053124 - Northern California Edition

DFA: China’s Coast Guard rules violate international law

by Dona Z. PaZZibugan Inquirer.net

MANILA — The Philippines

warned China that it would be “in direct violation of international law” if it orders its coast guard to detain for up to 60 days without trial supposed “trespassers” in the West Philippine Sea where the Philippines has jurisdiction.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China’s coast guard regulations, set to take effect on June 15, may not be applied in other states’ territories, maritime zones or jurisdictions and would “violate other sovereign states’ rights and entitlements under international law.” Domestic laws “cannot be applied nor enforced in the high

seas under international law,” added the DFA. “China would be in direct violation of international law should it enforce these new regulations in the waters and maritime features within the illegal, null and void, and expansive 10-dash line, which would effectively cover areas of the West Philippine Sea where the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, or in the high seas,” the DFA said in a statement on Sunday, May 26.

The DFA reminded China that its domestic laws should “abide by its commitments and obligations under international law,” particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the binding 2016 Arbitral

Award on the South China Sea, as well as the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

“We reiterate our call for China to comply with international law and desist from any action that would undermine peace and security in the region,” the department said.

Detention

Under the new regulations announced on May 15, the Chinese coast guard was authorized to interrogate and detain for up to 30 days, and up to 60 days in some cases without trial, foreign vessels and persons suspected of crossing China-claimed waters.

Beijing issued the order as the Chinese coast guard has lately been u PAGE 2

New help for dealing with aggression in people with dementia

CARING for older adults with dementia is stressful, especially when they become physically or verbally aggressive, wander away from home, develop paranoia or hallucinations, engage in inappropriate or repetitive behaviors, or refuse to let caregivers help them.

Upward of 95% of patients experience these neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia, which tend to fluctuate over time and vary in intensity. They’re the primary reasons people with dementia end up in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. At some point, families and friends trying to help at home simply can’t manage.

“When people think about dementia, they usually think about forgetfulness and memory impairment,” said Mary Blazek, director of the geriatric psychiatry clinic at the University

Disaggregated data is America’s super power: It’s crucial to be counted

DISAGGREGATED data could play a major role in resolving the U.S.’s health care inequities, revealing information about diverse populations that have not previously been counted. Standards for federal data collection have not changed since 1997. But in a monumental move, the Office of Management and Budget March 28 announced new standards for data collection, to be implemented by the Census Bureau and other federal agencies.

Most significantly, changes in reclassification allows Middle Easterners and North Africans to be identified as a racial category, a move the MENA community has fought for for several years.

Granular data

The new standards — which will be implemented over 5 years — require federal agencies to use one combined question for

President Marcos signs ‘Eddie Garcia’ law

by Jean MangaluZ Inquirer.net

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed the “Eddie Garcia” law, said the Palace on Tuesday, May 28. Republic Act 11996 was named after the multiawarded veteran actor, Eddie Garcia (Eduardo Verchez Garcia), who died on June 20, 2019. The 90-year-old actor suffered a neck injury after he tripped and fell while shooting for an upcoming “teleserye.”

exclusivity is specified in the contract, nor shall any person perform any act involving preference based on race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin, or religion, which has the purpose or effect of nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise on an equal footing of any human right or fundamental freedom,” said the new law. In addition to this, the new law mandates work hours, wages, other non-wage benefits, and more for movie and television workers. According to the new law, workers and employers must also have an agreement executed in a language or dialect that is understood by both parties.

“No agreement or employment contract shall discriminate against a worker who has contracts or projects with other production outfits unless u PAGE 3

NAIA quarantine on alert vs ‘COVID FLiRT’

by Benjamin Vergara ManilaTimes.net

MANILA — Passengers who have just arrived from other countries are the top priority for Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) quarantine officers.

This policy came to force after the issuance of a Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) of the Department of Health (DoH) memorandum instructing quarantine personnel, as well as other government agencies stationed at airports nationwide to increase alertness for the COVID FLiRT variant.

"We are facing a new COVID-19 strain that has the KP.1 and KP.2 variations, which are part of a newly discovered sub-variants identified as 'FLiRT', a novel virus that is spreading globally," the BoQ memorandum said. It further said that the virus came from the

JN.1 subvariant, which first became known in late 2023, and was responsible for this year's earlier infection increase.

"In light of this, all stations have been directed to conduct thorough screening at Points of Entry for arriving visitors originating from countries where COVID FLiRT incidents have been detected. The general public should take basic health measures such as frequent hand washing, coughing etiquette, avoiding crowded situations and getting in contact with people with flu-like symptoms," the BoQ said.

The BoQ memorandum, which was issued on May 24, 2024 also advised all travelers to fill out the health questionnaire that is accessible on the e-travel application.

For those who develop signs and symptoms of COVID-19, home isolation is advised. For any concerns, reach out to the Department of Health at (02) 8651-7800 or 894-COVID. n

Philippines protests fishing ban in South China Sea

by Bernadette tamayo ManilaTimes.net

THE Philippines protested China’s imposition of a “unilateral,” four-month-long fishing moratorium in the South China Sea as the ban covered the Philippines’ maritime zones.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in a statement on Monday, May 27 said China began the fishing ban on May 1, which is expected to last until September 16.

“Through a diplomatic note, the Philippines

protested the ban insofar as it includes the Philippines maritime zones over which the Philippines has sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction,” the DFA said.

It added that the unilateral imposition of the fishing moratorium “raises tensions in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.”

The fishing ban “directly contravened” the understanding between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping to manage differences through diplomacy and

‘PDEA leaks’ probe not behind Zubiri ouster – Chiz

by CeCille Suerte FeliPe Philstar.com

MANILA — Senate President Francis Escudero has categorically denied that the investigation on the so-called Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) leaks, linking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to illegal drug use, triggered the ouster of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as head of the chamber.

Escudero, however, refused to reveal the reason why 15 senators signed a resolution calling for a change in Senate leadership.

He said even Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, initially thought he was to blame for the change in Senate leadership.

“That’s why Sen. Dela Rosa became emotional, because he said he was the reason why Sen. Zubiri was removed. Well, in that case, then we should have just removed Senator Dela Rosa (from his committee), instead. I told Dela Rosa maybe we should have just removed you, not the Senate president? But that (PDEA leaks probe) was not the reason,” Escudero on Sunday, May 26 told dzBB.

To prove that the PDEA leaks probe was not a factor in Zubiri’s

The late Eddie Garcia Inquirer.net photo

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri

Philstar.com file photo

DFA: China’s Coast Guard rules...

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aggressively blocking Philippine vessels at Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, areas that lie within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer (200-nautical mile) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.

China continues to claim most of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, despite the July 12, 2016, ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s sweeping claims and upheld the Philippines’ EEZ.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called China’s regulations “unacceptable” while Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called it a “provocation and violation of the United Nations charter.”

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said the illegal regulations

affect not only the Philippines but “every country in the world, theoretically.”

Aside from the Philippines and China, other claimants to the South China Sea features are Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

‘Advisory opinion’

The DFA again urged China to abide by the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea after the ruling was repeatedly cited by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) in its May 21 “advisory opinion” on the obligation of states to protect the marine environment from the impact of climate change.

“This bolsters and reinforces the legitimacy of the final and binding 2016 arbitration award, and its unassailable status as part of the corpus of international law,” the DFA said on Saturday, May 25.

“The Philippines therefore takes this opportunity to reiterate its continuing call for full compliance with the award,” it added.

The DFA said 26 states or groups of states also cited the arbitral award as a legal authority in their respective statements during the Itlos proceedings.

China, which has refused to recognize the arbitral ruling, participated in the proceedings along with the Philippines and several other nations.

In the first international judicial opinion on state obligations concerning climate change, the Itlos said states are under obligation to take all necessary measures to control maritime pollution from greenhouse gas emissions.

The tribunal also said states are under special obligation to protect and preserve the marine ecosystem from the impact of climate change. n

Disaggregated data is America’s super power...

race and ethnicity. Respondents can select multiple options on how they identify. Advocates say the granular data will also help determine the allocation of federal funds, and could impact redistricting.

Federal agencies can opt out if they are able to justify that the new process for data collection is too difficult. Hardware and software is largely outdated at many agencies, and may lead to delays in implementing the new standards. Federal agencies will initially have 18 months to develop their structures for collecting data.

“When it comes to the health and viability of our democracy, we simply must have systems in place that count for the lived experiences of our diverse population. And that’s why this moment in time, is in many ways, a racial reckoning in this country,” said Dr. Gail Christopher, executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity and director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems.

Structural racism Changes in data collection will attempt to address the structural racism embedded within so many systems in the US including health

care, said Christopher. “This is the first step in terms of what has to be done to transform our data systems and to disaggregate our data so that it is a more accurate representation of our superpower, our diverse communities.”

“We all benefit when our resources are allocated in ways that will give everyone an opportunity to truly thrive,” she said.

Christopher spoke at a May 17 Ethnic Media Services news briefing, organized in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting health equity. Other speakers at the briefing advocated for the importance of accurate data collection, in part, by sharing their own rich narratives.

Her parents’ experience was shared by many other AAPI families, but there were few narratives about their struggles, said Kauh. As a researcher, she said, it was nearly impossible to find funding to study the health and well-being of Asian Americans, because data did not exist.

‘So little data’

Though Asian Americans currently constitute 6% of the population, less than 1% of National Institutes of Health funding is directed towards studying Asian health. Kauh said that, as a funder now, she often finds it difficult to justify funding for Asian American research. “There is so little data to demonstrate why it is necessary.”

“With the changes recently made by the OMB, we now have an exciting opportunity to improve how race and ethnicity data are collected, analyzed, reported, and disseminated to advance health equity. This is a key step that will better reflect the nation’s diversity and lead to more equitable distribution of resources,” said Kauh. She hoped that the new standards would be u PAGE 3

Model minority myth Tina Kauh, senior program officer within the ResearchEvaluation-Learning Unit of RWJF, spoke of her Korean American parents, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, and owned a corner shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “They worked 14 or 15 hour days, seven days a week. The well-known model minority myth would claim people like my parents were thriving because they were such ‘hard workers.’ But I saw firsthand how the challenges that they faced impacted their social, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing.”

4 ways vaccine skeptics mislead you on measles and more

by Amy mAxmen And Céline Gounder KFF Health News

MEASLES is on the rise in the United States. In the first quarter of this year, the number of cases was about 17 times what it was, on average, during the same period in each of the four years before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of the people infected — mainly children — have been hospitalized.

It’s going to get worse, largely because a growing number of parents are deciding not to get their children vaccinated against measles as well as diseases like polio and pertussis.

Unvaccinated people, or those whose immunization status is unknown, account for 80% of the measles cases this year. Many parents have been influenced by a flood of misinformation spouted by politicians, podcast hosts, and influential figures on television and social media. These personalities repeat decades-old notions that erode confidence in the established science backing routine childhood vaccines.

KFF Health News examined the rhetoric and explains why it’s misguided:

The no-big-deal trope

A common distortion is that vaccines aren’t necessary because the diseases they prevent are not very dangerous, or too rare to be of concern. Cynics accuse public health officials and the media of fear-mongering about measles even as 19 states report cases.

For example, an article posted on the website of the National Vaccine Information Center — a regular source of vaccine misinformation — argued that a resurgence in concern about the disease “is ‘sky is falling’ hype.” It went on to call measles, mumps, chicken pox, and influenza “politically incorrect to get.”

Measles kills roughly 2 of every 1,000 children infected, according to the CDC. If that seems like a bearable risk, it’s worth pointing out that a far larger portion of children with measles will require hospitalization for pneumonia and other serious complications. For every 10 measles cases, one child with the disease develops an ear infection that can lead to permanent hearing loss.

Another strange effect is that the measles virus can destroy a person’s existing immunity, meaning they’ll have a harder time recovering from influenza and other common ailments.

Measles vaccines have averted the deaths of about 94 million people, mainly children, over the past 50 years, according to an April analysis led by the World Health Organization. Together with immunizations against polio and other diseases, vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives globally.

Some skeptics argue that vaccine-preventable diseases are no longer a threat because they’ve become relatively rare in the U.S. (True — due to vaccination.) This reasoning led Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, to tell parents that they could send their unvaccinated children to school amid a measles outbreak in February. “You look at the headlines and you’d think the sky was falling,” Ladapo said on a News Nation newscast. “There’s a lot of immunity.”

As this lax attitude persuades

succeeding offenses.

“If the violation is committed by a corporation, trust or firm, partnership, association or any

parents to decline vaccination, the protective group immunity will drop, and outbreaks will grow larger and faster. A rapid measles outbreak hit an undervaccinated population in Samoa in 2019, killing 83 people within four months. A chronic lack of measles vaccination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo led to more than 5,600 people dying from the disease in massive outbreaks last year.

The ‘you never know’ trope Since the earliest days of vaccines, a contingent of the public has considered them bad because they’re unnatural, as compared with nature’s bounty of infections and plagues. “Bad” has been redefined over the decades.

In the 1800s, vaccine skeptics claimed that smallpox vaccines caused people to sprout horns and behave like beasts. More recently, they blame vaccines for ailments ranging from attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder to autism to immune system disruption. Studies don’t back the assertions. However, skeptics argue that their claims remain valid because vaccines haven’t been adequately tested.

In fact, vaccines are among the most studied medical interventions. Over the past century, massive studies and clinical trials have tested vaccines during their development and after their widespread use. More than 12,000 people took part in clinical trials of the most recent vaccine approved to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella. Such large numbers allow researchers to detect rare risks, which are a major concern because vaccines are given to millions of healthy people.

To assess long-term risks, researchers sift through reams of data for signals of harm. For example, a Danish group analyzed a database of more than 657,000 children and found that those who had been vaccinated against measles as babies were no more likely to later be diagnosed with autism than those who were not vaccinated. In another study, researchers analyzed records from 805,000 children born from 1990 through 2001 and found no evidence to back a concern that multiple vaccinations might impair children’s immune systems.

Nonetheless, people who push vaccine misinformation, like candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismiss massive, scientifically vetted studies. For example, Kennedy argues that clinical trials of new vaccines are unreliable because vaccinated kids aren’t compared with a placebo group that gets saline solution or another substance with no effect. Instead, many modern trials compare updated vaccines with older ones. That’s because it’s unethical to endanger children by giving them a sham vaccine when the protective effect of immunization is known. In a 1950s clinical trial of polio vaccines, 16 children in the placebo group died of polio and 34 were paralyzed, said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and author of a book on the first polio vaccine. The too-much-too-soon trope Several bestselling vaccine books on Amazon promote the risky idea that parents should skip or delay their children’s vaccines. “All vaccines on the CDC’s schedule may not be right for all

Philippines protests fishing ban in...

dialogue and to de-escalate the situation at sea, the DFA said.

The Philippines called on China to “cease and desist from the conduct of illegal actions that violate the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in its maritime zones.”

It said Beijing should comply with its obligations under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the “final and binding” 2016 Arbitral Award.

In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, invalidated China’s expansive claim in the South China Sea, which encroached on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The DFA said that paragraph 716 of the Arbitral Award states that China, by promulgating

its moratorium on fishing in the South China Sea “without exception for areas of the South China Sea falling within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines and without limiting the moratorium to Chinese flagged vessels, breached Article 56 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the living resources of its exclusive economic zone.” n

Disaggregated data is America’s super power...

adopted by public and private agencies outside of the federal government.

Invisible in the data

Born of a Haitian mother and an Indian father, Meeta Anand, senior program director of Census and Data Equity at The Leadership Conference Education Fund, had no box to check on forms as she was growing up. “There was no such thing as multi-select. There was no opportunity to truly reflect who I was. And so I hung out in that famous ‘other’ box.”

people to see themselves in the form,” said Anand.

The Leadership Conference will be scrutinizing federal agencies who opt out, said Anand. “’It’s too hard to change our systems’ should not be an acceptable answer.”

“I went into my neighborhood doctor just to check. And it’s an African-American doctor with African-American nurses. I’m having a lot of trouble walking at this point, let alone filling out a questionnaire. A nurse walked me through it and was filling it out herself.”

other entity, the fines shall be imposed upon the entity’s responsible officers, including, but not limited to, the executive producer, producer, production manager, and business unit manager,” the law said. The measure passed the final reading in the Senate in February. n

children at all times,” writes Paul Thomas in his bestselling book “The Vaccine-Friendly Plan.” He backs up this conviction by saying that children who have followed “my protocol are among the healthiest in the world.”

Since the book was published, Thomas’ medical license was temporarily suspended in Oregon and Washington. The Oregon Medical Board documented how

She noted that organizations have some concerns about a single combined question. “But what’s great about this is that you can check Asian and Black. You can check Asian and Hispanic. You can check two different ethnicities within Hispanic.”

“As we start seeing more Meetas come into the U.S., and more people from different backgrounds meeting in our country and having their own children, we continue to see diversification. We need to allow

Mixed race Latinos In the 2020 Census, 35% of Latinos in 2020 marked that they were of some other race, and 8% of all respondents left that question actually blank, said Juan Rosa, national director of Civic Engagement at the NALEO Educational Fund. “27 million out of 63 million that were counted in the census did not see themselves reflected in those race categories. So for us, it’s very important for the community to allow itself to self-respond in the way that their houses are actually composed.” Rosa was born in the Dominican Republic, but identifies as Black, as do many in his community. A pivotal moment in recognizing his identity came in the fall of 2020, when he had a lung infection not related to COVID.

Implementation

“When it came to ask about race, the nurse automatically filled out Black for me. And out of all the things that I remember from that time, aside from being in the hospital for 10 days afterward, was that nurse and the vindication and the acknowledgement and the visibility that I got at one of the lowest points of my life,” said Rosa. “So I have a very personal relationship to the work that we do.”

Over the next few years, NALEO will also be monitoring how the Census Bureau implements the new OMB standards, with a focus on how Afro-Latinos like himself will be represented by the new forms, said Rosa. (Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services)

PRESERVING TRADITION. Members of the Matigsalug tribe perform a ritual to welcome delegates of the Department of Tourism’s Philippine Experience Program: Northern Mindanao in Barangay Sinuda, Kitaotao, Bukidnon on Saturday, May 25. The Matigsalug (meaning from Salug River) is one of the province’s seven tribes, the others being Talaandig, Higa-onon, Bukidnon, Umayamnon, Manobo and Tigwahanon. PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler

‘PDEA leaks’ probe not behind Zubiri...

unseating, Escudero said Dela Rosa is free to continue the investigation of his committee.

At present, Dela Rosa has presided over four hearings in the Senate, all motu proprio

The Senate president said he has advised Dela Rosa to file a resolution to formally call for an investigation to address questions of some quarters.

“It is an option during the recess to file a resolution, which will be referred to his committee so that his hearing will not be questioned and there will be clarity on the sides,” Escudero noted.

Initially, some quarters suspected that the ouster of Zubiri from the Senate helm was due to the Senate’s failure to support the House of Representativesinitiated people’s initiative, and Dela Rosa’s refusal to conclude the PDEA leaks’ probe which dragged the name of the chief executive to illegal drug use.

A few days ago, another factor seen in the removal of Zubiri from the Senate presidency was his refusal to allow Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. to attend the plenary session virtually as his Achilles tendon surgery wound had reopened.

Revilla said Zubiri initially decided not to allow him to participate in the Senate deliberations virtually. However, the Senate itself eventually decided to allow him to join the sessions remotely.

‘Solid 7’ seen to back LEDAC priorities Escudero said he does not believe that the so-called Solid 7 – Zubiri, Senators Loren Legarda, Joel Villanueva, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito and Sherwin Gatchalian – would serve as a stumbling block to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) since they were the same senators who supported such measures from the very beginning.

“They were the ones promoting it then and I don’t see any reason why (they would do otherwise) because the leadership in the Senate just changed. If we have something to debate, it is the new proposals,” Escudero added.

Meanwhile, Escudero is set to meet with Speaker Martin Romualdez while the 19th Congress is on sine die adjournment to discuss priority

bills of the legislative branch. “I would like to meet with him (Romualdez) during recess to discuss the priority of the chamber as an institution and the priority of each member, may they be national or local. Maybe we can help,” Escudero said on dzBB.

He said he also intends to discuss with the speaker “How to fix the relationship between the House of Representatives and the Senate.”

The relationship between the Senate and the House of Representatives was seen affected by the effort to push for a people’s initiative, a move to amend the 1987 Constitution.

The proposal was pushing for Congress to vote as one, diminishing the power of 24 senators over 350 members of the House.

Escudero said he and Romualdez had already talked over the phone and the Speaker congratulated him.

“We talked on the phone last Thursday. He (Romualdez) greeted me through Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, who called me and coincidentally they were together,” he noted. Zubiri touts ratification of key measures

Three important priority measures that were ratified by the 19th Congress would stem corruption, prevent smuggling of agricultural goods and protect the rights of Filipino seafarers, Zubiri said on Sunday.

He lauded the ratification, saying he is “confident that these soon-to-be enacted measures will address some of the most pressing concerns of our people.

It is important that we listen to the voice of the people and identify the things that should be changed in running our government.

“The ratification of these measures is living proof that the Senate is doing its mandate in serving the Filipino people. The laws we endeavor to pass are consistent with the government’s efforts to improve the lives of Filipino families and help our economy grow,” Zubiri said.

“I’m proud that we were able to shepherd these bills into fruition despite the outside partisan political noises that only serve the interests of a few,” he said.

Before the Senate and the House of Representatives adjourned last week, they were

able to ratify the following measures: Senate Bill 2593 or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), SB 2221 or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, and SB 2432 or the Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.

“Allow me to thank my fellow senators who made sure that these measures are closely scrutinized so that they will serve their intended purpose,” Zubiri said.

The NGPA, Zubiri said, will replace Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act once President Marcos signs the measure into law.

He said the NGPA, principally authored and sponsored by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, will introduce major reforms in the government procurement process, specifically in ensuring transparency and efficiency in the bidding process and awarding of government contracts.

The former Senate chief said the measure was one of the priority bills of the president identified in the LEDAC.

“We started defending this measure several months ago. I have committed to the president that we will prioritize this, and we were able to deliver on that promise,” Zubiri said.

Also ratified was the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, which is envisioned to safeguard the welfare of local and international Filipino seafarers and improve their working conditions.

Zubiri said the measure will likewise ensure that the training and education of Filipino seafarers are compliant with the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

The Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, meanwhile, repeals Republic Act 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.

Zubiri said the measure, principally authored by Ejercito, will impose harsher penalties on individuals behind the smuggling, hoarding and cartels manipulating the supplies and prices of agricultural products.

“I’m optimistic that this measure will not only protect our local farmers from greedy opportunists but will also help us attain food security in the years to come,” he said. n

New help for dealing with aggression

of Michigan. “But it’s behavioral and psychological disturbances that are most disruptive to patients’ and caregivers’ lives.”

Now, help is available from a first-of-its-kind website created by prominent experts in this field. It offers free training in a comprehensive approach to managing neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia — a method known as DICE — based on several decades of scientific research as well as extensive clinical practice.

The website’s goal is to “give people tools to better manage often-distressing situations,” said Helen Kales, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California, and one of DICE’s creators. Users learn that neuropsychiatric symptoms are caused by changes in the brain that increase people’s vulnerability. Nine video modules and two simulations provide comprehensive information and problem-solving techniques.

More than 16 million unpaid caregivers — primarily family members and friends — help people with dementia live at home. (An estimated 20% of patients live in institutional settings.) The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, affects nearly 7 million Americans 65 and older.

for Describe, Investigate, Create, and Evaluate, the four pillars of this approach. At its core is an assumption people with dementia engage in disturbing behaviors for often-unrecognized reasons that can be addressed once they are understood.

Take an example on the website featuring Jennifer, a 55-year-old caregiver for her mother, Betty, 85, whom she tries to bathe daily in the late afternoon. When Betty resists getting into the tub, Jennifer insists, “Let’s go! I have things to do.” Betty responds by smacking her and shouting, “Leave me alone. It hurts.”

DICE asks caregivers to step back from the heat of the moment and examine issues from three perspectives: the person with dementia, the caregiver, and the environment. All can contribute to distressing situations and all need to be considered in fashioning a response.

in...

Other important steps: Engage the person in activities that are meaningful to them, including social interactions. Reduce clutter and the potential for overstimulation in the environment. Make sure the person is using hearing or vision aids, if needed. Get them outside and exposed to light. If safety, psychosis, or major depression are urgent concerns, then consider using psychoactive medications after consulting a physician.

Of course, this isn’t a comprehensive list of recommendations. Nor is it prescriptive. What works for one person with dementia may not work for another.

Using DICE is an iterative process that involves creativity and frequent evaluation to assess whether strategies are working, Kales said. If not, new interventions should be tried.

DICE is also designed to help “avoid the knee-jerk prescribing of psychoactive medications” that have potentially serious side effects, Kales said. Several medical organizations recommend that non-pharmaceutical approaches to troublesome behaviors be tried before drug therapy, but, in practice, this doesn’t routinely happen.

Drugs prescribed for dementia include antipsychotic medications, such as Risperidone, which carry a black-box warning noting an increased risk of sooner-than-expected death in elderly patients; anticonvulsants, such as gabapentin, for which use has been on the rise despite concerns about safety; benzodiazepines, such as Ativan, which are associated with an increased risk of falls and, thus, fractures; and Celexa and other such antidepressants that have limited data supporting their effectiveness in easing dementia symptoms.

DICE is a mnemonic — a pattern of letters meant to serve as a memory aid — that stands

Examining the problem by using a “who, what, when, how, why” prompt can reveal several potential issues: The patient. Betty has arthritis and may experience pain getting in and out of the tub. She may feel tired and overwhelmed in the late afternoon. The caregiver. Jennifer may become easily frustrated when she encounters resistance — adopting a scolding and commanding tone rather than breaking down what Betty needs to do in simple steps. The environment. The bathroom tends to be cold, with overly bright lights, tepid bathwater, and no grab bars around the tub.

Some possible solutions discussed on the website: Offer Betty an over-the-counter pain reliever before her bath. Try baths in the morning, not the afternoon. Relax expectations that she’ll have a daily bath and offer sponge baths several times a week. Install grab bars around the tub, and make sure the water temperature is comfortable. Use a nicely scented soap and play music to help Betty relax. Speak calmly, making simple statements.

These embody strategies shown to improve neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with dementia: recognizing and addressing underlying medical issues such as pain, infections, or delirium; simplifying the tasks a person with dementia is expected to perform; and establishing daily routines that give structure to the day.

Although this is the first time family caregivers can access the DICE toolkit, the program has been available to health care professionals for a while. Notably, all of Wisconsin’s dementia care specialists have been trained in DICE over the past few years (every county in that state has a specialist who helps families with dementia).

“It’s a really pragmatic approach that’s put together in a very thoughtful fashion,” said Art Walaszek, a professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health who’s been involved in that effort.

Other dementia training programs are available, some of which review behavioral and psychiatric symptoms in less depth, and they, too, are increasingly available online. Another valuable resource, Best Programs for Caregiving, launched in March, lists evidence-based programs across the country and their availability. Enter a ZIP code to find information that previously hasn’t been assembled in one place. This site, too, is very much worth consulting. (Judith Graham/KFF Health News) KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces indepth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

4 ways vaccine skeptics mislead you on...

PAGE 3

Thomas persuaded parents to skip vaccines recommended by the CDC, and reported that he “reduced to tears” a mother who disagreed. Several children in his care came down with pertussis and rotavirus, diseases easily prevented by vaccines, wrote the board. Thomas recommended fish oil supplements and homeopathy to an unvaccinated child with a deep scalp laceration, rather than an emergency tetanus vaccine. The boy developed severe tetanus, landing in the hospital for nearly two months, where he required intubation, a tracheotomy, and a feeding tube to survive.

The vaccination schedule recommended by the CDC has been tailored to protect children at their most vulnerable points in life and minimize side effects. The combination measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine isn’t given for the first year of a baby’s life because antibodies temporarily passed on from their mother can interfere with the immune response. And because some babies don’t generate a strong response to that first dose, the CDC recommends a second one around the time a child enters kindergarten because measles and other viruses spread rapidly in group settings.

Delaying MMR doses much longer may be unwise because data suggests that children vaccinated at 10 or older have a higher chance of adverse reactions, such as a seizure or fatigue.

Around a dozen other vaccines have discrete timelines, with overlapping windows for the best response. Studies have shown that MMR vaccines may be given safely and effectively in combination with other vaccines.

’They don’t want you to know’ trope

Kennedy compares the Florida surgeon general to Galileo in the introduction to Ladapo’s new book on transcending fear in public health. Just as the Roman Catholic inquisition punished the renowned astronomer for promoting theories about the universe, Kennedy suggests that scientific institutions oppress dissenting voices on vaccines for nefarious reasons.

“The persecution of scientists and doctors who dare to challenge contemporary orthodoxies is not a new phenomenon,” Kennedy writes. His running mate, lawyer Nicole Shanahan, has campaigned on the idea that conversations about vaccine harms are censored and the CDC and other federal agencies hide data due to corporate influence.

Claims like “they don’t want you to know” aren’t new among the anti-vaccine set, even though the movement has long had an outsize voice. The most listenedto podcast in the U.S., “The Joe Rogan Experience,” regularly features guests who cast doubt on scientific consensus. Last year on the show, Kennedy repeated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism.

Far from ignoring that concern,

epidemiologists have taken it seriously. They have conducted more than a dozen studies searching for a link between vaccines and autism, and repeatedly found none. “We have conclusively disproven the theory that vaccines are connected to autism,” said Gideon MeyerowitzKatz, an epidemiologist at the University of Wollongong in Australia. “So, the public health establishment tends to shut those conversations down quickly.” Federal agencies are transparent about seizures, arm pain, and other reactions that vaccines can cause. And the government has a program to compensate individuals whose injuries are scientifically determined to result from them. Around 1 to 3.5 out of every million doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction; a person’s lifetime risk of death by lightning is estimated to be as much as four times as high.

“The most convincing thing I can say is that my daughter has all her vaccines and that every pediatrician and public health person I know has vaccinated their kids,” Meyerowitz-Katz said. “No one would do that if they thought there were serious risks.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces indepth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

ALMOST THERE. The Metro Rail Transit-7 Batasan Station along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City is almost complete as seen in this photo taken on Tuesday, May 28. The Department of Transportation said MRT-7 will be operational by the end of 2025, reducing to 35 minutes from at least two hours travel time between Quezon City and the City San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Dateline PhiliPPines

Postpone travel to Israel, Filipinos urged

by Bernadette e taMayo ManilaTimes.net

THE Philippine Embassy

in Tel Aviv advised Filipinos to "postpone all nonessential travel" to Israel until the security situation in the Jewish State has stabilized.

In an advisory on May 24, the embassy said nonessential travels "include pilgrimages and other tours to Israel."

The embassy said that traveling to Israel to render "volunteer work is also highly discouraged because of the continuing risks."

The embassy, on Facebook, said it "will not be responsible for the safety of those who travel as 'tourists' or 'volunteers' at this

time."

"The public is advised to exercise caution and not to fall for any schemes by individuals, organizations, companies, or tour companies organizing tours or pilgrimages to Israel at this time, or encouraging volunteers to work in farms or hospitals," it added.

The Bureau of Immigration has been alerted about these schemes, the embassy said. "Persons who attempt to travel to Israel under these arrangements run the risk of getting offloaded from their flights," it said.

The embassy urged Filipinos "to prioritize their safety and security." Philippine Ambassador to Tel Aviv Pedro Laylo Jr. joined

fellow diplomats at an event at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center to mark the 76th anniversary of Israel's independence.

Laylo talked about the historical links Filipinos and Israelis share, particularly President Manuel Quezon's rescue of 1,300 Jews during the Holocaust, the embassy said. "Thanks to President Quezon's Open Door Policy, these Jewish refugees, who were later called Manilaners, escaped the pogroms and found safe haven in the Philippines," the embassy said.

Laylo also discussed strong Philippines-Israel cooperation in the trade, agriculture, science and innovation, labor, and defense sectors. n

Duterte slams gov’t for stifling dissent

by Moises Cruz ManilaTimes.net

TACLOBAN CITY — Former

President Rodrigo Duterte

accused the administration of blocking an anti-government rally on Saturday, May 25, but the organizers said they were compelled to cancel the event because of Tropical Storm Aghon.

In an open letter to residents of Tacloban, the bailiwick of the Marcos-allied Romualdez clan, Duterte said the cancellation of the Maisug Rally highlighted the administration's policy of stifling peaceful dissent.

"This is for all those whose flights have been canceled, travel to the city has been restricted, and normal activities have been disrupted by unscheduled power interruptions and obstruction in the use of the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Plaza," Duterte said. He said this was not the first time the government tried to stop similar rallies. They succeeded in Bulacan but failed to do so in Davao City, Cebu City, Tagum, Davao del Norte and Dumaguete City, Duterte said.

"Innocent government workers were either relieved or suspended as collateral damage to these rallies, including Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. The message is clear: unless you do your part in

thwarting these rallies, you pay dearly for it," he added.

The rally in Tacloban was originally set for Saturday, but the event's organizer, TAPS Coalition, said they had no option but to cancel the event due to problems caused by Tropical Storm Aghon.

"Because of the storm Aghon, which is affecting areas like Tacloban City, there are no accessible sea transport or aircraft schedules. Thus, our guest of honor will be unable to attend," the statement said in Filipino.

In his open letter, Duterte said he would continue to speak out against the dangers posed by the administration.

"If only I were the only one who would be made to suffer, I would not hesitate to stop getting the message across to the people of Tacloban and the rest of the country. All of you know that is not the case. Among other things, the economy will worsen, the peace and order situation will further deteriorate, and a war that does not concern us will break out anytime," Duterte said.

"Worse, the success of the plot to amend the Constitution to lift the term limits of the one sitting in Malacañang will ensure not only the perpetuation of the power of one family but the rape of democracy that this administration has unleashed on the nation. That I cannot allow to happen. I will continue to speak,

even if my own life is at stake. I do not like the way oppressed Filipinos are being treated now. They are oppressed and have no one to turn to," he added.

Duterte emphasized the need for free expression, particularly in light of the country's lack of transparency, accountability, peace, and security.

"I was city mayor for 22 years and president for six years, but I never ever prevented anyone from exercising his or her right to peacefully assemble," he said.

"It is a sad day for Philippine democracy. On second thought, this is a challenge for us to prove that we deserve democracy and the rights that come with it. As someone once said, they have rights who dare defend them. It is in defense of those rights that we speak up and continue to speak up until those who seek to deprive us of them get the message that we will not allow them to do so," said Duterte, who often attacked and threatened journalists when he was president.

Duterte did not mention the storm but blamed the "inconvenience heaped upon all of you by the forces of darkness that threaten not only our rights to express our grievances but the very existence of our nation."

"I apologize in advance for more of these because we will not be cowed into submission until we are allowed to freely speak once again," he added.

Marcos to OFWs: Things looking up at home, try doing business in PH

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, May 28 urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to try investing in the Philippines by putting up their own businesses at home, citing the country’s improved business environment and economic stability.

Speaking before the Filipino community in Brunei Darussalam, Marcos thanked migrant workers for their sacrifices and dedication that cultivate the reputation of the “special brand of Filipino service” abroad.

“Over the years, every time I go abroad, I talk to my foreign counterparts, I get compliments for the strong work ethic of Filipinos. I'm always told that Filipinos have unparalleled skills [and are] efficient and are trustworthy. And I know that is the same here in Brunei,” Marcos said.

“You may all have different professions, [but] what we bring to all that we do, not only in the Philippines, but even abroad, as is proven by the record that Filipinos have made and the reputation that you have gained that what we bring is a special brand of Filipino service everywhere we go,” he added.

The president also said he remains committed to fulfilling his promise of making more opportunities in the Philippines for Filipinos.

This, according to Marcos, resulted in increased investor confidence as seen in the approximately PHP1.26 trillion worth of investments the country sealed last year.

“Ang unang namin target ay sabi namin 1.151 trillion pesos.

Ngunit, ito'y umabot na sa mas mataas na numero (Our initial target is PHP1.151 trillion. But we managed to surpass this figure),” Marcos said.

Marcos said the projects are expected to produce 49,030 jobs for Filipinos.

With a conducive business environment in the backdrop, the president then encouraged OFWs to try investing in the country to help the economy flourish further.

“Alam po natin na kapag masigla ang ekonomiya, maayos

Ferdinand R. Marcos

ang kabuhayan (We all know that when the economy is robust, businesses are vibrant). Things are looking up for the economy,” the chief executive said.

“Bukod sa mga remittance na nanggaling sa inyo, sa ating mga OFW (Aside from the remittances that we received from you all, our OFWs), I also encourage all of you to someday to return, and invest, and set up your own business at home and in the Philippines,” he added.

Marcos is in Brunei for a twoday visit upon the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah.

Improved airport

In the same speech, Marcos said that among his priorities is to improve infrastructures through the “Build Better More” program. Among the projects in the multi-billion program is the rehabilitation of the four-terminal Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Although the entire rehabilitation program will take 15 years to finish, he said its effects may be felt as early as next year.

“Mayroon tayo pong

“Lahat

Earlier

President

Jr.

Malacañang photo

OpiniOn Features

Avoiding FLiRT

TRAVEL restrictions aren’t being imposed and mandatory masking is not being restored. But health experts are urging the public to take precautions as the so-called FLiRT variants of COVID-19 spread in certain countries including neighboring Singapore.

On Monday, May 27, the Department of Health confirmed that it had ordered the Bureau of Quarantine, which is under the DOH, to conduct “thorough screening” of arriving passengers at all points of entry nationwide as a precaution against the spread of FLiRT. The BOQ issued a memorandum dated May 24, placing all its stations and other concerned agencies under “heightened alert” for the COVID variants.

FLiRT is an acronym for the sites of the mutations that the variants share on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. The World Health Organization says the FLiRT variants have become the dominant SARSCoV-2 strain circulating globally this year. Unlike previous variants, experts warn that FLiRT may evade antibodies. This month the WHO labeled the FLiRT variant KP.2 as a “variant under monitoring” amid a surge in COVID cases in Singapore, with patients filling up hospitals.

Most Filipinos acquired vaccine and natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2, although this has

THE ongoing saga of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo continues to keep Filipinos not only riveted but extremely concerned, with the burning question in the minds of everyone who has been keeping track of the Senate hearings: is she Filipino, or not?

It all began with the raid last March on a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) located in Bamban, Tarlac due to reports that the Chinese company was engaged in human trafficking as well as a front for scams and other illegal activities. There were also suspicions that the facility was a hub for espionage, hacking and cyberattacks against government agencies.

During the raid, hundreds of workers of various nationalities –mostly Chinese – were found to have no valid working permits. Inside the compound located just behind the Bamban municipal hall, the raiding team also discovered “torture chambers,” vaults containing several millions of pesos, passports of workers and documents showing a possible link between the POGO and Mayor Guo, who owned half of Baofu Land Development Inc., the company that leased the

THESE are the three gravest problems of the Philippines.

These problems are aggravated by two equally ponderous problems – graft and red tape.

The food shortage is 25 percent of demand. Since food is 50 percent of the consumer basket or price index, a food shortage means high inflation. High inflation means high interest rates. High interest rates mean business and economic slowdown.

Economic slowdown means fewer basic goods and services available for the masses. And job shortages. Combine high inflation and high unemployment and you have what is called misery.

The job shortage is 1.5 million jobs yearly. The job shortage is so severe the Philippines has exported 12 million humans to over 100 countries in search of jobs and economic security. These 12 million expats are among the best of brain and brawn of the Philippines, nearly

waned, and the previous vaccines were not designed for FLiRT. Still, while epidemiologists say FLiRT poses “low public health risk” at this point, they also warn that vulnerable sectors such as the elderly and persons with comorbidities must be protected from infection. New COVID cases are generally mild, but hospitalization is still required when patients find difficulty breathing or waking up, feel persistent chest pain or pressure, experience confusion or see their lips or face turning bluish.

Filipinos are familiar with COVID symptoms as well as the basic health safety protocols: hand hygiene, cough and cold etiquette, masking and avoidance of crowded places. Those with symptoms must be responsible enough to isolate themselves until they become well.

Health experts keep reminding the public that COVID continues to kill and impair both physical and mental health. Hospitalization is expensive. There are also increasing reports of long COVID, which causes a wide range of long-term debilitation. The problem is still the subject of monitoring and

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo: Is she Filipino, or not?

property to the POGO.

During the Senate hearings, Mayor Guo’s evasive and dubious answers to basic questions such as her educational background, her childhood, her family ties including the fact that her birth was only registered when she was 17 years old made it look like she “came out of nowhere,” as Senator Risa Hontiveros put it. According to the senator, all these raised the possibility of Mayor Guo being a Chinese “asset” whose supposed Filipino identity is being used to “gain a foothold” in the country’s political system and possibly “even our national security sector.”

While it is true that the burden of proof lies with the ones levelling accusations against the Bamban mayor’s citizenship, it is simply unbelievable that she could not recall the names of teachers who homeschooled her from elementary to high school and does not remember the people who took care of her, since the mayor claims her mother abandoned her.

Residents in her village do not seem to know much about Guo – which is surprising considering that people in the provinces usually know everything about their neighbors. Even if she was raised in a farm, those who worked for her father would have been aware of and, at some point, interacted with this cloistered

child who would have been the subject of village gossip.

Mayor Guo owns a helicopter as well as over a dozen vehicles, purchased a huge tract of land and financed her 2022 campaign for mayor from her hog raising business that she said suffered during the pandemic. The subsequent hearings with Senator Risa Hontiveros doing the questioning revealed that the mayor’s parents also seem to have dubious origins, since they have no existing records of birth in the files of the Philippine Statistics Authority. Her father is listed as a Chinese citizen in business records but in the birth certificate of Guo and her newly disclosed siblings, he is identified as a Filipino.

Let me very clear however: this column is not about creating an atmosphere of Sinophobia, most especially since many of us have Chinese blood running in our veins. I for one have a Chinese ancestor named Pei Ling Po, possibly from Fujian, who put up a shop in Binondo and later converted to Christianity to marry a Filipina who happens to be the sister of a bishop. Pei Ling Po then took on the name “Luis Romualdez,” adopting the surname of “Father Romualdo,” the priest who baptized him. I also happen to have many Filipino-Chinese friends who are successful businessmen,

doctors, teachers and other professions. In fact, one of my closest friends at the Ateneo grade school was Eddie Chan, the son of prominent lawyer Manuel Chan Sr.

The revelations about the mayor of Bamban, plus the fact that she was able to obtain a passport and even run in the 2022 elections despite her questionable background, are making people concerned about how easy it is for foreigners – not just Chinese but other nationalities – to obtain fake birth certificates, fake passports, driver’s licenses and other government-issued IDs and documents possibly with the help of a syndicate.

What people also find worrisome is the purchase of vast tracts of land in EDCA sites and near major air and seaports by Chinese nationals in connivance with “Filipino enablers,” according to Congressman Ace Barbers, who disclosed that warehouses are “sprouting like mushrooms” in Central Luzon.

The AFP is also looking into the possible security implications of the influx of Chinese nationals of military age that are enrolled in schools near an EDCA site in Cagayan.

Senator Nancy Binay also expressed alarm at the issuance of special resident retiree visas to Chinese nationals as young

Food, jobs, investments

all gone for good. It is manpower the Philippines needs badly to make every Filipino a middle income earner. In 2021, the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) estimated the jobs shortages by 2025, for the skills that count today: 13,964 in the life sciences, 569,903 in engineering, 9,698 in the physical sciences and 13,285 in math and statistics.

The World Bank’s solution to the Philippines’ severe jobs problem? Let more Filipinos migrate, but in an orderly manner. (See WB February 2023 paper, “Philippine Jobs Report, Shaping a Better Future for the Filipino Workforce.”)

The Philippines receives the smallest foreign direct investments (FDI) among the six major ASEAN countries, only $9.2 billion in 2022, down from $12 billion in 2021. Singapore got $141.2-billion FDI, Indonesia $22 billion, Vietnam $17.9 billion, Malaysia $17.1 billion and Thailand $9.9 billion.

To grow at the level of Vietnam, the Philippines needs annually $18 billion in FDI; we get only half that. Over the next ten years,

the Philippines easily needs P107 trillion ($1.8 trillion) in domestic and foreign investments for its GDP to grow at 10 percent per year (the minimum growth required for the country to catch up with its more prosperous neighbors).

At the same time, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), as a percentage of GDP, has fallen, from 27 percent of GDP in 2018 to 23 percent in 2023. Fixed capital formation is investments in factories, machinery, equipment, infra – things you need to spend on, to create jobs and modernize. Normally, GFCF should grow, not decline. A 5 percentage fall, assuming a P25-trillion GDP, is P1.25 trillion. To create one job costs P2 million; a P1.25-trillion loss means 625,000 jobs not created at all.

Our problem is not China (territorial disputes take thousands of years or an outright invasion to resolve). It is not that lying ex-PDEA agent trying to link Bongbong Marcos to drugs (in 2012 who remembers things?).

Nor is our problem that AIdesigned Bamban mayor of

dubious provenance (first time I heard of a girl, without formal schooling and without capital, build multi-billion enterprises, legal and illegal, from scratch to become one of the richest local billionaires below 40).

Mayor Alice Guo certainly beats the exploits of Alexander the Great, the most famous and greatest home-schooled kid in history (he was taught by Aristotle, about medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic and art). In Ms. Guo’s case, her dad taught her Chinese (probably, including magic).

About 25 percent of Filipinos’ food needs cannot be met, by local production nor even by imports. The 25 percent shortage includes nearly all kinds of food – rice, corn, fish, chicken, meat and vegetables.

That is why EVERY day, 95 Filipino kids die from malnutrition. That’s 34,675 kids dying needlessly EVERY year. That’s genocide. That’s more victims than the number of people supposed to have been killed in SIX years during the illegal drugs war of President Digong Duterte.

as 35 through the Philippine Retirement Authority, whose records indicate the presence of 78,000 foreign retirees in the Philippines, “of whom 38,000 are Chinese.”

We need to seriously vet foreign nationals coming into the Philippines since we are now receiving disturbing reports about members of drug syndicates and criminal gangs or worse, operatives engaged in spying activities. The Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is running after Duterte for having killed from 6,000 to 30,000 in six years, but not certain officials, for neglect, resulting in the killing of 34,000 kids yearly from malnutrition.

Malnutrition is not just deadly. It also causes mass stupidity.

Filipinos eat on average 136 kilos of rice a year. There are 118 million Filipinos, so you need 16 billion kilos or 16 million tons of rice yearly to feed them. We don’t have those 16 million tons, government claims to the contrary notwithstanding (rice output was said to be 20 million tons in 2023).

Since brain power, assuming one is born with it, is eating the right food in the right volume, malnutrition breeds mass stupidity.

In 2022, in tests given to 15-year-olds of the world, Filipinos came out third from last in Science (after Cambodia and Uzbekistan), sixth from last in Reading (after Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Jordan and Kosovo) and sixth from last in Math (after Cambodia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Guatemala). If you gather the Ten Most Stupid Teeners on Earth, Filipinos will be among them.

Philippines and other concerned agencies should coordinate and assess the implication on our national security. Time and again, I have written in this space of how serious and formidable the challenges our country faces today. No one in this country wants to be overrun by unwanted foreigners –except perhaps a few corrupted individuals. (Philstar.com)

* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

* * * babeseyeview@gmail.com

Since one of every five Filipino voters is below 24, naturally Filipinos make bad choices during elections. The most incompetent, the most corrupt and the most rapacious get choice positions. And of course, people the likes of Mayor Guo. These elected people then devise the most labyrinthine rules Filipinos must undergo to get the right documentation and to start a business.

The last time the World Bank ranked 190 countries in Ease of Doing Business, in 2019, the Philippines ranked No. 95. Manila ranked 115th out of 180 countries with a score of 34 in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), up one spot from 116th in 2022 and up two spots from its worst-ever showing, 117th place in 2021

Among 100 countries with a population of eight million or more (Switzerland is 100th largest in population, with 8.4 million), the Philippines is rated the most corrupt. (Philstar.com)

*

* * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.

* * * Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com

Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo

Philstar.com photo

ManilaTimes.net photo

remains hit-and-miss.

to this continually mutating deadly virus, it’s better to be safe and healthy than sorry.

(Philstar.com)

MANILA – Vice President Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio has formally asked the Supreme Court to dismiss three petitions questioning the propriety of PHP125 million in confidential funds in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under the 2022 budget. In a 16-page consolidated comment filed before the tribunal last May 10, Duterte, through her counsel, former Solicitor General

Estelito Mendoza, sought the dismissal of the petitions separately filed by Christian Monsod, Howard Calleja and the ACT Teachers Party-list. Mendoza, in his comment, said "none of the petitions present an actual case or controversy and none of the petitioners alleged a legal demandable and enforceable right which calls for the exercise of judicial power." The mandate of the High

Court, he said, "does not include the duty to answer all of life's questions," adding that “the petitions are mere apprehension and speculation about contingent funds or confidential funds, which does not constitute a justiciable controversy."

Mendoza argued that the Court's power "is not unbridled authority to review just any claim of constitutional violation or grave abuse of discretion." (PNA)

36,000 affected due to ‘Aghon’ — NDRRMC

Sara Duterte asks dismissal of confidential funds cases 1 dead, over

MANILA — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday, May 28 reported that Typhoon Aghon (Ewiniar) has left one person dead and more than 36,000 affected.

The NDRRMC said in its latest report that a 14-year-old female from Misamis Oriental was killed after a tree was toppled by Aghon's strong winds. Meanwhile, eight people were injured.

Aghon impacted 36,143 people in CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol region, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Metro Manila.

Around 22,000 individuals were displaced after the country's first cyclone this year brought heavy rain and triggered floods. Of those, 16,426 people sought temporary shelter in evacuation centers, while 5,614 stayed with relatives or friends.

Duterte slams gov’t for stifling...

Bill of Rights and the spirit of the Constitution," said Badoy, who was reprimanded by the Office of the Ombudsman last year for redtagging lawyers and members of leftist groups.

According to the NDRRMC, the government has provided P3.66 million in assistance.

Aghon was last located 315 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City in Cagayan. State weather

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday that he has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Health to provide aid to affected residents.

bureau PAGASA said impacts from Aghon's winds are now unlikely following the lifting of all wind signals.

The typhoon is also not forecast to "directly bring significant amounts of rainfall within the next three days." (Gaea Katreena Cabico/Philstar.com)

Lorraine Badoy, a spokesman for Duterte, verified that the letter came from the former president. "I asked [former] President Duterte at about 2 p.m. if there would be any changes to the letter, and he said it would remain as is," Badoy told The Manila Times

She said a similar rally had to be canceled in Bulacan because no permit had been granted. "We have come to embody the

PAUNAWA SA MGA CONTRACTOR

She described Marcos as a "truly weak leader" who needs to "intimidate, force, and violate our rights to get his way."

On Sunday, May 26, the RTR Plaza was packed with trucks and police officers. "We were only deployed here to

IPINAPAHAYAG NG PAUNAWANG ITO na ang Lungsod ng San José (“Lungsod”) ay tumatanggap ng mga selyadong bid ng mga alok alinsunod sa mga sumusunod.

Pangalan ng Proyekto: 10370 - Hoffman Via Monte Safety Lighting (“Proyekto”)

order of the

A

allegations

access

comment

Paglalarawan ng Trabaho: Ang Proyekto ay may kinalaman sa pagbabago ng sistema ng ilaw sa kalye na kinabibilangan ng instalasyon, pag-upgrade at pagtanggal ng mga ilaw sa kalye sa kahabaan ng Almaden Road, Mesa Drive, Via Monte Drive, Tucson Drive, at Carlsbad Drive.

Estimate ng Engineer: $340,000.00

PAGSALI SA BID

Dapat maihatid ang lahat ng mga bid sa Lungsod sa pamamagitan ng Biddingo (www.biddingo.com/sanjose), sa Huwebes, Hunyo 27, 2024 nang 11:00 ng umaga o bago sumapit ang petsa at oras na ito. Dapat tiyakin ng mga bidder na ang kanilang mga bid ay naisumite bago ang tinukoy na takdang panahon sa itaas. Upang mag-download ng mga dokumento at simulan ang iyong pagsusumite, pumunta sa Bid Documents / Online Submission. Para sa teknikal na suporta, mangyaring makipag-ugnayan nang direkta sa Biddingo sa 1-416-756-0955 o 1-800-208-1290 o sa pamamagitan ng email sa ebidding@ biddingo.com.

Isang kinatawan ng Direktor ng Public Works ang magbubukas sa publiko at idedeklara ang pinagsama-samang bid ng bawat bidder, gamit ang Zoom virtual meeting platform, ilang sandali lang matapos ang deadline ng pagpa-file. Maaaring ma-access ng mga interesadong partido ang virtual na pagbubukas ng bid sa pamamagitan ng pagbisita sa https://www.sanjoseca.gov/CIPBids.

PAGKUHA NG MGA DOKUMENTO PARA SA PROCUREMENT

Ang Lungsod ay gumagamit ng Biddingo, isang online na website para sa bid solicitation, upang mapadali ang procurement na ito. Nakarehistro ang procurement na ito sa Biddingo (https://www. biddingo.com/sanjose) sa ilalim ng numero ng bid at pangalan ng bid sa itaas at mayroong sumusunod na (mga) klasipikasyon ng commodity code: 025000 – Mga Serbisyong Electrical 100903 – Mga Serbisyong Engineering - Electrical 077505 – Mga Ilaw sa Kalye at Kasangkapan Ang lahat ng mga dokumento at impormasyon na nauugnay sa procurement na mga ito, kabilang ang mga plano at ispesipikasyon ng Proyekto, ay nasa website ng Biddingo sa ilalim ng numero ng bid at pangalan ng bid sa itaas. Kapag nakarehistro na, maaaring tingnan at i-download ng mga bidder ang impormasyon tungkol sa procurement na ito, kasama ang mga dokumento ng bid at kontrata, at magsumite na rin ng mga tanong na may kaugnayan sa bid at mga dokumento ng kontrata. Kapag nakita na ng bidder o nag-download na ng mga dokumento para sa bid na ito, ang bidder ay magiging isang "document taker". Magpapadala ang Biddingo sa "mga document taker" ng isang abiso sa tuwing magpo-post ang Lungsod ng addendum, tutugon sa isang tanong at/o magbibigay ng bagong impormasyon na may kaugnayan sa procurement na ito. Ang bawat bidder ay responsable sa pagpili ng naaangkop na mga opsyon sa notification na nauugnay sa Biddingo account nito. Kasunod ng pagsusuri ng Lungsod, ang mga alok ay ia-upload sa Biddingo.

RESPONSIBILIDAD NG BIDDER NA MAG-CHECK NG MGA UPDATE

Kailangan laging tingnan ng mga bidder ang Biddingo upang matiyak na ang bidder ay may pinakabagong impormasyon tungkol sa procurement na ito.

PAGHILING NG MGA IMPORMASYON

Dapat magsumite ang mga bidder ng mga tanong o kahilingan sa Lungsod, para sa impormasyon tungkol sa anumang bahagi ng bid na ito, nang nakasulat, sa pamamagitan ng Biddingo. Hindi tutugon ang Lungsod sa anumang komunikasyon o tanong na direktang isinumite sa kawani ng Lungsod o mga tagapayo ng Lungsod. Magsumite ng mga tanong sa pamamagitan ng Biddingo nang hindi lalampas sa Huwebes, Hunyo 20, 2024 nang 11:00 ng umaga. Inaasahang nabasa at nauunawaan ng lahat ng mga bidder ang " Procurement and Contract Process Integrity and Conflict of Interest, Seksyon 7 ng Consolidated Open Government and Ethics Provisions na pinagtibay noong Agosto 26, 2014, at ang kumpletong kopya nito ay makikita sa https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showdocument?id=19565. Ang sinumang bidder na lalabag sa patakarang ito ay madidiskuwalipika. Kasama sa mga batayan para sa diskwalipikasyon ang pakikipag-ugnayan hinggil sa procurement na ito sa sinumang opisyal ng Lungsod o empleyado o miyembro ng team ng nagsusuri maliban sa Procurement Contact o Purchasing Officer mula sa oras ng pag-isyu ng solicitation na ito hanggang sa matapos ang pagpoprotesta.

PAGTITIWALA SA MGA IMPORMASYON

Dapat lamang magtiwala ang mga bidder sa mga impormasyong nakuha sa pamamagitan ng Biddingo. Ang mga bidder ay hindi dapat magtiwala sa anumang mga nakasulat o pasalitang pahayag ng Lungsod o sa mga opisyal, direktor, empleyado o ahente nito tungkol sa procurement na ito. Kung sakaling ang isang bidder ay makakuha ng mga impormasyon tungkol sa procurement na ito sa pamamagitan ng anumang paraan maliban sa Biddingo, ang Lungsod ay hindi mananagot para sa pagiging kumpleto, pagiging wasto o pagiging nasa tamang oras ng huling alok na bid.

MGA KINAKAILANGAN NG LISENSYA NG CONTRACTOR

Lahat ng mga bidder ay pinaaalalahanan na kinokontrol ng Contractor's State License Law ang mga usapin tungkol sa paglilisensya ng kontratista. Ang Kontratista, sa alok na bid nito, ay kinakailangang ilahad ang uri ng lisensya, numero, at petsa ng expiry nito. Ang mga bidder ay dapat na may balidong lisensya ng kontratista ng California, klasipikasyon C-10 upang mag-bid sa proyektong ito.

MGA KINAKAILANGAN SA PAGREREHISTRO SA DIR NG CONTRACTOR

Dapat na nakarehistro sa Department of Industrial Relations ang kontratista at lahat ng itinalagang subcontractor nito, alinsunod sa mga Seksyong 1725.5 at 1771.1 ng California Labor Code. Ang Lungsod ay hindi tatanggap ng isang bid kung saan ang kontratista o alinman sa mga itinalagang subcontractor ay hindi nakarehistro alinsunod sa mga Seksyon 1725.5 at 1771.1.

Tingnan ang Seksyon 2-1.17 ng Special Provisions para sa mga kinakailangan sa “pagrerehistro” na naaangkop sa kontrata.

PAMPEDERAL NA PROYEKTO

Ang mga bidder ay pinaaalalahanan na ang Lungsod ay hihiling ng pederal na reimbursement para sa mga karapat-dapat na gastos sa Proyekto, kabilang ang mga nagastos sa ilalim ng Kontratang ito. Dahil dito, kakailanganin ng Kontratista na sumunod sa lahat ng mga pederal na kinakailangan gaya ng itinakda sa Attachment 7, “Federal Funding Provisions,” Attachment 8, “Solicitation Provisions for the Airport,” at/o Attachment 9, “LAPM Required Federal-Aid probisyon,” at/o Attachment 10, "Mga Kinakailangan sa CDBG" na ibinigay sa mga dokumento sa procurement. Dapat basahin nang maingant ng mga bidder ang mga kinakailangang ito bago magsumite ng bid para sa Proyekto. Kung sakaling magkasalungat ang alinman sa mga pederal na kinakailangan at anumang probisyon ng mga ispesipikasyon ng Proyekto, kabilang ang, ngunit hindi limitado, sa Mga Standard Specification ng Lungsod, na inamyendahan, o ng Kontrata, dapat masunod ang mga pederal na kinakailangan. MGA KASALUKUYANG SAHOD AT KINAKAILANGAN SA KAUGNAY NA TRABAHO Ang proyektong ito ay pinondohan ng pederal. Kakailanganin ng kontratista na sumunod sa naaangkop na pederal na kasalukuyang sahod, oras at mga kinakailangan sa trabaho, kabilang ang mga itinakda sa Davis-Bacon Act, ang Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, at lahat ng kaugnay na batas (sama-samang “Pampederal na Kinakailangan para sa Trabaho, Sahod at oras”). Ang proyektong ito ay isa ring “mga gawaing pampubliko” na tinukoy sa Mga Seksyong 1720 hanggang 1720.6 ng California Labor Code. Ang kontratista ay kakailanganing sumunod sa kasalukuyang sahod, oras at mga kinakailangan sa trabaho na itinakda sa mga Seksyon ng California Labor Code na 1720 hanggang 1861 (sama-samang “Pang-estadong Sahod, Oras at Kinakailangan sa Trabaho”) hangga't ang mga naturang kinakailangang ito ay hindi sumasalungat sa Pampederal na Sahod, Oras at Kinakailangang Trabaho at hangga't ang Pampederal na Sahod, Oras at Kinakailangang Trabaho ay hindi naaangkop. Alinsunod sa naaangkop na Mga Pampederal na Trabaho, Sahod at Oras na Kinakailangan, ang kontratista ay kailangang magbayad ng hindi bababa sa lokal na kasalukuyang rate ng per diem na sahod at lokal na kasalukuyang mga rate para sa holiday at overtime sa pagtatrabaho, gaya ng tinutukoy ng Federal Department of Labor. Sa kabila ng mga nabanggit, kung ang mga kasalukuyang kinakailangan sa sahod ng Pederal at Estado ay naglalaman ng parehong klasipikasyon ng trabaho, kailangang magbayad ng kontratista ng hindi bababa sa mas mataas sa dalawang (2) naaangkop na lokal na kasalukuyang rate ng per diem na sahod at lokal na kasalukuyang rate ng sahod para sa holiday at overtime. Ang mga kopya ng kasalukuyang rate ng per diem na sahod at ang pangkalahatang kasalukuyang rate ng sahod para sa holiday at overtime na may bisa para sa proyektong ito ay nasa file at magagamit para sa iyong pagsusuri mula sa Office of Equality Assurance ng Lungsod sa 408-535-8430. Tingnan ang mga Seksyong 2-1.17 at 7-1.01a(3) ng Special Provisions, at ang laman ng kontrata, para sa partikular na Pampederal at Pang-Estadong Sahod, Oras at Mga Kinakailangan sa Trabaho na naaangkop sa kontratang ito.

PAGNANAKAW SA SAHOD

Kailangang basahin at unawain ng mga bidder ang "Polisiya upang Maiwasan ang Pagnanakaw sa Sahod" na pinagtibay noong Abril 11, 2023. Ang kumpletong kopya ng Resolution No. RES 2023-96 ay matatagpuan sa https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/96686/638176810489930000. Sinumang Bidder na lumabag sa “Polisiya upang Maiwasan ang Pagnanakaw sa Sahod” ng Lungsod ay madidiskuwalipika. PAGTRATONG WALANG DISKRIMINASYON/WALANG PALAKASAN

Ang mga kinakailangan sa Pagtratong Walang Diskriminasyon/Walang Palakasan ng Chapter 4.08 ng San José Municipal Code ay susundin sa proyektong ito.

SEGURIDAD NG BID

Ang bawat bid ay nararapat na may kasamang isang elektronikong pdf na kopya ng bond ng bidder na may kabuuang hindi bababa sa 10% ng pinagsama-samang halaga ng bid. Ang mga bond ay dapat na inisyu ng isang surety na isang "admitted surety insurer" sa Estado ng California at dapat ilagay ang pangalan ng Lungsod ng San José bilang benepisyaryo. Nararapat na may kasamang isang elektronikong pdf na kopya ng power of attorney ng surety ang mga bond at isang nakanotaryong acknowledgement para sa lagda ng surety. Dapat panatilihin ng mga bidder ang orihinal na lagda sa bond ng bidder at ibigay ito sa Lungsod kapag hiningi.

MGA SERTIPIKO NG INIULAT NA PAGSUNOD

Dapat magsumite ang mga bidder na kasama ang balidong bid ng (Mga) Sertipiko ng Iniulat na Pagsunod para sa sarili nito at sa lahat ng itinalagang subcontractor alinsunod sa California Code of Regulations, Titulo 13, Div. 3, Ch. 9, Art. 4.8, Sec. 2449, Mga Pangkalahatang Kinakailangan para sa In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets (“Mga Regulasyon ng CARB”). Dapat isama sa bawat bid ang lahat ng naaangkop na (Mga) Sertipiko ng Iniulat na Pagsunod tulad ng inilarawan sa Seksyon 2449(n) ng Mga Regulasyon ng CARB para sa anumang mga sasakyan na maaaring gamitin sa kontratang ito o magbigay ng detalyadong dahilan na nagpapakita na ang (mga) fleet ay hindi kasama sa mga naturang regulasyon. Ang Mga Sertipiko ng Iniulat na Pagsunod ay makukuha sa pamamagitan ng Diesel Off-Road Online Reporting System (DOORS) ng CARB. Para sa teknikal na suporta, mangyaring makipag-ugnayan nang diretso sa CARB sa 1-877-593-6677 o sa pamamagitan ng email sa doors@arb.ca.gov. MGA KINAKAILANGAN NG BOND Dapat nakatuon ang atensyon ng bidder sa mga probisyong iyon ng Mga Ispesipikasyon na inaatasan ang kontratista, kung kanino iginawad ang kontrata, na magbigay sa Kleriko ng Lungsod sa oras na maisagawa ang kontrata, ng Contractor's Payment Bond at Bond for Faithful Performance na tutugunan ang lahat ng mga kinakailangan ng Mga Ispesipikasyon at dapat itong aprubahan ng Abugado ng Lungsod ng Lungsod ng San José. Ang mga bond

In this handout photo taken on Sunday, May 26 by the Philippine Coast Guard, children are evacuated from a flooded area by coast guard personnel in Lucena, Quezon Province, amid heavy rain brought by tropical storm Ewiniar. PCG photo

check on the peace and

plaza, and that is all we know," Police Cpt. Amado Castillo told The Manila Times

member of the sales crew of Elite Tacloban Motor Driven Cars Inc. said they were in the plaza to sell cars, in response to

they were there to block

to the rally. The Manila Times sought a

from the Tacloban City Hall, but no statement has been released.

PAGE 5

PATRIOTISM. The three women who manually sewed the Philippine flag are painted on two water tank towers at the corner of Bonny Serrano Avenue and 15th Avenue in Barangay Socorro, Quezon City on Tuesday, May 28, the stars of the National Flag Days. Marcela Agoncillo, her eldest daughter Lorenza and friend Delfina de Natividad, niece of Dr. Jose Rizal, sewed the flag in accordance with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s design, the official flag of the Philippines first unfurled in 1898. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

For Season 3 of the hit Netflix series, viewers are introduced to Filipino nobility in characters Lord Barnell and Lord Basilio by LaLa Singian Inquirer.net

MAYFAIR’S posh society is refreshing its roster with Filipino representation this season. In the first two episodes of Season 3, viewers are introduced to Filipino actors James Bradwell as Lord Basilio and Martin Sarreal as Lord Barnell, marking the debut of Filipino nobility in the hit Netflix series “Bridgerton.”

Bradwell was originally slated to play a character of East Asian heritage. However, the actor seized the opportunity to propose incorporating his own Filipino roots into the role. In a social media post, Bradwell shared, “I was met with an enthusiastic response welcoming and encouraging my input. I suggested a number of Filipino surnames and Basilio was born!

(Maybe Basilio of Bicol? The Viscount of Visayas? The Lord of Longganisa?)”

In a hilarious scene rife with awkward tension, Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan)

approaches Lord Basilio to demonstrate her social prowess and ability to converse casually with potential suitors—all in an attempt to impress Colin Bridgerton. However, the exchange takes an unexpected turn when the aristocratic Lord, standing at the refectory table, abruptly breaks down in tears, lamenting the loss of his beloved horse. Bradwell’s portrayal of the emotionally distraught Lord contrasts with Penelope’s flustered discomfort, creating a delightfully cringeworthy moment that will leave viewers in stitches. Meanwhile, Sarreal writes on Instagram, “Had loads of fun stepping into Lord Barnell’s shoes (and sticking on those sideburns) on a wonderful job jam packed with fantastic people… There are now officially TWO Pinoys in the ‘Bridgerton’ universe. What more can you truly ask for?” he adds, tagging Bradwell in his post. Sarreal debuts as Lord Barnell, witnessing Penelope

Featherington’s attempts to shed her wallflower persona at a ball. Donning daring fashions, the hapless Penelope stumbles through more cringeworthy social blunders and stilted banter at the ball. Lord Barnell observes with expressions moving between confusion and secondhand embarrassment, amplifying the humiliation and the ton’s unforgiving scrutiny.

On requesting more Filipino representation on the show, Bradwell wrote, “This exchange was that I was made to feel like a collaborator on my role, not a beggar at the door as these conversations can sometimes feel in this industry. Thank you @shondaland and @ bridgertonnetflix for dignifying me in that way.”

The inclusive move adds to the people of color in the alreadydiversified historical drama while also opening doors for more Filipino talents in the British film industry, and “Bridgerton’s” fictional, multicultural high society.

by Charmie Joy PaguLong Philstar.com

FOR her riveting performance in “A Very Good Girl,” Kathryn Bernardo was named Best Actress at the just-concluded Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards held Sunday night (May 26) at the Manila Hotel. Piolo Pascual and Alfred Vargas, on the other hand, bagged the Best Actor awards for “Mallari” and “Pieta,” respectively. The horror film “Mallari” won Best Picture while Louie Ignacio took home the Best Director trophy for “Papa Mascot.”

“Mallari” also earned Gloria Diaz the Best Supporting Actress award while L.A. Santos accepted the Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie

“In His Mother’s Eyes.” The Best Child Actor trophy went to Euwenn Mikaell for “Firefly,” Best Child Actress to Elia Ilano for “Ghost Tales,” Best Documentary to She Andes for “Maria,” and Best Screenplay to Enrico Santos for “Mallari.”

On the other hand, Carlo Mendoza received the Best Cinematography award for “GomBurZa,” Best Production Design for Marielle Hizon (“Mallari”), Best Editing for Benjamin Gonzales Tolentino (“Iti Mapukpukaw”), Best Musical Score for Teresa Barrozo (“GomBurZa”), and Best Sound for Immanuel Verona and Nerrika Salim (“Mallari”).

Gaspar Mangarin got the Best Visual Effects trophy for “Mallari,” Best Short Film was awarded to “Huling Sayaw ni Erlinda” by Gabby Ramos, and Best Original Song was Finggah Lickin for “Becky & Badette.”

Celebrity couple Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes received the FAMAS Bida sa Takilya recognition for “Rewind.” To honor the legendary names in the Philippine industry, FAMAS also bestowed special awards and citations.

These were the Lifetime Achievement Award for Tina Loy, Romeo Rivera, and Perla Bautista; Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Efren Reyes Jr.; FAMAS Circle of Excellence Award for Nora Aunor; FAMAS Special Citation Award for Gloria Romero, Greg Martin, and Pilar Padilla; and FAMAS Presidential Award for Pempe Rodrigo and Gina De Venecia. Coco Martin, Sen. Lito Lapid, Sen. Bong Revilla Jr., Sen. Robin Padilla, Dante Rivero, Eddie Gutierrez, Pepito Rodriguez, and Roger Calvin were conferred with Iconic Movie Actors of Philippine Cinema recognition. Sharon Cuneta, Nova Villa,

Snooky Serna, Barbara Perez, Marissa Delgado, Pilar Pilapil, and Divina Valencia, meanwhile, were honored as Iconic Movie Actresses of Philippine Cinema. Christopher de Leon and Vilma Santos-Recto were presented with the Circle of Excellence Award for their film “When I Met You In Tokyo.” Helen Gamboa was given with the Susan Roces Celebrity Award; Joaquin Domagoso with German Moreno Youth Achievement Award; Elwood Perez with Dr. Jose Perez Memorial Award; and Baby K. Jimenez with Angelo “Eloy” Padua Memorial Award for Journalism.

THE win of Chelsea Manalo as this year’s Miss Universe Philippines was dubbed a surprise and historic by pageant enthusiasts and experts.

The beauty from Bulacan held her own in the presence of pageant veterans and frontrunners and has become the first Pinay of Afro-American descent to represent the country at the annual Miss Universe in Mexico.

Chelsea, who lived up to her surname, meaning “to win,” during the Miss U Phl final’s night, is also described by some as a breath of fresh air as compared to a bevy of mestiza and morena Pinay bets that have graced the Miss U stage.

It’s time for the country to send a representative of African-American descent, a welcome addition to the halfbreed Filipinas with American, Australian, Arab, German, Indian, Italian and Scottish racial and ethnic roots. After all, the ancestors of this land are believed to be Austronesians and hill people.

In this day and age, diversity should be even more celebrated and embraced.

Although she was on the radar and expected to land in the Top 10, she worked her way slowly but surely and fervently with the aspiration to become a Filipina queen.

She showed her amiable personality in the introduction, the casual interview and the Top 5 question-and-answer segment. Chelsea appeared calm and collected and she paced herself to share her thoughts. She was there to express herself and not to impress.

Chelsea also had a captivating smile. She seemed to be there to challenge herself, breezing through the swimsuit and evening gown competitions.

Chelsea did reach the final round and was the last one standing.

She earned the rights to represent the country at the 2024 Miss Universe fair and square.

Chelsea has what the others call the 3B’s: beauty, body, and brains. She also possesses the 2P’s: pulchritude and personality.

Chelsea reminds one of Chelsi Smith, Miss Universe 1995 from USA; Kenya Moore, Miss Universe 1993 Top 6 finalist from USA; Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss Universe 1998 from

FOLLOWERS of Marian Rivera

— who have seen her children Zia and Sixto grow before their eyes — know that of all the roles she has played throughout her life, she takes utmost pride in being a mother.

Her social media pages are filled with precious moments with her children, including how she keeps them busy with various activities to enhance their physical and social abilities for overall development.

Despite her busy schedule as a celebrity, she makes sure to be present at every milestone of her kids' lives. She, together with husband Dingdong Dantes, takes them on adventures through quick

and Tobago; and Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011 from Angola.

Chelsea and her team may consider the winning ways (from having a well-toned physique, enticing presence and appeal, a confident-oozing pasarela [catwalk or runway walk], to being an enthusiastic spokesperson) of the former Miss Universe winners and complement them with her winnable qualities, plus what the Miss Universe Organization is looking for in its queen. Like what I’ve mentioned in my previous article on Miss Philippines’ prospects at this year’s Miss Universe, the successor of Michelle Marquez Dee has two missions to carry out, aside from bringing the country’s fifth crown: to keep and maintain the country’s semifinals and Top 10 placement and break its non-placement in a Miss Universe edition held in Mexico. Chelsea has these challenges to handle and hurdle. Michelle, Miss Universe Philippines 2023, succeeded in regaining the country’s Top 20 placement at Miss Universe and reaching the Top 10 round. She is also considered the most

museum trips, travels abroad, engages them in arts and crafts, and lets them enjoy outdoor activities.

Rivera also boasts of being a supportive and hands-on mom when it comes to her kids' achievements and pursuits such as recitals, sports tournaments, dance performances, and schooling.

"My family, especially my kids, would always be my number one priority. I am never too busy for them. They are only young once and I promised to be the kind of mom who shows up and supports them in all that they want to do and achieve," the 39-year-old shared.

"To working moms like me, I know it's challenging to manage

awarded Pinay Miss U delegate receiving the Voice for Change gold, Spirit of Carnival, Fan Vote and Best National Costume awards.

Although the Philippines has four Miss Universe titles and 23 semi-finalists, finalists and runners-up, its representatives in the 1978, 1989, 1993 and 2007 editions, all mounted in Mexico, fell short in the first round. However, in three of the four Miss U in Mexico editions, women of color or of African descent such as Miss Jamaica (1989), Miss USA (1993 and 2007), Miss Tanzania (2007) and Miss Angola (2007) entered the Top 10 and Top 15. Asians like Miss India (in 1993 and 2007), Japan, Korea and Thailand (2007) secured spots in the semifinals. Korea (represented by Honey Lee) was named third runner-up, while Japan (Riyo Mori) eventually won the Miss U title and its second crown. With these scenarios, Chelsea is on a historic campaign for the Philippines at Miss Universe. Given her beauty and personality, she will make her kababayan here and abroad proud.

your time for work and for your family but we can still find ways to do so. It will all be worth it, I guarantee."

But Rivera said she is fully aware that these experiences, while fun, may take a toll on her children's health. To keep her kids healthy, happy and protected from sickness every day as they enjoy a memorable childhood, she turns to vitamin supplements.

"When I was young, I really love to play outside — whether it's playing until sundown or showing in the rain. I want my kids to also experience those things outside so it's all the more important for me to build their immunity."

(ManilaTimes.net)

Filipino actors (from left) Martin Sarreal and Jimbo Bradwell in

Miss

Trinidad

What’s new: Summer at the Presidio

SAN FRANCISCO

– Summer days are almost here, and it’s time to get outdoors and enjoy the Presidio’s nature, views, and many recreational features. The season also means longer hours, more daylight, and more activities to enjoy with family, friends, or solo in this national park site. Check the website’s calendar (https://presidio.gov/ explore/events) for updated information and Presidio businesses for what’s happening at The Walt Disney Family Museum, the Presidio Theatre, Presidio Golf Course, Presidio Bowl, restaurants, and more.

Our new website itineraries and a stop at the Presidio Visitor Center will help to plan a day in the park.

Camping at Rob Hill

Campground

The camping season is open from April 1 to October 31 at Rob Hill, one of only two campgrounds in the city!

Imagine waking up to the sound of a foghorn or Great Horned Owl outside your tent. The four group campsites can welcome up to 30 people each and include fire pits, picnic tables, bathroom facilities, and are nestled in the forest above the Pacific Ocean. Rolling reservations are taken monthly on Recreation.gov.

Free summer events

The Presidio proudly announces free events this summer, co-hosted by the Partnership for the Presidio and organized in collaboration with our community partners.

• Pride in the Presidio –Saturday, June 1, 10 a.m. to 4

p.m.

Kick off Pride Month in the Presidio! Activities include Queer history hikes, book giveaways with San Francisco Public Library, storytelling with Drag Story Hour, a Tea Dance Celebration with Music Connects Foundation, and so much more.

Presidio Tunnel Tops.

• Sundown Cinema in the Presidio, Bullitt – Friday, June 14, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The SF Park’s Alliance brings the big screen to the Presidio with a showing of Bullitt for Sundown Cinema. Civil War Parade Ground.

• SUPERBLOOMS Launch

Party – Sunday, July 14, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Come celebrate a new art installation, SUPERBLOOMS, and meet the artist. Enjoy colorful murals by multi-media artist Tosha Stimage, with DJ music and hands-on art activities.

Presidio Tunnel Tops.

• Parks4All Brewfest –Saturday, July 27, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Parks4All Brewfest features beer tastings, lawn games, live music, and food trucks. Ticket purchases support the parks.

Civil War Parade Ground.

• Samoan Flag Day – Saturday, August 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Feats and the National Samoan Chiefs Council invite you to celebrate Samoan culture, heritage, and its impact on the Northern California region. Enjoy cultural performances, food, vendors, live entertainment, and more. Main Parade Lawn.

• National Night Out –Tuesday, August 7, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the National Park Police, National Park Service, Golden Gate Bridge Authority, SF Fire Department, and the Presidio Trust, National Night Out is an annual communitybuilding event promoting policecommunity partnerships. Enjoy demonstrations, giveaways, and learn more about fire prevention and child safety. Experience the US Park Police Horses up close. Main Parade Lawn.

• Fiesta en el Parque –Sunday, August 11, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Fiesta en el Parque returns for a second year, featuring Aztec Dancing, Latin music, banda performances, and more, all organized in collaboration with Telemundo/NBC. Presidio Tunnel Tops.

• World Arts West Dance Festival – Sunday, September 8, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

World Arts West 2024 Dance Festival is a three-weekend festival that showcases culture, wisdom and beauty through global dance and music, with

a theme this year of “Dance as Activism.” The festival will include artist dialogues + dance workshops at Dance Mission on August 25 and September 1 and a day of performances at the Presidio Sunday, September 8th! For more information, see WorldArtsWest.org.

• Chuseok Festival – Saturday, September 14, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Join Korean Center Inc. for their 6th annual Chuseok Festival, or Korean Harvest Festival. This is the Bay Area's largest public event celebrating, showcasing, and promoting Korean culture with cuisine, music, arts, and community. Main Parade Lawn. For complete information on these events and to check on last-minute updates, please visit the website calendar at www. presidio.gov/events. Ongoing offerings Stop by the Presidio Visitor Center daily at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., or 3 p.m. for an informative overview of park resources and recreational possibilities by the National Park Service (NPS) Rangers. Learn about the park and its history at campfire talks at Presidio Tunnel Tops, 4 p.m. daily. Museum galleries at the Presidio Officers’ Club are open to the public for free, Friday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Uncover the rich cultural history of the Presidio and its early inhabitants, and experience the special EXCLUSION exhibition, which examines the role the Presidio of San Francisco – then the Army’s Western Defense Command – played in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, purportedly in the name of national security. Enjoy a family-friendly day at the Outpost playground and the Field Station – where there is no limit to play and park discoveries (for visitors of ALL ages!). Choose from a menu of free gear and park treasure hunt adventures to explore the park in fun ways, or allow a friendly Park Guide to help you connect with unique seasonal activities and experiences. Also look for a new time travel StoryWalk at the Outpost that artfully depicts scenes of Crissy Field over the last 4.6 billion years! New art in the park

This summer, the Presidio reveals SUPERBLOOMS, a brand-new art installation by multi-disciplinary artist Tosha Stimage. Her colorful ground murals are on view at Presidio Tunnel Tops between the Presidio Transit Center and the Picnic Pavilion and will be celebrated in a special free public event on Sunday, July 14, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tosha is the third artist to activate the Presidio Tunnel Tops as part of the Ancestral Futurism project, which invites emerging and midcareer BIPOC artists to develop temporary installations there.

Project mentor, artist, Presidio Activator and environmental activist Favianna Rodriguez was the first to inaugurate the Presidio Tunnel Tops, followed by Felicia Gabaldon. Their art honors the diversity and interconnectedness of all humans, land, flora, and fauna that have lived in this ecosystem throughout the centuries and provides a resonant new way to experience the park for all visitors. Funded by the Partnership for the Presidio.

Presidio Pop Up food and DJ series

Nothing says summer like food and music! Presidio Pop Up offers food trucks, carts, and tents that showcase the diverse cultures and cuisines of the Bay Area. Look for them at several locations on Presidio Tunnel Tops and at the Main Parade Lawn. The rotating line up of more than two dozen local vendors offers everything from morning coffee and donuts to poke, Pakistani samosas, and porchetta.

Starting June 1, Presidio Pop Up welcomes new vendors, including Buri Buri, Clean Bites, Miss Musubi, MOMOlicious, and Painted Leopard. Also, several beloved vendors return to Presidio Pop Up after a hiatus: Borsch Mobile, El Pipila, and Donut Petit. Thanks to the entire roster of delicious options, visitors will never go hungry. Just in time for extended summer daylight and outdoor fun, hours at

Presidio Pop Up are extended on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. See the list of vendors, locations, and the weekly schedule here.

The Presidio Pop Up DJ Series gets you grooving every third Saturday of the month through October, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A lineup of local, familyfriendly DJs will lay down beats, adding to the festive atmosphere on the Main Parade Lawn (May 25, June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19).

Bring your own picnic Picnic areas in the Presidio abound, including Picnic Place with group tables and grills reservable via recreation.gov.

The tables range in length from 16 to 23 feet, are wheelchair accessible, and are shaded by Torrey pines. There are many other free, first-come-first-served picnic areas at Presidio Tunnel Tops and around the park, including tables by the Presidio Transit Center, and other picnic tables, benches, grassy lawns, and moveable seating throughout the site – all featuring views of the Golden Gate and Bay. Sheltered seating in the glass Picnic Pavilion provides a get-away when the fog rolls in (open daily 9am-5pm).

Volunteering

It takes a village to help restore natural habitat or greet visitors in the Presidio and elsewhere in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Presidio and its partners – the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the National Park Service – offer weekly volunteer projects along with special days of service. It’s also possible to schedule a group project for your company or club.

NEW this summer, volunteer with the Presidio Tunnel Tops Stewardsfrom 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Volunteers will help care for the landscaped areas at Presidio Tunnel Tops while learning about the unique mixture of native and non-native plants growing on the site. Activities will include pruning, weeding, spreading mulch, and other general landscaping and gardening activities. Registration is required.

Visit https://presidio.gov/ support/volunteer to learn more about volunteering in the Presidio, where you can enjoy nature and get that special feeling that comes with making a difference.

Getting to the Park

There are many ways to get to the Presidio, car-free. The Muni 43-Masonic bus line runs to the Transit Center; the 30-Stockton stops along Mason Street and at Sports Basement, adjacent to the Tunnel Tops Outpost, and connects the Presidio to Chinatown and Union Square; the Muni 28-Fisherman's Wharf runs to the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza; and the Muni 29-Baker Beach takes visitors to Baker Beach and some of the most beautiful coastal trails in the city. The free shuttle service Presidio GO runs routes from the Salesforce Transit Center and the Embarcadero BART to the Presidio (and back), and a South Hills Route accesses various locations around the park. The Presidio’s Main Post or East Beach parking lots offer ample paid parking. Visitors can take advantage of a new rideshare drop-off zone and the Bay Wheels bike share stations as well. For details on transportation please visit https://www.presidio.gov/ transportation.

Hours of operation

• Presidio Pop Up (mobile food): Daily, weekends from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Outpost Nature Play Area: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

• Field Station: Wednesday – Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed Monday and Tuesday)

• Presidio Visitor Center: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

• Presidio Officers’ Club Galleries: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Presidio is one of America’s most visited national park sites, located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Spanning 1,500 acres next to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio is among the most biologically diverse parks in America. Historically a home to native peoples and a military post under three flags, its facilities have been reinvented as museums, restaurants, hotels, homes, and offices. The Presidio Trust is the federal agency that stewards the Presidio, in partnership with the National Park Service and with support from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The Trust sustains the Presidio by leasing homes and workplaces and offering visitor amenities. Learn more at presidio.gov. (Presidio Trust Release)

San Francisco’s Museums for All program returns this summer

FRANCISCO – On Friday, May 24, Mayor London N. Breed, Treasurer José Cisneros, and the San Francisco Human Services Agency together celebrated five years since the launch of San Francisco’s Museums for All program. Started in May 2019, the city’s Museums for All program began with the support of more than 15 museums and cultural institutions to provide free or significantly reduced admission to San Francisco residents who receive public benefits. To date, the program has expanded and there are

currently 28 participating museum partners. As the school season comes to a close, Museums for All is ramping up for another successful summer and with five new destinations for families to enjoy: The Walt Disney Family Museum, the Aquarium of the Bay, the American Bookbinders Museum, the Tenderloin Museum, and the Guardians of the City First Responders Museum. In fiscal year 202223, nearly 165,000 low-income San Francisco residents visited the city’s participating museum

partners for free or received highly discounted entrance fees.

SF Museums for All enables San Francisco residents with CalFresh or Medi-Cal cards administered by SFHSA, to receive up to four free or $3 tickets to any participating museum per visit. Cardholders can easily visit museums by presenting their benefits card and proof of San Francisco residency upon their visit.

“San Francisco is home to some of the most renowned museums and cultural PAGE 10

Meta’s Director of Public Policy Molly

Montgomery, and Executive Assistant to the Vice President for International Policy Mariah Terhaar welcomed Consul General Ferrer, Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona, Senior Trade Commissioner Celynne Layug, and Economic Assistant Jennifer Sto. Domingo to their headquarters.

Consulate officials also had the opportunity to remotely meet with Clare Amador, Meta’s Public Policy Head for the Philippines and Thailand, to know more about the tech company’s engagements with the Philippines.

Montgomery introduced Meta’s vision for the Metaverse, a set of interconnected virtual experiences that has the potential to revolutionize social connection, work, and entertainment.

Consulate officials also tried Meta’s technologies, including the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Ray-Ban.

Amador presented on Meta Philippines’ ongoing collaborations and investments in the Philippines.

Collaborations include promoting digital safety, empowering small and medium enterprises through online tools and training, and supporting overseas Filipino workers. Meta is investing in the international submarine cable system that will connect the Philippines and the United States.

The Philippines has a remarkably high social media penetration rate. Over 87 million Filipinos actively use Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp for communication, entertainment, and business. This widespread adoption highlights the significant role social media plays in the Philippines' digital economy and entrepreneurial landscape.

(PCGSF Release)

San Francisco’s Museums for All program...

institutions in the world and we want to ensure entrance is low barrier so that our residents, including youth and families, have the same opportunities to enjoy the benefits of arts and education,” said Mayor Breed. “Last year, nearly 165,000 people participated in San Francisco’s Museums for All program, which tells us people are utilizing this benefit, but we want to see more. I want to thank each of the participating museums for their commitment in making these experiences available to all city residents.”

The program was created in collaboration with the San Francisco Human Services Agency (SFHSA) and the Treasurer’s Financial Justice Project, which works to reform and assess fines and fees that place a disproportionate burden on low-income residents. The Financial Justice Project released an impact report of the SF Museums for All Program in 2023. San Francisco Museums for All builds on the national Museums for All initiative, which works with museums across the country to offer free or discounted admission fees to individuals and families that receive public benefits. The initiative, which several San Francisco museums participate in, has broadened visitor bases and expanded access to museums, engaged underserved communities, and raised public awareness.

“Museums for All opens up a wealth of cultural institutions to San Francisco residents who would otherwise be priced out of attendance,” said Treasurer Cisneros. “San Francisco has an incredible array of institutions, and we are so excited to see so many low-income families benefit from this program.”

Nearly one in four San Franciscans receive these benefits and can visit museums free of charge through this program. Tickets typically range from $20-$150 for a family of four, which can create a financial barrier for lowincome families to experience the city’s world-class museums.

Through SF Museums for All, people from all walks of life and across income levels can gain access to museums they would otherwise not have.

SFHSA has been promoting this program to the city’s residents who receive public benefits and promoting participation among community organizations that serve qualifying households, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities.

“All San Franciscans should be able to enjoy the same access to rich cultural and artistic life experiences regardless of their income level,” said Trent Rhorer, executive director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency. “We are coming together to invite all households that receive public benefits to visit our world-class museums this summer so they too can experience the cultural

abundance of our city.”

To participate, eligible families need to bring to participating museums:

• An Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) or Medi-Cal card

• Proof of San Francisco residency such as a driver’s license, student or college ID card, or library card.

Participating institutions currently include: American Bookbinders Museum, Aquarium of the Bay** (program participation to begin on June 1, 2024), Asian Art Museum, Cable Car Museum, California Academy of Sciences**, Cartoon Art Museum, Children's Creativity Museum, Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, Chinese Historical Society of America, Conservatory of Flowers, Contemporary Jewish Museum, de Young Museum, Exploratorium**, Guardians of the City Museum, GLBT Historical Society Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, Legion of Honor Museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, Museum of Craft and Design, Museum of the Eye, Randall Museum, San Francisco Botanical Garden, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco Recreation and Park Departments’ Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco Railway Museum, Tenderloin Museum, Walt Disney Family Museum and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

** Reduced $3 admission.

For more information, visit sfhsa.org/museums.

(SF Mayor’s Office Release)

OAKLAND – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, represented by Vice Consul Adrian Baccay, joined the 52nd anniversary gala of the Philippine Medical Society of Northern California (PMSNC) at the Hilton Oakland Airport Hotel in Oakland, California on May 18, 2024.

In his message, Consul General Neil Ferrer recognized the PMSNC’s efforts “in elevating the profile of Filipino American medical professionals in the United States, as well as in advancing the rights and welfare of those working in the U.S. medical and healthcare sectors.”

Consul General Ferrer also commended the PMSNC “for going above and beyond the duties of your Hippocratic Oaths to save lives and uplift the communities that you

serve,” citing the PMSNC’s annual medical mission to the Philippines.

During the PMSNC medical mission, held on January 15-19, 2024 in Bayambang, Pangasinan, 160 Filipino American and American medical doctors, nurses, students, and other volunteers traveled to the Philippines to deliver free hospital and outpatient medical services to the residents of Bayambang and nearby towns.

A total of 7,192 patient encounters were recorded during the five-day medical mission, including 6,838 outpatient screenings & procedures and 354 surgeries. One major surgery by a PMSNC volunteer, an abdominal tumor removal, lasted for about seven hours at a local hospital.

Consul General Ferrer reiterated his support to the

projects and programs of the PMSNC, under the leadership of its president, Dr. Mark Gonzalgo, adding that: “Through PMSNC’s contributions to Philippine nation-building, I am confident that, together, we can pass on a healthy and prosperous Bagong Pilipinas to future generations of Filipinos.”

The Consulate previously partnered with the PMSNC for the “Health Day sa Konsulado” in October of 2021, where free medical screenings and consultations were given to Consulate personnel and clients.

Founded in 1972, the PMSNC is a 501c3 organization which aims to foster fellowship among Filipino and Filipino American physicians, and provide charitable assistance to underprivileged residents in the Bay Area. (PCGSF Release)

these Success Story subjects back one more time with their own immigration concerns.

Ayie is a U.S. citizen. She is also a computer engineer and an entrepreneur. She wants to know if she can bring her sister to the U.S. through an employment-based petition, to work for her business. She is also asking if she can bring her mother over as a tourist, and then process her mother’s papers in the U.S. Lani, a nurse and an entrepreneur, wants to start her own business recruiting nurses. She wants to know if Atty. Gurfinkel can help her with that.

Dr. Feb is a green card holder (through her U.S. citizen spouse) and wants to know if she can now petition her mother.

Jonas, head cook at Gerry’s Grill Houston, recently obtained his green card. He wants to know how he can bring all his children to the U.S. and if he can also bring his live-in partner, who is the mother of his children.

Atty. Gurfinkel answers these questions in this special edition of “Your Tanong, My Sagot” – One More Time in Houston, Texas. Watch this encore episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday, June 2 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET through select Cable/Satellite providers), right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen

Bernadette Roco (8th from left). San Francisco PCG photo

Consul General Neil Ferrer trying on the Meta Ray-Ban.

Consul Vanessa Bago-Llona trying on the Meta Quest 3 with Mariah Terhaar, Executive Assistant to the Meta Vice President for International Policy.

Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app.

(Advertising Supplement)

MENLO PARK

– Consul General Neil Ferrer met with executives of Facebook’s parent company Meta at its Silicon Valley headquarters in Menlo Park, California on May 15, 2024, as part of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco’s economic and tech diplomacy work in Silicon Valley.