DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA by GABRIEL PABICO LALU Inquirer.net by MARLON RAMOS Inquirer.net NORTHERN CALIFORNIA T HE F ILIPINO A MERICAN C OMMUNITY N EWSPAPERVolume 21 - No. 36 • 14 Pages SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 1799 Old Bayshore Hwy, Suite 136, Burlingame, CA 94010 • Tel: (650) 689-5160 • Fax: (650) 239-9253 • www.asianjournal.com Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, SAN DIEGO, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY PAGE 3 by RONNEL W. DOMINGO Inquirer.net PAGE 3 PAGE 2 SPECIAL VISIT. Filipinos in Singapore – just like in Indonesia – have experienced what it was like when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was still campaigning to win votes for his presidential bid during the May polls. In his first state visit here, Marcos told Filipinos that he wants to make them feel what it was like during their presidential campaign – and so he made sure that his meeting with the Filipino community in this rich city state won’t be anything but festive with several performers providing entertainment. PNA photo PAGE 2 PAGE 4 Peso weakens again, dropping to 57:$1 Maskless like SG? Department of Tourism mulls dropping masks outdoors to attract more tourists Cops won’t be criminally charged in police custody death of Fil-Am Pres. Bongbong Marcos trip reaps $8.5-B investment, supply pledges PAGE 4 CDC omicronboostersupdatedrecommendsCOVIDtargetingvariant
RIVAL networks ABS-CBN and TV5 mutually agreed to terminate the sale and purchase agreement dated August 10, 2022.” The agreement involved the acquisition by Cignal Cable of a 38.88-percent equity interest in Sky Cable and the subscription by Cignal Cable to an “exchangeable debt instrument to be issued by Sky Vision and the proposed acquisition by Cignal Cable of a convertible note issued by Sky Cable.”ABS-CBN said that the termination was formalized through a memorandum of agreement.Inaseparate disclosure, the ManilaTimes.net photo
PAGE 2
drop merger deal by ARIC
to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, the Department of Tourism (DOT) gave a presentation showing that tourist volume increased in countries with less restrictive mask policies, adding that the matter is seriously being taken into consideration by the government. Nag-presenta ang DOT na in certain states na nagluwag na tungkol sa face mask, tumataas ang tourism nila,” Angeles told reporters who are covering President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit in Singapore, after being asked whether the Philippines has any plans to copy the maskless policy.“Gawa nga ng ‘front and center’ ang ating turismo sa pagbangon ng ekonomiya, this matter is being THE Philippine peso weakened to yet another new record level for the thirdstraight trading day at 57:$1. The local currency closed on Tuesday, September 6 spot trading at the weakest end of the intraday range after opening at 56.888:$1.“Thepeso exchange rate was relatively steady after a slightly lower-than-expected inflation rate [was reported] at 6.3 percent in August [from] 6.4 percent in the previous month, as well as the latest rollback in local fuel pump prices,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael RicafortRicafortsaid.said that, on the other hand, news of a decision by major crude oil producers —the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia— agreed to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day starting October adds to the risk that the peso will depreciate further. A big chunk of the Philippines’ import bill consists of payments for petroleum products.Ricafort said that since 50.999:$1 at THE four officers involved in the death of a Filipino American U.S. Navy veteran in Antioch, California while he was in police custody will not face criminal charges, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office announced.Thefamily of Angelo Quinto expressed disappointment and outrage at the DA’s conclusion that the police officers’ method of restraining Quinto was “objectively reasonable” and not excessive force, according to CBS News. On December 23, 2020, Quinto’s sister called 911, saying Quinto was having a mental episode and threatening their mother. Family members said he did not resist the police officers when they arrived, disputing the officers’ claim that he was uncooperative.
MANILA — The head of the Philippines’ Department of National Defense (DND) and his American counterpart reaffirmed commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty of the two long-time allies. The commitment was made after Defense Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III talked over the phone on Thursday, September 1. The call marked the first bilateral engagement between the two defense officials since Faustino assumed his post on June 30. “Undersecretary Faustino highlighted that the treaty is the basis of the Philippines-U.S. alliance and joint defense capability programs,” the DND said in a statement released on Friday, September 2. “Secretary Austin reiterated that the U.S. commitment to the alliance remains ironclad,” the ABS-CBN, TV5 JOHN SY CUA O. CALALO ManilaTimes.net
AND ARLIE
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, September 6 concluded his inaugural state visit here, bringing with him $8.48 billion worth of investment pledges and coal and fertilizer supply commitments from Indonesian businessmen as well as an assurance of enhanced economic and security cooperation from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, particularly in improving the country’s agriculture sector. “I would describe the trip as more productive than we had expected,” a beaming Marcos told journalists who covered his three-day foreign travel. “So far, so good,” he added. “The things that we planned to talk about with (Widodo) … and the subjects that we expected to be raised (were discussed). We even went beyond the planned (agenda).”
Philippines, US Defense o cials vow commitment to Mutual Defense Treaty by JOHN ERIC MENDOZA Inquirer.net
have called off the investment deal they signed earlier following an initiative in the House of Representatives to have the agreement Cable’)CignalCBNCorporationCommissionandtheCBNThursday,terminatedSkyCompetinginvestigated.cablecompaniesCableandCignalhavealsotheirdeal.InastatementitreleasedonSeptember1,ABS-said:“IndisclosurestobothPhilippineStockExchangetheSecuritiesExchangetoday,SkyVision(‘SkyVision’),ABS-Corporation,LopezInc.andCableCorporation(‘Cignalannouncedthattheyhave
ABS-CBN
ORCHARD ROAD, Singapore — For Filipinos new in Singapore, seeing people on streets not wearing face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic might take some getting used to, even though this health protocol is no longer required here. Such optional mask policy when outdoors may soon be enforced in the Philippines if the country’s tourism authorities will decide to adopt such measures to attract moreAccordingvisitors.
Quinto’s mother, Cassandra Quinto-Collins, THE U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on Thursday, Sept. 1 that eligible Americans receive an updated coronavirus booster shot that would help fight the omicron variant. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations to use updated COVID-19 boosters from PfizerBioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years andTheolder.updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible andTheimmune-evading.FoodandDrug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of updated COVID-19 boosters, and CDC’s recommendation for use, are critical next steps forward in our country’s
Pres. Bongbong Marcos trip reaps...
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-51602 PAGE 1 PAGE 1 From the Front Page PAGE 1
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos meet with officials of Temasek Foundation in Singapore on Tuesday, September 6 shortly upon arrival in the citystate following a two-day visit in Indonesia. Malacañang photo the end of 2021, the peso has already depreciated against the U.S. dollar by a total of almost 12 percent.According to ING Bank, most central banks around the world are now firmly fixated on addressing the biggest inflation two networks said they have “mutually agreed to terminate” their agreement covering the proposed acquisition by ABS-CBN of 34.99-percent equity interest in TV5 and the subscription by ABSCBN to a “convertible note” to be issued by TV5. TV5 has been broadcasting some ABS-CBN shows after the franchise of the former media flagship of the Lopezes was not renewed in 2020. The two networks then revealed they were working out some kind of a Sagipmerger.Rep.
Rodante Marcoleta, Peso weakens again, dropping to... ABS-CBN, TV5 drop merger... threat since the 1980s, and are now very much focused on slowing demand with restrictive monetary policy. “This theme is very much playing out in global [foreign exchange] markets,” ING Bank said in a commentary. “Left in the ascendancy remains the dollar—buoyed also by a hawkish [United States Federal Reserve which is] very happy to take the policy rate close to 4 percent and also U.S. energy independence. The Dutch bank said the dollar is the pre-eminent safe currency right now as it is at its strongest in over 20 years. g who was at the forefront of the campaign to deny ABS-CBN a new franchise, promptly declared he will have the House investigate theAnotherdeal. critic of the merger, lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon, said on Thursday TV5 might have eventually realized that the agreement could jeopardize the company’s future. “What cannot be done directly, cannot be done indirectly,” Gadon told The Manila Times “The TV5-ABS-CBN deal on the sale of 35 percent stockholdings may cause the revocation of the franchise of TV5 or may cause the denial of its application for a renewal once its franchise expires,” he said. Gadon ran for senator last May under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the party of the father of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., former president Ferdinand E. Marcos. He said that because the ABSCBN is tainted with foreign funds, “the whole equity of TV5 will also become tainted with foreign funds.”Such a merger will also violate the constitutional requirement that a mass media organization must be fully Filipino owned, he said. g
“President Widodo’s ministers were very enthusiastic about the (business) prospects in the Philippines and they see many opportunities. So we will pursue that,” he Marcosnoted.said he and his delegation, which included members of his economic team, had two separate meetings with Indonesian business groups on Monday.According to the president, the “most extensive subject matter” of the meetings centered on public-private partnership (PPP) projects, a policy that the late President Benigno Aquino III employed to entice investors to bankroll major infrastructure projects.Ina summary of the memorandums of agreement and letters of intent signed at the Jakarta Business Roundtable Meeting on Sept. 5, $7 billion was pledged in infrastructure for unsolicited PPPs such as a C-5 four-level elevated expressway. Agri support Another $822 million in investments were committed in textiles, garments, renewable energy, satellite gateway, wire global technology, and agrifood, as well as $662 million worth of coal and fertilizer supplies. “We anticipate that these will generate at least 7,000 new jobs,” according to Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles. The president, who was accompanied by first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their son Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, said he was optimistic that Filipinos would benefit from the agreements that his delegation secured during his trip. Marcos, also the concurrent agriculture secretary, said he sought his Indonesian counterpart’s assistance in providing urea fertilizers for Filipino farmers and in addressing the problems besetting the fishing industry in theFertilizerPhilippines.prices in the Philippines have more than doubled since last year due to a global tight supply, causing a decline in farmers’ production. The President noted that he was “obsessed” with the fact that the Philippines, an archipelago with one of the world’s longest coastlines, had to import galunggong (round scad), once known as the “poor man’s fish” for being inexpensive. “I asked for help because they have a strong fisheries [industry]. So I said we can exchange delegations,” the chief executive said.Among the Philippines’ economic sectors, agriculture has been the most beset by problems, ranging from shortages in rice, sugar, vegetables, and even salt, to declining livestock output — all of which had to be addressed byAccordingimportation.to the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc., for instance, the country imports a million tons or 93 percent of its salt needs from Australia and China, yet it has 36,000 kilometers of shoreline and needs only 6 percent of this to be self-sufficient. Opportunities “There were other areas that we did not plan to talk about, but we ended up talking about,” noted the President. The chief executive’s bilateral meeting with Widodo, held at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Monday, September 5, “proceeded so quickly” that they were able to agree on establishing task forces to reach agreements “at the technical level.” “Generally, you don’t get to [that level] in a state visit,” he said. “Usually, you only talk at the ministerial level or discuss within the groups. But [Widodo] said, ‘Let’s skip that. Let’s go straight already. Let’s get somethingHowever,done.’”thepresident did not mention the case of Mary Jane Veloso, the convicted Filipino drug mule on death row in Indonesia since 2010. Last week, hopes of finally helping Veloso were raised by the statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Filipino’s case would be part of the state visit’s agenda.Thepresident, who flew to Singapore before noon for the second leg of his foreign trip, said he also brought to Widodo’s attention the country’s need for coal, the major source of power in the Philippines. He also said that they spoke about the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), an international trade agreement involving the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Both the Philippines and Indonesia have yet to ratify the free-trade deal, which some critics claimed would adversely impact the agriculture sector in Asean.“The Philippines’ ratification of RCEP … is going to be very high up on the order of business of the Senate after the (2023 national) budget is passed,” Marcos pointed out. g
Cops won’t be criminally charged...
Pan has also faced criticism that he’s too closely aligned with the health care industry, including the California Medical Association, or CMA, a deeppocketed group that lobbies in Sacramento on behalf of doctors. On contentious policy fights, such as those dealing with provider pay or physician authority, Pan has often sided with his fellow doctors. For instance, he rallied with the doctor association against a long-sought attempt to give nurse practitioners the ability to practice without physician supervision — a bill that was one u PAGE 4
PNA photo by Rico H. Borja
PAGE 1 PAGE 1
Filipino American U.S. Navy veteran Angelo Quinto Photo screengrabbed from CBS News SHOPPING FOR CHRISTMAS DECORS. Shoppers troop to Dapitan Arcade in Quezon City to buy various Christmas decorations on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The Philippines is one of the countries that have the longest Christmas celebration in the world, starting as early as September until the first week of January.
SACRAMENTO — A California lawmaker who rose to national prominence by muscling through some of the country’s strongest vaccination laws is leaving the state legislature later this year after a momentous tenure that made him a top target of the boisterous and burgeoning movement against vaccination mandates.StateSen. Richard Pan, a bespectacled and unassuming pediatrician who continued treating low-income children during his 12 years in the state Senate and Assembly, has been physically assaulted and verbally attacked for working to tighten childhood vaccine requirements — even as Time magazine hailed him as a “hero.” Threats against him intensified in 2019, becoming so violent that he needed a restraining order and personal security detail. “It got really vicious, and the tenor of these protests inside the Capitol building didn’t make you feel safe, yet he stood his ground,” said Karen Smith, director of the California Department of Public Health from 2015 to 2019. “Dr. Pan is unusual because he has the knowledge and belief in science, but also the conviction to act on it.”
Shipilov of covering up the facts as they were not wearing body cameras.TheQuintos have filed a federal wrongful death civil lawsuit against the police department. They will ask State Attorney General Rob Bonta to re-examine the criminal case. (Inquirer.net)
“That takes courage,” she added. “He’s had a tremendous impact in California, and there’s going to be a hole in the legislature when he’s gone.” The Democrat from Sacramento is leaving the Capitol because of legislative term limits that restrict state lawmakers to 12 years of service. He has overseen state budget decisions on health care and since 2018 has chaired the Senate Health Committee, a powerful position that has allowed him to shape health care coverage for millions of Pan,Californians.56,helped lead the charge to restore vision, dental, and other benefits to California’s Medicaid program, called MediCal, after they were slashed during the Great Recession. Since then, he has pushed to expand social services to some of the most vulnerable enrollees. He was instrumental in implementing the Affordable Care Act in California, and when Republicans attacked the law after Donald Trump was elected president, Pan spearheaded measures to cement its provisions in state law. After the Republican-controlled Congress axed the federal coverage mandate in 2017, he led the effort to create the state penalty for not having health insurance. And he negotiated with the governor to expand health insurance subsidies for low- and middle-income Californians. In 2020, Pan authored legislation that will put California in the generic drug-making business, starting with insulin. “What drives me is my commitment to health and healthy communities,” Pan told KHN.But he hasn’t always succeeded. Some of his bills — including those to expand benefits and improve the quality of care for Medi-Cal enrollees — were stalled by the influential health insurance industry or opposition from his own party. And this year, Pan retreated on his contentious proposal to require schoolchildren to get vaccinated against covid-19.
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 3Dateline USa
said the officers should have let Angelo sit down after they handcuffed him, instead of laying him face down and kneeling on his shoulder and neck, preventing him from breathing. She accused the four officers Arturo Becerra, James Perkinson, Daniel Hopwood and Nicholas vaccination program—a program that has helped provide increased protection against COVID-19 disease and death. “The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” Walensky said in a statement. She added, "If you are eligible, there is no bad time to get your COVID-19 booster and I strongly encourage you to receive it.” On Aug. 31, the FDA signed off on the updated boosters, saying by AngelA HArt Kaiser Health News ‘He stood his ground’: California state senator will leave office as champion of tough vaccine laws
CDC recommends updated COVID boosters...
that the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the omicron variant are currently causes most causes of COVID-19 in the U.S. and are predicted to circulate in the fall and winter. “The COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, continue to save countless lives and prevent the most serious outcomes (hospitalization and death) of COVID-19,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf. “As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulatingIndividualsvariants.”18years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals 12 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent if it has been at least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. g
WHAT is happening today in America “is not normal.” That was the gist of President Biden’s prime-time on Thursday, September 1 delivered in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both drafted. Voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, money in politics, the Electoral College, the looming threat of authoritarianism: across the board the cracks in our beleaguered democratic system are numerous and gaping. For Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program, it’s the combined “normalization” of illiberal, even violent political tactics with an increasingly frail legal framework — a framework that is ostensibly meant to undergird our democratic system — that is cause for alarm. “I think if you ask Americans broadly, they say they still favor democracy,” Weiner told EMS. “But one of the challenges is the erosion of norms. Most Americans don’t understand the extent to which democratic stability depends on unwritten rules.”Asan example, Weiner points to the process of presidential succession, the transfer of power from one president — or one political party — to another. For over two hundred years that process has played out in the United States, the world’s oldest democracy (though not nearly the world’s healthiest). That is, until“There2020.is no law that says the incumbent should cooperate with successors,” Weiner explained. “It has just been a norm and voters in both parties expected presidents to do this. As this norm erodes, it is evident that the law doesn’t speak to these things.”Abipartisan bill now making its way through Congress is looking to close some of the loopholes that former President Trump sought to exploit in his bid to hold on to power after losing in 2020. The bill would amend portions of the Electoral Count Act, making it harder for states to arbitrarily throw out appointed electors and raising the threshold for members of Congress to challenge election results. The bill already has nine Republicans on board, nearly enough to make it filibuster proof assuming all 50 Democrats are behind it as it wends its way through Congress. But Weiner says while such efforts are welcome, they are “not remotely enough” considering the depth and gravity of the challenge.“Thereemergence of the idea of disenfranchising people as a legitimate political tactic… which had been discredited in the wake of Civil Rights Movement is chilling,” he said. “And it is coupled with increasingly ferocious attacks on ordinary civil servants who administer elections. Those two tactics –disenfranchisement and going after the folks who run our elections – are deeply troubling.” And it is communities of color who bear the brunt of the impact, says“WhenWeiner.you look at efforts to disenfranchise people, more often than not it is communities of color who are the targets. That to me is a crucial part of the story and one we can never ignore. Efforts to make it harder to vote never fall equally on all Americans.”Inhisspeech, which came just nine weeks out from the upcoming primary elections in November, Biden took aim at what he has increasingly termed the “MAGA Republicans,” supporters of the former president who Biden says, “do not respect the Constitution.”
“The vaccine is very effective protecting against death, but its ability to slow down transmission seemed to decrease,” Pan said. “Unfortunately, it has also been so politicized, so we have more work to do.” As chair of California’s Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Pan in 2021 helped secure a $157 million investment to combat violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans and was a powerful force advocating for more money for the state’s beleaguered public health system — a fight Democrats finally won last year when Newsom approved $300 million in ongoing funding. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said that Pan inspired his interest in introducing tough vaccination and public health bills and that he regularly asks Pan’s advice before unveiling legislative proposals. “I’d randomly call him all the time,” Wiener said. “There’s really no one in the Senate with the experience and knowledge he has.”Brainy and studious, Pan regularly delves deep into scientific evidence during legislative floor debates. Interviews with reporters often result in lengthy discourses about the history of the U.S. health care system — like the time a question about hospital financing led to a lesson in how hospitals are both profit-earning enterprises and institutions that provide charity care.
“Too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal. Trump and MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the foundation of our country,” Biden warned. “They are working right now in state after state to give power to partisan cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.” A Quinnipiac poll released the day before Biden’s address found a majority of Americans agree with the president that American democracy is on the ropes, though they are divided as to the reasons. While Republicans buy into the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, Democrats cite the “Big Lie” as the key corrosive to our democratic institutions. But for Weiner, the fact that Americans are prioritizing the threat to democracy offers a ray of light in an otherwise dark time. “Americans are focused on this issue to an unprecedented degree compared to a decade ago,” he noted. “This is an incredibly salient issue for many voters… and the idea that popular support for democracy is falling away, I am not sure that is true. I see evidence that it is more important to people than ever.”
Some people in Singapore no longer wear facemasks against the spread of the COVID-19 as they walk through a shopping district on Orchard Road. Inquirer.net
“I didn’t run for the legislature because I was planning to do vaccine legislation, but I care about children and that’s what I’ve devoted my life to,” said Pan, who got his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. “We had a whooping cough outbreak, and 10 infants died. And I was very concerned about the fact that we could prevent these diseases, yet we were failing.”This year, Pan introduced legislation to require covid vaccinations for school-age kids but pulled it in April, saying it would be difficult for California officials to enforce. At the time, the covid vaccination rate for schoolchildren “was too low — around 30%,” Pan said. He concluded the state should redouble its efforts to increase vaccination rates before instituting a mandate. Pan also noted that covid-19 was mutating fast and that emerging research indicated that the vaccines weren’t very good at combating new variants.
Philippines, US Defense officials vow commitment...
The state must do more to ensure high-quality care and equitable access for the 14.5 million Californians enrolled in the lowincome health program, he said.
‘He stood his ground’: California state senator...
Singapore has relaxed most of its outdoor and indoor mask requirements as the country sees its COVID-19 cases stabilize further. Currently, masks are only required in public transportation and high-risk settings like healthcareAccordingfacilities.todata from the city-state’s Ministry of Health as of Tuesday, September 6, only 241 individuals are currently hospitalized, with only 13 needing oxygen supplementation. In the last seven days, they have recorded 1,714 new cases. For the past 30 days, 73,843 have been infected with COVID-19, with 99.7 percent having mild or no symptoms at all. There have been calls for similar policies to be instituted already in the Philippines. Last Sunday, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia backed Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s position that wearing face masks should be ‘nonobligatory,’ citing the same policy that Singapore has enforced.However, several health experts feel that it is not yet the proper time to enforce such policy in the Philippines, saying that it is very dangerous as it could lead to more cases given that not many have taken booster shots after their primary COVID-19 vaccines. Singapore’s Ministry of Health says 96 percent of the eligible population have been vaccinated against COVID-19, while 79 percent of their total population have already received booster shots.In contrast, only about 72.3 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with more than 17.3 million receiving their first boost dose and more than 1.9 million having their second booster dose. g
(Peter Schurmann/Ethnic Media Services)
PAGE 3 of the association’s top legislative targets but one that ultimately passed despite its vehement opposition. And two key bills that sought to rein in health care costs died in his committee after clearing the state Assembly — one in 2019 to limit surprise medical bills for emergency room visits and another this year to give the state attorney general authority over some hospital and health system mergers. “He’s inseparable from the doctors’ lobby, and obviously he carries water for the CMA,” said Jamie Court, president of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, arguing that Pan has stood in the way of progressive health care bills such as a proposal to create a governmentrun, single-payer health care system.Panrejected claims that he’s too close to the industry. “I’m proud to be a member of the CMA, but I don’t just blindly follow CMA,” he said. When it came to the nurse practitioner legislation, he said, his concerns “came from my knowledge about professional medical education and how that influences patient outcomes.”Panisn’t running for anything this year but isn’t ruling out the possibility of doing so in the future. For now, he said, he’s focusing on his work in Sacramento until his term ends Nov. 30. After that, he plans to practice medicine full time. Pan said the public hasn’t heard the last of him when it comes to improving Medi-Cal.
Maskless like SG? Department of Tourism...
Biden attacks new normal in speech on democracy
taken seriously,” she added. But Angeles also clarified that the Department of Health (DOH), being the country’s top health authority, will have a say in the decision on whether or not to drop the mask rule. She added that both DOH and DOT must arrive at a consensus before changes in the policy are made. “The DOH will still have a major say in it. So kailangan magkatugma ang DOH at ang ating DOT and other agencies bago tayo mag revise ng ating mask policy,” she noted.
agency also said. The MDT, signed on August 30, 1951, states that both countries would support each other if an external party attacked the Philippines or the United States. Both officials also discussed the importance of deepening cooperation under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
“Secretary Austin expressed appreciation for Undersecretary Faustino’s support in advancing the bilateral defense cooperation between the Philippines and the U.S., particularly in spearheading the return of regular military exercises and laying the groundwork for responsive maritime security cooperation between the Philippines and the U.S.,” the agency further said.Itcan be recalled that some 8,900 Philippine and American military members had joined forces for the Balikatan war games from March 28 to April 8, Some2022. 300 personnel from the Coast Guard of the Philippines and the U.S. will also conduct a joint search and rescue operation on September 3, Saturday. g making it more difficult for parents to obtain personal belief exemptions for vaccines that are required for children entering public and private schools and that prevent communicable diseases such as measles and polio. In 2015, he succeeded in banning personal belief exemptions for schoolchildren altogether.In2019, when lawmakers were voting on Pan’s bill that cracked down on bogus medical exemptions for required school immunizations, a protester hurled menstrual blood at them on the Senate floor. Pan also clashed with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who watered down the bill by demanding amendments that allowed doctors to retain significant authority over the exemptions. Newsom ultimately signed the measure.
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-51604 Dateline USa PAGE 1
Official White House Photo by Carlos Fyfe
file photo PAGE 1
“How serious you are about every undertaking — it really can be a joy and an irritation,” said Senate leader Toni Atkins, who affectionately thanked Pan for his work on the floor of the Senate in mid-August. “You took a lot of flak from folks in a lot of ways, and through it all, your integrity, your sense of humor, and your very good nature has withstood it all.” This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.KHN(Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
Pan said he entered politics to improve community health. He left his job as a faculty member and head of the pediatric residency program at the University of California-Davis to run for state Assembly in 2010. He served two terms before being elected to the state Senate in Early2014. on, he found himself at the forefront of California’s wars over vaccination mandates. In 2012, he authored a law
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 5
Under no circumstances shall Asian Publications, Inc. be liable for consequential damages of any kind.
ROGER LAGMAY ORIEL Publisher & Chairman of the Board
photo PAGE 8
CORA MACABAGDAL-ORIEL President MOMAR G. VISAYA Executive Editor
Why TV5 threw out ABS-CBN
PGH needs a budget increase, not further cuts
FOR the third year in a row, the government has proposed a budget cut for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the nation's second largest public hospital, in spite of the persistent COVID-19 pandemic and other public health threats. This is frankly unconscionable, and we join those in Congress and the dedicated but hard-pressed workers of PGH itself who are calling for a budget increase, rather than more cuts. The budget for PGH in the 2023 national budget proposal delivered to Congress by Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is P5.9 billion (not P5.4 billion as initially reported), which is a reduction of P400 million from this year's P6.3 billion. This year's budget in turn was a P600million reduction from the P6.9 billion allotted to PGH in 2020. We find it terribly ironic that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would propose another budget reduction for PGH while at the same time, arguing to Congress that the 2023 budget proposal is in line with the Marcos administration's "8-point economic agenda." One of those points, according to the DBM's own statement to Congress, "prioritizes protection of individuals, households and communities from the persisting effects of the pandemic, as well as future unprecedented catastrophes through the strengthening of social services and health care, as well as the safe resumption of face-to-face education."InDBM's defense, however, it should not bear all the blame for a lack of awareness and compassion for the needs of PGH to deliver badly needed health care services to poor Filipinos in Metro Manila and beyond. A substantial part of the disconnection from reality can be attributed to the administration of PGH itself. In a recent statement in response to a call from the All UP Workers Union-Manila/ PGH to double the hospital's budget to P10 billion, PGH spokesman Dr. Jonas del Rosario informed the media that PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi also agreed that the proposed allocation is "more than enough" to fund the hospital's programs. Del Rosario pointed out that PGH had actually asked for P6.1 billion in the 2023 budget, but "we were hesitant to ask for more" because "we have not really spent some of the budget that was given to us last year." We have to ask, given the chronic understaffing and under-equipping of PGH to serve all the patients who need it, what exactly is its administration doing with the funds it is given? As our columnist Marlen Ronquillo recently pointed out, citing information shared by PGH staffers, the hospital cannot afford to hire more nurses, or regularize its roughly 300 contractual workers — something that is required by law. Training more doctors, a key part of PGH's mandate, is at present completely out of the question due to its financial constraints. And while the staff of PGH does heroic work day in and day out to provide medical services despite the lack of resources, obviously the number of people they can help and the quality of care for those who they can serve have been severely degraded.
Asian Journal Publications, Inc. (“AJPI”) reserves the right to refuse to publish, in its sole and absolute discretion, any advertising and advertorial material submitted for publication by client. (“Client’s Material”) Submission of an advertisement or advertorial to an AJPI sales representative does not constitute a commitment by AJPI to publish a Client’s Material.
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-51606
Publication of a Client’s Material does not constitute an agreement to continue publication. Client agrees and covenants to indemnify AJPI and its officers against any and all loss, liability, damage, expenses, cost, charges, claims, actions, causes of action, recoveries, judgments, penalties, including outside attorneys’ fees (individually and collectively “Claims”) which AJPI may suffer by reason of (1) Client’s breach of any of the representations, warranties and agreements herein or (2) any Claims by any third party relating in any way to Client’s Material. AJPI will not be liable for failure to publish any Client’s Material as requested or for more than one incorrect insertion of a Client’s Material. In the event of an error, or omission in printing or publication of a Client’s Material, AJPI shall be limited to an adjustment for the space occupied by the error, with maximum liability being cancellation of the cost of the first incorrect advertisement or republication of the correct advertisement.
Contributions and advertising deadlines are every Mondays and Thursdays. For advertising rates and other informations, please ll the L.A. office at (213) 250-9797 or the Las Vegas Sales Office at (702) 792-6678 or send us an email at info@asianjournalinc.com
OFEATURES PINION
As I said during the hearing, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too, when it comes to relationships. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Sometimes, we have to make a choice – one that is best for our nation, which is paramount. For me, that is the most important thing on my mind, and which is what I do here in Washington, D.C. Shortly after my confirmation hearing at the CA, I had a meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink. What he shared on Twitter summed up the attitude that the U.S. has towards the Philippines today –that our meeting reminded him of “just how fortunate the United States is to have friends, allies and partners like the Philippines.” (Philstar.com)
RIGOBERTO TIGLAO Commentary
Con rmation hearings are an important part of our democratic system
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. Main Office: 1210 S. Brand Blvd Glendale, CA 91204 Tels: (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797 Fax: (818) 502-0858 e-mail: info@asianjournalinc.com http://www.asianjournal.com
JOSEPH PERALTA Vice President & General Manager Northern California Asian Journal
EyeBabe’sView BABE ROMUALDEZ
ONE of the critical aspects of a democracy like ours is the existence of checks and balances to ensure that none of the three branches of government – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial – would be able to abuse its jurisdiction or powers. A very important constitutional body that can perform such checks and balances is the Commission on Appointments, which has the power to approve or reject the appointees or nominees of the president for certain positions in government. Composed of 25 members coming from the Senate and the House of Representatives, the CA conducts confirmation hearings to help determine whether a nominee or appointee is suitable for the position or has the capability to undertake the responsibilities required of him or her. In past confirmation hearings, especially during President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, a couple of appointees for Cabinet secretary were rejected outright by the CA. The process is similar to what they have here in the United States where every appointee or nominee for Cabinet-level positions and even the Supreme Court is grilled by the U.S. Senate, which can confirm or reject such nominees or appointees. This is known as the “Appointments Clause” that serves as an example of the underlying principle of checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution. Last Wednesday, August 31, I went through the confirmation process conducted by the CA’s Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Senator Jinggoy Estrada. I thank Senate President Migz Zubiri, who is also the chairman of the CA, for his kind consideration and concern that it was early morning in Washington, D.C. during my confirmation hearing, which I attended virtually. For something as important as that – no problem at all. Apps like Zoom have become necessary for cases like mine where I am already in my host country, saving the government expenses for me having to travel to the Philippines and be physically present. I was very pleased that the questions asked by the members coming from the majority and the minority both from the Senate and the House of Representatives –all sides of the political fence, so to speak – were very precise and incisive.These confirmation hearings are actually good for those of us who have to go through the process because we will have an idea about the kind of issues that our legislators are concerned with based on the questions they ask. I shared that my marching orders from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is to increase economic activities between the Philippines and the U.S. The pandemic has really upended the global economy and he believes that the U.S. can play a major role in our efforts to economically recover from the impact of the pandemic by having more investments come ourCertainly,way. we need to know what are foremost in the minds of our legislators because we have to work with them in terms of how we can proceed with our relationship with major countries such as the UnitedQuestionsStates. regarding our relationship with China and the United States can become a contentious issue, with concerns that the tension between these two countries could escalate and result in an outbreak of hostilities. As I told the CA, I am convinced that the United States does not want to have that conflict, and neither does the Philippines and many other countries, including our ASEAN neighbors. We are working with our ASEAN colleagues here in Washington, D.C. to pressure, to a certain extent, these two major powers to ease up the tension and prevent a potentialClearly,conflict.ourrelationship with these two countries is very important, but at the end of the day, we must listen to the sentiments of the Filipino people. We have had a relationship with the United States for over 75 years, and more than 70 years with the Mutual Defense Treaty in place. Our people-topeople ties have been in existence for over a hundred years, and close to 90 percent of Filipinos consider the U.S. as the most trusted nation and still our number one ally. While we want to reach out to China, engage in economic activities and have a good relationship with them, it is evident that a big majority of Filipinos are angry with what our giant neighbor in Asia is doing, particularly in the West Philippine Sea. It is not surprising therefore that most Filipinos want to remain within the realm of our friendship with the United States. It is important for us to always look at everything based on what is best for our country. Our national interest comes first, and implicit in that is the need to feel the pulse of the people and listen to their sentiments, which President Marcos himself has emphasized on many occasions.
Rappler The Securities and Exchange Commission in fact ruled in the Rappler case that the ban on foreign ownership and control is absolute, that not a single peso nor the slightest control in a media firm can be made by a foreign entity. The SEC even emphasized that Presidential Decree 1018 had also declared that “the ownership and management of mass media be limited to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations wholly owned and managed by suchTV5citizens.andits sister media firms are 100 percent-owned by a firm called MediaQuest which was funded with P14.5 billion in 2012 by PLDT Inc.’s pension fund called Beneficial Trust Fund (BTF). The fund is controlled by a five-man board of trustees, three of which are PLDT executives, and all five appointed by its board of directors. Out of PLDT’s 13-man board, nine are designated by the foreign First Pacific Co. and NTT Docomo. Control by these two foreign firms is therefore transmitted first through the Beneficial Trust Fund to MediaQuest and then to the media firms, a clear violation of the Constitution if the corporate veil is pierced. For instance, Ray Espinosa, chairman of Philippine Star, is certainly Filipino. But he doesn’t represent himself since he has only token shares in Philstar, as required for him to be on the board. He is in Philippine Star’s board because he ultimately represents First Pacific, where he is an associate director. Salim First Pacific is tightly controlled by the Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim, who owns 45 percent of its shares, with the rest widely distributed in the Hong Kong stock market. Manuel V. Pangilinan is Salim’s prime executive, whose PR though has very successfully portrayed him as the First Pacific’s Philippine conglomerate’s main stockholder, with media even calling it the MVP Group. Pangilinan actually owns only 1.6 percent of the holding firm, and roughly the same tiny percentages in its companies. Pangilinan has a mere 0.13 percent shares of PLDT. BTF’s funds, however, were not enough to fund the huge requirements of Salim’s media enterprises, since its capital in MediaQuest had eaten up 80 percent of its MediaQuest’sassets. media investments in fact hasn’t been generating profits in the tight, competitive media market, so PLDT had to report huge actuarial losses on these: P6.8 billion, P11 billion and P5.1 billion for 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. As a result, the value of the pension plan’s assets — which determines its capability to meet pension payments — was drastically reduced to P6 billion, or onefourth of its P24 billion value in 2011. Salim could no longer raise funds from his employees’ BTF to fund his media empire.* MediaQuest’s rapid expansion as a media conglomerate was due to PLDT’s massive infusion of capital, disguised as Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs). That is, PLDT gave MediaQuest additional capital, a violation of the constitutional ban as PLDT is 36-percent owned by foreigners. These were disguised though as PDRs issued by MediaQuest. A PDR represents the holder’s right to the dividend income of a share in a company but without the formal ownership of it. Thus, a foreigner owning a PDR in a media firm isn’t — technically at least — violating the constitutional ban on foreign participation in a media firm. However, the SEC decision on the Rappler case declared: “The Commission’s definition of ‘control’ is neither limited to stock ownership nor to management in the board, but rather embraces a broad range of schemes that grant influence over corporate policy.” Indeed, except for its chairman (currently Ray Espinosa, a First Pacific executive), the BTF’s board members are obscure PLDT executives obviously put there to comply with the legal requirements for a pension fund. From 2012 to September 2013, PLDT subsidiary ePLDT invested P9.6 billion in MediaQuest’s PDRs, which was then used to fund Cignal TV, the direct-tohome satellite television service. The massive infusion of funds explains why Cignal TV has in just a few years become the largest in the industry. In March 2013 and then March 2014, ePLDT bought another P2.45 billion MediaQuest PDRs, in order to fund its subsidiary Hastings Holdings, the holding company for First Pacific’s newspaper investments in the ManilaTimes.net
With offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York/New Jersey, Las Vegas, San Diego. Philippines
ADVERTISING AND ADVERTORIAL POLICIES
Northern California: 1799 Old Bayshore Hwy, Suite 136 Burlingame, CA 94010 Tel.: (650) 689-5160 • Fax: (650) 239-9253
ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLITIONS, INC. publishes the Los Angeles Asian Journal, published twice a week; the Orange County and Inland Empire Asian Journal, Northern lifornia Asian Journal, Las Vegas Asian Journal and the New York / New Jersey Asian Journal which are published once a week and distributed to Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange Counties, Northern lifornia, Las Vegas and New York and New Jersey respectively. Articles published in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. Letters to the Editor are welcome. Letters must contain complete name and return address. The materials, however, are subject to editing and revisions.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez expressed displeasure with the PGH's reduced Editorial budget proposal in a hearing last week, which gives us hope that the responsible officials — either in the DBM, or in Congress, which exercises the power of the purse for the government — will come to their senses. "We should be increasing the budgetary allocations of state universities and colleges, which are the poor student's schools of choice, and government hospitals, which are the pauper's go-to health facilities, instead of reducing their funds," Rodriguez said, also referring to the reduced budget for PGH's mother institution, the University of the Philippines. The legislature has some power to correct the budget, but it would be better if the DBM follows Rodriguez's recommendation, and submits an erratum to that effect to Congress. After all, it would be in keeping with President Marcos' expressed ambition to expand and improve public health services in the country; if cuts need to be made to compensate, there are surely many far less critical areas of the budget where the money could be found. (ManilaTimes.net)
* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. * * * Email: babeseyeview@gmail.com BROADCAST giant TV5 abruptly terminated its talks for a partnership with the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN after its executives learned that the congressional committee scrutinizing the proposal would be zeroing in on exposing the multi-media conglomerate’s allegedly blatant violation of the constitutional ban on foreign investments in media. While previous administrations looked the other way when confronted with this colossal anomaly, officials of PLDT — which owns TV5 through its multi-media arm, MediaQuest Holdings — were reportedly wary that the congressional hearings would train a strong spotlight on it, drawing the attention of new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s whose stand on it cannot as yet be Indeed,determined.it’sademonstration of a foreign conglomerate’s vast control of a people’s consciousness and of government regulatory bodies that TV5 as well as its sister companies in media — BusinessWorld, Philippine Star and partly, the Philippine Daily Inquirer — have been operating even if these are owned through corporate layers by PLDT Inc. This telecom giant is owned 25.6 percent by the Indonesian-controlled First Pacific Co. (according to its 2021 annual report) and 10.6 percent by the Japanese NTT Docomo (according to the PLDT’s general information sheet submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month). First Pacific and NTT Docomo were recently able to legalize their investments in PLDT because of the passage of a law in March this year that in effect excludes telecoms from the list of industries in which the Constitution allows only 40 percent of capital to be owned by foreigners. This was done through the really preposterous maneuver of redefining telecoms not as “public utilities” — as the Constitution referred to restricted industries — but “publicHowever,services.”the constitutional requirement for 100 percent Filipino ownership of mass media remains, and only through the tedious process of amending or totally rewriting the Constitution can the ban be lifted.
AJPI has the option to correctly classify any Client’s Material and to delete objectionable words or phrases. Client represents and warrants that a Client’s Material does not and will not contain any language or material which is libelous, slanderous or defamatory or invades any rights of privacy or publicity; does not and will not violate or infringe upon, or give rise to any adverse claim with respect to any common law or other right whatsoever (including, without limitation, any copyright, trademark, service mark or contract right) of any person or entity, or violate any other applicable law; and is not the subject of any litigation or claim that might give rise to any litigation.
Nearly 50,000 Pinoy kids caught COVID-19; 1,342 died
MANILA — Of the nearly 50,000 Filipino children who contracted COVID-19, there were 1,342 fatalities, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) reported on Monday, September 5. According to CWC Policy, Planning and Research Division head Normina Mojica, 48,411 children aged 19 and below tested positive for COVID-19 as of February 2021. Of these pediatric cases, 1,342 died. She added that out of the 48,411 pediatric COVID cases, about 40.2 percent are aged 15-20 years old, 23.8 percent belonged to the 10-14 years old, 17.4 percent are from 5 to 9 years old and 18.5 percent are from 4 years old and below. The official also noted that 31.4 percent, or one in three minors who contracted COVID-19, was living below the poverty line. “Filipino children are vulnerable to issues such as mortality, health, education, violence and abuse, forced labor,” Mojica said during the organizational meeting of the House committee on the welfare of Shechildren.noted that “under a host of environmental issues bigger than they are, children are adversely affected by poverty in manyTheways.”official cited data from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, which were based on the records of the Department of Health (DOH). After this period, DOH records no longer contained pediatric cases of COVID-19 but its vaccination accomplishments.
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 7 Dateline PhiliPPines
Marcos thanks Pinoys in Singapore for support in polls
LUNGSOD NG REDWOOD ABISO NG MGA NOMINADO PARA SA PAMPUBLIKONG OPISINASA PAMAMAGITAN NITO AY INIAABISO na ang mga sumusunod na tao ay nominado para sa mga opisinang itinalaga na pupunan sa Pangkalahatang Halalang Pangmunisipyo na gaganapin sa Lungsod ng Redwood sa Martes, Nobyembre 8, 2022 Listahan ng mga Nominado sa pagkakasunud-sunod ng paglitaw sa balota alinsunod sa naka-random na pagbunot sa alpabeto ng Kalihim ng Estado (E.C. 13112). Para sa Miyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod sa Distrito 2 – 1 na mauupo para sa 4 na taong termino: Margaret Becker Chris ParaAlisonSturkenMaddensaMiyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod sa Distrito 5 – 1 na mauupo para sa 4 na taong termino: Kaia Eakin Para sa Miyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod sa Distrito 6 – 1 na mauupo para sa 4 na taong termino: Jerome Madigan Diane ABISOHowardNGMGA PANUKALA NA PAGBOBOTOHAN BILANG KARAGDAGAN AY INIAABISO PA na ang sumusunod na dalawang panukala ay pagbobotohan sa Pangkalahatang Halalang Pangmunisipyo na gaganapin sa Lungsod ng Redwood, sa Martes, Nobyembre 8, 2022.
PANUKALA Z Mga Pamamaraang Halalan ng Lungsod ng Redwood sa Pagamyenda sa Karta. Dapat ba na ang panukalang nagaamyenda sa Karta ng Lungsod ng Redwood upang ihanay ang petsa ng Pangkalahatang Halalang Pangmunisipyo sa Lungsod ng Redwood sa petsa ng Pangkalahatang Halalan ng Buong Estado, linawin ang petsa kung kailan dapat sertipikado ang mga halalan sa Lungsod ng Redwood at ang panunumpa ng mga Miyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod, at maglaan para ihalal ang mga Miyembro ng Konseho ng Lungsod kada distrito upang makasunod sa batas ng Estado, ay pagtibayin?
Karta ng Termino ng Alkalde sa Lungsod ng Redwood. Dapat ba na ang panukalang nag-aamyenda sa Karta ng Lungsod ng Redwood na paikliin ang termino ng Alkalde mula sa dalawang taon tungo sa isang taon upang mapahintulutan ang mas maraming Miyembro ng Konseho na maglingkod bilang Alkalde sa panahon ng kanilang panunungkulan sa Konseho ng Lunsod, ay pagtibayin?
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, September 6 thanked Filipinos in Singapore for their overwhelming support during the last May 9 national elections. Marcos won the vote of Filipino workers in Singapore with over 36,000 votes or three times more than his closest rival, former Vice President Leni Robredo. Speaking to about 1,500 Filipinos at the Ho Bee Auditorium of the National University of Singapore, Marcos said Filipinos in Singapore make the second highest voter turnout for overseas automated voting in the Asia Pacific and the third highest in the“Yungworld. performance ng eleksyon ang pinakamataas na nakita ng embassy na recorded (Your performance during elections is the highest recorded by the embassy) since overseas voting began in 2004. Muli, maraming salamat po (Again, thank you very much),” he said in his speech. He also joked about “campaigning” before Filipinos in Singapore now since he did not have the chance to do so during the campaign period. “Kahit na gusto namin kayong puntahan ay hindi pa kami pinapayagan. Pero ngayon, ito na ang ating pagkakataon. Kaya nga sabi ko dito sa halalan na ito, nabaliktad ang proseso. Nauna ang boto sa kampanya, nahuli yung kampanya. Pero since kampanya ito wag nyong kalimutan iboto ninyo Bongbong at Sara, ha (Even if we wanted to visit you, we were not allowed. But now is our chance. That’s why I said that this election process was inverted. Votes came first before the campaign, the campaign came after. But since this is my chance to campaign, don’t forget to vote for Bongbong and Sara),” he said. Ambassadors of the Philippines Meanwhile, Marcos praised Filipinos for making a good impression on Singaporeans due to their skills and hard work. “Kayo lahat ay ambassador ng Pilipinas at talaga sa pagka ambassador ninyo ng Pilipinas ay ginagawa ninyo at binibigyan ninyo ng dangal ang Pilipinas (You are all ambassadors of the Philippines and by being ambassadors of the Philippines you give the country honor),” he said.He promised to prioritize the welfare and protection of Filipinos in Singapore and their families through the grant of assistance, scholarships, and healthcare by its embassy there and concerned government agencies such as the Department of Migrant Workers. Marcos recognized how difficult it must have been for Filipinos to be away from their families, lauding them for keeping a positive attitude despite hardships.“Beingin another country far away from your loved ones is not easy pero matibay ang Pilipino (but Filipinos are strong). You can withstand hardships by wearing the most beautiful of smiles,” he said.As part of his promise to give Filipinos a better life, he also vowed to provide more opportunities in their home country.“Hanggang dumating ang araw na kumpleto na ang trabaho sa Pilipinas ay meron pa tayong pagkakataon na ipakita ang galing, husay, sipag at bait ng ating mga overseas workers (Until the time comes that we have enough jobs in the Philippines, we still have a chance to show the talent, skill, hard work and kindness of our overseas workers),” he added. There are an estimated 200,000 Filipinos living and working in Singapore.Ofthis figure, 58 percent of whom are registered as professionals and skilled workers, while 42 percent are employed as household service workers. In 2021, Singapore was the second largest source of overseas Filipino remittances worldwide amounting to USD2.20 billion. (PNA)
CONTRAST. It is a smooth and faster ride for cyclists on their exclusive lane while fellow commuters jostle for space in public utility vehicles along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on Tuesday, Sept. 6. As more people head to work and school, getting a ride is becoming more challenging, especially during rush hours.
Oo KlerkPamelaHindi_________________Aguilar,CMCngLungsod/Opisyal ng Eleksyon Inilathala noong: Setyembre 9, 2022
Oo Pag-amyendaPANUKALAHindi_________________Psa
ASIANCNS-3621934#9/9/22JOURNAL (NORTHERN CALIF.) by Sheila CriSoStomo Philstar.com
PNA photo by Ben Briones
Vax counseling To encourage more parents to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, the DOH on Monday said it would adopt “vaccination counseling” in schools.“We are always in close coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd), and included in our strategies is encouraging parents to have their kids vaccinated, as well as teachers who remain unvaccinated,” said DOH officerin-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire at a press conference. She said that these counseling sessions can be conducted one on one, or local officials can take part in convincing parents so their children can get vaccinated. As to the resumption of faceto-face classes, Vergeire said that they’ve observed that situation in schools is “so far, so good” and that health protocols are being followed. She added that there are very minimal cases of children getting sick since inperson classes started. Earlier, the DOH said vaccination of students against COVID-19 will not take place inside classrooms and can be held anywhere in the school’s premises, with mobile vaccination also an option. “Vaccination will continue. The DOH together with DepEd is just clarifying that classrooms will only be used by the students for their classes,” Vergeire said. g DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire Philstar.com file photo
TANGLED. A telecommunications worker checks the wires on a concrete post along Pedro Gil Street in Manila on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The so-called “spaghetti wires” are a mix of electrical and telecommunication wires that are abandoned, damaged, and in use.
Force has completed the monthlong Exercise Carabaroo held in Darwin, Australia. More than 150 troops from the Philippine Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, First Scout Ranger Regiment and Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) and their Australian counterparts trained alongside US Marine Corps at the Robertson Barracks and Mount Bundey Training Area in trilateral exercises that bolstered participating troops’ interoperability in a complex environment.Trinidad said Exercise Carabaroo is part of the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade’s Exercise Predator’s Run, a multinational training activity that simulates littoral combined arms maneuvers in a large-scale force-on-force environment.Itwasheld in parallel with Exercise Southern Tiger participated in by Australian and Malaysian troops and Exchange Program Kartikaburra participated in by Australian and Indonesian troops. g
EMPLOYMENT HOUSING
"In line with that, I would want to support the SIM Card Registration [bill]. This would greatly prevent scammers and pranksters from doing their modus operandi," Ejercito told reporters.
The bill raised concerns among cybersecurity and privacy experts earlier. Policy analyst Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos earlier told Philstar. com that the bill might do more harm than good as there is no evidence that SIM card registration actually prevents crime. Sen. Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian, who filed a bill for SIM card registration in the previous Congress, has filed a resolution calling on the Senate to hold hearings on the scam texts. (Philstar.com)
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-51608 Dateline PhiliPPines
Amenities include an all-electric kitchen, wall-to-wall carpeting, a deck/ patio (some units), a community room with kitchen, laundry facilities, and beautifully landscaped grounds. The office is located at 99 Oak Avenue in South San Francisco, and office hours are Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. For more info, call us at 650-952-3727.
PAGE
Grand Oak Apartments is a 43-unit affordable apartment community in South San Francisco, offering 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments with rents at $470-$1,678 per month. Grand Oak Apartments is opening its waitlist for 21 Preference units for a limited time only! To qualify for a preference, your household must consist of at least one member who currently lives and/or works in the City of South San Francisco. Pre-applications for the waitlist will be accepted starting from 9am on 9/12/22 to 5pm on 10/7/22.
Pre-applications will be available starting Sept. 12th at 9:00 AM until Oct. 7th at 5:00 PM via 1) https://bridgehousing.com/properties/grand-oak/ 2) contactless pick-up at the property, 3) call 650-952-3727 and request one to be mailed, or 4) request by email at GrandOak@bridgehousing.com All pre-applications received by 10/7/22 will be assigned a randomly-generated number to determine the final waitlist order.
MANILA — The Philippine and United States armies are now preparing for even bigger Salaknib joint military exercises on defense readiness and interoperability next year. Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad announced on Tuesday, September 6 that Philippine Army and U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) planners have started the weeklong planning conference for the 2023 iteration of the annual combined military exercise.Trinidad explained that Salak nib is geared toward strength ening interoperability of both armies in a spectrum of military operations.Healsonoted that the annual exercise also enhances the individual skills of troops and unit capabilities in a range of military operations in line with the command guidance of Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
country. This was reportedly used to partly pay the P4 billion that the Belmonte family asked for its Philippine Star shares in 2012.PLDT took another tack in funding its TV5 network, especially since the broadcast company was in dire need of more money since it hadn’t been able to get a significant share of the advertising market from the two major networks, ABS-CBN andPLDTGMA7.and its subsidiary, Smart Communications, gave advanced payments for its advertising placements, which it committed to total P868 million in 2013 and a further P758 million in 2014. It is not clear how much the total placements amounted to although these could have reached P1 billion annually from 2010 to 2014 — a credible figure given PLDT and Smart’s P8 billion annual advertising budget. PLDT actually entered into a contract with TV5 for these advertising placements starting in 2010 for a five-year term. The contract has been renewed for another five years, to continue up to However,2021. by having the BTF as an investor in the media empire, Salim isn’t risking his own nor his conglomerate’s funds in companies in the media sector, but the employees’ pension money. More importantly, by having BTF as the stockholder in his media firms, Salim thinks he is skirting the constitutional ban on foreign investments in local media enterprises, since BTF is technically a Filipino entity as its beneficiaries are Filipinos who constitute the overwhelming majority of PLDT’s staff. The incontrovertible reality though is that the controlling entity of these media conglomerates is a foreigner, the Indonesian Salim, which the Constitution bans. He can rely on the executives he appoints in PLDT, in BTF, and in his main media holding firm MediaQuest to follow his orders. Salim’s media enterprises, combined with his telecom industries, make up a powerful political and opinion-forming force, which is the reason the framers of our Constitution totally banned foreigners from these sectors. A foreigner in fact now has in place a perfect machine for controlling a population’s views and way of thinking. He has a content generator made up of his news enterprises in print, broadcast and the Internet. In addition, he has a content disseminator consisting of his cellphone firm, Smart Communications, the biggest in the country, and his direct-to-home satellite television service Cignal TV and his cable news network. Never in our post-war history has there been a foreigner with such a media empire, and in all media platforms. This is a fact largely hidden by the Salim group’s tremendous control of media — including journalists working in his competitors’ firms. It would have been exposed if Congress had continued its investigation of the deal being worked out by TV5 and*ThisABS-CBN.aswell as First Pacific’s growth in the Philippines is described in detail, with sources provided in my 2016 book Colossal Deception: How Foreigners Control Our Telecoms Sector, available for online at rigobertotiglao.com/shop and at amazon.com. Neither First Pacific nor PLDT has contested anything written in the book. A new edition is scheduled for publication at the end of this year. (ManilaTimes.net) * * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
PNA photo Alfred Frias by Michael Punongbayan Philstar.com by Zacarian Sarao Inquirer.net
Show ‘no mercy’ to criminals and terrorists, says government caretaker Sara Duterte
House panel OKs bill requiring SIM card registration
MANILA — The House Committee on Information and Communications Technology approved at a hearing on Monday, September 5 a bill mandating the registration of mobile SIM cards. Rep. Toby Tiangco (Navotas), who chairs the House panel, also approved consolidating House Bill No. 14 with similar bills also seeking the registration of Subscriber Identity Module cards. If passed into law, the bill mandates those who intend to purchase SIM cards to register their personal information with telecommunications bodies or authorized card sellers. The new push for SIM card registration comes users have been inundated with scam and spam text messages, with some of them containing personal information like the receiver's name. The measure was jointly filed earlier by House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Leyte 1st District) and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos (Ilocos Norte) — the cousin and son of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. — who argued that the registration of SIM cards will help eradicate criminal activities and scams. This view is not shared by ICT experts and by rights advocates who have warned Congress that there is no evidence that SIM card registration works and that registration may put personal information at risk. "Due to the lack of SIM card regulation in the country, it becomes nearly impossible to trace the persons behind the text scams and hold them accountable for fraud, breach of data privacy or other punishable offenses t ha t they commit ted using an unknown mobile number," Romualdez said in his explanatory note.
“We must continue engaging with the government, partnering when and where possible for various efforts,” Mahit said. “All governments must be evaluated objectively across widely accepted governance standards. This is how we help our country become better,” he added. g 6
PH, US armies brace for bigger joint defense drills
Governance based on trust needed for PH recovery – think tank
MANILA — “To build the Filipino nation, we need a three-way trusting relationship among the government, private sector, and civil society,” said Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, president of the Stratbase ADR Institute in a statement issued on Monday, September 5. The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should aim for this to enable the nation to transition from a consumption-led economy to an investment-driven one, Manhit said.That would create more jobs, thus closing the gap between rich and poor, and improve the standard of living for Filipinos, heNon-residentadded. Stratbased fellow Edwin Santiago, an associate professor at De La Salle University, also suggested watching the performance of the Philippine economy through various global indices — the World Governance Index, Ease of Doing Business, Global Competitiveness Index, Index of Economic Freedom, Rule of Law Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, and the Open Budget Index.Santiago said that the government should pursue policies that would reflect improvements in these indices. “In the final analysis, what is important is that the evaluation of any administration should be done objectively and that it comes with a forward-looking perspective,” Santiago said. Another Stratbased fellow, Dr. Rizal Buendia, stressed the importance of holistic governance.“Publicmanagement is built largely around the notion of performance and improving the effectiveness of public institutions,” he said. He stressed the importance of improving information systems that would integrate the frontend government parts — or those that deal with and provide services to citizens. “If transformation is to be realized, government people have to learn to participate actively in the process of integration, give up some political or organizational interests, and mobilize resources to appropriate agencies and offices.”Political science professor Francisco Magno, for his part, emphasized that politics should be used as an instrument for achieving development and sustainability in society. He thus advised the Marcos administration to focus on public service, meeting the needs of the people.“Anticipatory governance – using the future to create multi-lateral learning and foster intelligent and inspired organizations – should provide the path for Marcos Jr. to veer away from the Marcos Sr. legacy and to move toward the future,” heManhitsaid. then urged the private sector, civil society, and concerned citizens to hold leaders responsible for the reform initiatives they had promised to pursue, adding that this is how we should evaluate Marcos’ leadership.
Why TV5 threw out...
* * * Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao Twitter: shopBookArchives:@bobitiglaowww.rigobertotiglao.comorders:www.rigobertotiglao.com/ by DaPhne galveZ Inquirer.net
MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday, September 5 said the government should show “no mercy” to criminals and terrorists as it aims to enhance coordination and cooperation on national security. That was her directive during the sit-down meeting with the government’s security sector as the country’s caretaker while President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is out of the country for his inaugural state visits to Indonesia and Singapore.“Ourobjective was to strengthen existing coordination and enhance interagency cooperation on issues concerning our national security and the country’s development,” she“Assaid. the caretaker, may I reiterate the Marcos administration’s direction towards aggressively pursuing programs and projects that will address social inequities and further propel the country’s progress post-pandemic,” Duterte-Carpio added. The vice president said the country’s goals may be “slowed down, held up or hostage(d) altogether by forces motivated to derail our progress off the track.” “Our policy against criminals and terrorists and those that support and espouse their ideologies of violence should be hardline. We should show no mercy to criminals and terrorists,” she said. The only way the Philippines can recover and rebuild after the pandemic is to have security concerns resolved, DuterteCarpio said. She expressed gratitude for the security sector’s professionalism, integrity, commitment, and undying love of our country and the Filipino people.Inhis absence, the President designated Duterte-Carpio as the government’s caretaker or officer-in-charge, overseeing “day-to-day operations in the Office of the President and oversee the general administration of the Executive Department.”Duterte-Carpio was also tasked to act for and on behalf of the President, if necessary, “except on matters that the Constitution requires the President to act in person, during the time that the President is outside the Republic of the Philippines.” All acts of Duterte-Carpio for and on Marcos under this order shall be deemed presidential unless disapproved by Marcos. All government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities are then ordered to assist the Vice President. g
EMPLOYMENT
Income and other restrictions apply. Section 8 welcome. EHO. SF#3036
“Training has always been a vital tool for both the Philippine Army and the United States Army Pacific to enhance defense readiness and strengthen interoperability while simultaneously bolstering bilateral relationships,” Col. Emmanuel Cabasan, Philippine Army deputy assistant chief of staff for education and training, said in his welcome remarks during the opening of the planning sessions at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City. The Philippine Army and the USARPAC will conduct Salaknib 2023 in two phases in various sites in Central and Northern Luzon, according to Trinidad.Around 2,200 Filipino and American servicemen trained side by side in last year’s iteration of joint training events, which focused on capability development of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, the Philippine Army’s primary combined arms and rapid deployment unit. Meanwhile, Trinidad also announced that the Philippine Army and the Australian Defense
"The time has come to regulate the sale and distribution of SIM cards in order to promote end-user accountability, prevent the proliferation of mobile phone scams and data breaches, and to assist law enforcement agencies in resolving crimes involving the use of mobile phone units." Then President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the same measure in the 18th Congress, with his spokesperson saying the chief executive was "constrained to disagree with the inclusion of social media in the measure, without providing proper guidelines and definitions." The bill had also required the registration of social media accounts, which Duterte said might infringe on privacy rights. The bill now moves to the plenary for further deliberation.Inaseparate press briefing at the Senate on Monday, Sen. JV Ejercito said he would support the proposed SIM Card Registration Act to crack down on the text scams going viral on social media.
Atty.
Gur nkel answers immigration questions from Kapamilya in San Diego on part 1 of Citizen Pinoy’s ‘Your Tanong, My Sagot’
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 9C J LIFESTYLE • CONSUMER GUIDE • COMMUNITY • MARKETPLACEINSIDE >>> Friday, September 9, 2022 FILIPINO IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIATHEASIANJOURNALMAGAZINE
LEADING U.S. Immigration Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel visited San Diego, where he answered questions of Kapamilya from the “America’s Finest City” and neighboring areas. In Part 1 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot,” viewers will hear answers to the following immigration concerns: • Kathy, of Mira Mesa, wants to know if a person can visit the U.S. even if they are under petition. • Raquel of San Diego is asking ROHNERT PARK – Welcome to the all-round leisure and entertainment destination – Graton Resort & Casino – and may you have good luck and a shiny mood! On the last Friday of September there is the Mercedes Winner’s Choice Giveaway, guaranteed to give out a Mercedes-Benz at 10 p.m. and cash prize drawings every hour from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Plus, there will be one winner of $10,000 cash at 11 p.m.! Share the laughter and luck! And, from now until October 27, every Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wild Winnings Slot Tournaments will be held, with a top prize of up to $15,000 cash, and total prizes up to $400,000! All reward members get one free entry into each tournament. For more information related to the promotion, please visit GratonResortCasino.com or call There707-588-7100.are200elegant comfortable rooms and luxurious suites, glamorous lobby and luxurious spa, more than 130 table games, including Blackjack, Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker and more at Graton. It also offers 3,000 slot machines, live poker, video poker and a large function space for different music concerts and special events. Graton Resort & Casino’s 9,000-square-foot non-smoking gaming area, which offers 300 slot machines and video poker, is just next to the casino valet. You can enjoy gaming in a non-smoking environment at Graton Resort & Casino! And, there are delectable restaurants and bars that offer different cuisines in the casino, such as twelve-time World Pizza Champion Chef Tony Gemignani’s Tony’s Of North Beach, Pan-Asian eatery Boathouse, a top-quality steakhouse with 630 Park Steakhouse, classic American dishes from Daily Grill, and 500 seats in the Marketplace, which offers casual and convenient eateries for your selection – you will be sure to have a happy and unforgettable experience. Located in Sonoma County, Graton Resort & Casino has a commanding presence among the rolling hills of Northern California's wine country. Owned and operated by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Graton Resort & Casino features table games, the latest slot machines, upscale and casual dining, plus entertainment options for visitors and locals alike. For more information, please visit www.gratonresortcasino.com. (Advertising Supplement)
Visit Graton Casino for continuous promotions!
‘YOUR TANONG, MY SAGOT’ IN SAN DIEGO, PART 1. Leading U.S. Immigration Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel answers immigration questions from Kapamilya in San Diego, in Part 1 of Citizen Pinoy’s “Your Tanong, My Sagot.” Some of the questions Atty. Gurfinkel answers are – From Jefferson and Virginia: Virginia petitioned his son, Jefferson, as single but he got married. Is there a way to revive Mommy Virginia’s petition?; From Kathy of Mira Mesa: Can a person visit the U.S. as a tourist if they are under petition?; From Edith of National City: I am waiting for my green card through another daughter’s petition. My 15-year-old daughter is in the U.S. on a tourist visa extension. Is there a way my 15-year-old can stay in the U.S. with me? The Cruz family: Grandpa Lando, Dad Allan, and grandson Chean drop by to visit Atty. Gurfinkel who worked on their case and successfully reunited the family. Watch Part 1 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” in San Diego on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, September 11 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. (Advertising Supplement) PAGE 10
From left: Edith, Jefferson and his mother, Virginia, and Kathy. Their questions will be answered on this episode of Citizen Pinoy.
*
The very popular DonBelle love team (Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano) were part of the Starmagic tour that visited different cities in the U.S.Photorecently.from Instagram/@belle_mariano famous parents. Each débutante may choose her own escort (or cavalier), or rely on the organizers of Le Bal to find a cavalier; per organizer Ophelie Renouard, “choosing cavaliers based on their ages, the language they speak, their heights, and possibly their backgrounds usually produces an optimal match for theThedébutantes.”eventalso features the débutantes wearing haute couture from European designers and overseas fashion houses. Débutantes are introduce in alphabetical order on the arms of their cavaliers, and the event features an opening waltz with the fathers and the débutantes. Atasha’s mom Charlene couldn’t be prouder of her daughter, and posted on Instagram: “Thank you @lebal. paris , Ophélie autoimmunedespitethatshared#tatlerphilippines.”found[heartkindnesshandsguidingopportunityparis forAnton&youryou @sabina.bilenko forchildren.”createdtoyearshelpsupportaimsprojecttoface]ParisPhilippinesatashamuhlach_ togivingantonsd & @tatlerphilipinesRenouard, @fortheopportunityfor @representtheinLeBalDebutantesinthisyear,Nov2022[smilingIt’ssuchanhonorforAtashabepartofsucha“philanthropiclike @lebal.paris whichtoraisefundsandhelpscharitiesthatupliftandtheyouthandwomen”.Thisbeneficiarieswillbegoingthe“firstpediatrichospitalintheworldtohelp[heartemojis]ThanksharingmasterpieceswithAtashathankyouagaintoOphélie,SanDiego& @lebal.sharingthiswonderfulwithAtasha&forherandholdinghereverystepoftheway.Yourisdeeplyappreciated.emojis]#lebal2022 Articlein#SeptemberissueTatler***Actress-TVhostKrisAquinorecentlyonsocialmediasheistryingtobeoptimisticsufferingavarietyofconditionsthathave caused her to be fatigued and foreverAccordingbed-ridden.toAquino, she was diagnosed with three autoimmune (chronic spontaneous urticaria, autoimmiune thyroiditis and late stage 3 Churg Strauss Syndrome) before leaving the Philippines to get treatment in the U.S. Doctors diagnosed her with a fourth autoimmune disease while treating her, and she said in the post that her “physical manifestations are pointing to a possible fifth [autoimmune condition].”Inherpost, Kris said that she did not want to post until she had clarity about her health situation, and that “there have been times i wanted to give up-because of fatigue & being forever bedridden; the bruises all over my body that suddenly appear; my inability (since February) to tolerate solid food; headaches; bone deep pain in my spine, knees, joints in my fingers; and my constant flares esp. in my face that just keep getting worse…” But she said that thinking of her children and the many people supporting and prayer for her stops those thoughts. “BUT i remind myself Kuya & Bimb still need me & mahiya naman ako sa lahat ng mga patuloy na nagdarasal para gumanda ang kalusugan ko if i just give up,” she said in her post.“I am grateful to be blessed to have the means for us to move to another state, and have more tests done & go to other specialists; and finally start my immunosuppressant therapy. i was warned that the safest form of chemotherapy (i don’t have cancer) that can be used for my autoimmune conditions will make me lose my hair. Hair will eventually grow back but permanently damaged organs won’t – so dedma muna sa vanity,” KrisMessagesadded. of support, prayers and get-well-soon were posted as Atty.
The Cruz family is one of the success stories featured on Citizen Pinoy. Photo above shows (from left) grandson Chean, dad Allan, and petitioner Grandpa Orlando, with leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel.
Atasha Muhlach will represent the Philippines at the prestigious annual Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris in November. Photo from Instagram/@atashamuhlach_ Janella Salvador Photo from Instagram/@superjanella Kris Aquino (middle, laying in bed) with sons Josh and Bimby in a recent social media post. Photo from Instagram/@krisaquino
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-516010 Features by Kathleen a llemit Philstar.com celebrityworldByFerdieVillar Belle Mariano wins Outstanding Asian Star 2022 at Seoul Int’l Drama Awards PAGE 9
Gurfinkel answers immigration questions...
* Atasha Muhlach, the daughter of celebrity couple Aga Muhlach and former Bb. Pilipinas-Universe titleholder (1994) Charlene Gonzales, will be taking part in the very prestigious Le Bal des Débutantes later this year in Paris,TheFrance.modeland influencer, who along with her brother Andres, is studying abroad, posted in her Instagram about the honor of representing the Philippines in the annual event. In the post, Atasha wrote, “So happy and grateful to be given the opportunity to take part representing the Philippines in le Bal des débutantes in Paris 2022 November. To raise funds for Necker enfants Malades hospital which is dedicated to the treatment of cardiological defects from fetus to adult. Thank you so much to Ophélie
Wikipedia, the event has supported Seleni, a nonprofit organization that finances research in healthcare for adolescent mothers since 2015, and it has supported Efants d’Asie since 2009, an organization that provides education for girls in Southeast Asia. Le Bal des Débutantes brings together between 20 to 25 debutantes in the annual event from different countries. Débutantes often come from families known in entertainment, business or politics; criteria for selection include attractive appearance, intelligence and
AccordingraisedasinPhilippinesemoji]sabina.bilenko @antonsd [hearttatlerphilippines@lebal.paris @Renouard @thefullstoryisintheTatlerSeptemberissue.”Startingfirstasasocialevent1958,theball(formerlyknownthe“CrillonBall”)hasalwaysmoneyforcharities.to
KAPAMILYA star Belle Mariano has been named as Outstanding Asian Star 2022 by the 17th Seoul International Drama Awards, according to an article in PEP.ph. The singer-actress and model, who is part of the hugely-popular Philippine love team DonBelle (with screen partner Donny Pangilinan), is the first Filipina to win the award, and the third Philippine performer to be named in the category, after the 2019 and 2020 wins of Alden Richards and Dingdong Dantes, respectively. Along with Mariano, the winners selected by global fans among the 175 male and female actors who performed in entries from five Asian countries/regions are China’s Wallace Chung, Japan’s Yusei Yagi, Taiwan’s Alice Ko and Thailands Krit Amnuaydechkorn.Perthearticle, other Filipino nominees in the category were Donny Pangilinan, Charlie Dizon, Dimples Romana, Jake Cuenca, Maris Racal, Kaila Estrada and Zanjoe Marudo. This year’s 17th Seoul International Drama Awards winners will be honored at a ceremony on September 22. The group is an annual award-giving body based in Seoul, South Korea that honors excellence in drama productionsMeanwhile,worldwide.the“He’s Into Her” and “Love is Color Blind” star, alongside screen partner Pangilinan, are set to star in the upcoming film “An Inconvenient love” which will be directed by PetersenRecently,Vargas.theDonBelle pairing were part of the Star Magic tour that visited different parts of the United States, to the great satisfaction of their fans abroad. Their followers shrieked at the “kilig” moments and production numbers featuring the two Kapamilya stars.*
Belle Mariano becomes the first Filipina to be named Outstanding Asian Star at the Seoul International Drama Awards, winning in the category voted by global fans, along with stars from China, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand. Photo from Instagram/@belle_mariano
"DARNA" star Janella Salvador said being a "single mom" was the latest of her life's hard-earned battles during her interview with "TV Patrol" news presenter Bernadette Sembrano on the latter'sSembranovlog. was making a vlog for her YouTube channel that featured Janella as their newscast's guest Star Patroller or news presenter for the show's entertainment segment. Janella was asked what was the most recent "battle" she fought"Beingfor. a single mom! Talagang ilalaban ko 'yun . At the end of the day, alam kong kaya ko naman siya ," she replied. Janella gave birth to her son Jude on October 20, 2020. On January 5, 2021, she and her boyfriend, actor Markus Paterson, revealed they are indeed new parents on their YouTube channel. She clarified that she does not want to "sound bad" but explained that she has been managing on her own with the help of people around her. " Pa'no ba? I don't want it to sound bad kasi pero I can rely on myself, na hindi ko kailangang humingi ng tulong sa iba . I like being independent. Siguro kasi I saw my mom growing up kung papano siya. She was able to raise us on our own. So, siguro na -embody ko rin kung paano siya . I wanted to be independent as well," she explained. Theactress is the son of actress Jenine Desiderio and singer, band vocalist Juan MiguelSembranoSalvador. then asked Janella to describe herself. "Strong. ' Yun 'yung lagi kong naririnig sa mga tao sa paligid ko . I always hear that I'm the bravest person that they know," sheApartreplied. from this revelation, Janella and Bernadette also talked about motherhood and the actress' hit portrayal of Valentina/Regina in the nightly drama, "Darna."
Janella says she’s a ‘single mom’ if she can petition her cousin in the Philippines as her caregiver.
• Edith is waiting for her green card through her U.S. citizen daughter. Her other daughter who is 15 years old, is in the U.S. on a tourist visa extension. Edith wants to know how her 15-yearold daughter can stay in the U.S. with her. • Jefferson was petitioned as single by his mother, Virginia. However, he got married. Jefferson now asks if there is a way to revive his mother’s petition. Atty. Gurfinkel also gets a surprise visit from the Cruz family. It was nearly 10 years ago when Atty. Gurfinkel helped the grandfather, Lando Cruz, after the U.S. Embassy in Manila denied his son Allan’s visa because of a misunderstanding. The Law Offices of Michael Gurfinkel were able to help bring Allan and his son, Chean, to the U.S. It was a memorable success story featured on Citizen Pinoy. Atty. Gurfinkel answers these questions in Part 1 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot,” with Kapamilya from San Diego and adjacent areas. Watch this encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, September 11 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET thru select Cable/ Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app. (Advertising Supplement)
cooldown
One only has to look at price comparisons from a year ago, a decade ago, or even a couple or more decades ago to see that land and homes prices have risen on the average despite experiencing some periods of slump. I have been a realtor since 1988 and have seen how Las Vegas, Pahrump and other neighboring communities have grown through the years. Many of my clients who have invested in properties have seen their portfolio and wealth grow in time. Some have even taken advantage of market trends and have put their investments to good use via Airbnb, rentals and landTherebanking.arestill opportunities for those who want to secure home or property in Pahrump, Las Vegas or other Nevada communities. I can help you, my kababayans, purchase your first home, or second home, or investment property and turn your dreams intoMyreality.company, Precious Properties, is a full-service company that has successfully helped its clientele find the best deals since 1988. You can reach me at 775-513-8447, 805-5592476 and 702-538-4948 for more information, or send me an email at fely@precious-properties.com or fely.precious@gmail.com. We have investors who buy houses in California and Nevada for cash and quick escrow in as short as 7 days. (Advertising Supplement)
Realtor Fely Quitevis-Bateman helps those who need business financing, including loans for small businesses. For more information, call (702) 538-4948, or send email to fely@preciousproperties.com or fely.precious@gmail.com.
The graph above shows the real-time market profile from Old Republic Title company for Pahrump, NV as of August 31, 2022.
The same story has unfolded
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 11Features
REPORTS coming from major companies like First American Title and Old Republic Title indicate less action in the real estate market and more inventory coming into the market. According to the two companies’ reports, the market action index (MAI) in cities/ towns like Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Pahrump, Boulder and Henderson, while still slightly in a seller’s market, have been on a downtrend.InPahrump, which is located 67 miles west of Las Vegas, the MAI stood at 31 as of August 31, which is still just about in the seller’s market, and dropped by a point off the previous month’s index. The median list price in Pahrump stood at $432,00, with the median price of new listings pegged at $387,000. The price per square foot stood at $218. On the average, properties stood in the market around 73 days, and inventory stood at a 7-day average of 236, a slight increase over the previous’ period’s average of 232. In Las Vegas, considered as one of the entertainment and gambling hotspots in the world, the MAI decreased by six points, from 44 to 38, in the September 1 report. While still slightly in seller’s market territory, there have been more homes available and less demand from buyers resulting in lower prices. The median list price of homes has gone down to $510,000, with the median price of new listings pegged at $475,000. Price per square foot is at $263. Properties on the market sat an average of 65 days, with the inventory having a 7-day average of 5,219 (as compared to 4,964 in the previous month).
The First American Title real-market profile graph for Henderson as of September 1, 2022. The real-time market profile graph from First American Title for Boulder City, NV is shown above.
The graphs above shows the real-time market profiles for the Las Vegas (left) and North Las Vegas (right) areas from First American Title as of September 1, 2022.
Market continues for real estate by RealtoR Fely Quitevis-Bateman
in the North Las Vegas area. While still in a seller’s zone, the MAI has fallen about eight points month-to-month, from 51 to 43. According to the report, prices have plateaued for a while, with the median list price hovering around $448,495 and new listings having a median price of $429,950. Per square foot price is at $236, with inventory increasing to a 7-day average of 962, over the previous month’s average of 851. On average, listings stayed in the market around 54 days. For Henderson, the MAI fell down to 37, from the previous month’s figure of 42. Similar to Las Vegas, the market has been in a cooling off period in the last several weeks, with more homes becoming available and less demand from buyers. The area is still slightly in a seller’s market. The median list price went down slightly to $598,000, with new listings having a median price of $574,950. Price per square foot is pegged at $280. Inventory in the area was at a 7-day average of 1,453, slightly up from last month’s average of 1,353. Finally, in the Boulder City area, there is a dip of 6 points in the MAI, from 36 to 30 monthto-month. The median list price is pegged at $699,000, with new listings having a median of $517,500. Inventory slightly increased to 71 (7-day average) in the area, with square footage price pegged at $318. Prices have remained relativelys table in the area, according to the reports, but it is likely that there will be downward pressure on home prices if the MAI continues to stumble and there’s a growth in inventory. As of now, the area’s MAI is almost at the border between seller’s and buyer’s markets, but still said to be slightly in seller’s market territory.Although the areas mentioned are still in said to be in seller’s market, the increase in inventory has allowed many buyers to find more properties to their liking and they are able to negotiate more with sellers, unlike last year and even early this year when some buyers had to be put on a waitlist just to take a look at a property.However, real estate prices in the state are still at lower levels when compared to some areas in the country, which is why more and more people are looking at living in Nevada due to more reasonable home and land prices. Unemployment has also been trending downward in the state, which may mean more money or income for people to put into a home if they intend to purchase one.A look at all the projects being planned in Las Vegas and neighboring communities shows continued interest in the area. With tracts of land being sold in record prices and large companies committed to developing their own competing projects aimed at attracting tourists, travelers, businesses and fun seekers of every age and size, construction should be aplenty and jobs available in the comingCurrently,years.inventory of homes has been increasing for Las Vegas and other neighborhoods. That bodes well for home buyers as they will have a number of choices to look at in their search for that dream house. Although still in a seller’s market, market conditions have dampened a bit – it has given buyers a little bit of wiggleWhileroom.the real estate market may adjust itself and correct itself a bit after a long period of uptick, history suggests that real estate is still a sound investment.
KAPUSO actress Heart Evangelista admitted that she's going through a rough patch right now after rumors circulated that she and husband Chiz Escudero have broken up.
* *
Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer highlights the positive economic growth rates and opportunities in the Philippines in the 2022 International Trade and Business Development Bi-Annual Conference, “Convergence - Technology, Convenience, Sustainability,” organized by the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce on August 18-20 in Seattle, Washington. Photos courtesy of San Francisco PCG economy more competitive and resilient, citing new economic liberalization measures relating to foreign investments, retail trade, public services and taxation.Consul General Ferrer echoed the message of Philippines Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez and thanked all the Philippine American chambers of commerce for their “contributions to the economic prosperity of our peoples and for fostering resiliency amid the challenges that lie ahead of us.” (San Francisco PCG Release)
Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer meets Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce of Utah president Mary Chavan, startup founder of search-service app in PH Prajekpro (https://www.prajekpro.com/). She led a “Demos for Dollars” pitch session for startups in the FPACC Conference.
* *
PH
@HeartHealth
Speculations about their rumored break up began when social media users noticed that Heart changed her name on Instagram, removing Escudero as her surname. (Philstar.com) Actress Heart EvangelistaPhotofrom Instagram/@iamhearte
Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer (3rd from left) with Seattle Deputy Mayor Greg Wong (4th from left), Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce president Marie Cunning (2nd from left), and other Filipino American leaders. Armilito Pangilinan (left) and Alma Kern (middle) show ConGen Neil Ferrer (right) the mural “Ibig Naming Matanghal sa Lupain ng America” at Kern-Veloria Plaza at the Filipino Community Center of Seattle.
From left: Armilito Pangilinan, Alma Kern, Dr. Agnes Navarro, and Consul General Neil Ferrer.
* The U.S. FDA has cleared the first redesigned COVID vaccines since they came out in late 2020. This reformulated bivalent vaccine booster targets Omicron (BA.4, BA.5) subvariants, the current predominant viruses. The Pfizer-made version is for persons as young as 12, and the Moderna vaccine for 18 and older. These improved vaccines may be given also to those who had booster shots as long as the last shot was at least 2 months ago. Remember, refusing the vaccines and waiting for COVID-19 infection to acquire immunity is dangerous. A significant number of people doing this have died, like the five talk show hosts in the U.S. who at the last minute changed their no-vax advocacy to “hurry-and-get-your-shots,”
SEATTLE – Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer participated in the 2022 International Trade and Business structuralundertakingoverthat2022growthnotedConsulandtoeconomyPhilippines…TheinvesteconomicU.S.opportunitiesthepromisingGeneralofPhilippineorganizedConvenience,“ConvergenceBi-Annual ConferenceDevelopmenttitled,-Technology,Sustainability,”bytheFederationofAmericanChambersCommerceonAugust18-20.Inhisremarks,ConsulFerrerpresenteddevelopmentsinPhilippinesaswellasforPhilippine-bilateraltradeandcooperation.“ItisanopportunetimetoanddobusinessinthePhilippineisonasteadypathrecoveryfromthepandemicfurtherexpansion.”saidGeneralFerrer,whothesecondquarterGDPofthePhilippinesforreaching7.4percent. ConsulGeneralFerrernotedthePhilippineGovernmenttheyearshasbeenthenecessaryreformstomakethe
PH CONSULATE IN SF URGES FILIPINOS TO INVEST IN PH DEVELOPMENT
Screenshot courtesy of San Francisco PCG
VIA RTB 28. The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco joined other Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the United States in the online roadshow on the Retail Treasury Bonds Tranche 28 (RTB 28), organized by the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury on August 23, 2022. In a statement, Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer said that “investing in the RTBs will not only allow Filipinos and Filipino Americans to diversify their financial portfolio, but will also fund the Philippines’ priority development areas such as agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and pandemic response.” ConGen Ferrer also cited the stellar performance of the Philippine economy, which posted a 7.8-percent GDP growth in the first half of 2022. “With more jobs created as our economy continues its expansion, it is high time to invest in the RTBs and support the country’s agenda towards a robust economy and an inclusive and resilient society,” the Philippine Consul General said. The RTBs are safe and low-risk savings investment with a fixed interest rate of 5.75 percent per annum for the next five and a half years. For a minimum investment of only P5,000, interest payments will automatically be credited to the buyer’s settlement account quarterly. The primary offer period for the RTB 28 ended on September 2, 2022.
In her latest vlog on her YouTube channel, Heart said that she's still grateful and hoping that all will be well soon.
Heart drops ‘Escudero,’ admits ‘personal struggles’ amid split rumors with Chiz
THE average life expectancy in the United States “dropped for a second straight year from 2020 to 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic once again playing an outsize role in the decline,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This has been the lowest since 1996, dropping from 77.0 years to 76.1. The U.S. had the largest drop since World War II, with a fall from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 in 2020, and now down to 76.1. That’s a 2.7-year drop from 3 years ago! On the other hand, the life expectancy in The Philippines is 71.41 years in 2021, a surprising increase of 0.18 percent from 2020. * * * Chinese authorities have locked down Chengdu, a southwestern city with 21 million people, because of a surge in COVID-19, according to the Associated Press Around 70 percent of the flights to and from that city have been suspended. Those with special needs (negative test) are allowed to leave the city. If China had locked down Wuhan City when the novel coronavirus was first detected there on December 8, 2019, this catastrophic pandemic that devastated the economies of 230 nations and areas around the globe (more than 610 million COVID-19 cases and greater than 6.5 million deaths worldwide; almost 97 million cases in the U.S., with higher than 1 million deaths; and, more than 3.9 million cases in the Philippines and greater than 62,000 deaths) could have been avoided. It could have been contained and kept within Wuhan, preventing COVID-19 from spreading to other parts of China and to various nations around the globe.**
ConGen highlights trade, investment and business opportunities in at of capsules
2022 Int’l Conference of PH-US Chambers
Worldwide, 12.6 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered safely, 610 million of those in the United States. Almost 8.5 million doses a day are being given globally and it would take another 9 months to achieve around 75 percent vaccination rate, to usher in “normalcy.” If the more than 50 million unvaccinated people in the United States get their shots now, the COVID-19 pandemic would be contained sooner. This is actually in their hands. That’s why I said in a previous column that our best weapons to defeat COVID-19 are wisdom, love of our fellowmen and compassion, besides the vaccines, hygiene, masking, distancing, and avoiding crowds.The newly-announced reformulated shots are most welcome since COVID-19 infections still averages around 90,000 infections and 475 deaths every day. The government is warning the people who think COVID-19 is gone that the country could see 100 million cases in the coming fall and winter. If we are having nearly 500 deaths a day now, you can imagine how many lives could be lost with 100 million cases. Life is precious. Let us protect it, since we have no spare. * * * Dementia affected about 35.6 million people worldwide in 2010, and is expected to double every 20 years. Around 6.2 million among age 65 and older have had Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021, and seventy-five percent among age 75 or older. While a severely impaired memory renders the person unaware of his/her environment, the pain and hardship are graver for those family members and caregivers. Taking care of these unfortunate persons is much more complex and difficult than taking care of babies and Personally,infants.ifIdevelop severe Alzheimer’s, I would rather go fast to save my family and friends from long-term suffering and heartaches. But I am optimistic science will discover effective preventive measures and a miracle cure for this debilitating and devastating illness. A new study showed that music therapy may improve social interactions between individuals with dementia and their caregivers, family included. It also reduces strain and distress on the part of the caregivers, whose job is tough, sometimes abused by their patients who are no longer mentally alert. Some patients with dementia/Alzheimer's may be belligerent, confrontational, or physically abusive, not conscious of what they are doing. Hopefully, more progress in conquering dementia peeks on the horizon. * * * California legislators are considering a bill aimed at disciplining physicians who disseminate false information or misinform people about COVID-19 infection, vaccines, etc. While other nations have frompunishedshouldcommittingjustprofession.isphysicianandanbecausephysicians,metedeadlyeveryonedeadpeople,onotherandthepoliticians,lawyers,misinformation,Anyoneagainstonly?thanthehesitancyscientificbeenaboutmisinformation/disinformationcriminalizedthevaccines,theU.S.hasweakinfightingthiswithdata,leadingtovaccinethatpromotesinfection,spreadofthevirus,andmoreamilliondeaths.ButwhyzeroinonphysiciansIsn’tthisdiscriminatoryacertainprofession?spreadingfakenews,doctorsororengineers,ororlaypeople,aboutvaccines,masking,distancing,treatmentofCOVID-19(orillnesses)onsocialmediaoranymediumcouldequallykillandthevictimsnotlessthanthosemisinformedbyphysicians.Thelawshouldincludeguiltyofthispotentiallycrime.Iftheywanttoaharshersentencetoguiltythat’sfinewithme,we,physicians,tookoathtoprotectthehealthsafetyofourpatients.AnywhocommitsacrimeadisgracetothemedicalButalawmustbeandfairforall.Allothersthesamecrimealsobecommensuratelyandnotbeexemptjustice,andgofree,simplybecausetheyarenotphysicians. * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. * The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
* * * Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday. com, and philipSchua.com; Email: scalpelpen@ gmail.com.
CHEERS TO OBET! A very happy birthday to Roberto “Obet” Garcia from San Francisco who celebrated his special day on Thursday, September 8. We wish you all the best! Photos show Obet with his relatives during his vacantion to the Philippines in May.
and sincerely apologized before they died. Their misinformation had, obviously, led to countless (possibly in the millions) infections and deaths. Also, natural immunity from infection is less stable, less reliable, and not as effective as immunity conferred by the vaccines.
Commerce News
Neil Ferrer
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-516012 Features
PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS
“I’ve always been such a happy person and I’ve always been somebody who just goes against the tides and just let the waves crash on me. I’m not going to lie — I’ve been going through a lot of personal stuff in my mind,” she said.
"But you know, at the end of the day, I’m still very grateful and as long as there’s life, there’s hope,” she added. Heart said that she's searching for happiness right now. “I’m not going to deny, I’ve been going through some personal struggles like I feel a lot of pressure in my life, and basically now, I’m really in a search of just being happy,” she said.“It’s about the simplest things in life that are very important and that really makes a person happy — that’s where I’m at now. I feel like at the end of the day, it’s really your inner strength and you being independent about what you want to do in life and not rely on anyone that matters,” she added.
(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 13Features National Artist Alice Reyes still keeps an eye on dance talents
“My regulation is the result of listening closely to the needs of consumers and businesses and crafting common-sense, lasting solutions that strengthen our ability to protect Californians from the threat of climate change-intensified wildfires,” said Commissioner Lara. The Safer from Wildfires regulation is part of a larger solution he is pursuing for consumers and wildfire survivors that includes working to increase insurance protections and market competition to help protect consumers. Commissioner Lara’s actions since taking office in 2019 include:
• Protecting more than 4 million homeowners from non-renewal or cancellation of insurance following declared wildfire emergencies, in order to speed up community recovery.
SACRAMENTO — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara submitted his insurance pricing regulation to the California Office of Administrative Law that would recognize and reward wildfire safety and mitigation efforts made by homeowners and businesses in a release provided by the California Department of Insurance on Wednesday, September 7. The regulation is the first in the nation requiring insurance companies to provide discounts to consumers under the Safer from Wildfires framework created by the California Department of Insurance in partnership with state emergency preparedness agencies. The Office of Administrative Law has 30 working days to determine whether the proposed regulation satisfies the requirements of the state’s Administrative Procedure Act. Once approved, the regulation text will be filed with the California Secretary of State and become state law. “My department is laser-focused on doing everything we can to protect consumers and hold insurance companies accountable,” said Commissioner Lara. “My groundbreaking regulation will help more Californians find insurance they can afford. It aligns insurance discounts with fire safety actions being expedited by our state emergency leaders and local governments. And, most importantly, it will save lives by helping California become safer from wildfires.” This regulation is part of a comprehensive solution that Commissioner Lara initiated after taking office to protect consumers from climate change-intensified wildfires. The Department is submitting this regulation as it recognizes National Preparedness Month in September. Regulations follow extensive public input and Safer from Wildfires partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Administration Commissioner Lara directed the Department of Insurance to write regulations to protect consumers and improve market competition after hearing first-hand from consumers about their frustration with insurance companies that did not consider mitigation in their rating plans. Following town hall meetings in more than 38 counties and an extensive investigatory hearing in 2020, Commissioner Lara took what he learned from Californians to shape these rules that will promote a fair, transparent, and safer insurance market. In October 2021, Commissioner Lara shared an initial version of the text of regulation. Following further public input, Commissioner Lara formally proposed his regulations in February of 2022.The regulation incorporates “Safer from Wildfires,” a new framework of wildfire safety measures created in January by a first-ever partnership between the Department of Insurance and the emergency preparedness agencies in Governor Newsom’s Administration, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and the California Public Utilities Commission. “Home Hardening retrofits, along with Defensible Space significantly increase a home’s chance of surviving a wildfire,” said Chief Daniel Berlant, CAL FIRE Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation. “Using the latest fire science and recent wildfire data, these retrofits and landscaping requirements provide a strong path to structure survivability. CAL FIRE is currently funding over three hundred million dollars in local wildfire prevention projects to prepare communities against wildfire, but we know it will take every resident doing their part to ensure California is fully protected.” Regulations will drive down costs and create transparency for consumers Once approved, the regulation will require all insurance companies to submit new rates that recognize the benefit of safety measures such as upgraded roofs and windows, defensible space, and community-wide programs such as Firewise USA and the Fire Risk Reduction Community designation developed by the state’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, which currently includes the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Butte as well as cities and local districts.Transparency is another important benefit of this regulation, by requiring insurance companies to provide consumers with their property’s “risk score” and creating a right to appeal that score.
National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes (who turns 80 next month): 'If you ask what dancing means to me, I can say that it’s reinvigorating.'
by Boy ABundA Philstar.com
THANKS to a beautiful conversation with National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes. The purpose of forming a new dance company called Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP), comprised of ballet dancers, who all strive to share the gift of dance to audiences in different venues around the country, has become clearer.“It’s a very nice dance company,” said Alice of ARDP, which was formed in June, 2020. “We have young dancers and then, we have mature professionals. Maganda ang balance. I think the words that can best describe them are professional and passionate.” Although she has already hung up her dancing shoes, Alice never fails to keep an eye on the dancers who are all driven into creating jaw-dropping dance routines as well as adding flavor to classical dance pieces. Alice teaches every dance step to perfection with ARDP artistic director Ronelson Yadao.Thus, it’s not surprising to see them tirelessly rehearsing their dance routines for eight hours, from Tuesday to Saturday, inside Bulwagang Francisca ReyesAquino of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Alice is all praises for Ronelson who, according to her, has tremendous vision and direction for ARDP. His years of experience in the art form can’t simply be ignored. “When I was still with Ballet Philippines, Nelson (as she fondly calls Ronelson), was one of my associate directors so I’ve seen his talent. He also worked in a premiere dance company in Taiwan and he came back around 2017. You know dancers go back and forth. If you ask what dancing means to me, I can say that it’s reinvigorating,” said Alice, who will turn 80 next month. With the support of Margie Moran Floirendo, Tats Manahan and concerned dance patrons, ARDP has been granted opportunities by the CCP to be part of its educational and production projects, including holding dance workshops wherein dancers earned by holding video live streamed lectures and workshops during the height of the pandemic lockdown.Rubylee Gomez, one of the dancers, shared that their online lectures also resulted in having dance collaborations with different dancers from across the country.“Youknow, things seem to have a way of falling into place. Before Chris Millado retired (as artistic director of the CCP), I requested him to take time and watch the group kasi ang ganda-ganda ng bagong piyesa na ginawa namin as a result of a grant from NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts). So, he went down here (rehearsal hall) at nung nakita n’ya, sabi n’ya, ‘Oh my God, I will offer this group in Zamboanga del Norte because they’re looking for a piece.’ They want to make Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte a hub for heritage and culture. He told Lana Jalosjos, ‘You got to see this because when you see this, you’ll bring them to Dapitan.’” “Lana came and true enough, when she saw the group performing the Visayan Suite, we went to Dapitan and launched the company. I think this can very well explain why there is a need for another (dance) company.” Like a captain of a ship, Alice knows that ARDP must adjust to the ever-changing waters, all the while maintaining open communication with her entire crew. From the very start, they are aware of the need to create programming that is young, edgy and hip to make the art form appealing to the young crowd. “We can invite them to come and watch the performances. We have something (to offer) for the young like Mamang Kutsero So, we’re actively working with the MET (Metropolitan Theater) because it is located around the university belt and by performing at the MET, it’s easy for the students to go there.” By the way, Mamang Kutsero according to Ronelson, is a solo dance, choreographed by Edna Vida that “we are recreating for the show that we are preparing forAliceSeptember.”addedthat they’ve been presenting their list of programs in their invitation letter to schools as well as to city mayors offering 50 percent discount on tickets. Meron na taga Las Pinas, they bought a whole show so they can bring students. We’re also planning to write to mayors of San Juan, Pasig, Pampanga, Bulacan and other places. But we’re not sure yet if schools now are (holding) face-to-face classes regularly.”Ronelson said they are now busy prepping up for the 2022 CCP Dance Series that boasts a lineup of timeless classics and new choreographic gems, featuring ARDP and the artists of CCP’s Professional Artists Support Program (PASP).
Photo from Facebook@Alice Reyes
• Sponsoring new insurance protections signed into law by Governor Newsom — despite opposition from insurance companies — that will mean larger payouts for some consumer claims, less red tape from insurance companies, and more help for people under evacuation orders.
• Ordering the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to offer a more comprehensive homeowners policy as an option, which a judge recently upheld, as well as expanding residential and commercial coverage limits for the first time in 25 years to keep pace with increased costs. Support for the adoption of the regulations are being advocated by fire leaders, local commiunities, homeowners groups and agricultural business, and those who voiced their support included Mariposa County Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe, Union Policyholders executive director Amy Bach, California Professional Firefighters president Brian Rice, California Legislative Action Committee’s Community Associations Institute chair Jeffrey Beaumont, California Farm Bureau president Jamie Johansson, California Association of Realtors legislative advocate Anna Buck, California Outdoor Hospitality Association president Dyana Kelley, retired firefighter and Rancho Murieta resident Greg Pryor, Yosemite West property owner Katie Weber and Murietta resident Susan Frommer. (CA Dep’t of Insurance Release)
Commissioner Lara submits first-in-nation wildfire safety regulation to drive down cost of insurance
SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2022 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-516014
