Both residents of Daly City, they dedicated their professional lives to the city and county of San Francisco when they immigrated from the Philippines. Both single again, they value their independence in their 80th decade, leading lives according to their personal priorities.
They are among hundreds of Filipino Americans who can say they’re free of a pervasive problem besetting their age group in part because of a nonprofit ride program.
The two women did not know each other
PCSO chief sues vlogger in US court
PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) General Manager Melquiades Robles has filed defamation and invasion of privacy charges against vlogger Claire Contreras, known as “Maharlika,” before a United States court.
In a press conference on Sunday, August 4, Robles said he decided to file the cyber complaints before the Central District Court of California after Contreras allegedly maligned his family in her vlogs.
Robles said he and his wife, Sherwil, went to the U.S. late last June to sue Contreras to “stop her from continuously harassing and maligning” them through her online vlog. Contreras, said to be a U.S. citizen, has been dubbed as the “queen of fake news” by many social media users because of her criticisms against the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other government officials.
Robles said that for almost a year now, he and his family have been subjected by Contreras “to an almost daily barrage of vicious, unjustifiable and blatantly false
More people back Marcos than Duterte
RED MENDOZA ManilaTimes.net
of 5 percentage points from the previous survey conducted in March.
Meanwhile, only 16 percent said that they identified themselves as pro-Duterte or were more supportive of the policies of the Dutertes and their political allies, a 4 percentage point decrease from the previous survey.
Five percent of respondents said they supported the opposition, or those who identified themselves as being associated with the group of traditional opposition such as former Vice President Leni Robredo or the Liberal Party, a slight increase of 1 percentage point from the previous survey, while 11 percent said that they were ambivalent, or neutral, about their own political preferences. The National Capital Region and Balanced Luzon were among the areas with the highest number of those who identified themselves as pro-Marcos at 43 percent and 42 percent, respectively, while Mindanao respondents remained strongly proDuterte at 50 percent, while those who said that they were pro-Marcos were at 25 percent. PAGE 2
Comelec chair seeks US DOJ help
by MAYEN JAYMALIN Philstar.com
MANILA — Commission on Elections
(Comelec) Chairman George Garcia is seeking the assistance of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in identifying those behind the allegations that he owns offshore bank accounts.
Garcia said he would coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in requesting help from the U.S. DOJ.
He expressed optimism that the U.S. govermment would lend a hand in probing possible cases of identity theft and bank
fraud.
Garcia said he would ask the U.S. DOJ to probe those behind Jaleo Consulting LLC who deposited $100 each in the Cayman National Bank and New York Bank accounts that he supposedly owns.
Sagip party-list Rep. Dante Marcoleta earlier alleged that volunteers made fund transfers to two offshore accounts of Garcia.
Garcia said the Comelec wants to know the real owners of the two bank accounts.
He said he would send a letter to the DFA requesting the U.S. DOJ to provide legal assistance to him, based on the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
out in the first, using her reach to blunt Petecio’s combinations.
FROM the high of victory to the throes of defeat, the Philippines’ top sports heroes are training their sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Definitely, I’ll be there, 100 percent,” Carlos Yulo said after a historic weekend at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yulo will be 28 by the time the LA Olympics takes place but that won’t be the only thing different from his Paris stint. He will also fly to the U.S. west coast as the defending champion of the floor exercise and vault, which he ruled in back-to-back nights to become the most decorated Filipino Olympian in history.
If he makes it past the myriad qualifying tournaments and books a ticket to Los Angeles, EJ Obiena will be competing from a place starkly different from Yulo. Obiena will be looking for redemption after missing out on a podium finish by one spot.
“I will be back,” Obiena wrote on his social media account after finishing an agonizing fourth in the pole vault competition early Tuesday morning, August 6 after the world No. 2 failed to crack the 5.95-meter bar in three tries. “I have been knocked down. But I will get back up.”Obiena apologized for the defeat; he was one of the PH stars tagged as a favorite for the podium.
NESTHY Petecio lost steam in the final two rounds against a spirited opponent and missed the chance to advance to the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s boxing event.
Petecio stormed out of the gates with her big lefts sending Poland’s Julia Szeremeta reeling but could not carry that effort into the final two rounds of their 57kg semifinal bout Thursday morning, August 8, at Stade Roland Garros.
Szeremeta reached the final after winning on four of the five judges’ scorecards.
The 20-year-old Polish fighter, the youngest semifinalist in the women’s boxing event, fought back into contention in the second round after getting shut
With well-timed counters, Szeremeta evened up the cards heading into the third and then continued to up her work rate, as Petecio seemed content looking for landing spots for her big combinations.
Szeremeta will battle Taiwanese Lin Yu Ting for the gold.
Petecio was the last fighter standing for the Philippine boxing team, which was reduced to a two-bronze output after a strong performance in the Tokyo Olympics where the squad collected two silvers and a bronze.
Aira Villegas was the other bronze medalist for the squad this year.
Eumir Marcial, a bronze winner in Tokyo, and Hergie Bacyadan lost their opening bouts while Tokyo silver medalist Carlo Paalam dropped out in the quarterfinals.
MANILA — Top leaders of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday, August 5 urged wanted religious leader Apollo Quiboloy to finally come out of hiding and surrender, assuring that due process and human rights would be respected.
PNP chief Rommel Marbil first aired his demand before the Senate panel on public order and dangerous drugs’ Monday hearing, maintaining that the June 10 operation to serve an arrest
warrant against alleged rapist Quiboloy did not violate any rules. “I assure, as the chief PNP, that we will assure you na i-surrender niyo na po si Apollo Quiboloy and the four others, nandito po kami and you will see na we follow the rules, human rights, and dito niyo lang po kami makikita na we follow yung human rights. We assure you po,” said Marbil. (I assure you, as the chief PNP, that if you surrender Apollo Quiboloy and the four others, we are here and we will see that we follow rules and human rights. We PAGE 2
Nesthy Petecio
by CHARIE ABARCA
FRANCIS T.J. OCHOA Inquirer.net
DALY CITY – Lina Obieta Kildani
Edwina Tengco
More people back Marcos...
Class ABC and D also identified strongly as proMarcos, with 40 and 37 percent of respondents saying they strongly identified with the administration, while 33 percent of Class E respondents said they strongly identified with the Duterte family and their allies.
Support for the opposition among major areas ranged from 0 to 16 percent, with the highest support for the opposition in the Visayas region at 16 percent, followed by the NCR and Balanced Luzon at 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. The support for the opposition among socioeconomic classes also ranged from 2 percent
to 8 percent, with the highest among class E at 8 percent.
OCTA said the highest among those who considered themselves "independent" or without political leaning was in the Visayas at 41 percent, while Class ABC had 44 percent saying they were independents.
Support for the Marcos administration was highest at the Cordillera Administrative Region at 83 percent, Cagayan Valley at 79 percent, Eastern Visayas at 75 percent, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) at 69 percent and Ilocos Region at 60 percent.
Meanwhile, Pro-Duterte support was highest in Davao Region at 70 percent, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) at 52 percent and Caraga Region at 67 percent.
Pro-Marcos support was also high among Filipinos ages 75 years old and above at 69 percent, as well as in rural areas than in urban areas.
The survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. g
PNP urges Quiboloy to surrender, assures due...
assure you.)
For his part, Police Brigadier General and Regional Director Nicolas Torre III shared Marbil’s point of view, also calling for Quiboloy to show up and spare Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) members from what they considered “harassment.”
“As I’m saying, the wheels of justice can only start if he submits to the jurisdiction of the court because everything that we discuss here, saying whether he’s innocent or guilty, are of the moment because we are not the court that will thresh out all those issues,” said Torre.
“So I would really suggest that Mr. Quiboloy submit[s] himself to the jurisdiction of the court because sooner or later, the long arm of the law will catch up with him,” he added.
‘Even Duterte clueless on Quiboloy’s whereabouts’ Panel head Sen. Bato dela Rosa, meanwhile, countered the demands, clarifying that it’s unfair to make Quiboloy’s presence a prerequisite for peace in Davao.
“I would just like to react na it’s unfair for them naman na i-require niyo muna sila na i-surrender muna si Pastor Quiboloy para maging peaceful ang Davao. Parang ganon — para maging normal ang lahat; for all you know, even [former] President Rodrigo Duterte ay walang contact kay Pastor Quiboloy, hindi alam kung nasaan na ‘yun ngayon,” said dela Rosa.
(I would just like to say that it’s unfair to require them to surrender Pastor Quiboloy before it becomes peaceful in Davao. It’s like that, in order for it to be
normal again; for all you know, even former President Rodrigo Duterte has no contact with Pastor Quiboloy, we don’t know where he is right now.)
According to dela Rosa, he even tried to keep in touch with Quiboloy after the warrant was issued, but he failed to have constant contact with the religious leader who is wanted for sexual abuse and human trafficking.
Quiboloy is facing two separate arrest orders from Davao and Pasig courts.
The Supreme Court, however, granted the Department of Justice’s bid to transfer Quiboloy’s sexual abuse case from a court in Davao to Quezon City to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
Apart from these, the Senate panel on women headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros is likewise seeking Quiboloy’s arrest. g
Carlos Yulo vows LA 2028 encore...
But the 28-year-old Asian record holder missed out on his attempts at 5.95 after the 12-man finals field had been whittled to four. As a result, he missed reuniting the world’s top three vaulters at the podium.
World No. 1 Mondo Duplantis won the gold and reset the world and Olympic records with a 6.25-m vault.
World No. 3 Sam Hendricks finished with the silver with a 5.95-m finish while
Emmanouil Karalis of Greece finished with the bronze at 5.90—the same barrier Obiena crossed, but one he reached in fewer tries.
“It’s painful. I missed a medal by one jump and it wasn’t far on all my attempts at [5.95 m],” Obiena said in an interview with Olympics broadcaster One Sports.
“I apologize. I promised [I was] gonna go back after Tokyo and do better. I did, but it didn’t
change in my book. I still came up short. I’m really sorry. I apologize for it,” added Obiena, who placed 11th in the Tokyo Games.
On his socials’ post, Obiena wrote: “[Fourth] place is painful to say the least; and in sports with three podium places, perhaps [fourth] is the harshest place to be. I am heartbroken that a single failure cost me and cost a nation I so deeply love … the podium.”
Two silvers
Yulo’s two gold medals came three years after Hidilyn Diaz (now Diaz-Naranjo) broke through with the first Olympic title ever for the Philippines after ruling the women’s 55-kilogram class of weightlifting in Tokyo. Before that trailblazing win, the country had gone through 97 years of Olympic participation without ever winning a gold.
From 1924 to 2016, the Philippines’ shiniest medal was a silver, one coming in 1964 in Tokyo from boxer Anthony Villanueva, in 1996 in Atlanta through boxer Onyok Velasco, and the other in 2016 courtesy of Diaz in Rio de Janeiro. And in the span of three years, the Philippines has collected three golds, two silvers and one bronze, with at least two more podium finishes ahead. Yulo, Obiena and the other young stars of the country hope to continue that winning haul in four years.
“Four years. It’s still a long way. I just hope I’ll be healthy and free from injuries,’’ said Yulo. In Paris, the country’s current medal count is at two golds and two bronzes. Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio both settled for bronze following losses in their respective semifinals fights on Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 respectively. (Inquirer.net)
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Malacañang photo
Carlos Edriel Yulo Photo courtesy of International Gymnastics Federation
EJ Obiena
Photo from Instagram/@ernestobienapv
RETURN OF LAPULAPU. The 40-foot bronze Lapulapu monument, also called the “Sentinel of Freedom,” is fully restored and re-erected at Agrifina Circle of Rizal Park in Manila as photographed on Monday, Aug. 5. The National Museum of the Philippines took the statue under its care in July last year for restoration. PNA photo by Yancy Lim
Harris’ California health care battles signal fights ahead for hospitals if she wins
WHEN Kamala Harris was California’s top prosecutor, she was concerned that mergers among hospitals, physician groups, and health insurers could thwart competition and lead to higher prices for patients. If she wins the presidency in November, she’ll have a wide range of options to blunt monopolistic behavior nationwide.
The Democratic vice president could influence the Federal Trade Commission and instruct the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to prioritize enforcement of antitrust laws and channel resources accordingly. Already, the Biden administration has taken an aggressive stance against mergers and acquisitions. In his first year in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order intended to intensify antitrust enforcement across multiple industries, including health care.
Under Biden, the FTC and DOJ have fought more mergers than they have in decades, often targeting health care deals.
“What Harris could do is set the tone that she is going to continue this laser focus on competition and health care prices,” said Katie Gudiksen, a senior health policy researcher at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
The Harris campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
For decades, the health industry has undergone consolidation despite government efforts to maintain competition. When health systems expand, adding hospitals and doctor practices to their portfolios, they often gain a large enough share of regional health care resources to command higher prices from insurers. That results in higher premiums and other health care costs for consumers and employers, according to numerous studies.
Health insurers have also consolidated in recent decades, leaving only a handful controlling most markets.
Health care analysts say it’s possible for Harris to slow the momentum of consolidation by blocking future mergers that could lead to higher prices and lower-quality care. But many of them agree the consolidation that has already taken place is an inescapable feature of the U.S.
health care landscape. “It’s hard to unscramble the eggs,” said Bob Town, an economics professor at the University of Texas.
There were nearly 1,600 hospital mergers in the U.S. from 1998 to 2017 and 428 hospital and health system mergers from 2018 to 2023, according to a KFF study. The percentage of community hospitals that belong to a larger health system rose from 53 in 2005 to 68 in 2022.
And in another sign of market concentration, as of January, well over three-quarters of the nation’s physicians were employed by hospitals or corporations, according to a report produced by Avalere Health.
Despite former President Donald Trump’s hostility to regulation as a candidate, his administration was active on antitrust efforts — though it did allow one of the largest health care mergers in U.S. history, between drugstore chain CVS Health and the insurer Aetna. Overall, Trump’s Justice Department was more aggressive on mergers than past Republican administrations.
Harris, as California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017, jumpstarted health care investigations and enforcement.
“She pushed back against anticompetitive pricing,” said Rob Bonta, California’s current attorney general, who is a Democrat.
One of Harris’ most impactful decisions was a 2012 investigation into whether consolidation among hospitals and physician practices gave health systems the clout to demand higher prices. That probe bore fruit six years later after Harris’ successor, Xavier Becerra, filed a landmark lawsuit against Sutter Health, the giant Northern California hospital operator, for anticompetitive behavior. Sutter settled with the state for $575 million.
In 2014, Harris was among 16 state attorneys general who joined the FTC in a lawsuit to dismantle a merger between one of Idaho’s largest hospital chains and its biggest physician group. In 2016, Harris joined the U.S. Department of Justice and 11 other states in a successful lawsuit to block a proposed $48.3 billion merger between two of the nation’s largest health insurers,
Cigna and Anthem. Attempts to give the state attorney general the power to nix or impose conditions on a wide range of health care mergers have been fiercely, and successfully, opposed by California’s hospital industry. Most recently, the hospital industry persuaded state lawmakers to exempt forprofit hospitals from pending legislation that would subject private equity-backed health care transactions to review by the attorney general.
A spokesperson for the California Hospital Association declined to comment.
As attorney general of California, Harris’ work was eased by the state’s deep-blue political hue. Were she to be elected president, she could face a less hospitable political environment, especially if Republicans control one or both houses of Congress. In addition, she could face opposition from powerful health care lobbyists.
Though it often gets a bad rap, consolidation in health care also confers benefits. Many doctors choose to join large organizations because it relieves them of the administrative headaches and financial burdens of running their own practices. And being absorbed into a large health system can be a lifeline for financially troubled hospitals.
Still, a major reason health systems choose to expand through acquisition is to accumulate market clout so they can match consolidation among insurers and bargain with them for higher payments. It’s an understandable reaction to the financial pressures hospitals are under, said James Robinson, a professor of health economics at the University of California-Berkeley.
Robinson noted that hospitals are required to treat anyone who shows up at the emergency room, including uninsured people. Many hospitals have a large number of patients on Medicaid, which pays poorly. And in California, they face a series of regulatory requirements, including seismic retrofitting and nurse staffing minimums, that are expensive.
“How are they going to pay for that?” Robinson said.
At the federal level, any effort to blunt anticompetitive mergers would depend in part on how
‘I feel dismissed’: People experiencing colorism say health system fails them
by Chaseedaw Giles KFF Health News
LOS ANGELES — Jonnae
Thompson has felt for a long time that her dark brown skin and natural hair have made finding work in Hollywood especially hard.
“It’s like this negative connotation,” said the 37-year-old actress, singer, and stand-up comedian, who said she is often asked to audition for villainous roles such as a bully, drug dealer, or pimp.
Her quest for more equitable representation on the big screen isn’t just professionally exhausting. Thompson says anxiety about her skin complexion has affected her health.
“It definitely had a negative impact on my self-esteem,” she said. She recalls being called “charcoal” in kindergarten. “It was big, like, your skin is dark and that’s a problem.”
The term colorism — a form of prejudice and discrimination in which lighter skin is favored over darker skin — was popularized by author Alice Walker in her 1983 book “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose.”
Clinicians from various ethnic groups have recently begun to draw a direct line between colorism and poor health. A 2023 KFF survey found that, among Black and Hispanic adults, those with
self-described darker skin tones reported more experiences with discrimination in daily life compared with those who have lighter skin tones. People who feel they experience daily discrimination can be at higher risk for depression, loneliness, increased alcohol and drug use, and anxiety, data shows.
And colorism can also lead to physical health concerns. Hair straighteners and skin lighteners commonly used by women of color, sometimes to conform to racialized beauty standards, increase their exposure to toxic chemicals, research shows.
Because of the potential health implications, the health care system should pay more attention to colorism, said Regina James, a child and adolescent psychiatrist who heads the American Psychiatric Association’s Division of Diversity and Health Equity.
“Skin color discrimination is so insidious it can literally get under your skin,” she said. “And consciously or subconsciously, it can contribute to low self-esteem and self-confidence, and even be detrimental to one’s mental health.”
Conversations about skin complexion can remain overlooked by mental health professionals who do not have expertise about or awareness of a person’s cultural context, if the conversations happen at all, said Usha Tumma-
la-Narra, a clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at Boston College.
“There’s no specific training on colorism. Many people are unaware that it exists,” Tummala-Narra said.
But the experience can negatively affect a person’s self-worth, relationships, sense of belonging, and dignity. “These are all really critically important things as human beings that we all need to secure to have good health, both physically and mentally,” she said.
The issue can emerge in childhood for Black and Indigenous people and other people of color, who must navigate fair skin often being seen as superior, a ramification of colonialization. Black children with the darkest complexions experience higher levels of depressive symptoms, found a 2020 study in the journal Society and Mental Health. Shannon Brown, 34, a former college counselor from the Bronx, New York, who is Black, remembers being called “midnight” by classmates and having family members joke about his skin being difficult to light in family photos. “I’ve just kind of accepted it and try to find the humor in it,” he said. “I feel like most folks aren’t u PAGE 4
BACK TO SCHOOL. Students of Masambong High School in Quezon City finally return to their classes but outside the classroom on Monday, Aug. 5. The school was flooded on July 24 due to the Typhoon Carina-induced monsoon rains and some classrooms are still under repair.
PNA photo by Joan Bondoc
PCSO chief sues vlogger in US...
attacks through her YouTube channel called ‘Boldyak’ TV.”
“For reasons unknown to us, she continues to deliberately spread malicious lies against us while also calling me various names that were meant to deride and denigrate my reputation,” he said.
In her online program, Contreras also allegedly made several “absolutely untrue and outlandish accusations” against Robles, including “stealing
money from the people, contract killing and even assisting terrorists.”
“She even accused me of plotting to kill her when I went to the U.S., which was outrageous because my main job in the PCSO is to save lives, and we have helped over 300,000 Filipinos who were hospitalized just last year,” he said.
Robles said he wonders why Contreras continues to harass and malign him and his family when he did not even know her
personally.
He said he and his family tried to stay silent, knowing that Contreras’ accusations “were only products of her vile imaginations and hateful heart.”
They decided to seek redress from the court when they realized that the vlogger had no plans of stopping her unfounded assaults against us, Robles said.
He said he would go back to the U.S. once the court required his presence. (Arlie Calalo/ ManilaTimes.net)
Harris’ California health care battles signal...
aggressive the FTC is in pursuing the most egregious cases. FTC
Chair Lina Khan has made the FTC more proactive in this regard.
Last year, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued new merger guidelines, which suggested the federal government would scrutinize deals more closely and take a broader view of which ones violate antitrust laws. In September, the FTC filed a lawsuit against an anesthesiology group and its private equity backer, alleging they had engaged in anticompetitive practices in Texas to drive up prices.
In January, the agency sued to stop a $320 million hospital acquisition in North Carolina. Still, many transactions don’t come to the attention of the FTC because their value is below its $119.5 million reporting threshold. And even if it heard about more deals, “it is very
underresourced and needing to be very selective in which mergers they challenge,” said Paul Ginsburg, a professor of the practice of health policy at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Khan’s term ends in September 2024, and Harris, if elected, could try to reappoint her, though her ability to do so may depend on which party controls the Senate. Harris could also promote regulations that discourage monopolistic behaviors such as all-or-nothing contracting, in which large health systems refuse to do business with insurance companies unless they agree to include all their facilities in their networks, whether needed or not. That behavior was one of the core allegations in the Sutter case. She could also seek policies at the Department of Health and
Human Services, which runs Medicare and Medicaid, that encourage competition.
Bonta, California’s current attorney general, said that, while there are bad mergers, there are also good ones. “We approve them all the time,” he said. “And we approve them with conditions that address cost and that address access and that address quality.”
He expects Harris to bring similar concerns to the presidency if she wins. (Bernard J. Wolfson and Phil Galewitz/KFF Health News)
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.
‘I feel dismissed’: People experiencing colorism...
PAGE 3
intentionally trying to hurt me, but the jokes get tiresome.”
Shakun Kaushal, a 26-year-old digital communications specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, is Indian American and has a “darker complexion.” She said that in Indian culture one might hear comments like, “Oh, she’s so light and beautiful.”
“I sometimes feel dismissed by people,” said Kaushal, who has searched for an Indian or Black therapist in hopes they might better relate to her lived experience. She believes conversations about colorism should be intergenerational, start early, and get introduced with great care.
“What you say to a child does affect them. They will remember, and it will impact how they feel about themselves and in their skin,” Kaushal said. “We must talk about it.”
The feeling of shame and embarrassment colorism produces in people is palpable and needs to be acknowledged in health care settings, said Roopal Kundu, a dermatologist who founded and
directs the Northwestern Medicine Center for Ethnic Skin and Hair in Chicago. Kundu, who is of South Asian heritage, opened the center in 2005 and notes that some cases of diseases like psoriasis, skin cancer, and eczema get diagnosed later, or misdiagnosed, because they present differently on diverse skin tones.
“How can we really make sure, as a field, that we’re taking care of everybody?” she said. “Healthy skin is beautiful skin. And beauty is across every single skin tone that there is.”
Therapists, doctors, and other clinicians from diverse backgrounds say that, in addition to clinical approaches that incorporate cultural competence, more efforts are needed to diversify the pool of mental health practitioners and to collaborate between disciplines.
Without cultural awareness and sensitivity, “you’re not going to get all the information that you need to appropriately diagnose and treat someone,” James said.
Black people are more likely to report difficulty finding mental health providers who understand their background and experiences,
a KFF survey found. At the same time, programs that bolster diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical schools are faltering in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court decision outlawing affirmative action in higher education.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, in 2022, about 5% of active psychiatric physicians identified as Black, 16% as Asian, 6% as Hispanic, and fewer than 1% as American Indian or Alaska Native. Thompson, Brown, and Kaushal all said they had never been treated by a therapist who looks like them.
Thompson, the L.A. comedian, said she drank bleach when she was 10 years old, thinking it would lighten her skin. Fortunately, it caused only nausea. If she could speak to her younger self, she would say: “You’re beautiful. You’re brilliant.” 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.
Ride program frees older Fil-Ams from...
until last week, when they were recognized as the first-ever participants of Got Wheels!, an on-demand discounted taxi service launched in the summer of 2019 by Peninsula Family Service (PFS), a 74-year-old organization based in the city of San Mateo.
“It was the answer to my prayers,” raved Kildani, an LVN at San Francisco General Hospital until she retired over a decade ago.
The life of the self-described former “social butterfly” shifted dramatically when her husband died in 2018.
“I didn’t feel like socializing.
And then I had a problem with my left hip that required a walking stick to get around,” which hampered driving. “My children are all grown with families of their own and I really didn’t want to be dependent on them,” said Kildani, mother to a Berkeley lawyer, a San Francisco nonprofit COO and a Hollywood film production executive from her first marriage.
On-demand 24/7
Got Wheels! started as a pilot program providing affordable taxi service for Daly City residents at least 70 years of age. For only $5 a ride and an optional tip, service is on call for any reason to any address within the county’s northernmost city at any time.
Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the program eases mobility issues confronting people of a certain age, particularly newcomers unable to drive because they have not applied for their driver’s license, don’t know how to drive or don’t own a car.
They may have disabilities or have no one they can turn to for assistance. Because they have no means of transportation besides mass transit, they tend to put off health visits or social activities. Many are left stranded at home, feeling sad and lonely.
Last year U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned of loneliness as a growing nationwide crisis, compelling authorities to enact policies to respond robustly and immediately.
“Loneliness is more than just a bad feeling – it impacts individual and societal health,” Murthy said in his advisory. “It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.
The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”
He recommended action to promote the “healing effects of social community.”
Like ‘manna from heaven’
That was four years after Got Wheels! had roared out of the gate on a one-year grant unanimously approved by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
Learning of the pilot program in July 2019 was “like getting manna from heaven,” Kildani described her appreciation to Inquirer.net USA for the first curb-to-curb transportation specifically for older adults in historically underserved North San Mateo County.
At that time, Tengco and her sister Lourdes frequented congregate luncheons subsidized by the County at Cafe Doelger in Westlake Park, one of Daly City’s five recreation centers. Older adults get to enjoy an affordable meal often with a special presentation by a communitybased organization to enlighten attendees on resources to keep them active and engaged.
“We got excited when the subject was affordable taxi service,” said the former secretary of the personnel office at SF Library. She never drove, she said, having been accustomed to the bus system in Manila and later in San Francisco, where she did earn a special driving permit. Owning a car was a luxury she did not feel she needed, and the on-demand taxi program sounded like a convenience she could not pass up. Finally she wouldn’t have to cope with stress headaches that came with her attempts to drive.
“I was starting to have all kinds of ailments and envisioned more difficulty down the road, so commuting began to pose a hindrance,” Tengco, who lives with her sister Lourdes, noted the appeal of the program. She was already taking cabs occasionally and welcomed the prospect of doing so at a fraction of the regular fare.
The timing was perfect.
Between her 2014 knee replacement and 2019 hip surgery, “it was excruciating to walk” to and from the bus stop, said Tengco, whose only daughter lives in San Francisco.
The program has been a “blessing,” she said, “drivers are pleasant.” Because rides are limited to six one-way rides (or three round trips) a month, members, as participants are called, plan ahead.
Tengco reserves her taxi rides for church service, the highlight of her week. “I make it a point to hear Mass on time,” she stressed, and takes the bus home to extend her number of rides. When her grandchildren visit, she takes advantage of the perk to take along two companions free of charge, provided they get on and off at the same time and place. For recreation and other activities, she’s contented to take the bus.
Kildani says she dedicates her rides to appointments at nearby Seton Medical Center. She likes the convenience of calling program partner provider Serra Yellow Cab anytime to pick her up within a half hour.
For long-distance destinations like her daughter’s home across the Bay, where she was preparing to go when Inquirer.net USA came for a visit, she takes Uber, unfazed by its tech process.
Expansion
Both Kildani and Tengco were elated in 2020 when they received announcement that Got Wheels! was expanding to nine more cities: Colma, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach and Montara, with service to San Francisco International Airport.
The program currently serves over 650 people between 70 and 101 years old. The only eligibility requirements are for participants to be 70 years old and live in the service area upon application.
A little over five years to date, Got Wheels! marked its anniversary at the site where it was introduced to the community. Daly City co-hosted the event at Cafe Doelger after awarding PFS a grant that allowed 20 members to sign up this fiscal year.
Kildani, Tengco and fellow members ages 70 to 96 got together to meet leaders of the organization and elected officials powering the program.
“We are grateful to the Board of Supervisors and Caltrans for supporting our efforts to provide mobility to older members of the community,” said Charles Hansen, PFS Chief Program Officer, as he urged attendees to visit www.pfso.org for said resources.
Guest of honor Supervisor David Canepa, who had proposed the initial grant to launch the pilot program, had more good news:
“I’m proud to say as a member of the Measure K subcommittee we have prioritized expanding the Got Wheels program and will be bringing forth a $600,000 funding request to the full Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks to ensure this very important lifeline for our older adults continues to thrive.”
“Mobility and transportation are so key to help our older adults connect, get out of the house where many are often isolated and dealing with loneliness,” he underscored a centerpiece agenda.
Mayor Juslyn Manalo commended PFS for its many programs in the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz for individuals and families to lead successful lives. Some 250 residents of Daly City alone enjoy mobility via Got Wheels!, majority of them Filipino Americans. Kildani and the Tengco sisters were among six singled out by Council Member Teresa Proano as pioneer members, modeling how to live longer with caring connections. (Cherie M. Querol Moreno/ Inquirer.net)
Vice President Kamala Harris
White House photo
SAFETY FIRST. Workers wear safety gears at a construction site in San Miguel, Manila on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Republic Act 11058 or the Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards ensures the rights of workers against occupational hazards resulting to injury, sickness or death.
PNA photo by Yancy Lim
OPINION FEATURES
Excessive entitlement
IT’S good to hear Sen. Ronald dela Rosa saying he is willing to be interviewed by prosecutors of the International Criminal Court. Although the former chief of the Philippine National Police maintained that he still did not recognize ICC jurisdiction, he said the ICC “can interview me anytime.”
“If they want to talk, I will answer their question,” Dela Rosa said last Friday, August 2, adding he would not show the ICC disrespect. What he intends to tell the ICC is unclear. Dela Rosa, as the first PNP chief during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, is said to be the architect of the brutal anti-drug crackdown codenamed Oplan Tokhang. If he would tell the whole truth about the war on drugs that led to the killing of over 6,000 drug suspects at the hands of law enforcers, it would be a major step toward justice. Dela Rosa issued the statements after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Philippine government would not stop the International Criminal Police Organization from enforcing an arrest order issued by the ICC for “suspects” in a case of murder as a crime against humanity in the conduct of Duterte’s drug war. The Philippines is one of 196 Interpol member states and is bound by its commitments to the world’s largest police organization, in case the ICC courses its arrest orders through the Interpol.
There are unconfirmed reports that upon ICC request, the Interpol has issued “blue notices” to member states for help in obtaining information from five drug war “suspects” – Dela Rosa, former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, PNP Drug Enforcement Group chief Brig. Gen. Eleazar Mata, retired police Col. Edilberto Leonardo who is now a commissioner of the National Police Commission, and Northern Luzon police commander Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., who was the Bulacan provincial director when 32 drug suspects were killed within just 24 hours in the province in 2017 in a “one-time, big time” anti-drug sweep. The ICC has reportedly tagged Leonardo as the paymaster for PNP members who killed drug suspects, with Caramat allegedly facilitating the reward of P10,000 per kill. If the allegations are true, it could help establish that the killings were state-sponsored and systematic. Will Dela Rosa and the others cooperate? They may want to help finally shed light on a dark period
DID you know that the Philippine government budgeted only P52 million to prepare, train and send our athletes to the Paris Olympics?
For that money, the Philippines so far has won two golds and possibly will win two bronzes, if not silvers (from boxing), during the 100th year anniversary of the Games in Paris where Manila is making its 23rd Olympics appearance.
On Aug. 3, Carlos Yulo won the gold in floor exercise, artistic gymnastics and on Aug. 4, his second gold, this time in men’s vault, artistic gymnastics.
With two Olympiad golds (each with six grams of pure gold, worth $1,027 plus a bit of Eiffel metal) by spending just P52 million, the cost per gold medal for the Philippines is only P26 million. Per capita with a population of 116 million, the Philippines has one Olympic gold for every 58 million Filipinos.
Well, not bad. India, with a population of 1.4 billion, so far has zero gold in Paris. In Tokyo, India won one gold, or one gold for every 1,400 million Indians.
With two gold medals, the Philippines ranks 21st out of 206 participating countries and territories, No. 5 out of 44 Asian countries, in the Paris Olympiad, in gold medal tally.
According to a University of the Philippines study years ago, up to 40 percent of the government’s annual budget or the General Appropriations Act (GAA) is stolen. The GAA in 2024 is P5,767.6 billion (P5.767 trillion), of which only P52 million went to the training and expedition of 22 Filipino athletes to Paris, or about P2.36 million per participant, including Yulo. In effect, for spending P2.36 million for Caloy, the Philippines got one gold for every P1.18 million.
If the 40 percent of the P5.767 trillion that is stolen (which may explain the massive floods that inundated Metro Manila and most of Luzon last July 23 and 24, 2024, because the government spends
more than P1 billion for every work day for flood control that cannot control floods; that is P2.3 trillion literally down the drain), were diverted to sports, we could possibly win hundreds of Olympic medals.
Divide P2.3 trillion by P26 million, that is 88,461 gold medals. Statistically, though, winning 88,461 gold medals is not possible. There are only 329 gold events in Paris. In Olympics, there are two proven ways to success – genes and money.
Some nationalities are predisposed to excel in sports. According to Randall Wilber of the US Olympics Committee and Yannis Pitsiladis of the University of Brighton, “since the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Kenyan and Ethiopian runners have dominated the middle- and long-distance events in athletics and have exhibited comparable dominance in international cross-country and road-racing competition.”
Among the factors for their excellence: 1) genetic predisposition, 2) development of a high maximal oxygen uptake as a result of extensive walking and running at an
early age, 3) relatively high hemoglobin and hematocrit, 4) development of good metabolic “economy/ efficiency” based on somatotype and lower limb characteristics, 5) favorable skeletal-muscle-fiber composition and oxidative enzyme profile, 6) traditional Kenyan/Ethiopian diet, 7) living and training at altitude and 8) motivation to achieve economic success.
The richer a country is in GDP, the higher are its chances of winning Olympics medals.
In the past 20 years of the Olympics, the winningest countries have been: 1) United States, 816 medals; 2) Russia 559; 3) China 535; 4) Germany 441; 5) Britain 321; 6) France 299; 7) Australia 281; 8) Japan 264; 9) Canada 257 and 10) Italy 253.
In nominal GDP, the richest countries are in US trillion dollars: 1) USA $27.36; 2) China $17.94; 3) Germany $4.45; 4) Japan $4.21; 5) India $3.55; 6) UK $3.34; 7) Italy
$2.25; 8) Brazil $2.17; 9) Canada $2.14 and 10) Russia $2.02.
Per Wikipedia, Russian medal winners have historically been gifted expensive premium cars valued at $50,000 to $200,000 and luxury
apartments valued at $500,000 to $1,000,000 in addition to separate payouts from national federations and regional governments. That tradition stretches back to the Soviet era.
Our Philippine Sports Commission has a P112-million budget for “amateur sports promotion and development.” PSC itself has a 2024 budget of P1.156 billion. Most of that money PSC spends for itself, its bureaucracy – P69 million in payroll, P782 million in maintenance and operations and P295 million in capital outlay. Each of our senators has an annual pork of P200 million or P1.2 billion in six years. The Senate donated P30 million to the Philippine athletes in Paris; of that money, P23 million came from just one senator, Risa Hontiveros. Some senators did not part with their pork.
I am sure when Caloy Yulo returns a hero in Manila, the Senate will allocate princely sums to honor him. Or maybe, pass a bill to erect a statue (bronze will do) in his honor in front of the spanking new P30-billion Senate building in Taguig. After all, gymnastics
is far more exciting and thrilling than the verbal calisthenics inside a Senate session hall, what with its six actors and two broadcasters as members.
With his unprecedented two golds, Yulo comes home a multi-millionaire. By law, the government awards a gold winner P10 million or P20 million for two golds. The House of Representatives has pledged P3 million per gold. Andrew Tan’s Megaworld will give a three-bedroom condo in Mckinley Hill worth P35 million. Meanwhile, in July 2023, Cynthia Carreon sent an effusive thank you note to Manuel V. Pangilinan for his total support for Philippine gymnastics and for being the first to respond to her call for funds to train Carlos in Japan. This week, that support paid off, handsomely, for the country and our people. (Philstar.com)
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
* * * Email: biznewsasia@gmail.com
APPARENTLY, there’s a huge payback for the Marcos Jr. administration after its magnanimous offer to the Americans last April to use five more Philippine military bases in addition to the previous four.
The United States can now set up their own military facilities – minibases, actually – inside nine Philippine locations, in accordance with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) of 2014.
They can install communication systems, store war equipment, ammunition, transport vehicles and supplies. American troops are to be stationed there on “rotational basis.” This effectively means U.S. troops will continually be present in the country in the coming years.
Presumably in appreciation of Marcos Jr.’s show of generosity, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in Manila on Tuesday, July 30 that the U.S. Congress would allocate an additional $500 million in military financing to the Philippines. They described the amount as part of an “unprecedented… once in a generation” U.S. investment in modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The nine EDCA sites are: Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan; Basa Air Base in Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City; MactanBenito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu; Camilo Osias Naval Base and Lallo Airport, both in Cagayan; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Isabela and Balabac Island in Palawan. Three of the new sites are in Northern Luzon – the Lal-lo Airport and the naval base in Cagayan and Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela – which are proximate to the Taiwan Strait, an arena of potential armed conflict between the U.S. and China. Marcos Jr. specifically cited the importance of Lal-lo Airport in the defense of Northern Luzon against “external threat” (subtly suggesting China). Through a series of four bilateral discussions, dubbed as 2+2 dialogues from April 30, 2012 to April 12, 2023, the Philippines has entered into multiple defense and security alliances with a growing number of countries –bilateral, trilateral, quadrilateral alliances that the U.S. is cobbling together to shore up its hold in the Indo-Pacific region. Over the decades, U.S. military financing purportedly to help modernize the AFP had typically been so minuscule as to make no impact in whatever aspect of the modernization program. Now let’s look more closely into the implications of these developments.
One may perceive that the EDCA arrangements practically circumvent the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s prohibition on the permanent presence of foreign military bases and troops in the country. This situation calls for a thorough re-examination.
After EDCA was signed in 2014 as an executive agreement between the Philippines and the U.S., its constitutionality was challenged before the Supreme Court by former Senators Wigberto Tanada and the late Rene Saguisag together with progressive organizations. The SC, by a 10-4 vote, however, upheld its constitutionality as an implementing agreement to the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
The EDCA was supposedly to be effective for an initial period of 10 years, and thereafter, it shall continue in force automatically unless terminated by either party by giving one year’s notice through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement.
In February 2016, De la Salle University professor Renato Cruz de Castro wrote that the SC ruling upholding the EDCA paved the way for “the return of forward-deployed U.S. forces to select Philippine military bases.”
Notably, he pointed out:
“The 10-year EDCA is considered a calculated effort by Manila and Washington to make the Philippines again a major staging base for
projecting U.S. naval and air power in the face of China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea.”
On the $500-million additional funding, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken explained that it’s intended to “boost security collaboration with our oldest treaty ally in this region, to strengthen the alliance.” The two countries’ armed forces, he added, are “working on more shared priorities in more places than ever before.” However, he did not provide any details.
It was Defense Secretary Austin who gave some details. He and Blinken, he said, are working with the U.S. Congress to allocate the $500 million to send a “clear message of support for the Philippines from the Biden administration [which ends its term this year], the U.S. Congress and the American people.”
The U.S. defense department intends to more than double its investments in EDCA sites across the Philippines, with Biden asking Congress to allocate more than $128 million this year to fund key EDCA projects. Besides the DND, Austin said, the USAID plans to pre-position disaster relief supplies in EDCA sites later this year.
For the nth time, Austin reiterated that the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty remains the “bedrock” of the U.S.-Philippine alliance and that it applies to armed attacks on either of the two countries’ armed forces, aircraft or public vessels anywhere
in the South China Sea. Way back in 2011, such assurance was first given by former U.S. President Barack Obama during his first official visit to the Philippines.
Local “uzi” noted that when Marcos Jr. welcomed Blinken and Austin to Malacañang on Tuesday, the three were all broadly smiling. Similarly, after a press conference following their 2+2 meeting, Blinken, Austin and their counterparts, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., put on happy faces as they joined hands for media photographers.
In welcoming the two Americans, Marcos Jr. remarked: “I’m always very happy that
these communication lines [between the treaty allies] are very open so that all the things that we are doing together, in terms of our alliance, […] the specific context of our situation here in the West Philippine Sea and in the Indo-Pacific, are continuously examined and re-examined so we are agile in […] our responses.”
The primordial consideration, of course, is how all these developments affect the lives and future of the Filipino people. (Philstar.com)
* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
ManilaTimes.net photo
in Philippine law enforcement. It could bring not only spiritual redemption, but also a better legal deal for those who are directly responsible for murder as a crime against humanity. (Philstar.com)
ALLIES. United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (from left) hold a press conference after convening the 2+2 ministerial meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
Marcos on Yulo’s win: ‘We’ve witnessed history’
by JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, MELVIN GASCON Inquirer.net
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and lawmakers paid tribute to Carlos Edriel Yulo for winning the country’s second gold and the first gymnastics medal in the Olympics on Saturday, August 3.
“We’ve witnessed history as Carlos Yulo clinched the Philippines’ first gold medal in artistic gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Olympics,” the president said in a Facebook post. “I am confident that it will not be the last.”
On Sunday, August 4, the president was all out in expressing his delight over Yulo’s victory.
“Congratulations, Caloy! The entire country stands proud with you!” he said.
The first lady also took to social media to congratulate Yulo.
“Got goosebumps as ‘Lupang Hinirang’ played at the arena! We are so proud of you!” she said, referring to the national anthem which was played during the men’s artistic gymnastics medal ceremony.
Yulo, 24, perfectly executed his routine, ending with a sure-footed landing to score 15.000 points.
He said earlier that he was “shooting for the stars” in Paris. But his acrobatic and technically difficult routine proved a hit.
“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m feeling grateful for having this medal and for God,” said Yulo, who competed in the vault final as of this writing. “He gave me the strength to get through this kind of
performance and perform this well.”
Cash awards, pledges
Speaker Martin Romualdez on Sunday, August 4 hailed Yulo as a “sports hero” and “national treasure” whose victory “symbolizes the indomitable spirit and resilience of the Filipino people.”
Romualdez said the House of Representatives will give Yulo P3 million, as pledged by the speaker’s fellow lawmakers, and also confer on him a congressional medal.
“Caloy has earned this reward through sheer hard work and unmatched talent. This incentive is a testament to our unwavering support for Filipino athletes who strive for greatness on the global stage,” Romualdez said.
Yulo is also due to receive from the Philippine Sports Commission a P10 million incentive, in accordance with Republic Act No. 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal of Valor.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino had also pledged to reward each Olympic winner with a house and lot.
From the private sector, property developer Megaworld Corp. said it would award Yulo a fully furnished two-bedroom unit worth P24 million in McKinley Hill, Taguig City.
Other pledges as of this writing include P100,000 worth of furniture from Apollo Home Depot in Cagayan de Oro and a lifetime of free food from several restaurants including Vikings and Tipsy Pig, among others.
DOJ places Harry Roque, 11 others on lookout travel list
MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday, August 6 it has placed a dozen individuals led by former presidential spokesperson Herminio “Harry” Roque Jr. in the government’s lookout bulletin order (LBO).
“We can confirm that an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order has been issued by the Department of Justice to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). May 12 po na pangalan doon (There are 12 names there). Ibig sabihin po ‘yung 12 na individuals na ‘yun ay mamo-monitor ‘yung outbound and inbound travel ho nila (It means those individuals’ outbound and inbound travel will be monitored),” DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano told reporters.
“Hindi ito nakaka-restrict sa right o karapatan mag-travel pero patitimbrehan lang po ang Immigration at ang DOJ kung lumabas o pumasok sila sa bansa (This does not restrict their right to travel, but it means the BI and the DOJ are immediately informed if they leave or arrive in the country).”
He said an LBO is issued
Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
when an individual undergoing investigation is considered a flight risk, and authorities need to keep tabs on his or her whereabouts.
Clavano said the LBO was issued against Roque and the other respondents after preliminary information showed that another person being investigated for links in Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGO) syndicates, Sandra Li Ong, has managed to slip out of the country. Aside from Roque and Ong, also in the LBO are Xiang Tan, Jing Gu, Stephanie B. Mascareñas, Michael
Bryce B. Mascareñas, Zhang Jie, Duanren Wu, Raymund Calleon G. Co, Randel Calleon G. Co, Dennis L. Cunanan, and Han Gao.
“A precautionary hold departure order will likewise be filed at the Office of the Executive Judge pending preliminary investigation,” the memorandum for BI Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco from Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla stated. Roque, meanwhile, denied planning to flee the country, saying he would face any charges regarding his alleged links to POGOs. (PNA)
PNA file photo
THE ASIAN JOURNAL MAGAZINE
IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Friday, August 9 , 2024
Liza Soberano has same acting coach as Johnny Depp and Meg Ryan
by MJ MARFORI Philstar.com
AND just like that, she’s back in Hollywood as we speak.
But midway through this week, we had a quick sit down with Liza Soberano at her BYS endorsement event in Taguig alongside Niana Guerrero.
Liza looked more relaxed, comfortable, and eager to share what she has been up to since major things have been going her way since the last time we saw her last summer.
“I have a pretty big announcement coming soon at the end of the year. I will say that I have one series, one reality show, and one movie that I’m working on right now,” she said.
I know fans have been eagerly waiting for her next big screen role after her impactful portrayal as Taffy in “Lisa Frankenstein,” and she is, too.
“I’ve been very, very busy, but I’m actually so excited to get back into actual filming work,” she shared.
What I can tell you is, we all know Hollywood is no easy journey and Liza has been making sure that she is planting the right seeds to be in the industry for the long haul. Patience, strategy and persistence are what Liza is showing. Landing the next big project is not a walk in the park, but she soldiers on.
“I’ve been taking in also a lot of auditions,” she said.
As she should! Liza said that she is not stopping with her plans to represent the country in Tinseltown.
My P.E.P. (People, Events,Places)
ROGELIO CONSTANTINO
RANDY Santiago, OPM’s one and only EyeCon dubbed as Mr. Private Eyes, had an engaging performance on August 3 at Bar 360 in Newport World Resorts (NWR), with the Serenity band. Recently, his son Raiko, or Rainier Nikolo Lorenzo Coronel Santiago, graduated with Honorable Mention and Loyalty Award from De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde.
He said, “So proud of this hardworking son of ours who works for me as production and tour manager of Private Eyes and still managed to study online especially during the pandemic... He managed his time between working and studying online while we were doing the Eye Labyu U.S. Tour... He did very well as we flew back and forth from East Coast to West Coast. So much pressure including time difference,” said Randy, who was my classmate at De La Salle University-Manila.
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I was a guest recently in The Voice of Senior Citizens at DZME
TV Cable Link Channel 5 and
teacher to have worked with legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner. He was in the last class to work with Meisner before Meisner’s death in 1997. So, Liza is learning the Meisner approach, wherein actors do not focus on themselves and instead concentrate on the other actors in the immediate environment. It is one of the most prevalent techniques in Hollywood today.
What is more significant about Liza’s acting school is that she is also working with the same acting coach as Johnny Depp, Jessica Lange, Meg Ryan, and Mickey Rourke. Okay, Liza! Good move! We see where this one is going.
Given that Liza has been around and has deep roots in the Philippine scene, she said that all that she is doing is for her Filipino fans, “Like with anything, I have been hands-on. I’ve been setting up businesses in L.A. and my production company.”
Like the creative that she is, Liza has been collaborating with international producers.
The Lettermen returns to Bay Area with new, entertainment numbers
One-night performance set for October 5 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, CA
AN avid fan of the world-famous trio, The Lettermen would readily agree that there’s probably no other singing group today that could harmonize songs in a soft, romantic, and crystal-clear blend like they do. This unique brand of performance and entertainment is so distinct to them, that they remain popular with their loyal audience today as it was in 1961 when they recorded their first hit, “The Way You Look Tonight.”
interview.
Right now, Liza is sharpening her skills in acting, learning from the 12-time Best Acting Coach in the business.
“I’ve been taking acting classes. I’ve been very busy with that, and I’m taking that four times a week with this amazing acting coach named Alex Taylor.”
Wow! The Taylor Studio of Alex Taylor is actually one of the top five acting schools in Hollywood. According to his profile, Alex is the youngest acting
“I am the Philippine producer, but I am also working with people from L.A. and people from Korea,” said she.
Another major life update, too, is that finally, Liza has already moved into her own apartment in Los Angeles. We even played around with the idea of an apartment tour, to which she made the most sensible reply. Hindi ko alam! Nakakatakot mag-apartment tour doon, buti kung dito sa Pinas ! Okay lang sa Pinas kasi safe baka may kidnapper na pumasok kapag doon! hahahaha!”
While newer members over the years have replaced the original ones, the current set of consummate recording artists and entertainers Donovan Tea, Bobby Poynton, and Rob Gulack have carried on the torch of “Lettermenizing” a song – taking a current song of the day and putting their 3-part harmony to it. And while these songs get recorded as an album, it’s the showmen in The Lettermen that captivates and leaves audiences from all over entertained and wanting for more. Each time The Lettermen returns to perform, not only do they satisfy with their classic repertoire, they also offer newer “Lettermenized” songs among which include the “Sugar Medley,” “Happy,” “Never Enough,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Over the Rainbow.”
“It doesn’t matter if we are in a 4,000-capacity venue or a 200-seater club, we treat every show the same way, always giving our best performance to the audience,” said Tea in a recent
Randy Santiago to perform
“We have beautiful, romantic ballads ready to be sung but what we make sure is that we give them a thoroughly entertaining show they will never forget. We do solo numbers, inject wholesome humor, take time to interact and know our audience, we do what helps ensure that they experience a great show. It makes us happy when we see them laugh, cry happy tears, and express joy as we sing for them,” Tea happily related. (Hint: Those who want their favorite “Lettermenized song” performed can make a request at thelettermen.com.)
Tea was quick in talking about The Lettermen’s fondness and deep appreciation for the Filipino audience. “We are inspired whenever we see Filipinos in the audience or when we are performing in the Philippines. They are always appreciative and gracious especially when we sing ‘Dahil Sa Iyo,’” Tea continued, referring to the classic Filipino love song that they recorded and first sang years ago at their sold-out concert at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We would love to be invited to be back in the Philippines and be able to perform our newer songs,” he added. “Whether it’s in Menlo Park or the Philippines, we would love our Pinoy guests to bring us some Tanduay ESQ for Rob (Gulack), chicken adobo for Bobby (Poynton) and balut and pancit for me.”
Having been performing for The Lettermen for about 40 years now,
at NWR’s Bar
Tea has experienced probably just about every high and low and the unexpected twist and turns on the way and onstage to their next performance venue.
“Travel plans don’t go as planned. Flights get cancelled, delays happen on the road, sometimes we hardly had any sleep but we always pull out all the stops to make it on stage, even sometimes on photo finish because the show must go on. We do all we can to make it happen, Tea said.
He gives full credit to their sound man Bruce Galloway and their band who have been reliable all these years, making sure that whatever happens, they have the music arrangements in place and the perfect sound needed for live performance. “The best compliment we get from the audience is that we sound exactly just like our recording. Well, we are as good as our soundman and the excellent work that Bruce has consistently made for us is the biggest reason for that.”
Speaking for the rest of The Lettermen, Tea expresses gratitude over the fact that even after so many years, people still want to hear their songs and watch them perform. “In every show that we do, the audience will let you know how much they love you, moment to moment, song to song and that is what keeps our passion and excitement. We love what we do, and we are really blessed that we do this for a living.” (Advertising Supplement)
360; Philstagers’ musical version of ‘Juan Luna’ coming soon
DZME 1530 AM Band from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., with Congressman Godofredo Arquiza, Sure Manuel and director Raymard Gutierrez, assessing the situation of senior citizens in the Philippines.
* * * Singer Louie Heredia, known for his phenomenal song “Nagiisang Ikaw,” reminisced to me that: “My bosses at Vicor Music Corp. wanted me to sing Tagalog songs because they felt that I would be able to reach to the masses, or ordinary people, more if I sang Tagalog songs. So they gave me Nag-iisang Ikaw, composed and tailormade by one of the country’s top composers Vehnee Saturno. At first I did not want to sing this song since I found it so ‘baduy’ (in poor taste). It was then not my style but an insider in Vicor told me that if I did not record the song, they would release me from my contract with them. So, I had no choice but to record the song.” Louie took up business management at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California and graduated cum laude in 1987.
“Vehnee Saturno, aside from
being the composer of the song, was also assigned to be the producer of the song. He guided me every inch of the way during the recording of Nagiisang Ikaw, and I guess we did everything right since the song gave me a Double Platinum Record Award and this is the same song that made Louie Heredia,” he added.
To this date, many other top performers have revived Nagiisang Ikaw.
* * * Congrats to the winners of the PSF (Philippine Stagers Foundation) Theater Festival 2024 Thumbs Up Awards as well as to the PSF Workshop and Masterclass Batch 2024 graduates.
The PSF, or Philstagers, the national mobile theater company in the Philippines, announces the biggest, grandest and most spectacular All-Original Filipino Musical based on the life story of the misunderstood and highly questionable character of a national hero, Juan Luna. Written and directed by Atty. Vince Tañada, the musical brings
us to late 1800s Manila and Europe up to the death of Luna in Hong Kong. The avant-garde, neo-cinematic musical is billed as “Juan Luna, Isang Sarsuela” – a lavish, most expensive and highly technical stage piece but maintaining its classical and elegant literary masterpiece and musicality.
The musical will run from August 2024 to April 2025 in various theaters all over the Philippines, true to the vision and mission of the theater company in bringing quality theater to the masses and in turn educating its audience on Philippine history, culture, tradition, patriotism and national identity.
* * * Congrats to Mabalacat City College (MCC) of Mabalacat City, Pampanga for being praised by Pres. Bongbong Marcos in SONA 2024. MCC was bestowed a prestigious award as Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year by Times Higher Education in United Kingdom.
It is headed by MCC president Dr. Michelle Aguilar-Ong, also a former producer of films directed by multi-awarded Kapampangan director Carlo Enciso Catu. She is the former TV host of a weekly public affairs program on GNNTV 44 in Pampanga.
* * * Zumba instructors joined together in Quezon City Memorial Circle to show their concern for the environment. Among them were Maricris Wee, Mike, Winston, James, Aris and Jason of Live Love Party (LLP) Crew; Jenito, Camper and Gilbert of South Vibes Est. 2020;
Charly Esquejo and Jayz Blanco of TML; Mark and Che of MNL Crew Est. 2018; Lhou and Ace of Lou & Ace Fitness Group; and Erwin Mendana of AE5. It is spearheaded by One Movement Inc. headed by chairman Marlon Mendoza, with the support of former Eat Bulaga and Solid Gold dancer Emily Samson. Singer Imelda Papin, with her daughter Maffi and her sister Aileen, attended this worthy cause.
* * * First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos attended recently the GMA Gala 2024, and she was seen with GMA Films president Annette Gozon-Valdes and actor Shintaro Valdes, a fellow La Sallite. Meanwhile, on August 10, some young talents from Sparkle GMA Artist Center will be recognized as Philippine Empowered Youth 2024 at Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan City.
* * * Dr. Fernando
De
Liza Soberano is sharpening her skills in acting by learning from the 12-time Best Acting Coach in the business, Alex Taylor. The Taylor Studio is actually one of the Top 5 acting schools in Hollywood. Liza is studying the Sanford Meisner approach, wherein actors do not focus on themselves and instead concentrate on the other actors in the immediate environment.
Photo from Instagram/@lizasoberano
Randy Santiago with his son Raiko during the latter’s graduation in P.I.C.C. Manila. Photos courtesy of Rogelio C. Medina
MCC president Michelle Ong with Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero during the recent U.S. Independence Day reception in Fairmont, Makati. Louie Heredia gives moral support to current Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos attends the GMA GALA 2024. With her in the photo are
Annette Gozon-Valdes and Shintaro Valdes.
Dr. Fernando de la Pena (right) with his dad Paquito Diaz in a photo from 2003. OMI chairman Marlon Mendoza (middle) with friends.
Singer Maffi Papin Carrion (3rd from left) with OMI’s Emily Samson (extreme left) and friends.
Among the young Sparkle GMA Artists to be recognized are as follows: James Graham, Charlie Fleming, Zyren dela Cruz, Waynona Collings, Travis Clarino, Shane Sava, Selina Griffin, Princess Aliyah, Patricia Coma, Mark Oliveros, Liezel Lopez, Liana Mae, Lee Victor, Kimson Tan, Keisha Serna, Kaloy Tingcungco, Josh Ford, Jade Tecson, Hannah Arguelles, Gaea Mischa, Brent Valdez, and Aya Domingo.
dela Pena, a California-based dentist, is the eldest son of the late actor Paquito Diaz and 1969 FAMAS Best Supporting Actress Eva Darren.
Dr.
la Pena finished college at Centro Escolar UniversityCollege of Dentistry in Manila in 1992. Afterwards, he went to the U.S. His younger brother actor Joko Diaz and sister actress PAGE 10
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SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific
Gas and Electric (PG&E) in collaboration with the Philippine American Press Club USA (PAPC) will hold a special webinar on Wildfire Safety and Prevention in Taglish on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 4 p.m.
Now on its 5th year of partnership with the press club, PG&E wishes to reach as many multicultural communities to help ensure their preparedness and safety during wildfire season, which seems to be getting longer. PAPC USA invites kababayans to a virtual town hall to share the latest updates on wildfire prevention work, and safety resources for all including those with Medical needs or disabilities before, during and after a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
efficient. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. All Tagalog/English speaking customers in Northern California are invited to attend the webinar which will be in Taglish. The event can be accessed through the link below, by phone, or through PG&E’s website, pge.com/ webinars.
During the webinar, PG&E safety experts will be on hand to further explain the progress that has been made or being made to make their service reliable and
Here are the webinar details: • Zoom link: bit.ly/ KaligtasanSaWildfirePGE PAGE 11
Sharon Cuneta Johnny Yip
Over 20 communities become first to earn new Clean California designation
AFTER three years of the state’s highly successful Clean California initiative — which has created 18,000 jobs and hauled away more than 2.6 million cubic yards of litter across the state — California is launching a new designation program to reward communities for committing to zero-litter policies and regular local cleanups.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of the Clean California Community Designation Program, a statewide effort encouraging local engagement to make communities cleaner, safer, and more sustainable.
The innovative program – in partnership with Caltrans, Keep America Beautiful, and Keep California Beautiful – is the latest feature of Clean California, Governor Newsom’s sweeping $1.2 billion, multiyear initiative led by Caltrans to clean up, reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces.
The Newsom Administration joined the City of Fresno today to launch the program and designate Fresno as one of 22 California communities first to take the pledge.
“For the past three years, Clean California has transformed littered areas around our state into cleaner, greener, and safer spaces. Now, more than twenty communities are stepping up and committing to do the same – becoming our state’s first Clean California Communities. We all deserve to be proud of the neighborhoods we live in, and with this program, we’re making that a reality for more Californians than ever,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.
Governor Newsom marked three years of Clean California earlier this week. The Clean California program has created
18,000 jobs and hauled away more than 2.6 million cubic yards of litter – enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with an inch of trash from San Diego to the Canadian border.
The Clean California Community Designation Program highlights localities committed to a number of long-term, zero-litter policies designed to engage residents in supporting community beautification and environmental enhancement. Each municipality must complete 10 of 15 specific criteria to earn the designation. So far, 22 communities have taken this first step.
“Today, we celebrated the first communities pledging to earn the Clean California Community designation and encourage others from across the state to join,” said Caltrans Deputy Director Mike Keever during the cleanup in Fresno.
“The designation spotlights communities that are zerolitter leaders with a vision for a better tomorrow. These leaders understand the long-term
benefits to clean communities, and we applaud them for their efforts.”
Clean California Designation Program criteria include a commitment from top local officials, a litter abatement plan, regular local cleanups and litter collection drives, establishing measurements tracking litter removal, and engaging local stakeholders and businesses.
In return, designated communities receive “Clean California Community” signage, educational resources, free cleanup kits, cross-promotional Clean California materials, and priority access to Keep America Beautiful national grant opportunities. The program’s goal is to enlist 100 communities by June 2025. For more information or an application for the Clean California Designation Program, visit cleanca.com/designation. For other ways to help clean up your own community or to list a cleanup event, visit the volunteer page at cleanca.com/ volunteer.
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Wildfire prevention webinar focused on...
• Attendee Dial-In: 1-312-6266799
• Conference ID: 844 9707 2353
• Passcode: Mabuhay
During the webinar event, customers can: Learn about wildfire safety improvements; hear about resources available to support them; and connect with PG&E experts.
Moderator for this Taglish webinar is Regina Venzon, Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer. Vinzon is a graduate of Cambridge University School of Law. She is also an alumna of the University of the Philippines. She was born and raised in the Philippines and lived in Sydney, Australia for 15 years before
moving to California in December 2019. She will be joined by Fiona Chan, Senior Director, Project Management Office at PG&E, and her team.
PAPC Chair, Esther Misa Chavez, Managing Director, Easterworks Media, and Joseph Peralta, President of PAPC, and Vice President and General Manager for the Northern California Bureau of Asian Journal Publications, will be co-presenters. For more information and resources to help you and your family prepare for and stay safe in the event of an emergency can be found at www.pge.com/cwsp. The website has 15 languages viewers can choose from including Tagalog.
Established in 1988, PAPC was founded by former members of the National Press Club of the Philippines who had immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area and saw the need for a U.S.-based Filipino American media group. All fierce advocates for truth, fairness, and excellence in journalism, they realized the vital role of media education and advocacy for the fast-growing Filipino population. They represent a small but influential set of local Filipino publications and broadcasters such as ABS-CBN, Asian Journal, Philippines News Today, GMA7, Inquirer.net, Phil-Am Post, and Positively Filipino, Radiant View, and Easterworks Media. (Advertising Supplement)
Gayle’s inspiring journey to a new life...
Left to fend for herself, Gayle took caregiving jobs, eventually finding a supportive Italian family who treated her as one of their own. Though the elderly parents she cared for passed away, their son Ernie continued to support Gayle.
Facing insurmountable obstacles to obtaining permanent residency, Gayle sought the help of leading U.S. Immigration Attorney
Michael J. Gurfinkel after seeing an announcement on TFC for inperson consultations in Chicago. Atty. Gurfinkel provided hope by advising Gayle on pursuing her husband’s original petition despite his abandonment. Through Atty. Gurfinkel’s dedicated efforts, Gayle's adjustment of status as the spouse of a U.S. citizen was
approved eventually, and she received her green card, ensuring a stable and promising future for her and Sofia.
Watch this success story on a brand-new episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday, August 11 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET) through select Cable/Satellite providers, right after TV Patrol Linggo. Citizen Pinoy is also available on iWantTFC. Viewers may download the free app. (Advertising Supplement)
Sky River Casino launches million-dollar ‘Twice as Nice’ anniversary celebration
ELK GROVE – Sky River Casino is set to dazzle guests with its $1,000,000 “Twice as Nice” Anniversary Celebration, marking two years of premier entertainment and gaming excellence in Elk Grove. This August, Sky River Rewards members are invited to participate in a month-long extravaganza with life-changing prizes up for grabs every week.
The celebration kicks off with weekly Saturday drawings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. throughout August. Members can earn entries daily by enjoying their favorite slots and table games, with the added bonus of one free daily entry available at promotional kiosks. To sweeten the deal, Sky River Casino is offering 100 bonus entries every Monday and Tuesday, significantly boosting members' chances of winning.
The highlight of each Saturday night arrives at 10 p.m. when three lucky guests will take the stage for a thrilling game, guaranteeing one fortunate Sky River Rewards member the “Twice as Nice” Grand Prize –an impressive $50,000 in cash paired with $50,000 in free play!
Adding to the excitement, Sky River Casino continues its $120,000 Weekly Blackjack Tournament every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Blackjack enthusiasts can compete for a share of $10,000 in prizes, with a guaranteed top prize of $5,000 in promotional chips each week.
The first entry is free for all Sky River Rewards members, with unlimited $50 re-buys available for those looking to increase their chances.
Sky River Casino celebrates its second anniversary with even more exciting promotions to express gratitude to all its guests.
The “2Cool Gift Giveaway” runs every Thursday or Friday from p.m. to 10 p.m., offering members who earn 500 Tier Credits the chance to collect cool summer essentials like a 34-can cooler backpack, desktop mini-fridge, and a Sealy desktop fan.
Sunday gets even better with “Double Up Tier Credit Days,” where members earn 2X Tier Credits on gaming and dining from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For slot
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Cheska Diaz and other siblings often visit him there.
“My best memories of my dad was when he came to see me on my birthday. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to see me,” he said.
Dr. de la Pena’s practice’s website (De La Pena Dental Group) is www.losangelesdentist. la, while the school website of Los Angeles School of Dental Assisting is www.losangelesdentalassistant. com and is located along Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
Dr. Fernando is named after Fernando Poe Jr., his dad’s bosom friend. He also writes articles about the Philippine Dental Association.
* * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints
OJ Arci with Lance Cabradilla (left) and John Kenette Intano (right) in Philstagers’ “I Didith Show.”
Clean California Community Partner, Hmong Youth & Parents United, in Sacramento
From left: Ray Gutierrez, Sure Manuel, Cong. Fred Arquiza and Rogelio Medina.
