121623 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 Volume 33 - No. 100 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages

Fil-Am community comes out in support DATELINE USA Fil-Am nurse wins $41-M of HiFi businesses targeted in burglary in retaliation lawsuit FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

by DONNABELLE L. GATDULA AJPress

LOS ANGELES – A Filipina American nurse has won $41.49 million in a lawsuit against LOS ANGELES — The local Filipino American her former employer, Kaiser Foundation community is coming together in support of Historic Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Filipinotown businesses that were hit during a recent Inc. smash and grab burgulary.

Maria Gatchalian took her former employer to court for retaliating against her when she complained about patient safety and quality of care.

After working as a registered and charge nurse in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 30 years, Gatchalian was fired in 2019 over a minor policy violation.

The Los Angeles Superior Court panel on Monday, December 11 granted Gatchalian $11.49 million in compensatory damages, including $9 million for the emotional distress, plus $30 million in punitive damages.

“Staffing in healthcare is directly related to the quality of care delivered,” Gatchalian’s lawyer, David deRubertis, told Inquirer.net.

“Cutting corners with staffing risks patient safety.”

Gatchalian – a first-generation Filipino American – worked for the Woodland Hills

A GoFundMe page with a $25,000 goal has been set up by community members for the affected businesses, including beloved restaurant Dollar Hits.

"We want to help them out during this difficult time by lessening the burden during the holidays," says the GoFundMe page.

Elvira Chan, owner and founder of popular Filipino

US, PH, Japan security chiefs urge China to stop provocation

by GAEA KATREENA CABICO Philstar.com

 PAGE A4

Storms are on the way.

Are Californians prepared?

IF your memories of last winter’s dozen “atmospheric rivers” have faded, Mother Nature is preparing a soaking wet reminder, with parts of the West Coast possibly looking at a month’s worth of rain by midweek and another close on its heels around Christmastime.

The storms are part of the periodic El Niño weather pattern that meteorologists say promises more torrential rains and higher temperatures across California in the coming year.

In hopes of minimizing the disasters that extreme weather can bring, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), along with Listos California, Ethnic Media Services and California Black Media hosted a press briefing offering safety tips, advice and resources to help Californians prepare for the flooding, high winds and cold temperatures that will likely occur in various parts of the state.

“Getting prepared for disaster starts with simple but important actions you can take now before storms hit,” said Diana Crofts-Pelayo,

street food restaurant Dollar Hits, was devastated and could not fathom that her business would be targeted after operating in that part of Historic Filipinotown for more than 13 years.

“It was really sad when we were told that our restaurant was robbed. But we are grateful that nobody was hurt,” Chan told the Asian Journal in a  PAGE A2

DAWN MASS. Devotees offer prayers and light candles before the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros on Friday, December 15. Catbolics will commence the nine-day Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass) on December 16, but some churches will hold anticipated Masses on the night of December 15.

PNA photo by Yancy Lim

MANILA — The national security advisers of the Philippines, the United States and Japan called on China to “desist from further provocative behavior” in the West Philippine Sea, the White House said on Thursday, December 14.

According to a White House readout, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Philippines’ National Security Advisor Eduardo Año and Japan’s National Security Advisor Akiba Takeo expressed concerns about China’s “recent dangerous and unlawful” conduct near Ayungin Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc over the weekend. “[They] called on the People’s Republic of China to abide by the legally binding July 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling and desist from further provocative behavior,” the White House said.

Sullivan, Año and Akiba held a trilateral phone call on Wednesday, December 13 to reaffirm their commitment

 PAGE A2

PH supports UN resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza

by GAEA KATREENA CABICO Philstar.com

MANILA — The Philippines has voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, marking a shift from the country’s earlier decision to abstain.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution on Tuesday, December 12, demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza, with 153 countries voting in favor and 23 abstaining.

Ten countries, including the United States  PAGE A2 and Israel, voted against the resolution.

The resolution also calls for the protection of civilians, humanitarian access, and the "immediate and unconditional" release of all hostages.

Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, the country’s permanent representative to the UN, said the Philippines is “deeply concerned” about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.

“The Philippines believes that a humanitarian ceasefire is crucial to halt the loss of life and suffering. This ceasefire is a necessary step to facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to all affected  PAGE A2

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Malacañang photo

Hontiveros sets January 2024 probe into Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ Padilla seeks expanded terms

by CHARIE ABARCA Inquirer.net

Apollo Quiboloy

MANILA — The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros intends to conduct a probe into “Appointed Son of God” Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in January 2024.

Hontiveros confirmed this in a letter sent to the Department of Justice on Thursday, December 14. The probe seeks to look into alleged crimes linked to Quiboloyled KOJC. “I am intending to set the hearing date on January 23, 2024, during which the committee will require the presence of Mr. Quiboloy. In the Photo from Facebook/Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy interest of justice and due process,

it is my strong desire to ensure that he will be physically present in the Senate for the hearing,” said Hontiveros.

The letter further states Hontiveros’ request for the DOJ to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order so that Quiboloy will be in the Philippines during the hearing date.

Following Hontiveros’ filing of resolution that seeks to investigate KOJC’s alleged crimes, Quiboloy’s legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, dared Hontiveros to bring the allegations to proper courts instead and not in the Senate.

“If you think your witnesses are strong, why don’t you take them to court where the fight is fair and there is due process?” Topacio dared Hontiveros. 

for president, vice president

by CHARIE ABARCA Inquirer.net

MANILA — Senator Robinhood Padilla has proposed amending the 1987 Constitution and allowing the president and vice president to serve for four years and two terms.

Under his Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 5, the president and vice president would be elected “joint candidates,” the Senate would grow to 54 members, with 24 of them serving for eight years, and the House of Representatives lawmakers would serve for four years.

Padilla filed RBH No. 5 on

Wednesday, December 13.

It is “imperative to strike a balance between the need for policy continuity, which requires adequate time for lawmakers to fulfill their legislative agenda, and the need to prevent the accumulation of power, which may lead to political entrenchment,” the rookie legislator, who chairs the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, said in the resolution.

“It is important to provide an allowable extension of service, thus providing elected officials with a more substantial opportunity to effect long-term  PAGE A2

A2 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Fil-Am community comes out...

PAGE A1 phone interview.

But according to Chan, this incident won’t stop her from providing the community what they consider their “staple” for many years.

“After we learned about what happened, we have the smashed glass doors and panels repaired immediately and start our business as usual by 1 p.m. that day,” she said. Based on CCTV footage gathered by police, at around 4:35 a.m on Monday, December 12, the suspects from a nearby parked black car, smashed and grabbed three establishments, including Dollar Hits located in the 240 block of N. Carondelet Street in Historic Filipinotown.

The two other businesses targeted during the burglary were My Mom's Bakeshop and LA Beauty. Chan lamented that the burglars were able to steal thousands of dollars in their cash registers, which were normally intended for their daily petty cash

and emergency funds.

"Everything [was] taken and my cash register and the other cash register — all gone," Chan said.

Chan said police are now searching for the suspects who were all wearing masks and dark clothing when they smashed into the stores. Despite this untoward incident, the Dollar Hits owner is grateful to a witness, Edmond Remijio, a 30-year-old Filipino man, who called the police after witnessing the burglary.

As a way to give back for his bravery, Chan said they hired Remijio, who had been using Dollar Hits’ pavement as his temporary shelter at night after being homeless and out of job for years.

“We asked him if he wants to work for us,” she said, adding that they also gave him a small space at a friend’s house to call his temporary home.

Chan said Remijio is one of many homeless people around the area that Dollar Hits has been

extending assistance for the past few years.

“We love this community and we want to help people like them.

We feed them,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chan said the police advised them and other business establishments in the area to not only rely on CCTV camera but should also install security alarms.

“If it were not for Edmond, there could have been more damages done to our place of business.

That’s why we are very thankful and we want to help him. And we want to help the community the best way we can,” she said.

Chan assured donors that part of the proceeds from the fundraising initiative will be used to continue helping the homeless people in the area.

"The money will be distributed directly to the business owners to help with the repair/replacement expenses, preventative security measures and to help with the holidays," added the GoFundMe page. 

US, PH, Japan security chiefs urge China...

PAGE A1

to freedom of navigation and international law in the South China Sea and East China Sea. They discussed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

The three national security advisers also underscored the significance of enhancing trilateral cooperation and committed to continue implementing the initiatives to enhance defense and security capabilities, particularly on cyber security.

They also pledged to maintain

a free and open maritime order, enhance cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and maintain a free and equitable economic order.

The Philippines said on Sunday, December 10 that the China Coast Guard (CCG) rammed and fired water cannons at Philippine vessels during a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said China’s actions left one of its ships with “severe engine damage” and put the lives of crew members at risk.

The day before, the CCG also shot water cannons at civilian vessels carrying provisions for fisherfolk in the Scarborough Shoal.

The Philippines said on Monday, December 11 it had summoned China’s envoy to Manila following the latest incidents in the disputed waterway.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters to the immediate west of the Philippines. It has ignored the arbitral tribunal’s ruling that its assertions have no legal basis. 

PH supports UN resolution demanding...

PAGE A1

civilians, irrespective of their affiliation,” he said in a speech.

Lagdameo said that while the Philippines condemns the October 7 attacks perpetrated

by Hamas fighters on Israel, it emphasizes the need to adhere to International Humanitarian Law, especially the principles of proportionality and distinction in response to security threats.

“It is imperative that any military action considers the impact on civilians and strives

to minimize, if not eliminate, collateral damage,” he said.

The Philippine representative urged parties to adhere to their obligations under international law such as protecting civilians, particularly women and children.

In October, the Philippines abstained from a UN resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce” between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Lagdameo said

at the time that the resolution did not mention nor condemn the October 7 assault that led to deaths of civilians, including Filipinos.

Tuesday’s vote came after the UN Security Council—the body responsible for global peace and security—has repeatedly failed to make such a call.

Israeli air and land assaults continue to pummel Gaza, killing more than 18,400 Palestinians.

Meanwhile, some 1,200 Israelis were killed in the attack. 

KAHAYAG. Dabawenyos get to enjoy the colorful lights adorning the councilors’ offices at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) in Davao City on Friday, Dec. 15. This year’s “Kahayag (light) sa SP” carries the theme “Colors of Christmas.”

PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.

Storms are on the way. Are Californians...

PAGE A1 of OES: • Sign up for locally specific, potentially life-saving emergency alerts at safelistoscalifornia.org/ alerts.

• Make plans for where you and your household will meet, so that even if you’re in disparate locations when a crisis occurs, you’ll be able to reunite.

• Have a “go bag” with essential things you can quickly take with you if you have to leave your home in a hurry.

• And don’t forget to use simple common sense. For instance, if you’re driving and encounter barricades, don’t drive around them! A car can be swept away in as little as 12 inches of water, Crofts-Pelayo warned. “If there’s a barricade there, it’s there for a reason. Do not cross it!

“There were too many sad stories last year of people getting trapped through flooded areas,” she said. Along similar lines, pedestrians can be swept away by the force of as little as 6 inches of rushing water. “Stay indoors during storms and high-wind events,” she cautioned. We had too many people hurt by falling trees “out trying to walk their dogs in 70 mph winds.”

If you or someone in your household relies on electricity

for essential medical equipment, contact your power company to make arrangements. If the company needs to cut off power in an area due to fire risks such as falling trees, it can prioritize keeping the power on for specific customers or help arrange backup power sources.

But don’t run a generator indoors, Pelayo said, those fumes are deadly. And along those lines, don’t rely on your kitchen stove as a heat source. And don’t forget to check on your neighbors and loved ones.

Other simple things to take care of ahead of time include having working flashlights and gas in the car.

Have fun in the snowy mountains, she said, as long as you’re adequately prepared.

And don’t go during a storm if your clothing and car aren’t appropriate for extreme weather, especially if you don’t live there.

Don’t put first responders in the position of “trying to save too many people at one time.”

Resources for staying safe in extreme weather ListosCalifornia is a “Number One resource,” with its storm safety information available in 13 languages at: Listoscalifornia. org/StormSeason. “If it’s too cold, if the weather is too

intense,” you’ll find information on warming shelters and public shelters for specific disasters.

Using these resources comes without ID requirements or any questions about someone’s immigration status. “Accepting any kind of aid during a disaster is not counted in ‘public charge’ considerations around immigration applications,” she said.

“All we care about is for Californians to stay safe.”

There’s also a text-based educational program on public safety available in English, Spanish, Hmong and Punjabi accessible by texting CAWINTER to 20202.

Bianca Feldkircher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Western Region, provided some details on El Niño and La Niña, which are highly predictable months ahead of time based on Pacific wind patterns and water currents coming off the coast of South America. When the winds are weak, as they’ve been this year, the currents turn eastward, away from the western Pacific, and draw the jet stream to the south, bringing more severe weather along with it, and leading to more moderate temperatures in  PAGE A3

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DATELINE USA

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 A3

Rift over when to use N95s puts health workers at risk again

by AMY MAXMEN KFF Health News

FAILED TRANSPORT STRIKE. Traditional jeepneys ply Agoncillo Street in Manila on Thursday, Dec. 14 as the transport strike failed to garner support. Some groups are protesting the non-extension of the deadline for franchise consolidation as mandated by the public utility vehicle modernization program.

PNA photo by Yancy Lim

Storms are on the way. Are Californians...

PAGE A2

northern parts of the U.S. She said that the National Weather Service foresees a 35% possibility of an “historically strong” El Niño season, rivaling those of 1997-8 and 2015-16, that could extend all the way till June.

Navigating insurance policies Jazmin Ortega of the state Department of Insurance provided some suggestions for how to best navigate the toooften-lengthy process of filing insurance claims after weatherrelated calamities. Her office, she said, has worked to extend the grace period for people to both pay their insurance bills and access benefits if they’ve been put out by the weather – including greater allowances for living expenses for people who’ve had to evacuate their homes.

She wanted people to be aware that flood insurance, just like earthquake insurance, is typically not covered in standard California home insurance policies.

“Less than 2% of Californians have it,” she said.

Flood insurance is available via the National Flood Insurance Program overseen by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at floodsmart.gov, but you should have it in place at least 30 days before you might need it, she cautioned. For those struggling to find fire insurance,

With an El Niño weather pattern promising wetter wets and hotter hots, California’s Office of Emergency Services and Listos California are urging residents to stay safe and be prepared.

Unsplash.com photo by Atilla Bingöl

she recommended the California Fair Plan (https://www.cfpnet. com/).

The Department has been a familiar presence at disaster assistance sites helping people navigate their policies and is available to help people process their claims at insurance.ca.gov or through 1-800 927-4357. It also does not concern itself with people’s immigration status.

She suggested that people review their policies to see if they need additional coverage, to remind themselves of what’s covered, and to document both their policies themselves – so that the relevant information can

be accessed easily – and to also take pictures to document what they’ve been paying to insure.

Social media toolkit Alf LaMont, of LaMont digital, described Listos California’s emphasis on emergency preparedness as “prepositioning resources prior to an event.” He also highlighted a social media toolkit (socialpresskit.com/ wetwinter) built around some of the most useful, popular online resources from last year’s storms.

The toolkit, he said, has 25 elements, including videos, graphics and locally sourced artwork, and is published in a dozen languages. (Mark Hedin/ Ethnic Media Services)

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Pero teka, may higit pa. Ngayon ay makakahanap ka ng payo sa isang dosenang wika sa ftc.gov/languages. Doon malalaman mo kung paano maiiwasan ang scam, kung ano ang gagawin kung nagbayad ka sa isang scammer, at kung paano maiiwasan ang mga scam na pinupuntirya ang iyong maliit na negosyo. Mayroon pa ngang handbook tungkol sa panloloko para sa mga dumating kamakailan sa Estados Unidos.

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THREE years after more than 3,600 health workers died of COVID-19, occupational safety experts warn that those on the front lines may once again be at risk if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes its committee’s advice on infection control guidelines in health care settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and jails. In early November, the committee released a controversial set of recommendations the CDC is considering, which would update those established some 16 years ago.

The pandemic illustrated how a rift between the CDC and workplace safety officials can have serious repercussions.

Most recently, the giant hospital system Sutter Health in California appealed a citation from the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/ OSHA, by pointing to the CDC’s shifting advice on when and whether N95 masks were needed at the start of the pandemic. By contrast, Cal/OSHA requires employers in high-risk settings like hospitals to improve ventilation, use air filtration, and provide N95s to all staff exposed to diseases that are — or may be — airborne.

The agencies are once again at odds. The CDC’s advisory committee prescribes varying degrees of protection based on ill-defined categories, such as whether a virus or bacteria is considered common or how far it seems to travel in the air.

As a result, occupational safety experts warn that choices on how to categorize COVID, influenza, and other airborne diseases — and the corresponding levels of protection — may once again be left to administrators at hospitals, nursing homes, and jails or prisons.

Eric Berg, deputy chief of health at Cal/OSHA, warned the CDC in November that, if it accepted its committee’s recommendations, the guidelines would “create confusion and result in workers being not adequately protected.”

Also called respirators, N95 masks filter out far more particles than looser-fitting surgical masks but cost roughly 10 times as much, and were in short supply

in 2020. Black, Hispanic, and Asian health workers more often went without N95 masks than white staffers, which helped explain why members of racial and ethnic minorities tested positive for COVID nearly five times as often as the general population in the early months of the pandemic. (Hispanic people can be of any race or combination of races.)

Cal/OSHA issued dozens of citations to health care facilities that failed to provide N95 masks and take other measures to protect workers in 2020 and 2021. Many appealed, and some cases are ongoing. In October, the agency declined Sutter’s appeal against a $6,750 citation for not giving its medical assistants N95 masks in 2020  PAGE A4

A4 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Pope Francis appoints Filipino bishop in Philadelphia LA county invests big in free virtual mental health therapy for K-12 students

by ANGELINE MARCELINO Inquirer.net

by MOLLY CASTLE WORK

the second round of layoffs in six months.

KFF Health News Supplement, not solution LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Chelsy Duffer-Dunbar, who at County public schools are rolling the time worked for Los Angeles out an ambitious effort to offer free Unified as a psychiatric social mental health services to their 1.3 worker, told KFF Health News million K-12 students, a key test of in October that she hadn’t yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s worked with Hazel, but noted that sweeping, $4.7 billion program the county requires that a member to address a youth mental health of staff stay within eyesight of the crisis. student during their appointments Spearheaded by the county’s and assist if tech issues arise.

Medi-Cal plans — which provide “It is still taking up staff time,” health insurance to low-income Duffer-Dunbar said. “My day is residents — in collaboration already so stressful. I can’t imagine with its Office of Education and having a threat assessment and a Department of Mental Health, suicide assessment at work and the LA school program relies on then trying to scramble around teletherapy services provided by to find someone to sit in on this Hazel Health, one of a clutch of therapy session with the kiddo and companies that have sprung up to their iPad.” address a nationwide shortage of Duffer-Dunbar said she wants mental health services that grew the district to prioritize in-person much worse during the COVID-19 clinicians who are immersed in pandemic. the local community, especially The teletherapy effort is one for younger kids who have trouble of four LA County projects that engaging with teletherapy. will collectively receive up to $83 Duffer-Dunbar has since left million from the state’s Student the district in response to budget Behavioral Health Incentive cuts that forced her into a more Program, one component of the burdensome role.

Democratic governor’s “master Hazel emphasized that plan” to address gaps in youth teletherapy is not a one-size-fits-all mental health care access. solution.

LA’s Hazel Health contract is “It’s an opportunity to expand aimed at helping overburdened access,” said Andrew Post, chief schools cope with a surge in of innovation at the company. demand for mental health services.

Education and health care It promises to be a telling case working together study in both the efficacy of virtual It took a complicated therapy for students and the ability collaboration between school of educators and administrators to districts, county agencies, and effectively manage a sprawling and the two Medi-Cal plans, L.A. Care sensitive program in partnership Health Plan and Health Net, to set with a for-profit company. up the school therapy program.

For some Los Angeles County The state funding rules were educators and families, the initial designed to push the entities to results are promising. work together.

Anjelah Salazar, 10, said her “This program has helped us Hazel clinician has helped her feel get closer to school districts,” said a lot better. After the fifth grader Michael Brodsky, senior medical switched to a new school this year, director for community health at Stanton Elementary in Glendora, L.A. Care Health Plan. “If we can she started having panic attacks catch kids while they’re at school every day. and refer them to get treatment Her mom, Rosanna Chavira, while they’re in school, that’s said she didn’t know what to do good.”

— even though she’s a clinical Hazel provides primarily shortcoordinator for a company that term one-to-one therapy sessions treats mental health conditions — with clinical social workers or and worried she wouldn’t be able other licensed counselors, 40% to find an affordable therapist who of whom are bilingual. They are accepted their insurance. Once best suited to provide temporary Chavira learned about Hazel, she support to those with mild to jumped at the opportunity. moderate needs, such as students “This being free and having a struggling with academic stress or licensed professional teaching starting at a new school, but they her coping skills, it just means the can also make referrals for longworld,” Chavira said. “You can term care. already see changes.”

The largest district enrolled in Salazar said she’s met with her the program, Los Angeles Unified, virtual therapist five times so far. accounts for 41% of the county’s One coping technique that she students, but not all districts are especially appreciates is a tapping ready to take the leap. Four in 10 exercise: Every night before bed, districts have opted to not offer she taps her eyes, her cheeks, Hazel’s services, which Garoupa her chest, and her knees. With attributes partially to data-sharing each tap, she recites the same concerns. affirmation: “I am brave.”

The contract with Hazel ends Christine Crone, parent of in December 2024, but Garoupa seventh grader Brady, said she has said the Office of Education and yet to see if the sessions have been its partners intend to maintain effective for her son, who attends services through June 2025. Any Arroyo Seco Junior High in Santa extension beyond that will depend Clarita, but she knows he enjoys on the results. them.

Sonya Smith, a colleague of “He struggles normally with Garoupa’s, said the Office of being on time and prepared, but Education will be continuously with these sessions, he always evaluating Hazel’s effectiveness stops what he is doing and makes through an annual survey, sure he is logged in on time,” monthly impact reports, and weekly meetings.

“The number of students that are using Hazel is obviously going to be a key metric,” Smith said. “Hazel’s historic utilization rate is 3% to 8%. We’ll be evaluating if those numbers hold up, if students are accessing care in a timely manner, and if it’s lightening the burden for school staff and community-based providers.”

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating Teletherapy is playing an increasingly important role in schools across the nation as educators programs at KFF—an independent and social workers face pressure to address growing mental health issues. source of health policy research, Unsplash.com photo by Annie Spratt polling, and journalism.

Crone said. “He says that his therapist is nice, fun, and easy to talk to.”

Jennifer Moya, a mental health counselor at Martha Baldwin Elementary in Alhambra, a city east of Los Angeles, said her students like the flexibility of teletherapy, which allows them to meet with clinicians anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

“This generation of kids has grown up digital,” said Moya, who is in charge of referring students to Hazel at her school. “They love that this is easy.”

Pablo Isais, a mental health counselor at Alhambra’s Granada Elementary School, said the services can also be a stopgap while a student waits for an inperson appointment, which can take six to eight weeks.

“To be able to let them know that there are services available that they can access within the next week is amazing,” Moya said.

Thus far, early in the rollout, only 607 Los Angeles County students have participated in Hazel sessions since they were first offered, in Compton, in December 2022, said Alicia Garoupa, chief of well-being and support services for the Office of Education. She acknowledged some bumps in the rollout but said Hazel is “another tool in our toolbox.”

State relies on for-profit ventures Teletherapy is playing an increasingly important role in schools across the nation as educators and social workers face pressure to address growing mental health issues. According to an April Chalkbeat report, 13 of the nation’s 20 largest school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, have added teletherapy since the pandemic began.

LA County’s deal with Hazel calls for the company to be paid up to $20 million through the end of 2024. In addition, Hazel can bill students’ insurance.

The San Francisco-based company, founded in 2015, has raised $112.5 million from investors and has contracts in 15 different states. Other companies chasing youth mental health dollars include another San Francisco startup, Daybreak Health, a graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator tech incubator, along with BeMe, Brightline, and Kooth.

California chose Brightline and Kooth for a 2024 $532 million statewide initiative on virtual youth behavioral services, another important component of Newsom’s master plan. There is some overlap between the state and local programs, Brightline co-founder and CEO Naomi Allen acknowledged, but she said the Brightline offering is broader than what Hazel is doing in schools, with services including everything from coaching sessions for caregivers to meditation resources.

“The state is funding free access to services for every child in the state, which is just a remarkably ambitious program,” said Allen.

Still, many questions remain about the efficacy of teletherapy for students. It’s also proving to be no surefire moneymaker for the companies thus far: Brightline laid off 20% of its staff last spring,

Padilla seeks expanded terms for president...

PAGE A1 [and] meaningful changes in their respective offices,” he added.

Some of the specific proposals in RBH No. 5 are: Sec. 2 of Article VI: The Senate shall have 54 members. Of these, 24 are elected at large, and 30 are elected by qualified voters from each legislative region.

Sec. 4 of Article VI: Senators elected at large shall have terms of eight years but shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms; senators elected by region shall have terms of four years but shall not serve for more than three consecutive terms.

Sec. 7 of Article VI: Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of four years and shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.

Sec. 4 of Article VII: The

president and vice president shall be elected as joint candidates by direct vote of the people for a term of four years. They shall not be elected for more than two terms. A President who served for two terms shall not be qualified to run for any elective position. Any person who has succeeded the president and vice president shall only be qualified for one election to the same office at any time.

Sec. 8 of Article X: The term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, shall be four years. They shall serve no more than three consecutive terms.

In a statement Thursday, December 14, Padilla explained that the change he is seeking in the term of office of the president and vice president would ensure what he called a

“balance in leadership stability and democratic continuity.”

“A joint candidacy for the president and vice president provides for an electoral landscape that will shift its emphasis from individual personalities to the unified policy agenda and will foster a more strategic and effective governance,” he also said.

Padilla’s resolution notes that the introductory elections of all officials under the proposed amendments shall be held on the second Monday of May 2028.

Based on RBH No. 5, the two chambers of Congress – Senate and House of Representatives – should resolve the proposed amendments through a constitutional assembly, or by a vote of three-fourths of congressional members, with each chamber voting separately. 

POPE Francis has appointed a Filipino bishop, among two others, for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported on Saturday.

According to the CBCP, Bishop-elect Efren Esmilla, who was born in Nagcarlan, Laguna, was appointed on Friday, December 8 and is now the fourth Filipino bishop appointed in the United States.

He is now one of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s auxiliary bishops who will serve approximately 1.5 million Catholics, the CBCP noted.

The CBCP said Esmilla is with priests Keith Chylinski and Christopher Cooke. They will join Archbishop Nelson Perez and Auxiliary Bishop John McIntyre, who have been serving there since 2010.

Quoting Esmilla, the CBCP in a press statement said that the bishop-elect was “greatly humbled and honored” for the appointment.

“I ask all of the clergy, men, and women religious, and lay faithful our beloved local Church to pray for me while knowing that I will pray for all of you so that I can see how to serve you best,” Esmilla said.

“My great hope is that our beloved Archdiocese of Philadelphia will continue to grow spiritually and to grow in the number of souls as we all strive to be better missionary disciples for Jesus Christ in the world around us,” he added.

According to the CBCP, Esmilla

Filipino Bishop-elect Efren Esmilla (middle) is among the newly-appointed auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the CBCP says on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

went to San Beda University and got his college degree in 1984.

He took his priestly formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and earned a Master of Divinity in 1992.

In 1993, the CBCP said Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua ordained Esmilla to the priesthood for the Philadelphia archdiocese.

The CBCP said the bishop has also served as a parochial vicar at St. John Chrysostom in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Philadelphia; assistant director of pastoral formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary; pastor of St. James in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; and chaplain to the Filipino Apostolate and the spiritual director to the Legion of Mary.

The 61-year-old bishop immigrated from the Philippines and is now residing in the U.S., the CBCP noted.

Meanwhile, in the same press statement, the CBCP quoted Archbishop Perez, who said the new bishops “are men of deep faith, great humility, broad pastoral as well as administrative experience, and zealous hearts that on fire to serve as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.” “I’ve known all of them for many years and have witnessed the transformational impact of their priestly ministry on a diverse array of people everywhere they have served,” Perez said. The CBCP noted that other bishops appointed in the U.S. are Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro Aclan of Los Angeles, and Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino of El Paso-Texas. 

“Plaintiff’s conduct was unacceptable, made even more so by the fact that she was a charge nurse, a leader of the nursing team and a long-term employee who knew better,” Kaiser lawyers said.

Having lost confidence in Gatchalian, Kaiser “made the difficult decision to terminate her employment” in 2019, according to the defense lawyers’ court papers.

But according to the lawsuit filed in April 2021, Gatchalian raised repeated concerns to management about the quality of care and patient safety, mostly stemming from Kaiser’s alleged understaffing.

Multiple witnesses said during the trial that the facility was undermanned.

Gatchalian said Kaiser management repeatedly discouraged her from submitting formal complaints through the normal process.

DeRubertis said this was done so Kaiser could avoid conducting an investigation and taking corrective action.

“Maria had the courage to speak up about patient safety but Kaiser tried to silence her,” he added.

“This diligent jury spoke in a loud and clear voice telling Kaiser that it needs to put patients over profits.”

DeRubertis said he hopes this verdict will get Kaiser to “focus more on patient safety and quality of care and less on the business of medicine.” (Nimfa U. Rueda/Inquirer.net)

Fil-Am nurse wins $41-M in retaliation...

PAGE A1

Kaiser Permanente Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) since 1989.

Starting as a registered nurse, she was promoted in 2006 to charge nurse, a managerial position requiring her to lead her nursing unit.

In their court papers, Kaiser attorneys said the 30-year veteran employee admitted that in 2019 she took off her shoes and socks and placed her bare feet on an isolette.

An isolette is a clear plastic enclosed crib that maintains a warm environment for a sick or premature newborn baby.

The defense attorneys included in their court papers a photo of Gatchalian resting her feet on the medical device.

Rift over when to use N95s puts health...

PAGE A3

when they accompanied patients who appeared to have COVID through clinics. Sutter pointed to the CDC’s advice early in the pandemic, according to court testimony. It noted that the CDC called surgical masks an “acceptable alternative” in March 2020, “seemed to recommend droplet precautions rather than airborne precautions,” and suggested that individuals were unlikely to be infected if they were farther than 6 feet away from a person with COVID. This is a loose interpretation of the CDC’s 2020 advice, which was partly made for reasons of practicality. Respirators were in short supply, for example, and physical distancing beyond 6 feet is complicated in places where people must congregate.

Scientifically, there were clear indications that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spread through the air, leading Cal/OSHA to enact its straightforward rules created after the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Workers need stiffer protection than the general population, said Jordan Barab, a former official at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration: “Health workers are exposed for eight, 10, 12 hours a day.”

The CDC’s advisory committee offers a weaker approach in certain cases, suggesting that health workers wear surgical masks for “common, often endemic respiratory pathogens” that “spread predominantly over short distances.” The draft guidance pays little attention to ventilation and air filtration, and advises N95 masks only for “new or emerging” diseases and those that spread “efficiently over long distances.” Viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens that spread through the air don’t neatly fit into such categories.

“Guidelines that are incomplete, weak, and without scientific basis will greatly undermine CDC’s credibility,” said a former OSHA director, David Michaels, in minutes from an October meeting where he and others urged CDC Director Mandy Cohen to reconsider advice from the committee before it issues final guidance next year.

Although occupational safety

agencies — not the CDC — have the power to make rules, enforcement often occurs long after the damage is done, if ever.

Cal/OSHA began to investigate Sutter only after a nurse at its main Oakland hospital died from COVID and health workers complained they weren’t allowed to wear N95 masks in hallways shared with COVID patients.

And more than a dozen citations from Cal/OSHA against Kaiser Permanente, Sharp HealthCare, and other health systems lagged months and years behind health worker complaints and protests.

Outside California, OSHA faces higher enforcement obstacles. A dwindling budget left the agency with fewer workplace inspectors than it had in 45 years, at the peak of the pandemic. Plus, the Trump and Biden administrations stalled the agency’s ongoing efforts to pass regulations specific to airborne infections. As a result, the agency followed up on only about 1 in 5 COVID-related complaints that employees and labor representatives officially filed with the group from January 2020 to February 2022 — and just 4% of those made informally through media reports, phone calls, and emails. Many deaths among health care workers weren’t reported to the agency in the first place.

Michaels, who is now on the faculty at the George Washington University School of Public Health, said the CDC would further curtail OSHA’s authority to punish employers who expose staff members to airborne diseases, if its final guidelines follow the committee’s recommendations.

Such advice would leave many hospitals, correctional facilities, and nursing homes as unprepared as they were before the pandemic, said Deborah Gold, a former deputy chief of health at Cal/OSHA. Strict standards prompt employers to stockpile N95 masks and improve air filtration and ventilation to avoid citations.

But if the CDC’s guidance leaves room for interpretation, she said, they can justify cutting corners on costly preparation.

Although the CDC committee and OSHA both claim to follow the science, researchers arrived at contradictory conclusions

because the committee relied on explicitly flawed trials comparing health workers who wore surgical masks with those using N95s. Cal/OSHA based its standards on a variety of studies, including reviews of hospital infections and engineering research on how airborne particles spread.

In decades past, the CDC’s process for developing guidelines included labor representatives and experts focused on hazards at work. Barab was a health researcher at a trade union for public sector employees when he helped the CDC develop HIVrelated recommendations in the 1980s.

“I remember asking about how to protect health care workers and correction officers who get urine or feces thrown at them,” Barab said. Infectious disease researchers on the CDC’s committee initially scoffed at the idea, he recalled, but still considered his input as someone who understood the conditions employees faced. “A lot of these folks hadn’t been on hospital floors in years, if not decades.”

The largest organization for nurses in the United States, National Nurses United, made the same observation. It’s now collecting signatures for an online petition urging the CDC to scrap the committee’s guidelines and develop new recommendations that include insights from health care workers, many of whom risked their lives in the pandemic.

Barab attributed the lack of labor representation in the CDC’s current process to the growing corporate influence of large health systems. Hospital administrators prefer not to be told what to do, particularly when it requires spending money, he said.

In an email, CDC communications officer Dave Daigle stressed that before the guidelines are finalized, the CDC will “review the makeup of the workgroups and solicit participation to ensure that the appropriate expertise is included.”

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.

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 A5

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DOT exceeds visitor arrival target for 2023

by MOISES CRUZ ManilaTimes.net

TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco declared on Tuesday, December 12 that international visitor arrivals to the country not only exceeded the objective but also surpassed the 5-million goal before the end of the year.

"I am happy to report that as of December 12, we have breached the 5-million mark in terms of international visitor arrivals, contributing an impressive 439.50 billion pesos in receipts," Frasco said.

With the holiday break fast approaching, we are confident we will further breach our earlier target of 4.8 million for 2023, underscoring our commitment to continuous growth for the industry and the economy," she added.

The Philippines had received 5,069,752 foreign tourist arrivals as of December 11. Of this

total, 4,658,123 (91.88 percent) are international visitors, and the remaining 411,629 (8.12 percent) are overseas Filipinos.

South Korea is the Philippines' leading source market, with 1,341,029 arrivals, followed by the United States of America (USA) with 836,694, Japan with 285,655, China with 252,171, and Australia with 238,487.

Meanwhile, Canada ranked sixth with 206,571, followed

by Taiwan with 186,140, the United Kingdom with 141,516, Singapore with 140,633, and Malaysia with 92,383.

According to the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) World Tourism Barometer, the average recovery rate in the Asia-Pacific region is 62 percent from January to September. The Philippines' recovery in terms of foreign visitor arrivals is yielding positive results, with a 65.54 percent increase from January to September 2023.

In terms of visitor receipts,

Frasco said that the country is "recovering faster than expected," with P458 billion in visitor receipts from January to November of this year, or 95.85 percent of 2019 figures.

Meanwhile, tourism generated 5.35 million jobs from 2.6 million tourist arrivals in 2022, or 11 jobs for every 100 Filipinos.

"We are optimistic that this number will increase this year, anticipating that we will have twice as many foreign visitors as we received last year. In pursuit of this growth direction, we are dedicated to creating a tourism landscape that is not only vibrant but also innovative," Frasco said.

"We have formulated policies that address government regulations that may not necessarily apply anymore, especially with the postpandemic landscape, and we are trying as best we can in convergence with our fellow government agencies," she

Speculative, unfounded, ex-prexy Duterte says of grave threats suit MANILA – Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte said the grave threat charge filed against him by ACT Party-list Rep. France Castro before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office was purely speculative.

In his 12-page counter affidavit sworn before Davao City Prosecutor Arnold Abejaron, Duterte said: “It is pure speculation, if not altogether improbable or manifestly absurd, to suppose that any of the essential elements of the crime charges against me are present as to warrant the filing of an information in court.”

“Perhaps they found it

opportune that I am no longer a public official entitled to immunity from suit, thus allowing themselves to take advantage of trivial and measly concerns in order to retaliate.

However aside from quoting speeches and interviews, I have previously given, Castro failed to adduce evidentiary proof to corroborate the foregoing assertions,” the former president said.

He added that the complaint "does not contain any allegation that could even remotely support a well-founded belief that I committed the crime alleged thereon.”

The cases arose from supposed statements made

by Duterte during the Oct. 11 episode of Sonshine Media Network International’s (SMNI) program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa.”

Castro claimed the former president linked her to communist terrorist groups and gravely threatened her life, liberty, and security.

Castro alleged that as a result of the statements made by the former chief executive, she now lives in constant fear that she will become a victim of extrajudicial killing, forced disappearance, and illegal arrest. (PNA)

COVID cases hit 200 mark; masking rule back at PGH

by KATHLEEN DE VILLA Inquirer.net

MANILA — The country’s daily average of COVID-19 infections has breached the 200 mark again, nearly five months after the lifting of the public health emergency in July, with the transmission of the novel coronavirus in Metro Manila on a gradual rise.

This developed as the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the top COVID-19 referral facility during the pandemic, revived masking rules among its staff and patients within hospital premises amid worries of a new resurgence of the killer disease.

Based on the latest COVID-19 case bulletin of the Department of Health (DOH) issued on Tuesday, December 12, the country logged an average of 260 cases per day in the week from Dec. 5 to 11.

The figure represented a 36-percent climb from the previous week’s daily average of 191 cases.

The last time the country saw a daily average of more than 200 cases was during the period of July 17 to 23, the same week President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lifted the public health emergency due to COVID-19.

Since then, the national tally has averaged between 100 and 200 cases daily.

Of the total 1,821 people confirmed to have COVID-19 in the last week, 13 were considered severe or critical, accounting for less than 1 percent of total reported infections, the DOH bulletin showed.

Hospitalizations among COVID-19 cases nationwide remained at a low risk, with 16.5 percent of non-intensive care unit (non-ICU) beds and 13.6 percent of ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Of those admitted, 9.6 percent or 228 cases were deemed severe or critical.

Alert level 1 According to scientist Guido David of the research and polling firm Octa Research, the weekly positivity rate among COVID-19 cases in the capital region jumped to 13.4 percent on Dec. 10 from 10.2 percent on Dec. 3.

“We remind everyone to avoid being complacent amid the continued threat of COVID-19,” the DOH said in a statement.

It advised the public to adhere to the same public health guidelines when the country was still under alert level 1, by, among others, wearing a well-fitting face mask and staying in well-ventilated areas.

“If experiencing symptoms, immediately isolate,” it said.

Under the lowest risk category for COVID-19, the wearing of

ON ALERT. In this photo taken in June 2021, nurses work round the clock at the COVID-19 ward of the Philippine General Hospital in Manila.

Inquirer.net file photo

face masks is mandatory at all times, whether in private or public indoor and outdoor areas, except when eating and drinking or during sports.

But with the lifting of the public health emergency on July 21 through the President’s Proclamation No. 297, all COVID-19 protocols were revoked, including masking, which remains optional at present.

On May 5, the World Health Organization said COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency.

Based on monitoring by the Inquirer, the country recorded its biggest single-day case count on Jan. 15, 2022, with 39,004 confirmed infected with SARSCoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes severe respiratory disease. At the time, 280,813 people were ill with COVID-19.

Peak in 2023 From May 4 to May 10 this year, a total of 12,416 new cases were recorded in the country, based on the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker data, the first time this year that the number of weekly cases reached more than 10,000.

The peak in the year occurred when 12,593 new cases were recorded in one week, from May 11 to May 17.

Over the weekend, PGH’s hospital and infection control unit (Hicu) released new guidelines on how the premier state hospital could contain the further spread of the novel coronavirus among its personnel and patients.

“Effective immediately, all patients, relatives, staff, and trainees are again required to observe the usual masking practices within hospital premises,” the PGH’s Hicu said in a Facebook post on Sunday, December 10.

“This means whether it is indoors or outdoors, and in clinical or nonclinical areas, such as offices, student lounges, and conference rooms,” it added.

Hicu stressed that anyone

must use “at least a surgical mask” upon entering the hospital. Outside the hospital, people were advised to keep face masks on, especially in crowded or poorly ventilated areas.

It also strongly urged hospital staff and visitors to undergo testing, either via antigen or RT-PCR, and isolate for at least five days for mild symptoms or 10 days for those with a severe infection.

Those hospitalized or categorized as having weakened immune systems were advised to isolate themselves for up to 21 days.

Hicu said the “increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in the past seven days” prompted it to issue the latest advisory.

The Inquirer asked the PGH spokesperson, Dr. Jonas del Rosario, about any notable rise in bed utilization rates at PGH, but there was no immediate reply.

Flu-like illnesses The country has been seeing a rise in other respiratory diseases, such as influenza-like illnesses (ILI), which soared to a total of 171,067 cases reported as of Oct. 28 this year. The number is higher by 45 percent compared with reported infections during the same period last year.

The recently reported clusters of such cases in China, including Mycoplasma pneumoniae, dubbed “walking pneumonia,” also drew international concern, prompting the DOH to review its surveillance on this pathogen.

The DOH earlier confirmed that four cases of M. pneumoniae had been reported among ILI cases in the Philippines since January, but it stressed that this bacterial infection was “not new or unusual.”

“The DOH has previously detected M. pneumoniae using various methods. DOH surveillance systems are able to detect ILIs, and can confirm through laboratories what may be causing them,” the health department said in a statement last week. 

STATE-OF-THE-ART PLANT. The PHP11-billion Poblacion Water Treatment Plant in Muntinlupa City, inaugurated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday, Dec. 15, is a state-of-the-art, membrane-based water treatment facility boasting a maximum design capacity of 150 million liters per day. Its construction, started in 2021, is aimed at increasing the water supply of Maynilad customers and to meet the growing demand for potable water.

PNA photo by Rey Baniquet

PH drops foreign ownership case against Ressa MANILA — A foreign ownership case against Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has been dropped, her media outlet said Wednesday, December 13, but the journalist still faces the threat of imprisonment on other charges.

Ressa, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, has been fighting multiple charges filed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

A vocal critic of Duterte and his deadly drug war, Ressa has long maintained that the charges against her and Rappler, the news website she co-founded in 2012, were politically motivated.

Ressa, 60, was acquitted on five government charges of tax evasion earlier this year.

The Department of Justice has now dropped a charge alleging Ressa illegally put Rappler under foreign control through the 2015 sale of foreign depositary receipts to U.S. investment firm Omidyar Network, her lawyers Amal Clooney and Caoilfhionn Gallagher said in a statement on Tuesday, December 12.

Rappler confirmed the department’s decision on Wednesday.

“Again, facts win. Truth wins.

Justice wins. We will continue to

Maria Ressa

hold the line,” Ressa said in the statement.

Under the Philippine constitution, only Filipino citizens or entities controlled by citizens can invest in the media.

Ressa has argued that the Omidyar investment did not transfer ownership of the news outfit, nor did Omidyar exercise control.

The offence carried a maximum penalty of 21 years in jail under the country’s Securities Regulation Code, Clooney and Gallagher said.

A spokesman for the justice department did not immediately respond to AFP requests for

Contributed photo

comment, while court officials declined to discuss the case and the city prosecutor was unavailable.

Ressa’s lawyers said she still faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year jail sentence if convicted in a separate case stemming from the Omidyar investment.

Ressa and a former colleague are appealing a cyber libel conviction that carries a nearly seven-year jail sentence.

Rappler, meanwhile, is challenging a Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission order to close for allegedly violating a ban on foreign ownership in media. (Philstar.com)

A6 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Bullied

POVERTY, physical and mental stunting due to insufficient food nutrients, crowded classrooms and teacher shortages – these factors have often been raised in studies related to the deteriorating quality of Philippine education.

In the latest Program for International Student Assessment, another reason was highlighted in the results: bullying in school. The 2022 PISA, whose results were released last Dec. 5, showed that one in every three 15-year-old students in the country had suffered bullying at least once a week.

Overall, the Philippines ranked in the bottom 10 in terms of performance in mathematics, science and reading among 81 countries and economies that participated in the PISA last year. The Philippines ranked seventh among the eight members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that participated, ahead only of Cambodia.

While bullying incidents declined between 2018 when the Philippines first participated in the PISA and in the 2022 assessment, 28 percent is still high for the 7,193 students from 188 schools who took the latest test, and who reported that other students had “made fun” of them. Another 19 percent reported being threatened by their school peers.

Among the acts of bullying were having the students’ personal belongings taken away or destroyed, and being shoved or physically hit.

Some complained of being the subject of “nasty rumors” while others felt they were deliberately

left out of certain activities.

Awareness of the impact of mental health issues on students has increased over the years, amid rising cases of suicide and depression particularly among teenagers. Social media has facilitated psychological bullying and other forms of cyber violence. The Philippines has passed a law to promote mental health, and schools have intensified counseling and child protection programs. The PISA results, however, indicate that bullying remains pervasive.

Certain private organizations have long operated hotlines for suicide prevention and counseling assistance for mental health. Operators of the hotlines have reported spikes in calls in the past years, particularly during the COVID lockdowns.

Yet resources for preventing bullying and promoting mental health particularly in schools remain inadequate.

The lack of trained guidance counselors for schools is even more acute than the lack of teachers. For assistance across all ages and income groups, the country also lacks psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health support staff. A multisectoral approach to mental wellness has yet to be developed. The PISA findings should give additional urgency to addressing bullying and other mental health issues. (Philstar.com)

Editorial

Question the Box INEZ PONCE DE LEON THE Church’s major feasts almost always have the same readings, and therefore the same reflection points.

On Ash Wednesday, we hear about mortality, our equality as ashes even with our earthly riches. On Easter Sunday, we hear about the Resurrection and celebrating with deep joy.

During Advent, we hear about hopeful waiting.

The Immaculate Conception Mass will reference, in one way or another, the Annunciation.

The story has been told millions of times: An angel appears to Mary, a young girl born without sin, and who is therefore the most suitable vessel for the Son of God made man.

The angel tells her that she will conceive a child, Jesus, born of the Holy Ghost. She will also be pregnant out of wedlock, which carries terrible penalties

ManilaTimes.net photo

The great, quiet ‘yes’ under Jewish law.

Despite the possibly painful consequences, she says “Yes,” and thus becomes the Mother of the Messiah.

I listened to the reading as I sat at the Ateneo’s Church of the Gesu, on Dec. 8. The gospel seemed new, or at least the once ignorable words became prominent.

The Angel Gabriel didn’t say, “God allowed you to be conceived without original sin, so you’re the only candidate qualified to carry His Son.” Instead, the angel’s words were, “You have found favor with God.” If she had been immaculately conceived, then wasn’t Mary already God’s vessel by default?

Needing no effort to be pure, to be holy, to resist sin?

During the homily, our muchloved theology professor, Fr. Adolfo Dacanay, SJ, indeed alluded to the words; but instead of re-preaching the Immaculate Conception, he stressed what we might have missed had we simply read the Gospel as a

story.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception means that Mary was free from original sin: the sin that came from Adam and Eve, the one that blots every soul created pure and good. However (and here, I am paraphrasing Father Dacanay), Mary was not free from temptation.

By that token, Father Dacanay asked, would it not have been possible for Mary to want to be “marites” (gossipy) with the neighbors? Impatient with Jesus when he ran off to the temple instead of going home with her and Joseph? Angry at the scribes and pharisees for what they did to Her Son? All these, Father Dacanay said, would have been understandable, for Mary was a young mother who belonged to a tight-knit community, deeply loved her child, and would do everything for him. And yet, she chose not to sin.

“That she was kept free from original sin was God’s gift to her,” Father Dacanay

pronounced, “That she kept herself free from sin was her response to God.” It was this response that made her find favor with God, for, like all of us, she, too, was a fearful human being. She didn’t even give an immediate “yes,” not until she was reminded that her cousin Elizabeth, once thought barren, was now with child.

When Mary finally acceded, she gave a quiet, simple answer.

There was no excitement, no hint of pride in her role. It was a surrender, an acknowledgment that even if she had been looked upon with favor, she was still a humble creature created of the ashes of the earth, in constant need of grace.

But when she had a choice, she took it, fully and wholeheartedly, with no pomp, only silence.

She, too, would wait, with hope, the way her people had for centuries as they searched for a Messiah. One day, she would celebrate with joy when the body of her Son could no longer be found in the tomb.

In the company of the angel

of the Annunciation, she was another human being who, though fashioned with no stains of original sin, lived in a world where temptation could lure even the righteous. Yet she resisted the urge to sin, and it was this strength, this generosity of spirit, this enormity of heart, that made her great.

There is this book called “Mystical City of God,” which talks about Mary’s life as revealed to the seer Blessed Mary of Agreda. In it, the seer writes that God always held Mary’s heart in His hands, for her heart was so full of love, that it would burst and kill her instantly if her Creator was not there to protect her.

Even with her great heart, its overflowing love, her potential for fame, and her refusal to fall beneath the weight of human foibles, Mary remained the humble girl in a village in Palestine.

She lived at a time when the empire of Rome held sway, and women had no voice. She was but a young girl, and yet she

gave her consent freely, against silence enforced on peoples who wished to live in freedom, to an angel who came as a stranger at a time of wars and great uncertainty.

Thousands of years later, we have countries with bluster and bombs that rain down their weapons or water cannons and draw out the screams and cries of the helpless and oppressed.

There seems to be a preoccupation with who uses greater force, who is most capable of great torment.

Christmas is the reminder that noise is weakness, a human tendency to cloak its fears in as loud a voice as possible—for it was from the soft “yes” of a young girl, near-invisible in her immaculateness, that truly great things came. (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.

*** iponcedeleon@ateneo.edu

End of UniTeam: A brewing civil war?

Horizons

RICHARD HEYDARIAN PHILIPPINE politics has entered the realm of absurdity with vengeance and verve. Not long ago, countless folks foolishly cheered on the controversial shutdown of ABS-CBN at the height of a devastating pandemic.

Anyone with a functioning gray matter would know that the virtual purge of the country’s legacy media outlet from the airwaves would not have been possible under “normal” conditions. By normal, what I mean is the presence of a rule of law as well as a constitutionally compliant commander in chief.

Regardless of the supposed merits of the case against the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, the manner by which its executives were publicly humiliated and its legacy systematically berated underscores the vicious politicization of a supposedly routine, legalistic process. Under President Rodrigo Duterte — a medieval petty tyrant, who luckily found himself at the helm of a 21st-century democracy — what we saw was a classic case of rule by law, namely the weaponization of existing laws to serve a particular political interest.

While some rivals may have had their reasons to delight in the downfall of the country’s largest media outlet, the reality is that the Philippines’ media landscape changed forever—and arguably for the worse—after ABS-CBN was bumped off the airwaves.

Even worse, how the giant media network was cut down to size set a perilous precedence. All of a sudden, the Fourth Estate was a shockingly vulnerable target for politicos.

Barely three years later, another media outlet is facing an even starker prospect.

Following a series of spirited committee hearings at the House of Representatives, the controversial Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) could see its franchise revoked altogether in the near future.

Two of its most prominent anchors, meanwhile, were humiliated by feisty legislators and forced into detention after refusing to divulge the source of seemingly baseless allegations against the House leadership. In response, they tried to pull off their own “Mandela moment” by supposedly engaging in a “hunger strike,” while posturing as modern-day “heroes.” The antics were greeted with mockery and laughter online.

The problem is that SMNI is nothing like ABS-CBN. Not only

does it lack the latter’s panache and decades-long legacy of worldclass journalism, but the very “journalism” of its star anchors and overall modus operandi has come under question.

The Sotto law, which provides legal protection for journalistic confidentiality, was arguably not applicable in this case since the controversial network was neither relying on accredited journalists nor verifiable evidence for its faux exposés.

Netizens were quick to point out the “poetic justice” behind the impending downfall of the former president’s home network, which is allegedly owned by his pastor friend from Davao. But critics must be careful what they wish for since yet another perilous precedence could be set here.

If anything, something far bigger than the fate of an upstart, Philippine-style Fox News channel is at stake. Just as SMNI faced an existential threat, Vice President Sara Duterte essentially echoed the controversial network’s alt-right line when she publicly and directly criticized the Marcos administration’s peace negotiations with communist rebels as a Faustian bargain.

The episode reflected three important things. First, she no longer seems to have a direct line to the president in any meaningful sense of the word,

Vice President Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

notwithstanding President Marcos’ rhetorical reassurances.

Second, she is dispensing with any plausible deniability: for more than a year, the vice president personally maintained cordial ties with the president under the fig leaf of “unity,” while her father and his proxies conducted the public relations offensive against the Marcos administration.

At times, the former president practically lawyered for his increasingly besieged daughter.

Whenever the vice president contradicted the president’s policy preference, notably calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in October, she did it with considerable subtlety. And then, everything changed. Following the release of former senator Leila de Lima, her father’s most ardent critic, and the potential entry of the International Criminal Court into the picture, she decided to drop the gauntlet.

And this brings us to the most important point: she is

Inquirer.net file photo

likely preparing her base for a potential long-term struggle against an emerging grand coalition composed of Marcos loyalists, centrist politicos, liberal reformists, and even some progressives, who all have an axe to grind against the Dutertes.

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Atty. Gurfinkel answers immigration questions from Kapamilya in Queens, New York, on Citizen Pinoy

LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel dropped by “the house that fried chicken built” (Max’s Fried Chicken) in Queens, New York, for merienda, and had the chance to meet the staff and some of the customers, including a family who were having a reunion over lunch. Several of the customers were able to ask their immigration questions.

Paz adopted her niece and two nephews in 2022 when all three of them were still under 16 years of age. She wants to know how long it will take before the children can join her in the U.S. Another diner, Flor, was able to ask two questions: She petitioned her daughter back PAGE B2

First-time producers bankroll Vilma-Christopher film by nathalie tomada Philstar.com

THIS year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is seeing new players stepping up to support and finance films, a welcome development amid the challenges in the movie-making industry.

One such example is When I Met You in Tokyo, which brings back the legendary onscreen pairing of Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon. The lead stars, who first collaborated in 1975 in the blockbuster film Tag-ulan Sa Tag-araw, recently expressed their gratitude to their producers — veteran concert producer Rajan Gidwani and Dubai-based Pinay businesswoman Rowena Jamaji — for choosing them to topbill their first-ever film venture under JG Productions. (They are joined in the producing team by former TV executive

KAPAMILYA AT MAX’S FRIED CHICKEN IN QUEENS, NEW YORK, GET ANSWERS TO THEIR IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS FROM LEADING U.S. IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY MICHAEL J. GURFINKEL ON CITIZEN PINOY’S “YOUR TANONG, MY SAGOT.” Atty. Gurfinkel (left) answers the following questions – From Paz (center): My niece and my two nephews were all under 16 years old when I adopted them in 2022. How long will it take before they can come to the U.S.?; From Flor (right): My daughter works as a nurse in Qatar. Can she apply for a tourist visa even if the priority date of her petition will soon be current? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more from Kapamilya in Queens, New York, on Part 3 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, December 17 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo.

(Advertising Supplement)

Jeric determined to look after daughter AJ

By Ronnie CaRRasCo iii ManilaTimes.net

When I Met You in Tokyo brings back the legendary onscreen pairing of Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon.

Philstar.com photo

Redgie Magno.)

As per synopsis, When I Met You in Tokyo promises a feel-good Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) love story that shows love has no age limit. It is written by Suzette Doctolero, and directed by Rado Peru and

Rommel Penza with Christopher as associate director.

“If I may be honest, when we started doing this film, there were people questioning why do a comeback movie with new producers,” Vilma, whose last PAGE B2

HARDLY do people know that Jeric Raval didn’t exactly aspire to become an action star that he is today.

Truth is, he wanted to be a rapper. This is the reason why Jeric swooped down on the then-newly opened OctoArts office (during the 90s) for the auditions.

He didn’t say, however, if he pushed through with it and passed, but headed home with a bigger career opportunity.

Instead of ending up as Jeric Raval says he doesn’t meddle with his daughter’s affairs but it doesn’t mean that he PAGE B3 doesn’t care about her.

Photo from Instagram/@ajravsss

B2 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Jose Mari Chan reminds people to ‘find joy in the everyday’ this Christmas

By ARMIN P. ADINA Inquirer.net

Paz is one of the diners at Max’s Fried Chicken in Queens, who was able to ask Atty. Gurfinkel her immigration question.

Leading Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel and Flor hold up a plate of the restaurant’s signature dish.

Atty. Gurfinkel answers immigration...

PAGE B1 in October 2013. In the last 10 years, she has not received any letters from the National Visa Center (NVC). Flor wants to know what is happening with her petition for her daughter.

The second question Flor had was about her daughter, who works as a nurse in Qatar. Flor wants to know if her daughter can apply for a tourist visa, even if the priority date for

her daughter’s petition will be current soon.

Atty. Gurfinkel answers these questions from customers at the Queens branch of Max’s Fried Chicken. This is one of the three branches on the East Coast of the famous fried chicken restaurant that originated in Quezon City in the Philippines.

The two other branches are in Jersey City and in Bloomfield, both in New Jersey.

Be sure to watch this third (and tasty) installment of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” in Queens, New York, on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, December 17 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET through select Cable/Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app.

(Advertising Supplement)

FILIPINO Christmas icon Jose Mari Chan has been a constant figure in the country’s Christmas celebrations, with his songs ushering in the joyous season, blasting from speakers in every corner of the archipelago.

But the singer-songwriter has another reminder to his listeners aside from the messages in his Yuletide ditties: “Find joy in the everyday.”

“With so much negativity around us, so much war and violence, we have to find joy in the everyday. Whether you find joy with your parents, or with your children, with your loved ones, find joy in the everyday,” he told a group of his fans at his “meet-and-greet” event hosted by a Japanese clothing brand at a mall in Mandaluyong City on Dec. 13.

It also happens to be the title of his recent collaboration with the folk-pop band Ben&Ben, an upbeat anthem for the holidays that Chan recorded with the group, who wrote the song for this year’s Christmas celebration.

“I find joy in looking for things that I can give to my children or to my friends. So, do the same.

Find joy in the everyday. Spend time with your family, with your grandparents,” he said, sharing that he just watched his granddaughter perform in school.

“This morning, I had to wake up early because my granddaughter, who’s seven years old, is going to have a show in her school. So, I

Jose Mari Chan treats his audience to a medley of his iconic holiday anthems at his meet-andgreet.

Inquirer.net photo by Armin P. Adina

woke up very early in order to be there. And I find joy watching her sing. And she also finds joy in seeing her ‘lolo’ is watching.

Those moments count in your life,” Chan shared.

He also took a passage from one of his timeless classics to encourage the people to take the time to build memories with their loved ones. “As my song ‘Constant Change’ goes, we don’t really know what the future holds. Today, here and now, this moment is more important,” he said.

He also took a passage from one of his timeless classics to encourage the people to take the time to build memories with their loved ones. “As my song ‘Constant Change’ goes, we don’t really know what the future holds. Today, here and now, this moment is more important,” he said.

Chan also asked his supporters

during the meet-and-greet to “close your eyes and make a wish, for good health, joy in your family, or even have children.

Some of you have been working to have a child, make a wish, and then make it a perfect Christmas.”

He treated his fans to three songs, and then gladly posed for photographs with each one of them, handing out autographed copies of his record, with personal greetings he wrote himself. Chan is also promoting another Christmas song titled “A Child Again at Christmas,” which he wrote “because every time Christmas comes around, I feel like a child again.”

He continued: “My best memories of Christmas are those of my childhood years. And I’m very happy that you’re all here today to share in that moment.

Finding joy in the everyday should also be your motto.” 

Kim, Xian already broke up - Ogie Diaz

By KATHLEEN A. LLEMIT Philstar.com

OGIE Diaz said that actors Kim Chiu and Xian Lim have already separated for about two months now.

In the latest episode of his popular Ogie Diaz Showbiz Update YouTube vlog, Ogie was accompanied by his co-hosts Mama Loi and Tita Jegs on his December 12 vlog when they

discussed the hottest showbiz gossip and stories, including the rumored split of Kim and Xian.

“A friend of mine and a friend of Xian and Kim Chiu told me na totoong hiwalay na si Kim Chiu at si Xian Lim,” started Ogie.

Local showbiz has been beset with news of breakups in the past weeks. Kim and Xian are among those couples rumored to be heading toward splitsville.

“‘Di lang maamin ni Kim Chiu kasi nga pinoproseso pa ni Kim Chiu, at si Xian Lim din, hindi mo rin siya maasahan syempre na magkomento o magbigay ng kanyang statement tungkol dito,” the talent managervlogger added.

Mama Loi asked him if his source knew for how long the couple have gone separate ways. Again, Ogie shared what PAGE B5

First-time producers bankroll...

PAGE B1 movie was Everything About Her (2016), said during an interview with print editors.

“After six years of not doing movies, (there were people saying) why not make a comeback with a big bang and go to a major production company? But you see, it’s not that eh. First, I love the story. It’s something different and bagay sa edad ko. Second, it’s with Mr. Christopher de Leon.”

More importantly, Vilma, who’s dubbed in the industry as the “Star for All Seasons,” further said, “The mere fact that they trusted us for their first-ever venture, it’s a big thing for us.”

In support of its producers, she and Christopher are visibly going the extra mile to drum up interest for their film.

“They’re used to doing big concerts and now they’re trying to produce films and they chose us… even if may mga katapat kami na mga big producers… I’m very proud of them, they’re very nice and they’re giving us all the support even if they’re newcomers,” Vilma said.

“And with the help of our producer (former GMA executive Redgie Magno). She’s really working hard for this. (Since this is new to them), that’s why we’re trying to help. That’s why we’re working on this as a family. We’re here working collaboratively just to make and come up with a nice movie. We’re doing our share just to say that we have a good product. It may not be as big as the film of a big network, but we’re proud of this product.

“So even if may mga nagsasabi, let’s see kung ano ang kinalabasan, we’re praying that you give us a chance. May mga gusto pa tumulong para umunlad ang industriya and nagkataon sa amin yun, that’s why we’re very grateful.”

Meanwhile, the newbie producers reflected on their experiences so far in the industry.

“We’re very, very delighted that two big stars ang first movie namin. I’m very hands-on because I want to prove to them that I’m really all-out (as producer),” said Rowena.

“We will try our level best to stay and keep producing to support the industry. It’s a learning process for us… This long journey of nine months, from the time we started shooting, has

been very very exhausting and challenging but also so exciting.

“I’m very confident (with this film). I’ve been telling the group, wala akong kaba… In the end, with God’s grace and blessing, hopefully, we will bag an award or two, and that our very first investment will be a blockbuster, too.”

Rowena was also quick to add that whatever the outcome is, “I’m already very satisfied.”

Rajan, for his part, shared that it was Rowena who encouraged him to come on board as coproducer.

Prior to saying yes, he recalled asking fellow concert producer and former actor Joed Serrano, “What do you think of Boyet (Christopher) and Vilma in a comeback movie? He said, ‘Do not think twice, you go to the meeting and accept their offer.’”

When asked which was more challenging — mounting concerts or films — he said, “When you get Vilma and Boyet, you really have to be careful in handling things. It’s not like you get into a concert and you get a tech rider and you just follow the tech rider,” he said.

In live shows’ parlance, a tech rider refers to the list of technical stage instructions that allows venues to be ready for performers’ tech requirements.

“Here (in the film), there are personalities involved one after the other… Managers with tech riders, they tell you what to do and they are here for three days. It’s not like in the movies, it’s stretched out,” he further shared.

He also said that initially, they were supposed to premiere When I Met You in Tokyo last September but decided to submit it to the MMFF instead.

“Of course, getting into the MMFF had its own situation because we knew there were already four particular titles coming in. We were not even considering the MMFF at all. We were headstrong about the Sept. 27 independent showing. But I guess, it’s God’s will.”

Rajan likewise expressed his full confidence in the box-office potential of the film. “I think if the movie manages to break even, for our experiences alone, it’s good already for us. But I really believe in the movie.” 

Calendar events DECEMBER DECEMBER 19

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Juan Karlos on new relationship: ‘My heart is full’

By CHARMIE JOY PAGULONG Philstar.com

From Buwan to Ere, Juan Karlos “JK” Labajo did not expect that his tracks would make it big in the music scene. He is just an artist who makes songs, as he put it.

“Ever since I released Buwan, which was my hit song and actually my only hit song basically, parang I was like this one-hit wonder artist that people just knew because of that. But ever since then, I caught myself in this position of, ‘F**k, I need to make another hit song,’” mused JK in an interview during Rakuten Viber’s Backstage Pass event at Baked Studios, Makati held recently.

His experience made him realize that “it’s not that hard to make a hit song; the hardest part is making the second one.”

When JK churned out Buwan, he didn’t have any expectations.

He recalled, “I was not trying to make a hit song. I was just making a song for my girlfriend at that time.”

He and former girlfriend, model-beauty queen Maureen Wroblewitz, made their relationship public in 2019.

Maureen appeared in the music video of Buwan where the two played lovers.

“I remember this magical moment when that song before the whole thing, before siya naging second national anthem, I remember that moment when it was just me who knew about the song’s existence,” he said.

“And then, when I played it in front of my then-girlfriend, it was just the two of us in the whole world who heard that song — and that was it. That was the main goal. That was the main purpose of the song. It’s a bunch of words and melodies, putting my emotions into some sort of medium and that’s it.”

When JK recorded his newest album called Sad Songs and Bulls**t Part 1, he didn’t harbor any hopes for it to become a hit as well.

“And ever since, what, 2021, a lot of things have happened in life, especially the pandemic that affected everyone. But I just went back to the purpose as to why I make music in the first place.

That was really it — making songs. That’s it! There’s no, ‘Ito gusto ko ‘to maging hit song. Ito gusto ko ‘tong ganyan, gusto ko

JK’s track Ere has become the most streamed Filipino song on Spotify Philippines in one day, garnering over 1.2 million streams. His source of inspiration for the song was his breakup. ‘I mean, if that’s not obvious then I don’t know what is,’ he says. JK and former girlfriend, model-beauty queen Maureen Wroblewitz, made their relationship public in 2019. She appeared in the music video of JK’s hit song Buwan where they played lovers. JK and Maureen called it quits in 2022.

Philstar.com photos

maging ganito. Gusto kong ganito karami yung kikitain ng lahat dito sa song na ‘to.’”

Fast forward to today, his track Ere has become the moststreamed Filipino song on Spotify Philippines in one day, garnering over 1.2 million streams and making it to Spotify’s Global Virwal Songs.

“Definitely, my breakup,” JK told The STAR when asked about the inspiration behind Ere. “I mean, if that’s not obvious then I don’t know what is. Hahaha!”

JK and Maureen called it quits in 2022.

“Kung hindi obvious yung tungkol sa breakup, ewan ko na lang... Also, the songs there (in the album) were love songs that unfortunately didn’t make sense anymore because we were not together anymore, right? So that’s the bullsh** part na parang s**t itong love song na ‘to wala na.

Wala na akong paggagamitan sa love song na ‘to, so wala, parang bulls**t na lang siya. (That’s why) Sad Songs and Bulls**t.”

When queried by this paper on his relationship status, he confirmed that he is “happy” to be in a relationship with someone.

“And honestly, it’s nice. As much as possible I don’t try to be too public about it because you know, p**a nasunog na ako sa huling (relationship). Hahaha!

Ayoko na ng ganun tapos hindi

mag-wo-work-out yung isang relationship tapos parang (buong) Pilipinas, sila din parang affected ’di ba.”

He further told The STAR, “So, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s necessarily healthy. I mean, if you think about that, that’s kind of f**ked up. I guess that’s one of the hardest parts.

“A lot of people don’t understand that when you are in the showbiz industry and you get into a relationship, your relationship becomes a public thing and all of a sudden, people feel they are entitled. And they have the… You know they (feel) entitled to have a say on your relationship like, ‘What?’”

But he smiled when he reiterated he’s no longer single, saying, “Yeah, my heart is full (now). And I am really enjoying the whole privacy aspect of it. I like it that way.”

JK also clarified that he doesn’t want to hide his relationship at all. “It’s more of like I’m just not publicizing the whole thing,” he said. “I wanna keep it that way.”

Then he teased, “Next year, meron ng happy songs and no bulls**t.”

Last October, JK got to share the stage with Danish pop band Lukas Graham when they held their concert in Manila. The former sang the band’s hit song Love Someone and the latter also performed JK’s Ere afterwards.

JK praised the group’s vocalist Lukas Forchhammer for being such an “inspiring and amazing guy.” They still communicate with each other to this day.

The advice that he had received from Lukas is “don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy.”

“If you want to be good at something, you have to focus on that thing. If you can’t be the best producer and be the best songwriter and be the best mixing engineer at the same time, you can’t, it’s hard,” shared JK. “You have to choose which one you gonna be good at. And once you feel you’re good at that something, then you can look into doing other things and being good at other things.”

Meanwhile, JK just dropped his Christmas tune Maligayang Pasko in time for the holiday season.

“I went to a department store in 2021 alone on the eve of Christmas Day. I live alone, right? Nasa escalator ako lalo na diyan sa may Megamall, andaming Christmas tree. Then I said, ‘I want to hear a Christmas song na gawa ko,’” he shared how Maligayang Pasko came to be.

“That’s my only reason and purpose. I just want to hear Maligayang Pasko at an SM department store.” 

Jeric determined to look...

PAGE B1 a rapper, the fledling film company offered Jeric to star in a lead role.

“I remember my mentor director Willy Milan say that if I couldn’t be the major star in my first movie, it was better to turn down the offer,” Jeric shared.

Thankfully, OctoArts raked in money out of it. Jeric found himself doing one film after another.

Already nearing his 30s then but with a baby face, Jeric’s home studio had to deceive the public that its newest find was still spring chicken.

Doing the math, Jeric is even proud he’s now a senior citizen. Does he look it? Not a bit.

Jeric reveals that his secret to looking young is his ninehour daily sleep.

Hitting the sack at 4 a.m., he rises early afternoon and manages to take siestas even after.

The sixty something action star attributes his youthful look to the food he eats.

“Honestly, I’m a picky eater.

Thanks to my partner Holiday who makes sure I watch my food intake. It’s always fish, veggies, fish, veggies, and chicken minus the skin. Praise God, I can still do heavy action scenes that don’t make me pant or go tired!”

A conversation with Jeric — no matter how light or profound or career-related — would not be complete without touching on the “personal.”

His daughter AJ, for one, proves to be a chip off the old block, however, treading a different career path — that of a sexy star.

Did Jeric actually give AJ a green light, or was it his 21-year-old daughter’s own decision?

“I guess no parent, specifically the father, would want to see his daughter don that sexy image when she can project a wholesome one.

But all I can say is that I’m not remiss as far as giving AJ my pieces of advice. In fairness, and this I’m proud of, my daughter isn’t the type who’s going overboard. But yes, initially I was very much against it,” Jeric says.

Referring to the preem showing of one of AJ’s early

skin flicks, Jeric admits he pretended taking a call so he could get out of the theatre: “I couldn’t stand watching her!”

Gradually since then, Jeric has become more openminded to AJ’s career decision.

Does this welcoming attitude include even AJ’s getting romantically involved with Aljur Abrenica whose marriage to Kylie Padilla has yet to be annulled?

“Honestly, I don’t meddle in my daughter’s private affairs.

But it doesn’t mean that I don’t care at all. For the record, I have 18 children. I love them all and I treat them all fairly.”

Jeric, however, clarifies he cannot be faulted as a father for not sharing his thoughts and insights when if comes to his kids’ personal business, “In the long run, we us parents can only guide them. We can’t be imposing.”

Jeric — as he already did — would rather engage Aljur in a man-to-man dialogue.

“That’s what I thought I needed to do. So I spoke to him and raised three important points,” he recalls.

Still speaking his mind in the vernacular however with slight Kapampangan twang, Jeric — first and foremost — made Aljur understand that AJ is still very young.

“Second, I asked him pointblank: ‘Are you not married?’ He goes, ‘We’ve already separated.’ I told him that his father-in-law happens to be a good friend,” he says referring to his fellow action star Senator Robin Padilla, “’Just what do you think will he most likely tell me, that I’m tolerant of what you’re doing?’”

Jeric’s third and last point was the most crucial of all. “’And lastly, once you get your problem fixed, and this I beg of you...marry my daughter!’”

At the rate things are shaping up at the moment, neither Kylie nor Aljur seems to lift a finger in getting their marriage annulled.

Both appear cool with their co-parenting setup as far as their kids Alas and Axl are concerned. I doubt pretty much if any one of them has sought legal intervention.

So, no AJ-Aljur exchange of vows lurking in the horizon? 

B4 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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Melai wins best actor at Asia Artist Awards 2023

By Iza IglesIas ManilaTimes.net

Rufa Mae Quinto

Instagram/@rufamaequinto

Rufa Mae Quinto on ‘ghosters’ By allan PolIcarPIo Inquirer.net

COOPED up at home with her family in the United States during the pandemic, Rufa Mae Quinto thought her show biz career was as good as over.

“When I was in America, I was like, ‘After everything I have done in show biz … eto na ba ‘yun?’ I had yet to secure my green card and all that … I didn’t have any work or projects back then,” she told the Inquirer in a recent virtual conference for “#Ghosted,” the ongoing second installment of the teen-oriented anthology series “Sparkle U.” While she led a happy and fulfilling life as mother, a part of her still yearned for acting.

“I don’t usually watch show biz shows and chismis, but there I found myself watching those things online and on social media,” said the actresscomedienne, who has a 6-yearold daughter, Athena, with her husband, Trevor Magallanes.

Everything is back Last year, Rufa Mae flew back to the Philippines to mourn the death of her brother. Work wasn’t on her agenda. But after catching up with her friends at Sparkle GMA Artist Center, one thing led to another.

“I met up with friends and had lunch. Before I knew it, they were managing me. I had

EMPLOYMENT

an endorsement. Some of my videos online went viral. Tapos tuluy-tuloy na. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t the end for me; that there are still blessings coming my way,” she said, adding that she later on realized that it wasn’t just her, but the whole industry that struggled.

“So now, there are offers for acting projects, offers from brands. ” she added. “I’m so happy. If something’s meant for you—and if you’re kind and you do your job well—everything will come back to you and more. I feel like everything is back. I’m back!”

Now, she shuttles between the Philippines for work and the United States for her family.

That’s why she makes sure that each trip back to the Philippines is worth her while.

“I have spent most of the past year here. There are a lot of endorsements and shows slated for next year. But of course, I can’t just keep working nonstop. I recently took a monthlong break and went to the U.S. Of course, dapat meron ding pause at personal time,” Rufa Mae said. “If I go home, it should be for a project I really like something fun at may dating.”

“Sparkle U: #Ghosted” revolves around five teenage students going through a PAGE B6

HOST-COMEDIAN and actress Melai Cantiveros joined popular South Korean TV and movie stars Kim Sejeong, Ahn Hyo Seop, Lee Dong Hwi, and Lee Jun Hyuk after winning Best Actor at the 2023 Asia Artist Awards (AAA) at the Philippine Arena, Bulacan on Thursday, December 14.

The win came as a surprise not only to the audience but also to Cantiveros herself based on her humorous speech.

Making the audience burst into laughter, Cantiveros said, “If anyone questions why I won [an] award, don’t worry, I question too. I just receive [an] award all of my life from my father and mother when they are

angry at me.”

“My heart is...I think...God moves in mysterious ways. I cannot believe what food they eat [and] why they chose me.

Thank you AAA, I cannot believe this is happening. I’m very sorry to the Koreans, I’m [just] so overwhelmed. Thank you Lord, to my family, we will serve the Lord,” she added.

Cantiveros went on to thank her producers, directors and coactors in her latest film “Ma’am Chief” as well as her family.

Apart from Cantiveros, P-Pop group SB19 clinched another award with AAA Best Artist (Singer) alongside AKMU, ITZY, THE BOYZ, LE SSERAFIM, and IVE. Earlier in the program, the band won the AAA Hot Trend with NewJeans, Lim Young Melai Cantiveros Woong, and Ahn Hyo Seop. g

ABS-CBN photo

Anne to star in first teleserye in 9 years KAPAMILYA host-actress Anne Curtis is marking her headliner teleserye return after nearly a decade as she was announced to star in the Philippine adaptation of hit Korean show “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay.”

The adaptation was among the new projects announced by ABS-CBN for its 2024 line-up at the network’s Christmas Special held in Araneta Coliseum last December 13.

Joining Anne Curtis in the cast for the Filipino adaptation of “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” are Joshua Garcia and Carlo Aquino, presumably to play characters originated by Kim Soo-hyun and Oh Jung-se.

In the original Korean show from 2020 which ran for 16 episodes, Soo-hyun and Jung-se portray orphaned brothers Moon Gang-tae and Moon Sang-tae.

Gang-tae is a caregiver at a psychiatric hospital while his autistic brother is an aspiring illustrator who admires Seo Yea-ji’s Ko Moonyoung, a children’s book author with an antisocial personality disorder.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Anne Curtis announced Filipino remake of “What’s Wrong Photo from Instagram/@annecurtissmith With Secretary Kim?,” also revealed in ABS-

CBN’s 2024 line-up, which will star Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino.

Also announced to come out next year are “The Bag Man,” “Pamilya Sagrado,” a teleserye version of Prime Video’s “Linlang,” a new season of “Pinoy Big Brother,” and the third season of “The Voice Teens.”

Anne last headlined a teleserye in 2014 as the titular character of “Mars Ravelo’s Dyesebel”; her last teleserye appearance was on the longrunning “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” in a supporting role.

Since then, she has appeared in an episode of “Maalala Mo Kaya,” was a guest judge on “Drag Race Philippines,” starred in several films, and kept her main hosting role on “It’s Showtime” on top of starting a family.

Earlier this year, talent manager Ogie Diaz revealed that Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil were offered to star in a Philippine remake of “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” but turned it down, assuming that Liza wanted to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Liza will indeed have her Hollywood debut when her movie with Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton “Lisa Frankenstein” is released in February next year. (Kristofer Purnell/Philstar.com)

Kyline faces jitters over return to kontrabida roles by charmIe Joy Pagulong Philstar.com

KAPUSO actress Kyline Alcantara is ecstatic to portray another antagonist role as Joanna Dela Costa in GMA’s forthcoming series Shining Inheritance, a Philippine adaptation of South Korea’s series Brilliant Legacy.

EMPLOYMENT

Just recently, Kyline posted on her social media accounts a photo of her sporting an edgy look in black outfit and boots, channeling Joanna.

Kyline’s Joanna is her comeback villain role as she previously essayed one in Kambal, Karibal (2017) and sort of kontrabida character in I Left My Heart in Sorsogon.

FOR RENT

Describing her upcoming role, she told The STAR in an interview during Avon’s Boob Love fun run event that Joanna is an “overly confident” girl to the point of becoming “arrogant.”

“But I think that all the villains have their reasons why they act like that. But that doesn’t mean it justifies what they are doing PAGE B6

LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 B5

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On finding Christ and $14M jury award for woman fired for proclaiming Him anew to all people taking leave to care for ill husband

Pastor’s Notes

ReveRend Rodel G. BalaGtas “WHO are you?” “What are you?” “Are you the Prophet?”

“Who are you so we can give an answer to those who sent us?”

These are the inquiries posed by priests and Levites to John the Baptist in this Sunday’s Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent. They are attempting to ascertain if John is the longawaited messianic figure, the anointed one who will serve and protect Israel as king, restore the tribes of Israel, purify the priesthood, mitigate the wrath of God, and settle their legal disputes. In case he is not the Messiah, they wonder if he is Elijah, the prophet they expect to return after being taken to heaven in a fiery chariot, or perhaps another prophet.

John the Baptist unequivocally responds that he is neither the messianic figure nor Elijah. He identifies himself as the one sent by God to bear witness to the true light, so that all may believe through him. John’s role

is to guide people to the Lamb of God, the Son of God, who will take away the sins of the world.

He will baptize them, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, John the Baptist’s purpose is to present to them the Person of Christ, who alone can save them from their sins and grant them eternal life.

Jesus Christ will bring good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and release the prisoners. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he will restore God’s covenant with his people and bestow upon them new life in the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist’s mission has become our mission in the present time. Many individuals are feeling lost and seeking answers to life’s challenges and confusions. They yearn for true joy, yet they may not be seeking it within the Church. We are currently living in an age where faith in God has been abandoned or kept at a distance. It is our responsibility to reach out to these individuals and present to them anew the wisdom of the Gospel. We must offer them an opportunity to encounter Jesus through the Word and the Eucharist, and to develop an intimate relationship with Him. Our role is to present fresh

insights and new approaches to understanding the person of Jesus Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If Advent is a time of joy for us as Christians, then it is crucial that we demonstrate and share with the world the joy of having found Christ. We must showcase the joy that comes from believing in Him, encountering Him in prayer and the Sacraments, and serving Him by aiding those who are impoverished, sick, lonely, or alienated from society.

Our joy during this Advent season should shine so brightly that people cannot help but notice and believe that we have discovered the ultimate treasure—the greatest gift of all! Some individuals may reject us or disregard our beliefs, but that should not deter us from proclaiming, just like John the Baptist, the true Light of the World to the entire world! *** 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. *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

Kim, Xian already broke up...

PAGE B2 his source told him.

“Ang pagkakaalam ng friend ko ay nauna ang KathNiel bago sila,” he replied.

Last November 30, reel love team Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla announced that they have broken up after 11 years in relationship.

“Siguro mga two months na.

Pero siyempre, kino-quote ko lang naman ‘yung friend ko.

Sabi sa akin ng friend ko wala naman daw third party. It’s just that parang walang mga plano si Xian sa kanilang 12 years na relationship.

“Parang hindi niya priority.

Parang naghihintay lang si Kim Chiu ng proposal dahil 12 years na sila eh,” Ogie said.

Xian trended on Tuesday, December 12 after it was found

Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights atty. C. Joe sayas, JR. A RECENT jury verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court provides a strong reminder employment laws in California provide strong protections for workers who must go on a leave of absence to take care of a sick family member. The jury awarded Berta Sosa, a former Banking Center Manager for Comerica Bank, just under $14.17 million, for her wrongful termination.

Ms. Sosa, who had decades of experience in banking at the time of her firing, lost her job after she decided to go on family and medical leave to take care of her critically ill husband. The jury agreed that Comerica fired her because of that decision to take leave.

The California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”) provides protections to employees needing family or medical leave.

Under CFRA, if an employer has 5 or more workers, then any employee who has worked for that employer for at least 12 months, and at least 1,250 hours in the past year, has the

right to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to care for themselves or family members.

The definition of family under CFRA include parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, registered domestic partners, and so-called chosen family, or “designated person,” defined as “any individual related by blood or whose association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Employers are allowed to require that an employee be limited to one such “designated person” in a 12-month period.

CFRA’s purpose is to give employees an opportunity to take leave from work for certain personal or family medical reasons without jeopardizing job security. By ensuring leave rights for employees who are either sick or need to take time off to care for a sick loved one, CFRA furthers its specific goals of promoting stability and economic security in California families.

Under CFRA, it is unlawful for an employer to fire or discipline an employee due to his or her exercise of the right to family care and medical leave. A plaintiff who prevails on a claim that they were fired because they decided to take CFRA leave,

whether it was to take care of themselves or a loved one, may be awarded past and future lost wages and benefits, as well as general damages for pain and suffering. CFRA also authorizes recovery of attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, which enables employees to have access to counsel, who may agree to help on a contingency (no recovery, no fee basis). In this way, meritorious claims can be pursued without the employee having to pay the upfront costs of a court action. *** 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 Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic.

All inquiries are confidential and at no cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw. com. [For more than 25 years, C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a past Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas.]

(Advertising Supplement)

Bella Poarch among ‘best celebrity investors’ - commissioned data

By Kristofer Purnell Philstar.com

FILIPINA American content creator and singer Bella Poarch was included as among the celebrities that reportedly generated the biggest returns on their net worth, according to commissioned data.

Trading platform FOREX.com commissioned research exploring celebrity investments in various asset categories like luxury properties, business ventures, financial instruments, vehicles and collectables, intellectual property, and endorsement deals.

KimXi: Xian Lim and Kim Chiu at the 2018 ABS-CBN Ball wearing matching outfits. ABS-CBN photo A Falcon 40B Large Language Model was used to analyze sources and create a ranking order for over out that his YouTube vlog Both Kim and Xian neither 200 celebrities. The return on each individual’s net is almost wiped out with its talked or denied any of the worth was calculated by dividing their monthly past contents, many of which ongoing split rumors between income by their overall net worth. featured him and Kim. them as of press time. g Poarch ranked the fifth-best celebrity investor

Bella Poarch

Photo from Instagram/@bellapoarch

despite having the lowest net worth in the Top 10 at $12 million (P670 million).

Her monthly income of $510,000 (P28.5 million) from her investments and assets in real estate and PAGE B6

B6 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

Rufa Mae Quinto on...

PAGE B4 rough patch in their school and personal lives. Rufa Mae plays Ms Gaspar, a teacher who suffered a tragic death. As her ghost seeks justice for her past, she helps steer students toward the right path by preventing them from making the same mistakes she did.

“It’s fun working with young actors like Sofia Pablo and Allen Ansay. It’s fun trying to adapt to the new generation. They’re

all so beautiful, handsome and talented. They’re very professional, too,” she said.

“And I think some of their freshness rubbed off on me!” “#Ghosted,” which airs on Sunday afternoons, also touches on “ghosting,” the practice of cutting off communication with a person with no indications or apparent reasons. While the term had yet to become popular during her younger days, ghosting, she said, was

something she has definitely experienced.

“I realized that a lot of people ghost their partners or other people in their lives. We didn’t have that term back then, but yes, there are a lot of them — mga duwag (cowards). They just disappear and don’t say goodbye properly. Not even a text,” Rufa Mae said. “They may have their reasons why they do it. I try to understand.

But in the end, it’s their life and I just let them be.”

Fresh air The 45-year-old actress found the role a breath of fresh air. It’s still a comedy, but with elements of horror and heavy drama. “It will make you laugh.

It will scare you. But it also has a heart. Tinodo ko na lahat!

Now you may look at me and still find me funny, but I really felt my role, my lines,” she said.

“The tears were real—walang Vicks!” she said, drawing laughter. “But now, when I cry, grabe na. Kaya ko na gawin kasi kailangan na. Kapit na!”

In a way, being a mother, Rufa Mae surmised, has given her acting another layer. “A lot has changed in my life since [I had Athena] I have become simpler in the way I dress or wear my hair. I have become more serious. Now, I have no qualms about how I look, kahit ang laput-lapot at maputla na, I will act,” she said. “Ang hirap purihin ng sarili, but sige, pangbest actress!”

Reflecting on her life at the moment, Rufa Mae said she couldn’t ask for anything more.

“I have my husband and child. I have my show biz career. I can travel once in a while. I’m happy that my life feels complete. My family made me feel complete because that was what I felt was lacking for the longest time,” she said.

And with everything she has been through, Rufa Mae has now learned to live life without worrying too much about every little thing.

“At times, we get so nervous because wala tayong kikitain, you don’t have work, you’re thinking of other problems.

So, I just figured that I will just start by doing something good and help others. You will be happy. And you will always look forward to doing good things.

Ang sarap pala ng buhay na ganun,” she said. g

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What to do if you find out that you are not the biological father of the child after you have signed the voluntary declaration of parentage (VDOP) Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes THE famous Michael Jackson song from 1982 called “Billy Jean” lays out the typical parentage situation where a mother accuses a man as being (“the one”) the biological father of her child and demands that he steps up to the responsibility of fatherhood or at the least pay child support.

In that song, Michael Jackson was being a cool character and simply denies being the father of the child. This can be easily resolved by denying parentage and requesting a genetic test in response to a parentage action by mom.

However, some men are a bit more honorable than Michael Jackson in “Billy Jean” in that they actually believe that they are the biological dad and actually steps up to the responsibility of being a father by admitting that they are the biological father the child.

They do this by signing the VDOP (voluntary declaration of parentage) and having their name stated as the father in the birth certificate of the child.

What is a VDOP? A voluntary declaration of parentage (VDOP) is a legal document that establishes paternity without the need for a court order.

The child of a woman and a man executing a declaration of paternity under this chapter is conclusively presumed to be the man’s child. The presumption under this section has the same force and effect as the presumption under Section 7540.

Family Code Section 7581(a). It is typically signed by the mother and the man who believes himself to be the father of the child. Once signed, the VDOP has the same legal effect as a court judgment establishing paternity.

The real complication occurs when years later dad finds out that he is in fact not the biological father of the child. A common situation that comes about is when he notices that the child does not resemble him at all as the child is growing up. Another situation that triggers this suspicion is mom accidentally telling the child that dad is not actually your dad or mom telling dad that your child is not your child during a heated argument. This suspicion would trigger dad to obtain a non-ordered dna test

of the child and find out that there is 0% probability that he is the father based on the genetic test.

Once dad finds out that he is not the biological father, the big question is “what is dad to do in order to undo the VDOP that he signed and get himself off the hook from child support and parental responsibility.”

One way is to rescind the VDOP but this would require mom’s cooperation and requires that it be done within a short statutory time period.

Family Code Section 7575(a) provides that “Either parent may rescind the voluntary declaration of parentage by filing a rescission form with the Department of Child Support Services within 60 days of the date of execution of the declaration by the attesting parents, whichever signature is later, unless a court order for custody, visitation, or child support has been entered in an action in which the signatory seeking to rescind was a party.”

If mom refuses to cooperate in rescinding the VDOP or if it is beyond the 60 day statutory period, then a VDOP may be set aside in two circumstances: 1. If the man who signed the declaration is not the biological father of the child.

2. If the declaration was signed as a result of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.

If the man who signed the declaration is not the biological father of the child.

To set aside a VDOP on the grounds of non-paternity, the person must show that they are not the biological father of the child. This can be done by opening a parentage case and filing a motion for a court ordered genetic testing.

Family Code 7581 (d) provides that “The presumption established by this section may be rebutted by any person by requesting genetic testing pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7550). The notice of motion for genetic testing pursuant to this section shall be supported by a declaration under oath submitted by the moving party stating the factual basis for placing the issue of paternity before the court. The notice of motion for genetic testing shall be made within three years from the date of execution of the declaration by the attesting father, or by the attesting mother, whichever signature is later. Cal Fam Code § 7581 If the declaration was signed as a result of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact

Dad can file a proceeding and a motion to set aside the VDOP within 2 years of the filing of the VDOP with the state. Family Code Section 7576 (a) provides that “ After the period for rescission provided in Section 7575 expires, but not later than two years after the effective date provided in subdivision (c) of Section 7573 of a voluntary declaration of parentage, a signatory of the voluntary declaration of parentage may commence a proceeding to challenge the declaration on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. (b) The limitations period provided in subdivision (a) shall not apply if the voluntary declaration of parentage is void under Section 7573.5.

To set aside a VDOP on the grounds of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, the person must show that they were misled or coerced into signing the declaration. For example, a person may be able to set aside a VDOP if they were tricked into signing it or if they were not aware of all of the consequences of signing it.

Setting aside a VDOP can be a complex process. It is important to consult with an experienced family law attorney to discuss your specific situation and to ensure that you are following all of the necessary procedures. *** 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, APC This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist with extensive trial experience. 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 was a former CPA prior to law practice.

He is Managing Partner of the LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APC and Managing Partner of REYES CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC. 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 .

(Advertising Supplement)

Kyline faces jitters over return to...

PAGE B4 in the present moment.”

Joanna is a “fashionista and just an aggressive person,” she added. “She is very arrogant to the point that while reading the script, I also get annoyed (with her). But you know she’s human also. That’s what’s important to me, in every character that I do, dapat may mga makaka-relate.”

To get ready for the role, Kyline did workshops and script reading. “I’m dissecting every characteristic of Joanna and ginagawa ko siyang ako. I’m

making her (more) human.”

At that time of the interview, she only did one taping scene but she was thrilled to mingle with her co-actors. The cast members also include Kate Valdez, Paul Salas, Michael Sager, and Coney Reyes.

“I’m very excited because, of course, first of all with Ms. Coney, it will be my first time to work with her and she’s really warm. I’ve worked with Kate before and I know how good she is (as an actress). So, it’s really exciting and also with other cast

Kyline Alcantara flaunts her edgy look as she gears up for her kontrabida role as Joanna Dela Costa in GMA’s forthcoming series Shining Inheritance, a Philippine adaptation of South Korea’s series Brilliant Legacy.

Photo from Instagram/@itskylinealcantara

members.”

According to Kyline, she likes villains because of their “complex character.” “That’s what I like about it and it’s not only, of course, lahat naman siyempre there’s mental exhaustion or something ‘pag ginagawa but when it comes to (playing) kontrabida, I like it when my vein is getting exhausted by thinking like, ‘OK, why is she kind to this person and not to others? Why is she bad to this person? Why is she being treated like this?’ It’s really complex and I like the complexity of it.”

Her favorite kontrabida actresses are Bella Flores and Gladys Reyes. Her grandmother would let her watch the movies of Bella and Gladys before.

When asked which one is easy to portray – a protagonist or antagonist role, she answered, “If you asked me before, I would say kontrabida. But now, wala na pong madali because, (as) I admit, before being a kontrabida was really my comfort zone but now it’s not. I actually feel nervous to play a kontrabida role again.” g

Bella Poarch among ‘best celebrity...

PAGE B5 luxury vehicles give her a 51% return on her net worth.

Topping the list was singer-producer Babyface with a whopping 134.4% return, also from luxury vehicles (including a Bugatti Chiron) and real estate of at least 20 global properties, on his net worth of $250 million.

Content creator-singer Chase Hudson and award-winning artist Billy Joel came in second and third respectively behind Babyface, their investments also real estate and luxury vehicles as were the rest of those in the Top 10.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and rappers Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Kanye West also have investments in luxury yachts and stocks. Content creator Logan Paul, meanwhile, invests in cryptocurrency rather than stocks.

The commissioned data found that of the 233 celebrities, content creators from YouTube appeared to generate the best returns on investments despite having the lowest net worth across the board.

YouTubers had a higher return than singers, athletes, entrepreneurs, rappers, actors, chefs, and comedians, the latter having the lowest returns. g

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B8 DECEMBER 16-19, 2023 • LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL

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