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DATELINE Washington state names Fil-Am as head of health care response team FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

GOVERNOR Jay Inslee has named retired Navy Vice Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono as Washington state director for COVID-19 Health System Response Management. As the former chief executive officer and director for the Defense Health Agency, Bono led a joint, integrated support agency that enabled all branches of the U.S. military medical services to provide health care services to those engaged in combat. Bono is currently a senior fellow with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “I am honored and delighted to join Governor Inslee and the Washington state health

Also published in LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

COVID-19 cases in PH breach 700-mark by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

THE Philippines has 71 new coronavirus cases, bringing the national tally to 707, the Department of Health on Thursday, March 26, reported. Meanwhile, seven patients passed away, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 45. All the fatalities are Filipinos with no recent

travel history overseas. They are as follows: • 72-year-old Filipino female from San Juan City who died of septic shock, severe pneumonia and COVID-19; • 50-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City who died due to acute respiratory failure and pneumonia. He had diabetes; • 56-year-old Filipino male from Pampanga whose cause of death are acute respiratory dis-

tress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia and acute respiratory failure; • 87-year-old Filipino male from Sultan Kudarat who died due to COPD, pneumonia and COVID-19; • 80-year-old Filipino female from Rizal whose cause of death are acute coronary syndrome or congestive heart failure and severe acute respira-

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Fil-Am lawyer remains in critical condition, given ‘experimental’ drug therapy NEW YORK continues to grapple with skyrocketing coronavirus cases and because of the spiking numbers, the state launched earlier this week a clinical trial for an experimental drug treatment to heal those who are critically ill. One of those patients in critical condition is Filipino American lawyer David Lat who has been intubated on a ventilator and sedated inside the NYU Langone hospital, according to his mother Zenda Garcia Lat. In an update to family and friends through social media, Dr. Lat said that her son’s doctors have put him “on Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin and an experimental drug to ease the inflammation in his lungs which are heavily damaged.” “It will take a while before we really see much progress but at least, he is stable. Hopefully,

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President Rodrigo Duterte

Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante

Duterte signs law granting himself special powers vs virus by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, March 25, signed a bill that grants him special powers to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat in the country. Under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Senate Bill 1418), the president is authorized to adopt several “temporary emergency measures” to contain COVID-19 as well as to mobilize at least P200 billion to help over 18 million low-income families. Duterte is also granted the power to provide

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PH Senator Pimentel slammed for violating quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III and his wife Kathryna Yu-Pimentel Inquirer.net photo

FORMER Philippine Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has taken a test for the new coronavirus (COVID-19), his sister Sen. Imee Marcos confirmed on Thursday, March 26. The testing comes after Bongbong Marcos arrived from Spain and was reportedly feeling ill. “He came back from Spain unwell. Finally got a test two nights ago, getting better at home, no result yet,” Imee Marcos said. Bongbong also conﬁrmed Imee’s statement, refuting claims online that said he is currently confined in a hospital. “I am deeply touched and overwhelmed by your concern over my condition. Don’t worry, I am do-

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Money, fear and racism: Navigating the complex relationship between health and hysteria As the world continues to fight the new coronavirus, the global Asian and Pacific Islander community pushes back on hate, discrimination by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

THERE are fewer global phenomena that make a bigger impact than a viral pandemic. by RITCHEL MENDIOLA As told by history, the emerAJPress gence of a new, deadly pathogen SENATOR Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Wednes- — especially one for which there day, March 25, confirmed that he has tested positive is no known cure or robust prefor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), becoming the ventative measure — stops the second senator to contract the disease after Senator world, disrupting everyday life for Migz Zubiri. all humans in a way that perma“I was informed last night. I’m okay, I just have a nently impacts the zeitgeist. slight sore throat. I don’t have fever nor chills,” he COVID-19, which stands for said. coronavirus disease 2019, is a Pimentel received his test result from the Research specific disease caused by a virus Institute for Tropical Medicine while he was accom- named SARS-CoV-2 and stems panying his pregnant wife Kathryna to the Makati from a family of viruses called the u PAGE 4 coronaviruses (named so due to the crown-like spikes that cover the virus’ surface). Coronaviruses can also trigger a wide range of known ailments from the common cold to more severe diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). As most people are acutely aware, COVID-19 is the latest disease to rock the world, transforming and, hopefully, advancing the ways in which we deal with global health crises in a time where humans are more connected than ever. In the same way that the virus Former Sen. Bongbong Marcos recuperates from a unknown condition itself has rapidly disseminated in his home in this photo release from his wife, lawyer Liza Marcos, on Thursday, March 26, 2020. “I’m sending you a photo of Bong which my across cities, counties, states and countries, so have broad isolasons and I took this morning,” she said in a statement. Photo from Facebook/Bongbong Marcos tion measures to stop the spread

Bongbong Marcos takes COVID-19 test by AJPRESS

ISOLATION FACILITY. Modular tents are set up at a gymnasium which will serve as isolation facility for persons under investigation (PUIs) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Pasay City on Thursday, March 26. The government has imposed an enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of the disease. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

A woman declares “No Hate” at a protest in Los Angeles, California in 2017. File photo by T. Chick McClure/Unsplash

of disease. The World Health Or- sures. Last week, California became ganization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the first state to implement a statePrevention (CDC) have both urged wide stay-at-home order for its governments to enact such meau PAGE 4

MARCH 27-ApRil 2, 2020 • NORCAl ASiAN JOURNAl

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 27-ApRIL 2, 2020

From the Front Page

Duterte signs law granting himself special...

CALL OF DUTY. Security guards continue to perform their tasks despite the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at Vertis North, Quezon City on Thursday, March 26. The guards also maintain peace and order in their area of responsibility. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

COVID-19 cases in PH breach... PAGE 1

tory infection; • 46-year-old Filipino male from Laguna who died due to acute myocardial infarction or heart attack and coronary artery disease. He had hypertension and renal disease; • 46-year-old Filipino male from Rizal who died of acute respiratory disease secondary to pneumonia and COVID-19. Two patients recovered: a 41-year-old Filipino man from

Makati City who recently traveled to Japan and a 69-year-old Filipino man from Marikina City who traveled overseas. The total number of recoveries is now 28. According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the number of cases is expected to increase due to the increased testing capacity of the country’s laboratories. He said five laboratories across the archipelago can now

Bongbong Marcos takes...

PAGE 1 ing ok and contrary to popular belief, I am home on self-quarantine,” he said in a statement. He added, “As my sister said, a few days ago I was feeling a little under the weather and as a result went to get checked. We are still waiting for the results.” He assured everyone that he is doing okay. “Fortunately, I feel much better and am getting stronger by the day. I have no doubt in my mind that this is partly due to excellent work of the nurses and doctors who helped me during this time,” he said. Likewise, Bongbong’s entire household took tests for COVID19. According to his wife, lawyer

Liza Araneta-Marcos, they have received their results — the process only taking a day, which is much faster than average processing and turnaround time of days or weeks. “Yesterday, we had ourselves and our entire staff tested for COVID-19. Fortunately, we all tested NEGATIVE,” she said. She also denied rumors that Bongbong flew to Singapore using a private plane of Ilocos Sur politician Chavit Singson. “Contrary to rumors currently circulating, my husband is well. His lungs did not collapse. He was not airlifted in Manong Chavit’s plane to get treatment in Singapore,” Araneta-Marcos said. “He is not dying. Nor is he dead,” she added. n

Fil-Am lawyer David Lat shares a photo of him on March 20 using a ventilator after being admitted to the hospital for COVID-19. Photo courtesy of David Lat/Facebook

Fil-Am lawyer remains in critical... PAGE 1 he will put up a good fight,” she said. “It has indeed been a very difficult and trying time for us, especially because we cannot see him at all and it takes a lot before we get through to anyone in the ICU to get updates.” The federal government cleared the way for New York to experiment with the malaria and lupus drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic Zithromax (generic name azithromycin) as a treatment for COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said over the weekend. David’s husband Zachary Shemtob is recovering and their 2-year-old son, Harlan is with Lat’s parents, Emmanuel and Zenaida, who are both doctors. They are not allowed to visit Lat at the hospital because of the very contagious virus. According to Shemtob, the doctors at NYU Langone are also treating him with an IL 6-inhibitor to fight the inflammation of Lat’s lungs. Lat, author and the founder of the legal blog Above the Law has been hospitalized since March 16 due to a COVID-19 infection. The 44-year-old lawyer experienced intermittent fevers, joint aches, chills, fatigue and coughing for more than a week. He went to the emergency room on March 15 because by this time, he was already having difficulty breathing. In an interview with the New

York Law Journal, Shemtob said he was told about his husband waking up Saturday, despite being under sedation, by an attending nurse at the hospital. The nursing staff then asked Lat to go back and get more rest. Last week, Lat documented his experience with the virus in a series of tweets on Twitter, giving it the hashtag of LivingWithCovid. His latest tweet was on March 18, a comparative graph showing various countries and how many coronavirus tests were done per one million people. Dr. Lat called on for more prayers for her son, as she thanked acquaintances, friends and family who have been sending them prayers and good wishes. “Thank you so much for your outpouring of prayers for David, your kind thoughts and well wishes. It brings us a lot of comfort and we truly appreciate it,” Dr. Lat said, adding that they are also mourning the loss of four of their physician colleagues back in the Philippines. Shemtob also expressed his thanks to everyone, including “people we don’t even know who have been touched in some way by this.” “We appreciate everyone’s love and thoughts and prayers,” he said. “I just want to stress again, for folks to stay safe and to stop congregating together, to please take this stuff seriously.” (Momar G. Visaya/AJPress)

test COVID-19 samples. The United Nations, for its part, urged every nation to come together to curb the spread of the virus. “COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity—and the whole of humanity must fight back,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He added, “Global action and solidarity are crucial. Individual country responses are not going to be enough.” n

PAGE 1 compensation of P100,000 to public and private health workers who may contract COVID-19 while families of health workers who died of COVID-19 while fighting the outbreak will be given P1 million. The law further ensures a COVID-19 special risk allowance to public health workers in addition to their hazard pay granted under Republic Act 7305. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation will shoulder all medical costs of health workers in case of COVID-19 exposure or any work-related injury. The president would be allowed to temporarily direct the operations of “privately-owned hospitals, medical and health facilities including passenger vessels and other establishments.” However, the management of these businesses and establishments will be retained by the owners. Additionally, he is granted the powers to expedite and streamline accreditation of testing kits and facilitate prompt testing; ensure that all Local Government Units (LGUs) are acting in line with the rules issued by the national government; continue to enforce measures to protect the people from hoarding, profiteering, injurious speculations, manipulation of prices, product deceptions, and cartels; and prioritize the allocation and dis-

tribution of medical supplies to coronavirus-referral hospitals, public and private laboratories, and health facilities that have capacities to test and care for suspected COVID-19 patients. Duterte’s authorized powers “shall be valid for three months, unless amended by Congress.” According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, the president would use the special powers under the 1987 Constitution. “The Filipino people are assured that the powers granted the president shall be enforced strictly in accordance with the Constitution. The grant of powers is for a limited period and subject to the restrictions contained therein,” Panelo assured Tuesday, March 24. The Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, authored by Senate President Tito Sotto III and Senator Pia Cayetano, was approved by the Senate on Tuesday. It received affirmative votes from Sotto, Cayetano, Majority Leader Sherwin Gatchalian, and Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Francis Tolentino, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Grace Poe, Ralph Recto, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Richard Gordon who were physically present in the plenary. Meanwhile, Sens. Ronald dela Rosa, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sonny Angara, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Nancy Binay, and Francis Pangilinan voted

in the affirmative via phone patch. Sen. Risa Hontiveros was the only senator who voted negative. “There is an urgent need to implement measures that will help address the health scare brought about by the spread of COVID-19 in our land,” Panelo added. Duterte thanks Congress Duterte on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to Congress for granting him special powers that are necessary for dealing with the current health situation in the country. “I especially thank Congress for granting the executive department with special powers through the ‘Bayanihan to Heal as One’ Act to effectively respond to the challenges caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” he said. “I express my sincerest gratitude to all of you for granting our most urgent requests. Finally, the executive department can move, decide, and act freely for the best interest of the Filipino people during this health crisis,” he added. Duterte also acknowledged the country’s frontliners for risking their lives to treat infected patients and lamented the deaths of workers who died after contracting the disease. “I rarely salute people but when it comes to our doctors, health workers who died, I salute you,” he said in Filipino. n

MARCH 27-ApRil 2, 2020 • NORCAl ASiAN JOURNAl

Washington state names Fil-Am as head of...

Dateline USa

PAGE 1 care community in their collective leadership and expertise to develop a model of care for all Washingtonians and others during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bono said. She is the first woman surgeon in the military to hold the rank of vice admiral. “Vice Admiral Bono will help bolster our existing coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic across our state’s health care system,” Inslee said. “She brings an impressive medical background, a long and distinguished military career and a deep understanding of complex medical delivery systems. Her expertise will help us ensure that we can meet the needs of Washingtonians who are sick, or will become ill from COVID-19.” In this role, Bono will advise the governor, his staff and state agencies on actions needed to address the capacity and strain across the health care system. She will work closely with acute care facilities, long-term care facilities, clinics, tribal facilities, and the federal government to assess and address the greatest needs. Her role will include work to ensure medical staffing needs are met, as well as develop standard protocols across facilities and coordinate with the state Emergency Operations Center to operationalize statewide efforts. “We are very pleased to have

Retired Navy Vice Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono

Photo by Monica King/U.S. Army

the expertise and leadership of Vice Admiral Bono in our coordinated efforts between the public health and health care system as we continue to respond to this unprecedented public health crisis,” Secretary of Health John Wiesman said. “Her leadership will enhance our response on behalf of all Washingtonians.” Bono obtained her medical degree from Texas Tech University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She completed a surgical internship and a general surgery

residency at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, and a trauma and critical care fellowship at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine in Norfolk. Bono served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as head of casualty receiving for a fleet hospital in Saudi Arabia. Upon returning, she worked as a surgeon at Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth and as a surgical intensivist and attending surgeon at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. (Momar G. Visaya/AJPress)

PH Senator Pimentel slammed for violating... PAGE 1

Medical Center. The hospital slammed Pimentel for his “irresponsible and reckless” actions. “We denounce the irresponsible and reckless action of the senator. He added to the burden of a hospital trying to respond in its most competent and aggressive manner to cope with the daunting challenges of this COVID-19 outbreak,” said Makati Medical Center Medical Director Saturnino Javier in a statement. “He violated his home quarantine, exposed health workers to possible infection, and therefore, to me, that is reckless and unacceptable,” he added. According to Javier, the senator created another problem for the Makati Medical Center. “A number of our nurses and doctors may need to be quaran-

tined which will further deplete the dwindling workforce of the hospital,” he said. Pimentel, who said he was on self-quarantine after a resource person who attended a hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture tested positive for the disease, was also seen visiting the S&R Membership Shopping Club in Bonifacio Global City the day President Rodrigo Duterte enforced an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. This, despite showing symptoms for the disease already. S&R on Thursday, March 26, said it has placed its staff in quarantine. “It was confirmed that the senator was at the S&R BGC on March 16, 2020. CCTV footage showed him checking out at counter 13 at exactly 1:59 p.m.,”

it said. “As a result, S&R employees who were in contact with the senator were already placed in quarantine. S&R BGC also took extra disinfection steps,” it added. Pimentel has since apologized for his actions. “I would like to sincerely and profoundly apologize for this very unfortunate incident. I never intended to do any harm to anyone,” he said Thursday. “I never intended to breach any protocol but I realize now, I unnecessarily caused additional anguish, concern to the courageous healthcare workers who we all depend,” he added. The senator also urged the MMC to communicate with him. “I’d like to extend my apologies to the Makati Medical Center. Please tell me how I can make it up to you,” Pimentel said. n

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Money, fear and racism: Navigating the... PAGE 1

nearly 40 million residents, and shortly after more than a dozen states followed suit. The COVID-19 outbreak is multifaceted and affects all areas of modern life. School districts have shut down and there are currently efforts to compensate workers of all industries and provide ample sick pay as more governments adopt stay-at-home measures. As of press time, much of the world has adjusted to this restrictive stasis. The WHO has praised both China and South Korea for “flattening the curve” but in other countries, like the U.S., the virus’ impact continues to inflate and seep into all areas of American society. Averting another recession As it is with most things in the United States, all roads lead to the economy, and how to mitigate capital damage during this outbreak and amid stay-at-home orders. President Donald Trump, who prior to announcing a national emergency on March 13 downplayed the virus’ impact on the United States, and his administration have prioritized the prevention of a major economic fallout. On Tuesday, March 24, the Trump administration (led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin) and Congress negotiated a $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest emergency stimulus package in American economic history. In short, the Senate bill would direct one-time payments of $1,200 to most American adults; establish a $500 billion lending program for companies, states, and cities; extend $367 billion for small businesses to deal with payroll issues; strengthen the unemployment insurance system and funnel $150 billion toward hospitals. After weeks of plummeting and experiencing its biggest one day decline since the 1980s, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 2,113 points in one day in anticipation of the Congress bill, providing optimism for airlines and the cruise lines, two industries which have taken a toll since the outbreak began. Indeed, the economic impact has dominated much of coronavirus-related news and developments coming from Washington. And as previously reported in the Asian Journal, Trump has argued against the expansion of testing for COVID-19 and placed focus on economic damage control. (Trump said that he wants the “country opened” by Easter.) But despite the efforts to save the economy and protect the private sector from financial ruin, the number of people testing positive for the virus is skyrocketing. According to a New York Times interactive, at least 52,215 people across the U.S. have tested positive for the virus as of Tuesday. Moreover, 675 U.S. patients have so far died from coronavirus-related causes. What began as a regional scare in Wuhan, China last year has accelerated to become a global panic that has preyed on the fears of the public. The natural reaction to the media reports of death tolls and lockdown announcements has triggered panic behavior that reflects the tendency for some people to cling on to misinformation and hysteria. Public health scares and minorities in America: an ugly history Like any government agency, a public health care system is meant to provide care to all patients who enter its facilities, a service which, ideally, is void of any discriminatory standards. But in the United States, a country with a tainted history of xenophobic and racist policies and practices, that unsurprisingly wasn’t always the case. A 2004 study from the American Journal of Public Health that

explored Depression-era standards and practices towards Mexicans and Filipinos in Los Angeles detailed the extensive effort to rid sick Filipinos from hospitals and, eventually, deport them. After thousands of Mexicans left the state and reduced hospitals’ occupancy, leaving clinics and hospitals reduced, the California State Board of Health worried that the hospitals would now be taken over by sick Filipinos, calling them “one of our worst problems at the present time.” In 1933, the Director of the State Bureau of Tuberculosis Edythe T. Thompson wrote with hostility in her inspection reports of the state’s public hospitals about Filipinos and supported the campaign for Filipino repatriation, the government’s attempt to strip Filipinos in the U.S. of their American nationality and send them back to the Philippines. (The Philippines was still a U.S. territory which meant that Filipinos who came to the U.S. for work were considered “U.S. nationals.”) After a visit to Kern General Hospital in Bakersfield, Thompson wrote, “Here, as in many of the other general hospitals, the beds on the tuberculosis service were nearly all filled with Filipinos. These people seem to have more complications than other races.” Thompson went on to write that Filipino hospital patients “require very much more nursing than a white patient, and since they are so often disturbed mentally, coupled with certain groups of them carrying many superstitions, it makes life very miserable for white patients around them.” According to a monthly report quoted in the 2004 study, Thompson wrote in 1934 that “Filipinos, like Mexicans, deserved only the cheapest and least attractive types of care,” punctuating a suggestion from the California State Board of Health to Congress that Filipinos in California should be returned to the Philippines “on army transports.” These attitudes towards Filipinos are exemplary of the ways in which a culturally-stunted society can and have disenfranchised minorities by way of a medical crisis: using health scares as an excuse to implement nativist policy changes. “We have a long history of using science and medicine to justify racism,” Gilbert Gee, professor in community health sciences at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health, told the Asian Journal in a recent phone interview. Though the tuberculosis scare wasn’t a pandemic, it is exemplary of the ways in which both government officials and scientists of yore have justified discriminatory practices. In his academic research, Gee has written extensively on the murky relationship between medical science and racial discrimination in which prominent doctors have argued that “different racial groups carry certain kinds of diseases and that these things are higher among certain groups because they’re essentially biologically, mentally, and socially inferior.” Gee provided the example of the prominent antebellum-era physician Samuel Cartwright who argued that certain racial groups are “innately different in their fundamental physiology,” an argument that has since been debunked by the scientific community at large. Like Thompson’s view that Filipinos with tuberculosis are innately more dangerous than white tuberculosis patients, Cartwright used this warped perspective to justify slavery as a biologically necessary institution. A disease by any other name Nominally, it was standard practice to name diseases after the place from which they originated. In the 1950s, the H2N2 outbreak

was colloquially called the “Asian flu” and before that in 1947, the Zika virus was so-called after the Ziika Forest of Uganda from which the dengue-like infection began. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, some people, including American lawmakers, have adopted the misnomer “Wuhan virus” or “China virus” to describe the COVID-19 virus. Though it has historically been standard practice to name viruses as such, it poses a problem on how the public associates the infection and, specifically, who has the infection. As previously reported by the Asian Journal, the number of hate directed toward the Asian and Pacific Islander community has risen considerably. Viral social media posts detailing verbal and physical harassment against Asians accused of carrying the virus have proliferated timelines, harkening back to the racist and xenophobic attitudes of the past. Anger and panic are natural responses to a global health crisis, but racism and xenophobia stunt any efforts to eradicate the virus, which health officials have repeatedly noted are not tied to certain races and ethnicities. So while it is important, if someone is showing symptoms, to immediately address the situation and provide medical attention, “it doesn’t make sense to just kind of blanketly treat people in a discriminatory fashion just because they look a certain way or have a certain name,” Gee said. Though Gee expressed frustration at the stories of anti-AAPI hate, he did acknowledge the need to decouple racism from “our social systems” and provide a better way of surveilling discrimination and hate, especially during a massive health crisis. In an effort to combat anti-AAPI sentiments, a new coalition of AAPI leaders and advocacy groups unveiled the STOP AAPI Hate Reporting Center, which was created “to collect and track incidents” of anti-AAPI “hate, violence and discrimination” across California and the U.S. The center was established by Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Chair Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and other caucus members, including Filipino American Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), who said in a statement that his goal is “to ensure we are using the data of racially motivated incidents to inform state policy and budgetary investments to curtail racial discrimination and harassment.” The very existence of a coalition like this is a sign that the culture has changed dramatically since the days of Edythe Thompson and the days in which policymakers supported the campaign to deport sick Filipinos. As the number of cases and deaths continue to skyrocket, there’s no telling when or if the virus will be contained. “The reality is that we will continue to see more outbreaks like this. There’s always going to be new diseases that emerge on earth,” Gee said, noting the rapid expansion of technology that has made it easier to travel and connect with people on all four corners of the world. But, if anything, the current moment can be seen as a lesson in the human reaction to worldwide health catastrophes, and the tendency for humans to act out based on fear. “There are seven and a half or so billion people on earth, with maybe 1.5 billion people from China and another billion or so from India. So if you think about it, roughly two out of five people on this planet are from Asia, so the likelihood of a new disease emerging from Asia is actually kind of high. That being said, we need to really pay attention to decoupling diseases with groups of people,” Gee said. n

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 27-ApRIL 2, 2020

D ateline PhiliPPines Free rides for Metro Manila health workers Only one terminal open at NAIA by ritchel

mendiola AJPress

THE second week of Luzon’s enhanced community quarantine opened with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) adding two more routes to the free shuttle service for health workers in Metro Manila for a total of 16 routes. “From the three initial routes since the program began on 18 March 2020, it now has 16 routes. This means more health workers will be assisted by the department’s initiative,” the department said Tuesday, March 24. The DOTr also said that the 15th route will have its pickup and transfer points at the SLEX Sucat Exit and Baclaran Market, catering to healthcare workers who want to be picked up or dropped off at the Medical Center-Parañaque, Unihealth-Parañaque Hospital and Medical Center, Olivarez General Hospital, The Premier Medical Center, Pasay City General Hospital, Adventist Medical Center, and the Philippine General Hospital. On the other hand, the 16th route will have its pickup and transfer points at SM City San Mateo, the BFCT East Metro Transport Terminal along Marcos Highway, and Robinson’s Galleria. It will cater to workers who want to be picked up or dropped off at the San Mateo Medical Center, St. Vincent Hospital, Immaculate Conception Hospital, Marikina Valley Medical Center, Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, St. Anthony Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and The Medical City in Ortigas. The shuttle service’s scheduled hours are 5 a.m., 7 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. Likewise, ride-sharing firm Grab Philippines recently launched “GrabBayanihan,” which focuses

on offering safe mobility solutions for healthcare workers, providing economic security to thousands of driver-partners, and providing access to daily essentials while safeguarding the wellbeing of everyone on the platform. “More than a public health crisis, the COVID-19 outbreak has been a call for all sectors to band together for the common goal of providing meaningful services to the Filipino people,” said Grab Philippines President Brian Cu. “For us at Grab, the last few weeks have been a testament to our innate ability to innovate for all and to use our platform to help our community endure this period of uncertainty and disruption,” he added. According to the company, the GrabBayanihan Car service will provide a round-the-clock, freeof-charge transportation service for health care workers. Each car will ferry up to two healthcare workers at a time in accordance with the government’s social distancing guidelines. Its volunteer driver-partners, meanwhile, will also undergo hygiene and infection prevention training, and will be provided with the necessary personal protective equipment to safeguard their health and well-being. Grab also deployed around 50 GrabWheels e-scooters to the city governments of Manila, Quezon City, San Juan, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Marikina, and Pasig to aid health care workers and barangay officials in their short-distance commutes. Shelters for frontliners For frontline workers who choose not to go home to avoid possibly endangering members of their family, several shelters are being offered during the enhanced community quarantine. Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on March 18

signed Executive Order No. 17 to help frontline workers in the city affected by the quarantine. Under this EO, frontliners and healthcare workers in the district and national government hospitals in Manila can stay at Hotel Sogo (421 rooms), Eurotel (50 rooms) at Town and Country Hotel (60 rooms). Vice President Leni Robredo, for her part, will be opening a free dormitory in Cubao, Quezon City for healthcare workers. “[The dormitory] is open to health workers, medical practitioners, and other frontliners like security guards as well as those volunteering in programs focused on fighting the threat of COVID19,” she said in a Facebook post. Monetary compensation On Wednesday, March 24, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a bill that grants him special powers to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat in the country. Under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Senate Bill 1418), the president is authorized to adopt several “temporary emergency measures” to contain COVID-19 as well as mobilize at least P200 billion to help over 18 million lowincome families. Duterte is also granted the power to provide compensation of P100,000 to public and private health workers who may contract COVID-19 while families of health workers who died of COVID-19 while fighting the outbreak will be given ₱1 million. The law also ensures a COVID19 special risk allowance to public health workers in addition to their hazard pay granted under Republic Act 7305. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation will shoulder all medical costs of health workers in case of COVID-19 exposure or any work-related injury. n

Angara tests positive for COVID-19 SEN. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara confirmed on Thursday, March 26, that he tested positive for coronavirus disease. He was the third senator to be infected after Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd.

“I have been feeling some symptoms like mild fever, cough, headaches and general weakness . I have not been in contact with the public since taking the test last March 16,” Angara said in a statement. “I ask for your prayers that together we are able to pull through

this tremendous challenge,” he added. “Let us continue to support all efforts to fight the further spread of the virus. Let us support our frontliners on the streets, in emergency rooms as they are key to the effort. With hope, sacrifice, and unity of effort, we shall overcome.” (ManilaTimes.net)

by Benjamin

Vergara ManilaTimes.net

ALL remaining international flights at the country’s main gateway will be operating in just one terminal, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said on Thursday, March 26. It said Gulf Air, Korean Airlines, Asiana Airlines, China Airlines, Hong Kong Air, Eva Air, Japan Airlines, Jeju Air, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Royal Brunei will be operating at terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) beginning March 28, 2020. The announcement came after more air carriers suspended operations because of the pandemic. The MIAA said Oman Air has ceased operations, while Singapore Airlines and Royal Brunei suspended flights to and from Manila beginning March 29, 2020.

Passengers are seen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 last March 23. ManilaTimes.net photo by Gerard Seguia

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said airport operations were streamlined to minimize the exposure of airport workers to the coronavirus disease. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines stopped its international flights on March 26. So did Cebu Pacific, AirAsia, Delta Airlines, United

Airlines, Qamtas Airways, Turkish Aiines, Emirates Airlines, KLM, Air China, Air New Guinea, China Eastern, China Southern, Ethiopian Airlibes, Jet Star Asia, Kuwwait Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Thai Airways, Tiger Airways, and Xiamen Airlines. n

MARCH 27-ApRil 2, 2020 • NORCAl ASiAN JOURNAl

OpiniOn & Features

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

Safe hands on World Water Day EVEN under normal circumstances, people are aware of the importance in life of the most basic need for survival, water. Residents of Metro Manila and several neighboring areas saw the consequences of an acute water shortage last year. Now the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has heightened this importance. For World Water Day 2020, observed on March 22, the theme shifted from the original emphasis on the inextricable link between climate change and water security, to the importance of water in fighting the contagion, with people urged to “show our best hand hygiene moments to fight COVID19.” With community quarantines imposed in Luzon and other parts of the country, people are strongly reminded to observe proper hygiene, starting with the most basic – regular hand washing. Health professionals have stressed that instead of smothering hands with alcohol or sanitizers, it is better to wash hands regularly

with soap and water. This simple advice is obviously difficult to observe in communities that lack running water. When you have to buy water by the container or fetch the day’s supply for the household from a communal artesian well, regular hand washing becomes a luxury. At the same time, the need to conserve water is emphasized on World Water Day. The global population continues to grow, putting a strain on fresh water resources. Analysts have warned that international conflicts are likely to be sparked by water resource exploitation. Water is used not just for sanitation and keeping pathogens at bay, but also for irrigation and energy generation. Efficient water resource management, through recycling and conservation practices, can prevent shortages. On World Water Day, as people are urged to promote “safe hands” amid the COVID19 contagion, everyone is also reminded not to forget to turn off the tap.

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective Gel SantoS-ReloS “THE cure is worse than the problem,” President Donald Trump has been echoing Fox News in his unbelievable call to scale down drastic efforts toward the containment of the coronavirus pandemic and open the U.S. for business by April 12. This cure, prescribed by Trump, is indeed worse than the problem because he will have blood in his hands for the death of more Americans. PEOPLE ARE DYING! As of press time, the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 52,000 people and killed more than 691 in the United States. Globally, the number of people that have tested positive with the COVID-19 has topped 416,000 and the death toll is now more than 18,500. The coronavirus pandemic is on an upward trajectory, with the rise in the number of Americans getting infected and dying more than doubling every week. Meanwhile, New York — the hotspot of the outbreak — records a doubling every three days. And this is just about to get worse, AND could be the future faced by other states. As hospitals are getting overwhelmed by the growing cases of coronavirus infections, our doctors, nurses, and other front liners’ lives are now in danger; some have already died in the line of

Street Talk GReG B. MacaBenta CHRIS Cuomo, the host of the CNN news-commentary program, “Cuomo Prime Time,” had good news about someone who had been found positive for the strain of coronavirus, known as COVID19. The good news was that the patient was recovering. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the COVID-19 mortality rate at 3.4%. That’s the bad news. On that basis, shouldn’t it be good news that 96.6% of those infected survive? Even in Wuhan, China, where the disease first began to spread, the mortality rate was 4.9%, early on. In other words, being found positive for COVID-19 is not necessarily a death sentence. In fact, a full recovery is likely. In this millennium, the world has experienced two other types of coronavirus epidemics — and we survived. In the fall of 2002, the world reeled from the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), a type of coronavirus (named after its crown-like spikes). The SARS epidemic, which was reported mainly in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto, was brought under control by the middle of 2003 — or in less than a year — “by means of syndromic surveillance, prompt isolation of patients, strict enforcement of quarantine of all contacts and,

Philstar.com photo

What is more important to you: The survival of your family and public health or Trump’s call for the US economy to open by Easter?

duty. Overworked and stretched to the limit, they have not been supplied with all the needed hospital gears to help them protect themselves and their families. Meanwhile, many Americans are dying because testing has not been optimized on a scale required to help mitigate the spread, and the federal government has not been able to fulfill the number of ventilators urgently needed right there and then to keep patients alive. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been calling out Trump for not acting urgently to the needs of the states given the power and resources accorded to the Office of the President and the Federal Government. As the Hill reported: “Cuomo and other governors have pleaded with the Trump administration for more ventilators from the national stockpile of medical supplies. There are about 12,700 ventilators in that stockpile, but Cuomo said the administration has only sent 400 to New York.” “What am I going to do with 400 ventilators when I need 30,000?” Cuomo said. “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.” In several television interviews, Cuomo also urged Trump to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to force manufacturers to make more ventilators. Cuomo stressed that given the urgency of the need for ventila-

tors, businesses need start-up capital and contracts with the federal government to get ventilators out to states in such a short period of time. Yet as state governments and other countries implement more proactive and drastic measures to help slow down the pandemic and save the lives of the American people, the President of the United States has been obsessed with the numbers: falling stock market, growing unemployment rate, businesses closing because of the pandemic. On Monday, March 23, Trump has expressed weariness about social distancing’s impact on the economy and has expressed the need to scale back on the drastic measures local governments have implemented, such as secure in place orders and lockdowns. This move toward loosening restrictions on social distancing and similar measures go against facts and the warnings of senior U.S. health officials, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who have been disclosing the science-based fact that the United States has not yet felt the worst of the pandemic. People who tuned in to Monday’s White House Press briefing were wondering why Dr. Fauci was not in the briefing, but Trump’s doubling down on lies he had been fact-checked on by Dr. Fauci and Food and Drug Ad-

ministration (FDA) commissioner Stephen Hahn in the past would explain why. During the briefing, Trump again reiterated the lie that the malaria drug chloroquine has already been approved by the FDA, and that the manufacturing and distribution of this drug will be happening quickly. This assertion is NOT true and this is dangerous! The drug has yet to be proven to be safe and truly effective to be prescribed as a treatment to COVID-19 based on scientific clinical trials done under the auspices of a protocol. . CNN reported that a man from Arizona is dead and his wife is under critical care after the two took chloroquine phosphate in an apparent attempt to self-medicate for the novel coronavirus. NBC News spoke to the wife, who said they took the drug after they learned of chloroquine’s connection to the coronavirus during a President Donald Trump news conference. CNN also reported that health officials in Nigeria have issued a warning over chloroquine after they said three people in the country overdosed on the drug, in the wake of Trump’s comments about using it to treat the coronavirus. With all the mixed messages coming from Trump, Fox News, and the Republicans vs the health officials, science experts and the facts of what is going on in other countries, Trump decided to si-

lence Dr. Fauci, who could only speak now on matters approved by the Trump Administration. VP Mike Pence would now be controlling all coronavirus messaging. On Tuesday, March 24, the reality superstar-turned president just announced that he wants to re-open the U.S. economy by April 12, and was describing how great it would be to see people flock their churches for Easter Sunday. He said he wants the United States to open businesses, restaurants, theaters, bars, and casinos and ask “less vulnerable” people to go back to work. WHAT IS TRUMP THINKING? April 12 is just a little more than two weeks away. Scientists and health officials say the virus is still spreading at a rapid rate by that time. What makes him think he can just do this and have our hospitals get even more overwhelmed and get more people infected and killed? Will you allow the United States to be the next epicenter of the coronavirus in the world? We would have not been in this desperate situation had Trump not eliminated the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, established by President Barack Obama, to prepare the United States for future pandemics like COVID-19. This is consistent with Trump’s obsession to erase Obama’s legacy in America.

We would have not been in this desperate situation had Trump not cut huge funding for health institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has undermined COVID19 containment efforts. We wouldn’t have been in this desperate situation had Trump not covered up and undermined the threat of coronavirus despite warnings of a pandemic from the scientists and health officials because he deemed this will hurt the economic numbers he has been bragging about and therefore, could cost him his re-election. NOW that coronavirus has escalate to be a pandemic and has killed many Americans, Trump is still denying scientific facts because he is obsessing over good economic numbers — Wall Street index, low unemployment rate and high GDP — not because he cares for you. He is putting our health and safety at risk for his political survival. ENOUGH! Speak up and speak out! Our life depends on your voice. ***

in some areas, community-level quarantine. By interrupting all human-to-human transmission, SARS was effectively eradicated.” (Source: The Lancet). Vaccines have since been developed but research continues. In 2014, another type of coronavirus called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) was traced to Saudi Arabia. Only two confirmed cases of MERS infection were identified in the U.S., while more than 1,300 tested negative. However, in the Middle East, 3 or 4 out of 10 infected died of the ailment, making the mortality rate, as a percentage of those infected, alarmingly high. In an online report, the mortality rate of MERS was estimated at 34%, while that of SARS was 9.6%. Both are considerably higher than the 3.4% death rate of COVID-19. However, because SARS was contained within a year and the incidence of MERS was mainly in the Arabian Peninsula, they did not cause the panic we are now witnessing. In contrast, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has been worldwide, thousands have bee infected and hundreds have died. And because of the lack of information, it has made everyone fearful, like being afraid of the dark. SARS and COVID-19 are said to be similar in many respects. The difference, according to experts is in the latter’s transmissibility (it is transmitted more rapidly and, therefore, is more contagious). Worse yet, the mild

outward symptoms can be deceptive, making those positive for the virus less aware of the danger of infecting others, until it is too late. This makes pre-emptive testing imperative. We should not wait to get sick before being tested! The problem in the U.S., however, is finding a testing facility, although the federal government has vowed to solve that. Meanwhile, because of inadequate testing kits, health authorities have advised that only those showing symptoms should be tested. This is one cause of anxiety and panic. In contrast, one can have a flu vaccination even without flu symptoms. Remember the adage, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”? The median incubation period of COVID-19 is estimated to be 5.1 days. According to studies, “under conservative assumptions,” 101 out of every 10,000 cases will develop symptoms, within 11.5 to 15.6 days of active monitoring or quarantine.” This explains the 14day quarantine period that health authorities require. The race is now on to develop a vaccine for COVID-10. But authorities calculate that it will take at least 18 months to develop a vaccine and get it cleared for use on humans. However, authorities believe that the ailment can be mitigated with the SARS vaccine. Here’s what one online report states: “Researchers in the US have mapped a SARS-CoV-2 protein, which could help use drugs de-

veloped to treat SARS coronavirus as effective treatments for the new COVID-19 disease...the Nsp15 protein from SARS-CoV-2 is 89% similar to the SARS-CoV protein. Previous SARS studies published in 2010 show that Nsp15 inhibition can slow viral replication, offering hope for the use of Nsp-15-targeting drugs to treat COVID-19. Mapping of a 3D protein structure allows better insights into the virus’ replication in human cells.” But what is even more reassuring is an authoritative article in UCHealth Today, a publication of the University of Colorado Hospital (ranked America’s best in pulmonology), that stated that “most people who fall ill recover within two weeks. People with more severe cases generally recover in three to six weeks.” Health authorities stress, however, that the disease is “very contagious.” This is one reason why people are panicking in the U.S. But the bigger reason is the lack of sufficient knowledge about the epidemic, the inadequate testing capability, and the incompetence of President Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the hysteria has been made worse by media reports on the number of those infected and the number of fatalities, with little or nothing said about those who have recovered. Of course, raising false hopes is not helpful either. But the facts should be stated clearly, objectively and credibly. It, therefore, doesn’t help to have a president who habitually lies.

Health professionals have cautioned older people about their greater vulnerability to COVID19. The death rate for seniors is much, much higher. The elderly, especially those with heart, lung and immunological conditions, are more susceptible to infection. In one senior facility, all those who had succumbed to COVID19 already had a respiratory or another ailment. In other words, the younger and healthier a person is, the greater the chances of recovery. But doctors advise against taking the ailment for granted. Even NBA players have been found positive after exposure to infected parties. And the flu, with a mortality rate of less than 1%, can still cause death (UCHealth Today points out that the flu is a strain of coronavirus). It is best to avoid crowds; best to wash hands with soap and warm water; use a disinfectant on hands, on door handles, and on high traffic surfaces; avoid touching your face; and cough and sneeze into a tissue, and properly discard it. Most of all, it is best to be tested. At any rate, the prospect of recovery from COVID-19 does not justify the idiotic comments of Trump when the coronavirus red flag was first raised in the U.S. Calling the epidemic a hoax being spread by the Democrats, Trump said: “So if, you know, we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work... some of them go to work, but

they get better. They’ll get better very rapidly, they don’t even see a doctor, they don’t even call a doctor.” VTrump has since done an about-face. In his message to America on Wednesday, March 11, he advised people to “stay home” if they were sick or had symptoms. From calling the alarming reports a hoax, Trump also declared a national emergency last March 13 and mustered both government and private sector resources to contain the virus. Perhaps, much of the hysteria caused by COVID-19 would have been avoided if China had been more transparent concerning its surge in Wuhan; if Trump had avoided making idiotic remarks, and had displayed effective leadership in confronting the crisis; if more intelligent information about the epidemic had been promptly disseminated; and if adequate testing capabilities had been immediately marshalled. To a large extent, the panic could have been minimized if the media had provided more balanced reports, telling the good news along with the bad. Unfortunately, the tendency to sensationalize may be ingrained in every media person. In journalism school, this is what’s drilled into the heads of aspiring reporters: “What is news? Dog bites man is not news. Man bites dog is news.” (gregmacabenta@hotmail. com)

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

Why not news about those who get well from the coronavirus?

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL â&#x20AC;˘ MARCH 27 - ApRIL 2, 2020

Bucket list No. 10

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond

Let the music move you

Monette AdevA MAglAyA CARE to dance? Most people have rhythm embedded in their DNA. Music moves them emotionally and physically. Music is a powerful gravity-defying force that can speak to the soul. Watch when people listen to an upbeat Michael Jackson tune or even a Strauss waltz piece and before long, they will transform any empty space into a dance floor, dancing by themselves, or even trip the light fantastic if they are lucky enough to be with someone who shares their love for music and dancing. Test yourself if you have rhythm in you. See if a few strains of any kind of music move you emotionally and get you busting a few moves yourself. Want to see real honest to goodness dancing? Check out the video on youtube titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Old movie stars dance to Uptown Funkâ&#x20AC;? sang by Bruno Mars. It is this wonderfully edited and seamlessly spliced YouTube video of the Hollywood stars of a past golden era, exhibiting real talent in dancing. I just love watching the mixing of dance talent and current modern beat. The video editor, whoever he or she may be, deserves praise. Kudos! Fred Astaire, in my opinion, is beyond compare. There will never be another Astaire on earth who can take to the dance floor and make it look so easy. Sigh â&#x20AC;Ś The music he danced to seemed welded into his bones. But such perfection in movement didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come without a price. He must have practiced until his bones and muscles at the end of each rehearsal day cried out for mercy. He must have burned out so much energy that accounted for his lean physique and lightness of feet. But we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; have to be that great of a dancer to enjoy the music and move to its beat. Dancing is exhilarating. If you want real justification to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bust a moveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as they say, dancing is real good exercise and is fun! Exercise, as you probably know, is one of only 2 ways (laughter being the other one) that the body naturally produces endor-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;... And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ascribed to Friedrich Nietzsche phin â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that feel-good, healthy hormone that is still by far, the best medicine for both body and spirit. We all have it in us and is absolutely free. So go ahead, even if you have two left feet, and tend to step on your partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet when dancing. Shed your inhibitions and DANCE! Let the music move you. With dedicated repetition and practice, you might even surprise yourself one day with a dance routine. Cut back the time spent online. We fritter away much of our time browsing and imbibing toxic things from the internet that wear away and erode the joy of our souls during our time here on earth. Get off your backside and listen to music that resonates with your body as you cook, clean your car, clean out the garage or do other mind numbing chores. If all else fails, start humming as you work. My cousin, who has been a dentist for decades and has just retired in her early eighties, used to hum as she worked on her patientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mouths. She was passionate about her work and it showed. The music pours out of her. When her husband was still alive, they would hit the dance floor at parties whenever they could. Music makes things easier as the arduous tasks get done. If you do mental work like writing or analysis that needs intense focus and you tend to get easily distracted, listen to soft, unobtrusive instrumental music so the words donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get in the way. On hot summer nights when sleep is elusive and the air conditioning is busted, listen and fall asleep to the sounds of gentle rain on your smartphone. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hypnotic. This beats having to drink those dangerous sleep aids with horrid side effects. Not all music soothes the soul though. Choose wisely.

There is a smorgasbord of music to choose from and like anything else, our choices determine the outcome. It is no wonder that the younger generations who grew up listening to that so-called music genre of troubling, raspy, jagged sounds that focus on the seedy side of life such as blood, sex, violence, gang culture and others have strayed so far away from what is good. It was said that there were celestial strains of music by a host of angels floating above the stable in Bethlehem at the time Christ was born more than two thousand years ago. My wild guess is it may have been musical strains of Handelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Messiah.â&#x20AC;? Was there music in the Garden of Eden? Perhaps yes before sin came to be and Eden went dank and dark. And if you are living and trying to get to heaven, you may wonder if there is going to be music and dancing there as well. If lightness of being and freedom from the stranglehold of gravity and earthly concerns characterize life beyond death, the answer is probably a big resounding YES. So while alive and your body and limbs are functional, dance with sheer abandon as you let good music move you. It is purely speculative but I have a gut feeling there is going to be a lot of dancing on an immense celestial dance floor as you bust your heavenly moves on a conga line. Stand aside, Fred. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got some serious competition up there. Next week: Another idea to consider for The Bucket List â&#x20AC;Ś *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

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99 Ranch Market makes public announcement 99 RANCH Market, via a public announcement signed by CEO Alice Chen, recently shared a public announcement on how the company and its stores are addressing shoppersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs during the coronavirus crisis. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the announcement in full: To our valued customers and the 99 Ranch Market community: As we continue to monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation very closely, we wanted to share the actions that 99 Ranch Market is taking to better serve customers, employees and community. Gratitude for our dedicated employees As we have been given the social responsibility to keep our stores open and provide food for our communities, our loyal employees have risen up and met the challenge. In order to meet unprecedented demand, our employees have dedicated their days and nights to keep our stores stocked so our customers have food to buy. In recognition of the incredible contributions of our frontline store employees, for 4 weeks starting March 15, 2020, we have allocated a special budget to enact a temporary raise of $2/hour for all our hourly store employees. We truly appreciate our employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teamwork and loyal service during this challenging time. The health and safety of our customers, employees remain our top priority We take great pride in maintaining the highest standards of cleanlinees, hygiene and safety. In response to the Coronavirus, 99 Ranch Market has taken additional measures developed in consultation with global and local public health authorities (including the WHO and CDC) to make our cleaning protocols even more rigorous and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, including: â&#x20AC;˘ Increased frequency of cleaning high-traffic areas (including shelves, product displays, cashier stations and restrooms) and have continued the use of hospitalgrade disinfectants. â&#x20AC;˘ Increased deep cleanings of our stores and distribution centers. â&#x20AC;˘ Increased accessibility of antibacterial hand sanitizers for customers and employees.

â&#x20AC;˘ Providing disposable face masks and gloves to our store employees. â&#x20AC;˘ As a precautionary measure, we have suspended all food samplings and demonstrations and closed all of our dine-in areas (Take-out orders are still available). â&#x20AC;˘ Ensuring that all of our employees stay home if they are feeling unwell. â&#x20AC;˘ Suspending employee travel internationally and all other nonessential travels. This weekend, 99 Ranch Market has also begun: â&#x20AC;˘Installing plexiglass shields at every cashier check-out aisle. â&#x20AC;˘ Limiting the number of customers in the stores to approximately 50% capacity. â&#x20AC;˘Implementing social distancing both within the stores and in any lines that may form outside the store by requiring that all persons keep within at least 6 feet of one another whenever possible. â&#x20AC;˘ Reducing business hours to allow stores to clean and restock to better service the community. Meeting the needs of our most vulnerable communities All of our stores have reserved the first hour of business on weekdays to accommodate the elderly 60+, expectant mothers, persons with disabilities, and/or persons with compromised immune systems. We ask that our customers respect these hours for those who are most at risk in our communities. Together we will fight, support one another 99 Ranch Market, Cravings by 99 Ranch Market and our partners offer our deepest sympathy

to those who have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We are prepared to navigate these challenging circumstances with everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safety in mind. While our stores remain open for business, we recognize that you may choose to shop from home. IN an effort to provide you with the highest customer service, we are offering the following alternatives should you choose to shop from home: â&#x20AC;˘ Shop online at 99ranch.com to get dry groceries delivered to your home. â&#x20AC;˘ Shipt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a third-party grocery delivery service, offers same-day delivery to your home. Available nationwide. â&#x20AC;˘ Coming soon: in-store pick up and local delivery via 99ranch. com will be available in 15 stores across regions: Northern California â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Milpitas and Sacramento; Southern California â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Anaheim, Chino Hills, Corona, Irvine-Culver, Monterey Park and Van Nuys; Texas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Austin and Houston; Washington State â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Edmonds; Maryland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gaithersburg; Massachusetts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Quincy; New Jersey â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Edison; Oregon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beaverton. We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to prioritize the health and well-being of our employees and customers. In an effort to protect our customers and employees, and slow the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, we vow to play a constructive role by supporting local and government health officials. Thank you for being a loyal 99 Ranch Market customer. We look forward to continuing to serve you. (Advertising Supplement)

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MARCH 27 - ApRil 2, 2020 • NORCAl ASiAN JOURNAl

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Former CA Gov Jerry Brown heads list of global celebrities celebrating birthdays in April FORMER Governor Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr., born on April 7, 1938, heads the list of prominent celebrities who will be celebrating their birthdays for the month of April. Brown served as Governor of California on two occasions (34th Gov. from 1975 to 1983 and 39th Gov. from 2011 to 2019). Prior to and in between his stints as Governor, Jerry served in numerous state and Democratic Party positions, including as Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustee (1969-1971), Secretary of State of California (1971-1975), Chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989-1991), Mayor of Oakland (1999-2007) and Attorney General of California (2007-2011). A Yale Law School graduate, former CA Gov. Brown will be celebrating his 82nd birthday on Tuesday, April 7. Others celebrating their birthdays this April Fool month are: April 1: Former box-office king of Philipppine movies Tirso Cruz III and Antioch beauty Larcy Perez; April 2: San Mateo County Office of District Attorney Chief Inspector John Warren; April 4: Vallejo Ilocano community leader Mike Calilan; April 5: GMA Channel 7 singing champion Roma Mae Canedo; April 7: Versatile actor Richard Gomez and actress KC Concepcion (daughter of Megastar Sharon Cuneta); April 10: GMA Channel 7 TV host (Eat Bulaga, Picture! Picture!, Cash Cab) Ryan Agoncillo; April 12: ANK Home Care proprietor Allan Rocas; April 13: Health Professionals, Inc. office administrator Lelith Adriano, Statewide Realty president Rolly Lavarias; April 14: Former movie actress Rosemarie Sonora, former Miss United Nations Queen Queenie Salazar of San Jose; April 15: Hayward community leader Marie Kimley; April 17: Multi-awarded actor San Francisco hotel employee Mohammad Yusuf; April 19: Former Manila Mayor Joseph (Erap) Ejercito Estrada,

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Roma Mae Canedo, grand winner of “The Clash,” a singing competition on GMA Pinoy TV, will celebrate her birthday on Sunday, April 5.

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, known as Asia’s Songbird, will celebrate her birthday on Wednesday, April 22. Leni Robredo, Vice President of the Philippines, will celebrate her 59th birthday on Thursday, April 23.

Edmund “Jerry” Brown Jr. heads the list of global celebriries celebrating their birthdays in the month of April. Former California Gov. Brown (right) is shown in photo above with beauty impresario Ferdie Villar taken at one of the Filipino festivals where the former was a guest of honor.

multi-awarded actor Albert Martinez, Star Cinema actress Kim Chiu, singer and bandleader George Elizalde; April 20: Oakland Hills antique collector and socialite Sylvia Ford, former San Juan City (Philippines) Mayor Guia Guanzon Gomez, former Miss PhilippinesUSA and now Church Chorus member Mary Grace Garcia; April 21: Television host Luis Manzano, Philippine Star Entertainment Editor and TV co-host Ricky Lo, Signature bandleader Cesar de la Cruz; April 22: Asia’s Songbird

Sylvia Ford, an antique collector from Oakland Hills, will celebrate her birthday on Monday, April 20.

Lelith Adriano, office administrator for Health Professionals, Inc., celebrates her birthday on Monday, April 13.

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid; April 23: Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo, former Barrio Fiesta owner Marjorie Ongpauco Barretto; April 24: Movie actor Anjo Yllana; April 25: Filipino American commercial and fashion model Dane Kitchen; April 28: Eat Bulaga host Vic (Bosing) Sotto, who will be celebrating his 66th birthday; April 30: Visayan movie actress Dolly Fuentes. Abigail (Larcy) Perez, a teenage student leader To all April birthday in Antioch, celebrates her 11th birthday on Tirso Cruz III, former box office king in the Philippines, will celebrate his birthday on Wednesday, April 1. celebrants, Happy Birthday! n Wednesday, April 1.

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MARCH 27 - ApRil 2, 2020 • NORCAl ASiAN JOURNAl

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Friday, March 27, 2020

OMETHING

ILIPINO

New cookbook features 100 classic Filipino recipes for beginners by Christina

M. Oriel / AJPress

LOOKING to unleash your inner chef and finally master some Filipino dishes during this stay-athome period? There’s a new cookbook with the premise of “easy” savory and sweet recipes from pork sisig to ginataang bilo bilo (rice balls in sweet coconut milk). “The Easy Filipino Cookbook: 100 Classics Made Simple” — released on March 24 by Rockridge Press — comes from Roline Casper, a Pinay chef who owns Roline’s Uniquely Filipino in Vacaville, California. “It is meant for the second generation of Filipino Americans who want to learn how to make the dishes they grew up eating [and] people who don’t really know our food but are curious,” Casper told the Asian Journal in an interview ahead of the launch. “What inspired me was being able to share our culture through this love of food and eating.” Her title joins the library of Filipino cookbooks we’ve seen in the past two years, such as “The

At Roline’s Uniquely Filipino in Vacaville, California, Casper has a halo halo bar, with flavors ranging from banana cue to champorado.

New Filipino Kitchen: Stories and Recipes from around the Globe,” “I am a Filipino And This is How We Cook,” and The Filipino Instant Pot Cookbook: Classic and Modern Filipino Recipes for Your Electric Pressure Cooker,” to name a few. The cookbook reflects a compilation of foods Casper grew up eating and learning to cook, as well as the memories of dishes served during family reunions and holidays. “Even though Filipino cooking draws on influences from across the globe, the heart of Filipino cooking is the family. Each family has its own food culture, traditions, and ways to prepare certain dishes. Food is usually prepared and cooked by the family matriarch, like the lola (grandmother), nanay (mother), or tita (aunt), and passed down through the generations. Each dish is a labor of love and a point of pride. Just like family, the food can be sweet, sour, salty, and, at times, bitter,” she writes in the introduction. As a child raised by a single working mother in the Philippines, Casper recalled in our interview that she would shadow her grandmother Rosa in the kitchen, primarily during the days preparing food in anticipation of relatives coming over. By her teenage years, her main goal was to one day open up a restaurant. When she migrated to California, she worked at various hotels in cities spanning from Sunnyvale to San Diego and gained experience in hospitality. Her husband’s job brought the family back to Northern California, where they settled in Vacaville. Casper was presented with a business opportunity in 2003 to take over a small grocery store but

Casper makes sisig during a recent cooking demonstration.

Roline Casper holds up a copy of her new book, “The Easy Filipino Cookbook: 100 Classics Made Simple,” which was released on March 24. Photos courtesy of Roline’s Uniquely Filipino Casper’s oxtail kare kare from page 112 in the cookbook. Photography by Iain Bagwell with food styling by Torie Cox / Rockridge Press

she declined as she was raising two young children. Six years later — this time during the recession — the same offering came around, which she jumped at and has since turned it into a turo turo restaurant named Roline’s Uniquely Filipino. “A grocery store was challenging because that’s not what I really wanted. But the opportunity was there and I didn’t want to miss it so we put in our own money and took that risk,” she said. Eight years later in 2017, Casper fulfilled that aspiration of going to culinary school when she enrolled in a 14-month program at Napa Valley Cooking School. On top of running her business, she took classes five days a week, staged (unpaid internship) at Michelin-starred restaurant, SingleThread, and worked as an extern at Morimoto in Napa. “I did the opposite of business first before going to school. I came in with a drive to uplift our food and to learn how to properly present it. The training continues to help me a lot right now with the understanding of what ingredients go together,” she said. “Even though I knew how to cook, you really need to have the credentials because it’s harder to be acknowledged if not.” She graduated valedictorian from the school and is a part-time instructor there. Last February, she led a three-hour class on lumpia making. “Though we’re a casual, turo turo restaurant, what I’ve learned in this business is to adapt to what is needed and to introduce changes every so often,” Casper said. Roline’s Uniquely Filipino began offering kamayan (communal feast) dinners by reservation and a halo halo bar with multiple flavors beyond its most popular form of shaved ice, evaporated milk, sweetened beans, jellies and ice

cream. “For years, I had been thinking of doing something with the halo halo similar to the boba craze because nobody had stepped into that,” she said. The variations include chocolate chip cookie dough; banana cue (caramelized saba banana with housemade leche flan and toasted sweet rice); and champorado (Belgian dark chocolate & topped w/ our house-made chocolate shell & Himalayan Pink Salt). With Casper’s mark in the local Vacaville dining scene and the burgeoning Filipino food movement, a publisher reached out with the prospect of releasing her first cookbook. The process of putting it together, from writing and testing the 100 recipes to editing, took about a year. “Sometimes it felt like I didn’t sleep because I had to work, take care of the family, and do the book. It’s really a labor of love. Everything I cook and do is from the heart and that’s where home is for me,” she said, adding that it was a challenge for her to pare the recipes down for two to three servings as she was used to catering portions. Before diving into the recipes, “The Easy Filipino Cookbook” begins with an overview of the cuisine’s global influences, how the Philippines’ tropical climate defined the salty, savory and sour flavor profiles, and the variation of dishes depending on region and season. “The book is very easy for people to follow. They’ll find dishes that are reminiscent of the Philippines and its many different regions so it’s like traveling without physically being there,” Casper said. A particular highlight of the cookbook is a chapter listing ingredients and tools to have on

A kamayan dinner was held at Roline’s Uniquely Filipino during Vacaville Restaurant Week.

hand as well as common cooking techniques used. The recipes are organized by course, starting with pulutan (appetizers) like tokwa’t baboy (fried tofu and pig ears with sweet Chile sauce) or tuna kilawin; then come the rice and noodles, and vegetable, meats and seafood entrees before ending with snacks and desserts. Each entry is introduced with a brief paragraph explaining how it is typically served. While presented as close as possible to the traditional forms, Casper’s recipes leave room for adaptability depending on what ingredients are available locally to readers and improvisation if they don’t have access to a Filipino or specialty store. They are also labeled depending on dietary needs (e.g. gluten-free and nut-free) and time constraints — some can be made under 30 minutes or using an instant pot to speed up the process. Other dishes include a partysized paella that serves 20; sweet Filipino spaghetti using banana ketchup for sweetness that is popular at birthday parties; laing (spicy taro leaves in coconut

Roline Casper’s Fresh Lumpia Reprinted with permission from “The Easy Filipino Cookbook: 100 Classics Made Simple” (Rockridge Press, 2020) Dairy-free, vegetarian PREP TIME: 30 minutes COOK TIME: 20 minutes MAKES: 10 lumpia This version of lumpia is fresh, not fried. It is topped with its own special sauce and crushed peanuts. Loaded with vegetables and chickpeas, this is a filling meal and popular party food. If you can’t find lumpia wrappers, these are just as delicious rolled up in lettuce leaves. Romaine, butter, leafy, and baby gem varieties all work well. For the vegetables • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1/2 onion, finely sliced • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • 1 carrot, julienned • 1/2 sweet potato, julienned • 2 cups green beans, thinly sliced Fresh lumpia on page 54 of “The Easy Filipino Cookbook.” • 1 cup cooked chickpeas Photography by Iain Bagwell with food styling by Torie Cox / Rockridge Press • 1 green cabbage, thinly

shredded • 1 tablespoon sugar • 2 pinches salt • Pinch freshly ground black pepper To make the vegetables 1. In a wok or large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium- high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. 2. Add the carrot and stirfry for about 3 minutes. Add the sweet potato and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. 3. Add the green beans and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. 4. Add the shredded cabbage and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until everything is crisp and tender. Taste test the vegetables. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. 5. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the vegetables are cooked, making sure not to overcook them. Transfer to a colander

to drain and set aside to cool. For the lumpia rolls • 10 lumpia wrappers • 5 leafy green lettuce leaves, cut in half lengthwise • 3 tablespoons peanut butter • Fresh Lumpia Sauce (page 149) • 1 cup ground peanuts • To make the lumpia rolls 1. Separate the lumpia sheets and arrange them on a large, clean work surface. Cover the wrappers with a damp cloth to prevent drying as you work. 2. Place a wrapper diagonally in front of you with a lettuce leaf in the center. Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of peanut butter on the lettuce, then place about 2 tablespoons of the vegetables on the lettuce. 3. Tuck in the sides of the wrapper and roll it up like a burrito. Arrange on a platter and continue until all wrappers and vegetables are used. 4. Pour the fresh lumpia sauce

milk); chicken inasal as originated from the Bacolod province; embotido (steamed meat loaf) with ingredients depending on the occasion; ginataang alimango (crab in coconut sauce) that uses spinach instead of chile pepper leaves and squash blossoms; and biko (rice cake with coconut curds) for merienda that doesn’t involve a 24-hour soaking time for the sweet rice. The last section is devoted to “staples” that pair well with most Filipino meals, including banana ketchup, atchara (chutney of pickled green papaya, red bell peppers, carrots, onions and ginger) and tomato, onion and salted egg salad. It also ends with a list suggesting what to serve during holidays and other special gatherings. “I want readers to try something new, be adventurous with what they eat, and be open-minded,” Casper said. “Our food is a blend of many cultures so I feel they will find something that’s familiar to them in all the dishes and create their own stories eating [them] with friends and family around the dining table.”

on top of the lumpia and garnish with ground peanuts. Fresh lumpia sauce This sweet, garlickly sauce is served drizzled over the top of the Fresh Lumpia. I think it’s the perfect blend of savory and sweet, it’s super easy to make, and it tastes best when it’s served warm. Ingredients • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, divided • 1/2 cup sugar • 1 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon minced garlic • 1/2 teaspon salt • 2 tablespoons cornstarch Directions 1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 cups of water, the sugar, soy sauce, garlic and salt over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. 2. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons of water and mix well. 3. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and simmer until the consistency is between honey and maple syrup. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • MARCH 27 - APRIL 2, 2020

COVID-19 and its effects on immigration Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ

PETITION APPROVED ALMOST 15 YEARS AFTER DENIAL: SEE THIS STORY UNFOLD ON CITIZEN PINOY THIS SUNDAY. Marvin was petitioned by his father as a single adult child of an immigrant in 2001. However, his father moved and did not notify the USCIS of the new address. When the USCIS served a request for evidence, the family never got the notice, and did not reply. The petition was therefore denied due to abandonment in 2005, and the family almost gave up. Finally, Marvin’s family consulted with the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel who, in 2015, fought for the family, arguing the case should not have been denied. But victory did not come easy. Each time a motion to reopen/reconsider was filed, it was denied as untimely and that the denial was proper. But the Law Office did not give up and finally, after the 4th motion, the case was approved in 2019! Watch how the team of Atty. Gurfinkel was able to get Marvin to enter the U.S. as an immigrant after 18 grueling years, on all-new episode of CITIZEN PINOY – on Sunday at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

Petition finally approved 14 years after denial, 4 motions to reconsider on a brand-new Citizen Pinoy this Sunday PERSEVERANCE and persistence will get one the results they hope to get, as evidenced in the story of Marvin, who was petitioned by his father more than 18 years ago. However, when the family moved to a new home, they failed to inform the USCIS. So, when a request for evidence was mailed to the old address, the family never got it and failed to reply on time. The petition was then denied in 2005 due to

abandonment. The family was crushed upon finding out, until they decided to consult with, and retain, leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel almost a decade later. The team at the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel worked hard, persevered, and fought for Marvin’s case by filing motions to reconsider, arguing the denial was in error. But USCIS kept denying the motions as untimely

and that the original denial of the petition was proper. But the Law Office would not give up. Finally, on their 4th attempt, the USCIS agreed, and approved the petition in 2019. After 18 years, Marvin celebrated his first Christmas with his family in the US. Watch this inspiring story of perseverance and determination on an all-new episode of CITIZEN PINOY – on Sunday at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)

#RacismIsAVirus: Fil-Am Broadway stars rally against coronavirus anti-Asian racism through social media campaign By Klarize

Medenilla AJPress

LIKE industries across the country, Broadway has closed the curtain and joined the millions of Americans in self-isolation amid the current outbreak

of the new coronavirus. The Broadway community — which includes many notable Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) actors, singers and artists — has always prided itself as an inclusive space that celebrates humans of all

origins, genders, abilities and sexual orientations. And the latest example of the comes in the form of a social media campaign #RacismIsAVirus, which was launched to shed the spotlight on the PAGE 14

WITH the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with “stay-at-home,” “shelter in place,” quarantines, travel bans, etc., there has been a profound effect on immigration. Here are some of the restrictions, limitations, changes at the present time. This is not an exhaustive list, and is subject to change literally on a daily basis: 1. The Department of State (DOS) is temporarily suspending routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies. Embassies and consulates will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 20, 2020. Interviews will be rescheduled as soon as possible, but no specific date can be provided at this time. 2. The U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines noted that as of March 16, 2020, they have stopped processing routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visas due to the Philippine government’s announcement of an enhanced community quarantine for Luzon. Applicants will be advised of any new interview dates. 3. There are U.S. travel bans imposed for China, Europe, UK, etc., and airlines have suspended international flights. Therefore, even if visas were issued, people would have a very difficult time entering the U.S. 4. ICE is temporarily adjusting its enforcement priorities, and will focus on apprehending and deporting those who pose a public safety risk and are “subject to mandatory detention based on criminal grounds.” In other words, ICE will go back to the Obama administration’s policy of going after only those who pose a risk to society. 5. Immigration courts are canceling and will later reschedule hearings for those who are not being detained. They are also closing some courthouses. 6. USCIS has suspended inperson services, including all interviews and naturalization

ceremonies. 7. ICE is rescheduling inperson check INS of immigrants who are not in detention to “minimize the impact” of Covid-19. 8. USCIS will accept photocopies of signatures on many petitions and applications, as opposed to original, “wet ink” signatures. Let us also hope USCIS will not be serving requests for evidence (RFE’s), denials, etc. during this pandemic, where people are supposed to respond within a certain time limit, especially when people are confined to their homes, with limited ability to gather documents and prepare decent responses. In addition, if a person should miss a deadline because of the Covid-19 pandemic, in certain circumstances there could still be relief available based on “extraordinary circumstances.” “For my part, my office is still open and operational in order to serve our clients and community. While we are all operating from our homes, all of our staff members are equipped with technology and tools to continue to call clients, work on cases, and keep clients informed at all times. Consultations are still done by phone. This is a testimony to our commitment in serving our clients, and we are prepared to do so no matter what.

This is a very difficult time for all of us, requiring virtually an overnight retooling in the way we operate. But we are up to the challenge, and we will continue to keep you informed of any further developments.” *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories”, endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader. WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw and Twitter @GurfinkelLaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

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California Divorce with a twist: The military spouse The CTV Files

Atty. LiLLi BAcuLi coLLins, EsQ

Broadway Diversity Project’s Diane Phelan (left) started the #RacismIsAVirus campaign and garnered the support of fellow actors, including Marc Dela Cruz of “Hamilton.”

Tremendous Communications founder Jeremiah Abraham joins in on the #RacismIsaVirus campaign.

#RacismIsAVirus: Fil-Am Broadway...

PAGE 13 reports of hate and violence against the AAPI community amid the COVID-19 viral outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China. As written in the Asian Journal, social media posts of mostly individuals hurling insults directly at Asians or blaming Asians for the massive spread of the COVID-19 virus have catalyzed an enormous pushback effort from AAPIs and allies on social media. Organized by the Broadway Diversity Project’s Diane Phelan, a Filipina American Broadway actress (“School of Rock,” “The King and I,” “Here Lies Love”) and director, the #RacismIsAVirus campaign was inspired by photos and videos she saw countering the “timid stereotypes” of Asians. “I imagined how immediate and critical it could be for social media to be flooded with Asian and ally faces with a unifying sign calling for awareness and an end to the ignorance placed upon the Asian and Asian American community,” Phelan said. “This includes the term ‘Chinese Virus’ used by the President to place blame and scapegoat. Our cultures have long been associated with stereotypes of being the timid, model minority, and while stoicism bears much honor within our parents’ cultures, it’s time for us to speak up.” Shortly after Phelan launched the campaign, other Broadway stars immediately supported the cause, including

Filipino American Marc Dela Cruz (“Hamilton: An American Musical”), Chinese American Telly Leung (“Aladdin,” “Rent”). The movement has also gained the support of other celebrities like actors Daniel Dae Kim and Tzi Ma, NBA star Jeremy Lin and renowned filmmaker Spike Lee. To join the campaign, users may post a selfie or any photo of themselves to any social media platform and include the hashtag #RacismIsAVirus; according to a press release, the campaign has “reached over 600,000 users” and is spreading rapidly throughout Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other popular social media platforms. According to Phelan, the call to action for the campaign is to ensure that Asian voices are heard in a way that adheres to the stay-at-home measures put in place. “We can’t gather or march right now but we can let our voices be heard through social media. My dream is to heal any sense of powerlessness in our people through standing up for ourselves and pushing back on the acts of racism happening in our country,” Phelan said. For Filipinos who may feel like they don’t have to join in the cause since the virus began in China, specifically, Phelan noted the importance of solidarity among all Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, and that the impact of a cross-cultural campaign is instrumental in suppressing the racist and xenophobic attacks.

“Filipinos should care and get involved because racism against any other Asian American community is racism against all of us,” she remarked. “Many people don’t discern between who is who amongst Asians and the for all of us to stand up together shows the world we won’t tolerate being treated this way.” As previously written in the Asian Journal, the history of racism against Asians during epidemics and pandemics is largely rooted in the myth that certain bodies are biologically inferior or are more susceptible to infection, therefore dangering the American public. Though local, state and federal governments in the U.S. have since abandoned implementing policies that reflect these sentiments, the notion that because a virus may have originated from Asia that those of Asian descent — or those who resemble Asian heritage — are either to blame or are infected. “Discrimination toward Asians and Asian Americans has run rampant for quite some time, but has generally been overlooked,” said Filipino American film producer Jeremiah Abraham, who is also the founder of Tremendous, a cross-cultural communications company. “It’s unfortunate that it takes a global pandemic to make our struggle seen by the masses. The furious outcry from our communities gives me hope in the sense that we will never let xenophobia go unnoticed ever again.”

SAN Diego is “military town” and Navy and Marine Corps families abound, as well as retirees from different branches of our military. The military life is a test of resilience and grit for many families, with divorce as almost an expectation rather than the exception. The following seeks to address or clarify some common misconceptions about military divorce. We urge individuals considering divorce to seek a licensed, competent, and experienced attorney to help guide them through the maze. “I found out my wife had an affair while on deployment. I want to file for Divorce but she does not want to. But it’s all her fault.” California is a no-fault divorce state. A party filing for divorce does not need the consent of the other in order to file a Petition for Dissolution (Divorce) or, in some instances, to get a judgment of divorce. Note that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) gives military members a wide range of legal protections not available to the general public, such as postponing court proceedings. This includes divorce and child support. In general, the SCRA covers all active duty servicemembers, reservists and the members of the National Guard while on active duty. “What? I have to share my retirement earnings? This is mine!!” Generally, all of your assets

prior to the marriage is just your own separate property. However, California is a community property state and so once you get married, all property acquired during marriage is community property. And if anything out of the community property is used towards separate property, the community might turn out to have a claim on part(s) of separate property. Separate property are “all property acquired before marriage; all gifts, bequests, devise, or descents. All property acquired or exchanged with traceable separate property; and all property acquired after separation.” For military retirement purposes, the portion of retirement earned during marriage before separation is considered community property. A spouse is eligible to receive a portion of the military spouse’s retirement no matter how long they were married so long as the military spouse was earning retirement benefits while they were married. The Court may divide “disposable” retired pay, which is the “gross” monthly retired pay minus certain deductions. “S/he is the one who left our family. I shouldn’t have to pay support.” Issues of marital infidelity and family support can be handled directly within the military, with each military branch having their own guidelines. In California, however, since this is a no-fault divorce state there is no assignment of blame or fault; fault does not factor in the equation on the issue of support. Some of the factors that the Court will look at to determine whether there is basis for support, and if so, in what amount, are – length of marriage, age of parties, if there are minor children in the marriage, income of both parties.

“I’m smart enough to handle my own divorce. Why do I need an attorney?” You don’t need an attorney. There is no requirement that you must have an attorney. However, in cases involving issues such as military divorce, domestic violence, custody disputes, child support, spousal support, and division of community property assets it would be wise to seek advice from a licensed and experienced attorney so as not to waste your time and money, not to mention the court’s time and resources, especially when you have to keep going back to court because of incomplete or missing documents that could have been addressed from the very beginning by a competent and knowledgeable attorney. Not all divorce cases are the same. It is important to be properly informed about your rights and responsibilities under California law in divorce proceedings. The wrong advice or information can and will hurt you, and waste your time and money. Consult a licensed and experienced family law attorney to help you navigate through your divorce. *** Atty. Lilli Berbano Baculi is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) – a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com; www. chuatinsayvega.com. (Advertising Supplement)

Coalition of Bay Area public land managers offers guidelines for safe usage of open spaces during statewide shutdown With goal of keeping parks open, guidelines address behaviors that endanger people and parks

LOS ALTOS, CA – In response to park usage recently that overwhelmed many locations and endangered public health, a coalition of 49 public agencies, nonprofits and Indigenous Tribes on Wednesday, March 25 released the following guidelines for safe outdoor recreation during the statewide shelter-in-place order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Flattening the curve of contagion is our top priority – and everyone’s responsibility,” said Annie Burke, executive director of the coalition. “We recognize the great need and desire for access to outdoor spaces during a period of sheltering at home. At the same time, if people don’t use the spaces safely, then the parks cannot remain open. We hope the public will embrace these guidelines so that we – and the parks we love – remain safe and protected.” Go solo or with your family unit • Going outdoors is for your health, not for socializing. • Stay 6 feet away from people you do not live with. Yield to others and maintain a safe distance. • Choose less frequented parks and trails. Check park agency websites for recommendations. • Do not park in a crowded

parking lot or use a crowded trail. • Do not hold social gatherings at parks or anywhere. Stay close to home and avoid crowds • Look for nearby nature to enjoy in your own neighborhood; this is not a time to explore. • Some parking lots are closed; don’t drive and you’ll get more exercise. • Visit nature virtually; there are many options online. Stay safe and healthy • Do not visit parks that have been closed by local authorities. • Many restrooms and facilities are closed; plan ahead before leaving home. • Shorten your visit to give others the opportunity for a safe experience. • Stay home if you or someone in your household are sick. • Leave no trace. Garbage collection is limited; pack out what you pack in. Here are suggested online resources for information about parks and usage status: East Bay Regional Park District – ebparks.org; Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District – openspace.og; California State Parks – parks. ca.gov; Marin County Parks – marin-

countyparks.org; San Mateo County Parks – parks.smcgov.org; San Francisco Recreation and Parks – sfrecpark.org; NPS Golden Gate National Recreation Area – nps.gov; NPS Point Reyes National Seashore – nps.gov; Santa Clara County Parks – sccgov.org; Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority – openspaceauthority.org; Sonoma County Parks – parks. sonomacounty.ca.gov. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District’s mission is to acquire and preserve a regional greenbelt of open space land of regional significance in perpetuity, protect and restore the natural environment and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public enjoyment and education. On the San Mateo County coast, our mission also includes preserving agricultural land of regional significance and rural character and encouraging viable agricultural use of land resources. Midpen has successfully protected nearly 65,000 acres of public open space land in the Santa Cruz Mountains region since 1972. (From Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District)

Claudine mulling a comeback – again To be shot in Florence, Vignettes however casts doubt that ManilaTimes.net the project will push through as planned since Italy comes SHOULD talks about Clauin second as far as the number dine Barretto staging a comeof COVID-19 cases around the back anytime soon be taken seriworld is concerned. ously this time? It is with sheer excitement As far as Bianca Lapus — however to see Claudine back who co-manages the Optimum in harness, both on TV and on Star with Star Magic — is conthe giant screen. Before her selfcerned, Claudine is gearing up imposed hiatus, Claudine last for a much-awaited return only appeared in Star Cinema’s “Etithat she needs to be back in quette for Mistresses” (2015) shape. and TV5’s “Bakit Manipis Ang A movie most probably unUlap?” (2016). der Star Cinema and a soap opDespite having been megged era on ABS-CBN are just two of by the country’s ace directors the projects that await Claudine Chito Roño and Joel Lamangan, upon her return, Bianca reveals. respectively, box office and ratIt was around this time last ing results were a frustrating year when Claudine — in her fact to contend with. guesting on “Tonight With Boy Figures set aside, Vignettes Abunda” — confirmed her reun- Claudine Barretto ion movie with Piolo Pascual (by Photo from Instagram/@claubarretto though can’t wait to see one gem of an actress like Claudine June or July). She and Piolo last teamed up in Cathy Garcia-Moli- her Best Actress trophies in Fa- spring back, this time with renewed zest. And for good. na’s “Milan” (2004) which gave mas and Luna Awards. By Ronnie

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