Weekend Balita (Los Angeles edition) March 27, 2021

LOS ANGELES / ORANGE COUNTY

DOH exec: Isolation facilities in NCR now 78% occupied PAGE 18 VOL. XXX NO. 13

Saturday-Friday | March 27 - April 2, 2021

TOP STORIES

Global News Relentless ops vs. ASG played role in rescue of Indo captives 8  Foreigners with fake quarantine bookings to be deported — BI 8  Faithful warned vs. bogus solicitation e-mail using Tagle’s name 8  3rd stimulus package much-needed lifeline for Pinoys — Velasco 9  Duterte wants ‘anak ng artista’ who got vaccine probed 9  Senate adopts reso condemning killings, violence vs. lawyers, judges 9  Baguio to temporarily stop entry of tourists from ‘NCR Plus’ — Magalong 11  Pacquiao keen on running for president in 2022 — Sotto 11  China incursion in Julian Felipe Reef may be prelude to occupation — Carpio 12  AFP to deploy more Navy ships for WPS patrols 12 

THE LEADING SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR FELLOW FILIPINO-AMERICANS

roB BoNTA BEComES 1ST fIL-Am To BE STATE’S ATTorNEY gENErAL

By ABNER GALINO

GOVERNOR Gavin Newsom has nominated Filipino American Rob Bonta to be California’s next attorney general which would make the incumbent assembly member from Alameda as the first Filipino American to hold the post.

Sections BUSINESS. Closing biz again would spell disaster for PH — PRRD 13  ENTERTAINMENT. Baby No. 5: It’s another boy for Kristine Hermosa and Oyo Sotto 15  HEALTH & FAMILY. Hontiveros wants COVID-19 be declared an ‘occupational disease’ 18  FEATURE. Climate change drove ethnic tribes to Philippines: study 16 

Vaccines are coming.

Until then, be careful

crime laws and protect our communities from the forces of hate.

He will be a phenomenal Attorney General, and I can’t wait to see him get to work.”

The post became vacant because the former attorney general, Xavier Becerra, was nominated to be health and human services secretary in the administration of President Joe Biden.

Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly’s 18th District in 2012, where he represents the cities of Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro. He became the first Filipino American state legislator in California’s then 160-plus-year history.

“Thank you, Governor. I am humbled by the confidence you have placed in me,” said Bonta.

“I became a lawyer because I saw the law as the best way to make a positive difference for ROB BONTA

By MARK HEDIN Ethnic Media Services

C

ounty officials working to keep Angelenos safe from COVID-19 have a partner in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, the nation’s largest. And for immigrants, there’s some encouraging news from Washington, too.

At a town hall and community news briefing hosted on March 18 by LA County’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, archdiocese and county health officials described the battle against COVID-19 and necessary steps to prevent a new surge in cases.

In “an incredibly positive development for immigrant communities,” OIA Chief Daniel Sharp said, the Biden administration last week suspended enforcement of the so-called ‘public charge’ rule that led many to fear that using government services would hurt their immigration and green card efforts.

“In the Latino community, in the immigrant community, many times there’s a big fear and a big apprehension to going out and seeking help from our municipal services,” archdiocese Director of ImmiVACCINES

File photo of then Assembly member Rob Bonta while speaking before members of the Filipino American community in Los Angeles.

The photo was taken at the Filipino Cultural Center on Temple Street two years ago. Photo by ABNER GALINO

In a statement, Newsom said throughout Bonta’s career, the Filipino American politician “has taken on big fights to reverse historic injustice – many affecting communities of color.

He has been a leader in the fight to reform our justice system and stand up to the forces of hate.”

"Rob represents what makes California great — our desire to take on righteous fights and reverse systematic injustices," Newsom said.

“Growing up with parents steeped in social justice movements, Rob has become a national leader in the fight to repair our justice system and defend the rights of every Californian.

And most importantly, at this moment when so many communities are under attack for who they are and who they love, Rob has fought to strengthen hate

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Canada slams China's Bishop Aclan leads observance of actions in SCS, Julian Philippine’s 500 years of Christianity Felipe Reef MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Canadian government on Thursday slammed China's actions in the South China Sea, "including off the coast of the Philippines" where over 200 China-flagged vessels were sighted as early as March 7.

"Canada opposes recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including off the coast of the Philippines, that escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order," Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur said.

CANADA

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PH, S. Korea to deepen maritime security ties MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippines and South Korea will continue to have strong ties in maritime security and naval cooperation.

This commitment was made following the introductory call of newly-designated Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Kim In-Chul, to Philippine Navy (PN) chief, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, at the PN headquarters in Manila on Wednesday.

"The highpoint of the discussion during the call was the continuing strong bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and South Korea particularly in maritime security and naval cooperation," said PN public affairs office chief Commander Benjo Negranza in a statement Thursday.

PH

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Liturgical performers Mercy Macarena, Bernadette Blackshaw, Jo Solomonson, Loretta Neag join Most Rev. Alex Aclan and Father Rodel Balagtas in the Eucharistic celebration.

By JO SOLOMONSON FILIPINO American Catholic Bishop Alejandro “Alex” Aclan led parishioners of the Incarnation Catholic Church in Glendale in observing a Eucharistic celebration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Phil-

ippines on Sunday (March 2).

The event started with the praying of the rosary while the image of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, also known as the “Patroness of Cavite,” was at the altar.

After this, a concele-

brated mass was led by the Most Reverend Alex Aclan. He was joined Fr. Rodel Balagtas who conducted the homily.

Music director Les M. Rangel, played the Jubilee theme song titled “Gifted to Give.”

The sacred movement as BISHOP ACLAN

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ABNER GALINO, Fil-Am News Editor

Fil-Am

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"FIESTA FILIPINAS," A celebration of Philippine Festivals

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abuhay! As we all know, our country, the Philippines has a tradition of celebrating unique and distinct "fiestas": or festivals in numerous towns, cities and provinces all year round. These festivals are mostly celebrated "in honor of Catholic churches' patron saints or historic town events which brings its community together." Thus, to showcase our Philippine festivals, culture and traditions, the "FIESTA FILIPINAS" project was established.

This project is a six-part, multi-format online event series organized by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

It aims to "simulate the experience of a Philippine festival, through live streamed formats of "FIESTA FILIPINAS." Its previous episodes can be watched through the following links: https.//www.youtube,com/dfaphl https.//www.facebook,com/dfaphl https.//www.facebook.com/PHLmLA The first event was the GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL, livestreamed via zoom on Dec. 19, 2020. Subsequently, it was followed by the SINULOG, ATI-ATIHAN and DINAGYANG FESTIVAL livestreamed on FB and YouTube on February 20, 2021. The third event was the PINAGBENGA FESTIVAL which was also livestreamed on FB and YouTube on February 27, 2021.

Both livestreamed festivals were hosted by Paolo Abrera and Chai Lontoc-Del Rosario.

Currently, as we Filipinos celebrate the Lenten season this

month of March, where we have "deep roots in the religious life" back home, "FIESTA FILIPINAS" will be featuring the four baroque churches in Iloilo on their "VISITA IGLESIA," Festival and its lives-

treamed date will be Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 4:00 pm on FB and YouTube.

For further information, please call the office of: The Philippine Consulate General, 213/639-0980.

BISHoP ACLAN... from PAgE 1 a prelude to the mass was performed by the Vessels of Mary Liturgical Dance Group, led by Jo Solomonson.

She carried the image of Santo Nino De Cebu during the dance number while the Cross was carried by Bernadette Blackshaw.

The members who carried Philippine flags were Loretta Neag, Mercy Macarina and Tess Domingo.

Christianity was brought to the Philippines in 1521 by Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan who claimed the land for King Philip of Spain.

As Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines (CBCP) said in a recent address: “We realize and appreciate that we are GIFTED – gifted in faith from the Lord.”

The song’s lyrics brings message of hope and love and urges the faithfuls “to continue to persevere and bring gospel to all, to evangelize and carry on with the mission of bringing Christ to others.”

This year’s monthly masses in Tagalog (3rd Sundays) will observe 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines with a devotion to the Blessed Mother

before each Mass.

Next Mass will be on April 18th with Our Lady of Manaoag as lead image. She is the Patroness of Pangasinan. All are welcome to attend. Wearing mask and social distancing are observed.

For more information, please call : Ben Aranda (818) 437-1406, May Mallari (323) 401-0886 or IC office (818) 242-2579.

Rally and vigil on anti-Asian hate on March 28 in Carson

Tess Domingo, President of Federation of Filipino Groups, Nini Maldonado and May Mallari of Filipino American Business Association of Glendale and Greater Los Angeles pose with the image of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, also known as the “Patroness of Cavite.”

The Alliance Against Asian Hate (AAAH) will hold a rally and a vigil on Sunday (March 28) at 12 noon in front of the Carson City Hall to protest the violence being directed at Asian Americans.

Richard Bis, organizer of Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) said that the alliance composed mainly of Filipino Americans invites Asian political and community leaders in the South Bay and outlying communities to make people aware about the issues against Asian Hate.

LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin will speak about the importance of education in stopping hate acts against Asian.

Also expected to speak in the event are Carson Mayor Lula Davis Homes, Mayor pro tempore Jim Dear, Fred Docdocil, president of the Philippine Independence Day Foundation and Captain DamonJones of the Carson Sheriff ”s Station. Filipina singer Shekinah Austria will perform.

For more information, call 310.987.8886 or email fepkoons3@ gmail.com

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Rep. Kim opens Fil-Am photo exhibit at La Habra Art Gallery US House Rep. Young Kim of California’s 39th congressional district officially opened on Sunday (March 21) a Filipino American photo exhibit titled: Beyond the Pandemic — It’s a Wonderful World.

Rep. Young Kim Kim said she was impressed with the level of artistry of the participating artists after doing a virtual tour of the photo exhibit.

“It only shows that creativity don’t die even in the most trying of times,” Kim added.

The congresswoman was joined by La Habra City councilmember James Gomez; president of La Habra Police Memorial Foundation Craig Hentcy; and Marcy Schults, a retired teach-

er and was former president of La Habra Art Association for 20 years.

The ceremonial opening of the exhibit was jointly presented by Luz Balbin Spanks, president of the La Habra Art Association; Thelma Sugay, president of the Filipino American Press Club of California (FAPCCA) and Schults.

Sugay enumerated the names of the participating photographers and superbly offered short introductions for each of them.

The participating photographers include Abner Galino of Weekend Balita/US Asian Post; Arturo Ramos, former FAPCCA president Benny Uy, Bobby Romero, Don Warthen, Jennifer Regalario, Nicanor Arriola and Rodger Yu. Spanks thanked the artist who provided original soundtracks for the video presentations of the photos submitted to the exhibit. She identified them as Apryle Dalmacio, Arthur Roy Regalario and Honore.

The YouTube Channel for the artist spotlight series and Artspace Kunstmatrix were also recognized for the successful conduct of the La Habra Art Gallery 3D exhibitions.

Spanks also thanked artist and writer Vics Magsaysay for initiating the said project.

VACCINES... from Page 1 gration Affairs Isaac Cuevas said.

“As a church, we’re a trusted source, and when we encourage them to do so, they do so and they listen. As the largest archdiocese in the country, with almost 5 million registered Catholics, we take that very seriously.”

“The best way to love and respect thy neighbor is to get vaccinated,” Cuevas advised.

“From a faith standpoint, the vaccine is morally acceptable,” he added, citing how Archbishop Jose H. Gomez publicized his own vaccination, and noting Pope Francis’ endorsement as well.

Vaccines are provided confidentially, at no charge, and without regard to a person’s immigration status, but the biggest challenge to vaccinating people remains a shortage of the vaccine itself, said Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez of LA County’s Department of Public Health.

By May 1, however, “we should have enough vaccine available to us for every person ages 16 and over who wants to get vaccinated,” Gonzalez added, citing recent pronouncements from President Biden.

Deaths from COVID-19 are fewer than they were at the beginning of the year, Gonzalez said. But they’re still triple what they were in early November, prior to a holiday-season surge.

Along with promises of increased supplies, officials and community organizations are

emphasizing equity considerations in vaccine distribution, with 40% of new supplies being earmarked for “low-resourced” communities.

Cuevas emphasized the archdiocese’s out-sized profile in such “hard-hit” places.

“Once the pandemic hit,” he said, the church realized “there were two groups of people,” those with more time and the desire to help, and those who needed it.

From the beginning, church volunteers and donors have offered their support from providing and delivering groceries and service referrals to sometimes simply checking in with people over the phone.

With St. Vincent de Paul’s and the Knights of Columbus, the church established a “Hearts to Serve” hotline: (855) 423-6780.

The archdiocese barely missed a beat in keeping its schools open, establishing virtual learning programs within days of closure orders and continuing lunch programs that Cuevas said have provided more than a million meals.

Department of Health Services Dr. Erika Flores Uribe offered perspectives from her work in the emergency room.

“As we re-open, as we start getting more vaccination into the community, it’s going to be really critical that we take care of those infection-prevention practices: wearing your mask, staying six feet away, staying at home if you feel sick, washing

your hands regularly.

“We have Easter coming up, we have spring break coming up. All of those things that we celebrate could lead to a surge if we are not very, very careful during this time.”

Sharp addressed concerns that accessing COVID vaccinations and other services would impact someone’s immigration status: “The short answer is that it will not,” he said.

“When you go to get vaccinated, your medical information is private, and will not be shared with federal immigration officials. The vaccine is free for everyone, including all immigrants,” Sharp said.

Flores Uribe emphasized the importance of continued testing, noting that “We are seeing that vaccination is increasing, but we are also seeing that testing demand is decreasing.”

“People of color, black, Latinx populations still have the highest case rates and in some cases lower vaccination rates.”

“There is some immunity, some protection from those who’ve been infected before and as more and more people get vaccinated. But not enough people are fully immune or fully protected to prevent another surge from happening right now.”

“The pandemic has been hard for so many of us, particularly for family members and loved ones who have lost someone during this time. It is incredibly saddening,” she said.

US Congress member urges gov’t to look into RP’s “Bloody Sunday” Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA)

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member of the United States Congress recently expressed her grave concern to US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over the killings of nine activists in the Philippines last March 7, 2021.

The incident has been referred in media as the Philippines’ “Bloody Sunday.”

In her letter, Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA), noted that Philippine military and police forces conducted simultaneous raids and arrests on this day in “what appeared to be a coordinated effort across multiple regions in the country” “This is only the latest in a long list of gross human rights violations and violence by the Rodrigo Duterte regime against dissidents, labor activists, and faith leaders in the

country,” Wild wrote.

“Given the significant military aid and arms sales that the United States continues to provide to the Philippines, we believe that Congress has a responsibility to demand accountability and oversight regarding this funding and whether it is serving the goal of advancing U.S. interests and values.”

Wild added that “without genuine accountability, we are concerned that attacks like those on Bloody Sunday—and before March 7— will continue. That is why, in keeping with the Biden Administration’s pledge to place human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, we are asking Secretaries Blinken and Austin to conduct a full review of U.S. assistance to the Philippines and to present the findings to Congress.”

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Vaccine vs. variants: Which wins the pandemic race

By SUNITA SOHRABJI EMS Contributing Editor

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he U.S. met President Joe Biden’s goal of administering 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine March 18, 32 days ahead of schedule. But the nation is struggling to keep ahead of several more contagious, more virulent mutant variants, which threaten to outpace the rate of vaccination.

The President announced that all tiers of vaccine administration will be open May 1 to all adults wishing to get a vaccine.

He optimistically predicted that everyone would be vaccinated in time to celebrate the Fourth of July. But the B117 variant, currently the most prevalent, has shown up in 20 percent of new COVID infections in many states, and in 30 percent of new infections in Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“It's a race of how fast we get people fully vaccinated, versus the level of disease in a community and how much we see transmission,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, senior scholar at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center, at a March 18 news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services.

“The story of virus variants is a story of evolution and natural selection,” said Shah, explaining that with — with a lot of virus around — there’s a greater chance that a single virus particle may be just a little different from the rest.

“One or more virus particles is all you need to have a slight change. Maybe the spike protein changes just a little and it can attach to cells a little better than all the other virus particles; that’s evolution.”

Natural selection then kicks in: the one slightly-different particle spreads a little faster because the spike protein is different. It can attach differently, which leads it to becoming the dominant strain, explained Shah.

The CDC is currently tracking four variants of concern, including the B117 which transmits from one person to the next about 50 percent faster than the original strain, and is 60 to 70 percent more deadly. But Shah said all the vaccines currently available are equipped to fight the B117 variant.

Vaccines are less effective against the

1351 variant and the P1 variant, two other variants of concern, he said.

Herd immunity will occur when 60-70 percent of the population is resistant to the strains of the virus, said the physician. That has not yet occurred, but many states are relaxing their COVID protocols, including lifting mask mandates.

“That's a problem: those are the public health measures proven to work against spread. When we have more people infected, we have more chance of variants,” stated Shah.

Dr. Daniel Turner Lloveras, co-founder of the Latino Coalition Against COVID, noted that herd immunity was the question at hand.

“When is the path of normalcy going to be closer to us, reaching that final destination where we can walk around with masks off? I don't think anyone can say when that will happen.”

“But we do know that herd immunity most likely will be reached once we meet the threshold of the number of people that are vaccinated. And so getting people vaccinated is of the utmost importance,” he said.

Shah noted that it was not enough to simply get the U.S. vaccinated: people around the world must also be vaccinated in order to prevent another global surge.

Biden March 12 announced the U.S. collaboration with the Quad, a partnership between the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, which will manufacture and produce 1 billion doses of COVID vaccine to supply to the Indo-Pacific region by the end of 2022.

Getting a COVID vaccine might become an annual event, much like getting a flu vaccine, said Shah.

Dr. Dali Fan, a Health Science Clinical Professor at UC Davis, said at the briefing that the roll-out of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine might be a game changer in terms of getting more people vaccinated sooner. He addressed concerns that the J&J vaccine is less effective than its Pfizer or Moderna counterparts: initially, it is 67 percent effective against preventing a COVID infection, but 49 days after receiving the vaccine, it is 100 percent effective, said Fan. At about 28 days after receiving the J&J vaccine, hospitalization rates are decreased by 75 percent.

The single shot vaccine also has a very

low rate of adverse effects, said Fan, a volunteer vaccinator at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, California. It is also very easy to store, requiring only refrigeration, and is therefore very useful for mobile van vaccination efforts and popup sites serving under-served and rural communities.

The J&J vaccine is also great for medically fragile people, who may have difficulty returning for a second dose or have trouble with needles.

“Vaccine production is favorable. Now distribution has become the bottleneck,” said Fan. “Everybody has to do his or her part, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, industry players, political leaders, educators, and volunteers. It is truly a community effort.”

Turner Lloveras and Dr. Kim Rhoads, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UC San Francisco, spoke about vaccine inequity: LatinX and Black people have very low rates of vaccination in proportion to their eligibility to get the preventive measure.

Rhoads, who developed several pop-up sites for COVID testing and vaccination in partnership with Umoja Health, challenged the myth of Black vaccine hesitancy. She shared a story of a FEMA pop-up site in East Oakland at which people were running in to get vaccinated.

“I feel that vaccine hesitancy is a pretext for explaining away the inequities that we

are inevitably going to see when we are done. People will say that Black people were just hesitant,” said Rhoads.

There is the question of trust, said Rhoads. “Here's the dilemma: in our health care system, Black people are never first, let's be clear. And now we’re asking them to be first, so they’re asking ‘what’s wrong in this scenario?’ That's what we're up against.”

Turner Lloveras said large numbers of LatinX people lack the tools and knowledge for digital literacy, and therefore cannot make the online appointments required to get vaccinated. He spoke about the difficulties he had in signing his mother up for a vaccination and the many glitches he encountered.

“She would never have been able to do it on her own.”

The Latino Coalition Against COVID has rolled out the “Digital Compañero” initiative, started by volunteers, who guide people through the process of getting a vaccine appointment and equip them with digital skills to improve their employment opportunities post-pandemic.

40 percent of Latinos lack access to broadband internet, said Turner Lloveras.

“This is a civil rights issue,” he said.

The “Digital Compañero” program can be accessed here: lcac19.org. The Umoja Health initiative can be viewed here: https://unitedinhealthoakland.org/en/ eastoakland.

ROB BONTA.. from Page 1 the most people, and it would be an honor of a lifetime to serve as the attorney for the people of this great state. As California’s Attorney General, I will work tirelessly every day to ensure that every Californian who has been wronged can find justice and that every person is treated fairly under the law.”

Newsom made the announcement at the historic International Hotel in San Francisco, a site where Asian and Pacific Islander Californians famously rallied in 1977 to save homes of elderly residents and preserve their community. The protests helped fuel a rise in AAPI political activism. Bonta’s mother, who helped organize the protest at the International Hotel, was on hand today to witness the Governor making his selection.

The governor’s office provided a lengthy background on Bonta and his parents, which were as follows: “Bonta grew up the son of activists. His mother, Cynthia, a proud Filipina, immigrated to California in the 1960s by a three-week boat ride. His father, Warren, who grew up in Ventura County, was committed to service and social justice from a young age. As a student, Warren

joined Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights organizing in Alabama to pass the Voting Rights Act. Warren and Cynthia were working as missionaries in the Philippines when Rob was born, training young people to serve the needs of rural Philippine villages through service, community organizing and ministry.”

“Shortly after leaving the Philippines, the Bontas moved to a trailer in La Paz, in the Tehachapi Mountains outside Bakersfield and served in the headquarters for the United Farm Workers movement. Rob’s parents worked alongside Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and Philip Veracruz, organizing Latino and Filipino farmworkers for racial, economic and civil rights. His dad worked in the front office and helped set up health clinics for the farmworkers, while his mother worked at the daycare, Casa de Nana, to support farmworker organizer families. Rob’s padrino, or godfather, Jose Gomez, was the Executive Assistant to Cesar Chavez.”

“It was here in La Paz, surrounded by other UFW families, that Rob’s parents gave him his first lessons in right and wrong and taught him that everyone

had an obligation to speak out when another person is treated unfairly.”

“Growing up, Bonta had been inspired by characters like Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird” to pursue justice through the law, and reflecting on the stories of the farmworkers his family had known only strengthened that resolve.

Throughout college and in his community work, he saw injustice and the power to right wrongs through the law, and after college, he was accepted to Yale Law School. It was also at Yale that he met his wife Mia, who he calls “his partner in life and in service.”

“After law school, Bonta moved back to California and went into private practice, working pro-bono to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. A few years later, Bonta decided to pursue his passion for public service and put his legal experience to work to help his community fulltime. Bonta served nine years as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, representing the city and its employees, before running for local office in Alameda County.”

“At the State Capitol, Bonta passed major reforms that reversed long-standing injustices.”

“In 2012, Bonta became the first Filipino American in California history to win election to the Legislature, representing Assembly District 18 in the cities of Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro. He quickly became a statewide leader in the fights for racial, economic and environmental justice, advancing reforms that put California on the cutting edge.”

In the Legislature, Bonta: “Outlawed For-Profit Prisons in California: Bonta authored legislation that made California the first in the nation to ban for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers.”

“Led Major Sentencing Overhaul Effort: Following statewide marijuana legalization, Bonta authored the California law to automatically expunge and modify criminal records for people convicted of minor marijuana charges.”

“Took on Big Polluters: Bonta authored major environmental justice legislation and has been a leader in the fight against climate change and to ensure every community equitably benefits from our green economy.”

“Passed Nation’s Strongest Statewide Renter Protections: Bonta led the fight to pass statewide protections for renters, ultimately resulting in the nation’s strongest protections against wrongful evictions.”

“Fought to Strengthen Hate Crime Laws & Protect Communities: Bonta has introduced a number of bills to improve hate crime statutes, support victims of hate violence, and build bridges between law enforcement and targeted communities.”

“Protected Immigrant Families from Deceptive ICE Tactics: Bonta authored first-ofits-kind legislation requiring immigrants to be informed of their rights before speaking to ICE agents.”

“Sought to End Predatory Bail Laws: Bonta co-wrote the law that sought to end the racist and predatory for-profit bail system.”

“Required Independent Investigations of Unarmed Deaths: Bonta co-authored the law that required an independent investigation when there is a death of an unarmed civilian by law enforcement.”

“The Bontas live in the East Bay with their three children and dog Lego.”

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In these challenging times, we reflect on the relevance of the virtual Art Exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines —

“Of Allegories and Realities”

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ast year, the Cultural Center of the Philippines presented a virtual Art Exhibit on February 22, 2020 through the end of May, 2020 entitled “OF ALLEGORIES and REALITIES.” It featured various painters and artists, most specifically, a dear sorority sister, artist and painter, OFELIA GELVEZON-TEQUI. The exhibit was curated by Ma. Victoria T. Herrera and the project was coordinated

by Aphae Raciel Malfa.

The virtual exhibit was described

by Ma. Victoria T. Herrera in a walkthrough introductory panel. In it, she said: "Literature and Art History strongly influence the works of OFELIA GELVEZON-TEQUI, earning two decades in Fine Arts and English from the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She pursued further Art training after finishing her undergraduate degrees at the Pratt Institute in New York and the Academia di Belle Arti di Roma in Rome, where she explored different techniques such as aquatint, collograph and embossing. Some of her artworks in the exhibit reveal her preference for the 'expressiveness of unrefined forms.'

As part of the 'Allegories and Realities' exhibit, her sacred and devout images were significantly represented.

Her approach "to survival" emanates from a deep understanding of the literary and visual arts. Her friend and fellow artist, Nonon Padilla Ong noted that "the word of the DIVINE is very much present 'in her works.' She has been highly acclaimed for the use of ALLEGORY to express and articulate statements on social ills and cur-

Artist/painter Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequi in Amsterdam Photo by M. Aquitania rent struggles, which is so apropos in TODAY’s living. Described as 'veiled

language,' she employs ALLEGORY to refer to more contemporary concerns, culled from medieval magnificent illustrations and biblical texts. Her series of prints in the mid-1980's were filled with images of the sacred, juxtaposed alongside the ordinary and everyday life. Yet, her works are also honoring real and personal family events, Life and losses, GREED and CORRUPTION. turbulent political climate (which is seen in TODAY's world), or simply, a row of trees, or lush snow or STILL life.

In the 1990's she started a series of small format prints called 'estampitas,' named after the small religious images printed on cloth or paper. These include her many representations of the Virgin Mary mostly in Filipiniana attire and the Santo Niño. She also has other related series of artwork combining Madonnas painted inside printed frames decorated with Cherubs, Referring to Gelvezon - Tequi's prints and paintings, another artist/friend, Leonidas Bengsa noted a strong sense of nostalgia for the past...but the idiom is pop, even fair.' In Pantha (an old Asian practice), with Aniline pigments she included the farce of the 'anting-anting,' Her more recent print works also showed similar qualities, composed in a heroic schema with Flurries and Fairies in a minimalist almost blank background as a Medieval 'al frescoe.'

In the 1990's, Gelvezon-Tequi's series of prints and paintings depicted everyday lives of Filipinos, among them is a series of framed representations of the 'MYS-

CANADA... from PAgE 1 Canada follows the position of several other nations, such as Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who also aired concerns over the current South China Sea situation.

About 220 Chinese vessels were first reported by the Philippine Coast Guard moored in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef some 175 nautical miles off Bataraza, Palawan.

This prompted Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. to fire off a diplomatic protest over the issue on March 21.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, however, maintained that the boats were only "taking shelter" in what Beijing claims as part of its administrative district.

The US Embassy in Manila, on the other hand, said the Chinese boats have been mooring in the area "for many months in ever-increasing numbers, regardless of the weather".

Meanwhile, Locsin revealed that the Chinese Embassy nearly mistook his March 21 directive to issue a diplomatic protest as an order to fire guns at the vessels.

"Chinese embassy said that in Chinese social media my expression 'fire at will'— unmistakably our diplomatic protest—is portrayed in Chinese characters as an order to fire guns at Chinese boats. I am not responsible for totalitarian distortions of plain English. Correct it yourself," he said on Thursday. (MNS)

PH... from PAgE 1 Incidentally, South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries was the contractor of the BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), the first two guided-missile frigates, in the PN fleet.

The South Korean government also donated a "Pohang"-class corvette to the Navy which was later renamed the BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) and is now considered one of the most capable and heavily armed ships of the fleet.

Negranza added the visit highlights both parties' commitment to "continuing and strengthening friendship and ties fundamental to the long-standing diplomatic relations between the Philippines and South Korea."

Meanwhile, Bacordo in a message to the Philippine News Agency Thursday, said he also discussed ongoing naval cooperation efforts between the two countries.

"With the ROK (Republic of Korea) Ambassador, we discussed ongoing naval

cooperation efforts and how to enhance it - like the Navy-to-Navy talks which we hosted virtually (in the) 4th Quarter of 2020, the student officer exchanges, the PPE (personal protective equipment) and medical equipment donations by the ROK government, the Meeting Procedures and Passing Exercises conducted regularly," he added.

Bacordo said the South Korean envoy also committed to further strengthening cooperation and support between the PN and ROK Navy through technical support of acquired and donated assets, education and training, and other capability development programs.

"He reiterated the ROK government invitation for our Armed Forces to attend defense exhibits scheduled this year," he added.

He added that Kim also reiterated Seoul's offer to include an additional Pohang-class corvette to help boost the PN's Corvette Acquisition Program.

(MNS)

TERIES of the ROSARY' specifically, the JOYFUL and SORROWFUL mysteries.

One of sorority sister Offie's paintings that mesmerized this author was the one entitled "Visions of Change, Life Evolves, Age Sets In and One Longs to Trim Down," because it truly made a great impact on me personally.

Finally, after more than two decades as an artist, OFELIA GELVEZON -TEQUI's artworks STILL finds its RELEVANCE TODAY, as she maintains a constant presence in the local art scene in spite of being a resident of France since 1973. And humbly, she notes that 'I don't address myself to the French, only to Filipinos.' That is because hers is a voice emphatic of the conditions of the marginalized but critical of the foibles of the powerful.

A list of those who supported the outstanding exhibit include: Dr. Ma. Luisa Allado, Agnes Arellano, Ateneo Art Gallery, BenCab Art Foundation, Bulwagan Ng Dangal, Chibu S. Lagman, Galleria Duemila, Kalaw Ledesma Foundation, Inc., Missionary Heritage Museum, Amb. & Mrs. Felipe Mabilangan, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, National Folk Arts Council of the National Museum of the Philippines, Luis V. Ongpin, Jr., Carmen McTavish, Ofelia Gelvezon -Tequi and numerous other private donors.

Indeed, the relevance of this Art Exhibit STILL reflects our lives then and now. For those of you interested on watching the virtual exhibit, please log on to the link: bit.ly/allegoriesandrealities.online.

Pilipino po tayo!

LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH U. REYES, P.C. ATTORNEY-AT-LAW

*Certified Family Law Specialist The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization - Certified Family Law Specialist - Certified Public Accountant (Inactive) -J.D Southwestern University Law School Los Angeles, CA - B.S Accounting California State University, San Bernardino, CA

CALL OR E-MAIL FOR AN APPOINTMENT 213-204-6366 or

kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com

FAMILY LAW - Divorce - Community Property Division - Child Custody and Spousal Support - Domestic Violence Restraining Order - Legal Separation and Nullity - Parentage - Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

IMMIGRATION - Marriage Petitions - Relative Petitions - Removal of Condtional Green Card - Humanitarian Reinstatements - Child Status Protection Act Issues - Deportation Defense - Employment Based Petitions and PERM - H-1B Visas

ESTATES AND TRUST - Living Trust - Wills - Probate - Conservatorship CIVIL LITIGATION - Contract Disputes - Business Disputes - Corporate and Partnership Disputes

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Are your Credit Cards still manageable, Are these short term loans helping you?

CONSUMERS weren’t shy about spending this holiday season, as the latest consumer credit report reveals a nearly 10 percent increase in overall consumer debt. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer borrowing surged in November by $20.4 billion raising the consumer debt total to $2.48 trillion. Financial experts at Consolidated Credit advise consumers to reexamine spending habits.

With more consumers turning to credit for purchases, revolving debt showed an 8.5 percent increase. credit card debt accounts for almost all of revolving debt, which rose by $5.6 billion to $798.3 billion. This was the largest percentage jump since March 2008.

We might be feeling better about the economy, in reality inflation is growing higher. Now more than ever families need to work at saving and paying off any outstanding debts. We are spending too much and spending like crazy again! This is concerning as the bills begin to roll in, consumers may find themselves unable to pay them off.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered a review of rules on short-term loans. Three customers say companies lured them into a traps of quick cash and affordable payment terms.

These Quick Cash or Payday loan companies focus on the needy, often operating out of strip malls or corner stores. Interest can be 300%, plus fees. Borrowers often hand over

post-dated checks which are cashed if they do not repay on time.

Unless you have assets or a property to turn your equity to cash to pay off these debts, you will end up rolling that debt over and incur higher fees.

Short Term loan are easy to get but hard to pay back, usually when you are desperately in need and not thinking right, these loan sharking method of lending is the fastest way to get money. Unless you completely thought out how you will be paying the debt off or knowingly have money coming into to pay it off, you will end up owing much more after said and done.

An alternative if you can afford to wait for a few years before your credit gets back to par is the option of debt consolidation. You have to be careful because there are a lot of debt consolidators that are fly by night companies. Look for one that has good standing and has been in the business for a long time. Fully understand the process and fees involve before jumping into it. Fees are high but could be worth it if you have a high debt, remember your credit might be ruined while you are on a payment plan. Mostly importantly if you start it, finish the process.

Better yet, if you own a property and has ample equity, use it to pay off your debts, refinance now while rates are so cheap.

Seniors Financial Advisor thinks that one explanation for Americans’

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willingness to take on more debt could be the relative improvement of the economy over the past year, when the workforce added 2.2 million jobs over the course of the year.

For consumers with extra money in their wallets, taking on more debt in anticipation of a bonus or a raise may not seem so risky. But that could be a big mistake.

We’ve already forgotten 2008 and 2009, and now we’re projecting into the indefinite future and we’re spending based on as if it had already happened. Our default setting is optimistic, and maybe overly optimistic.

If consumers aren’t on steady financial ground, it could put Americans at greater risk if the economy doesn’t improve at a fast enough rate.

And it doesn’t help that Americans

are not very good savers. Americans have made some progress on debt repayment… but (savings) continues to be the Achilles heel of financial security. And it was never a strong point to begin with.

I feel that if we are all wondering what will be the cause of another financial recession, political turmoil? I think it might be related to consumer debts, credit card loans, student loans etc. We can’t live paycheck to paycheck just clearing our minimum payments on our debts, sooner than later it will catch up with us and we wont be able to pay it.

Thanks for your inquiries and comments, please call Ken Go of 1st Innovative Financial at 562-5087048 or write to kennethgo@verizon. net BRE01021223 NMLS238636.

Can I obtain a divorce if my spouse refuse to sign?

THERE seems to be a misconception in the general public that you can only obtain a divorce in California if your spouse will sign the divorce papers. I get this question a lot from our family law clients.

The fact is that California is a no fault state and you do not need your spouse’s signature in order to get a divorce. What is more important is being able to properly serve your spouse with the divorce petition and satisfy the jurisdictional requirement of the Court by showing that either you or your spouse resided in the State for at least 6 months prior to filing the petition and in the County for 3 months prior to filing the petition.

When you file a divorce petition, you have to serve your spouse with the summons and petition. Your spouse then has 30 days to file a response after being served with a divorce petition. If your spouse fails to file and serve you with a response, you can file a request for default against your spouse after 30 days. You can also file a proposed judgment for the court to approve. The default procedure can be done even if there are issues of property division, custody, visitation, and support. However, the Court will still review your proposed judgment and property division to make sure it conforms to the policy towards equal division of community property. Meaning, you have to propose a division of community property that is pretty much equal between the spouses. If your proposed property division is one sided such as distributing all community property to you and giving all the community debts to your spouse, CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

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How to Get Out of Debt: Know Your Options ARE you seriously in debt and don’t know what to do about your situation? Are you afraid that unless you do something about it, thing will just continue to get worse every day?

When people are going through financial difficulty and are unable to pay their bills, their first reaction is often to ignore their debts and avoid contact with creditors.

They think that by doing this, somehow the creditors will simply give up and go away. Then one day the problem blows up in their face. They either get served a wage garnishment at work or they find out that their bank account has been frozen by a judgment creditor that they have ignored. I see this happen all the time.

That’s when they rush to see a bankruptcy attorney to find out what can be done to protect themselves. This is when they realize that they should have done something about their debt problems sooner in order to avoid the unpleasant consequences of their inaction. Most states have a statute of limitations- this is the period of time in which a creditor must file a lawsuit in order to collect on an unpaid debt.

In California, that is generally 4 years from the time you stopped

paying. A debt can go unpaid for years and you may not hear anything about the debt at all. Well, don’t hold your breath. When the collection accounts get close to the 4-year mark for the creditor to file suit, that’s when you often get served a lawsuit before the statute runs out.

If a creditor does sue you and obtains a judgment, the judgment is good for 10 years in California and can be renewed thereafter. That’s a pretty long time for a creditor to be chasing you and your assets, if you have any. If you own a home and a judgment lien is filed against it, the debt becomes a secured debt and it must be paid in full plus accrued interest when you sell your property someday.

Filing a bankruptcy doesn’t automatically remove a judgment lien but under certain circumstances,

BARRISTER’S CORNER… FROM PAGE 6

the Court would probably not grant your judgment. The Court would probably set a hearing for you to explain why this is an equal division of community property.

The only time you may need your spouse’s signature is if your spouse files a response to your divorce petition. This is called "contesting" the divorce. If your divorce is contested by your spouse, you can resolve the case either by "settlement" or by "trial."

However, you do not have to settle all the issues in the case at once. Under the concept of divisible divorce, you can settle some of the issues and set the other issues which you and your spouse cannot agree on for trial. Our office try to resolve cases through settlement because it is more cost effective and the parties are usually happier with the outcome. In that situation, the parties may avoid the cost and uncertainty of going to trial by executing what is called a stipulated judgment which is in essence an agreement as to all the issues in the divorce case.

For issues which you and your spouse cannot agree on, you will have to go through the litigation process which involves obtaining discovery, exchanging declarations of disclosures, and preparing the case for trial. Ultimately, you will obtain your divorce at trial in addition to adjudication of the distribution of community assets and debts amongst other issues. It is in the best interest of the party to retain the representation of competent counsel who will assert his or her rights under the family code.

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation.

Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist.

He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association.

He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com

there is a procedure by which it can be removed. This will depend on the value of your home, outstanding loans on the property and your homestead exemption amount. Your homestead exemption is the amount of the equity in the property deemed protected by law if the house is your primary residence. An attorney can explain to you how this works.

OK, so before any of the above happens, what are the ways to get out of debt before things take a turn for the worse? The key to your success is to be pro-active instead of being reactive. In other words, take action now instead of waiting until something bad happens.

There basically only 4 ways to get out of debt if you’re on the verge of insolvency: (1) increase income so you can start paying larger amounts on your debts to hopefully avoid filing bankruptcy, (2) reduce expenses so that you can increase your disposable income and have more money available for debt repayment, (3) Convert assets

you don’t need into cash and use the money to negotiate with creditors, and (4) File bankruptcy to wipe out debts or consolidate your bills (This requires filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13).

If you’re feeling paralyzed by debt and can’t think clearly at the moment, you need a good attorney who can properly evaluate your situation and recommend possible solutions. The first thing you need to do when you don’t know what to do is to realize that sometimes, you cannot do it on your own. There is nothing wrong with getting legal help. The sooner you get help, the sooner you would be able to protect your home, your job, your car, your bank account and other assets.

For a free evaluation of your case, please call our office at TollFree 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free consultation. ***NOTE: Due to the virus lockdown, I am currently offering consultations via phone or video. Please call the office to schedule your appointment with me. Questions? Email me at gethelp@rjb-lawoffices.com.

(None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call RJB Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772).

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Relentless ops vs. ASG played role in rescue of Indo captives Foreigners with fake quarantine bookings to be deported — BI MANILA (Mabuhay) — Arriving foreigners with fake quarantine bookings will be deported and banned from reentering the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned on Monday.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said they will be strict in ensuring foreign nationals submit valid and legitimate quarantine bookings amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

“Should foreign nationals be found to have faked their quarantine bookings, they may be referred by the Department of Tourism (DOT) back to the BI for the initiation of deportation proceedings, and they will also be blacklisted from the country,” he said.

The Philippines requires arriving foreign nationals to secure a pre-booked accommodation for at least six nights in an accredited quarantine hotel or facility and undergo COVID-19 testing on the sixth day from the date of their arrival.

Last week, the Philippines decided to limit the entry of foreign nationals from March 22 to April 21 to curb the spread of the coronavirus and its more contagious variants.

Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens who are traveling with them are allowed to enter the country provided that they have valid visas at the time of entry.

Diplomats and members of international organizations, and their dependents with a valid 9(e) visa or 47(a)2 visa, and foreign seafarers for crew change with valid 9(c) visa are also allowed to enter the country.

Emergency and humanitarian cases may also be allowed to enter as approved by the National Task Force Against COVID-19.

Foreign nationals involved in medical repatriation may also enter the Philippines. (MNS)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Relentless military operations in Sulu played a role in the successful rescue of four kidnapped Indonesians as their efforts forced the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to move out of their comfort zones and mass bases, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chiefof-Staff, Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Monday.

“The kidnap victims have been held captive by the ASG for more than a year and through the AFP’s relentless efforts, the ASG who were based in Sulu, were driven out of their comfort zones and mass base, which eventually led to the successful rescue operation last week in Tawi-Tawi,” Sobejana said.

Earlier, Sobejana and Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, handed over the rescued Indonesians to their embassy representatives during a short ceremony at the General Headquarters Canopy Area, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The Indonesian Embassy led by Charge d’affaires, Widya Rahmanto received the kidnap victims.

Also present were Indonesian Defense Attaché, Colonel Reza Suud, and Army Attaché Colonel Sigit Himawan.

The four Indonesians – Riswanto Bin Hayono, Arical Kastamiran, Arsyad Bin Dahalan, and Khairuldin Bin Yai Kii – were flown via a Philippine Air Force C-130 aircraft from Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City to Manila on Sunday.

Personnel from the Western Mindanao Command provided security and assistance during their transport.

Hayono, Kastamiran, and Dahalan were among the rescued individuals in South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi evening of March 18 by Tandubas Police.

The 15-year old Yai Kii, on the other hand, was rescued by elements of the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi on Sunday in Kalupag Island, Languyan, Tawi-Tawi.

“This (a) noteworthy accomplishment was a concerted effort with our counterparts from the PNP and the Local Government Units in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is a clear manifestation that through cooperation and vigilant support from various stakeholders – through a wholeof-nation approach – we can effectively fight and prevent the spread of terrorism,” Sobejana said.

Meanwhile, the Charge d'Affaires of Indonesia to the

Philippines extended his highest appreciation to the Government of the Philippines and all respective agencies for rescuing the victims.

He conveyed the acknowledgment of the Indonesian Government for the sincere effort and extraordinary courage of the AFP and the PNP. On January 17, 2020, Abu Say yaf terrorists led by sub-leaders Ben Wagas, Apo Mike, and Injam Yadah abducted five Indonesians off the waters of Tambisan, Malaysia.

They were brought to Patikul, Sulu where they experienced 13 encounters between government troops and their captors.

In one of the encounters on September 28, 2020, operating troops recovered the dead body of one Indonesian named Daeng Akbal Labaa during clearing operations.

He was believed to have died of a heart attack. The cadaver was later turned over to Indonesian authorities.

“Given the lessons learned in the past, the AFP has fully recognized that we need to operate, not just as an instrument of war and a tool of policy but as a vital partner in nation-building, as we endeavor to sustain peace and stability for current and future generations of Filipinos,” Sobejana said. (MNS)

No mass face-to-face training, seminars for teachers — DepEd MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday maintained that it does not allow mass face-toface activities related to in-service training and other seminars for teachers.

“The Department strictly adheres to the guidelines and required health protocols on work and office arrangements set by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), the Department of Health, and

the Civil Service Commission (CSC),” it said in a statement.

This came after 49 DepEd employees in Zambales tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) after attending two face-to-face seminars in Zambales that were organized by the school heads from March 2 to 6.

It noted that the case is under investigation and “appropriate disciplinary actions for authorities who breached protocols will be taken” upon the completion of the investigation.

“We are closely monitoring our teachers who were unfortunately exposed to the virus. We have also coordinated with the concerned field offices to provide medical assistance and psychosocial support for them,” it said.

To prevent similar incidents, the DepEd urged its field offices to exercise prudence and observe existing alternative work arrangements and protocols of CSC and DepEd, which include the prohibition on large physical gatherings. (MNS)

Faithful warned vs. bogus solicitation e-mail using Tagle's name MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Pontificio Collegio Filippino (Pontifical Filipino College) in Rome on Wednesday has warned the public against an unscrupulous e-mail from a hacked account purportedly soliciting money to pay for the hospital bills of former Manila archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

The Archdiocese of Manila Office of Communications reported that Fr. Gregory Ramon Gaston, rector of Pontificio Collegio Filippino informed the office regarding the e-mail being used which is under the name of a certain Dr. Ramon Ramos.

MANILA ARCHBISHOP LUIS ANTONIO CARDINAL TAGLE

“A hacked e-mail is being used to solicit money for His Eminence Luis Antonio Card. Tagle’s alleged hospitalization in UMC De La Salle, Dasmarinas City, Cavite. The hacked e-mail containing the fraudulent appeal bears the name of Dr. Ramon Ramos from Imus, Cavite (Cardinal Tagle’s hometown),” Gaston said in a statement.

Gaston also confirmed that Tagle is in good health performing his tasks in his office at the Vatican concerning evangelization.

“Please rest assured that Cardinal Tagle is doing well in Rome, carrying out his ministry at the Vatican as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples,” Gaston added.

He reported that Tagle was received

by Pope Francis on Monday noon in an audience with the residents of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino during the 60th anniversary celebration of the institution.

In 2015, Tagle’s personal email address was hacked.

In January 2020, before the cardinal flew to the Vatican for his new assignment, a fraudulent text message also circulated asking for cash donations to buy a gift for him during a supposed farewell Mass and testimonial dinner.

The public is warned and reminded that the official communications channel of Tagle is only through the Vatican and not through any private person using e-mail or social media accounts. (MNS)

Saturday-Friday | March 27 - April 2, 2021

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3rd stimulus package much-needed lifeline for Pinoys — Velasco MANILA (Mabuhay) — Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Wednesday said a third economic stimulus package would provide the "much-needed lifeline" for impacted households and businesses amid the upsurge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the country.

Velasco said another round of economic stimulus package worth PHP420 billion under his proposed “Bayanihan to Arise As One Act” (Bayanihan 3) is necessary as more areas were placed under localized lockdowns and some businesses were again forced to shut down due to the upward trend in the number of new cases, especially in the National Capital Region.

“There are a lot of Filipinos who are suffering financially and are in dire need of help now,” Velasco said.

“A third economic stimulus package will provide a much-needed lifeline to individuals, families, and businesses severely affected by the pandemic.”

It proposes to allocate PHP108 billion for additional social amelioration to impacted households, PHP100 billion for capacity-building for impacted sectors, PHP52 billion for wage subsidies, PHP70 billion for capacity-building for agricultural producers, PHP30 billion for internet allowances to students and teachers, PHP30 bil-

lion for assistance to displaced workers, P H P 2 5 billion for C o v i d -19 treatment a nd v a ccines, and PHP5 billion for t he rehabi l itat ion of a reas i mpacted by recent SPEAKER LORD ALLAN VELASCO floods and typhoons. said.

Under Vel a s c o s a id a the measure, each household member will receive PHP1,000 regardless of t h i r d s t i m u l u s their economic status. On top of this, package is necesa PHP1,000 allowance will be provid- sary in the wake of ed to each student and teacher and a Philippine StatisPHP8,000 for every displaced worker. tics Authorit y reVelasco said he got an assurance port that around 4 f rom Fina nce Secreta r y Ca rlos million adult FilipiDominguez III that efforts are being nos, representing 8.7 made to identify funding sources for percent of the labor force, lost their jobs the Bayanihan 3.

“It’s a matter of finding revenues in the first month of to be able to fund those programs. the year even as the Secretary Dominguez did not actually economy further reshoot down Bayanihan 3,” Velasco opens. (MNS)

Senate adopts reso condemning killings, violence vs. lawyers, judges MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Senate on Wednesday adopted the resolution strongly condemning the killings and violence against lawyers and judges in the country.

During its plenary session, the chamber adopted Senate Resolution 691, filed by eight lawyer-senators, which also urges President Rodrigo Duterte to undertake steps to ensure the safety of the members of the legal profession.

The resolution was filed and approved a day after the Supreme Court denounced the killings of and threats against lawyers following calls for the high court to protect members of the legal profession.

In his sponsorship of the measure, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, himself a former justice secretary, lamented how lawyers are being gunned down, murdered, and summarily executed “at dawn, in broad daylight or at night” or “on their way to work, at work, on their way home or at home.”

Citing the study of the Free Legal Assistance Group, he pointed out that 100 lawyers have been murdered in the last 10 years.

He also mentioned the data from the Department of Justice showing that 54

members of the legal profession have been killed since 2016, of which only five cases reached the court.

“The situation is made worse by the lack of general condemnation, of prompt and efficient investigation, and impartial prosecution.... This horrendous pattern of taking lives and violence, impunity, lack of accountability, and apathy are symptoms of a government ran by rule of men and not by rule of law,” Drilon said.

“We must put a stop to this madness.

We therefore condemn, in the strongest sense, these killings of and acts of violence, against members of the bar and bench. To not act nor speak will be an act of cowardice," he added.

Drilon also called on the President to undertake necessary steps to ensure the safety and protection of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.

"We ask that he lays out definitive solutions and actions to address the rampant and unspeakable violence and killings. We petition for prompt, impartial, and efficient investigation and prosecution of the cases. We seek justice for our slain colleagues,” he said.

“The failure to condemn, investigate, and prosecute these, and bring the perpetrators to justice is an act of injustice in itself.

To not act nor speak will be an act of cowardice,” he added.

Apart from Drilon, other senators who introduced the measure a re Senator s Son ny Angara, Pia Cayetano, Leila De Lima, Richard Gordon, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and Francis Tolentino. (MNS)

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Duterte wants 'anak ng artista' who got vaccine probed MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday night ordered an investigation on the COVID-19 vaccination of the child of an actor in Parañaque City.

In his nationally televised briefing, Duterte emphasized the importance of the vaccine priority list as this is part of the conditions posted by the World Health Organization.

“Hindi nasunod, yung iba balita ko naibigay sa mga anak ng artista, at iba pa, the favored few always,” Duterte said.

“Dapat sundin natin kasi sinabi sa atin ng country representative ng WHO if we don’t follow the list of priority, we might lose the assistance of WHO. It was made clear to us,” he added.

Duterte did not mention the name of the actor but ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to investigate and file a complaint at the Ombudsman.

“Ikaw (Duque) na bahala, ayaw ko na lang magpangalan ng tao. It happened sa Parañaque, anak ito ng artista. Kayo na ang bahala mag-imbestiga nito,” he said.

“Let the legal office handle or idiretso mo na, make a report out of that incident and diretso mo na sa Ombudsman. Mas mabuti, mas madali,” Duterte added.

Earlier, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III called out the vaccination of actor Mark Anthony Fernandez against COVID-19 in Parañaque City.

Fernandez said he received a dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.

Densing said Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez has the command responsibility for the incident.

Based on the prioritization set by the national government, the vaccination rollout in the country will start with frontline health workers followed by indigent senior citizens, remaining senior citizens, remaining indigent population, and uniformed personnel. (MNS)

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IN-HOME CAREGIVERS:

ARE YOU PAID OVERTIME? IF you are employed as a 24-hour caregiver, working around-the-clock to provide care and assistance to an individual inside their home, you are most likely entitled to overtime compensation. If you are paid a fixed daily rate, regardless of the actual hours you work or the quality and quantity of work you perform, you are not receiving overtime compensation and likely have a valuable claim for wage theft. This is true whether you are hired directly by the care recipient or paid though a home care agency.

In 2014 the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (“DWBR”) became law in California.

The law was passed as part of a movement to enhance the rights of domestic workers, whom the California Legislature deemed to be some of the most invisible and vulnerable workers in the state. Now, under the DWBR, in-home caregivers are entitled to receive overtime wages for all hours worked in excess of 9 in a day or 45 in a week.

Starting in 2021, most 24-hour caregivers working in California must be paid a minimum of $409.50 per day to comply with the requirements of the DWBR. The first 9-hours of work should be paid at the legal minimum wage rate of $13.00 per hour, which equals $117.00. Then, for the remaining 15 hours, the law requires overtime payments at a rate of $19.50 per hour, which amounts to an additional $292.50 per day.

Unfortunately, in actual practice, most caregivers receive far less than the applicable minimum wage, often earning as little as $180 to $240 per day. A 24-hour caregiver who is earning less than $409.50 per day likely has a very valuable claim for wage theft.

For example, if you are a caregiver working 24-hours per day, 5 days per week for a daily rate of $200/day, your weekly unpaid overtime claim is calculated as follows: Your daily rate of $200 is divided by 9 hours to calculate a regular rate of pay, equal to $22.22 per hour. Your overtime rate is 1.5 times your

regular rate of pay, which amounts to $33.33 per hour.

Your pre-determined salary does not compensate you, at all, for the 15 daily overtime hours you work. So, each day, you accrue $500.00 of unpaid overtime wages.

Employers, who willfully fail to pay an employee the requisite overtime compensation, are also subject to liquidated damages, which could add an additional $195.00 per day to the wage theft claim. Plus, the law provides for interest, attorneys fees, and penalties.

In the above example, the hypothetical caregiver is owed $3,475 in unpaid overtime wages per week. On a yearly basis, the overtime claim alone exceeds $180,000. We have helped many caregivers whose claims exceed $500,000 in damages with the addition of penalties, liquidated damages and interest, after working for several years.

Caregivers, who are victims of wage theft, may recover their unpaid wages going back 4 years from the date a lawsuit is filed in court. We have helped many caregivers file claims against their former employers. Even if you last worked several years ago, you still have time to pursue a claim. The one exception is if the care recipient patient has passed away. In that instance, a claim against the care recipient’s estate must be filed within 1 year of their passing, or sooner if an estate has been opened.

If you are a caregiver and are hesitant to proceed with claims for wage theft against your current or former employer please visit our website at www. caregiverovertime.com/pa/concerns/ to review our article that addresses many of the common concerns we have heard from caregivers.

If you are a caregiver working 24-hour shifts without overtime compensation, we want to talk with you about your legal rights. We provide compassionate and confidential consultations. Please contact us at (818) 807-4168, for a free case evaluation.

This article is an attorney advertisement written by Daniel Chaleff, employment law attorney at Chaleff Rehwald Peterson. Our office is located at 5855 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 400, Woodland Hills, California. We accept cases throughout all of Northern and Southern California. Our examples are of a general nature and are not a guarantee regarding the outcome of your individual matter. The law firm focuses on caregiver rights. Please call us at (818) 807-4168 for a free and confidential consultation. Please visit us at www.caregiverovertime.com/ to learn more about caregiver overtime law.

We offer a 24-hour chat line on our website.

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Baguio to temporarily stop entry of tourists from 'NCR Plus' — Magalong MANILA (Mabuhay) — Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday announced that tourists from the National Capital Region and nearby provinces would temporarily be banned following the latest travel restrictions enforced amid the rising COVID-19 infections.

Magalong said this would affect the number of tourists who plan to visit the City of Pines, especially during the Lenten season.

"Because of this recent issuance of Resolution 104 by IATF, we will also make the necessary adjustments... hindi tayo tatanggap ng tourists coming from NCR and some parts of Regions III and IV, specifically Rizal,

Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna..." Magalong said.

"That comprises about 70% of our visitors. So we're expecting a downtrend of our visitors especially this Holy Week and that's one way of controlling mobility. We need to control mobility," he added.

Over the weekend, the Philippine government announced new travel restrictions going to and from the bubble of Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan.

Non-essential travel will no longer be allowed beginning March 22 until April 4 to help in preventing the further transmission of the virus.

In Baguio City, Magalong bared that

PSA registers 15M more Filipinos to PhilSys in Q1 M A NIL A (Mabu hay) — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday that over 15 million Filipinos have completed the Step 1 registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) since its registration expansion to all provinces this year.

This step, which involves the house-tohou se col lec t ion of demog r aph ic i n formation of low-income household heads and appointment setting for Step 2, recorded a total of 15,083,353 registrants from January 18 to date across 81 provinces, and all cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The total number of registrants is based on manual counts from PSA field offices. This brings total Step 1 registrations to 25.7 million Filipinos since its rollout in October 2020.

“We are optimistic that we w ill achieve our 2021 target given our pace in reaching the 15 million mark for Step 1 registration this quarter. We will rampup our operations and continue to adjust our strategy in light of the pandemic to ensure the safety of our registrants and registration staff,” PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a statement.

Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista, deputy national statistician of the PhilSys Registry

Office (PRO), said the PSA aims to make the Step 1 registration more accessible by launching an online portal next month so registrants can complete this step at the safety and comfort of their homes.

“We thank the public for embracing the PhilSys program and we hope that this enthusiasm continues as we open the PhilSys online portal soon. The demand for this online registration is critical in realizing the goals of PhilSys so Filipinos can enjoy its uses and benefits,” she said.

PhilSys Step 1 registrations previously recorded 10.6 million registrants in 32 provinces from October 12 to the end of December 2020, surpassing PSA’s initial goal of nine million registrants.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Kendrick Chua earlier announced that PhilSys’ target registrations for this year were set to at least 50 million.

Chua also reassured that registration operations will continue to strictly implement health and safety protocols for the safety of both registrants and the staff.

The Step 2 registration, which involves the validation of supporting documents and capture of biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris scans,

and front-facing photographs at registration centers as per the registrants’ appointments, is currently taking place in 32 priority provinces.

PSA intends to ramp up operations for the Step 2 PhilSys registration on a gradual, smallscale basis. of February 23, all priority provinces have at least one registration center in operation.

The Step 3 registration, as the third and final step, is the issuance of the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the physical ID or the PhilID. The PSN is a randomly generated number and will serve as a permanent identification number for every registrant used for digital transactions.

PSA partnered with PHLPost for the delivery of the PSN and PhilID to successful registrants.

Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.

The national ID will be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.

It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government ser v ices where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (MNS)

they just had their active community testing for four days and that resulted in 30 positive cases out of 2,641 individuals.

To prevent COVID-19 transmission in the city, Magalong said offices should implement a 50% working capacity. (MNS)

Pacquiao keen on running for president in 2022 — Sotto MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday said Senator Manny Pacquiao is interested in running for president in the 2022 elections.

In an interview with reporters, Sotto said he and Pacquiao, on two occasions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, have talked about the latter's plan to run for president.

"Sometime ago, nagkausap kami. Nabanggit niya sa akin na interesado siya na tumakbo sa pagkapangulo," Sotto said.

(Some time ago, we were able to talk. He mentioned to me that he is interested in running for president.)

"Yun pa lang ang usapan namin. Kwentuhan lang," he added.

Sotto, however, said that during their talks, Pacquiao did not specifically ask for any form of help from him.

"Siguro ako lider ng Senado [kaya niya ako kinausap], tsaka magkaibigan kami," he said.

"Basta nabanggit niya na interesado siya. Parang bumubusina siya," he added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson also said on Friday that Pacquiao wants to run for president.

Pacquiao, however, does not want to talk about his plan in public because the country is still facing the threat of COVID-19 pandemic, Lacson said.

Pacquiao has been saying that now is not the time to talk about elections or politics. He said helping those in need must be prioritized.

He ranked third in the survey conducted by OCTA Research on the Filipinos' preference for next president. (MNS) SENATOR MANNY PACQUIAO

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AFP to deploy more Navy ships for WPS patrols MANILA (Mabuhay) — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff, Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, has ordered the deployment of additional Philippine Navy ships to bolster the conduct of maritime sovereignty patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In a statement Thursday, AFP spokesperson, Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, said this additional naval presence in the area aims to reassure the Filipino people that the military remains committed to protecting and defending them from harassment.

The Philippine Navy patrol vessel BRP Andres Bonifacio (foreground) and "By the increased naval presence landing platform dock BRP Davao Del Sur (Photo: Philippine Navy) in the area, we seek to reassure our people of the AFP’s strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment and ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the country’s rich fishing MANILA (Mabuhay) — Government must address attacks on members ground which is the source of their of the legal profession or it risks losing the public's faith in the country's livelihood," he said. justice system, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said Thursday.

Due to the vastness of the country's Some 61 lawyers, prosecutors, and judges have been killed since 2016 maritime domains, Arevalo said the when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, according to a Free AFP's Western Command is the govLegal Assistance Group study. ernment’s “eyes and ears” by providThe first step must be to "do justice bilis" (immediate justice), said IBP ing vital information on what is hapPresident Domingo Cayosa. pening in that part of the Philippines.

"No amount of condemnation, public statements and resolutions will "The importance of the data obchange the mindset of a criminal if they know they can get away with tained from our littoral monitoring it," he said. stations, from our Marines manning "If it’s not decisively addressed, the biggest setback dito is the country the islands, islets, and features they loses faith in our justice system. If the administrators of justice... are occupy, and those from regular aerial killed and attacked with impunity, sino ang maniniwala sa batas, sa and maritime sovereignty that are gobyerno, sa hustisya?" contained in our reports to the NTF The Supreme Court earlier condemned threats against and killings of WPS (National Task Force for the West lawyers and judges in the country and said it was taking steps to address Philippine Sea) cannot be overemthese. phasized," he added.

Among these include working on rules on law enforcers' use of body Aside from these measures, the AFP cameras for the service of search and arrest warrants, the high court said. likewise resorts to non-traditional The Philippine National Police is open to using body cameras in serving means to manage the issues arising search warrants, Cayosa said, adding that he has spoken with Lt. Gen. in the WPS. Guillermo Eleazar on the matter.

"AFP representatives engaged on "They have no objection to that, perhaps not for all operations, only for March 24, 2021 their Chinese counsearch warrants," he said. "It’s a small step but it’s in the right direction." terpart in a meeting to discuss the Red-baiting attacks against judges and lawyers must also be addressed situation obtaining in the WPS as with "immediate rigorous persistent pushback," Cayosa said. reported. We conveyed the Defense He cited as an example the red-tagging of Mandaluyong Regional Trial Secretary’s (Delfin Lorenzana) deCourt Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio, whose photo was seen on 2 mand for the vessels to leave Julian tarpaulins along with communist rebel logos.

Felipe Reef where 183 vessels were "The IBP Pasig chapter coordinated with local authorities and had it sighted per AFP’s recent aerial patrol," taken down immediately. Salita (speaking out) is okay but action is more Arevalo said. important," Cayosa said. (MNS) In the meeting, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) representatives reiterated their government’s assurance that those ships were not manned by militia and that those were constrained to seek shelter in the area when inclement weather MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Joel Villanueva is urging the national govhampered their fishing activity. ernment to start vaccinating essential workers before the COVID-19 vaccines "He also committed to making him- expire and end up being thrown away. self available to discuss and explain He reiterated his call to administer the vaccines to other frontline workers any future issues involving the PLA," as well because they, too, deserve to be vaccinated.

Arevalo said.

“Vaccination should be time-on-target because Earlier, the NTF WPS expressed vaccines have expiry dates," Villanueva, who concern about a Philippine Coast chairs the Senate labor committee, said in a Guard report that around 220 Chistatement. nese fishing vessels, believed to be “Instead of throwing away, use it now." manned by Chinese maritime miVillanueva said that while frontline health litia personnel, were sighted in line workers should always be prioritized, other formation at the Julian Felipe Reef workers who provide essential services and on March 7. expose themselves to risks of COVID-19 infec“The NTF WPS notes this circumtions should also be given priority. stance as a concern due to the possiHe added that after the health workers, othble overfishing and destruction of the er essential workers should be the next in line marine environment, as well as risks “in case there is inventory in danger of being to the safety of navigation,” the spoiled.”

NTF WPS said.

“A good operation is one which has a conThe reef is a large bootingency. Even in airplanes, there is a merang-shaped shallow wait list isn’t it?” he said. coral reef at the northVillanueva also stressed the need east of Pagka kaisa to prioritize public transportation Banks and Reefs (Undrivers and workers who deliver ion Reefs), located essential goods in the COVID-19 approximately 175 vaccination. nautical miles west “They meet and exceed the defiof Bataraza, Palanition of essential workers who, wan. (MNS) by the nature of their work, are SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA exposed to risk. They are in close

Gov't risks losing public's faith in justice system if attacks on lawyers unresolved — IBP

Villanueva: Vaccinate essential workers before vaccines expire

China incursion in Julian Felipe Reef may be prelude to occupation — Carpio MANILA (Mabuhay) — Filipinos should be "very wary" of what's happening in Julian Felipe Reef, where around 183 Chinese vessels were moored, as it may be a prelude to occupation and building of a naval base, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday.

Carpio, who was among luminaries that represented Manila before an international tribunal in its case against Beijing, said China cannot park its militia vessels on Julian Felipe Reef "because that is not their exclusive economic zone." There were also no storms around the area as was previously claimed.

He added, this was not the first time this happened because at the same time last year, there were also "hundreds" of Chinese ships parked on the reef.

"The way I look at it, this is a prelude to occupying the Julian Felipe Reef, just like what they did to Mischief Reef in 1995. They started with saying they just built fishermen shelter on Mischief Reef. Now, Mischief Reef is their air and naval base, they call it their Pearl Harbor in the South China Sea. It’s a huge air and naval base," he said.

"I’m particularly worried that they will now start claiming, building on Julian Felipe Reef just like what they did on Mischief Reef," he said.

Authorities said the Philippine Coast Guard had reported that about 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were sighted in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said 183 vessels were seen on Monday morning in the area that China calls Niu'e Jiao and claims to be part of its Nansha Undao.

The Philippines has since filed a diplomatic protest over their presence at the reef, which is located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

Carpio said while it's not immediately clear when exactly China will build on Julian Felipe Reef, "that has been their playbook, that’s what they did to Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, and even in Sandy Cay." "We should be wary, very wary of what’s happening in Julian Felipe Reef," he said. (MNS) contact with hundreds of passengers and customers a day,” he said.

“If there’s no transportation, who would bring our nurses to the hospital, or cashier to the grocery, or the pharmacist to drug stores? Who will deliver food or groceries if there are no riders?” he added.

According to the government's vaccination roadmap, health workers and frontliners from select government offices will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by indigent senior citizens, other senior citizens, and other indigents.

The Philippines began its COVID-19 vaccination program on March 1 after the arrival of 600,000 doses of donated Sinovac vaccines, which was immediately followed by 487,000 doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca.

On March 7, another batch of 38,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in the country.

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Closing biz again would spell disaster for PH — PRRD MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday admitted that closing businesses amid a spike in Covid-19 cases nationwide would spell “disaster” for the Philippine economy.

In a pre-recorded public address, Duterte made the statement after he approved placing Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal under a general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble until April 4 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

He acknowledged that the surge in Covid-19 cases could be due to the fact that many areas in Metro Manila are “heavily laden” with people, including Divisoria, Manila’s famous flea market.

“Nanonood ako ng TV (I watch TV) and every time Covid is being discussed they play a certain footage dun sa (in) Divisoria.

How can you control the people there? It’s such a small place, there are so many thousands there trying to wriggle in and out of…’yan ang mahirap because of the space na wala kasi tapos dumating itong pandemya dito tayo nahirapan (that’s what makes it difficult because of the lack of space and then this pandemic happened that’s why we’re having problems),” he said.

Duterte, however, said he could not impose another lockdown since people’s source of livelihood would be affected.

“Kung sarahan mo naman ‘yan lahat medyo tagilid na ang ekonomiya (If you close it all our economy is not in good shape) and that’s a problem. Kung sarahan mo talaga lahat (If you close it all), it would be disaster for the country. So balance balance nalang tayo (So we have to maintain a balance),” he added.

Duterte also defended his decision to impose additional restrictions in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces, stressing that the state can control the movement of the people especially under a prevailing health crisis.

“The curtailment of your freedom to travel is always subject to the power of the state to control the movement of its citizens especially if there is a pandemic.

The state has that kind of power although hindi ‘yan sa (it’s not) martial law. It’s just putting you in the right places at this time,” he said.

On Sunday, Duterte approved additional restrictions in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces for two weeks to cut by 25 percent the number of Covid-19 cases nationwide.

Currently, operational capacities of essential and non-essential services/industries will be maintained subject to minimum health standards.

Gyms and fitness centers inside the GCQ bubble are allowed to operate up to 75 percent of their capacity while spas are allowed to operate up to 50 percent capacity.

The operation of gyms, fitness centers, and spas is subject to adherence to safety protocols and minimum public health standards, particularly in the prohibition of aggregation in communal areas such as pantries and canteens, among others.

These establishments will only be allowed to operate depending on the local government units (LGUs). Quezon City has prohibited the operation of these establishments.

In restaurants, only outdoor dining will be allowed at 50

percent operational capacity provided that engineering and administrative controls are in place like acrylic or small dividers, limiting to two persons per table, among other. Indoor dining in restaurants, cafes, and similar establishments will be limited to delivery and take-out.

Operations of driving schools, traditional cinemas and video

and interactive game arcades, libraries, archives, museums, and cultural centers, limited social events at accredited tourism establishments and limited tourism attractions will be temporarily suspended except openair tourism attractions.

All public gatherings including religious gatherings are prohibited while face-to-face meetings

are discouraged. Weddings, baptisms, and funeral services will be limited to 10 persons.

There will a be a common curfew imposed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. However, workers, cargo vehicles, and public transportation will not be restricted by the said curfew.

Public transportation will also retain current capacity. (MNS)

Loans for Covid-19 vaccines still with multilateral lenders MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday reiterated that the approved loans made by the Philippines to purchase Covid-19 vaccines are still with multilateral lenders.

This, after Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Risa Hontiveros questioned where the funds for the Covid-19 vaccines are.

Duterte defended the government’s financing scheme for vaccines, noting that they had to borrow funds from multilateral lenders — World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) — to be able pay for vaccines.

He explained that the government has not used “a single centavo” from the borrowed funds because they have yet to receive doses of the Covid-19 vaccines they purchased.

“Ang buong akala kasi nila yung pera na bilyon bilyon na ibinigay nila nandiyan na kamay natin (They must have thought that the billions they gave us are in our hands), that is cold cash. Sinasabi na natin (We keep saying) time and again that the money is with the lending bank still so we have not used any single centavo because as a matter of fact about the vaccines that we are going to buy pero donated ito lahat sa ngayon (but what we have now is all donated),” he said.

For its initial vaccination rollout that started on March 1, the government is using 600,000 doses donated vaccines from Chinese drugmaker Sinovac and 525,600 from COVAX facility, the World Health Organization’s (WHO)

global vaccine sharing scheme.

Duterte said the Sinovac-made CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccines that will be arriving this week are the ones purchased by the government and that it would be the time that the bank will pay the vaccine manufacturer.

“It’s the bank who will pay upon our advice na nadeliver na yung bakuna. Hindi tayo ang magpunta, sila through paperwork (that the vaccines have been delivered. We won’t pay for them, it’s them paying through paperwork),” he added.

He, meanwhile, allayed concerns that the government’s financing scheme for Covid-19 vaccines is tainted with corruption.

“If you are afraid of corruption let your mind go easy because these things are not susceptible to anything. The money is in the hands of the bank and they collect, yung nagpabili sa’tin ng bakuna (the vaccine manufacturers collect), from the bank. Hindi sa atin na pumunta ‘yan kay [Finance Secretary] Sonny Dominguez na bubuksan niya yung drawer tapos sasabihin niya ‘Eto na yung pambayad.’

Hindi ho (It doesn’t pass through us or Sonny Dominguez where he can just open his drawer and say ‘Here’s the payment.’ It’s not like that),” he said.

Dominguez, for his part, explained that vaccine financing only amounts to PHP82.5 billion, not trillions of pesos.

He added that borrowing funds from multilateral lenders is a form of taking advantage of lower interest rates. (MNS)

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Heart Evangelista recalls being a fan of Jolina Magdangal's style

JOLINA MAGDANGAL

HEART EVANGELISTA

B

efore becoming one of the Philippines' top fashion influencers, Heart Evangelista looked up to Jolina Magdangal and her colorful style in the '90s.

Evangelista made the revelation in her latest vlog as she showed her favorite accessories and bags, saying

that she was drawn to Magdangal's unique style choices when she was young.

"A little trivia: I was definitely a fan of my dear friend, Jolina Magdangal.

I thought that she was very unique and reminded me of people that really celebrated their individuality," Evangelista said. "I could definitely relate to that because I was like that. More is more, and it was my way of expressing myself."

"I remember when I saw Jolina Magdangal, she had all these clips and she would

dress up and didn't mind if she mixed patterns and whatever.

And I really loved that about her because it made her unique," she added.

Back in the '90s, Magdangal was known for her glittery butterfly clips, psychedelic outfits, and platform shoes, among others.

Today, she is one of the hosts of the ABS-CBN morning talk show "Magandang Buhay" alongside Karla Estrada and Melai Cantiveros.

Similarly, Evangelista was known for wearing many accessories when she started out in showbiz as a teen.

Recalling her younger years, she said: "Ever since I was a little girl, I would always accessorize.

And when I started my showbiz career, I was known for having all these abubot."

Some of Evangelista's favorite accessories in her collection are from Dolce and Gabbana and Chanel. Her more expensive pieces, she said, are safely kept in a bank. (MNS)

Richard Yap feels ‘welcomed’ by Kapuso network MANILA (Mabuhay) — Richard Yap is feeling at home as he starts working on one of his first projects with the Kapuso network.

Shooting the newest offering of “I Can See You” titled “On My Way To You,” Richard shared that the cast instantly bonded, making work a lot easier.

“I’ve been warmly welcomed here at the Kapuso channel and I’ve been very happy to work with them because ang bilis ng rap-

port naming lahat so we had a lot of fun,” he said at an online press conference for the series.

“I can only say good things about working with everyone here at GMA,” he added.

The Kapuso actor added that he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, and everyone was “down to earth” and made an effort to befriend him.

“Walang nagpapa-feel sa ’yo na baguhan ka lang, na

galing ka sa kabila. I never had that feeling so everyone

RICHARD YAP

was so welcoming. Ang ganda ng bonding namin.”

“On My Way To You” will premiere March 22 starring Shaira Diaz and Ruru Madrid, who will play the characters Raki and Jerrick.

Richard is also set to play Heart Evangelista’s leading man on GMA’s upcoming series “I Left My Heart in Sorsogon.”

The actor officially signed a contract with GMA Artist Center in December 2020.

(MNS)

Kira Balinger opens up about closeness with Grae Fernandez MANILA (Mabuhay) — Kira Balinger is not denying that she and Grae Fernandez are much closer now than when they started working together on “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin.”

In fact, Balinger is grateful to have Fernandez as her onscreen partner, saying he’s been very supportive of her whenever they have scenes together.

“Every scene is always memorable with him kasi lagi siyang nagbibigay,” she said in an article by Push.

“Naaalala ko dun sa paborito kong scene, which was yung aminan. There were times where we would have to cut para ilipat yung camera, tapos the noise was very distracting. So there were a few minutes where I had to like recalibrate and get back into the scene. Grae was there talking back at me like Jake talaga, para ma-feel ko ulit

si Hope. And talagang napakalaking tulong 'yun sa akin nung time na yun. So, thanks Grae for that. I’m glad na ikaw yun.”

Fernandez and Balinger’s closeness has translated well onscreen, going by the growing fanbase they continue to draw. Already, their tandem has been dubbed “KiRae” by a community of fans on social media.

But aside from being a wonderful co-actor, Balinger is also thankful for the friendship that she and Fernandez have even when they are not working.

“Thank you Grae for letting me in and getting to know you. Nothing specific naman pero the fact na mas nag-uusap kami and nagkakuwentuhan and we eat together, natutuwa ako doon,” she said.

Despite their closeness, Balinger said both of them

are not yet ready to take their friendship to the next level.

“I have to be very honest with you. I cannot lie sa inyong lahat. Sa panahon ngayon, I would just really like to enjoy the friendship that I have with Grae right now.”

Nonetheless, she is not closing her doors to any possibilities in the future.

“Nothing is set in stone. I’m not closing my doors or anything. We both have a lot of maturing to do as of now pero in the future, tingnan natin.” (MNS)

KIRA BALINGER

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Anne Curtis is first Filipino to reach 14M followers on Twitter

ANNE CURTIS MANILA (Mabuhay) — Anne Curtis became the first Filipino to reach 14 million followers on Twitter, the latest indication of her Forbes-approved status as one of the most influential personalities in Asia.

“Thank you, my tweethearts!” Curtis said, with a heart emoji, in response to a fan page posting a screenshot of her follower number indicating 14M. Curtis, who has been active on Twitter since March 2009, has been using the platform not only to interact with fans, but also to comment on national issues and advocate causes dear to her, particularly children’s welfare.

Curtis has also shared personal milestones on the micro-blogging site, from her engagement and wedding, to becoming a first-time mom.

Over the years, Curtis has been consistently the most followed Philippine personality on Twitter. Ranking below her in the top five, in order, are Vice Ganda, Angel Locsin, Kathryn Bernardo, and Daniel Padilla.

Kathryn Bernardo, Angel Locsin, Anne Curtis among 'Asia's 100 Digital Stars' In December 2020, Curtis was named among the Top 100 Digital Stars in Asia by Forbes magazine. The list was determined by the celebrities’ social media reach and engagement, as well as their recent work, impact, and advocacy amid the pandemic.

Other Filipinos who made that list were Vice Ganda, Locsin, Bernardo, Kim Chiu, Marian Rivera, and Sarah Geronimo.

(MNS)

Carla Abellana, Tom Rodriguez are now engaged

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez are engaged.

The couple announced it in their respective Instagram pages, sharing photos of Abellana’s engagement ring.

“A million times, YES,” Abella wrote in the caption.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, quoted Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and wrote: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this…”

Abellana and Rodriguez got engaged in October.

The two were immediate congratulated by their celebrity friends including Heart Evangelista, Erich Gonzales, Rayver Cruz, Jodi Sta. Maria, Solenn Heussaff and many others.

Rodriguez, a former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate, has been dating Abellana since 2014. (MNS)

Saturday-Friday | March 27 - April 2, 2021

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Proud dad Mark Anthony Fernandez has this advice to son Grae: 'Trabaho lang nang trabaho'

MARK ANTHONY FERNANDEZ

M

ark Anthony Fernandez cannot be any prouder that his 19-year-old son Grae followed in his footsteps and also embarked on an acting career.

“I’m happy with everything that has been happening to my son now,” Fernandez said. “Alam ko ‘yung puso niya. Gusto niya talagang maging artista. Natutuwa talaga ako at nagsusumikap siya.”

Now separated from his wife Melissa Garcia, Fernandez took it

upon himself to advice his son about showbiz.

“Ako na ‘yung nagkusang loob a few t i me s noong may pagkakataon na akong magpayo,” he said.

“Proud ako bilang tatay at may maganGRAE FERNANDEZ d a n g n a n gyari sa kanya.

Nagbibinata siya at nagiging independent. Huwag siyang mawalan ng patience being an actor.

“Trabaho lang ng trabaho.

Hanap lang ng magandang kwento o magandang project at maka-jackpot din siya na talagang markado ang role. Pwede niyang mapanalo ‘yung role at magustuhan ng tao.”

Given a chance, Fernandez expressed his desire to work on former senator Gringo Honasan’s biopic, with Grae as his costar. “Can anybody convince a producer to buy the story rights

of Senator Gringo Honasan?”

Fernandez asked.

“Maybe Grae can also be in it or I can be in it with Grae, that will be a big project for both us,” he said. “Kung maganda ang project, bakit hindi kami magsasama? We really need a good project to work together.

Alam ko mangyayari din ‘yan.”

The son of Rudy Fernandez and Alma Moreno, Fernandez made his mark in his early films like Jose Javier Reyes’ “Pare Ko,” Rory Quintos’ “Mangarap Ka” and Jose Carreon’s “Matimbang Pa sa Dugo,” all shown in 1995. He earned best actor and best supporting actor citations for those films.

Fernandez saw the decline of his career and lived with it. He did fi lms that bombed at the tills. But after experiencing a career slump, he bounced back and revitalized his career, doing one compelling performance after another.

In 2019, Fernandez was cast in the blockbuster Metro Manila Film Festival entry, director Nuel Naval’s “Miracle in Cell No.

7,” top-billed by Aga Muhlach and child star Xia Vigor.

Fernandez has visibly lost weight after constantly working out.

“Bilang artista, ang feeling ko wala akong dating kapag hindi proper ang weight ko,” he said.

“So kahit papano, I really tried to lose weight. I even came to a point where kailangan ko pang ipagdasal ang weight ko. Buti na lang answered prayers at salamat kay God.” Fernandez plays angel Michael, who wants to kill the anti-Christ in the Lenten offering, “Biyernes Santo,” which will be streamed on VivaMax starting March 26. At the helm is director Pedring Lopez, whose earlier credits included “Binhi,” “Nilalang” and “Maria” (which garnered 10 nominations in the forthcoming Star Awards for Movies).

Others in the cast of “Biyernes Santo,” who were personally handpicked by Lopez, are Gardo Versoza, Andrea del Rosario, Ella Cruz and 14-year-old newcomer Via Ortega. (MNS)

Maja Salvador launches artist management company MANILA (Mabuhay) — Maja Salvador has announced that she is now managed by her very own company named Crown Artist Management Inc. “Ako po ay sobrang excited sa bagong yugto ng aking career at makita kung saan ako nito dadalhin. Sa aking pagpapatuloy dito sa industriya, I think the best move for me now is to manage myself,” she said.

“At para magawa ko po ito successfully, I put up Crown Artist Management Inc., kasama ang mga tao na malapit sa puso ko.”

The actress thanked her former management for the guidance and opportunities it gave her.

She also said she hoped her fans and the public would continue to support her in her new endeavor.

“Sa malaking hakbang na

ito with my own management company sana tuloy tuloy niyo pa din po akong suportahan in this new journey of mine trying to make other people's dreams come true as well, tulad na lang ng pagtupad niyo ng sarili kong pangarap.”

In the comments, friends and fellow celebrities have been sending their messages of support, including Kris Bernal, Raymond Gutierrez, and Alex Medina. (MNS)

Baby No. 5: It’s another boy for Kristine Hermosa and Oyo Sotto

OYO AND KRISTINE MANILA (Mabuhay) — Having admittedly prayed for a baby girl, celebrity couple Kristine Hermosa and Oyo Sotto shared that their fifth child is a boy, through an updated sonogram of the actress’ pregnancy.

“It’s a boy! Again!” Sotto wrote on Instagram, with a laughing emoji.

“Thank you Lord! We were really praying for a girl, pero ito ang binigay ng Panginoon. Babae man o lalaki, we are more than grateful to God. He knows and controls everything,” he said.

Sotto and Hermosa, both 37, have four children: Kiel, Kaleb, Vin, and Ondrea — the only girl.

When the couple announced their latest pregnancy in December 2020, Hermosa included a photo of Ondrea’s prayer for a sister.

Referring to the yet-unanswered prayer, Sotto, in his post on Tuesday, quipped: “So paano na Lord? Ibig ba sabihin may kasunod pa ito?” (MNS)

MAJA SALVADOR

Shaira Diaz says she won't 'run away' from EA Guzman MANIL A (Mabuhay) — Shaira Diaz is firm on keeping her relationship with boyfriend EA Guzman going and is in it for the long run.

While she's playing a runaway bride in the latest episode of "I Can See You," Shaira shared that she doesn’t see herself running away from EA. “Ang dami na namin pinagdaanan, madami nang pinagsamahan so hindi ako [magiging] runaway bride sa kanya kasi masaya ako sa tao, mahal ko yung tao," she said in an online interview.

According to the actress, although they’ve been talking about settling down, she made it clear that she wants to prioritize her dreams for her family first.

“A lam kong medyo matagal pa kasi gusto ko pang matapos sa pagaaral ko eh. Vocal naman ako sa kanya don and marami pa akong goals

(I know that it’ll still take time because I still want to finish my studies. I’m vocal to him about it and I still have a lot of goals)," she said.

On thoughts of marriage, Shaira stated that she considers it “sacred” and should be planned out thoroughly before deciding to do it.

“Gusto ko sig uradong-sigurado ako and ayoko nung pabigla-bigla lang dahil ayoko magpadala sa

mga pressure sa paligid ko (I want to be very sure about it and I don’t want to do it in an instant just because I was pressured by those around me)," she said.

“Grabe ko siyang pahalagahan and malaki siyang factor sa relasyon namin ni EA (I value it a lot and it’s a big factor in our relationship)," she added.

The couple celebrated their eighth anniversary together in February. (MNS) EA AND SHAIRA

16

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Climate change drove ethnic tribes to Philippines: study MANILA — A landmark study has revealed the complex shared origins, inter-relatedness, and genetic diversity of the Filipino people.

Taking advantage of the latest advances in genomics and computational biology, a team of researchers investigated into the Filipino DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

They looked into 2.3 million molecular DNA markers that were known to differ between various populations.

The markers from more than 1,000 individuals, representing 115 Philippine cultural communities, were comprehensively analyzed.

“This finally gives us a clearer picture of who we are as Filipinos, where we came from, and our sense of relatedness.” Carlo Ebeo, Board of Trustee member of the National Museum that was involved in the study, said.

It was revealed that, through time, the Philippines was inhabited by at least five major waves of human migration, starting with Northern and Southern Negritos as the first Filipinos, then followed by Manobo, Sama, and Cordilleran-related populations.

It was previously thought that the search for new arable lands by expanding farmer populations was the main reason for driving population migrations, such as the dispersal Austronesian-speaking groups into the Philippines.

Role of climate change

However, Sweden-based Filipino scientist Dr. Maximilian Larena, who co-led the study, challenged this view.

“Our findings suggest that instead of farming, climate change may have

played a more important role in driving the mass movement of populations in various directions,” he said.

The significant geographic changes may have prompted the migration of Manobo and Sama-related ancestral groups from Borneo into southern Philippines and Cordilleran-related ancestral groups from southern China-Taiwan area into the various islands of the Philippines.

The arrival of Manobo, Sama, and Cordilleran-related groups resulted in interbreeding with resident Negritos.

Interestingly, some Cordillerans remained to be the only Filipino ethnic group that did not show evidence of historical interbreeding with Negritos. They are the only ones in the world who remained to be the unadmixed descendants of Basal East Asians, the study showed.

“This affirms that Cordillerans were isolated for quite some time, which is evident on the retention of distinct indigenous cultural practices and presence of immense linguistic diversity in the region,” Dr. Adrian Albano, a Kalanguya Cordilleran from Ifugao State University and co-author of the study, said.

Additional minor genetic signals were also detected in some Filipino ethnic groups, including Papuan, South Asian, and European genetic ancestry.

The Papuan-related ancestry is found among the coastal ethnic groups of southeastern Philippines. This likely reflects a westward migration or gene flow of Papuan-related ancestry from Papua New Guinea or the Bismarck’s archipelago into eastern Indonesia and subsequently into southeastern

NEW FINDINGS. A study conducted by historians and scientists, in coordination with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Museum and National Commission for Indigenous Peoples, provided new findings on the origin of ethnic tribes in the Philippines. It involved 2.3 million molecular DNA markers. (Photo courtesy of NCIP Facebook) Philippines.

The South Asian or Indian-related genetic signal was detected among the Sama Dilaut and other coastal Sama ethnic groups of southwestern Philippines.

The signal was dated to 500 to 1000 years ago, coinciding with the time when there was increased maritime trading activity between Island Southeast Asia and India.

The European genetic signal was only detected in one percent of all individuals investigated, indicating a limited genetic legacy of the Spanish Colonial Period.

Groundbreaking study

The study was made possible through the partnership between Uppsala University of Sweden, led by Prof. Mattias Jakobsson and Larena, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), through the office of then chairperson Felipe Mendoza de Leon.

“This is a groundbreaking study that the commission heartily endorsed, and we should be thankful for this collaboration as it sheds some light on the longstanding

question of our origins. It will certainly revise our understanding and appreciate that the story of the peopling of the Philippines from three waves of migration as proposed by Otley Beyer is not supported by archeological, genetic, or historical evidence,” says Prof. Felipe Mendoza de Leon of the NCCA. Aside from the extensive network of cultural workers provided by the NCCA, the scientific endeavor was also implemented in collaboration with indigenous cultural communities, local universities, local government units, non-governmental organizations, and regional offices of the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples.

“We are proud to be part of this historical research. It revealed how interconnected we are to each other after all, and that we share a common ancestry.

Recognizing this fact will hopefully carry a message of unity and peace among various ethnic groups, regardless of beliefs,” says Waway Saway of the Talaandig ethnic group of Bukidnon that was involved in the study. (PR)

Bike Coffee: A CDO barista's tale of surviving pandemic

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Like many other workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Ruggierro Nicolae Rubio had to be let go by the hotel where he had been a barista for six years.

As a barista who has long been harboring a dream to own a mini-bar or a coffee shop, the pandemic came as an opportunity to finally turn his plans into reality.

At the height of movement restrictions in March last year, the 29-year-old Rubio began preparing a mobile version of his planned beverage venture, in-between taking odd jobs for 10 months.

As more people flocked online, Rubio turned to online barista communities for help.

"I asked other people (who already engaged in the mobile coffee business) from different places online; I had to be confident in asking them tips, and they were kind enough to share some pointers," he said.

After receiving a cash aid worth PHP5,000 from the Department of Labor and Employment intended for those who lost their jobs, Rubio slowly invested

in materials necessary to build his mobile coffee shop project.

With the help of his family, he managed to purchase a surplus bike for PHP4,000 and got another one from an online barter

community.

After months of building his mobile coffee shop, Rubio rolled right into his dream and onto the streets in February this year.

With the word-of-mouth from

friends and with the help of social media, Rubio promotes the 10 spots where he regularly serves fresh coffee.

"My siblings and my cousins are helping me out with the op-

MOBILE COFFEE. Ruggierro Nicolae Rubio (left) prepares his coffee concoctions from his own mobile

stand at the Rodelsa Rotunda in Cagayan de Oro City. The concept of putting up a mobile coffee shop started when Rubio lost his job as a barista at a local hotel. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)

erations. My siblings were working online as freelancers at night so they have time to help me in the daytime," he said.

Working as a barista in a bar or hotel as an employee, he would earn more than PHP10,000 monthly excluding other bonuses and tips, that is why he admitted that the income in his bike coffee shop was a challenge at first, but over time, people get to notice his presence, and after two weeks he would average more than PHP1,000 a day.

Rubio currently plies his regular routes at least four times a week, with Rodelsa Rotunda as one of his usual spots on afternoon weekends.

Recently, he said he is in negotiations with a stall owner downtown so that his coffee business can find a permanent home.

But Rubio said whether his coffee is sold on a mobile stand or on a cozier place, his motivation for the job remains the same – his family.

"Unlike my siblings who work online, this has been my skills (bartending), and I want to fully maximize this," he said. (PNA)

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Most Holy Apostle St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of the enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of hopeless cases and of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so needy; make use, I implore you of that particular privilege accorded to you to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings particularly (here mention your petition) and that I may bless God with you and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise you, O blessed Jude to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor you as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to you. Amen. THANK YOU - ARDY

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Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of the enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes you universally as the FOR MORE INFORMATION patron of hopeless cases and of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so needy; make use, I implore you of that particular privilege accorded to you to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings particularly (here mention your petition) and that I may bless God with you and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise you, O blessed Jude to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor you as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to PRAYERS encourage devotion to you. Amen. THANK YOU - ABA

PRAYER TO BLESSED VIRGIN (Never known to fail). O Most Beautiful Flower of Mt. Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of O Glorious whom Almighty Godbeseech has raised to aid God, QueenSt. of Therese, Heaven and Earth, I humbly you up from the and inspire the human family, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity (make request).

There are none that can withstand your power.

Mary sin, You are so powerful in obtaining every O need ofconceived body andwithout spirit from prayHeart for usofwho have recourse thee (3proclaims times). Holy I place the God. Holy MothertoChurch youMary, ‘Prodigy of this cause in your hands (3 times).

Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, 3 Glory Miracles... the Greatest Saint of 3 Modern Times.’

Now I fervently BeSay this prayer for 3 consecutive You must publish it, and beseech you to answer my petitiondays. (mention here) and to carryit will be granted to you.- KORY

PRAYERS

PRAYER TO SAINT THERESE

out your promises of spending Heaven doing good on earth...of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Little Flower, give me your childlike faith, toPRAYERS see the Face of God in the people and H[SHULHQFHV RI P\ OLIH DQG WR ORYH *RG ZLWK IXOO FRQ¿GHQFH 6W PRAYER TO SAINT THERESE O Glorious St.&DUPHOLWH Therese, 6LVWHU whom Almighty God has raised up PDGH to aid 7KHUHVH P\ , ZLOO IXO¿OO \RXU SOHD µWR EH and inspire the human family, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. known everywhere’ and I will continue to lead others to Jesus You are so powerful in obtaining every need of body and spirit from through you. Amen THANK YOU - ABA the Heart of God. Holy Mother Church proclaims you ‘Prodigy of Miracles... the Greatest Saint of Modern Times.’ Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promises of spending Heaven doing good on earth...of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Little Flower, give me your childlike faith, to see the Face of God in the people and experiences of my life, and to love God with full confidence. St. Therese, my Carmelite Sister, I will fulfill your plea ‘to be made known everywhere’ and I will continue to lead others to Jesus through you. Amen THANK YOU - SHAHELA

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Pray for me, who am TO so miserable.

MakeSPIRIT use, I implore thee, PRAYER THE HOLY of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and Holy Spirit Thou who make me see everything and show me the speedy help where help was almost despaired of. Come to mine way to reach my ideal, You who give me the divine gift to forgive assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and theof wrong that in is done to necessities, me and who are in all instances andforget succor Heaven all my tribulations, and of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want toand thank You for suff erings, particularly (here make your request) that I may everything confirm onceall more want toeternity. be separated praise Godand with thee and the that electI never throughout I promise O how blessed Jude, to be ever mindful ofbe. thisI great from You nothee, matter great the material desires may want favour, to always honour theeones as my and powerful to be with You and my loved in special Your perpetual glory. patron, Amen. and to gratefully encourage devotion to thee.days Amen.

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Hontiveros wants COVID-19 be declared an ‘occupational disease’

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) to declare COVID-19 as an occupational disease to allow worke r s who w i l l contract the disease ca n avail of insurance

and other benefits.

“Workplaces and mass transportation are the new ‘hotspots’ of virus transmission. Dapat nang aksyunan ng gobyerno ang panawagan na gawing ‘occupational disease’ ang COVID-19 to ensure that the workers who will contract the disease while at work or in transit will be compensated under the national policy for employment injury benefits,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

According to the senator, the addition of COVID-19 on the list of work-related diseases will entitle workers who w ill contract it to medical benefits, compensation for lost income, and even funeral services if the employee dies from the disease.

This becomes more essential now, she added, especially with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

“Pinaba lik a ng manggagawa sa trabaho pero kulang na kulang ang pag-aalagang ibinibigay ng gobyerno," she said.

“Huwag nat i n si la ng tratuhing parang imortal.

Hindi curfew o checkpoints ang kailangang kundi garantisadong proteksyon sakaling mahagip o tamaan sila ng virus,” she added.

Hontiveros also said that even if there is no infection at the workplace, workers

may still contract COVID-19 while travelling to their workplaces. This, she said, should also be compensable.

“Hindi na dapat maging burden pa ng empleyado na patunayang nakuha niya ang virus sa kanyang trabaho. Dahil ang mismong pag-byahe ng mga manggagawa mula sa bahay papasok ng trabaho sakay ng mga pampublikong sasakyan ay work-related sacrifice na ginagawa na ng mga manggagawa,” she said.

“Hindi pa huli ang lahat para ituwid ang pagkakamali. Huwag lang puro lip service ang ‘excellent’ performance. Kung magpapatuloy ito, itinutulak lang ang mga manggagawa sa bingit ng walang-katapusang pangamba, sakripisyo at pagkagutom,” she added.

PhilHealth coverage Hontiveros has filed Senate Bill 1441 or the "Balik Trabahong Ligtas Act" which seeks to provide mandatory PhilHealth coverage to all workers who would be required to report for work amid the health crisis.

Under the proposed measure, all workers including those contractual, contract of service, probationary, and job order shall be entitled to full payment of medical bills in case they contract COVID-19.

A “flexible sick leave” shall also be provided to workers who would be infected, regardless if they have previously used up all their sick leaves.

(MNS)

SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS

DOH exec: Isolation facilities in NCR now 78% occupied MANILA (Mabuhay) — At least 78% of isolation facilities in the National Capital Region (NCR) are already occupied, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said Tuesday.

Vega made the announcement a day after the government implemented an NCR Plus bubble policy where residents of NCR and adjacent provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna are prevented from going outside the NCR plus border unless it is an essential trip—including going to the work place—from March 22 to April 4 to address the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Isolation facilities include quarantine hotels and temporar y treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF).

“We need to increase our isolation facilities because our TTMFs and isolation hotels are already occupied at 78%. If we have 8,000 new COVID-19 cases and 4,000 are in NCR since 63% of cases are in NCR, with 97% of them mild and asymptomatic, we need an extra number of isolation facilities,” Vega said during the Laging Handa briefing.

“Ito ang dapat unahin natin kasi ang ospital, last line of defense ‘yan for moderate and severe cases. Most of our cases are asymptomatic and mild, and so our first line of defense should be the TTMFs,” Vega added.

The Philippines posted a record-setting 8,109 new COVID-19 cases in a day last March 22, the first day of the implementation of the NCR Plus bubble strategy.

(MNS)

COVID-19 cases climbing in 2 provinces outside 'NCR Plus'— researcher MANILA (Mabuhay) — A member of the independent OCTA Research group on Wednesday urged government to monitor an uptick in coronavirus infections in 2 provinces that are not part of the "NCR Plus" bubble area, where tighter quarantine restrictions were enforced to arrest an upsurge in infections.

The government had earlier expanded curbs in the National Capital Region to cover the 4 surrounding provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal until April 4 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

But Pampanga, north of Manila, and Batangas, south of the capital, have also been recording "an upward trend" in COVID-19 cases, said OCTA's Dr. Guido David.

"Mabilis iyong upward trend nila," he said in a televised public briefing.

For example, he said Batangas tallied an increase in cases that is "more than 100 percent compared to the previous week."

Batangas has confirmed 14,217 cases as of Tuesday, including 1,021 active cases. The province only had 475 active infections on Tuesday last week, March 16, the Batangas Public Information office said on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Pampanga has recorded 9,043 confirmed cases, of which 999 are active, the province's information office posted on Facebook on Wednesday. Last March 17, the province only had 8,563 cases, including 714 active infections.

"I think this has to be monitored closely, especially since they are outside the bubble, and it could

be problematic if we contain the virus inside the bubble pero may kumakalat din outside the bubble," said David, a mathematics professor.

Restrictions in the NCR bubble include night curfews and a prohibition on mass gatherings.

Only essential travel to and from the bubble is allowed. Some businesses were ordered to operate

at a limited capacity or shut down.

The Philippines has confirmed 677,653 coronavirus infections, the second highest is Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia. The government aims to inoculate 70 million people or two-thirds of its population this year to achieve herd immunity.

(MNS)

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OCTA Research sees decreasing trend in COVID-19 cases in 'NCR Plus' bubble MANILA (Mabuhay) — OCTA Research is projecting a downtrend in the number of coronavirus cases in Metro Manila and its adjacent provinces, four weeks after the areas were placed in a “National Capital Region (NCR) Plus" bubble.

In its projections for the "NCR Plus" general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble released Tuesday, OCTA Research said that if the current reproduction number 2.0 will decrease to 1.5 within the twoweek period from March 22 to April 4, “there will be a downward in four weeks, and the number of new cases per day will reach 6,200.”

Under the "NCR Plus" bubble policy, residents of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna are prevented from going outside the NCR Plus border unless it was an essential trip, including going to the workplace.

The "NCR Plus bubble" restriction also prevents people outside the bubble from entering the area unless it was an essential trip.

Police later clarified that residents of the said areas will not be restricted from traveling within the “bubble.”

“In a more optimistic scenario, the reproduction number will decrease to less than 1.0 after two weeks and the trend will reverse,” OCTA Research said.

“The number of new cases under the more optimistic scenario could reach 5,000 per day in the NCR,” it said.

The research group noted that the Philippines has been recording 7,000 new COVID-19 cases on each day from March 20 to 22, which surpassed the previous high of 6,900 cases on August 10, 2020.

It said that the reproduction number in Metro Manila was at 1.99 as of March 23, 2021.

Meanwhile, the number of new cases in the NCR average more than 3,600 per day over the past week, an increase of 62% versus the prior week.

The daily attack rate in the capital region also increased to 25.9 per 100,000, putting the area in the high risk classification, according to OCTA Research.

In comparison, before the imposition of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) on July 28 to August 3, the daily attack rate was 12.8 per 100,000, it said.

“With stricter measures imposed by the national government, there is hope that the pandemic may start to slow down,” the research group said.

OCTA Research, however, noted that while the optimistic scenario is not impossible, it is “mathematically unlikely,” considering the country’s pandemic history.

“Nevertheless, the changes in the trend and the decrease in reproduction number will now depend largely on the cooperation of civil society,” it said. (MNS)

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PH to sign deal with Johnson&Johnson for 5M doses MANILA (Mabuhay) — More coronavirus vaccines are expected to arrive in the Philippines as the government is set to sign a supply agreement with manufacturer Johnson&Johnson this week, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Tuesday.

"Sa Johnson&Johnson po may five million doses po tayo at ang supply agreement ay aming pong tinitiyak na magkakaroon po kami ng signing (We have 5 million doses from Johnson&Johnson and we are set to sign a supply agreement) this coming week, before the weekend," he said in a virtual press briefing.

Galvez, the country's vaccine czar, said there is still an ongoing negotiation between the government and the Gamaleya Research Institute of Russia for the delivery of vaccines this month.

"We are negotiating for 3 million doses and Russia promised to give us Gamaleya's Sputnik V in the middle of April," he added.

The government is like-

wise finalizing the indemnification requirement with Pfizer-BioNtech.

Due to limited supplies, Galvez said the Pfizer vaccines may become available within the third and fourth quarters this year.

The single-shot J&J/Janssen vaccine is recommended for people aged 18 years and older.

T h e US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was 66.3 percent effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing Covid-19 in people who had no evidence of prior infection two weeks after receiving the vaccine.

People had the most protection two weeks after getting vaccinated.

Early evidence also suggested that the J&J/Janssen vaccine mig ht prov ide protect ion against asymptomatic infection, according to the CDC. That is, when a person is infected by the virus that causes Covid-19 but does not get sick. (MNS)

TPB suspends subsidized RT-PCR tests in ‘NCR Plus’ hospitals MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) on Monday suspended its endorsement for subsidized reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for approved tourists following the suspension of leisure travel in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).

In an advisory, the TPB said it suspended the processing and endorsement of applications for RT-PCR test subsidy at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) and the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) from March 22 to April 4.

The suspension comes after the release and approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ Resolution No. 104, which prohibits leisure travel to and from the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

It will resume endorsements for subsidized testing, the advisory said, on March 31 at UP-PGH while endorsements will resume at the PCMC on April 2 for previously approved applicants before March 5.

“The aforementioned endorsement dates are for those scheduled to depart from April 5, 2021 onwards,” the TPB said.

For tourists whose flights or hotel bookings were rescheduled, they may send their updated bookings to phtravel@tpb.gov.ph for those looking

for an endorsement at the UP-PGH and to phtravel_pcmc@tpb.gov.ph for PCMC. Rescheduling tests at the UP-PGH will be subject to the availability of slots “in view of their maximum capacity of 150 approved applicants per day,” added the TPB. (MNS)

DILG: Wear mask at home if unsure you are 100% free of COVID-19 MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Sunday insisted on its advice to the public to wear face masks at home amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that people who may have failed to properly

observe minimum health protocols when going outside should consider wearing face masks at home to prevent other members of the family from getting COVID-19 infection.

"Kung galing ka sa labas at medyo meron kang agam-agam dahil alam mong hindi ka sumunod sa mga protocol at pag-uwi

mo sa bahay, meron kang kasama may co-morbidity, may mga anak kang maliliit, better to be safe than sorry," he said.

"Ma g-f a c e m a s k k a muna, bantayan mo ang sarili mo and wait for symptoms. Kung hindi ka 100% sure na COVID-free ka, mag-face ka muna sa bahay," he said.

Malaya noted that apart from the DILG, the Department of Health is also encouraging the public to wear face masks at home.

D OH E pi d e m i ol o g y Bureau director Dr. Alethea de Guzman earlier said wearing face masks at home will help cut the chain of transmission.

She underscored that wearing of face masks at home is important especially in a house with family members who are elderly or suffering medical conditions.

Also, the DOH came out with an advisory to the public on Saturday encouraging the public to wear their masks properly "at all times and in all settings, even at home when living with other persons, especially the vulnerable."

(MNS)

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