120623 - Southern California Midweek Edition

DECEMBER 6-8, 2023 Volume 33 - No. 97 • 12 Pages

President Marcos vows to go after terrorists behind Marawi bombing

DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Desperate families search for affordable home care IT’S a good day when Frank Lee, a retired chef, can slip out to the hardware store, fairly confident that his wife, Robin, is in the hands of reliable help. He spends nearly every hour of every day anxiously overseeing her care at their home on the Isle of Palms, a barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina.

Robin Lee, 67, has had dementia for about a decade, but the couple was able to take overseas trips and enjoy their marriage of some 40 years until three years ago, when she grew more agitated, prone to sudden outbursts, and could no longer explain what she needed or wanted. He struggled to care for her largely on his own.

“As Mom’s condition got more difficult to navigate, he was just handling it,” said Jesse Lee, the youngest of the couple’s three adult children. “It was getting harder and harder.

Something had to change, or they would both perish.”

Frank Lee’s search for trustworthy home health aides — an experience that millions of American families face — has often been exhausting and infuriating, but he has persisted. He didn’t entirely trust the care his wife would get in an assisted living facility.

Last August, when a respite program paid for her brief stay in one so Frank, 69, could take a trip to the mountains, she fell and fractured her sacrum, the bone that connects the spine  PAGE 3

by CATHERINE S. VALENTE ManilaTimes.net

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to go after foreign terrorists involved in the bombing attack at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City that

In a statement, the president said that the killed at least four people last Sunday, December 3.

The extremist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed government is now working closely with the regional responsibility for the bombing, saying in a statement government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region its fighters "detonated an explosive device on a large in Muslim Mindanao and the concerned local  PAGE 2 gathering of Christian disbelievers in Marawi City."

Pope sets prayers for blast victims

by EVELYN MACAIRAN Philstar.com

Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers’bogus Medicare advantage sales tactics

CHRISTMAS IN THE AIR. Holiday decors like miniature Christmas trees and lanterns attract shoppers in Pasay City on Monday, Dec. 4. The public is urged to report traders and vendors who do not follow the government’s suggested retail price and safety regulations.

PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.

MANILA — Pope Francis expressed his intention to pray for the victims of the bombing attack that occurred during a mass inside a university campus in Marawi City on Sunday, December 3.

In @Pontifex, which serves as the pope’s official page on X, formerly Twitter, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said that he is close to the people of Mindanao.

“I wish to assure my prayer for the victims of the attack that occurred this (Sunday) morning in the Philippines, where a bomb exploded during mass. I am close to the families and the people of Mindanao, who have already suffered so much,” said the pontiff from his residences in remarks broadcast in Saint Peter’s Square.

Four people died and 45 people were hurt during the explosion at a morning Catholic mass at the Dimaporo Gymnasium of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City.

According to Vatican News, the pope had sent a telegram to Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña, saying he is “deeply saddened to be informed of the injuries and loss of life caused by the bombing.”  PAGE 2

SC to VP Sara: Answer petition on constitutionality of OVP’s P125M CF

AFTER an unprecedented crackdown on misleading advertising claims by insurers selling private Medicare Advantage and drug plans, the Biden administration hopes to unleash a special weapon to make sure companies follow the new rules: you.

Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are encouraging seniors and other members of the public to become fraud detectives by reporting misleading or deceptive sales tactics to 800-MEDICARE, the agency’s 24-hour information hotline.

Suspects include postcards designed to look like they’re from the government and TV ads with celebrities promising benefits and low fees that are available only to some people in certain counties.

The new rules, which took effect Sept. 30, close some loopholes in existing requirements by describing what insurers can say in ads and other promotional materials as well as during the enrollment process.  PAGE 3

by TETCH TORRES-TUPAS Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte to respond to the petition challenging the constitutionality of the Office of the Vice President’s P125-million confidential fund (CF) in 2022.

In a two-page notice made public Monday, December 4, the High Tribunal also directed Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to comment on the matter.

SC has not yet acted on the petition, as it first wants to get the respondents’ side,

which is part of the procedure.

“Acting on the petition for certiorari, the court resolved, without giving due course to the petition, to require the respondents to comment thereon within 10 days from notice hereof,” read the notice of SC. Petitioners, led by former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Christian Monsod, not only want SC to declare the transfer of P125 million to the OVP in 2022 as unconstitutional but also want an order to return the money to the treasury department. (From left) Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, World Travel They also want the justices to order the Awards (WTA) President and Founder Graham Cooke, and DOT Assistant Secretary Rica Bueno hold vice president to return the money to the the Philippines’ awards from the preeminent WTA in a ceremony held in Dubai on December 1.

DOT photo treasury department.  PAGE 2

PH wins 4 major awards in Ex-President Duterte skips preliminary probe of grave threats case World Travel Awards 2023

by GILLIAN N. VILLANUEVA Inquirer.net

MANILA — The preliminary investigation of the complaint of grave threats filed by ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro against former President Rodrigo Duterte was reset to Dec. 15 after he failed to appear before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, December 4.

Only his lawyers, Penrose Ann Valles and Kristia Lorraine Caringal, showed up and said they had yet to receive any complaint or subpoena against their client. They Inquirer.net photos were later given a copy of

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and former President Rodrigo Duterte

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Castro’s complaint affidavit and supplemental complaint affidavit against Duterte.

The lawmaker’s counsel, Rico Domingo, said they did not expect further delays, adding: “We’re not saying this is a delaying tactic, since what the lawyers said, we assume good faith there.”

“Now, under Rule 112 of the Revised Penal Code… they have 10 days to respond to the criminal complaint and the supplemental complaint. There will be no delays there, there won’t be another extension,” Domingo said.

Duterte had been asked to  PAGE 2

by LUISA CABATO Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Philippines bagged four major tourism recognitions from the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Tuesday, December 5.

According to the DOT, the country was once again named the World’s Leading Dive Destination and the World’s Leading Beach Destination, defending its 2022 titles.

For the first time, the country was also conferred with the World’s Leading City Destination

for its capital, Manila.

The DOT added that the Philippines was also given the Global Tourism Resilience Award for demonstrating “global leadership, pioneering vision, and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity.”

The country was one of the only five countries that received the award, the agency noted in a press release.

The awarding ceremony was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 1.

Other titles received by the Philippines in the WTA 2023  PAGE 4

2 DECEMBER 6-8, 2023 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

From the Front Page

President Marcos vows to go...

PAGE 1 government units for their swift response in what he called was the "latest assault on peace."

Marcos said he also instructed the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines "to ensure the protection and safety of civilians and the security of affected and vulnerable communities."

"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists upon the Mindanao State University

(MSU) and Marawi communities.

Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society," he said in a statement.

"Rest assured we will bring the perpetrators of this ruthless act to justice," the president added.

The president also extended his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, blaming foreign terrorists behind the bombing attack.

"I extend my most heartfelt condolences to the victims,

their loved ones, and the communities that have been the target of this latest assault on peace. Government assistance to those impacted is ready and forthcoming," he said.

The president also called on the public to remain calm, circumspect and conscientious to ensure that the "horrific events" are not further compounded by inaccurate, unvetted, and unofficial information.

"Let us all keep the victims, their families, and our communities in our prayers," Marcos said. g

PAGE 1 The message was reportedly signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who said that the pontiff had asked Dela Peña to convey his “spiritual closeness” to all those who were affected by the tragedy.?“He joins you in commending the souls of those who died to Almighty God’s loving mercy and he implores the divine gifts of healing and consolation upon the injured and bereaved,” the telegram added.

Pope Francis concluded his message with “prayers that Christ the Prince of Peace will grant to all the strength to turn from violence and overcome every evil with good,” and imparted his blessing “as a pledge of strength and consolation in the Lord.”

Meanwhile, the Marawi prelature said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that

the bombing incident was both “merciless and heartbreaking.”

“The Prelature of St. Mary in Marawi strongly condemns any form of violence and terrorism.

The incident that happened this morning was merciless and heartbreaking,” it said.

The prelature also requested the public to pray for the souls of those who died from the blast, as well as their families who were devastated because of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the United States and Israel condemned the “horrific” bombing during a Catholic service at the MSU gymnasium in Marawi.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack that occurred during a Catholic service,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“We mourn those killed in the attack and our thoughts are with

the injured,” he said.

The Israeli embassy in Manila condemned the “heinous act of terrorism” perpetrated at MSU. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their bereaved families, and we extend our deepest condolences and sympathy during this difficult time. We also pray for the swift recovery of those injured,” the embassy said in a statement, expressing solidarity with the Philippine government and Filipino people in face of this “despicable” terrorist attack.

Australian Ambassador HK Yu said her country is deeply saddened by the violent attack at MSU. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims,” she said.

German Ambassador Andreas Pfafferrnoschke said “Germany supports all efforts to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.” g

Pope sets prayers for blast...

SC to VP Sara: Answer petition on...

PAGE 1 Once the comments are submitted, the petitioners have five days to reply.

The controversy on the CF started when opposition lawmakers said Duterte had spent P125 million in CIF funds in 2022, even if her office had not allocated such funds under that year’s General Appropriations Act. They said Duterte’s office spent the amount in just 11 days in December 2022.

Eventually, Congress dismissed OVP’s request for P500 million in such funding for 2024.

It also rejected another proposed P150 million CF for the Department of Education (DepEd), which Vice President Sara Duterte Photo from Facebook/@ MayorIndaySaraDuterteOfficial Duterte also heads, in the budget for next year. g

MANILA QUAKE. Students rush out of Emilio Aguinaldo College in Manila on Tuesday, Dec. 5 after an earthquake. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Lubang, Occidental Mindoro was the epicenter of the 5.9 earthquake at around 4:23 p.m., with Intensity IV (Moderately Strong) felt in Makati City, Quezon City, and Taguig City in Metro Manila.

PNA photo by Yancy Lim

Ex-President Duterte skips preliminary probe...

PAGE 1

appear before the Quezon City prosecutor to submit his counter-affidavit in response to Castro’s complaint of grave threats based on the statements he made in his Oct. 11 “Gikan Sa Masa, Para sa Masa” program aired by Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI).

He said that his daughter, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, should be frank about the purpose of the confidential funds she was seeking for 2024 for her office and the Department of Education (DepEd).

“But, the first target of your intelligence fund would be you, France, I want to kill all you communists,” the older Duterte added.

Castro was among the opposition lawmakers who had opposed the younger Duterte’s request for confidential funds because her office and DepEd did not have specific mandates directly related to defense and national security.

The lawmaker also filed

a supplemental complaintaffidavit over the former president’s statements in the Nov. 16 episode of his program.

“The grave threat of the accused toward Congresswoman Castro was continuous. You may recall last Oct. 11, [Duterte] issued grave threats, and that was the subject matter of the [earlier] complaintaffidavit of congresswoman France Castro… The president continued his threats on Nov. 16, and that is what we captured here in the supplemental complaint-affidavit,” Domingo said.

In her supplemental complaint-affidavit, Castro said Duterte had “called out my name and in between the Redtaggings, made the following utterances which… grimly and unrelentingly threatened my life, liberty and security and that of my family.”

Domingo said the case against Duterte would be a “test of the prosecutorial system as well as the justice system.”

“We will see what will be the

result of this case. This is what Congresswoman France Castro is fighting for and we are joining her in this cause,” he added.

Support The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and advocates from different sectors expressed their support for Castro on Monday with ACT Chair Vladimer Quetua saying that Duterte must be held accountable for his threatening statements.

“The culture of killing and violation of human rights that have pervaded under his administration must stop … This is not the type of society that should be used and normalized in the minds of the youth and citizens,” he said.

Quetua also urged the Department of Justice and the International Criminal Court to pursue “comprehensive investigations” into Duterte’s alleged crimes against the Filipino people, as he also demanded that the Marcos administration abolish SMNI and the government’s anticommunist task force. g

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SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 6-8, 2023 3

Desperate families search for affordable...

PAGE 1 to the pelvis.

There is precious little assistance from the government for families who need a home health aide, unless they are poor.

The people working in these jobs are often woefully underpaid and unprepared to help a frail, older person with dementia bathe and use the bathroom, or to defuse an angry outburst.

Usually, it is family that steps into the breach — grown children who cobble together a fragile chain of visitors to help an ailing father; a middle-aged daughter who returns to her childhood bedroom; a son-in-law working from home who keeps a watchful eye on a confused parent; a wife who can barely manage herself looking after a faltering husband.

Frank Lee finally found two aides on his own, with no help from an agency. Using the proceeds from the sale of his stake in a group of restaurants, including the popular Charleston bistro Slightly North of Broad, he pays them the going rate of about $30 an hour. Between his wife’s care and medical expenses, he estimates he’s spending between $80,000 and $100,000 a year.

“Who the hell can afford this?” he asked. “There’s no relief for families unless they have great wealth or see their wealth sucked away.” He worries that he will run out of money and be forced to sell their home of more than three decades. “Funds aren’t unlimited,” he said.

Credited with emphasizing local ingredients and mentoring young chefs in Charleston, Lee retired in 2016, a few years after his wife’s diagnosis.

In an interview at the time, he said, “My wife has given up her life to help me in my career, and now I need to pay attention to her.”

In 2020, he contacted a halfdozen home care agencies.

Some couldn’t fill the position.

Others sent aides who were quickly overwhelmed by his wife’s behavior. Doctors told the family they believed she has frontotemporal dementia, which appeared to affect her language and how she behaved.

One woman seemed promising, only to quit after a week or two.

“We never saw her again,” Lee said. He tried a friend of the family for a time, but she left when her grandmother developed liver cancer.

“It was the whole year of going through different caregivers,”

said son Jesse.

Finally, Frank found two women to help. One of them, Ronnie Smalls, has more than a dozen years of experience and is trained in dementia care. She has developed a rapport with Robin, who seems reassured by a quick touch. “We have a really good bond,” Smalls said. “I know her language, her expression.”

One day at the Lees’ cozy one-story house, decorated with furniture made by Robin, and with a yard overflowing with greenery, Smalls fed her lunch at the kitchen table with her husband and daughter. Robin seemed to enjoy the company, murmuring in response to the conversation.

At other times, she seemed oblivious to the people around her. She can no longer walk on her own. Two people are often needed to help her get up from a chair or go to the bathroom, transitions she often finds upsetting. A day without an aide — out because of illness or a family emergency — frays the tenuous links that hold the couple’s life together.

Lee said his wife barely resembles the woman he married, the one who loved hiking, skiing, and gardening, and who started a neighborhood preschool while raising their three children. A voracious reader, she is now largely silent, staring into space.

The prognosis is bleak, with doctors offering little to hang onto. “What’s the end game look like?” Lee asks, wondering if it would be better if his wife had the right to die rather than slowly disappear before his eyes. “As she disintegrates, I disintegrate,” he said. She recently qualified for hospice care, which will involve weekly visits from a nurse and a certified nursing assistant paid under Medicare.

Charleston is flush with retirees attracted by its low taxes and a warm climate, and it boasts of ways to care for them with large for-profit home health chains and a scattering of small agencies. But many families in Charleston and across the nation can’t find the help they need. And when they do, it’s often spotty and far more expensive than they can afford.

Most Americans want to remain in their own homes, living independently, for as long as possible. They want to avoid nursing homes, which they see as providing poor care, polls have found. And the ranks of older people who need such help will grow. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be at least 65 as millions in the

baby boomer generation retire.

In dozens of interviews, families described a desperate and sometimes fruitless search for aides to help loved ones with simple tasks on a predictable schedule at an hourly rate they can afford.

Roughly 8 million people 65 and older had dementia or needed help with two or more activities of basic daily life, like getting out of bed, according to an analysis of a federally funded survey of older Americans by KFF Health News and The New York Times. Only a million received paid help outside of a nursing home, and nearly 3 million had no help at all.

Most families can’t afford what agencies charge — about $27 an hour, according to Genworth, a long-term care insurance company. So, many take their chances on untrained caregivers found through word-of-mouth, Craigslist, or other resources.

A scarcity of workers One of the main obstacles to finding paid help is the chronic shortage of workers. Some 3.7 million people had jobs as aides in home health or personal care in 2022, with half of them earning less than $30,000 year, or $14.51 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people needed is expected to increase by more than 20% over the next decade. But the working conditions are hard, the pay is usually bad, and the hours are inconsistent.

About 3 million people are working in private homes, according to a 2023 analysis

by PHI, a nonprofit that studies and acts as an advocate for the workforce, although official estimates may not count many workers paid off the books or hired outside of an agency by a family.

Eighty-five percent of home care workers are women, two-thirds are people of color, and roughly a third are immigrants. The pay is often so low that more than half qualify for public assistance like food stamps or Medicaid.

Dawn Geisler, 53, has made only $10 an hour working as a home health aide in the Charleston area for the past four years, without ever getting a raise. She declined to name the agency that employs her because she doesn’t want to lose her job.

Geisler discovered she liked the work after caring for her mother.

Unlike an office job, “every day is just a little bit different,” she said. She now juggles two clients.

PAGE 4

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DIGNIFIED LIFE. Richard Arceño, administrator of the Livelihood Education and Rehabilitation Center, talks about the significance of providing training and support to persons with disabilities to help them lead an independent life during the observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Caloocan City on Monday, Dec. 4. The annual observance was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote an understanding of disability issues and gather support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers’ bogus...

PAGE 1

Insurance companies’ advertising campaigns kick into high gear every fall, when seniors can buy policies that take effect Jan. 1. People with traditional government Medicare coverage can add or change a prescription drug plan or join a Medicare Advantage plan that combines drug and medical coverage.

Although private Advantage plans offer extra benefits not available under the Medicare program, some services require prior authorization and beneficiaries are confined to a network of health care providers that can change anytime. Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare can see any provider. The open enrollment season ends Dec. 7.

Catching Medicare Advantage plans that step out of line isn’t the only reason to keep an eye out for marketing scams. Accurate plan information can help avoid enrollment traps in the first place.

Although insurers and advocates for older adults have generally welcomed the new truthin-advertising rules, compliance is the big challenge. Expecting beneficiaries to monitor insurance company sales pitches is asking a lot, said Semanthie Brooks, a social worker and advocate for older adults in northeast Ohio.

She’s been helping people with Medicare sort through their options for nearly two decades. “I don’t think Medicare beneficiaries should be the police,” she said.

Choosing a Medicare Advantage plan can be daunting.

In Ohio, for example, there are 224 Advantage and 21 drug plans to choose from that take effect next year. Eligibility and benefits vary among counties across the state.

“CMS ought to be looking at how they can educate people, so that when they hear about benefits on television, they understand that this is a promotional advertisement and not necessarily a benefit that they can use,” Brooks said. “If you don’t realize that these ads may be fraudulent, then you won’t know to report them.”

The agency relies on beneficiaries to help improve services, Meena Seshamani, CMS’ Medicare director, told KFF Health News in a written statement. “The voices of the people we serve make our programs stronger,” she said.

Beneficiary complaints prompted the government’s action.

“That’s why, after hearing from our community, we took new critical steps to protect people with Medicare from confusing and potentially misleading marketing.”

Although about 31 million of the 65 million people with Medicare are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, even that may not be enough people to monitor the tsunami of advertising on TV, radio, the internet, and paper

delivered to actual mailboxes.

Last year more than 9,500 ads aired daily during the nine-week marketing period that started two weeks before enrollment opened, according to an analysis

by KFF. More than 94% of the TV commercials were sponsored by health insurers, brokers, and marketing companies, compared with only 3% from the federal government touting the original Medicare program.

During just one hourlong Cleveland news program in December, researchers found, viewers were treated to nine Advantage ads.

For the first time, CMS asked insurance and marketing companies this year to submit their Medicare Advantage television ads, to make sure they complied with the expanded rules. Officials reviewed 1,700 commercials from May 1 through Sept. 30 and nixed more than 300 deemed misleading, according to news reports. An additional 192 ads out of 250 from marketing companies were also rejected.

The agency would not disclose the total number of TV commercials reviewed and rejected this year or whether ads from other media were scrutinized.

The new restrictions also apply to salespeople, whether their pitch is in an ad, written material, or a one-on-one conversation.

Under one important new rule, the salesperson must explain how PAGE 4

4 DECEMBER 6-8, 2023 • SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL

Dateline USa

Desperate families search for affordable...

PAGE 3 She might accompany one to the doctor and keep the other one company. “I’m taking care of them like they were my own family,” she said.

The agency provides no guarantee of work and doesn’t always tell her what to expect when she walks through the door, except to say someone has Alzheimer’s or is in a wheelchair.

Her supervisors often fail to let her know if her client goes to the hospital, so families know to call her cellphone. She has waited weeks for a new assignment without getting paid a penny.

She herself has no health insurance and sometimes relies on food banks to put meals on the table.

“I’m not making enough to pay all the bills I have,” said Geisler, who joined an advocacy group called the Fight for $15, which is pushing to raise the minimum wage in South Carolina and across the country. When her car broke down, she couldn’t afford to get it fixed. Instead, she walked to work or borrowed her fiancé’s bicycle.

Most home health agencies nationwide are for-profit and are often criticized for ignoring the needs of workers in favor of the bottom line.

“The business models are based on cheap labor,” said Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research for LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit agencies.

The industry has historically tolerated high turnover but now can’t attract enough workers in a strong, competitive job market.

“I think there has been a rude awakening for a lot of these companies,” she said.

Many agencies have also refused to pay overtime or travel costs between jobs, and many have been accused of wage theft in lawsuits filed by home care workers or have been sanctioned by state and federal agencies.

Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health care for the poor, is supposed to provide home aides but faces shortages of workers at the rates it pays workers. At least 20 states pay less than $20 an hour for a personal care aide, according to a recent state survey by KFF. Aides are often paid less under Medicaid than if they care for someone paying privately.

With low pay and few benefits, many people would rather work the checkout line in a supermarket or at a fast-food chain than take on the emotionally demanding

job of caring for an older person, said Ashlee Pittmann, the chief executive of Interim HealthCare of Charleston, a home health agency.

She said that she recently raised wages by $2 an hour and had had more success keeping employees, but that she still worried that “we may not be able to compete with some larger companies.”

The Biden administration failed to obtain an additional $400 billion from Congress for home- and community-based services to shift emphasis away from institutional care. President Joe Biden signed an executive order this year to encourage some reforms, and federal officials have proposed requiring home health agencies to spend 80 cents of every government dollar on paying workers under Medicaid.

But so far, little has changed.

Falling through the ‘doughnut hole‘ Long-term care coverage for most Americans is a yawning gap in government programs. And the chasm is widening as more Americans age into their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

The government’s main program for people 65 and older is Medicare, but it pays for a home aide only when a medical condition, like recovery from a stroke, has made a person eligible for a nurse or therapist to come to the home. And the aide is usually short-term. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care.

Medicaid, which does pay for long-term care at home, is limited to serving the poor or those who can demonstrate they have hardly any assets. But, again, the worker shortage is so pervasive that waiting lists for aides are years long, leaving many people without any option except a nursing home.

So millions of Americans keep trying to hang in and stay home as long as they can. They’re not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, but they can’t afford to hire someone privately.

Many fall through what April Abel, a former home health nurse from Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, described as “the doughnut hole.”

“I feel so bad for them because they don’t have the support system they need,” she said.

She tried fruitlessly for months to find help for Joanne Ganaway, 79 and in poor health, from charities or state programs while she visited her at home. Ganaway had trouble seeing because of a tear in her retina and was often confused about her medications,

but the small pension she had earned after working nearly 20 years as a state employee made her ineligible for Medicaidsponsored home care.

So Ganaway, who rarely leaves her house, relies on friends or family to get to the doctor or the store. She spends most of her day in a chair in the living room.

“It has been difficult for me, to be honest,” she said.

Turning to respite services With no hope of steady help, there is little left to offer overstretched wives, husbands, sons, and daughters other than a brief respite. The Biden administration has embraced the idea of respite services under Medicare, including a pilot program for the families of dementia patients that will begin in 2024.

One nonprofit, Respite Care Charleston, provides weekday drop-off sessions for people with dementia for almost four hours a day.

Lee’s wife went for a couple of years, and he still makes use of the center’s support groups, where caregivers talk about the strain of watching over a loved one’s decline.

On any given morning, nearly a dozen people with dementia gather around a table. Two staff members and a few volunteers work with the group as they play word games, banter, bat balls around, or send a small plastic jumping frog across the table.

Their visits cost $50 a session, including lunch, and the organization’s brief hours keep it under the minimum state requirements for licensing.

“We’re not going to turn someone away,” Sara Perry, the group’s executive director, said.

“We have some folks who pay nothing.”

The service is a godsend, families say. Parkinson’s disease and a stroke have left Dottie Fulmer’s boyfriend, Martyn Howse, mentally and physically incapacitated, but he enjoys the sessions.

“Respite Care Charleston has been a real key to his keeping going,” she said, “to both of us, quite frankly, continuing to survive.” (Reed Abelson/KFF Health News) KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

http://www.asianjournal.com • (818) 502-0651 • (213) 250-9797

PH wins 4 major awards in World Travel...

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included the World’s Leading Dive Resort (Amanpulo), the World’s Leading Fully Integrated Resort (City of Dreams Manila), and the World’s Leading Casino Resort (City of Dreams Manila), according to the WTA website.

DOT Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano and Assistant Secretary Maria Rica Bueno represented Tourism chief Christina Garcia Frasco during the event.

In her message, Frasco said that receiving the Global Tourism Resilience Award was an affirmation of all the agency’s hard work in developing the nation’s tourism industry.

"With these remarkable triumphs, the Philippines reinforces its position as an unparalleled destination, inviting travelers to explore our captivating shores, vibrant underwater realms, and dynamic urban landscapes as they immerse in our culture and heritage and create unforgettable memories with the distinct grace and hospitality of the Filipino people,” she said.

Meanwhile, in his speech, WTA President and founder Graham Cooke commended the Filipinos as the “main asset” of the country’s tourism industry.

“The diversity, the opportunities with sustainability, the beautiful beach resorts, and

now the diving [sic], amazing, the beaches, amazing. As I said, the main asset is the people, which a lot of countries in the world don’t have,” he said.

“And it’s the people of the Philippines that make your tourism assets the most amazing.

The work ethic, the happiness, the smile, and the hospitality that the Philippines have are global icons,” Cooke added.

Dubbed the Oscars of the travel industry, WTA is a London-based award-giving body established in 1993.

It recognizes excellence in travel and tourism on three levels: national, regional, and global awards in several categories. g

them, although actual usage is not reportable.

This month, CMS proposed additional Advantage rules for 2025, including one that would require insurers to tell their members about available services they haven’t used yet. Reminders will “ensure the large federal investment of taxpayer dollars in these benefits is actually making its way to beneficiaries and are not primarily used as a marketing ploy,” officials said in a fact sheet.

Medicare Advantage members are usually locked into their plans for the year, with rare exceptions, including if they move out of the service area or the plan goes out of business. But two years ago, CMS added an escape hatch: People can leave a plan they joined based on misleading or inaccurate information, or if they discovered promised benefits didn’t exist or they couldn’t see their providers. This exception also applies when unscrupulous plan representatives withhold information and enroll people in an Advantage policy without their consent.

Another new rule that should prevent enrollments from going awry prohibits plans from touting benefits that are not available where the prospective member lives. Empty promises have become an increasing source of complaints from clients of Louisiana’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program, said its state director, Vicki Dufrene. “They were going to get all these bells and whistles, and when it comes down to it, they don’t get all the bells and whistles, but the salesperson went ahead

and enrolled them in the plan.”

So expect to see more disclaimers in advertisements and mailings like this unsolicited letter an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan sent to a New York City woman: “Plan features and availability may vary by service area,” reads one warning packed into a half-page of fine print.

“The formulary and/or pharmacy network may change at any time,” it continues, referring to the list of covered drugs. “You will receive notice when necessary.”

However, the rules still allow insurers to boast about their ratings from CMS — five stars is the top grade — even though the ratings do not reflect the performance of the specific plan mentioned in an ad or displayed on the government’s Medicare plan finder website. “There is no way for consumers to know how accurately the star rating reflects the specific plan design, specific provider network, or any other specifics of a particular plan in their county,” said Laura Skopec, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute who recently co-authored a study on the rating system.

And because ratings data can be more than a year old and plans change annually, ratings published this year don’t apply to 2024 plans that haven’t even begun yet — despite claims to the contrary. (Susan Jaffe/KFF Health News) KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers’ bogus...

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the new plan is different from a person’s current health insurance before any changes can be made.

That information could have helped an Indiana woman who lost coverage for her prescription drugs, which cost more than $2,000 a month, said Shawn Swindell, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program supervisor of volunteers for 12 counties in east-central Indiana.

A plan representative enrolled the woman in a Medicare Advantage plan without telling her it didn’t include drug coverage because the plan is geared toward veterans who can get drug coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs instead of Medicare. The woman is not a veteran, Swindell said.

In New York, the Medicare Rights Center received a complaint from a man who had wanted to sign up just for a prepaid debit card to purchase nonprescription pharmacy items, said the group’s director of education, Emily Whicheloe. He didn’t know the salesperson would enroll him in a new Medicare Advantage plan that offered the card. Whicheloe undid the mistake by asking CMS to allow the man to return to his previous Advantage plan.

Debit cards are among a dizzying array of extra nonmedical perks offered by Medicare Advantage plans, along with transportation to medical appointments, homedelivered meals, and money for utilities, groceries, and even pet supplies. Last year, plans offered an average of 23 extra benefits, according to CMS. But some insurers have told the agency only a small percentage of patients use

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OPINION

FEATURES

No end to armed violence

WHILE security forces confront renewed terrorist activities in Mindanao, armed violence continues to undermine other aspects of life in the country.

Over a month since the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, killings related to BSKE political rivalries continue. In the first two days of December, two barangay captains have been shot dead, one in President Marcos’ home province Ilocos Norte and the other in Zamboanga del Sur. Helen Abrigado, who was reelected as captain of Barangay Ferdinand in Marcos town, had just attended a lantern parade on Dec. 1 and was on her way home with companions in a government van when they were waylaid by two men on a motorcycle. She died from multiple gunshot wounds.

The next morning in Zamboanga del Sur, Jerry Olaier was walking in Guipos town, where he is the newly elected captain of Barangay Poblacion, when two men shot him. Relatives told probers that Olaier was planning to vie for the presidency of Poblacion’s association of barangay captains.

After several postponements, the BSKE finally pushed through last October, thanks to the Supreme Court. While allowing the polls to push through on that date instead of much earlier, the SC cut short the term of the current BSK officials from three years to two.

People thought the shortened term would

Editorial

discourage BSK candidates from eliminating their rivals through murder. They thought wrong: deadly armed violence marred the BSKE long before the start of the official campaign period until past election

day.

Abrigado and Olaier were just the latest victims of violence believed related to village political rivalries. This can be established only with the arrest of the perpetrators – both the brains and the triggermen, who could be hired guns.

The killings also highlight once again the need for tighter gun control. Even non-politicians are being murdered – in their homes, on the streets and in public buses. Authorities must also draw up measures that can minimize the use of motorcycles in criminal activities. On Dec. 1, an employee of ManilaTimes.net photo an electric cooperative was shot dead and his companion wounded by two men on a motorcycle were attacked as they were about to disconnect the accumulated. Obviously, keeping the public safe in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Probers said the two men power line of a household whose unpaid bills had needs greater effort. (Philstar.com)

Cooperation with ICC

Sketches

ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN SINCE Rodrigo Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court without Senate concurrence, President Marcos can reverse it also without the Senate’s nod, according to proponents of the country’s return to the ICC. If Marcos is worried about sovereignty issues, will he at least allow some form of cooperation with the ICC? This is the suggestion in the resolution filed in the House of Representatives.

For the Marcos administration, cooperation can take various forms, without looking like it is compromising national sovereignty. For example, it can facilitate contacts between ICC probers and witnesses including relatives of those killed.

The witnesses can include law enforcers who directly participated in the police operations that left over 6,200 people dead. Justice officials said they have heard of such cops, and have encouraged them to come out. But so far, no one has done so, despite the promise of state protection. Perhaps such cops may be willing to talk with ICC prosecutors overseas.

The same is true for civilian witnesses.

Cooperation can also involve allowing ICC probers to conduct interviews, obtain documents and gather other evidence in the Philippines, although not in an official legal setting; the ICC cannot operate like a separate court in this country.

Last week, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said ICC probers could enter the Philippines to gather documents or interview persons, although a formal probe and “legal activities” cannot be conducted.

Guevarra said that under the law, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and its mother agency the Department of Justice (DOJ) have the discretion to “admit or not admit a certain person who they may consider as undesirable.” * * * As of last Friday, the BI spokesperson said ICC probers were free to enter the Philippines, in the absence of an order from the courts or higher authorities to bar their entry.

Vice President Sara Duterte has formally asked the DOJ not to cooperate in the ICC investigation of drug war killings that occurred during her father’s watch as president from July 2016 to March 16, 2019, and from 2011 to 2016 when he was mayor or vice mayor of Davao City.

As mayor when her father was vice mayor, the VP is reportedly included in the ICC probe of killings attributed to so-called death squads in the city, along with Duterte’s chief tokhang enforcer Ronald dela Rosa, now a senator.

Dela Rosa said he raised the ICC issue with President Marcos during a dinner at Malacañang last week hosted by the First Couple for senators. It’s unclear if the ICC was the main course in the dinner agenda.

Both the DOJ and BI are waiting for word from the top, as Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has indicated.

President Marcos, who had previously said the country “is done talking” with the ICC, recently said the government is studying its options and the possibility of the country rejoining the court is “under study.”

Remulla himself, who had initially taken a hardline stance against the ICC probe, said on Nov. 21 that the House resolution needed “serious study” since the Philippines has withdrawn from the Rome Statute. * * * House resolution 1477 was filed by the chair of the committee on human rights, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, and 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez. It

urges the government to extend “full cooperation” to the ICC in its probe of Rome Statute crimes. These include genocide and murder as a crime against humanity – the offense that the ICC believes was committed in Duterte’s bloody crackdown on drug suspects.

The ICC maintains that it has jurisdiction over all offenses committed while a state was a party to the Rome Statute.

Even after withdrawing as a member, a state must still cooperate with the ICC, according to Article 127 of the Rome Statute: “A State shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party to the Statute, including any financial obligations which may have accrued. Its withdrawal shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”

VP Sara has cited her father’s argument that the ICC lost jurisdiction over the Philippines upon the effectivity of the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019, which preceded the start of the ICC’s investigation in 2021.

It’s BBM’s call. It’s not lost on anyone that the administration had a change of heart on the issue amid the run-ins between VP Sara and Marcos’ cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Rodrigo Duterte came to his daughter’s defense, with his harangues ostensibly directed at the Speaker. But manure upon hitting the fan tends to fly in all directions, with some of it landing on President Marcos. * * * Now look at what’s in the crosshairs of the House: Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), home of Duterte’s TV talk show and current bully pulpit against the House and its Speaker.

Apart from the threat of the TV station suffering the fate of ABS-CBN, SMNI founder Apollo Quiboloy could finally find himself handed over by the Philippine government to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which lists him among its most wanted persons for sex trafficking including of children, fraud, coercion and bulk smuggling.

SMNI has long been the subject of complaints from persons and groups tagged on its shows as communists or sympathizers. Yet the station drew the House attention only after an anchor made a comment indicating that the Speaker had incurred P1.8 billion in travel expenses. The anchor has since apologized and admitted that the information – denied by the House – was unverified.

Unlike the print medium, broadcast franchises are covered by stringent rules, and journalists are held by ethical standards to avoid licentious exercise of press freedom. Still, the issue has raised concern over threats to freedom of expression through the abuse of the House power to issue broadcasting franchises.

SMNI critics, on the other hand, see the controversy as an opportunity, in our dysfunctional democracy, to promote the responsible exercise of freedom of expression, and perhaps to give justice to victims of sex trafficking.

A similar opportunity for justice is being seen in the move to cooperate with the ICC. (Philstar.com) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

The trial of Rodrigo Duterte

Horizons

RICHARD HEYDARIAN HENRY Kissinger recently passed away just months after turning 100. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to exchange views with him along with a select group of Asian thought leaders. Overall, I found him incredibly engaged and intellectually inquisitive.

By all measures, he was one of the most consequential figures of the past century.

Born in Bavaria as Heinz Alfred Kissinger to a Jewish family, he grew up under the shadow of the Nazi regime. To avert an impending doom, his family eventually moved to New York City.

At least 13 of his close relatives, however, fell victim to the Holocaust. At the age of 22, Kissinger would return to his country of birth as part of a liberating force. But this was also when he confronted “one of the most horrifying experiences of [his] life.” While serving in the American 84th Infantry Division as an army sergeant,

he encountered the survivors of a Nazi concentration camp in Ahlem.

There, a horrified Kissinger witnessed “the empty faces, the dead eyes” of those who managed to just cling to life after years of inexplicable suffering.

Over the next quarter-century, Kissinger worked his way up the American imperial bureaucracy.

Intellectually, he was driven by the experience of postNapoleonic Europe, when a coterie of shrewd and pragmatic diplomats—most notably Viscount Castlereagh and Metternich—engineered a new, relatively stable order for almost half a century in one of the world’s most war-stricken continents.

Though fashioning himself as a paragon of realpolitik, the reality was that Kissinger was fundamentally an idealist, albeit a tragic one. He was a man who believed that America had a special mission in the world built on the ashes of World War II. As the Nixon administration’s chief diplomat, he effectively invented “shuttle diplomacy,” when in the course of five weeks he negotiated peace

between Israel and leading Arab neighbors in the mid1970s. At the same time, he also negotiated the foundations of a long-lasting détente between the United States and China, which would transform the world for the next half-century.

He eventually won a Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic work, but his legacy was far from uncontroversial. In one of his most influential works, the legendary writer Christopher Hitchens laid down the ground for the possible prosecution of Kissinger for alleged war crimes—most notoriously America’s support for the violent overthrow of a progressive regime in Chile and carpetbombing of Cambodia, which claimed the lives of at least 150,000 civilians.

“Kissinger symbolizes the pornography of power,” Hitchens wrote in his literary indictment of the legendary diplomat for “deliberate mass killings of civilian populations in Indochina, collusion in mass murder and assassination in Bangladesh, the personal planning of the murder of General Schneider in Chile, involvement in a plan to murder

Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus and the incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor.”

Thus, Hitchens argued, “[i]n the name of innumerable victims, it is time for justice to take a hand.”

Kissinger’s last hurrah was a visit to Beijing as a special guest of President Xi Jinping.

Just days earlier, guess who was also in town to pay his respects to old patrons in China? Unlike Hitchens’ Kissinger, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte may eventually have his day in court, or, rather, courts!

After all, here is a man who was not only subpoenaed by a Manila court for publicly threatening a current member of the House of Representatives but may also face an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on allegations of mass atrocities.

As trauma reporter Patricia Evangelista methodically exposes in “Some People Need Killing,” the longtime Davao mayor’s human rights record is singularly atrocious, with few parallels in the post-colonial world. But here is also a man, who was atrociously subservient to a foreign bully, when our

Former President Rodrigo Duterte

fishermen faced violence and death in the West Philippine Sea. Here is also a man who promised to make Marawi “beautiful again” in late 2017 after disastrously failing to prevent a ragtag terrorist takeover of the whole city, but left the city in ruins way until the end of his term in office—thus, laying down the foundation for a future return of extremism

Inquirer.net photo

under conditions of utmost desperation. Notwithstanding his cult-like popularity, justice may finally catch up with the Philippines’ most notorious, if not most incompetent, president. (Inquirer.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

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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Marcos tests positive for COVID-19

by Catherine S. Valente ManilaTimes.net

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tested positive for COVID-19, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday, December 5.

Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Marcos will be in isolation for five days, but he will continue to conduct online meetings.

"The president remains fit to carry out his duties and will be continuing his scheduled meetings via teleconference," she added.

The Palace official said that

updates on his health will be provided as available.

"During this holiday season, President Marcos encourages the public to take precautions to safeguard their health, such as vaccinating and voluntary maskwearing when entering crowded places," Garafil said.

This is the third time the president has contracted COVID-19. He last tested positive for the disease in July 2020.

His first bout with COVID-19 was in March 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Senate President

Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri on Tuesday said senators who were diagnosed with COVID-19 can virtually attend Senate sessions and committee hearings.

Zubiri made the statement amid reports of soaring respiratory cases in the country, and after Sen. Cynthia Villar admitted that she contracted COVID last week.

"Under our rules, we have suspended the online session to go back to face-to-face [sessions], however, we agreed to exempt members with COVID," the Senate chief said. g g

PAL opens new Mabuhay Lounge at NAIA T1 PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) recently unveiled its Super Mabuhay Lounge at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. The lounge offers passengers a space for relaxation prior to their departure.

The international lounge, which was designed by Atelier Almario can accommodate 294 people. It has a dining area, bar, shower rooms and restrooms,

massage corner, nursing area and vaping area.

"Business class passengers, Elite/Premier Elite frequent flyers and Million Milers taking our international flights may now experience the comfort and convenience of this elegant and well-curated structure," PAL said.

Plane spotters may position themselves in a designated area that provides a good view of the

ramp and skyline.

"Our lounge's cozy ambience, modern amenities and the warmth and hospitality of our lounge team make waiting for one's flight a truly delightful experience," PAL said.

Meanwhile, the airline also announced the opening of a domestic lounge in Mactan, Cebu, last August.

(ManilaTimes.net)

Bello asks SC to declare libel, cyberlibel laws void

MANILA — Erstwhile vicepresidential candidate Walden Bello on Tuesday, December 5 filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) asking the tribunal to void the country's laws on criminal cyberlibel.

In his petition, the 76-year-old sociologist who was arrested in August last year following libel charges filed against him by a former senior aide of Vice President Sara Duterte, asked the high court to declare Art. 353 to 355 on libel under the Revised Penal Code unconstitutional as well as Sec. 4(c)(4) of RA 10175 on cyberlibel.

Bello claims that these laws are unconstitutional and in violation of the Bill of Rights . "(T)he growing number of libel and cyberlibel cases aimed at persecuting perceived enemies of the state and suppressing dissent against the government or the powers-that-be necessitate a reexamination of the validity of these libel statues," Bello said in

his petition.

The libel charges against Bello before the Davao regional trial court (RTC Br. 10) are linked to statements he allegedly made during the election campaign about a reported drug raid on a beach party in Davao province that was attended by Duterte's former aide, Jefry Tupas.

Tupas later filed libel and cyberlibel charges against Bello .

Elements of cyberlibel, based on Section 4(c)(4) of R.A. 10175, in relation to Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code: a. There must be an imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance. b. The imputation must be made publicly, which requires that at least one other person must have seen the libelous post, in addition to the author and the person defamed or alluded to in the post. c. The imputation must be

malicious, which means that the author of the libelous post made such a post with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity thereof. (Yuchengco vs.

The Manila Chronicle Publishing Corporation, G.R. No. 184315, 25 November 2009.) d. The imputation must be directed at a natural or juridical person, or one who is dead, which requires that the post must identify the person defamed, or at the very least, the person defamed is identifiable by a third person. e. The imputation must tend to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of the person defamed.

(Reyes, Luis B., Revised Penal Code, Fifteenth Edition, 2001, page 932.) f. The imputation was done through the use of a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future. (Sec. 4(c)(4) of R.A. 10175). (PNA)

ENOUGH SUPPLY. Supplies of poultry, livestock, and eggs are sufficient for the holidays, the Department of Agriculture 11 (Davao Region) assured on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The department, however, is expecting a slight increase in the prices of basic commodities as the holidays approach.

PNA photos by Robinson Niñal Jr.

De Lima named LP spokesman Lagman said.

In a statement, Lagman said that De Lima was appointed THE Liberal Party has during the party's management appointed former senator Leila committee meeting on Monday, De Lima as the party's official December 4. spokesman, party President and De Lima was also appointed Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel as the party's vice president for by red Mendoza ManilaTimes.net

Policy, Platform and Advocacy.

Lagman said that De Lima vowed to resume her active role in advocating and enhancing LP's advocacy on good governance, social justice and liberalism.

De Lima is out on bail for the third drug case filed against her. g

Marcos study of Philippines rejoining ICC backed

by CeCille Suerte Felipe Philstar.com

MANILA — Five years after the country’s withdrawal during the previous administration, Sen. Francis Escudero supported the decision of President Marcos to thoroughly study calls for the Philippines to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Escudero agreed with the president that the government should look into the matter to ensure the country will not be at a disadvantage just like in some treaties.

“For me, what the President said is correct, that it should be carefully studied, because we have entered into treaties where we are the ones who always pay and we are the ones

who suffer,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview over the weekend.

Escudero cited as an example the Philippines’ accession to Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization that was established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.

“It’s just like the FATF, we joined that and that’s why we’re the ones being blacklisted.

Malaysia did not join, so no matter what they do, they will not be blacklisted,” he said.

As of 2022, the FATF has retained the Philippines in its “gray list,” citing its alleged failure to resolve “strategic inadequacies in countering money laundering, terrorist and

proliferation financing.”

“So this ICC should also be studied by the president. What will our country benefit from if we rejoin?” Escudero said.

He expressed hope that should the chief executive finally let the country rejoin the ICC, the basis will be a product of a well-studied decision that will benefit the country, and not certain political interests.

“I hope it’s not political, I hope the reason for our re-entering the ICC is not personal. That should be explained thoroughly by the executive branch,” Escudero said.

In the event of the country’s return to the ICC, Escudero said the Senate may either issue a concurrence or a resolution supporting the move of President Marcos. g

She captures the Spirit of Humanity with Cameras — Leading figure in Documentary Filmmaking, Wanyi Lu

by Carol Shen The mission of documentary directors and producers is to record and reveal the truth in various fields such as society, science, and history through the medium of film. Outstanding producers bring unique reflections to the audience through deep insights into the world.

In the field of Chinese documentary filmmaking, Wanyi Lu stands out with her keen social insight and profound humanistic care.

Her works have not only given a voice to marginalized groups but also led audiences to deeply explore a wide range of social issues. It is her 20 years of dedication to this kind of documentary production that has earned her the respect of a wide audience and industry insiders.

The documentary “Blue” is a classic one.

As a producer, Wanyi Lu focuses on the life and future of autistic youths in this film. Through the documentary filming of four autistic children in their adolescence, she expresses these children’s mindset when facing life’s turning points and the predicaments their families face in real life. This humanistic documentary closely narrates the stories of these children, bringing unprecedented attention and understanding to the condition of autistic youth, thus promoting public awareness and acceptance of this group.

In another of Wanyi Lu’s works, “Memories in the Sky,” she turns her attention

to the air force and their families. This documentary does not merely trace the history of the air force during the Anti-Japanese War but focuses on the present through the descendants of the surviving Anti-Japanese air force heroes. Wanyi Lu presents the lesserknown stories of the air force and their families and descendants. They are not only heroes in the eyes of the public but also fleshand-blood ordinary people.

This film has made new breakthroughs in Chinese historical documentary filmmaking.

“Listen to Macau” shows Wanyi Lu’s profound understanding of history and reality. Using research methods from history and visual anthropology, she interviewed and filmed dozens of ordinary people from various industries living in Macau, recording the various sounds of daily life in Macau. These rich and diverse sounds construct a multi-dimensional portrayal of Macau’s past and present, not just expressing Macau but also reflecting the human and social culture of the Greater Bay Area, represented by this unique place.

“Intellectuals of the Village” documents the cultural traditions of the Pearl River Delta region in China and various cultural characteristics left from different historical periods.

In today’s coexistence of tradition and modernity, conservatism and innovation, the film shows how rural cultural activists

confront policy and change with flexible folk logic, presenting various social forms of rural society.

Wanyi Lu’s work has received high acclaim within the industry. With her unique artistic perspective and profound social insight, she has become an unignorable force in the field of Chinese documentary filmmaking.

Her documentaries not only challenge the vision and spirit of the audience but have also made significant contributions to the international dissemination of Chinese documentaries her works have won awards at the China Public Welfare Image Festival, been shortlisted for the Golden Kapok Award at the China International Documentary Festival, known as the “Oscar of Documentaries,” and were the opening film at the 2018 Louisville Asian Documentary Festival in Kentucky, USA. Wanyi Lu believes that documentaries are a bridge between the real world and the audience, an art form that can evoke empathy and reflection. Each of her works embodies this philosophy, with every frame revealing respect for humanity and profound reflection on social reality.

Wanyi Lu’s success lies not only in her ability to tell touching stories but also in how she uses the medium of documentary to convey information, influencing people’s thoughts and actions. Her works care for individual destinies as well as offer insight into the

broader social context, a dual perspective that gives her documentaries a unique depth and breadth. For her personally, documentary filmmaking is not just a profession but a mission.

She is keenly aware that her works have the

power to touch hearts and inspire thought, so she is always extra cautious and committed when selecting subjects and narrative styles. It is this sense of responsibility towards art and society that allows her work to continue to promote

social progress.

As a mission-driven producer, we believe that in the near future, Wanyi Lu will use her lens and wisdom to tell more moving stories and offer more classic masterpieces of documentary films.

T A J

MDWK

Wednesday DECEMBER 6, 2023

MAGAZINE

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Heart reveals getting kicked out of Dante Basco, Paolo Montalban on Hollywood representation, working with KC Concepcion Fashion Week event before

By MARINEL CRUZ

By JAN MILO SEVERO

Inquirer.net

Philstar.com

ACTRESS-MODEL Heart Evangelista revealed that she recently got kicked out of a show at Fashion Week.

In her interview with Mega editor-in-chief Peewee Reyes-Isidro, Heart narrated her experience that caused her stress.

“There’s no need to have tried to kick somebody out of a show because that happened to me in the last Fashion Week. I would talk to certain PRs to say no; somebody was calling and saying I’m not able because another person’s going to attend,” Heart said.

“I have three agents now to fix and verify everything that would happen to me, and I won’t be taken out of a show because they said that I wasn’t allowed to attend. So there’s like a lot of those things that happen. It starts to become political,” she added.

Heart said that she has learned to plan things out properly.

“Now, they know who the point person is, but I get that everybody gets too excited, so it gets messy at some point, but those things can happen. You really just have to plan things out properly so there’s like a harmonious, smooth way of doing everything,” she said.

“I’m also glad that it kind of pushed me to change things in a way to the next step, 10 steps ahead. I fixed a lot of corporate stuff and legal stuff. I got all my cards set perfectly, and

KC is a real-life Disney princess,” said Filipino American actor Paolo Montalban as a way to describe KC Concepcion, his leading lady in the Hollywood indie movie “Asian Persuasion.”

“On camera, have you seen her skin? She’s flawless. But I think that’s because of her inner beauty. Also, everyone in this country knows this—she’s an incredibly hard worker,” the U.S.-based actor told reporters during the special screening of the romantic comedy film at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

“KC is super hard on herself. She always came to the set prepared.

Heart Evangelista Photo from Instagram/@iamhearte She was always asking what we needed from her, too. KC is really now it’s okay. It’s going to be smoother,” she top-tier.” added.

In “Asian Persuasion,” KC Heart also said that her struggles made her worked alongside another a better and stronger person now.

Filipino-American actor, Dante “I’m glad I really went through the fire.

Basco, under the direction of I’m a tough cookie. Take my video, put it out, whatever you want to dissect, and how you want to present me to the world. Black propaganda, you could do whatever. Set my house on fire, but you will not break me again,” she said.

Gillian denies involvement in KathNiel breakup

By CHRISTINA ALPAD ManilaTimes.net

KAPAMILYA actress Gillian Vicencio vehemently denied rumors that she was the third party behind the breakup of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.

Some netizens alleged she got involved with Padilla.

“Wag niyo po ako idamay dito, hindi po totoo. Bigyan naman po natin sila ng respeto [Please don’t involve me in this issue, this is not true.

Let’s respect them],” Vicencio posted on X. X users commended Vicencio for releasing a statement that they hope would clear the air and finally stop bashers from harassing her online.

One of those who cheered for Vicencio was celebrity DJ Jai Ho (@mor1019jhaiho) who tweeted, “Thats my GIRL!!!!

Magsasalita dahil ALAM ang TOTOO! Hindi mananahimik para ipagtanggol ang sarili.

Vicencio denied the circulating rumors.

“There’s really nothing going on with me and DJ [Padilla], we’re friends [with Bernardo and Yves Flores, Vicencio’s love team partner] and we got close during our taping days. I don’t know how that issue even surfaced,” the actress said.

Her interview aired before KathNiel’s public statement on November 30 admitting the breakup.

Vicencio, together with actor Yves Flores, were supporting actors in Bernardo and Padilla’s last TV series, “2 Good To Be True.” Vicencio Gillian Vincencio later on also starred in Photo from Instagram/@_gillianvicencio Bernardo’s film, “A Very Good Girl.”

HINDI PO TOTOO. Wag niyo As Bernardo and Padilla idamay tong si Gillian. [That’s my girl — she will tell the truth; chose not to disclose the reason for their breakup, she won’t stay quiet to protect netizens continued to air their herself. The issue is not true, speculations online. let’s not drag Gillian’s name].

The name of actress Andrea In an earlier interview with Brillante also surfaced but she DJ Jai Ho and other showbiz has yet to address the issue. scribes for an online show,

Anne next Filipino to become Madame Tussauds wax figure Kong is also where the other three wax figures of Filipinos are located: boxing legend Manny KAPAMILYA host-actress Pacquiao and Miss Universe Anne Curtis is going to have a winners Pia Wurtzbach and wax figure at Madame Tussauds! Catriona Gray.

Anne confirmed the news Anne’s figure will be located by sharing on her social media in the branch’s Glamour Zone platforms that the Hong Kong surrounded by the likenesses branch of Madame Tussauds will of bigshot celebrities Brad Pitt, feature a wax figure of her.

Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, “Just in case hindi kayo and Chris Hemsworth. makauwi sa birthday ko. Ito na.

“I’m so happy it came at Kidding. Hahaha! Stay tuned! the right time,” said Anne, Another dream ANNE-locked!” who is celebrating her silver Anne said of the historic anniversary in showbiz this moment.

2023. “It truly is an honor. To Anne Curtis for Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds Hong Continued on Page 11 Photo from Instagram/@annecurtissmith

By CHRISTINA ALPAD ManilaTimes.net

Calendar events DECEMBER DECEMBER 19

Simbang Gabi 2023 7pm Church of The Good Shepherd 504 N. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

of

Paolo Montalban (left) and KC Concepcion

Inquirer.net photo

Tony and Grammy winner Jhett Tolentino. It is the story of a down-on-his-luck chef, Mickey (Dante), who cooks up a crazy scheme to marry off his exwife, Avery (KC), by setting up a fake internet dating profile in an attempt to find her a suitor to remarry in order to avoid his substantial alimony obligations.

With the help of Lee (Paolo

Montalban), Mickey gets off to a hot start, until he realizes that he wants a second chance with Avery.

The romantic comedy premiered at the 2023 Soho International Film Festival in New York in September. It has been screening in local theaters nationwide since Nov. 29.

Continued on Page 9

FACE returns for 3rd annual toy drive with holiday festival tour

Filipinos Advancing Creative Education (FACE) expands their annual toy drive to the first ever FACE Holiday Festival Tour, spreading holiday cheer in Filipino cultural districts across the United States LOS ANGELES, CA — Filipinos Advancing Creative Education (FACE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting the next generation of Filipino American creatives, honors cultural roots and aims to bring the Filipino holiday spirit to the United States. The Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration in the world, lasting from September to December, also known as the “BER Months,” to celebrate and spread the true spirit of Christmas. FACE Holiday Festival Tour aims to bring that very same essence of joy and giving throughout the country during the month of December.

The first toy drive, held two years ago, was the HiFi Holiday Festival in Los Angeles and has since expanded its reach beyond the borders of Historic Filipinotown to two other cultural districts in San Jose and New York during the last holiday season. In its 3rd year, FACE continues to bring visibility to Filipino cultural districts across the country by adding an additional two more markets for a total of 5 cities for the FACE Holiday Festival Tour, sponsored by AmazonMusic, PrimeVideo, Amazon Studios, AEG, and Funko.

“The Holiday Festival is one of our favorite annual community engagement programs we offer to serve those less fortunate during the holiday season. It’s an opportunity for some of the many talented Filipinos in entertainment to donate their time and talent to connect with the community and inspire others. This year we’re

so excited to take the event to the next level and really show what the holidays are about during the Tour. This our reason to celebrate the season,” said FACE Executive Director and founder Lyle del Mundo.

FACE embodies holiday cheer, spreading the love from coast to coast, partnering with sister nonprofits such as: Project Barkada, Rideback Rise, Three Treasures, Filipinotown of Seattle, and FACT SJ. Festival activities include live holiday performances, a holiday bazaar powered by local nonprofits for last minute shopping needs, complimentary haircuts for children, meal distribution

sponsored by Seafood City, and toy distribution sponsored by Funko and Toys 4 Tots.

Some of the past participants include Simu Liu, Saweetie, Bretman Rock, Bella Poarch, Patrick Starrr, Josh Dela Cruz, Arianny Celeste, Mike Becker, Paris Berelc, Vincent Rodriguez III, Roshon Fegan, Eric Bauza, Ruby Ibarra, The Filharmonic, Kiana V, AJ & Alyssa Rafael, The Basco Family, Mond Guiterrez, Tiana Kocher, Jules Aurora, Travis Atreo, and many others.

Tour Dates Little Manila Holiday Festival Sunday, December 10th 11am-7pm 133-38 32nd Ave., Queens, NY 11354 HiFi Holiday Festival Saturday, December 16th 9am-1pm 1660 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 Manila Mesa Holiday Festival Sunday, December 17th 12pm-4pm 9450 Candida St., San Diego, CA 92126 Pinoytown Holiday Festival Saturday, December 23rd 9am-1pm Filipino Community Center 635 N. 6th St., San Jose, CA 95112 For more information, please contact Lyle del Mundo lyle@facefwd.org or follow the FACE IG @ facefwdorg for updates.

Dante Basco, Paolo...

From Page 8 ‘Very loving’ When it was Dante’s turn to recall how he bonded with KC, he said: “I knew her through the social scene here in Manila. I told her how I remember meeting her mother for the first time at a restaurant some 20 years ago. An entourage came into the restaurant. There’s a woman in the middle and I asked, ‘Who’s that?’ ‘That’s Sharon Cuneta,’ I was told. While I was recalling this to KC, I told her, ‘She summoned me!’ When I was there, she said, ‘So you’re the Fil-Am?’ I said, ‘I guess I am the Fil-Am.’ She was really sweet,” he began.

“KC has always just been very loving. When I finally got to work with her, she was great. She came to shoot in New York. She was respectful with how we do things. We would have conversations about how you do it here in the Philippines as opposed to how we do it in the United States. We got great rapport, but her scenes were mostly with Paolo,” said Dante, who we remember for his portrayals in the fantasy-adventure flick “Hook” and the indie drama “The Debut.”Korean-American actor Kevin Kreider, who plays Mickey’s friend Caspian, only had good words for KC, too. “I actually knew KC before I knew that we would be working together. This was when we were in LA (Los Angeles), and we would bump into each other. I later found out that she’s a big star here in the Philippines. She was never a show-off like most people in the States. She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I think she just wanted to show her own identity,” said Kevin, who, as Caspian, helped Mickey craft the plan to remarry Avery.“I knew she came from a family of actors, so I thought it would be interesting to work with her. She probably felt that she had big shoes to fill—I felt that from her,” Kevin said of KC, who is Sharon’s daughter with actor Gabby Concepcion. “She’s an awesome talent to work with. She made me feel very comfortable on the set.”

When asked to share their views on Filipino representation in Hollywood, Dante began by recalling what it was like for him when he started working in the late 1990s. “Representation has been a hot word in Hollywood for a long time now. Of course, for me and Paolo, representation back then was just us being in films, which is important for that particular generation. How it has changed since is the amazing thing,” he began.

“As Asians in Hollywood, we’re at the highest profile we have been in the history of Hollywood. This is phenomenal. Back then, every role that we played, and 90 percent of what was written in Hollywood, was written by straight white men. To be part of projects that are of our words and direction, that’s true representation.

Conversations in Hollywood now are conversations of us as Filipinos, as African-Americans, as Latinos, with us telling our stories. There’s no way that white men can tell our stories the same way we can.

That’s the new representation. The conversation of art through our own views and words.”

Multicultural cast Paolo, who agrees with Dante, added: “I feel very fortunate to be a part of a high-profile movie like this one that has a multicultural cast in it. What we see today, insofar as representation is that it doesn’t necessarily have to have a multicultural cast. You can have a cast full of Asians come up with an incredibly entertaining experience. So I’m really hopeful about the future and grateful for today, and I’m inspired by people who say they’ve been inspired by the work that Dante and I have done in the past. It’s just a really beautiful cycle,” he declared.

The press conference was also attended by FIlipino comediansinger Fe delos Reyes, American actress Geneva Carr and FilipinoChinese Mike Ang, who wrote the screenplay.

A number of Filipino actors had cameo performances in the film including Apl.de.ap, Rachel Alejandro, Tony Labrusca and Yam Concepcion. Jhett, who also coproduced the film with Mike, explained that this was a “calculated move.”

“Mike and I believe that we have to provide opportunities to our actors from here,” Jhett pointed out. “Rachel now has her membership card from the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists) because of ‘Asian Persuasion.’ You can only apply for it if you’ve worked on a film under the SAG-AFTRA. Providing those spots for actors who have never been in a SAG-AFTRA film was calculated. We thought about those actors from the beginning.”

community

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 6, 2023

US-based Artists receive Certificates of appreciation from UPAAGLA (L-R) Bienvenido Sibug, Cesar Devera, Amado Robles, Cristina Taruc, Margarita Marfori, Jhoiey Ramirez, Rafael Maniago, Ninette Tenza-Umali, Lutzie Francisco, Deputy Consul General Alnee Gamble, BM+M President Zena Bernardo, UPAAGLA President Eric Panuncialman, Cat Oshman, Jonalyn San Diego, Crista Quintos, Vicente Pado Jr., Ed Gumamit, Celina Duffy, Laureen Pelayo.

Photo taken by Bede Capulong

Project Hulmahan Los Angeles launches exhibit

The University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA) and partner Bayanihang Marikenyo at Marikenya (BM+M) officially launched Project Hulmahan Los Angeles exhibit on November 11, 2023. It was held at the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

Over 100 people attended the launch to witness over 70 artworks made from wooden lasts created by artists from the Philippines, LA, Nevada, New York and Canada. Seventeen artists graced the event and proudly showed off their creations.

UPAAGLA President Eric Panuncialman and Project Hulmahan LA Chair Dennis Reyes thanked the sponsors, artists and all the people who were instrumental in making the undertaking possible. BM+M

performed a musical number.

UPAAGLA members who gathered at the event regaled in the background stories and inspiration of the creators. Art patrons zeroed in on pieces that resonated with them. The display was arranged by theme from nature-inspired, social commentary, gratitude, avante garde, to the patriotic.

Seven artworks were sold for the night. The rest will be available in an online store at the UPAAGLA website for sale until the end of 2024.

Other related events will be lined up in the future.

Ribbon cutiing with (L-R) LA Project Chair and UPAAGLA PRO Dennis Reyes, Philippine Deputy Visit www.upaagla.org for Consul General Maria Alnee A. Gamble, UPAAGLA President Eric Panuncialman, and Project more information or email Hulmahan founder Zena Bernardo.

Photo taken by Joey Yumul ph.upaagla@gmail.com.

Launch Exhibit Sponsors Executive Director and President General Maria Alnee A. Gamble were Asian Journal, spoke about the importance of Zena Bernardo narrated the having this kind of project to the Pangpamilya Card, Auntie origin of Project Hulmahan and Dees Bakery, Music Arts Filipino community. its impact to its beneficiaries International, Toto’s BBQ, Skye The program was hosted towards food security and Bottles, Ayalaland and Premier

by UP alumni Yvee Guevara, disaster preparedness.

Property Preservation. and Christian Ylagan who Philippine Deputy Consul

Nature-themed table at Project Hulmahan. Clockwise from left: “Catch Me Not” by Bienvenido Boi Sibug, “Wish I Could Swim” by Amado Robles, “On Wings of Dove” by Amado Robles, “Poppies” by Cristina Tiinz Taruc, “Tea of Knowledge” by Danvic Briones.

The multi-themed display featured art pieces from the Philippines and US-based artists.

Photo taken by Dennis Reyes Photo taken by Cat Oshman

10 community

The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 6, 2023

How to obtain custody and visitation rights for unmarried dads Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes ESTABLISHING parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the child. Family Code §7610.

Establishing parentage rights, including custody and visitation rights, becomes more problematic with unmarried Dads because proving yourself as the biological father does not automatically make you the natural father of the child.

Under the family code, there are competing presumptions of paternity which allows the non biological father to be deemed the natural father of the child.

A typical situation is when boyfriend gets girlfriend pregnant. Girlfriend for some reason decides to exclude boyfriend from baby’s life so she breaks up with boyfriend, does not give the boyfriend any information about her delivery, and does not state the boyfriend as the father in the birth certificate or decides to name someone else as the father. Girlfriend does this because her parents disapprove of the ex boyfriend.

One way a presumption of Paternity is created is by executing a voluntary declaration of paternity. A Voluntary declarations executed before 1997 give rise to a conclusive presumption of paternity and can be overcome only by blood or genetic tests ordered on noticed motion by the mother or presumed father must be made within three years of the date of execution of the voluntary declaration Family.Code. § 7576; Kevin Q. v. Lauren W. (2009) 175 CA4th 1119, 1133, 95 CR3d 477, 485

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

If the voluntary declaration of paternity is executed after 1996, it is not characterized as a conclusive presumption.

Instead, it “shall establish the paternity of a child and shall have the same force and effect as a judgment for paternity issued by a court of competent jurisdiction” and trumps §7611 presumptions discussed below. A post 1996 voluntary declaration of paternity “shall be recognized as a basis for the establishment of an order for child custody, visitation, or child support.” Family .Code §§ 7573, 7644; Kevin Q. v. Lauren W., supra, 175 CA4th at 1132, 95 CR3d at 485; In re J.L. (2008) 159 CA4th 1010, 1019, 72 CR3d 27, 33.

Another way of establishing presumed father status is if you fall under any of the categories listed (a) to (f) under family code §7611: (a) He and the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce, or after a judgment of separation is entered by a court. (b) Before the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and either of the following is true: (1) If the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage, or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce.

(2) If the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation. (c) After the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have married, or attempted to

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marry, each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and either of the following is true: (1) With his consent, he is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate.

(2) He is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order. (d) He receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child. (e) If the child was born and resides in a nation with which the United States engages in an Orderly Departure Program or successor program, he acknowledges that he is the child’s father in a declaration under penalty of perjury, as specified in Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 1997, and on that date shall become inoperative. (f) The child is in utero after the death of the decedent and the conditions set forth in Section 249.5 of the Probate Code are satisfied.

An alleged biological father who does not meet any of the § 7611 conditions for presumed father status has no constitutionally-protected “liberty interest” in establishing a parentage relationship with a child as against the rights of a presumptive father who has an extant parentage relationship with the child. Dawn D. v. Super.

Ct. (Jerry K.) (1998) 17 C4th 932, 940–942, 72 CR2d 871, 876–877 The facts get even more complicated if the girlfriend, whom boyfriend gets pregnant is married to another man because the law provides a conclusive presumption of paternity to the husband of the girlfriend. Under Family Code §7540, the child of a wife cohabiting at time of conception with her husband, who is not impotent or sterile, is “conclusively” presumed Continued on Page 11

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 6, 2023

The Honorable Belen Fernandez, Dagupan City Mayor, was recently welcomed and given a warm reception at the Filipino American Community Center of Los Angeles (FACLA) led by Ms. Trinity Foliente. The event was organized by the Filipino American Press Club of California, under the leadership of current President Ms Lisa Pacheco Chow. She was accompanied by some FAPCCA officials, including Andy Edralin, Adrian Lecaros and Mic Diaz.

Congressman Rodante Marcoleta made a courtesy call to the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco and was warmly welcomed by Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer together with Consul Jed Llona, Consul Rowena Pangilinan-Daquipil, Consul Vanessa Llona, and Deputy Consul General Raquel Solano. Marcoleta was accompanied by Mr Tony Marfori and former Capas City Mayor TJ Rodriguez.

How to obtain custody and visitation rights for...

Simbang Gabi 2023 celebration

LOS ANGELES — The Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles joyfully announces the annual Simbang Gabi celebration - a cherished Filipino tradition that brings together our vibrant community in anticipation of the Christmas season.

This year’s Simbang Gabi promises to be spiritually enriching, emphasizing the theme: “Jesus, The Greatest Gift of All, Truly Present in The Eucharist” (“Hesus, Pinakadakilang Regalo sa Lahat, Tunay na Nasa Eukaristiya”). The event will take place on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels located at 555 West Temple Street, Los Angeles. Archbishop José H. Gomez will preside over the Mass, joined by other bishops and priests from the archdiocese.

The San Fernando Region is organizing this year’s event, led by Ben Aranda and Arnel Bailon, and coordinated with Fr. Rodel Balagtas, Priest Liaison of the Filipino Ministry and Pastor of Incarnation Church, Glendale.

As part of Simbang Gabi, there will be a Procession of Parols (Christmas Star Lanterns) representing different parishes and organizations from five pastoral regions within the tri-county Archdiocese (Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara). These parols will be blessed after the Mass and sent forth to continue the celebration of Simbang Gabi in various communities.

We extend a warm invitation to family, parish, and organization to join us in this beautiful Filipino Catholic tradition. Let us come together, prepare our hearts for Christmas, and strengthen our bonds as a community.

For further details, feel free to reach out to the following contacts: Ben Aranda, SG 2023 Chair: (818) 437-1406, bjarandamefp5@yahoo.com Arnel Bailon, SG 2023 Co-Chair: (818) 310-3663, arnelsfregioncoordinator@gmail.com

Anne next Filipino to...

From Page 8 have this dream come true, I’m grateful and very thankful to Madame Tussauds for choosing me.”

The host-actress admitted initially thinking she would be completely plastered during the sitting, in actuality, the museum just took 360-degree photos and measurements.

Madame Tussauds teased that Anne’s figure, set to be completeed and unveiled in 2024, will feature her in a

familiar pose and a classic outfit that will truly immortalize her.

Anne was one of the Filipino celebrities that Merlin Entertainments, the company that operates Madame Tussauds, exclusively told Philstar.com last month were eyeing to “wax.”

Also on the company’s radar are theater veteran and Disney legend Lea Salonga, who they have attempted to contact, and socialite-artist Heart Evangelista.

From Page 10 to be a child of the marriage.

This conclusive presumption may be challenged by showing that the husband was sterile.

It may also be challenged by filing a motion for blood or genetic testing under Family Code §7541 but this has to be done within 2 years of the childs birth. In addition, only persons with standing can bring this motion which is limited to the husband, child, mother and a presumed father as listed in Family Code §7611 and 7612.

Even absent a recognized rebuttal, the court has discretion as a matter of due process not to apply § 7540 conclusive presumption of paternity when it would not further the statute’s underlying

policies of preserving the integrity and stability of an extant marital family, protecting children from the stigma of “illegitimacy,” and promoting individual rather than State responsibility for child support ... as where the ostensible § 7540 presumptive father never developed a parental relationship with the child and the only established parentchild relationship is with a third person. Brian C. v. Ginger K. (2000) 77 CA4th 1198, 1200–1201, 92 CR2d 294, 296; In re Kiana A. (2001) 93 CA4th 1109, 1115, 113 CR2d 669, 675.

Procedurally, the ex boyfriend should file a Petition for Parentage as soon as the child is born. While the case

is pending, the ex boyfriend may seek temporary visitation order although this may be on a limited or even monitored basis. If successful in proving parentage, the ex boyfriend may be granted custody and visitation rights. However, the ex boyfriend would also have the obligation of paying child support based on California guidelines. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any

attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010.

Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@ kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com.

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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 6, 2023

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$

/LB

WAS $4.99/LB | SAVE $1.50

WAS 69¢/LB | SAVE 36¢

/LB

WAS $3.49/LB | SAVE $1.50

GROCERY SULIT SAVINGS ff 46% O

m Hot Ite

m Hot Ite

ff 42% O

f 38% Of

m Hot Ite

P

f 55% Of

R

ff 40% O

ff 50% O

EMIUM

LECT ND SE ISLA Y

FERINO’S BIBINGKA Q U LIT A (CHEDDAR CHEESE/ SAN MIGUEL GOLD MARCA PIÑA QUESO ISLAND PACIFIC SALTED EGG/PUTO EXCELLENT CANTON LABEL ICE CREAM DE BOLA (BIG/SMALL) SAN MIGUEL PUREFOOD JASMINE RICE 25LBS (SELECT FLAVORS) 1.5L BUMBONG) 250G NOODLES 16OZ MAGNOLIA QUESO DE TJ HOTDOG 12OZ | 2.5LBS (JUMBO) BOLA /BAG /EA /EA

CHRISTMAS PAROL LANTERNS (ASSORTED DESIGNS) TAYAMA STAINLESS OUTDOOR CHARCOAL GRILL

TAYAMA TURBO OVEN EZ COOK

29.99 42.99

$

/EA

WAS $66.99 | SAVE $37.00

ff 64% O

$

/EA

ff 26% O

17% Off

SARANGANI MILKFISH IN OIL (REG/SPICY) 8OZ

f 21% Of

25% Off

WAS $11.99 | SAVE $5.00

f 12% Of

3.99

/EA

/EA

TAYAMA 8 CUP RICE COOKER

19.99

$

/EA

WAS $38.99 | SAVE $19.00

2FOR/$5 $2.99

/EA

WAS $3.99 | SAVE $1.00

WAS $3.39 | SAVE $1.78

25% Off

TAYAMA RICE DISPENSER 25KG

ISLAND PACIFIC FZ BILO-BILO (ASSORTED/ WHITE KING UBE/WHITE) 12.33OZ HOTCAKE UBE 400G

ISLAND PACIFIC KAONG (GREEN/ WHITE/RED) 12OZ

WAS $4.79 | SAVE 80¢

19.99

$

WAS $4.99 | SAVE $2.00

WAS $8.99/EA | SAVE $8.98

ff 50% O

ff 40% O

WAS $79.99 | SAVE $37.00

ff 49% O

WAS $54.99 | SAVE $35.00

$

WAS $31.99 | SAVE $12.00

$

$

6.99 2FOR/$9 $2.99

Available Available Available 19.99

f 37% Of

f 14% Of

ISLAND PACIFIC SMC STAR MARGARINE MANGO PUREE 475ML CLASSIC 250G

2.99

$

/EA

WAS $3.99 | SAVE $1.00

5.99

$

/EA

WAS $6.99 | SAVE $1.00

Same Day Delivery & Curbside Pickup | Just download the app

Use code

FREE60

/EA

WAS $3.79 | SAVE 80¢

ff 36% O

HOME PRIDE FILIPINO SWEET STYLE SPAGHETTI SAUCE 1KG

WAS $3.99/EA | SAVE 98¢

WAS $4.99 | SAVE $2.00

2FOR/$7 $2.99

/EA

On Sale

SAN MIGUEL COFFEE 3-IN-1 BARAKO 10PC

ISLAND PACIFIC OTAP (BUKO PANDAN/UBE/ ORIGINAL) 600G

WAS $3.99/EA | SAVE $2.98

WAS $9.29 | SAVE $3.30

LEMON SQUARE (CHEESE/LAVA) CAKE 10PC

ff 24% O

MAGNOLIA CHEEZEE BLOCK 440G

4.99

$

/EA

WAS $9.99 | SAVE $5.00

FF 30% O

ENG BEE TIN HOPIA COMBO (UBE ISLAND PACIFIC PASTILLAS ASSORTED LANGKA/UBE QUESO/ UBE PASTILLAS) 150G FLAVORS 104G

2FOR/$5 $5.99 2FOR/$5 2FOR/$5 2FOR/$7

YOUR FAVORITE FILIPINO SEAFOOD AND GROCERIES

Delivered FREE!

2.99

$

DEL MONTE FRUIT COCKTAIL 30OZ

at checkout

/EA

PRESYONG SULIT SAVINGS

WAS $3.29/EA | SAVE $1.58

WAS $4.99/EA | SAVE $2.00

PROMO AVAILABLE AT ISLAND PACIFIC SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STORES LONGBEACH | WEST COVINA | CERRITOS | OXNARD | CANOGA PARK | SANTA CLARITA | TEMECULA | NATIONAL CITY | LAKE FOREST | GRANADA HILLS

ACCEPTED