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FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6, 2025
Volume 19 - No.9 • 16 Pages
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PH consulate hosts immigration briefing amid mass deportations
The second part of the hybrid seminar is scheduled for March 13
LOS ANGELES – As the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement across the U.S., the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles recently hosted the first of two scheduled immigration briefings to support Filipino migrants.
The first installment of the two-part hybrid seminar titled, “Briefing on Immigration Developments for Filipinos in the U.S.,” featured Filipino American legal experts, who addressed community concerns following what has been described as the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
Deputy Consul General and Acting Head of Post Maria Alnee A. Gamble, who opened the Feb. 18 seminar, highlighted the importance of knowing one’s rights and legal options amid the changing immigration landscape.
Fil-Am immigration law experts discussed
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US exempts $336 million PH aid from freeze
MANILA — The United States has exempted a “portion” of its military assistance to the Philippines from its foreign aid freeze, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday, February 24. The DFA did not disclose the exact amount the U.S. exempted.
“Both countries are committed to the treaty alliance and to efforts to further strengthen our defense cooperation and interoperability,” DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said in a statement.
“We will continue to engage the U.S. government on the importance of our bilateral work in supporting our shared goals and priorities,” she added.
A Reuters report cited a list of
Bicutan in Parañaque City, is unlikely to be finished within the Marcos administration in June 2028 because of budget constraints and right-of-way issues.
Amid revamp rumors, Marcos evaluating Cabinet
Philippines, Japan boost security ties amid rise of China
MANILA — Amid rumors of an impending revamp, President Marcos is “evaluating” all Cabinet officials to determine whether they are “doing well” for the government and the people, Malacañang said on Tuesday, February 25.
Palace press officer Claire Castro made the announcement at a press briefing when
asked to comment on the reported reorganization in some agencies, including the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Presidential Security Command (PSC).
Aside from the resignations of transportation secretary Jaime Bautista and communications secretary Cesar Chavez, there were no changes in leadership in other agencies as of on Tuesday,
MANILA — The Philippines and Japan have agreed to establish a high-level dialogue to expand defense exports from Tokyo and start talks on protecting shared military information amid their common concerns over China’s increasing maritime aggression in the region.
Defense Secretary Gilberto
Teodoro Jr. and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met in Manila on Monday, February 24 for their first bilateral defense meeting.
Nakatani, who took office in October, is in his second tenure as defense minister after last serving in 2015.
Part of the discussions included the security situation in the East and South China seas, where both the Philippines
exemptions it reviewed and the $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counter-narcotics programs exempted from U.S. President Donald Trump’s order for a 90-day pause on foreign aid.
Security exemptions included $870 million for programs in Taiwan, $336 million for modernizing Philippine
Malacañang: ‘Awkward’ for Marcos to call for session on Duterte impeachment
MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday, February 25 said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes it is more appropriate to wait for the Senate to request a special session on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte before calling one himself.
This was Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro’s answer when asked if Marcos could compel the conduct of a special Senate session even without a request from the chamber.
“The way we see it, it would be an awkward position on the part of the president to voluntarily call for a special session, u PAGE 7
Philippines prays for Francis’ health
by
MANILA — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is seeking continuous prayers for the 88-year-old Pope Francis, whose health continues to be “critical.”
In its official Facebook page, the CBCP posted a one-line request: “Let us continue to pray for Pope Francis.”
It attached a health update released by the Holy See Press Office which said, “The condition of the Holy Father continues to be critical. Therefore, as explained on Sunday, February 23, the pope is not out of danger.”
Also published in LOS ANGELES, ORANGE COUNTY/INLAND EMPIRE, LAS VEGAS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
UNCERTAIN. Buildings dwarf the Metro Manila Subway Project construction site at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue in Quezon City, as photographed on Tuesday, February 25. The Department of Transportation said the first underground rail in the Philippines, which will stretch 33 kilometers from Valenzuela City to
PNA photo by Joan Bondoc
by Zacarian Sarao Inquirer.net
by FranceS MangoSing Inquirer.net
by Pia Lee-Brago Philstar.com
by HeLen FLoreS Philstar.com
Dianne Sampang Inquirer.net
US exempts $336 million PH aid
PAGE 1
security forces and more than $21.5 million for body armor and armored vehicles for Ukraine’s national police and border guards.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. expressed optimism that the defense agreements between the Philippines and the U.S. would not change even as the U.S. State Department ordered an immediate stop to almost all U.S. foreign assistance pending a review.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. remains focused on maintaining a strategic advantage over China and on keeping the world free, after speaking to leaders of the Philippines, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
He said the focus is also on the IndoPacific region, citing phone calls and meetings he had with leaders of the four countries.
Hegseth reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines during a call with Teodoro on Feb. 5.
The defense chiefs held an introductory call to discuss defense cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines. They discussed the importance of reestablishing deterrence in the South China Sea, including by working with allies and partners and enhancing the
capability and capacity of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The U.S. security commitment to the Philippines was reaffirmed by Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Paparo in his speech at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle for Manila at the Manila American Cemetery last Saturday, February 22.
“Our nations have stood together for decades, confronting common challenges and advancing shared interests in the Indo-Pacific region,” Paparo said.
“The liberation of Manila was a triumph for universal values of human dignity, selfdetermination, and the human spirit. As we honor the memory of those who gave their lives, let us rededicate ourselves to the cause of freedom and our enduring partnership,” he said. “May the sacrifices of our forebears inspire us to stand firm in the face of challenges, and may our bonds of friendship and cooperation grow stronger in the years to come.”
During his Philippine visit from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22, Paparo met with President Marcos, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Secretary Teodoro, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns Andres Centino
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Philippines, Japan boost security...
PAGE 1
and Japan have territorial disputes with China.
China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, and its coast guard ships have acted aggressively against Philippine vessels near disputed shoals and atolls that fall inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
third phase of its military modernization program, where it seeks to build up its military in the next decade with more equipment, including missiles, fighter jets, and frigates.
States and the quadrilateral grouping with the U.S. and Australia, collectively known as the “Squad.”
Japan and China have also repeatedly faced off around uninhabited Japaneseadministered islands that Tokyo calls the Senkaku and Beijing calls the Diaoyu.
At the start of the talks, Teodoro said he looked forward to a resilient partnership with Japan to guard against “unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative.”
Nakatani, for his part, said the regional security environment has become “increasingly severe,” calling on both countries as strategic partners to further boost defense cooperation.
Strategic talks
The two officials agreed to start discussions between senior officials and defense industry representatives to further enhance cooperation “in a mutually beneficial manner,” according to Nakatani.
Security ties between Japan and the Philippines, both close U.S. allies, have deepened in recent years amid China’s increasing military activities.
Tokyo’s only export to Manila was an air surveillance radar system built by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. as part of a P5.5-billion deal signed in 2020.
The Philippines is in the
Nakatani said they also agreed to start a “strategic dialogue” between highlevel military officials on deeper information sharing and protecting military information “in order to elevate bilateral cooperation.”
Tokyo’s security cooperation with Manila is expected to get a boost in the coming years after the two countries signed a reciprocal access agreement (RAA) last July, allowing their troops and equipment on each other’s territory for combat training and disaster response. The RAA is awaiting ratification from the Japanese parliament.
Stronger alliances
Nakatani on Sunday, February 23 toured Basa Air Base in Pampanga province, one of the nine military bases where the U.S. military has access under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, as well as Wallace Air Station in San Fernando City, La Union province, where some of the air surveillance radar systems sold by Tokyo were in place. He visited the command and control centers of both sites, where future cooperation between the Philippine Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force was being looked at.
Aside from strengthening bilateral defense ties, both officials also agreed to enhance their three-way partnership with the United
“We are not only to enhance existing alliances in terms of the scale of mutually cooperative activities but also the scope of these arrangements by inviting like-minded partners potentially to join these alliances. In any case, the upholding of international law and the promotion of a free and open Indo-Pacific, a free and open South China Sea and East China Sea, in accordance with generally accepted principles of international law, is a shared initiative,” Teodoro noted.
Also on Monday, two Japanese warships—JS Ariake, a Murasame-class destroyer, and JS Hamagiri, an Asagiri-class destroyer— arrived in the country for a goodwill visit, according to the Philippine Navy.
The two ships were on an overseas training cruise and were making stops in partner nations.
On Friday, February 21, the French Navy’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle also made its first visit to the Philippines, making a stop in Zambales, the province facing the West Philippine Sea.
The aircraft carrier docked in Subic Bay along with two multimission destroyers, an air defense destroyer, and the auxiliary oil replenishment ship Jacques Chevallier.
The French Navy forces conducted combined naval and air exercises alongside the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force in the West Philippine Sea. (With a report from Kyodo
News)
DEEPER COOPERATION. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (right) meets with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Monday, February 24 to discuss deeper security cooperation between the Philippines and Japan. DND photo
Under Trump, press freedom under heat
by SeLen oZturk
Ethnic Media Services
THREE weeks into Trump’s second presidency, press freedom is in danger for newsrooms nationwide.
San Francisco radio station KCBS is facing a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation after broadcasting information about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation; Associated Press journalists are barred from White House events after refusing to follow Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America; and major media houses like ABC and CBS faced Trump lawsuits even before he took office.
“What power is the FCC asserting? It appears to be a claim that reporting the news is not in the public interest if the government doesn’t like what news is being reported,” said David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition at a Friday, February 14 Ethnic Media Services briefing about recent press freedom threats.
The FCC primarily regulates broadcast media like radio and television. Print and digital content is beyond its jurisdiction.
The organization’s authority depends on a “public interest” standard — rooted in the
Radio Act of 1927 and the Communications Act of 1934, when airwaves were scarce — requiring broadcasters to operate in a way that serves the public interest.
In laws, lawsuits and regulations since then, however Congress, courts and the FCC itself have been unclear on the meaning and scope of “public interest.”
‘The process is the punishment’
In a case toeing this gray area of public interest last January, Trump’s new FCC chair Brendan Carr ordered an investigation of NPR and PBS for “broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
“It’s not the government’s business to dictate what the press reports, or how … and who is doing what on the government dime is, by definition, public business and newsworthy,” said Loy.
“There’s a reason that the press is the only private institution expressly named in the Constitution, where the First Amendment guarantees its freedom.”
“The process is the punishment when it comes to freedom of speech,” he continued. “I think the most pernicious danger is selfcensorship, and this is not just a red state or federal issue. Local officials have
been threatening reporters for years,” with many recent instances in California alone.
In May 2019, for example, San Francisco police obtained a warrant to raid the home of a freelance journalist — taking a sledgehammer to his gate and seizing his computers, phones and other devices — after he refused to name a source related to the death of San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi that February.
In April 2022, a Los Angeles County sheriff gave a press conference calling for the investigation of an LA Times journalist who reported on a leaked video of a deputy kneeling on the head of a handcuffed inmate for several minutes.
Last December, a San Joaquin County sheriff announced that journalists who legally obtained county Superior Court documents could face criminal prosecution for having “conspired to break the law.”
“This erosion of norms and legal safeguards for journalists is part of a global trend,” said Joel Simon, founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. “There’s not a lot of examples where press freedom has declined and then rebounded … Once your
PH consulate hosts immigration briefing...
the rights of Filipino immigrants and offered practical tips for dealing with immigration authorities.
Atty. Marlon B. Baldomero provided background information on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and what to do when encountering ICE authorities.
Atty. Ed Allan Lindain explained the jurisdictions covered by law enforcement and immigration agents, and the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Meanwhile, Atty. Maria Theresa T. Calimag, with the Reeves Immigration Law Group, talked about people’s rights under the criminal justice system and during removal proceedings.
The session culminated in a Q&A session, where participants sought clarifications on rules they need to follow in specific scenarios.
Amid revamp rumors, Marcos evaluating...
PAGE 1
February 25 according to Castro.
“As of now, there is none yet. It’s still under evaluation. There has been no removal, transition, transfer of position, nothing yet,” Castro said, adding that Maj. Gen. Nelson Morales is still the PSC chief.
The PSC is tasked with securing the president and vice president as well as their families and highprofile visitors.
“The president is still evaluating if there’s a need for a change of leaders in each department. So, there is none yet, everyone is under evaluation,” Castro said when asked whether DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy had been replaced.
Asked whether the evaluation has something to do with the president entering the middle of his term or if it is something done regularly every year, Castro said, “Maybe if he sees the need to replace someone or someone has resigned. There are some who are resigning, we cannot do anything about
that.”
“It’s just normal for the president” to evaluate the officials of his administration, she added.
“So, when the president sees that, ‘Oops, this person doesn’t seem to help anymore,’ we have to find a new leader and it’s for the people. But as of now, there’s no change yet,” she pointed out.
The PCO, meanwhile, announced the names of new officials appointed by the president for different agencies.
Among the appointees were Johannes Paulus Acuña as assistant secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
and Emmanuel Gison Jr., as commissioner in the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.
He also named Ferdaussi Masnar as deputy executive director of the Dangerous Drugs Board and Larry D.R. Lacson as administrator and member of the National Food Authority Council. Ser-me Ayuyao has been appointed as regular member of the National Amnesty Commission. Marcos also named Junie Cua and Jose Emmanuel Guillermo as members of the Board of Directors of the John Hay Management Corp., which is under the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. n
Move Forward Faster.
Closing the briefing, the Consulate reminded Filipino immigrants about their rights and the consular assistance available to them.
The briefing was presented live on the Consulate General’s official Facebook page and may be viewed here.
The second part of the seminar is scheduled for March 13.
Meanwhile, a coalition of more than 25 immigrant rights, legal, labor and
faith-based organizations known as the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network has created a hotline to report ICE activity, connect migrants with legal aid and prevent wrongful detentions.
“Community is what keeps us safe,” LA Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez said in a statement. “If you see ICE in LA, call the Rapid Response Network at 888-624-4752 so we can verify, report and take action to protect those at risk.” (Inquirer.net)
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
PCO photo
Deputy Consul General and Acting Head of Post Maria Alnee A. Gamble delivers opening remarks.
Photo from Los Angeles PCG
Trump froze out Project 2025 in his campaign. Now its blueprint is his health care playbook
by StePHanie aMour KFF Health Newa
FEW voters likely expected President Donald Trump in the first weeks of his administration to slash billions of dollars from the nation’s premier federal cancer research agency.
But funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health were presaged in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership,” a conservative plan for governing that Trump said he knew nothing about during his campaign. Now, his administration has embraced it.
The 922-page playbook compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group in Washington, says “the NIH monopoly on directing research should be broken” and calls for capping payments to universities and their hospitals to “help reduce federal taxpayer subsidization of leftist agendas.”
Universities, now slated to face sweeping cuts in agency grants that cover these overhead costs, say the policy will destroy ongoing and future biomedical science. A federal judge temporarily halted the cuts to medical research on Feb. 10 after they drew legal challenges from medical institutions and 22 states.
Project 2025 as prologue
The rapid-fire adoption of many of Project 2025’s objectives indicates that Trump acolytes — many of its contributors were veterans of his first term, and some have joined his second administration — have for years quietly laid the groundwork to disrupt the national health system. That runs counter to Trump’s insistence on the campaign trail, after Democrats made Project 2025 a potent attack line, that he was ignorant of the document.
“I have no idea what Project 2025 is,” Trump said Oct. 31 at a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of many times he disclaimed any knowledge of the plan. “I’ve never read it, and I never will.”
But because his
administration is hewing to the Heritage Foundationcompiled playbook so closely, opposition groups and some state Democratic leaders say they’re able to act swiftly to counter Trump’s moves in court.
They’re now preparing for Trump to act on Project 2025 recommendations for some of the nation’s largest and most important health programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, and for federal health agencies.
“There has been a lot of planning on the litigation side to challenge the executive orders and other early actions from a lot of different organizations,” said Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. “Project 2025 allowed for some preparation.”
The plan, for example, calls for state flexibility to impose premiums for some beneficiaries, work requirements, and lifetime caps or time limits on Medicaid coverage for some enrollees in the program for low-income and disabled Americans, which could lead to a surge in the number of uninsured after the Biden administration vastly expanded the program’s coverage.
“These proposals don’t directly alter eligibility for Medicaid or the benefits provided, but the ultimate effect would be fewer people with health coverage,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. “When you erect barriers to people enrolling in Medicaid, like premiums or documenting work status, you end up rationing coverage by complexity and ability to pay.”
Congressional Republicans are contemplating a budget plan that could result in hundreds of billions of dollars being trimmed from Medicaid over 10 years.
Project 2025 called for expanding access to health plans that don’t comply with the Affordable Care
Act’s strongest consumer protections. That may lead to more choice and lower monthly premiums for buyers, but unwitting consumers may face potentially massive out-ofpocket costs for care the plans won’t cover.
And Project 2025 called for halting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates. The organization, an important health care provider for women across the country, gets roughly $700 million annually from Medicaid and other government programs, based on its 2022-23 report. Abortion made up about 4% of services the organization provided to patients, the report says.
The administration’s steps to scrub words such as “equity” from federal documents, erase transgender identifiers, and curtail international medical aid — all part of the Project 2025 wish list — have already had sweeping ramifications, hobbling access to health care and eviscerating international programs that aim to prevent disease and improve maternal health outcomes.
Under a memorandum issued in January, for example, Trump reinstated and expanded a ban on federal funds to global organizations that provide legal information on abortions.
Studies have found that the ban, known as the “global gag rule” or “Mexico City Policy,” has stripped millions of dollars away from foreign aid groups that didn’t abide by it. It’s also had a chilling effect: In Zambia, one group removed information in brochures on contraception, and in Turkey, some providers stopped talking with patients about menstrual regulation as a form of family planning.
Project 2025 called on the next president to reinstate the gag rule, saying it “should be drafted broadly to apply to all foreign assistance.”
Trump also signed an executive order rolling
Philippines prays for Francis’ health...
On Saturday morning, February 22, Francis reportedly experienced an asthma-like respiratory crisis of prolonged intensity, which required the administration of high-flow oxygen.
His blood tests also reportedly showed thrombocytopenia, associated with anemia, that required the administration of blood transfusions.
“The Holy Father remains alert and spent the day in an armchair, although he is more uncomfortable than yesterday (Sunday). At the moment, the prognosis remains guarded,” the Vatican said.
Several church leaders have been asking for prayers for the pope, who has been confined at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome since Feb. 14 because of a respiratory infection, which was later confirmed to be double pneumonia.
Last Feb. 19, CBCP President Kalookan Cardinal
Pablo Virgilio David solicited prayers for the pontiff.
On Feb. 20, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma led a eucharistic vigil for Pope Francis’ healing at the San Carlos Seminary College’s Martyrs of Lisieux Chapel in Cebu City.
The next day, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula led a prayer service for the health of Pope Francis.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has been pope since 2013 and has suffered bouts of ill health in the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because as a young adult he developed pleurisy – a condition where the layers of tissue between the lungs and chest wall become inflamed – and had part of one lung removed. n
Under Trump, press freedom...
PAGE 3
rights deteriorate, it’s very difficult to reclaim them.”
Press freedom violations in the U.S. are even older than the country itself, spanning landmark cases including a 1734 libel suit against a publisher by New York’s colonial governor; the 1798 Sedition Act criminalizing criticism of the government, repealed two years later; and President Nixon’s far more recent Watergate breach in 1972.
‘Defending our ability to do our work’
“What makes these issues potentially more damaging now is that the institutional power of the media is greatly diminished,” said Simon.
“During the first Trump administration, the battle was over who controls the narrative. That’s not where we are now. Now, we have to focus on defending our ability to do our work. If we don’t, we’re going to see those rights erode.”
“Outside the U.S., a lot of legal harassment targeting media is not related to the production of content, but other things like tax issues, fraud allegations and workplace practices,” he explained, recommending that U.S. journalists brace themselves for the same.
Legal resources for journalists include pro bono aid through Lawyers
for Reporters, ProJourn and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), and legal hotlines through RCFP and the First Amendment Coalition.
“Self-censorship is not good because people will not get the news. It’s as simple as that,” said Zach Press, senior staff attorney at Lawyers for Reporters at the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice.
“The question we should ask ourselves is: What measures do we put in place to have the confidence to do that reporting?”
He added that with Trump’s attacks on this confidence, Lawyers for Reporters has seen an increase in “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs; these are lawsuits brought by people and entities to dissuade negative publicity by forcing the critics accused to spend extensive time and money on defense.
The good news?
In recent years, many states have adopted anti-SLAPP laws, almost all involving fee shifting — meaning that if, for example, a court dismisses a case or rules against the suing plaintiff, that plaintiff must pay the defendant’s lawyer fees and possibly even more in damages.
Adopting states include Virginia in 2017; Colorado, Virginia and Texas in
2019; New York in 2020; Washington in 2021; Kentucky and Arizona in 2022; Pennsylvania and Minnesota in 2024; and Ohio last January.
“It’s a very strong deterrent,” said Press of the laws. “If the plaintiff knows they’ll be on the hook for a claim they just wanted to raise to shame a journalist, maybe they’ll think twice about it.”
Against SLAPP and other threats, he encouraged journalists to make their work as factually, digitally and legally bulletproof as possible through extensive editorial fact-checking; media liability insurance; encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Telegram; and — especially for nonprofits, which comprise many local media — updated tax and employment filings.
Through actions like these, “press freedom begins at home,” added Loy. “I can’t guarantee that the FCC or any other arm of government will not attempt to abuse its power, but autocracy depends on acquiescence.”
“Ignore your rights and they will go away. The best way to stand up to a bully is to fight a bully,” he continued. “Yes, there are risks … but the press should not allow those risks to prevent it from fulfilling its function: to report the news.” n
Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to the Philippines in 2015. Malacañang file photo
Features OpiniOn
More reforms needed
FOUR years after being placed under close monitoring by global dirty money watchdog Financial Action Task Force, the Philippines has finally exited the gray list of the Paris-based FATF.
The country was placed on the gray list in June 2021 for failure to address deficiencies tagged by the FATF. Following talks with Philippine officials in Paris from Feb. 17 to 20, the FATF deemed the country to have achieved significant progress in strengthening measures on anti-money laundering and combating terrorism and proliferation financing.
Editorial
Exiting the gray list eases financial transactions including the remittance of overseas workers’ earnings. Philippine officials are hoping that the exit will also boost the chances of the country for a credit rating upgrade.
Among the measures cited were the efforts to stop the flow of dirty money through casino junkets, tightening of rules on money transfers as well as the application of sanctions on illegal remittance operators. The FATF said the country also demonstrated effective risk-based supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions.
Increased use of financial intelligence led to more money laundering probes and prosecutions, the FATF noted. Law enforcement agencies gained greater access to beneficial ownership information. Rules were also tightened on nonprofit or nongovernment organizations.
PHILIPPINE STAR
columnist Iris Gonzales’ thought-provoking article
“How about a tycoon or CEO for president?” caught many people’s attention the other day.
The exit strategy is not without critics. NGOs have decried the action plan for paving the way for restrictive measures against their groups, and for facilitating what they describe as the red-tagging and freezing of assets of organizations classified as terrorists.
Other groups, meanwhile, are calling for more reforms, including the lifting of bank secrecy laws and the passage of campaign finance reforms. Lawmakers, however, have consistently resisted such reform measures. Instead of promoting financial transparency, the country is moving in the opposite direction, with access to top government officials’ statements of assets, liabilities and net worth now strictly restricted. This restricted access is the
perfect complement for bank secrecy laws that effectively conceal slush funds and kickbacks paid to politicians. Even worse than casino junkets are election campaigns, which have become major laundromats for dirty money, with the Commission on Elections lacking the authority and capability to regulate campaign finance. Combined with the world’s toughest bank secrecy laws, politicians enjoy full
A week of public diplomacy
In her column, Iris noted that an “air of frustration” seems to be seeping into the minds of “many of our big businessmen” who are getting increasingly “impatient with our dizzying political landscape,” the “glaring corruption among some of our lawmakers,” including the “move to tinker with our budget.”
“Would a businessman or a tycoon be an effective president of the Philippines? Someone with effective management and leadership skills who can steer our rudderless ship to better shores? Someone who has the brilliance to manage our resources so that our government can provide the right social services to our people?
Someone whose goal is no longer just about making money but building a nation for generations and generations to come?” Iris wrote.
This idea got many people thinking that perhaps it is time to consider having a tycoon or CEO for our next president. In fact, a businessman friend even messaged me that this
protection for their dirty money. The country missed deadlines to exit the gray list. Now that it has been taken out of the list, the challenge is to sustain the reforms and prevent backsliding. The tougher challenge is to address the other factors that promote money laundering. These reforms need not wait for inclusion in any international gray list or blacklist. (Philstar.com)
could be “a takeoff from what is happening in the U.S. with Donald Trump, a real estate mogul and celebrity television host, now managing the White House.”
The millions of Americans who voted for Donald Trump believe that he will bring “common sense” back into government, together with his chief advisor, tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, who heads the
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tasked to streamline operations and cut “government waste,” has drawn criticism and flak but has also gathered support from many who believe government should not squander taxpayers’ money.
Just recently, a proposal to issue “DOGE dividend” checks to taxpayers is gaining traction, especially after President Trump
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Babe’s Eye View
BaBe Romualdez
A week of public diplomacy...
PAGE 6
said he is considering a “new concept” where 20 percent of DOGE savings will be given to American taxpayers while another 20 percent goes to paying down debt.
An article in forbes. com written by Shahar Ziv said the proposed $5,000 DOGE dividend checks could “provide a onetime boost to American households and help improve their financial health by paying off debt or increasing their savings.”
Disclosing the Financial Health Network’s “Financial Health Pulse 2024” report that “70 percent of American households remain financially unhealthy with day-to-day financial realities worsening for many,” the article quoted FHN president and CEO Jennifer Tescher, who said the data indicates that financial health in the U.S., “especially that of moderate and middleincome households, remains precarious and is influenced by a reliance on credit to stay afloat.”
Saying the proposed DOGE dividend check of $5,000 would be more than double the average tax refunds of a little over $2,000, the author believes this move could provide a substantial financial boost to taxpayers.
Definitely, Filipino taxpayers would appreciate a “financial boost” since many are grumbling that they are always at the tailend (if not missing) in the list of beneficiaries for government ayuda ( aid ).
As one reader emailed, “I am a mid-level executive in a modest company, but I also need financial assistance. Why am I (and others like me) being deprived of government ayuda just
because I am employed? I wish congressmen would also show sensitivity to taxpayers like me who contribute to government revenue, and realize that I also need help,” the reader ranted.
Perhaps there is really wisdom in having CEOs as presidents since successful corporations are run “professionally” without fear of, or favor to, anyone, because priority is to ensure the company’s profitability and sustainability.
One country that has shown dynamic growth in recent years is the Dominican Republic, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a five percent GDP growth rate for 2025. Led by President Luis Abinader (who obtained his economics degree at the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology, studied Corporate Finance and Financial Engineering at Harvard University and Advanced Management at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire), the Dominican Republic is the fastest growing economy in Latin America. Abinader was executive president of Grupo Abicor (a consortium founded by his father) engaged in real estate, construction, tourism and cement industries before becoming president of the Dominican Republic.
Tiny Palau is also displaying phenomenal economic growth with businessman and politician Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. as president. Of Palauan and American lineage, Whipps finished a Business Administration and Economics degree from Andrews University in Michigan and his MBA from UCLA. He also founded a group of companies engaged in
import, logistics, retail, wholesale, construction and travel. Last July, the World Bank upgraded Palau as a high-income country, and its economic growth is expected at eight percent this 2025, according to the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook issued in September 2024.
It seems the idea of a businessman or CEO as president is catching fire, with many talking about the column of Iris Gonzales. Since the Philippines has a high potential of being a “profitable” country, there are those seriously thinking that we need someone with a corporate mindset to run the country efficiently as it navigates the complexities of a highly competitive global arena.
Just like President Trump’s “America First” agenda that prioritizes the welfare of American citizens, this country also needs a leader who will share the vision of President Marcos to transform the economy and make sure that the “return on investment” will redound to the major shareholders and stakeholders – who are none other than the Filipino people.
But the question is, who is that person?
The 2028 Philippine presidential election is still three years away – there’s plenty of time for people to think about this idea. Surely, somebody that fits the bill might just emerge. (Philstar.com)
*
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
Email: babeseyeview@gmail.com
Malacañang: ‘Awkward’ for Marcos...
considering that there is this ongoing [allegation] that the president is behind the impeachment proceeding,” Castro told reporters.
“So it is better for the Senate to request, considering even the president made this pronouncement that if the Senate would ask him to call for a special session he
Trump froze out Project 2025 in his campaign...
4
back transgender rights by banning federal funds for transition-related care for people under age 19. An order he signed also directed the federal government to recognize only two sexes, male and female, and use the term “sex” instead of “gender.”
The Project 2025 document calls for deleting the term “gender identity” from federal rules, regulations, and grants and for unwinding policies and procedures that its authors say are used to advance a “radical redefinition of sex.” In addition, it states that Department of Health and Human Services programs should “protect children’s minds and bodies.”
“Radical actors inside and outside government are promoting harmful identity politics that replaces biological sex with subjective notions of ‘gender identity,’” the Project 2025 road map reads.
Data disappears
As a result of Trump’s order on gender identity, health researchers say, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took down online information about transgender health and removed data on LGBTQ+ health. A federal judge on Feb. 11 ordered that much of the information be restored; the administration complied but added notices to some webpages labeling them “extremely inaccurate” and claiming they don’t “reflect biological reality.”
Project 2025’s health policy goals poses a threat.
“The playbook presents an antiscience, antidata, and antimedicine agenda,” according to a piece last year by Boston University researchers in JAMA.
The Project 2025 blueprint sets out goals to curb access to medication abortion, restructure public health agencies, and weaken protections against sex-based discrimination.
It would have seniors enroll by default in Medicare Advantage plans run by commercial insurers, in essence privatizing the health program for older Americans. And it calls for eliminating coverage requirements for Affordable Care Act plans that people buy without federal subsidies, which, insurance experts say, risks leaving people underinsured.
“It’s the agenda of the Trump administration,” said Robert Weissman, a copresident of Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group.
“It’s to minimize access to care under the guise of strict work requirements in Medicaid, privatizing Medicare, and rolling back consumer protections and subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.”
The White House didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Conservatives have said implementation of the project’s proposals would curb waste and fraud in federal health programs and free health systems from the clutches of a radical “woke” agenda.
on his promises to make America safer, stronger, and better than ever before, and he and his team deserve the credit,” Ellen Keenan, a spokesperson for Heritage, said in a statement.
Versions of the document have been produced roughly every four years since the 1980s and have influenced other GOP presidents. Former President Ronald Reagan adopted about two-thirds of the recommendations from an earlier Heritage guide, the group says.
In some instances, the Trump administration hasn’t just followed Project 2025’s proposals but has gone beyond them.
would do so,” she added. Asked if it was legal for the president to call for a special Senate session that would only be limited to the impeachment trial, Castro responded that the president may call for a special session anytime under the Constitution.
“It is not limited to the urgency of a bill
or legislation, but we believe it also includes the impeachment trial because it’s anytime, without any condition,” she explained.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte last February 5.
On February 18, she filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment proceedings. n
The CDC also delayed the release of information and findings on bird flu in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Federal workers have said they were told to retract papers that contain words such as “nonbinary” or “transgender.” And some hospitals suspended gender-affirming care such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for youths.
Advocacy groups say the orders discriminate and pose barriers to medically necessary care, and transgender children and their families have filed a number of court challenges.
Lawyers, advocates, and researchers say implementation of many of
“Americans are tired of their government being used against them,” Paul Dans, a lawyer and former director of Project 2025, said last year in a statement.
“The administrative state is, at best, completely out of touch with the American people and, at worst, is weaponized against them.”
Dans did not return messages seeking comment for this article.
The Heritage Foundation has sought to separate itself and Project 2025 from Trump’s executive orders and other initiatives on health.
“This isn’t about our recommendations in Project 2025 – something we’ve been doing for more than 40 years. This is about President Trump delivering
The document called on the next president to scale back and “deradicalize” the U.S. Agency for International Development, an independent federal agency that provides foreign aid and assistance, including for many international health programs. The administration hasn’t just scaled back USAID. Trump adviser Elon Musk bragged on his social media platform, X, that his “Department of Government Efficiency” fed the agency “into the wood chipper,” physically closing its offices and putting nearly all its staff on administrative leave while ending funding for its programs and disseminating misinformation about them. But the administration risks waning public support if it adopts the project’s goals to upend U.S. health care and health policy.
Almost 60% of voters said they felt negatively about Project 2025 in a September poll by NBC News.
“Project 2025 was never a thought exercise; it was always a blueprint,” said Ally Boguhn, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, an abortion rights group. “We’re only a few weeks into his presidency, and it’s setting the groundwork for even more.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Dateline philippines
Palace says Dutertes seeking to regain power
by aLexiS roMero Philstar.com
MANILA
— The word war between the Marcos administration and the Duterte camp raged on Monday, February 24 as Malacañang accused the former president and his allies of resorting to defamation to regain power.
Reacting to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks that the impeachment of his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte was meant to bar her from running in the 2028 polls, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro pointed out that the erstwhile leader and his supporters have been maligning the government in their rallies.
“We can really see where they are heading to. We can see it in all of their rallies. We have seen them defaming the government
and the president. So we know where they are going. They want to regain power, authority,” Castro, who also serves as Palace press officer, told reporters on Monday, February 24.
Castro said President Marcos was not supportive of efforts to impeach Sara, but does not have control over the House of Representatives because of separation of powers.
“He won’t interfere. He won’t act whether it pushes through or not,” she said.
Earlier this month, the administration-dominated House of Representatives impeached Sara for her alleged failure to properly account for the confidential funds given to her office and for her threat, if she is assassinated, to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez killed.
A total of 215 members of the chamber signed
the complaint, which had already been transmitted to the Senate for trial.
In an earlier media interview this month, Marcos distanced himself from the impeachment but claimed that the House was just performing its mandate under the Constitution.
During an indignation rally in Mandaue City, Duterte said politics was behind the move to impeach his daughter and that efforts were being made to destroy her reputation before the 2028 elections. The elder Duterte also accused Marcos of “veering toward a dictatorship,” claiming the president won’t step down after his term expires in 2028.
“We cannot just believe in intrigues without evidence. Perhaps you can recall that during the time of former
PAGE 10
ROAD TO FOREVER. Dioscoro Robillo, 60, and his wife Pilar join the Kasalang Bayan (mass wedding) at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said the city government holds a mass wedding every February or the love month to help couples who cannot afford church or civil weddings.
PNA photo by Avito Dalan
SMIC, Philippines firms attract...
President Rodrigo Duterte, he admitted that when he was still a fiscal, he was an expert in sowing intrigues and in planting evidence,” Castro said.
“Perhaps we have proven that during the time of Senator Leila de Lima. So what do we expect from former president Rodrigo Duterte? Sow intrigue.
Plant evidence,” she said, referring to drug charges against De Lima that led to her detention for more than six years during the Duterte administration.
She was later cleared of all the charges and ordered released.
Castro also hit Duterte for saying that Marcos had sold the Philippines’ gold reserves.
“Isn’t this another campaign joke by former president Duterte? Aren’t we used to his jetski promise? When we believed those who supported him, we were called ‘stupid.’ If we believe what he said, we might be mistaken again as stupid,” she said, referring to Duterte’s statement in 2016 that he would ride a jet ski to the Kalayaan Islands to assert Philippine rights in the West Philippine Sea.
“But anyway, we will take this seriously so there won’t be any fake news, especially among people listening to him and those who may still believe in him.”
Castro said Duterte’s allegation on the gold reserves was already addressed in October 2024.
“I am wondering why president Duterte keeps on repeating it. Does he not have economic experts who can inform him about the regular activities of BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)?” she said.
“According to the BSP, selling gold is just a regular activity. Why? To pump up the economy. Even at the time of former president Duterte, it has been the job of BSP. Is he not aware of that?”
Asked if the Marcos administration would file charges against Duterte, Castro replied: “No. We will just answer the jokes he keeps on saying.”
Castro also responded to Duterte’s claim that crimes are rampant in the country and that illegal drugs are again flooding Manila,
Cebu and Davao.
“Including Davao City? If we are talking about Davao City, who is the mayor of Davao City? It’s his son, right? Mayor Baste Duterte. So that means his son is very inefficient,” Castro said.
“Where is the data? At least now, there is a record of the fatalities. During his (Duterte) time, was there a record of people who suddenly disappeared? Let us ask that. Maybe he should find it out also.”
In defense of Marcos Senate President Francis Escudero also defended the President from Duterte’s disparaging remarks, which he called “inconsistent, irrational and untrue.”
“I do not agree and do not subscribe to his accusation at all,” Escudero said.
“When their accusation that PBBM (Marcos) was a weak leader who was not in control did not fly, now they are accusing him of the exact opposite and now supposedly has dictatorial tendencies. It is not only inconsistent but also irrational and untrue,” Escudero said.
Allies of President Marcos in the House of Representatives also defended him.
“I’m sorry to say it’s fake news once again. Hello, fake news, Mr. Fake News. Let’s not bombard people with fake news all over. He just keeps on spewing fake news. Maybe it’s about time he changes tune,” House Deputy Majority
Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union told reporters.
His colleague from Mindanao, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, also belied Duterte’s claim.
“The former president is open, he’s entitled naman to have his own opinion. We all have our own interpretations of all things. Of course, you cannot discount the fact that the Vice President is his daughter,” the Muslim legislator stressed.
Meanwhile, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said Sunday that he is willing to testify against Vice President Sara Duterte if called by the impeachment court.
He said, however, that it would still be up to the Department of Justice and the prosecution panel to decide whether CIDG’s participation in the trial would be required.
The CIDG launched an investigation in November 2024 to track individuals whom Duterte allegedly contracted to assassinate the Marcos couple and Romualdez should a separate kill plot against her succeed.
“For now, let me not put the cart before the horse, because the investigation into VP Sara is being conducted jointly by the National Bureau of Investigation and the CIDG, under the DOJ,” Torre said during a news forum. (With reports fromCecille Suerte Felipe, Mark Ernest Villeza)
Escudero not interested in VP post
by Marc JaySon cayaByaB Philstar.com
MANILA— Senate
President Francis Escudero is not interested in being vice president in case the impeached Sara Duterte gets convicted during trial.
In an interview with The Philippine STAR’s online show “Truth on the Line” on Friday, February 21, Escudero put the issue to rest.
“That is an unfair question because the entire Congress above the age of 40, and all of the senators, can be a choice of the president (for vice president),” the Senate president said.
“I am simply one of them. But if you ask me, I am not interested,” he added.
Section 9, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states: “Whenever there is
a vacancy in the Office of the Vice President during the term for which he was elected, the president shall nominate a vice president from among the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who shall assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.”
Escudero said that while the Senate president is third in the line of succession, it is not automatic that he will get elevated to vice president if the position gets vacated.
Escudero said he would not succumb to pressure from some quarters to either delay or fasttrack the impeachment proceedings.
He maintained that the Senate can only start tackling the Articles of Impeachment while in session. He scoffed at his critics saying the Senate committed a constitutional breach because it did not convene the impeachment court after receiving the impeachment complaint on Feb. 5, when the chamber had two more days that week before the break. n
He said delicadeza would dictate upon them as senator-judges in the upcoming impeachment trial to reject an offer to become vice president because they will be the ones rendering judgment on Duterte. “It would not be good to look at. It would be more prudent for those who voted to, if at all, remove the vice president, to decline any such offer or nomination,” Escudero said.
US exempts $336 million PH aid...
PAGE 2 and U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson.
Japan defense chief in Manila
Underpinning rising security concerns, President Marcos received at Malacañang on Monday, February 24, Japanese defense chief Gen Nakatani who is in Manila for a threeday visit. His itinerary included a meeting with Teodoro.
“I hope that with the many changes that are occurring in our region, that your visit will – we will be able to discuss some of those anticipated changes that we are looking at in view of strengthening our relations between Japan and the Philippines,” Marcos told the Japanese official during a courtesy call at Malacañang.
Nakatani, for his part, cited “great developments” in the areas of defense cooperation and security cooperation between the Philippines and Japan under the leadership of Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
The defense minister said he visited Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga and Wallace Air Station in San Fernando, La Union.
“I was able to observe with my eyes the air surveillance radar system
which was transferred by the Japanese government,” he said.
Later on Monday, February 24, Teodoro had a meeting in Makati with Nakatani where they discussed China’s unilateral effort to change the international order by intimidation and spreading of its false narrative.
“We look forward to the discussions this morning into even enhancing our partnerships with the shared values of a rulesbased international order, a free and open IndoPacific, a resilient Japan and the Philippines against unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative,” Teodoro said in his opening remarks.
The Japanese defense chief said the regional and international security environment has become increasingly complexed and intensified, noting that “there is an increasing need for Japan and the Philippines to further enhance defense cooperation and collaboration in order to contribute to the peace and stability in the region and the international community.”
“Under such harsh security environment, I look forward to a deep
strategic discussion with you secretary from the broader perspective, in order to raise the level of our defense cooperation and collaboration between Japan and the Philippines to an even higher level,” Nakatani said.
Teodoro said amid regional challenges, the Philippines and Japan have managed to sustain bilateral and multilateral security ties.
“The best proof that bilateral relations, to include defense and security relations between Japan and the Philippines are robust, enduring, and strong is that our multilateral arrangements likewise remain robust and strong,” Teodoro said.
During the meeting, both defense leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral security and defense ties, including the future implementation of the Reciprocal Access Agreement once it enters into force, and the ongoing capacity-building programs and cooperation on regional security challenges.
The meeting also highlighted Japan’s continued support for the modernization of the AFP through its Official Security Assistance Program. (With reports from Helen Flores)
Former President Rodrigo Duterte Richard Madelo/Presidential Photo, file
COMMUNITY JOURNAL
U.S. Immigration Attorney
Michael J. Gurfinkel takes on one of the most challenging cases in the show’s 19-year history. Judy was petitioned by her father in 1993, but a series of tragic events complicated her case: Judy fell into a coma in 2002, and her father, the petitioner, passed away shortly after. Adding to the challenge, one of her daughters was close to aging out of the petition.
Judy remained in a coma for years while her family held on to the hope that her daughters would eventually have a chance at a better future in the U.S. By 2008, Judy’s priority date for her visa had become current, but her medical condition and the death of her petitioner left her case in limbo.
PAGE 12
WITH THE BENEFICIARY IN A COMA AND THE PETITIONER DYING, ATTY. GURFINKEL STILL GETS GREEN CARDS FOR WHOLE FAMILY, IN A BRAND-NEW EPISODE OF CITIZEN PINOY. In this week’s episode of Citizen Pinoy, leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) tackles a complex and difficult case. Judy was petitioned by her father in 1993, but a series of tragic events complicated her case. Judy fell into a coma in 2002, and her father, the petitioner, passed away shortly after. Adding to the challenge, one of her daughters was close to aging out of the petition. Despite these obstacles, Atty. Gurfinkel used his expertise to reinstate Judy’s petition, ensure a home-visit by USCIS for her fingerprints, and apply the Child Status Protection Act to prevent Judy’s daughter from aging out. Judy’s brother, Jasper, (left) also promised her that he will do everything he could to make sure her daughters could immigrate to the U.S. Thanks to Atty. Gurfinkel’s perseverance, Judy’s daughters, Joyze (center) and Mitzi, were granted green cards in February 2024, fulfilling their mother’s dream of giving them a brighter future in the U.S. Be sure to watch this incredible success story on an encore episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday, March 2 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. (Advertising Supplement)
Joyze (right) and her sister Mitzi were able to get their immigrant visas, fulfilling a promise made by Jasper (left) to his sister, Judy.
MedNews capsules
Health@Heart
PhiliP S. Chua, md, FaCS, FPCS
A SMALL study about “Post COVID Vaccination Syndrome (PCVS),” a very rare condition following vaccination that causes some neurologic symptoms, has recently hit the news media. The gullible and anti-vax people are quick to judge that the COVID-19 vaccines as a whole to are dangerous, and are ready to “throw away the baby with the bath water.”
Vaccines have literally saved billions of lives around the globe since the vaccine was first discovered by Edward Jenner in May 1796. Yes, there can be some sideeffects and complications, but far too little compared to the deadly complications of viruses. And so with aspirin, antibiotics, sleeping pills, sedatives, weight loss drugs, etc. There is no drug on earth which has no possible sideeffects! None!
Wisdom dictates that we weigh the health benefits of vaccines against the potential risk of using them. The issue is overwhelming in favor of the vaccines.
Millions experience long terms side-effects of viruses, while the long-term sideeffects from vaccines are rare. There is 22.5 % incidence of Long Covid, a complication of the viral infection itself, not of the vaccine.
As for the “Post COVID Vaccination Syndrome,” science has yet to determine for certain whether the symptoms are caused by the virus itself on our body on the long-term or from the vaccine.
Each year, about 4 million deaths worldwide are prevented by childhood vaccination. More than 50 million deaths can be prevented through immunization between 2021 and 2030. A 2024 study reveals 154 million individuals (6 lives every 60 seconds) were saved globally since 1974, as reported by The Lancet. The introduction of vaccines is one of the greatest success stories in humankind.
Let us wait for the final word about PCVS before we go berserk and flood social media with fake information about the vaccines and kill millions at home and billions
around the world in the future.
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Targeted mRNA vaccine, the same technology used in developing COVID-19 vaccines more rapidly, shows promise on earlystage pancreatic cancer patients in a clinical trial from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This encouraging finding needs worldwide confirmation from independent clinical studies from other medical centers.
* * *
Alarming number of measles cases (among unvaccinated) rising across the United States (100 cases so far in Texas and New Mexico alone) leads experts to recommend MMR or MMRV vaccination and Vitamin A for children, and adults who may need a booster for prevention. Measles is most dangerous among kids under five and has killed adults also.
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We now have a blood test (from a single blood draw) that screens for 50 different types of cancer. The question is whether it is worth the almost $1,000 cost. The test is termed the “holy grail” by the company named Grail, which calls the test, the Galleri test. This test screens cancer of the lungs, liver, ovary, besides leukemia and lymphoma, and rare ones like soft tissue sarcoma, by detecting cancer shed DNA from dying cells in the blood stream. Before this, we have the standard screening test for five cancers: breast, colorectal, cervical, lung and prostate.
The Galleri test is 99.5 percent accurate and has a false-positive rate of 0.5 percent. The Galleri test is certainly a most welcome development. Screening for early diagnosis is certainly better than any cure once cancer is diagnosed.
A recent study published on January 6, 2025 in Nature Microbiology on 212,561 individuals showed that omnivores (meat and plant eaters) had more bacteria in their microbiome (in our guts) linked to increased risk for colon cancer and that markers more favorable to heart health were found among vegans’ microbiome and among those omnivores who ate more plant-based diet than meat. This study suggests that eating more plant-based foods is more beneficial in lowering cancer risk than cutting out meat
altogether. It is recommended to limit red meat to 3 portions a week, about 300 grams (cooked). Meat the size of a deck of cards is about 85 grams (3 oz).
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Coca-Cola has recalled some of its drinks in Europe for concerns over higher levels of chlorate. Cola drinks contain phosphoric acid – this chemical is commonly used in garages for cleaning and etching concrete floors before applying paint or sealant. Phosphroic acid, rarely, can cause pulmonary edema (swelling of the lungs) among some people. I use Cola drinks to unclog my sink drains. Soft drinks, in general, is a poison to the body, increasing the risk for metabolic syndrome, especially among children. More and more people are staying away from soft drinks, which is a healthy trend. Nothing beats multi-stage (five or higher) reverseosmosis filtered water. *
The FDA just reported that frozen supplemental shakes (Lyons ReadyCare and Sysco Imperial brands) sold to long-term care facilities were recalled due to Listeria outbreak that killed 11 people.
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Researchers discovered that the heavy lifetime use of cannabis (marijuana), psychoactive drugs derived from dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis sativa plants, is associated with substantial adverse effects on the cognitive, memory, and motor function of the brain, besides addiction and higher risk of dementia. While medicinal marijuana is great, we do not really need cannabis as a recreational drug. Alcohol and tobacco alone are responsible for over 80 of our illnesses today, especially cancers. Why introduce more poisons?
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With understanding, tolerance, and compassion for our fellowmen around the world, who are actually our blood relatives having originated from a single set of Homo sapiens parents about 300,000 years ago in South Africa, we can achieve peace on earth.
The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle, to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation, or treatment in our article are
15
US-based Filipina named finalist for global recognition: Empowering new mothers and newborn caregivers for generational impact
RUBY Sibal, founder and CEO of Beyond Baby Care and co-founder of Himba Placement Agency Inc., has been named a finalist for the 2025 Women Changing the World Awards. Her work as a 4th-trimester care professional and her commitment to nurturing new families have earned her a spot in five categories of the prestigious global awards.
The Women Changing the World Awards, presented by Oprah Winfrey’s all-time favourite guest, Dr. Tererai Trent, celebrate and recognize women achieving outstanding success in areas such as sustainability, humanitarian work, leadership, advocacy, tech, product development, education, health, and innovation. The awards are designed to recognize the growing number of women who are leading the way in making the world a better place for us all and inspire other women to answer the call to take action.
Dr. Trent explains, “These exceptional women are here to awaken hearts, give permission to recapture dreams and inspire the women of the world to come together to forge a brighter path for all. The rising of women is the awakening of everybody.”
As a 4th-trimester care professional, Ruby’s heart and life’s work revolve around supporting new parents, especially mothers, during one of the most tender and vulnerable stages of parenthood. “My journey began with a deep passion for helping families navigate the newborn phase, which oftentimes brings uncertainty and can be overwhelming,” Ruby shares. “I genuinely understand how important it
is to not only care for a baby but to also empower parents to trust their instincts and understand their little one’s unique cues, as I have experienced all this firsthand from working with over a hundred newborns, mostly around the clock, for over a decade.”
“I owe so much of who I am to my Filipino roots,” Ruby adds. “We Filipinos are known for being ‘maaruga’ ( deeply caring and nurturing ) and ‘marunong makipagkapwa-tao’ ( treating others with compassion, empathy, and genuine respect ). These values are the heart of everything that I do, and it no longer feels like work to me; it’s second nature.”
Ruby’s cultural heritage has profoundly shaped her approach to newborn care and parental support. Residing and practicing in America, Ruby is a proud daughter of
Success story: Comatose mother’s petition...
PAGE 11
Judy’s family eventually sought the help of Atty. Michael J. Gurfinkel after watching “Citizen Pinoy.” Despite the odds stacked against them, Judy’s brother, Jasper, made a promise to his comatose sister: he would do everything he could to make sure Judy’s daughters could immigrate to the U.S.
Atty. Gurfinkel faced three major legal hurdles: reinstating Judy’s petition after her father’s death, convincing USCIS to allow a biometrics appointment (fingerprints) and interview for a comatose beneficiary at her home, and ensuring that Judy’s daughter Joyze, who was about to turn 21, would not age out of the petition. Against all odds, Atty. Gurfinkel was able to navigate these challenges. He successfully reinstated Judy’s petition under Obama’s Survivor Law, arranged for USCIS agents to conduct the necessary home visit for
card
her coma, and used the Child Status Protection Act to preserve Joyze’s eligibility for immigration.
In February 2024, Judy's long journey to provide her daughters with a brighter future in the U.S. finally came to fruition. Both Joyze and Mitzi were granted their immigrant visas at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and were able to enter the U.S. While Judy remains in a coma,
her love and determination have opened the door to the American Dream for her children.
Watch this success story on an encore episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday, March 2 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app.
(Advertising Supplement)
From left: Jasper, Joyze and Atty. Michael Gurfinkel
Ruby Sibal Screengrab from website/www.beyondbabycare.com
Judy’s green
despite
Chef Leah Cohen on expanding Pig & Khao, embracing Filipino flavors, and her next chapter
by MoMar G. Visaya / AJPress
FROM her breakout moment on Top Chef to helming one of New York City’s most beloved restaurants, Leah Cohen has built a career on authenticity and bold flavors. Her flagship restaurant, Pig & Khao, has been a fixture on the Lower East Side for over a decade, blending her Filipino and Jewish heritage with Southeast Asian influences.
Earlier this year, she brought that same energy to the Upper West Side, offering a more refined but equally vibrant take on her signature dishes.
In this Q&A, Cohen shares the biggest lessons she’s learned from opening multiple locations, how her multicultural upbringing shaped her approach to food, and what excites her most about expanding beyond New York. She also teases her next cookbook, reflects on her father’s influence, and reveals which Filipino food myths she’d love to bust.
What was the biggest lesson you learned from opening Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side, and how did that shape your vision for the Upper West Side outpost?
Leah Cohen: The biggest lesson was having a clear vision from the start. The first time around, it was kind of thrown together. This time, I made sure we were intentional with everything—from the art to the plating. It’s the same vibe but a more mature version.
How does this location
push your culinary vision forward?
We’re keeping true to authentic flavors but introducing more playful elements, like the new “rotaria” section with roti tacos. It’s a fun way to incorporate street food flavors in a new format.
What excites you most about bringing Pig & Khao to the Upper West Side?
We’re reconnecting with longtime customers who have moved uptown, and at the same time, introducing the brand to a new audience who might not have ventured to the Lower East Side.
How did your multicultural upbringing influence your approach to food?
I grew up Jewish but deeply connected to my Filipino roots because of my dad’s passion for the culture. We visited often, and I was always in the kitchen, helping my mom or other family members prepare food.
Is there a misconception about Filipino food you’d love to change?
People think it’s all heavy, fried dishes, but there’s so much more—grilled seafood, fresh vegetables. It’s an incredibly diverse cuisine that deserves more recognition.
What’s the first thing you eat when you land in the Philippines?
I spend a couple of days in Manila, checking out new restaurants, then head to Romblon. It’s all about reconnecting with family and rediscovering flavors
that shaped me.
Q: Speaking of Filipino food, you wrote Lemongrass and Lime— any plans for another book?
A: I’d love to! I’m actually working on a book proposal as we speak.
Q: Can you share any details about it yet?
A: My goal is to write a Filipino cookbook based on the dishes I grew up eating—both at home in New York and during visits to the Philippines. I also want to include foods my mom grew up eating.
Q: You’ve been sharing a lot of your mom’s favorite dishes on Instagram. Your top recipe for 2024 was the soy garlic version of soy garlic chicken, right?
A: Yes!
Q: How do you put your own spin on these traditional dishes?
A: That version was a boneless take on what my mom used to make, with a few tweaks. My mom had about five dishes she cooked really well, and her fried chicken was one of them. I try to stay true to the flavors I grew up with while making them my own—sometimes just by using what I have in the kitchen that day or through multiple rounds of recipe testing.
Q: You’re opening a restaurant in Philadelphia! When is the target launch?
A: We're aiming for July or August, but restaurant openings always take longer than expected.
Q: Will the new restaurant also be Pig &
A: Yes! This is our first venture into Philly, so we want to come out strong. We’ll bring our top dishes from both the downtown and uptown locations, plus we’re planning a combined offering as well.
Q: How much of the downtown menu is available uptown?
A: Around 40%, which is about five or six dishes. The rest of the menu is new.
Q: Knowing what you know now, what advice
Assorted Starters
Tocino Wings Photos from Cole Saladino Murtabak
Moo Ping Al Pastor Roteria
Latik Tart Cocktails Cheers King of a big deal
PAGE 15
Khao?
Rogelio ConStantino medina My P.E.P. (People, Events,Places)
Florida Panthers visit the White House
HOCKEY is a popular sport that can be a favorite for many reasons, including its physical benefits (for it can help improve cardiovascular fitness, lower body strength, reaction time, and handeye coordination), cultural significance, and the opportunity to develop teamwork.
One of my favorite hockey teams is the Florida Panthers, a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference.
The 2024 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers was recently honored by President Trump at the White House.
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Solano County-based Brothers David and Vincent Isip are supporters of the train therapy (the former started it even before the COVID-19 pandemic, while the latter during the post-pandemic), an emerging intervention for coping with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia that relies on a railway travel simulator.
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities.
David Isip, founder of Budget Window Coverings, a low-volume provider of window treatments, in 1980 (now being continued by his son Miguel), has railways train simulator that features minimalist and artistic elements merged in an immersive experience where the perks of a train trip are emphasized.
In the case of Vincent Isip, a Contra Costa County employee in California, his loco simulator can pull 20 train cars and has a caboose, a boxy railroad car attached to the end of freight trains (cabooses are used to house the train crew and monitor the train for safety). The number of train cars a locomotive can pull depends on the locomotive's horsepower and the weight of the cars. He has also a vintage
or classic train simulator where patience is a virtue.
To succeed, you need to wait for the right moment and use your train management skills to drag the trains from one railway to another. Imagine your thoughts and feelings as a train, and notice them without judgment. This can help you get some distance from your thoughts and feelings.
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February is the month of love. I will feature different stories of love. I asked male respondents: (1) How do you define love? (2) Are you in love now with your spouse and why?
Their replies (fourth batch) are as follows:
LA-based Roderick Gutierrez of City of Hope Medical Center, who has been married to Jane TagudingGutierrez of Davao del Sur for 37 years and has sired four children: (1) “Love is such an ambiguous word that could be defined depending on the context on where to use it.”; (2) “As for my wife, I could say that cherishing her for the rest of my life would be the only definition I had and still have.”
Vallejo-based Alan and Jelynne Valentin are happily married and the couple has 5 kids: (1) “Love covers a lot of sacrifices. In the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NIV, ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’.” (2) “Love looks to build each other's up, even at the expense of self.”
Oregon-based Dale Villar Acelar, a former actor who works at Mercedes Benz of Wilsonville, is married to Megan Powers-Acelar for 7 years and they have five kids: (1) “Love is something you feel — it’s not just in your mind, but in your body and soul. It’s a force that moves through you, beyond logic or explanation. It’s that unshakable connection, the kind that doesn’t need words to be understood. When it’s real, you don’t just experience it — you live it, you become it. And I am blessed to share it with my wife.” (2) “Yes, I’m in love with my wife, Megan. She’s not just my partner— she’s my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the person who truly understands
me. Love isn’t just about the good moments; it’s about choosing each other every day, through every challenge and every joy. And with her, that choice is easy. We understand each other and I am so happy God brought me to her.”
*
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I am glad that the second child of Danilo Jubay Marella, Mariano III Seldura Marella of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, who graduated from University of Saint La Salle with Bachelor of Physical Education, is now a Licensed Professional Teacher. Another teacher in our family!
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The Ferdinand E. Marcos (FEM) Memorial Stadium has won the 2025 Building of the Year Awards - Sports Architecture from Archdaily showcasing the value of social architecture.
This recognition highlights the stadium’s world-class design, innovation, and significance as a premier sports venue in Ilocos Norte. It is a testament to Filipino architecture and creativity and is hopefully the first of many more to come.
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Pam Bondi was recently confirmed as U.S. Attorney General. It is believed to reaffirm President Trump’s commitment to “restoring law and order and defending American values.”
She has been a fierce advocate for justice, “never backing down from a fight, and will bring that same tenacity to the DOJ.”
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
* * * rogeliocmedina@yahoo.com
President Donald Trump with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
Dale and Megan Acelar, who are based in Oregon.
Happily married couple Alan and Jelynne Valentin.
Roderick and Jane Gutierrez have been married for 37 years.
Mariano Marella at the Iloilo Convention Center.
Florida Panthers hockey players with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vincent J. Viola (left, beside President Trump) in the White House. Photos collated by Rogelio C. Medina
The Ferdinand E. Marcos Memorial Stadium in Laoag City.
David Isip’s railways train simulator with astonishing landscapes observed at slow pace.
How to successfully sell your property in the Philippines
SAB’s Review
SELLING a property in the Philippines can be a rewarding yet challenging process, especially if you’re looking for the best value and a seamless transaction. Whether you’re based locally or overseas, the key to a successful sale lies in preparation, marketing, and working with the right professionals. Here’s a step-by-step guide in selling your Philippine property.
1. Understand the market
• Research current property prices in your area to set a competitive price.
• Identify peak seasons when buyers are more active, such as during the holiday season or before school starts.
• Consider hiring a real estate agent with local expertise to provide insights on market trends.
2. Prepare your property for sale
• Conduct minor repairs and maintenance to enhance property appeal.
• Declutter and stage the home to make it more attractive to buyers.
• Secure necessary documents such as the title, tax declaration, and official receipts for utility payments.
3. Set the right price
• Get a professional property appraisal to determine a fair market value.
• Avoid overpricing, which can deter buyers, or underpricing, which can lead to losses.
• Be open to negotiations while ensuring you don’t compromise too much on value.
4. Market your property effectively
• Utilize online platforms such as real estate websites, Facebook Marketplace, and property listing sites.
• Take high-quality photos and create a compelling property description.
• Consider paid advertisements or social media promotions to reach a wider audience.
5. Work with a trusted Real Estate Broker
• A licensed broker can handle inquiries, negotiations, and legal documentation.
• Brokers have access to a wider network of potential buyers, expediting the sale process.
• Ensure you work with someone reputable by checking their PRC license and client reviews.
6. Be ready for legal and financial matters
• Ensure your title is clean and free from encumbrances or disputes.
• Be aware of taxes and fees involved, such as capital gains tax, documentary stamp tax, and broker’s commission.
• If selling remotely, provide an authorized representative with a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) to handle the transaction on your behalf.
7. Negotiate and close the deal
• Be responsive to inquiries and flexible with viewing schedules.
• Prepare the deed of sale and other necessary paperwork for a smooth closing.
SAB Realty specializes in connecting property sellers with the right buyers, offering comprehensive real estate services for both local and overseas clients. With extensive experience in the Philippine real estate market, Sab Realty provides expert guidance in pricing, marketing, and legal compliance to ensure a smooth and successful transaction.
Whether you are looking to sell a family home, a commercial property, or an investment asset, Sab Realty is committed to delivering professional and personalized service.
At SAB Realty, we provide expert guidance to help you make informed decisions. Whether you’re buying a family home, diversifying your portfolio, or preparing for retirement, we’ll help you every step of the way.
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.
Sharon Ann Bathan-San Pedro, a licensed real estate broker in the Philippines for ten years, is also a proud member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in America. For inquiries, questions, or if you’re interested in buying or selling a property, feel free to reach out:
• Email: sab.sanpedro@gmail. com
• PH Contact (Viber/ WhatsApp): +63 917-823-7796
• USA Contact (Viber): +1 (951) 367-6840.
Chef Leah Cohen on expanding...
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would you give your younger self—especially the version of you that went on Top Chef just to enjoy the experience?
A: I’d tell myself to stop caring so much about what other people think.
Q: That’s easier said than done! How long did it take for you to figure that out?
A: Honestly? Yesterday! laughs But really, as you get
US-based Filipina named finalist...
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the Philippines. “I draw on centuries-old values of community, compassion, and resilience – principles that are integral to Filipino culture,” she explains. In every family she supports, Ruby weaves these values into her practice, creating a nurturing environment that honors tradition while embracing modern best practices. This approach ensures that every new mother receives the comprehensive support she needs, boosting her confidence and ability to thrive as a parent.
“It brings me so much joy to see how the care we provide has a ripple effect – helping one family at a time, one generation at a time,” Ruby says. “When we empower caregivers, we uplift communities and create lasting change for the future. ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ as the African proverb goes. That is the very core of our company’s name HIMBA. HIMBA is a tribe in Namibia whose women are responsible for taking care of other women’s children. It also stands for Helping Infants and Mothers Bond and Adapt.”
Ruby’s work is rooted in empowerment. As a mother of two grown children, she understands the joys and challenges of early parenting. “Every new mother I encounter is on the brink of discovering her strength, and my mission is to empower her with the confidence and knowledge to navigate this new chapter of life,” Ruby explains. “I’ve witnessed firsthand how the right guidance and support can transform a mother’s
journey into parenthood, which is why I’m deeply passionate about helping them trust their instincts and embrace their new roles with confidence.”
Ruby’s professional journey has also been marked by significant achievements. One of her most humbling milestones this year was receiving the Top Alumni Achievement Award from her alma mater, the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, Philippines. This recognition is more than just an award – it’s a testament to the lasting impact of Ruby’s work in caregiving, parental support, and newborn care.
“This award validates the dedication I’ve poured into training caregivers and empowering new parents,” says Ruby. “It reinforces my mission to continue making a difference, not just in individual families but in the industry as a whole.”
Another key milestone for Ruby was completing a comprehensive four-day public speaking course with world-renowned speaker and best-selling author Brian Tracy, who is now her mentor. “This was a strategic step in my journey,” says Ruby. “It allowed me to refine my ability to communicate effectively and inspire a broader audience. Public speaking is a powerful tool, and with this new skill, I can reach more new parents, equipping them with knowledge and confidence in their journey. It will also help me train and mentor more newborn caregivers, empowering them to embrace this field with skill, heart, and
purpose.” This achievement positions Ruby to expand her impact beyond oneon-one care, turning her mission into a larger movement of education and advocacy. By improving her ability to communicate her message, Ruby aims to make newborn care education more accessible and impactful worldwide.
Ruby’s vision extends to the Philippines, where Ruby is expanding her programs to offer culturally attuned newborn care training. She believes Filipinos are among the world’s best caregivers, and by providing robust training, she hopes to elevate global caregiving standards and create job opportunities both locally and internationally. “This initiative will not only improve the quality of life for women but also contribute to brighter futures for their communities,” she says. Ruby’s work is not just about caring for families one at a time – it’s about creating a lasting impact. She has seen the powerful shift from vulnerability to empowerment in the families she supports and realized that true change comes when we empower others. Through her mentorship and training programs, Ruby has set in motion a ripple effect of care, support, and hope that extends far beyond individual families, reaching communities and generations to come. By investing in the growth of caregivers, Ruby is shaping the future of newborn care and inspiring a new generation of compassionate, skilled professionals who will continue to uplift families worldwide.
MedNews capsules...
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older, you care less about what others say and focus more on being authentic to yourself.
Q: If you could cook a meal for anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
A: My father. He passed away during COVID, and the last time I cooked for him, he wasn’t feeling well. I just made something from what I had in my fridge and drove it up to him in
Westchester. I’d love to cook him a proper meal.
Q: What were some of his favorite dishes that you made?
A: He loved everything I cooked, but he especially loved a mussel dish we had when Pig & Khao first opened. We took it off the menu after a year but brought it back at our Jersey City location because it felt perfect by the water. He also loved sisig. n
general medical information and not intended to be applicable to or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
* * *
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
* * *
The main objective of this
column is to educate and inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle, to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation, or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable to or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
* * *
Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical
lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He was a recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, U.S. senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, Astronaut Gus Grissom, scientists, and educators. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888. com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com; Amazon.com (“Where is My America?”); Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com.
ShaRon ann Bathan-San PedRo
