051323 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

AS the U.S. Public Health Emergency and the National Emergency Declaration for COVID-19 ended this month, following the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that COVID-19 is no longer considered a global public health emergency, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is reminding residents of access to resources they need to keep community transmission low.

While the end of the federal states of emergency signals a new phase in the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to be one of the leading causes of death in Los Angeles County, requiring ongoing efforts to reduce severe illness through readily available vaccinations, testing and treatment.

Fortunately, Los Angeles County residents will see few immediate changes in their access to preventative resources. The federal government will continue to make

De Lima acquitted of drug charge

administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte whom she criticized over his brutal “war on drugs.”

MANILA — While government prosecutors were able to prove the existence of the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison, their efforts to implicate former Sen. Leila de Lima in it crumbled due to the recantation of their erstwhile star witness.

This was the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204’s decision on one of two remaining drug cases against De Lima filed during the

The court through Presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara was constrained to consider former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos' recantation as his testimony that De Lima received P10 million from proceeds of the drug trade inside the national penitentiary was necessary to convict her and her aide, Ronnie Dayan.

“Without his testimony, the crucial link to

establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt,” read the 39-page decision of the court which was handed down on Friday, May 12. “Ultimately, the retraction created reasonable doubt which warrants the acquittal of both accused.”

Rare exception

The court said that while recantations are “viewed with suspicion and reservation” and are “exceedingly unreliable,” there are special circumstances under which these can be given  PAGE A2

by JEAN

MANILA — Former Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, as well as other members of their 2022 national elections running slate, welcomed Muntinlupa court’s decision to acquit former senator Leila de Lima of her drug case.

At the same time, they are disappointed at how long it took for the lawmaker to be set free. Pangilinan, who ran for vice president in 2022 together with presidential aspirant Leni Robredo, said their camp had always believed in de Lima’s innocence for the past six years.

“Even as it has come more than six years after her imprisonment on fabricated and baseless accusations, we nevertheless welcome the Court’s verdict. Mula unang araw pa lang ng kanyang pagkulong ang posisyon natin ay gawa gawa lamang ang mga paratang at walang katiting na tunay na ebidensya laban (kay) Leila. Ang ebidensya lahat fabricated,”

AMONG developed nations the United States stands unique in the centrality of religion for millions of Americans. And as the population becomes more diverse, interfaith collaborations could be key to reversing the alarming rise in hate-based violence.

About two-thirds of Americans identify as Christians, according to a 2021 Pew Research study. About 6% of Americans are affiliated with non-Christian religions, including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and other faiths.

Pew’s research also found that 3 out of 10 Americans identify with no religion, but 72% of “nones” still have belief in God or a higher power.

“We are living in a chaotic era. There are conflicts in life, wars between nations and clashes between ideologies,” said Abbot Hui Dong of the Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California. “A good way to stop hateful behaviors and to have happiness

MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has urged all involved parties to abide by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) to ensure that the South China Sea does not become a “nexus for armed conflict.”

Marcos issued the remark on Thursday, May 11 at the 42nd Asean Summit Retreat Session in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, where he described Unclos as the “constitution of the oceans.”

“We will continue to urge all to abide by the 1982 Unclos, as ‘the constitution of the oceans.’ We must ensure that the South China Sea does not become a nexus for armed conflict,” he said.

In his intervention, Marcos said the Philippines is committed to the implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (SCS) and the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct.

“We must avoid the ascendance of might and the aggressive revision of the international order. In an increasingly  PAGE A2

MANILA — For Vice President Sara Duterte, it’s time to finish the war against the communist insurgency and bring peace, particularly in the countryside.

“We cannot let these things continue,” Duterte said during a meeting on Wednesday, May 10 of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC), wherein she was designated as covice chair. “The so-called protracted war must end. And it must end now.”

Duterte, who earlier rejected a call to resume the peace negotiations with the communist groups, lauded the members of the task force for their commitment to end the communist insurgency.

“This is a commitment to bring about peace

in our country, especially in the countryside, where our armed enemy feed on the innocence of the people and poverty that these terrorists perpetuate themselves,” Duterte said.

“This is a show of force – a clear, strong and powerful statement and warning – against the enemies of the state who slaughter civilians and indigenous peoples, abduct and murder and execute members of our security forces and attempt to pin down our progress as a nation through their ideals anchored on brainwashing, fear and terrorism,” she added.

Focus on education woes

But various groups said Duterte’s additional role in the anti-communist task force would further divert her attention from

MANILA — There has been a pivot in the Philippines’ foreign policy since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took the highest position in the country.

Now, the country is dancing with two global powers – restoring ties with the United States but “not closing its doors” to China.

Chester Cabalza, founder and president of the International Development and Security Cooperation, said this on Thursday, May 11 as he noted that the end goal of the Marcos

administration is still to achieve independent foreign policy.

“We are not siding on one side. It just so happens that Washington was able to articulate well what they want for the Philippines, and we have common national interests and threats. That’s the reason why Marcos Jr. is engaging with Washington–with President Joe Biden. The foreign policy is in Washington’s favor right now. But we’re not closing the doors to Beijing,” Cabalza said over INQside Look.

The United States and the  PAGE A2

De Lima acquitted of...

consideration.

“The rare exception is when there is no evidence sustaining the judgment of conviction other than the testimony of a witness or witnesses who are shown to have made contradictory statements as to material facts under which circumstances the court may be led to a different conclusion,” the decision read.

Ragos executed an affidavit in April 2022 saying “there is no truth whatsoever” to the allegations against De Lima which he said he was forced to say by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and other government lawyers.

“All of my allegations to the contrary in my affidavits and House and court testimonies are all fiction, false and fabricated,”

he said then.

Ragos had testified that he received P5 million on Nov. 24, 2012 and another P5 million on Dec. 15, 2012, from Bilibid inmates involved in illegal drug trading, which he later handed to Dayan.

But in his affidavit, Ragos said: “As far as I know and based on my professional relationship with Sec. De Lima, she is incapable of doing anything illegal, much less engage in the illegal drug trade or accept money from Bilibid inmates.”

With the court giving weight to Ragos’ recantation, it said that the prosecution failed to establish that De Lima and Dayan were direct participants in illegal drug trading.

conclusive evidence,” the court said.

Drug trade exists

Despite this, the court said the prosecution was able to prove the existence of rampant illegal drug trading in Bilibid.

“The prosecution successfully proved the complex network of transactions wherein highprofile inmates at the NBP controlled and managed the illegal trafficking of drugs through the use of electronic mobile devices,” it said.

It continued, “Moreover, the prosecution witnesses testified on how these inmates were able to broker drug transactions from within NBP.”

The court noted the Dec. 15, 2014 raid on Bilibid where luxury kubols within its maximum security compound were discovered and illegal drugs, cash, firearms, ammunition and mobile phones used in the drug trade were confiscated.

It also gave weight to the testimony of a financial investigator from the AntiMoney Laundering Council who examined bank accounts that were later traced to high-profile Bilibid inmates where millions of pesos were deposited from across the country.

“Here, the prosecution competently established the existence of illegal drug trading at the NBP. However, the retraction of witness Ragos casts reasonable doubt on the participation of herein accused as conspirators therein,” the court said. 

‘Better late than never’: De Lima’s supporters...

he rejoiced over the decision. But he also lamented that the legal process took a long time.

“[Conspiracy] was not established by positive and said Pangilinan in a social media post.

(“Even as it has come more than six years after her imprisonment on fabricated and baseless accusations, we nevertheless welcome the Court’s verdict. From the first day of her imprisonment, our position has been that every accusation against de Lima is false and without real evidence. All pieces of evidence are fabricated.)

Chel Diokno, who ran for senator alongside de Lima, said

“Napatunayan din ang matagal nating isinisigaw na pawang gawa-gawa at paghihiganti lang ng mga kasong isinampa laban sa kanya. Tabunan man ng libu-libong kasinungalingan, sa huli mananaig pa rin ang katotohanan at hustisya,” Diokno said in a separate statement.

(What we have long been shouting about has been proven, that the cases filed against her are

PH under Bongbong Marcos: Reviving ties...

Philippines drifted apart during the term of Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was more inclined to warm ties with the country’s neighbor China.

Coming from a six-year slump in its relations with the Philippines, Cabalza said the United States is now on a mission to “lure us in trying to show that they are a competent and appropriate partner when it comes to what is happening now in the Indo-Pacific region.” The United States’ aggressiveness in wooing the country, he said, is also because it knows that China is just in the Philippines’ backyard.

‘China can’t lose PH’

the many insecurities they have with the Philippines,” he pointed out.

Cabalza took note of the 2016 Hague ruling, which the Philippines won against China, declaring that Beijing had no legal basis for its sweeping claims over the South China Sea.

“For China to become a superpower, it has to stabilize that narrative. That they are friends with the Philippines. Because if the Philippines becomes their enemy–with that kind of ruling, their legitimacy as a superpower will be in question,” he said.

China has also repeatedly warned the Philippines against expanding its ties with the United States, especially on matters of defense and security.

Over the past few months, the longtime allies had expanded the access of American troops in Philippine military bases and also conducted their largestever joint military exercises.

fabricated and vengeful. Cover up all the lies and at the end, truth and justice will prevail.)

Antontio Trillanes IV, another former senator who ran with de Lima, said that “freedom is near.”

“Redemption and vindication are next,” Trillanes said.

De Lima has been imprisoned since 2017, with three drug cases filed against her under the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Out of these three cases, two have now been dismissed. 

Despite the continuous encroachment of Chinese vessels in the contested West Philippine Sea and the strong pronouncements of Beijing against Manila’s boosted ties with its rival Washington, Cabalza raised an unpopular point: “China cannot afford to lose the Philippines.”

“I know China cannot afford to lose the Philippines because of our geographic importance. And secondly, because they really would want to address

In less than a year since assuming office, Marcos has made official visits to the United States and China, where he met his counterparts.

Among the things Marcos discussed with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping are a “compromise” that would allow Filipinos to fish again in their natural fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea and the conduct of joint oil explorations–a plan that was preparing to set sail but immediately sank during the Duterte administration.

In Marcos’ visit to Washington, among the promises made by the United States was that it would have the Philippines’ back on matters concerning the South China Sea. Cabalza also pointed to a pattern: “Whenever our President goes to Washington, Chinese higher officials go to Manila. And when the President goes to Beijing, American higher officials go to Manila.” “In other words, they need us. We are important. And let’s play that game. But of course, it has consequences also. It’s quite a dangerous act for President Marcos but it seems like, based on my reading right now on his actuations and foreign policy, we are on the right track so far when it comes to our foreign policy,” he said. 

Marcos: Abide by Unclos to prevent...

volatile world, we require constraints on power contained by the force of the rule of law,” he added.

Marcos said the rules-based regional architecture should be underpinned by the Centrality of Asean towards inclusive engagement in the Indo-Pacific, as exemplified in the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which highlighted the four priority areas of cooperation of the Asean Outlook that will serve as guideposts.

He added that as an archipelagic maritime nation, the Philippines advocates a rules-based maritime order anchored on the 1982 Unclos.

He also noted the country’s concern over recent incidents in the South China Sea, in particular the infringements on its sovereignty, sovereign

rights, and jurisdiction, which have been affecting fisherfolk and coastal communities.

“Despite the continued incidents of Filipino vessels in our waters and attempts to deny and obstruct our ability to exercise our sovereign rights in our Exclusive Economic Zone, the Philippines will remain firm in upholding and protecting our entitlements under Unclos,” the President said.

Marcos also urged the utmost restraint and immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and expressed concern over the heightened tension in the Korean Peninsula, and the humanitarian crisis and the continuing economic impact caused by the RussiaUkraine conflict.

“We continue to call on Myanmar to abide by and implement the Five-Point

Consensus, and for our external partners to complement Asean’s efforts in the context of the Five-Point Consensus,” Marcos said, expressing the Philippines’ full support to Indonesia’s initiatives on the implementation of the FivePoint Consensus.

“The Philippines consistently underscores the need for the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) to abide by prevailing UN Security Council Resolutions and to engage in dialogue with concerned parties towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he added. Regarding the RussiaUkraine conflict and its possible escalation through the use of nuclear weapons, Marcos urged the countries concerned to search for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. 

Can interfaith collaborations stop hate...

and peace in life is not from conquering others, but through love and mutual respect.”

A Buddhist approach

At the beginning of each year, Abbot Dong’s temple conducts the Prayer for World Peace, which brings together religious leaders from several different faiths. Throughout the year, people from diverse backgrounds come to various cultural events such as the Lunar New Year Celebration, or even to plant trees and clean up beaches.

“These events bridge people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds,” he said. “The best way to solve the problem of hate is to correct it from its root, to seize the causes of hate in people’s minds and change the conditions by switching from a hateful atmosphere to a moral and kind environment.”

Abbot Dong was joined by three other faith leaders at an April 19 news briefing organized by the Act Against Hate Alliance, founded by Mei Mei Huff and her husband, former California State Senator Bob Huff. The panelists focused on the ability of interfaith collaborations to mitigate hate incidents and attacks, emphasizing that people of different backgrounds need to understand other people’s creeds and lived experiences, and to stand up for them when

there is conflict.

Religious pluralism Colleges and universities are the one place where people from very different religious, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds inherently come together, said Dr. Dawn Michele Whitehead, Vice President of the Office of Global Citizenship for Campus, Community, and Careers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and co-director of the Interfaith Leadership in Higher Education initiative.

“We often see students coming together in intentional activities when we’re talking about race, ethnicity, gender, but we don’t always include religion,” she said. Whitehead’s organization, Interfaith America, looks at ways to help students prepare for interfaith cooperation and interfaith engagement.

“One of the first things we do is we talk about the concept of a world view, a foundational outlook that an individual has on life to help make sense of the world,” said Whitehead, stressing the goal of building a more religiously pluralistic society. “And our goal in our work, not just for our project, but for society, is to really see ourselves in a world where people of differing worldviews and religions can live together in peace and maintain their distinctiveness.”

Intertwined threads

“The United States may be one of the most religiously diverse countries, but we may also be one of the most religiously illiterate. And this is something that we must acknowledge and offer our students meaningful, intentional opportunities to learn and engage from each other across religious differences,” she said.

Rabbi Sarah Hronsky, President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, said:

“There is so much benefit to not just stand on one’s religious pulpit to beat one’s theology, but rather to go to the find the bridges and the connections between these religious groups so we can stand united against all hate.”

“As I learned in the Navy, much like threads, when you put nine or ten threads together, when you wrap them together and intertwine them, they’re much stronger than they are singly by themselves,” said Dr. Mohammed Zuhdi Jasser, President and founder, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, who served in the US military.

“One of the best ways for us to do that is to demonstrate what genuine reform within our communities is in combating faith-based hate that might exist within our community,” he said. “One does not build community by demonizing another.” (Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services)

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CLASS SUSPENSION. Learners at the Piedad Central Elementary School in Crossing Bayabas Toril, Davao City, are fetched by their parents Friday noon, May 12 after the school head suspended classes due to the sweltering heat. Davao City’s heat index reached 43°C. PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.

ACQUITTED Former senator Leila de Lima points up after a Muntinlupa court acquits her of a drug trafficking charge on Friday, May 12. ManilaTimes.net photo by Rene Dilan

PAGE A1

Sara: Time to end insurgency...

her responsibilities as education secretary.

“We fear that with (her) appointment as the co-vice chair of the NTF-ELCAC, her red-tagging activities will get worse and will continue to undermine teachers’ freedom of association and human rights,” said Raymond Basilio, secretary-general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

“Given the magnitude of unresolved issues, challenges and problems faced by DepEd,

these should be prioritized by the secretary,” Basilio said, referring to the Department of Education. The ACT earlier filed a complaint against Duterte over her remarks linking the group with the communists.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan

secretary-general Renato Reyes

Jr. said Duterte should focus on problems in the education sector instead of counterinsurgency.

Karapatan secretary general

Cristina Palabay said the appointment of Duterte, whom she

described as a serial and notorious red tagger, reinforces the “fascist” character of the NTF-ELCAC.

“It only shows the greater need for the abolition of this TF that has been responsible for numerous cases of human rights violations,” she said, referring to the task force.

Militant fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is also wary of Duterte’s appointment given her background. 

A RESEARCH scientist who works on the intersection of reasoning and machine learning likens the boom in artificial intelligence to the Industrial Revolution.

“I wasn’t around then,” says Hector Palacios, “but back in the day people would say, ‘I’m going to buy an engine.’” After a while, nobody was thinking about engines, Palacios says. Engines powered machinery “to become many specialized things in many contexts.”

AI has been evolving for decades, but the recent unveiling of chatbots that write scientific papers, legal briefs, and news stories has many fearing that a robot will someday replace them. Still, others point to AI’s potential to revolutionize fields like education, journalism, and science.

FTC chair Lina Khan recently summed up the contradictions inherent in this burgeoning technology when she said that AI can deliver critical innovation, but also “turbocharge fraud and automate discrimination.”

Vice-President Kamala Harris waded into the debate when she met last week with chief executives of four Big Tech firms to discuss artificial intelligence.

In a statement after the three-hour meeting, the administration said there had been “frank and constructive discussion” about companies

being more open about their products and the importance that those products be kept away from bad actors.

Ramping up misinformation

“It used to be the case that we saw some text quickly, and said, ‘Oh, yes, that was fully written by a human’. But this is not true anymore,” Palacios says.

For example, the Republican National Committee released a 30-second spot last week in response to President Biden’s announcement that he was running for reelection. The ad showed fake visuals of China invading Taiwan and 80,000 immigrants overwhelming the Southern border, all of it interspersed with disturbing footage of civic unrest.

A barely noticeable disclaimer along the upper left-hand corner of the screen read: “Built entirely with AI imagery.”

“Artificial intelligence is software,” Palacios told reporters during a news briefing last week, noting the technology is based on math, which can do complex computing that algorithms take one step further with large language models (LLMs).

Generative AI uses computers and LLMs to create new content from large sets of data. LLMs are designed specifically to generate text-based content.

Dr. Christopher Dede is a senior research fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and Associate Director of Research for the National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education. When he reads a student essay that is just too good to believe, Dede doesn’t worry about it too much. Plagiarism has been around a lot longer than LLMs.

“So, at the start of the spring semester in my online course at Harvard, I spent 5 minutes talking to students about generative AI and I said, ‘You can use generative AI, and if you’re smart about it, we’re not going to be able to tell.’”

But when they go out for a job interview and are asked to produce a marketing plan in half an hour, he warns them, “If your marketing plan isn’t a lot better than what comes out of the AI, you’re not going to get hired.”

Seeing AI as a partner Dede tells his students to think about AI as a partner, not as a substitute, an insight he came to as a young graduate student who loved Star Trek.

“In Star Trek, the Next Generation, where you have Captain Picard, the wise human starship captain, and then you have Data who looks like a person, but is actually an android, a machine.”

“Data is capable of absorbing enormous amounts of data

in a matter of a seconds, and doing what’s called reckoning, which is calculative prediction. Captain Pickard has sort of judgment-applied wisdom, and so he’s the one that’s in charge of the starship, and he uses Data’s calculative predictions to help him make good decisions.”

Dede says Data augmented Picard’s human experience and the two partners did things together neither could do by themselves.

“To illustrate this in a less fantastic way, there are cancer specialists, oncologists now who have AI partners. The AI can do something that no cancer specialist can do.

It can scan every morning 1,500 medical journals online and see if there’s something new about the treatment of a particular patient. It can scan medical records worldwide of similar patients undergoing a variety of treatments and get advice about what’s working and what’s not working,” he says.

But you would never want the AI making the decisions because the doctor knows things the AI doesn’t know. The doctor knows about pain and death. The doctor understands that cultures have different points of view about death, its effects on family as well as an individual, and so on.

“AI does not understand any of those things. It’s an alien kind of intelligence,” Dede says. And sometimes it really blows it.

Tracking AI bloopers

Sean McGregor got his PhD in machine learning. He was the lead technical consultant for the IBM Watson AIXPRIZE and founded the Responsible AI Collaborative. He is developing an AI Incident Database to index AI performance in the real world.

Basically, McGregor scours the world for AI bloopers.

One woman in China was publicly shamed for jaywalking when AI picked up her image on the side of a bus. In 2021, a man in Bath, England was cited for driving in a bus lane after AI captured a photo of a woman wearing a shirt that said “KNI9TER.” It looked a lot like the man’s license plate.

“What the database does is it collects each of these incidents that happen in the world and puts a number to them.” The goal, says McGregor, is to “make the whole AI industry safer.”

In the meantime, Palacios says the existential tenor of discussions around AI’s potential applications and impacts misses a finer point.

“Many things are going to happen with the AI revolution and probably the biggest surprises are going to come in the small details.” 

As US emergency declarations end, access to COVID...

its supply of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, available to residents at no cost regardless of a person’s insurance coverage.

In California, new laws require insurance plans, including Medicare or Medi-Cal, to cover the cost of vaccines, testing and Paxlovid for COVID-19 treatment through Nov. 11, 2023. Exact coverage may vary depending on an individual's insurance plan.

Residents without insurance may receive free at-home test kits or PCR tests for COVID-19 at public health clinics and vaccination sites, at community health centers or purchase tests from a local retailer. People who are uninsured can visit coveredca.com to see if they qualify for Medi-Cal or Covered California coverage.

Public Health’s Call Center will continue to operate, connecting eligible residents to free telehealth, homebound vaccination appointments, COVID-19 information and other resources. Residents are encouraged to call 1-833-5400473, available daily between 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., to access these services. The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 252 this week, similar to the 266 reported last week. Reported weekly deaths also remained stable at 46 deaths this week; this is slightly less than the 51 deaths reported last week.

“To those in Los Angeles County who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, I offer my sincere condolences and hope you find comfort,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “We are grateful that Los Angeles

County is in a better place and that emergency declarations are no longer needed. I am aware that each day thousands of people throughout Los Angeles County continue to be impacted by COVID-19, whether they need to miss work due to illness, require hospital care, or are experiencing the effects of long COVID. Public Health remains committed to work that reduces the chance of transmission and ensures the county remains prepared for the likelihood of periodic changes in transmission. We’re continuing our work to make sure there are no barriers for anyone wishing to access lifesaving vaccines, therapeutics and tests, especially for those who are under insured or uninsured.”

Public Health will continue to sequence COVID-19 variants and strains as a part of its efforts to monitor COVID-19. XBB.1.5 remains the dominant strain in Los Angeles County accounting for 83% of sequenced specimens for the week ending April 15, 2023. The second most dominant strain was XBB.1.9.1, accounting for 7% of sequenced specimens. LA County has had 13 confirmed cases of XBB.1.16 and data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that XBB.1.16 makes up 10% of cases in California and surrounding states.

CDC is retiring the COVID-19 Community Levels and will be replacing them with hospitalization metrics. Los Angeles County will closely monitor hospitalization data in alignment with CDC, along with a wide variety of additional metrics available on its website.

As of Tuesday, May 9, there have been a total of 36,291 deaths in Los Angeles County. (AJPress)

PHILIPPINES

Kuwait halts issuance of visas for Filipinos

by BEATRICE PINLAC Inquirer.net

MANILA — Kuwait has suspended the issuance of visas for Filipinos, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said on Thursday, May 11.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega confirmed this to INQUIRER.net after several foreign media outlets reported the halt in the issuance of visas supposedly as a consequence of the Philippines’ failure to comply with its labor agreement with Kuwait.

"Confirmed… All visas daw

Marcos tells Teves: Come home

by DAPHNE GALVEZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday, May 11 told suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves to come home to the Philippines after being denied political asylum in Timor-Leste.

"Come home. That’s the best I can give him. Come home,” he said in an interview with reporters.

Marcos said he was able to discuss Teves’ asylum request with Timor Leste Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak on the sidelines of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

“Yes. It turns out that Congressman Arnie Teves applied for political asylum but was denied. Ganun lang,” he said.

“So I think they will continue to go through the process. May appeal process for those who are applying but ‘yun na-deny. We’ll just wait for the process to complete,” the President said. (There is an appeal process for those who are applying for political asylum.)

On Tuesday, May 9, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Teves went to Timor-Leste to seek for asylum. Remulla then said the embattled lawmaker has asked Timor-Leste to reconsider its decision rejecting his request, adding that the Philippine government would also continue to oppose this bid. Teves has been identified as the mastermind behind the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. He has yet to return to the country and has repeatedly denied any involvement in the murders. 

Marcos eyes ‘proper trip’

by CATHERINE S. VALENTE ManilaTimes.net

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is considering visiting the United Kingdom after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to give him a "proper" trip to his country.

Sunak made the commitment during his recent bilateral meeting with Marcos who flew to London last week to witness the historic coronation of Britain's King Charles III on May 6.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

to UK

(ASEAN) Summit here, the President said that Sunak vowed to arrange his next visit to the UK after their bilateral meeting merely lasted for around seven minutes.

"I told him I hope to continue our dialogue. We won't be able to do it now because we have maybe seven minutes," Marcos said.

"'We can't do it now, but we'll do a proper trip for you to come to the UK and talk about it soon.' That's where we ended," he added.

The President said he and Sunak had been given the chance to talk about politics,

including the stability in the UK.

Sunak, he said, also expressed gratitude to the Filipinos who worked as frontliners in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

Marcos said Sunak also wanted to discuss a proposal for an airport from a conglomerate.

"Well, this is the same thing that comes up every time I meet with a leader. He gave thanks for the job well done by Filipinos and Filipinas in the NHS during the pandemic and asked if there could be more of them. There's always that," Marcos said. 

ASEAN Fleet Review highlights PH commitment to maritime security

MANILA – This year's Association of Southeast Asian Nations Fleet Review (AFR) held in Subic Bay, Zambales on Thursday, May 11 is a testament to the Philippines' "unwavering commitment" to promoting maritime security in the region.

Philippine Navy (PN) chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr., in a statement Thursday night, said AFR participants highlighted their naval capabilities and readiness in the event.

He added that it sends a clear message to the world -the Philippines is dedicated to safeguarding "our shared waters, countering maritime threats, and ensuring the stability that underpins our economic growth and prosperity."

“As we embark on the ASEAN Fleet Review and the second edition of the ASEAN Multinational Naval Exercise (AMNEX) under the auspices of the PN, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the Royal Thai (RT) Navy for setting the stage and spearheading the very first ASEAN Fleet Review and AMNEX in 2017.

The RT Navy played a pivotal role in shaping AMNEX into a remarkable platform for addressing common regional maritime problems and enhancing military responsiveness,” Adaci said.

Participating ships in the AFR were the PN's BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) and BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS-17); RSS Supreme (73) from the Republic of Singapore Navy; KRI Gusti Ngurah Rai (332) from the Indonesian Navy; KD Leiku (FFG30) from the Royal Malaysian Navy; OPV 512 (Patanni Class) from the Royal Thai Navy; KDB Daruttaqwa(09) and KDB Afiat (20) from the Royal Brunei Navy; Trang Hung Dao (015) from the Vietnam People’s Navy.

With the theme “Synergy at Sea: Regional Cohesion for Peace and Stability,” the AFR 2023 provides an opportunity for the ASEAN members to be

ambassadors of goodwill and catalysts of ASEAN centrality and cooperation.

Highly successful

Meanwhile, Department of National Defense (DND) chief Carlito Galvez Jr. who witnessed the AFR with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Andres C. Centino and Adaci called the event a success as two PN ships and another seven from ASEAN navies were able to participate in the event.

“The fleet review that we have witnessed today was indeed a pleasure to behold. More than the thrilling sights and sounds that delighted our senses, we are immensely elated for being able to bring together two PN and seven vessels from other ASEAN navies,” he added.

Galvez also said that even countries with no standing navies like Cambodia, Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic sent their observers to the event -- a laudable gesture of unity and solidarity to the ASEAN community.

“We are confident that this year’s AFR, conducted alongside the 2nd ASEAN Multilateral Naval Exercise, will further foster interoperability and cooperation among ASEAN member states in the conduct of responsible maritime security operations,” he stressed.

Galvez also emphasized that this activity was not a show of force, but rather a showcase of the ASEAN centrality and to show the oneness and unity of the different countries.

He added that the ASEAN navies come together to promote rule-based and safe maritime operations with our brothers and family of likeminded nations.

“If all the armed forces are talking to each other, we can prevent war from happening because we are talking about peace and understanding, and we are reaching out to everybody,” Galvez said. “To

the Team Philippine Navy, congratulations and carry on! I commend you for graciously hosting the AFR 2023. Indeed, what a way to cap your 125th anniversary two weeks from now… to all our sailors and marines, I and the One DefenseAFP Team-Philippines wish you fair winds, clear skies, and following seas always,” he concluded.

PH Fleet conducts first-ever PFDEX

In a related development, the Philippine Fleet (PF) showcased its modern naval platforms and desired future capabilities of the PN at the first-ever Philippine Fleet Defense Expo (PFDEX) 2023 at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano, Sangley Point, Cavite City Thursday.

PFDEX 2023 was to run from Thursday to Saturday, May 13 and is open to all enthusiasts and interested individuals.

This event, in partnership with EXPOASIA as the event organizer, is part of the preluding activities for the 125th PN anniversary later this month. It gathers maritime and naval defense industries in an exhibition area to showcase their products and technology developments. Considered as the first of its kind in the AFP, the PFDEX also features lectures/symposium from industry experts, and gives a glimpse of the Navy’s upcoming assets like submarines, offshore patrol vessels, unmanned systems, naval weapons and combat systems, cyber and electronic warfare, ISR systems, naval aviation, force protection, logistical systems, and support systems.

This activity highlights the Navy’s stepped-up efforts to bolster its capabilities in maritime defense while also providing an enabling platform for the defense and security sector to expand networks and explore opportunities for collaboration with policymakers and industry leaders. (PNA)

(They said all visas). We are checking if this includes tourists,” de Vega said in a text message.

But, he noted, those with residence permits will still be allowed to return to Kuwait.

Asked about the reason behind the Middle Eastern country’s move to suspend visa issuance, de Vega said Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior cited the Philippines’ violations of the bilateral labor agreement.

“It could be the suspension of deployment for first-time workers or the fact that we are sheltering runaway workers,” he pointed out.

De Vega, however, remained hopeful that this could still be “discussed and resolved diplomatically.”

In February, the Philippines imposed a deployment ban for first-time Filipino domestic helpers bound for the Gulf state following the gruesome murder of overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara, allegedly at the hands of her Kuwaiti employer. The deployment suspension, according to the DMW, will hold “until after significant reforms have been made resulting from upcoming bilateral talks with the said country.” 

IMF impressed with PH economic performance, policies – Speaker

MANILA – House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Friday, May 12 met with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission members to brief them on the pro-poor reforms being implemented by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that no one will be left behind in the country’s postpandemic economic recovery.

During their meeting at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City, Romualdez said IMF mission chief Jay Peiris told the House team that everything in the Philippine economy “is going in the right direction.”

“Philippine economy is solid, though the country should be ready to respond to any shock,” Romualdez said, quoting the IMF official.

“From our discussions, I could confidently say that the IMF mission members were impressed with the Philippines' economic performance and the government's economic agenda. They expressed confidence that the Philippines will continue to grow strongly in the years ahead,” he added.

The IMF mission members also noticed that government policies are meant to ensure sustained economic growth would benefit ordinary Filipinos. Other IMF mission members present were Resident Representative Ragnar Gudmundsson, Senior Economist Yinqiu Lu, and Economist Tristan

Hennig.

Romualdez, on the other hand, was joined in the meeting by Representative Stella Quimbo and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

The IMF keeps a regular policy dialogue with the governments of its member countries. It assesses economic conditions and recommends policies that enable sustainable growth. The IMF also monitors regional and global economic and financial developments.

“I am grateful to the IMF mission members for their visit and I look forward to a more insightful and productive collaboration with them in the future,” Romualdez said.

The meeting came barely a day after the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) announced a higher-thanexpected growth of 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

NEDA Chief, Director General Arsenio Balisacan, said the country outperformed Indonesia (5 percent), China (4.5 percent) and Vietnam (3.3 percent).

The Philippine growth rate was also higher than first-quarter expansion forecasts for Malaysia (4.9 percent), India (4.6 percent) and Thailand (2.8 percent).

Economy in good hands

Romualdez said Marcos is managing the economy well, as shown by the “higher-thanexpected” growth in the first quarter.

He assured Filipinos that the

country’s economy would remain on the high-growth path.

The economy, he said, expanded by 7.6 percent in the third quarter and 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, when the economy started to reopen and recover from the pandemic.

He pointed out that the highgrowth quarters of 2022 and the first quarter of this year are the first nine months of the Marcos administration.

“The average economic expansion during that period is 7.07 percent, which is a respectable growth rate that is slightly higher than the median of last year’s growth target of 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent. So, the economy is in good hands,” he said.

Romualdez noted that the 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter is almost in the middle of this year’s expansion goal of 6 percent to 7 percent.

“So, our first-quarter growth rate is within target,” he said.

“The Philippines was the star economic performer in the first quarter among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members, plus China and India.”

Romualdez said the national government is expected to ramp up spending, especially in infrastructure and social services.

“The government will be the lead driver of economic activities and job and income generation,” he said. (PNA)

Weeping again over onions

THE onion jokes during the Christmas 2022 season have not yet receded from memory, but it seems the government has forgotten and lessons have not been learned.

Last year, agricultural organizations warned that onion production was down and white onions in particular could disappear by the third quarter. When white onions, needed mostly by institutional users for fastfood items such as pizza, burgers and onion fries run out, the switch to red onions affects the supply and prices of the crop.

Agricultural producers, who noted a drop in onion production due to various factors including high fertilizer prices, urged the government to make timely onion importations to ensure sufficient supply especially during the fourth quarter when demand traditionally goes up due to the holidays. But the Department of Agriculture, rocked by a scandal involving sugar importations, blew hot and cold on importing onions of whatever color or variety. By Christmas, red onion prices were skyrocketing, hitting P700 to P750 a kilo, and still there were no white onions for bistek and sisig

The white onions finally arrived and all onion prices began softening only after the holidays. During the Holy Week break this year, red onions were being sold for P80 to over P100 a kilo depending on the quality of the produce and

From My Point of View

IN my book, mothers are the great heroes of humankind. We are nothing without mothers who bear their children as potential hopes of every nation and as future heroes for their heroic deeds.

Mothers carry their child for nine months in their wombs. And when they finally give birth, they suffer labor pains and risk their lives for us – their children. And when for extreme medical reasons, they miscarry their unborn child, they suffer mental anguish for that loss. Such is the agony of mothers. And during our formative years, our mothers nurture us relentlessly until we can stand on our own.

I’m reminded of our Lord Jesus when he saw His Mother Mary near the cross and said, “Woman behold your son!” In turn, he said to his disciple, “Behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her into his care (John 19:25-29). I can just imagine how Mother Mary had agonized when she witnessed the suffering of her own son during His crucifixion and death.

Since we are celebrating Mother’s Day on May 14, I pay tribute to my own mother, Silvina Ramos Estabillo-Nino whose unconditional love and sacrifices for her children knows no bound. My mother, a daughter of a Landlord from Mangatarem,

location of the retailer. This week, however, monitoring by the Department of Agriculture itself showed that onion prices are going up again. Prices in several markets in Metro Manila have surged to P200 a kilo, and ranged from P160 to P190 in other areas. Grilled by lawmakers on Thursday, May 11, DA officials said they had not yet placed import orders.

Rosendo So, president of farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, who had warned of the onion crisis last year, said white onions should start arriving by August when supplies grown domestically run out. The onion harvest is completed in Northern Luzon although it is still ongoing in Mindoro. So said the bulk of the onion harvest is now in the hands of traders.

Consumers have not yet seen relief from skyhigh prices of sugar, which have stubbornly resisted supposed measures being implemented to bring down prices. Food inflation – the biggest contributor to the country’s current high inflation – is driven mostly by the prices of confectionery and other sweetened food items. The last thing consumers need at this time is to weep again over the high prices of onions. (Philstar.com)

Pangasinan was the second child in a brood of eight. Born on Feb. 18, 1921, she was the first sibling to graduate from college at Dagupan Junior College, now University of Pangasinan. From stories I hear from the elders, her paternal grandpa did not really push his grandkids to be college educated because they have large farmlands anyway to be cultivated to get their rice and produce. Still, my mother and her five siblings attended college. Two were not interested to pursue college education because of that idea that they won’t get hungry after all because of the land they till.

Spanish colonizers did not encourage education in the 19th century because of fear of turning the subjugated population rise up against Spain if they are wellenlightened. It was only the turn of the century when American Thomasite teachers inculcated the value of education to their new subjects.

My mother met my father when she was in high school in Lingayen Provincial High School. That was the only high school then in those years in our province. They both pursued their education through college and became professionals: my mom became an elementary teacher and dad a trial lawyer, politician and eventually a Chief Prosecutor of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) at the National Office in Quezon City.

Mothers are paramount to our well-being while fathers have other pivotal roles. Let me count

the ways:

My mother’s presence when I was in distress was magical. When I had my first dental extraction in my boyhood, I held her hand while my tooth was being extracted. She was there all throughout the ordeal. I survived the pain and agony with her comforting and reassuring presence. Second, when I suffered Urticaria with severe stomach pain accompanied by skin rash and welts due to allergic reaction during my elementary days, I asked somebody in the household to summon my mother from the school she was teaching nearby that I was in pain. She immediately rushed home. Her presence, comforting words and empathy were therapeutic. Miraculously, the pain disappeared. Third, when I was picked up by a squad of military men from Military Intelligence Security Group (MISG) headed by new PMA graduate Lt. Arturo Lomibao who became general and PNP chief -- from our Quezon City home at 2 a.m. My beloved mother held my hand tightly before I was escorted to the military jeep in the dead of the night. The next morning, she went to Quiapo Church accompanied by my kid brother Ramon and kneeled her way to the altar to pray for my release from custody in Camp Crame. I was brought to a safehouse blindfolded somewhere in the East, most likely Mandaluyong, Pasig or Marikina where I was physically and mentally tortured

while my hands were handcuffed and tied to a chair for 10 hours. They tried to feed me but did not have the appetite due to so much body pain, stress and agony.

I believe, my mom’s fervent prayers saved me. Because at 8 p.m. I was released and survived the torture and drove me back to our home. For four months, my lungs were in pain and had a hard time breathing. She also accompanied me to Camp Crame once a week to report. After one month I stopped reporting.

My dear mother never scolded me, uttered harsh word nor laid her hands on me. She was so patient and nurturing despite my annoying ways, imperfection and going out of bounds.

I still vividly remember when I was 5 years old, she brought me to her classroom. Perhaps, due to boredom, I made paper planes

and threw them to fly while her class was on-going. But I didn’t hear any harsh words. She just admonished me gently to stop.

Perhaps to be disciplined, I found myself enrolled at an exclusive Catholic school to start my kindergarten in Dagupan City, about an hour by bus from our native town of Mangatarem. The school, Blessed Imelda Academy now named Dominican School was run then by American nuns.

I stayed in the city five days a week and go home to our town every Friday afternoon aboard a Pantranco bus. I stayed in a boarding house with 12 rooms owned by my parents but mostly rented by college students. My mom also taught me how to read, write and type using all my fingers. My favorite comic strips then were Nancy, Mutt & Jeff and Tarzan. I also read

Pilipino Komiks to hone my Tagalog.

My dear mother was so thrilled and delighted to see me after five years sowing my seed in California when I visited her for the first time. She was already in front of our Quezon City home with her hands stretched to hug her eldest son with tears of joy streaming from her cheeks. Despite my faults, my dear mother did not give up on me. She was my protector, savior, refuge, consoling person and confidante. I can still feel her presence in my dreams.

* * *

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.

* * * denino1951@gmail.com

EDCA: Marcos needs a ‘Goldilocks’ strategy

me—it’s all coming back now.”

“THE foreign minister of China [Qin Gang] just visited [me recently] and I told him and I assured him that no, these are not … intended to be military bases to attack, to move against anyone … not China, not any country,” declared President Marcos in a recent interview, referring to military sites that will be opened up to U.S. troops under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

In a high-profile speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, the Filipino president reiterated that EDCA was not designed for belligerence but instead aimed at addressing nontraditional security issues, namely climate

change and others. In fact, Mr. Marcos made it crystal clear that the sites under EDCA, including additional facilities in northernmost provinces such as Cagayan, won’t be used for “offensive action” and that he won’t allow them to be reduced to “staging areas” for offensive action against other nations, namely China.

If anything, he claimed that Washington had “never brought up the possibility that [EDCA sites] be used” against China. At the same time, however, he admitted that rising tensions over Taiwan will inevitably be part of any strategic calculus regarding EDCA.

Acknowledging how “tensions across the Taiwan Straits seem to be continuing to increase,”

Mr. Marcos admitted that these EDCA sites “will also prove to be useful for us should that terrible occurrence (Chinese invasion of

Taiwan) come about.” So, this is about deterrence, right?

Earlier this year, in an interview with Japan’s Nikkei Asia, Mr. Marcos was crystal clear: Taiwan is geographically too close and geopolitically too relevant for the Philippines to sit out any potential conflict. Besides, as a U.S. treaty ally, the Philippines, with naval facilities just over 100 nautical miles from Taiwan’s southern shores, will be automatically treated as a hostile nation should China decide to invade the democratic nation.

So, dear reader, how to make sense out of these seemingly contradictory statements? The answer is simple: Mr. Marcos is searching for a “Goldilocks” approach, which ensures that Manila has just enough security cooperation with the U.S. in order to check Beijing’s worst instincts but, crucially, not too

much to provoke the Asian superpower or undermine our strategic room for maneuver.

In an interview earlier this year, the Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose “Babe” Romualdez confirmed a hunch I have had about Mr. Marcos, namely how the incumbent has been drawing on his father’s “multivector” strategic playbook rather than Rodrigo Duterte’s pro-Beijing antics. At the height of the Cold War, Marcos Sr. managed to build robust and stable ties with both Maoist China as well as the Soviet Union while maintaining maximal military cooperation with the U.S., which enjoyed permanent basing access in Subic and Clark.

According to Romualdez, among the chief architects of our foreign policy, Mr. Marcos told him shortly before his election victory: “Everything that my father said and my father taught

"I really wish my father was still around … I really miss him,” Mr. Marcos reportedly told his cousin. One former admiral with sterling patriotic credentials told me something even more astonishing: “It’s not so much of Marcos Jr. having good advisers as them actually catching up with him.”

The brutal reality in the Philippine-U.S.-China triangle is this: Both the superpowers have tried to have the Philippines on the cheap. China took the neophyte Duterte, a longtime mayor, for a ride with its “pledge trap” of billions of imaginary investments while it kept militarizing Philippine-claimed islands and harassing Filipino fishermen.

As for the U.S., it’s yet to transfer a single modern fighter or tank, or frigate to its former colony since the end of the Cold

War. And it’s not clear what Washington, now in the grip of “Made in America” protectionist zeitgeist, can offer in terms of new trade and investments deals to Manila. Vietnam’s trade surplus with the U.S. is almost 10 times larger than our total exports to our sole ally, while Singapore has enjoyed as much as 60 times more American investment inflows as the Philippines. So yes, Mr. Marcos hedges his bets vis-à-vis the superpowers without forgetting that one has been a suboptimal ally and another is a bully in the West Philippine Sea. (Inquirer. net)

* * *

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

* * * rheydarian@inquirer.com.ph

Hontiveros talks Chinese aggression in meeting with Taiwanese president Tsai

by Xave GreGorio Philstar.com

MANILA — Sen. Risa

Hontiveros met Friday, May 12 with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen at the latter’s residence in Taipei where they discussed China’s aggression in the South China Sea, which the Philippine lawmaker called an “external threat” similarly faced by the self-governing island.

The Philippines follows the 'One China' and considers the Taiwan issue a domestic one.

The meeting between Tsai and Hontiveros — the first and highest sitting Philippine official to meet with the Taiwanese president during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — comes amid China’s brashness not only in the South China Sea but also around Taiwan which it claims to be a renegade province.

A press statement from Hontiveros’ office said the senator shared with Tsai that China’s intimidation, threats and harassment are “daily occurrences” that Filipino fisherfolk and Philippine Coast Guard personnel experience.

But in her opening statement at their meeting, Hontiveros said that, like Tsai, she desires a peaceful approach to issues on the South China Sea, a portion of which is the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and is called the West Philippine Sea.

“I will work on taking tangible steps in the Philippine legislature to ensure that we successfully discuss and conduct diplomatic, legal, and respectful negotiations with all States concerned to advance peace and stability in the entire South China Sea,” Hontiveros said, according to the readout.

Hontiveros also underscored that the Philippines will keep its hands off on the issue of Taiwanese independence, but added that the democratic island’s residents should have the basic human right to selfdetermination.

“While we in the Philippines will never interfere with the issue of your independence, I will always support nations who err on the side of democracy,” Hontiveros of the Senate minority bloc said.

She continued, “We know that democracy is a powerful vaccine against armed conflict, as it requires fostering peaceful relations among citizens. When carried into the realm of foreign policy, this will result in peaceful international relations not only among our nations, but also across the world.”

Philippine officials have previously met with former Taiwanese presidents.

Before Hontiveros, then Sen. Edgardo Angara was the last sitting Philippine senator to meet with a Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-jeou, when he visited the island in 2009 together with then Labor Secretary Marianito Roque.

Cabinet-level officials have also met with Taiwanese presidents in the past, with the most recent one being in 2011, between Ma and then Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas.

Former President Fidel Ramos also met with Tsai in 2017, which was his ninth straight year of leading a delegation to Taiwan.

Rising tensions

China has accused the Philippines of further intensifying geopolitical tensions in the region by offering the U.S. access to some of its military bases as part of the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

The Asian giant has accused the Western power of prepositioning itself to

have access to Taiwan via the Philippines through EDCA, which provides the U.S. access to Philippine military bases to store defense equipment and humanitarian aid supplies as well as allows joint training.

Beijing’s warnings to the Philippines went as far as its envoy to Manila, Huang Xilian, “advising” the country to oppose Taiwanese independence if it “cares genuinely” about the over 150,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan.

President Marcos, however, has assured that the EDCA sites will not be used for any offensive action.

Manila’s officials also reiterated that it sticks to the “One China Policy,” or the recognition of the People’s Republic of China and not of Taiwan which goes formally by the name of Republic of China.

The Philippines’ National Security Council has stressed that Manila does not want to meddle in the brewing conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan and is not going to be a pawn of any country.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait riled up after high-ranking officials from the United States started visiting Taiwan, beginning with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in August 2022.

China previously warned the U.S. that a visit would “seriously” harm China’s sovereignty and send a wrong signal to separatist forces. g

We’ll take it.*

Sen. Risa Hontiveros

Philstar.com file photo

WKND

A success story for crewmen: Overstayed crew member obtains immigrant visa in Manila through Obama-era provisional waiver regulation, on Citizen Pinoy this Sunday

JULIE came to the U.S. as a crew member in 2004 and overstayed, leaving her eightyear-old daughter, Jolina, back in the Philippines. The years of separation broke Julie’s heart, but she believed her sacrifice would help build a better future for her daughter.

Julie had been watching

“Citizen Pinoy” and she knew that the “Attorney-of-LastHope” Michael J. Gurfinkel might be able to help her. She had been consulting with him in January 2008, August 2013, and January 2016 before the priority date on her mother’s petition became current.

A change in the law that

Julie had been praying for happened when then President Obama issued the Provisional Waiver regulation in 2016, enabling Julie to avoid the 10-year bar if she left the U.S. for her visa. When her mother’s petition became current, she was able

For Richard, safety is still No. 1 priority

By LeAh C. sALteRio Philstar.com

SAFETY is still the No.

1 priority of actor Richard Gutierrez, the lead star in the widely-followed primetime action series, The Iron Heart, especially in doing fight scenes.

Undeniably, the intense fight scenes got physical, at times.

“Sometimes, we got bruises, but that’s okay to me,” Richard explained. “Although in our fight scenes, you cannot avoid really hitting each other, sorry to the one I’m fighting with.”

Since he often figured in grueling fight sequences with the villains in the series, Richard couldn’t specify a particular fight scene that really challenged him.

“We try to level up in each fight scene,” he explained. “The challenge is the time. Sometimes, we had limited time

CONSUMER GUIDE COMMUNITY MARKETPLACE

By Deni Rose M. AfiniDAD-BeRnARDo Philstar.com

very happy to be here,” she opened her speech.

“I actually arrived a few hours ago. People were asking me if I was tired. I’m not tired because I’m so excited to be in the Philippines and I’ve been waiting to come to this beautiful country!”

According to her, it has been five years since she last visited the country.

“I had so many memories of visiting my father’s country, growing up as a child. This is one of my most favorite places to visit because the Filipino

MISS Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel walked with great pride, gliding on the red carpet in her Terno made by Filipino designer Mark Bumgarner, as she made a grand entrance at the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) Fashion and Charity Gala Night ballroom in Okada Manila last Wednesday, May 10. Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat! I am so

CREW MEMBER WHO OVERSTAYED GETS VISA. “Attorney-of-Last-Hope” Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) helped a crew member who overstayed get a

to be

Gabriel

An avowed action fanatic since he was a kid, Richard has many references or ideas for his work in The Iron Heart, from John Wick, James Bond to Jackie Chan. Photo above shows the actor in fine form in earlier scenes with co-star Jake Cuenca. ABS-CBN photo

A success story for crewmen: Overstayed...

to file for and get her provisional waiver approved. Despite several hurdles, including the delays due to the pandemic, the embassy interview was finally set.

Although the U.S. Embassy gave her a challenging time with multiple interviews and additional requirements, Julie was still able to get her visa issued in September 2022 without being charged with fraud or requiring a fraud waiver. She was also able to bring her now 26-year-old daughter, Jolina, to the U.S. with her under the Child Status Protection Act.

Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, May 14 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)

‘I feel lucky to be Filipino’: Miss Universe...

people are so hospitable! They are so welcoming, they are so charming, so funny, have the best food, but most of all, the best hearts. So I feel very blessed. Thank you so much for welcoming me here.”

In her speech, she emphasized how lucky she is to be half-Filipino. She is the first Miss USA with a Filipino descent.

“I am half Filipina, half American. I feel quite lucky to be Filipino because I would say you’re one of the best countries that compete and one of the best countries that I would say put our all into pageants. The Filipino people have given me so much support as I trained for Miss Texas, as I trained for Miss USA and for Miss Universe. And so I would like to thank you for the love and support.”

She confessed that MUPH is among the pageants that motivated her to train hard.

“I remember watching Miss Philippines (MUPH) last year and I thought, ‘Wow, the competition is so amazing!’ Production was so inspiring. The level of women that compete was top-tiered. I remembered, I haven’t even won a pageant yet,

back home in Texas,” she recalled.

“I would like to thank everybody for the continued inspiration. Not long ago, I was competing, and I some girls here have been competing for some time now, a few months, I’ve been seeing you on social media. I can tell that there’s so much hard work that goes into this and I just want to commend all the girls who put themselves out there.”

Similarly, she encouraged others to also try joining pageants.

“Pageantry has changed my life like no other. That really pushed me to be the highest truest form of myself and I know all these girls have their own unique journey.”

She thanked the new Miss Universe owner, JKN Global, and MUPH franchise owner, Empire Philippines, “for continuing to elevate me and all the other women that come across this stage.”

“You’re a part of the beautiful journey that helps us move forward,” she said.

According to her, she has about a week in the country to explore and to bond with more Kababayans g

Mon David: A jazz genius catching our imagination

By Prosy AbArquez-DelAcruz, J.D. AnD Ann DAviD

JAZZ critic Roger Crane writes: “Like Mark Murphy whose singing he at times resembles, [Mon] David can swing you into bad health and then, turn around and break your heart with a ballad.”

“Mon David is no ordinary singer. He is an artist with the command of music theory, as well as an understanding of the larger socio-cultural/historical milieu that shape the songs he sings. And he’s humble and down to earth.” – Nonoy Alsaybar, Ph.D., retired teacher of music and a former violinist for the Manila Symphony Orchestra  These quotes describe the interior alignment of Mon David, synchronized within, to give his best to the decades-long craft of composing, making music, and singing jazz, a fusion of music theory and practice. But not without personal cost to his family time.

“When our four kids were toddlers, Mon was busy earning a living, doing shows with Apo Hiking Society, as their vocal coach, drummer and music arranger. They did shows around the Philippines and travelled around the world for a decade. He wasn’t able to devote as much time to the kids as he does now to our grandchildren. Mon is such a loving, caring and a very patient grandpa. ’Every child should feel the love and warmth of a grandparent,’” Mon’s wife Ann wrote to me.

David’s genius nurtured by parental harmony and by a caring ecosystem  There is no dissonance in what Mon does, as the Holy Angel University‘s vetting process, which included the university’s trustees, concluded how in early decades,  Kapampangan songs were casually sung prior in school programs, in church hymns, liturgies, novena festivals, karaoke parties, and played in radios and streets and in pirated CDs.

Enter Mon David, “The Kapampangan equivalent of Elvis Presley,” who elevated the Kapampangan music to national and international stages of Japan, London and the United States, with high quality and sustained excellence. He was granted the Juan D. Nepomuceno Award for Cultural Award for Kapampangan Arts on March 8, 2023, the day after International Women’s Day, celebrated for and to elevate women’s rights around the world with Andy Alviz receiving the award on Mon’s behalf.

The award was named after Juan D. Nepomuceno, the Old Man Nepomuceno who literally built Pampanga, its electric plant, its subdivisions and even served as one of the presidents of Holy Angel University.

To be recognized in the same light as the award was named for, should guide one’s awareness that Mon David’s excellence is considered a strong pillar of cultural development in Pampanga, but also in the U.S. and around the world.

Today, Holy Angel University serves as a training incubator of academic excellence in Aseanbased universities and has used technology and appropriate infrastructural building changes to provide current realities and simulations in different industries like hospitality, animation, digital arts, communications and more to prepare their thousands of students to be highly competitive in the real world.

Every human talent is influenced by both genes and experiences, writes Angela Duckworth, Ph.D.,

in “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.” much like Mon David. He grew up listening to his parents sing together.

“I did not see them fight,” Mon said. “Iinstead, I heard them sing a lot, I remember as early as five years old.”

Beyond ancestral genes and a caring ecosystem, Grit’s author describes 67 traits of geniuses, but synthesized grit as the combination of persistence of motive: working actively towards a definite goal, without seeking change, nor the tendency to abandon tasks from changeability, instead a degree of will and perseverance to stay the course and the passion to not abandon the task, in the face of obstacles and of course, the power of experiences, where grit is learned from overcoming struggles of climbing the mountain and after ascent of the summit after struggling, a confidence is gained to try something harder, something new.

Who other than his caring and loving spouse, Ann, would witness this evolution of grit through several decades in Pampanga, Manila, London and several countries in the world?

Ann described to me in a message at early dawn:

”Mon recorded ‘Himno Ning Capampangan’ which is considered the Kapampangan national anthem sung in schools and government institutions after the Philippine National Anthem, ‘Lupang Hinirang.’ He also recorded the now iconic ‘Kapampangan Ku!’ with the musical theater group ‘ArtiStaRita’ founded and directed by kabalen and friend Andy Alviz who wrote it and was one of the past recipients of this excellence award. Mon has also recorded several anthems like ‘Himno Ning Sto. Tomas’ (his hometown at Himno Ning Candaba. Three Kapampangan albums were made by Mon. This is while immersing himself in different genres (classics and jazz pop), all while nurturing his love for the Kapampangan language, songs, poetry which explains his latest CD, ‘Tagimpan’, poems that he transformed into songs.”

Mon’s jazz CD, “DNA (David Nelson Agreement),” released August 7, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, was a beautiful

Mon David at the 2023 Jazz Excellence Awards (JEXA) in Los

Holy Angel University’s March 2023 Award to Mon David

Dianne Reeves with Mon David at Jazz Excellence Awards at The Citadel

Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel

Photo from Instagram/@missuniverse but I felt so inspired to watch that competition that it gave me a little extra motivation as I trained for my little pageant

Leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) was able to get a visa for his client, Julie (left) and her daughter, on a brand-new episode of Citizen Pinoy.

Eraserheads rocks live at Pechanga Resort Casino on May 28

ALTERNATIVE rock band “Eraserheads,” one of the most successful and sought-after groups in the history of Filipino music, performs live in Pechanga Resort Casino on Sunday, May 28 at 6 p.m., in a series of world concert tours for the entire year.

Pechanga Resort Casino, conveniently located off Highway I-15 in Temecula Valley, referred to as Southern California wine county, is wellknown for hosting only the best and the brightest Filipino entertainers and performers aimed to provide the ultimate experience especially to its Filipino-American patrons.

Led by Ely Buendia, Rayms Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro, the Eraserheads is best known for its 1995 hit song “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” that landed an International Viewer’s Choice Award for MTV Asia in 1997 and Awit (Song) Award for most downloaded song while also being nominated for best musical arrangement.

Ely is the lead vocals and rhythm guitarist, Rayms beats the drums, Buddy plays the bass, and Marcus is lead guitarist. Rayms, Buddy and Marcus also do backup vocals.

Ang Huling El Bimbo (The Last Attractive Unintelligent Woman),” depicts an unreciprocated love story between childhood friends who grew up and grew apart, and only headed to a tragic end.

Often dubbed as “The Beatles” of the Philippines, the decades-old rock band formed in 1989 are credited for spearheading a second wave of Manila band invasions.

Four other soundtracks became successive hits – “Kailan (When),” “Magasin (Magazine),” Alapaap (High Clouds),” and “With Smile” – turned gold in a span of 30 days with 20,000 copies sold then later earned quintuple platinum with 220,000 copies sold.

The pop band went global performing concerts from Sentosa Pop Festival in Singapore to the United States at the Palace in Hollywood. At the

Radio City Music Hall in New York, the group received the coveted “Moon Man” trophy for bagging the 1997 MTV Asia Viewer’s Choice Award, making Eraserheads the first-ever Filipino artists to win the award.

Eraserheads also performed live in Tokyo, Japan and from Oakland to Los Angeles, California, and as far as Dubai, HongKong, Sydney, Chicago, United Arab Emirates and London.

The band has also performed alongside the country’s top-notch rap singer the late Francis Magalona and famed singer Gary Valenciano.

The Eraserheads concert may only strike once! Buy your tickets now from the Pechanga Box Office, or by calling 888-810-8871, or visit www. pechnga.com.

Pechanga Summit features a 40,000-square foot area for entertainers, concerts, live sporting events, trade shows, weddings, or any large groups to book.  In total, Pechanga now offers 274,500 square feet of indoor/outdoor contemporary meeting and event space, which significantly enhanced the amenities, space and visibility of Pechanga’s event offerings.

Pechanga Resort Casino offers one of the largest and most expansive resort/casino experiences anywhere in the United States. Voted the number one casino in the country by USA Today and rated a Four Diamond property by AAA since 2002, Pechanga Resort Casino provides an unparalleled getaway, whether for the day or for an extended luxury stay. Offering 5,400 of hottest slots, 152 table games, a 1,100 room and suite hotel, dining, luxury spa, and golf at Journey at Pechanga, Pechanga Resort Casino features a destination that meets and exceeds the needs of its guests and the community. Pechanga Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. For more information, call toll free (877) 711-2946 or visit www.pechanga.com. Follow Pechanga Resort Casino on Facebook and on Twitter @PechangaCasino.

(Advertising Supplement)

Arjo confident in Philippines’ consistency in producing world-class films

by Dolly Anne CArvAjAl Inquirer.net

ACTOR and congressman Arjo Atayde expressed his all-out support to Filipino films being released internationally, saying it’s great to continue setting the bar high for the Philippine film industry and keep promoting such local films overseas.

Speaking of various films and digital content — which are now being produced by many savvy filmmakers internationally especially Koreans — the Philippines is also doing its share of producing great films throughout the years especially in the era of social media.

And according to Atayde, who also represents Quezon City’s 1st District in Congress, the Philippines has many great actors, directors, scriptwriters and film producers who can come up with worldclass films for theatres and streaming services.

“We’ve been in the film industry for many decades and most of our films are highly recognized abroad. We just have to keep supporting and promoting it. Our talents have been known worldwide so I think it’s time to set the bar high and we can do it,” Atayde said.

photo

Arjo Atayde Philstar.com

A seasoned actor himself, Atayde will star in a six-episode crime-thriller series Cattleya Killer starting June 1. The series will be shown to audiences around the world, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries, via streaming on Amazon Prime. The series is based on the 1996 film “Sa Aking Mga Kamay” — a story of a serial killer who victimizes women cheating on their husbands. Cattleya Killer is set years after the 1996 movie, with Christopher de Leon reprising his role as Joven Dela Rosa. Also starring in the episodes are Jake

Cuenca, Arjo’s sister Ria Atayde, Nonie Buencamino, Jane Oineza, Rafael SiguionReyna, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Frances Ignacio, Jojit Lorenzo, Ricky Davao and Ketchup Eusebio.

Produced by ABS CBN and Nathan Studios, the six-episode series is directed by Dan Villegas. It was first premiered in MIPCOM Cannes last October.

Meanwhile, Atayde said job opportunities and big breaks will benefit the Philippine film industry to enhance the acting and production skills of all aspiring film workers.

“The Philippines has to conquer the world market for films so that it will provide more opportunities and jobs to more current and upcoming Filipino artists,” added Atayde, who is also the Vice Chairperson of the Creative Industry and Performing Arts committee in the House of Representatives.

Atayde also reiterated the need for government support for the local film industry for it to keep producing world-class content. He said the Philippines can emulate counties such as India and South Korea, which have programs for the betterment of their respective film industries.

“With all our talents and production teams in this country, nothing is impossible,” he said. (Philstar.com)

Pia to move to Dubai following wedding with Jeremy Jauncey

By

Deni rose M. AfiniDAD-BernArDo ManilaTimes.net

(MUPH) 2023 Fashion and Charity Gala Night last Wednesday, May 10 that the actress will follow her husband to Dubai where he and his business are based. To complete her transition, the beauty queen is now reportedly

For Richard, safety is still...

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because of the location and the schedules of the artists, so we had to finish everything fast.”

One of the favorite fight scenes he executed recently was that with Baron Geisler. “Baron is really good,” Richard commented. “You’ll get carried away. His character is intense and he always taunts you, so you’ll get peeved.

it. I can rest.”

However, there are days when his shooting schedule is loaded with fight scenes and that hardly gives him time to work out in the gym.

“I’m saving my energy for all the fight scenes,” he said. “Our taping is like work out for me, too.”

selling her fully-furnished Makati City condo for P48 million.

The Empire PH rep, however, assured that Pia will continue to go back and forth the Philippines for work.

Pia has been actively working

“Recently, my and Baron’s fight scenes were one of the highlights of the series, because he kidnapped the family of my character. There was the drama aspect aside from the fight scene. Very challenging.”

They shot the fight scenes in their first two days in Cebu during one of the cycles of the tapings of The Iron Heart.

“Imagine coming from Manila, coming from a rest period, then reaching Cebu, we readily shot that fight scene and it took us two full days to finish just one fight scene,” Richard shared.

In charge of the fight scenes of the actors in The Iron Heart are directors Lester Ong and Singaporean action director Ace Wang Yang Bin.

“I give my inputs, as well,” Richard said. “It’s a collaborative process for us. We always think about what we can do differently. Sometimes, we would think of something different on the spot, so we would adapt.”

Richard is thankful that his directors are open to suggestions about certain scenes.

“So, it really feels good to have that collaborative process,” he said. “We know each other. They know my strengths by this time. My directors know what will look good for my fight scenes.

“We are making the process easier now compared to the first few months. Sometimes, we have fight scenes which we can finish faster than the scenes with dialogue.”

He further shared, “We can do the fight scenes 30 minutes to one hour. We always discussed the fight scenes. There are instances when I would tell them what I feel about doing a certain scene.

“I think it’s but normal to have a discussion and break down the scene, but I never said no to doing a certain scene. There are days when I don’t have any fight scene, so I really feel good about

An avowed action fanatic since he was a kid, Richard has many references or ideas for his work. “Today, the standard for hard action is John Wick,” he said. “I was telling the team, ‘Guys, alam niyo ba si John Wick did that climactic Sacre-Coeur steps scene for six weeks? Tayo six minutes lang ang rehearsals.’

“We are always given such limited time to do the fight scenes, but we always manage to do something visually good. When we need some comic timing, we do Jackie Chan-style, with witty movements or ideas from Jet Li.”

James Bond is another inspiration and even the Mission Impossible films. “We always try to get different ideas and make them our own,” Richard granted.

Interestingly, every character in The Iron Heart has been given his own storyline and back story — from Baron Geisler to Diether Ocampo, Jake Cuenca, Ryan Eigenmann, Christian Vasquez, Dimples Romana.

“As of now, I can see we don’t need to introduce another character because it is only now that the characters of the villains are allowed to shine and given his own storyline,” explained Richard.

Ian Veneracion, who was earlier introduced in the series as Menandro Enriquez, is slated to return to The Iron Heart as soon as his schedule permits.

“We are like one big, happy barkada on the set with Dimples (Romana), Sue (Ramirez), Sofia (Andres),” Richard said. “Even Tito Albert Martinez has bonded with the cast. On days when he doesn’t have a taping schedule, instead of going back to Manila, he would rather stay (in Cebu) and hang around with the other cast.

“No egos. We all have a common goal to make the show better. We all have a common task and obligation, but try to have fun while we work. We are one big happy family.” g

Photo from Instagram/@richardgutz

MISS Universe Pia Wurtzbach is said to be moving to Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE) following her intimate wedding with businessman Jeremy

Jauncey. A representative from Pia’s talent management Empire Philippines told Philstar.com at the Miss Universe Philippines

Pastor’s

ReveRend Rodel G. BalaGtas

WHOEVER has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” —

Jn 14:21

This Gospel passage reminds me of the Funeral    Service Vigil I led for a 98-year-old mother last week. Her family members describe her as a woman, wife, and mother who lived life to the fullest, enjoying its pleasures, including the Lakers games, and always showing her love for God, family, relatives, and friends. Faithful to her husband, God

A Mother’s Day message

gave her the gift of celebrating 76 years of marriage, which is rare to hear nowadays.

Although many remember her as a person who led a joyous and fulfilled life, I’m sure that she also had her share of suffering and pain. But her love for God and vice versa made her strong and sustained her hope. The words of Jesus were evident in her life: “And whoever loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

So here’s my message to all mothers: Keep loving God with all your heart and soul. Remain close to him in prayer daily. Feel His love for you and speak your love for Him. When you develop this intimacy with God, you will experience growth in joy, love, and peace.

Happy Mother’s Day! Know

that we appreciate all your love and sacrifices. Our love, affection, and best wishes go to you!

We also acknowledge all other women who, although were not blessed with motherhood, have shown love for children, youth, and family life.

May the blessings of the Almighty God be upon all of us as we remember to pray for mothers, living and dead!

Enjoy your Mother’s Day celebration!

* * *

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.

* * * Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

Meryll goes after her dream

By Ronnie CaRRasCo iii ManilaTimes.net

AS the truism goes, “Life begins at 40.” And as far as her showbiz career is concerned, there’s no stopping Meryll Soriano from chasing her dream to direct a film once she reached that age.

Having turned a year older and wiser — as the clichè goes — Meryll swore that whatever it took: “I will direct at least one film.”

In fact, she had already hatched what her directorial debut would be like.

“Ten years ago, I wanted to tackle postpartum depression. But back then, nobody seemed to take me seriously. Perhpas, they thought I was only jesting when I said I want to direct something. But I told myself, how would I know if I could do it if I don’t try?”

Meryll’s firm decision led her to finding a writer with whom she could comfortably work.

“That’s also the reason why I enrolled in Ricky Lee’s writing workshop because I believed that for me to be able to direct, I should also be able to understand my scriptwriter.”

Meryll is also happy to have found the producers willing to bankroll her first ever directorial project. Does she see herself as the main character in her film?

“My friends are actually telling me to also act for the film but I also had to evaluate I could do two roles for the project.”

On her vlog with her aunt Maricel Soriano late last year, Meryll expressed her interest to have the former in a movie.

“Yes, I’d like us to be together in a film again because I was really young the last time we worked together in a comedy project. But directing her, why not? It’s just that I guess there’s gonna be a bit of nervousness. After all, she is the Maricel Soriano, the Diamond Star!”

Meryll, however, heaped praises on her tita

The actress swears that whatever it takes, she will direct at least one film in this lifetime. Photo from Instagram/@dearmamameme Mary despite the latter’s intimidating facade.

“One thing nice about her is that she’s a generous person. I know she will guide me because she loves and trusts me. And I also witness how collaborative she is when it comes to work.”

If ever she becomes a full-fledged director, will Meryll consider directing her dad Willie Revillame?

“Ay, no! He might even be the one to direct me.”

Speaking of possible projects, does Meryl mind if her partner Joem Bascon is cast in one of those?

“He actually wants to. I don’t think he’ll feel intimidated at all to have me as his director. He knows we are different from who we are on the set and who we are at home,” Meryll said within Joem’s hearing distance.

At press time, Meryll’s postpartum-themed film has yet to be given a title.

But I’m just wondering how much of the movie is culled from Meryll’s experience. g

Informing employer of unlawful conduct at work is protected activity

When job termination can give rise to employee’s legal action

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights

atty.

C. Joe sayas, JR

Q: I’M an account executive at a real estate company. I enjoy the work and I’m good at it. But I started having problems when I went on maternity leave, my boss gave the majority of my  best accounts to male colleagues on my team. I didn’t get them back when I returned to work.

But then those male colleagues got promotions that I also applied for but didn’t get. My boss  said it was based on the performances of their accounts; accounts that I first built up! I complained  to HR, but they said there wasn’t evidence of discrimination because another woman on our team  also got a promotion. At my most recent performance evaluation, my boss said the company would  have to let me go because I had the lowest scores on my team.

I learned later that my boss thought he was doing me a favor by not giving me too many  responsibilities that would take me away from being a mom. Do I have a claim for discrimination?

A: You may have a claim for gender discrimination against

your former employer. The  California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) prohibits employers from subjecting  employees to an adverse employment action due to the employee’s gender.

An adverse employment action harms the employee with respect to conditions at  work. It may include any actions that likely impair an employee’s job performance or prospects for  advancement. For instance, it may include the boss depriving the employee of her best accounts and  denying a promotion because she is “a mom.” This is a characteristic of gender.

You may also have a separate, independent claim for retaliation. FEHA also protects  employees against retaliation for protected activity. A protected activity for purposes of the anti retaliation law includes an employee’s reasonable and good faith act of opposing a practice  forbidden by law, such as discrimination.

When you complained to your former employer’s HR about discrimination, you were  engaging in a protected activity under the anti-retaliation laws. If the evidence shows that you were  ostracized and ultimately discharged as a result of your complaint of discrimination, you may be  entitled to recover

lost wages resulting from the employer’s unlawful retaliation.

In addition, a victim of employment discrimination or unlawful retaliation may recover  attorneys’ fees and costs. This legal remedy enables employees to have access to counsel, who may  agree to help you on a contingency (no recovery, no fee) basis. In this way, a meritorious claim can be  pursued without the employee having to pay the upfront costs of a court action.

* * * 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.

* * * The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are  confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit  www.joesayaslaw.com. [For more than 25 years, C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top  Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super  Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a past Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino  Overseas.] (Advertising Supplement)

Pia to move to Dubai following wedding...

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with Dubai-based Filipino designers such as MUPH Design Council Head Albert Andrada, who designed her winning and iconic blue Miss Universe gown, as well as Furne One and Michael Cinco.

Last 2021, Pia became the first Miss Universe winner to model and be featured at the virtual Arab Fashion Week in UAE. Her fashion film for Inner Sactum by Amato Couture made history as the most viewed and most reached fashion film in the history of Arab Fashion Week, with more that 24 million total impressions in only less than a week.

Pia and Jeremy married in a private ceremony with only three guests last March on a private island in Seychelles. g

Pia Wurtzbach and Jeremy Jauncey in Seychelles for their intimate wedding. Photo from Instagram/@piawurtzbach

Mon David: A jazz genius...

collaboration with Josh Nelson.

The synchrony within Mon comes alive with Josh Nelson, and together they become a singular unit, not overtaking or swallowing one another, tackling life’s ascents and descents with their craft of creative musical expressions, making Roger Crane’s observations quoted above, so alive and so relevant, as Nonoy Alsaybar’s.

How many of us felt broken down by the pandemic that we seemed frozen, enumerating the deaths around us?

I was one of those, after nearly a 28-year career in the public health arena, where we believed one death was one too many and where urgency was our work response. Yet, I slowed down from submitting 52 articles in the last 12 years to 10 articles in the pandemic years as an Asian Journal columnist.

But, there’s no slowing down with Mon David!

Not this 2006 London

International Vocal Jazz Competition winner, vesting this recognition, amongst a hundred singers who competed around the world.

Nor this 2017 Los Angeles City Council’s Recognized LA Living Jazz Giant.

Nor this March 2023’s Holy Angeles University’s Juan D. Nepomuceno Awardee for Excellence in Kapampangan Arts.

Seeking motivation to inspire and to keep his creative juices going, he sang Let Go, at JEXA Excellence Awards night on March 5, 2023, a stage he shared with five-time Grammy winners: Dianne Reeves who sang “I am all Smiles” and “Skylark” and received the JEXA Jazz Vocal Artist award, while Dionne Warwick handed 5 Young Artist Awardees: Kahlil Childs – alto sax; Alexander Flores – piano and tenor sax; Daniela Lopez –jazz vocalist; Taichi Okumura – alto sax; Kaman Richardson –percussionist and emerging artist award to Kenneth Brown.

At my dinner table was Daniela Lopez, a jazz vocalist winner, Antonia Bennett, daughter of the legendary Tony Bennett who inspired Mon David in his early musical career years, and my retired violinist friend, Nonoy Alsaybar, who performed as a backup orchestra to this icon singer in the 1970s, as a violinist for the Manila Symphony

Orchestra. When Mon got on stage, with Kevin van den Elzen and a 17-member VDE Big Band, with confidence and vigorous enthusiasm, he sang ‘Let Go’, music and lyrics he composed:

Let go of all your hang-ups

Let go of all your fears

Let go, now’s the time

Let go!

Let go of all ill feelings

Embrace all that is good

Let go, start your life anew

Well it’s about time you stopped holding back

There’s no need to worry

‘bout what you may lack

Let go of all “I should

have...I could have done that”

It’s never too late my friend

Live your life, move on

Let go!

Uncommonly good man:

Loyal to faith and family

In the music world, we hear addictions to drugs, alcohol, and womanizing.

Yet, in the jazz community that Mon lives in, there are no addictions nor sensationalized controversies.

Cathy Segal-Garcia in 2019, said, “Mon David is, as I‘ve always said, royalty. This human being is so huge and generous; he’s overwhelmingly deep and dear to me. And it comes through his music, and that is why people are so moved by him. He’s a consummate musician, dedicated and committed to art, quality and communication. His family and friends are the obvious result of him. He touches my heart, and I will always consider him one of my truest friends.”

The David family embodies love and friends’ support. Roy, a 72-year-old fan, lovingly calls himself Mon’s jazz wife, sometimes with Roy’s wife in attendance, watching Mon’s concerts, while some fans fly in from the Bay Area and sometimes, from Japan to watch him perform.

My classmates — Lolita (San Francisco), Elsa (Oceanside) and Natimarie (Chicago/Temecula) — recently traveled to watch Mon perform alongside his children, Nicole and Carlo.

Mon sang a trio with his children, at Gardenia in Hollywood, where their rendition of Joey Ayala’s “Walang Hanggang Paalam (Never Ending Goodbye)” symbolic of forever love, got us sobbing. They dedicated it to Linda Rozales, 71,

our high school classmate at St. Rita College, who recently died.

Jazz critic Roger Crane writes: “Like Mark Murphy, whose singing he at times resembles, David can swing you into bad health and then, turn around and break your heart with a ballad.”

Mon has that “heartbreaking” effect as an authentic performer fused in dedication to his God, his faith, and his beautiful family, sweet and loving wife Ann, with four children (Paolo, Nicole, Carlo and Mika), to include five grandchildren. If you include their spouses and partners, 16 are tightly woven in play, walking trails, playing puzzles, watching concerts together, and celebrating every family member’s milestones, including an upcoming wedding of Mika to Dallas.

I particularly love the twins: Nico and Leo, just 5 ½ years old, both quietly paid attention to their mom, Nicole and their uncle, Carlo sing at “Siblings Revelry.” When I asked Nico how he felt watching them, he said: ”I loved it.”

Especially endearing was catching Jake, Nicole’s husband, with adoration and smiles, watching Nicole sing.

Lolita, the grandmother and matriarch (Ann is Lolita’s daughter), asked to pose with me for a photo. After, she shared that she is filled with joy watching her children and grandchildren perform, supportive of one another. “I admire how they all get along.”

Like a well-tuned orchestra in harmony, all the component chords of the David family are well-adjusted to the frequencies of sounds and they are all on pitch!

* * *

Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 12 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.

Division of a business in a California divorce

Barrister’s Corner

WHEN a married couple decides to divorce in California, one of the most significant issues they will face is dividing their assets and debts. If the couple owns a business together, this can be particularly complicated whether it is operated by only one spouse or both spouses jointly. In this article, we will discuss how property division works in a California divorce when a business is involved. California is a community property state, which means that property acquired during the marriage is generally considered community property and must be divided equally between the spouses upon divorce. This includes businesses and business assets. However, the division of a business in a divorce can be complex, especially if the business was started before the marriage or if only one spouse was involved in its creation or operation.

One option for dividing a business in a divorce is for one spouse to buy out the other’s share of the business. This can be done through negotiation or mediation, or it may require a court order through trial. If the spouses cannot agree on a buyout price, the court may order a valuation of the business to determine its worth. Typically, this is done by having a forensic CPA perform a business valuation. If the parties are in agreement on who they want to use as an expert, the parties can stipulate that a certain forensic CPA be appointed as the court’s expert to value the business pursuant to evidence code section 730. If the parties are not in agreement in the appointment of a 730 expert or if one of the parties are not in agreement with the valuation of the 730 expert, each party can retain their own forensic CPA to value the business. Typically, the court will order that each party’s forensic CPA meet and confer and do a side by side evaluation of their calculation to isolate where they differ. This is typically done in preparation for trial.

Another option is for the spouses to continue to co-own the business after the divorce. This is rare, but it can work if the spouses are willing to continue working together and can establish a clear plan for managing the business. However, this option is usually

not recommended, as it can lead to ongoing conflict and legal disputes. If the business was started before the marriage or if only one spouse was involved in its creation or operation, the court may consider these factors when determining how to divide the business. For example, if one spouse started the business before the marriage and the other spouse made no significant contributions to the business, the court may consider the business to be the separate property of the spouse who started it. However, if the other spouse contributed significantly to the business during the marriage or if the business has grown significantly during the marriage due to the hard work of the owner spouse during the marriage, the court may still award them a portion of the business or its profits. In order to determine what percentage of a business is community property versus separate property, there are two methods used based on two cases, Van Camp v. Van Camp, (1921) 53 Cal.App. 17 and Pereira v. Pereira, (1909) 156 Cal. 1, 103. These formulas are used to determine the value attributed to the community and separate property interests.

The Pereira case involves a married couple who ran a profitable business. Although the husband claimed that he had started the business before the marriage with separate capital, the Court found that a share of the earnings was community property. The Court, however, emphasized that the success of the business was largely due to the husband, who ran the company. The Pereira method of analysis is typically applied when business profits are mainly attributed to the efforts of the “community.” The concept of a Pereira analysis is to allocate a fair return to the separate property investment in the business and principally apportion the remainder of the value to the community property. As a result, the Pereira analysis is usually applied to small businesses where the efforts of the owner are significant in the success of the business, and it is assumed that the business would not have had such success without the business owner’s efforts.

The Van Camp case resulted from a successful family business. The son of the business owners ran a successful packaging company in California. When the son married, the son’s wife ultimately relied on the holding of the Pereira case and argued that the community interest in the business was due to its

successful management. The Court, however, found that the success of the business was also due to the investment of capital into the corporation. As a result, the business increased in value due to the initial investment and various assets rather than the son’s efforts during the marriage. The Van Camp method is used when the increase in the value of a business is primarily the result of the unique nature of the particular asset, and not necessarily the efforts of the community. The goal of a Van Camp analysis is to obtain the reasonable value of the community’s services and then to allocate that amount to the community property and the remainder to the separate property.

In some cases, the court may order the sale of the business and the division of the proceeds between the spouses. This is usually only done if the spouses cannot agree on any other division method or if the business is not profitable.

In conclusion, dividing a business in a California divorce can be complex and requires careful consideration of all factors involved. It is essential to work with an experienced divorce attorney who can help you navigate the legal process and protect your interests. By working together with your spouse and your attorney, you can find a fair and equitable solution for dividing your business and other assets in your divorce.

* * * Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.  The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.  This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed.  The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you.  This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APC.  This article is not a solicitation.

* * * Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APC is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com. Visit us at kenreyeslaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)

Lee O’Brian has no ill feelings for ex Pokwang

By Jan Milo Severo Philstar.com

ACTOR Lee O’Brian remained tight lipped on the issue surrounding his breakup with comedian Pokwang.

Lee is part of VivaMax’s new film, “Sandwich.” He refused to answer questions about Pokwang at the recent screening and press conference of the film.

“All I can say is, I love my daughter more than anything in this world,” he said.

Lee said Pokwang always has a place in his heart because she is the mother of his daughter.

“And you know what, I always have love for the mother of my child because she brought my child in this world. And that’s my story. That’s all I can say,” he said.

He was also asked what his message was for Pokwang.

“I hope for the best for everyone involved, the most for my daughter,” he said.

Pokwang

Dingdong featured on Times Square billboard

By iza igleSiaS ManilaTimes.net

ACTOR-host Dingdong Dantes is currently featured on a digital billboard at the world-famous tourist destination Times Square in New York.

The advertisement sees Dantes in the latest campaign of Italian lifestyle brand Police which recently named him as its first Filipino ambassador.

“An audacity like this deserves a billboard, don’t you think?” the brand posted on its Instagram stories.

GMA Network’s Primetime King also took to social media to share his excitement over his latest feat.

Sharing clips of the billboard, Dantes wrote on social media, “Who says you can’t be in two places at once? One moment, I’m in Zambales shooting for @ amazingearthph, and the next, my Police eyewear and watch campaign photo is up on the Times Square billboard!”

“Just call me the master of multitasking – with my Police gear on, of course,” he said.

His wife, Marian Rivera and a number of celebrity friends including Pokwang, Kim Atienza, Ryan Agoncillo, Gary Valenciano and Alfred Vargas, among others congratulated Dantes in the comments section.

“Congrats mahal!,” said Rivera. Astig, Partner!!!,” wrote Iza Calzado.

“Congratulations tol! @ dongdantes #allglorytogod,” Wendell Ramos commented. Dantes currently hosts a game show “Family Feud.” He is also set to star in the upcoming drama “Royal Blood.” g

Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes

Pokwang and Lee O’Brian Photo from Instagram/@itspokwang27

and Lee met in 2014 while working on the film “Edsa Woolworth.” They welcomed their child, Malia Francine, in January 2018. Three years later, they officially called it quits in November 2021. g