AUGUST 7-10, 2021 Volume 31 - No. 62 • 2 Sections – 18 Pages
AAPI leaders meet Biden, Harris at White CDC issues new House to discuss hate crimes, voting rights eviction moratorium DATELINE
USA
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
by KLARIZE
THE U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week issued a new order temporarily halting evictions in areas of the country with high levels of COVID19 transmission. The extension of the order, which was signed on Tuesday, August 3, is an effort to give relief to renters who may be unable to make rent or housing payments in counties experiencing “substantial” or “high” levels of the virus, particularly amid the Delta variant. “The emergence of the Delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID19 spreads.” The moratorium will be in place until October 3 to help facilitate self-isolation
MEDENILLA AJPress
UNITED States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, August 5 met with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders to discuss key issues affecting the fastestgrowing electorate in the country.
Biden and Harris’s meeting with community leaders — which some AAPI Democrats believe is overdue given the rise in anti-Asian discrimination that began last year — covered a wide variety of topics from economic equity to immigration reform. In his opening remarks, Biden addressed the ninth anniversary of the shooting at a Sikh temple
Reinstated VFA restores balance of power in Asia-Pacific – Locsin by JANVIC
MATEO Philstar.com
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Health experts: COVID vaccines still win in race against Delta variant A PANEL of public health experts July 30 debated the efficacy of COVID vaccines against the dominant Delta variant, concluding that — though the vaccines are 80 to 90% effective against hospitalizations and deaths — they are less effectual in containing the spread of the potent mutant strain. Speakers at the news briefing, organized by Ethnic Media Services, included Drs. Monica Gandhi, Professor of Medicine at UC San Francisco’s School of Medicine; Tiffani Jenae Johnson, of the UC Davis Health Children’s Hospital; Ben Neuman, chief virologist at the Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M University; and Dali Fan of UC Davis Health. The experts spoke amid a rise of new infections from the Delta variant, and a new report from the Centers for Disease Control which showed a rise in breakthrough infections – people who were fully vaccinated, but still had a symptomatic infection. Breakthrough infections in fully-vaccinated people are on the rise. A CDC internal memo that was first obtained by The Washington Post last week, reported that an estimated 32,000
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in Oak Creek, Wisconsin by a white supremacist. He said that shooting, which took the lives of six people, exemplifies the ongoing racism and discrimination of AAPIs which often goes unaddressed. “Today, we honor everyone impacted by this tragedy. And we think about all the pain during u PAGE A2
QUEUE FOR CHECK. Police officers check the documents of motorcycle riders at a checkpoint at the Cavite-Las Pinas border along the Zapote-Alabang Road in Las Pinas City on Friday, August 6. Only authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) with valid identification cards will be allowed to travel during the enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region. PNA photo by Gil Calinga
MANILA — The decision of the Duterte administration to reinstate an improved Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States restores the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. Locsin, during his intervention at the post-ministerial conference session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with the U.S. last Wednesday, August 4 also expressed gratitude to the country’s long-time ally for clearly reaffirming its obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty. “The alliance is vital to maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific region. All the protagonists in the region, without a single exception I can assure everyone, see a strong U.S. presence as imperative to peace and stability in Southeast Asia,” he said. u PAGE A2
‘I have to prove that I’m not done yet’: Pacquiao holds media workout ahead of Aug. 21 bout by AJPRESS EIGHT-division world champion and Philippine Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao held a media workout that streamed live on the Premier Boxing Champions YouTube channel Wednesday, August 4. With over three weeks away, Pacquiao is preparing to take on unified WBC and IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. headlining a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Saturday, August 21 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The anticipated bout will be the 42-yearold boxer’s first fight in two years.
“I’m expecting a good fight. Spence is an aggressive fighter and I know that we can create a lot of action in the ring for all of the fans watching. I have lots of advantages in this fight. My speed and power, along with my strategy and experience, are all advantages for me,” Pacquiao said. He told reporters that he chose Spence “because I want to add more to my legacy and accomplishments. I have to prove that I’m not done yet.” Despite his age, he’s touting his speed, power and experience as advantages over his opponent.
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Eight-division world champion and Philippine Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on Wednesday, August 4 held a media workout at Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles ahead of his August 21 bout in Las Vegas against American fighter Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. Photo by Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
Beloved Filipino sinigang hailed ‘best rated’ vegetable soup in the world Off-site center to open in LA for renewal of Philippine passports by RITCHEL
MENDIOLA AJPress
Sinigang
Inquirer.net photo
THE Philippines’ sinigang has been hailed as the best rated vegetable soup in the world by international food database Taste Atlas. In Taste Atlas’ website, sinigang has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. The beloved Filipino dish was followed by skabenu zupa from Latvia, fagiolata from Italy, and ogbono soup from Nigeria with 4.7 stars each. Sinigang was described as a sour soup consisting of sampalok (fruit of the tamarind tree), water spinach, green pepper, cabbage,
broccoli, eggplant, diced tomatoes, sliced onions, ginger, green beans, water, oil, and salt. “Sinigang is traditionally served hot and steaming as a main dish, with rice as its accompaniment. It is an often seen dish at special occasions such as birthdays or weddings, and over time, as the dish became more popular, there were new variations that used guava or raw mango instead of sampalok and each region developed their own version of the popular soup,” wrote Taste Atlas. “With its sour lightness perfectly matching the harsh tropical heat of the country, sinigang
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by AJPRESS
Agreement that began in 2019,” Consul General Edgar B. Badajos AN alternative, off-site passport said in a statement on Thursday, renewal center will soon open in August 5. Los Angeles to address the huge “The DFA reached the agreedemand for ePassport renewal ap- ment with VFS Global in line with plications, according to the Philip- President Duterte’s directive for pine Consulate General in Los Philippine agencies to streamline Angeles. procedures and to make ePassport VFS Global, a private outsourc- renewal services faster and more ing company, will operate the re- convenient, especially for Overnewal center. seas Filipinos (OF),” he added. “The opening of a VFS Global The Philippine Consulate GenPhilippine Passport Renewal Cen- eral in Los Angeles has consular ter (PaRC) in Los Angeles is a jurisdiction over Southern Calicontinuation of the Department of fornia, Southern Nevada and the Foreign Affairs (DFA)-VFS Global u PAGE A2
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From the Front Page
AAPI leaders meet Biden, Harris...
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this pandemic, with the rise of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and other forms of bias against Asian Americans. It seems not to stop,” Biden said on Thursday. The meeting comprised a wide range of topics, but voting rights was the pressing issue among the leaders present at the meeting. Christine Chen, executive director for Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), was among the dozen leaders present at the meeting, and she said that the administration affirmed its support for two voting rights measures, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancements Act. The For the People Act was drafted in response to the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill by proTrump rioters and the wave of local and state bills that restricted voting access in communities across the country. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancements Act — named after the late famed civil rights activist and U.S. congressman — seeks to update the historic Voting Rights Act to prevent certain states and jurisdictions from passing laws that suppress the right to vote. Chen acknowledged that neither of these bills directly com-
bat voter suppression but that they are a step in that direction. “While [these bills] may not take a straightforward path, we were reassured that it remains a high priority,” Chen said after the meeting. “We will continue to work with the administration to ensure stories from our community are used as examples of the danger these anti-voter laws have.” Voter suppression, though usually discussed in the context of the Black and Latino communities, has a history of negatively affecting the AAPI community. States like Georgia have laws that limit language accessibility, which affects a vast chunk of non-English-speaking AAPI voters, which the American Bar Association calls “immigrantspecific voter suppression.” The lack of multilingual voting materials and resources has been a key issue among AAPIs for years, and the passing of restrictive voting laws in GOP-majority states like Georgia, Texas and Arizona has catalyzed AAPI leaders to demand inclusivity in voting practices. “As the narrative surrounding the AAPI community shifts, we are optimistic about the work to come, and look forward to contributing to the Administration’s efforts to build America back better,” Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC
President John C. Yang said in a statement. Thursday’s meeting also highlights the shift in priority of federal leaders toward the AAPI community. Voter turnout among AAPIs has increased significantly since 2016, as previously reported in the Asian Journal. Although there are fervent AAPI Republicans, AAPIs generally lean more Democrat, historically and presently. Exit polls from the 2020 general election found that AAPI voters voted for Biden over former President Donald Trump by a 2 to 1 margin. “The most onerous restrictions being pushed and passed in Arizona, Florida, Texas, they’re geared primarily to the most active citizens, and we were some of the most newly active citizens in this latest election. We believe a lot of these restrictions are targeted toward how we as Asians voted in such large numbers,” said Varun Nikore, executive director of the AAPI Victory Alliance. Nikore added that the Biden administration has an obligation to honor these demands from the AAPI community, saying, “We have a lot to say on this topic. It was because of the AAPI community that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in office today.” n
Off-site center to open in LA for renewal... PAGE A1
State of Arizona, serving an estimated 1.3 million OFs. Since May 2021, the Consulate General has been processing the maximum number of passport, dual citizenship and other consular services applications that its limited office space and personnel can accommodate and process daily. “With the demand for passport renewal services exceeding the Consulate’s operating capacity by a wide margin, it was felt that the opening of a VFS Global PaRC in Los Angeles will help address the problem,” said the Consulate General. In addition to its regular weekday consular services, the Consulate General has been conducting
consular services on Saturdays since March 2021. It also resumed its post-pandemic consular outreach missions in May 2021 and has so far visited Las Vegas, NV (twice), Phoenix, AZ, and San Diego CA. “In spite of these extra services, the huge demand for passport renewal applications still cannot be fully met,” the Consulate General noted. VFS Global then will be in charge of processing passport renewal services, specifically, only those that have non-complex, non-sensitive and non-discretionary elements. However, as a third-party service provider, it will charge an additional fee for its services.
“Passport renewal through the VFS Global PARC is not compulsory. It is up to the applicant to decide whether to apply through VFS Global or through the DFAGlobal Online Appointment System (GOAS),” said Badajos. The Consulate General said that appointment slots to be rolled out by VFS Global for passport renewal will be separately announced through its website, with a link to be provided on the Consulate General’s own website. It also advised the public to visit the Consulate General’s website (https://www.philippineconsulatela.org/) and Facebook page for future announcements on the location and opening date of the VFS Global Passport Renewal Center in Los Angeles. n
Pacquiao spars with his longtime coach Freddie Roach on Wednesday, August 4 during an open workout in preparation for the boxer’s first fight in two years this August 21. Photo by Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
‘I have to prove that I’m not done yet...
PAGE A1 When asked about whether this will be his last bout, the boxer-turned-senator isn’t closing any doors to more in the future. “This could be my last fight, or there could be more. Like I’ve
always said, it’s one at a time. After the fight, I’ll talk about the plan and see if there’s another fight coming,” he said. As a decorated boxer, Pacquiao hopes that he can mentor younger fighters in the ring.
“I know my career will not last forever, that’s why I’m starting to help the young fighters in this sport who want to follow in my footsteps. It’s very important to me at this point in my career,” he said. n
Reinstated VFA restores balance of power... PAGE A1 “We have restored that balance by reinstating an improved Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States,” he added. President Duterte last week recalled his earlier decision to terminate the VFA during the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III. A “side agreement” between the two countries is reportedly under review by Malacañang. In his intervention, Locsin welcomed the open support of the U.S. for the 2016 award on the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China. “We took notice when the U.S. urged the cessation of provocative actions certain to provoke reactions by maritime militia in the South China Sea and renounced the excessive reach of China’s necessarily municipal Coast Guard Law,” he said. “Such declarations reinforce the rules-based order and benefit all that use the vital artery that is
the South China Sea,” the secretary added. Stressing that the arbitral award is the Philippines’ contribution to strengthening the legal order of the seas, Locsin said it must be seen as beneficial to all countries. “It singles out no one; was carefully crafted to be unusable as a weapon for disputation and is most helpful in clarifying maritime issues. Only a bad conscience should feel aggrieved by it,” he added. Locsin also expressed gratitude to Australia for supporting the award during a separate conference session also on Wednesday. “Australia is one of ASEAN’s strongest defense and security partners, particularly in the area of maritime cooperation. We appreciate Australia’s support for the ASEAN Outlook on the IndoPacific and maintaining ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture,” he said. “The Philippines and Aus-
tralia have a mutual interest in maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight, the exercise of self-restraint and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea, in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” added Locsin. During the ASEAN session with Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi last Tuesday, Locsin stressed that a peaceful South China Sea is essential to its protection and sustainable management. “Disputes in it should be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS and in the recent light of the 2016 Arbitral Award,” he said. “Partnership on the blue economy should be explored seriously and sincerely. For a change,” he added, referring to ensuring the sustainable management of oceans and maritime resources in the region. n
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Clarity on COVID count: Pandemic’s toll on seniors extended well beyond nursing homes by Judith
Graham Kaiser Health News
AS COVID resurges across the country, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, experts are extending our understanding of the pandemic’s toll on older adults — the age group hit hardest by the pandemic. New research offers unexpected insights. Older adults living in their own homes and apartments had a significantly heightened risk of dying from COVID last year — more than previously understood, it shows. Though deaths in nursing homes received enormous attention, far more older adults who perished from COVID lived outside of institutions. The research addresses essential questions: Which conditions appear to put seniors at the highest risk of dying from COVID? How many seniors in the community and in long-term care institutions might have died without the pandemic? And how many “excess deaths” in the older population can be attributed to COVID? Of course, it’s already known that older adults suffered disproportionately. As of Aug. 4, more than 480,000 people age 65 and older perished from COVID — 79% of more than 606,000 deaths in the U.S. overall, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (This is likely an undercount because it relies on death certificate data that may not be up-todate or accurately reflect the true toll of the virus.) Still, new information about older adults’ vulnerabilities is useful as COVID cases climb again and unvaccinated people remain at risk. Some key results from studies published over the past few months: Death rates varied among groups of seniors. In a study published in Health Affairs in June, experts from the Department of Health and Human Services analyzed data for more than 28 million people with traditional Medicare coverage from February 2020 (the approximate start of the pandemic) to September 2020. (Excluded were about 24 million people in Medicare Advantage plans because data crucial to the study wasn’t available.) The researchers compared data for this period with previous years, dating to 2015. The study examines deaths
among individuals with COVID and reaffirms headlines that have trumpeted the toll among older Americans. Medicare members diagnosed with COVID had a death rate of 17.5% — more than six times the death rate of 2.9% for Medicare members who evaded the virus. A notable finding in the study: Medicare members with dementia were especially vulnerable. If diagnosed with COVID, their death rate was 32%, compared with nearly 14% for those with dementia who weren’t infected. Also at substantially increased risk of death from COVID were older adults with serious and chronic kidney disease, immune deficiencies, severe neurological conditions and multiple medical conditions. Most of the seniors who died of COVID lived outside of nursing homes. The HHS experts’ study reported 110,990 “excess deaths” due to COVID during the eight-month period it examined — most likely an undercount because many older adults who died may not have been tested or treated for the virus. The term “excess deaths” refers to a death count higher than the number expected based on historical data. It is a core measure of the pandemic’s impact. Of the excess deaths HHS experts documented, 40% occurred in nursing homes but a larger portion, nearly 60%, were seniors living in other settings. Other studies suggest far more excess deaths. Estimates of excess deaths in the older population vary widely depending on the period studied, the data sources used and the type of analysis conducted. Another study, published in May in the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal), calculated 458,000 “excess deaths” in 2020 in the United States. About 72% were people 65 and older, according to the British and American authors. About two-thirds of these deaths can probably be attributed directly to COVID, the authors noted. Others might be due to acute medical care that was delayed during the pandemic, poor management of chronic medical conditions, the effects of isolation and other factors. Assisted living residents were significantly affected. Data about the impact of the pandemic on
Health experts: COVID vaccines... PAGE A1 fully vaccinated people are getting symptomatic breakthrough infections each week among the 162 million vaccinated Americans. The report did not include the numbers of asymptomatic people who were also infected. The report indicated that the delta variant spreads as fast as chicken pox and faster than smallpox, Ebola, the 1918 flu, MERS and SARS and the common cold. Mask mandates have once again been re-implemented in several communities across the country as several studies concluded that fully vaccinated people are still capable of transmitting the Delta variant. “This is an amazingly effective vaccine at preventing severe disease hospitalizations and deaths. That was actually the promise of the vaccines. I think it’s important to still say that the vaccines work,” said Gandhi. The Delta variant is very transmissible in that it has high viral loads, which even in fully vaccinated people can stop the body from using its B cells to produce the antibodies that get into their nose and cause transmissions to others, explained Gandhi. She agreed with the CDC’s recommendation of wearing masks indoors in areas with high viral load circulations, and noted that this could prevent the vaccinated from getting breakthrough infections. Neuman, the Texas A&M virologist, summated six studies that determined various levels of efficacy of vaccines against the Delta variant. The single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and other adenovirus vaccines, had a slightly lower rate of efficacy — 7 % — than the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer, which employs mRNA. He said the difference was negligible, however, and would not be concerned about giving either of the vaccines to his family. Studies conducted in Israel and the United Kingdom showed that 80 to 90 % of people who were fully vaccinated would not get infected with COVID, and moreover, would not transmit the virus. “At a population level, an 80 to 90% effective vaccine is an absolute godsend, which would be extremely effective attending a disease like COVID-19,” said Neuman. The researcher also noted a
study conducted in Hyderabad, India studied hospitalized people and noted that those who were fully vaccinated were 50 % less likely to have severe outcomes from COVID, such as ventilator use and death. Neuman remarked that the number of breakthrough infections was not a reason to stop vaccinating. “We’re trying to switch off a fire hose here, which is the number of new cases that are coming out, and vaccinating the unvaccinated is the way to do that.” “When we talking about breakthroughs, we’re cleaning up drips off the floor. Those are very important on an individual level but they’re not a reason not to vaccinate. Vaccination still looks like our only real way out of this,” he said. The vaccines decrease in efficacy by 6 % every month, and may be effective in the long-term for a maximum of 18 months, said Neuman. Dr. Fan of UC Davis Health, said boosters were likely unnecessary at this point, except for residents of long-term care facilities, adults over 65 years of age, health care professionals, and immunocompromised people. “The biggest problem for the immunocompromised population is that they do not produce enough antibodies, no matter how many doses of vaccines you give them,” he said. Studies out of Europe show remarkable efficacy in “mix and match” boosters — people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine to start and then followed up with a Pfizer booster, noted Fan. Pfizer is preparing to submit its data to the FDA, recommending that boosters be given 6 to 12 months after the initial series. Dr. Johnson of UC Davis Children’s Health Center, spoke about the barriers that prevent low-income minorities from getting vaccinated, such as health care deserts, lack of transportation, the inability to take time off to get vaccinated and also to deal with known side effects. “We’ve had some politicians explicitly say it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks as this pandemic worsens. But It’s really a lot more nuanced than just pointing the fingers at the unvaccinated as we continue to see spikes in COVID,” she said. (By Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services Contributing Editor)
assisted living residents has been scarce, in part because these facilities are regulated by states, not the federal government. A study out in June in JAMA Network Open found the death rate for assisted living residents in 2020 — as the pandemic unfolded — was 17% higher than in 2019. In the 10 states with the greatest community spread of COVID, the death rate for assisted living residents rose by 24%. “Efforts must be made to support assisted living communities as they work to address infection prevention and control to keep their residents safe,” said Kali Thomas, a study co-author and associate professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown University. Underlying medical conditions played a major role. A study by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and the Health Data Analytics Institute in Dedham, Massachusetts, is one of the first to suggest how many older adults who caught COVID would have died from underlying medical conditions even if the pandemic had not been underway. It, too, examined 28 million people with traditional Medicare coverage from the approximate start of the pandemic (the end of February) through November 2020. (Of 28 million people in the study, more than 2.4 % had a confirmed COVID diagnosis and 10% had a “probable COVID” diagnosis.) Other studies estimate excess
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FREE RIDE. MRT-3 personnel check passengers’ vaccination cards and company IDs before they are allowed entry at the Quezon Avenue station in Quezon City on Wednesday, August 4. The Department of Transportation said vaccinated authorized persons outside of residences (APOR) may avail themselves of free rides at the rail system until August 20 while Metro Manila is under enhanced community quarantine. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
Beloved Filipino sinigang hailed ‘best rated... PAGE A1 is a unique soup that is a true representative of Filipino cuisine,” it added. Meanwhile, under the website’s “most popular” category, sinigang ranked 19th among
over 160 vegetable soups all over the world. Borscht from Ukraine topped the list with a rating of 4.1 stars out of 5. Taste Atlas is an encyclopedia of flavors, a world atlas of tradi-
tional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants. It has cataloged over 10,000 foods and drinks, as well as recommended restaurants and local ingredients for anyone to check out before an international trip. n
CDC issues new eviction...
PAGE A1 and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their
own homes. “It is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new
spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse,” Walensky added. (AJPress)
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A California bill would limit protests at vaccination sites. Does it violate the First Amendment? Rachel Bluth California Healthline
by
U.S.-DONATED VAX. President Rodrigo Duterte (center) holds up a vial of the Moderna vaccine shortly after the arrival of 3,000,060 doses of the U.S.-made jab at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on Tuesday, August 3. The newly arrived vaccine, donated by the United States through the COVAX Facility, brings the country’s total COVID-19 vaccine to 37,275,780 doses. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
US diplomat indicted for illicit sexual conduct in PH by Ritchel
Mendiola AJPress
AN American diplomat has been indicted by a Virginia court for engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possessing child pornography while stationed in the Philippines. Dean Cheves, 61, served at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines between September 2020 and February 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. While in the Philippines, Cheves allegedly met a 16-year-old online. Court documents further detail that Cheves allegedly engaged in sexual activity with the minor on two occasions, knowing the minor’s age, and produced cell phone videos of himself en-
gaging in the sex acts each time, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday, August 3. The videos were reportedly found on Cheves’s devices seized from his embassy residence while in the Philippines. He also allegedly possessed child pornography between February to March 2021. Cheves is charged with one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of possessing child pornography in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. or on lands owned or leased by the U.S. Previously, he made his initial court appearance on July 6 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis of the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia. If convicted, Cheves faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison on count one and up to 10 years in prison on count two. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, said the U.S. DOJ. The Diplomatic Security Service, Office of Special Investigations is currently investigating the case. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. n
Clarity on COVID count: Pandemic’s toll on...
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deaths by looking at populationwide data. This study looked at individual data, using a highly complex methodology to calculate a preexisting risk of death for each person based on his or her age, sex, medical conditions and other demographic characteristics. Actual deaths in 2020 were then compared with expected deaths based on those preexisting risks. The report has been published as a preprint without peer review. About 4% of Medicare members with confirmed or probable COVID who were living in the community, in their own homes and apartments, would have died anyway from underlying medical issues, the authors estimated. With COVID, the actual death rate
climbed to 7.5%. In nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, 20.3% of residents diagnosed with confirmed or probable COVID would have died due to underlying medical issues; with COVID, that rose to 24.6%, the authors calculated. “This is a more accurate picture of the true toll of COVID,” said Dr. Daniel Sessler, chair of the department of outcomes research at the Cleveland Clinic. “As it turns out, the greatest increase in deaths [from the virus], in terms of both raw numbers and an increased risk of dying, was in the community, not in long-term care residents.” The bottom line. About 80% of people 65 and older have been fully vaccinated, leaving millions
of seniors still at risk of COVID. Special attention should be paid to older adults with dementia and other serious neurological conditions, kidney disease and multiple medical conditions. Older adults, especially the eldest groups, who are frail and who live alone or with little support in areas where the virus is spreading rapidly also deserve special outreach and attention. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. n
SACRAMENTO — A proposal sailing through the California legislature that aims to stop people from getting harassed outside of vaccination sites is raising alarms among some First Amendment experts. If it becomes law, SB 742 would make it punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $1,000 to intimidate, threaten, harass or prevent people from getting a covid-19 — or any other — vaccine on their way to a vaccination site. The measure was introduced after protesters briefly shut down a mass vaccination clinic at Dodger Stadium in January. Now that mass vaccination clinics have mostly folded up, lawmakers worry that vaccination sites with less security than Dodger Stadium — like pharmacies and mobile clinics in parks or fast-food parking lots — are vulnerable. It’s a sign of how toxic the issue of vaccination has become in a state with a long history of intense and divisive vaccine wars. State Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician who administers vaccines to his patients, wrote the bill. He has been the target of anti-vaccination harassment since writing and championing laws that made it harder for parents to refuse routine vaccines for their children by eliminating personal belief exemptions and tightening rules around medical ones. He was shoved by someone who opposed the medical exemption bill in 2019, the same year in which an anti-vaccine protester threw menstrual blood onto the state Senate floor. Pan was also among the lawmakers threatened at a committee hearing earlier this year. Last month, Pan volunteered at a vaccination clinic at a Sacramento park that he said was disrupted by anti-vaccine protesters with a bullhorn who made it hard for medical personnel to have conversations with patients and answer their questions. And while he said he can handle threats, ordinary citizens “shouldn’t have to run a gauntlet to get vaccinated.” That includes walking through a group likely made up of unvaccinated protesters and possibly getting exposed to covid to get protected, he said.
His measure prohibits obstructing, injuring, harassing, intimidating or interfering with people “in connection with any vaccination services.” The bill passed the state Senate with just four no votes and faces one more committee hurdle before it heads to the Assembly floor. The bill defines harassment as getting within 30 feet of someone to hand them a leaflet, display a sign, participate in any kind of verbal protesting like singing or chanting, or conduct any education or counseling with that person. Blocking someone or impeding them from getting a vaccine is an obvious problem, and it’s good that the proposal would try to stop that, said Glen Smith, litigation director for the First Amendment Coalition, a California-based nonprofit that promotes the First Amendment, which guarantees rights such as free speech and assembly. But he thinks the proposal goes too far with its definition of harassment. “To say you can’t get within 30 feet of them just to hand them a pamphlet or ask them a question? That seems to be overkill for me,” Smith said. It’s worse than overkill, said Eugene Volokh, a professor of First Amendment law at the UCLA School of Law. “That law is clearly unconstitutional,” Volokh said. He has two primary concerns with the proposal: First, though it’s modeled on similar laws that create zones around abortion clinics to prevent patients from getting harassed, this bill goes beyond what courts have upheld in the past, he said. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Colorado law that created an 8-foot “bubble zone” around a person entering or exiting an abortion clinic, but in 2014 the high court struck down a Massachusetts law that created a 35-foot “buffer zone” around clinics. A 30-foot zone around a person getting a vaccine is bigger than the court would allow, Volokh believes. His second concern is that the bill specifically prohibits someone from leafletting or talking to someone only about vaccines. That violates the First Amendment, Volokh said, because it targets certain content. Someone could hand out an anti-war or
anti-fur leaflet and not run afoul of the law, he said. “I think it’s pretty shocking that a state legislature would try to enact this kind of restriction on fully protected speech this way,” Volokh said. In fact, anti-abortion groups that initially opposed the bill are now on board because it targets only speech in connection with vaccines. Elisabeth Beall, media coordinator for the Right to Life League, said a previous version of the measure didn’t specify that the restrictions would apply only to speech about vaccination. “This limits the negative impact of the bill on pro-life activities,” like anti-abortion sidewalk counseling outside Planned Parenthood clinics, which provide abortions and vaccines, Beall wrote in a statement. Not all free speech advocates share Volokh’s interpretation of the bill. The American Civil Liberties Union said it has no issues with it as written. “It’s not necessarily the case that the freedom to express our views is unrestricted,” said Kevin Baker, director of governmental relations at ACLU California Action. “They can be balanced with important governmental objectives” like letting people get vaccinated in peace. Part of that objective is stopping disinformation about vaccines, which Pan said is the primary reason people are not getting the shots. “Frankly, any gains we make to try to get more people vaccinated are going to be incremental because of disinformation,” Pan said. And when protesters show up claiming they’re there to educate patients, “they’re talking about disinformation.” Joshua Coleman, co-founder of the group V is for Vaccine, which advocates for informed consent before vaccinations and says vaccines carry risk, said he brought the bullhorn to Pan’s clinic to “educate those coming to receive the vaccine on important facts they deserve to know” and object to Pan’s bill. “The intent in attending Senator Pan’s vaccination clinic was to protest the censorship of important information and his egregious and erroneous attack on free speech,” he said via email. Pan said his bill was “carefully
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Assemblymember Chiu, advocates announce Dateline PhiliPPines new EDD language access resources and reforms Duterte on ICC: I will not go there alive Employment Development Department will receive $21 million to expand language services
CALIFORNIA Assemblymember David Chiu (DSan Francisco) joined Asian and Pacific Islander advocacy organizations on Thursday, August 5 to announce new funding to ensure Californians with limited English proficiency (LEP) can obtain unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Assembly Bill 138, a budget trailer bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 16, provides $21 million to the Employment Development Department (EDD) to implement reforms and expand language services. “Workers are legally entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, no matter what language they speak,” said Assemblymember Chiu. “During this pandemic, these benefits are critical. They are the difference between putting food on the table or going hungry. Every Californian should be able to access them. This $21 million budget allocation means the seven million Californians with limited English proficiency will be treated equally by EDD.” “As a result of community members standing up and speaking out, we’re celebrating a historic $21 million investment in language. We must take this community-led achievement as a call to action to keep going until all Californians are fully respected and recognized by our public services, including meaningful improvements to language access at EDD,” said Victoria Chan, community advocate at Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus. “Just last week, I spoke with a Chinese grandma who paid a broker hundreds of dollars because she couldn’t get through EDD’s phone lines. She has no other recourse because she doesn’t speak or read English. To be a state that’s welcoming to and uplifts all residents, the work must continue until everyone can get the help they need, no matter what language they speak or read.” “I have encountered many community members that experienced challenges like mine when applying for unemployment benefits due to the pandemic,” said Ah Yi, CAA Outreach Specialist and limited-English proficient community member. “Our calls to the EDD Chinese hotline line were left unanswered, even after numerous attempts at all hours of the day. Not only is a lot of our time wasted, but we feel anxious about the lack of support that could have otherwise provided for our basic necessities” “For California’s seven million non-English speaking residents, EDD continues to provide a critical economic lifeline amid the coronavirus pandemic,” said Sally Chen, Economic Justice Manager at Chinese for Affirmative Action. “This historic investment will ensure fairer and more equitable access to life-sustaining benefits for the people who need it most. Thank you to the broad coalition of
community leaders, concerned citizens, and elected officials for joining us in the fight for language access, and for sending a message to monolingual communities: that our state’s public services must be inclusive of all Californians — no matter who they are, where they come from, or which language they speak.” Over the course of the pandemic, millions of Californians have struggled to access unemployment benefits from EDD, leaving many vulnerable without income or recourse during a pandemic and recession. While accessing unemployment benefits can be a frustrating months-long process for any Californian, those difficulties are compounded for the seven million Californians with limited English proficiency (LEP). In fact, the challenges are so significant that the Governor’s strike team report concluded that UI claimants who do not speak English face “insurmountable barriers” to receiving benefits. These barriers are felt acutely by the 2.4 million Californians who speak a language other than Spanish or English. The reforms and funding included in AB 138 alleviate these issues by requiring EDD to translate the UI online interface and create an online multi-lingual access portal in the top seven languages spoken in California aside from English. Additionally, all vital documents must be translated into the top 15 languages spoken. The bill creates a number of standards and processes to accommodate LEP applicants. These include providing language interpreters in real time, ensuring deadlines are extended for LEP applicants if EDD is delayed in providing language access services, and initiating marketing and communications campaigns to engage LEP communities. AB 138 creates a multilingual access coordinator position within EDD to oversee these new services and instructs EDD to produce a report to the legislature by July 1, 2022. To implement these policies, EDD will receive a $21 million budget allocation. The provisions in AB 138 became effective on July 16, when the bill was signed into law by Governor Newsom. In response to the growing problems LEP claimants faced at EDD, Assemblymember Chiu and workers’ advocates introduced Assembly Bill 401 in February. A majority of the reforms AB 401 sought were included in this recent budget trailer bill that was passed. AB 401 is supported by a broad coalition and sponsored by Legal Aid at Work, Center for Workers’ Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California, and Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project. n
A California bill would limit protests at...
PAGE A4 t crafted” to stop the “obstruction, harassment and intimidation” of people seeking vaccines, and is confident that it is well within the bounds of the First Amendment. “There’s precedent for saying
you can protest. This law doesn’t say you can’t protest. There’s certain rules around the protest,” Pan said. “Especially as we’re trying to deal with this pandemic, we need to do what we can to be sure people feel safe getting
themselves vaccinated.” This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. n
by ritChel
Mendiola AJPress
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has reiterated his refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged human rights violations in the country under his administration. In his weekly public address, the Chief Executive insisted that he will not go to the Netherlands “alive.” “Alam niyo kung gusto niyo talaga akong...it’s over my dead body. Makuha niyo ako, dalhin niyo ako sa Netherlands, patay. You will have a carcass. Hindi ako pupunta doon ng buhay (You know if you really want me...it’s over my dead body. You can take my dead body to the Netherlands. You will have a carcass. I will not go there alive),” Duterte said Monday, August 2. “Pero ‘pag nakita ko kayo dito, unahan ko na kayo (But if I see you here, I’ll go first),” he added. Duterte’s statement came while he was presenting details of the recent anti-drug operations conducted by the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. According to him, the Filipino
nation benefited from the deaths of the suspects, while his family’s safety was compromised. “Pakinggan ninyo ako. Palagay na nating totoo ‘yang sinabi ng human rights. Sino’ng nakinabang niyan, ako? Ako ang nakinabang? Pamilya ko? Nakinabang sila diyan sa mga patay na ‘yan (Listen to me. Let’s say what the human rights groups say is true. Who benefits from that, me? Do I gain anything from that? My family? They benefited from those dead people)?” Duterte said. “Kayo, ang anak ninyo, ang bayan natin ang nakinabang. Sino ang nalagay sa alanganin? Ako, pamilya ko, ‘yung buhay nila, gaganti ‘yang mga yawa na ‘yan (You, your children, the nation benefits from this. Who now gets in trouble? Me, my family, their life because these people will seek revenge),” he added. In June, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda sought judicial authorization from The Hague tribunal to open a full-blown investigation into the drug war killings in the Philippines. Her successor, Karim Khan, will take over the investigation should the application be permitted.
Delta variant reported in all Metro Manila cities, sole municipality by Gaea
Katreena Philstar.com
CabiCo
MANILA — The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 has been detected in all 17 cities and municipality in Metro Manila, the Department of Health said on Friday, August 6. “We detected Delta [in] all 17 cities and municipality in [National Capital Region],” the department told reporters in a Viber message. The capital region returned to enhanced community quarantine Friday in an attempt to slow the spread of the more infectious Delta variant and ease pressure on hospitals. Health authorities reported Thursday, August 5, 116 new cases of the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India. Of the total, 83 were from Metro Manila. So far, 331 cases of the Delta variant have been detected in the Philippines. There are fears the variant could ravage the country as it has in other parts of Southeast Asia. But the DOH maintained there is still no community transmission of the variant in the country. Community transmission happens when health authorities can no longer see how cases are linked to one another. The Delta variant was found to be between 40% and 60% more transmissible than the already highly infectious Alpha variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom. The Philippines has so far recorded 1.62 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Of the total, 4.1% are active cases. n
Last month, the Supreme Court said that the Philippines remains obligated to cooperate in criminal proceedings of the ICC despite withdrawing from the Rome Statute. “Even if it has deposited the instrument of withdrawal, it shall not be discharged from any criminal proceedings. Whatever process was already initiated before the International Criminal Court obliges the state party to cooperate,” the high court said, according to Associate Justice Marvic Leonen. “Consequently, liability for the alleged summary killings and other atrocities committed in the course of the war on drugs is not nullified or negated here. The Philippines remained covered and bound by the Rome Statute until March 17, 2019,” the SC added. However, the Palace maintained the ICC can’t force the country to cooperate with its planned probe. “Unfortunately, the lack of enforcement mechanism cannot compel the Philippines to cooperate when the President has clearly said we will not do so,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. n
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL RAIL AUTHORITY RFP No. SP560-22 MOBILE TICKETING SYSTEM The Southern California Regional Rail Authority seeks a next generation Mobile Ticketing System for its riders that is easy to use and administer, integrated with the relevant systems and is cost-effective for the agency. All qualified firms are invited to submit proposals. The RFP is accessible at: https://metrolinktrains.com/ about/doing-business-withmetrolink/procurement-opportunities/ Electronic Proposal Submittals are due on September 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM 8/7/21 CNS-3498020# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
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Dangerous disinformation
ON Friday, August 6, the country recorded 10,623 new COVID infections – the highest single-day figure since April 16 at the height of the killer surge, when 10,726 new cases were recorded. There were 247 COVID deaths on Friday – also the highest in a single day since April 9 when 401 succumbed to the virus – bringing the total to 28,673. These figures could still surge in five to seven days as we see the impact of the mad jostling for vaccination in several areas last Thursday, August 5, the eve of the start of enhanced community quarantine. The crowding, notably in the cities of Manila, Las Piñas and Antipolo, started even before dawn as reports spread on social media that unvaccinated people would not receive their ayuda and would be barred from leaving their homes during the ECQ. Symptoms of Delta COVID infection reportedly emerge after five or seven days. Those who believed the social media alerts and scrambled to get their shots should pray that they didn’t get caught in superspreader events and would not pass on the highly contagious Delta variant to their loved ones. The barangay, police and local government personnel in the areas were caught flat-footed. It took some effort to disperse the crowds, after reassur-
ing them that the social media stories were fake news. But vaccination had to be suspended in some areas to stop the crowding. Who spread the fake news is now being probed by the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police. The Department of the Interior and Local Government said it could have been a deliberate attempt to sabotage the vaccination campaign, and those responsible must be held accountable. Superspreader events can lead to serious illness and even death. A Malacañang official said those behind the disinformation deserve to get Delta-driven COVID. Tracking down the source of the fake news will test the capabilities of anti-cybercrime units. They can enlist the help of social media platforms and telecommunications companies. Facebook has shown that it can go after operators of troll farms. As for the general public, the unfortunate events
Editorial
The Fil-Am Perspective Gel SantoS-ReloS EVEN AS the Delta variant of COVID-19 pushes the surge in infection, hospitalization and death rates among unvaccinated people, the vaccination rate has stalled to just a little below 50%, still at 20-30% from the levels we need to be in to attain herd immunity and save lives. The stark statistics come despite all the support from the Biden administration to grant all adults in America access to vaccines. The surge is happening mostly in the southeast part of the country, where a lot of disinformation has been being peddled even by top local government officials. However, there are also many people who want to be vaccinated but are fearful of the possible side effects of the vaccine considering these are still being administered on an “emergency use authorization.” Let us stick to the facts. These vaccines work. Since they had been given the emergency use authorization, they have been saving millions of lives, lowering infection, hospitalization and death rates. This is why we are now enjoying much more freedom when many of the public safety measures have been re-
GReG B. MacaBenta Déjà Vu? Are we seeing something that has happened before? After going through my column archives, I realize that this is so, in the case of the plague of Fake News. In a recent piece, I wrote about the Infodemic – the epidemic of fake news and disinformation that has been inflicted by ex-President Donald Trump on the United States – and now being echoed by his surrogates in Congress and by millions of Trump loyalists. The Captiol Hill insurrection of january 6 should be enough to convince us that this epidemic can be as deadly as COVID-19, because it threatens the Democratic foundation that has enabled the union of 50 states, plus the territories, to survive. Today, there are millions of fellow Americans who doubt the principles upon which we make our Oath of Allegiance – that we are “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Trump’s lapdogs in the Senate and the House of Representatives are making a mockery of our most cherished value: the Truth.
nize a system of swiftly counteracting dangerous disinformation. There is enough confusion in this pandemic without lowlifes fomenting chaotic superspreader events. (Philstar.com)
Fear not, get vaccinated and save your life: FDA to give final approval for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine laxed, precisely because people have been getting vaccinated with 70% of adults getting at least one dose and nearly a half have been fully vaccinated. Until the Delta variant came into the picture and half of our people refuse to be vaccinated. It’s a dangerous and even deadly combination, especially for the unvaccinated, who comprise nearly all new cases of infection, mostly because of the Delta variant. There are few breakthrough cases among vaccinated people who tested positive are mostly asymptomatic or have no lifethreatening symptoms because of the protection the vaccine gave them. Even the kids and the younger ones are not spared by the Delta variant because they cannot yet be vaccinated, and are living with adults who can now be vaccinated but refuse to be vaccinated, or are catching the virus even from the vaccinated people who can carry the virus and transmit them to the unvaccinated. This is how fierce the Delta variant is. This is why it is crucial and lifesaving that the CDC now says we all should wear mask in enclosed settings and amid crowds. Let us address the question of those with rational concerns
about getting jabs from vaccines that are not yet fully approved by the FDA and are still on an “emergency use authorization.” The New York Times reported: “Recent polls by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking public attitudes during the pandemic, have found that three of every 10 unvaccinated people said that they would be more likely to get a shot with a fully approved vaccine. But the pollsters warned that many respondents did not understand the regulatory process and might have been looking for a “proxy” justification not to get a shot.” The light at the end of the tunnel many have been waiting for: Pfizer may be getting the final approval around Memorial Day. Pfizer filed its application on May 7. “Moderna, the second most widely used vaccine in the United States, filed for final approval of its vaccine on june 1. But the company is still submitting data and has not said when it will finish. johnson & johnson, the third vaccine authorized for emergency use, has not yet applied but plans to do so later this year,” the Times reported. FDA spokesperson Michael Felberbaum said in a statement: “We have taken an all-hands-on-
Fake news déjà vu
Street Talk
Philstar.com photo
should provide lessons in information consumption. There are reliable sources of news, current events and public service information operated by the private sector. The government can also orga-
Contradicting the testimonies of officers of the law, they would have us believe that the attack on the Capitol by Trump loyalists was like a “tourist visit” exemplified by “hugs and kisses” – and that the violence that all of America witnessed on TV did not happen at all – that the events were all fake news. We can almost hear Trump instruct his surrogates on what to say about the bloody events of january 6: Lie! Tell people not to believe their own eyes. Create an opposite version. Masturbate it! That was exactly what my editors told me to do, as a 16year old cub reporter back in 1956. Thus, for my very first newspaper column in Business World, which came out on September 21, 1988, I decided to write about that bizarre experience – with the language sounding more vulgar because it was in Tagalog. In the midst of the fake news epidemic, allow me to recall the lurid events that are déjà vu! Salsalin mo! (Masturbate it!) When you’re a journalism freshman groping your way in the real world of newspapering, this is the kind of advice that can shatter your idealism. I had just joined the Manila Confidential, a tabloid not just because of its size but because of the kind of reportage it spe-
cialized in. It was a scandal sheet. One of several that were doing brisk business in Manila of the mid-fifties. The Eye. News Behind The News. Bullseye. You could hardly tell one from the other. The headlines were all similarly styled. Father Rapes Daughter. Big Stink At City Hall. Crooks In Congress. Star Runs Off With Bit Player. To describe the stories as sensationalized would be an understatement. There was a certain viciousness in the way the most lurid, the most shocking occurrences were dug up from the police blotters, the halls of Congress and City Hall, the movie lots and nightclub row. It wasn’t enough to raise people’s eyebrows. They had to be given nightmares as well. But for all of life’s depravities, there just weren’t enough bona fide horror stories on the beat. So what was a young cub supposed to do? Invent a story. Masturbate it. Conjure it from your wet dreams and from some demented comic strip. If you were to walk the floor of any of the tabloid offices on deadline day, you would have slipped and slid from all that mental ejaculation. Of course, it was always better to have a factual basis for a story. In that case, you only needed to distort it. Paint on the
deck approach, including identifying additional resources such as personnel and technological resources from across the agency and opportunities to reprioritize other activities, in order to complete our review to help combat this pandemic surge.” Pfizer getting final approval will ease the safety concerns of people about getting the vaccine and will help increase our vaccination rate. It will also be helpful for government institutions and private businesses to impose vaccination mandates to save lives and help us win this prolonged war against COVID-19 and its variants so we can move on building back our lives and our nation together. Let us talk about the regulatory process that determines when vaccines can be given emergency use authorization, and when they can have final approval to understand and appreciate the process that affects all of us, especially as schools will reopen this September and many businesses have opened up again: What is Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)? According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism to facilitate the availability and use of
medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Under an EUA, the FDA may allow the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions when certain statutory criteria have been met, including that there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives. Taking into consideration input from the FDA, manufacturers decide whether and when to submit an EUA request to FDA. Once submitted, FDA will evaluate an EUA request and determine whether the relevant statutory criteria are met, taking into account the totality of the scientific evidence about the vaccine that is available to the FDA. What is the process that manufacturers are following to potentially make a COVID-19 vaccine available by EUA? The FDA says “Vaccine manufacturers are undertaking a development process that includes tens of thousands of study participants to generate non-clinical, clinical, and manufacturing
information needed by FDA for the agency to determine whether the known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks of a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. When the phase 3 portion of the human clinical trial reaches a predetermined point that informs how well a vaccine prevents COVID-19, as discussed and agreed to in advance with FDA, an independent group (called a data safety monitoring board) will review the data and inform the manufacturer of the results. Based on the data and the interpretation of the data by this group, manufacturers decide whether and when to submit an EUA request to FDA, taking into consideration input from FDA. After FDA receives an EUA request, our career scientists and physicians will evaluate all of the information included in the manufacturer’s submission. While FDA’s evaluation is ongoing, we will also schedule a public meeting of our Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which is made up of external scientific and public health experts from throughout the country. During the meeting, these ex-
mascara. Nail on the horns. Clip on the tail. Voila! A monster of a scoop. On my second week with the Confidential, I turned in an item about a jeepney driver’s wife who was raped and robbed by three men. The story came out on the front page with my by-line – “Jimmy de la Rosa Wife Raped, Robbed by Trio!” I was stunned. Digging up my original manuscript, I realized what I had missed but which my eagle-eyed editor didn’t: the jeepney driver was a namesake of the famous movie star. The paper was a sell-out. Partly due to my story. But also due to the juicy tales of shenanigans in high places, the merciless onslaughts of featured “calumnists” on public personalities, the salacious insights into private lives and, most of all, due to the perverted pleasure that our readers derived from what then was caustically referred to as “yellow journalism.” Why were there tabloids in the first place? Well, how else was an enterprising publisher to compete with the Manila Times? Even the Chronicle, Bulletin and the Herald weren’t getting enough advertising lineage. How was a paper to survive? Obviously, by putting out all the news that wasn’t fit to print. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I came upon the editor-inchief of one of the old tabloids.
He waxed nostalgic over those days when he could send senators and congressmen to their knees in abject supplication, with the threat of an exposé. And how, at one time, he lashed with a vengeance at a very large corporation for a wrong that a personal friend had complained about. He leaked the rumor that a corpse was found in one of the vats of the soft drink brand owned by the firm. People stopped drinking the product. Power. That’s what the tabloids gave. A few weeks after I joined the paper, I was assigned a column called “Talk of the Town.” Its claim to fame was that it listed the phone numbers of whorehouses in Manila. Except that the first digit was deleted. (No sweat. Every schoolboy knew that it was 8). Our boss had canned the former columnist for some infraction and I was given the column to write. News travelled very quickly. Before my first write-up got into print, I was getting calls from madames from Pasay, Culi-Culi and San Andres. My boss took the column away from me after a week. Pangs of conscience had hit him. He realized that he was abetting the corruption of a minor. I was sixteen. But he was too late. I had already been de-virginized. Mercifully, I lost my job at the Confidential before any
other virtues could be wasted. My classmates at Philets insisted that I deserved a more respectable calling. Besides, I was the religion editor of the Varsitarian, the official organ of UST. So I told my boss I was quitting and he obliged by firing me. An announcement the following week in the paper, to the effect that I was no longer connected with the tabloid, set me off on the road to salvation. From then on, I became respectable. Freelanced with the Kislap-Graphic. Wrote some stuff for the Manila Times. Went into movies. And then, advertising. It’s been a long time since those days of yellow journalism. Many things have changed. Lifestyles. Mores. Governments. Presidents. Even the Press has changed. Now, there’s fecal journalism. Toilet journalism. Envelopmental journalism. And two types of yellow journalism. The one that exaggerates the virtues of the present administration. And the one that distorts its sins. Aaaah, for those young and innocent days! ***
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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 7-10, 2021
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Last Metro Manila lockdown? Robredo makes suggestions to get there by Xave
GreGorio Philstar.com
WAITING FOR JABS. Vaccine recipients observe safe physical distancing at the registration area of SM Megamall Mega Trade Hall vaccination hub in Mandaluyong City on Thursday, August 6. Vaccination will continue amid the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila from August 6 to 20. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
MANILA — As Malacañang hopes that the upcoming lockdown in Metro Manila from August 6 to August 20 would be the last ever, Vice President Leni Robredo suggests that the government take some steps to achieve this goal. “Lahat ito puwede nang gawin, puwede nang trabahuhin, para maabot ‘yong pangarap na maging last lockdown na ito,” Robredo said in a statement on Wednesday, August 4. (All of these can be done now so we can achieve our dream of this being the last lockdown.) She said the government must ramp up coronavirus testing from the current 50,000 per day to at least 120,000 so that it can identify what areas that truly need attention. The vice president added that the government must administer 750,000 vaccine doses a day so the country can reach herd immunity faster.
Department of Health data presented to the House health committee on Wednesday showed that daily vaccinations have yet to breach the 700,000mark and are only averaging at 529,911 doses daily. Robredo also called on the government to quickly give out aid to those who would be affected by the lockdown and give support to small businesses. While Malacañang has repeatedly stated that President Rodrigo Duterte’s marching orders is to hand out aid, it is still unclear where the government will source funds for this purpose. Robredo also urged the government to create a centralized database of all contact tracing apps. The Department of Information and Communications Technology told the House health panel that they have accomplished this. Robredo also said there is a need to be “hospital-ready,” especially in the face of an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases, which may lead to people dying
without getting treatment. “Tulungan na ang mga ospital na mag-hire na ng mga medical personnel. ‘Yong access sa gamot at oxygen, tiyakin, at bantayan ang nagsasamantala sa presyo,” she said. (Let us help hospitals to hire medical personnel. Let us assure access to medicines and oxygen and let us be vigilant with price gougers.) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during the House hearing that they are preparing additional healthcare equipment, erecting new modular hospitals, adding telemedicine services, preparing transportation for healthcare workers and readying stockpiles of healthcare equipment. Robredo said she and her office is always willing to help in any capacity, as they have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic through initiatives like offering free teleconsultation services and partnering with local government units for vaccination drives. n
PH growth forecasts slashed anew amid latest lockdown Fear not, get vaccinated and save your... by Lawrence
aGcaoiLi Philstar.com
MANILA — Dutch financial giant ING Bank and ANZ Research expect the Philippines to make a slower bounceback from the pandemic-induced recession as stricter lockdown and quarantine measures were reimposed in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces. Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank Manila, said the bank further slashed its 2021 economic growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.8% from the original target of 4.7% despite the projected double-digit growth in the second quarter. “In a year that started with so much hope for a strong recovery, 2021 is indeed turning out to be like 2020 (quarteron-quarter GDP swinging from gains to contraction) with the Philippines likely headed for a lower growth trajectory once base effects fade,” Mapa said. ING Bank factored in a fourweek enhanced community quarantine style lockdown in August for its latest GDP growth projection. It is expecting a 10.9% GDP
growth from April to June after the pandemic-induced recession stretched to five quarters with a GDP contraction of 4.2% in the first quarter. “In a case of one step forward and two steps back, the Philippines will likely post double digit year-on-year growth but quarter-on-quarter GDP will possibly be negative,” Mapa said. The Philippines suffered from a record 16.9% GDP contraction in the second quarter of last year or during the height of the strict lockdown as the economy stalled when entire Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine in midMarch last year. As a result, the country slipped into recession as the GDP shrank by a record 9.6%, ending 21 years of positive growth. “With the Philippines headed for yet another lockdown, and one that may be more stringent and protracted than the Alpha variant version, we are expecting the Philippines to post flat to negative quarter-on-quarter GDP growth in the third quarter as well,” Mapa said.
President Duterte has placed the National Capital Region and nearby provinces under en- PAGE A6 t spectors, and labeling and comhanced community quarantine perts, who are carefully screened munications experts. anew from Aug.6 to 20 to slow for any potential conflicts of inFDA makes its decisions based the spread of the more conta- terest, will discuss the safety and on its analysis of the benefits and effectiveness data so that the risks for the intended population gious Delta variant. Meanwhile, ANZ Research public and scientific community who will receive the vaccine, as also lowered its 2021 GDP will have a clear understanding well as the disease(s) to be pregrowth forecast for the Philip- of the data and information that vented. FDA’s scientific team pines to 4.2% from the original FDA is evaluating to make a works collaboratively to evalutarget of 4.8% and 6.2 instead decision whether to authorize ate all of the scientific data and of 6.5% next year as movement a COVID-19 vaccine for emer- information included in Biologics restrictions continued to be rou- gency use. License Application (BLA) to the Following the advisory com- FDA. tinely reimposed or extended. Sanjay Mathur, chief econo- mittee meeting, FDA’s career The agency includes preclinimist at ANZ, said the Associa- professional staff will consider cal and clinical data and infortion of Southeast Asian Nations the input of the advisory commit- mation, as well as details of (ASEAN)--the Philippines, In- tee members and continue their the manufacturing process and donesia, Malaysia, Singapore, evaluation of the submission to facility(ies), and makes the deThailand and Vietnam-- would determine whether the avail- termination whether to approve continue to lag not only the US able safety and effectiveness and a vaccine. manufacturing data support an but also peers in North Asia. *** ANZ lowered its GDP growth emergency use authorization of The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints forecast for ASEAN to 3.9% in- the specific COVID-19 vaccine in expressed by the author do not necessarily stead of 4.6% for this year but the United States.” reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of When is Final Approval Giv- the Asian Journal, its management, editorial retained next year’s forecast at en? 5.4%. board and staff. A typical FDA team is com“That the region’s recovery *** would be subservient to the prised of: physicians, chemists, Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public evolution of the COVID-19 pan- statisticians, pharmacologists/ service and educational broadcasting since demic was the most prominent toxicologists, microbiologists, 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the risk we had flagged for this experts in postmarketing safety, Filipino audience using different platforms, year. It has unfortunately mate- clinical study site inspectors, including digital broadcasting, and print, and manufacturing and facility in- is working on a new public service program for rialized,” Mathur said. n
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.
The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) is seeking bids for LAUS Wires and Cables. The maximum dollar value for the contract will be for a total not-to-exceed amount of $1,300,000. Bid documents may be obtained via download by visiting SCRRA’s website at http://www.metrolinktrains. com/agency/page/title/doing business. Vendors must register for no fee on the website in order to download the documents. All bids must be electronically submitted no later than 2:00 p.m. (PST) on August 19, 2021. For further information contact: Melissa Cousart, Contract and Compliance Administrator at 213.452.0207 or email Cousartm@scrra.net. 8/7/21 CNS-3497866#
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Pres. Duterte grants new 25-year franchises to four broadcast firms by Krissy
aGuilar Inquirer.net
MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed laws granting 25-year franchises to four firms to operate broadcasting stations, Malacañang announced on Wednesday, August 4 as it released copies of the laws. Christian Power Music Inc. got a franchise to operate a radio broadcasting station. The three other firms got franchises to operate radio and television broadcasting stations — namely, the St. Jude Thaddeus Institute
of Technology Inc., Servotron Industries Inc., and Allied Broadcasting Center Inc. Under the law, the firms must secure permits and licenses from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to construct and operate their broadcast stations or facilities. The NTC can revoke or suspend the permits or licenses it issued in case of any violation of the franchise provisions. The law also mandates the franchise holder to “reach the pertinent populations or portions thereof on important public issues and relay important public
announcements and warnings concerning public emergencies and calamities.” The grantee’s facilities must not be used “for broadcasting absence or indecent language or scene and dissemination of false information to the detriment of the public, or to incite or assist subversive or treasonable acts.” Apart from granting franchises, Duterte also signed laws renewing for 25 years each the franchises of Blockbuster Broadcasting System Inc., Tagbilaran Broadcasting System Inc., and Transpacific Broadband Group Int’l Inc. n
QUICK CHECK. A motorcycle rider presents his identification card to a police officer before entering the Dasmarinas-Imus border checkpoint on Wednesday, August 4. Checkpoints have been restored in the city to prevent a possible surge in COVID-19 infections. PNA photo by Gil Calinga
Palace mulls incentive for boxer Onyok Velasco US firm Novavax applies for emergency COVID-19 vaccine use in the Philippines by Catherine
Valente ManilaTimes.net
by Gaea
Katreena Philstar.com
CabiCo
MANILA — American pharmaceutical firm Novavax has filed an application for Emergency Use Authorization in the Philippines for its COVID-19 vaccine, the country’s Food and Drug Administration said on Friday, August 6. FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a text message to Philstar.com that Novavax has applied for emergency use approval but the requirements are still incomplete. He did not say when the U.S. firm filed its ap-
plication. In March, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government signed a supply deal for 30 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. He said the Novavax jabs may arrive in the country The Maryland-based company said its COVID-19 jab is more than 90% effective, including against coronavirus variants. The jab demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease and 90.4% efficacy overall, the company in a statement said after a large-scale North American study.
The protein-based vaccine is taken in two doses. Novavax said its COVID-19 shot does not have to be stored at ultra-low temperatures. The country’s drug regulator has so far granted emergency use approvals to the jabs made by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Gamaleya Research Institute, Johnson & Johnson, Bharat Biotech, and Moderna. At least 10 million individuals have completed vaccination against COVID-19, Malacañang said Thursday, August 5.
DILG issues show-cause order vs Isko for low drug war grade in ‘2018’ by tetCh
torres-tupas Inquirer.net
MANILA — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had issued a show-cause order against Manila Mayor Isko Moreno for getting a failed mark in the 2018 AntiDrug Abuse Council (ADAC), the period when he was still serving as undersecretary of another government agency. “Based on our assessment and verification in the 2018 AntiDrug Abuse Council (ADAC) performance audit, you have failed to comply with the policy
and program mandated to your office, specifically in meeting the standards and complying with the measures set forth by the National Anti-Drug Abuse Council Audit as provided by the DILG-DDB Joint Memorandum Circular 2018001,” read the show cause order dated July 9, 2021, signed by Ricojudge Javier Echiverri, DILG Undersecretary for External and Legislative Affairs. Among other guidelines, the DOLG-DDB Joint Memorandum Circular provides guidelines for local chief executives and regional governors, as well as local anti-
drug abuse council members, on how to ensure the effectiveness of local anti-drug abuse councils. Moreno had 10 days to respond to the show cause order explaining why he should not be held liable for not complying with the circular. The circular was dated May 21, 2018, the same month when President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Moreno only became a mayor of Manila when he ran and won against former President Joseph Estrada in 2019. n
MALACANANG on Thursday, August 5 said it would look into the possibility of giving an incentive to Filipino boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco who won silver at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. In a virtual press briefing, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said he would relay Velasco’s concern to President Rodrigo Duterte so the Olympic boxer could finally get the incentive he deserved. Roque admitted that there was neglect on the part of the past government that did not meet the promised reward to Velasco during his Olympic stint years ago. “Ipagbibigay alam ko ito kay Presidente. Kung si Onyok Velasco nanalo ng silver sa ibang administrasyon na hindi nakakuha ng kanyang pabuya ay ipapakiusap natin kay Presidente ito baka naman mabigyan siya ng pabuya ngayon (I will relay the information to President Duterte. If Onyok Velasco won a silver medal during a different administration but did not get the incentive, we will request the President if he can be given an incentive today),” Roque said. “Pero kapabayaan yan ng gobyerno na hindi nagbigay sa kanya ng pabuya (But that is neglect on the part of the government that did not give him the reward),” he added. Roque, a lawyer, said he would also check if the law giving cash incentive for athletes and coaches signed in 2001 could be applied to Velasco’s Olympic feat. Under Republic Act 10699 or the “National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act,” signed by the late president Benigno Aquino 3rd in 2015, Filipino athletes who secure a silver medal in the Summer Olympic and Winter Olympic Games are entitled to P5 million. “Napakahirap kasi mangako doon sa mga bigong pangako doon sa nakalipas na administrasyon pero unan-una po iti-trace natin kung kailan ‘yung effectivity ng law na nagbibigay ng 10 million. Hindi ko po kabisado (It’s difficult to promise on the failed promise of the past administration but I will trace first the effectivity of the law giving P10 million. I
Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco
GMA photo
did not memorize it),” Roque said. Velasco recently admitted that although he was rewarded with cash and other incentives when he came back home, not all that was promised was given to him. Velasco said he could not remember how much cash gift he received 25 years ago but also could not recall receiving the P2.5 million he was pledged by members of the House of Representatives in 1996. The Speaker back then was Pangasinan Fourth District Rep. Jose de Venecia. The House and lot that was promised him was turned over to him, but until now, he has not received the transfer certificate of title. A businessman also promised him a lifetime monthly allowance of P10,000, but it lasted for only a year. The Philippine Navy also promised to Onyok to grant scholarships to his children, but according to the Atlanta Olympian, he sent his children through college from his own sweat. n
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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 7-10, 2021
DISINFECTION. An Air Force personnel disinfects the cargo containing 3,000,060 doses of the U.S.-made Moderna vaccine at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on Tuesday, August 3. The bulk of the US-donated vaccine will be deployed to Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Batangas, Rizal, Bulacan, Metro Davao, and Metro Cebu – collectively known as the National Capital Region Plus 8 bubble. PNA photo by Joey Razon
At East Asia meet, US rejects China sea claims by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com
MANILA — The United States underscored its rejection of China’s unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea in line with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award when Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Thursday, August 5. U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken spoke with EAS foreign ministers and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi of Brunei at the virtual forum and emphasized the upholding of rules-based international order. The EAS is a meeting of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region. The annual forum, led by the 10-member ASEAN, also involves the U.S., Australia, Japan, India, New Zealand, Korea, Russia and China. Blinken and EAS foreign ministers discussed supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and addressing pressing regional and international challenges, including the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. “EAS is central to the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-
Pacific and peace and prosperity in the region,” he said. “The United States is ASEAN’s strategic partner and remains steadfast in its support for ASEAN-centered regional architecture at the heart of the Indo-Pacific,” Price said, echoing Blinken’s message at the forum. “We applaud ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and welcome the strong principles upon which it is based – inclusivity, openness and a region based on rule of law, good governance and respect for international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. These principles are mirrored in the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said. Price said the U.S. is committed to working with ASEAN under the Outlook to advance peace, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific. In July, Blinken reiterated the U.S.’ commitment on the fifth anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines that invalidated China’s “nine-dash-line” claim in the South China Sea. The U.S. called on China to stop provocative attacks in the South China Sea as Washington repeated its warning to Beijing that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft will trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty.
The Philippines welcomed the U.S.’ open support and thanked Washington for its reaffirmation with “greater clarity” of the protection to Philippine sovereignty. More than $3.5 trillion in trade transits Indo-Pacific waters annually. These waters also provide livelihoods for millions of people. In order to create a more secure region, the State Department said the U.S. seeks to improve maritime cooperation and uphold international law and standards to resolve geopolitical challenges, including in the South China Sea. Also, ASEAN and the U.S. are working together to promote the sustainable development of maritime resources. They focus on improving maritime domain awareness (MDA) and collaborating on information-sharing best practices, joint and interagency operations, multinational cooperation using the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SeaVision application, advances in space-based MDA technology, country briefs and case studies. The U.S. had supported a regional study on trafficking and forced labor and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Southeast Asia, helping ASEAN countries strengthen worker protection and improve regulation in the commercial fishing sector. n
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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 7 - 10, 2021
Asian Journal
WKND Immigration Corner Atty. MichAel Gurfinkel, eSQ DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: I married a U.S. citizen for love, hoping we would live “happily ever after.” Unfortunately, soon after marriage, he changed. He drank a lot, gambled, took drugs, called me names, said he would never petition me and would try to get me deported. He gets very angry when I laugh and speak with my family in Tagalog, does not want me to see them or have them over, and just wants me to stay at home all the time and have no friends. He has never been physically violent with me, but I am just so miserable and afraid. Is there any way to legalize my status in this horrible marriage, especially when he refuses to petition me and threatens to have me deported? Very truly yours, TF Dear TF:
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Sat urday, aug uSt 7 , 2 0 2 1
LifestyLe Consumer Guide Community marketpLaCe
‘Physical abuse’ not required for VAWA green card
Perhaps you could be eligible to file a self-petition (petition yourself) as a battered spouse, based on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). (That law is not limited to abused wives, but could also apply to abused husbands, and even in same-sex marriages.) Also, the law does not require that you be physically abused or battered, as people could be eligible if they have been subjected to “extreme cruelty,” or severe mental abuse and harassment. It also applies to a person who has been abused not only by a U.S. citizen spouse, but also by an immigrant/ green card holder spouse. The basic requirements include: 1. The marriage was entered in good faith (meaning it was not fixed), the person resided with the U.S. citizen or immigrant spouse, and was battered (physically abused) or subject to extreme cruelty during the marriage. 2. Extreme cruelty could in-
clude threats of harm to the alien or to the alien’s family members, intimidation and humiliation, chastising or making fun of the victim in public, displaying weapons, threatening to contact immigration authorities to have the person deported, economic abuse, such as refusing to give the victim any money or prohibiting them from looking for a job or trying to get them fired from an existing job, stalking or harassing the victim at his or her workplace, social isolation, such as restricting the victim from using the phone or contacting friends or family members, sexual abuse, including forced sexual activity, threats to call immigration to have the person deported, being extremely jealous and accusing the victim of being flirtatious or cheating, even though they are not, and verbal abuse, such as yelling, screaming, insulting, or otherwise mistreating the person. PAGE B2
HUMANITARIAN REVALIDATION OR SURVIVOR LAW: THIS SUNDAY ON CITIZEN PINOY. Allain (left) was petitioned by his mother in 1997. He came to the U.S. as a tourist with his wife, Laarnie (center), in 2002 and overstayed. His mother passed away in 2006, which, at that point, Allain thought his mother’s petition for him was gone. What would now happen to Allain and his petition? Leading U.S. Immigration Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) is the attorney-of-last-hope, who guided them through the process and presented them the option to be able to acquire their green card, despite the death of the petitioner. Watch this success story on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” this Sunday, August 8 at 5:30 PM PT (8:30 PM ET thru select Cable/Satellite providers). (Advertising Supplement)
August 2021 priority dates explained by Citizen Pinoy host Atty. Gurfinkel
LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (and host of Citizen Pinoy) explains the August 2021 priority dates on his YouTube channel: US Immigration TV. This video is a “must see” for anyone under petition by a family member or employer. Atty. Gurfinkel discusses the August 2021 priority dates and answers such questions as: What is a priority date? What is the visa bulletin and where can I find it? What is the difference between an application filing date (dates for filing) and visa issuance date (final action date)? How soon can I file for adjustment of status and work authorization? The different visa categories are just some of the items that Atty. Gurfinkel will explain and discuss in this video. Watch CITIZEN PINOY every Sunday at 5:30 PM PT (8:30 PM ET thru select Cable/Satellite providers) for the latest in U.S. immigration news and information. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may The different visa categories are just some of the items that Atty. Gurfinkel will explain and download the app for free. (Advertising Supplement) discuss in this video.
EntErtainmEnt
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How Darren is taking charge of his career by Nathalie
tomada Philstar.com
Darren Espanto
Photo from Instagram/@darrenespanto
NOW that he has entered his 20s, Darren Espanto is increasingly taking charge of his career. He wants to do more — not just music but also projects beyond it like acting. The singer is dreaming more big dreams and on his list are releasing music internationally and earning international recognition. And he’s looking and sounding different if not more mature, especially since returning from his hometown in Calgary, Alberta in Canada, where he spent most of the pandemic lockdown. Clearly, one of the country’s brightest young artists has grown up off the entertainment scene as much as on it. Presently, fans are seeing the 20-year-old exploring and developing his hosting skills as the main host of TNT POP Show, a digital program where Darren gets to interact with other talented and driven kabataang Pinoy, and share some learnings with those still waiting for their breaks and pursuing their own dreams in showbiz and other fields. Darren said of his hosting stint: “I am happy and excited to be hosting the TNT POP Show. Gaya din ng ilan, I pursued my dream to become a performer by joining different talent contests. I believe that more kabataang Pinoy like me have what it takes to thrive in show business by sharing their talent and uplifting story.” Meanwhile, The Star had an e-mail interview with Darren to learn more about the newest developments in his career and life (a.k.a. entering adulthood, maturing as an artist and setting new showbiz goals). What have you learned so far from your experience of hosting TNT Pop Show? “Hosting the TNT Pop Show definitely taught me a lot and made me more confident. My hosting skills are becoming more natural for me now and less script-dependent, if I may say. I’d say I’m more comfortable now, too, when I interview our guests.”
Maxene chooses to see the light despite dark clutches of the pandemic by alex
Brosas Inquirer.net
NOT all hope is lost for actress and yoga instructor Maxene Magalona, who believes that there is a light waiting for us after these dark times. Magalona championed positivity in an Instagram post on Tuesday, August 3, where she quoted pastor Eugene Cho: “Be humble. The world is bigger than your view of the world. And certainly, God is much bigger than your view of God.” Cho is an American evangelical pastor who became the third President and CEO of the Christian advocacy group Bread for the World in July 2020. “This pandemic has truly been such a humbling and challenging situation that none of us ever expected to find ourselves in. It came as a total shock that no one
ing time,” however, Magalona has chosen to rise above the challenge and take on a positive look at life. “I choose to see the ‘good’ in my current situation which are the lessons that I learn, the memories that I make and the experiences that I will forever cherish in my heart. I choose to invest my time wisely and recharge my energy by practicing gratitude especially during the dark times as these are when I need to shine my light the most,” she said. As the pandemic is “crazy, confusing and chaotic,” Magalona thinks that the best thing to do is to “find our center, our balance, Maxene Magalonga and connect to our true essence of Photo from Instagram/@maxenemagalona being which is our Divine Energy was prepared for so I really believe that came from God.” that these past couple of years have Magalona believes that stirring been very difficult and traumatizing once spirituality will me us feel for a lot of us all over the world,” “God’s Divine presence in our she said. hearts and souls.” Despite this “bad” and “depress“We will be grounded in His
Alfred has some advice to actors eyeing politics
love and the world will be a better and brighter place. Nothing will be able to shake us. Learn to take care of your inner world and your outer world will follow,” she said. The yoga instructor is also “grateful for this time of inward reflection, compassionate self-inquiry and union with the Divine, noting that she’s “nurturing my light and nourishing my soul.” Now, she is taking care more of herself albeit not doing it before as she believed then that she did not deserve to be loved and cared for. Magalona is asking her IG friends and followers to join her and @_annafries on Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., Manila/Bali time on Instagram Live as they talk about “online offering @thesoulspaceph and why [they] felt the urge to create a soothing and nourishing space for those who might need some comfort during these times of uncertainty.” n
KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde
tomada Philstar.com proud moment for him as he remembered his late parents. “Because my mommy, UP siya nag pre-law, Political Science, then Ateneo siya naglaw… So when we were singing UP Naming Mahal at saka nanunumpa na ako, that was when I became emotional. I couldn’t help but cry because super sayang, I hoped my mom was still around. Also, daddy ko, I hoped they were alive to see this. But I’m still very, very grateful,” he said. Alfred is also very thankful to his wife Yasmine for his latest personal milestone. “I’m really, very lucky with my wife. She’s a homemaker talaga and very hands-on siya (with our three kids) that’s why I can focus on things like public service, studies, businesses because alam ko nasa mabuting kamay, pangangalaga yung mga anak ko.” Meanwhile, Alfred revealed his plans for next year, saying he’s going to take a break from running for public office and resume full-time his showbiz career. He entered politics in 2010 as city councilor and eventually elected as representative of the fifth district of Quezon City. Currently, he considers himself as a “part-time” actor. He has a short stint in the new GMA 7 series Legal Wives as the brother of lead star Dennis Trillo. “Papahinga muna ako (from politics) kasi na-miss ko rin talaga ang acting and medyo napagod din ako. I think I did more than enough… I think I’ve offered the prime of my life and
by Bot
Glorioso Philstar.com
Alfred Vargas
I’m proud of my body of work. Just want to focus on acting, business and family — looking forward to it,” the 39-year-old said. He also plans to pursue doctorate studies in urban planning in 2022. Meanwhile, Alfred has some advice to people from showbiz who are looking to throw their hat into the political ring in the 2022 national elections. “I’m always happy everytime I hear of actors or people from the world of showbiz who want to do public service. Because for me, as long as you’re Filipi-
GMA photo
no and you want to serve, that’s your right. You have every right, okay? But it has to be 100 percent. 99 percent sure will not cut it out. You must be 100-percent sure that you really want it. Otherwise, it’s going to be difficult. “Dedication and commitment have to be there. Bilib ako kasi maraming artista ang magaling na public servants, di ba? Sila Vilma Santos, Mayor Isko (Moreno), madami, sina Sen. Bong Revilla. Naniniwala ako at nagtitiwala ako sa kayahan ng artista namumuno (I believe and trust in the capability of artists to lead).” n
‘Physical abuse’ not required for VAWA... PAGE B1 3. It does not require that the person be physically abused or beaten up to qualify for a green card under VAWA. As you can see, extreme cruelty includes mental abuse, yelling, and threats. 4. Evidence of battery or extreme cruelty could include police reports, medical records, affidavits from clergy, or social workers, restraining orders, photographs showing bruises, or other evidence that could show a pattern of abuse and/or violence.
Even if there are no police reports, a person could still qualify if they properly present their case or by demonstrating a pattern of mental cruelty. If you married for love, but are now living in an abusive marriage, you should consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation and determine if you could be eligible to file a self-petition (without the need for the abuser to file a petition) and get a green card on your own. Moreover, these filings are “confidential.” But most important, make
Photo from Instagram/@kztandingan
KZ & TJ open up about their first year of marriage
by Nathalie
ALFRED Vargas wished his mom lived to witness how he kept his promise to her to finish graduate school. The actor-turned-politician recently graduated from University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) with a Master of Public Administration degree. He said it’s not just a dream come true but a “promise fulfilled” to his late mom, lawyer Susana “Ching” Vargas, who died of cancer in 2014. “This is a big deal for me because when I graduated from Ateneo (A.B. Management Economics) in 2002, instead of going to law school, I directly went into acting. My mother was a lawyer, medyo bumigat loob niya, medyo nagalit siya sa akin, nagkaiyakan pa kami nito before,” he recently said in a virtual interview. “My mom said, especially when she saw me in (GMA 7’s) Encantadia, ‘Sige, OK lang, kahit di ka na mag-law school anak, just promise me you will pursue graduate studies.’ I promised her that in the year 2002, when I entered showbiz, when I was starting. Then, now in 2021, this is a promise fulfilled to my mom.” According to Alfred, it was a struggle to finish his Masters, which got delayed after several leaves of absence due to the passing of his parents and whenever he joined the elections. His recent virtual graduation became an emotional and
What are your Top 3 pieces of advice to young people who are still waiting for their break in the entertainment industry? “1. If you’re really aiming for something, FOCUS on it and never lose sight of it. “2. Perseverance and hard work pay off. Success is not handed-over just like that. Keep yourself motivated and driven all the time. Have that spirit in you. Never give up. Oftentimes, second chances come in as a surprise and know that rejection and failure are normal. “3. Stay humble and be grateful for all the little things in life. And don’t forget to keep the faith and always pray.” What’s your biggest fear as a young artist and how do you deal with it? “My biggest fear as a young artist is the unpredictability of the showbiz industry because many people come and go, and it’s scary to lose the trust of the people supporting me, and I’d say I’m fortunate to still be here after seven years.” What are the challenges so far of having to transition from kiddie singer to a Darren that’s more mature in sound and image? “The challenges of the transition from a kid to the Darren now would be my overall look and sound and how the new ‘Darren’ would be presented to the world. One major challenge I encountered then was puberty. It really made me very nervous. “In terms of image, we had to think of ways to let people know that this isn’t ‘Darren from The Voice Kids’ anymore and I’d say we achieved our goal since I came back from Canada. Even my Darrenatics have noticed that my music videos, my photoshoots, and music are totally different from the ‘Darren’ they’ve seen and heard before.” In our last interview (December 2020), you said that you plan to increasingly take charge of your music. How is it going so far? “Since we last spoke I’ve released my newest single, Tama Na and it really marked a change in PAGE B3
sure that if you are in an abusive not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee relationship, look after your phys- or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, ical safety.
*** Michael J. Gurfinkel has been an attorney for over 40 years and is licensed, and an active member of the State Bars of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different, and results may depend on the facts of the particular case. The information and opinions contained herein (including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and reenactments) are of a general nature, and are not intended to apply to any particular case, and do
or shall be, established with any reader. WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com Follow us on Facebook.com/GurfinkelLaw, YouTube: US Immigration TV and Instagram. com/gurfinkellaw Call Toll free to schedule a consultation for anywhere in the US: 1-866-487-3465 (866) – GURFINKEL Four offices to serve you: LOS ANGELES ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PHILIPPINES (Advertising Supplement)
KZ Tandingan and TJ Monterde were friends first before they became lovers, who ended up exchanging “I do’s” in an intimate garden wedding in August of last year. Still, the adjustment phase was inevitable for the couple. Living together as husband and wife for a year now, TJ and KZ amusingly shared what they have so far discovered in each other. “Our body clocks are totally different,” KZ told The STAR during the virtual media call for the release of their Bisaya singles titled Dodong and Inday as part of their Simula playlist available on Star Music’s YouTube channel. TJ, on the other hand, laughingly declared, “Ako ang unang magising.” According to KZ, their sleep habits do not match no matter how hard they try “at ang ending mag-aaway kami; hindi kami nagkakasundo.” TJ is an early bird, while KZ is a night owl, who is most active and productive in the evenings. “I normally wake up late because I do whatever that needs to be done at night like kung may kailangan akong isulat o ayusin, ginagawa ko yun sa gabi pero si TJ gusto n’ya mag-work) ‘pag gising n’ya.” KZ said TJ would often ask her to sleep early, only to realize later on that he found it hard to fall into a deep slumber without her by his side. TJ teased KZ with a hearty laugh: “I just learned that she easily tears up when watching a movie, hahaha.” “Baligtad,” KZ retorted. “Siya yung pag nag-ne-Netflix kami, maya-maya he would turn his back kasi umiiyak na pala s’ya, hahaha.” These were just some of the amusing discoveries that made them appreciate each other more. They may have differences, KZ said, yet both of them make an effort to understand each other’s interests. Even in music, TJ spends some time watching videos of rap music artists with KZ, who also does rap performances. “We really try to love kung ano ang love ng isa. One example also is that KZ already knows who among the latest trades in the NBA and she can now identify the NBA stars,” shared TJ, a PolyEast recording artist, who is from Cagayan de Oro. But both best express their love for each other through music. In fact, the single Dodong, is KZ’s ode of gratitude for TJ’s great love for her. “I wrote that song seven months before we proposed to each other, so mga 2019 pa. It was my first time writing a Bisaya lullaby, but I never meant for it to be released. So TJ would have a song he can listen to when he finds it hard to sleep,” said KZ, who titled it Dodong, a Bisaya word referring to a young man. “I was hesitant at first to release the song because it was too personal for me. I think ‘yung song ay pinaka raw sa lahat ng sinulat ko na ‘pag kinanta mo, wala kahit anong palamuti, walang rap. It’s like me singing a love letter to the one I love,” added the multi-talented singer, who hails from Davao and is part of Star Music’s roster of artists. It was TJ who encouraged her to have it released. “I decided to also write a song so Dodong doesn’t have to be released alone.” He wrote Inday, which means a young lady in Bisaya, as a song of reassurance for KZ, the one and only Inday of his life. Part of the lyrics are the lines, “imoha ra ko,” which means “sa ‘yo lang ako” in Tagalog and TJ deliberately used them 10 times in the song. “I don’t know if you noticed that most girls often ask the question na mahal mo ba ako sa ka-relasyon nila so I wrote this for KZ to tell her not to worry, that I will always be here for her and I love her.” Asked about their marriage life, KZ replied with a smile, “Despite the many negative things happening around, the one thing that I’m thankful for is TJ. I know I love him so much but every day, TJ proves me wrong kasi kaya ko pa palang mas mahalin s’ya. He’s so caring. He takes care of everything. He drives me to work even if he is also occupied with work and he never complains kahit kulang s’ya sa tulog. Sana hindi s’ya mag-bago.” n
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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 7 - 10, 2021
Will incorporating a separate property business during marriage make it community property? Barrister’s Corner atty. Kenneth URsUa Reyes YOU own a successful business, as a sole proprietor, prior to marriage. You later meet the love of your life and decide to marry her. Years into the marriage, you decide to incorporate the business. A common question when the couple later divorces becomes 1) did your separate property business become community property by virtue of incorporating it during the marriage? 2) Was your separate property business “transmuted” to community property by incorporating it during the marriage? No community property presumption Family Code §760 defines “Community property” as “Except as otherwise provided by statute, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property. However under Marriage of Koester, the Court held that the community does not “acquire” a separate property business simply because the business is incorporated during the marriage. The mere incorporation of a business operated by spouse is not a change in its character, for purposes of division of community estate following divorce. In Koester, the Court stated that he incorporation simply effects a change in the legal form under which the business is conducted and prop-
erty does not change its character merely because of a change in form or identity. Marriage of Koester (1999) 73 CA4th 1032, 1035, 1038, 87 CR2d 76, 79, 81. The Court in Koester also stated that “In contrast with the way title is taken when a married couple own residential property, the incorporation of a sole proprietorship business is typically done for reasons extrinsic to the marital relationship. To say... that an asset was ‘acquired’ by the community... because some aspect of corporate formation took place during the marriage is to elevate semantics over substance” No transmutation Incorporation of a sole proprietorship business during the marriage can trigger a family code § 2640 tracing right of reimbursement only when it is also accompanied by an unambiguous express written transmutation of the business to community property as required by Family Code § 852. Marriage of Koester, supra, 73 CA4th at 1036–1037, 87 CR2d at 79–80 & fn. 5. Under Family Code §852, a transmutation of real or personal property is not valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that is made, joined in, consented to, or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected. In Koester, the act of changing the legal form under which a business is conducted does not meet the requirements of family code § 852 for a valid transmutation. Marriage of Koester (1999) 73 CA4th 1032, 1037, 87 CR2d 76, 80 & fn. 5. Incorporation of a sole proprietorship business is typically done for reasons extrinsic to the marital relationship.
Although the mere act of incorporating a separate business during the marriage does not change the character of the business to community property, the community may still acquire an apportionment interest if the value of the business substantially appreciated during the marriage due to the labor and hard work of the managing spouse during the marriage. The apportionment calculation is done using the formula in the Pereira or Van Camp case where the contributions of effort and return on capital are separated from the value of the business. *** Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@ kenreyeslaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)
Alexa finishes last term in college with average of 1.00 by Dana
Cruz Inquirer.net
of 1.00. The actress announced the ALEXA Ilacad is set to gradu- good news by showing her generate with a marketing degree after al weighted average and a photo she finally finished her last term of herself, indicating that she was in college with an average grade a dean’s lister, on her Instagram page on Monday, Aug. 2. “Last hoorah for my last term in college. I am over the moon as I type this right now but finally… I am graduating!” Ilacad said, accompanied by the hashtags “#MarketingMajor” and “#Gradwaiting.” “Despite all the obstacles thrown my way, I was determined to finish strong,” she added. “I came, I studied, I conquered!” Ilacad is enrolled in Treston International College’s School of Business and Technology, where she has been part of the dean’s list Alexa Ilacad Photo from Instagram/@alexailacad since her sophomore year.
Ilacad’s announcement led to playful remarks about the 2020 film “Four Sisters Before the Wedding,” which was the prequel to the 2013 comedy-drama film “Four Sisters and a Wedding.” In the movie, Ilacad played the teenage academic achiever Bobbie Salazar. “Bobbie! Ba’t nasa’yo na ang lahat?” the netizen asked Ilacad. (Bobbie, why do you have everything?) “Now we know kung bakit ikaw ang gumanap na Bobbie Salazar,” another netizen, @naveojnar, said. (Now we know why you played Bobbie Salazar.) Aside from fans, Ilacad received congratulatory greetings from fellow celebrities Kaye Abad, Melai Cantiveros and Miss Universe Philippines 2014 MJ Lastimosa. n
Jobless actor tries working for BPO to support family KAPUSO actor Juancho Trivino revealed that he worked for a business process outsourcing (BPO) company during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. In his Instagram account, Juancho said he chose to work in a BPO company because he had no tapings. “A lot of you might not know, but last year during the height of the pandemic last year, when we had no work (tapings, digital stuff and businesses) I got a job in a BPO company,” he said. “I actually did send out my resume to a couple of companies that was hiring during that time. It was unfamiliar territory for me because I have never worked in any corporate setting in my life, and then I did,” he added. The actor said he got a project
manager title then and gained work experience along the way. “They got me as a project manager (praise the Lord), and aside from the financial help a payslip gave us, I also gained some valuable experience kahit na hindi siya nag tagal (but that's another story),” he said. “Anyway, 'yun lang kwento ko guys,” he added. Host Joyce Pring, Juancho’s wife, commented on the actor’s post, showing that she’s proud of her husband. “You work hard for our family, my love. So proud of you always,” she wrote. Juancho and Joyce tied the knot in February last year. They welcomed their first born Elliam last July 2. (Jan Milo Severo/Phil- Juancho Trivino star.com) Photo from Instagram/@juanchotrivino
How Darren is taking charge of his career PAGE B2
my music. I’d say I’ve been able to take charge of the music I want to release as well, since I’m a lot more vocal now with the things I want to do in my career. I’ve also been more active and participative in my growth and in my music’s creative process.” Having achieved so much at 20, how do you stay grounded? “Even before I entered showbiz, my parents taught me to have humility. It’s one of the things that has always stuck with me wherever I go. My family also doesn’t give me any special treatment so that definitely keeps me grounded. “I pray a lot and whatever achievement I get is a product of a collective effort. My parents taught me to be thankful in everything. Achieving so much at this age is a wonderful blessing and gift from our Lord. Being grateful and being able to lookback makes you grounded as well.” Who and what inspires you to make music nowadays?
“My inspiration to keep making music is my family and my Darrenatics. Seeing how happy and excited they are every time I have a new song or album makes me feel overjoyed. I’d say my goals in life have also kept me inspired because you’ve got to put in the work to make things happen and this is something I’ve always wanted ever since I was growing up. Also, when I write songs, my experiences in life also inspire me.” What are your next goals for your showbiz career? “My next goals for my showbiz career would be to release music internationally, to receive an international recognition, star in another movie or even a series and to stage more major concerts.” Any new artists you hope to work or collaborate with? “New artists I’d love to work with include Giveon and Pink Sweat$, who actually follows me on Instagram so that’s pretty cool! I am open to share my music and my craft in general to anyone that
has the same passion and love for music as I do.” You spent the (first) lockdown with your family in Canada, care to share some pandemic realizations as an artist (and person as well)? “Spending a year in Canada during the lockdown made me realize that you should always be grateful for the little things in life and you should also look at the brighter side of every situation. There’s always a silver lining. Never take things for granted, and enjoy every minute of your life. Laugh more and love more. Don’t waste your time on things that are nonsense. “It’s also taught me to be more independent since I’m the only one editing my videos, producing my own vocals for songs, and setting up for my online shows. You can’t always be dependent on other people and this pandemic has made me realize that as well. Lastly, nothing is permanent so be kind, be loving and be more giving.” n
Pastor’s Notes ReveRend Rodel G. BalaGtas IT was an exciting weekend for my family. My first grandnephew, August James, received the Sacrament of Baptism! We passed on our Catholic Christian faith to “Augie,” the best treasure that my big family could give him. With this gift, he has the Spirit of Christ in him. By the Water of Baptism, he has received “new life” in Jesus. He is borne again! Indeed, faith in God is the best gift we can share with others, especially our loved ones. It’s the food for the journey as we face the challenges and uncertainties of life. I don’t know how to navigate life’s difficulties without faith in God, in Jesus Christ. In Footprints on the Mountain, a book on the Sunday Readings, Roland J. Faley argues for the necessity of faith: There is no substitute for faith. That sounds very trite, but there is no other way to say it. Faith is certainly food for the journey. We have known persons whose personal code of conduct is irreproachable. But they just can’t believe, and they really don’t see the need. Perhaps “agnostic” best describes them. They just don’t know. They follow their conscience for humanitarian reasons. When it comes to eternal life, they are very skeptical. Sometimes we love them so much we agonize over their plight. And then there are people whose faith is utterly indomitable. They live a faith life of vigorous intensity. Dogged by a fatal illness, they face the future with the same optimism and resoluteness. “Why distraught?” they ask. Isn’t this what I have been living for?” That is a gift. That is being taught by God. That person’s entire value system bears the imprint of faith. I think of my sister, who is suffering from cancer, as an example of someone with an “utterly indomitable,” “vigorous,” and “intense” faith in God. She amazes us with her positive attitude and tenacious spirit to fight for life and live it to the fullest despite her illness. She brings light and hope to those around
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An utterly indomitable faith her and whoever speaks to her. She’s an inspiring woman whose love for God and strong faith in Him has sustained her throughout her illness. My sister’s kind of faith is what we’d like to share with my grandnephew, Augie. It’s the kind of faith that we all need in any challenging times.
*** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.
B4 august 7 - 10, 2021 • La WEEKEND asIaN JOuRNaL
EMPLOYMENT
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EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
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LA WEEKEND ASIAN JOURNAL • AUgUSt 7 - 10, 2021
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Fundamental analysis for stock trading Things to consider before signing that (Part 4 of 4) severance or release agreement
Tax Tips
ViCtor Sy, MBA, CPA (retired) YOU can use two primary approaches to analyze a stock: fundamental analysis and technical analysis. • Fundamental analysis involves looking at a company’s underlying business metrics, such as revenue, earnings and debt. • Technical analysis involves looking only at a stock’s recent price movements and identifying buy and sell signals in its chart. Let’s take a look at how traders use fundamental analysis: • Fundamental analysis is a method of determining a stock’s fair market value. • Search for stocks that are undervalued. • Stock is undervalued if the current price is lower than the fair market value (a good buy).
• Stock is overvalued if the current price is higher than the fair market value (expensive buy). • Stock is undervalued if it has low P/E (Price/Earnings) ratio. • Use fundamental analysis to measure intrinsic value by examining financial and economic data. • Technical analysis looks at statistical trends of price and volume (instead of intrinsic value). • Fundamental analysis focuses on true value (while technical analysis identifies a good time to enter or exit a trade). • Fundamental Analysis is based on financial statements (whereas technical analysis is based on charts and price movements). • Be aware of macroeconomic factors such as the state of the economy (Currently, we have a recovering economy with threats of inflation) and industry conditions to microeconomic factors
like the company’s management. Elements of fundamental analysis include: • Earnings per Share (EPS). • Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E). • Projected Earnings Growth (PEG). • Price to Sales Ratio (P/S). • Price to Book Ratio (P/B). • Dividend Payout Ratio. • Dividend Yield. •Return on Equity. *** Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV – Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation. *** He retired after 50 years of defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He published a book on “How to Avoid or Survive IRS Audits” that’s available at Amazon. Readers may email tax questions to vicsy@live.com.
Debtor with $500K home equity seeks Chapter 7 relief for $420K lease liability THE client is 50. He bought a restaurant in November of 2019. What’s the worst time to buy a restaurant in the history of the human race? November of 2019 sounds about right. He signed a five-year lease for the restaurant for $6,000 a month. That’s $72,000 a year. For five years, he’s on the hook for $350,000 of commercial lease payment for the restaurant. Being a new restaurant, the first four months were a constant struggle to pay the $5,000 a month lease. Daily sales were hovering between $500 to $1,000 a month, then sales increased to $2,000 a month in January 2020, but started slowing down again to $300 to $500 a month in February and March 2020. The rest as they say, is history. The pandemic lockdown started end of March 2020. Restaurants were the principal losers in the lockdown. You can’t open the restaurant. There are no sales whatsoever. You got PPP loans, which could be forgiven if they are used to pay
EMPLOYMENT
Debt Relief
Atty. LAwrenCe yAng payroll and rent. The client did apply for PPP but since there really was no track record except for four months being a new business that it was, he got a measly PPP loan of $10,000, which he used to pay two months of rent. He reopened the business this month and was able to pay half a month’s rent to the landlord who asks for unpaid rent of $60,000 for last year, and $20,000 for this year from January to April of 2021. He considers some kind of repayment plan but with the very slow sales right now of $300 daily, he doesn’t know how much losses he has to bear with for the next 12 months, let alone just another six months. He
decides to call it quits and finally throw in the towel, as he just doesn’t want to think about the restaurant anymore. It just gives him a headache, migraines, almost every night. Can’t sleep. It’s just not worth it, he thinks, it will be the early death of him with so much worrying of how to make ends meet and repay $80,000 of unpaid rent. I can’t really blame him for feeling depressed. On the bright side, his residence that he bought for $300,000 only three years ago is now worth $500,000. I asked him how much mortgage balance he owed. He said nothing owed. The house is fully paid. With houses in short supply and mortgage interest at 2.3% for new house purchases, there is a strong demand for houses that push the prices sky-high. Of course, if you sell your house, you do get a big chunk of cash, but that’s not enough to buy another house here in LA. You’d have to move to AZ or TX for a good price on houses there. Good price meaning,
EMPLOYMENT
A SEPARATION package or a severance agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee who is about to leave the employer’s employment. In a typical severance agreement, the employer agrees to give the employee additional compensation (the severance pay) in exchange for the outgoing employee’s agreement not to sue the employer for any employment-related claims such as wrongful termination or back wages. Employers are not required by law to provide any severance pay to their employees, regardless of whether the end of employment is due to a resignation, a firing, or a layoff. Even if an employee has worked for several years for the same employer, the employer is still not obligated to provide a severance pay if the employer decides to fire such a long-time employee. Most employers do not sponsor formal severance pay plans. However, some employers offer formal severance pay plans that provide conditions for eligibility. An employer, for example, may provide severance pay to long-time employees in the event of a layoff. This means severance pay is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee. A severance pay is usually calculated according to a specific formula, often based on the employee’s length of service. For ex-
ample, an employee may qualify for two weeks of wages for every year worked up to 12 years. The severance pay is also affected by such factors as the reason why the employment relationship is ending (e.g., company “downsizing,” employee misconduct, or layoff) or the employer’s financial condition (e.g., merger with a larger company). An employee may try to negotiate for more severance pay than what is being offered, especially if the employee has been with the company for many years, has an excellent service record, or has provided increased value to the employer’s business. An employee may also negotiate how to receive the severance pay, for example, as a lump sum payment, as a salary continuation for a specific period, or as periodic payments. Each method has an advantage and a pitfall. Most importantly, before signing or negotiating for a severance agreement, an employee should keep in mind the following things: • Has the employer paid all hours worked by the employee, including overtime? • Has the employer paid the employee for meal or rest breaks that were not provided to the employee? • If the employee is entitled to vacation, has the unused vacation been paid? • If the employee is being terminated, what is the reason for the termination? If an employer fired an employee for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason, the employee may be entitled to damages. • Does the severance agreement protect the employee from any potential claims for wrong-
ful behavior or harassment that might be brought by the employer? So, should you sign a severance package? It depends. If you had been paid correctly for all hours worked, if you received all your meal and rest periods, and if you have no issues regarding your termination, then a severance package is a generous and welcome benefit. But if you were not paid all your hours worked, including overtime, and you were not provided meal and rest periods, or the termination was wrongful – then a severance package may be a way for your employer to stop you from asserting your rights and seeking remedies in court. If this is the case, you would be in a better position to consult with a knowledgeable employment attorney before you sign anything. Lastly, employers must immediately pay all compensation due to the employee at the time of termination. It is illegal for employers to threaten to not pay terminated employees for work already performed unless the employees sign some kind of “release.” A release signed by the employee under these circumstances may not be enforced.
house prices are still reasonable over there. Even NV has reasonable housing prices. A normal house in LA would cost on the average $800,000, that’s not reasonable. I remember our first house in LA was only $130,000. For that very same house today, we would have to pay $850,000. As Bill Gates said, you’re not stupid for being born poor. But if you die poor, yes, you’re stupid. The client is in luck because
the homestead exemption in CA today is now $600,000 of equity. This took effect on January 1 of this year. Even with his house at a current fair market value of $500,000, all equity, he would still be able to wipe out the $350,000 of future unpaid restaurant and the unpaid back rent of $80,000, or total wipe out of $420,000 of personal liability, with a Chapter 7 petition because of the new amended homestead
exemption. Before January 2021, client would not be able to wipe out the $420,000 liability without losing his house to the BK trustee. Under the old law last year, the Chapter 7 trustee will sell his house at $500,000, give him $100,000 as his homestead exemption, and use the rest to pay the $420,000 unpaid future and back rent! In the midst of his misforPAGE B6
Protecting Employee & Consumer Rights Atty. C. Joe SAyAS, Jr.
FOR RENT
*** The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www. joesayaslaw.com. [For more than 25 years, C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a past Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas.] (Advertising Supplement)
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Minding Your Finances Atty. RAymond BulAon arE you sick and tired of being in debt and having bad credit? Do you want to start over but simply don’t know where to begin? Is filing bankruptcy an option for you or are other options available? These days, you are constantly bombarded with advertising from companies and other professionals offering you their “solution”. But how do you know who to trust and if you are doing the right thing? I find that a lot of people are mostly concerned about the effects of bankruptcy on their credit more than anything else. Most are under the mistaken belief that once they file for bankruptcy, their credit is ruined forever and that they will never be able to buy a house or obtain credit again. of course, this is simply not true. Let me explain. Yes, bankruptcy is reported on your credit record for 7-10 years depending on the type of bankruptcy you are filing but a lot of people quickly bounce back from bankruptcy in as little as 2-3 years.
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Get out of debt now: Safely and legally Vicarious liability I also find that most people who are in debt trouble already have bad credit anyway and filing bankruptcy, if anything, can only help them rebuild their credit in the long run. Yes, in most cases that I see, bankruptcy can actually improve credit by allowing the person a chance to start over after wiping out debts. I see a lot of people on a regular basis who are scammed by debt settlement companies. These are the companies that you see on TV, on the internet or hear about on the radio. I say “scammed” because a lot of these people didn’t really understand what they are getting into when they sign up for their services. oftentimes, these companies tell people that bankruptcy is the ‘worst mistake’ that they can make and that by enrolling in their debt management or settlement program, they will be able to help you get out of debt without filing for bankruptcy. First of all, what they often don’t mention is the fact that you have no legal protection while you are on their program. That’s right. Creditors can still report your delinquency month after month to the credit bu-
reaus. You can also get sued anytime by your creditors. and once they get a judgment against you, of course, your creditors can garnish your wages, file a judgment lien against your property and levy your bank accounts. secondly, when you make those monthly payments to a debt settlement company, you money doesn’t just go directly to your creditors. after collecting their fees (which they often don’t clearly explain), the debt settlement company simply puts aside your monthly payments until they have enough to settle with your creditors one by one. Do you really believe that creditors are willing to wait several years to get paid? No. That is why they often sue and once that happens, you have a big problem in your hands. What about the money that you already paid the debt settlement company? Good luck trying to get any of that money back once they have it. and as your credit has suffered as a result, it may be better for you to just file bankruptcy now than simply prolonging your problems. rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy is not as hard as
you think and this is often a better strategy than not paying your bills and letting your credit continue to get worse every single month with no end in sight. If you’ve been struggling with debt for a while now and nothing has changed, when are you going to get so sick and tired of your debt problems to finally do something about it? I can help you decide if bankruptcy is the right solution for your situation. If it’s not, I will be the first to tell you. If that’s the case, I can help you explore other options that may be available to you. *** NoTE: Due to the virus lockdown, I am currently offering consultations via phone or video. Please call the office to schedule your appointment with me. Questions? Email me at gethelp@ rjb-lawoffices.com. *** None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped over 5,000 clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call RJB Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1-866-477-7772. (Advertising Supplement)
VICarIous liability is a legal doctrine under which parties can be held indirectly liable for an incident and/or injury, even though they did not cause it. Where vicariously liability is a viable theory, other case law apAtty. PAyAm plies. Generally, an employer is tAvAkoli vicariously liable for the torts of its employees in the course and scope of their employment. (Baptist v. Robinson (2006) 143 Cal. App.4th 151, 160.) Where the risk of injury is “one ‘that may be fairly regarded as typical of or broadly incidental’ to the enterprise undertaken by the employer,” the employer is deemed vicariously liable whether or not the employer breached an independent duty itself. In the context of bouncers at a nightclub who severely injured and assaulted a client by denying entry to the club, punched and kicked by two bouncers, the bouncers were clearly acting within the course and scope of employment in denying entry to the client. Thus, aside and apart from any negligence of the part of the employer in hiring, retaining, or supervising the bouncers, the employer may be vicariously liable for the acts of the bouncers insofar as the bouncers were acting within the course and scope of employment when they injured the client. *** The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. *** If you have further questions, an experienced Injury Lawyer at the Law Offices of Tavakoli & Associates will be able to help you navigate the issues and provide you with the aggressive representation you need and deserve.
Commentary
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APO Global Foundation to host ‘Golf Jaya will not quit showbiz despite moving to US For a Cause’ for the Dumagats by CharmiE Joy
Pagulong Philstar.com
by Dan
E. niino
BILLED as ‘Golf For a Cause’, the 1st Inaugural Inter-club and open Golf Tourney will be held on Nov. 19 at the 18-hole, par 70 Dos Lagos Golf Course in Corona featuring the sweeping vista of the Cleveland National Forest in the Inland Empire. Hosted by the aPo Global Foundation (formerly alpha Phi omega Philippines of Greater Los angeles), golfers from various golf clubs and several aPo brethren from both aPo C-7 and C-3 non-profit organizations, had enthusiastically formed a steering committee during a luncheon meeting -- to proceed with this one-day golf event that will benefit the Dumagat indigenous tribe who inhabit the sierra Madre fringes in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. “This is a way of sharing our blessings by helping the less fortunate and disadvantaged through the game that we all love,” steering Committee Chairman Mar Garchitorena, stated when he made a PowerPoint Presentation recently at the Golden sky restaurant in Van Nuys. He said that this event promises to be a fun and friendly but highly competitive golf tournament where every shot counts in “shot gun” fashion. Here are the initial rules governing this invitational golf tournament: There would be a maximum of eight golf clubs with 16 players each club; aggregate scores of all players of each club less total sCGa
Some of the beneficiaries and the on-going “Dumagats Egg Laying Livelihood Program” in a sitio in Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija in the fringes of Sierra Madre Mountain.
handicaps will determine total club score; Each club will be asked to submit their players’ sCGa handicap a week before the tournament; Lowest team net score will be declared the winner. on the Individual prizes, Class a should have 13 handicap and below; Class B, from 14 to 23 handicap while Class C has 24 and above handicap. a prize of mini cooper will be given to a player who shot a hole in one and other prizes with closest to the pin in all Par 3s and with the most accurate drive. a trophy will be awarded to individual per class and team champion during the awards banquet. other giveaways and raffle prizes will be given like golf balls, putter and bag. The park-like Dos Lagos Golf Course playing 6,544 yards with
four sets of tees, is an oasis of restored waterways, wetlands and rolling hillside habitat. The aPo Global Foundation, has already kicked off its Module 1 beneficiary amounting to $1,000 on July 8 this year dubbed, “Dumagat Egg Laying Livelihood Program” for one family with 72 egg laying chickens in cages. The recipient is Lovely Nava, a 27-year-old widow with six children with ages ranging from 3 to 12 years old who are out of school. she sells vegetables in the town’s public market to support her family. Thereafter, she is expected to sell the eggs to the market. Nava’s husband, a Dumagat, has recently passed away and didn’t witness this project came to fruition benefiting his family. aPo Global has partnered with aPo Livestock agri-Business alumni assn. and aPo Papaya alumni assn. based in Nueva Ecija headed by business executive/entrepreneur Danton Pajarillaga. some of these aPo members are connected with Department of agriculture, animal Husbandry and other government entities -- to provide the beneficiaries with technical knowhow and the capacity to monitor them so they can attain self-sufficiency. Interested parties may call Mar Garchitorena @ 661-3171713 or Dan E. Nino at 562508-8099. – denino1951@gmail. com. n
JaYa is not closing the door on showbusiness. she will still continue to sing and do concerts despite relocating to the u.s. early July, after experiencing hardships during pandemic lockdowns. “Hindi na po mawawala sa dugo ko yan (showbiz). Ang nanay ko nga sa kahuli-hulihang hininga ay ang ginawa ang pag-awit, pag-papatawa at pag-e-entertain sa mga tao. so ako, hindi ko ‘to tatalikuran,” the Queen of soul said. “Ang ginagawa ko lang ay simply to rest, and give myself a chance to be a wife, a mother, to serve our church here. I just wanna be normal for a bit. But I’m still going to sing. We’re still going to do concerts,” she added. she plans to come back to the Philippines to work once the economy reopens but for now, the u.s. will be her family’s residence. “We’ve been planning to move to the u.s. before Christmas last year. Moving to the u.s. was not an easy decision to make, especially during a pandemic, and as someone living with Type 2 diabetes. However, I realized that I need to choose hope over fear, especially now that I have reunited with my family, and we believe na makakaya namin ang mga pagsubok basta sama-sama,” Jaya told The Star. she also recalled how she suffered from the coronavirus
Jaya
Photo from Instagram/@jaya
disease (CoVID-19) in the u.s. as early as February last year. she experienced such symptoms as intense coughing and body pains that lasted for about three weeks. “Pero awa ng Diyos, it went away,” Jaya said and so she was able to do concerts after that. “Then I came home. a lot of things happened. and then, of course, years ko na rin gustong (mag-move) ‘coz I’ve always lived here (in the u.s.). I’ve always been a resident of the u.s., and my husband and children are all dual (citizens),” she added. The singer likewise shared how diabetes has affected her work and lifestyle. she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes shortly after she gave birth to her first child in late 2010. “Minsan manlalambot ka. I’m 51 years old. all the more na na-affect
Willie soon to announce if he’s running in 2022 by ronniE
CarrasCo ManilaTimes.net
aNYTIME soon, Willie revillame is expected to break the biggest, if not the most shocking, news on his daily show, "Wowowin: Tutok to Win," on GMa. Early on, the TV host hinted that it would be the most crucial decision in life he'd ever make, asking his audience to accord him respect and understanding. His impending announcement, however, isn't much of a guessing game. With nothing else in mind, it sure has a lot to do with having finally made up his mind to run for senator in the forthcoming elections. Vignettes ran a column dated March 16, 2021, on Willie "breaking bread" with no less than the President himself (with closest ally senator Bong Go in tow) upon
Debtor with $500K home... PAGE B5 tune, Chapter 7 that now allows him to keep his $500,000 fully paid house exempt completely under bankruptcy law proves to be his good fortune. I mean this was totally unbelievable and unheard of before the new homestead exemption of $600,000 took effect this year. If you need debt relief, please set an appointment and I will analyze your case personally. *** DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THE FOREGOING IS CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE. EACH CASE IS DIFFERENT. *** Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in Bankruptcy, Business, Real Estate and Civil Litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road, Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58, Building A-10 South, Suite 10042, Alhambra, CA 91803. (Advertising Supplement)
yung moods ko, sometimes I’m normal. sometimes, I’m a little irritable. and sometimes, I’m sleepy. Those are the things that give me signals that something is going on.” But this did not stop her from performing since she was able to manage it and make lifestyle changes. “It wasn’t a hindrance yung diabetes ‘coz I know exactly when to eat, na-start ko siyang i-manage,” she said. “I know how to, what time to eat, what to eat, not to eat. I always had water instead of juice. I never had soda. Talagang yun yung changes na you have to get used to.” “on a daily basis, I think I’m okay but there are those days that it’s a little hard but okay lang,” she said. Jaya also realized that “having diabetes should not be a hindrance in making big moves.” n
Willie Revillame
GMA photo
the latter's dinner invitation at the Palace. It happened immediately after the TV host-philanthropist received a surprise phone call. While Willie made no disclosure what the scrumptious dinner (which consisted of steamed rice, fried tilapia and fried talong, food-wise) was all about word spread fast that PrrD — well aware of his good deeds — was egging him on to run for senator under the administration ticket. reportedly, Willie took it half-seriously, until we gathered from a reliable source: "Inaaraw-araw siya, kinukulit talaga siyang tumakbo ng kampo ni Digong!" That same source admits to playing devil's advocate, making Willie understand the pros and cons, should he acquiesce to the persistent offer: "Pero mukhang napapayag na siya. Let's just hope he came up with the right decision." In fairness, Willie's latest spiels already forebode whatever announcement he's about to make any day within the month. Consider this line of his: "Hindi ko man kayo makasama, hindi ko pababayaan ang Wowowin. Kahit wala na 'ko sa mundo, narito pa rin ang programang ito na handang tumulong sa inyo." as to who will take over in Willie's absence is — so we heard — a search in progress. Don't be surprised if a new face is initially introduced as his co-host for his "oJT." Without a doubt, loyal televiewers can't imagine Wowowin without Willie and his "Bigyan ng jacket 'yan!" signature line. still another emphatic foreshadowing statement from him: "Hindi kami magkekengkoyan sa Senado. Gagawa kami ng batas. At lalong hindi kami magnanakaw!" No to thievery in government, we all agree. If and only when, he makes it, the rest remains to be seen. The ultimate challenge is for Willie to prove his naysayers wrong. n
‘I’m OK with that’: Sharon on MILF tag aCTrEss sharon Cuneta revealed that she doesn’t mind people calling her MILF, not the Muslim organization. at the press conference of her upcoming movie “revirginized” earlier, sharon said that she takes it as a compliment when people call her MILF (Mom I'd Like to F***). The Cambride English Dictionary defines an MILF as "a sexually attractive woman who is a mother." “Hindi naman lahat ng MILF ay hiwalay o magulo ang buhay or may problema. Minsan may napakadisenteng mommy na buo ang
pamilya pero mukhang dalaga pa rin. Ako, hindi ako naiinsulto pag gano'n,” sharon told Philstar.com. “I take it as a compliment. Bakit ako maiinsulto? It’s just the term that doesn’t sound right, especially the last word. actually, kung iisipin mo, flattering e. In other words, I think it just means you’re desirable pa rin,” she added. “I’m 55 but I hope I look 10 years younger. Not much have changed, I just gain and lose weight. Now I’m more conscious on what I eat. I lost 10 pounds dur- Sharon Cuneta Photo from Instagram/@reallysharoncuneta ing ‘Your Face sounds Familiar’ before I went to the states. I gained losing that again,” she said. (Jan those 10 pounds back and started Milo Severo/Philstar.com)
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