; Saint George Parish, St. George; and Saint Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, Midvale. He also served as administrator of Saint Olaf Parish, Bountiful.

In a 2019 interview by Intermountain Catholic, Rodillas said Father Reynato “Rene” Rodillas Photo courtesy of his greatest treasure is “being a The Diocese of Salt Lake City priest.”

“Celebrating the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, for me is the most satisfying experience, because in spite of my unworthiness I am privileged to celebrate it. Celebrating the Eucharist is a reward in itself,” he continued.

“I am looking forward to knowing my new parishioners personally and journeying with them toward spiritual growth, and deepening my relationship with each of them and with God,” he added.

Rodillas is survived by his mother, Capistrana Rodillas; and siblings, Condrado Rodillas, Rosemary Rubia and Imelda Rodillas. (AJPress)

FREE SWAB TEST. Residents of Barangay San Antonio sit in front of a plastic divider booth while being tested by the personnel of the Quezon City Health Department and City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit during the free rapid and swab testing at a covered court on Monday, January 11. In a statement posted on the Barangay San Antonio Facebook page, the free antibody test is to ensure the immunity and health of its residents.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfile

Coalition launches effort to get Rob Bonta...

PAGE A1 “Rob Bonta’s march from his early days in the labor movement, with his activist parents living across from Cesar Chavez, to now being a potential appointee for attorney general of our great state,” said Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats founding president and community leader Joselyn Gaega-Rosenthal.

“What a special moment for our Filipino and AAPI communities who have eagerly and patiently awaited this kind of moment.”

Bonta, who was born in Quezon City, Philippines, immigrated with his family to California’s Central Valley, where his parents worked for the United Farm Workers of America, organizing Filipino and Mexican American workers. In previous interviews, this upbringing shaped his decision to pursue a career in law and public service.

He obtained a law degree from Yale Law School and clerked for Judge Alvin W. Thompson of theUnited States District Court for the District of Connecticut before moving to San Francisco law firmKeker & Van Nest. Prior

to his election to the state Assembly in 2012, Bonta was San Francisco’s deputy city attorney for nearly a decade, and served as director of the Alameda Health Care District and then vice mayor of Alameda.

“He’s fought for working families addressed inequalities in our criminal justice system, championed tenants and immigrant rights, all while also addressing health care and consumer protection issues. He’s authored significant legislation that promotes and defends our California values of justice, inclusion, equity and opportunity,” Alameda Vice Mayor Malia Vella, who is also Fil-Am, said on Wednesday.

Amid the protests over the summer, Bonta introduced a bill to classify racially motivated 911 calls as hate crimes. His legislation record includes a 2019 bill, which was signed into law by Newsom, to phase out the use of all private, for-profit prisons, including both prisons and immigration detention facilities in the state.

Wednesday’s virtual event

also featured remarks from California State Treasurer Fiona Ma; National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA) President Kristy Gonowon; California Asian Pacific American Bar Association President Zathrina Perez; CalAsian Chamber CEO Pat Fong; and KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress boardmember Christian Edlagan.

In December, current and former Fil-Am elected officials, as well as legal organizations like the NFALA, sent letters to Newsom in support of Bonta.

Support for Bonta has also come from high-profile personalities— from CNN’s Van Jones calling the assemblymember “a leader in the fight to restore justice in CA” to actress Maggie Q who worked with him “in the fight for more inclusive representation in media.”

As Newsom has yet to announce a pick, the grassroots coalition has launched social media accounts to amplify its endorsement in an effort to influence the governor’s decision. n

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A

Groups criticize Biden admin as new Cabinet lacks...

PAGE A1

mendations of trade policy to the president of the United States.

Tai, 46, is an attorney who currently serves as the chief trade counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.

But AAPI groups are calling out Biden for neglecting to include enough Asian Americans or any Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander in his cabinet appointments that became known in late 2020. The incoming administration will be the first in 20 years to not have an AAPI at the secretary level.

Since Norman Mineta served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration, becoming the first AAPI to hold a Cabinet position, the past three administrations have had at least one AAPI Cabinet secretary.

President George W. Bush had two AAPIs in his Cabinet; President Barack Obama had three; and Trump had one, Elaine Chao, who has since resigned as Secretary of Transportation.

“Our elected officials owe a great debt of gratitude to the AAPI community. Many of their elections were made possible by the significant contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander votes,” Christine Chen, executive director for Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), said in a statement.

“Approximately two-thirds of AAPI’s supported the new Administration, and AAPI’s turned out in record numbers during the general election. According to one analysis, AAPI voters increased their turnout relative to

2016 more than any other demographic group across the swing states.”

As previously covered by the Asian Journal, organizations like APIAVote as well as the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) have been calling for more AAPI representation in Washington.

Biden’s cabinet (which hasn’t been fully confirmed by the U.S. Senate) includes the most women in any presidential cabinet in American history (an equal number of men and women), and a majority of its members are not white.

But with the growing number of AAPIs in government and law, NCAPA believes that there are “numerous qualified AAPIs who should be appointed to senior positions throughout the government.”

“The Biden Administration, by nearly every standard, has set a new benchmark for what a diverse and inclusive government should look like,” NCAPA said in a statement, adding that the omission of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders and “lack of AAPI representation among Cabinet Secretaries is an egregious step backwards.”

For years, the fight for AAPI visibility in Washington has been akin to having the community’s specific needs addressed by top officials in all three branches of the federal government.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, AAPI senators and House representatives have put forth proposals, policies and memoranda fighting against anti-Asian

racism that re-emerged last year.

With more AAPI representation in the federal government, it is the hope that those issues — including linguistic availability, data disaggregation, health care, immigration and other issues that pertain directly to the AAPI community — will be made a priority.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) also weighed in on the lack of an AAPI Cabinet secretary.

“NAPABA stands dismayed that AAPIs will not be represented at the Secretary level position in the inaugural Biden Cabinet,” A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA, said. “While there have been many historic positive firsts for the incoming Administration, the AAPI community cannot help but feel dismissed.”

The lack of AAPI figures in the president-elect’s announced cabinet, however, may not represent the future of his cabinet over the next four years. Customarily, secretaries step down from positions, opening up the potential for future AAPIs to take over. Despite the oversight in Biden’s first cabinet announcements, Cruz hopes that Biden will keep the AAPI community in mind for future appointments.

“We trust the new administration will specifically address this apparent disconnect by nominating and placing AAPIs into key leadership roles going forward,” he said. n

UC system plans to return for in-person...

PAGE A1

the return back to primarily inThe University of Southern Cali- person instruction as well.

California State University anfornia on Monday also announced

nounced the fall reopening for its 23 campuses last December.

(Christina M. Oriel / AJPress)

US sets COVID-19 death record...

PAGE A1 cases of COVID-19.

However, Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottleib said the country may start seeing a decline in cases by February.

“By the end of this month, we’ll have infected probably about 30% of the American public and maybe vaccinated another 10%, notwithstanding the very difficult rollout of the vaccine,” he told CNBC on Friday.

Over 1.9 million people from all over the world have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

On Monday, the world marked the first year of China announcing the first-ever death from a new virus that originated in Wuhan.

In its report dated January 11, 2020, China confirmed a 61-yearold man died from an unknown virus. Little is known about the man aside from him being a regular at a Wuhan wet market linked

to many of the early cases.

Wuhan and the surrounding province were put under lockdown two weeks after confirming the first death.

A year later, the city of Wuhan has extinguished the virus and residents are reveling in the freedoms they enjoy, as reported by Agence France-Presse.

“Wuhan is the safest city in China now, even the whole world,” 66-year-old resident Xiong Liansheng told AFP. n

DANGER. Unmindful of the danger, children step on the railings of Quezon Bridge in Manila on Monday, January 11. Although not fit for swimming, kids dipping in the Pasig River are a common sight, exposing them to viruses and diseases.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

California budget reflects ‘pandemicinduced reality,’ Gov. Newsom says

by AngelA

HArt Kaiser Health News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The coronavirus pandemic doomed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plans last year to combat homelessness, expand behavioral health services and create a state agency to control soaring health care costs.

But even as the pandemic continues to rage, California’s Democratic governor said Friday he plans to push forward with those goals in the coming year, due to a rosier budget forecast buoyed by higher tax revenue from wealthy Californians who have fared relatively well during the crisis.

Newsom’s $227.2 billion budget blueprint also prioritizes billions to safely reopen K-12 schools shuttered by the pandemic, $600 payments for nearly 4 million low-income Californians — in addition to federal stimulus payments — and coronavirus relief grants and tax credits for hard-hit small businesses.

However, his 2021-22 fiscal year spending plan does not include additional public health money for local health departments steering California’s pandemic response, which have been chronically underfunded. He vowed to support

cities and counties by boosting state testing and contact tracing capacity, speeding vaccination efforts and funding state-run surge hospitals that take overflow patients.

Newsom said Friday his budget reflects a “pandemic-induced reality” with investments aimed at spurring California’s economic recovery by helping businesses and people living in poverty. Wealth and income disparities, he added, “must be addressed.”

But Democrats in control of the state legislature, county leaders and social justice groups say that will be difficult to achieve because Newsom’s spending plan does not sufficiently fund health and social safety-net programs.

And without additional public health money, local leaders worry California will not be able to adequately control the spread of the virus.

“County public health is drowning,” said Graham Knaus, executive director of the California State Association of Counties. “We are triaging right now between testing, contact tracing and vaccination, and it’s impacting the response to the pandemic.”

Newsom’s budget proposal is the first step in a months-long negotiation process with the

Democratic-controlled legislature, which has until June 15 to adopt the state budget that takes effect July 1. Lawmakers have become increasingly frustrated with the governor’s response to the pandemic, including his unilateral spending decisions in response to the emergency. Newsom is also facing a burgeoning recall effort, backed by heavyweight Republicans such as former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is considering challenging Newsom in the 2022 California gubernatorial election.

Newsom said he expects to make some tough calls on spending even though the state anticipates a $15 billion budget surplus for the coming fiscal year, largely because a state fiscal analysis projected deficits in subsequent years.

“While we are enjoying the fruits of a lot of one-time energy and surplus, it’s not permanent and we have to be mindful of over-committing,” Newsom said, explaining why he didn’t include funding to expand Medicaid to more unauthorized immigrants.

Some lawmakers say they will nonetheless press Newsom to use higher-than-expected revenues — and perhaps seek new taxes PAGE A4

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Health workers unions see surge in interest amid COVID

by Aneri

PAttAni Kaiser Health News

GREEN WALL. A personnel of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) puts planters on this vertical garden along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Sunday, January 10. This unique gardening technique uses wire mesh filled with planters, making the once bare walls pop with greens.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

PH gov’t targets vaccinations for up to 70-M...

PAGE A1 cord-breaking daily vaccination rollout),” the country’s vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday, January 12.

The vaccine czar also said that 25,000 vaccinators are currently being trained and that local government units are consolidating the list of individuals that will participate in the vaccinations.

“Marami na po tayo nabigyan ng training. Ongoing ang training natin, we are training more or less 25,000 vaccinators (Many have already been given training. This is ongoing and we are training more or less 25,000 vaccinators),” he said.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the Philippines may happen earlier than China’s Sinovac, according to Galvez.

“Baka mauna ang Pfizer because the COVAX facility will be deploying the early rollout of Pfizer so iintayin din namin ‘yun sa February (Pfizer may come earlier because the COVAX facility will be deploying the early rollout of Pfizer, so we will wait for that in February as well),” he told ANC’s Headstart.

The country is a candidate for the early rollout of the vaccine from the COVAX facility,

a global platform that aims to ensure fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries.

Earlier, Galvez said the country’s vaccination campaign may start as early as February through the COVAX facility, receiving “more or less 40 million doses” of COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, World Health Organization representative to the Philippines, said only Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is confirmed to be part of the COVAX early roll-out.

Pfizer on December 23, 2020 submitted its application for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration, for its part, said it will release its decision on the American drugmaker’s application by Tuesday or Wednesday, ahead of the target date of January 14.

Vaccine deals On Monday, January 11, the country reportedly secured 25 million doses of China’s Sinovac.

“According to the Department of Health, we will have the first 25 million doses of CO-

VID-19 vaccine from Sinovac.

The vaccines will arrive in the Philippines next month,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in Filipino.

Of the 25 million doses, 50,000 will arrive in the country in February. In March, 950,000 doses will arrive, one million doses in April, another million doses in May, and two million doses in June, until all 25 million doses are delivered

by December.

Despite Sinovac’s efficacy being called into question, Roque insisted that the vaccine has been “proven safe and efficient.”

The Philippines also signed an agreement to secure 30 million doses of Covovax vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer; and Novavax, a U.S.-based biotechnology company.

The delivery of the vaccine will begin in the third quarter of the year. It will be used to vaccinate 15 million Filipinos belonging to the vulnerable and poor sectors.

Currently, Covovax is in third-stage trials and expected to be approved for use by international regulators. n

The nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, declared on March 6 — by filing the official paperwork — that they were ready to vote on the prospect of joining a national union. At the time, they were motivated by the desire for more nurses and support staff, and to have a voice in hospital decisions.

A week later, as the covid-19 pandemic bore down on the state, the effort was put on hold, and everyone scrambled to respond to the coronavirus. But the nurses’ long-standing concerns only became heightened during the crisis, and new issues they’d never considered suddenly became urgent problems.

Staffers struggled to find masks and other protective equipment, said nurses interviewed for this story. The hospital discouraged them from wearing masks one day and required masks 10 days later. The staff wasn’t consistently tested for covid and often not even notified when exposed to covidpositive patients. According to the nurses and a review of safety complaints made to federal regulators, the concerns persisted for months.

And some nurses said the situation fueled doubts about whether hospital executives were prioritizing staff and patients, or the bottom line.

By the time the nurses held their election in September — six months after they had filed paperwork to do so — 70% voted to unionize. In a historically antiunion state with right-to-work laws and the second-least unionized workforce in the country, that margin of victory is a significant feat, said academic experts who study labor movements.

That it occurred during the pandemic is no coincidence.

For months now, front-line health workers across the country have faced a perpetual lack of personal protective equipment, or PPE, and inconsistent safety measures. Studies show they’re more likely to be infected by the coronavirus than the general population, and hundreds have died, according to reporting by KHN and The Guardian.

Many workers say employers and government systems that are meant to protect them have failed.

Research shows that health facilities with unions have better patient outcomes and are more likely to have inspections that can find and correct workplace hazards.

One study found New York nursing homes with unionized workers had lower covid mortality rates, as well as better access to PPE and stronger infection control measures, than nonunion facilities.

Recognizing that, some workers — like the nurses at Mission Hospital — are forming new unions or

thinking about organizing for the first time. Others, who already belong to a union, are taking more active leadership roles, voting to strike, launching public information campaigns and filing lawsuits against employers.

“The urgency and desperation we’ve heard from workers is at a pitch I haven’t experienced before in 20 years of this work,” said Cass Gualvez, organizing director for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West in California. “We’ve talked to workers who said, ‘I was dead set against a union five years ago, but covid has changed that.’”

In response to union actions, many hospitals across the country have said worker safety is already their top priority, and unions are taking advantage of a difficult situation to divide staff and management, rather than working together.

Labor experts say it’s too soon to know if the outrage over working conditions will translate into an increase in union membership, but early indications suggest a small uptick. Of the approximately 1,500 petitions for union representation posted on the National Labor Relations Board website in 2020, 16% appear related to the health care field, up from 14% the previous year.

In Colorado, SEIU Local 105 health care organizing director Stephanie Felix-Sowy said her team is fielding dozens of calls a month from nonunion workers interested in joining. Not only are nurses and respiratory therapists reaching out, but dietary workers and cleaning staff are as well, including several from rural parts of the state where union representation has traditionally been low.

“The pandemic didn’t create most of the root problems they’re concerned about,” she said. “But it amplified them and the need to address them.”

A nurse for 30 years, Amy Waters had always been aware of a mostly unspoken but widespread sentiment that talking about unions could endanger her job.

But after HCA Healthcare took over Mission Health in 2019, she saw nurses and support staff members being cut and she worried about the effect on patient care. Joining National Nurses United could help, she thought.

During the pandemic, her fears only worsened. At times, nurses cared for seven patients at once, despite research indicating four is a reasonable number.

In a statement, Mission Health said it has adequate staffing and is aggressively recruiting nurses.

“We have the beds, staffing, PPE supplies and equipment we need at this time and we are wellequipped to handle any potential surge,” spokesperson Nancy Lindell wrote. The hospital has required universal masking since

March and requires staff members who test positive to stay home, she added.

Although the nurses didn’t vote to unionize until September, Waters said, they began acting collectively from the early days of the pandemic. They drafted a petition and sent a letter to administrators together. When the hospital agreed to provide advanced training on how to use PPE to protect against covid transmission, it was a small but significant victory, Waters said.

“Seeing that change brought a fair number of nurses who had still been undecided about the union to feel like, ‘Yeah, if we work together, we can make change,’” she said.

Old concerns heightened, new issues arise Even as union membership in most industries has declined in recent years, health workers unions have remained relatively stable.

Experts say it’s partly because of the focus on patient care issues, like safe staffing ratios, which resonate widely and have only grown during the pandemic.

At St. Mary Medical Center outside Philadelphia, short staffing led nurses to strike in November. Donna Halpern, a nurse on the cardiovascular and critical care unit, said staffing had been a point of negotiation with the hospital since the nurses joined the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals in 2019. But with another surge of covid cases approaching, the nurses decided not to wait any longer to take action, she said.

A month later, officials with Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, which owns the hospital, announced a tentative labor agreement with the union. The contract “gives nurses a voice in discussions on staffing while preserving the hospital’s right and authority to make all staffing decisions,” the hospital said in a statement.

In Colorado, where state inspection reports show understaffing led to a patient death at a suburban Denver hospital, SEIU Local 105 has launched a media campaign about unsafe practices by the hospital’s parent company, HealthOne. The union doesn’t represent HealthOne employees, but union leaders said they felt compelled to act after repeatedly hearing concerns.

In a statement, HealthOne said staffing levels are appropriate across its hospitals and it is continuing to recruit and hire staff members.

Covid-19 is also raising entirely new issues for workers to organize around. At the forefront is the lack of PPE, which was noted in one-third of the health worker deathscatalogued by KHN and The Guardian.

Nurses at Albany Medical Cen-

u PAGE A7

California budget reflects ‘pandemic-induced...

PAGE A3 — to expand health coverage to more Californians.

The following health care proposals factor heavily into Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal.

Covid relief Newsom committed $4.4 billion in his budget to vaccine distribution, increased testing, contact tracing and other short-term pandemic expenses. Because that spending is related to the public health emergency, the state expects at least 75% to be reimbursed by the federal government and insurance payments.

He also proposed $52 million to fund costs at state-run surge hospitals, including support staff.

And he is asking lawmakers to sign off on a covid relief package that would provide funding before the start of the fiscal year in July.

It would include $2 billion to help school districts reopen classrooms to in-person instruction beginning in February by paying for protective equipment, ventilation systems and adequate testing. It would also commit billions to economic recovery, such as stimulus payments for individuals, and grants and tax credits for struggling small businesses.

Newsom also wants to increase the budget for the Department of Industrial Relations by $23 million to fund up to 113 additional workplace inspectors at the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to police health order violations at businesses and enforce workplace safety laws.

Transforming Medi-Cal Spending for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for lowincome residents, is expected to grow in the coming year because of the economic impact of the pandemic — as is its enrollment. The program has roughly 13 million enrollees, or about one-third of the state population.

In the coming year, Newsom will also press forward with a major overhaul of Medi-Cal, through a project called CalAIM, to provide new benefits emphasizing mental health care and substance

use treatment, and pay for some nontraditional costs such as housing assistance. The hope is the program would divert homeless and other vulnerable people away from expensive emergency room care and keep them out of jail.

State Medi-Cal officials estimate the program would cost $1.1 billion for the first year. The state is working with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to obtain approval for the program.

Newsom also wants to expand Medi-Cal benefits to cover overthe-counter cold medicine and blood glucose monitors for people with diabetes. His budget includes $95 million for a major expansion of telehealth services that would permanently provide higher payments for virtual doctor visits.

Controlling health care costs Newsom is proposing a new state agency, the Office of Health Care Affordability, which he said would help control health care costs. He budgeted $63 million over the next three years for the office, which would set health care cost targets for the health care industry — along with financial penalties for failing to meet future targets.

Powerful health industry groups said they are still assessing whether they will support the proposal. But some expressed concern last year when Newsom floated the idea. Doctors and hospitals routinely fight proposals in Sacramento that might limit their revenue.

Newsom acknowledged Friday the task would be “tough.”

Battling homelessness and food insecurity Newsom is proposing a onetime infusion of $1.75 billion to battle homelessness.

Of that, Newsom said, $750 million would help counties purchase hotels and transform them into permanent housing for chronically homeless people. Another $750 million would allow counties to purchase facilities to treat people with mental illness or substance use disorders. And $250 million

would help counties purchase and renovate homes for low-income older people.

Newsom’s budget also includes $30 million to help overwhelmed food banks and emergency food assistance programs.

Lawmakers said they plan to negotiate for even more funding for homelessness and safety-net programs.

“We absolutely need to significantly increase our investment to address homelessness because the need is so intense,” said Assembly member David Chiu (DSan Francisco). “And I don’t think there’s a single legislator who isn’t incredibly concerned about the food insecurity we’re seeing: lines around the block for food banks in what should be the wealthiest state in the country.”

Expanding health coverage Newsom did not include money in his proposed budget to expand Medi-Cal to unauthorized immigrants age 65 and older. He had previously promised to fund the proposal, estimated to cost $350 million per year once fully implemented, but he said Friday the state cannot afford to commit to ongoing costs with a projected budget deficit starting in fiscal year 2022-23. California already offers full Medicaid benefits for income-eligible unauthorized immigrants up to age 26.

Some lawmakers and health care advocates countered that providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants would save lives and reduce costs, especially during the pandemic, and vowed to continue to fight for the expansion.

“To say we are disappointed is describing it very lightly,” said Orville Thomas, a lobbyist with the California Immigrant Policy Center. “These are Californians dying and getting sick at disproportionate rates during Covid.”

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. n

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SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 13-15, 2021

A

Dateline PhiliPPines

PH has worst traffic in ASEAN, 9th in the world

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

THE Philippines has the worst traffic among six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is ranked the ninth-worst in the world, according to a new report.

The 2020 traffic index by Numbeo — a global cost of living database — assessed 81 different countries using key metrics, such as average time consumed in traffic, estimation of time consumption dissatisfaction, amount of carbon dioxide consumed in traffic, and overall inefficiencies in the traffic system.

A high score in the traffic index meant lower traffic quality for a country.

The Philippines garnered a score of 198.84 points in the traffic index, the highest score among six countries in Southeast Asia. It was followed by Indonesia (194.61), Thailand (170.60), Malaysia (169.14), Singapore (148.61), and Vietnam (111.12).

Nigeria topped the overall ranking with a score of 308.03, followed by Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Egypt to complete the top five.

Meanwhile, Iran, Peru, India, the Philippines, and Colombia

filled up the rest of the spots in the top 10.

In terms of the factors used in the traffic index, the Philippines ranked 12th globally in the time index and dissatisfaction index, with a score of 44.63 points and 3,314.83, respectively.

In the carbon dioxide index, the country placed 19th with a score of 6,538.48.

The Philippines, meanwhile, found itself in the ninth spot in the inefficiencies index with a score of 248.96. However, Numbeo stressed that this is caused

by Filipinos choosing to drive cars instead of using public transport. n

Groups back creation of department for OFWs VARIOUS groups of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) called for the immediate passage of a measure that seeks the establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFil).

More than 350 OFWs representing several groups of overseas Filipinos in Asia, Europe, Middle East and North America joined an online forum last week organized by the United Filipino Global to discuss how to better protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos abroad and to show their support for Senate Bill (SB) 1949, which was authored by Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go. Go, the forum’s main guest, spoke of the need for a department dedicated to protect the rights and advance the interests of overseas Filipinos who now compose 10 percent of the country’s population.

“Ito po ang gusto naming maibigay sa inyo sa pamamagitan ng pagtatayo ng DOFil. Around 10 percent na kayo ng populasyon natin kung kaya’t dapat lang na mayroong iisang departamento na tututok sa inyong interes at mga pangangailangan (This is what we want to give you through the establishment of DOFil. You comprise around 10 percent of our population and therefore there must be a single department that focuses on your interests and needs),” he explained.

“Ito po ang ating ipinaglalaban — ang kapakanan ng mga

Pilipino kahit saan man sila sa mundo. Napaka-unfair naman para sa atin — na 10 percent nga kayo ng population wala kayong sariling departamento (This is what we are fighting for — the welfare of the Filipinos wherever they are in the world. It is unfair that you comprise 10 percent of the population and yet you do not have your own department),” he added.

Go also highlighted the adverse impacts of the pandemic on OFWs, many of whom were in urgent need of government assistance.

On Dec. 14, 2020, Go filed SB 1949, which seeks to streamline the organization and functions of all government agencies related to overseas employment and migration.

The Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2020 is the third iteration of a bill introduced by Go in 2019. It represents the unified position of the Executive branch of the government on how the proposed department can best address crucial problems, deliver important services and achieve its goals with regard to Filipinos overseas.

The bill was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte and is now one of the top 20 priority bills identified by both houses of Congress for 2021.

Jun Aguilar of the Filipino Migrant Workers group lauded

the filing of the measure.

“This is unprecedented. Alam ko po ito ang isang bagay kung bakit natutuwa at minamahal ng bawat migrante Pilipino ang Pangulo. Wala pong Pangulo ang gumawa niyan na every time magko-conduct ng State of the Nation Address hindi po nakakalimutan ang pagsulong sa isang departamento o sariling bahay para sa amin (This is why Filipino migrants love President [Rodrigo Duterte]. No President has done this in the past, only [President Duterte] made sure that every time he delivers his State of the Nation Address, he always push for the establishment of a department for us),” Aguilar said.

Lucy Sermonia who heads a recruitment agency agreed: “Kami ay isa sa inyo na sumusuporta sa bill ng mahal na senador. Hangad namin ang magkaroon ng sariling department ang overseas Filipinos upang mabigyan ng prayoridad at importansya ang issues and concerns ng ating OFWs (We are supporting the bill of our senator. It is our wish to have our own department in order provide priority and importance to the issues and concerns of our OFWs),” she said.

SB 1949 directs the implementation of a one countryteam that shall require all officials in Philippine diplomatic posts to act together as one u PAGE A7

Throngs of Black Nazarene devotees wear masks and face shields but cast aside physical distancing as they pack a portion of Quezon Boulevard in Manila close to Quiapo Church for outdoor prayers or to wait in line to enter the minor basilica to view the icon. The church scheduled 15 Masses in lieu of the the annual procession also known as “traslacion.”

Inquirer.net photo by Richard Reyes

DOH to Quiapo crowd: Watch for symptoms

by MaRiejo

S. RaMoS PatRicia deniSe M. chiu Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday, January 9 pleaded with the multitude who descended on Quiapo Church and its vicinity for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene to go into self-quarantine and closely watch for any symptoms of COVID-19.

To prevent a superspreader event, officials canceled the Jan. 9 “traslacion,” a procession which draws hundreds of thousands of barefoot devotees who follow the image of the centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ carrying a cross on a float being pulled by rope for more than 20 hours through central Manila’s major streets from Rizal Park to Quiapo Church.

In a statement, the DOH advised those who took part in the annual veneration of the Black Nazarene “to minimize interactions, especially with the vulnerable members of their households, and to conduct active self-monitoring for any symptoms.”

In lieu of the procession, Church authorities scheduled

15 Masses starting before dawn on Saturday, but with only 400 people allowed inside the church each time. Thousands outside followed the rites that were shown live on 12 large television screens around the church.

By noon on Saturday, at least 400,000 devotees had been to the church and its vicinity since Friday night, according to the Manila police chief, Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco.

Biggest during pandemic The religious event attracted the biggest crowds in Metro Manila since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

The city government of Manila reported that 2.3 million devotees joined last year’s traslacion.

The police reported crowds in the vicinity of nearby San Sebastian Church, Santa Cruz Church and Nazarene Catholic School.

Several thousands of officers were deployed to ensure social distancing in the devout crowd.

This year, Manila’s Public Employment Service Office had set up booths around Quiapo to distribute masks to devotees for free.

Devotees were also asked to fill out contact tracing forms at various checkpoints around Quiapo Church, but some submitted theirs online.

The DOH said devotees who went to Quiapo and later showed symptoms of COVID-19 must immediately inform their Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams “for appropriate management and referral.”

It also urged local governments, especially in the National Capital Region, to coordinate with Quiapo Church to secure a list of devotees who went to Quiapo, and to actively monitor their constituents who participated in the event for early detection.

‘We need a miracle now’ “We’re really going to need a miracle to stop a superspreader event in Quiapo right now,” Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the technical advisory group of the DOH, said in a tweet before noon on Saturday.

“Please don’t go [to Quiapo],” said the molecular biologist and infectious diseases expert.

“Aren’t we supposed to watch out for each other? Putting others at risk is about as un-Chrisu PAGE A7

A6 JANUARY 13-15, 2021 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

OPiniOn

Worst traffic in the region

FeatURes

THE COVID-19 quarantines emptied the streets of Metro Manila and several other crowded urban centers across the country. Vehicular traffic, however, began picking up as the economy was gradually reopened, more people were allowed outside their homes and mass transportation resumed, although still on a limited basis.

The pandemic-related mobility restrictions did not stop the Philippines from being ranked last year as the worst in terms of traffic situation among six Southeast Asian countries with high traffic densities, and the ninth worst among 81 worldwide. People who have been stuck in traffic especially along EDSA and surrounding areas in the past months will agree with the assessment.

The ranking was reported by Numbeo in its 2020 Traffic Index, which assessed the traffic situation based on time spent to reach one’s destination, carbon dioxide emissions and overall inefficiency. The Philippines was ranked the worst among the four other founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore – as well as a later addition to ASEAN, Vietnam.

Reacting to the Numbeo report, the govern-

ment vowed improvements in the traffic situation with the completion of more roads particularly within Mega Manila. Most of the new roads, however, are toll roads operated by the private sector.

It remains to be seen whether enough motorists will use these roads to make a significant dent in the traffic jams that have returned. With the financial difficulties arising from the pandemic, a daily toll will be another burden many people can’t afford. Why can’t the government provide free basic road infrastructure at least in crowded urban centers? Where do our taxes go?

Numbeo is a crowd-sourced global database of information on cost of living and quality of life indicators including housing, perceived crime checking for accuracy of Numbeo data. But perrates and quality of health care. Like other free ceptions serve as a guide for policy making as crowd-sourced databases, there is no third-party well as project planning and implementation.

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS SHOULD President Donald Trump be removed from office with less than a week left in his presidency either by invoking the 25th Amendment or by impeachment? That is the big question all Americans should be thinking about, especially after the attack on our democracy on the fateful day of Wednesday, January 6, 2021 — just two weeks before President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

On January 6, as protesters breached the U.S. Capitol, disrupting efforts to certify the election of Joe Biden, “the U.S. recorded 3,865 virus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. It was, at the time, the deadliest day of the whole pandemic”, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“On Thursday, the U.S. surpassed that figure, marking the deadliest day of the pandemic to this point and topping 4,000 fatalities for the first time,” the Tribune added, highlighting how Trump has already neglected his duties and obligations as president as he was obsessed with clinging on to power, defying the will of the American people in the November elections.

As the Washington Post reported, January 6 marked the convergence of several important and consequential events: “Two runoff elections that would determine control of the Senate still had not been decided as Tuesday became Wednesday. A joint session of Congress convened to certify Joe Biden’s electoral-vote win while thousands gathered on the Mall in support of President Trump, who continued to falsely claim that the election was stolen from him.”

Philstar.com photo

The 2020 Traffic Index should drive improvements in the traffic jams in Metro Manila and other crowded urban centers. (Philstar.com)

After inciting insurrection, could Trump be removed from office before his term ends?

“As the scene in D.C. continued to darken, smaller demonstrations across the nation also flared, forcing officials in several statehouses to evacuate,” the report added.

The death toll from the riot at the U.S. Capitol has climbed to five — including a Capitol Police officer who died a day after a mob of Trump supporters breached the building, NBC News reported.

The Post chronicled the timeline of events: Trump rallies his supporters as Congress convenes Crowds began forming early in the morning on the White House Ellipse for Trump’s “Save America” rally. During his speech, Trump reiterated multiple falsehoods, claiming the election was rigged and that Democrats had committed voter fraud.

“And after this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down.

We’re going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”(Politifact) By midday, the Capitol was buzzing as Congress convened in a joint session and pro-Trump protesters began to gather around the building’s perimeter.

8:17a.m.— @realDonaldTrump on Twitter: “States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval. All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!”

1:05 p.m. — Congress meets

in a joint session to confirm Joe Biden’s win, over the objections of some Republicans. Shortly before he opens the session, Pence releases a letter, saying he won’t intervene in Congress’s electoral count. “My oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority,” he says.

1:10 p.m. — Trump ends his speech by urging his followers to march down Pennsylvania Avenue. “We’re going to the Capitol,” he said. “We’re going to try and give them [Republicans] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”

“If you don’t fight ... you’re not going to have a country anymore,” President Trump told supporters in D.C. Jan. 6, before rioters breached the U.S. Capitol.

Pro-Trump mob breaches Capitol, forces Congress to adjourn Soon after Trump ended his speech, violence broke out as a mob forced its way into the Capitol building. They broke down doors and shattered windows to enter, forcing Congress to adjourn and take shelter. Smaller demonstrations began around the country.

1:12 p.m. — Republicans, led by Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), object to certifying Arizona’s electoral college votes. The joint session then separates into House and Senate chambers to debate the objection.

1:30 p.m. — After Trump’s speech, supporters begin marching toward the U.S. Capitol.

The crowd outside the building grows larger, eventually overtaking Capitol Police and making their way up the steps.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. —Suspicious packages, later confirmed to be pipe bombs, are found at Republican National Committee headquarters and Democratic National Committee headquarters

in Washington. Nearby buildings are evacuated.

1:35 p.m. — During a debate in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warns that overturning Biden’s election would push democracy into a “death spiral.”

Around 2:15 p.m. — The proTrump mob breaches the Capitol, breaking windows and climbing inside the building, then opening doors for others to follow.

By 2:20 p.m. — Both houses of Congress adjourn and start to evacuate as rioters force their way farther into the Capitol.

2:24 p.m. — @realDonaldTrump: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

2:38 p.m. — @realDonaldTrump: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”

Before 3:15 p.m. — Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and avid Trump supporter, is shot by Capitol Police while trying to get into the Speaker’s Lobby.

3:13 p.m. — @realDonaldTrump: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue.

Thank you!”

3:36 p.m. — White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweets that the National Guard and federal forces are on their way to the U.S. Capitol.

Trump refuses to condemn violence as conflict intensifies Trump remained relatively qui-

et, even as the country called on him to make a statement that could end the chaos. Though he eventually told the mob to go home, he simultaneously expressed his love for the rioters and rationalized their feelings.

4:05 p.m. — President-Elect Joe Biden calls on Trump to “demand an end to this siege.”

4:17 p.m. — Trump tweets a video telling rioters that he loves them and urging them to go home.

He continues to falsely claim that the election was stolen and that he understands how demonstrators feel.

“We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You’re very special.”

6 p.m. — D.C. curfew takes effect. Most of the 69 people arrested Wednesday afternoon through early Thursday were on curfew and unlawful entry charges.

After the Capitol is secured, Congress officially declares that Biden won the election After more than four hours, the mob was cleared and Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts were temporarily locked for policy violations. Congress reconvened to certify the electoral-vote tally. Around 3:40 a.m., more than 13 hours after the Capitol was breached, Vice President Pence officially affirmed the election results, declaring Biden the winner.

6:01 p.m. — @realDonaldTrump: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

These words coming from the president have just been an echo of his battle cry in the last four years, escalating in intensity days before the election and even more

after he lost to Biden.

CNN reported that “Democrats formally introduced their impeachment resolution Monday, charging Trump with ‘incitement of insurrection’ as they race toward making him the first president in history to be impeached twice. Wednesday’s vote underscores Democrats’ fury toward Trump and his supporters after months of false rhetoric about the election being stolen whipped the President’s most ardent followers into a deadly mob Wednesday that ransacked the Capitol, forced lawmakers to evacuate both the House and Senate — and could have been worse. “ The House is now preparing to file articles of impeachment against Trump, as Pence has said he would not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

When Trump took his oath on January 20, 2016, he “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Has he fulfilled this oath? What are the consequences if we let Trump go — just like that without accountability?

(To be continued) *** 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.

Trumpism: A second American civil war?

Horizons

RICHARD HEYDARIAN AMERICA, the rock against which Fascism crashed in the last century, may have begun to slide,” former secretary of state Madeleine Albright cautioned a few years back.

At its most fundamental level, fascism is aestheticized despotism. It’s the ritualized romanticization of violence and an oppressive order. It’s also the glamorization of a permanent state of crisis, which often attracts not only the disaffected and disenfranchised but also sections of the elite, including the intellectuals.

But despite its political troubles, America’s formal democratic institutions have remained largely intact. This is not a Weimar Republic.

Yet, one can’t fully discount the

prospect of a “second civil war” in a country with a long history of civil strife; not to mention, notorious levels of gun violence and heavily armed far-right militia groups, who recently descended on Washington, DC. And when combined with toxic partisanship, where up to 40 percent of the electorate sees the other side as downright “evil,” you get a particularly precarious situation.

For the past four years, outgoing President Donald Trump has been largely described as a “populist.” His liberal critics, however, have gone so far as to portray him as a fascist. Yale University professor Timothy Snyder has drawn direct parallels between Trump and fascist leaders, since “Like historical fascist leaders, Trump has presented himself as the single source of truth.”

Snyder has compared Trump’s usage of the term “fake news”—

as a smear tactic against critical coverage—to the Nazi term Lügenpresse (“lying press”). And there is also the element of media savvy. “The Nazis thought that they could use radio to replace the old pluralism of the newspaper; Trump tried to do the same with Twitter,” Snyder points out.

The circumstances of Trump’s rise to power are also telling. “Like Adolf Hitler, he came to power at a moment when the conventional press had taken a beating,” Snyder argues. “The financial crisis of 2008 did to American newspapers what the Great Depression did to German ones.”

In “How Fascism Works” (2018), American philosopher Jason Stanley questioned the historical specificity of fascism, since its core elements—the cult of personality, extreme nationalism, and para-military violence—have been replicated across time and space.

Earlier, the late Italian philosopher Umberto Eco, who lived through the Mussolini days, made a similar argument, emphasizing the fact that fascism is fundamentally a frame of mind, rather than a narrow historical phenomenon. In simplest terms, Fascism is the rejection of the Enlightenment values that undergird our modern notions of pluralism and rationality.

As an inchoate ideology, fascism draws on three key elements, namely the cult of personality (centered around “the leader”), nationalism and the glorification of state power, and the deployment and glamorization of violence through paramilitary elements and, in its most sinister form, the “deep state.”

For years, Trump skillfully established a cult of personality combined with his unique brand of “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) nationalism. But the element of para-military violence

was largely missing. Nor did Trump employ the kind of statesponsored violence seen in postWeimar Germany or its Italian counterpart. Courts and the opposition-controlled Congress also remained functional.

However, the violent assault on the Capitol, the ultimate symbol of American democracy, has raised serious questions as to whether Trump is just another “populist.” Perhaps a better way to understand what’s happening is to refer to a much older concept: Demagoguery.

As ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle saw it, demagogues are particularly dangerous precisely because they often translate their charisma into mob violence and the coercive co-optation of established democratic institutions.

Pre-election surveys showed that 20 percent of voters expressed openness to the use of violence in the event their can-

didate lost, while post-election surveys showed that a vast majority of Republicans are yet to accept Trump’s defeat.

Even more astonishing is the fact that nearly half of Republicans have expressed support for the Trump-instigated siege on the Capitol. As I wrote in my Nov. 3 article (“Will Donald Trump accept defeat?”), demagogues like Trump “don’t go gently into the night. They will fight back, often at the expense of the whole nation.”

America is a flagship democracy; the world has a direct stake in hoping that ultimately the better angels of America’s nature prevail. *** 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.

*** rheydarian@inquirer.com.ph

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Dateline PhiliPPines

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 13-15, 2021

A

DOH to Quiapo crowd: Watch for...

PAGE A5

CLEAN CREEK. A creek along Airport Road looks clean with its still waters near the border of Pasay City and Baclaran, Paranaque City on Tuesday, January 12. The government has been cleaning up waterways ahead of the rainy season.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Killer cop dismissed from service

by Neil JaysoN

servallos Philstar.com

MANILA — Police M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca who was filmed shooting dead his two neighbors in Paniqui, Tarlac has been booted out from the Philippine National Police.

PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas said apart from the dismissal, Nuezca was also administratively charged with two counts of grave misconduct and two counts of conduct unbecoming of a police officer.

“The dismissal was already implemented by the regional director of NCRPO, Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr.,” Sinas told reporters on Monday, January 11, referring to the National Capital Region Police Office.

“That already completes the cycle of investigation on ex S/ Sgt. Jonel Nuezca,” who was assigned at the Parañaque police station.

The Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the PNP confirmed the other day that it had recommended Nuezca’s dismissal.

Now that the recommendation has been enforced, Nuezca has lost all his benefits and is also barred from holding other posts in government.

Nuezca, who is incarcerated in a jail facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Paniqui, was seen in videos taken on Dec. 20 confronting his neighbors Sonya Gregorio, 52, and her son Frank, 25, that ended when the officer, in plainclothes, shot the pair point-blank in broad daylight and in front of a crowd of witnesses, including Nuezca’s daughter who had also been filming the altercation.

He had been charged with two counts of murder before a Tarlac court, to which he pleaded not guilty last week. His next hearing is set on Feb. 4.

Asked for his reaction to Nuez-

Staff Sergeant Jonel Nuezca

Photo courtesy of Paniqui Municipal Police Station

ca’s not guilty plea, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said: “Well, his guilt should be established beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Domingo Egon Cayosa issued a statement commending the PNP’s IAS for its speedy assessment on the case filed against Nuezca, 45, and for recommending his dismissal from the service.

“The swift action of the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police on the administrative case of Master Sergeant Nuezca by recommending his dismissal from the service for shooting his neighbors Sonya and Frank Anthony Gregorio is welcome and commendable,” said Cayosa.

The IBP is also looking forward to the court decision on the criminal case lodged against Nuezca, apart from his dismissal from the PNP. “We also look forward to the timely resolution of the criminal case pending before the regional trial court. More than the severity of the penalty, certainty and promptness of punishment are tested antidotes to criminality,” Cayosa said. n

Health workers unions see...

PAGE A4 ter in New York picketed on Dec. 1 with signs demanding PPE and spoke about having to reuse N95 masks up to 20 times.

The hospital told KHN it follows federal guidelines for reprocessing masks, but intensive care nurse Jennifer Bejo said it feels unsafe.

At MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care clinics in Washington state, staff members were provided only surgical masks and face shields for months, even when performing covid tests and seeing covid patients, said Dr. Brian Fox, who works at the clinics and is a member of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. The company agreed to provide N95 masks after staffers went on a two-day strike in November.

MultiCare said it found another vendor for N95s in early December and is in the process of distributing them.

PPE has also become a rallying point for nonunion workers.

At a November event handing out PPE in El Paso, Texas, more than 60 workers showed up in the first hour, said SEIU Texas President Elsa Caballero. Many were not union members, she said, but by the end of the day, dozens had signed membership cards to join.

Small successes, gradual movement Organized labor is not a panacea, union officials admit. Their members have faced PPE shortages and high infection rates

throughout the pandemic, too. But collective action can help workers push for and achieve change, they said.

National Nurses United and the National Union of Healthcare Workers said they’ve each seen an influx in calls from nonmembers, but whether that results in more union elections is yet to be seen.

David Zonderman, an expert in labor history at North Carolina State University, said safety concerns like factory fires and mine collapses have often galvanized collective action in the past, as workers felt their lives were endangered. But labor laws can make it difficult to organize, he said, and many efforts to unionize are unsuccessful.

Health care employers, in particular, are known to launch aggressive and well-funded anti-union campaigns, said Rebecca Givan, a labor studies expert at Rutgers university. Still, workers might be more motivated by what they witnessed during the pandemic, she said.

“An experience like treating patients in this pandemic will change a health care worker forever,” Givan said, “and will have an impact on their willingness to speak out, to go on strike and to unionize if needed.”

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. n

Groups back creation of...

PAGE A5 team.

The bill also directs the establishment of Overseas Filipinos Malasakit Centers to ensure the swift delivery of services to OFWs and their families.

“Tinuturing natin silang mga bagong bayani. Hindi mapapalitan ang hirap at sakripisyo na mawalay sa pamilya para lang mabigyan ng mas magandang kinabukasan ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay. Gawin

natin ang lahat para maalagaan sila (We consider them as our new heroes. There is no payment for the hardship and sacrifice from being away from the family just to provide a better future for their loved ones. Let us do everything to help them),” Go said.

He vowed to push for the passage of the measure in order to further protect and ensure the welfare of overseas Filipinos.

(ManilaTimes.net)

tian as it gets. Let’s keep each other safe.”

His appeal on Twitter, which had over 1,000 likes and shares, did not reach the tens of thousands who ignored similar pleas from authorities to stay home to prevent the spread of SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes the severe respiratory disease.

The risk of catching the virus, which has infected nearly half a million people in the country, did not bother Marlene Ordiales, 58, who believed the Black Nazarene would protect her.

“I don’t mind the pandemic.

I leave it up to Him,” Ordiales told the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) as she waited to enter the church.

A mere glimpse Worshipers could only look at the icon, which was placed out of reach on the balcony above the entrance of Quiapo Church.

The statue is believed to have healing powers and devotees struggle to touch it during the procession.

Like hundreds of thousands of other devotees, John Michael dela Cruz settled for only a glimpse of the Black Nazarene from a distance.

For the past five years, Dela Cruz took part in the traslacion, starting as early as 4 a.m. with a prayer that he would survive the grueling procession.

Epidemiological prudence “It’s a new feeling, because we are used to pulling on the rope and boarding the float, but it’s OK if the procession is not held this year as this is also for

the safety of most of the people in this time of COVID,” he said.

Dela Cruz, who lost his job as a pest control technician during the pandemic, chose to practice his faith with epidemiological prudence.

“I will make sure that I will not get infected by the virus, and I know that the Black Nazarene will never forsake me,” he said after traveling from Cavite to Manila to hear Mass at Quiapo Church.

Moro Alfonso, 28, who has been joining the procession since he was 11, said no pandemic could stop him from venerating the Black Nazarene.

Alfonso, who lives in Tondo, Manila, with his wife and two young daughters, went with his family to hear Mass at Quiapo Church on Friday. He was back, but by himself, at the basilica on Saturday morning.

Odelio Abril Parada, a threedecadeslong devotee, was saddened by the cancellation of the procession but agreed it was necessary for everyone’s safety.

“It’s OK that it be postponed but we really hope the pandemic will end so there will be [a] traslacion next year,” Parada told the Inquirer.

Parada, who now heads the Sta. Lucia devotees chapter in San Juan City, attributes his good fortune to the “Senyor,” the name they call the Black Nazarene.

Still a ‘magnet’ As a teen in Manila, Parada had relied on menial jobs to survive, saying the Black Naza-

rene gave him direction, answered his prayers and allowed him to finish a business degree in college, and have a good family.

To prevent contracting the coronavirus disease and not add to the number of people in the Quiapo area, he and his wife just prayed at the San Juan Bautista Church in San Juan, which has a replica of the Black Nazarene.

In his homily during the first Mass on Saturday, Manila Archdiocese’s apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo called the Black Nazarene a “magnet” that continued to attract a multitude of people.

“That attraction cannot be stopped, and even though our way of expressing our faith has changed, our devotion continues … and the people are still reaching out to the Nazarene,” Pabillo said.

“Many have lost their jobs, many are confined to their homes in their barangay, but we all know that God is one with us,” he said.

The Manila city government and Msgr. Hernando Coronel, rector of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, had appealed to devotees to stay home and not to go to Quiapo Church to avoid exposure to the coronavirus.

The Church had set up online platforms, such as a Facebook livestream of the Masses, for devotees at home and abroad.

(With reports from Jodee A. Agoncillo, Dexter Cabalza and AFP)

A january 13-15, 2021 • SoCal aSIan jOurnaL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

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Part II: Looking back at the Asian Journal’s MDWK Magazine stories of 2020 I

by AJPress

Books released by Fil-Am authors

N last week’s issue (Jan. 6, 2021), the Asian Journal editorial team shared some of the popular MDWK Magazine stories from the past year — such as commemorating the history of social justice during Filipino American History Month to influencer and entrepreneur Patrick Starrr’s mission to defy beauty standards.

We continue this week with the second part of this reflection with more features that were widely shared and talked about. To read these selected features & other stories in their entirety, visit: https://www.asianjournal.com/category/magazines/mdwk-magazine.

Parol-making with Lola: Disney launches Filipino-themed Christmas video

“You Can’t Do it Alone� by Maria Quiban Whitesell, “We Dream of Space� by Erin Entrada Kelly, “Once Upon a Sunset� by Tif Marcelo, and “Weird But Normal� by Mia Mercado

Throughout the year, we featured books and their authors, among them: “You Can’t Do It Alone: A Widow’s Journey Through Loss, Grief, and Life After� by Maria Quiban Whitesell; “We Dream of Space� by Erin Entrada Kelly; “Once Upon a Sunset� by Tif Marcelo; “Weird But Normal� by Mia Mercado.

“I know the landscape for not just Filipino authors, but people from all kinds of marginalized groups, has opened up and will continue to do so because literature needs to reflect our entire society. That’s what our world and bookshelves should look like,� Kelly said in an interview with the Asian Journal.

‘Blue’s Clues and You!’ host Josh Dela Cruz on figuring out clues and sharing Filipino culture with a new generation When stage actor Josh Dela Cruz was announced as the new host for the “Blue’s Clues� reboot, a wave of nostalgia kicked in for kids who In a three-minute Christmas advertisement, Disney depicts a lola and granddaughter bonding over Mickey Mouse and making parols. Photo courtesy of Disney UK grew up watching Nickelodeon in the ‘90s. On toy that was gifted to Lola as a young child by her Fall/winter 2020 was a moment for lotop of that, the new generation of Fil-Am would father in 1940. la (grandmother) representation with “Blue’s see someone who resembles them on screen. A The advert was created by Disney EMEA’s Clues & You!� introducing Josh’s grandma and moment of pride came at the start of season two, in-house creative team, led by Angela Affinita, making bibingka. In November, Disney launched in particular, when Josh got to introduce viewers director of brand marketing and creative, in partits first-ever Christmas advertisement, a threeto Filipino culture and another family member, nership with Flux Animation Studios. minute animated short featuring the Filipino a lola (a grandmother played by veteran Filipina“The ad for me is such a great reflection of tradition of parol-making as part of its 2020 fesCanadian actress and singer Carolyn Fe). the bonds between families. We all have unique tive campaign “From Our Family To Yours.� The “Growing up, I never saw anyone on screen traditions, especially at Christmas, so being able heartwarming and tear-jerking animated short is that I connected with,� Dela Cruz said. “I never saw to draw on my own experience with my Filipina inspired by the themes of traditions, family tomyself reflected in a positive way — it was either grandmother and the making of star lanterns to getherness, and nostalgia. It introduces two new the foreigner, the villain, or the joke. I get to be Josh with his predecessors, Joe (Donovan Patton) and Steve (Steve Burns). myself. I’m just Josh and I also am Filipino.� bring a level of authentic creativity is pretty specharacters: Lola (grandmother) and her grandPhoto courtesy of Nickelodeon Continued on Page 2 cial,� Affinita said in an interview with The Drum. daughter, alongside Mickey Mouse, a beloved

entertainment

Part II: Looking back at the Asian Journal’s...

From Page 1

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 13, 2021

Bong and Lani on what steels their marriage amid trials

By Tessa

Mauricio-arriola ManilaTimes.net

WHETHER a fan, voter, friend of theirs or not, no one can deny that among the most famous celebrity marriages in this country, that of actorsturned-public servants Bong and Lani Revilla (nee Mercado) has gone through hell and high water over and over again only to come out stronger than before. Set aside Sen. Bong’s ladies’ man days or even his time detained at Camp Crame. The year that was alone savagely brought them to their knees in more ways than the public apparently knew.

As chief executive of Bacoor City, Mayor Lani hit the ground running when 2020 literally exploded via nearby Taal Volcano in January. In an interview a couple of weeks after the major eruption, Sen. Bong shared in a roundtable with Entertainment editors and columnists how his wife was among the first at the scene to help displaced families and allow them refuge in her city.

Proud of her bravery and selflessness, the senator admitted she had him worried nonetheless returning home one day with high fever and a brutal cough from doing relief work amid the thick smoke and ash, which even had Metro Manilans scrambling for masks themselves.

Not long after, the pandemic broke which had both husband and wife going out all the more to ensure the welfare of their constituents despite the threat of infection on everyone.

Midway through the strict lockdowns, Sen. Bong’s hero, Ramon Revilla Sr., whose name he proudly carries, had his health turn for the worse, forcing the clan to have him hospitalized even as they feared

Despite the pandemic, Fil-Am chef Ria Barbosa’s Petite Peso opens for service in Downtown LA Opening a restaurant would seemingly be among the last things to do in during a pandemic, but Petite Peso — with Ria Barbosa as its executive chef and vice president of culinary and business partners Robert Villanueva and Tiffany Tanaka — launched in Spring 2020 in the humble 275-square-foot space in downtown LA’s Jewelry District that once was home to Charles Olalia’s Rice Bar. Conceptualized as “Filipino food with thoughtful ingredients,” Petite Peso features rice bowls, morning pastries and comfort food dishes based on available seasonal ingredients.

“Developing the menu was the fun part. We talked about what we like to eat and our favorites growing up — that identity of being born there [in the Philippines] and moving here to the U.S. with your whole family. We have to have the Filipino hits while keeping guests in mind. We’re not going to have dinuguan right off the bat, but the starting lineup is full of dishes we feel really strongly about and tie back to family memories,” Barbosa said.

‘Superstore’ actor Nico Santos on queer Filipino roles: ‘I don’t feel like I’m being pigeonholed at all’ Since 2015, 41-year-old actor Nico Santos has portrayed Mateo Liwanag, a gay, undocumented Filipino sales associate on NBC’s “Superstore.” Though it’s a comedy, “Superstore,” now entering its sixth and final season, tackles the serious issues of the moment, whether it’s Mateo’s immigration status, the rights of workers at the big-box store, equal pay or the environmental impact of shopping.

Whatever future projects come Santos’ way, he is not afraid Actors-turned-public servants Bong and Lani Revilla ManilaTimes.net photo of being typecast as a queer Asian man and getting those parts. shock to the nation when the exposing him to the virus.

“It’s so hard to work in this industry period and it’s so hard strapping 53-year-old senator Albeit 93 years old by then, to reach this level of work. For me, I don’t feel like I’m being announced he was the latest the Revilla patriarch meant pigeonholed at all. I’m actually only interested in playing parts Since 2015, Santos has played Mateo, a gay, victim of Covid-19. everything to their close-knit that look like me, that speak like me, and that speak to my undocumented Filipino store associate who is Suffering not just the worst clan and most especially to Raexperience. I don’t feel like I’m being stifled as an actor by not sassy and overly competitive. of the plague’s symptoms and mon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and his Photo by Evans Vestal Ward/NBC exploring ‘other types of characters,’” he said. presentation, which had him wife who rely on him as their hospitalized, Sen. Bong and life’s compass.

From registered nurse to first Fil-Am co-owner of a US hospital: How Vicki Rollins transhis family also endured some It goes without saying then formed a struggling medical center into a five-star rated hospital of the worst ridicule, bashing how their hearts and spirits broke when the former senator and share of fake news while Only two hospitals in the city of Los Angeles received the he was fighting for his life. and legendary Hari ng Agimat highest five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid “And ang hindi po alam ng Services (CMS) in January 2020 — and one of them is in the heart of Philippine movies finally marami, hindi lang po si Bong breathed his last on June 26, of Historic Filipinotown and is run by a Filipina American. Formerly ang nagka-Covid pero pati po known as the Silver Lake Medical Center, the Los Angeles Down2020 — a son and a family’s yung yung anak namin na si deep pain, raw as can be in town Medical Center (LADMC) along West Temple Street has Inah who is based in Davao,” every unabashed tear and undergone a complete transformation in the last 12 months under Mayor Lani told a small and every jolting quiver that came the leadership of Vicki Palana Rollins, the first Fil-Am to co-own a with the final goodbyes of Sen. socially-distanced huddle with hospital system in the United States.

The T-Zone a week ago today.

Bong, the macho man, the acRollins, along with business partner William Nelson, purchased “Actually her entire family tion star to his beloved father. the struggling medical center after it went into bankruptcy in Feband household, including our Down and dejected, neiruary 2019. three-year-old apo, lahat sila ther Bong nor Lani had much “When you lead an organization, whether it’s health care or any nagka-Covid din and wala time to grieve, however, given other type of business, you want to be on top of your game and kaming magawa kungdi magtheir responsibility to serve just be fair to everybody and do the right thing. Then nothing is redasal lang at mag-alala tulad especially in times of crisis. ally complex at the end of the day. It’s the people who make things Vicki Rollins during a celebration for LA Downnung nasa ospital si Bong But even if it was expected complex,” Rollins said. town Medical Center. Photo courtesy of LADMC mag-isa.” how the pace of their work “Grabe talaga ang nagand tragic loss would catch How Fil-Am Businesses In LA County Are Navigating Impact Of Virus Outbreak up to them, it still came as a Continued on Page 5

AC Boral of Bebot Filipino Soul Food in Long Beach gets ready to deliver meals to healthcare workers across the county.

Photo by Janice Dig Cabaysa Donny Pangilinan

Photo from Instagram/@donny

Donny happy on solo flight

have to rehearse for seven.”

At first, admitted Donny, he was reluctant to do it.

BECAUSE Donny Pangil“But then, I thought, it’s a inan has been absent from the good chance to learn and to TV5 show Sunday Noontime showcase more of my talent, Live (SNL), there’s a rumor that to better improve my craft and he quit and Ricci Rivero was have fun as well. It’s cool that promoted to take his place. The our guests... most of them my truth is that Donny is in a lock-in friends are familiar faces, as shoot for a project (presumably well as the crew. Nice to see for ABS-CBN/Star Cinema since everybody.” he has remained Kapamilya forNow happily going solo ever) to be followed by another after the breakup of DonKiss, his one. Busy bee. much-lamented team-up with “I love doing SNL,” Donny Kisses Delavin (now with her told Funfare in a recent interfamily in her native Masbate due view. “It has been very, very fun. to the pandemic), Donny said he I’m thankful for the opportunity doesn’t regret over the incident to work with an amazing group while expressing gratitude to of people like Papa P (Piolo the DonKiss supporters.

Pascual), Catriona (Gray), Maja “I will cherish the good (Salvador) and my bro Jake memories of DonKiss deeply in (Ejercito). I enjoy it because my heart. I am grateful for the I missed going to the studio support that the DonKiss family physically and seeing people be- has given not just me but also cause we’ve been staying home Kisses. I sincerely hope that she for so long. is okay right now and safe dur“I would say that SNL really ing this pandemic.” pushes me to my limits, making Is he done with love-teamme work harder than I have ever ing? worked in terms of rehearsing.

“Hindi naman siguro,” I’ve never rehearsed this much said Donny. “I’ve always been in my whole life. Instead of just very open. I’m still very young one production number, we and have so much to work on, By ricky lo Philstar.com

so much I have to learn from different people. I am open to collaborating with different people.”

The pandemic forced him to put many things on hold.

“My friends and I were supposed to go abroad just before the lockdown. Sayang but it was such a small thing. As they say, everything happens for a reason. May kapalit naman. I was able to work again. I will be busy until the second quarter of this year. Fingers crossed, I hope that things will go back to normal.”

Another plus factor of the pandemic is that it has given Donny time to bulk up.

“I have made taking care of my health a priority...physically, mentally and spiritually. I have learned discipline. My mantra is ‘Don’t be lazy.’ Get up and move!”

The minus factor? Because of the social-distancing protocol, Donny is unable to see his girlfriend.

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” he exclaimed. “If I had, I would surely find time to keep in touch with her. Maybe Zoom na lang muna kami, hahaha!!!”

Rita gears up for face-slapping matches with Maricel

By Marinel

cruz

Inquirer.net

ACTRESS Rita Avila, who joined the popular Kapamilya drama series “Ang Sa Iyo ay Akin” in December, said she came prepared for her faceslapping matches with one of the show’s lead cast, Maricel Soriano.

“Yes, there will be a lot of catfights with Maricel. I guess

Chef Ria Dolly Barbosa makes ensaymadas in house at Petite Peso Photo by Alfonzo Bell

it’s because we’re of the same height and we can easily reach for each other’s cheeks and hair,” she recently told reporters during a virtual chat. “It’s an honor to be working with Maricel. She may be known as the ‘Taray Queen,’ but she has shown me nothing but kindness since we first worked together in this business.”

Rita recalled the first time they met. “I was a newcomer

then. I appeared in her show ‘Maricel Drama Special’ as a guest. When she learned that we would be working together on that day, she told everyone on the set, ‘You should have told me it was Rita. I would have brought clothes and accessories that she could use for the shoot;’ and then she turned to me to say, ‘It’s OK. You can use Continued on Page 4

Christian Esteban of Chaaste Family Market in Pasadena, California prepares turo turo dishes ahead of the grocery opening for the day.

Contributed photo

In a year marked by reopenings and shutdowns, it all began in Los Angeles on March 15, 2020 when Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered the temporary closure of bars and nightclubs that don’t offer food, movie theaters and entertainment venues, and gyms and fitness centers. Restaurants and retail food facilities had to shutter indoor and outdoor dining and

Artisanal ice cream shop Wanderlust Creamery announced it will only have pints for takeout and no-contact delivery.

Photo courtesy of Wanderlust Creamery

only provide delivery, takeout or drive-thru options (which still continues of this writing).

Filipino American business owners shared how they had to change the way they operate or even, close temporarily. Despite the closures, the community rallied together to raise awareness of and patron businesses in the community that need the most help.

From Magic Johnson To Terrell Owens: How A Filipina American Designer Makes Custom Looks For Athletes’ Big Events During major professional sports events of the year like the Super Bowl, the outfits the players wear off the field are talked about as well as they have unexpectedly become sources of fashion inspiration. Meet one Filipina American designer behind most of the sleek and tailored outfits that athletes don — Johanna Alba, the chief visionaire of ALBA, taken after her last name but also meaning “ A Light Beyond Appearance.” Her Los Angeles-based bespoke clothing company bears over 1,200 high-profile athletic and entertainment clients from Magic Johnson to Terrell Owens.

“Every athlete is their own brand so it’s important for them to look the part and their image is key in that. The NFL and NBA enforced dress codes so they have to dress appropriately for every occasion,” Alba said.

Johanna Alba

Contributed photo

A spotlight on eco-friendly, artisanal Pinay brands

De Leon, a shoe designer and product development specialist, photographed in her Hollywood Hills home before she moved to Manila full-time in 2019.

AJPress photo courtesy of Noel Ty

Rita Nazareno, creative director of Zacarias 1925, poses in front of some of her bags, including the ammunition collection which is her collaboration with Bay Area graphic designer Chris Sumida.

Photos by Joseph L Peralta/AJ Press

Claire Powers was one of a handful of designers invited to showcase their designs at the Sustainable New York Fashion Week held last month at the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex.

AJPress photo by Momar G. Visaya

Len Cabili of Filip+Inna shows off the beadwork done by the Tagakaolo tribe in a traditional blouse.

For many Filipinos globally, one way to proudly show their heritage is by wearing it on their sleeves, literally. This is the mission of several Pinay entrepreneurs and designers — as we featured in several issues. They include: Reese Fernandez-Ruiz of Rags2Riches, Len Cabili’s Filip+Inna, Zacarias 1925 by Rita Nazareno, KINdom by Claire Powers, and Angkan

by Carol de Leon.

In addition to promoting the textiles of the Philippines on a global stage, they also have an added purpose to either promote sustainability or to give back and empower the artisan communities.

“Seeing these Filipino designers shows that creativity runs in our blood, whether it’s fashion design, art or music. The talent is definitely there in our genes.

I believe it just needs to be on a more globalized level,” de Leon said.

Fair Warning: think before you post (Part 1 of 2)

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond

“Social media should improve your life, NOT become your life!”

- Patrick Driessen

monette AdevA mAglAyA FOR good or ill, advances in communication technology have reshaped our lives drastically far more than we can imagine a decade or so ago.

We email, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Instagram and think nothing of it. We write comments and post photos and videos for our friends, friends of friends or for all the world to see. Posts can go viral, depending on the public’s whim or appetite for cute things or those with shock value.

If we don’t watch it, we could be buried in this avalanche of information, sights and sounds available electronically right at our fingertips 24/7.

It is an amazing phenomenon defying space and time constraints, the cumulative, social effects of which, we still have to evaluate in hindsight.

A few words to the wise: PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Much of cyberbia is uncharted territory. It’s a jungle out there.

Corporations who trade in bits and bytes milk the web for information that can advance their corporate goals, that is to say, their profit and loss statements.

Scammers of every nationality and persuasion holed out in their rooms or in cyber cafes are out in full force still making fools of the greedy lot who still believe in something for nothing.

Identity thieves troll social network sites to get information about birthdays, addresses and such relevant information from which they can put together and extrapolate your SSN and

assume your identity. That number is a key that can open financial doors for the ill-intentioned.

Consider yourself warned.

So much is already out there in the public records and on Google and Google Maps complete with street views. You can view mug shots of those with arrest records and for a few bucks more, cull out the details.

I am guessing that in the future, when it finally dawns on us that OBSCURITY is a blessing and CELEBRITY, a curse, there will be a market for Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloaks to shield us from all this unwanted intrusion into our private lives.

We are all vulnerable to determined privacy intruders.

Tweak or fine-tune your privacy settings to limit your exposure.

Refrain from signaling your intention when going on vacation so thieves don’t ransack your home. Alas and alack!

The world may have become your stage but not everyone is rootin’ for you. Some may even want you to go down in flames for some real or imagined hurt or simply out of malice.

The rules for social networking are still being drawn but a few, yet-to-be-written guidelines have congealed just in the last few years and have become quite apparent and definitely bears repeating and amplifying.

Do take heed.

Your postings at all social networking sites define who you are and delineate your character to the world. Your thoughts, your ideas and com-

ments, your images, even your choice of words give an insight to your personality and character traits. They reflect your values, give a hint of your weaknesses and vulnerabilities and can be a measure of the size of your ego. Taken altogether, they paint a composite picture of you.

Even the amount of time you spend on online games is a sliver of insight into your interests and how you spend your free time. It may be indicative of whether you are near the brink of obsessive-compulsive behavior or a candidate for the nuthouse.

Unfair? Of course it is. It is a flat and one-dimensional picture of who you are. You are a far more complex person than what your Facebook and Twitter postings give you credit for.

But based on available information that you yourself provided, that’s how you want the people that orbit in your universe see you. Take heed from a phrase that police officers read to suspects, “ … Anything you say (and in social networking, what you post) can and will be taken against you…”

(To be continued…) ***

Atty. Kenneth uRsuA Reyes CONSIDER this common factual situation. You are over 21 years old and your US citizen parent petitions you while you are inside the United States. Since this is a preference category, you have to wait many years for your priority date to be current. As the years go by, your petitioning parent dies which in turn revokes the petition. Can you still apply for your green card when your priority date becomes current?

Under Section 204(l) of the immigration and nationality act, you may apply for a green card despite the death of the petitioner once your priority date becomes current as long as 1) you were in the United States at the time of the Petitioner’s death, and 2) you continuously resided in the United States until the present time when you apply for adjustment of status. This provision does not apply to beneficiaries that are outside the United States.

This provision also applies to both approved and pending Petitions.

This avenue is available to all family based petitions as outlined in INA section 204(l)(2). This includes 1)immediate relative petitions and 2)preference family peti-

tions such as unmarried sons and daughters of us citizens, spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of lpr, married sons and daughters of us citizens, and brothers and sisters of us citizens.

Derivative beneficiaries of pending or approved employment- based immigrant visa petitions are also covered by this section. This includes the spouse and unmarried children under age 21 of an individual who was sponsored under the employment-based category.

If you fail to meet the requirements of INA 204(l) because you did not continously reside in the US since the death of the Petitioner, you may still try to reinstate the Petition under 8 CFR Sec. 205.1(a)(3) Humanitarian Reinstatement.

The DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) may exercise discretion “for humanitarian reasons” to reinstate the petition and to allow the Affidavit of Support requirements to be satisfied by the qualifying I-864 of a spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild or legal guardian of the beneficiary, as long as the petition was “approved” prior to the Petitioner’s death.

DHS discretion does not mean “guaranteed” approval.

The case will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some of the factors that the DHS may consider are 1) disruption of an established family unit; 2) hardship to US citizens or lawful permanent residents; 3) beneficiary is elderly or in poor health; 4) beneficiary has had

*** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.

The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.

This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association.

He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

Heart opens up about superficial friendships in showbiz

By Kathleen

a. llemit

Philstar.com

HEART Evangelista spilled more tea as her 38minute, fourth episode of her “Adulting” series continued.

Uploaded last Sunday evening, January 10, on her YouTube channel Love Marie Escudero, the actress shared how she feels about being “ghosted” or left without notice or closure by a lover or a friend.

It all started when she threw the question of outgrowing friends to her husband, Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero.

Chiz shared that the best way to test that one had not outgrown one’s friends is whenever they each see Continued on Page 4 Heart Evangelista

Photo from Instagram/@iamhearte

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 13, 2021

Pandemic debt relief: Is bankruptcy right for you?

Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon

PEOPLE with overwhelming debt problems during this difficult time are asking a lot of questions. Are you scared of being sued and having creditors getting judgments against you and garnishing your wages and levying your bank account?

What would happen to your home or business if you fall behind on your debt obligations and are unable to catch up? What is the worst that creditors can do to you? Are you afraid of losing what little you have and wonder how you are going to survive if you can’t even pay for life’s basic necessities like rent, mortgage, food, transportation, etc., let alone pay your The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints bills? expressed by the author do not necessarily Making the right decisions reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of is critical to your financial surthe Asian Journal, its management, editorial vival when facing debt probboard and staff. lems. No one ever wants to be *** in this situation, and it could Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is be one of the most challengSVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To ing situations you’ll ever face send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ in your life. But don’t despair. asianjournalinc.com At one time or another, everyone experiences financial challenges in their lives.

At this time, there are milling of people who have lost their jobs or have had their hours cut due to the virus. Some people who thought they were just temporarily laid off lengthy residence in the US; during the lock down are find4) beneficiary has no home to ing out that they don’t even go to; 5)undue delay by USCIS have a job to go back to. It’s or consular officer in processnot your fault because it is ing petition and visa; 6) and not something that you have Beneficiary has strong family caused. ties in the United States.

The beneficiary must be prepared to show proof of the original I-130 that was filed, proof of I-130 approval if approved, a copy of the Petitioner’s death certificate, proof of substitute sponsor’s relationship to the beneficiary, and meet all the I-864 requirements.

Can I qualify for a green card despite the petitioner’s death?

Barrister’s Corner

community During times of financial crisis, millions of people have looked at bankruptcy as a way of getting debt relief. And in most cases, had they not filed for bankruptcy, there would have been no other way for them to start a new life free from the burden of debt.

You have rights under federal law to file bankruptcy and get immediate relief from debt. Although you may have heard bad things about bankruptcy, it is really is nothing more than a legal remedy that allows you to regain control

tion or debt consolidation plan. The court requires you to submit all your income information as well as a monthly budget to assess your ability to pay. Your Chapter 13 plan payments will be based on the surplus income as determined by the Court. Chapter 13 allows you to keep valuable property such as your home or car (although you were behind on your mortgage and car payments at the time of filing) and will stop foreclosure and repossession immediately on the day your case is filed. Credit card debts are included in your monthly payment under Chapter 13 and, in most cases, they can be significantly reduced or even totally eliminated.

Being in debt is not the end of the world.

There are options available and the sooner you act, the sooner you will be on your way to getting the relief that you need badly. If you have not read my book, “What You Need to Know Before Filing Bankruptcy”, you can download it free of charge at www. beforefilingbk.com.

For a free evaluation of your case, please call our office at Toll-Free 1-866-4777772 to schedule a free consultation. Let us help you. *** NOTE: Due to COVID-19 pandemic, I am offering free consultations BY PHONE to anyone who needs help in dealing with their debt problems. ***

“It is a misconception that ‘once you file bankruptcy, you will automatically lose everything.’

The truth is that most people keep everything they have (homes, cars, bank accounts, retirement plans, etc.) and they lose nothing at all.” of your finances so that you can get back on your feet as quickly as possible. Of course, it is not the answer to all financial problems but when appropriate for your situation, it may be the only way for you to get out of the mess you’re currently in.

Briefly, Chapter 7 allows you to cancel or discharge your debts but in return, you must give up whatever nonexempt assets you may have.

The good news is that most people don’t have much and whatever little they have; they are often protected by the exemption laws in bankruptcy.

So, it is a misconception that “once you file bankruptcy, you will automatically lose everything.” The truth is that most people keep everything they have (homes, cars, bank accounts, retirement plans, etc.) and they lose nothing at all.

Chapter 13, on the other hand, is a debt reorganiza-

None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call RJB Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772.

(Advertising Supplement)

Rita gears up for face-slapping... entertainment Heart opens up about superficial...

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 13, 2021

From Page 3 other, it’s as if they had met each other yesterday instead of years of being apart or having no communication at all. He also revealed that his most trusted friends are those who he kept since his elementary and high school days and who will be by his side “come hell or high water.”

After her husband spoke, Heart revealed that she has what she calls “taping friends.”

“Ako naman, what I call them is taping friends.

Parang we’re only friends during taping. But, like that was before,” she shared.

When Chiz asked if some developed into real friendships, she pondered for a moment and revealed more without naming names.

“Yeah, some develop into real friendships but I

EMPLOYMENT

must admit it does make me sad whenever I think about friendships that all of a sudden aren’t there anymore.

You don’t know what you did wrong, you know like gi-nosting ka. I don’t understand that. Honestly, me, kasi I don’t have a lot of friends so when I have a friend, I really invest my emotions and my time. You know me. I don’t why all of a sudden they are different,” Heart shared.

Chiz reassured her that as long as she did not do anything wrong, she should not be concerned about it.

But Heart continued, “Well, what was it? Honestly, ako, because sometimes I feel really dumb. I have a friend, I don’t know what happened. She just disappeared and I remember I’d see her in parties and I’d feel really stupid that I would always really run after ‘Hey,

hey’ and she’s like, ‘I gotta go.’ I didnt say anything until my friend started to say, ‘Alam mo masyado kang naghahabol’.”

Chiz again said that there’s nothing wrong with her coming after that kind of friend, at least she’s still being friendly. Heart agreed and muttered that perhaps “they will come around.”

They went on to discuss about their friends’ circumstances in their lives that may have something to do with their behavior.

Chiz then said, “Wala ka pa rin namang ginagawang mali. Just put it at the back of your mind na hindi mo siya maasahan kung saka-sakali.”

Heart shared that it was just “sad” but then Chiz joked that she’ll “probably fall flat on her face,” Heart quipped that it has “happened to me many times.”

EMPLOYMENT

From Page 2 this ring as a costume,’” the actress reminisced.

The actress said her eyes bulged at the size of Maricel’s diamond ring. “Maricel’s gesture actually made me feel more nervous. I told my yaya, ‘Never mind if my face is oily or my hair is a mess. I just want you to keep staring at this ring to make sure I don’t lose it.’”

She added: “Fast forward to the present; when I learned that Maricel would be my character’s archnemesis in the show, I was happy. I consider her a good friend. She’s always been kind to me. She’s a professional. I know we will be able to correctly read each other’s minds as coactors.”

Rita plays Belen, mother of lead star Iza Calzado’s character, Ellice. People are secretly questioning Belen’s motives when she suddenly returns to Ellice’s life after decades of absence.

She also admitted that there had been offers for her to join another teleserye in a rival TV network, “but I said

strict director. She also knows that I don’t give her special treatment just because she’s my wife,” FM pointed out. “In fact, I require more from her.

She is aware of how difficult work is for people like us in the production team. She understands the demands of working behind the camera.

That’s why, when something is needed on the set, it’s not usual for her to come rushing to help.”

As an actor, one thing that FM appreciated about Rita was that, “she is quiet, intelligent and a deep thinker.

When given instructions, she’s Rita Avila with Maricel Soriano GMA photo not the type who gives you affirmation; sometimes, she won’t even give you a nod. ‘yes’ to this program without You’d wonder if she really blinking an eye because it’s got it. You’d just be surprised the No. 1 teleserye today.” during the take because you’d Although she didn’t say it, see that she was able to do another factor could also be that her husband, FM Reyes, is it.”

Rita is also respectful, decodirecting the series. clared FM. “She isn’t the type During the virtual media who would throw her weight conference, FM clarified that around the set because I’m the most of Rita’s scenes would director. At work, we’re not a be handled by his codirector, couple. We make that known Avel Sungpoco. to everybody,” he added.

“Rita knows that I’m a

EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES

Ellen on how things changed with ex John Lloyd after tackling her mental health struggles

By Niña

V. GuNo

Inquirer.net

ELLEN Adarna has revealed that a mental health training program has not only transformed herself, it also changed her relationship with her exboyfriend John Lloyd Cruz.

The actress has been open about what she went through in the two-week KoKoro program in Bali, Indonesia last March 2020, which she said helped her out of a “black hole.” She had been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

She has now spoken of the impact it has had on how she relates with Cruz in an interview with Preview last Saturday, Jan. 9. The two co-parent their son Elias.

It could be recalled that Adarna and Cruz made headlines when they became a couple in 2017 and dropped out of the showbiz scene. They kept their relationship low-key — even the birth of their son was not made public by them.

Adarna said in the interview that she went through postpartum depression, which was compounded with the loss of her father shortly before she gave birth.

She and Cruz were also having disagreements, as she explained, “You know, we weren’t compatible, obviously, that’s why we broke up.

Of course, any normal break up hurts. You want things to work.”

Adarna tried counseling, therapy and medication but none were effective for her depression and anxiety.

She knew the KoKoro program was a drastic measure but she was willing to try anything at that point. True enough, she returned with a different outlook. She practices meditation for 40 minutes to an hour every day, which has helped in her healing process.

“It took two years for me to heal,” she said. “I really went on a downward spiral. I really lost it.”

Ellen Adarna

When it comes to Cruz, she now has the hindsight to see her own faults. She said she had “so many [unresolved] issues” which she projected on him.

“Now I’m in a very good place. I can say I’m 100% okay. I feel my environment changed,” she said. “Like his approach to me, my relationship [with him has] changed without asking him to change.

So I was just really the problem. (Laughs). How I viewed it, my thinking pattern was the problem.”

It has also made co-parenting smoother even if they are no longer together. She describes Cruz as a good father and realizes that “my son needs him as much as he needs me.”

“I see their relationship and I see how happy my son is when he is around. So that’s why I also have to work on myself,” she said in the interview.

“Because when I had my issues with JL, [I thought], okay,

entertainment

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 13, 2021

Bong and Lani on what...

From Page 2 ing dagok sa amin ng 2020, hindi lang yung mga napaalam namin sa inyo,” her husband agreed. “Napaka-suwerte ko pa rin at nangyari itong lahat ng ito na kasama ko na ulit ang pamilya ko. Napakahirap ‘nun kung nasa loob pa ako. Kaya sobra sobra ang pasasalamat namin na nandito kami ngayon, 2021, in good health — kami ni Lani at ang buong pamilya namin — kaya kahit na ano pa man yung pinagdaanan namin — hindi lang ang pagkakasakit, ang pagkamatay ni Daddy pero pati na yung mga masasakit na atake sa akin na nag-tuloy pa rin ‘nun — set aside na natin yon. Kasi ang importante ngayon ay kung paano tayo magtutulungan pa rin para mabubuhay sa mga darating na araw at mag-ingat. Kung paano natin aalagaan ang mga mahal natin sa buhay at mga kaibigan natin.

Asked what their secret is in surviving the trials that seem to keep hounding them together and solid as ever, Lani was first to share, “Yung attitude na ang mga bagay na Photo from Instagram/@maria.ellen.adarna hindi mo kaya, ipa-sa Diyos mo na dahil may mga bagay talaga if I don’t allow my son to see na Siya lang ang makakagawa.” his father, how will I tell him Ever open how steeling [it’s] because I had animosity towards [his] father? Damay pa their Christian faith got them through Bong’s four-year yung bata sa mga issues ko.”

(The kid would be affected by detention in Crame in eventual acquittal, prayers — no matter my issues.) how common and redundant it Addressing her mental sounds — still remain to be the health issues has also led her to make a showbiz comeback. couple’s refuge to this day.

Eager to leave all the bane She stars in the TV5 sitcom of 2020 behind, Sen. Bong “John en Ellen” which will air on the other hand playfully on Jan. 24. said, “Basta isipin mo pogi ka, She accepted the project, malalampasan mo ang lahat!” keeping in mind that she setting off his wife into fits of would still have time with her son. And while she was shoot- laughter.

Conscious in choosing ing for five days, Elias was lighter and more positive able to be with Cruz. outlook in life despite unceasShe also said that she is now able to manage her emo- ing detractors [“Tanggap ko na, hindi naman sila titigil tions, which previously could kahit ano pa ang mangyari”], have led to panic attacks.

Sen. Bong — who, through “I can identify when an his public service program on emotion is coming: like what am I feeling, how am I feeling, Facebook Live, has amassed why am I feeling this? If I react an impressive social media like this, what’s the outcome?” following while fulfilling his she added. “[Ever] since I had promise to help the poorest of the poor — does make a good that kind of thinking, things argument when he revealed have been so smooth.”

another mindset he has taken on as a result of all his experiences in 2020.

Often hit for carrying out his online public service via fun game show fashion, the naturally happy personality has this to say, “I don’t care. Kahit na magsasayaw pa ako diyan,

kung napapasaya ko at natutulungan ang mga tao, masaya na ako noon. Hindi naman natin maiibigay lahat ng pangangailangan nila pero sa maliit na paraan ay makakatulong tayo para mapasaya sila — yun ang importante sa amin ni Lani at ng buong pamilya.”

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SUPER Q F BIHON/ OF % PALABOK 9 4 S AV I N 16OZ

DIS

UFC TAMARIND MIX 40G

F OF MAGIC FLAKES 16% PREMIUM

G

2

$ 99 /EA

LOWER PRICE

UNT CO

G

S AV I N

SARANGANI BAY PREMIUM SARDINES (REGULAR & SPICY) 155G

S

G

S

LE SA

DIS

DIS

ISLAND PACIFIC SELECT SEAGRAPES LATO 320G

SPECIAL

UNT CO

UNT CO

S AV I N

$ 29 /LB

BEFORE

GROCERIES NEW

FRESH STRIPE BASS

S AV I N

DIS

$2.69

WILD / MARYLAND, USA

F OF 23% S

S AV I N

BEFORE

5

G

G

S

F OF 13%

UNT CO

S

FRESH HALIBUT/ FLOUNDER STEAK

$8.99

G

DIS

WILD CAUGHT / MEXICO

UNT CO

$ 99 /LB

BEFORE

DIS

$3.99

DIS

2

$ 99 /LB

BEFORE

BEFORE

79¢

1

2lbs $ FOR