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Tourism corridor eyed to link Calabarzon destinations
BONG GO... from Page 1 It was, however, unclear whether he was serious when he made the remarks. Go, who joined the event, was seen shaking his head in disapproval. Duterte’s latest statement came despite Go’s insistence that he is not gunning for the presidency in 2022. It also came amid calls for Go and Duterte to run for president and vice president, respectively. Earlier Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque recalled Duterte’s previous statement that the Chief Executive has no plan to become the country’s next vice president next year.
A camping destination in Tanay, Rizal (Contributed photo) MANILA – A tourism initiative called the Green Corridor will soon link several destinations in Region-4A (Calabarzon) under the new normal, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday. In a press conference from Rizal province, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the department fully supports the initiative and vowed to extend support through online marketing campaigns as well as providing capacity-building training for tourism stakeholders. Starting with Rizal,
Romulo-Puyat said the Green Corridor Initiative could interlink several towns in the safety of a travel bubble. "Rizal is blessed to have many open air, nature, culture-based tourism products and it has been proven that as long as open air and protocols are in place, we can restart tourism," she told reporters. Romu lo -P uyat sa id destinations in Rizal correspond with the travel preferences of tourists amid the pandemic, which include places that are near the metro and with
more open spaces. “Through the Green Corridor Initiative, the City of Antipolo and the Municipalities of Angono, Taytay, and Cainta are interlinked in the safety of a travel bubble, furthering the DOT’s commitment to promote the province as a fun, sustainable and safe destination,” she said. At the same time, she said the DOT will strictly monitor the compliance of all accredited tourism establishments with the Department of Health public health standards as well as the DOT health and safety
guidelines. “With several ongoing initiatives to spur tourism, we have to ensure that there are adequate accredited establishments to serve and accommodate visitors," she said. As of Feb. 28, there are about 95 accredited accommodation establishments in Region-4A, nine of which are from Rizal. Tourism infrastructure projects have also been in the pipeline to provide better access roads to sites such as the Bunsuran Falls and Mystical Cave, both in Antipolo. (PNA)
Sal Panelo as ‘good senator someday’ Meanwhile, Duterte also hinted at the possibility that his top lawyer, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, might seek a seat at the Senate in the 2022 national and local elections. This was after Duterte alluded that Panelo could be a “good senator” in the future. He also praised Panelo’s credentials, noting that the Palace official’s former clients include celebrities. “Sal Panelo is the lawyer. Ito ‘yung abugado ng mga artista. Totoo, ‘yung mga iskandalo, nag-aaway. Kaniya iyang lahat. High profile itong si Sal (He is the lawyer of the stars. That’s true, he defended those involved in scandals. That’s him. Sal is high-profile). And maybe, he would make a good senator someday,” Duterte said. Apart from Panelo, the President also lauded some of his Cabinet officials, including Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar. A February 4 article published by the local news site firm Politiko said Duterte named nine of his Cabinet secretaries as the administration’s potential senatorial bets next year. Duterte, Politiko reported, named Roque, Panelo, Tugade, Villar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. as his senatorial candidates. (MNS)
J&J... from Page 1 Health Science Clinical Professor Dr. Dali Fan, who serves as a volunteer vaccinator at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, California. He noted that the J&J vaccine is a single dose regimen that is much easier to store. “So with three players coming to the battlefield, the tide has turned in our favor. We can greatly elevate the speed at which the American population gets vaccinated.” California vaccination sites already have the capacity to inoculate more people on a daily basis, said Fan. “So with the addition of the third vaccine we're confident that we can get all Americans and all Californians vaccinated by the end of the summer.”
Simply administering the shot is a cakewalk, said the physician. The challenges lie in registration, recruiting sufficient vaccinators, finding people to vaccinate if a person does not show up for an appointment — so as not to waste a dose — and monitoring a vaccinated person for 15 minutes after they have received the shot. Speaking to Ethnic Media Services late evening March 4, after administering more than two dozen doses at the CNU clinic, Fan joked: “It is always the rule that, when you're in a rush, it’s the last patient that creates trouble. It's never the first patient.” The CNU clinic has placed a priority on vaccinating educators who will return to schools later this month, under Gover-
nor Gavin Newsom’s plan for re-opening schools, announced March 1. All three vaccines currently available — the Johnson and Johnson, the Pfizer, and the Moderna — are equally efficacious, said Fan, addressing the rumors that the J&J vaccine was less effective at preventing a COVID illness. “You shouldn’t worry about which vaccine you’re getting: just get vaccinated,” he said. The single shot regimen might prove to be more effective, he said, as people often do not return for their second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine. Moreover, the J&J vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator, overcoming the challenges of the Pfizer and Moderna vac-
ASIAN AMERICAN... from Page 2
PINAY... from Page 1
“People have had acid thrown at them; faces have been slashed,” she stated emotionally. Other speakers at the press conference were: Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón; Robin S. Toma, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, and Assistant Director of the Los Angeles County department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services; Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director, Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and representative of StopAAPIHate; and Fredrick Sykes, former Sheriff’s deputy, Mayor and City Councilmember of West Covina and currently a commissioner of the LACCHR.
Gonzalez is an exemplary member of the Filipino American community. Among the distinction that she has recently earned were: 2017 One Hundred Outstanding Filipino Americans in USA; 2018 Ambassador for Philippine Children's Charities; 2019 Executive Officer of the Philippine Senate President Vicente Sotto III. The newly appointed board member said she believes that students must receive quality education; must be given opportunities to shine and become the best they can be. Gonzalez said she is an advocate for reshaping school priorities to keep the schools at pace with ongoing societal changes. Gonzalez is an active member of the St. Lorenzo Ruiz Parish where she sings with its choir and serves as member of the Hospitality/Welcoming Committee.
cines, which must be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius and minus 20 degrees Celsius, respectively. The lag time to see full efficacy is shorter with a single dose regimen: 14 days with the J&J vaccine, versus 42 to 49 days with the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, explained Fan. During that lag time, people can still transmit the virus to a non-vaccinated person, said Fan, advising, like other experts, that vaccinated people should still continue to wear masks. “Even when you are fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting the disease is five percent to 15 percent,” he said. Data has not yet been released as to how long the vaccines will last. Fan said that information
The Filipina American shared the local limelight with Donna Freedman who was also appointed to the Board of Education for Trustee Area 5. Rowland Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Julie Mitchell officially presented the Oath of Office to Gonzales and Freedman on Monday (March 1, 2021). Gonzales and Freedman Both will serve as provisional board members through December 2022. For her part, Freedman said: “I am so thrilled and very excited to be back as a RUSD Board Member and I want to say thank you to our community, CSEA and ARE for their support. I’m ready for the challenges, hard work and difficult decisions to be made.” Freedman and Gonzalez will take on their new roles as Board Members at the March 11 Board of Education meeting --- where the entire Board will restruc-
was not yet available. “We know that it is safe to say that the immunization should last for more than six months and after that you may need supplemental injection next year.” “Hopefully if there are enough people getting vaccinated, the virus the pandemic will die down and die off entirely.” Johnson and Johnson is currently studying for a second shot and Moderna and Pfizer are studying for a third shot which would be engineered towards the new, more contagious and more virulent mutant variants, including the Brazilian variant, the U.K. variant, the South African variant, and a variant that has sprung up in the Bakersfield region of California.
ture and assume new board member positions. For inquiries, community members are encouraged to visit rowlandschools. org or call the Superintendent’s Office at (626) 854-8304. The Rowland Unified School District has garnered numerous state and national awards and is proud of its 19 schools that serve the communities of Rowland Heights, Walnut, La Puente, City of Industry, a nd West Covina. More than 5,000 adults (18+) are also served by the Rowland Adult and Community Education School. For more information about Rowland Unified, the community can call (626) 965-2541 or download the free Rowland USD Mobile App, follow Rowland schools on Twitter @RowlandSchools #WeAreRUSD, Facebook.com/RowlandUSD Twitter, or visit w ww.RowlandSchools.org.
