041324 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

craft, vessels, or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty," Biden said. "We are deepening our maritime and security ties."

In response, Marcos said the U.S. and the Philippines are both committed to "a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific."

"It is a partnership, borne not out of convenience nor of expediency, but as a natural progression of deepening relations and robust cooperation amongst our three nations, linked by a profound respect for democracy, good governance, and the rule of law," he said.

The summit comes amid repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waterway that have raised fears of wider conflict.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, brushing aside competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines.

 PAGE A2

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The heads of state of the Philippines, U.S., and Japan have called on China to stop using its coast guard in a coercive manner. They also reminded China that ownership of several areas in the West Philippine Sea has been settled in the July 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) In a joint statement released on Thursday night, April 11, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio expressed their serious concerns over China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. They specifically mentioned the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, which China says it owns. They said the PCA ruling has addressed the issue regarding the shoal when it invalidated China’s sweeping nine-dash line territorial claim.

“We express our serious concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea,” the three leaders said. “We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.”

PERA Act: US senators propose $2.5 billion security boost for PH

Tulfo beats Sara in 2028 ‘match-up’ polls – OCTA

“We steadfastly oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation,” they added. The three leaders continued: “We by AJPRESS

States Senators Bill Hagerty

UNITED

alliance by significantly increasing U.S. security assistance. This move comes in response to heightened aggression by China in the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

The PERA Act, introduced amidst a leaders-level summit among the United States, Japan, and the Philippines

2029, totaling $2.5 billion over five fiscal years.

Senator Hagerty emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines in the face of mounting security threats. “As the United States and the Philippines face growing challenges to security and prosperity in the West Philippines Sea  PAGE A4

MANILA — If the 2028 presidential race would be down to two leading candidates, Sen. Raffy Tulfo will win by a significant margin against Vice President Sara Duterte, based on commissioned polls conducted by the OCTA Research group.

“In all the survey results, Sen. Raffy Tulfo won by a margin of some 10 to 15 points,” OCTA fellow Ranjit Rye told One News’ “Storycon” on Tuesday, April 9. “No survey that we have come up with show that, in a one-onone situation, did Sara Duterte

win over Sen. Raffy Tulfo,” he said as he disclosed the results of three commissioned surveys they conducted related to the 2028 presidential elections. Rye stressed that these findings “don’t really matter” because a two-way presidential race never happened post-EDSA. “What I’m trying to say, maybe in a real election, in a traditional election in the Philippines, you don’t have just one or two candidates,” he said.

“In a three- or four-way  PAGE A2

US, PH, Japan fortify alliance...

The tensions, combined with saber rattling over China's claims to the self-governing island of Taiwan, have prompted Biden to boost alliances in the region.

The three leaders hailed the meeting as "historic."

Without mentioning China by name, they painted their alliance as a bedrock of peace and democracy in the Asia-Pacific in contrast to authoritarian Beijing.

Kishida said that "multi-layered cooperation is essential" and that "today's meeting will make history."

He gave a joint address to the U.S. Congress earlier Thursday in which he urged Americans to overcome "self-doubt" about their role as a global power.

This time directly warning of risks from the rise of China, Kishida said that Japan — stripped of its right to a military after World War II — was determined to do more to share responsibility with its ally, the United States. China hit back, saying the U.S. and Japan had "smeared" its reputation during Kishida's state visit.

Beijing foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Wash-

ington and Tokyo had "attacked China on Taiwan and maritime issues, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, and seriously violated the basic norms governing international relations."

Japan and the Philippines are the latest Asia-Pacific allies to be hosted by Biden, who was joined by Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David in August.

But Biden has also moved to manage tensions with China, holding a two-hour phone call with President Xi Jinping last week following a face-to-face meeting in San Francisco in November.

On Wednesday, April 10, Biden said the major upgrade in defense ties with Japan was "purely defensive" and "not aimed at any one nation or a threat to the region."

In the leaders' joint statement following their historic summit, they underscored their nations' unwavering commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and the importance of respecting the sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones consistent with international law,

as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). They expressed "serious concerns" about China's "dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. We are also concerned by the militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea."

In particular, the three leaders said they "oppose the dangerous and coercive use of Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, as well as efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation."

Signed in 1951, the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States was enhanced by the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The VFA provided the legal basis and status protection for U.S. military personnel temporarily assigned to the Philippines.

EDCA authorizes U.S. forces to access designated military bases in the Philippines on a rotational basis. (With reports from Agence France-Presse)

Tulfo beats Sara in 2028 ‘match-up...

contest, these numbers will change. It’s slightly going to favor VP Sara or the candidates with a bailiwick,” he noted.

Too early

During the interview, Rye also stressed that it is still too early to conduct surveys on the 2028 presidential elections, saying there is “so much that will happen between now and 2028.”

He was responding to Tulfo’s request that his name be taken out of surveys for the next presidential elections.

“We respect the opinion of Sen. Raffy Tulfo. We’ll discuss it, and most likely we will take his name out. It’s really too early to do polls for 2028,” Rye said.

“It is quite early to talk about 2028 now… I can understand Sen. Tulfo’s concern because it might sidetrack him from what he has to do or the message he wants to advocate or the advocacies that he wants to push because people will always

suspect him of positioning for 2028,” he added.

In his program “Wanted sa Radyo,” Tulfo said it pains him that discussions right now are already focused on who will replace the current administration even if it has just started.

“We should be talking about how we can support this administration going towards its goal,” he said. “Please do not include my

name. I implore you, especially in 2028,” he added.

A recent Pulse Asia survey showed Tulfo statistically tied with Duterte among those preferred to run for president in 2028.

The senator obtained 35 percent of support from respondents while Duterte received 34 percent.

They were followed by former vice president Leni Robredo with 11 percent; Sen. Imee Marcos, five percent; Sen. Robin Padilla, two percent; Sen. Risa Hontiveros, one percent and Speaker Martin Romualdez with less than a percent of support. On OCTA’s part, Rye said much of their polls regarding the senator are commissioned.

“That’s why we haven’t released anything regarding his numbers,” he noted.

While they respect Tulfo’s request, he said there are poll questions they cannot control.

(Philstar.com)

reiterate serious concern over the PRC’s repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and the disruption of supply lines to Second Thomas Shoal, which constitute dangerous and destabilizing conduct.”

“The final and legally binding July 12, 2016 Arbitral Tribunal determined that this feature lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and we call on the PRC to abide by the ruling,” they also said.

Ayungin Shoal, which sits around 315 kilometers from the tip of Palawan, is well within the West Philippine Sea, being inside the 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone of the country.

However, China believes the Philippines is illegally occupying the shoal by deliberately parking Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin in 1999. China also claimed that a former Philippine president promised to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin, but President Marcos said he is not aware of such a deal.

Aside from the West Philippine Sea issue, Marcos, Biden, and Kishida also discussed other matters related to China such as its claim over Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands and long-time insistence on Taiwan being a mere

province of the mainland.

“We express our serious concerns regarding the situation in the East China Sea, and reiterate our strong opposition to any attempts by the PRC to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea, including through actions that seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands,” they said.

“We affirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of global security and prosperity, recognize that there is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,” they added.

To address these security concerns over the IndoPacific region and to improve interoperability between the three countries, leaders have agreed to start joint maritime exercises in 2025.

“Within the next year, our coast guards also plan to conduct an atsea trilateral exercise and other maritime activities in the IndoPacific to improve interoperability and advance maritime security and safety. We announce the establishment of a trilateral maritime dialogue to enhance coordination and collective

responses to promote maritime cooperation,” the leaders said.

“We are concerned about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. We support the ability of Filipino and Japanese fisherfolk to pursue their traditional livelihoods. To build regional capacity and address threats posed by transnational crime, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and other maritime challenges, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States plan to expand our efforts to provide maritime law enforcement training and support to partner countries in the region,” they added.

The trilateral meeting between the Philippines, U.S., and Japan comes in the midst of an increased tension in the South China Sea.

Over the past few months, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has regularly complained about the Chinese Coast Guard’s harassment of local vessels assisting resupply missions to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal.

During the start of the threeway meeting, Biden reiterated that any attack on a Philippine aircraft, vessel, or armed force in the South China Sea will invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty that requires both the U.S. and the Philippines to send support if a party is being attacked. 

Ang Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ay magsasagawa ng pampublikong pagdinig sa Iminungkahing FY25 Budget (Hulyo 1, 2024– Hunyo 30, 2025) sa 3:00 p.m sa Miyerkules, Mayo 15, 2024. Ang pagdinig na ito ay magaganap nang personal. Ang pampublikong komento ay maaaring ibigay nang personal nang live o sa pamamagitan ng telepono. Ang isang link upang i-stream ang pagdinig at panoorin ang mga presentasyon na gagawin sa pagdinig ay mapapaloob sa agenda ng pampublikong pagdinig na ipo-post nang hindi bababa sa 72 oras bago ang petsa ng pagdinig. Magagamit din ang isang link upang mapanood ang pagdinig nang live sa metro.net/about/board/board-directors-meetings-audio-archive/. Ang mga interesadong miyembro ng publiko ay hinihikayat na lumahok at dumalo nang virtual sa paparating na pampublikong pagdinig upang magbigay ng patotoo. Ang mga hindi makakalahok ay maaaring magsumite ng nakasulat na patotoo na naka-postmark o ipinadala hanggang 5 p.m ng Mayo 14, 2024. Ang mga komento ay maaaring isumite sa elektronikong paraan sa BoardClerk@metro.net ; ang mga sulat sa koreo ay dapat ipadala sa address sa: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority One Gateway Plaza, M/S 99-3-1 Los Angeles, CA 90012-2932 Attn: Board Clerk Upang makahingi ng karagdagang impormasyon mula sa publiko at mga stakeholder tungkol sa taunang budget, ang mga workshop/pagpupulong sa budget ay naka-iskedyul sa Pebrero, Marso, Abril at Mayo kasama ang

Subcommittee, Streets & Freeways Subcommittee, at Local Transit Systems Subcommittee. Para sa karagdagang impormasyon sa proseso ng FY25 Proposed Budget Development, upang tingnan ang mga resulta mula sa FY25 My Metro Budget Activity, mga iskedyul ng pagpupulong ng stakeholder at iba pang detalye ng budget development, mangyaring bisitahin ang www.budget.metro.net.

Ang mga kopya ng dokumento ng budget ay magiging available para sa pampublikong pamamahagi nang 15 araw bago ang pagdinig at maaaring makuha mula sa Records Management Center (RMC) sa pamamagitan ng pag-email sa RMC@metro.net. Ang mga kopya ng dokumento ng budget ay maaari ding kunin sa RMC sa Plaza level ng Gateway Building o makita nang online sa www.metro.net. Ang paparating na pampublikong pagdinig ay gaganapin alinsunod sa mga kinakailangan ng pederal na pampublikong pagdinig na nakabalangkas sa Seksyon 5307 (b) ng Titulo 49 U.S.C., at mga alituntunin sa pampublikong pagdinig na nakabalangkas sa Seksyon 2-50-025 ng Metro’s Administrative Code, na inamyendahan MGA PANGANGAILANGAN NG ADA: Kapag hiniling, ang interpretasyon ng sign language, mga materyales sa mga alternatibong format at iba pang mga akomodasyon ay magagamit ng publiko para sa mga pagpupulong at kaganapan na inisponsor ng Metro.

LIMITADONG KASANAYAN SA INGLES: Kapag hiniling, ang mga interpreter ay magagamit ng publiko para sa mga inisponsor na mga pagpupulong at kaganapan sa Metro. Ang mga agenda at minutes ay makukuha rin sa ibang mga wika kapag hiniling. Ang lahat ng mga kahilingan para sa mga makatwirang akomodasyon, mga serbisyo ng interpretasyon at mga materyales sa ibang mga wika ay dapat gawin nang hindi bababa sa tatlong araw nang may trabaho (72 oras) bago ang nakatakdang petsa ng pagpupulong. Mangyaring magsumite ng mga kahilingan sa pamamagitan ng pagtawag sa (213) 922-4600 sa pagitan ng 8 a.m. at 5 p.m., Lunes hanggang Biyernes. Ang aming TDD line ay (800) 252-9040. Ang mga indibidwal na may kapansanan sa pandinig

Vice President Sara Duterte Photo from Facebook/@MayorIndaySaraDuterteOfficial

Hate crimes are extremely di cult to convict...

hate crime must originate with the hate element, which is often difficult to establish,” he said.

“Hate crimes are an augmentation of sentencing: it is seen as something additional. You’re already charging assault or battery,” said Bonta, noting that a successful hate crime conviction might add 2 to 5 years to a sentence. He urged victims of a hate crime to gather up as much evidence as possible and to get details.

Low conviction rates

Last June, Bonta’s office released the 2022 Hate Crime in California Report. The report noted that reported hate crime events in the state increased 20.2%, from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120 in 2022. Hate crimes targeting Black people remained the most prevalent and increased 27.1% from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022, while anti-Asian hate crime events decreased by 43.3% from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022.

Hate crimes in California involving a sexual orientation bias increased, by 29%, from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022.

But of the over 2,100 hate crimes reported in the state, only 52 resulted in hate crime convictions. The majority of hate crimes reported never made it to court: just 456 cases were filed by district attorneys and elected city attorneys, according to the report.

Divisive political rhetoric

In his formal remarks at the summit, Bonta said hate was not a new phenomenon. “It’s been with us since time immemorial. We need to take care of each other, look after one another, and be committed to the proposition that hate against any one of us is hate against all of us, and it’s unacceptable.” He said he feared for his mother, amid the rise of violent hate attacks targeting AAPI elderly people.

The Attorney General tacitly referred to the rise in hate crimes over the past 7 months targeting both Jewish Americans and Arab Americans, brought on by the Israel-Hamas war. “The awful, unacceptable deaths of children and civilians that we’re seeing in Palestine and in Israel are unacceptable. And they’re affecting us here.”

The Trump factor Bonta also indirectly addressed Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has used very divisive rhetoric on the campaign

and other House members offered personal anecdotes on how telehealth, home visits, and remote monitoring helped their patients, relatives, and constituents. Wenstrup, a Republican from Ohio who is also a podiatric surgeon and a retired Army reservist, told the audience: “Patients are less anxious and heal better when they can be at home.”

Most of the proposals focus on how Medicare covers telehealth services. But the rules affect patients on all types of insurance plans because typically private insurers and some government programs follow Medicare’s example. Without congressional action, virtual health care services like audio-only calls or meeting online with specialty doctors — such as an occupational therapist — could end. The bills would also continue to allow rural health clinics and other health centers to offer telehealth services while waiving a requirement for inperson mental health visits.

Telehealth use ballooned in the early months of the covid-19 pandemic and grew into a household term. The practice has become a popular issue for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

In one U.S. Census Bureau survey conducted from April 2021 to August 2022, Medicare and Medicaid enrollees reported using telehealth visits the most — 26.8% and 28.3%, respectively. The survey of nearly 1.2 million adults also found that Black patients and those earning less than $25,000 reported high rates of telehealth use. Notably, people of color were more likely to use audio-only visits.

Ensuring access to telehealth services “is the best public policy,” said Debbie Curtis, a vice president of McDermott+Consulting, a Washington, D.C.-based health care lobbying firm. “It’s the best business outcome. It’s the best patient care outcome.”

But it’s a presidential election year and Congress is a “deadlinedriven organization,” Curtis said. She expects that Congress will be “kicking the can” past the November election. Kyle

trail. The candidate has repeatedly claimed that “immigrants are poisoning the blood of America,” and has promised to reinstate his “Muslim ban.”

“We have leaders who use the most toxic, xenophobic language. They give license to others.”

Bonta was asked a question by organizer Darren Miller, about the predicted chaos expected to ensue if Trump does not win. “One of the hallmarks of a democracy is the peaceful transfer of power. You cannot claim victory when you win, and malfeasance when you don’t,” said Bonta. Distrust of police

The United Against Hate summit April 6 was organized by the Community Alliance newspaper in collaboration with the Fresno Center. The daylong event brought together more than 20 non-profit organizations, who set up tables outside the venue to share their efforts towards ending hate. Mike Rhodes, executive director of the Community Alliance, told EMS that Fresno and neighboring cities were rife with hate activity, much of which is unreported.

“A lot of people here don’t trust the police,” said Rhodes, adding that when hate crimes and incidents are reported, they often go unnoticed. The Fresno Police Department did set up an information table at the event. The morning featured four concurrent workshops, including tools for bystanders witnessing a hate crime; what to do if you’re a victim of a hate crime; and a “know your rights” discussion led by the Council on American Islamic Relations. Amir Brooks, who presided over the workshop, recalled a recent event in which he was stopped by police in the small town of Clovis, California.

health care system on a popular bipartisan issue,” he said.

In January, lawmakers — including senators from Mississippi and South Dakota — sent a letter to the Biden administration urging the White House to work quickly with Congress to ensure payments continue for Medicare patients who use telehealth, “especially for rural and underserved communities.”

Maya Sandalow, a senior policy analyst for the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said lawmakers and policymakers are likely to consider a temporary extension of the payments rather than permanent changes.

“Research is still coming out that covers more recent years than the acute effects of the pandemic,” Sandalow said. The center expects to release policy recommendations in the coming months.

Questions being considered include which kind of health care services are best for audio-only and video visits. Sandalow said researchers are also weighing how telehealth can “expand access to affordable, high-quality care while ensuring in-person options remain for patients.”

In North Dakota, Sanford Health’s David Newman said virtual care is often the only way some of his patients in the western part of the state can get sub-specialty care, such as with behavioral health.

Newman, an endocrinologist and Sanford’s medical officer of virtual care, said 10% to 20% of his patients are seen virtually during the summer, as compared with about 40% in the winter months because “the weather can be so bad” that roads are impassable.

In winters past, Newman would sit around “doing nothing for a day” because patients couldn’t visit him. Now, he has a full clinic using telehealth technology.

“I tell my patients that if you can make a restaurant reservation or if you can order a pizza online, you can do a virtual visit,” Newman said. (Sarah Jane Tribble/KFF Health News)

Walking while black Brooks is Black and disabled. “I was hobbling to the store. Within a couple of minutes, police stopped me, shined a light in my face, and asked a bunch of questions,” he said.

“When I got to the store, I was stopped by two more cops, who again questioned me, and then checked out my answers against the ones I had given the other cops.”

“As I walked home, the cops followed me. They had obviously identified me as a suspect without any reason,” said Brooks. (Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services)

EMS’ Stop The Hate initiative is made possible with funding from the California State Library in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. The views expressed on this website and other materials produced by EMS do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CSL, CAPIAA or the California government.

a comprehensive legislative effort to transition away from its reliance on natural gas. Introduced by Senator Dave Min of Orange County, SB 1221, also known as the Affordable Energy Transition And Workforce Protection Act, aims to chart a new course for the state's energy landscape. At the heart of SB 1221 is a

zero-emission alternatives, such as neighborhood-scale decarbonization projects. Recognizing the immense financial and environmental toll of the state's aging natural gas pipeline network, SB 1221 offers a solution that addresses both affordability and sustainability. When gas pipelines fall into disrepair, the state is often faced with the decision to either invest

homes and businesses, create jobs, and improve air quality.

To avoid locking in further investment in gas infrastructure, SB 1221 will open the door for pilot programs in economicallydisadvantaged communities to transition to 100% clean electricity. These neighborhoodscale initiatives can upgrade homes and buildings with clean energy technologies, providing long-term stability in utility bills for households.

Recent polling data suggests that California voters  PAGE A4

Several non-profit organizations set up tables outside the United Against Hate summit in Fresno, California, to share resources for combatting hate. Photo by Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services

Melody Felicano Johnson, whose sentencing is scheduled for May 10, faces a maximum of 2 years in prison for each count of the felony charge Fil-Am pleads guilty to poisoning husband’s co ee with bleach

A FILIPINA American woman in Arizona has pleaded guilty to adding poison to her husband’s coffee over a period of several months. Court documents revealed that 40-year-old Melody Felicano Johnson, who had been charged with attempted first degree murder, pleaded guilty to two counts of the lesser felony charge of adding poison or a harmful substance to food or drink.

This plea change emerged this week as part of a negotiated deal in the Pima County Superior Court. Under the terms of this agreement, Melody could face a range of sentencing options, including probation, consecutive prison terms or a combination of prison followed by probation. Furthermore, the court retains the authority to impose fines as part of the sentencing process.

The case first captured public attention in 2023, shedding light on the troubled relationship between Melody and her husband, Roby, amid a contentious divorce.

The gravity of the situation intensified with the release of

home surveillance footage in October 2023, showing Melody tampering with her husband’s coffee maker, transferring bleach into a container and then pouring it into the machine.

Roby told investigators the activity happened frequently when they were in Germany in March last year. Her husband noticed that his coffee started to taste differently, so he installed hidden cameras in their temporary base house. As seen in the video, Roby observed that after cleaning the coffee maker, the back of it

became slippery following rinsing, and said, “It smells like bleach.”

Roby informed investigators that he believed his wife was attempting to kill him in order to collect death benefits.

Melody was arrested last year with bond set at $250,000. Prosecutors argued that she was a possible flight risk as she recently bought a home in the Philippines.

She faces a maximum of two years in prison for each count of the felony charge. Her sentencing is scheduled for May 10. 

Lawmakers introduce bill to facilitate shift..

overwhelmingly support these types of clean energy initiatives. A majority (62%) of voters favor policies that would enable neighborhoods to convert to 100% clean electricity, and a similar percentage (62%) express concern about the aging natural gas infrastructure and the high costs associated with its maintenance and replacement. “SB 1221 will enable the state to make smarter decisions around energy infrastructure planning and invest in a way that makes energy more affordable for Californians while prioritizing the communities most in need,” said Jose Torres, California Director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition. Despite California's reputation as a climate and environmental leader, the state remains the second-largest consumer of

natural gas nationwide. This is particularly problematic, as natural gas poses significant risks to human health and the environment. Gas-powered appliances in homes emit four times more nitrogen oxide pollution than California's gas power plants, and two-thirds as much as cars. Moreover, the maintenance and expansion of natural gas infrastructure is an increasingly costly endeavor. Utilities across the country are spending upwards of $15 billion annually to replace leaking pipelines, with each new pipeline typically lasting 80 years. This locks utility customers into expensive infrastructure that will eventually become obsolete as the state transitions towards renewable energy targets. As gas demand declines in California, the fixed costs

of the gas system will be spread across a dwindling customer base, leading to potentially dramatic increases in gas bills – up to $600 per month by 2050, according to the California Energy Commission. SB 1221 aims to address this issue by enabling the CPUC to pilot cost-effective, zero-emission alternatives to costly gas infrastructure replacements.

With the ongoing energy affordability crisis and the imperative to address climate change, California lawmakers have recognized the urgent need to chart a new course away from fossil fuels. SB 1221 represents a significant step in this direction, seeking to protect consumers, workers, and the environment through a comprehensive approach to the state's energy transition. 

Bureau of Investigation and one was arrested. The Pasig RTC case, however, is not bailable.

If found guilty, Quiboloy and his co-accused may face life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million but not more than P5 million pesos. The Pasig RTC also said that it denied the motion to defer/ suspend the proceedings filed by the camp of Quiboloy. “Clearly, from the foregoing, there is no basis for this court to suspend the proceedings by reason of the filing of a motion for reconsideration on the Resolution of the petition for review before the Department of Justice as this is not one of the grounds stated under Section 11, Rule

Philippines Enhanced Resilience Act of 2024

cooperate on these capabilities.

The introduction of the PERA Act reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and reinforce the U.S.’s commitment to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. 

(a) The accused appears to be suffering from an unsound mental condition which effective renders him unable to fully understand the charge against him and to plead intelligently thereto. In such case, the court shall order his mental examination and, if necessary, his confinement for such purpose.



Melody Johnson (right) with her lawyer, a Pima County public defender. Photo screengrabbed from Youtube/News 11 Yuma

Duterte denies he ‘conceded’ anything in West Philippine Sea deal with China

by CHARIE ABARCA Inquirer.net

In a press conference aired live on the page of SMNI’s Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” on Thursday, April 11 Duterte said nobody — not even the Philippine president — “can concede anything of our territories.”

“Let me be very clear on this: We have not conceded anything to China. There might have been [an] exchange of control over the China Sea to those who are really territorial in nature, not involving the encroachment of China in our exclusive economic zone. That’s different,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

“Aside from the fact of having a handshake with President Xi Jinping, the only thing I

remember was that status quo. That’s the word — no movement. No movement, no armed patrols there. As is where is, so that there’s no trouble… So we wont’t get into trouble,,” he added.

Duterte said these were the only things he could remember, adding that he did “not even know the Ayungin Shoal.”

Duterte’s former spokesperson, Harry Roque, earlier said the ex-president had a “gentleman’s agreement” with China – for the Philippines to refrain from bringing construction and repair materials to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Asked if there was truth to Roque’s statement, Duterte said: “As is where is as I said. You cannot bring in materials to repair and improve — none of that.”

In the nearly two-hour-long press conference, Duterte proceeded to lambaste former Supreme Court Justice Antonio

Carpio whom he called “stupid.”

"What I don’t like is even this stupid ex-Justice Carpio is harping on a gentleman’s agreement [when] certainly he was not there. He’s beginning to expound on the consequences or the result or whatever wrong there was committed in the agreement,” Duterte said.

Carpio previously said the deal was “lopsided in favor of China,” adding that it was a “disguised surrender of our exclusive economic zone rights over Ayungin Shoal.”

Duterte then posed a challenge to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who previously admitted being horrified by the alleged Duterte-China deal. “Stop complaining and expounding on it. Do it and repair [BRP Sierra Madre].

“That’s what I’m telling them. I challenge them because they’re the ones in government now. So let them repair the ship. Let them make a shelter there, wherever, if they are really ready for that,” the former president said. 

Historic 2023 OFW deployment moves PH labor migration forward from pandemic

by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO Philstar.com

MIGRANT worker-sending Philippines has moved forward from the COVID-19 pandemic by posting a 55-year high in the number of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Fresh data from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) showed that the Philippines had deployed 2,330,720 land- and sea-based migrant workers in 2023, higher compared to the 2,156,742 OFWs deployed in prepandemic 2019. But various countries’ travel restrictions, economic recessions and labor market closures in 2020 plummeted OFW deployment figures in 2020 by 74.5%. Only 549,841 OFWs were deployed that year. From 2020 to 2023, OFW deployments rose by 323.9%.

Meanwhile, the government’s first record of deployed OFWs showed that 3,694 overseas contract workers (OCWs) were deployed in 1969. Even the numbers of deployed land-based OFWs (1,752,094) and seafarers (578,626) both reached historic highs, DMW data show. Given that the pandemic shut down worker deployments abroad in 2020, the 2023 numbers for land-based and sea-based migrant workers were 426.7 and 166.3% higher, respectively from pandemic-hit 2020.

DMW is now the country’s lead migration agency, it being the merger of seven agencies and bureaus including the former Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that usually releases OFW deployment data. From the 2023 data, some

1,244,005 OFWs are rehires and

508,089 others are newly-hired migrant workers.

DMW data also showed that 49.8% of deployed OFWs were female, as “domestic cleaners and helpers” make up 31.1% (or 157,812) of these deployments.

For land-based migrant workers, Saudi Arabia emerged as the top destination country (419,776 deployed OFWs) followed by the United Arab Emirates (282,896), Singapore (182,331), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (175,877) and Qatar (138,193).

As for seafarers, able seamen are the top skill (80,471) while officers (52%) make up the most seafarers by category of these merchant marine fleet.

Meanwhile, passenger ships (151,942 seafarers) form the leading vessel type of Filipino

Unemployment declines amid upbeat business climate under Marcos

MORE job opportunities are being created for Filipino workers amid an upbeat business climate as a result of the Marcos administration’s “sound policies” to attract investments, improve employment and boost consumption.

Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, lauded the Marcos administration’s efforts to generate jobs after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a decline in unemployment to 3.5%.

Co attributed the decline to “a government hard at work that puts more people at work,” as the PSA reported that from 2.15 million jobless Filipinos in January 2024, the number went down to 1.8 million in February 2024, bringing the unemployment rate from 4.5% to 3.5%.

“This is clear proof that the government is doing a good job in creating more jobs for more Filipinos. A government hard at work puts more people at work,”

Co said in a statement.

“Sound policies create an upbeat business climate that attract investments that generate jobs and boost consumption. This is the virtuous cycle that heightened confidence in the country’s economy inspires,” he added.

The lawmaker also lauded the Marcos administration for being able to bring down underemployment, from 6.39 million underemployed Filipinos in January 2024 to 6.08 million underemployed Filipinos in February 2024. According to the PSA, this translates to an underemployment rate of 12.4 percent in February against the 13.9 percent in January. Underemployment is defined as workers who are seeking additional jobs or working hours to improve their income.

“The needs of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, older people, and those with disabilities, remain our priority to encourage workforce participation. We will improve access to quality childcare, finance, and entrepreneurship opportunities to support women’s entry and retention in the labor market,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a separate statement.

Balisacan said the government will revisit the existing policy governing alternative work modes, such as the Telecommuting Act, and adapt it to the evolving work landscape to address the growing preference for remote work.

“The government will explore enhancing the potential of parttime work to help promote lifelong learning. A framework for part-time work and similar set-ups can allow workers to retool or upskill without leaving the workforce,” Balisacan said. (Inquirer.net)

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said the Marcos administration was working on strengthening linkages among industry, the academe, and the public sector to address skill mismatches in the labor market.

OPINION FEATURES

Secret deal

FINALLY breaking his silence on a raging controversy, Rodrigo Duterte discussed reports that during his presidency, he had entered into a gentleman’s agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that compromised Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

The press conference on Thursday night, April 11, however, added to the confusion over what Duterte promised exactly to the Chinese. He said he had not “conceded anything” to China. “Aside from the fact of having a handshake with President Xi Jinping, the only thing I remember was that status quo. That’s the word – no movement. No movement, no armed patrols there. As is where is, so that there’s no trouble… So we won’t get into trouble,” Duterte said, adding that he did “not even know the Ayungin Shoal.”

Editorial

Asked if part of the agreement was for the Philippines not to bring repair and construction materials to the BRP Sierra Madre, which serves as a naval outpost on Ayungin Shoal, Duterte replied: “As is where is, as I said. You cannot bring in materials to repair and improve – none of that.”

But how can you not repair a ship as decrepit as the Sierra Madre? If that rusty naval vessel is allowed to fall into natural disrepair, it would disintegrate into the sea. Duterte often showed special concern for Filipino soldiers and police personnel. What would happen to the Filipino troops stationed on the Sierra Madre if the ship floor gives way or the ceiling

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is in Washington DC on Thursday, April 11 for a historic trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. This promises to be a watershed moment for a region laboring under China’s military assertiveness. The road to this meeting took many years. Until very recently, the prospect for a summit like this one, where regional security concerns overshadow economic and trade issues, may be considered almost nil.

Japan, until a few years ago, adhered scrupulously to the pacifist principles prescribed in its postwar constitution. Tokyo maintained a token “defense force” and avoided participation in multilateral military undertakings, from the Vietnam War to the Coalition of the Willing in the Middle East. Japan’s pacifist stance was once staunchly supported by its public. It perfectly suited Tokyo to rely on the U.S. nuclear defense umbrella

Sketches

collapses on their heads? Even new ships require regular maintenance and repair.

Duterte scoffed at criticisms of this aspect of his deal with Xi and “challenged” the Marcos administration to go ahead and repair the Sierra Madre, at the risk of incurring Beijing’s displeasure. But why should the Philippines worry about Chinese displeasure over whatever Filipinos do within the country’s own sovereign waters and exclusive economic zone?

Duterte held the press conference after President Marcos, responding to questions from reporters, said he was “horrified” that a secret deal had “compromised” Philippine territory, sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. Marcos, who participated in a trilateral summit in Washington with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said he would seek clarification about the deal from the Chinese upon returning to Manila.

Philippine sovereign rights and maritime economic entitlements in the South China Sea have been defined and affirmed in international arbitration, based on the United Nations Convention

and host military bases for the Americans. While the Philippines tried to collect some form of rent from the Americans for hosting their bases in the late 20th century, Japan gladly subsidized American military presence on their soil.

Japan’s pacifist policy was reinforced by its neighbors, countries occupied by the Imperial Army in the last great war. As a matter of protocol, Southeast Asian countries (particularly the Philippines) filed diplomatic objections each time Tokyo improved on its armaments. Meanwhile, the threat of North Korean missiles raining down on Japanese cities increased by the day. That threat escalated most rapidly the past few years, given dictator Kim Jong-un’s obsession with growing his missile force.

Japan has lingering territorial issues with Russia and China’s rapidly modernizing military could potentially threaten vital trade routes. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan, made likely by the Xi regime’s cynical use of nationalism to snow under domestic economic failings, will have devastating

consequences for Japan.

Over the past few years, Japanese public opinion on building a more credible defense posture began to change. Strident pacifism retreated. Tokyo showed increasing willingness to participate in regional security initiatives and carry its own weight in maintaining a rulesbased international order.

Over the past few years, Japan’s self-defense forces willingly participated in multilateral military exercises in the region. This time, Japan’s participation was welcomed rather than condemned by her neighbors – the Philippines particularly.

The Kishida government committed to increase its defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2027, matching the norm NATO countries set for themselves. No objections were heard from the country’s pacifist public nor from Japan’s neighbors. The stage was set for Japan to finally emerge as a fullfledged defense partner in the region.

The Philippines, too, took a muddled route to this summit.

In 1991, the Philippine Senate, riding a wave of

Trilateral

nationalist agitation, voted to expel U.S. bases from the archipelago. Although hobbled by communist and Muslim separatist insurgencies, the Philippines decided to take full responsibility for its external defense. That did not work out too well. In the vacuum created by the withdrawal of U.S. bases from our shores, China’s hegemonic impulses began to fill the void.

When China began building structures in the South China Sea reefs, Beijing told us these were merely to provide shelters for their fishermen. Soon, these structures blossomed into full-scale military bases, complete with runways and missile launch sites. Over the past two years, the contested areas have been filled with hundreds of “militia” and China Coast Guard vessels, pushing out our fishermen from their traditional fishing grounds and hampering our ability to maintain our outposts in the area.

Without more definite support from our partners in the ASEAN, the Philippines bore the responsibility for checking Beijing’s hegemonic impulses almost single-

handedly. South Korea offered a few boats for coastal patrols and Japan offered supplies for our Coast Guard. The U.S. and Australia conducted “freedom of navigation” patrols along the international sea lanes claimed by China as territorial waters. None of these could turn back Beijing’s increasingly assertive maritime presence. Admitting our own inadequacies for external defense, the Philippines agreed to allow use of our military camps for positioning U.S. supplies. We escalated our regular war exercises with the US, gradually involving other allies such as Australia and Japan. When Chinese vessels forced us out of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, we sought international arbitration. This did not win us recognition of our sovereignty claims. It only won us affirmation of our “sovereign rights” to areas within our exclusive economic zone as provided for by the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas.

Nevertheless, the strong naval presence China maintains in the South China Sea prevents us from fully exploiting potential oil and

natural gas deposits in the contested areas. The status quo will not enable us to fully exploit our exclusive economic zone.

During the Duterte years, the Philippines toned down its position on the contested reefs in the hope that doing so would encourage more trade and investment flows from China.

Very little of that materialized.

Over the past two years, Philippine foreign policy became more assertive. We pushed for increased security interdependence with our allies. A more defined security alliance with the U.S., Australia and Japan emerged. We are explicitly seeking more international guarantees for our security.

On hindsight, all roads lead to the vital trilateral security summit now being held in Washington, D.C. There is no way we can reverse Beijing’s hegemonic impulses than to stand together for a rulesbased international order.. (Inquirer.net)

WHAT if you are included in a survey of potential presidential aspirants, and you land in the top three of the most preferred, but you sincerely don’t intend to run and don’t want to be included in the survey?

Should polling firms exclude you from further surveys? But who’s to say if you will change your mind at the last minute?

The issue is being discussed by the OCTA research group after Sen. Raffy Tulfo asked that his name be stricken off the list of potential “presidentiables” in 2028. OCTA fellow and political scientist Ranjit Rye said the exclusion may not be possible for non-commissioned, open-ended surveys, wherein the pollster does not supply the names of possible candidates but allows respondents to list their top-ofmind preferences.

Even those who commission surveys may also not agree to exclude certain names especially

of emerging frontrunners from the list.

Polling accuracy can also suffer if certain names are excluded, Rye told “Storycon” on One News last Tuesday, April 9, even as he acknowledged that it’s still too early to conduct polling on likely contenders for the presidency in 2028.

Why would a person want to be excluded from surveys on races for the presidency, or for lower posts such as senator, for that matter?

Based on previous events, we have an idea why. ***

When a person is perceived to be eyeing high elective office in our country, everything the person does is deemed to be colored with politics. If a senator, for example, conducts a legitimate probe into anomalous activities, the subject of the probe could dismiss negative findings as politicking or black propaganda.

This, of course, could work both ways. Being seen as a presidential frontrunner facilitates brushing aside as mere smear jobs valid questions raised about the integrity or competence of a

public figure.

This is what Vice President Sara Duterte has done with criticisms of her massive confidential funds.

For this year, she has lost the P650 million in secret funds that she requested for the Office of the VP and Department of Education, thanks to her political nemesis, Speaker Martin Romualdez and the super majority in the House of Representatives.

When the position believed being eyed by a person is the presidency, inclusion in a survey raises name recall. But it is also guaranteed to make enemies of potential rivals, especially for those who emerge at the top of voter preferences.

For the presidency, serious contenders typically have enormous resources for employing vast armies of trolls, disinformation and smear campaign specialists. Every sin of commission or omission, both real and fabricated, every misbehavior of a perceived rival candidate, from childhood to the present, will be dredged up. The potential candidate becomes a magnet for criticism both fair and unfair.

Naturally, the most blistering

attacks are directed at the perceived frontrunner.

Rye points out that this is par for the course for politicians, and public officials should not be onion-skinned.

Being an early frontrunner in a presidential race also has its pluses. The support base can be widened and campaign financiers can come on board (although many hedge their bets until the last minute, or else place bets on all the strongest candidates). ***

Some quarters say polling especially for races still several years away can result in mind conditioning of voters. In our country, this tends to favor populist politicians, entertainers and other public figures with strong name recall, and excludes lesser known individuals with integrity and competence for public office.

Rye, whose research group gained national prominence during the pandemic for frighteningly accurate projections of COVID infection trends, agrees that it’s premature to be conducting surveys on preferences for the 2028 presidential race.

OCTA nevertheless has accepted three commissioned surveys so far on who might win in case of a one-on-one between VP Sara and Raffy Tulfo.

It would be interesting to know who paid for the surveys. But Rye declined to provide details to Storycon except one: the common outcome. He said the winner in all three polls, hands down, is Tulfo –by a comfortable margin of 10 to 15 points. Rye was quick to point out that there has never been a two-way presidential race in this country since the elder Ferdinand Marcos faced off with Corazon Aquino in the 1986 snap election.

A three- or four-cornered fight in 2028 obviously will produce a different result. OCTA might hear grumblings from certain camps about being excluded from the commissioned survey.

Polls may also not accurately reflect actual voting behaviors in this country, where bailiwicks remain important. Tulfo, Rye noted, has no bailiwick; the Dutertes have a strong bailiwick in Mindanao. The Tulfos have roots in Davao, but have not been politically active in the region or the city.

With or without a bailiwick, Raffy Tulfo has said 2028 is not on his mind – “wala sa utak ko ang 2028” – so could he please be excluded from surveys on 2028 presidentiables?

These days when he is teasingly addressed as “Mr. President,” he pleads for the teasing to stop because, he sighs, “dadami ang kaaway ko” – his enemies will increase.

It’s noteworthy though that his plea does not include a categorical statement that he won’t seek the presidency in 2028. But perhaps it is truly too early at this point to discuss solid political plans for a race that’s still four years away.

In the meantime, Rye says that while OCTA respects Tulfo’s views, respondents in open-ended surveys cannot be prevented from naming the senator as a preferred presidential candidate.

A senator is a public figure, and fair game for polling. (Philstar. com)

on the Law of the Sea. The same UNCLOS-based ruling invalidated China’s entire nine-dash-line claim over nearly all of the South China Sea. The

Chinese are trespassing on Philippine sovereign waters. And the Philippines can act accordingly. (Philstar.com)

ManilaTimes.net photo

Court acquits Napoles of ‘pork’ case in Nueva Ecija

THE Sandiganbayan has acquitted controversial businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles for violation of the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act for alleged irregular and unlawful disbursements in 2005 of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or "pork barrel" of former Nueva Ecija representative Aurelio Umali. In a 35-page decision by the anti-graft court's Second Division and penned by Associate Justice Edgardo Caldona, Napoles, alongside Evelyn de Leon, Renato Manantan and Narcisa Maningding were acquitted of the crime for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or giving manifest partiality, bad faith or gross negligence resulting in undue injury to the government.

De Leon was the president of the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc, Manantan was the officer in charge regional executive director, Maningding was accountant of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit 3 (DA-RFU3).

The cases stemmed from the utilization of Umali's PDAF allocation in 2005 worth P15 million, of which, P12 million were given to Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (Mamfi) for the supply of liquid fertilizers, and Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi Inc. (SMPGI) for the delivery of irrigation pumps worth P3 million.

It was alleged that Manantan and Anita Tansipek, president of the SMPGI, entered into a memorandum of agreement to implement the projects of Umali, who partnered with SMPGI which was chosen by DARFU3 as "project partner" in the implementation of agricultural development programs in the third district of Nueva Ecija.

It was Manantan who facilitated, processed and approved the funds worth P450,000 together with Maningding, causing the issuance of a LandBank check for the same amount signed by Manantan without examining or verifying the accreditation and qualification of SMPGI.

The high court said that Manantan and other officials

allowed SMPGI to take possession and misappropriated the said funds instead of implementing the projects, which later turned out to be nonexistent.

In its decision, the Sandiganbayan said that Manantan took measures in order to render his official actuations lawful, while no other evidence, aside from Maningding's plain signature, was presented to substantiate bad faith or manifest partiality regarding her involvement in the disbursement of funds as chief accountant.

It also said that aside from being recited in the information that de Leon was president of PDSFI and Napoles was the owner of Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, another beneficiary of the said funds, "no other overt act was attributed to them that would possibly indicate furtherance of an alleged conspiracy with the accused regional officials of the DA-RFU3." "Likewise, evidence is [lacking] to show how de Leon and Napoles participated in the scheme where they were implicated," the Supreme Court said. 

Comelec sees 70%-80% overseas voter turnout in 2025 election

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) hopes to achieve a 70 to 80 percent overseas voter turnout for the 2025 midterm polls, with the pilot implementation of internet voting.

"If we can reach 70 to 80 percent, that is already an achievement for us," Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told reporters on the sidelines of the demonstration of the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) at the Comelec office in Manila.

This is a big jump from the 38 percent overseas voter turnout in the 2022 polls, with only around 600,000 of some 1.6 million registered overseas voters casting their votes.

"That was the highest in overseas voting history. But that remains low when compared to local voter turnout. This is why we want to increase this through internet voting," Laudiangco said.

"We hope to have a similar turnout as the local elections, where we had 84 percent turnout in the last elections," he added.

He said the OVCS will no longer

require Filipinos abroad to physically go to Philippine posts or mail their ballots.

"They can cast their votes at the convenience of their home, workplace, sailors at sea, as long as they have internet connection and enrolled devices," Laudiangco said.

The Comelec-Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) has declared the joint venture (JV) of SMS Global Technologies, Inc. & Sequent Tech Inc. as having the lowest calculated bid (LCB) for the OVCS at PHP112 million. The project has an approved budget of PHP465.8 million.

Meanwhile, the SMS-Sequent JV demonstrated on Thursday, April 11 its internet voting system before the SBAC during the post-qualification evaluation.

Laudiangco said the SBAC is looking to complete the post-qualification evaluation this month.

Transmission system deal

awarded

Also on Thursday, the Comelec en banc the Notice of Award to the joint venture of iOne Resources, Inc. and Ardent Networks,

Inc. (iOne-Ardent) for the Secure Electronic Transmission Services (SETS) project. “Pursuant to Comelec En Banc Minute Resolution No. 24-0196 (April 5, 2024), the Notice of Award thereon was issued to and received by the Winning Bidder (Bidder with the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bid) Joint Venture of iOne Resources, Inc. and Ardent Networks, Inc. today, April 11, 2024,” Laudiangco said in a statement.

Early this week, the SBAC reported to the seven-man panel of the Commission that iOne-Ardent has passed all legal, financial, and technical requirements of the PHP1.638 billion project.

The company has been declared as having the "lowest calculated bid" after tending a bid of PHP1.426 billion in February.

The SETS will be used to transmit election results using telecommunication networks.

It also includes the provision of data centers and connectivity requirements for the Automated Election System (AES) servers. (PNA)

PBBM’s digital transformation agenda prompts Google to grow business in PH

A TOP official of the multinational internet service giant,

In a meeting with Marcos on the sidelines of his trilateral summit with the U.S. and Japan on Thursday, April 11, Google’s Global Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy Karan Bhatia said that they are impressed by how the Philippine government shifted to digitalization of services.

“Let me first, of all, say how impressed we’ve been with the leadership that you and your team have already shown on the digital transformation agenda. We know it is a very high priority for you, for the Philippines as a whole, but in particular for

the government,” Bhatia told Marcos.

For his part, Marcos asked Google to increase the cybersecurity activity in the Philippines, particularly the country’s regulatory efforts and to come up with a system that will provide efficient digital services for all Filipinos across the country. Marcos also emphasized that the Philippine government wants to ensure continued connectivity off the sea.

“I am trying to be concerned when we’re off the sea. So, as I said, will try to pick that up and go on your organization and help us with that,” Marcos said.

Bhatia responded to Marcos in the affirmative as he emphasized that Google can provide the Philippines what it needs in terms of strengthening the country’s cybersecurity and that they “would love to be part” of

Historic 2023 OFW deployment...

seafarers, as ships whose flag of registry came from the Bahamas had the most number of seafarers (81,273).

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the return and repatriation of an estimated 2.3 million OFWs who suffered job losses, insufficient incomes and health problems. From March 2020 to August 2022, records from the Inter-Agency Task Force against Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF) show that the 2,348,098 returnee OFWs nearly outnumbered the 2020-to-2022 deployed OFWs (Total: 2,498,305).

The droves of return prompted had government agencies to pivot towards providing economic reintegration support to returnee OFWs through entrepreneurial loans, cash grants and skills training.

A 2021 survey by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of over-8,000 OFW returnees showed that majority of them wish to go back and work abroad if borders reopen and overseas labor markets re-hire foreign workers.

The Philippines felt the overseas job losses given the pandemic while it almost saw the drastic decline in cash remittance flows from abroad. In 2023, the

Philippines received record-high cash remittances (US$33.49 billion).

In 2021, analysts like University of the Philippines political scientist Dr. Jorge Tigno think that prepandemic migrant deployment “will not return overnight”.

But given the Philippines’ own economic recovery efforts, Tigno wrote that “The Philippines needs labor migration to weather through future economic crises, as well as to address the socioeconomic issues caused by the pandemic.”

“In the absence of significant foreign direct investments entering the economy, the overseas employment program represents the only viable economic strategy the country has for some time to come,” Tigno added in a UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS) paper.

Yet migrant civil society groups fear that continued labor migration post-pandemic will see persisting labor-related abuses and exploitation of Filipino workers in host countries.

This coming May 1, the country commemorates the 50th year of the 1974 Labor Code (Presidential Decree 442), whose provisions instituted the formalizing of what is called the country’s “labor export program." 

Tragic event leads to a sweet...

Pokwang’s ex-partner Lee O’Brian deported, says BI

By Jessica ann evangelista Inquirer.net

ACTRESS-COMEDIAN Pokwang‘s estranged expartner, Lee O’Brian, was successfully deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the agency announced on Thursday.

On April 11, BI said in a statement that the American national was officially taken out of the country last Monday. “BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that O’Brian was deported on April 8 on board a Philippine Airlines flight to San Francisco (in the United States) after the BI confirmed that he has no pending local case in the Philippines,” the BI stated. The local agency affirmed that O’Brian stands no chance to reenter the Philippines as he is now part of BI’s blacklist. “As a consequence of his deportation, his name has been included in the BI’s blacklist, barring any future attempts to reenter the country,” stated the BI. In 2023, Pokwang, whose legal name is Marietta Subong, filed a deportation case and cancellation of visa against her former partner, as O’Brian was operating in the country without proper permits, using only his tourist visa despite already

actress has been urging O’Brian to provide financial support for their child, recently lamenting on Instagram’s comment section, “Hoy, [Lee O’Brian], ano na? Panay lang party at golf kasama ng mga pokpok? Mag-support ka hoy!” [Hey, Lee, what do you plan to do? To continue partying and playing golf with your girls? Provide financial support for your child!] Pokwang and O’Brian had been in a six-year relationship before confirming their separation in July 2022. They have one daughter, Maila. n

Indie actor Allen Dizon comes to terms with public attention

By Marinel cruz Inquirer.net

“PEOPLE who come up to me for photos now call me Doc Carlos,” said award-winning indie film actor Allen Dizon. who is now making waves on mainstream television as the scheming and obsessive Dr. Carlos Benitez in the GMA 7 soap series “Abot Kamay na Pangarap.”

While the actor is quite known in the international film festival circuit for starring in a number of critically acclaimed indie movies

(“Magkakabaung,” “Bomba,” “Imbisibol”) and bagging the best actor honor for some of them, Allen admitted that it was only when he started getting more exposure on television that the Filipino audiences started showing more appreciation of him.

“I’m feeling the huge difference, even though I realized that accommodating all the requests for pictures can be quite tiring. Once I went to the cemetery in Pampanga to light candles by the graveside of my father. A crowd gathered there

Rica Peralejo recalls relationship...

Boy Abunda” on Thursday, April 11.

Hindi ko nga alam, pero we existed and functioned like a couple talaga,” Peralejo said of her relationship with Pascual. Peralejo admitted that they “entertained” the possibilities of settling down together, but that it was a mere thought and their relationship “never got to that point.”

“There were talks of like—’di naman diretso pero parang magse-settle down together, ganyan. Pero [it was] like any other couple, gano’n lang siya— na maiisip mo na pwedeng mangyari ito, pero he never

naman promised,” she clarified. “I never naman really said na I wanted this. It was just something that we entertained. It never got to that point and we never labeled our relationship, but it was very very good naman what we had together,” she added.

Peralejo noted that even she was clueless about what relationship they had, recalling how there were “hints” but that she didn’t assume. Despite this, Peralejo underscored that she is on good terms with Pascual and that the past is no longer an issue for them.

“I think it was very obvious

that we liked each other, we loved each other, but we were like more friends really na we just like to be together a lot,” she said. Parang may mga hints here and there na ganito… [But] I didn’t really ride on that whenever I would hear something and whenever I would feel something,” she told Abunda. “Parang sa akin, maybe there is a possibility but let’s see. Until it’s really there, I don’t consider it serious. ” Peralejo has been married to her pastor husband Joseph Bonifacio since 2010. They have two sons together, namely Philip and Manu. n

extended play in late 2016, Ben&Ben has been churning out hits that touch every imaginable form of love in the romantic spectrum.

Using the songs of Ben&Ben

well is clearly show how much at fault Popoy is for his and Basha’s fallout — something

viewers of the film realized and understood better years after the film was released in 2007. The production also triumphs in giving some of Ben&Ben’s songs or a scene in the story more meaning. The best example was the use of “Pagtingin,” which crosses over three different scenarios.

performance as Anj, the role originated in the movie by Bea Saw.

As remarkable as the cast is, laurels should also go to the people off the stage particularly to David Esguerra for his lighting design, Bene Manaois for his projections, Ohm David for his minimalist set design, Myke Salomon for his musical direction, and Carlo Villafuerte Pagunaling for his costumes.

More Chance” feels like a match made in heaven, with several songs fitting neatly into several scenarios of the film. These include tracks such as “Maybe The Night,” “Nakikinig Ka Ba Sa Akin” and “Masyado Pang Maaga” in

Sam Concepcion and Anna Luna are exceptional, taking on the lead roles, especially the latter whose vocal range magnifies how hurt Basha is throughout the story.

Sam, as he has done for many years, carries a charm akin to his predecessor, John Lloyd, and to no one’s surprise, even busts some moves halfway through the musical (something his alternate, CJ Navato, does not have any trouble matching).

PETA will undoubtedly spark some newfound love for “One More Chance,” and in the process, reawaken hearts that were built and broken in the years since Philippine cinemas first heard the words: “She had me at my worst. You had me at my best... and you chose to break my heart” and “Sana ako pa rin… ako na lang… ako na lang ulit. But the line that best encapsulates “One More Chance: The

as is the case for the number involving “The Ones We Once Loved.” But what PETA’s “One More Chance: The Musical” does

Sheena Belarmino (and likely her alternate Kiara Takahashi as well) sells the difficulty of her character, Tricia, and her position, especially through a powerful performance of Kathang Isip.”

Beyond the three, Via Antonio gives a scene-stealing

Lee O’Brian and Pokwang Photo from Instagram/@leeobrian, @itspokwang27

How Erik Matti’s ‘The Squatter’ won at Europe’s ‘Biggest’ TV series festival

By Nathalie tomada Philstar.com

MANILA — Director Erik Matti and producer Dondon Monteverde recently revealed how their immigrant crime story “The Squatter” became a top winner at the recent international TV festival, Series Mania, in France.

Now on its 15th year this 2024, Series Mania is the biggest dedicated TV series festival in Europe, as per Variety. “The Squatter” — the only Asian among the bunch of finalists — won alongside “George Blake” from Scotland’s Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald and “Sleeping Swans” from Austria’s Barbra Albert under Seriesmakers, a “novel and high-powered mentoring program” of Series Mania for feature filmmakers making the leap to TV. “The Squatter” secured €50,000 or around P3 million as prize, and is set to collaborate closely with Beta Films to develop a pilot script, among others.

Variety described Erik’s latest project as an east-meetswest eight-part crime series. It revolves around a Filipino overseas worker and a Ukrainian detective “unraveling a mystery that begins with a dead body in a small town and spans halfway across the globe.”

During a recent interview with direk Erik and Dondon, also the duo behind Reality MM Studios, they shared how they made it to Series Mania’s Seriesmakers.

Erik said it was invitational.

Meaning, only filmmakers who had already participated in prestigious international festivals were enlisted to join. “Of course, we knew about Series Mania, which is an international festival in Lille, France na nagpapalabas ng mga series, the pilot, just the series, they don’t have movies. Then under that festival they started the Seriesmakers. They aim to get full-length feature filmmakers who were able to join the A-list festivals — Cannes, Venice, even Toronto — and then ask them to pitch a project that is for a series,” the director said.

“Hindi namin alam sino kasama namin, who else were invited into the filmfest… Of course, we expressed excitement (when we received the invitation). Sabi namin sige, let’s try to join so we did. There’s probably 20 or more than 20 filmmakers who joined. Hindi na namin na-meet lahat yun because it was then (down) to 10 participants only.

“From there, in the period of two months, we were subjected to masterclasses, talking about how to produce a series, how (to develop a) story, what’s the difference between film and series.”

The biggest learning from masterclasses under creators and showrunners of such successful TV productions as “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria” and “Narcos” is that it’s about the story. “When it comes to movies, meron ka pang hinahabol na integrity ng director mismo, yung vision, we have to follow it. And the buck stops with the director,” explained Erik.

“With a series, it doesn’t go that way. Yes, there’s a vision to the entire series, but it goes through so many people, not just creatives, but producers, etc., etc. All of those do a lot of things for the series to be completed and to be successful.

“It’s gonna be a vision for the entire team. Kung meron man kaming adjustment ginawa from movies to series, it’s that. And we have to understand that the series should be good enough to engage the audience from Episodes 1 to 8.”

Aside from the masterclasses, the program provided them with mentors to guide them on drawing up a pitching deck for the final submission, a basis for the selection of the winners.

They started the program last year, submitted the deck in January of this year, got a call they won, and went on to receive the award in France last month.

What they particularly like about winning at Seriesmakers is the support even after post-win. They’re excited because they’ve attended events where they pitch

Alden Richards attends Kathryn Bernardo’s house blessing

By JaN milo Severo Philstar.com

MANILA — Kapuso star Alden Richards attended the blessing of the new house of Kapamilya star Kathryn Bernardo on Thursday, April 11.

An Instagram account dedicated to Kathryn and Alden posted on its IG story some grabbed snaps from those who attended the event.

Apart from Alden, celebrities such as Chie Filomeno, Dimples Romana and Gelli de Belen were present at the event. Kathryn was seen having a great time as she danced, as seen in one of the videos.

Before the house blessing, Alden attended Kathryn’s birthday party in a remote beach. He also surprised Kathryn in her post-birthday celebration with a boquet of flowers.

When asked what’s the real score between them, Alden said, “What you see is what you get.”

Hindi lang din talaga kailangan lagi ipamalita sa social media ‘yung mga ganiyan. You know, sometimes ‘yung mga personal things that’s happening, better be personal na lang,” he said.

According to Alden, since he and Kathryn starred in the box office movie “Hello Love Goodbye,” they have remained good friends.

Since Kathryn and Daniel Padilla announced their breakup last November, fans of Kathryn and Alden are clamoring for a reunion project for the two. n

Why Kokoy de Santos not sad about Tahanang Pinakamasaya’s closure

FOR Kokoy de Santos, adjusting to life after the closure of “Tahanang Pinakamasaya” has been tough, but he says he’s happy that “It’s Showtime!” has a wider audience reach now that it is airing on GMA 7.

“It was hard mainly because hosting the noontime show has become a routine for all of us. I just want to say that life goes on and that while everything always comes to an end eventually, doors will open, too,” Kokoy told Inquirer Entertainment shortly after the special media screening of his latest film, Jun Robles Lana’s “Your Mother’s Skin.”

Kokoy said he could not bring himself to feel sad that the noontime show he hosted with Paolo Contis since June 2023 was replaced by the ABSCBN-produced “It’s Showtime” recently, “because I know that we are making history here.

I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted that ‘It’s Showtime!’ would eventually air on GMA 7, but I’m happy because more people will be able to watch it now,” he pointed out.

Kokoy is still seen in the long-running Kapuso gag show “Bubble Gang,” as well as the second season of “Running Man Philippines.”

“Your Mother’s Skin,” a project that Kokoy shot with Sue Prado, Miggy Jimenez and Elora Espano, will be screened on April 12 as the opening film

of “EnlighTen,” the 1st IdeaFirst Film Festival, which will run until April 14 at the Gateway Cineplex in Cubao, Quezon City.

First daring film

This is Kokoy’s first daring film since he made Eduardo Roy Jr.’s “Fuccbois” with Royce Cabrera in 2019. “It took a while before I got to make a movie that’s similar in theme, something that’s intimate, although we made this in 2021. It’s just that I took the mainstream path for a while. The pandemic struck, too, so we avoided doing even kissing scenes. But for this film, we intentionally forgot all the lockdown rules,” he said, laughing. “I did comedy for a while, so when I saw this, I thought, ‘Indies are really something else. I’ve missed doing indies. If I would be given a chance to do a similar project

now that I’m already with GMA 7’s Sparkle, I’d gladly accept.”

“Your Mother’s Son,” which Lana cowrote with Elmer Gatchalian, follows the relationship between a teacher (Sue Prado) and her son (Kokoy) and how it is challenged when she invites one of her students (Miggy) to their home.

What was probably the most challenging and awkward for Kokoy, was doing his “intimate scenes” with Sue. “I was very nervous in the beginning because it was the first time I was required to hold the breast of a fellow actor. I made this film prior to ‘Death by Desire.’ It was even more difficult because Ate Sue played my mother-in-law in ‘Gameboys.’ I told her, ‘Ate Sue, you used to be the mom of my baby (pet name of Elijah Canlas, Kokoy’s love interest

in ‘Gameboy’), but for this, I’m truly very sorry.’” At the media gathering, director Jun said he was lucky to have picked such a talented cast, and that the actors deserve all the rave reviews they have been receiving. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival in Canada and was also shown at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia and the 60th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan. “I’m thankful that even though there are other actors my age out there, IdeaFirst (the films’ producer) entrusted this material to me. Direk Jun said he has been working on this story concept since he was in college. I’m honored for the trust,” said Kokoy.

Their characters Asked to describe his character, Kokoy said: “Emman gets so consumed by jealousy that he is unable to differentiate what is right from wrong. Sarah is the most important person to him, so it’s expected that he explodes after discovering something dark about her. He is the paranoid kind, but I guess people like him are normal in a society like ours.”

Meanwhile, Sue talks about Sarah in relation to the character’s “opacity, which is very real in our day-to-day lives. She can also be defined by her deceit and need for power. I

Director Erik Matti receives the top prize for his immigrant crime story ‘The Squatter’ from the France-based international TV festival Series Mania’s Seriesmakers, a mentoring program for feature filmmakers making the leap to TV.

Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo Screengrab from @mv.kathden26 Instagram story

Fil-Am Dave Bautista joins cast of upcoming ‘Aang: The Last Airbender’ movie

By Kristofer Purnell Philstar.com

The original ATLA series saw the inexperienced young Aang attempting to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, master of the four elements, with the siblings, Katara and Sokka, as they go up against the tyrannical Fire Kingdom.

Lauren Montgomery, a storyboard artist on ATLA and its sequel show “The Legend of Korra,” will be directing the animated film currently set for an October 10, 2025 release.

By

the working title “Aang: The Last Airbender” are scarce, Bautista is set to voice the movie’s villain. Nam will likely voice the titular character, while Matten and Quan are eyed to voice Aang’s bending friends, Katara and Toph, respectively. Nickelodeon and Paramount previously announced three animated films in the ATLA universe were being developed by the newly formed Avatar Studios, where original showrunners Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino are producers. Local volunteers, community leaders

Since the original show ended in 2008 and “The Legend of Korra” in 2014, there has been a live-action movie in 2010 that was critically-panned as a box office bomb and is considered one of the worst movies ever made.

Netflix recently renewed its live-action ATLA series adaptation for a second and third season. It stars Filipino-Canadian Gordon Cormier as Aang.

In related Nickelodeon news, Paramount announced the original voice cast of the beloved show “Spongebob Squarepants” will return for “The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants,” set for release in December 2025. n

When it was brought up to them, Maris and Anthony said they were more than willing to cling to their characters.

ON April 6, individuals and community groups from the City Heights area joined Caltrans, Clean California, I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD), Keep California Beautiful, and Keep America Beautiful to clean up and beautify Azalea Park. Nearly 200 volunteers gathered to revitalize the park and cleaned up close to 300 pounds of litter, including garbage, household hazardous materials and recyclable materials. The group spruced up the Azalea Park Water Conservation Garden with California native plants and removed three dumpsters full of invasive plants, which can be harmful to the native plants and animals, and cause fire hazards, among other harmful effects.

The beautification included painting barbeque pits, restoring park benches and tables, and installing interpretive signs, including a map of the City Heights Canyon Loop Trail.

On hand to kick off and rally volunteers was Sean Elo-Rivera, District 9 council president and Linda Pennington, founder and president of Azalea Park Neighborhood Association, along with ILACSD and Keep California Beautiful representatives. “Clean California and its local partners are grateful to the many volunteers that invested their time today to revitalize this beloved park,” said Gabriela Polo, Western Regional Director, Keep America Beautiful. “By coming together to clean and beautify Azalea Park, an important landmark for City Heights residents, we’re doing more than picking up litter. We are building resilience, fostering a sense of ownership and pride, and creating a space where community bonds can grow stronger.” This event was made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative — a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear cleanup effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join communities

throughout the state to reclaim, transform and beautify public spaces. Clean California is not only helping to clean up San Diego highways, but also revitalizing neighborhoods in every corner of California. The Azalea Park beautification effort was one of many taking place across the state with opportunities for volunteers to get involved. An upcoming opportunity to help is during Clean California Community Days, a series of cleanups, activities, and celebrations across the state, taking place April 19-22.

Indie actor Allen Dizon comes...

asking for photos. They got even more excited when they learned that I’m a Kapampangan like them,” Allen told Inquirer Entertainment in an interview.

“This lasted for three hours; no rest, just nonstop phototaking. After that, I transferred to my grandmother’s grave and the same thing happened. The crowd was even bigger,” he recalled. “I’m pleased with all the attention. It’s just that it tires me to just keep smiling. My eyes also hurt because of all the camera flashes. I know people will take offense if I turn them down.”

‘More color’ Allen explained that Doc Carlos started out in the series as “a nice guy that had a lot of red flags.” He explained: “I didn’t want him to end up being mean, but Direk (LA Madridejos) said Doc Carlos is too nice that this has become the natural role progression for him. He said we are allowing this to happen to the character to give it ‘more color.’ I have no problem with this. I was just more concerned with the fans. They would send me messages to say, ‘You’re a liar!’ or ‘Plastic!’” Abot Kamay na Pangarap,” also features Jillian Ward, Carmina Villarroel, Richard Yap, Dina Bonnevie, Dominic Ochoa, among others. n

Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings click as an onscreen tandem even

Composite image of actor David Bautista and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” AFP / Angela Weiss, Nickelodeon

of the upcoming animated “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (ATLA) movie by Paramount and Nickelodeon. Korean singer Eric Nam, long-time Nickelodeon voice actress Dionne Quan, Canadian actress Jessica Matten and Mexican actor Roman Zaragoza are also in featured in the animated movie. While plot details for the film

with

Volunteers at Azalea Park during the April 6 cleanup and beautify event. Photo provided by Solsken PR

Marina Summers guesting at Miss Universe Philippines 2024 coronation

MANILA — Drag queen Marina Summers will make a guest appearance at the upcoming coronation night of Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) 2024. The MUPH organization confirmed Marina’s participation its social media accounts last April 11. “Universe, it’s SUMMERtime!” MUPH said in its announcement. “With this guesting, we’re all winners, baby.” Marina is fresh off a finals appearance on the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. the World” where she finished as joint-third.

The competition was won by Great Britain’s Tia Kofi, however Marina was arguably the show’s biggest star after weekly praises from the judges and audiences.

Alan Carr called Marina a Lip Sync Assassin and Michelle Visage said she was “a drag queen’s drag queen,” and was the only contestant with multiple badges from maxi challenges and runways at three.

The Filipino drag queen’s highlights include impersonating boxer Manny Pacquiao during the

Snatch Game, being dubbed the best dancer on the cast, and receiving an uplifting comment from RuPaul that she was “born to do drag.”

Marina has also been donning Filipino outfits on and off the stage, often wearing terno or woven textiles when in the Werk Room and tapping the help of designers for the runways.

Among those runway looks are a volcano dress and lava gown designed by Job Dacon and Mak Tumang (a spin on Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray’s iconic dress), a Bangus Terno designed by Axel Que, and a traditional Yakan wedding ceremony attire.

Probably the drag queen’s lasting legacy on the show is her now-iconic stare attributed to another Filipino Miss Universe winner Pia Wurtzbach.

She previously finished as the runner-up of the inaugural “Drag Race Philippines,” which crowned Precious Paula Nicole.

Over 50 beauty queens are vying to succeed Michelle Dee as Miss Universe Philippines at the coronation night held in the Mall of Asia Arena on May 22. The Philippines’ representative will then fly to Mexico later this year to try and win the country’s fifth Miss Universe title. n

Snorene proves you don’t have to be a...

standing close to her, added, Abangan niyo (kung) ano pa kaya namin gawin .”

Just last month, Viva director Jason Paul Laxamana posted a photo with the two, and it seems like a film is on the way. Maris even captioned it with the words “an answered prayer.”

By Kristofer Purnell Philstar.com Filipino drag queen Marina Summers

Marina Summers via Instagram

Will Randy Santiago ever perform without his iconic shades?

by

BELIEVE it or not, “Randy Santiago without shades” is among the most-searched topics related to the OPM icon on the “Gen Z search engine” TikTok. “Randy Santiago eye reveal” is another popular search, yet you won’t find any video showing the singer without his now-iconic shades — not even close to it. Nevertheless, Randy is surprised by the continuous interest and curiosity his signature look generates even among the younger generation, many of whom weren’t even born when he scored his first big hits like Babaero and Di Nagbabago from his 1988 debut album. Wala kayong makikita,” the 63-year-old singer laughed when The STAR told him about the TikTok searches. “In real life, of course, ‘pag mga kasama ko sila Kuya Rey (Cantong, musical director) and the rest of the guys, tinatanggal ko talaga yung salamin ko. Lalo na ‘pag dun lang kami nagpupuntahan sa bahay. Sooner or later, makikita niyo rin ang mata ni Tito Randy, but in the meantime… hahaha!” Though undoubtedly it has been seen as an asset, adding appeal, mystery and uniqueness to his image as an artist, The STAR asked Randy if there was ever a time he thought of performing sans shades. Hindi ko siguro gagawin yun. Let me just tell you how it started. It was in 1983 na, my band was Cicada, we thought, initially, I’ll just cover my left eye. Baka ‘di nila alam kirat po

kaliwa.

“My left eye had a problem, I got operated on when I was in Grade 2. So when I was in Grade 2, I had to stop schooling. I had to repeat Grade 2. And then the cyst grew again and I was operated on again. So, I repeated Grade 2 three times. “I’ve been asked, ‘Good thing, you didn’t get bullied?’ They couldn’t bully me because they were two years younger than me. So, I grew up being older than my classmates so no one bullied me all through the years na ratski ako (that I had the eye condition).” Randy further shared that in high school and college, he began wearing light-colored shades. Until he met his band Cicada and he tried wearing an eye patch.

“But I had difficulty grabbing the microphone when it’s covered (by the eye patch) because my eyes are not blind, they’re both 20/10 vision. Yung dito (sa taas) 20, kalahati 10 (laughs). So, I had difficulty at night (performing) at Tavern on the Square. I couldn’t get (the mic). I said let’s just remove this patch patch, I’ll wear shades instead. That started it. This was in 1983.”

Randy said that he agreed to remove his sunglasses but only showed his right eye in the ABSCBN drama series “La Luna Sangre,” as per request of its director Cathy Garcia-Sampana. “Of course, my problem is… because there are people asking why I don’t do teleseryes. How will I do teleseryes when I’m always wearing shades? Hindi

bagay. So, hayaan na natin kina Kuya Rowell and Raymart (Santiago) ang teleserye,” he said.

Looking back, wearing shades has since really become a trademark that also helped propel his career in the industry.

“Yes, kahit paano naging signature… of course! Bakit nabuhay ang ‘Hawi Boys,’ dahil nga ang daming gustong dumukot sa loob hahaha! Gusto nila makita,” he said.

In case you don’t know, along with his rise to fame as a singing heartthrob in the ‘80s, the public got also introduced to the “Hawi Boys” — his group of friends, including Willie Revillame, Dennis Padilla, Chinkee Tan, Jong Cuenco, among others — known to keep fans from mobbing Randy during performances.

The history and story of his signature look was brought up during an intimate media huddle about his upcoming concert “EYECON.”

“I play with titles. I started, of course, with… the very first concert I had was ‘Private Eyes,’ then ‘Candle Eyes, ‘Naked Eyes,’ all about my eyes (laughs),” he said.

“Last year, what I did was ‘Eye LabYu’ for my U.S. tour. ‘Eye LabYu 2’ (was supposed to happen next) when I return to America. Until I was given this chance to do the concert with Yuri and Ms. Beth (Mercado, concert promoters)... So, I said, sige gawin natin ‘to. We were looking for a title and I thought of ‘EYECON.’ Nakatago actually sa akin yung mga eye titles ko So I gave it for this show,” he added. n

Why Kokoy de Santos not sad about...

make no judgment on her. The story talks about her in such a way that the audience is free to look at how they see fit.” he explained.

For Elora, her character Amy is very transparent about what she wants. “Amy wishes to show love and be loved in return. It may not be right, but she is trying to find that love from Emman, and it frustrates her that he doesn’t love her back.” Miggy, on the other hand, describes his character, Oliver, as “a child who has no one to guide him. His situation has made it more difficult to convince him to straighten his ways because his mind is already closed.”

In an interview while “Your Mother’s Skin” was screening in Toronto, Jun was asked what his goal was for telling this particular story. To this, he answered: “It mirrors our very complicated history with our abusers that started many years ago. We’re talking about our complicated relationship with our colonizers, those who abused us, but eventually became those we look up to and even want to please. That’s after Spain, the U.S., and even with the leaders that we vote into power.”Jun continued: “The leaders we know eventually become our abusers, we know them to have a history of corruption, to be womanizers, and yet, we elect them into power. I don’t know why. Is it because we feel trapped? That’s how I see this family. That’s how I see Sarah. The moment we allow corruption to happen, it will happen to us and to our family. We will eventually reach a point where whether an act is right or wrong will not matter to us anymore.” n

How Erik Matti’s ‘The...

their project, get a grant but there’s no clear follow-through.

“This time, the grant was from Beta Films. When they gave the grant, they sat down with us to plan. We discussed who would be the producer, where we would take the project to sell it to companies, you know? So, they plan to actually execute the series, not just make it for the festival and then be done with it,” said direk Erik.

“For Reality, we’re very happy about this being Pinoys that we’re able to actually get the top prize,” said Dondon.

“Ang maganda talaga dito, as mentioned by Erik, is the followthrough. So when we develop it, there will be a follow-through really where we will be introduced to different platforms aside from the usual platforms that we see here in the Philippines.”

Dondon added, “You know, it’s been always a dream also for Erik to actually do like a movie before in the English language. So who knows, this may be the first one or maybe dual language. We’re happy to be part of that and winning it, of course, totally makes us really proud to be Filipinos.”

As mentioned in Variety, “The Squatter” is an east-meets-west crime story.

A real incident inspired the beginnings of the cross-border tale. Two years ago on a trip to the U.S., Erik and his wife, screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto, who was writing “Buy Bust” at that time, decided to extend their stay. They met someone for the first time over a dinner, who learned about their plan and offered them to stay at their Manhattan apartment for two weeks for free.

“Siempre ngayon naging close friends na talaga kami but at that time, we just met that friend one time. So, nung nag-offer na, siempre gusto namin ni Mich, but at the back of our minds, siempre nag-iisip ka na is this too good to be true? So ‘dun kami nagsimula, mga whatif.”

In “The Squatter,” the Filipino lead character named Gail has been married to someone, but eventually relocates to London and gets offered to stay at an apartment. “Wala pa siyang pera so happy siya (with the offer) but in exchange for living in an apartment (for free), sinabi sa kanya you can do errands for us. So yun muna yung ginagawa niya while the story is unfolding.”

Early on, Erik and Dondon also wanted to tell an immigrant story. “We are the biggest exporter (of Filipino workers) in the whole world. So we started with that actually, this idea of Gail, the lead character who, hindi naman talaga siya ‘maid’ but she does errands for a rich couple,” Erik said.

“She’s actually a lawyer prior to finding a way to go to another country… We could call her a Filipina immigrant trying to start a new life in London.”

From there, they thought of adding a separate immigrant story from outside Asia. “We thought about a Ukrainian (detective) because there are a lot of Eastern Europeans and even Russians who’ve become immigrants in big cities like London and New York.

“So thinking namin, iba rin yung experience ng mga yun kasi hindi sila magkalayo ng itsura sa mga British but they’re still immigrants. Parang maganda lang siyang parallel story, these two characters trying to find a home in London.”

The choice of London as setting is because they want to pay homage to their favorite British crime and detective series.

“That’s why it’s an east-meets-west crime story because it’s seen from the lens of immigrants.”

One of the next steps for Erik and Dondon’s production under the banner of their Reality MM Studios, is to look for the lead cast. They don’t have anyone in mind yet but, Dondon hinted that they want someone in the caliber of John Arcilla, Volpi Cup Best Actor winner for Erik’s “On The Job: The Missing 8.”

“Kailangan magaling na artista,” said Dondon. “Si Erik kahit paano, like with ‘On the Job,’ tuwang tuwa kami when he directed John Arcilla, first time nanalo ang Pilipino. Siempre, we will look for the next one na talagang magaling na we feel that can actually help promote the craft here in the Philippines.”

Before “The Squatter,” two more series are currently in production under Reality MM Studios. These are the prequel series to Erik’s “On The Job: The Missing 8” starring Jericho Rosales and “BuyBust” led by Anne Curtis. n

Nathalie tomada Philstar.com Randy Santiago is bringing the ‘80s and ‘90s club scene to his first big solo show in years. Philstar.com photo ako sa

Reimbursement for community contribution towards a spouse’s education and student loan during marriage

ONE of the biggest problem of millenials and Gen Z are educational cost and student loan debt. This eats up a large part of a households budget even among married couples.

However, what happens to all the money paid towards one spouse’s education and student loans if the marriage fails and leads to divorce. Well, California Family Code Section 2641(b)(1) provides that upon divorce or legal separation, the community “shall be reimbursed” for its “contributions” to a spouse’s education or training that “substantially enhances” the spouse’s earning capacity.

Under Family Code Section 2641(a), reimbursable community “contributions” means payments made with community or quasicommunity property for a spouse’s education or training or for the repayment of a loan incurred therefor, no matter where the parties resided when the payments were made. Family Code § 2641 reimbursement is not limited to education or training received during marriage. Rather, by its terms, application of the statute is governed solely by whether community funds were used to pay for the education or training. Thus, educational costs and loans paid with community funds are within the ambit of § 2641 reimbursement even if the education occurred before marriage. Marriage of Weiner, supra, 105 CA4th at 239-240, 129 CR2d at 291;

In Marriage of Mullonkal & Kodiyamplakkil (2020) 51 CA5th 604, 607-608, 265 CR3d 285, 288, the court held that the community is entitled to reimbursement where spouse paid off student loans for education she attained before marriage with funds from her salary earned during marriage.

In Mullonkal & Kodiyamplakkil, the trial court erroneously held § 2641 did not apply because, among other things, the student spouse (Wife) repaid her premarital education with her own earnings during the marriage, and the nonstudent spouse (Husband) failed to contribute to Wife’s

education/loan repayments and family expenses. “[B]ut nothing in [§ 2641] contemplates denying reimbursement to the community where the student spouse pays for her own education or where the nonstudent spouse did not somehow earn an entitlement to an equal share of the community. Indeed, the statute refers to community contributions to education, and makes no reference to the source of the community contribution.” Marriage of Mullonkal & Kodiyamplakkil supra, 51 CA5th at 615-616, 265 CR3d at 294. At a minimum, reimbursable community expenditures include amounts paid for the student spouse’s tuition, fees, books, supplies and transportation. Fam.C. § 2641, Law Rev. Comm’n Comment, 23 Cal. L.Rev. Comm’n Reports 1 (1993) Beyond this, however, community expenditures are a reimbursable “contribution” only if directly related to the educational experience. Ordinary living expenses that would have been incurred regardless of whether one spouse was attending school such as rent, food and clothing, health care and entertainment, are not reimbursable under § 2641. Marriage of Watt (1989) 214 CA3d 340, 354, 262 CR 783, 791-792.

* * *

Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APC. This article is not a solicitation.

* * * Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the

ReveRend Rodel G. BalaGtas Pastor’s

PETER’S conviction and boldness are striking, as we read in this Sunday’s (April 14)

First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:13-15, 17-19).

Addressing his Jewish audience, he proclaimed, “The author of life, whom you put to death, God raised from the dead; and we are witnesses to this. Brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets: that his

Peter’s conviction

Christ would suffer. Therefore, repent and be converted, so that your sins may be wiped away.” Peter must have recalled the appearances of Jesus in his risen and glorified body after his crucifixion and death on the cross. He likely vividly remembered Jesus entering locked doors, offering peace, and sharing meals with them again. He must have been amazed at seeing and touching Jesus’ hands and feet, firmly believing in what Jesus had consistently told them - that he would rise again after being crucified. His firsthand encounter with the Risen Jesus undoubtedly emboldened him to speak fearlessly to the Jews. Transforming from a once weak and indecisive man, Peter emerged as a strong and resolute believer. While we, as Christians today, have not witnessed Christ’s Resurrection, we maintain our faith in him. Our belief extends beyond the historical Jesus to the transformative impact Christ has had on the apostles, subsequent believers, and Christians over the centuries. Their lives have exemplified love, mercy, service, kindness, compassion, and justiceinfused with the Spirit of Christ, enabling them to surmount life’s challenges and trials while living with hope and courage.

After she turned 25, Maris was honest to admit that prior to working with Anthony, she thought she needed to come up with something new to shake up her career.

“ Dati talaga, iyong na -reach ko iyong age na 25, tapos may boyfriend na ako, sabi ko ‘Awww, hindi na siguro ako magkaka -love team,” she said.

“ Kasi sa Philippines di ba kailangan young, kailangan single, kailangan pwede maging kayo. So sabi ko , ‘Okay. It’s okay.’ This is my path and I have to focus on it. “And then, dumating ito. Tapos may girlfriend din siya! Nag- work lang kami and then it worked. Sinuportahan ng mga tao at sobra kaming nagugulat !” It gave Maris so much hope for the industry that their tandem would hopefully usher in how it was back then, when pure

* * * 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.

* * * Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.

Indeed, as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding; it lies in the outcomes and fruits of our faith in the Risen Christ. May we emulate Peter, standing firm, steadfast, and passionate in our Christian faith, equipped to resist and combat the pervasive influence of secularism that seeks to strip us of our humanity. May this Easter season empower us to boldly share our Christian beliefs with all!

Snorene proves you don’t have to be a...

professionalism between co-actors was at the forefront.

Dati naman nagkaka -love team kahit hindi sila. For possibilities din ito sa ibang actors,” she shared.

According to Anthony, he already met Maris’ boyfriend, Rico Blanco, who visited their set once. We even joked that maybe Rico was prying on set, but Maris shared, “Nagkataon (It so happened that) he was also there, and nag-usap sila .” She added that Rico has been through so much in the industry that he understands their situation and even the remarks online that “Rico has left the universe” as a joke when kilig Snorene moments are posted. “ Kilala ko si Rico. Hello? Ang dami na niyang pinagdaanan sa showbiz and music industry,” said Maris, who never

had the chance to meet Anthony’s reallife girlfriend.

When we also asked Anthony if this was because he’s protective of his girl, he answered, “ Sakto lang naman. Hindi naman sobra .”

Maris also pointed out that it paid off for her to give it her all in any scene that was thrown at her. She was also all praise for Anthony, who had the talent to reciprocate.

“He’s a very instinctive actor,” she said of her co-star. “ Iyong eksena simple lang naman, but whenever I watch him do his nuances na wala naman sa script, I say to myself, like, ‘Hey, that is something I would do!’ Ganoon din ako! Gets namin iyong isat’ isa! Same kami magtrabaho and that’s why we work!” n