012822 - New York & New Jersey Edition

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JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2022 Volume 15 - No.12 • 16 Pages

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Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, LAS VEGAS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO

Attorney General Bonta warns Californians to DATELINE USA beware of illegitimate COVID-19 testing sites 5 things you should FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

know about ‘free’ at-home COVID tests

CALIFORNIA Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced his plan for universal healthcare, which would extend coverage to the state’s 1.1 million undocumented residents.

If approved, California would be the first state in the nation to provide universal health care.

Speaking at the Clinica Sierra Vista’s Lamont Center in Kern County, an agricultural region which serves as home to roughly 70,000 undocumented people, Newsom laid out his plan for universal

CALIFORNIA Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an alert warning Californians to beware of fake COVID-19 testing locations and websites.

With an increased demand for COVID-19 testing due to the recent spike in cases, scammers are exploiting vulnerable individuals looking to determine whether they

have the COVID-19 virus. These unverified sites pose as legitimate companies and healthcare clinics offering COVID-19 testing.

However, after receiving payment for a COVID-19 test, these fake testing sites oftentimes fail to provide their patients with their test results. These sites may also ask for a patient’s personal identifiable information

with the intention of committing fraud. In the recent alert, Attorney General Bonta shared tips on how to avoid testing site scams, as well as how to search and locate legitimate, verified testing sites.

“Throughout California, fake testing sites are sprouting up to exploit families

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Biden, Harris enter second year with mixed public opinion, lukewarm social progress White House AANHPI representatives celebrate diversity despite low approval ratings for current admin

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by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

Manny Pacquiao and Mark Magsayo at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing gym.

Photo from Instagram/@markmagnificomagsayo

ONE year ago, on Jan. 20, 2021, when President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala D. Harris were sworn into office, they inherited a host of national problems.

The Biden administration effectively took over the largely lackluster coronavirus response from the Trump administration, stressing the rollout of vaccines, tests, funding for the health care sector, and economic relief for a country

SNACK TIME. Customers dine at tables with plastic barriers at a food court inside a mall in Dasmarinas City, Cavite on Wednesday, January 26. Cavite province is under Alert Level 3 until January 31, which means restaurants, cafes, and other food establishments are allowed to offer indoor dine-in services at 30 percent capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

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Bongbong says he will not ask US for Mark Magsayo: Gov. Murphy signs bills There’s no next requiring New Jersey schools to help in PH’s territorial dispute with China Manny Pacquiao teach Asian American history

by DAPHNE

MANILA — Mark Magsayo made it clear—he’s not the next Manny Pacquiao.

Being tagged the “next Manny” has always carried lofty expectations for any Filipino boxer and Magsayo believes that there will never be anyone who can match, let alone exceed, the mythos that Pacquiao created in the sport.

In an appearance at WBC’s Coffee Tuesdays, Magsayo said that he won’t

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GOVERNOR Phil Murphy signed a couple of bills last week that will ensure that the contributions, history, and heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are included in the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies for students in kindergarten through Grade 12.

S4021 will create an AAPI

curriculum requirement for schools and S3764 will establish the Commission for Asian American Heritage within the Department of Education.

“The members of our Asian American/Pacific Islander community have contributed so much to our state and nation,” said Governor

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GALVEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is running for president in the elections this May, rejected the idea of tapping the United States to help the Philippines resolve its territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. According to him, “The problem is between China and us. If Americans come in, it’s bound to fail.”

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

File photo

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Billionaire Manny Villar to become next media tycoon after taking over ABS-CBN frequencies

by Miguel

R. CaMus

Inquirer.net

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte once told Manuel Villar Jr. he would back the campaign supporter, billionaire, and former senator if he ran a second time for president.

Villar, the head of a powerful political and business clan, is not seeking any post in the 2022 presidential elections but through a Malacañangsupported move, he would nevertheless gain a new title, that of media tycoon.

Villar-linked Advanced Media Broadcasting System Inc., whose 25-year franchise extension was approved in 2019, is taking over the television broadcast frequencies previously held by Lopez-led ABSCBN Corp., according to documents from the National Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

DAY OUT. The vast grounds of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City serve as the playground of these boys on Tuesday, January 25. They are wearing masks, too, in adherence to safety protocols against COVID-19.

PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.

Attorney General Bonta warns Californians...

Filipino billionaire Manny Villar

Photo from his Facebook/@Manny Villar

Commission (NTC) that were seen by the Inquirer.

The frequencies were recalled from ABS-CBN after Duterte and his allies in Congress allowed the company’s franchise to

expire in 2020 in a move that was decried as politically motivated.

The Inquirer received the documents on Tuesday morning, January 25 and

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PAGE 1 and individuals seeking COVID tests. It is important to recognize the signs of sham testing sites to protect both your money and personal information,” said Bonta. “I urge Californians to do their part to avoid fake testing sites by utilizing state resources, including the California Department of Public Health’s website, to find a verified COVID-19 testing site.”

Tips to avoid COVID-19 testing site scams Do your part to avoid fake COVID-19 testing sites by utilizing the following tips: • Only get tested at verified COVID-19 testing sites or through medical groups: To find a testing site near you that is verified to perform COVID-19 testing, use the California Department of Public Health’s test site search tool. You may also search for local testing sites through your county’s local public health department. You can find your county’s public health department website at COVID19.CA.GOV’s Hotlines and Local Info web page. Also check with local medical groups to see if they offer testing services within their facility.

Should you choose to use an unaffiliated testing site, be wary of the following: • If a provider insists on documenting your nationality or immigration status; • If a provider does not offer a notice of privacy practices, or cannot explain how it will use and share your personal data; or • If a provider insists on accessing your passport or driver’s license when you have other documents that show your insurance status.

• Identify and avoid “lookalike” websites: Fake testing sites may require you to sign up online. Beware of fake websites that purposely look identical to those belonging

to well-known, trusted organizations and state agencies. Before entering personal information into an online form, always make sure that the website you are visiting is secure and does not display misspellings or unfamiliar names in the URL. • Be cautious of unsolicited calls regarding testing sites: A legitimate company or health clinic will not call, text, or email you without your permission. If you receive an unsolicited message from an individual, do not provide the caller or sender with any personal information until you have confirmed it is coming from a legitimate source. If you feel pressured to provide personal information, just hang up.

If you believe that you have been scammed by a fake COVID-19 testing site, you are encouraged to report it to your local police or sheriff’s office and file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office online at oag. ca.gov/report.

Free COVID-19 test kits This month, the federal government announced the launch of a new federal resource where individuals can get free FDAauthorized at-home COVID-19 test kits.

Visit COVIDtests.gov, or call 1-800-2320233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to order free COVID test kits from the federal government.

When placing an order online, you will be redirected to the United States Post Office website to fill out an order form. The form only requires you to provide your first and last name, shipping address, and an optional email. Remember that no one from the federal government will call, text, or email you to ask for additional information to help you with your order. If someone reaches out asking for additional information such as your credit card information or Social Security number, do not respond – it is a scam. n

Mark Magsayo: There’s no...

PAGE 1 be able to surpass what Pacquiao did but what he can do is walk the path that the Pacman set for him and his generation.

“There’s no next Manny Pacquiao, there’s only one Manny Pacquiao and I’m following his footsteps,” said Magsayo. “He’s my idol since I was a kid, he was my hero there in the Philippines. He’s my hero.”

Magsayo (24-0) got his career-defining moment on Sunday, January 23 (Manila time) when he defeated Gary Russell Jr. for the WBC featherweight title via majority decision.

The Filipino’s victory ended Russell’s reign with the strap that lasted for six years and 10 months.

Matching Paquiao’s collection, however, will need some work as Magsayo

will need to capture 11 more World titles across seven weight divisions.

“No one can surpass the history of Manny Pacquiao but I’m following his footsteps now,” said Magsayo who could defend his title against Mexico’s Rey Vargas.

“I’m doing my best every training, every sparring, every fight. I’ll do my best to win every fight. (By Bong Lozada/Inquirer.net) n

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From the Front Page

Gov. Murphy signs bills requiring...

PAGE 1 Murphy. “By teaching students about the history and heritage of our AAPI community, we can ensure that the diversity of our state is reflected in our curriculum and create a more tolerant and knowledgeable future for New Jersey. I am proud to sign these bills into law.”

“By incorporating instruction on the history and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, New Jersey schools can provide a curriculum that reflects the diversity of our state,” said Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, Acting Commissioner of Education.

A Commission on Asian

American Heritage will be established within the state’s Department of Education and will serve as a resource to enhance classroom instruction throughout the state.

Senator Vin Gopal said that though Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders “continue to make significant and positive contributions to our state, they remain misunderstood and are often targeted for race-based violence and bigotry.”

“With these new laws, and implementation of learning standards that do more to highlight the history and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, I

am confident we will be able to better educate students about Asian American culture and foster greater understanding across the many diverse communities of our state,” he added.

In a joint statement, Assembly sponsors Raj Mukherji , Mila Jasey, Britnee Timberlake, and Sterley Stanley called the “erasure of AAPI history is unacceptable and incredibly harmful for young people who are being robbed of valuable representation that could have a positive impact on their lives.”

“Excluding the rich history of the AAPI community from our schools’ curriculum not only prevents students from

gaining a full understanding of our nation’s history, but also opens the door for racial biases that can turn into violence and hatred,” the statement read.

They added that one of New Jersey’s best qualities is its diversity, which should be highlighted in the schools.

“By expanding the K-12 curriculum to include lessons on the history and contributions of the AAPI community, we can help break down persisting negative stereotypes and show the over 140,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander students in our state that their stories and experiences matter,” they said. n

Biden, Harris enter second year with mixed public...

PAGE 1 struggling to make ends meet.

A side effect of the coronavirus response came the response to the sharp uptick in anti-Asian harassment, discrimination, and violence that percolated across the country, a trend that prompted the White House to increase efforts to stand by the Asian American community.

On Thursday, Jan. 20, the White House Initaitve for Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) hosted a closed press briefing that featured Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander leaders in the Biden administration — including Harris herself — to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the inauguration and discuss the administration’s commitment to “diversity and inclusion.”

“One year ago today, the president and I were sworn in and I will speak for both of us in saying that when we took that stage and took that oath, all of you as leaders were there with us,” Harris said, addressing WHIAANHPI. “It was an oath that in many ways, we took together which is to continue with the work that has to be done to make sure that we are a government that represents all the people and that we fight for the equality of all people and the dignity of all people.”

Areas that are heavily concentrated with Asian communities, like Los Angeles County and New York City, saw steep increases in anti-Asian hate crimes and hate incidents. To address these disturbing trends, the Biden administration passed a bill to improve the nation’s response to hate crime reports, increased funding toward research to better tackle bias and xenophobia against Asian Americans, and signed several memoranda related to improving civil rights practices and accessibility to resources for the multilingual Asian community.

The massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief

package and the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law each helped families across the country navigate the coronavirus crisis.

Biden also presided over an economic uptick: 6.4 million jobs created, rising wages and low unemployment.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, in that regard,” Harris said, regarding anti-Asian hate. “I think one of the most important things that we can all do together is to continue to speak truth, but not only to the strength of community but also to the particular needs of communities, and to do that is to understand and embrace that the diversity of our country is part of our strength.”

The Biden administration’s response to the Covid crisis emphasized the increased accessibility to vaccines, a triumph that WHIAANHPI emphasized on Thursday.

“When President Biden took office, only 2 million Americans were fully vaccinated, but today, 210 million Americans are highly protected from the most severe outcomes of COVID,” said Krystal Ka’ai, executive director of WHIAANHPI. “There have been historic investments made to ensure that we are tackling this crisis.

However, it’s difficult to ignore the overwhelming public disapproval of the progress (or, lack thereof) undergone by Biden and, by extension, Harris.

A new poll from the Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 43% of Americans approve of how the administration is handling its job. The poll, released this week, also found that just 28% of Americans said they want Biden to run for re-election.

A Gallup poll in December found that 44% American approve of Harris’ job so far, a similar outcome to Biden’s rating in that same survey.

In November, an approval rating

by USA Today shared that Harris’ public approval rating sat at 28%, making her one of the least vice presidents in contemporary American history — a

significantly lower approval rating than that of former Vice President and driver of the Iraq War Dick Cheney in his first year in office.

The glaring disapproval rating is only punctuated by the seemingly absent Harris, who was once a driving force toward the administration’s emphasis on better racial and gender representation but had become a lukewarm answer to the social clarion call.

According to WHIAANHPI, in addition to Harris being the first Black, South Asian, and female vice president, 15% of all agency appointees within the White House are Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander which exceeds the 7% population share that the same group has across the nation.

Additionally 26% of the president’s appointed officers within the Biden administration identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander, making the Biden administration one of the most diverse administrations in American history.

The speakers on Thursday stressed vague goals of “diversity and inclusion” with Harris — who is South Asian, Black, and female — as the standard bearer after a predominantly white and male Trump administration, which, for the most part, had a dubious relationship with racial, ethnic, and gender equality and equity.

But diversity and inclusion should go beyond presenting a variety of skin colors and genders; it should mean constantly taking action on the broad and specific issues and struggles of a nation that is becoming more diverse and inclusive. The Biden administration has so far failed to forgive the mounting national student loan problem, It’s also worth noting that in her first year, Harris’ task list included tackling two hot national issues: improving the precarious situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and enacting national voting rePAGE 8

SWAB TEST BEFORE FLYING. Marivic Radam, an overseas Filipino worker, undergoes a swab test Monday, January 24 before going back to her job in Kuwait. OFWs need to present negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test results before boarding their flights.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

5 things you should...

PAGE 1 access throughout the state, regardless of pre-existing conditions, ability to pay, or immigration status. Longtime labor activist Dolores Huerta and California state Assemblyman Rudy Salas took the mic to commend the governor on his proposal.

“This is a historic moment,” said Huerta. “Thank you, Governor Newsom for including all undocumented people in your budget.

California is the first state in the nation to finally recognize our immigrants and their contributions,” she said, expressing her confidence that the state Legislature would pass the budget.

The $614 million proposal is part of the 2022-23 state budget known as the California Blueprint, which the governor unveiled a day earlier. The budget must be approved by the state Legislature; Newsom said he expects to see the finished package on his desk by May. If approved, expanded coverage would be rolled out by the end of 2022.

Currently, Medi-Cal covers all low-income children and young adults under the age of 26, regardless of immigration status. Last year, the state expanded Medi-Cal eligibility to lowincome undocumented adults over the age of 50. The new proposal would expand Medi-Cal coverage to lowincome people between the ages of 26-49, regardless of immigration status, Newsom addressed the concerns of critics who fear an increase in state taxes.

“We already have universal health care, but it is at the back end and called the emergency room. It’s costing you a bundle, with all of us

paying higher premiums.”

“Why not have access to preventive care at a much lower cost?” he queried, expressing his hope that other states would follow his lead to extend coverage to the nation’s 10.5 million undocumented residents.

The California Taxpayers Association raised its objections to the proposal Jan. 7, before the plan was formally announced, noting that taxes would be increased on businesses and individuals earning more than $149,000 annually. California state Assembly members Ash Kalra and Alex Lee, both Democrats who represent portions of the Silicon Valley, have introduced ACA 11, which would raise an estimated $200 million annually to support universal health care in the state.

“This measure would add to the cost of living in California and lead to job losses, without any guarantee that the billions in new taxes would benefit anyone,” said CalTax President Robert Gutierrez in a press statement.

“Taxpayers want and deserve quality healthcare services, but there is no guarantee that a government-run healthcare system will deliver better care for Californians at an affordable price.”

Kalra defended his bill in a press statement: “Those that profit off the immoral status quo may not like it, but I am confident that the vast majority of working and retired Californians will see the benefit of significant cost-savings as we remove debilitating insurance costs, out-of-reach prescription drugs and arbitrarily high hospital fees.”

(Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services) n

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2022

OPINION

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FEATURES

Public disclosure

HOURS after saying he would not make public his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth if it will be used by his political opponents, presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shifted gears last Monday, January 24 and said he would be “perfectly willing” to release his SALN if he wins.

Unresolved questions about his family’s enormous wealth continue to hound Marcos, so it was unsurprising that the SALN controversy has been revived in the course of his campaign for the nation’s highest office. He initially cited the ouster of Renato Corona as chief justice as an example of the use of the SALN issue for political purposes.

Corona, however, was found guilty of lying in his SALN based on his own admission about his undeclared dollar accounts, before an impeachment court presided over by the Senate president at the time, Juan Ponce Enrile, who is a Marcos ally and opponent of then president Noynoy Aquino.

Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and

Employees, requires the filing of the SALN within 30 days upon assumption of office, and every year thereafter.

The law, which stresses that public office is a public trust, states that “the public has the right to know” the “assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests” of government officials and employees “including those of their spouses and of unmarried children under 18 years of age living in their households.”

The public disclosure can sometimes be a farce, with the help of topnotch accountants.

In previous Congresses, Marcos’ mother Imelda had emerged as the poorest member of the House of Representatives, based on her SALN. Still, in the interest of public accountabil-

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS TO hold public office is one of the most sacred privileges a citizen can ever have because along with it comes the opportunity to affect change for the greater good.

This is especially true for those running or are appointed for local or national posts because such positions of power,

Philstar.com photo

ity, transparency and good governance, the nation’s highest officials should release their SALNs to the public, even without mass media invoking freedom of information and seeking

the public disclosure. It’s called leadership by example, and the public should remember the persons showing this quality as they apply for high office. (Philstar.com)

Election red flag: Resistance to transparency, accountability of candidates seeking public office especially that of the Office of the President, are accorded and entrusted with public trust.

After all, citizens pay taxes to fund the government and its operations, programs and services in faith and in trust that our public servants are working for our interest.

We, the People, are their “boss.”

These public officials work for us, and

not the other way around.

Working for the government does not give an employee a hefty salary so it is not the job one would want if he/she aspires to be rich. However, we have heard how some people had been willing to kill other people just to hold a position in government — from the top post to the “baranggay tanod.”

We also wonder how

with a meager salary, some government officials and employees have been able to acquire wealth and live extravagant lifestyles. We have seen families holding public office together in the legislative and executive branches of government in both local and national offices, clinging to these positions in a merry-goround dance, generations after generations.

“Corruption is a cancer within the body of societies—a disease that eats at public trust and the ability of governments to deliver for their citizens.

The deleterious effects of corruption impact nearly all aspects of society.

It exacerbates social, political, and economic inequality and polarization; impedes the ability of states to respond to

public health crises or to deliver quality education; degrades the business environment and economic opportunity; drives conflict; and undermines faith in government. Those that abuse positions of power for private gain steal not just material wealth, but human dignity and welfare,” the White House official page states.

PAGE 8

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

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Dateline PhiliPPines

Comelec printing of ballots for May polls hits snag

by William

Depasupil ManilaTimes.net

Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao

Pacquiao ready for presidential debates

by BernaDette

tamayo ManilaTimes.net

SEN. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao said he is ready to attend all presidential debates and media forums provided that these are mainstream and are proven to be nonpartisan.

“I am ready to face any debates or forums,” Pacquiao said on Monday, January 24,

in Filipino and English.

The Promdi standard-bearer noted that there were also some fly-by-night entities and known “political mercenaries” posing as media practitioners who wanted to put him in the “hot seat.” “Kailangan may (We must also have) standards din naman tayo. It is just a waste of time,” Pacquiao said in a statement.

Attending public debates and public forums is both an obligation of candidates to the people, the senator said.

Pacquiao said these forums allow candidates “to amplify their visions and their platforms of government.” He said this is also a venue for candidates to show to the people what they have done for the country. n

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready to stop the ongoing printing of ballots for the coming polls if the Supreme Court would order it following the non-inclusion of at least three candidates who were declared as nuisance but were able to secure a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the high court.

“If there’s a ruling from [the Supreme Court], of course. The Comelec stands ready to abide by a lawful ruling of the SC,” said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez on Tuesday, January 25 in a virtual press briefing, after he acknowledged that there were three candidates for senators who did not make it on the official ballot face released by the Commission.

Jimenez said that the TROs were issued at a time when the Comelec had finished serializing the ballots or placing the serial numbers on the ballots, which prompted the Commission to proceed with the printing of ballots.

“By that time the ballot [serialization] has

already been completed. We’re ready to go so we started printing because by the time the rule came out, we had already prepared the ballot and couldn’t do anything but print the ballot,” he added.

Jimenez said that the aggrieved candidates may file a petition before the Supreme Court against the Comelec even as he stressed that the non-inclusion of said candidates in the ballot face was not a defiance of the TRO. “The Supreme Court did not tell us not to print. I don’t think it’s defiance. Comelec, being aware of its timeline and limitations, decided to go with the printing,” Jimenez said.

“I don’t know what to say except that we are following a process laid out long before it happened and ultimately look at what’s necessary for the elections. There are remedies available; I encourage them to avail,” he added.

The three candidates who were able to secure TROs against the Comelec were vice presidential candidate Wilson Amad, Senate hopeful Norman Marquez and party-list organization Juan-Pinagkaisang Ordinaryong Mamamayan Para Yumabong (Juan Pinoy).

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Bongbong says he will... Election fact-checking initiative launched PAGE 1 “You’re putting the two protagonists together.

We must understand na dalawang superpower ‘yan at nasa gitna tayo, ang liit-liit natin,” he also said during an interview with Boy Abunda.

In a separate interview over DZRH, Marcos Jr. has described the idea as a “recipe for disaster” which would result in China ceasing talks with the Philippines.

“Hindi na tayo pakikinggan ng China (China will not listen

to use anymore),” he said.

The best way to resolve the dispute, he said, is for Manila to continue diplomatic talks and come up with bilateral agreements with Beijing.

He also rejected war as an option to address the matter since the Philippines is not capable of fighting against China. “‘Wag na natin pag-usapan ‘yun [war] dahil hindi talaga option ‘yun. We must continue to engage the Chinese,” he said. n

Billionaire Manny...

PAGE 2 made multiple requests for comment to the NTC, whose officials have yet to reply.

Based on the NTC documents, Advanced Media was given a “test broadcast” permit to use the coveted Channel 2 spectrum last January 6 and provisional authority to use digital TV frequencies in Metro Manila and Mega Manila on Channel 16.

This effectively gives the Villar group control over the frequencies, a scarce public asset, while blocking future attempts by ABS-CBN to regain use of the spectrum.

It was unclear how the NTC vetted Advanced Media’s capacity to run a TV network. Before awarding the frequencies, it also did not hold the traditional public selection process or “beauty contest”.

The last time radio frequencies were awarded was during the rigorous 2018 bidding for the third telco license—which was bagged by Dito Telecommunity, a venture between Duterte campaign donor and business tycoon Dennis A. Uy and China Telecom.

The documents also showed Malacañang’s support for the move.

The NTC said the 18-month provisional authority to Advanced Media was reviewed by the Department of Justice and Office of the Executive Secretary, which issued a “no objection” on the assignment of the vacated and available frequencies last December 29.

Advanced Media will broadcast the Channel 2 frequency from the Villar Group’s Starmall shopping center along EDSA in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, the documents showed.

Moreover, the NTC said the test broadcast permit will be effective until the final shut off of analog TV, which was earlier set in 2023.

Industry player Felipe Gozon, GMA Network Inc. chair and CEO, previously shared his views that the deadline would be extended anew due to the Philippines’ low adoption of digital TV. This would also extend Advance Media’s hold over the Channel 2 frequencies.

Democracy.Net.Ph co-founder Pierre Galla said the issuance of a temporary permit can be subject to “misuse.”

“One method of misuse is if a permit is granted whose nature is indefinite and not short in duration,” he said.

It is an anti-competitive behavior designed “to prevent any other entity [from using] the frequencies covered by the permit,” Galla told the Inquirer.

According to Forbes Magazine, Villar is the county’s richest individual with a fortune worth $7.2 billion. He owns property giant Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., broadband company Streamtech apart from water and infrastructure assets.

In September last year, the House of Representatives approved the sale and transfer of control of Advanced Media to Villar-owned Planet Cable Inc. In latest financial statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Advanced Media reported an 80 percent decline in 2020 revenues to P3.1 million while losses widened to P3.1 million from P1.82 million in 2019. It had total assets of P35.7 million. n

by Janvic

Mateo Philstar.com

MANILA — Twenty-two media organizations, academic institutions and civil society groups have re-launched an expanded fact-checking coalition to combat disinformation in the 2022 elections.

First launched in 2019, Tsek.ph is a pioneering collaborative fact-checking coalition that brought together the academe, media and civil society to address the spread of election-related disinformation.

Fact-checks cover claims on platforms and campaign promises of candidates; election-related statements and remarks made by candidates, personalities, government agencies and other entities; and election-related posts on social media, blogs and other platforms.

“Initiatives like Tsek.ph are vital and necessary,” said University of the Philippines (UP) vice president for public affairs Elena Pernia. “Especially now, when an enlightened Filipino citizenry is key to our elections so that we are correctly informed about who and what the candidates running for national and local positions stand for,” she said.

Baybars Orsek, director of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, lauded the revival of Tsek.ph in his keynote speech during the launch on Monday, January 24.

“Tsek.ph is one of the most significant efforts in the

First launched in 2019, Tsek.ph is a pioneering collaborative fact-checking coalition that brought together the academe, media and civil society to address the spread of election-related disinformation.

Philstar.com photo

world that has been carrying out these activities in such a collaborative way and it has inspired so many collaborative initiatives among other fact checkers,” he said.

The revitalized alliance includes media organizations ABS-CBN, Baguio Chronicle, dzUP, FYT, Interaksyon, MindaNews, PhilStar Global, Philippine Press Institute (PPI), Press One, Probe and VERA Files, as well as civil society groups Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan (ABKD), BarangayHub, Fact Check Philippines and the Philippine Association for Media and Information Literacy.

Its academic partners are the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Trinity University of Asia Communication Department, UP Los Baños, UP Department of Journalism’s Fact-Check Patrol and FactRakers and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Journalism Program.

“We at the Philippine Press Institute, also known as the national association of newspapers, support a

stronger Tsek.ph. Just as we commit to our own mandate as an organization, we bind ourselves to the noble and ennobling intentions and ideals of fact-checking,” said PPI executive director Ariel Sebellino.

“Today more than ever, we should all unite to free ourselves from the bondage of infodemic. One big check for Tsek.ph,” he added in English and Filipino.

Ging Reyes, head of ABSCBN’s Integrated News and Current Affairs division, commended the group’s efforts in uniting fact-checking partners, acknowledging the crucial role that journalism plays in society.

“This is an inherent part of our responsibility as journalists: to hold those in power accountable, and to protect a vibrant democracy where people can make decisions freely based on correct information,” she said.

Camille Diola, editor of digital news outlets Philstar. com and Interaksyon, underscored how despite perceived competition among them, all partners are united by the mission of the coali-

7

tion.

“So it is only right, and it is a necessity, that we set our differences aside and work in concert through Tsek.ph,” she said.

Meanwhile, Carol Arguillas, editor of MindaNews – a Mindanao-based online newspaper and Tsek.ph media partner since 2019 – shared the organization’s commitment to “this collective endeavor and collective commitment to provide the public with accurate information.”

Felipe Salvosa II, program coordinator of the UST Journalism Program, also highlighted the role of academic institutions in addressing disinformation.

“As journalists and journalism educators, our first obligation is to the truth.

And this aligns with our official university motto: veritas in caritate – truth in charity.

Truth, addressing the problem of disinformation, fighting fake news, is our obligation to one another,” he said.

Also joining the launch was ABKD convenor Francisco Guiang, who expressed the group’s commitment to the network’s mandate to “conduct fact checking, hold webinars about disinformation and fake news, conduct education seminars and join the kontra-daya efforts in the upcoming elections.”

Tsek.ph is supported by the UP System, Google News Initiative, UP Journalism Department and the UP College of Mass Communication Foundation. n

Comelec printing...

PAGE 6 The Comelec released on Tuesday the official ballot face which contains the names of the candidates vying for president, vice president, senator and party-list group.

It contained 10 presidential and nine vice-presidential candidates, 64 Senate hopefuls and 178 party-list groups.

The Comelec needed to print a total of 67,442,714 ballots by April 21.

Director Helen Aguila Flores, vice chairman of the Comelec printing committee, explained that they have three working printing machines and one reserve for contingencies.

Flores said that the scheduled printing of ballots includes a two-week buffer for any fortuitous events.

“In our updated timeline, we will print the last set April 12 [to April 21] for the NCR (National Capital Region). This is a very modest timeline already that includes a buffer for contingency [that the Covid pandemic may bring],” she added.

“We are foreseeing that there is a contingency plan to come up with a reserved pool of workers [who will take over] if people get infected,” she further said.

At stake in the next year’s polls are 18,100 positions — one each for president and vice president; senators, 12; party-list groups, 63; members of the House of Representatives, 253; governor, 81,; vice-governor, 81; Sangguniang Panlalawigan, 782; mayor, 1,634; vice mayor, 1,634; and Sangguniang Panlungsod/Bayan, 13,558. n

GETTING READY. Members of the Binondo Phoenix Dragon and Lion Dance group repair dragon and lion heads on Monday, Jan. 24, a week before the celebration of the Chinese New Year. ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan

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january 28 - february 3, 2022 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

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

Biden, Harris enter second year with...

PAGE 4 form — two uphill challenges decades in the making.

In early 2021, Harris’ negative public perception kickstarted with the border crisis, notoriously telling Guatamalan migrants, “Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders. If you come to our border, you will be turned back.”

Harris, and the Biden administration at large, suf-

fered a blow, with many Latino American leaders, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, expressing disappointment in the once-progressive former senator.

Most notably, the Biden administration has been criticized for the too-often confusing and shifting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventing (CDC) and a shortage in testing and personal protective equipment. (This week, after weeks of criticism, the

White House announced it would make 400 million N95 masks and free at-home tests available.)

“We certainly have a lot more work to do and we will do it together,” Harris said in her final remarks on Thursday. “But we must be committed to ensuring that the ideals that we hold dear are fought for because we can sometimes think they’ll just happen, but I think we all know that also, we have stand up and be vigilant.” n

Election red flag: Resistance...

PAGE 5 This truth is very palpable in the Philippines. Elections after elections we hear campaign promises about fighting against and abolishing corruption, but the promises remain to be empty rhetoric of many sweet-talking scheming politicians who fear and therefore tactically workaround and game the system to avoid two important requirements of these sacred positions of public trust in government: transparency and accountability.

Transparency means to be open and proactive in disclosing everything that is material and important to how the public official will conduct himself and make

decisions while in office, and this starts the moment he/she has signified and formalized intent to run for office or accept an appointment to serve in government.

This is the sacred resume a candidate presents to the people on his qualifications and personal information why we, the people, should entrust with him the position of power to work for our greater good.

The public official is expected to be proactive in his/her disclosure about his personal, social, economic ties; his/her assets, liabilities and net worth; about his/ her clean record involving crimes and moral PAGE 10

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2022

9

SFIO announces 2022 roadmap following successful year of acquisitions, restructuring SMOKEFREE Innotech, Inc. (SFIO), a leading asset management company and innovation group, is pleased to share details around its pending name change to Starfleet Innotech, Inc., its ongoing transformation initiatives, and its progress towards uplisting to the Nasdaq within the next three years.

In the weeks to come, SFIO hopes to receive final confirmation on their proposed name change to Starfleet Innotech, Inc. – a company name that truly captures the team’s mission of innovating across new frontiers. It’s a step of SFIO’s team and they’re really excited about it.

When SFIO began developing their plans for a network of innovative companies working in conjunction to explore new frontiers of innovation, SFIO couldn’t help but draw inspiration from the sci-fi classics they grew up with. As Starfleet, the team is leading this new alliance, sharing knowledge and resources to help their businesses boldly go where none of their industries have gone before.

The name change will be a fitting start to 2022, following a big year of restructuring for SFIO. As SFIO continued to grow the global portfolio of companies throughout 2021 and embarked on a series of vertical and horizontal integrations to

best consolidate their resources, resulting in a more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more profitable family of businesses operating across a shared, streamlined supply chain.

Today, SFIO’s three core divisions – Food & Beverage, Real Estate, and Technology – represent a clear, coherent strategy for growth over the next three years.

The Food and Beverage (F&B) division was a consolidation of the businesses that comprised their international supply chain powering brands like the flagship enterprise, Epiphany Cafe. These consisted of firms across food, franchising, coffee, and beverage solutions. To date, they’ve established partnerships with wholesale bakeries and food commissaries; developed better supply chain management, logistics, and administrative systems; localized the franchising and license procurement

strategies; and forged new distribution channels for their coffee and beverage solution products.

In consolidating these businesses under one division, SFIO’s team was able to more effectively organize their complementary resources, and focus efforts towards turning their F&B businesses into SFIO’s vehicles for entering new global markets. This year, SFIO is exploring expansions for Epiphany Cafe across Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Market research, feasibility studies, and financial modeling are already underway, with pilot sites across these regions currently being selected. SFIO is also in the process of shortlisting the master franchise partners and developing brand conversion strategies nuanced to these new markets.

In the Philippines, SFIO partnered with FJ Prime Management, Inc. to spearhead

the growth of Epiphany Cafe in the country. Similarly, SFIO has established a partnership with Epiphany Ventures Corporation to grow their footprint across Malaysia. As part of these plans, the team of SFIO is currently in talks with key convenience store brands in Malaysia and Australia to carry Epiphany’s signature pillow-soft donuts. As for the 5-in-1 instant coffee offering under SFIO’s Gorgeous Coffee brand, they already received initial orders from the partner distributors across the United States and Australia, with the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines soon to follow.

To fuel this expansion, SFIO team built the Real Estate division around a series of high-yield projects, the proceeds of which will be reinvested in their future growth. SFIO ended 2021 announcing that local permits have been obtained and land development initiatives are already underway for many of their exciting and innovative township projects. In addition, they are actively exploring non-dilutive funding options for these initiatives, the details of which they will be sharing in the months to come. As SFIO begin preselling and staging marketing roadshows for these projects, they will be launching a PAGE 10

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january 28 - february 3, 2022 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

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SFIO announces 2022 roadmap... Election red flag...

PAGE 9 new brand around SFIO’s Real Estate division to communicate the type of future-ready communities SFIO aim to create – communities that embrace the best of smart city technologies, health and wellness systems, and opportunities around medical tourism.

Finally, SFIO established a Technology division as SFIO’s key enabler, underpinning all their efforts as a conglomerate. In terms of strategy, this division will not only augment business operations, unlock innovative new revenue streams, and grow the intellectual property assets, but will also serve as SFIO’s backbone as they grow as an agile organization.

For example, as SFIO concurrently enters new markets with Epiphany Cafe, part of ensuring the sustainability of the growth is embracing new technologies to better manage the operations at scale – starting with a unified, streamlined logistics platform. With this platform, SFIO’s goal would not only be to standardize the operations of different businesses across the supply chain, but to also bring value to the franchisees, and, ultimately, their customers who will now benefit from a truly seamless, tech-powered system.

Similarly, their Technology division is hard at work on a proprietary platform to manage all the global Real Estate projects, specifically when it comes to supporting their agents’ customer engagement and sales workflows. Through the use of artificial intelligence tools, this platform will serve as the scaffolding for future tech services, housing their pipeline of real estate innovations.

SFIO’s goal with this suite of tools is to eventually offer it to other developers as well, to help them showcase their real estate portfolios and augment their operations.

SFIO’s technology efforts around real estate aren’t limited to showcasing them, however, but will be fundamentally integrated into each of the developments, beginning with the big investments they’re making in pioneering community health systems. SFIO recently partnered with Fort Health Data Systems, a startup that develops health and wellness dashboards for communities-asa-whole. With Fort Health, they’re able to pull in individual health data points, as well as environmental data from Internet of Things (IoT)enabled sensors to build predictive models for proactive community care. And to really take those data gathering systems to the next level, SFIO has NeuroSky, a Silicon Valleybased biosensor solution firm that develops bleeding edge hardware like brainwave monitoring headbands and smartwatches for tracking wellbeing.

The company believes that integrating NeuroSky’s hardware with Fort Health’s community health platforms, then deploying those systems across the township projects will be a real game-changer for tech-driven public health systems.

Just as SFIO intends to do with the real estate platform, this community approach to care will then be expanded and deployed to other settings, taking a blend of proprietary software and innovative hardware to health institutions, universities and workplaces around the globe. By providing the means to meaningfully gather and analyze health data, SFIO will be enabling communities to build measurable, proactive health strategies, leading to greater savings by ensuring people don’t become ill in the first place.

Finally, the most fascinating is the work the Technology division is doing with digital tokens – specifically NFTs (nonfungible tokens) – to allow the shareholders, partners, and other community stakeholders to participate more meaningfully in SFIO’s growth and operations. They’ve been studying a lot of the interesting ways grassroots communities are using decentralized technologies to structure their organizations. In designing this new system, SFIO will be taking cues from the firms experimenting with blockchain and digital tokens to build what they hope will be the new gold standard for asset management platforms.

While these technologies will serve SFIO well as they grow exponentially in the years to come, the real test of the conglomerate’s mettle will not be in its ability to innovate, but in its ability to do so collaboratively.

This past year SFIO’s team has built SFIO into a truly global community, adding to their presence in New Zealand and Australia with the launch of new offices and teams across the UAE, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the U.S. – where they’ve engaged with experienced firms to help lead the marketing efforts. With such an expansive footprint, the only way to accomplish their shared mission is to establish a united front. And so, following 2021’s restructuring, SFIO has embarked on a new commitment – investing heavily in building SFIO into a truly agile ecosystem.

As an asset management company, SFIO decided to adopt the same leanagile framework prevalent among hyper-scale tech developments firms for three reasons. First, it is the best way to ensure that as SFIO grows exponentially in the years to come, they do so flexibly and sustainably.

It is essential that they decentralize decision-making wherever possible, so as to allow each of SFIO’s global units and business divisions to champion their own growth and efficiently respond to their own needs. Second, this framework provides the means to rapidly stage new innovations within the divisions and iterate on them independently, before scaling their successes across the SFIO ecosystemat-large. Third, this framework recognizes the vital role that talent plays in fueling growth.

To accomplish all this, SFIO has gathered a world-class team of professionals tasked with

spearheading SFIO’s various initiatives.

Transforming their corporate framework is no small task and will require a strong community, united by a culture of collaborative innovation. Just this month, SFIO established a new communication team, whose role will be to both shape a clear and consistent external messaging strategy as SFIO operates in concert with their many stakeholders, and to organize many corporate teams around their shared goals, supporting each and every one of SFIO’s units, and establishing the channels they need to collaborate freely.

That collaborative, transparent culture extends beyond their business units, encompassing the entire corporate community.

Beginning this month, they will be facilitating regular video conferencing calls with their key investors and partners to keep the stakeholders abreast on their activities. In each of these monthly sessions, they will be introducing new initiatives, sharing important updates, and calling for they shareholders and investors’ feedback – all of which reflect the stance that each member of the SFIO community plays a vital role in SFIO’s growth.

Further, SFIO has been curating the growth of the top-level leadership to guide their expansion, led by the appointment of additional non-voting advisory board members. A series of appointments to leadership: Jonathan Petalver, Roger Oriel, and Michael Venezuela. These leaders have been crucial to helping SFIO achieve corporate excellence in these early stages, and they will continue to play even more vital roles as SFIO expands.

Joining now on board, Jeths Lacson, the chairman of SFIO, is excited to announce Jose Gerardo Noble, Stanley Yang, and Vince Caruso, as its global leaders in real estate development, technology, and marketing.

In the coming weeks, SFIO will be sharing more information on their progress towards developing the audited financials of each of their subsidiaries; introducing a new class of preferred shares to be used in securing strategic partners, hiring key officers, and closing new acquisitions; and placing SFIO on the OTCQB Venture Market, as a stepping stone towards their larger goal of uplisting to the Nasdaq.

The CEO and chairman of SFIO, Jeths Lacson ,would like to outline the strategies they will be employing as SFIO embarks on an ambitious mission of growth and transformation. They have a world-class team assembled to make this happen. But to achieve their goal of uplisting in the next three years, they will need a united front – not only among their global teams and divisions, but across all stakeholders in the community. With the shareholders and valued business partners’ continued support, they will accomplish SFIO’s mission to boldly go where no conglomerate has gone before.

(Advertising Supplement)

PAGE 8 and ethical turpitude; about principles, visions, and platform to make our lives better, and our democracy stronger.

Campaigns are free to present their candidates in the best possible light to convince the electorate they are best suited for the position. That is their public relations function.

But all these this need to be checked, examined, questioned, and explained as required by the principle of transparency.

Political appointees are vetted, their past dug up, and they are subject to hearings which are like “cross examinations” about their fitness to be in office before they are confirmed pursuant to the rule of law.

For elected officials, part of the process by which the citizenry can make a more informed decision in hiring or rejecting a candidate for office is by thorough research, investigation and the job interview, which take the form of debates, interviews, panel discussions, town hall meetings, etc., done by the fourth estate — the free, independent press in a democracy.

A candidate applying for the job, therefore, should be ready, willing and able to go through this rigorous process of job application because no one is entitled to the job. He/she could not cherry-pick who should conduct the interview and face only those who accept his claims as gospel truth.

That would be PR. A true, honest, trustworthy candidate should be ready, willing and able to face the press who are like hungry hyenas ready to devour him/her until all his skeletons are revealed with hard, mean, incisive questions. That is the role of the press in a democracy because this will serve the public better in their sacred decisionmaking process of choosing the right and deserving public servant.

This is also a pre-cursor to how a candidate, when elected in office, will be transparent in his/ her actions as an elected public servant. Government information, government records, transactions, dealings should be made available to the public, whether proactively and/or

when asked.

Former President Barack Obama wrote a Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and their Agencies” and part of it read: “We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.

Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.

Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset.”

When do we demand transparency, which promotes accountability from our own public officials in the Philippines? This is not “paninira” or putting the government down. In fact, it is our sacred obligation to keep our government officials transparent and accountable in all their actions because that will push them to serve us better and strengthen our democracy.

Systemic corruption has been perpetuated in government not just by those in power, but by the voters who, knowingly or unknowingly, have been condoning, approving, and even nurturing this very chronic social ill that has been keeping the Philippines a “third world” country.

This coming election, don’t turn a blind eye to the red flags.

Demand transparency and accountability from all candidates, especially from those running to be president of the Philippines. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABSCBN 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.

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 28 - FEbRUARY 3, 2022

COMMUNITY Journal

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Visas issued despite petitioner’s death this Sunday on Citizen Pinoy ALMITA’S father petitioned her in 2001. However, before her visa was issued, her father died on Christmas Eve of 2014. This resulted in the petition being “revoked.”

Her previous lawyer suggested that the family lie about the petitioner’s death, pretending he was alive, and continue pursuing the case. However, Almita’s mother did not want to lie. They discussed Humanitarian Revalidation but were informed by the lawyer that he did not handle such cases.

However, the lawyer sent a single-page letter to the National Visa Center (NVC) seeking Humanitarian Revalidation. Due to delays and missing documents from the previous lawyer, the USCIS

eventually officially revoked the petition.

Mom refused to give up and insisted on getting the “Attorneyof-Last-Hope,” Michael J. Gurfinkel, who was able to submit a new humanitarian revalidation request that was approved. Almita and her five children were able to get their immigrant visas and arrived in the U.S. in November 2021.

Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, January 30 at 7:00 PM PT (10:00 PM ET thru select Cable/ Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app.

(Advertising Supplement)

THIS FAMILY NOW NEEDS A “BIGGER RICE COOKER” AFTER DAUGHTER AND HER FIVE CHILDREN GOT THEIR IMMIGRANT VISAS, THIS SUNDAY ON CITIZEN PINOY. Almita (left) was petitioned as single by her father in 1997, but because she married her boyfriend, she had to be re-petitioned in 2001. Unfortunately, Almita’s father died before she could get her visa. Her previous lawyer sent a one-page letter seeking Humanitarian Revalidation, but USCIS revoked the petition. It seemed her dreams of immigrating to the U.S. were “dead.”

Almita’s sisters, Evelyn (2nd from left), Mimi (3rd from left) and their mother consulted with leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) who filed a new humanitarian revalidation request and was able to get it approved. Almita and her five children had their visas issued and immigrated to the U.S. in November 2021. Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, January 30 at 7:00 PM PT (10:00 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo.

(Advertising Supplement)

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january 28 - february 3, 2022 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

Coconut oil: “Poison”?

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS COCONUT oil, touted to be a healthy oil and a “superfood” is a “pure poison” according to some Dutch researchers, claiming there are no studies to prove it does your body better than other edible oils.

We have been warning the public about the danger of coconut oil since the early 80s as false claims flooded the market, together with various forms of coconut products, including virgin coconut oil.

The American Heart Association published a report a couple of years ago warning about the dangers of eating too many unhealthy, saturated fats, was a big blow against coconut oil, which is listed and characterized as one of the “unhealthy fats,” which raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels “more than any other liquid fat.”

The report further stated: “From a structural perspective, coconut oil is about 90 percent saturated fat (which is why it stays solid at room temperature). According to Harvard’s Walter Willett, that’s a far higher percentage than butter, at 64 percent, as well as beef fat and lard, both at 40 percent.” Olive and avocado fruits and oils are healthy food items.

Coconut oil is known to be good for the hair, and perhaps for the skin, but falsely marketed as a “superfood.”

As always, caveat emptor!

Fecal transplant One of the most recent popular topics in medical science is the microbiome, especially of the gastrointestinal tract. Microbiome, as the term suggests, concerns the microscopic life environment in and on our body. The gut microbiome (microbes in our intestinal tract) influences our metabolism, immunity, and mediator of resistance to some infections. There are good and bad microbes (trillions) on our skin and in our body, like the gut. The balance of their coexistence with us and our body determines our health and wellbeing. Our body needs both types of microbes, in harmony and in balance, for good health.

It has been reported that

the “distinct and essential organ within the human body, the gut microbiome contains an estimated 500-1000 species and 100 trillion organisms, encoding 100-fold more unique genes than our own genome.”

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea, for one, is caused by a disturbance in the balance of the microbiome milieu when the drug kills both types (good and bad) of bacteria in the body. The condition leads to Clostridium difficile infection, which has doubled in incidence in the U.S. alone from 1996 to 2003. In 2010, it was estimated to be half a million a year, resulting in 20,000 deaths a year.

To reestablish the original balance of gut microbiome, Fecal Microbiome Transplantation (screened donor human stools given to the patient) has been found effective in the management of C. difficile infection, which has saved countless lives.

The donor feces, blenderized and filtered, is introduced by enema or colonoscopy into the patient’s colon, aimed at providing the gut a normal flora of stool bacteria. FMT has been found to be very effective.

Stools, after all, are not a total waste.

NIOSH-N95 mask The government is providing free masks for all soon, a mitigating PPE that should have been distributed two years ago, followed by a federal mandate for vaccination for all when the vaccine first came out on December 11, 2020. Those two strategies would have ended COVID-19 in the U.S. before 2022. Mutations gave us Delta, Omicron, Deltacron and now a subvariant of Omicron, BA.2 virus, an even more rapidly transmissible strain (first found in Denmark late December 2021 and now 30,000 new cases per day, the 45-percent predominant strain in Denmark), nicknamed “Stealth Omicron.”

With the massive surges of these new variants, we can expect the virus to be all around us, on us (especially among the unvaccinated), flying in the air, and dropping on the floor.

Talking, breathing, sneezing, and coughing (without a mask) spews out the virus and transmits the virus to people around. Sneezing and coughing shoot the virus into a trajectory of 16.5 meters per second. Certainly beyond 6 feet. The more reason to

mask-up, perhaps doubly, or with a gaiter or a face shield on top of the mask. One can never be too careful in the presence of this stealth enemy. Even to a silly degree of protection.

The size of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) virus is 0.1-0.5 micron, 600 times smaller than a grain of salt, 150 times smaller than pollen, 25 times smaller than dust, 20 times smaller than bacteria.

The mask we need should have pores smaller than 0.1 micron to really prevent the virus from going through our mask and entering our nose and mouth. Unfortunately, such a mask does not exist (yet).

Cloth masks, using 100 percent cotton, found to be the best material among dozens of common fabrics, still has about 100 micron-size pores, which would allow (accommodate) 1000 viruses in one pore alone, making it a poor filter for COVID-19 viruses.

The NIOSH-approved N95 mask filters up to 0.3 micron.

During a high velocity cough, even N95 masks filters only 53 percent of small particles.

But reducing the viral load is always beneficial. Even 100 percent cotton, when made into a 3- to 5-layer mask, is still helpful, better than no mask at all.

NIOSH-N95 mask is still the best (when worn properly covering the nose also), compared to all the other masks, even expensive highend and designer masks.

The N95 could be doubled or reinforced with a gaiter or a face shield to maximize protection. Frequent handwashing, social distancing, avoiding crowds, and staying home except for essential travel are still the best weapons we have against the virus, which has so far killed more 5.6 million worldwide, greater than 890,000 in the U.S., and almost 53.6 thousand in the Philippines.

Cancer and diet Diets high in red meat, processed foods, and low in vegetables, fruits, and nuts are well-known causes of cancers in general.

High saturated animal fats and burnt meat (barbeques) are believed to increase the risk of pancreatic and colon cancers. Recent studies show the impact of diet on cervical cancer. Eating a variety of natural fresh whole food items (unprocessed, no preservatives, no additives), minimum red meats (twice

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Ylona Garcia moves to US for music career

By Nathalie

tomada Philstar.com

AFTER five years, Ylona Garcia left the country in 2020 to return to her hometown in Australia.

The move back home might have led some fans to think the 19-year-old singer-songwriter was opting out of a career in showbiz. At one point, the former Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) first runner-up went viral over photos of herself taking on a job at a popular fast food chain.

But contrary perhaps to the perception of some, she wasn’t leaving the industry behind, let alone quitting on her music goals.

In a recent interview with the press, Ylona disclosed she has since relocated to Los Angeles in the US and “I am staying here for good.”

She told The STAR: “The reason why I moved to the U.S. is because I want to start my career. Well, it’s always been my goal ever since I was young. Somehow, a part of me knew that I’d always end up here. Only because it was my goal. It’s always been a dream of mine.”

Ylona said the decision to base herself in L.A. happened even before she signed up with Paradise Rising — the sister label of the U.S.headquartered pan-Asian media company 88rising — which is dedicated to establishing and promoting Filipino artists globally and in partnership with Globe.

2022 is off to a good start for the Filipino-Australian singersongwriter. Ylona just released her first single for the new year, Entertain Me, under Paradise Rising/88rising Music.

Photo from Instagram/@ylona

or once a week), and a lot of green leafy vegetables and other colored veggies, nuts, and fruits lowers the risk for cervical malignancy and other forms of cancer. In the Philippines, about 5,000 cases of cervical cancer (caused

by Human Papilloma Virus) are detected each year, making it the second most common cancer in women.

The vaccine, Gardasil, which prevents cervical cancer almost 100 percent, when given to young boys and girls in grammar school before they become sexually active,

“I went to Los Angeles quite a few times and started creating songs, then started meeting a lot of cool people. And then, I ended up signing with 88rising,” shared Ylona who under her new label was able to drop two singles last year — All That and Don’t Go Changing.

Before 2021 closed out, she was included in the artist lineup at 88rising’s annual Asian music music festival, Head in the Clouds, in California, joining the likes of Fil-Am rap star Saweetie and Korean-American musician Japanese Breakfast.

2022 is off to a good start for the FilAussie artist. When The STAR had the chance to catch up with Ylona, she just released her first single for the new year, Entertain Me, still under Paradise Rising/88rising Music.

Produced by DNA and written by Ylona herself together with David Musumeci and Antonio Egizii, Entertain Me is an anthemic synth-pop number about girl power. With a soaring backbeat and a chorus that could send you looking for a dancefloor, Ylona sings about asserting independence and taking control over her life.

Most noteworthy about this single is that its release coincided with the launch of a new playable character in Riot Games’ wildly-popular video game, Valorant. The new character is named Neon, who in teasers has been described as hailing from Manila, speaks Tagalog and is one of the youngest agents “who can outpace the rest of the roster, shocking the competition, and sliding straight into the fight.”

Meanwhile, the music video for Entertain Me now has two million views following its YouTube premiere last Jan. 11. Ylona said of the music video and the collab with Valorant: “It was nice to put myself and be like in a sort of character when I performed Entertain Me. When I made that song, I felt really, really cool.

And Valorant thought that would be a great match to Neon. So, I felt very, very honored by that. But Neon is very cool. Very opposite to how I feel about myself sometimes, but it’s okay. She’s somebody that I want to be.” Here are more excerpts from the virtual chat with Ylona.

On starting a music career in the U.S.: “First of all, starting from scratch feels, at times, difficult, but at the same time, it feels really, really nice. Because this is something that I’ve always wanted ever since I was younger. So I feel very, very happy with where I am now.

PAGE 13

is a miracle drug all parents should welcome. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life.

Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intend-

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

Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.

SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua. com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com.

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Ogie thrives in vlogging By ronnie

CArrAsCo ManilaTimes.net

iii

SINCE he got into vlogging, (video blogging), I have come across at least two special editions that artist manager Ogie Diaz has mounted on his You Tube channel.

Why Ogie, also my kumpare, has busied himself with vlogging more than acting on TV is because of his explicable aversion toward lock-in tapings. Frankly, the multi-hyphenate refuses to be away from his family.

Fortuitously, his new preoccupation has been paying off so far, bringing in more financial rewards he can possibly imagine.

Next is Ogie’s feature on two brothers I stumbled upon by accident recently.

Ogie had to fly to Cebu to get Glester and Japet Capuno sit and get bombarded with intriguing questions about their unusual brotherly relationship.

Born 10 years apart, it was Glester among all siblings who took care of Japet. Not only did Glester help his younger brother with his school work, he also played father to whom Japet would run for whatever help.

The Capuno brothers, who are also into vlogging, have caught the attention of the netizens with the way they display their brotherly love for each other.

Out of sheer gratitude, Japet never fails to thank his Kuya by kissing him on the cheek — and don’t look now — in the lips. Isn’t it also downright weird that they would tightly embrace each other like a couple?

But no, theirs is not an incestuous relationship.

Glester confesses, “Marami ang nagmemessage sa akin na hindi raw sila naniniwalang magkapatid kami. Sabi nila, magdyowa daw kami. Pag ganu’n, bina-block ko na lang

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Gretchen shares 5 steps for taking care of your mental health

By Alex

BrosAs

Inquirer.net

FOR Star Patroller and entertainment anchor Gretchen Fullido, it is very important to look after one’s mental health. She thus spoke about ways to boost one’s mental capacity and shared it with fans.

First, she suggested a change of scenery or environment.

“A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health. It could be a five-minute pause from work or from cleaning your house, a half-hour lunch break at work or a weekend exploring somewhere new,” she said in her Instagram page on Sunday, Jan. 23, where she can be seen on a beach with her dog.

Second, she advised for people to have “me time” which is time alone with one’s self, because “a few minutes can be enough

to de-stress you.”

Third, she believes in taking a break through exercise and making one’s self fit.

“Taking a break may mean being very active — in sports, walking, running, swimming or just about doing any workout or it may also mean not doing very much at all,” she said.

Fourth, relaxing is also a form of improving one’s mental health. The broadcaster advised, “Take a deep breath… and relax. Try yoga or meditation, or just putting your feet up — you can do this wherever you are.”

Lastly, Fullido suggests to “listen to your body” and have enough time to sleep.

“If you’re really tired, give yourself time to sleep. Without good sleep, our mental health suffers too and our concentration goes downhill,” she said. “You deserve to REST. Sometimes the world can wait.” n

The comedian busied himself with vlogging more than acting on TV because of his explicable aversion toward lock-in tapings.

Photo from Instagram/@ogie_diaz

sila!”

Proof of their brotherly closeness is their openness to each other. Glester holds the key to Japet’s many untold secrets not even their parents are aware of.

Unknown to Glester, Ogie and Japet had been exchanging private messages prior to the appointed interview. Their agenda was to do a prank on Glester to determine Japet’s honesty.

Glester worked as a seaman when Japet badly needed money but wouldn’t pester his Kuya. Since their mom was cash-strapped, Japet had no recourse but to get the money from a gay acquaintance he had met up with at a mall.

Japet ended up at the gay friend’s condo unit.

All ears, the seemingly peeved Glester turned to Japet, “Bakit ngayon mo lang sinabi?” Feeling betrayed, Glester was seen clenching his fist, about to deliver a punch.

Ogie was quick to

announce it was just a prank, preventing Glester from what he was capable of doing.

The feature ended with the Kuya and bunso making a “walang iwanan anumang mangyari” pact.

While both will be happy if either eventually gets married, Glester and Japet hope it won’t happen soon.

Obviously, it’s not incest but in zest!

Anyway, going back to his many features, I have specially fancied two sitdown interviews with his Cebu-based subjects.

The first involves a selfless yet bubbly Cebuana music teacher whose vlogs have gone viral, and how?

Now making money out of her widely followed vlogs, she serves as an inspiration to other girls her age who have less in life and is surrounded by family members who depend on her.

Hers is a story of unflinching hope that there’s a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. n

Sharon on what she learned from FPJ and weight loss as a ‘commitment’ I WANT to be able to play with my future grandkids,” said actress Sharon Cuneta on why she “made a commitment” to lose more weight.

“It’s really for my health. Miguel (son) is 12 now. I don’t want to miss out. I had to commit to myself. I remember doing this in January 2016,” she recalled. “When you do it for other people, it’s not going to last. What I do is I talk

to myself. I say, ‘Kaya mo ito.’”

She further said: “[Six] years, I have been trying to lose weight. What people don’t know is that I’m almost half of my old bodyweight.

I’m 8 up here and 12 down here.”

Everything in moderation When asked about her regular workout regimen, the Megastar said: “I wish I could PAGE 15

Gretchen Fullido

Photo from Instagram/@gretsfullido

Ylona Garcia moves to...

PAGE 12 “I don’t think there was ever a moment where I wanted to stop pursuing music but, you know, I don’t think moving to any country would ever stop that… During the lockdown, I worked in McDonald’s, that was more of something that I have always wanted to do. And I decided, you know what, let’s do it while I have time, okay, but I never wanted to stop the music.”

On the inspiration and message behind entertain me: “So, this song was created during lockdown back in Australia. To be specific, it was created last 2021, Feb. 10 at 7:54 p.m. Basically, I was blessed with a chance to be able to catch up with my childhood friends in Sydney, Australia. And in catching up with them, we were sharing stories. And I found one thing in common about each of the stories, which was basically

feeling like you’re not given a chance, you know? I was still 18, and that age — you know, we’re all the same age — it just felt like a time where we were supposed to be an adult, feeling independent, feeling strong, but we didn’t feel like that at all. Which is really, really, really sad.

Therefore, I ended up writing the song Entertain Me. It’s about a person who basically plays by their own rules.

“My expectations back then when I was making the song was just to create an overall character with the essence of just being absolutely confident, 100 percent, with yourself. I mean like, it’s something that I absolutely aspire to, and I hope that it comforts me, kind of reminds me every day to be vocal about how I feel, to be confident with who I am. I hope that people across the globe will be able to get that message.”

On how she got into

songwriting: “I think this was during my stay at the PBB house (in 2015). Yeah, because I wrote the song Win The Fight there, one of the first songs that I’ve ever written. And then, I also wrote My Name is Ylona Garcia album (2016). I wrote quite a few songs and it was just, honestly, out of boredom. But it was a lot of fun. So, that’s when I kind of realize that this could actually be a lot of fun, to the point where I can actually pursue this as a career. And it can still be fun.”

On what’s next for Ylona: “That is an interesting question. Well, my goals would be to get into acting, so I guess that’s what’s next for Ylona Garcia. Also to put out an album. To also give my family a house. I have promised them one ever since I started my whole career in the Philippines.

That was one of my goals.” n

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january 28 - february 3, 2022 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

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people events arts culture entertainment

TURNING A MAJOR LOSS INTO A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Filipina doctor runs a company that offers free COVID-19 tests in NYC

by MOMaR

G. VisaYa / AJPress

ILIPINO American doctor and businesswoman Jona Jane Tajonera lost her older sister Gina to COVID-19 in April 2020. Back then, coronavirus was F well on its way to wreak havoc in New York City and make it the epicenter of the pandemic’s first wave.

Dr. Tajonera outside their Hell’s Kitchen site. She showed us the new batch of PCR tests that were just delivered to them that morning.

Tajonera credits her team for working extra hard to support her advocacy of getting more people in underserved communities, including the uninsured, to get tested. She said that her job has given her a different kind of fulfillment.

Tajonera showing their CLIA waiver certification from the New York State Department of Health, which allows them to conduct mobile testing around New York City.

Tajonera felt helpless. As a public health advocate (she holds both a Masters and a Doctorate in Public Health), she thought she could have done something to at least help her sister. She slipped into depression until she realized that more and more people were getting affected.

She began talking to some of her friends in the medical industry - doctors, lab technicians, nurses. She wanted to learn more about the virus and what she can do and realized that there was a need for testing.

Tajonera’s U.S. Mobile Care Group started to run mobile COVID-19 testing sites by setting up tents. Among her first locations were in Queens and the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, providing free tests to the underserved communities in the area.

Almost a year later, around May 2021, she saw the slowdown and entertained the thought of stopping the tests.

People were getting vaccinated and the infections began to dip. Less than a couple of months later there was another uptick.

“At that point, I looked at the data and realized that no, this is not going away,” she shared.

Armed with this knowledge, Tajonera got a van so she and her team could go to more underserved neighborhoods in the city. The response was good, so she decided to get another one.

Little did she know, she had turned a bad memory into a good and inspiring thing.

Today, U.S. Mobile Care Group has four vans and runs 22 testing sites providing free RT-PCR and rapid

Jona Jane Tajonera says she is doing all of these in honor of her sister Gina.

AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya

antigen testing around New York City to anyone who needs it. During the peak last month, they were testing up to 500 people per site daily.

She has partnered with Steinway Hope Medical, also a Filipino-owned primary care provider, and put together an MSO or management service organization to widen their reach. With this partnership, she is able to venture into more testing sites, including the United Nations twice a week.

Her team also does testing for the Metropolitan Opera, Clarion Society, a couple of high schools in Queens, and Montessori School.

For Tajonera, it’s not really a difficult job. On the contrary, she finds it easy

because she has created a system that works. It is tedious, yes, and sleep is a luxury.

Operating almost two dozen testing sites has become her life of late and it’s her interaction with clients that gets her going.

“Recently, one of our clients who tested positive previously saw me and he said ‘Thank you for doing this because if I didn’t see you here, if you’re not here, I would have been to my grandmother who is 90 years old, and I would have given her the virus and then she will give it to some of my cousins who will be visiting her as well,” she shared.

She is also proud of the strong, hardworking, and cohesive team that she has built to help her test people across the city.

Despite her exposure to possible clients who tested positive, Tajonera is thankful that she hasn’t contracted COVID-19 yet. She is extra careful since her 81-year-old mom Lerma lives with her in Brooklyn.

She would like to believe that she has a strong protector in her sister. Outside her home, she always double masks and gets rapid tested every day, and once a week, she gets the PCR test. She said she couldn’t afford to get infected because she’s immuno-compromised.

While rapid testing is of great help, she recommends getting the PCR test, which she calls the gold standard in COVID testing especially since she has seen several times people who test negative using the rapid test and positive in their PCR. She remembers the earlier days when they used to call the cases of PAGE 15

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • JANUARY 28 - FEbRUARY 3, 2022

Men should be given ‘allowance for mistake,’ Bianca Manalo thinks By

15

Alex BrosAs Inquirer.net

Sharon Cuneta

Photo from Instagram/@reallysharoncuneta

Sharon on what she...

PAGE 13 say I work out regularly, but I don’t. I really wish a could. I do the treadmill. I’ve recently rediscovered my love for swimming so I’m darker now.”

In terms of what she eats, Sharon said, “I didn’t remove carbs. I just lessened it. I got used to it. It’s all about how you train your tummy. What happens is that you keep eating and eating but you feel full really fast. I’m not into sweets, either.

Tinantanan ko na ang bread, which is really my weakness, as well as sweet drinks. I eat everything in moderation.”

Sharon said she refuses to force herself to start another weight-loss plan. “I’ve done so many diets before. When you stop, you gain more than what you’ve lost, and that’s harder to remove. These days, I just go for more protein and fewer carbs. It also helps that I have a happy disposition.”

Having a happy disposition also means she no longer takes her bashers too seriously. “I’ve learned how to best deal with them: Don’t give them power, just block. Part of having a social media account is dealing with them. They have nothing better to do, so don’t take what they say to heart,” she pointed out. “Listen to people who talk to you face-to-face. Don’t pay attention to those who just want to ruin your day. Why will you let them?

“I’m used to them now. Nine years ago, I would still get shocked. These days, not anymore. That is if I get to read their comments at all. I have an account admin. These comments automatically get deleted,” she declared.

Busy taping Sharon is busy these days taping for the long-running action-adventure series “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” where she plays the conflicted character Aurora.

In an interview, she paid tribute to the late actor Fernando “FPJ” Poe Jr., who first played the story’s main character, Cardo Dalisay, in the 1996 film version. “Pakikisama sa mga katrabaho, that’s what I learned from FPJ. He taught by example, not words. He became bigger in my eyes because he made himself smaller in order to reach out to other people. He treated everyone like his equal. He was the same to me and to the staff and crew he worked with,” Sharon said of FPJ. Working with ‘Da King’ Sharon worked with FPJ in two movies, “Kahit Konting Pagtingin”(1990) and “Minsan Pa” (1995).

“I remember I was taping for my show in ABS-CBN. He called me to ask if I could go to where he was. I said, ‘But I’m in a shoot.’ He said, ‘Nagyayabang ako dito na kilala kita.’ He was in a sari-sari store. When I did come, he told the old lady running the store, ‘See? I told you I know Sharon.’ The place was near Sto. Domingo Church. I just bought a bottle of soft drink and then went back to the studio,” recalled Sharon.

Sharon said she understood while working with FPJ why people called him “Da King.” She explained: “He had an awesome public persona. He was one of the biggest stars and yet he was very humble. While other stars tend to regard highly of themselves, FPJ was the perfect example of humility with the way he took as his responsibility to earn the respect of everyone around him. He was truly a good person.” (By Marinel Cruz/Inquirer.net) n

ACTRESS Bianca Manalo feels that like her Carol Manansala character in “The Broken Marriage Vow,” she would not spill the beans on the extra marital affairs of her friend’s husband, because men should be given “allowance for mistakes.”

“Actually, parang si Carol ‘yung alam niya lahat, pero kahit gusto niyang sabihin, ayaw niyang manira ng relasyon, eh. Hindi niya hahayaang makasira ng taong in a relationship,” Manalo said about her character during the online press conference for the TV series last Jan. 17. (Actually, Carol is the type who knows everything, but even if she wants to say what she knows, she does not want to ruin a relationship. She will not allow herself to ruin someone in a relationship.)

Manalo plays friend to Jodi Sta. Maria’s Dr. Jill Ilustre character, who is married to David Ilustre played by Zanjoe Marudo.

While she knows about Dr. Jill’s husband’s extramarital affair, she refuses to tell Dr. Jill about it.

“Kung may alam ka,

Bianca Manalo

Photo from Instagram/@biancamanalo

tago mo na lang sa sarili mo. Hindi mo naman ‘yun story to tell, eh. Malay mo, maayos din naman nila, ‘di ba?” she added. (If you know something, just keep it to yourself. That’s not your story to tell. Who knows, they might be able to fix it.)

Manalo said that in real life, she would follow her character’s decision not to tell her friend about her husband’s infidelity.

“Feeling ko, ako, hindi ko

sasabihin. Alam kong babae din ako. Paano kung sa akin gawin ‘yun?” she asked.

“Paano kung maayos pala nila, ‘di ba? Tapos nasira mo na,” she explained.

(I feel like I won’t tell it. I know that I am also a woman. What if it’s done to me? What if they could have fixed it, but you already ruined it?)

Manalo then recalled a dialogue in a movie where it said that men should be given second chances.

“Ang mga lalaki, nagkakamali naman ‘yan, eh. Sabi nga doon sa isang pelikula, dapat binibigyan sila ang allowance for mistake kasi may pagsisisi at may reconciliation naman na nangyayari.”

(Men do really make mistakes. As it was said in a movie, they should be given allowances for making mistakes, because there’s repentance and reconciliation anyway, eventually.) n

Filipina doctor runs a company...

PAGE 14 vaccinated individuals getting infected as “breakthrough cases” because on the week of December 13 last year, she noticed that 85 percent of those that tested positive were vaccinated.

“Of course we know naman for a fact that even vaccinated people can still get infected but with the omicron variant, ang daming vaccinated ang nag positive,” she remarked. “That was quite alarming.”

Based on their figures, she identified what vaccine those who tested positive had.

“That’s where I started to see that Moderna is better against omicron than Pfizer or J&J. There were more people who tested positive that had Pfizer as vaccine,” she shared.

Also based on her experience with four of her staff vaccinated with Moderna who tested positive, all of them had no symptoms.

This drives back to her point why testing is necessary, something that the New York Times feature on Tajonera focused on: “Test, test, test, test and test some more.”

“This is the best thing to stop the spread. You have to realize that the

vaccine is not really a cure. It’s just another layer of protection. So it’s like me wearing a mask and also, sanitizing and social distancing,” she explained.

“You could still get a virus with the vaccine, but at least you’re a little bit more protected, and also to minimize the hospitalization and also the other effects of COVID.” The Times article is more than a source of pride for this Filipina from Mindoro. She shared that they have received congratulatory calls from Texas, California, Florida, and the Philippines as well.

“Nakakatuwang isipin na may effect siya. At least, more people now realize that testing is key,” she said.

Tajonera laments the fact that almost two years into the pandemic that has killed almost 5.6 million people globally and almost 900,000 in the United States alone, there are still plenty of people who are hesitating in getting the vaccine.

She said she knows some anti-vaxxers personally and her best efforts to tell them about the benefits of the vaccine have fallen on deaf ears. She even had to let go of an employee from another office because she did not want to get vaccinated.

“It makes me sad that there are people like them. Some of them even tell me that there’s really no COVID-19,” she said.

So instead of training her energy on them, Tajonera decided to focus on the things that she can do from within. Her next move is more about the long-term both for her and the clients they hope to help navigate the effects of long COVID. Her advocacy does not stop in testing since she wants to extend her company’s services to clients who test positive, particularly the patients who may have developed long COVID or the long-term problems brought about by getting infected.

Some of these patients may have developed cardiology, respiratory and gastroenterology problems or pain management and mental health issues.

She has built a strong team of doctors and specialists, including a mental health counselor, as she takes her idea to the next level.

“My goal is to get mobile urgent care van that can go around or we can actually go in one location, do some testing, like EKG and sonogram that we can do in the van so the patient doesn’t have to go all the way to anywhere else,” Tajonera said. n

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