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FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

T h e F i l i p i n o –A m e r i c A n c o m m u n i T y n e w s pA p e r

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Consulate General encourages Filipinos, DATELINE USA Fil-Ams to vote in 2022 PH elections FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

SAN FRANCISCO – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco informs Filipinos and Filipino Americans under its consular jurisdiction that the overseas voting period for the 2022 Philippine national elections will run from April 10, 2022 to May 9, 2022 (4:00 AM, Pacific Time).

“I wish to encourage everyone who is eligible to vote in the upcoming Philippine national elections to exercise your right and duty to vote,” said Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil

Frank Ferrer.

The Consulate General’s mode of voting is postal voting, which involves the Consulate sending to registered overseas voters election packets that contain the official ballots. The Consulate will facilitate the sending of the election packets upon receipt of the same from COMELEC in Manila. The accomplished ballot must be mailed back to the Consulate as soon as possible. Mailed ballots that are received after the close of the overseas voting

Fil-Am family in Oakland wants police to re-open probe of gay son’s death

by JEroME aning, LEiLa B. SaLavErria, Tina g. SanToS Inquirer.net

A FILIPINO family in Oakland, California is demanding that San Francisco police reopen the investigation into the true cause of their adopted gay son’s death two years ago.

Jaxon Sales was found dead at the age of 20 in a San Francisco apartment on March 2, 2020. He reportedly had met a man on a dating app, and that there were drugs in his system. Jim Sales and Angie Aquino-Sales adopted Jaxon and his older brother from

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MANILA — The United States has turned over to the Philippines a newly constructed assault boat pier and maintenance bay facility located in Ternate, Cavite as part of its foreign military financing (FMF) grant.

The U.S. embassy said on Monday, February 14 the Ternate facility, which was turned over to the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) on Feb. 10, was one of three projects covered by FMF grants worth P256.9 million.

The two others are located in Zamboanga and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.

The turnover of the facility in Zamboanga was held in November, while the project in Palawan is yet to be completed in the coming weeks. The PMC inspected and accepted the Ternate facility on Jan. 26.

The facility included a boat ramp,

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Gov’t eyes transition to ‘new normal’ in March

Jaxon Sales, 20, was found dead at the age of 20 in a San Francisco apartment on March 2, 2020.

Photo from Inquirer.net

US turns over port facility to Philippines

period (9 May 2022, 4:00 AM, Pacific Time) will not be counted.

The Consulate has consular jurisdiction over Alaska, Northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Utah.

The public is advised to check their names in the Certified List of Overseas Voters for the 2022 National Elections at https://pcgsanfrancisco.org/

VAX FOR KIDS. A Department of Health staff guides the aviation cargo operator while handling the shipment of the newly delivered Pfizer vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Wednesday, February 16. The reformulated coronavirus vaccine, procured by the national government through the World Bank, is intended for the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler

MANILA — As the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow down and more people get vaccinated, the government hopes to “close the book” on the pandemic starting in March, or two years since the first local transmission of the coronavirus was reported in San Juan, according to the presidential adviser on COVID-19, Vince Dizon.

He cautioned, however, that while the government was aiming to begin implementing the “new normal” next month, the move out of the pandemic would depend on improving the government’s immunization drive to reach more members of the vulnerable population, increasing the vaccination rate in some regions and convincing more individuals to get their booster shots.

Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles, quoting the World Health Organization, said an increased vaccination rate would allow the Philippines to begin moving out of the pandemic this year.

“The acute phase of the pandemic, according to the WHO, could end this year, of course with one qualifier: that the 70-percent vaccination target is achieved by the middle of this year,” Nograles said

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More than 9,000 overseas visitors entered PH after eased restrictions - DOT

by John

Eric MEndoza Inquirer.net

MANILA — More than 9,000 visitors from foreign countries have entered the country on the first few days of eased restrictions, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported on Tuesday, February 15.

Tourism Secretary Berna RomuloPuyat said that 9,283 tourists have visited the country as of Monday, February 14, pointing out that 4,209 of them are

“balikbayans” or returning Filipinos while 5,074 are foreign tourists.

The tourism chief added that visitors from the United States of America make up the majority of visitors with 2,227 arrivals, followed by 661 from Canada, 404 from Australia, 344 from the United Kingdom, 189 from South Korea, 169 from Japan, and 168 from Germany.

Romulo Puyat, in a statement, said: “We at the DOT are excited to see a revival

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Filipino fast-food giant Jollibee is now at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ. It is the fourth outpost of the restaurant in the Garden State.

AJPress photo by Momar G. Visaya

Jollibee’s rapid global expansion lead grows, Vice Pres. continues, opens at American Robredo’s lead shrinks Dream Mall in New Jersey

Filipinos pick health over love, money Pulse Asia: Marcos’ MOST Filipinos will pick good health over love and money, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.

The poll held in December 2021 showed that 57 percent of the respondents chose health, 31 percent chose love and 11 percent chose money.

Preference for health fell by 13 percent from December 2019, while preference for love and money rose by 8 and 4 percent, respectively.

SWS said 60 percent of female respondents prefer health over love and money, and 54 percent of male respondents had the same view. Meanwhile, 29 percent of women and 34 percent of men prefer love, and 11 percent of women and 12 A motorist stops to buy balloons along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City percent of men chose money. on Monday, February 14. Each piece with a message of love retails for P50.

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PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Two stores set to open in Scotland this month

by Franco Luna Philstar.com

MANILA — Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the late ousted dictator, not only maintained but expanded his sizable lead over his rivals in January, while clear secondplace Vice President Leni Robredo saw her support among likely voters shrink, pre-election survey results from Pulse Asia Research suggest.

According to the survey results by Pulse Asia released to media Sunday afternoon, February 13, the former senator still has a solid hold on the lead in all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings and would be elected as the next Philippine president if the elections took place during the survey period.

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by MoMar

g. viSaya

AJPress

JOLLIBEE has officially opened its fourth outlet in New Jersey at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford.

The fast-food giant’s 77th store in North America is located in the second largest mall in the United States today, right next to the MetLife Stadium off the New Jersey Turnpike.

“People waited long for American Dream to open and now we’re here. The mall has plenty to offer aside from the

retail stores, it also has theme parks and a lot of dining options, including Jollibee,” said Merle Caleon, Jollibee’s area director.

The 38,000 square-foot food hall in the billion-dollar mall offers visitors a wide array of restaurants and global food from diverse food vendors. The 3.5-million-square-foot mega mall opened its entertainment complex in October 2019.

Jollibee’s opening comes on the heel of recent news that the Filipino fast-food giant is

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FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (619) 474-0588

From The FronT Page

Pacquiao vows to strengthen VFA

by Delon

This composite photo shows former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Marcos campaign | OVP

Pulse Asia: Marcos’ lead...

PAGE 1 From holding 53% of support from “registered voters in their cities and municipalities” in December, Marcos in late January had 60% support from “likely voters.”

On the other hand, Robredo’s 20% of respondents in the last Pulse Asia survey in December shrunk down to just 16% for the month of January.

Pulse Asia observed, however, that the vice president posted doubledigit voter preferences across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, with Mindanao being the sole exception at just 8% support.

Robredo’s numbers in December were noted for their clear increases over the last surveys, indicating steady momentum.

Within the time period the survey’s interviews were conducted, the Commission on Elections unanimously dismissed a petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. over his tax offense conviction.

In that same frame, Marcos refused to join other presidential candidates in the taped Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews because he claimed Soho was “biased” against him and his family.

Pulse Asia also noted that in one forum he did attend, Marcos said he has no plans to release his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN to the public because he claimed it would only be “used for political attacks.”

As in the last survey, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno still had the highest second-choice voter preference or among voters whose first choice for the presidency decides to withdraw from the elections, notching 24% of second-choice votes.

But when it came to first-choice votes, Moreno was still tied with Sen. Manny Pacquiao with just 8% of the total vote. Sen. Panfilo Lacson was last among the top 5 candidates with just 4%.

Marcos’ lead on his rivals was clear across all regions and all social classes. In both Metro Manila and Mindanao, he took more than half of voters with 61% and 64%, respectively.

Sara Duterte, Tito Sotto lead vice presidential race In the vice-presidential race, Pulse Asia noted that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte is the frontrunner in the May 2022 vice-presidential race while Senate President Vicente Sotto III posts the highest secondchoice voting figure.

Surveys serve as a snapshot of public sentiment during the survey period and are hardly conclusive pictures of the actual election results later on. These have historically changed over time, but serve as guides for candidates and their campaign teams.

The national campaign period prescribed by the Commission on Elections is set to continue for 85 more days until the elections on May 9.

“A small majority of likely voters (53%) have a complete slate for the May 2022 senatorial election; 13 out of the 64 senatorial candidates have a statistical chance of winning, with Mr. Raffy Tulfo enjoying solo 1st place (66.1%),” Pulse Asia also said of the senatorial race.

“Most likely voters (62%) are aware of the party-list system; nine (9) party-list groups succeed in surpassing the 2.0% voter preference threshold needed to secure at least one (1) congressional seat.”

For the nationwide survey, Pulse Asia interviewed 2,400 Filipino adults aged 18 years old and above and reported a ± 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey also have a ± 4% error margin, also at 95% confidence level.

“Pulse Asia Research’s pool of academic fellows takes full responsibility for the design and conduct of the survey, as well as for analyses it makes based on the survey data,” the report read.

“In keeping with our academic nature, no religious, political, economic, or partisan group influenced any of these processes. Pulse Asia Research undertakes pre-election surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort.” n

Porcalla, neil Jayson servallos Philstar.com

MANILA — The Philippines’ 61-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States, along with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), would continue and be strengthened if Sen. Manny Pacquiao makes it to Malacañang, the presidential aspirant said on Wednesday, February 16.

“We will further strengthen the MDT and VFA,” Pacquiao told journalists who represent various foreign media entities that have been assigned to cover the Philippines, stressing that he would also seek the help of allied countries should the lives of Filipinos be endangered.

“We have to fight and do what we have to do. Let’s prepare the protection for our people from abuse and not let them be aggrieved,” he added, noting the country’s maritime row with China over the mineral-rich West Philippine Sea. The world boxing champion, a presidential candidate representing Promdi political party, was a guest at a forum hosted by the Foreign

Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).

The VFA took effect in 1999, duringthe term of former president Joseph Estrada. This pact allows US servicemen to train and advise their Filipino military counterparts in disaster response, including the global fight against terrorism.

The MDT, on the other hand, was forged between Washington and Manila in 1951, when the two countries vowed to help each other if and when an armed attack is launched against either of them in the Pacific area.

Like fellow candidates, Pacquiao said he would be defending the country’s sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea without waging war against China. “We want to avoid conflict or war. It’s not the best idea,” he added.

Pacquiao also promised to support any move that would reopen or renew the legislative franchise of TV broadcast giant ABS-CBN after the House of Representatives shut down the

Sen. Manny Pacquiao visits the Pacman Village in Saranggani Province after he was named “ambassador for the homeless and vulnerable” by international organization Spring Rain Global. He was joined by broadcaster Raffy Tulfo.

Philstar.com photo by Geremy Pintolo

network in May 2020 due to supposed franchise violations.

“I will support the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise if I win in the elections,” the boxing icon assured FOCAP. “And press freedom also, because this is very important to us Filipinos.”

The senator invoked Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “no law shall be passed

abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

The National Telecommunications Commission shut down the Lopez-owned network in mid-2020 after the House rejected the family’s application to extend by another 25 years its legislative franchise. n

Gov’t eyes transition to ‘new normal’ in March...

PAGE 1 in a press briefing on Tuesday, February 15.

“Hopefully, starting March, if all goes well, we will begin with what we call the new normal to prepare the country to finally close the book on COVID-19, barring any other new variants that may come our way,” Dizon said in a meeting with the President in Malacañang on Monday, February 14.

Roadmap The National Task Force Against COVID-19 and the Department of Health (DOH) are in the process of crafting the new normal roadmap, which is expected to be presented to President Rodrigo Duterte in early March, Dizon added.

“And this will really signal the return, hopefully, to a robust and very healthy growth in our economy that will bring back jobs, investments, and the return to normalcy of our industries such as tourism, which was heavily affected by COVID-19,” he said.

Dizon said the government would prioritize the inoculation of nearly three million unvaccinated senior citizens, who were among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, and children, especially those age 5 to 11, to allow them to return to school.

Another priority is increasing the number of people getting booster shots.

He said the government would also increase the vaccination rate in the regions to at least 70 percent and focus would be on Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) Bicol, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos City) Caraga and

Workers enter the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which continues to generate jobs for residents in adjacent localities.

Photo courtesy of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

Bangsamoro regions.

The government is targetting to vaccinate 90 million individuals

by June and as of Feb. 14, the Philippines has 61.63 million fully vaccinated individuals, while another 9.16 million have received their booster doses, Dizon said.

Galvez said the figures were expected to double in the coming weeks as the government opens more vaccination sites across the country and as more vaccines come in.

Easing in Metro Manila Nograles also said the administration was preparing for Alert Level 1 for Metro Manila and other regions, and a big part of this would involve compliance of establishments with minimum public health standards.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the environment has to be ready for the easing of restrictions to make it safe for people to go out.

“It’s not just the people, but

also establishments, both public and private, should provide safe spaces for our people,” Vergeire said in the Palace briefing.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said placing Metro Manila under the lowest alert level would depend on the establishments’ compliance with the safety seal certification program, which affirms their adherence to the minimum public health standards set by the government.

“We will assess… if the safety certification is up to par by Thursday. Hopefully, by the first week of March we can already de-escalate to Alert Level 1,” Duque said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

Duque said the government was also observing how sorties and other gatherings related to the coming May elections affect the COVID-19 figures, admitting that the lack of physical distancing and crowding observed in campaign sorties

were among the reasons why the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases decided to retain Metro Manila under Alert Level 2. “[W]e’ll see in the next two weeks if cases will rise from the time the candidates held their proclamation rallies,” he added.

New cases The DOH on Tuesday reported 2,010 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily tally so far this year.

Tuesday’s positivity rate was 10.4 percent, lower than the previous day’s 10.7 percent. This was based on 20,084 people tested on Sunday.

The national caseload was now 3,641,940.

The DOH said there were 72,305 active cases or people who remain infected with the virus, of which 66,093 were mild.

The 6,293 recoveries brought the total number of survivors to 3,514,489 while the 52 fatalities raised the death toll to 55,146, the DOH said.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said he was hoping that Metro Manila and other areas of the country would be placed under alert level 1 by March to ensure that economic growth and recovery would continue.

“Hopefully by March, we open up because our first quarter depends on this,” he said at the Laging Handa briefing.

He noted that the summer period would begin in March, and this is when people usually go on vacations.

President Duterte also renewed his call to unvaccinated Filipinos to get the COVID-19 shot, saying massive vaccination was the only way to return to normalcy. n

Consulate General encourages Filipinos...

PAGE 1 certified-list-of-overseas-voters-clov-2022/.

The Consulate also reminds media practitioners, whether foreign or national media, who wish to report on the Philippine elections in May 2022, to apply for accreditation with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC)’s Education and Information Department online through the following link: http://bit. ly/2022NLEForeignMedia on or before the deadline for filing of applications on 11 March 2022.

Those who wish to observe and monitor the conduct of the May 2022 elections must also apply for accreditation with the COMELEC’s Education and Information Department online on or before the deadline for filing of applications on 11 March 2022 through the following links: • For foreign observers: https://bit.ly/2022NLEForeignObserver • For domestic observers: http://bit.ly/DomesticMonitorObserver For further inquiries, please contact the Consulate by email at ovs@pcgsanfrancisco.org. n

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SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

Merle Caleon, area director of Jollibee says the company’s rapid expansion includes opening branches in Philadelphia and Alexandria aside from the flagship Times Square store and the branches soon to open near Grand Central and Jamaica in Queens.

AJPress photo by Momar G. Visaya

Jollibee’s rapid global expansion...

PAGE 1 planning to open a store near Grand Central on 42nd Street.

According to Commercial Observer, the new outpost will be at 14 East 42nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Madison, and a stone’s throw from the New York City Public Library and Bryant Park. It is half the size of the flagship at 1500 Broadway, which boasts of a 7,127 squarefoot area.

Reports say that Grand Central will open late next year. The Times Square flagship on the other hand is expected to open this year, along with another one in Jamaica, Queens.

“As Jollibee works to establish 500 stores across North America within the next five to seven years, increasing our presence throughout New York City represents a critical component of our U.S. expansion goals,” Maribeth Dela Cruz, business group head of Honeybee Foods Corporation, which operates Jollibee’s U.S. operations, said in a statement.

“The proximity of this space to Grand Central Terminal offers an incredible opportunity to grow brand awareness among a much broader and diverse audience.”

“We really want to capture the mainstream market right now. That has always been our mission, not only to reach Filipinos but to cross over,” Caleon added.

There are also plans to open in Philadelphia and Alexandria,

according to Caleon. The new stores are part of the brand’s plans to grow to 150 stores in the U.S. by 2023.

European expansion Jollibee also announced on Wednesday, Feb. 16 the opening dates of its much-anticipated first locations in Scotland. On February 24, Jollibee will open its doors in the capital’s city center at 136 Princes Street, Edinburgh, marking its entry into Scotland. The brand will quickly open its second Scottish store in Glasgow on March 25. The two restaurants in Scotland will serve halal meat to cater to all communities in both cities.

“This is an important moment for us as we introduce Jollibee to Scotland with not only 1 but 2 restaurants launching within a month, showing our commitment to expand in Europe,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee Group. “We are looking forward to serving our Scottish customers delicious food in a joyful restaurant experience.”

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have a large student presence and active youth community, making them the perfect cities for Jollibee, which has seen huge success among young people looking for new food experiences.

In the last 18 months, overall UK sales rose by 417%, with the Jollibee Chicken Sandwich and new Spicy Chickenjoy receiving rave reviews.

The first Jollibee in the UK

opened in London in 2018 and has since added another eight locations to the map including Cardiff, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, and Leicester Square in London’s West End. Across its UK restaurants, Jollibee has served up an incredible 1.3 million pieces of Chickenjoy since January 2021.

“The reception for Jollibee in 2021 gave us confidence that our new store design and locally-relevant menu created specifically for our European audience was working,” said Dennis Flores, President of Jollibee Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia.

The unveiling of Jollibee’s first Scottish location coincides with the announcement last month that further COVID restrictions would be lifted across Scotland.

“Most people have not been able to try new things in the last few years, so bringing the fun, joyful, and colorful Jollibee restaurant to customers will be a great start to 2022,” said Adam Parkinson, Business Head of Jollibee Europe. “We are optimistic that opening now in Scotland is an opportune time for Jollibee and will bring customers something different and exciting.”

Jollibee was originally founded in 1978 and has over 1,500 stores across 17 countries, including the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, UAE, and the UK in England and Wales. n

VACCINATE

KIDS 5+ TO PROTECT

THEM FROM

COVID-19 Talk to a doctor or learn more by visiting MyTurn.ca.gov or calling 833-422-4255

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FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (619) 474-0588

Help the FTC get money back to people who experience impersonator fraud

TO combat government and business impersonation scams and get money back to people, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering changes to the law that would give the agency better tools. Want to help? Submit a comment on the rulemaking and make your voice heard.

Whether they call pretending to be from the Social Security Administration or email or text you claiming to be from a trusted business, impersonators are trying to steal your money or get your personal information — or both. And, for the past two years, they’ve been taking advantage of the confusion over the pandemic. The FTC’s data show that COVID-specific scam reports have included 14,069 complaints of government impersonation and 9,850 complaints of business

impersonation. People have lost over $52 million to COVID-specific government and business impersonators since January 1, 2020.

Current law limits the FTC’s ability to combat these scams and return money to people who’ve lost money to these scammers. The FTC wants to change the law to make it easier to sue and get refunds for people who have experienced impersonation fraud.

If you’ve experienced impersonation fraud, or have an opinion about the proposed rulemaking, submit your comment online at https://www.federalregister. gov/documents/2021/12/23/2021-27731/traderegulation-rule-on-impersonation-of-governmentand-businesses. All comments must be submitted online by February 22.

(Ari Lazarus/Consumer Education Specialist/ FTC) n

More than 9,000 overseas visitors...

PAGE 1 in our local tourism and will continue to support our partners in achieving this goal.”

“International travel and tourism saw an unprecedented decline in visitor arrivals amid the pandemic; the reopening of Philippines’ borders to visitors

from visa-free countries will surely help in improving our numbers,” she added.

Fully vaccinated tourists are required to present proof of vaccination as approved by the country’s pandemic task force or the World Health Organization, as well as a negative RT-PCR

swab test result taken within 48 hours before their departure in their country of origin.

Starting February 10, the Philippines has allowed the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from 157 countries that have visa-free arrangements with the country. n

Jim Sales and Angie Aquino-Sales adopted Jaxon (left) and his older brother from Korea when they were babies.

Screenshot

Fil-Am family in Oakland wants police...

PAGE 1 Korea when they were babies.

Now, their Change.Org petition to re-open the investigation has amassed more than 40,000 signatures. State Senator Scott Wiener also wrote letter asking SFPD and the medical examiner “just to make sure this family knows exactly what happened.”

SFPD released a statement to ABC7 News reporter Dion

Lim saying there were no signs of foul play. The Sales family, however, claims that SFPD and the medical examiner did not do enough to find the true cause of Jaxon’s death.

“We spent the first year trying to get reports,” Angie Sales told ABC7 News.

They also believe their son’s case was dismissed as an “accidental overdose” because of

his sexual orientation. “Jaxon is Asian, he is gay. When I heard the medical examiner say (the drug) GHB…and the gay community uses GHB… it was very dismissive.”

Regardless of the outcome, the Sales family hopes their effort will inspire other families of children in the LGBTQ community to have a voice. (Inquirer. net) n

APPRECIATING THE ARTS. Mallgoers take photos of artworks of painter Jose “Pitok” Blanco, and select visual artists at a mall in Taytay, Rizal on Wednesday, February 16. February is declared as National Arts Month under Proclamation No. 683 signed in 1991 while the town of Taytay is known as the “Cradle of Philippine Art”.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

Filipinos pick health over love, money...

PAGE 1 The percentage of those who prefer health was highest among women with live-in partners at 68 percent, followed by single women (63 percent) and married women (56 percent).

Among male respondents, preference for health was highest among those who are single at 58 percent, followed by those with live-in partners (54 percent) and those who are married (52 percent).

SWS sees no clear pattern in preferring health in terms of age, although it rises with education among both sexes.

Women who picked health were highest among college graduates with 64 percent, followed by junior high school graduates (62 percent), elementary graduates (53 percent) and non-elementary graduates (48 percent).

A similar pattern runs among male respondents.

The survey also showed that 84 percent of the respondents said they are more attracted to a person’s brain than body, while 15 percent said the opposite.

SWS said 53 percent said they have a “very happy” love life, 28 percent said it “could

be happier” and 18 percent said they “do not have a love life.”

Compared to 2019, those “very happy” with their love life hardly changed from 54 percent.

Those who said “it could be happier” fell by 4 percent and those who said they “do not have a love life” rose by 4 percent.

Married men and women reported that they have a happier love life than their single and live-in partner counterparts.

The poll noted that 68 percent of married men said they have a “very happy” love life, followed by 65 percent of those with a live-in partner and 26 percent of those who were single.

SWS said 62 percent of married women said they have a “very happy” love life, followed by those with a live-in partner at 60 percent and those who are single at 27 percent.

The survey showed that 28 percent of married people wish their love life “could be happier,” the same sentiment as 18 percent of single men and 33 percent of men with a live-in partner.

Thirty-five percent of married women said their love life “could be happier.” The same opinion was shared by 38 percent of women with a live-in partner and

16 percent of single women.

Married men and those with live-in partners who admitted they have no love life make up 2 percent each and single men, 56 percent.

Three percent of married women said they have no love life. The same sentiment is shared by 2 percent of women with a live-in partner and 56 percent of those who are single.

SWS noted that happiness in their love life was higher among older men, with those below 35 years old saying they have a “very happy” love life ranging 59 to 60 percent of respondents, compared to 40 to 52 percent of male respondents ages 18 to 34 years old.

Among women, those 25 to 54 years old said they have a “very happy” love life, making up 51 to 65 percent of respondents, 47 percent of respondents in the 18 to 24 years old group and 41 percent of those 55 years old and above.

SWS did face-to-face interviews with 1,440 respondents from December 12 to 16. The survey has a ±2.6 percent sampling margin error. (By Kaithreen Cruz/ ManilaTimes.net) n

US turns over port facility to Philippines...

PAGE 1 jetty with landing pad, pier, access road and maintenance bay.

It will be used primarily by the Assault Boat Battalion as well as other commands located at the Marine Base Gregorio Lim. “The PMC is a driving force in our shared vision for enhanced maritime security in the region. This project displays the collective

commitment of our nations to invest in longterm, shared success,” U.S. embassy Chargé d’ Affaires Heather Variava said.

Marine deputy commandant Brig. Gen. Raul Jesus Caldez said the grant testifies the trust and friendship between the Philippines and the U.S. as well as their shared interest in regional cooperation and mutual capability development.

(Pia Lee-Brago/Philstar.com) n

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SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

Dateline PhiliPPines

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SWS poll: Bongbong keeps Filipinos want strong, lead; Robredo narrows gap honest leaders – poll

by Janvic

Mateo Philstar.com

MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo slightly improved in the latest commissioned survey conducted by Social Weather Stations Inc. (SWS), with former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. still the most preferred among presidential candidates.

The Jan. 28 to 31 survey, commissioned by Stratbase ADR Institute, showed that Marcos obtained 50 percent of support among the respondents, down by a point from a similar survey conducted in December 2021.

Robredo, meanwhile, placed second, improving from 14 percent to 19 percent in the latest poll.

Tied at third spot with 11 percent were Manila Mayor Isko Moreno (up from six percent) and Sen. Manny Pacquiao (down from 12 percent), followed

by Sen. Panfilo Lacson with six percent (up from

five percent).

Less than one percent of the respondents said they would vote for Leody de Guzman (0.3 percent), Jose Montemayor Jr. (0.1 percent), Ernesto Abella (0.04) and Faisal Mangondato (0.04 percent).

Some three percent of the voters were still undecided.

On the vice presidential race, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is still at the top with 44 percent, followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III with 33 percent.

Trailing them are Sen. Francis Pangilinan with 10 percent, Dr. Willie Ong with seven percent, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza with two percent and Manny Lopez with one percent.

Obtaining less than one percent of support were Rizalito David (0.4 percent), Walden Bello (0.3 percent) and Carlos Serapio (0.2 percent).

Three percent also said they were still undecided on who to vote for vice president. n

Orphan crisis in the Philippines: ‘A situation worth crying over’ by cristina

eloisa Inquirer.net

Baclig

MANILA — The Philippine population was expected to reach 109,991,095 at the end of 2021.

Among these were children, who were abandoned and still looking for their forever families.

According to data from the Philippines Orphanage Foundation, out of the over 109 million population in the country, there were at least 2 million orphaned children.

Moreover, there was an average of only 139 Filipino orphan children adopted per year from 2014 to 2018.

“That is only 0.0000695% of the orphan population that finds a forever-home each year,” the foundation said.

Data from the US State Department showed that between 2009-2015, there were 1,350 Filipino children adopted by American Families.

Why are there many orphans in PH? To understand what the Philippines Orphanage Foundation called the “orphan crisis in the Philippines,” it listed some factors that might be continuing to contribute to the still increasing number of orphans in the Philippines.

One of the four factors cited by the foundation was natural disasters—such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, droughts, and landslides—which occur in the country throughout the year.

The Philippines, according to a study published on the Tropical Cyclone Research and Review journal by the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC) and the Shanghai Typhoon Institute of the

China Meteorology Administration (STI/CMA), is in fact “one of the world’s natural hazard hot spots” and faces “more natural hazards” than other countries.

Every year, an average of 20 tropical cyclones enter the Philippine area of responsibility.

Natural disasters have affected millions of individuals in the country during the past years.

Among them are the children—some of whom lose parents or family members when disasters strike.

“Such drastic storms destroy homes, villages, and families. Often the survivors are the children, minus their parents,” the foundation said.

“Natural disasters routinely give birth to orphans,” it added.

Executive Order No. 141 signed last year by President Rodrigo Duterte cited figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority, which showed that there were 183,967 live births in 2018 and 180,916 in 2019 among teenagers.

The figures translate to an average of 504 live births per day for minors aged 10 to 19 years old in 2018 and 495 live births per day for the same category in 2019.

During the pandemic, PopCom warned that more teenagers might get pregnant as lockdowns forced them to stay at home and spend more time with their partners.

When the data came out, authorities were more alarmed: PopCom said that pregnancy among girls aged below 15 increased by 7 percent in 2019.

“These young girls are almost completely unprepared for motherhood and often have no

u PAGE 7

by Kaithreen

cruz ManilaTimes.net

A PRE-ELECTION survey conducted by the group Boses, Opinyon, Siyasat at Siyensya para sa Pilipinas (Boses Pilipinas) revealed that Filipinos desire leaders that are strong, honest and intelligent.

Sixty-nine percent of the respondents said they prefer candidates who could provide strong leadership, 55 percent said it is important for candidates to be honest while 42 percent said intelligence is crucial to a candidate.

Meanwhile, 37 percent of the respondents said they prefer candidates who get things done, 33 percent said they want morally upright candidates while 19 percent said they want compassionate candidates.

Boses Pilipinas convenor Dr. Imelda Deinla said the results could help Filipinos evaluate their candidates.

“With all the noise in media and social media platforms — as well as the highly curated portrayal of the candidates in their campaigns, it is really important to ask the Filipino voters the qualities they are looking for in the candidates.

Thus, we ask in the survey what are the character traits they would like to see in a candidate,

rather than ask them first why they prefer this one candidate over the others,” Deinla said.

Moreover, the same survey also showed that 60 percent of Filipinos see graft and corruption as the most urgent national concern, followed by the creation of more jobs (50 percent), controlling the spread of the coronavirus disease-19 (48 percent), social services to reduce poverty (45 percent), and the increase of pay for workers (44 percent).

“This survey challenges Filipinos to reflect, to evaluate their candidates with the kind of leader they want to address the most important issues the country is facing, and to seek credible information in assessing their candidates and not just based on popularity.

Most of all, imagine your candidates as being capable — or not, in leading the Philippines out of the Covid-19 and economic crises,” Deinla said.

Boses Pilipinas conducted the survey among 1,500 respondents from November 29 to December 14, 2021, in cooperation with Rakuten Insight, an independent research firm based in Singapore.

Boses Pilipinas is the first university-based opinion research and survey unit in

ANTI-POLIO DRIVE. Barangay health workers put a baby on a weighing scale during the oral anti-polio vaccination in Barangay Hall, Brgy. Salitran 3, Dasmarinas City, Cavite on Wednesday, February 16. The campaign aims to boost immunization coverage against polio by giving three doses of the oral polio vaccine to all children five years old and below, regardless of their immunization status.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

the country that aspires to bridge societal divides through studies and polls that increase the Filipinos’ understanding of opinions, perceptions, attitudes and behavior. n NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of San Diego (City) is seeking to receive Electronic Bids for the below named Public Works project.

The solicitation, including plans and specifications, may be obtained from the City’s website at: https://www. sandiego.gov/cip/bidopps Contractors intending to submit a Bid must be prequalified.

Please refer to the solicitation for instructions.

Project Name: Howard AveVillage Pine to Iris Sidewalk Project Number: K-22-2050Estimated Value: DBB-2 $380,000.00 Bid Open Date: 04/05/2022, at 2:00 P.M. License Requirement: A (C-27 required for LTMMA) It is the policy of the City of San Diego to encourage equal opportunity in its Construction and Consultant contracts.

Bids or proposals from local firms, small, minority-owned, disabled, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses are strongly encouraged.

Contractors are encouraged to subcontract with and/or participate in joint ventures with these firms. The City is committed to equal opportunity and will not discriminate with regard to race, religion, color, ancestry, age, gender, disability, medical condition or place of birth; and will not do business with any firm that discriminates on any basis.

Bids shall be received no later than the date and time noted above at: City of San Diego’s Electronic Biding Site PlanetBids at: h t t p s : / / w w w. p l a n e t b i d s . com/portal/portal. cfm?CompanyID=17950 Claudia C. Abarca, Director Purchasing & Contracting Department February 17, 2021 2/18/22 CNS-3557026# ASIAN JOURNAL

6

FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL

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OpiniOn

Digital vote buying, laundering

Features Philstar.com photo

DIGITAL technology has facilitated many aspects of life, unfortunately including illegal activities. In this election season, digital technology is being used for unfair campaigning including spreading fake news, revising history, trolling rivals and sowing scurrilous disinformation.

It may also be used for money laundering and vote-buying during the election period, the Anti-Money Laundering Council has warned. In an advisory, the AMLC reminded banks and financial institutions to conduct customer due diligence measures and file reports on suspicious transactions, as stipulated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

Also covered by the AMLC advisory are foreign exchange dealers, money changers, remittance companies, pawnshops, jewelry dealers, casinos, offshore gaming operators, and real estate brokers and developers.

The task isn’t as daunting as it seems. The covered institutions and transactions can watch out for red flags such as large transactions within a short period of time, and those that seem inconsistent with a customer’s financial profile or business. Also suspicious are “unjustified” large cash deposits and withdrawals, transactions that are unusual when compared with everyday dealings, and structured cash deposits and

money transfers.

The use of multiple accounts by a single person as well as the use of several money service businesses to send funds are also red flags. On Dec. 31 last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had issued a similar warning about vote buying through online banking and mobile wallet applications.The absence of a law regulating campaign finance has made election spending an ideal way of laundering dirty money. In certain cases, those directly engaged in jueteng, smuggling and drug trafficking have used their illegal earnings to propel themselves to elective office. Others have seen their personal wealth rise through hefty contributions from supporters who often become influence peddlers if the candidates win.

Such assets are not declared and are beyond the reach of the tax police.While the Commission on Elections has been largely toothless in enforcing caps on campaign spending, banks and financial institutions can do their part in curbing illegal campaign activities and money laundering.

Editorial

This would also help the country get out of the money laundering gray list of the Financial Action Task Force. Inclusion in the gray list makes financial transactions in the country more difficult, affecting business dealings and the remittance of overseas Filipino workers’

earnings.

Banks that exert effort to reinforce the electoral process and promote good governance will reap the returns in the form of a grateful public’s trust – a critical element in banking strength.

(Philstar.com)

Getting boosted offers multiple benefits for businesses & workers Commentary Pat Fong Kushida President & Ceo Calasian PaCiFiC Chamber

oF CommerCe

WITH many California small businesses still recovering amid the ongoing pandemic, many owners worry about keeping their businesses open, especially if employees are required to quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19. We believe the solution is clear: to stay safe and stay open, small business owners must encourage employees to get vaccinated and get their COVID-19 booster as soon as they are eligible.

First and foremost, boosters save lives. Our employees and customers are our family, and as small business owners, we should do everything we can to encourage healthy and safe behavior. Vaccines and boosters are proven to keep your immunity strong and protect you and your loved ones from being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, including the

fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Boosters are authorized and recommended for all persons 12 and older. Individuals 12+ who received the Pfizer vaccine and individuals 18+ who received the Moderna vaccine are eligible for a booster five months after their initial full series was completed. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients are encouraged to get boosted two months after their first vaccination.

Visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call 833-422-4255 to find a booster near you.

The benefits to businesses and workers are significant.

In the event of close contact with a COVID-positive person, asymptomatic people who are vaccinated and boosted, or recently vaccinated, can skip quarantine, according to the California Department of Public Health. They should still test on day five after their contact with the COVID-positive individual, and mask for 10 days.

Unvaccinated people who come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 are required to quarantine, also in accordance with the California Department of Public Health.

Even if they test negative, they must quarantine for five days and follow state guidance.

We already know that getting vaccinated and boosted prevents serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

Now, we can add to the list of benefits: getting boosted also prevents asymptomatic people from having to quarantine, potentially missing work and income, as well as missing out on other important events.

Small business owners can rest assured that employees who are vaccinated and boosted or recently vaccinated are allowed to stay on the job, provided they have no symptoms of COVID-19.

We know that when employees are vaccinated and boosted, small businesses can stay open safely. This is all the more reason to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and boosted.

Together, we can protect the health and safety of loved ones and ensure California’s businesses can thrive.

To schedule an appointment for a vaccination or a booster, visit MyTurn.ca.gov, or call 1-833-422-4255. Support is available in more than 250 languages. ***

Pat Fong Kushida is the President & CEO of CalAsian Pacific Chamber of Commerce and also serves as President/CEO of the Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce (SACC) since 1998, and President/ CEO of the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce (CAPCC) formed in 2010. Pat is a

known as a visionary, entrepreneurial leader dedicated to strengthening California’s ethnically diverse business community and create economic development opportunities for Asian Pacific Islander business organizations to prosper. The CalAsian Chamber was founded in 2010 to give a voice

to the over 600,000 AAPI- owned businesses in California. Today, the CalAsian Chamber is the largest statewide ethnic chamber in California, with the mission to grow and empower the AAPI business community throughout California. Visit calasiancc.org to learn more.

Is a Leni-Sara mix possible on May 9?

Postscript

FederiCo PasCual Jr. A LENI Robredo-Sara Duterte combination winning in the May elections may be unthinkable to rabid partisans and most poll analysts, but with politics being the art of the impossible, such an unlikely pair could just be the key to national unity and economic recovery.

We are talking of a scenario where voters ignore party tags, which have become meaningless anyway, and by some political alchemy pick from opposing camps – maybe Robredo (Independent) for president and Duterte (Lakas-CMD) for vice president.

Their working as partners could help bring together disparate partisan forces, tone down divisive diatribes and heal the wounds of political combat.

Pumping blood back into the anemic economy could then become easier.

Surveys show that the following of the two ladies is substantial enough to make them win without having to ride on the supposed drawing power of their partners. They could win

on their own.

That they are both women should not detract from their individual winning potential, as they would be voted for separately, and not as a pair. Without block voting, they would not be mutually exclusive.

Even if President Duterte has an iron-clad deal with the Marcoses (he says he has none), his daughter Sara is known to have a mind of her own, meaning she is not bound by any agreement of the father.

As for ex-senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he said after his teaming up with Sara Duterte was announced last November that they have no deal or agreement about term-sharing, that they would not split the sixyear term in case they both win.

It is curious that President Duterte said in his Jan. 25 report to the nation that one of the leading presidential aspirants is very corrupt and that all but one of the frontrunners in the race are hounded by negative issues. He did not mention any candidate by name.

On Wednesday, February 9, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda announced he was backing Robredo for president. That move surprised many since

he was presumed to be also supporting Marcos (just because he is paired with Sara).

After Salceda announced his support for Robredo and reiterated his backing Sara’s VP bid, she said that she and Marcos had agreed not to refuse endorsements “whether individually or collectively.”

Their team-up is not that tight?

Before she consented to run with Marcos, Sara was being pushed by Salceda to run for president, but she agreed instead to be the VP nominee of the Lakas-CMD party of former president Gloria M. Arroyo.

Salceda announced that he had been talking with a group of financial managers and representatives of big foreign investors, who he said expressed confidence that if Robredo becomes president the local economy would be in good hands.

Economic challenges await new president The Philippines posted a 7.7 percent 4th quarter growth in gross domestic product in 2021, resulting in full-year growth of 5.6 percent. It was slightly better than expected, considering the mobility restrictions imposed to stem the COVID-19 surges traced to the Omicron variant.

Most economists believe, however, that recovery prospects remain dim. For certain, the winner in this year’s presidential race will inherit a challenging fiscal situation.

As of November 2021, the country’s debt reached P11.93 trillion as the administration borrowed more money to fund support measures it had to roll out during lockdowns while also dealing with falling revenue collection during the pandemic.

With the country’s debt projected to reach P13.4 trillion in 2022, the incoming administration will inherit a substantial debt bill that could curtail its fulfilling campaign promises and sustaining the modest economic momentum gained in the last quarter of 2021.

As we inch closer to May 9, we will need a leader who can walk the tightrope while putting the pandemic in check and getting more businesses to open safely and restore jobs and incomes.

We’ll need someone who has the head to understand the economics involved in running a country and the heart to put the needs of the country first.

We’ll need someone strong, steadfast and who can make

the tough calls and sacrifices to shepherd us into a brighter future.

On Friday, February 11, Robredo was endorsed for the presidency by at least 163 Filipino economists, including five former chiefs of the National Economic and Development Authority who served in the previous and the present administrations.

Calling themselves “Economists for Leni,” they said in a statement: “At this time when our country is struggling to recover from its deepest economic crisis since the 1980s, we believe that government’s role has never been more indispensable.

We are convinced that only a competent leadership can restore the people’s trust and confidence in government, enabling it to effectively preside over the collective effort of economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic.”

Among the signatories were former NEDA chiefs Ernesto Pernia (who served under Duterte), Winnie Monsod, Cielito Habito, Dante Canlas and Emmanuel Esguerra.

Other prominent economists supporting Robredo are Diwa Guinigundo, former deputy

governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo and two former presidents of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (the government’s official think tank), Gilberto Llanto and Mario Lamberte.

The economists cited Robredo’s “solid” background in economics and law, pointing out that this will be “necessary for crafting policies to accelerate economic recovery.”

Before entering politics in 2013, Robredo was an alternative lawyer and economist who obtained her economics degree from the University of the PhilippinesDiliman in 1986.

They said Robredo has proven her track record for running “efficient and responsive” pandemic response programs despite the measly annual budget of the Office of the Vice President. (Philstar.com) *** 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.

*** NB: All Postscripts are also archived at ManilaMail.com. Author is on Twitter as @ FDPascual. Email: fdp333@yahoo.com

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

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SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

ELDERLY VACCINEE. A wheelchair-bound Eligio Reyes, 69, of Barangay Salawag, is assisted by his son after receiving a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Ugnayang La Salle Gymnasium in Dasmariñas City, Cavite on Thursday, February 17. The national government has been encouraging local government units to consider house-to-house vaccination drives to inoculate senior citizens and persons with comorbidities who are unable to go to vaccination sites.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

More Filipino Catholics see marriage unnecessary before ‘living-in’ MANILA — Many Filipino Catholics now see marriage as unnecessary before living together, an online survey by the church-run Radio Veritas has showed.

According to the Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) which was conducted in January, the majority of the respondents disagreed with the question: “Should couples get married first before living together; and not engage in a common-law partnership arrangement?”

The online survey conducted from January 1 to 31, has 1,200 respondents nationwide, with a ±3 percent margin of error.

Some 45 percent of respondents said marriage is not a requirement before living in, 40 percent believe in a marriage-first arrangement, and the remaining 15 percent

were undecided.

Of the respondents aged 4060 years old, 48 percent said couples should be married first before living together, 29 percent said it’s unnecessary, and 23 percent were undecided.

As for respondents aged 2139 years old, only 21 percent said only married couples could live-in, 58 percent said it’s not important, and 21 percent were unsure.

Teen respondents or those aged 13-20 years old, 34 percent said marriage is a must before living together, 51 percent said it is not a must, and 15 percent were uncertain.

Radio Veritas president Fr. Anton Pascual called the survey “a challenge in the Church’s ongoing mission to evangelize the faithful most especially nominal Catholics on

the beauty of the sacrament of marriage”.

“To instill this social reality on the respondents’ perception towards common law partnership, we should evangelize our Catholic faithful on the transcendent value of marriage which places God in union between husband and wife,” Pascual said in a statement.

VTS head Bro. Clifford Sorita also believes that the survey results reflect the “instant mentality” of the youth.

“This comes from the ‘instant mentality’, which comes from this young age group.

The somewhat prolonged courtship process our elderly have experienced is something foreign among our young,” Sorita said. (By John Eric Mendoza/Inquirer.net) n

Orphan crisis in the Philippines...

PAGE 5 place to turn except to give up the baby they just nurtured for nine months,” said the foundation.

“This is a situation worth crying over,” it added.

The foundation likewise pointed out poverty as one of the reasons for the continuing increase in the number of Filipino orphans. “[T]here is a never-ending cycle of poverty that leads to parents having to give up their children in

hopes they will have a better life somewhere else,” the foundation noted.

“There is little doubt that poverty creates a culture for the creation of orphans,” it added.

Some parents who are not able to care for their children and are unable to adequately provide for their children were left with no other choice but to “resort to placing their children in orphanages in the hopes that they will have better lives.” n

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FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL

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EMPLOYMENT / FOR RENT

LEGAL SERVICES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9001732

a. CRISPR QC INC. located at 8969 Kenamar Dr., Suite 104, San Diego, CA 92121. b. CRISPR QC located at 8969 Kenamar Dr., Suite 104, San Diego, CA 92121.

Registrant: CRISPR QC INC., 8969 Kenamar Dr., Suite 104, San Diego, CA 92121.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 11/10/2021.

Signature Ross Bundy.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/21/2022.

AJ 862 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022. AJSD 862

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9001849

LEGAL SERVICES CASE NUMBER: 37-2022-00002739-CU-PT-CTL

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Keila Gaxiola Lucero filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Keila Gaxiola Lucero to Keila Gaxiola Hernandez.

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

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 03/10/2022 Time: 8:30 AM Dept. 61 Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 330 WEST BROADWAY DEPT. 61 San Diego, CA 92101 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation printed in this county.

Asian Journal: JAN 24, 2022 NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON ABOVE DATE: SEE ATTACHMENT Michael T. Smyth Judge of the Superior Court AJ 864 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022 ATTACHMENT TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (JC Form #NC-120) NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. The Court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

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

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

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

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

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

AJSD #864

CASE NUMBER: 37-2022-00005275-CU-PT-CTL

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Ariana Gilda Garcia filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Ariana Gilda Garcia to Maya Samantha Loria.

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

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 03/28/2022 Time: 8:30 AM Dept. C-61 Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 330 WEST BROADWAY DEPT. 61 San Diego, CA 92101 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation printed in this county.

Asian Journal: FEB 10, 2022 NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON ABOVE DATE: SEE ATTACHMENT MICHAEL T. SMYTH Judge of the Superior Court AJ 874 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022 ATTACHMENT TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (JC Form #NC-120) NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. The Court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

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

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

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

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

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

AJSD #874

CASE NUMBER: 37-2022-00004697-CU-PT-CTL

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Annette Sada filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Annette Sada to Nikki A Sada.

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

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 03/22/2022 Time: 8:30 AM Dept. 61 Superior Court of California, County of San Diego 330 WEST BROADWAY DEPT. 61 San Diego, CA 92101 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation printed in this county.

Asian Journal: FEB 07, 2022 NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON ABOVE DATE: SEE ATTACHMENT MICHAEL T. SMYTH Judge of the Superior Court AJ 877 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022 ATTACHMENT TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME (JC Form #NC-120) NO HEARING WILL OCCUR ON THE DATE SPECIFIED IN THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. The Court will review the documents filed as of the date specified on the Order to Show Cause for Change of Name (JC Form #NC-120).

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

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

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

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

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

AJSD #877

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9000068

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME(S) STATEMENT NO. 2022-9003514

GarMat Mobile Truck Repair located at 7931 Airway Road, San Diego, CA 92154.

Registrant: Hugo Daniel Garcia, 616 G St., Apt 51, Chula Vista, CA 91910.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 02/15/2021.

Signature Hugo Daniel Garcia.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/03/2022.

AJ 868 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2022.

AJSD 868

a. Anazai Music Enterprises located at 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113. b. AME located at 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113.

Registrant: Jahaziel Anazai Sanchez, 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113.

This business is conducted

by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME. Signature Jahaziel Anazai Sanchez.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/10/2022.

AJ 875 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9001351

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME(S) STATEMENT NO. 2022-9003513

AJSD 875

Hans Strom Inc. located at 675 G Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Registrant: Hans Strom Inc., 675 G Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 10/01/2001.

Signature: Hans Strom.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/24/2022.

AJ 863 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022. AJSD 863

Luna Industries Portfolio located at 4280 52nd St., Apt 13, San Diego, CA 92115.

Registrant: a. Marcos Luna-Nieblas, 4280 52nd St., Apt 13, San Diego, CA 92115. b. Dania Hernandez, 4280 52nd St., Apt 13, San Diego, CA 92115 This business is conducted

by IMarried Couple.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 01/19/2022.

Signature Marcos LunaNieblas.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/19/2022.

AJ 869 02/04, 02/11, 02/18, and 02/25/2022.

AJSD 869

a.

Market Acquisition Solutions located at 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113. b. MAS located at 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113.

Registrant: Jahaziel Anazai Sanchez, 4414 Delta St., Apt #6, San Diego, CA 92113.

This business is conducted

by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME. Signature Jahaziel Anazai Sanchez.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/10/2022.

AJ 876 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9000031

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9002449

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9004000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9003383

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9003386

Mahal Skin located at 438 Camino Del Rio South #211, San Diego, CA 92108.

Registrant: Micah Espinoza, 1074 Alta Crest Street, San Bernardino, CA 92407.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME. Signature Micah Espinoza.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/03/2022.

AJ 865 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022.

AJSD 865

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9001647

K.S. Spin Cycle Coin Laundry located at 1355 Broadway Suite N-S, Chula Vista, CA 91911.

Registrant: Soon K. Kim, 6204 Bernadette Ln., San Diego, CA 92120.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 01/04/2004.

Signature Soon K. Kim. Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/20/2022.

AJ 866 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022.

AJSD 866

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9001431

Pacific Westcoast Properties located at 244A Palomar St., Chula Vista, CA 91911.

Registrant: PW Inc., 244A Palomar St., Chula Vista, CA 91911.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 08/05/2004.

Signature Robert Pennell.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/19/2022.

AJ 867 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, and 02/18/2022. AJSD 867

Valencia Parkway Care Home located at 749 Valencia Parkway, San Diego, CA 92114.

Registrant: Alexis S. Artates, 2230 Reo Dr., Apt A, San Diego, CA 92139.

This business is conducted by Individual.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 01/01/2020.

Signature Alexis S. Artates.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 01/31/2022.

AJ 870 02/11, 02/18, 02/25, and 03/04/2022. AJSD 870

SOMISOMI MIRA MESA located at 9168 MIRA MESA BLVD., SAN DIEGO, CA 92128.

R e g i s t r a n t : S D SWEETLAND INC, 9168 MIRA MESA BLVD., SAN DIEGO, CA 92128.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 02/01/2022.

Signature Sung Go Song.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/09/2022.

AJ 871 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022.

AJSD 871

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT NO. 2022-9003384

MOCHINUT SD POWAY located at 14791 Pomerado Rd., Poway, CA 92064.

Registrant: SDMOCHI2 INC, 14791 Pomerado Rd., Poway, CA 92064.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 02/07/2022.

Signature Sung Go Song.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/09/2022.

AJ 872 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022.

AJSD 872

AJSD 876

Happy Bath Mobile Grooming located at 3276 Greely Ave., San Diego, CA 92113.

Registrant: a. Jose A Ramirez, 3276 Greely Ave., San Diego, CA 92113. b. Erika Ramos, 3276 Greely Ave., San Diego, CA 92113.

This business is conducted

by Co-Partners.

REGISTRANT HAS NOT BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME. Signature Jose A Ramirez.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/16/2022.

AJ 878 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022.

AJSD 878

TWO HANDS CORN DOG CONVOY located at 3860 CONVOY ST., STE 100, SAN DIEGO, CA 92111.

Registrant: SDSUNG INC, 3860 CONVOY ST., STE 100, SAN DIEGO, CA 92111.

This business is conducted by Corporation.

REGISTRANT HAS BEGUN TO TRANSACT BUSINESS UNDER THE ABOVED NAME AS OF 02/07/2022.

Signature Sung Go Song.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/07/2022.

AJ 873 02/18, 02/25, 03/04, and 03/11/2022. AJSD 873

FILIPINO

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COMMUNITY JOURNAL

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

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MAGAZINE

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C A L I F O R N I A

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LIFESTYLE • CONSUMER GUIDE • COMMUNITY • MARKETPLACE

Vice Ganda marries Ion in Las Vegas

by ANNE

PASAJOL Inquirer.net

VICE Ganda surprised fans in time for Valentine’s as he revealed his Las Vegas wedding with boyfriend Ion Perez which happened in October last year.

Vice Ganda and Perez had their wedding in the Little Vegas Chapel, where they vowed to “commit themselves” to each other, as seen in a vlog on the comedian’s YouTube channel on Sunday, Feb. 13.

“Buong-buo ‘yung loob ko na makasama ka. Wala akong masabi basta mahal na mahal kita, Tuy. I love you,” Perez said.

(I am decided that I want to be with you. I have no words to say but I love you, Tuy. I love you.)

Vice Ganda, for his part, expressed his love to Perez and HUMANITARIAN REVALIDATION OR SURVIVOR LAW: THIS SUNDAY ON CITIZEN PINOY. Allain (left) was petitioned by his mother in 1997. He came to promised that he will always the U.S. as a tourist with his wife, Lorraine (center), in 2002 and overstayed. His mother passed away in 2006, which, at that point, Allain thought his mother’s petition for him was gone. What would now happen to Allain and his petition? Leading U.S. Immigration Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel be one of his inspirations and

reasons to live.

“Ang saya-saya ko na ikaw ‘yung kasama ko ngayon, ikaw ‘yung kasama ko kahapon at ikaw ‘yung alam kong makakasama ko pa rin bukas at sa mga susunod pang mga araw,” he said. “I promise na mag-iipon pa ako ng maraming-marami pang pagmamahal sa puso ko para makaya ko pang mahalin ‘yung sarili ko, makaya ko pang mahalin ka at ‘yung mga mahal natin sa buhay.”

(I’m so happy that you’re the one I’m with now, the one I’m with yesterday and the one I know I will still be with tomorrow and the coming days. I promise that I will save up more love in my heart so I can continue to love myself, love you and our loved ones.)

“Isa ka sa pag-aalayan ko ng mga magagandang bagay na mangyayari sa buhay ko. You’ll be one of the best reasons for

all of my achievements and I promise na isa ka sa magiging dahilan kung bakit gusto ko pang mabuhay ulit bukas at sa mga susunod na araw,” Vice Ganda added.

(You’re one of those who I’ll be offering the good things in my life to. You’ll be one of the best reasons for all of my achievements and I promise that you’ll always be one of the reasons why I’d want to live tomorrow and in the days to come.)

The couple can be seen overjoyed while signing their certificate of commitment after the ceremony.

Vica Ganda and Perez have been together for three years now after revealing in 2019 that they have already been in a relationship for a yeaar. The two also recently went on an Amanpulo trip where they welcomed the New Year with their friends and family.

(right) is the attorney-of-last-hope, who guided them through the process and presented them the option to be able to acquire their green card, despite the death of the petitioner. Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, February 20 at 7:00 PM PT (10:00 PM ET thru select Cable/Satellite providers). Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the app for free.

(Advertising Supplement)

The immigration journey that took 24 years on an all-new Citizen Pinoy this Sunday LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel presents another brand-new success story, after he provides the latest immigration developments, as featured on his YouTube channel: US Immigration TV. After the important U.S. immigration highlights, Citizen Pinoy shares an inspiring success story on how a family persevered, despite the many bumps along their immigration journey.

Allain was petitioned by his mother in 1997.

Due to certain circumstances, Allain and his family entered the U.S. in 2002, but overstayed.

Meanwhile, Allain’s mother, his petitioner, passed away in 2006. Uncertain about the future of his

petition, Allain and his family lived in fear because of their undocumented status. Still, they took on several odd jobs to make a living. They persevered and kept the faith that someday they will achieve their American dream.

Finally, after 24 years, Atty. Gurfinkel was able to help Allain and his family adjust their status and acquire their green cards.

Watch this success story on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, February 20 at 7:00 PM PT (10:00 PM ET thru select Cable/ Satellite providers). Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the app for free.

(Advertising Supplement) Vice Ganda and Ion Perez

Photo from Instagram/@praybeytbenjamin

10

FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL

Features

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160

Kiana V shares her latest 99 Ranch Market hosts Lucky Draw single, ‘Heartbeat on Me’ ceremony at Fremont branch

MULTI-tracked vocal harmonies soar.” - NME “The combination of the snappy production and her dreamy vocals make for a seductive jam that’s both laid-back and hugely infectious.” - COMPLEX UK “Blends electronic, funk, and RnB into a mesmerizing mix.”

- Lyrical Lemonade “[Kiana] utilizes her enthralling vocal prowess to induce an almost celestial high.”

- Ones To Watch “A soulful vibe along with subtle elements of electronic pop.” - HYPEBAE “Kiana’s raw talent shines through.” - Office Magazine “An empowering heartbreak anthem not just for herself but also a new generation.” - MTV “A message of self-love threaded by delicate, ethereal melodies.” - SPIN “[Dazed] is an open love letter.” - Paper Magazine “Kiana is part of an exciting new wave of Filipino creators who are sharing their music and culture through a variety of innovative, genre-bending lenses.” - American Songwriter Kiana V recently released her latest single, “Heartbeat on Me.” “Heartbeat on Me” opens with infectious synths and gently tapping drums, allowing Kiana V’s featherlight yet instantly striking voice to enter with a gentle immediacy.

It’s a sunkissed delight that calls back to her native Philippines. Possessing the immediacy of Tinashe and the knack for undeniable melody of Aaliyah, Kiana is a powerhouse, possessing a quiet intensity that strikes bone deep.

A delectable confection of R&B and pop, the track pulls forward with its flirtatious sound and deftly punchy vocals. It’s a display of both patience and a rush towards pleasure, never overdoing its pace, and sways seamlessly between emotive verses and an addictive call-and-response chorus.

Kiana says about the track: “‘Heartbeat On Me’ is a song about when you feel like you can really dive in and fall in love with someone, but you want to make sure the feeling is mutual first. You want to know that

Kiana V

they’ll be there for you the way you are for them.”

Exploring the delicacy of a relationship at its peak, she sings of waking up right next to the person you adore, taking in their breath, their pulse; two people so in sync as to become one organism. At the same time, she can’t help but wonder if her lover is equally devoted.

It speaks to that nagging fear in the back of our minds whenever we risk sharing every aspect of ourselves with someone else. “Will your actions meet the honey you speak?,” she ponders to herself.

In March, Kiana will perform at SXSW as a 2022 official showing artist, along with Maxo Kream, Priya Ragu, Poppy Ajudha, and more.

“Heartbeat On Me” follows the release of Kiana’s 5-track EP “Dazed,” which earned praise from SPIN, NME, HYPEBAE,

Photo by Andrei Suleik

Office Magazine, Paper Magazine, and more. Music has always been a permeating force in Kiana’s life. Her father, Gary Valenciano, is one of the Philippines’ most prolific musicians with a four decade spanning career. She’s already a star in her home country of the Philippines and currently splits her time between LA and Manila. Kiana will continue to take fans behind the scenes of her musical journey and travels in the MYX original series documenting her musical journey, called The Crossover. The TV show will air globally on linear TV, MYX.GLOBAL digital and @ myxglobal social platforms.

With over 20+ million Spotify streams to date and Grammy. com calling her a Filipino artist to watch, Kiana is poised to bring her R&B/Pop sound to the rest of the world.

99 RANCH Market held a drawing ceremony last February 5 for its Lucky Draw to celebrate the opening of the FremontWarm Springs location.

Officials led by General Manager PeiYan Weng and Vice President for Marketing Teddy Chow welcomed the grand drawing participants and their family members who had been chosen at a previous drawing on January 14; the 30 winners chosen each received a prize.

Raffle tickets were also distributed to attendees for bags of goodies from 99 Ranch Market.

The following were the winners at the grand drawing ceremony: • Anita Yat Man C. of Fremont, CA – iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB • Cathy M. of Fremont, CA – iPad Air WiFi 64GB • Maggie L. of Fremont, CA – iPad Air WiFi 64GB • Shimei Z. of Fremont, CA – Apple Watch Series 7 GPS • Wan Fen C. of San Jose CA – Apple Watch Series 7 GPS • Wa L. of Union City, CA – Nintendo Switch (Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition) • Han Z. of Berkeley, CA – AirPods (3rd Generation) • Jeremiah W. of Fremont, CA – AirPods (3rd Generation) • Hwan-Yu T. of Milpitas, CA – Zojirushi Electric AirPot • Jin Quan L. of Fremont, CA – Zojirushi Electric AirPot. According to Mr. Chow, the Lucky Draw is a way for 99 Ranch Market to thank its customers for their support and their appreciation of the services that the Asian market retailer provides to the community.

“Today, we are very happy [with how the drawing turned out]. This event not only is for our customers, but also a way to celebrate the Lunar New Year,” he said.

Centrally-located in Fremont, this new branch of 99 Ranch Market is located at 46551 Mission Blvd. and features a design that accentuates the offerings inside the store, including produce, meat, seafood, favorite grocery items, frozen food, bakery items and beverages. It also has a food plaza where customers can buy food from vendors dine in, and a social bar, Piju Bar, where customers can meet friends for drinks and snacks, socialize and

Anita Yat Man C. of Fremont was drawn as winner of an iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB.

Fremont residents Cathy M. and Maggy L. each won an iPad Air WiFi 64GB.

watch their favorite sports teams.

Mr. Chow also revealed that 99 Ranch customers have given them feedback on opening more stores in communities around Northern California. In March, 99 Ranch will open a new store in San Jose, CA. “We want to expand our business to different communities, as well as provide our services and good products to our customers. The raffle draws, Lucky draws, we will continue to organize these for our customers,” Mr. Chow stated, while adding that customers can learn of more announcements for grand openings and raffle drawings via Asian media.

“We are expanding our merchandising categories to fill the needs of different communities by adding more grocery items, including Filipino-

specific products that will please our Filipino-American shoppers.

We actually get good feedback and opinions from our customers on what kind of products they would like to see in our stores additionally. We will always seriously consider these inputs from our customers,” Mr. Chow said.

“We would like to invite the Filipino-American community to visit our new Fremont location and our other 99 Ranch Market branches in Northern California, and shop for their grocery needs and favorite items at our stores,” Mr. Chow added.

99 Ranch Market FremontWarm Springs is located at 46551 Mission Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539. For more information about 99 Ranch Market, visit www.99ranch.com.

(Advertising Supplement)

Community

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SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL • FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022

11

Take time to prepare before a significant earthquake to survive and recover EARTHQUAKES happen every day in California. Nearly all are so minor they go unnoticed. But one long-range scientific model forecasts a 6.7 magnitude will happen sometime in California in the next 12 years. Yet, the warning for a specific earthquake doesn’t come more than a few seconds ahead. That means the only time to prepare for a significant earthquake is before one happens.

As part of Earthquake Preparedness Month in California, the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services recommends residents have a plan to protect themselves in the event of an earthquake and practice what to do.

“Taking steps to prepare now could reduce injuries and damage to your

home and help your household recover in the event of a significant earthquake,” said Jeff Toney, director of the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services. “Many of these suggestions are cost-free and take just minutes to do. It’s important not to put emergency preparedness off.”

Download, the SD Emergency app which now has ShakeReadySD earthquake early warning technology, powered by ShakeAlert®, a product of the U.S. Geological Survey. The ShakeReadySD technology is designed to trigger an alert to your cellphone if you are in a location close enough to an earthquake with a magnitude 4.5 or greater with a shaking intensity of 3 or greater. If an earthquake has occurred

nearby that is likely to cause shaking within seconds, the app will urge users to take protective action such as drop, cover and hold on or another appropriate safety measure.

Learn and practice Drop, Cover and Hold On and other safety measures to take during shaking from an earthquake.

Learn what your risk is for an earthquake using this online tool. San Diego County is home to three major active faults: the Rose Canyon Fault (which runs along the coast, through downtown, Old Town and La Jolla), and the San Jacinto and Elsinore faults, which run through the northern and eastern areas of the county. Earthquakes along these faults could produce damaging

earthquakes that may disrupt roadways, transportation, and services like water, gas, and phone communication for weeks or months. Coastal areas are also at risk for tsunamis.

Update your personal disaster plan.

Templates are available in 12 languages and for people who may need assistance. A mobile version is also part of the SD Emergency app. Discuss with household members to include reunion locations since you may not be with your loved ones when a quake occurs, emergency supplies such as water, non-perishable food, specialized foods for infants, pets, first aid supplies, radios, flashlights, batteries and extra medications.

Register for AlertSanDiego or Aler-

taSanDiego, the County’s cellphone notification service. By doing that, you will receive any emergency messages such as evacuation warnings that apply to the area you specify.

At home, people can secure large furniture and electronics to wall studs, move heavy items to lower shelves and install locks or latches on large cabinets.

Make sure you know where the gas valve is located and have a tool to turn it off if needed. Make sure you only turn it off if you smell gas or suspect a gas leak.

To learn more about the steps you can take to prepare for earthquakes and other disasters, visit ReadySanDiego. org.

(Yvette Urrea Moe/County of San Diego Communications Office) n

Mayor Gloria proposes one of nation’s most transparent email-retention...

PAGE 10 improving customer service.”

The chart accompanying this article shows the length of email-retention policies at other public agencies, based on a query from early 2021.

Adoption of a five-year email retention policy will improve response times to public records requests, reduce the time burden of email searches on city staff and resources, and eliminate operational costs and periodic procurement of emailarchive solutions to replace obsolete systems. This change will save roughly $1.2 million over five years.

The city has dedicated a significant amount of time, resources, costs and technology

solutions to maintain an indefinite email-retention policy in the past decades. City email archives go back to 2008 and, as the city relied more heavily on electronic communications in recent years, the management of an indefinite email-retention policy has stretched resources and become an increasing burden on operations.

The city accumulates about 90 million emails per year, and searches for California Public Records Act requests are becoming more challenging with the potential of going through hundreds of millions of emails. In addition, some individual employees have hit the Microsoft storage limit of 100 gigabytes, which can lead

to email access being cut off and requiring cumbersome manual steps to resolve.

By implementing a five-year email retention policy, there will be a finite number of emails to search for and review for future PRA requests, which will help reduce the time it takes to respond to PRAs and improve the customer service experience.

“This change effectively puts a cap on the size of our email archive, which will become more manageable and easier to search through for public records requests,” said Jonathan Behnke, the City’s Chief Information Officer. “We view this as the next logical step in our efforts to modernize operations, providing a win-win situation for the public and the city as we improve response times to records requests while reducing costs and streamlining email system management and performance.”

Under the proposed policy, emails that are official city records will continue to be preserved in accordance with the City Master Records Schedule, while non-records would be deleted after five years. Emails that are related to litigation will continue to be retained on legal hold in accordance with evidence preservation and legal and regulatory compliance.

The proposed policy was to be presented to the City Council’s Rules Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 16. n

SFIO receives letter of interest from US EXIM Bank for up to $28.75-M in debt financing STARFLEET Innotech, Inc. has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), in support of SFIO’s real estate development projects in the Philippines.

In their letter, EXIM, the official export credit agency of the United States, expressed interest in extending financing of up to $28.75 million, towards SFIO’s medical and retirement resort in Montemaria, Batangas, just south of Metro Manila in the Philippines. Potential debt financing from EXIM would be eligible for a maximum repayment term of seven years.

This follows a series of partnerships and exploratory talks SFIO has spearheaded

towards non-dilutive debt financing for its various projects.

SFIO is currently engaged with a number of local banks in the Philippines to secure similar financing arrangements for their real estate developments, including a bayside, eco-friendly tech village in Batangas.

These projects play a crucial role in the global asset

management company’s strategy of collaborative innovation towards building better communities. Profits from these high-yield projects are intended to be reinvested into future growth, helping carry the group towards their plans to uplist from the US OTC Markets to the NASDAQ by 2024.

(Advertising Supplement)

12

FEBRUARY 18-24, 2022 • SAN DIEGO ASIAN JOURNAL

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