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Volume 19 - No. 29 • 14 Pages
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FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Jollibee’s expansion in the US continues, opens second Jersey City store amid the pandemic
Also published in LOS ANGELES, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
BI: Only foreigners with long-term visas allowed to enter PH in August by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
ONLY foreigners with permanent or existing immigrant visas are allowed to enter the Philippines JOLLIBEE opened the doors of its second starting August, the country’s Bureau of Immigrastore in Jersey City last week, more than a tion clarified on Tuesday, July 21. month after the inauguration of its Edison store, in the midst of the pandemic that has been slowing global economic growth. The new stores are part of the brand’s plans to grow to 150 stores in the U.S. by 2023. Jollibee Edison and Jollibee Journal Square are the 53rd and 54th stores to open across North America. u PAGE A3
The entry of foreign tourists, non-immigrant visa holders, and other categories of travelers are still prohibited. Anyone attempting to land in any of the Philippines’ ports of entry will be turned away, according to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente. “The resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force
In-person services suspended at Philippine Consulate in SF
Fil-Am nurse who documented love for Disney on Instagram dies from COVID-19 THIS past spring, Joshua Obra and his younger sister Jasmine moved to Anaheim, California to be closer to Disneyland. The siblings considered the theme park their “second home,” as they would visit at least once a week since getting annual passes five years ago. As a family, the Obras experienced the six Disneylands around the world and went on three out of the four Disney Cruise lines. “That was our specialty in the family. When the pandemic started, Josh wanted to go on a Disney Cruise because it was so cheap,” Jas-
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for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is clear – only foreigners with existing long-term visas will be allowed entry beginning August 1,” he said in a statement. He warned, “So if you are not a permanent resiu PAGE A2
ROLLING STORE. A man sells mobile phone charger and accessories, face mask, arm visor and headband with his “rolling” cart along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City on Wednesday, July 22. Ambulant vending is a popular source of livelihood in the country as they go around different parts of an area selling their wares. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
THE Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco (PCGSF) announced on Tuesday, July 21 that it has suspended all applications for consular services that are done in-person effective Thursday, July 20 in a release sent out by its Cultural, Community and Public Information Section. The suspension is due to the directives by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed mandating the closure of offices in non-critical sectors, and also to safeguard the health and well-being of applicants and personnel, the release stated. Appointments for the following applications that require in-person services were cancelled July 23 until further notice: • Passport renewal • Passport release (important note: new passports are to be released by mail) • Notarization services • Dual citizenship (important not: applicants may be submitted via email) • Social Security System. Only the following services that are submitted via mail will be attended to: • Extension of passport validity •Travel Document • Civil Registry applications (Report of Birth, Report
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Palace: Government can’t afford Young Filipino US soldier found dead near Texas Army base to test all Filipinos for COVID-19 Third death of soldier near base within the past month by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA
AJPress
THE Philippines can’t afford to test every Filipino for the novel coronavirus, Malacañang admitted on Tuesday, July 21. “If we can afford it, why not? But the reality is, hindi natin maa-afford ang testing sa lahat
ng 110 million Filipinos (We cannot afford testing for all 110 million Filipinos),” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. “Pero gagawa po ng hakbang ang ating gobyerno para mas maparami ang testing natin (But our government will take steps to increase our testing),” he added. Roque earlier said that the
government is exploring the idea of pooled testing to further maximize its remaining test kits. “We are considering what is called pooled testing, wherein you use one kit to conduct swab tests for 10 people,” he announced Monday, July 20. With pooled testing, swab u PAGE A4
Trump signs memorandum excluding undocumented immigrants from census count Legal and civil rights organizations condemn Trump for blocking ‘undocumented immigrants from fair representation’ by KLARIZE
MEDENILLA AJPress
UNITED States President Donald Trump on Tuesday, July 21 signed a memorandum that would exclude undocumented immigrants from census counts in what is the administration’s latest attempt to alter the way that populations are tallied and progress its stringent immigration plan. “I have accordingly determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of [undocumented
immigrants] from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President’s discretion under the law,” the order read. The timing of Trump’s memo is crucial. Congressional district lines will be redrawn in 2021 and what hangs in the balance is whether or not undocumented immigrants would be included in population counts in those districts. Also, the president’s memo arrives as the 2020 U.S. Census — which began in January — is still underway with about 62.2% nationwide participation
so far, according to the Census Bureau’s website. Much like his proposal to include a citizenship question on the census survey, the memorandum, if enforced, would shift the balance of power in the House of Representatives which is dictated by states’ population count. The first census in the U.S. was administered in 1790, and since then, U.S. citizens and noncitizens have always been included in the country’s official population surveys. The Constitution specifies u PAGE A3
by RAE
ANN VARONA AJPress
A YOUNG Filipino U.S. soldier was found dead last week near the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, marking the third soldier death in the area within the past month. Private Mejhor Morta, 26, was found unresponsive on July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Lake, about 20 miles from the base, officials said on Tuesday, July 21. “The Black Knight family is truly heartbroken by the tragic loss of Private Mejhor Morta,” said Lt. Col. Neil Armstrong, commander of 1st Bn. 5th Cav. Regt. “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.” He added, “My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. Private Morta was a great Trooper and his loss is felt by every member within our formation.” Morta lived in Pensacola, Florida before joining the Army in September 2019 where he served as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle mechanic. Since May, Morta was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
Private Mejhor Morta was discovered dead on July 17 near Fort Hood Army base. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army
Morta also received three awards — the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. A Facebook page appearing
to belong to Morta says that he is from Davao City, Philippines. “I reached out to his sister today and they are currently in the Philippines,” Hunter Proffitt, a friend of Morta, told 25 u PAGE A2
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July 24-30, 2020 • NORCAl ASIAN JOuRNAl
http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160
From the Front Page
BI: Only foreigners with long-term... PAGE A1 t dent here, do not attempt to travel to the Philippines because you will be excluded and denied entry by our immigration officers.” BI Port Operations Division Acting Chief Grifton Medina also said that only those who fall under the following four categories will be allowed entry starting next month: • Those who were issued nonimmigrant visas under Section 13 of the Immigration act; • Those who acquired resident status under Republic Act 7919 or Alien Social Integration Act; • Those who availed of Executive Order 324 or Alien Legalization Program; and, • Native-born foreign nationals Likewise, diplomats and for-
eigners married to Filipinos and their dependents will be allowed in the country. “We are therefore advising the different airlines to take note of these latest travel guidelines so that they can accordingly inform their foreign customers who may wish to book their flights to the Philippines,” Medina said. Malacañang on Friday, July 17 announced that foreign nationals with long-term visas will be allowed entry into the Philippines starting August 1, following the Inter-Agency Task Force’s meeting. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reiterated that as the airports and seaports in the Philippines are complying with social distancing rules, a maximum capacity of travelers will be enforced. The resolution passed
by the IATF says that it will prioritize returning overseas Filipinos in the ports of entry. While the Philippine government shoulders the quarantine and testing costs for returning overseas Filipino workers, returning Filipinos who are not OFWs normally shoulder the quarantine and test costs out of their own pockets. “Foreign nationals must also secure a pre-booked accredited quarantine facility and a prebooked COVID-19 testing provider,” Roque said on Friday. The quarantine procedure normally takes at least three days and up to a week as arriving passengers have to wait for COVID-19 test results. HEALTH RISK. Two garbage collectors on top of a hauler truck are seen not wearing face masks as they pass along the Langit Road, Bagong In March, the Philippines Silang-Kanan, Caloocan City on Wednesday, July 22. Health authorities are always reminding the public on the importance of washing hands and banned the entry of foreign na- wearing personal protective equipment including masks for front-liners to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019. tionals into the country. n PNA photo by Ben Briones
Young Filipino US soldier found dead near... PAGE A1 t
News. “He literally came over here, he joined the U.S. Army to help move his family over here. He wanted to move his family. He wanted to make a better life for himself and then we find out that this happens.” No information on the cause of Morta’s death was given. Morta’s death marks the third
time in a month that a soldier was found dead near the Fort Hood area. Officials said Tuesday that the incident was currently under investigation by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department. On June 21, skeletal remains were found in a field in Killeen, Texas, about three miles from the base. The remains were
identified to have belonged to 24-year-old soldier Pvt. Gregory Scott Morales, also known as Gregory Wedel, who was missing since August 2019. On July 1, the body of Fort Hood soldier Pfc. Vanessa Guillen was found dismembered about 20 miles east of the base, after she had been reported missing since April. Another soldier, Aaron Robinson, was a suspect in the case and killed himself as police came to arrest him. Robinson’s girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Following the death of Wedel and Guillen and before Morta’s, State Senator Carol Alvarado who represents Texas Senate District 6 said that the events could not be “ignored or overlooked.” “Ft. Hood is broken and it calls into question the competency of their leadership. As such, an independent and thorough investigation into the leadership at Ft. Hood is well within reason,” said Alvarado, adding that her office has been working with Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia’s office in a coordinated investigation effort. There is no indication that the deaths of Morales, Guillen, and Morta are connected as of press time. n
In-person services suspended at Philippine... PAGE A1 t of Marriage, Report of Death, Consular Mortuary Certificate) • Dual citizenship (submitted via email). The PCGSF, at the same time, released detailed information on services it can provide at this time and how to contact consular divisions via email. Passport Services Those who have an urgent travel to the Philippines are advised of the following: • If their passport is still valid, they may wish to apply for the extension of their passport’s validity. Details may be accessed at this link: http://philippinessanfrancisco.org/news/7137/591/ Passport-Extension/d.phildet/. • If their passport validity has expired or the passport is lost, they may apply for a Travel Document which may be used for oneway travel to the Philippines and is valid for thirty (30) calendar days. Details may be accessed at this link: http://philippinessanfrancisco.org/news/5197/591/ Travel-Document-Procedure/ d.phildet/. Those who have already applied for passport renewal may request to have their new passport mailed to them. Details may be accessed at this link: http:// philippinessanfrancisco.org/uploads/Consular/SF/Images/PassportIssuancebyMail.v4.pdf.
For other queries regarding passport concerns, the public can send an email to passport1@ philippinessanfrancisco.org. Notarization Services Those in need of notarization services may apply for an Apostille with their respective Secretaries of State. For queries regarding legal concerns, the public can send an email to legal@philippinessanfrancisco. org. Civil Registry Applications Those filing civil registry applications (Report of Birth, Report of Marriage, Report of Death, Consular Mortuary Certificate) are advised to mail-in their applications to the Consulate. For queries regarding civil registry applications, the public can send an email to civil@philippinessanfrancisco.org. Dual Citizenship Those applying for dual citizenship are advised to send their documents (application form, PSA birth certification, naturalization certificate) by email to dual@philippinessanfrancisco. org, or to mail their physical documents to the Consulate for pre-review. Those who are eligible for dual citizenship based on the pre-review shall be advised of the next steps via email or phone call. Emergency Services Those in need of emergency
services (e.g. due to death in the family, medical emergencies, legal concerns) are advised to send an email to emergency. sfpcg@gmail.com or call (415) 269-2090. Social Security System For inquiries regarding SSS services, send an email to sanfo@sss.gov.ph or call (415) 7570641. The Tuesday release also noted that “to counter the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, San Francisco ordered all indoor malls and non-essential offices to close, effective Monday, July 20. The pause in the city’s reopening shall continue indefinitely until critical indicators related to the spread of COVID-19 improve. Mayor Breed also reserved the option to close additional sectors beyond those mandated by the state in order to reduce the ongoing surge of cases and hospitalizations.” “The Consulate advises all Filipino-Americans in its jurisdiction to continuously follow state and local health directives, practice good hygiene, wear masks, practice social distancing and limit going outside except for essential services. Those who come in contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and/or experience symptoms are advised to get tested and self-quarantine for at least fourteen (14) days,” it added. n
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Dateline USa
NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JULy 24-30, 2020
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SF Mayor announces increase in COVID-19 testing capacity, additional neighborhood sites City to add 1,400 testing slots at three COVID-19 testing sites and an expansion of CityTestSF; testing to be located in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Jollibee opened a second Jersey City store last week. It is located on the plaza level of Journal Square, a major transit hub in New Jersey. The Journal Square store of Jollibee is open for call-in, pickup and takeout. Officials say that delivery via DoorDash will be available next week. AJPress photos by Momar G. Visaya
Jollibee’s expansion in the US continues...
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Traditional favorites and the chain’s signature dishes like Chickenjoy, spaghetti and peach mango pie are now available for call-in and pickup. For now, the store is also open for takeout from 8:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m. “We have a simplified menu for now. Next week, we will offer palabok, family pack of burger steak, and eventually, breakfast meals which would be perfect for PATH commuters,” area manager Merle Caleon, a 32-year veteran of Jollibee, told the Asian Journal. She handles the eight stores in Virginia Beach, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Caleon shared that the store was supposed to open last January but delays hampered the opening and then the lockdown happened last March when New York and New Jersey became the epicenter of the pandemic. They continued to work on both stores and when they got the final clearance from Port Authority, they opened Journal Square last week starting with a simple store blessing with the team. Because of the current situation, the opening was devoid of fanfare, a stark contrast to the grand opening festivities people are used to seeing. Jollibee’s opening of its Woodside store in Queens in February 2009 and Manhattan in Octo-
ber 2018 were both packed and crowded with long lines outside even before the doors were flung open. No amount of snow or heavy rain could have prevented the horde of diners from falling in line to witness these events. The Filipino fast-food chain’s first store in New Jersey opened in Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood in 2012. The newest store is on the plaza level of Journal Square, a major transit hub in the state where commuters take the PATH train or bus to New York or Newark. Management has assured that the store’s employees know and practice safety precautions to ensure safety for them and their customers. There are designated marks on the floor for social distancing and hand sanitizers are available for employees and customers. There are also plexiglass barriers on the counters and employees are required to wash their hands every 15 minutes, according to store manager Rose Francisco. She is proud to be a part of a company that is helping provide jobs for people. “The store’s opening has provided jobs for many residents and opened up opportunities despite the pandemic,” she said. Around 55 people are currently employed in this location with Filipinos comprising about 60% of the total.
Fan favorites like Chickenjoy, Jollibee’s world-famous fried chicken; Filipino-style Jolly spaghetti, U.S.-exclusive chicken sandwich and Peach Mango pie are all available. They also announced that palabok and breakfast meals will be available starting this week.
Trump signs memorandum excluding undocumented...
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that all “persons” residing in the country should be included in the decennial count to determine the number of representatives states get in the House. (The 14th Amendment went on to specify that the “whole number of persons in each state” should be counted, doing away with the classification of slaves as “threefifths” of a free person.) Like Trump’s past efforts to manifest his immigration agenda, the president’s memo will likely be challenged in court. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has continued to challenge Trump’s immigration proposals, and in response to Tuesday’s memorandum, the ACLU once again pledged to take legal action. And like the federal court’s decision on the citizenship question, the courts will determine that Tuesday’s directive will be found unconstitutional, hopes Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “[Trump’s] latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. We’ll see him in court, and win, again,” Ho said. Along with the ACLU, other groups that have previously taken legal action against the Trump administration signaled that they are once again preparing to file a suit against Tuesday’s memorandum.
Mirroring the ACLU’s sentiments, the civil rights and legal organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice condemned the president’s memo, saying that it is an attempt by the administration to sabotage “each of our communities to be under-resourced and underrepresented for the next decade.” “We will not be moved by the president’s attempts to silence people in our country,” Advancing Justice said in a statement. “This is the latest in a series of attempts to politicize the census and use it as a weapon in his anti-immigrant agenda. It is a move straight out of the white supremacists’ playbook that has every discriminatory practice to restrict the rights of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian American people.” Advancing Justice also reminded those who haven’t taken the census survey — which comprises nine simple questions about those living in each household — to fill out and submit their form, which can be done online. “Even in the face of racism, we will not be silenced. To individuals in our communities, do not be deterred. Everyone should be counted in the census,” they said. “Asian Americans Advancing Justice will continue to push for a fair and accurate count of all individuals in this country. We vow to fight this unconstitutional attack.” n
Among them is Janishin Que, who is just thankful that she can work again. “Medyo matagal na walang work, ngayon makakatulong na uli sa pagbayad ng rent (It was kind of a long time without work, now I can help again with paying rent),” she said. In the U.S., Jollibee is now in the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington, and Virginia, and in Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada. (Momar G. Visaya/AJPress)
SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed on Wednesday, July 22 announced new strategies for COVID-19 testing prioritization and availability to address the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in San Francisco. San Francisco’s public COVID-19 testing program will focus on people who have symptoms consistent with the virus, close contacts of confirmed cases, and people prioritized by the Department of Public Health such as those impacted by an outbreak. In addition, San Francisco’s public COVID-19 testing program will continue to serve first responders, activated Disaster Service Workers, people who must leave their homes to work in San Francisco, people without health insurance, and communities disproportionately impacted by this global pandemic. People with private health insurance should continue to request tests from their health care providers. To support this effort, the CityTestSF site at the Embarcadero will add 400 new appointments per day to ensure that first responders, including City Disaster Service Workers, have access to testing. Additionally, two new mobile testing sites that can each conduct up to 250 tests per
day will be added to the City’s current testing assets, and will be deployed in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The placement of these new sites will be determined in consultation with community members. A new longterm test site also will be added in the southeastern part of the City, starting with approximately 500 more tests per day for individuals most in need of testing. “San Francisco has been exceeding our goals for daily COVID-19 testing, but like cities around the country we’re now facing challenges due to increasing demand,” said Mayor Breed. “Since we issued the first Stay Home Order, there have been over 29 testing sites set up throughout the City with nearly 200,000 tests performed. Our public CityTestSF sites are conducting thousands of tests per day and we’re continuing to expand capacity, but we need private providers to step up and do their part so that our public resources remain available for those most in need.” Consistent prioritization of testing in congregate settings such as skilled nursing facilities has greatly contributed to San Francisco’s achievement of a fivefold lower death rate than
those in comparable counties. San Francisco has consistently exceeded its target of conducting 1,800 tests daily, reaching an average of 3,212 daily tests this week. “We have made tremendous progress, but the data show that we must prioritize specific populations for testing in order to flatten the curve again. Paired with contact tracing, that is the best way to find cases and subsequently reduce further exposures and infections,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “New cases are up fourfold from where they were one month ago, and hospitalizations are currently higher than they were at the initial rise of the pandemic in San Francisco. The City needs to continue adapting and improving our prevention and response efforts, including testing. I’m grateful to our many partners in this work, as it will take all of us to reach our goal of universal access to testing for San Franciscans.” In early July, a combination of increased testing demand paired with a delay in national laboratory results created a need to reevaluate existing testing resources in the City and determine how testing capacity could be improved,
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July 24-30, 2020 • NORCAl ASIAN JOuRNAl
Dateline USa
Fil-Am nurse who documented love for Disney...
PAGE A1 mine, 21, told the Asian Journal. Joshua, 29, expressed his love for all things Disney online by sharing photos of park attractions and characters on his Instagram under the moniker, @ DisneylandPanda. “Magic is Happening again!” he wrote in a June 10 post, telling his over 25,000 followers the news that Disneyland and Downtown Disney would reopen soon. Less than a month later, Joshua died on July 6 after a 26-day battle with COVID-19. In early June, both siblings felt sick, with Joshua experiencing a Joshua Obra, 29, died on July 6 from complications related to COVID-19 after 26 days in the hospital. A registered nurse by day, Obra documented his love for the Disneyverse on Instagram under the fever and other symptoms related name, @DisneylandPanda. Photos courtesy of Jasmine Obra to COVID-19. They got tested and quarantined at home together as they waited six days until the results came back positive. “When he gets sick, it’s really hard for him to get better. My parents couldn’t come help because they’re over the age of 60 so I was the one who took care of him,” Jasmine recounted. “It was one of the longest weeks of my life, just checking on him every hour and monitoring his temperature and blood pressure.” A week after testing positive, Jasmine drove her brother to the emergency room as his condition worsened. That was the last time she saw him. Six days into his hospital stay, Joshua was put on a ventilator and moved to the ICU, where he
LUNGSOD NG SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PAUNAWA NG PANGKALAHATANG MUNISIPAL NA HALALAN ANG PAUNAWA AY IBINIGAY na nagsasaad na ang isang Pangkalahatang Munisipal na Halalan ay gaganapin sa Lungsod ng South San Francisco sa Martes, Nobyembre 03, 2020, para sa mga sumusunod na Opisina: Isang (1) Miyembro ng City Council sa District 2 Isang Buong termino ng apat (4) na taon Isang (1) Miyembro ng City Council sa District 4 Isang Buong termino ng apat (4) na taon Ang panahon para sa nominasyon ng bawat nakasaad na mga Opisina sa itaas ay magsisimula sa Hulyo 13, 2020 at magtatapos sa Agosto 07, 2020 sa 5:00 pm. Kapag ang mga dokumento ukol sa nominasyon para sa isang kasalukuyang nanunungkulang Opisyal ng Lungsod ay hindi naisumite ng Agosto 07, 2020, (ang ika-88 araw bago ang halalan) ang mga boboto ay magkakaroon ng hanggang Agosto 12, 2020 (ang ika-83 araw bago ang halalan) upang makapagmungkahi ng kandidatong hindi ang taong kasalukuyang nanunungkulan noong ika-88 araw bago ang halalan, para sa opisina ng kasalakuyang nanunungkulan na iyon. Ang palugit na ito ay hindi naaangkop kapag walang naitalaga o nahalal na kasalukuyang nanunungkulan na karapat-dapat na mahalal. Kapag wala o iisang tao lamang ang naimungkahing kandidato para sa opisina, ang paghirang para sa opisina ay maaaring gawin ayon sa isinasaaad ng Section 10229, Elections Code of the State of California. Ang mga presinto sa Araw ng Halalan - Nobyembre 03, 2020 ay mananatiling bukas sa pagitan ng 7:00 a.m. at 8:00 p.m /s/ Rosa Govea Acosta, CMC, CPMC Klerk ng Lungsod, Lungsod ng South San Francisco Hulyo 01, 2020 3551994.2 7/24/20 CNS-3383201# ASIAN JOURNAL (NORTHERN CALIF.)
Obra (right) is survived by his parents Onofre and Cynthia and younger sister Jasmine. The family has visited all six Disneylands around the world and went on three out of the four Disney Cruise lines.
spent nearly three weeks until his passing. The day he died, Jasmine went to take another test as her symptoms subsided. Though she was not directly informed yet, she received a text from a cousin: “I’m going to miss him so much.” Her parents came over, wearing masks, to tell her the news. “I was obviously devastated,” Jasmine said. “The first thing I asked was, ‘What happened?’ because it was all so fast and we weren’t expecting it. For me, all the updates I was getting were like, his vitals are stable. Then he died that Monday.” By day, Joshua was the nursing supervisor at Intercommunity Care Center in Long Beach, a skilled nursing facility that specializes in the treatment of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The Southern California native’s passion for serving others drew him to the field early on as he became a licensed vocational nurse right after high school and then earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2016. He got the job at the Long Beach facility last fall and his sister worked alongside him as a nursing student. In the Disneyverse, Joshua connected most with Baymax, a health care robot from “Big Hero 6.” “Baymax is a health care companion and that was Joshua. He was fluffy. He even had the little mannerisms like Baymax and would wobble around or fist bump with friends. Every time we watched that, that was always the character he related to,” Jasmine said. Despite their eight-year age difference, the Obra siblings were inseparable and hardly went to the theme park without the other. “The obsession with Disney happened together after we got our annual passes,” Jasmine recalled. With an eye for detail, Joshua approached each visit to the park equipped with his DSLR camera and a mission to document its allure. “[What] he always had to do was take a picture of something. He would find the most beautiful angles of Disneyland to share the Disney magic with everyone and
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Mayor Breed announces move to fund homelessness recovery plan prioritizing housing expansion SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed announced a plan to support investments in housing and shelter as part of a broader Homelessness Recovery Plan that will help the City create more housing and shelter for homeless residents as San Francisco endures and eventually emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Homelessness Recovery Plan, the City will expand capacity in the Homelessness Response System and will make 6,000 placements available for people experiencing homelessness through Coordinated Entry, including 4,500 placements in Permanent Supportive Housing. This includes acquiring or leasing 1,500 new units of Permanent Supportive Housing in the next two years, the largest one-time expansion in the City in 20 years. The Homelessness Recovery Plan will include placements so that the City can ensure homeless residents who have been moved into Shelter in Place hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic are not returned to the streets. These exits include new and existing Permanent Supportive Housing, maintaining safe sleeping sites, and reactivating some spaces in the shelter system at a safe capacity with COVID-19 modifications in place. By the close of 2022, the City plans to complete its historic expansion of Permanent Supportive Housing. “Throughout this pandemic, San Francisco has provided emergency housing and shelter for thousands of unhoused people, and we are continuing to work to help those living on our streets each and every day,” said Mayor Breed. “But we have also continued our long-term planning to provide housing and shelter for thousands of people for years to come. Even in the midst of this historic budget crisis, we can still do our part to move forward solutions, while still advocating for more support from the federal and state government. We know housing is the solution to homelessness, and by expanding access to housing, we can help people get more stable and also create more opportunities to help people off our streets and into our system of care.” This system expansion is dependent on the passage of two measures on the November ballot – the Business Tax Reform measure and the Health and Recovery General Obligation Bond, in addition to activating further state and local funding sources.
everything that the park has,” Jasmine said. Joshua contributed his photos of the park and various events as an ABC7 eyewitness over the years. The local station remembered him on Instagram as a “sweet and kind man, and a talented photographer.” “The weekend shutterbug says he’s inspired by his fellow photographers, and lives by this motto: the shots you take today are the memories of tomorrow,” it wrote. Though Jasmine couldn’t physically be with her parents to mourn, the tributes and messages about Joshua and his online persona have provided some comfort. On the DisneylandPanda account, individuals commented how they enjoyed viewing Disneyland through his perspective and how he would always respond if they had questions about the theme park or needed suggestions. “There have been times we’d be at the park and someone would ask him for a picture and say, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Disneyland Panda!’ He didn’t know he was that popular. He was so humble,” Jasmine said. “We were able to find the Disney community and now, we share the same friends who have become part of our extended family.” Joshua left behind a trove of photos and a supportive online community. Jasmine promises to honor him by keeping the popuPAGE A1 lar Instagram account active and continuing to pursue her health samples of multiple individuals will be put into a single reverse care career. Going five months into the pan- transcription-polymerase chain demic, Jasmine said she “gets re- reaction (RT-PCR) test. If the swab tests come back ally heated” about seeing people defying orders and not practicing negative, individual testing will not be needed. However, if the social distancing. “I’m obviously going to feel results return positive, each instrongly about this because I lost dividual will be tested separately my brother,” she said. “It’s not for the virus. “Easily, 25 million people can some joke. We have to work together in order to [get through] be tested using pooled testing at the pandemic by following regu- ‘yan na po ang hakbang na gilations and doing our part…be- nagawa ng gobyerno dahil alam cause health care workers are out there saving lives and it puts their lives at risk.” Joshua is also survived by his parents Onofre and Cynthia PAGE A3 Obra, who both immigrated from the Philippines. (Christina M. reprioritized and expanded. “Containing the spread of Oriel/AJPress) COVID-19 requires a significant increase in testing and fast turnaround times for results,” said Caroline Savello, Chief Commercial Officer, Color. “Working with the City of San Francisco, Color and our clinical partners have built one of the most efficient testing programs in California. We’ve provided over 100,000 fast, reliable results through CityTestSF, and built the foundation that will help meet changing public health needs.” “With the recent surge of the virus across the country and in the Bay Area, increased access to testing throughout our communities is paramount. We appreciate the commitment of the Mayor’s office in continuing to lead the response in battling this pandemic,” said Eren Bali, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Health. “We are excited to expand our partnership with the City, which will provide us with an opportunity to add hundreds of new jobs for our local healthcare workers while increasing access points for thousands of San Franciscans.” Next Steps for COVID-19 Testing Improvements in San Francisco Issued a Health Order requiring private health care providers to expand testing services
The Health and Recovery Bond received unanimous support from the Board at its first vote on Tuesday, July 14th. The Mayor’s Homelessness Recovery Plan is based on proven approaches such as Rapid Rehousing, Prevention and Problem Solving, and Permanent Supportive Housing. Permanent Supportive Housing is the City’s most effective intervention for ending chronic homelessness for people with long histories of homelessness and complex health care needs. San Francisco currently has approximately 8,000 units of PSH which house approximately 10,000 people every night. “This Plan is nothing short of a game changer. San Francisco leads in the most Permanent Supportive Housing per capita of any community in the country and with the Mayor’s leadership, will have the largest one-time expansion of housing in twenty years,” said Abigail StewartKahn, Interim Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “It is critical that we provide more housing, shelter, prevention and diversion for those experiencing homelessness to realize our goal of not exiting anyone who came inside during this crisis to the street while preventing thousands more from becoming homeless during this crisis.” As part of the City’s COVID-19 response, the City has opened more than 20 hotels with 2,527 rooms for vulnerable residents to isolate, quarantine and shelter in place, as well as 120 RVs and additional safe sleeping villages and sites. In the short-term, the City will continue to move approximately 1,000 more people currently experiencing homelessness off the streets and into alternative housing sites, including Shelter in Place hotel rooms, shelter, and safe sleeping sites. Homelessness Recovery Plan The City’s Homelessness Recovery Plan is as follows: • Beginning this year, the City will move Coordinated Entry Housing-Referral Status individuals, some currently in Shelter in Place Hotels, into Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units. • In Fiscal Year (FY) 202021, the City plans to purchase and lease 1,000 new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units and add an additional 500 PSH units in FY 2021-2022. • In partnership with Tipping Point Community, 200 of the newly leased units will be made available through a flexible housing subsidy pool, which
matches people experiencing homelessness with private market apartments and provides support services and rental subsidies to keep them housed. Tipping Point and other philanthropic partners are also hard at work raising additional funds to support this Recovery Plan. • The City will be looking at a variety of possible sites for acquisition to identify buildings that meet the needs of future tenants and that are financially feasible for the City. By 2022, the City will have completed the largest one-time expansion of PSH in the last 20 years, with 1,500 new units on-line. • In addition to the new units, each year, the City will place approximately 1,500 individuals in PSH each year, identifying and optimizing a pipeline of units completing construction and maximizing turnover within the City’s current PSH portfolio. • Additionally, the City plans to reactivate its adult shelter system up to approximately 1,000 beds, reopening more placements for people experiencing homelessness. This increase will maintain necessary spacing between residents and will include robust safety measures including daily health screening, social distancing, enhanced cleaning, testing, and other preventative measures. Due to the pandemic, the City’s adult congregate shelter system will remain at 50% total capacity to protect the safety of clients and staff. • In fall 2020, the City plans to open a new first-of-its-kind Transitional Age Youth Navigation Center at 888 Post, providing beds for young people ages 18-24. • In January 2021, the City expects to open a new adult SAFE Navigation Center at 1925 Evans Street to serve the Bayview community. • Additionally, the City plans to continue the operation of 120 RVs to maintain this expanded emergency shelter. • In addition to expanded exits to homelessness, the City will invest further in homelessness prevention as the City anticipates that people experiencing the crisis of homelessness may increase as the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic evolve. • Finally, assuming the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, capacity in the adult shelter system will return to pre-COVID levels, reopening approximately 1,000 placements in previously existing shelter locations. (From SF Mayor’s Press Office)
Palace: Government can’t afford to test... natin na ‘pag na-test at nahanap natin sino ang may COVID-19 pupwede na sila i-isolate nang hindi na makahawa (And that is the step that the government is taking because we know that when we test and find out who has COVID-19, they can be isolated without infecting more people),” Roque said. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, for his part, noted that “no country can do that,” referring to mass testing. “Wala pong bansa ang na-
kakagawa nito kahit na po ang pinakamayaman katulad ng United States of America (No country can do this, not even the richest ones like the United States of America),” he said Tuesday. According to him, the government may be able to test 1% of an estimated population of 109 million by 2021. As of press time, there are 72,269 confirmed COVID19 cases in the country, with 1,843 fatalities and 23,623 recoveries. n
SF Mayor announces increase in COVID-19... San Francisco’s Health Officer has ordered private health care providers to test people with symptoms, close contacts of confirmed cases, and anyone whose test is recommended by the Department of Public Health. The new Health Order also recommends that private health care providers test people whose work outside the home puts them at higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. Reassess existing testing assets and revise testing priorities Starting this week, the City is assessing existing City and privately-operated testing facilities throughout San Francisco to determine where capacity can be expanded particularly for priority populations. Priorities include close contacts to a confirmed positive case as identified by contact tracers, those showing symptoms, and those prioritized by the Department of Public Health. Expand community testing to locations that show recent increases in transmission Starting next week, the Department of Public Health will expand alternative testing sites in partnership with the San Francisco Health Network (SFHN) Primary Care and community partners to provide testing based on existing health care and community infrastructure. This continued focus on community will include the
launch of two CityTestSF Mobile assets which will be deployed to areas that show intensive active transmission of COVID-19. This will allow San Francisco’s response efforts to follow the path of the virus throughout the community and will decrease the burden of COVID-19 in the City as a whole. Expand testing for priority populations in areas with less access to testing The southeastern section of San Francisco includes the neighborhoods of highest transmission of COVID-19 and populations of highest risk of severe outcomes. Improving access to testing decreases the amount of time that individuals may be unknowingly spreading the virus throughout their communities. Therefore, the City is currently assessing potential locations for a new CityTestSF site in the southeastern quadrant of the City. Once finalized, the location will mimic the existing CityTestSF site in SoMa and will have the ability to begin testing 500 people per day. The new testing sites will be created in partnership with Color and Carbon Health. San Francisco will begin implementation of the above next steps for testing improvements this week as part of the City’s response to the surge of COVID-19 in our community. (From SF Mayor’s Press Office)
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Dateline PhiliPPines
US aid to Philippines’ COVID-19 response amounts to nearly P1 billion THE United States government on Sunday said that it has given P978 million in COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines. That’s according to a video posted by the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines on its YouTube channel. “So far, total U.S. government COVID-19 assistance to the Philippines amounts to approximately P1 billion. This assistance is being provided through the U.S. Department of Defense, United States Agency for International Development and the US Department of State,” U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said. The embassy added that personal protective equipment and other medical supplies amounting to P10 million from the U.S. government have been donated
to hospitals across the Philippines. “We are working with the Philippine Department of Health to deliver assistance to medical clinics from Luzon to Mindanao. The equipment so far has been distributed to 14 medical clinics, hospitals, and local health offices in Palawan, Isabela, Tarlac, Laguna, Bataan, Bulacan, Sulu, Zamboanga del Sur, and Basilan,” Col. Stephen Ma, Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group chief, said. He added that “the supplies include disposable gloves, masks, medical clothing, various types of face protection, and tools such as infrared thermometers.” Ma also logged 1,000 cots provided to the Philippine Office of Civil Defense and 150 cots turned over to the Philippine
General Hospital. Meanwhile, the U.S. Agency for International Development said that it has aided in the country’s efforts to boost its testing capacity by partnering with international organizations to upgrade laboratories and by helping to expand the specimen transport systems nationwide. In March, the U.S. Department of State released a report showing that Washington released approximately $18.3 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to ASEAN countries. Among its ASEAN neighbors, the Philippines received that largest amount of assistance from the U.S. with approximately P200 million as of March 26. (Bella Perez-Rubio/Philstar. com)
Kai gets hands on NBA G League gear by Luisa
MoraLes Philstar.com
Kai Sotto poses with his NBA G League gear package.
THE journey toward the NBA G League has begun for Philippine basketball phenom Kai Sotto. The 7’2” cager received his official G League gear on Tuesday, July 22 and showed it off on his Instagram. “Change The Game #winning,” Sotto wrote on the Instagram post. The package Sotto got included a bag, an official G League cap and an interactive box that showed his highlights so far in the United States. The box showed the message “Welcome to the League”. Sotto uploaded a full IGTV clip of his unboxing of the package. “Blessed to be a part of such a great organization,” Sotto said in his caption. The Batang Gilas mainstay is set to debut for a new NBA G League squad this upcoming season where he will be joined by Filipino-American Jalen Green. Sotto and Green banner the new professional pathway of the NBA G League which serves as an alternate route to the NBA instead of going into college in the Photo from Instagram/@kzsotto US NCAA.
NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JULy 24-30, 2020
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JULY 24-30, 2020 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
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FeatURes
OPiniOn
Deaths in the NBP
WON’T controversies ever end at the national penitentiary? Armored vehicles and Special Action Force commandos have been fielded to curb illegal activities including drug trafficking operations of inmates in the New Bilibid Prisons. The rot in the NBP and its supervising agency the Bureau of Corrections, however, has often involved their own personnel. BuCor officials and prison guards have been linked to rackets such as the grant of luxurious amenities and prolonged stays in private hospitals to moneyed inmates. Before the pandemic, there was the scandal over the early release of inmates based on good conduct time allowance. Amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the Department of Justice is looking into suspicions that the public health crisis might have opened opportunities for illegal activities in the corrections system. The DOJ has initiated a probe into the deaths of 21 inmates allegedly due to COVID-19, with 24 others suspected to have succumbed to the coronavirus. Apart from checking the health conditions in the country’s main prison facility, the DOJ is looking into the intriguing detail that nine of the fatalities were high-value inmates linked to drug trafficking
operated from the NBP. The most well known, Jaybee Sebastian, was a star witness in the case that put Sen. Leila de Lima behind bars without bail. Because they were classified as COVID cases, the remains of Sebastian and those of the other fatalities were immediately cremated, according to BuCor officials. So it is now nearly impossible to determine the cause of death – unless someone emerges to contradict the story. With bodies supposedly reduced to ashes, it may even be difficult to determine if the prisoners are actually dead or, as even some lawmakers are speculating, whether they were simply allowed to walk to freedom. Apart from the DOJ, the Senate is set to conduct a probe into this latest controversy. Will such a probe ferret out the truth? Considering the circumstances, senators face a daunting challenge. (Philstar.com)
Editorial
The Fil-Am Perspective GEL SANTOS-RELOS RES IPSA LOQUITUR. The thing speaks for itself. I remember learning a lot about legal terms in Latin on the legal talk, public service and drama radio program on DZMM with the late Philippine Senator Rene Cayetano, the good father of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. The “Compañero ng Bayan”, as I fondly called him, would give pro-bono legal advice to my radio listeners, sharing my objective to make ordinary Filipino people more aware of their rights and obligations as provided for by the law. The Filipino people rewarded the elder Cayetano by catapulting him to the Philippine Senate in 1998. Res Ipsa Loquitur. The thing speaks for itself. I believe the late Compañero will agree with me that this legal term is very much applicable to the online forum live-streamed on Facebook and shared on various social media platforms. After killing the ABS-CBN franchise on July 10, a Zoom video call shows that Dutere’s minions are now strategizing on ways to seize the assets of and take over ABS-CBN. As InterAksyon reported, and as viewed by Filipinos all over the world on social media, “Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta (Sagip Party-list), Deputy Speaker Jesus Crispin Remulla (Cavite, 7th District), Rep. Michael “Mike” Defensor (Anakalusugan Party-list) and Rep. Yedda Romualdez (Tingog Sinirangan Party-list) talked about the different ways that ABS-CBN’s properties could be used and acquired, including seizing the broadcast giant’s sprawling headquarters in Quezon City.” Cognizant of the fact that
‘Res Ipsa Loquitur’: After killing ABS-CBN franchise, video call reveals Duterte’s minions now strategize to take over network and seize its assets an overwhelming majority of Filipinos surveyed (75 percent) said Congress should have renewed the franchise of ABS-CBN, this “leaking” of such sensitive (or should I say insensitive) zoom meeting was purposely done by Defensor. The Partylist Anakalusgan representative, who appeared to be more obsessed about killing the franchise of ABS-CBN than to help kill COVID-19 as he has sworn to do, hosted the informal meeting and made the streaming public on his official Facebook page. The report said Defensor contended that “the online discussion was meant to “explain” the franchise committee’s technical working group’s recommendation on rejecting ABS-CBN’s application, which was eventually upheld by the House panel.” President Rodrigo Duterte — whose vow was: “ Ikaw, ABSCBN, ang inyong franchise, mag-end next year. If you are expecting na ma-renew Yan, I’m sorry. You’re out” — must be very happy with his minions in Congress. After all, he has repeatedly threatened to shutdown the network for not airing some of his campaign ads [regional ads, because of shorter time allocation, per ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak] during the 2016 Presidential elections with Speaker Cayetano as his running mate, and not issuing the campaign the refund for unaired materials. After all, he has made public again and again with expletives you wouldn’t want your children to hear from their president, his rage against ABS-CBN’s critical reporting of him and especially of his war on drugs, his hatred for ABSCBN management, especially
HAVING been born in Mandaluyong, and knowing the history of American influence in my country of birth, I have always felt an affinity and a deep appreciation to the United States for the opportunities given to me and my family. The success we had during the presidency of Ronald Reagan helped make me a die-hard Republican. It was a party that believed in rewarding hard work, maintaining a strong posture against world communism, and providing
also penalized the network for issues which were non-issue in their treatment of other franchise applicants like GMA-7. On February 24, Duterte’s former aide turned Senator Bong Go was quoted in a Rappler article, saying the president was “hurt” as ABS-CBN chose to air “black propaganda” instead of “legitimate” ads paid for by the Duterte campaign. “Kung masama ka sa Pangulo, mas maging masama siya sa ‘yo (If you are mean to the president, he will be meaner to you),” he says. RES IPSA LOQUITUR. The thing speaks for itself. The politics of vendetta and cronyism and political dynasty in the Philippines. Condoned and perpetuated not only by the three supposedly independent and coequal branches of government, but by many Filipinos who are loyal Duterte supporters. Mrs. Chita Lopez-Taylor, the mother of Gabby Lopez and widow of the late Geny Lopez, the one who built ABS-CBN, shared with me a statement from a priest which she allowed me to share in my column. I can only imagine what Tita Chita is going through right now, after having experienced how the Marcos dictatorship imprisoned her husband, sequestered ABS-CBN when martial law was declared in 1972, all because of a vendetta for the network’s reporting. The Lopezes were only able to take back the broadcast headquarters in 1986 when Marcos was deposed by People Power. Here is the statement: WE ARE BACK TO THE STREETS I was here in these same streets with a throng of discontented crowd last February 24-25, 1986. That was 34 years ago when I was still a young seminarian. Today, I am back
with the same arms in protest. Deja vu! Despite the COVID-19 scare, people are out again - from Makati, from Luneta, from Quezon City - raising their fist, honking their horns, shouting, creating any kind of noise. I can again feel what I felt during the days of People Power - the emotion, the disgust, the anger, the dedication, the commitment, the youthful faces. Why are they risking their lives when the virus is just lurking in the air? Because something is wrong, terribly wrong. There was even a young lady who brought out her body and sat by the side window of her car with tears falling on her cheeks as she raised her arm in silence. She was not born yet in 1986. But I saw in her eyes the same anger, the same cry, the same “No” that emerges out of the depths of our humanness when our moral fiber is violated. We say “this is wrong” and we raise our fist in protest. I am here for some of my ABSCBN friends - Inday Espina-Varona, Eli Sepe, Ilsa Reyes, Paul Catada, and several others. But I am also here in the name of thousands of people whom I do not know, their camera men, drivers, waitresses in restaurants, production assistants, technicians of transmitters, tindera ng sari-sari store sa kanto ng Esguerra at Panay, people we do not see on camera, who will go home to their families in the following weeks with nothing, not knowing how to start again. Only because of the personal vendetta of the king by the Pasig river, legitimated by the rude dramatics of his cohorts in Congress. We do not need to be lawyers to see that something is wrong in those hypocritical charades in high places. How many times in this
country shall we see the law being weaponized to kill the poor. No, he has not destroyed the oligarchs in this country; he has killed the poor! I have joined small picket lines of 20-30 workers in some factories or displaced lumad since I was a student. Today, we are talking of 11,000 workers and many others without a future. They and the many victims of this government deserve our support. It is time to stand up, to rise and make our voices be heard. In the face of evil, silence is yes to the status quo. Neutrality is to be complicit with the powers that be. I write my name below to show that I am fully responsible for what I write here; it is necessary especially now that the Terror Law is in effect. Because I also raise my fist in protest of this dangerous and unjust law. I also cry in protest for the extrajudicial killings which I see at close range and their wailing widows and orphans. And I say No to all the values proliferated by this government that is against the basic human sensibilities that my poor parents, my best teachers and my dedicated guides have taught me in my life. Fr. Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, C.M. St. Vincent School of Theology Adamson University danielfranklinpilario@yahoo. com 07.19.2020. *** 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.
I’m a Filipino American Republican, but I’m voting for Biden
Commentary
NELSON GARCIA
Chairman Emeritus Gabby Lopez, for failing to air his campaign ads. After all, Duterte himself said “Yun namang ABS-CBN binaboy ako. Pero sinabi ko kapag ako nanalo, bubuwagin ko ang oligarchy ng Pilipinas.” He also said, “’Yung kaibigan kong tumutulong, ‘pag yumaman ka nang yumaman, mas maligaya ako (My friends who are helpful, if you get richer and richer, I will be happy).” After all, it was Duterte himself, amid his threats, who urged ABS-CBN to sell the network to a new owner. Some have speculated that the president’s friend Dennis Uy, who donated P30 million to Duterte’s campaign, will acquire the Lopez-owned network, as Rappler reported. Amid his doublespeak and quoting verses from the Bible, Speaker Cayetano never had a single hearing about the franchise renewal even before the pandemic, and waited for the franchise to expire, despite numerous petitions waiting to be heard as early as 2014. After all, the rule of law mandates that franchise renewal applicants should be accorded a fair hearing before any decision is made. Furthermore, contrary to the treatment given to other applicants, ABS-CBN was not allowed to operate while the decision was pending. Worse, the dishonorable minions who voted to kill the franchise did not take into consideration the testimonies given by the officials of the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Bureau of Internal Revenue, National Telecommunications commission, that ABS-CBN had no violations of the provisions of its franchise as alleged by detractors in the court of public opinion. They
opportunities with the least amount of burdensome regulations. In my youth, I formed the first College Republican chapter at the University of California, Riverside. I then served on the California College Republican state board alongside current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. I was a California delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, and proceeded to work on various campaigns. After graduation, I landed a job as a legislative staff member with three Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Still, I knew from the very beginning that support for
Donald Trump was going to be impossible, due to his obvious inexperience for the job, but also because of his character flaws — his narcissism, his misogyny, and his racism. Since the moment he stepped on that escalator at Trump Tower in New York to declare his candidacy in 2015, I knew that the United States of America was in real danger. His initial attacks on Mexicans as bringing drugs, as bringing crime, as being rapists, were tell-tale signs of where we were headed as a people upon his election as president of the United States. From Charlottesville, to the Muslim-ban, to Tweeting “white power” videos, culmi-
nating in his racist labeling of the coronavirus as the “kung flu,” his presidency showed how much in the gutter the office has become. If this was not enough, we now have over 2.8 million Americans infected with COVID-19, over 140,000 Americans dead, 42.7 million Americans newly unemployed, and an 11.1% American unemployment rate, as among his greatest “accomplishments.” It is with this in mind that I urge my fellow Filipino American Republicans to join me in endorsing and supporting Joe Biden as our next president. Joe has real solutions that can begin to address the very difficult challenges we Filipino
Americans face in these terrible times. Joe has a plan outlined in his website that addresses the scourge of the COVID-19 epidemic, impacting Filipino Americans where they work, as essential workers, in health care, and as small business owners. Joe has a plan outlined that will tackle the difficult issues of immigration and education. And Joe even has ideas laid-out that affect us as a Catholic community. Finally, Joe has a plan that will restore America’s leadership in the world…where the world looks to as a true beacon of hope, respect, human rights, and democracy. Joe Biden says we are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need Joe
Biden! ••• Since 2009, Nelson Garcia served as the founder and current President of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group, LLC (WIPG), a non-partisan professional networking organization dedicated to working closely with Congress and the diplomatic community in Washington, DC. He served in government relations for the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (2003-2008); and the Alliance of American Insurers (2000-2003). He also served in the legislative staff of California Republican Representatives Gary Miller and Ken Calvert, and served four terms as President of the Congressional Legislative Staff Association.
The views expressed by our Op-Ed contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the predilection of the editorial board and staff of Asian Journal.
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Community Journal
NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JULy 24-30, 2020 B IN NORTHEN cALIfORNIA
Friday, July 24, 2020
OMETHING
ILIPINO
LIfESTyLE • cONSUMER GUIdE • cOMMUNITy • MARkETPLAcE Immigration Corner
The August 2020 priority dates
in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is earlier than Atty. MichAel the cut-off date lisqted below. If Gurfinkel, eSQ your priority date was “current,” but later retrogressed (or “moved EACh month, the Visa Office backwards” and became unavailof the State Department pub- able) before your immigrant visa lishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the was issued (or before you adjustpriority dates for that particular ed status in the U.S.), you would month, for the various family and have to wait until it becomes curemployment based categories. A rent again. priority date is a person’s “place Beginning in October 2015,
the format of the Visa Bulletin changed, in that a new column was added, called the “Application Filing Date.” If a person’s priority date is earlier than the Application Filing Date, they can already file for adjustment of status and work authorization (provided they are otherwise eligible and USCIS indicates on its website it will use the Application Filing Date for that month). This could allow people to obtain PAGE B3
BAHALANA MOTHER TOOK HER TIME IN PETITIONING HER MAKULIT DAUGHTER. Nanay Rosita (2nd from right) went to the U.S. in 1984, leaving behind her children. It was in 1994 when she finally got her green card, and she was able to get all her children, except for Apet (left) who aged out at that time. Nanay became busy juggling two jobs, so she kept putting off the petition for Apet, even when Apet kept hounding her mother. At Apet’s urging, Nanay finally reached out to leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) in 2005 to consult and sign up, but it took Nanay another two years before she completed the forms and sent the necessary documents. Meanwhile, Apet was anxious and wanted to expedite the process, so she wrote to the National Visa Center (NVC) without the knowledge of the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel, when the visa was not even available, creating confusion with the NVC. After follow-ups and monitoring by Atty. Gurfinkel and his team, they were able to reunite Apet and Nanay Rosita in the US, and were also able to bring in Apet’s daughters, Tracy and Nicole (2nd from left). Watch this family reunion, years in the making, on an encore episode of CITIZEN PINOY on Sunday, July 26 at 6:15 pm (PST) on TFC. (Advertising Supplement)
The untold story of Spanky Rigor seen through the lens of his nephew, Fil-Am author Albert Samaha by
MoMar G. Visaya / AJPress
MOST Filipinos know VST & Company, and while V & T (brothers Vic and Tito Sotto) continue to bask in the limelight, S as in Spanky Rigor, decided to leave fame and fortune in the homeland for a more peaceful life in California. For almost 30 years now, Spanky has worked at the San Francisco International Airport as a baggage handler. Sometimes, people would recognize him and would ask for a selfie. No surprise since VST & Company in their heyday pioneered 70’s disco sound was often referred to as “the Bee Gees of the Philippines.” Over the past few weeks, a video feature on Pop-Up Magazine became viral, furiously shared on social media by diehards of Manila Sound and even occasional fans. Now, even younger people know more about one of the founders behind monster hits that continue to be played in every Filipino gathering that involves line dancing. The idea about the feature came from Albert Samaha, an investigative reporter at BuzzFeed who was fascinated by the backstory. It was a personal project: Spanky Rigor is Albert’s uncle. “When I was young I knew he’d been in a well-known band called VST & Company, but had no sense of how famous he was,” Samaha shared. “I never thought Spanky Rigor was one of the founding members of VST & Company, one of the pioneering to dig into that past — which now ‘70s disco bands and popularly known as “the Bee Gees of the Philippines.” He has worked feels a bit shameful.” as a baggage handler at San Francisco International Airport for almost 30 years, since he PAGE B3
immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines.
Archive images courtesy of VST & Company
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Features
July 24-30, 2020 • NORCAl ASIAN JOuRNAl
celebrity world
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Iñigo has learned to be practical like his dad, Piolo
By Ferdie Villar AT A young age, Iñigo Pascual has learned the value of money. This is according to his dad, Piolo, who was interviewed recently by The Inquirer. Piolo said his son is not a spendthrift and knows the importance of being financially stable in the future. “That’s one of the things I admire about my son. He never spends more than what he earns, kahit alam n’yang artista ang ta-
Kapuso star Sheryl Cruz recently shared how she has kept herself fit during the pandemic. She has done so by hiring a physical training coach, watching her food intake and mixing in her workout routines. Photo from Philstar.com
tay nya. Kahit alam n’ya na pwede naman kahit may konting luho, he doesn’t splurge and never takes advantage,” Piolo revealed in the interview. “That’s why he saves because he doesn’t want to be financially dependent on me. He knows the value of being stable financially — that’s where his drive comes from. He wants to have something for himself that he can use when he needs it,” he added.
Willie Revillame has returned to his daily TV game and talent show, Wowowin, on GMA Pinoy TV. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Revillame has re-tuned his program by calling the winner of the raffle from the participants who send in their names and addresses. File Photo from Philstar.com
Piolo also revealed that 22-yearold Iñigo has saved quite a lot. “He lives alone. He may only be 22, but he’s practical in terms of his spending habits. Nakikita ko talaga how my son values the work given to him. He doesn’t waste his money on things he doesn’t need. And it’s good to know that the things that I’ve been practicing as he was growing up, he now practices as well. I always remind him that all material things are temporary. So, it’s important to work hard and save up, so that when something like this [pandemic] happens, you know you’ll be OK because you’re stable,” the actor/singer said. “Napaka-reliable ni Iñigo when it comes to handling his finances and he uses them to help out people. He lives by example. That’s one of the reasons why he works hard… so he can also be a blessing to others,” Piolo further said. *** Some GMA-7 (also known as Kapuso Network) stars are staying in shape even as they are locked down in their homes due to the pandemic. The Philippine Star asked some of these stars to share their secrets. Sheryl Cruz: “A physical training coach, Paulyn Quiza, has been
Iñigo Pascual is a young star who values work and the money that he earns from showbiz. The 22-year-old singer-actor is careful with how he spends his hard-earned money, according to his dad Piolo. Photo from inquirer.net
working with me for six months. She does functional training program with me four times a week, mixing my routines for the day. It’s different each time I complete a session. Basically, we’re able to work on my upper body, core, lower body and then full body each week. What’s nice is that I don’t need heavy equipment, just basic weights and mat. I do it at home and instructions are done online. I also watch my food intake and combine my other workout routines with Zumba or alternate them if there’s not enough time. Overall, it’s one’s determination and passion in completing and following these routines several days in a week that show your desired result. Plus, feeling confident and looking good in the clothes you wear is equally a great motivator in improving your physique.” Rhian Ramos: “I’ve always had at-home workouts because with
Rachel Forneas Satorre, a retired nurse in Northern California, celebrated her birthday last Thursday, July 16 at the Satorre residence in Daly City with her family. She is shown in photo above with her husband, political leader Rey Benitez Satorre, who owns Daly City-based Health Professionals Inc.
Sophie Abella converted a spare room in her home into a little gym to get herself motivated to do her workout routines. Photo from Philstar.com
Another GMA-7 star, Jak Roberto, said that he has always been a health buff even before the pandemic. He gets motivated to work out by reminding himself of his passion for his work. Photo from Philstar.com
the tight schedule, I needed some fitness options that were quick so that I could either do them on set or so that I don’t need to get ready pa and drive to the gym. It took me two months before I started working out because I thought at first na wala din namang point
since I wasn’t working. But I decided to start so that I would feel more positive psychologically.” Jak Roberto: “Before the pandemic, I already did most of my workout at home because of my busy schedule. I bought only the PAGE B3
Acclaimed author Melissa de la Cruz will now have her own studio with Disney Publishing Worldwide.
Disney teams up with Fil-Am best-selling author Melissa de la Cruz for new studio The global entertainment giant previously won production rights to the author’s romantic comedy “29 Dates” By Klarize
Medenilla AJPress
MELISSA de la Cruz, the New York Times best-selling author known for her “Blue Bloods” series, has partnered up with Disney Publishing Worldwide to develop original content that will be featured across the company’s multiple platforms, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Melissa de la Cruz Studio will work and collaborate with new voices, as well as established authors, for content creation and development. The emphasis will be on creating original stories and uplifting writers of color, women writers and others from historically disenfranchised groups, a step in the global entertainment giant’s long-term efforts to embrace diversity. The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of the Disney Publishing Group, has published many of de la Cruz’s works in the past, including the “Blue Bloods” series, “Witches of East End” and “The Beauchamp Family.” “Disney Publishing has been home for many of my novels throughout the years and I am so thankful to continue the collaboration,” de la Cruz said in a statement. “I am beyond thrilled to forge a new journey with the team, full of even more incredible opportunities, nestled with-
in The Walt Disney Company powerhouse. It is a dream come true.” The 48-year-old Filipina American author is best known for her work in the young adult genre: “Blue Bloods,” a series of novels about vampires published in 2006; “The Ring and the Crown,” a historical fantasy epic; and “29 Dates,” a romantic comedy about a Korean exchange student, which is currently being developed into a feature-length film for streaming service Disney+. De La Cruz’s “Isle of the Lost” series provided the basis for the wildly popular Disney Channel original movie “Descendants.” Currently, de la Cruz is also working on a novelization of the Disney+ television series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” “As an author within the Disney Publishing Worldwide family, we have seen firsthand how Melissa de la Cruz cultivates a story and develops content for multiple platforms and media,” said Emily Meehan, Disney Hyperion & New Intellectual Property vice president and longtime editorial publisher of de la Cruz’s work. “Her strong creative vision will inspire the next generation of best sellers and content creators for entertainment beyond the pages of a book,” Meehan said.
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The August 2020 priority dates
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Health@Heart
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Iñigo has learned to be practical like...
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The untold story of Spanky Rigor seen...
PAGE B1 His elders would take about it and make passing references to Spanky’s time in the band, but as a kid, Samaha assumed “they The Priority dates for the Philippines are as follows: were hyping it up the way my FAMILY CATEGORY: Application Filing Date Visa Issuance Date mom hyped up my report cards or science project.” Unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens First Preference June 08, 2012 September 01, 2011 So he kind of knew his uncle (over 21 years of age) was famous, but didn’t realize how famous, especially back in (2A) Spouse and minor July 01, 2020 the day when VST was a housechildren (below 21 years Current Second Preference hold name in the Philippines. old) of green card holders It wasn’t until Samaha was in (2B) Unmarried sons his 20s, when he mentioned his and daughters (21 December 01, 2011 April 01, 2011 uncle to a Filipino friend, fellow years old or older) writer Matt Ortile, who used to of green card holders be his colleague at BuzzFeed. Married sons and daughThey were just talking about Third Preference August 22, 2002 November 15, 2001 ters of US Citizens Philippines stuff and family stuff Brothers and sisters of US when it came up. Fourth Preference May 08, 2002 September 01, 2001 Citizens “My friend’s eyes went wide: ‘Spanky Rigor is your uncle?!’ LABOR CERTIFICATION: Application Filing Date Visa Issuance Date And he explained to me how he Advanced Degree knew all about VST, and that his Current Current Second Preference (Masters) parents listened to them all the time, and that he still listened to Professional/ Third Preference April 01, 2020 April 01, 2019 them too,” Samaha recalled. Skilled Workers As someone who is into invesNon-Skilled Workers April 01, 2020 April 01, 2019 Other Workers tigative journalism, Samaha did *** herein (including testimonials, “Success Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, more research after that. This was around the time he Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney Stories”, endorsements and re-enactments) Twitter @GurfinkelLaw and YouTube: US began to grow more interested in for over 35 years and is licensed, and an are of a general nature, and are not intended Immigration TV active member of the State Bars of California to apply to any particular case, and do not Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for his family’s own history, not just for Spanky but all his elders. and New York. All immigration services are constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee anywhere in the US: In hindsight, he thinks part of provided by, or under the supervision of, an or legal advice regarding the outcome 1-866-487-3465 this newfound curiosity might active member of the State Bar of California. of your legal matter. No attorney-client (866) – GURFINKEL have had to do with the fact that Each case is different and results may relationship is, or shall be, established with Four offices to serve you: depend on the facts of the particular case. any reader. LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK he had reached the age where his mom and her siblings had The information and opinions contained WEBSITE:www.gurfinkel.com ∙ PHILIPPINES been when they migrated to the United States, and their journey no longer felt so distant. “I found myself wondering whether I would’ve [taken] the 6 times more likely to get sick. that various studies have shown same path they had, which of Vitamin D aids in the produc- that those who indulge in multicourse only led me to dig deeper tion of cathelicidin, a protein that ple hobbies develop the healthiinto the reasons they took the est mind. kills viruses. Vitamin D has also PhiliP S. Chua, paths they did. In fact, if I reRed wine is better been found to help lower the MD, FaCS, FPCS member correctly, the reason I Is white wine as good as red risk of developing colon cancer, mentioned Spanky to my friend DEXAMETHASONE for CO- and 2000 IU has been found to wine when your health is conat that party was because I was cerned? A glass or two of white be safe. The other is Vitamin C, VID-19 working on an essay exploring New studies (2,100 patients ascorbic acid as found in citrus wine among persons who enmy family’s immigration story joy them with meals is healthy. fruits. in the UK) reported in the New and had planned a trip to the But studies have shown that Exercises that aid sleep England Journal of Medicine Philippines to report on it,” he red wine is better, especially Some people want to exercise have shown that the steroid said. dexamethasone (6 mg once before going to bed to help im- Pinot Noir, which has the highSometime in late 2016, Samaest level of resveratrol (antioxiprove their sleep. Two of the best daily for up to 10 days) given to ha began to become really curiserious COVID-19 patients on a are gentle yoga and tai chi. They dant polypehnols from the skin ous about his family’s history in ventilator almost doubled the induce sleep and a more restful of the Pinot Noir grape), which the US and was asking all these survival rate (41% versus 29% night. Although some people are is cardio-protective. White wine questions. From why they came is not made from skin of grapes, not bothered by caffeine, for most for those not given the steroid) here to what they left behind, among these patients. Those on of us, it is best not to drink coffee and confers more limited benefit and how his elders feel about all compared to red wine. before bedtime. Somehow, tea oxygen (no ventilator) also benthat now. The final deadly clot efited. Dexamethasone given to seems to be soothing for most He wanted to report this histoWhen someone develops a people. Watching the television those with less severe COVID-19 ry, and who knows, maybe write immediately before going to bed sudden heart attack, it usually did not show any benefit. a book about it. He knew then Update on COVID-19 stats: could cause so much excitement means that the coronary (heart) it would have to be a long-term Globally, 14,980,328 cases, and impaired sleep, especially artery, which has been narrowed thing. by cholesterol plaques over the among children. deaths - 616,098, almost 9 milHe was then still finishing up years, is totally plugged by a clot Eating every 3 hours lion recovered; USA, 3,994,998 his first book, “Never Ran, Never with lightning speed. The heart Scientifically speaking, the cases, deaths – 144,900; Brazil, Will” and knew only scant details 2,129,888 cases, deaths - 80,693; more stable the blood sugar level muscles are instantly deprived about his family’s history. He of blood, which carries oxygen is in a person’s body, the healthiIndia, 1,195,920 cases, deaths knew even fewer details about - 28,990; Philippines, 72,800 er it is. The conventional practice supply, and the muscles go into the historical forces that led to spasm causing severe, vice-like, of eating 2 to 3 times a day works cases, deaths - 1,958; Colombia their family’s migration. well for most, but eating every 3 chest pains. These individu- 204,200 cases, deaths - 6,989. The planned trip to the Philipals, especially when they smoke hours, which will maintain the New cases in one day: Globpines happened and he wrote an ally - 204,017; USA - 62,035, blood sugar level in a more even or eat a lot of saturated fat (red essay about his mom’s support (Florida, the highest, 10,347); In- keel is healthier during the day meat, egg yolk, dairy products), for Duterte in 2017. Later that dia - 39,610, next to USA; Brazil when we are most active, so long have blood consistency that is year, Anita Badejo, a producer at thicker than normal, which tends as the total amount of calories - 21,750; Philippines - 1,981. Pop-Up and a former colleague, The Vatican City had 12 cases, does not exceed the total 24- to clot more easily. The narreached out to ask if Samaha had rowed artery is a frequent target hour caloric requirement of the all recovered, no deaths. Only any stories he wanted to pitch for of these clots, leading to heart Antarctica, southernmost conti- person. their show. attack, or stroke (blockage of arGinkgo biloba not helpful nent on earth, site of South Pole He pitched a couple of ideas For years, everyone thought tery to the brain). Taking a tab(size: 5,483 million miles, popuand both got rejected, but from let of aspirin when one develops ginkgo biloba would help imlation, seasonal - 1,000 to 5000) those early brainstorming discushas no COVID-19 cases as of to- prove memory and prevent chest pain is a popular strategy sions came the idea that resulted while waiting for transport to the Alzheimer’s or dementia. New day. in the final product which was restudies contradict such wide- emergency room. Make sure you Night owls – early bird leased a couple of weeks ago. consult your physician before spread impression. A study A scientific research in Brazil So the project began earnestly revealed that those who sleep where subjects took Ginkgo you start taking aspirin. and Samaha knew he was up for Fish oil is no fish tale biloba for six years did not imlate at night are three times a challenge: asking his elders The benefits of ingesting fish prone to develop symptoms of prove the memory, and neither the hard questions about their oil (by eating fish, or taking fish did it stop the onset of demendepression compared to indipast decisions and he was worviduals who go to bed early each tia. Ginkgo meds are expensive. oil capsules as an alternative) ried about unearthing memories have been medically proven beSpend your budget for Ginkgo on night, even if the total number of that may have been painful or, at sleeping hours are the same in your children and grandchildren, yond doubt. Fish is loaded with least, difficult. nutrients, like omega-3 fatty instead; they will provide you both groups. Staying up late ob“But my Uncle Spanky, Auntie with wonderful memories better acids, selenium, vitamin D, and viously is not healthy. Ging, and the other relatives I protein. And all these ingredithan the GB can. The same with Antioxidants in spices interviewed were generous with A teaspoon of cinnamon has Prevagen and almost all supple- ents are interactive and play an their experiences and memories, important in health as a whole, ments on the market today. What as much antioxidant as half a and really understood the value cup of blueberries! Cinnamon is, they surely improve is the wealth and not as individual, indepenof that reflection, especially for dent, nutrient. Their resultant of the manufacturer and vendors of course, versatile, being used those of us in the next generain baking, in coffee, syrups, ice- of the useless, and potentially combined effects are what bention who knew only the world we efit those who eat fish or take fish harmful supplement and herbals. cream, gums, etc. And the other were born into,” he shared. oil supplement. spices that are antioxidant-rich Caveat emptor! Buyers beware! He then realized that the bigWe cannot alter our genes, Brain exercise include oregano, curry powder, gest challenges ended up being Just like our muscles need ex- but we can live a healthy lifered pepper, ginger, thyme and more about how to do their storosemary. They are, indeed, also ercise to maintain good health, style. Let’s take full control of ries justice — what lessons, inour brain also benefits from our health. The power is in our the spices of life. sights, and conclusions to draw, hands. And within our grasp. mental exercise. Science has Immunity enhancer how their experiences fit into the * * * Vitamin D, when taken regu- shown that individuals who haarc of history. That part took a lot bitually and regularly engage in Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac larly, will strengthen the immune of reading and thinking. system against colds, reports a challenging mental endeavors Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana “And even now, my underreduce the risk of Alzheimer’s or and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international study from Harvard. Those with standing of those stories conlowest Vitamin D level were dementia. Reading, doing cross- medical lecturer/author, a Health Advocate, tinues to evolve. I don’t think found to be about 36% more word puzzles, watching intel- and Chairman of the Filipino United Networkthat’ll ever change, but you have prone to upper respiratory tract ligent games on television, etc. USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the to tell the stories when you can, are good exercises for the brain. United States. Websites: philipSchua.com and infection. And those with asthma, which means deadlines and final whose Vitamin D level is low, are What’s even more interesting is FUN8888.com; Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com. drafts,” he explained. “So putting together the pieces, weaving in the historical context, arranging the timeline, picking what details to include or leave out, all buildPAGE B2 work out with the routine that I do these times, I work out mainly for ing toward some kind of wider necessary and simple equipment and share. The physical aspect of my health. So, if there are physi- meaning, that was probably the I could use in my workout and de- working out is just a bonus; the cal changes, bonus na lang ‘yun! central challenge.” veloped a routine which has been mental and emotional factors are For me, the motivation comes and Samaha learned some of the my everyday gym routine up to really what help me get through goes, so it’s hard to rely on mo- biggest life lessons from his unnow. I’ve always been a health this period. It may be tough now, tivation alone. What really helps cle, and for that he is grateful. buff. One of the things you have but this will pass. I’m praying that me stay consistent are the small “He taught me the power opto maintain in this business is to everyone gets well and is safe un- habits I developed leading to get- timism and warmth can have on look good all the time. So to moti- til this pandemic is over.” ting a workout in.” others. Before I knew anything vate me, I always think of my pasLovely Abella: “I started with about his rockstar days, I’d adSophie Albert: “When quaransion in my work.” tine started, I made it a project high-intensity interval training mired him as an eternally joyous Valeen Montenegro: “I make a to convert a spare room at home (HIIT) and then I did some re- and steady presence, a champion week-long workout schedule so into a little gym. It helps to have search including watching work- of the underdog, always first to I get motivated and work on all an area in your home dedicated out videos on YouTube kaya ako put an arm around anyone who the areas of my body. I also love to working out. Some days I work nagpa-certify online para ma- seemed down,” he shared. “He watching YouTube and IG videos out right away. Other days, it takes motivate ko ‘yung mga gustong has always struck me as a perthat are so creative with what they more willpower to start moving. maging fit and healthy. I’m en- son at peace, and his enthusiasm can do with limited resources. But I make sure to work out no couraged and happy to know that for the granular moments of life What motivates me? I guess it’s matter how I’m feeling even if I help people become physically made a big impression on me the fact that I know I get to in- it’s just walking on a treadmill and emotionally fit para maiwasan growing up.” spire a lot of people to move and for 15 minutes. Honestly, during ang anxiety at depression.” As he looked back at the past, PAGE B1 wait for the priority date to be der to both file for adjustment work authorization much sooner current (in the Visa Issuance or and be eligible for a green card. than before, where they had to Final Action Date column) in or-
NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JULy 24-30, 2020
Albert Samaha works as an investigative reporter at BuzzFeed News. He is working on his next book called “Concepcion.” He wrote his first book, “Never Ran, Never Will,” because he wanted to cultivate some understanding of what football’s place in American society is, will be, and should be. Photo courtesy of Albert Samaha
Samaha thinks that one of the reasons he underestimated his uncle’s celebrity status is that” he always seemed to live in the present: he eats slowly, listens closely, and sees the best in people.” Next Chapter Samaha is now working on his next book “Concepcion,” the bigger project he anticipated when he decided to focus on his family’s decision to migrate to the U.S. This one gets more personal. “At the core, I wanted to better understand how my family ended up in the States. Over my decade or so as a professional writer, I’ve mostly chronicled the stories of others,” he said. He tended to avoid writing anything about himself because there is so much else to write about. But the older he got, and the more stories he heard from his elders, and the more he researched, the more he got drawn to the idea of reporting on his family’s experience. “It’s the story I know best, and though it’s only one thread in the tapestry of the immigrant or American experience, the more threads we can record, study, and reflect on, the more understanding we’ll have of why the world works the way it does,” he quipped. Concepcion is his mom’s family name, and it’s the name that links the main characters in the story: from his grandparents and uncles, aunties to his cousins. “It wasn’t my first idea, or second, or third… I burned through a list of possibilities. “Over the Bridge,” which I think might end up as a chapter title. “Don’t Forget Those Who Fell During the Nighttime,” which is from a Jose Rizal quote that I may use elsewhere in the book,” he shared. For a while, in lieu of a title, Samaha used the name of his favorite VST song, Rock Baby Rock, as a sort of code name for the book project. When he started writing the proposal, he thought the title would be, simply, “The Concepcions” but when he told his agent, he had the brilliant idea to simplify it further. “That the name also alludes to birth and origins made it feel fitting for the story of people starting fresh in a new place,” he said. Journey to BuzzFeed Samaha currently works as an investigative reporter at BuzzFeed, something he calls his dream job, one that he is in because he was able to catch some lucky breaks early on in his career. “I get to chase stories that interest me, I have editors I trust, and I’m provided the sort of resources that make the job easier, from reporting trips to database subscriptions,” he shared. “I graduated college at a time when newspapers were shutting down and magazines were shrinking, so the precarity of working in journalism is always in the front of my mind.” His first three jobs were at alternative-weeklies, in St. Louis, San Francisco, and New York, where they hire young writers and ask them to fill the paper. He was writing eight or nine features a year while learning how to be a local reporter from editors who had been in journalism longer than he’d been alive. “When I was at the Village Voice in New York, my main beat was criminal justice, and right around the time BuzzFeed News was expanding its operation, the Ferguson uprising happened and suddenly criminal justice became the central issue of the moment, and when BuzzFeed went out looking for someone to cover the topic, I had relevant clips to show them and a bit of experience,” he said. Pursuing Stories with Impact Samaha’s reporting has freed
a man from prison, got a police chief fired, and changed laws in six states. “You always hope at the outset that a story can have an impact, but it so rarely happens, so you never expect it. When it does happen, it feels good, obviously, but also like a relief, because it can be disheartening to devote weeks to revealing a problem that doesn’t get fixed,” he shared. He explained that the 2018 story that changed the laws did so because it caught a wave of public outrage, and a lot of people called (or tweeted at) their congressional representatives. The case at the center of it had made headlines, but the laws that allowed officers to abuse people in their custody were little known: the officers in this case claimed that they’d had consensual sex with a woman they’d pulled over, and in New York state they were allowed to use this defense because the law didn’t automatically classify sex in custody as rape. “I found that dozens of officers had been acquitted through this defense, and after many hours of reading through all 50 state legal codes, I discovered that this loophole existed in 35 states,” he recalled. His 2015 story that led to the police chief getting terminated investigated a narcotics unit in Mississippi that targeted college-age students for minor possession, then pressured them to serve as confidential informants. The officers exaggerated the charges they faced, and discouraged them from speaking with a lawyer or calling their parents. These kids then had to wear a wire and help out on a certain number of drug busts, which usually targeted their friends. “One student recorded his interaction with the unit’s chief and sent it to me, confirming many of the details I’d gathered in my reporting and providing indisputable evidence of the unit’s troubling tactics. The unit’s chief resigned the same day the story was published, under pressure from local officials,” he said. Personal Journey When Samaha last visited the Philippines in April 2017, he went with his mom, for an essay he wrote about Duterte later. His mom grew up in Manila, though her parents are from northern Mindanao. His dad is from Beirut and currently lives there. They met on an airplane. His mom was a flight attendant, his dad a passenger. “They separated when I was young. I lived with my mom in California, but saw my dad at least once a year, and much more often in recent years. I grew up around my mom’s side, so culturally I felt full Filipinx growing up,” he said. His mother has seven siblings and most live in the States. Samaha was born in Vallejo, went to Kindergarten in Manila, first through third grade in San Francisco, fourth grade in San Mateo, then middle school and high school in Sacramento. “I went to six different schools from Kindergarten to 8th grade, and having to keep adapting to those new environments and being constantly presented with the unfamiliar certainly shaped who I am today in ways I’m still untangling,” he said. He considers sports as his gateway into writing. He grew up reading the sports section of the newspaper and Sports Illustrated magazine, and by high school, he knew he enjoyed writing and wanted to keep doing it. This love for writing to a backseat when he checked if he could become a professional football player. He played in his first two years of college, then quit to focus on journalism, something that he enjoys doing to this day.
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July 24-30, 2020 • NORCAl ASIAN JOuRNAl
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Bea, Alden drop sweet photos of new love team Kelsey Merritt back in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue for another year By Jan
Milo SeveRo Philstar.com
KapUSO star alden Richards and Kapamilya actress Bea alonzo released the muchawaited first look of their love team, fondly called by fans as “BeaDen.” in separate instagram posts last Monday, July 20, alden and Bea posted their “kilig” photos together to promote their first commercial together for a haircare brand. “Our Head and Shoulders TVC dropped today!” Bea said. “Yun oh!” alden commented on Bea’s post, soliciting over 1,500 likes. alden also posted another photo of him and Bea in a staring contest. “Sino kayang mananalo sa staring contest na to?” alden captioned the post. “@aldenrichards02 me!!” Bea commented, drawing over 2,000 likes. Both artists used the hashtag “#noitchuationsWithMyBae.” “Welcome both to the family Bea #proudTito,” model-entrepreneur nico Bolzico commented. “Bagay kayo Ms. Bea!” a fan exclaimed. “(Mag-)guest ka po sa Bawal Judgemental please!” suggested another fan. “love the chemistry,” added another. “Welcome to Kapuso network Bea,” said another internet user.
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Alden Richard with Bea Alonzo
“Kayo na lang po please!” cried another. Many fans called Bea and alden “Tisay” and “Tisoy,” as well as “Basha” and “Ethan,” their iconic characters from separate blockbusters “One More Chance” and “Hello, love, Goodbye.” last February, before the lockdowns imposed due to coronavirus pandemic, the two were seen together in an airport in Thailand.
Photo from Instagram/@aldenrichards02
Filipina american model Kelsey Merritt is once again featured in the 2020 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The 23-year-old model took to instagram to express her excitement. “Soooo excited for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit to come out on newsstands July 21st!” she wrote under a photo from her shoot in Dominican Republic. Merritt, who was born and raised in pampanga, philippines, was part of the magazine’s “rookie class” last year. She previously hailed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit as “a powerful and iconic brand that celebrates women of all color, size, age, and ethnicity.” “Whenever i see them do something groundbreaking that no one else has done before, i am in awe that i get to call this brand my family,” she shared. “They continue to shatter ceilings for inclusivity. i am so proud and honored at the same time to be amongst the company of strong, confident women that encourage everyone to be their true authentic self,” she added. Merritt made history as the first Filipina to walk on the Victoria’s Secret fashion show runway in 2018.
Recently, Bea made headlines when she revealed that some people were trying to buy her fan social media accounts. Fellow Kapamilya star angel locsin also bared that she also received a message from an administrator of her fan page that someone was trying to buy her fan page account. in her instagram story on Tuesday, July 21, angel posted a screenshot of the conversation about the buy-out attempt. “after reading Bea’s post na may bumibili ng mga accounts… eto rin ang nabasa ko. Sabi nga ni Bea, you be the judge. What’s happening?” angel captioned the post. Bea recently revealed that her fan page accounts received offers for a buy-out. “Had to post this. Woke up to these messages from my supporters. i wonder why these people would offer to buy these accounts all of a sudden? For what?” Bea wrote on her instagram story. “also heard that diff fan groups of diff aBS-CBn artists received the same offer today. You be the judge,” she added. in another post, Bea posted a screenshot that a fan page of her and ian Veneracion also received offers. “like abscbn my Beaian precious acc is not for sale po. Para lang to sa mga loves ko @ beaalonzo and papa ih,” the fan Bruno Mars Photo from Instagram_@brunomars page captioned the post.
MUlTi-awarded singer-songwriter Bruno Mars is celebrating the tenth year since the release of his hit song “Just The Way You are”, his first single ever. The artist took to Facebook earlier on Tuesday, July 21, to greet the song a happy birthday as he gave fans a dose of nostalgia by sharing a screenshot of his release announcement a decade ago. “i’ll never get tired of singing this song. i dedicate it to all of you today. Happy B-Day Just The Way You are. #10YearsYoung,” Mars said. The said screenshot is of his tweet posted on July 20, 2010, which read, “My Official First single out nOW on [iTunes]! Just The Way You are.. i hope yall like it.. and to all my fans you guys are aMaZinG! i lOVE U.” Other than being his debut single, “Just The Way You are” is also the lead song for his first album ever, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans”. Through the song, Mars was able to take home his first-ever Grammy award in 2010 for Best Male pop performance. He has since won 10 more Grammy awards and been nominated 27 times in several categories throughout the years. “Just The Way You are” was certified diamond last year by the Recording industry association of america after moving at least 10 million units between sales and streams, as per Forbes on Jan. 24, 2019.
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Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Bruno Mars marks 10 years of ‘Just The Way You Are’ by ian
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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • JULy 24-30, 2020
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July 24-30, 2020 • NORCAl ASIAN JOuRNAl
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