052020 - Southern California Midweek Edition

May 20-22, 2020 Volume 30 - No. 39 • 2 Sections - 14 Pages

USA

DATELINE Undocumented immigrants in CA can now apply for relief FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

UNDOCUMENTED immigrants in California this week can start applying for up to $1,000 per household in disaster relief under the state’s coronavirus emergency assistance plan.

Governor Gavin Newsom last month announced the Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants, a $125-million coronavirus disaster relief fund that would provide a onetime disbursement for undocumented adults who are unable to obtain other forms of government assistance, such as those afforded under the CARES Act or state unemployment benefits.

The assistance would grant $500 per qualifying adult, meaning those over the age of 18. A maximum of two adults per household can qualify for this assistance for a total of $1,000.

The California Department of Social Services has selected 12 immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations to help individuals apply for and receive this disaster relief assistance in their region.

These organizations include Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles and

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Over 2,400 Filipinos worldwide test positive for coronavirus

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

TWENTY-SIX new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, have been reported among Filipinos abroad.

The latest report from the Philippine Department

the agency said.

Europe, which is 16 countries with PH Foreign Service coverage, has recorded 736 Filipino cases, including 424 undergoing treatment, 227 recoveries and 85 deaths. The Middle East and Africa, covering 12 countries, has reported 705 cases; of which, 567

of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, May 19 brings the total number of infections to 2,431 Filipinos across 46 countries and regions.

“Based on the latest figures, Europe and the Middle East still have the highest number of COVID-19 positive Filipinos with over 700 cases each. Asia and the Pacific has the fewest number of cases at 447,”

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Senators Marcos, Lacson urge PH to lure US businesses

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

TWO Philippine senators recently suggested that economic managers should direct American businesses leaving China to consider the country for their relocation plans.

According to Senator Imee Marcos, recent news that the United States businesses was transferring a number of its China-based factories to Indonesia confirms a growing economic trend favoring Southeast Asian countries as alternative sites for manufacturing.

The relocations are “the silver lining to the dark cloud of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) from which the Philippines should not blink,” Marcos said.

As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, she urged the government’s economic managers to apply a “full-court press to score more points toward greater foreign investment and economic recovery.”

The senator is currently pushing for a deeper and swifter cut on corporate income tax from the present

LA County’s new WiFi locator tool helps residents get internet access PH House drops ABS-CBN’s provisional franchise, to u PAGE A2

WITH the COVID-19 pandemic forcing individuals to be more plugged in digitally, it has also opened up a broader discussion about the inequity of internet access.

Los Angeles County has launched a new WiFi locator tool to help residents access the internet during the pandemic.

According to American Community Survey Data for the county, about 210,000 children have a computer at home but lack internet access, while close to 283,000 households do not have connectivity.

“Today, Los Angeles County is taking a step forward to bridge the gap of Internet access — an issue that during the COVID19 pandemic can quickly become a matter of survival,” wrote County Supervisor Janice Hahn in a statement on Friday, May

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DEVOTION. A devotee genuflects as he prays outside the Quiapo Church in Manila which remains closed on Sunday, May 17. Religious gatherings are still restricted to a maximum of five persons under the modified enhanced community quarantine in effect over Metro Manila and some areas.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

proceed with deliberations on bills for 25-year license

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano

HOUSE Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday, May 19, announced that the Philippine House of Representatives is foregoing the provisional franchise for media giant ABS-CBN to instead deliberate on the bills for a 25-year franchise.

This announcement came after the lower chamber recalled its approval on the second readPhilstar.com photo ing of House Bill No. 6732,

which grants ABS-CBN with a franchise until October 31.

“Because of all this divisiveness and after consulting with the members of the House, the political parties, and the regional groups… I, together with the House of Representatives leadership have decided to forego with the provisional franchise, and immediately proceed with the hearings for the full 25-year renewal application of the ABSCBN franchise,” Cayetano said.

The House Committee on Leg-

islative Franchises will be tackling the bills for the ABS-CBN franchise renewal.

Cayetano also said that the hearings should be fair, impartial, comprehensive, and thorough.

“Let us give Chairman Chikoy Alvarez and our committee on legislative franchise complete autonomy, walang mag-iimpluwensya sa kanila (no one will influence them). Let us give them the task to carry out a fair, com-

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Newsom eases public health criteria allowing PAL schedules 2 flights to LA, counties to reopen within ‘weeks, not months’ SF for stranded US citizens The dramatic change in the governor’s COVID-19 approach signals wider reopens by the first week of June

by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

Gov. Gavin Newsom

AS cities and counties in California grow more anxious to reopen local economies, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a drastic relaxation of public health criteria to reopen the state in a move that could allow most counties to reopen in a matter of weeks.

In a daily briefing on Monday, May 18, the governor stressed the graduality of the state’s re-

opening but significantly departed from his ironclad approach to “flattening the curve” and only reopening a county if there are no new deaths and no more than 10 cases per 100,000 residents within a two-week period.

Under Newsom’s new guidelines, counties are now required to have at most 25 cases per 100,000 residents, or they must possess a virus positivity rate of no higher than 8%.

But the governor stressed that

the state must continue its overall downward trend of COVID-19 cases and deaths for counties to receive approval for moving forward in the state’s reopening plan, which Newsom previously said is based on physical distancing and scientific data.

“Bottom line is people can go at their own pace, and we are empowering our local health directors and county officials that understand their local communi-

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by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines recently announced that it will be assisting stranded American citizens in the country by mounting two separate flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco this week.

The “user-pay” flight leaving for LA is scheduled on May 21 with two domestic sweeper flights — one from Cebu and one from Davao, according to the United States Embassy in Manila.

Meanwhile, the one leaving for San Francisco is scheduled

on May 26 with eight domestic sweeper flights from Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Siargao, and Tagbilaran.

The Manila to LAX/SFO economy tickets are priced at USD $1,200 (plus taxes and fees), while the Domestic sweeper flight costs are priced at USD $200 (plus taxes and fees).

“All flight arrangements will be made by PAL, not the Embassy. You must submit a working phone number and include all local or international area codes.

PAL will contact you directly to arrange payment and ticketing

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A May 20-22, 2020 • SoCal aSIaN JOURNaL

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PAL schedules 2 flights to LA, SF...

PAGE A1 after you have registered for the flights, so check your contact details carefully before submitting the survey and keep your phone on and handy,” the embassy said in its announcement.

“PAL had difficulty reaching some U.S. citizens who submitted a form indicating their interest for the previous flights – their

telephone numbers were either incomplete or unattended. This caused some to miss this opportunity. PAL requests that passengers not call them for a status update as this will clog up their lines and increase wait time. Once you have registered, please make sure you are available,” it added.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila

From the Front Page

also advised stranded American citizens to take actions such as monitoring the news, consulting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for the most up-to-date information, and visiting the U.S. Embassy’s page as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the U.S. n

SETTLING BILLS. Customers observe social distancing while queuing to pay their electricity bills at a branch of Meralco along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on Monday, May 18. Utility firms are among those allowed to operate under the modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler Flag carrier Philippine Airlines

Inquirer.net file photo

Over 2,400 Filipinos worldwide...

PAGE A1 are undergoing treatment, 44 deaths and 94 recoveries.

The DFA also recorded one new death in the Middle East, raising the death toll to 280.

“The Americas still [have] the highest number of fatalities due to COVID-19 at 149,” it reported.

The region, which covers six countries, includes 190 individu-

als undergoing treatment and 204 who have recovered or been discharged.

The number of recovered Filipinos abroad now stands at 849 with the DFA reporting 21 new recoveries.

“Today, the DFA confirms more recoveries than fatalities among Filipinos abroad as reported by our Foreign Service

Posts, with 21 new recoveries in Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East and 1 new death in the Middle East as well, bringing the total of recoveries to 849 and total fatalities to 280,” the department said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines now has 12,942 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 837 fatalities and 2,843 recoveries. n

Senators Marcos, Lacson urge PH to lure...

PAGE A1 30% rate for the Philippines to be more competitive with the 20% rate in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia by next year.

“If the government decides on a slower rate of reducing corporate income tax, incentives to foreign investors can include tax deferrals and exemptions,” Marcos said.

Western countries affected by the pandemic are now compelled to outsource as much of their production as they can to cheap-

er suppliers, she added.

“As a result, I think our BPO (business process outsourcing) sector will recover sooner than predicted. If we gear up for outsourcing, we may finally derive investments in manufacturing and other essential sectors,” Marcos said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson Sr. also noted that many European and American businesses were leaving China, saying it is expected that an Asian country will be their next location.

“Ang nakaagap agad doon ang Indonesia eh (Indonesia was the first one who benefitted [from the relocation]),” he said.

The senator estimated that 27 U.S. factories based in China would transfer to Indonesia.

“Ito ang opportunity na dapat gina-grab natin kasi ang laki ng kumpanyang ito. Sayang (This should be the opportunity that we must be grabbing because this is a big company. What a missed opportunity),” Lacson lamented. n

PH House drops ABS-CBN’s provisional...

PAGE A1

prehensive, thorough hearing,” he said.

“Let it be continuous para walang magsabing pinapatigil, tinitigil (so no one will say it is being delayed), we’re dragging our feet. Let us direct our committee to immediately and continuously hold hearings until everyone is heard and after everyone is heard, then we can decide,” he added.

Cayetano also urged the House members to “vote in accordance with our conscience and not our politics.”

“In other words, makinig tayo sa hearings (let’s listen to the hearings). May alam tayo (If we know something), let’s testify,” Cayetano said.

No TRO The Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 19 decided not to issue a restraining order on the cease and desist order against ABS-CBN. Instead, the SC ordered the National Telecommunications Commission to comment in 10 calendar days on the network’s petition against the CDO. Likewise, the House of Representatives and the Senate were asked for their separate comments within 10 days.

“The Court separately impleaded the Senate and the House of Representatives as a party to the case,” said Supreme Court Spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka.

The SC also junked lawyer

Lorenzo Gadon’s plea to consolidate the ABS-CBN case with his own petition that wanted the SC to stop the NTC from issuing the network a provisional authority to operate.

ABS-CBN on Monday, May 18 filed a Reiterative Motion for the Issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order, saying that it has been losing about P35 million daily in advertising revenues since its operations stopped last May 5.

“If this severe financial hemorrhage is not stopped, ABSCBN may be constrained to eventually let go of workers, reduce salaries and benefits, and substantially cut down on costs and expenses,” the network explained. n

Undocumented immigrants in CA can now...

PAGE A1 Orange County, Catholic Charities of California in the Bay Area, and the California Human Development Corporation in Northern California.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice has opened up hotlines — (213) 241-8880 for English and (213) 241-8874 for Tagalog — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday to Friday.

Applicants are able to contact one of the organizations to inquire about assistance eligibility,

including whether one is not eligible for other COVID-19 related assistance and whether one is experiencing hardship as a result of the pandemic.

If an individual’s application is approved, the nonprofit organization that helped them apply will provide additional information on how they will receive their payment card either through in-person pick-up or through the mail.

California is the first state to spearhead an effort for the un-

documented population, many of whom are essentials workers working in health care, food, retail, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

“I’m not here to suggest that $125 million is enough. But I am here to suggest it’s a good start, and I’m very proud it’s starting here in the state of California,” Newsom said.

Applications will be accepted until June 30 or until funds run out, according to the state’s website. (AJPress)

LA County’s new WiFi locator tool helps...

PAGE A1 15.

The new WiFi finder, made possible with a partnership with 211 L.A. County, can be accessed via findwifi.lacounty.gov as a “one-stop-shop approach to getting Internet access.”

Any member of the public can dial 2-1-1 to ask for assistance to get information from the website or can visit the site directly.

On the website, an individual can use the search function and find sources of internet connection nearest them, such as internet access for students and free WiFi spots across the county located in county libraries or parks. The website also provides contact information for both residential and commercial broadband Internet providers and mobile (cellular) internet providers serving the address.

An LA County Library Card is required to login to the public library WiFi. (AJPress)

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

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Dateline USa

Tourists, beware: Foreign visitors’ travel health pandemics

by Carmen

Heredia rodriguez Kaiser Health News

IT was evident that the fever, nausea and loss of appetite Vlastimil Gajdoš felt on his wedding day was not a mere case of cold feet.

Gajdoš, 65, fell ill in Honolulu in March after arriving with his bride-to-be from the Czech Republic. He and Sylva Di Sandro, 58, intended to marry and honeymoon on the island.

While they did tie the knot, they also engaged in serious battle with the novel coronavirus. He was in the hospital for two weeks, some of it in intensive care, on a ventilator. Like many visitors to the U.S., who are aware that health care prices here can be higher than back home, Gajdoš purchased a travel insurance plan that covered up to $300,000 in medical expenses.

But after Gajdoš was diagnosed with COVID-19 and his wife called to check whether his care would be covered, the newlyweds discovered a catch: The insurer said it wouldn’t pay upfront. And it would consider reimbursing the couple only after Gajdoš was released from the hospital.

“I was really afraid that they [doctors] would not give him any assistance if they were not sure that this would not be covered,” said Di Sandro, who had only a mild case and was not hospitalized.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the travel industry — including insurance companies. Even beyond the current crisis, travelers should pay careful attention to the fine print on coverage policies.

Many plans offer health care coverage in case a person needs medical attention during a trip.

But policies vary tremendously by company ― containing limits on payouts, copayments and circumstances, such as whether they cover an evacuation.

Most travel insurance plans contain exclusions for known or “foreseen events,” said Kasara Barto, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, an online service that allows travelers to compare insurance options.

In some situations, a traveler can anticipate the risk of visiting a destination. A regular insurance policy might not cover a mountaineering accident while climbing Everest, for example.

Also common is the pandemic exclusion, in which the insurer will not pay for a traveler’s medical expenses if they are related to an outbreak such as the coronavirus.

“It’s definitely something that they should be aware of, that not having coverage to cover [medical care] could lead to such a financial loss,” Barto said.

Language on exclusions can be vague, which could make it difficult for travelers to decipher whether their policy will pay for care related to COVID-19, industry experts said. To make matters worse, some policies don’t specifically name a pandemic as a circumstance that is covered or excluded — and how they count the start and end of a pandemic period.

The World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus a worldwide outbreak on March 11. Travelers who purchased plans after that date should take extra care to make sure they have medical coverage for COVID-19, said Christopher Mosley, a lawyer who specializes in insurance litigation at the law firm Sherman & Howard.

However, that cutoff date might be earlier in some policies. Some insurers considered COVID-19 a risk in certain areas as early as January, Mosley added.

“There’s not a one-size-fits-all” coverage, said Mark Friedlander, director of corporate communications for the Insurance Information Institute, a research organization supported by the insurance industry.

The risk is perhaps highest for foreigners visiting the U.S., which has the highest health care costs in the developed world. Many of the national health systems in European countries will treat foreigners at no charge or for much lower rates.

Foreign embassies are stepping in to help their citizens in the U.S. decipher insurance policies. In a notice, the Slovenian Embassy in Washington, D.C., specifically mentioned the high cost of health care when advising citizens traveling in the U.S. to check whether their insurance covers pandemics. Officials at the Spanish Embassy also said insurance is an issue that has come up in conversations with its citizens here.

The Czech Republic intervened in Gajdoš’ case and at least one

other time recently on behalf of citizens with health insurance problems, said Zden―k Beránek, the deputy head of mission for the Czech Embassy in Washington, D.C. “This is not the cheapest country in the world when it comes to health care,” Beránek said, “so you better be careful.”

Given the chaos of the pandemic, some insurers are choosing to stop selling travel insurance policies altogether — including LV, a company based in the United Kingdom.

But others, such as Allianz, are expanding benefits to include care for COVID-19. The company announced it will accept some trip cancellation and medical claims related to the virus that aren’t typically covered in their plans, according to a press release.

“This is kind of uncharted territory for every insurance company that’s in this market,” said Don Van Scyoc, vice president of individual sales at the travel insurer GeoBlue. The company sells plans for Americans going overseas and foreign nationals who are away from their homelands for extended periods. Their policies cover COVID-19 care, he said.

Gajdoš and Di Sandro reached out to the embassy and his employer for help after his travel insurer denied him coverage. The employer pledged to help him if his plan did not cover his hospital stay, he said, but the government intervention worked. The insurer ultimately agreed to cover Gajdoš’ expenses.

The couple would not disclose the final tally for Gajdoš’ hospital stay, but a typical 10-day course of treatment in an intensive care unit can run into several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

He was discharged from the Queen’s Medical Center on April 8, grateful for the care. Gajdoš said his insurer’s actions caught him off guard. He intentionally purchased a more expensive policy with the expectation that they would receive help, not pushback, from the plan.

“You don’t have the energy,” Gajdoš said. “You are oriented on fighting for your life.” n This story is part of a partnership between NPR and Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • MAy 20-22, 2020

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Dateline PhiliPPines

Gov’t targeting to test 1.5% to 2% of total PH population for coronavirus

by Darryl John

EsguErra

Inquirer.net

MANILA — Insisting that no country has done testing 100 percent of its population for the coronavirus, Malacañang on Tuesday, May 19 said the government is eyeing to test 1.5 to 2 percent of its almost 110 million population.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this as he sought to clarify his earlier statement in a televised Palace press briefing where he admitted that the government has no plans yet to conduct mass testing and that it would leave such efforts in the hands of the private sector.

Roque’s statement drew flak online amid mounting calls for mass testing of suspected coronavirus carriers as the confirmed cases in the country reached 12,718, including 2,729 recoveries and 831 deaths.

But Roque said his statement was “taken out of context” as he stressed that the government is now enforcing “expanded testing.”

“It’s not accurate [to say] that we do not have a mass testing policy. Let me underscore the fol-

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Inquirer.net photo

lowing, number one: no country in the world tests every citizen, that’s a fact,” Roque said in an interview over CNN Philippines’ The Source.

“So what we are doing is to follow the best examples we have.

Right now we are trying to follow the footsteps of South Korea and right now the goal is to test 1.5 to 2 percent of the total population,” he added.

The government’s target would be between 1,650,000 to 2,200,000 tests as the country’s population stands nearly at 110 million.

The Philippines has so far test-

ed 207,823 unique individuals, which is a measly 0.19 percent of the country’s total population.

The Palace official likewise, claimed that the Philippines has “one of the stringiest testing measures” when it comes to testing its returning citizens.

Roque said returning all Filipinos are required to take PCRbased testing, unlike other nations that are only testing those who are symptomatic.

“All OFWs are subject, in fact, to PCR testing not just antibody testing whereas in other countries they only test those who have symptoms. But in the Philippine every OFW that comes home would have to be tested by PCR,” Roque said.

The country so far has 30 laboratories nationwide that are capable of detecting the virus using RT-PCR tests. Meanwhile, five laboratories are accredited to use GeneXpert rapid test kits, which can yield results within 45 minutes.

The government is eyeing to MALL INSPECTION. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel of the Manila Police District inspect the entrance of a mall in the city on achieve 30,000 daily tests by the Sunday, May 17. Malls have reopened in the National Capital Region on May 16 provided that safety measures are in place amid the coronavirus end of May—a goal it set after threat.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan failing to reach its initial target of 8,000 daily tests by the end of April. n

Government aims to register 5 million Milestone: PH Navy ship docks in national ID system by yearend

on Pag-asa Island for 1st time

by FrancEs

Mangosing

Inquirer.net

MANILA — A Philippine Navy ship properly berthed on Pag-asa Island (Thitu) in the West Philippine Sea for the first time since the Philippines occupied the island to assert sovereignty over it.

BRP Ivatan (LC-298) docked at the port on the island, which is in the final stages of construction, last May 13, said Lt. Maivi Neri, acting public affairs officer of Naval Forces West.

This makes it “the first ever PN vessel that berthed thereat.”

She couldn’t say, however, when the beaching ramp would be fin-

ished.

BRP Ivatan was on Pag-asa Island for a resupply and troop rotation mission at the Philippine-occupied detachments in the West Philippine Sea. The ship returned to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on Sunday, May 17, after weeks of sailing in the West Philippine Sea, part of the Philippine- claimed waters in the disputed South China Sea. For many years, those who needed to go to Pag-asa by ship had to ride a small boat first to get to the island because of the absence of a harbor.

Large vessels have to anchor as far as 7 kilometers away from

the shore because of the absence of a dock. Smaller boats are used to unload people and goods on the island.

Pag-asa is inhabited by about a hundred Filipino civilians and hosts a small military garrison.

In 2017, the Philippine government announced plans for the construction of a beaching ramp or a port on Pag-asa Island to enable ships to deliver construction materials for the building and repair of facilities.

Analysts believe that the repair and construction work on the island is the reason Chinese militia boats have maintained constant presence nearby since 2018. n

by alExis

roMEro Philstar.com

MANILA — The government aims to register five million household heads for the national ID system by yearend to make the distribution of aid more efficient.

In his eighth report to Congress on the government’s coronavirus response, President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is fast-tracking the implementation of the ID system to improve future targeting and distribution of financial aid to poor and low-income households.

“Following prescribed health standards, PSA targets to safely register at least five million household heads from low-income households by December 2020,” the President said.

The PSA seeks to open the registration process by October with 6,500 registration kits in 46 fixed registration centers and 1,170 mobile registration enters nationwide, Duterte added.

The agency will also work with the Land Bank of the Philippines to use 126 of the bank’s branches as registration centers.

Last month, Duterte said the

President Duterte signed Republic Act 11055, the Philippine Identification System or National ID Law, in August 2018.

Philstar.com photo by John Nicole Villamayor

implementation of the national ID system would have hastened the distribution of assistance to sectors sidelined by the quarantine.

Duterte also reported that the Philippine Institute for Development Studies is drawing up the implementing rules of the Community-Based Monitoring System Act — a law that mandates the creation and maintenance of a system to collect and process data for planning and project tracking.

“The accelerated nationwide

implementation of a communitybased monitoring system shall allow the government to profile and identify households vulnerable to certain risks as well as qualified beneficiaries of targeted programs,” the President said.

Duterte said the Bureau of Immigration and airline companies have also agreed to use digitized passenger arrival cards and forms integrated in the bureau’s system prior to the arrival of flights in the country to strengthen contact tracing measures. n

‘Hard to replace’: Sinas stays as NCRPO chief

by Darwin

PEsco ManilaTimes.net

MAJOR Gen. Debold Sinas will remain as the Metro Manila police head despite alleged violations of lockdown guidelines, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said on Monday, May 18.

Gamboa said his decision was due to the continued lockdown brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I hope the public would understand kasi nandito tayo sa ganito nga, may emergency situation (because we are in an emergency situation),” he said in a radio interview.

Gamboa added that Sinas is in charge of programs in relation to

the pandemic, and it would be difficult for the PNP to relieve him while the country is still under quarantine.

“Siya yung nag-establish nung mga naunang quarantine (He established the first quarantine facilities),” he explained.

Gamboa also said that when Sinas became the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, illegal gambling stopped in Metro Manila, and the campaign against illegal drugs intensified.

Based on the PNP data, NCR has the highest number of arrested drug suspects — 2,067 — from March 15 to April 30.

“I hope ma-validate ito ng publiko na indeed, walang nangyaring suhulan pagdating sa ille-

gal gambling dito sa NCR (I hope the public validates that no bribery happened in the illegal gambling in NCR),” he added.

Last week, Sinas and 18 other police officers were charged by the PNP-Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of various criminal and administrative charges for violating physical distancing measures.

Sinas was criticized for having a birthday gathering in Camp Bagong Diwa despite the lockdown.

He apologized for the incident.

Gamboa has assured the public that if found liable by the court, those charged could be suspended and face forfeiture of pay. n

Newsom eases public health criteria allowing...

PAGE A1 ties and conditions. We’re going to start seeing a lot more activity, [so] let’s just make sure we do it thoughtfully and very, very strategically,” Newsom said at Monday’s press conference from Mustards Grill in Napa.

Newsom attributed the slackening of the rules to a decrease in state hospitalizations in the last two weeks, the increase of personal protective equipment distribution for medical workers and the wider availability of testing.

According to state health numbers, there have been a 7.5% decline in hospitalizations and an 8.7% decline in the number of ICU patients in the last two weeks.

Newsom also said that instore retail patronage as well as church-going and getting hair cuts may resume, and he suggested that professional sports could also return without the fan presence by early June.

Back in March, Newsom was the first governor to announce a statewide emergency declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which put forth strict shelter-inplace measures that have upended daily life for Californians

as well as the financial health for nearly every industry.

The governor’s latest remarks show a dramatic acceleration of the state’s 4-stage reopening plan. Currently, the state is transitioning from Stage 1 (wherein all residents except for essential workers must stay at home) to Stage 2 (slow reopening of businesses with lower risks of spreading the virus).

Newsom said that 53 of California’s 58 counties (“give or take a few counties”) are eligible to move into the second stage of reopening. Moreover, his remarks suggested that counties could soon be shifting to Stage 3, saying that Californians may start going to hair salons and gyms in “weeks, not months.”

As previously reported in the Asian Journal, California is currently in the early second phase of reopening: certain retail businesses are now allowed to open for curbside and delivery. The slow reopening of the state came after certain counties, namely Orange and San Diego counties, insisted on lifting the state’s shelter-in-place measures.

As of Tuesday, May 19, California has 82,302 cases and 3,334

deaths related to the COVID-19 virus. Los Angeles County makes up for nearly half of that count at 39,573 cases and 1,913 deaths.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement released Tuesday that she hopes that the county will reopen by July 4, citing the financial consequences of lockdown measures.

Officials across the state have been looking to avert an economic downturn amid the pandemic, which has caused unemployment to soar and businesses losing money despite government aid efforts.

“The economic and sociological impacts created by the COVID-19 shutdown have hurt our vulnerable populations the most,” Barger said.

LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer welcomed the governor’s changes to the rules, but she noted that because of LA County’s drastic numbers, it may be among the last of the counties to fully reopen.

“It would be great if we could all reopen at the same time, but literally half the cases and half the deaths [across California] are here in LA County right now,” she said.

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Dateline PhiliPPines

SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • MAy 20-22, 2020

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‘Balik Probinsya’ program kicks off Bill mandates AFP, PNP to help in contact tracing

by Javier ismael ManilaTimes.net

SENATOR Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go called on the government to immediately help all stranded individuals and families in Metro Manila and other urban centers as the initial phase of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program started.

“Marami po sa ating mga kababayan mula probinsya at nagpunta rito sa Metro Manila ang nais na ngayong umuwi. Tulungan po natin silang makabalik lahat (Many of those who came to Metro Manila want to go home. Let us help them),” Go said.

Included in the first batch are 112 persons traveling alone bound for Leyte. They will be part of the immediate-phase implementation of the BP2 program, according to National Housing Authority General Manager and BP2 Program Council Executive Director Marcelino Escalada Jr. The batch will leave this week.

“Our target is 100 to 300 leaving for the provinces, depending upon the capacity of the local government units to undertake health protocols,” Escalada said.

Their transportation needs will be provided by the Department of Transportation. They will also be given cash allowance by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. A dispatch

protocol will be prepared by the Department of Health to ensure that they observe health protocols. All returnees will be subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19.

Returnees to Leyte were given priority because the province registered the highest number of individuals who signified readiness to return at 2,300 persons.

Once they have been successfully brought back to Leyte, the program will have simultaneous trips to provinces throughout Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, 55 individuals in Cebu are also expected to return to Davao City next week.

They were tested for COVID19 and will be given food while they wait for their departure schedule.

The lawmaker’s office assisted in coordinating with appropriate agencies regarding the identification of beneficiaries, and provision of food and transportation.

Go emphasized that the whole country should learn from the experiences encountered during the pandemic, particularly the difficulties in controlling the spread of the disease and the challenges of delivering government services in overpopulated urban centers.

“Let this be a learning experience for us all,” he said.

“We have to act now. Marami

nang gustong umuwi pagkatapos ng naranasan nila dahil sa COVID-19. Kaya inilunsad ang programang ito ngayon para matulungan sila ng gobyerno at mabigyan sila ng mas maayos na buhay kung pipiliin nilang bumalik sa kanilang mga probinsya (Most of them want to go home after what they experienced because of COVID19. This program was launched so the government could help them go back to their respective provinces),” the senator said.

Go emphasized that the initiative was a long-term, holistic program to address perennial problems in urban and rural areas.

“Hindi po natin basta ililipat lang ang mga tao from urban to rural areas. Wala po itong pilitan. Sinisiguro ng gobyerno na magiging maayos ang kabuhayan ng mga taong lilipat.

Kaya po nagtayo ng interagency council. Para masigurong lahat ng aspeto ng buhay ng mga Pilipino ay mapaghandaan (We will not just relocate the people from the urban to rural areas. This is voluntary. The government will ensure that the relocatees will have better livelihoods. This is the reason we created an inter-agency council in order to put in place all the needed preparations for a better future for the Filipinos),” he explained. n

NBI arrests internet personality Francis Leo Marcos

MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, May 19 arrested internet personality Francis Leo Marcos over violation of the optometry law.

Agents of NBI-Cybercrime Division (CCD) arrested Marcos in Quezon City, following the warrant issued by a Baguio City court over his supposed violation of Republic Act 8050, or the revised Optometry Law of 1985.

NBI CCD chief Victor Lorenzo told reporters that the case stemmed from Marcos’ distribution of eyeglasses without prior approval and permission from professional associations.

No other details on the Baguio City case have been made public as of writing.

Lorenzo said the bureau is also verifying charges of qualified human trafficking in a Manila court and violence against women in a Nueva Ecija court against Marcos.

This photo taken May 19, 2020 shows Francis Leo Marcos at the National Bureau of Investigation office.

Photo courtesy NBI

The CCD chief added that Marcos is under probe of several NBI units. He also has pending complaints of estafa.

NBI Public Information Office chief Nicanor Suarez, in a separate message, told reporters that

Marcos intends to post bail.

Marcos has more than one million subscribers in his YouTube channel, while Facebook pages of his supporters boasts of thousands of followers. (Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com)

SENATOR Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has filed a bill mandating the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to assist the Department of Health (DoH) in its contract tracing efforts in a bid to slow down the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

Go filed Senate Bill 1528, which seeks to amend Republic Act 11332, also known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.’’ The Senate Health and Demography committee chairman said

the measure requires the Health department to issue clear guidelines on the systematic reporting and recording of notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern.

Go said despite the continuing government efforts and interventions, the DoH and its local counterparts had been struggling from gaps and inefficient mechanisms in disease surveillance.

The bill also seeks to establish subnational laboratories in all DoH-run hospitals that shall have the capacity to undertake testing, diagnosis, control and prevention of infectious diseases, and has

given the power to local government units to establish their own DoH-accredited laboratories and epidemiology and surveillance units.

It also requires all public and private institutions to provide necessary information in disease surveillance and other epidemiologic investigations, Go said.

The amendment also empowers the Health department to establish hotlines and other forms of access where the public can report notifiable diseases and health events of public concern.

(Javier J. Ismael/ManilaTimes. net)

‘We have put a lot there’: Finance chief defends fiscal response to outbreak by ian

nicolas cigaral Philstar.com

MANILA — The Duterte administration has “put a lot” of resources on its COVID-19 response, the head of the government’s economic team said as he defended the government’s handling of the pandemic before senators on Tuesday.

“We are trying to appropriate whatever we have to support our most vulnerable members of our community,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in Senate briefing tackling the state’s response to the pandemic.

“We have really put a lot there,” he added.

At one point, the finance chief told Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who was prodding Dominguez for a bigger fiscal outlay, to not “belittle” the government’s response to the outbreak which infected nearly 13,000 people nationwide. “I’m not belittling anything,” Recto responded.

The sufficiency of government resources became one of the focus of first of three-day marathon Senate hearings, which Senate President Tito Sotto said was meant to provide legislators information where the government is, and where it wants to go, on tackling the pandemic.

In his presentation, Dominguez reiterated a P1.74-trillion fourpillar economic strategy that the government has taken to fight COVID-19, a plan that came under scrutiny from Recto who wanted to “separate” actions taken by the central bank from the govern-

ment’s actual fiscal spending.

As it is, the third pillar of the plan, worth P1.1 trillion, included the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s measures to provide the government cash or ease interest rates and bank reserves to prompt higher lending. But Dominguez insisted the government had done more, telling Recto funding equivalent to 9.1% of economic output had been shelled out so far.

Funds for COVID-19 response have again taken center-stage in the past few days, from a government scramble to secure budget space for additional 5 million cash aid beneficiaries, to issues of mass testing that presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, at one point, said was better left to the private sector.

For Dominguez, and rest of the economic team, the problem really is the dwindling “budget cover” the government has to finance bigger spending, even while insisting cash is sufficient. As it is, while the Executive department was given power to reallocate funds through the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, spending is not allowed to go beyond P4.1 trillion, a plan devised before the pandemic hit.

On top of it, the finance chief said “revenues have plummeted” due to lack of economic activity. Finance department data released after the Senate hearing showed January-April collections of the tax and customs bureaus down 25.4% and 7.3% year-onyear, respectively.

Less revenues meant more borrowings. “We are borrowing a lot

of money. We have tapped our multilateral agencies. We have issued our single lowest bonds,” Dominguez said.

“We are not restricting in borrowing funds,” he added.

Supplemental budget not feasible In Dominguez’ presentation, it showed the government has increased its reliance on official development assistance to fund the pandemic’s response. From the original plan of $5.7 billion, borrowings from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank were increased to $8.6 billion. It’s unclear how much of that had been secured to date.

Larger borrowings, as it appears, are not enough reason to ask for a supplemental budget.

Echoing the budget department, Dominguez said the government is “constrained” to request Congress for additional outlay, as the central bank suggested, because there is no new revenue source as prescribed by the Constitution.

Earlier in the day, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran told Philstar.com it’s a “debate” whether the Charter requires only the presence of cash, or new revenues to open the gates for a new outlay. “In the past though, we requested based on new revenues,” he said by phone.

Dominguez agreed. “We do not have the required additional revenue to support an additional supplemental budget so we are living within our means.”

“We are trying to use the cash that we have in the most responsible way,” he added. n

A6 MAY 20-22, 2020 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

OPINION

Democratic space FOR sure, Filipinos have gotten the message: Big Brother is watching, and he can trace the authors of anti-administration statements posted in cyberspace. Now that the message has been sent, with mixed results, the government should focus on the difficult task of containing a pandemic, and let people cooped up in their homes enjoy democratic space.

Police have arrested three persons so far for posting messages offering rewards for the assassination of President Duterte. Just looking at the bounties offered should indicate whether the statements were made with serious intent: P50 million, P75 million, P100 million. Surely even tycoons with that kind of money to spare amid the economic apocalypse unleashed by the coronavirus disease pandemic have better uses for their money.

Yet police and the National Bureau of Investigation have earnestly pursued the suspected authors of the statements, and promptly indicted them for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act. Arrested so far are construction worker Ronald Qui-

FEATURES

boyen of Boracay; college graduate Maria Catherine Ceron of Cordova, Cebu, and Zambales public school teacher Ronnel Mas, who tearfully admitted after his warrantless arrest, in a video taken by the NBI, that he offered the original P50-million bounty so his social media account would attract attention.

Clearly, none of those arrested could even imagine earning that kind of money on their current means of livelihood. Already suffering from the pandemic, they now have the additional burden of litigation.

The cases come on the heels of an attempt by Philippine labor attaché in Taiwan Fidel Macauyag to have Filipina caregiver Elanel Egot Ordidor deported for “nasty” comments she posted against the Duterte administration. Fortunately for Ordidor and the cause of free expression, Taipei thumbed Philstar.com photo down the call.

Authorities claimed they were simply applying the cybercrime law in pursuing charges against zeal will be applied in going after those who also Mas, Quiboyen and Ceron. Let’s hope the same use cyberspace to threaten administration critics

Editorial

with death, kidnapping and rape. The law is supposed to apply to all. (Philstar.com)

Donald Trump may be the most dangerous president ever of our time. Don’t follow his lead for your safety.

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS WHAT should America do when Donald Trump, the president of the United States, undermines and violates the guidelines of the very health agencies and regulators of the American government especially during a time of medical emergency?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory last month saying that hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria/antilupus drug, has NOT yet been approved for the treatment of COVID-19 and that this drug would have to undergo scientific clinical trials to be proven to be safe and effective.

The FDA warned against the use of the medication outside hospitals, where the agency has granted temporary authorization for its use in some cases.

The agency cited reports that the drug can cause serious heart rhythm problems in COVID-19 patients.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there are no approved drugs or therapeutics to prevent or treat COVID19, “which is confirmed to have infected more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. and killed more than 90,000 patients.”

And yet, Trump admitted that he is taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19, despite warnings against its safety, as reported by independent U.S. mainstream

media, the BBC, the Guardian and other international outlets.

“I’m taking it for about a week and a half now and I’m still here, I’m still here,” touted Trump in his surprise announcement before the reporters at the White House.

He added, “You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it, the frontline workers, many, many are taking it. I happen to be taking it.”

As the BBC reported, when Trump was asked what was his evidence of hydroxychloroquine’s positive benefits, the president’s response: “Here’s my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it.”

This was his same response when he first touted the drug after being fact-checked by the country’s top epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci over the need for clinical trials that follow scientific protocols and regimen over anecdotal reports in March.

The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

The CDC is responsible for controlling the introduction and spread of infectious diseases, and provides consultation and assistance to other nations and international agencies to assist in

improving their disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion activities.

“Dr. Marcos Espinal, director of the Pan American Health Organization — part of the World Health Organization (WHO) — has also since stressed that no clinical trials have recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus,” the BBC reported. This echoes the same advisories and regulations of the United States’ health regulators, the FDA and the CDC. When asked whether the White House physician had recommended he start taking the disputed remedy, Trump said he had requested it himself, according to the BBC report.

Quoting Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the president, who issued a statement through the White House later on Monday after the surprise revelation, Conley said Trump was in “very good health” and “symptom-free.”

The U.S. Navy officer added: “After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks,” the BBC reported.

Many countries around the world are doing their share of finding the cure and vaccine to combat and defeat COVID-19.

Who would not want that as the

whole world is suffering right now?

The BBC reported that even the “UK government has been stockpiling some medicines that might be useful against coronavirus.

That includes 16m hydroxychloroquine tablets. Clinical trials are under way in the UK and the US to assess the drug’s worth. The human guinea pigs taking part include frontline healthcare workers at high risk of exposure to the virus, as well as patients.”

However, the report stressed that health “experts are concerned about advocating more general use of these experimental treatments before the proof is in.”

“People that follow the president’s example might not only endanger themselves but could also deprive patients with chronic autoimmune conditions of their much-needed medication,” Dr. Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds told BBC health editor Michelle Roberts, in reaction to Trump’s touting of his use of the drug.

The BBC report showed a graph of data from U.S. insurance claims, hospital prescriptions excluded, which showed that the number of prescriptions for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine soared between March and April, after Trump promoted it and lied about it being approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in his daily coronavirus briefing.

Flashback to a report by the New York Times: Trump’s family stands to benefit from the widespread use of the drug. Per that report as quoted by MSN News: “If hydroxychloroquine becomes an accepted treatment, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders and senior executives with connections to the president. Mr. Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brandname version of hydroxychloroquine.

According to Trump’s 2019 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the 45th president’s three family trusts each have two line item entries describing investments between $1,001 and $15,000 apiece in the Dodge & Cox International Stock Fund.

The Times notes that Sanofi, the drug manufacturer, is the mutual fund’s largest individual holding.

According to MarketWatch, the exact size of the fund’s stake in Sanofi “at last check was 3.3%.”

Marketwatch also notes–and shrugs off–additional Sanofi stakes: “It turns out he does look to have more than [a] modest sum invested in Sanofi, because, unmentioned in the Times report, his trusts also hold broader Euro-

pean stock-market index funds.”

Many of Trump’s critics question whether he is indeed taking the drug knowing his bad relationship with the truth. Some accuse him of saying these lies to tout and push the drug further, while others say this is yet another of his diversionary tactics to shift conversation away from his failure to lead the country effectively and faithfully during this crisis. Most worry about how this blind will lead the other blind of our country without causing more harm to peoples’ safety and survival.

Trump’s defiance of science and facts, coupled with his personal, financial and political objectives, makes him the most dangerous president of the United States in our time, when we are being attacked by our common invisible enemy, COVID-19.

My fellow Americans, what are we going to do about this betrayal to his oath of the public official accorded with the most powerful position in the nation and the public trust that goes with it? *** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.

Imagine a pandemic lockdown with no TV, smartphone or Facebook

Street Talk GREG B. MACABENTA MY wife and I have been attending Holy Mass on our laptop for more than two months now because of the coronavirus pandemic. Both of us being in our 80s, our children have advised us to avoid unnecessarily going out of the house.

The fantastic advantage is that we have had the rare opportunity to hear Mass celebrated by Pope Francis himself at the Vatican, as well as by bishops in cathedrals around the U.S. Of course, we have not had the privilege of receiving Holy Communion, and we miss the dynamic homilies of our young pastor at St. Joseph Church in Pinole, Fr. Geoffrey Baraan. We also miss fellow parishioners who have become close friends.

The social distancing and other pandemic-related mandates given by the U.S. government have not really been as strict as they are in the Philippines.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are allowed to go out, provided we wear face masks and avoid crowds. In fact, we do more than that. We also wear gloves, in addition to the face masks. These are all discarded as soon as we get back into the safety of our homes.

We have shopped for groceries a couple of times (against the advice of our children) and have noted the strict rules imposed by the supermarkets. All the shopping carts are regularly disinfected and shoppers have to fall in line outside the store, while staffers allow batches to enter, as soon as an equivalent number clears the checkout counters.

The rule is: no mask, no entry.

Shoppers have to keep six feet apart at the meat and fish counters and move away and around others as they make the rounds of the store. That reminded me of my early trips to the U.S. where we discreetly crossed the street to avoid walking past tough-looking groups on one side of the road. We were particularly wary in downtown Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. If you think Tondo is scary, try these cities.

In truth, for those who have the means, the COVID-19 lockdown isn’t all that inconvenient - that is, compared to the restrictions during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. It was much, much worse then.

Imagine a pandemic with no TV, no smartphone, no Facebook, no Facetime, no Zoom, and no Netflix. Well, that was how it was during the period, January 1918 to December 1920, from the earliest occurrence of the deadly flu to the time the pandemic subsided.

Almost three years!

TV was only introduced in the U.S. in 1928. And while the telephone was already in common use in the early 1900s, it was not until 1992 that the closest thing to a smartphone — IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator —was introduced. And it wouldn’t be until 2007 that Apple would launch the i-phone. Thus, no smartphone for emails, texting, Viber messaging or for social media interaction.

While personal one-on-one teaching by parents is probably unmatched (assuming parents are educated and knowledgeable), today’s Zoom application has made home-learning for kids possible while schools are closed, and Facetime has allowed families to bond at any time.

We all know what Facebook has enabled people to do, whether or not there is a pandemic — except that now, we are seeing more dishes and old photographs being displayed on social media, along with commentaries on Presidents Trump and Duterte and every subject under the sun.

Some folks will probably point out that not having to listen to Trump or Duterte was one of the advantages of being home-bound at the height of the Spanish flu, but then today’s COVID-19 refugees can always shut down the TV and cherry-pick things to view or read online.

Indeed, one had few options at the time of the Spanish flu, nor

was there a running report on infections and mortality. In fact, because World War I was being fought at the time, censorship had been imposed in Europe, except in Spain which had declared neutrality. Because Spanish media freely reported on the pandemic, the world press began to refer to it as the Spanish flu, even though it had first been detected in a military camp in Kansas in the U.S. It was not until 1940 that a vaccine was developed and marketed.

Meanwhile, the same non-pharmaceutical interventions mandated in the COVID-19 crisis were decreed by authorities to limit the spread of the Spanish flu.

One U.S. newspaper reported: “Schools, theaters, churches and dance halls in cities across the country were closed. Kansas City banned weddings and funerals if more than 20 people were to be in attendance. New York mandated staggered shifts at factories to reduce rush-hour commuter traffic.

Seattle’s mayor ordered his constituents to wear face masks…”

Some of my friends in Manila have become stir-crazy from being cooped up in their homes.

They complain that the travel restrictions are a “Duterte-style martial law.”

Others describe their “confinement” at home as “martial law” — with their wives as prison wardens. Serves them right. The life-

style in Manila is not conducive to domestication. Husbands use every little excuse — client meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc.

— to justify going to their favorite watering holes after office hours.

Not surprisingly, some wives and children decide that they also deserve to have their own “good time.”

No wonder, drug abuse and marital problems are common in Manila. Years ago, the problem with drug use among the young became so bad that parents of exclusive schools set up a group called, Parents Organization of the Philippines. Because the chairman of our ad agency, Tony de Joya, was designated to head the group, he asked me to create an anti-drug abuse ad campaign for the organization.

My first ad created quite a stir among the parents. It showed a teenager with a drug pusher giving him a stick of grass. The headline read: “Is a pusher paying more attention to your child than you are?”

Today’s COVID-19 lockdown appears to have resulted in an unintended benefit: parents being kept at home and, inevitably, paying more attention to their children.

While the number of infections and the mortality rate worldwide have been alarming — at 4.7 million and 310,000, respectively (so far) — these numbers are really

modest compared to the death toll of the Spanish flu. That pandemic is said to have claimed some 50 million lives (due to lack of sophisticated monitoring and reporting systems at the time, the estimates have ranged widely from 20 million to 100 million deaths).

Note that the world population was 1.6 billion in 1900 and 2 billion in 1920. We could, thus, assume around 1.8 billion in 1918.

Even if we use the low mortality estimate of 20 million, that is still a much higher percentage of the population compared to the current COVID-19 worldwide death rate of 298,000 (out of a 7.8 billion world population).

And here’s something that I hope Donald Trump does not brag about: the COVID-19 death rate in the U.S., estimated at 86,000 as of this writing, is relatively small, based on the U.S. population of 328 million.

The U.S. death toll claimed by the 1918 pandemic was 675,000 out of a U.S. population at the time of 103 million. I also hope that Duterte does not brag that the current Philippine mortality rate of less than 100 is a very small percentage of a population of more than 100 million.

Of course, for people of compassion, one man’s death is one death too many — especially if the victim is a loved one or a friend. (gregmacabenta@hotmail. com)

The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.

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cover story The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - May 20, 2020

Fil-Am books to read during summer 2020 by

AJPress

NOW entering two months into stay-at-home orders, individuals across the country have found ways to fill their “free time,” whether through baking, sewing masks or completing puzzles.

Another method has been diving into a good book as a means to escape the outside world. Book purchases grew 777% in the first half of April, compared to the same period in March, according to Rakuten data.

At the beginning of this year, the Asian Journal published a list of titles by Filipino and Filipino American authors to watch out for in 2020.

Already, the following books we mentioned have been released: “The Vanished Birds”

by Simon Jimenez (January 14); “Wicked as You Wish”

by Rin Chupeco (March 3) ; “How to Make Friends with the Sea” by Tanya Guerrero (March 31); and “Any Day with You” by Mae Respicio (May 5).

Additionally, we’ve seen the releases of “Once Upon a Sunset” (March 3) by Army nurse turned romance novelist, Tif Marcelo; “The Easy Filipino Cookbook: 100 Classics Made Simple” (March 24) by chef Roline Casper; “Raising Multiracial Children: Tools for Nurturing Identity in a Racialized World” (April 28)

by Filipina-Pakistani author and diversity and inclusion specialist Farzana Nayani; and “We Dream of Space”

by Newbery Award-winning children’s author Erin Entrada Kelly.

As there’s no end in sight (yet) for when quarantine measures will be lifted, here are several books — from fiction to memoirs — by Fil-Am authors set to hit shelves and e-readers this summer.

“Fairest” by Meredith Talusan (May 26) This coming-of-age memoir by award-winning author and journalist Meredith Talusan chronicles the journey of a precocious boy with albinism in the Philippines who would migrate to the United States, study at Harvard and transition to become a woman.

Navigating through race, class, colorism and belonging within the gay community, “Talusan shares poignant and powerful episodes of desir-

ability and love,” according to publisher Viking. “Her evocative reflections will shift our own perceptions of love, identity, gender, and the fairness of life.”

“Where Dreams Descend” by Janella Angeles (June 2) In “Where Dreams Descend” — the first book in Fil-Am writer Janella Angeles’ Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology — readers will be transported to a city covered in ice and ruin where a group of magicians embarks on a series of games in search of the next headliner of the Conquering Circus. There’s romance, secrecy and unseen danger along the way as we meet Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost; Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club and more than one lie told; and Demarco, the brooding judge with a past he can no longer hide.

“The Groom Will Keep His Name” by Matt Ortile (June 2) The debut collection of essays covering topics, such as dating, identity and sexuality, comes from Matt Ortile, managing editor of Catapult magazine. Releasing this June by Bold Type Books, an imprint of Hachette, “The Groom Will Keep His Name” charts Ortile’s journey moving from Manila to Las Vegas and the experience of being bullied for his skin tone, Filipino accent and femininity. The essays explore the idea of social media personas and ultimately, lead to a realization of “radical self-love.”

“You Can’t Do It Alone: A Widow’s Journey Through Loss, Grief, and Life After”

by Maria Quiban Whitesell (June 9) When faced with her husband Sean Whitesell’s terminal brain cancer diagnosis, FOXLA’s morning meteorologist Maria Quiban Whitesell found herself having to explain the loss to their young son, figure out how to respond to inappropriate questions, and learn how to deal with the day-to-day throughout her husband’s harrowing treatments, death, and life after. In “You Can’t Do It Alone: A Widow’s Jour-

Fairest by Meredith Talusan

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Amboy: Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream by Alvin Cailan with Alexandra Cuerdo

ney Through Loss, Grief, and Life After,” Quiban Whitesell teams up with licensed clinical social worker Lauren Schneider to provide readers with the roadmap for dealing with illness, death, and grief she wished she’d had.

“Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop” by Roselle Lim (August 4) Inspired by her FilipinaChinese culture and cooking alongside her father, novelist Roselle Lim’s forthcoming title “Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop” is a dreamy and magical trip centered on heritage and food. The story centers on protagonist Vanessa Yu, who has an ability to predict scenarios, though she thinks it’s a curse. Unhappily single and after delivering the worst

The Groom will Keep His Name by Matt Ortile

Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

misfortune to someone she loves, Vanessa finally decides she’s had enough—it’s time to get this “gift” under control.

She enlists the help of the family fortune telling expert, her aunt Evelyn. The only catch? Aunt Evelyn is moving to Paris to open a teashop.

Vanessa has no choice but to journey to the city of love to change her destiny.

“Amboy: Recipes from the Filipino-American Dream” by Alvin Cailan and Alexandra Cuerdo (August 25) Famed Fil-Am chef Alvin Cailan — founder of popular breakfast sandwich purveyor Eggslut and host of online series “The Burger Show” — has teamed up with “Ulam” documentary director Alex-

You Can’t Do it Alone by Maria Quiban Whitesel

Vampires of Portlandia by Jason Tanamor

andra Cuerdo for a cookbook illustrating the dual identity as an “amboy,” a Filipino growing up in America. Set to be released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in late summer, this cookbook narrates Cailan overcoming “cultural traditions and family expectations to find his own path to success.” Expect Filipino comfort classics from the lens of a FilAm upbringing and anecdotes about Cailan’s rise as a chef.

“Vampires of Portlandia”

by Jason Tanamor (September 29) Based on Filipino folklore (aswang), “Vampires of Portlandia” by Jason Tanamor is a fantastical tale of different monsters coexisting in the weirdest city in America.

When Marcella Leones relo-

cates her family of aswang vampires from the Philippines to Portland, Oregon, she raises her grandchildren under strict rules so humans will not expose them. Her only wish is to give them a peaceful life, far away from the hunters and the Filipino government that attempted to exterminate them. Before she dies, she passes on the power to her eldest grandchild, Percival. He vows to uphold the rules set forth by Leones, allowing his family to roam freely without notice. However, when the aswang covenant is broken, the murder rate in Portland rises drastically. Who is behind the murders? And who is behind the broken covenant? Along with sensie Penelope Jane, Percival must find the truth.

Fil-Am Francisco Martin What Cherry Pie learned finishes on ‘American Idol’ Top 5 while in quarantine By ritChel

MendiolA AJPress

FILIPINO American singer Francisco Martin on Monday, May 18, ended his “American Idol” journey as part of the 18th season’s top five.

Just Sam, the only girl left in the competition, was crowned the winner, while Nepali immigrant Arthur Gunn finished as the runnerup.

In the last episode, each contestant were tasked to perform two songs: a celebration tune for being part of the top five, and a previously performed track.

Martin performed “dore You” by Harry Styles and “Alaska”by Maggie Rogers.

“Idol” judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan expressed how proud they are at Martin for coming so far in the competition.

“That performance was an elevated version of what you gave to us in the beginning.

You’re so smooth when you delivered that. It sounded like it was professionally recorded in the studio somewhere.

That’s how good it was,” said Perry about his rendition of “Alaska.”

Meanwhile, Bryan said:”I’m so proud to see you here. I’m so heartbroken that this is the last time we’ll get to hear you perform like this on ‘American Idol.’ And I know that sky is the limit for your career.”

Richie, for his part, praised Martin for being a “model student.”

“You have taken all of our notes and every time I see you, I smile while you’re performing because you have delivered the goods on graduation day,” he said.

Martin, after the show, took to Instagram to reflect over his journey in “American Idol.”

“I’ve grown so much as

By MArinel

Cruz

Inquirer.net

THE year 2020 was supposed to be an extremely busy year for actress Cherry Pie Picache, but the pandemic and the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) have definitely changed that.

On May 27, Cherry Pie was supposed to celebrate her 50th birthday, which is a major milestone and an accomplishment, but if she had planned for either a weekend getaway abroad or a grand party, she had to postpone it because ECQ rules prohibit any form of travel and mass gathering.

Cherry Pie’s son, Nio, also turned 18 on April 28.

He likewise graduated from high school at the Ateneo de Manila University on March 30, but the Department of Education ordered the cancelation of all ceremonies while the country is fighting the new coronavirus diseases (COVID19) pandemic.

It also looks like Nio, who snatched himself a scholarship from the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, would be flying there The 19-year-old singer, who hails from San Francisco, California, started his ‘AI’ journey as a nervous a little later than expected. singersongwriter. He eventually gained his confidence throughout the competition and wowed the “Natataranta kami ngayon. judges with his performance each week.

Photo from Instagram/@americanidol We’ve been making plans and trying to make arrangements of my heart, wherever you a human and as an artist for him to live there,” said the are, thank you so much,” he throughout these few past proud mom. “This was the added. months and I’ll never forget Martin assured that this is reason Nio had been working that. I’ve met a great deal so hard for years; the reason not the end, and expressed of lifelong friends, unforgethe played tennis and joined hope that everyone will contable memories and have tournaments.” tinue to support him in the gained the support of all you Cherry Pie pointed out: future. beautiful souls,” he wrote.

“As a parent, it’s already a “This is not the end but “As a person dealing with huge achievement to have only a chapter that has come anxiety, you’ve all accepted a child finish high school. It to a beautiful close. Thank me for who I truly am and would have been a proud moyou for riding alongside me have supported me throughment to see him march, but on this journey. Hope you’re out all of it. Jeez I’m just so with all that’s happening now, ready to travel with me onto in love with all of you. To be I simply chose not to complain the next chapter in life. able to have inspired many about it. Mag-iinarte pa ba?

There’s a ton of room, don’t of you to follow their dreams I’m now just thankful that be shy. Grab a seat (if you’d is something I never thought we’re alive and that we still like to). See you soon loves,” would’ve happen in a milhave each other.” he said. lion years. From the bottom

Cherry Pie Picache

Before the lockdown, which began on March 15, Cherry Pie was busy with the PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association)-produced stage play “Under My Skin.”

“We were totally caught off-guard by the ECQ order,” Cherry Pie said of the advocacy project that marked her debut in theater. “We didn’t realize that our show on March 8 eventually became our last. We still had 16 more shows, but they were all cancelled.”

She said she felt bad for her coactors and the production team. “Prior to our performance dates, we’ve been rehearsing for months. They’re already expecting to earn from those shows, but sadly, all were suddenly called off.

PETA is still studying whether or not it’s still feasible to push through when the health crisis is finally controlled,” she told Inquirer Entertainment.

Aside from this, Cherry Pie said the shooting of her movie project with GMA Films was also discontinued.

Because she had been neck-deep in work since

ABS-CBN photo

November 2019, Cherry Pie said she initially welcomed the opportunity to simply stay at home because of the ECQ. But when the lockdown kept getting extended, she started feeling worried and uneasy.

While she has been doing her part—along with her coactor-friends from “Call Me Tita” (or CMT, a comedy series in iWant)—in helping out people displaced by the pandemic, she admitted that she has not been earning anymore.

“Nothing is coming in.

When Agot [Isidro] and I chatted recently, we both agreed that, yes, we save when there’s work, because when there’s none, we budget our money. Looks like we’re in this for the long haul,” Cherry Pie declared.

If there’s anything that Cherry Pie said she learned while in quarantine, it was that “the best things in life are indeed free. The Titas and I would often talk about how we are now at a stage in our lives when already we want to simplify things. We now determine what’s essential and do away with the excesses.

Continued on Page 3

Angel relaunches artista ‘ukayukay’ to support mass testing need it the most. This time, with the funds we raise, we would like to purchase test kits and allow testing opporJUST a month after her tunities for the poorer sectors “Unitent We Stand PH” initiain the hopes of helping out tive — which raised P11.35 in the efforts to provide mass million, set up 246 tents (225 testing in the country,” the isolation and 21 sanitation) 35-year-old wrote. and benefited 135 hospitals “Yes, in support of mass — real-life “Darna” Angel testing. Because in this way Locsin is launching another ofwe can make a higher impact, fensive against the local novel by pushing the TEST-TRACEcoronavirus disease 2019 ISOLATE/TREAT formula that (COVID-19) outbreak. is the only proven way to This time, the Kapamilya defeat the virus.” star is reviving the “Shop and Presidential spokesperson Share” fundraiser, her brainHarry Roque yesterday said child back in 2009 that raised that the government is leavat least $15,000 to help Filipiing mass testing in the hands nos recover in the aftermath Angel Locsin of Typhoon Ondoy.

Photo from Instagram/@therealangellocsin of the private sector.

Meanwhile, Angel’s part“We had actors, singers ner in the original Shop and She appealed to her and even basketball playShare auction, actress Anne friends and fellow artists to ers donate personal items participate in Shop and Share Curtis, reposted the graphic from designer bags, clothes, and likewise encouraged her “in the hopes of helping out jerseys, jewelry, etc., and we celebrity colleagues to conin the efforts to provide mass auctioned them off on eBay, tribute. testing in the country.” with all the proceeds going Angel’s good friend Dim“We would like to revisit to the Philippine Red Cross,” ples Romana also promoted the idea of artists coming toAngel explained the idea on gether and helping those who the humanitarian initiative. social media.

By Ratziel

San Juan Philstar.com

Despite the uncertainties of the global health situation, Franco sees to it that his family gets to appreciate the brighter side.

Franco shares private life at home

By Chonx

tiBaJia Philstar.com

ONE upside to extended quarantine is extended quality time with the family. While this comes with its own set of challenges, the discoveries make it worthwhile.

For Franco Laurel, being housebound with his wife Ayen, and children Mariella, Angia, Sofia, Lucia, and Hasan Jefri, is turning out to be a revelation of each other’s enhanced creative inclinations, which, for a family of artists and performers, make for fun (and, when they’re sharing them on social media, entertaining) family bonding.

A self-confessed homebody, Franco shares that spending time at home is not that huge of a stretch for him, but that hearing about a “lockdown” was, at first, disconcerting.

“If it’s not work-related, I normally don’t go out. I just love staying at home. I love being with my kids. I love being at home. It’s my comfort zone, my sanctuary. It’s a space where I can commune with God and spend lots of time with my wife and my kids.

I heard about a ‘lockdown’ before community quarantine was announced and since at that time we didn’t know the gravity of the virus and how it’s going to affect the whole world, there was a slight fear because it has never happened in my lifetime. It was the uncertainty of everything and not being able to see our family and friends. But we settled into it pretty well and pretty quickly,” he says.

According to Franco, the thought of staying home with all of his children—something they don’t get to do so much anymore with three of his kids all grown-up—was something he and his wife Ayen welcomed.

“The thing that I really looked forward to about staying home—and my heart goes out to our frontliners and

During the quarantine, the Laurel family took up new hobbies like baking and engaged in a healthy fitness regimen.

Philstar.com photos Chonx Tibajia

everyone doing their jobs for our safety—is that I get to be with my kids. We get to spend so much quality time with each other. Sabi ko nga sa mga anak ko and kay Ayen, na I think magkakaron ako ng separation anxiety kapag na-lift yung lockdown. The age range of my kids is 2 to 29 years old.

So the older set of kids are working and doing their own thing, and to have them home for dinner every night is great.

They’re baking and cooking and doing a lot of nice things together. That’s the positive thing that has come out of this lockdown, being with family.”

Ayen and Franco ensured that the kids feel safe at home.

“It’s up to us to create that environment and take away fear. The two younger ones—I have a five-year-old and a two-year-old—are the ones who are really really happy kasi to them, we’re all together at home, and they get to spend time with their kuya and ates more,” Franco shares.

The first week of quarantine was dedicated to planning a routine, one that they easily fell into as the days went by.

The family’s daily schedule involves a healthy dose of exercise, schoolwork for the kids, prayer, alone time for everybody, and bonding over a homemade dinner.

“I have not seen my wife in

the kitchen as much in the last three or four years. Now, she’s in the kitchen almost every day, experimenting. Kaya din ako workout nang workout.

Bawal tumaba. [Laughs] My daughter has discovered her passion for baking. My son, whose passion is film, is doing four short films right now, and he’s using his sisters as his actors. Sometimes tumutulong ako. Ako yung cameraman.

The two younger ones enjoy our singing nights. We swim every other day. We try to make it as happy and light as possible to keep everyone feels safe. At home, we try to make sure that everything is more or less like ‘normal’ for the kids,” Franco says.

This new normal is not lost on the couple’s six-year-old, Sofia. “She’s been asking, ‘What’s coronavirus?’ So we just explain to her the importance of washing your hands, keeping yourself clean. They’re more aware of that. It’s become normal and routine for them also to constantly wash their hands,” he says.

Franco says, “Ayen makes sure to spend a quiet time for praying and watching the news. My kids also enjoy their time learning new things. Mariella is a director and an actor, so she works on her projects.

My son, Hasan Jefri, does Continued on Page 4

What Cherry Pie learned...

From Page 2 We realized that we no longer want to be stressed by so many things.”

By titas, Cherry Pie meant her CMT costars, namely Agot, Mylene Dizon, Joanna Ampil and Angelica Panganiban.

“Mylene has transferred to a house in the province to avoid stress, while Agot tried out farming. Angge (Angelica’s nickname) moved out of her old house and tried condo living,” Cherry Pie pointed out. “For me, this lockdown became an affirmation that

what I’ve been doing is the right thing all along.”

Cherry Pie said keeping in touch with people “who are of the same wavelength as you; who are also optimistic and grateful like you” would surely help you in your struggle for mental stability. It’s also good if you’re in touch with certain communities and organizations that are involved in helping those that are affected by the crisis.

“I would always say to myself, what else can I do to reach out to others? It doesn’t really matter if you could only

give a small amount. Others will get inspired by what you do. This will give them hope,” the actress said.

Cherry Pie and the titas recently participated in an online fundraising event titled “ka-ecq-sena,” wherein they auctioned off to five bidders the chance to experience how it’s like to perform alongside the CMT cast. The event is part of the Open House initiative, which aims to provide financial assistance to those in the performing arts community that were hardest hit by the crisis.

entertainment

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - May 20, 2020

Jericho recalls hard life peddling food and collecting trash, asks people to dream amid dark times By ian

Biong Inquirer.net

AS the world struggles against the COVID-19 pandemic, actor Jericho Rosales has stepped up to give fans a ray of hope amid dark times by recounting his journey to success.

Rosales – who used to collect garbage, sell fish and ice buko, among many other undertakings – stressed the importance of dreams, even when these seem impossible to achieve.

“Think a lot of us have stopped dreaming and reaching our goals because of the negative factors around us — poverty, lack of support and the additional uncertainty we get from this pandemic. Or at least we deeply questioned them,” he said on his official Facebook page on Monday, May 18.

“Our tomorrows are filled with questions and cares. It is natural for us to think that way. We all are going through this and it is very hard,” he added.

“Dreams are dreams because they seem far from reality. It can be easy to forget about them. But with a heart full of hope and a mind filled with positivity, nothing is impossible,” Rosales stressed.

Rags to riches Rosales recalled how he grew up in poverty: he was born into a poor family, went to six public schools in elementary and high school, and was not able to go to college because he “didn’t know what career meant” and that his family “simply could not afford it.”

Rosales also experienced collecting discarded wires, old newspapers and sold them to junk shops for money “and sometimes cheap cheese curls.” He also collected plastic trash from a dumpsite with his cousin, became a jeepney

Jerico Rosales

barker, a pizza boy and a driver.

He added that he only learned to speak English through television and movies, and by forcing himself to read and talk to people, which he said gave him “wonderful ideas and opened my eyes to new possibilities with a clearer vision for my life.”

“Clearly, [I] did not have the ideal life situation. But I had a dream — to get myself and my family out of poverty and have our own house. That was my first major dream. I had faith in God and I also had time. So [I] prayed and prayed and never stopped learning new things. I kept moving. I kept my dream [in front] of me,” Rosales stressed.

He noted that self-education, constantly learning skills, surrounding one’s self with like-minded people and “us-

Photo from Instagram/@jerichorosalesofficial

ing your challenges as tools for self-improvement/development are keys to opening doors of opportunities.”

“What we have in our hands is NOW. It holds a lot of power if you know how to use it. It can change your tomorrows. Shaping it starts the moment you tell yourself ‘this is my tomorrow,’” Rosales said. “We also have each other.”

He stressed that dreams will only remain as they are until one does something about them.

“So keep dreaming, keep hoping and keep moving. You are made to be something and a someone for another. I wish all of us a bright future and I’ll do my part to make that happen,” he added. “Di mo kailangan ng tsinelas sa dagat ng pangarap. Naks (You do not need slippers in the sea of dreams).”

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - May 20, 2020

Start thinking of bankruptcy now as a possible option later Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon THE coronavirus has put a lot of strain on people’s ability to pay their debts. With a lot of employees getting laid off in massive numbers, they are staying at home to keep themselves and their families safe. In the meantime, however, the bills still continue and without any income, it is becoming increasingly difficult to catch up as their debts begin to snowball.

If you’ve lost your job and don’t know if you even have one to go back to, bankruptcy may be an option for you down the road. And although that may sound grim, it is the reality that everyone is now facing.

For some, this may still be a big question mark and they are waiting to see what happens in the next few months. For others, it is the writing on the wall that cannot be ignored. The government and most banks have provided some kind of

temporary relief. Most lenders have allowed suspension of payments for a few months on house, car and credit card payments. But be mindful that you will still need to make up the missed payments at some point. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

It is best that you start thinking defensively in terms of how you can protect your home, car, savings, retirement plans or other assets you have. Remember that you need to put yourself and your family FIRST. If you have limited income or just living off your savings at the moment, figure out the best way that you can survive while spending as little as possible.

Go through your monthly expenses and figure out what you can cut out for now. Pay only essential bills, those that are necessary to keep a roof over your head, keep the lights on and to put food on the table.

To some people, this is something new because they never had a monthly budget and never took the time to looking at their finances in detail. But we’re living in difficult financial times and if there was ever a time where you had to watch your expenses like a hawk, this

is the time to do it.

If you can help it, do not touch your retirement money (example: IRA and 401K accounts). First of all, be aware of the tax consequences of cashing out your retirement plan by consulting with your tax professional. Secondly, people who think they may be headed towards bankruptcy soon try to spend their retirement money for fear that they may lose it later if they do end up filing bankruptcy. Wrong. 401K plans and IRA’s are actually exempt in bankruptcy and they cannot be touched for distribution to your creditors. This is just one common mistake that a lot of people make because they don’t take the time to consult with an attorney and try do things on their own. The moment you convert that retirement plan into cash, you may actually risk losing that money since the cash is no longer retirement money; it’s just cash in the bank.

Another mistake that people make is giving away property or selling them for cheap to family and friends in order to get cash or in many cases, just to get the property Continued on Page 5

Franco shares private life at...

From Page 4 movie editing, musical scoring for his short films. Angia is so creative that she’s decided to come out with a clown series with makeup and records her own songs. The two little ones, Sofia and Lucia, are the ones who are attached to us.”

Franco shares that despite the uncertainties of the global health situation, he sees to it that his family gets to appreciate the brighter side. “This whole thing has made me more grateful. Grateful to God and grateful to be able to spend time with my family, and to get to know them,” Franco says.

“My wife and I have been married for 19 years and together for 21 years, and I still discover

EMPLOYMENT

more new things about her and our children. I’m so grateful for dinnertime cause that’s when we get to bond and talk.

We catch up on life and hear about what their dreams are.

I’m grateful for PLDT Home because it helps us connect with our friends and family, learn new things by watching online videos, and bond as a family over our favorite online shows. We also listen to Victory Christian Fellowship podcasts almost every day, and we are able to attend service online on Sundays. We get to sing together, too.”

While music is rooted in the Laurel family, Franco recognizes its potential to become an instrument to uplift lives.

Kim celebrates ‘Bawal Lumabas’ success

By Jan

Milo Severo Philstar.com

ACTRESS Kim Chiu reacted on Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque quoting her during yesterday’s public address regarding the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in the country.

In her Instagram story, Kim shared and commented on Roque’s quote card by The STAR. “Recess time habang waiting… Umabot ako sa Malacanang! Di pa ko nakakarating dun pero atleast yung salitang ‘bawal lumabas’ umabot na!”

Kim wrote.

In his virtual press briefing earlier on Monday, Roque described the difference between modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) and reminded the public about prevailing measures in both types of quarantine.

“Sabi nga ng isang nag-viral na post, at alam ko naman kilala niyo kung sino siya: bawal lumabas,” Roque said, referring to “bawal lumabas” as said

by Kim in her viral video.

“Pero kapag nag-comply ka, at inayos niyo mag-obserba ng proper hygiene, tulad ng

SERVICES

Photo from Instagram/@chinitaprincess

paghuhugas ng kamay, pagsusuot ng face mask or face shield, at pagsunod sa social distancing at iba pang protocols, mafa-flatten natin ang curve... ‘yung bawal lumabas ay magiging pwede na lumabas,” he added.

Kim on Monday night launched the music video of her new song “Bawal Lumabas: The Classroom Song,” the very

reason why she received heavy criticism recently.

Apart from Roque, ABSCBN reporter Doris Bigornia was also trending recently for borrowing some of Kim’s “law in the classroom” lines.

After footage of her fighting cats went viral online, Doris quipped on Twitter: “Children!!! There is a law in the studio!”

Nadine on living alone since moving out of James’ house

Franco is planning out a music show that will be aired on his social media soon. He opens up, “We’re doing our own bit in helping and inspiring people with music. Aside from helping out by donating, I believe that music is one of the best ways to uplift our kababayans here and around the world.”

Indeed, if there is a silver lining to this new normal that we’ve been slowly getting used to, it’s that we’re getting to appreciate the simplest things.

For Franco Laurel, it’s getting to spend more time with his family, getting to know his kids and bonding on a level that they otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to under “normal” circumstances.

Nadine Lustre

FOR RENT

Kim Chiu

I had this fear when it comes to writing, when it comes to making music, parang ACTRESS Nadine Lustre I’m always doubting myself revealed that she’s now foand telling myself ‘you can’t cused on writing songs during do this,’ ‘you’re not good this community quarantine enough,’ ‘your vocabulary is period due to the novel coro- not flowery enough’ or things navirus disease 2019 (COVID- like that,” Nadine said.

19) pandemic.

She explained that she’s In an interview with Tim focused on writing more Yap on Tim’s online show these days since she is get“Tim Yap Live!,” Nadine ting in touch with her emosaid the biggest lesson she tions lately. learned during the quarantine “Because I’ve been writing period is to stop doubting a lot and I’ve been getting herself. in touch with my emotions “Actually, one of the bigwith what I’ve feeling it’s like gest lessons I learned dura Pandora’s box, that’s how ing the quarantine period, I explained it to other peoI learned to stop doubting ple, everything I need to feel myself. I started believing and experience is all there,” Continued on Page 5 Photo from Instagram/@nadine myself more kasi nga before

By Jan

Milo Severo Philstar.com

SERVICES

When am I considered separated from my spouse in a divorce case?

spouse.

So how does the Court determine the date of separation? In the case of Marriage of Davis, the California Supreme Court held that the couple needs to be living separate and Atty. Kenneth apart in order to be separated.

UrsUA reyes The Court looked into the legislative intent of the original THE date of separation statute that was over 100 years is one of the most important old. However, this case holding facts to determine in a divorce was abrogated by the state legcase because it defines when islature when it enacted Family the community interest ends Code Section 70 effective Januand when separate property ary 1, 2017 by defining “Date interest commences in a marof Separation” in the California riage. All property acquired Family Code. by a married person during the Effective January 1, 2017, marriage while domiciled in the the “date of separation” is State of California is community statutorily defined to mean property. Family Code Section the date a “complete and 760. That means any property final break in the marital acquired by either spouse rerelationship has occurred,” gardless of who’s name it is on as evidenced by (i) a spouse is community and each spouse having “expressed to the has a half interest on the asset. other spouse his or her intent That characterization continues to end the marriage” and (ii) until the date of separation. conduct that is “consistent Any property acquired after with his or her intent to end the date of separation is that the marriage.” New Fam.C. spouse’s separate property. If § 70. Fam.C. § 70 abrogates you are the spouse that is not in prior case law that made livcontrol of the asset, it would be ing in separate residences in your interest to stretch the an additional, indispensable marriage as long as possible prerequisite to establishing and postpone the date of sepa- the date of separation. [Fam.C. ration as late as can be so you § 70(c)] ) It is the intent of the can characterize more assets Legislature in enacting this secas community and also obtain tion to abrogate the decisions spousal support for a longer in In re Marriage of Davis (2015) duration. If you are the spouse 61 Cal.4th 846 and In re Marthat has control of the money, riage of Norviel (2002) 102 Cal. it would be in your interest to App.4th 1152. shorten the marriage as much So not only do you have as possible and to establish to express to your spouse that a sooner date of separation you are now separated but you to minimize the community have to act accordingly. You interest of your soon to be excannot be telling your spouse

Barrister’s Corner

that you are separated but still going out on “date night” or going on “cruise vacation” as a couple. Your conduct has to reflect your expression of a separation from your spouse.

The flip side of the coin is under the new statute, you can be separated even if you are still living together if you have communicated to your spouse that you are separated and you conduct yourself in the house not like a spouse but more like a roommate including sleeping in separate rooms, not having intimacy, and not going out as a couple.

*** 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, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. He 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, APLC is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 3881611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - May 20, 2020

Nadine on living alone since...

From Page 4 Nadine said.

“Because of the quarantine, I had time to just get everything, put it all out and say, ‘Okay, what can we do with all these things?’ And then I started writing. Every day, I write random stuff. It doesn’t really matter if it is good for a song as long as I got to write something,” she added.

She also believes that the universe is giving people time to work on themselves during the health crisis.

“I really think kasi that this is the time parang the universe is giving us time work on ourselves and to grow even more. All you need to help yourself grow is yourself,” she said.

Nadine also shared her daily life being locked down in her new home.

“It’s my first time living in a condo. It’s completely different. I’m in the city. The mall is right there, the groceries, easy access. It’s really nice. I have my patio kasi e.

I always wake up 6 or 7 a.m. and then I water my plants, I do cardio then make breakfast. For the rest of the day, either I play computer games, I write or watch series. Parang I’m giving myself a chance to relax and do all the things

Start thinking of bankruptcy...

From Page 4 out of their name in anticipation of a potential bankruptcy filing.

If you end up filing bankruptcy later, this could be deemed a fraudulent transfer and the bankruptcy trustee could end up suing that family member that you paid money or transferred property to.

One final word: If you think there’s a possibility of filing bankruptcy later if things don’t get better for few in the next few months, consult with a bankruptcy attorney before

making any financial moves. You may not need to file bankruptcy at all or you may need to postpone it and only do it if necessary. But if it becomes unavoidable eventually, the best thing to do is to plan ahead and avoid doing things that could become a problem in your bankruptcy case later.

For a free evaluation of your case, please call our office at Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free consultation.

Let us help you. ***

NOTE: Due to the virus lockdown, I am currently offering consultations via phone or video. Please call the office to schedule your appointment with me. Questions? Email me at gethelp@rjb-lawoffices.com. *** None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation.

Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt.

For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772.

(Advertising Supplement)

James Reid

Photo from Instagram/@james

that I can’t do on normal days when I have work,” she shared.

When Nadine and former love team partner James Reid announced their break up early this year, on February, a month after the announcement, James posted on

Instagram that his house in Quezon City is now for sale.

The house was believed to be the former couple’s love nest since 2017 when Nadine was asked if she and James were already living together.

“Come on, guys, it’s 2017!” she famously said.

T h e A s ian Jour nal M D W K M A G A Z I NE - M a y 20, 2 0 2 0

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