030323 - San Diego Edition

California explores private insurance for immigrants lacking legal status. But is it affordable?

A DOCTOR found cysts in Lilia Becerril’s right breast five years ago, but the 51-year-old lacks health insurance. She said she can’t afford the imaging to find out if they’re cancerous.

Becerril earns about $52,000 a year at a nonprofit in California’s Central Valley, putting her and her husband, Armando, at more than double the limit to qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for people with low incomes and disabilities. Private insurance would cost $1,230 a month in premiums, money needed for their mortgage.

“We’ve been resorting to home remedies to get through the pain,” Becerril said through a Spanish translator. Her

Rep. Barbara Lee discusses US senate race, progressive values at meeting with LA’s AAPI community

WHEN United States Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) announced her bid to take over Dianne Feinstein’s seat in the U.S. Senate, many wondered if her age would be an asset or hindrance.

Lee is 76 years old and boasts a 12-term legislative career in the U.S. House of Representatives. But given longstanding concerns over the 89-year-old Feinstein’s age — and the threat of the young GOP uprising against the aging Democratic Establishment — many Democratic voters have raised concerns over who should take over Feinstein’s seat.

But regarding the vigorous and progressive Lee, any age concern almost becomes a non-issue.

“For those who say my time has passed, well, when does making change go out of style?” Lee asks in the campaign announcement video released on Tuesday,

Marcos, Anwar talk peace in South China Sea

MANILA — The Philippines and Malaysia agreed on Wednesday, March 1 to bolster their political and security cooperation even as they emphasized the importance of maintaining peace in the South China Sea.

President Marcos and Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim discussed developments in the South China Sea during their bilateral meeting at Malacañang last night.

Marcos said the two countries, as immediate neighbors, recognize the importance of maintaining

peace and security in the region.

“As such, we agreed to continue our cooperation on political and security matters, rekindling the Joint Commission Meetings and joint initiatives to combat transnational crime and terrorism,” Marcos said at a joint press conference at the President’s Hall in Malacañang.

Anwar, for his part, said he shared Marcos’ position to take up the matter at a multilateral level among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“We did discuss the South China Sea issue and I shared President Marcos Jr.’s concern that due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issue, we

Marcos calls for ‘unity, reconciliation’ on his first EDSA anniversary as president

by JameS RelatiVo Philstar.com

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sent his “warmest greetings” to all Filipinos here and abroad who solemnly recall the 37th EDSA People Power Anniversary, a popular uprising which ousted his father from power in 1986.

Late Thursday, February 23, Marcos moved the February 25 regular holiday to Friday, February 24 as

Philippine inflation yet to peak; Feb high pegged at 9.3%

MANILA — Inflation in the Philippines may have accelerated yet again in February, with the month’s average expected to range between 8.5 percent and 9.3 percent, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), exceeding January’s fresh 14-year high of 8.7 percent.

With the rate of increase in prices of goods and services not yet peaking, the government’s fight against high inflation is seen

dragging on to 2024, with the rate of change in prices of goods and services expected to go back to within the preferred range no earlier than late in 2023.

In a statement, the BSP said upward price pressures for February were expected to have come from higher LPG prices as well as higher prices of key food items like pork, fish, egg, and sugar.

On the other hand, lower prices for domestic petroleum, fruits and vegetables, chicken, and beef,

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a special non-working holiday, with the Department of Labor and Employment calling Saturday, February 25 just an “ordinary working day.”

“As we look back at this moment in our country’s history, we remind ourselves that despite the polarizing and divisive nature of our politics, it is our capacity for peace, unity and reconciliation that made us great and worthy of global acclaim as a people,” Marcos said in a statement released by the state-run

World Bank, ADB as investment partners to boost Maharlika attractiveness

by lawrence agcaoili Philstar.com

TAKING in the investment arms of multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank as strategic partners will likely boost the attractiveness of the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla.

Medalla said in an interview

with “The Chiefs” on One News TV that senators were amenable to taking in the International Finance Corp. (IFC) of the World Bank and the investment arm of ADB as strategic partners instead of doing an initial public offering (IPO).

“In particular, let’s say if the fund gets to attract strategic partners like the IFC of the World Bank and the investment arm of the ADB, then the fund

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should try and engage and take the position at a multilateral level between ASEAN so that we have a comprehensive approach and achieve an amicable resolution to this outstanding problem,” he said. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which is believed to hold large reserves of oil and natural gas.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims in the South China Sea.

ASEAN failed anew to put up a Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea with Beijing during its summit in Cambodia in November last year. ASEAN and China have been negotiating u PAGE 2

Drug war victims’ kin tell ICC: Don’t let PH gov’t stall probe

MANILA — Families who lost loved ones in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs have invoked the right to object formally to the Philippine government’s effort to stop the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from investigating the thousands killed during the crackdown.

A Feb. 17 submission made public on Friday, February 24 and filed on behalf of some 90 family members asked the ICC for the opportunity to “present views and concerns in the appeal by submitting a response to the appeal brief” to be submitted by the Philippine government this month.

It cited Article 68 (3) of the Rome Statute, ICC’s founding document, which stipulates that the court should permit victims’ views and concerns to enter into the records at stages of the proceedings, in a manner not prejudicial to the rights of the accused.

The 90 applicants represent one of several groups that

Reopened flights from Clark to boost tourism, decongest NAIA

THE resumption of flights from the Clark International Airport will boost the country’s tourism industry and decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The DOT made this statement following the move of Cebu Pacific to boost the Clark hub with a combined 13 domestic and international routes.

The airline company has said three of its aircraft would be

based in Clark.

Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines has also announced that it would commence flights from Clark to Caticlan on April 1 and Clark to Busuanga on April 2.

The newly reopened routes will surely boost the country’s domestic and international tourism as they will provide added connectivity to the country’s indemand destinations, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.

“After months of our continuous discussions with

photo

World Bank, ADB as investment partners...

may actually be superior,” Medalla said.

Furthermore, he pointed out that inviting multilateral lenders as partners and stakeholders of the fund would address the governance concerns of the proposed MIF.

“If you bring in partners like the IFC, it will be built in. So it really matters who your partners are,” Medalla added. According to the BSP chief, the proposed MIF would be better than the National Development Co., which is the investment arm of the Philippine government.

Medalla said key concerns of the central bank such as tapping into the country’s foreign exchange buffer or gross international reserves (GIR) as possible source of funds for the MIF have been addressed.

He said the term “wealth” in the original name of the fund has been dropped.

“That was the basic objection to the term W (wealth) because the government is a net borrower, the country is a net borrower. So in other words, to invest, we must borrow,” Medalla said.

He added that the proposed fund should be made to make strategic investments such as buying back the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) as well as greenhouse gases to attract foreign investors.

“For instance, I think the

privatization of transmission might have been a bad move. It’s too strategic and then of course selling it to the Chinese, from a security standpoint. Maybe it’s a good use for this fund to buy it back,” Medalla said.

Another concern of the BSP that has been addressed is the use of the funds of pension fund managers Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

“I think those issues are gone. So really the issues now are how we can improve the ability of this fund to increase investments in strategic areas and possibly, as in the case of Indonesia, attract foreign money,” Medalla added. Based on legislative measures, the MIF will secure seed fund from staterun government financial institutions including Land Bank of the Philippines with P50 billion and Development Bank of the Philippines with P25 billion.

The BSP is expected to chip in P17 billion in the form of dividends, while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., royalties and special assessments on natural resources and privatization are also seen to contribute an undetermined amount.

Medalla also said the Marcos administration is seriously looking for a highly competent individual to lead the management of the proposed

fund.

Privatization

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said privatization would be a “more logical” way of raising capital for the MIF, as it would be “less controversial” than drawing funds from key financial instituions.

“Privatization seems to be less controversial and more logical because the assets being sold now can be enjoyed by future generations by investing in infrastructure and other things. We must put that on the table for the body to study,”

Gatchalian said at hearing of the Senate committee on banks and financial institutions on the MIF Bill on Monday, February 27.

The senator made the statement after Bankers Association of the Philippines president Antonio Moncupa Jr. explained that generating MIF capital from sources that contribute to government coffers could become problematic. Gatchalian noted that the top three assets that the government was looking to privatize could yield up to P130 billion in capital for the MIF.

These assets are the government’s mining rights estimated at P100 billion, a land parcel at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig worth around P22 billion and the government’s Mile Long property in Makati estimated at P8 billion. (With reports from Paolo Romero)

Marcos calls for ‘unity, reconciliation’ on his...

Philippine News Agency.

“To obtain our aspirations moving forward, we must compose ourselves and appropriate our actions towards settling our differences and identifying collaborative ways to nurture our society.”

Marcos said that by accepting diversity, Filipinos deepen interpersonal relationships and discover how to make things work “better for all.”

While touting diversity in Marcos’ message, his father was infamous in persecuting political dissidents which lead to the arrests of 70,000, torture

of 34,000 and deaths of 3,200 others during the Martial Lawera of 1972 to 1981, according to Amnesty International.

Marcos earlier questioned this data when asked about the abuses of his father’s military rule.

The president said that at the heart of democracy is the need to resign from individualism for the sake of the common good and “embrace our infinite love for humanity.”

“Let us keep in mind that the world matures and ages in fortitude when people are free to speak their minds and challenge the realities that shake their convictions and

Marcos, Anwar talk peace...

for a binding COC in the past few years to manage tensions amid competing claims in the resource-rich South China Sea.

Economic ties

Meanwhile, the two countries also agreed to boost trade and investment exchanges.

The two leaders agreed to “reinvigorate trade and investment exchanges, with a special focus on the halal industry, agriculture and food security and the digital economy.”

”Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and I had a cordial and productive discussion on Philippines-Malaysia bilateral cooperation, reaffirming our two

beliefs,” Marcos said.

“If we truly stand for democracy, let us face the future by making our sense of community and patriotism the defining cornerstones of our society and the overarching goals of all our efforts in nationbuilding. I wish everyone a meaningful commemoration,” he added.

The Social Weather Stations on Thursday, February 23 reported that 62% of Filipino adults feel that the spirit of EDSA People Power is still alive, even after Marcos’ 2022 win and the widespead misinformation that supported his candidacy. n

countries’ desire to revitalize relations as we traverse past the pandemic then through the years towards a new normal,”

Marcos said.

Marcos said the two countries’ shared historic roots are deep, and the Philippines and Malaysia’s cultures enjoy natural affinity.

“As such, we spoke of further deepening our people-to-people ties through continued cultural exchanges and tourism,” Marcos said, recognizing the role of the Filipino diaspora in Malaysia and their contribution to both economies.

The two leaders also committed to continue supporting and

enhancing cooperation with the Brunei-Indonesia-MalaysiaPhilippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), including hosting the Brunei-IndonesiaMalaysia-Philippines Facilitation Center.

The Philippines and Malaysia are among the founding members of the ASEAN and the BIMPEAGA.

“We have thus resolved to support development and peacebuilding initiatives within this group, including the importance of achieving a resolution to the situation in Myanmar,” the president said. (Pia Lee-Brago, Janvic Mateo, Cecille Suerte Felipe)

Drug war victims’ kin tell ICC...

have filed communiques before the court since 2016 accusing then President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials of crimes against humanity by authorizing thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

‘Trauma, loss of income’

They argued that the Philippine appeal to suspend the ICC investigation would have an “immediate and direct effect on the personal interests of the applicants as they have not been able to obtain justice and remedies for the crimes committed against their family members.”

Some of the applicants, they said, “experienced torture at the hands of the police in relation to the drug war.”

“As a result of the killings of their family members or the torture they were subjected to, the applicants have suffered physical, psychological and socio- economic harm, including physical pain, injuries, anxiety, loss of sleep, trauma, feeling of fear, depression, loss of income, and economic hardship,” they said.

Obscured death toll Government data put the death toll of the drug war during Duterte’s term from July 2016 to May 2022 at 6,252 individuals, but human rights groups contend that the actual number could be three times that, as a consequence of sloppy investigation, and in a number of documented cases, falsified death certificates.

The Philippine government is expected to file its appeal brief before the March deadline, after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, in a Jan. 26 decision, authorized ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to proceed with the preliminary investigation.

In a Feb. 3 petition, the government, through Solicitor

General Menardo Guevarra, who served as Duterte’s justice secretary, sought the reversal of the ICC chamber’s decision.

Under ICC processes, the government is to submit its arguments in a more detailed appeal brief, with the prosecutor given the chance to respond afterward.

The Marcos administration has supported its predecessor in the ICC case, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over the Philippines after the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect in 2019, and that the government is already investigating the same drug war-related crimes under scrutiny.

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that withdrawing from the Rome Statute “does not discharge a state party from the obligations it has incurred as a member.”

Back in Geneva

On Wednesday, March 1 Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla was to again seek to convince the international community that the Philippines is pursuing human rights reforms, as he was to address the 52nd Regular Session of the United Nations (UN) Human

Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Remulla was expected to speak on the “progress in the government’s justice sector programs under the Marcos administration’s larger human rights and development agenda,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement. He was also to discuss the importance of upholding sovereignty and harnessing international solidarity in the promotion and protection of human rights, the DOJ said.

Remulla was scheduled to meet with HRC President Vaclav Balek, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, Australian Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts, and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Director General Majid Al Suwaldi.

On Tuesday, February 28 he was expected to join a panel discussion to share what the government had done to strengthen the criminal justice system, particularly in decongesting jails and prisons, reducing case backlogs, and improving the poor’s access to the system. (With a report from Tina G. Santos)

BILATERAL MEETING. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (right) and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim deliver their respective statements at the President’s Hall of Malacañan Palace on Wednesday, March 1. The two leaders held the joint press conference following their bilateral meeting on the revitalization of Philippines-Malaysia relations through enhanced economic and security cooperation, as well as cultural exchange and tourism. PNA photo by Rey Baniquet

STOP THE KILLINGS Mothers of “Oplan Tokhang” victims appeal to then President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the killings in this file photo on Oct. 28, 2017, just a year after he launched his brutal war on drugs that left more than 6,000 mostly poor suspects dead by the time he left office on June 30, 2022. Inquirer.net file photo

California explores private insurance for...

husband has needed hernia surgery for 20 years. “It’s frustrating because we pay our taxes, but we can’t reap any of the benefits of where our taxes are going,” she added.

While many Californians who earn too much to be eligible for Medi-Cal can get subsidized coverage through Covered California, an estimated 460,000 residents aren’t allowed to buy insurance through staterun insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act because they lack legal status. One Democratic lawmaker says it’s a small but glaring gap and is crafting a bill that could test Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s commitment to reach universal health care.

“We’re going to need to figure out how to provide universal coverage for all who call this state home,” said the bill’s author, Assembly member Joaquin Arambula. “It’s an area our state has not leaned into enough, to provide coverage for those who are undocumented.”

Arambula’s bill would direct the state to ask the federal government to allow immigrants living in the state without authorization to get insurance through Covered California. Arambula sees the move as the critical first step to expand coverage. If approved, the Fresno lawmaker intends to push for state subsidies to help pay for insurance.

Both elements are essential for immigrants lacking legal status, said Jose Torres Casillas, a policy and legislative advocate with Health Access California, a consumer health group working with Arambula’s office on the measure.

“Access is one thing, but affordability is another,” Torres Casillas said.

Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has approved expanding Medi-Cal to all qualified residents regardless of immigration status. In doing so, the politician continuously rumored to be preparing for a presidential bid described the state as moving “one step closer” toward universal health care. But in January, Newsom announced a $22.5 billion state deficit and made no mention of new proposals for the state’s estimated 3 million

uninsured residents.

Newsom’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, acknowledged the pressure to go further but he would not commit to a timeline.

“Up until now we’ve had so many other things to focus on,” Ghaly said. “This will become, frankly speaking, one of the most important next issues that we take on.”

California needs permission from the federal government to open Covered California to immigrants without legal residency because it is currently closed to them, and Arambula said he is in talks with Newsom administration officials about how to structure the bill.

Once the federal government opens Covered California up to all migrants, the state could set aside funding for subsidies. About 90% of enrollees in Covered California qualify for financial assistance, which is paid for with both state and federal funds. Since 2020, the state has spent $20 million a year on those subsidies, a fraction of the cost, because Congress has given states an infusion of money during the pandemic.

Previously, lawmakers had allocated roughly $300 million to lower insurance premiums for Covered California enrollees. Any financial assistance to people living in the state without authorization would likely have to come from state funds, and the costs could vary widely.

For instance, Colorado enrolled 10,000 such immigrants into a new insurance program designed solely for them at a cost of $57.8 million in state funds, said Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. The program covered the full cost of insurance for enrollees.

In Washington state, immigrants who lack legal status can take advantage of a state fund next year to help all income-eligible state residents pay for insurance, said Michael Marchand, chief marketing officer for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. State lawmakers have added $5 million to the fund for immigrants without legal authorization.

“It would serve as an

incentive for additional undocumented immigration into our country,” said Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank that advocated against Medi-Cal expansion to immigrants without legal standing. “And put taxpayers on the hook for additional government health care costs and the inevitable higher tax bills to pay for them.”

California officials have previously considered allowing all immigrants to buy insurance from its state-run program before, submitting a request to the federal government in 2016. But the state rescinded its application after President Donald Trump took office, given his antiimmigration rhetoric and policies.

The Biden administration in December approved an exception to federal law for Washington state — a game changer in the eyes of immigration advocates, said Rachel Linn Gish, a spokesperson for Health Access.

“Seeing what other states have done and the waivers that are happening under Biden, it makes a huge difference in our approach,” she said.

But even if lawmakers pass a plan to open California’s insurance marketplace to all immigrants regardless of status, advocates said the state will have to wait until Jan. 1, 2024, to ask the federal government for permission, and it could take half a year or longer to get a response.

That means it could be years before Becerril can get coverage. Instead, she’s preparing for the worst.

“I’m paying for funeral coverage,” she said. “It’s more economical than paying the health coverage premium.”

(Rachel Bluth/Kaiser Health News)

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

Dementia care programs help, if caregivers can find them

by Judith Graham Kaiser Health News

THERE’S no cure, yet, for Alzheimer’s disease. But dozens of programs developed in the past 20 years can improve the lives of both people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Unlike support groups, these programs teach caregivers concrete skills such as how to cope with stress, make home environments safe, communicate effectively with someone who’s confused, or solve problems that arise as this devastating illness progresses.

Some of these programs, known as “comprehensive dementia care,” also employ coaches or navigators who help assess patients’ and caregivers’ needs, develop individualized care plans, connect families to community resources, coordinate medical and social services, and offer ongoing practical and emotional support.

Unfortunately, despite a significant body of research documenting their effectiveness, these programs aren’t broadly available or widely known. Only a small fraction of families coping with dementia participate, even in the face of pervasive unmet care needs. And funding is scant, compared with the amount of money that has flooded into the decadeslong, headline-grabbing quest

for pharmaceutical therapies.

“It’s distressing that the public conversation about dementia is dominated by drug development, as if all that’s needed were a magic pill,” said Laura Gitlin, a prominent dementia researcher and dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

“We need a much more comprehensive approach that recognizes the prolonged, degenerative nature of this illness and the fact that dementia is a family affair,” she said.

In the U.S., more than 11 million unpaid and largely untrained family members and friends provide more than 80% of care to people with dementia, supplying assistance worth $272 billion in 2021, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. (This excludes patients living in nursing homes and other institutions.) Research shows these “informal” caretakers devote longer hours to tending to those with dementia and have a higher burden of psychological and physical distress than other caregivers.

Despite those contributions, Medicare expected to spend $146 billion on people with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia in 2022, while Medicaid, which pays for nursing home care for people with low incomes or disabilities,

expected to spend about $61 billion.

One might think such enormous spending ensures high-quality medical care and adequate support services. But quite the opposite is true. Medical care for people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia in the U.S. — an estimated 7.2 million individuals, most of them seniors — is widely acknowledged to be fragmented, incomplete, poorly coordinated, and insensitive to the essential role that family caregivers play. And support services are few and far between.

“What we offer people, for the most part, is entirely inadequate,” said Carolyn Clevenger, associate dean for transformative clinical practice at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.

Clevenger helped create the Integrated Memory Care program at Emory, a primary care practice run by nurse practitioners with expertise in dementia. Like other comprehensive care programs, they pay considerable attention to caregivers’ as well as patients’ needs. “We spent a great deal of time answering all kinds of questions and coaching,” she told me. This year, Clevenger said, she hopes three additional sites will open across the

LOCAL FAVORITES. Flordelis Nebrao arranges caimito (star apples) on her sidewalk stall along Katipunan Avenue in Balara, Quezon City on Tuesday, Feb. 28. She sources the fruits rich in anti-oxidants from the City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan and sells them for PHP100 per kg. PNA photo by Ben Briones

Philippine inflation yet to peak; Feb high...

along with the peso appreciation, might help push down the monthly average inflation in February.

Price pressures

“The BSP will continue to adjust its monetary policy stance as necessary to prevent the further broadening of price pressures as well as the emergence of additional second order effects,” the regulator reiterated, also suggesting continued increases in its policy rate.

At a hearing conducted by the House committee on appropriations on Tuesday, Feb. 28, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said inflation would start to normalize or recede back to the government’s target range of between 2 percent and 4 percent “later this year or early next year.”

In the same hearing, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told lawmakers that P646 billion of this year’s national budget that is earmarked for major social services is intended to help

alleviate the impact of inflation on low-income households.

Pangandaman also said that next year’s budget will continue to provide for the near-term and longterm interventions for the same purpose, to help the vulnerable sectors.

“We have already sent out a budget call (to prepare the national expenditures plan) for 2024 and we are waiting for the data that the line agencies will submit,” she said.

Pangandaman said that, most notably, the 2023 General Appropriations Act allocates P3 billion for the Fuel Subsidy Program — 20 percent larger compared with the 2022 funding — which is aimed at cushioning the impact of high oil prices on thousands of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers. Also, P1.29 billion was earmarked for the continuation of the Libreng Sakay program, particularly for commuters that use EDSA.

Further, P1 billion was set aside for fuel assistance to farmers and fisherfolks, which is double the 2022 funding. This year’s allocation provides P3,000 for each of 312,000 beneficiaries, meant to ensure unimpeded agricultural production and fishing operations.

In addition, there is P102.6 billion for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, covering conditional cash grants for 4.4 million indigent households. There is also P25.3 billion for their social pension of 4.09 million indigent senior citizens, and P36.82 billion for Protective Services, meant for 3 million “individuals and families in difficult circumstances.”

“On top of these, there’s a Targeted Cash Transfer program to provide a two-month subsidy to poor households amidst the rising prices of commodities,” Pangandaman said. “Details of this will be announced by the president once we finalize” the source of the funds.

Reopened flights from Clark to boost tourism...

relevant aviation agencies and stakeholders such as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, we welcome these additional flights as they serve the Marcos administration’s efforts to vastly improve tourism connectivity and spread economic opportunity nationwide,” Frasco said.

“These flights will further invigorate the growing interest

in our destinations among both domestic and international tourists, and further add to livelihood and employment opportunities for our tourism stakeholders and frontliners,” she added.

The tourism chief also highlighted that the reopening of the flights are “very timely” for the coming Holy Week.

“The DOT has been working with the DOTr in pushing for the maximization of the Clark

Rep. Barbara Lee discusses US senate race...

PAGE 1

International Airport with the goal of establishing it as a viable alternate airport, so it will be utilized to its full potential,” Frasco said.

“With the additional flights, we meet a number of objectives: the decongestion of the NAIA and minimizing crowding in other airports, as well as the further development of the region and attraction of more tourism activities and businesses in the area,” she added. n

Feb. 21.

Among the first of many community meetings, Lee met with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community (AAPI) in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 23 to discuss her legislative history, mobilizing young voters, the issues most pressing to Californians, and the heart of her progressive credo.

“A progressive, like Barbara Lee, is not just going to put

Band-Aids on solutions,” Lee told the Asian Journal at the community gathering hosted at The Noypitz in Little Tokyo.

“You gotta deal with systemic change. You gotta shake things up and change the rules of the game because the rules, oftentimes, were barriers for marginalized people.”

As a member of Congress, Lee said that the issues top of mind for her include housing the unsheltered, equitable education, affordable childcare, affordable health care, global peace and security, eliminating poverty, and holding corporate polluters accountable.

But as someone with more progressive values, she said she wants to take it further and challenge the conventions and systems that historically shut people out. As a Washington mainstay, Lee said her career was always about reconfiguring power structures.

“I know that people aren’t that concerned with labels, but it’s the context of what I’ve been working on. I’ve challenged the systems: corporate systems and systems of funding that are inadequate and discriminatory — systems and structures that have to be dismantled and disrupted so that you can let people in,” Lee shared.

Born in El Paso, Texas but raised in California, Lee’s mission to systemic change began when she was a cheerleader at San Fernando High School in Pacoima. After facing barriers that hindered Black girls to join the school’s cheerleading squad, Lee successfully worked with the local NAACP group to integrate the team, making recruitment equitable for people of color.

By the time Lee was 20 years old, she was a single mother living on public assistance and earned a Master of Social Work from UC Berkeley — all while founding a community organization that provides mental health resources for the East Bay. She then went on to become and intern and then chief of staff to Congressman Ron Dellums, and in 1990, she was elected to California’s State Assembly.

Since 1998, Lee has served California in the House of Representatives, overseeing the now-12th district that covers Oakland and most of the northern part of Alameda County.

In the early 2000s, the congresswoman made waves by being the only member of Congress to vote against thenPresident George W. Bush’s authorization to use military force following 9/11, calling it “a blank check” to exercise “overly broad powers” that disregard the “nation’s long-term foreign policy, economic, and national security interests, and without a time limit.”

As a congresswoman, Lee has always voted to cut the skyrocketing national defense

budget, a “way excessive $840 billion,” she told the Asian Journal.

“Every year I vote against that, so I’ve offered amendments to cut it by 10%,” Lee explained. “And I’ve been doing that because I think it’s obscene. We need the resources for schools.”

Amid Republicans currently eyeing a $25 billion cut to the U.S. Department of Education, Lee called on Democrats to mobilize and work to divert defense funds back into public schools, but she knows it’s an uphill battle.

“We couldn’t even get Democrats to vote for that. Defense contractors are smart because they cite their businesses in members’ districts where they’ve created jobs,” she said. “But it’s the military-industrial complex, so people have to start calling on Democrats to say cut that budget. It’s excessive and we’re never going to be able to make education equal for Black, brown, and poor children until we deal with where the real resources are — and that’s defense.”

In addition to her staunchly anti-war views, Lee was known across Washington as a trailblazer on several progressive concerns before they became mainstream among Democrats, including LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, reproductive rights, and eliminating poverty.

Lee’s announcement comes after other notable Democrats — Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Los Angeles) and Katie Porter (D-Orange County) — announced their campaigns to take over Feinstein’s seat. If elected, Lee would be the third Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, after Carolyn Mosely Brown and Kamala Harris.

Each candidate is politically formidable in their own right; but, it’s Lee’s background, progressive ideals, and track record that give her a specific edge.

In her conversation with the Asian Journal, Lee said that her campaign represents the California she’s seen, not just her long political career, but since she was a child: a state that celebrates its diversity and can overcome seemingly immovable bigotry and tragedy.

“It’s about hope and optimism, and I’m continuing to talk to people about being empowered and engaged, because so many people, after COVID and all the MAGA stuff, feel despondent. They feel down but they can make a difference,” Lee said. She continued, “I want to encourage people not to give up because as a Black woman, can you imagine what would have happened? If you can get people to really believe and know that they have a voice, they, too, can work to make this country better.” (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

Senate race, poses with members of the Filipino American community, including community leader Jessica Caloza, during an AAPI meeting at Noypitz in Downtown Los Angeles on

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) meets with the Los Angeles Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community following her bid to run for U.S. Senate, joining the race for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat.

Dateline PhiliPPines

House approves hybrid Con-con on 2nd reading

by Delon Porcalla Philstar.com

MANILA — The House of Representatives approved on second reading a resolution allowing Charter amendments through the creation of a hybrid constitutional convention.

Through voice vote, most of the members of the supermajority coalition approved the measure when presiding officer Rep. Raymond Mendoza of TUCP party-list asked for their votes.

The approval on third and final reading of Resolution of Both Houses 6 will only be a formality.

A separate bill was filed and is now pending in the House appropriations committee for tax purposes since Con-con delegates will receive remuneration for their skills.

PH has only 300 oncologists for cancer patients – expert

MANILA — The number of oncologists that can attend to the needs of cancer patients nationwide is only 300, according to a cancer expert.

“We are about 100-plus million Filipinos and the number of oncologists around the Philippines is only 300 and, admittedly, majority are here in Metro Manila,” University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Medical Oncology fellow Dr. Kenneth Samala said at the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel media forum held on Monday, February 27.

Samala stressed the need to develop more cancer experts and “get trainees who, after being trained, can go back to their communities and serve.”

“Actually, there are local government units and

municipalities that are OK with this and send their scholars (to our institution). We train them and they go back to their communities after that,” he said, as he noted that treating cancer is multifactorial.

“You need manpower. You need oncologists, nurses, surgeons. You need equipment to be used for diagnosis. Of course, you need medicines, so it is somehow challenging,” he added.

Meanwhile, for Philippine Foundation for Breast Care Inc. vice president Aileen Antolin, there is a need to train more experts, like oncologists and pathologists, to attend to the needs of cancer patients.

“What I have observed is that the funding is usually being used to build infrastructure, although what should be highlighted also

is the need for manpower or experts,” Antolin said.

“There is a cancer center, but there are no oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, radiologic technologists and mammography technologists. What happens is we just build structures, we acquire machines, but we lack experts to use the facility and equipment,” she added.

If the country has medical and technical experts in these facilities, then the care that can be given to patients becomes complete, according to Antolin.

At the same time, she expressed hope that the country’s young students or scholars will have interest in the field of cancer, so that “we can have more experts who will take care of the needs of our cancer patients.” (Philstar. com)

Sustain fight vs human trafficking - ex-DoJ official

FORMER justice undersecretary

Jose Vicente Salazar on Tuesday, February 28 urged the government to keep the fight against human trafficking “at all costs” as he welcomed the Senate investigation on the reported human trafficking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

He was referring to the Senate blue ribbon committee (BRC) probe on the alleged “new highend” human trafficking scheme at the country’s premier gateway.

Salazar was once at the forefront of the country’s fight against human smuggling as head of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

The Senate probe was an offshoot of Sen. Mary Grace Poe’s expose on what she said could be another grand design of a “human trafficking” scheme at NAIA involving a private aircraft and foreign nationals.

The senator said that “the Manila International Airport Authority, Bureau of Immigration, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Aviation Group and the Globan Aviation will have a lot of explaining to do.”

In a speech last February 15, Poe claimed that police and

airport authorities failed to stop the departure of a Dubai-bound flight that carried 10 foreigners, but only seven were declared before immigration officials.

“I believe there is more to this kind of a high-end modus that concerned government officials must look into the soonest possible time,” said Salazar. “The Senate’s move is a step in the right direction to unearth the identities of perpetrators at the soonest possible time.”

The “modus operandi” was exposed when the PNP Aviation Security Group received an “anonymous tip” about a human trafficking activity involving an aircraft that was set to depart for Dubai at about 10 p.m. on the same day at the NAIA.

It said that only six passengers were declared but 14 passengers boarded the aircraft.

“We say that there could be more to this that might have been perfected a long time ago and every time with cargoes as well in such instances. If human trafficking can take place, how much more with illegal drugs,” Salazar, who also served as undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology,

said.

“This is a very serious matter because if human trafficking can take place using private planes, how much more with illegal drugs that might only be considered as mere cargoes,” he added.

“As I said, the recent accidental discovery of the latest illegal activity could only be the tip of the iceberg. Thus, a Senate inquiry into this is a very welcome step,” he said.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go has expressed apprehension over the reported human trafficking scheme at the NAIA since it might involve national security.

“This is very disturbing and we condemn this new case of human trafficking using private jets,” Go said in Filipino and English during a chance interview in Quezon City on February 17.

“It appeared on the report that there are foreign passengers on board,” he said. Go voiced concern that some groups “use our airports as transit or exit point for smuggled people.”

“This should be stopped. This should be looked into thoroughly because there could be ‘national security dimension’ in this case,” he said. (ManilaTimes.net)

Expanded discount for senior citizens approved

by Moises Cruz ManilaTimes.net

THE House Special Committee on Senior Citizens has approved bills that will expand the provision of a 20 percent discount and exemption from value-added tax to senior citizens to include medicines, dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal products and formulated milk that have been properly prescribed or recommended by physicians.

House Bills 362 and 5425, authored by OFW party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino and Manila First District Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr., respectively, were approved by the House committee and will be consolidated.

Magsino welcomed the committee's decision and said that her bill will benefit many senior citizens who are forced to fend for themselves with their little

life savings and pensions, which are largely used for personal expenses and medical needs, and the most disadvantaged have become street dwellers, begging for a living.

She said that the Constitution requires both the family and the government to care for elderly members through social programs.

In response to this constitutional directive, Congress passed Republic Act 7432, or the "Senior Citizens Act," which was later revised by RA 9257 and RA 9994, or the "Expanded Senior Citizens Acts of 2003 and 2010," respectively.

Senior citizens are offered a 20 percent discount on certain products and services, such as medicines, as well as a 12 percent value-added tax exemption under this succession of laws.

Yet, these laws failed to

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who sits as president of the opposition Liberal Party, initially called for the suspension of the plenary proceedings. But he was opposed by his collagues, mostly from the administration bloc.

Rep. Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo also introduced amendments to the measure, removing the name of lawyer Alex Lacson from a group following his nonmembership and moved for the insertion of an important provision. Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who chairs the House committee on constitutional amendments and sponsor of the measure, accepted Defensor’s insertion of economic amendments to the Constitution.

“That is our purpose: to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Charter,” Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said attempts to amend the Constitution would only distract the country from addressing urgent problems such as poverty and corruption.

“We should do away with this long-standing tale of makebelieve that Charter change will solve all our problems. That is not needed now,” Hontiveros said partly in Filipino. She said the government and the people must face the reality that inflation, poverty and corruption are the pressing issues that need to be addressed with

aggressive political will and focus.

The senator asked why there appears to be “a sense of urgency on Charter change when it is not among the issues felt by the people.”

“Filipinos are experiencing hardship, but Cha-cha is being prioritized when it cannot be eaten,” Hontiveros said.

“Putting Cha-cha front and center is just another major distraction and will only sideline urgent issues. The economy is worsening and the agricultural sector is laden with so much scandal. Redirecting large amounts of our limited resources to Charter change at this time will just do more damage,” she added.

She said she was glad that President Marcos has explicitly stated that amending the Constitution was not his priority.

The president’s allies in Congress should take heed, Hontiveros said.

Sen. Nancy Binay said she respects the prerogative of Sen. Robinhood Padilla, who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, to push for Cha-cha.

Binay said if Padilla favors the easing of the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution, the landmark amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investment Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act are sufficient to attract investments.

She said more effort should be put into improving and releasing the implementing rules and regulations of these laws instead “in the face of the many crises confronting us.”

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Filipinos are “too preoccupied with daily

living struggles” to give a thought to Cha-cha.

“Although we need constitutional changes to improve our system of government, this can wait as we should address first the basic daily living problems: where to get food to feed the family, the continued increase in prices, where to get a job, corruption, the high cost of living and even of dying, and many more basic problems,” Pimentel said.

Sen. Sonny Angara said he was open to amending the Constitution, but he was concerned over the proposal of the House of Representatives to do it through constitutional convention (con-con), whose members are to be elected.

He said the con-con is the most expensive and the most tedious mode of Charter change, adding the proposed P10,000 per day pay of each delegate was excessive. Padilla said while he is heartened over the efforts in the House to amend the Constitution, he appealed anew to them to prioritize amending the economic provisions.

Several groups in the House of Representatives, led by the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc., have rejected Padilla’s call to abolish the party-list system.

Rep. France Castro of ACT Teachers acknowledged flaws in the Party-List System Law, but said the marginalized sector still needs representation.

“The party-list system should not be abolished. The law should be amended to ensure that only party-list groups from the marginalized sector are the ones who get registered and elected,” Castro said. (With reports from Paolo Romero)

provide for a definition of the term "medicines, which would identify specifics of their coverage, thus allowing many business establishments the leeway to determine which types of medicines are subject to the discount, and in many instances deny the grant of the privilege," Magsino said during her sponsorship speech.

"Moreover, the present laws do not include supplements and vitamins, formulated milk and other similar products that have proven important, especially during the pandemic, in maintaining the well-being of senior citizens," she added.

House Bill 362 proposes defining "medicines" as drugs, both prescription and nonprescription, generic and branded, duly prescribed by physicians and approved by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, to be used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of illness.

The bill intends to include dietary supplements, herbal products and formulated milk that have been officially prescribed by physicians, approved by the DoH and utilized in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.

"The amount of care that a society extends to its elderly members is a measure of the humaneness that particular society possesses. We Filipinos are known for our culture of cherishing and personally taking care of our elderly. Let us keep that distinction and pride alive," Magsino

BILATERAL COOPERATION. Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Zhang Wenxian (3rd and 4th from left), senior adviser of the Jinjiang Municipal People’s Government of China, pose for photos after their meeting at the Arcadia Events Center on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Zhang led a 38man delegation composed of government officials and business representatives for the signing of agreements for the Jinjiang-Davao Economic Trade Development, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., and Xiamen Airlines, as well as Avidsports Phils, Inc. and Shopping Center Management Corp. PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.

Developing the maritime industry

WITH 7,641 islands and one of the world’s most extensive coastlines, the Philippines should have a robust maritime industry. Instead the country has an abundance of deadly maritime accidents even in fine weather and a domestic shipbuilding industry that is so underdeveloped it cannot even produce enough vessels for the coast guard and navy.

The Philippines is the world’s largest source of commercial seafarers, but their jobs are currently threatened by the failure of local maritime schools to meet international standards on training and accreditation.

Editorial

On Tuesday, February 28 President Marcos vowed to make the maritime industry “once again a top priority.” But the industry has never really enjoyed top priority in any administration. And the ills plaguing the industry are symptomatic of the problems hobbling national development. Philippine education in general is in crisis.

Developing a robust domestic shipbuilding, repair and maintenance industry requires strong competencies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM, which are the weakest areas for the average Filipino student. The country also lacks the innovation ecosystem that is indispensable in designing ships for both commercial and defense purposes.

A strong maritime patrol capability could have enabled the country to uphold its sovereignty

Commentary

Moira G. GallaGa

THE recent incident at sea between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Chinese Coast Guard, when the latter used military grade lasers against the PCG and its crew amid reports of continued harassment of Filipino fishermen within our territorial waters, once again highlights the threat posed by China to Philippine interest, sovereignty, and territory in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

While the incident involving lasers may be a first, the harassment and shadowing of Filipino fishermen and the PCG are a constant reality. While our country pursues constructive

Commentary

Dr. Dante a anG

FIRST, the context. The Marcos family has a long history of friendship with China. Hate her or love her, former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos made history when she traveled to China in 1978 and met with the late Mao Zedong that led to the declaration of our country's support for the One China policy by the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos in 1979.

The Marcoses and the Chinese

The Marcoses have fond memories of the Chinese. All these years, they have maintained friendly relations and are respectful of Chinese leaders, past and present. After the defeat of Bongbong Marcos in the vice presidential race to Leni Robredo in 2019, it was his FilipinoChinese friends who stood by him during his hour of agony when everybody else shunned him.

The Marcoses and the Americans Marcos Jr. is no stranger to realpolitik and the dangers small and weak countries face against the designs of the more powerful country like the United States. He and his family had a taste of it during the EDSA revolution in 1986, when the Americans helped the coup plotters topple his father. And instead of bringing them to Paoay as originally agreed, hijacked them instead to Hawaii.

But that's only the tip of the "ice cream" as former president Erap Estrada would hilariously put it. The Americans, to gain favor from

– as affirmed by an international arbitration court – over disputed areas in the South China Sea. Instead the country continues to rely on allies for protecting its maritime entitlements and has yet to fully achieve credible defense capability.

Addressing the Philippine Maritime Industry Summit 2023 on Tuesday, President Marcos committed to support aspirations for developing a domestic maritime industry “that will be looked upon with admiration by the region and the rest of the world.”

This includes full support for the Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028, which covers priority programs to expand and promote an environmentally sustainable industry, adopt an efficient system of maritime governance, enhance maritime transport security, innovate and digitalize the industry, promote a competitive workforce and develop shipbuilding and repair.

Those are ambitious goals, but with political will and full government support, they should not prove impossible to achieve within six years. (Philstar.com)

Protecting PH sovereignty and territory

engagement with China in other areas of bilateral relations such as in trade and investment, the dispute in the WPS will be a constant thorn and a major issue in Philippine national security interest.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Marcos administration to provide the United States expanded access to our military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), and explore a possible Visiting Forces Agreement with Japan to include some form of trilateral defense arrangement with the U.S., is being criticized and characterized as a mendicant foreign policy. The critics note that the mindset behind this idea is outdated, and that focus should be on independently building our defense posture. Others claim it

will drag the Philippines into a war with China over Taiwan if the Americans get involved.

I acknowledge the risk posed by a possible war over Taiwan that involves the Americans, but as I noted in my previous article in this publication on Feb. 9 titled “Expanded Edca: Benefit or Liability?” the pros outweigh the cons. Essentially, the ultimate objective of the overarching strategy, in which Edca is just a part of a broader network of alliances being established, is not to facilitate a military victory, but rather to deter China from using armed force, not to mention prevent a war from breaking out at all. It is, of course, no guarantee that China would be deterred from its aim to reintegrate Taiwan through military means, but the lack of a credible deterrent is also

EDCA: Bane or boon?

the Cory administration, ramped up its demonization of the Marcos family who were vilified, ridiculed and shamed in the American press. Case after case were filed against them for compensation to the martial law victims whose list of names were suspect, and for the recovery of alleged ill-gotten wealth, to mention just two.

So, why would Marcos Jr. cocoon the Americans despite what they did to him and his family? Why would he weasel out of the Chinese embrace after long years of friendship?

Personal interest vs national interest

The experience of the Marcoses with the Americans, I would imagine, would have been traumatic for the young Marcos. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how he must have felt toward the Americans and now that he is President, I didn't expect Marcos Jr. to behave as if nothing had happened between his family and the Americans. And yet, he has recently granted the use of four additional military bases on top of the existing five or a total of nine, to the Americans under the EDCA agreement. This was no easy decision, knowing fully well that the EDCA will put the Philippines in harm's way in the event a conflict flared between China and the United States over Taiwan or the West Philippine Sea.

The reality is that there are only three options for Marcos Jr., all of which could be portentous. Let me explain.

The American and the China cards are both perilous for the Philippines. Either way, it will not spare us in the event of a clash between two hemogenic giants — militarily or economically.

Whichever way the wind blows, we are crushed. The third option is neutrality. The only way to stay neutral is to do the bidding of China and short of a formal declaration, we allow ourselves to become a "province of China."

China forced BBM'S hand Marcos Jr. has no options left but to acquiesce to the request of the United States for nine military bases under EDCA. To do otherwise would be a sign of weakness in the face of bullying by China. He could even be accused of treason if he did not show resolve in protecting our patrimony and the lives and livelihood of our fisherfolk.

What do you do when China, who professes undying friendship, continues to violate our sovereign rights (not sovereignty), and harass our fishermen, which has become a daily occurrence, depriving them of their livelihood?

There was even an incident when the Chinese rammed a boat of our fishermen and left them for dead in the high seas.

In another recent incident, the Chinese beamed a militarygrade laser at our coast guard on a routine supply run to our military outpost in Ayungin Shoal, temporarily blinding them.

China has built a constellation of military outposts, including reclaiming over 3,400 hectares, and turning it into a naval base capable of launching a bombing run on the Philippines, and threatening the flow of trade in the West Pacific.

And you expect Marcos Jr. to stay neutral?

In the long and short of it, China has only itself to blame for the decision of Marcos Jr. to enlist the United States in defense of the Philippines. China's ambitions

likely to encourage China to use armed force, as the cost of an invasion would not be so high.

The bottom line is, no matter our position, a war breaking out in Taiwan is not in our country’s interest, and that preventing one from happening by being part of an alliance to deter China from starting one would be. Taking this a step further, has there been any consideration about our security position if Taiwan were to fall under the complete control of China? Such scenario would mean China’s land border would only be around 400 kilometers from Batanes instead of 3,000 km away as it is now. So aside from the WPS, we now have to closely monitor and patrol our northeast and eastern maritime domain, which includes the Benham Rise. Recall that a

few years back, Chinese ships were surveying the area, which could be another flashpoint in Philippine-China relations. Therefore, if we are to talk about protecting our country’s sovereignty and territory, both on land and at sea, we need to take all possible scenarios and factors into account, and act according to our country and people’s best interest.

Speaking of our country’s and people’s best interest, would the status quo of regular harassment of our fishermen and the Coast Guard, and the normalization of these violations of the 2016 arbitral ruling in our favor, be acceptable?

Independently building our defense posture is ideal, but how many generations will it take for us to achieve military parity with

China, if that is even possible?

In the meantime, we have to use all means necessary to protect our sovereignty and territory. Of course, doing so comes with risks, but sticking our head in the sand and hoping we’d be left alone would be worse. By the time we stick our head out of the ground, we’d realize we have already lost control of part of our territory. (Inquirer.net)

* * *

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

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

need to be checked somehow, and the best way would be to go for what is called the "Cornerstone Balancer" principle, where a weak state enters into a joint agreement with a more powerful country like the United States. It could also be an agreement with other states like Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Australia and India, whose combined military strength could overshadow the aggressor.

Independent foreign policy?

Breaking his avowed foreign policy of "Being a friend to all, enemy to none," and displeasing the Chinese was a forced move. Let's be clear about this: both China and the United States are hegemonic, both are fighting for world dominance, both have their own interests to protect and promote, and both need the Philippines to advance their country's agenda. It is our

misfortune that the Philippines is simply on the wrong side of geography. It is a small country coveted by two superpowers.

But what choice does the President have? Either he allows China to continue to occupy parts of our territory, harass our fishermen, militarize the WPS, and let the Philippines be a wimp, or run to the Americans for succor.

How did we end up where we are?

Blame the Chinese. It is time to close ranks and support our policy of alignment with the United States and pray that war or even a limited or regional war is averted. China should wake up to the reality that if it wants the world to trust it, it should forego its hegemonic ambition by demonstrating respect for its neighboring countries'

territorial claims, stop being a neighborhood bully, and start behaving like a responsible member of nations. Doing so would mean leaving behind its military outposts and naval bases in the WPS and turning it instead into a sea of peace.

The question is: Will the Chinese leave behind their constellation of military outposts and forgo their claim to the almost entire WPS? I don't think so. What happens now to the avowed foreign policy of President Marcos Jr.: "Enemy to none, friends to all?" You can forget it and brace for more harassments and hostile acts by the Chinese. (ManilaTimes.net)

* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian

Dementia care programs help, if caregivers...

country. Expansion is a goal shared by other comprehensive care programs at UCLA (the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, now available at 18 sites), Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, the University of California-San Francisco (Care Ecosystem, 26 sites), Johns Hopkins University (Maximizing Independence at Home), and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging in Cleveland (BRI Care Consultation, 35 sites).

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has shown these programs improve the quality of life for people with dementia; alleviate troublesome symptoms; help avoid unnecessary emergency room visits or hospitalizations; and delay nursing home placement, while also reducing depression symptoms, physical and emotional strain, and overall stress for caregivers.

In an important development in

2021, an expert panel organized by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said there was sufficient evidence of benefit to recommend that comprehensive dementia care programs be broadly implemented.

Now, leaders of these programs and dementia advocates are lobbying Medicare to launch a pilot project to test a new model to pay for comprehensive dementia care. They have been meeting with staff at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and “CMMI has expressed a considerable amount of interest in this,” according to Dr. David Reuben, chief of geriatric medicine at UCLA and a leader of its dementia care program.

“I’m very optimistic that something will happen” later this year, said Dr. Malaz Boustani, a professor at Indiana University who helped develop Eskenazi Health’s Aging Brain Care program and who has been

part of the discussions with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Alzheimer’s Association also advocates for a pilot project of this kind, which could be adopted “Medicare-wide” if it’s shown to beneficial and cost-effective, said Matthew Baumgart, the association’s vice president of health policy. Under a model proposed by the association, comprehensive dementia care programs would receive between $175 and $225 per month for each patient in addition to what Medicare pays for other types of care.

A study commissioned by the association estimates that implementing a comprehensive care dementia model could save Medicare and Medicaid $21 billion over 10 years, largely by reducing patients’ use of intensive health care services. Several challenges await, even if Medicare experiments with ways to support comprehensive dementia care. There aren’t

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FICTITIOUS

enough health care professionals trained in dementia care, especially in rural areas and lowincome urban areas. Moving programs into clinical settings, including primary care practices and medical clinics, may be challenging given the extent of dementia patients’ needs. And training needs for program staff members are significant.

Even if families receive some assistance, they may not be able to afford necessary help in the home or other services such as adult day care. And many families coping with dementia may remain at a loss to find help.

To address that, the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging later this year plans to publish an online consumer directory of evidencebased programs for dementia caregivers. For the first time, people will be able to search, by ZIP code, for assistance available near them. “We want to get the word out to caregivers that help is available,” said David Bass, a senior vice president at the Benjamin Rose Institute who’s leading that effort.

Generally, programs for

dementia caregivers are financed by grants or government funding and free to families. Often, they’re available through Area Agencies on Aging — organizations that families should consult if they’re looking for help. Some examples: Savvy Caregiver, delivered over six weeks to small groups in person or over Zoom. Each week, a group leader (often a social worker) gives a mini-lecture, discusses useful strategies, and guides group members through exercises designed to help them manage issues associated with dementia. Now offered in 20 states, Savvy Caregiver recently introduced an online, sevensession version of the program that caregivers can follow on their schedule.

REACH Community, a streamlined version of a program recommended in the 2021 National Academy of Sciences report. In four hourlong sessions in person or over the phone, a coach teaches caregivers about dementia, problem-solving strategies, and managing symptoms, moods,

stress, and safety. A similar program, REACH VA, is available across the country through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In up to eight in-home sessions over four months, an occupational therapist assesses the interests, functional abilities, and home environment of a person living with dementia. Activities that can keep the individual meaningfully engaged are suggested, along with advice on how to carry them out and tips for simplifying the activities as dementia progresses. The program is being rolled out across health care settings in Australia and is being reviewed as a possible component of geriatric home-based care by the VA, Gitlin said.

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

ANNOUNCEMENT / EMPLOYMENT

Advertisement for Bids

Notice is hereby given that the San Diego Unified School District, acting by and through its governing board, will electronically receive bids for the furnishing of all labor, materials, transportation, equipment, and services for:

REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF PLAY EQUIPMENT AND SURFACING AT 4 SITES

A mandatory site visit is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2023. Site Walk will begin outside the main office of Kumeyaay Elementary School, 6475 Antigua Blvd., San Diego, CA 92111. Upon completion, contractors will proceed to Mt. Everest Academy, 4350 Mt. Everest Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117. Upon completion, contractors will proceed to Hawthorne Elementary School, 4750 Lehrer Dr., San Diego, CA 92117. Upon completion, contractors will proceed to Ocean Beach Elementary School, 4741 Santa Monica Ave., San Diego, CA 92107. CONTRACTORS MUST BE PRESENT AND CHECK-IN AT ALL FOUR SITES TO BE ELIGIBLE TO BID THIS PROJECT. Contractors and subcontractors must preregister with the District prior to attending the site walk at sandiegounified.org/sitewalks

The Bid and Contract Documents may be downloaded free of charge at the new District’s online Planroom at sandiegousdplans.com. All bids must be received electronically at or before 1:00 p.m. on MARCH 30, 2023. Firms interested in submitting a bid package must go to tinyurl.com/SDUSD-PlanetBids then search under “Bid Opportunities” for “Invitation number” CP23-0788-23 Play Equipment and Surfacing at 4 Sites. For new vendors, please register under “New Vendor Registration”. The project estimate is between $1.8 million and $2 million. This is a PSA project and requires prequalification. The District requires that Bidders possess any of the following classification(s) of California State Contractors License(s), valid and in good standing, at the time of bid opening and contract award: A or other appropriate license, subject to District approval. SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Linda Hippe, Director, Purchasing and Contracts, Strategic Sourcing and Contracts Department CP23-0788-23

NAME(S) ABOVE.

Signature: James Garden.

Statement filed with Recorder/County Clerk of San Diego County on 02/06/2023.

SD#0209

SAN DIEGO JOURNAL

Meet Fil-Am Zoe Jensen: Broadway’s latest queen is living the dream

by MoMar G. Visaya / AJPress

LANA Zoe Jensen is having the time of her life. The Filipino-American performer officially made her Broadway debut in late 2022 as a principal cast of Six, a British musical that tells the story of the six wives of King Henry VIII, but with a contemporary twist. Jensen plays the role of Katherine Howard, the fifth wife.

“Not to be corny, but it’s literally a dream. Not to say that there aren’t hard things or things that aren’t perfect, but to get to wake up here,” she said. “And then walking to work is incredible. I walk through Times Square and I’m like, ’What am I doing here?’

It’s crazy.”

Two months in and the 25-yearold thespian looks back at her journey so far.

Jensen was born in San Diego, California to an American dad and a Filipina mom and lived there for a few years. Their family also lived in China for a few years due to her dad’s work before finally settling in Rockford, Illinois where she grew up. She went to school at Southern Illinois University Carbondale majoring in musical theater and a minor in journalism. After graduating, she worked briefly in Cincinnati at the Children’s Theater where she met mentors who would introduce her to people who would help manage her career.

She moved to New York when she was around 20 years and booked her first New York gig, an off-Broadway show called We Are The Tigers. Zoe then joined the cast of Dear Evan Hansen and became a standby for the roles of Zoey and Alana. On her first week of work there, she found out that she booked Hamilton.

From September 2019 to October 2022, with the pandemic in between, she essayed the role of Eliza Hamilton in the musical’s North American tour.

During the summer of 2022, she got an email to come into a final callback session for Six, and a few weeks later, she found out that I got in. Last October, she officially made her Broadway debut as a principal cast member of Six.

“It’s incredible, it’s so much fun because it’s such a fun show,” Jensen told the Asian Journal as she described the past few months of her stint with the show.

Six has developed a cult following, something that Zoe has seen personally. She told us the fans call themselves “queendom” and are among the most loyal in the theater world.

“Walking into the theater and hearing people outside already waiting for the show and singing along, it’s an incredible feeling. And then I get to be a part of a show that has confetti at the end and I get to see everyone’s smiling. I know that we’re making people happy,” she said.

“Let me say first off that when I was a kid, my favorite thing to do - I was an only child. - my favorite thing to do would be in front of the mirror in my room, lipsynch songs with a hairbrush as a microphone,” she recalled, mimicking those moments. “I love karaoke, I mean I’m Filipino. So we love karaoke. I used to always do karaoke so to get to do that, for my first Broadway show, it’s like incredible.”

Hamilton and Six are both groundbreaking musicals based on historical figures and yet so different from each other in many ways and Jensen is thankful for being given the opportunity to shine on both.

“Six is pretty short, it’s a com-

plete 180 from Hamilton,” she explained. “Obviously there is a responsibility on you as a principal in something like Hamilton but with Six it feels like it is the six of us, you need to be on you’re A-game because if you’re not like they can tell.”

“Some people might think that Six is harder vocally and it might be, but for me, I think that Six is a little easier because I’m in my happy place, that pop-rock kind of thing where you can kind of add some expression. Hamilton is so beautiful. I felt like Eliza had to be a little refined a little bit of that classicalness to it, which I think is a little harder.”

Both musicals have also cast Filipinos in principal roles: Rachel Ann Go and Christine Allado as Schuyler sisters in Hamilton and Andrea Macasaet as the original Anne Boleyn on Six.

Jensen remembers bonding well with Hamilton’s Angelica tour cast including fellow Filipino Americans Alaina Vi Maderal and Jon Viktor Corpuz. She fondly recalled the day she left the company since they celebrated in a Filipino restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

“That was one of the best parts about being in Hamilton. Growing up I definitely had some Filipino people in my life, but I was surrounded by predominantly white people,” Jensen shared. “There were so many of us. We called ourselves the HamilAsians. I’ve always wanted so desperately to get to connect with other Filipino people.”

“Obviously, I have my mom, but I feel like when she came here, she felt like she needed to assimilate. So I’ve always just been searching for people to connect with culturally on those things,” she said.

Zoe’s mother – Lani Lumanog Jensen is a registered nurse. She

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga joins Broadway cast and producing team of ‘Here Lies Love’

For limited guest engagement July 11 – August 13, 2023

THE producers of Here Lies Love, the groundbreaking musical from the minds of Grammy®, Oscar®, and Tony Award® winner David Byrne (concept, music and lyrics) and Grammy Award® winner Fatboy Slim (music), announced that Tony and Olivier Award winner Lea Salonga, a global Filipina legend, will join the show’s Broadway cast for a special guest engagement this summer.

Salonga, who is also joining the producing team of Here Lies Love, will appear in the show for five weeks from Tuesday, July 11 through Sunday, August 13. She will perform “Just Ask The Flowers,” sung by the character of Aurora Aquino – mother of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, whose assassination ignited the People Power Revolution that ousted Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos from power. After her five-week run, guest stars from the Philippines will take over the role, showcasing the abundance of talent from her native country. This production marks the first time Salonga will serve as a producer on a Broadway show; Here Lies Love also marks the first time Salonga will play a Filipino role on the Broadway stage.

Salonga returns to the Broadway Theatre with Here Lies Love after making her Broadway debut there in 1991, winning the Tony Award for her portrayal of Kim in Miss Saigon at age 20.

Here Lies Love, which tells the story of former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos’ rise to power and subsequent fall at the hands of the Philippine People Power Revolution, will begin performances Saturday, June 17 ahead of an official opening night on Thursday, July 20.

Lea Salonga said, “I’m so excited to be joining Here Lies Love as both a performer and producer! As an audience member that stood on the dance floor at the National Theatre in London where Here Lies Love ran in 2014, I knew I wanted to be part of it if and when it ever came to Broadway. Now here we are, and at the theater in which I made my Broadway debut! I’m thrilled to be part of this show, as well as part of a company comprised of an abundance of Filipino talent, a first in Broadway history! We’re showing the world what we’re capable of!”

Director Alex Timbers said, “Having Lea join the Here Lies Love family is a pinch-me moment for all of us. I can’t wait to get in the rehearsal room with her and the other talented artists working on this show.”

Producer and costume designer Clint Ramos said, “Lea Salonga has singularly secured a place for Filipinos on the Broadway stage. That she joins us as both performer and producer, where she creates a pipeline for Filipina actresses, is profoundly historic. Lea continues to be a beacon of light and source of pride for the Philippines. We are thrilled to welcome her to Here Lies Love.”

As previously announced, the cast of Here Lies Love will also include Jose Llana (The King and I, The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee) and Conrad Ricamora (“How to Get Away with Murder,” The King and I, Soft Power – Grammy nominations). An international casting search is

underway for the remaining company of 20+ actors.

Developed & directed by Tony Award winner Alex Timbers, with choreography by Olivier Award nominee Annie-B Parson and additional music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo, the show’s home at the Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway at 53rd Street) will be transformed into a dance club where the audience is immersed in the story.

Ticketing information

As the official card sponsor of Here Lies Love, American Express® Card Members have Early Access to exclusive presale tickets before the general public from Friday, March 10 at 10am EST through Monday, March 20 at 9:59am EST at Telecharge. com.

Presale tickets for Here Lies Love are available exclusively to Audience Rewards® members from Monday, March 20 at 10:00am ET through Wednesday, March 22 at 9:59am ET. It’s free and fast to join at www.AudienceRewards.com.

Audience Rewards is the Official Rewards Program of Broadway, providing membership benefits and rewards for more than 2.7 million members and representing more than a quarter of all Broadway tickets purchased through Ticketmaster and Telecharge. Free and easy to join, Audience Rewards allows buyers to earn Show Points on every ticket purchase, to be redeemed for free tickets, theater collectibles, unique experiences, and more. Founded in 2008 by a unique coalition of prominent theater owners, including Nederlander, Shubert, and Jujamcyn, major national presenters, and key performing arts centers from across the country, Audience Rewards has offered members

was born in Bataan. Her eldest brother was in the navy and he was able to sponsor the entire family to come to the U.S. Her mother taught her how to cook Filipino classics, which comes in handy when sudden cravings arise.

“To this day, like every week I’ll either cook adobo or sinigang or pancit. I always like to have something Filipino at home, a little bit of comfort,” she quipped.

Zoe Jensen didn’t expect the chance to be on Six to come at this point in her life. After all, she has done more than 650 shows in Hamilton and she was looking forward to more.

“It always surprises you when it comes. I really thought that I was going to be with Hamilton for a while but yeah, Six honestly exceeded my expectations in a lot of ways and the main reason is just getting to do it with my group of six and our alternates,” she said. n

Zoe Jensen jumped from being Eliza Schuyler Hamilton on tour to become one of the queens of Six on Broadway.

Photo by Broadway Press

Zoe Jensen (Katherine Howard, center) with (l-r) Hailee Kaleem Wright (Catherine of Aragon), Nasia Thomas (Anna of Cleves), & Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Anne Boleyn). Photo by Joan Marcus

Tony and Oliver Award winner Lea Salonga will join “Here Lies Love” for a special guest engagement this summer 2023.

FACCTC STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP. As a forward-looking and pro-active Chamber of Commerce in metro Los Angeles, the FilipinoAmerican Chamber of Commerce Tri-County (San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties), recently conducted a strategic planning workshop among its officers and board members in the City of Riverside. Led by facilitator Dennis Heruela, subject matters included management and leadership development, inter-personal relationships, multi-disciplines and protocols on non-profit organizations. In photo above are (seated, from left) Eliza Leigh Serna (secretary), Carmela Giliberto (immediate past president and board member), Christen Montero (president), Dennis Heruela (facilitator and resource speaker), Jeannette Burton (board member), Lydia V. Solis (board member), and Lani Kim (treasurer); (standing from left) resource speaker Dan E. Nino (compliance officer), Chirho Garcia, Gerry Palon (Coalition of Filipino-American Chambers of Commerce), JV Libunao (1st vice president), Merwynn Montenegro (president emeritus), John Flemings (2nd vice president), and Anthony Lopez (board member). Not in photo are Atty Abraham Lim (legal counsel), and board members Nick Munoz and Art Abellada.

What’s your next job search move?

SAY you’re looking for a job.

You’ve found some you’re qualified for on a well-known employment website and you apply to a bunch of them. If you get a message saying “You’re hired! We just want some more info from you,” what’s your next move?

If you said, “Check out the company and the job by doing my own research before giving them any personal information,” that’s a great answer and a good first step.

It’s easier than ever to apply to lots of jobs with just a few clicks. It’s also incredibly easy for scammers to pose as legitimate employers. While there’s no surefire way to detect a job scam, there are important steps to take before giving anyone your money or personal information.

• Do your own research. Search the company and job name with the words “scam,” “complaint,” or “fraud.” You might find they’ve scammed other people. Scammers pretend to be both well-known and smaller companies, posting jobs on employment websites.

So, reach out to the company directly using contact information you know is legit.

• Don’t pay to get a job. If someone says you’ve got the job, but you have to pay them for something — or if they say you have to deposit a check and send money back, those are scams. Period. No legitimate job will make you pay for expenses or fees to get the job.

• Never give personal info up front. Some scammers will try to get your bank account, routing, or

San Diego Public Library’s Spring into STEAM program provides hands-on learning for local youth

Free workshops dig into the past for important science lessons

SAN DIEGO – Providing opportunities for young people to learn and explore, the 7th annual Spring into STEAM challenge is underway at the San Diego Public Library (SDPL). The sciencefocused program kicks off this month with a unique, projectbased educational experience to strengthen students’ STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) skills.

This year’s theme “Dig in!” encourages kids to discover the world beneath their feet and learn about the plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. The workshops will teach youth about geology and the rock cycle, the process of fossilization and ancient artifacts.

Spring into STEAM programs are free and geared toward kids ages 9 to 12. The workshops will be offered in March, April

and May, both virtually and in-person at San Diego Public Library locations. The programs are a collaboration between SDPL and local science experts and organizations including The San Diego Natural History Museum, Hands-on Technology, Toshwerks and the Fleet Science Center.

There are four workshops to choose from:

• DIG IN with the Nat: Examine real fossils, learn how they’re formed and found and hear what’s it’s like to work as a paleontologist.

• Fossil Fun: Learn about the process of fossilization and create a fossil by embedding a dinosaur, insect or plant in faux amber.

• Geology Rocks: Explore what the earth is made of by testing rock hardness and simulating the rock cycle.

• San Diego Jones, A Virtual Reality Adventure: Explore ancient

ruins around the world using virtual and augmented reality technology.

All youth who participate in a Spring into STEAM program will receive a “Prehistoric Amber” activity kit. For more information and to register, visit sandiego.gov/ STEAM.

With a vision of being the place for opportunity, discovery and inspiration, the San Diego Public Library is a hub for knowledge and lifelong learning. As the largest library system in the region, it serves a population of more than 1.4 million people. Learn about events at the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Irwin Jacobs Common and 35 community branch libraries, find links to programs and resources or search for materials in the online catalog at www.sandiegolibrary.org. (City of San Diego Release)

County establishes new Child and Family Well-Being Department

THE San Diego County Board of Supervisors has approved a reimagined department to support children and families.

The new Child and Family WellBeing Department will integrate multiple child and family serving systems, including First 5 San Diego, Child Welfare Services, and other Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) departments, under one umbrella to deliver both prevention and safeguarding services.

Social Security number as soon as you’re in contact. They might say, “to set up your direct deposit.” Stop. That’s a scam.

• Talk to someone you trust before you take a job offer or business opportunity. Ask them what they think. Then listen to what they say.

If you think you’ve spotted a job scam, or if you’ve lost money to one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud. ftc.gov. (Jim Kreidler/Consumer Education Specialist, FTC)

Newly discovered gene links breast cancer to stress and changes in exposure to light and dark

NEW research from the University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Science (UPDCS) has found a conclusive link between stress, altered lightdark cycles — such as in the cases of night shift workers and frequent international travelers — and breast cancer.

Molecular biologist Dr. Pia Bagamasbad and her student, Weand Ybañez, at the UPD-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) discovered a gene called Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) that suppresses tumor growth and links the effects of stress, regulation of the lightdark cycle, and breast cancer.

In their study, the researchers found that KLF9 is suppressed in breast tumors compared to normal breast tissue, and that KLF9 is affected by stress hormones and changes in a person’s exposure to light and dark.

Normal body function involves a regular 24-hour pattern of biological activity, called the “circadian cycle,” which is mainly controlled by the 12-hour lightdark cycle that, in turn, regulates several bodily functions such as sleeping and waking, digestion, and the action of various hormones at different times of the day.

In normal breast tissue, the researchers found that KLF9 exhibits a cyclical pattern as part

NIMBB researchers have just discovered a gene called Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) that links the effects of stress, regulation of the light-dark cycle, and breast cancer. Image courtesy of Weand Ybañez

of a healthy circadian cycle.

However, this regular pattern is lost in highly-aggressive breast cancer. Since KLF9 suppresses the growth and spread of breast cancer cells, these research findings show a direct link between stress hormones and changes in the circadian cycle — such as lack of sleep — on breast cancer risk and development.

The NIMBB research team underscored the value of maintaining a regular circadian cycle in their study, warning of the negative effects of disruptions in the regularity of the circadian cycle: “Circadian disruption is an emerging driver of breast cancer , with epidemiological studies linking shift work and

chronic jet lag to increased breast cancer risk,” they noted in their research paper, which was published just last February 23 in the journal, Cancer Cell International.

“These findings have potential far-reaching implications not just on our understanding of how cancer develops and spreads and how it can be effectively managed, but more importantly emphasize the need for policies and interventions that can safeguard the overall health and wellness of women working in industries involving disruption in the regular circadian cycle”, Dr. Bagamasbad said.

(UP Diliman College of Science Release)

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga joins...

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first access presales to more than 100 Broadway shows and 200 VIP experiences and events, which have included a meet and greet with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, a walk-on role in Rock of Ages, a cooking class with Gavin Creel & Celia KeenanBolger, celebrity Q&As, backstage tours and much more.

Tickets are on sale to the general public beginning Monday, March 27 at 10:00am EST online at Telecharge.com or by phone at 212-239-6200.

For information on groups of 10+, contact Broadway Inbound at broadwayinbound.com or call 866-302-0995.

More information about the wide variety of standing and seating options available throughout the theater’s reconstructed space will be announced soon. Sign up now at HereLiesLoveBroadway. com for early access to tickets.

From its world premiere at The Public Theater in 2013, Here Lies

Love has enjoyed popular and critical acclaim. The show returned to The Public in 2014-2015, debuted at London’s Royal National Theatre in 2014, and most recently opened at Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2017.

The creative team for Here Lies

Love on Broadway includes threetime Tony Award® nominee David Korins (scenic design), Tony Award® winner Clint Ramos (costume design), Tony Award® winner Justin Townsend (lighting design), M.L. Dogg & Cody Spencer (sound design), and three-time Tony Award® nominee Peter Nigrini (projection design), with casting by Tara Rubin CSA, Xavier Rubiano CSA, Gail Quintos and general management by Foresight Theatrical. Additional creative team members include ATW Jonathan Larson Grant recipient J. Oconer Navarro (music

Adopted unanimously, the new department will allow the County to better address equity and improve outcomes for children and families in a more holistic way by focusing its effort and budget on child and family strengthening programs and community partnerships.

“Equity and the safety of our community’s children have always been at the core of our efforts,” Kim Giardina, director of Child Welfare Services said. “This transformation allows us the flexibility to respond to the changing landscape and needs of our neighbors to best support them now and many years into the future.”

This work is designed to reduce the impact of trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and child maltreatment in our community, and to do so with a focus on racial equity and reducing the disproportionate

number of African American, Native American, and Hispanic children in foster care.

The data supports this shift.

Since 1998, the number of children in CWS care decreased from almost 7,000 to fewer than 2,000, a 71% reduction over 25 years through familystrengthening programs and enhanced engagement.

The reimagination of services, which has been under development for more than a year, is expected to continue the reduction of children in foster care and reduce the unnecessary child protective actions that have historically harmed and separated families. If further intervention is needed to keep children safe, social workers will work with families to ensure well-being of

the children and to place family’s voice at the center of our work.

The new Child and Family WellBeing Department will consist of the Office of Child and Family Strengthening, which will include First 5 San Diego, coordination of local childcare system, and other prevention and strengthening services, and the Office of Child Safety, which will continue to provide all services currently administered through Child Welfare Services. The Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board will oversee the overarching organizational change and monitor the department’s work.

The new Child and Family WellBeing Department will begin this multi-year transition in July 2023. (Cassie Klapp/County of San Diego Communications Office)

County-funded developments benefit from new state affordable housing grants

FOUR affordable housing developments with $29 million in County funding have secured an additional $24.5 million through California’s Multifamily Finance Super Notice of Funding Availability program.

The $24.5 million in new funds were announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of more than $825 million in grants to accelerate affordable housing production across the state.

“This is such an exciting opportunity to expand the work we have already been doing to support more of our vulnerable San Diego neighbors and families,” said David Estrella, Director of County Housing and Community Development Services. “We continue to focus on building opportunity for the next generation and fulfilling the Board of Supervisor’s goal to produce 10,000 units by 2030.”

The four County-funded developments in the planning stages that are supported through

the program will result in 359 units of affordable housing. The developments are Union Tower, The Iris at San Ysidro, Serenade on 43rd, and Rancho Bernardo Transit Village.

• Union Tower will be a 94unit building serving low-income families in National City. It was awarded $11.5 million through the new program.

• The Iris at San Ysidro will be a 100-unit development serving people experiencing homelessness with serious mental illness and low-income families. It was awarded an additional $5 million.

• Serenade on 43rd will provide 65 units for people experiencing homelessness, with and without a serious mental illness. This development was awarded another $3.7 million through the new program.

• Rancho Bernardo Transit Village will provide 100 units for low-income families. It received an additional $4.4 million.

San Diego County Housing

and Community Development Services helps more than 35,500 people live in safe affordable housing. As part of that housing, the department maintains nearly 7,600 affordable units in 109 developments throughout the County. More than 16,700 people call those units home. Currently, HCDS is helping fund 14 developments under construction, totaling 1,084 units, and 21 developments on the horizon, totaling 2,060 units. These and other efforts are part of the County’s ongoing response to the region’s housing affordability crisis. Efforts are underway to create a roadmap, or Housing Blueprint, to guide our ongoing response. Community input has been vital to the County’s efforts to address the crisis to date and is encouraged to help inform final recommendations for the Blueprint’s goals and objectives and be presented to the Board of Supervisors.

(Cassie Klapp/County of San Diego Communications Office)

director), Billy Bustamante (assistant director), Renée Albulario (assistant choreographer), Bobby Garcia (casting consultant/Philippines), Gregory T. Livoti (production stage manager), and Ryan Gohsman and Sheryl Polancos (assistant stage managers). Giselle “G” Töngi is the show’s Cultural and Community Liaison. Here Lies Love is produced by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna and Plate Spinner Productions, Clint Ramos, and Jose Antonio Vargas, with Aaron Lustbader serving as Executive Producer.

They are joined by Lea Salonga, Bobby Garcia, Giselle “G” Töngi, Celia Kaleialoha Kenney, Girlie Rodis, Miranda Gohh, Rob Laqui, Georgina Pazcoguin, Don Michael H. Mendoza, Adam Hyndman, Yasuhiro Kawana, Triptyk Studios, Shira Friedman, Kevin Connor, and Hunter Arnold/TBD Theatricals.