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JULY 23-29, 2020 Volume 31 - No. 29 • 12 Pages
T H E F I L I P I N O –A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R
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Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
DATELINE
USA
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
SWS: Most Filipinos still worry about getting COVID-19 by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
A MAJORITY of Filipinos in the Philippines are still worried about being infected with COVID-19, according to a survey released on Thursday, July 23. The latest survey by the Social Weather Stations
(SWS) showed that 85% of Filipinos were worried that anyone in their immediate family might get COVID-19. Of the total percentage, 67% were “worried a great deal,” 18% were “somewhat worried,” while 8% “worried a little.” The remaining 7% said they were “not worried”
Young Filipino US soldier found dead near Texas Army base
by AJPRESS
Third death of soldier near base within past month
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Trump signs memorandum excluding undocumented immigrants from census count Legal and civil rights organizations condemn Trump for blocking ‘undocumented immigrants from fair representation’ UNITED States President Donald Trump on Tuesday, July 21 signed a memorandum that would exclude undocumented immigrants from census counts in what is the administration’s latest attempt to alter the way that populations are tallied and progress its stringent immigration plan. “I have accordingly determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of [undocumented immigrants] from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President’s discretion under the law,” the order read. The timing of Trump’s memo is crucial. Congressional district lines will be redrawn in 2021 and what hangs in the balance is whether or not undocumented immigrants would be included in population counts in those districts. Also, the president’s memo arrives as the 2020 U.S. Census — which began in January — is still underway with about 62.2% nationwide participation so far, according to the Census Bureau’s website. Much like his proposal to include a citizenship question on the census survey, the memorandum, if enforced, would shift the balance of power in the House of Representa-
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48 Fil-Am elected officials, leaders endorse Biden for president
Private Mejhor Morta was discovered dead on July 17 near Fort Hood Army base. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
A YOUNG Filipino U.S. soldier was found dead last week near the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, marking the third soldier death in the area within the past month. Private Mejhor Morta, 26, was found unresponsive on July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Lake, about 20 miles from the base, officials said on Tuesday, July 21. “The Black Knight family is truly heartbroken by the tragic loss of Private Mejhor Morta,” said Lt. Col. Neil Armstrong, commander of 1st Bn. 5th Cav. Regt. “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.” He added, “My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. Private Morta was a great Trooper and his loss is felt
about contracting the disease. “This hardly changed from the 87% worried (73% worried a great deal, 14% somewhat worried), 7% worried a little, and 7% not worried about catching the virus in May 2020,” the SWS said in its report.
HEALTH RISK. Two garbage collectors on top of a hauler truck are seen not wearing face masks as they pass along the Langit Road, Bagong Silang-Kanan, Caloocan City on Wednesday, July 22. Health authorities are always reminding the public on the importance of washing hands and wearing personal protective equipment including masks for front-liners to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019. PNA photo by Ben Briones
FORTY-EIGHT Filipino American elected officials and leaders are among the over 250 Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) who have publicly thrown their support behind former Vice President Joe Biden. The Fil-Ams include elected officials, California Assemblymembers Rob Bonta and Todd Gloria; Artesia Councilmember Melissa Ramoso; Peter Urscheler, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania mayor; and Hawaii state Senators Donovan Dela Cruz and Lorraine Inouye. Other high-profile names include actors Lou Diamond Philipps, Tia Carrere and Mark Dacascos. Overall, the group consists of AAPI elected officials, community leaders, small business owners, activists and artists around the country. “2020 is truly the most critical election of our lifetimes because the choice before us — and the consequences of our choices — could not be more stark. We need to elect a president who will bring leadership back to Washington, who can help re-center our nation’s moral
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Philippine government suspends non-essential outbound travel anew by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
MALACAÑANG on Thursday, July 23, announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management for Emerging Infectious Diseases has once again suspended non-essential outbound air travel of Filipinos. According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, only one travel and health insurance company agreed to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses should a traveler contract the novel coronavirus. “Isa sa mga kondisyon doon ay ang pagkakaroon ng travel at health insurance to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses if stranded at hospitalization kung sakaling
may infection (One of the conditions was to have travel and health insurance to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses if stranded and hospitalization in case there’s an infection),”Roque said in a virtual Palace briefing. “Ang malungkot na balita po, iisang insurance company lamang sa Pilipinas ang pumayag ng ganitong travel and health insurance kaya sinuspendi muna ng IATF ang non-essential outbound travel (The sad news is that only one insurance company in the Philippines agreed to this travel and health insurance that’s why the IATF suspended nonessential outbound travel),” he added.
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OPLAN SITA. Members of the Quezon City Police District in Kamuning Station 10 check the driver’s license of motorists passing along Scout Ybardollaza Street in Quezon City on Tuesday, July 21. “Oplan Sita” aims to enhance crime prevention by beefing up police visibility in the city. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
Over 400 Princeton alumni call for US government to help Ressa by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
Rappler co-founder and chief executive officer Maria Ressa Photo from Twitter/@mariaressa
OVER 400 Princeton University alumni on Tuesday, July 21, took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post calling on the United States government to convince Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration to drop all charges against Rappler, its cofounder Maria Ressa and former staffer Reynaldo Santos Jr. The letter, signed by a number of journalists, multiple former public servants, and two sitting members of Congress, also expressed its support for Ressa, who graduated from the university in 1986. “As graduates, teachers and staff members of Princeton University, a
community that counts the author of the First Amendment among its members, we are proud to stand in solidarity with journalist and alumna Maria Ressa,” it read. “In the Philippines, her home country, President Rodrigo Duterte has labeled Maria a criminal. We see her as the opposite: an exemplar of the right of free speech that Princetonian James Madison, Class of 1771, wrote into the U.S. Constitution,” the letter added. The signatories also noted that Ressa, for the past four years, has “fearlessly” withstood a campaign of online and legal harassment blatantly aimed at journalists and stifling any criticism of the Philippine government’s authority. “Authoritarians throughout the ages routinely attack the press as the enemy,
a strategy calculated to avoid accountability and undermine democracy,” the letter further read. “Our Princetonian education instilled in us an understanding that a government is only accountable to its people when journalists are free to report on its activities without retaliation. That is why we denounce these politically motivated charges against Maria and her colleagues,” it added. The letter stressed that Ressa is a Filipina and an American citizen. “She is standing up for the most American of values: the right to speak truth to power,” it noted. “Presidents throughout the history of the United States have used their leverage against authoritarian governments
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