December 30, 2020 - January 1, 2021 Volume 30 - No. 103 • 2 Sections - 14 Pages
Duterte warns US: No COVID vaccines, no VFA by LEILA
B. SALAVERRIA Inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States that he would push through with his plan to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) unless it was able to provide the Philippines with vaccines against the coronavirus. Duterte noted that the VFA was on the brink of termination, and U.S. troops would have to leave the Philippines unless he allows them to stay. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
Malacañang photo by Alfred Frias
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Fil-Am health care workers remind community to stay vigilant as coronavirus risk remains high
USA
DATELINE Non-profit offers US citizenship test materials in 9 languages, including Tagalog FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
THE path to U.S. citizenship may be more difficult as the naturalization test now features an expanded version of the civics portion — but a free educational tool is helping applicants prepare with study materials in their native language. USAHello, a non-profit dedicated to providing an online center of information and education for refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers, has released translations for the 2020 version of the U.S. citizenship test in nine languages on its website (usahello. org). The organization partnered with Translators Without Borders to translate the civics test in Spanish, Arabic, French, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Swahili, and Vietnamese.
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More than 2,900 health care workers died this year — and the gov’t barely kept track MORE than 2,900 U.S. health care workers have died in the COVID-19 pandemic since March, a far higher number than that reported by the government, according to a new analysis by KHN and The Guardian. Fatalities from the coronavirus have skewed young, with the majority of victims under age 60 in the cases for which there is age data. People of color have been disproportionately affected, accounting for about 65% of deaths in cases in which there is race and ethnicity data. After conducting interviews with relatives and friends of around 300 victims, KHN and The Guardian learned that one-third of the fatalities involved concerns over inadequate personal protective equipment. Many of the deaths — about 680 — occurred in New York and New Jersey, which were hit hard early in the pandemic. Signifi-
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FIREWORKS ON DISPLAY. Cyclists pedal past the fireworks on display for sale along Marikina-Infanta Highway in Antipolo City on Saturday, December 26. Metro Manila mayors and the Department of the Interior and Local Government expressed support to President Duterte’s plan to totally ban fireworks. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
by CHRISTINA
M. ORIEL
AJPress
Dr. Antonio Moya, a neurologist, recently received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as part of LA County’s campaign to vaccinate 10,000 frontline health workers by New Year’s Eve. Contributed photo
AS COVID-19 vaccines continue to be administered in the Los Angeles area, Filipino American health care workers are sharing their experiences and are reminding the community to continue following public health orders while ringing in the New Year. Dr. Antonio Moya, a neurologist and public health advocate,
recently received his jab as part of LA County’s campaign to vaccinate 10,000 frontline health workers by New Year’s Eve. “It is such a gift and blessing to be among the first in the country to receive this vaccine because I want to be able to take care of all my patients knowing that I am more protected from COVID-19,” Moya told the Asian Journal. “I knew that working in the inpatient hospital and ICU setting would put me on the
list to receive the vaccine early, however I think it is amazing that a vaccine for this pandemic was created so quickly using scientific rigor and scientific method.” Like what many other health care workers have shared, Moya felt soreness at the injection site and some tiredness afterward, but was able to exercise the next day. Though the Fil-Am physician now has another layer of pro-
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282 added to DFA’s count of Filipinos abroad with COVID-19 FOREIGN affairs officials saw 282 more Filipinos abroad contracting the coronavirus last week in total, bringing the number of infected to 12,828. DFA had acknowledged a 65.03%-surge in cases from December 20 to 26, compared to the additional 323 the week before that. The agency said it was a “slight increase” despite being more than half of the numbers it used for comparison. The highest reported increase last week was at 189 cases on December 21.
By Sunday, December 27, it reported no new infections and deaths, only a single recovery to bring the number of patients who got well at 8,342. To date, the fatality count has stayed at 911, while those continuing to receive treatment are at 3,575. The Middle East in its 7,654 cases continues to have the most number of Filipinos infected, along with 578 deaths and 4,674 recoveries.
Barangay Police Security Officers strictly implement health and quarantine protocols at the
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barangay is under lockdown from December 23 to January 3, 2021 due to a rise in COVID-19 infections in the area. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
PAL readies fleet for vaccine transport Return to strict lockdown a ‘possibility’ in PH by RICHMOND
MERCURIO Philstar.com
“PAL is readying its fleet of wide body aircraft for the task of transporting vaccines to the Philippines and around the region,” the airline said. Philstar.com file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is preparing its fleet to help in the transport of COVID-19 vaccines to the country and around the region. “PAL is readying its fleet of wide body aircraft for the task of transporting vaccines to the Philippines and around the region,” it said. The carrier has continuously been operating repatriation flights that bring home stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other Filipinos from all over the world, along with allcargo flights to transport essential goods. In terms of commercial flights, PAL has also been increasing do-
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by CATHERINE
S. VALENTE ManilaTimes.net
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, December 26 raised the possibility that the government might reimpose strict lockdown measures should the new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from the United Kingdom (UK) spread in the Philippines. “Actually, iyong lockdown is a possibility. I said we are making some projections but if the severity in number would demand that we take corrective measures immediately, then we just have to go back to lockdown,” Duterte said in a meeting with members of his Cabinet and infectious disease experts.
“Pagkarumami sila (When they multiply) with the new strain, and in the meantime that we are not able to confront them effectively, I mean the virus, well just have to… tama iyan (that’s right) it depends on the severity in number. Kasi kapag marami na we do not have the antidote on how to kill those variants, we’re going to have a problem there,” he added. The new variant emerged in the UK and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that it “may be up to 70% more transmissible than the original version of the disease.” It has already been detected in other countries such as Rome, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia
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A december 30, 2020-january 1, 2021 • Socal aSIan jOurnaL
Return to strict lockdown a...
PAGE A1 and most recently in France. Duterte said that the new virus has also been detected in Sabah, Malaysia, which according to him “is less than 29 hours with boat from the Sulu Archipelago.” “The provincial government of Sulu has called the (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases) for assistance following the course that the new strain of Covid-19 has been
detected in Sabah, Malaysia,” Duterte said. “Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan on Friday told… that he had instructed his staff to consult the task force on how best to handle the emergency… Sabah,” he added. Duterte assured the public that Sulu and the national government were “equipped with the capacity and logistics to put in place and in operation safeguards and pre-
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From the Front Page
emptive measures.” “The Sulu task force COVID-19 is calling the public not to panic and to heed advisories from official sources,” the president said. “To our frontline partners, we intensify [the] monitoring, and we utilize all materials and available resources at our disposal to assure our constituents and we reiterate our call to them to avoid speculations and spread fake and harmful mongering,” he added. Meanwhile, the President ordered a creation of a new government task force to focus on the new coronavirus variant. He said that the task force should be led by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and the Department of Health (DoH). “The government should create another task force, hindi itong atin wala naman tayong alam diyan. Medical. Ideally, it’s the medical persons, na nakatutok lang talaga diyan sa bagong strain whether or not it is here or not,” the president said. n
282 added to DFA’s count of...
PAGE A1 Asia Pacific follows with 2,674 infected, 21 dead and 1,823 recovered. Europe accounts for 1,746 infections, 118 deaths and 1,320 recoveries, while Americas have 781 cases, 194 deaths and 525 recoveries. Coronavirus infections across the globe breached the 80 million mark with less than a week before 2020 ends. Deaths have also soared to 1.75 million, nearly a year since a SARS-like virus was first detected in Wuhan City in China. COVID-19 has reached 191 countries in total, with the United States leading in both infections at 18.98 million and deaths at over 331,000. India (10.18 million), Brazil (7.46 million), Russia (2.99 million) and France (2.60 million) follow in the top 5 list of countries with the highest cases. The Philippines in its nearly 470,000 virus patients put it at the 29th spot, and remains to be the second highest in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia’s over 706,000. (Christian Deiparine/ Philstar)
RAINY SUNDAY. Traffic begins to build up along northbound of Roxas Boulevard in Manila due to heavy rains on Sunday, December 27. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned of moderate to heavy rains in Metro Manila and many parts of the country due to two low pressure areas (LPAs) that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan
Duterte warns US: No COVID...
PAGE A1 Duterte ordered the termination of the VFA earlier this year, but suspended the six-month countdown before the military agreement lapses. The deal allows American soldiers to hold military exercises in the Philippines. “If they are not able to deliver a minimum of 20 million vaccines, they better get out. No vaccine, no stay here,” Duterte said during a meeting in Malacañang, drawing applause from his officials. If the United States wants to provide vaccines to the country, it should just do so without making “so much noise,” he said. He noted that the United States was scrambling to produce vaccines for its people, with American pharmaceutical company Pfizer “up to its neck producing it for everybody.” And yet, he said, it was promising to provide many countries with vaccines against the virus that causes COVID-19. May be signed by January He made the statements as he once more addressed controversies about the county’s vaccine acquisition plan. Carlito Galvez Jr., who is in charge of the na-
tional vaccination program, said the deals to acquire vaccines from Pfizer and Novovax may be signed by January. Duterte told Galvez that he should not worry too much about the cost of the vaccines. He told the former military chief of staff to purchase what is available because “it’s an emergency.” The President also asked Dr. Eric Domingo, director general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not to prolong the approval of vaccines that already passed through the government regulators of the United States and the United Kingdom. Domingo said that the FDA only had a few requirements for vaccine manufacturers that had secured the approval of the regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom and the United States. The FDA’s concern is the stability of the vaccines in the Philippine climate and their effectivity for Asians, Domingo said. The FDA also wanted to ensure that the vaccine registered in other countries would be the same to be used in the Philippines, he added.
Soldiers already vaccinated Domingo said the FDA would be stricter about approving vaccines from China because these have not yet secured approval from counterparts in other countries. Duterte disclosed that many in the Philippines had already been given the vaccine from Sinopharm, a Chinese pharmaceutical company. “I have to be frank, I have to tell the truth. I will not foist a lie. Many [soldiers] have been vaccinated,” he said, adding that it was “for the select few, not all soldiers, because it is not yet policy.” Emergency use In response, Domingo noted that authorities have not caught anyone with unathorized vaccines in raids in Makati and Binondo. The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for emergency use in China and in several countries including the United Arab Emirates, where it is undergoing clinical trial. The President said even members of the New People’s Army would be eligible to get the vaccine from the government. The vaccine would be available to all Filipinos, he said. n
Southern California regional rail authority (SCrra) abiSo ng pagdinig Sa publiko / pagSuSuri para Sa mga pagbabago Sa patakaran Sa pamaSahe
Ang Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) ay magpapatawag ng isang pampublikong pagdinig sa pagpupulong ng lupon ng mga direktor sa Biyernes, Enero 22, 2021 upang suriin ang pagsasama ng Kids Ride Free on Weekends at ang 5-Day Flex Pass mga pamasahe na pang-promosyon bilang bahagi ng regular na istraktura ng pamasahe ng Metrolink. Tatalakayin ng pagdinig ang mga dahilan para sa mga bagong pamasahe at ang mga epekto sa serbisyo ng Metrolink mula ng umepekto ang pamasahe ng pang-promosyon noong Agosto 29, 2020 at September 2, 2020. Ang promosyon na Kids Ride Free on Weekends ay nakatakdang magtapos sa Linggo, Feb. 28, 2021 at ang 5-Day Flex Pass pilot program na nakatakdang magwakas sa Miyerkules, March 3, 2021 kung ang dalawang pamasahe na ito ay hindi pinagtibay bilang bahagi ng regular na istraktura ng pamasahe. Nais ng Awtoridad na gawing bahagi ng regular na istraktura ng pamasahe ang parehong pamasahe na ito upang magpatuloy na lumaki at mapanatili ang mga mayroon nang mga rider bilang resulta ng mga pamasaheng ito.
Ang pampublikong pandinig ay nakasulat sa agenda ng SCRRA Board of Directors Meeting sa: Biyernes, Enero 22, 2021 9:00 ng umaga https://metrolinktrains.com/about/board-meetings/agendas-documents/
Ang mga impormasyon tungkol sa ipinanukalang mga pagsasaayos ng pamasahe, pagbabago ng patakaran sa pamasahe at pagpapatibay ng patakaran ay makikita para sa pampublikong inspeksyon sa Metrolink website na www.metrolinktrains.com. Ang mga puna at mungkahi ay maaaring isumite nang pasalita o nakasulat sa pagdinig sa publiko, o ipost nang maaga sa pagdinig sa publiko sa pamamagitan ng pag-click ng “eComment” na pagpipilian upang magsumite ng isang elektronikong puna sa www.metrolinktrains. com/ecomments, o ipadala kung natanggap nang maaga sa pagdinig sa publiko nakaatensyon sa Metrolink Fares sa SCRRA sa punong tanggapan o ifax na nakaatensyon sa Metrolink Fares bago ang pagdinig sa (213) 452-0421. Lahat ng puna sa publiko, anumang uri ng komunikasyon, ay dapat isumite at matanggap nang hindi lalampas sa Pebrero12, 2021. Ang bagay na ito ay maaaring ipagpatuloy ng Lupon ng sa ibang oras o petsa sa kanyang sariling paghuhusga.
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SoCal ASIAN JOURNAL • deCembeR 30, 2020-JANUARy 1, 2021
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A december 30, 2020-january 1, 2021 • Socal aSIan jOurnaL
Dateline USa
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Census Bureau releases 2020 demographic analysis estimates
Shielah Creus prepares to receive her jab of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at a Southern California hospital, where she is a registered nurse and director of multiple departments, including infection control. Contributed photo
Fil-Am health care workers remind... PAGE A1
tection in the fight against the virus — and will be receiving the second dose three weeks later — he said that he will still take the same precautions as he did pre-inoculation. “The vaccine has not changed my behavior and I think we need to be clear that the vaccine is not a panacea to this disease. Rather, it’s the public health measure we take that will help our whole community stop this disease in its track[s],” Moya said, likening the pandemic to a marathon. “[Y]our eye has to be on the prize of getting through this pandemic without not getting infected and not spreading the disease to others. We are all in this together.” Filipina American Shielah Creus was the first health care worker to receive the vaccine at a Southern California hospital (the name of which she did not disclose). The registered nurse, who has pre-existing conditions and has experienced allergic reactions to other injections in the past, decided to take the chance and get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to “set a good example.” “I’ve been looking forward to the vaccine because for frontline nurses, respiratory therapists and everybody working day in and day out with COVID patients, it’s protection. There’s a fear that they’ll get sick because they’re pretty stretched thin,” Creus told the Asian Journal. “I decided to go ahead and get it to set a good example.” Heading into the final week of 2020 and another holiday weekend, intensive care capacity in the Southern California region remains at 0% and hospitals continue to report longer wait
times and limited availability for regular hospital beds. “We’re getting the surge right now from people who have been traveling last Thanksgiving so they’re starting to get sicker. We don’t want that to happen again,” Martin Reyes, a registered nurse at LAC+USC Medical Center’s ICU, told the Asian Journal. “If you get sick after you travel for the holidays, there will be longer wait times in the emergency room and there’s a higher chance that we won’t be able to find a bed for you or an ICU bed.” For now, frontline health care workers and residents of longterm care facilities are prioritized for vaccines. But once they are widely available, Reyes urges the community to look at the benefits. “Other than the minor side effects, it’s a no brainer to get the vaccine when it’s available,” Reyes, who received his vaccine earlier in December, said. “The main reason why we’re doing this is to achieve herd immunity — the more people who get vaccinated, the more people can be immune to the virus and it cannot spread to others, especially those who are immunocompromised.” During the three-day Christmas weekend, LA County reported a combined tally of 29,464 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, December 26, reflecting 13,185 cases reported that day as well as 15,538 cases on Christmas Day. Friday’s numbers delayed due to a service interruption in the LA area by Spectrum. The two-day period also saw 142 new deaths — 131 fatalities on Friday and five on Saturday. To date, the LA County Depart-
ment of Public Health has identified 706,448 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 9,438 deaths. There are currently 6,770 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and 20% of these people are in the ICU. The county remains under the regional stay-at-home order, as of this writing, which was triggered after the ICU capacity fell below 15%. Statewide, California has 2,122,806 confirmed cases to date, and 24,220 fatalities. The 7-day positivity rate is 11.4% and the 14-day positivity rate is 12.3%. Similar to the guidelines shared for Thanksgiving and Christmas, families are advised anew to rethink travel plans, to celebrate within their households or to opt for virtual gatherings. Those who return to LA County from abroad or out of state are asked to selfquarantine at home for 10 days and limit contact with others. “Filipino Americans have been devastated by COVID-19 as we are often on the frontlines as nurses or other health care workers in the hospital, or we work in the food or service industry. We also as a whole are at higher risk of death and serious illness from COVID-19 given our higher rates of heart problems, diabetes, cancer, and other preventable diseases compared to other communities of color. It’s so important for us Fil-Ams to stay vigilant,” Moya said. “We are at the beginning of the end of this pandemic with the availability now of two COVID-19 vaccines; we’ve all made it this far and together as a community, we can come out of this pandemic stronger than before.” n
Non-profit offers US citizenship test materials in... PAGE A1 “For the citizenship test in particular, we have found that many people in preparing for the exam were focused solely on memorizing the English questions and corresponding answers,” Sarah Ivory, president of USAHello, told the Asian Journal in an email. “Time and time again we found that when people failed to pass the civics portion of their exam, it was because the phrasing was slightly different in the in-person interview and the memorization tools they had used were not triggered,” she added. The free translations aim to not just help future Americans study for and pass the exam, but to help them fully understand the content so they are answering the questions with the benefit of the larger context. “Rather than repeating memorized responses, people who learn in their first language may be more likely to comprehend the material,” Ivory explained. USAHello released the translated study materials based on
the number of speakers of those languages inside the U.S. Of the nine offered languages, seven represent the top languages spoken in the country. Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, ranked fourth, with 1.7 million speakers in the U.S. Spanish leads the ranking right after English with 41 million speakers. Other languages in the top seven are Chinese (3.5 million), Vietnamese (1.5 million), Arabic (1.2 million), French (1.2 million), and Korean (1.1 million). USAHello said it is planning to add more languages soon. The naturalization test has two components: an English test, which has not changed, and an expanded version of the civics test. The English test allows the applicant to demonstrate an understanding of the language including the ability to read, write, and speak basic English. Meanwhile, the revised civic test assesses applicants’ knowledge of American history, gov-
ernment and civic values. An immigration officer will ask the applicant 20 questions from a list of 128 civics test questions. The applicant needs to answer at least 12 of the 20 questions correctly to pass the revised version. Previously, the civics test only asked the applicant up to 10 questions from the list of 100 civics test questions. The applicant needed to answer six questions correctly to pass the test. The revised civics test did not change the passing score, which remains at 60%. Applicants who apply for naturalization on or after December 1, 2020 will take the updated version of the test. USAHello also offers trustworthy and verified information about recent news and policy updates, such as changes to immigration programs like the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, as well as articles about understanding American laws and cultures, educational opportunities, and job preparedness. (Ritchel Mendiola / AJPress)
PAL readies fleet for vaccine...
PAGE A1 mestic services on various routes in line with its network restoration plan and in time for the holiday season. The airline has doubled services on the prime trunk route between Manila and Cebu, from 14 to 28 round trip flights weekly since Dec. 1. Flights between Manila and Cagayan de Oro is set to grow to three times daily, while flights between Manila and Tacloban were doubled to two times a day. The flag carrier has resumed services to Antique, as well as to Catarman and to popular tourist destinations Coron (Busuanga), Siargao and Boracay. Its Cebu hub also continues
to expand with flights to Clark, Puerto Princesa, Legazpi, Bacolod, General Santos and Siargao. PAL is likewise operating regularly from Davao to Zamboanga and vice versa and revived its service to Tagbilaran (Panglao airport) in November after the reopening of Bohol province to domestic tourism. The airline said it is likewise increasing flight frequencies on most domestic routes, including those from Manila to Laoag, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Cotabato, Butuan, Ozamiz and Pagadian; and likewise between Cebu and both Davao and Butuan. “We are mobilizing more air-
craft and hiking flights throughout our network to further help boost the recovery of the economy, including the tourism sector which is a major provider of jobs and business,” PAL senior assistant vice president for Philippine sales Harry Inoferio said. “At the same time, we are here to help our fellow Filipinos come home to be reunited with their families this Christmas and fly them back to their residences and work sites abroad,” he said. PAL has resumed services to 25 domestic and 32 international destinations. Prior to the pandemic, it was flying to 38 international destinations and 30 domestic destinations. n
THE U.S. Census Bureau released its 2020 Demographic Analysis, which provides a range of estimates — low, middle and high — for the nation’s population as of April 1, 2020. Instead of collecting responses from households like the 2020 Census, Demographic Analysis uses current and historical vital statistics records and other data to estimate the size of the U.S. population. By releasing these estimates ahead of the first results from the 2020 Census, Demographic Analysis offers an independent measure of the population for comparison with the official census counts. Based on varying assumptions about the population, Demographic Analysis produced three different estimates for the size of the U.S. population on April 1, 2020: Low: 330,730,000 Middle: 332,601,000 High: 335,514,000 “The Census Bureau goes to great lengths to ensure the quality of our work,” said Dr. Ron Jarmin, Census Bureau deputy director and chief operating officer. “Demographic Analysis is a valuable resource to help us analyze the completeness of the 2020 Census population count.” Demographic Analysis estimates are developed using birth and death records, data on international migration, and Medicare records. The range accounts for the levels of uncertainty in the input data and methods used to produce the estimates. For example, birth and death estimates are regarded as relatively precise since they’re based on the National Vital Statistics System which is very accurate and complete. However, there is greater uncertainty in the estimates of international migration because administrative records are not available to produce those estimates. Instead, we use data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and other sources to estimate international migration. “Demographic Analysis enables us to utilize already existing data, such as current and historical administrative records and survey data, to estimate the size of the population,” said Dr. Eric Jensen, senior technical expert for Demographic Analysis in the Population Division. “We have done Demographic Analysis since the 1960 Census, and over time our
estimates have benefited not only from methodological improvements, but improvements to the available administrative records.” The final 2020 Census results will be compared against the 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates to produce estimates of potential net coverage error by age, sex, broad race and Hispanic origin groups. A report detailing the 2020 Demographic Analysis estimates of net overcounts and undercounts is planned for release in 2021. Additionally, in 2021 and 2022, we plan to produce new, experimental sets of estimates, including: Estimates for the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations by sex for ages 0 to 39 (expanded from ages 0 to 29 released today) in 2021. Estimates for young children (ages 0 to 4) will be available for the first time at the state and county levels in 2022. These estimates will incorporate current birth records, which are not yet available from local jurisdictions. Estimates for the population ages 0 to 17 for White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races, and by Hispanic origin in 2022. These estimates incorporate race detail available in both birth and death records since 2003. The Demographic Analysis estimates are one of two methods used to measure coverage in a census and help us understand what population groups may have been undercounted or overcounted. The other method is part of the Coverage Measurement Program and uses information from the Post-Enumeration Survey, an independent Census Bureau survey, to estimate how many people and housing units were missed or counted erroneously in the 2020 Census. Coverage estimates from the Post-Enumeration Survey are scheduled to be available in November 2021. The Census Bureau is working hard to process 2020 Census data in order to deliver complete and accurate state population counts as close to the December 31, 2020, statutory deadline as possible. Demographic Analysis Highlights In addition to the estimates of
the total population for the nation, 2020 Demographic Analysis also provides national-level estimates of the U.S. population by age, sex, broad race and Hispanic origin groups. Specifically, estimates are available for the number of people who are: Black alone/non-Black alone by sex for ages 0 to 85 and above. Black alone or in combination/ non-Black alone or in combination by sex for ages 0 to 85 and above (expanded from 0 to 29 in the 2010 Demographic Analysis). Hispanic/non-Hispanic by sex for ages 0 to 29 (expanded from 0 to 19 in 2010). These estimates can only be produced in limited race detail because they rely on historical records and measures of race that have changed over time. Other highlights from today’s release include, in order of low, middle and high estimates: The median age of the U.S. population was estimated to be 38.4, 38.5 and 38.7, respectively. The percentage of the U.S. population estimated to be Black alone was 13.5, 13.7 and 13.9, respectively. The percentage of the population estimated to be Black alone or in combination with other races was 14.9, 15.1 and 15.4, respectively. The sex ratio (number of males per 100 females) for the total population was 98.1 in the low and high series and 98.2 in the middle series. The sex ratio for the population under the age of 30 was 104.2 in the low series and 104.3 in the middle and high series. For the population under the age of 30, the percentage estimated to be Hispanic was 23.0, 24.6 and 26.0, respectively. Demographic Analysis estimates of the population by Hispanic origin are not produced for all ages because the Hispanic origin option was not widely available on birth and death records until the 1990s. Demographic Analysis only estimates the national population for these demographic categories, so its estimates cannot be compared to more detailed 2020 Census data that will show the population in states, cities, counties, census tracts and at the block level. n
More than 2,900 health care workers died... PAGE A1
cant numbers also died in Southern and Western states in the ensuing months. The findings are part of “Lost on the Frontline,” a nine-month data and investigative project by KHN and The Guardian to track every health care worker who dies of COVID-19. One of those lost, Vincent DeJesus, 39, told his brother Neil that he’d be in deep trouble if he spent much time with a COVID-positive patient while wearing the surgical mask provided to him by the Las Vegas hospital where he worked. DeJesus died on Aug. 15. Another fatality was Sue Williams-Ward, a 68-year-old home health aide who earned $13 an hour in Indianapolis, and bathed, dressed and fed clients without wearing any PPE, her husband said. She was intubated for six weeks before she died May 2. “Lost on the Frontline” is prompting new government action to explore the root cause of health care worker deaths and take steps to track them better. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services recently asked the National Academy of Sciences for a “rapid expert consultation” on why so many health care workers are dying in the U.S., citing the count of fallen workers by The Guardian and KHN. “The question is, where are they becoming infected?” asked Michael Osterholm, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory team and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “That is clearly a critical issue we need to answer and we don’t have that.” The Dec. 10 report by the national academies suggests a new federal tracking system and specially trained contact tracers who would take PPE policies and availability into consideration. Doing so would add critical knowledge that could inform generations to come and give meaning to the lives lost. “Those [health care workers] are people who walked into places of work every day because they cared about patients, putting food on the table for families, and every single one of those lives matter,” said Sue Anne Bell, a University of Michigan assistant professor of nursing and co-author of the national academies report. The recommendations come at a fraught moment for health care workers, as some are getting the COVID-19 vaccine while others
Over 2,900 health care workers are estimated to have died from the COVID-19 since March. Kaiser Health News collage
are fighting for their lives amid the highest levels of infection the nation has seen. The toll continues to mount. In Indianapolis, for example, 41year-old nurse practitioner Kindra Irons died Dec. 1. She saw seven or eight home health patients per week while wearing full PPE, including an N95 mask and a face shield, according to her husband, Marcus Irons. The virus destroyed her lungs so badly that six weeks on the most aggressive life support equipment, ECMO, couldn’t save her, he said. Marcus Irons said he is now struggling financially to support their two youngest children, ages 12 and 15. “Nobody should have to go through what we’re going through,” he said. In Massachusetts, 43-year-old Mike “Flynnie” Flynn oversaw transportation and laundry services at North Shore Medical Center, a hospital in Salem, Massachusetts. He and his wife were also raising young children, ages 8, 10 and 11. Flynn, who shone at fatherdaughter dances, fell ill in late November and died Dec. 8. He had a heart attack at home on the couch, according to his father, Paul Flynn. A hospital spokesperson said he had full access to PPE and free testing on-site. Since the first months of the pandemic, more than 70 reporters at The Guardian and KHN have scrutinized numerous governmental and public data sources, interviewed the bereaved and spoken with health care experts to build a count. The total number includes fatalities identified by labor
unions, obituaries and news outlets and in online postings by the bereaved, as well as by relatives of the deceased. The previous total announced by The Guardian and KHN was approximately 1,450 health care worker deaths. The new number reflects the inclusion of data reported by nursing homes and health facilities to the federal and state governments. These deaths include the facility names but not worker names. Reporters cross-checked each record to ensure fatalities did not appear in the database twice. The tally has been widely cited by other media as well as by members of Congress. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) referenced the data citing the need for a pending bill that would provide compensation to the families of health care workers who died or sustained long-term disabilities from COVID-19. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) mentioned the tally in a Senate Finance Committee hearing about the medical supply chain. “The fact is,” he said, “the shortages of PPE have put our doctors and nurses and caregivers in grave danger.” This story is part of “Lost on the Frontline,” an ongoing project from The Guardian and Kaiser Health News that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who die from COVID-19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease. This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Christina Jewett, Robert Lewis and Melissa Bailey / Kaiser Health News)
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Dateline PhiliPPines
Kin cry for justice as victims of Tarlac fatal shooting laid to rest by Maria
adelaida Inquirer.net
Calayag
PANIQUI, TARLAC — Relatives of the two victims of the brutal killings here wore black shirts printed with messages crying for justice as they led the funeral march for Sonya Gregorio, 52, and her son Frank Anthony, 25, on Sunday morning. Sonya and Frank were buried at the Paniqui Garden of Angels Memorial Park in Barangay Salomague. More than 800 mourners joined the immediate family for the funeral march. They were escorted by some 250 riders from the different chapters of the Police Hotline Movement Inc. in Tarlac towns of La paz, Camiling, Concepcion and in Nueva Ecija, La union and Metro Manila. According to Florentino Gregorio, widower of Sonya, colleagues of Sonya sponsored the portion of a lot where the victims will be buried. Sonya used to work there as a lot agent. The suspect, Senior Master Sergeant Sonya Jonel Nuezca,
Mourners came in droves to join the grieving relatives who will bury the two victims of the fatal shooting in Paniqui, Tarlac on Sunday morning. Inquirer.net photo by Maria Adelaida Calayag
shot Sonya and Frank at a pointblank range in front of their house on Dec. 20. Investigators
said an old family dispute over property and right-of-way triggered the murders. n
CBCP opposes move to reimpose death penalty THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed strong objection to renewed calls to reimpose the death penalty in response the recent fatal shooting of a mother and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, said the reimposition of the death penalty as a solution to stop the killing is a “foolish” move. “We will impose death in order to stop the killing. Is this not foolish?” said Pabillo in his homily on the eve of the celebration of Christmas or the birth of Christ. Sharing Pabillo’s view is Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi, head of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC), who said the death penalty sends the wrong message to society that it is right to kill people. “Bringing back the death pen-
alty merely justifies the idea that it is okay to kill people,” said Baylon, citing studies showing that execution fails to act as a deterrent to crime. The prelate proposed that the government should instead push for measures aimed at reforming the judicial and correctional systems “to make them more restorative and rehabilitative, rather than punitive.” “Justice is never punitive nor vindictive, otherwise we go back to the ancient principle of ‘ex talionis’ — an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth — which is no longer accepted,” he added. The prelate said that the ECPP was ready to dialogue with legislators to explore with them ways and means to improve the criminal justice system and ways of treating persons deprived of liberty. Former CBCP president and
now Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the re-imposition of the death penalty is tantamount to granting a “license to kill” to authorities. The CBCP also called on the faithful and all Filipinos who stand for life to continue the spirited opposition to the death penalty. It can be recalled that through the 1986 Constitution, the death penalty was abolished, but only to be restored in 1994 by former president Fidel Ramos with the enactment of Republic Act 7659 or the death penalty law. But it was abolished in 2006 by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. According to the International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care, 124 out of 194 countries had abolished the death penalty in their penal system. (ManilaTimes.net)
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FOR a family in Taguig, it has been a horrifyingly tragic Christmas. It started on Christmas Eve, when 28-year-old mother of two Karina Siacunco was found dead at their home. Relatives disputed her husband Aiko’s claim that she had hanged herself. On Christmas Day, Aiko, wearing a bloodstained shirt, showed up at a police station in the city and said he had strangled to death his threeyear-old daughter and one-year-old son in their room. Aiko himself had reportedly tried to hang himself. Police rushed to his home, where they found the children’s bodies on a mattress. Police said Siacunco had been depressed and had been fighting with his wife, who worked at a call center, over his failure to find a job since lockdowns were imposed in mid-March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The tragedy that befell the Siacuncos is an extreme manifestation of the mental distress that health professionals say has been on the rise as a result of the difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. For household breadwinners in particular, the loss of jobs or sources of livelihood can be deeply stressful and can put a strain on family relationships. The Department of Health, the University of the Philippines and private civic organizations have been operating hotlines to assist those who are suffering from mental distress and to dissuade people from committing suicide. The
hotlines have recorded spikes in calls since the start of the COVID lockdowns. Such mental health services, however, remain limited. Even in organizations that provide psychological counseling and require members to pass psychiatric exams, the services can be inadequate. This has been manifested in the cold-blooded murder of a mother and her son in Paniqui, Tarlac on Dec. 20 by police M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca during a heated altercation. The government has institutionalized the promotion of mental health, with the enactment of Republic Act 11036 in 2018. Yet limited resources and the lack of trained personnel have slowed down the rollout of mental health programs, and millions of Filipinos lack access to such services. This campaign also calls for support from local governments as well as the engagement of the community and various sectors such as schools and spiritual counselors. The tragedy that befell the Siacuncos lends urgency to the need for a more aggressive campaign to promote mental health together with physical wellness in this pandemic. (Philstar.com)
Editorial
Philstar.com photo
When will the Philippine government truly stand up to China? Commentary
ALBERT
DEL ROSARIO
2020 may be the year of the COVID-19 global pandemic, but it is also a year when a number of countries came out to strongly oppose China’s expansionism in the South China Sea, as China took advantage of the pandemic to further its legally and historically baseless claims. On July 13, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo declared that the United States is “aligning” its position on China’s maritime claims with the July 12, 2016 Arbitral Award that the Philippines won against China under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). U.S. “alignment” with the UNCLOS Award unequivocally means that the U.S. is siding with the Philippines over its rights in the West Philippine Sea. This is backed by last year’s pronouncement by Secretary Pompeo that the U.S.-PH
Mutual Defense Treaty applies in the South China Sea as part of the Pacific and “any armed attack on any Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under…our Mutual Defense Treaty.” Thus, based on these pronouncements, the U.S. will back the Philippines in the event of a Chinese armed attack against Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft which are rightfully stationed or transiting in the South China Sea. U.S. “alignment” with the UNCLOS Award also means that the U.S. is siding with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei over their maritime rights in the South China Sea in accordance with UNCLOS. Like the Philippines, these coastal states in the South China Sea primarily rely on UNCLOS in defending their maritime rights against China’s preposterous nine-dash line claim. This year, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia were the first to issue notes verbale strongly rejecting China’s claims in the South China Sea before the United Nations, as these countries have been do-
ing so since China formally introduced its nine-dash line claim to the world in 2009. These countries were followed by Indonesia’s note verbale on May 26, 2020 which expressly affirmed the UNCLOS Award and declared that “it is not bound by any claims made in contravention to international law, including UNCLOS 1982.” On July 23, 2020, Australia sent a note verbale to the UN rejecting China’s claims in the South China Sea. It stated, among others, that the “Australian Government…disputes China’s claim that it is not bound by the Arbitral Award… [T]he Tribunal’s decision is final and binding on both parties to the dispute.” On Sept. 16, 2020, the United Kingdom, France and Germany sent a joint note verbale to the UN invoking the primacy of UNCLOS and the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. These countries declared that China’s “historic rights” in the South China Sea, as encompassed by its ninedash line claim, “do not comply with international law and UNCLOS provisions and…that the arbitral award in Philip-
Back on track
Babe’s Eye View BABE ROMUALDEZ With clear instructions from President Duterte that anything that has to do with vaccine procurement begins and ends on COVID task force chief General Carlito Galvez’s desk, we can now all be assured that we are in good hands. Secretary Galvez can very well leverage his experience as a logistics expert to consolidate the diverse tasks needed to carry out the country’s national vaccine roadmap. We have already turned over all the information including delivery timelines provided by American pharmaceutical firms ready to supply our country with their vaccines – and the rest is now up for Secretary Galvez’s perusal. I spoke with him a few days ago and he said they are looking at four or five suppliers of the vaccines assuring us of a supply of 60-70 million doses no later than the middle of next year. As soon as he instructs us,
we will try to work on earlier deliveries from this end. The secretary has also issued an assurance that the country is “on track” and that we are still able to make up for the delays in the negotiations. “We are working on getting a fair share of the vaccines in the global market, given that 80% of the vaccines have already been procured by the manufacturers’ country of origin and countries now in the height of the ‘second wave,’” he said. The private sector is joining forces with the government to support the massive logistical requirements in the rollout of the vaccines as seen in the big turnout during the recent virtual Vaccine Logistics Summit. Coordination between the public and private sectors, including global agencies, was emphasized in the fight against the pandemic. As underscored by Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation president Butch Meily, “Collaboration between the government and the private sector in
the distribution of the COVID19 vaccines ensures the best use of trucks, airlines, hospitals and other resources in one of the most complex logistics exercises ever.” The whole world is hoping to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, although the case rate is still very high, especially here in the United States where over 18 million have been infected. More than one million Americans have been vaccinated starting with the frontliners, with more than 20 million doses set for distribution in the next few weeks. But as health experts have cautioned – foremost among them U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci – people still need to be vigilant with the wearing of masks and the practice of social distancing. Based on past history and even during the time when no vaccines were available, wearing masks is an effective way to stop the spread of an infectious disease.
pines v. China case dating to 12 July 2016 clearly confirms this point.” At the September 2020 EUChina Leader’s Meeting, the European Union called on China to assume greater responsibility in upholding the rules-based international system and to refrain from unilateral actions in the South China Sea. Towards the end of his term and in the context of his accommodationist stance towards China, President Duterte finally invoked the UNCLOS Award before the 75th UN General Assembly and at the 37th ASEAN Virtual Summit this year, after our repeated calls for him to do so since the issuance of the UNCLOS Award in 2016. The invocation of the UNCLOS Award, however, is not enough. It is critical that the Philippines, as the party which won the Award, undertake actions that actually enforce the Award. As we said before, there is no world policeman and it is up to us to enforce this victory for the Filipino people, as well as for the Rule of Law that is followed by almost all nations. Given the consolidating sup-
port of the UNCLOS Award not only by the South China Sea countries but also by states which follow UNCLOS, it makes abundant sense for our Philippine government to act now. Our Philippine government should actively build on this support by entering into conventions or treaties with countries which embody the Award; we should welcome and join joint patrols and freedom of navigation and overflight operations (FONOPS) conducted by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan; and we should develop a credible defense posture to protect our land and waters from the invasive tactics of China. It is also important to make Chinese officials criminally and monetarily accountable for their unforgivable and massive destruction of the marine environment in the South China Sea. We respectfully call on our Philippine government to support public and private efforts to do so – such as our efforts in the International Criminal Court to hold Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials liable for Crimes Against Humanity.
In the past few weeks, new strains of the novel coronavirus have been detected in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Initial reports indicate that the “UK variant” could be 70% more transmissible, although scientists say it does not seem to cause more severe illness. Experts are also confident that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines would still be effective as they can be tweaked to combat the new strains. It was quick on the part of President Duterte to suspend flights from the UK to ensure public health and safety. We have to accept the fact that developments like this will happen every now and then, which is why we have to continue to be vigilant, and people must maintain health and safety protocols for at least a year until the World Health Organization officially declares the pandemic over. As the saying goes, it’s not over till it’s over since it will take time for the immunization of at least 60% of the world’s population. Clearly, lessons can be learned from this pandemic – described as unprecedented
because the virus behaved in a manner that defied all expectations, as it would not manifest any symptoms for one person while it could be fatal for another. What is very clear is the need for a more accurate system of reporting and tracking to prevent the further spread of the virus. Definitely, all these lessons will help countries prepare better for any potential pandemic that could take place again. Billionaire Bill Gates’ foundation warned about a major pandemic 15 years ago. No doubt it’s been a really difficult year, with so many sectors having been affected, especially our overseas Filipino workers. But deployment is starting to slowly pick up, according to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Several countries are also set to reopen their borders to foreign workers once their respective vaccine programs start to roll. The government has also put together a package of livelihood assistance programs for OFWs who have been displaced due to the pandemic, along with college scholarships provided for
We have been told that we should compromise to meet China’s demands, however unreasonable, because “China is a big country and other countries are small countries and that is just a fact.” We have been told that we have to meet China half way and that we cannot ignore Chinese demands because China is a superpower. The consolidating opposition against China among countries which respect the Rule of Law gives us renewed hope that China’s vision of “Might Makes Right” has not taken over our collective worldview. We respectfully call on our Philippine government: It is time to stand up for our rights, actively join our allies respecting the Rule of Law and firmly reject China’s exploitative vision of the world. (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.
*** Albert del Rosario is chair of ADR Institute. He is formerly secretary of foreign affairs and ambassador of the Philippines to the United States.
their children. In the meantime, Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez will be launching several virtual economic briefings to attract more companies that are relocating to Asia. Secretary Dominguez is confident that “the worst is over” and that the Philippines will be able to rebound strongly in 2021 given the “green shoots” that are coming up, among them our record-high gross international reserves that stood at $104 billion as of the end of October. The peso is also projected to strengthen even further in 2021 as the market “continues to focus on the Philippines’ strong macroeconomic fundamentals,” according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Ben Diokno. All of us will never forget 2020, but we are all certainly looking forward to 2021 – confident that we are “back on track for the health and wealth of our country.” *** 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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Dateline PhiliPPines
INDIGNATION RALLY. Members of the League of Parents of the Philippines and Liga Independencia Pilipinas hold a rally in Mendiola, Manila on Saturday, December 26, as they condemn the atrocities perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). The rally was held during the CPP’s 52nd founding anniversary. PNA photo by Joey O. Razon
Duterte will fail to destroy CPP-NPA – Joma by Darwin
Pesco ManilaTimes.net
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will continue to fail to destroy the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), its founding chairman Jose Maria Sison said on Saturday, December 26. In a message for the CPP’s 52nd founding anniversary, Sison said Duterte will continue to “drive more people to take the road of armed revolution.” “Now the Duterte regime is trying hard to surpass the state terrorism and brutality of the Marcos fascist dictatorship. He will continue to fail in his futile attempt to destroy the armed revolution,” he said in his message. In a message for the CPP’s 52nd founding anniversary, Sison said Duterte will continue to “drive more people to take the road of armed revolution.” “Now the Duterte regime is trying hard to surpass the state terrorism and brutality of the Marcos fascist dictatorship. He will continue to fail in his futile attempt to destroy the armed revolution,” he said in his message. He bared that the CPP-NPA continues to grow in strength, as they are developing guerilla fronts in every region to become revolutionary base areas.
“The time will surely come when NPA battalions and regiments will accomplish the strategic offensive on a nationwide scale,” the exiled CPP-NPA founder added. Sison said the CPP now has tens of thousands of members “and a mass following in the millions.” Also, he said the CPP recruits and develops a large number of new cadres and members through theoretical and political education and mass work, among others. He said Duterte “is going crazy” by using anti-communist witch hunts. “The regime is engaged in blind red-tagging, slander, extortion, arbitrary arrests, torture and murder,” he said. Sison maintained that the CPP-NPA is not a terrorist group as it adheres to international law on human rights and humanitarian conduct in the civil war and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Human Law. Moreover, he said that the CPP, NPA and National Democratic Front Philippines are willing to negotiate with the future administration. “They are willing to negotiate with a future regime that will reject state terrorism and seek peace negotiations,” he
said. On Friday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the CPP-NPA has no reason to celebrate its anniversary, as the members should be “ashamed of what it has done to the Filipino people.” According to Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay, the CPPNPA is already in crisis with the erosion of its mass base. The military said it managed to prevent the gathering of NPA members in Sultan Kudarat on Christmas Day. The troops from 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division conducted an operation to prevent the attempt of hundreds of CPPNPA members belonging to Far South Mindanao Region to commemorate their anniversary in the hinterlands of Mount Lumuton in Palimbang town, Sultan Kudarat. The military operation resulted in the death of three NPA members while other reported deaths were still being confirmed. Recovered were several highpowered firearms, improvised explosive devices, laptops, two generator sets, subversive documents and other war materials. Clearing operations were being conducted by troops in the area. n
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Kuya Lord pop-up series: Chef Maynard Llera ventures off to present Filipino food his way nal. Llera is one of those four artists. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Sebastian College, Llera felt his life had no direction, Prosy AbArquezcompared to his peers who DelAcruz, J.D. had already forged their own paths. He looked up to his parPART II in series on Loveents and their work ethic of Infused LA Fil-Am Small Busitraveling to each festival to nesses sell their wares, and realized In the Asian Journal’s that they grew their business previous Southern California from carrying winnowing basmidweek issue, I wrote about Max & Lucy’s ensaymadas, co- kets, called bilao, to a cariton (wagon on wheels), to owned by Don Sagarbarria eight storefronts and a resort. and Mike ZuĂąiga, which had exponential growth during the He knew from their examples that success is largely built on pandemic, entitled: “Lovehard work and diligence. But, Leavened Small Business.â€? he was not content on living Another business that fits off the fruits of their labor and the bill is Kuya Lord’s Pop-Up wanted to design his own way. series, established by Lord Llera’s passion project has Maynard Llera in 2020. features of technique, years of Tall, bearded, and with a patience to hone his skills, the ready smile, Llera grew up in humility of learning from his Lucena, Quezon, the resident colony of artisans in the Philip- mentors, accepting failures, yet steadfast in his belief that pines. Among those from the “mediocrity does not exist, region, I have come across and if it’s only good, it’s not four of them who are now enough. If you do it, do it all here in Los Angeles, pursuing the way, no half-builds.â€? their personal brands of artAndrew Marvell described istry in photography, composing music, pastel painting, and time as a mode of transport, “But at my back I always hear, culinary arts, whom I wrote features for the Asian JourContinued on Page 2 Inihaw na Apahap
Rhizomes
Kuya Lord plating Lucban longganisa
Photos courtesy of Maynard Llera
entertainment The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 30, 2020
Kuya Lord pop-up series: Chef Maynard... From Page 1 Time’s winged chariot hurrying near,” quoted by Mark Forsyth in “The Elements of Eloquence.” Time feels blurry this 2020, given the world’s statistics of 63,098,003 Coronavirus cases and 1,465,111 deaths in 191 countries/regions, with the U.S. leading with 13,500,315 cases and 267,635 deaths, tracked by Johns Hopkins’ dashboard. The latter is greater than American casualties of three wars: World War I, Vietnam, and the Korean wars. California has 1,222,303 new cases and 19,152 deaths, with outdoor dining and a night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., to reduce the surge of the pandemic. It is estimated that 1 in 145 will be infected in California. All we could do is wear a mask, stay socially distant, while dreams still come alive: a novel, a book, poetry, a gig, a CD, an app, and even a new business. Llera, former sous chef of Bestia, has a new role as owner/executive chef of Kuya Lord’s Pop-up Series. It is akin to Peter Kaminsky’s descriptor of Romy Dorotan’s cooking, “clean tasting, the mark of a chef who could assemble a panoply of tastes without confusing them in a saucy jumble.” Dorotan is my gold standard for a chef, who innovates by sourcing local fresh produce, preserving seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables into jams, pickles, and preserves; fresh abalone and seafood, heritage meats, and with a clear vision for the final dish. My recalled memories of his delicately engineered black seafood paella served in a clay pot, bibingka, and palabok make me wish this pandemic is over, so I can travel to Purple Yam in Brooklyn. Dorotan is often mentioned by NYTimes’ food critics who write about emerging chefs of Filipino descent. Love-infused details Almond wood for smoking imparts a sweet, nutty flavor. The raw green wood needs seasoning for two years, and after, gives a steady hot flame, with very little ash residue. A fit metaphor perhaps for Kuya Lord’s skills development, a strong hot flame moving about to working alongside the best chefs? Llera graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, then began a career at The Green Room, a Forbes 4-star French fine dining restaurant. He moved to Los Angeles and worked with Chef Neal Fraser of Grace and Redbird and then, as Bestia’s sous chef, where he worked for nearly four years with Ori Menashe, an Israeli chef. He credits Bestia’s Menashe for giving him incredible latitude to develop his skills. Llera recalls a valuable lesson learned when the kitchen crew burnt the truffle dish. The consequence: the entire dish was thrown away. From Menashe, he learned uncompromising excellence, one dish at a time. Bestia and Bavel, both owned by Menashe, continue to be at the top of the list of LA’s operating restaurants, now shifting with the times to curbside pickup and delivery. In 2017, as Culinary Director of The h.wood Group, Llera was instrumental in opening seven restaurants in ten months: Mason Chicago,
Pancit Chami
Phyllis Grae Grande (left) and Angelina Canapi
For the first time, PH short film makes it to Sundance By Marinel
Cruz
Inquirer.net
Kuya Lord’s LucenaChon, a Filipino version of porchetta
Mason Santa Monica, 40 Love, Slab, Alice Kitchen, Harriet’s, and Petite Taqueria. Llera conceptualized the menus, hired the crew, and developed a culture of teamwork, where each member cares for the other, as a family and with that, special regard for their future. As each crew member was trained, he allowed them to also introduce their menu offerings to gain ownership of the restaurant, as he gradually receded in presence, to open up another restaurant. In Voyage LA, he was quoted: “I oversaw all culinary consultations on food creations and development at The h.wood’s Group’s premier signature establishments – The NICE GUY and Delilah.” That success was not without consequences as he lost time to be with his young children. In 2016, he floated Cubiertos (silverware), a pop-up event in Unit #120 in Chinatown, oversold 60 slots to become 80 diners, served with a five-course meal for $68. Our favorites were dinuguan longanisa served with a light salad of scarlet frill, pickled fennel, frisee, mint, dill, and pine nuts. The dressing was made from red wine vinegar and fish sauce, a kitchen staple in Filipino and Thai homes, called patis. There was not a single pine nut left on our salad plate. It was midnight then, when Llera got to sit down with us, to discuss his vision: ”What I have done is cook what I like to eat; others recreate their childhood, their own food. For all of us, we do pop-ups to invite others to know about us, to test the waters, for publicity, and also, to invite investors to help in getting my dream of opening up my own restaurant: casual, relaxing, where family, friends are enjoying the food, not too stiff, where everyone is enjoying food, drinks, and company.” In May of this year, he acquired a commercial kitchen, with fully screened doors, and started cooking family packages. Married to Gigi Llera, she became his sous chef and handler of the food packages. Petite, with a ready smile, she is efficient in handling curbside packages. Lord credits his wife’s trained palate in developing new entrees, like goto, a Batangas delicacy of tripe, beef, and a tasty soup of noodles. Kuya Lord’s value packages are shareable: grilled barramundi fish, lechon kawali, and gem salad. The fish was grilled to perfection over almond wood, clean, flavorful, infused with tomatoes and herbs, and plated over banana leaf, a half-grilled lemon, with pick-
Photos courtesy of Meynard Llera
led vegetables. It was paired with lechon kawali, not greasy, crunchy skin, with a tender meaty texture. It was sourced fresh, as the meat was odorless. I ended eating up a few even before being served. I love the gem salad, that I could not get enough of, with an herb dressing that eludes me for duplication. He paired it with his own creation of kesong puti, made from sheep’s milk, cane vinegar, salt, and lemon juice, a recipe in the Philippines, and topped it with anchovies. Without revealing his aged cheese recipe, just order it with fresh salads. He works 17 hour-long working days with his family in mind — staying motivated to provide for a roof over their heads and for their upkeep. He is already mentoring his daughter, Guiliana, to enjoy her high brow palate by shaving truffles onto her Sunday’s scrambled eggs. And it is families that rave about his value offerings: “That barramundi is d’bomb (perfect match with that chili oil). And I don’t even like fish but I can make an exception for this.” “I have to tell you – the pork belly was AMAZING. I can’t stop thinking about it. It was supposed to be the appetizer but it was the star of the show. Now I just need to figure out another excuse for ordering more food from you.” “It was a hit, with so many people in my nuclear and extended family that doesn’t like pancit mostly the kids and the adult kids. Your pancit was [a] super success.” “I just wanted to let you know your food is delicious. My Pinoy mom was hesitant about the pancit because her sister always used to make it and she didn’t really like it, but my mom said your pancit is the best she ever had! Thank you for making such amazing food and looking forward to doing another order in the future.” Llera grew his culinary passion to include not just his wife and since October, Chef David Timoteo, executive chef at Netflix/LA Live Commissary by Wolfgang Puck Catering, has collaborated with Llera on chicken inasal, as part of his value offerings. I still, remember how Llera served Pandan Panna Cotta with mango puree with peanut-coconut snap, lovingly topped with a spoon, wrapped in green leaf, over a cup of dessert. It was a lovely way of presenting his dessert, mimicking a gift, and presumably his message, ”from the heart of my home to yours.” As we continue to see food businesses like Llera’s grow, I am reminded of this quote: “To cook for oneself is always boring in the end; to cook for others, or better still for one other, is certainly an act of faith and love. Believe me, there is no cuisine without love,” M. Oliver, La Cuisine, 1969. *** Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 12 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.
I JUST tried my luck and filled out their online application form,” said filmmaker Sonny Calvento on how his 15-minuter “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss” got included in the Short Film Program of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, United States. Starring Phyllis Grae Grande and Angelina Canapi, the film is a social satire about the plight of contractual workers in the Philippines. It debuted in the 2019 QCinema International Film Festival (winner of the Audience Choice Award) and also competed in the 2020 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. “What really gave me hope was the idea that Sundance requires a ‘premiere status’ in order to be considered in their short film program,” said Calvento when Inquirer Entertainment asked him to recall how his film got into the prestigious festival. “But at the same time, this was also why the competition to get into the festival is way more stiff. You will be fighting it out with other short films that have bigger production value and also premiered in other reputable festivals.” According to the Sundance digital archives, “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss” is the first Filipino short film to ever make it to the festival. “When they first sent an email a month ago, I couldn’t open it because I was having trouble with my internet connection. I could only read the subject headline that it’s an email from Sundance,” said Calvento, recalling the time he first learned of the good news. “I thought it was a rejec-
Scene from “Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss”1
tion letter from them. I was ready to put it directly in the trash bin, but then moments later, I realized that five other members from their team were CCed on the email. I asked myself, ‘Why would they inform five other staff that my film is rejected?’ My heart began to pound. I had to rush outside our house to look for a good LTE signal,” the director recalled. “I started cursing repeatedly when I read that it was actually a congratulatory letter from them,” he said. “I’m still in disbelief until now. Madami akong tulala moments! I know that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime feat and it might not happen again so I’m cherishing this moment.” Calvento pointed out that amid the pandemic, there’s one great reason for him to be happy. “This has brought a different kind of happiness for me. I’m also delighted because this recognition is a clear validation of my real voice as a filmmaker,” he declared. Calvento said that while his plan as a film director was
really “to delve into social realism,” he wanted to focus more on “the absurdities of Filipino living, for the meantime. I want to tackle funny but tragic moments in the lives of Filipinos.” The 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which will run from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, is organized by the Sundance Institute and is the largest indie filmfest in the United States. Calvento said he expected to learn a lot from his experience. In fact, only last Wednesday, Sundance organizers already asked him to preview some of the short films from our program since he would be participating in one of their online forums this week. “I’m excited to learn more about emerging filmmakers from other countries and how they tell their stories,” he added. “I am also interested to learn their impression on Philippine cinema. And also, I hope to meet people, especially producers and content developers, who would be interested to develop similar stories with me.”
Noranians need not worry as Superstar returns to TV by Christina
alpad ManilaTimes.net
IT was in February when fans of “Superstar” Nora Aunor excitedly followed their idol’s TV comeback via the afternoon prime show, “Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit.” An adaptation of her 1989 award-winning film of the same title, viewers got to see La Aunor — as she is called in the business — working with equally talented actresses, Mylene Dizon and Kyline Alcantara. Together, the trio plays Cedes, Nolie, and Maggie — three generations of women who will take on a quest to pursue their dreams and to avenge the indignities they suffered from those who have wronged them. Unfortunately, the show had to take a hiatus as the country battles the coronavirus (Covid19) pandemic. The good news is that, on the last month of the year, Aunor and the rest of cast — Zoren Legaspi, Gabby Eigenmann, Ina Feleo, Yasser Marta, Divina Valencia, Candy Pangilinan and Isabel Rivas — finally returned to their timeslot. Directed by Laurice Guillen, “Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit.” is currently airing recap episodes from February to refresh viewers of the story. But come January 2021, all new episodes are set, as the cast early on shot the rest of the show in the new normal way — in locked-in taping arrangement. As the series airs anew, the cast members shared how they feel about working in the new normal through a Zoom media conference. “Masaya talaga kasi itong grupo na ito, pwera showbiz. Sinuwerte kami sa sa isa’t isa, kaya excited kami to reunite and matrabaho agad,” Feleo offered. Dizon, meanwhile, shared
Nora Aunor
what she appreciates most about working in the new normal, “Magkakasama kaming lahat sa set, araw-araw kaming nagta-trabaho so it’s easier to stay in character. ‘Yung timeframe rin, mas mabilis naming natatapos ‘yung work. Nagkakaroon talaga ng tunay na bonding ang lahat ng tao sa set.” “Challenging po dahil isang bagsakan binigay sa amin ‘yung script pero masaya rin po dahil mas naging close ang lahat sa set. Masarap sa pakiramdam dahil suportado po namin at inaangat ang isa’t isa,” Alcantara added. But perhaps one of the biggest concerns of the fans upon the return of the show is the well-being of Aunor. At 67 years old, Aunor is among the many senior citizens who are asked to take extra caution as they are more susceptible to Covid-19. To this concern, program
GMA photo
manager Anthony Pastorfide admitted, “Yes we had worries for Ate Guy before starting the locked-in but game na game din si Ate Guy.” Pastorfide assured that they had taken all the necessary measures, including swab testing the entire team for everyone’s safety. And especially for Aunor, they sought her doctors’ approval first to make sure she is physically fit to return for work. “But still, sa set, kailangan bantayan pa rin si Ate Guy and be extra careful kasi di ba senior citizens ang pinaka prone sa infections sa Covid so we needed to make sure that everybody observes all the health protocols,” Pastorfide finally shared. So to all of the show’s followers as well as the Noranians, no need to worry as the team successfully wrapped up their shoot for the entire show without a glitch, and with Aunor still in the pink of health.
Staying at ABS-CBN not a tough choice for Regine and Ogie By Jan
Milo Severo Philstar.com
KAPAMILYA singer Regine Velasquez and her crooner husband Ogie Alcasid chose to remain at ABS-CBN even after the network lost its broadcast franchise. Speaking with ABS-CBN entertainment reporter MJ Felipe at the backstage of the network’s Christmas special, the “Asia’s Songbird” said they have no place to go. “Oo. Hahaha! Saan ba kami pupunta? May pupuntahan ba kaming iba?” Regine said. Regine also found this year’s Christmas special as a standout affairs compared to other specials the network staged in the past. “That is so special, siyempre, nandoon lahat ng artista, ang daming tao, special na Regine Velasquez with husband Ogie Alcasid special talaga iyon. Plus, you know, iyong mga ganito kasof the numbers are tagos na ing gatherings, dito mo lang tagos sa puso, so ayun special din nakikita iyong ibang artista pa rin,” she added. na hindi mo madalas nakikita, Ogie echoed his wife’s nakakasalamuha, so you get sentiment. to talk to them lalo na kapag “Hindi ko sinasabing mas may rehearsal,” she said. okay ito kaysa sa malalak“But this year, parang for ing concert, it’s just that I me, it’s more intimate. A lot guess, it’s also the year that
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Jodi pens sweet birthday message for son Thirdy by Cody
Cepeda Inquirer.net
JODI Sta. Maria penned a sweet birthday message for her son Thirdy, now 15 years old. The saying time goes fast when you’re a parent rang true for Sta. Maria, when she said it seemed just recently when she first held Thirdy. “[Fifteen] years na pala mula nung una kong nahawakan ka (It’s been 15 years since I first held you),” Sta. Maria wrote on Instagram, Dec. 23. “You brought so much joy anak hindi lang sa buhay ko pero sa buhay naming nagmamahal sayo (You brought so much joy not just in my life, but in the lives of those who love you).” As per the actress, watching Photo from Instagram/@reginevalcasid Thirdy grow has been delightful and a bit scary. Nevertheless, she has been. Itong taong ito ay cannot help but feel excited to kakaiba not only because of the pandemic, but because watch Thirdy achieve his dreams of what we all went through,” Ogie said. Regine joined ABS-CBN in October 2018 in a muchpublicized transfer from rival GMA Network.
Glaiza engaged to Irish boyfriend
Jodi Sta. Maria and son Thirdy pose in front of a street art during a trip in Portugal. Photo from Instagram/@jodistamaria
and conquer life’s mountains. “I know struggles and tears are inevitable… but my prayer is that you will grow into the person you were meant to be,” she said. “Maligayang Kaarawan, Muy! Mahal na mahal ka namin. Hindi
ako titigil sa pasasalamat sa Diyos dahil ibinigay ka Niya sa akin (Happy birthday, Muy! We love you so much. I will never stop thanking the Lord for he gave you to me),” she added. Thirdy is Sta. Maria’s son with ex-husband Panfilo Lacson Jr.
Angeline misses ‘Mama Bob’ on first Christmas without her by Cody
Cepeda Inquirer.net
CHRISTMAS was different for singer-actress Angeline Quinto Philstar.com this year, as it is the first time she KAPUSO actress Glaiza de Castro is celebrated it without her adopnow engaged to Irish boyfriend David tive mother she fondly refers to as Mama Bob. Rainey. Quinto remembered Mama In her Instagram account, Glaiza posted photos of her with David show- Bob, whose real name is Sylvia Quinto, on Christmas Day, showing her engagement ring. “Who would’ve thought I’d say yes ing a photo of the two of them on Instagram during better days. in freezing cold weather… it just felt “Ito ang unang pasko na wala right,” Glaiza captioned the post. Celebrities such as Solenn Heusaff, ka Ma. Ibang iba ang pakiramdam pero sa 30 years ng buhay ko na Jasmin Curtis, Angelica Panganiban, kasama kita walang patlang ang Marian Rivera, Maxene Magalona, Alessandra de Rossi, Sarah Lahbati, to pag mamahal na pinaramdam mo sa akin,” said Quinto. name a few congratulated Glaiza on (This is my first Christmas withher engagement. out you, Ma. It feels so different, Glaiza previously admitted that but in the 30 years I’ve spent with she’s experiencing challenges in you, you have shown me nothing keeping a long-distance relationship with David. They reunited last Septem- but constant love.) Quinto also said there is ber to celebrate their anniversary as a nothing more she would thank couple. Glaiza and David have been dating the Lord for other than allowing Photo from Instagram/@glaizaredux for two years. her and Mama Bob to cross paths By Jan
Glaiza de Castro
entertainment
Milo Severo
Angeline Quinto with her adoptive mother, fondly called Mama Bob. Photo from Instagram/@loveangelinequinto
when she was just a baby. “Ikaw ang buhay at mundo ko Mama Bob,” said Quinto. “Maligayang Pasko Ma dyan sa langit.” (You are my life and world, Mama Bob. Merry Christmas in heaven.) In the end, the singer urged her friends, colleagues and relatives to hug their mothers tight. “Lagi niyong ipaalala sa kanila na mahal na mahal niyo sila,” she said. (Always remind them how
much you love them.) Quinto confirmed the death of her mother on Nov. 7 following months of hospitalization. Mama Bob underwent surgery back in July 2019 involving her heart’s pacemaker. In September, Quinto asked for prayers for Mama Bob. Although she did not disclose her mom’s ailment then, Quinto said she was going through the greatest challenge of her life.
California court’s power to community make divorce orders when one Of charmed lives spouse does not live in state
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Immigrant Living: 101 and Beyond Monette AdevA MAglAyA
ARE you going through a “winter of discontent” and wondering quietly if you could trade your life for someone else’s? If you are, don’t flog yourself silly. You don’t even have to admit it to anyone else but yourself. It’s nothing more than a normal rite of passage that allows us to imagine what it would be like if we had someone else’s luck, genetic make-up, breaks, talent, connections, relations, education, intelligence, looks, skin color, pedigree and other x factors that are supposed to tip the scale in our favor and make us happy and fulfilled. In short, they refer to those things that we think will allow us to live a charmed life and drive our fellow men mad with envy. The discontent hits you when you’re feeling most vulnerable: when there’s not enough cash to tide you over until the next pay period; your job stinks; you’re going through an extended rough patch with your wife or husband or lover; your car needs an overhaul; your kid hit a schoolmate and you need to see the principal; your sister in the home country, needs you to remit moolah fast, and lots of it, because your younger brother got into trouble and needs bail money. Everything sucks. Well, you get the picture of a gothic novel nobody wants to read. You want to scuttle everything and trade up to a charmed life. But would you, if you knew the real score behind those deceptively airbrushed images of the charmed lives we see on TV and the rags we read? We are sitting ducks open to negative suggestions we receive non-stop. We end up unhappy and dissatisfied with who we are, what we have and our place in the universe. We’re too fat, too short, too poor, too old. We don’t make
EMPLOYMENT
“Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.” — William Shakespeare “Richard III” enough. We drive clunkers. Our clothes are passé. Our nose bridge needs a lift; the chest is too flat; hair is too thin; skin is too sallow; our eyes need to be lasered; our teeth need whitening; our ears stick out; our behinds, too saggy. Picture the word REJECT stamped on our pathetic, little foreheads if we were in a conveyor belt in an assembly line, as we head directly to the recycling bin unless we undergo a drastic make-over that will cost us plenty. We look and read about the airbrushed lives of celebrities on the red carpet. We see them parading and preening in their Pradas, Jimmy Choos, or Blahnik shoes, sheathed in thousand dollar Versace and Vera Wang gowns with décolletage showcasing ample natural or shored up cleavages, their gravity-defying faces tight with botox or nipped and tucked by a surgeon’s scalpel and dripping in Harry Winston gems, escorted by equally gorgeous hunks dressed to the nines in their Armanis, as media people buzz around them like flies around honey. And we’re hoodwinked to the vision of charmed lives. Imagine that God sees how unhappy you are, takes pity on you and he gives you access to His Celestial PowerBook, with a database cataloging the lives of the past, present and future of the seven billion or so people that inhabit the world. He permits you to type in the name of the person you would like to exchange your life with. You discover surprising twists and turns of character and fate. You discover dirt that has been airbrushed or little dark secrets edited out or given a
new spin. You discover untold pain and suffering, the great equalizers, etched in every life. That gorgeous, woman hiding behind a ready smile has a young daughter with cystic fibrosis and is going through a bitter divorce with a philandering husband. The good-looking guy you thought was to die for is a closet pedophile cum sadomasochist. The distinguished couple you met who lacks for nothing, has a son languishing in jail. That tall, reed-thin Victoria’s Secret lingerie model suffers from bulimia. That hottie celebrity is a wife beater and is in rehab for serious addictions. You go through the entire universal data base frustrated and somewhat relieved to find out that your own life with all its warts, is just as bad or just as good as those of others and there’s no one you’d like to trade your life with, thank you very much. In most cases, the life we have is the life we would choose all over again. We just need to realize that there’s always more to a story and an image than meets the eye. Packaging can be mere illusion. What you see is not necessarily what you get, ergo, the need to dig deep. We are all programmed to go through great lengths to put up a deceptive front to hide the truth — either goaded by ego or the instinct for selfpreservation. A self-respecting gardener winterizes the grass and preps it for the cold, dark days of winter to give it a fighting chance to survive and thrive in the spring and summer. We ought do the same thing and winterize the garden of our soul to keep it young and
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THIS is a common question among people contemplating divorce in California when the other spouse does not live in the state. The California Courts has the power to grant a divorce, annulment, or legal separation if either party is domiciled in the state. Domicile is where a person lives and intends to remain. However, there is an additional requirement if you are seeking a divorce rather than annulment or legal separation. To obtain a divorce in California, one of the parties must have been a resident of California for six months immediately before the filing of the divorce petition. Responding spouses can use this requirement as a defense if the Petitioning spouse does not meet such requirement when the petitioner filed for divorce. In addition, divorce petitions may be filed in the county where at least one spouse resided for 3 months immediately prior to filing the petition. Now apart from getting a divorce, legal separation, or annulled status, there may be issues relating to distributing community and
separate properties between the spouses and awarding support payments. In order for the California Courts to have the power to make orders, the California Courts must have personal jurisdiction over the respondent. Personal jurisdiction means the respondent has minimum contacts with California even if not physically here. Some of the factors looked at is respondents presence in the state, domicile, residence, citizenship, consent, appearance in the action, doing business in the state, doing an act that causes an effect in the state, ownership in the state, other relationship to the state. If the respondent does not have minimum contact with California, respondent may challenge any orders relating to distribution of property and support based on the court’s lack of jurisdiction. With regards to initial child custody issues, these issues are resolved under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. California Courts have the power to make initial custody orders if it is the child’s home state at the time the action was filed. California may also assume power to make custody orders if California has been the child’s home state within six months before the action was filed, the child is absent form California, and a parent continues to live in California. California may
also exercise jurisdiction when no other state is the child’s home state or when all court’s having jurisdiction over the child has declined to act and deferred to California as the more appropriate place to make custody orders. California may also exercise jurisdiction if no other state would have jurisdiction over the child.
hopeful. I wish I could say it’s easy. But like anything that is worthwhile, it takes time, patience, work, persistence and gumption. But we could start with something basic. Upon waking up each day, we can psyche ourselves up with an unfailing weapon of choice — PRAYER. Personalized and heartfelt, it is our instant connection with the God of our being. These can merely be secular, positive affirmations of our own worth and place in this life or it can be the simple act of prayerful
acceptance and thanksgiving for all that was, is and yet to come. Chances are, you’re already living one heck of a charmed life and you don’t even know it. A final note regarding this year: Here’s saying goodbye to this pandemic, a real manmade virus that caused the death of many, but milked for what it’s worth for political control over mankind via lockdowns. Yes, the evil ones are always quick to never let a crisis go to waste.
May all who had a hand in this scourge get their cosmicsized comeuppance in warp speed! HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY 2021!!! Spring isn’t far behind. ***
Barrister’s Corner Atty. Kenneth UrsUA reyes
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*** Please note that this ar ticle is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APLC. This article is not a solicitation. *** Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. L AW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@ kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com (Advertising Supplement)
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.
*** Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. To send comments, e-mail monette.maglaya@ asianjournalinc.com
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The Asian Jour nal MDWK MAGAZINE - December 30, 2020
LA County library offers new park and connect service Free outdoor Wi-Fi in parking lots at participating libraries
Be wary of impostors offering COVID-19 relief The utility warns customers of a potential new scam, which involves impostors using postcards with unauthorized use of SCE and CPUC logos to promote a COVID-19 relief program. SOUTHERN California Edison is warning customers of a potential new scam, which involves impostors passing out postcards with unauthorized use of SCE and CPUC logos about a so-called COVID-19 relief program. The postcard tries to bait customers into setting up an in-person meeting with a “representative” to discuss their eligibility for six months of relief on their SCE bills. At this meeting, the impostor takes down the customer’s information, going through a year of utility statements before asking for a copy of their credit report. “It’s just unfortunate that these imposters are continuing to take advantage of our customers during these times of uncertainty, especially those who are particularly vulnerable,” said Jill Anderson, SCE’s senior vice president of Customer Service. “We want to remind customers that SCE implemented several customer protections at the start of the pandemic, including suspending disconnections for residential and small businesses, and providing financial and other assistance programs, to help them manage their bills.” Scammers are also spoofing SCE’s media hotline number (626-302-2255) and threatening customers with disconnection. Customers who receive calls or voicemails from this number should not redial or call any numbers
left in the voicemails. Instead, they should dial the number listed on their SCE bill or SCE’s customer service center at 1-800-655-4555. To learn more about SCE’s current COVID-19 customer protections, customers should visit sce.com/covid19. For those who are suspicious about a potential scam, including any COVID-19-related postcards, emails or calls from people claiming to be with SCE, they should always call the number listed on their SCE bills, SCE’s customer service center at 1-800-655-4555 or visit sce.com/scamalert. To avoid becoming a victim of a scam, customers should know that: • SCE does not have a “disconnection department” and has temporarily suspended disconnections due to nonpayment. • SCE will never ask for your credit card information, account information or credit report in person, through text or email or over the phone. • SCE employees will not demand to collect, or accept, payment in the field. • SCE does not accept prepaid cash cards or bitcoins for bill payments. • SCE is currently not sending representatives out for in-home assessments or inspections. • SCE does not sell energy-related home improvement products. • SCE will never ask for electric usage or meter information in person, through
text or email or over the phone. • SCE will not call you outside the hours of 9 a.m.9 p.m., except to provide customer-requested outage updates. (Dennis Luu/Southern California Edition)
THROUgH funding provided from the Coronavirus Relief Fund Spending Plan, LA County Library is excited to announce a new service, Park & Connect: free outdoor Wi-Fi in the parking lots of participating libraries. This pandemic has widened the digital divide across Los Angeles County with constituents left without reliable internet service that is essential to navigate essential services virtually. With libraries closed, those who would be able to use a computer or connect through Wi-Fi are left without the resources needed to do schoolwork, apply for a job, or simply connect with friends and family. Park & Connect will allow LA County residents who lack reliable internet service at home to benefit from outdoor LA County Library Wi-Fi hotspots. For those who need internet access for work, schooling, health-related information, or to complete
essential tasks such as ordering groceries and household supplies, free Wi-Fi coverage has been extended to the entirety of participating parking lots. The Library’s Park & Connect program allows anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled device to get connected with ease. Just park in a designated parking spot and use your device within your car. If you do not have a car, you may sit within 25 feet of the library to use the Wi-Fi network. Masks and social distancing of at least 6 feet are required if you are sitting outside. Accessing the network is simple. Using a laptop or mobile device, choose the network CountyLibraryWiFi, accept the terms of agreement, and then close and reopen your browser. A library card is not required to access the network. LA County Library is currently operating 79 Sidewalk Service locations that are
open and offering curbside pick-up for customers. Customers 18+ can also check out a laptop and hotspot kit for use at home for 3 weeks—just like a book— with the opportunity to renew up to 3 times if there are no holds. “We are adjusting our business model to ensure that we provide service to our customers during these trying times,” said Library Director, Skye Patrick. “Our doors may be closed due to the pandemic, but LA County Library is ensuring that its customers have the necessary tools to stay connected—whether it be for school, work, or enjoyment.” There are currently 32 sites offering free Wi-Fi in the parking lot, with additional sites being added on in 2021. For a list of participating locations and more information about Park & Connect, visit LACountyLibrary.org/WiFi.
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