02132021 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 Volume 31 - No. 12 • 2 Sections – 20 Pages

DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Duterte: US has to ‘pay’ for VFA

Remembering Katherine Creag: Fil-Am NBC reporter passes away

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

AMID calls to extend the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the United States would have to “pay” if the deal stays.

President Rodrigo Duterte witnesses the conferment of the Order of LapuFILIPINA American Katherine Creag, a re“I would like to put on notice porter for NBC New York, died suddenly this Lapu with the rank of Kamagi to 24 soldiers led by Armed Forces of the if there’s an American agent here Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana at the Haribon week at the age of 47. that from now on, you want the Hangar in Clark Air Base, Pampanga on Friday, February 12.

Creag’s passing on Wednesday evening, Malacañang photo by Richard Madelo Visiting Forces Agreement done?

February 10, “was unexpected,” according to the network on Thursday.

A cause has not been determined, as of this writing.

“She had not been ill and was working as recently as Wednesday morning,” the statement said.

Creag joined WNBC in 2011 and was considered a beloved member of the News 4 family and was a fixture on “Today in New York” for years. She covered breaking news, extreme weather conditions, and everything in between like cultural moments.

“For ten years Kat was one of our cornerstones, always willing to help in any situation, whether it was a colleague in need or a shift that needed to be covered,” WNBC’s vice president of news, Amy Morris, said in an email to the staff.

“She was thoughtful, funny and relentless. And even on the toughest days she was a bright light, quick with a kind word and a smile,” she added.

Well, you have to pay,” Duterte said in his speech on Friday, February 12 at Clark Air Base in Pampanga.

“It’s a shared responsibility but your share of responsibility does not come free because after all when the war breaks out, we all pay,” he said.

The VFA, which came into force in 1999, covers the conduct of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines.

Among the provisions of the deal

LA County residents urged to help slow COVID spread as vaccine supply remains low

by CHRISTINA

YEAR OF THE OX. A woman arranges the golden ox figurines on display inside a store on Ongpin St., Sta. Cruz, Manila on Chinese New Year on Friday, February 12. According to the Chinese zodiac, 2021 is the Year of the Metal Ox, which symbolizes diligence, persistence, and honesty.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

FILIPINA American Chanelle Molina is one step closer to making it to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The WNBA’s Indiana Fever this week announced that Molina has been signed to a training camp contract.

The terms of the contract were not disclosed as per the policy of the team.

Molina, for her part, took to Instagram to acknowledge the importance of her achievement.

“It has taken a lot of hard work, dedication and patience to get here. The WNBA has always been the goal, therefore I accepted and fell in love with the process to get here! There are not many Filipino women in the WNBA, so this is for the progress of women’s basketball all over the world,” u PAGE A4

MENDIOLA AJPress

CALLS to revive the franchise of broadcast giant ABS-CBN will have to wait until the next Congress is in session, according to Philippine House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

Velasco said that the House of Representatives will focus on the priority measures of the current administration.

“With a little over a year until the 2022 elections, the House of Representatives is bent on finishing the remaining priority measures of this Administration

LOS Angeles County is showing a steady decline in coronavirus cases, but health officials are continuing to urge residents to help slow the spread as the region faces a vaccine shortage.

On Friday, February 12, the county reported 3,497 new cases and 137 additional deaths, bringing the total to 1,161,773 infections and 18,789 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.

With Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day ahead, officials are reminding the public that the pandemic is far from over. The impact of Super Bowl weekend has also yet to be seen on the county’s case rates.

“The only way for us to continue to slow transmission is for everyone to choose safety this upcoming weekend and spend time celebrating the weekend’s holidays just with members of your household and making plants to

u PAGE A3

protection against COVID-19

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

A NEW report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that double masking significantly improves protection against COVID-19.

Well-fitted masks or double masking improves protection by preventing leakage of unfiltered air and particles around the edges, better protecting the wearer and those around them, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality report released on Wednesday, February 10.

“Masks substantially reduce exhaled respiratory droplets and aerosols from infected wearers and reduce exposure of uninfected wearers to these particles. Cloth masks and medical procedure masks fit more loosely than do respirators (e.g., N95 facepieces),” the report said.

It added, “The effectiveness of cloth and medical procedure masks can be improved by ensuring that they are well fitted to the contours of the face to prevent leakage of air CODE TEAM VISITS LAS PIÑAS. Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III presents the overview of the Nationwide Vaccination program during the visit of the COVID-19 around the masks’ edges.”

Beginning in January, the CDC conducted vaccine Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) Team held at the Las Piñas City

u PAGE A4

PH House: ABS-CBN franchise application would have to wait until next Congress

by RITCHEL

M. ORIEL

AJPress

u PAGE A3

Fil-Am Chanelle Molina joins WNBA training camp CDC: Double masking offers more

include relaxed visa and passport policies for U.S. troops, and the rights of the U.S. government to retain its jurisdiction over its military personnel when they commit crimes in the Philippines.

In February 2020, the Philippines sent the U.S. a notice terminating the VFA reportedly after the U.S. canceled Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s visa.

The termination was later susu PAGE A2

to ensure that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte fulfills his campaign promise to the Filipino people,” the speaker said in a statement released on Thursday, February 11.

“On top of these priority legislation, we would like to see the passage of Bayanihan 3, as well as other economic bills geared toward rebuilding the Philippine economy shattered by the devastating impact of the global pandemic and rebuilding the lives of every Filipino disrupted by the health crisis,” he added.

Velasco made the statement days after Duterte declared that

he would not allow ABS-CBN to operate again even if Congress grants the network giant a new franchise.

“Congress is planning to restore the franchise of the Lopezes. Wala akong problema doon kung i-restore ninyo (I don’t have a problem if Congress restores it),” the president said Monday, February 8.

“But if you say that if they can operate, kung may ano na sila (if they already have a franchise), no. I will not allow them,” he added.

Duterte said that he will not House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco PNA photo by Avito Dalan u PAGE A3

Hall on Tuesday, February 9. The CODE Team has been visiting local government units to see their preparedness for the nationwide vaccination program in the coming days.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

Survey: Filipinos’ rating of gov’t pandemic response lowest in SE Asia

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

FILIPINOS are the most disapproving of their government’s COVID-19 response among Southeast Asians, according to a recent survey.

A report from think-tank Singapore-based ASEAN Studies Centre — titled “The State of Southeast Asia: 2021” — found that 53.7% of Filipino respondents criticized the current administration’s pandemic response.

Of the figure, 17.9% of Filipinos said they “strongly disapproved” of the government’s CO-

VID-19 response and 35.8% said they “disapprove.”

Meanwhile, only 6% of Filipinos said they “strongly approve,” of the government’s response, 19.4% said they “approve” of the government’s response, and 20.9% were “neutral.”

To date, the Philippines remains as the second Southeast Asian country with the most number of COVID-19 cases, just behind Indonesia. The Philippines has a total of 543,282 confirmed cases and 11,469 fatalities, while Indonesia has 1,183,555 cases and 32,167 fatalities. u PAGE A2

A2 february 13-16, 2021 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

Survey: Filipinos’ rating of gov’t...

PAGE A1

Vietnam emerged as the country with the highest approval rating among its citizens at 96.6%, followed by Brunei at 93.9% and Singapore at 92.4%.

Improvements When asked what their government should do to improve their COVID-19 response, 72.2% of Filipino respondents said the current administration must “encourage more scientists and medical doctors to contribute to public policy discussions and heed their advice.”

Meanwhile, 53.8% said that the government must “invest in early warning systems for pandemic outbreak” and on research and development for virus testing and vaccine development, and 33.3% said the government must “offer better financial relief and subsidies to citizens impacted economically by the pandemic.”

On the other hand, 30.6% believed that “politicians and public servants should observe public health measures, instead of flouting them.”

Only 5.6% of Filipinos stressed the need for improving the implementation of public health measures such as social distancing and mask wearing.

“These findings confirm that while ASEAN member governments have done relatively well in their public health response, they will need to do more to be better prepared in the long-term for future outbreaks,” the report noted.

Leadership, challenges Overall, the majority or 32.7% of the Southeast Asian respondents chose Singapore as the country with the best leadership amid the global health crisis, followed by Vietnam with 31.1%.

Only 0.5% of the participants selected the Philippines for the category.

When asked about the top three challenges that Southeast Asia is facing, 80.6% of Filipino respondents answered “the threat to health from the COVID19 pandemic.”

65.7% believed the challenge is “unemployment and economic

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

From the Front Page recession,” while 59.7% answered “more intense and frequent weather events resulting from climate change.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left no one untouched, be it in the experience of the loss of loved ones, job retrenchment, travel restrictions or trade and education disruptions. That sense of uncertainty remains palpable as there are still no signs of abatement of the pandemic with new virus mutations across the world,” the report said.

“It is no surprise that the “threat to health from the COVID-19 pandemic” tops the list of challenges facing the region (76.0%),” it added.

The survey was conducted from November 18, 2020 to January 10, 2021 among 1,032 respondents from 10 ASEAN countries. The participants were from academia or research institutions, business and finance, civil society, non-government organizations, media, government, and regional or international organizations. n

IMPROVISED DRAGON DANCE. A group of kids mimics the dragon dance, a tradition during Chinese New Year celebration, with improvised costumes along Ongpin in Binondo, Manila City on Friday, February 12. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the dragon dance performance in the streets of Binondo was called off.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Duterte: US has to ‘pay’ for...

PAGE A1

pended in June “in light of political and other developments in the region,” and the suspension was extended in November for another six months to enable the Philippines and the U.S. to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement on how to move forward in their mutual defense.

In December, the president threatened to continue with the VFA’s termination if the U.S. did not extend at least 20 million vaccines to the Philippines.

Again on Friday, Duterte hinted that the U.S. has not delivered on its promises.

“For the reason of exigency of the moment requires their presence here, okay na lang ako dyan. But in the past, we ordered so much from them and so much were not delivered at all,” he said.

He added, “We ask so much of them because they have taken so much from us. Libre sila (They are free) to advance their troops in our land.”

In an introductory phone call made on Wednesday, February 10, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his counterpart U.S. Secretary of Defense

Lloyd J. Austin III discussed a number of priority bilateral defense issues and reaffirmed the two countries’ commitments to the VFA and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) “Secretary Austin affirmed the U.S. commitment to the U.S.Philippines alliance and our bilateral Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), highlighting the value the VFA brings to both countries,” said a Pentagon readout.

The defense chiefs discussed the importance of enhancing the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ capabilities and increasing interoperability between the two militaries through a variety of bilateral security cooperation activities.

Lorenzana and Austin also discussed regional security challenges, including the South China Sea, counterterrorism, and maritime security. “[They] affirmed the importance of upholding international rules and norms, to include the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling,” the Pentagon readout said.

In a separate statement, the Philippine Department of National Defense said that Lorenzana and Austin’s phone call covered the security situation in the

South China Sea, particularly on the capability upgrades of the AFP. “Both sides committed to sustain dialogues amidst the pandemic and strengthen cooperation between the two defense establishments,” the department said.

“They agreed to meet face-toface in the future,” it added.

On Monday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that the Philippines and the U.S. will meet later this month to iron out differences over the VFA. “I am narrowing down the issues and soon we will meet...and iron out whatever differences we have,” he told ANC news channel.

The meeting is likely to happen in the last week of February.

Meanwhile, Duterte continued to defend his friendly stance on China and that the Philippines cannot afford to go to war over the South China Sea. “I’m walking on a tight rope, actually. I cannot afford to be brave in the mouth against China because we are avoiding any confrontation that would lead to something which we can hardly afford, at least not at this time,” he said. n

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

Dateline USa

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

A3

AAPI groups demand action amid Remembering Katherine Creag... recent anti-Asian assaults, discrimination PAGE A1

by Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

AS the Lunar New Year kicks off, the atmosphere among the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is hardly a celebratory one.

A disturbing string of recent violent assaults against elderly AAPIs across the nation has inspired greater activism from prominent AAPIs — as well as activists from other communities of color — to stop what are being labeled as hate crimes against Asians, as reported in the Asian Journal this week.

The recent attacks, which have occurred in major cities, all involved violence. Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai American man, died after an assailant shoved him to the ground in San Francisco on Jan. 28.

Just three days later on Jan. 31, three different Asian American elderly people were attacked by presumably the same suspect in broad daylight in Oakland’s Chinatown (the suspect is currently in police custody).

On Feb. 3 in New York City, a passenger slashed the face of a 61-year-old Filipino man named Noel Quintana on the subway.

The recent attacks are just the latest in a coronavirus pandemic that has been punctuated by antiAsian harassment, bullying and violence.

The Stop AAPI Hate initiative — started by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department of SF State University — logged 2,808 reported hate incidents against the AAPI community in 2020, and more than

700 of those reports came from the Bay Area.

“Since the start of the pandemic, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have felt the brunt of the previous president’s racist rhetoric, which wrongly associated the virus with a single race of people and then stood back as [AAPIs] fell victim to thousands of incidents of discrimination and violence,” California Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who is the chair of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, said in a statement along with Vice Chair Assemblymember Evan Low (D-San Jose).

As a way to prepare people who may encounter anti-Asian harassment, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and the antibullying organization Hollaback! have announced new days for

u PAGE A4

LA County residents urged to help slow COVID...

PAGE A1 connect virtually with all others,” said Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez, director of cardiovascular and school health at the county’s Department of Public Health, during a press briefing on Thursday.

Currently, 3,772 individuals are hospitalized and 29% are in the ICU. Hospitalizations in the county have declined by 42%, as of this month, but hospital beds and ICU capacities remain limited. Fatalities are still “distressingly high” with an average of 200 individuals passing each day.

“If everyone can do their part to prevent transmission, we can reduce pressure on our hospitals by decreasing the number of people that end up getting very sick from the virus,” Gonzalez said. “This will enable hospitals to have staff and resources necessary to accommodate other types of medical needs and procedures that have been delayed because of the high numbers of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care.”

She added that with the current hospitalizations, the county can anticipate more individuals dying of COVID-19 in the coming weeks.

The only way for the fatality rate to decline is if case rates drop too.

“Community transmission remains widespread and there is significant risk in every action you take outside your house,” Gonzalez said.

Low vaccine supply President Joe Biden on Thursday said his administration has secured another 200 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines by the end of July, increasing the likelihood of having all Americans vaccinated by then.

In the meantime, California is experiencing a shortage in its vaccine supplies and officials are pleading for more doses to get jabs into the arms of medical workers, long-term facility residents, and seniors, who are the current groups eligible. On Friday, state health officials said by mid-March, individuals between 16 and 64 years old, who are disabled or are at high risk for mortality from COVID-19 — due to underlying factors like cancer or heart conditions — could receive the vaccine.

It previously announced that Blue Shield of California would take over the state’s vaccination campaign.

As of Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1,229,888 doses have been administered in LA county — 986,134 to first-timers and 243,754 for the second round.

“As our vaccination program continues, we’re looking at strategies that improve access to vaccines for people who are older, with limited mobility, and needing assistance securing appointments,” Gonzalez said, detailing some of the county’s initiatives to reach seniors living in housing

developments or in communities disproportionately affected by the virus.

The county said that its mega vaccination sites this past week would only have enough to accommodate second dose appointments. This comes as it announced that it would expand inoculations to more essential workers in education, food and agriculture and emergency services and law enforcement, which could begin in two to three weeks.

Meanwhile, the city of LA had turn individuals away by Thursday and close down its five sites over the weekend, including Dodger Stadium. Mayor Eric Garcetti said they would reopen once another shipment of vaccines arrives.

“We’re vaccinating people faster than new vials are arriving here in Los Angeles, and I’m very concerned right now,” Garcetti said during a press conference on Wednesday night. “I’m concerned as your mayor that our vaccine supply is uneven, it’s unpredictable and, too often, inequitable.”

Even when individuals receive both doses of either vaccine, they are reminded to follow health protocols like wearing a mask and physical distancing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance that should fully vaccinated people come into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus, they may be able to skip quarantining only if they have remained asymptomatic and if it has been within three months of the last dose.

Officials said that LA County is still upholding its local guidance that if individuals are coming from outside the county, they are still required to quarantine for at least 10 days.

“We are still examining that data and we’ll make a determination as to whether or not we’re going to follow suit with CDC locally. But at this time, we’re still requiring individuals to isolate or to quarantine if they become symptomatic, even after they received both doses of the vaccine,” Gonzalez said.

Combating misinformation Local officials and health care workers also continuing to debunk misinformation and scams about the COVID-19 vaccine that may leave communities vulnerable.

Among the common scams is that fraudsters are alleging that they can offer an opportunity to jump ahead in the vaccine line by paying or providing personal information. Eligible individuals cannot show up at a vaccine site without first obtaining an appointment. The department is also not sharing any personal information, like immigration status, with other agencies.

“You do not need citizenship or a legal residency to receive the vaccine here in LA County. You just need to prove you live within the county,” Gonzalez said.

PH House: ABS-CBN franchise...

PAGE A1 allow the National Telecommunications Commission to grant ABS-CBN the permit to operate.

In July last year, a Philippine House of Representatives panel rejected the bills seeking to grant ABS-CBN a new 25-year franchise.

Voting 70 to 11, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises adopted the recommendation of its technical working group to deny the network a new franchise.

Two congressmen inhibited while one abstained.

Duterte said that he would only recognize ABS-CBN’s franchise once the broadcasting company settled their taxes.

“Unless and until mabayaran ng mga Lopez ang taxes nila (the Lopezes pay their taxes), I will ignore your franchise and I will not give them the license to operate,” said the president.

“Kalokohan ‘yan. Parang binigyan mo sila ng (That’s nonsense.

It’s like giving them a) prize for their being– for committing criminal acts,” he added.

However, the country’s Bureau of Internal Revenue debunked the network’s alleged tax liability during the House hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise last year.

According to BIR Assistant Commissioner Manuel Mapoy, ABS-CBN has been “regularly paying its corporate taxes for the past years.” The network was also confirmed to have no outstanding delinquent accounts.

In January this year, Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto filed House Bill 8298 seeking to give broadcast giant ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III likewise filed Senate Bill No. 1967, which seeks to give ABS-CBN a fresh legislative franchise, citing the importance of television as the main source of information for most Filipinos. n

She also warned about ads about fake vaccines or miracle cures (e.g. vitamins or dietary supplements) that have been rampant since the beginning of the pandemic.

Another big issue in Black and brown communities is hesitancy, Dr. Raymond Perry said during Thursday’s briefing. (As of Feb. 8, county data showed that 25% of vaccine doses went to White residents, 25% to Latinos, 18% to Asians, and 3.5% to African

u PAGE A4

NBC New York noted that Creag was instantly recognizable for her distinctive voice and hearty laugh.

“Creag was the first face many New Yorkers woke up to every day,” the station added.

Meanwhile, Creag’s colleagues described her as someone who had “boundless energy.” They also knew all about her passion for good Filipino food and would recommend new restaurants to try.

Creag’s Fil-Am counterparts from competing networks in New York also expressed their shock.

CBS2 reporter Hazel Sanchez Rapciewicz recalled Creag’s “infectious smile and bellowing laugh” and that she always looked forward to running into Creag while covering stories and events.

“Despite working at competing stations…as Filipinas we instantly connected. It’s just something Filipinos do…you meet another Filipino and instantly you’re family,” Rapciewicz posted on Facebook.

Another colleague, Nina Pineda of ABC7, remembered Creag, responding that they are “two Filipinas from another mother” when asked if they were sisters.

She said she would remember Creag as someone who always supported her friends and colleagues.

“I never got to work with Kat, because she was the one who replaced me on Good Day New York when I left local news back in 2005. But I saw her smiling face at all the retirement and

going away parties. We even laughed that FOX-5 hired a Filipina hoping the viewers didn’t notice,” posted Ernabel Demillo, who teaches journalism at Saint Peter’s University.

“Being a morning reporter in New York meant you were part of a special club and when you are a Filipina reporter in NY, you are automatically part of a sisterhood. So her loss feels like we lost a part of ourselves. Kat was a dedicated journalist and I hope she will be remembered for the commitment she gave to TV journalism, while also balancing being a mother of three,” Demillo added.

The “Today Show” on Friday, February 12 paid tribute to Creag, with colleague Darlene Rodriguez noting how she “was an extraordinary human being.”

“Kat was a light,” Rodriguez said. “She had this very special spirit and energy about her. She came into your space, you were just immediately uplifted because no matter what, she was always in a good mood.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio shared in a tweet: “Katherine Creag was dedicated to connecting with New Yorkers and sharing their stories. She worked tirelessly for our city. @NYCFirstLady and I send our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the @NBCNewYork community.”

Born in Manila, Philippines, Creag graduated from New York University and spent five years at Fox before joining NBC. Cher Calvin, a news anchor for KTLA, remembered how she and

Katherine Creag

Creag were “the only Filipino Americans” in their journalism class at NYU. “My mom always advised me to find the smartest woman in the room. And make her your friend.

That was Katherine Creag. I gravitated towards her on the first day of class at NYU School of Journalism,” Calvin wrote in an Instagram post, sharing a photo of the two outside their TV newscast class. “Our friendship was instant. We took every class together…She was a natural. A go getter reporter, an excellent writer. Thorough. Versatile. Intelligent. Funny.”

During her career, Craeg won or shared in winning multiple Emmys, AP and Murrow awards that also took her to Dallas, Charlotte and Syracuse, the station said.

Creag is survived by her husband of 14 years, Bill Gafner, a son and two daughters. (AJPress)

A4 february 13-16, 2021 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

Dateline USa

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

Fil-Am Chanelle Molina joins WNBA training... CDC: Double masking offers more...

PAGE A1 she wrote.

“I will celebrate this success and accomplishment, but it’s back to helping my team overseas win in the morning,” she added. “Thank you Indiana Fever for this opportunity. See you all soon!”

Molina, who was born in Hawaii to Filipino parents, played college ball for Washington State for four years, averaging 12.7 points and 4.2 rebounds.

In 2016, she was rated as a five-star recruit by ESPN. After going undrafted in the 2020 WNBA Draft, Molina played professionally for the Norrköping Dolphins in Sweden.

The 5-foot-9 guard is currently averaging 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in the 15 games with the Dolphins this season.

“Chanelle recorded an excellent career at Washington State in the very challenging Pac-12 Conference. She is a skilled and versatile guard who will bring high energy and competitiveness to our training camp,” said Fever head coach Marianne

PAGE A1

experiments to assess two ways of improving the fit of medical procedure masks — layering a cloth mask over a disposable surgical mask, and knotting the ear loops of a medical procedure mask and then tucking in and flattening the extra material close to the face.

“In the study, wearing any type of mask performed significantly better than not wearing a mask,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

“And well-fitting masks provided the greatest performance at both blocking emitted aerosols and exposure of aerosols to the receiver. In the breathing experiment, having both the source and

PAGE A3 Former Washington State women’s basketball standout Chanelle Molina has signed a WNBA American/Black residents.)

“I know that many residents training camp contract with the Indiana Fever.

Photo courtesy of Washington State University in our communities of color are more likely to potentially have Stanley. son because of how she has some distrust with some aspects “She is having a great year continued to improve,” Stanley of our health care system. There is overseas in Sweden this sea- added. (AJPress) definitely a long history that can’t be forgotten — that includes racism and injustice against us when it comes to medical treatments and access to care,” said Perry, who serves as the director of the FELLOW KABABAYANS FOR OVER 17 YEARS Hubert Humphrey Comprehen-

• Breach of Contract and Fraud • Auto and Other Injury accidents

IMMIGRATION

FAMILY LAW • Divorce/Separation/Nullity • Property Division • Spousal Support • Child Custody and Support • Restraining Orders

CALL TODAY FOR A CONSULTATION 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, California 90010

323-639-0277

Email: info@dtanlaw.com • Website: www.dtanlaw.com

sive Health Center in South LA. As a physician on the frontlines, Perry said he was eager to receive the vaccine and is doing his part to assuage fears in the community.

“Having seen the devastation that COVID has had here in Los Angeles — and even having been personally affected by family and friends that have been sick or even died from COVID — it was really important for me to get this vaccine as soon as it was avail-

able,” he said. “Now I feel like it’s important for me and other health care workers to continue to encourage other people to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available to them.”

Individuals can sign up for a vaccine appointment via vaccinateLACounty.com. Those with disabilities or without computer access can call (833) 540-0473 between 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. PST seven days a week for assistance with booking. n

AAPI groups demand action amid recent...

CIVIL AND PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION

• Family and employment based green cards • Business and Investor Visas • Deportation defense • Motions to Reopen • Appeals • Humanitarian Reinstatement of revoked petition • Naturalization • H-1B and student visas

The CDC, however, noted that experiments on double masking did not include any other combinations of masks, such as cloth over cloth, medical procedure mask over medical procedure mask, or medical procedure mask over cloth.

It also stressed that the study didn’t alter the CDC’s guidance on who should wear a mask and when.

“I want to be clear that these new scientific data released today do not change the specific recommendations about who should wear a mask, or when they should wear one. But they do provide new information on why wearing a well-fitting mask is so important to protect you and others,” said Walensky. n

LA County residents urged to help slow COVID...

LAW OFFICES OF DARRICK V. TAN SERVING MY

the receiver wear masks modified to fit better reduced the receiver’s exposure by more than 95%, compared to no mask at all,” she added.

Researchers found that wearing a cloth mask over a medical procedural mask or “double masking” improved the protection for the wearer by blocking 83% of small particles from an unmasked individual.

Meanwhile, “knotting and tucking” a surgical mask reduced a wearer’s exposure to viral particles by about 65 percent.

Additionally, if two people are both wearing either the knotted and tucked surgical masks, or if both are double-masked, exposure from viral particles was reduced by 96.4 percent.

Darrick V. Tan, Esq. Licensed in California for over 17 years Licensed in Nevada for over 12 years* UCLA, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science with Cum Laude honors Southwestern University Law School, Juris Doctor Admitted to U.S. District Court, Central District of California Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association Member, Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles Former Member, Board of Governors, Philippine American Bar Association *Inactive

PAGE A3 their three-part training series designed to train individuals on how “they can do their part in standing against hatred.”

The anti-harassment training teaches individuals how to de-escalate conflicts by intervening in a number of ways. It also teaches Asian Americans how to protect themselves and practice self-care.

“This resurgence of anti-Asian and anti-Asian American hate is just the latest wave from extensive structural racism that has historically impacted communities of color,” said Emily May, executive director of Hollaback! “Part of that journey toward a world intolerant of hate starts with proactively equipping individuals with tools to protect themselves and their community.”

In 2020, at the height of antiAsian hate that swept the nation in the early phases of the pandemic, more than 16,000 people attended the training. Back then, the activ-

ism surrounding anti-Asian sentiments were largely attributed to then-President Donald Trump — and a number of conservative lawmakers and pundits — who frequently used the derogatory terms like “China virus,” “Wuhan virus” or the, arguably, more offensive “Kung-flu.”

President Joe Biden has promised to make up for the perceived lack of support from the White House by formally disavowing the racist, inflammatory language that continues to alienate the AAPI community.

“The events of this year have given many of us a gut check and a reminder that even as we usher in a new Congress and new administration, hate is still alive and well in our country,” said Marita Etcubanez, director of strategic initiatives at Advancing Justice.

Despite the significance of Biden’s largely symbolic move to denounce anti-Asian hate in his first day in office, AAPI organiza-

tions and community leaders are calling for more legislative action from the White House and Congress — and state and local governments — to hold those who commit anti-Asian crimes accountable.

“Both President Biden’s Administration and Congress have condemned this racism in the past, but it has become clear that more action is necessary,” the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of dozens of AAPI groups, said in a joint statement this week.

“To governors and locallyelected officials: listen to Asian American leaders in your communities who have been doing this work every day. We need to see tangible solutions that prioritize investing in our communities to prevent violence, both systemic and interpersonal, rather than turning towards punitive methods that rely on systems that have continued to fail us.” n

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

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

Dateline PhiliPPines

A5

Duterte urged to declare surge in teen pregnancy a national emergency

Filipino.

The senator said that the government needs to help young THE Philippine Commission on people and their parents prevent Population and Development is teenage pregnancy through “inurging President Rodrigo Duterte tensified health and education to declare teenage pregnancies a national social emergency.

The commission’s board of directors has drafted an executive order for Duterte, according to PopCom Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III. Though the board has recognized teenage pregnancies as a national social emergency for years, Perez told ANC’s “Dateline” that they are still “pushing for a formal declaration from Malacañang.”

“For the past five years, we’ve had 300,000 families started by minor children, and that impacts on poverty in this country,” said Perez.

He added, “If we declare it an emergency, young people should have easier access to family planning and reproductive health services.”

Last week, PopCom reported that births among girls ages 15 years old and below rose by 7% in 2019 compared to the previous year’s data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“In 2019, 2,411 girls considered as very young adolescents aged 10 to 14 gave birth, or almost seven every day. This was a three-fold increase from 2000, when only 755 from the said age group gave birth,” said the commission.

It also noted that this is the ninth year that the rate of teenage pregnancies has increased since 2011.

“Overall, the number of Filipino minors who gave birth in 2019 increased to 62,510, which was slightly higher than the 62,341 minors in 2018,” PopCom said.

Philippine Senator Win Gatchalian has likewise urged the government to improve its response to the country’s growing number of teenage pregnancies.

“Even before the pandemic hit our country, the rise in teenage pregnancies could already be considered a crisis,” he noted in

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

HEARTS AND SIGNS. Mallgoers take a look at Chinese zodiac readings based on animal signs that are placed on huge heart-shaped panels for the Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day at Gateway Mall activity area in Quezon City on Wednesday, February 10. According to Chinese zodiac, 2021 is the Year of the Metal Ox. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

PH-US Balikatan may resume May, defense chief says

by Jeannette

andRade Inquirer.net

THE Philippines has been skipping military exercises with the United States in order not to “exacerbate the situation in the South China Sea,” but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana hopes the annual Balikatan exercises could resume in May. “We don’t want anything— miscalculations or accidents— happening in the South China Sea because we are right smack in the center of the conflict if it happens,” Lorenzana said a day after speaking with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III. “We would be left in a pitiful state so it is in our interest to pursue a stable and peaceful South China Sea,” he said in a television interview.

Nurture relationship “We also have to nurture our relationship with China, as a very close neighbor, and we have a lot of engagement with them especially in trade,” he noted, adding that there is a need to balance Philippine relations with all other countries.

He explained, “Our relationship with China has always been, since President Duterte became President, cordial and

friendly and we don’t want to muddle the issue there.”

Lorenzana said his conversation with Austin lasted only 15 minutes but he invited the Pentagon chief to visit Manila if he comes to the region “so that we can talk more and discuss more the bilateral relations between our two countries.”

Annual passage exercise They could also have a meeting on the sidelines of the meeting of defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and partner nations in November if the event pushes through.

Lorenzana pointed out that the Philippine Navy annually conducts passage exercise with the U.S. Navy within the 12nautical-mile territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. “We just avoid going with them in the disputed islands and disputed area … because it raises tension on both sides.

The claimants there also will be alarmed that a lot of exercises are going on there,” he said.

But Lorenzana hoped the Balikatan exercises, which is part of the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, would resume in May.

“It was suspended last year so hopefully we can resume again this May,” he said, noting that Mr. Duterte announced the termination of the VFA last year but has since suspended the notice of termination twice.

“We at the defense department and the Armed Forces, the general feeling is for the VFA to continue,” Lorenzana said, but “the final decision to push through with the termination or withdraw the notice (of termination) lies with the President.”

Bilateral talks started The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed in a statement that both representatives of both nations started bilateral talks on the VFA on Thursday.

“The Philippines and the U.S. will indeed have a working-level meeting to discuss bilateral defense and security cooperation, as part of regular and continuing engagement with the U.S. in strengthening alliance,” the DFA statement read.

But Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. posted on Twitter that officials involved in the talks were told not to grant media interviews or issue any statements on the meeting. n

STOP THE SURGE Wear a mask

Stay home

Washing hands frequently

Stay 6 feet apart

covid19.ca.gov

programs.”

“Parents need to be capacitated in terms of effectively talking to their children about sexuality and reproductive health issues,” Gatchalian added. n

A6 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

OPiniOn

Another food security summit

FeatURes

IN October 2018, food security summits were spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture in regional clusters. This was after rice prices soared, pushing the inflation rate to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent in August 2018.

The surging rice prices prompted importation, which stabilized supply and brought down prices, but which devastated local rice farmers and aggravated the exodus of workers from the agriculture sector. The country’s agricultural output has been declining over the past years, according to the World Bank. Inadequate farm support and corruption, such as the diversion of fertilizer support funds by crooked government officials, have worsened long-running problems.

Months after the rice crisis, it was the turn of the swine industry to be hit by disaster, as African swine fever reached the Philippines. As hog depopulation got underway across Luzon, efforts to contain ASF were derailed by the arrival of yet another lethal virus, this time sickening and killing humans. Today, the country is still preoccupied with containing COVID-19.

With ASF jumping to the Visayas, however, pork supply in Luzon has tightened and prices have

spiked, with chicken supply and prices also affected as consumers seek substitutes for pork. A price cap that went into effect this week has led to a pork holiday in several wet markets in Metro Manila. The government is importing pork amid warnings about its adverse impact on local hog producers.

Several economic experts have warned about the risks of relying on imports for a country’s food supply. With no quick or easy answers in sight, the government is calling another summit on food security. Malacañang said that aside from ASF and the continuing low farm-gate prices of palay, the summit, still with no definite schedule, will also tackle problems affecting agrifishery.

Many of the problems bedeviling these sectors have been around for a long time, with players suggesting possible solutions. They can only hope that the summit will translate commitments for reforms into action. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

Valentine trivia for the Filipino romantico: Yesterday, today and tomorrow The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS CUPID. Roses. Chocolate-covered strawberries. Valentine card and love letters. Romantic dinner dates. Wooing and cooing. And who knows what happens next?

Valentine’s Day is perhaps second only to Christmas that personally excites us Filipinos. There is a personal connection to this occasion devoid of its supposedly religious connection named after St. Valentine.

Who is St. Valentine? Let me share some interesting historic accounts about the mystery that surrounds the identity of the patron saint. Did you know that the Catholic Church says there are at least three different saints named “Valentine” or “Valentinus”?

According to history.com, all of them were martyred.

One legend says Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. “When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued

Commentary

YEN MAKABENTA IMAGINE how different the Philippines’ pandemic response (policy, strategy and program) would have been had the members of our coronavirus task force (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), and the czars of the National Action Plan (NAP), possessed some familiarity or background in addressing the special concerns of public health and medicine.

With such background and knowledge, the officials would have borne in mind the words of the Hippocratic oath, “First do no harm,” in framing the action plan to meet the challenge and in writing the specific measures and protocols that would govern national life during the pandemic.

There is wide debate today about the government’s Covid19 response because President Duterte opted to lean again on people with a military or police background to man the ramparts of the government’s program to contain the pandemic.

He neglected to include in the task force civilians and profes-

to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.”

Another story refers to Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who according to history.com, “was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.”

“Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured,” history. com wrote.

“According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl—possibly his jailor’s daughter—who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today.”

Nobody can tell for sure about the veracity of these legends about Valentine, but the History Channel posits that “the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and—most importantly—romantic figure.

By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.”

Why February 14?

There are reports that point to mid-February as the anniversary of St. Valentine’s death or burial, which the History Channel says probably occurred around 270 A.D. There is another explanation which is similar to why we celebrate Christmas in December - to lure pagans to become Christians by riding on their traditions.

According to history.com, “the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.”

Lupercalia festival sounded gory and “un-Christian”. Here is how the History Channel described it: “To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a shewolf or lupa.

The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips,

dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide.

Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year.

Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.”

This tradition was outlawed and by end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. However, the History Channel said it was not until much later that the day became definitively associated with love.

During the Middle Ages, history.com reported that the people of France and England believed that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which reinforced the idea that Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.

Who is cupid?

Remember how we see images of a naked cherub (winged innocent and sometimes playful looking baby angel) holding a bow and launching arrows of love at unsuspecting lovers?

That can be traced back to

Roman mythology. According to history.com, “the Roman God Cupid has his roots in Greek mythology as the Greek god of love, Eros. Accounts of his birth vary; some say he is the son of Nyx and Erebus; others, of Aphrodite and Ares; still others suggest he is the son of Iris and Zephyrus or even Aphrodite and Zeus (who would have been both his father and grandfather).”

Eros was portrayed by Greek poets as “a handsome immortal played with the emotions of Gods and men, using golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to sow aversion.” The History channel wrote that it wasn’t until the Hellenistic period that he began to be portrayed as the mischievous, chubby child he’d become on Valentine’s Day cards.

Romantic Filipinos As we Filipinos pride ourselves as being sensitive and romantic people so in touch with our emotions, we have embraced this occasion wholeheartedly to have a day to be mushy, cheesy and shamelessly demonstrative of our passion and emotions.

Pre-pandemic, roses sell for an astronomical price and the demand for expensive chocolates to pair with them goes up.

Restaurants with a romantic ambiance — dim lights, flower arrangement, love songs piped in or played by a live band for some cheek-to-cheek slow dance

— match a Valentine menu with champagne and aphrodisiacs that ignite the erotic passion of lovers.

Hotels and motels become sold out as well, and I have heard stories about couples giving taxi drivers a tip just so they can make out in the back seat of the cab as the driver drives around and pretends not to see an X-rated action going on behind him. Other couples without much money would go to parks like Luneta, Manila Aquarium and Quezon Memorial Circle.

But love and romance are not once-a-year things. It should be celebrated every day to nurture true love and marriage. In this case, Valentine becomes not a big deal because loving actions are a way of life.

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

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

First do no harm: Toward an exit strategy from the pandemic sionals with a working knowledge of infectious diseases and viral outbreaks, and how these can best be fought off by the public health system.

First do no harm The phrase “First do no harm” (Latin: Primum non nocere) forms part of the original Hippocratic oath, a pledge of ethics historically taken by physicians.

It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts.

In its original form, it required a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards.

The oath is the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world, establishing several principles of medical ethics which remain of paramount significance today.

As the seminal articulation of certain principles that continue to guide and inform medical practice, the ancient text is of more than historic and symbolic value. Swearing a modified form of the oath remains a rite of passage for medical graduates in many countries, and is a requirement enshrined in legal statutes of various jurisdictions, such that violations of the oath may carry criminal or other liability beyond the oath’s symbolic nature.

Today, when governments

and nations are scrambling to find an effective and sustainable strategy for fighting SARSCoV-2 (the virus) and Covid-19 (the disease), I suggest that the best way would be for nations to work through the principle of doing no harm 1) first to the people as potential victims of Covid-19; and 2) doing no harm to the society or the nation that ultimately must bear the full burden of the pandemic.

Now when effective vaccines and therapies against Covid-19 are being produced by modern medicine, policymakers will do their best work with a Covid strategy and program of doing no harm and being always beneficent.

Lockdown lunacy Early in the pandemic, in March and April last year, most countries followed the policy and strategy adopted by China in its attempt to eradicate the viral outbreak that was believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province.

China imposed a mass quarantine or lockdown in Wuhan and stopped travel to other Chinese cities and countries.

In these circumstances, lockdown lunacy was born during the pandemic.

The author Jeffrey Tucker describes vividly what happened

to the world during this time in his book, Liberty or Lockdown (American Institute for Economic Research, New York, 2020).

He wrote: “The politicians panicked.

They feared being blamed for any and all deaths from this one virus while forgetting other ailments. The Covid-19 fear drove out every other consideration.

It was madness but it was only supposed to last a couple of weeks until it turned out to last six months and longer.

“Why didn’t we revolt? Part of the reason was that most of us were in shock. We had to believe that there was some good reason, some rationale, for these policies. But as the weeks and months rolled on, the terrible truth began to dawn on more people. This was all for naught.

We destroyed the country, and much of the world, and everything people had worked hard for centuries to build, to try out something that had never been tried before. It didn’t work. The virus took its own path. And today we are left with the wreckage.

“How do we come back from this? By reflecting, learning and acting on the promise of renewal. It can happen, but only once we fully come to terms with the stark choice between liberty and

lockdown. Liberty is right and it works. Lockdown is wrong and it does not. It’s not complex, but it takes courage and determination to live out that principle.

“The virus will vanish from the public mind as viruses do — inauspiciously as our clever immune systems incorporate its properties into our internal resistance codes. But we will have another struggle facing us in the years ahead concerning what precisely we are going to tolerate from our state officials and how much of a priority we are going to place on retaining our rights and liberties. This choice is something we must all face in our own lives, and then work to see instantiated in the legal structures of societies we hope can maintain their freedom.”

I want to refer next to the counsel of Dr. Scott Atlas of Stanford who was added by then President Donald Trump to the White House coronavirus task force. This effectively sidelined the headline-hogging Anthony Fauci, who told America that we would never be able to shake hands again. Fauci demanded a lockdown of the economy for an indefinite period.

Last December. Dr. Atlas wrote an op-ed article on pandemic policy in The Hill website titled: “Restore our lives using

medical science, data and common sense.”

He spoke to the need for a practicable strategy to exit from the pandemic. He wrote: “Americans are anxious to get back to work and to send their children to school. The science backs them up. We have learned a lot over the past months, and we are putting that knowledge to use. We are capitalizing on the advanced capabilities that we have developed, as we redouble our efforts to protect vulnerable populations and deliver new and effective treatments in record time.

“Here’s what we now know: “We know who is at risk. Only 0.2 percent of US deaths have been people younger than 25, and 80 percent have been in people over 65; the average fatality age is 78. A JAMA Pediatrics study of North American pediatric hospitals flatly stated that “our data indicate that children are at far greater risk of critical illness from influenza than from Covid-19.

“We may see more cases as social interactions pick up because this is a contagious disease. However, the overwhelming majority of cases are now occurring in younger, low-risk people — decades younger, on

u PAGE A7

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

ADVERTISING AND ADVERTORIAL POLICIES ROGER LAGMAY ORIEL Publisher & Chairman of the Board

CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIEL President

CHRISTINA M. ORIEL Editor-in-Chief

MOMAR G. VISAYA Executive Editor

US HEADQUARTERS: 1210 S. Brand Blvd Glendale, CA 91204 Tels: (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 Fax: (818) 502-0858 • (213) 481-0854 e-mail: info@asianjournalinc.com http://www.asianjournal.com

IVY MANALANG Vice President - Marketing Los Angeles Asian Journal

MONETTE ADEVA MAGLAYA Senior Vice President Los Angeles Asian Journal

With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York/New Jersey Las Vegas, San Diego, Philippines

DING CARREON Videographer

ANDY TECSON Photographer

Asian Journal Publications, Inc. (“AJPI”) reserves the right to refuse to publish, in its sole and absolute discretion, any advertising and advertorial material submitted for publication by client. (“Client’s Material”) Submission of an advertisement or advertorial to an AJPI sales representative does not constitute a commitment by AJPI to publish a Client’s Material. AJPI has the option to correctly classify any Client’s Material and to delete objectionable words or phrases.

Client represents and warrants that a Client’s Material does not and will not contain any language or material which is libelous, slanderous or defamatory or invades any rights of privacy or publicity; does not and will not violate or infringe upon, or give rise to any adverse claim with respect to any common law or other right whatsoever (including, without limitation, any copyright, trademark, service mark or contract right) of any person or entity, or violate any other applicable law; and is not the subject of any litigation or claim that might give rise to any litigation.

Publication of a Client’s Material does not constitute an agreement to continue publication.

Client agrees and covenants to indemnify AJPI and its officers against any and all loss, liability, damage, expenses, cost, charges, claims, actions, causes of action, recoveries, judgments, penalties, including outside attorneys’ fees (individually and collectively “Claims”) which AJPI may suffer by reason of (1) Client’s breach of any of the representations, warranties and agreements herein or (2) any Claims by any third party relating in any way to Client’s Material.

AJPI will not be liable for failure to publish any Client’s Material as requested or for more than one incorrect insertion of a Client’s Material. In the event of an error, or omission in printing or publication of a Client’s Material, AJPI shall be limited to an adjustment for the space occupied by the error, with maximum liability being cancellation of the cost of the first incorrect advertisement or republication of the correct advertisement.

Under no circumstances shall Asian Publications, Inc. be liable for consequential damages of any kind.

ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, INC. publishes the Los Angeles Asian Journal, published twice a week; the Orange County and Inland Empire Asian Journal, Northern California Asian Journal, Las Vegas Asian Journal and the New York / New Jersey Asian Journal which are published once a week and distributed to Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange Counties, Northern California, Las Vegas and New York and New Jersey respectively.

Articles published in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Letters to the Editor are welcome.

Letters must contain complete name and return address. The materials, however, are subject to editing and revisions.

Contributions and advertising deadlines are every Mondays and Thursdays. For advertising rates and other informations, please call the L.A. office at (213) 250-9797 or send us an email at info@asianjournalinc.com

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

Dateline PhiliPPines

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

A7

Ulat tUngkol sa bakUna para sa CoVID:

Hatid ng Clever Care

VALENTINE’S DAY GIFTS. A vendor arranges the flowers and small balloon hearts on display on a table two days before Valentine’s Day along Chuatoco Street, Barangay Roxas in Quezon City on Friday, February 12. The government has allowed selected businesses to operate in a limited capacity as long as they follow health protocols amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.

PNA photo by Dexter Starks

69% of Filipinos believe worst of pandemic over

by Keith

Calayag ManilaTimes.net

SIxTy-nInE percent of adult Filipinos believe the country has weathered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The figure is up from the 47% recorded in September 2020, SWS said.

Those fearing that the worst is yet to come dropped from 47% in September 2020 to 31% in november 2020.

The%age of those who said

“the worst is behind us” with the Covid-19 crisis is highest in Metro Manila at 78%, followed

by Balance Luzon at 69%, the Visayas at 67% and Mindanao at 65%.

In the September 2020 poll, 60% of respondents from Metro Manila said they believed the worst was over, echoed by 49% from Balance Luzon, 45% from the Visayas and 39% from Mindanao.

The%age of those fearing that the worst is yet to come is highest in Mindanao with 35%, followed by the Visayas (32%),

Balance Luzon with (31%) and Metro Manila (22%).

The number of those fearing that the worst is yet to come dropped, according to the survey.

In the September 2020 survey, those who believed the worst was yet to come was at 57% in Mindanao, 50% in the Visayas, 44% in Balance Luzon and 35% in Metro Manila.

The fourth quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey was conducted from november 21 to 25, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults. n

First do no harm: Toward an exit strategy...

PAGE A6 t average, than seen in the spring.

And the vast majority of these people deal with the infection without consequence; many don’t even know they have it.

“We are doing much better with treating hospitalized patients. Lengths-of-stay are onethird the rate in April; the fatality rate in hospitals is one-half of that in April. Fewer patients need ICUs if hospitalized, and fewer need ventilators when in ICUs. “We are progressing at record speed with vaccine development.

“Despite these gains, our econ-

omy has yet to fully reopen.

While the lockdown may have been justified at the start, when little data was known, we know far more about the virus today.

It’s time we use all we have learned and all we have done to reopen our schools and our economy safely and get back to restoring America.”

Catch-22 situation The Philippines cannot continue with the present policy of renewing month after month the community quarantine policy. It is unsustainable and dumb.

It is a classic catch-22 situation for the nation.

The IATF-EID never had success with its quarantine strategy and health protocols through all of last year.

The task force is reluctant to move toward an exit strategy from the pandemic because without the crisis it will lose its powers and privileges, along with being called czar. (ManilaTimes.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

PEBRERO 03, 2021 (Unang Ulat) — Ito ang unang bahagi sa serye ng Medicare Tips na tinaguyod ng Clever Care Health Care, isang nangungunang tagapagbigay ng East meets West Medicare services na sensitibo sa kultura ng kanilang mga miyembro.

Sa kamakailang rollout at availability ng bakuna para sa COVID-19, maraming Amerikano ang may mga tanong. Ang artikulong ito ay magbibigay ng mga sagot sa “who, what, when, where at why” pagdating sa mga bakuna para sa COVID-19.

1) Libre ba ang mga bakuna para sa COVID-19?

Oo. Ang mga bakuna ay bayad ng gobyerno.

Depende sa kung saan ka magpapa-bakuna, maaari kang singilin ng fee para sa iyong bakuna. Kung eligible ka para sa Medicare, bayad na ito at wala ka nang gagastusin para sa bakuna.

2) Totoo bang kailangan kong mabigyan ng dalawang dose ng bakuna mula sa Pfizer at Moderna?

Oo. Dalawang dose ang required ng bakuna mula sa Pfizer at Moderna. Para sa Pfizer, dalawang dose ang rekomendado sa loob ng 21 araw. Para sa Moderna, isang buwan ang rekomendadong pagitan.

3) Puwede ba akong mamili ng bakuna?

May ilang lokasyon na nagsasabi kung anong bakuna ang mayroon sila, at puwede kang magpa-bakuna sa lokasyon ayon sa iyong kagustuhan.

4) Mabilis na naaprubahan ang mga bakuna.

Kailangan ko bang mag-alala na hindi ligtas ang mga ito?

Nagbigay ang U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ng Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) para sa dalawang bakuna para sa COVID-19. Nasubukan ang dalawang bakuna na ito para sa kaligtasan at pagiging epektibo batay sa mga clinical trial na isinagawa sa malawak na grupo ng mga tao. Nakita sa mga resulta ng trials na ito na mas maraming benepisyo ang bakuna kaysa sa potensyal na pinsala na puwedeng maranasan kung tayo ay mahawaan ng virus.

May ilang report ng side effects mula sa dalawang bakuna pero katamtaman lang ang mga ito at bihira. Magtanong sa inyong doctor kung may mga pag-aalala ka tungkol sa iyong kalusugan o sa mga posibleng side effects ng bakuna.

5) Gaano ka-epektibo ang bakuna kung makuha ko ang dalawang dose sa

rekomendadong timeframe?

Ayon sa Center for Disease Control, ang bakuna mula sa Moderna ay umaabot sa 94% effectiveness dalawang linggo pagkatapos ng pangalawang dose, at ang bakuna mula sa Pfizer ay umaabot sa 95% effectiveness isang linggo pagkatapos ng pangalawang dose.

6) Kung nagka-COVID na ako, kailangan ko pa bang magpa-bakuna?

Oo, dapat magpa-bakuna ang lahat, kahit na ang mga nagka-virus na. Dahil pinag-aaralan pa natin ang mga long-term effects ng COVID, hindi pa alam ng health experts kung gaano katagal ka magiging protektado pagkatapos mo makuha ang virus, kaya mahalagang magpabakuna para mapalakas ang immunity mo.

7) May mga health care provider ba na may mga special programs/benefits para sa COVID-19?

Oo! Isang opsyon ang Clever Care Health Plan. Hatid namin ang $0 Copay Covid Peace of Mind benefit. Ibig sabihin nito ay ang kahit na anong serbisyo ukol sa Covid ay may $0 copay, kasama na ang testing. Dagdag pa rito, qualified ang lahat ng plan members ng Clever Care Medicare Advantage para sa $10 reward upang makakuha ng Covid-19 vaccine. May mga reward din ang aming Health Incentive program para sa iba pang healthy activities katulad ng bakuna para sa trangkaso, at pagpapa-schedule ng iyong annual wellness doctor visit.

8) Ano ang ginagawa ng Clever Care para magbigay ng impormasyon, at panatiliin ang kalusugan ng kanilang mga miyembro sa panahong ito?

Nangolekta kami ng list ng resources, pati na rin ng links ng county websites at mga phone numbers na puwedeng tawagan sa clevercarehealthplan.com. Ito ay para matulungan ang aming mga miyembro at ang komunidad na mahanap kaagad ang kailangan na impormasyon. Ang lahat ng impormasyon ay puwedeng mabasa sa Tagalog. Kung nahihirapang mag-online, tumawag lamang sa aming member service line na 833-365-1888 (TTY:711). Handa ang aming mga Tagalog representatives na ibigay ang impormasyon na kailangan mo.

A8 february 13-16, 2021 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

PAUNAWA NG PAGPAPATIBAY NG RESOLUSYON SA INTENSYON NG LUPON NG MGA SUPERBISOR NG COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO NA ISAALANG-ALANG ANG MGA MUNGKAHI PARA SA PAGBEBENTA O PAGPAPAUPA AT PAGPAPAUNLAD NG LUPA NG MGA ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBER (PARSELA NG TAGATASA BLG) 281-182-17 AT 281-182-18 (MATATAGPUAN SA PAGITAN NG 12TH AT 13TH STREET SA UNINCORPORATED (SA LABAS NG TERITORYO NA KOMUNIDAD NG RAMONA) Ang Paunawa ay ibinibigay sa pamamagitan nito na pinagtibay ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor ng County ng San Diego (“Lupon”) ang RESOLUSYON SA INTENSYON NG LUPON NG MGA SUPERBISOR NG COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO NA ISAALANG-ALANG ANG MGA MUNGKAHI PARA SA PAGBEBENTA O PAGPAPAUPA AT PAGPAPAUNLAD NG LUPA NG MGA ASSESSOR PARCEL 281-182-17 AT 281182-18 (MATATAGPUAN SA PAGITAN NG 12TH AT 13TH STREET SA NA KOMUNIDAD NG RAMONA) para sa mga layunin ng pagpapaunlad at pagpapatakbo sa komunidad ng abot-kayang panggrupong pabahay para sa nakakatanda, kabilang ang senior community center (sentrong pangkomunidad para sa nakakatanda).

Kahilingan para sa mga Pahayag ng mga Kwalipikasyon) mula sa mga interesadong panig, at pagkatapos ay pagpapahintulot sa mga piniling nagmungkahing pursigidong magkaroon ng mga naaangkop na kwalipikasyon upang tumugon sa Request for Proposals (“RFP,” Kahilingan para sa mga Mungkahi), kung saan ang mga mungkahi ay matatanggap sa pampublikong pagpupulong ng Lupon mga Superbisor gaya ng inilalarawan sa ibaba; at YAMAN DIN LAMANG, dapat pagtibayin ng County ang Resolusyong ito alinsunod sa Kodigo ng Pamahalaan Seksyon 25515.2 bago tumanggap ang mga mungkahi; at YAMAN DIN LAMANG, ang paunawa sa pagpapatibay ng Resolusyong ito at ang oras at lugar ng pampublikong pagpupulong ay dapat ibigay sa pamamagitan ng paglalathala ng Resolusyong ito nang hindi bababa sa isang beses kada linggo sa loob ng tatlong linggo bago ang pampublikong pagpupulong na inilalarawan sa ibaba.

Tatanggapin at ihaharap ang mga mungkahi sa Lupon ng mga Superbisor sa pampublikong pagdinig sa Marso 2, 2020, na sa panahong iyon ay tatanggapin ang pampublikong testimonya.

Magpupulong ang Lupon ng 9:00 a.m. sa Board Chambers SAMAKATUWID, (Kamara ng Lupon) ng NGAYON, County Administration Center nawa’y ito ay maresolba bilang (Sentrong Pangasiwaan ng sumusunod: County), Seksyon 1. Ipinapahayag ng Isang kopya ng resolusyon sa Lupon ng mga Superbisor na layong isinasaalang-alang ang ito ang layunin nitong isaalangmga mungkahi ang kinokopya alang ang mga mungkahi para sa ibaba at nakapaskil sa sa pagbebenta o pagpapaupa Office of the Clerk (Tanggapan at pagpapaunlad ng lupang ng Klerk) ng Lupon ng mga Ari-arian para sa panggrupong Superbisor, Room 402, ng pabahay para sa nakakatanda County Administration Center at mga kaugnay na paggamit. sa Pacific Highway, San Diego Seksyon 2.

Ang mga California, 92101, dokumentong RFSQ ay Ang paunawang ito at ang makukuha sa Department of buod ay inilathala alinsunod General Services, Real Estate sa Kodigo ng Pamahalaan mga Services Division (Kagawaran mga Pangkalahatang Seksyon 25515.2, at ng aksyon ng ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor Serbisyo, Dibisyon ng mga noong Enero 2, 1979 na nag- Serbisyo para sa Tunay na aawtorisa sa mga publikasyon. Ari-arian) ng County, 5560 Overland Avenue, Suite 410, Ang mga sumusunod ay San Diego, California 92123. ang Resolusyon gaya ng 3.

Ang mga inaprubahan ng Lupon ng mga Seksyon RFP ay Superbisor noong 10/27/2020: dokumentong makukuha sa Department of General Services, Real Estate Resolusyon Blg.: 20-168 Services Division ng County, Petsa ng Pagpupulong: 5560 Overland Avenue, Suite 10/27/2020 (09) 410, San Diego, California 92123.

RESOLUSYON SA INTENSYON NG LUPON NG MGA SUPERBISOR NG COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO NA ISAALANG-ALANG ANG MGA MUNGKAHI PARA SA PAGBEBENTA O PAGPAPAUPA AT PAGPAPAUNLAD NG LUPA NG MGA ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBER 281-182-17 AT 281-182-18 (MATATAGPUAN SA PAGITAN NG 12TH AT 13TH STREET SA UNINCORPORATED NA KOMUNIDAD NG RAMONA) Sa mosyon ni Superbisor Jacob na sinegundahan ni Superbisor Gaspar, pinagtibay ang sumusunod na resolusyon: YAMAN DIN LAMANG, pagaari ng County ng San Diego (“County”) ang humigitkumulang 7.96 na acre ng lupang matatagpuan sa pagitan ng 12th at 13th Street sa unincorporated na komunidad ng Ramona, County ng San Diego, California (“Ari-arian”).

Kilala rin ang Ari-arian bilang mga Assessor Parcel Number 281-182-17 at 281-182-18.

Seksyon 4. Ang lahat ng tugon sa RFSQ at RFP ay isusumite bilang pagsunod sa mga iniaatas na itinakda ng General Services, Real Estate Services Division ng County.

Seksyon 5. Ang mga tugon sa RFP ay tatanggapin ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor bilang mga sumusunod: Ang mga kuwalipikadong mungkahing isinumite alinsunod sa lahat ng iniaatas ng RFP ay tatanggapin ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor sa regular nitong naka-iskedyul na pagpupulong sa Marso 2, 2021 ng 9:00 a.m. sa regular nitong lugar ng pagpupulong sa chambers sa Room 310 sa County Administration Center at 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California 92101.

Tatanggapin lamang ng County ang mga mungkahing mula sa mga developer (tagapagpaunpad) na gagawing kuwalipikado ng Direktor, Department of General Services, sa pakikipagsangguni sa Direktor, Housing and Community Development Services (Mga Serbisyo sa Pagpapaunlad ng Pabahay at Komunidad sa YAMAN DIN LAMANG, pamamagitan ng RFSQ. ninanais ng County na isaalangalang ang mga mungkahi para Seksyon 6. Ang Paunawa sa sa pagbebenta o pagpapaupa pagpapatibay ng Resolusyong at pagpapaunlad ng lupa ng ito at ang oras at lugar ng Parcel para sa abot-kayang pagdaraos ng pampublikong panggrupong pabahay para sa pagpupulong na inilalarawan sa itaas ay ibibigay sa nakakatanda; at pamamagitan ng paglalathala YAMAN DIN LAMANG, ng resolusyon sa pahayagan ng alinsunod sa mga naaangkop pangkalahatang sirkulasyon sa na batas ng Estado ng loob ng County ng San Diego California, kabilang ang ng isang beses kada linggo sa Kodigo ng Pamahalaan mga loob ng tatlong linggo bago ang pagpupulong Seksyon 25515 hanggang pampublikong 25515.5, inaawtorisahan na na iyon. ang County na makibahagi sa isang kumpetitibong Seksyon 7. Pinananatili ng proseso ng solitisasyon para Lupon ng mga Superbisor sa pagbebenta o pagpapaupa ang karapatang tanggihan ang at pagpapaunlad ng lupa ng anuman o lahat ng mungkahi.

Ari-arian gamit ang proseso ng Kahilingan para sa mga INAPRUBAHAN NANG AYON SA PORMA AT LEGALIDAD Mungkahi; at TAGAPAYONG ABOGADO NG YAMAN DIN LAMANG, COUNTY ninanais ng County na gamitin Ni David Stotland, Nakakataas ang prosesong may dalawang na Deputadong Tagapayong hakbang sa pamamagitan ng Abogado ng County paghingi muna ng mga tugon 1/30, 2/6, 2/13/21 sa Request for Statements CNS-3436054# of Qualifications (“RFSQ,” ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

Dateline PhiliPPines

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

ABISO NG CONSORTIUM NG COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO MG PAMPUBLIKONG PAGDINIG AT ABISO NG PAGKAKAROON COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO CONSORTIUM 2021-22 TAUNANG PLANO PAGBABAGO SA 2019-20 TAUNANG PLANO ANG MGA PAGPOPONDO NG PROGRAMANG COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG), ANG HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS (HOME), ANG EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT (ESG), AT HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS (HOPWA) ABISO NG CONSORTIUM NG COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO MG PAMPUBLIKONG PAGDINIG AT ABISO NG PAGKAKAROON COUNTY NG SAN DIEGO CONSORTIUM 2021-22 TAUNANG PLANO PAGBABAGO SA 2019-20 TAUNANG PLANO ANG MGA PAGPOPONDO NG PROGRAMANG COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG), ANG HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS (HOME), ANG EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT (ESG), AT HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS (HOPWA) Ang abiso ay ipinahayag na ang Konseho ng Tagapangasiwa at magsasagwa ng Pampublikong Pagdinig sa Marso 16, 2021 ng 9:00 a.m. sa Room 310 at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA, upang konsiderahin ang Taunang Plano ng FY 2021-22. Isasaalang-alang ng Koseho ang iminungkahi na ginamit na tinatanyang: $4,265,959 na pondo ng CDBG ; $3,286,351 na pondo ng HOME; $364,738 na pondo ng ESG ; at $4,690,917 na pondo ng HOPWA na matatangap ng County mula sa U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Inaasahan na ang County ay makakatanggap din ng $500,000 sa pondo ng ESG ng Estado mula sa California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

Kokonsiderahi din ng Konseho ang iminungkahi na gagamitin ang tinatantyang $2,000,000 sa FY 202021 programang CDBG at HOME na kinita at realokasyon ng tintantyang $10,600,000 sa nakaraang taon na ipinagkaloob sa HOME, ESG, CDBG at HOPWA. Ang mga bilang na ito ay ayon sa taon bago ang antas ng pagpopondo.

Ang Taunang Plano ay naglalarawan ng iminungkahing mga aktibidad para sa pagpopondo mula FY 2021-22 at nakaraang taon na ipinagkaloob, na kailangan tugunan ang mga layunin na itinatag ng 202024 na Pinagsamang mga Plano.

Kokonsiderahin din ng Konseho ang iminungkahing paggamit ng $5,904,293 sa CDBG Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) na pondo.

Makakatanggap ang County ng pondo ng CDBG-CV mula sa HUD upang matulungan ang rehiyon sa paghahanda, pag-iiwas,at pagtugon sa Coronavirus na pandemiko.

Ang programa ng CDBG ay magbibigay ng pondo sa mga unincorporated na lugar ng County at mga lungsod ng Coronado, Del Mar, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Poway at Solana Beach.

Ang pondo ng CDBG ay kailangan: (1) nagbibigay ng benepisyo sa mga mababang-kita na mga tao; (2) maiwasan/matanggal ang estero at mga sira; o (3) matugunan ang agarang pangangailangan ng pagpapaunlad ng komunidad. Ang programang HOME ay nagpopondo ng mga abot-kayang pabahay na mga aktibidad sa loob ng County HOME Consortium. Kasama ng HOME Consortium ang mga lugar ng CDBG areas, at dagdag ang mga lungsod ng Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Mesa, San Marcos, Santee at Vista. Ang programa ng ESG ay magpopondo sa tulong sa walang tuluyan sa mga lugar ng CDBG at ang programang HOPWA sa pabahay/serbisyo para sa mga tao na may HIV/AIDS at ang kanilang mga pamilya sa buong County ng San Diego. Ang programang STATE ESG ay popondo sa tulong sa walang tuluyan sa buong County ng San Diego.

Ang mga kopya ng mga banhgay ng Plano ay makikita sa pampublikong pagsusuri at kumento, sa 30-na araw na peryodiko ng kumento mula Pebrero 12, 2021 hanggang March 16, 2021, sa website ng County sa www.sdhcd.com. Ang mga taong na nangangailangna ng tulong na makilahok sa pagpupulong (hal. hindi nakapagsasalita ng Ingles, kapansanan sa pagdinig atbp.) ay dapat abisuhan ang HCDS limang araw bago ang pagpupulong. Para sa karagdagag impormasyon, tumawag sa (858) 694-8724. Para sa tulong sa may kapansanan sa pagdinig, tumawag sa (866) 9452207.

ANUNSYO NG PAMPUBLIKONG SERBISYO SA COVID-19 Dahil sa pampublikonng emerhensiya sa kalusugan sa Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ang County ng San Diego ay nagsasagawa ng ilang mga pagbabago kaugnay sa mga pagpupulong ng Kuponan ng mga Tagapangasiwa upag protektahan ang kalusugan ng publiko ay iwasan nag pagkalat ng sakit sa lokal.

Ang mga miyembro ng publiko ay maaring. Maaarng makita ng mga miyembro ng publiko ang ilang mga opsyon upang iprisinta ang kanilang pampublikong kumento nang online: Opsyon sa Pampublikong Kumento 2/13/21 CNS-3436768# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

FLOWER VENDORS. A group of sidewalk vendor makes Sampaguita garlands on the corner of General Malvar and Pedro Gil streets in Manila on Thursday, February 11 Garland making and marketing are traditional livelihood activities within and around Metro Manila.

PNA photo by Rico H. Borja

UK, EU to help PH get COVID-19 vaccines

by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com

MANILA — The United Kingdom remains committed to help the Philippines access a vaccine, developed under transparent mechanisms and delivered safely and effectively, British Ambassador Daniel Pruce said.

“It’s entirely fitting that our countries are working closely together through these issues, in addressing the pandemic effectively,” Pruce said.

The UK-Philippines Vaccine Clinic, a series of sharing lessons learned across borders and supporting equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines was launched on Wednesday, February 10.

“The Philippines is one of 18 countries to receive the first batch of vaccine donations from COVAX. We thank the British government for its support in our vaccination program, helping vaccinate eight to nine million Filipinos in the first half of 2021,” said vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. A World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel dismissed concerns over the efficacy of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine on Wednesday, insisting that “it’s the right thing to do” to use it – even in countries where new variants had surfaced.

WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan has urged countries to use AstraZeneca vaccine, saying there’s no time for hesitation.

Australia has expressed its readiness to support the Philippines and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an equitable and efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

Australian Ambassador Steven Robinson said on Twitter that he met recently with Galvez, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III,

and National Action Plan deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon to ask for an update on the vaccine rollout.

He said Australia also wanted to know from the Philippine officials how it could support the distribution through the COVAX facility.

The European Union has also assured the Philippines of “fair access” to affordable COVID-19 vaccines.

President Duterte earlier accused the EU of holding up supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries.

New Ambassador Luc Véron said the EU is eager to pursue the effective implementation of its Partnership and Cooperation agreement with the Philippines.

“The EU and its member states will continue their efforts to contribute to the international response to the pandemic, including by guaranteeing affordable and fair access to vaccines for all,” Véron said following the presentation of his credentials to Duterte on Wednesday.

The EU, he said, at all times through its humanitarian aid and civil protection stands prepared to support the Philippines in cases of natural emergencies, and in ensuring disaster preparedness.

“For all these reasons, the EU is willing to have a productive political relationship with the Philippine government, notably to support the Philippines in its efforts to overcome the COVID19 crisis and its efforts to restart its economy,” he added.

He noted that the EU has a strategic interest in a stable, prosperous and secure Philippines. This could be achieved by furthering trade and investment, promoting maritime security and maintaining open and safe shipping routes.

Since 2014, the EU has been

providing the Philippines with preferential trade access to the EU market, based on sustainable development principles, good governance and human rights.

“The EU with its business community is also the first foreign investor in the Philippines,” he said.

Belgium, for its part, said it will make sure companies that will export COVID-19 vaccine will fulfill their contractual obligations to ensure uninterrupted distribution.

“The Belgian Government takes pride in the fact that Belgium is the home of the production facilities of some of the world’s most renowned pharmaceutical companies and will spare no effort to ensure that within the framework of this new procedure, these companies will be able to fulfill their contractual obligations towards third countries and the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will not be interrupted,” Belgium’s Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation said.

Belgian authorities are in constant communication with suppliers Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson regarding streamlining of procedures.

According to the European Commission, the country where the final manufacturing and handling of the vaccine are done before shipment to destination, is responsible for granting export license.

“As such, Belgium is responsible for granting export licenses for COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and soon also Johnson & Johnson. Export licenses for exports of vaccines from other suppliers shall be dealt with by other competent EU Member States,” it added. n

FDA checking on alleged arrival of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in PH

by Cathrine

gonzaLes Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday, February 12 it is checking on reports that Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna have allegedly arrived in the country, as it disclosed that the United States drugmaker may apply for an emergency use authorization (EUA) of its coronavirus inoculation shots next week.

FDA director-general Eric Domingo said they don’t have information yet on which port in the

country the Moderna vaccines were supposedly delivered.

“We have no info on it. Our enforcement unit is still checking the reports,” he said in a text message to INQUIRER. net.

Asked about the possible application of Moderna for a EUA in the country, Domingo said: “Yes, I think they will apply next week.”

To date, only Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca have so far secured EUA in the Philippines, which

is being required for available Covid-19 vaccines to be legally administered in the country.

The Philippines is set to receive 20 million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, with Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez earlier saying that the vaccines from the company may be delivered in mid-2021.

In November last year, Moderna announced that its experimental vaccine against Covid19 was 94.5-percent effective based on early results from its clinical trials. n

‘Ang Dating Daan’ founder Eli Soriano, 73 by red

Mendoza ManilaTimes.net

ELISEO “Eli” Soriano, televangelist and founder of the Members Church of God International, also known as “Ang Dating Daan” (The Old Path), died early Friday morning in Brazil. He was 73 years old.

“It is with deep sadness, yet with full faith in the Almighty, that we announce the passing of our beloved and one and only Bro. Eliseo “Eli” Soriano — a faithful preacher, brother, father, and grandfather to many,” The group said in its Facebook page.

There were no details on the cause of his death.

Soriano started his preaching in Guagua, Pampanga, and later started his media evangelism career on radio in 1980 and on television in 1983.

He is known for his method of using biblical expositions under the “Itanong mo kay Soriano (Ask Soriano)” television program, where his audience can get a chance to ask him questions, as well as for his “revelations” of doctrinal errors in other religions.

He was also known to debate

Eliseo “Eli” Soriano, April 4, 1947-February 12, 2021

with various religious leaders and sects, especially against the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ).

The group has assured that it will continue the projects and programs initiated by Soriano before he died.

“Up to the last moments of his life, Bro. Eli was able to fulfill his vow to the Almighty that manifests in his love to serve the brethren…. and as Bro. Eli once said, ‘To be privileged to serve you in Christ is the greatest opportunity in life,’” it added. n

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

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

A9

A10 february 13-16, 2021 • La WeeKeND aSIaN JOurNaL

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

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

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

Asian Journal

WKND Immigration Corner

B1

Sat urday, f ebruary 1 3 , 2 0 2 1

LifestyLe Consumer Guide Community marketpLaCe

NVC sending notices, but I’m in the US ‘Fight for You’ by H.E.R. makes

Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

Why am I getting notices from the NVC when I’m here in the U.S.?

What should I do?

Very truly yours, GL

DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I entered the U.S. in 2000 on a visitor’s visa and overstayed. My sister filed a petition for me (F-4) in early 2001 under Clinton’s LIFE ACT. I am now receiving notices from the National Visa Center (NVC), advising me that I need to log onto their website, pay various fees, and submit various forms.

They further state that if I do not do so within one year, my case will be canceled.

I don’t want to go back to the Philippines for my visa, as I’m afraid of getting stuck there for 10 years under the 3/10 year bar.

Dear GL: You may be receiving notices from the NVC notifying you to start applying for your visa in Manila because the NVC may believe that you are either still in the Philippines or not eligible to adjust status (file for your green card) in the U.S. (On the I-130 petition, it asks for the beneficiary’s address and/ or whether they will apply for their visa outside the U.S. Sometimes, relatives are scared to disclose the alien is already in the U.S. and list an address outside the U.S., or the USCIS, in approving the petition, makes the decision the person is

not eligible to adjust in the U.S., when they might actually be eligible.)

If you have been petitioned, are in the U.S., and now receiving notices from the NVC, I would strongly suggest that you consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation and advise you of your immigration options.

Perhaps you may be eligible/ qualified to apply for adjustment of status in the U.S. If you are required to apply outside the U.S., an attorney can evaluate your eligibility for a provisional waiver before departing. Otherwise, you could be stuck outside the U.S. for up to 10 years.

In addition, the NVC cannot be ignored. If you do not respond to them, either by advising you will apply for your green card in the

CITIZEN PINOY CELEBRATES VALENTINE’S DAY THIS SUNDAY BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS DEALING WITH SPOUSES AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS BEING TOGETHER OR REUNITED. Leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (left) discusses the latest immigrations news and information from the highlights of his YouTube channel, US Immigration TV. Atty. Gurfinkel also answers questions from Luz of Los Angeles, California (center), who wants to know what will happen to her conditional green card now that her husband of two years recently passed away due to COVID. Butch from Anaheim, California (right) wants to know how he can get his fiancée and nine-year-old daughter to the U.S. in light of Biden’s new immigration policies. Be sure to watch this special Valentine’s Day episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot” this Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 pm PST/EST (8:30 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

U.S. or submitting fees and forms within one year, they could actually terminate your registration (shred your petition), in which case you lose your priority date and the opportunity to pursue your visa, even if you should later decide to apply in the U.S. I’ve had countless cases where a person did not know what to do and did not respond to the NVC, only to have the NVC shred the case. When they finally came for assistance, in some cases it was too late.

You waited so long for your petition, and given the complexities and ever-changing policies and requirements for immigration benefits, I strongly recommend that you seek the advice and assistance of an attorney. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 40 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different, and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter.

No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, Twitter @GurfinkelLaw and YouTube: US Immigration TV Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

it to Oscars 2021 shortlist

By Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R. Photo from Instagram/@hermusicofficial

“FIGHT For You” by R&B artist H.E.R. has made it in this year’s Oscar Original Song shortlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, February 9, released its shortlists for the 2021 Oscars in nine categories — documentary feature, documentary short subject, international feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short film, live-action short film, and visual effects.

H.E.R.’s “Fight For You,” from the film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” was one of the 15 PAGE B2

Two Filipino-centric films to premiere at 2021 SXSW Online By aJPRess

“THE Fabulous Filipino Brothers” directed by Filipino American actor Dante Basco and “Islands” by Filipino Canadian Martin Edralin are set to premiere in the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival.

SXSW on Wednesday, February 10, revealed its lineup for the 28th edition of the SXSW Film Festival, which will take place online from March 16 to 20, 2021.

Films in the lineup will screen in the following categories: Headliners; Narrative Feature Competition; Documentary Feature Competition; Narrative Spotlight; Documentary Spotlight; Visions;

Midnighters; Global; 24 Beats Per Second; Festival Favorites; and, new this year, 2020 Spotlight.

“It’s been a year unlike any we’ve experienced, first marked by the cancellation of SXSW 2020,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film.

“We feel privileged to have been able to pivot to SXSW Online and present a fantastic treasure trove of programming, including a pared down and wonderful selection of films that we know will delight, entertain, and move our attendees,” she added.

Edralin’s “Islands” is under Narrative Feature Competition, PAGE B2

B2 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

EntErtainmEnt

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

Citizen Pinoy celebrates Valentine’s Day this Sunday with another brand-new episode

LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel presents the latest in immigration news and analysis, and provides the latest information and highlights from his YouTube immigration channel, US Immigration TV. Since it is Valentine’s Day, Citizen Pinoy celebrates “love” as Atty. Gurfinkel answers questions related to spouses and significant others on this week’s episode.

Butch from Anaheim, Califor-

nia wants to bring his current fiancée and their nine-year-old daughter to the U.S. Butch asks how President Biden’s proposed policies can help bring his family together.

Luz from Los Angeles, California just lost her husband of two years to COVID. She wants to know what will happen to her conditional green card now that her husband is no longer alive.

These questions and more will be answered on the show.

And a couple shares their sto-

ry on how Atty. Gurfinkel played “Cupid” and united the woman from New York, and the gentleman from Qatar in the Middle East after the couple almost gave up because their previous lawyer said, “It is impossible.”

Get the latest immigration updates on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot” this Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 pm PST/EST (8:30 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

Regine admits disagreements with Ogie part of what makes their 10-year marriage durable By allan

PolIcarPIo Inquirer.net

LIKE most, Regine Velasquez can’t really celebrate or go out on Valentine’s Day, because she’s the one often doing the serenading and entertaining couples on dates. But luckily, she can always count on her husband, Ogie Alcasid, to still make that day special.

“I work during Valentine’s Day every year. But in all fairness, lagi namang may paandar si koya! It could be a gift or a surprise dinner,” Regine told the Inquirer in a video conference for her digital concert, “Freedom,” on Feb. 14 on KTX.ph.

“He would always surprise me with something.”

(The concert has been postponed due to Regine’s exposure to a COVID-19 positive person.)

Truth be told, Regine doesn’t want to get her hopes up too much, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to this year’s Valentine’s Day. However, I’m managing my expectations— it’s difficult to expect anything these days because of what we’re going through,” the music icon pointed out. “It’s tough to celebrate, too, knowing that others are having a hard time. But knowing him [Ogie], he will have something under his sleeve.”

Besides, it’s the little things that help spice up a marriage, Regine observed. Get used to grand displays and gestures, she said, and you lose the capacity to be surprised.

“As I was telling my fans,

Miguel Tanfelix and Ysabel Ortega

GMA photos

Miguel, Ysabel join ‘Voltes V: Legacy’ cast

By Ian

BIong Inquirer.net

YOUNG actors Miguel Tanfelix and Ysabel Ortega will be completing the team of GMA Network’s upcoming “Voltes V: Legacy” series.

Tanfelix will be volting in as the team’s leader, Steve Armstrong, while Ortega will take on the role of Jamie Robinson, the Kapuso network announced yesterday, Feb. 10.

“The V5 team is complete!

Meet Steve and Jamie of Voltes V: Legacy!” GMA Network posted on Facebook.

The announcement came with photos of the two donning their flight suits against the background of the Voltes V headquarters, Camp Big Falcon.

In the original Japanese anime from the ’70s, Steve Armstrong

is the eldest of the Armstrong brothers and is the leader of the Voltes V team. As a master marksman and an ace pilot, Steve Armstrong pilots the Volt Cruiser, the head of Voltes V. Jamie Robinson is, meanwhile, known as a kunoichi, a female ninja, and is the only female member of the crew. She pilots the Volt Lander, which forms the feet of Voltes V. In a clip shared by GMA Network online, Ortega was revealed to have nailed the audition for the role and was commended by the series’ director, Mark Reyes, himself for her performance.

The said video also included two short clips of Ortega in action as Jamie Robinson, piloting her ship in one and showing off her hand-to-hand combat prowess in another.

Actors Radson Flores, Matt Lozano and child star Raphael Landicho will, meanwhile, be respectively taking on the roles of Mark Gordon, Big Bert Armstrong and Little Jon Armstrong, as announced earlier.

The Philippine live-action retelling of the hit Japanese anime has been highly anticipated as fans, both young and old, laud the teleserye’s visual effects seen in the trailers.

In its most recent teaser, which comes almost a year after the first, “Voltes V: Legacy” shows off impressive visuals as it gives fans a glimpse of the Boazanians’ invasion of the earth.

“Voltes V” is a Japanese anime television series produced

by Toei Animation and Nippon Sunrise. It originally aired in the ’70s.

‘Fight for You’ by H.E.R. makes it to Oscars...

Regine Velasquez with husband Ogie Alcasid

don’t always expect something big, so that, hopefully, we can continue surprising each other.

It’s the same when it comes to marriage. You need those little surprises to make things work and make the relationship exciting,” she explained.

Regine and Ogie tied the knot in 2010, and had their son, Nate,

Photo from Instagram/@reginevalcasid

the following year. But it seems like time hasn’t passed, Regine said, because the marriage is “bonggang-bongga pa rin.”

“We celebrated our 10th anniversary last year. And it makes me so happy that we made it to 10 years. It feels so long ago, but it also feels like it was just PAGE B8

PAGE B1 songs to advance in the original song category out of 105 eligible songs.

The shortlisted songs were selected by the Academy’s 376-member music branch. Voting for the final five in each category will take place between March 5 and 10, with nominees to be announced on March 15.

The winners will then be announced during the Oscar ceremony scheduled on April 25.

Last week, “Fight For You” received a Golden Globes nomination for Best Original Song –

Motion Picture.

H.E.R., whose real name is Gabriella Wilson, was born in Vallejo, California to a Filipina mother and an African American father.

She rose to fame in 2009 after participating in Radio Disney’s “Next Big Thing.” At the age of 14, she signed to RCA Records and released the single “Something to Prove” under her real name in 2014.

In 2016, she debuted under the H.E.R. persona with her debut EP “H.E.R. Volume 1.”

She then released other EPs “H.E.R. Volume 2” and “The B

Sides” in 2017 before releasing her first compilation album “H.E.R.” which consisted of tracks from the singer’s first two EPs plus six additional songs.

In 2018, she released “I Used to Know Her: The Prelude” and “I Used to Know Her: Part 2.”H.E.R. received five nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019, winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album. The year after, she received three nominations: Song of the Year (“I Can’t Breathe”), and two for Best R&B Song (“Better Than I Imagine” and “Slow Down”).

Filipino-Canadian Martin Edralin’s “Islands” will make its world premiere at SXSW’s Narrative Feature Competition.

Two Filipino-centric films to premiere at...

PAGE B1

along with seven other world premieres. “Islands” tell the story of a shy Filipino immigrant on the cusp of 50 who pleads with God for a companion, terrified of the prospect of being alone.

“We’re thrilled to announce that ISLANDS the first feature by award-winning director Martin Edralin, will make its world premiere at SXSW 2021 in the Narrative Feature Competition, marking one of the first-ever Filipino-language narrative feature to premiere at the festival!

Starring Rogelio Balagtas, Sheila Lotuaco and Steve Comilang, produced by Circus Zero Films and Silent Tower,” according to the film’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers” — starring Dante, Derek, Dion and Darion Basco — will be screened in Narrative Spotlight, along with seven other high profile narrative features receiving their World, International, North American, U.S. or Texas premieres at SXSW. “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers,” set between Northern California and the Philippines, tells the story of four brothers and “a highly controversial Filipino wedding.” The film also features cockfights, adultery, romance, food, and family.

SXSW Online will take place across several platforms like web, mobile, and premium viewing from your TV. Seven films will launch every two hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT.

“The Fabulous Filipino Brothers,” directed by Dante Basco and starring him and his brothers, will make its SXSW debut.

SXSW audiences will be able to watch 75 features including 57 world premieres, three international premieres, four North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, eight Texas premieres,

and 53 films from first-time filmmakers. There will also be 84 short films which includes music videos, episodic premieres and pilots, virtual cinema projects, and special events.

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

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

seafood city fpfc

B3

B4 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

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

FOR RENT

REAL ESTATE

SERVICES

FOR RENT

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

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • fEbRUARy 13-16, 2021

Clean green energy ETFs Tax Tips Victor Sy, cPA, mBA THIS is the second of four articles on clean energy.

Enphase Energy (ENPH): • Enphase was the best-performing renewable energy stock of 2019 as it gained 400%.

• It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells solar home energy systems.

• Each panel is equipped with a microinverters that work best if there is partial shade on the panels.

• These systems do not need a centralized system inverter as solar generated DC is converted to AC at the panel level.

• This can be more expensive but the company claims it’s safer, more reliable, and more efficient.

• It uses safe and environment-friendly cobalt free Encharge LFP batteries.

• The company works closely with its installers and customers.

• Customers get a mobile App through which they can monitor

Tapat Sa Batas Atty. rheA SAmSon SA kasong United States v.

Windsor, na lumabas noong Hunyo 2013, sinabi ng U.S. Supreme Court na ang Section 3 ng Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), na nagsasaad na ang salitang “kasal” ay tumutukoy lamang sa legal union ng isang lalaki at isang babae, bilang mag-asawa, at ang salitang “asawa” ay tumutukoy lamang sa magkaibang kasarian na silang mag-asawa ay unconstitutional.

Bago lumabas ang Supreme Court decision sa United States v. Windsor, hindi kinikilala ng U.S.CIS ang mga relasyon ng parehong kasarian bilang kasal alinsunod sa Section 3 ng DOMA. Subalit dahil sa United States v. Windsor, kinikilala na ng USCIS ang kasal ng parehong kasarian.

Katulad ng determinasyon ng USCIS kung ang kasal ng magkaibang kasarian ay may bisa sa ilalim ng place-of-celebration rule, ang USCIS ay magbabatay din sa place-of-celebration rule sa pagdetermina kung may bisa ang kasal ng magkaparehong kasarian.

Ang bisa ng kasal ay alinsunod sa mga batas kung saan ginanap ang kasal. Ito ang tinatawag na “place-of-celebration rule”. Sa ilalim ng place-of-celebration rule, ang kasal ay may bisa para sa mga immigration purpose kung ang kasal ay may bisa sa ilalim ng batas ng lugar kung saan naganap ang kasal.

Susuriin ng USCIS ang mga batas sa lugar kung saan naganap ang kasal upang magkaroon

(Part 2 of 4) and control their system.

First Solar (FSLR): • First Solar designs and manufactures solar power systems and solar modules.

• The company utilizes a thin film semiconductor technology to manufacture solar modules.

• These modules produce electricity at a lower cost per watt than traditional silicon-based panels.

• They also perform better in hot and humid conditions as well as shed snow and debris quicker.

• Those characteristics make them ideal for utility-scale applications.

• First Solar stands out with is its strong balance sheet. It carries a large net cash position.

• Most of its competitors have lots of debt in their balance sheets and pay interest to lenders.

• First Solar’s financial strength reduces its costs and allows it to expand its manufacturing capacity.

Cheniere Energy (LNG): Cheniere is the largest producer of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. • It makes this list of 2021’s

best green energy stocks given both LNG’s cleanliness compared to other fossil fuels, as well as its preferred status as a backup for renewable-energy sources.

• Cheniere exports gas to 32 of the 39 countries that buy the commodity.

• Cheniere is well positioned to be the exporter of incremental liquified natural gas supplied to the global market over the next few years, particularly as demand ramps up from China.

• Chinese demand had cooled due to trade tensions, but Europeans stepped up their buys. *** Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV - Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California. *** He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise - “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at vicsy@live.com.

Love wins ito ng wastong determinasyon ukol sa bisa ng kasal ng magkarehong kasarian at kasal ng magkaibang kasarian. Susuriin ng USCIS kung ano ang mga kailangan para sa kasal at kung ang mag-asawa ay sumunod sa mga tuntunin at regulasyon ng lugar kung saan naganap ang kasal. Kung ang mga batas kung saan naganap ang kasal ay hindi kumikilala ng kasal ng magkaparehong kasarian, ang kasal ay walang bisa.

Halimbawa ang kasal ng magkaparehong kasarian ay naganap sa Pilipinas. Dahil ang batas ng Pilipinas ay hindi kumikilala sa kasal ng magkaparehong kasarian, ang kasal ay walang bisa para sa mga U.S. immigration purpose. Subalit kung ang alien-beneficiary ay magpapakasal sa kanyang kasintahang U.S. citizen sa California, kung saan ang kasal ng magkarehong kasarian ay may bisa, ang kasal ay may bisa para sa mga U.S. immigration purpose. Ang asawang U.S. citizen ay maaaring magpetisyon sa kanyang dayuhang asawa bilang immediate relative sa ilalim ng U.S. Immigration Laws.

Sa mga kasal ng transgender persons, tatanggapin at kikilalanin ng USCIS ang kanilang kasal kung may bisa ang kanilang kasal sa state o local jurisdiction kung saan ito naganap.

In the case of United States v. Windsor, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013, the Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which states that: “the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers

only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife” is unconstitutional.

Prior to the Supreme Court decision in United States v.

Windsor, the USCIS did not recognize the relationships between two persons of the same sex as marriages or intended marriages in accordance with Section 3 of DOMA. In accordance with the Supreme Court decision, the USCIS recognizes same sex marriage and determines the validity of same-sex marriage by place-of-celebration rules, just as USCIS applies this rule to determine the validity of an opposite-sex marriage.

Generally, the validity of the marriage is determined by the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated. This is called the “place-of-celebration rule”. Under this rule, a marriage is valid for immigration purposes if the marriage is valid under the law of the jurisdiction in which it is performed. Since the place-of-celebration rule governs same-sex marriage in exactly the same way it governs opposite-sex marriage, USCIS will review the laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage took place to determine the requisites of marriage and if the parties complied with these requisites. If the laws of the jurisdiction in which same-sex marriage took place does not recognize same-sex marriage, then such marriage is not valid.

For example, if the same-sex marriage is celebrated in the Philippines, said marriage is not valid for U.S. immigration purposes as the laws of the Philippines do not recognize same-sex marriage. However, PAGE B6

situation where separate property is subsequently paid with community funds is “apportionment.”

The process of apportioning between the separate and community property component is laid out in the Marriage of Marsden. In that case, the court determined the ratio or percentage in which the mortgage loan principal was reduced during the marriage and applied that percentage to the appreciation of the real property during the marriage. The community property component would then consist of the reduction in the mortgage loan principal during the marriage plus the portion of appreciation during the marriage applying the ratio discussed above.

In the Marriage of Marsden, the real property was purchased by the husband for $38,300 prior to the marriage.

The original mortgage was $30,000. By the time the husband got married, the house was now worth $65,000 while the mortgage has gone down by $7,000. Both the appreciation of $26,700 and the mortgage reduction of $7,000 would be separate property since it occurred prior to marriage. Marriage of Madsen (1982) 130 CA3d 426, 181 CR 910.

During the marriage until the time of trial, the property has appreciated another $117,500 (property now valued at $182,500) while the mortgage

has further declined by $9,200 up to the date of separation.

The ratio at which community funds paid down the mortgage ($9,200) during the marriage to the original purchase price ($38,300) amounts to 24.02%.

This percentage of the property appreciation during the marriage of $117,500 ($28,223.50) plus the reduction in mortgage balance during the marriage ($9,200) would constitute the community component of the real property. The rest was the husband’s separate property.

The husband in that case was awarded his separate property component of the real property plus one half of the community property component.

The Marsden apportionment method is also applicable to situations where a community real property is later transmuted into one spouse’s separate property through execution of a quit claim by the other spouse but is subsequently paid using community funds. Marriage of Broderick (1989) 209 CA3d 489, 257 CR 397. In litigation, the community interest in the situations mentioned about is proven through expert witness testimony typically by a forensic CPA. Since California case law allows the creation of a community interest in real property acquired prior to marriage, one has to consider vehicles to protect themselves if you

Do I have a community property interest in a house which my spouse acquired before our marriage?

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrSUA reyeS GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or funds during the marriage?

The community in this situation acquires a pro tanto interest in the ratio that the payments on the purchase price made with community funds bear to the total payments on the purchase price and any appreciation should be apportioned accordingly. Marriage of Moore (1980) 28 C3d 366, 371, 373, 168 CR 662, 664, 665. Other expenses associated with the property are not considered in the calculation such as mortgage interest, taxes, and insurance. In essence, the real property would accumulate both a separate property and a community property component by the date of separation.

The appropriate remedy in this

Debt Relief

PAGE B6

Atty. LAwrence yAng TWO very important events are happening today. The first is the start of former President Trump’s defense by his lawyers. It will be a short defense, they promise. How do you defend the indefensible?

After seeing and hearing the case for impeachment by the prosecution in the last two days and events that happened for the whole world to see, yes in plain sight, there is really no question as to what happened and who incited the insurrection against our sacred Capitol on January 6.

There’s a slim chance that enough

B5

Young client seeks Chapter 7 relief from $100K credit cards

Republic senators may vote to convict. There’s a slim chance that they may respond positively and vote their conscience. I pray that God Almighty send his Holy Spirit to move the Republican senators to do the right thing for our country and people. Our very existence as a country and as a people is at stake. If the person’s ultimately responsible for the brazen assault on our capitol are not held accountable for what they did, insurrection against our United States of America, against our Constitution itself, and the heart of our democracy, I fear we have no more future as an enlightened nation under God. We will have no moral ascendancy

to express what is morally right or wrong in the world anymore. We will regress into oblivion as just another banana republic with no moral compass whatsoever. It will be confirmed for the whole world to see that we cannot distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.

The second is that Friday, Feb. 12 is Chinese New Year! Happy moo year to everyone! Despite the pandemic that has killed half a million of us and continues to infect and kill us by the thousands every day, we thank God for anointing Mr. Biden to bring us back to sanity and common sense.

PAGE B6

K-1 fiancé(e) visa: Getting your significant other to the United States SEVERAL options exist for a U.S. citizen to bring his/her foreign-national fiancé(e) to the United States. One popular option is to marry the fiancé(e) in the country in which he/she resides, and file an I-130 immigrant petition, with the fiancé(e) to undergo consular processing for an immigrant visa when the I-130 petition is approved. However, this option often is not advisable in that the U.S.-citizen petitioner would have to learn and comply with complicated, country-specific marriage license requirements, or legal barriers to marriage may exist to the U.S.-citizen petitioner in the foreign country (as in the case of the Philippines, which in some circumstances will not recognize a foreign divorce judgment). In such cases, the best way to get your fiancé(e) to the U.S. is via a K-1 fiance(e) visa.

The K-1 fiancé(e) visa allows a fiancé(e) to enter the U.S. for 90 days to allow marriage to take place. By having the marriage take place in the U.S., couples are able to bypass the foreign country’s license requirements and/or other impediments to marriage imposed by a foreign law.

To be eligible for the K-1 fiancé(e) visa petition, the following are required: 1) the petitioner must be a U.S. citizen, 2) the petitioner must have an intent to marry the fiancé(e) within 90 days of his/her arrival in the U.S., 3) the petitioner and fiancé(e)

Legal Advice Atty. DArricK tAn must have the ability to marry (i.e. any previous marriages were terminated by divorce or death), and 4) the petitioner and fiancé(e) must have physically met each other within 2 years of filing the K-1 fiancé(e) visa petition (certain exceptions apply to this fourth requirement). Minor unmarried children of the fiancé(e) may also come to the U.S. under a K-2 visa classification.

Upon arrival in the U.S, the fiancé(e) can immediately apply for authorization to work in the U.S. He/she does not have to wait until marriage to apply for work authorization. The work authorization issued to the fiancé(e) is valid for 90 days after entry. This provides the fiancé(e) the ability to immediately seek lawful employment.

Once married, the spouse of the U.S. citizen can file an I-485 application for adjustment of status (from K-1 to permanent resident), and remain in the U.S. while the application is pending. At the same time the I-485 application is filed, the fiancé(e) may apply for an extended work authorization.

Upon approval of the I-485 application, the fiancé(e) is granted

a conditional green card that is valid for 2 years, after which he/ she can apply to remove the conditions on the green card.

The K-1 fiance(e) status automatically expires after 90 days.

If marriage with the U.S. citizen who petitioned the fiancé(e) does not occur within that time, the fiancé(e) begins to accrue unlawful presence. Also, the fiancé(e) will be precluded from adjusting to permanent resident status in the U.S. if he/she marries another U.S. citizen (however, he/she may be able to become a permanent resident through consular processing with a provisional waiver). If you are a U.S. citizen who is planning to marry your foreign national fiancé(e), or you are someone who arrived under a K-1 fiance(e) visa whose marriage did not take place, it is recommended you consult with an experienced attorney. *** 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 American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Consumers Attorney Association of Los Angeles. He has also served on 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: 323-639-0277. Email: info@ dtanlaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

Q&A: COVID-19 vaccines Dali Fan, M.D., PH.D. Health Science Clinical Professor Cardiovascular Medicine UC Davis Health

Q: Doesn’t the vaccines have side effects? Is it dangerous?

A: COVID-19 vaccines are safe, about as safe as any other vaccine and much safer than almost all common medicine. There can be some minor side effects after vaccination, such as a mild fever or sore arm. Mild symptoms are normal and a sign that the body is building immunity. About 10% of the people received the vaccine may experience side effects.

The COVID-19 vaccines are up to 95% effective.

Q: Have some people gone into anaphylaxis with allergic reactions?

A: Allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines are rare and very few people have had severe adverse reactions (about 5 in 1 million people), it is 100 times less than penicillin. If someone normally has allergic reactions to the flu vaccine or other severe allergies, they should report that to their health providers in advance of receiving the COVID 19 vaccine.

Q: I have allergies and am allergic to many drugs, such as antibiotics. Is it still safe for me to get vaccinated?

A: You can still get the COVID-19 vaccine if you have allergies to drugs, such as antibiotics, but you need to talk to your healthcare provider first about what types of allergies you have had and if any precautions are needed for you to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Q: Can I still take the vaccine if I have underlying health conditions, take routine medication/ treatment and nontraditional or homeopathic remedies?

A: Yes, you can still receive the COVID-19 vaccine even if you have underlying health conditions.

Q: Is the vaccine safe for pregnant women? What about for mothers who are breastfeeding?

A: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that COVID-19 vaccines should not be withheld from pregnant individuals who meet criteria for vaccination. However, all women who are pregnant and mothers who are breastfeeding should talk with their healthcare provider before getting the vaccine.

Q: There’s a new variant of the virus already In California?

Will this vaccine protect against it or will there be another vaccine?

A: Vaccine scientists believe the present COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the new variant.

Scientists are continuing to study this new variant and the vaccines’ effectiveness against it. Both Pfizer and Moderna have already made progress with new vaccines against the new variant.

Q: How long does immunity from the vaccine last?

A: How long the vaccine will provide immunity from the virus is still unknown, but scientists believe it is at least 6 months and they are studying this. People should continue to take safety precautions including mask wearing, hand-washing and physical distancing, even after receiving the vaccine.

Q: How were these vaccines developed so quickly?

A: COVID-19 vaccine was developed to be safe and effective while moving very quickly to get doses manufactured en masse.

Manufacturing started while the clinical trials were still underway. The U.S. government and vaccine manufacturers invested millions of dollars in producing millions of doses of vaccine while clinical trials were in progress, greatly reducing the amount of time between vaccine authorization and vaccine implementation.

The investment in manufacturing normally doesn’t happen for other vaccines until later in the development process but the urgency of this virus required expediency. Still, these more quickly developed vaccines, called mRNA, continue to be held to strict safety standards.

Q: How do mRNA vaccines work? Are they safe and do they alter your DNA? A: This mRNA, or messenger RNA, form of vaccine helps our cells make a “spike protein” that acts to trigger an immune response in the system and does not change our DNA. The technology utilized to make these vaccines has been developed over the last 20 years. Messenger RNA has been studied for over a decade for effectiveness in influenza, Zika, rabies, and new cancer treatments. This type of vaccine is what Pfizer and Moderna are manufacturing to help us get this public health crisis under control safely and effectively.

Q: When and how will people know it’s their turn to get a vaccine?

A: California has a new tool – the MyTurn website, MyTurn. ca.gov, which allows people to sign up to be notified when it is

their turn. The state’s priority is to continue vaccinating health care workers and residents in long-term care settings, then move to other priority groups and ultimately everyone once the vaccine supply is available.

California simplified eligibility guidelines under which health care workers, individuals 65+ and education and childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture workers are eligible to make appointments to receive the vaccine, depending on supply.

Future groups will become eligible based on age.

This eligibility standard will move in unison across all 58 counties and allow the state to scale capacity up while ensuring the vaccine goes to disproportionately impacted communities.

Q: I don’t have a primary physician, where should I go to get the vaccine?

A: People without a primary care physician should contact their local community health clinic, known as Federally Qualified Health Care Center. Or local public health department to know when and where to go for their vaccine.

Q: How much does the vaccine cost?

A: The vaccine cost nothing – it is free for all Californians. If someone charges for it, it would be a scam.

If you’re undocumented or don’t have insurance, you can still get the vaccine at no cost, and COVID-19 vaccine does not count under the public charge rule.

Q: When will the majority of Californians get the vaccine?

A: The state’s weekly supplies of vaccine are extremely limited at this time. Once the vaccines are produced at scale by the manufacturers and made available to the state, we will know when everyone can have the vaccine according to the prioritized groups. Go to VaccinateAll58. com for information about the prioritization of groups for receiving the vaccine.

Q: Do people who already had COVID 19 have to be vaccinated?

A: Yes. Everyone should get vaccinated even if they had COVID-19. Health officials don’t know how long the immune response lasts after contracting COVID-19, so it is important that everyone receive this safe and effective vaccine.

Q: Do you need to get the same vaccine for your first and second dose?

A: Yes. Mixing different doses of different COVID-19 is not recommended.

(Advertising Supplement)

B6 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

Do I have a community property...

PAGE B5 own property and you are contemplating of getting married.

There are several ways of avoiding the creation of a community interest on your separate real property. One, you can sign a prenuptial agreement. Two, the parties can execute a postnuptial agreement if the parties are already married. Three, the parties can execute a transmutation agreement with a waiver of

any family code section 2640 reimbursement claim. If your divorce case involves complex issues of asset distribution, it is best to retain the representation of competent counsel. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific

facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist.

He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

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

(Advertising Supplement)

Pastor’s Notes ReveRend Rodel G. BAlAGtAs

“MOVED with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

—Mark 1:40-42 It’s hard during this pandemic not to be able to embrace, kiss, or touch the people we care about.

It’s painful not to be able to visit sick family members and friends in the hospital. It’s difficult not only for us who are healthy but for those who are ill. They long for our gestures of care, especially our loving touch.

My family and I felt this when my sister was in the hospital for a week. We could not see her. All that we could do was call her or send her a text message. Thank God, at least, we could see her face through a video call. And I’m sure it was harder for her not to be with us, her family.

It’s most painful for people to die in the hospital without their loved ones around them. For their PAGE B5 ardent desires before they leave if the alien-beneficiary marries this earth must be to stay close to the U.S. citizen spouse in Cal- their loved ones, to feel their lovifornia, where same-sex mar- ing touch, and to hear and express riage is valid, then the marriage is valid for U.S. immigration purposes. The US citizen will be able to petition the alien spouse as immediate relative under U.S. immigration laws.

In cases involving transgender persons, USCIS accepts the validity of their marriage if the state or the local jurisdiction in Minding Your which the marriage took place recognizes their marriage as a Finances valid marriage. ***

Love...

The healing touch words of love and forgiveness.

We earnestly pray for the end of this pandemic so that we could back to the gestures of healing touches and embraces.

This Sunday’s Gospel illustrates the power of healing touch. It was more than Jesus’ divine power that healed the leper. It was also how they felt and received the loving touch and the compassionate and affirming words of Jesus.

The leper knew the dangerous consequences of people touching him. He knew how he could contaminate others, make them also unclean, and suffer the same isolation and rejection.

But Jesus’ took the risk of stretching his hand and touching him, saying, “I do will it!” Jesus’ touch and words enlivened his body, mind, and spirit and made him whole again!

Despite this pandemic, let’s not lose sight of the power of physical touch and any gesture of love and care for those who are sick. When life becomes normal again, we hope to fill our homes, hospitals, churches, temples, and communities with the love and care that comes from the power of the human touch.

Even doctors and nurses know this power. In his book, Alive In God, Timothy Radcliffe shares

the wisdom and experience of Abraham Verghese, A Stanford University professor of medicine and novelist. He insists that touch is the heart of all healing. Radcliffe writes: “The doctor’s touch of the patient is not just diagnostic. It is a ritual that binds them together.

He says it is “cathartic for the physician and necessary for the patient. We skip it t our peril.’ It is a covenant that seals the relationship. One must tap the chest, listen to the heartbeat, look under the eyelids and feel the abdomen, attending to the person. He recounts visiting a dying man, in the last hours of his life, who lifted his skeletal fingers and pointed to his chest, as if to say, “Examine me, touch me. Break down the loneliness that threatens to engulf me.”

Indeed, touching with love allows all to discover the living presence of the Risen Christ, the ultimate healer from sin and all ills. *** 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. *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

Facing your fears when bankruptcy is unavoidable

ATTY. RHEA SAMSON is the principal of SAMSON LAW FIRM, P.C. She has been a member of the State Bar of California for over 15 years and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines for over 20 years. Atty. Samson received her Legal Management degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School. She was a Professor for over 10 years, teaching Obligations and Contracts, Labor Laws and Social Legislation and Taxation Law. Atty Samson is the author of The Law on Obligations and Contracts (2016), Working with Labor Laws-Revised Edition (2014) and Working with Labor Laws (2005).

SAMSON LAW FIRM, P.C., 3580 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1710, Los Angeles, CA 90010; Phone: (213) 381-5710; Email: info@ samsonlawfirmpc.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

Atty. RAymond BulAon THE word “bankruptcy” is packed with all sorts of negative emotional triggers.

It sounds bad — even dirty. It’s embarrassing. (What if people find out?!) People paint ugly pictures of what their lives will look like post-bankruptcy.

But it’s not true.

Bankruptcy is an opportunity to close one chapter of your life and open a new chapter — a better chapter. In this new chapter of your life, you get to make choices without the constant pressure of creditors breathing down your back. Your days will feel easier, your responsibilities more manageable, and your choices more abundant. How’s that for a change?

To make the most of this new chapter, though, you have to face your fears. What I mean by “facing your fears” is this: Instead of worrying about how your bankruptcy will impact your life, make a plan so that you are in control.

Intentionally set a course of action to make sure that your bankruptcy does not negatively impact your life.

What does “facing your fears” look like? Below are some practical suggestions that might help.

Number 1: Start by making a list of all the things you are worried about with respect to your bankruptcy. This is important because it gives you the power to begin taking action steps to mitigate this fear. If the fear exists in your mind, but you have not put it to paper, you will continue ruminating about all of the what-ifs. This

will cause your feelings of fear to intensify.

Instead, make a simple list of your fears. This list might include things like: I am worried that my friends and my family will find out.

I am worried that my boss will find out.

I am worried that I will not qualify for loans or credit cards.

I am worried about my credit score.

I am worried that I will be unable to get a job.

Number Two: Now, for each item on the list, make a list of all the things that are within your control that you can do to manage your fears.

For instance, let’s say that you are worried that your friends and your family will find out (which is highly unlikely). What are the things that are within your control that you can do to manage your fears?

You might decide that you will feel better if you tell them directly about your bankruptcy. If this is your decision, you can then go about deciding when and how you will tell them.

On the other hand, you might decide that because friends and family members are unlikely to find out about your bankruptcy, you will refrain from telling them but, instead, create a plan for responding to their inquiries should they somehow find out (which, again, is highly unlikely).

There is no right or wrong answer here. The important part is that you face your fears and determine what you can do that is within your control to address them. Having a plan will put many of your fears to rest.

What are some of the other things you can do to face your fears? If you are worried about the impact the bankruptcy will have on your credit score, you can

learn everything you can about credit-scoring, budgeting, and managing finances so that you feel empowered to make strong financial choices and build a better future for yourself and your family. You can talk to your bankruptcy attorney and ask for tips and advice.

You can read books, take courses, or go online and search for free information. The point of everything I’m saying is this: If filing bankruptcy is the ONLY solution that makes sense for your current debt situation, there are a lot more positive things you can focus on instead of worrying yourself to death. At one time or another, we all face financial trouble. It’s not the end of the world and this can actually be a big turning point in your life.

The truth is: People file for bankruptcy all the time, and they go on to live lives that are filled with happiness, laughter, and financial security. Your bankruptcy will not be a negative force if you make a proactive decision to face your fears and recover through bankruptcy. If you decide right here and now that your bankruptcy is going to be a positive force, then it will be! .

For a free evaluation of your case, please call our office at TollFree 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free consultation. *** NOTE: Due to the virus lockdown, I am currently offering consultations via phone or video. Please call the office to schedule your appointment with me. Questions?

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

(Advertising Supplement)

Young client seeks Chapter 7 relief from...

PAGE B5

problem DEALING WITH INSURANCE CLAIMS? We’ll take it.*

His new leadership and administration are full of human decency and just plain humanity, goodwill to all. I really thank God from the bottom of my heart for anointing Mr. Biden to lead our country and people back to the light. Four years of living in darkness was way too long.

Most of us have hit what they call the “pandemic wall” after a year of living socially isolated from the rest of society. It’s driving a lot of us nuts. The good news is that Biden has been able to order another 200 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna and he expects the entire American population to be vaccinated by the end of this summer! So the trick is for each and every one of us to do everything possible not to get infected before we get the vaccine. I suggest that we all pray the rosary every day and Psalm 91 before and after we get the vaccine for divine protection from any side effects from the vaccine.

Don’t believe in the power of the rosary? Check out Nevers, France where the body of St. Bernadette is housed. She died 140 years ago but her body is still fresh and uncorrupted, she looks like she’s just asleep. That’s the power of the Blessed Mother Mary in full display in our world. St. Bernadette is the one our Blessed Mother appeared to in Lourdes.

Out of 24 million vaccinated, there have been 130 deaths.

Whether these deaths are vac-

cine-related who knows? Every day 7,800 people die from all kinds of causes here in the USA. Once you get vaccinated, you’re immune but there’s a very small chance you may get an adverse reaction. You may not be able to walk straight anymore. Or, worse, you could die. Sure, you can die from getting struck by lightning or being eaten by a shark. But what are the odds that this will happen? Very, very slim. And what are the odds that seniors may die if infected? 75% of the people who have been infected and died are over 60. So you can see the advantages of being vaccinated, right?

Back to the client, who is only 35. He has racked up $100,000 in credit card debt. Obviously, with job loss due to the pandemic, there’s no way for him to pay for these cards. He needs $3,000 a month just for interest payments.

He has had no income since the start of the pandemic. The client is married but the wife is not a joint debtor on his $100,000 of cards. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t need debt relief for herself. She doesn’t owe any credit cards.

The young client needs to get rid of the $100,000 credit cards and obtain a fresh start in life without accumulated debt so he can become a productive person again. He wonders: Would filing for Chapter 7 relief affect his immigration status? Of course not.

Debt relief is irrelevant legally to

immigration status. What is relevant to immigration is the payment of income taxes, not credit card debt. I have many clients who were immigrants who needed Chapter 7 relief. They are all citizens now and productive again.

Don’t forget Walt Disney filed for Chapter 7 twice before his Disney Empire became successful. Mr. Disney became productive again after being a fresh start twice without the accumulated debt that he became a billionaire!

Same with Mr. Milton Hershey who filed for Chapter 7 before his Hershey Chocolate Empire became successful. He too became productive again and became another billionaire!

I certainly hope that my young client will become a billionaire after his Chapter 7 fresh start and be another Disney or Hershey!

If you need debt relief, please set an appointment to see me. 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)

B7 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

B8 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

I won my employment case but my employer filed bankruptcy – now what?

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr. Q: I got a judgment for back wages from the California Labor Commissioner. But my employer filed bankruptcy and closed the business. I heard that the owners will put up another business somewhere else. Is there anything I can do to collect my back wages?

A: The question above is not an uncommon one that our law firm has encountered over the years. It can happen that employees are not able to collect their money because the employer has filed bankruptcy and gone out of business, only to be replaced by other companies that repeat the same pattern of violations.

Back in 2018, the practice of fly-by-night businesses in the trucking industry was so rampant that California had to enact a law that required retailers and manufacturers who hire subcontractors like truckers who haul their merchandise to be jointly liable for the nonpayment of wages. This means that customers of trucking companies will have to pay wages should the trucking company they hired folds up and leave the drivers uncompensated. However, sim-

ilar protection was not available for non-trucking workers.

AB 3075 a.k.a. Enhanced Enforcement Mechanisms for Wage/Hour Judgments was thus enacted in response to employers who attempt to avoid liability for unpaid wages by filing bankruptcy, dissolving the company, or creating multiple subsidiaries to avoid liability, making it difficult to enforce a judgment.

This new law requires that when new companies register with the Secretary of State, their statement of information must contain a statement, under penalty of perjury, indicating whether any officer or any director, member or manager, has an outstanding final judgment issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or a court of law for labor violations.

This law also provides that a “successor” to any judgment debtor shall be liable for any wages, damages, and penalties owed to any of the judgment debtor’s former workforce pursuant to a final judgment. It sets forth certain criteria that establish what successorship is.

Thus, a “successor employer” is liable for any award or judgment if: (1) it uses the same facilities or workforce to offer essentially the same services as the predecessor employer, (2) it has the same owners or managers who control the labor

relations as the predecessor employer, (3) it employs as a managing agent any person who directly controlled the wages, hours or working conditions of the affected workforce of the predecessor employer, or (4) it operates a business in the same industry and the business has an owner, partner, officer, or director who is an immediate family member of any owner, partner, officer, or director of the predecessor employer.

AB 3075 was created to prevent employers from running away from wage judgments or using liability shields to avoid them. Thus, even when these labor violators create a new company, they could still be on the hook for final judgments against them. *** 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, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a past Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas.]

(Advertising Supplement)

Regine admits disagreements with Ogie...

PAGE B2 yesterday. My feelings are the same,” she gushed. “I love having him around. He’s still all that I need.”

And if anything, the past year has only made them stronger together. Yes, there will be misunderstandings sometimes, but that’s just normal, the singer stressed.

“It’s inevitable to have arguments along the way, especially amid the pandemic, because we’re all just stuck at home. We did have some disagreements, but that’s all part of the process.

Actually your relationship will be

tested in situations like these,” Regine said.

In a way, the situation allowed Regine to learn new things about Ogie and discover a different side to him.

“All couples all over the world were tested by the pandemic.

But I’m happy that we were able to overcome the challenges with flying colors,” the 50-year-old recording artist said. “We’re still in a pandemic, but we will make it.”

But longtime couples can’t get complacent. They have to continue working on their relationship.

“When you get married, you

and your partner become one; you need to put an effort to actually grow together. Changes will happen, but you need to stay aligned to stay in a wonderful relationship. Walang iwanan kumbaga,” Regine related, adding that honesty and communication are key.

And humor, too. It makes a whole world of difference to have someone who can make you laugh, especially these days, Regine said. “You have to spend time together, talking and just being honest with one another.

You have to tell each other exactly how you feel.”

B9 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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

B10 FEBRUARY 13-16, 2021 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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