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JULY 11-17, 2024
T HE F ILIPINO A MERICAN C OMMUNITY N EWSPAPER
Volume 35 - No. 28 • 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, SAN DIEGO, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
Biden-Harris campaign launches new outreach effort for AANHPI voters VP Harris is leading the campaign to appeal to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community, the fastest-growing electorate by KLARIZE MEDENILLA AJPress
AS the 2024 presidential election looms closer, the campaign to re-elect President Joe Biden is ramping up voter outreach efforts to the broad Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) voting bloc.
On Tuesday, July 9, Vice President Kamala Harris introduced AANHPI for BidenHarris, a formal effort to boost support for the Biden-Harris reelection. According to a press release, the coalition will provide voters with “culturally competent and linguistically appropriate” materials to help AANHPI
voters stay informed on the most crucial issues for AANHPI communities—such as health care, immigration, public safety, and others. The team kicked off the coalition on Tuesday in Las Vegas and will visit Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia in the coming weeks. Vice President Kamala Harris launched AANHPIs for Biden-Harris — the campaign’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander PAGE 2 (AANHPI) organizing and engagement program — at a special event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 9. AJPress photo by Robert Macabagdal
AANPHI-owned small businesses in Nevada show support for Biden-Harris
USA
DATELINE Family escapes fiery car explosion on I-15 near Barstow FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
BARSTOW, California – A plume of black ash filled the sky, casting a shadow over the side road along the 15 Freeway, startling motorists on an otherwise ordinary Thursday morning. Luisito Roque, his wife Lolit, and another traveler were in the car heading to a threeday regional convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mira Loma, California, when disaster struck. “We left Vegas at 7 AM to avoid traffic. It was my first time driving this car that I bought last April,” Luisito recounted. “We lost power, and I told my wife, 'Mommy, we lost power.' She said, 'Turn to the side.' As soon as I did, white and black smoke came PAGE 4
Man who pushed elderly Fil-Am into BART train misses court appearance SAN FRANCISCO – The man charged with murder after allegedly pushing Filipino American Corazon Dandan into a BART train last week failed to appear at his arraignment Monday as he was confined in a hospital. The Monday arraignment was set to continue on Tuesday, but the suspect – Trevor Belmont, 49, also known as Hoak Taing – remained at a medical facility for mental health evaluation, according to the San Francisco public defender’s office. Belmont, 49, has been charged with murder and elder abuse after he allegedly pushed Dandan into the path of a Millbraebound train around 11:06 p.m. on Monday. The Daly City resident, who fell onto the platform and sustained severe head injuries, was rushed to the San Francisco General Hospital, where she later died. Dandan rode the BART train every day to her job at a hotel in downtown San PAGE 2
by AJPRESS
Maya Kwong, owner of Xiao Long Dumplings, a small business in Nevada, spoke about her support for the Biden-Harris campaign during an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 9. AJPress photo by Robert Macabagdal
COINCIDING with the launch of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) for Biden-Harris, over a dozen small businesses in Nevada announced their support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s reelection campaign. The AANHPI-owned small
businesses in Nevada expressed their endorsement for the president and vice president as AANHPIs for Biden-Harris — a national organizing and engagement program to mobilize AANHPI voters and communities across the country — was launched during a special event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 9. Among the 15 small business owners in support of BidenHarris is Maya Kwong, owner
of Xiao Long Dumplings, who spoke at the Tuesday event. “When I decided to start my small business in 2021, it felt like a huge risk. We were in the middle of a pandemic, and starting a new restaurant felt like a big bet,” said Kwong. She added, “But Joe Biden and Kamala Harris kept our economy strong, and because of them we were able to survive and thrive. PAGE 2
Marcos to Quiboloy: Come out from hiding by CATHERINE VALENTE ManilaTimes.net
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, July 10 dared Apollo Quiboloy to show up and face the accusations hurled against him, calling him a “fugitive” who is hiding from the law. The president issued the statement after Quiboloy’s camp questioned the motives of the private individuals who offered a P10 million bounty for his arrest. “They can question their motives as much as they want. But he should show himself. I question his motives. Let me question his motives. Why is he always questioning us?” Marcos told reporters after the impounding process ceremony of the Upper Wawa Dam in Rizal.
The president did not mention who he was referring to, but Quiboloy’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Tuesday, July 9 said the reward was wrong on so many levels. Marcos maintained there was nothing wrong with the government accepting donations from private individuals who wanted to see Quiboloy arrested. “Why not? They want to help us bring a fugitive to justice. You know, he is a fugitive. He is hiding from the law,” Marcos said. “If there are private citizens who want to assist the government in that effort to bring him to justice, I don’t see why it is [an issue],” he said. “We’re just following the law. He Vice President Sara Duterte should do that, too.” Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos PAGE 2
Philippines-US nuclear deal for ‘peaceful uses’ takes effect by CRISTINA CHI Philstar.com
MANILA — The deal between the Philippines and the United States that will allow Washington to export nuclear technology to Manila for peaceful uses has taken effect, the U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday, July 9. The landmark nuclear cooperation pact, which the U.S. hailed as a framework for “peaceful nuclear cooperation” based on non-proliferation commitments, came into force on July 2, around eight months after it was signed by country representatives
at an economic summit in San Francisco, California. This deal aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan to increasingly tap nuclear energy to meet the Philippines’ growing power demands, but the viability of nuclear as a clean energy source and the government’s slow transition to renewables has also been questioned by environmental and clean-energy advocacy groups. The so-called 123 Agreement permits the transfer of nuclear material, equipment (including reactors), components, and PAGE 3
Photo from Facebook/@MayorIndaySaraDuterteOfficial
Sara to skip SONA, says she’s ‘designated survivor’ by RED MENDOZA AND ARLIE O. CALALO ManilaTimes.net
FOR the first time, Vice President Sara Duterte is skipping the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and named herself as the country's "designated survivor." "No. No, I will not attend the SONA. I am appointing myself as the designated survivor," Duterte said in a chance interview with reporters in Davao City on Thursday, July 11. A "designated survivor" is a term commonly used in the United States where a person in the presidential line of succession
is kept distant to reduce the chance that everyone in the line of succession will be unable to take the presidency in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The term implies that Duterte would be the one taking over if a mass casualty event happens at the Batasang Pambansa at the time of the president's SONA. The Manila Times has sent queries to the Office of the Vice President on whether Duterte was serious or joking. House Secretary-General PAGE 4