Hawaii Filipino Chronicle - Nov. 5, 2022

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  1

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

NEWS FEATURE

Celebrating 50 Years of Operation Manong HAWAII-FILIPINO NEWS

AARP to Offer Free Caregiver Workshops This Month

AS I SEE IT

Batangas Kapeng Barako anyone?

LEGAL NOTES

After the Divorce: Wills & Trusts

2 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  NOVEMBER 5, 2022

EDITORIAL

Pass the GET Exemption on Medical Services, JABSOM Should Give Admissions Priority to Neighbor Island Students

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

or decades our Filipino medical community in Hawaii has done superb charitable and volunteer work that have benefited our local population at large. For example, Bayanihan Clinic Without Walls (BCWW) and their 50-plus volunteering doctors and dentists see an average of 100 uninsured patients per month for free in their private offices.

They’re not just helping Filipinos, but extending their services awaii’s physician shortage follows a similar pattern to immigrants, the indigent and homeless of all ethnicities. Our in communities throughout the entire U.S. – largely very own publisher and executive editor Dr. Charlie Sonido spiked by greater demand (larger population of se- is a co-founder of BCWW. In yet another way Dr. Sonido has niors, insured, overall population) and less supply been impacting our community at large is through the Hawaii of doctors, primarily due to retirement.

Physicians Preceptorship Program which he founded.

So that’s the baseline from which all communiFor our cover story this issue, associate editor Edwin Quinaties are working with. bo gives a comprehensive look at Hawaii’s physician shortage.

What makes Hawaii’s shortage unique is that our state’s su- He starts with how the Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii Precepper high cost of living and lower pay scale for physicians here torship Program (formerly called Hawaii Physicians Precep(relative to other parts of the mainland) is a disincentive for doc- torship Program) is helping our state by training international tors to practice on the islands. medical graduates (IMGs), and in the process, is setting up a In essence, states are competing against each other to lure an Hawaii pipeline with IMGs. Some who have gone through the already smaller pool of doctors (because of retirement) through program eventually return to our state and end up working in recruitment and retention (having them stay). underserved communities on Oahu and the neighbor islands.

And personal finance-salary and benefits is a major influThis program is just one among many initiatives set in motion encer in recruitment and retention with most of the initiatives to recruit doctors to practice in Hawaii and retain those already proposed and talked about – from GET medical exemption, increasing Medicare Reimbursement Rates, educational loan here. Find out what the University of Hawaii John A Burns repayment program, proposed housing stipend for doctors, pos- School of Medicine (JABSOM) and what our state governsible special low-interest rates on mortgages for doctors, etc. ment are doing to address this critical shortage. Physicians and – ultimately have to do with improving this profession’s bottom health experts also give their input on meaningful proposals such as exempting medical services from the General Excise line or net gain.

If it were not for the importance of the profession, that Tax or changing the Medicare Reimbursement Rate.

Also, in this issue, we have a news feature written by Clemhealthcare is fundamental to our quality of existence, there would be no urgency or talks of critical shortages. How many ent Bautista on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Operaother industries and professions have left Hawaii (or that we tion Manong (OM) and the Office of Multicultural Student Serfound unimportant to cultivate) that simply became antiquated vices (OMSS). The event will be held at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu on Saturday, November 19, 2022, 10 a.m. to without a whisper of concern?

That said, this is the reality we are dealing with, that in our 2 p.m. OM has done invaluable work helping many in our comfree enterprise economy, competition among states, cities and munity through outreach to get to the University of Hawaii, and communities to recruit and retain doctors, we must put our best while there, to help students succeed in completing their degrees. foot forward, put together the most ideal environment, finan- If you’re a University of Hawaii at Manoa alumnae, more than cial or otherwise, to reverse the trend of our state’s physician likely you’ve heard about Operation Manong. Please show your shortage. support by attending this celebration. Congratulations OM, and What this means is that all of those proposals are on the table to all your staff and volunteers over generations. for negotiations that the federal government (relating to MediHFC columnists Seneca Moraleda-Puguan submits “Pinoy care Reimbursement Rates, federal loan forgiveness, reducing Plights” for this issue which is about some of the challenges administrative requirements for Medicare, etc.), state govern- living in the Philippines, the traffic and how difficult it is to ment (GET exemptions, local loan repayment programs, housing commute, insufficient and shoddy housing, the chasm between stipends, funding the JABSOM and residency training, etc.) and the rich and the poor. county governments (additional surcharges) along with the priLastly, let’s take a history refresher. Do you know who Larvate sector must work on collaboratively. ry Itliong is? HFC columnist Emil Guillermo writes about this How effective this collaboration is -- will determine how suclabor leader who is very well known in the U.S. labor commucessful we are in dealing with Hawaii’s physician shortage. nity. He is one of the major pioneers and influencers in AmerLet’s face the fact that 1) Hawaii’s high cost of living will ican history when it comes to establishing workers’ rights. always be in the top tier in the nation – a built-in drawback unless we can raise salaries and benefits to match other extremely Unfortunately, there are many in our community who haven’t expensive cities to live in (which is what we’re attempting to heard of him. Now is your chance.

Lastly, be sure to read our other interesting columns and indo); and that 2) Hawaii will continue to be a beautiful and desirable place to live – definitely an advantage that we must be formative news. Please visit our online newspaper at our webpromoting and “selling” to our workers, in this case, our current site and thank you for supporting the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle over the years. Until next issue, Aloha and Mabuhay! and future doctors.

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Shortage on the neighbor islands and rural communities JABSOM’s Hawaii Physician Workforce Report reveals that the neighbor islands physician shortage is particularly acute.

Hilo physician Dr. Scott Grosskreutz said, “So, from the Big Island, we’re very much in a state of crisis there. We have a 44% shortage of physicians on the Big Island. About 230 doctors is the number of physicians that we’re short of and of the remaining practicing physicians 32%, or basically a third of the remaining doctors, are 65 years old or older.”

JABSOM’s Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum mentioned one of the school’s goals is to increase the number of physicians on the neighbor islands.

Clearly, they’re rightly prioritizing this problem and have as a long-term goal to have medical school branches on all islands. In addition, JABSOM aims to expand the school’s ad(continue on page 3) mission from 77 to 100 students, eventually.

Publisher & Executive Editor Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D.

Publisher & Managing Editor

Chona A. Montesines-Sonido

Associate Editors

Edwin QuinaboDennis Galolo

Contributing Editor

Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.

Design

Junggoi Peralta

Photography Tim Llena

Administrative Assistant Lilia Capalad

Editorial & Production Assistant Jim Bea Sampaga

Columnists

Carlota Hufana Ader Elpidio R. Estioko Perry Diaz Emil Guillermo Melissa Martin, Ph.D. Seneca Moraleda-Puguan J.P. Orias Pacita Saludes Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq. Charlie Sonido, M.D. Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.

Contributing Writers

Clement Bautista Edna Bautista, Ed.D. Teresita Bernales, Ed.D. Sheryll Bonilla, Esq. Rose Churma Serafin Colmenares Jr., Ph.D. Linda Dela Cruz Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand Amelia Jacang, M.D. Caroline Julian Raymond Ll. Liongson, Ph.D. Federico Magdalena, Ph.D. Matthew Mettias Maita Milallos Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D. Renelaine Bontol-Pfister Seneca Moraleda-Puguan Mark Lester Ranchez Jay Valdez, Psy.D. Glenn Wakai Amado Yoro

Philippine Correspondent: Greg Garcia

Neighbor Island Correspondents: Big Island (Hilo and Kona) Grace LarsonDitas Udani Kauai Millicent Wellington Maui Christine Sabado Big Island Distributors Grace LarsonDitas Udani Kauai Distributors Amylou Aguinaldo Nestor Aguinaldo Maui Distributors

Cecille PirosRey Piros

Molokai Distributor Maria Watanabe Oahu Distributors Yoshimasa Kaneko Pamela Gonsalves Shalimar / Jonathan Pagulayan

Advertising / Marketing Director Chona A. Montesines-Sonido

Account Executives Carlota Hufana Ader JP Orias

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  3

EDITORIAL

The Honolulu Police Department Deserves Encouragement for Their Crisis Intervention Team Program

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udos to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) on its expansion and continued support of its Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), a training program that’s designed to help law enforcement better deal with situations they encounter with people experiencing a mental health crisis. Officers are taught skills that can minimize risk both to themselves and the person in a mental health crisis. One goal is to prevent the need to use force all together in such situations.

CITs is a national trend that police departments are incorporating as part of their training in response to controversial incidences (followed by expensive civil lawsuits) where deadly shootings could have been prevented if only police officers had received proper training to assess mental health situations.

Besides learning to take appropriate steps in such encounters, officers learn about all the different mental illnesses.

HPD started its CIT in 2019. Recently 17 more officers have completed their CIT training for a total of 150 HPD officers. HPD officers are so welcoming of the program that there is a waiting list to get into the course. HPD aims to get 400 certified CIT officers total, which would be 20% of the department. This would ensure a trained officer could be available every shift.

Nationally one in four fatal police shootings between 2015 and 2020 involved a person with a mental illness. HPD Major Mike Lambert said officers may realize the person is suffering, but prior to the training, they don’t know how to react.

“Situations where people don’t respond the way that we want them to,” Lambert said, adding that after the course,

they have a better understanding of what the person needs.

Besides HPD, Maui has an ongoing CIT. Hawaii will begin its first training soon.

Kauai is looking into starting one. The 40-hour course, taken over five days, is organized

by Hawaii nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness also known as NAMI. Kumi Macdonald, Executive Director of NAMI Hawaii, said the training helps officers learn the difference between someone who needs help, instead of handcuffs.

Remembering Angelo Quinto and Laudemar Arboleda A N G E L O Q U I N TO .

There have been two high profile cases (both occurring in California) that involved the death of Filipino Americans at the hands of police during a mental health crisis.

In December 2020, Quinto, a Navy veteran, died from

(Pass the GET Exemption....from page 2)

JABSOM already has as a priority to admit resident applications with strong ties to the State of Hawaii.

Studies show that medical students tend to practice medicine in communities that they have strong ties to. So JABSOM is on the right track here with regards to increasing the state’s physician shortage.

However, perhaps, it’s also time to consider giving preference in admission to students from the neighbor islands. National studies and JABSOM has done a study themselves, showing that students in rural communities (in our case the neighbor islands) are more likely to practice in the rural communities they came from.

“Nearly half (46%) of physicians from rural backgrounds who stayed in Hawaii chose to practice in a rural setting, while only 5% of physicians from non-rural backgrounds chose to practice outside of O‘ahu. Thus, Hawaii-schooled physicians from rural settings are nine times more likely to practice in a rural location than those who did not go to high school on a neighbor island,” a JABSOM study found.

This is significant, revealing data – and certainly it should be considered in the admissions process, as one among other JABSOM plans to increase doctors practicing on the neighbor islands.

The shortage on the neighbor islands is critical. Other medical schools at universities on the mainland already have special entrance programs that target applicants from rural communities. We should be doing the same.

State prioritizing the physician shortage, and the GET Medical Services Exemption This year the Hawaii State Legislature and Gov. David Ige provided more funds for JABSOM’s expansion of its residency and student training programs. It also allowed for more loans to be given in the Hawaii State Loan Repayment Program, which helps graduates of JABSOM and other health professions reduce their educational debt in exchange for remaining in Hawaii to practice. These are two areas that will require ongoing support from the state. We applaud lawmakers for recognizing the importance of and prioritizing them.

But it is also time that the State’s General Excise Tax be reworked and lawmakers pass a bill that exempts the GET on medical services. This will go a long way specifically in keeping doctors on the islands (physician retention).

Our physician shortage is a major quality of life issue, and it should be among our highest priorities.

complications after being knelt on the neck by a police officer for nearly five minutes. Angelo was experiencing paranoia and anxiety. His family called the police for fear that he might hurt himself or them. When police arrived, Quinto (unarmed) was forced on his stomach, handcuffed and put into the same position as George Floyd was detained (knee on neck).

Quinto begged police, “Please don’t kill me.” His sister recorded the entire incident.

After losing consciousness, an ambulance was called to the family’s home and Quinto was taken to a hospital where three days later he died.

On September 30, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed eight police reform bills into law. One of them, Assembly Bill 490 or Angelo’s Law (named after Angelo Quinto), bans restraint tactics and face-down holds that could cause asphyxiation.

LAUDEMER ARBOLEDA. In 2018, police received a “suspicious” person call on Arboleda who was said to be knocking on doors and ringing doorbells in a neighborhood. His family believes he was lost and was asking for directions. Arboleda had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons and his mother says he was afraid of police taking him back to the hospital.

When police arrived at the scene, Arboleda started to slowly drive away. Police pursued him for nine-minutes.

Police officer Andrew Hall (who two years later would be charged with manslaughter and assault for the fatal shooting of Arboleda) stepped into the path of Arboleda’s car and opened fire into it, hitting Arboleda nine times. Arboleda was unarmed.

Some have criticized that it took so long to bring charges against officer Hall that it could have saved another life. After Arboleda’s death, officer Hall (continue on page 10)

4 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  NOVEMBER 5, 2022

COVER STORY

Hawaii’s Physician Shortage Worsens Since Pandemic, Solutions to Reverse Trend

By Edwin Quinabo

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hroughout the U.S., healthcare demand is growing due to an aging population, overall population increase, and a greater insured population made possible through the Affordable Care Act. While demand is up, supply of physicians has not been keeping pace, resulting in a health care model for potentially compromised patient care and inadequate staff availability to address patient needs, experts say.

In some cases, the current supply-demand shortfall of physician-to-patient is a matter of life and death – that has medically underserved communities and some health care professionals calling the current situation a public health crisis.

Hawaii’s physician shortage is deep, complex, as it is in states across the country. But health experts say Hawaii’s shortage would take additional initiatives (relative to other parts of the U.S.) to correct due to unique conditions such as the state’s extremely high cost of living that’s disincentivizing doctors to practice medicine on the islands.

At the same time, Hawaii’s uniqueness is also opening the door to innovative ways to deal with its physician shortage that other states are not positioned to do. One is the state’s entrenched ethnic diversity is ideal for attracting international medical graduates By the numbers, areas of shortage How short is Hawaii of physicians? Dr. Rainier Dennis Bautista, primary care physician at PCCH and mentor of the clinic’s Preceptorship Program (himself having gone through the program over a decade ago), said “We are lacking both primary care physicians and specialists. Per the Hawaii Physician Workforce Report, compared to last year, the doctor shortage went up from 820 to 1,008. The greatest shortage was within Primary Care, which was 412.”

The statewide physician shortage from 2019 to the present is estimated to be between 710 and 1,008. The higher number (1,008) is projected

(IMGs) to practice medicine in the state.

Dr. Charlie Sonido, Hawaii physician, Asst. Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii John A Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and IMG-scholar from the Philippines, founded Hawaii Physicians Preceptorship Program decades ago.

Now called the Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii Preceptorship Program, it was originally established to provide clinical experience for IMGs (or preceptees) to enhance their opportunities to land a medical residency in the U.S. But today the program -- that had over a hundred preceptee-physicians spanning decades -- has also become an invaluable reservoir of highly trained alumni-doctors (of the program) to tap to help with the state’s physician shortage.

Alumni-doctors of the program often return to Hawaii after completing their medical residencies on the mainland. Some of them now work for Hawaii hospitals and medical groups. A few have chosen to return to work at Dr Sonido’s Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii (PCCH), one of the largest private medical practices in the state with clinics on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island. These doctors through PCCH are working in medically underserved communities on Oahu and the neighbor islands.

But even with creative projects like

when researchers accounted for specialty specific needs.

The proportional need is greatest on the neighbor islands, with both Maui and Hawaii County experiencing a physician shortage of 40%.

Primary care in the report includes Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Geriatrics. The largest subspecialty shortages are with Colorectal Surgery, Pathology, Pulmonary, Infectious Disease, Allergy/Immunology and Hematology/Oncology.

On possible reasons why there is a greater shortage within Primary Care versus specialties, Seiji Yamada, JABSOM family medicine faculty told the Filipino Chronicle, “Over a lifetime career, proceduralist

specialty physicians can expect to earn at least $1 million more than primary care physicians. This is largely a function of how CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid], and the insurance corporations following CMS, set their scales for how physicians are paid for the care they provide.”

He said, “Because of the competition for coveted postgraduate training (residency) slots in proceduralist specialties - those who are successful in gaining admission often view themselves as the best and the brightest. They look down upon those physicians who enter primary care. Medical students are often told by their specialist teachers to not choose primary care.”

PCCH’s Preceptorship Program, the dearth in physicians in the state remains dire.

“There is an acute shortage of physicians in the state of Hawaii in all specialties, especially among Filipinos,” Dr. Sonido said.

“Our clinic at the Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii has been trying hard to recruit doctors who understand the language and culture of Filipinos to add to our 11-member providers across the state with little success. The acute shortage leads to physician overload and subsequently burnout.”

He adds, “The insurance companies keep decreasing reimbursement and the overhead keeps going up. As a result, independent solo practice has been dwindling, physicians are retiring early or moving to the mainland. We have tried many ways to reverse the process by increased efficiency, constant innovation and working hours. But you can only do so much, it is near the breaking point.”

Dr. Yamada said medical students are typically graduating with educational debts of a quarter or a half million dollars. “The prospect of being in debt for longer dissuades many medical students from choosing careers in primary care.”

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are traditionally the focal providers of health services.

During the period between 1980 and 1999, a time of rapidly increasing aggregate physician numbers in the United States, primary care was still the only practice area to show a steady decline in practitioners.

Overall Hawaii has more than 10,000 licensed physicians but only about 3,484 are active, and of that number 2,974 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)

COVID exascerbates problem Health experts say the physician shortage has deepened since the pandemic and could get worse. Even before COVID-19 hit, the state was experiencing a physician shortfall. In the same Physician Workforce Report that is put out by JABSOM, more than 400 Hawaii doctors say the pandemic forced them to close their practices, reduce their hours, or switch to telehealth.

JABSOM Director of the Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center Dr. Kelley Withy told the Filipino Chronicle, “While many of our oldest physicians retired during the pandemic, 21% of our physicians are al(continue on page 5)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  5

COVER STORY (Hawaii’s Physician...from page 4)

ready age 65 or older.”

The report says Hawaii is expected to increase relative shortages of physicians for the next several years as older physicians leave their practices. It estimates Hawaii needs to add as many as 820 doctors to a pool of 3,484 physicians actively providing care to satisfy the need for services, the report said.

At least 110 physicians retired in 2020, 139 left the state, 120 decreased their work hours and 8 passed away. The number of physicians went down in all Hawaii counties which experts say is particularly problematic for the neighbor islands and rural areas of Hawaii where many communities had already been medically underserved.

Hawaii’s underserved rural communities follow a national trend. Less than 8% of the na[1] tion’s physicians are practicing medicine in rural areas.

Within rural sections of the country, there is a higher prevalence of poverty and chronic disease, the population is typically older, and a greater proportion of residents are without health insurance or receive Medicaid or Medicare.

Dr. Jon Avery Go, Internal Medicine, PCCH, said “Nationally, there is an anticipated shortage of up to 124,000 physicians within the next decade.”

He says the shortage is felt by both patients and physicians, and the entire community.

How the physician shortage affects quality of healthcare?

“So what it [physician shortage] means is that if you need a doctor urgently, you might die because you might not be able to access that,” says Dr. Withy. “And if you need a specialist chronically to help you manage your condition, you may have to travel to get to that specialist and it may be by air travel, which of course, is difficult.”

Shortage means longer wait times for appointments. In some situations, wait times across the state can be more than six months, according to the Hawaii State Rural Health Association.

For physicians, shortage could require seeing patients past normal office hours at 6

p.m. But after seeing patients, doctors still have other work such as charting, checking labs and making phone calls that could go well into late evening. Shortage can lead to physician burnout, or at worse, affect patient care when physicians must see too many patients in a day.

What happens then? Dr. Go said, “due to the number of patients that need to be seen, visits become shorter and only specific issues may be addressed during each encounter which may lead to the patient needing more visits to address multiple or recurring problems.” He said, “Physician shortage leads to poor patient outcomes and decreased quality of care via many ways.”

Other examples Dr. Go gives: 1) Patients may not get seen in a timely manner to address issues early enough to avoid hospitalizations and ER visits. 2) Outpatient procedures may not get scheduled or done in a timely manner which may lead to adverse outcomes.

The window of opportunity for early intervention and proper management could be missed.

Shortage, “simply put,” Dr. Withy says, “people will not be able to access healthcare. We will have to travel or skip healthcare and that leads to late diagnoses and higher death rates.”

Main driver of physician shortage, possible solutions *DRIVER: Low pay/ High cost of living. Besides aging doctors, challenges to retention (keeping doctors in the state) and inadequate recruitment to replace those retiring, Dr. Withy said a major cause of the shortage is low pay in Hawaii paired with high cost of living, which makes it difficult for physicians to make a living.

For this same reason – low pay in a high cost of living state – Dr. Go says both physician retention and recruitment have been challenging for Hawaii. “Many who come to Hawaii soon realize that vacationing and living/working in Hawaii are completely different.” *SOLUTION: Better compensation/Managable

The latest group of medical preceptees of PCCH Preceptorship Program. Preceptees are International Medical Graduates (IMG) who receive clinical training with PCCH before entering a medical residency in the U.S. Residency training for this group will begin July 2023. Some of the preceptees shown here have been accepted in the medical residency training program in Hawaii and on the mainland last July 1, 2022. A few of the preceptees who have gone through the Program after completing their residency have returned to Hawaii to practice medicine, helping to fill the state’s physician shortage.

workload. To improve both retention and recruitment, Dr. Go suggests employers/medical groups can offer a more competitive and attractive compensation package and benefits. But before that can happen, he acknowledges that more net revenues must be brought into medical practices in order for employers/medical groups to be able to provide better compensation packages for their physicians.

Also, of importance to have in Hawaii, he says, is more opportunities and higher pay in other sectors besides the medical field. This can be attractive for a physician’s spouse or family member to encourage the entire family to either stay or move to Hawaii.

Besides pay, Dr. Go says having a balanced work and home-family life situation is also a draw for doctors.

“This plays a major role in preventing physician burnout, and the more physicians there are, the more manageable are the workload and hours for physicians -- which will also mean better patient care and patient

satisfaction.” *SOLUTION: Increase medical reimbursement rates. This is one of the focal areas that Hawaii doctors want changed to raise revenues for private practices and physician’s salaries to be more competitive with other mainland states and to help offset Hawaii’s high cost of living.

At the current Medicare Reimbursement Rate, Hawaii is included with rural areas such as Louisiana and other small states. The Medicare Reimbursement Rate is gauged by population.

But Hawaii’s high cost of living is more typical of larger states such like California.

Changes to the Medicare Reimbursement Rate must be

done at the federal level.

GET on medical services Health experts say another major area that would improve Hawaii physician’s net income is changing the State’s GET (General Excise Tax).

Currently, Hawaii hospitals and their employed physicians are exempt from the GET. But the GET applies to health care services provided by group and private practice physicians. And it is against the law for doctors to pass this tax onto patients, which means the GET must be paid by doctors. Hawaii is one of only a few states that has this set up.

But there is increasing (continue on page 6)

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COVER STORY (Hawaii’s Physician...from page 5)

support at the Hawaii State Legislature to change this law, to get passed a bill that would exempt GET on medical services.

Backed by physicians and community groups, a GET exemption on medical services could reduce the cost of healthcare for private practice physicians which could lure new doctors to the islands and keep doctors from leaving.

Keli‘i Akina, president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, whose organization supports the GET exemption on medical services, said “If we exempted medical care from the general excise tax, it would save doctors and patients more than $200 million [a year]. And that would help keep doctors in our state, rather than having to flee the state to earn money elsewhere. And that’s why we started the petition.”

Private practice doctors in Hawaii must pay at least 4% of their gross receipts in taxes to the state, and three of the counties add surcharges beyond that.

Other initiatives favorable to recruiting and retaining doctors Typical points largely supported by the medical community in attracting more physicians to local communities, and areas that Dr. Bautista says he supports include: • an educational loan repayment program to attract younger doctors straight out of medical schools and their residency • additional funding for residency programs to have additional spots for local applicants • establish new residency and fellowship programs especially in the neighbor islands • more support for independent practitioners. “There seems to be a great focus on building up the already large health organizations in the state (like Queens, HPH, and Castle), while independent practitioners are faced with decreasing reimbursements, and increasing administrative requirements,” Dr. Bautista said.

Other initiatives typically mentioned by the medical community that could improve Hawaii’s physician shortage include: • Reduce administrative requirements • Establish a housing stipend for doctors • Institute a national licensing program for doctors and nurses. Streamline and reduce licensing tests for doctors. Have reciprocity for medical licensing with other states.

• Forgive student loan debt for doctors • Extend interest-free loans that would help doctors on their mortgages

Expand Hawaii’s medical schools and post-graduate residency programs Healthcare experts say one of the most effective ways to get new doctors to practice in Hawaii is to increase the number of students at JABSOM. Currently there are 77 medical students enrolled at JABSOM; and more than 225 participate in JABSOM’s Ac-

“There is an acute shortage of physicians in the state of Hawaii in all specialties, especially among Filipinos. Our clinic at the Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii has been trying hard to recruit doctors who understand the language and culture of Filipinos to add to our 11-member providers across the state with little success. The acute shortage leads to physician overload and subsequently burnout. The insurance companies keep decreasing reimbursement and the overhead keeps going up. As a result, independent solo practice has been dwindling, physicians are retiring early or moving to the mainland. We have tried many ways to reverse the process by increased efficiency, constant innovation and working hours. But you can only do so much, it is near the breaking point.”

Charlie Sonido, MD, Primary Care Clinic of Hawaii, Founder of Hawaii Physicians Preceptorship Program creditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency and fellowship programs.

Dr. Withy says expanding Hawaii’s medical school and post-graduate residency programs are ideal solutions, but the impacts wouldn’t kick in for another seven to 10 years.

The long-term goal is to train 100 students and have medical school branches on all islands. The challenge is that these goals are expensive.

More faculty would be needed to teach additional students.

There is data to support the idea that increasing stu(continue on page 7)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  7

WHAT’S UP, ATTORNEY?

By Atty. Emmanuel S. Tipon

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hen I started practicing law in San Francisco in the 80s, I also had a full time job writing law books for Bancroft-Whitney Publishing Company on Brannan Street.

I did not really need to practice law then because my salary was sufficient. I also dabbled in real estate sales and management.

It was my nephew who suggested that I start a law practice to help the Filipinos, with the advice: “Uncle, you will need a partner and you should get a white one.”

I asked why “white”?

He said that many Filipinos are racists and believe that a white lawyer is better than a brown lawyer. So, I got two, not only one, white lawyers.

They were women.

I did all the work because they did not know immigration law. Yet our earnings were split three ways. We ended the partnership years later.

A Filipino said that Filipino lawyers do not have as good an education as white lawyers.

Do you know a white lawyer handling immigration cases who went to Yale or Harvard?

This writer is a Filipino lawyer and was awarded a Fulbright/ Smith-Mundt scholarship to study at Yale Law School where he obtained a Master of Laws degree.

Another Filipino told me that the immigration officials are white, so they will always favor a white lawyer.

That’s not true. There are other colors among immigration personnel, including brown. I worked for the immigration service. I am brown.

How would the immigration officials know that the lawyer is white when they are in Laguna Niguel or in other places and the lawyer is not physically present?

So You Think Your White Lawyer is Better Than A Brown Monkey Lawyer, Eh? “By his surname,” the Filipino said. But not all white lawyers are surnamed White, Jones, or Smith. Some are even surnamed Brown and Black. So, you are not going to hire a white lawyer named Brown or Black?

What about my surname – Tipon? Immigration officials cannot tell by my surname alone whether I am white or brown or any other color.

There is a family name “Tipton”. It is an English name.

Immigration officials could think that “Tipon” is an abbreviation of “Tipton” – or that “Tipon” is a misspelling of “Tipton”. In fact, I have received communications with the surname “Tipton”.

When I was working parttime in the advertising department of Gannett Newspapers in Rochester, NY, I was asked on the phone what my name was. I answered “Tipon”. The caller asked: “Are you French or German?” I answered: “Have you heard of Carlo Ponti, the film director who married Sophia Loren?”

“Oh, you are Italian, I am Italian, too,” exclaimed the caller. “I think the name “Ponti” was originally “Tipon,” the caller added.

There you go. I could be English. Or I could be Italian.

Whichever, English or Italian, are white. Will those immigration officials ever think I am a brown Ilocano without looking at my face?

Winnability of white vs.

Brown Let us talk about winnability or capacity for winning of a white vs. brown monkey lawyer.

Who is the white lawyer who has successfully saved a Filipino from deportation, even though he was charged with having been convicted of sexual assault for having licked his daughter’s genitalia while massaging her?

Ilocanos call that “Agdild-

il”. Immigration authorities charged him with aggravated felony for having committed rape and sexual abuse of a minor.

Who is the white lawyer who has successfully saved a Filipino from deportation, even though he was charged with having been convicted of theft for receiving money from taxi drivers at the airport while he was a security guard which was alleged to be a crime involving moral turpitude?

Who is the white lawyer who has successfully saved a Filipino from deportation, even though she was charged with having been convicted of theft and manslaughter in that she did not turn over in bed her patient, resulting in bed sores, gangrene, and death

and received compensation to take care of the patient, which immigration authorities alleged were crimes involving moral turpitude?

Who is the white lawyer who has successfully saved a Filipino from deportation even though he was charged with misrepresenting facts twice to U.S. officials – first to consular officials, and second to border patrol officers at the Honolulu airport – by telling them that he had no child even though he had?

Who is the white lawyer who has successfully saved a Filipino from deportation, even though he was charged with having been convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a minor child which immigration officials alleged were aggravated felonies and crimes of child abuse?

Is there a brown lawyer who has successfully done these? You bet.

Challenge If you know of a white lawyer who has done all of these, I wish to meet the lawyer after reviewing proof that he has done all of these, and give him and you a free roundtrip ticket from San Francisco to Honolulu.

The information provided in this article is not legal advice. Publication of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

ATTY. TIPON was a Fulbright and Smith-Mundt scholar to Yale Law School where he obtained a Master of Laws degree specializing in Constitutional Law. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines.

He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, New York, and the Philippines. He practices federal law, with emphasis on immigration law and appellate federal criminal defense. He was the Dean and a Professor of Law of the College of Law, Northwestern University, Philippines. He has written law books and legal articles for the world’s most prestigious legal publisher and w rites columns for newspapers. He wrote the best-seller “Winning by Knowing Your Election Laws.” Listen to The Tipon Report which he cohosts with his son Attorney Emmanuel “Noel” Tipon. They talk about immigration law, criminal law, court-martial defense, and current events. It is considered the most witty, interesting, and useful radio show in Hawaii. KNDI 1270 AM band every Thursday at 8:00 a.m. Atty. Tipon was born in Laoag City, Philippines. Cell Phone (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Website: https://www.tiponlaw.com.

(COVER STORY Hawaii’s Physician...from page 6)

dent numbers at JABSOM would most likely lead to more physicians practicing in Hawaii.

JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges said more than 80% of physicians who graduate from both JABSOM and its residency programs tend to stay in Hawaii to practice— that is one of the highest retention rates in the country.

Dr. Withy said, “the medical school can only increase in size if we conduct more training on neighboring islands, because the training sites on Oahu are saturated.

This is better for everyone, because if more students train on neighboring islands, more doctors will stay on neighboring islands to practice.”

She adds, “There is a

new program supported by Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative where six medical students with ties to Kauai have been admitted and get full scholarships to medical school. They do many of their educational experiences on Kauai, then have to spend four years practicing there after residency.

We hope this kind of program can be introduced on all islands.”

Recent State Initiatives This year Gov. David Ige signed two bills relating to the state’s physician shortage: Senate Bill 2657 (now Act 262: Relating to Medical Education Training) and Senate Bill 2597 (now Act 263: Relating to loan repayment for health care professionals).

Senate Bill 2657 funds JABSOM’s expansion of medical residency and medical student training opportunities on the neighbor islands, and in areas where healthcare is most needed.

Senate Bill 2597 allows for more loans to be given in the Hawaiʻi State Loan Repayment Program, which helps graduates of JABSOM and other health professions reduce their educational debt in exchange for remaining in Hawaiʻi to practice.

“My administration is committed to supporting the development and expansion of high-quality educational and training sites, especially on the neighbor islands where we face the greatest challenge,” said Gov. Ige.

8 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  NOVEMBER 5, 2022

CANDID PERSPECTIVES

How to Vote Filipino

By Emil Guillermo

H

ere’s a test of your electoral Filipino-ness.

If Larry Itliong were on the ballot would you vote for him?

Such an existential question for Democracy beyond donkey or elephant. Caribou?

Would Larry be your guy?

The correct answer: Larry wouldn’t be on the ballot.

Not his style. He was the fighter. The guy outside, chomping a cigar. Holding the picket sign like he did on Sept.

8, 1965 when he led the Filipinos in the great Delano grape strike.

I’m talking about Itliong now because his birthday is a marker for Filipino American History Month.

Just as Oct. 18, 1587 is a marker for the first Filipinos to what is now Morro Bay, California, the first documented arrival of Filipinos to what is now part of the continental U.S., Larry was a Filipino first.

And he was first a Filipino on Oct.25, 1913, his birthday.

In 2015 then-California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill establishing Larry Itliong Day every Oct. 25.

Larry Itliong, Larry Itliong. Larry Itliong.

Not Rishi Sunak, the new British Prime minister. And

what a nice Diwali gift to our South Asian brothers and sisters in the UK. But for Filipinos, Oct. 25 is for the Filipino American union leader who merged the labor and the civil rights era by starting the aforementioned Delano grape strike. Itliong was the spark, the first to lead the unionists to the picket line.

History demands we correct the record. It was definitely Larry Itliong, not Cesar Chavez, the man for whom they name streets and monuments and schools and libraries.

Chavez was in the fight for the long run, but first, he had to be dragged in by Itliong and the Filipinos. They were the unionists representing the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AFL-CIO).

Chavez’s was but a fledgling community group of new arrivals from Mexico. Not a union. But there were more of them, and even Itliong realized he needed the mass of workers to boost the number of aging Filipino manongs, who had worked in the fields for decades.

That’s the real story. But Itliong is rarely remembered.

Until we mention his name and people discover Filipino American history, Itliong is like a missing piece of a puzzle no one knew existed.

But Larry was there. We just didn’t see him, like the others. The manongs who came to America in the 20s, my father’s generation.

Larry was like my father,

but younger. He came to America in 1929 from Pangasinan, and while my dad stayed in San Francisco to work in the restaurants, Itliong went straight to the fields to Stockton and then up and down the west coast to Alaska. There he worked the canneries and lost some fingers. That’s how he got the nickname “Seven Fingers.”

Larry was a tough, no-nonsense guy, with a crew cut, a cigar in his mouth, and the gamble in his heart.

He took risks. He loved the fight, the struggle. It’s what makes a union leader.

While he provided that initial dream of the Delano Strike, he chafed under the organization that resulted after the merger of the two groups.

He left the union after a short time.

In taped lectures he gave at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Itliong showed his personality as a gruff philosopher.

“You go to the United States, where they pick money on trees,” Itliong said. “Did that happen? Hell, no.”

When Itliong first arrived, he found Filipinos in the fields making less than a dime an hour. He started his first labor strike in 1930.

“I have the ability to make that white man know I am just as mean as anybody in this world,” Itliong said in that lecture. “I could make him

think, and I could make them recognize that I’m a mean son of bitch in terms of my direction, fighting for the rights of Filipinos in this country. I feel we have the same rights as any of them. Because in the Constitution, it said that everybody has equal rights and justice.

You’ve got to make that come about. They are not going to give it to you.”

Itliong had the belief and the fight in him.

He needed it as he suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease, which took his life on Feb. 8, 1977. That day also happens to be my father’s birthday. Just another psychic coincidence to make sure we don’t forget how connected we are to the past.

So wherever you are, pause to remember Manong Larry.

March somewhere to remember his day. By yourself, if need be. Make it a walk with purpose.

Take a risk. Blow a smoke ring. Stand up and shout for Filipinos in America.

It’s Larry’s day. He’s part of our history. Let his memory close out this year’s Filipino American History Month.

Now, what if he were Rishi Sunak?

Pretend it’s a parlor game.

Larry used to talk about being true to being Filipino and not selling out “to the man.”

He would brag about people offering him money to do things politically. Not bribes, just compensation for backing candidates, or even to help Cesar Chavez with the union after he left.

Because he stood up for himself as an individual, free and unencumbered, he didn’t rise traditionally.

He would say he was happy with his bagoong and tomatoes, his pusit and rice. He was his own man.

What would he have been with a little more polish?

Could he have risen to the top like the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak?

In his day, Itliong was courted by political leaders and bragged about being a guy with a high school education being in demand by the powerful.

But it wasn’t his world or his time.

Sunak, the son of Indian immigrants from Africa, born in Britain, attended the best schools including Stanford, is the classic latter-day smart brown guy, with a touch of privilege and money. He made his own at Goldman Sachs, then married into Indian wealth.

He is a calculatingly obnoxious made man.

Which may be why he gets the reaction he does.

He was somewhat humbled when he was shunned the first time for prime minister a few weeks ago when Liz Truss was selected.

Sunak was seen as “too elite.”

Too elite? A brown man in perfect white face? The revenge of colonialism, Sunak is beyond the stiff upper lip.

He’s the brown man as a white mannequin. He’s the curse of Mountbatten and Churchill combined. Coming back to run the whole damn country.

It would be sweet under most circumstances. But the knock-on Sunak is he really is out of touch. He doesn’t know the poor South Asians in Britain. He knows economics. He knows how to add to the dole. But he also knows to cut it. He’s a conservative, slightly more moderate, less of a “trickle down” type, than Thatcherites. But he is a conservative.

And Indians in lower classes see him as both privileged and foreign. And lacking the fight and fury of a compassionate leader who thinks about them. The people. It’s a problem for rich elite guys.

In other words, he’s not for the little guy. He’s more like a big guy who needs to be cut down to size.

Sunak?

Frankly, right now, he could use a little bit of Itliong.

Of course, you’re voting.

There is no excuse to not vote. So, let’s just assume you are. And fortunately, Hawaii has same-day registration. Go to an election center.

In case you were out surfing, this is the most important (continue on page 10)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  9

NEWS FEATURE

Celebrating 50 years of Operation Manong

By Clement Bautista

T

he Friends of Operation Manong (FOOM) and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Operation Manong (OM) and the Office of Multicultural Student Services (OMSS). The event will be held at the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu on Saturday, November 19, 2022, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

With the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, large numbers of Filipinos began immigrating to the United States through its family reunification provision. A large proportion of these immigrants settled in Hawai‘i, where they faced social, economic and educational challenges. Social service agencies and public

institutions were not prepared to adequately serve the newly arrived Filipinos. Furthermore, refugees from the Vietnam War added to this growing enrollment of newly arrived, non-English speaking students.

To address the need to bolster basic services for recent immigrants, University of Hawai‘i faculty and students, members of the Filipino community, and the State Immigration Services Center formed the Filipino Volunteers of Hawaii (FVH).

In 1972, with funding from the United Presbyterian Church Council on Church Support and ACTION (a federal agency), FVH organized Operation Manong to provide direct assistance to immigrant children enrolled in Hawai‘i’s public school system.

For a long time in Hawai‘i the Ilokano term ‘manong’

Three OM/OMSS directors: Clement Bautista, Melinda Tria Kerkvliet and Amy Agbayani

was used by non-Filipinos in a derogatory manner. The FVH decided to call their project, Operation Manong, to reflect the positive designation of ‘manong’ as a symbol of respect, alliance, and cooperation in building a better understanding among the younger population of Filipino ancestry in Hawai‘i.

OM manongs and manangs tutored their adings and provided out-of-school activities (e.g., picnics and hikes)

to help improve adings’ conversational English skills.

OM was formally designed to: (1) provide University of Hawai‘i students with training, supervised research and community practicum in cross-cultural relations, bilingual/bicultural education and tutorial techniques; (2) provide tutorial, cultural orientation and recreational activities to immigrant and local-born youth; and (3) conduct and cooperate with other Univer-

sity units, the Department of Education and other agencies on teacher training, curriculum development and research on immigration related issues, particularly involving immigrant youth.

Throughout OM’s first decade, placing college students as bilingual tutors in the Department of Education was its primary task.

As the aims of OM grew, however, the program was reorganized and transferred from the Social Science Research Institute and the College of Education to its current position under the Office of Student Affairs.

In July 1985 the Hawaii State Legislature further mandated OM to conduct student service programs for disadvantaged students for the purpose of ensuring equal access and opportunity to public higher education.

To meet this mandate OM began organizing recruitment and retention activities for Filipino Americans and other underrepresented students at UHM. Strategies included dis(continue on page 10)

10 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE NOVEMBER 5, 2022

AS I SEE IT

Batangas Kapeng Barako anyone?

By Elpidio R. Estioko

W

hen we talk of coffee in the Philippines, we talk of kapeng barako. As I lived in Hawaii for many years, Big Island Coffee’s Kona coffee dominates the scene.

But as I miss the Philippines in this chilly California weather, I can’t help but miss kapeng barako..

Batangas, in the Philippines, is not only known for its balisong (knife), but also kapeng barako.. In Hawaii, they have a counterpart known as

Kona Coffee, a world-famous coffee that is exclusively grown on the slopes of two tantalizing volcanoes on the Big Island.

Lately, I was surfing the net and to my surprise, I chanced upon one event being celebrated on October 1st: International Coffee Day! This was my first time to hear and learn about it, and immediately I wondered if we could have one distinct for the Filipinos.

So, how about a Kapeng Barako Day in the Bay Area? This will be our chance to promote our own brands of coffee which are unique to Filipinos.

I haven’t heard of kapeng barako for a while here in the US until I met two gentlemen from Batangas who were in the coffee business. While that’s five years ago, still our Batangas coffee is not spreading too fast.

One afternoon, I joined David D. Bacho and Edgar Madarang at Goldilocks Restaurant at Seafood City in Milpitas.

Bacho’s barako coffee business had been going on in San Francisco for a while but for Madarang, it just started two years ago in San Jose and Milpitas.

While we were at the restaurant, one matured Filipino American lady from Batangas happened to pass by our group and overheard our conversation. She also noticed the 16-ounce pack of coffee lying on the table and said: “Ano yan? Kapeng barako? Alamid?” (What’s that?

Kapeng Barako? Alamid?)

Then she started to tell us a story. “You know what, a relative of mine brought some barako when she visited us but after consuming it, I looked around to buy some, but nobody is selling them.”

Also, a classmate of mine in high school Gloria Benito from Bakersfield, California called me one day asking me where she can find kapeng barako.: “How can I order this Batangas coffee Peds (after reading my column in Philippine News Today). My niece brought me one last time she came to visit and I loved it.”

She also wanted to serve barako during her son’s birthday.

Based on their stories, the demand was there but there were no supplies, or they didn’t know where to buy them. Even my Batangas friends here in the US, when asked, never knew either where to buy the coffee they have been longing for so long.

Bacho, coffee trader and owner of CJB Coffee Trading residing in Colma, California was duly assisted by his wife Digna in their coffee business.

He said: “Now it is available in San Jose and Milpitas area. I have partnered lately with Edgar Madarang of San Jose and Gene Granadosin of Milpitas to sell our 16-ounce kape de barako and other coffee products in the area. It has been selling in San Francisco for the past five years and now it needs to reach to as many Fil-Ams in the area.”

“Coffee is our business and our passion. We hope to expand our reach, first by saturating the Bay Area and then moving towards the south,” he added.

Bacho said his Batangas coffee being distributed here in the US were grown in a 1.2-hectare plantation in Amadeo, Batangas where they planted 1,200 trees.

“We bring in the beans from Batangas to the US, process it, and pack them (handcrafted)

tion. Does that sound smart?

It isn’t. It’s the return of trickle-down, where the GOP puts money in the pockets of the corporate and wealthy, and the good will trickle down to the rest of us.

It never does. Trickle-down defies the laws of gravity. It’s called greed.

I prefer “Trickle-up,” like the Democrats’ Student Loan Forgiveness program. That

could mean up to $20,000 in debt wiped out. That’s relief. Last week, Republicans stopped it in court.

It doesn’t kill the idea, but if Democrats don’t hold their slim majorities on election day, loan forgiveness will die.

As will anything else that will help poor and middle-class people. Even in paradise.

When you live in Hawaii, you are already ahead of the

game. Just remember, when you mark your ballot.

Don’t pick the Sunaks.

Pick the Itliongs.

(continue on page 11)

(CANDID PERSPECTIVES: How to ....from page 8)

election for our democracy.

I just listened to the Trump Tapes, the interviews by Bob Woodward of the former president.

It’s one thing to read about all the things Trump has done, but to hear him talk about it is beyond infuriating. And yet Trump-backed election deniers, conservative Republicans who believe the lie that the 2020 election was stolen

from Trump, look to be ahead in the pre-election polls.

If they win on a lie and create a new majority going forward, the future will not be pretty for the “little guy.”

Is inflation your worry?

The Republicans are touting massive spending cuts like in Social Security and Medicare, and tax cuts. That will decrease revenues, raise the debt and cause more infla-

(EDITORIALS: The Honolulu Police ....from page 3)

(NEWS FEATURE: Celebrating ....from page 9)

killed another mentally ill man.

This time a homeless person stopped for jaywalking, but later brandished a weapon which the officer justified to shoot and kill him.

Both Quinto and Arboleda – both unarmed and experiencing a mental health crisis at the time police were called on them -- were killed unnecessarily. Some question if racial bias had something to do with the way police responded. Some have said officers involved were ill-trained to deal with Quinto and Arboleda. Both exhibited non-threatening situations (not imminently life or death scenarios).

Both were not engaged in any criminal activity when police arrived.

In recent years besides CITs, police departments across the U.S. have also started to hire and work with

seminating information about the UH system and providing encouragement and academic assistance to younger students.

Thus, as one the UHM’s first programs to address campus diversity and service learning, it now addressed equal access to higher education by developing extensive community outreach programs and services for public school, pre-college and college students.

OM student workers conducted seminars, workshops and forums, as well as provided personal counseling on goal setting, career choices, and preparation for college and acquiring financial aid. Recruitment activities extended to community colleges, community groups, and neighbor island high schools.

Among the many activities and projects coordinated or

mental health professionals to deal with situations like Quinto and Arboleda’s.

CITs ultimately are about saving lives (both for police and the mentally ill) and saving money for departments and taxpayers.

People with mental illness are booked into the nation’s jails around 2 million times every year. This is a startling statistic and it’s about time that police departments receive proper training to deal with this huge population.

CITs are necessary as a matter of public safety. CITs need our community’s support. CITs make police officers better professionals at their jobs. With better policing, this is a start for the restoration of public confidence in our police departments which have come increasingly under criticism and scrutiny.

implemented by OM/OMSS over the past five decades include the following: Pre-Engineering Project, Pre-Freshman Enrichment Program, Hawaii Summer Academy, UHM Elementary Summer Program, Hawai‘i Minority Pre-Graduate Program, Future Teachers Workshop, BIN-I Volunteer Project, UHM Transfer Project, Buddy-Buddy Project, Central District Sports Program, Ota Camp Tutoring Project, Kalihi and ‘Ewa Elementary School Programs, Kalihi-Kai Elementary Afterschool Project, Club 21 Dance Project (with Kalihi YMCA), Kūle‘a Project, Rainbow Ohana Coalition (drug prevention outreach), Early Intervention Projects (elementary schools), Hawai‘i Undergraduate Initiative (HUI), and Pasefika Passion Pipeline (3P).

On the UHM campus OM/ OMSS coordinated communi-

EMIL GUILLERMO is a journalist and commentator. He writes a column for the Inquirer’s North American Bureau. He talks about this column and other matters on “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” my micro-talk show. Live @2p Pacific.

Livestream on Facebook; my YouTube channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com.

ty conferences (Pulong sa Mānoa and Samoa ala Mai) and student organizations (African American Student Association and Native American Student Association).

In its Together in Excellence (TIE) Partnerships, OM/OMSS staff continued to provide assistance to outside agencies and institutions such as the Office of Youth Services (Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council), Japanese American Citizens League, Honolulu Museum of Art film festivals (Human Rights, African American, Jewish, and Spanish Film Club), Mutual Assistance Associations Center, Samoan Service Providers Association, Filipino Community Center (college fairs), Sariling Gawa and the Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawai‘i.

(continue on page 11)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  11

HAWAII-FILIPINO NEWS

General Election and Filipino American Candidates: Quick Guide On Voting By Nov. 8

T

he Hawaii General Election 2022 is coming to a close soon! On Tuesday, Nov. 8, the polls will be gathering and counting votes to officially declare the new set of elected public officials to serve and provide quality service to the community.

Haven’t cast your vote yet?

No worries! This quick guide will guide you in the steps you can take so you can vote on or before Nov. 8. Moreover, let’s take a look at the list of Filipino Americans who are on the General Election ballot.

(AS I SEE IT: Batangas ....from page 8)

lings were grown for four to five months and then planted them on the soil. After 18 months, the plant starts to bear fruits and harvest time comes in late November or early December. The owners harvest once a year and then the cycle starts again. The barako coffee grows up to 6 feet high.

Responding to a question on

here in Colma. We bring them in through airfreight in order to preserve consistency and reserve the characteristics of the coffee, unlike ordering them through sea freight on container vans which contaminates the coffee, and it takes months to arrive.”

He explained that the seed(NEWS FEATURE: Celebrating ....from page 10)

The Friends of Operation Manong (FOOM), a non-profit group made up of OM alumni and other individuals committed to equal opportunity in education, was created as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization in 1992.

FOOM raises private and foundation funds to supplement OM activities and programs. FOOM has also administered scholarships, educational and cultural grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation, People’s Fund and the Honolulu Committee for the Humanities.

From its beginnings with dedicated individuals such as Ben Junasa, Amy Agbayani, Sheila Forman, Melinda Tria Kerkvliet and Johnny Verzon and UHM advocates such as Anthony Marsella and Doris Ching created the firm foundations from which OM/ OMSS staff – Clement Bautista and Adrialina Guerero – could build upon over the following five decades. OM/ OMSS is proud of its countless alumni and participants.

The 50th anniversary reunion will be an opportunity to reconnect with and reflect on one of the most important and extensive university/community initiatives. The public and, especially, all former OM/OMSS alumni and participants are invited to attend the celebration. Please RSVP at https://bit.ly/OM50th.

State Senate

You will be casting your vote for candidates in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Congressional Districts, Hawaii Governor, Hawaii Lt. Governor, State Senate, State House, City Council, County Council and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Before you cast your vote, it’s important that you do your research on your district’s candidates and their platforms to improve the community that you live in. If you’re looking into learning more about the Filipino Americans running for public office this year, here’s the list of Filipino Americans in the general election ballot:

District 2 - Joy San Buenaventura (D) District 13 - Matthew Tinay (R) District 14 - Donna Mercado Kim (D) District 16 - Brandon Elefante (D) District 17 - Donovan Dela Cruz (D)

the side effects of drinking coffee, Bacho said “like everything in life, caffeine has side effects that mostly appear if you have way too much. For example, as a stimulant for the central nervous system, caffeine could produce anxiety, rapid heart rate, and insomnia.”

But, Bacho, a stroke survivor said: “Coffee rejuvenates

dead cells in the body. I drink barako in the evening and I don’t have any problem sleeping after drinking it.”

According to Bacho, the three qualities of barako are matapang (strong), suwabe (smooth) and malasa (tasty).

Craving for that connection back home in the Philippines,

the kapeng barako is a good reminder of the good old days. So, would you like to join me for some kapeng barako?

PREPARE YOUR VOTE

State House District 4 - Greggor Ilagan (D) District 26 - Della Au Belatti (D) District 30 - Sonny Ganaden (D) District 32 - Micah Aiu (D)

(continue on page 15)

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and a multi-awarded journalist here in the US. For feedbacks, comments… please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com.

12 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE NOVEMBER 5, 2022

BOOK REVIEW

WEAVING WAYS: Filipino Style and Techniques

By Rose Cruz Churma

T

his is the third in a series of books published by HABI, The Philippine Textile Council, and is intended for the use of students and educators as well as a resource for weavers and textile enthusiasts.

HABI was founded sometime in 2010 with the goal of creating a vibrant and handloom weaving industry in the Philippines—one that can enable the weavers derive a sustainable income to benefit the entire family.

Since its establishment, the organization has seen a surge in the industry where traditional textiles are now very conspicuous on the fashion ramp, as uniforms and on decorative items.

HABI publishes books

on weaving as part of its mission, and its third book is both a technical handbook on basic weaving and a survey of several communities and their indigenous textiles.

The first part, a technical handbook, was written by Gay Eiko Yoshikawa-Zialcita, a third generation Hawai’i-born Japanese who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawai’i where she specialized in textile science.

In 1977, she moved to the Philippines to get married and soon joined her husband who was then doing his field research in the Ilocos region.

In those remote barrios, she developed friendships with the local weavers who showed her the traditional Ilocano style of weaving.

At about that time, she also

collaborated with the Design Center Philippines where she wrote two manuscripts on traditional weaving.

During those years, the public was not yet ready to pay premium prices for handwoven clothes, so she shifted her interests on more modern type of fibers like fiber optics and technology.

In 2018, she joined HABI, who was interested in publishing her manuscripts

on handloom weaving.

In 2017-18, she joined the Ateneo Social and Cultural Laboratory (led by her husband Butch Zialcita) as volunteer/den-mother to students who did two detailed projects on the binakol, an optical illusion type of Ilocano cloth, where they documented the entire process of weaving, the weavers’ life stories and noted warping procedures for four basic binakol designs.

She shares her weaving knowledge and experience in this manual—so more people will appreciate the skill and accuracy required to make a bolt of cloth, and be encouraged to wear these works of art.

There are four common styles of weaving looms now used—two types of backstrap loom and two types of the upright loom. Regardless of the loom type, the principles and procedures are nearly the same.

This segment of the book describes in detail—in illustrations, text and tables— how to use these looms and produce a handcrafted piece of cloth.

In addition, the set of tools typically used by weavers are also illustrated and described, as well as how to select the yarns to be used, based on the desired designs.

This is an incredible achievement—one that ensures the preservation of a craft that used to be passed down from one generation to the next.

The second portion of the book is written by Norma A. Respicio, professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines on art studies. She also studied art history in Japan and conducted research on Japanese textiles.

In this section, the author provides a brief history of Philippine textile weaving traditions and identifies the (continue on page 13)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  13

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Pinoy Plights

By Seneca Moraleda-Puguan

R

oof on our heads, comfortable beds, a nice bathroom with hot and cold water, a warm place to stay, a spacious car that brings us from one place to another – these are just some of the things our little family enjoys and are grateful to God for every single day.

But not everyone gets the privilege to enjoy these things. For us, these are necessities but to many of my ‘kababayans’ in the Philippines, these are luxuries. For millions of Filipinos in poverty, life is a daily battle they seem to be losing.

My husband and I usually spend time watching dramas and vlogs once our children are tucked into bed.

One night we came across a documentary by Mr. Oscar Oida for ‘I-Witness’, a multi-awarded documentary program of GMA-7, a local Philippine television station.

His documentary was entitled ‘Komyuter Problems’ (Commuter Problems). It was about the daily struggles of ordinary commuters in Metro Manila.

He followed the commute of two mothers who

work in the Metro but live in the nearby provinces.

Watching the length of their travel from their workplaces to their homes just made us realize that the struggle is indeed real for Filipino commuters.

The daily battle to be able to secure a place in the bus and the length of time stuck in traffic could be so exhausting and energy-draining. They leave work at 6 in the evening and arrive at almost 10 in the evening, wasting precious hours that could have been spent with family. They have to leave at around 5 am the next day, giving them insufficient time to rest.

This is not a new thing.

Living in the Philippines for almost half of my life before moving overseas, I have experienced the ordeal of being a commuter in the Philippine capital. I am just grateful

I was able to escape such terrible experience but my heart breaks for many of my friends and countrymen who have to brave the streets each day just so they can make a living.

Traffic and commuting aren’t just the problems my beloved country is facing.

Another major issue that has to be dealt with by our leaders is housing.

Ms. Sandra Aguinaldo, another broadcast journalist from GMA-7 featured the homes of those living in slums on her ‘I-Witness’ documentary entitled ‘Bahay, Buhay’ (House, Life).

Watching her stories really caused our hearts to sink. We slept humbled and grateful for the small but comfortable apartment we are living in. Here we are, sleeping comfortably in our home, furnished with aircon for summer and heater for

(BOOK REVIEW: Weaving Ways ....from page 12)

twenty-seven ethno-linguistic groups that are actively practicing the weaving traditions.

She also describes the loom and is described with photographs (unlike the illustrations in the first segment). Design techniques are also explained—from the plain weaving with stripes, the binakul (or binacol), the multi-heddle weave, the pinillian brocade weave, to the suksok/insukit scattered design weave, the tapestry weave, and the ikat. Each type is illustrated with color photographs.

The last chapter provides a brief background on eight

featured weaving communities: Aklanons (sinamay and pinya); Bontoc; Hiligaynon of Iloilo, Ifugao, Ilocano, Maguindanaon, T’iboli, and Yakan.

The list is by no means exhaustive, but it opens the world of traditional weaving of the Philippines to readers worldwide so that they may be inspired to treasure these textiles that define Philippine identity—use it as part of their wardrobe, as an art piece in their homes, or as a collectible to be passed on to the next generation.

Couturiers and fashion designers catering the to Filipino American market have

been incorporating these traditional weaves in their clothing designs lately, due in part to the demand of their clients.

This book is a valuable resource to both designers and fashionistas—since it provides the underpinnings of the spirit that makes each completed fabric a unique treasure. ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an on-line advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora.

We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.

the cold days, complete with running water and everything we need, but countless Filipino families go home to a room as small as 1 square meter.

There was even one family who lives near Manila Bay and every day, their house gets flooded when the tide rises. This is every single day. When asked why they choose to stay in such a house, the mother of the house answered because it’s the only cheapest rent in the neighborhood, just 1,600 pesos or approximately $30 dollars per month.

They couldn’t afford to pay more because they don’t have any other source of income. Another family lives on a 2 square meter room, it’s so small that it can’t fit the whole family so the father waits outside at night and sleeps during the day when space is available.

They don’t have a toilet so they just do their thing on a plastic and dispose someplace else.

These are just few of the heartbreaking stories that many Filipino people are telling. While many politicians and celebrities flaunt their mansion-like homes on their social media accounts,

countless Filipinos face discomfort in homes that are supposed to be their place of refuge and rest.

Watching about the plights of the ordinary Filipino people has opened our eyes once again to the huge chasm between the rich and the poor. It broke our hearts big time that it caused us to pray for the leaders of the nation, that they will provide solutions to the problems their people are facing, and also pray for God to send help and provision to those who are suffering.

It moved our hearts to be grateful for every blessing we receive, big and small, and refrain from complaining about the small inconveniences of life. It compelled us to be content and satisfied with our lot and be generous with our extras.

The issues of transport and housing in the Philippines are perennial problems that have no easy solutions.

But I pray that our leaders and every one of us will not just turn a blind eye on the plights of the ordinary Pinoys.

Something has to be done and those in position who promised to make the people’s lives better must act now.

14 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE NOVEMBER 5, 2022

LEGAL NOTES

After the Divorce: Wills & Trusts

by Sheryll Bonilla, Esq.

M

ost couples who prepare their wills or trusts, name their spouse as the personal representative or trustee for their property and also leave property to the spouse.

After the emotional exhaustion, the moving out and living elsewhere, the practical adjustments to being single again, and the financial impact of the divorce, people understandably just want to for-

get about it for quite a while.

There’s still one more thing to do when they’re ready – update their estate planning documents.

The divorce breaks arrangements and instructions in these documents. The exspouse is no longer authorized to act for the other ex-spouse or receive gifts in the will or trust. That striking of an exspouse, though, does not apply to the ex’s family.

If you appointed your inlaw, he or she is still authorized to act. Or it could be that you named your in-law to act

as successor trustee or agent under power of attorney, and your sibling gets divorced.

That in-law is no longer part of the family and may not want to act on your behalf. Or the former in-law may be so mad at you for what you did, that sure, they’ll act but your heirs won’t like how long they take to do it or how much they charge for helping carry out your plans.

For gifts in your will or trust, after the divorce, all inheritance to the ex-spouse is also struck, and the property is conveyed as if the ex-spouse died first.

The property then goes to the contingent beneficiaries named or, if none, then to whoever inherits under the intestacy statutes – that is, if a person died without a will or trust.

While a divorce negates any provisions for your exspouse, any gifts to that exspouse’s family are still intact.

If your will says that “if my wife dies, all my property goes to her sister”, then you get divorced, all your property will go to your former sisterin-law unless you change your will.

If you provided for your stepchildren in your will or trust, do you still want them to have some of your property, or would you rather now just leave it all to your kids?

That’s not a blanket statement, though.

Some stepchildren may be more willing to take care of a stepparent than natural children are, so it would be kinder to take care of them if they are the ones taking care of you in your old age.

Divorced persons should give time to consider who they want to handle things or make decisions for them and update their documents.

Have your children now become old enough to take over those tasks of managing and distributing your assets, or telling the hospital whether to take you off life support? Even if they are old enough, can they afford to, either time-wise or financially?

Your children may be in college and just don’t know

how to deal with your mortgage lender or have young children who need their time.

Think about your available family (or friends) who are responsible and financially able to carry out your estate plan. If you have only a will and not a trust, the person you nominated as personal representative has to take your will to court to be probated.

An uncontested probate – around town on Oahu – typically runs about $4000 in legal fees plus another $1000 for newspaper publication, court fees, and service of process costs.

The personal representative will usually be reimbursed by court order, but do they have the money now to front the expenses of probate? If you name your adult children, do they have $5000 to do the probate or will you leave $5000 in a bank account they have access to so they can carry it out?

The personal representative is also allowed compensation for all the work they did, to be paid out of the assets you leave behind, as well as reimbursement for all the costs they fronted.

For example, he or she may pay your mortgage until the home is sold for the property division. Don’t assume your children will pay the mortgage or chip in for it. The personal representative might have to do this and will get paid back for monies he or she spent in acting in that role.

If you have a trust, does the successor trustee have the funds to pay for the deeds distributing your real estate?

You may have left your bank accounts to your children under pay-on-death beneficiary instructions with the bank and given the tasks of conveying the house to your successor trustee.

Some children will understand the need to fork over the costs of preparing and recording the deed, but some may have already spent the money on paying their bills or buying a new car.

There are some successor trustees who haven’t carried

out the instructions in a trust because they don’t want to (understandably) front their own money to implement your wishes in case your beneficiaries don’t pay them back.

Most trusts have a trustee compensation provision that allows a trustee to receive “reasonable compensation” for the work they do in carrying out your estate plan. The trustee then shows the court what work they had to do and the amount they feel is reasonable for all the time and effort they made.

Without a provision, the court can decide a trustee’s compensation under Hawaii Revised Statute § 607-18. It’s a generous statute.

The trustee – just for accepting the duties of successor trustee – gets 1% of the total value of the estate, half a percent each year for managing your assets, and another 1% when final distribution is made.

Remember, the trustee has to file estate tax returns and keep accountings that are given to the beneficiaries, so being a trustee is not necessarily a simple job. Payment may be in order.

You may have left property to your in-laws because the relationship was warm and friendly during the marriage.

The family may still treat you nicely and regard you as family even after the divorce, or they may cut you off completely.

You now have to think of the gifts you left to them in your will or trust and decide whether to give this property to someone else or let them still have it.

Estate planning documents typically include the will, power of attorney, and advance directive, or a trust and pour over will (a different type of will that goes with a trust).

The other spouse is usually designated as the agent under the power of attorney and advance directive; as successor trustee under the trust; and as personal representative under the will (either type – no trust or with trust).

It is a good idea to revoke your power of attorney if your (continue on page 15)

NOVEMBER 5, 2022  HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE  15

CALENDAR OF EVENTS CAREGIVER TO CAREGIVER B R E A K FA S T WO R K S H O P | A A R P Hawaii | Nov. 9, 12 and 17, 9am | Kona, Honolulu and Maui | Learn about state, county and AARP resources available to you as a caregiver. Free breakfast is offered for those who register early. To register, visit aarp.cvent. com/hi_care. Here are the event schedule: Kona - Nov. 9, 9:30am at Royal Kona Resort; Honolulu - Nov. 12, 9am at the Ala Moana Hotel; and Maui - Nov. 17, 9am at the Maui Beach Hotel.

TASTE OF OAHU | Millwood Ohana Productions | First Friday of the month until December 2022, 4-10pm | Aloha Stadium | Enjoy a night with Hawaii’s best entertainments, family fun activities and over 50 food, craft and retails vendors. Tickets starts at $15 for ages 12 and older. For more information, contact (808) 533-9016.

HAWAII TRIENNIAL 2022 | Hawaii State Art Museum | Until December 3, 2022 | 250 South Hotel St Second Floor, Honolulu | Even though the HT22 even officially closed on May 8, Hawaii State Art Museum will be keeping their HT22 exhibit on display until December 2022. View the unique exhibits showcasing the fluid concept of Pacific Century interweaving themes of history, place and identity. Entrance is free.

LET’S ZUMBA | Filipino Community Center | Every Monday until December 2022 at 6:15pm | FilCom Center, Consuelo Courtyard, 94-428 Mokuola Street, Waipahu | Need to unwind in movement and dance after a long workday? Join the community as we Zumba through the evening. Only $5 per class.

Proceeds go to support these program-types for FilCom Center.

C U LT U R A L W O R K S H O P S | I l o k a n o Language and Literature Program & Timpuyog Or ganization | October 26, November 30 and December 6 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | Connect with Filipino culture in this monthly cultural workshops from the UHM. Students are encouraged to register using their hawaii.edu email.

Register at https://forms.gle/o14dP8MaeG7urDqJA. Here are the various workshop details: Tinikling, October 26, 2-5:30pm at Moore 117; Kadaanan Nga Agas (Ancestral Medicine), November 30, 1:302:45pm at Webster 116; and Eskrima, December 6, 3-5:30pm at Moore 253.

HOLIDAY TIPS FOR CAREGIVERS FROM THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION | AARP Hawaii and Alzheimer’s Association Hawaii Chapter | December 6, 10-11am | Webinar | Get tips for caring for your older family members over the holidays. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/ DEC6ALZAARP. Fo inquiries, call 808-591-2771.

HAWAII-FILIPINO NEWS

AARP to Offer Free Caregiver Workshops this Month

I

n Hawaii, more than 157,000 people are family caregivers. To celebrate them, ARRP Hawaii is hosting several free breakfast Caregiver to Caregiver workshops this November which is also Nation-

al Family Caregivers Month.

“As a family caregiver for my mom, I know how difficult it is to balance work, caregiving and life in general,” said Keali’i Lopez, AARP Hawaii state director. “It makes a big difference to

be able to talk to other caregivers about the challenges we face and to know that you are not alone.”

The workshop will highlight the available resources from the state, county and AARP to help caregivers. Moreover, attendees

who register in advance will receive a free breakfast.

Kaui and Hilo events is on Nov. 2 and 5. But for other islands, please see the schedule below: • Kona - Nov. 9, 9:30am at

District 36 - Rachele Lamosao (D) District 40 - Rose Martinez (D) District 42 - Diamond Garcia (R) District 48 - Wendell Elento (R)

can check out our July 16 Supplement Issue cover story by heading to our website at thefilipinochronicle. com.

Honolulu City Council

The County Elections Division must receive your ballots by 7pm on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Make sure that you have dropped your ballot earlier than 7pm to make your vote count.

Addison Bulosan Shirley Simbre-Medeiros

VERIFY YOUR ELIGIBILITY To vote in Hawaii, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Hawaii and at least 18 years old. Quickly check your voter registration status via olvr.hawaii.gov. You must enter your name, date of birth, last four digits of your social security number and your Hawaii Driver’s License or State ID number.

Hawaii Filipino Chronicle’s July 16, 2022 Supplement Issue featured responses from these candidates discussing their background and platform in numerous issues facing the Hawaii community. You

VOTE BY MAIL Mail-in ballots have already been mailed to voters as early as mid-October. If you have your mail ballot packet already, then it’s time to vote now.

The mail packet includes a ballot, ballot secrecy sleeve, and a prepaid postage return ballot envelope. Once you have shaded your votes in the ballot, fold it neatly and put it inside the ballot secrecy sleeve. Then, place the ballot in the return ballot envelope. To seal the envelope and your vote, put your signature on the return ballot envelope.

You can simply return the mail ballot via mail. However, due to this weekend’s time constraint, it’s highly recommended that you drop your mail ballot at an official drop box location within your county. The drop box sports a bright orange hue with a large text written: “OFFICIAL BALLOT DROP BOX.”

(General Election....from page 11)

District 6 - Tyler Dos Santos-Tam District 8 - Ron Menor, Val Okimoto

Maui County Council Molokai - Keani Rawlins-Fernandez

Kauai County Council

(LEGAL NOTES: After the Divorce....from page 14)

ex-spouse is named as your agent. Get a new one prepared that specifically revokes all prior powers of attorney. Then, send a copy, just a copy, of the new POA to all your banks and financial institutions, anywhere you have money, to show your current POA. If you sent the old POA to your retirement plan or life insurance company to show that your spouse has authority to act for you, then send the new one there, so they know there’s no longer any authority.

For the advance directive, get a new one that revokes the old one, and give a copy of the

new one to your doctor. For those of you who have old separate documents (living will, HIPAA authorization, and medical power of attorney), replace these with a new advance directive, which is an all-in-one type document. It’s easier and safer because all authorizations are in one piece of paper.

Updating your estate planning documents is one more thing to think about after a divorce. Think about the new arrangements in light of what property you were left with in the decree and who you can count on now that your ex-spouse is no longer in the picture.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not to be constructed as offering legal advice. Please consult an attorney for your individual situation. The author is not responsible for a reader’s reliance on the information contained her. This article is for informational purposes only and is not to be constructed as offering legal advice. Please consult an attorney for your individual situation. The author is not responsible for a reader’s reliance on the information contained here.

VOTE IN PERSON If you prefer to vote in person, Voter Service Centers are open until Nov. 8. Although receiving ballots is only until 7pm, if you are in line at the Voter Service Center by 7pm, you are still allowed to vote. For the full list of locations and hours, visit elections.

Royal Kona Resort • Honolulu - Nov. 12, 9am at the Ala Moana Hotel • Maui - Nov. 17, 9am at the Maui Beach Hotel.

To register and learn more about the Caregiver to Caregiver workshop, visit aarp.cvent.com/ hi_care. hawaii.gov/voter-service-centers-and-places-of-deposit/.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS

The County Elections Division will be validating your signature on the return envelope against their system. Then, your ballot is scanned to count the votes you casted. Once scanned, you will not be able to vote in person. If the return envelope is not signed, the ballot will not be counted. If you voted in person, your mail ballot will not be accepted to avoid duplicates. 

NOVEMBER 5, 2022