011323 - San Diego Edition

Thousands of NYC nurses stage strike for fair contract, safe staffing

THE nurses strike in New York City continued for the third day on Wednesday, Jan. 11 as hundreds of nurses gathered outside Mount Sinai Main and Montefiore Bronx, with no contract agreement yet between the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and the two hospitals.

More than 7,000 nurses at the two major hospitals walked off the job Monday, Jan. 9 saying that immense staffing shortages are causing widespread burnout and hindering their ability to properly care for their patients.

The nurses add they are working long hours in unsafe conditions without enough

Rob Bonta sworn in as California attorney general Bonta shares plans for 2023

by Klarize Medenilla AJPress

In

Jan. 6,

20th-century labor movement.

“Everyone was there because of the mission. We all saw injustice in the world, and we wanted to fix it. It’s why I decided to become a public attorney — to fight for those who’ve been wronged. And it’s that fight for justice — for all Californians — that motivates me today,” Bonta said.

Previously, Bonta was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in April 2021 after former Attorney General Xavier Becerra left the post to serve as the United States secretary of Health and Human

Services.

Bonta was previously a California state assemblymember from 2012 to 2021, and he was the first Filipino American to be elected into the state Legislature.

As assemblymember, he served the Alameda area that encompasses California State Assembly District 18, which is now helmed by his wife, Mia Bonta.

Bonta’s historic appointment marked the first

Marcos to ‘soft launch’ Maharlika Wealth fund in 2023 World Economic Forum

by daphne Galvez Inquirer.net

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will introduce the proposed Maharlika Wealth fund on the world stage during the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday, January 12.

DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said it was the President who broached the idea of tackling the controversial sovereign fund at the WEF, which will be held in Davos, Switzerland this month.

“At the briefing this morning, the President said that we have developed excellent fundamentals, there’s much that we can offer to investors and he said ‘you know let’s talk about the sovereign wealth fund that’s being set up’,” he said in a Palace briefing.

Sorreta said the WEF will be a “great venue” to “soft launch” the Maharlika Wealth fund, which is yet to secure approval from Congress.

“The WEF is a great venue to do a sort of soft launch for our sovereign wealth fund, given the prominence of the forum itself and global and business leaders will be there,” he said.

Nazareno

COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments will no longer be free once the Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires on Jan. 11, even as the U.S. faces down a more infectious new subvariant XBB 1.5.

The new subvariant accounts for 75% of new infections on the East Coast and 40% of new cases in the country overall. Moreover, the XBB 1.5 subvariant contains five new mutations not found on Omicron, on which the current vaccine boosters are based. “It can evade antibodies better and infect human lung tissue easier than earlier strains,” said Dr. Ben Neuman, Chief Virologist of the Global Health Research Complex, Texas A&M, at an Ethnic Media Services news briefing Jan. 6.

Also speaking at the briefing were Dr.

2023

Back to the future with COVID-19 OCTA: China COVID-19 surge may trigger new wave

draws 1.2 million devotees

by Julie M. aurelio, Marlon raMos Inquirer.net

MANILA — The activities for this year’s Black Nazarene celebration drew 1.2 million devotees, lesser than the authorities’ initial projection of five million faithful.

The management of Quiapo Church said one of the reasons for the lower attendance count is the cancellation of Traslacion

The total number of people who attended the religious activities from January 6-10 reached 1,268,435.

Most of the devotees flocked to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or the Quiapo Church which drew 925,782 attendees.

Quirino Grandstand, where the sacred image was displayed for “Pagbibigaypugay” (giving tribute), received 254,653 devotees. This was the alternative to the traditional “Pahalik.”

The first-ever “Walk of Faith” also drew

88,000 devotees.

The “Walk of Faith” procession, from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church, was much less crowded and more orderly than the traditional “Traslacion,” where crowds swarm around the life-size statue of the Black Nazarene.

Traslacion has been canceled for the third time — first in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country.

The annual procession is a reenactment of the 1787 Traslacion — literally means “solemn transfer” — of the image from its original shrine in Bagumbayan, the present Rizal Park, to the Quiapo Church.

Traslacion not the sole reason for low turnout Quiapo Church spokesperson Fr.

Cybercrime among ‘greatest threats’ to Filipinos - PNP

MANILA — The OCTA Research group has stressed the need to closely watch the COVID-19 situation in China, which is experiencing a significant surge in new cases after it recently lifted restrictions, as it may trigger a new wave of the highly infectious disease locally.

“So far, the variants that we monitor from China are all similar to the ones that we had here: BQ, XBB, BA5. A lot of names, but they’re all very similar. They’re all Omicron subvariants. They are very infectious, but they don’t cause a lot of severity,” OCTA

Azurin

“This year, the PNP shall focus on cybercrimes since [these are] now the fastest-growing transnational organized

Mayor

Todd Gloria

declares city is ‘rising’ to meet challenges

Mayor’s state of the city address details

progress on San Diego’s most critical issues

SAN DIEGO – In his third State of the City address as the 37th Mayor of the City of San Diego, Mayor Todd Gloria detailed the considerable progress on the city’s top issues – infrastructure, public safety, homelessness and housing affordability. The mayor made several policy announcements as part of his address, among them an executive order –signed moments before he took the stage – that will expedite city approval of affordable housing projects to 30 days.

“None of tonight should come with the suggestion of mission accomplished,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “Our city has crawled out of the deepest of valleys, and we now find ourselves climbing the highest of mountains. The summit may be far in the distance, but San Diego is taking steps every day to reach it – and we will.”

After delivering his first two State of the City addresses virtually to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Gloria gave this year’s speech in front of a live audience at the Civic Theater, a location

symbolizes the city’s aspirations to revitalize neglected public sites to add significantly to the region’s housing supply. The theater sits amid six blocks in Downtown’s civic core that the city plans to redevelop into a new city administration hub and thousands of homes for working-class San Diegans.

“This once-in-a-lifetime transformation will revive the Downtown civic core, create a

MANILA — The Philippine National Police will be focusing on cybercrimes in 2023, Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., PNP chief, said on Monday, January 9 as he called them among “the greatest threats” that Filipinos face.

made the announcement after releasing crime data collected from July 2022 to Jan. 7, 2023, or the period since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took office.

strong

that

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recently made his third State of the City address. File photo/www.sandiego.gov

CALIFORNIA Attorney General Rob Bonta was sworn in as the state’s top prosecutor at the California Museum in Sacramento, marking the start of a full four-year term.

his inaugural address on Friday,

Bonta — the first Filipino American to hold the position — honored the diverse leaders of California, including the Filipino and Latino pioneers of the

SELLING LIKE CRAZY. Consumers buy onions at P170 per kilo and other agricultural products at the Kadiwa stall located at a gasoline station in Barangay San Antonio in Parañaque City on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The Department of Agriculture has earlier bared its plan to import onions to stabilize the price of the produce to around P100 per kilogram.

PNA photo by Avito Dalan

by John eric Mendoza Inquirer.net

A passenger wearing protective clothing amid the COVID-19 pandemic waits to board a domestic flight at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai on January 3, 2023. AFP / Hector Retamal

Elected officials like NY State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Steven Raga joined the nurses strike at Mount Sinai on Wednesday, Jan. 11. “It is time for the hospitals to negotiate in good faith, put patients over profit, and give our city’s frontline heroes the dignity and respect that they deserve,” Assemblymember Raga said.

Photo by JL Bahia/Office of Assemblymember Steven Raga

2

Rob Bonta sworn in as California attorney...

time a Filipino American had ever been chosen to serve as California attorney general.

As the child of a Filipino mother, Bonta said that his identity plays a significant role in his post, honoring his parents for fostering his desire for public office.

In November 2022, Bonta would win the general election for attorney general of California with 57.2% of the vote.

“A few generations ago, as an Asian American, the law would have denied me the ability to freely testify in court, to access public accommodations like hotels and restaurants, to marry Mia, the person I love,” Bonta stated.

He continued, “This role is a privilege, a duty, and a sacred obligation. I will not squander it. I will use the full authority of my office — the full force of the law — to help as many people as possible and do as much good as I can.”

Since his initial 2021 appointment, Bonta has increased the role of attorney general by tackling everything “from the housing crisis to disparities in our healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems,” he said.

Among Bonta’s achievements so far as attorney general include enacting several measures to “[protect] reproductive freedom,” reinforcing housing

Bonta

Last

Back to the future with...

Oliver Brooks, Chief Medical Officer at Watts Healthcare, who stressed the importance of continuing to get vaccinated, boosted, and tested, as XBB 1.5 emerges; Jill Rosenthal, Director of Public Health Policy at the Center for American Progress, who predicted a significant drop in people seeking treatment, testing, and vaccines as PHE ends; and Sophia Tan, a research data scientist at UC San Francisco, who discussed a novel new study published in Nature which studied the impact of COVID-19 in the prison population.

“Anyone who’s telling you that COVID is over is misinformed,” said Dr. Neuman, noting that in each of the last three years COVID was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and cancer.

Neuman said Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) peaked in November and the flu season peaked in December. But COVID-19 is not slowing down. So far it has not overwhelmed hospitals and some experts say it might not become as bad as the Omicron surge last year.

Neuman noted that the Omicron virus has seven or eight mutations compared to the original Alpha strain and the XBB has 12. “Based on the rapid rise, it would appear that it is living up to its genetic destiny. It appears that it is very infectious and is overcoming at least some components of immunity,” he said.

Americans have returned to work and resumed their lives as if the pandemic is over, noted Dr. Brooks. Many people have refused vaccines and stopped wearing masks.

Brooks treats COVID patients and talks to them about vaccine confidence, vaccine convenience, and vaccine complacency. He says public health messaging has failed to address these “three Cs.”

He noted that only 15% of the U.S. population has received the updated, bivalent booster.

Only one-third of older adults, who are most at risk of dying from COVID, have taken the updated booster. And there is a very low percentage of fully vaccinated children, as parents hold off because of fears based on misinformation.

“It’s our job to get the community vaccinated. So when I hear we’re not getting vaccinated anymore, to me that’s just a challenge. I can’t stop,” said Brooks. “If you get vaccinated you are not only protecting yourself but also your community. “

When the pandemic began three years ago, supplies of tests and masks could not keep up with COVID’s advance. The country could be caught flatfooted again.

Last March, the White House asked Congress for $22.5 billion in emergency spending that would replenish funds for testing, treatments, vaccines

and other COVID-related infrastructure. But Congress rejected the request in the 2023 budget bill.

“That short-sighted failure to invest in the response leaves us without the tests, treatments and vaccines we need going forward and leaves us unable to continue to track the disease and unprepared for future surges,” said Jill Rosenthal of CAP.

Without the money to pay for it, the White House abandoned its National Preparedness Plan. Unlike the past two years, people without health insurance will have to pay $120 for vaccines which now cost the government $30.

The U.S. government bought 20 million doses of Paxlovid at $530 each but supplies are expected to run out by 2024. The price for Paxlovid on the private market is expected to skyrocket by then.

Once PHE ends, people enrolled in private insurance and the Affordable Care Act will once again have to pay co-pays for testing, vaccines, and treatments in the same manner they did before PHE. An estimated 27.5 million people in the U.S. are uninsured: they will have to pay for the full price for testing, vaccines, and treatments.

Some states, including California and Rhode Island, are looking at ways that they can automatically enroll people who are going to lose Medicaid coverage into lowcost marketplace plans. Oregon has developed a bridge health program which will allow existing Medicaid members who earn a certain percent of the federal poverty level to stay enrolled in Medicaid, said Rosenthal.

Researchers from University of California San Francisco and UC Berkeley had some good news. They looked at breakthrough infections, reinfections, and people who had both in California prisons and published their findings last week.

“The question that we were really wondering is what are the benefits from vaccination in terms of preventing the future transmission of COVID,” said Tan of UC San Francisco.

They couldn’t find better test subjects than inmates living in close quarters whose movements are highly regulated. Researchers tested, traced infections and secondary cases, tracking the virus as it spread through the prison population.

Results showed that any type of vaccine had a 22% reduction in infectiousness; one or two prior infections reduced it by 23%; inmates with both prior vaccination and prior infection had 40% reductions in their infectiousness.

“So, not only do vaccines ideally protect you from getting infected, but if you do get infected, we see that there’s this hidden benefit that they are preventing and reducing the risk of you transmitting disease to other people,” Tan said. (Peter White/Ethnic Media Services) n

OCTA: China COVID-19...

David said in an interview with “The Chiefs” aired over Cignal TV’s One News on Tuesday night, Jan. 10.

“Of course, what we’re concerned about is what we don’t know. So I think that’s why we’re a bit cautious,” David added, referring to reports of a different situation on the ground from what the Chinese government is officially reporting.

The expert maintained that significant surges of new COVID cases in the country may now be “a thing of the past” unless a new highly transmissible variant of the viral illness emerges, but stressed that this does not mean that new cases will drop to zero or even remain low for the remainder of the year.

“We will expect more waves (this) year, but nothing severe and nothing that will fill up hospitals,” David said.

“What we saw in the last six months of last year, more or less, this would be status quo (this) year. We don’t expect cases to go down to zero or remain at around 100 per day. It will be like roller coaster – there will be ups and downs, there could be three or four waves this year,” he added.

Such situation may indicate that COVID-19 has already reached “endemism” or the stage when it becomes a regularly occurring illness that is maintained at baseline levels.

David compared it to having “flu seasons,” when more people get infected with the influenza virus.

He said another wave is possible as early as next month,

citing the new Omicron XBB 1.5 subvariant that is spreading in the United States.

He added that waning immunity could also be a factor in the number of people who contract COVID.

“But again, this is not so different from the ones we had before. Even XBB (did not cause) a lot of (severe cases),” David said.

Still not boostered

Meanwhile, many Filipinos remain reluctant to get COVID vaccines, according to the Department of Health.

The DOH reported that a total of 73.8 million individuals nationwide are now fully vaccinated or have received primary two doses of vaccines as of Jan. 8.

The agency, however, noted that only 21.1 million out of the eligible population have received the first booster dose. Almost 3.8 million have received second booster shots that can provide additional protection from severe and critical COVID infection.

The DOH further reported that 6.9 million senior citizens and 10 million adolescents are now fully vaccinated, while almost 1.2 million adolescents are now boosted and more than 5.4 million children are already fully vaccinated.

The agency stressed the need for people to get vaccinated and boosted against the virus while COVID cases are low as it expressed intention to integrate this year COVID services in the regular national immunization program in a bid to encourage more people to get vaccinated against the disease. – Mayen Jaymalin n

Research fellow Guido

rights for people with disabilities and issuing warnings against illegal evictions, cracking down on human trafficking rings, and protecting healthcare rights for California’s elders and Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

also reavowed his mission to promote gun control laws and public safety, despite his office’s failed online

dashboard that was

designed to promote transparency regarding data on firearm ownership but accidentally allowed the unauthorized breach of personal information in 2022.

month, Bonta joined 18 other states in support of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) “ghost

gun” rule that would crack down on unserialized weapons that allow unauthorized manufacturers to circumvent state gun laws to make firearms untraceable.

In addition to Bonta’s inaugural address on Friday, Newsom was also sworn into his second term as California governor. n

California Attorney General Rob Bonta was sworn in by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, Jan. 6 at the California Museum in Sacramento. Bonta, the first Filipino American to hold this post, was joined by his family during the ceremony. Photo from Instagram/@robbonta

Marcos to ‘soft launch’... Thousands of NYC nurses stage strike...

The DFA official said that while Congress is still fine-tuning the proposed law, the President already has a very good grasp of the bill’s “broad strokes”

and “what he wants to achieve in whatever form the sovereign wealth fund finally takes.”

“What’s very important is it’s an investment in the future and there’s great confidence the President has and the capability of the Filipino entrepreneurs and local investors even,” Sorreta said.

For her part, Malacañang press briefer Daphne OseñaPaez said the WEF is an opportunity for the Philippines to let the world know what the Philippines is doing “in terms of being ready and attractive for investments.”

Under the proposed Maharlika Wealth fund law, the government will get money from the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines, and from dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to raise its P110 billion venture capital.

The first version of the bill, which proposed that seed money will be sourced from Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System, earned widespread objection – prompting lawmakers to revise and remove the state-owned pension funds from the list of budget sources for the Maharlika Wealth fund. n

pay and that they are after a fair and just contract. The union representing the nurses said an offer of 19% pay hikes isn’t enough to solve staffing shortages.

The nurses and their supporters carried placards that said “Fair Contract for Patients & Nurses,” “On Strike for Better Patient Care,” and “More Nurses, Less Millionaire Execs”. They were joined on the picket lines by community members and local elected leaders who are united in saying that there should be enough nurses at the bedside to safely care for patients.

“Neither Mount Sinai nor Montefiore have agreed to nurses’ proposals to enforce safe staffing levels, even though nurses have been sounding the alarm about the crisis of understaffing that harms patient care. At Montefiore, one nurse in the Emergency Department often has to care for up to 20 patients; One NICU nurse at Mt. Sinai will often be responsible for 3 or 4 very sick babies at once,” a New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) statement read.

Talks and discussions with Mount Sinai hospital on the

“After bargaining late into the night at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday, no tentative agreements were reached. Today, more than 7,000 nurses at two hospitals are on strike for fair contracts that improve patient care,” the NYSNA said in a statement Monday, Jan. 9.

Early this week, Mayor Eric Adams said that the city’s

system “will be prepared to meet the challenges” and encouraged all New Yorkers “to call 911 only for emergencies, and be prepared to seek an alternate facility in case their preferred hospital is impacted.”

Assembly member Steven Raga joined the NYSNA nurses who were striking and picketing on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at Mount Sinai.

“I fully support and stand in solidarity with the New York State Nurses Association and

over 7,000 frontline heroes on strike, fighting for the best contract possible, better wages, and safe staffing,” Raga told the Asian Journal. “It is time that the hospitals to negotiate in good faith, put patients over profit, and give our nurses the dignity and respect that they deserve. Safe staffing saves lives.”

As negotiations were still ongoing early this week, Raga already expressed his full support and solidarity with the NYSNA and the over 7,000 nurses going on strike throughout New York City.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our frontline heroes risked their lives saving the lives of patients. We’ve seen our nurses suffer from long COVID, deal with the exhaustion of being understaffed, and unfortunately, watched some lose their lives in the fight against COVID-19.

Instead of rewarding our “essential” workers, hospital management chooses to fight against COVID-19 nurse heroes and not support and work with them for a fair contract that will attract and keep nurses at the bedside,” Assemblymember Raga added. (By Momar G. Visaya/AJPress) n

Mayor Todd Gloria declares city is ‘rising’ to meet...

welcoming place of beauty and culture that will serve generations long into the future and that is emblematic of the bigcity energy we must embody,” Mayor Gloria said.

Consistent with his long-held priorities, the mayor focused his speech on infrastructure, public safety, homelessness and housing. He filtered his address through the experiences and stories of everyday San Diegans whose lives have intersected with and influenced the city’s progress toward better, more equitable infrastructure and services.

Noting that he is “impatient for progress,” the mayor announced new measures to speed up progress on key priorities like permitting affordable housing, fixing streets and sidewalks, reducing the number of people who are homeless and living on the streets and recruiting police officers to help San Diego remain one of the nation’s safest big cities.

Mayor Gloria also touted progress on San Diegans’ top priorities, highlighting the decrease in crime in 2022, significant progress on park improvements and

street repaving, and the movement off the streets and into stable housing for more than 2,200 unsheltered San Diegans over the past year.

Infrastructure

In talking about infrastructure, Mayor Gloria introduced two San Diego families, the Walkers of Paradise Hills and the Winters of Scripps Ranch. Daneyel and Tommy Walker run a coffee shop in Encanto and for years have been advocating for community improvements like sidewalks and streetlights in southeastern San Diego. Steven and Jennifer Winter and their sons Austin, Carson and Jackson waited for nearly a decade for a promised park to be completed near their home in Scripps Ranch.

The mayor highlighted the city’s completion of these and other longawaited projects and said the city owes it to families like the Walkers and the Winters to get improvements done faster.

“I recognize there will always be roadblocks of some kind,” he said, “Our job is to find a way around them – or over or under or through them – so we deliver for San Diegans.”

On roads, Mayor Gloria announced that this fiscal year, the city is doubling the number of miles of freshly repaved streets compared with each of the prior two fiscal years. When including slurry seal, the city will resurface 283 miles of resurfaced streets this fiscal year –more than a 40-percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

“I’m still with my fellow San Diegans in our continued quest to fix the damn roads!” Mayor Gloria said. “And we are getting it done.”

The mayor pointed to his proposed update of the city’s Street Preservation Ordinance as an additional tool to improve San Diego’s road conditions. The amended ordinance would require utilities that dig up the streets to repair them more fully and quickly – and to foot the bill for the restoration.

“It’s a simple concept: You break it, you fix it!” he said.

In fiscal year 2024, the updated ordinance is expected to result in an additional 25 miles of repaved streets.

Mayor Gloria also announced a new initiative to streamline permitting and reduce fees for property owners to repair sidewalks in front of their homes

or businesses.

Recognizing the critical role parks and green space play in enhancing quality of life, Mayor Gloria noted that in 2022, the city opened nine new parks and improved 15 more. He also announced that in 2023, the city is expected to complete 13 new parks and improve 18 more – for a total of 55 new or improved parks throughout San Diego in two years’ time.

The mayor highlighted progress on other long-awaited city facilities, including the Torrey Pines, Skyline Hills and Fairmont fire stations, as well as new or expanded branch libraries in Pacific Highlands Ranch, Oak Park, Ocean Beach, City Heights, San Carlos and Linda Vista.

Public safety Last year in his State of the City, Mayor Gloria committed to fully funding all of the city’s public safety services and followed through with that commitment in his budget. This year, the mayor committed to do the same in order to keep San Diego one of the safest big cities in the country.

Unlike other big cities in the nation, the mayor announced that crime in

San Diego went down 7.5 percent in 2022. Property crime went down by 9.7 percent, while the most serious violent crimes were down by 13 percent. This is according to the latest data from the San Diego Police Department.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Lawlessness will not rule the day in our city,” the mayor said.

Pointing to a crisis that has quietly grown during the past five years, Mayor Gloria expressed his support for law enforcement’s efforts to fight the powerfully addictive illicit fentanyl. In November, he signed an executive order to strengthen and prioritize enforcement around illicit fentanyl, and he has asked federal leaders to permanently classify it as a Schedule 1 drug.

“We need stronger laws at the state and federal level that give teeth to law enforcement’s efforts at the local level,” he said. “Current laws do not fully take into account the game-changing reality of how potent and deadly it is, nor its outsized impact on our most vulnerable residents.”

Mayor Gloria highlighted San Diego Police officer Erica Perez, who grew

Assemblymember Steven Raga joined the nurses strike at Mount Sinai on Wednesday, Jan. 11.

Photo by JL Bahia/Office of Assemblymember Steven Raga Upper East Side in Manhattan and at three locations of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx have failed so far.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during a change of command ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines, August 8, 2022.

Ezra Acayan/Pool via REUTERS

Nazareno 2023 draws...

Earl Valdez said while the

cancellation of Traslacion could be one of the factors for the low attendance, that is not the sole reason.

“Probably,” Valdez told INQUIRER.net when asked if the cancellation of Traslacion led to the low attendance, “but we can’t say that that’s the only reason.”

Valdez said the pilgrimage of the replica images in nearby provinces and cities of Luzon could be why fewer devotees flocked the church and the grandstand this time.

The priest also presented a half-glass full perspective on the situation.

“At the very least there are people who are eager to practice their faith and devotion since it is the first celebration of the Feast with minimal restrictions in terms of mobility and crowd control,” he also said.

More trash

Meanwhile, the Manila Public Information Office said the total garbage collected in Quiapo Church and Quirino Grandstand has also increased compared to previous years.

“As per [Department of Public Services], for this year total volume is 265 metric tons from January 6-10 equivalent to 99 truck loads,” Manila public information officer Princess Abante said on Tuesday.

Previously, the local

government collected 88, 57, and 34 truckloads of trash in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively, according to Abante.

“We collected more trash compared to previous years due to the pandemic setup,” she said. n

Cybercrime among ‘greatest threats’...

PAGE 1

crimes which affect hundreds of victims not only in the Philippines, but in other parts of the world,” he said.

The police Anti-Cybercrime Group has been issuing advisories to warn the public against threats like malware and ransomware. In late 2022, it also launched operations against an unauthorized online lending agency that also subjected borrowers to public humiliation and harassment for unpaid loans as well as scammers who defrauded buyers over online purchases.

Several Filipinos have also been reported to have been illegally recruited and trafficked through fraudulent job listings on Facebook. Promised jobs at call centers and data encoders, the migrant Filipinos ended up in cyberscam operations in Myanmar.

Mobile phone users also received a barrage of scam text messages in 2022, which led to the swift passage of the SIM Card Registration Act. Mandatory SIM card registration has been touted as a way to curb the scams but has also raised concerns on privacy rights and possible surveillance.

Azurin said cybercrimes are one of the “greatest threats to [millions of] users on cyberspace who have entrusted their personal data online.”

He said the PNP will “further enhance anticriminality capacity” and use “secure mobile artificial intelligence-driven real time technology” against online criminals. The police will also

employ a “strategic approach that incorporates more science into police operations by leveraging innovative applications or analysis and technology and evidence-based practices” in carrying out its duties, he said.

Index crimes down by 8.03%

In the same briefing, Azurin said incidences of crime went down to 105,568 from July 2022 to January 7, 2023 against 112,746 in the comparable period in 2021. Index crimes — those against persons, such as murder, homicide, physical injury and rape and against property, like theft and cattle rustling — have also gone down by 8.03% to 19,484 in the same period, the PNP chief said.

Despite the lower numbers, theft (6,682), rape (3,762) , and physical injury (2,608) were the most frequently reported crimes in the recording period.

Non-index crimes were also down 5.98% to 86,089 although the PNP noted a 9.05% increase in those in the Visayas at 17,199 incidents against 15,771 in the comparable period.

Crime clearance — when at least one suspect has been identified and charged either at the prosecutor’s office or in court — efficiency was relatively unchanged at 97.19% against 97.93%.

Crime solution — when a suspect has been identified and charged and has been taken into custody — efficiency was meanwhile at 81.78% against 80.51% in the comparable period. (Jonathan de Santos/Philstar.com) n

Hundreds of devotees gather in front of the Quiapo Church to join the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene along Quezon Boulevard in Quiapo, Manila Monday, Jan. 9. The Traslacion (transfer) was canceled for the third straight year but their devotion to the Black Nazarene never wavered. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

‘We don’t appreciate it’: DFA cries foul at Ukraine envoy baring phone call request

MANILA — Philippine diplomats cried foul on Thursday, January 12 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unanswered request of a phone call with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was made public.

According to the Embassy of Ukraine in Malaysia, the request was made months ago after the elections.

“We don’t really appreciate [it] when these things are done,” Carlos Sorreta, undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations at the Department of Foreign Affairs, said during a press briefing on Thursday.

“Ukraine is a country we have a good relationship with but when matters like these are vented by representatives of another government to the press, it’s not something we appreciate.”

This comes after the embassy conducted a media forum over teleconference with Filipino journalists on Wednesday, January 11. The Ukrainian embassy said the official note requesting the call was sent in June last year and multiple follow-ups and assistance has been asked through the DFA.

However, the embassy said they have not heard back from either the DFA or the Office of the President.

Zelenskyy wanted to discuss with Marcos Jr. his 10-point peace plan, which he has already tackled with other world leaders.

“We do understand that the priority of the Filipino government is the neighboring countries and we’ve seen that very fruitful visit to China, but we are still hoping for the intensification of the bilateral relationship for our relations,” Embassy of Ukraine in Malaysia Chargé d’Affaires Denys

Mykhailiuk said, adding the invitation for a call is still open.

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 24 last year and since then, there are now over 7.967 million who found refuge from Ukraine in other countries across Europe according to a tally by the UN Refugee Agency. Mykhailiuk said the war-torn country now needs additional military equipment, medical equipment, as well as sanitary goods.

On Thursday morning, the DFA said the two countries had high-level interactions recently, with the latest being on November last year when Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo met with his counterpart, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summits in Camboadia.

Manalo expressed “strong support” for Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asia, while Kuleva thanked the Philippines for supporting Ukraine in the UN General Assembly in September last year.

The DFA also said the country supported Ukraine through the joint statement of the ASEAN and European Union leaders in Brussels, Belgium last year.

However, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sorreta maintained that publicizing their request and “venting” to the press was not the way to go.

“If he wants this to happen, we have to discuss it. These things are arranged, talking points are discussed, there’s pre-discussions,” Sorreta said during Thursday afternoon’s briefing. “It’s not good diplomatic practice to be doing it the way he did.” (Philstar.com) n

Long lines continue at NAIA, worry Immigration

ALMOST two weeks after an alleged technical glitch paralyzed operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), long queues that take hours to clear continue to saddle Immigration officers.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Wednesday, January 11 said the problem is not anymore that simple, suggesting that “all agencies involved in airport operations must work together to resolve airport lines.”

“All counters were manned, but the lines remained long,” said Tansingco.

“While passengers were processed expeditiously, more can be done to improve this,” he added.

Tansingco shared that the BI (Bureau of Immigration) supports the decongestion of the NAIA and opening of new airports.

As we open our borders, we

should innovate in anticipation of the rebound of international tourism,” said Tansingco.

He bared that they have reached the maximum capacity of the counters at the airport, and have even assigned two to four immigration officers to counters in certain terminals.

“It’s already a space problem. We can add so many officers, but if the space is limited, then there will still be lines,” he said.

Tansingco also sought the cooperation of airlines by regulating the influx of passengers by proper scheduling.

“This is a joint concern that we must all address in all aspects,” said Tansingco.

“We believe that by working together, this concern can be resolved,” he added.

BI spokesman Dana Sandoval said the BI has more than 14 counters at the arrival and departure areas of the NAIA, adding that five electronic

gates located in NAIA 3 were also fully operational, lessening processing time to as much as 8 seconds per person.

She said that 14 primary inspection officers were augmented by immigration officers from their rapid response team, which they activate as needed.

She advised travelers to be at the airport three hours before their flight schedule.

Preventive maintenance Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep. Bernadette HerreraDy, meanwhile, called on the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to perform a complete preventive maintenance examination of major buildings and equipment at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as well as other airports to guarantee that the New Year’s

‘Parameters’ to be set to guide PH in future oil, gas ventures – DFA

by Bernadette e tamayo ManilaTimes.net

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is coming up with “parameters” that will guide the Philippines in any future oil and gas ventures amid the Supreme Court ruling that voided a marine seismic agreement the Philippines forged with China and Vietnam.

DFA Spokesman Ma. Teresita Daza made the remark when asked to elaborate on a statement by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo that talks with China on oil and gas development would resume.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 10 declared as unconstitutional the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) entered into by Philippine,

Vietnamese and Chinese oil firms in 2005.

Voting 12-2-1, the high tribunal invalidated the tripartite agreement between China National Offshore Oil Corp., Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp., and Philippine National Oil Co. involving an area in the South China Sea covering 142,886 square kilometers.

The court ruled that the JSMU is unconstitutional for allowing wholly-owned foreign corporations to participate in the exploration of the country’s natural resources without observing the safeguards provided in Section 2, Article 12 of the 1987 Constitution.

In a text message on Thursday, January 12, she said the DFA is “carefully studying” the recently issued Supreme Court decision

on the joint marine seismic undertaking.

“The Department’s actions and policy recommendations are, at all times, anchored on the Philippine Constitution and laws,” Daza said.

She pointed out that cases decided by the Supreme Court “form part of our legal system.”

The DFA “is duty-bound to take applicable cases into consideration in any future discussion with China on oil and gas,” Daza stressed.

“It is, however, premature to discuss the case’s legal implications on any future agreement with China, as substantive discussions have yet to commence,” she said.

“We are still in the process of setting the parameters that will guide any future oil and gas talks,” Daza added. n

by William B. depasupil moises Cruz and Bernadette e tamayo ManilaTimes.net

CAAP brain drain

GOVERNMENT officials are reassuring the public that they are fixing the technical problem that shut down Philippine airspace on the first day of the year. New cooling fans, circuit breakers and uninterrupted power supply systems are reportedly being procured to prevent a repeat of the national embarrassment that occurred at the at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on January 1.

Apart from technical issues, however, manpower problems are emerging again at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which is in charge of air traf-fic management. On Monday, January 9, CAAP director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo sought a pay increase for air traffic controllers to prevent them from seeking greener pastures overseas mostly in the Middle East. Tamayo noted that the pay in certain countries can be six times higher than what the Philippines offers to its air traffic controllers.

This problem was first raised way back in 2014, when CAAP personnel sought the help of then senator Bam Aquino following the departure of five air traffic controllers for abroad. Documents submitted to Aquino by CAAP personnel at the time showed that apart from low pay, contractual schemes also bedeviled the air traffic officers.

Babe’s Eye View

BaBe Romualdez

ANALYSTS, experts and think tanks especially here in Washington, D.C. are carefully watching the developments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region particularly because these have created a ripple effect impacting the future of the rest of the world. Undoubtedly, the far-reaching consequences of the Ukraine war are of major concern, especially coming on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is absolutely no doubt that the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is at the top of the list of global threats in 2023, an assessment that analysts, risk consultancy groups and the like collectively agree upon.

According to Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer, one of the top 10 global risks of 2023 is the possibility of Russia turning into “the world’s most dangerous rogue state” if cornered – thereby posing a threat to global security.

EditorialOf some 500 air traffic controllers recruited by CAAP from the Civil Aviation Training Center, Aquino said 195 were on job-order status. He noted that since the CAAP’s creation in 2008 through Republic Act 9497, no graduate of the CATC had become a regular employee.

CAAP officials said air traffic controllers undergo at least 18 months of training before being deployed to an air traffic management facility anywhere in the country for apprenticeship and capability rating. Upon completion of these requirements, however, the new air traffic controllers are drawn to jobs overseas with much higher pay.

Tamayo warned that the brain drain could mean the lack of personnel with sufficient skills to prevent a repeat of the airspace shutdown. The Governance

Commission for GOCCs or Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations has said it is studying the CAAP’s request for higher salaries for air traffic con-trollers.

For many years now, brain drain has been a problem not only in aviation but also in public health care, education and many industries. The

Philippines has lost even weather forecasters to other countries. At this point, the country cannot hope to match salaries and benefits offered in places such as Dubai. The long-term solution is to raise the level of economic development so that Filipinos need not go abroad for meaningful employment. (Philstar.com)

2023: The world as we see it today

Bremmer points to an escalation in Vladimir Putin’s nuclear saber rattling and also warns against “Kremlin-affiliated hackers” who could mount increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks on Western firms, governments and infrastructure – inflicting untold damage not only to Europe and the U.S., but beyond.

New York-based The Arkin Group also flagged geopolitical developments that leaders should watch out for in navigating this “new and evolving world order.”

While Putin will persist in his assault, Ukraine will not back down and will continue to prevail (as seen in the major offensive launched at the start of the year that resulted in the death of an estimated 400 Russian soldiers).

Ironically, what Putin must have envisioned to be his crowning glory could turn out to be his undoing. The shockand-awe tactic at the start of the invasion in February last year was bogged down by the fact that Russian soldiers initially deployed were under-equipped and undertrained, and proved to be no match for Ukrainians who were not only ready to defend

their country to the death, but also had strategically prepositioned anti-aircraft gunners. Another significant factor would be the anti-aircraft missiles and drones from countries supportive of Ukraine like the U.S.

The International Monetary Fund has also sounded the alarm over the Ukraine conflict’s “severe economic repercussion in Europe, with higher energy prices, weaker consumer confidence and slower momentum in manufacturing resulting from persistent supply chain and rising disruption costs,” at the same time warning that about half of the European Union will be in recession in 2023.

Saying the world took a dangerous turn in 2022, the Council on Foreign Relations lists several Tier 1 (high priority) risks or potential conflicts to watch this 2023, based on the results of the 15th annual Preventive Priorities Survey conducted by its Center for Preventive Action.

An escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine resulting from the employment of unconventional weapons, the spill-over into neighboring countries (including cyberattacks

on critical infrastructure and/ or the direct involvement of NATO members) has become a real danger, warned CFR. It also points to the continuing tensions between the U.S. and China –describing the relations between these two majors as plummeting – because of their differences over Taiwan.

“As if Taiwan and Ukraine were not enough to worry about, several disputes in other parts of the world also became more menacing in 2022, notably those involving Iran and North Korea,” CFR also noted, its assessment echoed by other think tanks that have expressed concern over the probability of Iran becoming a nuclear weapons state, as well as North Korea’s relentless missile launches with Kim Jong Un ordering the “exponential” expansion of their nuclear arsenal.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies was to hold its annual forecasting conference on Thurdsay, January 12 regarding policy challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region. Growing tensions in the region is a major cause of concern, especially with

the intense strategic competition between the U.S. and China. I was asked to deliver a keynote speech for the event where a CSIS team of experts will be conducting panel discussions on the political and economic developments on the region. Immediately after that event, I will proceed to the International Institute for Strategic Studies where I was invited to its Americas Ambassadors Forum to share our foreign policy thrusts and priorities as well as my perspectives on the geopolitical and economic challenges that impact the Philippines and the region.

Given the continuing challenges that nations face in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, a key priority for nations would be economic recovery more than pursuing military might. As many experts have noted, a nation’s military supremacy has its foundations on superior economic development. Put another way, the main driving force for most countries is still the economy, and this to a large extent determines their relationship with other nations. Taken in that light, the U.S.

New year chaos

desisted from appointing a cabinet secretary — specifically, defense, agriculture, health and communications.

FIRST word

The rationale for all the talk about the “first hundred days” of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was to enable him to “hit the ground running,” and take effective control of the government as quickly as possible.

The early days, it was thought, constitute a window of opportunity for him to get a head start on his governance agenda. With the President’s approval very high, and Congress open to new leadership, it was seen as a time of opportunity and change. 184 days, seventh month But now here we are in the year 2023.

The hundred-day timeline is just a memory; 184 days and six months have passed since BBM’s accession to office. And he is now into his seventh month in the presidency.

For all the hype and the travels, however, there is still no palpable sign that President Marcos has achieved effective control of the executive branch and the bureaucracy, or that he has made headway in advancing his promised programs.

Unsurprisingly, he is encountering his biggest problems in the cabinet departments where he has

In a government system where the cabinet secretary in a given area is envisioned to function as the president’s main adviser in that area, President Marcos has encountered the most headaches and uncertainties in the headless departments. Some of those whom he quickly named did not pass muster with the congressional Commission on Appointments, while others simply could not measure up to the job. His first executive secretary, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, faltered big-time as “the little president.” He had to be quickly replaced by former Supreme Court chief justice Lucas Bersamin.

At first, the problem was a hideous foul-up in a sugar importation order at the Department of Agriculture whose leadership BBM provisionally reserved for himself.

Thereafter, the problem shifted to an acute shortage of onions, which must be remedied by the government’s importation and marketing of the commodity.

Then attention turned to foreign relations, as our new president was showered with plenty of invitations from various countries and forums for him to visit, and he had to choose which one to visit first.

He honored tradition by visiting Asean first, picking Indonesia and Singapore as his first stop. This was followed by a quick trip to New York City to address the UN General Assembly, to introduce himself to the international community. Then he turned to visit China and President Xi Jinping upon the advent of the new year, when the latter was significantly being battered by a galloping Covid crisis.

Then presidential focus turned to selling the nation on the idea of creating a sovereign wealth fund, which the government tried once before, with the Malampaya Fund, but which unfortunately was feasted on and looted by the powers that be at the start of the new century.

Rumors of destabilization

And now the attention has turned to the military and the police, which have landed together on the President’s plate for serious study and attention. While the secretary of interior and local government was named early in the person of Benhur Abalos, the challenge of leading the Defense department has been held in abeyance, leaving the task to the ministration of an acting secretary and junior officials in the department.

During the weekend, both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) took the

unusual tack of dispelling wild rumors of a destabilization plot against the government. At the same time, the PNP announced that it was going on full alert.

While the nation has had no whiff of a coup aborning for some time, the twin moves of the AFP and PNP had the effect of confirming for many that there is restiveness and disgruntlement in the armed services today, and that the threat of destabilization cannot be dismissed lightly.

Ironically, the jittery situation followed a bewildering move by Interior Secretary Abalos to “request” all police colonels and generals to tender their courtesy resignations, to facilitate an ongoing investigation of ranking PNP officers for possible involvement in the illegal drug trade.

The resignation call quickly generated front-page stories as the police top brass, beginning with the PNP chief, filed one after the other their courtesy resignations.

The PNP chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., on Thursday, January 5, submitted his courtesy resignation and urged the rest of the police leadership to follow his lead as the “cleansing” of the force begins.

In turn, the AFP was wracked by talk about mass resignations from military service, as officials and personnel of the Department of National Defense were said to have

submitted their resignations out of disappointment over the designation for a second time of Gen. Andres Centino as the new AFP chief, succeeding Lt. Gen. Vicente Bartolome Bacarro who held the top post for barely five months. Centino was Bacarro’s predecessor.

Acting Defense Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. and three other undersecretaries were also said to have resigned from their posts, but these could not be confirmed.

It was in this light that rumors started flying fast and loose in Camps Crame and Aguinaldo about a destabilization plot brewing.

Both the AFP and the PNP dutifully tried to talk down the rumors and gloss over the impact on officer morale by the demanded courtesy resignations of top police officials and the sudden replacement of the military chief.

Col. Jorry Baclor and Col. Medel Aguilar, AFP public affairs office chief and PNP spokesman, respectively, denied there was such talk about destabilization plots as they claimed that the situation at the Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon City was normal.

They declared that there was no truth to rumors of mass resignations from the AFP, as well as officials and personnel from the Department of National Defense due to

has to step up to the plate and up its game because China and even Russia are using economic interests to influence the foreign policy decisions of nations.

Take India, for instance, that has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil after European countries have stopped buying as part of the sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine. For India, it’s really simple: they need oil, Russia is selling at very cheap prices and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

While the threat of global recession looms, there is optimism that the Southeast Asian region will fare better with solid growth expected due to the resilient performance of ASEAN economies. As I’ve pointed out, opportunities are there if we play our cards right – let’s just not drop the ball this time around. (Philstar.com)

* * *

* * * babeseyeview@gmail.com

their disappointment over the reappointment of Centino as AFP chief.

A Medal of Valor awardee, Bacarro was said to have been well-accepted and wellrespected by the military and DND personnel and his “arbitrary replacement” has demoralized the military organization and defense department staff.

They claimed that Centino took advantage of his connections with people close to the President, hence his return as the top military official.

Col. Redrico Maranan, PNP public information officer, described as fake news a memorandum circulating that the PNP was on full alert due to the alleged AFP destabilization plot.

“It’s not true, but we are on heightened alert status because of the Feast of the Black Nazarene,” Maranan said.

Abalos said the submission of courtesy resignation is a “quick way” of dealing with the suspected involvement of PNP personnel in the illegal drug trade, in contrast with the lengthy process of disciplining rogue officers.

Maranan said 956 ranking officers are expected to submit their courtesy resignation.

The highest ranking official is a police general.

There are 812 police colonels. Azurin said 22 names were

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Mayor Todd Gloria declares...

up in a challenging environment and overcame many obstacles to become a law-enforcement officer. Officer Perez embodies the city’s efforts to diversify its police department so that our officers better reflect the people they protect and serve, particularly through the recruitment of women and people of color.

Homelessness

During his speech, Mayor Gloria introduced the audience to Natasha and Gabriel Martin, San Diegans whose lives have been upended by fentanyl and other dangerous drugs and who became homeless as a result.

The mayor detailed his comprehensive strategy to help people like the Martins by investing in robust street outreach, increased shelter capacity and more permanent supportive housing, as well as advocacy at the state and federal levels to reform and strengthen mental-health and substanceabuse interventions.

In 2022, Mayor Gloria was among the foremost champions of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court initiative, which will connect people struggling with untreated mental illness with a court-supervised care plan that provides the help and support they need. San Diego County will be among the first in the state to implement the program.

He also pledged to team up again this year with State Sen. Susan Eggman to reintroduce conservatorship reform legislation, an effort that narrowly fell short last legislative session. This year, he’ll advocate from the position of chair of the bipartisan California Big City Mayors Coalition, which represents the state’s 13 largest cities that are home to roughly 11 million Californians. Since April 2021, the city has made an additional 658 shelter beds available to get folks off the street – a 61-percent increase. In 2022, partnering with the County, the San Diego Housing Commission and several homelessness service providers, the city opened five new shelters that prioritize vulnerable populations like seniors and people who struggle with mental illness and addiction.

Mayor Gloria announced that, as early as next week, the city will open part of the old central library in Downtown as a temporary shelter for women and soon will open a large shelter with private rooms for families. He also announced that the city plans to open a fourth site in its Safe Parking Program for people who have vehicles but not homes.

He said street outreach and shelters serve as important and effective connections to housing.

“I am so proud to report that in 2022, more than 2,200 people ended their homelessness through the City’s outreach and shelter system,” he said.

The vast majority of those people – nearly 1,900 – had moved into permanent housing.

“The problem we face is that, for every 10 people we get off the street and into housing, 13 people become homeless – many for the first time,” he said. “The reality is, there are San Diegans who simply are not able to keep up with the rising cost of living. It’s clear that we must focus more attention on the upstream causes of homelessness to give people a better shot at remaining housed through tough times.”

To address this, the mayor said that this year, he and City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera will build out their recently announced framework to strengthen protections and assistance for renters

to prevent additional homelessness.

The mayor also announced that the San Diego Housing Commission will double the funding for homelessness prevention programs from $2 million to $4 million. “This will help an additional 250 households, prioritizing seniors, persons with disabilities and families with young children,” he said.

Housing Mayor Gloria introduced Aidan Lin, a 20-yearold, civically active UC San Diego student who would like to stay and build a life in San Diego after graduation but worries that he won’t be able to due to the high cost of housing.

“We all know where our failure to build more homes has gotten us: sky-high rents, homelessness, families moving out-of-state, bright people leaving us for lower-cost cities,” he said. “It causes many of our residents to not see a future for themselves here.”

The mayor laid out the city’s progress in addressing the housing-affordability crisis, a series of actions that led the State of California recently to officially designate San Diego as a Prohousing City, one of only seven cities in the state – and by far the largest – to earn the recognition. The designation gives the city an advantage when applying for grant funding.

Mayor Gloria’s “Homes For All of Us” initiative contains two Housing Action Packages that contain a total of 20 policy reforms that will make it easier to build affordable housing across the city. He announced that the second package of reforms will be presented to the City Council in 2023.

Among the reforms are measures to build more student housing, prevent displacement and implement Senate Bill 10, a state law that enables cities to streamline projects near public transit that have up to 10 homes per parcel.

The mayor’s “Bridge to Home” initiative invests city dollars directly into affordable housing, providing gap financing to help get shovels in the ground faster. Through two rounds of funding, the city has helped get 10 projects over the finish line, totaling 908 affordable rental homes. Funding for Round 3 is expected to be announced in 2023.

Overall, in 2022, the city permitted 5,000 new homes, with another 7,000 currently in the pipeline.

One way the City is increasing housing capacity, the mayor said, is by quickly updating the community plans that serve as blueprints for future growth.

Since Mayor took office, the city has created the opportunity to build more than 45,000 new homes in Mira Mesa, Barrio Logan, and Kearny Mesa. In 2023, he said, the City will complete three additional plan updates that more than double the capacity for new homes in University City, Hillcrest and the College Area.

And yet, he said, “we still have so much work to do to meet both the housing mandates of the State and our moral obligation to the people and families of San Diego today.”

Mayor Gloria announced that he had signed an executive order moments before coming on stage directing all relevant city departments to complete their review and approve 100-percent affordable housing projects within 30 days – a process that right now can take upwards of six months.

The executive order also directs the city’s Development Services Department to expeditiously

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New year chaos...

submitted to President Marcos for vetting, which will be reduced to five.

He said he would be evaluated by a committee that the President will create to determine if he was in any way involved in the narcotics trade, or if he had been tolerating police officers who were.

Azurin said that not all PNP officers were pleased with Abalos’ “request.” They are wary because their careers are on the line, he said.

Despite the resistance from some officers, Azurin expects everyone to comply before January 31.

“If you’re not involved, there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

He said his resignation can also be considered as an application for retirement.

First lady wades in As if the situation was not knotted enough, the first lady,

Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos, waded into the controversy by issuing a denial that she had intervened in military and agency appointments.

She sent a video message to Malacañang reporters, declaring that she had no involvement in any appointments made by President Marcos. She particularly denied influencing appointments in the military.

“I leave that up to my husband. And if I find out that somebody is using my name, I shall tell my husband not to appoint you, OK?” she said.

Mrs. Marcos instructed PSG commander Col. Ramon Zagala to “disseminate the information.”

The first lady’s statement came a day after Centino was given a second tour of duty as AFP chief.

Talk circulated that Bacarro, whom Centino replaced, had a close affiliation with former executive secretary Rodriguez,

hire new positions to review and issue housing permits and immediately implement contracts to address the permitting backlog.

Mayor Gloria highlighted the potential to add significantly to the region’s housing stock through the redevelopment of the Sports Arena area, with its promise of 4,000 new homes – roughly half of which will be affordable – as well as the revitalization of Downtown San Diego’s Civic Center. These transformational projects, the mayor said, are indicative of a city that is “rising.”

“Rising to the challenge of addressing chronic homelessness,” he said. “Rising to build more housing. Rising up against the urge to say ‘no’ because change is scary. Rising to meet the expectations of all our neighborhoods. Rising to confront the climate crisis. Rising to reach every resident with opportunities to grow and thrive.

whose relationship with the first lady soured before his removal. Ironically, the first lady’s denial of involvement in appointments may not kill the rumors, but only lead the public to talk about her some more.

It is bizarre that she had instructed the PSG chief to disseminate her statement.

The idea of harnessing the presidential security chief as a messenger mirrors the strange decision to make do with a “press briefer” in the dissemination of information about the actions and decisions of the President.

(ManilaTimes.net)

* * * 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.

* * *

Email: eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.

Rising above doubters to deliver real solutions to the most intractable problems we face. Rising beyond what we have been to become what I know we can be: a truly great city that works for all of us.”

At the conclusion of the mayor’s address, a video teased “I Am San Diego,” a citywide art project that invites San Diegans to share their San Diego story through words, photos, video, painting, sculpture or any other artistic medium. Throughout 2023, the city’s Commission for Arts and Culture will introduce opportunities for San Diegans to submit their works and attend community gatherings where these creations can be shared with others.

Residents can begin sharing their story now on social media posts of their San Diego moments using the hashtag #IAmSanDiego.

(City of San Diego Release) n

BALLOT PRINTING. Commission on Elections (Comelec) personnel manually check for defective printed ballots at the National Printing Office in Quezon City on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Some 355,184 ballots would be printed for the special elections in the seventh legislative district of Cavite province scheduled on Feb. 25. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Human Rights Watch calls for release of de Lima

MANILA — New Yorkbased Human Rights Watch on Thursday, January 12 called for the release of former Sen. Leila de Lima who has been in police custody since 2017 on drug cases that she says are politically motivated.

The rights watchdog noted that de Lima’s detention may be a case of political retalition for her investigations into alleged rights violations in the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs” and to killings in Davao City when Rodrigo Duterte was mayor.

“De Lima faces unsubstantiated charges alleging that she received money from drug lords while serving as justice secretary,” the Human Rights Watch said, taking note that two of the key witnesses in the cases against de Lima have retracted their testimony. The former senator has been acquitted in one case while two others remain pending.

Calls for her release were revived in October 2022 after she was held hostage at the Philippine National Police

custodial center in Quezon City in an escape attempt by detainees. Police said she was not a target in the incident and that she was taken hostage by chance.

“Human Rights Watch believes the Duterte administration was retaliating against her for investigating extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s anti-drug campaign,” the rights group said.

International concern

The HRW also highlighted that the global community, through several international bodies like the United Nations rights office and the European Parliament, have also voiced concerns over the human rights situation in the Philippines.

This includes the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on reported rights violations in the country related to the “war on drugs” and the counterinsurgency campaign.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court continues to push for an on-ground investigation

LEGAL SERVICES

CASE NUMBER: 37-2022-00050492-CU-PT-CTL

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Karinna Banales on behalf of minor child filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: a. Sebastian Steven Ochoa Banales to Adan Gilberto Diaz Banales.

THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: 02/14/2023 Time: 8:30 AM Dept. 61 Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 330 WEST BROADWAY DEPT. 61 San Diego, CA 92101

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation printed in this county. Asian Journal: DEC. 29, 2022

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON ABOVE DATE: SEE ATTACHMENT

Michael T. Smyth Judge of the Superior Court AJ 1093 01/06, 01/13, 01/20, and 01/27/2023

ATTACHMENT TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (JC Form #NC-120)

NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. The Court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

If all requirements for a name change have been met as of the date specified, and no timely written objection has been received (required at least two court days before the date specified), the Petition for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-100) will be granted without a hearing. One certified copy of the Order Granting Petition will be mailed to the petitioner.

To change a name on a legal document, including a birth certificate, social security card, drivers license, passport, and other identification, a certificate copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC-230) may be required. Contact the agency(ies) who issues the legal document that need to be changed to determine if a certificate copy is required.

A certified copy of Decree Changing Name (JC Form #NC-130) or Decree

Changing Name and Order Recognizing Change of Gender and for Issuance of New Birth Certificate (JC Form #NC230) may be obtained form the Civil Business Office for a fee. Petitioners who are seeking a change of name under the Safe at Home program may contact the assigned department for information on obtaining certified copies.

If all the requirements have not been met as of the date specified, the Court will mail the petitioner a written order with further directions.

If timely objection is filed, the Court will set a hearing date and contact the parties by mail with further directions.

A RESPONDENT OBJECTING TO THE NAME CHANGE, MUST FILE A WRITTEN OBJECTION AT LEAST TWO COURT DAYS (excluding weekends and holidays) BEFORE THE DATE SPECIFIED. Do not come to court on the specified date. The court will notify the parties by mail of a future hearing date.

Any Petition for the name change of a minor, that is signed by only one parent, must have this Attachment served along with the Petition and Order to Show Cause, on the other, non-signing parent, and proof of service must be filed with the Court. AJSD 1093

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF

DAX G. PUCKETT.

CASE NO: 37-2022-00025441-PR-LA-CTL

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of: DAX G. PUCKETT

A Petition for Probate has been filed by JOHN PUCKETT in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN DIEGO

The Petition for Probate requests that JOHN PUCKETT be appointed as personal representative to administer with will annexed the estate of the decedent.

The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: 01/31/2023 Time: 11:00 A.M.

Dept.: 504

Address of court: 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA 92101 Branch Name: Central, Probate

If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor.

You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

into alleged crimes against humanity in the anti-drug campaign.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla last year said the Philippines would update the ICC to show that “we are doing something on the problems we are supposed to solve on our own” and as a matter of courtesy.

The Philippines has invited UN special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography, and other child sexual abuse material Mama Fatima Singhateh and special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan to make official visits.

Morris Tidball-Binz — a medical doctor from Chile who specializes in forensic science, human rights and humanitarian action and who is special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary killings — has also been invited to the Philippines, Remulla said in November 2022. (Philstar. com) n

Long lines continue at NAIA...

Day glitch will not happen again.

“Isn’t this an indication that we should check everything we have in order to avoid a similar incident? Because this is a problem with maintenance,” Herrera-Dy said in a statement on Wednesday.

“[Are] the DoTr and CAAP compelled to do anything to inspect the current facilities in order to avoid such a thing?” she added.

Last week, Herrera-Dy introduced a resolution in aid of legislation calling for an investigation into the airport incident, saying the House “must get to the bottom of it so we can prevent a repeat of that awful day.”

Aside from possible immediate corrective measures, Herrera-Dy believes the investigation should focus on discovering who was responsible for the NAIA incident.

“So far, no one has owned up to this unfortunate and embarrassing incident. Those responsible for this fiasco must be held accountable,” Herrera-Dy said.

Herrera-Dy also urged the government to compensate the tens of thousands of passengers affected by the New Year’s Day air traffic trouble.

“Apology without compensation is insufficient,” Herrera-Dy said.

No

to privatization

In another development, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito rejected the proposal to privatize the NAIA, saying that public utility services vital to national security must remain under government control.

The senator warned that the NAIA, the country’s

main gateway, could suffer the same fate as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), a power transmission operator that was privatized in 2009.

He noted that about 40 percent of the NGCP’s stakes are owned by the State Grid Corp. of China.

“We know for a fact that we have a dispute with China.”

He cited the January 1 “technical glitch” that shut down Philippine airspace which led to the cancellation of some 400 flights and affected over 65,000 passengers.

“But with what happened at the airport, with one instance, it can paralyze the whole airspace system,” Ejercito said on Wednesday.

“Air traffic froze for several hours. So, with one flick, we can be paralyzed without electricity,” he said in an interview.

Ejercito added, “We have to know what vessels or aircraft are entering our airspace, especially that we have a dispute right now.” n

LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9025997

Cherilyn V. Mallari Singing Services located at 2327 14th St., National City 91950.

Registrant: Cherilyn Diane Viloria Mallrari, 2327 14th St., National City 91950.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) ABOVE.

Signature: Cherilyn Diane Viloria Mallrari.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 11/29/2022.

AJ 1088 12/23/2022, 12/30/2022, 01/06/2023, and 01/13/2023 AJSD 1088

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9027855

Road Ready Auto Sales located at 4626 Mercury St., Suite 2200, San Diego, CA 92111.

Registrant: Mohamed Sharif Osman, 6758 Rio Plato Ct., San Diego, CA 92114.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) ABOVE.

Signature: Mohamed Sharif Osman. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 12/27/2022.

AJ 1092 01/06, 01/13, 01/20, and 01/27/2023. AJSD 1092

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT NO. 2023-9000752

S.D Excavation located at 1364 Santa Cora Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91913.

Registrant: John Arnold, 1364 Santa Cora Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91913.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT FIRST BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) AS OF 01/11/2023.

Signature: John Arnold. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/11/2023.

AJ 1098 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, and 02/03/2023.

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9027793

Balboa Oasis Spa located at 2121 Fifth Ave #110, San Diego, CA 92101.

THE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME REFERRED TO ABOVE WAS FILED IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY ON: 06/10/2021, and assigned File no. 2021-9011734

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IS BEING ABANDONED BY: MACNAM LLC, 1771 Royston Dr., San. Diego, CA 92154.

This Business is Conducted by: A Limited Liability Company

Signature: Amy T Le. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 12/23/2022. AJ 1089 12/30/2022, 01/06, 01/13, and 01/20/2023. AJSD 1089

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2023-9000060

M&R Forklift Service And Repair located at 1842 Via Las Palmas #37, National City, CA 91950.

Registrant: Dolores Monterrubio, 1842 Via Las Palmas #37, National City, Ca 91950.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT FIRST BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) AS OF 01/03/2023.

Signature: Dolores Monterrubio. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/03/2023.

AJ 1095 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, and 02/03/2023. AJSD 1095

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9027483

Eden New Beginning located at 1237 Graves Ave., Apt #611, El Cajon, CA 92021.

Registrant: David Osnaya, 1237 Graves Ave., Apt #611, El Cajon, CA 92021.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) ABOVE.

Signature: David Osnaya. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 12/20/2022.

AJ 1099 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, and 02/03/2023.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9027999

HABIBI BOUTIQUE located at 2142 Cuyamaca Ct., Spring Valley, CA 91977.

Registrant: a. Yadira Leonor Rodriguez, 2142 Cuyamaca Ct., Spring Valley, CA 91977.

b. Gildardo Rodriguez, 2142 Cuyamaca Ct., Spring Valley, CA 91977.

This business is conducted by General Partnership.

REGISTRANT FIRST BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) AS OF 12/29/2022.

Signature: Yadira Leonor Rodriguez. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 12/29/2022. AJ 1090 01/06, 01/13, 01/20, and 01/27/2023. AJSD 1090

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2023-9000039

Mango Tours Chula Vista located at 285 E. Orange Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91911.

Registrant: Kathline Gayo Coberly, 1539 Sherbrooke St., San Diego, CA 92139. This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) ABOVE.

Signature: Kathline Gayo Coberly. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/03/2023.

AJ 1096 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, and 02/03/2023. AJSD 1096

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9028067

Above & Beyond Carpet Care located at 3617 Bancroft Dr., #1A, Spring Valley, CA 91977.

Registrant: Carpet & Stone Support Inc., 3617 Bancroft Dr., #1A, Spring Valley, CA 91977.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT FIRST BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) AS OF 12/30/2022.

Signature: Alec Haskett. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 12/30/2022.

AJ 1091 01/06, 01/13, 01/20, and 01/27/2023. AJSD 1091

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2023-9000612

GGG Mobile Tire Service located at 25488 HWY 94, Potrero, CA 91963.

Registrant: Juan Gabriel Rivera Jr, 25488 HWY 94, Potrero, CA 91963. This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT FIRST BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE NAME(S) AS OF 01/10/2023.

Signature: Juan Gabriel Rivera Jr. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/10/2023.

AJ 1097 01/13, 01/20, 01/27, and 02/03/2023. AJSD 1097

SAN DIEGO JOURNAL

Here Lies Love to open on Broadway in Summer 2023

HERE Lies Love, the first musical on Broadway about the Philippines––with entirely Filipino principal roles––will premiere in the Summer of 2023 at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway at 53rd Street).

Tony Award® winner Alex Timbers (direction) and Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson (choreography) reunite with Grammy®, Oscar®, and Tony Award® winner David Byrne (concept, music, and lyrics) and Grammy Award® winner Fatboy Slim (music) to bring Here Lies Love, the immersive disco pop musical based on the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos and the People Power Revolution of the Philippines, to Broadway, continuing a ten-plus year collaboration on the project. Tom Gandey and J Pardo contribute additional music.

Performances will begin Saturday, June 17, 2023 ahead of an official opening night on Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Here Lies Love is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna for Plate Spinner Productions, and Clint Ramos and Jose Antonio Vargas––the first-ever Filipino lead producers on Broadway.

Says Tony Award®-winning Designer, Creative Director, and Producer Ramos, who has been involved with the project since 2006: “Exciting lessons are often learned through uniquely surprising works of art. And nothing is more surprising than the way Here Lies Love vibrantly and creatively sheds light on a crucial part of Philippine history. Jose and I are so proud to help bring forth this singularly original show.”

Adds Tony Award®-nominated Producer Vargas, who founded the immigration organization Define American: “Filipinos are among the largest immigrant groups in America––and also among the most invisible culturally, despite the two nations’ shared colonial histories. While the Asian diaspora can no longer be denied in American popular culture, Filipinas and Filipinos remain woefully outside the spotlight. I’m thrilled to help break barriers on what has historically been an exclusive stage: Broadway.”

Here Lies Love’s staging at the Broadway Theatre will transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theater’s reconstructed

space, with more details to be announced soon. Sign up now at HereLiesLoveBroadway.com for first access to tickets.

From its world premiere at The Public Theater in 2013, Here Lies Love has enjoyed popular and critical acclaim. The show returned to The Public in 2014-2015, debuted at London’s Royal National Theatre in 2014, and most recently opened at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2017.

Filipinos are well represented in Here Lies Love’s producing and creative ranks.

Filipino Co-Producers include: Miranda Gohh, Celia Kaleialoha Kenney, Rob Laqui, and Giselle “G” Töngi.

Filipino creative team members include: ATW Jonathan Larson Grant recipient J. Oconer Navarro (music director); Tony Award® winner Clint Ramos (costume design); Gail Quintos (casting director); Billy Bustamante (assistant director); Sheryl Polancos (assistant stage manager); and Giselle “G” Töngi (cultural and community liaison). They are joined by: three-time Tony Award® nominee David Korins (scenic design); Tony Award® winner Justin Townsend (lighting design); M.L. Dogg & Cody Spencer (sound design); and three-time Tony Award® nominee Peter Nigrini (projection design); with casting by Tara Rubin CSA and Xavier Rubiano CSA, and general management by Foresight Theatrical. n

Dolly does PH proud despite loss in ‘Globes’

By Iza IglesIas ManilaTimes.net

ACTRESS Dolly de Leon may have lost the Best Supporting Actress plum to Angela Bassett at the Golden Globes, but she did her country proud by becoming the first Filipino to be nominated in the award-giving body organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Bassett won for the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” during the star-studded ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Aside from de Leon, Bassett beat an impressive line-up that also included Kerry Condon of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Jamie Lee Curtis of “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and Carey Mulligan of “She Said.”

This is the 64-year-old’s second win at the Globes after earning the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for 1993’s Tina Turner biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” She is also the first actress ever to win a major individual acting award for a movie based on Marvel Comics.

De Leon arrived in Hollywood on January 8 to attend the awards night.

The 53-year-old pride of the Philippines walked the 80th Golden Globes red carpet on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 (January

11 in Manila), in an all-black leather and tulle ensemble.

In an interview during her send-off, de Leon said she is not expecting to win the award and conceded that another candidate may win.

“Pwede bang huwag na kayong magexpect (Is it possible for you not to expect)?” de Leon said in a television interview.

“Tama na ‘yung ma-nominate (It’s enough to be nominated) But whatever happens, I hope we will continue to do our best in everything that we do. “I am hoping na manalo tayo (that we win), but if another actress wins, then she also deserves it,” she

added.

In “Triangle of Sadness,” de Leon plays the role of housekeeper Abigail who ends up stranded on an island after a luxury cruise ship sinks. She later becomes the leader of the group of survivors with ultra-rich passengers.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May which won the festival’s highest prize, the Palme d’Or and catapulted de Leon into the international spotlight.

Since then, de Leon has won the Best Supporting Performance award at the 48th Los Angeles (LA) Film Critics Association Awards on Dec. 11, 2022 and Breakthrough Performance award from the 2022 Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia in September. She was also nominated at the 4th Discussing Film Critics Awards and International Press Academy Satellite Awards.

Just recently on January 6, British Vogue listed de Leon among “30 of the world’s most famous stars” alongside the likes of Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman.

The Filipino film community is hoping that all these wins and nominations will lead her to another “historic” nomination at the upcoming 2023 Oscars to be held in March. n

Nadine reveals she almost quit showbiz

by Jan MIlo severo Philstar.com

ACTRESS Nadine Lustre

revealed that she almost quit showbiz but now realized that she’s meant to be an actress.

During the thanksgiving party for the media after the success of her film “Deleter,” Nadine said she just wanted to do a business away from the showbiz.

“I guess, para sa akin, ‘yong pinaka-realization ko lang, para dito talaga ko. Kasi may mga times na ayoko nang umarte, ayoko nang mag-artista, gusto ko na lang mag-business, outside of showbiz,” she said.

Mas na-realize ko ngayon na gustong-gusto ko siyang gawin. Kasi before, parang ‘okay sige gawin natin ‘tong project’ ngayon mas passionate ako kaysa dati,” she added.

Nadine admitted that she lost her passion for acting before but now she’s happy that she found it again.

“Medyo nawala siya pero I’m

Celeste dazzles as ‘Darna’  in Miss Universe national costume competition

By Iza IglesIas ManilaTimes.net

AFTER her impressive performance during the preliminary competition of the 71st Miss Universe on Wednesday, January 11, the Philippines’ very own Celeste Cortesi remains to be the crowd favorite during the national costume competition held on the same day in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The 25-year-old conquered the stage wearing the country’s iconic superheroine Darna designed by Oliver Tolentino, the same designer who created her sky blue evening gown for the preliminary competition.

The costume was complimented by a sun and stars headpiece with some metalwork accessories which was inspired by the national flag of the Philippines that was designed by Jerome Navarro

“Darna is the ultimate Filipina superhero and part of this country’s pop culture. She transforms from an ordinary woman with the help of a white stone standing up for those who cannot defend themselves. Have no fear ‘cause Darna is here in the Philippines,” the host explained in the background.

In a social media post of Miss Universe Philippines, Cortesi said of her national costume, “People don’t really see women as leaders and that’s because women are always – no matter what – very underestimated by everyone.”

The winner for the best national costume will be announced during the 71st Miss Universe coronation night which will be held at the New

USD students team up with City of San Diego to boost awareness of Think Blue San Diego initiative

SAN DIEGO – To bolster public understanding of the importance of stormwater services to San Diego’s quality of life, the City of San Diego’s Stormwater Department partnered with the University of San Diego (USD) on a student-driven project

with teams competing to create the best marketing campaign to enhance the Think Blue San Diego public education and outreach initiative.

Following the semesterlong competition, five teams of communications students

presented their final projects last month to an esteemed panel of judges, including City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera and Councilmember Joe LaCava. The winning team created a marketing campaign that

happy

“Deleter”

Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. n

Dolly de Leon Photo from Instagram/@dollydeleon

Miss Universe Philippines Celeste Cortesi Photo from Instagram/@missuniverseph

Nadine Lustre

Photo from Instagram/@nadine

na nahanap ko uli ‘yung passion ko,” she said.

topped the box-office at the recently concluded Metro Manila Film Festival. It also won several awards including Best Picture, Best Director for Mikhail

Red and Best Actress for Nadine.

The Viva film is also set for intenational screening this month. It premiered last January 6 in U.S. and January 12 in United Arab Emirates. It will also be shown in Singapore soon. n

Students got real-world experience developing creative proposals for the city’s push to prevent ocean pollution

County Board of Supervisors elects new chair

THE County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday, January 10 to select Supervisor Nora Vargas as the new Chair of the Board for 2023.

Chair Vargas succeeds Supervisor Nathan Fletcher who served as chair for the last two years. The chair acts as the official voice for the board. The chair also presides over its meetings and nominates other supervisors to various committees.

During Tuesday’s organizational meeting, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer was elected as vice chair and Supervisor Joel Anderson as chair pro tempore.

Chair Vargas was the first Latina elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2020 and is now the first Latina selected as board chair.

Chair Vargas gave her remarks in both English and Spanish. She emphasized that everyone must work together to make change happen.

“It’s been tough because at times our chambers have been polarizing but today is a new day and our communities really deserve better… I really strongly believe that we must work together to increase public participation in these meetings, we have to have different voices,” said Chair Vargas. “When we bring different voices to the fold, we can assure that we are serving all communities in the ways that they deserve.”

Chair Vargas expects disagreements when tackling difficult problems, but she hopes they are discussed in a civil manner saying that’s how we find real solutions and that’s what democracy is all about.

Chair Vargas wants to work toward giving residents a good quality of life that includes access to clean air and health care, help for small businesses and families that need childcare. She sees future investments in public transit opportunities, parks and open spaces to help create positive environmental and economic impacts to our region.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, and that is why I invite everyone who is listening or watching to join us and participate in these proceedings. This is your county, these are your chambers, and I want you to know that when you come before this board, I hear you,” said Chair Vargas. “I look forward to continuing to work with our veterans and our community organizations, our seniors, our small businesses, our faith communities, our labor unions and all who care deeply about building a better county for all.” (Tracy DeFore/County of San Diego Communications Office) n

Pechanga Resort Casino celebrates the Year of the Rabbit with $100,000 EasyPlay, cash drawings

AS the Year of the Rabbit approaches, Pechanga Resort Casino welcomes everyone to join in the celebration of the festival with a series of promotions and giveaways in January 2023.

Lunar New Year $100K EasyPlay & Cash Drawing

Pechanga Resort Casino celebrates the Lunar New Year by giving away $100,000 in EasyPlay and cash prizes on Friday, January 20 & 27. Pechanga Club members can earn varying amounts of entries to the drawing by playing slots or table games from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day for a chance to win big. Sixty winners will be drawn to receive $250, $500, or $750 in EasyPlay starting at 7 p.m., with an announcement every hour afterward. One lucky winner will be drawn at 10 p.m. for the ultimate cash prize of $25,000. Come discover the thrill of potentially winning multiple times.

$5K Lucky Red Envelope Giveaway

Pechanga lets players get even luckier with the “Lucky Red Envelope” promotion this Lunar New Year. Pechanga Club members can just simply visit the Promotional Area every Tuesday and Thursday in January from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a chance to win up to $5,000 in EasyPlay!

Lunar New Year Luck Lion Dance

In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Pechanga Resort Casino will arrange a splendid Lucky Lion Dance Performance on Saturday, January 28. Starting at 3 p.m., the Lion Dance Team, which symbolizes auspiciousness and good luck, will begin their performance at the Pechanga north entrance and wind their way into the casino and through the casino floor. Guests will be able to receive Red Packets to give to the Lion Dancers to pray for a Good New Year.

Exclusive Dining Specials Pechanga Resort Casino also welcomes guests to reserve tables for Family Dinner or Business Lunch to enjoy exclusive Lucky Lunar New Year Dining Specials that the chefs of Bamboo, Blazing Noodles and Umi Sushi & Oyster Bar have meticulously prepared.

Umi Chef Kiyo Ikeda plans to impart good fortune through his bold flavors using a wide variety of dishes. Casino guests can enjoy a 2.5-lb Lobster served with Miso Stir Fried Noodles, Bell Peppers & Thai Basil ($128), Sashimi Wrap with Daikon ($42), and Duck & Vegetables with Lettuce Cups ($32).

Chef Marie Surakul at Bamboo serves Whole Fish, Holiday Noodles, and other specials. She points out that noodles are a symbol of happiness and longevity. Whole

fish signifies abundance and has proved a customary tradition for Lunar New Year throughout the ages.

Blazing Noodles, just off the Pechanga hotel lobby, dishes up six traditional Asian specialties for the occasion. These include King Crab Fried Rice, Beef Tenderloin, Fried Whole Lobster, Crispy Chilean Sea Bass, and dishes which incorporate elements that signify good luck, prosperity and healthfulness.

The dining specialties in Blazing Noodles, Bamboo and Umi will be available from Jan. 15 through Jan. 29. Reservations are recommended at Umi Sushi & Oyster Bar and can be made by visiting www.Pechanga. com/eat or by calling (951) 770-8504.

Lunar New Year Property Décor

The Lunar New Year symbolizes the fresh start of a new year, a new beginning. In celebration of this festival, starting from January 5, 2023, Pechanga will decorate the entire property with traditional new year elements, utilizing a wide array of bright red lanterns, refined oriental-style garden bridge, beautifully bloomed peach blossoms, traditional calligraphy spring couplets and much more. Throughout the floor, you will be able to find countless photo-op spots for your selfies or family portraits, while capturing the stunningly displayed Lunar New Year decorations.

For more information on Pechanga events and promotions, please call (877) 711-2946 or visit our website Pechanga.com. Must be at least 21 years of age to participate in promotions.

Come enjoy Pechanga’s four diamondrated service with a peace of mind, and to learn more about the health and safety measures that have been implemented, please visit pechanga.com/covid.

Pechanga Resort Casino offers one of the largest and most expansive resort/casino experiences anywhere in the United States. Voted the best casino in the West by USA Today and rated a Four Diamond property by AAA since 2002, Pechanga Resort Casino provides an unparalleled getaway, whether for the day or for an extended luxury stay. Offering 5,400 of the hottest slots, table games, world-class entertainment, 1,100 hotel rooms, dining, spa and golf at Journey at Pechanga, Pechanga Resort Casino features a destination that meets and exceeds the needs of its guests and the community. Pechanga Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. For more information, call toll free (877) 711-2946 or visit www. Pechanga.com. Follow Pechanga Resort & Casino on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter @PechangaCasino.

(Advertising Supplement)

USD students team up with City of...

featured a video advertisement called “Couch: A Love Story” to help educate San Diegans on the importance of properly disposing large bulk items like couches and appliances, rather than illegally dumping them in neighborhoods.

“This collaboration between the city and the University of San Diego gives students hands-on, real-world experience while the city benefits with fresh, creative ideas of young leaders,” Council President Elo-Rivera said.

“Capturing people’s attention is harder than ever in our modern world, so we asked these young minds to help us share with San Diegans the simple, everyday actions we can all take to prevent ocean pollution and maintain the quality of life we all enjoy.”

Five teams totaling 45 students competed for the top prize by conducting extensive community research and then developing marketing materials – including slogans, social media content and videos – to urge San Diegans to take action to prevent stormwater pollution.

The competition began with students from USD’s Intercultural Communication class being tasked with studying one of San Diego’s six watersheds, engaging with and interviewing the diverse communities within the watershed, and then analyzing the demographics of

the area. USD’s Small Group Communication class then used that information to create marketing materials aimed at driving behavior change in targeted audiences.

The competition concluded Dec. 16 with teams presenting their final projects to a panel of judges, including: • City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera

• City Councilmember Joe LaCava

• Dr. Michel Boudrias, Environmental and Ocean Sciences, Department and Chair of the University’s Sustainability Task Force, USD

• Dr. Ashley Finley, American Association of Colleges and Universities, Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, USD

• Jack Monger, CEO, Industrial Environmental Association

• Phillip Musegaas, Executive Director, Coastkeeper.

“This competition challenged the students to answer the question: How do I communicate with my generation about some of the problems we’re seeing today?” Councilmember LaCava said. “The winning team creatively connected how couches and other large bulky items illegally dumped in neighborhoods can pollute our streams, our lagoons and the ocean.”

The winning team – including junior Abigail Cavizo and seniors Nick Brunbach, Miriam

Castanon, Katherine Ely and Kate Nielander – created a “Save The Wave” marketing campaign that focused on public education about how bulky items left outside can lead to stormwater pollution.

All students will receive a certificate from the City of San Diego thanking them for their participation. In addition, the winning team will vote their own MVP, who will be offered a paid internship at Katz & Associates for the summer of 2023.

Since 2006, Dr. Leeva Chung of USD’s Communication Studies Department and Guest Lecturer Daniel McArdleJaimes, a USD alum, regularly bring the workplace into the classroom by offering students practical real-world projects involving well-researched marketing, multimedia and strategic communication plans.

“My teaching pedagogy X-factor is akin to a mosaic: it is bringing in the community, workplace and alumni into the classroom to create a unique and inspiring synergy,” Dr. Chung said. “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with Daniel and other USD communication alumni offering students project-based learning, which is the experience of what the workplace may feel like within the safety of the classroom. We grant students the permission to exercise their emerging skills as scholars in communication.”

As part of the partnership with Think Blue, students were tasked with identifying creative ways to share with San Diegans the importance of stormwater services to San Diego’s quality of life. Recent surveys show that only 26% of San Diegans know that water flowing into storm drains goes untreated into our local waterways and, eventually, the ocean. About 80% of ocean pollution begins inland so it’s key to inform San Diegans that any trash or debris left on the ground will likely end up in the ocean if not properly disposed.

San Diego is defined by the natural beauty of its beaches and coastal waters, and keeping those precious resources clean, safe and healthy is the Stormwater Department’s mission. That mission gets more difficult each year as the costs soar to upgrade and modernize the City’s massive storm drain system.

While much of that system is hidden underground, obscured from public view, it is essential to the health, safety and quality of life of San Diegans. This complex network of pipes, drains and other critical infrastructure work together to help protect our environment and communities from pollution and flooding.

To learn more about Think Blue San Diego and how to implement a Think Blue mindset, visit thinkblue.org.

(City of San Diego Release) n

Newly-elected San Diego Board of Supervisors chair Nora Vargas (left) with outgoing Board Chair Nathan Fletcher. File photo/www.countynewscenter.com