012220 - Southern California Midweek Edition

January 22-24, 2020 Volume 30 - No. 5 • 2 Sections - 18 Pages

Duterte to consider Trump’s invitation to US-ASEAN summit

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte may be persuaded into accepting President Donald Trump’s invitation to an upcoming summit in the United States with Asian leaders, Malacañang said on Tuesday, January 21.

Malacañang released a statement on Monday that Duterte was among the 10 Southeast Asian

DATELINE

leaders invited by Trump to U.S.ASEAN summit on March 14 Las Vegas.

“Given that this is an ASEAN meeting of leaders, baka ma-persuade si Presidente na um-attend (The president might be persuaded to attend),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Relations between the United

States and the Philippines have been tense over the past few weeks as Trump signed the U.S.’ 2020 budget in December.

The budget reportedly included an amendment that the U.S. Secretary of State “shall apply subsection (c) to foreign government officials about whom the secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrong- NEW PNP CHIEF. President Rodrigo Duterte administers the oath to newly-appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lieutenant

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General Archie Gamboa during a ceremony at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sto. Tomas Campus in Sto. Tomas City, Batangas on Monday, January 20.

Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

Robredo to Bongbong: Accept poll results

USA

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Bloomberg campaigns in LA, meets AAPI community leaders DEMOCRATIC presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg held campaign events in Los Angeles over the weekend, including a breakfast meeting with members of various Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

In a roughly 40-minute appearance, the former New York mayor visited Paris Baguette in Koreatown on Saturday, January 18, where he addressed attendees and shared his intentions for jumping into the race.

“I’m looking for a job in Washington,” Bloomberg said in his remarks to attendees. “I think this country has to change. I’m not a fan of the president.”

Though the press was not allowed to ask him questions or stay for most of his meeting with community members and business leaders, he fielded questions on topics such as immigration, health care, the economy, and the United States’ trade agreement with China.

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo Philstar.com photos

New law extends paid family leave benefits from six to eight weeks and increases the rate of pay THE State of California has, since 2004, been a champion of paid family leave (PFL) for those nursing a newborn child or caring for a sick relative, and the new recommendation from the governor rectifies that.

As a part of his recently released Paid Family Leave Task Force Recommendations and yearly state budget for 2020-2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed increased job protections for workers and extending the benefits of the state’s PFL program to 12 weeks.

Last year, the state had passed a law, SB 83, that increased PFL from 6 to 8 weeks effective July 2020 as a way to fulfill Newsom’s goal to expand PFL to six months (for two parents if leave is consecutive) by the 20212022 fiscal year.

(Newsom’s latest 12-week expansion recommendation was a legislative requirement

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PAL to reinstate Cebu-Los Angeles flight route this May

by AJPRESS

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines will once again have its nonstop Cebu-Los Angeles flight starting this May. In a press release on Tuesday, January 21, PAL said this flight is the “only direct air link between the Visayas and Mainland USA.” Residents of various cities in the Visayas and Mindanao will enjoy convenient connections via Cebu for their travels to Los Angeles. u PAGE A3 The new service will help boost Philippine tourism, as U.S.-based leisure and business travelers can now avail of the fastest and easiest travel option: a single flight nonstop to the Queen City of the South. Currently, the other options to fly to Cebu from the U.S. involve transfer flight connections via other Asian

CA Asian Americans celebrate statewide Paid Family Leave extension

FORMER Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has to accept the 2016 election results if he plans to run for a national post in the 2022 elections, Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said on Monday, January 20.

“If he wants to run again, he can. That’s his right,” she said in Filipino during an interview.

She added, “But if he runs again, he just has to make sure that he will accept the election results because if he can’t accept the results of the election, he will just drag down all the institutions.”

Marcos filed an electoral protest before the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), after he lost to Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential election.

Robredo’s lead over Marcos increased by almost 15,000 votes, after the PET’s revision and recount of ballots from the pilot provinces – Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental – Marcos chose.

Following this, Robredo has asked the tribunal to dismiss the electoral protest filed

by Marcos.

The former senator, on the other hand, asked the tribunal to annul the votes in the

airports or Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

The service marks PAL’s comeback to the Cebu-Los Angeles route as it previously operated Cebu-LAX flights from March 2016 up to May 2017.

The airline is touting that Cebu will be a hub for many tourists to transfer to connecting flights to Siargao, Camiguin, Davao, Boracay, Coron, Bacolod, Iloilo and other fabled holiday destinations for some sun and sea recreation and other nature adventures.

The launch of the new service will increase PAL’s network offering to a total of 64 flights weekly to the U.S., Canada and the U.S. territory of Guam.

PAL’s Cebu-Los Angeles flights will depart three times weekly for Los Angeles from the

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Talk about Duterte legacy not premature – Palace

by ALEXIS

ROMERO Philstar.com

MANILA — Malacañang defended its decision to kick off a campaign on the legacy of President Rodrigo Duterte, saying the administration has achieved much in the last three years compared to its predecessors.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) launched last Friday the “Duterte Legacy,” a communication campaign that seeks to highlight the administration’s landmark programs and projects.

The forum tackled updates on government programs like “Build, Build, Build,” universal health care, freedom of information and the war on drugs.

Last Saturday, January 18, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said it was too early to present Duterte’s legacy, noting that the President

ASHCAPPED. Photo shows an aerial shot of Taal Volcano Island which remains covered with volcanic ashes from the ongoing Taal Volcano unrest. The Philippine Air Force and Joint Task Force Taal conducted an aerial reconnaissance around Taal Volcano Tuesday, January 21. The entire island has remained a “no man’s land” as no one is allowed to go back to the island since January 12.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Residents in Taal danger zone given final 48 hours to leave

by FRANZ LEWIN

EMBUDO ManilaTimes.net

RESIDENTS in the 14-kilometer radius danger zone of Taal Volcano are given 48 hours to leave or will be “pulled out to save their lives,” the Calabarzon police chief said on Tuesday, January 21.

“We were given by Phivolcs [Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology] 48 hours so after 48 hours lahat ng tao namin Sen. Panfilo Lacson said it was too early to present Duterte’s diyan kukunin na rin namin (we legacy, noting that the President has only been in office for Philstar.com photo by Geremy Pintolo will also get our policemen out u PAGE A2 three years. [of] there),” Brig. Gen. Vicente

Danao Jr. told dzMM in an interview.

In a press briefing, the Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG)-Calabarzon OIC Regional Director Elias Fernandez also said that they would strictly bar people from returning to their homes as they would execute a “total lockdown.”

“If maximum persuasion is not effective, we will be forced to do other actions. If possible, [we will] [physically] pull them out of the areas. Just to save their

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From the Front Page PAL to reinstate Cebu-Los Angeles flight...

PAGE A1 new Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, utilizing PAL’s largest aircraft, the 370 seater Boeing 777-300ER. Starting from May 2, 2020, PAL Flight PR152 (CEB-LAX) will depart Cebu at 9 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. on the same days. For the LAX-CEB jour-

ney, PR 153 will leave Los Angeles at 11PM every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, touching down two days later in Cebu at 5 a.m. after a 14-hour nonstop flight.

The latest-version PAL B777 features a fully-flat bed in business class, with an 18.4-inch TV screen, retractable privacy dividers, an ottoman which doubles as a storage area, and in-seat power

and USB ports. Economy class features a seat pitch of up to 34 inches, and each seat is equipped with 11-inch TV screens and USB ports.

“We look forward to treating our customers to the fastest flights between the U.S. Mainland and the Visayas / Mindanao region, via PAL’s new Cebu-LAX route. Our upcoming service from Cebu to LA is a vivid demonstration of our commitment to build up Mactan Cebu as a global aviation hub, a dynamic gateway, not only to domestic points, but to major international destinations,” said PAL President and COO Gilbert Santa Maria. “Los Angeles and the USA now joins Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, Nagoya and Seoul in the list of PAL overseas destinations served from Cebu.”

As part of PAL’s 2020 New Year Sale, the airline is offering promo fares for flights between Cebu and Los Angeles for as low as $420 (base rate) exclusive of government taxes. Booking period for this special offering is from January 20 until January 24. Travel period is from July 1 to December 10, 2020.

PAL is the largest airline operator in the Philippines-North America market, featuring allnonstop flights to and from Los Angeles and San Francisco in the U.S. West Coast, New York (JFK Airport) in the U.S. East Coast, Honolulu in Hawaii and both Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.

The flag carrier also announced the inauguration of several international routes, including the first-ever nonstop flights between Manila and Perth (starting March 30); Zamboanga and Kota Kinabalu (from March 29); and between Davao and Manado (from March 29). n

Residents in Taal danger zone...

PAGE A1 lives,” Fernandez said.

Areas within the 14-kilometer danger zone are: Agoncillo, Alitagtag, Balete, Cuenca, Laurel, Lemery, Lipa City, Malvar, Mataasnakahoy, San Nicolas, Sta. Teresita, Taal, Talisay and Tanauan City, in Batangas; and Tagaytay City in Cavite. n

Philippines President Duterte and U.S. President Donald Trump discuss bilateral issues, except human rights, during their meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City last November 14, 2017.

Inquirer.net photo by Joan Bondoc

Duterte to consider Trump...

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ful imprisonment of… Sen. Leila De Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017.”

The sub-section refers to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that authorizes the U.S. government to slap sanctions on persons tied to human rights violations, including barring them from entering the U.S. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution condemning Philippine government officials involved in De Lima’s detention.

Malacañang further said that the invitation for the Philippine president was first extended during the ASEAN-U.S. meeting in Bangkok in November, with Trump saying that the summit would provide “an excellent opportunity” to broaden and deepen cooperation between the U.S. and ASEAN on “matters of great importance” to the nearly one billion people in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

The invitation was then reiterated by the U.S. through a letter dated January 9.

“This will provide excellent opportunity for us to broaden and deepen our cooperation on matters of great importance to the nearly one billion people in the United States and Asean nations that we have the privilege to represent. The American people and I hope to see you in the United States soon,” Trump’s letter read.

The American president added: “As the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific makes clear, we share a common vision for the future of this dynamic and diverse region, based upon respect for sovereignty, commitment to good governance and adherence to the rule of law.”

Malacañang has said that a meeting between Duterte and Trump would “reaffirm the longstanding alliance between the Philippines and the U.S.” Duterte has been receiving in-

Talk about Duterte legacy not...

PAGE A1 has only been in office for three years. He said while the administration is “entitled to its own propaganda,” many things can still happen during the president’s

term.

But presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo believes it was not too early to present Duterte’s achievements.

“We are highlighting (the

vitations from Trump to visit the U.S. since April 2017 after their “friendly” conversation that also tackled regional security issues.

“It was a very friendly conversation, in which the two leaders discussed the concerns of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regarding regional security, including the threat posed by North Korea,” a previous White House statement read.

It added, “President Trump also invited President Duterte to the White House to discuss the importance of the U.S.-Philippines alliance, which is now heading in a very positive direction.”

Then-presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella also confirmed the invitation, describing the conversation between Duterte and Trump as “warm.”

“If you are in Washington, give me a call and we’ll have coffee.

Or, if you are in New York. And besides, you are doing it (antidrug campaign) right,” Duterte quoted Trump during a speech in

achievements) because the accomplishments of President Duterte are exceptional in three years’ time, compared to the previous administrations,” Panelo said in a radio interview. n

Robredo to Bongbong: Accept...

PAGE A1

provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan due to alleged election violence, regardless of the test recount results.

He previously announced that he plans to run for a national post in 2022.

“I can be a congressman, I can be a senator. If I retire, I can be governor in Ilocos Norte,” Marcos said.

In response, Robredo advised:

“Everyone who will run for office should accept the results of the elections. If you lose and you won’t accept it, it would be better not to run anymore.”

Robredo also laughed off Marcos’ notion to revise history textbooks after he claimed that his family was treated unfairly in the history books.

According to him, the history books were full of “propaganda” forwarded by their political rivals

to besmirch their reputation.

“That one is slightly hilarious,” Robredo said in Filipino.

“I agree that there is (something) lacking in our education system, in the sense that our students were not taught well on the effects of the dictatorship before. Because if it’s effective, the things that happened during those days should no longer be happening now,” she added. n

CA Asian Americans celebrate statewide Paid Family...

PAGE A1 in order to reach that goal of six months of PFL.) Additionally, Newsom recommended increasing wage replacement from 60 or 70% to 75 or 90% of the applicants’ salaries. (The rate depends on an individual’s annual earnings.)

And Newsom’s extension of PFL is widely supported among the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) electorate of which an overwhelmingly 81% of voters are aware, according to a recent poll from Change Research.

But the poll shines a light on

the disparity between awareness of the program and application of it. Only 17% of AAPIs have accessed the California PFL program and 60% didn’t know that PFL is entirely funded by employees’ payroll tax deductions, and employers do not pay into the program.

In other words, PFL is something that employed AAPI’s already pay for through the California State Disability Insurance (CASDI) tax that can be found on payroll documents.

First 5 California, an organization dedicated to educating guardians about caring for a

child in its critical first five years of life, said in a statement that the AAPI community should take advantage of “this benefit they’ve already paid for.”

“Especially with the potential expansion of Paid Family Leave, women and men are better empowered to achieve their professional goals and balance the responsibilities of career and parenting/caregiving,” the statement read.

PFL has been a national talking point and lawmakers have proposed increasing the benefits of PFL and establishing PAGE A5

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Dateline USa

Bloomberg campaigns in LA, meets AAPI...

PAGE A1 “Also [I want to] pull this country together. This country has divided itself among ethnic lines and gender lines…though this country has always been a melting pot,” he said, adding “It’s hard to argue that we’re perfect. But I will say, it’s still the country [where] people vote when they want a change.”

Studies over the years have shown that AAPIs are a growing voting bloc nationwide and can be key swing votes in tight races. In a battleground state like Nevada, all of the major Democratic presidential contenders have made it a point to meet with AAPI organizations in Las Vegas over the past year.

However, Bloomberg’s campaign has instead been focusing on states that vote on Super Tuesday, like California. Largely ignored in the past, California will have a more significant role in the presidential primaries this year as the state’s primary has been moved up to March 3.

AAPI voters could demonstrate their political strength, given that they represent 1 out of every 6 registered voters in the state, according to an October 2019 report

by AAPI Data.

Being one of the first candidates in this cycle to sit down with the AAPI community in Los Angeles — which was largely been overlooked — meant a lot to Jessica Del Mundo, a media and commu-

Former New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg (center) meets with AAPI community members and business leaders in Koreatown on Saturday, January 18.

AJPress photos by Ding Carreon

nications professional and Fil-Am community leader.

Though she has donated to other Democratic candidates, Bloomberg’s meeting on Saturday made an impression on her and showed his commitment to reaching out to minority voters.

“I love that he took the time, even this late in the game, to meet with us. I haven’t seen a lot of other [candidates] do that. For me, it’s really about somebody who is representing all of us [and] can do what it takes to win,” Del Mundo told the Asian Journal.

“He’s clearly a very smart man and knows what communities he needs to win over. He seems like he’s a great strategist and has a game plan.”

The Bloomberg campaign recently hired Filipino American Eric Salcedo as its national AAPI outreach director. In Los Ange-

Fil-Am professional and community leader Jessica Del Mundo (right) catches a selfie with Bloomberg during his AAPI community meet and greet on Saturday, January 18.

les, several AAPIs have joined the campaign as field organizers, including Fil-Am Jo Moulton, who saw Bloomberg as someone who can bring the U.S. “back on track.”

“I’ve been looking at all the different candidates and I was leaning toward Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden. But at the same time, when Bloomberg got into the picture, I knew he had the commitment, experience — being mayor of New York for 12 years — and the resources behind him to kick Donald Trump out of the White House,” Moulton told the Asian Jo Moulton, a field organizer for the Bloomberg campaign in Los Angeles, and supporter Zonneth Journal. “This event today shows Joanino hold up campaign materials and signs. you that he is all about inclusion.”

AAPI communities across the country can expect similar events like the one on Saturday and the formation of groups like “Filipinos for Bloomberg,” Moulton said.

Bloomberg, who was New York City mayor for 12 years and owns his own media company, jumped into the 2020 presidential race late last November. Even if he does not end up being the Democratic pick, he has vowed to spend his own money to support the eventual nominee in order to defeat PresiJoined by AAPI supporters, Bloomberg toured a retail complex in Koreatown and had a breakfast dent Donald Trump. (Christina M. Oriel/AJPress) meet and greet on Saturday, January 18.

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 22-24, 2020

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A January 22-24, 2020 • SoCal aSIan JOurnaL

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Dateline PhiliPPines

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARy 22-24, 2020

Dateline PhiliPPines

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Motorcycle taxi pilot run to continue PNP chief to step up drive vs drugs, scalawags MANILA — Motorcycle taxis will continue operating in Metro Manila and Cebu as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) decided to continue its pilot study in the meantime, the technical working group (TWG) studying the legality of motorcycles-for-hire said on Tuesday, January 21.

“We will continue with the pilot study, but then we will come up with guidelines, we will talk to the providers with the guidance of the transport secretary,” Antonio Gardiola said in an interview.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go announced on Monday, January 20, following a Senate committee on public services hearing on motorcycle taxi bills that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) would continue its pilot testing of motorcycle taxis.

Go said he was able to persuade Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Martin Delgra III and Gardiola to scrap the plan to stop the pilot testing.

This was affirmed on Tuesday,

by Gardiola, who said Go talked to him and asked him to reconsider.

What prompted the TWG to continue the program, despite its earlier decision to terminate

by Alexis

RomeRo Philstar.com

MANILA — Newly appointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa was sworn in on Monday, January 20,

by President Duterte in Batangas, the province worst affected by Taal Volcano’s continuing unrest.

Residents displaced by the volcanic eruption witnessed the oath taking, which was held at a gymSenator Christopher Lawrence Go and other senators have expressed support for the nasium in Sto. Tomas City. The legalization of motorcycle taxis, during the public hearing presided by Senator Grace Poe, president also conferred the fourchairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday, star rank on Gamboa before posJanuary 20.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan ing for photos with the police chief it, was the sentiment of senators RTC Branch 212, questioning the and his family. and resource persons present study’s revised guidelines, have Gamboa, who was appointed by during the hearing on motorcycle also hampered the implementa- President Duterte as the 23rd PNP taxi regulation last Monday, Gar- tion of the study, which will run chief last Friday, vowed to press until March 23. diola said. forward in the campaign against ilWhile the TWG has decided to legal drugs and weeding out scalaIn its recommendation submitted to lawmakers and the DOTr, continue the pilot test for now, wags from the organization. the TWG stressed that the earlier Gardiola said they were not misHe promised to focus on highissuance of a 20-day temporary re- taken when they decided to dis- value targets, such as large-scale straining order by the Quezon City continue the program.

“For me … if you are conductRegional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 223, which temporarily prevented ing a study, it will be very difficult the imposition of the 10,000-rider to gather data when you are being byJulie M. Aurelio cap, had “greatly compromised restrained. It’s also very difficult Inquirer.net the integrity of the study’s data to implement guidelines if they are not heeded. Without regulagathering design.”

MANILA — Sen. Panfilo LacThe TWG added that the pend- tion, it is anarchy,” Gardiola said ing cases filed by Angkas before in a mix of English and Filipino. son’s fears that a quo warranto the Quezon City RTC Branch (Richmond Mercurio, Neil Jayson petition to cancel ABS-CBN’s franchise might lead to a “con223 and the Mandaluyong City Servallos/Philstar.com) stitutional crisis” is unlikely, Malacañang said on Sunday, January 19, stressing that there is a distinction between congressional franchises and violations of the law.

“It is the Solicitor General [Jose blast affected areas. from Taal Volcano’s eruption.

Calida]’s job to file cases against

by DARRyl John esgueRRA Balboa explained that respira- those violating the law. The franIn a press briefing on Monday, Inquirer.net January 20, DOH Health Emer- tory illness is the “most common chise coming from Congress is MANILA — The Department gency Management Bureau Di- type of condition” being observed different, and so is violating the of Health (DOH) has recorded a rector, Dr. Gloria Balboa said the in evacuation centers for victims franchise. That’s two things. total of 1,729 cases of acute re- respiratory cases were reported of restive Taal Volcano.

Both can independently be taken spiratory infection due to ashfall in 195 evacuation centers in Taal Taal, the second-most-active volcano in the country, suddenly came to life on January 12, spewing ash and steam up to 15 kilo- PAGE A2 meters into the sky, forcing the evacuation of Volcano Island and a federal PFL program for deseveral towns on the rim of Taal cades.

As previously reported in the Lake.

Asian Journal, PFL programs The phreatic eruption or steamdriven episode created a blanket financially support employees of ash covering several towns in who take time off from work to Batangas and nearby provinces. care for a newborn or a family The ashfall reached as far as member with a severe illness.

Specifically, PFL beneficiaries Quezon City.

An Alert Level 4 remains hoist- could use the paid time off to ed over Taal Volcano, which bond with a new child, whether Ashfall from the eruption of Taal Volcano blankets vehicles parked on UN Avenue in Manila on means that a hazardous explo- it be by birth, adoption, or foster Monday, January 13, turning a windshield into what looks like a relief map. sive eruption is possible within care placement.

Additionally, PFL could apply Inquirer.net photo by Marianne Bermudez hours or days. n

DOH records 1,729 cases of respiratory infection due to Taal Volcano ashfall

drug traffickers.

Since Gamboa will turn 56 — the mandatory retirement age for the uniformed service — on Sept. 2, he will serve as PNP chief for only eight months. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1986.

Prior to his appointment, Gamboa was the PNP’s officer-incharge for three months after his classmate, former police chief Oscar Albayalde, went on non-duty leave amid allegations of protecting “ninja cops” or police officers who recycle seized prohibited narcotics.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said honesty was Duterte’s consideration in choosing Gamboa as PNP chief.

Also present during the oath taking were Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Sen. Christopher Go. A ceremonial giving of govern-

President Duterte puts a cap on Gen. Archie Gamboa after swearing him in as the new chief of the Philippine National Police in a ceremony held during their visit to Taal evacuees at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines gym in Sto Tomas, Batangas on Monday, January 20. Philstar.com photo by Krizjohn Rosales

ment assistance to families affected by the volcanic eruption immediately followed. n

Palace: Crisis over ABS-CBN franchise unlikely together,” Panelo said over dzIQ. “That [constitutional crisis] is unlikely. Why should there be a constitutional crisis?”

He made the remarks after Lacson said the planned quo warranto proceeding could cause a constitutional crisis because should the Supreme Court grant the quo warranto petition while Congress is conducting a plenary deliberation on ABSCBN’s franchise renewal, there would be a question of which would prevail.

“Whatever the Supreme Court says becomes part of the law of the land, but we are talking about the Constitution. The Supreme Court can-

not declare as unconstitutional the ongoing deliberations of Congress about franchise renewal, because it is clear in the Constitution that franchise renewal is for [Congress] to decide,” Lacson said in a radio interview.

But Panelo said Calida’s plan to file a quo warranto petition is based on violations of the franchise, such as the broadcast network’s alleged unpaid taxes, and even claimed that there may been collusion in the four tax compromise agreements that ABS-CBN reached with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and approved by the Court of Tax Appeals. n

CA Asian Americans celebrate statewide Paid Family... to individuals who need to care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or registered domestic partner. For specific eligibility requirements or to apply, visit the California Employment Development Department (EDD) website.

In 2004, California was the first state to institute a PFL program. According to California First 5, PFL is directly linked to “higher rates of breastfeeding and improvements in overall

child health.”

According to the EDD, more than 18 million Californians have benefited from the program.

“We are thrilled that the Governor agrees that strong families need strong Paid Family Leave policy and that voters are in turn ready to make expansion a reality,” Erin Gabel, chief deputy director at First 5 California and Paid Family Leave Task Force appointee, said in a statement.

(Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

A6 JANUARY 22-24, 2020 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

OPINION

Virus control

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FEATURES

PERHAPS the boy would be cleared of the novel coronavirus, like the three other Chinese travelers who were allowed to proceed with their vacation in Boracay. Unlike the three who had no history of visiting Wuhan in China, however, a five-year-old Chinese boy now being monitored in Cebu came from Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel CoV outbreak for which there is still no cure.

The Department of Health said the boy had a fever, cough and throat irritation before arriving in the Philippines, and had tested negative for the known CoV strains of SARS and MERS. The DOH had sent samples to Australia for testing on the type of coronavirus, and the results are expected on Jan. 23.

In China, where SARS also originated, the deaths from the novel coronavirus continue to rise, as health professionals confirm that human transmission is possible in cases of 2019-nCoV. The World Health Organization is still convening in Geneva, Switzerland to determine the appropriate response to the spread of the new coronavirus in Asia. Japan, South Korea and Thailand have also reported possible cases of 2019-nCoV – mainly people who have visited Wuhan.

From 2002 to 2003, SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome killed 349 people in the Chinese mainland and another 299 in Hong Kong. Two deaths were reported in the Philippines in 2003: a Filipina nursing assistant who was visiting from Canada, who infected her father.

The coronavirus is easily transmitted through coughing or sneezing, so it can spread rapidly.

With numerous reports of the virus spreading from Wuhan, the government should have imposed more stringent controls on the entry of travelers from Wuhan. If the Chinese boy tests positive for the novel coronavirus, its spread could become as difficult to place under control as African swine fever. Greater effort is needed to prevent this from happening. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

Let your voices be heard and fight for democracy: Support the petition to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS “A truly free and independent press is a vital component of any healthy democratic society. [...] the prime value of journalism is that it imposes transparency, and thus accountability, on those who wield the greatest governmental and corporate power.” — Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill.

This is the vital role a free and independent press plays in a democracy. For many journalists, whether in the Philippines and elsewhere around the world, this is a sacred function worth fighting for to defend democracy.

This is also at the heart of the petition spearheaded by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) to the country’s House of Representatives and published through change. org for public support.

If watching the news, documentaries, teleseryes, variety shows, drama anthologies and comedies delivered by The Filipino Channel here in the United States is important to your life here in America, and more importantly — if you are concerned about the impact on Philippine democracy of the Duterte administration’s public threat and declaration to shut down ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation by not renewing the franchise set to expire on March 30, 2020 — then you have to make a stand and let your voices be heard.

“We call on Congress to do

what is right and immediately pass the bill to renew ABSCBN’s franchise. The quo warranto petition the Office of the Solicitor General reportedly plans to file before the Supreme Court for the revocation of the network’s franchise is proof that this government, in a supremely undemocratic act, is out to silence a media outfit because of the animosity of one man, the president of the Republic.

While we are dismayed at Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s brazen conflict of interest when he admitted having a personal beef with the network whose franchise the chamber he heads is supposed to deliberate on, we continue to hope that you, the elected representatives of the people, can rise above your leader’s petty vindictiveness and strike a blow in defense of freedom of the press and of expression.

At the very least, if the president is really hell-bent on shutting down ABS-CBN, let him bear full responsibility by passing the bill renewing the network’s franchise and let him veto it if he dares to. Do not be accomplices in the rape of democracy. #NoToABSCBNShutdown,” the petition reads.

As reported by Rappler, the online news organization that has also fallen from grace under the Duterte administration, there are at least nine bills filed with Congress seeking a renewal.

The report further says ABSCBN’s television broadcast arm

would have to cease operations if the renewal is not granted on time. The network, though, may reportedly still be able to operate by distributing its content onto other media platforms, such as online and through the company’s publishing and movie production arms. However, it will be the end of ABS-CBN programming on free TV as we know it.

Duterte calls ABS-CBN and newspaper the Philippine Daily Inquirer “bastos (rude)” for allegedly reporting unfair news about him and writing in favor of the interests of the owners. He says that one day, “karma will come” to them.

He says the Inquirer is “bullsh8t” and that ABS-CBN “published trash.” Duterte calls the Prietos and Lopezes, the respective owners of the companies, “oligarchs and elites.”

In response, Inquirer says it has “upheld the highest standards of excellence in journalism” since its founding in 1985.

The timeline as published by Rappler: March 31, 2017: The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) calls out Duterte for lashing out against the media, saying it was a “brazen abuse of your immense power as chief executive of this land and only shows how little, if any, appreciation you have of democracy and governance.”

April 6, 2017: ABS-CBN Chairman Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III says that the administration’s

Unintended effects of a Duterte US trip Postscript

FEDERICO PASCUAL JR. As this is being written, no word has come out of Malacañang if President Duterte is accepting President Trump’s invitation for him, with nine other Southeast Asian leaders, to attend a summit in Las Vegas on March 14.

Accepting or declining the invitation to the proposed summit between Trump and the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) does not look like an easy decision, considering the sensitive political issues wrapped around it.

Many times, Duterte has said he was not interested in going to the US – mostly in reaction to American officials’ meddling in Philippine affairs and their criticism of his war on illegal drugs.

He has also said that the long haul between Manila and the

US (which could stretch to 15 hours depending on his port of entry) would be too grueling.

Two weeks after March 14, the proposed date of the summit, Duterte will be 75 years old.

Why should Duterte accept the invitation? First, it will disprove claims of his critics that he, one of several Philippine officials and private enablers, is barred from the US for instigating the continued detention of opposition Sen. Leila de Lima on drug charges.

Second, it could confirm that Duterte is a good friend of Trump, whose phone conversation in 2017 had been leaked by Malacañang to show that the US President approves of his way of waging a bloody war against drug traffickers and abusers.

Third, a US visit would help douse speculation that Duterte is dragging the Philippines farther left, away from its ally of longstanding toward communist China in the guise of charting an independent foreign policy.

Fourth, it could even improve his high trust rating among Filipinos, a big majority of whom

still hold America close to their heart while harboring mistrust of China’s intentions toward to the Philippines.

Before looking at the other side – why Duterte might hesitate to accept the invitation to the proposed summit on March 14 – recall the antecedents.

In 2017, then newly elected Trump attended the ASEAN summit in Manila chaired by Duterte, who was similarly new on the job. At the time, the Philippines was also hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

But after Manila, Trump skipped two successive annual meetings of the regional bloc – the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific meetings in 2018 in Singapore, and the ASEAN summit on Nov. 3-4, 2019, in Bangkok.

Trump’s absence gave China, a neighbor that Duterte has been cultivating as a friend and benefactor, a psychological opening to continue asserting its regional presence in the disputed South China Sea. In Bangkok last year, US Na-

anger triggered by the reports is “part and parcel” of the work of a media institution. ABS-CBN maintains that the company has observed “fair and balanced” reporting.

April 27, 2017: Duterte accuses ABS-CBN of “swindling,” claiming that the network did not show his political ads during the 2016 campaign although they were already paid for.

These comments come just a few days after Duterte renewed the franchise of GMA Network, ABS-CBN’s rival, for another 25 years. Meanwhile, HB 4349 remains at the committee level.

Duterte tells Congress, “No need to renew it.”

May 19, 2017: Duterte says he will file charges of “multiple syndicated estafa” against ABSCBN, in a speech at an event launch of housing designs for the military and police. “Kawalang hiya ninyo, kapal ng mukha ninyo, putang-ina ninyo, leche kayo (You have no shame, your faces are too thick, you sons of b*tches),” he says, addressing ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III. “Gabby Lopez, I paid ABS-CBN P2.8 million...You accepted my money, you never bothered to show my propaganda (political advertisements). After the elections, you didn’t return the money,” he adds. He says other candidates such as his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano and vice presidential candidate Francis Escudero experienced the same.

August 3, 2018: The president

repeats his threat to block ABSCBN’s franchise in a speech at the inauguration of a drug rehabilitation facility in Bukidnon. He challenges ABS-CBN executives to let him slap them if records show he has less than P40 million in his bank accounts.

June 12, 2019: The Philippine Star reports that the House of Representatives froze HB 4349.

A lawmaker, who requested anonymity, says no action on any bill seeking to renew the ABSCBN franchise would be taken as long as the network still has issues with the president. ABSCBN later says it is unable to comment on or clarify this report.

July 1, 2019: HB 4349 lapses after 17th Congress adjourns, but its same sponsor Representative Micaela Violago refiles the first bill in the 18th Congress to extend ABS-CBN’s franchise.

October 29, 2019: House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano announces they are set to deliberate on the franchise renewal.

At this point, there are at least 5 bills filed that seek to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise.

December 3, 2019: In a speech before new Malacañang officials, Duterte says he is still angry with ABS-CBN, telling the network, “If you expect that (the franchise) will be renewed, I’m sorry. I will see to it that you’re out.” This is the third time Duterte reiterates this threat.

December 4, 2019: Cayetano says they will no longer tackle the franchise renewal bills for

the remainder of 2019, saying there will be “more than enough time” for deliberations in 2020.

Although Cayetano said earlier he has a “personal complaint” against ABS-CBN for “unjust meddling” in the 2016 elections, he gave assurances there will be “fair” deliberation in the House.

House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr says the majority congressmen “might perhaps toe the line” with Duterte, which would make it “almost next to impossible” to renew the franchise.

December 30, 2019: Duterte tells ABS-CBN it would be better to “just sell” the network, remarking that Congress renewing the franchise is unlikely.

January 2, 2020: House Committee on Legislative Franchises Chair Franz Alvarez promises his committee would deliberate on the franchise renewal bills.

He tells ABS-CBN that securing a franchise from Congress is “not a right, but a privilege.”

WHAT IS YOUR STAND? Whether you are for or against the petition to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN, you have to speak up and speak out. ***

tional Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stood in for Trump. It was the lowest level US representation at the meetings since Barack Obama upgraded ties with ASEAN in 2011.

O’Brien read Trump’s message where he invited the ASEAN leaders to a special summit in the US in early 2020. This was the invitation reiterated in the Jan. 9 followup letter announced

by Malacañang the other day.

With the US delegation downgraded in Bangkok, only three ASEAN leaders showed up to listen – those from Thailand (the chair and host), Laos (the coordinator between the bloc and the US) and Vietnam (the chair of this year’s ASEAN summit).

Duterte did not attend.

Also high in the background is the passing last month of a US budget provision banning the entry of Philippine officials behind the detention of De Lima.

Conceivably, Duterte is on top of the list, but his being a sovereign may entitle him to special treatment.

A provision on “Prohibition on Entry” permits the US State Secretary to apply subsection (c)

to foreign government officials about whom the secretary has “credible information” as having been involved in the “wrongful imprisonment” of De Lima.

Subsection (c) refers to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which authorizes the US government to slap sanctions on persons linked to human rights violations, including banning them from the US and freezing their Stateside assets.

Malacañang responded by threatening to require American visitors to secure visas. It also banned US Sens. Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy, authors of the amendment, and Sen. Edward Markey, who supported it, from entering the Philippines.

On the other hand, Duterte cannot help noticing certain details and possible consequences of his visiting the US. The group invitation is not for a state visit, but for a working summit. Based on the skimpy details announced so far, the trip does not include Duterte’s calling at the White House.

Among the blessed events that Philippine leaders look forward to is being received by the US

President at the White House. So important is this detail that a Filipino official is usually assigned to record how many minutes they were in the Oval Office.

The visiting dignitary is sometimes treated to a colorful parade rolled out in the White House lawn. In the case of then President Cory Aquino, she was accorded the honor of addressing the joint session of an adoring US Congress.

What awaits Duterte? From the gambling and crime hot spot that Las Vegas is, will the brash mayor of Davao be whisked to the White House for special attention? If not, how would Duterte and his coterie take it?

The timing of the visit requires delicate balancing by his host.

Already under extreme stress from anti-US sentiments in key capitals and the impeachment trial in the Senate, Trump cannot risk a Duterte visit jeopardizing his quest for reelection in November.

Any public display of affection for Duterte – in case he singles him out for special attention – could cost him some political points at the polls. (Philstar. com)

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

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

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DTI, BOI conduct quick check of business industries in Calabarzon Business as usual after Taal Volcano eruption

It is business as usual for most companies operating in the Calabarzon Region (Region IV-A) following the eruption of the Taal Volcano last Sunday, January 12.

“After a temporary disruption of one to two days, our factories in the Calabarzon Region have resumed operations,” Trade Secretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Chairman Ramon Lopez said. “With a resilient Filipino workforce, these companies remain strong and can positively overcome obstacles with the ‘Make It Happen’ mindset,” he said.

“In any situation of natural disasters, of course, the most urgent task is to ensure the safety of the people affected, and in the case of industries and businesses, the safety of its employees,” he said. “But after this, the BOI immediately conducted inspections in the affected industries to get a general assessment of the situation on the ground, taking note of the businesses’ concerns on its employees, utilities such as power and water, and logistics,” Lopez said.

Officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BOI) composed of BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo, BOI Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa, DTI Region IV-A Assistant Regional Director Marissa Argente, and BOI Director Bobby Fondevilla conducted visits on January 15 to companies based in some of the industrial parks in the Calabarzon Region to get a general assessment of the situation in the areas affected by the eruption of the Taal Volcano.

“It’s mostly business as usual as we aim to ensure operations in Region IV-A remain uninterrupted. We are on standby to help companies in their contingency plans and we will not hesitate to provide relief and support to firms affected by the Taal Volcano eruption.” Undersecretary Rodolfo said.

The DTI and BOI team visited companies in three industrial parks.

Officials of the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Sto. Tomas, Batangas informed the DTI and BOI Team that its business as usual in the park and that contingency plans are in place in the instance of worst-case scenarios.

Power and water utilities tempo-

rarily shut down when the eruption happened.

About 90% of the companies, however, have already resumed operations as of Tuesday, while the remaining 10% will operate once their raw materials arrived, according to the FPIP. “As a response, these companies conduct three-day inventories and most of them operate on a “just-in-time” system. We also noted they maintain shuttle buses for the safe commute of their workers,” said Executive Director Dichosa.

“The companies also highlighted the importance of accuracy of information gathered from the government agencies and established communication protocols particularly cascading of information from the heads down to the employees,” said Director Fondevilla.

FPIP also informed the team that they are already doing a parkwide clean up of all the debris including the collection of ashfalls from locators which will be given to the barangay for possible other uses such as fertilizers and conversion to hollow blocks.

The team also met with officers of Denso, an automotive parts and components manufacturing company employing around 1,900 employees based at the Carmelray Industrial Park 1 in Calamba, Laguna. During the meeting, Denso informed the Team that their company is up and running and that power and water utilities are not a problem. The company hired an outsourced service provider to clean up the debris in its roof caused by the volcanic eruption. It is also crafting a risk management plan in case of the possibility of the prolonged condition of the Taal Volcano.

Denso officers meanwhile requested BOI’s assistance in coordinating with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Clark Freeport Zone the gateway protocols on the shipping of raw materials.

For its last stop, the DTI and BOI team visited Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Group, an electronic and semiconductor subcontracting group that offers technology and manufacturing solutions located at the Laguna Technopark in Binan, Laguna.

During the meeting, EMS thanked the BOI for the visit, say-

ing that such a gesture is concrete proof that the government is doing its work. The team was also informed that EMS had to temporarily close its operations as the company’s raw materials up to the end products are very sensitive to dust. The company, however, was in full operation as of Wednesday.

The officers of the company also briefed the team on the Risk Management Plan they formulated in case the Taal volcano situation worsens to Alert Level 5. The plan included protocols and assignment of decision authority levels from the head of the company up the cascading of decisions to Business Units and the rest of its 10,100 employees. The plan also included components of the Occupational Safety training as mandated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The DTI and BOI team also met an employee of EMS who shared her personal experience as to the Volcanic eruption in Batangas.

EMS officials meanwhile sought the assistance of the Team in the bulk sourcing of the prescribed face masks for its employees. Undersecretary Rodolfo suggested the possibility of sourcing these masks from Taiwan.

To shed light on the current state and possible scenarios on the Taal volcano eruption, the BOI, in its Joint Board and Management Committee Meeting today (January 16), invited resource experts led by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Affairs Renato Solidum, and Geo hazard experts Raymond S. Rodolfo and Arlene Mae P. Tengonciang.

Representatives from industry stakeholders led by Bobby Batungbacal were also present in the meeting to provide the industries’ insights and concerns particularly on logistics and utilities given the situation.

Undersecretary Solidum clarified that only business establishments within the 14-kilometer radius of the Taal Volcano Base Surge Hazard Map identified by Phivolcs are required to evacuate.

A base surge is a special class of pyroclastic density currents which are “mixtures of fragmented volcanic particles, hot gases and ash that rush down the volcanic slopes or rapidly outward from a source

DOST Undersecretary Renato Solidum (left) gives a brief on the current situation and possible scenarios of the Taal volcanic eruption. Joining him in the briefing were geohazard experts Raymond S. Rodolfo and Arlene Mae P. Tengonciang and Bobby Batungbacal, representing the industry stakeholders

Photo taken two days after the Taal Volcanic eruption from the shop floor of a factory based in the Carmelray Industrial Zone. The factory has a clean room capability tolerance of 100 particles per million (ppm).

vent at high speeds”, according to Phivolcs. Base surges are ringshaped spreading out from the base of the eruption column.

Business establishments can refer to the Bulletins and Advisories being issued by Phivolcs on a regular basis and to https://hazardhunter.georisk.gov.ph/ for the updated hazard areas.

Business establishments outside the 14-kilometer radius are encouraged to have a Contingency Response Plan or Risk Management Plan ready to address the effects/impact of the eruption.

The plan should include the following: Decision/Level of Authority Protocols; Occupational Safety Protocols for Employees; and Recovery and Cleanup Plan (coordination with Local Government Unit (LGU) authorities and park or ecozone administrators on park or zone-wide cleanup).

As a take away from the concerns and insights discussed, Undersecretary Rodolfo said the BOI will mobilize its teams and delivery units to affected industries within and those outside the 14-kilometer radius hazard zone on power, utilities, logistics and a BOI Hotline to handle investor inquiries and concerns.

He said BOI will also be coordinating with toll operators particu-

larly the STAR Toll in Batangas for the bay linking to the South Luzon Expressway and the connectivity of the ports for concerns on the shipping of goods from the affected areas to their respective destinations. BOI is also looking at partnering with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology for the geohazard risk maps of industries within the region.

“Even as operations have resumed, we all remain vigilant.

We continue to monitor the Taal Volcano’s activity—mainly through the official Phivolcs bulletins, as a guard against fake news—and have enhanced coordination mechanisms with our private stakeholders and government partners. Remember that we are still on Alert Level 4. Of course, in all of our actions, priority is the safety of workers and their families; and then comes Business Continuity,” said Rodolfo.

As a follow-through for these initiatives, the BOI met industry stakeholders, resource persons from the various government agencies on January 21 to discuss businesses and industries’ concerns on utilities, logistics, employee safety, and other relevant topics.

Rodolfo meanwhile underscored the strategic significance of the Calabarzon in the country’s economic growth and national development as it has been the top recipient of approved investments in recent years.

BOI figures show that the Calabarzon region attracted P390 billion or more than a third of the committed investments in 2019 valued at P1.14 trillion.

Batangas, alone, is scheduled to host two colossal power projects worth a total of P95.7 billion, and a natural gas plant costing P35.2 billion.

The Quezon province, on the other hand, will be home to a 1200 MW power plant with a project cost of P130.3 billion and a P47.4 billion wind power project. The region comprises the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

The Calabarzon region is the second-largest contributor to the domestic economy, accounting for 17% of the country’s economic output in 2018. The industrial sector dominates the region’s production, accounting for 62% of the gross regional domestic product (GRDP). In 2019, there were 6.2 million employed persons in Calabarzon, the biggest among all regions. n

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ON THE COVER AJPress photo by Noel Ty

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

Fil-Am designer Carol de Leon’s mission to promote sustainable, artisanal products made in the Philippines by

Christina M. Oriel / AJPress

FROM living and working in Milan and Los Angeles, Filipina American accessories designer Carol de Leon packed everything up in favor of Manila this past fall.

A big question about her reverse migration that friends and industry colleagues have asked her is, ‘why?’ De Leon has worked as a shoe designer for brands in Italy and Los Angeles since the 1990s, and started her own successful lines that have been sold in major retails like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.

However, the overconsumption in the fast fashion industry has shifted her focus to more handcrafted, small-batch designs and products using materials from her native Philippines and training future designers to have products that can compete globally and be touted as proudly Filipino.

“It’s almost like a renaissance, letting go of a lot of things in order to create new opportunities,” de Leon told the Asian Journal in an interview at her LA home in the midst of her packing. “The situation and potential in the Philippines motivate me to do more because I can just stay here [in the U.S.] and be comfortable and not grow or give back. I feel extremely lucky and blessed to have this opportunity to have reclaimed my Filipino citizenship and be able to move back there.”

Under her brand Angkan — meaning ‘clan’ or ‘tribe’ in Tagalog — she has developed a line of accessories and goods rooted in sustainability, championing cultural materials and providing livelihoods for indigenous communities and female enterprises.

“I’m using Angkan as a platform to position the ‘Made in the Philippines’ product in a very high, positive view globally,” de Leon said. “So we’re working on collaborations with different

brands, whether they’re based in LA, in Italy, or Manila.”

One of her main missions for now being in Manila full-time is setting up a design center that will assist and mentor local Philippine designers in improving their work as well as providing linkages to sourcing materials, whether from other parts of the country or elsewhere around the world.

“Seeing these Filipino designers shows that creativity runs in our blood, whether it’s fashion design, art or music. The talent is definitely there in our genes. I believe it just needs to be on a more globalized level,” de Leon said.

Born in Manila, de Leon and her parents moved to Los Angeles when she was 4 years old. Though she didn’t imagine that she’d be in a creative field one day, she credits her architect dad as an artistic influence, as well as her mom and extended family’s sense of fashion and bespoke clothes.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in international marketing from Loyola Marymount University and a certificate in shoe design from Otis College of Art and Design, one of de Leon’s first jobs in her early 20s was designing a high-end women’s fashion footwear line in Milan, Italy with her then-husband Marco Delli.

“I learned how to make shoes in Vigevano, which is a small town outside of Milan. It’s the same town where Manolo Blahnik makes all his shoes,” de Leon recalled. “Going between LA and Italy, we’d find leathers and materials to prepare the collections. This went on for years and I had to adapt to the Italian way of doing business.”

De Leon eventually ventured off on her own with stints designing accessories at Wild Orchid and directing the design department at high-end footwear line Taryn Rose. She also

De Leon’s brand Angkan has introduced a collection of handmade bags using traditional Filipino materials and designs made by Philippine-based weavers.

AJPress photos courtesy of Noel Ty

dabbled in other mediums, like interior design, which included a gig with Missoni Casa.

“My vision was to completely make my own mark and I actually wanted to get away from the shoe industry 100% because I wanted to do everything on my own, meaning my own network, own everything,” she recalled.

But the calls back to the shoe industry were louder as old clients wanted to hire her as a freelancer. It was around the time when a growing number of Italian brands — even big, luxury names like Prada and Gucci — started to move a part of their manufacturing processes to China.

“You know how they talk about brain drain in the Philippines? In China, they needed designers who could do original designs because all they knew was how to copy things. So that’s when I ended up working in China for about 15 years,” de Leon said.

For six of those years, de Leon was the creative director of Blonde Ambition, an LAbased shoe line that combined the city’s laidback lifestyle and vibrant aesthetic with European timeless design and structure.

The line was distributed in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

She launched another venture in 2013: FLOGG, a contemporary women’s footwear

line that combined the comfort and cushioning of flip-flops and wooden structure and arch support of clogs. Priced between $80 and $250, over 120,000 pairs were sold in the first year at major retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Zappos and in 51 countries, including the Philippines.

“It was great for the first couple of years but I burnt out because it was so fast and furious the way it worked and it was very demanding,” she said, detailing the many hats she took on while handling all aspects of the business from finances to design to logistics.

One of the unintended results of traveling from LA to China during this period was tapping into a renewed appreciation and curiosity for the nearby Philippines. “Because I was in Asia a lot, that’s when I started to rediscover the Philippines,” she said. “Bonifacio Global City (BGC) was being built and so I saw that and I thought like, ‘Wow, this is a really new Philippines,’ you know, and I liked that part of it.”

The rapid expansion and drive to increase production made de Leon take a step back and assess the impact she wanted to leave with her products.

A major influence was watching Lauren Greenfield’s documentary, “Generation Wealth,” which explores the environmental and emotional consequences of fast fashion.

“It’s not just pretty designs because companies look at the increase in sales and profitability and I have a good track record with that…But then you see the results on our earth and our environment, and the fact that we have the opportunities to achieve great wealth yet spend the least amount of time with our children and families,” she said.

“So you gotta just think about that for a second and see what is really important: Is it the profitability or how you live your life? And what kind of imprint are you leaving for the next generation?”

‘Made in the Philippines’ In early 2018, again back in Manila to do research for another line, de Leon attended Manila FAME, a trade show organized by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s Center for International Trade Ex-

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

positions and Missions (CITEM).

She stumbled upon a closed DTI meeting about improving product design in the country so it could be on par with other markets, and introduced herself and pitched her experience.

She was then offered a contract as a product development specialist to lend her expertise to the DTI and its Go Lokal program, which helps Philippine micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) create products at a quality that can be sold in the local consumer market and eventually for international export.

“It was really refreshing to go to the Philippines and actually see smaller production and handmade things,” she said.

“I got a new perspective of business with a sense of social responsibility…Fortunately, I think everybody was also kind of coming off of this hyper-consumerism. It was a perfect climate I saw for the Philippine MSMEs and small makers to survive and put...their products out in moderate quantities and they could grow organically.”

Some of the weavers and artisans that she visited around the country were trained and selected for a trade fair in Japan later that year, showcasing home decor, apparel, bags and more using traditional fabrics and materials. It also led to connecting with Sen. Loren Legarda’s work in funding livelihood and entrepreneurial programs for indigenous communities like those in Antique.

“In the Philippines, if you give consistent work to the artisans — it doesn’t have to be like thousands of pieces — they’re very grateful and it does affect their livelihood. So that’s the part where I feel very empowered also, because in China, I was at a point where I’m giving a factory 150,000 pairs of shoes to do and they’re still not happy.

They still want more,” de Leon said.

Always the creative mind, de Leon at the same time saw another perspective of reframing

De Leon’s designs under apparel line Rich Gypsy use100% natural materials and dyes.

her own brand that is artisanal, socially responsible and pays homage to her homeland.

Through Angkan — which she had already started in Los Angeles — she released a small collection of magnetic cuffs “connected with your energy, consciousness and spirituality.”

But her experience in the Philippines and linking with talent and materials motivated her to add a line of shoes and bags.

Pieces debuted in 2019 have included sandals with textile designs made in Marikina, the shoe capital of the country, and waist bags using T’nalak, a traditional tribal textile made of natural abaca fibers hand-loomed by the T’boli indigenous community of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

“It’s still related to the DNA of the brand that I started because it’s a higher consciousness of not just putting products out for profit and selling things.

You’re developing a product so that you can create livelihoods for a small community and for a consumer to buy into a story and be part of this social responsibility,” she said. “They’re buying a product that has a spirit, a story and a soul and it’s not just something that you wear one season and toss away.”

De Leon also launched apparel line Rich Gypsy, which uses 100% natural dyes and upcycled materials like linen and silk — as some studies show that plastic and other derivates like polyester can take over 400 years to biodegrade. Some of the line’s pieces are blouses embroidered by indigenous communities in the Cordillera region or handdyed using natural Philippine indigo.

“There are a lot of Filipino Americans who want to wear their culture and learn more about their culture and I think that’s really important in reclaiming our identity,” she said. “It’s not too late to learn all about being Filipino and teaching it to your children.”

She added, “At the end of the day, I want to be known for that girl that went back to the Philippines. After experiencing living in America and in Europe, being proud of where you come from is a baseline for happiness.”

Photos courtesy of Angkan/Carol de Leon

Angkan’s Sol bag handwoven in Samar with natural straw and colors.

Working with female artisans in local communities in the Philippines

De Leon worked with the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry to assist indigenous artisans with design and promoting their products.

James, Nadine confirm split

by Krissy

AguilAr Inqurier.net

CELEBRITY couple James Reid and Nadine Lustre confirmed on Monday that they had broken up.

The couple issued a joint statement aired over “Tonight With Boy Abunda” Monday night, January 20, announcing their separation.

“It’s true that we have split up but not for all the reason that are being spread on the tabloids and social media but because, after quiet and mature conversations, we decided to focus on ourselves — not only for our careers but for our personal growth as we are still young and we want to achieve as much as we can,” the statement read.

“We agreed that going separate ways was best for both of us. We are in good terms and are still really good friends and will continue to work with each other especially when it comes to music,” it added.

The actors also took the opportunity to thank those

entertainment

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

James Reid and Nadine Lustre

ABS-CBN photo

days after rumors about their separation surfaced online Despite a challenging year he faced in 2019, Gerald Anderson stays focused in his small screen comeback. following reports posted on several entertainment sites.

Lustre also earlier called out an entertainment columnist over an article about their supposed breakup.

It was back in 2016 when Reid and Lustre first admitthe hashtags #TeamBea and ted their relationship durby izA iglesiAs #TeamJulia, pitting the two ing their first major concert ManilaTimes.net women against each other. titled “JaDine in Love.”

But in separate interviews, WITHOUT a doubt, Gerald the two denied the accusaAnderson is one of the names tions online. The 30-year-old that made waves in showbiz actor revealed on ABS-CBN’s last year — not because of his “TV Patrol” that he and movies nor his stint in basketball via Maharlika Pilipinas Bas- Alonzo had been having a sucfound themselves contending

by BABy A. gil cession of arguments that ultiketball League (MPBL) — but with a formidable force for Philstar.com mately led to “one big fight,” for all the negative reasons. the first time.

Anderson was dragged into where there came the realizaDENNIS Garcia was a mavThe words, new and colthe Bea Alonzo-Julia Barretto erick. The guy who played loquial, were not the only controversy which dominated good bass for his band things that sold Pers Lab to the internet for a long time.

Hotdog just never played by many appreciative listeners.

The issue started from the Anthe rules elsewhere. Some 50 It was also a great piece of derson-Barretto sighting at the years ago, he took Filipino songwriting that fully consongwriting out of the “giliw, veyed the exciting, discomfit- birthday party of Rayver Cruz in July. The stolen shot of the sapagkat, irog” rut when he ing time of young love. Dentwo went viral. wrote Pers Lab. That spelling nis was very good with that.

Prior to all these, there took everybody by surprise. It He could take the simplest have already been talks about should have been First Love. of emotions or any particular an alleged Barretto-AnderBut Dennis would have none moment and turn it into a son romance that blossomed of that. He wanted the every- song that everybody could during the shoot of their first day language that was being relate to. movie, “Between Maybes” spoken by the people, which When the disco era came (May 2019). This was released at that time had evolved into along, Dennis, with music a month prior to the announcea mix of English and Tagalog. by his brother Rene, created ment in June that Barretto and Recorded by Hotdog with Annie Batungbakal, a sales Joshua Garcia have broken up Ella del Rosario singing lead girl who lived her dreams of after two years of dating. vocals, Pers Lab became a a better life in the bright, The day after the Barrettobig hit. It was the phenomdance filled evenings of Coco Anderson sighting, Alonzo enon that gave birth to the Banana. Of course, Dennis posted a cryptic message on Manila Sound and its fabled welcomed her outings and her Instagram account, which golden age. It propelled Filiher special outfits with the led to speculations about infipino pop music into the mod- words, Bongga Ka ‘Day and ern era. From that time on, Annie B was indeed the most delity in her relationship.

Netizens then began aclocal music became a force to bongga of females, or gays Hotdog’s Dennis Garcia went home to a Manila cusing Anderson and Barretto contend with in the hit charts or even men. Dennis never somewhere in the great beyond last Jan. 18. He and all those foreign artists Continued on Page 4 of cheating their respective was 69 years old.

Philstar.com photo partners. Thus, the birth of who have supported them.

“Thank you for all the Jadine fans for their undying support and we hope that you continue to support us now and in the future. We shall forever be grateful to them for their love and understanding,” it read.

The couple did not disclose further details on why they decided to part ways.

Their breakup came a few

Goodbye to Hotdog’s Dennis Garcia

ABS-CBN photo

Gerald gets help on personal issues from new show

tion that the relationship was no longer healthy, and that they were “just hurting each other.”

Focused Indeed, Anderson faced a challenging year in 2019. But according to him, he doesn’t mind all the bashings he has been receiving, but is only focused on his new show “A Continued on Page 4

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

Goodbye to Hotdog’s Dennis Garcia...

From Page 3 differentiated genders. And the infectious rhythms and sentiments of those songs, plus others that the Garcia brothers composed, have never faltered in intensity or audience appeal after all

these years.

And then, there is Manila.

Paeans are constantly being written about the great cities of the world. We know of New York, New York, I Love Paris, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, among others. I lis-

ten to them and I think, how nice that the songwriters so captured the charm of those famous places.

But not quite like the way Dennis wrote his tribute to the city of Manila. It was composed during one of his Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) stints creating advertising campaigns for agencies in various Asian cities. The lyrics are so on point about Manila in every way. Some 40 years after I first heard the song, I still cannot help but marvel over how he encapsulated in just a few lines all the longing of a Pinoy far from home for the strange but oh so irresistible beauty that is Manila.

You all know the song.

It is an ageless earworm.

It was the brilliant piece of songwriting that got 55,000 people singing and dancing as one at the Philippine Arena during the opening of the Southeast Asian Games last December.

It goes like this, “Hinahanap hanap kita Manila/ Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga/ Mga jeepney mong nagliliparan/ Mga babae mong naggagandahan/ Take me back to your arms Manila/ And promise me you’ll never let go/ Promise me you’ll never let go/ Manila Manila/ Miss you like hell, Manila/ No place in the world like Manila/ I’m coming home to stay.”

Dennis went home to a Manila somewhere in the great beyond last Jan. 18. He was 69 years old. It was only a little over a year since his younger brother Rene, who sang lead vocals and played guitar for Hotdog, passed away.

Responsible for the sudden send-off was a combination of kidney failure and heart attack. Coincidentally, it was right after a Hotdog gig at the Bar 360 of Resorts World Manila. If he had been a soldier, I guess it can be said that he died with his boots on. I do not think he would have wanted it to be otherwise.

The Americana at Brand ushers in the Year of the Metal Rat

by AJPress

WITH the Year of the Metal Rat upon us, celebrations are underway across Southern California. One highly anticipated event to mark the new year is the annual festivities at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, California.

Marking the 11th year the retail center has celebrated Lunar New Year, hundreds of attendees gathered on the green space on Sunday, January 19 for an afternoon of performances, activities and food vendors.

The Americana at Brand is a premier shopping destination for many Asian Americans in the area and this is one of the cultural events it mounts each year to honor that.

“There’s a vast Asian community in Glendale and the surrounding communities. This is just one way to share our token of appreciation and thanks to celebrate the Lunar New Year with our guests,” said James Little, general manager at The Americana at Brand.

The celebration kicked off with an opening parade around the mall with a dragon dance aligning with the tradition to ward off evil spirits. For the next three hours, the main stage had packed programming, from a Chinese Dance

by Shin Dance Academy, a Korean Dance by Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Academy, a lion dance by The Immortals and a performance by a local magician.

Of course, it’s not Lunar New Year without giving red envelopes, so the “God of Wealth” was on hand to spread the wealth with lucky attendees. Called hóng bao, it is customary to gift red envelopes with money to bring a year of good fortune and blessings.

Other activities families partook in were face painting, calligraphy of your zodiac animal sign, dough figurine making, and enjoying Asian-inspired foods from Belly Bombz,

Lee’Poof Cotton Candy, Seoul Street and Woo’s Crepe.

Until February 8, retailers at The Americana at Brand are offering exclusive offers and discounts for the holiday, such as 15% off any order at Katsuya, 15% off any purchase at Mac Cosmetics and a complimentary appetizer at Bar Verde at Nordstrom. Other stores like Lululemon and Tory Burch have exclusive Lunar New Year collections.

Lunar New Year begins on January 25 until January 11, ushering the Year of the Metal Rat, the first animal of the 12year cycle which appears in the Chinese zodiac calendar.

Rats are industrious, thrifty, diligent, and positive. People born in the Year of the Rat are known to be instinctive and acute. They have keen intuition and can always react properly

to the worst of circumstances, and are sophisticated, thrive in social settings, very adaptable, and popular with others.

A full list of specials for the Lunar New Year can be found at AmericanatBrand.com.

Gerald gets help on...

From Page 3 Soldier’s Heart,” that premiered on Monday.

“Kasama sa territory namin ang bashing. Exposed kami, open kami dahil sa social media. Kumbaga, open para sa kahit sino ang mag-comment. Pero nasa atin na yan kung paano natin tatanggapin.

Alangan naman dahil may nag-bash sa akin, titigil na ako [sa pagtatrabaho]. E, ang dami ko pang pangarap, ang dami ko pang pinapakain. Hindi naman ako yayaman diyan sa bashers,” Anderson pointed out during the show’s special screening and press conference on January 16.

“Kailangan [maging mahinahaon], e. Alangan namang sasabayan ko yung gulo. At naging malaking tulong ito, itong mga boys, yung taping, yung training. Malaking tulong talaga,” he added.

Tribute to soldiers Anderson’s comeback to the small screen through “A Soldier’s Heart” is a tribute to Filipino modern-day heroes. It is a timely and relevant series shedding light on the hardships of Filipino soldiers, who symbolize bravery for dedicating their lives to the country.

Besides Anderson as Alex, six other brave soldiers will forge a loyal brotherhood despite their differences as they face the hardships and triumphs of their vocation.

Alex’s band of brothers include Elmer (Vin Abrenica), Benjie (Yves Flores), Abe (Carlo Aquino), Michael (Nash Aguas), Phil (Jerome Ponce) and Jethro (Elmo Magalona).

According to the actor, to be able to feel the real experiences of soldiers for the show, members of the cast had to train with the Philippine Army

for three days.

“Dumaan kami sa three-day Scout Ranger course. Pero disclaimer, hindi dahil three days lang madali siya. Siniksik nila ang two weeks worth na training in three days. So imagine that, talagang mahirap siya,” he recalled.

“Grabe talaga yung ginawa namin sa Army. Sa tatlong araw, parang dalawa o tatlong oras lang yung tulog namin.

Natutulog kami sa lupa, yung unan ko ugat ng puno, umuulan, kinakagat kami ng lamok.

Buti walang nagkasakit pero maraming na-injure. Si Yves hindi nakalakad, si Jerome hindi rin nakalakad. But makikita n’yo as a team, walang iwanan, e, kasi wala namang celebrity treatment sa training,” he continued.

“Pero sa totoo lang, naeenjoy ko yung ginagawa ko at alam ko na meron kaming ginagawa para sa bansa natin dito sa show. Kahit pagod na, at talagang nakakapagod siya, very fulfilling pa rin,” Anderson shared.

Trained by Matteo Guidicelli Meanwhile their colleague in the industry, Matteo Guidicelli, who graduated from his 30-day Scout Ranger Orientation and Leadership Development Course in July last year, made time for the cast who underwent the three-day course in the Army — not to visit them, but to lead them in the hardcore training.

“Si Matteo pinahirapan niya talaga kami. Hindi siya nakakainis kasi alam mong may dahilan kung bakit. Pag sumigaw siya ng lublob, kailangan lublob talaga sa tubig. Pag sinabi niyang dapa at magcrawl, gagawin mo. Minsan hirap na hirap na kami pero

kailangang tapusin. Higher officer din kasi siya. He’s an Army reservist Probationary Second Lieutenant,” the actor from General Santos City said.

Despite all the sacrifices they had to do in the Army, Anderson said it was already an achievement for them especially when they get to send the important lesson for those who will watch their show.

“Sobra po akong nagpapasalamat na dumaan kami sa training na yun dahil kahit papaano totoo yung mga eksena namin. So sobrang thankful po ako na ako yung pinili para maging Alex Marasigan. Dun pa lang sapat na motivation yun para buong puso kong ibinuhos ang sarili ko sa proyektong ito,” Anderson said.

“Pangalawa, gusto namin pag napanood nila, maiiba yung respeto nila sa mga sundalo natin at sa pamilya ng mga sundalo. Bata pa lang ako, yun na talaga yung pangarap ko. So malapit sa puso ko ito. Pero nung dumaan kami sa training, nakita ko yung pinagdadaanan nila, ibang level talaga. Sana makita nila yung ibang parts na yun sa show namin,” he continued.

“Na-realize ko yung mga nirereklamo natin on a daily basis, mga maliliit na bagay, yung patience mo parang mahihiya ka nang konti sa mga pinagdaanan ng mga sundalo natin — sa training nila, sa mga bakbakan nila, hindi po alam kung makakabalik sila,” Anderson ended.

Joining the ensemble cast of “A Solder’s Heart” are Sue Ramirez, seasoned actors Ariel Rivera, Irma Adlawan, Raymond Bagatsing, Sid Lucero, Rommel Padilla, Mickey Ferriols, Nikki Valdez and Ketchup Eusebio.

5

community

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

Bucket list No.17

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond

Visit Auschwitz and swear never to take your life for granted

Monette AdevA MAgLAyA ONCE long ago when I was probably 9 or 10, while scouring through my aunt’s bookshelf, I came across a tattered pocketbook. I can’t remember the exact title of the book but it had the words “6 million” on the cover.

Leafing through the pages, I saw black and white captioned pictures. In one photo, there were images of skeletal men and women with sunken, sad eyes staring at the camera wearing black and white striped uniforms with tattooed numbers on their left forearms. There were barbed wires around brick buildings in this place called Auschwitz in Poland.

The haunting images were seared in my mind. In the intervening years, life happened. Although I would occasionally pick the book and browse through it, I knew that book showed me the darkness of the human soul.

It forced me to grow up.

That book showed me pure horror.

Fast forward to 2018, more than 50 years later, …

A side trip to Poland from Rome gave me the chance to see Auschwitz up close. The complete name though is Auschwitz-Birkenau to include another camp in the area. In fact, there were 3 Auschwitz camps, designated I, II and III as Nazi Germany thrived on forced labor.

The tour bus drive from beautiful Krakow, where we were staying, was a little less than an hour.

It was a bright day but the tall stand of verdant, mature weeping willow trees with their bowed heads of drooping leaves at the entrance of the Auschwitz Memorial set the somber tone for the day. There were a good number of visitors and sure enough, there were stringent security procedures. These days, tightened security measures are signs of our time. Then as now, things Semitic seem to trigger hatred among the evil ones that boils over to insanity, rage and cruelty.

Pure hatred for the Jews moved Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany at the height of its power in World

War II to murder brutally and systematically 6 million Jews.

I listened intently as our expert guide told us the story of how a million Jews were murdered in that place. I had to keep up because there was so much to take in. We walked between the barracks where the prisoners were kept. Auschwitz Camp I had 20 barracks initially. I felt as though silent ghosts were still looking out from behind bars after 73 years since the last living prisoner left hell on earth for freedom in the winter of 1945.

In 1939, Germany invaded Po-

the time are globally recognized names. They included Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Daimler Benz of Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW and Bayer. Hundreds of thousands of slave labor were used, particularly in the automotive industry. Hugo Boss manufactured the smart looking, sleek German uniforms.

There are many other companies that continue to thrive globally to this day, 75 years later.

Sadly, billions of people today remain largely unaware or ignorant of these companies’ involvement in various capacities in the holocaust. Some of these companies were forced into cooperation by expediency or the need to survive but most were clearly in for the pure profit motive — humanity be damned.

After the war, there were recriminations and sanctions.

There were political apologies and largely unknown and undisclosed monetary reparations made to the Jewish nation through the years that followed.

But if there was genuine contrition and complete change of heart, only God knows for certain. With the passage of time and our collective human tendency to refuse to learn from the past, anti-Semitism is percolating and heating up once more.

True and final reckoning is yet to come.

Walking through the exhibits, I was riveted by the display of the mountain of empty canisters which contained the gas Zyklon (Cyclone, an insecticide) used for the gas chambers. The exhibits showed the mountains of luggage, shoes, and personal effects — of eyeglasses, pipes, canes and myriad others. There was a huge mound of hair cuttings. These drew gasps among the visitors.

The black and white photos of the prisoners along the corridor walls of one of the barracks put a face to the numbers. Each photo staring out of the walls told a tragic story.

(To be continued …) *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

Edmund Burke once wrote, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” I would like to add, “One must learn from it as well. Otherwise, the whole cycle repeats itself.” land and much of Europe’s neck was under its boots. Auschwitz, a part of Hitler’s final solution to exterminate the Jews in Europe, was kept a secret from the world for 2 years in the beginning of the war. It was located in South Poland on 15 acres. It was chosen for the main railroad that went through Poland and Germany.

The death camp was converted from a complex of Polish military barracks. Crematories, gas chambers and warehouses were added. There was housing for the camp commandant, Rudolf Hess, and the brutal SS guards.

There was, alongside the camp, an industrial complex of factories that systematically fed off the camp’s slave labor for a host of companies that was building Nazi Germany’s war machinery.

In many parts of Europe, these companies supported Hitler.

Most were German companies but a few were from England, like Barclays, from Switzerland, like Nestle and even from the US, like Chase.

Complicit with the war effort at

Is bankruptcy right for you?

Debt Relief

Atty. LAwrence yAng SURE there are alternatives to bankruptcy. But bankruptcy is the only solution that provides viable debt relief for those who are unable to repay their debts.

Some people sign up for debt settlement and find out after having paid into the pot that they have been sued by several creditors despite attempts by the debt settlement business to settle their debts over time.

If we compare debt to cancer because they do have similarities as the debt burden keeps growing and growing over time while cancer grows and spreads over time with the end game of both killing the financial or organic health of the victim resulting in the death of the victim, what is the more effective cure?

Certainly, all of us have family

and friends who have fought with cancer. First, you try to kill all the cancer cells with chemotherapy and/or the latest cancer-fighting medical technology. Fortunately, there are state of the art treatments now that work where the body’s own immune system is coaxed to fight the cancer cells, or stem cells from a donor are used to replace the patients’ own unhealthy cells that become cancerous.

If the treatment works, you still have to go through the remission process. This is a five-year period where the patient is cancer-free but is being monitored to see if the cancer returns. If it returns, it comes back with a vengeance. If it doesn’t, you’re home free.

Right now, I have three clients who have fought cancer. One just died after fighting it for four years and used all the new treatments. One was in remission for four and a half years trying to reach five years. But the cancer cells have just returned. He was

still working but now can’t walk without assistance because the cancer cells have returned after disappearing for four and a half years and now have just spread to his leg. The third is cancer-free and entering the five-year monitoring period.

Now, if there was a miracle drug that once taken gets rid of all cancer cells and replaces them with new healthy cells that enable the patient to be cancerfree for the rest of his life, isn’t this treatment the best and most effective way of dealing with cancer?

Bankruptcy is the best and most effective way of getting rid of accumulated debt bar none.

It’s truly a miracle solution to debt problems. Bankruptcy is guaranteed by the United States Constitution to enable debtors to have a fresh start in life without the burden of accumulated debt so they can become productive again. The United States Continued on Page 6

Putative spouse status as a defense to a petition for nullity of marriage ALL property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California is community property.

Family Code 760.

However, there are situations in which the marriage may be held to be null and void. These situations include, but are not limited to entering into a bigamous marriage, fraud and misrepresentation in entering into a marriage, etc. The legal consequences of having your marriage annulled by your spouse is that it results to you not having any community property interest on property acquired by your spouse during the marriage. A nullity may also cut off your claim for spousal support.

What options do you have if your spouse files a nullity against you? You may still have a claim to community property and support as a putative spouse. A party to a void or voidable marriage has “putative spouse” status only if he or she believed in good faith the marriage was valid. Family.Code.

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes § 225; Marriage of Guo & Sun (2010) 186 CA4th 1491, 1493, 112 CR3d 906, 908; Marriage of Vryonis (1988) 202 CA3d 712, 721, 248 CR 807, 813. A party

401, 404; Estate of DePasse (2002) 97 CA4th 92, 107, 118 CR2d 143, 155; see Marriage of Vryonis, supra, 202 CA3d at 718–719, 248 CR at 811–812.

A party’s “good faith” belief in the validity of the marriage is not tested by whether he or she believed a “marriage” lawfully occurred under some private, secular or spiritual set of standards. A putative spouse must have had a good faith belief in the existence of a lawful California marriage. Estate of DePasse (2002) 97 CA4th 92, 107–108, 118 CR2d 143, 156; Welch v. State of Calif. (2000) 83 CA4th 1374, 1378–1379, 100 CR2d 430, 432–433; Marriage of Vryonis (1988) 202 CA3d 712, 723, 248 CR 807, 814–815.

“Good faith” belief is tested by an objective standard based on facts that would cause a reasonable person under the circumstances to harbor a good faith belief in the existence of a valid California marriage. Domestic Partnership of Ellis & Arriaga, supra, 162 CA4th at 1005, 76 CR3d Continued on Page 6

“A putative spouse must have had a good faith belief in the existence of a lawful California marriage.” who has the requisite objectively reasonable “good faith” belief may be a putative spouse where any legal infirmity in formation of the marriage renders the marriage invalid. Domestic Partnership of Ellis & Arriaga (2008) 162 CA4th 1000, 1005, 76 CR3d

Minding Your Finances Atty. rAyMond BULAon “How can I pay my creditors when my income is not even enough to cover my basic living expenses?” This is a question that I hear everyday from people in my bankruptcy practice.

In spite of what the “experts” say about the current economy, I still see a lot of families who don’t even make enough to cover basic living expenses. So they resort to borrowing to make up the shortage in their incomes. They are using credit cards to pay for groceries, gas and sometimes even their house payments. This may sound like a quick fix but remember that it’s only temporary.

Once you’ve maxed out your credit cards, you will be worse off financially. So what do you do if you’re in the situation I just described above?

There is no doubt this can be depressing and frightening for a lot of people especially if you are facing a financial crisis for the first time in your life. And if you are overextended on debt, it becomes a lot more difficult to dig yourself out of the financial hole you’re in because while you’re already worried sick about your monthly living expenses, you’re also afraid of what creditors may do to you once you stop paying them.

Too many bills, not enough income?

I always tell my clients that the first thing you need to do in this situation is to prioritize how you spend your limited resources. For example, if you have a home with 2 mortgages, 5 credit cards, a school loan and an unpaid property tax bill, which one do you pay first when you don’t have enough money to pay for everything? First of all, it is important to cover your basic necessities before you pay any creditors. That means you need to make sure that you have enough money for rent or mortgage payments, food, car payments and utilities. You need to cover these basic needs first in order survive what you are going through.

Next, you need to find a way to reduce your expenses.

I know this is not easy but it’s a must. Maybe you need to cut back on your food expenses.

Maybe you can get rid of a vehicle that you’re paying on that you can live without. Stop buying clothes or household items that you don’t need. To manage your money effectively, you need a monthly budget. Start by putting down on paper every single monthly expense you have no matter how small. Do this for at least a month and then review your list. You need to keep track of every dollar that you spend.

You may be surprised to find out

how much you spend on certain things.

Lastly, stay in touch with your creditors. Do not ignore your creditors but rather, you need to communicate with them and see if you qualify for a settlement, reduced payment or any kind of forbearance until your financial situation improves. Think about it. If you refuse to answer your phone or open your mail, creditors will eventually have no choice but to sue you if they can’t get a hold of you. Once they get a judgment against you, your situation will be worse because they can now garnish your wages and take the money in your bank account.

If there is no other way out of debt except to file bankruptcy, you need to take immediate action so that you can change your situation as quick as possible.

Call my office and schedule a free consultation so that I can help you explore your optionsToll-Free 1-866-477-7772. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos, and Valencia. *** None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call RJB Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866477-7772 (Advertising Supplement)

‘Taal-Ong Tayo’: West Ranch HS students, alums call for donations for Taal Volcano victims THE recent eruption of Taal Volcano in the Philippines last January 12 has forced many Filipino to flee their homes and move to evacuation centers.

Those most affected are villagers in the hard-hit province of Batangas.

Here in the United States, a group of Filipino American students from West Ranch High School (WRHS) was touched by what they’ve seen on the news and were inspired to do something — in their own little way — to help their fellow Filipinos back home.

WRHS students Nathan Almeda, Troy Boggs, Julia Camia, Indigo Garcia, Katris and Joseph Fabian, Hans Lontoc, Tristan Manalang, Dani Nalangan, Joa-

quin Santos and Marcus Salvador and alumni Josh Alvarez and Camie and Jared Sotiangco all met through the West Ranch Band and Colorguard Program.

The group is working with their families to collect funds to support the humanitarian and medical missions of the Batangas Medical Center Taal-Ong Tayo (Tulong Tayo) program in Batangas City.

To kick off their donation and fundraising drive, Almeda wrote a letter and sent it to a few local organizations and businesses in Santa Clarita. First to respond were Dora and Pete Cruz, Peter Cruz, and Pia Sadaqatmal; owners of Gong Cha in Santa Clarita. Recognizing the immediate needs of kababayans back

home, they generously donated $500 to the students’ cause, and even expressed support to future charitable work and projects.

Among the urgent needs of the victims are food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits (like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, baby diapers and sanitary napkins), clothing, and linens/blankets. However, collecting donations in kind and then shipping them to the Philippines will take almost a month.

The students instead are calling for cash donations, and will hold fundraisers (i.e. a bake sale) to get all funds quickly via money transfers. Through this fundraising, it is assured that their doContinued on Page 7

Is bankruptcy right for you?

From Page 5 Supreme Court calls Chapter 7 as the “fresh start” law, and Chapter 13 as the financial reorganization on a personal level. Bankruptcy, indeed, is the miracle cure for accumulated debt that debilitates every debtor who suffers from this malady.

How many times have I pointed out that Walt Disney filed for Chapter 7 twice before Disneyland became successful? If it’s the right choice for Walt Disney, it’s the right choice for anyone with accumulated debt who wants a fresh start in life, just like Mr. Disney. Mr. Hershey of Hershey chocolates, possibly the world’s largest and most successful chocolate business, also filed for Chapter 7 once to get rid of accumulated debt. Several big dioceses of the Catholic Church filed for Chapter 11 reorganization to handle the molestation lawsuits. Orange County filed for bankruptcy about 20 years ago for those of you who are too young to know. Why did they file for bankruptcy? That’s because bankruptcy is the right choice and the most effective way of dealing with debt and providing

EMPLOYMENT

the debtor with total and complete relief from debt.

Are you facing foreclosure and want to save your home? Chapter 13 will stop the foreclosure on its tracks and allow you five years to pay off the default while protecting your house from foreclosure. If you owe credit cards and other unsecured debts like medical bills, Chapter 13 may even allow you to have a zero payment plan to unsecured creditors. This means you pay nothing to get rid of credit cards while you pay only the default on your house over five years!

For example, the client owes $20,000 of default on his house because he has not paid it for six months, and he owes $50,000 of credit cards and $100,000 of medical bills. He can propose a Chapter 13 plan that pays only $350 a month for 60 months.

This will pay the $20,000 default on his house over five years. He pays nothing to credit cards and medical bills. In other words, he doesn’t have to pay $150K of unsecured debt. Upon finishing his plan payments on the 60th month, he is back to his current status on the mortgage.

He rescues his house from foreclosure. And the court wipes out all $50,000 of credit cards and $100,000 of medical bills without any payment on them at all.

Let’s assume the same client with the same unsecured debt but no problem with house payments. His home equity is less than $175,000 and he is at least 65. He files for Chapter 7 and gets rid of $150K of unsecured debt for a fresh start as he enters his retirement years. Or, he is 45 with home equity that is not over $100,000. He still gets to wipe out $150,000 while keeping all his assets.

If you need debt relief, please set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in Bankruptcy, Business, Real Estate and Civil Litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Building A-10 South Suite 10042, Alhambra, CA 91803.

(Advertising Supplement)

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community 6 The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

Putative spouse status as a defense...

From Page 5 at 404; Marriage of Guo & Sun (2010) 186 CA4th 1491, 1497, 112 CR3d 906, 911; Marriage of Ramirez & Llamas (2008) 165 CA4th 751, 756, 81 CR3d 180, 183. Whether a party had an objectively reasonable “good faith” belief is a question of fact to be determined in light of all the circumstances.

Successfully proving putative spouse status or putative marriage status in court gives rise to certain property, support and attorney fees/costs rights, as well as certain other rights that ordinarily attach only between lawfully married persons. Property that would have been community or quasi-community property had the marriage been valid is deemed “quasi-marital property” and, in a proceeding to terminate the invalid marriage, “shall” be divided between the parties as if it were community. Family.Code. § 2251(a)(2); Marriage of Tejeda (2009) 179 CA4th 973, 983, 102 CR3d 361,

368; Quasi-marital property divided pursuant to § 2251 is also liable for the parties’ debts to the same extent as if it had been community or quasi-community property. Family.Code. § 2252.

In addition, “temporary” and “permanent” spousal support may also be awarded in a nullity proceeding in favor of a putative spouse “in the same manner as if the marriage had not been void or voidable” Family Code Section 2254. The court may also award attorney’s fees pursuant to family code section 2030 in favor of a party found to be “innocent of fraud or wrongdoing in inducing or entering into the marriage, and free from knowledge of the then existence of any prior marriage or other impediment to the contracting of the marriage for which a judgment of nullity is sought.” Family Code Section 2255. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide

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FOR RENT

SERVICES

only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 3881611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw. com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw. com.

(Advertising Supplement)

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people & events The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020

‘Taal-Ong Tayo’: West Ranch HS students...

From Page 5 nation will get to the victims immediately and will be able to help more in need.

Receiving all donations is Dr. Licarte-Macalalad, who will then purchase supplies and bring it all to the people of Batangas. One hundred bags of relief goods were already sent last January 16.

To date, the students have raised $1,200.

“Learning about this disaster and seeing how the people of Batangas were affected brought sadness to many people including myself,” Almeda wrote in his fundraising letter to organizations and businesses. “As a Fil-Am, who has learned to love the country and people, would like to help in any way just to let them know that even if we are in a different country, there are still people who care about them.”

For any person, organization and/or business interested in supporting this cause, please contact Dora and Peter Cruz (2nd and 3rd from left), owners of Gong Cha in Santa Clarita, are shown handing over their donation of $500 to West Ranch Ivy Manalang at ivyamanalang@ Among the urgent needs of the victims are hygiene kits (like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, High School students (L-R) Nathan Almeda, Julia Camia, Troy Boggs and Tristan Manalang for their fundraising drive to help the people of Batangas shampoo, baby diapers and sanitary napkins), clothing, and linens/blankets. due to the eruption of Taal Volcano. me.com

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - January 22, 2020