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Newer COVID-19 strain

XBB.1.5 emerges as dominant in LA County

A NEWER COVID-19 Omicron strain, XBB.1.5, has emerged as dominant in Los Angeles County, according to the most recent analysis of local COVID samples from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health).

XBB.1.5 accounts for 32.8% of sequenced COVID-19 specimens in Los Angeles County for the week ending Jan. 21, outcompeting BQ.1.1, the previously dominant strain.

While new emergent strains have the potential to drive surges in transmission, Los Angeles County is currently reporting a steady number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations compared to the week prior, with deaths slightly lower from what was seen for most of January.

Other parts of the country with significant transmission of XBB.1.5 also have not seen significant increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.

California homeless crisis looms as Gov. Newsom eyes political future

SACRAMENTO — Driving through the industrial outskirts of Sacramento, a stretch of warehouses, wholesale suppliers, truck centers, and auto repair shops northeast of downtown, it’s hard to square California’s $18 billion investment in homeless services with the roadside misery.

Tents and tarps, run-down RVs, and rusted boats repurposed as shelter line one side of the main thoroughfare. More tents and plywood lean-tos hug the freeway underpasses that crisscross Roseville Road, and spill into the nearby neighborhoods and creek beds.

At one of the more established encampments, Daisy Gonzalez used canvas and carpet scraps to fashion a living room outside her cramped RV. Inside, Gonzalez took a quick hit of fentanyl, and turned to a mirror to apply a fresh face of makeup. As the opioid coursed through her body, her anxiety settled, her thoughts grew more collected. But she knows the addiction can’t end well and recounted a half-dozen failed attempts to get clean.

“I really need to get off this ‘fetty’ and stay

Marcos to bring home 35 investment pledges from first state visit to Japan

MANILA — The Philippines has clinched 35 investment pledges from Japanese companies looking to expand their business portfolio in the country.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Friday, February 10 witnessed the signing of 35 letters of intent between the governments of Philippines and

Japan, as well as Japanese firms. Letters of intent  signify foreign companies’  interest in investing or expanding operations in the Philippines. They may or may not translate to actual foreign direct investments in the future. The business pledges, which are projected to

PLDT, MVP slapped with US class action lawsuits

Disgruntled investors cite drop in share value

by TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD Inquirer.net

PLDT Inc. and its top executives, including Manuel V. Pangilinan, are facing class action lawsuits in the United States arising from the P48-billion budget mess, which disgruntled investors blame for the drop in the telco giant’s share prices that in turn caused trading losses.

In a document obtained by the Inquirer, investor Sophia Olsson filed on behalf of other plaintiffs—which can be “hundreds, if not thousands”—the case in the U.S.

District Court, Central District of California this week. Olsson and the other investors—who purchased PLDT securities between Jan. 1, 2019 and Dec. 19, 2022, referred to as the class period or time when the alleged crime transpired—are represented by The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Law firms Bernsteid Liebhard LLP and Robbins LLP likewise filed class action suits, according to their separate notices.

The plaintiffs, led by Olsson, are demanding compensation for damages the

Duterte to executive: Support police war on drugs

by DIANA LHYD SUELTO Philstar.com

MANILA —   Former President Rodrigo Duterte wants the executive department to issue a strong statement supporting the police in its fight against drugs.

“There is a need for concrete statement, a very strong statement coming from the executive that we will protect you when you do it right and we will crush you if you do it wrong,” Duterte said in mixed English and Filipino in a video posted on Thursday, February 9 by Nimfa Ravelo on Twitter.

choose what is right, all of us will be happy,” he added in Filipino.

Duterte, who the International Criminal Court is investigating for the war against drugs during his term, also warned those involved in the illegal drug trade.

“I am no longer a president, but I am warning you,” he said.

“There is a need for concrete statement, a very strong statement coming from the executive that we will protect you when you do it right and we will crush you if you do it wrong,” former President Rodrigo Duterte said in mixed English and Filipino in a video posted on Thursday, Feb. 9 by Nimfa Ravelo on Twitter.

Philstar.com photo

“There are only two options –right and wrong. Choose. If you choose what is wrong, you will be in a dangerous situation. If you

Meanwhile, the rights group Karapatan told a team of experts led by United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz that the infrastructure of impunity and draconian government policies, aside from the lack of capacity on forensic pathology, are the main factors in the non-resolution

generate jobs for Filipinos should they materialize, came from Japanese companies in the industries of energy, transportation, healthcare, renewable energy and business expansion, among others.

“The government of the Philippines has been  PAGE A2

Pope names third Filipino bishop in US

by CHRISTIAN CROW MAGHANOY

ManilaTimes.net

POPE Francis has appointed Monsignor Anthony Celino, a Filipino immigrant, as auxiliary bishop of the diocese of El Paso in Texas.

Celino is currently the pastor of St. Raphael Parish on the eastside of El Paso in Texas and the diocese’s judicial vicar. He will replace Bishop Mark Seitz. Celino will be El Paso’s first auxiliary bishop since its establishment as a diocese in 1914. The episcopal ordination for Celino will be on March 31, 2023 at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso.

“We thank the Holy Father for his attention and care for the Diocese of El Paso,” said Seitz in a statement. “He [Celino] brings a unique experience as a Filipino immigrant serving our border community as a priest for the past 25 years, a steadfast dedication to pastoral ministry, and fidelity to the Gospel.”

Born in the Ilocos region, Celino finished his studies in Philosophy at the Mary Help of Christians Seminary in Dagupan City in 1993. He later immigrated to the U.S. and pursued his theology studies at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.

death of two Filipinos in Turkey quake

Marcos ‘deeply regrets’

by DAPHNE GALVEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — President

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, February 10 expressed “deep regret” over the death of two Filipinos in Turkey, which was rattled by a 7.8-magnitude quake early this week. He then gave assurance that

the government, particularly the Philippine embassy, is working “tirelessly” to verify and consolidate information on Filipinos affected by the earthquake.

“It is with deep regret that we learn of the passing of two Filipinos in the recent 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated  PAGE A5

Marcos to bring home 35...

working to deepen the confidence in the Philippines of foreign investors and companies,” Marcos told  Japanese businessmen who were present at the event.

Latest central bank data showed Japan accounted for nearly 18% of FDIs in the Philippines in 2021. At the same time, the Philippines was  the biggest recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA) in Southeast Asia from  April 2021 to March 2022.

As in previous administrations, it is common for the president’s bilateral meetings with other countries’ state officials to lead to new business partnerships and investment deals from foreign companies.

In his first State of the Nation Address in 2022, Marcos vowed to woo more foreign investors to set up shop here and make the country “an investment destination.”

'A  place where your businesses will thrive'

During the event, Marcos said: “And it is our hope that companies such as yours will not only find the Philippines to be an attractive investment destination, we are designing our efforts to encourage you to stay and find our country to be a place where your businesses will thrive.”

The signing comes a day after the first bilateral meeting between Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Specifically, the commitments include an automobile

manufacturing expansion project and a commitment renewal to meet production targets with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. There were also pledges for a factory expansion project with Japan Tobacco Inc. and a printer manufacturing expansion project with Brother Industries, Ltd. Other businesses that have pledged projects or agreed to partner with the Philippines are DoubleDragon Corporation/ IwataChizaki Inc., which will involve a hotel construction project; Kurabe Industrial Co, Ltd. which will create a new autoparts factory; and Marubeni Corporation, which involve energy, transportation, healthcare and afforestation projects. (Cristina Chi/Philstar.com)

Duterte to executive: Support police war...

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of cases of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the country.

In a statement issued on

Thursday, February 9, the Karapatan said their group held a meeting with Tidball-Binz’s team on Tuesday, February 7.

“Karapatan welcomes the recent unofficial visit of Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz and two experts on the Minnesota Protocol regarding trainings on investigations into ‘unlawful deaths.’ However, it isn’t solely the lack of capacity on forensic pathology or knowledge of international human rights norms that are affecting government investigations on cases of extrajudicial killings,” Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said.

“It is a systemic problem driven by government policies such as those on the drug war and counterinsurgency programs –policies which have resulted in the mass murder of Filipinos, mostly from poor communities. As long as there is no acknowledgment of these impacts and as long as these policies remain, extrajudicial killings and a host of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law will continue,” Palabay added.

Tidball-Binz and two other experts – Dr. Stephen Cordner, a professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University, and lawyer Kingsley Abbott, director of Global Accountability and International

Justice at the International Commission of Jurists – on Thursday concluded their threeday visit in the country.

Tidball-Binz, Cordner and Abbott are experts on the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Deaths, a set of guidelines for investigating deaths that may have been caused by human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings, torture, or disappearances.

The team arrived in the Philippines last Tuesday upon the invitation of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to aid the Department of Justice in its capacity building efforts and in its plan to install at least one forensic pathologist in each of the country’s 17 regions.

But apart from holding a capacity training for government doctors, Tidball-Binz’s team also conducted dialogues with stakeholders and various advocate groups.

During the dialogue, Karapatan said that government laws and policies such as Executive Order 70 creating the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act, coupled with arbitrary and erroneous terrorist designation of peace consultants, human rights defenders and social movements, and the policy of “judicial harassment” and red-tagging serve as “prelude” to worse violations such as

Pope names third Filipino bishop...

persecution and extrajudicial killings.

“For years, the government has been supported by foreign institutions with millions of funds for supposed trainings on human rights, including those for forensic investigations, and yet, aside from the lack of improvement in the human rights situation in the country, there is blatant and brazen disregard for civil liberties and basic rights,” it claimed.

The group reiterated its call for an independent investigation by the UN Human Rights Council and an official investigation by UN Special Procedures into the reports of EJKs and other rights violations in the country, on top of the International Criminal Court’s resumption of investigations into the killings in connection with the drug war of the previous administration. Tidball-Binz’s team also held a dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights on Thursday though the details of the discussion are yet to be revealed to the media.

“Dr. Tidball-Binz is here in his capacity as a forensic expert not as a UN special rapporteur. But nevertheless, I think he will take this opportunity to conduct a series of engagements with stakeholders. Maybe that’s the reason why he also scheduled a visit in our office. The purpose of the meeting is for him to know what is the human rights situation on the ground. 

After his ordination in 1997, Celino was assigned as Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso and then at Our Lady of Peace in Alpine in Texas. He also served

as the pastor of the former Santa Lucia Parish which is now St. John Paul 2nd Parish. In 2003, he obtained a licentiate in canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington.

Celino is the third FilipinoAmerican priest to be named bishop in the U.S. The two others are Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City and Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro Aclan of Los Angeles City. n

Newer COVID-19 strain XBB.1.5 emerges as...

Los Angeles County remains in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection’s (CDC) Low COVID-19 Community Level for the fourth consecutive week.

Currently, Los Angeles County’s Low Community Level included a seven-day case rate of 69 new cases per 100,000 people, stable from the week prior. The seven-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is currently 7, with no change from last week. And the 7-day average of the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 4%, the same as it was the week prior.

Because the new dominant strain has more potential to cause infection, Public Health officials are asking residents, especially those who are most vulnerable to severe outcomes, to consider using common-sense protections, such as getting the bivalent booster, testing before large gatherings, and seeking immediate treatment, if sick.

People over 50 and those with common health conditions,

including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, kidney or liver disease, or being overweight, are at greater risk of having severe illness or death from a COVID-19 infection. They and the people around them should take extra precautions to stay safe and healthy.

Bivalent boosters offer significant protection even against the newer COVID strains circulating now, including XBB.1.5. In Los Angeles County, unvaccinated people are more than six times more likely to be hospitalized and eight times more likely to die when compared to people who have received the updated bivalent booster.

The bivalent booster is free and available to adults and children ages 6 months or older two months after their last COVID-19 vaccine or booster.

Free vaccines, boosters, testing and treatment remain widely available throughout Los Angeles County. Visit a communitybased test to treat site or access telehealth services by calling 1-833-540-0473. Health services for homebound residents also are available.

For more information, visit

VaccinateLACounty.com.

“I extend my deepest sympathies to those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19. Please accept my condolences and wishes for comfort and healing,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “I continue to be encouraged by the COVID numbers we are seeing in LA County. Amidst the optimism, I know we all need to continue to support those who remain impacted by COVID-19, particularly residents who are older, immunocompromised, have disabilities, and those with many exposures during the course of their day. Care options, including free telehealth services, therapeutics, and vaccines are available and continued access remains our top priority.”

Public Health on Friday, Feb. 10 reported 22 additional deaths and 1,482 new positive cases. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 35,425. There are 689 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. 

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2022 INCOME. Bureau of Internal Revenue-South Pampanga district officer Arnel Cosinas (right) and deputy Liza Dimaya present their total collection last year at their office in San Fernando, Pampanga province on Friday, Feb. 10. Revenues reached P10 billion. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

PLDT, MVP slapped with US class action...

defendants allegedly caused upon them due to violations of federal securities laws, which have yet to be proven.

PLDT and its officials allegedly “misrepresented and failed to disclose the following adverse facts pertaining to the company’s business, operations and prospects, which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them,” the plaintiffs said.

The plaintiffs noted that press releases related to capital expenditure and other spending during the four-year class period did not include the budget snafu until December last year.

The court filing cited numerous reports from 2019 to 2022 to back the claim.

On Dec. 16, 2022, PLDT disclosed that it had incurred billions-worth of budget overrun from 2019 up to last year due to “over orders” related to rollout of 5G and wireless services, among others. The adoption of the fastspeed technology did not take off as expected as shown by the low 5G penetration in the market, the Pangilinan-led telco explained

earlier. “As a result of defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the company’s common shares, plaintiff and other class members have suffered significant losses and damages,” according to the court filing.

It was previously reported that PLDT American Depository Receipts dropped by more

California homeless crisis looms as...

than 23 percent on Dec. 19 following the budget overrun disclosure. On the same day, PLDT shares traded via the local bourse plummeted by nearly 20 percent to P1,192 each, wiping out around P62 billion in shareholders’ value.

Inquirer reached out to the telco giant for comments about the law suits but have yet to receive a response.

Since the budget debacle has emerged, PLDT said it has been conducting an investigation to get to the bottom of the issue. But it had stressed that no fraudulent activities were uncovered so far.

The telco player is negotiating with vendors to slash their obligations, in addition to seeking for payment deferral, to mitigate the impact of the overspending on their bottom-line.

PLDT is also set to scale down its capital outlays this year. In 2022, it earmarked P85 billion in capital expenditure.

The Pangilinan-led company previously announced plans to borrow about P35 billion to P45 billion in the next two years to fund its capex, dividends and general corporate matters. 

clean, but it’s so hard out here,” said Gonzalez, 32, her eyes welling. She turned back to the mirror, finishing her eye makeup. “I want to get help and find a program, but there’s no treatment around here. It seems like nobody cares.”

Across California, homelessness is impossible to escape. Steep increases — Sacramento County saw a 67% rise in its homelessness count from 2019 to 2022 — have so far blunted unprecedented government efforts to fund housing and treatment for people living on the streets. And although some communities have made progress, statewide the gravity of the crisis has deepened.

Encampments have mutated into massive compounds proliferating with hard drugs and untreated mental illness. “Isn’t there supposed to be all this money and housing?” asked Gonzalez’s boyfriend, Joe Guzman, an exconvict who enforces rules for their encampment. Guzman said he has experience in construction but can’t find a job because of a felony drug record.

“Everybody out here is using,” said Guzman, 38, checking their emergency stash of naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, on a brisk November morning. “What else are you going to do, especially when it’s this cold? You have to be numb.”

At its heart, California’s homeless emergency stems from a long-standing shortage of affordable housing. But it is also a public health crisis: The encampments are rife with mental health and addiction disorders. Rats and roaches are endemic, as are stagnant sewage and toxic camp smoke.

Gov. Gavin Newsom brims with frustration — and purpose and new ideas — when confronted with what has become an age-old question for California leaders: Why, for all the money and good intentions poured into helping people out of homelessness, does it look worse today than ever?

Experts on homelessness say California stands out as the state that has done the most in recent years to address the issue, yet communities are struggling to make headway.

“Some people are demoralized,” Newsom said last summer, unveiling a strategy to fund housing for homeless people with mental health and addiction disorders. “Some people have,

frankly, given up — given up on us, given up on the prospect that we can ever solve this issue. And I want folks to know that they shouldn’t give up.”

Newsom has muscled historic investments of public funds to combat the crisis, wresting a staggering $18.4 billion in taxpayer money in his first four years for initiatives directly targeting homelessness, a KHN analysis found. And more money is on the way: Spending is projected to grow to $20.5 billion this year.

As he wades into his second term as governor, the stakes are higher. He has signaled his ambitions for national office and speculation abounds that he’s positioning himself for a presidential run. He has cast himself as a vanguard for liberal values, taking out ads to goad the Republican governors of Texas and Florida for their conservative politics and publicly chiding fellow Democrats for being too meek in their response to the nation’s culture wars, including a right-wing assault on abortion and classroom speech on issues of race and gender.

On this national stage, California’s squalid tent cities loom as a hulking political liability, ready-made visuals for opponents’ attack ads. Newsom’s legacy as governor and his path forward in the Democratic Party hinge on his making visible headway on homelessness, an issue that has stalked him since he was elected mayor of San Francisco two decades ago.

And Newsom is recalibrating, injecting a new sternness into his public statements on the topic, something akin to “tough love.” He is enjoining local governments to clear out the unsanctioned encampments that homeless advocates have long defended as a merciful alternative in a state woefully short on housing options. And he is demanding that cities and counties submit aggressive plans outlining how they will reduce homelessness — and by how much — as a precondition for future rounds of funding.

“We have written checks, but we’ve never asked for anything in return,” Newsom told reporters in August. “That has radically changed. We mean business. It’s unacceptable what’s going on in this state.”

Newsom has set in motion a costly, multipronged battle plan, in many ways a grand experiment, attacking homelessness on

multiple fronts. Through his brainchild “Project Homekey,” the state has plowed about $4 billion into converting dilapidated hotels and motels into permanent housing with social services. Billions more have been allocated to cities and counties to clear encampments and open additional shelters and supportive housing.

Separate from that, his controversial “CARE Court” plan seeks a novel approach to compelling people languishing on the streets with untreated psychotic disorders to get treatment and housing. It melds the “carrot” of a court-ordered treatment plan, to be provided by local governments, with the “stick” of the prospect of courtordered conservatorship if people deemed a danger to themselves or others refuse to participate.

Newsom allocated $88 million to launch the initiative, and state funding is expected to grow to $215 million annually beginning in 2025.

That’s on top of his CalAIM initiative, which over five years will invest roughly $12 billion into a blitz of health care and social services with the goal of improving health in low-income communities and averting the financial crises that can land people on the streets. This includes direct interventions like emergency housing assistance, as well as unconventional support like help with groceries, money management, and home repairs.

Philip Mangano, a longtime friend of Newsom’s who served as national homelessness czar during the George W. Bush administration, credited Newsom for using his political might to take on a seemingly intractable issue like homelessness after so many administrations ignored it.

“Yes, we are spending a lot of money, and yet the problem is getting worse,” Mangano said. “But look, the largest investment ever made in the history of our country, on homelessness, came from Gavin Newsom. He sees himself as responsible for taking care of the poorest Californians, and homeless people. I’ve known him over 20 years, and there’s no question that’s where his heart is.”

Still, putting the issue front and center is a serious gamble for someone with Newsom’s ambitions.

“Doing nothing puts him in peril, but doing something — he runs the risk of failing,” said Darry

 PAGE A5

Manuel V. Pangilinan Inquirer.net file photo

DATELINE PHILIPPINES

More teen births involve older fathers – PSA

by MARLON RAMOS Inquirer.net

MANILA, Philippines — Six to seven percent of babies born to adolescent girls from 2016 to 2020 were fathered by men 10 years older than the mothers, while a majority of teen moms’ male sexual partners were three to five years older than them, according to government data presented to the Senate on Tuesday.

The numbers from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) gave senators, policymakers and public health advocates a picture of the alarming rise of adolescent pregnancies in the Philippines, many of which involve violations of the statutory age of sexual consent.

Presiding over the Senate hearing, Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on state agencies to work together to stem adolescent or teenage pregnancy.

Hontiveros said she was particularly concerned about the PSA data showing that 2,299 girls aged 10 to 14 gave birth in 2021, slightly higher than the 2,113 live births from the same age group a year before.

“As legislators and leaders of implementing agencies,

everyone here in the room has a responsibility for each and every one of these young parents,” Hontiveros said at the hearing of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality.

Pregnant kids younger Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who initiated the inquiry, pointed out that while pregnancy among girls 15 to 19 years old had been going down since 2016, based on the PSA figures, the opposite happened among those aged 10 to 14.

From 2016 to 2020, live births from that age group rose by 11 percent, the data showed.

“According to the PSA report, majority of the registered adolescent live births involved men who were three to five years older than the girls,” said Angara, chair of the Senate youth committee.

“Even more concerning was the data on fathers who were more than 10 years older than the teenage mothers, which the PSA pegged at 6 to 7 percent annually from 2016 to 2020,” he added. The PSA figures were supported by a separate data set from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which found that a total of 203,085

Marcos ‘deeply regrets’ death of two Filipinos...

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Filipino girls aged 10 to 19 gave birth in 2016.

The number slightly dipped in 2017 (196,478) and 2018 (183,000).Dr. Leila Joudane, UNFPA country representative, said 59 percent of registered adolescent births in the Philippines were fathered by a man older than 20 years old.

“Teenage pregnancy is not only a health and education problem, but an economic development issue,” she said.

“We need to promote men and boys’ engagement. It’s not just an issue of women, of adolescent girls only. It’s an issue of [the] entire society,” she added.

The data prompted Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to plead with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. to arrest and prosecute adult men who enter into sexual relationships with minors, noting that Republic Act No. 11648, signed into law in March 2022, raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16.

“I urge the PNP and the DOJ (Department of Justice) to immediately prosecute these violations of the statutory rape age law. Rape is a heinous crime,” Zubiri told reporters. 

Türkiye,” Marcos said in a Twitter post. “The Philippine Embassy continues to work tirelessly to verify any and all information on Filipinos affected by the quake,”

he added. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the two fatalities were among the three Filipinos earlier reported missing due to the quake.

The other Filipino, the DFA said,

“has fortunately been found alive.” There are 34 evacuees composed of Filipinos, their spouses, and children who are currently bound for Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the DFA also said. 

California homeless crisis looms as...

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Sragow, a Los Angeles-based political strategist. “People want strong, tough leadership and progress on this issue, but if Gavin Newsom is going to make headway in reducing homelessness, he’s going to have to have a pretty stiff spine.”

* * * Daniel Goodman slept on sidewalks, in a tent, or on a jail bunk throughout much of his 20s and early 30s. Now 35, he only in recent years committed to a regimen of psychiatric medication and counseling for schizophrenia, a condition he was diagnosed with at 24.

“I didn’t want to take medication for a lot of years; I absolutely refused,” he said, eager to discuss a change of heart that has enabled him to reclaim a life with his mom in a comfortable neighborhood in the Gold Country city of Folsom.

Tall, with a bright smile and rock-’n’-roll hair, Goodman said he was addicted to methamphetamines for a decade, self-medicating to calm the voice in his head he calls “the witch.” He panhandled, pushed shopping carts, and bellowed his agony in public fits of rage. It was a hungry, ragged existence during which he cycled from the streets to jail on charges of drunk and disorderly and then back to the streets.

His mom, Susan Goodman, in her form of tough love, eventually closed her home to him after his untreated illness devolved into threatening behavior, including stealing from her and a violent bout of vandalism during which he shattered every window in her house.

“I lived from second to second, and I didn’t have anything to eat or blankets, so I’d think, ‘What can I steal?’” Daniel said. “I put my mom through a lot.” Her heart broken, Susan would seek out her son on the streets, bringing supplies to his tent. In 2019, after a particularly cold spell, he begged her to let him come home. She responded with an ultimatum: He could move back home if he agreed to get clean and

stay on his meds.

Susan, a lawyer, is among thousands of parents who support Newsom’s CARE Court initiative. For years, families who have watched in despair as children or siblings lost themselves to untreated mental illness have petitioned lawmakers to make it easier to mandate conservatorship and treatment, and CARE Court is a major stride in that direction.

Eight counties, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Riverside, have volunteered to launch the program this year. All 58 counties will be required to start programs by the end of 2024.

Newsom calls it a paradigm shift. Pushing the measure to passage meant standing against virulent opposition from civil and disability rights groups that argued people have the right to refuse treatment, and warned of a return to the horrors of forced confinement depicted in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

“There’s no compassion in stepping over people on the streets and sidewalks,” Newsom said as he signed the Community Assistance, Recovery & Empowerment, or CARE, Act into law last fall. “They need intervention — sometimes that’s tough.”

Some county leaders have also balked, saying Newsom is sentencing people to a system of care that doesn’t exist. They worry a crush of patient referrals will overwhelm county behavioral health systems. They say they need more money, more time, and funding streams guaranteed year after year.

“There isn’t enough treatment capacity. And we can write a prescription for housing, but the reality under CARE Court is we don’t have what it takes to fill that prescription,” said Michelle Doty Cabrera, executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.

“It’s a matter of having the level of funding and housing that is going to help that person be successful.”

Newsom’s response to the

pushback has grown heated. He points out that local governments already get billions every year to provide mental health services and that recent state budgets have included funding to expand the system of care.

“I’m exhausted by that — $15.3 billion we’ve provided,” Newsom said at a January news conference, referencing homeless investments over the past two years. The state has provided “unprecedented support,” he said, pounding his fist on the podium. “I want to see unprecedented progress.”

Dr. Tom Insel, who formerly led the National Institute of Mental Health and has served as an adviser to Newsom, credits the governor for bold efforts to direct resources and attention to  PAGE A7

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL RAIL AUTHORITY IFB NO. EP232-23 END-DOOR SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) is seeking Bids for End-Door System Improvement. Bid documents may be downloaded at SCRRA's website at http:// www.metrolinktrains.com/ contracts. Bids are due on 3/16/23. The contract to be awarded will be funded in part by grants under the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transportation Administration and is subject to an DBE Participation Goal of 5.05%. For further information contact: Dorothea Cantero, Contract Administrator, at canterod@scrra.net.

2/11/23

CNS-3666411#

ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

Personnel changes

NO explanation accompanied the Malacañang announcement about the ouster of Yogi Filemon Ruiz as chief of the Bureau of Customs. Ruiz headed the BOC’s enforcement and security service before he was picked to head the bureau in July last year. He previously also served as a regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Ruiz has been replaced by Bienvenido Rubio, a native of Batac, Ilocos Norte who rose from the ranks in the BOC. Rubio headed the port operations service of the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group prior to his promotion to the top post in a bureau that has long been hounded by controversies involving smuggling and corruption.

Editorial

In the previous administration, PDEA officials had lamented that tons of shabu were entering the country under the noses of BOC personnel. These days, the bureau has been under fire for what appears to be the continuing smuggling of agricultural products including onions, going by the results of recent raids.

Related to agricultural commodities, Malacañang has also restored Leocadio Sebastian to his post as undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture. Sebastian resigned in August last year after he approved the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar amid a shortage that saw prices of the commodity soar by about 100 percent from December 2021 levels.

The importation was not cleared with President

Commentary

FOLLOWING the recent visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III to the Philippines, the government unveiled plans to designate four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites. This announcement was immediately met with protests from leftist groups that raised the issue of the Philippines being dragged into a possible conflict over Taiwan between China and the U.S. due to the former’s provocative actions in the region. The protests expressed fears that our country would be used as a staging ground for U.S. military intervention in the region, and called for the abolition of Edca which was described as a manifestation of subservience to U.S. interests.

To allay such concerns, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. issued a statement saying that the implementation of Edca would not only boost Philippine security, but also help spur economic investments while preserving and protecting maritime and natural resources. So, is an expanded Edca a benefit or a liability to the

Marcos, the concurrent agriculture secretary, and certain quarters insisted there was no shortage that would justify importation. As prices surged, however, not only of sugar but also of processed foods that use sugar particularly soft drinks and juices, the shortage became real enough for the government to approve in September the importation of 150,000 MT of white refined sugar. Experts said the importation was too little, too late; regular retail prices still range from P92 to a whopping P138 a kilo.

Sebastian, who was later cleared in the sugar mess, is now in charge of the DA’s rice industry development program. This comes amid warnings that the country could face another rice crisis this year. Sebastian, an agricultural scientist, had served for nearly a decade as director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

Experts have cited structural weaknesses and problems across the agricultural value chain. The personnel movements must be part of an effort to address problems besetting the agriculture sector and national food security. Let’s hope the personnel changes lead to positive results. (Philstar.com)

country’s national interest and security?

Looking at the positions and arguments posed by both sides, it appears that it is both a benefit and a liability. It may be recalled that the Edca was signed in 2014 to address China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea and to respond to natural disasters.

In his recent statement, Galvez noted that it is an important component of our country’s right to develop and improve its defense capabilities. We do, after all, have a maritime territorial dispute with China and, while our efforts to modernize our military is laudable, it is doubtful that the Philippines in this lifetime would be able to achieve military parity or sufficient capability to deter Chinese aggression on its own.

Hence, the importance of an alliance with the U.S. in our national defense strategy, where Edca is part and parcel of the framework.

But it is one thing to defend against Chinese aggression because that is our fight, and we should be willing to pay the price to protect our territory and uphold our sovereignty. However, it is a whole other matter to be dragged into a conflict that is inimical to our interest, such as a war over Taiwan that will directly involve the U.S. in armed hostilities

against Chinese forces. In that scenario, our commitment as a treaty ally of the US becomes a liability because our geographic location makes those Edca sites ideal staging areas for U.S. operations.

Even if we are not expected to participate in the conflict, we are very likely to be pressured to support the effort by allowing access to those sites. How China will react to that is anybody’s guess, but it will definitely respond. It doesn’t have to be a military strike; China has many tools at its disposal that could make things difficult for our country.

Ideally, we can all hope that war doesn’t break out and that a tense peace can be maintained in perpetuity. But hope does not make for a reliable and effective policy or strategy, especially when China is adamant about reintegrating Taiwan with the mainland and is willing to go to war to attain that goal.

While calling for the abrogation of Edca as well as the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement may allow us to avoid getting sucked into a possible armed conflict over Taiwan, what happens to our defense posture and strategy in the West Philippine Sea? We will essentially be on our own in dealing with China

in that scenario. I wonder what the Filipino fishermen who have been harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard and prevented from fishing in our waters have to say about that. Maybe we can also just hope that China would be nice enough to let us be? Going back to the question of whether an expanded Edca would be a benefit or a liability, it now becomes a matter

of determining which one outweighs the other in terms of the risks involved and the opportunities presented. At this point, the benefit prevails as there is a need to enable both the U.S. and China to cancel out each other’s advantages, so they would refrain from embarking on something that will destabilize the region as the cost to them will be quite high.

ICC probe: Justice in limbo

A MAN of his word, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra followed through on his promise to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Late last week, on Feb. 3, 2023, the Philippine government filed its appeal against the Pre-Trial Chamber’s (PTC) decision authorizing the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to resume its investigation in the Situation in the Philippines.

Notably, the appeal against the order includes a rider: the application for “suspensive effect.”

The most tedious task of legal studies is engaging with the litany of law. Hours on end, students scour through hundreds upon hundreds of pages on the off chance that they will be called for a minute recitation on the likes of Javellana v. Executive Secretary (1973)—the Ratification Cases

imprinted in minds across the nation not just for its doctrine but for its length. Make no mistake, I’m no pretender. I myself have enjoyed my share of digest or two (for nonlegal readers: “digest” is law school parlance for “case summary”). Indeed, I was even contracted as a case writer by the Cambridge University Press to provide the official summaries of choice jurisprudence that have international elements. Yet for all my Okhamian pragmatism, even I have to admit that there is nothing quite like reading the originals. If not for the detail and nuance, for the security that comes with reading something official, or pseudoofficial, in the case of Supreme Court Reports Annotated, CD Asia Online, or even Arellano’s Lawphil Project—as compared to, say, a digest off Scribd.com. If a digest fails to make sense, chances are the problem is with the digest reader/writer. On the other hand, if despite all efforts the original case itself fails to

make sense, well, perhaps we could pin the blame on the case itself! Perhaps it’s not just bad judicial writing but, worse, bad judgment.

But in the case of the Philippine government’s most recent move, there’s no need for summaries just yet for what was filed was simply a notice of appeal which, as rightfully pointed out by the government counsel, must only state, without the need for further elaboration, the “name and number of the situation; the title and date of the decision being appealed; the specific provision of the Statute pursuant to which the appeal is filed; and the relief sought.” (Regulations of the Court No. 64(1))

Is that it? Certainly not.

Rest assured, the appeals process before the ICC is no perfunctory measure. The meat of the argument will come in a separate pleading to be filed no later than Feb. 21, 2023.

Regulation 64(2) goes on to provide that, within 21 days of notification of the decision, the

appellant shall file a document in support of the appeal. In turn, this document “shall set out the grounds of appeal and shall contain the legal and/ or factual reasons in support of each ground of appeal” in accordance with a proscribed list of formats and formalities. So what’s next, you ask?

Well, much like our domestic proceedings, the OTP would have 21 days to file its own response, should it decide to. But unlike our domestic proceedings, the appeal would not necessarily lead to the world of in-court jousting a la Suits. Rule 156 of the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) states that “the appeal proceedings shall be in writing unless the Appeals Chamber decides to convene a hearing” and—perhaps even furthest from domestic practice— that “the appeal shall be heard as expeditiously as possible.”

On its face, the Philippine government challenges the case on questions of admissibility and jurisdiction. In so doing, the

government counsels appear to reach for the heavens. But in truth, it is simply limbo that they seek. Behind all the legalese lies their true intent: not the dismissal of the case, but the suspension of the investigation.

Pursuant to Article 82(3) of the Rome Statute (Statute) visà-vis Rule 156(5) of the RPE, the suspension of the impugned decision is not automatic and may be made upon request. And lo and behold, the government’s Feb. 3, 2023 submission contains such a request.

As pronounced by the ICC itself, “neither the Statute nor the RPE stipulate in which circumstances suspensive effect should be ordered.”

The “decision is left to the discretion of the Appeals Chamber,” subject to “specific circumstances of the case.”

The threshold question is “whether the implementation of the Impugned Decision would create an irreversible situation“ of adverse consequence to the appellant (Prosecutor v. Lubanga Dyilo, ICC-01/04-01/06-1290,

* * * 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.

* * * Moira G. Gallaga served three Philippine presidents as presidential protocol officer, and was posted as a diplomat at the Philippine consulate general in Los Angeles, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC.

Appeals Chamber, April 22, 2008).

In the case at hand, the PTC had simply authorized the OTP to resume its investigation. At best, the PTC decision simply generated a situation where the OTP may proceed to investigate and hopefully receive Philippine cooperation. At worst, the situation is one where the OTP will conduct its investigation parallel to the alleged “ongoing” investigations by Philippines authorities. From my view, there is no “irreversible situation” here and, thus, no merit to the suspension of the PTC decision. The onus lies with the appealing party. It lies with the Philippine government. Absent a showing of the adverse and irreversible, the appeal should be denied. (Inquirer.net)

* * *

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

* * * thinkjustly@gmail.com

MOIRA G. GALLAGA

US Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, arrive at Subic Bay International Airport ahead of Balikatan 22 in the Philippines in March 2022. Inquirer.net file photo

Manila named world’s ‘most loving capital city’

by MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB Philstar.com

MANILA — Are you a Manila resident? Chances are, you just sent all your loving to a crush, but in a tweet.

Love is in the air in the city of Manila, according to a  global  word analysis  from Crossword Solver, which called the Philippine capital the “most loving city in the world.”

In its website, the word search tool analyzed geotagged tweets from all over the world that contained variations of the phrase “I love you” and those that contained the heart emoji.

“We could calculate the proportion of loving tweets per 100,000 overall to determine which location was more loving than others,” the website said.

Manila turned out to be the “most loving  capital city in the world” with 1,246  “loving tweets” per 100,000 tweets.

Manila even trumped the city associated with romance – Paris, France – which did not land in Crossword Solver’s top 20 ranking.

It seems Manila residents had the most “hugot” lines on Twitter by sharing their emotions or terms of endearment online.

“Younger generations are also known to wear their heart on their sleeve online: the concept of  hugot  (a Filipino word meaning to express deep emotion) is spread among friends, family and romantic partners through poignant quotes, music and videos,” Crossword Solver said. But love need not be romantic. It may be platonic in the Filipino culture, and the most notable form of love for Filipinos is that for family.

“Love is at the core of most families, and immediate and extended families are considered  important  in Filipino culture,” according to Crossword Solver. The website cited a 2006-2007 Gallup study that found that 93 percent of people in the Philippines reported feeling love on a typical day, the highest proportion of any country in the world.

In the Gallup poll, which quantified feelings of love from

residents in 136 countries, Philippines was “the world leader in love” with 93 percent of the population reported feeling love.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said the findings showed that city residents are “very vocal on how they feel.”

The other capital cities in the top 20 list are Guatemala City, Guatemala; Luanda, Angola; Jakarta, Indonesia; Mexico City, Mexico; Bogotá, Colombia; Algiers, Algeria; Asunción, Paraguay; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Caracas, Venezuela; Kabul, Afghanistan; Tehran, Iran; Santiago, Chile; Quito, Ecuador; Tokyo, Japan; Singapore; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Hong Kong, and Minsk, Belarus.

Only major capital cities with more than 10,000 tweets and with a minimum population of 1.5 million were included in the analysis.

The most loving  country is  Guatemala, with  2,217  “loving tweets” per 100,000, and the most loving city in the world is Cochabamba,  Bolivia with  2,878  loving tweets. 

DOJ, Immigration tackle measures to expedite cases of erring foreigners

MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is ready to sit down with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to discuss measures on how to expedite cases faced by erring foreigners before the country's courts.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Thursday, February 9 that these concrete actions to be taken will help them decongest their holding facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The BI reported that the facility has a capacity of 140 wards, but is currently housing more than 300 deportees.

This came after the deportation of four Japanese nationals tagged in the controversial "Luffy" case in Japan. Among them is "Luffy" who allegedly ran a gang responsible for a series of violent robberies in Japan while in detention at the BI facility through the use of mobile

phones.

Tomonobu Saito, 45, and Yuki Watanabe, 38, have both been deported Wednesday, February 8 on board a Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo.

“Yesterday (Wednesday, Feb.8), we received confirmation that the local cases of the two remaining suspects have been dismissed by the courts. This means there is no more legal impediment for us to implement their deportation. We thank the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their continued assistance in expediting the resolution of the local cases of these deportees, so we can finally send them back for them to face their crimes,” the BI chief said in a statement.

Tomonobu, with a known alias of Kojima Tomonobu, and Yuki, with known aliases Kenjie Watanabe and Kenjie Shimada, were both arrested on April 19, 2021 in a hotel in Parañaque City by the BI’s intelligence Division,

PH, Japan eye forming security triad with US

by HELEN FLORES Philstar.com

THE Philippines and Japan have agreed to strengthen military and security ties as well as disaster response cooperation, including holding joint military exercises, with an eye to forming a security triad with the United States.

Tokyo and Manila are also in preliminary discussions over a key defense pact that would allow them to deploy troops on each others’ territory for training and other operations.

Japan, which invaded and occupied the Philippines during World War II, has recently inked similar deals with Britain and Australia.

of GDP by 2027 and designating China the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to its security.

U.S. role Kishida indicated that both countries are looking at including the U.S. in the security cooperation and joint activities. The U.S. has separate security treaties with the Philippines and Japan.

together with the National Bureau of Investigation. Tomonobu is considered a wanted fugitive in Japan, with a standing arrest warrant for theft, while Yuki reportedly has an arrest warrant for use of counterfeit official marks and theft.

On Tuesday, February 7, two more Japanese fugitives, Fujita Toshiya and Imamura Kiyoto, both 38 years old, have been sent back to Tokyo on board a Japan Airlines flight.

All four were deported for being undesirable aliens due to their status as wanted fugitives.

“Luffy has finally been deported. We wish to also thank the Japanese government for their cooperation in our efforts to expedite their return,” Tansingco said.

As a consequence of deportation, the Japanese nationals have been included in the BI’s blacklist, effectively barring their return to the Philippines. (PNA)

California homeless crisis looms as...

the nexus of mental illness and homelessness. Research indicates roughly 1 in 20 Americans have a serious mental illness, but for unsheltered homeless people, it’s 1 in 4, Insel said. He sees CARE Court as a “twosided mandate,” making counties legally liable for providing services for people whose survival is at risk because of untreated mental illness while putting individuals on notice that they are responsible for accepting that help. Still, he worries the state’s homeless population is so overwhelming in scope, their isolation so entrenched, that it will be difficult to make headway.

“You can have all the clinics and all the medicines and all this good stuff to offer, but if people aren’t engaging with it, it’s not going to help,” Insel said. “And if there’s no relationship and no sense of trust, it’s just really difficult to engage.”

For Daniel Goodman, the return to mental health took both carrot and stick. Looking back, he can see his refusal to take his prescribed medication after being diagnosed with schizophrenia — he felt “freer” without it — set him on a dehumanizing spiral. A primal need for food and shelter led him to ask his mom for help. But without her “hammer” — the ultimatum — he would not have agreed to treatment. And without the medication, he said, no doubt he would be back on the streets, at the mercy of his vicious “witch” and scraping to survive.

“I’ve battled this question [of needing medication] for years,” he said, reaching for his mom’s hand in her sunlit living room. “I accept it now.”

* * *

If California is to make a visible dent in its homeless numbers, affordable housing presents the most daunting challenge. The state lacks the extensive shelter networks common in places with colder climates — an estimated 67% of people living homeless in California are without shelter.

And in recent decades, a mire of zoning restrictions and real estate development practices have transformed the housing market, jacking up rents and home prices and shrinking the options for lowwage workers. For every person moved off the streets, many others stand a paycheck or medical emergency away from losing their housing.

The longer people live on the streets, the more their health deteriorates. Addiction and mental health problems deepen. Chronic diseases advance.

“There’s almost nothing as destructive to health as homelessness, and there’s very little that the health care system can do to make up for it,” said Dr.

Margot Kushel, director of UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. “You just fall apart.”

The arrival of covid-19 — and fears the virus would carve a deadly swath through shelters and encampments — gave Newsom an unexpected opportunity: open housing units in record time by throwing pandemic emergency funds at the problem and circumventing land-use restrictions and environmental reviews that can drag out approvals.

In 2020 he launched “Project Roomkey,” converting dilapidated hotels and motels into temporary housing for homeless people deemed vulnerable to serious covid infections. That morphed into a program to convert underused structures into permanent housing, and today the retooled Project Homekey has laid the groundwork for more than 12,500 housing units.

But much of that is one-time funding for start-up costs. If cities and counties want to participate, they are required to put up money for ongoing operations and services. And many have decided it costs too much to buy in.

“I really wanted to pursue a project, but it just doesn’t work for a lot of rural counties,” said Jaron Brandon, a supervisor in Tuolumne County, a forested province in the Sierra Nevada.

“Rural areas like ours have much lower tax revenues, and we had to figure out five years of funding, so when you start adding up all these costs and requirements, all of a sudden, we can’t afford to think big. It starts cutting into critical issues and basic services like funding roads and wildfire response and public safety.”

Cities taking part in Project Homekey find it’s hard to move fast enough when the newly homeless keep arriving. An estimated 172,000 people were homeless in California in January 2022, a nearly 13% increase since Newsom took office in 2019.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg welcomes Newsom’s push to more aggressively reduce homelessness. He also sees the confounding reality on the ground. The city and Sacramento County have poured millions into new shelter beds and permanent housing, only to see the homeless count surge to 9,200 in 2022, thousands higher than two years prior.

“We have housed over 17,000 people — undeniable success” — in the past six years, Steinberg said. “But it’s not success in the eyes of the public, understandably so, because all we see out on our streets is increasing numbers.”

The agreement came as the two nations confront China’s growing assertiveness in the region particularly in the South China Sea where Beijing has built island fortresses and harassed nonChinese vessels.

The two nations’ security commitment emerged after a meeting between President Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday, February 9. The agreement is also expected to speed up military deployments for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

They also signed several other deals, ranging from infrastructure loans to cooperation on agriculture and technology.

“After our meeting, I can confidently say that our strategic partnership is stronger than ever, as we navigate together the rough waters buffeting our region,” Marcos said following talks with Prime Minister Kishida.

Japan is “one of the Philippines’ closest neighbors and closest friends,” Marcos later told reporters.

But for now, the leaders are taking an incremental approach to defense cooperation, probably to avoid provoking Beijing, said Renato de Castro, professor in the International Studies department at De La Salle University.

“Both countries are still very much aware that they have touched a sensitive nerve in China (by) creating the possibility of an Asian encirclement of China,” De Castro said.

In Beijing’s view, “this might be the beginning of an Asian NATO. Because you really have Asian countries strengthening and enhancing their security partnerships.”

Worried about Beijing’s growing assertiveness on Taiwan and bases in the disputed South China Sea, Manila has been repairing ties with Washington that were fractured in recent years.

Given its proximity to Taiwan and surrounding waters, cooperation from the Philippines would be key in the event of a conflict with China.

“We will also look into ways to promote our defense equipment and technology cooperation and to strengthen cooperation amongst the Japan, the United States, and the Philippines,” Kishida said.

He said Marcos’ visit gave Japan a renewed momentum for the two nations to further upgrade bilateral partnerships for them make further contributions to the peace and stability of the region and the world.

“With regards to our security cooperation, I explained to the President such matters as Japan’s national security strategy and the President welcomed Japan’s commitment to the free and open international order based on rules,” he said.

Japan is also the Philippines’ biggest diplomatic source of active development assistance, according to Manila, and its second-largest trading partner.

It is the only country to have a bilateral free trade agreement with the Philippines.

Steinberg asked himself: “How is it that we are successful in getting tens of thousands of people off the streets only to see the numbers grow?”

Jason Elliott, Newsom’s deputy chief of staff, runs point on homelessness for the governor. He said the question of how to close the homeless spigot is motivating them to think bigger and be more aggressive.

Clear out encampments, and at the same time connect people with housing and services. Steer more federal dollars into homeless response. Amend state land-use laws to enable counties to site and build housing faster. Turn the state Medicaid system, Medi-Cal, into a tool to combat homelessness by marrying health care and housing — for instance, funding the first and last month’s rent and asking insurers to work with landlords to find housing for homeless people.

Elliott rattled through a list of reasons he thinks explain how the problem got so entrenched. California is generous with benefits. Its climate is hospitable. The extraordinary cost of living. He also reinforced the administration’s prime strategy: It’s not just about more money, but forcing cities and counties to go harder at the problem with the resources they have.

“The most important thing that we have to do as a state is build more housing and get more people into services, and fundamentally that is a local government responsibility.” Elliott said. “Local government are the providers of behavioral health services, and they are the ones who choose whether or not housing gets permitted.”

As the administration takes its “just get it done” message across the state, those involved are keenly aware there’s a wider audience.

“There’s a broad sense in this country that we’re falling apart at the seams, and homelessness is part of the proof, to voters, that we’re falling apart. People want this problem fixed, and they want resolute leadership,” said Sragow, the Los Angeles strategist.

“The country is watching. Gavin Newsom has a record of getting out front on big national issues. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.” (Angela Hart/Kaiser Health News)

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

His trip comes a week after Manila announced a deal giving U.S. troops access to another four military facilities in the Philippines.

Japan last year announced a major defense overhaul, pledging to double defense spending to the NATO standard of two percent

On Thursday, February 9, the countries also agreed loan agreements and extensions for Philippine infrastructure projects, including $3 billion to finance major commuter rail projects. 

DRIED AND YUMMY. Dried goods such as “tinapa” (smoked fish), squid and “longganisa” (sausage) sold at the Kadiwa store at the intersection of Hillside and Dos Castillas Streets in San Juan City on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Kadiwa stores are set up in different places in the city, as part of the government’s move to bring affordable and high-quality agricultural products closer to the public. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

WKND

Atty. Gur nkel answers immigration questions from Kapamilya in Las Vegas in Part 2 of Citizen Pinoy’s ‘Your Tanong,

LEADING U.S. Immigration Atty. Michael

J. Gurfinkel continues to answer immigration questions from Pinoys who made the trek to Radiant Beauty Skincare Med Spa in Las Vegas.

It can be said that the place where one goes to get clearer skin also became the venue to get clearer answers to their immigration concerns for that day.

• Roland wants to know if his wife can

My Sagot’

petition her half-brother.

• Rowena wants to petition a housekeeper from the Philippines. She needs to know what the requirements are and how long the process will take.

• Cora, who is a green card holder, would like to petition her six siblings. She wants to know if it is better for her to become

SB19’s Ken is out to change the P-pop genre for the long haul

by HANNAH MALLORCA Inquirer.net

THERE are many words to describe Felip Jhon Suson of SB19: charismatic, distinctive or even a chameleon. But with the ever-evolving P-pop scene, he’s surely worthy of a new title as a solo artist—a game changer.

Armed with “Palayo” and “Bulan,” Felip has emerged as a daring artist who’s fearlessly unapologetic through the debut extended play “COM • PLEX,” a record that mirrors his emotions, thoughts, experiences and complexities as a human. But for him, it’s also a six-track love letter to his fans—known as A’TIN and Sisiws—hoping they will embrace the deepest parts of themselves as well.

Just a week after the release of “Complex,” INQUIRER.net connected with the 26-year-old singer for a chat about his newest record and his eagerness to push the boundaries of his own artistry.

“I wasn’t expecting that this was

really gonna be an album when I started, I just enjoyed working on songs and sounds that I like at first,” Felip admitted, as he looked back on his creative process for the album. The record contains

LIFESTYLE CONSUMER GUIDE COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE

Sam distances self from Toni issue

KAPAMILYA actor Sam Milby doesn’t want to answer the rumors that ABS-CBN stars are boycotting Toni Gonzaga’s ALLTV program “Toni.”

upcoming movie with Judy Ann Santos “The Diary of Mrs. Winters,” Sam said Toni was his first love team partner, so he doesn’t want to comment.

“It’s such a hard situation and it’s something hard to answer and I don’t want to comment. Toni was my first love team, of course, and I’ll always love the

works we’ve done,” he said.

“ABS gave me my career and it was like nu’ng nagaudition ako sa PBB (‘Pinoy Big Brother’), it was direk Lauren (Dyogi) who choose me in that emergency audition that I did. And if not for ABS, I won’t be here,” he added.

The 10th anniversary celebration of the ‘Friends of FAPCCA’ was a huge success

THE “FRIENDS OF FAPPCA” was founded in 2013 in pursuing the mission and success of the “FRIENDS OF FAPPCA”. This Club represents an impressive heritage of TEN years of talented and caring friends serving this community. Proceeds of this event will benefit the various projects of The FRIENDS OF FAPPCA, designed to provide opportunity for non-press members to assist the community by getting involved in supporting the ideals, objectives, projects, and activities of the Press Club of California, which include helping the young and struggling journalists and photographers.

On Sunday, January 29th, the “FRIENDS OF FAPCCA (Press Club)” held its 10-year Anniversary at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Whittier, hosted by Ramona Marie Soriano. The gala was attended by over 250 guests in their elegant formal evening attire in royal blue or silver color. Haydee Gallardo, a composer and award winning singer led the StarSpangled Banner, and Amber Venaglia, a ten-year old talented recipient of many singing and outstanding youth achievement awards, rendered the Filipino National Anthem. Invocation, led by Monet Atienza Mural, followed.

Ms. Cora Aragon Soriano gave Welcome Remarks and acknowledged the distinguished guests. Thelma Calabio, The

Friends of FAPCCA founder, introduced the guest of honor, Hon. Consul General Ed Badajos, who gave a very impressive Inspirational speech.

Hon, Consul General Badajos installed the newly-elected Friends of FAPCCA Officers and Board of Directors, assisted by Founder Thelma Calabio and Lissa. Pacheco Chow, FAPCCA President Elect. Ms. Corazon Soriano, newly installed President of FAPCCA gave an acceptance speech. The cutting of the 10-year Anniversary Cake followed.

Gloria Wangdali Zubair, Membership Chair, gave a brief overview of the benefits of Friends of FAPCCA membership. The newly installed FRIENDS OF FAPCCA President, Ms. Corazon

Atty. Gurfinkel answers immigration...

PAGE B1

citizen first.

• Jessica, who came to the Q and A session with her mother, Marosa, wants to know why it is taking so long for her siblings to get an interview date at the U.S. Embassy in Manila even if they are already Documentarily Qualified.

Tune in to Part 2 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot,” with Kapamilya from Las Vegas, Nevada on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, February 12 at 6:30

PM PT (9:30 PM Eastern Time through select Cable/Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app. (Advertising Supplement)

Soriano, performed the Candles and Roses Induction Ceremony of 13 New Members.

In between the Installation of the officers and directors and the Induction Ceremony, The Jazzers performed the Broadway Classic Dance, and LE CHIC performed the Egyptian Dance.

Thank you to our sponsors: Margie del Rosario Canlobo, Jeanette Espenida, and Anna Lyra Venaglia.

Ramona Marie Soriano, the Mistress of Ceremonies, thanked everyone for the opportunity of serving as emcee. Margie Canlobo, Board of Directors Chair, gave the Closing Remarks, and thanked all the distinguished guests, board members and sponsors for their support. Guests dancing followed. g

Rhizomes

“PANTA hypoménei. This means that love bears every trial with a positive attitude. It stands firm in hostile surroundings. This “endurance” involves not only the ability to tolerate certain aggravations, but something greater: a constant readiness to confront any challenge. It is a love that never gives up, even in the darkest hour. It shows a dogged heroism, a power to resist every negative current, an irrepressible commitment to goodness… .”even the race that hates you most has some good in it.” – Pope Francis, ‘The Joy of Love’, 2016 I got this gift, a book on “The Joy of Love” from Fr. Camilo Pacanza in 2016, with a dedication: “The joy in loving is guaranteed by loving one another As Jesus loves us. Thank you for giving me that kind of love.”

I wanted to capture an inspiring quote that describes the dogged determination of Ted Benito, Acting Executive Director of Apl. de.ap Foundation, to showcase Philippine culture with so much love. Ted has shown a growing love for his Philippine roots and culture.

Each October, Ted meticulously shares vignettes of Filipino American icons, heroes and public figures. From August through October, he produces public events to share the graceful, artistic, and elegant features of our culture in its highest evolved forms.

In three decades, performing artists have been privileged by good sounds, good acoustics, good staffers, well maintained artistic spaces at the The Aratani Theater at the JACCC, The Hollywood Bowl, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Carnegie Hall (just tossing in for fun!) and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

With adequate sound checks, and proficient sound engineers, memorable cultural experiences become heartfelt gifts for families. Artistic and cultural development for families

Much has changed since the first poster that came out in the 1920s: “Positively No Filipinos Allowed”, captured by Sprague Talbot at the lobby of an American hotel. As we aspire to grow hallowed, highly respected

beings in our community, our exposures to culture cannot ever be empty, hollowed out, or depicting hateful and mean traits of the American society.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta who posted this image on Instagram: ”It’s a constant reminder of BOTH where we’ve been –the hate we’ve endured, the injustice we’ve suffered— AND how far we can go if we fight, demand and push.”

Isn’t it fitting that the Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) performed in NY, Florida and Los Angeles during Filipino American History Month last year, with performers from the homeland, Ted reflected on what that evening was, as producer?

“I am delighted to bring the PBT experience to our LA audience, I‘m also very happy that Rev. Fr. Rodel Balagtas, the first Filipino pastor at Incarnation Church in Glendale, and the Filipino Ministry are part of this special night,” said Rosie Chua, who donated a significant portion of the ticket sales to the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as the event’s executive producer.

These cultural spaces have evolved into giving opportunities, but also exposures to our children, on what they can become.

As first generation Filipino immigrants and parents of second generation Filipino Americans, a Filipino connected to our cultural roots is a must. Or we become empty gongs. It is a conscious undertaking for aspiring to see our own role models represented in the mass media, newspapers, and cultural spaces. Unless these spaces are consciously created, our culture is left on the wayside, for casual appropriation. Hence the conscious undertakings of Ted, supported by Rosie Chua and an array of sponsors to have these artists perform, and as respectfully and with integrity.

Charles Akau and Jamie Borromeo Akau, drove an 80 mile-round trip to attend the PBT’s event with Ava, their four year old daughter. Even before the show began, Ava instinctively jumped, rotated her body, leaped with hands extended, and smiled. She was practicing her ballet moves.

Mom Jamie posted: “We went to the Philippine Ballet Theatre tonight [October 30, 2022] and it was so inspiring!

Why representation matters… as someone born and raised here in the States, I never saw a professional Filipina ballerina when I was growing up. I didn’t want Ava to have that same

experience. I wanted to show her what is possible for people who look like us. Tonight was important for the dreams of my 4yo and I can tell it affirmed her identity. After the show she told me, ”Mama, I wanna be a ballerina when I grow up!” Yes, my love. One day you will be!”

Creating respectful cultural spaces are a gift from Ted’s and Rosie’s hearts, and a gift of conscious parents to their child, Jamie and Charles, resonating richness to multiple souls for weeks to come, where over 400 came to watch PBT.

‘Creativity is the natural attitude of the soul’

We all know that businesses thrive on a sense of purpose and growth, while individuals grow with creativity and soulful activities. With these creative spaces, we shoo away the blues and withering of the human spirit.

In 2020, when arts in public squares were frozen by the coronavirus pandemic, we said prayers for our collective wellness in the world. No country was spared by this pandemic.

In August 2021, producer Ted Benito mustered his courage and filled up Ford Amphitheater, all 700 spots, showcasing the best Filipino American performers in hip hop and comedy. It felt like a reunion of Northern with Southern Californian residents, some even flying from the East Coast.

In August 2022, Ted produced a spectacular over-two-hours show showcasing #M4D, Martin Nievera’s 40 years in music, as a composer and as a singer in the best acoustical stage, Disney Hall [though with acoustical glitches from a less than seasoned sound engineer for the louder songs].

That night, 1,201 folks attended. I showed vignettes of PBT’s ballet scenes to my 7-year-old granddaughter, for this piece, #princess2015la, a pseudonym, who enjoyed ballet lessons taught by her French teacher, chosen by her consciously loving parents. Each time we passed by the mall strip, she would recall how she took ballet and now, her teacher has returned to France. The longing for ballet lessons is quite palpable.

These are her observations:

First part is where a pair dances to “On the Wings of Song”, and my 7-year-old granddaughter said: ”As the lovely music was playing, the ballerina danced along the spotlight. With her partner, they made gentle moves. They pirouetted [a rotation of spin with a complete turn of the body

Induction of New Members: L-R Emmalice Silverio, Noni Alfonso, Cely De Sagun Anuran, Bele Romero, Cora Aragon Soriano, Judith Contreras, Haydee Gallardo, and Jeffrey Jimenez, not in the picture: Cheryl Klein, Chien Wang, Zen Melo, and Chien Wang

Installation of Officers & Directors: (L-R) Jeanette Espenida, Gloria Wangdali Zubair, Monet Atienza-Mural, Agnes Puno Gonzalez, Thelma Calabio, Hon Consul General, Cora Aragon Soriano, Lissa Pacheco Chow, Margie del Rosario Canlobo, Bernadette Alessandri, Ging Pardorla-Ragasa, Anna Lyra Venaglia; Second Row: Nonie Belarmino, Ryn Canolo, Geno Quiocho, Jessie Damandam Emcee: Ramona Marie Soriano

Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel answers the questions of Roland, Rowena, and Cora (clockwise from top right).

Jessice (center) and her mother, Marosa, (left) asked Atty. Gurfinkel (right) about a delay in her siblings’ Embassy interview.

Prosy AbArquezDelAcruz, J.D.

The joy of watching the Philippine Ballet Theater

“Movie Fan” featuring the ladies of the PBT touring company in 2022.

“Tuwing Umuulan”

The joy of watching the Philippine...

on one foot], and leaped. After, they bowed, and got up.”

When I asked her what pirouetted meant, she demonstrated it and added,“they also had beautiful dresses.”

Her first level observation synchronized with the synopsis. It was a story about a boy who grew up in the province, alongside a girl whom he played with, until sunset. In that playful interaction, they grew to love one another. But, the boy has dreams and sets out to chase them. Tempted by the city’s other beauties, he kept pushing them away, recalling his happy memories of love and finally returns to the countryside where his heart belongs to the woman he left behind.

Full cast in Act I had Alexis Piel, Carl Lacaba, Gabrielle Jaynario, Gladys Baybayan, Jimmy Lumba, Kim Abrogena, Maika Samson, Mara Francisco, Matthew Davo, Regine Magbitang, Sophie Tiangco, Therese Riego, and Veronica Atienza.

Of the twelve dance scenes, what appealed to me were dances to the images of the ‘sorbetero’ – a portable ice cream cart with three chambers, encased by dry ice and a vendor scoops from the three available flavors onto an ice cream cone. It made me feel warm inside, recalling ice cream treats given to us by our hard working parents, including a trek to the cinema to watch the latest movies, exposing us to a better imagined future, distancing us from the squalor of poverty just feet away from where we lived, with the constant smell of stench of decaying garbage, coming from improper waste management by government authorities.

When the theme song to “Please Be Careful

With My Heart” was played, I started singing along some of the lyrics of this famous teleserye that we collectively raved about amongst friends and community. I recall falling in line for hours just to get a glimpse of my then favorite stars when they visited Los Angeles on an ABS-CBN sponsored tour.

I came to represent the Asian Journal in Los Angeles’ writer.  I recalled the stolen glances of Maya (Jodi Santa Maria) to her Sir Chief (Richard Yap) and Sir Chief admiring Maya’s transformation from nanny to an educated professional.

It was that chemistry we were looking for from the pair of Alexis Piel and Veronica Atienza, “You are my first romance and I am willing to take a chance/ that till life is through/

I’ll still be loving you. I will be true to you/Just a promise from you will do. From the very start/Please be careful with my heart.”

It is a forever love that we swoon over, to never be forgotten and that dance sealed Act I for me and even more so with the beautiful women who danced at the very end. The dancers were Kim Abrogena, Veronica Atienza, Sophie Tiangco, Maika Samson, Regine Magbitang, Gabrielle Jaynario and an all 13-member cast, with five men.

Serye at sayaw resonated beyond

When Act II introduced the songs of Jose Mari Chan — a legendary 55-year presence in the music industry as a singer, composer and lyricist — the music even gained heightened meaning. Amongst friends, these songs by Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera and Piolo Pascual are well liked.

I, too, was having my own 3D experience as Veronica Atienza brilliantly interpreted the song of “Ikaw.”

“Ikaw” was sung by Martin Nievera; the lyrics below were so endearing that it made me remember his spectacular Disney Hall performance months before.

Ikaw ang bigay ng Maykapal (You are a gift from God)

Tugon sa aking dasal (The answer to my fervent prayer)

Upang sa lahat ng panahon (So that for the time that goes by)

Bawat pagkakataon (Every opportunity)

Ang ibigin ko’y ikaw (I get to love you)

Ikaw ang tanglaw sa aking mundo (You are the light in my world)

Kabiyak nitong puso ko (The other half of my yearning heart) Wala ni kahati mang saglit (No one even in a split of time)

Na sa iyo’y may papalit (There will be no one else)

Ngayong kailanman ikaw (Now and forever, but you)

I showed the ballet dance vignette to my 7-year-old former ballerina, a descriptor that my granddaughter wants me to stress, former: ”The man is performing with a woman. It is a love scene and they are dancing with split kicks, leap kicks, circle split and pirouetted. The girl is a better dancer.”

That particular dance scene gained a deeper significance to a good friend, Glenn who was missing Mary Jane, his wife of over 25 years, who wasin the Philippines for a family reunion. By the time the dance was over, Glenn shared that he cried three times.

We all raved with the ballet moves of Regine Magbitang, Jimmy Lumba and Matthew Davo. My granddaughter described it as: “she’s divorcing from two men, pushing them apart. Then, one of them got very angry, he pushed him. We also heard the memorable slap and her red dress. She pushes both of them, does more half splits and bounced really well. One of them married her, and earlier when he got divorced, the song is about losing his wife and now she’s all alone. Until she finds her partner again.”

My granddaughter knows only two Tagalog phrases, salamat (Thank you) and mahal kita (I love you), but the ballet moves allowed her to pick up the story.  Her young mind’s observations synchronized in part with the story. It was about Marguerite and her love for dance, forced to do it at age 14 by her mother. Teased by her dance mates to find her soulmate, she then meets a wealthy diplomat, Antonio. Her fame in her dancing career grew as the fame of this diplomat, a fame plus fame

How courts determine child custody in California

Barrister’s Corner

Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes

ONE of the most emotional aspect of a marital dissolution case is dealing with Child custody issues. Sadly enough, this is an area where most parents play games with each other trying their best to deprive the other parents of their right to maintain relationship with their child. Child custody comes in two parts, 1) physical custody and 2) legal custody. Physical custody may be awarded solely to one parent or jointly. Sole physical custody means that the child will reside primarily and under the supervision of one parent subject to visitation from the other parent upon order of the court. Family Code §3007. Joint physical custody on the other hand means that the child gets to spend frequent and continuing contact with both parents.

Family Code §3004. The court would state specifically the periods of time the child will be under the supervision of each parent.

courts decision are incidents or history of child abuse and domestic violence. This can be from the part of a parent, a parent’s co-habitant, or other person to whom a parent has a relationship with. The childs amount and nature of contact with the parents is also another factor considered. Fam. Code §3011(c). Other factors that can be considered are the parent’s use of controlled substance, prior criminal convictions and registration as a sex offender, and existence of restraining order against a parent.

The family code requires that the parties go to mediation and attempt to agree on the custody issue prior to the court hearing the contested case. Family Code §3170(a). If the case is not settled in mediation, it gets decided in court through a contested hearing. At times, the court will order a child custody evaluation if it determines that it would be in the best interest of the child. The court may also appoint a minor’s counsel if it feels it would be in the best interest of the child.

“If the court is inclined to order sole custody to one parent, the consideration boils down to which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent.”

Legal custody on the other hand deals with the right and responsibility of a parent to make decisions regarding the health, education, and welfare of the child. Family Code §3006. Examples would be decisions such as where the child shall attend school, whether the child can travel to another jurisdiction or state, legal decisions involving the child. In cases where joint legal custody is ordered by the court, either parent alone can make decisions concerning the health, education, and welfare of the child unless otherwise specified in the order.

In making its determination on child custody issues, the court considers various factors depending on the specific facts of the case. The court usually follows the public policy of ensuring and encouraging the child’s frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the divorce unless it would not be in the best interest of the child.

Fam. Code §3011. If the court is inclined to order sole custody to one parent, the consideration boils down to which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent. Family Code §3040(a)(1). A major factor that would tilt the

Family Code §3150(a). The court retains continuous jurisdiction over issues of child custody and support until the child reaches 18. This means the order may be modified all throughout this period if there has been a change in circumstances.

* * * Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.  The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.  This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed.  The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you.  This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC.  This article is not a solicitation.

* * * Attorney Kenneth Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail Kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com Visit us at www.kenreyeslaw.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

‘Iconic’: Megastar Sharon Cuneta, Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez repeat concert, live at Pechanga Resort Casino March 19

BOWING to numerous requests, Philippine Megastar Sharon Cuneta and Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez will once again hold a backto-back concert dubbed “Iconic,” on March 19 at 6 p.m., at Pechanga Resort Casino.

Similar successful ‘Iconic’ performances were held in Manila in 2019 and the past year in other key states in America. And again, the Pechanga concert forms part of the duo’s U.S. concert tour for 2023.

Pechanga Resort Casino is well-known for hosting only the best and the brightest Filipino entertainers and performers aimed to provide the ultimate experience especially to its Filipino-American patrons.

Cuneta is not only a multi-awarded actress but her talent spans to singing where most of the ballad songs she rendered made waves in the Filipino movie and song industries.

Velasquez, on the other hand, is a prime performer, and has built a niche for herself, even reaching the consciousness of the United States’ Filipino-American population. Her unparalleled singing talent has inspired local performers to emulate her unique vocals. Together, these phenomenal icons and singing sensations – Sharon Cuneta and Regine Velasquez – will join forces one more time, to perform on stage at the Pechanga Resort Casino on March 19, 2023. The North America Music Tour 2023 is produced by Louie Ocampo and Raul Mitra.

It’s definitely a date! Don’t miss this magical milestone as Sharon & Regine’s Iconic II Concert duet deliver sentimental songs full of memories that have topped most playlists for decades.

Pechanga Resort Casino offers one of the largest and most expansive resort/casino experiences anywhere in the United States. Voted the number one casino in the country by USA Today and rated a Four Diamond property by AAA since 2002, Pechanga Resort Casino provides an unparalleled getaway,

Are employee paystubs just a piece of paper?

Employer pays $58.5 Million settlement for wage-statement violations

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights

Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr

LIKE many other employees, you may usually just file away the pay stubs you receive from your employer, biweekly or twice a month, without even reviewing them. But there is much more to these pay stubs— or wage statements—than you may realize. California’s Labor Code requires that these pay stubs include specific, accurate and itemized information. An employer’s failure to comply can result in a statutory penalty of up to $4,000 for each employee.

The following information are required to be provided in your pay stubs:

(1) gross wages earned;

(2) total hours worked;

whether for the day or for an extended luxury stay. Offering 5,400 of hottest slots, 152 table games, a 1,100 room and suite hotel, dining, luxury spa, and golf at Journey at Pechanga, Pechanga Resort Casino features a destination that meets and exceeds the needs of its guests and the community. Pechanga Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. For more information, call toll free (877) 711-2946 or visit www. Pechanga.com. Follow Pechanga Resort Casino on Facebook and on Twitter @PechangaCasino.

(Advertising Supplement)

Sam distances self from...

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When asked if he’s invited to attend Toni’s controversial concert, Sam said he doesn’t know that Toni had a concert.

“I was not invited and I didn’t know because I came from Australia, I stayed there for three weeks and kung nakikita ninyo hindi ako masyadong active sa social media, so, I’m not aware sa nangyayari sa showbiz,” he said.

“Kapag may nagsasabi sa akin that’s where I find out, and yeah, I think I found out the day before the concert,” he added. g

(3) number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis;

(4) all deductions made from the employee’s pay;

(5) net wages earned;

(6) the applicable dates for the relevant pay period;

(7) the name and identification number of the employee;

(8) the name and address of the employer; and

(9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hour worked at each hourly rate.

The law is aimed at ensuring transparency and fairness in employees’ pay. Providing accurate and complete information in pay stubs protects workers’ rights.

The importance of this seemingly bureaucratic requirement is seen in a recent case involving United Airlines.

A federal court in Los Angeles recently granted preliminary approval to a $58.5 million class action settlement that emphasizes the importance of complying with California’s strict wage-statement requirements. The claims in Vidrio v. United Airlines, Inc involved a class of Californiabased flight attendants who worked for United Airlines. The settlement resolves claims that the airline’s wage statements to their California-based flight attendants failed to include information required by the California Labor Code.

In Vidrio, the plaintiffs alleged

regarding failure to provide information on all hours worked was scheduled to go to trial.

Instead, the parties agreed to settle the flight attendants’ claims for $58.5 million, which includes an award of attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards for the two class representatives, settlement administration fees, and civil penalties payable to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The Court noted that, after deducting these amounts, the Net Settlement Amount to be distributed to the class is approximately $35.2 million.

that United failed to include the required information regarding total hours worked each pay period, all applicable hourly rates of pay in effect during the pay period, all corresponding hours worked at each applicable hourly rate, and the employer’s address. The courts rejected United’s claim that they were exempt from the wage-statement requirement in light of their collective bargaining agreement with the flight attendants’ union. But the court agreed with United that a P.O. Box address satisfied Section 226’s requirement for an employer address.

However, the court ruled in favor of the flight attendants in finding that United failed to include information regarding all applicable hourly rates of pay and the corresponding number of hours worked at each rate. United’s wage statements listed only the total amounts earned in various pay categories. Plaintiffs’ claim

In light of these amounts, employees will be well served by inspecting their wage statements to ensure compliance with California’s strict wage-statement requirements. It is smart to contact experienced employment attorneys to seek a confidential and no-cost consultation to determine if employers are complying with the law.

* * * 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 Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www. joesayaslaw.com.

[For more than 25 years, C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine for 11 years, and is a past Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas.] (Advertising Supplement)

The law is aimed at ensuring transparency and fairness in employees’ pay. Providing accurate and complete information in pay stubs protects workers’ rights.

Kapamilya actor Sam Milby Photo from Instagram/@samuelmilby

Writ of Mandamus relief for unreasonable delay in pending immigration filings

to compel the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the USCIS, DHS’s bureau, to act on a petition or application for which adjudication has been unreasonably delayed. The statute allows for an “action to compel an officer of the United States to perform his duty.”

Disabled senior needs

shall proceed to conclude a matter presented to it.”

A typical case in which Writ of Mandamus relief is a viable option is in a green card application based on marriage.

A COMMON question that is asked by a person who has a pending immigration petition or application is “how much longer until USCIS makes a decision?”

The question is understandable, in that an unreasonable delay in the USCIS’ adjudication of a petition or application can have adverse effects, including loss of employment and employment opportunities, possible termination of employment, and difficulties in obtaining student and credit loans.

While an immigration filing is pending, the typical response by USCIS upon inquiry is that further time (usually 90 or 180 days) is needed to make a decision. However, often that 90 or 180 days that USCIS needs to make a decision turns into months and sometimes years. What option does a petitioner or applicant have to compel the USCIS to act on his or her case?

Pursuant to the Mandamus and Venue Act of 1962, a Writ of Mandamus action can be filed in the US District Courts

The legal duty for USCIS to promptly act on a pending petition or application can be found in the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 8 USC Sec. 1571, and 5 USC Sec. 555(b). These statutes form the basis of Writ of Mandamus relief.

The APA gives the court authority to “compel agency action unlawfully held and unreasonable delayed.”

The policy for processing immigration applications is set forth under 8 USC Sec. 1571, which states that “the processing of an immigration benefit application should be completed no later than 180 days after the initial filing of the application.” Further, 5 USC Sec. 555(b) states that “within a reasonable time, each agency

I have had several inquiries in recent months concerning delays in processing of these cases. Typically, the green card applicant along with his or her U.S. Citizen spouse is interviewed by a USCIS officer and at the end of the interview, the green card applicant is

advised that additional time is needed by USCIS to make a decision. The timeframe given to make a decision is 180 days; however, more than 180 days pass and no decision is made. The applicant then seeks to get updated status of the application via an Infopass appointment, and is advised that the case is still under consideration and more time is needed.

In such a case, a writ of mandamus can be filed in Federal Court to compel the USCIS to act on the application. Often, a decision is made on the case after the Writ of Mandamus

is filed in that the unreasonable delay is brought to the attention of the USCIS. A prompt decision is often made by USCIS after filing to avoid the use of government resources in having to defend the meritorious action.

It is important to keep in mind that Writ of Mandamus relief is available to a variety of pending petitions and applications, not just green card applications based on marriage. To determine whether Writ of Mandamus relief is a good option in your pending immigration case, it is recommended that you seek the advice of an experienced attorney.

* * *

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.

* * * Darrick V. Tan, Esq. is admitted to practice law in California and Nevada. Mr. Tan is a graduate of UCLA and Southwestern University School of Law. He is a member of the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine American Bar Association. LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN, 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010. Tel: 323-6390277. Email: info@dtanlaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

Chapter 7 relief from $50k credit

Debt Relief

Atty.

AT some point in your life, you will have to confront your own mortality as well as the mortality of your loved ones.

When you’re 12, you’re in a hurry to become a teenager. When you’re a teenager, you’re in a hurry to become 21. In the meantime, before you turn 21, you’re in college or starting to work and earn a living, becoming independent. From then on, you’re just living life as it comes, just enjoying yourself, your good health and your youth. You feel like you will never get old. How old is old? You can’t really say. If you’re 21, someone who is 45 appears old to you. But 45, I can tell you, is really young from the perspective of one who is say, 65. That is only a 20-year difference numerically, but physically, the outward appearance of one who is 65 now comparing himself to when he was 45 is quite obvious if you look at a picture of yourself taken now at 65, and a picture of yourself taken while you were 45.

There’s less hair and whatever hair is left has, or at least a big portion, turned white. If you haven’t exercised regularly and controlled your diet, you probably have a little tummy over your belt, a kangaroo pouch. But if you have been exercising regularly and controlling what you eat, you probably are still fit and trim and the only sign of aging is the change in hair color, and the lessening of it.

Going back to business. By young senior, I mean the client is only 63. He has never married and lives by himself. He has no children. He used to work for a bank in mid-level management. For 30 years, his life was good.

Then last year, he suffered a minor stroke.

He’s recovering well but he can’t work anymore. He receives a disability payment of $1,800 a month. The problem is that he owes $50,000 of credit cards.

Why is this a problem? For $50,000 of credit card debt, he needs $1,500 a month for minimum payments to keep all of them current. Since his disability is $1,800 vs. $1,500 of minimum card payments, there’s only $300 left for rent and living expenses. Even if he became homeless and lived out in a tent by the 101 Fwy, he would not even have enough for food after making the minimum credit card payment of $1,500. So, there’s

cards

no question that he needs to get rid of the $50,000 credit cards if he wants to keep his $1,800 of disability income intact for rent and necessities. He quickly decides to obtain Chapter 7 relief for a fresh start and wipe out the $50,000 of credit cards.

Senior needs Chapter 7 relief for $30K credit cards

Another senior is a little older. He’s 74. He owns a house with an equity of $200,000. As I said earlier this year, if you live in LA, the size of the equity will be completely exempt from bankruptcy up to $600,000. Some people think there’s a three-year waiting period or residency requirement. No, there’s no such thing as a residency period requirement. As long as you live here in LA, it doesn’t matter when you bought the house; its equity is exempt up to $600,000. Maybe you just bought it yesterday. That’s fine. No problem.

Debtor now receives $1,600 of social security. His wife still works and makes $3,000 a month. He owes $30,000 of credit card debt. He needs $1,000 a month for minimum monthly credit card payments. Well, obviously, there’s a financial hardship here with credit card payments eating up 65% of his social security income. It’s ironic that you work all your life; then get social security that’s a paltry amount, but you have to give more than half of that to your credit card masters when you retire. It’s just not right. This is as ironic as getting the virus today when the vaccine is now available to anyone who wants it. I got mine two months ago. You should get yours too. If you’re an anti-vaxxer and antimasker, good luck with your opinion. You’re not superman and even superman succumbs to kryptonite. My HS classmate just died on the 24th from the virus. His wife and daughter also got it but they recovered. He could not get the vaccine in the country he lived in. If you need debt relief, please set an appointment and I will analyze your case personally.

* * * Disclaimer: None of the foregoing is considered legal advice. Each case is different.

* * * Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in Bankruptcy, Business, Real Estate and Civil Litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Building A-10 South, Suite 10042, Alhambra, CA 91803. (Advertising Supplement)

The joy of watching...

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combination that makes each partner lonely, until Marguerite meets Roberto, a gorgeous dancer and an affair ensues. She dances her final dance with the dance company and realizing how wrong she had been, she reunites with her husband.

Thank you, Ted Benito and Rosie Chua, for inflaming our hearts with love for The Philippine Ballet Theater. I learned that more dreams can be had from Ava, a four year old, and ballet moves and stories from my granddaughter.

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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 12 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.

SB19’s Ken, is out to...

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six tracks, namely “Rocksta,” “Superiority,” “Mictest”—which he fondly describes as his favorite from the album—“Drinksmoke,” “Criminal” and “Straydogs.”

The album, which was in production while on a world tour with SB19, was a challenge that Felip embraced wholeheartedly. “It was only until we realized I already had six songs to work with while I was on tour with SB19. It was difficult to put this together but it’s also equally fulfilling,” he shared.

Felip as a game-changer

In a time where P-pop is growing and thriving, Felip’s solo album came at the right time. His debut as SB19’s main dancer, lead vocalist and lead rapper in October 2018 was a moment when the genre was in its awkward state, and now that the group has emerged as the industry’s leader—there’s no better way to change how the game is played than now.

So, how does Felip see himself as an artist? “I think Felip is more adventurous and experimental now,” he confidently said. “I

really wanted to push the sound to also check if it fits me and to showcase my versatility as a performer as well.”

Growing up under his grandparents’ wing in Cagayan de Oro, Felip’s passion for music stemmed from their love for gospel music, as well as his pride in his “Bisdak” (native Cebuano) roots. “I am proud to speak Bisaya and I think it is very cool to include it in my songs,” he said, as he noted that his uncle’s knack for playing instruments also inspired him in his artistry.

“I look up to my uncle as well as he plays numerous instruments too. During my free time, I try to play a few instruments and include it in my tracks or use it as a guide,” he added.

But of course, the road toward becoming a trailblazer in P-pop is no easy task for Felip. There was a time in his life when he had to overcome his initial insecurities with his deep voice—which is now seen as one of the defining features in SB19’s music and the pièce de résistance of “Complex.”g

The APA gives the court authority to “compel agency action unlawfully held and unreasonable delayed.