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Volume 22 - No.49 • 12 Pages
T HE F ILIPINO A MERICAN C OMMUNITY N EWSPAPER
Volume 18 - No. 17 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages
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DECEMBER 8-14, 2023
Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, SAN DIEGO, LAS VEGAS, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
Islamic State admits hand in Marawi blast DATELINE USA by RICHEL V. UMEL, RYAN ROSAURO
FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Desperate families search for affordable home care
IT’S a good day when Frank Lee, a retired chef, can slip out to the hardware store, fairly confident that his wife, Robin, is in the hands of reliable help. He spends nearly every hour of every day anxiously overseeing her care at their home on the Isle of Palms, a barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina. Robin Lee, 67, has had dementia for about a decade, but the couple was able to take overseas trips and enjoy their marriage of some 40 years until three years ago, when she grew more agitated, prone to sudden outbursts, and could no longer explain what she needed or wanted. He struggled to care for her largely on his own. “As Mom’s condition got more difficult to navigate, he was just handling it,” said Jesse Lee, the youngest of the couple’s three adult children. “It was getting harder and harder. Something had to change, or they would both perish.” Frank Lee’s search for trustworthy home health aides — an experience that millions of American families face — has often been exhausting and infuriating, but he has persisted. He didn’t entirely trust the care his wife would get in an assisted living facility. Last August, when a respite program paid for her brief stay in one so Frank, 69, could take a trip to the mountains, she fell PAGE 4
Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers’bogus Medicare advantage sales tactics AFTER an unprecedented crackdown on misleading advertising claims by insurers selling private Medicare Advantage and drug plans, the Biden administration hopes to unleash a special weapon to make sure companies follow the new rules: you. Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are encouraging seniors and other members of the public to become fraud detectives by reporting misleading or deceptive sales tactics to 800-MEDICARE, the agency’s 24-hour information hotline. Suspects include postcards designed to look like they’re from the government and TV ads with celebrities promising benefits and low fees that are available only to some people in certain counties. The new rules, which took effect Sept. 30, close some loopholes in existing requirements by describing what insurers can say in ads and other promotional materials as well as during the enrollment process. PAGE 5
Inquirer.net
MARAWI CITY — The local affiliate of the terrorist network Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Sunday Mass at the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus, but the Armed Forces of the Philippines has expressed doubt, saying it is validating that claim. The Jihad Terrorism Threat Monitor of the Middle East Media and Research Institute (Memri) tracked that pronouncement on Sunday, December 3 by the Islamic State of East Asia Province (ISEAP), hours after the attack that left four dead and at least 50
wounded. Based on the ISEAP pronouncements documented by Memri, Sunday’s attack was the second this year that mainly targeted Christians — the first being in September when local affiliates killed two farmers in a hinterland village in Kauswagan town, Lanao del Norte. The MSU gym bombing, timed on the first Sunday of Advent, a major event in the Christian calendar, followed four years after a suicide bombing in January 2019 at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, that killed 23 people. There were at least two similar attacks in Mindanao before those bombings targeting a
Christian gathering—the April 1992 grenade attack at an Easter Sunday procession outside St. Michael Cathedral in Iligan City, which killed five; and the lobbing of two grenades at a Mass in Davao City’s San Pedro Cathedral on Easter Sunday in 1981, killing 17. Son’s last look On Monday, December 4, Iligan Bishop Jose Rapadas led a Mass at the Capin Funeral Homes in Iligan City for Evangeline Aromin, a graduate student from Bansalan, Davao del Sur, and one of the four fatalities in Sunday’s blast. Rapadas, who was joined by Cagayan de Oro PAGE 2
Pope sets prayers for blast victims by EVELYN MACAIRAN Philstar.com
MANILA — Pope Francis expressed his intention to pray for the victims of the bombing attack that occurred during a mass inside a university campus in Marawi City on Sunday, December 3. In @Pontifex, which serves as the pope’s official page on X, formerly Twitter, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said that he is close to the people of Mindanao. “I wish to assure my prayer for the victims of the attack that occurred this (Sunday) morning in the Philippines, where a bomb exploded during mass. I am close to the families and the people of Mindanao, who have already suffered so much,” said the pontiff from his residences in remarks broadcast in Saint Peter’s Square. Four people died and 45 people were hurt during the explosion at a morning Catholic mass at the Dimaporo Gymnasium of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City. According to Vatican News, the pope had sent a telegram to Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña, saying he is “deeply saddened to be informed of the injuries and loss of life caused by the bombing.” WORK AS USUAL. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the Public-Private Partnership Code of the Philippines (PPP Code) and the Internet The message was reportedly signed by Vatican Transactions Act of 2023 on Tuesday, December 5, while in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. Malacañang photo PAGE 4
Most Filipinos oppose divorce by RED MENDOZA ManilaTimes.net
MAJORITY of Filipinos continue to oppose the passage of a law that would legalize divorce in the country, a survey conducted by OCTA Research showed. OCTA's Tugon ng Masa third-quarter survey showed that 51 percent of adult Filipinos surveyed were not in favor of passing a law that would legalize divorce, while 41 percent were in favor. Nine percent were undecided. Mindanao had the highest percentage of adult Filipinos who favor passing a law that would legalize divorce at 48 percent, followed
by the National Capital Region at 46 percent, while the lowest is in the Visayas at 33 percent. Visayas had the most number of respondents who are not in favor of divorce at 59 percent, while the lowest is in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 39 percent. NCR had the higher number of respondents who were undecided in passing a bill against divorce, at 15 percent. Broken down by region, Northern Mindanao had the most respondents who support divorce at 78 percent, while Cagayan Valley had the highest number who are not in favor of divorce at 96 percent. Younger Filipinos ages 18 to 24 were the PAGE 2
(From left) Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, World Travel Awards (WTA) President and Founder Graham Cooke, and DOT Assistant Secretary Rica Bueno hold the Philippines’ awards from the preeminent WTA in a ceremony held in Dubai on December 1. DOT photo
PH wins 4 major awards in Ex-President Duterte skips preliminary probe of grave threats case World Travel Awards 2023 by GILLIAN N. VILLANUEVA Inquirer.net
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and former President Rodrigo Duterte
MANILA — The preliminary investigation of the complaint of grave threats filed by ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro against former President Rodrigo Duterte was reset to Dec. 15 after he failed to appear before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, December 4. Only his lawyers, Penrose Ann Valles and Kristia Lorraine Caringal, showed up and said they had yet to receive any complaint or subpoena against their client. They were later given a copy of Castro’s complaint affidavit and Inquirer.net photos supplemental complaint affidavit
against Duterte. The lawmaker’s counsel, Rico Domingo, said they did not expect further delays, adding: “We’re not saying this is a delaying tactic, since what the lawyers said, we assume good faith there.” “Now, under Rule 112 of the Revised Penal Code… they have 10 days to respond to the criminal complaint and the supplemental complaint. There will be no delays there, there won’t be another extension,” Domingo said. Duterte had been asked to appear before the Quezon City prosecutor to submit his counteraffidavit in response to Castro’s complaint of grave threats based PAGE 2
by LUISA CABATO Inquirer.net
MANILA — The Philippines bagged four major tourism recognitions from the prestigious World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Tuesday, December 5. According to the DOT, the country was once again named the World’s Leading Dive Destination and the World’s Leading Beach Destination, defending its 2022 titles. For the first time, the country was also conferred with the World’s Leading City Destination for its capital, Manila.
The DOT added that the Philippines was also given the Global Tourism Resilience Award for demonstrating “global leadership, pioneering vision, and innovation to overcome critical challenges and adversity.” The country was one of the only five countries that received the award, the agency noted in a press release. The awarding ceremony was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on December 1. Other titles received by the Philippines in the WTA 2023 included the World’s Leading Dive Resort (Amanpulo), the World’s PAGE 4
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DECEMBER 8-14, 2023 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160
From the Front Page
Islamic State claims hand in... PAGE 1 Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma, urged the faithful to uphold compassion amid the tragedy to help transform the landscape of violence. In an apparent demonstration of solidarity, throngs of Maranaos held a vigil for Aromin, who grew up in the MSU community. Ireneo Barbante, an oxygen supply worker at Amai Pakpak Medical Center, was surprised to see the hospital on Sunday morning suddenly crowded, as many people arrived, bringing wounded men and women. He inquired if there had been a car accident and was told that a bomb had exploded at the MSU gym — where, it suddenly occurred to him, his 26-year-old son Junrey was attending Mass. His face and body covered with a bedsheet, Junrey was wheeled into the emergency room as Ireneo recognized his shoes. He lifted the cloth and saw that it was his son, just as Junrey breathed his last — one of the four fatalities who was not killed instantly by the blast. ‘Bomb signature’ Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the police regional office in the Bangsamoro, said the Philippine National Police had formed a task force to investigate the crime. It is now gathering evidence, including
footage from a security camera outside the MSU gym that could help establish the identity of the suspects, he said. PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said earlier that two persons of interest had been identified. In a statement, AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said: “The AFP is validating the claims made by ISIS in the recent news reports as well as the involvement of the DI (Dawlah Islamiyah)-Maute Group in this heinous act of terror.” “The AFP has already initiated its investigation in coordination with the PNP for the bomb signature that would help identify the terrorist group behind the bombing,” he added. ‘Horrific terrorist attack’ The incident has prompted the condemnation of several governments. Calling it a “horrific terrorist attack,” the U.S. Department of State said, “The United States is in close contact with our Philippine partners and stands with the people of the Philippines in rejecting this act of violence.” U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, posting on X, said in part: “My heart goes out to those affected by the Mindanao State University bombing, especially the victims and their loved ones. I extend my deepest condolences on the part of the
U.S. government.” The Embassy of Israel said, “Terrorism is a global threat that needs collective unity among nations to safeguard the well-being of all people and communities.” “Our hearts go out to the victims and their bereaved families, and we extend our deepest condolences and sympathy during this difficult time. We also pray for the swift recovery of those injured,” it added. In their posts on social media, the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Japan and Sweden also condemned the attack and expressed support for the Philippines. Speaker Martin Romualdez, for his part, said: “The House of Representatives is fully committed to supporting the affected residents and ensuring that those responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice.” “We stand ready to provide the necessary assistance to aid in the recovery and healing of the community,” Romualdez also said. Rights watchdogs and activist groups, meanwhile, urged the public to resist possible attempts to exploit the incident and incite Islamophobia as well as discord among Christians and Muslims.g
MANILA QUAKE. Students rush out of Emilio Aguinaldo College in Manila on Tuesday, Dec. 5 after an earthquake. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Lubang, Occidental Mindoro was the epicenter of the 5.9 earthquake at around 4:23 p.m., with Intensity IV (Moderately Strong) felt in Makati City, Quezon City, and Taguig City in Metro Manila. PNA photo by Yancy Lim
Most Filipinos oppose...
PAGE 1
most supportive in terms of the passage of a divorce law at 54 percent, while those in the 67 to 74 age group were not in favor. Comes from the 78 percent, Urban respondents were very supportive of the passage of a divorce law, at
43 percent, while 40 percent of both men and women said that they are in favor of passing the law, compared to 50 percent of males and 52 percent of females who are not in favor. Support for legalizing the measure was also high among adult Filipinos who
have college or postgraduate education. The survey had 1,200 respondents and had a nationwide margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent and plus or minus 6 percent for Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. g
Ex-President Duterte skips preliminary probe... PAGE 1
on the statements he made in his Oct. 11 “Gikan Sa Masa, Para sa Masa” program aired by Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI). He said that his daughter, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, should be frank about the purpose of the confidential funds she was seeking for 2024 for her office and the Department of Education (DepEd). “But, the first target of your intelligence fund would be you, France, I want to kill all you communists,” the older Duterte added. Castro was among the opposition lawmakers who had opposed the younger Duterte’s request for confidential funds because her office and DepEd did not have specific mandates directly related to defense and TIGHT SECURITY. Policemen patrol the Mindanao State University campus in Marawi City on Monday, December 4, a day after the bomb attack national security. at Mohammad Ali B. Dimaporo Gymnasium while a Catholic Mass was being celebrated. More policemen and soldiers have been sent to the The lawmaker also filed a Lanao del Sur provincial capital to secure the campus. Inquirer.net photo supplemental complaint-affidavit
over the former president’s statements in the Nov. 16 episode of his program. “The grave threat of the accused toward Congresswoman Castro was continuous. You may recall last Oct. 11, [Duterte] issued grave threats, and that was the subject matter of the [earlier] complaintaffidavit of congresswoman France Castro… The president continued his threats on Nov. 16, and that is what we captured here in the supplemental complaintaffidavit,” Domingo said. In her supplemental complaintaffidavit, Castro said Duterte had “called out my name and in between the Red-taggings, made the following utterances which… grimly and unrelentingly threatened my life, liberty and security and that of my family.” Domingo said the case against Duterte would be a “test of the prosecutorial system as well as the justice system.” “We will see what will be the result of this case. This is what
Congresswoman France Castro is fighting for and we are joining her in this cause,” he added. Support The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and advocates from different sectors expressed their support for Castro on Monday with ACT Chair Vladimer Quetua saying that Duterte must be held accountable for his threatening statements. “The culture of killing and violation of human rights that have pervaded under his administration must stop … This is not the type of society that should be used and normalized in the minds of the youth and citizens,” he said. Quetua also urged the Department of Justice and the International Criminal Court to pursue “comprehensive investigations” into Duterte’s alleged crimes against the Filipino people, as he also demanded that the Marcos administration abolish SMNI and the government’s anticommunist task force. g
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NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 8-14, 2023
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DECEMBER 8-14, 2023 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
Pope sets prayers for blast... PAGE 1 Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who said that the pontiff had asked Dela Peña to convey his “spiritual closeness” to all those who were affected by the tragedy. “He joins you in commending the souls of those who died to Almighty God’s loving mercy and he implores the divine gifts of healing and consolation upon the injured and bereaved,” the telegram added. Pope Francis concluded his message with “prayers that Christ the Prince of Peace will grant to all the strength to turn from violence and overcome every evil with good,” and imparted his blessing “as a pledge of strength and consolation in the Lord.” Meanwhile, the Marawi prelature said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that
the bombing incident was both “merciless and heartbreaking.” “The Prelature of St. Mary in Marawi strongly condemns any form of violence and terrorism. The incident that happened this morning was merciless and heartbreaking,” it said. The prelature also requested the public to pray for the souls of those who died from the blast, as well as their families who were devastated because of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the United States and Israel condemned the “horrific” bombing during a Catholic service at the MSU gymnasium in Marawi. “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack that occurred during a Catholic service,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. “We mourn those killed in the
Dateline USa attack and our thoughts are with the injured,” he said. The Israeli embassy in Manila condemned the “heinous act of terrorism” perpetrated at MSU. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their bereaved families, and we extend our deepest condolences and sympathy during this difficult time. We also pray for the swift recovery of those injured,” the embassy said in a statement, expressing solidarity with the Philippine government and Filipino people in face of this “despicable” terrorist attack. Australian Ambassador HK Yu said her country is deeply saddened by the violent attack at MSU. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims,” she said. German Ambassador Andreas Pfafferrnoschke said “Germany supports all efforts to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.” g
PH wins 4 major awards in World Travel... PAGE 1
Leading Fully Integrated Resort (City of Dreams Manila), and the World’s Leading Casino Resort (City of Dreams Manila), according to the WTA website. DOT Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano and Assistant Secretary Maria Rica Bueno represented Tourism chief Christina Garcia Frasco during the event. In her message, Frasco said that receiving the Global Tourism Resilience Award was an affirmation of all the agency’s hard work in developing the nation’s tourism industry. “With these remarkable triumphs, the Philippines reinforc-
es its position as an unparalleled destination, inviting travelers to explore our captivating shores, vibrant underwater realms, and dynamic urban landscapes as they immerse in our culture and heritage and create unforgettable memories with the distinct grace and hospitality of the Filipino people,” she said. Meanwhile, in his speech, WTA president and founder Graham Cooke commended the Filipinos as the “main asset” of the country’s tourism industry. “The diversity, the opportunities with sustainability, the beautiful beach resorts, and now the diving [sic], amazing, the beaches,
amazing. As I said, the main asset is the people, which a lot of countries in the world don’t have,” he said. “And it’s the people of the Philippines that make your tourism assets the most amazing. The work ethic, the happiness, the smile, and the hospitality that the Philippines have are global icons,” Cooke added. Dubbed the Oscars of the travel industry, WTA is a London-based award-giving body established in 1993. It recognizes excellence in travel and tourism on three levels: national, regional, and global awards in several categories. g
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Desperate families search for affordable... PAGE 1
and fractured her sacrum, the bone that connects the spine to the pelvis. There is precious little assistance from the government for families who need a home health aide, unless they are poor. The people working in these jobs are often woefully underpaid and unprepared to help a frail, older person with dementia bathe and use the bathroom, or to defuse an angry outburst. Usually, it is family that steps into the breach — grown children who cobble together a fragile chain of visitors to help an ailing father; a middle-aged daughter who returns to her childhood bedroom; a son-in-law working from home who keeps a watchful eye on a confused parent; a wife who can barely manage herself looking after a faltering husband. Frank Lee finally found two aides on his own, with no help from an agency. Using the proceeds from the sale of his stake in a group of restaurants, including the popular Charleston bistro Slightly North of Broad, he pays them the going rate of about $30 an hour. Between his wife’s care and medical expenses, he estimates he’s spending between $80,000 and $100,000 a year. “Who the hell can afford this?” he asked. “There’s no relief for families unless they have great wealth or see their wealth sucked away.” He worries that he will run out of money and be forced to sell their home of more than three decades. “Funds aren’t unlimited,” he said. Credited with emphasizing local ingredients and mentoring
young chefs in Charleston, Lee retired in 2016, a few years after his wife’s diagnosis. In an interview at the time, he said, “My wife has given up her life to help me in my career, and now I need to pay attention to her.” In 2020, he contacted a halfdozen home care agencies. Some couldn’t fill the position. Others sent aides who were quickly overwhelmed by his wife’s behavior. Doctors told the family they believed she has frontotemporal dementia, which appeared to affect her language and how she behaved. One woman seemed promising, only to quit after a week or two. “We never saw her again,” Lee said. He tried a friend of the family for a time, but she left when her grandmother developed liver cancer. “It was the whole year of going through different caregivers,” said son Jesse. Finally, Frank found two women to help. One of them, Ronnie Smalls, has more than a dozen years of experience and is trained in dementia care. She has developed a rapport with Robin, who seems reassured by a quick touch. “We have a really good bond,” Smalls said. “I know her language, her expression.” One day at the Lees’ cozy one-story house, decorated with furniture made by Robin, and with a yard overflowing with greenery, Smalls fed her lunch at the kitchen table with her husband and daughter. Robin seemed to enjoy the company, murmuring in response to the conversation. At other times, she seemed oblivious to the people around her. She can no longer walk on her own. Two people are often needed to help her get up from a chair or go to the bathroom, transitions she often finds upsetting. A day without an aide — out because of illness or a family emergency — frays the tenuous links that hold the couple’s life together. Lee said his wife barely resembles the woman he married, the one who loved hiking, skiing, and gardening, and who started a neighborhood preschool while raising their three children. A voracious reader, she is now largely silent, staring into space. The prognosis is bleak, with doctors offering little to hang onto. “What’s the end game look like?” Lee asks, wondering if it would be better if his wife had the right to die rather than slowly disappear before his eyes. “As she disintegrates, I disintegrate,” he said. She recently qualified for hospice care, which will involve weekly visits from a nurse and a certified nursing assistant paid under Medicare. Charleston is flush with retirees attracted by its low taxes and a warm climate, and it boasts of ways to care for them with large for-profit home health chains and a scattering of small agencies. But many families in Charleston and across the nation can’t find the help they need. And when they do, it’s often spotty and far more expensive than they can afford. Most Americans want to remain in their own homes, living independently, for as long as possible. They want to avoid nursing homes, which they see as providing poor care, polls have found. And the ranks of older people who need such help will grow. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be at least 65 as millions in the baby boomer generation retire. In dozens of interviews, families described a desperate and sometimes fruitless search for aides to help loved ones with simple tasks on a predictable schedule at an hourly rate they can afford. Roughly 8 million people 65 and older had dementia or needed help with two or more activities of basic daily life, like getting out of bed, according to an analysis of a federally funded survey of older Americans by KFF Health News and The New York Times. Only a million received paid help outside of a nursing home, and nearly 3 million had no help at all. Most families can’t afford what agencies charge — about $27 an hour, according to Genworth, a long-term care insurance company. So, many take their chances on untrained caregivers found through word-of-mouth, Craigslist, or other resources. A scarcity of workers One of the main obstacles to finding paid help is the chronic shortage of workers. Some 3.7 million people had jobs as aides in home health or personal care in 2022, with half of them earning less than $30,000 year, or $14.51 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people needed is expected to increase by more than 20% over the next decade. But the working conditions are hard, the pay is usually bad, and the hours are inconsistent. About 3 million people are working in private homes,
according to a 2023 analysis by PHI, a nonprofit that studies and acts as an advocate for the workforce, although official estimates may not count many workers paid off the books or hired outside of an agency by a family. Eighty-five percent of home care workers are women, two-thirds are people of color, and roughly a third are immigrants. The pay is often so low that more than half qualify for public assistance like food stamps or Medicaid. Dawn Geisler, 53, has made only $10 an hour working as a home health aide in the Charleston area for the past four years, without ever getting a raise. She declined to name the agency that employs her because she doesn’t want to lose her job. Geisler discovered she liked the work after caring for her mother. Unlike an office job, “every day is just a little bit different,” she said. She now juggles two clients. She might accompany one to the doctor and keep the other one company. “I’m taking care of them like they were my own family,” she said. The agency provides no guarantee of work and doesn’t always tell her what to expect when she walks through the door, except to say someone has Alzheimer’s or is in a wheelchair. Her supervisors often fail to let her know if her client goes to the hospital, so families know to call her cellphone. She has waited weeks for a new assignment without getting paid a penny. She herself has no health insurance and sometimes relies on food banks to put meals on the table. “I’m not making enough to pay all the bills I have,” said Geisler, who joined an advocacy group called the Fight for $15, which is pushing to raise the minimum wage in South Carolina and across the country. When her car broke down, she couldn’t afford to get it fixed. Instead, she walked to work or borrowed her fiancé’s bicycle. Most home health agencies nationwide are for-profit and are often criticized for ignoring the needs of workers in favor of the bottom line. “The business models are based on cheap labor,” said Robyn Stone, senior vice president of research for LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit agencies. The industry has historically tolerated high turnover but now can’t attract enough workers in a strong, competitive job market. “I think there has been a rude awakening for a lot of these companies,” she said. Many agencies have also refused to pay overtime or travel costs between jobs, and many have been accused of wage theft in lawsuits filed by home care workers or have been sanctioned by state and federal agencies. Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health care for the poor, is supposed to provide home aides but faces shortages of workers at the rates it pays workers. At least 20 states pay less than $20 an hour for a personal care aide, according to a recent state survey by KFF. Aides are often paid less under Medicaid than if they care for someone paying privately. With low pay and few benefits, many people would rather work the checkout line in a supermarket or at a fast-food chain than take on the emotionally demanding job of caring for an older person, said Ashlee Pittmann, the chief executive of Interim HealthCare of Charleston, a home health agency. She said that she recently raised wages by $2 an hour and had had more success keeping employees, but that she still worried that “we may not be able to compete with some larger companies.” The Biden administration failed to obtain an additional $400 billion from Congress for home- and community-based services to shift emphasis away from institutional care. President Joe Biden signed an executive order this year to encourage some reforms, and federal officials have proposed requiring home health agencies to spend 80 cents of every government dollar on paying workers under Medicaid. But so far, little has changed. Falling through the ‘doughnut hole‘ Long-term care coverage for most Americans is a yawning gap in government programs. And the chasm is widening as more Americans age into their 70s, 80s, and 90s. The government’s main program for people 65 and older is Medicare, but it pays for a home aide only when a medical condition, like recovery from a stroke, has made a person eligible for a nurse or therapist to come to the home. And the aide is usually short-term. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care. Medicaid, which does pay for long-term care at home, is limited to serving the poor or those who can demonstrate they have hardly any assets. u PAGE 5
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Dateline USa
NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL • DECEMBER 8-14, 2023
Uncle Sam wants you to help stop insurers’ bogus... Desperate families search for affordable... PAGE 1
Insurance companies’ advertising campaigns kick into high gear every fall, when seniors can buy policies that take effect Jan. 1. People with traditional government Medicare coverage can add or change a prescription drug plan or join a Medicare Advantage plan that combines drug and medical coverage. Although private Advantage plans offer extra benefits not available under the Medicare program, some services require prior authorization and beneficiaries are confined to a network of health care providers that can change anytime. Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare can see any provider. The open enrollment season ends Dec. 7. Catching Medicare Advantage plans that step out of line isn’t the only reason to keep an eye out for marketing scams. Accurate plan information can help avoid enrollment traps in the first place. Although insurers and advocates for older adults have generally welcomed the new truth-in-advertising rules, compliance is the big challenge. Expecting beneficiaries to monitor insurance company sales pitches is asking a lot, said Semanthie Brooks, a social worker and advocate for older adults in northeast Ohio. She’s been helping people with Medicare sort through their options for nearly two decades. “I don’t think Medicare beneficiaries should be the police,” she said. Choosing a Medicare Advantage plan can be daunting. In Ohio, for example, there are 224 Advantage and 21 drug plans to choose from that take effect next year. Eligibility and benefits vary among counties across the state. “CMS ought to be looking at how they can educate people, so that when they hear about benefits on television, they understand that this is a promotional advertisement and not necessarily a benefit that they can use,” Brooks said. “If you don’t realize that these ads may be fraudulent, then you won’t know to report them.” The agency relies on beneficiaries to help improve services, Meena Seshamani, CMS’ Medicare director, told KFF Health News in a written statement. “The voices of the people we serve make our programs stronger,” she said. Beneficiary complaints prompted the government’s action.
“That’s why, after hearing from our community, we took new critical steps to protect people with Medicare from confusing and potentially misleading marketing.” Although about 31 million of the 65 million people with Medicare are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, even that may not be enough people to monitor the tsunami of advertising on TV, radio, the internet, and paper delivered to actual mailboxes. Last year more than 9,500 ads aired daily during the nine-week marketing period that started two weeks before enrollment opened, according to an analysis by KFF. More than 94% of the TV commercials were sponsored by health insurers, brokers, and marketing companies, compared with only 3% from the federal government touting the original Medicare program. During just one hourlong Cleveland news program in December, researchers found, viewers were treated to nine Advantage ads. For the first time, CMS asked insurance and marketing companies this year to submit their Medicare Advantage television ads, to make sure they complied with the expanded rules. Officials reviewed 1,700 commercials from May 1 through Sept. 30 and nixed more than 300 deemed misleading, according to news reports. An additional 192 ads out of 250 from marketing companies were also rejected. The agency would not disclose the total number of TV commercials reviewed and rejected this year or whether ads from other media were scrutinized. The new restrictions also apply to salespeople, whether their pitch is in an ad, written material, or a one-on-one conversation. Under one important new rule, the salesperson must explain how the new plan is different from a person’s current health insurance before any changes can be made. That information could have helped an Indiana woman who lost coverage for her prescription drugs, which cost more than $2,000 a month, said Shawn Swindell, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program supervisor of volunteers for 12 counties in east-central Indiana. A plan representative enrolled the woman in a Medicare Advantage plan without telling her it didn’t include drug coverage because the plan is geared toward veterans who can
get drug coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs instead of Medicare. The woman is not a veteran, Swindell said. In New York, the Medicare Rights Center received a complaint from a man who had wanted to sign up just for a prepaid debit card to purchase nonprescription pharmacy items, said the group’s director of education, Emily Whicheloe. He didn’t know the salesperson would enroll him in a new Medicare Advantage plan that offered the card. Whicheloe undid the mistake by asking CMS to allow the man to return to his previous Advantage plan. Debit cards are among a dizzying array of extra nonmedical perks offered by Medicare Advantage plans, along with transportation to medical appointments, homedelivered meals, and money for utilities, groceries, and even pet supplies. Last year, plans offered an average of 23 extra benefits, according to CMS. But some insurers have told the agency only a small percentage of patients use them, although actual usage is not reportable. This month, CMS proposed additional Advantage rules for 2025, including one that would require insurers to tell their members about available services they haven’t used yet. Reminders will “ensure the large federal investment of taxpayer dollars in these benefits is actually making its way to beneficiaries and are not primarily used as a marketing ploy,” officials said in a fact sheet. Medicare Advantage members are usually locked into their plans for the year, with rare exceptions, including if they move out of the service area or the plan goes out of business. But two years ago, CMS added an escape hatch: People can leave a plan they joined based on misleading or inaccurate information, or if they discovered promised benefits didn’t exist or they couldn’t see their providers. This exception also applies when unscrupulous plan representatives withhold information and enroll people in an Advantage policy without their consent. Another new rule that should prevent enrollments from going awry prohibits plans from touting benefits that are not available where the prospective member lives. Empty promises have become an increasing source of complaints from clients u PAGE 7
PAGE 4 But, again, the worker shortage is so pervasive that waiting lists for aides are years long, leaving many people without any option except a nursing home. So millions of Americans keep trying to hang in and stay home as long as they can. They’re not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, but they can’t afford to hire someone privately. Many fall through what April Abel, a former home health nurse from Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, described as “the doughnut hole.” “I feel so bad for them because they don’t have the support system they need,” she said. She tried fruitlessly for months to find help for Joanne Ganaway, 79 and in poor health, from charities or state programs while she visited her at home. Ganaway had trouble seeing because of a tear in her retina and was often confused about her medications, but the small pension she had earned after working nearly 20 years as a state employee made her ineligible for Medicaidsponsored home care. So Ganaway, who rarely leaves
her house, relies on friends or family to get to the doctor or the store. She spends most of her day in a chair in the living room. “It has been difficult for me, to be honest,” she said. Turning to respite services With no hope of steady help, there is little left to offer overstretched wives, husbands, sons, and daughters other than a brief respite. The Biden administration has embraced the idea of respite services under Medicare, including a pilot program for the families of dementia patients that will begin in 2024. One nonprofit, Respite Care Charleston, provides weekday drop-off sessions for people with dementia for almost four hours a day. Lee’s wife went for a couple of years, and he still makes use of the center’s support groups, where caregivers talk about the strain of watching over a loved one’s decline. On any given morning, nearly a dozen people with dementia gather around a table. Two staff members and a few volunteers work with the group as they
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play word games, banter, bat balls around, or send a small plastic jumping frog across the table. Their visits cost $50 a session, including lunch, and the organization’s brief hours keep it under the minimum state requirements for licensing. “We’re not going to turn someone away,” Sara Perry, the group’s executive director, said. “We have some folks who pay nothing.” The service is a godsend, families say. Parkinson’s disease and a stroke have left Dottie Fulmer’s boyfriend, Martyn Howse, mentally and physically incapacitated, but he enjoys the sessions. “Respite Care Charleston has been a real key to his keeping going,” she said, “to both of us, quite frankly, continuing to survive.” (Reed Abelson/KFF Health News) KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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OPINION
FEATURES
DECEMBER 8-14, 2023 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
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No end to armed violence
WHILE security forces confront renewed terrorist activities in Mindanao, armed violence continues to undermine other aspects of life in the country. Over a month since the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, killings related to BSKE political rivalries continue. In the first two days of December, two barangay captains have been shot dead, one in President Marcos’ home province Ilocos Norte and the other in Zamboanga del Sur. Helen Abrigado, who was reelected as captain of Barangay Ferdinand in Marcos town, had just attended a lantern parade on Dec. 1 and was on her way home with companions in a government van when they were waylaid by two men on a motorcycle. She died from multiple gunshot wounds. The next morning in Zamboanga del Sur, Jerry Olaier was walking in Guipos town, where he is the newly elected captain of Barangay Poblacion, when two men shot him. Relatives told probers that Olaier was planning to vie for the presidency of Poblacion’s association of barangay captains. After several postponements, the BSKE finally pushed through last October, thanks to the Supreme Court. While allowing the polls to push through on that date instead of much earlier, the SC cut short the term of the current BSK officials from three years to two.
People thought the shortened term would discourage BSK candidates from eliminating their rivals through murder. They thought wrong: deadly armed violence marred the BSKE long before the start of the official campaign period until past election day. Abrigado and Olaier were just the latest victims of violence believed related to village political rivalries. This can be established only with the arrest of the perpetrators – both the brains and the triggermen, who could be hired guns. The killings also highlight once again the need for tighter gun control. Even non-politicians are being murdered – in their homes, on the streets and in public buses. Authorities must also draw up measures that can minimize the use of motorcycles in criminal activities. On Dec. 1, an employee of ManilaTimes.net photo an electric cooperative was shot dead and his companion wounded by two men on a motorcycle were attacked as they were about to disconnect the accumulated. Obviously, keeping the public safe in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Probers said the two men power line of a household whose unpaid bills had needs greater effort. (Philstar.com)
Editorial
Cooperation with ICC
Sketches
ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN SINCE Rodrigo Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court without Senate concurrence, President Marcos can reverse it also without the Senate’s nod, according to proponents of the country’s return to the ICC. If Marcos is worried about sovereignty issues, will he at least allow some form of cooperation with the ICC? This is the suggestion in the resolution filed in the House of Representatives. For the Marcos administration, cooperation can take various forms, without looking like it is compromising national sovereignty. For example, it can facilitate contacts between ICC probers and witnesses including relatives of those killed. The witnesses can include law enforcers who directly participated in the police operations that left over 6,200 people dead. Justice officials said they have heard of such cops, and have encouraged them to come out. But so far, no one has done so, despite the promise of state protection. Perhaps such cops may be willing to talk with ICC prosecutors overseas.
The same is true for civilian witnesses. Cooperation can also involve allowing ICC probers to conduct interviews, obtain documents and gather other evidence in the Philippines, although not in an official legal setting; the ICC cannot operate like a separate court in this country. Last week, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said ICC probers could enter the Philippines to gather documents or interview persons, although a formal probe and “legal activities” cannot be conducted. Guevarra said that under the law, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and its mother agency the Department of Justice (DOJ) have the discretion to “admit or not admit a certain person who they may consider as undesirable.” * * * As of last Friday, December 1, the BI spokesperson said ICC probers were free to enter the Philippines, in the absence of an order from the courts or higher authorities to bar their entry. Vice President Sara Duterte has formally asked the DOJ not to cooperate in the ICC investigation of drug war killings that occurred during her father’s watch as president from July 2016 to March 16, 2019, and from 2011 to 2016 when he was mayor or vice mayor of Davao City.
As mayor when her father was vice mayor, the VP is reportedly included in the ICC probe of killings attributed to so-called death squads in the city, along with Duterte’s chief tokhang enforcer Ronald dela Rosa, now a senator. Dela Rosa said he raised the ICC issue with President Marcos during a dinner at Malacañang last week hosted by the First Couple for senators. It’s unclear if the ICC was the main course in the dinner agenda. Both the DOJ and BI are waiting for word from the top, as Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has indicated. President Marcos, who had previously said the country “is done talking” with the ICC, recently said the government is studying its options and the possibility of the country rejoining the court is “under study.” Remulla himself, who had initially taken a hardline stance against the ICC probe, said on Nov. 21 that the House resolution needed “serious study” since the Philippines has withdrawn from the Rome Statute. * * * House resolution 1477 was filed by the chair of the committee on human rights, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, and 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez. It
urges the government to extend “full cooperation” to the ICC in its probe of Rome Statute crimes. These include genocide and murder as a crime against humanity – the offense that the ICC believes was committed in Duterte’s bloody crackdown on drug suspects. The ICC maintains that it has jurisdiction over all offenses committed while a state was a party to the Rome Statute. Even after withdrawing as a member, a state must still cooperate with the ICC, according to Article 127 of the Rome Statute: “A State shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party to the Statute, including any financial obligations which may have accrued. Its withdrawal shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”
VP Sara has cited her father’s argument that the ICC lost jurisdiction over the Philippines upon the effectivity of the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019, which preceded the start of the ICC’s investigation in 2021. It’s BBM’s call. It’s not lost on anyone that the administration had a change of heart on the issue amid the run-ins between VP Sara and Marcos’ cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez. Rodrigo Duterte came to his daughter’s defense, with his harangues ostensibly directed at the Speaker. But manure upon hitting the fan tends to fly in all directions, with some of it landing on President Marcos. * * * Now look at what’s in the crosshairs of the House: Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), home of Duterte’s TV talk show and current bully pulpit against the House and its speaker. Apart from the threat of the TV station suffering the fate of ABS-CBN, SMNI founder Apollo Quiboloy could finally find himself handed over by the Philippine government to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which lists him among its most wanted persons for sex trafficking including of children, fraud, coercion and bulk smuggling.
SMNI has long been the subject of complaints from persons and groups tagged on its shows as communists or sympathizers. Yet the station drew the House attention only after an anchor made a comment indicating that the speaker had incurred P1.8 billion in travel expenses. The anchor has since apologized and admitted that the information – denied by the House – was unverified. Unlike the print medium, broadcast franchises are covered by stringent rules, and journalists are held by ethical standards to avoid licentious exercise of press freedom. Still, the issue has raised concern over threats to freedom of expression through the abuse of the House power to issue broadcasting franchises. SMNI critics, on the other hand, see the controversy as an opportunity, in our dysfunctional democracy, to promote the responsible exercise of freedom of expression, and perhaps to give justice to victims of sex trafficking. A similar opportunity for justice is being seen in the move to cooperate with the ICC. (Philstar.com) *** 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.
The trial of Rodrigo Duterte
Horizons
RICHARD HEYDARIAN HENRY Kissinger recently passed away just months after turning 100. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to exchange views with him along with a select group of Asian thought leaders. Overall, I found him incredibly engaged and intellectually inquisitive. By all measures, he was one of the most consequential figures of the past century. Born in Bavaria as Heinz Alfred Kissinger to a Jewish family, he grew up under the shadow of the Nazi regime. To avert an impending doom, his family eventually moved to New York City. At least 13 of his close relatives, however, fell victim to the Holocaust. At the age of 22, Kissinger would return to his country of birth as part of a liberating force. But this was also when he confronted “one of the most horrifying experiences of [his] life.” While serving in the American 84th Infantry Division as an army sergeant,
he encountered the survivors of a Nazi concentration camp in Ahlem. There, a horrified Kissinger witnessed “the empty faces, the dead eyes” of those who managed to just cling to life after years of inexplicable suffering. Over the next quarter-century, Kissinger worked his way up the American imperial bureaucracy. Intellectually, he was driven by the experience of postNapoleonic Europe, when a coterie of shrewd and pragmatic diplomats—most notably Viscount Castlereagh and Metternich—engineered a new, relatively stable order for almost half a century in one of the world’s most war-stricken continents. Though fashioning himself as a paragon of realpolitik, the reality was that Kissinger was fundamentally an idealist, albeit a tragic one. He was a man who believed that America had a special mission in the world built on the ashes of World War II. As the Nixon administration’s chief diplomat, he effectively invented “shuttle diplomacy,” when in the course of five weeks he negotiated peace
between Israel and leading Arab neighbors in the mid1970s. At the same time, he also negotiated the foundations of a long-lasting détente between the United States and China, which would transform the world for the next half-century. He eventually won a Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic work, but his legacy was far from uncontroversial. In one of his most influential works, the legendary writer Christopher Hitchens laid down the ground for the possible prosecution of Kissinger for alleged war crimes—most notoriously America’s support for the violent overthrow of a progressive regime in Chile and carpetbombing of Cambodia, which claimed the lives of at least 150,000 civilians. “Kissinger symbolizes the pornography of power,” Hitchens wrote in his literary indictment of the legendary diplomat for “deliberate mass killings of civilian populations in Indochina, collusion in mass murder and assassination in Bangladesh, the personal planning of the murder of General Schneider in Chile, involvement in a plan to murder
Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus and the incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor.” Thus, Hitchens argued, “[i]n the name of innumerable victims, it is time for justice to take a hand.” Kissinger’s last hurrah was a visit to Beijing as a special guest of President Xi Jinping. Just days earlier, guess who was also in town to pay his respects to old patrons in China? Unlike Hitchens’ Kissinger, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte may eventually have his day in court, or, rather, courts! After all, here is a man who was not only subpoenaed by a Manila court for publicly threatening a current member of the House of Representatives but may also face an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on allegations of mass atrocities. As trauma reporter Patricia Evangelista methodically exposes in “Some People Need Killing,” the longtime Davao mayor’s human rights record is singularly atrocious, with few parallels in the post-colonial world. But here is also a man, who was atrociously subservient to a foreign bully, when our
Former President Rodrigo Duterte
fishermen faced violence and death in the West Philippine Sea. Here is also a man who promised to make Marawi “beautiful again” in late 2017 after disastrously failing to prevent a ragtag terrorist takeover of the whole city, but left the city in ruins way until the end of his term in office—thus, laying down the foundation for a future return of extremism
Inquirer.net photo
under conditions of utmost desperation. Notwithstanding his cult-like popularity, justice may finally catch up with the Philippines’ most notorious, if not most incompetent, president. (Inquirer.net) *** 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.
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Marcos tests positive for COVID-19 by Catherine S. Valente ManilaTimes.net
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tested positive for COVID-19, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday, December 5. Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Marcos will be in isolation for five days, but he will continue to conduct online meetings. "The president remains fit to carry out his duties and will be continuing his scheduled meetings via teleconference," she added. The Palace official said that
ENOUGH SUPPLY. Supplies of poultry, livestock, and eggs are sufficient for the holidays, the Department of Agriculture 11 (Davao Region) assured on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The department, however, is expecting a slight increase in the prices of basic commodities as the holidays approach. PNA photos by Robinson Niñal Jr.
Marcos study of Philippines rejoining ICC backed by CeCille Suerte Felipe Philstar.com
MANILA — Five years after the country’s withdrawal during the previous administration, Sen. Francis Escudero supported the decision of President Marcos to thoroughly study calls for the Philippines to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC). Escudero agreed with the president that the government should look into the matter to ensure the country will not be at a disadvantage just like in some treaties. “For me, what the president said is correct, that it should be carefully studied, because we have entered into treaties where we are the ones who always pay and we are the ones who suffer,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview over the weekend. Escudero cited as an example the Philippines’ accession to Paris-based Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization that was established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. “It’s just like the FATF, we joined that and that’s why we’re the ones being blacklisted. Malaysia did not join, so no matter what they do, they will not be blacklisted,” he said. As of 2022, the FATF has retained the Philippines in its “gray list,” citing its alleged failure to resolve “strategic inadequacies in countering money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.” “So this ICC should also be studied by the president. What will our country benefit from if we rejoin?” Escudero said. He expressed hope that should the chief executive finally let the country rejoin the ICC, the basis will be a product of a well-studied decision that will benefit the country, and not
Bello asks SC to declare libel, cyberlibel laws void MANILA — Erstwhile vicepresidential candidate Walden Bello on Tuesday, December 5 filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) asking the tribunal to void the country's laws on criminal cyberlibel. In his petition, the 76-yearold sociologist who was arrested in August last year following libel charges filed against him by a former senior aide of Vice President Sara Duterte, asked the high court to declare Art. 353 to 355 on libel under the Revised Penal Code unconstitutional as well as Sec. 4(c)(4) of RA 10175 on cyberlibel. Bello claims that these laws are unconstitutional and in violation of the Bill of Rights . "(T)he growing number of libel and cyberlibel cases aimed at persecuting perceived enemies of the state and suppressing dissent against the government or the powers-that-be necessitate a reexamination of the validity of these libel statues," Bello said in his petition. The libel charges against Bello before the Davao regional trial court (RTC Br. 10) are linked to statements he allegedly made during the election campaign about a reported drug raid on a beach party in Davao province that was attended by Duterte's former aide, Jefry Tupas. Tupas later filed libel and cyberlibel charges against Bello . Elements of cyberlibel, based on Section 4(c)(4) of R.A. 10175,
in relation to Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code: a. There must be an imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance. b. The imputation must be made publicly, which requires that at least one other person must have seen the libelous post, in addition to the author and the person defamed or alluded to in the post. c. The imputation must be malicious, which means that the author of the libelous post made such a post with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity thereof. (Yuchengco vs. The Manila Chronicle Publishing Corporation, G.R. No. 184315, 25 November 2009.) d. The imputation must be directed at a natural or juridical person, or one who is dead, which requires that the post must identify the person defamed, or at the very least, the person defamed is identifiable by a third person. e. The imputation must tend to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of the person defamed. (Reyes, Luis B., Revised Penal Code, Fifteenth Edition, 2001, page 932.) f. The imputation was done through the use of a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future. (Sec. 4(c)(4) of R.A. 10175). (PNA)
Uncle Sam wants you to help...
PAGE 5
of Louisiana’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program, said its state director, Vicki Dufrene. “They were going to get all these bells and whistles, and when it comes down to it, they don’t get all the bells and whistles, but the salesperson went ahead and enrolled them in the plan.” So expect to see more disclaimers in advertisements and mailings like this unsolicited letter an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan sent to a New York City woman: “Plan features and availability may vary by service area,” reads one warning packed into a half-page of fine print. “The formulary and/or pharmacy network may change at any time,” it continues, referring to the list of covered drugs. “You will receive notice when necessary.” However, the rules still allow insurers to boast about their ratings from CMS — five stars is the top grade — even though
the ratings do not reflect the performance of the specific plan mentioned in an ad or displayed on the government’s Medicare plan finder website. “There is no way for consumers to know how accurately the star rating reflects the specific plan design, specific provider network, or any other specifics of a particular plan in their county,” said Laura Skopec, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute who recently co-authored a study on the rating system. And because ratings data can be more than a year old and plans change annually, ratings published this year don’t apply to 2024 plans that haven’t even begun yet — despite claims to the contrary. (Susan Jaffe/KFF Health News) KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
certain political interests. “I hope it’s not political, I hope the reason for our re-entering the ICC is not personal. That should be explained thoroughly by the executive branch,” Escudero said. In the event of the country’s return to the ICC, Escudero said the Senate may either issue a concurrence or a resolution supporting the move of President Marcos. g
updates on his health will be provided as available. "During this holiday season, President Marcos encourages the public to take precautions to safeguard their health, such as vaccinating and voluntary maskwearing when entering crowded places," Garafil said. This is the third time the president has contracted COVID-19. He last tested positive for the disease in July 2020. His first bout with COVID-19 was in March 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Senate President
Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri on Tuesday said senators who were diagnosed with COVID-19 can virtually attend Senate sessions and committee hearings. Zubiri made the statement amid reports of soaring respiratory cases in the country, and after Sen. Cynthia Villar admitted that she contracted COVID last week. "Under our rules, we have suspended the online session to go back to face-to-face [sessions], however, we agreed to exempt members with COVID," the Senate chief said. g
De Lima named LP spokesman by red Mendoza ManilaTimes.net
THE Liberal Party has appointed former senator Leila De Lima as the party's official spokesman, party President and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said. In a statement, Lagman said that De Lima was appointed during the party's management committee meeting on Monday, December 4. De Lima was also appointed as the party's vice president for Policy, Platform and Advocacy. Lagman said that De Lima vowed to resume her active role in advocating and enhancing LP's advocacy on good governance, social justice and liberalism. De Lima is out on bail for the third drug case filed against her. g Former Senator Leila De Lima
ManilaTimes.net file photo
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Dante Basco, Paolo Montalban on Hollywood representation, working with KC Concepcion by MARINEL CRUZ Inquirer.net
“KC is a real-life Disney princess,” said Filipino American actor Paolo Montalban as a way to describe KC Concepcion, his leading lady in the Hollywood indie movie “Asian Persuasion.” “On camera, have you seen her skin? She’s flawless. But I think that’s because of her inner beauty. Also, everyone in this country knows this—she’s an incredibly hard worker,” the U.S.-based actor told reporters during the special screening of the romantic comedy film at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. “KC is super hard on herself. She always came to the set prepared. She was always asking what we needed from her, too. KC is really top-tier.” In “Asian Persuasion,” KC worked alongside another Filipino-American actor, Dante Basco, under the direction of Tony and Grammy winner Jhett Tolentino. It is the story of a down-onhis-luck chef, Mickey (Dante), who cooks up a crazy scheme to marry off his ex-wife, Avery (KC), by setting up a fake internet dating profile in an attempt to find her a suitor to remarry in order to avoid his substantial alimony obligations. With the help of Lee (Paolo Montalban), Mickey gets off to a hot start, until he realizes that he wants a second chance with Avery.
The romantic comedy premiered at the 2023 Soho International Film Festival in New York in September. It has been screening in local theaters nationwide since Nov. 29. 'Very loving’ When it was Dante’s turn to recall how he bonded with KC, he said: “I knew her through the social scene here in Manila. I told her how I remember meeting her mother for the first time at a restaurant some 20 years ago. An entourage came into the restaurant. There’s a woman in the middle and I asked, ‘Who’s that?’ ‘That’s Sharon Cuneta,’ I was told. While I was recalling this to KC, I told her, ‘She summoned me!’ When I was there, she said, ‘So you’re the Fil-Am?’ I said, ‘I guess I am the Fil-Am.’ She was really sweet,” he began. "KC has always just been very loving. When I finally got to work with her, she was great. She came to shoot in New York. She was respectful with how we do things. We would have conversations about how you do it here in the Philippines as opposed to how we do it in the United States. We got great rapport, but her scenes were mostly with Paolo,” said Dante, who we remember for his portrayals in the fantasy-adventure flick “Hook” and the indie drama “The Debut.”Korean-American actor Kevin Kreider, who plays Mickey’s friend Caspian,
only had good words for KC, too. “I actually knew KC before I knew that we would be working together. This was when we were in LA (Los Angeles), and we would bump into each other. I later found out that she’s a big star here in the Philippines. She was never a show-off like most people in the States. She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I think she just wanted to show her own identity,” said Kevin, who, as Caspian, helped Mickey craft the plan to remarry Avery.“I knew she came from a family of actors, so I thought it would be interesting to work with her. She probably felt that she had big shoes to fill—I felt that from her,” Kevin said of KC, who is Sharon’s daughter with actor Gabby Concepcion. “She’s an awesome talent to work with. She made me feel very comfortable on the set.” When asked to share their views on Filipino representation in Hollywood, Dante began by recalling what it was like for him when he started working in the late 1990s. “Representation has been a hot word in Hollywood for a long time now. Of course, for me and Paolo, representation back then was just us being in films, which is important for that particular generation. How it has changed since is the amazing thing,” he began. “As Asians in Hollywood, we’re at the highest profile we
have been in the history of Hollywood. This is phenomenal. Back then, every role that we played, and 90 percent of what was written in Hollywood, was written by straight white men. To be part of projects that are of our words and direction, that’s true representation. Conversations in Hollywood now are conversations of us as Filipinos, as African-Americans, as Latinos, with us telling our stories. There’s no way that white men can tell our stories the same way we can. That’s the new representation. The conversation of art through our own views and words.” Multicultural cast Paolo, who agrees with Dante, added: “I feel very fortunate to be a part of a high-profile movie like this one that has a multicultural cast in it. What we see today, insofar as representation is that it doesn’t necessarily have to have a multicultural cast. You can have a cast full of Asians come up with an incredibly entertaining experience. So I’m really hopeful about the future and grateful for today, and I’m inspired by people who say they’ve been inspired by the work that Dante and I have done in the past. It’s just a really beautiful cycle,” he declared. The press conference was also attended by FIlipino comedian-singer Fe delos Reyes, American actress Geneva Carr
Paolo Montalban (left) and KC Concepcion
Dante Basco
and Filipino-Chinese Mike Ang, who wrote the screenplay. A number of Filipino actors had cameo performances in the film including Apl.de.ap, Rachel Alejandro, Tony Labrusca and Yam Concepcion. Jhett, who also coproduced the film with Mike, explained that this was a “calculated move.” “Mike and I believe that we have to provide opportunities to our actors from here,” Jhett pointed
out. “Rachel now has her membership card from the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) because of ‘Asian Persuasion.’ You can only apply for it if you’ve worked on a film under the SAG-AFTRA. Providing those spots for actors who have never been in a SAG-AFTRA film was calculated. We thought about those actors from the beginning."
Anne next Filipino to become Madame Tussauds wax figure by KRISTOFER PURNELL Philstar.com
KAPAMILYA host-actress Anne Curtis is going to have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds! Anne confirmed the news by sharing on her social media platforms that the Hong Kong branch of Madame Tussauds will feature a wax figure of her. "Just in case hindi kayo makauwi sa birthday ko. Ito na. Kidding. Hahaha! Stay tuned! Another dream ANNE-locked!" Anne said of the historic moment. Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is also where the other three wax figures of Filipinos are located: boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and Miss Universe winners Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray. Anne's figure will be located in the branch's Glamour Zone surrounded by the likenesses of bigshot celebrities Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and Chris Hemsworth. "I'm so happy it came at the right time," said Anne, who is celebrating her silver anniversary in showbiz this 2023. "It truly is an honor. To have this dream come true, I'm grateful and very thankful to Madame Tussauds for choosing me." The host-actress admitted initially thinking she would be completely plastered during the
Carla Abellana
Anne Curtis for Madame Tussauds
Photo from Instagram/@annecurtissmith
Heart reveals getting kicked out of Fashion Week event before by JAN MILO SEVERO Philstar.com
ACTRESS-MODEL Heart Evangelista revealed that she recently got kicked out of a show at Fashion Week. In her interview with Mega editor-in-chief Peewee Reyes-Isidro, Heart narrated her experience that caused her stress. “There’s no need to have tried to kick somebody out of a show because that happened to me in the last Fashion Week. I would talk to certain PRs to say no; somebody was calling and saying I’m not able because another person’s going to attend,” Heart said. “I have three agents now to fix and verify everything that would happen to me, and I won’t be taken out of a show because they said that I wasn’t allowed to attend. So there’s like a lot of those things that happen. It starts to become political,” she added.
Carla admits having ignored Tom’s ‘red flags’
celebrities that Merlin Entertainments, the company that operates Madame Tussauds, exclusively told Philstar.com last by HANNAH MALLORCA month were eyeing to "wax." Inquirer.net Also on the company's radar are CARLA Abellana is relieved theater veteran and Disney legend Lea Salonga, who they have that she can now laugh off her attempted to contact, and social- three-month marriage with her ex-husband Tom Rodriguez, as ite-artist Heart Evangelista. she recalled how she ignored the red flags at the time. During an interview with Karen Davila on her YouTube channel last Thursday, Nov. 30, Abellana admitted that she, too, thought that her marriage with Rodriguez would last since their everybody gets too excited, so relationship seemingly survived it gets messy at some point, but during the height of the pandemthose things can happen. You re- ic. "We got married in 2021 ally just have to plan things out properly so there’s like a har- during the pandemic. And during monious, smooth way of doing the pandemic, mas nakilala namin ang isa’t isa (we learned everything,” she said. “I’m also glad that it kind of about each other more). Unfortupushed me to change things in nately, our marriage also ended a way to the next step, 10 steps during the pandemic,” she said. ahead. I fixed a lot of corporate “I felt [the pandemic] was a test stuff and legal stuff. I got all my and somehow we passed it. I was cards set perfectly, and now it’s more encouraged to settle down okay. It’s going to be smoother,” and eventually marry him.” The actress confessed that she she added. Heart also said that her strug- was in shock at how fast her margles made her a better and riage with Rodriguez eventually ended since they dated for six stronger person now. “I’m glad I really went through years before saying “I do.” “Daig ko pa si (I had it harder the fire. I’m a tough cookie. Take my video, put it out, whatever than) Kim Kardashian. Just kidHeart Evangelista you want to dissect, and how you ding,” she quipped. “Even ako, Photo from Instagram/@iamhearte want to present me to the world. I’m in shock. At that time, I said, Heart said that she has learned Black propaganda, you could do this has got to be one of the fastwhatever. Set my house on fire, est or the shortest [marriages]. to plan things out properly. “Now, they know who the but you will not break me again,” I’d say like three months, that’s very fast, so at least ngayon point person is, but I get that she said. sitting, in actuality, the museum just took 360-degree photos and measurements. Madame Tussauds teased that Anne's figure, set to be completeed and unveiled in 2024, will feature her in a familiar pose and a classic outfit that will truly immortalize her. Anne was one of the Filipino
Photo from Instagram/@carlaangeline
(now), I can laugh about it.” Despite this, Abellana stressed that having a failed marriage is “not a joke,” and that she eventually “forgave” him for all the “red flags, disrespect, and lying” that happened in their relationship. “It’s not a good thing that it was very short. I never imagined I’d end up getting married and have such a short marriage.” "Eventually, I knew I’d be able to get to the point where or when I’ll forgive him. Of course, I’ll never forget but something in me knows I’ll eventually forgive [Tom],” she added. “Of course, I know more about red flags now than I did. I did see red flags [before] but at that time, hindi pa po ako masyadong aware (I wasn’t that aware).” The actress didn’t elaborate on the red flags that caused the breakdown of her marriage with Rodriguez, but she stated that it had something to do with his “behavior [and] personality.” “We’re expected to forgive and just give chances, and the relationship is worth fighting for. So I just brushed off the red flags. But it’s not healthy,” she said. “It’s not healthy to see these red flags and just ignore [them]. I thought there would be change, but there’s no change.” In hopes of helping fellow women going through difficult marriages, Abellana reminded them to “respect” themselves
and to be firm when “enough is enough.” “I guess my only advice is to make sure you don’t lose yourself and you respect yourself. You don’t forget yourself. It always comes to a point when enough is enough, so hopefully, they know kung hanggang kailan nila kaya (until when they can handle the pain),” she said, noting she didn’t establish her boundaries back then. “It’s more of a realization [for me at the time]. The red flags, it’s more of forgetting and not minding them. It’s a form of disrespecting yourself because you may have boundaries, pero nagko-cross ‘yung boundaries. Of course, it was a choice to forgive the person and all that to stay in the relationship, pero I never listened to myself,” she further added. Abellana, who stressed in the interview that she wasn’t “physically hurt” during their marriage, tied the knot with Rodriguez in October 2021. After months of being together, the latter confirmed in June 2022 that they’re divorced and he’s currently based in the U.S. Earlier this year, the actress revealed that she had filed a “petition for the recognition” of their divorce in the country. The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world where divorce is not considered to be legal, as of this writing.
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Atty. Gurfinkel answers more immigration questions from Kapamilya in Woodside, New York, on Citizen Pinoy LEADING U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel returns to Kabayan Bistro at Little Manila along Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside, New York, to answer more questions from our
Kapamilya. • When Aurora became a U.S. citizen, she petitioned her two sons, who were already over 21 years old. She wants to know how long they must wait for their
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visas. • Ed has been a green card holder for more than 40 years. He wants to know what he needs to do to bring his grandchild to PAGE 10
Mayor Breed’s small business reforms approved by Board of Supervisors The approved legislation will move forward 100 changes to the Planning Code to improve the small business permitting process and help fill commercial vacancies faster SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed’s latest round of small business reforms was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, December 5. The legislation, which was co-sponsored by Supervisors Joel Engardio, Matt Dorsey, Myrna Melgar, Catherine Stefani, Rafael Mandelman, and Connie Chan will facilitate easier permitting for small businesses, encourage economic recovery and growth, and fill commercial vacancies in San Francisco. This legislation builds on the significant small business reforms Mayor Breed has advanced over the last three years including the passage of Proposition H in 2020, the passage of the Small Business Recovery Act in 2021, and opening a new onestop shop Permit Center. Under the legislation, over 100 changes to the Planning Code will serve to ease restrictions across five main categories: • Allow more business uses on the ground floor • Lift restrictions on bars and restaurants • Incorporate new liquor license for music venues • Remove certain public notice requirements • Enable priority processing for nighttime entertainment, bars, and restaurants. Since the city began implementing Proposition H in January 2021, over 3,500 businesses have benefited from the program, which allows more commercial projects to be processed within a shorter timeframe, in what’s known as “over-the-
counter," when permits applications are processed immediately upon submission. “We are making it easier to fill vacant storefronts and support small businesses that are essential to our economy and the health of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Breed. “This latest round of reforms builds on the work we’ve doing over the last few years to make it easier to open and operate a small business in this city. By getting rid of barriers and incentivizing people to invest their time and energy here, we can build a stronger San Francisco.” In addition to this approved legislation, Mayor Breed’s recent budget extended First Year Free, which waives the cost of initial registration fees, initial license fees, first-year permit, and other applicable fees for qualifying businesses. Since the First Year Free program started in 2021, approximately 5,724 businesses have enrolled, with 3,640 of these completely new, and the remainder are existing businesses adding a new location. The city has waived more than $2.38 million in fees since the program started. This legislation and extension of the First Year Free program is integral to Mayor Breed’s Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco's Future. One of the plan’s nine strategies is to make it easier to start and grow a business. Simplifying city processes while reducing cost will encourage more businesses to start and remain in San Francisco. “We started Wave as an art gal-
lery and events popup in Lower Haight, and after an amazingly positive reception, realized there was a need for it to become a permanent space,” said Jamila Keba, owner and co-founder and Wave Collective on Haight Street. “The Flexible Retail use has allowed us to continue building a creative multifaceted community space that is gallery, cafe, workshop and event space.” Legislative details • Allow more business uses on the ground floor and as principally permitted Under the legislation, “Flexible Retail” would be principally permitted and expanded to all neighborhoods on the ground floor across the city’s commercial corridors. An example of Flexible Retail includes a business that sells both plants and coffee, and then later shifts to selling plants and making small production bags on site. The proposed ordinance will also clarify that multiple uses are allowed in the same business space. Additionally, the legislation will expand the types of businesses that can open in ground floor spaces to create more opportunities to fill commercial vacancies. • Lift restrictions on restaurants and bars Currently, several commercial corridors have restrictions in place for restaurants and bars, such as not permitting them, imposing a cap on the number of restaurants that can be established, or requiring a Conditional Use Authorization (CUA). PAGE 10
KAPAMILYA IN WOODSIDE, QUEENS, NEW YORK, GET ANSWERS TO THEIR IMMIGRATION QUESTIONS FROM LEADING U.S. IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY MICHAEL J. GURFINKEL ON PART 2 OF ‘YOUR TANONG, MY SAGOT.’ Atty. Gurfinkel (right) answers the following questions – From Rose (left): I petitioned my son in 2009. The National Visa Center (NVC) says he is in line for his medical and visa interview. Can I now include my grandchildren in my petition?; From Ed (2nd from left): I have been a green card holder for over 40 years now. How can I bring my grandchild to the U.S.?; From Aurora (3rd from left): When I became a U.S. citizen, I petitioned my two sons, who were already over 21 years old. How long do we have to wait for their visas? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more from Kapamilya in Woodside, Queens, New York, on Part 2 of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” on an encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, December 10 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. (Advertising Supplement)
Mangio takes helm of PCCI, vows to strengthen chamber under her leadership MANILA – The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has elected Consul Enunina “Nina” Mangio as the new president of the country’s most prominent business organization. Mangio, owner of several large businesses including the SamgyeopMasarap chain of restaurants, was unanimously elected by the incoming 20-member board of directors of the PCCI during its annual meeting held on Friday, December 1, 2023. Mangio is the third woman president of the PCCI since its inception in 1978. She is currently the Vice President for Regional Affairs of the trade group, which now has a 30,000-strong membership. “I am honored by the trust and confidence that my colleagues in PCCI have entrusted in me. I will do my best to serve the chamber movement and represent the organization in the local and global arena,” Mangio, who is also an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Liberia in West Africa, said. Mangio vowed to continue the works that her predecessor started and committed to proactively work with the national government in attracting local and foreign investors to the country.
Newly-elected PCCI president Consul Eunina “Nina” Mangio Contributed photo
She also aims to push for programs that will create more business and generate jobs across the country. Aside from Mangio, other newly-elected directors are George T. Barcelon, president of the Integrated Computer Systems; Dr. William S. Co, chairman of William and Company Philippines, Inc.; Ferdinand A. Ferrer, Chairman/CEO of EMS Group of Companies; Byan Ang, vice president of CLMC Group Corp.; Samie Lim, president of BLIMS Lifestyle Group, Inc.; Michael Tan, COO of Asia Brewery Inc.; Atty. Benedicta Du-Baladad, founding partner of Du Baladad and Associates;
Philip G. Romualdez, president of Benguet Corporation; Jude Raymund Aguilar, president of Electronic Payment Inc., (ECPay); Edgardo G. Lacson, president of MIS Maritime Corp.; Arturo C. Guerrero III, president of Temps and Staffers Inc.; Ma. Alegria S. Limjoco, chairman of Phoenix Publishing, Inc.; Joseph C. Sy, president of Platinum Group Metals Inc; and Anthony Dennis H. Uy, president of Converge ICT Solutions; Dr. Hernando B. Delizo, CEO of Clinica Manila (PCCI NCR); Atty. Maria Amalia T. Cayanan, president of Centro Colegio de Tarlac (PCCI North Luzon); Sallie Lacson, president and general manager of SC Lacson Enterprises (PCCI South Luzon); Melanie C. Ng, president of Ng Khai Development Corp. (PCCI Visayas); and Elena U. Haw (PCCI Mindanao). The incoming PCCI officers will officially assume their posts in January 2024. A licensed chemical engineer by profession, Mangio has been engaged in several businesses including Servcare International Corporation, an international holding company with subsidiaries in the U.S., Asia, and Dubai, where she sits as president. She is also the Chairman of the Board PAGE 10
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FACE returns for 3rd annual toy drive with holiday festival tour
Filipinos Advancing Creative Education expands annual toy drive to first-ever FACE Holiday Festival Tour, spreading holiday cheer in Filipino cultural districts across US
PH CONSULATE IN SF ATTENDS WARRIORS’ FIRST FILIPINO HERITAGE NIGHT OF THE NEW NBA SEASON. Dubnation and basketball fans in the Bay Area were treated with a night of Pinoy culture in the first Filipino Heritage Night of the Golden State Warriors of the 2023-2024 NBA Season, held at Chase Center in San Francisco on November 18, 2023. The Filipino Heritage Night featured performances by martial arts group Global Arnis Academy, and “America’s Got Talent” semifinalist Spyros Bros. Baybayin artist Kristian Kabuay and Philippines Baseball Group also set up booths during the event. Free sampaguita-themed Warriors shirts, designed by graphic designer Fidel Trinchera, were given away to Filipino Heritage Night ticketholders. The second Warriors Filipino Heritage Night for the regular season will take place on March 9, 2024. San Francisco PCG photo
Mangio takes helm of PCCI, vows to... PAGE 9 of Mawell Chemical Corporation, a Triple-A Electrical & Mechanical Contractor, and Choosers Choice Food & Development Corporation — a chain of casual dining restaurants serving Korean and Japanese cuisines with a total of 56 branches all over the Philippines. She is a graduate of the Mapua Institute of Technology, holding
a double degree in mechanical and chemical engineering. She also earned her master's degree in business management from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. At present, Mangio is also the Board Governor of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), a Board of Trustee for the Philippine Food Exporters Confederation (Philexport), and Honorary Chair
and Senior Adviser for Philippines-Korea Business Council. The PCCI has had the Philippine government’s ear and guidance in formulating policies that will spur businesses and economic growth. Its members, especially the MSMEs, have also relied on PCCI leadership to take on the cudgels for them, represent them on all fronts, and speak as a solid voice of business.
PAGE 9 Conditional Use Authorization is a lengthy process for businesses to be granted approval for their plans, including providing public notice and attending hearings – CUA can add months to the process of opening a business. Under the legislation, those restrictions will be lifted for new restaurants in Chinatown, along Haight Street, and Taraval Street. Likewise, restrictions on new bars will be lifted along Haight Street, Sacramento Street, and Union Street. • Incorporate new liquor license for music venues The ordinance will incorporate into local Planning Code a new liquor license, Type 90, which was adopted by the state in 2022. This new liquor license type gives venues more options as it allows a music venue to serve beer, wine, and liquor without excluding minors from the business. • Remove the public notice requirement in Eastern Neighborhoods Mixed Use Districts for business changes In November 2020, voters adopted the “Save our Small Business Initiative” (Proposition H), which reduced the steps a business owner needed to take when they change their business use. Before this, if a clothing store, for example, were to become a café, the change would require that the general public be provided notice about the change for at least 30 days and the business could not receive their Planning Department approvals over-the-
counter, even though both types of businesses are permitted in the neighborhood. Under the legislation, these benefits will be expanded to the commercial corridors in the eastern portion of the city. • Enable nighttime entertainment, bars, and restaurants to benefit from priority processing at Planning Department/Commission Currently, nighttime entertainment venues, bars, and restaurants with full liquor licenses are excluded from participation in the Planning Department’s Community Benefit Priority Processing Program (CB3P). Under the legislation, nighttime entertainment venues, bars, and restaurants with full liquor licenses will benefit from expedited Conditional Use Authorization review, which can save a new business from months of waiting for a hearing at the Planning Commission. “Most bars, entertainment venues, and restaurants seeking liquor licenses are small businesses, yet they have been excluded from programs that enable fast-tracking of permits like other small businesses," said Steven Lee, managing partner of a legacy restaurant and nightclub in Chinatown, and is a board member of the California Music and Culture Association. “The legislation offers exciting incentives for entrepreneurs who are on the fence about opening new entertainment venues or bars in San Francisco given concerns about paying high rent while
waiting for local approvals required to operate.” Previous efforts to support small business This legislation builds on the significant small business reforms Mayor Breed has advanced over the last three years including the passage of Prop H in 2020 and the passage of the Small Business Recovery Act in 2021. Since the city began implementing Proposition H in January 2021, over 3,500 businesses have benefited from the program, which allows more commercial projects to be processed within a shorter timeframe, in what’s known as “over-the-counter," when permits applications are processed immediately upon submission. The city also opened the Permit Center in 2021, which offers 23 distinct service areas through the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, Department of Public Health, Department of Public Works, among others. By centralizing services in one place, customers can move between permitting departments efficiently, resulting in a better experience and improved government function. Since the start of this year, the Permit Center has served an average of 191 customers per day and provides on average 531 services daily. More information about San Francisco’s First Year Free program may be found at https:// sftreasurer.org/business/firstyear-free. (SF Mayor’s Office Release)
Mayor Breed’s small business reforms approved...
LOS ANGELES — Filipinos Advancing Creative Education (FACE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting the next generation of Filipino American creatives, honors cultural roots and aims to bring the Filipino holiday spirit to the United States. The Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration in the world, lasting from September to December, also known as the “BER Months,” to celebrate and spread the true spirit of Christmas. FACE Holiday Festival Tour aims to bring that very same essence of joy and giving throughout the country during the month of December. The first toy drive, held two years ago, was the HiFi Holiday Festival in Los Angeles and has since expanded its reach beyond the borders of Historic Filipinotown to two other cultural districts in San Jose and New York during the last holiday season. In its 3rd year, FACE continues to bring visibility to Filipino cultural districts across the country by adding an additional two more markets for a total of 5 cities for the FACE Holiday Festival Tour, sponsored by AmazonMusic, PrimeVideo, Amazon Studios, AEG, and Funko. “The Holiday Festival is one of our favorite annual community engagement programs we offer to serve those less fortunate during the holiday season. It’s an opportunity for some of the many talented Filipinos in entertainment to donate their time and talent to connect with the community and inspire others. This year we’re so excited to take the event to the next level and really show what the holidays are about during the Tour.
This our reason to celebrate the season,” said FACE Executive Director and founder Lyle del Mundo. FACE embodies holiday cheer, spreading the love from coast to coast, partnering with sister nonprofits such as: Project Barkada, Rideback Rise, Three Treasures, Filipinotown of Seattle, and FACT SJ. Festival activities include live holiday performances, a holiday bazaar powered by local nonprofits for last minute shopping needs, complimentary haircuts for children, meal dis-
tribution sponsored by Seafood City, and toy distribution sponsored by Funko and Toys 4 Tots. Some of the past participants include Simu Liu, Saweetie, Bretman Rock, Bella Poarch, Patrick Starrr, Josh Dela Cruz, Arianny Celeste, Mike Becker, Paris Berelc, Vincent Rodriguez III, Roshon Fegan, Eric Bauza, Ruby Ibarra, The Filharmonic, Kiana V, AJ & Alyssa Rafael, The Basco Family, Mond Guiterrez, Tiana Kocher, Jules Aurora, Travis Atreo, and many others. Tour Dates Little Manila Holiday Festival Sunday, December 10th 11am-7pm 133-38 32nd Ave., Queens, NY 11354 HiFi Holiday Festival Saturday, December 16th 9am-1pm 1660 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 Manila Mesa Holiday Festival Sunday, December 17th 12pm-4pm 9450 Candida St., San Diego, CA 92126 Pinoytown Holiday Festival Saturday, December 23rd 9am-1pm Filipino Community Center 635 N. 6th St., San Jose, CA 95112 For more information, please contact Lyle del Mundo lyle@ facefwd.org or follow the FACE IG @facefwdorg for updates.
GORDON MANOR OWNER CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY. Zeni Mallari, owner of Gordon Manor Carehome in Redwood City, celebrated her birthday on November 16 with a grand party held at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center’s Hall, also located in Redwood City. Left photo shows (from left) Aliza Mallari, Portia Gaddi, celebrant Zeni Mallari, Tess Gregorio and Maria “Techie” Gregorio. Top photo shows celebrant Zeni Mallari (center) with party guests (from left) Tess Gregorio and Martha Estolano. Photos courtesy of Tess Gregorio
Ed (left) with Atty. Gurfinkel
Rose (left) with Atty. Gurfinkel
Atty. Gurfinkel answers more immigration... PAGE 9 the U.S. • Rose petitioned her son in 2009. According to the National Visa Center (NVC), her son is in line for his medical and visa interview. Rose wants to know if she can include her many new grandchildren in her petition for her son. Atty. Gurfinkel answers these questions in the second installment of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” in Woodside in Queens, New York. Watch this encore episode of “Citizen Pinoy” on Sunday, December 10 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET through select Cable/ Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app. (Advertising Supplement) Aurora (left) with Atty. Gurfinkel
SAGIP PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVE VISITS SAN FRANCISCO PH CONSULATE. SAGIP party-list representative and Congressman Rodante Marcoleta made a courtesy call to the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco and was warmly welcomed by consular officials led by Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer, together with Consul Jed Llona, Consul Rowena Pangilinan-Daquipil, Consul Vanessa Llona, and Deputy Consul General Raquel Solano. Rep. Marcoleta was accompanied by Tony Marfori and former Capas City Mayor TJ Rodriguez. Photo above shows Congressman Marcoleta with consular officials and other guests. Photo courtesy of Don Orozco
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DECEMBER 8-14, 2023 • NORCAL ASIAN JOURNAL
http://www.asianjournal.com • (650) 689-5160