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SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2022
T HE F ILIPINO A MERICAN C OMMUNITY N EWSPAPER
Volume 33 - No. 36 • 12 Pages
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USA
DATELINE Biden attacks new normal in speech on democracy FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
WHAT is happening today in America “is not normal.” That was the gist of President Biden’s prime-time on Thursday, September 1 delivered in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both drafted. Voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, money in politics, the Electoral College, the looming threat of authoritarianism: across the board the cracks in our beleaguered democratic system are numerous and gaping. For Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program, it’s the combined “normalization” of illiberal, even violent political tactics with an increasingly frail legal framework — a framework that is ostensibly meant to undergird our democratic system — that is cause for alarm. “I think if you ask Americans broadly, they say they still favor democracy,” Weiner told EMS. “But one of the challenges is the erosion of norms. Most Americans don’t understand the extent to which democratic stability depends on unwritten rules.” As an example, Weiner points to the process of presidential succession, the transfer of
PH asks ICC: Don’t resume drug war probe MANILA — The Philippines is asking the Intertnational Criminal Court’s (ICC) pre-trial chamber (PTC) to deny the request of the Office of the Prosecutor to resume its investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, including under the "war on drugs." The Office of the Solicitor General on Thursday, September 8 said that it transmitted the country’s observations on the alleged crimes against humanity through the Philippine Embassy at The Hague in Netherlands, as required by the ICC PTC. "The Philippine government explained to the ICC
PTC the extent of the drug problem in the Philippines and the process of investigating and prosecuting drug-related offenses under the Philippine legal and judicial system," the OSG said. It also maintained that the "ICC has no jurisdiction over the situation in the Philippines" and argued that the incidents that happened between July 1, 2016 to March 16, 2019 and November 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016 “do not constitute [as] ‘crimes against humanity.’’’ The OSG said that the situation in the Philippines is inadmissble under Article 17 of the Rome Statute,
THE four officers involved in the death of a Filipino American U.S. Navy veteran in Antioch, California while he was in police custody will not face criminal charges, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office announced. The family of Angelo Quinto expressed
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CDC recommends updated COVID-19 boosters targeting omicron variant by AJPRESS
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Cops won’t be criminally charged in police custody death of Fil-Am
which, among others — provide that states with jurisdiction already investigating or prosecuting the case may be considered inadmissible. However, the same article also provides an exception if the state "is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution." "The Philippine government emphasized that the complaints filed before the ICC are already being investigated and prosecuted by the proper agencies and that the state is neither unwilling nor unable to carry out these domestic proceedings," the OSG said.
MASAMIREY BEACH. Local tourists enjoy playing in the sand and swimming at the Masamirey Cove Resort in Sual, Pangasinan on Thursday, Sept. 8. Masamirey Cove is a hidden paradise resort nestled amid a fishing village in one of Pangasinan’s pristine beaches. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
THE U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on Thursday, Sept. 1 that eligible Americans receive an updated coronavirus booster shot that would help fight the omicron variant. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations to use updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older. The updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of updated COVID-19 boosters, and CDC’s recommendation for use, are critical next steps forward in our country’s vaccination program—a program that has helped provide increased protection against COVID-19
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Philippines, US Defense officials vow commitment to Mutual Defense Treaty by JOHN
ERIC MENDOZA Inquirer.net
MANILA — The head of the Philippines’ Department of National Defense (DND) and his American counterpart reaffirmed commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty of the two long-time allies. The commitment was made after Defense Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III talked over the phone on Thursday, September 1. The call marked the first bilateral engagement between the two defense Filipino American U.S. Navy veteran Angelo Quinto Photo screengrabbed from CBS News officials since Faustino assumed his post on
June 30. “Undersecretary Faustino highlighted that the treaty is the basis of the PhilippinesU.S. alliance and joint defense capability programs,” the DND said in a statement released on Friday, September 2. “Secretary Austin reiterated that the U.S. commitment to the alliance remains ironclad,” the agency also said. The MDT, signed on August 30, 1951, states that both countries would support each other if an external party attacked the Philippines or the United States. Both officials also discussed the importance of deepening cooperation under the Enhanced
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SPECIAL VISIT. Filipinos in Singapore – just like in Indonesia – have experienced what it was like when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was still campaigning to win votes for his presidential bid during the May polls. In his first state visit here, Marcos told Filipinos that he wants to make them feel what it was like during their presidential campaign – and so he made sure that his meeting with the Filipino community in this rich city state won’t be anything but festive with several performers providing entertainment. PNA photo
Peso plunges further to P57.18 vs USD Pres. Marcos returns from by TIZIANA
CELINE Philstar.com
PIATOS
THE Philippine peso depreciates further at P57.18 against the United States dollar (USD) at the Philippine Dealing System, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines show on Thursday, September 8. According to the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the peso trading opened at P57.07 against the dollar. The peso traded within the P57.06 to P56.22 band, averaging P57.149. The weighted average
exchange rate was P57.14 while the previous session reached P57.216. Thursday's volume reached $1.151 billion, lower than $1.2327 billion during the previous session. The local currency also depreciated against the US dollar by P6.181, or 12.1 percent, since the start of 2022. The peso was again weaker against the US dollar for the sixth straight day, by 0.045 centavos or 0.1 percent, to a new record close for the fifth straight trading day at P57.18 against the previous day's P57.135.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso also weakened further after the latest gross international reserves data that declined to new two-year lows. Ricafort said the local currency also depreciated after the Fed Beige Book Report high prices and tight labor markets weighing on US economic prospects over the next year. RCBC's chief economist said the inflation showed signs of decelerating. It led to slight downward corrections in the US dollar against the major global
currencies and in US Treasury yields lately. Ricafort added that a weaker peso could lead to higher inflation and more aggressive local policy rate hikes to help stabilize both the peso exchange rate and overall inflation. He said the recent new record high for Thursday's exchange rate may also be partly attributed to the seasonal increase in importation by some manufacturers and producers in July-September to prepare for the seasonal increase in demand/sales for many businesses and industries
Singapore with investment pledges, job opportunities
MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wrapped up his state visits to Indonesia and Singapore from September 4 to 6, coming home with several bilateral agreements with both countries. He was accompanied by his wife, Louise Araneta-Marcos, and several Cabinet officials such as Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Migrant Workers PAGE 4 Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, as
well as members of the country’s economic team. The chief executive met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and, while in Singapore, with President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. "Maliban po sa pakikipagpulong sa mga opisyal ng Indonesia at Singapore at pagkuha ng kanilang patuloy na suporta sa ating bansa at sa ating
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