LAS VEGAS
We’ve got you covered from Hollywood to Broadway... and Online!
APRIL 16-22, 2020
T H E F I L I P I N O –A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R
Volume 31 - No. 15 • 12 Pages
2770 S. Maryland Pkwy., Suite 201 Las Vegas, NV 89109 Tel: (702) 792-6678 • Fax: (702) 792-6879
Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
DATELINE
USA
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Duterte asks public for ‘discipline’ in following quarantine rules Armed Forces, police have been enforcing quarantine measures since March by FRANCO LUNA Philstar.com
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, April 16 ordered the police and the military to prepare to enforce physical distancing guidelines amid the enhanced community quarantine
prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak. This, despite security forces already manning quarantine checkpoints since mid-March.The interagency task force on COVID-19 also said over the weekend that military and police teams will be sent to public markets to prevent crowding. “I’m just asking for your discipline. If you don’t
believe me, the military and the police will take over. I am ordering the police and military now to be ready. They will enforce social distancing and the curfew,” he said in Filipino in his livestreamed public address Tuesday night. “It will be like martial law. You choose,” he said.
u PAGE 3
Jorel Alfonso (left) with his wife Ashling and their three children ages 12, 10 and 5. Photo courtesy of Alfonso family
Fil-Am father, 38, who died of COVID-19 laid to rest A FILIPINO American father of three from the Inland Empire was laid to rest on Wednesday, April 15, a week after succumbing to complications related to the novel coronavirus. Jorel Alfonso, 38, died of COVID-19 on April 7, according to his family. A resident of Eastvale in Riverside County, he is survived by his wife Ashling and their three young children ages 12, 10 and 5. With social distancing measures still in place, families around the country have been prevented from organizing proper ceremonies for their departed loved ones. Only one individual could attend Alfonso’s
u PAGE 4
US senators slam China for South China Sea actions during pandemic
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III
Inquirer.net photo
AMID SENATORS’ CALL FOR THE DOH SECRETARY’S IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION
Duque to ‘stay put’ as health chief by KRISSY
AGUILAR Inquirer.net
SEVERAL United States senators recently slammed China’s actions in the South China Sea as the world focuses on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The most recent actions by the Asian country include the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese coast guard vessel near Paracel Islands earlier this month and the deployment of military aircraft. “The reports of a Chinese Coast Guard vessel sinking a Vietnamese fishing vessel and China’s other activities on illegally reclaimed features in the South China Sea are deeply concerning,” said Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign
MANILA — Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will “stay put”. This was the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte as senators called for the resignation of the country’s health chief over alleged dismal handling of the COVID19 epidemic. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed on Thursday, April 16 in a message to reporters that: “Yes. The President has made a decision for Health Secretary Duque to stay put,” Medialdea said. “He also expressed his appreciation for the Senators’ gesture in giving him the opportunity to weigh his options on the performance [of] his SOH,” he added. Duterte expects Duque to work harder amid senators’ calls for his resignation, Medialdea also said. “Secretary Duque was made aware of the sentiments of the Senators and the President expects him to work even harder to set aside any doubts on his capacity and sincerity to serve the public during these difficult times,” he said.
u PAGE 3
u PAGE 4
DIFFERENT MISSION. Manila policemen and personnel of the city health department prepare to pick up residents in Tondo, Manila exposed to COVID-infected persons. Suspected virus carriers were taken to a facility in Delpan where they will be tested and placed under quarantine. ManilaTimes.net photo by Mike Alquinto
NEDA chief: Another quarantine extension ‘difficult’ to sustain by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
THE National Economic and Development Authority Secretary on Thursday, April 16, said that sustaining another extension for the enhanced community quarantine enforced in Luzon will be difficult. President Rodrigo Duterte in March placed Luzon under quarantine to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. It was supposed to
end on April 14, but was recently extended until April 30. In an interview with DZMM, NEDA chief Ernesto Pernia said: “Mahirap na siguro. Marami na nagsabi na kailangan may partial opening na (It’s difficult. A lot of people are saying that a partial opening is needed). Dapat lang may (There should be a) precaution against the resurgence or the relapse of people who had been cured or who were able to avoid the COVID-positive situation.” “This has happened already in
China, in Wuhan because when they lifted the lockdown, may mga relapses sila. Even Singapore also is suffering from relapse and Korea so we have to be careful about opening up (and) lifting the quarantine in some areas,” he added. Pernia noted the country’s economic growth rate for 2020 is expected to take a hit due to the pandemic. “The worst case scenario siguro is between (negative) one per-
u PAGE 4
ASEAN urged to collaborate amid COVID-19 crisis DFA repatriates by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, April 14, called for the cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has killed thousands of people and forced the lockdowns of major cities globally. “To effectively overcome the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN must collaborate and coordinate within our region and beyond,” he said in his speech during the special virtual summit on the COVID-19 outbreak. This year’s ASEAN summit was chaired by Vietnamese Prime Min-
ister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. According to Duterte, the COVID-19 is an “unprecedented, devastating, and unfolding catastrophe” that is “upending the totality of our way of life.” “This virus threatens to exact the highest tolls – on our peoples and our economies. We are forced to impose drastic measures to address this pandemic,” he said. “These immediate responses, while necessary, could drive our societies and the larger international community further apart. And yet, an effective, strategic response requires that we come together and cooperate even more,” he added. Duterte noted that health care
u PAGE 4
354 seafarers from US by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
VIRTUAL SUMMIT. President Rodrigo Duterte joins other leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, the Republic of Korea, People’s Republic of China and Japan during the special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 video conference at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on Tuesday, April 14. Malacañang photo by Ace Morandante
OVER 300 Filipino workers from Miami, Florida returned to the Philippines on Wednesday, April 15 as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ repatriation program. The latest batch of 354 seafarers came from cruise ships operated by Carnival Cruises and composed of 76 crew members of MV Ecstasy, 104 of MV Dream, 49 of MV Glory and 125 of MV Sunshine. They arrived on a chartered Qatar Airways flight (QR 7485) earlier on Wednesday.
According to the agency, all the seafarers underwent thorough mandatory health inspection by the Department of Health - Bureau of Quarantine upon disembarkation. They will also be subjected to a 14-day facility quarantine in predetermined hotels approved by the DOH. The repatriation program was a coordinated effort of the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA), the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, DOH, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), with the
u PAGE 3