Newsom outlines vision for California, pledging...

counties attempting to reduce their unhoused populations. The $1 billion in grants is part of a multi-year $15.3 billion effort by the state to address the crisis of homelessness.

one month up to 11 years for each count but has never spent a day in jail.

Then national police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde explained that authorities considered the age and health of Imelda in implementing the arrest order. 

Funds will go to entities that are “ambitious” in their goals, with improved metrics and coordination. “We rejected many plans that were unambitious,” said Newsom, adding: “no plan, no money.” Bonuses of up to 16% will be attached for cities and counties who meet their target metrics. An additional $750 million has been allocated to clean up homeless encampments.

Tiny homes

Newsom also announced a “small homes” initiative, tiny units which would house 2 to 6 people. 1200 small homes will be placed this year in Los Angeles, San Diego County, San Jose and Sacramento. People living in homeless encampments will be first priority for housing in the tiny homes, as the first step to transitioning into permanent housing.

Newsom said he hopes to launch the initiative in other cities next year. The homes are offered free, and ready to move in to.

Through these initiatives, the state is expected to reduce its homeless population by 15% by 2025. The Public Policy Institute of California notes that the state has the largest number of unhoused people in the country: more than 131,000 people are unsheltered, according to the 2022 annual Point In Time survey, in which volunteers go out on to streets to count the number of homeless residents.

Project homeKey

Los Angeles is home to 38% of the state’s homeless residents. San Jose, one of the wealthiest regions in California, is home to 5.8% of the state’s unhoused people, while Oakland is home to 5.7%. San Francisco has 4.5% of the state’s unhoused individuals, according to PPIC data.

Amid the pandemic, Newsom had launched Project HomeKey, an ambitious project to buy up hotels, motels, and other properties to be repurposed as housing for homeless people, with support services to address substance abuse, mental illness, and economic distress. In response to a question from Ethnic Media Services, the governor said: “I couldn’t be more proud of the program, especially with our rural partners who have developed some really innovative solutions with Project HomeKey funding.”

Newsom noted that Project HomeKey bought 6,000 units at a cost of $3.75 billion. Critics of the program noted it cost an average of $55,000 to house an individual, and did not address the underlying issues leading to chronic homelessness.

‘Crisis of housing’

In response to a question from California Black Media, Newsom said he was tightening up the permitting process for Accessory Dwelling Units to increase the supply of affordable housing, with $100 million having been allocated to homeowners to apply for grants to build ADUs on their property.

“In California, we are using every tool in our toolbox –including the largest-ever deployment of small homes in the state – to move people off the streets and into housing. The crisis of homelessness will never be solved without first solving the crisis of housing – the two issues are inextricably linked,” said Newsom.

Insulin manufacturing

The governor also announced that the state would be producing its own insulin to be distributed at $30 per vial, greatly reducing the cost of a drug that is needed daily by 3 million of the state’s residents.

Diabetes disproportionately affects people of color, along with low-income individuals, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of California Health and Human Services. “We know the cost of insulin is forcing families to make hard choices,” he said at the March 22 briefing.

The state has partnered with Utah-based Civica to manufacture insulin. Newsom said he hopes to begin manufacturing insulin in California by 2025.

Opioid crisis

The governor is also shoring up his response to the state’s mental health and opioid crises. He announced a 2024 ballot initiative, which would provide $1 billion annually to increase the supply of beds for mentally ill people, especially veterans.

Earlier in the week, Newsom released his administration’s “Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis,” which would step up efforts to seize fentanyl, support overdose prevention efforts, hold the opioid pharmaceutical industry accountable, crack down on drug trafficking, and raise awareness about the dangers of opioids.

Newsom also discussed the state’s shutdown of four private prisons. “It is absolutely perverse that we have profit motives for incarcerating our citizens,” he stated. The state’s prison population has dropped dramatically, from a high of almost 200,000 prisoners during the Schwarzenegger era, to about 93,000 currently.

San Quentin is also being repurposed as a rehabilitation facility to allow prisoners to more successfully integrate into society once released, thereby reducing the state’s rate of recidivism.

(Sunita Sohrabji/ Ethnic Media Services)

Año: New EDCA sites for PH interests...

to the peace and stability of the region.

“By developing our military and base infrastructure, we are pursuing our national interest and actually contributing to regional peace and stability,” Año said.

“We hope that our neighbors in the region will see this as a positive contribution towards peace and stability in the region,” he added.

Opposition Año made the statement in light of the recent opposition expressed by lawmakers and local government executives on the installation of EDCA sites in the country.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba opposed the installation of the EDCA facility in his province, stressing that the United States should not use the country, which he said is only after its interests in Taiwan.

Likewise, Senator Imee Marcos questioned possible locations earlier named by the military in Northern Luzon, which she said is just a “stone’s throw” away from Taiwan.

Location

The military previously named Cagayan, Zambales, Isabela, and Palawan as possible EDCA sites. Notably, these areas face Taiwan up north (Cagayan, Zambales and Isabela) as well as the South China Sea (Palawan).

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has also confirmed that the four EDCA sites will rise in the northern and southern parts of the country.

To date, there are five predetermined EDCA sites – Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, which is closest to the Kalayaan Group of Islands; Basa Air Base in Pampanga, the home of the

Philippine Air Force’s fighter planes; and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, the country’s largest military camp and a frequent location of PhilippineU.S. military exercises.

The other two areas are Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu and Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City.

The EDCA, signed in 2014 under then President Benigno S. Aquino’s administration, allows US to forces rotate through Philippine military bases and also store defense equipment and supplies.

EDCA is part of the country’s Mutual Defense Treaty’s (MDT) commitments.

Signed by two parties on August 30, 1951, the MDT states that both countries would support each other if an external party attacked the Philippines or the United States. 

Marcos rm on new EDCA sites amid...

Marcos said the Philippines and the United States would announce the four new sites soon, but he also mentioned that the additional EDCA locations would also “defend our eastern coast.”

“That’s also something we have to look out for,” the president said, adding that the government must also protect the country’s waters off the country’s eastern seaboard, particularly the Benham Rise.

He said local governments that “had interposed some objections” now support the possibility of being hosts to U.S. troops.

“We explained to them why it was important that we have that and why it will actually be good for their province,” he said.

On March 20, acting Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba withdrew his opposition and now welcomes being one of the additional EDCA sites.

Cagayan already hosts the Cagayan Economic Zone in Sta. Ana town, a freeport of more than 54,118 hectares of land that includes Port Irene, which used to be the biggest revenue source of the Port of Aparri Customs district.

'Taiwan question’

The Sta. Ana freeport is even larger, but less developed, than the 32,000-ha Clark Air Base, which used to be a US military facility.

The freeport is only 270 nautical miles (500 kilometers) from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Except for the United States, Mr. Marcos did not mention any other country in his remarks at the Army anniversary celebration, but China’s foreign ministry on March 12 said Manila’s decision to open more sites under the EDCA would drag the country into “the Taiwan question.”

“Those visionary people all asked the soul-searching questions: If the new sites are located in Cagayan and Isabela, which are close to Taiwan, does the U.S. really intend to help the Philippines in disaster relief with these EDCA sites? And is it really in the national interest of the Philippines to get dragged by the US to interfere in the Taiwan question?” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement.

But the president stopped short of announcing any foreign policy changes, particularly the resumption of Philippine recognition of Taiwan, which his father and namesake, former President Ferdinand Marcos, reset in establishing diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1975.

Marcos instead said that the military must be ready to defend the country amid the “emerging threat to our territory,” adding that the external security environment is becoming “more complex” and “more unpredictable.” 