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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.”
