092520 - Northern California Edition

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Volume 19 - No. 38 • 14 Pages

T H E F I L I P I N O A M E R I CA N C O M M U N I T Y N E WS PA P E R

Volume 18 - No. 17 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

SEPTEMBER 25-OCTOBER 1, 2020

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DATELINE

USA

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Nail salons allowed to reopen in California, but final decision up to counties NAIL salons in California will be allowed to open, regardless of the tier the county is in on the state’s reopening roadmap, according to State Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

During the press briefing on Tuesday, September 22, the secretary said even with the state’s permission, it would be up to individual counties to have final say over the reopening of the nail salons.

“Looking at the operations of nail salons, understanding the number of steps that they can take to make a lower-risk environment for both staff and customers, with some new additions to that sector guidance and how to set up operations in a way that is lower risk, we believe that we’re able to add that to the number of sectors within the purple tier, or that widespread tier,’’ Ghaly said.

Nail salons will need to follow existing state guidance, such as using disposable supplies and removing nail polish displays, to create a lower risk environment that reduces the possibility of COVID-19 transmission and prou PAGE A3

House passes resolution denouncing all forms of anti-Asian sentiment THE U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, September 17, passed a resolution to denounce anti-Asian rhetoric and discrimination fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), the measure calls on all public officials to condemn all forms of anti-Asian sentiment and “all manifestations of expression of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian sentiment, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance.”

It also asks federal law enforcement officials to work with state and local officials in investigating and documenting credible reports of hate crimes and incidents against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, and in holding perpetrators accountable.

The votes were 243 to 163, with the majority “yes” votes coming from 229 Democratic lawmakers and 14 Republican lawmakers.

Meng said the resulting votes showed that “the House said, ‘enough.’”

“For months, Asian Americans in my home

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Also published in LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY

Fil-Ams in California urged to complete 2020 Census before deadline next week

by CHRISTINA

M. ORIEL

AJPress

AS the deadline to respond to the 2020 Census approaches on Wednesday, September 30, Filipino American community leaders are making a final push to ensure that Fil-Ams are all counted across California.

Census partnership specialists and communitybased organizations are staking out in front of supermarkets and other high foot traffic locations to remind members to fill out the nine-question survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

The decennial enumeration — which can be

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte speaks before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Malacañang photo

Duterte addresses global issues before UN General Assembly

by BILLY

DELA AJPress

CRUZ

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, September 23, addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the first time since assuming office in 2016.

“I am honored to address you today on behalf of the Filipino people on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The invisible enemy that is COVID-19 has brought RELIGIOUS ITEMS FOR SALE. Wearing a face mask, Frank Castaneda, 74, sells religious items in front of the Antipolo Cathedral in Antipolo City about an unfamiliar global landscape and unleashed a on Wednesday, September 23. Castaneda goes out of his home to sell rosaries and beads notwithstanding the government’s advisory for the elderly to stay home due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

PNA photo by Rico H, Borja

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Airlines call for COVID-19 tests New AAPI study: Majority of Fil-Am, Tagalog-speaking voters to vote by mail before all international flights Preference for in-person voting drops amid COVID-19

by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA AJPress

As the presidential election looms just over a month away, the likelihood that the coronavirus pandemic will be gone in time for voters to hit the polls becomes more of a stark impossibility.

Voting by mail is poised to be the more primary option for voters across the country to avoid interacting with others in the age of

face masks and social distancing.

But in California, where there are several underserved communities with low voter outreach, policy experts are encouraging greater community outreach to raise awareness of alternative voting options.

“The big challenge is that, because voting will be changing for everyone in California regardless of where they live we should be thinking about our reasons to adapt,” Karthick u PAGE A4

Stockton elementary school named after California’s first Fil-Am teacher opens Flora Arca Mata Elementary School honors the first Fil-Am and the first teacher of color in California history

by KLARIZE

MEDENILLA

AJPress

Flora Arca Mata was the first Filipina American school teacher in California.

done by phone (844-330-2020 for English), online (my2020census.gov) or mail — counts where individuals live as of April 1, 2020.

That includes young children and infants, roommates, and family members or friends staying at the household, even if temporarily. In addition u PAGE A2

THE closure of school campuses due to the pandemic has complicated the lives of students across California, but that doesn’t mean learning and inspiration have to stop.

As such, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, a new elementary school in Stockton, California named after Flora Arca Mata, a pioneering Filipina American teacher of the 20th century, was opened in a move to honor California’s diverse history in education.

Mata was the first Filipino American and first person of color to serve as a public

school teacher in the state of California, as previously reported in the Asian Journal.

On Tuesday, Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) officials and the family of Mata — who passed away in 2013 at the age of 95 — held a social distancing-friendly ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new K-8 school located along Alexandria Place. The event was also live-streamed by the school district.

“This is going to be a great learning institution,” Flora Arca Mata Elementary School principal Henry Phillips said at the ceremony inside the school’s multipurpose room. u PAGE A2

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday, September 22, said global airlines are pushing for airport COVID-19 tests for all departing international passengers to replace the quarantines that are allegedly exacerbating the travel slump.

According to the head of IATA, rapid and affordable antigen tests that can be administered by non-medical staff are expected to become available in the “coming weeks” and should be rolled out under globally agreed standards.

“We don’t see any alternative solution that would be less challenging or more effective,” IATA Director General Alexandre de

Juniac said during an online media briefing.

He noted that airlines will push for the rapid antigen tests to be endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency that oversees global aviation rules, as they become available for as little as $7 each.

De Juniac added that the IATA believes the production could be quickly increased to millions per day, and the tests phased in between late October and December would help “save a part of the winter season.”

However, a global agreement is needed to ensure test results on departure are accepted on arrival.

“It will also boost passenger confidence that everybody on

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From the Front Page

Fil-Ams in California urged to...

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to English and Spanish, completing the census online or by phone can be done in 11 other languages, including Tagalog (844-478-2020).

Heading into the final week of September, 68.7% of households in California have self-responded to the census questionnaire. In the Bay Area, the self-response rates have been above the state’s average: Alameda County (74.8%), San Mateo County (77.9%), Santa Clara County (76.7%), Marin County (75.6%), Contra Costa County (76.7%).

Meanwhile, San Joaquin County’s self-response rate is at 68.2%, Fresno County at 67.5%, and Merced County at 66% as of press time.

Among the last-ditch efforts has been a week-long census caravan up the state, beginning in San Diego and ending in Sacramento at the end of the week.

Along the way, organizers are

stopping in cities and neighborhoods with sizable Fil-Am populations, such as Carson, Artesia, Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, Delano, and Daly City, and are talking to individuals about what resources the census results bring to their communities.

A common misconception that has prevented some individuals from answering is that the survey only applies to homeowners, but one of the questions asks whether the home is owned, rented, or occupied without payment or rent.

“There’s a misunderstanding of people thinking that if they’re not the homeowner or the head of the household, then they don’t have to do the census. But no, it’s absolutely for anyone to fill out,” Ivy Daulo, partnership specialist for the Census Bureau in the LA region, told the Asian Journal.

The results guide how over $675 billion in federal funding will be allocated to states

annually. This year alone, the spread of COVID-19 and raging wildfires across California have underscored the need for communities to get these critical resources.

“The data that’s gathered by the Census Bureau is not only helpful with future emergencies, but definitely with recovery efforts, such as what is going on with COVID-19 and the wildfires,” Daulo said. “When we know how to service the community, they are able to tailor their efforts to the people, the homes, and also the businesses in each of those affected areas.”

States lose approximately $1,000 per person each year for the 10 next years for those who are missed in the count.

Following the deadline, the U.S. Census Bureau in December will deliver the apportionment counts to the president and Congress as required by law. Each state will receive the PAGE A4

Rendering of the Flora Arca Mata Elementary School in Stockton, California

Photos courtesy of the Stockton Unified School District

Stockton elementary school named after...

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“Our board of trustees has given us an excellent start by naming this site after an exemplary educator.”

The school currently has 420 enrolled students who are distance learning. The $38.2 million school is a state-of-the-art facility that can accommodate 540 students.

As previously reported in the Asian Journal, the campaign to name the new school after one of the state’s most prolific teachers began in 2019 when the FilAm organization Little Manila Rising asserted Mata’s indelible influence on public education in Stockton and California as a whole.

The campaign garnered massive support from the district which announced in December 2019 that it would officially name the new school after Mata.

“I feel she was a very humble person and she would probably stand back a bit, [but] I think she would be very happy about pushing on education and making sure that students and teachers and everybody stayed dedicated to the future of our community,” Aaron Mata, the late educator’s grandson who is also an educator and principal at Health Careers Academy in the SUSD, said in his remarks on Tuesday.

The grandson shared that even after her retirement, Mata was still passionate about public education, requesting family members to drive her to school so she can assist teachers and students.

“She had a very clear vision of what education can do and she was deeply passionate about the teaching profession for many years. When I reflect back on it, I

Signage for the new elementary school

Flora Arca Mata’s family attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the elementary school named in her honor on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

can see how dedicated she was,” he said.

Stockton was previously home to the largest Filipino population outside the Philippines, which highlights the significance of the district’s choice to name the school after Mata. Mata was born in Hawaii in 1917 and as a child, her family relocated to Stockton where she attended local schools.

After earning a teaching degree at UCLA — of which she was also the first Filipino American to graduate — she began her long career of teaching in post-WWII California. Her service spanned

more than three decades until she retired at 80 years old.

Mata was known to have advocated for the right to education for communities of color and equal opportunity for ethnic minorities to pursue prestigious careers. She reportedly challenged a school dean who told her that being a woman of color would hinder her ability to teach.

She told the school dean, “Why is it that America would educate the minority and not give them an opportunity to use this education? Why is it that they need a college education to be dishwashers?” n

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Dateline USa

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House passes resolution denouncing all forms...

LONG PASSENGERS’ LINE. The queue of passengers reaches the Edsa-Quezon Avenue footbridge from the service road along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City on Monday, September 21. The surge of commuters of public transportation has been observed after the government relaxed some quarantine protocols in some areas of the country.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Duterte addresses global issues before UN...

PAGE A1 t crisis without precedent. It is the biggest test the world and the United Nations faced since World War II,” Duterte said.

The president said that how the world will address COVID-19 will define our future.

“For the Philippines, this means putting up all of the peoples of our united nations at the core of this response,” he said.

Duterte encouraged each nation to put up a united front against the pandemic, saying the world needs are coordinated international plans and efforts to pursue a common purpose.

“COVID-19 knows no border.

It knows no nationality. It knows no race. It knows no gender. It knows no age. It knows no creed,” Duterte stressed.

The president urged that when the world finds the vaccine, access to it must be available to al rich and poor nations alike.

In need of stability Duterte encouraged all countries to ease geopolitical tensions that continue to rise, saying that it heightens fears and tends to tear peoples apart.

“Given the size and military might of the contenders, we can only imagine and be aghast at the terrible toll on human life and property that shall be inflicted if the ‘word war’ deteriorates into a real war of nuclear weapons and missiles,” the president explained as he called on stakeholders in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and Africa.

Unexpected turn As Duterte continued to push for unity among nations in addressing the pandemic, he affirmed the Philippines’ commitment in the South China Sea in accordance with the UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

“The Award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon,” Duterte maintained.

Duterte said he rejects any attempt to undermine it. He also thanked countries and states who have acknowledged the award and what if stands for.

China has consistently invalidated the 2016 ruling and continued with its reclamation activities and militarization in the heavily contested area.

Filipinos coming home The president shared that many migrant Filipino workers have been devastated by the pandemic.

“Many have lost not only their livelihood, but also their health and lives as well. Yet they go on

in the frontlines, healing, caring for others in different parts of the world,” Duterte said.

The Philippine government has embarked on an unprecedented repatriation program with more than 345,000 overseas Filipino workers who need to come home.

“We have brought back half and are bringing back the rest,” Duterte said.

Climate change Filipinos and citizens of other developing countries suffer the most as climate change worsens the ravages brought upon by the pandemic.

“The Philippines joined the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. We call on all parties, especially those who have not made good their commitment to fight climate change, to honor the same,” Duterte said.

He urged his international counterparts to strengthen communities and peoples for preparedness and resilience.

Advocate of human rights Duterte promised that his government will continue to protect the human rights of its people, especially from the scourge of illegal drugs, criminality, and terrorism.

“They attempt to discredit the functioning institutions and mechanisms of a democratic country and a popularly elected government which in its last two years still enjoys the same widespread approval and support,” he said.

He called for an open dialogue and constructive engagement with the United Nations.

“But these must be done in full respect of the principles of objectivity, noninterference, nonselectivity and genuine dialogue.

These are the fundamental bases for productive international cooperation on human rights,” Duterte said.

The president also said that the Philippines remain committed to rebuild stricken communities and address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism in the country.

Nuclear non-proliferation Duterte called on all member states to fully implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions.

“I have asked the Philippine Senate to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Importantly, we were among those to sign it first,” the president said.

He then shared the country’s long history of the humanitarian tradition of opening its doors to refugees.

“From the White Russians following the 1917 Revolution, the

Nail salons allowed to reopen...

PAGE A1 t tects employees and customers, the department said.

The announcement comes two months after Governor Gavin Newsom gave nail and hair salons and barbershops the green light to move their operations outdoors after being ordered to close in early July. Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to move back indoors with certain precautions last month.

In August, Newsom unveiled a four-tier system in which counties must show consistency in slowing transmission before allowing certain businesses to reopen.

The purple tier, meaning the county risk level is widespread and with a positivity rate of more than 8%, says many non-essential indoor business operations must remain closed. Los Angeles County remains in this tier and has not announced whether it would allow nail salons to reopen, as of this writing.

The red tier (substantial) measures 4-7 daily new cases per 100,000 and a 5-8% positivity rate, and mandates certain nonessential indoor businesses to stay closed.

Meanwhile, the orange tier (moderate) allows for some indoor businesses to reopen with modifications if they post 1-3.9 daily new cases per 100,000 and have a positivity rate between 2 to 4.9%. The yellow tier (mini-

mal) allows for most indoor businesses to open again if they have less than 1 daily new cases per 100,000 and less than 2% positive tests.

Counties have to meet the next tier’s requirements for two consecutive weeks before their status is moved. On the flip side, if cases rise for that same period, the county will descend to a more restrictive tier.

The counties that have moved to the red tier as of Tuesday are Alameda, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo and Solano.

Meanwhile, moving to the orange are El Dorado, Lassen and Nevada counties, and in yellow, Mariposa County.

With flu season around the corner, the state Health Department and officials are urging residents to get vaccinated.

“We could potentially experience what some refer to as a ‘twindemic,’ flu and COVID overwhelming ICUs and hospitals. We want to avoid that,” Newsom said on Monday. “You can help aid and advance that by getting a flu shot.”

As of Wednesday, September 23, California reported 2,617 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 787,470. There were 133 new COVID-related deaths in the state, for a total of 15,204.

The 14-day positivity rate for the tests is 3.1%, according to health officials. (AJPress)

European Jews in the Second World War, the Vietnamese in the late 1960s, and the Iranians displaced by the 1979 revolution, among others,” Duterte shared.

Duterte said the country continues to practice such tradition in accordance with its obligations under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

“But lest we forget: helping the most vulnerable – those displaced by conflict, persecution, and political instability – is a shared responsibility of all countries,” Duterte stressed.

Recognizing the UN To defeat the pandemic and

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PAGE A1 t state of New York and in communities throughout the nation have been verbally and physically attacked, spat on and shunned,” said Meng, who is also the first vice chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

The resolution was introduced

by Meng in March in response to the increase of reported hate crimes targeting AAPIs since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition aimed at addressing antiAAPI discrimination amid the pandemic, said in its latest August report that it received a total of 2,583 incidents of discrimination against AAPIs from 47 states in the past five months.

Critics have said that President Donald Trump’s insistent use of the phrase “China virus” in describing COVID-19 has enabled the rise of anti-AAPI discrimination and hate crimes.

The World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, called on scientists, leaders, and media to avoid using names of people, places, and animals when naming diseases to avoid stigmatizing nations, economies, and people.

“Enough of the demeaning usages of ‘Chinese virus,’ ‘Wuhan virus’ and ‘Kung-flu’, especially from our nation’s leaders, such as President Trump,” said Meng.

“Enough of the scapegoating.”

All votes against the measure were by Republican lawmakers, with Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California calling the resolution “ridiculous” and a “waste of time.”

McCarthy suggested that the House focus instead on a coronavirus stimulus plan.

“At the heart of this resolution is the absurd notion that referring to the virus as a Wuhan virus or the China virus is the same as contributing to violence against Asian Americans, which I will tell you no one of this side of the aisle supports,” said McCarthy.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio accused supporters of the resolution of being a part of “the mob of cancel culture” and pointed out that the media and some Democrats used terms condemned in the resolution early on in the pandemic.

“That’s how the mob operates today,” said Jordan. “They’ll attack you if you don’t say it the way they want you to say it and this is dangerous. You can’t say China virus today. Tomorrow who knows what it will be?”

In a statement following the resolution’s passing, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who also serves as CAPAC chair, doubled down on the reports of AAPI hate crimes connected to the coronavirus.

“An 89-year-old woman in New York was slapped and set on fire.

A 16-year old boy in Los Angeles was beaten so badly he had to be hospitalized. And in Texas, a gunman shot a family at a Sam’s Club saying he wanted to exterminate Asians,” said Chu. “Each of these attackers, and thousands of others like them, have been inspired by the false perception that Asians are responsible for the virus – a perception that has been advanced by Donald Trump and Republicans who have insisted on using slurs

like ‘Wuhan virus,’ ‘China plague,’ and ‘Kung flu’ even though they know they are dangerous,” added Chu. AAPI community applauds resolution Following the resolution’s passing, AAPI groups were quick to voice their support.

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) acknowledged that there would still be those who wouldn’t see the racism behind blaming China for the coronavirus, but said there would be a “time and place to hold all world leaders accountable for their responses to the pandemic.”

“However, so long as elected officials insist on racializing the virus to deflect blame or dodge accountability, we’ll be here to remind them that Asian Americans will not be collateral or scapegoats for their failed leadership,” NCAPA wrote in a statement.

Fil-Am Katrina Dizon Mariategue, acting executive director at Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) said Trump’s insistence on calling COVID-19 the “China Virus” has “opened the door to xenophobic and racist harassment of the Asian American and Southeast Asian American communities.”

“While we grapple with lockdowns in our communities, lack of clear information and leadership, and language barriers to accessing necessary healthcare and culturally competent mental health support, we have also been put at undue risk of physical and mental abuse because of this hateful framing of COVID-19,”

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Airlines call for COVID-19 tests before...

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the aircraft has been tested,” said de Juniac.

The IATA last month pushed for laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to be conducted 48 hours before departure.

De Juniac pointed out that last-minute airport screening is more effective because it “seals off the system” against forged certificates or infections contracted just before travel.

Antigen tests are faster but more likely to miss positive cas-

es of COVID-19 than PCR tests.

Earlier this month, German diagnostics specialist Qiagen said a COVID-19 antigen test that provided results in 15 minutes was going to be launched.

The test could be deployed in airports or stadiums. n

New AAPI study: Majority of Fil-Am...

PAGE A1 t Ramakrishnan, public policy and political science professor at UC Riverside, said during a webinar hosted by the Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Ramakrishnan shared findings from a study that was designed to gauge the attitudes and voting behaviors of “low-propensity voters,” or registered voters that are the least likely to participate in elections.

The study included 88 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) participants throughout California, and it concluded there is a “strong preference” to vote by mail this election due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though the study culled information from a small sample size, the researchers disaggregated the data among the most prominent AAPI groups and found that among Filipino American voters, 4 out of 9 Filipinos and native Tagalog speakers usually vote inperson.

According to the study, Filipinos who are ESL speakers (like other ESL speakers of different origins) prefer using the language assistance available at the polls.

But for the upcoming election, only about 2 out of 9 Filipinos plan to vote in person, meaning that a majority of Filipino voters will likely vote by mail or utilize one of the many ballot drop-off locations throughout the state.

At a time when President Donald Trump is routinely denigrating the vote-by-mail option and encouraging voters to cast their ballots at the polls, one of the biggest challenges lies in ensuring communities and low-propensity voters that mail-in ballots are still a viable option to participate in the election. (Trump himself has voted-by-mail throughout his presidency.)

In terms of bridging that information gap between government agencies and various ethnic communities, the most trusted sources include traditional and

BUKO JUICE. A buko (young coconut) vendor chops open a coconut for a customer at JBC wet and dry market in Barangay Salitran 3, Dasmarinas City, Cavite on Tuesday, September 22. Young coconuts are sold for P25 each at the market.

PNA photo by Gil Calinga

Fil-Ams in California urged to...

Photo by Tiffany Tertipes on Unsplash

ethnic media, social media, community organizations and family and friends. Understanding the trusted channels, Ramakrishnan noted the importance of these sources to provide accurate and safe information.

Social media, particularly Facebook, has been found to allow the dissemination of misinformation regarding the elections, following the Russian tampering of the 2016 election through social media. Minority communities that primarily receive information through social media are particularly vulnerable to being misinformed.

“It really shows the importance of having good information readily available from these trusted sources,” Arturo Vargas of the Latino-based NALEO Educational Fund said on Thursday. “The partnership between the county and these community organizations is so important because we have to make sure that voters and families of voters feel like they can trust the information they’re getting from the county because it’s being validated by these trusted organizations.”

Mail-in voting still holds the highest interest among voters, Ramakrishnan said, but the con-

PAGE A2 t results by March 31, 2021 as they determine how many representatives states get in Congress and are used to redraw legislative districts based on population changes.

Officials and organizations remind community members that the census does not ask for citizenship status, financial income or social security number. The information collected will also not be shared with other government agencies.

“Another big barrier is just people not knowing that it is completely confidential. All information that is provided to

cerns over delivery and whether or not their votes will be counted in time remain. There’s also great interest in the availability of drop-off boxes, which are locations where voters may drop their mail-in ballot off before Election Day. But Ramakrishnan pointed to the community efforts on issues like the 2020 Census, wherein immigrant advocacy organizations have extensively provided census survey support and assistance to households across LA PAGE A3 t County. added Mariategue.

“I think there is a lot of trust Asian Americans Advancing that has been built up and this Justice | AAJC commended Meng is where I think a lot of engage- and CAPAC for “doing their part ment on the census has shown to reduce the discrimination and that these kinds of partnerships aggression” AAPI communities between county government have been experiencing on top of agencies and community part- the global pandemic. ners to make sure everyone gets counted,” Ramakrishnan said.

He added, “Even if someone does not fully trust government, the strong partnership of com- PAGE A3 t munity partners — including other challenges, Duterte said organizations like CHIRLA [Co- member states, win or lose, must alition for Human Immigrant work together with seamless unity Rights – Los Angeles], many of and conviction. these AAPI rights and immigrant “We cannot bring back the rights organizations — has gone dead but we can spare the livfar to bridge local governments ing; and we can build back better, with these communities.” healthier, and more prosperous

the Census Bureau is protected under Title 13. All of our census staffers out in the field, whether they’re knocking on doors or on site in front of supermarkets, take an oath to protect that information,” said Daulo.

According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) in 2018, 4,037,564 Filipinos are estimated to be living in the country, compared to the 2010 Census, which counted 3.4 million Filipinos.

The five states with the largest Filipino populations include: California (1,651,933), Hawaii (367,364), Texas (194,427), Washington (178,300), and Ne-

vada (169,462), according to the 2018 data.

Even if Fil-Ams have responded, Daulo said they can do their part in the last week by reaching out to friends and family to ask if they’ve completed their forms.

Census enumerators are continuing to survey non-responsive households door-to-door each day of the week, and carry an official census bag and ID badge.

“Time is running out and let your friends and family know that if census workers come to their door, make sure they cooperate and know that the takers are there to help them respond,” Daulo said. n

House passes resolution denouncing all forms...

John C. Yang, president and executive director of the group, said the recorded increase in hate crimes towards AAPI was telling of a “dangerous path where this behavior is becoming normalized.”

“Bigotry and hate cannot continue,” said Yang. “Overcoming

this global pandemic is challenging enough without the constant threat of unprovoked attacks on our community. We must all work together through this public health crisis and support the Asian American and other hardhit communities by the Coronavirus.” (Rae Ann Varona/AJPress)

Duterte addresses global issues before UN... and just societies,” he said.

Duterte acknowledged the United Nations as an essential organization to humanity.

“We need to act on long-standing recommendations to improve the Security Council’s composition and working methods; to strengthen the role of the General

Assembly; and to streamline the processes and the operations of the UN,” he said.

The president said the UN is as effective as its members make it.

“Let us empower [the] UN — reform it — to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” he said. n

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FEATURES

OPINION

Abuse of power

FORTY eight years is a long time to remember. In a country where lessons are not easily learned and mistakes of the past keep being repeated, however, people need continuing reminders about the consequences of greed and the abuse of power. Especially because those who benefited from the abuse are actively trying to rewrite history.

Barred from seeking a third term as president, Ferdinand Marcos found another way of perpetuating himself in power. Claiming to quell a communist rebellion, the Marcos regime faked an ambush on his defense secretary and used it as a pretext to place the country under martial law.

This was not the martial law imposed in Mindanao by the current administration to deal with the possible spillover of the Maute terrorist threat from Marawi City, but the real deal. Among the first moves of the Marcos dictatorship was to silence its critics, shutting down all independent media organizations and tossing key journalists into jail together with opposition leaders. Nothing was too small for the regime to exert its authoritarian rule: rock music was banned from the airwaves; long hair and the short shorts called hot pants were prohibited; hemlines were pulled down even in private schools.

State forces arrived in private homes, literally

in the dead of night, armed with Arrest, Search and Seizure Orders to take whoever or whatever they wanted from the premises. Many of those who were picked up on the strength of ASSOs were severely beaten, electrocuted, burned with cigarettes, deprived of sleep and subjected to the water cure. Women were raped and subjected to the same forms of physical and psychological torture. Many of those arrested were never seen or heard from again; to this day, the country still has a long list of the martial law desaparecidos.

The abuse of power was extended to the economy as the conjugal dictatorship treated public coffers as their own. A word had to be coined for the world-class corruption of the regime: kleptocracy.

Crony capitalism pushed the economy to the brink of ruin.

The country’s failure to put the plunderers of the dictatorship behind bars has to be one of the biggest reasons for the continuing prevalence of

Editorial

The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS “FOR the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for President. But as proud as I am to label myself as a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else — AMERICAN. So I want to take a moment today to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over party — it is your DUTY.” - Former Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (2016).

And just lately, this statement: “President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic showed a ‘flat-out disregard for human life’ because his main concern was the economy and his reelection.”

This strong rebuke of President Donald Trump isn’t from a Democrat, pundit, or news analyst.

This statement came from a long-time Republican who, like many other Republican officials like former Gov. Swchwarzenegger and others listed below, have already rejected Trump, debunking his narrative that those who oppose him are just Democrats and the “Fake News Media.”

Many of them have already endorsed Joe Biden for president.

The latest Republican in the White House inner circle who came out to voice her opposition to Trump’s re-election is Olivia Troye, who had been in all of the Coronavirus Task Force meetings and was a homeland security, counterterrorism and coronavirus

DE LA CRUZ

A PALPABLE sense of loss overcame me upon hearing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s (RBG) passing last Friday, September 18.

Like many others, I turned to the internet to get confirmation, and was struck by the outpouring of posts about her. This made my sense of loss even more palpable.

It’s like what one feels, upon entering a church for a memorial service.

Only this time, it is not confined in a church; it is community-wide, even nationwide. RBG was a beacon of hope to the many that she fought for or liberated from inequitable laws and policies. She was a guardian, vigilant against efforts by the government to “abridge” civil liberties.

Many say that RBG’s death is a devastating loss for feminists.

Philstar.com photo

corruption in Philippine society, and for the historical revisionism under a Marcos-friendly administration, which allowed the dictator’s burial in the heroes’ cemetery. George Santayana fa-

mously warned about the consequences of forgetting the past. It would be a national tragedy if the Philippines forgot the horrors and abuses of martial law. (Philstar.com)

‘Vote out Trump’ is not just a partisan fight as more Republicans rebuke Trump, endorse Biden to save the democracy and soul of America adviser to Vice President Pence for two years.

The White House responded by calling Troye “a disgruntled former employee, minimized her role on the task force and disputed her characterization that the pandemic response has not gone well,” the Washington Post reported.

But former senior Trump administration official Miles Taylor, another “disgruntled employee,” recounted to CNN’s Chris Cuomo that he had personally witnessed Vice President Mike Pence praise his former homeland security adviser Olivia Troye, who left his staff in August. Taylor also left the White House because of Trump.

Taylor was a lifetime Republican who worked at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff. He was the first White House senior official to endorse Biden.

“After serving for more than two years in the Department of Homeland Security’s leadership during the Trump administration, I can attest that the country is less secure as a direct result of the president’s actions,” Taylor wrote in an OP-ED for the Washington Post.

“Like many Americans, I had hoped that Donald Trump, once in office, would soberly accept the burdens of the presidency — foremost among them the duty to keep America safe. But he did not rise to the challenge. Instead, the president has governed by whim, political calculation and self-interest,” he added.

Taylor also accused Trump of withholding disaster aid from blue states and claiming “magical authorities” above the law.

Like Taylor, Olivia Troye also indicated that she will vote for Joe Biden.

“The president’s rhetoric and his own attacks against people in his administration trying to do the work, as well as the promulgation of false narratives and incorrect information of the virus have made this ongoing response a failure,” she said in an interview.

Troye might have played a behind-the-scenes role during her time in the White House, but the Post reported that “she was a major participant in the task force’s work. “I attended and helped to organize ‘every single meeting’ it held from February until July,” Troye was quoted by the Post.

“She worked closely with Pence on the administration’s response, including establishing an agenda for each meeting, preparing the vice president and arranging briefings for him, writing and editing his comments, and dealing with the vice president’s political aides.”

Troye revealed, “Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn’t a matter of if Covid would become a big pandemic here, it was a matter of when.”

“But the President didn’t want to hear that, because his biggest concern was that we were in an election year, and how was this going to affect what he considered to be his record of success?”

“Maybe this Covid thing is a good thing, “Troye claimed

Trump suggested at one coronavirus task force meeting. “I don’t like shaking hands with people.

I don’t have to shake hands with these disgusting people.” These “disgusting people” were the ones who have been blindly risking their lives amid the pandemic because they thought Trump cared for them.

Olivia Troye and Miles Taylor have now joined many other high-ranking Republicans who rebuked Trump and would not support his reelection bid. Many of them have endorsed Joe Biden.

Forbes reported on prominent former GOP officials, and even some of his ex-staffers, have come out to rebuke Trump, many of them in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden, and more could have come out since Forbes published this list on September 4, 2020: George W. Bush - The last living former Republican president has said he won’t back Trump.

Jeb Bush - the former governor of Florida who was mercilessly ridiculed by Trump when they fought for the GOP nomination in 2016.

Cindy McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain - and mother of The View host Meghan McCain (who also endorsed Biden) narrated a video for the Democratic convention detailing her late husband’s “unlikely friendship” with Biden.

Jim Mattis - Trump’s former Defense Secretary, called Trump “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even

pretend to try.”

John Kelly - Trump’s former Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Secretary said he wished “we had some additional choices.”

John Bolton - Trump’s former national security adviser and self-described “lifelong conservative” said Trump is “stunningly uninformed,” a “danger for the republic” and easily manipulated by foreign leaders—including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who he claims Trump asked for reelection help—Bolton warned of grave danger if Trump wins reelection, stating clearly: “I’m not going to vote for him.”

Rex Tillerson - Trump’s former state secretary said what was challenging for him was: “to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things, but rather just kind of says, ‘This is what I believe.’ ” Thomas P. Bossert - Trump’s first homeland security adviser, said he told the president there was no basis to the theory that Ukraine, not Russia, intervened in the 2016 election and did so on behalf of the Democrats. Bossert said he was “deeply disturbed” that Mr. Trump nonetheless tried to get Ukraine’s president to produce damaging information about Democrats.

Sitting Republican Senators - weighing voting against Trump, according to Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has said he will not vote

for Trump and may write-in his wife, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she is “struggling” with the decision. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) has also said he will not vote for Trump and is considering a vote for Biden.

Former Gov. John Kasich - challenged Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, has been one of Biden’s most vocal Republican backers, lauding his “experience and his wisdom and his decency” at the Democratic convention Former Republican cabinet secretaries who endorse Biden Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that he’s supporting Biden for president, arguing that the former VP is the “right person” for “this time in our country,” though he remains a Republican.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Trump is not his “kind of politician” and called out the president for “the way he disparages people.”

Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell said Trump has “drifted away” from the Constitution, and will instead vote for the former vice president, the Democratic nominee.

Christine Todd Whitman, New Jersey governor from 1994 to 2001 before serving as George W. Bush’s EPA director, appeared at the DNC alongside Kasich.

Former Republican Senators have come out for Biden: David Durenberger of Minnesota and Gordon J. Humphrey of New Hampshire (both independents now), John Warner of Virginia

RBG’s lasting impact on communities like ours

Commentary

ENRIQUE

Philstar.com photo

She did champion women’s rights, but it would be more accurate to say that she was against all forms of discrimination based on gender, sexual preferences, or race. It is largely through RBG’s meticulous, conscientious, and persistent efforts, especially during her time with ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project (which she co-founded) that the Supreme Court came to seriously see the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection as an assurance of evenhandedness in the application of laws, and that gender-based distinctions in laws and policies should be subject to “intermediate scrutiny.” This rule requiring intermediate scrutiny for policies and laws turning on gender distinctions is just a cut below “strict scrutiny” which is reserved for laws that infringe upon our most basic fundamental rights involving a suspect class of people (race, national origin, religion or alienage).

This radically changed the

Court’s attitude when reviewing policies and laws involving gender distinctions. It opened the space where women could stand, co-equal with men in professions hitherto dominated by men.

RBG felt that the way to achieve real gender equity (as told in the biopic “On the Basis of Sex”) is to target specific discriminatory laws in order to demonstrate that gender discrimination, sometimes benignly adopted to favor or protect women, was harmful to both men and women.

In many cases, RBG’s plaintiffs were men. She challenged the military regulation that denied husbands of women in the military some benefits to which wives of male soldiers were entitled, on the assumption that a man was not likely to be the dependent spouse (Frontiero v.

Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 1973).

She challenged a Social Security provision that assumed wives were secondary breadwinners whose incomes were unimportant to the family and therefore

deprived widowers of survivor benefits (Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, 420 U.S. 636, 1975). Stephen Wiesenfeld’s wife, Paula, had died in childbirth, and he sought the benefits so he could stay home and raise their child, Jason.

In her quest for equity and inclusion for women and minorities, RBG worked tirelessly for the strictest interpretation of the constitution’s equal protection clause (14th Amendment), challenging presumptions of difference that may ultimately be a hindrance to an individual’s rising to their potential. For me, her most enduring legacy, lies in the changed perspective and the stricter interpretation of the prohibitions enshrined in the 14th Amendment, commonly referred to as the “Equal Protection Clause,” which explicitly forbids government “to make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…nor deny to any person within its ju-

risdiction the equal protection of the laws (emphasis added)” For RBG, disparate treatment, however benign it may appear to be, could ultimately hinder an individual’s development to their full potential. This is clearly illustrated in the ruling which RBG wrote for The Court’s 7 to 1 majority decision in United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, (1996), involving the Virginia Military Institute, a state-funded military college. The Supreme Court found the all-male admissions policy of a state-supported military college unconstitutional.

To avoid a charge of disparate treatment, the state of Virginia had set up an alternative military college for women. In the majority opinion that she wrote, RBG notes that the state had failed to provide “the exceedingly persuasive justification” that the Constitution requires for treating men and women differently. “Women seeking and fit for a V.M.I.-quality education cannot be offered anything less under the state’s

u PAGE A7

obligation to afford them genuinely equal protection.”

Any disparate treatment she argued, must not “create or perpetuate the legal, social, and economic inferiority of women.”

While RBG admits that there are “inherent differences” between men and women, the laws based on gender under the guise of “protection” are not a legitimate cause “for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual’s opportunity.”

RBG is the mother that watches over us —women, men, people of color, minority communities — vigilant against arbitrary distinctions or outdated social mores and wishing that we are able to rise to our full potential.

Now she has now joined the ages. I need a hug. RBG, thank you. May her memory be a blessing.

••• Enrique de la Cruz is Professor Emeritus of Asian American Studies at Cal State University, Northridge.

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

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Dateline PhiliPPines

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SeptembeR 25-OCtObeR 1, 2020

Locsin, Carpio agree on South China Sea

by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com

MANILA — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he agrees with retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio that the Philippines’ only conflict in the South China Sea is with China, not with other claimants.

“To make it even clearer:

when Viet fishermen ‘poach’ in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) though close to features they claim we arrest them – and let them go in the spirit of amity because VIETNAM IS NOT TRYING TO TAKE WHAT’S OURS. So Carpio 1000 percent correct: our only conflict in SCS/WPS is with China,” Locsin tweeted.

According to Locsin, there is

A

no need to file diplomatic protests against other claimants in the South China Sea that do not have an active conflict with the Philippines.

Carpio will stand as legal counsel in the case filed by former Philippine officials against Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials of China before the International Criminal Court. n

‘Vote out Trump’ is not just a partisan fight...

PAGE A6

and Jeff Flake of Arizona, who called a Trump second term “a real danger.”

Former Republican Representatives Susan Molinari of New York spoke at the Democratic convention, joining former Reps. Charles Djou of Hawaii and Joe Walsh of Illinois, a former tea partier who challenged Trump for the GOP nomination in 2020 and voted for Biden in Illinois’ open Democratic primary in March, calling Trump a “horrible human being” who “must be defeated.”

Former Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania endorsed Biden ahead of the third night of the Democratic convention, declaring, “It’s a sad state of affairs when a president endorses a 9/11 truther,” in reference to Trump’s embrace of Georgia Congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene.

A group of 73 former U.S. national security officials in the Republican administrations, including former heads of the CIA and FBI and Trump administration officials, endorsed Biden, asserting that Trump’s “corrupt behavior renders him unfit to serve as president.”

Former Trump Assistant Director of Homeland Security Elizabeth Neumann accused Trump of ignoring the threat of domestic terrorism and early pandemic warnings, claiming he “gave permission” to white supremacists.

27 former GOP lawmakers, including Jeff Flake, who served in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019; Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona, Rep. Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma, Former Sens. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, John Warner of Virginia, Ray LaHood of Illinois and Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire.

These former members of Congress cited Trump’s corruption, destruction of democracy, blatant disregard for moral decency and urgent need to get the country back on course as a reason why they support Biden Former Republican Senator and Clinton Defense Secretary Bill Cohen of Maine endorsed Biden, blasting Trump’s “failed leadership” on coronavirus and calling Biden “a leader with optimism and competence who gives us hope.”

100 McCain 2008, 30 Romney 2012, two dozen George W. Bush campaign and administration staffers endorsed Biden.

A group of 100 prominent Republicans and independents, including Todd Whitman, former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, launched a group to campaign, run ads and pen opinion pieces on Biden’s behalf.

A group of 107 former state attorneys general who endorsed Biden for his “commitment to eliminate abuses of power” and belief in “common sense law enforcement” includes six Republicans; Greg Zoeller of Indiana, Mark Shurtleff of Utah, Jim Jones of Idaho, Doug Baily of Alaska, Jeff Amestoy of Vermont and Jeff Pine of Rhode Island.

Numerous Republican media figures, campaign strategists and government officials have even organized PACs dedicated to supporting Biden, such as Republican Voters Against Trump and, most recently, 43 Alumni for Biden.

The most notable among them is the Lincoln Project, whose scathing attack ads on Trump have captured the hearts of anti-Trump resistance-minded Democrats. FilAm George Conway, the husband of former White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, was among those who spearheaded this project to rebuke Trump.

Anthony Scaramucci served as Trump’s White House com-

munications director for just two weeks, endorsed Biden and called Trump “crazy.”

Other ex-Trump officials have spoken out against him as well, including communications staffer Omarosa Manigault, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer.

Carly Fiorina - a former Hewlett Packard CEO and GOP presidential candidate who was briefly the running mate of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), said she cannot support Trump and that “elections are binary choices,” Meg Whitman - another Hewlett Packard CEO, said that Trump “has no clue how to run a business, let alone an economy.”

What do these endorsements mean? Country first before party.

Nobody is above the law. Like the above-mentioned Republicans, it is okay to change your mind about supporting Trump because he has proven to be unworthy and beneath the Office of the President of the United States.

That is the patriotic and honorable thing to do under these circumstances.

Trump’s transgressions against the Constitution and his character, personality and selfishness in putting his political agenda ahead of his oath to protect and serve ALL of the American people just prove he is the wrong man for the job.

Joe Biden is the better leader we need in this chapter of our history as we all move and work together to heal this nation and move forward together toward a more perfect union. ***

SELFIE BY THE BAY. People take selfies at Manila Bay’s “white sand beach” on Roxas Boulevard on Sunday, September 20. Crowds wait in long lines to step on the beach which has been temporarily opened to the public for them to see rehabilitation efforts on the bay.

PNA photo by Avito Dalan

Facebook shuts down fake accounts linked to Sara Duterte by ritcheL

MendioLa AJPress

OVER 100 fake accounts related to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio’s potential run in the 2022 presidential election were taken down by social media giant Facebook due to policy violations.

According to Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s cybersecurity policy chief, the accounts were traced to individuals from the Fujian province in China.

He noted that a total of 155 accounts, 11 Pages, nine groups and six Instagram accounts were engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB)” with their posts centered on global news and matters in the Philippines, the rest of Southeast Asia, and the United States. The posts were written in Chinese, English, and Filipino.

The Philippine-related content was about supporting Duterte and his daughter’s presidential campaign in 2022, while the U.S.-related content was supportive of and against presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public Joe Biden and Donald Trump. service and educational broadcasting since 1989 The content related to the with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino Southeast Asian region was about audience using different platforms, including China’s interests in the South digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on China Sea and Hong Kong. a new public service program for the community.

“They focus most of their acYou may contact her through email at gelrelos@ tivities on Southeast Asia. They icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook posted in Chinese, in Filipino, at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos. and in English about global news

and current events, including Beijing’s interest in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, contents supportive of President Duterte and Sara Duterte’s potential run in the 2022 presidential elections, criticism of Rappler, issues relevant to overseas Filipino Workers, praise and some criticism of China,” Gleicher said on Tuesday, September 22.

“We are attributing this to individuals operating from the Fujian province of China. In addition, it’s worth noting, as often when we conduct one of these takedowns, we’ve shared information about this with our industry colleagues and with researchers,” he added.

Gleicher also said that the discovery of the network in China was due to Facebook’s independent investigation and proactive efforts in exposing such operations.

Fake accounts related to local police and military Another network was also recently tracked down by Facebook, this time in the Philippines, with ties to the police and military units in the Philippines.

The posts focused on “domestic audiences,” written in English and Filipino.

A total 57 accounts, 31 pages, and 20 Instagram accounts were removed due to CIB. Facebook also noted that the network’s operations accelerated between 2019 and 2020.

“They posted primarily in Filipino and English about lo-

cal news and events, including domestic politics, the military’s activity against terrorism, the draft of the pending anti-terrorism bill, criticism of communism, youth activists and the opposition, criticism of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,” Gleicher said.

“We are attributing this network to the Philippine military and the Philippine police. In particular, we found links between, behind this network connected to both of these organizations and individuals associated with those organizations,” he added.

Gleicher said that the investigation of the local network was due to the concerns raised by civil society groups in the country and online news site Rappler.

He also maintained that the accounts engaged in deceptive methods.

“So for both of them, the central use of fake accounts, as you know, is a necessary condition for us to determine something is CIB. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only deceptive [practice] they engaged in,” Gleicher said.

He added, “So we regularly see these networks using pages that don’t fully disclose who’s behind them. The patterns of engagements that they may have with these accounts aren’t just the fact that they’re fake, but it’s how they use the accounts to boost their contents.”

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september 25-OctOber 1, 2020 • NOrcAL AsIAN JOUrNAL

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Community Journal

B IN NORTHEN cALIfORNIA

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SeptembeR 25-OCtObeR 1, 2020

Friday, September 25, 2020

OMETHING

ILIPINO

LIfESTyLE • cONSUMER GUIdE • cOMMUNITy • MARkETPLAcE

K-1 petition denied; should we marry?

Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ DeAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I am a U.S. citizen, and filed a K-1 (fiancé) petition for my

girlfriend in the Philippines.

Unfortunately, the case was denied.

I was told by friends it would help if we get married, as that would demonstrate we are truly in love and committed to each other. Would you advise that we get married and I file a spousal petition, to increase our chances of success?

Very truly yours, SL

Dear SL: Before you make a decision on what is the best course of action, it is critical to know WHY the case was denied. Depending on the reason for the denial, it could affect the approval of a petition even if you get married. the same problem or issue that existed in connection with a K-1 petition might still exist with a spousal petition. Getting married PAGE B3

ATTY. GURFINKEL ANSWERS MORE IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS ON A BRAND-NEW EPISODE OF CITIZEN PINOY. On this episode, leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (left) replies to immigration questions sent from Jhing of Maui, Hawaii (bottom left), Rose and Jake from Tigard, Oregon (top right), and Lourdes from Perris, CA (bottom right): What is the best thing to do if a son was petitioned as single, but got married and now has a son. What should a person do if they have a child after their petition was approved and the case is now at the NVC for visa processing? Can the child be included? A person in the Philippines needs police clearance from China (where he worked with his wife as teachers for two years). How can this be expedited for their family without going to China? These questions and more immigration concerns will be answered on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot,” this Sunday, September 27 at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

Why Mia Mercado’s ‘Weird But Normal’ is the funny read we need by

MoMar G. Visaya/AJPress

Meet Mia Mercado, a Filipina American millennial humorist who launched “Weird But Normal,” her debut collection of essays last May. the essays focus on various subjects, from gender roles, sexuality and beauty standards to racial identity, privilege and work dynamics.

In the book, Mercado shares her insights about issues, some absurd, some beautiful and some mundane.

Armed with her sharp humor and wit, “Weird But Normal” brings the laughter and hilarity, and we sure need some of those these days.

Mercado deftly maneuvers her way around humor, identity, culture and the intersections between them and comes up with gems.

Some parts are a little intimate and personal as the author delved into her memories as a young girl

Photo from Instagram/@mia.market

Mia Mercado

going through her teens (along with the corresponding bad/good decisions), and now adulting (with issues on racism, relationships and capitalism). It’s like watching an unfiltered livestream of a reality show where the protagonist wears her heart on her sleeve as she shares some painfully embarrassing moments in her life so far.

Some of the essays look hilarious, judging by the titles alone: “the Holy Sacrament of Birth Control,” “I Am the Girl From Your tampon Commercials,” “Can I Still be a Good Girl While Still Getting F*cked Up?,” “All the things I thought Sex Was” and

Photo by Chase Castor

“White Friend Confessional.”

Born to a Filipino dad and a white mom, Mercado grew up in what she describes as “very suburban Christian Midwest” (read: Glendale, a small city outside Milwaukee in Wisconsin). She took up creative writing at the University of Wisconsin, the same university where her parents met.

She has been asked “where she’s from” many, many times that she felt she had to make some jokes out of it so it wouldn’t overburden her thoughts. As a young girl, she didn’t realize what it meant then but now that she’s an adult, she says she’s “all too PAGE B3

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Features

September 25-october 1, 2020 • NorcAL ASIAN JoUrNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160

Michael V recovers from COVID-19

celebrity world

By Ferdie Villar COMEDIAN and TV host Michael V has resumed his showbiz work after recovering from COVID-19.

While he is still not shooting on location for his family sitcom “Pepito Manaloto” and has yet to rejoin the long-running gag show “Bubble Gang,” the comedian has been making content that has been seamlessly inserted into the sitcom, per reports.

In an interview with Inquirer. net, Michael V said he realized one major thing when he tested positive for the virus.

“I learned not to take anything and anyone for granted.

From my personal hygiene to the people I love, to the people I don’t know but prayed for me during my quarantine, I know now that everything is a blessing,” he said.

The sitcom, according to Michael, will reflect aspects of his life and will be relevant as it utilizes the pandemic in its plot.

“The most obvious way is to feature a story using the pan-

demic as background. As the show’s subtitle suggests, it is all about stories taken from real-life situations. The cast’s personal experiences have been inspirational in creating the upcoming episodes. Pepito’s story, in particular, greatly reflects my personal journey,” he stated.

In another interview in the Philippine Star, the comedian revealed that he continued to create content while he was recovering.

It is through the hashtag #FrontlinerFanart that he encouraged fellow artists to honor front-liners, who are considered modernday heroes, through illustrations and uplifting messages.

“Sila ang mga totoong nagliligtas ng mga buhay ngayong pandemic. Nung nag-positive ako, firsthand kong nakita ‘yung hirap nila, ‘yung sakripisyo nila, at ‘yung dedication nila,” he shared in a vlog entry.

As busy as he is, Michael V adheres to two things when he creates characters or thinks of scenes for his projects: to make

people happy and to inspire a better community.

“I’m just thankful and happy to make them happy. I hope I am good enough to inspire people to be better. Better than me and, hopefully, better than themselves. I hope to inspire them to take even the tiniest necessary step towards reaching their dreams,” he was quoted as saying.

The brilliant comedian added: “I love making people smile,” he said. “I believe you lift a person’s soul when you make them smile and that’s what I’d like to do for as long as I live.” *** Congratulations to former actress/celebrity endorser Gretchen Barretto, whose daughter Dominique recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in California.

Dominique now holds two fashion degrees, with the other coming from the Istituto Marangoni in London.

Angelica Panganiban, one of the most beautiful Kapamilya actresses, is the lead actress of “Walang Hanggang Paalam. She is the leading Sam Milby, a Filipino American actor, is showing his excellent acting lady of handsome actor Tonton Gutierrez in the teleserye that started ability as leading man in the Kapamilya teleserye “Ang sa Iyo ay airing recently.

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In a story posted in the Philippine Star, Gretchen was said to have posted on her Instagram account a picture of the diploma of her daughter, with the words “My baby love @dominique.”

Dominique herself posted a picture in her toga for the virtual graduation ceremonies. *** Actor James Reid was seen in a recent Department of Agriculture event in Nueva Ecija.

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The Kapamilya actor was on hand to help Agriculture Secretary William Dar in the department’s push for sustained food security, feed accessibility and affordability. Reid was also there to encourage the youth to give importance to the contributions of farmers and fisherfolk to the country’s economy.

“I’m very new to the world of agriculture but it’s my passion of sustainability that has brought

me here. It’s my privilege to use my voice to support farmers and fisherfolks in the Philippines,” Reid, who has been designated as an Ambassador for Food Security, was quoted as saying.

Asked what his favorite vegetable is, the actor replied that kangkong is his favorite when he eats sinigang.

The actor was also seen in a video helping harvest ampalaya in a farm.

Gretchen Barretto’s daughter Dominique recently attended virtual graduation ceremonies for FIDM in California where she Actor James Reid was in Nueva Ecija recently to help the Department of graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Instagram File Photo (@dominique) Agriculture in its various campaigns.

Photo provided by PDAR

Why Mia Mercado’s ‘Weird But Normal’...

PAGE B1 familiar with this line of questioning.” “‘What ethnicity are you?’ is something I’ve been asked so frequently my answer is not only well rehearsed, it comes equipped with a brief lesson in Filipino history and the etymology of my last name. I’m working on a choreographed musical number called ‘Spain Colonized the Philippines and All I Got Was a Spanishsounding Last Name and a Whole Lot of Catholicism.’” Mercado writes.

There’s a part in the book where she introduces Rachel Ambiguity (see what she did there?), where she talks about how being half-white afforded her “whiteadjacent privilege,” and says that while her mixed-race informs every part of her life and experience, it is not the focus.

Mercado’s essays have been published in outlets such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Washington Posts’ The Lily, New York Magazine’s The Cut, Bustle, McSweeney’s, Gizmodo, The Hairpin, among others. For a time, she also worked as a greeting-card writer and editor at Hallmark.

In an interview with the Asian Journal, Mercado shares how this book of essays came about.

Asian Journal (AJ): What was the reason behind the book?

MM: It’s something that seemed like a pipe dream or something I’d need to wait years to be even remotely qualified to do until I had enough people with enough publishing power saying I could do it. There are self-aggrandizing and self-sacrificial and romantic reasons why I wanted to write a book, but ultimately, I wrote the book for, I’m guessing, the same reason anyone writes a book: I

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Louise de los Reyes is the leading lady in the GMA Pinoy TV teleserye “One True Love.” Multi-awarded actor Alden Actor Michael V is now fully recovered from COVID-19 and busy creating content for Richards is her leading man in the series. his projects.

Photo from inquirer.net

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Photo from Instagram/@mia.market

had an idea and enough people said “yes” to it.

AJ: What was the writing process like for you, did you follow a certain structure or did you write about what you wanted to write when inspiration struck?

MM: If you asked any writer if they’d ever want to write a book, they’d be like, “Yes, duh, of course.” If you told them to start writing it, they’d be like, “Oh, you meant, like, now?” It was a lot of sitting in coffee shops, thinking about writing, and then maybe writing a couple sentences. I need a lot of thinking time/brainstorming time/looking at Twitter time before I write something. When I would write, I’d try to write a couple of the satirical/conceptual humor pieces between the personal essays just to give my brain an emotional break.

AJ: How did you end up with the title? Were there other alternate titles you thought about?

MM: I have a list of potential names in a Google doc that are all bad and confusing and trying very hard. My main criteria for a title, aside from something that pertained to the book, was that it had to be something I wouldn’t be embarrassed about in five years.

AJ: What was a normal day like for you (before COVID-19)?

MM: My day-to-day hasn’t changed too much since coronavirus lockdowns and self-quarantining. The main difference is I now just work from my bed or my couch instead of at coffeeshops.

On a typical day, if I have a specific assignment, I start with that.

The rest of my day is a combination of checking email, thinking about writing, and maybe writing a couple sentences. I repeat that until it’s an acceptable time to start thinking about dinner.

AJ: In a nutshell, how do you describe your journey so far?

MM: I started as a greeting card editor, had the briefest stint an ad agency, freelanced for whoever would have me, and now I’m almost exclusively writing things I want to be writing (as opposed to writing what I had to because [of] money). It’s a rare and cool thing to be able to do the thing I’m passionate about as my job.

Mostly, I’m trying not to take that for granted.

AJ: What was your biggest learning in coming up with this book? Was it how you imagined it to be?

MM: My biggest takeaway is to try to work with people who are as excited about the thing I’m ex-

Photo by Chase Castor

cited about both when it comes to writing a book and also…every other aspect of a creative project.

I still only understand a small fraction of what goes into publishing a book—the “writing the book” part is neither the beginning nor the end of that process—but having people around me who know their shit and are excited about what I’m doing (or are at least very convincingly fake excited) is what helped make it all fun and fulfilling.

AJ: What’s next for you?

MM: Hopefully, book two. I’d also love to write for TV. If those don’t pan out, I’ll figure out how to scam my way onto the next season of Love Island.

AJ: When was the last time you visited the Philippines?

MM: I’ve only visited the Philippines once, twenty years ago when I was in fourth grade. My dad Basil grew up in Makati.

AJ: What’s the most important lesson your father has taught you?

MM: If you want to do something, there is probably a YouTube tutorial for it. My dad had taught himself how to do everything from chang[ing] his oil to install[ing] a dishwasher to repair a shower. Sometimes I forget how to open the hood of my car.

AJ: How old were you when you realized you wanted to write? Did you have other childhood ambitions?

MM: When I was five or six, I would tell my parents I wanted to be a typewriter because I thought that a writer had to use a pen and paper and I was like, “Hmm no I will be using a machine for my word making.” At other points growing up, I also wanted to be a vet, a teacher, and a singer/actor/dancer/model. I should have stuck with typewriter.

Features

(650) 689-5160 • http://www.asianjournal.com

Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS COVID-19 around the world has now reached almost 32 million cases with nearly a million deaths. The Philippines has 292,000 cases, with 5,100 deaths and 1,700 new cases; the U.S. has almost 7.1 million cases, with 205,000 deaths, and 3,800 new cases; India has 5.6 million cases, with 90,000 deaths, and 21,000 new cases; the UK has 404,000 cases, with 42,000 deaths and 5,000 new cases.

The cold and flu season is here.

FDA advises flu vaccine now, especially for the elderly. Antibiotics are useless for viruses. About 30 percent of prescription for antibiotics are unnecessary and a waste of money. Abuse in the use of antibiotics leads to bacterial resistance, which costs the U.S. healthcare about $20 billion annually and contributes to $35 billion in lost productivity every year. If we, as a society, allow bacterial resistance to develop by frequent use of antibiotics for the wrong diseases, we will soon lose our effective weapons against infections and become helpless, dying from simple infections as we did in pre-1928 era. Remember, antibiotics are not effective against viruses, like cold and flu, bronchitis, sore throat (except Strep throat, which is bacterial).

Abuses have consequences.

This COVID-19 pandemic could certainly drive some people to drink. As always, while a drink or two with dinner is fine, more than a couple is considered unhealthy. Here are some facts about drinking.

Cheers! Ganbei! Salud!

Social drinking is an invention of modern society. And as long as it is done with grace and discipline, and in moderation, the etiquette is totally acceptable.

However, as far as calories go, alcoholic beverages contain one of the highest, per ounce. This is one reason why the choice of cocktails is important for those watching their calorie intake or weight, and to protect their heart and liver.

The National Institute of Health reports that “the pounds put on during the holidays account for half of all the weight gained annually…and the unsuspected culprit is alcohol.” While the observation is totally significant and relevant in the United States, it is today also apropos in other cultures around the globe, albeit, in general, less in Asia.

The five most fattening cocktails • Eggnog: 257 calories and 14 grams of fat, without alcohol, and more than 300 calories when you add distilled spirits.

• Martinis: Many Martinis have 2-5 ounces of liquor and sugary syrups and can have 800 calories per drink. The “Dry” Martini, though, which is basically pure gin (or vodka) and a drop or two of vermouth, plus a couple of olives, may be around 200 calories.

Without the olives and vermouth, it could drop down to 100 calories.

• Hot Toddies: Hot toddy plus

Apl.de.ap and KC Concepcion

COVID-19 update 2 ounces of liquor is about 200 calories. Adding creamy liquors, like Kahlua or Baileys, Schnapps or Amaretto, it adds about 100 calories more, making it a total of 300 calories.

• Margaritas: Whopping 400 calories per drink.

• Mixers: An ounce and a half (45 cc) of 80-proof spirits is roughly 65 calories, and together with 6 ounces of mixers (cola and other soda, plus syrups), the calories zooms at least a couple of hundred.

Five lower calorie drinks • Champagne: The traditional drink for toasts is about 100 calories per drink, which is not too excessive for the waistline.

• Wine Spritzer: With 3 ounces of club soda, the 3 ounces of wine to make the spritzer total about 60 calories, and zero fat.

• Wine: A glass of wine is about 100 calories. Great choice, especially the red variety.

• Beer: Regular has about 150 calories and light beer about 100 calories per can/bottle.

• Gin or Vodka and Soda, or as a Dry Martini: one and a half ounces of 80-proof, with soda mixer or straight (without any mixer), has less than 100 calories and zero fat.

Choosing red wine is smart move as it is good for cardiovascular health. Red wine has been singled out because the skin of the grapes where they come from contains phytochemicals, such as resveratrol, that help protect the plant’s self-defense system, and proanthocyanidins (OPC) and cathechins, which are also powerful antioxidants. Studies at the University of California, Davis, and Cornell University have confirmed the beneficial effect of these potent antioxidants that aid in preventing cancer and heart coronary heart disease. Also, the alcohol in it has some sedative and euphoric effects when wine is taken in moderation, and these are healthy for the psyche, especially in these stressful times.

Not all red wines are alike or equal, though, as far as the amount of resveratrol they contain. Research on seventy red wines from New York rated the Pinot Noirs to contain the highest amount of this phytochemical, with an average content of 13.6 micromoles per liter, about twice the amount found in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The specific wines and vintages with very high level were the ’97 Pinot Noir from Benton-Lane Winery in Oregon and the ’98 Noble Muscadine from Dennis Vineyards in North Carolina. Large commercial wineries manipulate their wines more and reduce the resveratrol and other antioxidants as a result; small wineries utilizing the old European technique produce wines with higher resveratrol.

Most wines, red and white, contain sulfites and tannin, which cause headaches among some wine lovers. To enjoy imbibing my favorite Pinot Noir, I have tried DropIt solution, which stops wine headaches by reducing sulfite and tannin in wine (1-2 drops for white and 2-3 drops for red, per 6 ounce-glass). It works. For more info, email wineRx@DropItwine.com.

Phistar.com photo

Apl.de.ap surprises KC with greeting from Shakira

By Jan

Milo Severo Philstar.com

INTERNATIONAL rapper Apl. de.ap surprised KC Concepcion with a video greeting from international pop star Shakira.

KC posted the video greeting on her Instagram account.

In the video, the “Whenever, Wherever” singer congratulated KC on her new cooking show.

“Hey, KC! A little birdie told me that you like my music. Thank you so much. I wanted to say hi and congratulations on your new show, your new cooking show.

I hope it goes really well and I wish you the best of luck,” Shakira told KC. The daughter of “Megastar” Sharon Cuneta thanked Shakira

for the support.

“Thank you for supporting my newfound quarantine passion, my fitspiration, immortal powerhouse woman, @shakira! Omg her Super Bowl performance was (love),” KC captioned the post.

KC also thanked Apl for the surprise and said she is excited for the new single by Black Eyed Peas and Shakira.

“And can’t wait for her new single Girl Like Me to drop alongside my @bep bros. S/O to my good friend @apldeap for this surprise,” KC said.

The rap group and the Colombian singer have a new single titled “Girl Like Me” that is included in the Black Eyed Peas’ new album “Translation.”

While drinking alcoholic beverages weakens our resistance (or makes us more susceptible) to other “temptations,” like eating more and succumbing to additional high-calorie desserts (pecan pie, crème brulle, or chocolate mousse, etc), the technique of drinking two glasses of cold water after each cocktail drink, used by experienced drinkers, not only ward off dehydration (caused by alcohol) but also helps in calorie and weight control.

So, pick your poison, I mean potion, wisely, hold your liquor with grace, and know when to quit. And as always, let the designated (sober) driver handle the car to avoid being a statistic.

In the meantime, a votre santé!

The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people to 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.

NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • SeptembeR 25-OCtObeR 1, 2020

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Atty. Gurfinkel answers more immigration questions from Kapamilya across the US this Sunday on ‘Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot’

ON a brand new episode of “Your Tanong, My Sagot,” Atty.

Gurfinkel answers questions from Jhing of Maui, Hawaii, Rose and Jake from Tigard, Oregon, and Lourdes from Perris, CA: After my son’s petition was approved, he had a child with his girlfriend. Do we inform the U.S. Embassy, and can the child

be included under the petition?

My son was informed that he needs to submit a police clearance from China (because he and his wife worked there for two years). Is there a way to move forward without going to China to obtain the document?

I petitioned my son when he was single. Nine years later, he married and has a child. He just

received notice from the NVC for his petition as “unmarried.”

What is the best way to move forward?

These and more questions will be answered on “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot,” this Sunday, September 27 at 6:15 pm PST/EST (9:15 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers).

(Advertising Supplement)

K-1 petition denied; should we marry?

PAGE B1 would not solve or cure that problem. For example: • Was your girlfriend previously married, and never terminated her first marriage? If that is the case, she is still married to her first husband and marrying her will not cure that issue, but would in fact result to a bigamous marriage.

• Did your girlfriend commit fraud/misrepresentation to the U.S. Embassy when previously applying for a tourist visa or some other immigration benefit?

For example, some people might have applied for a tourist visa, but submitted fake documents or lied *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac on the visa application and were Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana charged with fraud. That same and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international fraud is still on their record and medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, will come up, whether in connecand Chairman of the Filipino United Network- tion with a K-1 petition or spousal USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian and anti-graft petition. In either case, a fraud foundation in the United States. Visit our waiver would be needed.

• Did your girlfriend commit a websites: philipSchua.com and FUN8888.com; felony or was arrested/convicted Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com.

of any crime, which would still be an issue in a spousal petition?

• At her K-1 interview, did she confess she was marrying you to get a green card, and does not truly love you? In that case, although the U.S. citizen petitioner may be madly in love, the U.S. government views this as a “fixed marriage,” as the beneficiary would be basically using the U.S. citizen for immigration benefit.

These are just some of the considerations that you have to take into account in terms of what is the best course of future action.

As you can see, getting married does not necessarily cure the problem. That’s why it is important for people to consult with an attorney, who can properly evaluate their situation rather than relying on hearsay or advice of friends or relatives. *** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 35 years and is licensed, and an

active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California.

Each case is different, and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter.

No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.

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

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September 25-october 1, 2020 • NorcAL ASIAN JoUrNAL

by Nika

Maja leaves ABS-CBN

Features

http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160

Roque Manilatimes.net

ONE of ABS-CBN’s top stars Maja Salvador confirmed in an Instagram post that she will be appearing on screen again soon but for a different network. It will be remembered that the country’s erstwhile leading network lost its free TV franchise in July.

The actress has withheld information on where she will continue her career, but rumors are rife the 31-year-old is headed to TV5.

TV5 Chairperson Manny Pangilinan announced the network was open to hiring ABS-CBN’s talents and employees; while Star Magic’s Chairman Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan similarly stated they have given their talents the green light to work for TV5 and GMA 7 and continue to manage their careers.

Salvador has been a Star Magic artist since 2003 and her career quickly flourished with challenging roles from her mother studio.

On Instagram, she made sure to say that her success in showbiz is due to ABS-CBN’s support.

“Ako po ay taos pusong nagpapasalamat sa mga taong walang sawang sumusuporta sa akin at sa (My heartfelt gratitude to all those who have supported me at) ABS-CBN. “Mga Kapamilya, sasamahan ko po muna ang aking tatay na si Mr. M kaya sana wag po kayo magulat kung makikita niyo akong lumabas sa ibang network at patuloy makapagbigay ligaya sa inyo kahit sa anong paraan at plataporma (My family, I will first accompany my father, Mr. M., which is why I hope you won’t be surprised when you see me appear in a different network where I will continue to entertain you in whatever way or platform),” she said.

It has been announced that Manahan has been asked to direct and produce a Sunday noon-

Maja Salvador

time show on TV5 which will bring both ABS-CBN and GMA talents together. The weekend variety show is titled “Live@5: Ultimate Sunday Party,” while a daily noontime show called “Laugh Out Loud” is said to be in the works as well.

“Sana po ay tuloy tuloy niyo akong samahan at suportahan sa kahit anong landas na aking tatahakin. Maraming salamat po (I hope you will continue to stay and support me on my new journey. Thank you very much),” she ended.

Salvador’s post received supportive comments from her fanbase and fellow actors Erich Gonzales, Julia Barretto, and boyfriend Rambo Nunez, among others.

Under ABS-CBN, Salvador was dubbed the “Dance Prin-

Photo from Instagram/@iammajasalvador

cess” following her energetic performances on the Sunday show “ASAP” and singing career. As an actress, she proved her mettle with the hit teleseryes like the leading anti-heroines of “The Killer Bride” and “Wildflower.” The latter even had an international stint which led to Salvador’s historic Best Actress win at the first Asia Contents Awards in Busan, South Korea in 2019. The show was also nominated for Best Drama, where she played the dual role of Ivy Aguas and Lily Cruz, out to avenge the death of her parents. Salvador and the show were the only nominees from the Philippines.

Under Star Cinema, Salvador’s most acclaimed role was in the biopic “Thelma” where she won a Gawad Urian Award for Best Actress.

Ria assembles hundreds of celebrities to influence fans

Ria Atayde is youngest third among the trio of hosts on TV5’s ‘Chika Besh.’

Photo from Instagram/@ria

friend Maine Mendoza to further her cause. “Arjo is very passionate about these things as well he’s just not as vocal as I am… I aslo talk to her (Maine) about the things I’m passionate about.”

Ria was active in the student council back in school and the key to her voice being heard are the people behind her, “A lot of people who support me or also aligned with the way I think and that is important.”

Though she says that she has yet to fully adjust to the morning talk show life, Ria is known to be one of the outspoken personalities of today who is very much vocal to issues such as ABSCBN’s shutdown as she is part of the Star Magic talent roster. She was present in the rally but she said the birth of the group who they will inspire to go and register does not have to do anything with what happened to channel two, “When it comes to that you have to separate my individual self from this because this is for voting. There is no color to it.”

Though she clarified that she does not have control over the reasons of her peers who joined since they’re also their own, “Some people have joined because of the influence of that.”

They had a successful launching last September 15 live on We The Vote Facebook page and Zoom and plans to have on ground activities as soon as the pandemic restrictions ease up.

Ria is passionate to make the kids nowadays realize the power they could have just by voting the right people in office, “The movement did not start out of anger or out of the scent nothing really like that it’s really just because it is our right to vote and it’s our responsibility to our country.”

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

by MJ

MaRfoRi Inquirer.net

OUT of her own initiative, outspoken stellar actress and now “Chika Besh”morning show host Ria Atayde managed to gather more than three hundred celebrities to get involved to register and vote in the upcoming 2022 election. Of course, In The Know spoke exclusively to Ria to get the lowdown on what she named the We The Youth group.

This was born just last July and now other industries are joining in on her vision to get all the Gen Z and millennials to go and exercise their rights to suffrage.

Surely, Ria’s mom Sylvia Sanchez is one proud parent! She taught her daughter well to care enough about the future. Ria shared that the moment she turned 18yrs old, she immediately registered

and became a voter ever since.

She credits her family and their dynamics as her inspiration, “At the dining table the topic would always be always about politics Or business more than our personal or private lives so bata pa lang it’s always been something that I have been aware of.”

In the U.S., big name celebrities are paid to endorse the rock to vote movement and Ria is not envious about that at all.

She even revealed that it was not hard to get the likes of Macoy Dubs, Tonette Jadaone and so many more to join We The Vote, “Ang dami you’d be surprised to see and it makes me so hopeful That there are a lot of people who still believe in the democracy of this country and in our right to suffrage so nakakatuwa talaga.”

She is even backed up by her brother Arjo Atayde and his girl-

3RD ANNUAL HALLOWEEN HOME DECORATING CONTEST. The Cultural Commission is excited to announce the return of this annual event. Santa Clara residents are encouraged to participate in the contest by decorating their front yards, or exterior of apartment, condominium, house and townhouse for Halloween. Entries will be accepted online between Oct. 1 – 28, 2020. This year, one home from each Council District will be selected as a winner. For more information, visit SantaClaraCA.gov/contest or call 408-615-3140 or email PRCustomerServe@SantaClaraCA.gov.

Nov. 3 general election: Watch for your sample ballot, official voter information pamphlet REDWOOD CITY – On September 24, the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will begin mailing the Sample Ballot & Voter Information Pamphlet for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election to registered voters.

“The Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet provides a wealth of information to voters on candidates, measures, and voter services for the upcoming general election,” said Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer and Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder.

“The voter pamphlet will be provided to all eligible voters in the language indicated in

their voter registration,” added Church.

Voters may also view their voter pamphlets online in either PDF or accessible format by visiting www.smcvote.org and clicking “My Election Info.”

Visually impaired voters may request a copy of the county’s Sample Ballot & Official Voter Information Pamphlet on audiotape by calling the Registration & Elections Division at 888.SMC. VOTE (888.762.8683). A screenreadable version of the pamphlet can be accessed by visiting www. smcvote.org and clicking “My Election Info.”

Voters may join our Go Green! program to view their pamphlets

online only. Voters can sign up by clicking on the “Sign Up for Go Green!” button at www.smcvote. org. After signing up, they will no longer be mailed a paper copy of the pamphlet and will be notified by email when their pamphlet is available.

All Vote Centers comply with San Mateo County Health Department and CDC COVID-19 safety standards. Voters are expected to wear masks and adhere to all social distancing requirements.

For more information on the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election, please call 650.312.5222, visit www. smcvote.org or follow on Twitte r and Instagram @smcvote.

Julia shuts down pregnancy rumors with toned abdomen photo ACTRESS Julia Barretto has shut down rumors of her being pregnant, supposedly with actor Gerald Anderson, by showing a photo of her toned abdomen in her Instagram page.

Barretto, seen wearing white pants and a grey bralette that exposes her mid riff, captioned the post with the words “fake news,” apparently to dismiss speculations of her being pregnant.

Former broadcaster and administration supporter Jay Sonza earlier posted something about Barretto’s alleged pregnancy, claiming that the actress and Anderson “proved that they were not barren.”

Barretto’s relatives including sisters Dani and Claudia, as well as friends and other celebrities like Liza Soberano, Miles Ocampo, and Alex Gonzaga shunned the issue, saying that it is how baseless allegations should be answered.

“Shut it down sis! Love you!” Dani said in her comment.

As of now, the phrase “Leave Julia Barretto Alone” is trending on Twitter with Jay Sonza’s name, as over 3,200 tweets have been made about the topic.

Netizens have condemned Sonza for his post, with several of Barretto’s supporters and other women rights advocates urging her to file a case against the former mediaman. Others on the other hand ridiculed Sonza for insinuating that a woman with a flat tummy is pregnant.

Anderson and Barretto drew controversy in 2019 after Anderson and his former girlfriend actress Bea Alonzo broke up, with people pointing at Barretto as the culprit. However, both Anderson and Barretto deJulia Barretto Photo from Instagram/@juliabarretto nied the accusations. (Inquirer.net)

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