061219 - Southern California Midweek Edition

June 12-14, 2019 Volume 29 - No. 45 • 2 Sections - 20 Pages

USA

DATELINE California to become first state to extend healthcare benefits to some undocumented immigrants FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

CALIFORNIA is closer to becoming the first state to guarantee health coverage for eligible undocumented immigrants after state Democrats on Sunday, June 9 agreed to the plan first proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

As previously reported in the Asian Journal, Newsom’s May budget revision includes a statewide health care plan that would expand Medi-Cal (California’s state Medicare program) to all working low-income residents under the age of 26, regardless of citizenship status.

The governor’s budget proposal was approved by the California Legislature’s Conference Committee on the Budget in the Democratic-led legislature. The Medi-Cal expansion would cost nearly $100 million and would provide “full-scope coverage” for more than 130,000 undocumented people in the first year, according to the budget summary.

About 75% of all eligible immigrants already receive coverage through Medi-Cal or

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WHO: Sexually transmitted diseases affect 1 million daily

UN rights body keeps repeating false narratives vs. Duterte admin - Palace MANILA — Malacañang on Monday, June 10 brushed aside the remark made by Vice President Leni Robredo that the Duterte administration should welcome the call of United Nations (UN) experts for a probe into alleged human rights violations in the country if it has nothing to hide.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who earlier described the independent probe as “interference” to Philippine sovereignty, said the UN experts were only going to repeat their “false” allegations against the administration.

A group of 11 experts, including UN Special Rapporteurs Agnes Cal-

lamard and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, have called for an independent probe on the Philippines following alleged human rights violations in relation to the drug war launched by the administration in 2016.

Panelo, who is also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, slammed the call for an independent probe, not-

ing that UN experts’ basis comes from the opposition, and critics and detractors of the president.

“They keep on repeating the same false narratives against this government,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

He further said the false informa-

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US Embassy in Manila to assume ‘limited’ services of USCIS

by CHRISTIA

MARIE Inquirer.net

RAMOS

THE United States Embassy in the Philippines has assured the public that citizenship and immigration-related services will continue despite the upcoming closure of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office in Manila.

In a Twitter post on Tuesday, June 11, the U.S. Embassy said it “will assume responsibility for certain limited services previously provided by the Manila USCIS field office.”

“All other services will be transitioned to electronic processing or performed domestically in the United States,” it added.

No change in visa processing “There will be no change in visa processing at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. Immigrant and non-immigrant visa will continue to be processed at the Embassy,”

WITH more than one million individuals contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI) every day, the World Health Organization u PAGE A2 (WHO) has reported that the diseases remain a persistent and endemic health threat across the globe.

Based on new data published online by the WHO, these one million cases involved people aged 15 to 49.

Annually, more than 376 million new cases of four infections — chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and syphilis — are documented.

“We’re seeing a concerning lack of progress in stopping the spread of STI worldwide,” noted Peter Salama, executive director for Universal Health Coverage and the Life-Course at the WHO. Salama added that this should serve as a wake-up call for a concerted effort to ensure “everyone, everywhere can access the services they need to prevent and treat these debilitating diseases.”

The research also showed that among men and women aged 15 to 49, there were 127 million new cases of chlamydia in 2016; 87 President Rodrigo Duterte goes through a security check at the Ninoy

FREEDOM FLAGS. Flags fly at Rizal Park in Manila on Sunday, June 9, as the country prepares to celebrate its 121st Independence Day on Wednesday, June 12.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Gerard Seguia

Duterte: I have completely lost trust in PH media

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Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City on Monday, June 10.

Malacañang photo

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, June 8, said that the media has lost his trust after journalists went for his family following the narcotics trade allegations.

He also said that he would be choosy in granting media interviews from now on because of it.

“Hindi na ako nagpapa-interview ha. Choosy ako, choosy... (I don’t grant interviews anymore.

I am choosy). I have completely lost trust in Philippine media,” Duterte told religious leader WellMed Dialysis Center owner Bryan Sy was brought to the Department of Justice for an

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inquest on June 11.

Philstar.com photo by Edu Punay

Imelda urges Sandigan to reject evidence on artworks Duterte wants clean slate in PhilHealth administration

by ELIZABETH

MARCELO Philstar.com

FORMER first lady and outgoing Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos has asked the Sandiganbayan to reject several documentary exhibits presented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) over a decades-long trial of a civil forfeiture case that seeks to recover about 200 artworks allegedly amassed during her late husband’s dictatorship.

In a 125-page opposition paper filed last month, Mrs. Marcos and her daughter Irene MarcosAraneta, through their lawyer Maria Frances Marfil, said the court’s Special First Division

must deny the admissibility as evidence of several documents offered by the PCGG, including the list of artworks that supposedly remain missing as well the lists of paintings discovered at Goldenberg and Teus mansions in San Miguel, Manila and at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and those discovered abroad.

The Marcoses said the lists presented by the PCGG were just mere photocopies, without the presentation of the original ones, which the commission supposedly created in the 1980s.

Furthermore, the defense said the lists do not indicate the dates when the artworks were supposedly acquired, making the docu-

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Officials asked to submit resignation amid reports of fraud

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

Duterte relayed the instructions for PhilHealth officials through Go, who is set to head SENATOR-ELECT Christopher the Senate’s health committee in “Bong” Go on Monday, June 10, the upcoming 18th Congress. said President Rodrigo Duterte “The president wants a clean has asked officials of the Philip- slate in the PhilHealth adminpine Health Insurance Corpora- istration. It should also be clear tion (PhilHealth) to submit their how the fraudulent claims went courtesy resignations amid re- on for a long time under the adIn a 125-page opposition paper filed last month, Mrs. Marcos and her daughter Irene Marcosministration of current officials.

Araneta, through their lawyer Maria Frances Marfil, said the court’s Special First Division ports of fraudulent claims.

He also said that the PhilHealth The president has asked the must deny the admissibility as evidence of several documents offered by the PCGG, including the list of artworks that supposedly remain missing as well the lists of paintings discovered officials were scheduled to resign NBI to investigate the incident at Goldenberg and Teus mansions in San Miguel, Manila and at the Metropolitan Museum of during a meeting on Monday, as soon as possible,” Go said in Manila, and those discovered abroad.

Philstar.com photo by Michael Varcas June 10. u PAGE A2

A June 12-14, 2019 • SoCal ASIAn JOuRnAL

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US Embassy in Manila to assume...

PAGE A1 the embassy said.

Further, the embassy assured that its office, including its consular section, will remain open.

For those planning to file an I130 petition for a family member, the embassy advised that such petitions must be filed by mail with

the USCIS lockbox facility in Chicago, Illinois.

Earlier, the USCIS announced a permanent closure of its Manila office effective July 5.

The visa-granting agency no longer accepted petitions and applications for family visa, foreign adoptions and citizenship since

From the Front Page

May 31.

Those previously assisted by the USCIS Manila Field Office were advised to comply with the new filing instructions posted on the agency’s website at https://www. uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/philippines-uscis-manila-field-office. n

Duterte: I have completely lost trust in...

PAGE A1 Apollo Quiboloy in an interview aired on Sonshine TV. “After all the trash that you have read, all of you. Even your child is accused of being a drug lord,” he added, referring to the allegations made by self-confessed former drug syndicate member “Bikoy” about his daughter Veronica.

Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who claimed to be “Bikoy,” has recanted his statements as well as apologized for linking the Duterte family to illegal drugs.

Duterte also made accusations about some media practitioners being paid hacks.

“They are the ones who can write and they are the ones who can, you know, invent or do something outside of journalistic practices,” he said.

“Outright extortion. There are a lot of them. As you have noticed in the matrix, the one involving Bikoy. Bikoy has retracted his statements. But the people know it’s not true,” he added.

Duterte was referring to the matrix released by Malacañang last April that tagged several media entities like Rappler, Vera Files

and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and lawyers group National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers to a supposed plot to oust Duterte.

“Never mind about the criticism. With regard to the media, the matrix, all of them are paid hacks, believe me,” Duterte stated.

He also claimed that Ellen Tordesillas, Vera Files president and veteran journalist, has been asking for money from her sources due to her cancer.

“Tagal na ‘yan sige pang hingihingi kasi may sakit daw siya – cancer. Hanggang ngayon, buhay pa rin (She has been asking for money because she has cancer. Until now, she is alive).

So maybe tonight, we can pray together to pray for ano... Para hindi na maghingi (so she won’t beg anymore),” Duterte said.

“When we pray, you pray for help for her recovery. But my prayer would be different. And you know, what you are thinking, probably that you’d pay – you’d pray would be exactly the opposite of that and that is my fervent... prayer,” he added.

Tordesillas, for her part, said she no longer has cancer and never asked for money from other people.

“While I was undergoing treatment in 2003, I did not ask money from other people. The one who helped me was Jake Macasaet, the late publisher of Ang Pahayagang Malaya, where I used to work,” said Tordesillas in a statement.

According to her, two senators had written the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to credit the cost of her hospital room to their Priority Development Assistance Fund without her asking for it.

“They did not give me cash,” she clarified.

Tordesillas also said that she donated the cash given to her by the two senators to the PGH Medical Foundation, which helps poor patients.

She added that she sent her donation receipts to the two politicians for proof.

“I always include the country in my prayers. I hope the truth will prevail in each one of us, including President Duterte,” Tordesillas said. n

FLAG REGEARSAL. Members of the Philippine Marines lower the Philippine flag during rehearsal for the Independence Day ceremony in Manila on June 12.

ManilaTimes.net photo by Enrique Agcaoili

UN rights body keeps repeating...

PAGE A1 tion was also specifically raised during the election campaign to tarnish Duterte’s reputation.

“Those issues were specifically raised during the election campaign, and the electorate repudiated overwhelmingly,”

Panelo said.

“These rapporteurs should realize by now that iyong mga isyu na niri-raise nila hindi totoo (the issues they raised are not true),” he added.

Panelo said a probe is not necessary since the UN experts have seemingly “concluded” that the Duterte administration has indeed violated human rights.

“How can you be asking for an investigation when you already concluded that this country has violated certain human rights and has killed many people? So what’s the

use of investigating kung may conclusion ka na, ‘di ba (if you already have a conclusion, right)?” Panelo said.

Panelo has repeatedly defended the administration’s war on drugs, noting that it is “pursuant to the primary duty of the state to preserve and protect the people.”

He also stressed that law enforcement authorities operate on strict protocols and that police abuses relative to the war on drugs were placed under administrative sanction and criminal prosecution. (Azer Parrocha/PNA)

Duterte wants clean slate...

PAGE A1 Filipino.

“For now, plantilla officials will temporarily run the agency, which will be placed under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President,” he added.

Go said Duterte is considering a nationwide revamp of PhilHealth as well as firing regional officials.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said PhilHealth will continue its operations amid scandal.

“There is zero tolerance on corruption under this administration. There will be an indepth study on how the frauds are systematically committed by unscrupulous persons in and out of PhilHealth. There will be criminal prosecutions of all those involved. No one will be spared,” said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a statement.

Ghost claims Last week, Edwin Roberto, a former employee of WellMed clinic revealed that the clinic filed “ghost” claims to PhilHealth, as

reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Under the scheme, which involved bogus insurance claims allegedly amounting to more than P100 billion, WellMed clinic received payments from PhilHealth for dialysis treatments of some patients that have long been dead.

Dr. Brian Sy, owner of the WellMed Dialysis Center in Quezon City, for his part, claimed that the former employees of the clinic were the ones behind the fraudulent claims.

Sy was arrested on Monday after showing up at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila, as per Duterte’s orders.

Duterte earlier said that he does “not have the slightest doubt about the integrity and honesty” of PhilHealth President Roy Ferrer — having been the one to appoint him last year — but the loss of around P100 billion is “totally, totally unacceptable” to him. n

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Ban on air travel for climate change talks only for DFA officials — Locsin

by Christa

Marie Inquirer.net

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL AWARDEES. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (5th from right, 2nd row), United States Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission John Law (6th from right, 2nd row), Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. (5th from left, 2nd row), and other DND and military officials pose with the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal awardees in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday, June 10. A Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress, one of the highest civilian awards in the United States, awarded to people “who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture”.

PNA photo by Joey O. Razon

How measles detectives work to contain an outbreak

by Jenny

Gold Kaiser Health News

on any given day, more than 4,000 people pass through the library at California State University-Los Angeles. on April 11, one of them had measles. The building has only one entrance, which means that anyone who entered or exited the library within two hours of that person’s visit potentially was exposed to one of the most contagious diseases on earth. it’s the stuff of public health nightmares: everyone at the library between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. that day had to be identified, warned and possibly quarantined. Measles is so contagious that up to 90% of people close to an infected person who are not protected by a vaccine or previous case of the disease will become infected. But how could the university figure out who had been in the library during that time frame? And which of those people were vulnerable to infection? rooting out answers to such questions is the job of the public health detectives who work at health departments across the country. in 2000, the United States declared the measles eradicated, thanks to widespread use of vaccines. But the virulent disease is back, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed nationwide this year through June 3 — the greatest number since 1992. For every thousand cases, 1 to 3 people with measles will die, even with the best of care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So public health departments are redirecting scarce resources to try to control the spread.

Using basic techniques in place for over 100 years, public health investigators work to control an outbreak before it balloons. Such investigations have evolved with new technologies but remain among the best defenses against infectious disease outbreaks — and among the great untold costs of an epidemic.

The new York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which has confirmed 566 measles cases since September, has spent more than $2.3 million on related investigations.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health estimates spending as much as $2,000 to track down each contact of a confirmed patient — and it has made hundreds of such efforts in recent months.

“Public health departments across the country have had their budgets tightened in a sustained fashion over the past 15 years,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. “There are no public health departments that are like firemen playing pinochle and waiting for an outbreak. They

have other things to do, and they have to put aside those tasks to deal with an outbreak.”

At Cal State LA, public health officials visited the library and tried to figure out exactly where the infected student had gone — the photocopy area, for example — to determine who might have been exposed. They worked with the school to identify which library employees were present.

They scoured library records to find anyone who had checked out books or logged onto a library computer during the specified time period.

But they realized they were missing others who may have come in to browse, work or eat at a library cafe. So, school officials sent out emails and posted on Facebook, Twitter and instagram to ask anyone who may have been at the library to come forward.

Working together, Cal State and county health officials came up with a list of 1,094 people who were exposed; all were required to present proof they had been vaccinated or had immunity.

At one point during the investigation, 887 people were under a blanket quarantine order from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health until they could establish their immunity status.

Public health departments regularly employ this sort of shoeleather detective work to track and control outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases and foodborne illnesses like salmonella.

But there is a palpable sense of frustration that sets the measles apart: it is easily preventable.

“We shouldn’t have to be using these ancient techniques.

We should have everybody immunized,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, director of public health in Clark County, Wash., which logged 71 measles cases during a twomonth outbreak that ended in February. “That’s what keeps me up at night. if we stop vaccinating, we can turn the clock back to the Middle Ages.” in the course of Clark County’s outbreak, 237 people spent 19,071 hours doing outreach, investigation and monitoring the health of people exposed, at a cost of more than $864,000.

They investigated 53 exposure sites, including 15 schools and the arena where the Portland Trail Blazers play just across the state line in oregon.

All this work meant delays in other programs, including restaurant health inspections and a home-visit program for high-risk pregnant women and infants.

“Just because the measles outbreak is going on, it doesn’t mean other communicable diseases are taking a holiday,” Melnick said.

There was a time public health officials wouldn’t have bothered.

Before the late 19th century, officials “were busy trying to conC

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WHO: Sexually transmitted diseases...

PAGE A1 million with gonorrhea; 6.3 million with syphilis and 156 million with trichomoniasis.

According to the WHo, STis have a profound impact on the health of adults and children. “if untreated, they can lead to serious and chronic health ef-

fects that include neurological and cardiovascular disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirths and increased risk of HiV. They are also associated with significant levels of stigma and domestic violence,” the WHo said. (Sheila Crisostomo/Philstar. com)

trol diseases like typhoid, cholera and smallpox,” which had much higher death rates than measles, said graham Mooney, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies the history of medicine. But as other infectious diseases declined, officials focused more intently on measles.

By the early 20th century, schools began noting which students had already had the measles, and who might be vulnerable. When a child fell ill, he CB Loan Offer might beUNI_CB-168283 sent home with a card

raMos

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. clarified that his directive to ban “air travels to climate change forums” is “strictly limited” to officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“My ban on air travel to climate change forums is strictly limited to DFA. of course Congress & all other dep[artments] are free to go; We will accredit them,” Locsin said over Twitter on Monday, June 10.

The country’s top diplomat added that the DFA will “follow” President rodrigo Duterte’s “displeasure with more climate talk instead of climate action finally.” in a separate tweet, Locsin said that if “foreign post can travel by land, go ahead, attend, talk.”

Last week, the foreign affairs

chief said that he will “reject” all official participation of the Philippines in climate change conferences if it would necessitate air travel. i am rejecting all official participation in climate change conferences requiring air travel,” he said last June 5.

“We’ll just vote Yes to radical proposals. no more talk,” he added.

However, his pronouncement was met with criticisms by several environmental groups. one coalition even described his new policy as “arrogant, self-righteous, myopic and misplaced.”

But reacting to criticisms, Locsin clarified that the country would not send officials to “chitchat.”

“We just vote without talking.

A nauru Un conference in new

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. Inquirer.net file photo

York said that using air travel to talk about climate change makes the climate worse. (We’ll just do it via the internet.) Clean communication,” he said. n

Duterte to Xi: I won’t allow US troops on Pag-asa island

by Katrina

hallare Inquirer.net

PreSiDenT rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, June 8, bared that he told Chinese President Xi Jinping that no American troops would set foot on Pag-asa island in the West Philippine Sea. “i told you i will not allow, as long as i am president, any American to set foot on that Pag-asa,” Duterte said in an Asian_Update 2019.pdf 1 3/28/19 interview over Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s TV show “give Us PAGE A4

This Day.” Because i know that it will [really create] trouble. And i will not allow their arms,” Duterte added.

He also recalled what he asked Xi during their last meeting: “So why are you surrounding my island with so many ships? You’re wasting your gasoline.”

“So, that is how it is. Talagang sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Sinabi 2:28 PM ko nga sa iyo.’ i will not. You have my word of honor,’” the

president said.

Duterte also shared that he told Xi to let Filipino fishermen in the disputed waters. “okay na siguro kasi wala namang reklamo ”yung mga fishermen,” he said. “Do not deprive them because you know we are poor. You prohibit us.”

Although Duterte did not disclose when exactly he discussed the matter with the Chinese president, the chief executive last went on a state visit to China April. n

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Based on new data published online by the WHO, these one million cases involved people aged 15 to 49.

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‘Hanjin closure perfect for US Navy’s return to Subic’

by Jaime Laude Philstar.com

TORAH SCROLL. Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria (in black suit), shows Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle (left), the Torah Scroll brought from Israel, the holiest book in Judaism that contains the entire text of the Old Testament during his visit to the Great Synagogue of the Jewish community in the Philippines on Tuesday, June 11 in Makati City. Tagle visited the Great Synagogue in the Philippines as part of the 25th anniversary of Israel-Vatican ties.

PNA photo by Oliver Marquez

American fugitive nabbed in Tarlac the agency using a mission order issued at the request of the U.S. embassy in Manila.

AN American fugitive was ar“When we received informarested by the Bureau of immigra- tion about his crimes from U.S. tion (Bi) in his residence in tar- authorities about four weeks lac City. ago, we immediately conducted ricky Masanque Sanchez, 44, a case buildup to pinpoint his lois wanted by American authori- cation,” raquepo said in a stateties for violating his parole by ment. fleeing to the country in August According to the information 2017, Bi Fugitive Search Unit provided by the U.S. authori(FSU) head Bobby raquepo said ties, Sanchez was convicted on Monday, June 10. of attempted murder but was Sanchez was arrested last later released on supervised thursday, June 6, by agents of parole.

it was also learned that a superior court in Santa Clara, California ordered the re-arrest of Sanchez in September 2017 upon confirming that he fled to the country to hide.

Prisoners freed on parole supervision in the U.S. are normally required to regularly report to their parole officer and are prohibited from leaving the state without permission.

Sanchez will be immediately deported once the Bi Board of Commissioners issues his deportation order. n

PAGE A1 receive benefits through SB 75.

Newsom’s plan satisfies two of his campaign promises: maintain California’s status as a sanctuary state and move the state more toward a universal health care plan that believes “in covering everybody regardless of immigration status,” Newsom said during a recent teleconference. the Medi-Cal expansion is only a part of the wide-ranging changes Newsom plans to make within the state’s public health

family of four may earn up to $154,500 a year and still qualify for a discount.

Both the Medi-Cal expansion and the subsidies extension would partially be funded tax dollars generated from the individual mandate’s tax penalty.

Newsom’s budget plan are currently pending final approval from both the Senate and the Assembly, which are going to review the proposal later this week — the deadline for a new state budget is Saturday, June 15. (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

by Faye

OreLLana Inquirer.net

A retired U.S. Navy official proposed that a private U.S. shipbuilding firm could tie up with the Philippine government to operate the closed shipyard of the South Korean Hanjin company in Subic to build both naval and commercial ships. in an article published by the U.S. Naval institute Journal, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Buzzel noted that since the closure last February of the Hanjin shipyard due to bankruptcy, there are foreign parties, including U.S. and Chinese firms, that have expressed interest in taking over the operation of the shipyard.

He said the U.S. Navy’s return to Subic Bay, through Hanjin, would also send a strong message to China that the Philippine-U.S. alliance is strong and unbreakable.

Buzzel suggested that the U.S. government should inform Philippine officials of a possible private-public partnership to reopen and operate the Hanjin facility.

With Hanjin shipyard now up

for grabs, Buzzel said that the U.S. Navy should move in quickly by informing acting U.S. defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan of its interest in the Hanjin facility in Subic.

Buzzel said Shanahan should inform the U.S. State department of the U.S. Navy’s interest in Hanjin and the State department, in turn, must inform the Philippine government.

He pointed out that at the height of Hanjin operations in Subic, the firm built 123 large cargo container vessels, bulk carriers and carriers for crude oil, liquified petroleum gas and mineral ore. “it was the largest employer in Subic with more than 30,000 Filipinos, mostly skilled welders,” Buzzel said.

For this, he said, the U.S. indoPacific Command must initiate a study to analyze the impact on operational readiness of more repair facility in the western Pacific, including the impact on the current workloads at the Ship repair Facility in Yokosuka, Japan and the Guam Shipyard division. “the Navy may not be able

to grow 355 ships, but adding a fifth public-private shipyard will go a long way to ensuring the ships in the Pacific are available and ready to fight. the party with most to lose in the U.S. return to Subic will be the Chinese. And they know it,” Buzzel said. in recent years, the U.S. has struggled to persuade the Philippine government and the country’s citizens that it is serious about honoring its commitments under the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual defense treaty.

“China has been feeding growing mistrust, hoping to drive a wedge between the two longstanding allies to the point one or both will move to terminate the treaty,” Buzzel wrote. “this compounded security in the Philippines defense establishment,” he said, adding that the confluence of all these factors gives the U.S. Navy a perfect opportunity to return to Subic Bay, except this time as an equal partner with a private shipbuilding firm and respecting the laws and sovereignty of the Philippines, to the benefit of the Filipino people and the economy. n

California to become first state to extend healthcare... care system. Newsom also plans to reinstate a version of the individual mandate imposed by the Affordable Care Act, which would penalize individuals who forego health insurance coverage. the GOP rolled back the individual mandate on a federal level in 2017.

California may also become the first state to extend eligibility for health insurance subsidies under Covered California to middle-class families that earn a maximum of 600% below the federal poverty level. A

File photos show the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines’ shipbuilding facility at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (inset) and workers posing next to a newly completed vessel.

Philstar.com photo

Imelda urges Sandigan to reject evidence...

PAGE A1 ments irrelevant in proving that these were acquired during the Marcoses’ incumbencies as public officers. the Marcoses also objected to the admissibility of the compact disc (Cd) containing the photographs and video footage of the supposed ocular inspection of the Goldenberg Mansion, as well as news reports showing the paintings being displayed by Mrs. Marcos herself. the Marcoses said the persons who took the photos and videos were never presented in court, in violation of the Supreme Court ruling that a competent witness must testify on the authenticity of videos and photographs being presented as evidence.

“No photographer or any other competent witness testified to its exactness and accuracy. thus, these photographs and videos were not properly presented and authenticated before this Court under the rules for electronic evidence,” the Marcoses’ opposition paper read. the defendants also objected to the admissibility of photocopies of letters of correspondence in the early 1980s between Mrs.

Marcos and her late husband Ferdinand Marcos with American businessmen Armand Hammer and richard Lynch of Hammer Galleries in New York. “respondents deny the authenticity of the said exhibits. No justification was made why the originals could not be presented before the Sandiganbayan,” the Marcos paper read. it was in december last year when the PCGG, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), was able to finish the presentation of evidence against the Marcoses in connection with a forfeiture case docketed as Civil Case No. 0141 filed in 1991.

Among the items that the PCGG sought to be forfeited in favor of the government were 152 paintings in the U.S. with an estimated value of $11.84 million, 27 paintings and sculptures discovered at the sequestered Metropolitan Museum of Manila with an assessed value of $548,445 and 12 paintings

by American artist Anna Mary “Grandma Moses” robertson said to have been purchased at around $372,000. early this year, the OSG informed the Sandiganbayan that

three of the paintings covered by Civil Case No. 0141 were sold at auction in New York City in November last year for more than $3 million. the OSG said the paintings were sold by the auction house Christie’s by virtue of an order from a New York court.

Claimants 1081, a group composed of over 9,000 human rights victims during martial law, and the PCGG are both claimants in a civil case pending before the US Federal Court in New York City which seeks to recover about 200 pieces of paintings and other artworks allegedly purchased using public funds during the 20-year rule of the late dictator Marcos. the artworks, however, are also subject of a pending forfeiture case at the Sandiganbayan Special First division. in 2014, the Special First division had awarded in favor of the government the jewelry collection of the Marcoses with assessed value of $110,055 to $153,089. the collection was also part of Civil Case No. 0141. the jewelry were discovered at Malacañang when the Marcos family fled to Hawaii after the 1986 People Power revolt. n

How measles detectives work to contain...

PAGE A3 to be signed by a physician before he could return. A school medical inspector often would visit the home to make sure the child remained isolated. during an epidemic involving thousands of cases, officials placed warnings in newspapers and later on the radio, describing likely symptoms and asking parents to keep sick children at home. “Now it’s twitter; before, it would have been The Baltimore Sun or the Chicago Tribune or the L.A. Times. But the actual information may not have changed,” said Mooney. today, public health departments almost invariably learn of a measles case through a health care provider. Measles is a reportable disease, which means that any provider who suspects a case has to warn local health officials. Someone from the department visits the patient to conduct an interview and determine precisely where they might have gone while contagious. For the measles, that’s four days before the rash appears, and four days after, for a total of nine days. the interviews are rigorous.

“We have to assess their hangouts, their friends, their hobbies, which grocery store do they go to, do they take Lyft or Uber?” explained L.A. County public health nurse Adarsh Almalvez.

For most people, it’s hard to remember everywhere they went days earlier. Some patients are

reluctant to share details. Almalvez said she starts by building a rapport, asking them about their favorite foods and where they get their hair cut. She said it’s crucial to get the patient’s cooperation.

She looks for clues around the house that could tell her who else might be living there. extra pairs of shoes in the hallway, for example, might indicate other residents. if she’s interviewing a woman and finds the toilet seat up, she knows a man likely has been there as well. the goal is to come away with a list of all possible contacts and locations the patient visited while contagious. the results can read like a bizarrely intimate window into one person’s day.

L.A. County recently published a patient’s itinerary in April; in one enviable day, that patient visited Peet’s Coffee, Fratelli Café, tArt restaurant, the Grove, the Los Angeles Farmers Market, Whole Foods and the La Brea tar Pits.

Public health officials visit each site to gather more information. they reach out to ridesharing services to locate drivers and other passengers who might have been in the same car during the infectious period. At restaurants, employees are easily identified, but customers can be hard to find. Officials don’t routinely look at surveillance video or track down people through credit card receipts. instead, they mainly rely on news releases and

social media to spread the word. they also look to schools and businesses to do outreach. this can be a lot of work, especially for medical clinics where a measles patient initially sought care. during a 2017 outbreak, Children’s Minnesota, a hospital system in the twin Cities, spent $300,000 on their emergency response. Part of that was tracking down everyone in the waiting room within two hours of a measles patient.

Patsy Stinchfield, who directs the Children’s Minnesota’s infection prevention and control program, has worked on three measles outbreaks, in 1989, 2011 and 2017. She said the work has gotten more efficient because of electronic health records and the state’s electronic vaccination registry. With the click of a few buttons, investigators can determine who was in the waiting room with a measles patient, and which people were unvaccinated.

Still, Stinchfield said, measles outbreaks remain a source of great frustration. “if we can get people to use the [measles] vaccine, we won’t have to spend all these health care dollars, all of this time and energy on followup,” she said. “And we won’t have to have all these miserable, sick children.”

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. n

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Locsin: Garbage to be shipped back to Australia

by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com

The garbage from Australia illegally dumped in the Philippines is going back to the country of origin, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Monday, June 10.

Malacañang said the government was “offended” by the reported dumping of garbage from Australia. holcim Philippines, the consignee of the shipment, reportedly said the containers were declared as processed engineered fuel (PeF), which is used as an alternative fuel for its cement production.

“No, I don’t give a flying f••k that it is used in making cement.

If that is so cement makers should

formally import the ingredient so it goes nowhere but to their plants,” Locsin tweeted.

Greenpeace Philippines called the dumping of garbage from Australia “unacceptable and deplorable,” saying the country is not a dumping ground for foreign trash.

The garbage from Canada that arrived in 2013 and 2014 were shipped back to the North American country last month.

On May 28, Locsin said in a tweet garbage from hong Kong, Australia and South Korea illegally dumped in the Philippines are the next to be shipped back.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) discovered the shipment of mixed plastic scraps, shredded electronics and residual waste

materials shipment from hong Kong.

The shipment, initially declared as electronic accessories, arrived at the Mindanao Container Terminal in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in Mindanao last January and has since been abandoned.

Upon inspection, the BOC discovered 21 large bags that contain crushed electronic parts classified as mixed plastic waste.

The United Nations environment Program (UNeP) said the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations have seen a drastic increase in the quantity of plastic being dumped on them “in the name of recycling” after China banned plastic waste imports last year. n

‘SC decision removing Filipino, Panitikan in college unconstitutional’ by ghio

ong Philstar.com

MANILA — A group advocating the use of the Filipino language assailed a previous decision of the Supreme Court (SC) affirming a policy to remove Filipino and Panitikan as core subjects in college, maintaining that it is unconstitutional.

The Alyansa ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino (Tanggol Wika) filed a 22-page letter of protest before the SC on Monday, June 10, noting that it chose to do so instead of filing another motion for reconsideration as they were “cautioned against it by our lawyers.”

The group believes that the decision affirming the Commission on higher education (CheD)’s Memorandom Order 20, Series of 2013 (CMO 20) “is patently unjust as it involves the violation of the (1987) Constitution’s language provisions.”

The order, according to the group, “is an illegal and unconstitutional act of stopping, rescinding, minimizing or reversing what has been initiated, contrary to the Constitution’s clear mandate for the official use of Filipino in the whole education system to be sustained, continued, expand-

The Alyansa ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Wikang Filipino (Tanggol Wika) filed a 22-page letter of protest before the SC on Monday, June 10, noting that it chose to do so instead of filing another motion for reconsideration as they were “cautioned against it by our lawyers.”

Philstar.com photo by Edd Gumban

ed, advanced progressively.”

“Relegating” or downgrading “Filipino and Panitikan to elementary and secondary education only defeats the purpose laid down by the Constitution,” it added.

Tanggol Wika said the SC should be informed that the Filipino subjects in the elementary and secondary levels dwell on basic grammar and low-level to mid-level dis-

course/communication.

The Filipino subjects in college are way superior than the content and coverage of Filipino subjects in elementary and high school.

The group cited Article 14, Sections 6 and 7 of the 1987 Constitution mandating the government “to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official commuPAGE A7

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A6 JUNE 12-14, 2019 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

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OPINION

Bleeding PhilHealth dry

FEATURES

WILL there ever be an end to the corruption scandals plaguing the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.? Over the past six years alone, PhilHealth has been rocked by accusations of fraudulent payments involving billions of pesos for fake hospitalization and medicine for indigent and elderly patients, cataract surgery and pneumonia.

The latest scandal involves PhilHealth payments allegedly for “ghost” or non-existent kidney dialysis and related treatments. The money is believed to have gone to the pockets of a network of crooks in the state health insurance firm together with certain hospital administrators and medical professionals.

Congressional probes have been conducted and PhilHealth has undertaken internal investigations. Yet here we are again, with the latest scandal involving kidney treatments that are said to have cost taxpayers billions more. Public health care is pitifully inadequate and those billions could have gone a long way in providing urgent medical services particularly to the poor.

Previous scandals should have led to reforms in

promoting fiscal prudence within the agency. The scandals should have also led to the prosecution and conviction of anyone found misusing PhilHealth funds. Last year the interim head of the agency, Celestina Ma. Jude de la Serna was fired – but for alleged excessive trips and mismanagement rather than in connection with fraudulent claims.

Institutional reforms should include boosting the capability of PhilHealth to detect fraudulent claims. This gains urgency with the expansion of PhilHealth coverage to include more members as well as illnesses and medical procedures. PhilHealth needs expert advice not only to thwart fraud but also to ensure that those who cheat the government will face appropriate punishment. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

What we need to know about impeaching Trump

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS IMPEACHMENT, according to President Donald Trump, is a dirty word and it does not have anything to do with him. This, despite the growing clamor among Americans to remove Trump from office using this process stipulated in the U.S. Constitution as a way to make government officials who hold positions of public trust accountable to the people.

Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitutions reads: “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

The House of Representatives has been accorded by the Constitution the sole power to impeach an official, while it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. While the power of impeachment is limited to removal from office but also provides for a removed officer to be disqualified from holding future office. Fines and potential jail time for crimes committed while in office are left to civil courts.

According to the U.S. House of Representatives website, “impeachment comes from British constitutional history. The process evolved from the 14th century as a way for parliament to hold the king’s ministers accountable for their public actions. Impeachment, as Alexander Hamilton of New York explained in Federalist 65, varies from civil or criminal courts in that it strictly involves the “misconduct of public men, or in other words from the abuse or violation of some public trust.”

The House of Representatives History, Art and Archives website further explained that “Individual state constitutions had provided for impeachment for “maladministration” or “corruption” before the U.S. Constitution was written. And the founders, fearing the potential for abuse of executive power, considered impeachment so important that they made it part of the Constitution even before they defined the contours of the presidency.”

The History Channel outlines the impeachment process, noting that “impeachment doesn’t refer to the removal of an elected official from office, but rather the initial step in removing that official.”

The impeachment process: “The process includes the filing of formal charges, which at

the federal level is performed by the U.S. House of Representatives, and the resulting trial, which is conducted by the U.S. Senate. In the House of Representatives, an individual representative can initiate impeachment by introducing a bill, or the House can begin proceedings by passing a resolution.

A simple majority of votes is enough to pass one or more articles of impeachment on to the Senate for trial. The Senate then acts as courtroom, jury and judge, except in presidential impeachment trials, during which the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court acts as judge. A two-thirds majority of the Senate is required to convict, and the penalty is usually removal from office, and sometimes disqualification from holding any future offices.”

CONGRESS now has an obligation and the power to make Trump accountable after the revelations of the Mueller report, detailing at least 10 instances the president may have abused his power with corrupt intent in obstructing justice. These are on top of the cases already filed in the judiciary involving campaign finance law violations of Individual Number One (Trump), cases against the Trump administration, corporations, foundations, and the transition team. Mueller

President Donald Trump

has explained that the only reason why charges had not been filed against Trump was because of a Department of Justice policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.

But even the Democrats who now have leadership in the House of Representatives are divided, with the more progressive members pushing for impeachment, while the old guards including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi choosing to slow down for political reasons.

But nobody is above the law, not even the president of the United States.

The History Channel chroni-

White House photo

cled how “some framers of the Constitution were opposed to the impeachment clause, because having the legislative branch sit in judgment over the executive might compromise the separation of powers they sought to establish between the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.”

“However, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, who would later serve in the House of Representatives and as Vice President under James Madison, noted, ‘A good magistrate will not fear [impeachments]. A bad one ought to be kept in fear of them.’”

Yes, President Donald Trump.

No wonder you have been stonewalling all investigations because you fear the truth will come out. Otherwise, why even violate the oversight function of Congress as mandated by the Constitution?

Actions have consequences.

Not even running for a second term will save you from your own self. *** Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www. facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos

Who is winning big in the supply chain shift from the Sino-US trade war?

Commentary

HENRY CHAN SINCE the imposition of 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese exports to the United States last July, the trade dispute between the two countries has escalated further, and today Chinese exports to the U.S. valued at $250 billion are subject to 25 percent import duties.

In retaliation, China has also imposed tariffs ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent on $110 billion worth of U.S. exports to China.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump subjected the Chinese telecommunications behemoth, Huawei, to “entity list” restrictions on May 16 and repeatedly talked about imposing 25 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion Chinese exports to the U.S. The Chinese government, at the same time, established an “unreliable entity list” on May 31, targeted against any foreign companies hurting legitimate Chinese commercial interest. It subsequently released a white paper on its position on the Sino-U.S. trade negotia-

tions on June 2.

China is the largest merchandise trading partner of the U.S. In 2018, its bilateral goods trade with the U.S. amounted to $660 billion, based on a U.S. Census report. China exported products valued at $540 billion and imported $120 billion worth of goods from the U.S. The Americans calculated their bilateral trade deficit at $420 billion, but the Chinese countered that the actual gap was smaller. The Chinese argued that a good portion of their exports consisted of products of the global supply chain of U.S. importers and transshipment via Hong Kong that regularly run about $100 billion in profit, retained by importers in Hong Kong. The Chinese calculated the U.S. goods trade surplus at $324 billion.

The U.S. importers procured parts from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan into China and use the country as the final assembly point for products exported to the U.S. The combined trade deficit that China runs against these three places amounted to $257 billion in 2018, not far from the $324 billion trade surplus with the U.S. quoted by the Chinese. A detailed examination of the goods in-

volved in the Sino-U.S. trade and the trade among the four East Asian countries confirmed the story of the global supply chain, particularly in electronics products. The Asian supply chain run by multinationals and American importers is a good explanation for the persistently high Chinese trade surplus with the U.S. As the U.S. initiated this round of the trade war, and China is on the responding side, any meaningful resolution of the trade war lies more in a softening of the U.S. position and President Trump is the deciding factor in any resumption of talks. He is facing reelection in 2020, and the likelihood of a resolution of the trade war diminishes as the November 2020 election gets closer.

The speed of deterioration of the relationship between the two giants is unprecedented in modern history, and many analysts think the dispute has gone beyond the trade imbalance, unfair trade practices and intellectual property protection. The trade arguments are seen to have spilled over into security, ideology and the military arena. A clear majority of analysts now subscribe to the view of a protracted im-

passe over the trade issue and the likelihood of a solution may come only when both sides are hurt significantly, which at this point is not seen happening.

The Asian supply chain that the American importers have established is now moving out of China. American importers are moving in several fronts to mitigate the sudden disruption of the Asian supply chain center around China built up over the last 20 years. They are busy rewriting contracts to make it easier to pass the tariffs on to customers, shift supply chains out of China where possible, redesign products to avoid Chinese components where they are not present. And with U.S. unemployment hitting a 50-year low, reshoring back to the U.S. is technically not feasible. The beneficiaries of the current impasse are those nations to which Chinese production relocates.

In the first four months of 2019, Chinese exports to the U.S. dropped 13 percent from their 2018 levels, while the vital beneficiary of manufacturing relocation, Vietnam, increased its exports to the U.S. by 40 percent from a year earlier. The Chinese products that showed a decline in shipment matched those of Vietnam

shipments that increased.

The Japanese investment bank, Nomura, released a report on the impact of the shifting out of China of the Asian supply chain. It estimated that Vietnam would be the biggest winner in the shift, as its gross domestic product has grown by almost 8 percent as a result of the migration in production.

The report also expects Taiwan will benefit from the relocation of many of its manufacturers back to the island, and Malaysia is likewise expected to benefit, though to a lesser degree.

The reconfiguration of the Asian supply chain is a multiyear process, and the opportunities it offers to developing Southeast Asian countries is once in a lifetime. The Philippines missed the first wave of Japanese factory relocation in the 1980s to Southeast Asia; it should not miss the next one coming this time around.

Participating actively in the supply chain will not only boost economic growth and mitigate the unemployment and underemployment problem, but it also allows the building up of human resources in manufacturing and catapults the country to the next level of industrialization. The Asian success

story from Japan to China all attest to this model of development, and their histories all point to the importance of government policy in their country’s participation in the supply chain. (ManilaTimes.net) Henry Chan is an internationally recognized development economist based in Singapore. He is also a senior visiting research fellow at the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace and adjunct research fellow at IDSI. His primary research interest includes global economic development, Asean-China relations and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

IDSI (Integrated Development Studies Institute) promotes productive, multidimensional perspectives that are pro-development. It works with a global network of organizations and businessmen, scholars, government officials, media, institutions and universities. Its advocacies have resulted in significant changes to the agenda and decisions made by organizations, government and legislators. IDSI welcomes logical feedback and possible opportunities for working together with compatible frameworks. (idsicenter@ gmail.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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A

Trillanes expects ‘worst,’ more cases Duterte concedes on federalism against him after Senate exit

by Catherine

Valente ManilaTimes.net

by eDelito

merCene Philstar.com

MANILA — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said he is expecting the “worst” from President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies after his Senate exit in July.

Known for being a staunch critic of the administration,

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV Philstar.com photo

Trillanes has long been involved in heated tirades between him and Duterte.

The president in May accused Trillanes of producing the “Bikoy Totoong Narcolist” video series that alleged the involvement of the Duterte family in the drug trade.

Trillanes said he expects more cases to be filed against him.

“Should they succeed in putting me behind bars, then I’ll just count the days. Same way that I counted the days when we were behind bars during the Arroyo administration then eventually that time in power ran out,” the senator said in an interview over ANC’s “Early Edition.”

Trillanes currently faces a revived rebellion case in Makati due to his involvement in the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

He also faces inciting to sedition cases and a libel case in Davao City, the hometown of Duterte.

‘Ordinary citizen’ The senator said he is not afraid of Duterte even though his Senate exit would mean also

being stripped off of immunity from suits.

“But more importantly, I believe it would send a stronger message that I can be an ordinary citizen and still speak out against this ‘dictator’ Duterte,” he said.

Section 11, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides parliamentary immunities or privilege from arrest to senators and members of the House of Representatives.

The outgoing senator said he is “not comfortable” using legislative positions for immunity.

Trillanes did not run for the 2019 midterm elections but instead supported the Senate bid of fellow ex-mutineer Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo partylist) who failed to get enough votes to make it in the winners’ circle.

“We have a succession process in the Magdalo. We want new leaders to come out. So we’d have more speakers and voices that will promote the advocacies of the group,” Trillanes said. n

Carpio seeks ‘truth movement’ vs China

by William

Depasupil ManilaTimes.net

SUPREME Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has called on Filipinos to use their freedom of expression and the power of social media to ferret out the truth on China’s fake historical claims on the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

In his speech before graduates of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication on Firday, Carpio called for the formation of a “truth movement” among Filipinos to rectify China’s claim on the disputed sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, parts of which are also being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.

“We can call this present-day information campaign the South China Sea Truth Movement, a people’s movement using freedom of expression to explain the historical truth about the South China Sea,” he said.

“We can invite the peoples of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia

and Brunei — countries whose Exclusive Economic Zones are also encroached by China’s ninedash line claim — to join us in this Movement,” Carpio added.

The move, he said, is necessary to counter China’s propaganda, spreading false claims through fake history and fake news.

Beijing’s nine-dash line encircles as much as 90 percent of the contested waters. The line runs as far as 2,000 kilometers from the Chinese mainland to within a few hundred kilometers of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Carpio said the information campaign should be started immediately, despite the refusal of the Duterte administration “to assert the arbitral ruling” handed down by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, which ruled in favor of the Philippines.

The international tribunal said China’s nine-dash line claim over the disputed waters was invalid.

“The truth will secure forever our sovereign rights in the West

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio ManilaTimes.net photo

Philippine Sea, to be enjoyed by generations of Filipinos to come,” Carpio stressed.

“China never owned the South China Sea in the past, and there are high seas in the South China Sea that belong to all mankind, as there are exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea that belong solely to the adjacent coastal states,” the senior justice stressed. n

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has conceded that the shift to a federal system of government might not happen under his watch, according to Senator-elect Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go. “Actually, nagkausap din po kami ni Pangulong Duterte sa federalism, sabi niya mukhang mahihirapan din tayo ngayon (The president and I talked about federalism, he said it would be difficult for us),” he said.

For now, Go said the Duterte

government would prioritize its campaign to promote federalism. “’Yung (The) federalism, maybe kailangan po talaga ng (we really need) education campaign para maintindihan ng tao (so the people would understand). Sa ngayon, medyo malayo’t mahihirapan tayo (For now, it’s really far and difficult for us),” he said.

“Para sa akin, priority ang ipaintindi muna sa tao (For me, the priority is to let the people understand it first),” the incoming senator added.

Duterte has been pushing

for a federal system, saying it would decentralize the government and would empower the regions more.

A recent survey, however, showed that Charter Change and federalism remain unpopular among Filipinos.

Duterte’s federalism initiative has yet to pass Congress even with a legislature dominated by his allies.

According to some federalism advocates in Congress, pushing for federalism would be more difficult during the remaining half of Duterte’s term. n

‘SC decision removing Filipino, Panitikan in...

PAGE A5 nication and as language of instruction in the educational system,” and stating that “for purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.”

Last month, the SC decided with finality that the CMO 20,

which reduces the college general education curriculum to 36 and removing Filipino and Panitikan as core subjects, was valid.

Tanggol Wika, however, maintained that the decision has caused “the actual job displacements of hundreds of faculty members in dozens of universities, with the full im-

pact potentially affecting at least 10,000 faculty members in the coming months.”

“It would also deprive millions of students of their chance and opportunity to expand and deepen their ability to use the national language in a more intellectual way, in all disciplines and at higher levels of discourse,” the group said. n

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BUSINESSJ& COMMUNITY ournal

BSP to public: Be wary of cryptocurrencies PH, Japan to ink $202-M loan deal by mayveLin

u. carabaLLo ManilaTimes.net

Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency that uses cryptography – a method of storing and transmitting data in unreadable form so that only the intended recipients can read and process it. Bitcoin, introduced in 2009, is the first and most popular cryptocurrency to date.

Philstar.com file photo

by Lawrence

agcaoiLi Philstar.com

THEuse of virtual or cryptocurrencies in the country, according to BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno.

He said he is not fully convinced about the use of cryptocurrencies in the country since this could be used for terrorism financing. “I think that is my view. So we will go easy on that,�

Diokno said.

Cryptocurrency is a type of virtual currency that uses cryptography – a method of storing and transmitting data in unreadable form so that only the intended recipients can read and process it. Bitcoin, introduced in 2009, is the first and most popular cryptocurrency to date.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said there are limitations of bitcoins as substitute for fiat money in terms of being unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. “Bitcoins are limited in use at this points, value is very volatile,�

Guinigundo said during a recent launching of a book about bitcoins.

Guinigundo said blockchain and general forms of distributed

ledger technology can be useful for payment and settlements for peer-to-peer transactions and therefore could potentially bypass the banks and banking system in general. “For this reason, game theory dictates possible dysfunction when there is market breakdown, when everyone may distrust one another. There cannot be a total disregard for a central bank or a third party that provides lender of last resort facility,� Guinigundo said.

Guinigundo said the BSP approaches these new forms of technology based on regulatory sandboxes that would allow the regulator to balance encouraging technology innovation with robust solution and consumer protection.

Latest data from the BSP’s Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Department showed the value of transactions involving virtual currencies almost doubled to $390.37 million last year from $189.18 million in 2017.

Conversion from peso and other currencies to virtual currencies with $208.27 million, conversion of virtual currencies into peso and other currencies

with $173.33 million, and international inward remittance facilitated through virtual currencies with $8.77 million.

Following the rise in the use of virtual currencies for payments and remittances in the Philippines, the regulator established a formal regulatory framework for virtual currency exchanges through Circular 944 dated Feb. 6, 2017.

The circular required virtual currency exchanges to register with the BSP as remittance and transfer companies and were required to put in place adequate safeguards to address the risks associated with virtual currencies, including control measures to counter money laundering/ terrorist financing, technology risk management systems, and consumer protection mechanisms.

The BSP has so far approved the registration of 10 virtual currency exchanges including Bexpress Inc., Coinville Phils. Inc., ABA Global Phils. Inc., Betur Inc. (Coins.ph), Rebittance Inc., BloomSolutions Inc., Virtual Currency Philippines Inc., ETranss Remittance International Corp., Fyntegrate Inc.and ZyBi Tech Inc. n

THE Philippines is expected to sign a $202.04-million infrastructure loan agreement with Japan on the sidelines of a highlevel joint committee meeting between the two countries on June 18, the Department of Finance (DoF) announced on Sunday, June 9.

In a statement, the Finance department said the deal was for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao, which involves building, rehabilitating and improving the 178.43-kilometer road network in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and neighboring regions.

It was aimed to revitalize the local economy of Mindanao’s conflict-hit areas and reduce poverty.

The Japanese government pledged its commitment to provide a yen loan for the project on January 18.

Acknowledging that decades of conflict had slowed down Mindanao’s socioeconomic development, the Japanese embassy in Manila said the road project sought to foster economic activity, ensure smooth commodity flow and improve the region’s accessibility. “The project will construct and improve access roads to arterial roads linking the main cities of Mindanao, thereby contributing

to the revitalization of the regional economy, the reduction of poverty and the consolidation of peace in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao,� it said in an earlier statement. “This project will contribute to improve logistics, stimulate economic activity and strengthen access to the region with the construction and refurbishment of roads and bridges in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao,� the embassy added.

Meeting The DoF also said that during the June 18 meeting, Philippine and Japanese officials would resume discussions on the progress of Japan-funded infrastructure projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build� infrastructure program and other areas of economic cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.

It announced that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia would again lead the Philippine side , while Hiroto Izumi, a special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is expected to head the Japanese delegation.

The meeting, to be held at New Clark City in Pampanga province, would be the eigth held by the high-level joint committee since it was first convened in March 2017 as part of the Duterte administration’s efforts to fast-track the rollout of its 75 big-ticket projects under “Build,

Build, Build.�

According to Dominguez, nine other loan agreements with Japan were signed between October 2016 and January 2019 with a combined amount of 398.82 billion yen (about $3.63 billion or P189.92 billion).

These were the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard (Phase 2); Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation; Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project; Arterial Road Bypass Project (Phase 3) in Bulacan; New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project (Phase 2); Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project; Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase 4); North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project (first tranche of loan); and Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase 1).

Japan remains the top provider of official development assistance (ODA) loans totaling $6.13 billion, accounting for 47.51 percent of the total as of last year, based on the National Economic and Development Authority data.

The country was also the fifth largest provider of ODA grants amounting to $106.76 million — 4.45 percent of the total — as of December 2018. n

Better connectivity boosts tourism’s growth contribution by catherine

taLavera Philstar.com

THE improving transport connectivity as well as better investment environment has driven the higher contribution of the tourism sector to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, according to Tourism Secretary Bernadette RomuloPuyat.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP went up to 12.7 percent in 2018 from 12.2 percent contribution in 2017. “These achievements in the tourism industry are a result of a holistic and convergent government. The Build Build Build program of the administration has greatly improved infrastructure and transport connectivity, while the ease of doing business, coupled with a facilitative environment for investments, has boosted both visitor and investor confidence in Philippine tourism,� Puyat said.

Puyat attributed the continued growth of foreign arrivals to the improved connectivity and accessibility in the country, particularly with the opening of new airports such as the Mactan Cebu International Airport and the New Bohol Panglao Airport.

The tourism industry’s contribution to the GDP is measured by the Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) which amounted to P2.2 trillion in 2018, a 14.3 percent rise from P1.9 trillion in the previous year.

This, however, was the slowest TDGVA growth since 2013 when

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP went up to 12.7 percent in 2018 from 12.2 percent contribution in 2017.

Philstar.com file photo by Walter Bollozos

it rose 12.6 percent.

The growth was mainly driven by domestic tourism expenditure which grew by 21 percent to P3.2 trillion from P2.6 trillion in the year before.

Domestic tourists reached 110 million in 2018, a 14.1 percent rise from 96.4 million domestic tourists in 2017.

In contrast, inbound tourism expenditure dropped by 1.6 percent to P 441.4 billion from P448.6 billion in 2017. “Compared to the country’s total exports, the share of inbound tourism expenditure was eight percent. Inbound tourism ranked third among the biggest export items in 2018, after miscellaneous services at 31.5 percent and semiconductors at 22.8 percent,� the PSA said.

The Philippines welcomed a total of 7.1 million foreign tourists last year, a 7.65 percent rise from the 6.6 million in the year before.

The PSA also reported that employment in the tourism industry grew an estimated 5.4 million, 1.8 percent higher than the 5.3 million in the previous year. “Based on the Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA) results, it is also estimated that at least two million poor people benefited from the robust growth of tourism compared to original targets from 2016 to 2018,� the DOT said.

It added that this is in line with the National Tourism Development Plan’s strategic direction on sustainability and inclusive growth n

Government moves to ensure faster economic growth in 2nd semester

by Daxim

L. Lucas

Inquirer.net

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THE head of the Duterte administration’s economic team vowed to restore the country’s growth path to previous levels after a disappointing first quarter gross domestic product number caused by the delayed passage of the national budget.

In particular, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government was doubling its efforts to accelerate spending on badly needed infrastructure—spending whose multiplier effects were expected to ripple across the domestic economy. “We are confident we can bring our pace of growth back on track in the second half of the year,� he said in a speech to members of the Management Association of the Philippines. “The majority of our people see a better life for themselves this year. We will not disappoint them.�

This catch-up plan involves the government spending some P2.996 trillion from the second to the fourth quarter of the year, with infrastructure disbursements accounting for almost a third of the amount at P792.97

billion, he said.

Economic growth in the first quarter of 2019 came in at only 5.6 percent—the slowest pace in four years—after Congress wrangling over this year’s national budget resulted in underspending on infrastructure of almost P1 billion a day.

Dominguez told businessmen that the economic team had reviewed the spending plan for the rest of the year and identified areas where government could speed up public investments to enable the economy to hit a growth rate above 6 percent for the whole of 2019.

He said the Department of Agriculture had also crafted its catch-up plan to energize agriculture and to contribute significantly to GDP growth this year. “In addition to the public sector, we are hoping private construction will perform as we expect. Private sector construction will help supplement public spending to provide the stimulus for overall growth to pick up,� he said.

Meanwhile, the Finance chief said the clean sweep by administration-backed candidates in last month’s midterm elections illus-

trates the desire of the people for the President to continue his reform program.

The latest credit ratings received by the Philippines—the higher investment grade of “BBB+� from Standard & Poor’s and the “BBB� rating affirmed

by Fitch—are also votes of confidence, this time by the international community, in the Duterte administration’s reform agenda, he said. “We have reached the midpoint of the Duterte administration,� Dominguez said. “There is much to celebrate but also much bigger goals that we have yet to accomplish. President Duterte enjoys broad and profound support from our people. That strong support was most recently expressed in the just concluded midterm elections.�

He also underscored the need for the Executive and Legislative branches to work together under the incoming 18th Congress to create a more business-friendly environment in the country through the passage of the Foreign Investments Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and amendments to the Public Service Act. n

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ON THE COVER Photos courtesy of Alonso Nichols

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Not just happy stories: Grace Talusan’s “The Body Papers” explores trauma, undocumented immigration and not staying silent I wrote about and that it was going to be a book. I didn’t and awards $10,000 and publi- erations.

GRACE Talusan recalls give them pages for approval or cation by Restless Books. being drawn to books at an AJ: How did where you anything like that...but everyone Of “The Body Papers,” early age. Some photos from grew up shape your identity? said, ‘We trust you.’ That level prize judges Anjali Singh and childhood show her reading or GT: It made for great trainof trust also made me feel like I Ilan Stavans wrote that “it is writing, which foreshadow a ing for a writer because I had to needed to be trustworthy and the considered, artful work of chapter in her life some three be observant and vigilant and made me try really hard to get one who has been processdecades later. constantly paying attention to things right. Of course, it’s my ing these experiences with “I’ve always identified as what was going on around me perspective. Talk to people the diligence and courage of a writer or wanted to be a by reading people on multiple about something you’ve all a true writer. In its message of writer,” she told the Asian Jourlevels. I’m constantly reading experienced and everyone will resilience—and the salvation to into context and tone of voice, nal in a recent interview. have a different perspective be found in books—Talusan’s With “The Body Papers,” so I would always wonder like on their experience. I did try to memoir will serve as an inspira- ‘what is this context I am finding interview people to follow up released this past April tion to thousands of young — along with her background myself in and how do I fit into on things and see if that would immigrants who feel the weight it?’ as an English professor at Tufts add anything but not a lot since of secrecy and silence pressed University and incoming FanAJ: Were there any init’s my story and I wanted that upon them.” nie Hurst writer-in-residence stances that you still rememintegrity.

Currently on a tour with an at Brandeis University this fall ber?

AJ: What kinds of converupcoming stop at Philippine — Talusan embodies that life’s GT: I remember a teacher sations do you want readers, Expressions Bookshop in San calling as a writer. asking a question in an attempt especially those in the Filipino Pedro, California on June 29, Structured in 21 essays to make a point about how American community, to have? based on her memories supple- Talusan doesn’t uphold “The we’re all the same, which I think The immigrant experience is Body Papers” as the ultimate mented by sifting through was not a good point to make relatable for many, but you representation of what it diary entries, family photos, because we’re not. But he was also write about deeply permeans to be a Fil-Am, but government and medical asking people to raise their sonal experiences, whether rather a conduit to show how records, the book begins with hand like, ‘How many of you it’s abuse or cancer in the every body is multilayered with eat bread every day at dinner?’ family, that people tend to not Talusan living in the Philippines stories to tell. as a Fulbright scholar, markEveryone raised their hand but want to talk about.

Asian Journal (AJ): How ing one of the first times as an I lied and raised my hand. Then GT: What is the point of have reading and writing adult she returns to her country he asked, ‘How many people silence? I can understand if been a part of your life? of birth after moving to a Boseat rice every day?’ I half raised there’s a reason about safety, Grace Talusan (GT): No ton suburb in the 1970s. my hand and put it back down but if it’s just you trying to instill matter what happened to me With her experience as a again. Moments like this made false pride in the family, then in my life, I would be interested me realize that I was different Filipino American in the Philipthere’s no use at all for that in reading and writing. But I pines, revisiting her family’s in big ways from people even silence. I feel strongly that we think that with the things that ancestral home guides the though I was trying to mask it should be having conversations happened to me, writing was storytelling of how she and all the time. We did eat rice evthat we need to have in order to a form for me to process those ery day but that was considered keep our families safe, healthy, her family came to the United experiences, whether it’s being a really weird thing to do in the honest and vibrant. Why would States and the struggles, different with immigration or whether it was trying to ‘fit place I grew up in. we want to maintain a lie? In how I dealt with my niece havin’ by forgoing Tagalog and I could act like everyone the author’s note, I say that very ing cancer or me having to go adopting a Bostonian accent else around me like take on explicitly. I was told incomplete through the decision to have or living in immigration status the Boston accent, play sports or happy stories and that was surgery. All of that I definitely limbo. and music, and go to birthday a very damaging thing. We processed through reading and parties of classmates. But there should feel safe enough and On the physical ‘body’ writing. side, Talusan dives into trauma were ways that I just couldn’t strong enough that we can tell AJ: Who were some of the get around my identity because complete stories and still be that many families may sweep writers you enjoyed growing under the rug, from years of of the way I looked. I’m not able to be proud of who we are up? sexual abuse by her grandfawhite so there’s so way to get and recognize the full complexiGT: I didn’t discover any ther to anxiety and depresaround that. There were ways ties of our families. writers of color until probably sion to voluntarily undergoing I was treated because of that AJ: How does ‘The Body high school or even college. a double mastectomy and with some bullies at school Papers’ fit into the greater FilMost of the writers who had oophorectomy because of making racial taunts, but people Am narrative? an impact on me were those the genetic predisposition to wanted our town to be a friendGT: There are not many I found in my local library. I breast cancer. ly, welcoming place so, for the representations of Filipino loved books by Beverly Cleary “My parents were so busy most part, they were friendly Americans in literature and in and Judy Blume, and I would back then as new immigrants to us and did stand up for me our culture and I was very aware go through books and biograputting the pieces of their phies about girls and women.

American Dream together: It wasn’t until I found Amy Tan the small business, the house and Maxine Hong Kingston in the suburbs, the two cars. that I finally had writers who There were five of us children really opened up an opportuand no servants or supportive nity…I had thought literature family like back home in the was about white people and Philippines. I didn’t want to I would have to write about be a bother,” Talusan writes them. It was a revelation when of keeping the abuse a secret.

I came into contact with other However, she later describes Asian American writers and coming forward to her parents realized I could depict families and years later, recognizes the in literature that looked like duty to not only tell “happy my family. stories” when she becomes an AJ: One aspect of your aunt. story is coming to Boston at “With my book, I wanted when things like that happened. of that. It took me a long time an early age. to make a space so people can There were just some people to come to peace with what GT: It was a big culture start having conversations that around who weren’t as openI was going through because shock to go from the city to the minded. are very important for them I knew it would be read as suburbs — we lived in Boston to have,” Talusan said in our AJ: What role did your representative in some ways then moved to a suburb — be- diaries from growing up play interview. for Filipino Americans, which it cause it was pretty homogTalusan’s memoir-in-esin the writing process? should not be because this is enous. In the city, there were says was the 2017 winner of GT: I had diaries and looked just one unique, specific story. It more immigrants and people the Restless Books Prize for at them after I did most of is not representative, but I knew of color but the suburbs were New Immigrant Writing, which the major writing of the book. that it could be taken that way. largely families who had been recognizes debut literary work There was a period when I was Sometimes there’s pressure in that town for multiple genby a first-generation immigrant going back and forth with my because there’s so few of us in editor with big revisions so I publishing that we should tell had this time in between when I only certain kinds of stories or did things like look at my box of those that are happy and make diaries...starting around maybe us proud of who we are. I would younger than 10 years old. I argue that this story does make had intermittent writings in my me proud of who I am because diary and then through high we all go through difficult school and college it was much things and hardships. more regular writing. I looked at AJ: Another layer of your those to gain confidence that I personal journey is going was correct in dates and names back to the Philippines as an of friends and things that had adult through the Fulbright happened. I also cross-referProgram. What did you learn enced things like report cards, during that experience? photographs that are dated, letGT: Because I was the only ters and notes that people sent Filipina in classrooms oftenme. But that mostly happened times, people would look to me after writing as a way to check as if I was some sort of expert that I was right on stuff. on all things Filipino. That gave In terms of writing and mak- me a false sense that I was ing the memoir come to life, I and that I knew a lot about the Grace Talusan and father (named Totoy in “The Body Papers”) in Miami in 2018. really relied on my memory and Philippines when I really didn’t.

Photo by Alonso Nichols what stood out to me and what When I was in graduate school, has stayed with me for decades I took a course N.V.M Gonzasince they had happened. lez on Filipino literature and AJ: Did you have any conanother on Philippine history. versations with family about Those were the first times I had you sharing these stories? formal education on anything GT: I didn’t think of my writ- Filipino. It wasn’t until I got to ing as a book. I was writing esthe Philippines and spent any says and pieces for myself for a time there that I realized I knew period of about 10 years. I had very little and I’m not an expert tried to publish them here and at all. there. I was targeting print-only I’m learning just as much journals, but then there was as any person who’s been a time when I had what was a schooled in the U.S. I had to book and I then got a book con- learn to know what I didn’t tract so that was when I started know and learn what I didn’t to talk to family members more know. I always thought of intentionally and tell them what myself as Filipino because that’s Mary and Grace during a snow storm growing up in a suburb outside of Boston.

By Christina M. Oriel / AJPress

“In the Philippines, I am an Amerikano, a returner, a balikbayan.

I’m here to learn what it means to be Filipino, but somehow I’ve only become more American.”

-“The Body Papers,” page 233

Author Grace Talusan reads at Brookline Booksmith Transnational Series in May 2019.

Photo by Alonso Nichols

Talusan reads from her debut memoir, “The Body Papers,” at Lit Crawl Boston on June 6, 2019.

Photo by Alonso Nichols

Photo shows Grace and family apple picking in the ‘70s.

how people saw me in the United States, but then when I went to the Philippines, I realized that I am not just Filipino, I am...a hyphenated American.

AJ: You’ve been doing a book tour across the East Coast this past spring, which have been attended by diverse audiences. What has the reception been like?

GT: From everybody, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike, the response has been, ‘Thank you.’ Whether I’m talking about my body, disease, sexual abuse or immigration, those are things people are responding to with their gratitude in that they’re feeling seen in some way or they’re seeing some aspect of their own experiences even if they’re not Filipino. That’s really gratifying for me because I didn’t know who was going to read this book and thought people wouldn’t care.

I thought maybe only immigrants would care or other Filipinos and Filipino Americans, but no, the book is actually reaching people who are not any of those identities. When I bring this up to my non-Filipino or immigrant friends, they laugh and say, ‘Why wouldn’t we be interested in this?’ That’s something from my imagination, thinking that people not of our background could find a universal story in it or something they’re connecting to that’s powerful. It isn’t anything against them personally — it’s because I don’t see movies and literature about our lives so why would I assume that they’d be interested about my life?

AJ: You’ll be doing a book talk and signing at Philippine Expressions Bookshop in San Pedro in late June. What can we expect from that event?

GT: That’s going to be an incredible event and special because I’ll be in conversation with sociologist Anthony Ocampo, who wrote “The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race.” That’s something special to have both of us at this event, him as a sociologist and storyteller, asking me questions and analyzing my book. I want to encourage our community to tell their own stories in whatever way they want to and what feels comfortable, whether it’s through writing or videos. We need more of our work out in the world for sure.

AJ: What’s next for you?

GT: I’m doing research, which I could say, about World War II in the Philippines and looking at it as a Filipino American. I will continue to work on essays. Even with just going on this tour and publishing this book, I have already started working on essays about that

experience. For now, it’s all about marketing “The Body Papers.” I’ve worked so hard at this with my publishing company and team so I want people to at least know it exists. It’s been such a pleasure and surprise to see how it’s been received. Those two New York Times reviews have been unbelievable — I didn’t even think I’d get one, but the fact that they did it twice was amazing.

AJ: Any advice for aspiring writers and storytellers? “The Body Papers” comes at a time when we’ve seen quite a few releases from other Fil-Am authors.

GT: I’d say start with something true that you haven’t seen before. You may dismiss it and think it’s not important. I’ve been reading Malaka Gharib’s “I Was Their American Dream,” which is funny and moving, but also a revelation I’d never seen these details of my life in comic form. I posted an Instagram of a page where the daughter is pulling the white hair out of her mother’s head and people were replying that they would do that too and get paid a few cents. That’s a true moment I’ve never seen before anywhere. That’s so important to represent and write about our lives in those little details because they’re ways to get across the specificity and beauty of our lives, otherwise we’re invisible and erased and have to fit ourselves into what we see on TV and movies, which is recognizable on some level but they’re not specific to us. I’ve also been reading “America is Not the Heart” by Elaine Castillo, whom I haven’t met yet but I hope to go to a reading because I love her work so much.

There are two forthcoming memoirs, Jia Tolentino’s “Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion,” which is coming out in August. She’s incredible. Also my cousin — she’s technically my niece or second cousin I think — Meredith Talusan has a book called “Fairest” in spring 2020. I did an event with Meredith so I’ve heard her read from that book. Gina Apostol, whose latest book is “Insurrecto,” was also in that conversation at Columbia University.

I have a big stack of books

by Fil-Ams to get to like Cinelle Barnes’ “Monsoon Mansion.”

It used to be that I would do this for Asian American writers, especially in the ‘80s when I would buy any new book by an Asian American writer and I’d have a stack of about 10 a year.

But the fact that I can have a stack of 10 just for Fil-Ams at this point is really exciting.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Derek on breakup with longtime gf: It’s for the best by allan

PolicaRPio Inquirer.net

ONLY two months ago, Derek Ramsay was chatting to the entertainment press about how he was trying to think of different ways to propose to his girlfriend, Joanne Villablanca.

He wanted something spontaneous, he said.

But this week, the 42-yearold actor revealed that, after six years of dating, he and Joanne have decided to part ways.

When asked by the Inquirer for further comment about the breakup, Derek sent a terse

text message that read, “Yes we have (broken up), but it’s for the best.�

The two also appear to have unfollowed each other on Instagram.

In an interview with reporters at his contract signing with GMA 7 in April, Derek thanked Joanne for being supportive and inspiring him to make a comeback in acting, after mulling retirement. “She encouraged me and reminded me that I could do this,� he said. “She made me believe and helped me regain the right mind-set.�

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Gazini succeeds Catriona as Binibining Pilipinas Universe 2019 by deni Rose M. afinidad-BeRnaRdo Philstar.com

AN early pageant favorite for her strong Latina looks, Gazini Ganados, wins as the Philippines’ official representative to the 2019 Miss Universe pageant.

Ganados of Talisay, Cebu has been crowned Bb. Pilipinas Derek Ramsay GMA photo Universe 2019 at the coronation night held in Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City on June 9. Her fellow Cebuana, Samantha Ashley Lo of Cebu City, was crowned Bb. PilipinasGrand International 2019. It was a surprise that their fellow Cebuana and pageant favorite, Ilene De Vera of Mandaue City, Cebu, failed to make it to the top 25.

From the moment Gazini was named The Face of Binibini (Miss Photogenic) and Best in Long Gown, fans of the 23year-old, half-Palestinian beauty (who fondly call themselves the “Gazininjas�), already had a good feeling that she is going home with the topmost title by the end of the night.

Prior to winning as Binibining Pilipinas Universe, Gazini has garnered the second most likes on the pageant’s Facebook page, next to Vickie Rushton of Negros Occidental.

But in the question and answer portion, Ganados emphasized her advocacy for the elderly.

One of the judges, Bobby Photo from Instagram/@sarahlahbati Barreiro, ABS-CBN’s Integrated Events Head, asked her: “If you The celebrity couple has win the crown tonight, what will two sons, one-year-old Kai and you do to get more women in 6-year-old Zion. The entire the workplace?� family bonds through travel Gazini answered: “If I win and enjoyed the beaches in the crown tonight, what I do is Palawan earlier this year. to promote my advocacy. My Other details of the wedadvocacy is for us women to ding, such as the exact date fight for our rights and for the and venue, have yet to be anelderly women and for us to nounced. know that someone is loving us, someone is pushing us to whatever ambitions that we have.� “We will be able to rise from our decisions, to whatever dreams that we have, goals that we have, and we will achieve it

Sarah, Richard start wedding preparations

by Ryan

aRcadio Inquirer.net

SARAH Lahbati revealed that she and longtime partner Richard Gutierrez have officially begun preparing for their wedding next year.

The actress marked the beginning of their wedding preparations with a series of photos of her and Gutierrez with their son Zion in Hawaii, as seen in her Instagram post on Saturday, June 8.

Lahbati expressed her gratitude for her life, her family and her husband Richard. “That afternoon in Hawaii with my family. (Kai was with his granny). As we officially prepare for our wedding next year, I can’t help but feel grateful for this life I have, for my beautiful and amazing family, for my best friend who also happens to be the love of my life,� Lahbati stated. “I thank God for all the lessons, for His guidance and for growth. Being able to experience new things and places with the person you love and grow at the same time is something magical. I thank

Sarah Lahbati and Richard Gutierrez

God everyday for what I have and for what’s to come,� she added.

Gutierrez proposed to Lahbati in Switzerland back in July 2017. “The stars aligned in the universe and this happened. I’m marrying my best friend,� the actress said about the proposal.

Gazini Ganados of Talisay, Cebu has just been crowned as new Bb. Pilipinas Universe 2019.

Philstar.com photo by Kat Leandicho

because of those values, those wisdoms that they gave us.

Thank you,� she added.

Gazini, also called by her nickname Gaz, reportedly grew up with her grandparents, which prompted her desire to take care of the elderly.

Likewise, she enjoys taking care of her fur babies, listening to Cebuano songs, watching Disney movies, and learning about self-improvement and business from podcasts.

In her profile video for Binibini, the five-foot-eight Tourism graduate from Univer-

sity of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City stressed that her advocacy for the elderly involves not only adding to their quantity of life or prolonging their life span, but also improving their quality of life. She feels that the elderly are among those most neglected in the society.

In an interview during the press presentation, Gazini said that apart from promoting the cause of the elderly, one of her reasons for becoming a beauty queen is to have a chance to travel to meet her father, who Continued on Page 5

Actor Eddie Garcia remains in ‘very critical condition’ by iza iglesias ManilaTimes.net

THERE has been no improvement in veteran actor Eddie Garcia’s condition three days after his fall while on location shooting in Tondo, Manila.

Garcia, who has a “severe cervical fracture� or broken neck had been described in reports as being “in deep sleep� at the Makati Medical Center’s ICU. A source who has been to visit the 90-year-old on Tuesday told The Manila Times the multi-awarded actor remained the same. “Actually what everyone’s been reading in the papers, it’s still the same. His condition is very still very critical and he’s being helped by machines,� said the source. “The findings after the accident show he had hit his head from the fall causing injuries on the cervical spine’s C1 and C2 (vertebrae).�

The actor’s heart, however, added the source, remained very strong. “He regularly has his heart checked especially when he knows he’ll be busy with [act-

!NTI AGING IS JUST NOT CORRECTING BUT PREVENTING FUTURE DAMAGE TOO

Eddi Garcia

ing] work so his heart remains strong despite the accident.�

Only close family and friends, many from showbiz, are being allowed to visit Garcia.

Some of those who were seen in the hospital were newly elected senator Ramon “Bong� Revilla Jr. and wife

ABS-CBN photo

Lani Mercado, Jaime Fabregas, and action stars Robin Padilla and Philip Salvador who accompanied Senator-elect Christopher “Bong� Go. Ako Bicol representatives—a party list close to Garcia, with his roots from Bicol—had also visited the actor.

18 years cancer-free: Maritoni goes through first MRI exam

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by cody

cePeda Inquirer.net

ACTRESS and breast cancer survivor Maritoni Fernandez has been cancer-free for the past 18 years, but that does not mean she no longer has to go to the doctor for regular checkups.

Fernandez recently underwent her first ever magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam to have her breasts checked, as per her Instagram post on June 10. In her photo, she can be seen lying down on the MRI machine and posing as if to say, “Rock on!â€? “First time ever inside an MRI machine to get my boobies checked. Gotta be thorough and it’s upcoming my 20 year mark soon‌,â€? Fernandez said. “Praise God! All clear thank you Lord!â€?

Fernandez, who had her MRI scan at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, shared it was not easy lying flat on her stomach for 20 minutes straight without

Maritoni Fernandez

moving. The loud propeller sounds of the machine also added to the seeming discomfort of it all. “It’s truly a test of a different kind!� she said. “Thank

Photo from Instagram/@maritoni.fernandez

goodness for ear muffs, a crazy fun imagination like mine and the fact that I’m not claustrophobic.�

She also extended her Continued on Page 5

:/3+).#%.42% #/-

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Angelica mum on Carlo’s defense entertainment of rumored GF: He doesn’t exist Loisa opens up about financial troubles in my life now, we don’t talk The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

by Jan

Mallorca Inquirer.net

Milo Severo Philstar.com

by HannaH

ANGELICA Panganiban has no comment about Carlo Aquino’s recent statement, where he said that he takes responsibility for criticisms about his private life.

Aquino issued the cryptic statement via Instagram Stories last week, June 3, apparently in defense of his rumored girlfriend, model Trina Candaza.

“Walang ibang may kasalanan kundi ako, sorry sa lahat ng ginawa ko,” the actor said.

“Kung magagalit kayo, sa akin kayo magalit hindi sa ibang tao (No one is to blame except me.

I am sorry for everything I did.

If you are going to be angry, direct your anger to me instead.)”

“Huwag niyo na po idamay ang ibang tao dahil wala silang kasalanan, lahat ng galit niyo tatanggapin ko pero huwag niyo na lang ipasa sa ibang tao (Do not involve other people because they did not do anything wrong. I am going to accept all of your anger, but do not pass it to others),” Aquino added.

Meanwhile, in a recent inter-

LOISA Andalio admitted that she has financial struggles even if she already became an actress.

In a recent interview with Push, Loisa said there are times that she really has no money at all and she could not ask money from her mother because she knows her mom is also short of funds.

“May time na nasisimutan talaga ako ng pera. As in nasisimot talaga. As in hindi ako makahingi ng pera kay mama kasi alam kong walang pera,” Angelica Panganiban on a look test with Carlo Aquino.

Photo from Instagram/@jose_liwanag Loisa shared.

“Kahit ngayong artista na been waiting for him to reach view with ABS-CBN last Monako, as in nung last year, mga out to her. day, June 10, Panganiban said ganon, hindi ako nakakahingi “Matagal ko nang hinintay she has nothing to say about ng pera kay mama, kasi alam ‘yung explanation niya, sana her ex-boyfriend’s defense. kong wala talaga,” she added. matagal na niyang ginawa “Wala, hindi siya nagShe said her financial dif(I have been waiting for his eexist sa life ko ngayon eh,” ficulties started when she has explanation for a long time, he Panganiban stated. “Hindi kasi been spending more than what should have done it before),” kami nag-uusap, so wala akong is expected in building their the actress said. alam sa nangyayari sa kanya. ([I house.

Panganiban confirmed last have] no comment, he does not “Dumaan talaga na parang March that her friendship with exist in my life now. We are not tiis talaga, ‘yung hindi ka the actor has ended. talking, so I do not know what makabili talaga ng gusto mo Aside from being ex-lovers is going on with him.)” kasi may pinapagawa kang in real life, they have recently Panganiban, when asked bahay,” Loisa said. been co-stars in the 2018 film if she is open to speaking with For her, it is important that “Exes Baggage”.

Aquino, replied that she had her car has gas so she can go to tapings.

“Basta importante lang talaga hindi ako mawawalan ng gas ng sasakyan. Kasi pag

Done with school, Kayla restarts ‘Beautiful’ career by iza igleSiaS ManilaTimes.net

AFTER setting aside her thriving theater career in 2015, Filipino-Canadian singer-actress Kayla Rivera spent four years in her hometown of Calgary to finish school. Today, every bit as talented as before, she is back in Manila, diploma in hand, eager to return to the stage.

Thankfully for Rivera, she had no need to wait long for work to come her way what with her “home” in Philippine theater — Atlantis Theatrical Group — only too happy to cast her in the coveted title role of the Tony- Grammy and Olivieraward winning “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”

It can be recalled that the 27-year-old singing competition discovery made her professional musical theater debut playing Nina Rosario in Atlantis’ acclaimed staging of “In The Heights” in 2011. A theatrical gem, the company thereafter kept her busy from one production to the next as Princess Jasmine in Disney’s “Aladdin” in 2012, Carrie White in “Carrie” in 2013, Wednesday Addams in “The Addams’ Family” also in 2013, and Sherrie in “Rock of Ages” in 2014.

Now a proud graduate of Communications and Culture, Minor in Economics from the University of Calgary, Rivera shared at Beautiful’s media launch, “What amazes me from being away in school these last four years is that all that time made me appreciate music and theater performing so much more. I guess because I was doing show after show before, I didn’t realize just how much I love my work, and it was only when I was away from it all that I realized the stage is my home.”

Speaking about her latest break, she enthused, “So now, coming back to do this role, this is beyond my wildest dreams!

I would’ve never in a million years thought I will be back onstage as the legendary Carole King. I am just grateful that Director Bobby Garcia remembered me and brought me back from the other side of the world

your very dreams.”

Beautiful cast, beautiful music Playing King’s husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin in the Atlantis’ staging is Nick Varricchio. He was last seen onstage in Manila as Double J in Atlantis’ touring production of “Saturday Night Fever.” His musical credits include “A Chorus Line,” “Happy Days,” “Light in the Piazza,” and “Spring Awakening”.

Joining them are some of the country’s most sought after new generation theater stars, namely Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante as Cynthia Weil, King’s friend and rival; George Schulze as Barry Mann; Gab Pangilinan, Loisa Andalio Marilyn Wald, Jill Peña, Janelle Photo from Instagram/@iamandalioloisa Away from theater for four years, Kayla Rivera’s Woods and Teetin Villanueva passion to perform is stronger than ever.

— as members of the Shirelles Contributed photo and Maronne Cruz as Betty, King’s childhood best friend. to do this.”

Cast for the male group The Being King Drifters are Tim Pavino, Arman “I definitely had to listen Ferrer, Jep Go, and Markus to a lot of her music,” Rivera Mann. in preparing to portray the Theatre veterans, Jamie world renowned hitmaker and Wilson and Carla Guevara-Lasongwriter Carole King. “The forteza, who were previously sound of her voice is very seen in “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” unique so I feel like no matter what I do, I really won’t be able will also lend their expertise in the show as Don Kirshner and to completely get her voice.

Genie Klein, respectively.

But definitely, I’m channeling Written by Douglas Mcher as much as I possibly can Grath, Beautiful: The Carole [after] watching interviews and King Musical has been thrillpractically anything about her, ing theatregoers in key cities and just immersing myself in around the world with the her amazing music. It’s such an inspiring true story of one womhonor to dive into everything an’s remarkable journey from I possibly could about Carole teenage songwriter to Rock & King,” she said.

Roll Hall of Fame.

Rivera describes the music From the string of pop clasKing, her husband Gerry Goffin sics she wrote for the biggest and friend Cynthia Weil have given to the world as “a magical acts in music, to her own lifespace” for everyone to enjoy to changing, chart-busting success with Tapestry, Beautiful takes this very day. audiences where it all began As an artist and a woman, Rivera is further inspired by King with such all-time favorites as “You’ve Got a Friend,” “One outside of her music, expressing, “My biggest takeaway from Fine Day,” “So Far Away,” her life story is how Carole King “Take Good Care of My Baby,” never saw gender as a limitation “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Will in working toward her dream and what she could accomplish. You Love Me Tomorrow,” and The message of the show is just “Natural Woman.”

As the musical premieres in that — that you should never let any limitations impressed on Manila this weekend, “Beautiful” continues to run on Broadyou, be it gender, age or race, way and on U.S. National Tour, keep you from going for what currently on its second week in you want to do, because if you San Francisco, California. don’t you can even go beyond

Gazini succeeds Catriona as...

From Page 3 she has never seen.

“I don’t know if he is still alive. I’m hoping for the best.

He’s a Palestinian. I just wanna go there and try to look for him,” Manila Bulletin quoted her as saying.

“I heard a lot of good stories about Palestines. They have good food. Who knows? I would bump into him.”

If she would ever meet her father, she said: “I would give him a hug. I would thank him for the genes because without him, I wouldn’t be here... I’d be joyful. That would be the happiest day of my life.”

Prior to joining Binibining Pilipinas, Gazini was Miss Cesafi in 2016, Miss Bohol 2017 first runner-up, and was a Miss World Philippines 2014

contestant.

“I am excited for what the future holds,” she said in another press interview. “I feel positivity in all my heart!”

If victorious, Ganados will become the Philippines’ fifth Miss Universe titleholder, following Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015) and Catriona Gray (2018).

18 years cancer-free: Maritoni...

From Page 3 gratitude to her daughter Lexi, who accompanied her, and all the technicians who explained to her the process of the MRI scan.

“And to my angel today, Doc Mike, for being there to reassure me of my results right away,” added Fernandez. “I am wonderfully blessed. Thank

you Jesus! Here’s to the next 20!”

Fernandez celebrated her 17 years of being cancer-free last January 2018, which she marked with a visit to the hospital for her yearly 3D mammography tomosynthesis.

Fernandez shared in a 2011 interview that she has had a lump on her right breast

since she gave birth to her child when was 26, but was told by her OB-gyn when she was 27 that she had nothing to worry about. She discovered years later her lump was positive for malignancy and had 40 percent of her right beast removed via lumpectomy.

Fernandez turned 50 last March.

nagte-taping ako kailangan ko ng gas kasi ‘yung pagkain meron naman sa taping,” Loisa said.

Loisa rose to fame after becoming a “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate. Since exiting the PBB house, Loisa worked on many TV shows and films that

include “Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita,” “The Good Son,” “The General’s Daughter,” “Crazy Beautiful You,” “Fantastica” and “Hospicio.”

She now stars in iWant’s new original series, “Past, Present, Perfect?” that started streaming last May 31.

entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Now it’s Ai-Ai and Bayani

by MJ

Marfori ManilaTimes.net

TOP comics pair up for movie and in defense celeb contingent at Duterte’s Japan visit As the wave of romantic comedies remain evident and alive as ever in the Philippine movie scene, another unlikely pairing is about to hit the big screen very soon.

Comedy and Box Office Queen Ai-Ai delas Alas and versatile comedian Bayani Agbayani will hook up for the very first time for Cignal Entertainment, CignalTV and Pops Fernandez’s DSL Productions’ movie “Feelennial” showing nationwide on June 19.

Feelennial is a portmanteau of “feeling millennials,” and therefore about middle aged individuals trying hard to seem they are still in their mid-20s and 30s.

In The Know got to chat with the talented funny-folk during their grand media conference in Quezon City over the weekend with Bayani initially telling us what an honor it is be chosen as Ai-Ai’s leading man.

“Imagine mo mga leading man niya sina Vic Sotto, ngayon mahihilera ako doon. May kissing scenes nga kami!” he exclaimed.

Ai-Ai gamely stepped in, “Nako madami talaga! Pero hindi naman intense, pa-sweet lang. Pag nakita niyo yung film makikita niyo talaga yung chemistry namin kasi siguro nag-rairadiate talaga yung friendship and pagmamahalan.”

Speaking of friendship, Ai-Ai and Bayani came to each other’s defense as well as the other celebrities who’ve been criticized for accompanying President Rodrigo Duterte to a Filipino community event in Japan. Bayani declared he offered his services to the President and was seen on videos overseas with his wife.

“Ang deal ko magpasaya ng mga tao sa Filipino community at ito naman talaga dapat gastusan ng kung sino ang magdadala sa amin doon. Pero wala po akong talent fee. Libre po iyon. Yes, sinagot nila ang airfare ko pero ako na gumastos sa misis ko. Economy fare lang

EMPLOYMENT

Morissette teams up with Michael Bolton in new talent show

by Krissy

aguilar Inquirer.net

MORISETTE Amon continues to make a name in the international scene, this time she is teaming up with American singer-songwriter Michael Bolton for a brand new talent show.

“It’s out of the bag!”

Amon’s talent manager David Cosico said in a Facebook post Monday, June 11 where he posted photos of the Asia’s Phoenix with Bolton.

“Watch out for this brand new reality talent show all over Asia with multi-awarded Morisette Amon singer-songwriter Michael Photo from Instagram/@itsmorisette Bolton and Asia’s Phoenix,

the exceptional Morissette!”

Cosico added.

This is not the first time for Amon to work with Bolton. In 2017, she became Bolton’s co-host in talent search series “Bolt of Talent.”

The upcoming talent show with Bolton is only one among Amon’s international stints this year. However, other details of the show have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, she and singer Darren Espanto were earlier handpicked by Disney to sing the local version of “A Whole New World.”

Amon also got to meet Will Smith and sing with Disney composer Alan Menken.

How comedy boosted JC’s confidence by arMin

P. adina

Inquirer.net

Ai-Ai delas Alas and Bayani Agbayani

po iyon.”

Bayani further revealed what kind of income he waived not to mention the time and effort he spent to entertain the OFWs in Japan.

“Hindi niyo po kasi alam magkano ang kinikita ng isang artista sa isang show abroad pero ito po libre lang. Walang bayad! Walang bayad ito kahit singko. Alangan naman ako pa magbayad!”

Ai-Ai went on to explain on behalf of Bayani and other celebrities who also got caught in the controversy explaining, “Artista rin ako and nag-campaign din ako. Sa totoo lang, kung bakit kami nandoon ay dahil nakita namin na hindi sila corrupt — that’s why tumutulong kami.

“Huwag na tayo mag-plastikan. Alam niyo na mga artista kami at binabayaran kami pero ito po pamasahe lang po iyong binibigay o pang gasoline. Kaya kami tumulong kasi sabi namin sa mga sarili namin na ah hindi corrupt itong mga ito,” she reiterated.

Bayani also clarified that his arrangement may have been

ACTOR JC de Vera has been tickling viewers’ funny bones in ABS-CBN’s gag show “Banana Sundae,” but he said he never Photo from Instagram/@msaiaidelasalas thought he would end up being a comedian when he was just different from other celebrities starting out in the biz. who were invited to perform but “I only became open to is obviously unable to speak for [being a comedian] when I them. He has no idea about the moved to ABS,” JC told Inquirer details to his trip and can only Entertainment in an interview say that his close friend Robin in Lucena, Quezon, recently, Padilla was the one who paid for where he participated in the his trip to Japan. town’s annual Flores de Mayo “Si Robin Padilla, sinasagot parade. nga niya lahat. Pamasahe niya, “Back then, I was thinking hotel niya, pagkain niya. Kahit of ways to make myself differnoong kampanya pa ganun ent from other leading men,” siya.” continued JC, who was also Asked to comment on the joined by fellow Kapamilya star younger aritsts who claimed Alex Gonzaga in the out-ofthey also paid for their own way, town gig, along with actress Ai-Ai asked for understanding.

Erich Gonzales, “PBB” alumnus “Hindi siguro alam ng mga Fourth Pagotan, and former bagitong artista paano sila Mister Chinatown runnerup sasagot. Siyempre natatakot sila Wryan Chua. sa sasabihin sa Internet so doon He said there are actors who sila sa ‘safe side’ dahil akala nila are afraid of doing comedy and yun yung safe,” she elaborated. looking silly onscreen. In his Both Ai-Ai and Bayani hope case, “there were a few adjustthe public will acknowledge that ments, but I had no fear.” celebrities who join government For JC, being a gag show officials to entertain Filipino mainstay has in fact amped up communities date back to a his credentials, making him an number of former presidents’ all-around actor who can do administrations and should not drama, action and comedy. “In be made a big deal. Moreover, my career, I try to do anything,” celebrities who really just want he shared. to help shouldn’t be suspected JC said “Banana Sundae” of corruption. has taught him not to take eve-

EMPLOYMENT

JC de Vera

rything too seriously. “Instead of feeling disappointed over something, I crack jokes and laugh more often now,” he said.

“I know how to just laugh things off.”

And this, he said, is what the world needs right now.

“With so many things hap-

FOR RENT

SERVICES

ABS-CBN photo

pening in our country and in the whole world, laughter is one of the things that [may help] solve our problems. Just enjoy life,” JC said.

Aside from the weekly daytime gag show, JC is also seen weeknights on “The General’s Daughter” with Angel Locsin.

7

community

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAgLAyA EMMA looked down at the busy huddle in the operating room. She was floating, hovering above the doctors and nurses in their blood spattered scrub suits while working on someone. They were desperately trying to bring a patient back to life. Emma took a closer look. “Why that’s me,” she thought.

The doctors were trying to bring her back from the brink.

Her vital signs were weakening.

If the monitor flat lined, Emma knew she would be gone for good. There seems to be a thin silver thread that still anchors her to her body but the physical life force is ebbing away fast. She remembered being in a car accident. Emma was only 42.

NDE: Near death experience Back from the brink

“Go back,” she seemed to hear someone tell her but there was no sound. Emma felt so light, so free. She hadn’t felt this wonderful in a long time. A feeling of wellbeing was engulfing her.

She was in a tunnel and a white speck of light glowed at the end.

There was a being of light in the distance. She began moving towards it.

Suddenly, she felt the grief of her husband and her two young children weighing down on her.

She caught a glimpse of them in the hospital waiting room. Matt, the younger one, has his face pressed against the windowpane staring out through the glass at the pouring rain. Her heart was filled with love for them. They still need her. “Go back. It’s not yet time,” she seemed to hear the gentle voice once more although there was no one and there was

no sound. And Emma did. She heard one of the doctors say to her, “Welcome back.”

Emma knew her life, what remained of it, was never going to be the same again. Emma is only one of several millions the world over who have come back from the edge of death, having gone through what is called NDE or Near Death Experience.

Are you afraid of death? I am.

I suppose so do most of humankind through most of history.

In Greek mythology, the Fates represented by 3 women named, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos determined a person’s destiny upon birth. Clotho is the spinner who spins the thread of life and Lachesis is the measurer who chooses a man’s lot in life and how long it is to be. Atropos is the most dreaded one. It is PAGE B8

Will a domestic violence finding affect my claim for sole or joint custody of our children?

AN action under the DVPA (Domestic Violence Protection Act) seeking a restraining order often is necessary to protect parties from abuse or domestic violence perpetrated by the other spouse or significant other. At times, it is effective in preventing harm to one of the parties. At the same time, this process is sometimes abused by family law litigants as a strategy for obtaining an advantage in a child custody case. The basis for this is the presumption against sole or joint custody under California family code section 3044.

California Family Code Section 3044 (a) provides “Upon a finding by the court that a party seeking custody of a child has perpetrated domestic violence against the other party seeking custody of the child or against the child or the child’s siblings within the previous five years, there is a rebuttable presumption that an award of sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child to a person who has perpetrated domestic violence is detrimental to the best interest of the child, pursuant to Section

Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes 3011. This presumption may only be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.

In determining whether the presumption in family code 3044(a) has been overcome, the court shall consider all of the following factors:(1) Whether the perpetrator of domestic violence has demonstrated that giving sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child to the perpetrator is in the best interest of the child.

In determining the best interest of the child, the preference for frequent and continuing contact with both parents, as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 3020, or with the noncustodial parent, as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 3040, may not be used to rebut the presumption, in whole or in part.(2)

Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a batterer’s treatment program that meets the criteria outlined in subdivision (c) of Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code. (3) Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a program of alcohol or drug abuse counseling if the court determines that counseling is appropriate. (4) Whether the perpetrator has successfully completed a parenting class if the court determines the class to be appropriate. (5) Whether the perpetrator is on probation or parole, and whether he or she has complied with the terms and conditions of probation or parole. (6) Whether the perpetrator is restrained by a protective order or restraining order, and whether he or she has complied with its terms and conditions. (7) Whether the perpetrator of domestic violence has committed any further acts of domestic violence.

A person has “perpetrated domestic violence” when he or she is found by the court to have intentionally or recklessly caused PAGE B8

Trade war causes business slowdown & owners need debt relief from $450K Debt Relief

Atty. LAwrence yAng THE first clients are business partners who happen to be married to each other. They run a business that has been very profitable before President Donald Trump instigated his trade wars.

From that business, they were able to generate good profits for several years that allowed them to buy a nice house in a very good neighborhood worth $1 million. Since they bought their residence, the fair market value of the house has appreciated a lot such that today they have at least $300,000 of equity in the house.

Their gross receipts before the trade wars started were $4 million a year. That’s a pretty good volume for any business venture. Profit margins would allow them to save at least $200,000 or $100,000 a year. That’s a decent profit margin, even though the margin is small because the volume is good. So, from the profits, they were able to realize the American dream of owning a nice house.

Here comes Trump with his trade wars, which directly negatively impact clients’ business.

At this time, business for clients is bad. With Trump’s flip-flopping, you think it’s going to be resolved, but then the next day, you think it’s just going to keep on escalating until the whole world economy grinds to a halt.

Nobody really knows what’s going to happen tomorrow.

Under the best scenario, Trump may be delaying resolution of his trade wars right after the Feds reduce interest rates.

With those two problems resolved, the stock market would then explode upwards. He needs to have a red-hot stock market in tandem with a strong economy, to get him re-elected in 2020. I am really hoping that this is really what will happen, lower interest rates and a stock market boom because that would make all of us happier and richer.

The clients’ financial situation is they owe $150,000 of business credit line, $300,000 of

credit cards, and about $100,000 of other unsecured debt. All of the $300,000 of credit cards was used for the business. So, they owe about $500,000 of unsecured debt. Now the problem is that they signed personal guaranties to secure the $100,000.

There is no problem with the $150,000 credit line because that’s a company loan, which will be resolved by the bankruptcy

filing of the company itself. However, the $300,000 of credit cards is personal debt even though they were used for business, and the $100,000 other unsecured debt is also personal liability.

Thus personal liabilities total is $400,000. This situation is not that bad. The company can get rid of the $150,000 by Chapter 7 without affecting the clients as PAGE B8

8

people & events The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

Annual 4th of July fireworks show in Culver City cancelled due to major construction at West Los Angeles College Alternatives for nearby shows and celebrations available

DUE to major construction at West Los Angeles College, the Annual 4th of July Fireworks Show, produced by the Culver City Exchange Club and sponsored by the City of Culver City and the County of Los Angeles, will not take place this year.

For the last three years, the show has taken place at West Los Angeles College: an ideal location because of its ample parking, facilities and reduced neighborhood impacts. The College is undergoing a $60 million improvement that will enhance outdoor gathering spaces, increase green space, improve pedestrian access and establish enhanced infrastructure and technologies for the future.

Due to extensive campus-wide construction, the fireworks show cannot be safely accommodated this year.

“We value the relationship with the Exchange Club and the City of Culver City, and appreciate the communities’ understanding as the college continues to grow,” said Dr. Jim Limbaugh, President of West Los Angeles College. “As we move into our 50th year, we are excited about the two new buildings currently under construction that will expand our programs for paralegal, computer science and business as well as house a state-of-the-art soundstage unlike anything else in the nation. Last year, we postponed construction to host the 2018 Fireworks Show, but the work is currently too encompassing to comfortably host this year’s event. We are hopeful that we can welcome the event back in 2020.”

The City of Culver City is com-

Cost: Free Marina del Rey offers a 20-minute fireworks show that starts at 9:00 p.m. Attendees can catch the show from the shore or the water.

Westchester Fourth of July Parade 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Cost: Free On Tuesday, July 4, 2019 the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce will presents a parade donning the theme of ‘America, Better Together!’

El Segundo Fourth of July Celebration 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

El Segundo’s annual all-day Fourth of July celebration will offer food, games, contests and music.

To buy wristbands for grandstand seats, call 310-524-2700.

Want to Avoid Traffic? Consider taking public transportation, such as Culver CityBus. Follow the Culver CityBus on Facebook and Twitter for the latest route updates.

Hosting a Neighborhood Party? Residential Block Party applications are available online or at the Public Works/Engineering Division on the second floor of City Hall. If you are interested in applying, please call 310-2535600 to understand requirements and process. Applications must be submitted no later than 15 full City Hall working-days prior to the proposed Block Party date.

Having a Picnic in the Park?

There are a few picnic spaces still available at several neighborhood parks. Please visit the Parks, Recreation and Community Services website or call 310-253-6650 to reserve a space today.

mitted to working with the Exchange Club the County of Los Angeles and West Los Angeles College to proactively produce an exciting program and event next year.

“The Club, along with the City of Culver City, hopes to be able to bring back an even better event in 2020 and wishes everyone in Culver City a happy and safe 4th of July,” said Culver City Exchange Club President Francia Fate.

Community celebrations and nearby viewing options Celebrate America at Santa Monica College4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on June 29, 2019 Cost: $5 Parking SMC’s Independence Day Celebration is popular on the Westside.

Exposition Park Fireworks Noon to 9:30 p.m. on July 4, 2019 Cost: Free 4th of July Community Festival and Fireworks Show has family games, food trucks, entertainment (beginning at Noon), and fireworks (9:00 p.m.) on the south lawn at Exposition Park (Exposition Park Drive & Bill Robertson Lane).

Grand Park + The Music Center’s Fourth of July Block Party 3:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on July 4, 2019 Cost: Free Hear live music on stage, play games, buy drinks and food, and watch 9 p.m. fireworks at the 4th of July Block Party in Grand Park.

Marina del Rey Fireworks Celebration Fireworks at 9:00 p.m. on July 4, 2019

Calendar of Events across

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ADVERTISE YOUR EVENTS! PRE-EVENT AND POST EVENT GO DEEPER. GO WIDER. LET THE WORLD KNOW. CALL ASIAN JOURNAL: (818) 502-0651 DISPLAY AD SIZES AT SPECIAL RATES FOR NON-PROFIT GROUPS J U N E 1 2-29

“Tagolilong: Hidden in Plain Sight” exhibit in San Pedro, CA An interactive homage to Indigenous California Habitat will be on exhibit from May 22 to June 29, 2019. Created by LA-based artists-collaborators, champoy and Sarita Doe, it will open on Saturday, May 18th, 2019 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at Pinta*Dos Philippine Art Gallery which is located at 479 W Sixth Street, Suite 108, Historic Arts District, San Pedro, CA 90731.

Tagolilong: Hidden in Plain Sight will be the sixth exhibit at Pinta*Dos Gallery since it was inaugurated in June 2017. The Gallery is open from Wednesday to Friday, 3:00pm to 6:00pm except on First Thursdays when it is open until 8pm. It is also open by appointment. For further information, email Linda Nietes-Little, Founder of the gallery at info@pintadosgallery.com Also visit their website: http://www.pintadosgallery.com , facebook and instagram pages.

JUNE 15

27th annual Grand Coronation of Our Blessed Mother in Beverly Hills, CA The Heart of Mary Ministry invites everyone to take part in the 27th annual Grand Coronation of Our Blessed Mother on Saturday, June 15 at the Church of the Good Shepherd (504 N. Roxbury Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210). The procession will begin at 12 p.m.

Philippine Ballet Theatre performs in LA The Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) will make its Los Angeles debut on Saturday, June 15 with “Filipino Masterpieces” and “Serye at Sayaw.” “Filipino Masterpieces” features two of three acts of the ballet “Mantones de Manila” by the late, esteemed choreographer, Tony Fabella: “Sa Sala” and “Sa Entablado.”

“Serye at Sayaw” provides interesting vignettes behind the scenes into the world of dance and the life of Marguerite, a dancer. It chronicles the intimate and triumphant story of a girl who gave up her childhood in pursuit of the prestigious title of prima ballerina, and who only much later discovered the price she has to heed the call of her passion, the loves of her life, and her art. Philippine Ballet Theatre’s Los Angeles debut is presented by One Global Management Company, Inc., in cooperation with Asian Journal, Balikbayan Magazine, Pageantry Global, and Asian Commodities Company. It will be held on Saturday, June 15 at 5:00 p.m. at the Church of Scientology of the Valley (11455 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood CA 91601). There will be special participation of Essentially Filipino and fashion by Cora Manimbo and filigree fashion

by Oskar Atendido. Ticket prices are $75 / $50 / $25. For tickets, please call Trini Foliente (818) 455-2132.

JUNE 19

Digital marketing workshop in Northridge, CA iMarketing: How To Reach Your Market in the Digital World is the Business After Hours mixer hosted by the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater LA on Wednesday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m. Network and hear from guest speakers at Ninong’s Pastries and Cafe at 19524 Nordhoff st, Northridge, CA 91324. Early Bird pricing until June 14 is $25 for Members and $30 for Future Members. Regular prices starting June 15 are $30 for Members and $35 for Future Members. Food and beverages included. No payments at the door, pre-registration required at www.faccgla.org or https://bit.ly/2HNFyQ8

J U N E 22

Fiesta ng Calamba in Carson, CA The Association of Calambeños of Southern California invites everyone to the Fiesta ng Calamba, St John the Baptist Feast Day on Saturday, June 22. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Veterans Sports Complex (22400 Moneta Ave., Carson, CA 90745). For more information, please contact Ed Lim at (949) 285-1403 or connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/groups/Calambenos/ or the website: www.acasca.org.

Celebration of Cultures Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles All are invited to the 15th annual Celebration of Cultures Mass hosted by the Ethnic Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Mass will be presided by Archbishop José H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 3:30 p.m., preceded by a procession of cultural communities at 3 p.m. With the theme, “I am the servant of the Lord,” the celebration recognizes the different cultural communities that enrich the Church and the local community through prayer, songs and cultural expression. The Archdiocese is the largest and most diverse Archdiocese in the United States. Every Sunday, Mass is celebrated in more than 40 different languages throughout the three counties it comprises: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. For more information, please call the Office of Ethnic Ministry, at (213) 637-7356, or visit archla.org/cultures. .

If you have an upcoming event and would like us to post it, please email us the details at info@asianjournalinc.com or calendar@asianjournalinc.com

NDE: Near death experience...

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she who decided how and when a man is to die, using her large, sharp, unrelenting scissors to cut off the thread of life. No one, not even the Gods at Olympus trifled with her.

Should we fear death? Stories abound that tell of those who have gone through NDE that strongly indicate that there is grace in dying. There is strong evidence of life beyond death and that the act of dying is transitioning into that life.

In almost all cases of NDE, people relate of feeling weightless, floating and hovering above looking down at their own bodies and even seeing how doctors, nurses and technicians struggle to bring them back from the brink. They are literally hanging on by a thread. It is an out of body experience and that there exists a thin silver iridescent cord that still connects them to their own bodies. If that cord is cut, it means that they are now truly physically dead and that they will continue on to the afterlife with no more chance of coming back to their previous physical life.

Many of those who have gone though NDE report that there is that feeling of being drawn into a tunnel. There is the presence of a strong, white, comforting light at the end of it. The light appears small and as they progress through the tunnel, it becomes a strong being of light filled with love and compassion.

Many report of meeting deceased relatives. Many go through a flashback of powerful memories like a review of their life, both good and bad. Above all, there seems to be an overwhelming feeling of release from all the constraints of their physical lives.

For some, the decision to return is theirs to make. For others, the decision has already been made that their time to die hasn’t come yet and that they must go back.

An unfinished business or a strong emotional attachment can make some go back and resume living.

The impact of NDE is life changing. Documentation for those who have been declared clinically dead and have come back to resume living shows that those who have seen a glimpse of life beyond

the spooky, rampaging spirit of Sam whom he murdered earlier for money. He suddenly flees and in his haste, is run over by a car and dies on the spot. The murderer’s spirit rises from his body as he realizes he is dead. His soul, however, is instantly shackled and suctioned off screaming into the void by howling, hooded, dark, macabre, misshapen creatures rising like toxic fumes and disappearing just as suddenly from the sewers of New York City. That is, perhaps, a glimpse of what it must be like to truly die and go to hell.

When the other kind of NDE happens, some report that there is no concept of space or time at all. There is neither beginning nor end. Communication with beings of light or deceased relatives who may accompany the dying is telepathic. There is no sound and no need for words.

Many of those who have nearly died and allowed to come back to live out the rest of their lives express a reluctance to return to their previous physical lives. But there was a strong pull, a tug from their earthly life that made them do a U-turn, at least for the time being.

What is stunning is this. Nearly all those who have had an encounter with death and did come back to resume their lives claim they no longer fear death. The fear of death is no more. Death for them has become a door one must pass to enter a more beautiful, enticing reality full of love and mercy.

What most have learned from their brush with death is startlingly simple. LOVE, they profess, is the most important thing in this earthly life — giving it, accepting it and learning from it. *** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette. maglaya@asianjournalinc.com

“Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the ground and die, It remains but a single grain with no life.” death undergo profound changes. Many have changed their view of life for the better. Some have a better appreciation of life becoming more kind, compassionate and considerate of others.

For others, there is a renewed sense of purpose and a reordering of life’s priorities. Some have even gone on to develop a sense of spirituality convinced that their new lease on life tells them that they were made for something more.

But not all stories of NDE are the same. It seems that for some on the dark side, the experience is totally different. Some report of the presence of a dark void and all the chillingly cold, negative, consuming energies of such emotions as seething anger, loathing and arrogance swirling about in a thick, dark, putrid cloud, the complete antithesis of the typical NDE experience of light. This story is more like horror. Just as there are good people and bad people, the nature of the near death experience seems to be a direct and proportionate result of the collective, aggregate choices each one makes through life.

Remember the movie Ghost?

The merciless murderer Willie, was on his way to commit another contract murder, when he is confronted by the invisible energy of

Will a domestic violence finding affect...

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or attempted to cause bodily injury, or sexual assault, or to have placed a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another, or to have engaged in any behavior involving, but not limited to, threatening, striking, harassing, destroying personal property or disturbing the peace of another, for which a court may issue an ex parte order pursuant to Section 6320 to protect the other party seeking custody of the child or to protect the child and the child’s siblings.The requirement of a finding by the court shall be satisfied by, among other things, and not limited to, evidence that a party seeking custody has been convicted within the previous five years, after a trial or a plea of guilty or no contest, of any crime against the other party that comes within the definition of domestic violence contained in Section 6211 and of abuse contained in Section 6203, including, but not limited to, a crime described in subdivision (e) of Section 243 of, or Section 261,262, 273.5, 422, or 646.9 of, the Penal Code. The requirement of a finding by the court shall also be satisfied if any court, whether that court hears or has heard the child custody proceedings or not, has made a finding pursuant to subdivision (a) based on conduct

occurring within the previous five years.

In Christina L v. Chauncey B, 229 Cal. App 4th 731 (2014),the Court of appeal held that because a Domestic Violence restraining order must be based on a finding that the party being restrained committed one or more acts of domestic abuse, a finding of domestic abuse sufficient to support a DVPA restraining order necessarily triggers the rebuttable statutory presumption that an award of sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child to a person who has perpetrated domestic violence is detrimental to the best interest of the child. The presumption that an award of sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child to a person who has perpetrated domestic violence is detrimental to the best interest of the child changes the burden of persuasion, but may be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence showing that it is in the child’s best interest to grant joint or sole custody to the offending parent.

In that case, the father had a history of perpetrating domestic violence against the mother. Domestic Violence restraining orders has been issued multiple times over the years including within the last 5 years. The trial court ignored both the existing restraining order, the legal effect of such a judicial finding, and failed to

apply the family code 3044 presumption and instead awarded joint custody to father. The Court of appeal reversed and remanded the case back to the trial court. *** 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, P.C. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a 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, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010.

Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail “mailto: kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com” kenneth@ kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)

The second client is going to be my oldest client at 94. Before him, my oldest client filed for Chapter 7 at age 90. This senior is still strong physically and would you believe, he still drove to my office That’s great. Unfortunately, he fell for the “you just inherited $20 million from your long lost uncle who just died.”

He received a letter and then a phone call from a European (socalled) executor of his long lost uncle. Apparently, the uncle had left an estate of $20 million with no claimants. So it was the executor’s responsibility to find his next of kin. Executor said that the client appeared to be a distant relative since they have the same middle family name. The client was invited to file an application, which was approved! The executor called the client from Europe and said that he had determined that the client was the rightful heir to $20 million.

To liquidate the estate (turn it into cash of $20 million); he needed $150,000 from the client. The client borrowed $150,000 from his retirement account and quickly wired the money over to the designated bank account. The executor then said he was going to bring the cashier’s check of $20 million to Los Angeles. Upon arriving at LAX, the executor calls the client and sends him a copy of the cashier’s check made payable to client, but says that the IRS has frozen the check because the IRS needs advance tax payment of $350K. Believe it or not, the client still borrows $350,000 from his retirement account and

sends that over to the designated account.

The executor then disappears.

The client reports his loss to the FBI. The FBI investigates the scam and tells the client they can get their money back if the money is still in the account. Of course, the account is closed. So that’s the story and it’s true not fiction.

Once again, truth is stranger than fiction.

The client now needs Chapter 13 to handle his credit card debt.

I tell him it’s going to be a fiveyear repayment plan, which he says is too long. He says all his friends are dying very quickly one by one. A friend who was only 59 just died when he was eating lunch. So anyway, we can make it a five-year plan and he can pay more than the plan payment so he can cut it shorter. He just doesn’t want to have liens on his house, which is now worth $1 million. On the plus side, he is completely healthy.

If someone calls you saying you just won the lottery or inherited $100 million, call me first, okay? I may save you a ton of money.

If you need debt relief, set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your case personally. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S. Fremont Ave, Mailstop 58, Building A-1 Suite 1125, Alhambra, CA 91803.

(Advertising Supplement)

Trade war causes business slowdown...

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Unless a grain of wheat shall fallupon the ground and die, It remains but a single grain with no life. individuals. But the $400,000 is something else. They cannot do a personal Chapter 7 to wipe out the $400,000 because they have non-exempt equity in the house of $200,000. They can do a Chapter 13 to pay $200,000 out of the $400,000 over five years interest-free and knock off the other $200,000. The problem is they will need to pay about $3,500 in the Chapter 13 plan every month for 60 months. That’s not easily done when your business is going south. And even if they both start working, paying $3,500 into a Chapter 13 plan will be tough.

So what clients need is what I call a “guerilla” plan to protect their house. This is what it really boils down to. They want to keep their house with its $300,000 equity intact while keeping the $400,000 creditors at bay and preventing these creditors from attaching their residence.

What’s the “guerilla” financial plan all about? Wouldn’t you like to know wouldn’t you? You can’t drop a nuclear bomb on the creditors with a Chapter 7 total wipeout because clients will lose their house in the process. You’ll have to fight a war like the Vietnam War where they build tunnels to avoid carpet-bombing and fight in the jungle. That’s the “guerilla” war I refer to in dealing with the $400,000.

Senior loses $500K to inheritance scam needs Chapter 13 debt relief

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - June 12, 2019

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE -June 12, 2019