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With Joe Biden’s official nomination, Fil-Am Democrats ready to get out the vote

by CHRISTINA

M. ORIEL

AJPress

FILIPINO American Democrats across the country are energized to get out the vote for

former Vice President Joe Biden as he officially secured the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination this week.

Collectively called the “Filipino Americans for Biden,” representing a national multigen-

erational coalition of volunteers, the group has been organizing events during the virtual Democratic National Convention to rally behind the party’s ticket, which includes Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris.

“It is a real war for the soul of America,” New York-based philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis, who serves as the spokesperson for the group, said in an event virtually attended by some 400

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As the 2020 US election ramps up, experts DATELINE assess the Asian How COVID-19 escalated American electorate

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

the war on immigration

With the selection of the first Asian American VP candidate, policy experts highlight importance of data disaggregation, visibility in politics

SIX months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government’s response to the crisis (or, in some cases, lack thereof) has punctuated cultural, social and political inequities across all communities.

Public education, income disparity and employment, housing retention and immigration are chief among the ongoing public entities that have been rocked by governmental unpreparedness throughout the crisis, which was formally categorized as a pandemic in

AS the contentious 2020 election looms in the balance of a disaster-ridden year, the coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly the top priority among voters.

For Asian Americans, the issue is two-

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by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

PASSENGER PROTECTION. Passengers of a traditional jeepney along Kamias Road, Quezon City on Wednesday, August 19 wear face masks and face shields as protection from getting infected with the coronavirus disease. Public utility jeepneys are also required to install plastic barriers on the seats as an additional precautionary health measure. PNA photo Robert O. Alfilert

Don’t wait for vaccine, ‘I can consider him godfather Ambassador Manalo assumes as improve virus response, of the (PhilHealth) mafia’ PH Permanent Representative to WHO tells governments M R UN in New York amid COVID-19 by

by JOVIC

YEE

Inquirer.net

MANILA — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, August 18 reminded governments that instead of waiting and hoping for a vaccine against the new coronavirus to be available soon, they should continue to improve their response to contain spread of the COVID-19 contagion.

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Western Pacific director, said that while the speed of vaccine development did provide optimism, it must

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ARLON AMOS Inquirer.net

MANILA — Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who has had stints on the board of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for nearly two decades, could be the “godfather” of the so-called mafia, whose members allegedly fleeced the state-run corporation of billions of pesos, a former antifraud officer of PhilHealth told senators on Tuesday, August 18.

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Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III

AMBASSADOR Enrique A. Manalo officially commenced his duties as Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations last July 27 after presenting his credentials to the UN. Ambassador Manalo was received virtually by the Chief of Protocol of the United Nations, Ms. Beatrix Kania.

Before his posting in New York, Ambassador Manalo was Undersecretary for

Policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It was the second time he has served in this position, having been Undersecretary for Policy from 2007 to 2010. He served as Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Acting Foreign Minister) of the Philippines from March 9 to May 17, 2017.

He has represented the Philippines and has served as chairman of various interna-

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From the Front Page

The Philippines remains the world’s largest rice importer

by Christina

M. Oriel

AJPress

THE Philippines will continue to be the world’s largest rice importer until 2021 with the expected decline in local production, the United States Department of Agriculture projected this week.

In its latest report entitled “Grain: World Markets and Trade,” the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said that this year’s imports will decline by 10%, reaching 2.6 million metric tons (MT).

However, it will increase by 15% next year, with a projection of three million MT. The USDA also said rice imports of the Philippines in 2021 could decline to 3 million metric tons from its earlier 3.3 million MT projection due to reduced exportable supplies from Thailand and Vietnam, two of the country’s top sources for the commodity.

“Global trade is expected to contract with reduced imports

A farmer spreads fertilizer granules as he walks through his rice field in Bambang town, Nueva Vizcaya province. Rice farmers in the country, many of them still relying on manual labor to produce the staple, worry about competition from cheaper imported rice flooding local markets.

Inquirer.net photo by Karlston Lapniten

by the Philippines, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire as major exporters Thailand, China and Vietnam face tighter supplies,” said the agency.

The USDA projected a 0.5% decrease in global production next year, reaching 500.049 million MT.

However, it pointed out that the latest projection is still higher than its 2020 rice imports estimated at 2.6 million MT. The Philippines was also seen replacing China as the world’s top importer as China is expected to buy 2.3 million MT for this year, and 2.2 million MT for next year.

The implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law in March made imports more available in the market, depressing overall milled rice prices.

The USDA said farmers might shift to other crops amid the trend of converting lands into other commercial purposes.

Rice farmers also continue to struggle in competing with affordable imports from Southeast Asia.

However, the Philippines’ rice production this year is expected to increase by 1.5%, improving from 11.7 million MT last year to 11.9 million MT. n

With Joe Biden’s official nomination...

PAGE 1 supporters on Sunday night, August 16. “On one hand, to make it white again, and on the other hand with Biden and Harris, let us make America, America again and why it has become the No. 1 country in the world.”

The group entertained Andrew Yang, a Taiwanese American tech entrepreneur who ran in the Democratic primary, as a guest speaker at the virtual convening on Sunday, August 16. “I love Filipino Americans,” he proclaimed, before sharing that his college friends are of Filipino descent.

Niceties aside, Yang bared what’s at stake in less than 80 days.

“The truth is that our alternative is Donald Trump for four more years, which would be an epic catastrophe. We’re talking about the possible disintegration of our way of life between now and then,” Yang told the attendees.

GOTV efforts Several Fil-Ams served as convention delegates this week, such as Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA); Rep. TJ Cox (DCA); Daly City, California Vice Mayor Juslyn Manalo; Artesia Councilmember Melissa Ramoso, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai’i; and Maria Castaneda, secretary-treasurer of 1199SEIU in New York, to name a few.

Though they won’t be physically present in Milwaukee, the delegates have been participating remotely in caucus meetings, policy roundtables and other get-out-the-vote trainings.

“What we’ve been working on the last several months has been truly a labor of love.

Across the nation, we’ve never had such a coordinated campaign of Filipino Americans for a presidential election and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re able to organize effectively and efficiently so it’s important that we’re all here

Former Vice President Joe Biden officially became the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee on Tuesday, August 18.

Photo courtesy of Democratic National Committee

and then win in November,” Ramoso, who also serves as national co-chair for Fil-Ams for Biden, said.

Representatives of the group recognize the sense of urgency in spreading the Biden-Harris platform to eligible Fil-Am voters across the country, especially in battleground states, tapping into millennials and Gen Zers, and eliminating the excuses that have prevented many from voting in elections past.

“The Filipino vote matters in this country…Many of our families came here because we believed in the American ideals of freedom and democracy that we did not have in the Philippines,” said Vida Benavides, an advisor for the group who has done similar work for previous Democratic presidential campaigns. “So within that context…we’re not going to take ‘I’m too busy’ to vote… You’re here to be part of the social fabric of this country that we are so much part of.”

The coalition is also reaching across the aisle to Fil-Ams who identify as Republicans but have become disillusioned with President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“Many Filipinos are Republicans and so I [wanted] to show them that your loyalty to your party ends where your loyalty to your country begins.

Our country is at stake in this election because this presi-

dent that we have is truly bent in destroying whatever we believed in so it was very important for me to find these wellknown Republicans that they are voting for Biden,” Nicolas Lewis said.

First 100 days If Biden and Harris are elected, the Fil-Am supporters sounded off on what policies should be prioritized, including recovery for a post COVID19 country and a pathway for citizenship for Dreamers.

Nicolas Lewis added that the new administration should look into current U.S.-Philippine relations as well as the alleged human rights violations during President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.

“All I’m saying is that a government of Biden and Kamala should look again in the human rights violations and the extrajudicial killings and the passage of the [Anti-Terror] law in the Philippines, and do something about it,” she said.

Fil-Ams for Biden also plan to shift gears as a transition group that will push for qualified Fil-Ams to work at various levels of the administration.

“We will be at the table and we will be demanding our seats at the table when it comes to governance,” said Benavides. “Of course, Filipinos are on the frontlines and we will also continue to be on the frontlines of the government.” n

As the 2020 US election ramps up, experts...

PAGE 1 fold: in addition to a health crisis, it is also a social justice issue.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a string of anti-Asian sentiments and acts of hate plaguing the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, accord-

ing to previous reports by the Asian Journal.

As the pandemic rages on, so do the social and political implications of the crisis, making it the driving issue for the AAPI electorate this coming election.

The national party conventions signal the election’s vicinity, when the

major party candidates become more than just media fixtures and potential leaders of the “free” world; and, the stakes are higher in an election taking place during a global pandemic.

In other words, things become real once the conventions roll around.

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Ambassador Manalo assumes as PH...

PAGE 1 tional meetings and conferences. While Acting Foreign Secretary, he chaired the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in April 2017. He also chaired various ASEAN Senior Officials Meetings, especially during the Philippine Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017.

Last week at the UN Security Council High-Level Open Debate (VTC) on “Pandemics and the Challenges of Sustaining Peace” under the Council Presidency of Indonesia, the Philippines recognized that the COVID19 pandemic threatens the gains already achieved in finding just and lasting peace in conflict-affected areas.

“Recognizing the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work to achieve peace, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its affiliates from 19 March to 15 April 2020, days before the UN Secretary-General issued his appeal for a global ceasefire on 23 March 2020,” Ambassador Manalo said.

This initiative was recognized by the Secretary-General who conveyed in late March 2020 that “upholding these commitments will be crucial to enabling an effective response to, and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis,” encouraging “both sides to build on this momentum and translate these expressions of good will into a lasting political solution”.

The ceasefire demonstrated the Philippine Government’s commitment to the swift and unimpeded provision of pub-

Newly arrived Ambassador and Permanent Representative Enrique A. Manalo (upper left) is received virtually by Ms. Beatrix Kania (upper right), Chief of Protocol of the United Nations. Also present during the meeting were Philippine Deputy Permanent Representative Kira Christianne D. Azucena (lower left) and Mr. Fariz Mirsalayev (lower right), Desk Officer for the Philippines. Photo courtesy of www.un.int/philippines

lic health assistance, especially the safe movement of healthcare workers, to stricken communities in dire need of immediate medical care.

Manalo has also chaired meetings in a number of UN bodies, and has led the Philippine Delegation in a number of multilateral, regional and bilateral meetings.

The open debate last week aimed at exchanging views on the impacts of COVID19 on sustaining peace, and explored how more effective support can be harnessed for countries affected by or emerging from conflicts.

Security Council resolution 2532 adopted on July 1, 2020 demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations in support of the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire to combat the pandemic.

Manalo has previously served as Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2016; Non-Resident Philippine Ambassador to Ireland from 2013 to 2016;

Philippine Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and Head of the Philippine Mission to the European Union from 2010 to 2011; and Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva from 2003 to 2007.

He received three Philippine Presidential Awards: the Gawad Mabini Award with the rank of Grand Cross (Dakilang Kamanong), the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Grand Cross (Datu) (Gold Distinction) and the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Grand Cross (Bayani).

In light of the ongoing situation presented by COVID-19, Letters of Credentials of new Permanent Representatives are submitted electronically.

When the situation allows, Ambassador Manalo will have an in-person meeting with the Secretary-General for the ceremonial presentation of credentials. n

‘I can consider him godfather...

PAGE 1 Lawyer Thorrsson Montes Keith, who blew the whistle on the supposed massive fraud that cost PhilHealth P15 billion in 2019 alone, said Duque’s influence was evident even in the crafting of the controversial interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM), a P30-billion financial package intended for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

Upon questioning by Sen. Grace Poe, Keith said the health secretary should have conducted due diligence before releasing cash advances to hospitals as chair of the PhilHealth board.

“I can consider him the godfather of the [PhilHealth] mafia,” Keith said.

Asked by Poe to expound, he said: “Since he has institutional knowledge about the PhilHealth management, you can easily see his [involvement] in the anomalies.” ”[Duque] also approved the appointments of almost all the members of the mafia,” he added.

Keith has accused PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales of being the “coddler” or “new leader” of the corruption syndicate, which he claimed was composed of the entire PhilHealth executive committee.

Duque, who participated in the hearing via internet, dismissed Keith’s accusation as “malicious and without basis.”

“I do not wish to dignify

that allegation,” the health chief said.

Ghost of 2004 election At the Senate hearing, the ghost of the allegedly rigged 2004 presidential election also haunted Duque.

A senior official of PhilHealth claimed that Duque had ordered the distribution of 5 million PhilHealth cards to boost the campaign of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Regional Vice President Dennis Adre said PhilHealth lost billions of pesos for the first time as a result of the issuance of the health insurance cards to voters.

As earlier pointed out by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Adre said the health secretary

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Don’t wait for vaccine, improve virus...

PAGE 1 be understood that even if a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, “production capacity will not really meet the demand [of] the entire world.”

Hence, what’s important now is to “continue to improve our response and not just hope for the vaccine,” he said.

Eight candidate vaccines Currently, eight candidate vaccines are about to start or have already started the third phase of their clinical trials, where the vaccine’s safety and efficacy is tested on thousands of patients.

These vaccines are being developed by Moderna in partnership with the United States’ National Institutes of Health; BioNtech, Pfizer and Fosun Pharma; AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford; CanSino Biologics; Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd.; Sinovac Biotech; Sinopharm; and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Earlier, Russia approved for emergency use of its health workers the “Sputnik V” vaccine, even if it had yet

to start its phase three clinical trials.

A day before the announcement of the vaccine’s approval, President Duterte said Russian President Vladimir Putin committed to provide for free the Russian COVID19 vaccine.

Last week, Malacañang said the Philippines aimed to start its parallel clinical trials with Russia in October.

Mr. Duterte has repeatedly banked on the availability of COVID-19 vaccine to curb coronavirus infections in the country, which now has the most number of cases in the 22-member Western Pacific region. While the WHO welcomes all advances in the research and development of a COVID-19 vaccine, WHO Western Pacific COVID-19 incident manager Dr. Socorro Escalante, the world body’s COVID-19 incident manager for the Western Pacific, cautioned that “all candidate vaccines that are going into production should adhere to the standards of safety and efficacy.” “[The] WHO at the global level continues to coordinate

How COVID-19 escalated...

PAGE 1 April.

In the case of legal immigration — President Donald Trump’s political white whale — the plot thickens. Earlier this year, the administration made good on its promise to expand the definition of and enforce the public charge rule to tighten up legal immigration.

In the 18th installment of its “Tracking the Pandemic” series, Ethnic Media Services hosted a briefing on Friday, Aug. 7 detailing how the existing conundrums in American immigration and how the pandemic has boosted Trump’s immigration agenda.

The public charge rule, for instance, accentuated the administration’s pattern of utilizing archaic immigration laws and mandates that are technically legal but were rarely utilized by administrations past.

The public charge rule is a set of criteria the government uses to determine whether or not an incoming immigrant will rely on public assistance, as reported in the Asian Journal. The rule takes into account the size of one’s family, income, English proficiency and other determinants that could deem someone a public charge.

The implementation of the

public charge rule is a “great example of this administration diving into laws on the books and finding things that have never been enforced before,” Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute (MPI), told reporters.

Pierce shared a recent MPI report that shows the increasing enforcement of existing and new immigration policies and found that in the last four years, the Trump Administration has made 400 policy changes that have greatly eroded immigrants’ rights.

Sixty-three of those changes were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the administration reasoning public health and safety concerns.

Another crucial change that the Trump administration levied into its immigration policy was enforcing a 1944 rule that allows the Surgeon General to restrict certain individuals who may be considered a public health threat from entering into the U.S. In March the CDC used that rule to ban foreign nationals without proper travel documents.

Though the pandemic is the administration’s key motive to these restrictions, they have altered the flow of immigration “disfavoring women, the elderly and nationals in Cen-

and contact the scientists and experts, as well as the national regulatory authorities in Russia, and we hope to get their response in terms of the evidence of these new vaccines,” Escalante said.

Virus ‘relatively stable’ Meanwhile, Kasai said that while mutations of the SARSCoV-2 virus, which causes the severe respiratory disease, had been observed, the virus had remained “relatively stable.”

“The mutations have been observed in January and received attention because laboratory data shows that potentially that can increase transmission. The database observing the frequency of this substitute (sequence D614G) has been increasingly coming from all parts of the world. But so far, in the real life, we haven’t seen such evidence,” he said.

He assured the public that the WHO would continue to monitor this development, but stressed that so far the mutation of the virus “doesn’t require any changes of our recommendations, including the vaccine.” n tral America,” Pierce added.

“The really broad changes that have been implemented by the administration would include closing off humanitarian benefits, sealing the southern border and making life in the interior really uncomfortable for immigrants, both legal and authorized, inside the United States,” Pierce shared.

In addition to the CDC order in March, Pierce noted two other major proclamations made during the pandemic that accelerated the administration’s endgame to drastically tighten, not just illegal entry, but legal immigration channels, as well: the April 22 proclamation that restricted permanent immigration channels and the June 22 announcement that restricted temporary workers (excluding essential workers).

The April 22 proclamation put a temporary ban on such programs like family-based petitioning — a favored option among Asian immigrants, especially Filipinos — and the diversity visa lottery.

These were among the longstanding goals of the administration since Trump was first elected, and the pandemic provided an open window for enforcement.

The election in November has been a beacon of hope for Americans seeking to oust

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OPINION

FEATURES

Reinfection FOR the second time, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019. Año himself announced this as he went into self-isolation. Cabinet members who interacted with him in recent days have also undergone self-quarantine.

Año’s case deserves careful study by epidemiologists, who are still unsure if surviving COVID-19 infection gives the patient immunity, and how long the immunity lasts. Catching measles, for example, gives lifelong immunity, but the common cold keeps recurring, and there is still no cure or vaccine for it. Dengue can recur, with subsequent infections potentially riskier. In certain viral afflictions, however, the next infections are milder than the first.

Another possibility is that the results of Año’s previous tests were wrong, and that he actually had not yet rid himself of COVID-19. This can pose problems for the reliability of existing tests for the COVID-causing SARS-coronavirus-2, and aggravate the risk of community

5

transmission. There is also no definitive study on whether the antibodies developed by COVID survivors make them completely free of SARS-CoV2, and whether the survivors remain capable of passing it on to others.

Amid all these uncertainties, and in the absence of a vaccine or cure, the best defenses against SARS-CoV-2 infection remain the health protocols already prescribed by scientists: physical distancing; cough and sneeze etiquette; wearing of face mask and, where appropriate, a face shield; regular handwashing with soap and water, or else disinfection of the hands with alcohol or sanitizer; avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, and staying home as much as possible.

In the meantime, public health experts must study Año’s case thoroughly because of its implications on health safety protocols as the country continues the gradual reopening of the economy. The possibility of reinfection is on top of reports that a mutated COVID strain has

Editorial

Philstar.com photo

been detected in Quezon City, which appears to be more infectious than the original. The last thing the country needs is the emergence

of a more virulent strain of COVID. Every effort must be made to determine if this can be ruled out. (Philstar.com)

As Trump tries to sabotage USPS and mail-in voting, this is what we should do to cast our votes and make sure they count to protect the sanctity of our elections The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS ELECTION FEVER is heating up this August as the two major political parties hold their respective national conventions for the next two weeks to formally nominate the next presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

The members of each party will also work together to

adopt the official platform which will be our guides as voters in choosing the direction they plan the steer the country to and how to get there.

We may watch the livestreaming of the Democratic National Convention scheduled for August 17-20, 2020 from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (www.demconvention.com), while the Republican National Convention will kick off on August 24-27, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina (www.2020gopconvention. com).

These political conven-

tions are happening amid the coronavirus pandemic and the worst economic recession we are now living in since the Great Depression. As voters, we will have the opportunity to discern conscientiously who among the candidates share our core values and aspirations, and how these values and aspirations are reflected in their statements of their principles, goals, and strategies to help solve our economic hardships, as well as the moral, social and cultural division that has been threatening our Union.

As we Americans look for-

ward to this very important and consequential civic exercise of casting our votes for the 2020 presidential election on November 3, most of us are daunted by the threat of COVID-19, which has now infected close to 22 million people around the world, with a death toll of 777,150 people and counting.

Most developed nations have successfully defeated the virus and have slowly and safely started to open their countries again, but the spread of the virus in the United States continues to be in the uptick under the Trump

presidency. The number of confirmed cases has gone up to almost 5.5 million, killing more than 171,340 people.

Despite the pandemic and with the urgency of the times, we are empowered to continue exercising our constitutionally protected right to vote through what many generations of Americans have been doing since the 1760s during the time of the Civil War — voting by mail.

Spearheaded by the Republican Party led by President Abraham Lincoln, they wanted Union soldiers to be able to exercise their right to vote

from the battlefield.

For many years thereafter, these mailed-in ballots have been helpful for people who could not go to the polling place on election day.

Mail-in-voting has increased voter turnout, especially in places where people can be challenged to go to the polls because of the weather, their work schedule, or other health, logistical and personal reasons. Even President Donald Trump and his family have been casting their votes through mail-in voting.

We are now on the battlePAGE 10

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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Dateline PhiliPPines

New novel coronavirus How COVID-19 escalated the war... mutation detected in PH

by Ritchel

Mendiola AJPress

A MUTATED strain of the novel coronavirus has been found in the Philippines, which could be more infectious than the original variant, Filipino genomic researchers reported.

The G614 strain was detected along with the original D614 genotype in the positive samples collected from Quezon City, home to approximately 2.9 million residents, according to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC).

“We now report the detection of the D614 variant among nine randomly selected COVID-19 positive samples collected in Quezon City in July. In the month of June, both the D614 as well as the G614 have been detected in a small sample of positive cases,” the PGC said in an August 13 bulletin.

“Although this information confirms the presence of G614 in the Philippines, we note that all the samples tested were from Quezon City and may not represent the mutational landscape for the whole country,” it added.

In July, researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Duke University in North Carolina published a study in the scientific journal Cell, noting that patients infected with the G614 variant had a higher viral load compared to those infected with D614.

However, they said that the

SWAB TEST. A Philippine Coast Guard personnel gets specimen samples from one of the 400 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) during a swab test shortly upon the OFWs’ arrival via Qatar Airways flight QR3150 on Monday, August 17. The OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) in Pasay City.

PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan

G614 variant does not appear to be deadlier nor does it have an impact on disease severity.

“There is still no definitive evidence showing that carriers of the G614 variant are actually more transmissible than those with D614, and the mutation does not appear to substantially affect clinical outcomes as well,” the PGC added.

It also said that continuous monitoring of the new strain “must be done in order to better understand the evolutionary trajectory of SARSCoV-2 to inform containment, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies.”

Philippine Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, for her part, stressed that more evidence is needed to declare that the G614 variant is the dominant variant

spreading in the country.

“We still need a lot of evidence for us to say that the virus here is mutated, that it is the one that is spreading in the country,” she told reporters in English and Filipino.

“What we know so far is that the G614 and D614 are the strains we have in the Philippines but it is not yet conclusive because the study of the Philippine Genome Center was just in the Quezon City area. So it needs to be expanded so that we can see it well,” she added.

Vergeire also pointed out that there’s “no solid evidence” yet confirming that G614 is more transmissible.

“Whatever strain there may be in the Philippines for SARS CoV-2, we just continue to enforce strictly and properly the minimum health standards,” she said. n

‘I can consider him godfather...

PAGE 4 could not feign ignorance of fraud and other irregularities in PhilHealth as he had been part of its board for almost two decades in various capacities.

“Secretary Duque knows all that’s happening in PhilHealth. He has been with PhilHealth for almost 20 years,” said Adre, who participated in the proceedings via the internet. “[He knows] these unfortunate [events] in PhilHealth— the weak policies, the weak legal system, the weak IT (information technology) system. All the harassment

and oppression cases against the officers who advocated reforms had the blessings of [Duque],” Adre said.

He said Duque, who was the health secretary and PhilHealth chair then, had summoned all regional chiefs of the state-run health insurer to a meeting in 2003 to implement “Plan 5 million,” which, he claimed, was a plot to overcome the 5-million vote lead of then presidential front-runner, film superstar Fernando Poe Jr. over Arroyo.

Duque: Cases dismissed Asked by Hontiveros to comment on Adre’s claim,

Duque flatly rejected that PhilHealth handed out membership cards to help Arroyo win the 2004 presidential race, adding that the criminal cases regarding the project had all been dismissed. “I deny strongly that allegation,” the health chief said.

Adre, who has been on floating status since September last year, said Duque and other senior PhilHealth officials had ordered the transfer of officers to other regions as “punishment” for calling out irregularities and “flawed policies” in the corporation.

Malversation Appearing at the Senate

PAGE 4 Trump and, hopefully, reverse the rigid policies his administration has put in place through new leadership under former Vice President Joe Biden. But Pierce noted that any Democratic administration (whether it’s a Biden administration or beyond) may have a difficult time rolling back some of Trump’s policies.

Though Democrats are broadly pro-immigrant rights, the lack of cohesive vision and their failure to put forth a clear image of immigration among party members may not effectively reverse Trump-era policy.

“Democrats have not been very active or interested in acting on immigration,” Pierce said, citing congressional Democrats’ disorderly management on the immigration platform. “They haven’t really put forward a vision for what the immigration system should look like, so there’s just a lack of willingness there to undo each of these changes, I think.”

In regards to business immigration — which largely attracts immigrants from Asia — during the pandemic, the Trump administration cited rising unemployment levels in its June 22 temporary ban of workers entering the U.S. This ban affected visa categories including H-1B for workers and their spouses; H-2B visas for non-agricultural workers; J visas for foreign students and L visas for intra-company transfers.

On Aug. 3, the administration doubled down on that proclamation and barred the federal government from employing H-1B workers, of which under 2,000 are currently federal employees.

Unemployment rates have doubled over the last few months, but one field that has

not suffered as greatly is the STEM field of which companies employed skilled workers via the H-1B visa program.

This includes the vast community of Asian and South Asian H-1B workers in the telecommunications industry.

Gutting the H1-B program, even temporarily, could dramatically exacerbate the tech landscape, including the digital divide, said Kalpana Peddibhotla, an attorney who formerly served as the co-chair of the South Asian Bar Association who said that “the proclamations post-COVID-19 are essentially a sledgehammer to business immigration.”

“These are critical workers and these are the workers that are allowing us to have the Zoom call right now,” Peddibhotla said. “They’re the ones that we need to allow us to get back on our feet and be able to work remotely and provide the technologies we all need.”

Peddibhotla pointed out the severity of these proclamations in families’ goals to reunite. Despite the “economic justifications,” the family preference categories that have now been altered in a COVID19 world disfavor immigrants who wouldn’t even be threats to the American economy and the job market, she said.

“They were our aging parents, the siblings of US citizens who wanted decades; if you’re from the Philippines they waited at least 20 years.

They’re not direct competitors by any measure in the U.S. job market right now,” the attorney mentioned. “The overall ripple effect is that there’s actually job creation and our economy does better with immigrants.”

Among the revelations that the pandemic has illuminated, the importance of essential workers was made clear when Americans everywhere real-

ized that daily life has been upended in a huge way.

Among those essential workers are agriculture workers, but they have largely been overshadowed by the administration’s efforts to provide financial support. They were denied the one-time $1,200 stimulus check distributed in April and are ineligible for federal unemployment support.

Hurdles for dreamers Moreover, recipients and advocates of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — who, in June, celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump’s effort to strike down the program was unconstitutional — found yet another roadblock in the fight to provide benefits and protections for undocumented youth.

In July, Trump quietly signed an executive order that allowed no new applicants and shortened the renewal length from two years to one year. The filing fee of $495 would now be a yearly payment, which Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, an immigration policy advocate with the National Immigration Law Center, said adds to the mounting economic hardships immigrant families face.

“At a time when many are facing unprecedented financial hardship, this additional fee could hinder eligible individuals from applying, putting at risk their employment authorization and protection from deportation in the middle of a health and economic crisis. All these things add up to make life as difficult as possible for these immigrants trying to navigate an already complex system,” she said.

Advocates like Kmec urge Congress to step up and provide relief and protections to all undocumented immigrants, especially DACA recipients.

(Klarize Medenilla/AJPress) n

proceedings for the first time, Duque defended the implementation of the IRM. He initially echoed the claim of Morales that the cash advances could also be given to dialysis centers and maternity clinics, which had already received P231 million as of June 9.

But upon questioning by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Duque admitted that PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0007, limited the release of the funds to medical cases involving new

coronavirus disease.

Lacson reiterated that the circular clearly stated that the financial package only covered “fortuitous events,” such as man-made and natural calamities.

“Kindly define a fortuitous event. Your understanding of a ‘fortuitous event’ may be different from our definition of that,” Lacson asked Duque, who joined the hearing online.

“These are unforeseen [events] or force majeure,”

the health secretary replied.

Pressed by Lacson if he considered undergoing dialysis and giving birth as “fortuitous events,” Duque conceded that these were not.

“Is dialysis a fortuitous event? It is not. Is maternity care a fortuitous event? It is not … These should be considered regular benefit claims that will not fall under ‘fortuitous events’ in the circular,” Lacson maintained. To which Duque replied, “You are right.

We will rectify this.” n

AUGUST 21-27, 2020 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

As the 2020 US election ramps up, experts...

PAGE 2 As a way to gauge the AAPI community’s place in the national conversation, the National Council of Asian Pacific Islanders (NCAPA) held a press briefing highlighting the crucial role AAPI’s play in elections and the magnitude of AAPI visibility in national politics.

AAPI groups hope that with the selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is half-Indian American and the first AAPI vice presidential candidate in American history, will punctuate the importance of the AAPI community on a national level.

“Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, it is a benchmark of progress, and it is a reminder that diversity should be embraced, not feared,” Gregg Orton, national director of NCAPA, said in the briefing held on Wednesday, Aug. 12. “But it is also important to recognize that as important as it is for governments to look like the people they represent, it’s also important for policies that they create be

inclusive as well.”

Getting Congress to approach legislation inclusively — that is, to propose bills and measures that address the issues of the oft-ignored AAPI community — has been an ongoing struggle for AAPIs for years. There are presently 17 AAPI members in Congress, meaning that AAPIs currently serving in either chamber make up nearly half of the number of congressional AAPI’s in history. (Since 1957, a total of 45 AAPIs have served as representatives and senators.)

But although AAPI representation in Washington is better than ever before, unifying the entire community as a political bloc continues to be an uphill battle.

Finding ways to combat anti-Asian racism in relation to the pandemic chief among the pressing issues that call for solidarity across ethnic and racial lines. One hate crime tracker reported 1,500 anti-Asian harassment, bullying and violence signaling AAPI lawmakers and political coalitions like

NCAPA to push for legislative solutions.

“It’s critical that political leaders recognize and address the needs of our diverse AAPI community,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), who last week organized a forum with the congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses to work on legislation to address the “alarming uptick” in anti-Asian attitudes and harassment ahead of the November election.

The term AAPI itself is a controversial aggregate in itself that is used to describe the vast population of not just Asians and Pacific Islanders but also Native Hawaiians. Disaggregating data to reflect the concerns of the hundreds of culturally disparate ethnic groups under the AAPI label has been a cause for concern for years as the community continues to widen and diversify within itself.

In a pandemic that also has catalyzed a trend of anti-Asian sentiments across the U.S., the need

http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426 for disaggregated data is especially crucial. The Filipino American community, for example, has been struggling to find answers to how the virus affects their own with many turning to whatever paltry data is available.

“These are critical disparities that we only know because certain states have elected to disaggregate their public health data by race and ethnicity,” Chu remarked, adding that there should be larger federal effort to disaggregate medical and health data.

The pitfalls of reaching for numerical paydirt, however, leads to fallacious media reports utilizing weak data to attempt to answer crucial questions about specific communities, like the Los Angeles Times story in July that reported a 40% mortality rate among Filipinos, a conclusion based on an unsubstantiated and rough list of 48 COVID-19 patients from the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.

The lack of nuanced data is further couched in the lack of language accessibility for the Asian ESL population, of which about

one-third of AAPI and Asian immigrants are limited English proficient. The disproportionality of this has led to difficult outreach efforts to the AAPI community, making it more difficult for AAPI subgroups “to access critical resources,” Chu said.

“The information gets conglomerated as a general Asian American or Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander so for us, providing health care and for those who are the ground workers in the grassroots, it’s really hard for us to use that very, very lump sum data to really target the specific vulnerability of people who need more attention,” Katrina Dizon Mariategue, acting executive director of the Southeast Asia Action Resource Center, told the Asian Journal.

That being said, while prioritizing disaggregated observations of the massive AAPI community is important, so is the notion of a unified racial bloc that leads with cultural solidarity internally and externally, said Sefa Aina, Board Chair of Empowering Pacific Islander communities, who previously worked with

President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs. “Our number one priority [in Obama’s advisory commission] was to get federal agencies to disaggregate data internally, [but] we understand that there’s a lot of issues that cross ethnic lines,” Aina told the Asian Journal, urging communities to make the effort to simultaneously work to increase the visibility of their unique needs while investing in issues that don’t directly affect their own.

Dizon Mariategue mirrored Aina’s remarks, emphasizing that neither racewide unity nor fighting for individualistic visibility of subcultures are mutually exclusive.

“Disaggregated data is very important for a number of Asian American groups, but I believe that the collecting of this data and the relevance of this data also shouldn’t hinder the ability for our organizations and groups to also work together collectively,” Dizon Mariategue said. “We can collect this necessary data but still work as a broad Asian American identity as well.” n

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 21-27, 2020

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AUGUST 21-27, 2020 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (212) 655-5426

As Trump tries to sabotage USPS and...

PAGE 5 field, at war with COVID-19, and We, the People, will want to make sure we cast our votes and have them counted in this democracy to chart our future.

However, as the cashstrapped 108-year-old USPS anticipates the surge in mailin ballots, Trump has repeatedly refused to sign any legislation with a bailout provision for the essential service. “‘The Postal Service is a joke,’ said the President in May. His administration nixed a bipartisan attempt to provide $13 billion to the Postal Service in March and previously recommended measures to privatize parts of the service,” Fortune reported.

In June, Trump appointed a new Postmaster General for the USPS — Louis DeJoy, a Trump ally and Republican donor —who implemented drastic cost-cutting measures that cripple operations and slow down the delivery of mail. No overtime. No new hiring. The removal of mail sorting machines, the very machines that are responsible for sorting ballots. USPS mailboxes in our neighborhoods, where we conveniently drop off our ballots, are seen and confirmed to be hauled away in trucks in many states.

On Friday, August 14, USPS warned 46 states that it can’t guarantee delayed mail-in ballots will be counted!

“Lawmakers from both parties and postal union leaders have sounded alarms over disruptive changes instituted

by DeJoy this summer,” CNN reported. “Democrats claim he is intentionally undermining postal service operations to sabotage mail-in voting in the November election — a charge he denies.”

The Inspector General is now investigating Trump’s new USPS appointed chief DeJoy. “DeJoy still owns at least a $30 million equity stake in his former company — a USPS contractor — and that he recently bought stock options for Amazon, a USPS competitor. These holdings likely create a major conflict of interest,” ethics experts told CNN. How ironic and blatantly hypocritical is it that at the same time he was attacking mail-in voting, Trump’s own absentee ballot to vote in Florida’s primary election on Tuesday, August 18, was en route to Mar-a-Lago. How can this president allow and

even promote mail-in-voting in Florida, while demonizing and stopping voting by mail in other states, especially those that tend to vote Democratic?

In response to this national emergency, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced on Sunday, August 16, that “she would call the House back from its annual summer recess for a vote this week on legislation to block changes at the Postal Service that voting advocates warn could disenfranchise Americans casting ballots by mail during the pandemic,” the New York Times reported.

Former President Barack Obama posted a message on Twitter on Friday, August 14, saying, “Everyone depends on the USPS. Seniors for their Social Security, veterans for their prescriptions, small businesses trying to keep their doors open. They can’t be collateral damage for an administration more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing a virus.”

“If you’re in a state where you have the option to vote early, do that now. The more votes in early, the less likely you’re going to see a last minute crunch, both at polling places and in states where mail-in ballots are permitted. Then tell everyone you know,” he added.

Meanwhile, many Americans find help by going to the website https://represent. us/how-to-vote-2020/, which posted a state-by-state interactive guide to help Americans vote safely.

“Get prepared to #VoteSafe by seeing if you qualify to vote by mail in your state and requesting your ballot early to avoid flooding election officials. Then, share this page with your friends and family to help them #VoteSafe,” the site reads.

The website has laid out important deadlines for each state, but reminds us of the rule of thumb: “The earlier you request and return your ballot, the better.”

MEANWHILE, this advice has been shared on social media to make sure we vote and that our votes are received and counted: 1. Request a mail-in ballot.

2. Do not mail it.

3. Google your supervisor of elections to see where you can drop off your mail-in ballot. It’s usually NOT THE POLLING PLACE. All states allow this!

Here is what you’re accomplishing by doing this:

1. Your ballot gets in on time no matter what happens to the USPS. 2. You don’t have to worry about standing in long lines and risking infection. You’re just stopping by to drop it off.

3. You still voted! Hooray!

Also, when you drop it off, find out how to track it online to make sure it is verified.

California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have systems that can track your ballot just like tracking a package from Amazon.

All CA vote centers (which are open for weeks to a month before election day) have ballot drop-off boxes too! Many government buildings have them as well, so there’s no need to wait until election day when it’s crowded to drop them off. The list of drop-off sites is always posted on each county’s voter info website.

NEWSFLASH: USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced on Tuesday, August 18, that all changes being made to the Postal Service will now be suspended until after the November 3 elections. However, he also needs to return all the mailboxes hauled back to the neighborhoods so the people, especially the seniors, can conveniently drop off their ballots. The sorting machines should also be returned to speed up mail delivery process, and overtime pay as well as new hiring should be authorized to support surge in mailed in ballots so our votes will all be counted.

“At least 20 Democratic attorneys general across the country are launching a multi-pronged legal effort to push back on the recent changes that disrupted mail delivery across the country and triggered accusations that Trump and his appointees are trying to undermine mail-in voting,” CNN reported.

VOTE! SEND YOUR BALLOTS EARLY, AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE COUNTED. Our livelihoods and the future of this nation that we love depend on this process. *** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.

MODE OF TRANSPORT. A man cruises on his e-scooter along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Quezon City on Tuesday, August 18. With most of the public transport suspended in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, the public turns to alternative modes of transport such as bicycles, motorcycles, and e-scooters.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Appeals court rejects Ressa motion to go to US for talks, press freedom award

by Kristine Joy

Philstar.com

Patag

MANILA — The Court of Appeals rejected Rappler CEO Maria Ressa’s motion to be allowed to leave the country for a series of events in the United States, saying her trip is unnecessary.

The CA’s Special Fourteenth Division threw out the motion filed by Ressa, who was convicted on cyber libel in June, to be allowed to leave for the US on late August, while her appeal remains pending.

Ressa and Rappler’s former researcher Reynaldo Santos had elevated their case to the appeals court after the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 upheld its earlier ruling that convicted them on cyber libel. They are currently out on bail.

Ressa sought the CA’s nod to be allowed to leave for the US on August 23 and return on September 19, saying she intends to attend various events related to the theatrical release of and panel discussions on the “A Thousand Cuts” documentary.

She also said she is set to be conferred with the “2020 International Press Freedom Award” from the US National Press Club.

She cited that the Manila court previously allowed her to leave the country by posting a bail bond of P100,000 and committing to notify it within 24 hours of her return.

OSG opposition

In this February 2019 file photo, NBI agents from the cybercrime division arrested Ressa at her office in Pasig City over a cyber libel case filed by the Department of Justice.

Philstar.com photo by Michael Tupas

The People of the Philippines, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, opposed her motion and said that while she was previously permitted to travel abroad, her conviction warrants stricter restriction.

The OSG also argued that Ressa made public statements “indicative of her lack of respect for the Philippine judicial system,” and also faces other charges. “According to the OSG, these circumstances, along with her views on the justice system, make her a flight risk,” the ruling made public on Wednesday read.

The OSG also said that there are other ways that would allow Ressa to participate in the events without her needing to leave the country.

The court’s ruling The CA said that while liberty of travel is a constitutional right, it is not abso-

lute. “[T]he bail puts the accused under the jurisdiction of the court, and it operates as a valid restriction on a person’s right to travel,” the ruling read.

The court also held that Ressa failed to show “necessity and urgency of her intended travel” to the United States. It said it took note of the OSG’s argument that traveling to the United States is not necessary as Ressa can participate through video conferencing and other technological applications.

“In view of Ressa’s failure to prove that her travel to the United States of America is necessary and urgent, there is no basis to grant her motion,” the ruling, penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Fiel-Macaraig, read.

Associate Justices Danton Bueser and Carlito Calpatura concurred with the decision. n

(212) 655-5426 • http://www.asianjournal.com

NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 21-27, 2020

COMMUNITY Journal

11

‘Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot – Social Distancing Style’ answers more immigration questions on Aug. 23

CITIZEN PINOY: MORE ANSWERS TO IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS FROM KAPAMILYA, VIA ZOOM, AUG. 23. Luchie of Azusa, CA (center) asks if it is okay for a green card holder to apply for naturalization if she already has a pending petition for her husband. From Redlands, CA, Ricky (right) would like to know if his two single daughters (whom he petitioned in 2011 in the F-2B category) can immigrate sooner now that he has naturalized. These are just a few of the immigration questions that will be answered on a brand-new episode of CITIZEN PINOY: Your Tanong, My Sagot – Social Distancing Style, this Sunday, August 23 at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

Public charge injunction now limited to Connecticut, New York and Vermont Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s new, stricter public charge rules seem to go back and forth, like a tennis or ping-pong match. It becomes very confusing for applicants as to which public charge guidelines they should follow: the ones that have been in existence since 1999, or the new ones Pres.

Trump just implemented which had been subject to a court injunction? Here is the latest news and background: On July 29, 2020 a U.S. District Court issued a nationwide injunction, prohibiting USCIS from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective, Pres.

Trump’s new public charge rules, as long as there is a national health emergency caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

USCIS then announced on its website it would abide by this injunction, and that as long as the court’s decision is in effect, “USCIS will apply the 1999 public charge guidance that was in place before the public charge rule was implemented on Febru-

ary 24, 2020 to the adjudication of any application for adjustment of status on or after July 29, 2020.”

However, on August 12, 2020, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals limited the scope of that injunction to only Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. That is because the District Court that issued the injunction only had jurisdiction over Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.

Therefore, USCIS may now implement its new public charge rule in all other states within the U.S. except in the three states mentioned, thereby requiring applicants in the other states to submit the financial declaration (Form I-944).

Interestingly, as of August 19, 2020, USCIS has not updated its injunction page, nor added back the Form I-944 to its forms page, nor provided guidance on how it will now implement these different public charge standards within the U.S. People who are outside Connecticut, New York and Vermont may need to wait for guidance from USCIS on how to proceed before filing applications, unless it is critical a person files the petition or application because of issues of maintaining status, etc.

I would advise people to be prepared to meet the re-

quirements of the Form I944, and consult an attorney to evaluate your case in reference to those new requirements, just in case they are brought back or if you have questions or are confused about eligibility or public charge requirements. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different, and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorneyclient relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, Twitter @GurfinkelLaw and YouTube: US Immigration TV Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)

AS everyone continues to adjust with life amid the pandemic, Citizen Pinoy remains committed to providing public service to viewers by giving updates on immigration.

On the fourth episode of “Your Tanong, My Sagot: Social Distancing Style,” Atty. Gurfinkel answers questions from Luchie of

Azusa, and Ricky of Redlands, both from California.

Find out if it is wise for a green card holder to apply for naturalization while her petition for her husband is still pending.

A father asks if there is a way to expedite the petition for his single daughters if he became a U.S. citizen in 2016 and his daughters’

priority date is February 2011.

These and more questions will be answered on the fourth edition of “CITIZEN PINOY: Your Tanong, My Sagot – Social Distancing Style” this Sunday, August 23, at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

Gerald, Arci team up for the third time

By Honey

orio-escullar Philstar.com

DURING a virtual presscon for Love Unlock, Gerald Anderson begged off from questions pertaining to his personal

life, especially not about colleagues who were not present and who should be respected.

“I’m just going to stay silent,” he said. “Ganun po talaga ‘yung character ko, you know. I mind my own business

at ipapayo ko rin yun sa ibang tao.”

Airing tonight at 7:30 on the Kapamilya Online Live, Love Unlock is a mini-movie original digital special made PAGE 12

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY

EVERYDAY

9:00am - 11:00am

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AUGUST 21-27, 2020 • NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL

Myths about heart disease

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS COVID-19 affects only the lungs This pandemic has so far victimized (as of August 18, 2020) more than 22 million and killed almost 800,000 people around the globe – nearly 5.6 million, with about 174,000 deaths in the United States alone; and almost 170,000 cases and close to 2,700 deaths in the Philippines.

In all cases worldwide, clinical findings have shown that COVID-19 affects multiple organs, foremost of which is the heart. The devastating killer cytokine storm in a full-blown COVID-19 case destroys the lungs and causes inflammation and damage to the heart, the liver, kidneys, and even the brain. Studies the past six months have also shown that people who wash their hands and face often; wear a cap, a mask/face shield, gloves; and practice social distancing when in public have significantly less chance of getting infected. It is prudent to follow this health guideline to protect ourselves and others, especially the vulnerable seniors. While we minimize non-essential travels and are home-bound, let us have a positive mental attitude and hope in our heart. This, too, shall pass.

Heart disease is inherited Rarely, certain congenital (inborn) structural defects of the heart may be genetic, but in general, we cannot blame our ancestry for the heart diseases that are very common today like coronary artery disease (cause of heart attacks) or heart valve diseases (due to Rheumatic Fever). Although some families seem to be more prone to heart attacks, and the traits could be a part of the genes, the important causative factors in this situation are mostly not heredity but environmental – the lifestyle of family members.

These significant etiologic factors include smoking; eating red meat, eggs and other high cholesterol foods; lack of exercise; obesity; unmanaged stress; hypercholesterolemia (elevated cholesterol blood level); untreated hypertension; and diabetes mellitus (especially poorly controlled ones).

Sex is bad for the heart On the contrary, sex is good for the heart. The morphinelike opiates and other feelgood hormones our own body secretes during sex or during any happy activity or thought process we have – the physical exercise during sex, and the healthy outlet it provides both partners – actually benefit the heart. Only those with untreated coronary artery disease or heart failure could get into trouble during sex. With proper treatment and medical guidance, these patients can indulge in sex safely. Heart attack is a treacherous enemy. It must be detected and treated before it strikes. This is why medical consultation is important among men or women over 40 years old, or among the younger ones who have symptoms or concerns about their health.

Children of heart attack victims will have the same fate This is not true. Even if both parents have had heart attacks or coronary artery disease, their children are not necessarily condemned to the same fate, provided the children live a healthier lifestyle, unlike their parents. If these children stay on a low cholesterol diet; eat fish (instead of red meat), a lot of vegetables, fruits, and high fiber foods; do not smoke; exercise at least 5 times a week; maintain a normal weight; and know how to relax and manage stress, they can escape significant coronary artery disease.

Women rarely have heart disease Wrong. As one of the old cigarette commercials stated, “You’ve come a long way, Baby.” Since today’s modern women have entered the “men’s world” – working, smoking, drinking, competing, hustling like men – they have indeed “come a long way,” approximating men in most respects, even in the incidence of coronary artery disease and heart attacks among them. Young women as a rule have greater resistance to coronary artery disease because of the protective effects of the female hormone called estrogen. However, women with unhealthy lifestyles negate the benefits of estrogen and suffer heart disease like men. The 2-to-1 (male to female) vulnerability has been narrowing the past 3 decades.

Executives are prime victims of heart attacks Not so. We used to believe that top job responsibility and

stressful executive positions led to higher incidence of heart attacks. Recent studies have proven this to be a fallacy. In a study, bartenders were found to be more vulnerable to heart attacks than barbers, and barbers more prone than physicians. In another series, blue-collar workers were found to be more susceptible to heart attacks than supervisory personnel and executives. It is obvious that lifestyle, and not the line of work, position or rank, is more of the determinant factor in heart attacks.

Those below 40 do not get heart disease Another myth. The youngest patient we did coronary bypass surgery on in Indiana was a 28-year-old diabetic Caucasian female who had very high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and was a cigarette smoker. At Cebu Cardiovascular Center in Cebu City, the youngest heart bypass patient we had was a 34-year-old man. Coronary artery disease does not respect any age, gender, or any person who abuses himself/herself with an unhealthy lifestyle.

Exercise damages the heart Definitely does not. The heart can take a lot more challenges than one can imagine.

It is one of the strongest muscular organs in the human body. Exercise has beneficial effects on the heart. Even heart attack patients who have recovered from the acute phase are prescribed an exercise regimen. Exercise dilates (opens wider) coronary arteries that supply the heart muscles with oxygen and nutrition. The benefits conferred by regular moderate exercise are “cumulative and lasting.”

If in doubt about your fitness to do exercises, consult your physician.

High blood pressure is due to heart disease This is another misinformation. The reverse is true: untreated or poorly controlled hypertension (high blood pressure) can lead to coronary artery disease or even heart failure. High blood pressure is, in most cases, essential or idiopathic (cause unknown), but definitely not due to heart disease. High blood pressure taxes the heart and makes the cardiac muscles work harder, and in many cases this causes cardiac hypertrophy (enlarged heart). Early effective treatment for hypertension reduces morbidity and prolongs life.

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Is Korina moving to another network?

By Niña V. GuNo Inquirer.net

AFTER “Rated K” went off air, could Korina Sanchez be finding her way back to television?

The broadcast journalist appears to be dropping hints on the next step in her career through Instagram comments.

When she announced via Instagram on Friday, Aug. 14, that her current affairs program “Rated K” will stay online, one Instagram user, @kathnielford2020, asked if it was true that she had negotiations with TV5.

“Isa po ako sa malulungkot, kung totoo yan. Isa po kasi kayo sa mukha ng ABSCBN,” the fan said.

(I am one of those who

Korina Sanchez Photo from Instagram_@ratedkorinaofficial

will be sad if it’s true. You are one of the faces of ABSCBN.) “Abangan ang susunod na kabanata,” replied Sanchez.

“Salamat sa pagmamahal.”

(Wait for the next chapter.

Thank you for the love.)

Sanchez also responded to another social media user, one @phoexzz, who asked if it was true that she was leaving ABS-CBN. “Nawala na ang prangkisa eh (The franchise is gone)…,” reasoned Sanchez.

Congress denied ABSCBN’s franchise bid last July after over a dozen hearings on its renewal. The media giant was ordered shut down in May by the National Telecommunications Commission despite pending bills in Congress on its franchise.

Sanchez was among the first to be laid off in the “bloodbath” that ensued after Congress’ rejection of the franchise.

Gerald, Arci team up for the third...

PAGE 11 up of episodes E-numan, starring Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia, and Hook-Up in which Gerald is again paired with Arci Muñoz. Their previous projects together are the Star Cinema films Always Be My Maybe (2016) and Can We Still Be Friends? (2017).

In Hook-Up, they play lovers who try to spice up their relationship by romancing online.

The mini-movies were written by Benson Logronio and Arah Jell Badayos, and directed by Dado Lumibao.

Gerald and Arci had to shoot their respective scenes from home while ensuring that the set had proper lighting, clear and crisp audio, and the right camera angles.

“It was very challenging,” admitted Gerald. “It wasn’t easy preparing the production set without the help of the technical people. Direk Dado had to send his instructions virtually. Hindi po biro yung ginawa namin, eh. It was difficult to set up dahil online lahat.

Mahirap siyang trabaho but you know working with Arci has always been very light at

kita naman ‘yung fun sa mga projects that we did. I hope that when everything is finally okay, we will again (physically) work together.”

Arci agreed. She herself had to set up her bedroom for a scene.

“It was really tough. I had to make a lot of adjustments.

Eh, diba ‘pag (normal) taping you only have to worry about your lines, your script, how to execute your scenes. This one was hard and I almost gave up, hahaha! I just used a ring light, a tripod and my cellphone,” she shared.

On working with Gerald again, Arci said it was always a breeze.

“Sobrang kumportable ako kay Ge. I’m just glad to have

worked with him again. Actually, he was my first leading man in the movie (Always Be My Maybe) where I play the lead actress so to reunite with him (virtually) during lockdown is a plus for me para makapangumusta rin ako sa kanya.”

Direk Dado said directing both episodes of Love Unlock was something he described as “nanganay” because the experience is also new to him.

“At first, I didn’t know what to do. But we’ve managed it because of the supportive team and the professionalism of the actors. It was hard but very, very fulfilling. It will really challenge you creatively and technically. We are so happy with the outcome.”

A heart attack dooms a person False. There are millions of heart attack victims who have survived around the world and fully recovered from it and led a normal life. Many have even become much healthier than before by following cardiac rehabilitation, having better discipline, through behav-

ioral modification, and after living a healthier lifestyle like switching to a heart-smart diet, quitting cigarettes, avoiding alcohol abuse, doing daily exercise and practicing stress management. Those with a positive attitude in life usually have a higher rate of recovery. ***

Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, a Health Advocate, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States.

Websites: philipSchua.com and FUN8888.com; Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com.

Gerald Anderson and Arci Muñoz topbill “Hook-Up,” one of the two episodes of the digital mini-movie “Love Unlock.”

Star Cinema photo

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How Yayo keeps herself ‘safe’ in the midst of busy schedule

By Marinel

Cruz

Inquirer.net

Andi Eigenmann with partner Philmar Alipayo

Photo from Instagram_@andieigengirl

Andi marks Philmar’s birthday: ‘I am truly lucky to have you’ By ryan arCadio Inquirer.net

ANDI Eigenmann penned a heartfelt message to celebrate her partner Philmar Alipayo’s birthday on Monday, August 17.

“Malipajun na katauhan sa ako one and only mahal (Happy birthday to my one and only love)!” Eigenmann said on her Instagram page alongside photos of her and Alipayo with her daughters

SERVICES

Ellie and Lilo.

She then expressed her gratitude for being able to live “life to the fullest” with Alipayo.

“I am truly lucky to have you as a partner, and as such an awesome dad to the kids!” Eigenmann said. “I hope slowly achieving our dreams together will be a wonderful gift for you, [especially] because we are sad not to celebrate your day with you this year.”

“Dili na kami makahoyat mobalik sa isla pohon para makaiban na kaw mahal (We can’t wait to go back to the island so we can be together, love)! We miss you sooo much, and we love you!” she added.

Eigenmann is currently staying in Manila with Ellie and Lilo, while Alipayo is in Siargao. Ellie is her daughter with Jake Ejercito, while Lilo is her first child with Alipayo.

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“LET’S take it upon ourselves to do something about our own situation,” said actress Yayo Aguila, adding that Filipinos should stop simply relying on the government to fight the deadly COVID-19 for them.

“While most of us followed protocol during ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), I noticed that we simply stopped caring after that. Eventually, the stubborn ones came out. I found it annoying that while we’re trying to be careful, there were those who kept violating rules and endangering us in the process,” said Yayo when Inquirer Entertainment asked for her observation about how Filipinos handled the lockdown.

Yayo is one of our busiest celebrities, even while we’re all in quarantine. She recently helped promote James Mayo’s Cinemalaya entry, titled “Fatigued,” which features her in the cast.

Yayo Aguila

She recently started taping, too. Her first “quarantine work” was the pilot episode of TBA Studio’s online series “Small Talk,” alongside Royce Cabrera. They taped the show on their own, and in their own homes. “It was quite easy. I borrowed the laptop of one of my children and set it up in the kitchen.

We were done with every-

SERVICES

Photo from Instagram_@yayoaguila

thing in three hours. I actually enjoyed it,” she recalled.

Yayo then agreed to appear as a guest in the noontime game show “Eat Bulaga!”

She said it had been her first and that she was pleased to have had the chance to work in a new environment. “They have the strictest health and safety measures, so I didn’t PAGE 15

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people events arts culture entertainment

Babae at Baril and John Denver Trending join lineup at the New York Asian Film Festival 2020 T

by MOMAR G. VISAYA

/ AJPress

‘WO films from the Philippines have made it to the official selection of the 19th New York Asian Film Festival, which has pivoted to a special virtual edition and will run from August 28 to September 12, 2020.

John Denver Trending won Best Film and Best Actor (for newcomer Jansen Magpusao) at the 2019 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the 2019 Busan International Film Festival.

Photos courtesy of NYAFF

The Girl and the Gun (Babae at Baril) and John Denver Trending are both screening at the festival which offers more than 50 films from 10 countries including first timers Bhutan and Kazakhstan.

Set as the Opening Film is the North American Premiere of The Girl and the Gun (Babae at Baril), written and directed by Rae Red, led by actress Janine Gutierrez, and produced by Iana Celest Bernardez and Bianca Balbuena.

“So proud to be part of this female-led team,” Gutierrez posted on her Instagram account. In the film, she plays the role of a department store saleslady whose life changes when she finds a gun right on her doorstep one night.

The film, which earned a Best Director award for Red at the QCinema International Film Festival also stars Felix Roco, JC Santos, and Elijah Canlas. Red cowrote with her cousin Mikhail Red the film Birdshot, which screened at the 2017 NYAFF and was the Philippine entry to the Oscars.

NYAFF continues to highlight women both behind and in front of the camera and this year, they are proud to spotlight an exciting lineup of titles directed and led by women: Heavy Craving from Taiwan, Lucky Chansil and Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 from South Korea, My Prince Edward from Hong Kong, and Victim(s) from Malaysia, among others.

“At a time when the work

The Girl and the Gun (Babae at Baril), written and directed by Rae Red, makes its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival. The film, which earned a Best Director award for Red at the QCinema International Film Festival stars Janine Gutierrez, Felix Roco, JC Santos, and Elijah Canlas.

John Denver Trending is a film that tells the story of a 14-year-old farm boy whose life is drastically changed because of a viral video.

of festivals might seem like a rearguard battle, I’m glad to take a leap into the unknown, and search east,

not only for the films, but for new ways of exhibiting those films,” said Samuel Jamier, executive director

and president of the New York Asian Film Festival & Foundation.

A generous share of the program is devoted to new filmmakers, including striking directorial debuts and sophomore efforts. Integral to NYAFF’s mission is showcasing the Asian cinema vanguard that emerges largely from new talent and fresh voices.

This edition reflects today’s particularly kinetic innovations, much informed by social media and the hyper information highway.

An impressive cross-section of work highlights new ideas in storytelling and tackles social mores and personal demons, including the aforementioned John Denver Trending, Korea’s Beauty Water and Taiwan’s Detention and IWeirDo. John Denver Trending is about a 14-year-old farm boy whose life is suddenly upended when a video of him brutally attacking a classmate went viral. The film marks the directorial debut of Arden Rod Condez, who previously worked as an ABS-CBN writer for 15 years.

“Millions of Filipinos, including me, live away from our families because of work.

For us to quell the longing, we use social media. This is why even if we have one of the slowest internet speed, we are still one of the largest number of social media users worldwide,” Condez said in his director’s statement at the Cinemalaya PAGE 15

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NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY ASIAN JOURNAL • AUGUST 21-27, 2020

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JM opens up on dealing with his panic disorder

By Niña

V. GuNo

Inquirer.net

Former actor Eric Fructuoso driving a tricycle in Naic, Cavite.

Photo from Instagram/@eric.fructuoso

Did Eric turn to driving tricycle to survive COVID-19 crisis?

By JaN

Milo SeVero

Philstar.com

“HINDI po totoong namamasada ako ng trike sa Naic, Cavite.”

This is what former actor Eric Fructuoso revealed following an Instagram post of him driving a tricycle which went viral Saturday.

Philstar.com reached out to Eric for comment on Saturday to verify his post but has not replied.

The “Gwapings” member, in another Facebook post, told netizens they should never underestimate tricycle drivers.

“Huwag niyo po ismallin ang mga tricycle drivers.

May kumpare akong trike

driver sa BF Homes at nung nag garage sale ako dati e yung mga kasamahan niyang trike drivers na tropa ang bumile ng mga Ralph Lauren at Ferragamo ko,” Eric said.

“Kaya nga ‘barya lang sa umaga’ dahil buo buo pera nila,” he added.

In the Instagram post which became trending Saturday, Eric said: “Times like these hindi pwedeng kaartehan ang paiiralin!”

“Basta ligal na pagkakakitaan para sa mga anak, tirahin lang ng tirahin!” the “Gwapings” member added.

Instagram users commended the actor for his post.

“Tama po kayo Sir. Basta

marangal na trabaho walang dapat ikahiya at saka aanhin ang kaaertehan kung walang laman ang tiyan,” an Instagram user commented.

“Sa panahon po ngayon, bawal na ang maaarte. Tama po yan. Good father po kayo,” commented by another user.

Eric is a known motorcycle enthusiast based on his photos on Instagram.

In another Instagram post, he said he would to travel the entire Phillipines using his motorcycle once the pandemic is over.

“Kapag safe na at pwede nang lumabas, iikutin ko ang buong Pilipinas,” he said.

He also has a YouTube channel documenting his motorcycle travels.

How Yayo keeps herself...

PAGE 13 feel afraid at all,” she pointed out.

She also got to work on an episode of “Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan” before ABS-CBN shut down in June.

She also did “My Extra Ordinary,” a boys’ love (BL) drama series that will air on TV5 later this month.

“It’s the first BL show to air on free TV, and the story is really good. I’m proud of it,” she beamed. “We shot the show in two locations: in Antipolo and Bulacan.”

Did she not feel scared that she would get exposed to the virus? “Of course I was paranoid the whole time, but we were assured of our safety.

In fact, we all got tested be-

fore we started taping,” she explained. “I feel that our success in fighting this virus all depends on how diligently we follow protocols. We really should be united in facing this.”

Yayo admitted to feeling anxious whenever she would return home from work. “Of course, I fear for my children’s safety. That’s why, while on the set, I don’t remove my mask unless I finally need to face the camera. When we’re shooting in an enclosed set, I step out of the venue when I’m not yet needed. I prefer to stay in open spaces where there’s better air circulation. I also take vitamins regularly,” she shared with Inquirer Enter-

tainment. “I keep telling myself, ‘I’m already being very careful, so if I still get sick, then I’m meant to get sick.’

I also don’t forget to pray for my safety.”

Yayo said that these days, her prayers are very detailed and are meant for specific people. “I’m a very prayerful person, but never in my life have I ever prayed for the whole country, President Duterte and the ruthless people in government. I actually prioritize them over my family,” she stressed. “I would sometimes light prayer candles for them because I feel that they deserve it. With what’s happening now, only the power of prayer can save us.”

JM De Guzman gave a candid look at how he manages his panic disorder, such as when it interrupts him in his sleep, in hopes that it may also help those in similar conditions.

The actor shared a video of him placing a towel on his head and face after it was soaked into a basin of ice, via Instagram on Monday, August 17.

“This is what my panic disorder looks like [4 a.m. in the] middle of a good sleep,” he said.

“I managed to record this because somehow [I’m] learning to cope with it and just hoping others might relate and to let you know [you’re] not alone.”

He described the experience as “intense waves of emotions. [R]apid heart beat [that’ll] make you feel you are about to pass out or die.”

“I use ice to slow down the [heartbeat] and to feel my face because my body is numb, [overpowered] by emotions,” he explained. “[This] maybe caused by a painful trauma in the past.” “[If] you have this too, put ice on your face, head hand and body. Just pray,”

JM De Guzman

he advised.

He also said that those who suffer panic attacks should take deep breaths, and remind themselves that it will pass in 30 or 40 minutes. “[Keep] telling that to yourself so [that’s] the only thing running inside your mind,” he recommended.

The “That Thing Called Tadhana” star advised to “make the people around you understand [your] condition [and] tell them to stop asking questions and just be there.”

De Guzman has been up-

Photo from Instagram_@1migueldguzman

front about having anxiety attacks. Back in November 2015, he said in a now-deleted Instagram post that he struggled with “anxiety attacks and bipolar [disorder] and depression.”

Shooting while in quarantine proved a challenge in more ways than one for the actor.

He admitted in a media conference for the film “Love Lockdown” last May via Inquirer Bandera that he experienced anxiety attacks which could have challenged the directors he was working with.

Babae at Baril and Jon Denver...

PAGE 14 Film Festival last year. “But in recent years, we begin to witness the danger of social media particularly to the vulnerable Filipino millennials.”

Condez said various real life stories he has heard and read - a neighbor’s son fled after a video of him bullying another kid surfaced online; a boy in a town committed suicide when he was accused of stealing a gadget and girl in another city killed herself live on Facebook made him think hard about the inherent and dangerous power of social media.

“These troubling tales of Filipino millennials make me question, how does someone come of age in the time of social media?” he asked.

John Denver Trending explores this pressing question and as a backdrop, features

the local color of his hometown, Pandan, Antique. The film was shot with almost all non-professional actors, speaking their very own language of Kinaray-a.

The film has received critical acclaim and won Best Film and Best Actor (for newcomer Jansen Magpusao) at the 2019 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the 2019 Busan International Film Festival.

In regional terms, South Korea is front and center in this year’s selection. Faithful to tradition, the Festival presents a balance of arthouse and genre titles with an emphasis on outstanding storytelling and accessibility: Secret Zoo, Hitman Agent Jun, Moving On. As the boundaries between what is strictly film and TV blur, NYAFF has found, in its tireless search

for exciting, new content, an extraordinary example of the convergence of both formats in SF8, a series of eight stand-alone 52-minute science fiction films that will make their International Premiere at this first virtual edition.

NYAFF has partnered with Smart Cinema USA to showcase the best films from all over Asia even during this global pandemic. Smart Cinema, a technology and data driven platform, is the virtual cinema destination for movies in Asia as they have created a unique, cutting-edge, virtual “Almighty Cinema” ecosystem to accommodate all the various demands from international festivals, distributors as well as traditional exhibitors.

(The 19th New York Asian Film Festival will run from August 28 to September 12, 2020.)

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