WASHINGTON – A group of lawmakers has reintroduced a bipartisan bill to speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans.
The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act was reintroduced April 25 by Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Ed Case (D, HI-1) and Jen Kiggans (R, VA-2) to exempt the sons and daughters of Filipino WWII
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought a stronger alliance with the U.S. when he met President Joe Biden on Monday, May 1.
Marcos pointed to escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific and how vital U.S. assistance is on resolving the differences. He cited America’s role in maintaining peace, stability
and development in the region.
“We need to find ways to strengthen our alliances and our partnership in the face of the new economy that we are facing post-pandemic,” he said in his opening statement, adding that current geopolitical issues put the Philippines in “arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.”
Because of this, it is “only natural” for the
country to “look to its sole treaty partner in the world, to strengthen and to redefine the relationship” of the Philippines and the United States amid the volatile situation “around the South China Sea and the AsiaPacific and Indo-Pacific region.”
“We have many things that are new that need to be assessed and again our role as partners in the world ... in our worldview of
Marcos hopes Filipinos in US come home ‘for good in much better PH’
by DAPHNE GALVEZ Inquirer.net
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday, May 1 expressed hope that overseas Filipinos residing in the U.S. would come home “for good and retire in a much better Philippines.” He issued the remark during a meeting with the Filipino community here, saying he hopes to welcome them back to the Philippines “sooner or later.”
“Sooner or later, we will be able to welcome you back home to the Philippines, especially those who have reacquired their Filipino citizenship,” Marcos said in his speech.
“It’s my hope that some of you will come
House
MANILA — The entire Philippine airspace will shut down for six hours on May 17, from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., to make way for the replacement of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system that failed on New Year’s Day and led to a massive disruption of operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s main gateway.
Bryan Co, senior assistant general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), in a press briefing on
by ALEXIS ROMERO Philstar.comWASHINGTON – U.S.
President Joe Biden is sending a “first of its kind” trade and investment mission to the Philippines to boost the investments of American firms in the country’s innovation economy and its clean energy and food security initiatives.
“We’re going to announce today that I’m sending a first-
of-its-kind presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines,” Biden told President Marcos during their bilateral meeting at the White House Oval Office on Monday, May 1. A fact sheet released by the White House after the meeting indicated the sending of a trade and investment mission to the Philippines is among the new arrangements and initiatives
by GAEA KATREENA CABICO Philstar.comMANILA — The Philippines does not need to bring back its mask mandate and other pandemic restrictions even as COVID-19 cases continue to increase, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases said in recommendations to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Marcos said Sunday, April 30 that the government might consider making the wearing of face masks
mandatory again if recommended by health authorities.
“We already recommended to the Office of the President, based on agreements coming from IATF discussions, that we don’t need to bring back the mandates,” Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, who recommends wearing masks even if they are not required, said in a briefing on Tuesday, May 2.
What Filipinos need, according to Vergeire, is to increase their risk tolerance against COVID-19.
veterans from numerical limitations on immigrant visas.
The law would benefit thousands of people, including those already waiting in the visa application queue.
“Filipino soldiers served our country with honor and bravery during World War II. But for too long, they’ve been denied many of the rights and benefits they deserve, including the ability to reunify with their families in the U.S.,” Senator Hirono said in a press release.
More than 260,000 Filipino soldiers fought under the American flag from 1941 to 1946 when the Philippines was a U.S. colony. In 1990 former President George H. W. Bush granted U.S. citizenship to about 26,000 of them.
However, the law did not grant citizenship or residency to the veterans’ children. To this day, Filipino applicants must wait nearly 20 years
before their applications are considered.
In 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services implemented the Filipino WWII Veterans Parole program to reunite veterans with their families. However, the extensive delays are leaving applicants without certainty as dozens of the surviving veterans are now over 100 years old.
The new legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, providing a permanent solution for WWII veterans who were naturalized under the 1990 law or other specified laws.
“To express our gratitude to the brave Filipino service members who fought for our nation in WWII, we should do what is right and fair for our veterans and their family members,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said in a press release. “This bill will reunite mothers and fathers with their children, and honor the service of Filipino veterans who served under
the American flag.”
“I’m proud to reintroduce the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act to reunite these veterans with their loved ones,” Hirono added.
“I will continue working to support Filipino veterans, their families, and all veterans in Hawaii and across our country.”
Hirono has been leading the bipartisan Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act since 2013. She also led the introduction of the Filipino American History Month (FAHM) Resolution recognizing October as FAHM and celebrating the heritage and contributions of Filipino Americans.
Due to her years of advocacy, Congress finally awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award from the U.S. government, to Filipino WWII veterans in October 2017, after the Filipino community’s decades of fighting for the veteras’ recognition. (Inquirer.net)
PAGE 1
home for good and retire in a much better Philippines — a Philippines with better airports, Philippines with better roads, better airports, better internet, better governance. ‘Yun ang aking pinapangarap (That’s what I am dreaming of). And that’s why that is what my administration is working for,” he added.
The president also urged them to encourage their children and grandchildren to visit the Philippines to see the richness of Philippine culture and history.
“Let them see for themselves what the Philippines is about, what is our culture, what is our history. I’m sure the first and second and third generation Filipino-Americans are more than happy to learn about their proud Philippine ancestry,” Marcos said.
He also thanked overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for their significant contributions to the growth of the economy through remittances and credited them for “keeping the Philippines afloat” during the pandemic.
“Noong pandemya ay ang bumuhay talaga sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ay ang mga OFW. Kung hindi po sa inyo ay siguro mas nahirapan po na makabangon ang Pilipinas, kaya’t ulit maraming, maraming salamat sa inyo,” he said.
(During the pandemic, the
lifeblood of the Philippine economy was the OFWs. If it were not for you, we would have suffered more, and it would have been more difficult to recover.)
The chief executive also mentioned his recent meeting with U.S. President Joseph Biden, whom he thanked for accommodating Filipinos and providing opportunities for them to thrive.
“Kasama ko po ang ating mga miyembro ng Gabinete upang ipagtibay ang ating pagkakaibigan sa Amerika, United States at saka ng Pilipinas… Malaking bahagi doon sa usapan namin ay nagpasalamat naman ako sa kanila dahil sa dami ng Pilipino na nandito sa Amerika, na nandito sa U.S. ay lahat naman naging maganda ang buhay at… tinanggap kaagad ng ating mga kaibigang taga-U.S.,” the president said.
(I am with Cabinet
members to further strengthen the alliance of the U.S. and the Philippines. A big part of our discussion was my thankfulness to the U.S. because they allowed Filipinos to live here and have a good life.)
“Kaya naman nagkaroon kayo ng magandang hanapbuhay. Nagkaroon kayo ng magandang pagkakataon para tulungan ang inyong mga pamilya, para tulungan ang inyong mga community, para tulungan ang inyong bansa sa Pilipinas,” the President added.
(That’s why you had an opportunity to help your families and communities, as well as the Philippines.)
Marcos reassured OFWs of the government’s sustained efforts to make the Philippines better and vowed to boost the quality of jobs so that time will come when Filipinos would no longer have to go abroad out of necessity. g
Tuesday, May 2 said the maintenance activity had been coordinated last week to give the airlines “lead time” in recalibrating flight schedules and informing their passengers.
The MIAA will meet with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and other airport authorities on Wednesday, May 3, to hear the plans of the airlines in response to the scheduled maintenance of the Communications, Navigations, Surveillance/ Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system.
“These are all proactive efforts to make sure that the CNS/ATM is reliable as an offshoot of what happened earlier this year,” Co said, referring to the Jan. 1 aviation mess that affected around 56,000 passengers and 361 domestic and international flights to and from Manila.
The technical glitch in January that shut down the country’s airspace happened after a UPS unit failed to work because one of its cooling blowers conked out.
On Monday, May 1, the Labor Day holiday, an eight-hour power outage disrupted operations at Naia Terminal 3, leading to flight delays and cancellations that affected more than 9,000 passengers.
Advisory sent early
In an April 28 advisory, Caap informed the public of the corrective maintenance activity scheduled on May 3, from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., and May 17, from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., that would result in the suspension of operations at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC), which houses the CNS/ATM system.
Caap said the maintenance would involve the repair of the automatic voltage regulator (AVR), replacement of the UPS, and upgrade of the air traffic management system power supply.
“An AVR functions as a protection against surges as it regulates the voltage delivered to devices and a UPS ensures equipment has uninterruptible power supply,” it said.
It will affect the flights at Naia, Clark International
Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and several flights in 42 other airports operated by Caap.
“The earlier that the airlines can advise the passengers, the better because of these planned changes in their itinerary,” Co said.
For six hours on May 17, he said there would be no activity in the entire
Philippine airspace but if the maintenance would be completed earlier, the Notice to Airmen would be lifted immediately and the operations at the ATMC would resume.
“Let’s say the flight is supposed to arrive in Davao by 12 a.m., [the plane] should be there in Davao by 12. So its last flight out of Manila would be around
10:30 p.m. because … it would take an hour, an hour and a half to get to their destination or to leave the Philippine airspace, whether they are going westbound to Vietnam or eastbound going to the Pacific,” Co said.
In the morning, the MIAA anticipates that the first arrival of inbound flights would be around 7 a.m. to
7:30 a.m. since the airspace would open by 6 a.m.
MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong, in the same briefing, said they would urge the airlines to notify all passengers about the possible rescheduling of flights “because if the passengers are advised, I don’t think there’s going to be a problem.”
Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro said the public could not be blamed if they would suspect that the May 1 power interruption at NAIA 3 was done on purpose to hasten the airport’s privatization.
“The P100-billion unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate the Naia was just recently announced, then we have this power outage. We cannot fault the public for thinking that this was intentional to hasten the sale and privatization of the Naia even if the public was not consulted—yet they will be the ones to shoulder the cost,” she said on Tuesday. —with a report from Julie M. Aurelio (By Jane Bautista/ Inquirer.net)
THE United States Embassy in Manila has alerted American citizens in the Philippines on the reported rise of diphtheria cases nationwide.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2 travel health notice on May 1 after “several regions” reported an increase in the number of people infected with the disease.
“Vaccination is essential to protect against diphtheria and anyone traveling to affected areas should be up
what we are hoping for the future of peace, not only in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region but in the whole world,” the chief executive said.
to date with their diphtheria vaccines,” the embassy said. It also advised U.S. citizens in the country to “avoid contact with persons with symptoms of diphtheria” particularly fever and sore throat.
Diphtheria is “a serious infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make toxins. It can lead to difficulty breathing, heart rhythm problems, and even death,” according to the CDC website. It recommends “vaccines for infants, children, teens, and adults to prevent diphtheria.” g
In response, Biden reiterated his government remains “iron-clad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea and we’re gonna continue [supporting] the Philippines’ military modernization.”
“Our countries not only share strong partnership. We share deep friendship, one that has been enriched by millions of Filipino Americans and the communities all across the United States,” the American leader stated.
Biden also noted the U.S.’ unwavering commitment to “tackle climate change, workers’ rights, rule of law and economic cooperation” with the Philippines.
Monday’s face-to-face was the second high-level meeting between the two presidents.
Their first meeting took place at the sidelines of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2022 in New York.
Marcos is on a four-day trip that follows last week’s state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a White House meeting in January between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Biden greeted Marcos in the Oval Office.
A senior U.S. official said the Marcos visit — which began with a military honor guard outside the White House — was the first “at this level and intensity” between the two countries for decades.
Alarm bells are ringing for Washington and its Asian allies as China moves ever more confidently to assert claims to sovereignty over almost the whole South China Sea, ignoring an international ruling that this has no legal basis.
The stand-off, combined with constant saber-rattling over Taiwan — the democratically run island that Beijing claims but Washington vows to help defend — has prompted the Biden administration to rapidly bolster its military capabilities.
The Philippines, which lies close to key sea lanes and Taiwan, is of particular interest.
Marcos signaled as he left for Washington that he is wary of being caught between the superpowers, telling reporters, “We will not allow the Philippines to be used as a staging post for any kind of military action.”
This month, however, the Philippines identified four military bases — in addition to five existing sites — where U.S. forces will be given access, including one located near the tense Spratly Islands.
The two allies also carried out their largest-ever military maneuvers in recent weeks.
That has alarmed China, which accuses Washington of trying to drive a wedge between Beijing and Manila.
In a reminder of how diplomatic tensions can quickly echo in the real world, a Chinese ship on April 23 narrowly missed colliding with a much smaller Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the Spratly Islands.
“We need to learn how to protect ourselves and our families,” the health official said.
“Let’s choose to wear masks when we go to high-risk areas, enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. Especially those who are unvaccinated, senior citizens, people with comorbidities, those who are immunocompromised and pregnant women, let’s choose to wear masks,” she added.
Vergeire also called on the public to get vaccinated and boosted to increase their protection against the virus.
In September last year, Marcos made the wearing of face masks outdoors optional. He signed an executive order the next month making the wearing of masks indoors voluntary, except in health care facilities and public transportation.
The DOH had argued against lifting the mask mandate in late 2022, saying it was too soon to do so even
if cases were down.
Admissions remain low COVID-19 cases in the Philippines are on the rise, with the DOH reporting 4,456 new infections in the past week. The daily average—637 cases—last week increased by 42% from the figure logged from April 17 to 23.
Vergeire emphasized the uptick does not translate to more hospital admissions, severe and critical cases, and deaths. Healthcare utilization rates also remain low.
“We cannot have that kind of low tolerance that when cases increase, we suddenly have a knee-jerk reaction to bring back masking or impose lockdowns. We cannot do these back-andforth policies because we have to balance this with our economy,” Vergeire said.
The Philippines has confirmed over four million COVID-19 infections, with more than 66,000 deaths, since the pandemic began in early 2020. g
“It is clear that we’re in a deeply consequential period in terms of our Indo-Pacific engagements,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The focus of talks between Biden and Yoon last week was on another regional flashpoint: nuclear-armed, communist North Korea.
Expressing disappointment that China has not done more to rein in North Korea, U.S. officials announced that a U.S. nuclear submarine would
make a visit to South Korea soon — the first in decades.
During Kishida’s visit, Biden also underlined the U.S. treaty commitment to defend Japan.
Tokyo, meanwhile, is on a shopping spree to buy an arsenal of U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles.
The senior official briefing journalists ahead of Marcos’ visit said Manila is also “looking for reassurance and a strong desire to maintain peace and stability in this complex period.
“Recent events have caused much greater focus in both capitals on taking the necessary steps to up our game, to improve engagement on the security side between the United States and the Philippines.”
Although giving few details, the official said new “bilateral defense guidelines” would see “a series of steps to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization.”
In an acknowledgment of Philippine sensitivities about the U.S. troop presence, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the sites slated to be used by the United States remain part of the Filipino military and “every single step of the way will be done in complete coordination.”
“It’s about our ability to be better allies to one another and meet our commitments to each other,” he added. The shifting geostrategic situation in the Asia-Pacific region will be a major topic when Biden visits Japan for a G7 meeting later in the month.
The U.S. official said Biden would also meet separately during that trip in a trilateral format with the leaders of Japan and South Korea.
Biden then heads to Australia for a session of the Quad group: Australia, India, Japan and the United States. (With reports from Agence FrancePresse)
PAGE 1
that aim to “expand on the historic momentum” in the relations between Manila and Washington.
“The Presidential Trade and Investment Mission will feature the highest caliber of U.S. business leaders,” it added.
The arrangements and initiatives were placed under different categories, namely, economic cooperation, where the sending of the trade and investment mission belongs; U.S.-Philippines alliance, education and people-topeople ties, advancing respect for human rights, collaboration on clean energy and environmental protection and supporting resilient and healthy communities.
“President Biden intends to dispatch a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines on his behalf – the first mission of its kind – to enhance U.S. companies’ investment in the Philippines’ innovation economy, its clean energy transition and critical
minerals sector, and the food security of its people,” the White House said. Another initiative under economic cooperation is the bringing of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum to the Philippines.
The White House said the U.S. and the Philippines would co-host the 6th annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Manila, pending congressional notification.
Sponsored by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the event has been described as “the U.S.’s marquee annual commercial event in the region” that convenes the highest level of public and private sector leaders to review policy developments, announce new investments and identify new commercial partnerships.
It is expected to take place in spring of 2024.
“The forum will strengthen the Philippines’ position as a key hub for regional supply chains and high-quality investment,” the White House said.
The U.S. also aims to establish a brick-
and-mortar Open RAN Interoperability Lab in Manila, pending congressional notification. The White House said the lab would provide hands-on training to current and aspiring 5G professionals and an opportunity for vendors and operators deploying Open RAN to teach and educate local engineers how to design, build and operate these open, secure and interoperable networks.
Infrastructure
Another initiative under economic cooperation is investing in sustainable, high-quality infrastructure, including a plan by the U.S. Agency for International Development to launch a new partnership to scale up infrastructure development in the Philippines and support the building of high-quality railways, ports and transport systems.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is also expected to launch throughout the year sustainable infrastructure activities that seek to leverage over $3 billion in public and
DURING another long weekend, on another start of the month, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was hit by another power outage. Lasting nearly eight hours, the outage hit the NAIA Terminal 3 early on Monday, May 1 stranding thousands of passengers as dozens of flights were canceled or delayed.
As of Monday night, May 1, initial inspection indicated that the outage was due to faulty electrical wiring or a short circuit. The outage occurred exactly five months after another power-related problem shut down not just the entire NAIA but also Philippine airspace. This was on Jan. 1 this year, when a circuit breaker that failed to work caused two uninterruptible power supply units of the NAIA’s Communications, Navigation and Surveillance / Air Traffic Management System to bog down. With the UPS unable to come on stream when needed, the CNS / ATM was paralyzed.
Over 300 flights were disrupted and about 65,000 travelers were stranded at the NAIA for over nine hours before the system came back to life and flights gradually resumed. New UPS units have since been procured. A promise
to make heads roll after an investigation is completed, however, has not materialized. In September last year, a problem at the terminal’s power substation resulted in an hours-long outage that delayed at least 31 flights as airlines shifted to manual check-in and immigration processing slowed down. At the time, airport and transport officials vowed to address the problem to prevent its repeat. In April 2016, the NAIA-3 was also hit by a five-hour outage that was blamed on one broken power generator. Power transmission had tripped briefly in the airport area in Pasay City. Power was restored within less than a minute, but electricity failed to kick in at the NAIA 3 because one of the 10 generators meant to service the main building did not work. This weekend outage canceled 82 domestic flights and delayed 79 international
It is an inherent element of any democratic system.
and local flights. The fiasco contributed to perceptions of incompetence on the part of the Aquino administration, with the general elections just weeks away.
This was seven years ago. Will NAIA officials ever grasp the critical importance of uninterrupted electricity supply in the
AT the outset, and lest people misconstrue my point, it should be stressed that citizens have the right to express their dissatisfaction with the government. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right accorded to us by the Constitution.
Yet, many people seem to focus too much on their individual rights, or the benefit of their own groups, without thinking about their responsibilities to the greater community and society. Worse, they delude themselves into thinking, or even intentionally appropriate the line of reasoning, that they are doing this to advance some
collective good. Democracy is not just about freedoms and rights. It is also about our duties. Many people forget that while citizens are sovereign, a responsible and rational exercise of our political rights is also fundamental in a democracy. A representative democracy such as ours depends not only on the robustness of our democratic rituals such as elections, but on the
quality of our participation in it, either indirectly when we vote, or more directly when we engage in political discourse, or take part in political activities.
Unfortunately, most citizens would rather defer to the actions of their elected representatives and those these officials appoint, instead of actively participating in politics. While our voter turnout is relatively high, the quality of
country’s premier gateway? There wasn’t even a weather disturbance that might have affected the power supply at the NAIA 3 on Monday. Transport officials said they were not ruling out sabotage. Whatever the reason, it must be determined quickly so that it can be addressed ASAP. (Philstar.com)
the exercise of these rights is undermined not only by candidates who run not on the basis of platforms, but largely riding on the power of optics and narratives.
More fatal to the pursuance of high-quality democracy is the fact that this kind of politics of image instead of substance is enabled by voter behavior. People vote less on the basis of the idea of a common good, but more on preferences that
are formed from biases and even blind loyalties. We turn our politicians into brands to whom we have been fixated to patronize regardless of their performance, or the service they offer.
And later, a huge number of voters would, after the regular periodic rituals of elections, retreat into states of passivity and detachment, unless something personal hit them that they would
The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.
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by Cristina Chi Philstar.com
MANILA — In a rare move, the United States government has joined local and international human rights groups in their calls for justice for slain trade unionist Alex Dolorosa, saying that local authorities should bring to account perpetrators responsible for his death.
“We extend our condolences to Dolorosa’s family and friends, as well as the greater international labor union and LGBTQI+ communities who loved him,” the White House said in a statement on Sunday, April 30.
This is as the Department of Justice (DOJ) begins its investigation into the killing of Dolorosa after it ordered the National Bureau of Investigation on April 27 to conduct its probe into his death. The DOJ is also coordinating with the local government of Bacolod City and the Philippine National Police to collect further information on the case.
“We welcome the Philippine government’s condemnation of the attack and its
commitment to thoroughly investigate and to hold the perpetrators accountable,” the White House said.
“We join with the Philippine government in underscoring that impunity is unacceptable,” it added.
The Communications Workers of America has also said that the murder of Dolorosa— who led union organizing efforts among BPO employees in Bacolod—solidifies the Philippines’ reputation as one of the deadliest countries in the world for worker organizers.
Dolorosa, a unionist and a paralegal with the BPO Industry Employee Network based in Bacolod, was found dead in the capital last week with multiple stab wounds on his body.
The Human Rights Watch, which has also condemned Dolorosa’s death, has pointed out that “government authorities have targeted [BIEN] for surveillance and redtagging,” urging authorities to take this into consideration when investigating the case.
Following Dolorosa’s death and calls from rights groups to safeguard the lives of workers in the country, the Commission on Human Rights has also called on the
A CONSORTIUM led by seven Filipino conglomerates and a U.S.-based airport operator has submitted an unsolicited offer to upgrade the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for more than P100 billion.
In a statement, the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC) — comprised of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Alliance Global-Infracorp Development Inc., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and Global Infrastructure Partners — said the unsolicited proposal aimed to rehabilitate and upgrade the NAIA to meet growing air traffic demand.
The over P100-billion offer includes an upfront payment to the government and committed investments in new facilities and technology.
“We are ready to put our combined resources forward in partnering with the government on this massive undertaking,”
MIAC director and Alliance Global CEO Kevin Tan said in the statement, adding that “our consortium brings unrivalled expertise, proven solutions and extensive
capital.”
“As the only large-scale operating gateway airport to the Philippines, the modernization and long-term sustainability of NAIA is a critical development priority for both the country’s public and private sectors,” he added.
Fellow MIAC director Josephine Gotianun Yap, president and CEO of Filinvest, said, “We want the first thing that locals and foreigners alike see, when they arrive in the Philippines, to be a source of pride for all Filipinos.”
“The consortium is confident that with additional financial resources as well as operating process and technology improvements, NAIA can help achieve that vision,” she added.
The consortium said the upgrade will allow the NAIA to serve up to 62.5 million passengers per annum (MPPA) by 2028, more than double the current design capacity of 31 MPPA. Passenger traffic already reached 48 MPPA in 2019, it noted, underscoring the need to upgrade the
MANILA — Senators renewed their call for the passage of a bill seeking to put up a national virology institute to boost local vaccine development and protect the country from pandemics.
The senators made the call amid the observance of World Immunization Week from April 24 to 30 and the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who authored Senate Bill 941 or the proposed Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines (VIP) Act of 2022, said the COVID-19 pandemic
should be a wake-up call for the country, which had to scramble for vaccines.
The bill seeks to create the VIP to serve as the premier research and development institute in the field of virology, encompassing all areas of study of viruses and viral diseases in plants, animals and humans.
Other senators who filed similar bills are Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri (SB 599), Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda (SB 489), Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva (SB 1322), Cynthia Villar (SB 1928), Lito Lapid (SB 1890), Raffy Tulfo (SB 1818), Robin Padilla (SB 1363), Joseph Victor Ejercito (SB 1161),
Mark Villar (SB 1130), Bong Revilla (SB 981), Jinggoy Estrada (SB 281) and Bong Go (SB 196).
Bivalent vaccine deal
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Leachon, a former adviser to a government COVID task force, said President Marcos should try to secure a supply deal for bivalent COVID-19 vaccines when he meets with United States President Joe Biden in Washington.
Leachon also warned that the positivity rate will continue to rise if the public does not adhere to the minimum public health standards, especially the mandatory wearing of face masks.
“Bivalent vaccines
should be part of the longterm strategy. President Marcos should be able to discuss this matter with U.S. President Joe Biden in the President’s visit to the U.S.,” Leachon said.
He said the bivalent vaccines will be able to address the old Wuhan strain and the new subvariants like Arcturus. Options?
Leachon also said the Food and Drug Administration should approve the certificate of product registration so those willing to be inoculated with this new vaccine will have access to it, like in the U.S.
He said while he respects
private financing to strengthen the Philippines’ critical mineral supply chains, advance smart grid technologies and clean energy solutions, promote secure 5G deployment, strengthen airport security and maritime safety and support health care infrastructure across the Philippines.
The Philippines and the U.S. also aim to expand their air connectivity and modernize their bilateral aviation relationship.
Aeronautical authorities from the two countries will formalize a technical aviation dialogue at the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial Meeting in Detroit to enhance policy and regulatory alignment to modernize their air transportation agreement.
Manila and Washington also seek to enhance bilateral cooperation on space situational awareness and the use of space for maritime domain awareness, including through the first-ever U.S.Philippines Civil Space Dialogue, the White House said.
“The countries will collaborate on the use of space-based technology in the areas of disaster management and emergency response, health care, mapping of resources and accessibility, pollution monitoring, deforestation, land use and infrastructure planning and maritime awareness,” it added.
Marcos and Biden also welcomed the strengthening of bilateral cooperation on the Landsat program, including the possibility of the Philippines downloading imagery directly from Landsat satellites to its ground stations.
In a joint statement, Marcos and Biden vowed to undertake urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noting that the Philippines is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which “poses an existential threat to the world.”
“They resolve to expand collaboration on renewable energy production to
MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday, May 2 welcomed nearly 4,000 new lawyers as they took their oath before the Supreme Court en banc, sitting in a special session.
Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, 2022 Bar chairperson, moved to petition for the admission of the successful examinees. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo approved their admission.
A total of 3,992 examinees passed the 2022 Bar exams, yielding a passing rate of 43.37%.
The new lawyers recited the new oath—and is the first batch to do so—that was approved under the recently launched Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability that updated the guide of the conduct and ethics of lawyers across the country.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen earlier said the lawyer’s oath was updated to include the most important duty of their profession, which he said, is “to do justice or to even ensure access to justice.”
Message to new lawyers
Caguioa started his message by asking the examinees to remember those who stood by them until they reached this stage.
Caguioa then reminded the Bar passers that the practice of law “is not so much winning, as if that’s the only way to go, rather it is achieving justice in a way that is beneficial to all.”
The Bar chair stressed that in their practice, both parties represent people with stories too and they must thread gently and compassionately.
“Good lawyers must also be true to themselves as to others and in that honesty, navigate legal problems with creativity, innovation and a healthy imagination of how a resolution can help all,” he said, adding that their courage must be “fueled by love of country, of the law, of others.”
The Bar chair, in his message, also recognized the 24 examiners, top law schools with highest passing percentage and the top 30 passers. He also thanked the deans of the schools that served as local testing centers in last year’s exams, and the SC offices that made its conduct a success.
The 2022 Bar examination was held in four days, within a two-week period in November. This was the second localized—held in 14 testing centers across the country—and digitized examinations.
accelerate the clean energy transition while bringing down energy costs and expanding energy access for families,” the statement read.
The two countries also intend to pursue an “ambitious” program of cooperation on wind, solar and geothermal energy, while enhancing cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the waste, road and shipping sectors.
Marcos and Biden also agreed to expand cooperation on environmental protection, including enhanced domain awareness, marine conservation and protecting coastal areas from environmental degradation. They also pledged to promote increased cooperation and knowledge sharing through the Science and Technology Agreement.
The two leaders also emphasized the importance of strong democratic institutions, rule of law and respect for human rights, including freedom
of expression, press and association and countering any form of violence in society.
They also welcomed the establishment of a bilateral labor working group as part of the U.S.-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and recognized the people-topeople ties between their countries as “an indispensable pillar” of their partnership.
The two leaders cited the service and sacrifice of Filipinos in World War II, and the contributions of Filipino Americans frontliners to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Looking to the future, President Biden and President Marcos express the utmost confidence that the special ties between their nations and their people will only grow stronger with time, as the United States and the Philippines continue to realize their shared vision of partnership, peace and prosperity,” the joint statement read. g
Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, who will serve as the chairperson of the next Bar exams, also delivered an inspirational message and told the new lawyers that the membership in the Bar is not a self-centered occupation, and that their success is not measured on money or fame or awards.
“In truth, the true golden laurel rests in the lives and livelihood that were secured rights that were protected, the injustices that were rectified and justice that was served,” he continued.
Hernando also reminded them to use social media responsibility, guide of which has been included in the CPRA. “Be careful what you click. TikTok wisely. Keep a clean profile. Call out improprieties in Facebook pages and lawyer groups,” the justice said. g
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The House of Representatives of the United States in 2022 agreed on an amendment to a defense spending measure blocking aid, including equipment and training, to the Philippine National Police until the Philippines is deemed to have met basic human rights standards. g
MANILA — Billed as a notably faster and more accessible transportation system, the Metro Manila Subway Project is expected to improve the lives of many Filipinos in most parts of the Greater Manila, including the highly urbanized Quezon City.
Construction of two more underground subway stations in Quezon Avenue and East Avenue is now ongoing after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) held a groundbreaking ceremony attended by contractors and government officials.
Quezon City 1st District Rep. Arjo Atayde, who attended the groundbreaking event, lauded the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for accelerating the subway’s construction.
“This project will improve the lives of the residents not only in Quezon City, but all over the NCR [National
Capital Region],” Atayde said. “It will also help ease the traffic in Metro Manila. So it’s admirable to see the start of this project.”
Although the DOTr’s target finish and start of the full operation of the two subway train stations — Quezon Avenue and East Avenue — is still in 2028,
the neophyte lawmaker said the project is “worth the wait.”
“It will give the commuters the convenience and the comfort aside from the job opportunities that it will bring,” the 32-yearold freshman lawmaker added. “I know it’s going to be sustainable, accessible
and safe for our daily commuters.”
According to the DOTr, the subway can accommodate around 519,000 passengers daily.
The agency previously cited various reports claiming that traveling from Valenzuela City to
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday, May 1 said, the government is “working conscientiously” to provide opportunities that will uplift the living and social conditions of Filipino workers and their families.
As the nation celebrated Labor Day, Marcos paid tribute to the workers by describing them as “essential to the sustenance of our soaring economy”.
“That is why we strive to address the cares and concerns of our workers as well as provide them with better opportunities so that they are capacitated to their full potential as active participants in nation-building,” Marcos said.
“On behalf of our grateful Filipino people, I laud our workforce for their unwavering service and sacrifice in their respective fields and also for their significant contribution in our country’s development,” he added.
He urged the private sector to work together with the government in “building on the gains” of good governance and labor reform initiatives to ensure the sustainability of jobs, secure the livelihood of workers and maintain the productivity of the Philippine economy.
“If we all unite and work together
with renewed hope, vigor, and enthusiasm in our respective fields, industries, and endeavors, I am certain that we can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future for all,” Marcos said.
World-class Filipino workers
For her part, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman highlighted the big role of Filipino workers here and abroad in ensuring the economy’s expansion.
“Today, we honor and recognize your important contributions to the stability and overall well-being of our nation. We have proven, time and again, that our quality-oriented work ethic is what makes Filipino workers world-class and a cut above the rest,” she said in a statement.
Pangandaman noted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has scheduled several activities that will boost workers’ welfare such as the payout of assistance to beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program.
She said DOLE is also implementing the Government Internship Program and the Special Program for Employment of Students.
“These are a great help to our kababayans (compatriots),” she said.
She said the current government “has infused social protection programs in the 2023 national budget, mostly for the targeted vulnerable sectors of society.”
This, she said, “is our commitment to achieve our eight-point Socioeconomic Agenda.”
“Rest assured that we, at DBM shall endeavor to support programs that will benefit the welfare of our labor force.
Hindi po namin kayo pababayaan (We will not abandon you),” she said.
“Let our determination to give every Filipino family a fighting chance to live a decent and prosperous life be our shared resolve this 2023 Labor Day.”
In another statement, House Speaker Martin Romualdez cited the sacrifices of the Filipino workers.
“Our workers are the backbone not only of their families but of the economy and the nation. The economy would not be running if not for their tireless toil,” he said.
He said the House of Representatives will always make it a point to attend to the concerns of the workers with “measures that protect their rights,
airport to meet growing demand.
“We envision a truly world-class airport befitting the beauty of the Philippines: one where congestion, reliability issues, and unpleasant passenger experiences will become things of the past,” Tan said.
In 2018, the NAIA Consortium — composed of the same seven conglomerates and including Metro Pacific Investments Corp. — submitted an unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate the airport for P102 billion.
The deal, however, did not push through despite two years of negotiations over unresolved issues and concerns over the financial viability of the project amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Megawide Construction Corp. and partner India-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd. also submitted a proposal to rehabilitate and upgrade the NAIA for $3 billion with a contract period of 18 years.
The Marcos administration has expressed willingness to entertain new proposals for the multibillion-peso rehabilitation and upgrade of the NAIA.
The project aims to alleviate worsening air traffic congestion at the Philippines’ main gateway and resolve capacity constraints by reconfiguring and renovating the airport’s facilities and enhancing operation and maintenance.
The rehabilitation project also aims to broaden the NAIA’s role as a key economic and tourism driver for Metro Manila and the entire country, deliver capital infrastructure investments to improve the airport’s efficiency, and increase its capacity to meet growing passenger demand in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Department of Transportation last week signed three transaction advisory service agreements with the Asian Development Bank to expedite the privatization of the operations and maintenance of the NAIA and the development of two major railway projects. (ManilaTimes.net)
DOH policies, the agency “should not turn a blind eye to the fact that mandatory face masks is the only option we have, given the low booster rate that we have as we open the economy.”
“People need definitive
solutions. We can’t control mobility. But we can wear face masks conveniently to protect the people,” he said.
He said the public must remain vigilant as “complacency hurts or even kills, especially in vulnerable patients.”
“Perhaps the mild symptoms and low hospitalization rate may not be compelling reasons, but a sick workforce might affect productivity in the long run. The quality of life of people will be affected. Long COVID patients will be another problem moving forward,” he said. g
Ninoy Aquino International Airport — approximately 33.1 kilometers — would be trimmed to 45 minutes by train across 17 stations.
The regular travel time by car is one hour and 38 minutes.
The entire subway will interlink with various railway systems such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, MRT 3, MRT 7 and the Grand Common station. The LRT 2 at the Anonas Station will also be connected at the subway. It will joined also with two stations of the North to South rail.
Atade said the 3.1-kilometer tunnel railway and two underground stations will help commuters to travel fast to Quezon
City’s central business districts, government offices and private offices, which is beneficial to the district’s economic progress.
“What can I say for? Quezon City’s economy will continuously progress and grow once this project becomes operational in 2028,” Atayde said, a member of 16 committees in the congress, including Metro Manila Development and Appropriations.
Quezon City, under the leadership of Mayor Joy Belmonte, was awarded the Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the country by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) during its 10th Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Awarding ceremony last October. (Philstar.com)
promote their welfare and preserve their jobs and incomes.”
He said recently enacted laws aim to enhance economic growth and improve the investment climate in the country, among them the liberalization amendments introduced in the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Law and Foreign Investments Act.
“The investmentdiplomatic missions of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic team, joined by a small group of House members, are all aimed at sustaining economic growth,” he said.
“If we can keep the economy on the high growth path, our workers’ jobs and incomes are not only preserved but we create more economic opportunities for them and their families, and our people in general.”
Wage hike
The Senate likewise renewed its commitment to push for legislation that will protect and advance the interests of workers, particularly in terms of wage hike.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said he will bat for a salary increase of at least P150 in the private sector as contained in
demand action from the government. Only a small minority would actively participate in political activity beyond voting during elections. But this was before the birth of social media, where people did not have access to platforms where they could express their views.
of political discourse that we mistake to be the pulse of the masses. Yet, it is all a mirage. Unfortunately, their noisy voices are the ones that are picked up not only by mainstream media, but also by politicians who either fear them, or suck up to them to advance their political careers.
Senate Bill No 2002 or the Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act.
“This Labor Day, I join all our workers in fighting for decent benefits, living wages, and fair working conditions. This is especially crucial as rising costs of goods and utilities continue to hit our people’s pockets, to the point that even toiling with a full-time job is no longer enough to support their families’ needs,” Zubiri said in a statement.
Senator Raffy Tulfo said in another statement that the Committee on Labor will start discussions on May 10 on Senate Resolution No. 476 that calls for a review on existing policies on wage increases.
DOLE, Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board and Department of Trade and Industry representatives will be invited as resource persons.
Based on studies, Tulfo said a family of five needs at least P1,161 daily for survival, far from the daily current rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) of P570.
The NCR rate is the highest in non-agriculture wages while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the lowest at P316.
Fidel Nograles, House Committee on Labor and Employment chair, similarly vowed to continue to fight for workers’ welfare.
“As we strive to recover from the massive blow dealt by the pandemic, our people can rest assured that we will continue fighting for workers’ welfare through meaningful legislation and by working with the government, industries, and workers themselves,” Nograles said.
However, he asked for patience amid calls for an increase in minimum wage.
“Naiintindihan natin ang pinagmumulan ng panawagang ito. Ngunit kailangan din nating balansehin ang interes ng iba pang (We understand the root of this call. But we also need to balance along with the interest of other) stakeholders. We cannot rush our deliberations on such a crucial measure,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of other interventions to help workers amid the current review of the wage hike proposal.
Nograles said DOLE’s announcement to give P1.8 billion financial assistance to workers will help a lot “while we study the permanent solution.” (PNA)
The era of social media has reframed the way people do politics. While it certainly amplified the role of optics and narratives, it also amplified political noise. The noisy minority effectively found an avenue to project their voices, and this created a mirage of a groundswell of opinion that, without social media, would have been drowned by the apathy of the greater number of people.
Social media has become an effective avenue to make politics accessible. However, it also became the launching pad for the propagation and growth of a kind of politics that is driven by hatred and fear. Social media traffic is characterized by people who become peddlers of anger and intrigue, who feed the gripes of the minority, even if it means spreading lies, misinformation and disinformation. It became worse when what used to be a vocation that would require dedication, where activists are committed to a cause, the monetization of social media engagements has produced a new breed of noisemakers. These are in the form of social media vloggers who turned political commentary into an income-generating commodity. They effectively become merchants of discord, anger and fear.
And thus, we end up with a highly toxic political landscape, where what can be seen, heard and read in social media is dominated by rants and complaints, giving the impression of an utter system failure and a government at the precipice of collapse. This, however, does not add up when results of scientific surveys reveal a government earning high trust, approval and satisfaction ratings from four out of five Filipinos.
The voice of the noisy minority, those driven by blind loyalties and who thrive on intrigue and discord, and whose politics subsists on anger and fear, take control, and are in command of the production
It is in this political landscape that our policy decisions are now directed by a noisy minority, and where government initiatives sink or swim on the basis of the decibel of their noise. We saw the initiative of modernizing our jeepneys being tanked not on the basis of reason but on the basis of accommodating sectoral interests over the greater good of protecting human and environmental health. I have my own issues with the move to replace our carbon-emitting jeepneys, but these are more on issues of unaffordability as well as the unimaginative design of turning what used to be a cultural icon into a boring box-like contraption. But what we got instead is the more convenient and populist response of shelving the proposal until further discussion, which in our political discourse could mean putting it on hold forever.
Then we have the SIM card registration initiative, which is a rational response to the increasing incidence of fraud using unregistered mobile devices. Again, because of internet-generated noise, the government caved, and gave fraudsters a reprieve.
What we end up with is not the image of a government that is responding to people’s concerns and advancing public good, but a political culture that unleashes internet anger and fear being spoiled by a government that bows to their noise, and turns public good into a negotiable, fluid and uncertain construct. We now have turned public interest away from a landscape dominated by reason and informed decisions, into one that is overwhelmed by internet noise. We are turning our democracy into a noisy marketplace of rants and complaints. (ManilaTimes.net) * * * The opinions,
DON Tagala, the award-winning reporter on TFC News, desperately wanted his mother, Vinia, to come to the U.S. because his sister, Almira, became critically ill in 2019. His mother could be there for her children for emotional support and to make crucial life-decisions.
The hospital where Almira was on life support even emailed the U.S. Embassy explaining the circumstance and requesting for a visitor’s visa for Vinia. However, the Embassy instructed the hospital to go
through the normal process.
Time was running out, so Don went to leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel to seek his assistance and expert advice. Confident that Vinia would abide by the terms of her visa and return to the Philippines, Atty Gurfinkel immediately sought an emergency visitor visa and expedited interview, so Mommy Vinia could arrive in the U.S. as soon as possible. Unfortunately, while all preparations were going on, Don’s sister passed away on June 24. The visitor visa application was updated, asking the Embassy to still expedite the visa to now enable Don’s mother to attend the funeral, instead of the original request to visit Almira at the hospital.
Atty. Gurfinkel was able to secure an emergency interview on June 26 (where the earliest available appointment would have normally been August 13) and an expedited visa was also issued the same day.
On June 28, 2019, Mommy Vinia arrived in New York, four days after her daughter passed on. She was able to attend the funeral and be there for Don.
While it was a bittersweet reunion for Don and his mother in the U.S., it is important to know what to do and where to seek help if an emergency arises.
Watch this encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, May 7 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app.
(Advertising Supplement)
BARBIE Forteza and David Licauco have so many things to be thankful for because of their popular loveteam, also known as BarDa and Maria Clara at Ibarra’s FiLay.
“One of the reasons I’m thankful for because of BarDa is I gained a friend (in David),” declared Barbie during a recent thanksgiving dinner with fans. The STAR had a quick chat with Barbie and David at the event hosted by Universal Records Philippines to celebrate the success of the official music video for Ben&Ben’s cover of The Way You Look at Me
featuring the Kapuso love team.
The music video, which now has over 1.4 million views on YouTube, also had the special participation of Shuvee Etrata and Christian Bautista, the original singer of the song. To recall, it was Christian’s first single and hit song that enjoyed airplay in other Southeast Asian countries.
“I can really say that David is really a true friend and we helped each other. And parehas kaming nagiging ‘power back’ ng isa’t isa. Kapag
medyo pagod na yung isa di ba. Nakakatuwa lang to work someone like David. He understands his coactor. Most of all, maalaga
siya sa leading lady niya,” continued Barbie.
David, who could be seen hugging Barbie from behind, shared that he is also “thankful for Barbie.”
He echoed what Barbie said and added, “Siyempre with the personality of Barbie, parang aalagan mo talaga.”
Barbie asked, “Why?”
The actor, who’s been dubbed Pambansang Ginoo, responded, “It just comes natural, I guess. Again, I wanna thank all our supporters.” He mentioned the BarDa, FiLay and their respective fan bases.
“Lahat sila nandiyan. Every single day, (they are) like tweeting us (and) creating TikTok videos for
correspondent
North America, needed a visitor’s visa for his mother so she could come to the U.S. to be with her critically ill daughter. Time was running out, so Don sought the help of Atty. Gurfinkel who was able to secure an emergency interview at the U.S. Embassy. The earliest appointment had been August 13, but Mommy Vinia was able to be interviewed earlier, and her visa was issued on an expedited basis. Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, May 7 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. (Advertising Supplement)
THE owner of Cebu Doctors University Hospital in Cebu, Philippines, and my cardiac team in Northwest Indiana established the Cebu Cardiac Center at CDUH in November of 1997. I shuttled between Cebu and Northwest Indiana every couple of months as Chief of Cardiac Surgery to do open-heart surgery in both cities.
Before I returned to the United States from Cebu, Philippines to retire on September 28, 2010, I was interviewed by Sky Cable in Cebu. Besides the topic about heart attack and stroke, and lifestyle in general as a preventive regimen in warding off diseases, the discussion also touched on cancer.
One of my statements alluded to the fact that most of the diseases known to man, including cancer, in my opinion, “are man-made, selfinduced, brought on by us to ourselves thru unhealthy lifestyle, whether we realize it or not, inadvertently or otherwise.”
Smoking (first- or second-hand), alcohol abuse, ingestion of “killer” processed foods, high-fat, high- cholesterol foods, trans-fat, absence or lack of vegetables, fruits, and highfiber items like nuts and lentils in our diet, drinking soft drinks (which poison our body), exposure to environmental pollution (air and water) were among the factors and culprits I cited. This unhealthy situation is rampant, an “epidemic” in the Philippines.
While poverty is a factor, most Filipinos are literate, many well-educated and well aware of medical facts, but upbringing, the way of life, and culture, greatly factor in this environment, making them disregard healthy lifestyle. The thinking “whatever will be, will be,” and “God will protect me,” or “I want to enjoy life,” selfencourages the unhealthy behavior and lifestyle.
I also stated that while genetics (good or bad genes) play a role in all this, our environment and our lifestyle (particularly diet and exercise) appear
to outweigh the hereditary factor. The more disciplined siblings, who opted to live a healthy lifestyle unlike their parents, did not necessarily fall victims to their elders’ common illnesses. Even their longevity was improved. So, the impact of environment and lifestyle do, indeed, outweigh genetics in general.
The human factor includes the carcinogenic fumes from cigarettes, carbon monoxide/dioxide from engine emissions, chemical contamination from the household agents (soaps, bleaches, tile and toilet cleaners, etc.) we use daily, factories polluting our atmosphere and dumping of toxic waste products into our rivers and lakes, deforestation and destruction of our greeneries, invasion of the original habitats of animals and disturbing the natural order of things, and the environmental insults that urbanization brings with it in general.
Greek medical writings hardly mentioned cancer and among these mummies (from the Ptolemaic period) only two (worldwide) were detected to have histological evidence of cancer. Obviously, cancer, in adults or children, was extremely rare during those times, and not because their life expectancy was shorter compared to ours. The mummies studied were persons with arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, Paget’s disease, illnesses found in seniors, who were old enough to develop cancer. Logic tells us that the carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) we inhale, eat, or expose ourselves to today, were not present in ancient times. The environment then was pristine, not polluted as it is now.
Then came the Industrial Revolution and the massive environmental pollution. This was followed by the explosion of the incidence of cancer, especially childhood cancer, not to mention other diseases now known to man, cardiovascular, metabolic, even infectious.
Professor Michael Zimmerman, a visiting professor at the KNH Centre, who made the first ever histological diagnosis of cancer in an Egyptian mummy stated, “In an ancient society lacking surgical intervention, evidence of cancer should remain in all cases. The virtual absence of malignancies in mummies must be interpreted as
indicating their rarity in antiquity, indicating that cancer-causing factors are limited to societies affected by modern industrialization.”
It has also been pointed out that all the mummies at the museums in Cairo and Europe showed no evidence of cancer at all.
The research, which was published in NATURE, reported that “Evidence of cancer and medical procedures, such as operations for cancers does not appear until the 17th century…Scientific literature depicting distinctive tumors have only been about for the last 200 years, when data started to be documented about chimney sweeps with scrotal cancer in 1775, nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761, and Hodgkin’s disease in 1832.”
It is lucidly clear from all those medical facts from thousands of years ago that cancer, and most of the diseases afflicting mankind and the damages to our environment today, are manmade and self-induced.
In my book of healthy lifestyle and disease prevention at the DNA level (entitled Let’s Stop “Killing” Our Children, available at amazon.com; preview at www.philipSchua.com), I pointed out that we, humans, seem to be bent on hurting ourselves, with our lack of discipline and unhealthy behavior. The result is most of us have arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, which we falsely label “normal diseases of aging.” But this is not true. There are millions of people without these ailments in their ripe old age; minimal, if any. If we started to live a healthy lifestyle starting from the crib, with the aid of our parents, and follow though as teenagers and as adults, we do not necessarily have to be afflicted with those chronic illnesses. These are self-inflicted.
The vital question is: What do we do about this masochistic, self-destructive, and almost suicidal behavior of our species on this wonderful planet earth? * * *
The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended
BEFORE Dolly de Leon became famous that she is today, she went through many failures, rejections and hardships that could easily weaken one’s spirit. Dolly was first to admit that her life’s obstacles were then too tough for her to handle but she chose not to give up.
Dolly created a lot of buzz in Hollywood for her brilliant acting performance in Triangle of Sadness. She’s the first-ever Filipino actress to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes and at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in the same category. Film critics also showered Dolly with praise for her effective acting. Moreover, Dolly received more nominations from international awardgiving bodies.
“I’ve become a happier person. I was really down in the dumps before any of this happened. I was really in a bad, dark place before,” Dolly disclosed when we had our one-on-one interview in Fast Talk With Boy Abunda.
As she looked back on what she had been through, the actress cited the importance of treating everyone with kindness.
“What I also learned
about this whole thing is that we always have to be kind to everyone we encounter, and that’s basically it,” she said.
“You’re right about that gap between what happened before and who I am now. There is a gap there and there is a transition that happens. And through that transition, the biggest thing I learned is that, buti na lang I was kind to everyone I had known before,” she added.
Dolly also noticed the big change in the way she’s being treated by people.
“The big difference is people who have not been so kind suddenly are so kind now.”
Nevertheless, Dolly assured that nothing has ever changed in the way she deals with people.
“I treat them with kindness. Kung pinili nilang maging mean or snubbish before, hindi ko sila gagayahin,” she shared.
“The only way to lead is by example di ba it’s walking the talk. I can’t say, ‘Treat people with kindness,’ tapos hindi ako kind.”
She continued, “So, it doesn’t matter who you are, kahit nga sinong taong talagang badtrip na badtrip ako or hindi ko talaga type, I still treat them with kindness.”
Her moments of frustration and rejection can serve as motivation for young
actors not to lose hope and to just keep on working hard until they succeed.
“Naranasan ko na pong mag-audition (sa) cattle call. ‘Pag sinabing cattle call, lahat ng artista nandun, 300 actors nandun. Ibig sabihin nun maraming roles ang kailangan kaya maraming pinapapunta na hindi ako pumasa,” Dolly recalled.
She, too, had been rejected many times during auditions for theater plays and “I also experienced auditioning for local film festivals and I didn’t pass.”
“But it didn’t mean that I gave up. Of course, I felt sad but that didn’t stop me. It should never stop you. And don’t be discouraged. Don’t ever think na, ‘Ay, hindi ako pumasa sa audition na ito, wala na akong pag-asa. No. We must go on and on. Laban lang ng laban and keep going to every audition,” she remarked.
In the life of an actor, rejections are inevitable. One must learn how to accept failures because “the success rate in auditions is really low. Rejection is part of our job. That’s the sad thing of being an actor. We have to learn to accept it and live with it,” stressed Dolly, who apart from being an actress, is also an acting coach.
In the midst of her hardships, Dolly was supported by fellow actress and dear friend Eugene Domingo, especially when she experienced some financial struggles.
“Uge (Eugene) and I have known each other since we were young, teenagers pa kami. We were together in UP theater arts so barkada na kami n’yan,” she recalled.
Dolly, who received multiple nominations for her performance in Triangle of Sadness, shows her moments of frustration and rejection can serve as motivation for young actors not to lose hope and to just keep on working hard until they succeed.
to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
* * *
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian
Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
* * *
Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United NetworkUSA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian
“At the time when I was going through really hard times, Kuya Boy, because there were really times when I had no way to pay for the electric bill, when my child had to stop schooling because I could not pay for
foundation in the United States. He was a recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali and Astronaut Gus Grissom (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday. com, and philipSchua.com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com.
BROADWAY star Lea Salonga has began rehearsing for the musical “Here Lies Love.”
In her Instagram account, Lea posted a photo of her with the cast of the Broadway musical.
“First day of @herelieslovebway rehearsals! The first ALL-FILIPINO company on Broadway! What a way to kick off #AAPIHeritageMonth2023!!”
Lea wrote in the caption.
“Here Lies Love” is the first musical on Broadway about the Philippines. All of the leading roles are mostly Filipinos. Lea said joining the musical is very special to her.
Multi-awarded
“Number one, as a Filipino artist, I am incredibly excited that audiences will finally get to see on Broadway this beautiful, impactful and important
musical,” she said.
“Two, I get to go back to the Broadway Theatre which is where I made my own Broadway debut over 30 years ago, which is wild for me to think about. So, it’s a really sweet, full-circle moment,” she added.
Apart from Lea, other Filipino cast members are Melody Butiu, Moses Villarama, Jasmine Forsberg, Reanne Acasio, Jaygee Macapugay, Julia Abueva, Renée Albulario, Aaron Alcaraz, Carol Angeli, Nathan Angelo, Kristina Doucette, Roy Flores, Timothy Matthew Flores, Sarah Kay, Jeigh Madjus, Aaron “AJ” Mercado, Geena Quintos, Shea Renne, and Angelo Soriano.
The show will premiere on June 17. g
By Jan Milo Severo Philstar.com
LIZA Soberano got candid about love teams in the Philippines, revealing how this phenomenon persists and the expectations actors need to meet.
During her interview with BTOB’s Peniel and Ashley Choi for the “Get Real” podcast, Liza said love teams in the country are expected to be “reel and real.”
“In the Philippines, there’s this huge phenomenon called love teams. It’s when they put two actors together and they
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become like ‘Brangelina.’ They ship you. But in this scenario, we’re supposed to be reel and real. We are supposed to be a real couple on and off cam. We only work with each other throughout our whole career,” she said.
“In love teams, you’re expected to be with just that one person throughout your career and in your personal life. People don’t want to see you aside any other male actor or any other male in general,” she added.
Liza was part of LizQuen, the love team name of hers and
by MOMAR G. VISAYA / AJPress
CAROLINE Garcia is a Filipino Australian who has been living in Brooklyn for five years now, exploring and rediscovering her Filipino identity through her art.
Garcia’s Dancing on Axes and Spears, a four-month exhibition at the George Segal Gallery of Montclair State University, featured an interactive martial arts gym, virtual and augmented reality artworks, and various forms of choreography.
“I’m very much inspired by indigenous Filipino traditions and ritual, and then fusing that with modern or contemporary technologies and then in my efforts to fuse the two together, I kind of create, new languages or new lexicon to express diasporic experiences, very much shaped by my own life,” Garcia told the Asian Journal.
In the artist’s first solo museum exhibition which ran until April 21, she explored her Filipino identity, assimilation and cultural memory, and Indigeneity through diasporic and feminist perspectives.
Garcia’s parents immigrated to Australia from the Philippines in the 1970s, bringing with them the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines. Growing up in Sydney, Garcia was exposed to a blend of Filipino and Australian cultures, which informed her artistic sensibilities and worldview.
After honing her craft, Garcia began exhibiting her work in various institutions in New York City, such as The Shed in Hudson Yards, and Lincoln Center, among others, showcasing her unique aesthetic that fuses
traditional Filipino elements with modern techniques.
Through a residency at Wave Hill in the Bronx, Garcia caught the attention of a curator from Montclair, who was impressed by her bold and innovative approach to art.
Currently a resident at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Garcia is continuing to push the boundaries of her
and Exhibition Coordinator of Segal Gallery. “Her reverence for Indigenous practices, sensitivity to issues of authenticity, and embrace of corresponding nuances related to her diasporic identity create a complicated, sentimental, and layered exhibition that conveys overlapping issues that are not easily distilled.”
Employing video, performance, sculpture, and installation, Garcia addresses a central theme of “alterity” – an anthropological term meaning “otherness” to mark her position in the diaspora where distance, language barriers, and colonization fracture traditional knowledge.
traditional knowledge.
interdisciplinary art, experimenting with a variety of media to create pieces that are both visually striking and conceptually profound.
“Garcia reflects on feelings of belonging and alienation from her ancestral homeland in the Philippines and her current home in the United States through a range of media and approaches,” said Jesse Bandler Firestone, Curator
Garcia’s exhibition invites visitors to stretch their understanding of Filipino cultural traditions, community resilience, and personal identity. She showcases them as emblematic of the ways she resists assimilation tactics within colonized land through unique survival strategies informed by elements of Indigenous Filipino culture and traditions including martial arts and spirituality, technology, and community collaborations.
Garcia’s exhibition at Montclair State University Galleries built upon these themes and their relationships to larger systems including immigration, self-hood, and safety.
The Move to New York
Garcia moved to New York in 2018 to pursue graduate studies at Parsons, where she finished her MFA. She currently lives in Brooklyn.
Despite being born in Australia and living in the United States for five years now, Garcia remains deeply connected to her Filipino heritage, drawing inspiration from the rich artistic traditions of her ancestors.
Garcia describes her artwork as interdisciplinary and inspired by indigenous Filipino traditions and rituals, as well as popular culture and martial arts.
Martial arts play an important role in Garcia’s life and artistic practice, specifically Kali, an indigenous Filipino martial art that emphasizes fluid movement and flexibility.
“I’ve been trained in Kali, a Filipino martial art, and it has really influenced my movement practice and my art,” she shared. “I think it’s important to acknowledge the cultural heritage that informs my art, but also to bring it into a contemporary context.”
Through her participation in a collective called Chrysalis Kali Collective that practices Kali in New York City, Garcia has found a community that shares her passion for
this unique art form.
“When I started Kali, I saw something transformative with this practice for me,” she shared. “It is like choreography and dance but it’s functional and I also felt like I needed some of these skills living in New York, especially.”
By embracing the influences of both her Filipino and Australian cultures, Garcia’s artistic practice reflects a broader theme of cross-cultural exchange. Garcia’s work serves as a testament to the power of cultural hybridity and how different artistic traditions can come together to create something entirely new and beautiful. In this sense, Garcia’s work is not only a celebration of her heritage but a celebration of diversity and how it can lead to innovation and creativity.
Through her interdisciplinary approach to art, Garcia can explore a wide range of themes and subjects, from identity and memory to politics and society. By drawing on traditional Filipino motifs and blending them with contemporary techniques, Garcia can create pieces that are deeply rooted in her cultural heritage and relevant to contemporary audiences.
Garcia’s use of digital technology is particularly noteworthy, as it allows her to create works that are not limited by
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the constraints of physical space or time. By incorporating digital elements into her work, Garcia can create immersive experiences that engage the viewer on multiple levels.
Overall, Garcia’s work reflects a unique blend of traditional Filipino elements and modern techniques, showcasing the power of cross-cultural exchange and innovation.
By embracing her heritage and exploring new forms of artistic expression, Garcia can create works that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Garcia wants the exhibition guests “to have a critical engagement with violence”.
“Violence is a topic that can be quite confrontational, to have and it is especially important and feels significant for AAPI women and femmes to have because statistically, they are most at risk,” she said.
Garcia believes it is crucial to have a critical approach towards violence, where we recognize its presence in our daily lives.
“This acknowledgment should inspire us to learn practical skills to defend ourselves, prioritize selfpreservation, and understand that our lives hold value and we have the right to exist,” she added. g
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us. I’m just really, really thankful for that. So don’t worry, gagalingan pa namin to serve as an inspiration, hopefully to everybody,” he added.
Regarding their summer plans, both stated that they will just be busy working. The onscreen partners will soon release their first movie together, That Kind of Love, which they are currently filming, and an upcoming GMA 7 teleserye titled Pulang Araw
David confirmed that their trip to Vienna in Austria will push through, although he didn’t give clear details on what project they will have that trip for.
“You know what, they (fans) thought that trip to Vienna did not push through because of me,” Barbie told David. “Nagagalit sila kasi ako daw dahilan kung bakit hindi natuloy yung Vienna.”
David came to Barbie’s defense, saying, “Tuloy yung Vienna. Actually, mauuna kami dun ni Barbie. Joke lang. Tuloy na tuloy yung Vienna.”
The happy fans at the event teased them. Barbie confirmed, “Yes and please watch out for other details.”
The Kapuso actress
offered Yeng Constantino’s track Chinito as her theme song for David, while the latter dedicated Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo by Zia Quizon to Barbie.
“Joke lang,” David was quick to add and the two
Records as their newest artist. Does Barbie also have plans of further exploring her musical side and be a recording artist as well? “I think for now full support muna ako kay David because (I’m) so proud of him as a recording artist,” she said.
In 2013, Barbie released a self-titled album under MCA Records with Meron Ba as carrier single.
During the program, the fans were thrilled as they got to interact and play games with their favorite stars. The pair also reenacted some scenes from The Way You Look at Me music video. But the highlight of the event was when they acted out a marriage proposal as their alternate ending to the music video.
David got down on one knee, brought out a ring and asked, “Binibining Klay (Barbie’s character in Maria Clara at Ibarra), maari mo ba akong pakasalan?”
real-life boyfriend Enrique Gil. The couple was considered as one of the more popular love teams in the country in the 2010s, alongside their contemporaries, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla or KathNiel, and James Reid and Nadine Lustre a.k.a JaDine.
Like KathNiel and JaDine, LizQuen also headlined some of ABS-CBN’s nightly dramas and movies released by the studio’s film outfit Star Cinema. Their breakout love team pairing was “Forevermore” aired as a nightly family romance drama from 2014 to 2015. It was followed by other TV series that included “Dolce Amore” and “Bagani.” On the big screen, they starred in “Just The Way You Are,” “My Ex and Whys” and “Alone/ Together.”
The actress also shared how love teams are made.
“What happens in the beginning of your career is they kind of test you. They put you in a project together where you guys aren’t necessarily the leads. It’s kind of like a chemistry test. If it becomes popular among the viewers, they put you in your own movie or TV show. If that really takes off, you become a love team. You get shipped really hard. Once you’re in a love team, you star in project after project together,” she said.
Liza also said revealed that love teams are not allowed to talk if they are dating in real life for fans to be more into them.
“The thing is in the beginning of your love team, too, you’re not allowed to say that you are dating because you want to keep the fans kind of hungry for you guys to actually be dating. It helps with the projects because they are always excited,” she said.
“Whenever we do interviews going into the projects, they are always asking whether we are officially dating already or not. It becomes this whole thing where your career and your personal life — the line between the two gets blurred. People just don’t know what reality is,” she added.
Liza also said that love teams are the only way to be a popular celebrity in the Philippines if someone’s not a singer.
“In the Philippines the only way to become a big star really — if you’re not a singer, if you’re an actor — is to be in a love team,” she said. g
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the tuition, a lot of friends came to support me and Uge (was) one of them.”
She went on to tell that Eugene provided for her son’s educational needs and it all the more made their friendship stronger.
“She paid for my son’s tuition for three years. She never left even if she reached that superstardom level already,” she said. “She was always a friend. She was always Uge, as we know her.
“So, totoong kaibigan ang tingin ko talaga sa kanya at ang laking tulong n’ya sa akin nito, itong buong thing na nangyayari sa akin kasi kumbaga dinaanan na n’ya ito kaya binigyan n’ya ko ng tips,” Dolly shared, referring to the accolades she received for her performance in Triangle of Sadness.
broke into laughter.
Barbie gamely remarked, “May kanta bang ganun? Yun po ang first single ni David Licauco under Universal Records.”
David recently signed a contract with Universal
Barbie whispered something to David before she said yes. They hugged with David giving Barbie a forehead kiss, an act that brought so much more kilig to the giggling audience in the already romantic evening. g
I asked Dolly how much of who she is today is luck? How much of that is timing and how much of that is talent and hard work?
“I would say that hard work is 90 percent, timing is probably 10 percent. Luck has nothing to do with it. I worked really hard to become the actor that I am today,” she replied.
“It was a lot of hard work and timing also. Timing in terms of ‘yung mga bata, they are now more conscious of being more inclusive and accepting of all kinds of stories,” she added. g
