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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Volume 20 - No. 7 • 14 Pages
T H E F I L I P I N O A M E R I CA N C O M MU N I T Y N E WS PA P E R
Volume 18 - No. 17 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages
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Mass vaccination site opens at Oakland Coliseum DATELINE USA Part of Biden administration’s vaccine goal in first 100 days FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
San Francisco launches COVID-19 vaccination site at the SF Market in the Bayview
by AJPRESS A COVID-19 mass vaccination site under the Biden administration’s partnership with the state of California is now open at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The site, which is home to the Oakland Athletics, opened for vaccination appointments on Tuesday, February 16 as one of two in the Golden State and
the first of 100 planned locations across the country. The vaccination site at California State University, Los Angeles was also launched simultaneously in an event attended by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials. The Oakland and LA sites will be run by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of the new administration’s
by AJPRESS
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AMID a surge of violence against older Asian Americans across the country, an elderly Filipina was the victim of a random attack in San Diego, California on Monday, February 15. The Pinay senior citizen, who has not been identified, was riding a trolley when a man, unprovoked, started punching her, sources told ABC 10News. The station said witnesses helped the victim report the attack to the police. She was later treated at a local hospital. Police arrested a suspect, whose details were not released, for “assault with a deadly weapon with an elder abuse enhancement,” according to the news station, but the incident was not considered a hate crime. Violent attacks against elderly Asian Americans have gone viral in the past month. In late January, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, who was originally from
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Hundreds rally in SF, Oakland against anti-Asian violence
SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed, Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton, and Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax on Tuesday, February 16 announced the launch of a third high-volume vaccination site in San Francisco. The site, which opened Monday, February 15 at the SF Market in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood at 901 Rankin Street, advances San Francisco’s efforts to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible. As with other vaccination sites in San Francisco, the SF Market location will initially offer vaccinations to people 65 and older and healthcare workers. Due to current supply constraints, the initial doses given per day will be limited, but the site is ready to expand rapidly once supply increases. This new location, which is operated by the City and staffed in partnership with Sutter Health, is the third high-volume vaccination site that San Francisco and health care partners have opened in the past month. Two additional high-volume vaccination sites are
Elderly Pinay attacked on San Diego trolley
pledge to vaccinate 100 million Americans during President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office. “These new sites will help us get lifesaving vaccines to some of the California communities most in need,” Newsom said. Both sites were chosen to help “expand the rate of vaccinations in California in an efficient, effective, and equitable manner, with an explicit focus
Nearly 700 participants gathered at Madison Park during Oakland’s day of action on Saturday, February 13. A coalition of Asian American community groups in the Bay Area organized a weekend of events in response to the latest surge of violent incidents against Asian American residents, particularly senior citizens. Speakers at the Oakland and San Francisco rallies called for more community-based and prevention solutions to the violence as well as resources to help victims of hate crimes. Photo by David Shor
IN light of the recent uptick in violence against Asian American communities in the Bay Area, a coalition of organizations held rallies in Oakland and San Francisco during the first weekend of Lunar New Year. The two days of action, entitled “Love Our People, Heal Our Communities,” was held at Madison Park in Oakland’s Chinatown on Saturday, February 13 and on Valentine’s Day at San Francisco’s Civic Center. In the past two months, videos have gone viral showing violent attacks perpetrated against Asian Americans, particularly elderly individuals. Among the victims in San Francisco is Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, who was fatally pushed to the ground by a 19-year-old suspect in late January as he went out for his daily walk. In Oakland’s Chinatown, a slew of incidents have been recorded, including one showing a 91-year-old being hospitalized with injuries after a man followed and shoved him. About 700 participants, including other communities outside of Asian Americans, gathered in Oakland on Saturday in a show of solidarity. “Our immigrant and refugee communities feel so alone, so isolated. That’s why we are here today. To
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PH Supreme Court junks Marcos poll protest vs Robredo by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
THE Philippine Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has dismissed the entire election protest filed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo. “With regard to PET Case No. 005 (Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., protestant vs Maria Leonor “Leni Daang Matuwid” G. Robredo, protestee), the 15 members of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal unanimously dismissed the entire electoral protest,” the high court, u PAGE A2 through its Public Information Office,
said on Tuesday, February 15. It also shared the dispositive portion of the ruling that read: “WHEREFORE, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal DISMISSES the Election Protest filed by protestant Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. for lack of merit. The Counter-Protest filed by protestee Maria Leonor “Leni Daang Matuwid” G. Robredo is likewise DISMISSED.” SC Spokesperson Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka revealed that seven of the 15 justices present during Tuesday’s session “fully concurred” in the dismissal while the remaining eight “concurred” in the result. However, he declined to comment on
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Vice President Leni Robredo and former Senator Bongbong Marcos
Inquirer.net photos
Palace: PH should get close to Biden, Democrats’ immigration reform bill: A slow $16B compensation from US start toward pro-immigrant policy, experts say by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
AFTER President Rodrigo Duterte demanded that the United States pay for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Malacañang said that the Philippines should get “something like $16 billion or close to that amount” from the U.S. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque pointed out how little the U.S. has provided in terms of military assistance to the Philippines from 2002 to 2017. Citing a study by Washingtonbased Stimson Center on coun-
terterrorism spending, Roque said the Philippines only received $3.9 billion for counterterrorism efforts compared to Pakistan’s $16.4 billion. “When did Pakistan become an ally of America? They do not have a basis to say that they have a longstanding relationship with America unlike the Filipinos who died in the Death March during World War II,” he said on Monday, February 15. Roque also cited the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a 2014 deal that gave American soldiers access to the Philippines’
by KLARIZE
MEDENILLA AJPress
IMMIGRATION reform, a term that has become synonymous with political gridlock and ideological barriers to entry, may finally be on the horizon after decades of unsuccessful attempts from both Democrats and Republicans. White House officials confirmed that President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats are expected to release a sweeping immigration reform bill this week. The bill — called the U.S. Citiu PAGE A4
zenship Act of 2021 — was first announced on Jan. 20 shortly after Biden’s inauguration. It had been marketed as the start of a more “fair, orderly [and] humane” immigration system, as previously reported in the Asian Journal. “There’s a lot of talk, with good reason, about the number of executive orders that I’ve signed. I’m not making new law — I’m eliminating bad policy,” Biden said at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Feb. 2 when he signed three executive orders that promise to review Trump-era immigration policy.
The bill, which Democrats in both chambers of Congress support, includes proposals for: an “earned pathway to citizenship” for 11 million undocumented immigrants, a majority of whom are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; expands the refugee resettlement program; streamlining the backlog of immigration court cases and improving technology at the Southern border. Asylum processing for minors and reviewing the controversial public charge rule are also major components of the Biden immi-
gration vision. “The plan is not only about fixing our broken immigration system, but building a better one that reunites families, brings the undocumented community out of the shadows and on a path to citizenship, stands up for human rights, addresses root causes of migration and includes a smart border security strategy,” said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is leading the legislative force in the Senate. On the other side of the Hill, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-C.A.) is
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