062224 - Los Angeles Weekend

Biden administration announces new immigration actions on DACA anniversary

groups

by MoMar G. Visaya AJPress

with their

legally, and receive protection from deportation during the process. Additionally, Dreamers with a degree from a U.S. college or university and a job offer from a U.S. employer can now swiftly secure a work visa.

Many Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) families and communities stand to benefit from these measures, where 1.7 million AAPIs are undocumented, comprising almost 1 in 5 undocumented individuals living in the U.S.

“While today’s actions are a significant step forward, there is more work to be done to fix our broken immigration system. That

Filipino-centered parenting program prioritizes mental health among Filipino youth

MANILA — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call on Thursday, June 20 with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo to discuss China’s “escalatory” actions to stop the delivery of food and supplies to a Philippine military outpost on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal early this week. In a statement, State Department

spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken’s discussion with Manalo “followed the PRC (People’s Republic of China)’s dangerous and irresponsible actions to deny the Philippines from executing a lawful maritime operation in the South China Sea on June 17.” He was referring to the Chinese coast guard personnel’s use of bladed weapons and hammers to force their way onto Philippine boats to stop them from reaching

LOS ANGELES — With mental health awareness among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) on the rise, more families are more concerned over youth mental and emotional well-being.

A group of researchers based in Los Angeles has been undergoing a comprehensive study that focuses on Filipino family dynamics and

MANILA — No officer-in-charge has so far been appointed for the Department of Education (DepEd), Malacañang said on Thursday, June 20.

The Palace also reiterated that Vice President Sara Duterte’s resignation as education secretary will only be effective on July 19.

This means Duterte will still serve as the head of the department until her resignation becomes effective.

Communications Office chief, Secretary Cheloy Garafil, told reporters in Filipino.

Duterte resigned on Wednesday, June 19 as DepEd secretary and vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

The vice president attributed her decision to resign to her “true compassion” for teachers and students.

Duterte did not give any other reason.

Both the DepEd and the Office of the Vice President reporters that Duterte would not be accepting queries regarding her resignation, noting that her main focus was ensuring a “proper transition” for the next

IN his first presidential term, Donald Trump obstructed asylum, imposed a “Muslim Ban,” undermined Temporary Protected Status, terminated DACA and separated families at the border. This time, his immigration plans are even more ambitious.

If elected this November, Trump’s plans include mass deportations and detention camps, legal immigration category freezes, re-invoking public charge and penalizing states that offer in-state tuition to undocumented students.

At a Friday, June 14 Ethnic Media Services briefing, immigration policy experts discussed Trump’s plan — outlined in Project 25, a report from conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation — and its impact on U.S. citizens, immigrants and the economy.

Immigration policy in Project 25

Project 25 — the newest iteration of Mandate for Leadership, a series of playbooks published by The Heritage Foundation recommending conservative policies to be implemented by the federal government — includes over 175 immigration policy changes and a chapter written by

“Her resignation will be effective July 19. There is no OIC yet,” the Presidential

MANILA — The government’s anticrime body and the police filed a criminal complaint against suspended Bamban

Mayor Alice Guo before the Department of Justice on Friday, June 21 in connection to the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her municipality.

The complaint charges Guo and others with the non-bailable offense of qualified human trafficking. This was filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection group.

In a press briefing on Friday, InterAgency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) chairperson and Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said that multiple pieces of evidence have come out justifying the

case, such as her application of [letter of no objection] from the local government and her involvement with the lesser company.

“Among the other evidence is her name appearing in several documents in the POGO compound,” Ty said.

Ty added that they have also started to process the immigration lookout bulletin order against Guo, which does not prevent the individual from leaving but directs the Bureau of Immigration to be on the lookout for them.

Those facing the complaint include former Technology and Resource Center director general Dennis Cunanan and 12 other Chinese nationals who held positions at the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc. and

MANILA — Former Vice President Leni Robredo has ruled out running for senator in the 2025 midterm elections.

In an interview with local reporters in Naga City, Camarines Sur, Robredo said she has informed the Liberal Party (LP) about her decision.

“Sinarado ko na kaya nagpaalam na ako sa LP. Kaya ako nagpaalam sa LP na hindi na ako tatakbo sa Senado. Sinabi ko na ang preference ko ay tatakbo akong alkalde ng Naga,” she explained.

(I have closed doors on that, that’s why I informed LP about it. That’s why I told LP that I would not run for the Senate. I told them that my preference was to gun for the mayoral post of Naga.)

Robredo’s plans to run for the Naga mayoral race — a post once occupied by her late husband, former Interior secretary Jesse Robredo — was first revealed by LP president and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman. Lagman said it in an interview with reporters at the Batasang Pambansa complex after being asked about the possibility that Robredo would get nominated for the vacant Education secretary post.

Vice President Sara Duterte resigned as Education secretary last Wednesday, June 19. Robredo said she does not know if it was Lagman’s official statement, but she noted that the context of the interview was a

Biden administration announces...

includes the need for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. President Biden and I continue to call on the United States Congress to join us in acting by passing permanent protections for Dreamers,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC commended the new policies, which are expected to bring stability to many undocumented immigrants and their families. The White House estimates that around half a million spouses of U.S. citizens and 50,000 immigrant children will benefit from these changes.

In a statement, AAJC said,

“These policies are momentous for hundreds of thousands of families, including many Asian Americans.

PAUNAWA SA PAMPUBLIKONG PAGDINIG

Ang mga pag-aanunsiyo sa pahayagan ay naunang inilathala na nagsasaad na ang Ordinansa para sa Bukas sa Lahat na Pabahay (Inclusionary Housing) ay tatalakayin sa darating na pagdinig ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor ng County ng San Diego sa Hunyo 26, 2024. Ang item sa pagdinig na ito ay ipinagpaliban at muling iiiskedyul para sa Pagdinig ng Lupon ng mga Superbisor sa hinaharap. Ang mga bagong pag-aanunsiyo at pagsasapanahon sa mga sa pahayagan ay ipapadala nang mas maaga sa bagong petsa ng pagdinig para sa Ordinansa para sa Bukas sa Lahat na Pabahay (Inclusionary Housing).

TATAWAGANG TAUHAN:

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa proyekto, mangyaring makipag-ugnayan sa tagapamahala ng proyekto sa impormasyon sa pakikipag-ugnayang nakasaad sa ibaba.

Camila Easland (619) 929-7199

Camila.Easland@sdcounty. ca.gov

6/22/24

CNS-3825445# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

They will bring much-needed stability, not just for undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients who have been waiting years for immigration reform, but also for their spouses and families. Many families who have feared permanent separation can now breathe a sigh of relief.”

The AAJC stressed the significance of these policies in providing relief to families who have feared permanent separation and called for further reforms to address longstanding issues in the immigration system. They noted that many Asian immigrants might not qualify due to entry method provisions, leaving numerous families still in the shadows without a path to permanent status.

The organization urged continued efforts toward comprehensive immigration reform that includes pathways to citizenship for all immigrants, including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, and essential workers. They highlighted the importance of welcoming policies that keep families together and uphold the U.S.’s moral and prosperous standing.

Juliet K. Choi, President & CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), praised the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to improve conditions for immigrant communities. She highlighted the expedited work visa process for DACA recipients, which reduces the waiting period from six months to two weeks, significantly benefiting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, which represents about ten percent of DACA recipients.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent about ten percent of DACA recipients, and half of all DACA recipients are college graduates. This new process will expedite their work visa from six months to two weeks,”

Choi said. “The administration’s announcement to keep families together and working during the green card process underscores the President’s commitment to our values and makes America safer and stronger.”

Choi also emphasized the importance of these actions in keeping families together and reinforcing America’s values of safety and strength. The administration’s decision aligns with President Biden’s earlier expansion of health coverage for DACA recipients through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

“NAPAWF applauds the Biden administration for today’s immigration relief announcements. These necessary steps ensure that our community members can gain legal status, access essential health benefits, and lead more complete lives. Undocumented spouses and DACA-mented youth, have for too long lived in the shadows and borne the brunt of our broken immigration system,” Sung Yeon Choimorrow, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) Executive Director said.

“While these announcements are a step in the right direction, this is only the beginning. The majority of Americans support pathways to citizenship. There is still much more that needs to be done to guarantee that everyone, regardless of their immigration status, can live full and healthy lives in America. Our organization will continue to advocate for justice for all members of our community.”

These announcements by the Biden administration represent a step forward in supporting immigrant communities and addressing the complex challenges they face, but they also underscore the need for ongoing advocacy and legislative action to achieve lasting, meaningful reform. g

Robredo says running for senator...

possible offer for her to be Education secretary.

“Hindi ko alam kung official statement iyon, pero ang konteksto nung interview kay Congressman Edcel Lagman ay tungkol sa napapabalitang offer kay Atty. Leni na maging sekretarya. ‘Yon ang pagkakaintindi ko. Pagkabasa ko ng headline, parang napangunahan na ako,” she explained. (I do not know if that was an official statement, but the context of the interview with Congressman Edcel Lagman was about a supposed offer for Atty. Leni to be the Education secretary. That’s my understanding. But when I read the headlines, it seems my actions were preempted.) g

Blinken, Manalo discuss

the Sierra Madre. Several Filipinos were injured in the ensuing scuffle, with one soldier losing a finger.

“Secretary Blinken emphasized that the PRC’s actions undermine regional peace and stability and underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty,” Miller said.

He said the two officials also exchanged views on how to build on the momentum from recent high-level bilateral engagements on issues of mutual concern.

China’s use of violence against Filipinos in Ayungin Shoal last June 17 sparked condemnation from the international community.

The China Coast Guard ramming and towing Philippine vessels on a rotation and resupply mission sparked international condemnation.

The CCG’s “dangerous and deliberate use of water cannons, ramming, blocking maneuvers, and towing damaged Philippine vessels, endangered the lives of Philippine service members, is reckless, and threatens regional peace and stability.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier said “the Philippines’ rightful, legal maritime claims must be protected.”

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called China’s behavior “provocative, reckless, unnecessary,” as it could “lead to something much bigger and much more violent.”

‘Meaningful dialogue’

In a statement, Senate President Francis Escudero said on Thursday the Philippines must do more than file diplomatic protests like exploring “every means to conduct a meaningful dialogue” with Beijing or seeking alternative methods of delivering supplies to Sierra Madre.

Chinese...

In a statement, Escudero said he would ask for a full briefing from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on China’s “alarming” escalation of encounters at sea with Filipinos.

“In the meantime, the DFA should go beyond the filing of diplomatic protests each time an incident occurs, and must explore every means to conduct a meaningful dialogue with their counterparts from Beijing with the end in view of avoiding further escalation, without giving up any of our rights and privileges in our claimed territory vis-a-vis theirs,” Escudero said.

“As our diplomats work to advance our interests, I urge our Armed Forces to explore alternative methods to deliver provisions to the Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal so that our troops are properly resupplied while minimizing the risks and achieving our desired objectives,” he added.

For her part, Sen. Loren Legarda asked for calm and urged parties to have a dialogue to deescalate tension. But she stressed the Philippines has sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone.

“Ayungin is clearly within our exclusive economic zone. The humanitarian resupply mission to our troops in the BRP Sierra Madre is part of our duty to sustain our people, who are sacrificing by working there and guarding the Sierra Madre,” Legarda said at a press briefing.

“Any damage, any violation, in that area which is our EEZ, must be dealt with through constructive dialogue. But at the same time, they must respect our sovereignty, especially if it is in the waters within our exclusive economic zone,” she pointed out.

“While we must stretch our patience and tolerance so that we retain peace and prosperity

within the West Philippine Sea, we must also expect everyone, all countries, to enforce and respect the Hague ruling,” she added. Legarda noted that the latest incident was the most violent yet committed by the Chinese against Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.

“It is unfortunate and it must be assessed accordingly. We must avoid any violent acts. We must avoid any possible act of war in our land or in our waters,” Legarda said.

Sen. Francis Tolentino urged President Marcos to convene the National Security Council (NSC) following the violent June 17 confrontation with China Coast Guard troops near Ayungin Shoal.

“I think it’s about time for the president to consider convening the NSC because this involves the country’s peace and security,” he said.

Military to civilians Retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio, meanwhile, has proposed tapping civilians – particularly coast guard personnel – to man the Sierra Madre to replace soldiers and Navy personnel, in order for the Philippines to have legal grounds for suing China before an international court in case it resorts again to violence to assert its claim over Ayungin Shoal.

Carpio said the Philippines cannot file a new case against China because the international tribunal has no jurisdiction over military activities.

“Let’s replace our presence from military to civilian. Let’s build a lighthouse to be operated by the coast guard. The coast guard is civilian. I wish there will be a coast guard substation there or a research center of UP,” he said in an interview over TeleRadyo Serbisyo 630. g

by Bernard J. Wolfson

Gov. Gavin Newsom, state lawmakers, and health industry leaders have a small window to reach an agreement on billions of new dollars for Medi-Cal before it’s put to voters in November.

An initiative, supported by virtually every sector of the state’s health care industry as well as the local Republican and Democratic parties, would lock in the money for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents. The funds would be used primarily to increase payment rates for health care professionals who serve Medi-Cal patients.

Newsom, a Democrat, initially supported using the money for that purpose. But after California’s fiscal situation darkened, he reversed course in May, proposing to divert most of it to reduce the state’s $45 billion budget deficit.

The money is from a tax on managed-care health plans that’s been around for two decades but has historically been used to offset existing state spending rather than support new investments in MediCal.

“The importance of this ballot initiative is finally being serious about investing in the viability of the Medi-Cal system,” said Adam Dougherty, chief of emergency medicine at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento. “The MCO tax literally touches every aspect of the Medi-Cal system, and it can’t be at the mercy of year-to-year budget crises.”

Michael Genest, a former finance director under Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, noted that several ballot initiatives approved by voters in the past continue to narrow the state’s fiscal

choices, including one that limits property tax increases and another that guarantees a large share of the state budget to schools.

“We do ballot-box budgeting in the state of California. We’ve done it forever. And everything we’ve done in that regard has turned out to be very hard on fiscal stability,” Genest said.

It’s possible that the Coalition to Protect Access to Care, made up of doctors, hospitals, health plans, and other medical providers, could settle their differences with state leaders before a June 27 deadline to withdraw the initiative. Newsom’s desire to claw back most of the promised money puts him at odds with proponents of the initiative, many of whom have long counted themselves among his allies. Elana Ross, a spokesperson for Newsom, declined to comment on the status of the initiative.

In May, Newsom proposed using about $6.7 billion previously earmarked for Medi-Cal pay hikes and some other health care priorities, mostly in 2025 and 2026, to offset existing state spending. His proposal would retain MediCal payment increases totaling around $300 million a year for some primary care, mental health, and maternity services.

The legislature passed a new budget on June 13 largely following the governor’s wishes by canceling the planned Medi-Cal increases in 2025. But Newsom hasn’t signed off.

“What was approved represents a two-house agreement between the Senate and the Assembly — not an agreement with the governor,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the state’s Department of Finance. “We’ll respectfully decline to speculate on what the contours of a final

agreement would look like.” Revenue from the managedcare tax allows the state to draw matching federal dollars, more than doubling the amount available. Federal and state money would also be used to reimburse the health plans for nearly all the taxes they paid, theoretically having no effect on insurance premiums.

California is among 19 states that have such an “MCO tax” in place to help fund their Medicaid programs. Using the tax revenue to pay Medi-Cal providers more is “a generational opportunity to fundamentally fix access to care for Medi-Cal recipients,” said Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association and a spokesperson for the ballot initiative.

Corcoran said internal polling shows the initiative has public support by “very healthy margins,” though he declined to share specific numbers. If the initiative does end up on the November ballot and is approved, it would override any compromise Newsom strikes with lawmakers. It would restore the previously planned Medi-Cal investments for 2025 and 2026. And it would make the increased funding, and more of it, permanent starting in 2027, though that would require federal approval.

Proponents of the initiative say it is fundamentally a question of health equity. Medi-Cal covers medical and mental health services for nearly 15 million Californians, well over a third of the state, many of them among the poorest and most vulnerable residents. The program has a budget of about $157 billion, including recent expansions to cover all immigrants u PAGE A5

KFF Health News

Filipino-centered parenting program prioritizes...

parenting.

The Incredible Years is a parenting program within the broader Filipino Family Health Initiative, an extensive research effort to expand understanding of Filipino family dynamics and mental health.

Sitting at the helm of the effort is Dr. Joyce Javier — professor of clinical pediatrics and preventive medicine at Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children’s Hospital of LA (CHLA).

On June 13, Javier shared early observations of The Incredible Years program, which offers several workshops for parents that teach them how to better serve their children through social and emotional learning.

In short, the crux of the program encourages parents to adopt communication styles and approaches — like thoughtful conversation, problem solving, and positive affirmations and reinforcements — that limit “discipline-related things such as time out or [other] consequences,” Javier explained.

It also helps parents to foster a home environment where children feel more comfortable to communicate their issues.

Since before the pandemic, the Filipino Family Health Initiative has recruited families from schools, churches, clinics, and communitybased organizations (like SIPA) as well as through social media and word of mouth.

Of the 49 initial participants, just less than half of them completed the 12-week Incredible Years program.

“There was an increased use of praise, incentive, setting clear expectations as well as use of positive verbal discipline,” Javier shared.

“We also found that the children of parents who participated reported less depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as less internalizing behaviors.”

Javier reported that The Incredible Years program helps address issues early on to cultivate healthy behaviors among children before they reach adolescence.

She said, “What are the things we need to do so that they can have healthy relationships as adults and also so that they are less likely to have mental health issues? The research shows that if they have these positive childhood experiences, we can make this happen.”

The initiative is currently accepting participants for the ongoing study, which offers up to $325 in compensation for each family. Families are eligible if the child is between the ages of 8 and 12 years old, is fluent in English, and the child identifies as Filipino or half-Filipino.

Currently, the program is only accepting families who reside in California.

As the daughter of Filipino parents, Javier shared that she has a personal connection to the initiative. As is the experience of many AAPI children of immigrants, affection and verbal expressions of love weren’t common in her household.

“As I got older, I realized that our family didn’t always show their love through words, but through their actions: working two or  three jobs and sacrificing so much to immigrate here,” Javier said, adding that she did not grow up speaking Tagalog.

“In a sense, they sacrificed their own identities so that we could assimilate and blend in,” she explained.

She observed throughout her upbringing and career as a pediatrician that children thrive on community and healthy, active relationships with their parents.

Across all AAPI groups, Filipinos are the only group wherein suicide is the leading cause of death for youth aged 12 to 19.

Moreover, a study from the United States Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 46% of Filipina high school students shared that they have “seriously considered” killing themselves, and about half of those students have actually attempted.

As Javier pointed out, strained

relationships with parents and family as well severe discipline can exacerbate mental and behavioral health issues.

She also cited that societal factors, such as the rise in antiAsian hate and bullying, have also been proven to be causes of depression and anxiety among AAPI youth.

“I learned in my career and training that there was a way of doing research where we can really partner with communities and develop solutions, together,” she said.

Javier noted that the success of research endeavors like the Filipino Family Health Initiative and The Incredible Years can lead to more investment in culturespecific research — especially that which furthers understanding of AAPI communities.

A 2021 paper published in the Journal of Asian Health found that between the years 1992 and 2018, the NIH allocated only 0.2% of its budget toward clinical research focused on AAPI and Native Hawaiian communities.

Due to the success of the program in California, the team received increased grants to continue the research today, which is also being piloted in the Philippines.

“Without research, we don’t have any resources and we’ve proven that when you offer research to Filipinos — and you explain it and you respect them and partner with them — they will show up, so I think it’s really critical that we continue to show that,” Javier said.

To learn more about The Incredible Years program and the Filipino Family Health Initiative, visit their site here: https:// filipinofamilyhealth.com/. (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

Paano “Tinulungan ang Hindi Naririnig” ng Isang College Corps Student sa Pamamagitan ng Kilos Pang Klima

Ang oras sa College Corps ni UC Riverside senior Jacob Jauregui ay nagbigay inspirasyon sa kanyang tulungan ang mga taong mas maaaring masaktan sa pagbabago ng klima sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatuloy ng isang pagdadalubhasa sa agham panghalaman.

“Ito ang aking pangalawang taon sa programa,” sabi ni Jauregui, isang cellular at molecular biology major. Noong nakaraang taon, tinulungan niyang matuto ang mga mag-aaral sa elementarya sa isang after-school program sa Ruth H. Lewis Community Center sa Riverside — “na naiiba ang tunog sa kilos pangklima, na aking ginagawa ngayon, ngunit ang pagtitiis at kasiyahang natatamo sa pagtulong sa mga mag-aaral na ito ay lubhang magkatulad.”

“Ano man ang nakuha ko dito para gamitin sa aking gawaing paghahalaman kung gaano ang maliit mang oras at pag-aalaga ay magagawa para sa bawat mag-aaral,” pinagpatuloy niya. “Nang minsan, may isang mag-aaral na mahal niya ang mga habulan at paligsahan, kaya tinulungan ko siyang gawin ang kanyang aralin sa Math bilang isang uri ng pakikipaghabulan sa akin. Ang isa pa ay ibig ang pagkanta, kaya tinulungan ko siyang matutuo sa kanyang talasalitaan sa ganoong paraan. Ang pagkatuto sa isang paraan ng pag-aaral ng isang mag-aaral ay maaaring napakapayak, ngunit isa itong hindi pangkaraniwan sa isang nagtuturo taliwas sa iyong akala.”

Alice Guo faces human trafficking...

Baofu Corporation, according to the press briefer provided to reporters.

Benjamin Samson, IACAT prosecutor, said that they have found enough evidence that shows the three companies are part of a “grand conspiracy” to commit labor trafficking.

“In one of the corporations, we found a document wherein the name of Mr. Dennis Cunanan appeared. After piecing together the pieces of evidence, we concluded and we decided that he is part of the grand conspiracy to commit labor trafficking,” he added.

On June 3, Guo was placed on preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman for up to six months in connection to the graft charges filed against her by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

This administrative case against Guo stems from the allegation that she had allowed illegal POGOs to operate in her municipality. The DILG questioned in its complaint whether Guo had truly divested from the real estate firm Baofu,

Sa pamamagitan ng #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, mahigit sa 3,000 mga mag-aaral bawat taon gaya ni Jauregui ang nababawasan ang utang ng mga mag-aaral at nakakatulong sa kanilang mga sambayanan habang kumikita nang hanggang $10,000 sa pamamagitan ng paglilingkod nang 450 na mga oras sa mga samahang nakatuon sa K-12 education, pagkilos sa klima o kakulangan sa pagkain. Ang California ang naunang estadong bumuo ng isang college-based service corps gaya nito; mula noon, ang Iowa at Minnesota ay naglunsad ng katulad na year-long program na pinaiiral hanggang sa Agostong darating, habang si New York Governor Hochul ay nagpahayag ng pagbuo ng Empire State Service Corps noong nakaraang Enero. Sa taong ito, matatapos ni Jauregui ang kanyang paglilingkod bilang isang College Corps Fellow para sa UC Riverside na nakatuon sa paglikos sa klima, pangunahin na ang “paglilinis, pagtatanggal ng damo at pagtatanim ng mga bagong halaman at pagbabalik

sa dating sigla ng mga luma na sa palibot ng campus upang sila ay maging mas eco-friendly; halimbawa, nang may mas maraming katutubong damo at matipid sa tubig na mga gamit,” kanyang pinaliwanag.

“Sa aking paghahanapbuhay, alam kong nais kong maging isang plant biologist ngunit ngayon ito’y mas naging pansariling tungkulin,” sabi ni Jauregui.

“Nais kong gumawa ng pananaliksik bilang isang propesor,” pinaliwanag niya. “Habang ako ay naghahandang mag-apply sa graduate school ngayon, ako ay may gawain sa isang lab sa campus na kumukuha ng plant DNA mula sa katulad na mga damo sa aking paghahalaman, at sa lab sinusubok ko ang mga tinimpla upang mapagsanggalang sila sa mga peste at mga sakit… Ngayon ay isang malinaw na pagkakatulad sa aking mga mithiin bilang taong kumikilos sa pagbabago sa klima, kapwa upang mapagpakain ng mga tao at mabigyan sila ng lakas na magpatubo ng mga makakain nila mismo.”

“Habang tinatapos ko ang tag-araw ako rin ay makapagtatapos na rin sa pag-aaral,” dagdag niya, “at iniisip ko kung paano ako ay lumalaki bilang isang Mexican American, maraming tao ang mas maaaring masaktan sa pagbabago ng klima ang siya ring di nakikitang gumagawa ng pagkilos laban sa pagbabago ng klima. Yan ang nag-udyok sa aking ituloy ang mas mataas na pag-aaral at ngayon mas malinaw nang higit kung paano ang plant biology ay maaring maging daan sa pagtulong sa mas nangangailangan, ang tulungan ang mga hindi

Ni Selen Ozturk

Jacob Jauregui

which houses the illegal POGO hub in Bamban.

On June 18, Guo’s camp wrote to Malacañang denying all

allegations against her related to human trafficking, kidnapping and money laundering. (Philstar. com)

In this Facebook post on May 31, 2024 shows Mayor Alice Guo meeting senior citizens of Bamban, Tarlac. Photo from Facebook/Mayor Alice Leal Guo

Joyce Javier (far left) presenting a poster of the Incredible Years work with Erika San Antonio (middle) who is a pediatrics resident at CHLA and Jasmine Raymundo (far right) who Javier’s extern at CHLA.

Biden administration advances plan to...

Ken Cuccinelli, immigration director under President Trump.

“These policies abandon traditional conservative values like supporting business growth, decentralizing power away from the federal government and decreasing bureaucratic hurdles, often doing the opposite,” said Cecilia Esterline, immigration research analyst at the Niskanen Center. “They should be taken seriously; President Trump implemented nearly 64% of the prior Mandate for Leadership’s recommendations within the first year of his administration.”

“Using executive authority, without Congress, they hope to introduce processing delays,” she continued. For instance, H2A and H2B visas are seasonal visas sustaining the agricultural, construction, forestry and hospitality industries. Project 2025 argues that no updates to eligible countries should be issued, which would essentially grind the program to a halt.

The U.S. Labor Department certified 370,000 temporary H2A jobs in 2022, while the H2B cap was raised from 66,000 to 130,716 visas for 2024.

“They also create new standards cutting off intake for entire categories of immigration; for example, any deemed to have an excessive backlog,” Esterline added. “However, excessive is not defined.”

Another policy would process every approval through a secondary office that currently completes around 35,000 cases a year, rather than through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which completed 8.6 million in 2022.

Project 2025 also recommends denying Department of Education loans – based on mandatory information sharing with the federal government – to states that allow in-state tuition to “illegal aliens,” including DACA recipients.

While only citizens and green card holders are currently eligible for federal student aid, state tuition is determined according to state-defined residency terms. Currently, 26 states and the District of Columbia allow DACA recipients to qualify for in-state tuition, while 23 states and D.C. allow undocumented immigrants meeting minimum residency length to qualify.

Nearly 10.7 million U.S. students are enrolled in higher education in states allowing in-state tuition to “illegal aliens.” Under this policy, up to

67% of all U.S. higher education students could lose access to federal aid because their state offers in-state tuition to undocumented or DACA students.

Implementing immigration policy under Trump

In addition to these proposals, most policies from the first Trump administration would be “reimplemented in some form” in a second term, said David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. These prospective policies include the “Muslim Ban” expanded to include more non-Muslim countries like Venezuela; restricting parole sponsorship for the current 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans entering the U.S. monthly; removing the CBP One app allowing 1,500 daily legal migrations from the southwest border; and reducing the refugee program, which was capped below 10,000 under Trump’s final year — the smallest cap in history, 90% less than that under Obama and dramatically less than the over 100,000 admitted refugees projected this year under Biden.

“Trump left office in 2020 with the highest number of border patrol arrests for any December, going back to 1999 … and removed more people mainly by increasing the immigrants held in detention” by a peak of about 20,000 more beds amounting to roughly 60,000 removals, said Bier.

“This time isn’t anywhere near that scale,” he continued, as Trump has campaigned on calls to detain and deport 15 to 20 million people by using the National Guard and coerce sanctuary cities into compliance by withholding federal funds.

“It’s illegal and unconstitutional,” he added. “The only question is whether there’s anyone who can stop the president, any president, from violating the Constitution in these ways.”

Political implications

“Trump’s immigration agenda presents three interrelated threats in the form of mass deportation, political violence and a threat to American democracy … where the law becomes a challenge to overcome rather than an impediment to rein in the vision,” said Zachary Mueller, senior research director for America’s Voice Education Fund.

The campaign’s calls to deport 15 million to 20 million immigrants are far above the nation’s actual undocumented population.

As of 2021, there were 10.5 mil-

lion undocumented U.S. immigrants — about 3% of the total population and 22% of the foreign-born population, the lowest since the 1990s.

Between 2007 and 2021, the U.S. undocumented population decreased by 1.75 million, or 14%.

“They’re not just going to go after new arrivals but also the 80% of the undocumented population who have called the U.S. home since 2010 — a second-grade teacher with DACA, a home health care aide with TPS, a farm worker keeping food in the grocery store,” said Mueller. “Nor will the havoc be contained to those who lose that legal status. One estimate has found that over 4.4 million U.S. citizen children could be affected if this plan goes into full effect.”

Although the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the military from enforcing regular civilian law, would also prohibit it from enforcing mass deportation, “others like Stephen Miller and Ken Cuccinelli will suggest policies to grant themselves and red state governors war powers,” he continued, “whether that be around the Insurrection Act, or asserting the white nationalist conspiracy that immigrants constitute a literal military invasion.”

As Republican campaign spending grows, so does rhetoric around an immigrant “invasion.”

The word has appeared in 27 TV ads for Republican candidates totaling over $5 million, according to AdImpact.

For comparison, in 2022, the word “invasion” appeared in 22 ads totaling $3.3 million; in 2020, it appeared in four ads costing under $300,000.

“The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly warned that the language of invasion and replacement have become the mainstream of immigration talking points from Republicans this cycle,” said Mueller. “Driving this anti-democratic conspiracy is the baseless myth of a threat of non-citizen voting.”

“It’s not just about these individual policies,” Mueller added.

“By laying the foundation for their supporters to believe the election was rigged, Trump and Republicans may be in lockstep — if the immigrant demagoguery fails to deliver them the electoral college victory in November — for another violent assault on our democracy … by a white nationalist vision that seeks to remake who gets to be American.” (Selen Ozturk/Ethnic Media Services)

‘We’re flying

blind’:

CDC has 1M bird flu tests ready, but experts see repeat of COVID

IT’S been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization considers the virus a public health concern because of its potential to cause a pandemic, yet the U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country.

“We’re flying blind,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. With so few tests run, she said, it’s impossible to know how many farmworkers have been infected, or how serious the disease is. A lack of testing means the country might not notice if the virus begins to spread between people — the gateway to another pandemic.

“We’d like to be doing more testing. There’s no doubt about that,” said Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s bird flu test is the only one the Food and Drug Administration has authorized for use right now. Shah said the agency has distributed these tests to about 100 public health labs in states. “We’ve got roughly a million available now,” he said, “and expect 1.2 million more in the next two months.”

But Nuzzo and other researchers are concerned because the CDC and public health labs aren’t generally where doctors order tests from. That job tends to be done by major clinical laboratories run by companies and universities, which lack authorization for bird flu testing.

As the outbreak grows — with at least 114 herds infected in 12 states as of June 18 — researchers said the CDC and FDA are not moving fast enough to remove barriers that block clinical labs from testing. In one case, the diagnostics company Neelyx Labs was on hold with a query for more than a month.

“Clinical labs are part of the nation’s public health system,” said Alex Greninger, assistant director of the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Laboratory. “Pull us into the game. We’re stuck on the bench.”

The CDC recognized the need for clinical labs in a June 10 memo. It calls on industry to de-

velop tests for the H5 strain of bird flu virus, the one circulating among dairy cattle. “The limited availability and accessibility of diagnostic tests for Influenza A(H5) poses several pain points,” the CDC wrote. The points include a shortage of tests if demand spikes. Researchers, including former CDC director Tom Frieden and Anthony Fauci, who led the nation’s response to covid, cite testing failures as a key reason the U.S. fared so poorly with covid. Had covid tests been widely available in early 2020, they say, the U.S. could have detected many cases before they turned into outbreaks that prompted business shutdowns and cost lives.

In an article published this month, Nuzzo and a group of colleagues noted that the problem wasn’t testing capability but a failure to deploy that capability swiftly. The U.S. reported excess mortality eight times as high as other countries with advanced labs and other technological advantages.

A covid test vetted by the WHO was available by mid-January 2020. Rather than use it, the United States stuck to its own multistage process, which took several months. Namely, the CDC develops its own test then sends it to local public health labs. Eventually, the FDA authorizes tests from clinical diagnostic labs that serve hospital systems, which must then scale up their operations. That took time, and people died amid outbreaks at nursing homes and prisons, waiting on test results.

In contrast, South Korea immediately rolled out testing through private sector laboratories, allowing it to keep schools and businesses open. “They said, ‘Gear up, guys; we’re going to need a ton of tests,’” said Frieden, now president of the public health organization Resolve to Save Lives.

“You need to get commercials in the game.” Nuzzo and her colleagues describe a step-by-step strategy for rolling out testing in health emergencies, in response to mistakes made obvious by covid. But in this bird flu outbreak, the U.S. is weeks behind that playbook.

Ample testing is critical for two reasons. First, people need to know if they’re infected so that they can be quickly treated, Nuzzo said. Over the past two decades, roughly half of about 900 people around the globe known to have

gotten the bird flu died from it. Although the three farmworkers diagnosed with the disease this year in the United States had only mild symptoms, like a runny nose and inflamed eyes, others may not be so lucky. The flu treatment Tamiflu works only when given soon after symptoms start.

The CDC and local health departments have tried to boost bird flu testing among farmworkers, asking them to be tested if they feel sick. Farmworker advocates list several reasons why their outreach efforts are failing. The outreach might not be in the languages the farmworkers speak, for example, or address such concerns as a loss of employment. If people who live and work around farms simply see a doctor when they or their children fall ill, those cases could be missed if the doctors send samples to their usual clinical laboratories. The CDC has asked doctors to send samples from people with flu symptoms who have exposure to livestock or poultry to public health labs. “If you work on a farm with an outbreak and you’re worried about your welfare, you can get tested,” Shah said. But sending samples to public health departments requires knowledge, time, and effort.

“I really worry about a testing scheme in which busy clinicians need to figure this out,” Nuzzo said.

The other reason to involve clinical laboratories is so the nation can ramp up testing if the bird flu is suddenly detected among people who didn’t catch it from cattle. There’s no evidence the virus has started to spread among people, but that could change in coming months as it evolves.

The fastest way to get clinical labs involved, Greninger said, is to allow them to use a test the FDA has already authorized: the CDC’s bird flu test. On April 16 the CDC opened up that possibility by offering royalty-free licenses for components of its bird flu tests to accredited labs.

Several commercial labs asked for licenses. “We want to get prepared before things get crazy,” said Shyam Saladi, chief executive officer of the diagnostics company Neelyx Labs, which offered covid and mpox tests during shortages in those outbreaks. His experience over the past two months u PAGE A5

‘We’re flying blind’: CDC has 1M bird flu tests...

reveals the types of barriers that prevent labs from moving swiftly.

In email exchanges with the CDC, shared with KFF Health News, Saladi specifies the labs’ desire for licenses relevant to the CDC’s test, as well as a “right to reference” the CDC’s data in its application for FDA authorization.

That “right to reference” makes it easier for one company to use a test developed by another. It allows the new group to skip certain analyses conducted by the original maker, by telling the FDA to look at data in the original FDA application. This was commonplace with covid tests at the peak of the pandemic.

At first, the CDC appeared eager to cooperate. “A right of reference to the data should be available,”

Jonathan Motley, a patent specialist at the CDC, wrote in an email to Saladi on April 24. Over the next few weeks, the CDC sent him information about transferring its licenses to the company, and about the test, which prompted Neelyx’s researchers to buy testing components and try out the CDC’s process on their equipment.

But Saladi grew increasingly anxious about the ability to reference the CDC’s data in the company’s FDA application. “Do you have an update with respect to the right of reference?” he asked the CDC on May 13. “If there are any potential sticking points with respect to this, would you mind letting us know please?”

He asked several more times in the following weeks, as the number of herds infected with the bird flu ticked upward and more cases among farmworkers were announced. “Given that it is May 24 and the outbreak has only ex-

panded, can CDC provide a date by which it plans to respond?”

Saladi wrote. The CDC eventually signed a licensing agreement with Neelyx but informed Saladi that it would not, in fact, provide the reference. Without that, Saladi said, he could not move forward with the CDC’s test — at least not without more material from the agency. “It’s really frustrating,” he said. “We thought they really intended to support the development of these tests in case they are needed.”

Shah, from the CDC, said test manufacturers should generate their own data to prove that they’re using the CDC’s test correctly. “We don’t have a shortage such that we need to cut corners,” he said. “Quality reigns supreme.”

The CDC has given seven companies, including Neelyx, licenses for its tests — although none have been cleared to use them by the FDA. Only one of those companies asked for the right of reference, Shah said. The labs may be assisted by additional material that the agency is developing now, to allow them to complete the analyses — even without the reference.

“This should have happened sooner,” Saladi told KFF Health News when he was told about the CDC’s pending additional material. “There’s been no communication about this.”

Greninger said the delays and confusion are reminiscent of the early months of covid, when federal agencies prioritized caution over speed. Test accuracy is important, he said, but excessive vetting can cause harm in a fast-moving outbreak like this one. “The CDC should be trying to open this up to labs with national reach and a good reputation,” he said. “I fall on the side of allowing labs to get

ready — that’s a no-brainer.”

Clinical laboratories have also begun to develop their own tests from scratch. But researchers said they’re moving cautiously because of a recent FDA rule that gives the agency more oversight of lab-developed tests, lengthening the pathway to approval. In an email to KFF Health News, FDA press officer Janell Goodwin said the rule’s enforcement will occur gradually.

However, Susan Van Meter, president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association, a trade group whose members include the nation’s largest commercial diagnostic labs, said companies need more clarity: “It’s slowing things down because it’s adding to the confusion about what is allowable.”

Creating tests for the bird flu is already a risky bet, because demand is uncertain. It’s not clear whether this outbreak in cattle will trigger an epidemic or fizzle out.

In addition to issues with the CDC and FDA, clinical laboratories are trying to figure out whether health insurers or the government will pay for bird flu tests.

These wrinkles will be smoothed eventually. Until then, the vanishingly slim numbers of people tested, along with the lack of testing in cattle, may draw criticism from other parts of the world.

“Think about our judgment of China’s transparency at the start of covid,” Nuzzo said. “The current situation undermines America’s standing in the world.”

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

California leaders tussle with health industry...

regardless of legal status and a $12 billion experiment to offer socioeconomic supports not traditionally covered by health insurance.

But access to care is notoriously spotty for many Medi-Cal patients, in part because low payment rates discourage providers from seeing them. The shortage is particularly acute in specialty care.

“Our patients wait months for access to specialists or travel great distances to see them,” said Joel Ramirez, chief medical officer of Camarena Health, a chain of over 20 community clinics based

in Madera. “Higher rates would allow for more providers.” Ramirez said 60% to 70% of Camarena’s patients are on MediCal, many of them farmworkers. “It’s a tall ask for them to find time off work and get the transportation to travel an hour for an appointment,” he said. “Whatever condition that patient has that needs the attention of a specialist is being either untreated or incompletely treated.” Dougherty, Sutter Medical Center’s ER chief, said that over half of his patients are on MediCal and the ER is always at full capacity, with the waiting rooms

jammed and an insufficient number of beds. The initiative, he said, “allows us to hire more staff, add more beds, create more infrastructure for the volume we’re seeing.”

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Fil-Am restaurant triumphs over hateful vandalism

The suspected vandal was arrested and convicted of six counts of felony vandalism with hate crime enhancements

by Mary VilleGaS Inquirer.net

SERVING up a taste of home

for over a decade, Filipino restaurant Pinoy Pam’s Best in Orange County, California, endured months of hateful vandalism.

Thanks to the unrelenting support of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) –Lake Forest Police Services and the perseverance of the owner Pamela Perez, the beloved Filipino restaurant triumphed over hate-fueled vandalism.

For Perez, 2023 was a challenging year. Her restaurant was repeatedly targeted by a vandal. They had to clean up shards of shattered glass windows, replace destroyed items and cover their windows with plywood six times.

Damages totaling thousands of dollars left Perez hesitant to replace the windows — in fear of having them broken again.

But despite the setbacks, Perez, with her family’s support, refused to back down, determined to keep their business running.

The turning point came when Deputy Tyler Carrillo of the OCSD arrested the suspect.

During his routine patrol in the shopping center where the Filipino restaurant was located, Carillo spotted Larry John Abraham Jr., a 28-year-old Lake Forest resident, bearing the same description as the primary suspect.

Abraham pleaded guilty to six counts of felony vandalism with hate crime enhancements. He will serve one year in jail, followed by probation running until 2026.

Underscoring their commitment to the community, the OCSD – Lake Forest Police posted on Facebook, “This case highlights our commitment to protecting our community and ensuring justice for victims of hate crimes.”

'Pinoy Pam’s Best’ serves up a slice of home

Similar to the Filipino restaurant in NYC run by nurses, Pinoy Pam’s Best is also a beloved food spot in Orange County and its owner, Pamela Perez, is a former caregiver.

Her patients adored her even more when she started offering them a taste of Filipino cuisine — one of the most sumptuous they’ve ever tasted, Perez shared on the restaurant’s website.

Her restaurant became a pillar of the Lake Forest community, serving up authentic Filipino dishes –from bulalo ( beef stew ) and lechon belly to pinakbet – for over a decade.

Starting as an eatery in a small food court space, Perez had expanded to her current restaurant, providing not just delicious food but a taste of home.

“Many loyal customers say that we are more than just a restaurant and store,” Perez shared with Patch. “Pinoy

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) REQUEST FOR

PROPOSAL

LACMTA will receive Proposals for PS123878Safely Transporting All RidersSupport Services at bids@ metro.net. A Pre-Proposal conference will not be held. All Proposals must be submitted to LACMTA, and be submitted electronically via email at bids@metro.net on or before 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Proposals received after the above date and time may be rejected. Each email with the firm's attached proposal must be marked Proposal No. PS123878/Firm Name. For a copy of the Proposal specifications visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https:// business.metro.net or for further information email Victor Zepeda at zepedav@ metro.net. 6/22/24 CNS-3825476# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

Pam’s is a slice of home that brings back memories of happiness.” Throughout their ordeal, the community’s support never faltered. “I’ve always wondered what happened,” one commenter posted on Facebook. “Glad they caught the guy.” With the perpetrator behind bars, customers are eagerly looking forward to enjoying authentic cuisine at

LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (LACMTA) REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

LACMTA will receive proposals for PS124403 - State Advocacy Services via email (electronically) at bids@metro. net. A Pre-Proposal conference will not be held. This project is a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Set-Aside contract. To participate in this RFP, proposers must be SBE certified with LACMTA prior to proposal due date. For information on the Set-Aside Program, visit: https://business. metro.net/VendorPortal/faces/ home1/certifications. All proposals must be received on or before 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, July 18, 2024 at the email address listed above, sent to the attention of Victor Zepeda. Proposals received later than the above date and time will be rejected. For a copy of the Proposal/ Bid specification visit our Solicitation Page on our Vendor Portal at https:// business.metro.net or for further information email Victor Zepeda at zepedav@ metro.net.

6/22/24 CNS-3825508# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)

Pinoy Pam’s Best located at 23635 El Toro Road in Lake Forest. g

OPiniOn Features

A reset for DepEd

FOR many observers, the official parting of ways was just a matter of time. On Wednesday, June 19, there was little surprise when Vice President Sara Duterte tendered her resignation effective July 19 as secretary of education and co-vice chair of the controversial National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

Duterte’s departure from the Cabinet, which she announced at a press conference wherein she did not take questions, formalizes the breakup of the UniTeam. Just recently, she had said that the UniTeam was good only for the 2022 general elections, which she and President Marcos won by a landslide.

Editorial

Malacañang quickly announced that the president had accepted Duterte’s resignation, which she had personally tendered to him at Malacañang. Duterte, who garnered more votes than Marcos in the 2022 race, said only that the 30 days before her resignation takes effect would allow for a smooth transition in the Department of Education. She also stressed that she resigned not because of “weakness” but out of “compassion for teachers and students.”

Teachers’ groups, which have long been at odds with Duterte, welcomed her resignation. The transition period should focus on ensuring the smooth opening of the new schoolyear, with the return to the old school calendar being fast-tracked. Critics of the vice president and her family have

THE best general, to paraphrase Sun Tzu anachronistically, is the one who wins without having to fire a shot. In 1995-1996, what is now called the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis took place, which was a turning point in Chinese and American defense strategies. As I wrote elsewhere some years back, for China, what it did was embark on a crash course, with unlimited funding, to build up its missile, submarine, and aircraft capabilities, the idea being that any American technological superiority could be swarmed to death with a barrage of land, sea, and air-launched missiles, and eventually with a carrier battle group (or two, or three) of its own by Beijing. In the two decades since, we’ve seen this come to pass, including Chinese

andrew J. MasIgan

THIS is the second installment of my assessment of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s performance as he approaches his second year in office.

Last week, I compared Marcos’ policies against those of former President Duterte in the realms of managing the Chinese threat, managing the economy and in overall governance. Marcos is clearly the better leader in these fronts.

But I cannot leave it at that, as the picture remains incomplete.

Sure, Marcos may be the better leader between the two but that bar is low. We should really be asking these questions: Is Marcos working to eliminate the country’s structural and legal weaknesses to future- proof the country? Is he the transformative leader we need? Good leaders leave positive impacts that transcend generations.

While Marcos has done well in foreign policy, in capacitating the military and in pushing for investment-led economic development, he remains deficient in addressing the state of Philippine education, in addressing malnutrition and stunted growth and in correcting our defective political system. These issues are fundamental to the long-term well-being of the country.

always questioned her qualifications for the Department of Education, and were dismayed that political alliances became the key criteria for the selection of the DepEd chief.

Two international assessment tests have shown the seriousness of the problem besetting Philippine education, with Filipino 15-year-olds ranking at the bottom among peers from other countries in terms of mathematics, science and reading competencies. Advanced economies have long understood the critical role played by education in national development. Early childhood learning in particular, which is under DepEd, can shape a person’s prospects for advancement in life.

With the resignation of his estranged UniTeam partner, President Marcos should keep politics out of education and pick a replacement for Duterte who won’t be sidetracked by political intramurals – one who can focus fully and competently on the many problems besetting this sector. Philippine education is messed up enough without becoming caught in political crossfire. (Philstar.com)

construction on sandbars and atolls to create the Chinese version of what the Americans once did in Manila Bay: turning islands into, essentially, concrete battleships—or today, concrete aircraft carriers or missile launcher bases—in the South China Sea (SCS) to swarm any hostile American fleet. China could do this because it was modernizing its economy and with the resources this made available, building up its national capacities on many fronts, not just militarily. This was already quite noticeable in 2005 when I wrote in the Arab News newspaper about the inroads China was making on multiple fronts, down to challenging American influence in Latin America.

What was America doing in the same period? A Russian American named Dmitri Alperovitch in a recent interview in ChinaTalk summed it up this

Parliament of the seas

way: “I write about this last supper that took place during the Clinton administration, where they brought all the defense contractor primes together and said, ‘You better start merging because we’re not going to be funding all of you.’ All of that was a mistake and, unfortunately, led us to where we are today … Our shipbuilding capacity has been decimated. Our ability to produce munitions at scale— whether it’s javelin missiles or stingers or anti-ship missiles—is nowhere near where it needs to be. Not to mention artillery.”

In the same very interesting interview, Alperovitch summed things up this way: “We’re not going to fight over some rocks in the South China Sea. We’re not going to fight over some rocks in the East China Sea. It is all about Taiwan.” He believes Americans should aim, not for regime change, but rather, containment of the Taiwan issue

along the model of Berlin during the Cold War: it was the Soviet decision to build the Berlin Wall that severely downgraded the chances of conflict breaking out in what, up to then, been a nervewracking flashpoint between the two Superpowers. This, he believes, is the only way stability will return to the region.

In the case of our own country, I’ve described our policy as one of “performative martyrdom,” which is essentially turning the SCS (and the West Philippine Sea) in a kind of Parliament of the Streets, where China is the old Metrocom teargassing and watercannoning unarmed but committed protesters. It worked against Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can be said to have learned from history and knows full well it is working against China, as well— you only have to look at everescalating shrillness of Beijing’s statements, whether from the

President Marcos on his second year

If Marcos is truly serious about setting the nation on the right path, then he should confront these issues no matter the political and personal cost. If not, then this will be another six years wasted.

Education We all know the statistics.

Filipino students are in the bottom 10 percentile among 87 nationalities in reading, math and science. They rank lowest in critical thinking, information literacy and problem solving. This is a fact confirmed by PISA and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

As it stands, the next generation of Filipinos are unable to compete in the world of tomorrow where STEM-based skills and innovation are the currencies for success. They are condemned to be the blue collar workers of the world. Worse, it assures intergenerational poverty as those belonging to the bottom rung of society remain incapacitated to improve their circumstances.

Despite these realities, Marcos has not confronted the education crisis squarely. Instead, he is using it as a political tool. He appointed the vice president as Secretary of DepEd as a consolation for the UniTeam partnership, knowing full well that she is grossly ill-equipped. True enough, two years have passed and the vice president has barely moved the needle in improving education. In many ways, it has even deteriorated.

Marcos is not recognizing the educational crisis for what it is – a national emergency. This should worry us all. The DepEd needs a leader who represent the best and brightest in the field. It needs full state backing in the implementation of reforms. The sorry state of Philippine education ultimately falls on the shoulders of the president, not the VP. He is accountable.

Malnutrition

Stunted growth occurs when children are deprived of sufficient nutrition, health care and mental stimulation. Children who suffer from stunted growth are victims of delayed brain development and this leads to poor mental performance. One out of three Filipinos under five years old is a victim of stunted growth. No surprise, Filipino children are the region’s least intelligent, having an average IQ of only 86 compared to 108 for his Singaporean peer. As for malnutrition, some 19 million Filipino adolescents are underweight while 5.8 million suffer from low weight-to-height ratios. Malnutrition is directly correlated to poverty. Some 2.3 million Filipino households suffer from severe hunger while 11.2 million households suffer from moderate hunger, having skipped at least one meal a day. Despite these appalling statistics, malnutrition is not even in the forefront of Marcos’ political agenda. Last year, the DSWD’s appropriation of P196 billion was a measly 3.7 percent of the P5.27-trillion budget. Compare

this amount to the collective pork barrel fund of Congress.

Political system

Our political leadership is not composed of outstanding leaders but of members of political dynasties. The majority are incompetent and corrupt, many are convicted criminals. In the Senate, 19 out of the 24 members belong to dynasties, as are 70 percent of Congress’ members. In local governments, 73 out of 82 provinces are controlled by dynasties.

Statistics show that the average incidence of poverty in provinces controlled by dynasties is a staggering 29.15 percent, while those not under dynastic rule stands at only 18.91 percent. Political dynasties exacerbate poverty.

The evils of political dynasties are vast. When members of the same family occupy multiple positions within a city or municipality, most are likely to consolidate power in a pseudo monarchial manner. Political dynasties are more likely to utilize their budgets doling out scholarships and funeral aid rather than in socio-economic programs. Dynasties perpetuate unfair elections. Dynasties are able to wield influence and use their political clout to corner lucrative government contracts. Dynasties worsen economic inequalities and re-enforce a culture of dependency between the elite and the poor. There exist no check and balance in dynastycontrolled political domains.

foreign ministry or the Global Times, to realize this.

What the Australian defense analyst Hugh White has written bears repeating: “This brings us to the heart of America’s policy problem in the SCS. To understand that problem we have to be clear about nature of the contest there. Beijing is not just trying to take control of an important body of water. It is trying to take control of East Asia. It hopes to use the SCS dispute to do that by demonstrating there that America is no longer willing to risk a military confrontation with China to sustain its own leading position in the Asian strategic order, and thereby concede that leadership to China.”

I’ve pointed something else White wrote: repeated wargaming by the Americans, of a conflict erupting in the SCS, inevitably ends with America backing out of a fight. The reason

for this is that however they game it, politically speaking, no American president in the war games, ends up deciding it is worth risking American lives over the future of SCS. Chinese escalation can be understood as ramping up tensions to maximize the end game it desires: for Filipinos to experience a disappointment public and deep enough, to shift public opinion against the United States and the alliance to contain China. Such a disappointment would happen if expectations of American support weren’t matched by American actions. (Inquirer.net)

* * * 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: mlquezon3@gmail.com; Twitter: @mlq3

The Constitution is clear in its intent. It provides that “the state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties.”

Congress has had the duty to enact an enabling anti-dynasty law since 1987 but failed to do so for self-serving reasons. There have been 32 attempts but not one has passed the committee level. Meanwhile, dynasties have entrenched themselves in our political system to our great peril.

If President Marcos is indeed sincere about future proofing the nation, then he would demand the passage of the Anti-Political Dynasty Law, even at the expense of his family’s and friends’ interest. Being a transformative leader is not easy. It requires one to sacrifice personal and political advantages for the long-term good. I would like to think that Marcos’ commitment to the Filipino people is greater than his personal convenience. (Philstar.com)

* * * The opinions,

* * * Email: andrew_rs6@yahoo.com. Follow

ManilaTimes.net photo

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Malacañang photo

Dateline PhiliPPines

Liberal Party rejects Sara as opposition leader PH commits to upholding refugees’ protection, welfare

by Aric John Sy cuA And MA reinA LeAnne ToLenTino ManilaTimes.net

THE Liberal Party (LP) rebuffed a declaration by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque that Vice President Sara Duterte can be a leader of the opposition, after she resigned from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a statement on Thursday, June 20, the LP said it "strongly opposed" Roque's remarks and said the true opposition is founded on "accountability, transparency, and genuine care for the people," qualities that the party does not see in the vice president.

Roque said that with the dissolution of the UniTeam, Duterte has become the leader of the opposition.

The UniTeam paired Marcos with Duterte during the 2022 presidential elections.

"In her resignation, there was neither an acceptance of responsibility, nor was there any change in principles and convictions. How can someone be leading the opposition when they are yet to be held accountable and needing to answer to the people?" the LP said.

It said it knew all along that the UniTeam was for show.

"What happened on Wednesday was an admission of what we already know for a long time, that the 'unity' of the 'UniTeam' was only a façade during the elections so they can gain the support of voters, and now it's clear that there is now a turning point underway," the party said.

It said the opposition "prioritizes the people; not expanding and maintaining power, not defending a wanted religious leader or condoning the killing of thousands of Filipinos, and certainly, not turning a blind eye to the oppression of our fishermen and the encroachment on our territory by foreigners."

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Roque, who was once the spokesman of the vice president's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, said he hopes that Sara accepts the challenge to become an opposition leader in the Marcos administration.

He listed six reasons why the vice president is qualified to lead the opposition.

The first reason is that Duterte has the mandate of being the country's second highest elected leader. She also has the capabilities of a lawyer and a leader of the executive branch.

Duterte stands firm on issues against the Marcos administration and has the "highest net satisfaction and approval ratings" among government officials, he said.

"She proved in her resignation that she is not an opportunist and that it's not in her desire to remain in office," Roque said.

Finally, he said the vice president will not only fight for the interests of those in Mindanao but all Filipinos.

"I hope she accepts the challenge of time," Roque said.

Another Facebook post from Roque showed what the vice president accomplished as Education secretary, including the Matatag curriculum, CatchUp Friday, and overtime pay for all teachers.

On Wednesday, June 19, Duterte resigned as Education secretary and as vice chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

'Ideological'

In a statement on Thursday, LP President and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the LP remained as the "ideological and conscientious" opposition.

"Vice President Sara Duterte may assume the leadership of the partisan opposition to the Marcos Jr. administration, but the Liberal Party remains the ideological and conscientious opposition to both the current administration and Duterte's breakaway power bloc," Lagman said.

In a press conference on Thursday, Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said he wanted to know if Duterte was in favor of abolishing the Elcac task force or the phasing out of traditional jeepneys. If her stand on the two issues concurs with the stand of the administration, Duterte does not belong to the opposition, Manuel said.

Another former Duterte spokesman, Salvador Panelo,

Comelec to publicize candidates’ documents starting in 2025

by WiLLiAM depASupiL ManilaTimes.net

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) moved to make public election-related documents required from candidates for added transparency, starting in the upcoming 2025 national and local polls.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Thursday, June 20 identified the required documents as the certificate of candidacy (CoC), statement of contribution and expenditures (SOCE) and the certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA).

`"Our proposal to post the CoC and the CoNA in the Comelec website has already been approved in principle," said Garcia, adding that the Comelec Legal Department and Information Technology Department have been tasked to make the corresponding policy guidelines without violating the privacy rights of candidates.

According to Garcia, the same would also be done with the SoCE so that the public would have a complete picture on the source of funding of a particular candidate.

In his memorandum to the Comelec en banc, Garcia said that the measure may form part of the e-SoCE project of the Commission, adding that publication should also allow for the down-

said the resignation of the vice president is a huge loss to the Marcos administration.

Panelo said Sara is one of the six Cabinet members "who have salvaged the dismal performance of the other department secretaries that has contributed immensely to the creeping discontent among the citizenry and dragged [President Marcos] to a low popular and trust rating."

He said Duterte's departure from the Cabinet "was forthcoming given the hostile environment the vice president found herself in — created by the allies of [the president] who were in a hurry to diminish and dislodge her enviable leading spot in the 2028 presidential race."

The demolition job on Duterte began with the ouster of her strong political ally, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as senior deputy speaker and later as deputy speaker, Panelo said.

"This was followed by the almost unanimous approval of the removal of her confidential funds coming from the Office of the President," he said.

The failure of the president to defend Duterte "on this issue added to her discomfort. The first lady's public disclosure of her displeasure on a perceived but misplaced slight reinforced the suffocating atmosphere," Panelo said.

Sara Duterte's resignation "will forge new alliances and dissolve old ones," he added. g

MANILA – The Philippines has committed to sustaining and prioritizing the protection and welfare of refugees, political asylums, and stateless persons.

Officials of the Department of Justice made this vow during the celebration of the first-ever National Refugee Day Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center on Thursday, June 20, the agency said in a news release on Friday, June 21.

DOJ Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin Chan said the national observance solidifies the preparedness of the Philippines to protect and uphold the rights of populations at risk of statelessness.

He said the government is employing whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, with the help of various stakeholders, to ensure a robust protection mechanism accessible to these population groups.

“I would like to reaffirm the commitment of the DOJ in this noble advocacy of enhancing and ensuring the protection environment for all the forcibly displaced,” Chan said.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla vowed to "faithfully sustain" the Philippine government's commitment to its international partners.

“The State is whole-heartedly committed to upholding its international comity and relations with paramount consideration at all times, the Philippines will perpetually remain as a home, and

its people a family, to our brothers and sisters overseas seeking refuge,” Remulla said.

Proclamation No. 265, series of 2023, declares June 20 of every year as the “National Refugee Day”, and mandates all agencies and instrumentalities of the national government, including Government-Owned or-Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), state universities and colleges, local government units (LGUs), nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and even the private sector, to actively participate and support the effective implementation thereof.

This also coincides with World Refugee Day to recognize and honor the resilience displayed by all individuals who have been forced to flee due to conflict, violence, and ultimately, persecution.

Remulla said this is also aligned with Manila's longstanding humanitarian tradition to keep its doors open to provide international protection to the forcibly displaced and stateless persons and assist them in finding durable solutions to their circumstances.

loading of said SoCEs. Garcia recommended that the Law Department and the Information Technology Department prepare the mechanism and/or platform to be used, draft the guidelines and suggest the timeline, including the deadline for publication of the SoCE.

"Said guidelines should adhere to the provisions of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012," he added. Except for independent candidates, the CoC should be filed along with the sworn CoNA from the aspirant's political party or coalition.

Aspirants for national posts have to personally file their CoCs or send their representatives to file on their behalf, before the Comelec

The legal basis for requiring candidates and political parties to submit "full, true and itemized" SoCEs is Section 14 of Republic Act 7166 or the Synchronized National and Local Elections Law. It provides that all candidates and treasurers of political parties are required to file their SOCEs.

Winning candidates who overspent during the campaign period may also be removed from office even if they have already assumed office. Under the law, all candidates must submit their SoCE within 30 days from election day. g

“It serves as a platform to share best practices, identify gaps, and develop strategies that will lead to the formulation of policies that are responsive to the needs of people we work for and with and the communities that host them,” she said. At the end of 2023, Atienza said an estimated 117.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations. She added that the number has grown to more than 120 million by May this year.

The celebration highlighted the country’s unwavering efforts to uphold international comity by opening its borders to people forced to flee their homelands amidst violence, war, or political persecution. (PNA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Assistant Protection Officer Lindsey Atienza, meanwhile, commended the Philippine government, adding that the forum is a testament to the country’s commitment to fostering dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in addressing the challenges faced by those at risk of statelessness.

Vice President Sara Duterte Photo from the official Facebook page of Sara Duterte

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla PNA photo

Asian Journal WKND

Tragic event leads to a sweet and successful ending on Citizen Pinoy this Sunday

F3 classification. After 18 long years, the National Visa Center (NVC) notified them they

Why Luis Alandy wanted to change his name to Adrian

By MArinel Cruz Inquirer.net

ACTOR Luis Alandy now wants to use Adrian as a screen name.

Alandy said he has made the decision after two life-altering experiences—when he got married in 2017 and when he made the movie “Citizen Jake” under the great Mike de Leon.

“I wanted a fresh start for myself as an actor after I got married [to social media influencer Joselle Fernandez].

I hoped to leave the actor Luis behind. He had been identified with playing sexy roles. I wanted a new packaging. Also, there are a lot of men named Luis in my family,” said Alandy, who is Adrian Louise in real life. Alandy, however, pointed out that this does not mean he will stop playing sexy roles. “I just want to be able to make my own decisions when it comes to the projects I will make, unlike before when I would just say ‘yes’ to PAGE B2

could now start preparing their paperwork. Unfortunately, events took a bitter turn when Dolores’ husband had a heart attack and passed away a month later.

Dolores’ brother, Don, consulted with the Law Offices of Michael Gurfinkel where leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Gurfinkel proposed that they inform the NVC of the husband’s death, so Dolores’ petition could be converted from “married” (F3) to “single” (F1), resulting in visas being immediately available for Dolores and her children. Atty. Gurfinkel also requested expedited processing because

Pops Fernandez, Martin Nievera bond together with grandchild Finn

FIRST-TIME grandparents Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera couldn’t seem to get enough of their grandchild Finn when the veteran singers visited him in the United States.

While Fernandez was carrying Finn, Martin entertained the child with his gibberish sound and playful face, as seen in a video on Fernandez’s Instagram page on Tuesday, June 18.

“They speak the same language,” she said of by Anne PAsAjol Inquirer.net

Don Rosete (left) hired leading U.S. Immigration Attorney Michael J. Gurfinkel (right) to help with the case of his sister, Dolores (center).

Luis Alandy Photo from Instagram/@adrian_alandy

Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera with their grandchild Finn Photos from Instagram/@popsfernandezofficial

Rhian Ramos shares trivia about her slapping scenes

By Deni rose M. AfiniDAD-BernArDo Philstar.com

EVIL - the most evil that you have ever seen,” such was how Rhian Ramos described her character in the upcoming GMA fantasy series “Encantadia Chronicles: Sang’gre.”

At the recent opening of Bally’s new Rustan’s Makati store, the actress shared to Philstar.com some trivia about her slapping scenes on set.

“Depends on what my partner says,” she said on how

real the slapping scenes could get. “If they tell me to do a real one, I give them a real one. If they tell me to give them a fake one, it’s okay,” she explained. “I always ask for a real one!”

Rhian was among the celebrity guests at the opening of Bally’s Rustan’s Makati store, which according to the department store chain’s statement, marks a significant milestone in the Swiss luxury brand’s expansion in the Philippines. g

Pops Fernandez, Martin Nievera bond...

Martin and Finn, adding the hashtag “priceless moments.”

A giggly Finn was also seen in a separate video being amused by his grandfather playing peekaboo in gibberish language. Meanwhile, Fernandez and Martin also bonded with their

sons Robin and Ram. Martin’s longtime girlfriend Anj del Rosario, and Robin’s partner and Finn’s mom, Mian Acoba, met with them as well in separate instances.

During their U.S. stay, Fernandez and Martin held their sold-out “The Concert King &

Queen” show in California which also included a performance from Robin.

Robin and Acoba welcomed Finn in December last year.

Martin immediately met Finn a day after the child was born, while Fernandez only got to visit him for the first time in March. g

Bianca Umali, Ruru Madrid do not favor ‘living together’ before marriage

By jessiCA Ann evAngelistA Inquirer.net

CELEBRITY couple Bianca

Umali and Ruru Madrid admitted that they are not open to the idea of “living under the same roof” before marriage, as they asserted that they obey the precepts of their church, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).

In a recent guest appearance on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” the couple said they respect the rules of their religion, which is why living together before marriage is not in their plans.

“Pero sa ngayon, especially [since] we are in our religion as well, it’s not tolerated to live [under] one roof, nang hindi kayo kasal. And we honor that,” said Umali.

The Kapuso actress

underscored that she is also “reserving” herself for the right person at the right time.

“Alam ko na (I know that) I am reserving myself for that person who I know will love me forever. Alam kong si Ruru ‘yon (I know that is Ruru). Alam kong dadating kami roon (I know that we are going to get there someday),” expressed Umali.

Six years into the relationship, the couple shared that they experienced many challenges that tested the strength of their togetherness.

“It has been one heck of a ride, honestly. There’s no specific word that could really describe it, but it’s a journey that we are actually surprised that we have been surviving and that we are still enjoying it together,” said Umali.

As for Madrid, he believes that the challenges in their relationship that they encountered in the past had a purpose, and that is to make their relationship stronger, which is what has become now.

“Noong una ang daming pinagdaanan na mga pagsubok. Ngayon kahit ano po ang mga nangyayari sa amin, doon marirealize na lahat may dahilan kung bakit kailangan nating pagdaanan ang mga unos na ‘yon kasi ito pala ang kapalit noon, kung ano ‘yung mga tinatamasa namin ngayon,” expressed the actor. (At first we encountered many trials. Now, no matter what is happening to us, we realize why we had to go through those storms in exchange for what we are enjoying now.) g

Jolina Magdangal joins Jodi Sta. Maria, Jericho Rosales for comeback teleserye

By KAthleen A. lleMit Philstar.com

AFTER almost 10 years, Jolina Magdangal will be seen again on a teleserye with another comebacking actor, Jericho Rosales, and TV favorite Jodi Sta. Maria.

Dreamscape Entertainment has been slowly unveiling the cast of its upcoming show “Lavender Fields.” They earlier revealed that Jodi and Jericho

will be starring in their show.

Janine Gutierrez will be playing her first kontrabida role.

“Jolina Magdangal is Lily Atienza!” Dreamscape Entertainment wrote on Facebook. Jolina last appeared on the 2015 teleserye “Flordeliza.”

The actress has been hosting the morning talk show Magandang Buhay” with Regine Velasquez and Melai Cantiveros since 2016. g

Why Luis Alandy wanted to change his...

everything,” he began. “This actually started when I did ‘Citizen Jake.’ I mentioned this to my manager (Noel Ferrer). I said, ‘I guess now is the time.’ The audition for that movie was really intense. I cried when I got the role. Not everyone gets to work with Direk Mike. I don’t know if he has done another movie after ‘Citizen Jake,’” said Alandy. Polishing skills Alandy was last seen in the 2023 series Magandang Dilag” on GMA 7. “I’m still waiting for the right offer, but I’ll be doing Meissner Advance Acting this June under Angeli Bayani,” he said. “As an actor, you can’t be too complacent. I can’t say I already know how to be a good actor. I need to work on improving myself, especially now that there are a lot of emerging but really talented actors.”

He continued: “They’re all multitalented. These days, you can’t just know how to sing and dance. You have to be able to do everything. I want to really polish my acting skills. I grew up in this industry. I’ve been acting since 1997, and I’m lucky that I’m still here. Hopefully, I could also study directing at the Mowelfund Film Institute soon.”

Alandy said he first took a crash course on directing in 2020, during the pandemic lockdowns.

“I participated in the online class of Direk Adolf (Alix Jr.). I was the only celebrity who joined. I would sometimes practice what I’ve learned, but I still want to have a formal schooling,” he said.

Right now, Alandy is into motorcycle sport riding. “I learned how to ride when I turned 40. I actually started late. I have a certificate from Honda. My wife did not allow me to ride, because she said it was dangerous, unless I signed up for classes. I started by using an adventure bike, then shifted to a classic one. Now, I ride a sportbike,” he said.

“It’s a stress reliever for me. I started during the pandemic, when the roads were still all clear. I would ride my motorcycle and listen to music.

the petitioner was elderly and sickly. If something happened to her, the petition could be at an end.

The “sweet” ending of this tragic situation was that Dolores and her children, Keno and Kobey, were able to immigrate to the U.S. sooner while the petitioner – Dolores’ mother and the boys’ grandmother – was still alive. Watch this success story on an encore episode of Citizen Pinoy this Sunday, June 19 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select

I would just focus on the road. Back then, it was really for my sanity. I don’t know how I would’ve ended up then if I didn’t learn how to ride.” Family life has since been “pleasant and happy,” according to Alandy. “My wife is kind and understanding. I did a number of movies before we started dating. She watched ‘Anino sa Likod ng Buwan’ with her entire family when it was shown. During the pandemic, I did a number of movies for Vivamax, since it was the only production outfit that was producing at the time. I never heard any complaints from her. She just told me to be honest with her about the work that I do,” the actor said. Effective influencer Alandy said he was happy that these days, Joselle is often invited to a lot of social gatherings as a vlogger. “I’m actually her ‘plus one’ today,” Alandy told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.

“People would send different products to our house almost everyday. I’m happy for her because her following is growing. She’s really a shy person and is not used to the attention. I was actually the one who pushed her.”

Despite this, Alandy doubts he would be an effective social media influencer. “Joselle is good at speaking in front of the camera, while I’m not. I’m OK if I can’t see myself, like in interviews when cameras are in front of me. Being an actor is different. I’m portraying a character. I embody a different persona every time. I’m not really myself. I stutter when I’m made to talk like a vlogger. I get anxious,” he admitted.

Having a baby is not a priority yet, said Alandy. “I will admit it now—since my father died two years ago, I sort of promised my mom that I will help her financially. She is a senior and is living with my sister. It’s actually more fulfilling for Joselle and me that we’re helping our families. If a baby comes along, Joselle and I will be grateful for it, but right now, our priority is to help take care of our families, especially mine,” said Alandy, adding that his wife has just turned 31. g

Bianca Umali and Ruru Madrid

Photo from Instagram/@rurumadrid8

Rhian Ramos Photo from Instagram/@whianwamos

Jolina Magdangal as Lily Atienza in the series ‘Lavender Fields’ ABS-CBN photo

Ruffa Gutierrez officially confirms relationship with Herbert Bautista

By jessiCA Ann evAngelistA Inquirer.net

RUFFA Gutierrez officially

confirmed her relationship with actor-politician Herbert Bautista as she gave a rare and enthusiastic update on their status, saying “it’s always been serious” between them, but that she’d rather keep their personal lives private.

“I think now it’s just better that a quiet personal life leads to

more happiness. I’ll never go into a relationship that’s not serious.

I’m always the serious type,” she told Karen Davila.

Gutierrez recalled that for their first date, Bautista asked her daughters, Venice and Lorin, to be included, which she appreciated.

“They were included on our first date. Very proper. Sinundo kami sa bahay tapos sinama ‘yung mga anak ko, sabi: ‘I wanna meet them and to make sure

that they’re okay with him and everyone is comfortable’ and that was Christmas time,” shared the actress.

Gutierrez’s daughter Venice shared that her mom and Bautista started to develop feelings for each other when they worked together in “The House Arrest of Us” in 2020.

The actress’ daughters have given their approval to their mother’s love life and affirmed that they are happy with who she’s with now.

“Her current partner now, he’s lovely, he’s a nice guy, he suits her really well, and she is ecstatic about him. Of course, I’m very happy for him, and again, if she’s happy, I’m happy,” said Venice.

Lorin also shared that the former Quezon City mayor was the reason her mother decided to go back to school during the pandemic.

“I do think that the telltale sign that this is real and that this is a really strong connection is that he helped her get back into school and really encouraged that for her,” said Lorin. g

by KAthleen A. lleMit Philstar.com

and Herbert Bautista Photo screengrabbed from from YouTube/Karen Davila

Meryll Soriano, Joem Bascon look back on how they rekindled their romance

By Boy ABunDA Philstar.com

RARELY do we read stories of couples who parted ways but then several years later, they crossed paths again and expressed a longing to renew their love. Hence, it’s fascinating to share the love story of celebrity couple Joem Bascon and Meryll Soriano who went steady, parted ways, moved on with their respective lives, met again a couple of years after, and rekindled their romance.

It’s not without reason why the two cut off their romantic ties. Joem would like to believe it was part of their “growing up” stage.

“Meme (Meryll) and I were young and wanted to accomplish so much then. She decided to temporarily stop (in) showbiz to go to London to study,” said Joem when he and Meryll recently sat down for The Talk on GMA’s “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda.” It was the first time that I had them together for an interview.

Tapos ako naman, I went on with my work because I was still new in the industry and I must say, it was my bread and butter then. So, we decided not to continue our relationship anymore,” he added.

Meryll, who studied Product Design at Central Saint Martins in London and lived there for three years, enthused, “I just told him, ‘Goodbye!’” and Joem let out, “Yes, she left me just like that.” The actor confessed it didn’t come easy for him to understand their situation “because if it’s just me, all I wanted was to be with her so, nakiusap

Joem Bascon and Meryll Soriano went steady, parted ways, moved on with their respective lives, met again a couple of years after, and rekindled their romance. Photo from Instagram/@dearmamameme

puwede pa rin ituloy but she was firm with her decision to study and for me, the relationship won’t work if it’s a long-distance relationship because she will be staying there. That’s why, I just had to accept.”

Work kept Joem busy. He, too, focused on learning many things that could prepare him for the future. “Kumbaga, inayos ko muna talaga ‘yung sarili ko but it took me a long time to accept what happened to us.”

When Meryll came home, she once again ventured into acting. It was fate that found a way for them to meet again. “I think Tito Boy, we were together in one film project where we also had the chance to talk. I was able to apologize to him na parang after a decade ay finally nagkaroon kami ng closure.”

They had a heart-to-heart talk during a shooting break but Meryll said it wasn’t planned. “I just felt the need to say sorry

because I knew how difficult it was for him, the recovery (phase) so at that time I just felt natural to say sorry to him.”

Meryll would like to make clear that they were both single then. She was loveless for five years. “Noong nagkaroon ng closure, nagkaroon (ulit) ng opening,” she laughed.

After the film was completed, the two began going out with friends yet they both remained careful of their feelings “baka kasi sobrang nae-excite lang kami to go out together again,” Meryll explained.

Joem added, “And I didn’t want to rush things coming from a relationship na nagkagulo and everything. So, gusto ko mas maging maayos, mas tahimik lang ‘yung buhay naming dalawa. When we had a talk that time, I asked her if we can go out, say, for dinner and when she agreed, sunod-sunod na pero hindi namin minadali.”

The actress never denied making an effort to explore how they lost each other for her to remember the lessons.

“Before, wala akong masyadong pakialam pero nagbago na rin ako and I promised myself to be better because of all the people around me, it’s Joem who best understands me, most especially with my bipolar (disorder) so that’s really something to be aware of. So I told him, ‘This is me.’ I really laid all my cards on the table, so to speak, at sinabi ko ‘yung mga gusto kong baguhin sa sarili ko.”

Diagnosed with bipolar disorder 17 years ago, Meryll discussed how she’s been managing her condition. Her regular visit to her doctors is essential. “I’m on medication. You have to take care by really knowing my condition and it took me a long time (to accept), Tito Boy. I think parang I was at peace and accepting my condition, (when) I was in my 30s already.”

Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (hypomania) and lows (depression), according to mayoclinic.org.

Joem was a heavy drinker when they separated “at ‘yun ang binago ko kasi ‘yun talaga ang sinabi sa akin ni Meme.”

He continued, “Sobrang malala talaga (drinking habit) so ‘yung time na ‘yun nagkaroon pa ng pandemic na para kong na-rehab sa loob ng bahay kasi no drinks. Lumalabas ‘yung anxiety ko but I’m glad that I was with the love of my life.

“It was also during those times when I observed some changes about her. Inalalayan niya ako throughout the pandemic at ganoon din ako sa kanya. It was also the time when we decided to have a baby.”

Kim Chiu ‘getting closer’ to Paulo Avelino

by jAn Milo severo Philstar.com

KAPAMILYA actress Kim Chiu said that she and love team partner Paulo Avelino’s friendship are getting closer. Kim recently posted a photo of her with Paulo in the vicinity of Mount Mayon in Albay, Bicol. Nag-show kami sa Sorsogon at Agusan ni Paulo. Masaya naman kami. Napatalon kami sa dami ng nanonood pala ng ‘Linlang,’ ng ‘Secretary Kim’,” Kim told the media during her launch as BillEase finance application recently. Parang punung-punong ‘yung buong plaza ‘pag nag-perform kami,” she added.

Kim said that Paulo is now comfortable with her. “Okay naman, natatawa naman na siya sa akin. Nagkukuwento naman na siya. So, parang sa tagal na rin kaming magkatrabaho,” she said.

When asked if Paulo is the reason why she moved on fast from ex-boyfriend Xian Lim, Kim said: “Uy! Ang bilis niya po talaga,” referring to the media.

Kim was also asked if things are better with Paulo after what she had been through.

Grabe naman ‘yung things are better. Siguro po na nagkataon lang na, ano, na... na okay ‘yung mga nangyayari lately and then ‘yung mga blessings ay dumarating naman na hindi inaasahan. So, parang masaya naman,” she said. g

Glaiza de Castro wins Best Actress at World Class Excellence Japan Awards

KAPUSO actress Glaiza

de Castro marked another milestone as she bagged the Best Actress award in a TV series for her role in “The Seed of Love” at the 2024 World Class Excellence Japan Award (WCEJA), held at a hotel in Pasay.

The WCEJA is a Japan-based award-giving body founded by Filipino singer, beauty queen, and philanthropist Emma Cordero. It is currently in its 11th edition.

On Instagram, de Castro shared some snaps from the awarding ceremony and thanked the people behind the 2023 drama series.

“Every award and recognition is a reminder that there are people who helped and guided you along the way. This achievement is for the cast and crew of The Seed Of Love! Started before the pandemic, waited for 2 years, and finished with flying colors,” she wrote.

The 36-year-old actress then thanked her brother, Alcris Galura, who received the Best Supporting Actor nod for his role in “Abot Kamay na Pangarap.”

“What made this night even more special was receiving this award with my Best Supporting Actor brother, [Galura], who’s been an inspiration for my acting career. Siya talaga acting coach ko eh. Sobrang proud ako na parte siya ng isa pang

successful afternoon soap sa [gmanetwork],” she expressed, thanking as well their parents. De Castro then gave a shout-out to Superstar Nora Aunor, who’s also present in the ceremony as in her role as national artist.

“Bonus na nakapag pa picture pa sa ating National Artist, the one and only superstar Nora Aunor na idol na idol ng nanay ko,” she said.

“Again, thank you, World Class Excellence Japan Awards, for this recognition! Nakakataba ng puso,” concluded the actress. Second time for Aunor

Meanwhile, in an interview with 24 Oras, Aunor, who currently stars in the GMA Afternoon Prime series “Lilet Matias, Attorney-At-Law,”

shared her sentiments

being honored at

year. Pangalawa na ‘to na

na award sa

[‘yung una] sa

ako

ako dito na pupunta ako,” she said. When asked about her next projects, the superstar said they were still in the works as she was struggling with being hospitalized from time to time. Pinag-iisipan pa kung anong istorya ‘yung babagay,” she said. “Okay naman ako. Kaya lang minsan, dahil nga doon sa nakaraan na lagi akong na-oospital, pero ngayon okay naman ako, wala namang problema.” (by Jessica Ann Evangelista/ Inquirer.net) g

Comedian Yoyong Martires passes away at 77

By jAn Milo severo Philstar.com

MANILA — Veteran comedian and ex-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player Rosalio

“Yoyong” Martires has passed away at the age of 77 years old.

Yoyong’s family confirmed his passing on social media on Wednesday, June 19.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Rosalio ‘Yoyong’ D. Martires,” the family’s post read.

“He has peacefully joined our Creator yesterday, June 18, 2024. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

“He lived a very adventurous and colorful life. A loving husband, a doting father, a

caring grandpa, a self-made man, an Olympian, a prolific basketball player, a comedian, a devoted public servant, and a child of Christ.

“Difficult steps to follow, indeed. You served God, our country, and your fellow men. Rest in Peace, papa. We love you!” Sports analyst Quinito Henson also announced Yoyong’s passing in his Twitter account.  “PBA legend & former Pasig Vice Mayor Rosalio (Yoyong) Martirez passed away last night… he was 77… rest in peace! We were together during the EASL Final 4 last March, he was quite a man! God bless Yoyong,” he said. g

ako kung

Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino topbill the Philippine adaptation of the South Korean megahit ‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim.’ ABS-CBN photo

about

WCEJA this

binigay

akin kaya lang

Japan kaya hindi

nakapunta kaya nangako

Glaiza de Castro with Nora Aunor at the 2024 World Class Excellence Japan Awards Photo from Instagram/@glaizaredux

Yoyong Martires The STAR / File

Do I need a premarital agreement before getting married?

Barrister’s Corner

Atty. Kenneth

IN the absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “…. all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property.” Family Code §760. This becomes a problem if you are the spouse that has the substantially higher income or the one who accumulates the majority of the assets during the marriage. You are called in family law lingo “the in spouse.” The other spouse (or in our lingo also called the “out spouse” gets a half interest on everything accumulated during the marriage even if the asset is under your name alone or it was accumulated solely due to your sweat and hard work. The out spouse, who stayed at home most of the marriage, gets a one half interest on all the accumulations during the marriage under California community property law. For example, if you opened a savings account during the marriage under your name alone for which you religiously and diligently stash away 25% of your earnings during the marriage while your spouse blows away his/her salary during the marriage, your spouse still gets a half interest in the money you saved in your savings account. Another example would be if you purchase a piece of real property during the marriage under “your name alone” and have your spouse sign a “quit claim” deed, your spouse may still have a claim for a half interest in your real property. Another example would be if you owned a business prior to marriage, but due to

your hard work, long hours of labor, and efforts, the business grew exponentially during the marriage, your spouse may still have a claim for an interest in the business.

Signing a premarital agreement may serve as added protection to the future “in spouse” and a hurdle for the future “out spouse” by avoiding or altering the applicability of California community property law to assets 1) already owned by each and 2) to property and income to be acquired or earned during their marriage.

Marriage of Dawley (1976) 17 C3d 342, 349, 131 CR 3, 7; Marriage of Grinius (1985) 166 CA3d 1179, 1186, 212 CR 803, 807 Premarital agreements may validly provide that the earnings and accumulations of each party during marriage will remain that party’s separate property,

right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage and control property.(3) The disposition of property upon separation, marital dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event.(4) The making of a will, trust, or other arrangement to carry out the provisions of the agreement. (5) The ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy.(6) The choice of law governing the construction of the agreement.(7) Any other matter, including their personal rights and obligations, not in violation of public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty. However, the right of a child to support may not be adversely affected.

Under both the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and prior law, the spouse claiming the agreement is invalid or not enforceable bears the burden of proof on that allegation.

free of any claims, community property or otherwise, of the other party. Marriage of Dawley, supra, 17 C3d at 350, 131 CR at 8; Cheney v. City & County of San Francisco Employees Retirement System (1936) 7 C2d 565, 569, 61 P2d 754, 756. Premarital agreements may also serve to preserve a person’s estate for his or her heirs, free of the other party’s inheritance claims. Estate of Wamack (1955) 137 CA2d 112, 115, 289 P2d 871, 872. Pursuant to Family Code §1612(c), “Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to all of the following:(1) The rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either or both of them whenever and wherever acquired or located. (2) The

Family Code §1612(b).

Premarital agreements that are entered into voluntarily by parties who are each represented by independent counsel and aware of the effect of the agreement, a post 1985 premarital waiver of post dissolution support does not offend contemporary public policy and is not per se unenforceable.

Fam.C. § 1612(c); Marriage of Pendleton & Fireman (2000) 24 C4th 39, 53–54, 99 CR2d 278, 288–289; Marriage of Facter (2013) 212 CA4th 967, 981, 152 CR3d 79, 90. Under both the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and prior law, the spouse claiming the agreement is invalid or not enforceable bears the burden of proof on that allegation. Family Code. § 1615(a); Marriage of Bonds, supra, 24 C4th at 27, 99 CR2d at 269; Marriage of Iverson (1992) 11 CA4th 1495, 1502, 15 CR2d 70, 74–75; However, the UPAA (as amended effective 1/1/02) deems that a premarital agreement was not executed voluntarily unless the court makes five prescribed findings provided for under Family Code. § 1615(c) (1) The party against whom

‘Be illuminators!’

Pastor’s

Notes

reverend rodel G. BAlAGtAs

DURING the recent 8th Grade Graduation Mass at our school, I shared in my homily with the graduates, parents, and teachers David Brooks’ insights from his new book, “How to Know a Person.” He explains:

“In every crowd, there are Diminishers and Illuminators. Diminishers make people feel small and unseen. They see other people  as things being used, not as persons to be befriended. They stereotype and ignore, so involved with themselves that other people are just not on their radar screens.

Illuminators, on the other hand, possess a persistent curiosity about other people. They have been trained or have trained themselves in the art of understanding others. They know what to look for and how to ask the right questions at the right time. They shine the brightness of their care on people and make them feel bigger, deeper, respected, lit up.”

Relying on David Brooks’

words, I shared with the graduating students, “I hope that during your time in primary education here at Incarnation, we have been Illuminators for you, not diminishers! I trust that we have empowered you to feel bigger, valued, and enlightened—that your talents and personalities have shone; that collectively, we have impacted your lives to help you become the finest version of yourselves; recognizing and nurturing all your potential and strengths, and preparing you adequately for secondary education.”

Continuing with a challenge, I addressed them as such:

“If we have been Illuminators for you, it is now your task to follow this same path and mission. In today’s world, filled with negativity and bullying, where individuals diminish the worth of others and fail to respect their human dignity, we need you to inspire others and appreciate the unique beauty in each person. As you mature, we encourage you to master the skill of truly seeing others—ensuring they feel seen, heard, and understood. Seeking a profound understanding of others isn’t merely about mastering techniques; it is a way of life.”

Reflecting on this

commencement address, I perceive this Sunday’s (June 23) Gospel as a direct challenge to us. Jesus beckons us to be Illuminators by motivating and uplifting one another through life’s “storms,” upheavals, and challenges. Just as Jesus advised his disciples to have faith rather than fear, we too must remind each other to remain courageous and faithful during times of sickness, death, or crisis. As Illuminators, we must perceive the potential and resilience in everyone within God’s guidance, enabling us to combat self-doubt, conquer anxiety, and overcome trials and tribulations. Moreover, we must remind each other that we carry the Spirit of Jesus within us, acknowledging His active presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul affirms in this Sunday’s Second Reading (2 Cor 5:14-17): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

* * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff. * * * Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale,

Meryll Soriano, Joem Bascon look...

Joem and Meryll went steady in 2008 and separated a year after. Rumors of their reconciliation had spread like wildfire in 2019, and it was only in January of 2021 when Meryll confirmed their romance when she posted a photo of them with their newborn son Gideon or Baby Gido on her social media account.

Baby Gido is now three years old and mommy Meryll happily announced that she’s done breastfeeding him after three years and four months. Taking care of their first-born is challenging yet full of happiness for Meryll and Joem. Meryll stressed that it’s a new experience to care for Baby Gido even though she was able to raise her eldest son Elijah Palanca well.

“We’re very challenged in the toddler phase, Tito Boy. Ako, I’m already a parent coming from Eli. The only difference now is that I have a partner, because it’s so different from being a single parent that you get to decide everything on your own… ikaw lang mag-isa

“Now, it’s a 50/50 thing. So, doon ako nagkaroon ng parang, ‘Paano ba namin ito gagawin?’ I cannot say I know better because this is a different child, different personality, different everything. But I’m

very happy. I’m a very happy parent to be able to share something very special with Joem because I love Joem.”

Joem, on the other hand, expressed appreciation at how Meryll is giving her everything for their child. “Parang ang mabibigay ko na lang is to take good care of her, buy whatever she wants or take her to wherever she wants to go because that’s what I can only do. Siya nabigay na n’ya yung buong pagkatao n’ya sa baby namin.”

The couple would love to have another baby but some concerns were raised to them by the doctor.

“My doctor said it’s no longer advisable because I’m 41. My OB said that if we wanted, dapat magkasunod as in the year after or close to turning one year old of Gido, dapat sundan na. But it was so difficult because it was his first time and we want to really savor and enjoy the baby first. It’s so hard to prioritize getting pregnant again when we are just enjoying the blessing,” shared Meryll.

Do they have plans to get married?

“Yes, medyo old school pa rin ako, ipagpapaalam ko sa lahat. I will tell my parents, and ask her parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage,” replied Joem, whom Meryll described as “the whole package” being a father. g

SB19’s Stell had no rehearsals for viral ‘All By Myself’ performance at David Foster concert

by jAn Milo severo Philstar.com

MANILA — SB19 member

Stell

In his X account, Stell said that he was about to go on sound check before the show when David asked him if he wanted to sing Celine Dion’s “All By Myself.”

“I’m still shocked. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nabigyan ako ng ganitong opportunity to perform on stage with the hitman, Mr. David Foster. So pag-akyat ko ng stage, dapat mag-soundcheck na ako for my spot, pero nagulat ako Sir David is playing the piano,” he said.   “Then he (asked) me kung suot ko na inears ko kasi pwede daw namin itry ‘yung song. Nagulat ako sabi ko sa utak ko, ‘What song?’ So na pa ‘huh’ ako

then sabi niya, ‘All By Myself’ give it a try daw. Bilang lutang ako sa sobrang gulat kinanta ko lang siya kung pano ko siya kinakanta. After iplay ‘yung arrangement nu’ng song, sabi

niya, ‘Do you want to perform this song tonight?’ Nasabi ko nalang ‘if it’s ok with you sir’ biglang BOOOM ayun na ang nangyare,” he added.   Stell said he was so nervous

before he performed the song in front of David and thousands of fans in the coliseum, but he was glad he made it.  Para akong nag audition talaga. Namanifest ko yata. Grabe ‘yung kaba ko. Akala ko pinatry nya lang sa’kin. Syempre sino na naman ako para tumanggi diba? Minsan lang yung ganong pagkakataon kaya binigay ko talaga yung best ko. Pagkatapos kong magperform, grabe din sigawan ng team and staff sa likod! Para kaming nanalo sa contest tapos talon kami (nang) talon. Grabe,” he said.  “Ayun lang. Ang haba ng kwento pero solid ang experience. Thank you sa lahat ng sumuporta. Thank you Sir David Foster and to the whole team. Sana nagustuhan niyo po yung performance ko. Thank you Lord kayo po talaga yung boses ko kagabi, Salamat po!” he added. g

Cheska Kramer proud of well-rounded children excelling in behavior, academics, sports

by KAthleen A. lleMit Philstar.com

MANILA — Cheska Garcia-Kramer and Doug Kramer’s children enjoy sports and the arts as seen on the celebrity couple’s Instagram accounts.

The formerly active actress said that it was intentional parenting on her and the cager’s side.  Philstar.com was able to talk to Cheska for a few minutes after she recently graced the launch of probiotic brand Erceflora’s two new variants, Gut Defense and Gut Restore.

“We’ve been busy raising the kids, especially because all of my kids are into sports,” Cheska told Philstar.com.

Cheska and Doug are parents to Kendra, Scarlett and Gavin. On their Instagram posts, their three children’s interests can be seen.

Eldest Kendra, who recently turned 15, is into swimming. She is also a favorite among pageant fans due to her striking resemblance to Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray.  Scarlett, 13, plays the violin and tries her hand on tennis.  Youngest Gavin, 11, takes after his popular cager father. He’s into the sport that made his father a popular figure in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

“Doug and I, talagang naghahati kami ng time when it comes to who’s gonna watch if

it’s Kendra’s, Scarlett’s or Gavin’s [games],” she said.

Cheska said she is happy that her kids are not just good in their academics, but as well as in sports.

“We’ve been really busy being intentional, that you know, our kids become all-around kids, not just good in academics, but also good in sports and also good in music and other things that you know, they also wanna try out and be good at,” she said.

Apart from it, Cheska is relieved to have raised their three children right. She said that it has mostly been a breeze to raise them because they were generally well-behaved.

“I don’t know what it means to have a headache with my children, honestly, honestly.

“I pray that they stay that way and I always talk to my kids. Sana lagi kayong maging mabait. Like the way that you are now,” she added. g

enforcement is sought was represented by independent legal counsel at the time of signing the agreement or, after being advised to seek independent legal counsel, expressly waived, in a separate writing, representation by independent legal counsel. The advisement to seek independent legal counsel shall be made at least seven calendar days before the final agreement is signed.

(2) One of the following:

(A) For an agreement executed between January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2020, the party against whom enforcement is sought had not less than seven calendar days between the time that party was first presented with the final agreement and advised to seek independent legal counsel and the time the agreement was signed. This requirement does not apply to nonsubstantive amendments that do not change the terms of the agreement.

(B) For an agreement executed on or after January 1, 2020, the party against whom enforcement is sought had not less than seven calendar days between the time that party was first presented with the final agreement and the time the agreement was signed, regardless of whether the party is represented by legal counsel. This requirement does not apply to nonsubstantive amendments that do not change the terms of the agreement.

(3) The party against whom enforcement is sought, if unrepresented by legal counsel, was fully informed of the terms and basic effect of the agreement as well as the rights and obligations the party was giving up by signing the agreement, and was proficient in the language in which the explanation of the party’s rights was conducted and in which the agreement was written. The explanation of the rights and obligations relinquished shall be memorialized in writing and delivered to the party prior to signing the agreement. The unrepresented party shall, on or before the signing of the premarital agreement, execute a document declaring that the party received the information required by this paragraph and indicating who provided that information.

(4) The agreement and the

writings executed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) were not executed under duress, fraud, or undue influence, and the parties did not lack capacity to enter into the agreement.

(5) Any other factors the court deems relevant. A premarital agreement may be unenforceable if found to be unconscionable when it was executed and the requisite disclosures were lacking and not waived Additionally, a spousal support provision in a premarital agreement executed under the UPAA, whether before or after January 1, 2002, is not enforceable if found to be unconscionable at the time of enforcement. Family Code § 1612(c). If you are the higher earning spouse and have assets to protect, it is important to seek the representation of experienced counsel in drafting a premarital agreement to make sure that all statutory requirement are met which increases the likelihood that your premarital agreement will be deemed enforceable when attacked in court in case of a divorce.

* * * Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice.

Team Kramer on vacation: Doug and Cheska Kramer with their children Kendra, Scarlett and Gavin as seen on Cheska’ Instagram post on June 19, 2024. Cheska Kramer via Instagram

Arnold Clavio begins therapy after suffering from stroke

By jAn Milo severo Philstar.com

MANILA — GMA-7 broadcaster Arnold Clavio began his therapy after suffering from hemorrhagic stroke.

In his Instagram account, Arnold posted a video of him in the hospital.

“June 14,2024, tatlong araw matapos na makaranas ako ng

HEMORRHAGIC STROKE, nagpasya ang medical team ng @ stlukesmedicalcenter na mula sa Acute Stroke Unit (ASU) ay ilipat na ako sa regular room,” he said.

“‘The worst is over,’ sabi nga ni Dr. Vincent Valencia, cardiologist. Ang sarap pakinggan pero it is not yet over. Mahabahaba ang laban na ito,” he added.

Arnold’s doctor said that he needed a six-week rest to gain his full strength.

“Kaya pagbaba ko sa regular room, sa pangunguna ni Dr. Lyde Alday-Magpantay, espesyalista sa Physica Medicine and Rehabilitation, sinumulan ang aking therapy.

“Kabilang dito ang mga maliliit na pagkilos sa mga braso, kamay, binti at paa.

“Dahil sa pagdurugo ng kaliwang bahagi ng aking utak, dulot ng altapresyon, naging mahina ang kanang bahagi ng aking katawan. Sinubukan kong humakbang pero umiikot ang aking paligid at muntik-muntikan ako na mabuwal. Wala pa rin akong balanse.

“Kailangan ding maibaba pa ang aking blood pressure at sugar para di na maulit ang pagputok sa aking utak. Kaya sinimulan na rin ang akong turukan ng insulin at mga gamot sa blood pressure at pagbaba ng cholesterol.”

Arnold thanked his family, friends and fans for the support and reminded everyone to have their blood pressure checked.  Maraming salamat sa inyong pagmamahal at mga panalangin. Malalagpasan ko ito sa inyong tulong at suporta,” he said.  Sana ang aking kuwento ay makapagligtas ng maraming buhay. Tandaan, ‘mas ligtas ang madalas’ na pag-checkup ng inyong blood pressure. Uulitin ko, feeling ok does not mean your ok. Listen to your body,” he added.  g

Raymond Gutierrez attends Fendi’s Spring-Summer 2025 in Milan

by Kristofer Purnell Philstar.com

MANILA — Host-actor Raymond

Gutierrez attended the unveiling of Italian luxury brand Fendi’s Spring-Summer 2025 collection recently held at Milan Fashion Week. The new collection centered around nostalgia and paid homage to the brand’s codes that predated the first men’s silhouette revealed back in 1990.

The collection boasts proudly the Selleria stitch, which the Fendi family learned from Roman master saddlers.

Among the new outfits include poplin shirt sleeves slashed at the elbow, polo plackets twist from throat to rub, assymetric silk knits unbuttoned down the shoulder and patch-pocket overshirts with silk ties.

The latter are worn over pleated shorts and layered beneath short summer jackets combined with linen, leather, Madras check cotton and ultralight suede.

Leading the Fendi Men’s ambassadors were the British star of “The Idea of You”

Pauleen Luna-Sotto encourages moms to breastfeed, gives advice

By Deni rose M. AfiniDAD-BernArDo Philstar.com

MANILA — TV host Pauleen

Luna-Sotto is now on to her sixth month breastfeeding her second baby with Vic Sotto, Mochi. In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com at the recent

launch party of footwear label

Mini Melissa, Pauleen said she did not have to start from scratch in taking care of a new baby despite that Tali and Mochi are six years apart. Gusto ko s’ya talaga kasi.

So I’m really excited for this. Hindi naman ako nangapa!” she affirmed.

According to her, since starting to breastfeed Mochi since the baby was born, she has seen the benefits of breastfeeding her child.

“She’s hitting her milestones pretty fast. They say ganu’n daw ‘pag breastfed. So, she babbles a lot. Ngayon, natawa nga kami kasi ang hilig n’yang gumala. When she’s in her house clothes, talagang she gets cranky at home, gusto na n’ya talaga umalis! Talagang she’s happy outside.” Pauleen regrets not breastfeeding Tali because her firstborn was a premature baby.

“And I didn’t know at that time na pwede mo pala s’yang pagtiyagaan, and eventually, demand and supply,” she said.

“With her (Mochi), I’m really trying my best na dumami ‘yung supply.”

During Mochi’s first two weeks, she was mix-fed because her weight dropped, said Pauleen. But since then, Mochi is now fully-breastfed on to her fifth month.

Tiyaga lang! And please, do not compare yourself to others,” Pauleen advised fellow moms thinking of breastfeeding their babies, “Not anyone has the same milk supply so kung ano lang ‘yung best mo , that’s good enough!” g

Nicholas Galitzine, Japanese artist Ren Maguro and Chinese actor Zhang Ruoyun. Stray Kids’ Ban Cham, Italian singers

Marco Mengoni, Mr. Rain, Tananai and model James Turlington were also spotted in the show. g

Raymond Gutierrez at Milan Fashion Week for Fendi with Nicholas Galitzine. Raymond Gutierrez via Instagram

Arnold Clavio

The STAR / File

Pauleen Luna-Sotto with daughters Tali (right) and Mochi at Melissa’s recent Mini Melissa new collection launch

Photo release