122822 - Southern California Midweek Edition

LOS Angeles County’s eviction moratorium and tenant protections have been extended until at least Jan. 31, 2023.

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 20 voted to extend the moratorium — which went into effect during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — until January 2023.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell's motion called for the extension of protections that were scheduled to expire at the end of December. She argued that COVID-19, as well as other viruses like the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), could put stress on renters during the winter season.

Her motion aligns the county's protections with those of the city of Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles City Council previously voted to end the city's eviction moratorium and tenant protections on Jan. 31.

While the motion only extended the renter protections through January, the board also backed an amendment by Supervisor Hilda

TYPHOON assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development reached P1.6 billion ($29 million) in 2022, making Washington the “largest humanitarian donor” in the Philippines, the US. .Embassy said.

"Through this funding from the American people, USAID has provided critical shelter assistance, increased access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, restored agricultural livelihoods, ensured essential sexual and reproductive health services, and provided protection programs for women and children," the embassy said in a statement on Thursday, December 21.

The statement comes just after the USAID handed over 167 transitional shelters to Leyte residents affected by Tropical Storm Agaton (international name: Megi) earlier this year. The housing can accommodate over 900 individuals displaced in Abuyog

by DALE G. ISRAEL Inquirer.net

CEBU CITY — Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Tuesday, December 27 announced there will be a “big statement” about the country’s war on drugs at the start of 2023.

In his command visit at Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. in Cebu City, Abalos announced that the statement would come from him and Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr.

While the performance of Azurin is

praiseworthy, Abalos said he wanted a more intensified and holistic campaign against illegal drugs.

In an interview after his speech, Abalos said the details of the “pasabog sa bagong taon (New Year’s blast)” are still confidential.

He explained that the big announcement would be on a “matter of approach” in the campaign against illegal drugs.

“Everyone will have a role to play here,” Abalos said.

He said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is working hard to

by TINA G. SANTOS, TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD Inquirer.net

Telecommunication companies are all set to enlist some 180 million mobile subscribers starting today (Dec. 27) as

the SIM (subscriber identity module) card

Jon Paulo Salvahan, deputy commissioner at the National Telecommunications Commission, said in a briefing on Monday that telco players have created their respective online platforms where subscribers can register their SIM cards.

“As relayed to us by the different telcos, they are ready with their systems [and] are ready to accept registration,” he said.

All SIM cards being sold starting today will not work unless these are registered by the buyers themselves while existing mobile subscribers have four months to register their SIM cards to avoid deactivation.

by RHODINA VILLANUEVA Philstar.com

MANILA — With barely a week left before President Marcos’ state visit to China where COVID-19 cases are surging, the Department of Health (DOH) said the health situation in a particular area should not deter the President or anyone from performing his duties.

“The rising COVID-19 cases in a particular area should not deter us from doing our work,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a press briefing on Tuesday, December 27.

“We should understand that we are already currently living with the virus, so the visit to a particular place of an individual, even though detection of the COVID-19 virus there is high, should not hamper us from doing our work,” Vergeire said.

Vergeire maintained they have already apprised the President and his staff of the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines and in other countries.

President Marcos is set to visit China from Jan. 3 to 5 or 6, upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

by XAVE GREGORIO Philstar.com

MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Monday, December 26 that it sees an opportunity to reach out to local units of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, to encourage them to surrender to the government following the death of their founding chairperson, Jose Maria Sison.

"The lack of Joma is actually an opportunity for us, for all of us in the government to reach out to local leaders of the CPPNPA," Col. Medel Aguilar, military spokesperson, told ABS-CBN News Channel’s "Rundown."

The CPP has said that holding the localized talks will not address the root causes of the decadeslong insurgency and has stood firm that any talks would be through the National Democratic Fronf of the Philippines.

Sison died aged 83 on December 16 after a two-week confinement in the hospital, according to the CPP. He died in the Netherlands where he was in exile since the late 1980s.

In its statement confirming Sison’s passing, the CPP vowed "to continue to give all our strength and determination to carry the revolution forward guided by the memory and

teachings of the people's beloved Ka Joma."

Succeeding statements from the communist rebels said the CPP leadership called on its cadres to mount offensives while mourning Sison.

However, Aguilar said no such attacks occurred from the day of Sison’s death up to Monday when the CPP marks its 54th anniversary.

‘Leadership vacuum’

"What is evident right now is there is a breakdown of communication from the national leadership down to the subordinate organs of the CPP, at

Philippine Armed Forces sees chances for localized surrender talks after Joma’s death

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison Philstar.com file photo

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) is seeking to extend the period of state of calamity in the Philippines amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) pandemic.

DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Ma.

Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday, December 27 the agency has already submitted a request for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to extend the declaration which is set to lapse on Dec. 31. The DOH made the move after the bill creating

the Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) "was not enacted on time".

Lifting the declaration at this point, Vergeire said, would cost the "different response strategies that  PAGE 2

MANILA — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday, December 26 allayed public apprehension over the SIM Card Registration Act, saying it “will not be used for state surveillance, red-tagging or any such nefarious purpose.”

mandated by

registration law, according to regulators.

DOH seeks extension of...

we are doing right now".

"First, our COVID -19 vaccination program is anchored on the state of calamity provision of the law kaya kapag nawala 'yon baka mahirapan tayong magpatupad ng pagbabakuna natin (if that is gone we will face difficulties in our vaccination drive)," she said in a presser, noting that COVID -19 vaccines are administered under emergency use authorization.

Moreover, it would affect the emergency hiring and allowance of medical front-liners.

"All of these aside from the other conditions will be affected once we cannot extend the state of calamity," Vergeire said.

The state of calamity due to COVID-19 was first declared in March 2020 and had been

Under

utilize appropriate

SIM registration not for public surveillance...

Globe Telecom Inc. corporate and legal services group head Ariel Tubayan said subscribers could visit their website to know the step-by-step procedures, which take less than five minutes.

Privacy safeguards

Adel Tamano, Dito Telecommunity chief administrative officer, said they were giving an incentive of two gigabytes of free data to participating subscribers to encourage them to enlist.

The SIM card registration law was signed on Oct. 10 as a way to curb the proliferation of text scams, which have been on the rise during the pandemic.

“The sooner we are able to accomplish the registration the better so that we can start experiencing the effect and protection of the law,” said Anna Mae Lamentillo, undersecretary at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), urging the public to register immediately.

Currently, Globe has a mobile subscriber base of 87.9 million, Smart 67.99 million, and Dito 15 million.

“For the general public and fellow Filipinos, please do not be afraid of the SIM Registration

Act,” Remulla said during a press briefing.

According to him, the collection of data by telecommunication companies would be under stringent regulatory oversight and monitoring of concerned government agencies.

The justice secretary added that the law provides that the DICT must perform an annual audit on the telcos’ compliance with information security standards.

“This will be a whole-ofgovernment approach to ensure that in the implementation of this law, respect for freedoms enshrined in the Constitution is maintained,” said Remulla.

He said the Department of Justice (DOJ) was fully supportive of SIM registration because this would address one of the common challenges in the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime and cyber-related cases.

Citing data from the DOJ’s Office of Cybercrime, Remulla said they received a total of 4,899 reports of harassment or unlawful debt collection from online lending companies from 2020 up to December this year, wherein the harassment was usually done through mobile phone calls and SMS.

National Prosecution Service statistics also show that the case disposition rate in relation to cybercrime has increased from 601 cases in 2020 to 1,218 cases in 2022, with a 30-percent conviction rate in 2022 compared to 25 percent in 2020.

“We are hopeful that with the full implementation of the law, these case disposition and conviction rates will be further improved,” he said.

Deterrent to child abuse

As chair of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, Remulla said he believed that SIM registration would be an added tool for government agencies in enforcing laws against trafficking in persons and online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).

“Majority of the funds associated with child pornography remitted by offenders from other countries are coursed through money changers and remittance agents. Given that remittance transactions require mobile numbers of senders and receivers, offenders or victims may easily be identified and located using mobile numbers in potential OSAEC cases,” explained Remulla. g

DILG to announce new war on drugs...

PAGE 1

end the narcotics problem of the country.

In the last five months, around P10 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized by policemen led by Azurin.

Abalos, however, cited that one of the huge drug hauls involved a policeman. Just recently, he said, another

drug bust allegedly involved agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

“This is a bad sign. It is not good that a fellow policeman or PDEA agent were caught in the illegal drugs trade. This is not right,” he said.

“What is appalling here is that you caught a fellow law enforcer. Let’s see what our approach

here is,” he added.

Abalos also reported that they are looking into the resurgence of e-sabong or the online gambling of cockfights, especially in Negros Oriental.

Abalos was joined by Azurin and Brigadier General Jerry Bearis, the new director of the Central Visayas police, at Camp Sergio Osmeña. g

Philippine Armed Forces sees chances for localized...

PAGE 1

least giving them the opportunity to surrender because there is no longer that strong restraint on the part of the CPP to hold them," he said.

In addition to Sison’s death, Aguilar said the government can also take advantage of the "long silence" of Benito Tiamzon, who is believed to be the CPP’s chairperson, which he added has left a "vacuum" in the leadership of the communist rebels.

"That’s what we’d like to take advantage of because this is an opportunity for us in government to reach out to their subordinate leaders so we can engage them in localized peace talks," Aguilar said.

It is speculated that Tiamzon and his wife Wilma, who is believed to be the CPP’s secretary-general, were killed in a boat explosion off Samar’s coast during an AFP operation

on August 22 — a theory that has neither been confirmed by the military or the rebels.

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, however, said the Tiamzons were indeed killed in August in an encounter with Joint Task Force Storm, as reported by the Daily Tribune.

Setbacks

"We have seen the significant reduction in their capabilities. Of course, we have neutralized many of their leaders," Aguilar said, while not confirming the deaths of the Tiamzons.

Aguilar said that currently, there the NPA has only 23 existing guerilla fronts, of which only five are supposedly active. This has been challenged by the CPP, which called the AFP’s claim "ludicrous."

In a message for its 54th anniversary, the CPP’s Central Committee said the declarations of "strategic victory" against

the CPP-NPA is a "public relations" line to justify "five years of squandering hundreds of billions of pesos of people’s money to fund its relentless military offensives and rampant military abuses."

The committee also described the Philippines as being "on top of a social volcano that is constantly rumbling and ready to explode” which it said are favorable conditions for revolution.

It acknowledged, however, that the revolutionary movement has suffered setbacks and losses "in some parts," and that these are mainly caused by "internal weaknesses and errors."

But Aguilar said that it would be difficult for the CPP to recoup their losses.

"The elements that would make their rectification now are no longer there for their party to be able to resurrect or rebound from their setbacks," he said. g

SAFETY CHECK. Officers of the Manila Police District inspect stalls selling firecrackers and confiscate illegal items along Tabora Street in Divisoria, Manila on Tuesday, Dec. 27. The Department of Trade and Industry certified and allowed only 14 brands of firecrackers and pyrotechnics as of Dec. 19. PNA photo by Yancy Lim

extended to allow the national and local governments to continuously deliver pandemicrelated interventions.

a state of calamity, the country could

funds, including the Quick Response Fund to contain the spread of the virus as well as monitor and control prices of basic necessities and prime commodities. (PNA)

DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire PNA file photo

Farmworkers still exposed to highest infection rates – experts warn against normalizing COVID

by Sunita Sohrabji

DRIVE almost anywhere in the farm fields of California and you will see blurred shapes on the horizon, men and women who produce the majority of the country’s food. Although recognized as essential workers, their work has exposed and continues to expose them to the most severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We knew going to farmworkers was essential, but we never felt it until we struggled (with COVID-19) in 2020,” said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer at AltaMed. “When most communities were at home, they were out there making sure we can feed our families. And they were getting exposed.”

Shapiro joined a panel of speakers on December 21 during an online briefing organized by EMS and the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) public awareness campaign looking at how the pandemic continues to impact agricultural workers in the state and the lessons learned in closing gaps to healthcare access for this population.

“Right now, our communities need information,” Shapiro stressed.

State health leaders urge residents to stay up to date on their flu and COVID-19 vaccines, as they are the best defense to limit severe illness and death, particularly in heavily impacted communities. Californians are also encouraged to stay home when feeling ill in order to avoid close contact and protect those around you from illness as respiratory viruses continue to circulate. Wearing masking, covering coughs and sneezes and practicing hand washing are also instrumental in preventing the spread of germs and illness.

Shapiro noted that during the pandemic, California made enormous strides in reaching farmworker communities around the state. “COVID-19 opened a lot of conversations,” he said. The key now is to continue distributing this information to these groups in the languages and cultures they understand. More than 800 thousand

people work on California’s farms and packing facilities, the vast majority of whom are migrant laborers from Mexico and Central America. An estimated two-thirds are undocumented. Many come from Indigenous communities in Mexico where Spanish is often rudimentary or non-existent.

All these factors contribute to the enormous challenges that exist in ensuring farmworkers have equitable access to healthcare. And as new variants emerge, and winter infection rates rise, Shapiro warns against the prevalence of misinformation and a diminishing sense of urgency around getting vaccinated.

“We have to make sure the gaps in these social determinants of health are closed,” he said.

Updating the data on farmworker health Noe Paramo is director of the Sustainable Rural Communities Project at the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) Foundation, which has long advocated for expanded healthcare access for California’s farmworkers.

His organization is currently working with UC Merced and State Senator Anna Caballero on updating farmworker health data, now over two decades old. That updated information, which will be made available early next year, will be used to shape forthcoming healthcare policy, including the proposed expansion of MediCal for low-income people in the state between 26-49 years of age, regardless of immigration status.

Paramo says it’s likely that up to 40% of farmworkers will not be eligible, because their incomes will supersede the cut off for eligibility. “That is the objective of the study,” he said, to highlight policy options that can narrow this looming gap in coverage.

CRLA also partnered with UC Davis’ Órale Project, which found that more than half of farmworkers never received treatment even when infected with the virus. A 2020 UC Berkeley study also found that 58% of farmworkers still went to work even when showing symptoms.

There are a host of reasons for these figures, ranging from a lack of medical insurance to mistrust of the medical system

and fears of lost wages or outing of their immigration status. But the dearth of medically trained professionals in rural parts of the state is also a contributing factor.

Shapiro noted that under the stressors of the pandemic—long hours and risk factors associated with the work—many health care practitioners left the field, leaving especially rural areas facing a growing shortage.

A new law, set to take effect next year that will allow doctors in California to qualify for student debt forgiveness, aims to narrow that gap.

And while Paramo praised California for its success in expanding health care access to more and more of the population, he said the challenge now is to see whether “we implement it for the most marginalized.”

That is especially the case among farmworkers, said Ed Kissam, a member of the National Center for Farmworker Health Advisory Committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Our progress nationally is really worrisome

“Our progress nationally is really worrisome, with only 14% of eligible people having gotten the up-to-date vaccines,” he said. That number falls to just 5-6% in California’s agricultural communities, putting those with underlying health conditions, along with the elderly and pregnant women at greater risk.

Kissam commended the Test to Treat approach, now being implemented by the University of California targeting farmworker communities.

The idea is to test workers as soon as they show signs of infection, and then to connect them to treatment as soon as possible, including access to anti-viral medicines like Paxlovid, which have been shown to reduce serious illness but must be administered within five days of showing symptoms.

Every household in the U.S. is eligible for another round of free test kits. Visit www.covid.gov/ tests or call 1-800-232-0233 to order yours. You can also book a free test appointment, find a walk-in test clinic or buy a selftest kit from your local drugstore. Visit www.covid19.ca.gov to learn more.

What is clear is that the state has PAGE 7

LA County extends eviction...

Solis asking county staff to study the possibility of extending the protections even further, through June 30.

She said such a move would help prevent tens of thousands of renters from being evicted, while also providing more time to inform both landlords and renters about when the definite end of the eviction moratorium would be.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated our housing crisis, and experts fear an 'eviction tsunami' is on the horizon if we don't take bold, swift action," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis on Twitter, before the board approved the one-month

extension. "Our families need eviction protections for at least an additional 6 months.”

Solis' motion asked for a report back in 30 days on such an extension, along with the proposed creation of a $5 million relief program for "mom-andpop" landlords who have been unable to collect rent during the tenant protections.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said assistance for small landlords must be included in any possible future extension of the tenant protections.

The Board voted 4-0 to approve the motion, and the amendment, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstaining. (AJPress)

US ‘largest humanitarian donor’...

municipality and Baybay city.  Agaton hit the country in April this year, affecting over 2.298 million individuals and 659.996 families, while displacing 69,727. The typhoon left 214 dead, according to a report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and eight injured.

“The United States is proud to stand with you and your communities to rebuild and recover from the devastating loss caused by this storm,” USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn said during the turnover

ceremony held on Monday.

Aside from the housing, the USAID and the International Organization for Migration also helped assist over 12,000 residents across areas affected by Agaton. Both agencies helped the local government to identify relocation sites, as well as provide assistance with water systems and sanitation facilities, and distribute hygiene supplies.  USAID has also provided assistance for families affected by typhoon Odette and typhoon Karding, among its other projects in the country. (Philstar.com)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

LACMTA will receive Proposals for PS70268 –Recruitment Services at the 9th Floor Receptionist Desk, Vendor/Contract Management Department, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

All Proposals must be submitted to LACMTA, and be filed at the reception desk, 9th floor, V/CM Department, on or before 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected and returned unopened. Each proposal must be sealed and marked Proposal No. PS70268.

For a copy of the Proposal/ Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https:// business.metro.net or for further information email Marc Margoni at margonim@metro. net.

12/28/22 CNS-3655358# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

DEVOTION. Priests begin the three-day blessing of replicas of the Black Nazarene outside the Quiapo Church in Manila on Tuesday, Dec. 27. The church and devotees will next prepare for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, 2023, usually attended by millions. PNA photo by Yancy Lim

Dateline PhiliPPines

Hidilyn Diaz, Filipinas lead top 7 Philippine sports moments of 2022

by Lance agcaoiLi Inquirer.net

MANILA — Philippine sports saw another successful year in 2022 as Filipino athletes continued to shine on the international stage and reach greater heights with their winning moments and record-breaking feats.

Following a banner year in 2021, where Hidilyn Diaz delivered the country’s first gold medal in the Olympics, Filipino athletes kept thriving internationally and continued to bring pride and glory to the country.

Inquirer Sports listed the Top 7 Filipinos, who delivered the best Philippine sports moments of 2022.

After not making it to the Olympics last year and settling for silver in the Asian Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tsukii vowed to come back stronger this 2022.

The Filipino-Japanese Karateka delivered her promise as she won the gold medal in the women’s under-50kg Kumite at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama in July.

Tsukii also bagged a bronze medal in team Kumite in the Hanoi SEA Games last May.

Ochoa also rose to the occasion for the Philippine jiu-jitsu team as she ruled the women’s adult -48 kilogram category in the 2022 JJIF World Championship in United Arab Emirates last November.

title-retention bid after settling for silver in vault and a bronze in parallel bars in the 51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships last November in Liverpool, Great Britain.

The 22-year-old gymnast dominated the Asian stage after winning three golds in the 9th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar last June.

Yulo, who is eyeing another run in the Olympics in Paris, also ruled the floor exercise of the 55th All Japan Senior Championships last August.

Death toll in Visayas, Mindanao floods up at 13 –NDRRMC

by Francis Earl cuEto ManilaTimes.net

THE reported death toll due to floods in the Visayas and Mindanao regions brought about by the shearline weather phenomenon has increased to 13, according to the latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

According to the latest situation report, Northern Mindanao has the most reported deaths with seven, followed by the Bicol Region with 3, Eastern Visayas with 2 and Zamboanga Peninsula with one.

There were also six reported injured - five of whom came from Northern Mindanao and one in Zamboanga Peninsula.

A total of 23 missing persons were also reported.

Meanwhile, 166,357 persons or 44,282 families from 385 villages in Mimaropa (Minddoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and BARMM were displaced or evacuated due to the floods. g

DOLE: Pinoy nurses opting to work as caregivers

by Mayen JayMaLin Philstar.com

MANILA — Just so they can immediately leave for employment abroad and get higher salaries, Filipino nurses are opting to work as caregivers, according to Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.

He explained that Filipino nurses are leaving to work as caregivers so they could avoid the two-year work experience required in hospitals abroad.

“Now, things are being turned around. It’s not exactly nurses, but the category is caregivers or health care workers so that the one-year or two-year work experience won’t be needed,” he said in Filipino.

He added that the high salaries abroad are an “attractive

magnet” for Filipino nurses and other health care workers to seek overseas employment.

Although the government has set a cap in overseas deployment, the government cannot prevent Filipino health care workers from seeking employment overseas, according to the labor chief.

Laguesma said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Migrant Workers are discussing whether to increase or lift the deployment cap.

He added that the Professional Regulation Commission was able to hold licensure examinations, ensuring enough supply of registered nurses in the country.

Last month, over 18,000 nursing graduates passed the licensure examination.

Laguesma said the DOLE is closely working with the DOH and DMW to rationalize the deployment of health care workers abroad.

He added that the DOLE is also looking into the plight of overworked and underpaid nurses employed in private hospitals in the country.

The agency also needs to reach out to health industry workers and ensure their health and safety, according to the labor chief.

A group of local nurses claimed that since 2020, about 40 percent of nurses in private hospitals have resigned and sought employment abroad.

Local nurses have asked for the intervention of the DOLE in addressing issues of low salaries and non-payment of other benefits. g

Rousing return for Carlo Paalam

7.

It may have been a tough year for Philippine boxing with Nonito Donaire Jr, Mark Magsayo, Jerwin Ancajas, and John Riel Casimero losing their titles and Manny Pacquiao hanging up his gloves during his presidential bid.

But Carlo Paalam continued his rise to stardom as he brought home a gold in the bantamweight division of the ASBC Asian Elite Men & Women Boxing Championships.

The 24-year-old Filipino boxer stunned top seed Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan in the final by split decision, 4-1, to rule the division.

Paalam showed no signs of slowing down even coming off a historic silver medal run in the men’s flyweight boxing event of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The young Olympian missed the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam but he made a rousing return on the Asian stage.

The success of the Takalag, Bukidnon native showed the future of Philippine boxing is bright despite being one of the few silver linings of the sport in 2022.

6. Women warriors: Junna Tsukii, Meggie Ochoa, Kimberly Anne Custodio

It has been quite a year for Junna Tsukii, Meggie Ochoa, and other Filipino women’s martial artists.

Her teammate, Kimberly Anne Custodio also won gold in the women’s -45kg category.

Ochoa also captured a gold medal in the SEA Games along with Annie Ramirez, who ruled her weight class and brought home another gold last May.

5. No world title, no problem for Caloy Yulo

Carlos  Yulo was dethroned in the world championship but he still had his winning moments in 2022.

Yulo was denied in his world

The 4-foot-11 prodigy had another masterful SEA Games stint after bringing home five gold and two silver medals to surpass his previous two-gold and five-silver finish in the biennial meet three years ago in Manila.

4. Historic year for  Alex Eala

The 17-year-old Alex Eala continued to reach greater heights and show maturity beyond years after a busy 2022.

Taking her act in the professional circuit tournaments took the young netter’s game to the next level as she became the first Filipino to win a singles Grand Slam, ruling the US Open

LUCKY FOR NEW YEAR. Vendors sell round-shaped fruits at their stalls along Luzon Avenue, Quezon City on Tuesday, Dec. 27. In the Philippines,

it has been a tradition for every household to have 12 round-shaped fruits at the table on New year’s eve as it is said it will bring good fortune and luck for the coming year.

PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Celebrating with a bang

There are people who will still want to greet the New Year with bright pyrotechnics displays. President Marcos, acknowledging this Filipino penchant for ringing in the New Year with a bang, has urged local government units to set up common fireworks display areas for their constituents who want to sustain the tradition.

Editorial

Rodrigo Duterte, during his presidency, had also issued a directive to encourage the organization of common fireworks display areas. Duterte reportedly preferred a ban like the one in his home city of Davao, but the fireworks industry centered in Bulacan stressed the massive job and livelihood displacements that would result.

Industry players have instead sought support for upgrading their products to be able to compete with imported items that have gained popularity in recent years. Some players have also cited the export potential of the industry, although tight safety regulation and quality control are needed.

The provision of common fireworks display areas is a compromise in sustaining the industry and keeping the public safe during revelry. But local

governments must set up more sites if they want to discourage household or personal use of pyrotechnic devices. Many people don’t want to leave their homes at the changing of the year, not just because of beliefs about welcoming luck into the house and sweeping out bad spirits, but also because of concern that burglars are on the prowl during the New Year’s Eve revelry. If the common display areas are too few and too far from communities, people will continue to prefer setting off their own fireworks at home.

At the same time, the government should decide if it wants to simply tolerate the existence of the fireworks industry, or if it wants to give it sufficient support to become a significant revenue earner. The world continues to greet special occasions with bright lights and a bang. In Manila, foreign governments compete annually in a fireworks show staged in Manila Bay. Instead of allowing one of the country’s oldest industries to wither away, the government must decide if it wants to revive it, with tighter regulations and quality standards fully enforced. (Philstar.com)

Turning point: The Philippines in 2022

failure.

RICHARD HEYDARIAN

DECADES from now, perspicacious scholars will likely look back at the past 12 months as a critical juncture in our country’s history. Almost exactly half a century since Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s declaration of martial law, his namesake son reassumed the throne. This year also saw, for the first time since the end of the dictatorship era, a Filipino president managing to garner a clear majority of votes.

Moreover, this year’s elections also saw the first proincumbency electoral victory in three decades. Fidel Ramos’ narrow triumph in 1992 was arguably the last time we saw a direct succession of similarlyminded leaders. Practically all succeeding presidents ended up on the throne by expressly running against their immediate predecessor: Joseph Estrada’s macho populism was a clear rejection of Ramos’ technocratic reformism, just as Benigno Aquino III’s good governance agenda was a direct challenge to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s business-as-usual politics. But it was former president

Rodrigo Duterte who took this distinct tradition, which found a great habitat in a nation with no real political parties, to its logical conclusion. Duterte didn’t only juxtapose himself against the outgoing Aquino administration but also framed his presidential candidacy as a referendum on the entire post-Marcos regime, which sprung out of the mélange of aspirations and contradictions of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.

Given his flair for the dramatic, Duterte rarely shied away from portraying himself as the country’s “last card,” namely the only thing standing between “law-abiding citizens” and the impending chaos—or, in his words, a “narco-state.” By all indications, Duterte’s antics, and his distinct brand of penal populism, were a major hit with the common folks.

Despite the reliable display of incompetence from one crisis to the other—beginning with the failure to prevent few ragtag extremists from laying siege on an entire city in 2017 and all the way to the disastrous management of the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic—he maintained skyhigh approval ratings. As for his beloved “drug war,” even Duterte admitted that it was a major

If the Duterte presidency were a movie—or, to put it more accurately, a reality show—it would have been a blockbuster with few rivals in our history. In fact, Duterte was so popular that he couldn’t help contemplating staying in power through proxies. But this is precisely where President Marcos Jr.’s decision to run for the presidency proved highly consequential. Had the latter skipped this year’s elections, the House of Duterte would have likely fully consolidated its grip on Philippine state institutions.

By all indications, Mr. Marcos was the candidate of continuity in this year’s elections. After all, he not only teamed up with the presidential daughter (Sara) under a “UniTeam,” but he also repeatedly promised to continue the outgoing president’s key domestic and foreign policies.

Thus, Mr. Marcos’ emphatic election victory, which was met with both disbelief and awe across the political spectrum, shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Looking at Mr. Marcos’ first six months in office, three things stand out. Let me briefly explain these.

First of all, his return to Malacañang marks what can be best described as the “great restoration.” After spending

three decades on the relative margins of Philippine politics, the Marcoses are once again in a historic position to shape the country’s future—as well as reshape our country’s past through a well-oiled campaign of historical denialism.

Second, Mr. Marcos’ presidency has seen a “great moderation” on every key political issue: No more Dutertestyle brutal counternarcotics operations, the demagogic attacks on so-called “oligarchs,” or the mindless fawning over China and Russia. While restoring

ties with traditional Western allies, Mr. Marcos has skipped any discussion of constitutional change and federalism in a bid to reassure democratic partners, jittery markets, and skeptical voters.

Finally, the past six months have also been an opportunity for a “great reflection,” especially by the progressive-liberal opposition. Instead of just blaming voters, and obsessing over “disinformation” alone, it’s time for the opposition to also reflect on its own shortcomings, faulty analytics, and deracinated

Modern heroism inspired by Rizal

GATCHALIAN

IN this contemporary period, we need to look at our definition of heroism through a new lens. We do not need to die for our country just to be considered a legitimate hero, except if there is an inevitable war. On a philosophical, ethical narrative, we need to produce a life that is exemplary and useful.

The gist: We can only give what we have.

Thus, to become a hero we need to make ourselves better. We can only inspire other people if we are inspired. We can only educate others if we are equipped with knowledge and wisdom. We can only teach what we know.

Like Jose Rizal, he made himself useful. He read lots of books. He visited museums. He traveled to many places. He prepared himself for something that was greater than who he was. And he could only reach this pillar of greatness if he himself was capable of being a great man.

Greatness needs a conscious decision and action. Jose Rizal proved distinctly that from an ordinary, good man, we can

become a better man; from an ordinary life to a remarkable life. He attempted to perfect himself through arts, education, and practical skills.

He was able to write two novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo,” because from a very young age, he read and studied a lot. He prepared himself.

“You can only give what you have.” This dictum is essentially fundamental to heroism. We cannot love if we have not loved. This should not be misinterpreted as selfishness or ego-centric values. This is about helping ourselves so that we can effectively help others and our communities.

We need to invest in nurturing our minds. We need to read. Seek and you shall find.

We can only be a light for humanity if we are enlightened. We can only carry the torch if we have the strength to hold it in our hands.

Jose Rizal was an enlightened being. With everything he had achieved in his short 35 years of existence, he was a great model of how to live.

Those who are prepared to die are those who are prepared to live. Jose Rizal openly embraced his death at Bagumbayan

because he had prepared for a life worth remembering. But we must remember that he made himself better not only for himself but for his fellow Filipinos and for the future of our country.

There is nothing wrong with looking after ourselves. Selflove is an inherent ingredient to purposeful heroism. How can we look after our families if we ourselves are sick and dying? How can we educate our children if we ourselves are ignorant? How can we help the community if we ourselves are poor?

So, there is nothing wrong, too, in wanting to be rich. Through our resources, we can support many poor families. But of course, we need to have our own healthy finance before we can help other people.

But the greatest investment is the investment in selfimprovement. We shall also be rich, not just in financial terms, but rich in a mind that is wise, a heart that is compassionate, and a body that is fit.

Modern heroism is about elevating ourselves from a mundane superficial existence to a meaningful purposeful life. When we find our purpose, we seek a better understanding of how we can be productive and useful—and the best way is to

start with ourselves.

Heroism within is an attempt to reach a higher level of perfection where our excellence and achievement are contributory to building a progressive society.

Jose Rizal is the perfect model. May the Filipino youth of today find inspiration in Rizal’s life so that our country, The Philippines, will not lose hope in our kabataan, ang pag-asa ng bayan.

We are all heroes—only if we are willing to give ourselves a

chance to become one. Nothing is too late. We can start now. Let us help ourselves today so that tomorrow we can help others.

Jose Rizal’s letter to Mariano Ponce:

“A Filipino must be just and foremost a good man, a good citizen, who will, with his mind and heart and if needed be, with his arms as well, help his country progress.”

“Totoong bayan muna bago ang sarili. Pero sarili muna bago

“thought leaders.”

Rearing a new generation of charismatic leaders should go hand in hand with solidifying grassroots networks across the country. Otherwise, the Marcoses will be on a glide path to dominating Philippine politics for another generation. (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.

* * * rheydarian@inquirer.com.ph

ang iba. Ang pagbabago ay magsisimula sa ating sarili. Ito ang makabagong pagkabayani.” *

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.

ANDY TECSON

RADO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (right) with former president Rodrigo Duterte (left)

Malacañang file photo

*

* Rado Gatchalian is the Eastern Australia Area deputy commander of the Order of the Knights of Rizal-ANZO region and the archivist of the Knights of Rizal-Northern Sydney Chapter.

DFA holds talks on deep sea mining

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recently consulted experts and stakeholders on "deep seabed mining" to facilitate the development of a national position on the matter.

The department's Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO) on December 16 conducted the consultation with technical experts to bring together stakeholders that can help design programs and policies "in pursuit of common development objectives towards national legislation on the deep seabed."

The Philippines, as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), can participate in deep seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction, subject to the approval of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

However, the DFA said the Philippines "has not clarified policy and legislative directions on the deep seabed, and such policies and directions must be grounded in sound scientific, objective and technical advice."

DFA Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela Ponce urged the

participants "to keep in mind that the Philippines must consider the economic benefits of deep seabed mining."

However, they should take into consideration the country's "obligation to conserve and protect the marine environment and remind them of the primacy of Unclos in all activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction," the DFA said.

The DFA said "the international seabed 'area' and its mineral resources are the common heritage of mankind and must be administered for the benefit of humankind as a whole, by the International Seabed Authority."

The consultations will serve as a preparatory activity for the series of workshops on deep seabed mining to be held, in cooperation with the International Seabed Authority, in the second and fourth quarters of 2023, the DFA said.

MOAO intends to facilitate this process, in line with Philippine advocacy on the full and meaningful utilization of Unclos as the constitution of the oceans, from a global, regional and national perspective.

The consultation helped the participants have a clearer understanding on the national

and international framework and legal regime governing deep seabed mining, as well as the practical considerations for such activities, the DFA said.

The resource speakers included Neil Silva of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea; Principal Assistant Kirstoff Gail Ocampo of the DFA-MOAO and Philippine focal point for the International Seabed Authority; Eloisa Katrina Madamba of the DFA Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs; First Secretary and Legal Adviser Azela Arumpac-Marte of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York; Dr. Mario Juan Aurelio of the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences and member of the ISA Legal and Technical Commission; Dr. Rogel Santos of the Marine Geological Survey Division of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau; Decibel Faustino-Eslava of the Geological Society of the Philippines; and Legal Officer Lea Kolmos Weis of the ISA.

They shared their expertise and experience on various topics such as the ISA and developments on deep seabed mining, the ISA mining code, Philippine policies on deep seabed mining, and capacity development. g

Maharlika fund among Senate’s legislative priorities in 2023

by Xave GreGorio Philstar.com

MANILA — The controversial bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund, which is backed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. himself, is among the Senate’s priorities come 2023, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said on Monday, December 26.

"The move for the condonation of agrarian reform payments, as well as the House bill on the Maharlika Investment Fund are also on top of the legislative agenda," Villanueva said in a text message to reporters.

During its last session before Congress went on a break for the holidays, the House

of Representatives — like the Senate, dominated by Marcos’ allies — overwhelmingly and quickly approved the bill that seeks to create the Maharlika fund.

This came as Marcos certified the bill as urgent despite public protest, with some of the loudest criticisms coming from businesses, academics and civil society.

Senators too were initially apprehensive about the bill that Marcos admittedly broached as it originally included retirement funds tended by the Government Service Insurance System and Social Security System as part of Maharlika’s seed money.

House lawmakers have since removed the GSIS and the

SSS as funding sources for Maharlika and later on barred the state pension funds from ever contributing to the proposed sovereign wealth fund.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has said that despite being certified as urgent, the Senate cannot be rushed into passing the Maharlika fund bill and vowed that the chamber will scrutinize the proposal with a "fine tooth comb."

Other Marcos administrationbacked bills will also be at the top of the Senate’s legislative agenda, according to Villanueva, including the proposals to create the Virology Institute, Medical Reserve Corps and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control. g

Farmworkers still exposed to highest infection...

learned some valuable lessons from the pandemic, including the importance of working with promotoras to connect with vulnerable populations.

“There has been more willingness to work with community based organizations that have a promotora model,” as a result of the pandemic, said Arsenio López, Executive Director of Mixteco/Indigena

Community Organizing Project in Ventura County (MICOP).

“They have been the champions for access and education for hard-to-reach populations.”

One of López’ key concerns is the issue of language access, as many Indigenous farmworkers speak little to no Spanish. Mental health also tops his list. “Many families lost loved ones, and there is an increase of anxiety, stress,” he said.

And like Shapiro, López described a community where, even as infections again begin to climb, lingering distrust, fear and misinformation are combining with an increased sense of laxity around the virus.

“I am worried COVID-19 is becoming normalized,” he said.

“My worry is that there is this increase in positive cases while there is no sense of urgency as there was previously.” g

Hidilyn Diaz, Filipinas lead top 7 Philippine...

juniors title last September.

Her US Open title run powered Eala to her career-best world ranking at No. 214 in the second pro circuit championship in the first leg of the W25 Chiang Rai last April.

Although her third International Tennis Federation (ITF) title has been elusive in several tourneys she participated it definitely paid off as she continues to scratch the surface of her potential.

The Rafael Nadal Academy scholar, the daughter of Rizza Maniego, a former national swimming team member, also made a convincing SEA Games debut with three bronze medals from the singles, mixed doubles, and team events in Hanoi, Vietnam last May.

Eala has no plans of slowing down as she makes her professional Grand Slam debut in the Australian Open 2023.

3. EJ Obiena

It had been a rollercoaster year for EJ Obiena but it didn’t stop him from making a leap of faith in 2022.

Despite an ugly rift with the Philippine Athletics and Track and Field Association that has since been resolved, Obiena still had a fruitful year, winning one gold medal after another.

The 27-year-old pole vaulter earned a total of 17 medals with 12 gold including his rare win over the World No.1 Mondo Duplantis in the Diamond League in Brussels,  two silver, and three bronze medals.

But Obiena’s biggest achievement was his bronze medal in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States last July.

The 6-foot-2 athlete reset the Asian record at 5.94 meters and became the first pole vaulter from the continent to reach the podium of the world championships.

Obiena also soared to his best World ranking at No.3.

He also defended his SEA Games crown with a recordsetting leap in Hanoi, Vietnam last May.

2. Year of the Filipinas 2022 has been the year of the Filipinas.

The Philippine women’s football team kicked off its historic year, booking the country’s firstever Fifa World Cup appearance in dramatic fashion.

The Filipinas secured a ticket to the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after reaching the semifinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with a dramatic 4-3 win on penalties over Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals last January in Pune, India.

The Alen Stajcic-coached team remained hungry after qualifying as it landed on its first SEA Games podium after 37 years, clinching the bronze medal with a comefrom-behind 2-1 victory over Myanmar last May in Vietnam.

The Filipinas also became the queens of the region after

ruling the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship with a 3-0 victory over Thailand in the finals in front of 8,000 fans at Rizal Memorial Stadium last July.

From securing a spot in the Fifa World Cup, winning a historic SEA Games bronze, to ruling a major tournament, the women’s national football team didn’t stop preparing for the 2023 World Cup with several training camps and friendlies overseas.

The Filipinas will make their historic Fifa World Cup debut in Group A with New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland starting in July 2023.

1. Hidilyn Diaz: From Olympic gold medalist to world champion

The best Filipino athlete in 2022 was Hidilyn Diaz as she continued to add gold medals to her collection a year after she won a historic Olympic gold in Tokyo.

Diaz started the year by defending her throne in the SEA Games last May.

The 31-year-old weightlifter

made a total lift of 206kgs–92kgs in snatch and 114kgs in clean and jerk–to get her second straight SEA Games gold after winning the same event in the 2019 edition in Manila.

Diaz finally added World Weightlifting Championship crowns to her trophy room after bagging three golds in Bogota, Colombia.

She tallied a total lift of 207kg to edge Rosalba Morales of Colombia and Ana Gabriela Lopez of Mexico as she finally earned the missing piece to her gold medal collection.

More than her achievement in sports, Diaz also tied the knot with her coach and long-time partner Julius Naranjo in Baguio last July —  exactly a year after her historic Tokyo Olympics gold medal lift.

Last August 7, Diaz took to Instagram, baring they postponed their honeymoon to set prepare for a run at a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be her ‘last lift’. g

Infographic by Inquirer.net

Alden, Celeste among popular baby names for 2023

By Kathleen a llemit Philstar.com

BABY names for next year are again inspired by royal or popular names, including Archie, Jolene, Celeste and Alden, according to popular baby name generator Nameberry.

Many of the entries veered away from the usual favorites leaning towards classic names and spelling. Many are whimsical and unexpected.

Alden, a name popular in the Philippines thanks to actor Alden Richards, will be a favorite for next year for both boys and girls. Derived from the Old English word meaning “old friend,” it is a name that describes someone who is “charming, understated, old-school and a little bit woodsy.”

The heavenly-inspired name, Celeste, meanwhile, has always been a popular unisex name especially in France and Italy. Will it provide a good omen for Celeste Cortesi as she vies for the Philippines’s fifth Miss Universe crown in Louisiana in January next year?

Jolene and Wilde are references to popular people.

Jolene is an ode to country singer Dolly Parton, who was the voice behind the song titled after the said name.

Wilde is seen as a fancy option and spelling. It is derived from the name of popular Irish novelist Oscar Wilde.

Luxury, Everest and Sunday are surprise baby name picks. Floral names, Marigold and

Rose, also made it to the Nameberry list.

The Asian-sounding Yuna will also see a rise in popularity. It is the name of popular Korean personalities, Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna and actress-singer Im Yoon-ah or Yoona.

The name is actually common in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, Ukraine and many other countries.

Nameberry said that since it rhymes with the name Luna, which is currently exploding in popularity, thus, Yuna might benefit from it.

Top 23 in 2023 baby names according to Nameberry:

Nameberry is created by baby name experts Pamela Redmond and Linda Rosenkrantz with technical wizard Hugh Hunter. It is based on 10 baby name books they co-authored.

Heart teases going back home to Chiz on New Year

By Kathleen a llemit Philstar.com

ACTRESS Heart Evangelista seemed to shut down the breakup rumor with an Instagram post today by tagging husband, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

“Living between 2 worlds Paris and Manila ????2 clocks in one @philipsteinph ???? walking around Paris before heading home for New Year,” the style maven wrote in the caption to a clip of her walking in a Parisian square while modeling a timepiece from the popular brand.

“Ps. See you soon @escuderochiz,” she ended her caption with emojis of heart and cheese.

Escudero has not replied to the tagged post, but his Instagram description reads, “Doting Dad. Happy Husband. Proud Public Servant.”

The couple has been the subject of a rumored breakup the past few months, with

Kris gives health update, Christmas message

POPULAR TV host Kris Aquino posted an update on her health, including a “highly likely 5th” autoimmune disease, as well as thanked her fans and people who continue to pray for her recovery.

Kris posted a lengthy message on her Instagram.

“Discussing my 4 diagnosed autoimmune ailments (2 are life threatening) and a highly likely 5th because of my distinct physical manifestations isn’t something i want to do on Christmas Eve- but i have to

BECAUSE gusto kong mag THANK YOU sa inyong lahat who still keep me, my sons, and my sisters & their families back home in your prayers,” she said.

Kris and her two sons, Josh and Bimby, have been in the United States for months now, seeking treatment for the actress’ health conditions.

She shared how she is touched by fans and strangers alike who wish her well, recounting her experience whenever she takes calls that need her verification.

The lyrics of the song “Sana Ngayong Pasko” by Ariel Rivera is included in her Instagram update. Kris said it has become her and her sons’ theme song because of the countless positive messages they have been receiving.

“We may be an ocean apart, BUT it matters so much to know that many of you who don’t even know me or my sons personally, care enough to remember us & want me to win this seemingly endless battle

Spotify names most streamed Pinoy artists of 2022

By Charmie Joy Pagulong Philstar.com

ZACK Tabudlo and Ben&Ben are among the most streamed Filipino artists on Spotify this year.

The Binibini and Pano hitmaker climbed to the No. 3 spot while the nine-piece band maintained its fourth rank from last year, Spotify noted as it unveiled its 2022 Wrapped campaign, an annual compilation of users’ most listened to tracks on the music streaming platform.

Taylor Swift is the most streamed artist overall in the Philippines, followed by BTS, Zack, Ben&Ben and Justin Bieber.

Spotify also reported that the “love for local is stronger than ever” with an almost 50-percent increase in Filipino music streams this year. Spotify has more than 456 million listeners around the world.

Rounding up the Top 5 most streamed Filipino artists are Arthur Nery, Moira dela Torre and Adie.

NOBITA’s Ikaw Lang outranked the global hits as well as Arthur’s Pagsamo, Adie’s Paraluman, Zack’s Pano and again Arthur’s Isa Lang as the most streamed tracks in the country.

NOBITA, composed of Jaeson Felismino, Mark Quintero, Roman Monegas, Sam Aquino and Richmond Bancolita, thanked the “Nobibis” who supported the group to snag the major spot for its track.

The members said in a statement, “We are truly honored to be part of Spotify’s Wrapped Top Lists this year and be recognized alongside other great Pinoy artists. Undeniably, our fans had been a huge part of this but we’re also grateful for Spotify’s untiring support to our music and its clear vision for their artists. Like most artists, we’re also eager to see our band’s Wrapped and see what we have done throughout 2022 as musicians.”

The Top Female Artists in the Philippine list includes Taylor, Ariana Grande, Moira, Olivia Rodrigo and NIKI while Zack, Justin Bieber, Arthur, The Weeknd and Adie dominated the Top Male Artists category.

BTS, Ben&Ben, LANY, BLACKPINK and TWICE completed that Top Groups section and the Top Albums are BTS’s Proof, Zack’s Episode, Taylor’s Red (Taylor’s Version), Olivia’s SOUR and Taylor’s Midnights.

The Top Spotify Playlists are Hot Hits Philippines, Today’s Top Hits, OPM

“We’re excited to continue working closely with local musicians and pave the way for more aspiring artists to flourish on the platform,” she added.

Among the Top Radar Philippines Artists are P-pop groups BGYO and BINI, and Adie. Spotify’s Radar program is “an initiative to support emerging artists, has enabled new local artists and tracks to be added to the daily soundtrack of Filipinos’ lives.”

Furthermore, the Top Podcasts channels are Barangay Love Stories, skypodcast, Dear MOR: The Podcast, Hugot Marcelo and Punchline with Alex Calleja! and the Top Podcast Genres range from love and relationships, pop culture, self-help, to horror and the paranormal.

In the international music scene, Bad Bunny, Taylor, Drake, The Weeknd and BTS led the chart of the most streamed musicians. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny consistently topped the list for three years in a row now with more than 18.5 billion streams this year.

The most streamed tracks globally are As It Was by Harry Styles; Heat Waves by Glass Animals; STAY by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber; Me Porto Bonito by Bad Bunny feat. Chencho Corleone; and Tití Me Preguntó by Bad Bunny.

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, Olivia’s SOUR, Ed Sheeran’s and Doja Cat’s Planet Her are the most listened to global albums.

The Most Viral Artists Globally list includes Taylor, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, BTS and Lana Del Rey, while the Most Shared Lyrics globally are Heat Waves by Glass Animals; Heather by Conan Gray; I Love You So by The Walters; Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey; and Somewhere Only We Know by Keane.

the actress admitting she is “indefinitely” staying in Paris, France where she has been engaged in modeling and endorsements for luxury fashion houses and attending Paris Fashion Week.

Zack Tabudlo

Photo from Instagram/@zack.tabuldo

Heart Evangelista with husband Chiz Escudero Photo from Instagram/@iamhearte

Favorites, Tatak Pinoy and Kalye Hip Hop. Spotify head of music Asia Kossy Ng remarked, “We are thrilled to see that Filipino artists have continued to shine on the local stage, as seen on 2022’s Spotify Wrapped results. This shows that the Philippines (is) increasingly listening to and supporting (its) homegrown talent and we have seen an almost 50-percent increase in streams of local music the past year.”

Alden Richards

Photo from Instagram/@aldenrichards02

Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi

Photo from Instagram/@celeste_cortesi

Pahrump housing market remains somewhat competitive

By RealtoR Fely Quitevis-Bateman

WITH mortgage costs impacted due to the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates as it tries to curb signs of inflation for the United States economy, the once very hot real estate market has cooled considerably.

Homes and real estate in competitive real estate markets around the U.S. that were being lapped up by buyers in the past couple of years in a matter of days or weeks, with some diving head-on into waitlists in order to be considered, are now staying in the market for a month or two, or even longer.

This has created a wonderful opportunity for serious home buyers who are looking for affordable homes/real estate, including in the developing town of Pahrump.

Originally inhabited by the Southern Pauite tribe, this unincorporated town that lies adjacent to the California-Nevada border has seen its population rise through the decades. It now has an estimated population of 44,738 per the 2020 U.S. Census.

While known for its casino resorts, legal brothels and its wineries, it is a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, with its proximity to Death Valley National Park and different mountain ranges. It is home to the 332-acre Spring Mountain Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club, which houses the longest road course in North America. Spring Mountain is a state-of-the-art racing facility and motorsports club, which is a destination for many racecar enthusiasts who want to attend the many driving schools located in Spring Mountain, and who

want to drive in its challenging racetrack, which can be sized into different variations.

Pahrump is also home to Mountain Falls Golf Club, which is a course designed by famed architecture firms Nicklaus Design Group and Cal Olson Design. It is a favorite among golf enthusiasts as its course, while challenging, is a visual feast for the eyes.

Describing Pahrump and what you can do in town, Redfin says, “There are many cool ways to spend your time in Pahrump, NV from enjoying local art, dining at some of the best restaurants in town, or spending time at a park. While living in Pahrump, make sure to stop by some of the museums like Pahrump Valley Museum and Yucca Mountain Science Center. The city is also known for its parks and green spaces like Discovery Park, Ian Deutch Memorial Park, Devil’s Hole National Park, just to name a few. There are a variety of diverse eateries and restaurants that appeal to every palette in the city…”

According to Redfin, the median price for homes in the town is about $365,000 as of November 2022, while townhouses have a median sale price of $165,000. For those who cannot afford to buy a home as of yet, apartments for rent in the area are available, with 2-bedroom, 2-bath units costing as low as $1,050 a month, and 3-bedroom 2-bath units priced at $1,525 per month.

The median sales price of $365,000 for homes in Pahrump is about 6% higher when compared to the previous year. Depending on the type of home and the area where it is located, a house in the market can be sold in as little as 25 days (for “hot” homes). The median days for homes in the market is around 74 days.

Consider this: The median home price in the State of Nevada was $20,700 in 1940. That median price became $136,000 in 1980 and increased to $142,000 in 2000. In 2021 the median price for homes in the Silver State exploded to $420,000, with previously owned single-family homes priced in the $350,000 range in 2020.

Pahrump continues to be one of those real estate markets searched by individuals and families nationally. Per net flow search (those searching to move into Pahrump minus the number of people searching to move out) statistics offered by Redfin, Los Angeles (5,502), Salt Lake City (2,216) and San Francisco (2,187) are the top three cities whose people have searched for possibilities to move into town. Other areas in the top eight whose residents have searched moving into town include Seattle, Washington (DC), San Diego, Chicago and Honolulu.

(702) 538-4948, or send email to fely@ precious-properties.com or fely.precious@gmail.com.

The town, which is located in the southernmost tip of Nye County, still exudes a small-town feel, as opposed to its big sister Las Vegas, which is about 62 miles away. You can say that those living in Pahrump can have the best of both worlds as they get to experience living in a quiet, peaceful town, but are able to dive into the big city lights and entertainment of Las Vegas when they want to as Sin City is an easy drive from Pahrump.

Many national brands and emerging companies are finding a home in Pahrump. Big companies and franchises like The Home Depot, Burger King, Chevron, Coyote Corner, CVS Pharmacy, Domino’s, Davita, Enterprise, Family Dollar, US Bank, Bank of America, Taco Bell and Supercuts have established operations, along with hundreds of businesses that cater to the needs of the diversified, growing population of the town.

With affordability and location as the biggest drivers in any real estate purchase, Pahrump presents a good opportunity for those looking at the market, especially for those who can afford to buy right now.n Traditionally, real estate has always been a solid investment for those looking to grow their portfolios – while there are highs and lows, those who invest early tend to come out winning in the end, as real estate prices continue moving upward.

I have helped many clients look for their piece of real estate heaven in Pahrump (and in Las Vegas as well). I have decades of experience in assisting my clients find their American Dream, property-wise – one that fits their budgets and needs. Many of my clients have even become repeat buyers and investors, with some now reaping the benefits of their real estate investments via rentals or through Airbnb.

My company, Precious Properties, is a fullservice company that has served its clientele since 1992. You can reach me at 775-513-8447, 805-559-2476 and 702-538-4948 for more information, or send me an email at fely@ precious-properties.com or fely.precious@gmail. com. We have investors who buy houses in California and Nevada for cash and quick escrow in as short as 7 days.

(Advertising Supplement)

Realtor Fely Quitevis-Bateman’s (extreme left) clients from Palm Springs, CA, Clark and Angelica Games, bought another lot in Pahrump.

A more than 8-acre parcel of land, which is part of a 29-acre piece of land, near Blagg Road and Basin Avenue has been proposed to be zoned from commercial to village residential recently. The project under the Home Means Nevada Initiative would bring about 140 units of affordable housing to Pahrump, with unit prices ranging from $435 to $1300 per a news report recently on KPVM. Photo above shows part of the plans submitted to the Nye County Commission. Screen capture from web

Realtor Fely Quitevis-Bateman is in photo with Alliance Concierge Banker Keith Saunders, who is visiting Pahrump on the possibility of funding the glove factory in the town.

Realtor Fely Quitevis-Bateman helps those who need business financing, including loans for small businesses. For more information, call

Of charmed lives and weathering the ‘winter

our discontent’

Leave debt problems behind as you begin the new year 2023

Minding Your Finances

Atty rAyMond BUlAon

ARE you struggling with debt problems and don’t know what to do? Are you doing your best to pay but simply can’t? Have you thought of filing bankruptcy but are afraid that this might not be the right solution to your problems?

Filing bankruptcy is a personal decision that should be taken seriously. Whether or not it is necessary for you to file will depend on the amount of your debts and your ability to meet your financial obligations as they come due. Technically, you are already deemed bankrupt or insolvent under the law when you are unable to pay your ongoing debt obligations and/ or if your total liabilities exceed your total assets. Thus, before you even file, you are most likely already “bankrupt” within the definition of the word. What you need to do is to “declare” bankruptcy by filing a court petition to get you the relief that you need. Relief means getting your debts wiped out as in Chapter 7 bankruptcy or getting your debts consolidated into a lower payment as in Chapter 13.

Being harassed by creditors can be nerve-wracking for a lot of people. This can cause a lot of sleepless nights, worry and stress. Sometimes, marriages

fall apart, and business relationships are broken. A fresh start may be all that you need to start all over again and rebuild your credit. After all, life is not perfect and most of us, at one time or another, will face a financial crisis that is beyond our ability to control. Filing for bankruptcy relief can give you some breathing room so that you can feel human again, and you can stop the creditors beating on your door. There is nothing shameful about it. It is a remedy provided by law to honest debtors who need a break so they can start a new life. Isn’t this what you needstart a new life?

The decision as to whether and when to file a bankruptcy petition must be based on your individual situation. Sometimes there are several strategies for handling debt that can help you avoid filing bankruptcy at all.

For example, creditors may be willing to settle or compromise or work out some type of payment arrangement. If you are in foreclosure, the lender may be willing to modify your loan or give you a repayment plan so you can catch up on the delinquent payments and bring your account current. If you are snowed under by credit card debt, credit card companies may temporarily reduce your payments and waive late payment penalties.

You can’t bury your head in the sand and pretend that your debt problems don’t exist because sooner or later, you will need to face your creditors. So, what you need

to do is to become more proactive and find out what your options are before things go from bad to worse. In finding a solution, beware of so-called “debt consolidation or debt settlement” companies who promise to help you pay your debts without explaining to you in detail how their program works and the fact that you may be sued directly by creditors if the debts are not worked out or settled before legal action is taken. A lot of people who come to me for help have tried some of these programs and they tell me that they had no idea what they were getting into when they signed up and they simply did so because they were desperate. But instead of making things better, they made their situation worse than when they first started and ended up wasting a lot of time and money.

Should you file for bankruptcy? Is this the best option for you or are there ways to avoid bankruptcy? Let me evaluate your situation at no charge. For a free consultation, call Toll-Free 1-866-477-7772.

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NOTE: Due to pandemic safety concerns, I am offering free consultations BY PHONE to anyone who needs help in dealing with their debt problems.

* * * None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray J. Bulaon has successfully helped more than 6,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free evaluation of your situation, please call his office at TOLL- FREE 1-866-477-7772.

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Can I file a divorce in California if my spouse resides outside of state?

resident of California for six months immediately before the filing of the divorce petition.

THIS is a common question among people contemplating divorce in California when the other spouse does not live in the state. California Courts have the power to grant a divorce, annulment, or legal separation if either party is domiciled in the state. Domicile is where a person lives and intends to remain. However, there is an additional requirement if you are seeking a divorce rather than annulment or legal separation. To obtain a divorce in California, one of the parties must have been a

Responding spouses can use this requirement as a defense if the Petitioning spouse does not meet such requirement when the petitioner filed for divorce. In addition, divorce petitions may be filed in the county where at least one spouse resided for 3 months immediately prior to filing the petition.

Now apart from getting a divorce, legal separation, or annulled status, there may be issues relating to distributing community and separate properties between the spouses and awarding support payments. In order for the California Courts to have the power to make orders, the California Courts must have personal jurisdiction over the respondent. Personal

jurisdiction means the respondent has minimum contacts with California even if not physically here. Some of the factors looked at is respondents presence in the state, domicile, residence, citizenship, consent, appearance in the action, doing business in the state, doing an act that causes an effect in the state, ownership in the state, other relationship to the state. If the respondent does not have minimum contact with California, respondent may challenge any orders relating to distribution of property and support based on the court’s lack of jurisdiction.

With regards to initial child custody issues, these issues are resolved under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. California

Courts have the power to make initial custody orders if it is the child’s home state at the time the action was filed.

California may also assume power to make custody orders if California has been the child’s home state within six months before the action was filed, the child is absent form California, and a parent continues to live in California. California may also exercise jurisdiction when no other state is the child’s home state or when all court’s having jurisdiction over the child has declined to act and deferred to California as the more appropriate place to make custody orders.

California may also exercise jurisdiction if no other state would have jurisdiction over the child.

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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, P.C.  This article is not a solicitation.

* * *

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, P.C. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com. (Advertising

HAVE you ever gone through a “winter of discontent” and wondered quietly if you could trade your life for someone else’s?

If you have, don’t flog yourself silly. You don’t even have to admit it to anyone else but yourself. It’s nothing more than a normal rite of passage that allows us to imagine what it would be like if we had someone else’s luck, genetic make-up, breaks, talent, connections, relationships, education, intelligence, looks, skin color, pedigree and other x factors that are supposed to tip the scale in our favor and make us happy and fulfilled. In short, these refer to those things that allow us to live a charmed life and drive our fellow men mad with envy.

The discontent hits you when you’re feeling most vulnerable: when there’s not enough cash to tide you over until the next pay period; your job stinks; you’re going through an extended rough patch with your wife or husband or lover; your car needs an overhaul; your kid hit a schoolmate and you need to see the principal; your sister in the home country, needs you to remit moolah fast, and lots of it, because your younger brother got into trouble and needs bail money.

Everything sucks. Well, you get the picture of a gothic novel nobody wants to read. You want to scuttle everything and trade up to a charmed life. But would you, if you knew the real score behind those deceptive, airbrushed images of the charmed lives we see on TV and the rags we read?

We are sitting ducks open to negative suggestions we receive non-stop. We end up unhappy and dissatisfied with who we are, what we have and our place in the universe. We’re too fat, too short, too poor, too old. We don’t make enough. We drive clunkers. Our clothes are passé. Our nose bridge needs a lift; the chest is too flat; hair is too thin; skin is too sallow; our eyes need to be lasered; our teeth need whitening; our ears stick out; our behinds, too saggy.

Picture the word REJECT stamped on our pathetic, little foreheads if we were in a

conveyor belt in an assembly line, as we head directly to the recycling bin unless we undergo a drastic make-over that will cost us plenty.

We look and read about the airbrushed lives of celebrities on the red carpet. We see them parading and preening in their Pradas, Jimmy Choos, or Blahnik shoes, sheathed in thousand dollar Versace and Vera Wang gowns with décolletage showcasing ample natural or shored up cleavages, their gravity-defying faces tight with botox or nipped and tucked by a surgeon’s scalpel and dripping in Harry Winston gems, escorted by equally gorgeous hunks dressed to the nines in their Armanis, as media people buzz around them like flies around honey. And we’re hoodwinked to the vision of charmed lives.

Imagine that God sees how unhappy you are, takes pity on you and he gives you access to His Celestial PowerBook, with a database cataloging the lives of the past, present and future of the five billion or so people that inhabit the world. He permits you to type in the name of the person you would like to exchange your life with.

You discover surprising twists and turns of character and fate.

You discover dirt that has been airbrushed or little dark secrets edited out or given a new spin. You discover untold pain and suffering, the great equalizers, etched in every life.

That gorgeous, woman hiding behind a ready smile has a young daughter with cystic fibrosis and is going through a bitter divorce with a philandering husband. The good-looking guy you thought was to die for is a closet pedophile cum sado-masochist. The distinguished couple you met who lacks for nothing, has a son languishing in jail. That tall, reed-thin Victoria’s Secret lingerie model suffers from bulimia. That hottie celebrity is a wife beater and is in rehab for serious addictions.

You go through the entire universal data base frustrated and somewhat relieved to find out that your own life with all

its warts, is just as bad or just as good as those of others and there’s no one you’d like to trade your life with, thank you very much.

In most cases, the life we have is the life we would choose all over again. We just need to realize that there’s always more to a story and an image than meets the eye.

Packaging can be mere illusion. What you see is not necessarily what you get, ergo, the need to dig deep. We are all programmed to go through great lengths to put up a deceptive front to hide the truth — either goaded by ego or the instinct for selfpreservation.

A self-respecting gardener winterizes the grass and preps it for the cold, dark days of winter to give it a fighting chance to survive and thrive in the spring and summer. We ought do the same thing and winterize the garden of our soul to keep it young and hopeful.

I wish I could say it’s easy. But like anything that is worthwhile, it takes time, patience, work, persistence and gumption. But we could start with something basic. Upon waking up each day, we can psyche ourselves up with an unfailing weapon of choice — PRAYER.

Personalized and heartfelt, it is our instant connection with the God of our being. These can merely be secular, positive affirmations of our own worth and place in this life or it can be the simple act of prayerful acceptance and thanksgiving for all that was, is and yet to come.

Chances are, you’re already living one heck of a charmed life and you don’t even know it. HAPPY, HEALTHY, ABUNDANT 2023, TO ALL!!! MAY GOD BE WITH US.

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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.

Mon no longer afraid of any role

By Kathleen a llemit Philstar.com

MON Confiado’s role preparation typically involves strict character study and immersion. And it was no different for his new film, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry, “Nanahimik ang Gabi,” where he plays a mysterious home intruder.

To help himself “inhabit the psyche” of his character, Mon isolated himself in the mountain forests of Pangasinan for 10 days and another five in Baguio. “That’s part of the journey that will lead my character to the secluded mansion he plans to invade,” he said at a press conference.

Not much was said about Mon’s unnamed character aside from the fact that he’s capable of violence, and that he’s out to spoil the secret rendezvous of the corrupt police officer Chief (Ian Veneracion) and his sugar baby, Me-Ann (Heaven Peralejo).

“It’s one of the best characters I have done. When our director, Shugo Praico, presented me with the script and the character, I got so excited. And when we met oneon-one, I laid down my inputs and told him about my typical preparations and the immersion I do,” the character actor said.

The suspense thriller flick—produced by Rein Entertainment—was shot in Tagaytay. And for the entirety of the production bubble, Mon made sure to stay in character— and in costume. “I didn’t remove my costume during the shoot. When I get back to the hotel to rest, I just remove the

top layer of my clothing. It’s part of my method and I didn’t want to let go of my character,” related Mon, who kept his offscreen interactions to his costars to a minimum.

“Ian and Heaven have a different approach because they have to appear sweet and their characters have different motivations. So I don’t talk to them much once we start rolling. Of course, before our takes, we eat together, have a chat… But most of the time, I just stay in my room in the standby area because I was worried about going out of my zone,” he said.

Ready to face any role

Because of his acting approach, Mon said that there are times when getting out of character can get complicated. “There are a lot of layers to the character, so it was hard to shed them all. I absorbed them. And you will understand when you watch the film. It took a while before I was able to let go of the character. I looked different after,” he said.

But Mon enjoys the challenge. And at this point in his career, the 54-year-old actor can say that he’s now free of inhibitions as an actor. “Wala na akong kinakatakutan na roles. The important thing for me now is to execute my job well and deliver what my director wants,” he said.

He’s not certain whether his role would qualify for the best actor or supporting actor category. Either way, he’s not expecting anything. “I just enjoy doing the movie. It’s a privilege working with all these actors. The more important thing is for people to go watch it,” he said. “Winning is just a bonus.”

And he’s hopeful that the film would do well at the box office. “It’s different from the usual MMFF fare, which is comedy and horror. It’s a home invasion thriller. I think many people have become more acquainted with different genres of thrillers amid the pandemic. I think our film has a good chance of doing well,” he said.

Kris gives health update, Christmas...

From Page 8

with my autoimmune conditions… “May God bless your kind & compassionate hearts… my Christmas wish is makabawi ako sa ginagawa nyong mabuti para sa ‘kin ngayon-my 1st cycle of immunotherapy treatment (same medicine as chemo BUT at a much lower dose

given over a longer period of time) will take about 10 months… for now idadaan ko na lang po ang pasasalamat ko sa mga pinagkakatiwalaan kong mga kaibigan sa religious & medical communities. #christmas2022 #thankful,” Kris ended her post. (By Kathleen A. Llemit/Philstar. com)

Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya writes for Asian Journal. Email monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com for comments.

of

“Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.”

— William Shakespeare Opening line in the historical tragedy “Richard III”

Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes

Barrister’s Corner

Mon Confiado in one of his immersion trips in the mountains. Photo from Instagram/@monconfiado