A YOUNG Thai American bartender, who was pepper-sprayed as suspects yelled “Go back to your country,” believes she was victimized twice: once during the attack, and then again at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, which refused to charge the incident as a hate crime. Kunni, the victim, has a video of the incident, which occurred during a late night shift at the bar she works in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. She has presented prosecutors with the video, along with witness statements which indicate a racially-motivated attack.
But, she said, prosecutors ignored both, saying there was insufficient evidence to charge a hate crime. Kunni requested a jury trial, but, she said, the District Attorney’s office discouraged her from that as well. Her attacker was arrested, but bailed out and is now free without charges. She lives in the neighborhood in which Kunni lives with her daughter, but no restraining order has been granted.
“I still have PTSD and panic attacks. I go to the psychiatrist every Wednesday
The new COVID vaccine is out. Why you might not want to rush to get it.
THE FDA has approved an updated COVID shot for everyone 6 months old and up, which renews a now-annual quandary for Americans: Get the shot now, with the latest COVID outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave?
The new vaccine should provide some protection to everyone. But many healthy people who have already been vaccinated or have immunity because they’ve been exposed to COVID enough times may want to wait a few months.
COVID has become commonplace. For some, it’s a minor illness with few symptoms. Others are laid up with fever, cough, and fatigue for days or weeks. A much smaller group — mostly older or chronically ill people — suffer hospitalization or death.
It’s important for those in high-risk groups to get vaccinated, but vaccine protection wanes after a few months. Those who run to get the new vaccine may be more likely to fall ill this winter when the next wave hits, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease
Defense (DND)'s proposed 2.239-billion budget for 2025 on Thursday, August 29. This comes after the National Maritime Council on Wednesday, August 28 echoed the DND's call to review the treaty, with council spokesperson Alexander Lopez saying the "strategic landscape" has significantly changed since the treaty was signed.
Teodoro first bared that there are ongoing conversations to broaden interpretation of the treaty on Tuesday, August 27, when he stressed the need for a "more dynamic" agreement in the face of China's growing aggression in the South China Sea, parts of which are referred to as the West Philippine Sea.
For Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women's Party), talk of expanding the treaty is concerning as it would u PAGE A2
BEIJING — China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday, August 28 warned visiting U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan over supporting the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, state media reported.
"The United States must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the Philippines's actions of infringement," Wang told Sullivan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Sullivan landed in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, August 27 for a three-day trip, saying on arrival he looked forward to "a
very productive round of conversations" with foreign minister Wang.
Washington's allies Japan and the Philippines have blamed China in the past week for raising regional tensions, with Tokyo accusing Beijing of violating its airspace and Manila calling it the "biggest disrupter" of peace in Southeast Asia.
According to CCTV, Wang emphasised to Sullivan that "China is firmly committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over the South China Sea islands."
Sullivan and Wang have met five times
HOUSE Minority Leader and 4P's Partylist Rep. Marcelino Libanan said Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa should come forward and reveal the truth of his involvement in the bloody war on drugs during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
During Wednesday's (Ausgust 28) hearing of the House Quad Committee — Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts — LtCol. Jovie Espenido tagged dela Rosa as a major character in Duterte's drug war that killed more than 6,000 individuals.
"Senator Dela Rosa, what we're asking for is quite simple — be honest to the people and to God. The truth has a way of coming out, no matter how much we try to hide it.
It is better to face it now with honesty," Libanan said in a statement.
He added that being truthful is a fundamental value not just for public servants but for all individuals who aim to serve with integrity.
He commended Espenido for speaking the truth despite the risks involved.
"Espenido's bravery is an example of one's love for truth and country," Libanan said.
"Senator, it's not yet too late to admit your fault and repent. The path to redemption is always open for those willing to walk it," he added.
Meanwhile, Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores said the House Quad Committee was helping the Philippine National Police (PNP) "clean its house"
MANILA— President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, August 27 said that there is no overkill or excessive use of force in the police operation to serve the warrant of arrest against fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy.
Marcos said that the number of policemen involved in the raid was justified considering that the Quiboloy-owned Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound spanned 30 hectares.
“You can't do this with just
a dozen police officers... for something like inspecting 30 hectares, you need a lot of people,” Marcos said in Filipino in an interview with the members of the press.
On Saturday, August 24, the Philippine National Police Regional Office 11 served the arrest warrant inside the KOJC compound and searched for the fugitive preacher for abuse and trafficking charges. The police command utilized 2,000 of its personnel and entered the compound which also resulted
SENATE HONORS DE VENECIA. The Senate adopts a resolution commending and honoring former House of Representatives Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. (center) for his illustrious career and invaluable contributions to the country, at the Senate in Pasay City on Wednesday, August 28. De Venecia served as House Speaker from 1992 to 1998 and 2001 to 2008. Full story on Page A5. PNA photo by Avito Dalan
Philippines calls for increased...
in enforcing and upholding rulesbased international order, norms of international law’ and do not let the Philippines be a victim for standing up to international law,” he said.
He emphasized that the Philippines is not merely upholding its own sovereignty and sovereign rights, but is a test case for the agreed-upon interpretations of the civilized world of what international law is, particularly the law of the sea.
“I’d like to carry on from the statement of Ambassador Carlson, that the venue of this conference was both deliberate and significant. Indeed, the Philippines is at the forefront of upholding international law in this side of the world,” the
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8/31/24 CNS-3844218# ASIAN
defense chief added, reiterating the U.S. envoy’s statement that the Philippines plays a central role in the Indo-Pacific region.
Teodoro noted that nations should adhere to the tenets of international law, especially the United Nations Charter, amid regional security challenges.
“Let’s go back to the foundation that is Article 4 of the UN Charter, which does not allow any state to use force or threaten, even the word ‘threaten to use force,’ in asserting its territorial claims. That is foundational in a charter which was made post World War II,” he stressed.
“The repeated transgressions – and I’m not afraid to name them – by China to test how a body of law freely agreed upon, signed by even them, can be shaped or remolded into what they think is their version of international law. And surely, the nexus is shaping a version for their own insular interests, which means it’s a zero-sum game. Their game, the world’s loss,” he added.
Attended by representatives from about 29 countries, the 35th MILOPS is a four-day conference which provides an opportunity for participants to discuss the important aspects of international law, military cooperation and the importance of the rules-based international order to a free and open IndoPacific.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the event, held at the Rigodon Hall
of the Manila Hotel, brings together senior military leaders, government officials, legal advisors and leading academics from various nations across the Indo-Pacific region.
The conference serves as a vital platform for discussing key aspects of international law, military cooperation and the significance of a rules-based international order.
The AFP said the conference is part of the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board meeting activities, underscoring the ongoing commitment of the Philippines and the U.S. to strengthen defense ties and uphold the principles of international law in the Indo-Pacific region.
“It is important to highlight the significance of our mutual engagements in regional and multilateral fora, which amplify the voices of both large and small nations alike. By uniting and working together under the common principles of equity, justice and the rule of law, we can ensure peace and prosperity for future generations,” AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said. Brawner also underscored the importance of building awareness, harnessing support and reinforcing the commitment of Filipinos on matters of Philippine territory, sovereignty and sovereign rights. –
(With reports from Michael Punongbayan, AFP, Ghio Ong, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero)
No new EDCA sites being eyed...
"only serve to entangle the Philippines further into the geopolitical ambitions of the United States, compromising our national sovereignty."
The lawmaker sought Teodoro's reassurance that the treaty would not give U.S. troops access to more military bases in the Philippines through additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
"No... This does not entail additional EDCA sites because we are sticking to the nine facilities," the DND chief said.
"It entails perhaps more interoperable measures to address China's creative and varied tactics on a defense-todefense level," he added.
Teodoro said while there are no specifics yet, he sees the need to make the interpretation of the treaty more dynamic to respond to threats that the Philippines "may not even foresee," such as cyber threats.
Currently, China is able to do "what we know supposedly as illegal but legally," such as the deployment of maritime militia vessels and Coast Guard vessels, the DND chief said. This requires
the country to tap its allies and partners. Brosas said that the treaties forged by the government should not "drag us into war" — a statement Teodoro agreed with.
"I think that is the same concern. However, we have to point out that the aggressor here is only one actor. That's why I said China is the greatest disruptor of peace in the West Philippine Sea," the DND chief said.
The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the U.S. while the Visiting Forces Agreement and EDCA allow American troops
to come to the Philippines for joint training and for technical support.
In April 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allowed the U.S. access to four more Philippine military bases under EDCA, bringing the total count to nine.
Critics, including the Makabayan bloc and rights group Karapatan, believe the expanded presence of American soldiers in the Philippines leaves Filipino women and LGBQTIA+ persons vulnerable to sexual violence by U.S. soldiers. n
No human rights violations in Quiboloy...
in the rescue of two individuals who were allegedly trafficking victims.
The PNP also discovered multiple heartbeats through its equipment in a supposed bunker inside the KOJC compound where they believe Quiboloy is hiding.
Marcos said the police operated within its boundaries and did not commit any human rights violations, contrary to the claims of Quiboloy’s supporters.
"Are there human rights violations if there are several cops? I don't think so," Marcos said in mix English and Filipino.
“All the police officers who entered were unarmed. Not a single one had a gun... we didn’t use tear gas either.,” he also said in Filipino. On Tuesday, the Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 15 issued a temporary protection order on KOJC and Jose Maria College Foundation Inc., ordering the police to remove the barriers, blockades and barricades that bar access to the compound. Quiboloy has been at large since April 2024 after being charged for child and sexual abuse. He also has a warrant for qualified trafficking in persons issued by a court in Pasig City.
Aside from local courts, Quiboloy also has remaining warrants in the United States for bulk cash smuggling, trafficking and sex trafficking. n
China’s Wang warns US official over...
over the past year-and-a-half — in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok, as well as alongside
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a November 2023 summit in California. (ManilaTimes.net)
Dela Rosa told: Bare truth on drug...
and identify corrupt policemen involved in extrajudicial killings during Duterte's drug war.
"The Quadcom hearing is a congressional investigation that
will result in criminal charges, administrative dismissals, and convictions. We are doing this methodically so that the charges will stand in court," Flores said, noting there could be a
"few thousand" corrupt police officers in active duty based on the number of cases the PNP Internal Affairs Service and the Department of Justice were investigating. n
Community college students urged to secure financial aid by Sept. 3
Students must complete FAFSA/CADAA by Cal Grant September 3 deadline to maximize amounts
SACRAMENTO — The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the California Student Aid Commission urge community college students to submit their financial aid application by the Sept. 3 deadline to get the most aid available for the 2024-25 academic year.
With hundreds of millions of dollars in debt-free financial aid left on the table each year – that can be used to pay for tuition, fees, books, transportation, childcare, rent, and more – many students can receive aid they may not know they are eligible for. Students must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) to be considered for all types of financial aid.
As of Aug. 27, more than 40,000 fewer students had submitted a financial aid application from the same period last year, according to the commission. With Sept. 3 fast-approaching, the California Community Colleges and the California Student Aid Commission are working to reverse the decline in FAFSA/CADAA submissions. While students have faced technical glitches trying to complete the FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education continues to make progress to ensure the form is streamlined for students. Additionally, here in California, students from mixed-status families who cannot complete the FAFSA, can complete a California Dream Act Application to access state, local and institutional financial aid. A mixed-status family is a household with members who have different immigration or citizenship status.
The FAFSA and CADAA are gateways for students to receive a variety of aid opportunities to support their higher education pathways, including federal and state aid, scholarships, college-based aid, on-campus paid student positions loans and more.
“Current and prospective students should act now,” said California Community Colleges Assistant Vice Chancellor for Equitable Student Learning and Impact Gina Browne. “No matter your financial status, I encourage you to submit your FAFSA or California Dream Act Application by Sept. 3 so you can get the most aid available, determine the amount of aid you are eligible for and better prepare for the academic year so you can really focus on your reaching your higher education goals.”
Community colleges unlock life-changing opportunities for Californians, but especially for students from low-income backgrounds or immigrant families. The Sept. 3 Cal Grant deadline is critical: students across the state can qualify for aid that can propel their dreams and does not need to be paid back.
“Financial aid is transformative – it allows students to access high-quality upskilling and higher education opportunities,” said California Student Aid Commission executive director Daisy Gonzales. “The Commission is here to provide students and families with the support and
resources they need to complete their financial aid application. We believe in your dreams. Apply.” Students who have not yet filed their FAFSA or CADAA can still attend a Cash for College webinar co-sponsored by the California Student Aid Commission and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to get help navigating the process. Upcoming dates include Aug. 29 and Sept. 3.
“Nearly half of our students are not paying fees or tuition because they’ve filed a FAFSA or CADAA and are receiving financial aid that is covering those costs,” Browne said. “Don’t miss your chance to change your future. Financial aid is available year-round at community colleges but if you miss the Sept. 3 deadline, you could miss out on thousands of Cal Grant dollars which can really make a huge difference.”
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 2 million students per year. California community colleges provide career education and workforce training; guaranteed transfer to four-year universities; and degree and certificate pathways. As the state’s engine for social and economic mobility, the California Community Colleges support Vision 2030, a strategic plan designed to serve our students, our communities and our planet. For more information, please visit the California Community Colleges website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X). The California Student Aid Commission currently serves over 400,000 students and administers the state’s $3 billion portfolio of student financial aid programs and services, including the Cal Grant, the Middle Class Scholarship, and the California Dream Act Application. The Commission serves as a resource for policymakers and
The Filipino and American soldiers during the opening ceremony of PH-U.S. joint army exercises dubbed as “Salaknib” 2023 at Fort Magsaysay in Palayan, Nueva Ecija. Philstar.com file photo
Commit a hate crime: Serve...
to manage my symptoms. This feels very unfair to me. The prosecutor did not want to hear my story,” said Kunni. Grandpa Vicha
At an Aug. 23 Ethnic Media Services news briefing focusing on the difficulty of prosecuting hate crimes, Monthanus Ratanapakdee shared a similar story about her late father Vicha. On Jan. 30, 2021, the 84-year old grandfather was taking a daily walk around his
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8/31/24 CNS-3847724# ASIAN JOURNAL (L.A.)
San Francisco neighborhood. He was fatally pushed to the ground by suspect Antoine Watson, who then left the scene. Watson was arrested two days later, and remains in jail without bail. He has been charged with attempted murder, but no hate crime charges have been added, despite video evidence of the violent attack.
Three and a half years later, no trial date has been set.
Justice delayed Ratanapakdee has founded Justice for Vicha to honor her father, and to advocate for other victims of suspected hate crimes. The delay in justice for her father, and an inherent distrust of law enforcement, results in many people not reporting hate crimes or incidents, she says. “Both the victim and the defendant have the right to a fair and speedy trial. That has not happened in my father’s case,” said Ratanapakdee.
The bias factor
Last year, law enforcement agencies from around the state of California reported 1,970 hate crimes. Of those, just 5 went to trial, according to data from the California Attorney General’s office. In 2021, the state was experiencing a wave of violent attacks against Asian Americans: just one hate case went to trial that year.
Moreover, judges in California are increasingly using diversionary sentencing — behavior modification classes, counseling, or restitution to victims — which may result in no jail or prison time.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West, a 26-year veteran prosecutor, said when a case comes to her office which has potential elements of a hate crime, or if the victim believes it is a hate crime, two prosecutors review the case to determine whether hate crime charges can be added. “We take these cases very seriously, and we evaluate them very seriously,” she said.
Marsy’s law
Bias must be a significant factor for a hate crime to be charged, said West, noting that with many such cases, bias is not the motivating factor for the crime.
Referring to the delay in Ratanapakdee’s case, West noted that Marsy’s
Law requires prosecutors to keep victims notified of what is happening in their case. The law further requires victims to be informed of plea deals or bail hearings.
Data on the number of hate crimes prosecuted in any year is inaccurate, said West, noting that it takes some time for evidence to be collected and for cases to be brought to trial. Hate crime cases will not necessarily be tried in the year they were reported, said West, which reflects in low data counts.
The need for better data
“I would suggest that we shake the trees at the California Department of Justice and see about getting a form that better reflects the number of hate crimes prosecuted,” she said.
“Victims and survivors feel like they are not always getting the justice they seek and that they deserve,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and executive director of the AAPI Equity Alliance. She noted a recent California state auditor’s report which found that law enforcement often fails to properly identify crimes as hate crimes, and fails to report them to the Justice Department. Officers are improperly trained to identify hate crimes, she said.
“Law enforcement officers have a reluctance to see things as hate crimes because they don’t want to believe that their city or their region is a hateful one,” said Kulkarni. She noted also that hate relating to Asian Americans and Pacific Islander victims is not necessarily universally accepted as hate in the same way as a cross burning or swastika graftiti.
The path to healing
Healing can happen outside of the courtroom, she said, noting that the California vs. Hate initiative can provide victims with numerous resources fostering healing, including mental health services.
“It’s not simply enough to prosecute cases when hate happens. We have to actually prevent it from happening in one of the most diverse states.
‘We really need to put the kibosh on hate against all marginalized communities,” said Kulkarni. (Sunita Sohrabji / Ethnic Media Services)
Fil-Am pens debut novel
NEW YORK — Filipino American Cherry Lou Sy is releasing her debut novel “Love Can’t Feed You,” described as a “tender yet searing comingof-age novel about a young Filipina woman suspended between two countries, two identities, and two parents.”
Readers will be introduced to Queenie, who is torn between her family’s expectations and her own burning desires.
Queenie, her brother and their elderly Chinese father arrive in the United States from the Philippines to find that her Filipina mother, who’d been working as a nurse in Brooklyn for some time, is now a different woman than the one they knew.
On the cusp of adulthood, Queenie dreams of attending college but her parents can’t afford to support both children. Stretching themselves to assimilate, her family begins to fall apart.
Queenie starts to explore the nature of her relationships with her mother, her father, her own sexuality and the new country she’s immigrated to as she juggles her many identities: Filipina, Chinese, New Yorker, immigrant, daughter, sister, student, worker, woman, friend, lover.
“I was always interested in prose writing,” says Sy. “I even got into an MFA program run by [Filipino American novelist and playwright] Jessica Hagedorn at Long Island University. She liked my prose but she praised my playwriting after reading a one-act I [had written].”
Sy then went on to an experimental playwriting program at Brooklyn College ran by author, poet and playwright Mac Wellman. “Mac was all about experimenting in not just form, but genre. He told me that I should work on a novel if I wanted to.”
Sy was taking her master’s in playwriting when she began working on the novel. “The story of the narrator, Queenie, wouldn’t leave me,” she says.
“I saw myself in her and I could also see her as a student at Brooklyn College, where I was an adjunct lecturer, encountering people who are like her. Earnest, curious and hungry for change, despite or because of their histories.”
“At the time, I was reading Marguerite Duras’s ‘The Lover’ and was haunted by the story of an impoverished 15-year-old white girl who has an affair with a rich 27-year-old Chinese man in French Indochina in the 1930s.
“I had never read anything like it, and it made me think of my own background being halfChinese and half-Filipino.
“What if the protagonist of the book had a child with her Chinese lover? How would it have ended
differently? I superimposed this question onto the dynamics of my own family – my mother was 17 years younger than my Chinese father – and began writing.”
Frustations, grief, multitude
The story started to become more concrete during the pandemic. “Everything stopped. My career as a theater artist stalled. There was no pipeline for me to enter and Zoom theater was incredibly frustrating. I felt so disconnected with theatermaking as a practice and just started focusing on my novel,” she says.
“It was also shaped by the death of my father. We thought that he was attacked because he had a head fracture and was found at a bus stop. He died two months later.”
Though she initially tried to process her grief through theater work and had applied for fellowships, those efforts did not pan out. “That’s when I turned to prose to deal with my grief,” she says.
“The pivot seemed natural. The pandemic was the key event. It made me think about myself as an artist.
“Anyway, a story is like water. Just as water tries to find its way to the sea, a story will find a way to be told. And one can be both a playwright, a novelist and a multitude of other things.”
(There will be a book launch for “Love Can’t Feed You” on Oct. 7, 2024 at Powerhouse Arena Bookstore, Brooklyn, New York. Walter Ang is the author of “Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater.” Available at Amazon, Bookshop and other online booksellers.) n
The new COVID vaccine is out. Why you might...
professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
On the other hand, by late fall the major variants may have changed, rendering the vaccine less effective, said Peter Marks, the FDA’s top vaccine official, at a briefing Aug. 23. He urged everyone eligible to get immunized, noting that the risk of long COVID is greater in the un- and undervaccinated.
Of course, if last year’s COVID vaccine rollout is any guide, few Americans will heed his advice, even though this summer’s surge has been unusually intense, with levels of the COVID virus in wastewater suggesting infections are as widespread as they were in the winter.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now looks to wastewater as fewer people are reporting test results to health authorities. The wastewater data shows the epidemic is worst in Western and Southern states. In New York, for example, levels are considered “high” — compared with “very high” in Georgia.
Hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID have trended up, too. But unlike infections, these rates are nowhere near those seen in winter surges, or in summers past. More than 2,000 people died of COVID in July — a high number but a small fraction of the at least 25,700 COVID deaths in July 2020.
Partial immunity built up through vaccines and prior infections deserves credit for this relief. A new study suggests that current variants may be less virulent — in the study, one of the recent variants did not kill mice exposed to it, unlike most earlier COVID variants.
Public health officials note that even with more cases this summer, people seem to be managing their sickness at home. “We did see a little rise in the number of cases, but it didn’t have a significant impact in terms of hospitalizations and emergency room visits,” said Manisha Juthani, public health commissioner of Connecticut, at a news briefing Aug. 21.
Unlike influenza or traditional cold viruses, COVID seems to thrive outside the cold months, when germy schoolkids, dry air, and indoor activities are thought to enable the spread of air- and saliva-borne viruses. No one is exactly sure why.
“COVID is still very transmissible, very new, and people congregate inside in air-conditioned rooms during the summer,” said John Moore, a virologist and professor at Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Medicine College.
Or “maybe COVID is more tolerant of humidity or other environmental conditions in the summer,” said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University.
Because viruses evolve as they
infect people, the CDC has recommended updated COVID vaccines each year. Last fall’s booster was designed to target the omicron variant circulating in 2023. This year, mRNA vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer and the protein-based vaccine from Novavax — which has yet to be approved by the FDA — target a more recent omicron variant, JN.1.
The FDA determined that the mRNA vaccines strongly protected people from severe disease and death — and would do so even though earlier variants of JN.1 are now being overtaken by others.
Public interest in COVID vaccines has waned, with only 1 in 5 adults getting vaccinated since last September, compared with about 80% who got the first dose. New Yorkers have been slightly above the national vaccination rate, while in Georgia only about 17% got the latest shot.
Vaccine uptake is lower in states where the majority voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and among those who have less money and education, less health care access, or less time off from work. These groups are also more likely to be hospitalized or die of the disease, according to a 2023 study in The Lancet.
While the newly formulated vaccines are better targeted at the circulating COVID variants, uninsured and underinsured Americans may have to rush if they hope to get one for free. A CDC program that provided boosters to 1.5 million people over the last year ran out of money and is ending Aug. 31.
The agency drummed up $62 million in unspent funds to pay state and local health departments to provide the new shots to those not covered by insurance. But “that may not go very far” if the vaccine costs the agency around $86 a dose, as it did last year, said Kelly Moore, CEO of Immunize.org, which advocates for vaccination.
People who pay out-of-pocket at pharmacies face higher prices: CVS plans to sell the updated vaccine for $201.99, said Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for the company. “Price can be a barrier, access can be a barrier” to vaccination, said David Scales, an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Without an access program that provides vaccines to uninsured adults, “we’ll see disparities in health outcomes and disproportionate outbreaks in the working poor, who can ill afford to take off work,” Kelly Moore said.
New York state has about $1 million to fill the gaps when the CDC’s program ends, said Danielle De Souza, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health. That will buy around 12,500 doses for uninsured and underinsured adults, she said. There are roughly one million uninsured people in the state. CDC and FDA experts last year decided to promote annual fall
vaccination against COVID and influenza along with a one-time respiratory syncytial virus shot for some groups. It would be impractical for the vaccine-makers to change the COVID vaccine’s recipe twice every year, and offering the three vaccines during one or two health care visits appears to be the best way to increase uptake of all of them, said Schaffner, who consults for the CDC’s policy-setting Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. At its next meeting, in October, the committee is likely to urge vulnerable people to get a second dose of the same COVID vaccine in the spring, for protection against the next summer wave, he said. If you’re in a vulnerable population and waiting to get vaccinated until closer to the holiday season, Schaffner said, it makes sense to wear a mask and avoid big crowds, and to get a test if you think you have COVID. If positive, people in these groups should seek medical attention since the antiviral pill Paxlovid might ameliorate their symptoms and keep them out of the hospital.
As for conscientious others who feel they may be sick and don’t want to spread the COVID virus, the best advice is to get a single test and, if positive, try to isolate for a few days and then wear a mask for several days while avoiding crowded rooms. Repeat testing after a positive result is pointless, since viral particles in the nose may remain for days without signifying a risk of infecting others, Schaffner said.
The Health and Human Services Department is making four free COVID tests available to anyone who requests them starting in late September through COVIDtest.gov, said Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, at the Aug. 23 briefing.
The government is focusing its fall vaccine advocacy campaign, which it’s calling “Risk less, live more,” on older people and nursing home residents, said HHS spokesperson Jeff Nesbit. Not everyone may really need a fall COVID booster, but “it’s not wrong to give people options,” John Moore said. “The 20-yearold athlete is less at risk than the 70-year-old overweight dude. It’s as simple as that.” (Arthur Allen and Eliza Fawcett, Healthbeat and Rebecca Grapevine, Healthbeat, KFF Health News) KFF Health News correspondent Amy Maxmen contributed to this report. Healthbeat is a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News. KFF Health News is a
and is one of the
and journalism.
Filipino American Cherry Lou Sy is releasing her debut novel “Love Can’t Feed You.”
Contributed photo
Dateline PhiliPPines
Fewer OFWs opting to register for 2025 polls
by Mayen JayMalin Philstar.com
MANILA
— Fewer Filipinos
abroad are opting to register for the May 2025 midterm elections, according to the Commission on Elections.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia reported that the number of registered overseas voters remains at 1.18 million.
“Our projection is 1.486 million overseas voters,” Garcia said, noting that the figure is still way below their target.
He said they understand that Filipinos abroad could not register either due to work or they are staying far from the registration sites. Garcia expressed optimism that many Filipinos abroad would be encouraged to register as the Comelec will be implementing internet voting in 2025.
He also expects the different Philippine posts abroad to mount satellite registration activities to lure more Filipinos to register for the 2025 polls.
At a public briefing on Tuesday, August 27 Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the number of registered voters dropped because many were deactivated for failure to vote in previous elections.
Laudiangco said the Comelec has received 400,000 applications for registration from Filipinos abroad.
He said there are 15 million overseas Filipinos, but only 1.4 million have registered for the 2025 elections.
Laudiangco stressed the need for registered overseas voters to pre-enroll so they could avail themselves of the internet voting system. n
DoST to make Batanes sustainable community
THE Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) on August 19 launched the Smart Basco LOQALINK project at the Basco Lighthouse, an initiative aimed at transforming Batanes, particularly the municipality of Basco, into a smart and sustainable community by providing data-driven solutions to boost the agriculture sector.
The launch was through DoST’s Provincial Science and Technology Office in Batanes and in partnership with Isabela State University, Batanes State College and the local government unit of Basco.
The Digital Business Locator for Agriculture Supply and Demand Information System (LOQALINK) is a key component of the project which uses technology to identify potential business
opportunities, optimize agricultural production and improve market access for local farmers.
The launch was attended by key government officials, including DoST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr.; Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development Director Ernesto Paringit; Basco Mayor German Caccam; Betchie Aguinaldo, project leader at DoST-ISU Smart City-Technology Business Incubator and director at Business Intelligence Research and Development Center; DoST Region 2 Director Virginia Bilgera; and other representatives from DoST, the provincial government and Batanes State College.
“This project is a testament to our commitment to empowering
rural communities through science and technology,” said Solidum.
“By providing farmers with the necessary tools and information, we hope to enhance their livelihoods and contribute to the overall development of Batanes.”
A pledge of commitment was signed by all partners to solidify their collaboration in achieving the project’s goals.
LOQALINK will undergo several phases, including goal setting, data analysis, action planning, data mapping, pilot implementation and communication.
The project is expected to result in integrated information systems, increased support programs, enhanced government capabilities and improved access to government services. (ManilaTimes.net)
Senate reso pays tribute to former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
by Charie Mae abarCa Inquirer.net
MANILA — The Senate adopted on Wednesday, August 28 a resolution commending and honoring former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. for his “illustrious career and invaluable contributions” to the country.
Senate Resolution No. 1142 was tackled during the chamber’s plenary session. The measure states that De Venecia was born in Dagupan City, Pangasinan, and that he served as Speaker of the House for five terms from 1992 to 1998 and 2001 to 2008.
“I stand before you today to sponsor a resolution paying tribute to an extraordinary man whose life and legacy have profoundly influenced our nation. Affectionately known as JDV, he is a towering figure in Philippine politics and governance. His journey in public service is marked by steadfast dedication, results-driven leadership and a relentless pursuit of peace and lasting progress,” said Sen. Loren Legarda, who sponsored the resolution.
“It is worth noting that my own political journey began under the guidance of JDV. In 1998, I won my first senatorial seat as part of his senatorial slate when he ran for President. It was JDV himself who invited me to join his team. The trust and confidence he placed in me marked a pivotal moment in my role as a public servant, and I am forever grateful for that opportunity,” she added.
Legarda, a known environmental advocate, said she is particularly moved by De Venecia’s dedication to matters involving the environment. She said the former House speaker integrated his environmental interests into public policy by urging governments and political parties to govern green.
“Today, as we honor former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., we do more than remember his past achievements. We celebrate his enduring influence on our country and the international community. His legacy inspires leaders and future generations to pursue excellence in governance, diplomacy, and beyond,”
Legarda said. The former House Speaker personally appeared before the chamber’s plenary hall to accept a copy of SRN 1142, which commends and honors his contributions to the Philippines. n Long Beach Transit Needs your Comments! Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Goal For FY 2025-2027 In accordance with Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 26, recipients of U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) funds are required to establish Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs. 49 CFR §26.45 requires the recipients of federal funds, including Long Beach Transit, to set an overall goal for DBE Participation in USDOT assisted contracts. As part of the goal-setting process, Long Beach Transit (LBT) is publishing this announcement to inform the public of the proposed overall goal for the federal fiscal years 2025-2027. The proposed Overall DBE Goal for Federal Fiscal Years 2025-2027 is fifteen percent (15%), and the goal is four percent (4%) race-conscious and eleven percent (11%) race-neutral.
LBT will be receiving public comments on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Goal and Goal Setting Methodology proposal. Please submit any comments by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, via: • Phone at 562.591.2301 (Mon – Fri from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. and Sat – Sun from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) • Email at comments@lbtransit.com
• Or in person during our public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, at 5:00 p.m., at LBT Corporate Office, Rosa Parks Board Chamber, 4801 Airport Plaza Dr, Long Beach, CA 90815. Additional information can be found on LBT’s website at www. ridelbt.com/doingbusiness.
The Senate adopted on Wednesday, August 28 a resolution commending and honoring former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. for his “illustrious career and invaluable contributions” to the country. Inquirer.net file photo
OpiniOn Features
‘The biggest crime group’
NOT surprisingly, the Philippine National Police took offense over being described as “the biggest crime group” in the country. Because the description was provided by a PNP officer himself, based on questionable activities in which he participated, there are civilians who can believe the statement to be accurate.
PNP officials have lamented the sweeping indictment by one of their own, Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, who gave the description as he narrated the abuses committed in the campaign against illegal drugs that was carried out during the Duterte administration. Espenido, testifying before an inquiry being conducted by four committees of the House of Representatives, confirmed what many had suspected in the way the previous administration waged its bloody war on prohibited drugs. Those implicated by Espenido have denied his story, which will still have to be validated in court. But in the meantime, the PNP is hurting from his accusations that police received rewards of about P20,000 for every person they killed on suspicion of involvement in illegal drug offenses. Quotas were set for the number of suspects killed, and many innocent people died as a result, Espenido claimed.
Editorial
town in Leyte when its mayor, Rolando Espinosa, was killed in an alleged shootout with a police team ostensibly serving a warrant to search the jail cell in Baybay City where the mayor was detained on drug charges. A year later, Espenido was the police chief in Ozamiz, Misamis Occidental when raiders shot dead 15 family members, security escorts and household staff of the Parojinog clan led by then city Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog. Both Espinosa and Parojinog had been tagged as narco politicians by Rodrigo Duterte. The picture now being put together by the socalled quad committee in the House on Duterte’s drug war validates the kinder approach being pursued by the Marcos administration in dealing with illegal drugs. The country continues to grapple with the drug problem, which the killing of thousands of suspects failed to eradicate. It is up to the Marcos administration to show that its approach is the better one. (Philstar.com)
In 2016, he was the chief of police of Albuera
IN typical fashion, Filipinos use humor to express their exasperation – sometimes anger and frustration – at ridiculous situations. As the title of this column suggests, people are coming out with jokes about the disappearance of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo, who has been the subject of a very high-profile Senate investigation over her suspected ties with illegal gambling operators and allegations that she is a fake Filipino.
Demonstrating the Pinoy wit and ability to play with words, “Where did she Guo? Paano siya naka Alice?” (nakaalis means “able to leave” in Filipino) is now going around social media following the revelation from Senator Risa Hontiveros that Alice Guo – a.k.a. Guo Hua Ping – left the country on July 18 for Indonesia. She then went to Malaysia and on July 21, traveled to Singapore where she had a “reunion” with her parents, Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhong, brother Wesley Guo and an associate named Cassandra Ong.
The Senate hearings over illegal gambling hubs following the raid of a POGO complex in Tarlac has made Guo’s name and face very familiar among many Filipinos,
RODRIGO Duterte has always defended his brutal crackdown on the illegal drug scourge as legitimate law enforcement.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) and human rights groups believe otherwise, saying the thousands killed in his bloody war on drugs when he was president and earlier as Davao City mayor warrant indictment for murder as a crime against humanity.
This accusation requires evidence or reliable testimony that the killings were systematic and state-sponsored, carried out on orders of top government officials.
Unearthing this evidence has been a tough challenge, according to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who as Duterte’s last justice secretary was tasked to investigate abuses in the drug war. The probe was launched to show that there was no need for the ICC to step in. Guevarra has said eyewitnesses to
‘Where did she Guo? Paano siya naka
with numerous memes poking fun at her “selective amnesia” and her repetitive answer of “Your honor, I can’t remember” when asked about her education and other details about her childhood supposedly in a farm. In reality, it’s not funny at all that despite being the subject of an arrest warrant by the Senate for her refusal to attend the subsequent committee hearings and the issuance of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO), she was able to leave the country undetected, much to the amazement, and fury even, of many. Granted that an ILBO could not stop anyone from leaving the county unlike a Hold Departure Order (HDO) issued by the court, there have been many instances of people getting offloaded or prevented from boarding their flights by Immigration officials who subject them to secondary questioning, especially if they are in an “alert list” like the ILBO.
We have heard so many stories about Immigration officials asking Filipino travelers to show the birth certificate of ancestors to establish their relationship with a relative in another country that they plan to visit. In fact, several legislators have called out the Bureau of Immigration for the “abuse of power” displayed by frontline officers against outgoing passengers even without seeming
basis – like an incident that went viral when an Immigration officer asked a traveler to produce a graduation photo and even a yearbook – causing the woman to miss her flight.
Citing “intelligence information” from counterparts abroad, BI officials said Guo may have been able to leave the Philippines illegally (obviously) without passing through immigration authority checks. There are suspicions that she may have boarded a chartered plane which allowed her to skip the usual Immigration process and directly proceed to the gate. This has prompted Senate President Chiz Escudero to propose the creation of a general aviation terminal that would require private plane passengers to pass through proper checks that regular airport passengers need to go through.
President Marcos has ordered a full-scale investigation, saying, “The departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust.”
Promising that “heads will roll,” the president also said, “We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight,” adding that “those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. There is no room in this government for anyone who places personal interest above serving
Connecting the dots
the killings, cops who want to turn state witness, and even relatives of those slain have been reluctant to come out. With only a handful of cases among over 6,000 prosecuted for extrajudicial killings, Guevarra has been accused by critics either of whitewashing the probe, or of not looking hard enough.
Now a police officer has emerged, painting a story that appears to connect the dots and may bolster the case for crimes against humanity.
Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, testifying at a joint hearing of four committees at the House of Representatives, confirmed long-running suspicions that in Duterte’s drug war, quotas were set for drug suspects killed, with a reward of P20,000 given per kill. Espenido claimed the money came from government intelligence funds, small-town lottery, jueteng lords and Philippine offshore gaming operators.
Whether Espenido’s story will withstand judicial scrutiny remains to be seen. There is no written order related to the drug killings, although there were rumors in the first year of the Duterte presidency that such a
document existed. It will be Espenido’s word against the denials of the persons he has implicated in systematic executions of drug personalities.
* * *
The person at the top of his list, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, has denied ordering drug suspects to be killed when he said they should be “neutralized.” Sen. Bong Go, who allegedly doled out the rewards, described Espenido’s testimony as defamatory.
Dela Rosa has not denied being the architect of Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang – the first phase of the drug war in the previous administration. But he denies what Espenido said, that in police parlance, to “neutralize” means to kill.
Having covered the crime beat for many years, I agree with Espenido’s understanding of what “neutralize” means in policespeak. But this may have to be settled in court.
Espenido, in his testimony, confirmed widespread suspicions that Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, tagged (correctly, it seems) by the Duterte administration as a notorious drug trafficker, was neutralized
the Filipino people with honor, integrity and justice.”
The disappearance of Alice Guo right from under our very noses is no laughing matter as it goes to show that we are facing an extremely serious national security situation. Many agree that Alice Guo would not have been able to leave the country without the complicity of corrupt officials from the Bureau of Immigration, which intelligence sources clearly indicate to be at the root of the problem.
Time and again, reports have come out about the endemic corruption that seems to pervade the bureau, like the alleged issuance of prearranged employment visas to thousands of foreign nationals for fake local companies. Let’s not forget, corrupt BI officials also moonlight as “escort service” agents who, for as little as P10,000, facilitate a special no-screening entry for Chinese and other foreigners who subsequently obtain fake Filipino birth certificates and IDs.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has vowed accountability for anyone who assisted Guo or allowed her to leave the country illegally. There should be no letup in the efforts to identify those responsible for this travesty. The government should make an example of these people who continue to cooperate and collaborate with those who seek
when cops served a search warrant in the wee hours of Nov. 5, 2016 in his cell at the provincial jail in Baybay City.
Espinosa, who had turned himself in for fear of his life after being tagged by Duterte as a drug trafficker, allegedly shot it out from inside his jail cell with over a dozen cops.
Espenido, at the time the police chief of Albuera, claimed Dela Rosa protected Espinosa’s son Kerwin, also tagged as a drug dealer. Kerwin was cleared of drug charges by a Manila regional trial court in 2020, but in March this year, the Court of Appeals ordered the return of the charges against him.
In July 2017, Espenido was the police chief of Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental when 15 members and bodyguards of the Parojinog clan led by then city Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog were killed in simultaneous police raids. The Parojinogs had been long linked to organized crime before the clan made a successful career shift to (what else) politics. The mayor’s daughter, then Vice Mayor Nova Princess, is serving a life term at the Correctional Institution.
Espenido, who retires from the Philippine National Police when he turns 56 this October, is
to undermine the security of this country. To those who continue to doubt the security risks that we face –wake up and stop these influence operations from pulling the wool over your eyes. Now more than ever, we must get ourselves together because of the continuing aggression that we face as seen in the recent incident near Escoda Shoal where Chinese Coast Guard ships rammed two Philippine Coast Guard vessels that were on a supply mission to Filipino personnel stationed in Patag and Lawak islands.
currently on floating status.
* * *
Since Rodrigo Duterte carried out his campaign promise of exterminating those involved in illegal drugs, stories have circulated about how his war on drugs was being waged by his minions.
In those first six months when the streets were soaked with blood and jails were packed literally from floor to ceiling with drug suspects who were lucky to escape execution, there were already reports that cops were assigned “kill” quotas and received financial rewards for meeting those quotas, whether or not the targets were involved in illegal drugs.
Even in the anti-drug crackdown, connections helped.
A person known to our newsroom when our office was still in Manila’s Port Area was reportedly warned by a cop to make himself scarce or he would be included in the kill quota. The person vanished, but we didn’t hear about his death so he must have escaped execution.
Rodrigo Duterte campaigned on a platform of “kill, kill, kill.”
It says a lot about our society that he won by a landslide. But being a former prosecutor, he understands the concept of
Despite these continuing risks and challenges, we can take comfort in the fact that many if not all of our international partners and friends are one with us in condemning this kind of aggression not only in disputed territories but as well as the entire Indo-Pacific region. (Philstar.com)
deniability, often saying he merely ordered cops to shoot suspects in self-defense.
Not surprisingly, police said those thousands who died in the drug war were killed for resisting arrest or fighting back or nanlaban
Duterte had hoped to replicate nationwide within six months the “shock and awe” approach that he applied in his home city of Davao to eliminate the illegal drug scourge. The elimination is being disputed, and Duterte himself would later admit that he could not eradicate the drug menace nationwide even after six years in power.
But he has always defended his approach to the drug menace, which is underpinned by the Machiavellian idea that the end justifies the means. And he has criticized the Marcos administration for not maintaining the approach.
Jovie Espenido is narrating the evils spawned by the Machiavellian approach. We await what the government intends to do with his story. (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.
AnA MArie PAMintuAn
Former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo Philstar.com file photo
Interpol to undergo PH court system to serve ICC arrest warrants, says Remulla
by Charie abarCa
MANILA — The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) needs to undergo the Philippine court system if it decides to serve the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants against people involved in the drug war, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
At the Senate’s deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, August 28, Remulla said the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, but because of emerging technologies, the Philippine government cannot stop ICC investigators from interviewing probable witnesses in the country.
“[K]ung gusto nilang pumasok dito upang manghuhuli at gusto magsagawa ng warrant na na-isyu ho ng ICC pagdating ng panahon, kailangan po itong dumaan sa ating court system. Ito po ay kinakailangan ng isang aksyon, action to enforce a warrant,” Remulla explained.
(If they really want to enter the country to arrest someone and serve the warrant issued by the ICC, they need to undergo the Philippine court system. It needs an action, an action to enforce a warrant.)
“Action to enforce a judgment, kailangan pong dumaan yan sa ating court system. So hindi ho namin pakikialaman kasi yan po trabaho na ng Interpol kung talagang gusto nilang habulin yung taong nasasakdal. Sabihin natin nag-isyu po ng warrant of arrest ang ICC, gusto i-enforce ng Interpol dito, para ho ito ay matuloy at hindi magkaroon ng kasuhan kinakailangan po magpunta sila sa korte natin. Yun po ang aming paningin,” he added. (Action to enforce a judgment needs to undergo our court system. We won’t meddle with that because it’s the job of Interpol if they really want to go after the accused. Let’s say the ICC issued a warrant of arrest and the Interpol
wants to enforce it here, in order for this to push through and to ensure that no cases will be filed, they need to go to our court. That’s our point of view.)
In an ambush interview on Wednesday, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said he is happy that the DOJ is defending its turf.
“Very good. That’s a good development kung ganun ang kaniyang sinabi. I’m happy that they are defending their turf, defending our sovereignty, [and] our jurisdiction,” he said.
Dela Rosa, the chief implementor of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, is one of those mentioned in the crimes against humanity complaint before the ICC.
Baguio eyes eco-cultural tourism
BAGUIO CITY — The city government is considering developing an integrated eco-cultural tourism complex supporting community-based tourism activities to bolster the summer capital’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a recent management committee meeting chaired by Mayor Benjamin Magalong at the city hall, Tourism chief Alec Mapalo presented the Challok (Country Club, Happy Hallow, Atok Trail, Lucnab, Loakan, Outlook, Kias) Ecopark Communities, a community-based sustainable tourism development as a total nature and culture immersion, aimed at protecting forest reserves, and preserve and promote culture.
The proposed development would also provide livelihood and employment opportunities.
Mapalo said the program involves the seven barangay (villages) with remaining mountainous pine forest cover under proclamations and ancestral domains where several Indigenous peoples communities live overlooking the mines and mountains of Itogon, Benguet.
“The idea is to support community-based tourism programs that’s integrated into a general tourism product concept of nature plus culture immersion within the pine forests, thus promoting environmental protection and cultural preservation while furthering livelihood and employment opportunities for communities in the area, cultivating sustainable development in ancestral domains,” he explained.
Mapalo said that the project is in line with the city government's #BreatheBaguio branding campaign.
He said possible tourism community activities in the area are view decks on selected sites, arts and crafts shops, curated pocket gardens, camping sites, horseback riding and eco-trails around the area, cable cars connecting one community to another, and more.
For the development to be self-sufficient, the use of self-sustaining renewable energy source (solar or waterpower) is proposed, including putting up of an independent water supply and sewerage treatment plant, waste recycling program, and forest and garden green houses to ensure regreening and reforestation for regenerative environmental programs. (Gaby B. Keith/ManilaTimes.net)
Inquirer.net TRADITIONAL
LOS ANGELES
How Jericho helped Janine understand her role in ‘Lavender Fields’
ACTOR Jericho Rosales, who recently admitted to dating Janine Gutierrez, revealed that he and the actress sat through a fourhour meeting in order to help Janine understand her character in “Lavender Fields” and portray it more effectively.
“I’ve already known Janine for quite a long period of time.
She’s a very sweet person. Everybody on the set loves her. She is also family-oriented and very passionate about her work. So being Iris, her character in our series, is just a monumental shift for her. One day, I told her,
‘Hey! Do you want to discuss work?’ She agreed and so we had a meeting with our acting coach Ana Feleo. We talked about our characters outside work. We had a four-hour meeting just to discuss Iris, my character Tyrone, their relationship as a married couple, what they want, and where they want to bring things,” he told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.
Honest, open
“Towards the end, Janine said, ‘Aha! I get it now!’ It’s like something clicked in her brain. You see, Iris is not Janine at all. That’s why it’s so hard for her. She would say, ‘How do you do that?’ She actually had to go through her mental files to see who she knew in real life who is just like Iris, if there is one. After that session, problem solved!” Jericho recalled. Jericho is back to acting in
a teleserye after taking a break for six years. He claimed that so much has changed in him since then. “There’s a huge difference. Some of the good parts, I’ve kept, while some of the bad parts are filed away. The main difference is that I know what I want now. I know how to better handle my relationships. I’ve decided that the relationships I’m keeping now are only the ones that are helping me grow. As a result, I feel like I’m now well-equipped to follow my dreams. Of course, I’m welcoming any help, suggestions, or advice on self-improvement. My journey has been all about really getting to know myself deeper. I face you now not as an actor. I’m me—honest and open.”
“Lavender Fields,” which also stars Jodi Sta. Maria, is produced by Dreamscape Entertainment for ABS-CBN and will premiere on Sept. 2. n
by Marinel Cruz Inquirer.net
Jericho Rosales as Tyrone
Dreamscape Entertainment photos
Jericho Rosales (left) and Gutierrez in “Lavender Fields” Dreamscape Entertainment photos
Citizen Pinoy visits Max’s Fried Chicken...
The episode also features questions from Jael and Jharmaine, the daughters of the restaurant’s owner, who are both part of the working staff.
Marylou asked how her niece can come to the U.S. legally to find a job or a husband.
Jenny is concerned about issues with her name on her passport, which lists her middle and last names as “Marcial-Marcial,” and wonders how this might affect her ability to petition her husband and kids.
Jael has a friend who came to the U.S. as a visitor and got pregnant.
Jael asks if her friend could now get her papers in order through her son, who is turning 18.
Jharmaine wanted to know if their relatives in the Philippines can immigrate to the U.S. to help in the restaurant.
Atty. Gurfinkel answers these questions and more in “Your Tanong, My Sagot” at the Seattle branch of Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop. Watch this brandnew episode of Citizen Pinoy on Sunday, September 1 at 6:30 PM PT (9:30 PM ET through
Kathryn Bernardo, Alden Richards wrap filming their scenes in Canada
by HAnnAH MAllorcA Inquirer.net
KATHRYN Bernardo and Alden Richards wrapped up filming their scenes in Alberta, Canada for their reunion movie “Hello, Love, Again,” although it remains unknown if production for the movie is already done.
Bernardo and Richards celebrated the end of filming in Canada, where they were joined by their co-actor Joross Gamboa, director Cathy GarciaSampana, and crew members, as seen on Gamboa’s Instagram page on Monday, August 26.
“Eyyy! It’s a wrap Canada. Oh Ethan bat ka naman umiiyak (why are you crying),” Gamboa said in his post while referring to Richards’ character.
Last June, Richards, Sampana, and members of the movie’s production team flew to Hong Kong to film scenes for
the much-anticipated sequel. It’s not known if “Hello, Love, Again” had already finished filming the movie for good.
“Hello, Love, Again” is the sequel to the 2019 film “Hello, Love, Goodbye” which explores the budding love story between Joy Fabregas (Bernardo) and Ethan Del Rosario (Richards)
which was cut short after Joy heads for greener pastures in Canada.
The sequel was confirmed in May 2024, which is said to tell the story of how things had changed between them amid the growing hardships of overseas Filipino workers (OFW). n
Teresa Loyzaga’s past struggles with son Diego
by HAnnAH MAllorcA Inquirer.net
IN her rare TV guest appearance, Teresa Loyzaga confessed to have fiercely struggled with her son Diego’s predilection for drugs years ago.
Tong — as she’s pet named in showbiz circles — told Boy Abunda, “It reach a point where my child was already disrespecting me. But I knew it wasn’t him, it’s the effect of drugs on him.”
To make a way out, Teresa had no other recourse but to send Diego to a rehabilitation facility.
She remembered how she’d furtively sneak into the premises without Diego knowing,: “Because it was strictly prohibited.” Since she couldn’t bear not to catch sight of Diego, Teresa had to plead with the facility personnel if she could at least peep through a hole in the tarpaulin, “As long as I didn’t make any noise for Diego to sense I was just around.”
How she was able to rise above her pitiful state, Teresa attributed it to three things: “prayers, prayers and more prayers.”
With Diego turning a new leaf,
The graduation the Eraserheads never had
by AllAn PolicArPio Inquirer.net
WITH a medal around their necks, their loved ones beaming at them, Ely Buendia, Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro stood onstage with giddy grins on their faces, like proud schoolboys on graduation day.
The four musicians, who met and formed the iconic rock band Eraserheads in the late 1980s, have no diplomas to show for their time at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, as Marasigan jokingly pointed out.
But last Aug. 20 at the UP Executive House, they finally got a sense of what it must have felt like to hold one. For “indelibly shaping the soundscape and spirit of Filipino pop culture,” the band was given something of equal, if not greater, importance—the Gawad Oblation.
After UP President Angelo Jimenez draped the prestigious medal around Marasigan, the palpably excited drummer raised his fists in triumph. One wouldn’t have guessed that he was actually feeling the butterflies.
Extraordinary service Kinakabahan ako—sh*t!” quipped Marasigan, who dedicated the “unexpected honor” to his parents “who continued to support me even if I couldn’t give them a diploma.”
On Instagram, after the event, he wrote: “Parang grumadweyt na rin kami ngayon.”
“So, this is how it feels to graduate. Heart bursting… I look far away, imagining that my parents beaming proudly at me,” Zabala, the band’s bassist, also wrote on Instagram.
And as they posed together for photos, Marasigan asked his bandmates to bite their medals for the cameras, as if Olympic athletes on a podium.
Launched in 2017, the Gawad Oblation is “the highest distinction UP can bestow” on those who have rendered and continue to render “extraordinary service with or in the name of the university.”
The title is typically conferred on individuals or organizations that excel in the fields of research, education, creative production, public service and volunteerism, among others.
The real deal
The Eraserheads is the first pop music act, or mainstream celebrity for that matter, to have been given the honor, Jimenez told the Inquirer. He described the band as “a cultural icon” that helped define the music and identities of a generation.
“Through songs, they voiced out our struggles and hopes,” he said, adding the band’s enduring music, which has unwittingly become a soundtrack, not just of UP
students’ lives, but of the Filipino people. The award citation credited the Eraserheads for being an industry game changer that “captured zeitgeist of the 1990s.” “It wielded its artistry, not only to entertain, but to ignite change … leaving an indelible imprint in the culture consciousness of Filipinos,” it read.
In his testimonial, retired humanities professor and musician Robin Rivera recounted meeting the band during its infancy, and how he helped the young artists record their now legendary demo tape, “Pop-U,” at the university’s faculty studio from May 25 to 26 in 1991.
Potential
“Whatever happens to them, at least they would have some sort of documentation of their youth,” said Rivera, who served as a mentor to the band. “But while their eventual stardom was unexpected, it wasn’t altogether surprising because I know their songs were the real deal.”
He recognized that potential from the moment he heard samples of their bedroomrecorded compositions on the C-60 cassette Marasigan, his then student, handed to him.
“The songs were dripping with originality, wit, colloquialisms, imagery and intensity wrapped up in the language of their generation,” Rivera observed.
Rivera would go on to coproduce the Eraserheads’ debut album, “Ultraelectromagneticpop!,” and solely produce the band’s six succeeding albums. “To their fans, they will always be remembered as smart, clever and pilyo college dormers, who wrote catchy narratives and situational songs sung by the voice of the everyman,” he said.
“But beyond that, I know them to be dedicated artists who audaciously bucked the trends of the limiting and, at times, oppressive world of pop culture,” Rivera added.
Nostalgic
The group’s music— particularly the first three albums, “Ultra…,” “Circus” and “Cutterpillow”—are intertwined with their life in UP. Different facets and details
unique to the university and its culture are immortalized in their songs, like the Kalayaan Residence Hall in “Minsan” and the beloved Casaa food court in “Shirley.”
As such, the group couldn’t help but wax nostalgic and reminisce about the experiences that informed the storytelling of their earlier work.
Adoro had the crowd cheering as he talked about the “lambingan” at the Lagoon, the fun nights they had at the Sunken Garden and the dark corners of the Beta Way that cuts across the Academic Oval.
“It’s in UP that we experienced real freedom—freedom to choose, express and follow our voices,” the guitarist said in his speech.
Zabala, who hails from Zamboanga City, found “a home away from home” in UP. “It’s where it all began. My world expanded, or rather, exploded. The place gave us many unforgettable experiences— countless of which made their way into our songs,” he said.
Tribute
Buendia has always wanted to speak on a podium and he made sure not to miss this opportunity. Like the batch’s model student delivering the valedictory address, he paid a heartfelt tribute to UP, which served as the group’s stage, playground and testing ground all in one.
“This was where ideas were born, dreams were nurtured … where our music found its voice. We learned the power of creativity and freedom of expression that would later define who we are later as artists,” the lead vocalist said.
Setting foot inside the campus conjured up images of the friendships forged in classrooms, the countless nights the band spent writing and dreaming, and the community that believed in their music long before they could.
More than anything, he stressed, life in UP taught him and his bandmates “how to question, challenge and speak out.” “The spirit of social engagement, the pursuit for truth, and the commitment to social responsibilities are values we have carried with us in our journey,” he said. n
Eraserheads Inquirer.net
photo by Renjie Tolentino
Marylou (right) with Atty. Gurfinkel
Jael (left) with Atty. Gurfinkel
Jenny (left) with Atty. Gurfinkel
Atty. Gurfinkel (left) with Lana Marcaida, senior business head for Max’s North America Atty. Gurfinkel with Jharmaine (left)
(From left) Joross Gamboa, Kathryn Bernardo, Alden Richards, and director Cathy Garcia Sampana. Photo from Instagram/@joross_gamboa
Teresa Loyzaga with son Diego Photo from Instagram/@teresaloyzaga Teresa couldn’t be any happier now. Say it three times, too. n
TFC celebrates 30 years with a massive concert
A PACKED Toyota Arena in Ontario, California witnessed an enormous display of spectacular performances from the stable of ASAP Natin ‘To, ABS-CBN’s Sunday noontime show — from legendary Filipino performers as well as newcomers in the Philippine entertainment industry — in celebration of TFC’s 30th anniversary last Saturday, August 10. The Filipino Channel (TFC), the flagship multi-media brand of ABS-CBN, has been bringing everyone’s favorite Kapamilya shows to Filipinos around the world for 30 years. The Philippines’ Concert King Martin Nievera reminded everyone of TFC’s humble yet promising beginnings, and declared that next year, ASAP itself is celebrating its 30 years as well. It was as if the entertainment gods showered California with the best of the best entertainers under one colossal roof. The 11,000-seater arena was packed to the rafters with excited fans beaming from ear to ear.
Residents of Southern California certainly enjoyed spectacular performances from TFC’s 30 toptier acts plus performers from the U.S.
OPM icons Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Ogie Alcasid, Erik Santos and KZ Tandingan were joined by some of the hottest Kapamilya stars such as Piolo Pascual, Darren Espanto, Yeng Constantino, Janella Salvador, Donny Pangilinan, Belle Mariano, Kyle Echarri, along with fiery dance groups G-Force and Junior New System in a blazing opening number.
In a night of myriad celebrations, OPM rock icon Bamboo celebrated his 30th year in the Philippine music industry with a show stopping medley of his hits including Awit Award Song of the Year 2005 winner, “Hallelujah.” Ogie Alcasid who is known for numerous charttopping songs that became theme songs of many films and TV dramas celebrated his birthday with a production number featuring a selection of his songs sung by OPM icons
alongside multi-talented actors and singers Piolo Pascual, Jolina Magdangal, Lovi Poe and Janella Salvador.
Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano also celebrated his 60th birthday with a performance of “Sa Yahweh Ang Sayaw” with his children Gab and Kiana Valenciano; popular personalities Maymay Entrata, AC Bonifacio and top-tier dance groups G-Force and Junior New System also performed.
Several Kapamilya celebrities and special guests such as Anne Curtis, Darren Espanto, Kim Chiu, Yeng Constantino, Morissette Amon, KZ Tandingan, Kyle Echarri, Iñigo Pascual and Maymay Entrata performed special numbers much to the delight of enthusiastic fans. No TFC and ASAP Natin ‘To show would be complete without ‘ kilig’ moments, and this extravaganza did not fail thousands of fans who eagerly awaited their favorite love teams: KimPau – Paolo Avelino and Kim Chiu; DonBelle – Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano;
and the newest love team to come out of ABS-CBN, JoshAnne –Anne Curtis and Joshua Garcia, from the Philippine adaptation of Korean drama “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay.” TFC has always brought nostalgia to thousands of its audiences around the globe, but TFC is also known for bringing the latest acts to its enormous stages. The worldwide popularity of P-Pop has reached staggering numbers in its fanbase, and it was certainly evident at Toyota Arena. BINI, dubbed as “Pambansang Girl Group,” roused the audience with performances of their bestsellers such as “Salamin, Salamin,” and BGYO, known as the “Aces of P-pop” stirred up the audience as well.
Fostering inclusivity, ASAP Natin ‘To’s stage included local talents from the U.S., dubbed as Pinoy Pride Artists, such as Philippine Queen of Soul Jaya, Fil-Am Prince of Pop and Star in a Million finalist Garth Garcia, American Idol Season 10 and X Factor Season 3 eyeful Jules Aurora, 2018 World
Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Cerritos receives 2024 Nonprofit of Distinction Award
HAWAIIAN GARDENS – The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Cerritos (FAC3), together with 17 other outstanding community organizations, was among the recipients recently honored by Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-45) with a “2024 Nonprofit of Distinction” award from California’s 45th District for its significant contributions to the business community and its unwavering dedication to supporting the Filipino American population in the region.
The plaque signed by Congresswoman Steel, and reads in part: “In honor of your hard work and dedication to our community. We thank you for your exceptional service to the public and we wish you continued success in your future endeavors. Congratulations!”
The awards were presented following a solicitation of nominations directly from members of the Southern California community. The award was graciously received on behalf of FAC3 by Chamber president Ellen Rodriguez-Swing, president-
elect Demeven Quirino, vice president for events Christine Consunji, and corporate member Edward Lago. Rep. Steel praised the contributions of the awardees, saying, “Nonprofits in Southern California provide incredible services in areas like education, health care, housing, and veterans services. They represent the very best of our communities, but often do not receive the recognition they deserve. I’m proud to be recognizing 18 Nonprofits of Distinction for their contributions to California’s 45th District.”
The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Cerritos, established in 2020, was notably acknowledged among these distinguished organizations. The other organizations that were honored were Andy & Aiden Safety Group, Artesia Christian Home, Artesia Historical Society, AUsome Sauce, Buena Park Noon Lions Club, Casa Youth Shelter, Fountain Valley Rotary, Fullerton Education Foundation, Friends of the City of Cerritos Library, Hawaiian Gardens Little League, Homeless Intervention Services of Orange County (HIS OC), La Palma Community Foundation,
OC Korean War Memorial Committee, Seniors Fight Back, South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency (SAHARA), Woman’s Club of Cypress and Vietnamese Parents with Disabled Children Association.
In a statement, the Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce, “is deeply thankful to Cerritos Councilmember Lynda P. Johnson for her continued support and belief in its mission. Her encouragement has been instrumental in driving the Chamber’s initiatives forward. This recognition spotlights the Chamber as a leading force in fostering community growth and empowerment, and it remains committed to its mission of serving and uplifting the community, inspired by this honor to achieve even greater success in the future.” Chamber president RodriguesSwing added, “This recognition is a tremendous recognition and joy for all of us, and I believe it is important to share this achievement with a wider audience. The presence of our officers at the ceremony underscored the collective efforts of FAC3’s leadership in making a positive impact on the community.”
Championship of Performing Arts top awardee for vocal solo James Calacasan, teen sensation from The Voice Season 24 Kaylee Brooke, teen harmony twins of The Voice Season 25 Jeremy and Justin Garcia, and renowned international musician and producer Troy Laureta. Klarisse De Guzman, Jona, Yeng Constatino, KZ Tandingan rendered an outstanding performance of several of OPM icon Sharon Cuneta’s songs as a precursor to an unprecedented performance by the Megastar herself.
Special guest, Megastar Sharon Cuneta, ultimately brought the house down with her rendition of her super hits that transcend generations. It’s as if the entire arena knew all of the lyrics to all of her songs. Donning
royal blue gowns, the Megastar was joined by OPM icons and personal friends of the Megastar such as Regine VelasquezAlcasid and Zsa Zsa Padilla in what was an exceptionally extraordinary performance. No ASAP Natin ’To would be complete without an all-star production number that reminds us all of our roots, our origins and our kababayans. Led by Gary Valenciano, several OPM icons sang TFC’s 30th-anniversaryyear anthem “Always At Home With You,” and reminded everyone of home with the retrospective song “Babalik Ka Rin.”
After more than what seemed like an entire night of superb performances with high production value as one would expect from ASAP Natin ‘To, a
well-satisfied audience left the arena with a feeling of nostalgia, remembering long gone days of life in the Philippines, and departed from the arena overjoyed, ecstatic and on cloud nine, to say the least, to have seen their favorite stars, to have had a glimpse of their favorite love teams, and to have heard their favorite songs on one massive stage in a monumental milestone celebration honoring Filipinos around the world ¬– arguably THE Pinoy Concert Party of the Year.
* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
* * * micdiazpresents@gmail.com
Megastar Sharon Cuneta
Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano
Pascual
Morissette Amon (left) and Yeng Constantino performing onstage.
From left: Kim Chiu, Anne Curtis and Lovi Poe.
From left: Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcasid, Sharon Cuneta and Martin Nievera.
Photo by Katie Ortiz TFC’s popular love teams (from left) Donny Pangilinan, Belle Mariano, Josh Garcia, Anne Curtis, Paolo Avelino and Kim Chiu.
P-pop group BINI, who is also known as the “Pambansang Girl Group,” with TFC stars.
Mic Diaz
From left: FAC3 Corporate Member Edward Lago, City of Cerritos Councilmember Lynda Johnson, FAC3 Vice President Christine Consunji, U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel, FAC3 President Ellen Rodriguez-Swing and FAC3 President-elect Demeven Quirino. Photo courtesy of Dan Niño
by Dan E. niño Contributor
Harvest Moon brings $250,000 windfall to Pechanga Resort Casino
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‘Elevator’: A tale of love, ambition and the OFW life
by Jerry Donato Philstar.com
WHAT I like about streaming platforms, particularly Netflix, is that I can still watch content, initially screened in cinemas, that I’ve missed.
“Elevator” is one example.
Shown last April in theaters, it offers a refreshing take on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) or migrant workers stories captured on film. Most of them are usually set in (family) drama genre and touch on the character’s struggles with adapting to the host culture and hiding from authorities because of overstaying.
All this, in a way, is different from the tale of Jared (played by Paulo Avelino) in the production from Viva Films, Studio Viva, Cineko Productions and Rein Entertainment. He works legally and lives decently as the elevator guy in Singapore.
Prior to his job in the city-state and island country, Jared worked for a bitcoin company in Qatar and used his IT degree to make a living in Taiwan.
His earlier lines “Andito rin ako para baguhin ang tadhana ko. Sawa na akong maging empleyado kaya oras na para ako naman ang maging amo (I’m also here
to change the course of my life and fate. I’m tired of being an employee, and it’s now time for me to become a boss),” reveal the internal conflict and personal goal that the male lead character has to deal with.
However, the “Love or Money?” advertisement in the waiting shed, where he and his multi-cultural circle of friends meet, hints at
another conflict that he soon deals with. It will involve another person or even fate may come into play. These co-workers-turnedfriends believe in his dream of creating and launching an app that will connect migrant workers, from around the world, to their prospective employers. They’re supporting him all the way.
Jared, still a representation of
Piolo Pascual, Jasmine Curtis-Smith take on ‘most mature roles’ in R-rated ‘Real Life Fiction’
by Charmie Joy Pagulong Philstar.com
PIOLO Pascual and Jasmine Curtis-Smith essay their “most mature roles” yet in the upcoming film, “Real Life Fiction,” directed by Paul Soriano.
Produced by TEN17P, Viva Films, Spring Films and distributed by Black Cap Pictures, the R-rated drama-thriller, which was filmed during the height of the pandemic, delves into the abyss of an actor’s mind as he loses bits of his sense of self after years of being one of the most celebrated personalities in the industry.
Piolo plays Paco, an actor with an illustrious career, who decides to write, direct, and act in a film that will inevitably bring him closer to his own demise before revealing that his truth may be far from what he has become.
Paula, played by Jasmine, comes into play as Paco’s onand off-screen muse, blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not. The movie sheds light on the psyche and the limits to which actors push themselves and the people around them to find brilliance in madness.
“It was fun. Very fun,” described Jasmine of working with Piolo. She admitted during the presscon of “Real Life Fiction” held last week at SM North EDSA cinema that her character in the flick is her most mature role to date.
“Hope you enjoyed it,” she said with a laugh, referring to the steamy scenes with Piolo.
Piolo also laughed and chimed in, “We had too much fun.”
One of the takeaways that moviegoers can glean from the film is the importance of self-talk and opening up to another person to improve one’s well-being.
“It’s not abnormal to be talking to yourself. It’s not abnormal to acknowledge and question your thoughts, the things that run in your head. But you also have to have a grasp of reality,” reflected Piolo.
“Because sometimes, if you don’t have a sounding board or wala kang nakakausap, you tend to believe your own thoughts. And you have to talk to someone,” he added.
The actor related this to his character as Paco as someone who “made his life more complicated by choice.”
“So, I guess this is a question of how you’re gonna be with yourself, having to deal with your own demons and where you’re gonna go from there. You’re
every Pinoy’s search for greener pastures and the selfless calling to better his or her family’s social standing in contemporary times, has a bigger dream for himself and needs to bet on it. He must believe in himself and create possibilities.
“Elevator” has an empowered character in Jared whose dream will also change the lives of his friends and also those dispersed worldwide as stakeholders in the app.
In a way, the elevator, where Jared is “confined” or stationed for most of his working time, symbolizes his aspiration to reach the apex of his full potential, professional-wise. What he only needs is the right person, who will invest in the app, and the right time that will allow him to pitch his idea.
Big-time entrepreneur-investor Byron (portrayed by Singaporean actor Adrian Pang), who’s staying in the hotel where Jared works, gives the latter that chance and hope. Given Byron’s busy and full schedule, Jared has to
gonna go this way or that way. For me, it’s reflective. You really have to dig deep into yourself.”
For Jasmine, she described Paula as someone who is committed to the project and her boyfriend. “And in any relationship, you should always know the fine line of your commitment to yourself and to your partner,” she reflected.
“In the same way that you commit to your job and to your real life — whether or not, you’re an artist, you’re an actor, you’re on-screen or off-screen. There’s always that fine line of work and commitments.”
She stressed how significant it is to set boundaries between work and personal life. “So, self-talk (is also essential) and also look for the people that can support you. If it’s texting yourself, if it’s texting your friend, and if it’s looking yourself in the mirror. And literally saying to yourself what you want to hear, then say it, do it. It might be a little crazy, you might sound weird but honestly, it helps because I feel like I do that nowadays.”
Doing so is vital so that you don’t get lost in your work and career, added Jasmine.
As actors, Piolo and Jasmine acknowledged that sometimes, it’s hard to shake off the characters they’ve portrayed but they find a way to let go of them after filming.
“It happens. It happens all the time. Because of course, there are times when your guard is down. You’re too tired. Your defenses are down. Then you become the character. It’s hard to shake it off because there’s so much emotional investment,” admitted Piolo.
“But at the end of the day, you have to wake up to a new day, and be somebody else. So, those things you know. There are a lot of blurry moments but you have to live with (them) and deal with (them) as much as you can because you don’t have any choice but be the person that people expect you to be.”
When Piolo is off-cam, he is just a regular guy. He said, “I guess it’s just because of work that’s why it seems big, larger than life, especially when you watch it on screen or sa movie. But it’s all in a day’s work for me. I don’t carry or bring it home with me.”
“At the end of the day, you shrug it off. You shake it off and then you go home to your family without the cameras. And also, that’s why I limit my exposure. I don’t do my own channel because that’s already your day job. If you’re gonna be hounded by
communicate with Bettina (Kylie Verzosa), the Pinay executive assistant to Byron. She is another empowered OFW character, with business acumen and instincts to boot — and bank on.
Will she help Jared or intercede to make things happen for him?
At the start, she might be viewed as a typical jealous kababayan of another Pinoy’s success abroad or a plain skeptic, but surprise, surprise, Bettina is the biggest cheerleader of Jared.
They’re simply two Filipinos who work for their families and support each other abroad.
Jared and his friends, including the new hotel worker, speak about the global phenomenon that sees different nationalities living and working abroad. It contributes to every national economy.
I think it’s common knowledge that remittances from OFWs or Pinoy migrant workers help keep Philippine economy afloat, resilient and robust, along with the presence of BPO industry and micro-small-medium enterprises
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and
in Paul Soriano’s R-rated drama-thriller ‘Real Life Fiction.’ Phistar.com photo cameras 24/7, you will lose your privacy,” the actor shared.
On the other hand, Jasmine, who has been taping for a year for a GMA show, shared that she can easily separate her role from who she is in real life.
“Because I know, well, No. 1, I’m not married, I don’t have children. So, those are easily distinguished from my life and my role’s life,” she explained.
Echoing what Piolo said earlier about “emotional investment” in a character, the actress confessed that sometimes, it’s difficult to “shape up because your body doesn’t know that it’s not real.”
“So, sometimes these signals get sent to your brain and then you start to kind of consolidate or create beliefs in yourself that there is some truth to (them),” she added.
Jasmine further cited an example where one might start to feel annoyed and frustrated at a co-actor playing kontrabida but not actually a cruel person in real life.
“And that’s because of those emotional investments that you chose to put into your scenes and in your character that create that blurry line in your mind and in your brain.”
“It’s like science that just happens and you have to constantly say, ‘Stop,’ and put yourself into therapy. Let’s say,
‘It’s not you. Hey, let it go. She’s not your kaaway in real life.’”
Nevertheless, it was a breeze for the two filming “Real Life Fiction” during the pandemic lock-in because it’s “close to reality,” Jasmine said.
Along with Piolo and Jasmine, Epy Quizon also stars in “Real Life Fiction” as Paco’s stern yet considerate manager with the special participation of filmmaker Lav Diaz (“Phantosmia”) as the owner of an eclectic pawnshop where Paco finds himself drawn into while searching for his true self.
in the country. Definitely, there are more specific industries and policies that make up an economy. Bettina, Byron and the character Alice, on the other hand, represent the regionalization and globalization of the economy.
The film is also a glimpse of the digitalization of employment recruitment and the further leveling of the playing field via the flat-world platform discussed by author Thomas Friedman in his book. Yes, more people can now work together regardless of their geographical locations and time zones. But, there are many, many individuals who still migrate to work in another country or elsewhere on the globe. We indeed live in exciting times, technology-wise.
Since Jared and Bettina are in talks about the app, they’ve grown close to one another. Special feelings have been developed.
Told through the “he and she points of view,” one gets into the thoughts of Jared and Bettina,
A rom-com narrative film about the Pinoy diaspora, ‘Elevator,’ starring Paulo Avelino and Kylie Verzosa, has beautifully interspersed and mixed the stories about chasing one’s dream and finding one’s
Piolo Pascual
Jasmine Curtis-Smith play Paco and Paula, respectively,
Navigating the child custody move away process in California
Barrister’s Corner
URsUa Reyes
The high cost of living in California and over regulation has made a lot of parents evaluate whether to move out of state. The most common states that people move to are Texas, Arizona, Nevada, or Florida where the cost of living is lower and taxes are less or non-existent. However, if a parent with shared custody wants to move away with the children, they must follow a specific legal process to ensure the move is in the child’s best interests. The move has to be allowed by the court through a court order because it will affect the non-moving parent’s custody/visitation rights. A parent cannot simply decide to move with the children without a court order. With the distance between the parents, the existing custody and visitation orders will no longer work out.
If a child custody order is in effect, the moving parent must notify the other parent that they intend to move, and oftentimes, they must often bring a request to modify the child custody and visitation order to court. The parent planning to move must provide written notice to the other parent at least 45 days before the intended move date. The notice should include the new address and contact information, the reason for the move, the proposed new custody and visitation arrangements.
The parents can try to reach an agreement on the move and the new custody/visitation schedule can be tuned into a court order by signing a stipulation and order for the move away containing the new custody/visitation orders. This would be the best case scenario where the parents are working together on deciding whether the child gets to move with the other parent and what the new custody schedule is going to be.
If the parents cannot agree, the moving parent must file a Request for Order (RFO) to relocate with the court. The RFO should explain the reasons for the move and how it is
in the child’s best interests. The Court will set a hearing on the move away request. Often, the Family Court in Los Angeles would order a Parenting Plan Assessment (PPA2) in which a custody evaluator will evaluate the facts of your case and make a recommendation to the Court whether to allow the move away and what the new custody/ visitation order is going to be.
The parties will have a chance to examine the evaluator in court and present their own witnesses.
The legal analysis in a moveaway situation depend on the current custody arrangement. A parent with sole physical custody of a child has the presumptive right to change the child’s residence, subject to the court’s ability to prevent a relocation that would “prejudice the rights or welfare” of the child, pursuant to Family Code 7501, which states: (a) A parent entitled to the custody of a child has a right to change the residence of the child, subject to the power of the court to restrain a removal that would prejudice the rights or welfare of the child. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to affirm the decision in In re Marriage of Burgess (1996) 13 Cal.4th 25, and to declare that ruling to be the public policy and law of this state. Moreover, under California child custody law the custodial parent does not have to show that the move is “necessary,” assuming the parent is moving in good faith. (See Marriage of Burgess (1996) 13 Cal.4th 25).
The non-custodial parent can then challenge the relocation by requesting a custody modification based on a showing of changed circumstances and detriment to the child. As discussed in Burgess, the non-custodial parent must show a substantial change in circumstances rendering it “essential or expedient for the welfare of the children” that there be a custody change. Family courts are given the widest discretion to fashion orders and make determinations under these circumstances because each case is unique and these orders determine where, and with whom, minor children will live based on the La Musga factors. The LaMusga Court provided California family judges with a roadmap for deciding whether to modify a custody order in light of a parent’s proposal to change the residence
of the child. The following is a checklist of the LaMusga factors family courts will consider:
1. The child’s interest in stability and continuity in the custodial arrangement.
2. A significant change in circumstances.
3. The distance of the move.
4. The age of the child..
5. The social impact of the move on the child
6. The impact on the child’s education.
7. The child’s relationship with both parents.
8. The relationship between parents.
9. The wishes of the child.
10. The reason for the move.
11.The extent to which the parents are currently sharing custody.
Move-aways are generally “all or nothing” matters, since there is very little middle ground when one parent proposes to move the child to another state and the other parent is requesting the opposite. The distance becomes a real limitation in crafting a custody arrangement that would be in the best interest of the child. This process can be complicated thus parties are best served having experienced and highly skilled legal representation.
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Please note that this article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article does create any attorney client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Kenneth U. Reyes, APC. This article is not a solicitation.
* * * Attorney Kenneth Ursua Reyes is a Certified Family Law Specialist. He was President of the Philippine American Bar Association. He is a member of both the Family law section and Immigration law section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is a graduate of Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and California State University, San Bernardino School of Business Administration. He has extensive CPA experience prior to law practice. LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH REYES, APLC. is located at 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 747, Los Angeles, CA, 90010. Tel. (213) 388-1611 or e-mail kenneth@kenreyeslaw.com or visit our website at Kenreyeslaw.com. (Advertising Supplement)
On the pressing need for moral formation in our society today
Pastor’s Notes
ReveRend Rodel G. BalaGtas
“WHY have Americans become so mean?” This is a question that David Brooks posed and explored in his recent article in The Atlantic entitled How America Got Mean. He presented several reasons that people and social observers might suggest:
1. The technology story: Social media is driving us all crazy.
2. The sociology story: We’ve stopped participating in community organizations and have become more isolated.
3. The demography story: America, long dominated by white people, is becoming a much more diverse country, a change that has left millions of white Americans in a panic.
4. The economy story: High levels of economic inequality and insecurity have left people feeling afraid, alienated, and pessimistic.
He then shared his personal opinion on the moral degradation in our society, writing:
“The most important story about why Americans have become sad and alienated
and rude, I believe, is also the simplest: We inhabit a society in which people are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and consideration. Our society has become one in which people feel licensed to give their selfishness free rein. In a healthy society, a web of institutions—families, schools, religious groups, community organizations, and workplaces—helps form people into kind and responsible citizens, the sort of people who show up for one another. We live in a society that’s terrible at moral formation.
Moral formation, as I will use that stuffy-sounding term here, comprises three things. First, helping people learn to restrain their selfishness. How do we keep our evolutionarily conferred egotism under control? Second, teaching basic social and ethical skills. How do you welcome a neighbor into your community? How do you disagree with someone constructively? And third, helping people find a purpose in life. Morally formative institutions hold up a set of ideals. They provide practical pathways toward a meaningful existence: Here’s how you can dedicate your life to serving the poor, or protecting the nation, or loving your neighbor.”
Brooks’s lengthy article is
fascinating as it delves into the history of moral formation, its decline in America, and the changing landscape influenced by psychology and the emphasis on privatized morality that promotes the thinking that “Whatever feels good to me is moral” and “I would probably do what makes me happy.”
In this context, I invite us to reflect deeply on this Sunday’s (September 1) First Reading, Dt 4:1-2, 6-8, which prompts us to consider the importance of upholding moral values and fostering a formation that promotes justice and the dignity of every human person: “In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully, for thus you will give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’” * * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and
‘Elevator’: A tale of love...
for the man they’ve once loved.
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who kissed him after a night out with Byron and his friends. Besides being an executive assistant to Byron, she is his girlfriend. She’s also looking forward to the divorce of Byron and his wife Alice, who attends meetings with him to talk about the division of assets and joint businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore. With that, “Elevator” makes viewers consider the idea that personal issues should not get in the way of professional decisions, as one may recall a conversation between Byron and Bettina. Bettina and Alice have spoken to Byron on two different occasions, saying, “We grew our money more than our love.”
I think it’s a nice piece of advice from them on how to keep a relationship intact. These women seem ready to move on, and they only wish the best
Kudos to the convincing and engaging portrayals of Paulo, Adrian, Kylie and Amy Cheng. Same goes to the ensemble acting of Chai Fonacier, Shrey Bhargava, Shahid Nasheer, Shaun Lim, and Rishi Vadrevu, and congratulations also to the direction and story of Philip King. As a rom-com narrative film about Pinoy diaspora, “Elevator” has beautifully interspersed and put together the stories about chasing one’s dream and finding one’s love.
I also adore and love watching content that features Asian and Southeast Asian characters and talents. And Netflix is on point to describe it as “inspiring,” and “romantic.” Please watch “Elevator” on the streaming platform.
Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas is the pastor of Incarnation Church in Glendale, California.
Jose Mari Chan and the ‘Ber’ months
WHEN the “Ber” months come, OPM icon Jose Mari Chan’s “Christmas In Our Hearts” is in vogue in Philippine AM and FM radio stations. I remember I was the one requested by Mr. Chan each year to help him distribute the presents he would give to the different radio stations in Metro Manila during the yuletide season.
For years, the songs of Jose Mari Chan have served as landmarks of original Pilipino music because he has been a consistent hitmaker. Perhaps, much of the blessings he has now in life must have come because there was a time that his wife Mary Ann and he served in Japan as lay missionaries.
“God expects you to do your best... Life is short, and we cannot always just think of ourselves. The quality of our lives will be measured by how much we have shared with others and by what we have contributed to society,” said Joe, who enjoys what he does and gets a great deal of satisfaction from it.
Asked what he would want his legacy to be, Jose Mari Chan, promptly said, “As a businessman, to substantially improve the lives of all those who work for me. As a father, to bring to this world responsible citizens who will constructively contribute to our society. As an artist and songwriter, to be able to write songs that not only touch lives but will live on long after I’m gone.”
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DZRH’s Radyo Balintataw
host Cecile Guidote-Alvarez
joined with Volt Bohol of ATOM, Atty. Chel Diokno of Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation, Patrick Claudio of Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, Karl Patrick of Project Gunita, Rebecca Quijano (the lone witness who saw Ninoy Aquino shot by a soldier), National Historical Commission of the Philippines officers Alvin
R. Alcid and Gina Batuhan, and MIAA officials Arnel B. Atis and Feliciana Santos in laying wreaths of flowers to observe Ninoy Aquino’s death anniversary at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City. Other groups who joined were the Spirit of EDSA Foundation and the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation.
* * * Gymnastics had molded a Filipino Canadian athlete, Anna Gamelo, to be hardworking. “I’ve developed the need to persevere through the challenges presented in gymnastics.”
At 11, she won her first international medal (bronze) in 2008 at the International Gymnix Cup competition in Montreal, Quebec. Years later, she placed 3rd at the Canadian National Championships. As a national senior, she moved to Gemini Gymnastics under the guidance of her two coaches, former Olympic all-around gold medalist Elena Davydova and Valery Yahchybekov, who honed her to win 4 All-Around National Open Championship Titles, specifically at the Ontario Provincial Championships and at the Canadian National Championships in 2014.
As a scholar at USA’s Michigan State University, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree major in Experience Architecture and minor in Chinese, and graduated with honors in 2019, the year she retired from gymnastics.
Since then, she has been hiking in places across Canada with her big sister. She did some jujitsu, kickboxing, swimming, and ran 5K/10K races with the family to stay active.
She is proud of her Filipino heritage. “I’m proud that Filipinos are known for their talents, being innovative, hardworking and humble. And I love Filipino foods and desserts...I’ve been to Manila for a couple of weeks with my family.”
* * * House Speaker Martin Romualdez described Carlos Yulo as a “once-in-a-century Filipino athlete” following his exceptional double gold victory in France.
“Carlos’ achievements
have not only brought glory to the Philippines but have also highlighted the potential of our athletes to excel in the international arena... We will continue to support and invest in our sports programs to nurture and develop more world-class athletes like Carlos. His success is a shining example of hope and a source of inspiration for all of us,” said Romualdez.
* * * The recent 1st Sovereign Seal of Business Triumph and Remarkable Achiever awards ceremony at Dusit Thani Manila was well-organized with a press conference attended by some media persons, like Peps Bernardo of Malaya Business Insight, Cheska Itable of Amazing Manila Journal, blogger Mac Vasquez, Yuan Santos of Business World, Queenie Ostulano of Philippines Graphic Magazine, Carlo Abalos of Business Mirror, Vivian Yjares and Cha-Cha Bantug of People’s Television Network, blogger Rain de Ocampo, James Humarang of Tech and Lifestyle Journal, and Guia Cruz Buenaventura of Media House Express.
Video messages of congrats for SSBTRA awardees came from Sen. Jingggoy Estrada, former Sen. Bam Aquino and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
My heartfelt thanks to La Visual Corp., Ms. Lalaine Geronimo, awards chairman Nirro Marcelo of Sirbisu Channel, the awards production staff as well as to singers Lae Manego with her supportive daughter Mica Chely and RTU Himig Rizalia, entrepreneur Salvie Collado Paparon (with the support of her hubby Raymond Pedroso and children Sheanne Marie Faye and Shawn Raymond Lue), and Wej Cudiamat of Net 25 Radyo Agila 1062 KHZ.
* * * Thanks to Australia-based Blarneystine Serrano and Ms. OJ Arci for the kindness they extended to this columnist and child actress Elia Ilano (co-host of People’s TV Network’s Artsy Craftsy show every Saturday) during the 50th birthday celebration of Vince M. Tanada in Tagaytay City. All guests were ready for “The Golden Shindig: A Masquerade Ball.” As my friend
Ymman Biaco wrote: “Vince made a grand entrance on horseback before entering the hotel’s grand ballroom. Everyone dressed in their finest white outfits for this royal and Greek mythology-inspired event.”
To brings joy to the night, Generation Z singers Pia
Caduyac and Regin Lanz entertained the guests with their powerful voices that caught my eyes’ cynosure.
Later, Vince made an address that night that left an indelible mark in my mind. Despite being a “renaissance man,” he remains humble and knows how to look back to thank people,
from his parents Emy and the late Tony and his siblings Anna, Elaine and Cocoy, his son Peter Parker, to the members of Philstagers who have been with him through thick and thin. Celebrities like former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Dindo Arroyo, Mon Confiado,
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From left: Rogelio Medina, Salvie Paparon, Nirro Marcelo and Lae Manego.
Celebrant Vince M. Tanada, the golden boy Blarneystine Serrano and child actress Elia Ilano
House Speaker Martin Romualdez with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson Photos courtesy of Rogelio Medina
The Gamelo family members – (from left) Angela, Anna, mom Maria, Marco, dad Michael and Alyssa – at the Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto in 2023.
DZRH Radyo Balintataw host Cecilia Guidote-Alvarez (center, in multicolored dress) at a recent Ninoy Aquino death anniversary observance.
Jose Mari Chan (left) and Rogelio Medina at the former’s Forbes Park home in Makati City.
From left: Rain de Ocampo, James Humarang, Mac Vasquez, Yuan Santos, Peps Bernardo, Rogelio Medina, Queenie Ostulano and Cheska Itable.
Rogelio Constantino Medina
PhilDev names Olivia de Jesus as executive director, appoints new officers to board of trustees
PALO ALTO – The Philippine Development Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) organization with a mission to enable the success of Filipinos through education, innovation & entrepreneurship, has named Olivia (Chinky) De Jesus as its new Executive Director. Olivia will provide the leadership and vision necessary to grow the USA arm of PhilDev, develop strategic alliance with PhilDev S&T and drive donor development and partnerships with community stakeholders across the USA.
Together with the Board of Trustees led by newlyappointed officers, Cris Liban (Chairman), Paolo Malabuyo (Vice Chairman), Gloria Gil (Secretary) and Maria Banatao (Acting Treasurer), she will work to reinvigorate the organization and lead it to a new era - - both to fulfill its ongoing mission set by Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Dado Banatao, and to expand its impact beyond the programs and communities it currently serves.
Olivia brings to PhilDev a wealth of experience in business and stakeholder management. She is the former COO of media company ABS-CBN Global, and
led its business growth, strategic market entry and operations, in key Filipino markets across the globe. Prior to being COO, she was the North America Managing Director for ABS-CBN International and is credited for developing products, content and experiences that led to new revenue streams, garnered industry awards and solidified ABS-CBN - TFC position as a leading and thriving global brand. Olivia also has extensive volunteer and non-profit board experience, having sat on the Board as member and officer at Asian-American Advertising Federation (3AF) and ABS-CBN Foundation International.
This Labor Day let’s work to keep our roads safe and clean
Follow these tips from Caltrans and the California Office of Traffic Safety to keep our communities litter-free this Labor Day Weekend
LABOR Day weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with people driving to major recreational destinations to celebrate with friends and loved ones. But an uptick in travel comes with increased litter on the highway system. Not only is litter unsightly and unhealthy, but litter on our roads can also create unsafe driving conditions and imperil lives.
Litter and debris on our roadways cause motorists to swerve or brake suddenly to avoid these obstacles, increasing the risk of serious crashes or other traffic incidents. Refuse tossed from vehicles can also harm local wildlife that might consume garbage or become tangled in the harmful trash.
That’s why the Caltrans Clean California Initiative, in partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), is providing Californians with the following travel tips to keep our roads clean and safe this Labor Day weekend:
• Keep a litter bag in your vehicle: Choose to be a “litter bagger” and not a “litter bug” by designating a bag for trash in your car and properly disposing its contents at your final destination. This reduces distracting litter on the road and keeps your car and our natural environment cleaner. You can also reuse the bag for future trips.
• Secure your load and keep a safe following distance: If you’re transporting items in a truck bed – such as a cooler, chairs or luggage – make sure they are tied down and securely fastened to prevent them from falling onto the road. Maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you to allow ample time to stop safely if you need to move or brake suddenly.
• Recycle: Separate recyclables from trash in
your car and dispose of them in appropriate recycling bins at your destination, a rest area or when you arrive back home.
• Don’t throw cigarette butts out the window: Hot and dry conditions in the summer puts California at high risk for wildfires. Cigarette butts only exacerbate fire hazards, as they can ignite and fuel the spread of wildfires. Do your part by properly disposing all butts into appropriate trash receptacles.
• Report illegal dumping: If you see someone dumping or disposing waste on public or private property, include relevant roadway details and report the crime to local authorities. Violators can be fined up to $10,000. If you are driving, park at a safe location and then report the violation, or have a passenger place the call.
Let’s keep our community clean this Labor Day weekend! Remember, Zero Litter is the Goal! For more information on how to stay safe and litter-free on the go, visit CleanCA.com and GoSafelyCA.org.
