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FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Indian Fil-Am millennial joins VP Harris’ team as policy advisor AS the Biden-Harris administration pledges diverse staffing to reflect the country, several individuals of Filipino descent have been named to key roles to help shape policies across the federal government. The latest Filipino American to join the new leadership is Michael George, who has dedicated his career examining how policy can improve social mobility and reduce inequalities. George, whose parents are originally from the Philippines and India, announced that he will be joining Vice President Kamala Harris’ team as a policy advisor. “As the son of Indian and Filipino immigrants, I’m honored and humbled to share some personal news: I’ve started a new job as a Policy Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, our first Asian American VP,” George, who served on the Biden-Harris transition for economic policy, wrote on Twitter. Before joining the administration, George was a program officer on economic mobilu PAGE A3
Fil-Am man’s face slashed while riding NYC subway
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Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, SAN DIEGO, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
California’s largest vaccination site opens at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara by AJPress WITH live sporting events paused for now, California’s largest mass COVID-19 vaccination site opened this week at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The site was opened on Tuesday, February 9 by Governor Gavin Newsom, representatives of the San Francisco 49ers and Santa Clara County officials.
On the first day, 500 vaccines were administered. The goal is to get 15,000 people inoculated per day. “The goal is pretty straight forward,” Newsom said during Tuesday’s news conference. “The goal is to design a system that has only one limitation: that is supply.” Santa Clara County residents 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities, and health care
workers can make appointments for their vaccinations at the stadium in accordance with the state’s current tier of eligibility. Though most sites are able to accommodate driveup, individuals who sign up will need to park and walk into the stadium. Officials said transportation will be able for individuals requiring assistance from
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Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) is among the contenders for California attorney general. Photo courtesy of CA API Legislative Caucus
Support grows for Rob Bonta as CA’s next attorney general by Christina
M. Oriel
AJPress
VAX ARRIVAL REHEARSAL. Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez (3rd from left), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (5th from left), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (4th from left), National Task Force Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon (8th from left), Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade (6th from left), and Customs Commissioner Leonardo Rey Guerrero (2nd from left) and other officials lead the simulation exercise for the arrival of the Covid 19 vaccines at the NAIA Terminal 2 in Pasay City on Tuesday, February 9. (Inset) The Covid-19 ‘vaccines’ will be loaded in a waiting cold storage delivery van of Pharma Serv Express, which would, in turn, transport them to hospitals. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
DOZENS of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) elected officials, community leaders and advocacy groups are coming together anew to urge Governor Gavin Newsom “to make history” by appointing Assemblymember Rob Bonta as attorney general. Another letter was sent to Newsom’s office on Feb.
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US, PH reaffirm defense alliance
A FILIPINO American man received almost 100 stitches after he was slashed across the face by another passenger on the New York City subway last week. Noel Quintana, 61, was riding the L train to get to work in Harlem on Wednesday, February 3, when a man walked by and kicked the tote bag that Quintana had set on the train floor, according to a New York Daily News report. When Quintana confronted the man after he noticed his bag being kicked again, the man took out a box cutter, slashed Quintana across the face from cheek to cheek and took off. None of the passengers came to Quintana’s aid, according to him. When he realized that the train was continuing the trip despite what happened, he stepped out and had to walk all the way to the end of the station to ask for help from the booth attendant who called 911.
by ritChel
MendiOla AJPress
THE Philippines and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to the defense alliance through the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). In an introductory phone call made on Wednesday, February 10, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his counterpart U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III discussed a number of priority bilateral defense issues for both countries. “Secretary Austin affirmed the U.S. comPhilippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana talks to American Defense Secretary Lloyd mitment to the U.S.-Philippines alliance and Austin on the phone on Wednesday, February 10, to discuss Philippines-U.S. bilateral relations. u PAGE A2 DND photo our bilateral Mutual Defense Treaty and Vis-
iting Forces Agreement (VFA),highlighting the value the VFA brings to both countries,” said a Pentagon readout. The defense chiefs discussed the importance of enhancing the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ capabilities and increasing interoperability between the two militaries through a variety of bilateral security cooperation activities. Lorenzana and Austin also discussed regional security challenges, including the South China Sea, counterterrorism, and maritime security. “[They] affirmed the importance of upholding international rules and norms, to include the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling,” the Penta-
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Comelec urges Filipinos abroad Suspect arrested in recent Bay Area to join internet voting test run attacks on elderly AAPI residents by AJPress AHEAD of the 2022 Philippine general election, overseas Filipino voters are urged to participate in a test run of four internet voting solutions by different election systems providers. The country’s Commission on Elections (Comelec) Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) is calling on overseas voters who have active and complete voter registration records to take part in the trial. “Their registration status must be active, which means that it
must not have been deactivated for failure to vote in the two previous elections in 2016 and 2019,” the poll body said on Monday, February 8. The test participants must also have complete biometrics data, including photograph, fingerprints and signature. A smartphone capable of running Android or iOS apps, a laptop or personal computer, or any mobile device with internet/data access is required in order to participate in the test run. “In compliance with our data privacy policy, interested partici-
pants will be required to email us their signed consent form, together with a copy of their passport or seafarer’s book. We advise that they only send these documents to our official email address at overseasvoting@comelec.gov.ph.” said OFOV Director Sonia Bea L. Wee-Lozada. Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez told Rappler that the test run is not specifically for the 2022 elections. “The dry run is being undertaken under the Comelec’s mandate to study new forms of vot-
White House responds to the attacks as AAPI communities share outrage over ‘hate crimes’ by Klarize
Medenilla AJPress
FOLLOWING a disturbing slew of violent assaults on elderly Asian residents in the Bay Area, Oakland police announced on Monday, Feb. 8 that it had arrested and charged a suspect for a savage assault on a 91-year-old Asian man in Chinatown. Police said they believe that u PAGE A2 Yahya Muslim (unclear whether
the suspect is of Muslim faith) is also behind the attacks of a 60-year-old Asian man and a 55-year-old Asian woman on the same day — Sunday, Jan. 31 — and neighborhood in which the 91-year-old was attacked. The names of the victims have not been released. Surveillance video footage of the 91-year-old victim’s assault, which went viral on social media last week, showed the victim
walking along the sidewalk in broad daylight when the suspect — who police allege is 28-yearold Muslim — follows him and shoves him to the ground. “We have charged him with three counts of assault that involve three separate victims,” Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said at a press briefing alongside Oakland’s new police chief LeRonne
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FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
US, PH reaffirm defense... PAGE A1 gon readout said. In a separate statement, the Philippine Department of National Defense said that Lorenzana and Austin’s phone call covered the security situation in the South China Sea, particularly on the capability upgrades of the AFP. “Both sides committed to sustain dialogues amidst the pandemic and strengthen cooperation between the two defense establishments,” the department said. “They agreed to meet face-toface in the future,” it added. On Monday, February 8 Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary
Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that the Philippines and the U.S. will meet later this month to iron out differences over the VFA. “I am narrowing down the issues and soon we will meet...and iron out whatever differences we have,” he told ANC news channel. The meeting is likely to happen in the last week of February. The VFA, which came into force in 1999, covers the conduct of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines. Among the provisions of the deal include lax visa and passport policies for U.S. troops, and the rights of the U.S. government to retain its jurisdiction over its mil-
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From the Front Page itary personnel when they commit crimes in the Philippines. In February 2020, the Philippines sent the U.S. a notice terminating the VFA reportedly after the U.S. canceled Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s visa. The termination was later suspended in June “in light of political and other developments in the region,” and the suspension was extended in November for another six months to enable the Philippines and the U.S. to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement on how to move forward in their mutual defense. n
Comelec urges Filipinos abroad to join... PAGE A1 ing, to facilitate the exercise of the right of suffrage by overseas voters. The results of the dry run will be eventually presented to Congress, for Congress to decide if it should be adopted for overseas voting,” he said.
“As you can imagine, that is a long process and so, 2022 is an unrealistic target,” he added. The four internet voting solutions are from Dominion Voting Systems, Indra, Smartmatic, and Voatz. Overseas Filipinos who are
interested in joining may get the sign-up form posted on the OFOV’s official Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/overseasvotingph). Test voters have until 8 a.m. (Manila time) on Friday, February 12, to sign up. n
DRESSED CHICKEN. Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., and Agriculture Secretary William Dar (2nd from right) show the price tag of the whole dressed chicken during the visit at SM Hypermarket on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City. The group visited markets and supermarkets in Metro Manila to monitor the price and supplies of pork and chicken on Tuesday, February 9. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
California’s largest vaccination...
PAGE A1 the parking lot. Levi’s Stadium is among 30 NFL stadiums across the country offering their space to get more Americans vaccinated. “When we first opened this stadium, the 49ers knew it would be more than just a building. Our mission here is not to just deliver an exciting game day experience, but one of stewardship,”
said 49ers President Al Guido. Other big stadiums that have opened in California include Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Last week, the Biden administration announced that Oakland Coliseum will be one of two initial federal vaccination sites in the state. It is set to open Feb. 16. To date, the state has admin-
istered 4,914,630 vaccine doses out of 7.385 million that have been distributed to hospital systems and local health offices. On Wednesday, February 10 California reported 8,390 new COVID-19 cases and 518 deaths, bringing the total to 3,362,981 infections and 44,995 fatalities. The 7-day positivity rate is 4.8% and the 14-day positivity rate is 5.6%. n
and in various capacities across the state, and groups like the Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats and the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce. Several Fil-Am leaders, such as Sierra Madre Mayor Rachelle Arizmendi, Daly City Councilmember Ray Buenaventura, El Cerrito Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Quinto and Los Gatos Mayor Marico Sayoc, also threw their support. The state’s API Legislative Caucus, which is comprised of lawmakers in the state Assembly and Senate, separately sent an endorsement letter endorsement this week. It previously called on Newsom to appoint an AAPI — and offered four candidates for consideration — to be the state’s next chief law enforcement officer. But the caucus now says that while it “recognizes there are many highly qualified API candidates,” it is backing Bonta based on his track record before and during his service in the Assembly. “During his tenure, he has distinguished himself as a leader among leaders, successfully authoring groundbreaking legislation to protect Californians in the areas of criminal justice reform, consumer protection, environmental policy, and many others,” said the Feb. 3 letter, signed by state Senator Richard Pan, who serves as the caucus chair. Newsom this week said he would wait until Becerra’s confirmation before naming a successor. “I’m very close to making that
decision,” Newsom said during a press briefing in Oakland on Wednesday. He added, “Our current attorney general is still the current attorney general, [and] has not been formally confirmed by the United States Senate, and so the timing of a public announcement will be determined on the basis of that confirmation.” Other candidates vying for the seat include Rep. Adam Schiff and state Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, according to various reports. Bonta, who was born in Quezon City, Philippines, immigrated with his family to California’s Central Valley, where his parents worked for the United Farm Workers of America, organizing Filipino and Mexican American workers. Prior to his election to the state Assembly in 2012, Bonta was San Francisco’s deputy city attorney for nearly a decade, and served as director of the Alameda Health Care District and then vice mayor of Alameda. The growing support for Bonta also comes from high-profile personalities and celebrities, and unions like the California Faculty Association and the United Teachers Los Angeles. “Pleased to support @RobBonta for CA AG. Rob is a trailblazer & progressive champion for justice, opportunity, equity & inclusion. He is the 1st Filipino American state legislator in the history of CA & would be the 1st Filipino American AG,” actor Lou Diamond Philipps wrote in a tweet. n
Support grows for Rob Bonta as CA’s next...
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PAGE A1 3 reminding the governor that he has “the unique opportunity in this critical moment to send a strong message and make history” given that AAPIs are the fastest-growing and third-largest ethnic group in the Golden State. Bonta — the state’s first Filipino American legislator — was reelected for a fifth term last November to represent the 18th Assembly district, which covers the East Bay areas of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He currently serves as the assistant majority leader, and sits on several committees, including appropriations and health. Since December, he has become a contender to fill the seat once Attorney General Xavier Becerra is confirmed as the Health and Human Services secretary for the Biden administration. “Regardless of race, Assemblymember Bonta is the best candidate, most uniquely qualified, and most capable of leading as California Attorney General. He was one of your earliest supporters for Governor, is a team player, and is a respected legislator who could help implement your agenda. He is trustworthy, dedicated, honest, and places the public interest first; he will be an asset to you and your Administration. Assemblymember Bonta is someone we can all be proud of,” reads the letter. Signatories include state Treasurer Fiona Ma, elected officials in the California Asian Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus
Fil-Am man’s face slashed while riding...
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“I thought he was just going to punch me, I didn’t realize what happened until I saw the reaction of the passengers. They were shocked, but no one helped. When I put my hand on my face, I felt blood oozing out,” Quintana said in a Zoom prayer rally on Wednesday, Feb. 10, recalling the incident in detail. Quintana was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he stayed overnight for treatment. Fr. Julian Jagudilla of the Mi- Noel Quintana received nearly 100 stitches on his face after an attack on the New York subway. ABC7 New York/Screenshot grant Center of New York led the Zoom prayer rally in support ease my pain. What bothers me lower this year. of Quintana who does volunteer is my face is still swollen, (and) “I realized I should come forwork for the organization. that’s why I feel strange.” ward and do something. I don’t “I’m upset because he is a The assailant was able to flee want to just be a statistic,” he good person, not violent, meant when the train stopped at First said. no harm for others. I’m upset be- Avenue and 14th Street. In Oakland’s Chinatown, a vicause it’s being portrayed not as The New York Police have re- ral video shows a suspect forcean anti Asian attack but just like leased images of the man and are fully pushing a 91-year-old man any other attacks,” Fr. Jagudilla asking the public’s help to find to the ground. Actors Daniel Dae told the Asian Journal. him. The assailant was described Kim and Daniel Wu are offering Quintana’s attack is the fifth as between 20 and 30 years old, a $25,000 rewardfor any informaknown subway slashing attack wearing a brown mask with a tion leading to an arrest in the atin the past week, according to Louis Vuitton logo, a black North tack. police reports. The latest assault Face jacket, red bandana, and In late January, 84-year-old Vihappened last Sunday, Feb. 7 at light-colored sneakers. cha Ratanapakdee, who was origSutphin Blvd. and Archer Ave. in Quintana said this isn’t the first inally from Thailand, died from Queens. Later that evening, there time he experienced a violent en- injuries after Antoine Watson, 19, was another incident at the West counter on the subway. knocked him to the ground while 4th/Washington Square Park staTwo years ago, he was mugged on his morning walk in the Anza tion in Manhattan. and socked in the face when he Vista neighborhood of San FranOn Saturday, Feb. 6, a 30-year- alighted from the subway’s Man- cisco. old man as stabbed in the face on hattan station. A fundraiser for Ratanapaka J train at the Kosciuszko Street “I fell on the ground, but it was dee’s family has raised over station in Brooklyn. nothing like this,” he told the $52,000. Quintana was one of two vic- news outlet. From March to December tims on Wednesday, Feb. 3. The Quintana’s experience is among 2020, Stop AAPI Hate, an online other one was a 22-year-old man the latest reported subway attacks reporting tracking anti-Asian hate who was also slashed in the face in the city, and in a series of trou- incidents, received 2,808 reportat Grand Central Terminal. bling violence against older Asian ed incidents of racism and dis“I feel surprisingly OK. I can American individuals across the crimination targeting community tolerate it,” Quintana told the NY country. members, as previously reported Daily News about his injury. A day after the attack, Quintana by the Asian Journal. (Ritchel He added, “Once in a while I saw Mayor Bill de Blasio on televi- Mendiola and Momar G. Visaya / take some pain relievers just to sion saying that subway crime is AJPress)
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‘Safety should be the priority’: Fil-Am teachers respond to calls to reopen schools without vaccinations by Klarize
Medenilla AJPress
DRIVING SKILLS. An applicant for a delivery driver in a fast-food chain takes a skills test on Monday, February 8 at Salvia Street, Barangay Kaligayahan in Novaliches, Quezon City. The driving test is to ensure the safety of delivery drivers in performing their jobs. PNA photo by Oliver Marquez
Suspect arrested in recent Bay Area... PAGE A1 Armstrong. The suspect has also been charged with multiple counts of elder abuse that police say are related to the Chinatown attacks. He is currently in police custody at Santa Rida Jail in Dublin, California on $85,000 bail. “We recognize some in our community come to Chinatown to target people. We know they target our elderly. They come because they believe our community won’t report it to the police,” Armstrong said. He added, “We’re sending a message to those that commit crime in this city, that we will pursue you and we will arrest you and it’s not acceptable for things like this to happen in our community.” It’s still unclear whether the suspect’s crimes were race-related, but the attacks strike a familiar chord: the disturbing trend of targeting the AAPI community — especially the elderly. “It’s not unique to Chinatown or to the Asian community, the increase in crime we’ve seen across the city and across the country, but we have seen in the last several weeks and month a very specific increase in crimes committed against Asians,” O’Malley said on Monday. The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, which first released the footage of the 91-year-old’s assault, told a local station that it has accumulated more than 20 reports and videos of Chinatown businesses getting robbed and owners and customers assaulted. In San Francisco, Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old from Thailand, died after being attacked on a morning walk on Jan. 28, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office said. As the Asian Journal has covered throughout the coronavirus pandemic, harassment against the AAPI community has dramatically increased over the last year. The dangerous conflation between the vast Asian and Pacific Islander community and COVID-19, which was first made known in China, has resulted in increased reports of verbal and physical assault, cyberbullying and other forms of discrimination. In the wake of the Jan. 31 attacks, dozens of AAPI advocacy groups are calling for cross-cultural alliances to end violence against all targeted communities, especially in the Bay Area and other ethnically diverse regions of the country. The Stop AAPI Hate initiative — started by the Asian Pa-
cific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department of SF State University — logged 2,808 reported hate incidents against the AAPI community in 2020, and more than 700 of those reports came from the Bay Area. Although it is unclear whether or not some of these attacks were racially motivated, “they have profound impacts on our Asian communities across the country and internationally,” a coalition of more than 40 AAPI groups said in a joint statement on Tuesday, Feb. 9. “Our elderly community members, along with their families, are fearful of being in public alone, simply going for a walk, and living their daily lives. And survivors of interpersonal violence and their families have historically not received enough culturally-competent and language-accessible support across government systems,” the statement read. With Lunar New Year beginning later this week, the coalition advised the public to be vigilant and protect the safety of the AAPI community’s most “vulnerable” members. It also called upon local and state leadership to invest in “culturally-relevant and trauma-informed” initiatives and programs to mitigate the violence against AAPI elders. At a press conference on Tuesday, coalition members outlined a number of broad goals like expanding counseling and legal services for AAPIs of all language abilities, creating more intervention-based programs to end violence and “cross-community education and healing” in AAPI and Black communities, two communities that have historically been pitted against each other. Before Oakland police announced that it had arrested and charged the suspect in the Jan. 31 Chinatown assaults, actors Daniel Wu and Daniel Dae Kim teamed up to offer a $25,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest of the assailant. “We’re being smashed in as a one-two punch. There’s low-level petty crime that’s happening to our community. We’re being targeted as easy targets,” Wu said on CNN last week. “But at a bigger scale, racist rhetoric from the pandemic has targeted us as being ‘the reason for coronavirus,’ and so Asians across the board have been targeted by racial slurs, being attacked, being pushed around, being spat on.” President Joe Biden, who
Michael George
Indian Fil-Am millennial joins... PAGE A1
ity and opportunity for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Our economy has been broken for too many people for too long — long before COVID-19 and even before the Great Recession. I would know: my own family lost our nest egg in the Enron scandal in 2001,” he added in another tweet. He continued, “That experience taught me that big problems need policy solutions that meet the moment. I’ve devoted my career to combating inequality and
to ensuring that all of us, not just the powerful, can succeed in our economy. Time to get to work!” George previously worked at the White House National Economic Council during the Obama administration. He studied government and economics at Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. (Christina M. Oriel/AJPress)
signed an executive order taking action on anti-Asian racism and discrimination amid the pandemic, has yet to comment on the recent attacks, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “I’m not aware that he’s seen the videos, but he is concerned about the discrimination against the Asian American community, which is why he signed the executive order and why he’s been outspoken in making clear that attacks, verbal attacks, any attacks of any form are unacceptable and we need to work together to address them,” Psaki said on Monday. n
AS COVID-19 vaccinations continue to be distributed across the country, the debate over whether schools should reopen came to a head when the top official of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it would be possible to reopen schools without requiring vaccines. “There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Feb. 3. She added, “Vaccinations of teachers is not a prerequisite for safely reopening schools.” Walensky’s comments caused a stir nationwide as the pressure to reopen schools and the ongoing threat of coronavirus remain crucial issues among teachers, students and parents. Later on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to walk back on Walensky’s comments, clarifying that they weren’t the “official guidance” from the CDC, adding that it as “not released their official guidance” regarding “vaccination of teachers and what would be needed to ensure
the safe reopening of schools.” The Biden administration has maintained that it is committed to working with states and local jurisdictions to safely reopen schools, with the goal of reopening a majority of K-8 schools in 100 days. Last month, Biden proposed an allocation of $170 billion to K-12 and higher education institutions, largely to increase COVID-19 testing. In California, where the coronavirus continues to ravage counties and offer no end in sight, Governor Gavin Newsom said that the reopening of schools can run congruent to the vaccinations of educators, saying that “We can safely reopen schools as we process a prioritization to our teachers of vaccinations.” During a briefing on Wednesday where he announced the future site of a new vaccination center at Oakland Coliseum, Newsom said, “I’d love to have everybody in the state vaccinated that chooses to be vaccinated. Not only would I like to prioritize teachers, we are prioritizing teachers.” As of press time, teachers are not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in California, which is still working to vaccinate frontline workers and residents 65 years of age and older. Certain counties and school districts are
working on their own plans to vaccinate educators, but many teachers and parents would rather the state play it safe and not rush to reopen schools without a vigorous vaccination plan in place. “It shouldn’t even really be a conversation: we need vaccines before we can resume teaching indoors and in-person,” Hillary Valdez, a Filipina American third grade teacher in San Diego, told the Asian Journal in a phone interview. “Nobody prefers distance learning, but it’s just the safest option right now. Safety should be the priority.” Valdez, who asked not to disclose the school where she works, said that she has noticed the adverse effects of distance learning in her students, particularly in the last couple of months. She wants a swift return back into the classroom, but she affirmed that the state should come up with a more robust plan to make the prospect of returning “100% safe,” and that includes rigid rules to mitigate viral transmission and have “all teachers and staff vaccinated first.” Valdez is a part of the California Teachers Association, which in January, sent a letter to Newsom saying that it wants schools in counties with high COVID-19 PAGE A4
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Senator Durazo, Commissioner Lara introduce legislation to protect health and safety of immigrants in private, for-profit detention facilities and prisons
Former Washington State women’s basketball standout Chanelle Molina has signed a WNBA training camp contract with the Indiana Fever. Photo courtesy of Washington State University
Fil-Am Chanelle Molina joins WNBA training camp by AJPress FILIPINA American Chanelle Molina is one step closer to making it to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The WNBA’s Indiana Fever this week announced that Molina has been signed to a training camp contract. The terms of the contract were not disclosed as per the policy of the team. Molina, for her part, took to Instagram to acknowledge the importance of her achievement. “It has taken a lot of hard work, dedication and patience to get here. The WNBA has always been the goal, therefore I
accepted and fell in love with the process to get here! There are not many Filipino women in the WNBA, so this is for the progress of women’s basketball all over the world,” she wrote. “I will celebrate this success and accomplishment, but it’s back to helping my team overseas win in the morning,” she added. “Thank you Indiana Fever for this opportunity. See you all soon!” Molina, who was born in Hawaii to Filipino parents, played college ball for Washington State for four years, averaging 12.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. In 2016, she was rated as a five-star recruit by ESPN. After going undrafted in the
2020 WNBA Draft, Molina played professionally for the Norrköping Dolphins in Sweden. The 5-foot-9 guard is currently averaging 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in the 15 games with the Dolphins this season. “Chanelle recorded an excellent career at Washington State in the very challenging Pac-12 Conference. She is a skilled and versatile guard who will bring high energy and competitiveness to our training camp,” said Fever head coach Marianne Stanley. “She is having a great year overseas in Sweden this season because of how she has continued to improve,” Stanley added. n
Summer 2021 Impact! Program opens application for young Fil-Am students WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US-Asia Institute (USAI), in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in the United States, has officially opened applications for the IMPACT! Program for summer 2021. The 2021 program is organized to provide opportunity for Filipino American students and young graduates to gain firsthand knowledge about the current practices and opportunities available in Washington, D.C. The program will help in their becoming future leaders and to open the doors for them to contribute to the strengthening of the U.S.- Philippines relations. The entire program will be conducted virtually from June 7 to August 6, 2021 (nine weeks). “It is wonderful to see more and more members of the Filipino-America community getting involved in U.S. politics and exercising civic leadership in their communities. Their unique perspective allows them to make vital contributions to the progress of both the United States and the Philippines and help our 75year-old bilateral relationship achieve greater heights,” said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez in a statement. Mary Sue Bissell, president of the US-Asia Institute said, “Our young people are our greatest resource, and the foundation for the future. Believing this to be true, the US-Asia Institute (USAI) has been committed since its founding in 1979 to providing opportunities for training, leadership, professional growth, and networking for students and young professionals from around the globe. Through its robust internship and professional development programs—such as this IMPACT! initiative for Filipino Americans—USAI provides the tools and introductions to build the participants’ understanding of the U.S. political and govern-
mental processes, underscoring the value of community involvement and civic leadership. Young Filipino-Americans have a special and essential role to play in the fabric of this nation, and in the future of the U.S.-Philippine relationship. IMPACT! can be the impetus for you to step up and engage.” Last year’s inaugural IMPACT! Program selected six candidates from all over the U.S. with a strong interest in civic leadership nationally and in their communities. Kathleen Mallari was one of the selected few for the IMPACT! Program 2020 and she was placed at the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) in Washington, D.C. Six months after the program upon Kathleen’s graduation from her University, she said, “This program helped shape my post-college career… honestly, my placement with CAPAL and my internship with
them…gave me the edge I needed to ultimately get hired.” Another selected participant, Clarissa Cabil, was placed at the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project. Of the program she said, “The IMPACT Program provided me with the opportunity to surround myself with brilliant minds from all over the world. This fellowship not only served as an invaluable and insightful experience in and of itself, but it opened up doors to various professional opportunities that I have not yet explored or discovered as an undergraduate nursing student before applying to the program.” Interested candidates may apply here (bit.ly/3a8izMH) until Sunday, February 28, 2021. For questions and further information, please reach out to USAI Director of International and Government Affairs Zev Moses at zev.moses@usasiainstitute.org. n
‘Safety should be the priority’: Fil-Am... PAGE A3 transmission rates to remain in distance learning for the next 100 days to give the state more time to develop such a plan. Erin Murray, a Filipina middle school teacher in LA County, told the Asian Journal that she thinks it’s “absurd” to “even consider opening schools before getting everybody — students, teachers, staff — vaccinated first.” “It’s the only way we will feel comfortable returning to the classroom, and for good. We don’t want to have re-close campuses again if the infection rates increase again,” Murray said. The situation in Los Angeles County — which has a cumulative total of 1.2 million positive coronavirus cases and more than 17,500 deaths — continues to be among the worst in the country, remaining in the state’s most restrictive “purple” tier of the economic reopening roadmap. But on Thursday, Feb. 4, LA City Councilmember Joe Bus-
caino announced that he’s introducing a motion next week asking the city attorney to explore “legal options” to force the LA Unified School District to reopen for in-person learning. In a statement, Buscaino said, “I stand with the 1,500 pediatricians in Southern California as well as the CDC who are calling for the safe reopening of our schools,” without elaborating on what he considers a “safe reopening” would entail. “[The statement] is absolutely ridiculous, and I know the union won’t stand for it,” Murray said, adding that she is a member of the UTLA, which has strongly advocated for remaining in distance learning until all school staff and students are vaccinated. “It makes no sense, especially here in LA County. The numbers are still so bad, so why would we risk our children and our teachers by returning to campuses too early?” Shortly after the statement was released, both the United
Teachers of LA and the LAUSD denounced Buscaino’s statement, with the latter affirming that it will continue to follow the state’s roadmap, which states that counties in the purple tier cannot reopen its schools. “Grandstanding political stunts like this are precisely why schools in Los Angeles remain closed,” LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a statement. “Elected leaders from Sacramento to Los Angeles City Hall need to put deeds behind their words and take the steps necessary to actually put schools and the children they serve first.” Beutner referenced the longstanding urgent state of the county, saying, “San Francisco authorities worked together and brought the rate of infection under control and the area has for some time met the state standard for reopening, but Los Angeles is a national example of how governmental dysfunction has allowed the virus to rampage out of control.” n
SACRAMENTO — On Tuesday, February 9 Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) introduced legislation sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights that would require private, for-profit detention facilities and prisons operating in California to uphold basic health and safety standards for people being detained in these facilities. SB 334, the Private Detention Accountability Act, would require for-profit detention facilities and prisons operating in California to meet and maintain insurance requirements including workers’ compensation and liability, adhere to all appropriate state and local health, safety, fire and jail standards, and mandate that they obtain coverage from an admitted insurance carrier authorized to operate in California by the state’s Department of Insurance. In addition, facilities would be required to submit quarterly compliance reports regarding these requirements to both the insurance company and commissioner’s office, and insurance companies would be responsible for ensuring compliance with these requirements. Facilities that fail to meet minimum established state and federal detention, health, and safety standards that protect the medical needs, safety requirements, and human rights of immigrants would have their insurance coverage terminated. “Private detention centers and prisons should be held accountable to the same health and safety standards that we’ve set as our
baselines for operation for public facilities in California,” said Senator Durazo. “Conditions in private detention centers were inhumane before COVID-19, and the pandemic has revealed and made worse the lack of health protections for those in custody in these facilities. If these facilities can’t meet these basic standards, they should not be able to operate here.” “The pandemic has compounded the dire conditions that immigrants have faced for years in for-profit detention centers and private prisons,” said Insurance Commissioner Lara. “SB 344 will shine a light on an industry that has profited from a broken immigration system, and it will enforce the basic dignity that every person in custody deserves.” Private, for-profit detention facilities have had a horrific history of poor conditions and inhumane treatment of detainees that brought on devastating consequences for people detained in these facilities, with at least 15 immigrants having died in custody in California since 2010, according to Human Rights Watch. “Enough is enough. Private detention centers are operating with impunity that must be stopped,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. “The Private Detention Accountability Act seeks to rein in an industry that profits over the health of human beings. We are proud co-sponsors of this proposal because it provides accountability and recognizes the humanity of immigrants who are
in private detention centers.” The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated these atrocious and substandard conditions in these facilities, raising the level of danger detainees are exposed to. On May 6, 2020, Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia, a detainee at Otay Mesa Detention Center, a for-profit detention facility in San Diego, became the first person in immigration custody nationwide to die from COVID-19. Otay Mesa Detention Center has been a hotspot for COVID-19 over the last year, with at least two major outbreaks within the population, including one of the first major outbreaks in these facilities which accounted for nearly 200 COVID-19 positive cases. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, federal courts have started to order the release of immigrant detainees who are at high risk of illness or death due to poor conditions in for-profit detention centers. There are five private detention facilities contracted with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that continue to operate in California, including Adelanto, Imperial Regional, Mesa Verde, Otay Mesa and El Centro. SB 334 would require forprofit detention facilities and prisons to adhere to the detention standards of care and confinement agreed upon in the facility’s contract for operations in addition to California’s minimum jail standards and all appropriate local and state building, zoning, health, safety, and fire standards. (CA Dept. of Insurance Release)
SF announces plan to expand vaccine eligibility to workers in education and childcare, emergency services, and food sectors SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor London N. Breed and Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax, in partnership with local healthcare providers, announced that starting February 24, COVID-19 vaccines will be offered to individuals identified as eligible in Phase 1B, Tier 1 of California’s population prioritization plan for vaccine administration. This includes people who work in the education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture sectors. This expansion into Phase 1B, Tier 1 is occurring as San Francisco, in partnership with healthcare providers, continues to expand its vaccine infrastructure but vaccine supply remains limited. Phase 1B, Tier 1 is comprised of more than 115,000 individuals who live or work in San Francisco, in addition to the approximately 210,000 healthcare workers and people 65 and older who are currently eligible. “Getting people who live and work in San Francisco vaccinated as quickly as possible is our top priority. We’re moving full speed ahead with setting up our COVID-19 vaccination network in San Francisco and are ready to ramp up as we get more supply,” said Mayor Breed. “As we keep making progress vaccinating healthcare workers and people 65 and older, we’re looking ahead to the next phase and are making sure we’re ready to vaccinate workers quickly so they can safely be out in the city serving the community.” Healthcare providers in San Francisco and the San Francisco Department of Public Health are currently vaccinating healthcare workers and people 65 and older. San Francisco will continue to prioritize those 65 years and over for vaccination, as they carry the highest risk of hospitalization and death of any population in the city. The City has developed a webpage for people who live and work in San Francisco to find vaccination sites in San Francisco and book appointments. People who are eligible to be vaccinated can sign-up for an appointment at: SF.gov/getvaccinated. The goal of the City’s vaccination strategy is to make receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as convenient and comfortable for as many people as possible, particularly in those neighborhoods disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In partnership with the healthcare providers in San Francisco, which are receiving the majority of the vaccine doses from the state, the City is facilitating the quick and efficient delivery of vaccines through high-volume vaccine sites, neighborhood vaccine access sites, community clinics, pharmacy partnerships, and mobile vaccination teams. “Although vaccine supply remains extremely limited, we are making progress in vaccinating
Mayor London N. Breed
the most medically vulnerable people in our community – those over 65 years of age. As we expand vaccine eligibility to those in Phase 1B, Tier 1 we will offer protection to individuals who have supported and protected our City throughout the pandemic – workers in the education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture sectors,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Public Health. “We are building a robust and flexible system of vaccine distribution that can efficiently and equitably administer the vaccine as quickly as we receive it. Together with adherence to public health measures such as masking, hand washing, and social distancing, the vaccine can bring an end to this pandemic.” The Moscone Center highvolume vaccination site opened recently by appointment only for anyone eligible to receive the vaccine, regardless of health coverage. Initially, the site will operate at a moderate capacity, but when supply increases, it can expand to 7,000 to 10,000 vaccinations per day. Hours of vaccination are limited but will ramp up to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, when vaccine is more readily available. The site is part of a collaborative effort between the City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Department of Public Health partnering with a consortium of statewide healthcare organizations: Kaiser Permanente, Adventist Health, the California Medical Association, CommonSpirit/Dignity, and Futuro Health as well as the California Primary Care Association. In addition to the high-volume sites at the Moscone Center and City College of San Francisco, which opened on January 22, the City will add a third high-volume vaccination site at The SF Market in the Bayview. These high-volume sites were chosen in part for their proximity to neighborhoods in the southeastern part of the
Photo courtesy of SF Mayor’s Office
City that have been most heavily impacted by COVID. These sites will serve anyone, regardless of their health coverage status or provider. “The workforce of the City and County of San Francisco has stepped up time and time again over the last year to provide critical and essential services to the residents of San Francisco throughout the pandemic including food distribution, community safety, testing and distribution of the vaccine,” said Carol Isen, Acting Human Resources Director. “As the City moves into Phase 1B of vaccination, these workers will be able to continue to provide these services with the protection of a safe and effective vaccine which will allow San Francisco faster to reopen faster.” The distribution of a national vaccine during a pandemic is an unprecedented event, and the City of San Francisco is partnering with healthcare providers to have as many people vaccinated as fast as possible, while following the federal and state guidelines for prioritization. In the meantime, it is critical that all San Franciscans continue to follow all public health recommendations to wear a mask when not in your home, cough into your elbow, wash your hands, keep 6 feet from others whenever you must be in public places and help your local health department collect information to inform people of possible infection. These steps will help protect you and those around you while COVID-19 is circulating, and, along with the vaccine, will be essential to ending the pandemic. Anyone who works or lives in San Francisco can sign up for a notification when they are eligible for vaccination at SF.gov/ vaccinenotify. The City will continue to provide regular updates to the public about the vaccine in San Francisco at: SF.gov/covidvaccine. (SF Mayor’s Office Release)
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Dateline PhiliPPines
Filipinos most disapproved of government pandemic response in Southeast Asia –survey by Christian
Deiparine Philstar.com
MANILA — Filipinos had the lowest approval rating for their government’s response to the pandemic among Southeast Asian countries, a new survey made public on Wednesday, February 10 has found. Findings by the Singaporebased ASEAN Studies Centre showed that a majority or 53.7% of its Filipino respondents had thumbed down on the Duterte administration’s handling of the health crisis at home, which has led to more than 541,000 infections and 11,401 deaths to date. Of the said figure, 17.9% said they were “strongly disapprove” of, 20.9% were neutral, while only 25.4% were okay with government’s response. Broken down, that’s 19.4% approved and 6.0% strongly approved. The Philippines has remained as the region’s second-worst hit by the pandemic. Its neighbor Indonesia which has the highest number of cases at 1.17 million and nearly 32,000 deaths, yield-
ed a 50.4% disapproval against 24.1% approved and 25.6% neutral. In contrast, Vietnam had the highest approval rating among its citizens at 96.6%, followed by Brunei at 93.9% and Singapore at 92.4%. Hanoi and the city-state of Singapore had both earned praise for their coronavirus response, with only 2,070 cases and 35 deaths for the former and with 59,747 infections and 29 fatalities, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. Bandar Seri Begawan, meanwhile, had so far reported a slim 182 cases and three deaths. In the early stages of the pandemic in Southeast Asia, Singapore was actually at close with Jakarta in the highest cases, with Manila then at third. But with authorities managing to keep it at nearly 60,000 at present, it seems that its handling has worked better than that of the two other countries. The study had 1,032 respondents from ten ASEAN member states with 6.5% coming from
the Philippines, and was held from Nov. 18, 2020 to Jan. 10, 2021. Its margin of error was not stated. Most of those who took part in it were from the academe, think tanks or research institutions at 45.4%, those from government at 30.7%, civil society, non-government organizations or media at 9.3%, business or finance at 9.2% and regional or international organizations at 5.3%. Those between 21 to 35 years old made up most of the participants at 34.9%, individuals between 36 to 45 at 30.6%, those 46 to 60 at 23%, those above 60 at 9.3% and those under 21 at a measly 2.2%. Where to improve? An overwhelming majority of 72.2% from the country said there is a need to encourage more science and health experts “to contribute to public policy discussions” and for government to heed their advice. Such an observation bears more weight especially since the Duterte administration has long u PAGE A7
CODE TEAM VISITS LAS PIÑAS. Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III presents the overview of the Nationwide Vaccination program during the visit of the COVID-19 vaccine Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) Team held at the Las Piñas City Hall on Tuesday, February 9. The CODE Team has been visiting local government units to see their preparedness for the nationwide vaccination program in the coming days. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
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FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
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Second conviction
DISPELLING criticisms that it is a clearing station for crooks, the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court has convicted Janet Lim Napoles for the second time in connection with the diversion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF, the formal name for the congressional pork barrel. Napoles, the accused mastermind, was convicted of three counts of graft and malversation of public funds, together with her co-accused, former Cagayan de Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraula, former Technology Resource Center employees Ma. Rosalinda Masongsong Lacsamana and Belina Concepcion, and Cared president Mylene Encarnacion. Cared was the NGO through which Jaraula’s PDAF funds were funneled. For the graft case, they were sentenced to six to 10 years in prison for each count. For malversation, they received 12 to 18 years per count. They were ordered to pay P28 million for graft and another P28 million for malversation. Jaraula also received a prison term of nine years for each of the three counts of direct bribery for receiving P2 million in grease money from Napoles. It was the second conviction for Napoles over the PDAF scandal. She is serving a life term over her conviction for plunder in 2018. In a bizarre ruling, her co-accused Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. was acquitted but ordered to return P124.5 million
Editorial
– nearly half of the P224.5 million that he allegedly received in PDAF kickbacks from Napoles through his aide Richard Cambe, who was convicted and faces up to 40 years
in prison. The Sandiganbayan has yet to clarify once and for all if Revilla must return the P124.5 million. With the clarity must come an order to return the money stolen from the people. Senators are not above the law; anyone who defies a court order must face appropriate punishment. Meanwhile, people expect Napoles and her cohorts in Congress to face more charges in connection with the scam. The Commission on Audit had presented documents that reportedly implicated about 200 members of both chambers of Congress, many of them still in office; about 100 have been indicted or are under investigation for the PDAF scam. The Office of the Ombudsman, also saddled with perceptions that it is a clearing station for the corrupt, should pursue these cases without letup. (Philstar.com)
My Valentine story
The Fil-Am Perspective Gel SantoS-ReloS HAPPY season of love! Wherever we may be, we Filipinos are hopeless romantics, and therefore, Valentine’s Day is a month-long celebration for us talking about love and romance. “Humans of Pinas” (HoP), a Facebook page inspired by Humans of New York, has been showcasing Filipinos’ stories deemed to be empowering and/ or inspiring. This Valentine’s month, HoP asked me to share my own story, and I am honored to join other well-known and respected couples of ‘Pinas in sharing their own stories seldom told in public. Here is my story. May 2, 1979 was the fateful day I met the man who would turn out to be the person I would be sharing the rest of my life with. I joined the summer theater workshop of “Dulaang Abot-Kaya,” the community theater group of Sacred Heart Parish in Kamuning. I just graduated from high school and was excited to pursue my dreams to be working in the field of mass communications — radio, television, and yes, even in films having the “artists” genes of my aunts Tessie Quintana of LVN Films in the 50s-60s and Rebecca of Premiere Productions in the 60s to the 70s, and my handsome cousin Gabby Concepcion.
I joined the summer theater workshop, which was run by graduates of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), hoping to fulfill my longtime dream to meet and get my big break from no less than the late famed director Lino Brocka, one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of the Philippines, who was once an executive director of PETA. But, God had a different plan in my life. Rene Relos became my boyfriend a year after we top-billed several theatrical presentations for “Dulaang About-Kaya.” He just turned 18 and I was 17 when we became a couple. We went to the University of the Philippines together, where I graduated cum laude from the College of Mass Communications while he finished magna cum laude in his pre-med course. Yes, we were both driven and have been planning to get married and share our lives together, but all of these were fulfilled expeditiously with the coming of our first-born son. And so, we got married at age 21 and became parents at age 22. I was then an instructor in Broadcast Communication at the UP and later joined the broadcasting industry as a news anchor and TV host for ABS-CBN. Rene went on to pursue his medical education and residency at the UP College of Medicine, where he graduated valedictorian and placed fourth
IN just over 15 months, our country will once again be subjected to the rituals of democracy. The 2022 national and local elections are looming, and the Filipino people will have a choice of, once again, voting for a nightmare masquerading as a messiah or voting for a real alternative. We are already witnessing the surfacing of familiar names on both sides of the political divide. More prominent of these are Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on the side of the administration and Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on the side of the political opposition. Some may consider this an interesting battle between two women, but it would be too shallow for one to read into this a feminist accolade, considering what recent events have pointed out to us. It may be unpalatable to hear and may appear misogynist, but gender has nothing to do
And perhaps, more than how we wanted to admit during these times of uncertainties, the shadows of the simple joys of our hungry years nurtured by our love for each other had somehow kept on pulling us back and made it impossible to really let go. And so, by the grace of God in the most miraculous circumstances, only He could have made possible, Rene and I found each other again. We went to court together just before the decision to annul our marriage was handed out to tell the judge we were dismissing the annulment case and are keeping our marriage. “Beautiful!” gushed Judge Rosalina Pison of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. Indeed, it was the greatest blessing of our lives — God’s promise of giving us “beauty for ashes” that healed our hearts and gave us the grace to start again. As all of these events happened during Rene’s short month-long visit in between his interviews and the start of medical fellowship training in the United States in the summer of 2000, we made the most of this time to renew our marriage vows in the same church where we met, fell in love, got married, and had our four children baptized. Rene went back to the U.S. and I went to visit with him during fall, winter and spring. It was during this time when we decided to immigrate to the United States to start a new chapter in our life. Everything just fell into place,
after we said YES to God’s still small voice inside our hearts. In May of 2001, I gave up my career at ABS-CBN. My children and I joined my husband in the United States. Rene was offered a rare chance to have a surgical residency after he finished his fellowship, and this opened the path for him to practice surgery. We started anew with hungry years again as he was just getting a humble stipend as he completed his re-training in the U.S. to get his medical license. I did real estate on the side. But our hearts were full of love and of renewed dreams in our adoptive country for us and our children. And just after Rene started his medical practice here in the U.S. in 2005, ABS-CBN asked me to work for the company again as talk show host and news anchor for The Filipino Channel, which has started producing programs in California. I was given the chance to continue the career I gave up for my family. We are now celebrating our 37th wedding anniversary this July. The kids have grown up and are building their own lives. We have also been blessed with two grandchildren! Rene and I are now (almost) empty nesters and are living our lives as honeymooners — something we missed when we were navigating the struggles and crises of our younger years all at the same time. We are now able to live our passion, pursue our own dreams, travel around the world, celebrating each moment we are together.
We did not get here on our own. We grew up together from our teen years through adulthood, through middle age through the golden years. Every season of our life presented new challenges, which have been our opportunities to grow together. But what had sustained us is our renewed faith in God who has been giving us the grace to carry on and nurture our love and our life together. All the pains of the past He used so we may find this new life in Him as one. God has blessed us with each other to help us become better human beings, growing in love and faith together, making our crooked paths straight, smoothening our rough edges. And this all began when we said “YES,” and started the new chapters of our new life rooted in our faith, and He helped us do things we can never do on our own. And we continue to say “YES.” Every day. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
*** Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at gelrelos@icloud.com, or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel. Santos.Relos.
Wanted: Ideal candidate for 2022
Commentary
antonio P. ContReRaS
in the Medical Board Exam with a rating of 90%, despite us having two children. We had no money when we started our life together as husband and wife, grateful for the support of our parents as we worked hard to fulfill our dreams, build our family. We had two more children during his surgical residency years. Eventually, we became financially independent and began living a comfortable life. However, somewhere along the way, we drifted apart. The emotional immaturity of early adulthood, the demands and stresses of his medical education and training, my building a career in the limelight of broadcasting, raising four children, our weaknesses as human beings — the interplay of these factors eroded our once happy relationship and our marriage. The song of Neil Sedaka comes to mind: “I miss the hungry years The once upon a time The lovely long ago We didn’t have a dime Those days of me and you We lost along the way…” We had a complicated relationship for more than three years, asking ourselves if we should stay or go on our separate ways. But amid the inner turmoil, we knew deep inside how our vow and commitment to give our children the best life in spite of ourselves had been our guiding light and reason to remain friends.
Philstar.com photo
with bringing feminism into the mainstream of politics. One just has to look at the likes of United States Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado to realize that being a woman does not assure deliverance from lunacy, violence and conspiracy theories, which abound in the political world, dominated by men. Both Sara Duterte-Carpio and Leni Robredo endear themselves to their political base, but it is not certain whether what they bring to the table is something of which blue-blooded feminists can be proud. And then you have other names, mainly a coterie of politicians who are either allied with President Rodrigo —Duterte and their camp is simply teeming with familiar names such as Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao or even former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — or from the shallow bench that the political opposition has become. For people who aspire for some fundamental change in our politics, the picture becomes depressing indeed. The popularity of the Duterte dynasty attached to the
fame, or infamy, of its patriarch Rodrigo has been proven time and again as unassailable despite ineptitude, allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, and his failure to deliver practically all the 15 points in his campaign platform which he promised in 2016. While the approval ratings of other leaders floundered during the pandemic, Duterte’s ratings continued to soar, defying the law of political gravity. This despite the negative growth rate of our economy, a lethargic pandemic response and being a laggard in the vaccine rollout, where Bangladesh and Myanmar even outpaced us. There is no way a Robredo, or anyone from the political opposition, can win against a brand that has become a political cult. If anyone would like to challenge the Duterte brand in 2022, and has a chance of winning, then one has to come to grips with the reality that Robredo, or anyone who can easily be framed as a “dilawan,” has practically a zero chance. Anti-Duterte people should come out of their echo chambers, trapped in their
own social media groups, or in their ivory towers in academe, or in civil society circles, and realize that what they have is a losing proposition. They should abandon any wishful thinking that Robredo, or anyone like her from the current political opposition, can be molded in the like of a Joseph Biden Jr. After all, Biden won because more than half of the United States detested Donald Trump. So, anyone who would liken Robredo to a Biden should give it a rest and venture into reality. The reality that we face is the fact that in the Philippines, politics is about narratives. And under present conditions, and in order to beat the Duterte narrative, one has to find another candidate with an equally compelling narrative that would have the ability to peel away the Duterte political base. Most vulnerable, and therefore easy for conversion, among this base will be those who simply support Duterte because they hate the Liberal Party and the current political opposition. While the goal of transforming
Philippine politics is a lofty one, relying on slogans, and even well-crafted alternatives, will simply not make the cut. What we need is a candidate who would have the ability to match, and even punch holes, into the Duterte brand, but also one with an aura that can tickle the political imaginations of those who do not vote because of platforms, but simply because of image and optics. This candidate should be a lightning rod that would be able to steal thunder away from the jaded, provincial and parochial modalities of the Duterte dynasty and offer a contrapuntal that is new, inclusive and modern. This person must be a darling of social media but is also familiar with the underbelly of transactional politics. He or she should be both internet savvy, with a cosmopolitan worldview but would be willing to engage and is familiar with the ways of traditional local politics. And of course, this candidate must have the ability not only to raise campaign funds from wealthy donors, but also able to whip up a mass base that can outmatch the grassroots idolatry
of the diehard Duterte supporters. He or she should be able to inspire people to contribute their own time and money for his or her campaign. But most fundamental of all is that this candidate should be an independent political figure, outside the ambit of the Duterte dynasty and his allies, unaligned even with the current political opposition. He or she must be progressive, a unifier, and with a clear track record. He or she should have the ability to embody a new kind of politics that is both transactional and transformative, traditional and technologically savvy, amiable and inspiring but not cult-like, and one who would embody a compelling platform that speaks to the roots of our sufferings as a people. The question that we need to ask ourselves, however, is this. Does this candidate even exist at all? (ManilaTimes.net) *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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House bill allowing ‘virtual marriage’ pushed by Divina
CLEANUP. Personnel from Barangay Project 6 clean a sidewalk of grass and debris along Road 3 in Quezon City on Tuesday, February 9. The Department of the Interior and Local Government has given local government units until Feb. 15 to clear roads and sidewalks of various obstructions. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
Filipinos most disapproved of government... PAGE A5 been criticized for its militaristic approach to a health crisis, with the president putting retired military officials to lead the coronavirus task force, as well as deploying cops and soldiers to carry out pandemic-related curbs. Some 58.3% said the government should invest in early warning systems for future pandemic outbreaks, as well as for research and development for testing and vaccine development. Officials have sought to claim that the administration had prioritized improving the country’s testing capacity since the start of the pandemic, but the previous months have showed that screening efforts are still largely carried out by private-run laboratories. But a lesson it has learned to carry out was establishing a virology research institute under the science and technology department, with a P284 million ($5.9 million) funding for this year. Further in the report, 33.3% said better financial relief and subsidies should be offered to the millions economically affected by the pandemic. Some 30.6%, meanwhile, said officials should lead in following health protocols instead of flouting them, as is shown in a series of documented incidents by no less
than the president’s men and some lawmakers, and 5.6% said the measures should be better implemented in public. “These findings confirm that while ASEAN member governments have done relatively well in their public health response, they will need to do more to be better prepared in the long-term for future outbreaks,” the report said. Leadership, challenges in the pandemic In total of respondents, 32.7% said Singapore had provided the best leadership in the region during the course of the health crisis, followed by Vietnam at 31.1%. Only 0.5 of all participants picked the Philippines for the said criteria, the lowest, with 6% being Filipinos and 0.6% from Myanmar. The pandemic has also emerged as the top challenge respondents believe Southeast Asia is facing, followed by unemployment and economic recession and socio-economic gaps and rising income disparity. For Filipinos, 80.6% agreed that the COVID-19 is the Number 1 challenge, followed by “more intense and frequent weather events” as a result of climate change at 59.7%, unemployment and the recession at 65.7%, along with increased military tensions such as in the South China Sea at 37.3% and
28.4% on widening socio-econimic gaps. Only 3% of them answered terrorism, 11.9% on domestic political instability and 13.4% on the deterioration of human rights conditions. “While it is not meant to present the definitive Southeast Asian view of current affairs, the survey acts as a barometer of the general attitudes and perceptions of interested stakeholders on important regional developments,” the report added. In January, an assessment by another independent think tank placed the Philippines at the 79th place globally out of almost 100 nations in handling the coronavirus pandemic, making it one of the “underperformers” in Asia Pacific. While health officials have said that they welcome such researchers on the health crisis, they said that the study had failed to grasp “the complex nature of pandemic response,” and adding that “we can’t be comparing apples to oranges.” The Philippines is nearing a year into its community quarantine first set in March 2020 to become the world’s longest. And while President Rodrigo Duterte had put his faith on the vaccines for an end to the health crisis, his administration’s bid to secure the jabs had met various roadblocks along the way. n
nova Joy Dela ManilaTimes.net
Cruz
AMID the limitations and restrictions posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a bill seeking to allow marriage of couples through virtual or online video conferencing is currently being pushed at the House of Representatives. House Bill 7042 or the “Virtual Marriage Act,” authored by Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo, was tackled in the hearing of the House Committee on Revision of Laws on Tuesday, February 9, along with other measures seeking to amend Executive Order 209 or the Family Code of the Philippines. “The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused the postponement and cancellation of many wedding ceremonies because of the prohibition on mass gatherings and the health risks posed to everyone, including the parties themselves and to the solemnizing officer who is oftentimes of advanced age. Thus, I am fully convinced that now is the opportune time to reevaluate our laws in order for it to adapt to present realities and to fully utilize technological advances.
must be connected either physically or virtually. Salo also clarified that all the existing formal requisites such as seminars, marriage licenses, and notarization would still need to be fulfilled. He said these would also ensure that couples have given their free consent to the marriage, even though conducted virtually. Panel Chairman Cheryl Deloso-Montalla ordered the creation of the technical working group to further thresh out details of the bill along with other proposed amendments to the Family Code. The other bills propose amendments on provisions regarding annulment, legal separation, legitimate or illegitimate children, property regime, foreign decree on the dissolution of marriage, and authority to solemnize marriage, among others. In her opening remarks, Montalla stressed the need to revisit the 1987 Family Code to address changes in the dynamic society, saying “The process of globalization is catching up with the development of the Filipino family and change must occur if the family is to survive in this fast-changing world.” n
Who would have imagined in 1987 when the Family Code was adopted that we will be conducting this congressional hearing via Zoom?,” Salo said in his sponsorship speech. Salo noted that due to the implementation of physical distancing, virtual presence has become an accepted alternative and the “new norm” in meetings and other exercises in the Philippines and abroad, including legal proceedings, hearings in Congress, Supreme Court and other courts. Salo said that his bill seeks to provide couples an alternative to the traditional marriage ceremonies conducted physically by expanding the meaning of “presence” and “appearance” to include virtual presence. He also noted that some states in the United States such as New York and Colorado and other countries had allowed couples to tie the knot virtually during the lockdowns. Salo said that in a virtual ceremony, the bill requires the “contracting parties” or couples to be physically present in one place while the solemnizing officer and their witnesses may be present elsewhere but everyone
Lawyers in anti-terrorism law petitions reminded against public statements by Kristine Joy
Philstar.com
Patag
MANILA — Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta warned lawyers involved in the high stakes petitions against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to refrain from speaking in public on the merits of the case. As Peralta closed the second day of oral arguments on the petitions on Tuesday, February 9, the chief justice reminded lawyers who they said were giving interviews through television and even social media on the merits of the case and their position on issues. “We would like to ask the lawyers to please refrain from being interviewed while these cases are pending resolution. You know the effect when one goes to the media and discusses his position. It might affect the outcome of these cases so please refrain,” Peralta said.
“We do not like that we will use our coercive power in disciplining lawyers,” the chief justice added. The sub judice rule restricts comments on judicial proceedings to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court or obstruction the administration of justice. Violation of the rule may result in being cited for indirect contempt as stated in Section 3(d) Rule 71 of the Rules of Court. It states that a person guilty of “any improper conduct tending, directly or indirectly, to impede, obstruct, or degrade the administration of justice” may be punished for indirect contempt. Peralta refused to identify the lawyers he was referring to, but reiterated his reminder not to discuss the merits of the case in public. “Reminder lang please para we will not be affected, okay,” he added.
The oral arguments on the 37 consolidated petitions will resume, for the third day, on February 16 afternoon. So far, only five justices have posed their questions to the petitioners. Other magistrates also wish to interpellate them and debates will continue in the next session, Peralta said. Following the interpellation of the petitioners, the amicus curiae or the “friend of court” will state his position. Retired SC Justice Francis Jardeleza has earlier been appointed as the amicus curiae. Under the Rules of Court, the court may invite “experienced and impartial attorneys” to appear as amici curiae to help in disposition of issues submitted to it. The presentation and interpellation of the respondents, to be represented by Solicitor General Jose Calida will follow. n
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Friday, February 12, 2021
INSIDE >>> L I F E S T Y L E • C O N S U M E R G U I D E • C O M M U N I T Y • M A R K E T P L A C E
NVC sending notices, but I’m in the US Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I entered the U.S. in 2000 on a visitor’s visa and overstayed. My sister filed a petition for me (F4) in early 2001 under Clinton’s LIFE ACT. I am now receiving notices from the National Visa Center (NVC), advising me that I need to log onto their website, pay various fees, and submit various forms. They further state
that if I do not do so within one year, my case will be canceled. I don’t want to go back to the Philippines for my visa, as I’m afraid of getting stuck there for 10 years under the 3/10 year bar. Why am I getting notices from the NVC when I’m here in the U.S.? What should I do? Very truly yours, GL Dear GL: You may be receiving notices from the NVC notifying you to start applying for your visa in Manila because the NVC may believe that you are either still in the Philippines or not eligible to adjust status (file for your green
card) in the U.S. (On the I-130 petition, it asks for the beneficiary’s address and/or whether they will apply for their visa outside the U.S. Sometimes, relatives are scared to disclose the alien is already in the U.S. and list an address outside the U.S., or the USCIS, in approving the petition, makes the decision the person is not eligible to adjust in the U.S., when they might actually be eligible.) If you have been petitioned, are in the U.S., and now receiving notices from the NVC, I would strongly suggest that you consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation and PAGE B3
Love Burn’s hot chicken sandwich features a half-pound fried chicken thigh with a customized spice level from a Level 0 to Level 4, served in between a potato bun. Photo courtesy of Love Burn
Fil-Am Bay Area entrepreneurs turn up the heat with hot chicken concept
ture hot chicken sandwich. Squeezed in between a potato THIS Valentine’s Day week- bun is a half-pound crispy fried end, a South San Francisco pop- chicken thigh with a customized up by Filipino American serial scale of spiciness ranging from entrepreneurs is daring couples a Level 0 (A Little Space) to a to add some spice to their date Level 4 (Hot! Hot! Hot!). “There’s this viral challenge night — with a hot chicken chalCITIZEN PINOY CELEBRATES VALENTINE’S DAY THIS SUNDAY BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS DEALING WITH SPOUSES AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS BEING lenge. on YouTube, where it’s ‘truth TOGETHER OR REUNITED. Leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (left) discusses the latest immigrations news and information from Love Burn, a play on the Nash- or shot’ and it’s couples asking the highlights of his YouTube channel, US Immigration TV. Atty. Gurfinkel also answers questions from Luz of Los Angeles, California (center), who ville hot chicken craze, is hosting each other some really low risk wants to know what will happen to her conditional green card now that her husband of two years recently passed away due to COVID. Butch from the “Truth of Burn” challenge and high risk questions with Anaheim, California (right) wants to know how he can get his fiancée and nine-year-old daughter to the U.S. in light of Biden’s new immigration for couples to video themselves high risk meaning you’d might policies. Be sure to watch this special Valentine’s Day episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot” this Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 pm PST/EST as they answer uncomfortable be to answer it,” Justin Isip, (8:30 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers). (Advertising Supplement) questions and bite into a signa- Love Burn co-founder, told the by
Christina M. Oriel / AJPress
Asian Journal. “We’ve replaced the shot of alcohol with a bite of our level four sandwich or whatever level you and your partner would like to play with.” The pop-up opened in November inside Hometown Bowl along El Camino Real, adding to the burgeoning crispy chicken sandwich trend that is delivering a kick to taste buds in the region and across the country. Starting a venture amid the pandemic, however, wasn’t a PAGE B3
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FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
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The Year of the Ox: How Filipinos celebrate Lunar New Year by Ritchel
Mendiola / AJPress
jumped down and FEBRUARY 12 in front of will mark the big“The Ox is the second animal in the landed the Ox. gest event on the The 12 zodiac Chinese calendar, Chinese zodiac. One myth said that animals are, in ushering in the beginning of the the animals were decided in the order order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, DragYear of the Ox. in which they arrived at a party on, Snake, Horse, Unlike the fixed new Monkey, year of the Gregothrown by the Jade Emperor. The Ox Goat, Rooster, Dog, and rian calendar commonly celebrated was set to be the first to arrive, but the Pig. According to on January 1st, the Rat tricked the Ox into giving him ChineseNewYear. date of the Lunar the Ox in the New Year varies, a ride. As they arrived at the party, net, zodiac is seen determined by the hardworking, appearance of the the Rat jumped down and landed in as honest, and earnew moon — which nest. It is also pais why it’s called the front of the Ox.” tient, and thinks Lunar New Year, logically. The Ox as it’s based on the never looks for lunisolar Chinese praise or to be the center of attention. However, calendar. The Lunar New Year usually falls sometime be- the Ox can be stubborn, and might not have the tween January 21 and February 20. It will be on best communication skills. Those who are born in the year of the Ox — the 12th of February, a Friday, this year. The Ox is the second animal in the Chinese zo- 2021 as well as 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, and 2009 diac. One myth said that the animals were decided — share the aforementioned traits with the aniin the order in which they arrived at a party thrown mal. Traditions and superstitions by the Jade Emperor. The Ox was set to be the Similar to the Jan. 1 New Year, Lunar New Year first to arrive, but the Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride. As they arrived at the party, the Rat is observed with traditions and rituals to attract good luck and fortune for the coming year. Filipinos who celebrate the holiday typically flock to Binondo in Manila, which is con- sidered the
AJPress illustration by Kendrick Tan
celebrityworld By Ferdie Villar THE pandemic has made everyone’s lives topsy-turvy. We all have had to make adjustments with our everyday goings-on, our plans, our needs and our habits. Young star Julia Barretto, in an article in PEP.ph, revealed that because of the pandemic she feels that life is unpredictable at the moment. The actress said that she is constantly adjusting to the situation presented by the pandemic. “I’m still in the process of trying to figure it out, how to transition. It’s still not our normal life,” Barretto was quoted as
saying. “I think what we’re trying to adjust to is the new normal, and it’s been so difficult – the fear in the atmosphere, it hasn’t gone away. It’s still there. So hard to live with fear.” Julia shared in the article that she wants to get married and have a family at an early age, although she feels that the pandemic has derailed those plans. “If I’m being completely honest kasi, I’ve always dreamt of having a family early on in life. Like, that was always my thing growing up. I always wanted to have a family at a young age because I want to have a lot of time, and I wanted to grow
AJPress illustration by Godwin Gasacao
oldest Chinatown in the world. They crowd the streets of Chinatown to watch the Parades of Dragons and Lions, a colorful and dynamic performance accompanied by the loud banging of drums and cymbals. The dragon, in China, is believed to represent great power, auspiciousness, and strength. Meanwhile, the lion represents safety and luck. The color red is prevalent during the festivities as it is a special color in Chinese culture, signifying energy, happiness, and good luck. Most people wear red clothing as it represents vitality as well as strength. Elders also hand out red envelopes (Ang Pao) to children. These envelopes contain money, and giving them is believed to bring good luck and long life to both the giver and receiver. The Lunar New Year won’t be complete without setting off fireworks and firecrackers or generally just making noise as it is supposed to drive away bad spirits, bad luck, and the mythical beast called Nian. Filipinos commonly use horns and cooking pots to create noise. AJPress photo by Kendrick Tan Families also gather to have their New Ang Pao Year’s Eve dinner where they usually them. The New Year’s Eve dinner is perhaps the serve tikoy (year cake), which is made most important dinner for families — that’s why from sticky rice and symbolizes unity it’s necessary for all the members of the family to among family members; pancit/noodles, for long be present for it. During the Lunar New Year, people across the life and represent the eater’s life; and fish and dumplings, which are believed to signify good globe greet with either Gong Xi Fa Cai, which means “you attain greater wealth,” or Kung Hei fortune. Families also prepare 12 different round fruits Fat Choi, which means “congratulations and be as they are believed to bring luck and fortune to prosperous.”
Julia Barretto dreams of becoming a ‘boss-housewife’ together with my family that I have made,” she related. But Julia does not want to become just an ordinary housewife – she wants to be able to still pursue the things she loves. “I dream to become a housewife, but a housewife that’s like a boss-housewife. Like, you got your own work going on, but your number one priority is [kids and family],” the “Between Maybes” lead star explained. Barretto also said that she is glad that many husbands now have more respect as well as appreciate and praise their wives for the great job that they do running the house and raising the kids. “It’s not an easy job, but I’m so proud of this generation, because I feel like our generation now, our time now, you’ll see more husbands and more men
Jann Mar “JM” Yosures, a 23-year-old singer from Taguig City, was named grand champion of the fourth edition of Tawag Ng Tanghalan at ABS-CBN program “It’s Showtime” recently. Aside from a special trophy, Yosures also won P1 million, a house and lot worth P2 million, and recording and management contracts.
really praising their partners,” Julia remarked. “Because they really witness in their everyday lives, how challenging it is to be a homemaker, to be a wife, and to be a mom. At the same time, you’ll have to take care of your spouse and to take care of your kids, and to take care of your house, and then yourself… without forgetting yourself at the same time.” “So, I feel like we’re in at a time now when men and everybody else are more appreciative and praise women more now, because we already see [this] now. They see it more now, they understand it more now, how difficult a job it is [to be a homemaker],” she added. Currently, Julia is busy creating content for her YouTube channel. She also signed a contract with Viva Artists Agency last year. *** The transfer of stars between Janine Gutierrez (pictured with boyfriend Rayver Cruz), a beautiful young actress in the Philippine entertainment world, has transferred to ABS-CBN. She is rumored to be in the running to play the role of villain/snake queen Valentina in the upcoming “Darna” series. Her grandmother, ABS-CBN and GMA networks will always happen, even if Pilita Corrales, essayed the same role in the 1994 movie, “Darna: Ang Pagbabalik” which starred Anjanette Abayari. Instagram photo (@janinegutierrez) some industry observers and
Actress Julia Barretto revealed recently that it has always been her dream to get married and have kids at a young age. But she wants to become a housewife who is able to pursue her dreams/career while prioritizing her kids. Instagram photo (@juliabarretto)
fans consider it ungrateful (“walang utang na loob”) for stars to leave their home studio for another. Janine Gutierrez is one of the latest to transfer networks – from GMA to ABS-CBN. And apparently, things are good for the actress as even her former bosses are supportive of that decision. “Maswerte ako kasi lahat sila masaya para sa’kin. Even my former bosses, all the people I worked with, I really feel there’s support up to now na no matter where you are, ‘di mawawala ‘yung pinagsamahan and they really wish me well,” she revealed in an article in the Philippine Star. Rayver Cruz, her 31-yearold boyfriend who is with GMA Network, also is supportive of the Gutierrez’s decision to go to ABS-CBN. “He’s very supportive. He introduced me sa lahat ng mga Kapamilya n’ya sa ‘ASAP’ kasi you know he was there for 18 years. Parang du’n s’ya tumanda. He’s
so excited for me to get to work with a lot of his Kapamilyas as well. I’m grateful for his support. Siguro kung maligaw ako dito, matuturo n’ya sa’kin ‘yung daan, literally kung saan ‘yung mga studio,” Janine stated. Janine has a list of her idols that she wants to work with at her new network, including Anne Curtis, Angelica Panganiban, Angel Locsin, Jodi Sta. Maria and Iza Calzado. Among male actors, the actress said she is looking forward to working again with Paulo Avelino and Enchong Dee (who is an old friend), as well as Jericho Rosales, JC Santos, Carlo Aquino and Gerald Anderson. Janine admitted to being a “fangirl” of the love team of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, who are otherwise known to fans as “LizQuen.” And she also wants to be able to work on a project with them. “I’m a LizQuen fan. I love Liza. Sobrang fan ako. If ever, that would be amazing,” Janine said.
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Citizen Pinoy celebrates Valentine’s Day this Sunday with another brand-new episode
LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel presents the latest in immigration news and analysis, and provides the latest information and highlights from his YouTube immigration channel, US Immigration TV. Since it is Valentine’s Day, Citizen Pinoy celebrates “love” as Atty. Gurfinkel answers questions related to spouses and significant others on this week’s episode. Butch from Anaheim, Califor-
nia wants to bring his current fiancée and their nine-year-old daughter to the U.S. Butch asks how President Biden’s proposed policies can help bring his family together. Luz from Los Angeles, California just lost her husband of two years to COVID. She wants to know what will happen to her conditional green card now that her husband is no longer alive. These questions and more will be answered on the show. And a couple shares their story
on how Atty. Gurfinkel played “Cupid” and united the woman from New York, and the gentleman from Qatar in the Middle East after the couple almost gave up because their previous lawyer said, “It is impossible.” Get the latest immigration updates on a brand-new episode of “Citizen Pinoy: Your Tanong, My Sagot” this Sunday, February 14 at 5:30 pm PST/EST (8:30 pm EST thru select Cable/Satellite providers). (Advertising Supplement)
Fil-Am influencer Bretman Rock cooks igado, Pinoy NVC sending notices, but I’m in the US spaghetti in premiere episode of MTV reality show
Bretman Rock prepares Filipino-style spaghetti and Ilocano dish igado for family dinner.
Screenshot/MTV
PAGE B1 advise you of your immigration options. Perhaps you may be eligible/ qualified to apply for adjustment of status in the U.S. If you are required to apply outside the U.S., an attorney can evaluate your eligibility for a provisional waiver before departing. Otherwise, you could be stuck outside the U.S. for up to 10 years. In addition, the NVC cannot be ignored. If you do not respond to them, either by advising you will apply for your green card in the U.S. or submitting fees and forms within one year, they could actually terminate your registration (shred your petition), in which case you lose your priority date and the opportunity to pursue your visa,
By Ritchel
Mendiola AJPress
FILIPINO American internet star Bretman Rock is giving fans a closer look at his life — and sharing bits of Pinoy culture along the way — with a new MTV reality show. The first episode of “Following Bretman Rock,” which premiered on Monday, February 8, shows Bretman — along with his cousin-assistant Miss Kay, childhood friend Larry, and sister Princess — temporarily moving into a beach house while his dream mansion undergoes renovations. On how Miss Kay became Bretman’s assistant, she shared: “[It was] me traveling around the world for him and I noticed my bank account was going negative and I’m just like: Bret, next time you want me to come, you gotta pay me.” Meanwhile, Larry shared that he has been friends with Bretman since their grade school years. “Don’t tell him I said this, but I’m so proud of him as a best friend,” he said. “I’m not friends with Bret because of his money. I was friends with him when he was still broke, but moving into this beach house got me so excited,” he added. The episode also featured all of them going on a horse-riding excursion as well as Bretman preparing Filipino-style spaghetti and the Ilocano dish igado, which is a type of pork and liver
Mendiola AJPress
“FIGHT For You” by R&B artist H.E.R. has made it in this year’s Oscar Original Song shortlist. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday, February 9, released its shortlists for the 2021 Oscars in nine categories — documentary feature, documentary short subject, international feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score, original song, animated short film, live-action short film, and visual effects. H.E.R.’s “Fight For You,” from the film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” was one of the 15 songs to advance in the original song category out of 105 eligible songs. The shortlisted songs were selected by the Academy’s 376member music branch. Voting for the final five in each category will take place between March 5 and 10, with nominees to be announced on March 15. The winners will then be an-
With over 8 million YouTube subscribers, Bretman Rock is entering the TV world with a reality show on MTV. Photo from Instagram/@bretmanrock
stew. “My mom is the best cook in the world. I cannot eat other Filipino food that is not my mom’s,” he said, adding, “If I have to cook my mom’s food, I have to do it my mom’s way.” He was able to impress his Mama Mercy with his version of Pinoy spaghetti, but she noted that the igado was “not good.” Later, his mother opened up about her struggles as a single mother of three. “I progressed. That’s why God
gave me a good life. Because I suffered and endured for my kids,” Mama Mercy said in Ilocano. Bretman, 22, was born in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan in the Philippines. His family moved to Hawaii when he was 8 years old. He cultivated his online persona by doing makeup tutorials and vlogs on YouTube. Currently, his channel has amassed over 8 million subscribers, while his Instagram has around 15 million followers.
father. She rose to fame in 2009 after participating in Radio Disney’s “Next Big Thing.” At the age of 14, she signed to RCA Records and released the single “Something to Prove” under her real name in 2014. In 2016, she debuted under the H.E.R. persona with her debut EP “H.E.R. Volume 1.” She then released other EPs “H.E.R. Volume 2” and “The B Sides” in 2017 before releasing her first compilation album “H.E.R.” which consisted of tracks from the singer’s first two EPs plus six additional songs. In 2018, she released “I Used Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R. to Know Her: The Prelude” and Photo from Instagram/@hermusicofficial “I Used to Know Her: Part 2.”H. nounced during the Oscar cer- E.R. received five nominations at the 61st Annual Grammy emony scheduled on April 25. Last week, “Fight For You” Awards in 2019, winning Best received a Golden Globes nomi- R&B Performance and Best R&B nation for Best Original Song Album. The year after, she received three nominations: Song – Motion Picture. H.E.R., whose real name is of the Year (“I Can’t Breathe”), Gabriella Wilson, was born in and two for Best R&B Song Vallejo, California to a Filipina (“Better Than I Imagine” and mother and an African American “Slow Down”).
Fil-Am Bay Area entrepreneurs turn... PAGE B1 hurdle for Isip and co-owner Jason Angeles, who has several food businesses under his belt, including SSF Chickenbox, Frozen Kushterd, and Sugar and Spun. (Along with Love Burn partners Christian Perez, Dexter Lee, and Ronnie Taylor, these Fil-Ams have also kept themselves occupied since last spring with the #FilipinosFeedtheFrontlines program that delivers hot meals to seniors and medical frontliners in the Bay.) “Hot chicken has been a high trend even before COVID,” Angeles said. “But what we saw with doing fried chicken with SSF Chickenbox is that we do it pretty well and we thought, ‘How could we apply this to a different type of fried chicken business?’” Coupled with the generous chicken portion, Love Box has its own blend of global spices that arguably make it “an unmatched spice in the Bay Area,” Isip said. Reviewers on Yelp would agree with comments about Love Burn being “every heat seeker’s wet dream” and “one
*** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 40 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California.
Each case is different, and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) are of a general nature, are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader. WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, Twitter @GurfinkelLaw and YouTube: US Immigration TV Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)
Love life or loveless? Jane chooses fate of her ‘millennial’ Darna
‘Fight for You’ by H.E.R. makes it to Oscars 2021 shortlist By Ritchel
even if you should later decide to apply in the U.S. I’ve had countless cases where a person did not know what to do and did not respond to the NVC, only to have the NVC shred the case. When they finally came for assistance, in some cases it was too late. You waited so long for your petition, and given the complexities and ever-changing policies and requirements for immigration benefits, I strongly recommend that you seek the advice and assistance of an attorney.
Love Burn co-owners Justin Isip and Jason Angeles Photo courtesy of Love Burn
of the best fried chicken sandwiches in the area.” In addition to the sandwich, the slim menu also features sides like coleslaw and seasoned French fries, and a churro fivepack served with hot honey and a choice of cinnamon or spicy chocolate sugar. Hometown Bowl is closed for indoor entertainment and din-
ing, but for now, Love Burn is available for take-out and delivery on third-party delivery apps. The co-owners are also planning to launch a burger and fries concept later this year. “We’re very fortunate to be able to open a business during a pandemic. That in itself is an accomplishment,” Isip said.
KAPAMILYA actress Jane De Leon revealed that she has no time for love and for now, she will focus on her career first. During her recent virtual press conference for “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” Jane said she chose selflove first over love life. “Love life? Pahinga muna ko diyan. Kasi siyempre ilang beses na ko nasaktan. Career talaga muna and sarili. Self-love na lang muna. Kasi paano mo mamahalin ang ibang tao kung hindi mo kayang mahalin ang sarili mo?” she pointed out. Jane, meanwhile, said that her character Darna needs to have a love life. Jane will play the iconic Pinay superhero in an ABS-CBN TV series soon. She said her Darna will be different because her
version would be “very modern” and “millennial.” “Kung ako po tatanungin, si Darna po siyempre, may puso din naman po siya at gusto niyang maramdaman ang pagmamahal at ma-experience po ‘yon. Ang tanong lang dito ay kung sino ba? Abangan po natin yan,” she told Philstar.com during the media conference. In the same press conference, Jane said that her celebrity crush is Paulo Avelino, who was first cast as Darna’s love interest in the postponed movie. “Si Paulo Avelino pa rin. Kasi ewan ko, alam ba niya? Alam niya yata. Siguro naman alam niya na crush ko siya. Siya ang celebrity crush ko, si Paulo,” Jane said when asked if who she wanted to
Jane De Leon digitally edited to be in character as Darna. ABS-CBN photo
be paired with in the future. “Given na po na guwapo po si Paulo, pero pagdating po sa acting sobrang galing po talaga niya. Kaya ‘yon po ‘yung isa sa reason kung bakit gusto ko po siya makaeksena.” (Philstar.com)
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Health@Heart PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS DISCIPLINE and patience With COVID-19 (and variants) cases reaching almost 108 million and close to 2.4 million deaths in 219 countries (nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. and almost 12,000 fatalities in the Philippines), it behooves all of us to continue to be very careful and wear mask(s) in public, avoid crowds, and do social distancing almost to the point of paranoia, even AFTER we get the vaccines. Full protection from the shots may take more than a couple of months to achieve. Antibodies take time to develop to its maximal level. Let us not put our guard down till herd immunity is reached. Wisdom means life. A dozen reasons to have sex The revelation of infidelity among several popular public personalities in the past “have given sex a bad rap,” says a psychologist and sex therapist. The following have been cited as the health benefits from sex: (1) It relieves stress; (2) Sex improves the skin complexion; (3) Sex burns calories; (4) It heightens immunity; (5) It boosts self-esteem; (6) It maximizes cardiovascular health; (7) It improves intimacy and love; (8) Sex is an analgesic that reduces aches and pains; (9) Sex reduces the risk of prostate cancer; (10) Sex improves sleep and provides good rest; (11) Sex strengthens the pelvic floor muscles; and (12) Sex adds “fire, fuel, and mileage” to a marriage and relationship. Not to mention the gratifying joy and pleasure it provides. Electromagnetic risks At what dose of repeated radiation exposure from medical imaging diagnostic devices, natural or artificial sunbathing, microwave oven, cell phone signals, radiofrequency (radio-TV) signals, extremely low frequency power lines (said to be associated with childhood leukemia) can cause various forms of illnesses, including cancer, is still controversial. But we cannot simply ignore the warnings. In this current situation, the wise and prudent strategy is to minimize exposure to any of these electromagnetic forces as much as we can as we take advantage of the benefits provided by these advances in science and technology. Let’s just be more
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Essential health tips conscious and careful. Cellphone warnings Electrical Hypersensitivity Syndrome is truly a medical condition, characterized by fatigue, dizziness, tinnitus, facial rash, digestive symptoms, following “exposure to visual display units, mobile phones, Wi-Fi equipment, and commonplace appliances, affecting about 3% of all people and about 33% of us to a lesser extent.” Cordless phones and mobile phones emit the same amount of radiation…landline phones don’t. Use of speaker phone for cordless and mobile phones, or a hollow (preferred) wired (hands-free) earpiece is safer. Never use Bluetooth wireless headset which is a worse emitter. Texting is safer than calling with the handset against your ear. If possible, the cellphone should not be carried close to the body; if not, then the battery should be facing away from the body since this acts as the antenna, the dial pad facing the body. If not using a hands-free device, switching from one ear to the other every 15 seconds or so is a good practice. As much as possible do not use cellphone in elevators or close spaces, since the weak signal will make the phone maximize its signal strength (and radiation!). Children should NOT use cellphones except for emergencies, since they are more vulnerable to the effects of radiation. Exercise wonders The amazing wonders of physical exercise are scientifically proven to keep the body and mind healthy, strengthen the immune system, improve cardiovascular fitness and reduces heart attacks by 33%, lessen the risk of the development of type 2 diabetes by 91%, prevent, if not minimize high blood pressure by more than a third, lowers the risk for depression and cancer – all these for doing 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week. Tai Chi, Tai Bo, dancing at any speed, walking (moderate to brisk), swimming, bicycling, or any aerobic exercise. There is no age limit to doing exercises. My mother, who died at the age of 101, did daily exercise till she was 93 (at a moderated pace) following the Leslie Sansone’s DVD aerobic exercise program. Besides a proper diet, abstinence from smoking and moderation in alcohol intake (red wine preferred), exercise is a major key to health and longevity. Shaving calories A good strategy is reducing
calories is by substitution or swapping: drinking an 8-oz bottle of water instead of a can or bottle of unhealthy soft drinks (which are actually toxic to our body) saves you 100 calories; chicken sandwich instead of hamburger, 290 calories; one teaspoon mustard instead of mayo, 100 calories; apples slices instead of French fries, 270 calories; swap chocolate ice cream with strawberry slices, 115 calories; mixed salad with low-fat dressing instead of 2 slices of pizza saves you about 300 calories; and one bagel replaced by 2 slices light whole grain bread, 269 calories; high fiber cereal instead of granola, 110 calories. And brown rice is certainly healthier than white rice. Pistachio lowers cholesterol Studies at the Pennsylvania State University shows that pistachio nuts with its monounsaturated fatty acids and high antioxidant content have beneficial effects on cholesterol, body mass index (for weight reduction) and for hypertension control. As little as 1.5 ounces of pistachios a day for one month reduced the cholesterol by 8.4% and the low density (bad) lipoprotein by 11.6%. Monounsaturated fats, as in pistachio nuts and green leafy vegetables, are cardio-protective and lessen the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke. The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people live a healthier lifestyle to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, a Health Public Advocate, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian and antigraft foundation in the United States. Visit our websites: philipSchua.com and FUN8888.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
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FUN-USA aims to promote Filipino pride and dignity
THE Filipino United NetworkUSA (FUN-USA), a United States humanitarian foundation, is expanding its network from the East to Las Vegas as it continues to pursue its objective of saving the lives of countless disenfranchised Filipinos languishing in the gutter of poverty in the Philippines. FUN-USA started on a bright and sunny morning on September 22, 2007, when a group of recognized Filipino American leaders from various medical, legal, business, socio-civic, and humanitarian organizations across the U.S. met at the Holiday Inn Koger South Conference Center in Richmond, Virginia. The objective of the meeting was to organize an association dedicated to help in the reconstruction of the Philippines by supporting programs that are fundamental in nation rebuilding. The ultimate goal was the transformation of the Philippines and the Filipinos and restoring their pride and dignity as a nation and as a people. The meeting in Richmond was the culmination of an initial one, The Summit of Leaders, that was initiated by Oscar M. Laserna, MD, then incumbent president of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America, during its 35th Gala Jubilee in Norfolk, Virginia on July 26-28, 2007.
At that summit, guests from the Philippines included Tony Meloto (Gawad Kalinga founder), his son-in-law Dylan Wilk (coordinator, Gawad Kalinga, International Partnerships), Bobby Rodrigo (a past president of Rotary-Makati, and General Director of South A Gawad Kalinga Resource), who all supported the endeavor. The second Summit was hosted by the North Central Virginia Association of Philippine Physicians led by Rosario G. Laserna, M.D., of Fredericksburg, at its September 2007 convention in Richmond. After opening statements and expression of support by all leaders present, a reaffirmation of the previous consensus at the July SPSA Summit was reached. Thus, the Filipino United Network-USA was born. The leaders present elected cardiac surgeon Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a past president of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America (SPSA) and the Association of Philippine Physicians in America (APPA), as Chairman of the Board, and Dr. Rosario G. Laserna, MD, FACOG, as Vice-chair. After the resignation of Dr. Sarie Laserna on December 7, 2018 for personal reasons, noted PAAN president Daniel C. Fabito, MD, FACS, FPCS, past president of the APPA and SPSA, was appointed
Vice-chair. The FUN-USA satellite headquarters is located at 2920 Vista Butte Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89134. The election of new Board members is forthcoming, previously delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation aims to network with other FilipinoAmerican associations in Nevada and other western States. Since its inception, FUN-USA has donated more than $1 million for the ravaged and desolate victims of several natural disasters that have devastated regions in the Philippines. FUN-USA has been working in conjunction with the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) government agency in Quezon City. The constitution and by-laws of FUN-USA were drafted on October 8, 2007 and ratified on November 8, 2007. The motto of the Filipino United Network-USA is “Serving the Needy with Love and Compassion is FUN.” Donations to this 501(c)3 tax-exempt United States Humanitarian Foundation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Donors are recognized and listed on its website for review and accountability. Its email address is FUNforHumanity@gmail.com, and its global website domain name is www. FUN8888.com.
Catriona dishes on Sam’s best traits: ‘He has a great relationship with my parents’ MONTHS after going public with their relationship, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray has become more open about boyfriend Sam Milby. Gray described her love life as “masaya (happy)” in an interview on Teleradyo’s “Sakto” with Amy Perez last Friday, Feb. 5, as reported in Inquirer Bandera on Sunday, Feb. 7. Although she has been lowkey about her and Milby on social media, the singer confirmed that she spent Christmas in the United States with the actor and his family. “It was my first time to spend Christmas away from my family, so it was nice to feel that I was with my family pa rin (still),” she said. Gray also talked about how Milby is as a boyfriend: “He’s a very good listener, I really appreciate that. And he really goes out of his way to make time for me
Catriona Gray and Sam Milby with Gray’s dog Theo Photo from Instagram/@jaysonsarmiento
because we are both busy.” “So I really appreciate the small things, that he really shows that he’s thinking of me and he makes time for me,” she added. Gray’s parents are based in Australia and even with the distance, she said that Milby gets
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along with them. “He has a great relationship with my parents which is a really fulfilling thing for me rin (too),” she said. “When I usually call them when we we’re together sa (in the) States, we will all talk together. So it’s really nice to see them have that friendship already with my parents because that means a lot to me and I know that Sam knows that. So it’s just nice to see him make the effort.” She mentioned too that she hopes to bring Milby in a visit to her parents. The couple confirmed that they were an item last May, during Milby’s birthday. For her 27th birthday last January, the “Ang Sa Iyo ay Akin” star gave a touching surprise message to Gray on the variety show “Sunday Noontime Live,” telling her, “I love you, Koala.” (Niña V. Guno/Inquirer.net)
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