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DECEMBER 13-19, 2024 Serving San Diego Since 1987 • 12 Pages
T h e F i l i p i n o –A m e r i c a n C o m m u n i t y N e w s pa p e r
Also published in LOS ANGELES • ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE • NORTHERN CALIFORNIA • NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY • LAS VEGAS
DATELINE USA FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
First Fil-Am elected to LA City Council sworn into office Ysabel Jurado represents Los Angeles City Council’s District 14 LOS ANGELES – Filipino American progressive lawyer Ysabel Jurado, who has been elected to represent Los Angeles City Council’s District 14, was sworn into office Monday, December 9 as one of the two newest Council members. Jurado last month overcame incumbent Kevin de León to represent the 14th District, making history as the first Fil-Am to be elected to the City Council. The district encompasses downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno and Northeast Los Angeles. Jurado won with 57.17 percent of the vote. Adrin Nazarian, who represents District 2, was also sworn into office. The City Clerk administered the oaths, followed by
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Marcos rules out warship deployment in West PH Sea by Alden M. Monzon Inquirer.net
MANILA — President Marcos on Tuesday, December 10, ruled out the deployment of Philippine Navy warships in the West Philippine
Sea (WPS) despite the continuing harassment of Filipino vessels by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and lately the reported involvement of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Navy. But Marcos said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
by Luisa Cabato Inquirer.net
MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to start programs that will make working overseas an option rather than a necessity. Speaking at the 2024 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas (PAFIOO) in Malacañang, Marcos acknowledged that millions of Filipinos are migrating internationally for better work opportunities. “Our dream is to, one day, make overseas work a choice rather than a necessity,” the president said. “We continue to implement reforms in governance and economic development to provide our people with opportunities here at home,” he added. Marcos then mentioned current government initiatives that safeguard the rights of overseas Filipino workers and their families, such
No Filipino affected by 7.0 quake in California, says PH consulate
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LANTERN MAKING. Christian Baynado installs LED lights on a capiz lantern at his stall in Quiapo, Manila on Tuesday, December 10. Each capiz lantern sells from PHP500 to PHP7,000, depending on the design. PNA photo by Yancy Lim
Philstar.com
MANILA — The World Bank has downscaled its economic growth forecast for the Philippines this year following the slower-than-expected gross domestic product growth in the third quarter, but expects the economy to post faster economic growth next year. In its latest Philippine Economic Update, the World Bank said it revised downward the growth forecast for the country to 5.9 percent this year from the earlier forecast of six percent. Gonzalo Varela, World Bank lead economist and program leader of
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NBI admits to start from scratch on Pope Francis elevates probing threat vs VP Sara Duterte Bishop David as 10th Filipino cardinal by Tetch Torres-Tupas Inquirer.net
MANILA — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago has admitted that they will be starting from scratch when it comes to investigating the threat to the life of Vice President Sara Duterte. Santiago made the statement to reporters after only the vice president’s lawyer appeared during the rescheduled probe into death threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza
Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez as well as the death threat to Duterte. “We are mandated to step in and investigate the threats to them, president down to the chief justice. But she did not specify who, what is the threat, and she doesn’t have a proof,” Santiago said. In the letter sent to the NBI by Duterte’s lawyers, they said they are hoping that the agency would investigate the matter with the “same attention and vigor.”
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Bicam approves P6.352 World Bank trims 2024 Philippines GDP target to 5.9% trillion budget for 2025 by Louella Desiderio
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Marcos vows to make overseas work a choice, not a necessity
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SAN FRANCISCO – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco has not received reports of Filipinos and Filipino Americans affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Northern California Thursday, December 5. Consul General Neil Ferrer told Inquirer.net USA the consulate continues to monitor the situation and “stands ready to provide any necessary assistance.” A powerful earthquake shook parts of California on Thursday, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a tsunami warning for the U.S. West Coast. The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale, a small city in coastal Humboldt County near the Oregon border, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Consul General Ferrer said most local residents, including Consulate personnel, received an emergency alert on their
Resources (BFAR) would continue to conduct routine resupply missions for Filipino fishermen in the disputed waters. “If we look at the evolution of the situation in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines has never
the equitable growth, finance, and institutions practice group for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, said in a press briefing on December 10 that the revised forecast reflects the impact of adverse weather events that led to lower than expected growth in the third quarter of 2024. The Philippine economy grew by 5.2 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 6.4 percent growth in the previous quarter and six percent expansion in the third quarter in 2023. The World Bank’s new growth forecast for the Philippines for 2024 is below the government’s revised six to 6.5 percent growth target for this year.
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by Jean Mangaluz Philstar.com
MANILA — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate have amended, approved and ratified the 2025 budget, which amounts to P6.352 trillion. Budget panels from the Senate and the House met in Manila Hotel on Wednesday, December 11 for the final Bicameral Conference. Sen. Grace Poe, the Senate’s budget sponsor, said that the first bicameral conference committee saw many differences, with reconciliation seemingly impossible at times. “Hindi lamang natin napanatili, kundi napataas ang pondo ng ilang mahahalagang ahensya kumpara sa nakaraang taon. This increase reflects our unwavering
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MANILA — In a historic ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis elevated Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Kalookan to cardinal, making him the 10th Filipino to receive the prestigious and powerful rank within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The ceremony took place during a consistory on Saturday, December 7 at the Vatican, where David joined 20 other new cardinals from six continents. A consistory is an assembly of cardinals presided over by the pope, specifically for the solemn promulgation of papal acts. At the ceremony, David and 20 other fellow cardinals recited the Creed and took oaths of fidelity and obedience to the Pope and his successors. Papal message In his address to new cardinals, Pope Francis stressed the importance of humility and unity. “Walk in the way of Jesus: together, with humility, wonder and joy,” the pontiff said, cautioning against the temptations of worldly prestige and power. The newly created 21 new cardinals from five continents, including bishops from Algiers, Tehran, Tokyo and Abidjan, many of whom may one day help choose his successor. In the tenth such consistory since he became pope in 2013, Francis, 87, is seeking again to shape the upper echelons of the Catholic Church in his image, and consolidate his legacy as the leader of a more inclusive and global institution. Previous posts Cardinal David’s ecclesiastical career spans four decades, beginning with his ordination as a priest in the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga in 1983.
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