Philippine News Today

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1 December 23-29, 2021

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA EDITION

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Vol. 61 No. 20 December 23-29, 2021

NEWS AND VIEWS YOU TRUST

ODETTE’S WRATH: CLOSE TO 400 DEAD

UP-SF Alumni, Apl.de.Ap foundation donate $2.85M kits to UP-PGH

Black Christmas for thousands as power down in many areas

By ALFRED GABOT, Editor in Chief

By Jun Nucum

TAGBILARAN CITY/CEBU CITY/MANILA – Close to 400 persons were reported killed and over 50 were missing and the numbers are expected to further increase after super typhoon Odette battered a vast area in the Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan, making a landfall at least nine times before it exiting towards West Philippine Sea. Page 9

SAN FRANCISCO - Close to $3 million worth of COVID-19 test kits have been donated to the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) by the UP Alumni Association-of San Francisco (UPAASF) and Friends of the UP Foundation in America (FUPFA) In a ceremonial turnover held in Burlingame, California, donors led by UPAASF President Liza Gino, Past President and lead project coordina-Page 25

Newsom unveils DINAGAT CAPITOL. Vice President Leni Robredo checks the Dinagat Islands provincial capitol which Typhoon Ode�e destroyed. new plan vs Odette victims Pope prays for typhoon victims, aid crimes; Breed pours, pledged by UN, many countries decry govt’s slow acts on drugs tries pledged to provide over aid response

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda

By Jo Erlinda Maufit DUBLIN/SAN FRANCISCO – Building on the Administration’s work in partnership with local law enforcement to bolster public safety, Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a multipronged plan to fight and prevent crime in California. Page 24

MANILA – As Pope Francis called for prayers and assistance for victims of super typhoon Odette, the United States immediately sent assistance even as Canada, Japan, Australia, Israel, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand and other coun-

P187.9 million to assist provinces hit hard by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

China, the United States, Japan, Israel, and Australia also allocated in-kind goods for immediate deployment to the affected families.

France, at the same Page 8

By Be�ng Laygo Dolor, Editor

MANILA – Throughout the Visayas and Mindanao regions hit hard by super storm Odette (international name Rai) last week, victims who had lost their homes and were left with no power, food, and water Page 8

State Health Chief touts vax as best shield for kids

By Cherie M. Querol Moreno SACRAMENTO, California - State Secretary of Health & Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly urged reporters to spread the word about the safety and efficacy of vaccines for children ages 5-11 at a recent briefing with Ethnic Media Services. Page 11

LA County logs 60 more Omicron variant cases

Over 26M Filipinos living in poverty

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VIEWS & COMMENTS

SHOWBIZ

SPORTS

What to expect in Naturalization interview with USCIS officer

Stars, athletes join drive for Odette victims

FilAm skier PHL bet in Winter Olympics

By A�y. Lozano

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 NATIONAL NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

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Pope Francis prays for typhoon Odette victims in PHL VATICAN/MANILA - Pope Francis asked for prayers and assistance for victims of a strong typhoon that claimed lives and rendered thousands homeless in the Philippines.

After praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope expressed his closeness to Filipinos suffering from the devastation caused by typhoon “Odette” on December 16.

“I express my closeness to the people of the Philippines hit by a strong typhoon, which has destroyed many homes,” the Pontiff said.

“May the Santo Niño [de Cebú] bring consolation and hope to the families most in need; and may he inspire all of us to give concrete help. The first concrete

help is prayer, and other aids,” he added.

Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, is currently mobilizing relief work for the devastated dioceses.

“Les us please respond with generosity,” said Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, CBCP President.

The leader of the Catholic Church visited the Philippines in 2015, celebrating Mass with survivors of super typhoon Yolanda -- considered the strongest typhoon to ever hit land with over 6,000 deaths.

“When I saw from Rome the catastrophe, I felt that I had to be here,” the Pope said in his homily, as he assured the Filipinos that all is not lost despite the tragedy.

261 new Covid-19 cases logged, Duterte wary on Omicron variant MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) logged 261 new cases of Covid-19 on December 22, bringing the nation’s overall tally to 2,837,784.

In its latest case bulletin, the DOH said the active cases dipped further to 9,238 with 395 new recoveries which pushed the total number of recoveries to 2,777,630.

Among the active cases, 3,153 are mild, 507 are asymptomatic, 377 are critical, 1,801 are severe, and 3,400 are

moderate.

“Of the 261 reported cases today, 247 or 95 percent occurred within the recent 14 days – November 30 to December 13, 2021,” the DOH said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, admitted that he was worried about the possibility of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 causing another surge in infections, noting that government funds were depleted.

He made this statement after Health

Secretary Francisco Duque III said his department has recorded at least three imported Omicron cases in the Philippines.

The Philippines has administered a total of 102,988,677 doses of vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) nationwide, with 45,284,617 Filipinos now fully vaccinated and 1,194,321 more having received their booster shots It added that the top regions with most cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region with 74 or 30 percent, Region 4A with 32 or 13 percent, and Region 3 with 20 or 8 percent of the country’s new cases.

The death toll has reached 50,916 with 122 new deaths.

“Of the 122 deaths, 15 or 12 percent occurred in December 2021, 17 or 14 percent in November 2021, 39 or 32 percent in October 2021, 27 or 22 percent in September 2021, 10 or eight percent in August 2021, five or 4 percent in July 2021, two or 2 percent

in June 2021, one or 1 percent in May 2021, 2 or two percent in April 2021, one or 1 percent in August 2020, two or 2 percent in July 2020, and one or 1 percent in April 2020 due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya,” the DOH said.

The COVIDKaya is a digital application used by health care workers to collect and share data about Covid-19 cases.

The DOH added that this issue is currently being coordinated with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units to ensure information is up to date.

Nearly half of PHL hospitals log zero Covid admissions Dec. 5 to 9

MANILA – Around 598 out of the 1,232 hospitals nationwide have no new admissions of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from December 5 to 9.

“We have observed that nationally, 48.5 percent of hospitals reported no new Covid-19 admissions in the past five days from December 5 to 9,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during an online media briefing.

The top three regions with the most number of hospitals without new admissions of Covid-19 patients include Soccsksargen with 75.4 percent; Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) 73.1 percent; and Northern Mindanao, 65.7 percent.

In the National Capital Region, 62 or 39.2 percent of the 158 hospitals have

logged no new Covid-19 admissions for the same period.

“Our epidemic curve shows that the current average of daily cases have (sic) further decreased by 180 cases or 27 percent this week and now 498 average cases per day. This average cases per day is already ten times lower than those reported in July of 2021 and also lower by more than half of the cases per day as of Jan. 2, 2021,” Vergeire said.

The top five regions with the most number of new cases are the National Capital Region (NCR) with 122 cases; Calabarzon, 80 cases; Central Luzon, 65; Central Visayas, 60; and Western Visayas, 42.

The top five areas with the most number of new cases are Negros Oriental with 42; Quezon City, 31; Batangas, 29; Bulacan, 27; and Cavite, 23.

3 December 23-29, 2021

 NATIONAL NEWS

Comelec junks 1 of 6 petitions vs Marcos, summons him to answer 3 DQ cases

By Claire Morales True MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed one of the seven petitions filed seeking to bar former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from seeking the country’s highest post.

Marcos, who is leading all presidential aspirants in surveys together with runningmate Davao City Mayor Sara Duiterte, is not yet off the hook, however, as six other petitions against his presidential bid are still pending before the Comelec – two petitions to cancel his candidacy and four disqualification cases.

Meanwhile, the Comelec First Division has summoned Marcos to answer the three disqualification cases filed against him.

“The Summons for the three cases filed against BBM have already been sent to the e-mail addresses of the Election Officers (EOs). The EOs were directed to print, personally serve the Summons to Respondent BBM, and to submit Affidavits of service,” said Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, a member of the First Division.

“The Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) and Regional Election Director (RED) were also requested to ensure effective service of summons,” she added.

Upon receipt, the former senator has

five days to submit his response to the poll body.

Guanzon added that the preliminary conferences of the three cases have been scheduled for early next year.

“Also, the Preliminary Conferences of the said cases were set on January 7, 2022 (Friday),” she said.

The three disqualification cases were separately filed by petitioners Bonifacio Ilagan, Abubakar Mangelen and the group Akbayan.

Aside from Guanzon, the First Division is composed of Commissioners Marlon Casquejo and Aimee Ferolino In its seven-page decision dated Dec. 16, the Comelec Second Division said it denied the petition against Marcos which was filed by a fellow presidential aspirant Danilo Lihaylihay seeking to declare Marcos as a nuisance candidate In junking the petition, the Comelec second division said Lihaylihay failed to present proof that Marcos could be considered a nuisance as he even failed to submit a copy of Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC).

The poll body said Marcos’ candidacy did not fall under any of the three broad categories of nuisance candidates: one who has filed a candidacy to throw the election process in mockery or disrepute, cause confusion among voters by the similarity of names, or that some acts

Senate, House ratify P5-trillion 2022 nat’l budget

MANILA – The Senate and the House of Representatives have ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022.

During the plenary session, the chamber ratified the final version of the spending measure after the bicameral committee reconciled the disagreeing provisions earlier in the day.

Following its ratification, the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) will be transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.

Among the amendments introduced in the final version of the proposed 2022 budget is the increase in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC)’s budget to P17.1 billion after it was initially cut down to P4 billion.

or circumstances clearly demonstrate the lack of a bona fide intention to run for office.

“Petitioner utterly failed to demonstrate to the Commission (2nd Division) that Respondent falls in any of the classifications listed,” stated the decision promulgated on December 16 and penned by Commissioner Socorro Inting.

The poll body said there was no act or circumstance that Marcos has no bona fide intention to run for president as he previously served as vice governor, governor, representative of Ilocos Norte, and senator, and was a candidate for vice president in the 2016 polls.

“In stark contrast to what Petitioner attempts to depict, the circumstances obtained in this case actually demonstrate that Respondent has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it added Lihaylihay’s petition had claimed that Marcos seeks to put the election process in mockery or disrepute “because his purpose was mainly to have his family’s political comeback in Malacañang,” but the poll body dismissed this as “sweeping statements” and “unfounded claims.”

“No inference can possibly be made

that respondent’s act of filing his COC for president puts the election process in mockery or disrepute,” Comelec’s 2nd Division said.

Lihaylihay’s evidence is “grossly insufficient considering that the COC it sought to cancel was not even attached to the petition,” the division stated in its ruling.

“It pays to ask, how could we cancel something which is not found in the records of this case?” the decision signed by presiding commissioner Socorro Inting stated.

“On the contrary, Respondent has sufficiently established that he actually has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it said.

The decision even noted that Marcos, who has been leading presidential surveys, served elective posts such as vice governor, governor, and representative of Ilocos Norte. The son of the late dictator also won a seat in the Senate, and was a vice presidential candidate in 2016.

“In stark contrast to what Petitioner attempts to depict, the circumstances obtaining in this case actually demonstrate that Respondent has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it said.

 METRO NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

Isko: Manila Zoo rehab almost complete, reopening next week

By Claire Morales True MANILA - A renovated and modernized Manila Zoo will re-open initially on December 30, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced.

Domagoso made the announcement as he and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna visited the ongoing rehabilitation of the zoo, the

oldest in Southeast Asia which then Manila Mayor Arsenio H. Lacson opened in 1959 officially known as the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, and presented to officials and the media its new look.

The zoo, which is located in a 5.5 hectare property along President Quirino avenue corner Macario Adriatico st. in Malate, Manila besides the Paraiso ng Batang Maynila playground and recreations area

and the Ospital ng Maynila which is also undergoing modernization under Domagoso, was closed in 2019 over sanitation and other issues amid calls for its transfer to a more environment friendly place.

After three years of rehabilitation, the zoo will have its soft opening during the first quarter of 2022 with better landscapes and facilities for its animals and visitors, especially children, the mayor said.

4 Taguig cops nabbed over P30-M robbery in Pasig City

COPS AND ROBBERS. Four Taguig City cops are arrested for allegedly robbing a Japanese and his Filipina partner in Pasig City of P30 million in cash on December 18. One civilian was also nabbed, two eluded arrest, and one died.

PASIG CITY – Four Taguig City policemen have been arrested and are under restrictive custody after they robbed a Japanese national and his Filipina partner in Pasig City of P30 million in cash inside the couple’s home.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos ordered the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to hold under custody Staff Sgt. Jayson Bartolome, Cpl. Merick Desoloc, Cpl. Christian Jerome Reyes, and Pat. Kirk Joshua Almojera.

The four, assigned at the Taguig City Police Station, were among eight suspects who allegedly staged a robbery in the couple’s house Barangay Kapitolyo.

They reportedly held at gunpoint domestic partners Joana Marie Flores Espiritu, 26, and

Japanese Kani Toshiro, 42.

Carlos also ordered NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. to place Maj. Nimrod Balgemini Jr., commander of Taguig Sub-Station 1, on administrative relief to preclude any possibility of undue influence in the investigation.

NCRPO has stepped up pursuit operations against two other suspects, dismissed cop Ferdinand Fallari and a certain Ruwel Galang, who eluded arrest.

AJ Mary Agnas, 22, who allegedly works for the couple, was also arrested while a certain Jhon Carlo Atienza, 30, was found dead with a gunshot wound at the corner of Kalayaan Avenue and Tolentino Street in Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Makati City.

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US Secretary of State cites Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto PASIG CITY – Pasig City Mayor Victor “Vico” Sotto, who was previously named as a global “anti-corruption champion” by the US State Department, got a special mention from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a speech outlining America’s approach in the region, State Secretary Blinken named Sotto as one of the US partners in promoting anti-corruption and transparency efforts.

“We’re finding partners in government, too, like Victor Sotto. He’s the mayor of the city of Pasig in the Philippines,” Blinken said in Jakarta on December 14.

“Victor set up a 24/7 hotline for constituents to report cases of corruption. It has made the awarding in public contracts more transparent, has given community-based organizations a say in the way the city spends its resources,” he added.

Last February 2021, Sotto received the State Department’s anti-corruption champions award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership, courage, and impact in preventing, exposing, and combating corruption.

Blinken said advancing an open and free Indo-Pacific not only involves defending the rules-based order in the region but also promoting “free places” that are open to criticism, to self-reflection, as well as to renewal.

5 December 23-29, 2021

 PROVINCIAL NEWS

Massive cleanup of Calumpit River in Bulacan slated CALUMPIT, Bulacan – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will start the massive cleanup of the Calumpit River in Bulacan this month.

The move aims to lessen flooding in low-lying areas in Bulacan and to fast-track the rehabilitation of Manila Bay areas in Central Luzon.

The more than 8-kilometer stretch Calumpit River is a tributary of the larger Pampanga River, and the town itself serves as a natural catch basin for flood waters coming from Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.

The first phase of the cleanup project will transpire in ways and bring back the depth of our river system that the 1.5-kilometer stretch of the Calumpit River that cov- will prevent the overflow of a great body of water espeers barangays of Sapang Bayan, Gatbuca, Frances, and cially during the rainy season,” he said.

Poblacion.

In a statement on Monday, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu cited the need to haul submerged garbage in the Calumpit River that was crucial to prevent flooding due to clogged waterways.

“Massive cleanup operations that involve desilting and grubbing of waste materials will unclog our water-

Pampanga’s giant lanterns sparkle amid pandemic CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Not even the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic can pull the plug on Pampanga’s Giant Lantern Festival (GLF), which this city holds every year to illuminate the time for joy and hope among Filipinos.

Now on its 113th year, the world-renowned “Ligligan Parul” took center stage last week at Robinsons Starmills here to keep the Kapampangan’s cultural tradition alive despite the presence of the virus.

For the second time, the event was not held as a competition but as a digital exhibition of seven giant lanterns from Barangays Sto. Niño, San Juan, San Nicolas, Sta. Lucia, Bulaon, Telebastagan, and Calulut.

The glittering parol (lantern) display was aired live via regional television network CLTV36 and social media sites, PNA’s Zorayda Tecson reported.

Unlike last year, the country’s Christmas capital is opening the grand lantern display to the public but still compliant with the existing health protocols.

People can now watch the nightly exhibitions from

Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, 2022, except Dec. 24 and 31, at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Robinsons Starmills ground through limited face-to-face, group viewing, and drivein viewing.

“We have two exhibition shows per night. Around 300 people are allowed to watch the per show. All they need to do is to register online,” she said. provcSince last year, the event organizer which is the GLF Foundation, Inc. and the San Fernando city government decided to skip the actual competition to promote and implement “safe tourism” amid the current global health crisis.

Despite limitations and restrictions, the opening of the annual festival was staged successfully as it showcased the strong message of hope and unity.

“Our goal is to continue our tradition and keep the spirit alive this Christmas despite this pandemic,” City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan said in a livestreamed event.

 NATIONAL NATIONAL NEWS NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

PHL logs 3rd Omicron variant case

MANILA – A third case of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) coronavirus variant has been detected in the country. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported.

Vergeire said the case is a 36-year-old returning overseas Filipino (ROF) who

already tested negative for Covid-19 on December 19 after a repeat test.

The overseas Filipino worker arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport from Qatar on November 28. A sample was collected from him on December 4 which yielded a positive result on De-

cember 5.

“The case completed his isolation in Cebu before traveling back to Cavite, his hometown, where he immediately self quarantined upon arrival. The case is currently finishing his home quarantine in Cavite and has remained asymptomatic since his arrival,” Vergeire said.

The DOH, Vergeire said, is in the process of identifying the possible close contacts of the case among his co-passengers.

It is also verifying the test results and health status of all passengers of the flights taken by the confirmed cases.

On December 15, the Department of Health reported the first two imported cases of the Omicron variant.

One of the cases is an ROF who arrived from Japan on December 1 via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 0427.

The other case is a Nigerian who arrived on November 30 via Oman Air with flight number WY 843.

On December 16, the DOH said the cases remain in isolation and under close monitoring, and seven close contacts of them have been identified.

MMDA, NCR mayors giving P100-M aid to ‘Odette’ victims

Labor, environmental and criminal jus�ce reform advocates welcomed the appointment.

MAKATI CITY – Adopting the “We Vax as One” concept, Metro mayors have unanimously agreed to release P100 million to help local government units (LGUs) in the Visayas and Mindanao areas affected by Typhoon Odette.

The Metro Manila Council (MMC), through a resolution, will release the fund from the savings of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

“We are going to prioritize local government units stricken by Tropical

Cyclone Wind Signal Number 4 of Typhoon Odette,” MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said.

“This financial aid will help, especially in these trying times. It’s Christmas after all, a time of sharing and giving,” he added.

Abalos said they opted for financial aid instead of relief goods because of the difficulty in transporting items in and out of the localities hit by the typhoon while several flights remain canceled.

“Affected LGUs are in the best posi-

tion to decide how the fund can provide for the immediate needs of their constituents. We hope this aid will somehow alleviate the plight of the typhoon victims,” said Abalos.

Metro Manila mayors previously unified their pandemic response efforts through the “We Vax as One (We Vaccinate as One)” program to further accelerate the Covid-19 inoculation rollout.

Under the program, LGUs will inoculate even non-residents and those from neighboring provinces.

The MMC, composed of the 17 Metro Manila mayors, is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA. MMDA also deployed 62 personnel from the Public Safety Division, Road Emergency Group, Metro Parkways Clearing Group, and Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office to Bohol on Sunday.

They brought chainsaws, floating pumps, generator sets, toolsets, and water purifiers, and tankers, among others, to assist in disaster response and clearing operations.

The teams likewise assisted in Tacloban City, Maasin, Sogod- Bontoc, and Isla Limasawa in Southern Leyte.

Ahead of the typhoon, the MMDA deployed a contingent team in response to the request of the provincial government of Sorsogon.

Other teams from the agency’s Public Safety Division were also sent to Panay Island to help in search and rescue operations.

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X’mas weekend set as nat’l days of prayer for ‘Odette’ victim MANILA – The Catholic Church has designated Dec. 25 and 26 as national days of prayer for families affected by Typhoon Odette.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported that its president, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, urged dioceses to dedicate the Christmas weekend to pray for the recovery of areas in Visayas and Mindanao that were ravaged by the typhoon.

Aside from offering prayers, parishes are asked to hold a second collection in all Masses on the said days for the victims of the typhoon.

He added that the “Alay Kapwa Solidarity Fund” will be used for the collective emergency response of the Catholic Church.

“We encourage everyone to remit all collections to Caritas Philippines that will then plan and implement our overall response,” David said.

“May this season of giving offer us more opportunities to do consistent acts of Alay Kapwa (offering of oneself),” he added.

Around 10 dioceses in the Visayas and Mindanao regions were heavily affected by the typhoon.

Metro Manila stays on Alert Level 2 until Dec. 31 MANILA – The Covid-19 Alert Level 2 status in Metro Manila will remain for the rest of the year despite the detection of a third Omicron variant case in the country, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., disclosed.

The vaccine czar said the possible amendment on the alert level status will be based on the epidemiological recommendations of the Department of Health, considering key factors on cases surge and hospitalization rate.

“If the cases are high, including critical cases, and if the attack rate will increase, that’s the time we will raise our alert level,” Galvez said during a media briefing at a mall vaccination site in Taytay, Rizal.

Galvez said there is a continuing decline in Covid-19 cases in the country, with just 9,592 active infections as of Monday.

“Thank God, we maintained the low positivity rate. Actually, there are some areas that recorded less than one percent of positivity rate,” he added.

Still, he cautioned the public against complacency amid the downtrend.

“For now, we will just maintain the alert level, but we will massively accelerate the vaccination. At the same time, we will revisit our preparations in terms of treatment, quarantine facilities, and hospital treatments as well as the responses of the local government units (LGUs),” he said.

7 December 23-29, 2021

 NATIONAL NATIONAL NEWS NEWS

PHL Navy deploys 19-ship flotilla for ‘Odette’ relief ops

MANILA – The Philippine Navy (PN), through the Philippine Fleet, has assembled a “19-ship humanitarian aidfocused flotilla” that will be deployed in areas severely devastated by Typhoon Odette.

“This relief flotilla consists of seven sealift vessels for the transport of relief

goods and locally stranded individuals, two patrol ships for command and control, eight other watercraft as general support vessels. Meanwhile, the Presidential Yacht, BRP Ang Pangulo (ACS25) has been repurposed as a hospital ship,” the Philippine Fleet said in a Facebook post.

It added that BRP Tarlac (LD-601), BRP Bacolod City (LS-550), BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS-17), BRP Iwak (LC-289), BRP Agta (LC-290) and BRP Ivatan LC-298) are to be deployed to augment ongoing humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts (HADR) in Cebu, Palawan, and Northern Mindanao specially Surigao, Dinagat and Siargao Islands.

“Already in Cebu are BRP Tausug (LC-295), BRP Enrique Jurado (PC371), BRP Abraham Campo (PC-396), and ACS-700,” it said.

On the other hand, BRP Gregorio Velasquez (AGR-702), BRP Hilario Ruiz (PC-378) and BRP Rafael Pargas (PC-379) are already in Northern Mindanao and have completed several relief sorties already.

“ACS-25 will join these ships in the Siargao/Dinagat area. While prepositioned in Palawan already are BRP Mangyan (AC-71), BRP Jose Andrad (PC-370), BRP Carlos Albert (PC-375), and BRP DIoscoro Papa (PC-381),” the post read.

Aside from the ships, the PN also placed four naval aircraft on alert status

to provide aerial survey, immediate rescue, and limited transport capabilities of the flotilla.

The naval air component consists of two BN Islander aircraft (NV-312 and NV-314), one Beechcraft King Air (C-90) aircraft (NV-394), and one shipbased AgustaWestland (AW-109) helicopter (NH-430).

These assets are provided by the Cavite City-based Philippine Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Alberto B. Carlos.

“Aid and other carepacks are presently being loaded aboard AC-S25, LC289, and LC-290. AC-S25 is scheduled to depart tonight, 19 December 2021, while LC-289 and LC-290 will depart tomorrow (Monday) morning,” it said.

PN relief operations in Northern Mindanao, Cebu, and Palawan shall be directed by the current naval operating forces commanders in the area -- Commodore Carlos Sabarre in Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (Northern Mindanao), Captain Raul Regis PN in Naval Forces Central (Cebu), and Commodore Donn Miraflor in Naval Forces West (Palawan).

5 ‘rejected’ party-list groups secure TRO vs Comelec MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has issued temporary restraining orders (TROs) against the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to deny the registration of three party-list groups.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo issued the TROs in the petitions filed by the Alliance for Resilience, Sustainability and Empowerment (ARISE), represented by its president, Arze Glipo, Ang Tinig ng Seniors and Igorot Warriors International Inc. (IWI), represented by its chairperson, Jerson Bantag.

A day later, the High Court also issued TROs for Lingkud Bayanihan Party and the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples

Conference for Peace and Development.

The SC ordered Comelec to comment on the petitions within a non-extendible period of 10 days and in the meantime, honor the restraining order by not enforcing its registration dismissal orders.

The Comelec dismissed the petitions for registration of IWI on September 22 and ARISE on August 11.

Their motions for reconsideration were turned down on December 1, prompting them to take their cases to the SC. The party-list system is an innovation of the Constitution seeking to allow underrepresented and marginalized sec-

tors of society to gain a presence in the House of Representatives after obtaining a minimum threshold of votes nationwide.

On November 17, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said the Comelec rejected 126 groups bidding to register as party-lists for the 2022 elections.

During the filing period from October 1 to 8, a total of 270 partylist groups filed their Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance and on October 25, Comelec announced 53 new

US delivers P26.4-M Covid-19 response DAVAO CITY – The United States government has delivered P26.4 million worth of medical equipment, including four vaccine cold storage units for the eight communitybased coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cluster clinics that were launched in Davao City.

US Embassy in Manila Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava handed over 10 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, four cold storage units, and other medical equipment and supplies to Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte during the clinics’ launch

in the city.

“As a friend, partner, and ally, the United States is one with you in fighting Covid-19 and facilitating long-term initiatives that ensure health, peace, and prosperity in the southern Philippines,” said Variava.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the Davao City Health Office to develop a plan to facilitate fast, accessible, and Covid-19 services by setting up eight “Covid-19 cluster clinics” in strategic locations.

The envoy said these

clinics would not only provide communities with free Covid-19 tests and services but would also serve as venues for vaccinations.

Health Assistant Secretary Roy Ferrer, for his part, said USAID’s latest assistance would be vital in mitigating the spread of infection in the area.

“USAID’s support in increasing capacity in case detection and testing is evident through the dispatch of mobile swabbing teams and provision of testing kits and supplies, which now includes the deployment of vaccina-

tion teams to far-flung areas,” he said.

The new donation is on top of the P6.9 million worth of ICU beds and vaccine cold storage units that the US Department of Defense (DOD) donated to the Philippines last October and November, which, for the DOD, is a reflection of the strong cooperation between the two nations.

“These challenging times reinforce the strength of our partnership,” said Maj. Scott Holub, Special Operations Task Force 511.2 commanding officer.

groups that were granted registration.

On Tuesday, the Kalipunan ng Maralita at Malayang Mamamayan, Inc. (Kamalayan) secured the top spot on the ballot for 166 party-list groups.

In case of additional groups, they will be placed after the 166th group, Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (BUHAY).

 NATIONAL NEWS Odette...

(From page 1)

decried what they said was the Duterte administration’s slow response to their critical situation.

While the final death toll was not yet known, at least 200 were reported killed by the destruction caused by Odette’s powerful winds and torrential rains.

Damage to the agricultural sector has been pegged at P2.2 billion (about $44 million).

This as a new storm to be named Paolo is seen to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this week which is expected to initially hit Mindanao and eastern Visayas around Christmas Day. Just how bad the situation is can be gleaned from Bohol Gov. Arturo Yap’s saying that looting had been taking place in his province by normally law abiding residents who had gotten desperate.

As for Siargao, the first place where

Pope...

(From page 1)

time, committed to lend the Philippines the equivalent of P14 billion to support and build up disaster risk reduction efforts at the local level, Finance Secretary Carlos Domiguez said.

In a statement, the DOF said that it signed a €250-million policy-based loan with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with the funds aimed at scaling up local governments’ disaster risk management capabilities.

Last week, the United Nations High

December 23-29, 2021

8

Odette made landfall, the popular “surfing capital of the Philippines” is practically no more, with the wharf and all the tourist facilities mostly made of light materials completely destroyed. Its airport, however, remained operational for small planes, the only way out for the stranded tourists there to make it out of the place.

The Energy department said the hardest hit areas are not likely to have power until early next year. These include Bohol, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Norte.

The Department of Trade and Industry said they were checking reports that bottled drinking water was being sold by merchants at grossly overpriced sums, particularly in Cebu and Negros Occidental Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he had instructed DTI’s regional offices “to apprehend business owners who are profiteering and unduly increasing prices of consumer goods.”

The Trade department also stated that generation sets were being sold at bloated prices by typhoon profiteers.

Profiteering takes place when goods are sold at 10 percent or more than its price in the previous month.

A businessman from a prominent Negros family confirmed to Philippine News Today that prices of such essentials as bottled water, canned food, and candles were being sold at outrageous prices.

With the absence of power, foods stored in refrigerators and freezers were sure to spoil.

He requested anonimity as he was preparing to go out to buy emergency rations bearing a gun which he said was licensed but with no permit to carry. He said he was “willing to shoot” any merchant selling overpriced water.

He added that he could not depend on both the national and local government “as usual.”

As of this writing, power has been restored in only about 10 percent of Cebu City after the majority of the power lines were felled by the super storm.

More than a week after the strongest storm to hit the Philippines in recent years, the Duterte administration finally ordered the Philippine National Police to assist local government units in their rescue and recovery efforts, as well as extend relief to surviving victims.

The government is also scrambling for funds, with President Rodrigo Duterte pledging to raise P10 billion to fund the necessary efforts this week. He had earlier said the government was short of funds as the bulk of the government’s budget was already depleted by its continuing efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank has provided a standby loan of $500 million to the Philippines for use in emergencies such as natural calamities.

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the Australian government, sent about 1,000 solar lamps, 1,000 mosquito nets, 1,000 plastic tarps, and 200 plastic sheets to augment the governmentled relief operations on the ground and help displaced families in the severely affected islands of Siargao and Dinagat.

US Embassy Charge d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said the US has provided 19 trucks to transport Department of Social Welfare and Development relief commodities across Caraga, Central Visayas and Western Visayas.

The US also provided 12 trucks carry-

ing 20,000 food rations to affected areas and helped in activating mobile storage units for transporting supplies to Surigao City and Surigao del Norte.

World leaders also sent their condolences to the bereaved families of those who perished in the aftermath of the super typhoon.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is providing financial assistance through the Red Cross, which should help address the urgent need for water and sanitation on the ground.

“My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines, whose lives have been forever changed by last week’s super typhoon. Canadians are sending our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones - and we’ll keep everyone affected in our thoughts during this challenging time,” he said in a statement.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll continue to help those who need it most,” he added.

Canadian Minister for International Development Harjit Sajjan announced that Ottawa will extend up to CA$3 million (approximately P118.7 million) in assistance, including CA$500,000 for the urgent Red Cross response.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent his sympathies and personally expressed solidarity with the Filipino people. ”Russia shares the grief of those who lost their family members and friends as a result of this natural disaster and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured,“ he said.

The United Kingdom has pledged GBP750,000 (approximately P49.47 million) to the Philippine Red Cross, which will be coursed through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) “to help support those in desperate need of assistance”.

The New Zealand government, meanwhile, will donate NZ$500,000 (approximately P16.77 million) to the Philippines to support the IFRC’s efforts on the ground.

Hungary is sending HUF20 million (approximately P3.05 million) to the typhoon victims and to help restore the damaged churches in Cebu.

“Hungary is sending 20million HUF (EUR54,000) to the victims of a typhoon which hit the Philippines last week, For-

eign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday. The Hungary Embassy in Manila is working together with Caritas Manila, Anton CT Pascual, and (Foreign Affairs Secretary) Teodoro Locsin, Jr. after Typhoon Odette,” Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Titanilla Tóth said.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said about 20,000 food packages worth around P8 million are on their way to Cebu, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro City, Surigao City, Negros Oriental, and other provinces hit by Odette.

At the same time, 4.7 million kilograms of Chinese government-donated rice are already in different Philippine ports, of which 1.5 million kg. are in Cebu and 3.2 million kg. are in Manila for deployment.

“Chinese relief goods on their way to areas devastated by Typhoon Odette. Our hearts go out to all the Filipino families who were devastated by Typhoon Odette which has caused massive casualties as well as property loss,” Huang said.

“We thank the Philippine government, in particular the Department of Social Welfare and Development for their great efforts in urgently distributing these rice to those Filipino families in need. China will do its utmost to continue its firm support to the disaster relief efforts of the Philippine government and the Filipino people,” he added.

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) is likewise contributing a total of P12 million through its Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund.

The Israeli Embassy in Manila in a text message said Ambassador Ilan Fluss is also flying to Cebu to deliver solar panels, food packs, and hygiene kits to typhoonaffected residents on December 22.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the World Food Programme and the Philippine government, has deployed two mobile operations vehicles for emergency (MOVE) to Surigao and Ormoc to facilitate access to electricity and internet for responders on the ground.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said Tokyo is also sending disaster relief assistance in the form of generators, camping tents, sleeping pads, portable water containers; and plastic sheets to cover roofs.

9 December 23-29, 2021 Odette...

 NATIONAL NEWS (From page 1)

Damage to agriculture, infrastructures and properties were initially estimated at P2.7 billion, but it could climb to over P10 billion as some provinces estimated their losses at P1 billion to P3 billion each.

As the government stepped up search, rescue and rehabilitation efforts, including restoration of electricity, water and telecommunication facilities, international aid in the millions of pesos poured from the United States, United Nations and many countries.

But it will be black Christmas for thousands of residents of many provinces, towns and cities which were devastated by the typhoon, especially Bohol, Siargao and Negros island because restoration of power and telecommunication facilities will take more time or up to next year as many power transmitters and electric posts were destroyed and downed by powerful howler.

Authorities said the number of casualties may still rise as Bohol Governor Arthur Yap reported that those killed in the province alone climbed to 99 on December 22 and 20 missing with all 48 towns reporting, 13 of whom were in Ubay town, San Miguel and Loon town with six fatalities each and President Garcia town had five fatalities.

In nearby Negros Oriental, fatalities rose sharply to 70 as of December 22 as search and rescue operations were stepped up, said Adrian Sedillo of the Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered immediate rescue and rehabilitation efforts, inspected many areas devastated by the ty-

phoon, approved a resolution placing six regions under state of calamity. Provincial and local officials earlier declared their areas under state of calamity.

Duterte committed up to P10 billion for aid to victims and rehabilitation.

Vice President Leni Robredo also visited several devastated areas and teamed up with Sen. Manny Pacquiao in extending aid. Other presidential aspirants – former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III sent in their donations and relief goods to the victims.

Duterte approved a resolution submitted by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) placing regions 4B, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13 (Caraga) under a state of calamity.

“The declaration of the state of calamity will hasten rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and private sector,” he said, adding that it will also help control the prices of goods and commodities in affected areas.

As of December 22, the Department of Agriculture said the agricultural damage and losses brought by the calamity stood at P2.6 billion.

Bohol Governor Yap released video showing rampaging floodwaters reached the second floor of his house in the town of Loboc, home of the famous Loboc river cruise.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said that as of December 20, 375 people died following the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in Western Visayas, Central Visayas,

Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and CARAGA. The NDRRMC, however, listed only 177 fatalities as of December 22.

Majority of the fatalities were recorded in the Caraga region (Region 13, 167) and Central Visayas (Region 7, 170), while 24 were logged in Western Visayas (Region 6), six in Eastern Visayas (Region 8), one in Western Mindanao (Region 9), and seven in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), the PNP said.

Around 51 people were reported dead in Negros Oriental, said Adrian Sedillo of the Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Odette packed maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour near the center with gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hours when it slammed into Siargao and other areas in Mindanao and the Visayas, some of which were flooded. It is the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered massive relief and rescue operations, clearing of all roads and immediate restoration of power, telecommunication and water facilities.

Duterte inspected some of typhoon-hit

areas, including Bohol and Leyte, met with local officials and informed them of an initial P2 billion allotment for relief assistance for those affected by the typhoon.

Later in a visit in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, President Duterte committed to raise an additional P10 billion for provinces severely affected by Typhoon Odette.

 NATIONAL NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

10

NCR ‘very low risk’ for Covid-19 Over 26-M Filipinos living in in time for Christmas: OCTA poverty in first half of 2021

QUEZON CITY – The National Capital Region (NCR) is classified as very low risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with an average of only 79 new cases per day from Dec. 14 to 20, the OCTA Research Group said.

“The incidence or ADAR (average daily attack rate) was at 0.55 per day per 100,000 individuals while the reproduction number was 0.48,” the group said in its latest report.

It added that the NCR’s test positivity rate was 0.6 percent and it has an average of 18,127 RT-PCR tests over the past seven days.

The 15 local government units

(LGUs) in the NCR classified very low for Covid-19 include Pateros, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Caloocan, Marikina, Pasay, Taguig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Malabon, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Manila, and Makati.

Among the 15 LGUs, only Pateros logged zero new cases of Covid-19. The other LGUs recorded one to 15 new infections. Their ADARs are below one.

Meanwhile, two LGUs -- Las Piñas and San Juan -- were classified as low risk for Covid-19 with ADARs of 1.10 and 1.19 respectively. San Juan logged a healthcare utilization rate of 33 percent while Las Piñas has only 9 percent.

QUEZON CITY — More Filipinos were pushed into poverty in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2018, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and confirmed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“We had set a target of reducing poverty by 6 million Filipinos by 2022. We have achieved that in 2018. But as of the first half of this year, there are 3.9 million more poor,” Socio-economic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Karl Chua said in a briefing.

Poverty incidence among Filipinos was estimated at 23.7%, up from the 21.1% recorded three years earlier. This means 26.14 million Filipinos were found to be living below the poverty line of ₱12,082 per month for a family of five, the PSA said.

The data also indicated that poverty incidence among Filipino families stood at 18%, translating to 4.74 million poor families, higher than 2018’s first-semester figure of 4.04 million.

The number of Filipinos living in subsistence or extreme poverty also increased to 10.94 million from previous 2018 data of 8.5 million.

“We have to work hard to at least bring them out of poverty before the term ends,” Chua said.

Chua said the poor will be the focus of

the government as the country recovers from the pandemic.

In a statement for the 2021 first semester poverty statistics report, Chua said the government achieved four years ahead, or in 2018, the 2022 poverty goal of lifting six million Filipinos out of poverty.

He said that while hitting its target early, the government continued to implement reform programs like the social protection program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to further uplift Filipinos’ lives.

“The results of the game-changing reforms are clear. Prior to the pandemic, economic growth averaged 6 percent, inflation averaged 3 percent, and the rates of poverty and unemployment were at record lows,” Chua said.

However, the pandemic hit and this hurt the gains the government achieved early on, he added.

Chua said this will be addressed by the strengthened implementation of the programs towards achieving a more inclusive economy.

“We will also improve our social protection programs to support the vulnerable. To this end, we accelerated the implementation of the PhilSys or the national ID (identification) program (to) provide every Filipino with a unique and digitalized proof of identity,” he said.

11 December 23-29, 2021

 OPINION State health...

(From page 1)

Upside

The US Food and Drug Administration in October authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 through 11 years old, stating the ”immune responses of the 3,000 in trials” of the age sector were “comparable to those of individuals 16- 25 years of age.” No serious side effects “were detected” and the vaccine was “found to be 90.7%” effective, said the FDA announcement.

Ghaly gave his assurance as “a pediatrician and fa- CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO ther of 4 with 3 kids under 12 years and no one without at least the first dose” that “the vaccines are the way through the pandemic.”

Children ages 5-11 constitute 9 percent of the state population, he cited statistics concurring with moderator Regina Brown Wilson of California Black Media.

Brown said that the age sector covers children who are 438,000 Asian and Pacific Islander, 171,000 Black or African American, and 1.1 million Latino.

The vaccine for the younger sector follows a “different formulation,” Ghaly stressed. “Children will get a lower dose from vaccines for adults. The Pfizer vaccine for adults is .3% while the pediatric dose is .1% or one-third of the adult dose.”

Ghaly corrected the assumption that children under 5-11 are not carriers or do not suffer from severe symptoms of coronavirus. As more older adults became vaccinated, the group more susceptible to infection were young people, in some cases under-18 representing 25% of the population, sometimes more, he added.

EDITORIAL “Thirty young Californians have died from COVID, he said, declaring, “any additional death of a young person is unacceptable if it’s preventable.”

The state health chief counted “hundreds of thousands of covid cases among young people. “ He asserted: “60,000 young people ages 5-11 have been hospitalized in the US or hundreds of thousands of our countrymen, especially those from the Visayas and Mindanao – specifically the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros for COVID 19. We have lost more kids to covid than other vaccine-preventable diseases in our nation. Now is the chance to get the same protection that so many Occidental, Cagayan de Oro, Guimaras, Southern Leyte, Bukidnon and older Californians have had for so many months that have protected them and kept Siargao – this will be the saddest Christmas in their lives.

The reason is super typhoon Odette (international name Rai), which cut a our community safe.”

The roll out began in November with 500 providers eventually to expand to path of destruction last week the likes that had not been seen in years, even decades.

4,000 including Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and federally qualified health The final death toll is not yet known, but scores are confirmed to have lost their centers and pharmacies, said Ghaly. lives. Damage to property will be in the hundreds of millions of pesos, perhaps bilLong-term complications of COVID for younger people “are real,” he warned. lions.

Those complications affect the cardiovascular, endocrine or neurologic system and While there is no way to stop acts of nature from taking place, it was the weak sometimes psychiatric besides respiratory. response of the Duterte administration that made an already terrible situation much, Ghaly fielded questions ranging from the number and representation of children much worse. sampled in the clinical trials to myths fueling vaccination hesitancy.

The government was completely unprepared for the Asian version of a Category Young people from all regions, races, ethnicities, with or without pre-existing 4 storm. It was already known the day before Odette entered the Philippine Area of conditions were among the participants in the trials that took months and months of Responsibility that strong rains and powerful winds were to be expected. availability of the data, he said. The trials were “robust.”

Some will say that one day is not enough to prepare for a major calamity. We On the concern about the vaccine causing fertility problems down the road, “to disagree. Twenty fours is more than enough to warn residents to move to safer ground date” no connections have been seen in adults, male/female or youth, he attributed and lead them to evacuation centers. information from trade associations such as the American college of gynecologists The Duterte government failed. Again. It was not the first time that the regime of and obstetricians underscoring the safety of the vaccine.

Rodrigo Duterte had been bogged down, either by the president’s personal laziness (Continued on page 27) or the bureaucratic red tape that has worsened since he came to power more than five years ago.

Worst of all, Duterte announced that his government had no money with which to assist the victims of Odette. This, despite the law stating the funds must always be set aside for natural calamities.

Philippine News Today is published weekly by Philippines Today LLC with business and editorial offices at 6454 Mission Street, Daly City, CA 94014., with telephones 650.757.1480, 650.872.3200, 650.552.9775 and website He gave the no-more-money excuse because all available funds had been used to address www.pnewstoday.com and email address advertising@philippinestodayus.com address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. or editor@philippinestodayus.com MANILA OFFICE: Le Marquis Townhomes, 51 P. Tuazon Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Tels. 8546.8426, 8451.1892, 8546.8421 Duterte conveniently ignored the fact that his administration had borrowed trillions of pesos from foreign sources, allegedly as a response to the pandemic.

FRANCIS ESPIRITU Publisher/President There has been no accounting of the loans and we suspect that a good portion was MARILYN B. KING THELMA L. CRUZ ALFRED G. GABOT lost to graft and corruption – Pharmally scam, anyone? – or to the sheer incompetence Vice President Vice President Editor-in-chief for Sales and Marketing of the administration. for Operations & Promotions CLAIRE M. TRUE It gets worse.

BETING LAYGO DOLOR CHERIE QUEROL MORENO Managing Editor Manila Editor Executive Editor While the likes of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Manny Pacquiao – presidential bets both – were already instructing their camps to extend whatever posJUNNI RANILLO NEIL GONZALES JO ERLINDA YABUT LYDIA SOLIS Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent sible assistance could be delivered to the victims, Duterte dared blast the former for Northern California Southern California stealing his thunder.

ANGELO LOPEZ MA. CECILIA G. MADELO THOMAS G. MADELO JR. While Robredo and Pacquiao were willing to work together to help, the president Cartoonist Graphic Director Creative Director aimed his unkind words at the vice president, a strong candidate to succeed him and ELEANOR SMITH replace his useless regime next year.

Office Manager GILDA PASION BALAN BLESIE D. SISON FRANCO G. REGALA Thick-skinned Ferdinand Marcos Jr not only asked for donations from the public ALBERT MARTINEZ NICK SAGMIT ALI MACABALANG RENE AMON but what little assistance he has extended had to have his name and image in the packGEORGE GANGE Account Executives JEANNE MICHAEL PENARANDA RENE AVENIDO ages. We ask: With his stolen billions, why in God’s name would anyone donate funds Manila Correspondents Photo Correspondents through him?

VAL G. ABELGAS, HOMOBONO A. ADAZA, PERRY DIAZ, JOJO LIANGCO, We tire of bringing up the numerous shortcomings of Duterte and his regime of corJO ERLINDA G. NEBRES, ROY C. MABASA, ART G. MADLAING, rupt, incompetent or generally useless politicians with little regard for public service.

FR. JOEPEL PADIT, RODEL E. RODIS, LOURDES TANCINCO ESQ, MELANDREW T. VELASCO, We instead ask that the FilAm community to again get together as they have done DANTES & CYNTHIA VELUZ, CRISTINA OSMENA, LUDY ONGKEKO. numerous times in the past to extend help to the victims of the worst storm to hit the COLUMNISTS The views and opinions expressed herein by writers, columnists and advertisers are their own and do not necesmotherland in recent years. sarily reflect those of the publisher, management and staff of Philippines Today. We are not responsible for Images of the victims available online are not only heartbreaking, they will haunt incorrect printing, photographical errors or information listed or for loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. us for years to come.

Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part is prohibited.

Our motherland needs us. Let us give until it hurts. Then let us give some more.

F

A massive, unforgiveable failure

 OPINION

December 23-29, 2021

PerryScope

A

s book author, columnist and Evangelist, I am delighted to know that the owner of Abe Barber Shop is supporting the Books Ministry and Christian Reading as envisioned and suggested by Christina Ridad Joseph, retired Real Estate Broker and ART GABOT MADLAING community leader.

The 93-year-old retired Real Estate Broker, whom I fondly call “Manang Christina” received autographed copies of the latest books “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” subtitled “Fact and Evidences for Agnostics, Atheists, Believers and Christians,” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,” “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before His Return to Heaven” and the latest issue of the“Christian World Ministry Quarterly Journal” and copies of PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY with my weekly column.

In fact, during my visits in her home, the copies of “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY,” LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,” “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before Returning to Heaven” and the “Christian World Ministry” Quarterly Journal were all displayed in her living room for her children, grandchildren, relatives and friends who are visiting her as ready materials to read.

During one of my visits in her home, Manang Christina encouraged me to talk with the owner of the Abe Barber Shop (who happened to be renting the lower portion of her building in Mission Street, San Francisco, California) on the possibility of having a “Christian Reading Corner” where we could display some books and magazines for the customers at the Abe Barber Shop to read while waiting.

Last week, I was blessed to meet Rizalito “Abe”Quiambao, owner of Abe Barber Shop, and mentioned the idea and vision of Manang Christina. Abe was not only very receptive to the vision of Manang Christina but also offered the Abe Barber Shop located at 5308 Mission Street, San Francisco, California and the Abe Barber Shop located at 7146 Mission Street, Daly City, California as “Christian Reading Corners” to support the BOOKS Ministry and related activities for year-round evangelism and outreach in the neighborhood and community.

Abe even offered the back room of his branch of the Abe Barber Shop located at 7146 Mission Street Daly City, California where we could meet with prospects. We can do WE CARE gospel presentation with prospects to find answer directly from the Bible the most important and urgent question: “What if Christ were to come right now, or if you’ll die tonight? Would you know for sure, without any doubt, that you would go to heaven?”

Abe is allowing us to have display corners where we can leave copies of the “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” subtitled “Facts and Evidences for Agnostics, Atheists, Believers and Christians;” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,’ “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before Returning to Heaven,” “Christian World Ministry” Quarterly Journal; and latest issues of the PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY with my weekly column. Customers of the two branches of Abe Barber Shop will have very good books and magazines to read while waiting.

Abe Barber Shop has excellent service and very affordable. I can personally attest to this because I have been a customer of Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco for more than 10 years.

The three books mentioned above are perfect gifts you can give to your FRANC (Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbors, Co-Workers) that last forever. If you can’t visit us at the Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco or Daly City, California, you can order copies of the three books and magazine through Amazon.

Next year, the two authors John Jeffrey and yours truly, will have book launching and autographing of books (70% discount from the Amazon price) for the customers and guests of the two branches of Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco and Daly City through the support (Continue on page 27)

F

Remembering a distant Christmas

or many overseas Filipinos who have been unable to visit the Philippines since the Covid-19 pandemic began early last year, the distinctive Filipino way of celebrating Christmas will just be memories of the past.

Perhaps, even Filipinos back home would have to tone down their usual way of celebrating “the birth of Jesus Christ this year because of the new dan- VAL ABELGAS gers poised by the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

For many Filipinos who have been living outside of the Philippines for years, the holiday season is both a time for rejoicing and a time for remembering Christmas in a distant land and a distant time . Even as the Filipino in America begins to feel the holiday mood immediately after Thanksgiving when people start shopping for gifts and Christmas decors, he feels at the same time a longing for home. For nothing beats Christmas in the Philippines!

After living on a distant shore for more than 30 years, I can truly say that nothing beats the way Filipinos celebrate Christmas. The genuine joy that the season brings to millions of Filipinos in the Philippines is the same reason why the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos living abroad yearn for home at this time of the year.

For even just during those few days that Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines, many Filipinos feel they can share the blessings that the world brings. Because of the mandatory 13th month pay and the bonuses paid by nearly all companies, big and small alike, many people are able to afford what they can only dream about the rest of the year.

For many poor children, the Christmas season is only one of two instances when their parents can afford to buy them new sets of clothes and new pairs of shoes, the other being the school opening. Christmas is also the only time for many of these children to own a brand new toy, often as a gift from their parents or from their ninong or ninang.

The Christmas season is also their chance to earn some money to buy candies or toys. In my childhood growing up in Manila and later in Qiuezon City, as early as the first days of December, young boys and girls prepared their instruments for their traditional carolling, making drums out of empty cans covered by plastic, tambourine out of bottle caps, and even just a pair of sticks to provide percussion. At dusk, they formed into groups of three or four, and made their rounds starting on the night of Dec. 16 until Christmas eve. At the end of each night, the carolers counted their earnings and divided them equally among themselves.

I haven’t had the chance to spend Christmas in the Philippines since I left, so I’m not really sure if these carollers still make the rounds of the neighborhood at night.

While the kids looked forward to the advent of dusk during those nine days to earn some money, the teenagers awaited with anticipation the coming of dawn during that same period. For these teenagers, it was a chance to be with their crushes, girlfriends or boyfriends as they walked to the church in the biting cold. As early as three in the morning, from Dec. 16 to Dec. 24, they woke up and wore their best sweaters or jackets, had fun with their barkadas on the way to church, only to sleep while the mass was going on.

After the mass, they bounced back to life to join their friends again, feasted on bibingkas and puto bungbong on their way home, and hanged around a bit before being called home by their parents.

Towards midnight on Christmas Eve, parents and their children donned their Christmas clothes and trekked back to church for the Midnight Mass. The church becomes a venue for both solemn celebration of Christmas and a chance to mingle with friends again.

From the church, families retreated to their homes for the traditional noche buena, a minor preview of the grand celebration at lunchtime the next day. The noche buena often consisted of pan amerikano (bread loaf) or pan de sal, keso (queso de bola for those who can afford), hot dog, coffee or hot chocolate, etc. Noche buenas were usually only for the family.

But the grand Christmas celebration, usually at midday of Christmas Day, was for the entire clan. It was an occasion for children and grandchildren (Continue on page 27)

On Distant Shore

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ECENT DEVELOPMENT seems to suggest that the U.S. is veering towards a rightward trajectory. The problem with this is that the law of the jungle is supplanting the rule of law. Yes, proponents of the law of the jungle are bamboozling those who adhere to the rule of law. It is survival of the strongest. And as somePERRY DIAZ one once said, it’s “a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed.” Yes, the strong will lord over the weak.

And the sad part is that those who are doing it today are members of the Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln. He must be rolling in his grave right now. And the irony of it is that former president Donald Trump is now the undisputed czar of the Grand Old Party. He imposes his rule over Republicans who hold him as their almighty lord, to do as he pleases and suffer the consequences if they defy him.

During the 2020 elections, Trump tried to overturn the elections in six swing states: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Had he succeeded in selling the Big Lie that the election was stolen from him, he would have accomplished a coup d’état and prevented the Senate from counting the electoral votes. This would hand power to Trump for another four years.

But then vice president Mike Pence, who presided over the electoral vote count -- whom Trump pressured to declare him the winner -- had the temerity to turn his back on Trump and declare Joe Biden the winner. For that Trump will never forgive Pence. Had Pence declared Trump the winner, it would have been the end of democracy in the country and would usher in an era where the law of the jungle reigns supreme.

It’s going to be to each his own -- dog eat dog.

While the American people had to be thankful to Pence for doing the right thing, the shameful exit of Trump – after he toyed with the idea of launching a coup just before noon on January 20 – was a fait accompli when the disgraced expresident walked up the steps of Air Force One on his flight to exile in Mar-A-Lago. A handful of supporters bade him goodbye as he turned around to acknowledge the few who bravely showed their loyalty to the one-term president.

And as the Air Force One flew south to sunny Florida, one wonders what Trump was thinking at that very moment.

Would it be the end of his political career? Or was he thinking what to write in his memoirs? Or was he contemplating how he’s going to make a comeback in 2024? Hmm… a comeback would certainly be the coup of the century. He would come back to the nation’s capital and take his rightful place at the Oval Office, which he believed was his fate to complete his abbreviated presidency. Why not?

But no sooner had Air Force One landed in Florida than he opened his office in Palm Springs and put a sign saying “Office of Former President Donald J. Trump.” He’s back in action and he’s going to raise hell! Four years will come and go in no time at all. He’ll remain active in Republican politics, coaxing members of Congress into supporting his comeback plan. He promised to endorse them in the upcoming primaries if they followed his wishes. And for those who didn’t, he’d destroy them by bad-mouthing them and encouraging others to run against them. For the most part he was successful in keeping them in line because they’re afraid of losing the support of his loyal base that subscribed to his mailing list, which is more than 40 million and growing. It’s a propaganda machine in the tradition of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister.

Trump’s mailing list Upon signing up, his first email will welcome you to the “Team” to promote that “we’re all in this together.” Then he’ll go on to say, “We are up against an unhinged left-wing mob, a Democratic party that has embraced radical socialism, and the FAKE NEWS media that will NEVER tell the truth about all of our accomplishments.” Now, that will suck you right into the Trumpian universe.

It’s no wonder then that Republican politicians are hooked into his propaganda machine, which would compel them never to criticize him lest they’d be banished from his world.

He’d destroy and pulverize them into nothingness... oblivion.

And many have been hurt by Trump’s attacks, which often goes personal. It’s not uncommon (Continue on page 27)

Abe barber shop supports books ministry Health & Wealth

Rule of law vs. law of the jungle

12

13 December 23-29, 2021

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have a simple message to Marcos Jr diehards who act as if their idol has already won the presidency.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

In fact, as a Duterte diehard active on social media recently pointed out, all the candidates leading in early surveys in recent decades have lost.

Go back to 2015, when BETING DOLOR initially it was then Vice President Jejomar Binay who walked, talked, and acted like he had the presidency in the bag. And why not? He had been campaigning for the post since the day he was elected VP. He even had a shadow cabinet ready to man their assigned posts the day he assumed the presidency.

For a while, it looked as if Binay was really on the way to a six-year term in Malacanang. But several things happened that crushed his chances at succeeding PNoy. First was a candidate named Grace Poe, whose main qualification was that she was the daughter of the late King of Philippine Movies, Fernando Poe Jr. FPJ actually won the presidency but was cheated out of a rightful win by the uber corrupt Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

So when Grace Poe decided to run, it was on the belief that those who voted for FPJ would vote for her. Didn’t happen though.

The big reason for Binay’s loss was not Poe’s rise, but because Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte was drafted to run.

During the campaign, he caught the eye of the electorate with his straight and tough talk, as well as impossible promises of ending the drug menace and bringing back law and order nationwide.

The rest is history, as they say, although I have no idea who “they” are.

Go back further to 2010 when billionaire Manny Villar, a former Speaker of the House, also acted like he was already president. His inner circle acted like they were little Villars and woe to anyone who so much as suggested he would lose.

But along came Benigno Aquino III AKA PNoy. Some analysts say he won the presidency on the strength of the sympathy vote gained from the passing of his mother, the beloved former President Cory Aquino. This may or may not be true, but he did win big over Villar and the rest of the field.

Go back another six years and there was FPJ who surveys indicated would win in a tight race with GMA. By then Macapagal Arroyo had become president by virtue of what is known as Edsa Dos, or the second People Power revolt.

She of course became notorious for a phone call to a Commission on Elections commissioner where she asked him to guarantee her winning margin of one million over the popular actor.

That “Hello, Garci” call was proof that massive cheating was taking place, and to this day there is widespread belief that the country lost an FPJ presidency because of one scheming woman who was desperate for power, never mind if the will of the electorate had to be ignored in order for her to have six more years as president.

Fast forward to 2021 and some questionable surveys say that Marcos Jr will be chief executive next year despite his total lack of qualifications and accomplishments. All he has is money, lots of money.

The billions of dollars that the Philippine government failed to recover from the Marcos family is now being used to fund his campaign, admittedly to some positive effect.

But do not for a moment believe that he is a sure winner.

He’s not, except in his own mad coke-addled mind.

I have to cite two newspapers which came out with alleged surveys last month. One had a headline that said the battle was between Marcos Jr and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

This was as false as false news could get. See, the paper that came out with that ridiculous headline is owned and run by an active public relations practitioner long connected to GMA. Marcos Jr and Moreno are his clients.

I know because I worked there for three years.

The more credible survey came from one of the so-called Big Three broadsheets. The Manila Bulletin took its own survey and the results were not surprising. Leni Robredo won by a mile.

(Continue on page 27)

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ince the early days of the pandemic, California has led the nation’s fight against COVID-19 through robust vaccination efforts rooted in science and data. This has helped slow the spread of the virus and save countless lives, especially in our most vulnerable communi- GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM ties – someone’s parent and friend, and each of them a Californian.

We’ve been meeting people where they are, from partnering with local grocery stores, schools, and barbershops, to developing media content in more than 19 languages to reach California’s richly diverse communities. California’s public health measures are working, and much of our success can be attributed to our greatest tool to ending the pandemic: vaccines.

December 14 marks the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine administered in California. We began by prioritizing vaccinations for our frontline health care workers and vulnerable older adults. Today, after a year of working in partnership with the federal government, local public health and community partners, millions of Californians aged 5 and older are now protected and helping to protect others from this deadly virus.

We’ve administered 62 million doses – more than any other state. Eighty six percent of all eligible Californians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 6 million adults have received a booster. I am so proud that Californians are quite literally rolling up their sleeves to help end the pandemic and keep each other safer.

The state has also made tremendous strides in closing vaccination equity gaps among our most vulnerable communities. Thanks to our dynamic partnerships with more than 130 faith-based and 700 community-based organizations, 77 percent of Californians living in our least healthy neighborhoods ages 12 and up have received at least one dose. Our work is far from over.

We must continue to practice basic safety tips to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities against COVID-19. This starts with getting fully vaccinated if you haven’t already, and getting your booster. Simply put, vaccination can help you avoid serious illness, hospitalization and death. It is also important that we wear a mask indoors – especially when we are uncertain of everyone’s vaccination status – keep gatherings short, small and outside if possible, get tested if you’re exposed to the virus, experiencing symptoms, or planning to travel, and stay home if you’re feeling sick.

It is especially important for those who are fully vaccinated to get their booster. This includes those 16 and up who received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months prior, those 18 and up who received the Moderna vaccine at least six months before, and those 18 and over who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

It’s critical that we keep our immunity strong, not just for ourselves, but for our communities. Even with the emergence of the Omicron variant, Californians have many reasons to remain hopeful because our state continues to move forward in the right direction.

I want to end this column with a personal note to each and every Californian. Californians have met every challenge with vigor and courage, and together, we will continue to lead the nation in the fight against COVID-19. I wish you all a very happy holiday season with heartfelt wishes for a happy, safer, and brighter new year to come.

For the latest information on the Omicron variant go to CDPH.ca.gov and to find a COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose, visit MyTurn.ca.gov. To find a COVID-19 testing site, call (833) 422-4255 or visit your local county public health website.

Affidavit of support beneficiary charged with sexually abusing sponsor’s granddaughter – What now?

M

ay an immigrant’s sponsor be relieved from complying with the sponsor’s obligation to support the immigrant under an affidavit of support where the beneficiary is charged with sexually abusing the sponsor’s granddaughter?

Tatiana and her daughter Thomas sponsored Tatiana’s EMMANUEL SAMONTE TIPON husband Valentin for admission to the U.S. by executing Form I-864 affidavits. The sponsors promised the U.S. that they would support Valentin at 125% of the poverty income level if the U.S. granted him a visa. Valentin was granted a visa.

Valentin and Tatiana lived together in the U.S. for several years. Valentin went to visit his mother in Russia. When Valentin returned to the United States, Tatiana would not allow him back into their home. She then obtained an order of protection from abuse against him and filed for divorce. Neither Thomas nor Tatiana provided Valentin with any financial support after this point. Later, Valentin was criminally charged for abusing Thomas’s minor daughter and possessing child pornography.

Valentin sued the sponsors for breaching their support affidavits. An affidavit of support is “legally enforceable against the sponsor by the sponsored alien,” U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(1)(B).

The statute creates a federal cause of action so that “the sponsored alien, the Federal Government, [or] any State” may enforce a support affidavit against a sponsor. 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a) (1)(B)–(C), (e); see also 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(d). This federal cause of action gives the sponsored immigrant enforcement rights that he would not necessarily have under contract law.

The sponsors raised the affirmative defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel.

The district court rejected those defenses as a matter of law and awarded damages to Belevich. The sponsors appealed.

The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that these defenses are foreclosed by the statute and regulation governing Form I-864 and the text of the affidavit itself.

Federal law provides that any alien who “is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4)(A). A family-based immigrant is presumptively likely to become a public charge. 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(a)(1)(i) (A), (a)(2)(i). That presumption can be overcome if a sponsoring relative executes an “affidavit of support.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4)(C)(ii), (a)(4)(D). In the Form I-864 affidavit, the sponsor promises the U.S. that such sponsor will support the immigrant “at an annual income that is not less than 125 percent of the Federal poverty line.” 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(1)(A).

See Form I-864P for the HHS Poverty Guidelines. https:// www.uscis.gov/i-864p WHEN DOES AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT END? The statute provides that the obligation under an affidavit of support ends when the alien is naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or has worked forty quarters. 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(2) and § 1183a(a)(3)(A).

The regulation provides that the sponsor’s obligations terminate “when” the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, works forty qualifying quarters, ceases to hold permanent resident status and departs the United States, obtains a grant of adjustment of status as relief from removal, or dies. 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(e)(2)(i), or if the sponsor dies. Id. § 213a.2(e)(2)(ii).

The Form I-864 affidavit repeats these same terminating events and expressly notes that divorce is not a terminating event. The regulation also provides that “[o]nce the intending immigrant has obtained an immigrant visa, a sponsor . . . cannot disavow his or her agreement to act as a sponsor” unless the immigrant withdraws the visa petition. Id. § 213a.2(f).

EFFECT OF BENEFICIARY’S BAD ACTS AGAINST SPONSOR The sponsors allege that Valentin committed various bad acts that have undermined his relationship with his family. But the Court pointed out that the sponsors’ proposed equitable defenses are not comparable to any of the listed reasons for terminating the support obligation. The grounds for terminating support concern the benefi(Continue on page 27)

What’s Up Attorney

California continues to lead the fight against COVID-19

Cocky presidential bets always lose

On the Record

I

 OPINION

 BUSINESS | IMMIGRATIONS

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What to expect in Naturalization interview with USCIS officer

hen applying for naturalization, there are problems many applicants encountered during the interview process. This is because they look at how you first get your green card and what actions you have made while a green card holder. Listed below are some of them: 1. Proving good faith marriage. You will be surprised that your are applying for naturalization and yet the USCIS is considering you as a green card applicant although your marriage happened ten years ago .

If you obtained your green card through marriage, no matter how many years has passed, they always asked questions and documents about whether your marriage is bona fide and what joint documents support this marriage.

2. Proving family relationship if you were petitioned by your parents, siblings or as derivative of your parents. You should be able to show proof of your relationship through marriage certificate, birth certificate, divorce or death certificate, whichever documents applied to your case.

3. If you were involved is a crime, no matter how minor you think it is, they will always look for documentation if you have been convicted and if you served your sentence.

4. There are crimes that will make you deportable when applying for naturalization. This will include committing two crimes of moral turpitude or an aggravated felony. Theft is a crime involving moral turpitude. There are waiver available and you should talk to an immigration lawyer.

5. Green card holders who obtained their green card through misrepresentation may also be sent to removal proceedings. These include those who committed marriage fraud or declared as single but actually married. If you have this kind of problem you need to talk to an immigration attorney to find if you qualify for a waiver of fraud or misrepresentation.

6. Failure to file and pay your income tax may also disqualify you for naturalization. If you have a payment plan agreement with the IRS and you keep paying the monthly payments you may be able to get approved. Again you need to consult with an immigration lawyer about your situation.

7. Failure to pay child support. You may be denied if you fail to pay for child support.

8. If you stayed outside the U.S. for more than 180 days in a single year, you may be denied naturalization.

9. If you lack the required period of residency, you may also be denied.

So that you will not have a problem when applying for naturalization, you should consult with an immigration attorney to avoid possible problem along the way.

Note: This is not a legal advice If you have immigration problems the Law Offices of Crispin C. Lozano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and family separation.

Success Stories For the month of November 2021, we received approvals from USCIS three naturalization applications, one Fiancée visa petition, two removals of condition on residence and four adjustment of status applications.

Bankruptcy Basics 1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your credit within one year because your unsecured debts are discharged. Although the bankruptcy will be in your records for 10 years, not filing bankruptcy will make your credit even worse until most your debts are paid.

2. If you are being sued by your creditors, most money judgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy.

3. Collection actions continue and you can be sued if you are in debt settlement.

4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured debts. If you are near retirement age, you must eliminate most of your debts.

Wake up and defend our country or it will be too late We cannot relax when our life is in danger. China may annex the Philippines after the May 2022 election because of China’s ambition to control the West Philippine Sea and the important sea passage. When this happens, all of us including our children and grandchildren will become slaves of Communist China. We will have no more country. We need to unite in order to defeat the current administration and its allies running for President. Listen to Percy Lapid (or Lapid Fire) and Waldy Carbonell on You Tube and Facebook for details and more corruption in the government.

Chris Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers.

He practices immigration law, bankruptcy and income tax preparation since June 1999. His contact phone is 1-877-456-9266, email: info@CCLlaw.net Website: www.crispinlozanolaw.com/

December 23-29, 2021

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PHL sees economic growth; UK group warns vs slowdown MANILA – Improvements in the country’s healthcare system, among others, are expected to further solidify the domestic economy’s recovery and boost its capacity to hit the revised target of between 5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said domestic output, which averaged at 4.9 percent in the first three quarters this year, “has exceeded our expectations in 2021.”

“So there’s a greater likelihood that our full year growth will hit the revised target of our GDP (gross domestic product) growth ranging from 5 to 5.5 percent this year,” he said.

This developed as the Pantheon Macroeconomics warned the Philippines’ economic growth could decelerate next year with risks brought about by the national elections.

Of the five countries included in its Emerging Asia economic outlook for 2022, only the Philippines is expected to see a slower output expansion, according to the United Kingdom-based think tank.

From 5.5% this 2021, it pegs a 4.5% full-year growth for the country next year.

With the economy seen to grow at a milder pace next year, Chanco projects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be kept at bay with its monetary policy support.

Pantheon Macroeconomics projects the BSP to keep rates steady at their record 2% low even until 2023, in line with its prior expectation that the central bank will keep its accommodative policy stance until the economic recovery becomes more stable.

Investors are likewise expected to stay on the sidelines as they await the victors of the 2022 polls, he added.

“Elections in the Philippines are rarely fought on economic policy,” stated Pantheon Macroeconomics senior Asia economist Michael Chanco.

“But they still carry significant event risk, particularly if Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the current frontrunner and the son of an ex-dictator, wins. His father was toppled by the last major revolution, in 1986.”

The economist likewise warns public expenditure “hits a brick wall” during elections — reflective of a government spending ban in place prior to the polls. This shaves “40% off quarterly trend growth, on average, in the same quarter of the last three elections,” he said.

Chanco likewise flagged that fiscal policy could “impose a persistent drag beyond the ballot.”

He added the Philippines is the “only one left in the region which has yet to engineer a nominal consolidation of its Covid-era budget blowout,” referring to measures aiming to trim public deficits and accumulation of debt.

Private consumption is expected to remain lukewarm in 2022, according to Chanco, stressing households will continue rebuilding the huge amount of savings lost since the pandemic’s onset.

These efforts were set back by the Delta coronavirus variant, he added.

Meanwhile, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said growth in the third quarter of this year alone reached nearly 7 percent.

Dominguez thus was hopeful about hitting the full-year target.

NPC probes possible data breach in BDO hacking incident PASAY CITY – The National Privacy Commission (NPC) is looking into a possible personal data breach involving unauthorized transactions that siphoned money off hundreds of BDO Unibank (BDO) depositors.

Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the suspected hackers of the compromised BDO accounts have been identified, with two to four individuals suspected to be behind ‘Mark Nagoyo’ and at least six persons of interest.

BDO said it is processing the reimbursement of nearly 700 clients affected by these fraudulent transaction In a statement, NPC Commissioner John Henry Naga said the NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division has begun an investigation as early as December 11 and has issued notices to both BDO and Unionbank to provide information, documents, evidence, or witnesses. “(The) NPC has been in constant coordination with both banks in relation

to the ‘sua sponte’ investigation of the security incident,” Naga said.

The commission, he said, is also looking into BDO’s “10-year-old system” and whether sufficient “technical, organizational, and physical safeguards” were in place.

“Apart from requiring additional evidence and information, the NPC has ordered BDO and Unionbank to appear for a clarificatory conference, on Jan. 4, 2022, to verify and clarify the evidence submitted by the banks in relation to the investigation,” Naga said.

He said the NPC is also working with other government agencies on its investigation of the security incident.

“The NPC assures the public that all steps necessary to safeguard the rights of data subjects shall be taken and that the commission shall exercise the full extent of its powers under the law against any party found to be in violation of the DPA (Data Privacy Act),” Naga said.

15 December 23-29, 2021

ABS-CBN reveals lineup of new shows, offerings in 2022 ring Piolo Pascual and Angelica Panganiban.

“I can See Your Voice” will also return for another season hosted by Luis Manzano.

Meanwhile, among the movie projects in 2022 are “The Breakup Trip” starring Soberano and Gil; “Love is Color Blind” starring Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano; and the MMFF entries “Love at First Stream” and “Whether the Weather is Fine” to be shown on Christmas day.

It was also revealed that aside from their movie comeback, Gil and Soberano also have a still-untitled TV project.

Over at iWantTFC, there will be more series and movies including “F4 Thailand Boys Over Flowers;” “Lyric and Beat;” “Sleep With Me” starring Janine Gutierrez and Lovi Poe; “Bola Bola” starring FranABS-CBN has revealed its lineup of TV programs, cine Diaz and Akira Morishita; “Misis Piggy” starring movies, and streaming platform releases for the com- Sylvia Sanchez and Ria Atayde; the third season of ing year, including the teleserye comeback of Kathryn “Click Like and Share” starring Vivoree Esclito, Elmo Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, and the new movie of Magalona, Jane Oineza, JC Alcantara, Shanaia GoLiza Soberano and Enrique Gil. mez and Mariano; “The Goodbye Girl” starring Elisse Over a dozen new titles were introduced in the Joson, Loisa Andalio, Barbie Imperial, Maris Racal video clip which was first shown during the “Andito and Panganiban; “Tara G” starring Anthony Jennings, Tayo Para Sa Isa’t Isa: The ABS-CBN Christmas Daniela Stranner, Kaori Oinuma, JC Alcantara, Zach Special 2021.”

Castaneda, CJ Salonga and Esclito; and the second Among the new TV offerings are “The Broken season of “He’s Into Her” with Mariano and PangMarriage Vow” starring Jodi Sta. Maria, Zanjoe ilinan.

Marudo and Sue Ramirez; “2 Good 2 Be True” starABS-CBN also announced the iQiyi original series ring Bernardo and Padilla; “Love in 40 Days” starring “Saying Goodbye” starring Seth Fedelin and Andrea Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte; “Darna: The TV Brillantes”, and “Hello Heart” with Gerald Anderson Series” starring Jane de Leon; and “My Papa Pi” star- and Gigi de Lana.

Angelica Panganiban will have two upcoming series with the Kapamilya network for 2022.

The first one is titled “My Papa Pi” which Panganiban will co-star with Piolo Pascual. It is a romantic-comedy series to be helmed by blockbuster director Cathy Garcia Molina.

In addition to that, Panganiban has an upcoming show with iWantTFC titled “The Goodbye Girl” directed by Derick Cabrido.

The series is an adaptation of the best-selling book “Mga Kwento ng Pag-ibig at Heartbreak” by Noreen Capili. It will also star Elisse Joson, Loisa Andalio, Barbie Imperial and Maris Racal.

ABS-CBN has yet to announce the exact release dates of the two projects.

 ENTERTAINMENT

December 23-29, 2021

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Spanish-dubbed “You’re The Boss”, “Feng Shui 2” and “The Third Party” now available on ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel

LOS ANGELES, CA - Here’s some trivia: the first film produced in the Philippines is “La Vida de Rizal” which was screened in 1912. Yes, Philippine cinema was born in the Spanish language.

Even now, the major terms used in its local industry -- pelikula, sine, direktor, aktor, bida, contrabida -- are rooted in the Spanish language. This is proof of the cultural proximity that continues to exist not only between Spain and the Philippines but between the Philippines and other countries that have very strong Spanish culture embedded in their histories.

So, it comes as no surprise that even current Filipino cinematic storytelling and themes resonate among present-day Spanish-speaking audiences around the world. Thus, Filipino films originally in Tagalog that were dubbed in Spanish didn’t have a difficult time finding a Spanish-speaking audience that welcomed these entertainment offerings.

ABS-CBN, the leading Filipino media and entertainment company which is also the world’s largest exporter of primetime teleseryes and films from the Philippines, is enjoying a successful run of its select Spanish-dubbed Filipino films made available for limited time viewing on its ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel.

The latest additions to its Spanish-dubbed offerings which are available now for viewing on ABSCBN Entertainment YouTube Channel until the end of 2021 are the following:

“The Third Party” (Triangulo De Amor)

“Feng Shui 2” A sequel to the 2004 box-office hit, “Feng Shui”, this horror film starring Kris Aquino and Coco Martin as the new owner of the “cursed bagua” finds himself having luck and prosperity first then followed with deadly consequences. It was the first Filipino film to be rendered in 4D shown exclu-

Starring FAMAS (Philippine Oscars) Best Actress awardee Angel Locsin, Sam Milby and Zanjoe Marudo, this romantic comedy tells the story of how an aspiring fashion designer’s plan to win back her first love is complicated by the fact that he has already fallen in love with another man.

“You’re My Boss” (Un Amor Entre Jefes)

sively at the XD Theater of the Mall of Asia in the Philippines back in 2014 under a partnership of ABS-CBN Star Cinema and SM Lifestyle Entertainment.

ABS-CBN, global home to top-rating Filipino TV programs, box-office films, best-selling music, and live digital concerts and events, continues to Starring Philippine Prince of Independent Mov- produce high-caliber programs and movies with cast ies and Philippine Teleserye King Coco Martin and storylines that appeal to diverse cultures and and Toni Gonzaga, this rom-com centers on how a wider audiences. It is also rapidly transitioning into smart and bossy female airline company executive an agile digital company and continues to expand finds herself forced to trade places with her personal its services and businesses to address the different assistant in pretense just to close a career make-or- needs of Filipinos worldwide. break deal.

Julia Barretto’s confessions Actress Julia Barretto is excited about the holidays as she revs up for a busier and exciting 2022.

“I hope I won’t get tired in 2022,” says Julia when asked about her New Year’s Resolution for the coming year, during the online launch of her latest endorsement for Miracle White supplements recently.

Julia shares to the entertainment press glimpses of her simple activities with her family and loved ones this Christmas weekend.

“Pag Noche Buena, si mommy talaga nagluluto ‘yan ng favorites namin. On the 24th, she’s going to cook all our favorites. We’re just going to be together, me and my siblings. Gerald (Anderson) will be with us,” Julia reveals.

The year 2021 continues to be a challenging year for many. But Julia says she just appreciates all the wonderful things that happened to her this year.

“We are blessed. It’s a good year (for us) this year. There is real magic in counting your blessings. Every time na medyo napapagod na ako or stressed, I really take the time to shut down and take a moment for myself.

Then I count the things that I should

be grateful for, and I feel we are blessed, especially this year so hindi ko pinapayagan na mangibabaw ang stress and negativity because again, hindi nakaka-ganda. So always count your blessings especially now na hindi natin alam kung ano ang mangyayari mamaya or bukas so I just want to enjoy what I have and the people around me,” she says.

When asked about her insecurities, Julia says it boils down to height.

17 December 23-29, 2021

 ENTERTAINMENT

1MX 2021 plays to sold out audiences on stage and online; 2022 tour in the works with 1MX,” said ABS-CBN Global COO Aldrin M. Cerrado.

With the stellar cast of Bamboo, Moira, EZ Mil, Gigi De Lana, BGYO and BINI, 1MX 2021 in Dubai reestablished Filipinos as among the best live musical performers in the world.

Their showmanship, audience interaction, energy, powerful voices, and innate musicality are unquestionably worldclass. Whether they were doing original

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Filipino artists made a huge splash in the international music industry this December with sold out performances of the music festival 1MX 2021 both as an in-person event in Dubai and as a livestreamed event with a Manila cast on KTX.ph.

Produced by ABS-CBN, the leading global Filipino media and entertainment network, through The Filipino Channel (TFC), ABS-CBN Music, One Music PH and Myx Global, together with DJMC Events, Camella Homes and Philippine Airlines, the back-to-back concerts before local and global audiences continue to prove that live entertainment has officially returned, and people are eager to see performers on stage once again.

That these companies took a strate-

Rapper EZ Mil drew the loudest cheers for his viral track, “Panalo”.

now 1MX sold out its in-person leg at the Trade Centre Arena at the Dubai World Trade Centre while selling out its livestream from Manila and Dubai on KTX. What do all these tell you?

Humanity is eager to get back to the experiences they love. That hopeful desire - with reasonable precautions - should be celebrated and promoted, not restricted.

And that’s exactly what we, our partners, Bamboo’s performance reminded everyone why he has reached legendary OPM rock icon status.

OPM’s Pop Rock Diva Gigi De Lana showed the incredible vocal range that made her an online singing sensa�on.

our artists, and our audiences are doing

Pilipino hits and compositions or covering mainstream classics, they were able to bring their unique stamps in each of the songs they performed.

Meanwhile, the Manila cast of AC Bonifacio, Angela Ken, Carlo Bautista, Fana, Jayda, Jeremy G, Kritiko, Lian Kyla, Nameless Kids, SAB and Trisha Denise provided a glimpse of the future sounds of OPM that will have no problem competing in the international music landscape. Are Filipino music

artists ready for their own hallyu? 1MX strongly suggests so.

1MX Manila on KTX.ph was a showcase of emerging OPM artists and and their fresh sounds. From left, host Edward Barber with Fil-Canadian dancer-singer AC Bonifacio, and singersongwriters SAB and Lian Kyla.

“1MX 2021 was not only a showcase of the same superior OPM talent that built the 1MX brand starting in 2017 in Dubai, 2018 in Abu Dhabi, 2019 in Singapore and Manila; 1MX 2021 is a showcase of the resilience of the collective Filipino spirit around the world,” said ABS-CBN Global Head of Events and Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Arnie Garcia. “With the support of trusted partners, sponsors, overseas Filipino communities and international audiences, we plan to tour 1MX again to various cities around the world starting next year and bring the best of OPM artists to all.”

The most followed OPM ar�st on Spo�fy, Moira, took the audience’s breath away with elegant songs of love, healing, and hope.

gic, successful gamble on an in-person event combined with livestreaming reflects their calculated optimism and determination to reboot the gigantic music events ecosystem.

Doing 1MX in Dubai is key as this world-famous city in UAE is one of the rare places that doubled down on an open economy even as the Omicron variant rattled markets and forced border restrictions across the world. It’s the site of Expo 2020 where 192 countries are presently taking part in a global celebration for 182 days, starting last October 1, 2021. When the whole of Europe shut down, Dubai remained completely open, and their COVID-19 cases have been below 100 for weeks as of this writing.

“Around 5.6 million tourists have already visited the Dubai Expo. Major sports events are drawing packed arenas everywhere in the U.S. BTS became the first group in the world to sell out four concerts in November and December at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. And

Rotary Club SF Sunset Holiday Extravaganza Benefit Fashion Show

Foreground Charter President Marilyn Becklehimer, Rotary District 5150 Governor Danielle Lallement, Steve & Colleen Wright, Governor Nominee Gary Chow Howard Weathersby, Herman Jones, Jackie De Vera, President Rudy Asercion (Photo by Teofie Decierdo)

 ENTERTAINMENT

December 23-29, 2021

18

Pacquiao, Angel Locsin, Kris, others help Odette victims; Lucy Torres pushes creation of Dep’t of Disaster Resilience

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda MANILA – Celebrities and showbiz personalities have mounted campaigns to provide assistance to the victims of supertyphoon Odette.

Actress and House of Representatives Committee on Disaster Resilience chairperson, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte, wife of actor Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, meanwhile, revived a proposal in Congress to create a Department of Disaster Resilience.

Leading those extending help and providing relief goods was Senator and presidential aspirant Emmanuel Pacquiao who had sent initial two plane loads of assistance to typhoon victims in Cebu and Bohol and other areas.

Pacquiao and Vice President Leni Robredo teamed up to assist the Odette victims, according to initial reports.

Angel Locsin, who is known for her civic work, has also joined in extending assistance and called for those capable to extend help.

Angel and Kris Aquino also teamed up with Robredo to help the Odette victims.

In a viral video posted on Twitter, Kris made known Angel’s donations of millions of pesos through the Vice President for the benefit of typhoon victims.

“Nagbigay po si Angel Locsin ng P2 million kay VP Leni para po pantulong para po sa lahat ng nasalanta,” Kris said in the video.

Kris joined Robredo last Tuesday during her visit to Barangay Daan Banua in Kabankalan City in Negros island for relief efforts and assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

Kris wrote on her Instagram account that she and Angel always communicate with each other on how to help victims if there is a calamity in the country.

“Matagal na kaming tandem ni @therealangellocsin ‘pag ganitong may kalamidad at araw araw kaming naguusap kung paano ba makakatulong. Kinukulit namin ni Alvin si Ina ni VP @lenirobredo,” she said.

She also commended Robredo and Sen. Manny Pacquiao for uniting to help typhoon victims. “[At] 5 a.m. kanina magka text kami ni VP Leni.

Saludo ako sa kanya at kay Senator @mannypacquiao dahil nagkaisa sila para mas maraming matulungan,” she said.

Actor Gerald Anderson also donated relief goods for the victims of typhoon “Odette”.

Anderson, an Auxiliary Commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), provided sacks of rice and boxes of bottled water which will be delivered by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in some areas in Western Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao.

Actresses Andi Eigenman and Nadine Lustre, who have made Siargao their home for sometime now, urged the public to send support to those in Siargao by showing, through retweets and posts, various initiatives where people may send cash or in-kind donations.

Lustre and Eigenman now own properties on the island.

Egienman’s home in Siargao was also ravaged by Typhoon Odette, Eigenmann shared that she will be utilizing her family’s Happy Islanders YouTube channel to lend a hand.

In the vlog of her eldest daughter Ellie’s 10th birthday recorded before the typhoon and posted on Dec. 19, Eigenmann shared that the earnings from her upcoming December vlogs will go to those that have lost their homes and livelihoods from the storm.

In the intro of the video, the actress wrote: “On December 16, 2021, Typhoon Odette hit Siargao Island (and other neighboring islands and provinces) and devastated our island home. We are grateful that our family and friends are safe, but most of them have lost their homes and are in need of food, water, among others.”

“With this, we will be using our earnings from our coming videos to help slowly rebuild our island home again. Motindog ra ta pagbalik, Siargao.”

Slater Young and Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomes also called for support for those affected in their hometowns of Cebu and Siargao, as well as for other areas.

Filipino athletes and teams are using their influence, reach, and resources to help the victims of Typhoon Odette, Rappler reported.

Weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist, is also helping out in her own way by sharing information on various donation drives on her social media accounts.

National beach volleyball team member Sisi Rondina, who hails from Cebu, called for donations as she showed photos of homes destroyed by Odette.

“Any amount will do,” wrote the former UST Growling Tigress.

Cebuana marathoner Mary Joy Tabal, meanwhile, gave out packed meals to people affected in her hometown.

“Openly gave it to those who [knocked on] our door, to some who were not able to cook [because] electricity shut down, and also gave it [to] people who helped clean the road,” said Tabal, who represented the country in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Meanwhile, actress and House of Representatives Committee on Disaster Resilience chairperson, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte, said a centralized government agency is necessary to make disaster preparedness

LEYTE REP. LUCY TORRES-GOMEZ, House of Representa�ves Commi�ee on Disaster Resilience chairperson.

more comprehensive, responsive, and customized based on technical and scientific analysis.

Torres-Gomez said the disparity in disaster preparation and response from one local government unit (LGU) to another has been made apparent in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

“A disaster is just too huge and too complex for LGUs to handle on their own. And yes, some LGUs are capable, but we just cannot leave something as critical as disaster resilience, preparedness, response and recovery to the whims of chance,” Torres-Gomez said.

She cited as an example Ormoc City that has invested in disaster preparedness, noting that power and water supply have been restored, allowing the citizens in Ormoc to bounce back, recover and move on from the effects of Odette, almost immediately after the storm.

Meanwhile, she said other provinces that were poorly prepared now face the prospect of power outage for at least a month, which would set back the local economy amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“The destruction resulting from Super-typhoon Odette is, once again, a bitter reminder that we still have a long way to go in strengthening our disaster resilience.

Yes, we have significantly decreased casualties due to substantial improvements in local evacuations,” she said.

Aside from the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, she said there are still “low-lying fruit” solutions that are yet to be achieved.

She said there is a need to focus on three economic cornerstones: clearing debris from roads, protecting and restoring power lines, and maintaining internet and phone communications.

“Any lack in these economic cornerstones deeply impact the availability of basic human needs; such as, water, food and fuel supplies, as well as access to basic services; such as, banking, emergency health care, grocery and drug stores. Without these basic infrastructure elements, recovery and rehabilitation would be an uphill climb,” she said.

“Odette” also left an initial P343,454,774 worth of damage to infrastructure and agriculture across the Visayas and Mindanao.

It also destroyed various government facilities, flood control projects, roads, bridges, and other infrastructures which amounted to P225,170,000, as well as various agricultural products worth P118,284,774.

At least 54,783 houses were either totally or partially destroyed, 41 road sections and four bridge sections collapsed, along with four airports and 118 seaports were damaged while 5,391.77 hectares of crops, and many livestock and poultry areas were completely wiped out in the affected regions.

19 December 23-29, 2021

 ENTERTAINMENT

Actors Jaleel White and Akbar Gbajabiamila share COVID-19 vaccine experiences, urge black and African Americans to get jabs SACRAMENTO – Actor and producer Jaleel White, and former NFL player and host of “The Talk” and “American Ninja Warrior” Akbar Gbajabiamila, are partnering with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The well-known celebrities are sharing their COVID-19 vaccine experiences through candid conversations to help reduce hesitancy in Black and African American communities across the state.

The partnership is part of the state’s Vaccinate ALL 58 campaign, which aims to provide safe, effective and free COVID-19 vaccines to all Californians regardless of immigration or insurance status.

“We must acknowledge the distrust and skepticism that exists between many African Americans and people of color and the medical community due to historic injustices, ‘’ said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “It is important to create a safe space for the community to discuss and address concerns they have around COVID-19 vaccines.

We are so grateful to Jaleel and Akbar for their com-

mitment to honest conversations about what it personally has felt like to overcome long-held fears around vaccines, and finally making the decision to get vaccinated. These candid discussions help get to the heart of the matter in a thoughtful way, while reducing vaccine hesitancy in their community.”

When White and Gbajabiamila first heard about vaccinations for COVID-19, they were admittedly hesitant. Now, both are fully vaccinated and feel safer knowing they have protection against COVID-19. In their conversation, both men share their reasons for hesitation, why they chose to receive the vaccine, and the steps taken to become vaccinated with the hopes of encouraging those who have not yet received the vaccine to do so, specifically in the African American community.

“Growing up in Los Angeles, there was this belief that society didn’t care about what happened to Black people medically,” said Gbajabiamila. “Now that I’m vaccinated, I want to keep it real with my community

and encourage everyone to protect themselves.”

The four-part conversation details their vaccination journeys, including their experiences with mild side effects, getting a booster, and why getting the facts is important for someone to make their decision on getting vaccinated.

“No one should be shamed or condemned for being hesitant and this is exactly why I want to share the story of how I came to be vaccinated,” said White. “None of us have ever had to navigate through a pandemic before. So, helping people get the facts, with understanding for their personal experiences, and doing that with grace, is how we are going to get through this together.

I hope my story will inspire and help others get to a place where they feel good about getting vaccinated.”

In addition to the series of one-on-one conversations, the partnership also includes a comedic skit written by White that supports the Vaccinate ALL 58 campaign and addresses concerns surrounding vaccinations and booster shots.

Special screening of Nicolas Pichay’s ‘Rizal’s Pen’ set tional hero with a video premiere.

The Sentro Rizal Washington D.C. invites everyone to a special virtual screening of Nicolas Pichay’s “Rizal Pen” as the Embassy celebrates this year’s Rizal Day with the theme “Rizal: Para sa Agham, Katotohanan, at Buhay” (Rizal: For Science, Truth, and Life). The screening will start

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Every 30th of December, the Filipino nation observes the death anniversary of the Philippines’ national hero - Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal - formally known as Rizal Day. This year, the Sentro Rizal in Washington D.C. commemorates the life, sacrifice, and works of our na-

from 30 December 2021 until 01 January 2022 via the Philippine Embassy’s Facebook Page (@PHinUSA).

Rizal Pen is a 45-minute film directed and written by Nicolas B. Pichay which revolves around a young man in contemporary times discovering the relevance of Jose Rizal’s writings in his life.

 REAL ESTATE

December 23-29, 2021

California’s $1-B mortgage relief program gets federal approval SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California’s plan to provide $1 billion in mortgage relief grants to tens of thousands of homeowners who have fallen behind on housing payments or reverse mortgage arrearages during the COVID-19 pandemic has been approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, clearing the way for a full program launch in the coming weeks.

Under Governor Newsom’s plan, the California Mortgage Relief Program will help an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 struggling homeowners, with funds reserved for homeowners in socially disadvantaged and underserved communities often hit hardest by the pandemic.

“We are committed to supporting those hit hardest by the pandemic, and that includes homeowners who have fallen behind on their housing payments,” Governor Newsom said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

“No one should have to live in fear of losing the roof over their head, so

we’re stepping up to support struggling homeowners to get them the resources they need to cover past due mortgage payments. Our Housing is Key program has already provided renters and landlords with the assistance and resources they need to stay afloat. Now, with our California Mortgage Relief Program, we are extending that relief to homeowners,” Newsom said.

Through the mortgage relief program, past due housing payments will be covered in full – up to a maximum of $80,000 per household – with a direct payment to qualified homeowners’ mortgage servicers. The financial support is provided as a one-time grant that qualified homeowners will not have to repay, so that they can get caught up and have a fresh start.

Funding for the program is allocated through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowner Assistance Fund.

“During this pandemic, Californians have lost their jobs or had their paychecks cut, leading many to wonder how they can keep up with their

housing payments,” said Lourdes M. Castro Ramírez, Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. “This program will help families keep their homes and provide the stability they need to recover from the financial, physical and emotional toll caused by the pandemic.”

The California Mortgage Relief Program will be a part of California’s Housing is Key program and is designed to work in tandem with several existing state and federal initiatives and programs to support residents facing difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Homeowners who have had their mortgage payments paused during the pandemic are now facing the end of those forbearance periods,” said Tiena Johnson Hall, Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency, “The California Mortgage Relief Program will alleviate some of that anxiety and give eligible homeowners a chance to get caught up on those housing payments and regain that sense of security.”

20

Historic Naic town modernizes further as Walter Mart acquires Primex property

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NAIC, Cavite - This historic town is in for further development and modernization.

This as Primex Development Corporation sold two hectares of a 10-hectare prime property along Governor’s Drive in Naic, Cavite to leading community mall developer Walter Mart for P200 million.

The whole property, which has a frontage of 330 meters, is right beside AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp.’s 166-hectare Cavite Technopark.

With the area’s accessibility and connectivity greatly enhanced by numerous infrastructure like the CaviteLaguna Expressway (CALAX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) Extension, the Cavite-TagaytayBatangas Expressway (CTBEX) and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, the area is projected to blossom into a center of trade and commerce south of the Metropolis.

Primex Development Corporation sold two hectares of a 10-hectare prime property along Governor’s Drive in Naic, Cavite to leading community mall developer Walter Mart for P200 million.

The whole property, which has a frontage of 330 meters, is right beside AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp.’s 166-hectare Cavite Technopark.

With the area’s accessibility and connectivity greatly enhanced by numerous infrastructure like the CaviteLaguna Expressway (CALAX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) Extension, the Cavite-TagaytayBatangas Expressway (CTBEX) and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, the area is projected to blossom into a center of trade and commerce south of the Metropolis.

Pullman Manila slated “By selling a portion of the property to a branded and established mall operator, the value of the residual eight hectares of the land shall appreciate significantly,” Karlvin Ernest Ang, Executive Vice President and Director of the Primex Group of Companies, said.

In a recent development, parent Primex Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Primex Realty Corporation, signed a hotel management agreement with Accor Hotels to put up the first Pullman Hotel in Manila.

21 December 23-29, 2021

NEWS  NATIONAL SPORTS NEWS

Filipino American Asa Miller to compete for PHL in 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing MANILA/PORTLAND - Filipino American Asa Miller will be the sole Filipino athlete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after meeting the qualification threshold for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Born in Portland, Oregon, the 21-year-old alpine skier whose roots are in Sta. Cruz, Manila, who will compete for the Philippines, made the announcement on his personal Instagram account.

Officials hope Brandon Leitner, a 17-year-old skier, would also make the cut should the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) earn another slot.

“Hi everyone! I’m extremely excited to announce that I’ll be making my second Olympic appearance in Beijing 2022! Big thank you to everyone who’s helped me on my skiing journey so far,” said Miller who also raced in the 2018 edition in Pyeongchang, South Korea and placed 70th of 110 giant slalom participants.

Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation president Jim Palomar Apelar also confirmed Miller’s qualification in the quadrennial sporting competition from Feb. 4 to 20 next year.

Apelar explained that Miller secured his second

straight Winter Olympics berth after he met the qualifying score of 160 points or lower for each of the two events.

He got enough points from the International Ski Federation (ISF) to be quota eligible.

Miller earned 68.56 points in slalom and 63.83 points in giant slalom in the tournaments he joined for his preOlympic qualification process.

“Alpine has a point system. The lower your points the better,” Apelar said.

Apelar added the world governing body International Ski Federation will finalize the list of athletes in Beijing on Jan. 15, but the Philippines has been granted one quota slot in the two events which assured Miller’s participation.

Miller also represented the Philippines in the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he ranked 70th out of 110 competitors in the giant slalom event.

He is also expected to be the country’s flag bearer in the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 4.

Magsayo guns for world title in Atlantic City fight next month in his fifth defense in Pennsylvania in February 2020.

His record is 31-1, with 18 KOs and the only loss was to Vasiliy Lomachenko by a majority decision in 2014.

The southpaw has held the WBC 126-pound title since 2015. He was a world amateur bronze medalist in 2005 and three years later, went to Beijing for the Olympics but crashed out of contention after missing the weighin due to severe dehydration for trying to make weight.

Magsayo has been floored twice, once by Chris Avalos and once by Ceja, but bounced back from the knockdowns to stop both opponents.

A strong starter, the heavy-handed Magsayo has notched seven KOs in the first round. If Magsayo dethrones Russell, he’ll be only the second Filipino world featherweight titleholder after Luisito Espinosa who reigned from 1995 to 1999.

“Excited na ako,” said Magsayo. “Mabilis si Russell so pinaghandaan ng team ko na mabuti. Marami akong natutunan sa laban kay Ceja. Dati kulang ako sa gulang, puro tapang at lahat inisip na madala ko sa lakas.

Pero kailangan din ng maturity sa laban at IQ. Gusto ko kasi pakita sa laban na kaya kong tanggapin mga suntok ni Ceja at ‘di ako yayakap. Pero nakapag-adjust naman kami kaagad at nanalo tayo with God’s will.”

Meanwhile, boxing siblings Vic Saludar and Froilan Saludar absorbed painful loses in their respective bouts in Dominican Republic and in Australia.

Despite outworking his Dominican foe, Vic Saludar lost the WBA minimumweight crown to Erick Rosa LOS ANGELES -- Undefeated Filipino boxer Mark Roach, assistant coach Marvin Somodio and condition- Pacheco via split decision at the latter’s hometown.

The fight took place at the Hotel Catalonia in Santo Magsayo will fight WBC featherweight champion Gary ing coach Pedro Garcia.

Domingo, Dominican Republic, last Wednesday, MaRussell in a 12-round title bout at the Borgata Hotel Magsayo earned the title shot by scoring a comenila time, ABS-CBN reported.

Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Jan. from-behind knockout over Julio Ceja in Las Vegas last Froilan Saludar, on the other hand, got beaten by 22.

August.

Andrew Moloney at The Star Event Centre in Sydney.

Magsayo, who has been in the United States for He trailed on the three judges scorecards, 87-82 Froilan, a former title contender, was able to put over a year now, said he was happy saying the fight is a and 86-83 twice, when a right straight punctured Ceja’s up a fi ght in the early part of the match. But Moloney chance of a lifetime, a dream come true. defense and another right struck the head on the way started dominating the match when he began unloading Magsayo, 26, who has won 23 fights with 16 down. Ceja dropped out cold on the canvas. heavy bodyshots. knockouts and no defeat, has stepped up his training Russell, 33, hasn’t fought in nearly two years or Moloney took the WBO Oriental bantamweight title for the fight at the Wild Card Gym under coach Freddie since outpointing Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayer via unanimous decision.

December 23-29, 2021

22

Q: Can you explain how network marketing works?

A: Network marketing is a business model in which a distributor network is needed. In most cases these type of businesses are multi level marketing in nature in that payouts occur at more than one level. This is very popular for people looking for part time work or a part time flexible business.

The business requires a low level of capital and uses family members and friends as a source of distribution. Most of these organizations recruits more distributors for more gain.

Imagine a pyramid on top of many pyramids where the person on the very top pyramid has a again on every person from every pyramid under his. This person can make billions because he has a stake in every person under him as they sell more product.

Like any other businesses, this type of business has its own downsides. It is unfortunate that in order to make more money, a member has to keep recruiting more members under his pyramid. This will maximize his gains. Unfortunate, people start avoiding them because they become quite persistent in their quest to recruit making them a nuisance to every person who really does not want to do anything with the business. Why? Because they would ultimately have to do the same in order to make money. They have to recruit more members under their pyramid in order to maximize gains.

Ating lesson, Ang nararamdaman ng iba ay laging ilagay sa isipan, para di ka nila iwasan.

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 COMMUNITY NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

24

Insurance commissioner Felix Lopez named to DeMolay Legion of Honor LA County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez C E R RITOS -Los Angeles County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez was conferred last Nov. 6 by DeMolay International the Legion of Honor award, which is the highest honor given by the international organization to its senior members.

The Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay Republic of the Philippines be-

stowed the award to Lopez in recognition of his “outstanding service to humanity and remarkable leadership in your chosen field of human endeavor. Including adult service to the Order of DeMolay.”

As a Legion of Honor awardee, Lopez was elevated to the rank and dignity of a Legionnaire of the Order. He also received the Legion of Honor Regalia, a cross medallion suspended from a red cordon.

The Order of DeMolay website said the Legion of Honor “was founded for the purpose of bringing together a select few out of the millions who have knelt at the altar of DeMolay. Legion of Honor recipients must have actively demonstrated outstanding leadership in some field of endeavor, whether it be a civic, professional, fraternal or spiritual arena.

DeMolay is an international organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy, and productive lives. Among its prominent alumni are Walt Disney, John Wayne, Walter Cronkite, football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, news anchor David Goodnow, and many others.

Lopez, who was appointed to the LA County Insurance Commission by Supervisor Janice Hahn in 2017, has been in the insurance industry since 1977. He is the owner-CEO of the Pinoy General Insurance Services, which he founded in 1993.

A magna cum laude graduate in Economics and a Master of Business Administration graduate of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lopez was President of the Rotary Club of Cerritos

and Artesia in 2010-2011, where he received a Rotary International Citation as Outstanding Club President. He is also the Founding President of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce-South East Corridor (FACC-SEC) and Chairman of the Coalition of Associations at the South East Corridor (CASEC).

Lopez was awarded the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Diversity Award in 2008, designated as an Honorary Commodore by the Philippine Coast Guard/ Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2014, voted One of Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs by the Pangasinan Brotherhood USA in 2010, and named Lion of the Year by the Los Angeles Bayanihan Lions Club in 1998.

Lopez and his wife Sally have two sons, Felix Reginald and Richard Felix.

Omicron variant spreads, 3,258 COVID cases, 7 deaths detected in LA County

By Jo Erlinda Maufit LOS ANGELS - As Omicron cases continue to spread in the Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health disclosed that vaccines remain one of the most powerful protections against COVID-19 transmission, especially at skilled nursing facilities.

This as the Department of Public Health confirmed 60 new Omicron cases, 3,258 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 7 deaths. There are 743 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

For the week ending on December 17th, outbreaks rose in every sector, except skilled nursing facilities, the depart-

Newsom...

(From page 1)

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin downtown district reeling from a severe spike in fatal drug overdoses driven mainly by fentanyl.

“We are in a crisis and we need to respond accordingly,” Breed said at a news conference. “Too many people are dying in this city, too many people are sprawled on our streets,” she said, referring to residents who have overdosed.

She said declaring a state of emergency would allow The City to cut through red tape and increase funding to police, who she said already had arrested 23 people during felony warrant sweeps.

Official reports showed US drug overdose deaths surged to more than 100,000 this year for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by a flood of fake online pills.

In San Francisco, drug overdoses have also risen sharply since the mid-2010s as highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl infiltrated the city.

A record 711 died from overdoses last year, with 2021 deaths projected to fall slightly below that.

In her declaration, Mayor Breed allows officials to quickly open shelters and mental health services by bypassing zoning, planning and contract procurement rules.

Governor Newsom announced the plan alongside Attorney General Rob Bonta, CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, CAL

ment said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

The department said outbreaks increased by 118% in the education sector, 83% in congregate/group housing, 13% in settings serving people experiencing homelessness, and 24% at worksites/places of worship. Over the same period, outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities decreased by 11%.

Although masking compliance and vaccination rates are high in most of the settings, most intensive work to ensure widespread booster administration occurred at skilled nursing facilities. Currently, 84% of eligible skilled nursing facility residents and 50% of eligible

staff have received booster shots (90% of residents and 97% of staff are fully vaccinated).

“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Evidence is mounting that for those vaccinated months ago, boosters are necessary to provide the best defense from infection with and transmission of the Omicron variant.” “ Vaccinations also continue to provide excellent protection from the Delta variant. The widespread uptake of booster shots at skilled nursing facilities – a result of early efforts to get

booster doses to these highly-vulnerable individuals as soon as they became available -- have helped keep outbreaks at lower numbers in these settings,” Dr. Ferrer said.

“This aligns with other information gathered from around the country demonstrating the power of boosters, and the importance of getting boosted as soon as possible once eligible,” Ferrer continued. “Given the rising case numbers, the high rate of community transmission, and all the evidence that, over time, our immune systems need a boost to be able to attack the COVID virus, no one eligible should delay getting their booster dose.”

OES Director Mark Ghilarducci and other state and local leaders at the CHP’s Dublin Area Office.

Under the Governor’s “Real Public Safety Plan,” new investments will bolster local law enforcement response, ensure prosecutors hold perpetrators accountable and get guns and drugs off our streets.

“We’re doubling down on our public safety investments and partnerships with law enforcement officials up and down the state to ensure Californians and small businesses feel safe in their communities – a fundamental need we all share,” said Governor Newsom in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

“Through robust new investments and ongoing coordination with local agencies, this plan will bolster our prevention, deterrence and enforcement efforts to aggressively curb crime, hold bad actors to account and protect Californians from the devastating gun violence epidemic.”

While long-term crime trends in California are down in almost every category, states across America have seen a recent uptick in organized retail theft and other violent crimes, particularly those involving a firearm.

The Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan will support existing efforts and new initiatives, including a permanent Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit led by CHP, funding for a statewide organized theft team in the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute cross-jurisdictional theft-related crimes, the largest gun buyback program in the country and grants for local law enforcement, prosecutors, and small Governor Newsom announces Real Public Safety Plan today in Dublin alongside state and businesses victimized by retail theft. local leaders, law enforcement officials.

25 December 23-29, 2021

 COMMUNITY NEWS

Hahn, Board of Supervisors support striking workers in Santa Fe Springs SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA— Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn led her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors showing their support for the 175 striking workers at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in the city of Santa Fe Springs.

“I had the opportunity to join these workers on the picket line and hear their stories,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the city of Santa Fe Springs on the Board of Supervisors. “Most of these workers are Latina women and they have been out in the cold for the past month and a half, many with their children with them, standing up for the fair wages they deserve and better treatment from their employer. Despite the tactics the company has used against these workers, I can tell you their resolve is strong and I know this strike will last as long as it takes.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve a motion authored by Supervisor Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Hilda Solis to send a five-signature letter from the Board to Rich’s Products Corporation, the parent company of Jon Donaire Desserts, to bargain in good faith with the striking workers and approve a contract that is good for all parties.

“Coming from an immigrant working class family, I understand the sacrifices facing these workers and their families

UP-SF...

as they wake up every morning to go to the picket line and demand better pay, health care, and respect,” shared Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “As Christmas nears, I hope that these efforts by the County will help move this process along, and more importantly, let the

workers know that they are not alone.”

Jon Donaire workers, most of them women, are part of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 37, and have been on strike since early November. They primarily mass produce ice

(From page 1)

tor Sonia Delen, philanthropist and multitalented performer Apl.de.ap of world-renowned music group Black Eyed Peas, entrepreneur and UP Institute of Mass Communication (UP-IMC) alumnus Yobi Benjamin shared how the testing kits donation project came about.

Present to accept the donation were UP President Danilo Concepcion who planed in to San Francisco for the event and UP-PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Gap Legaspi who participated virtually via Zoom from PGH in the ceremonial turnover..

Delen, also a director of the Apl.de.ap Foundation Incorporated (ADAFI), revealed that Benjamin was the principal donor and together with Zymo Research Corporation of Dr. Larry Jia, have given access to 227,722 units of Zymo Research DNA/RNA Shield™ Saliva Collection Testing Kits worth around $2.85 million.

The DNA/RNA Shield™ Saliva Collection Testing Kits are ideal for the Philippines as they do not require refrigeration, are compatible with the current UP-PGH collection/analysis machines, and provide an alternative method to nasal testing, which would give the public, especially the seniors and students, greater access to free COVID-19 testing which is essential in helping slow the spread of the virus through early detection.

“Benjamin and I have been with the Apl.de ap Foundation since 2013-14.

Even at the start of the pandemic, Ben-

UP-PGH DONATION. Donors and recipients alike led by Ode�e Keeley, Sonia Delen, PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi (in laptop screen grab), Apl.de.ap Yobi Benjamin, UP President Danilo Concepcion and UPAASF President Liza Gino pose for souvenir picture in turnover of $2.85M worth of tes�ng kits to UP-PGH. jamin has always been in forefront of finding and innovating to help combat the pandemic,” Delen recalled. “This is part of the efforts of Iskos and Iskas ng Bayan here in America in helping our kababayan back home. UP alumni in the U.S. are always in support of their alma mater academic excellence to our young students and the UP-PGH.” Delen added that UP students and campus community members will gain access to these test kits to hopefully enable the speedy return of in-person faceto-face learning of students while also benefitting UP-PGH, the state-owned hospital designated as the national hospital for COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, in its fight to contain the pandemic

Apl.de.ap whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo, born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City in Pampanga and has a foundation committed to equip Filipino youth with knowledge and skills to improve their lives admire the inclination of UP alumni in San Francisco of constantly thinking about home and how to be of service to the Filipino community. .

“I was a product of someone else’s generosity so it is always important for me to pay it forward. When I heard of this mission from Yobie Benjamin, I was given the opportunity to give back and so we did,” poignantly remembered Apl.de.ap “We are so lucky to have access to vaccines and test kits that are unfortunately lacking in the Philippines. With this dona-

cream cakes that are sold at locations including Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, Red Robbin, Walmart, and Vons. This job is labor intensive, with as many as 38 cakes per minute moving down the production line, and these workers have been routinely forced to work mandatory overtime with little to no notice.

“The LA Fed is extremely thankful to Supervisors Hahn, Solis, and the rest of the Board for declaring public support for these brave workers, the majority of whom are Latina,” said Ron Herrera, the President of LA County Federation of Labor. “These working women create the cakes that we enjoy with our families during the Holiday season, so the least that we can do is support them in their quest for better wages and working conditions.”

Through an amendment to the motion, the Board also directed the CEO of LA County to send notice to the California Labor Commissioner, California Labor & Workforce Development Agency, and the National Labor Relations Board urging them to assure the implementation of fair labor practices through the monitoring of good faith bargaining between Rich’s Products Corporation and BCTGM Local 37 in their representative capacity. tion, I hope to continue working together in saving lives in the Philippines,”” .

Benjamin confirmed that he has been working on the COVID-19 crisis since January 2020 and among the first recipients of his donation was Wuhan China and also donated to California, Israel, Costa Rica and has been donating the kits invented by Dr. Larry Zia. “What makes this test kit different are that it does need to be kept in cold storage, it is spillage/leak-proof to avoid spread of virus particles even in the laboratories, and that its easier and more simple as it only requires spit of saliva unlike a nasal swab which is invasive,” Benjamin said.

With the big surge in air and land travelers during the current holiday season that caused kilometric lines in testing areas and the provision of the federal government of 500M free test kits to households, Benjamin also disclosed that he will be offering to different states and local government units especially those heavily impacted by the virus generic testing of the virus for free.

“One thing that the US does not have is the capacity to do generic testing that is why all these variants come here without knowing what they are. We do not do generic testing of what we collect. As a result of this, we still do not know is how pervasive the Omicron variant is compared to Delta,” said Benjamin.

Benjamin said he believes that Americans need to track these variants because the U.S. is in a very dangerous situation if these variants are not tracked as they can mutate again.

 COMMUNITY NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

26

With the Holiday Season Upon Us, PG&E Reminds Customers Not to Let Knowing the signs of a scam and the steps to take is key to avoid falling vic�m

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — During a time when many Californians are occupied with preparations for the holiday season, there are steps they can take to prevent their distraction from making them an easy target for scammers. While many are aware of the potential for online shopping scams, the same danger exists for utility bill scams, where scammers will demand payment to prevent immediate disconnection.

Every day across the country, electric and natural gas customers, along with telephone, water and other essential services customers, are being targeted by scammers impersonating utilities, typically online, inperson and by telephone. And, the holiday season provides scammers with a prime opportunity to take advantage of customers’ distraction and anxiety.

“Scammers are opportunistic and will exploit times when people are busier than normal and potentially stressed, and they do not take the holidays off. Stress and distraction create a window of opportunity where people are also more likely to fall victim to a scam,” said Ryan Matulka, senior manager, PG&E corporate security. “Remem-

ber, PG&E will not contact you for the first time within one hour of service disconnection, and we will NEVER request payment by a pre-paid debit card or via online payment services like Zelle. If an email, visit to your home or phone call doesn’t feel right, don’t fall for it. Delete it, shut the door or hang up and call our customer service line or visit our website to confirm your account details.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers have increased calls, texts, emails, and in-person tactics and are constantly contacting utility customers asking for immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. Scammers can be convincing and often target those who are most vulnerable, including senior citizens and lowincome communities. They also aim their scams at small business owners during busy customer service hours. However, with the right information, customers can learn to detect and report these predatory scams.

Signs of a potential scam Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively demand immediate payment for an alleged past due bill.

· Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card then call them back supposedly to make a bill payment. · Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number, which grants the scammer instant access to the card’s funds. · Refund or rebate offers: Scammers may say that your utility company overbilled you and owes you a refund, or that you are entitled to a rebate.

How customers can protect themselves Customers should never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff. PG&E does not specify how customers should make a bill payment and offers a variety of ways to pay a bill, including accepting payments online, by phone, automatic bank draft, mail or in person.

If a scammer threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service without prior notification, customers should hang up the phone, delete the email, or shut the door. Customers with delinquent accounts receive an advance disconnection notifica-

tion, typically by mail and included with their regular monthly bill.

Signing up for an online account at pge. com is another safeguard. Not only can customers log in to check their balance and payment history, they can sign up for recurring payments, paperless billing and helpful alerts.

Scammers Impersonating Trusted Phone Numbers: Scammers are now able to create authentic-looking 800 numbers which appear on your phone display. The numbers don’t lead back to PG&E if called back, however, so if you have doubts, hang up and call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. If customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should call 911.

Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud, or who feel threatened during contact with one of these scammers, should contact local law enforcement.

The Federal Trade Commission’s website is also a good source of information about how to protect personal information.

For more information about scams, visit www.pge.com/scams.

Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Alex and Maia Shibutani are “Leading with a Champion Mind”

AARP hosted panel of Winter Olympians to share how resilience helped shape their lives and careers

After a challenging year of navigating the “double pandemic” of COVID-19 and the rise of anti-Asian hate, AARP brought together generations of Asian American Olympians who embody resilience and excellence on December 16 for “Leading with a Champion Mind.” The live virtual panel celebrated the strength of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and shared how to be more resilient.

Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Ohno moderated the uplifting conversation with panelists Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and two-time Olympic bronze medalist figure skaters, Alex and Maia Shibutani.

According to AARP, mindfulness can help one be more resilient because it keeps people in touch with what’s happening in the moment. Whenever someone practices mindfulness, it bolsters and protects them against feeling powerless and lacking control, especially during challenging events.

“Something that has worked for me, that I probably wouldn’t have been able to articulate back when I was training, is the ability to pause and reflect,” said Apolo Ohno, the most decorated U.S. male Winter Olympian of all time. “We are living in a time where we’re always reacting to

things. We can have more mindfulness over our thoughts and actions. Sometimes we react in a way that doesn’t truly suit the outcome that we desire. We can [learn to] zoom out to gain a better perspective.”

Resilient people often seek social support to help them overcome a difficult situation. They lean on family and friends or request assistance from experts.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. A lot of times we try to take things on ourselves. I’ve learned along the way that there are many people willing to be mentors,” said Kristi Yamaguchi, founder of Always Dream, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance early childhood literacy. “We are afraid to bother someone or ask for something, but I am certainly not where I am [today] because I did it on my own. All along the way, there’s always been someone there as a support system.

Surround yourself with some quality people and you’ll learn quality.”

Although resilience is a quality that you possess, you can work on becoming more resilient by adopting certain habits or practices.

“Knowing the direction that you want to head in is important, then break it down into small goals so that you have a sense of time and direction,” said Maia Shibutani, who, with her brother Alex, was the second sibling duo in the history of the sport to win an Ice Dance medal.

“We both find it very helpful to communicate with each other. If you don’t have someone that you feel that you can talk to, journaling can also be incredibly helpful and important so that you make sure that you’re reflecting and checking in with yourself.”

When many things are beyond someone’s control, they can still make decisions that impact their lives that may help boost their resilience and help them learn to cope better with adversity. When they tap into their reserves of mental toughness and inner strength, they can feel more positive and in control.

“For everything that we do, we set a feasible plan. When you have a long term goal that you’re trying to reach, whether it’s happiness or fulfillment, or the next chapter of your life, there are certain checkpoints along the way,” said Alex Shibutani, who along with his sister Maia, became the first ice dancers of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. “And Maia will hold me accountable. Having someone who you feel you can share your fears with, and also celebrate your successes with along the way, makes it feel less isolating, especially during this time when we are so physically isolated from

each other.”

To be a part of their journey and hear about other upcoming events, or to access this recorded event, follow the AARP AAPI community on Facebook (@AARPAAPI) and Twitter (@AARPAAPI).

About AARP: AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.

To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

Follow us @AARPAAPI for more news and videos.

L-R: Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer, Don Orozco of Net25TV, Dellilah Merano of PAL, Deputy CG Raquel Solano, Consul Van Llona and Vice Consul Adrian Baccay had lunch together for some quick community update held at Cheesecake Factory in SF

27 December 23-29, 2021

Upside...

(From Page 11)

To those who say their faith prevents them from getting vaccinated, Ghaly offered to ask why this vaccine would be any different from other vaccines required by schools, for example. “How is this one different? Why are we suddenly concerned about this one,” he asked. Those who have apprehensions should talk to their faith communities to get accurate information for a complete picture to make a determination.

“The truth is we’re talking about protecting young people and all Californians with the COVID vaccine, versus allowing people to get infected. And we know that even if you don’t have the worst consequences of hospitalization or dying from COVID, there are still are long-term repercussions we’re learning about. “ The aim is to provide global protection for younger people, Ghaly shared. Getting vaccinated has its risks, he conceded, but cautioned that anyone without vaccination will likely get infected because of the high transmissibility of the coronavirus.

On the theory that COVID 19 is a covert national experiment, Ghaly pointed to the 70,000 fatalities in California triggering the search for a “miracle for almost two years” for which the vaccine is the answer.

To those fearful of side effects promoted widely on social media, Ghaly attested to “headaches and low-grade fever” among those that turned up in trials “which should be no reason not to be vaccinated.”

He admitted that myocarditis or the inflammation of the heart muscle, and periocarditis or the inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, have been seen in teens but none in the 5-11 age bracket, perhaps “due to the lower dose.”

“We take those cases seriously,” he responded to the question.

Those effects were “indicated, investigated and exposed” in some teen incidences out of millions and “often resolved with minimal intervention.”

Children may get the flu and covid shots together, with the same side-effects such as headaches or low-grade fever, he said.

Ghaly’s main point was the vaccine is the “safest, most effective and successful vax seen in modern medicine.”

“Young people who get infected often have many more significant out-terms than those who get vaccinated,” he said. In short, the long-term consequences of not getting vaccinated far outweigh the impact of potential side effects.

He encouraged parents and families to reach out to their trusted sources or authorities they often turn to - whether a provider or the faith community - to get their questions answered to gain the confidence that the vaccine “is the right way to go.” – Adapted from original reprinted with permission from INQUIRER.NET.

Offline

(From Page 13)

It must be noted that when trolls caught wind of the survey over social media, they voted for the son of the dictator, who then won on the social media survey but lost in the actual face-to-face survey of likely voters.

There is also a new company operated by another PR practitioner that calls itself Publicus. This company has come out with survey after survey, all likely fake, that show Marcos Jr also winning handily.

The problem is that this new company adopted a name very similar to a long existing and respected marketing, advertising, and pr company called Publicis.

One letter makes all the difference between a credible company and an incredible one.

There is little doubt that Marcos Jr is trying to win by buying his way to the presidential palace. He is doing so as a last resort. Now 64, he will be 70 when the next presidential elections after 2022 takes place. So it’s now or never for him.

The problem is that he has no mass support, except in the Ilocos region. This has been made clear by the various pro-Marcos motorcades made up almost entirely of paid motorcyclists and a handful of car owners.

In almost every city and province that they drive by, there are no adoring crowds wildly waving at the tandem of Marcos Jr and Sara Duterte, his running mate.

Worst of all are the photos sent to local media showing huge crowds. Most were proven to be photoshopped. Aerial shots show infinitely smaller crowds than shown in photos released by the Marcos machinery.

By comparison, Robredo motorcades meet warm, even ecstatic welcomes everywhere they go. Crowds go gaga when they see that Leni is present in the motorcade.

In short, there is a strong movement for Leni and it continues to grow day by day.

As for Marcos Jr, we can only grant that he has the biggest war chest than all other presidential bets combined.

I for one do not think that the majority or even a big plurality of the Filipino electorate can be bought.

Cocky Marcos Jr will lose next year.

What’s up Atty

(From Page 13)

ciary’s financial position and status in the country, not his relationship with his family. The affidavit expressly tells the sponsor that he or she must continue to support the beneficiary even if their familial relationship is dissolved by a divorce.

The court said that the text of the statute identifies an exclusive list of terminating events. The statute or regulation could have said that the obligation terminates for reasons “including” the enu-

merated events, thereby indicating an “illustrative, not exhaustive” list. Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 567 U.S. 142, 162 (2012). Nothing in this structure contemplates an equitable remedy or defense for the benefit of a sponsor.

The court said that it is not enough that the sponsored immigrant’s conduct—such as committing a crime—could justify a change to the immigrant’s status. The obligation of support remains until the change in status has occurred and the immigrant is no longer likely to become a public charge. The sponsors’ obligations will terminate if Belevich’s prosecution results in a conviction and he is removed from the United States. See, e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E) (domestic violence is a deportable offense). Valentin v. Thomas, Case 19-14668 (CA11) 11 01 21.

RECOMMENDATION: A sponsor in an affidavit of support who is not the immigration petitioner should consider asking the immigration petitioner to execute an indemnification agreement whereby the petitioner agrees to indemnify the sponsor for whatever amounts the sponsor has spent to support the immigrant, plus attorney’s fees and costs incurred if the sponsor sues the petitioner.

(About Atty. Tipon. He 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 writes columns for newspapers. He wrote the best-seller “Winning by Knowing Your Election Laws.”

Listen to The Tipon Report which he co-hosts 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.

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.)

What’s Up Atty 2021 12 15 Affidavit of support-beneficiary abusive

Health & Wealth

(From Page 12)

and subsidy of the BOOKS MINISTRY. For schedule of book launching and autographing of books, just write or contact: BOOKS MINISTRY, 701-8th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118 Tel. (650)438-3531, (415)584-7095 or email:agmadlaing@hotmail.com MONTHLY RAFFLE DRAWING OF FREE BOOKS: All who visit the Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco and Daly City and those who attend the Book Launching and Autographing can register in the CHRISTIAN READING Logbook for the monthly RAFFLE DRAWING OF FREE BOOKS. Monthly winners will be drawn by the barbers in both the Abe Barber Shop branches in San Francisco and Daly City, California starting in January, 2022. All names of winners will be published in my weekly column in the PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY. Winners do not need to be present during the raffle drawing.

(ART GABOT MADLAING is accredited and commissioned Notary Public and licensed Real Estate Broker (DRE#00635976) in California since 1981. He is founder of MOBILE SIGNING SERVICES, FITNESS FOR HUMANITY (aka FITNESS FOR CHRIST) and ACAPINOY. Art is active Evangelist with the GOLDEN GATE CHURCH OF CHRIST in San Francisco, California.)

On Distant Shore

(From Page 12)

to gather together in the house of the patriarch or matriarch of the clan. Family members exchanged gifts, caught up on each other’s lives, and partook of the sumptuous meal. Children played games, the male family members drank beer or liquor, everybody participated in a singing session (using karaoke or otherwise), and the female members engaged in endless banter.

Towards the afternoon, children, accompanied by their parents, visited their ninong and ninang to get their Christmas presents. Others visited friends, watched movies, and drank with friends. The merrymaking went on till late at night. But the fun did not end there, because in six days, everybody geared up for a noisy New Year’s Eve revelry.

At least once a year, during the Christmas season, Filipinos are able to let off steam from the pressures of trying to survive, the poor are able to enjoy a bit of material happiness, families renew their bonds, and everyone has fun.

Christmas brings pure and genuine happiness to many Filipinos. It is this kind of joy that a Filipino living in a foreign land misses sorely about Christmas. It is this kind of Christmas celebration that Filipinos living on distant shores can only reminisce about. (valabelgas@aol.com)

PerryScope...

(From Page 12)

that once Trump attacks, they immediately declare that they’re not running for re-election.

But there is one Republican member of Congress. Rep. Liz Cheney, who hasn’t acquiesced to Trump. She’s the vice chairman of the January 6th Select Committee that’s investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Cheney has emerged as the leader of the “we-need-to-repudiate-Trump” Republicans.

As a result, Trump is going after her by backing a primary challenger against her. The Wyoming GOP also voted to no longer recognize her as a Republican. But Cheney was also praised by 25 former GOP lawmakers for her courage amid Republican backlash. Indeed, she was steadfast on her stand against Trump, which makes one wonder: What’s her future in a Republican Party that’s controlled by Trump? But Cheney has remained outspoken in her belief that Trump shouldn’t play a role in the GOP’s future.

Trump’s base Although Trump has a strong base of supporters, it is not enough to win public support for Trump-endorsed candidates.

A case in point was the loss of Susan Wright to Jake Ellzey in the House GOP primary runoff election in Texas, which shocked the GOP. Is this a harbinger of the fate of Trumpendorsed candidates?

The 2022 midterm elections should tell us whether America is going to swing direction: to law of the jungle or stay as a nation of rule of law. I am saying this because Republicans of the Trump variety seem inclined to follow his style of leadership, which is autocratic. His use – and abuse -- of authoritarian power to get people to do his bidding is very dangerous.

And his followers in Congress seem to do the same, like Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gozar, to name a few. Like Trump, they love to attack others who they disagree with.

America is now going through a series of events that are attacks on democracy: the voter suppression laws that are being considered in 47 states and the abuse of the filibuster, which is preventing Congress to pass laws that are good for Americans like the Voting Rights Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act, For the People Act, and Build Back Better Act. If these proposed bills don’t get passed before the 2022 elections, the Senate and House of Representatives could be taken over by the Trump-controlled Republican Party, which is against passing these bills.

We are now on the cusp of history. Democracy is in peril.

Is America going to be run by the rule of law or by the law of the jungle?

(PerryDaz@gmail.com)

 HEALTH NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

28

The shadow pandemic: Teen suicides and depression rates spike with few resources for assistance

By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor LOS ANGELES - Teen suicide and depression rates amid the pandemic are as alarming as deaths from Covid-19, but few mental health resources are available to address this shadow pandemic, especially within communities of color.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian American children between the ages of 15 and 24. Black children between the ages of 5 and 12 are twice as likely to die by suicide than White children of the same age.

Amid the pandemic, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered or attempted suicide, including more than half of transgender and non-binary youth.

Children as young as 8 have attempted suicide.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory Dec. 7 highlighting the need to address the youth mental health crisis. Early estimates in 2020 show 6,600 youth suicide deaths in 2020, a 57 percent jump over the previous decade. 40 percent of children ages 10-24 expressed feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

The Surgeon General noted that disabled, low-income, and homeless youth, along with minorities and LGBTQ youth had suffered from greater rates of depression.

Dr. Lori Turk-Bicakci, Senior Program Director for KidsData — an initiative of the Population Resource Bureau — noted at a Dec. 11 news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services that emergency room visits for attempted suicide by girls increased by 51 percent, and 40 percent for boys, beginning in May of 2020.

“This really feels like a crisis,” stated Turk-Bicakci.

She noted that even before the pandemic, not all youth were able to get the services they needed for their mental health conditions. “And now the need is even greater.

Mental health providers have been inundated with referrals.”

Typically, there is a three-month wait to get a spot into treatment programs.

Other speakers at the briefing included: Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director, County Behavioral Health Directors Association; Dr. LaTonya Wood, Director of Clinical Training – Psy.D. Program, Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University; Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, a marriage and family therapist and past board member of MySahana; and Gabii LeGate, Director of Operations at Blossoming Minds.

“In addition to grappling with the grief and loss of loved ones, Black youth, rightfully, are also experi-

encing and increased fear and anxiety about their own health and well-being,” said Wood. She noted that loss of household income, increased food insecurity, school closures, and the racial unrest during the summer of 2020 all contributed to heightened anxiety, depression, and suicide among Black youth. Moreover, traditional safety nets of church, school, and peers largely disappeared amid the pandemic.

Wood noted there were few culturally-appropriate mental health resources: less than 4 percent of mental health practitioners identify as Black.

A spike of racially motivated attacks targeted at Asian Americans, along with being blamed by former President Donald Trump for the spread of Covid-19, has created hyper-anxiety and depression among Asian American teens, said Thakore-Dunlap, noting that many youth witnessed their parents and grandparents being verbally or physically abused, and also worried for their own safety.

Many youth may want to access mental health services, but they have to struggle with their parents for parents, who may not understand the importance of counseling and mental health for their well-being, said Thakore-Dunlap, noting that AAPIs have the lowest rate of accessing mental health services.

COVID-19 CRISIS A grave national disgrace Heart of Hope

The COVID-19 pandemic is, from a national perspective, like a war, and must be treated as such, with all hands-ondeck, from the President, the Congress, down to every citizen, with a solid unified strategy and resolve. Leaving the PHILIP S. CHUA tactical measures to the various States, which are politically polarized, would lead to chaos and disaster, as shown by how confused people are, by the sad statistics since COVID-19 hit the United States, the current severe surges of COVID-19 infections, and the senseless thousands of deaths in the United States which were preventable.

For a medical crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, we need science, not politics. Political correctness perpetrated by our leaders, in order not to alienate voters, kill people far worse than the virus.

National interest, safety and welfare must always prevail over individual civil rights. The freedom to refuse the vaccine is actually resulting in more surges of infections, increased hospitalization, thousands more deaths, and greater devastation of our economy and psyche.

The US-CDC has, at the government’s disposal, established, proven, and tested, evidence-based standard epidemiologic protocol for the effective and rapid control of killer infectious diseases like SARS-CoV2 virus, and the now available COVID-19 vaccines, and yet it has refused to do what is right to save the nation from further ruin and nearly a million of its citizens from dying.

A hospital infectious disease ward is a miniature image of the entire United States as a giant ICU with more than 51 million cases and almost

820,000 have died so far…and counting. The standard of care protocol in every medical center calls for strict quarantine, isolation, handwashing, masking, social distancing, crowd avoidance, and prompt vaccination of at least 80 percent of the population. That is 100 percent application of science, sans politics and political correctness.

If this gross negligence and dereliction of duty were committed by a physician (for not following the standard care and protocol causing even a single death, never mind 820,000), he/she would be severely punished with a stiff penalty and meted a long jail term for negligent homicide.

Actually, the Administration and The Congress should even be subject to a higher standard, and yet, they are not being held accountable, culpable, liable, for defaulting on their sworn duty, obligation, and responsibility to protect the American people by not following the standard protocol that has so far resulted in more than 51 million COVID-219 cases and the deaths of nearly a million.

Had the government mandated the standard epidemiologic protocol in earnest and faithfully (all preventive measures) from January 15, 2020 (when the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United States involving a man who returned from Wuhan, China, to his home in Snohomish County, Washington), to compulsory vaccination when it first became available, the nation could have saved the majority of the 820,000 people, and herd immunity would have been established by now.

The 20 percent (about 60 million) who refused the vaccine will continue to serve as a giant reservoir (hosts) of the COVID-19 viruses that would enable the rapid replication and mutation of the virus, and act as carriers and transmitters that would infect and kill more people, causing the pandemic

to linger.

The unvaccinated are the most vulnerable targets of COVID-19 and 99.9 percent of the current infections are caused by the Delta variant.

And we now also have Omicron. Without a host (when everyone is vaccinated), the virus will selfdestruct. With that large number of carrier hosts, it is most probable that this pandemic will persist for years as endemic requiring annual (if not every 6 months) COVID-19 vaccination, like the yearly flu shots.

There are only about 60.8 percent of our population vaccinated. The United States is lagging far behind 50 other nations, whose vaccinated rate is on average 80 percent. This is a shame for a world leader and a most educated country.

Why is the government not following the available established standard protocol? How many more deaths does it need before finally doing the right thing?

What is happening to our nation and its people due to science-incompetent spineless politicians and inept leadership in both the executive and legislative branches of our government is simply a travesty of justice, plain and simple. With a bit of stretch, arguably, their inaction borders on negligent genocide. It is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for those who believe in science and social justice.

May God have mercy on us all.

Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Munster, Indiana, and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer, an author, a Health Advocate, Chairman of the Filipino United Network (USA), a 501(c)3 United States humanitarian foundation, and the founding president of the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society (Wikipedia). Website: philipSchua. com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

29 December 23-29, 2021

NEWS  NATIONAL VIEWS & COMMENTS

A CHRISTMAS ANGEL STORY

A

By TIM PEDROSA

t Christmas, as we bring to mind the past, enjoy the present, and dream of tomorrow, may we forever be grateful of God’s love. May we always remember that God does not lead us around hardship, but leads us straight through hardship . . .

And amidst the hardship, He is nearer to us than ever before. Sometimes He rides out the stohe nrm with us and other times He calms the restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our deepest inner soul and lead us to a peaceful and happy life.

Here’s a touching story of a single mother who learned that God’s blessings come out of the blue in a timely manner for those who truly believe in Him. As the story goes, in September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two.

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.— Anonymous Their dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either. If there was a welfare system in effect in Southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. I had to have a job. Still no luck.

The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old root beer barrel drivein that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. Seeded someone on the graveyard shift, eleven at night until seven in the morning.

She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night. I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money-- fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, the tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat.

New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires. I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn’t enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe. A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.

When it was time for me to go home at seven o’clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver’s side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box... Inside was a whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll. As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop. Prayer is very powerful. I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer: 1. ‘Yes!’ 2. ‘Not yet.’ 3. ‘I have something better in mind.’ You maybe going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot. Thank God for what you have; trust Him for what you need.

Christmas Special: God Becomes Incarnate It is important to our Christian faith the historicity and the reality of the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not dealing with a myth or a mythical figure, but of a historical event and a historical Person, divine and human. Very evident the Sacred Oral Tradition and from Sacred Scriptures that they concern themselves of a real event not a myth: From Luke’s gospel chapter 2 we read REV. JOSE PELAGIO A. PADIT, SThD this part: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke put historical references around the birth of the Lord Jesus in order to underline the verifiability of the event. And he himself, the writer, has verified them as an event that truly occurred.

In St. John’s prologue, Jn. 1: 1-2, 14: “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God. …And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son...” Though these words are highly theological, but he, John, makes himself as a historical witness to the reality of the Incarnation; because, he himself has seen The Word Incarnate. John further testified it in his letter, 1 Jn. 1:1; “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life…” Then, St. Matthew, writing to the Jewish Christians, wrote about “the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1). The purpose is placing the Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, not only as the fulfillment of the prophesies and of the promise of God to His chosen people; but also, that this Messiah is a real person who has a human genealogy which evidently makes Him not an invented figure or invented story.

Why do we have to bring this truth out? Why did the early Christian community concerned of emphasizing the historicity of the event and the veracity of the Person of the Messiah? Three fundamental reasons that we must take to heart and be able to articulate this to others when situations require us to defend our faith in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus: Firstly, this destroys the ancient idea that God does not care for humanity and the world. God, or the gods, are transcendent beings; they careless about the world.

If ever they have contact with humans and the world, it is only for their advantage and not for humanity. By being Incarnate, God truly and greatly loves humanity that He is even willing to die for their salvation.

Secondly, our human life, our human body, our material and physical activities are sanctified, there is now a divine sense and spiritual value before God. Though we are earthly we are given a heavenly destiny; that in our Lord Jesus, by His humanity united to His divinity, all of us human beings are blessed and divinized, children of God in Him. Thirdly and lastly, the lessons, the teachings, the truths about God and about human life, the moral principles, and everything about living life to the fullest according to God’s design are timeless. Since God is timeless; thus, what He has taught becomes timeless too. They are applicable in life’s situations for all times; past, present and future. If Jesus Christ could have just been a mythic figure and His story mythical story, all His teachings, though can be universally accepted as good and noble lessons, would not to be taken seriously. They would be branded as good advices for righteous living; but not really truths and lessons that can give life; a meaningful life in this life and eternal life in the next. We cannot water down the reality of Incarnation. We cannot take for granted its importance. Let us be joyful He is indeed one of us! Merry Christmas!

Aflame The Heart

INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE FOR THE WEEK

31 December 23-29, 2021  NATIONAL NEWS

 FOOD & TRAVELS

Recipe of the Week Lechon Macau Ingredients: 1 kilo pork rasher, pork belly 2-3 pcs. star anise 1/2 head garlic, crushed 2-3 pcs.bay leaf Chinese five spice powder salt and pepper Cooking procedure: In a pot place the pork and add water to cover the meat up to about 1”. Add the star anise, garlic and about 1 tbsp. of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until just tender. Remove from pot drain and let cool down. Using a fork prick the pork skin all the way down to the meat layer. The skin should be pricked as close as possible. Rub the skin with salt while the meat and sides rub with mixture off Chinese five spice powder and pepper powder. Arrange the pork in a baking tray or aluminium tray, skin side up and enough space between the pork rashers. Let marinate with the salt and Chinese five spice rub for 30 to 45 minutes. Pre heat the oven at 250°C when the oven is hot place the baking tray at the center. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes. Check periodically if is the skin changes color suddenly, reduce the oven temperature to 200°C. Let it roast till the pork skin is blistered and turned to golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest the meat for at least 8 to 10 minutes. When ready to serve chop in into serving pieces with your favorite dipping sauce.

 FOOD & TRAVELS

Sagada re-opens anew to local and foreign tourists BAGUIO CITY – The town of Sagada, a famous tourist destination in Mountain Province, noted for its hanging and centuries-old coffins, caves, water falls and rice terras, is again open to visitors.

This was announced by Sagada municipal officials as Baguio City opened up for more tourists during the Christmas-New Year season.

Sagada, noted for its cool climate and also known as the Shangri-la of the North, offers a relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, according to town officials who said the town is famous for its mysterious and historic hanging coffins, considered a testament to 2,000 years of Igorot burial traditions that tourists can marvel.

The hanging coffins are on cliffs in Sagada’s Echo Valley, while centuries-old coffins are stacked in burial sites like Lumiang Cave.

Sagada’s Sumaguing Cave, on the other hand, has unusual limestone formations. To the north, Bomod-ok Falls or Big Falls has a natural swimming pool. ).

Rice terraces, notably the Kitepan rice terraces, are carved into the area’s surrounding Tourists have to present a negative test result for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and a vaccination card before they can enter the town of Sagada.

The protocol is included in Advisory No. 63 posted on the town’s official Facebook account on Thursday, which updated entry protocols in compliance with Sangguniang Bayan Resolutions 210-2021 and 222-2021.

The town will be accepting tourists who can present a certificate showing that the person has been fully vaccinated which must be accompanied by a rapid antigen test result taken not more than 24 hours upon arrival in Sagada or a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or saliva test result which is 48 hours from the time of release.

The test results must be accompanied by the official receipt from the accredited testing facility.

Day tours are not allowed and tourists must book at least a one-night stay in a Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited and local government unit (LGU)certified accommodation establishment.

A list of accommodation establishments authorized to operate may be accessed at https://lodging.sagada.gov.ph.

All tourists must be registered in the Umali Kayo (Welcome) Online Registration Portal which may be accessed at https://umali-kayo.sagada.gov.ph which is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Tourists must register at least two days before arrival.

The advisory also said tourists must Beef Spareribs Adobo with Oyster Sauce

be at the Sagada triage between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only for the checking and verification of documents.

Mayor James Pooten said they will not accept tourists with incomplete requirements and will file the appropriate criminal charges against those who will attempt to use fake documents.

Tourists who want to enter Sagada but have no test results will be subjected

to a rapid antigen test and must pay the P960 fee.

All tourists will have the option to enter Sagada via personal/private vehicles or public transportation.

Pooten added thatpublic transportation groups or corporations shall take the responsibility of checking if a tourist has complied with all requirements before boarding.

“Th shall additionally take full responsibility in providing the needs of tourists who are denied entry due to lack of requirements,” he said.

He also said symptomatic tourists shall be subjected to antigen testing and those who will test positive can either choose to be confined in an isolation facility within Sagada or to return home immediately.

“If a tourist onboard a public transportation tests positive, all other individuals on board the same vehicle shall be treated as close contacts,” the mayor said.

To better inform tourists of the rules and regulations, tourists are required to undergo orientation at the tourism hub and each will receive a tourist kit and a tourist identification card.

Pooten is hopeful that the town’s safe reopening to tourism will help the local industry pick up from the pandemic’s impact.

About 70 percent of Sagada’s central business district is engaged in tourism.

The town has around 1,300 tour guides, 300 inns and restaurants, 100 souvenir shops, and the chain is created with the establishments employing locals, while the souvenir shops source products from suppliers who also employ workers.

Pooten said the town lost P10 million in 2020 from its share of the tourist’s registration fee.

The municipality is also seeing a low or no collection of local taxpayers for 2021.

 MOTORING

December 23-29, 2021

32

 NATIONAL NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

2

Pope Francis prays for typhoon Odette victims in PHL VATICAN/MANILA - Pope Francis asked for prayers and assistance for victims of a strong typhoon that claimed lives and rendered thousands homeless in the Philippines.

After praying the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope expressed his closeness to Filipinos suffering from the devastation caused by typhoon “Odette” on December 16.

“I express my closeness to the people of the Philippines hit by a strong typhoon, which has destroyed many homes,” the Pontiff said.

“May the Santo Niño [de Cebú] bring consolation and hope to the families most in need; and may he inspire all of us to give concrete help. The first concrete

help is prayer, and other aids,” he added.

Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, is currently mobilizing relief work for the devastated dioceses.

“Les us please respond with generosity,” said Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, CBCP President.

The leader of the Catholic Church visited the Philippines in 2015, celebrating Mass with survivors of super typhoon Yolanda -- considered the strongest typhoon to ever hit land with over 6,000 deaths.

“When I saw from Rome the catastrophe, I felt that I had to be here,” the Pope said in his homily, as he assured the Filipinos that all is not lost despite the tragedy.

261 new Covid-19 cases logged, Duterte wary on Omicron variant MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) logged 261 new cases of Covid-19 on December 22, bringing the nation’s overall tally to 2,837,784.

In its latest case bulletin, the DOH said the active cases dipped further to 9,238 with 395 new recoveries which pushed the total number of recoveries to 2,777,630.

Among the active cases, 3,153 are mild, 507 are asymptomatic, 377 are critical, 1,801 are severe, and 3,400 are

moderate.

“Of the 261 reported cases today, 247 or 95 percent occurred within the recent 14 days – November 30 to December 13, 2021,” the DOH said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, admitted that he was worried about the possibility of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 causing another surge in infections, noting that government funds were depleted.

He made this statement after Health

Secretary Francisco Duque III said his department has recorded at least three imported Omicron cases in the Philippines.

The Philippines has administered a total of 102,988,677 doses of vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) nationwide, with 45,284,617 Filipinos now fully vaccinated and 1,194,321 more having received their booster shots It added that the top regions with most cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region with 74 or 30 percent, Region 4A with 32 or 13 percent, and Region 3 with 20 or 8 percent of the country’s new cases.

The death toll has reached 50,916 with 122 new deaths.

“Of the 122 deaths, 15 or 12 percent occurred in December 2021, 17 or 14 percent in November 2021, 39 or 32 percent in October 2021, 27 or 22 percent in September 2021, 10 or eight percent in August 2021, five or 4 percent in July 2021, two or 2 percent

in June 2021, one or 1 percent in May 2021, 2 or two percent in April 2021, one or 1 percent in August 2020, two or 2 percent in July 2020, and one or 1 percent in April 2020 due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya,” the DOH said.

The COVIDKaya is a digital application used by health care workers to collect and share data about Covid-19 cases.

The DOH added that this issue is currently being coordinated with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units to ensure information is up to date.

Nearly half of PHL hospitals log zero Covid admissions Dec. 5 to 9

MANILA – Around 598 out of the 1,232 hospitals nationwide have no new admissions of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from December 5 to 9.

“We have observed that nationally, 48.5 percent of hospitals reported no new Covid-19 admissions in the past five days from December 5 to 9,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during an online media briefing.

The top three regions with the most number of hospitals without new admissions of Covid-19 patients include Soccsksargen with 75.4 percent; Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) 73.1 percent; and Northern Mindanao, 65.7 percent.

In the National Capital Region, 62 or 39.2 percent of the 158 hospitals have

logged no new Covid-19 admissions for the same period.

“Our epidemic curve shows that the current average of daily cases have (sic) further decreased by 180 cases or 27 percent this week and now 498 average cases per day. This average cases per day is already ten times lower than those reported in July of 2021 and also lower by more than half of the cases per day as of Jan. 2, 2021,” Vergeire said.

The top five regions with the most number of new cases are the National Capital Region (NCR) with 122 cases; Calabarzon, 80 cases; Central Luzon, 65; Central Visayas, 60; and Western Visayas, 42.

The top five areas with the most number of new cases are Negros Oriental with 42; Quezon City, 31; Batangas, 29; Bulacan, 27; and Cavite, 23.

3 December 23-29, 2021

 NATIONAL NEWS

Comelec junks 1 of 6 petitions vs Marcos, summons him to answer 3 DQ cases

By Claire Morales True MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed one of the seven petitions filed seeking to bar former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from seeking the country’s highest post.

Marcos, who is leading all presidential aspirants in surveys together with runningmate Davao City Mayor Sara Duiterte, is not yet off the hook, however, as six other petitions against his presidential bid are still pending before the Comelec – two petitions to cancel his candidacy and four disqualification cases.

Meanwhile, the Comelec First Division has summoned Marcos to answer the three disqualification cases filed against him.

“The Summons for the three cases filed against BBM have already been sent to the e-mail addresses of the Election Officers (EOs). The EOs were directed to print, personally serve the Summons to Respondent BBM, and to submit Affidavits of service,” said Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, a member of the First Division.

“The Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) and Regional Election Director (RED) were also requested to ensure effective service of summons,” she added.

Upon receipt, the former senator has

five days to submit his response to the poll body.

Guanzon added that the preliminary conferences of the three cases have been scheduled for early next year.

“Also, the Preliminary Conferences of the said cases were set on January 7, 2022 (Friday),” she said.

The three disqualification cases were separately filed by petitioners Bonifacio Ilagan, Abubakar Mangelen and the group Akbayan.

Aside from Guanzon, the First Division is composed of Commissioners Marlon Casquejo and Aimee Ferolino In its seven-page decision dated Dec. 16, the Comelec Second Division said it denied the petition against Marcos which was filed by a fellow presidential aspirant Danilo Lihaylihay seeking to declare Marcos as a nuisance candidate In junking the petition, the Comelec second division said Lihaylihay failed to present proof that Marcos could be considered a nuisance as he even failed to submit a copy of Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC).

The poll body said Marcos’ candidacy did not fall under any of the three broad categories of nuisance candidates: one who has filed a candidacy to throw the election process in mockery or disrepute, cause confusion among voters by the similarity of names, or that some acts

Senate, House ratify P5-trillion 2022 nat’l budget

MANILA – The Senate and the House of Representatives have ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022.

During the plenary session, the chamber ratified the final version of the spending measure after the bicameral committee reconciled the disagreeing provisions earlier in the day.

Following its ratification, the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) will be transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.

Among the amendments introduced in the final version of the proposed 2022 budget is the increase in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC)’s budget to P17.1 billion after it was initially cut down to P4 billion.

or circumstances clearly demonstrate the lack of a bona fide intention to run for office.

“Petitioner utterly failed to demonstrate to the Commission (2nd Division) that Respondent falls in any of the classifications listed,” stated the decision promulgated on December 16 and penned by Commissioner Socorro Inting.

The poll body said there was no act or circumstance that Marcos has no bona fide intention to run for president as he previously served as vice governor, governor, representative of Ilocos Norte, and senator, and was a candidate for vice president in the 2016 polls.

“In stark contrast to what Petitioner attempts to depict, the circumstances obtained in this case actually demonstrate that Respondent has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it added Lihaylihay’s petition had claimed that Marcos seeks to put the election process in mockery or disrepute “because his purpose was mainly to have his family’s political comeback in Malacañang,” but the poll body dismissed this as “sweeping statements” and “unfounded claims.”

“No inference can possibly be made

that respondent’s act of filing his COC for president puts the election process in mockery or disrepute,” Comelec’s 2nd Division said.

Lihaylihay’s evidence is “grossly insufficient considering that the COC it sought to cancel was not even attached to the petition,” the division stated in its ruling.

“It pays to ask, how could we cancel something which is not found in the records of this case?” the decision signed by presiding commissioner Socorro Inting stated.

“On the contrary, Respondent has sufficiently established that he actually has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it said.

The decision even noted that Marcos, who has been leading presidential surveys, served elective posts such as vice governor, governor, and representative of Ilocos Norte. The son of the late dictator also won a seat in the Senate, and was a vice presidential candidate in 2016.

“In stark contrast to what Petitioner attempts to depict, the circumstances obtaining in this case actually demonstrate that Respondent has a bona fide intention to run for President of the country,” it said.

 METRO NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

Isko: Manila Zoo rehab almost complete, reopening next week

By Claire Morales True MANILA - A renovated and modernized Manila Zoo will re-open initially on December 30, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced.

Domagoso made the announcement as he and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna visited the ongoing rehabilitation of the zoo, the

oldest in Southeast Asia which then Manila Mayor Arsenio H. Lacson opened in 1959 officially known as the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, and presented to officials and the media its new look.

The zoo, which is located in a 5.5 hectare property along President Quirino avenue corner Macario Adriatico st. in Malate, Manila besides the Paraiso ng Batang Maynila playground and recreations area

and the Ospital ng Maynila which is also undergoing modernization under Domagoso, was closed in 2019 over sanitation and other issues amid calls for its transfer to a more environment friendly place.

After three years of rehabilitation, the zoo will have its soft opening during the first quarter of 2022 with better landscapes and facilities for its animals and visitors, especially children, the mayor said.

4 Taguig cops nabbed over P30-M robbery in Pasig City

COPS AND ROBBERS. Four Taguig City cops are arrested for allegedly robbing a Japanese and his Filipina partner in Pasig City of P30 million in cash on December 18. One civilian was also nabbed, two eluded arrest, and one died.

PASIG CITY – Four Taguig City policemen have been arrested and are under restrictive custody after they robbed a Japanese national and his Filipina partner in Pasig City of P30 million in cash inside the couple’s home.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos ordered the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to hold under custody Staff Sgt. Jayson Bartolome, Cpl. Merick Desoloc, Cpl. Christian Jerome Reyes, and Pat. Kirk Joshua Almojera.

The four, assigned at the Taguig City Police Station, were among eight suspects who allegedly staged a robbery in the couple’s house Barangay Kapitolyo.

They reportedly held at gunpoint domestic partners Joana Marie Flores Espiritu, 26, and

Japanese Kani Toshiro, 42.

Carlos also ordered NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. to place Maj. Nimrod Balgemini Jr., commander of Taguig Sub-Station 1, on administrative relief to preclude any possibility of undue influence in the investigation.

NCRPO has stepped up pursuit operations against two other suspects, dismissed cop Ferdinand Fallari and a certain Ruwel Galang, who eluded arrest.

AJ Mary Agnas, 22, who allegedly works for the couple, was also arrested while a certain Jhon Carlo Atienza, 30, was found dead with a gunshot wound at the corner of Kalayaan Avenue and Tolentino Street in Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Makati City.

4

US Secretary of State cites Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto PASIG CITY – Pasig City Mayor Victor “Vico” Sotto, who was previously named as a global “anti-corruption champion” by the US State Department, got a special mention from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a speech outlining America’s approach in the region, State Secretary Blinken named Sotto as one of the US partners in promoting anti-corruption and transparency efforts.

“We’re finding partners in government, too, like Victor Sotto. He’s the mayor of the city of Pasig in the Philippines,” Blinken said in Jakarta on December 14.

“Victor set up a 24/7 hotline for constituents to report cases of corruption. It has made the awarding in public contracts more transparent, has given community-based organizations a say in the way the city spends its resources,” he added.

Last February 2021, Sotto received the State Department’s anti-corruption champions award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership, courage, and impact in preventing, exposing, and combating corruption.

Blinken said advancing an open and free Indo-Pacific not only involves defending the rules-based order in the region but also promoting “free places” that are open to criticism, to self-reflection, as well as to renewal.

5 December 23-29, 2021

 PROVINCIAL NEWS

Massive cleanup of Calumpit River in Bulacan slated CALUMPIT, Bulacan – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will start the massive cleanup of the Calumpit River in Bulacan this month.

The move aims to lessen flooding in low-lying areas in Bulacan and to fast-track the rehabilitation of Manila Bay areas in Central Luzon.

The more than 8-kilometer stretch Calumpit River is a tributary of the larger Pampanga River, and the town itself serves as a natural catch basin for flood waters coming from Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.

The first phase of the cleanup project will transpire in ways and bring back the depth of our river system that the 1.5-kilometer stretch of the Calumpit River that cov- will prevent the overflow of a great body of water espeers barangays of Sapang Bayan, Gatbuca, Frances, and cially during the rainy season,” he said.

Poblacion.

In a statement on Monday, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu cited the need to haul submerged garbage in the Calumpit River that was crucial to prevent flooding due to clogged waterways.

“Massive cleanup operations that involve desilting and grubbing of waste materials will unclog our water-

Pampanga’s giant lanterns sparkle amid pandemic CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Not even the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic can pull the plug on Pampanga’s Giant Lantern Festival (GLF), which this city holds every year to illuminate the time for joy and hope among Filipinos.

Now on its 113th year, the world-renowned “Ligligan Parul” took center stage last week at Robinsons Starmills here to keep the Kapampangan’s cultural tradition alive despite the presence of the virus.

For the second time, the event was not held as a competition but as a digital exhibition of seven giant lanterns from Barangays Sto. Niño, San Juan, San Nicolas, Sta. Lucia, Bulaon, Telebastagan, and Calulut.

The glittering parol (lantern) display was aired live via regional television network CLTV36 and social media sites, PNA’s Zorayda Tecson reported.

Unlike last year, the country’s Christmas capital is opening the grand lantern display to the public but still compliant with the existing health protocols.

People can now watch the nightly exhibitions from

Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, 2022, except Dec. 24 and 31, at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Robinsons Starmills ground through limited face-to-face, group viewing, and drivein viewing.

“We have two exhibition shows per night. Around 300 people are allowed to watch the per show. All they need to do is to register online,” she said. provcSince last year, the event organizer which is the GLF Foundation, Inc. and the San Fernando city government decided to skip the actual competition to promote and implement “safe tourism” amid the current global health crisis.

Despite limitations and restrictions, the opening of the annual festival was staged successfully as it showcased the strong message of hope and unity.

“Our goal is to continue our tradition and keep the spirit alive this Christmas despite this pandemic,” City Tourism Officer Ching Pangilinan said in a livestreamed event.

 NATIONAL NATIONAL NEWS NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

PHL logs 3rd Omicron variant case

MANILA – A third case of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) coronavirus variant has been detected in the country. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported.

Vergeire said the case is a 36-year-old returning overseas Filipino (ROF) who

already tested negative for Covid-19 on December 19 after a repeat test.

The overseas Filipino worker arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport from Qatar on November 28. A sample was collected from him on December 4 which yielded a positive result on De-

cember 5.

“The case completed his isolation in Cebu before traveling back to Cavite, his hometown, where he immediately self quarantined upon arrival. The case is currently finishing his home quarantine in Cavite and has remained asymptomatic since his arrival,” Vergeire said.

The DOH, Vergeire said, is in the process of identifying the possible close contacts of the case among his co-passengers.

It is also verifying the test results and health status of all passengers of the flights taken by the confirmed cases.

On December 15, the Department of Health reported the first two imported cases of the Omicron variant.

One of the cases is an ROF who arrived from Japan on December 1 via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 0427.

The other case is a Nigerian who arrived on November 30 via Oman Air with flight number WY 843.

On December 16, the DOH said the cases remain in isolation and under close monitoring, and seven close contacts of them have been identified.

MMDA, NCR mayors giving P100-M aid to ‘Odette’ victims

Labor, environmental and criminal jus�ce reform advocates welcomed the appointment.

MAKATI CITY – Adopting the “We Vax as One” concept, Metro mayors have unanimously agreed to release P100 million to help local government units (LGUs) in the Visayas and Mindanao areas affected by Typhoon Odette.

The Metro Manila Council (MMC), through a resolution, will release the fund from the savings of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

“We are going to prioritize local government units stricken by Tropical

Cyclone Wind Signal Number 4 of Typhoon Odette,” MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said.

“This financial aid will help, especially in these trying times. It’s Christmas after all, a time of sharing and giving,” he added.

Abalos said they opted for financial aid instead of relief goods because of the difficulty in transporting items in and out of the localities hit by the typhoon while several flights remain canceled.

“Affected LGUs are in the best posi-

tion to decide how the fund can provide for the immediate needs of their constituents. We hope this aid will somehow alleviate the plight of the typhoon victims,” said Abalos.

Metro Manila mayors previously unified their pandemic response efforts through the “We Vax as One (We Vaccinate as One)” program to further accelerate the Covid-19 inoculation rollout.

Under the program, LGUs will inoculate even non-residents and those from neighboring provinces.

The MMC, composed of the 17 Metro Manila mayors, is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA. MMDA also deployed 62 personnel from the Public Safety Division, Road Emergency Group, Metro Parkways Clearing Group, and Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office to Bohol on Sunday.

They brought chainsaws, floating pumps, generator sets, toolsets, and water purifiers, and tankers, among others, to assist in disaster response and clearing operations.

The teams likewise assisted in Tacloban City, Maasin, Sogod- Bontoc, and Isla Limasawa in Southern Leyte.

Ahead of the typhoon, the MMDA deployed a contingent team in response to the request of the provincial government of Sorsogon.

Other teams from the agency’s Public Safety Division were also sent to Panay Island to help in search and rescue operations.

6

X’mas weekend set as nat’l days of prayer for ‘Odette’ victim MANILA – The Catholic Church has designated Dec. 25 and 26 as national days of prayer for families affected by Typhoon Odette.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported that its president, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, urged dioceses to dedicate the Christmas weekend to pray for the recovery of areas in Visayas and Mindanao that were ravaged by the typhoon.

Aside from offering prayers, parishes are asked to hold a second collection in all Masses on the said days for the victims of the typhoon.

He added that the “Alay Kapwa Solidarity Fund” will be used for the collective emergency response of the Catholic Church.

“We encourage everyone to remit all collections to Caritas Philippines that will then plan and implement our overall response,” David said.

“May this season of giving offer us more opportunities to do consistent acts of Alay Kapwa (offering of oneself),” he added.

Around 10 dioceses in the Visayas and Mindanao regions were heavily affected by the typhoon.

Metro Manila stays on Alert Level 2 until Dec. 31 MANILA – The Covid-19 Alert Level 2 status in Metro Manila will remain for the rest of the year despite the detection of a third Omicron variant case in the country, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., disclosed.

The vaccine czar said the possible amendment on the alert level status will be based on the epidemiological recommendations of the Department of Health, considering key factors on cases surge and hospitalization rate.

“If the cases are high, including critical cases, and if the attack rate will increase, that’s the time we will raise our alert level,” Galvez said during a media briefing at a mall vaccination site in Taytay, Rizal.

Galvez said there is a continuing decline in Covid-19 cases in the country, with just 9,592 active infections as of Monday.

“Thank God, we maintained the low positivity rate. Actually, there are some areas that recorded less than one percent of positivity rate,” he added.

Still, he cautioned the public against complacency amid the downtrend.

“For now, we will just maintain the alert level, but we will massively accelerate the vaccination. At the same time, we will revisit our preparations in terms of treatment, quarantine facilities, and hospital treatments as well as the responses of the local government units (LGUs),” he said.

7 December 23-29, 2021

 NATIONAL NATIONAL NEWS NEWS

PHL Navy deploys 19-ship flotilla for ‘Odette’ relief ops

MANILA – The Philippine Navy (PN), through the Philippine Fleet, has assembled a “19-ship humanitarian aidfocused flotilla” that will be deployed in areas severely devastated by Typhoon Odette.

“This relief flotilla consists of seven sealift vessels for the transport of relief

goods and locally stranded individuals, two patrol ships for command and control, eight other watercraft as general support vessels. Meanwhile, the Presidential Yacht, BRP Ang Pangulo (ACS25) has been repurposed as a hospital ship,” the Philippine Fleet said in a Facebook post.

It added that BRP Tarlac (LD-601), BRP Bacolod City (LS-550), BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS-17), BRP Iwak (LC-289), BRP Agta (LC-290) and BRP Ivatan LC-298) are to be deployed to augment ongoing humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts (HADR) in Cebu, Palawan, and Northern Mindanao specially Surigao, Dinagat and Siargao Islands.

“Already in Cebu are BRP Tausug (LC-295), BRP Enrique Jurado (PC371), BRP Abraham Campo (PC-396), and ACS-700,” it said.

On the other hand, BRP Gregorio Velasquez (AGR-702), BRP Hilario Ruiz (PC-378) and BRP Rafael Pargas (PC-379) are already in Northern Mindanao and have completed several relief sorties already.

“ACS-25 will join these ships in the Siargao/Dinagat area. While prepositioned in Palawan already are BRP Mangyan (AC-71), BRP Jose Andrad (PC-370), BRP Carlos Albert (PC-375), and BRP DIoscoro Papa (PC-381),” the post read.

Aside from the ships, the PN also placed four naval aircraft on alert status

to provide aerial survey, immediate rescue, and limited transport capabilities of the flotilla.

The naval air component consists of two BN Islander aircraft (NV-312 and NV-314), one Beechcraft King Air (C-90) aircraft (NV-394), and one shipbased AgustaWestland (AW-109) helicopter (NH-430).

These assets are provided by the Cavite City-based Philippine Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Alberto B. Carlos.

“Aid and other carepacks are presently being loaded aboard AC-S25, LC289, and LC-290. AC-S25 is scheduled to depart tonight, 19 December 2021, while LC-289 and LC-290 will depart tomorrow (Monday) morning,” it said.

PN relief operations in Northern Mindanao, Cebu, and Palawan shall be directed by the current naval operating forces commanders in the area -- Commodore Carlos Sabarre in Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (Northern Mindanao), Captain Raul Regis PN in Naval Forces Central (Cebu), and Commodore Donn Miraflor in Naval Forces West (Palawan).

5 ‘rejected’ party-list groups secure TRO vs Comelec MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has issued temporary restraining orders (TROs) against the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to deny the registration of three party-list groups.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo issued the TROs in the petitions filed by the Alliance for Resilience, Sustainability and Empowerment (ARISE), represented by its president, Arze Glipo, Ang Tinig ng Seniors and Igorot Warriors International Inc. (IWI), represented by its chairperson, Jerson Bantag.

A day later, the High Court also issued TROs for Lingkud Bayanihan Party and the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples

Conference for Peace and Development.

The SC ordered Comelec to comment on the petitions within a non-extendible period of 10 days and in the meantime, honor the restraining order by not enforcing its registration dismissal orders.

The Comelec dismissed the petitions for registration of IWI on September 22 and ARISE on August 11.

Their motions for reconsideration were turned down on December 1, prompting them to take their cases to the SC. The party-list system is an innovation of the Constitution seeking to allow underrepresented and marginalized sec-

tors of society to gain a presence in the House of Representatives after obtaining a minimum threshold of votes nationwide.

On November 17, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said the Comelec rejected 126 groups bidding to register as party-lists for the 2022 elections.

During the filing period from October 1 to 8, a total of 270 partylist groups filed their Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance and on October 25, Comelec announced 53 new

US delivers P26.4-M Covid-19 response DAVAO CITY – The United States government has delivered P26.4 million worth of medical equipment, including four vaccine cold storage units for the eight communitybased coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cluster clinics that were launched in Davao City.

US Embassy in Manila Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava handed over 10 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, four cold storage units, and other medical equipment and supplies to Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte during the clinics’ launch

in the city.

“As a friend, partner, and ally, the United States is one with you in fighting Covid-19 and facilitating long-term initiatives that ensure health, peace, and prosperity in the southern Philippines,” said Variava.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the Davao City Health Office to develop a plan to facilitate fast, accessible, and Covid-19 services by setting up eight “Covid-19 cluster clinics” in strategic locations.

The envoy said these

clinics would not only provide communities with free Covid-19 tests and services but would also serve as venues for vaccinations.

Health Assistant Secretary Roy Ferrer, for his part, said USAID’s latest assistance would be vital in mitigating the spread of infection in the area.

“USAID’s support in increasing capacity in case detection and testing is evident through the dispatch of mobile swabbing teams and provision of testing kits and supplies, which now includes the deployment of vaccina-

tion teams to far-flung areas,” he said.

The new donation is on top of the P6.9 million worth of ICU beds and vaccine cold storage units that the US Department of Defense (DOD) donated to the Philippines last October and November, which, for the DOD, is a reflection of the strong cooperation between the two nations.

“These challenging times reinforce the strength of our partnership,” said Maj. Scott Holub, Special Operations Task Force 511.2 commanding officer.

groups that were granted registration.

On Tuesday, the Kalipunan ng Maralita at Malayang Mamamayan, Inc. (Kamalayan) secured the top spot on the ballot for 166 party-list groups.

In case of additional groups, they will be placed after the 166th group, Buhay Hayaan Yumabong (BUHAY).

 NATIONAL NEWS Odette...

(From page 1)

decried what they said was the Duterte administration’s slow response to their critical situation.

While the final death toll was not yet known, at least 200 were reported killed by the destruction caused by Odette’s powerful winds and torrential rains.

Damage to the agricultural sector has been pegged at P2.2 billion (about $44 million).

This as a new storm to be named Paolo is seen to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this week which is expected to initially hit Mindanao and eastern Visayas around Christmas Day. Just how bad the situation is can be gleaned from Bohol Gov. Arturo Yap’s saying that looting had been taking place in his province by normally law abiding residents who had gotten desperate.

As for Siargao, the first place where

Pope...

(From page 1)

time, committed to lend the Philippines the equivalent of P14 billion to support and build up disaster risk reduction efforts at the local level, Finance Secretary Carlos Domiguez said.

In a statement, the DOF said that it signed a €250-million policy-based loan with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with the funds aimed at scaling up local governments’ disaster risk management capabilities.

Last week, the United Nations High

December 23-29, 2021

8

Odette made landfall, the popular “surfing capital of the Philippines” is practically no more, with the wharf and all the tourist facilities mostly made of light materials completely destroyed. Its airport, however, remained operational for small planes, the only way out for the stranded tourists there to make it out of the place.

The Energy department said the hardest hit areas are not likely to have power until early next year. These include Bohol, Dinagat Islands, and Surigao del Norte.

The Department of Trade and Industry said they were checking reports that bottled drinking water was being sold by merchants at grossly overpriced sums, particularly in Cebu and Negros Occidental Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he had instructed DTI’s regional offices “to apprehend business owners who are profiteering and unduly increasing prices of consumer goods.”

The Trade department also stated that generation sets were being sold at bloated prices by typhoon profiteers.

Profiteering takes place when goods are sold at 10 percent or more than its price in the previous month.

A businessman from a prominent Negros family confirmed to Philippine News Today that prices of such essentials as bottled water, canned food, and candles were being sold at outrageous prices.

With the absence of power, foods stored in refrigerators and freezers were sure to spoil.

He requested anonimity as he was preparing to go out to buy emergency rations bearing a gun which he said was licensed but with no permit to carry. He said he was “willing to shoot” any merchant selling overpriced water.

He added that he could not depend on both the national and local government “as usual.”

As of this writing, power has been restored in only about 10 percent of Cebu City after the majority of the power lines were felled by the super storm.

More than a week after the strongest storm to hit the Philippines in recent years, the Duterte administration finally ordered the Philippine National Police to assist local government units in their rescue and recovery efforts, as well as extend relief to surviving victims.

The government is also scrambling for funds, with President Rodrigo Duterte pledging to raise P10 billion to fund the necessary efforts this week. He had earlier said the government was short of funds as the bulk of the government’s budget was already depleted by its continuing efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Bank has provided a standby loan of $500 million to the Philippines for use in emergencies such as natural calamities.

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the support of the Australian government, sent about 1,000 solar lamps, 1,000 mosquito nets, 1,000 plastic tarps, and 200 plastic sheets to augment the governmentled relief operations on the ground and help displaced families in the severely affected islands of Siargao and Dinagat.

US Embassy Charge d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said the US has provided 19 trucks to transport Department of Social Welfare and Development relief commodities across Caraga, Central Visayas and Western Visayas.

The US also provided 12 trucks carry-

ing 20,000 food rations to affected areas and helped in activating mobile storage units for transporting supplies to Surigao City and Surigao del Norte.

World leaders also sent their condolences to the bereaved families of those who perished in the aftermath of the super typhoon.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is providing financial assistance through the Red Cross, which should help address the urgent need for water and sanitation on the ground.

“My heart goes out to the people of the Philippines, whose lives have been forever changed by last week’s super typhoon. Canadians are sending our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones - and we’ll keep everyone affected in our thoughts during this challenging time,” he said in a statement.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll continue to help those who need it most,” he added.

Canadian Minister for International Development Harjit Sajjan announced that Ottawa will extend up to CA$3 million (approximately P118.7 million) in assistance, including CA$500,000 for the urgent Red Cross response.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent his sympathies and personally expressed solidarity with the Filipino people. ”Russia shares the grief of those who lost their family members and friends as a result of this natural disaster and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured,“ he said.

The United Kingdom has pledged GBP750,000 (approximately P49.47 million) to the Philippine Red Cross, which will be coursed through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) “to help support those in desperate need of assistance”.

The New Zealand government, meanwhile, will donate NZ$500,000 (approximately P16.77 million) to the Philippines to support the IFRC’s efforts on the ground.

Hungary is sending HUF20 million (approximately P3.05 million) to the typhoon victims and to help restore the damaged churches in Cebu.

“Hungary is sending 20million HUF (EUR54,000) to the victims of a typhoon which hit the Philippines last week, For-

eign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday. The Hungary Embassy in Manila is working together with Caritas Manila, Anton CT Pascual, and (Foreign Affairs Secretary) Teodoro Locsin, Jr. after Typhoon Odette,” Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Titanilla Tóth said.

Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said about 20,000 food packages worth around P8 million are on their way to Cebu, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro City, Surigao City, Negros Oriental, and other provinces hit by Odette.

At the same time, 4.7 million kilograms of Chinese government-donated rice are already in different Philippine ports, of which 1.5 million kg. are in Cebu and 3.2 million kg. are in Manila for deployment.

“Chinese relief goods on their way to areas devastated by Typhoon Odette. Our hearts go out to all the Filipino families who were devastated by Typhoon Odette which has caused massive casualties as well as property loss,” Huang said.

“We thank the Philippine government, in particular the Department of Social Welfare and Development for their great efforts in urgently distributing these rice to those Filipino families in need. China will do its utmost to continue its firm support to the disaster relief efforts of the Philippine government and the Filipino people,” he added.

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) is likewise contributing a total of P12 million through its Filipino Chinese Community Calamity Fund.

The Israeli Embassy in Manila in a text message said Ambassador Ilan Fluss is also flying to Cebu to deliver solar panels, food packs, and hygiene kits to typhoonaffected residents on December 22.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the World Food Programme and the Philippine government, has deployed two mobile operations vehicles for emergency (MOVE) to Surigao and Ormoc to facilitate access to electricity and internet for responders on the ground.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said Tokyo is also sending disaster relief assistance in the form of generators, camping tents, sleeping pads, portable water containers; and plastic sheets to cover roofs.

9 December 23-29, 2021 Odette...

 NATIONAL NEWS (From page 1)

Damage to agriculture, infrastructures and properties were initially estimated at P2.7 billion, but it could climb to over P10 billion as some provinces estimated their losses at P1 billion to P3 billion each.

As the government stepped up search, rescue and rehabilitation efforts, including restoration of electricity, water and telecommunication facilities, international aid in the millions of pesos poured from the United States, United Nations and many countries.

But it will be black Christmas for thousands of residents of many provinces, towns and cities which were devastated by the typhoon, especially Bohol, Siargao and Negros island because restoration of power and telecommunication facilities will take more time or up to next year as many power transmitters and electric posts were destroyed and downed by powerful howler.

Authorities said the number of casualties may still rise as Bohol Governor Arthur Yap reported that those killed in the province alone climbed to 99 on December 22 and 20 missing with all 48 towns reporting, 13 of whom were in Ubay town, San Miguel and Loon town with six fatalities each and President Garcia town had five fatalities.

In nearby Negros Oriental, fatalities rose sharply to 70 as of December 22 as search and rescue operations were stepped up, said Adrian Sedillo of the Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered immediate rescue and rehabilitation efforts, inspected many areas devastated by the ty-

phoon, approved a resolution placing six regions under state of calamity. Provincial and local officials earlier declared their areas under state of calamity.

Duterte committed up to P10 billion for aid to victims and rehabilitation.

Vice President Leni Robredo also visited several devastated areas and teamed up with Sen. Manny Pacquiao in extending aid. Other presidential aspirants – former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III sent in their donations and relief goods to the victims.

Duterte approved a resolution submitted by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) placing regions 4B, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13 (Caraga) under a state of calamity.

“The declaration of the state of calamity will hasten rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and private sector,” he said, adding that it will also help control the prices of goods and commodities in affected areas.

As of December 22, the Department of Agriculture said the agricultural damage and losses brought by the calamity stood at P2.6 billion.

Bohol Governor Yap released video showing rampaging floodwaters reached the second floor of his house in the town of Loboc, home of the famous Loboc river cruise.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said that as of December 20, 375 people died following the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in Western Visayas, Central Visayas,

Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and CARAGA. The NDRRMC, however, listed only 177 fatalities as of December 22.

Majority of the fatalities were recorded in the Caraga region (Region 13, 167) and Central Visayas (Region 7, 170), while 24 were logged in Western Visayas (Region 6), six in Eastern Visayas (Region 8), one in Western Mindanao (Region 9), and seven in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), the PNP said.

Around 51 people were reported dead in Negros Oriental, said Adrian Sedillo of the Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Odette packed maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour near the center with gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hours when it slammed into Siargao and other areas in Mindanao and the Visayas, some of which were flooded. It is the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered massive relief and rescue operations, clearing of all roads and immediate restoration of power, telecommunication and water facilities.

Duterte inspected some of typhoon-hit

areas, including Bohol and Leyte, met with local officials and informed them of an initial P2 billion allotment for relief assistance for those affected by the typhoon.

Later in a visit in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, President Duterte committed to raise an additional P10 billion for provinces severely affected by Typhoon Odette.

 NATIONAL NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

10

NCR ‘very low risk’ for Covid-19 Over 26-M Filipinos living in in time for Christmas: OCTA poverty in first half of 2021

QUEZON CITY – The National Capital Region (NCR) is classified as very low risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with an average of only 79 new cases per day from Dec. 14 to 20, the OCTA Research Group said.

“The incidence or ADAR (average daily attack rate) was at 0.55 per day per 100,000 individuals while the reproduction number was 0.48,” the group said in its latest report.

It added that the NCR’s test positivity rate was 0.6 percent and it has an average of 18,127 RT-PCR tests over the past seven days.

The 15 local government units

(LGUs) in the NCR classified very low for Covid-19 include Pateros, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Caloocan, Marikina, Pasay, Taguig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Malabon, Parañaque, Valenzuela, Manila, and Makati.

Among the 15 LGUs, only Pateros logged zero new cases of Covid-19. The other LGUs recorded one to 15 new infections. Their ADARs are below one.

Meanwhile, two LGUs -- Las Piñas and San Juan -- were classified as low risk for Covid-19 with ADARs of 1.10 and 1.19 respectively. San Juan logged a healthcare utilization rate of 33 percent while Las Piñas has only 9 percent.

QUEZON CITY — More Filipinos were pushed into poverty in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2018, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and confirmed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“We had set a target of reducing poverty by 6 million Filipinos by 2022. We have achieved that in 2018. But as of the first half of this year, there are 3.9 million more poor,” Socio-economic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Karl Chua said in a briefing.

Poverty incidence among Filipinos was estimated at 23.7%, up from the 21.1% recorded three years earlier. This means 26.14 million Filipinos were found to be living below the poverty line of ₱12,082 per month for a family of five, the PSA said.

The data also indicated that poverty incidence among Filipino families stood at 18%, translating to 4.74 million poor families, higher than 2018’s first-semester figure of 4.04 million.

The number of Filipinos living in subsistence or extreme poverty also increased to 10.94 million from previous 2018 data of 8.5 million.

“We have to work hard to at least bring them out of poverty before the term ends,” Chua said.

Chua said the poor will be the focus of

the government as the country recovers from the pandemic.

In a statement for the 2021 first semester poverty statistics report, Chua said the government achieved four years ahead, or in 2018, the 2022 poverty goal of lifting six million Filipinos out of poverty.

He said that while hitting its target early, the government continued to implement reform programs like the social protection program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to further uplift Filipinos’ lives.

“The results of the game-changing reforms are clear. Prior to the pandemic, economic growth averaged 6 percent, inflation averaged 3 percent, and the rates of poverty and unemployment were at record lows,” Chua said.

However, the pandemic hit and this hurt the gains the government achieved early on, he added.

Chua said this will be addressed by the strengthened implementation of the programs towards achieving a more inclusive economy.

“We will also improve our social protection programs to support the vulnerable. To this end, we accelerated the implementation of the PhilSys or the national ID (identification) program (to) provide every Filipino with a unique and digitalized proof of identity,” he said.

11 December 23-29, 2021

 OPINION State health...

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Upside

The US Food and Drug Administration in October authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 through 11 years old, stating the ”immune responses of the 3,000 in trials” of the age sector were “comparable to those of individuals 16- 25 years of age.” No serious side effects “were detected” and the vaccine was “found to be 90.7%” effective, said the FDA announcement.

Ghaly gave his assurance as “a pediatrician and fa- CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO ther of 4 with 3 kids under 12 years and no one without at least the first dose” that “the vaccines are the way through the pandemic.”

Children ages 5-11 constitute 9 percent of the state population, he cited statistics concurring with moderator Regina Brown Wilson of California Black Media.

Brown said that the age sector covers children who are 438,000 Asian and Pacific Islander, 171,000 Black or African American, and 1.1 million Latino.

The vaccine for the younger sector follows a “different formulation,” Ghaly stressed. “Children will get a lower dose from vaccines for adults. The Pfizer vaccine for adults is .3% while the pediatric dose is .1% or one-third of the adult dose.”

Ghaly corrected the assumption that children under 5-11 are not carriers or do not suffer from severe symptoms of coronavirus. As more older adults became vaccinated, the group more susceptible to infection were young people, in some cases under-18 representing 25% of the population, sometimes more, he added.

EDITORIAL “Thirty young Californians have died from COVID, he said, declaring, “any additional death of a young person is unacceptable if it’s preventable.”

The state health chief counted “hundreds of thousands of covid cases among young people. “ He asserted: “60,000 young people ages 5-11 have been hospitalized in the US or hundreds of thousands of our countrymen, especially those from the Visayas and Mindanao – specifically the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros for COVID 19. We have lost more kids to covid than other vaccine-preventable diseases in our nation. Now is the chance to get the same protection that so many Occidental, Cagayan de Oro, Guimaras, Southern Leyte, Bukidnon and older Californians have had for so many months that have protected them and kept Siargao – this will be the saddest Christmas in their lives.

The reason is super typhoon Odette (international name Rai), which cut a our community safe.”

The roll out began in November with 500 providers eventually to expand to path of destruction last week the likes that had not been seen in years, even decades.

4,000 including Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and federally qualified health The final death toll is not yet known, but scores are confirmed to have lost their centers and pharmacies, said Ghaly. lives. Damage to property will be in the hundreds of millions of pesos, perhaps bilLong-term complications of COVID for younger people “are real,” he warned. lions.

Those complications affect the cardiovascular, endocrine or neurologic system and While there is no way to stop acts of nature from taking place, it was the weak sometimes psychiatric besides respiratory. response of the Duterte administration that made an already terrible situation much, Ghaly fielded questions ranging from the number and representation of children much worse. sampled in the clinical trials to myths fueling vaccination hesitancy.

The government was completely unprepared for the Asian version of a Category Young people from all regions, races, ethnicities, with or without pre-existing 4 storm. It was already known the day before Odette entered the Philippine Area of conditions were among the participants in the trials that took months and months of Responsibility that strong rains and powerful winds were to be expected. availability of the data, he said. The trials were “robust.”

Some will say that one day is not enough to prepare for a major calamity. We On the concern about the vaccine causing fertility problems down the road, “to disagree. Twenty fours is more than enough to warn residents to move to safer ground date” no connections have been seen in adults, male/female or youth, he attributed and lead them to evacuation centers. information from trade associations such as the American college of gynecologists The Duterte government failed. Again. It was not the first time that the regime of and obstetricians underscoring the safety of the vaccine.

Rodrigo Duterte had been bogged down, either by the president’s personal laziness (Continued on page 27) or the bureaucratic red tape that has worsened since he came to power more than five years ago.

Worst of all, Duterte announced that his government had no money with which to assist the victims of Odette. This, despite the law stating the funds must always be set aside for natural calamities.

Philippine News Today is published weekly by Philippines Today LLC with business and editorial offices at 6454 Mission Street, Daly City, CA 94014., with telephones 650.757.1480, 650.872.3200, 650.552.9775 and website He gave the no-more-money excuse because all available funds had been used to address www.pnewstoday.com and email address advertising@philippinestodayus.com address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. or editor@philippinestodayus.com MANILA OFFICE: Le Marquis Townhomes, 51 P. Tuazon Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Tels. 8546.8426, 8451.1892, 8546.8421 Duterte conveniently ignored the fact that his administration had borrowed trillions of pesos from foreign sources, allegedly as a response to the pandemic.

FRANCIS ESPIRITU Publisher/President There has been no accounting of the loans and we suspect that a good portion was MARILYN B. KING THELMA L. CRUZ ALFRED G. GABOT lost to graft and corruption – Pharmally scam, anyone? – or to the sheer incompetence Vice President Vice President Editor-in-chief for Sales and Marketing of the administration. for Operations & Promotions CLAIRE M. TRUE It gets worse.

BETING LAYGO DOLOR CHERIE QUEROL MORENO Managing Editor Manila Editor Executive Editor While the likes of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Manny Pacquiao – presidential bets both – were already instructing their camps to extend whatever posJUNNI RANILLO NEIL GONZALES JO ERLINDA YABUT LYDIA SOLIS Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent sible assistance could be delivered to the victims, Duterte dared blast the former for Northern California Southern California stealing his thunder.

ANGELO LOPEZ MA. CECILIA G. MADELO THOMAS G. MADELO JR. While Robredo and Pacquiao were willing to work together to help, the president Cartoonist Graphic Director Creative Director aimed his unkind words at the vice president, a strong candidate to succeed him and ELEANOR SMITH replace his useless regime next year.

Office Manager GILDA PASION BALAN BLESIE D. SISON FRANCO G. REGALA Thick-skinned Ferdinand Marcos Jr not only asked for donations from the public ALBERT MARTINEZ NICK SAGMIT ALI MACABALANG RENE AMON but what little assistance he has extended had to have his name and image in the packGEORGE GANGE Account Executives JEANNE MICHAEL PENARANDA RENE AVENIDO ages. We ask: With his stolen billions, why in God’s name would anyone donate funds Manila Correspondents Photo Correspondents through him?

VAL G. ABELGAS, HOMOBONO A. ADAZA, PERRY DIAZ, JOJO LIANGCO, We tire of bringing up the numerous shortcomings of Duterte and his regime of corJO ERLINDA G. NEBRES, ROY C. MABASA, ART G. MADLAING, rupt, incompetent or generally useless politicians with little regard for public service.

FR. JOEPEL PADIT, RODEL E. RODIS, LOURDES TANCINCO ESQ, MELANDREW T. VELASCO, We instead ask that the FilAm community to again get together as they have done DANTES & CYNTHIA VELUZ, CRISTINA OSMENA, LUDY ONGKEKO. numerous times in the past to extend help to the victims of the worst storm to hit the COLUMNISTS The views and opinions expressed herein by writers, columnists and advertisers are their own and do not necesmotherland in recent years. sarily reflect those of the publisher, management and staff of Philippines Today. We are not responsible for Images of the victims available online are not only heartbreaking, they will haunt incorrect printing, photographical errors or information listed or for loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. us for years to come.

Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part is prohibited.

Our motherland needs us. Let us give until it hurts. Then let us give some more.

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A massive, unforgiveable failure

 OPINION

December 23-29, 2021

PerryScope

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s book author, columnist and Evangelist, I am delighted to know that the owner of Abe Barber Shop is supporting the Books Ministry and Christian Reading as envisioned and suggested by Christina Ridad Joseph, retired Real Estate Broker and ART GABOT MADLAING community leader.

The 93-year-old retired Real Estate Broker, whom I fondly call “Manang Christina” received autographed copies of the latest books “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” subtitled “Fact and Evidences for Agnostics, Atheists, Believers and Christians,” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,” “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before His Return to Heaven” and the latest issue of the“Christian World Ministry Quarterly Journal” and copies of PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY with my weekly column.

In fact, during my visits in her home, the copies of “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY,” LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,” “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before Returning to Heaven” and the “Christian World Ministry” Quarterly Journal were all displayed in her living room for her children, grandchildren, relatives and friends who are visiting her as ready materials to read.

During one of my visits in her home, Manang Christina encouraged me to talk with the owner of the Abe Barber Shop (who happened to be renting the lower portion of her building in Mission Street, San Francisco, California) on the possibility of having a “Christian Reading Corner” where we could display some books and magazines for the customers at the Abe Barber Shop to read while waiting.

Last week, I was blessed to meet Rizalito “Abe”Quiambao, owner of Abe Barber Shop, and mentioned the idea and vision of Manang Christina. Abe was not only very receptive to the vision of Manang Christina but also offered the Abe Barber Shop located at 5308 Mission Street, San Francisco, California and the Abe Barber Shop located at 7146 Mission Street, Daly City, California as “Christian Reading Corners” to support the BOOKS Ministry and related activities for year-round evangelism and outreach in the neighborhood and community.

Abe even offered the back room of his branch of the Abe Barber Shop located at 7146 Mission Street Daly City, California where we could meet with prospects. We can do WE CARE gospel presentation with prospects to find answer directly from the Bible the most important and urgent question: “What if Christ were to come right now, or if you’ll die tonight? Would you know for sure, without any doubt, that you would go to heaven?”

Abe is allowing us to have display corners where we can leave copies of the “HISTORICITY OF JESUS” subtitled “Facts and Evidences for Agnostics, Atheists, Believers and Christians;” “LIFESTYLE FOR LONGEVITY” subtitled “How to be Healthy Emotionally, Financially, Physically, Sexually and Spiritually,’ “JESUS CHRIST” subtitled “His Last Days on Earth Before Returning to Heaven,” “Christian World Ministry” Quarterly Journal; and latest issues of the PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY with my weekly column. Customers of the two branches of Abe Barber Shop will have very good books and magazines to read while waiting.

Abe Barber Shop has excellent service and very affordable. I can personally attest to this because I have been a customer of Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco for more than 10 years.

The three books mentioned above are perfect gifts you can give to your FRANC (Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbors, Co-Workers) that last forever. If you can’t visit us at the Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco or Daly City, California, you can order copies of the three books and magazine through Amazon.

Next year, the two authors John Jeffrey and yours truly, will have book launching and autographing of books (70% discount from the Amazon price) for the customers and guests of the two branches of Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco and Daly City through the support (Continue on page 27)

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Remembering a distant Christmas

or many overseas Filipinos who have been unable to visit the Philippines since the Covid-19 pandemic began early last year, the distinctive Filipino way of celebrating Christmas will just be memories of the past.

Perhaps, even Filipinos back home would have to tone down their usual way of celebrating “the birth of Jesus Christ this year because of the new dan- VAL ABELGAS gers poised by the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

For many Filipinos who have been living outside of the Philippines for years, the holiday season is both a time for rejoicing and a time for remembering Christmas in a distant land and a distant time . Even as the Filipino in America begins to feel the holiday mood immediately after Thanksgiving when people start shopping for gifts and Christmas decors, he feels at the same time a longing for home. For nothing beats Christmas in the Philippines!

After living on a distant shore for more than 30 years, I can truly say that nothing beats the way Filipinos celebrate Christmas. The genuine joy that the season brings to millions of Filipinos in the Philippines is the same reason why the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos living abroad yearn for home at this time of the year.

For even just during those few days that Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines, many Filipinos feel they can share the blessings that the world brings. Because of the mandatory 13th month pay and the bonuses paid by nearly all companies, big and small alike, many people are able to afford what they can only dream about the rest of the year.

For many poor children, the Christmas season is only one of two instances when their parents can afford to buy them new sets of clothes and new pairs of shoes, the other being the school opening. Christmas is also the only time for many of these children to own a brand new toy, often as a gift from their parents or from their ninong or ninang.

The Christmas season is also their chance to earn some money to buy candies or toys. In my childhood growing up in Manila and later in Qiuezon City, as early as the first days of December, young boys and girls prepared their instruments for their traditional carolling, making drums out of empty cans covered by plastic, tambourine out of bottle caps, and even just a pair of sticks to provide percussion. At dusk, they formed into groups of three or four, and made their rounds starting on the night of Dec. 16 until Christmas eve. At the end of each night, the carolers counted their earnings and divided them equally among themselves.

I haven’t had the chance to spend Christmas in the Philippines since I left, so I’m not really sure if these carollers still make the rounds of the neighborhood at night.

While the kids looked forward to the advent of dusk during those nine days to earn some money, the teenagers awaited with anticipation the coming of dawn during that same period. For these teenagers, it was a chance to be with their crushes, girlfriends or boyfriends as they walked to the church in the biting cold. As early as three in the morning, from Dec. 16 to Dec. 24, they woke up and wore their best sweaters or jackets, had fun with their barkadas on the way to church, only to sleep while the mass was going on.

After the mass, they bounced back to life to join their friends again, feasted on bibingkas and puto bungbong on their way home, and hanged around a bit before being called home by their parents.

Towards midnight on Christmas Eve, parents and their children donned their Christmas clothes and trekked back to church for the Midnight Mass. The church becomes a venue for both solemn celebration of Christmas and a chance to mingle with friends again.

From the church, families retreated to their homes for the traditional noche buena, a minor preview of the grand celebration at lunchtime the next day. The noche buena often consisted of pan amerikano (bread loaf) or pan de sal, keso (queso de bola for those who can afford), hot dog, coffee or hot chocolate, etc. Noche buenas were usually only for the family.

But the grand Christmas celebration, usually at midday of Christmas Day, was for the entire clan. It was an occasion for children and grandchildren (Continue on page 27)

On Distant Shore

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ECENT DEVELOPMENT seems to suggest that the U.S. is veering towards a rightward trajectory. The problem with this is that the law of the jungle is supplanting the rule of law. Yes, proponents of the law of the jungle are bamboozling those who adhere to the rule of law. It is survival of the strongest. And as somePERRY DIAZ one once said, it’s “a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed.” Yes, the strong will lord over the weak.

And the sad part is that those who are doing it today are members of the Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln. He must be rolling in his grave right now. And the irony of it is that former president Donald Trump is now the undisputed czar of the Grand Old Party. He imposes his rule over Republicans who hold him as their almighty lord, to do as he pleases and suffer the consequences if they defy him.

During the 2020 elections, Trump tried to overturn the elections in six swing states: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Had he succeeded in selling the Big Lie that the election was stolen from him, he would have accomplished a coup d’état and prevented the Senate from counting the electoral votes. This would hand power to Trump for another four years.

But then vice president Mike Pence, who presided over the electoral vote count -- whom Trump pressured to declare him the winner -- had the temerity to turn his back on Trump and declare Joe Biden the winner. For that Trump will never forgive Pence. Had Pence declared Trump the winner, it would have been the end of democracy in the country and would usher in an era where the law of the jungle reigns supreme.

It’s going to be to each his own -- dog eat dog.

While the American people had to be thankful to Pence for doing the right thing, the shameful exit of Trump – after he toyed with the idea of launching a coup just before noon on January 20 – was a fait accompli when the disgraced expresident walked up the steps of Air Force One on his flight to exile in Mar-A-Lago. A handful of supporters bade him goodbye as he turned around to acknowledge the few who bravely showed their loyalty to the one-term president.

And as the Air Force One flew south to sunny Florida, one wonders what Trump was thinking at that very moment.

Would it be the end of his political career? Or was he thinking what to write in his memoirs? Or was he contemplating how he’s going to make a comeback in 2024? Hmm… a comeback would certainly be the coup of the century. He would come back to the nation’s capital and take his rightful place at the Oval Office, which he believed was his fate to complete his abbreviated presidency. Why not?

But no sooner had Air Force One landed in Florida than he opened his office in Palm Springs and put a sign saying “Office of Former President Donald J. Trump.” He’s back in action and he’s going to raise hell! Four years will come and go in no time at all. He’ll remain active in Republican politics, coaxing members of Congress into supporting his comeback plan. He promised to endorse them in the upcoming primaries if they followed his wishes. And for those who didn’t, he’d destroy them by bad-mouthing them and encouraging others to run against them. For the most part he was successful in keeping them in line because they’re afraid of losing the support of his loyal base that subscribed to his mailing list, which is more than 40 million and growing. It’s a propaganda machine in the tradition of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister.

Trump’s mailing list Upon signing up, his first email will welcome you to the “Team” to promote that “we’re all in this together.” Then he’ll go on to say, “We are up against an unhinged left-wing mob, a Democratic party that has embraced radical socialism, and the FAKE NEWS media that will NEVER tell the truth about all of our accomplishments.” Now, that will suck you right into the Trumpian universe.

It’s no wonder then that Republican politicians are hooked into his propaganda machine, which would compel them never to criticize him lest they’d be banished from his world.

He’d destroy and pulverize them into nothingness... oblivion.

And many have been hurt by Trump’s attacks, which often goes personal. It’s not uncommon (Continue on page 27)

Abe barber shop supports books ministry Health & Wealth

Rule of law vs. law of the jungle

12

13 December 23-29, 2021

Offline

have a simple message to Marcos Jr diehards who act as if their idol has already won the presidency.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

In fact, as a Duterte diehard active on social media recently pointed out, all the candidates leading in early surveys in recent decades have lost.

Go back to 2015, when BETING DOLOR initially it was then Vice President Jejomar Binay who walked, talked, and acted like he had the presidency in the bag. And why not? He had been campaigning for the post since the day he was elected VP. He even had a shadow cabinet ready to man their assigned posts the day he assumed the presidency.

For a while, it looked as if Binay was really on the way to a six-year term in Malacanang. But several things happened that crushed his chances at succeeding PNoy. First was a candidate named Grace Poe, whose main qualification was that she was the daughter of the late King of Philippine Movies, Fernando Poe Jr. FPJ actually won the presidency but was cheated out of a rightful win by the uber corrupt Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

So when Grace Poe decided to run, it was on the belief that those who voted for FPJ would vote for her. Didn’t happen though.

The big reason for Binay’s loss was not Poe’s rise, but because Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte was drafted to run.

During the campaign, he caught the eye of the electorate with his straight and tough talk, as well as impossible promises of ending the drug menace and bringing back law and order nationwide.

The rest is history, as they say, although I have no idea who “they” are.

Go back further to 2010 when billionaire Manny Villar, a former Speaker of the House, also acted like he was already president. His inner circle acted like they were little Villars and woe to anyone who so much as suggested he would lose.

But along came Benigno Aquino III AKA PNoy. Some analysts say he won the presidency on the strength of the sympathy vote gained from the passing of his mother, the beloved former President Cory Aquino. This may or may not be true, but he did win big over Villar and the rest of the field.

Go back another six years and there was FPJ who surveys indicated would win in a tight race with GMA. By then Macapagal Arroyo had become president by virtue of what is known as Edsa Dos, or the second People Power revolt.

She of course became notorious for a phone call to a Commission on Elections commissioner where she asked him to guarantee her winning margin of one million over the popular actor.

That “Hello, Garci” call was proof that massive cheating was taking place, and to this day there is widespread belief that the country lost an FPJ presidency because of one scheming woman who was desperate for power, never mind if the will of the electorate had to be ignored in order for her to have six more years as president.

Fast forward to 2021 and some questionable surveys say that Marcos Jr will be chief executive next year despite his total lack of qualifications and accomplishments. All he has is money, lots of money.

The billions of dollars that the Philippine government failed to recover from the Marcos family is now being used to fund his campaign, admittedly to some positive effect.

But do not for a moment believe that he is a sure winner.

He’s not, except in his own mad coke-addled mind.

I have to cite two newspapers which came out with alleged surveys last month. One had a headline that said the battle was between Marcos Jr and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

This was as false as false news could get. See, the paper that came out with that ridiculous headline is owned and run by an active public relations practitioner long connected to GMA. Marcos Jr and Moreno are his clients.

I know because I worked there for three years.

The more credible survey came from one of the so-called Big Three broadsheets. The Manila Bulletin took its own survey and the results were not surprising. Leni Robredo won by a mile.

(Continue on page 27)

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ince the early days of the pandemic, California has led the nation’s fight against COVID-19 through robust vaccination efforts rooted in science and data. This has helped slow the spread of the virus and save countless lives, especially in our most vulnerable communi- GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM ties – someone’s parent and friend, and each of them a Californian.

We’ve been meeting people where they are, from partnering with local grocery stores, schools, and barbershops, to developing media content in more than 19 languages to reach California’s richly diverse communities. California’s public health measures are working, and much of our success can be attributed to our greatest tool to ending the pandemic: vaccines.

December 14 marks the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine administered in California. We began by prioritizing vaccinations for our frontline health care workers and vulnerable older adults. Today, after a year of working in partnership with the federal government, local public health and community partners, millions of Californians aged 5 and older are now protected and helping to protect others from this deadly virus.

We’ve administered 62 million doses – more than any other state. Eighty six percent of all eligible Californians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 6 million adults have received a booster. I am so proud that Californians are quite literally rolling up their sleeves to help end the pandemic and keep each other safer.

The state has also made tremendous strides in closing vaccination equity gaps among our most vulnerable communities. Thanks to our dynamic partnerships with more than 130 faith-based and 700 community-based organizations, 77 percent of Californians living in our least healthy neighborhoods ages 12 and up have received at least one dose. Our work is far from over.

We must continue to practice basic safety tips to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities against COVID-19. This starts with getting fully vaccinated if you haven’t already, and getting your booster. Simply put, vaccination can help you avoid serious illness, hospitalization and death. It is also important that we wear a mask indoors – especially when we are uncertain of everyone’s vaccination status – keep gatherings short, small and outside if possible, get tested if you’re exposed to the virus, experiencing symptoms, or planning to travel, and stay home if you’re feeling sick.

It is especially important for those who are fully vaccinated to get their booster. This includes those 16 and up who received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months prior, those 18 and up who received the Moderna vaccine at least six months before, and those 18 and over who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

It’s critical that we keep our immunity strong, not just for ourselves, but for our communities. Even with the emergence of the Omicron variant, Californians have many reasons to remain hopeful because our state continues to move forward in the right direction.

I want to end this column with a personal note to each and every Californian. Californians have met every challenge with vigor and courage, and together, we will continue to lead the nation in the fight against COVID-19. I wish you all a very happy holiday season with heartfelt wishes for a happy, safer, and brighter new year to come.

For the latest information on the Omicron variant go to CDPH.ca.gov and to find a COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose, visit MyTurn.ca.gov. To find a COVID-19 testing site, call (833) 422-4255 or visit your local county public health website.

Affidavit of support beneficiary charged with sexually abusing sponsor’s granddaughter – What now?

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ay an immigrant’s sponsor be relieved from complying with the sponsor’s obligation to support the immigrant under an affidavit of support where the beneficiary is charged with sexually abusing the sponsor’s granddaughter?

Tatiana and her daughter Thomas sponsored Tatiana’s EMMANUEL SAMONTE TIPON husband Valentin for admission to the U.S. by executing Form I-864 affidavits. The sponsors promised the U.S. that they would support Valentin at 125% of the poverty income level if the U.S. granted him a visa. Valentin was granted a visa.

Valentin and Tatiana lived together in the U.S. for several years. Valentin went to visit his mother in Russia. When Valentin returned to the United States, Tatiana would not allow him back into their home. She then obtained an order of protection from abuse against him and filed for divorce. Neither Thomas nor Tatiana provided Valentin with any financial support after this point. Later, Valentin was criminally charged for abusing Thomas’s minor daughter and possessing child pornography.

Valentin sued the sponsors for breaching their support affidavits. An affidavit of support is “legally enforceable against the sponsor by the sponsored alien,” U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(1)(B).

The statute creates a federal cause of action so that “the sponsored alien, the Federal Government, [or] any State” may enforce a support affidavit against a sponsor. 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a) (1)(B)–(C), (e); see also 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(d). This federal cause of action gives the sponsored immigrant enforcement rights that he would not necessarily have under contract law.

The sponsors raised the affirmative defenses of unclean hands, anticipatory breach, and equitable estoppel.

The district court rejected those defenses as a matter of law and awarded damages to Belevich. The sponsors appealed.

The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that these defenses are foreclosed by the statute and regulation governing Form I-864 and the text of the affidavit itself.

Federal law provides that any alien who “is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4)(A). A family-based immigrant is presumptively likely to become a public charge. 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(a)(1)(i) (A), (a)(2)(i). That presumption can be overcome if a sponsoring relative executes an “affidavit of support.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4)(C)(ii), (a)(4)(D). In the Form I-864 affidavit, the sponsor promises the U.S. that such sponsor will support the immigrant “at an annual income that is not less than 125 percent of the Federal poverty line.” 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(1)(A).

See Form I-864P for the HHS Poverty Guidelines. https:// www.uscis.gov/i-864p WHEN DOES AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT END? The statute provides that the obligation under an affidavit of support ends when the alien is naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or has worked forty quarters. 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(2) and § 1183a(a)(3)(A).

The regulation provides that the sponsor’s obligations terminate “when” the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, works forty qualifying quarters, ceases to hold permanent resident status and departs the United States, obtains a grant of adjustment of status as relief from removal, or dies. 8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(e)(2)(i), or if the sponsor dies. Id. § 213a.2(e)(2)(ii).

The Form I-864 affidavit repeats these same terminating events and expressly notes that divorce is not a terminating event. The regulation also provides that “[o]nce the intending immigrant has obtained an immigrant visa, a sponsor . . . cannot disavow his or her agreement to act as a sponsor” unless the immigrant withdraws the visa petition. Id. § 213a.2(f).

EFFECT OF BENEFICIARY’S BAD ACTS AGAINST SPONSOR The sponsors allege that Valentin committed various bad acts that have undermined his relationship with his family. But the Court pointed out that the sponsors’ proposed equitable defenses are not comparable to any of the listed reasons for terminating the support obligation. The grounds for terminating support concern the benefi(Continue on page 27)

What’s Up Attorney

California continues to lead the fight against COVID-19

Cocky presidential bets always lose

On the Record

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 OPINION

 BUSINESS | IMMIGRATIONS

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What to expect in Naturalization interview with USCIS officer

hen applying for naturalization, there are problems many applicants encountered during the interview process. This is because they look at how you first get your green card and what actions you have made while a green card holder. Listed below are some of them: 1. Proving good faith marriage. You will be surprised that your are applying for naturalization and yet the USCIS is considering you as a green card applicant although your marriage happened ten years ago .

If you obtained your green card through marriage, no matter how many years has passed, they always asked questions and documents about whether your marriage is bona fide and what joint documents support this marriage.

2. Proving family relationship if you were petitioned by your parents, siblings or as derivative of your parents. You should be able to show proof of your relationship through marriage certificate, birth certificate, divorce or death certificate, whichever documents applied to your case.

3. If you were involved is a crime, no matter how minor you think it is, they will always look for documentation if you have been convicted and if you served your sentence.

4. There are crimes that will make you deportable when applying for naturalization. This will include committing two crimes of moral turpitude or an aggravated felony. Theft is a crime involving moral turpitude. There are waiver available and you should talk to an immigration lawyer.

5. Green card holders who obtained their green card through misrepresentation may also be sent to removal proceedings. These include those who committed marriage fraud or declared as single but actually married. If you have this kind of problem you need to talk to an immigration attorney to find if you qualify for a waiver of fraud or misrepresentation.

6. Failure to file and pay your income tax may also disqualify you for naturalization. If you have a payment plan agreement with the IRS and you keep paying the monthly payments you may be able to get approved. Again you need to consult with an immigration lawyer about your situation.

7. Failure to pay child support. You may be denied if you fail to pay for child support.

8. If you stayed outside the U.S. for more than 180 days in a single year, you may be denied naturalization.

9. If you lack the required period of residency, you may also be denied.

So that you will not have a problem when applying for naturalization, you should consult with an immigration attorney to avoid possible problem along the way.

Note: This is not a legal advice If you have immigration problems the Law Offices of Crispin C. Lozano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and family separation.

Success Stories For the month of November 2021, we received approvals from USCIS three naturalization applications, one Fiancée visa petition, two removals of condition on residence and four adjustment of status applications.

Bankruptcy Basics 1. Bankruptcy will actually improve your credit within one year because your unsecured debts are discharged. Although the bankruptcy will be in your records for 10 years, not filing bankruptcy will make your credit even worse until most your debts are paid.

2. If you are being sued by your creditors, most money judgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy.

3. Collection actions continue and you can be sued if you are in debt settlement.

4. Chapter 7 will eliminate all unsecured debts. If you are near retirement age, you must eliminate most of your debts.

Wake up and defend our country or it will be too late We cannot relax when our life is in danger. China may annex the Philippines after the May 2022 election because of China’s ambition to control the West Philippine Sea and the important sea passage. When this happens, all of us including our children and grandchildren will become slaves of Communist China. We will have no more country. We need to unite in order to defeat the current administration and its allies running for President. Listen to Percy Lapid (or Lapid Fire) and Waldy Carbonell on You Tube and Facebook for details and more corruption in the government.

Chris Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers.

He practices immigration law, bankruptcy and income tax preparation since June 1999. His contact phone is 1-877-456-9266, email: info@CCLlaw.net Website: www.crispinlozanolaw.com/

December 23-29, 2021

14

PHL sees economic growth; UK group warns vs slowdown MANILA – Improvements in the country’s healthcare system, among others, are expected to further solidify the domestic economy’s recovery and boost its capacity to hit the revised target of between 5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said domestic output, which averaged at 4.9 percent in the first three quarters this year, “has exceeded our expectations in 2021.”

“So there’s a greater likelihood that our full year growth will hit the revised target of our GDP (gross domestic product) growth ranging from 5 to 5.5 percent this year,” he said.

This developed as the Pantheon Macroeconomics warned the Philippines’ economic growth could decelerate next year with risks brought about by the national elections.

Of the five countries included in its Emerging Asia economic outlook for 2022, only the Philippines is expected to see a slower output expansion, according to the United Kingdom-based think tank.

From 5.5% this 2021, it pegs a 4.5% full-year growth for the country next year.

With the economy seen to grow at a milder pace next year, Chanco projects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be kept at bay with its monetary policy support.

Pantheon Macroeconomics projects the BSP to keep rates steady at their record 2% low even until 2023, in line with its prior expectation that the central bank will keep its accommodative policy stance until the economic recovery becomes more stable.

Investors are likewise expected to stay on the sidelines as they await the victors of the 2022 polls, he added.

“Elections in the Philippines are rarely fought on economic policy,” stated Pantheon Macroeconomics senior Asia economist Michael Chanco.

“But they still carry significant event risk, particularly if Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the current frontrunner and the son of an ex-dictator, wins. His father was toppled by the last major revolution, in 1986.”

The economist likewise warns public expenditure “hits a brick wall” during elections — reflective of a government spending ban in place prior to the polls. This shaves “40% off quarterly trend growth, on average, in the same quarter of the last three elections,” he said.

Chanco likewise flagged that fiscal policy could “impose a persistent drag beyond the ballot.”

He added the Philippines is the “only one left in the region which has yet to engineer a nominal consolidation of its Covid-era budget blowout,” referring to measures aiming to trim public deficits and accumulation of debt.

Private consumption is expected to remain lukewarm in 2022, according to Chanco, stressing households will continue rebuilding the huge amount of savings lost since the pandemic’s onset.

These efforts were set back by the Delta coronavirus variant, he added.

Meanwhile, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said growth in the third quarter of this year alone reached nearly 7 percent.

Dominguez thus was hopeful about hitting the full-year target.

NPC probes possible data breach in BDO hacking incident PASAY CITY – The National Privacy Commission (NPC) is looking into a possible personal data breach involving unauthorized transactions that siphoned money off hundreds of BDO Unibank (BDO) depositors.

Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the suspected hackers of the compromised BDO accounts have been identified, with two to four individuals suspected to be behind ‘Mark Nagoyo’ and at least six persons of interest.

BDO said it is processing the reimbursement of nearly 700 clients affected by these fraudulent transaction In a statement, NPC Commissioner John Henry Naga said the NPC’s Complaints and Investigation Division has begun an investigation as early as December 11 and has issued notices to both BDO and Unionbank to provide information, documents, evidence, or witnesses. “(The) NPC has been in constant coordination with both banks in relation

to the ‘sua sponte’ investigation of the security incident,” Naga said.

The commission, he said, is also looking into BDO’s “10-year-old system” and whether sufficient “technical, organizational, and physical safeguards” were in place.

“Apart from requiring additional evidence and information, the NPC has ordered BDO and Unionbank to appear for a clarificatory conference, on Jan. 4, 2022, to verify and clarify the evidence submitted by the banks in relation to the investigation,” Naga said.

He said the NPC is also working with other government agencies on its investigation of the security incident.

“The NPC assures the public that all steps necessary to safeguard the rights of data subjects shall be taken and that the commission shall exercise the full extent of its powers under the law against any party found to be in violation of the DPA (Data Privacy Act),” Naga said.

15 December 23-29, 2021

ABS-CBN reveals lineup of new shows, offerings in 2022 ring Piolo Pascual and Angelica Panganiban.

“I can See Your Voice” will also return for another season hosted by Luis Manzano.

Meanwhile, among the movie projects in 2022 are “The Breakup Trip” starring Soberano and Gil; “Love is Color Blind” starring Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano; and the MMFF entries “Love at First Stream” and “Whether the Weather is Fine” to be shown on Christmas day.

It was also revealed that aside from their movie comeback, Gil and Soberano also have a still-untitled TV project.

Over at iWantTFC, there will be more series and movies including “F4 Thailand Boys Over Flowers;” “Lyric and Beat;” “Sleep With Me” starring Janine Gutierrez and Lovi Poe; “Bola Bola” starring FranABS-CBN has revealed its lineup of TV programs, cine Diaz and Akira Morishita; “Misis Piggy” starring movies, and streaming platform releases for the com- Sylvia Sanchez and Ria Atayde; the third season of ing year, including the teleserye comeback of Kathryn “Click Like and Share” starring Vivoree Esclito, Elmo Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, and the new movie of Magalona, Jane Oineza, JC Alcantara, Shanaia GoLiza Soberano and Enrique Gil. mez and Mariano; “The Goodbye Girl” starring Elisse Over a dozen new titles were introduced in the Joson, Loisa Andalio, Barbie Imperial, Maris Racal video clip which was first shown during the “Andito and Panganiban; “Tara G” starring Anthony Jennings, Tayo Para Sa Isa’t Isa: The ABS-CBN Christmas Daniela Stranner, Kaori Oinuma, JC Alcantara, Zach Special 2021.”

Castaneda, CJ Salonga and Esclito; and the second Among the new TV offerings are “The Broken season of “He’s Into Her” with Mariano and PangMarriage Vow” starring Jodi Sta. Maria, Zanjoe ilinan.

Marudo and Sue Ramirez; “2 Good 2 Be True” starABS-CBN also announced the iQiyi original series ring Bernardo and Padilla; “Love in 40 Days” starring “Saying Goodbye” starring Seth Fedelin and Andrea Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte; “Darna: The TV Brillantes”, and “Hello Heart” with Gerald Anderson Series” starring Jane de Leon; and “My Papa Pi” star- and Gigi de Lana.

Angelica Panganiban will have two upcoming series with the Kapamilya network for 2022.

The first one is titled “My Papa Pi” which Panganiban will co-star with Piolo Pascual. It is a romantic-comedy series to be helmed by blockbuster director Cathy Garcia Molina.

In addition to that, Panganiban has an upcoming show with iWantTFC titled “The Goodbye Girl” directed by Derick Cabrido.

The series is an adaptation of the best-selling book “Mga Kwento ng Pag-ibig at Heartbreak” by Noreen Capili. It will also star Elisse Joson, Loisa Andalio, Barbie Imperial and Maris Racal.

ABS-CBN has yet to announce the exact release dates of the two projects.

 ENTERTAINMENT

December 23-29, 2021

16

Spanish-dubbed “You’re The Boss”, “Feng Shui 2” and “The Third Party” now available on ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel

LOS ANGELES, CA - Here’s some trivia: the first film produced in the Philippines is “La Vida de Rizal” which was screened in 1912. Yes, Philippine cinema was born in the Spanish language.

Even now, the major terms used in its local industry -- pelikula, sine, direktor, aktor, bida, contrabida -- are rooted in the Spanish language. This is proof of the cultural proximity that continues to exist not only between Spain and the Philippines but between the Philippines and other countries that have very strong Spanish culture embedded in their histories.

So, it comes as no surprise that even current Filipino cinematic storytelling and themes resonate among present-day Spanish-speaking audiences around the world. Thus, Filipino films originally in Tagalog that were dubbed in Spanish didn’t have a difficult time finding a Spanish-speaking audience that welcomed these entertainment offerings.

ABS-CBN, the leading Filipino media and entertainment company which is also the world’s largest exporter of primetime teleseryes and films from the Philippines, is enjoying a successful run of its select Spanish-dubbed Filipino films made available for limited time viewing on its ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube Channel.

The latest additions to its Spanish-dubbed offerings which are available now for viewing on ABSCBN Entertainment YouTube Channel until the end of 2021 are the following:

“The Third Party” (Triangulo De Amor)

“Feng Shui 2” A sequel to the 2004 box-office hit, “Feng Shui”, this horror film starring Kris Aquino and Coco Martin as the new owner of the “cursed bagua” finds himself having luck and prosperity first then followed with deadly consequences. It was the first Filipino film to be rendered in 4D shown exclu-

Starring FAMAS (Philippine Oscars) Best Actress awardee Angel Locsin, Sam Milby and Zanjoe Marudo, this romantic comedy tells the story of how an aspiring fashion designer’s plan to win back her first love is complicated by the fact that he has already fallen in love with another man.

“You’re My Boss” (Un Amor Entre Jefes)

sively at the XD Theater of the Mall of Asia in the Philippines back in 2014 under a partnership of ABS-CBN Star Cinema and SM Lifestyle Entertainment.

ABS-CBN, global home to top-rating Filipino TV programs, box-office films, best-selling music, and live digital concerts and events, continues to Starring Philippine Prince of Independent Mov- produce high-caliber programs and movies with cast ies and Philippine Teleserye King Coco Martin and storylines that appeal to diverse cultures and and Toni Gonzaga, this rom-com centers on how a wider audiences. It is also rapidly transitioning into smart and bossy female airline company executive an agile digital company and continues to expand finds herself forced to trade places with her personal its services and businesses to address the different assistant in pretense just to close a career make-or- needs of Filipinos worldwide. break deal.

Julia Barretto’s confessions Actress Julia Barretto is excited about the holidays as she revs up for a busier and exciting 2022.

“I hope I won’t get tired in 2022,” says Julia when asked about her New Year’s Resolution for the coming year, during the online launch of her latest endorsement for Miracle White supplements recently.

Julia shares to the entertainment press glimpses of her simple activities with her family and loved ones this Christmas weekend.

“Pag Noche Buena, si mommy talaga nagluluto ‘yan ng favorites namin. On the 24th, she’s going to cook all our favorites. We’re just going to be together, me and my siblings. Gerald (Anderson) will be with us,” Julia reveals.

The year 2021 continues to be a challenging year for many. But Julia says she just appreciates all the wonderful things that happened to her this year.

“We are blessed. It’s a good year (for us) this year. There is real magic in counting your blessings. Every time na medyo napapagod na ako or stressed, I really take the time to shut down and take a moment for myself.

Then I count the things that I should

be grateful for, and I feel we are blessed, especially this year so hindi ko pinapayagan na mangibabaw ang stress and negativity because again, hindi nakaka-ganda. So always count your blessings especially now na hindi natin alam kung ano ang mangyayari mamaya or bukas so I just want to enjoy what I have and the people around me,” she says.

When asked about her insecurities, Julia says it boils down to height.

17 December 23-29, 2021

 ENTERTAINMENT

1MX 2021 plays to sold out audiences on stage and online; 2022 tour in the works with 1MX,” said ABS-CBN Global COO Aldrin M. Cerrado.

With the stellar cast of Bamboo, Moira, EZ Mil, Gigi De Lana, BGYO and BINI, 1MX 2021 in Dubai reestablished Filipinos as among the best live musical performers in the world.

Their showmanship, audience interaction, energy, powerful voices, and innate musicality are unquestionably worldclass. Whether they were doing original

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Filipino artists made a huge splash in the international music industry this December with sold out performances of the music festival 1MX 2021 both as an in-person event in Dubai and as a livestreamed event with a Manila cast on KTX.ph.

Produced by ABS-CBN, the leading global Filipino media and entertainment network, through The Filipino Channel (TFC), ABS-CBN Music, One Music PH and Myx Global, together with DJMC Events, Camella Homes and Philippine Airlines, the back-to-back concerts before local and global audiences continue to prove that live entertainment has officially returned, and people are eager to see performers on stage once again.

That these companies took a strate-

Rapper EZ Mil drew the loudest cheers for his viral track, “Panalo”.

now 1MX sold out its in-person leg at the Trade Centre Arena at the Dubai World Trade Centre while selling out its livestream from Manila and Dubai on KTX. What do all these tell you?

Humanity is eager to get back to the experiences they love. That hopeful desire - with reasonable precautions - should be celebrated and promoted, not restricted.

And that’s exactly what we, our partners, Bamboo’s performance reminded everyone why he has reached legendary OPM rock icon status.

OPM’s Pop Rock Diva Gigi De Lana showed the incredible vocal range that made her an online singing sensa�on.

our artists, and our audiences are doing

Pilipino hits and compositions or covering mainstream classics, they were able to bring their unique stamps in each of the songs they performed.

Meanwhile, the Manila cast of AC Bonifacio, Angela Ken, Carlo Bautista, Fana, Jayda, Jeremy G, Kritiko, Lian Kyla, Nameless Kids, SAB and Trisha Denise provided a glimpse of the future sounds of OPM that will have no problem competing in the international music landscape. Are Filipino music

artists ready for their own hallyu? 1MX strongly suggests so.

1MX Manila on KTX.ph was a showcase of emerging OPM artists and and their fresh sounds. From left, host Edward Barber with Fil-Canadian dancer-singer AC Bonifacio, and singersongwriters SAB and Lian Kyla.

“1MX 2021 was not only a showcase of the same superior OPM talent that built the 1MX brand starting in 2017 in Dubai, 2018 in Abu Dhabi, 2019 in Singapore and Manila; 1MX 2021 is a showcase of the resilience of the collective Filipino spirit around the world,” said ABS-CBN Global Head of Events and Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Arnie Garcia. “With the support of trusted partners, sponsors, overseas Filipino communities and international audiences, we plan to tour 1MX again to various cities around the world starting next year and bring the best of OPM artists to all.”

The most followed OPM ar�st on Spo�fy, Moira, took the audience’s breath away with elegant songs of love, healing, and hope.

gic, successful gamble on an in-person event combined with livestreaming reflects their calculated optimism and determination to reboot the gigantic music events ecosystem.

Doing 1MX in Dubai is key as this world-famous city in UAE is one of the rare places that doubled down on an open economy even as the Omicron variant rattled markets and forced border restrictions across the world. It’s the site of Expo 2020 where 192 countries are presently taking part in a global celebration for 182 days, starting last October 1, 2021. When the whole of Europe shut down, Dubai remained completely open, and their COVID-19 cases have been below 100 for weeks as of this writing.

“Around 5.6 million tourists have already visited the Dubai Expo. Major sports events are drawing packed arenas everywhere in the U.S. BTS became the first group in the world to sell out four concerts in November and December at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. And

Rotary Club SF Sunset Holiday Extravaganza Benefit Fashion Show

Foreground Charter President Marilyn Becklehimer, Rotary District 5150 Governor Danielle Lallement, Steve & Colleen Wright, Governor Nominee Gary Chow Howard Weathersby, Herman Jones, Jackie De Vera, President Rudy Asercion (Photo by Teofie Decierdo)

 ENTERTAINMENT

December 23-29, 2021

18

Pacquiao, Angel Locsin, Kris, others help Odette victims; Lucy Torres pushes creation of Dep’t of Disaster Resilience

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda MANILA – Celebrities and showbiz personalities have mounted campaigns to provide assistance to the victims of supertyphoon Odette.

Actress and House of Representatives Committee on Disaster Resilience chairperson, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte, wife of actor Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, meanwhile, revived a proposal in Congress to create a Department of Disaster Resilience.

Leading those extending help and providing relief goods was Senator and presidential aspirant Emmanuel Pacquiao who had sent initial two plane loads of assistance to typhoon victims in Cebu and Bohol and other areas.

Pacquiao and Vice President Leni Robredo teamed up to assist the Odette victims, according to initial reports.

Angel Locsin, who is known for her civic work, has also joined in extending assistance and called for those capable to extend help.

Angel and Kris Aquino also teamed up with Robredo to help the Odette victims.

In a viral video posted on Twitter, Kris made known Angel’s donations of millions of pesos through the Vice President for the benefit of typhoon victims.

“Nagbigay po si Angel Locsin ng P2 million kay VP Leni para po pantulong para po sa lahat ng nasalanta,” Kris said in the video.

Kris joined Robredo last Tuesday during her visit to Barangay Daan Banua in Kabankalan City in Negros island for relief efforts and assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

Kris wrote on her Instagram account that she and Angel always communicate with each other on how to help victims if there is a calamity in the country.

“Matagal na kaming tandem ni @therealangellocsin ‘pag ganitong may kalamidad at araw araw kaming naguusap kung paano ba makakatulong. Kinukulit namin ni Alvin si Ina ni VP @lenirobredo,” she said.

She also commended Robredo and Sen. Manny Pacquiao for uniting to help typhoon victims. “[At] 5 a.m. kanina magka text kami ni VP Leni.

Saludo ako sa kanya at kay Senator @mannypacquiao dahil nagkaisa sila para mas maraming matulungan,” she said.

Actor Gerald Anderson also donated relief goods for the victims of typhoon “Odette”.

Anderson, an Auxiliary Commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), provided sacks of rice and boxes of bottled water which will be delivered by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in some areas in Western Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao.

Actresses Andi Eigenman and Nadine Lustre, who have made Siargao their home for sometime now, urged the public to send support to those in Siargao by showing, through retweets and posts, various initiatives where people may send cash or in-kind donations.

Lustre and Eigenman now own properties on the island.

Egienman’s home in Siargao was also ravaged by Typhoon Odette, Eigenmann shared that she will be utilizing her family’s Happy Islanders YouTube channel to lend a hand.

In the vlog of her eldest daughter Ellie’s 10th birthday recorded before the typhoon and posted on Dec. 19, Eigenmann shared that the earnings from her upcoming December vlogs will go to those that have lost their homes and livelihoods from the storm.

In the intro of the video, the actress wrote: “On December 16, 2021, Typhoon Odette hit Siargao Island (and other neighboring islands and provinces) and devastated our island home. We are grateful that our family and friends are safe, but most of them have lost their homes and are in need of food, water, among others.”

“With this, we will be using our earnings from our coming videos to help slowly rebuild our island home again. Motindog ra ta pagbalik, Siargao.”

Slater Young and Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomes also called for support for those affected in their hometowns of Cebu and Siargao, as well as for other areas.

Filipino athletes and teams are using their influence, reach, and resources to help the victims of Typhoon Odette, Rappler reported.

Weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist, is also helping out in her own way by sharing information on various donation drives on her social media accounts.

National beach volleyball team member Sisi Rondina, who hails from Cebu, called for donations as she showed photos of homes destroyed by Odette.

“Any amount will do,” wrote the former UST Growling Tigress.

Cebuana marathoner Mary Joy Tabal, meanwhile, gave out packed meals to people affected in her hometown.

“Openly gave it to those who [knocked on] our door, to some who were not able to cook [because] electricity shut down, and also gave it [to] people who helped clean the road,” said Tabal, who represented the country in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Meanwhile, actress and House of Representatives Committee on Disaster Resilience chairperson, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte, said a centralized government agency is necessary to make disaster preparedness

LEYTE REP. LUCY TORRES-GOMEZ, House of Representa�ves Commi�ee on Disaster Resilience chairperson.

more comprehensive, responsive, and customized based on technical and scientific analysis.

Torres-Gomez said the disparity in disaster preparation and response from one local government unit (LGU) to another has been made apparent in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

“A disaster is just too huge and too complex for LGUs to handle on their own. And yes, some LGUs are capable, but we just cannot leave something as critical as disaster resilience, preparedness, response and recovery to the whims of chance,” Torres-Gomez said.

She cited as an example Ormoc City that has invested in disaster preparedness, noting that power and water supply have been restored, allowing the citizens in Ormoc to bounce back, recover and move on from the effects of Odette, almost immediately after the storm.

Meanwhile, she said other provinces that were poorly prepared now face the prospect of power outage for at least a month, which would set back the local economy amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“The destruction resulting from Super-typhoon Odette is, once again, a bitter reminder that we still have a long way to go in strengthening our disaster resilience.

Yes, we have significantly decreased casualties due to substantial improvements in local evacuations,” she said.

Aside from the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience, she said there are still “low-lying fruit” solutions that are yet to be achieved.

She said there is a need to focus on three economic cornerstones: clearing debris from roads, protecting and restoring power lines, and maintaining internet and phone communications.

“Any lack in these economic cornerstones deeply impact the availability of basic human needs; such as, water, food and fuel supplies, as well as access to basic services; such as, banking, emergency health care, grocery and drug stores. Without these basic infrastructure elements, recovery and rehabilitation would be an uphill climb,” she said.

“Odette” also left an initial P343,454,774 worth of damage to infrastructure and agriculture across the Visayas and Mindanao.

It also destroyed various government facilities, flood control projects, roads, bridges, and other infrastructures which amounted to P225,170,000, as well as various agricultural products worth P118,284,774.

At least 54,783 houses were either totally or partially destroyed, 41 road sections and four bridge sections collapsed, along with four airports and 118 seaports were damaged while 5,391.77 hectares of crops, and many livestock and poultry areas were completely wiped out in the affected regions.

19 December 23-29, 2021

 ENTERTAINMENT

Actors Jaleel White and Akbar Gbajabiamila share COVID-19 vaccine experiences, urge black and African Americans to get jabs SACRAMENTO – Actor and producer Jaleel White, and former NFL player and host of “The Talk” and “American Ninja Warrior” Akbar Gbajabiamila, are partnering with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The well-known celebrities are sharing their COVID-19 vaccine experiences through candid conversations to help reduce hesitancy in Black and African American communities across the state.

The partnership is part of the state’s Vaccinate ALL 58 campaign, which aims to provide safe, effective and free COVID-19 vaccines to all Californians regardless of immigration or insurance status.

“We must acknowledge the distrust and skepticism that exists between many African Americans and people of color and the medical community due to historic injustices, ‘’ said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “It is important to create a safe space for the community to discuss and address concerns they have around COVID-19 vaccines.

We are so grateful to Jaleel and Akbar for their com-

mitment to honest conversations about what it personally has felt like to overcome long-held fears around vaccines, and finally making the decision to get vaccinated. These candid discussions help get to the heart of the matter in a thoughtful way, while reducing vaccine hesitancy in their community.”

When White and Gbajabiamila first heard about vaccinations for COVID-19, they were admittedly hesitant. Now, both are fully vaccinated and feel safer knowing they have protection against COVID-19. In their conversation, both men share their reasons for hesitation, why they chose to receive the vaccine, and the steps taken to become vaccinated with the hopes of encouraging those who have not yet received the vaccine to do so, specifically in the African American community.

“Growing up in Los Angeles, there was this belief that society didn’t care about what happened to Black people medically,” said Gbajabiamila. “Now that I’m vaccinated, I want to keep it real with my community

and encourage everyone to protect themselves.”

The four-part conversation details their vaccination journeys, including their experiences with mild side effects, getting a booster, and why getting the facts is important for someone to make their decision on getting vaccinated.

“No one should be shamed or condemned for being hesitant and this is exactly why I want to share the story of how I came to be vaccinated,” said White. “None of us have ever had to navigate through a pandemic before. So, helping people get the facts, with understanding for their personal experiences, and doing that with grace, is how we are going to get through this together.

I hope my story will inspire and help others get to a place where they feel good about getting vaccinated.”

In addition to the series of one-on-one conversations, the partnership also includes a comedic skit written by White that supports the Vaccinate ALL 58 campaign and addresses concerns surrounding vaccinations and booster shots.

Special screening of Nicolas Pichay’s ‘Rizal’s Pen’ set tional hero with a video premiere.

The Sentro Rizal Washington D.C. invites everyone to a special virtual screening of Nicolas Pichay’s “Rizal Pen” as the Embassy celebrates this year’s Rizal Day with the theme “Rizal: Para sa Agham, Katotohanan, at Buhay” (Rizal: For Science, Truth, and Life). The screening will start

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Every 30th of December, the Filipino nation observes the death anniversary of the Philippines’ national hero - Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal - formally known as Rizal Day. This year, the Sentro Rizal in Washington D.C. commemorates the life, sacrifice, and works of our na-

from 30 December 2021 until 01 January 2022 via the Philippine Embassy’s Facebook Page (@PHinUSA).

Rizal Pen is a 45-minute film directed and written by Nicolas B. Pichay which revolves around a young man in contemporary times discovering the relevance of Jose Rizal’s writings in his life.

 REAL ESTATE

December 23-29, 2021

California’s $1-B mortgage relief program gets federal approval SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California’s plan to provide $1 billion in mortgage relief grants to tens of thousands of homeowners who have fallen behind on housing payments or reverse mortgage arrearages during the COVID-19 pandemic has been approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, clearing the way for a full program launch in the coming weeks.

Under Governor Newsom’s plan, the California Mortgage Relief Program will help an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 struggling homeowners, with funds reserved for homeowners in socially disadvantaged and underserved communities often hit hardest by the pandemic.

“We are committed to supporting those hit hardest by the pandemic, and that includes homeowners who have fallen behind on their housing payments,” Governor Newsom said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

“No one should have to live in fear of losing the roof over their head, so

we’re stepping up to support struggling homeowners to get them the resources they need to cover past due mortgage payments. Our Housing is Key program has already provided renters and landlords with the assistance and resources they need to stay afloat. Now, with our California Mortgage Relief Program, we are extending that relief to homeowners,” Newsom said.

Through the mortgage relief program, past due housing payments will be covered in full – up to a maximum of $80,000 per household – with a direct payment to qualified homeowners’ mortgage servicers. The financial support is provided as a one-time grant that qualified homeowners will not have to repay, so that they can get caught up and have a fresh start.

Funding for the program is allocated through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowner Assistance Fund.

“During this pandemic, Californians have lost their jobs or had their paychecks cut, leading many to wonder how they can keep up with their

housing payments,” said Lourdes M. Castro Ramírez, Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. “This program will help families keep their homes and provide the stability they need to recover from the financial, physical and emotional toll caused by the pandemic.”

The California Mortgage Relief Program will be a part of California’s Housing is Key program and is designed to work in tandem with several existing state and federal initiatives and programs to support residents facing difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Homeowners who have had their mortgage payments paused during the pandemic are now facing the end of those forbearance periods,” said Tiena Johnson Hall, Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency, “The California Mortgage Relief Program will alleviate some of that anxiety and give eligible homeowners a chance to get caught up on those housing payments and regain that sense of security.”

20

Historic Naic town modernizes further as Walter Mart acquires Primex property

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NAIC, Cavite - This historic town is in for further development and modernization.

This as Primex Development Corporation sold two hectares of a 10-hectare prime property along Governor’s Drive in Naic, Cavite to leading community mall developer Walter Mart for P200 million.

The whole property, which has a frontage of 330 meters, is right beside AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp.’s 166-hectare Cavite Technopark.

With the area’s accessibility and connectivity greatly enhanced by numerous infrastructure like the CaviteLaguna Expressway (CALAX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) Extension, the Cavite-TagaytayBatangas Expressway (CTBEX) and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, the area is projected to blossom into a center of trade and commerce south of the Metropolis.

Primex Development Corporation sold two hectares of a 10-hectare prime property along Governor’s Drive in Naic, Cavite to leading community mall developer Walter Mart for P200 million.

The whole property, which has a frontage of 330 meters, is right beside AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp.’s 166-hectare Cavite Technopark.

With the area’s accessibility and connectivity greatly enhanced by numerous infrastructure like the CaviteLaguna Expressway (CALAX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) Extension, the Cavite-TagaytayBatangas Expressway (CTBEX) and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, the area is projected to blossom into a center of trade and commerce south of the Metropolis.

Pullman Manila slated “By selling a portion of the property to a branded and established mall operator, the value of the residual eight hectares of the land shall appreciate significantly,” Karlvin Ernest Ang, Executive Vice President and Director of the Primex Group of Companies, said.

In a recent development, parent Primex Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Primex Realty Corporation, signed a hotel management agreement with Accor Hotels to put up the first Pullman Hotel in Manila.

21 December 23-29, 2021

NEWS  NATIONAL SPORTS NEWS

Filipino American Asa Miller to compete for PHL in 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing MANILA/PORTLAND - Filipino American Asa Miller will be the sole Filipino athlete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after meeting the qualification threshold for the slalom and giant slalom events.

Born in Portland, Oregon, the 21-year-old alpine skier whose roots are in Sta. Cruz, Manila, who will compete for the Philippines, made the announcement on his personal Instagram account.

Officials hope Brandon Leitner, a 17-year-old skier, would also make the cut should the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) earn another slot.

“Hi everyone! I’m extremely excited to announce that I’ll be making my second Olympic appearance in Beijing 2022! Big thank you to everyone who’s helped me on my skiing journey so far,” said Miller who also raced in the 2018 edition in Pyeongchang, South Korea and placed 70th of 110 giant slalom participants.

Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation president Jim Palomar Apelar also confirmed Miller’s qualification in the quadrennial sporting competition from Feb. 4 to 20 next year.

Apelar explained that Miller secured his second

straight Winter Olympics berth after he met the qualifying score of 160 points or lower for each of the two events.

He got enough points from the International Ski Federation (ISF) to be quota eligible.

Miller earned 68.56 points in slalom and 63.83 points in giant slalom in the tournaments he joined for his preOlympic qualification process.

“Alpine has a point system. The lower your points the better,” Apelar said.

Apelar added the world governing body International Ski Federation will finalize the list of athletes in Beijing on Jan. 15, but the Philippines has been granted one quota slot in the two events which assured Miller’s participation.

Miller also represented the Philippines in the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he ranked 70th out of 110 competitors in the giant slalom event.

He is also expected to be the country’s flag bearer in the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 4.

Magsayo guns for world title in Atlantic City fight next month in his fifth defense in Pennsylvania in February 2020.

His record is 31-1, with 18 KOs and the only loss was to Vasiliy Lomachenko by a majority decision in 2014.

The southpaw has held the WBC 126-pound title since 2015. He was a world amateur bronze medalist in 2005 and three years later, went to Beijing for the Olympics but crashed out of contention after missing the weighin due to severe dehydration for trying to make weight.

Magsayo has been floored twice, once by Chris Avalos and once by Ceja, but bounced back from the knockdowns to stop both opponents.

A strong starter, the heavy-handed Magsayo has notched seven KOs in the first round. If Magsayo dethrones Russell, he’ll be only the second Filipino world featherweight titleholder after Luisito Espinosa who reigned from 1995 to 1999.

“Excited na ako,” said Magsayo. “Mabilis si Russell so pinaghandaan ng team ko na mabuti. Marami akong natutunan sa laban kay Ceja. Dati kulang ako sa gulang, puro tapang at lahat inisip na madala ko sa lakas.

Pero kailangan din ng maturity sa laban at IQ. Gusto ko kasi pakita sa laban na kaya kong tanggapin mga suntok ni Ceja at ‘di ako yayakap. Pero nakapag-adjust naman kami kaagad at nanalo tayo with God’s will.”

Meanwhile, boxing siblings Vic Saludar and Froilan Saludar absorbed painful loses in their respective bouts in Dominican Republic and in Australia.

Despite outworking his Dominican foe, Vic Saludar lost the WBA minimumweight crown to Erick Rosa LOS ANGELES -- Undefeated Filipino boxer Mark Roach, assistant coach Marvin Somodio and condition- Pacheco via split decision at the latter’s hometown.

The fight took place at the Hotel Catalonia in Santo Magsayo will fight WBC featherweight champion Gary ing coach Pedro Garcia.

Domingo, Dominican Republic, last Wednesday, MaRussell in a 12-round title bout at the Borgata Hotel Magsayo earned the title shot by scoring a comenila time, ABS-CBN reported.

Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Jan. from-behind knockout over Julio Ceja in Las Vegas last Froilan Saludar, on the other hand, got beaten by 22.

August.

Andrew Moloney at The Star Event Centre in Sydney.

Magsayo, who has been in the United States for He trailed on the three judges scorecards, 87-82 Froilan, a former title contender, was able to put over a year now, said he was happy saying the fight is a and 86-83 twice, when a right straight punctured Ceja’s up a fi ght in the early part of the match. But Moloney chance of a lifetime, a dream come true. defense and another right struck the head on the way started dominating the match when he began unloading Magsayo, 26, who has won 23 fights with 16 down. Ceja dropped out cold on the canvas. heavy bodyshots. knockouts and no defeat, has stepped up his training Russell, 33, hasn’t fought in nearly two years or Moloney took the WBO Oriental bantamweight title for the fight at the Wild Card Gym under coach Freddie since outpointing Mongolia’s Tugstsogt Nyambayer via unanimous decision.

December 23-29, 2021

22

Q: Can you explain how network marketing works?

A: Network marketing is a business model in which a distributor network is needed. In most cases these type of businesses are multi level marketing in nature in that payouts occur at more than one level. This is very popular for people looking for part time work or a part time flexible business.

The business requires a low level of capital and uses family members and friends as a source of distribution. Most of these organizations recruits more distributors for more gain.

Imagine a pyramid on top of many pyramids where the person on the very top pyramid has a again on every person from every pyramid under his. This person can make billions because he has a stake in every person under him as they sell more product.

Like any other businesses, this type of business has its own downsides. It is unfortunate that in order to make more money, a member has to keep recruiting more members under his pyramid. This will maximize his gains. Unfortunate, people start avoiding them because they become quite persistent in their quest to recruit making them a nuisance to every person who really does not want to do anything with the business. Why? Because they would ultimately have to do the same in order to make money. They have to recruit more members under their pyramid in order to maximize gains.

Ating lesson, Ang nararamdaman ng iba ay laging ilagay sa isipan, para di ka nila iwasan.

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 COMMUNITY NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

24

Insurance commissioner Felix Lopez named to DeMolay Legion of Honor LA County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez C E R RITOS -Los Angeles County Insurance Commissioner Felix B. Lopez was conferred last Nov. 6 by DeMolay International the Legion of Honor award, which is the highest honor given by the international organization to its senior members.

The Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay Republic of the Philippines be-

stowed the award to Lopez in recognition of his “outstanding service to humanity and remarkable leadership in your chosen field of human endeavor. Including adult service to the Order of DeMolay.”

As a Legion of Honor awardee, Lopez was elevated to the rank and dignity of a Legionnaire of the Order. He also received the Legion of Honor Regalia, a cross medallion suspended from a red cordon.

The Order of DeMolay website said the Legion of Honor “was founded for the purpose of bringing together a select few out of the millions who have knelt at the altar of DeMolay. Legion of Honor recipients must have actively demonstrated outstanding leadership in some field of endeavor, whether it be a civic, professional, fraternal or spiritual arena.

DeMolay is an international organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy, and productive lives. Among its prominent alumni are Walt Disney, John Wayne, Walter Cronkite, football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne, news anchor David Goodnow, and many others.

Lopez, who was appointed to the LA County Insurance Commission by Supervisor Janice Hahn in 2017, has been in the insurance industry since 1977. He is the owner-CEO of the Pinoy General Insurance Services, which he founded in 1993.

A magna cum laude graduate in Economics and a Master of Business Administration graduate of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lopez was President of the Rotary Club of Cerritos

and Artesia in 2010-2011, where he received a Rotary International Citation as Outstanding Club President. He is also the Founding President of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce-South East Corridor (FACC-SEC) and Chairman of the Coalition of Associations at the South East Corridor (CASEC).

Lopez was awarded the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Diversity Award in 2008, designated as an Honorary Commodore by the Philippine Coast Guard/ Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2014, voted One of Ten Outstanding Entrepreneurs by the Pangasinan Brotherhood USA in 2010, and named Lion of the Year by the Los Angeles Bayanihan Lions Club in 1998.

Lopez and his wife Sally have two sons, Felix Reginald and Richard Felix.

Omicron variant spreads, 3,258 COVID cases, 7 deaths detected in LA County

By Jo Erlinda Maufit LOS ANGELS - As Omicron cases continue to spread in the Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health disclosed that vaccines remain one of the most powerful protections against COVID-19 transmission, especially at skilled nursing facilities.

This as the Department of Public Health confirmed 60 new Omicron cases, 3,258 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 7 deaths. There are 743 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized.

For the week ending on December 17th, outbreaks rose in every sector, except skilled nursing facilities, the depart-

Newsom...

(From page 1)

Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin downtown district reeling from a severe spike in fatal drug overdoses driven mainly by fentanyl.

“We are in a crisis and we need to respond accordingly,” Breed said at a news conference. “Too many people are dying in this city, too many people are sprawled on our streets,” she said, referring to residents who have overdosed.

She said declaring a state of emergency would allow The City to cut through red tape and increase funding to police, who she said already had arrested 23 people during felony warrant sweeps.

Official reports showed US drug overdose deaths surged to more than 100,000 this year for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by a flood of fake online pills.

In San Francisco, drug overdoses have also risen sharply since the mid-2010s as highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl infiltrated the city.

A record 711 died from overdoses last year, with 2021 deaths projected to fall slightly below that.

In her declaration, Mayor Breed allows officials to quickly open shelters and mental health services by bypassing zoning, planning and contract procurement rules.

Governor Newsom announced the plan alongside Attorney General Rob Bonta, CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, CAL

ment said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

The department said outbreaks increased by 118% in the education sector, 83% in congregate/group housing, 13% in settings serving people experiencing homelessness, and 24% at worksites/places of worship. Over the same period, outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities decreased by 11%.

Although masking compliance and vaccination rates are high in most of the settings, most intensive work to ensure widespread booster administration occurred at skilled nursing facilities. Currently, 84% of eligible skilled nursing facility residents and 50% of eligible

staff have received booster shots (90% of residents and 97% of staff are fully vaccinated).

“To everyone who has lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest condolences,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Evidence is mounting that for those vaccinated months ago, boosters are necessary to provide the best defense from infection with and transmission of the Omicron variant.” “ Vaccinations also continue to provide excellent protection from the Delta variant. The widespread uptake of booster shots at skilled nursing facilities – a result of early efforts to get

booster doses to these highly-vulnerable individuals as soon as they became available -- have helped keep outbreaks at lower numbers in these settings,” Dr. Ferrer said.

“This aligns with other information gathered from around the country demonstrating the power of boosters, and the importance of getting boosted as soon as possible once eligible,” Ferrer continued. “Given the rising case numbers, the high rate of community transmission, and all the evidence that, over time, our immune systems need a boost to be able to attack the COVID virus, no one eligible should delay getting their booster dose.”

OES Director Mark Ghilarducci and other state and local leaders at the CHP’s Dublin Area Office.

Under the Governor’s “Real Public Safety Plan,” new investments will bolster local law enforcement response, ensure prosecutors hold perpetrators accountable and get guns and drugs off our streets.

“We’re doubling down on our public safety investments and partnerships with law enforcement officials up and down the state to ensure Californians and small businesses feel safe in their communities – a fundamental need we all share,” said Governor Newsom in a statement sent to Philippine News Today.

“Through robust new investments and ongoing coordination with local agencies, this plan will bolster our prevention, deterrence and enforcement efforts to aggressively curb crime, hold bad actors to account and protect Californians from the devastating gun violence epidemic.”

While long-term crime trends in California are down in almost every category, states across America have seen a recent uptick in organized retail theft and other violent crimes, particularly those involving a firearm.

The Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan will support existing efforts and new initiatives, including a permanent Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit led by CHP, funding for a statewide organized theft team in the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute cross-jurisdictional theft-related crimes, the largest gun buyback program in the country and grants for local law enforcement, prosecutors, and small Governor Newsom announces Real Public Safety Plan today in Dublin alongside state and businesses victimized by retail theft. local leaders, law enforcement officials.

25 December 23-29, 2021

 COMMUNITY NEWS

Hahn, Board of Supervisors support striking workers in Santa Fe Springs SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA— Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn led her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors showing their support for the 175 striking workers at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in the city of Santa Fe Springs.

“I had the opportunity to join these workers on the picket line and hear their stories,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the city of Santa Fe Springs on the Board of Supervisors. “Most of these workers are Latina women and they have been out in the cold for the past month and a half, many with their children with them, standing up for the fair wages they deserve and better treatment from their employer. Despite the tactics the company has used against these workers, I can tell you their resolve is strong and I know this strike will last as long as it takes.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve a motion authored by Supervisor Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Hilda Solis to send a five-signature letter from the Board to Rich’s Products Corporation, the parent company of Jon Donaire Desserts, to bargain in good faith with the striking workers and approve a contract that is good for all parties.

“Coming from an immigrant working class family, I understand the sacrifices facing these workers and their families

UP-SF...

as they wake up every morning to go to the picket line and demand better pay, health care, and respect,” shared Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. “As Christmas nears, I hope that these efforts by the County will help move this process along, and more importantly, let the

workers know that they are not alone.”

Jon Donaire workers, most of them women, are part of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 37, and have been on strike since early November. They primarily mass produce ice

(From page 1)

tor Sonia Delen, philanthropist and multitalented performer Apl.de.ap of world-renowned music group Black Eyed Peas, entrepreneur and UP Institute of Mass Communication (UP-IMC) alumnus Yobi Benjamin shared how the testing kits donation project came about.

Present to accept the donation were UP President Danilo Concepcion who planed in to San Francisco for the event and UP-PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Gap Legaspi who participated virtually via Zoom from PGH in the ceremonial turnover..

Delen, also a director of the Apl.de.ap Foundation Incorporated (ADAFI), revealed that Benjamin was the principal donor and together with Zymo Research Corporation of Dr. Larry Jia, have given access to 227,722 units of Zymo Research DNA/RNA Shield™ Saliva Collection Testing Kits worth around $2.85 million.

The DNA/RNA Shield™ Saliva Collection Testing Kits are ideal for the Philippines as they do not require refrigeration, are compatible with the current UP-PGH collection/analysis machines, and provide an alternative method to nasal testing, which would give the public, especially the seniors and students, greater access to free COVID-19 testing which is essential in helping slow the spread of the virus through early detection.

“Benjamin and I have been with the Apl.de ap Foundation since 2013-14.

Even at the start of the pandemic, Ben-

UP-PGH DONATION. Donors and recipients alike led by Ode�e Keeley, Sonia Delen, PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi (in laptop screen grab), Apl.de.ap Yobi Benjamin, UP President Danilo Concepcion and UPAASF President Liza Gino pose for souvenir picture in turnover of $2.85M worth of tes�ng kits to UP-PGH. jamin has always been in forefront of finding and innovating to help combat the pandemic,” Delen recalled. “This is part of the efforts of Iskos and Iskas ng Bayan here in America in helping our kababayan back home. UP alumni in the U.S. are always in support of their alma mater academic excellence to our young students and the UP-PGH.” Delen added that UP students and campus community members will gain access to these test kits to hopefully enable the speedy return of in-person faceto-face learning of students while also benefitting UP-PGH, the state-owned hospital designated as the national hospital for COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, in its fight to contain the pandemic

Apl.de.ap whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo, born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City in Pampanga and has a foundation committed to equip Filipino youth with knowledge and skills to improve their lives admire the inclination of UP alumni in San Francisco of constantly thinking about home and how to be of service to the Filipino community. .

“I was a product of someone else’s generosity so it is always important for me to pay it forward. When I heard of this mission from Yobie Benjamin, I was given the opportunity to give back and so we did,” poignantly remembered Apl.de.ap “We are so lucky to have access to vaccines and test kits that are unfortunately lacking in the Philippines. With this dona-

cream cakes that are sold at locations including Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, Red Robbin, Walmart, and Vons. This job is labor intensive, with as many as 38 cakes per minute moving down the production line, and these workers have been routinely forced to work mandatory overtime with little to no notice.

“The LA Fed is extremely thankful to Supervisors Hahn, Solis, and the rest of the Board for declaring public support for these brave workers, the majority of whom are Latina,” said Ron Herrera, the President of LA County Federation of Labor. “These working women create the cakes that we enjoy with our families during the Holiday season, so the least that we can do is support them in their quest for better wages and working conditions.”

Through an amendment to the motion, the Board also directed the CEO of LA County to send notice to the California Labor Commissioner, California Labor & Workforce Development Agency, and the National Labor Relations Board urging them to assure the implementation of fair labor practices through the monitoring of good faith bargaining between Rich’s Products Corporation and BCTGM Local 37 in their representative capacity. tion, I hope to continue working together in saving lives in the Philippines,”” .

Benjamin confirmed that he has been working on the COVID-19 crisis since January 2020 and among the first recipients of his donation was Wuhan China and also donated to California, Israel, Costa Rica and has been donating the kits invented by Dr. Larry Zia. “What makes this test kit different are that it does need to be kept in cold storage, it is spillage/leak-proof to avoid spread of virus particles even in the laboratories, and that its easier and more simple as it only requires spit of saliva unlike a nasal swab which is invasive,” Benjamin said.

With the big surge in air and land travelers during the current holiday season that caused kilometric lines in testing areas and the provision of the federal government of 500M free test kits to households, Benjamin also disclosed that he will be offering to different states and local government units especially those heavily impacted by the virus generic testing of the virus for free.

“One thing that the US does not have is the capacity to do generic testing that is why all these variants come here without knowing what they are. We do not do generic testing of what we collect. As a result of this, we still do not know is how pervasive the Omicron variant is compared to Delta,” said Benjamin.

Benjamin said he believes that Americans need to track these variants because the U.S. is in a very dangerous situation if these variants are not tracked as they can mutate again.

 COMMUNITY NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

26

With the Holiday Season Upon Us, PG&E Reminds Customers Not to Let Knowing the signs of a scam and the steps to take is key to avoid falling vic�m

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — During a time when many Californians are occupied with preparations for the holiday season, there are steps they can take to prevent their distraction from making them an easy target for scammers. While many are aware of the potential for online shopping scams, the same danger exists for utility bill scams, where scammers will demand payment to prevent immediate disconnection.

Every day across the country, electric and natural gas customers, along with telephone, water and other essential services customers, are being targeted by scammers impersonating utilities, typically online, inperson and by telephone. And, the holiday season provides scammers with a prime opportunity to take advantage of customers’ distraction and anxiety.

“Scammers are opportunistic and will exploit times when people are busier than normal and potentially stressed, and they do not take the holidays off. Stress and distraction create a window of opportunity where people are also more likely to fall victim to a scam,” said Ryan Matulka, senior manager, PG&E corporate security. “Remem-

ber, PG&E will not contact you for the first time within one hour of service disconnection, and we will NEVER request payment by a pre-paid debit card or via online payment services like Zelle. If an email, visit to your home or phone call doesn’t feel right, don’t fall for it. Delete it, shut the door or hang up and call our customer service line or visit our website to confirm your account details.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers have increased calls, texts, emails, and in-person tactics and are constantly contacting utility customers asking for immediate payment to avoid service disconnection. Scammers can be convincing and often target those who are most vulnerable, including senior citizens and lowincome communities. They also aim their scams at small business owners during busy customer service hours. However, with the right information, customers can learn to detect and report these predatory scams.

Signs of a potential scam Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively demand immediate payment for an alleged past due bill.

· Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card then call them back supposedly to make a bill payment. · Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number, which grants the scammer instant access to the card’s funds. · Refund or rebate offers: Scammers may say that your utility company overbilled you and owes you a refund, or that you are entitled to a rebate.

How customers can protect themselves Customers should never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff. PG&E does not specify how customers should make a bill payment and offers a variety of ways to pay a bill, including accepting payments online, by phone, automatic bank draft, mail or in person.

If a scammer threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service without prior notification, customers should hang up the phone, delete the email, or shut the door. Customers with delinquent accounts receive an advance disconnection notifica-

tion, typically by mail and included with their regular monthly bill.

Signing up for an online account at pge. com is another safeguard. Not only can customers log in to check their balance and payment history, they can sign up for recurring payments, paperless billing and helpful alerts.

Scammers Impersonating Trusted Phone Numbers: Scammers are now able to create authentic-looking 800 numbers which appear on your phone display. The numbers don’t lead back to PG&E if called back, however, so if you have doubts, hang up and call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. If customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should call 911.

Customers who suspect that they have been victims of fraud, or who feel threatened during contact with one of these scammers, should contact local law enforcement.

The Federal Trade Commission’s website is also a good source of information about how to protect personal information.

For more information about scams, visit www.pge.com/scams.

Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Alex and Maia Shibutani are “Leading with a Champion Mind”

AARP hosted panel of Winter Olympians to share how resilience helped shape their lives and careers

After a challenging year of navigating the “double pandemic” of COVID-19 and the rise of anti-Asian hate, AARP brought together generations of Asian American Olympians who embody resilience and excellence on December 16 for “Leading with a Champion Mind.” The live virtual panel celebrated the strength of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and shared how to be more resilient.

Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Ohno moderated the uplifting conversation with panelists Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and two-time Olympic bronze medalist figure skaters, Alex and Maia Shibutani.

According to AARP, mindfulness can help one be more resilient because it keeps people in touch with what’s happening in the moment. Whenever someone practices mindfulness, it bolsters and protects them against feeling powerless and lacking control, especially during challenging events.

“Something that has worked for me, that I probably wouldn’t have been able to articulate back when I was training, is the ability to pause and reflect,” said Apolo Ohno, the most decorated U.S. male Winter Olympian of all time. “We are living in a time where we’re always reacting to

things. We can have more mindfulness over our thoughts and actions. Sometimes we react in a way that doesn’t truly suit the outcome that we desire. We can [learn to] zoom out to gain a better perspective.”

Resilient people often seek social support to help them overcome a difficult situation. They lean on family and friends or request assistance from experts.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. A lot of times we try to take things on ourselves. I’ve learned along the way that there are many people willing to be mentors,” said Kristi Yamaguchi, founder of Always Dream, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance early childhood literacy. “We are afraid to bother someone or ask for something, but I am certainly not where I am [today] because I did it on my own. All along the way, there’s always been someone there as a support system.

Surround yourself with some quality people and you’ll learn quality.”

Although resilience is a quality that you possess, you can work on becoming more resilient by adopting certain habits or practices.

“Knowing the direction that you want to head in is important, then break it down into small goals so that you have a sense of time and direction,” said Maia Shibutani, who, with her brother Alex, was the second sibling duo in the history of the sport to win an Ice Dance medal.

“We both find it very helpful to communicate with each other. If you don’t have someone that you feel that you can talk to, journaling can also be incredibly helpful and important so that you make sure that you’re reflecting and checking in with yourself.”

When many things are beyond someone’s control, they can still make decisions that impact their lives that may help boost their resilience and help them learn to cope better with adversity. When they tap into their reserves of mental toughness and inner strength, they can feel more positive and in control.

“For everything that we do, we set a feasible plan. When you have a long term goal that you’re trying to reach, whether it’s happiness or fulfillment, or the next chapter of your life, there are certain checkpoints along the way,” said Alex Shibutani, who along with his sister Maia, became the first ice dancers of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. “And Maia will hold me accountable. Having someone who you feel you can share your fears with, and also celebrate your successes with along the way, makes it feel less isolating, especially during this time when we are so physically isolated from

each other.”

To be a part of their journey and hear about other upcoming events, or to access this recorded event, follow the AARP AAPI community on Facebook (@AARPAAPI) and Twitter (@AARPAAPI).

About AARP: AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin.

To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

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L-R: Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer, Don Orozco of Net25TV, Dellilah Merano of PAL, Deputy CG Raquel Solano, Consul Van Llona and Vice Consul Adrian Baccay had lunch together for some quick community update held at Cheesecake Factory in SF

27 December 23-29, 2021

Upside...

(From Page 11)

To those who say their faith prevents them from getting vaccinated, Ghaly offered to ask why this vaccine would be any different from other vaccines required by schools, for example. “How is this one different? Why are we suddenly concerned about this one,” he asked. Those who have apprehensions should talk to their faith communities to get accurate information for a complete picture to make a determination.

“The truth is we’re talking about protecting young people and all Californians with the COVID vaccine, versus allowing people to get infected. And we know that even if you don’t have the worst consequences of hospitalization or dying from COVID, there are still are long-term repercussions we’re learning about. “ The aim is to provide global protection for younger people, Ghaly shared. Getting vaccinated has its risks, he conceded, but cautioned that anyone without vaccination will likely get infected because of the high transmissibility of the coronavirus.

On the theory that COVID 19 is a covert national experiment, Ghaly pointed to the 70,000 fatalities in California triggering the search for a “miracle for almost two years” for which the vaccine is the answer.

To those fearful of side effects promoted widely on social media, Ghaly attested to “headaches and low-grade fever” among those that turned up in trials “which should be no reason not to be vaccinated.”

He admitted that myocarditis or the inflammation of the heart muscle, and periocarditis or the inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, have been seen in teens but none in the 5-11 age bracket, perhaps “due to the lower dose.”

“We take those cases seriously,” he responded to the question.

Those effects were “indicated, investigated and exposed” in some teen incidences out of millions and “often resolved with minimal intervention.”

Children may get the flu and covid shots together, with the same side-effects such as headaches or low-grade fever, he said.

Ghaly’s main point was the vaccine is the “safest, most effective and successful vax seen in modern medicine.”

“Young people who get infected often have many more significant out-terms than those who get vaccinated,” he said. In short, the long-term consequences of not getting vaccinated far outweigh the impact of potential side effects.

He encouraged parents and families to reach out to their trusted sources or authorities they often turn to - whether a provider or the faith community - to get their questions answered to gain the confidence that the vaccine “is the right way to go.” – Adapted from original reprinted with permission from INQUIRER.NET.

Offline

(From Page 13)

It must be noted that when trolls caught wind of the survey over social media, they voted for the son of the dictator, who then won on the social media survey but lost in the actual face-to-face survey of likely voters.

There is also a new company operated by another PR practitioner that calls itself Publicus. This company has come out with survey after survey, all likely fake, that show Marcos Jr also winning handily.

The problem is that this new company adopted a name very similar to a long existing and respected marketing, advertising, and pr company called Publicis.

One letter makes all the difference between a credible company and an incredible one.

There is little doubt that Marcos Jr is trying to win by buying his way to the presidential palace. He is doing so as a last resort. Now 64, he will be 70 when the next presidential elections after 2022 takes place. So it’s now or never for him.

The problem is that he has no mass support, except in the Ilocos region. This has been made clear by the various pro-Marcos motorcades made up almost entirely of paid motorcyclists and a handful of car owners.

In almost every city and province that they drive by, there are no adoring crowds wildly waving at the tandem of Marcos Jr and Sara Duterte, his running mate.

Worst of all are the photos sent to local media showing huge crowds. Most were proven to be photoshopped. Aerial shots show infinitely smaller crowds than shown in photos released by the Marcos machinery.

By comparison, Robredo motorcades meet warm, even ecstatic welcomes everywhere they go. Crowds go gaga when they see that Leni is present in the motorcade.

In short, there is a strong movement for Leni and it continues to grow day by day.

As for Marcos Jr, we can only grant that he has the biggest war chest than all other presidential bets combined.

I for one do not think that the majority or even a big plurality of the Filipino electorate can be bought.

Cocky Marcos Jr will lose next year.

What’s up Atty

(From Page 13)

ciary’s financial position and status in the country, not his relationship with his family. The affidavit expressly tells the sponsor that he or she must continue to support the beneficiary even if their familial relationship is dissolved by a divorce.

The court said that the text of the statute identifies an exclusive list of terminating events. The statute or regulation could have said that the obligation terminates for reasons “including” the enu-

merated events, thereby indicating an “illustrative, not exhaustive” list. Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 567 U.S. 142, 162 (2012). Nothing in this structure contemplates an equitable remedy or defense for the benefit of a sponsor.

The court said that it is not enough that the sponsored immigrant’s conduct—such as committing a crime—could justify a change to the immigrant’s status. The obligation of support remains until the change in status has occurred and the immigrant is no longer likely to become a public charge. The sponsors’ obligations will terminate if Belevich’s prosecution results in a conviction and he is removed from the United States. See, e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E) (domestic violence is a deportable offense). Valentin v. Thomas, Case 19-14668 (CA11) 11 01 21.

RECOMMENDATION: A sponsor in an affidavit of support who is not the immigration petitioner should consider asking the immigration petitioner to execute an indemnification agreement whereby the petitioner agrees to indemnify the sponsor for whatever amounts the sponsor has spent to support the immigrant, plus attorney’s fees and costs incurred if the sponsor sues the petitioner.

(About Atty. Tipon. He 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 writes columns for newspapers. He wrote the best-seller “Winning by Knowing Your Election Laws.”

Listen to The Tipon Report which he co-hosts 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.

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.)

What’s Up Atty 2021 12 15 Affidavit of support-beneficiary abusive

Health & Wealth

(From Page 12)

and subsidy of the BOOKS MINISTRY. For schedule of book launching and autographing of books, just write or contact: BOOKS MINISTRY, 701-8th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118 Tel. (650)438-3531, (415)584-7095 or email:agmadlaing@hotmail.com MONTHLY RAFFLE DRAWING OF FREE BOOKS: All who visit the Abe Barber Shop in San Francisco and Daly City and those who attend the Book Launching and Autographing can register in the CHRISTIAN READING Logbook for the monthly RAFFLE DRAWING OF FREE BOOKS. Monthly winners will be drawn by the barbers in both the Abe Barber Shop branches in San Francisco and Daly City, California starting in January, 2022. All names of winners will be published in my weekly column in the PHILIPPINE NEWS TODAY. Winners do not need to be present during the raffle drawing.

(ART GABOT MADLAING is accredited and commissioned Notary Public and licensed Real Estate Broker (DRE#00635976) in California since 1981. He is founder of MOBILE SIGNING SERVICES, FITNESS FOR HUMANITY (aka FITNESS FOR CHRIST) and ACAPINOY. Art is active Evangelist with the GOLDEN GATE CHURCH OF CHRIST in San Francisco, California.)

On Distant Shore

(From Page 12)

to gather together in the house of the patriarch or matriarch of the clan. Family members exchanged gifts, caught up on each other’s lives, and partook of the sumptuous meal. Children played games, the male family members drank beer or liquor, everybody participated in a singing session (using karaoke or otherwise), and the female members engaged in endless banter.

Towards the afternoon, children, accompanied by their parents, visited their ninong and ninang to get their Christmas presents. Others visited friends, watched movies, and drank with friends. The merrymaking went on till late at night. But the fun did not end there, because in six days, everybody geared up for a noisy New Year’s Eve revelry.

At least once a year, during the Christmas season, Filipinos are able to let off steam from the pressures of trying to survive, the poor are able to enjoy a bit of material happiness, families renew their bonds, and everyone has fun.

Christmas brings pure and genuine happiness to many Filipinos. It is this kind of joy that a Filipino living in a foreign land misses sorely about Christmas. It is this kind of Christmas celebration that Filipinos living on distant shores can only reminisce about. (valabelgas@aol.com)

PerryScope...

(From Page 12)

that once Trump attacks, they immediately declare that they’re not running for re-election.

But there is one Republican member of Congress. Rep. Liz Cheney, who hasn’t acquiesced to Trump. She’s the vice chairman of the January 6th Select Committee that’s investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Cheney has emerged as the leader of the “we-need-to-repudiate-Trump” Republicans.

As a result, Trump is going after her by backing a primary challenger against her. The Wyoming GOP also voted to no longer recognize her as a Republican. But Cheney was also praised by 25 former GOP lawmakers for her courage amid Republican backlash. Indeed, she was steadfast on her stand against Trump, which makes one wonder: What’s her future in a Republican Party that’s controlled by Trump? But Cheney has remained outspoken in her belief that Trump shouldn’t play a role in the GOP’s future.

Trump’s base Although Trump has a strong base of supporters, it is not enough to win public support for Trump-endorsed candidates.

A case in point was the loss of Susan Wright to Jake Ellzey in the House GOP primary runoff election in Texas, which shocked the GOP. Is this a harbinger of the fate of Trumpendorsed candidates?

The 2022 midterm elections should tell us whether America is going to swing direction: to law of the jungle or stay as a nation of rule of law. I am saying this because Republicans of the Trump variety seem inclined to follow his style of leadership, which is autocratic. His use – and abuse -- of authoritarian power to get people to do his bidding is very dangerous.

And his followers in Congress seem to do the same, like Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and Paul Gozar, to name a few. Like Trump, they love to attack others who they disagree with.

America is now going through a series of events that are attacks on democracy: the voter suppression laws that are being considered in 47 states and the abuse of the filibuster, which is preventing Congress to pass laws that are good for Americans like the Voting Rights Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act, For the People Act, and Build Back Better Act. If these proposed bills don’t get passed before the 2022 elections, the Senate and House of Representatives could be taken over by the Trump-controlled Republican Party, which is against passing these bills.

We are now on the cusp of history. Democracy is in peril.

Is America going to be run by the rule of law or by the law of the jungle?

(PerryDaz@gmail.com)

 HEALTH NEWS

December 23-29, 2021

28

The shadow pandemic: Teen suicides and depression rates spike with few resources for assistance

By SUNITA SOHRABJI/EMS Contributing Editor LOS ANGELES - Teen suicide and depression rates amid the pandemic are as alarming as deaths from Covid-19, but few mental health resources are available to address this shadow pandemic, especially within communities of color.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian American children between the ages of 15 and 24. Black children between the ages of 5 and 12 are twice as likely to die by suicide than White children of the same age.

Amid the pandemic, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered or attempted suicide, including more than half of transgender and non-binary youth.

Children as young as 8 have attempted suicide.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory Dec. 7 highlighting the need to address the youth mental health crisis. Early estimates in 2020 show 6,600 youth suicide deaths in 2020, a 57 percent jump over the previous decade. 40 percent of children ages 10-24 expressed feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

The Surgeon General noted that disabled, low-income, and homeless youth, along with minorities and LGBTQ youth had suffered from greater rates of depression.

Dr. Lori Turk-Bicakci, Senior Program Director for KidsData — an initiative of the Population Resource Bureau — noted at a Dec. 11 news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services that emergency room visits for attempted suicide by girls increased by 51 percent, and 40 percent for boys, beginning in May of 2020.

“This really feels like a crisis,” stated Turk-Bicakci.

She noted that even before the pandemic, not all youth were able to get the services they needed for their mental health conditions. “And now the need is even greater.

Mental health providers have been inundated with referrals.”

Typically, there is a three-month wait to get a spot into treatment programs.

Other speakers at the briefing included: Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director, County Behavioral Health Directors Association; Dr. LaTonya Wood, Director of Clinical Training – Psy.D. Program, Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University; Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, a marriage and family therapist and past board member of MySahana; and Gabii LeGate, Director of Operations at Blossoming Minds.

“In addition to grappling with the grief and loss of loved ones, Black youth, rightfully, are also experi-

encing and increased fear and anxiety about their own health and well-being,” said Wood. She noted that loss of household income, increased food insecurity, school closures, and the racial unrest during the summer of 2020 all contributed to heightened anxiety, depression, and suicide among Black youth. Moreover, traditional safety nets of church, school, and peers largely disappeared amid the pandemic.

Wood noted there were few culturally-appropriate mental health resources: less than 4 percent of mental health practitioners identify as Black.

A spike of racially motivated attacks targeted at Asian Americans, along with being blamed by former President Donald Trump for the spread of Covid-19, has created hyper-anxiety and depression among Asian American teens, said Thakore-Dunlap, noting that many youth witnessed their parents and grandparents being verbally or physically abused, and also worried for their own safety.

Many youth may want to access mental health services, but they have to struggle with their parents for parents, who may not understand the importance of counseling and mental health for their well-being, said Thakore-Dunlap, noting that AAPIs have the lowest rate of accessing mental health services.

COVID-19 CRISIS A grave national disgrace Heart of Hope

The COVID-19 pandemic is, from a national perspective, like a war, and must be treated as such, with all hands-ondeck, from the President, the Congress, down to every citizen, with a solid unified strategy and resolve. Leaving the PHILIP S. CHUA tactical measures to the various States, which are politically polarized, would lead to chaos and disaster, as shown by how confused people are, by the sad statistics since COVID-19 hit the United States, the current severe surges of COVID-19 infections, and the senseless thousands of deaths in the United States which were preventable.

For a medical crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, we need science, not politics. Political correctness perpetrated by our leaders, in order not to alienate voters, kill people far worse than the virus.

National interest, safety and welfare must always prevail over individual civil rights. The freedom to refuse the vaccine is actually resulting in more surges of infections, increased hospitalization, thousands more deaths, and greater devastation of our economy and psyche.

The US-CDC has, at the government’s disposal, established, proven, and tested, evidence-based standard epidemiologic protocol for the effective and rapid control of killer infectious diseases like SARS-CoV2 virus, and the now available COVID-19 vaccines, and yet it has refused to do what is right to save the nation from further ruin and nearly a million of its citizens from dying.

A hospital infectious disease ward is a miniature image of the entire United States as a giant ICU with more than 51 million cases and almost

820,000 have died so far…and counting. The standard of care protocol in every medical center calls for strict quarantine, isolation, handwashing, masking, social distancing, crowd avoidance, and prompt vaccination of at least 80 percent of the population. That is 100 percent application of science, sans politics and political correctness.

If this gross negligence and dereliction of duty were committed by a physician (for not following the standard care and protocol causing even a single death, never mind 820,000), he/she would be severely punished with a stiff penalty and meted a long jail term for negligent homicide.

Actually, the Administration and The Congress should even be subject to a higher standard, and yet, they are not being held accountable, culpable, liable, for defaulting on their sworn duty, obligation, and responsibility to protect the American people by not following the standard protocol that has so far resulted in more than 51 million COVID-219 cases and the deaths of nearly a million.

Had the government mandated the standard epidemiologic protocol in earnest and faithfully (all preventive measures) from January 15, 2020 (when the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the United States involving a man who returned from Wuhan, China, to his home in Snohomish County, Washington), to compulsory vaccination when it first became available, the nation could have saved the majority of the 820,000 people, and herd immunity would have been established by now.

The 20 percent (about 60 million) who refused the vaccine will continue to serve as a giant reservoir (hosts) of the COVID-19 viruses that would enable the rapid replication and mutation of the virus, and act as carriers and transmitters that would infect and kill more people, causing the pandemic

to linger.

The unvaccinated are the most vulnerable targets of COVID-19 and 99.9 percent of the current infections are caused by the Delta variant.

And we now also have Omicron. Without a host (when everyone is vaccinated), the virus will selfdestruct. With that large number of carrier hosts, it is most probable that this pandemic will persist for years as endemic requiring annual (if not every 6 months) COVID-19 vaccination, like the yearly flu shots.

There are only about 60.8 percent of our population vaccinated. The United States is lagging far behind 50 other nations, whose vaccinated rate is on average 80 percent. This is a shame for a world leader and a most educated country.

Why is the government not following the available established standard protocol? How many more deaths does it need before finally doing the right thing?

What is happening to our nation and its people due to science-incompetent spineless politicians and inept leadership in both the executive and legislative branches of our government is simply a travesty of justice, plain and simple. With a bit of stretch, arguably, their inaction borders on negligent genocide. It is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for those who believe in science and social justice.

May God have mercy on us all.

Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Munster, Indiana, and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer, an author, a Health Advocate, Chairman of the Filipino United Network (USA), a 501(c)3 United States humanitarian foundation, and the founding president of the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society (Wikipedia). Website: philipSchua. com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

29 December 23-29, 2021

NEWS  NATIONAL VIEWS & COMMENTS

A CHRISTMAS ANGEL STORY

A

By TIM PEDROSA

t Christmas, as we bring to mind the past, enjoy the present, and dream of tomorrow, may we forever be grateful of God’s love. May we always remember that God does not lead us around hardship, but leads us straight through hardship . . .

And amidst the hardship, He is nearer to us than ever before. Sometimes He rides out the stohe nrm with us and other times He calms the restless sea around us. Most of all, He calms the storm inside us in our deepest inner soul and lead us to a peaceful and happy life.

Here’s a touching story of a single mother who learned that God’s blessings come out of the blue in a timely manner for those who truly believe in Him. As the story goes, in September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two.

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.— Anonymous Their dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either. If there was a welfare system in effect in Southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck. I had to have a job. Still no luck.

The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old root beer barrel drivein that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. Seeded someone on the graveyard shift, eleven at night until seven in the morning.

She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night. I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money-- fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, the tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat.

New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires. I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn’t enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe. A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.

When it was time for me to go home at seven o’clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver’s side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box... Inside was a whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll. As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop. Prayer is very powerful. I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer: 1. ‘Yes!’ 2. ‘Not yet.’ 3. ‘I have something better in mind.’ You maybe going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot. Thank God for what you have; trust Him for what you need.

Christmas Special: God Becomes Incarnate It is important to our Christian faith the historicity and the reality of the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not dealing with a myth or a mythical figure, but of a historical event and a historical Person, divine and human. Very evident the Sacred Oral Tradition and from Sacred Scriptures that they concern themselves of a real event not a myth: From Luke’s gospel chapter 2 we read REV. JOSE PELAGIO A. PADIT, SThD this part: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke put historical references around the birth of the Lord Jesus in order to underline the verifiability of the event. And he himself, the writer, has verified them as an event that truly occurred.

In St. John’s prologue, Jn. 1: 1-2, 14: “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God. …And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son...” Though these words are highly theological, but he, John, makes himself as a historical witness to the reality of the Incarnation; because, he himself has seen The Word Incarnate. John further testified it in his letter, 1 Jn. 1:1; “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life…” Then, St. Matthew, writing to the Jewish Christians, wrote about “the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mt. 1:1). The purpose is placing the Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, not only as the fulfillment of the prophesies and of the promise of God to His chosen people; but also, that this Messiah is a real person who has a human genealogy which evidently makes Him not an invented figure or invented story.

Why do we have to bring this truth out? Why did the early Christian community concerned of emphasizing the historicity of the event and the veracity of the Person of the Messiah? Three fundamental reasons that we must take to heart and be able to articulate this to others when situations require us to defend our faith in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus: Firstly, this destroys the ancient idea that God does not care for humanity and the world. God, or the gods, are transcendent beings; they careless about the world.

If ever they have contact with humans and the world, it is only for their advantage and not for humanity. By being Incarnate, God truly and greatly loves humanity that He is even willing to die for their salvation.

Secondly, our human life, our human body, our material and physical activities are sanctified, there is now a divine sense and spiritual value before God. Though we are earthly we are given a heavenly destiny; that in our Lord Jesus, by His humanity united to His divinity, all of us human beings are blessed and divinized, children of God in Him. Thirdly and lastly, the lessons, the teachings, the truths about God and about human life, the moral principles, and everything about living life to the fullest according to God’s design are timeless. Since God is timeless; thus, what He has taught becomes timeless too. They are applicable in life’s situations for all times; past, present and future. If Jesus Christ could have just been a mythic figure and His story mythical story, all His teachings, though can be universally accepted as good and noble lessons, would not to be taken seriously. They would be branded as good advices for righteous living; but not really truths and lessons that can give life; a meaningful life in this life and eternal life in the next. We cannot water down the reality of Incarnation. We cannot take for granted its importance. Let us be joyful He is indeed one of us! Merry Christmas!

Aflame The Heart

INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE FOR THE WEEK

31 December 23-29, 2021  NATIONAL NEWS

 FOOD & TRAVELS

Recipe of the Week Lechon Macau Ingredients: 1 kilo pork rasher, pork belly 2-3 pcs. star anise 1/2 head garlic, crushed 2-3 pcs.bay leaf Chinese five spice powder salt and pepper Cooking procedure: In a pot place the pork and add water to cover the meat up to about 1”. Add the star anise, garlic and about 1 tbsp. of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until just tender. Remove from pot drain and let cool down. Using a fork prick the pork skin all the way down to the meat layer. The skin should be pricked as close as possible. Rub the skin with salt while the meat and sides rub with mixture off Chinese five spice powder and pepper powder. Arrange the pork in a baking tray or aluminium tray, skin side up and enough space between the pork rashers. Let marinate with the salt and Chinese five spice rub for 30 to 45 minutes. Pre heat the oven at 250°C when the oven is hot place the baking tray at the center. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes. Check periodically if is the skin changes color suddenly, reduce the oven temperature to 200°C. Let it roast till the pork skin is blistered and turned to golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest the meat for at least 8 to 10 minutes. When ready to serve chop in into serving pieces with your favorite dipping sauce.

 FOOD & TRAVELS

Sagada re-opens anew to local and foreign tourists BAGUIO CITY – The town of Sagada, a famous tourist destination in Mountain Province, noted for its hanging and centuries-old coffins, caves, water falls and rice terras, is again open to visitors.

This was announced by Sagada municipal officials as Baguio City opened up for more tourists during the Christmas-New Year season.

Sagada, noted for its cool climate and also known as the Shangri-la of the North, offers a relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, according to town officials who said the town is famous for its mysterious and historic hanging coffins, considered a testament to 2,000 years of Igorot burial traditions that tourists can marvel.

The hanging coffins are on cliffs in Sagada’s Echo Valley, while centuries-old coffins are stacked in burial sites like Lumiang Cave.

Sagada’s Sumaguing Cave, on the other hand, has unusual limestone formations. To the north, Bomod-ok Falls or Big Falls has a natural swimming pool. ).

Rice terraces, notably the Kitepan rice terraces, are carved into the area’s surrounding Tourists have to present a negative test result for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and a vaccination card before they can enter the town of Sagada.

The protocol is included in Advisory No. 63 posted on the town’s official Facebook account on Thursday, which updated entry protocols in compliance with Sangguniang Bayan Resolutions 210-2021 and 222-2021.

The town will be accepting tourists who can present a certificate showing that the person has been fully vaccinated which must be accompanied by a rapid antigen test result taken not more than 24 hours upon arrival in Sagada or a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or saliva test result which is 48 hours from the time of release.

The test results must be accompanied by the official receipt from the accredited testing facility.

Day tours are not allowed and tourists must book at least a one-night stay in a Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited and local government unit (LGU)certified accommodation establishment.

A list of accommodation establishments authorized to operate may be accessed at https://lodging.sagada.gov.ph.

All tourists must be registered in the Umali Kayo (Welcome) Online Registration Portal which may be accessed at https://umali-kayo.sagada.gov.ph which is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Tourists must register at least two days before arrival.

The advisory also said tourists must Beef Spareribs Adobo with Oyster Sauce

be at the Sagada triage between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only for the checking and verification of documents.

Mayor James Pooten said they will not accept tourists with incomplete requirements and will file the appropriate criminal charges against those who will attempt to use fake documents.

Tourists who want to enter Sagada but have no test results will be subjected

to a rapid antigen test and must pay the P960 fee.

All tourists will have the option to enter Sagada via personal/private vehicles or public transportation.

Pooten added thatpublic transportation groups or corporations shall take the responsibility of checking if a tourist has complied with all requirements before boarding.

“Th shall additionally take full responsibility in providing the needs of tourists who are denied entry due to lack of requirements,” he said.

He also said symptomatic tourists shall be subjected to antigen testing and those who will test positive can either choose to be confined in an isolation facility within Sagada or to return home immediately.

“If a tourist onboard a public transportation tests positive, all other individuals on board the same vehicle shall be treated as close contacts,” the mayor said.

To better inform tourists of the rules and regulations, tourists are required to undergo orientation at the tourism hub and each will receive a tourist kit and a tourist identification card.

Pooten is hopeful that the town’s safe reopening to tourism will help the local industry pick up from the pandemic’s impact.

About 70 percent of Sagada’s central business district is engaged in tourism.

The town has around 1,300 tour guides, 300 inns and restaurants, 100 souvenir shops, and the chain is created with the establishments employing locals, while the souvenir shops source products from suppliers who also employ workers.

Pooten said the town lost P10 million in 2020 from its share of the tourist’s registration fee.

The municipality is also seeing a low or no collection of local taxpayers for 2021.

 MOTORING

December 23-29, 2021

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