Critical federal health safety nets are on the Trump administration’s chopping block
As
Ysabel Jurado, LA’s first Fil-Am councilmember, takes office
oN monday, Dec. 9, Ysabel Jurado was sworn in to the
14, which comprises of much of
and northeastern LA and downtown LA. According to a report in Boyle Heights Beat, Jurado attended her first city council meeting on tuesday, Dec. 10. In addition to Jurado, Adrin Nazarian was also sworn into the city council as leader of District 2.
As previously reported in the Asian Journal, Jurado — a highland Park native and resident — defeated incumbent Kevin de Leon in November by nearly 12,000 votes. Jurado’s grassroots campaign was built on progressive policies and solutions and a promise to serve the people, not
‘Law-abiding Filipinos in US not target of mass deportation’
Trust, approval ratings of top government officials decline
by Kristina Maralit ManilaTimes.net
the approval rating of key government officials and institutions, including President ferdinand marcos Jr. and Vice President sara Duterte, had a significant decline heading into the end of the year, Publicus Asia’s Pahayag 2024 end-of-Year survey showed.
marcos’ approval rating saw a steep drop to 33 percent, down from 43 percent in the previous quarter. his disapproval rating, meanwhile, rose to 38 percent. Vice Pres-
ident sara Duterte, on the other hand, saw her approval rating decrease from 40 percent to 37 percent.
this, Publicus Asia said, signals growing public dissatisfaction as the year draws to a close. the dip in the president and vice president’s rating, the poll said, was due to several issues. Unresolved controversies have significantly affected the public perception of marcos and Duterte. Among the key issues are allegations of u PAGE 3
A lot of noise, but nation stable – Marcos
by Alexis RomeRo Philstar.com
mANILA — Although his administration is being hounded by political controversies, the state of the nation is “quite stable,” President ferdinand marcos Jr. said on monday, December 16 as he dismissed speculations that he is conducting a “loyalty check” among security forces. oh, we’re quite stable. I mean, the government is functioning properly. Although there’s a lot of noise, that’s all it is. It’s all just noise,” the president told reporters in an interview at malacañang.
rumors about alleged ouster plots against him surfaced following Vice President sara Duterte’s falling out with him, his family and the administration. their conflict has deteriorated into ugly public exchanges. the rift reached new heights when Duterte, who served as running mate and education secretary of marcos before the souring of their relations, revealed that she had asked someone to kill the president, first Lady Liza marcos and speaker martin romualdez if a supposed assassination plot against her succeeds.
After officials announced
Mary Jane Veloso returns home after 14 years
by Faith argosino Inquirer.net
International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City at around 5:40 a.m. the flight, which departed from soekarno-hatta International Airport in Jakarta at 12:05 a.m., marked the end of a harrowing chapter in Veloso’s life,” BuCor said in a statement. During the flight, Catapang noted Veloso “was not in a handcuff or subjected to any instrument of restraint” citing the rules of general application of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of Prisoners as adopted by the first United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the treatment of offenders. Catapang added that Veloso had “no intention of escaping or harming herself as she was eager to return to the Philippines.”
by gaBrieL PaBico LaLu Inquirer.net
mANILA — the house of representatives quad committee has recommended the filing of crimes against humanity complaints against former President rodrigo Duterte and his key allies for their role in the extrajudicial killings (eJKs) in the drug war.
During his sponsorship speech at the house session on Wednesday, December 15 quad committee lead presiding officer and surigao del Norte
2nd District rep. robert Ace Barbers said the four panels are recommending charges against Duterte and the following individuals for violating republic Act No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International humanitarian Law, Genocide, and other Crimes Against humanity:
“these actions underscore the progress achieved through our investigations in addressing systemic crimes and abuses. We have also recommended amendments to
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Malacañang photo
Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. Malacañang file photo
Mary Jane Veloso returns home after...
from the airport, Veloso was transported to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in mandaluyong City where she will be mandatorily housed at the reception and Diagnostic Center for 5-day quarantine and a 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation, and initial security classification,” the BuCor said.
the agency also assured Veloso’s family that they will be able to visit her in time for Christmas “after her standard five-day quarantine period for new person deprived of liberty wherein she will undergo a comprehensive medical and physical examination.”
Veloso’s family from Nueva ecija, along with lawyers and supporters from the save mary Jane task force, however, failed to personally meet her at the airport after she was immediately escorted to a vehicle that transported her to the CIW.
Veloso’s return follows an agreement between Jakarta and manila, which was announced by President ferdinand marcos Jr. and the Department of foreign Affairs (DfA) last November 19.
Veloso was sentenced to death after she was caught carrying
2.6 kilograms of heroin inside her suitcase at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia in 2010. Veloso maintained she was unaware of the contents of her luggage as it was only handed to her by her recruiters, identified as Julius Lacanilao and maria Cristina sergio. n
‘Law-abiding FIlipinos in US...
In a statement on thursday, December 12, the Philippine embassy and consulates general gave assurance that they “will continue to provide consular services to all filipino nationals regardless of their immigration status.”
Philippine Ambassador to the U.s. Jose manuel romualdez and the consuls general met on Dec. 10-11 to discuss a wide range of issues related to the incoming trump administration and the emerging immigration policies.
“the heads of posts understand the uncertainty felt by certain segments of the filipino community in the United states following recent pronouncements by the incoming administration,” they said.
the meeting is an important step in ensuring a unified, coordinated and effective response. they reaffirmed their collective commitment to supporting and providing appropriate consular assistance to filipino nationals while respecting U.s. laws.
romualdez said in November that he and the consuls would meet this month to plan how they can assist filipinos illegally staying in the U.s. after trump announced he will carry out his promise of mass deportation of undocumented migrants. Luzon economic corridor the top U.s. diplomat in the country believes that the U.s commitment to the Luzon economic Corridor will remain in place under the incoming administration of President-elect trump.
“You can be confident that there is very strong bipartisan support for the U.s.-Philippine relationship, and that goes for the security relationship, the economic relationship and part of what governs that are these very strong people-to-people ties,” U.s. Ambassador maryKay Carlson said in a media roundtable at the ambassador’s residence.
“I’m very optimistic that across the economic field, the military field, everything that we do together, culturally, in educa-
tion, health, foreign assistance. I’m very confident about the future based on our strong ties,” she added.
the U.s., Philippines and Japan announced the Luzon economic Corridor in April, which will support transformative public and private investments. through this corridor, the partners aim to make high-impact investments across multiple sectors to accelerate economic growth, support connectivity particularly between subic, Clark, manila and Batangas and ensure adequate economic security and the attainment of self-sufficiency in the Philippines.
A steering group meeting was recently held for the Luzon economic Corridor with the U.s., Japan and the Philippines.
“But other countries also participated to show what they would could bring to the table, what they were interested in. so for example the UK, Canada are also interested, sweden, the republic of Korea. many of these countries are already doing work in this region,” Carlson said. n
Ysabel Jurado, LA’s first Fil-Am councilmember...
corporations.
“I’ve always been an organizer and I never thought I would run for office, it’s true. But I feel called for this by my community. We [filipinos] are the secondlargest Asian population in southern California and yet we haven’t had a council member ever is wild to me,” Jurado told the Asian Journal in an interview in late 2023.
Per city council regulations, Jurado’s term will be four years. As a housing rights attorney, Jurado has said that creating permanent solutions to LA’s long-existing housing crisis — while combatting gentrification — is one of her priorities. (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)
A lot of noise, but nation stable...
that the vice president could be criminally charged, her father former President rodrigo Duterte called on the armed forces to “correct” what he called a “fractured government.” his call fell flat, however. executive secretary Lucas Bersamin then assailed the former president for “insulting” the military by asking them to betray their oath and for going to “great and evil lengths” to unseat marcos and to install his
daughter into power.
No loyalty check
During the same interview, marcos said he only heard about the alleged loyalty checks being conducted within the security forces through the media.
“You have a command conference and then you say, ‘Are you loyal?’ ‘how about you, are you loyal?’... I do not understand the term because I don’t know how you conduct a loyalty check. At least not when you call a command conference,”
the president said. he was reacting to reports linking his recent meetings with military and police officials and personnel to supposed loyalty checks.
“Because in the military, in the police, we don’t have that... I only hear it in the media. I was just wondering... how do you define a loyalty check?” the chief executive said. marcos later described the question about loyalty checks as “stupid.” n
Quad committee seeks crimes against...
measures aim to strengthen our legal frameworks and ensure that such abuses and misdeeds are prevented in the future,” Barbers said.
Before Barbers revealed the quad committee’s recommendation, Antipolo 2nd District rep. romeo Acop had summarized the 13 hearings conducted by the four panels as part of its progress report, saying they have uncovered tracks to a “grand criminal enterprise” with Duterte at the center.
Acop, overall vice chairperson of the quad committee, said Duterte and his trusted officials have figured in discussions in the hearing, even though his administration strongly advocated against crime and illegal drugs.
According to Acop, testimonies from individuals invited by the quad committee — like dismissed Police colonel eduardo Acierto, former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, ex-Customs broker mark tagu-
ba, and self-confessed Duterte hitman Arturo Lascañas — have pinpointed to a select group of individuals all with links to Duterte. however, Acop pointed out that despite the war on drugs, individuals linked to the illegal drug trade who were deemed close to Duterte — like former presidential economic adviser michael Yang — were not investigated thoroughly.
Acop said that instead of looking into Acierto’s report implicating Yang, Duterte chose to turn a blind eye to it and threatened Acierto. several of Duterte’s relatives and allies were subject to the quad committee’s investigation into the illicit drug trade, extrajudicial killings, and illegal activities inside Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs. for example, Duterte’s son Davao City 1st District rep. Paolo Duterte was accused by Guban and taguba of being in-
volved in smuggling, including the entry of shabu concealed in magnetic lifters in August 2018. taguba last December 13 said that rep. Duterte heads the Davao group, which was responsible for smuggling operations in the Bureau of Customs. INQUIrer.net had contacted rep. Duterte’s office for his reaction on the issue, but his staffer said that the lawmaker would not issue a statement since he did not know taguba. Previously, rep. Duterte also disputed Guban’s accusations against him being involved in the magnetic lifter scheme. According to the lawmaker, he did not know Guban and has never transacted with the former BoC official.
Yang’s name also floated as part of discussions of Pogos and illegal drugs. Duterte, however, told quad committee members in a previous hearing he would personally kill Yang if there was evidence linking him to the drug trade. n
TEARS OF JOY. Cesar Veloso, father of migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso, turns emotional while awaiting her daughter’s arrival from Indonesia on Wednesday, December 18. PNA photo by Avito Dalan
LA City councilmember Ysabel Jurado
Contributed photo
PURE JOY. Happiness is written all over children’s faces as they play during the unveiling of the “Paskong Masaya, Paskong QC” animated Christmas display at SM City Novaliches parking area in Quezon City on Monday, December 16. Mayor Joy Belmonte, other local officials and mall executives led the event. PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
Removing a splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does it, it can be billed as surgery
by eLisaBeth rosenthaL KFF Health Newa
WheN George Lai of Portland, oregon, took his toddler son to a pediatrician last summer for a checkup, the doctor noticed a little splinter in the child’s palm. he must have gotten it between the front door and the car,” Lai later recalled, and the child wasn’t complaining. the doctor grabbed a pair of forceps — aka tweezers — and pulled out the splinter in “a second,” Lai said. that brief tug was transformed into a surgical billing code: Current Procedural terminology (CPt) code 10120, “incision and removal of a foreign body, subcutaneous” — at a cost of $414. this was ridiculous,” Lai said. “there was no scalpel.” he was so angry that he went back to the office to speak with the manager, who told him the coding was correct because tweezers could make an incision to open the skin.
When helene schilders of seattle went to her dermatologist for her annual skin check this year, she mentioned her clothing was irritating a skin tag she had. the doctor froze the tag with liquid nitrogen. “It was squirt, squirt. that’s it,” schilders told me. she was “floored” by an explanation of benefits that said the simple treatment had been billed as $469 for surgery. Assuming the bill was a mistake, she called the doctor’s office and was told that surgery had indeed occurred — because the skin was broken in the process. hence surgical CPt code 17110, “destruction of 1-14 benign lesions.”
schilders complained to her insurer, who provided a document informing her that “surgery is classified as something entering the body, such as a Q-tip entering the ear canal or a scalpel during surgery.” huh? “I have had surgery, and this is not it,” schilders said. In common vernacular, “surgery” evokes images of physicians and nurses leaning over an operating table, gowned and masked, as they address a problem deep in the body. removing an appendix or a tumor. replacing a knee. Clipping a leaking aneurysm in the brain. It most probably involves a scalpel or specialized instruments and surgical skill. more and more minor interventions, however, have been rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. these tiny interventions don’t yield huge bills — in the hundreds rather than
the thousands of dollars — but, cumulatively, they likely add up to tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars for doctors and hospitals annually. the surprise bills often catch patients off guard. And they must pay up if they haven’t met their insurance deductible. even if they have, “surgery” generally requires a coinsurance payment, while an office visit doesn’t. there’s more pressure to make money, and the idea is you can charge more if it’s a surgical procedure,” said sabrina Corlette, founder and co-director of Georgetown University’s Center on health Insurance reforms. “the payer should be reviewing this and saying this is run-ofthe-mill. But there’s not a lot of incentive to do that.” Corlette surmised that the codes employed in the instances mentioned above were intended for rare, complicated cases in which the removal of a splinter or a skin lesion — or 14 of them — required special skills or time. But the codes’ use has ballooned, covering the complicated and the commonplace. the use of code 17110 billed from doctors’ offices has gone up 62% from 2013 (1,739,708) to 2022 (2,817,190). the blizzard of surgeriesin-name-only is a symptom of a system that has long valued procedures far more than intellectual work in its payments to medical providers. that merits rethinking, and there are some hints that the incoming presidential administration might be interested in doing so. the current payment calculation system has its origins in the late 1980s, when a team led by an economist at harvard University’s public health school, William hsiao, created what’s called the resource Based relative Value scale, or rBrVs, to rationalize medicare’s payments to doctors. It allocated reimbursement using a formula that included physician work, practice expenses, and malpractice expenses. It concluded “that the work per unit time (a measure of intensity) for invasive services is about three times that of evaluation/ management.”
In other words, it enshrined the notion that “invasive services” — procedures or surgery — were by far the most valuable. An American medical Association committee that includes physicians from an array of specialties periodically suggests updates to those codes (and federal regulators accept them, in many years, over 90% of the time). since surgeons are overrepresented on the
committee, the valuation of anything defined as an operation has only increased, giving billers the incentive to classify even the most mundane interventions as surgery. experts of all political stripes have spent years critiquing the process — it’s common sense that the fox (physicians) should not be guarding the henhouse (payments).
President-elect
Donald trump’s pick for health and human services secretary, robert f. Kennedy Jr., has signaled that he might rethink that approach, according to the healthindustry publication stat. Kennedy has not outlined an actual plan to replace the current process, but he is reportedly exploring if the Centers for medicare & medicaid services, a government agency, could do it instead.
Absent reform, on it goes.
Anthony Norton of Puyallup, Washington, took his 3-year-old daughter to a doctor this year because she had a bothersome plantar wart on her foot. the doctor applied a chemical ointment to the wart in the office every two weeks and covered it with a Band-Aid. When the child arrived for a third visit, Norton was informed he had an outstanding balance of $465 (in addition to the $25 office visit copay already paid) because the application was “surgery.” CPt code 17110 again.
“It made no sense,” Norton later recalled. the billing office assured him it was surgery, he said, “because the ointment penetrates the skin.”
Norton wondered: “When you extrapolate that, is putting on Neosporin or calamine surgery, too?”
We are now in an era in which a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.
Lai was so angry at being charged more than $400 to pull that splinter out of his child’s hand that he went on a crusade, returning to the dermatologist’s office when his calls were ignored, accusing it of fraud and threatening to complain to his insurer. only then, he said, did the doctor’s office waive the surgical charge — and kick him and his family out of the practice.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes
by Vanessa g sánchez KFF Health Newa
Los ANGeLes — Presi-
dent-elect Donald trump’s promise of mass deportations and tougher immigration restrictions is deepening mistrust of the health care system among California’s immigrants and clouding the future for providers serving the state’s most impoverished residents.
At the same time, immigrants living illegally in southern California told Kff health News they thought the economy would improve and their incomes might increase under trump, and for some that outweighed concerns about health care.
Community health workers say fear of deportation is already affecting participation in medi-Cal, the state’s medicaid program for low-income residents, which was expanded in phases to all immigrants regardless of residency status over the past several years. that could undercut the state’s progress in reducing the uninsured rate, which reached a record low of 6.4% last year.
Immigrants lacking legal residency have long worried that participation in government programs could make them targets, and trump’s election has compounded those concerns, community advocates say. the incoming trump administration is also expected to target medicaid with funding cuts and enrollment restrictions, which activists worry could threaten the medi-Cal expansion and kneecap efforts to extend health insurance subsidies under Covered California to all immigrants. the fear alone has so many consequences to the health of our communities,” said mar Velez, director of policy with the Latino Coalition for a healthy California. “this is, as they say, not their first rodeo. they understand how the system works. I think this machine is going to be, unfortunately, a lot more harmful to our communities.” Alongside such worries, though, is a strain of optimism
that trump might be a boon to the economy, according to interviews with immigrants in Los Angeles whom health care workers were soliciting to sign up for medi-Cal. selvin, 39, who, like others interviewed for this article, asked to be identified by only his first name because he’s living here without legal permission, said that even though he believes trump dislikes people like him, he thinks the new administration could help boost his hours at the food processing facility where he works packing noodles. “I do see how he could improve the economy. from that perspective, I think it’s good that he won.” he became eligible for medi-Cal this year but decided not to enroll, worrying it could jeopardize his chances of changing his immigration status.
“I’ve thought about it,” selvin said, but “I feel like it could end up hurting me. I won’t deny that, obviously, I’d like to benefit — get my teeth fixed, a physical checkup.” But fear holds him back, he said, and he hasn’t seen a doctor in nine years.
It’s not trump’s mass deportation plan in particular that’s scaring him off, though. “If I’m not committing any crimes or getting a DUI, I think I won’t get deported,” selvin said. Petrona, 55, came from el salvador seeking asylum and enrolled in medi-Cal last year.
Trust, approval ratings of top government...
corruption (19 percent) and the impact of inflation (17 percent), which continues to burden households.
Duterte’s controversies include her remarks perceived as threats against the president and others (20 percent), the Commission on Audit’s findings regarding the office of the Vice President (19 percent), and her controversial comment on the exhumation of the late President marcos sr. (15 percent).
senate President francis escudero’s approval rating fell from 41 percent to 37 percent (disapproval rating at 26 percent), while speaker martin romualdez experienced a drop from 25 percent to 20 percent approval, coupled with a 43 percent disapproval rating. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo saw his approval rating drop from 28 percent to 25 percent. trust ratings followed a similar downward trajectory, with marcos’ trust rating falling from 32 percent to 23 percent (distrust rising to 44 percent) and romualdez dropping from 18 percent to 13 percent (distrust at 51 percent). the trust levels for Duterte (31 percent), escudero (26 percent)
and Gesmundo (17 percent) remained relatively stable but still reflected minor declines.
Among government agencies, the technical education and skills Development Authority (tesDA) achieved the highest approval rating at 65 percent, alongside a trust rating of 47 percent.
tesDA was closely followed by the Armed forces of the Philippines (AfP) with 57 percent approval and 46 percent trust, and the Department of science and technology (Dost) with 57 percent approval and 39 percent trust. the house of representatives and the Department of human settlements and Urban Development (DhsUD) were the least approved and trusted agencies, with 36 percent approval and 23 percent trust for the former and 36 percent approval and 21 percent trust for the latter. the overall performance rating of the marcos administration dropped from 46 percent for the third quarter of 2024 to 36 percent in the fourth quarter. this is a huge decline from the 61 percent tallied for the same period in 2023. the administration experienced sharp declines across all regions, with
mindanao registering the largest drop at 22 percent.
Among senators, raffy tulfo remained the top performer but saw his approval rating fall to a new low of 60 percent. other senators also experienced declines, including Joel Villanueva (50 percent to 40 percent), sherwin Gatchalian (52 percent to 43 percent) and Loren Legarda (48 percent to 42 percent). risa hontiveros, who had previously shown consistent gains, saw a notable 12-point drop from 63 percent to 51 percent, possibly linked to reduced public visibility following the conclusion of a senate investigation.
Pahayag 2024 end of the Year survey (PeoY-2024), conducted by Publicus Asia Inc., is an independent and noncommissioned survey. the survey period was from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, 2024, using purposive sampling composed of 1,500 respondents randomly drawn from the market research panel of over 200,000 registered filipino voters maintained by the singapore office of Purespectrum, a U.s.-based panel marketplace with a multinational presence. n
she said that if her health insurance benefits were cut, she wouldn’t be able to afford her visits to the dentist.
A street food vendor, she hears often about trump’s deportation plan, but she said it will be the criminals the new president pushes out. “I’ve heard people say he’s going to get rid of everyone who’s stealing.”
Although she’s afraid she could be deported, she’s also hopeful about trump. “he says he’s going to give a lot of work to hispanics because Latinos are the ones who work the hardest,” she said. “that’s good, more work for us, the ones who came here to work.”
Newly elected republican Assembly member Jeff Gonzalez, who flipped a seat long held by Democrats in the Latino-heavy desert region in the southeastern part of the state, said his constituents were anxious to see a new economic direction. they’re just really kind of fed up with the status quo in California,” Gonzalez said. “People on the ground are saying, ‘I’m hopeful,’ because now we have a different perspective. We have a businessperson who is looking at the very things that we are looking at, which is the price of eggs, the price of gas, the safety.” Gonzalez said he’s not going to comment about potential medicaid cuts, because trump has not u PAGE 4
Critical federal health safety nets are...
PAGE 1
No cuts to social security, promises Trump on the campaign trail, President-elect Donald trump promised not to cut social security or medicare, which primarily serves people over 65. But trump made little mention of medicaid, which provides health insurance to low-income adults and children via ChIP.
medicaid is the largest source of federal funds coming into state budgets, and accounts for an average of 56% of a state’s budget. “so if we do see big cuts to medicaid, that will affect all areas of states’ budget, not just their health budget,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and families and research Professor at the Georgetown mcCourt school of Public Policy foundation.
Early budget resolution
Alker spoke at a Dec. 6 news briefing organized by ethnic media services. other speakers included mayra Alvarez, President of the Children’s Partnership, who discussed the impact of federal cuts to children. richard Kogan, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, discussed impoundment, a littleused process the President could use to simply stop the flow of funds allocated by Congress.
Cuts to medicaid could happen even before President-elect Donald trump takes office, explained Alker, explaining that a new, republican-controlled house and senate will likely hit the ground running on a budget resolution in January. Large cuts to medicaid would create serious problems for state governments who would not be able to fill in the gap, she said, noting that such cuts would have a deep impact on America’s aging population.
the cuts will be back-loaded to play out over a 10-year period, noted the researcher. “Congress is usually very good at thinking about ways to structure these kinds of cuts so that the pain is not immediately felt.”
New red tape
New red tape is likely to be added, delaying enrollment for eligible people and their children. health care providers who see a lot of low-wage workers, particularly those in rural communities could very likely face cuts in reimbursement, said Alker. “these cuts will be very hard for providers to absorb. so all of these different groups — children, seniors, people with disabilities, low-wage
workers — will be put at risk if we see substantial cuts to medicaid,” she said. medicaid is very popular with voters, polling right behind medicare, one of the federal government’s most popular programs. “Voters don’t want to see big cuts to medicaid. this election was about cost concerns that families have, and they certainly don’t want to be paying more health care costs,” said Alker. Project 2025 several of the proposals in Project 2025 — expected to be trump’s playbook for his 2nd term in office — would cause irreparable harm to the health and well-being of children, said Alvarez of the Children’s Partnership. “Children absolutely need healthcare services and the security that coverage like medicaid or medi-Cal in California provides. But they also require a safety net and access to services that include nutrition, economic supports, and more,” she said, noting that the Children’s health Insurance Program, the supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, temporary Assistance for Needy families, and even school lunch programs are at risk for being cut or eliminated.
sNAP, also known as food stamps, provides support to 40 million people. “It’s our nation’s first line of defense against hunger,” said Alvarez, adding that the incoming administration has proposed $4 billion in cuts to the program over 5 years. “this is at a time when grocery prices have increased 24% between 2020 and 2023, and wages have not increased proportionately,” she said.
Public charge the trump administration will likely end the Low Income home energy Assistance Program, also known as LIheAP, which assists low-income families with their energy bills, said Alvarez. she also expressed concern that funding for the Women, Infants, and Children program — WIC — would be reduced.
families eligible for federal health support are likely to disenroll themselves, as they did with trump’s 1st administration, for fear of the public charge rule, said Alvarez. trump attempted to invoke public charge during his first term, threatening to deny adjustment of immigration status, if the applicant had availed of federal benefits. he created a chilling effect in the immigrant community, said Alvarez.
Impoundment is unconstitu-
tional Kogan of CBPP explained another seldom-used process known as impoundment, which allows the President to simply stop the flow of funds already approved by Congress. he stated that impoundment is unconstitutional. trump hinted at his intent to use impoundment during several campaign rallies. “We’re going to bring back presidential impoundment authority, which nobody knows what it is. But it allows the president to go out and cut things and save a fortune for our country,” he said, as reported by NPr Kogan first began researching the legalities of impoundment 52 years ago, as former President richard Nixon used the process to deny funds to social welfare programs. Nixon faced nine lawsuits and lost all of them.
In 1974, Congress approved the Impoundment Control Act, attempting to limit similar presidential actions.
President must obey Congress much of the public discussion of impoundment is very confused or often just plain wrong,” said Kogan. “the key takeaway is that presidents have never had the general authority to impound funding enacted into law by Congress, and Congress couldn’t even grant such authority to the president if it wanted to.”
“first, the U.s. Constitution does not grant the president the right to impound funds. It is just the opposite. the Constitution says that Congress decides what to spend money on and how much, and that the president’s job is to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed.’” he said.
In 1996, Congress approved the Line Item Veto Act, which gave Presidents the authority to make selective vetoes of line items within appropriations bills. A line item veto, effectively an impoundment, would go into effect unless Congress wrote a new law to forbid it. But the supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Act was unconstitutional.
“I worry about the types of cuts that Congress might make, taking away or reducing health care, food assistance, education aid, or housing support for some or tens of millions of people. But it is Congress’s job to write the budget laws and the president’s job to faithfully follow those budget laws. this is not optional,” said Kogan.
(Sunita Sohrabji/Ethnic Media Services)
Trump threat to immigrant health care...
made any official announcement. Unlike most in his party, Gonzalez said he supports the extension of health care services to all residents regardless of immigration status. health care providers said they are facing a twin challenge of hesitancy among those they are supposed to serve and the threat of major cuts to medicaid, the federal program that provides over 60% of the funding for medi-Cal. health providers and policy researchers say a loss in federal contributions could lead the state to roll back or downsize some programs, including the expansion to cover those without legal authorization.
California and oregon are the only states that offer comprehensive health insurance to all income-eligible immigrants regardless of status. About 1.5 million people without authorization have enrolled in California, at a cost of over $6 billion a year to state taxpayers.
“everyone wants to put these types of services on the chopping block, which is really unfair,” said state sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “We will do everything we can to ensure that we prioritize this.”
sen. Gonzalez said it will be challenging to expand programs such as Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, for which immigrants lacking permanent legal status are not eligible. A big concern for immigrants and their advocates is that trump could reinstate changes to the public charge policy, which can deny green cards or visas
based on the use of government benefits.
“President trump’s mass deportation plan will end the financial drain posed by illegal immigrants on our healthcare system, and ensure that our country can care for American citizens who rely on medicaid, medicare, and social security,” trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Kff health News.
During his first term, in 2019, trump broadened the policy to include the use of medicaid, as well as housing and nutrition subsidies. the Biden administration rescinded the change in 2021.
Kff, a health information nonprofit that includes Kff health News, found immigrants use less health care than people born in the United states. And about 1 in 4 likely undocumented immigrant adults said they have avoided applying for assistance with health care, food, and housing because of immigration-related fears, according to a 2023 survey.
Another uncertainty is the fate of the Affordable Care Act, which was opened in November to immigrants who were brought to the U.s. as children and are protected by the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program. If DACA eligibility for the act’s plans, or even the act itself, were to be reversed under trump, that would leave roughly 40,000 California DACA recipients, and about 100,000 nationwide, without access to subsidized health insurance. on Dec. 9, a federal court in North Dakota issued an order blocking DACA recipients from accessing Affordable Care Act health plans in 19 states that had
challenged the Biden administration’s rule.
Clinics and community health workers are encouraging people to continue enrolling in health benefits. But amid the push to spread the message, the chilling effects are already apparent up and down the state.
“
¿Ya tiene medi-Cal?” community health worker Yanet martinez said, asking residents whether they had medi-Cal as she walked down Pico Boulevard recently in a Los Angeles neighborhood with many salvadorans.
“¡Nosotros podemos ayudarle a solicitar medi-Cal! ¡Todo gratuito!” she shouted, offering help to sign up, free of charge.
“Gracias, pero no,” said one young woman, responding with a no thanks. she shrugged her shoulders and averted her eyes under a cap that covered her from the late-morning sun. since election Day, martinez said, people have been more reluctant to hear her pitch for subsidized health insurance or cancer prevention screenings.
“they think I’m going to share their information to deport them,” she said. “they don’t want anything to do with it.” This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes california Healthline, an editorially independent service of the california Health care Foundation. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
CHRISTMAS TRADITION. Colorful giant floats of the lantern parade converge in front of the Quezon Hall of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City on Wednesday, Dec. 18. It is an annual UP event that dates back to the 1920s.
PNA photo by Joan Bondoc
Pangilinan defends ‘selfie’ with Marcos
the caption of the "megastar" mentioned memories with the marcos family, after she was part of a concert in honor of members of the film industry, in preparation for the upcoming metro manila film festival.
madam first Lady!" she wrote on sunday.
a concert in malacañang over the weekend.
In an Instagram post by wife and veteran singer-actress sharon Cuneta on sunday, December 15, Pangilinan took a "selfie" with Cuneta, President ferdinand marcos Jr. and first Lady Liza Araneta-marcos.
"When we arrived [sunday night], I got the warmest hug from the fL [first Lady], like no time had passed! And then of course, the warmest, biggest hug from the President. With some side stories, just like old times! thank you so much again, mr. President and
In a statement, Pangilinan said he attended the concert supporting the country's film industry upon invitation of the Palace and accompanied his wife.
"I attended the concert in support of the local film industry upon the invitation of malacañang and to accompany my wife, sharon, considered by many as one of the pillars of the nation's film industry," he wrote on tuesday.
the former senator said he thanked malacañang for supporting Philippine cinema, just as he supported its decision in banning the operations of PoGos and its position over the West Philippine sea. showing up to support and appreciate the initiatives of malacañang that we ourselves support and advocate does not mean we have abandoned our principles," Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan, who ran for vice president against marcos' then running mate sara Duterte in 2022, is running again in the upcoming 2025 midterm elections for senator. n
Remittances hit $3.42B in October
by niña Pauline arceo ManilaTimes.net
moNeY sent home by overseas filipino workers
(ofWs) hit $3.42 billion in october, the Bangko sentral ng Pilipinas (BsP) reported on monday, 2.7 percent higher compared to the year-earlier $3.33 billion. the amount was also higher than the $3.34 billion posted in september, but growth was the lowest in four months.
october's result, the BsP said in a statement, was driven by "remittances from both land-based and sea-based workers."
It brought cumulative remittances for the 10 months of the year to $31.49 billion, 3.0 percent higher than the $30.57 billion recorded in the comparable 2023 period.
money sent home via banks alone totaled $3.08 billion in october, 2.7 percent up from $3.0 billion a year earlier and 2.3 percent higher compared to september's $3.01 billion.
Year to date, cash remittances were 3.0 percent higher at $28.30 billion from $27.49 billion.
Cash remittance growth for the 10-month period was mainly due to inflows from the United states, saudi Arabia, singapore and the United Arab emirates, the BsP said.
By country source, the U.s. continued to account for the biggest share (41.2 percent), followed by singapore (7.1 percent), saudi Arabia (6.2 percent), Japan (4.9 percent) and the United Kingdom (4.8 percent). rounding out the top 10 were the UAe (4.3 percent), Canada (3.5 percent), Qatar (2.8 percent), taiwan (2.8 percent) and south Korea (2.5 percent). sought for comment, rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist michael ricafort said that higher remittances were expected as most ofWs had sent money back home for the Christmas and New Year holidays. for the coming months, single-digit/modest growth in ofW remittances could still continue as ofW families still need to cope up with relatively higher inflation locally that would require the sending of more remittances," he added. n
Mary Jane Veloso appeals to Marcos for clemency
by Faith argosino Inquirer.net
mANILA — mary Jane Veloso, who was sent home after spending almost 15 years on death row in Indonesia for alleged drug trafficking, has appealed to President ferdinand marcos Jr. to grant her clemency.
In a short interview with the media on Wednesday, December 18, Veloso said she is very happy to return to the Philippines. the commercial flight that brought her home a week before Christmas Day arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City at around 5:40 a.m.
“Napakasaya po nakauwi sa bansa natin,” Veloso told reporters at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in mandaluyong City.
(i’m so happy to be back home.)
“Pakiusap ko sa Pangulo sana bigyan na niya ko ng clemency,” she added.
(i am appealing to the president to grant me clemency.)
Aside from Veloso’s request, a lawmaker filed a resolution urging the house of representatives to call on marcos to grant Veloso clemency.
Clemency means the “conditional release of a prisoner from [the] correctional institution after serving the minimum period of prison sentence.” the convoy transporting Veloso arrived at the CIW at around 7:06 a.m. Veloso will be mandatorily housed at the reception and Diagnostic Center of the CIW for a five-day quarantine and 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation, and initial security classification, the BuCor earlier disclosed. her return follows an
Former Senator Kiko Pangilinan ManilaTines.net file photo
ManilaTines.net file photo
agreement between Jakarta and manila, which was announced by President ferdinand marcos Jr. and the Department of foreign Affairs last November 19. Veloso was sentenced to death in october 2010 after she was caught carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia on April 25 of the same year. Veloso maintained she was unaware of the contents of her luggage as it was only handed to her by her recruiters, Julius Lacanilao and maria Cristina sergio. n
Inquirer.net file photo
End the export of Filipinos
President Marcos has a dream: to “make overseas work a choice rather than a necessity” one day.
speaking at a ceremony in malacañang last week to honor individuals and organizations for excelling in their fields and championing overseas filipino workers (ofWs), the president cited reforms in governance and economic development that, he said, would provide filipinos with more and better opportunities here.
But he also recognized that filipino talents would continue to cross international borders in search of better-paying jobs. “Against this backdrop, the Philippines remains committed to ensuring that the rights and well-being of our overseas filipinos and their families are safeguarded at all times, wherever they may be,” mr. marcos said.
And there’s the rub.
Cornerstone of economic policy
As dramatic as it sounds, it’s hard to take the president’s “dream” seriously when a cornerstone of his administration’s economic policy is precisely geared toward the exportation, or exploitation, of filipino workers, whose remittances help keep the economy afloat. It’s even harder to appreciate his vision in the face of the realities that push our compatriots to seek greener pastures abroad.
As the think tank migration Policy Institute (mPI) noted in an article published in January, the Philippines has relied on international migration as an economic engine since the enactment of the Labor Code under Presidential Decree No. 442, signed by mr. marcos’ late father and namesake in 1974. that law explicitly mandates the government to “promote the overseas employment of filipino workers through a comprehensive market promotion and development program,” and “to recruit and place workers for overseas employment on a government-to-government arrangement and in such other sectors as policy may dictate.”
foLLoWING the instructions of President marcos, our team at the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. is going full blast with our economic diplomacy efforts as we continue our engagements with U.s. legislators and government officials. In fact, we discussed this extensively during our strategic planning session with Philippine consuls general all across the United states, including Guam, on how we will be moving forward relative to the incoming trump administration.
We see a number of opportunities in exploring potential joint ventures in various sectors between U.s. and Philippine investors. A very good example of a successful joint venture is Amber Kinetics, a global leader in the design and manufacture of long-duration flywheel energy storage systems.
I recently visited their facility in Union City, California and was
DoNALD trump’s re-election against the backdrop of a record marred by criminal allegations and accusations of immorality can speak volumes for the powerful strategies and the messaging capacity to resonate with certain segments of the electorate. reflecting elements of the Philippine political landscape, rodrigo Duterte and ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr. both emerged victorious in previous elections despite controversial backgrounds and strong opposition. By examining the messaging, public relations tactics and socio-political contexts in each case, the power of great Pr shines through in influencing voter perception and behavior. The power of a strong persona and identity politics trump’s re-election, like the political successes of Duterte and marcos in the Philippines, was dependent on a strong, unconventional persona that gained the support of a particular audience. the Pr campaign that supported trump, Duterte and marcos all focused on themes of “toughness” and the ability
It has been 50 years since the Labor Code was passed, and as the Philippines emerges from the CoVID-19 pandemic that hindered migration globally, “the country is doubling down on its ambitions to serve as a provider of workers to the world,” the mPI said.
Another indicator of the government’s intentions to continue pursuing overseas employment was the creation of the Department of migrant Workers (DmW) in December 2021. 10 million OFWs in 200 countries
Born from the ashes of multiple fragmented agencies, the DmW claims to protect ofWs and facilitate reintegration. But its very existence underscores an inherent contradiction at the center of the government’s policies on overseas employment: Instead of creating livelihood opportunities at home, the administration continues to institutionalize migration as a solution, reinforcing the unofficial labor export policy that began in the 1970s.
As a result of such a policy, an estimated 10 million filipinos now live and work in more than 200 countries, many in temporary or irregular status, according to the mPI report. In 2022, more than 1.2 million ofWs were deployed, more than double the figure in 2020, when much of the world had closed its doors to migrant workers at the height of the pandemic.
Unfortunately, despite the president’s declaration, it’s unlikely that the government will turn its back on ofW remittances, which account for nearly 9 percent of the gross domestic product, in lieu of substantive reforms. remittances soared to record levels in 2022, reaching $32.5 billion, providing a lifeline to an economy that is still recovering from pandemic shocks, the mPI report said. Yet, this dependence on ofWs comes at a high cost.
Economic diplomacy
given a briefing on the company’s cutting-edge technology that provides safe, sustainable and reliable energy storage solutions for the modern grid.
former country chairman of shell in the Philippines edgar Chua is the Ceo of Amber Kinetics. During a tour of the facility, I spoke with chief technology officer and co-founder Dr. seth sanders, who said they are expanding operations in the Philippines where their innovation hub is located. their facility in Batangas manufactures, assembles and tests flywheels, while their demo site is located at the De La salle University in Laguna.
Amber Kinetics is a modest company, but it has huge potential because of the role it plays in global efforts to transition towards a clean energy future. It also has a significant role in advancing the Philippines’ renewable energy sector because its investment and innovation in energy storage are transforming the country’s energy landscape, driving sustainability and supporting our transition to a greener future.
Armscor Global Defense is
another company that has joint ventures in the United states, with facilities in Nevada, montana and Utah. this is an example of a quid pro quo business engagement since it will be beneficial to both the U.s. and the Philippines – which is how we are going to approach our economic diplomacy agenda with the trump administration. these are the kinds of economic activities that we want to see more of in the future, with joint ventures in various sectors that include semiconductors, digital, infrastructure and artificial intelligence. our main thrust is economic diplomacy that would help the country achieve economic prosperity that can translate to economic security. to this end, there have been a lot of positive developments like the P1.25-billion partnership between ramon Ang’s New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) and manny Pangilinan’s manila electric Company (meralco) to upgrade the power supply at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). this collaboration will ensure a reliable supply of electricity at NAIA and will “directly improve
filipino workers are sent to war zones in the middle east, caught in the crossfire among combatants, or become victims of illegal recruiters and traffickers, facing potential execution in countries where capital punishment is imposed. mary Jane Veloso, whose death sentence was commuted by Indonesia and who is set to be transferred to the Philippines, stands as a rare exception to the fate suffered by ofWs on death row abroad.
Preserving workers’ dignity such vulnerabilities are the natural consequence of a system that prioritizes dollar inflows over the safety and welfare of the people.
If the president truly aspires to redefine the future of filipino labor, he must walk his talk by stopping the government’s reliance on labor export and fixing
functionality, safety and the passenger experience, setting the foundation for a world class airport that every filipino can be proud of,” said NNIC President ramon Ang.
I have known ramon for a long time, whom I fondly call “Don ramon” considering how he has transformed san miguel into what it is today. our good friend, the late smC chairman eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, had great admiration for ramon’s business acumen and his vision, and many would agree that without him, smC would not be what it has become today – one of the biggest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. enhancing power reliability at NAIA will help “empower the tourism and travel industry, support economic growth” and transform NAIA into a world-class facility, said meralco chairman manny Pangilinan.
I have said on several occasions that a stable and reliable supply of electricity is crucial in attracting investors to sustain growth and transform the economy, and the country’s biggest private electric distribution company can help bring economic progress to many parts of the country.
Explaining Trump, Duterte and Marcos
to incite radical change. even though each politician has tainted reputations, the person in question tended to get a certain “champion of the people” image across, one who would “stand up” to the elites, the status quo and the mainstream media. In trump’s case, his Pr strategy set the story that he was victimized and unfairly targeted by political foes. the campaign “swept under the rug” claims of criminal conduct and portrayed it as an effort to silence a populist leader. Duterte, in the same vein, postured himself as an “outsider” who could take some fight against the “clash” system, more so with his populist anti-drug war advocacies. similarly, marcos Jr. deployed Pr tactics to restore the reputation of the marcos family by repositioning them as victims of politics and hImseLf as a victor in a struggle for a reputation of “strong” leadership. In each of these three examples, each leader successfully positioned himself as an underdog fighting for the “little guy,” which increased his appeal and eclipsed his negatives. Control of narrative the dominance over the media narrative is a critical factor that explains the electoral success of trump, Duterte and marcos. these leaders utilized a directto-audience approach on social
media to circumvent traditional media channels. this style enabled them to communicate directly with their supporters, create or push counter-narratives, and discredit mainstream media as biased or out-of-touch. trump’s use of X, formerly twitter, Duterte’s reliance on social media platforms and marcos’s broad network of influencers on the internet all contributed to what had become an echo chamber for their message, amplifying their messages and shutting them off from public criticism.
Duterte and marcos used Pr tactics that blurred lines between truth and propaganda very effectively. Duterte’s infamous facebook-centric campaign created a deluge of proadministration content not only in promoting him as a “man of action” but also casting suspicion over mainstream media’s credibility. marcos’ campaign utilized the social space to “rewrite” the marcos regime narrative to frame his father’s rule as positive. this is similar to trump’s re-election campaign, which exploited his “fake news” narrative to discredit negative coverage. from a public relations perspective, controlling the narrative enabled these leaders to create an “alternative reality” for their followers, in which criticism and allegations did not apply to
them.
Appeal to emotions and national identity
A classic Pr strategy that trump, Duterte and marcos utilized was the appeal to emotions, especially in terms of nationalism and identity.
trump’s “make America Great Again” slogan cleverly tapped into the disillusionment of globalization and demographic shifts with the promise of a nostalgic ideal of America that appealed to a great many voters.
Duterte presented his campaign as promising to “restore peace and order” by tapping into the fears associated with crime and drugs as embracing a strongman who would defend at all costs the people he serves. marcos, by nostalgia for his father’s regime, framed the marcos era as a “golden age” for the Philippines – a narrative that Pr campaigns pushed in hopes to attract voters who are disillusioned by current political elites. this appeal to national identity is particularly powerful because it extends beyond scandals and controversies the candidate might be involved in. A leader who is perceived as fighting for the “soul” of the nation or an idealized version of that country will have people blinded to personal failures. the Pr tactic here is to elevate the
the structural weaknesses that drive migration: corruption, red tape, the patronage system, and government neglect.
Decades of dependence have created a vicious cycle where families invest heavily in education not to keep talent in the country but to export it, and where nurses, doctors, engineers, teachers, and skilled workers are seen as commodities rather than valued pillars of society. In the end, the president must transform his dream into a vow and a call to action. ending the labor export policy is not just about economics—it is about preserving the dignity of filipino workers. Above all, it is about proving to our people they hold the same potential to thrive at home as they do on foreign soil. (inquirer.net)
As pointed out by meralco senior vice president Arnel Casanova during a financial forum with the monday Circle to discuss the economic and business landscape, a primary objective is to “make the Philippines competitive in the global economy, particularly in the context of becoming digital.”
In terms of food security, for instance, power is needed for cold storage. In the area of health care, power is crucial for hospitals to operate very well, for quality of life to be better and for businesses to thrive. the Philippines is really in a good place today, judging from the positive economic outlooks from international financial institutions like the World Bank that projects the economy growing at an average of six percent over the period from 2024 to 2026.
According to World Bank country director for the Philippines Zafer mustafaoglu, “strong growth puts the country on a firmer footing to maintain gains in poverty reduction,” but warned about the country’s vulnerability to extreme weather events like typhoons.
Knowing the economic impact of natural disasters, President marcos has called on the National Disaster risk reduction and man-
candidate above personal qualities and place them within a bigger nationalistic narrative so criticisms can seem irrelevant or unpatriotic.
Strategic deployment of scapegoating and anti-system sentiment
A common denominator between the three – rump, Duterte and marcos – is their exploitation of scapegoating for Pr purposes. trump blamed “the radical left,” the “deep state” and undocumented immigrants for America’s ailments, playing to fears and locking in his voting base.
Duterte pointed to drug addicts and criminals. marcos tapped into a deep-seated list of grievances against liberal democratic elites. By identifying enemies that were already unpopular or viewed with suspicion, they tapped into preexisting prejudices and redirected voter anger. this tactic creates a strong sense of “us vs them” among supporters, who see their candidate as the last defense against these perceived threats.
Distrust in the system has, in particular, become a potent Pr strategy in recent years: the assertions of election fraud by Donald trump and of media bias by rodrigo Duterte echo classic campaign rhetoric of ferdinand marcos, which portrayed him as a victim of an unjust political order. the narratives were constantly hammered home by the Pr teams
agement Council, other concerned agencies and local government units to “develop innovative solutions” that are science-based, sustainable and future ready. the Luzon economic Corridor (LeC), which is a partnership between the Philippines, Japan and the United states to develop infrastructure projects such as railways, port modernization and upgrades, semiconductor supply chains and others aimed at driving economic growth, is also attracting interest from countries like Australia, south Korea, sweden and the United Kingdom to participate in development projects under the LeC. We have positive vibes and confidence that under the trump administration, the economic relationship between the Philippines and the United states would be even better, since our focus on investments down the line is a two-way street – beneficial to both countries in the long run. (Philstar. com) * * *
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. * * * Email: babeseyeview@gmail.com
to whip up support, cultivating a sense of collective victimhood among their followers and garbing their leaders with trappings of resistance.
Lessons in PR: Harnessing controversial but effective strategies the reelection of leaders like trump, Duterte and marcos illustrates that Pr campaigns, particularly when accompanied by social media, can be effective in shaping popular perception. A lesson for political Pr practitioners is that winning is not tantamount to a perfect reputation. It is winning and holding onto a strong, memorable brand. Both of these leaders employed controversial strategies that polarized voters, but their populist, nationalist and anti-institutional narratives proved more compelling than the voices warning about moral or legal issues. furthermore, it has changed the concept of “truth” from the public’s point of view by deploying counter-narratives and information flow control. here, the power of Pr in influencing political discourse is palpable, also showing how a leader can use controversy as an instrument rather than an obstacle. (Philstar.com)
* * *
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.
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Friday, December 20,
Miss Universe Asia 2024 Chelsea Manalo open to showbiz opportunities
by Armin P. AdinA Inquirer.net
CheLseA manalo revealed that a lot of doors have opened for her after being proclaimed as the first-ever miss Universe Asia at the recently concluded 73rd miss Universe pageant in mexico.
the 25-year-old tourism management graduate from De La salle-Araneta University has been modeling professionally since she was a teenager, and now she could embark on a career outside the fashion industry.
“maraming pumapasok na (i have been receiving so many) opportunities like showbiz, hosting, modeling international, theater, singer, so marami (there are a lot),” she told INQUIrer.net in a sit-down interview after her homecoming press conference mounted by Bingo Plus at the empire studio at estancia mall in Pasig City on saturday afternoon, December 14.
La Bulakenya” faced journalists and online content creators five days since coming back from Los Angeles, California, in the United states, where she stayed for a little while after the international competition in mexico, to relax and catch up with family and friends. manalo also shared that she would still want to continue working with the miss Universe Philippines organization (mUPh) “on the advocacy that is close to my heart, which are the youth.” the first black woman to represent the Philippines in miss Universe finds her new international title as an honor.
“It is dream come true [that] I will forever treasure. It goes not just to me, but I am extending this beyond, to each and every filipino and women,” manalo said.
she also profusely thanked everyone who supported her in her journey to the miss Universe pageant, which has been transformational for her personally.
“I think I have already become that woman that has brought that power and influence for so many women. You can dream much more than just miss Universe,” she shared.
When asked how different is the Chelsea manalo now from the person who got on the plane to mexico in late october, she said: “she is strong-willed, more powerful. she already knows how to navigate challenges in her life.
Now she is becoming a person who has so much influence and opportunity that she can extend too.” she is confident that her title as miss Universe Asia will also take her to ventures outside pageantry.
“It will reinvent me as a better person. I hope it takes me to a greater and more beautiful person, and take me to more opportunities,” she said. the national pageant is about to roll out its 2025 edition early next year, with several ladies hoping to succeed manalo already chosen, while many others are about to get crowned. And the reigning queen is positive that she will relinquish her title to somebody “who is very powerful, strong, with a heart, and with the dignity and heart of a filipino woman.”
Sharon Cuneta, Kiko Pangilinan bond with Bongbong Marcos, wife at Malacañang concert
Megastar calls BBM ‘my favorite in their family’
by HAnnAH mAllorcA Inquirer.net
PoLItICs took a backseat at the annual “Konsyerto sa Palasyo” where sharon Cuneta and her husband, former senator francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, were among the guests of President ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr. and first Lady Liza Araneta-marcos in malacañanang on sunday night, December 15. the fifth concert edition was held at the historic Kalayaan Grounds, coinciding with the 50th metro manila film festival (mmff) where some celebrities whose films are participating in the festival took to the stage and were honored.
Cuneta shared their interaction with the marcoses on her Instagram page, saying it was an event filled with “nothing but love and other friends.” she also recalled some of her unforgettable memories when she was in malacañang, saying it was the place where she saw a disco “for the very first time,” and saw then visiting Pope Paul VI, among other memories.
“When we arrived tonight, I got the warmest hug from the fL (Araneta-marcos), like no time had passed! And then, of course, the warmest, biggest hug from the president. With some side kwento (stories), just like old times! thank you so much again, mr. President and madam first Lady,” she said.
she further said that marcos has always been her “favorite in their family.” marcos and Pangilinan — who is seeking reelection in the 2025 mid-term polls — came from two opposing political camps in the 2022 presidential elections, where the latter ran for vice president, losing to sara Duterte-Carpio. marcos and Duterte eventually won an overwhelming lead over Pangilinan and his presidential running mate, Leni robredo. Celebrating the 50th MMFF other celebrities who graced the event were Vice Ganda, Gladys reyes, Kokoy de santos, francine Diaz, seth fedelin, ruru madrid, Arjo Atayde, Julia mon-
tes, and sylvia sanchez. Also invited to the star-studded concert were Julia Barretto, enrique Gil, Lorna tolentino, JC santos, Chanda romero, and Aicelle santos. the 50th edition of the mmff will be held from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2025, with 10 competing entries, namely, “And the Breadwinner Is…,” “Green Bones,” “Uninvited,” “espantaho,” “the Kingdom,” “my future You,” “strange frequencies: taiwan Killer hospital,” “topakk,” “isang Himala,” and “hold me Close.” one of its most awaited segments include the Parade of stars which will be held in manila on December 21.
Trevor Magallanes confirms divorce with Rufa Mae
by JAn milo Severo Philstar.com
ACtress rufa
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Fil-Am rapper MBNel shows what it’s like to be a popstar in new music
by cHArmie Joy PAgulong Philstar.com
fIL-Am rapper mBNel showed what it’s like to be a popstar in his latest single Popstar, the music video of which was filmed around manila.
“I was just in the studio. I was just having fun with it. And as far as the video, I just wanted to show a little bit of this turnedup lifestyle just to switch up the mood and the vibes of the music. the song was just a vibe, what happened to be the mood in the studio. And when I made that, I just wanted to switch it up from the last couple drops that I had,” he told The STAr in a virtual chat. for mBNel, being a popstar and a rap star is almost the same thing, the only difference is the genre of music. “As far as the lifestyle and, you know, just living life and turning up and living spontaneous. You know what I’m saying? It’s just how I see it. But to each his own though, everyone has a different opinion. that’s just mine,” he explained.
Interestingly, mBNel didn’t even sit down to write the freestyle track. “I just went in there and freestyled on the mic. Probably like 20 minutes or something like that. And that’s just how I was feeling that day when I made it,” he offered.
he made the music video along the streets of makati and mandaluyong, the same day that he shot Ashtray, which featured the Pinoy rap trio o side mafia. that same day I was shooting the Ashtray that I did with o side mafia. so, after I got done shooting that, we were like, just change your outfit and just shoot some more. And we can just go around somewhere and shoot some more,” he recalled.
“so, I just wanted to knock out multiple stuff at once. so, I just shot. I ended up shooting Popstar right after that. And then just the vibe of the beat and everything kind of gave me like
this southeast Asian vibe. so, I was like, that was the reason why I wanted to do that song. I didn’t do the song. I didn’t record the song in the Philippines, but I felt like it matched it just because the vibe of the instruments and everything.” he had fun filming and described the experience as “doped.” “Pretty much the video was super spontaneous. We just started shooting and I guess we were exploring the P. Burgos street, just walking around the street. And I just told the cameraman, just follow us and I’ll just do a scene on the street as I’m walking. so, that was doped because a lot of people were just like, ‘oh, look at them.’ And it was
fun.”
mBNel is currently working on album which will feature some songs that he churned out in the Philippines.
Just this year, he performed in Cebu’s sinulog festival, in manila, and in his dad’s hometown in siquijor.
he will soon drop an eP or mixtape featuring filipino artists. “I got more music on the way. I’m definitely going to do more that’s in the lines with the culture and collaborating with more artists from out there,” he said.
mBNel’s previous singles include Ghost 2 and Just Like me which were also filmed in manila. Popstar by mBNel is out now on digital streaming platforms.
Pia Wurtzbach, Zig Dulay among 2024 TOYM awardees
by JeSSicA Ann evAngeliStA Inquirer.net
BeAUtY queen Pia Wurtzbach and director Zig Dulay have been announced as among the recipients of the 2024 the outstanding Young men (toYm) awards.
During the announcement ceremony in Quezon City on sunday, December 15, Wurtzbach was named as one of this year’s toYm awardees for her noteworthy contributions to humanitarian service and social work.
since winning the miss Universe 2015 title, the beauty queen-actress has been actively involved in humanitarian work, speaking out against cyberbullying and supporting people living with hIV. meanwhile, Dulay was recognized for his remarkable contributions to arts and culture for film and television. he is known for his work in the awardwinning film “firefly” and series “maria Clara at Ibarra.”
Aside from Wurtzbach and Dulay, the other eight exemplary filipinos who have just been named the newest recipients of the prestigious toYm awards are as follows:
• Jenica Beatriz Dizonmountford (humanitarian service and social Work)
• Billie Crystal Dumaliang (environmental Leadership and Community Development)
• Venazir Martinez (Arts and Culture)
• Jose Gabriel Mejia (Arts and Culture)
• Pia Ranada (Journalism and mass Communications)
• Dennis Umali (Veterinary medicine)
• Brent Andrew Viray (Rural medicine and surgery).
• Roscinto Ian Lumbres (forestry, Agriculture, and other Applied sciences)
Bienvenido tantoco III, Chairman of the toYm foundation, underscored that this year’s awardees have reached “high levels” in their respective fields.
“When I compare winners from the past and the ones today, I see a few differences. In the past, which was maybe a more linear and binary world, it was enough to be excellent in one chosen field. the winners of this year have reached high levels of mastery include sometimes three chosen fields that on the surface look like these fields have no logical relationship with one another,” he said.
“With that, they need our encouragement to stay on their path. they need an extra boost to continue to be on purpose and also on character,” the chairman added.
since its inception in 1959, toYm annually
and community.
Miss Universe Asia 2024 Chelsea Manalo Inquirer.net photo by Armin Adina
Rufa Mae and Trevor Magallanes Philstar.com photo
Fil-Am rapper MBNel roamed around Manila during the filming of the music video of his latest single Popstar.
Photo from Instagram/@nellynelmb
Pia Wurtzbach and Zig Dulay (right) are among 2024 TOYM awardees. Inquirer.net photo
(From left) Kiko Pangilinan, President Bongbong Marcos, Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Sharon Cuneta during the 5th “Konsyerto sa Palasyo.” Photo from Instagram/@reallysharoncuneta
Governor Newsom releases new framework to create high-paying career pathways with and without four-year degrees
New effort for veterans to turn their military service into a degree unveiled; state removes college degree, educational requirements for nearly 30,000 state jobs
reDDING – recognizing that traditional four-year degrees and non-college experiences both provide pathways to stable, well-paid work, Governor Gavin Newsom on monday, December 16 unveiled the final framework for the master Plan for Career education to strengthen career pathways, prioritize hands-on learning and real-life skills, and advance educational access and affordability. the master Plan will be supported by funding in the upcoming state budget.
“every Californian deserves the opportunity to build real-life skills and pursue a fulfilling career — including those that don’t require college degrees. California is working to ensure that every person has what they need to get a well-paying, long-lasting job so we can build an economy for the future that supports all families. We are proud to stand with our local partners in the North state to advance the master Plan for Career education, working collaboratively with our Jobs first economic Blueprint, and create pathways toward new jobs while strengthening California’s regional economies to benefit local communities,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement released by his office.
the master Plan for Career education recognizes the need for a more coherent skillbuilding infrastructure that is forward-looking, accessible and aligned with California’s diverse workforce needs. the framework paves the way to help ensure that all Californians can navigate toward career-sustaining jobs. It stands as a testament to California’s commitment to equip all students and workers — regardless of background or circumstance — with the tools necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
monday’s framework will be followed by the final master Plan for Career education, which will be published early in the new year.
Career Passports
As part of the master Plan, the state will establish Career Passports to help workers showcase their skills and experiences to potential employers. this tool is designed to make it easier for people, especially those without a fouryear degree, to prove their qualifications and access good jobs. the digital tool will combine traditional academic records, like college transcripts, with verified skills and credentials earned outside the classroom, such as military service, job training, or volunteer work. the concept, also known as a Learning and employment record (Ler), provides a mechanism for workers to demonstrate knowledge and skills already learned. employers will be able to use the Career Passport to see a clear, validated record of a person’s abilities, helping to shift hiring practices toward valuing skills over just degrees.
this builds on and supports the governor's efforts to create pathways to sustainable, wellpaying careers across diverse sectors through earn and learn apprenticeships. since 2019, over 190,000 Californians have completed state-registered apprenticeship programs, helping put the state on track to meet the governor's ambitious goal of serving 500,000 earn and learn apprentices by 2029. to further this effort, California invested more than $221 million last fiscal year in apprenticeship initiatives designed to align workforce development with industry needs and expand apprenticeships into emerging, in-demand fields. By integrating apprenticeships and innovative tools like Career Passports,
California is equipping workers with the credentials and skills they need to succeed while addressing workforce gaps and bolstering the economy.
By recognizing and validating prior learning, California is also efficiently closing workforce gaps, advance opportunity, support veterans, and strengthen our economy.
College credit for veterans and workers
As part of a $100 million budget investment to implement key components of the master Plan, including a Career Passport, Governor Newsom is proposing scaling the state’s Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) effort to make it easier for Californians — especially veterans and military members — to turn their realworld experience into college credit. for example, veterans could earn credit for skills learned during military training, or students who volunteered through a service corps could apply their experience toward their education once this effort is implemented. the economic impact of this investment would be immediate and substantial — veterans would receive an estimated average of $26,115 in immediate savings and $161,115 in lifetime benefits, translating to $3.7 billion in preserved educational funds and $28.8 billion in long-term economic benefits over 20 years, while also closing equity gaps.
While some colleges already award credit for prior experience, this new effort aims to create a statewide system so more people can benefit. the goal is to help Californians translate their skills and knowledge into real progress toward a degree or career. the budget investment is expected to benefit 250,000 Californians, including 30,000 veterans.
New coordinating effort & strengthened local coordination monday’s framework also calls for the creation of a new statewide planning and coordinating collaborative to connect California’s education systems, workforce training providers, and employers while also strengthening regional partnerships. this body would evaluate economic changes and workforce needs, coordinate efforts to maximize funding and programs, and develop strategies to prepare students and workers for high-demand careers.
At the regional level, the master Plan emphasizes leveraging collaborative tables, engaging employers to identify critical skills, expanding workbased learning opportunities like paid internships, and simplifying funding processes to make resources more accessible. together, these efforts aim to create seamless pathways from education to employment, ensuring Californians are equipped for stable, well-paying jobs and employers can find the skilled workers they need.
Removing barriers to state employment on monday, in line with his
freedom to succeed executive order, the Governor also announced the state has now removed college degrees or other certain educational requirements for nearly 30,000 state jobs and a new goal to double that number next year.
the California human resources Department (Calhr) evaluates whether a college degree or other educational requirements are truly necessary for a position. the administration is proposing further simplifying civil service jobs by consolidating about 70 job classifications, modernizing descriptions, and removing restrictive qualifications. this effort is part of the Newsom administration's work to modernize state government and improve the hiring process by removing unnecessary barriers to public service jobs. the proposal for an additional roughly 32,000 positions statewide, is currently being negotiated with employee unions and will be submitted for approval in 2025.
How we got here
In the 1960s, California’s master Plan for higher education established a clear structure for its postsecondary systems (Community Colleges, CsU, and UC), based on a labor market requiring minimal formal education. however, as the 21st century has progressed, California's economy has evolved. to meet the demands of a rapidly changing workforce, including the rise of artificial intelligence, educational institutions must adapt and develop strategies that support continuous upskilling throughout students' careers.
In recognition of this, in August 2023, Governor Newsom launched a new way forward through the freedom to succeed executive order. the culmination of those efforts, the master Plan for Career education provides a strategy for responding to the complex, multifaceted challenges confronting California’s labor market and educational landscape. It acknowledges the shifting demographics of college attendees and the changing nature of work — with automation and artificial intelligence reshaping job categories and skill requirements — and provides flexibility to address new challenges that will emerge in the future. the statewide effort has been led by a public-private partnership with philanthropy.
monday’s announcement in redding highlights key strategies of the North state regional Plan, one of 13 regional California Jobs first plans developed through engagement with more than 10,000 local community members and experts who identified the needs and opportunities of their local areas. the complete economic Blueprint will be released early next year, along with $120 million to support ready-to-go job-creating projects statewide within the next three years. (cA Governor’s office release)
IN this week’s episode of Citizen Pinoy, leading U.s. Immigration Attorney michael J. Gurfinkel tackles a unique and challenging case involving a nurse from the Philippines, Cielo flaviano, whose green card journey was nearly derailed by her husband Carlos’ earlier visa application mishap.
Years ago, during his own immigrant visa interview, Carlos got flustered and mistakenly “confessed” to being married when he was, in fact, single. the error led to a visa denial and a charge of fraud.
Despite this rocky start, Atty. Gurfinkel’s law office successfully cleared Carlos’ name, enabling him to obtain his green card in 2016.
After marrying Cielo in the Philippines, Carlos petitioned for her green card. When the priority date became current, the couple sought Atty. Gurfinkel’s expertise again, concerned that the “phantom marriage” might jeopardize her chances.
With careful preparation and guidance, Cielo
confidently addressed the Consul’s questions during her visa interview, successfully securing her immigrant visa. she arrived in
sAN frANCIsCo – showing its support to Philippine startups in the United states and the creative industry, the Philippine Consulate General hosted the san francisco launch of the startup company eduksine and a free film screening of the Brillante mendoza film “thy Womb,” starring National Artist for film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor, at the Philippine Center’s Kalayaan hall on December 5, 2024. the launch is in support of the Department of trade and Industry’s “malikhaing Pinoy” Program for the Philippine creative industry, while the film screening in line with the annual observance of the “18Day Campaign to end Violence Against Women.” for the eduksine UsA launch, the consulate partnered with the Philippine trade and Investment Center in silicon Valley (PtICsV), and san francisco-based filipino American Community group filipino Arts and Cinema (fACINe).
In attendance during the event were Consul rowena PangilinanDaquipil, Vice Consul hannah Go and Vice Consul Adrian Baccay, as well as Daly City mayor Juslyn manalo and representatives from the California & san francisco film Commissions.
‘Clean
sACrAmeNto – the Biden-harris Administration
on Wednesday, December 18 announced that it is granting a Clean Air Act waiver allowing California to begin full implementation of its regulation requiring all new car sales be zero-emission by 2035.
the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulation, adopted in 2022, begins with vehicle model year 2026 and will ensure California drivers can get the clean cars they want and save them money, while creating good paying jobs and improving public health.
“Clean cars are here to stay. the Biden-harris Administration reaffirmed what we’ve known for decades – California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution. With more makes and models available than ever before, millions of Californians have already made the switch to clean cars.
Automakers and manufacturers have made it clear they intend to stick with California and consumers as we move toward clean cars that save people money. Naysayers like President-elect trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement released by his office.
“California’s ongoing success in tackling pollution challenges and improving public health is possible thanks to landmark regulations that support technological innovation and move us toward a zero-emissions future for transportation,” said CArB Chair Liane randolph. “Consumers and fleets are increasingly making the choice to drive clean vehicles, and today's waiver approvals will further that progress.”
fossil-fueled transportation is the largest source of air pollution in California, and this regulation will phase out sales of new fully gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2035.
the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation will:
• Save consumers money. Drivers stand to save over $7,500 when switching from gas-powered to zero emission vehicles due to lower maintenance and fuel costs – resulting in over $90 billion in net savings for Californians.
• Save lives and billions of dollars in public health costs. this policy will slash harmful pollutants by over 25%, save lives and save Californians $13 billion in health costs related to respiratory illnesses.
• Provide more protection for consumers. The regulation includes new requirements for clean vehicle and battery durability backed by stronger warranties. these not only ensure high quality vehicles from the factory but will also greatly improve the reliability of used vehicles.
• Increase consumer choice. The program requires automakers to deliver a steadily increasing number of clean vehicles to California. the rising number of clean vehicles is timed to ensure that clean options
are available as the state reduces its dependence on fossil fuels. these vehicles are mostly powered by electricity or hydrogen. there are now several dozen distinct models available, from subcompacts to lightduty pickup trucks.
• Create American jobs and boost business. Automakers agree that the future of transportation is zero-emission, and American automakers and their suppliers benefit directly from this growing market. the Biden-harris Administration also approved a Clean Air Act waiver for the state’s heavy-duty omnibus regulation, which dramatically reduces harmful nitrogen oxide (Nox) emissions from heavyduty trucks.
ACC II continues the switch to a clean, light-duty vehicle fleet in California. Beginning with model year 2026, it requires that 35% of the new cars delivered for sale in California be zero-emission (plug-in hybrids, battery electric and hydrogen powered vehicles). those deliveries must reach 100% by 2035.
millions of Californians and other Americans have already made the switch to clean vehicles, and they are becoming more accessible each year. With more makes and models to choose from than ever before, more than two million zero-emission vehicles have been sold in California – and over a quarter of new car sales are now zero-emission. the price barrier is falling, with models listed for less than $40,000 and several for less than $30,000.
Batteries are the most expensive component in these cars and recent reports show battery prices falling so fast that many more models will be at price parity with fossil-fueled vehicles by 2026. In addition, California provides incentives to help lower-income drivers purchase these cars, and utilities often provide incentives, as well. Governor Newsom recently announced that California would step in to provide rebates if the incoming trump Administration follows through on its threat to eliminate the federal tax credit.
California’s charging and fueling infrastructure is growing rapidly. there are now more than 150,000 publicly available charging stations in California and the California energy Commission just announced a funding plan for 17,000 more. Combined with previous investment plans, utilities, and other programs, the state expects to reach 250,000 chargers in the next few years. In addition to the public network, the state estimates that more than 500,000 private home chargers are installed statewide.
ACC II is not a ban on gasoline vehicles. It regulates new cars only, not cars already on the road. sales of new plug-in hybrids are also allowed. We expect to see internal combustion engine vehicles on California roads past 2050 and are ensuring a cleaner fuel supply with the Low Carbon fuel standard.
(cA Governor’s office release)
In his remarks on behalf of Consul General Neil ferrer, Vice Consul Baccay welcomed
eduksine’s entry into the United states and said that san francisco, “a city that thrives on innovation and diversity,” is a “perfect place to launch eduksine.”
“As we expand eduksine to the United states, we are also showcasing the vibrancy of Philippine culture and the strength of the Philippine creative industries… filipino artists have made remarkable contributions to global culture, and today, more than ever, the world is looking to the Philippines for fresh ideas, unique perspectives, and a new wave of talent,” Vice Consul Baccay said. san francisco] is home to a diverse community of people who understand the power of creativity and technology, and I am confident that eduksine will be embraced with open arms here,” he added. to the team behind eduksine
led by Karen salutan-Krukover, thank you for your vision, dedication, and commitment to our film industry. We look forward to the future collaborations that will surely come from this exciting new chapter,” the Philippine Vice Consul further said. New York City-based eduksine founder and Ceo salutanKrukover gave a presentation on her startup, outlining her plans to expand eduksine’s reach in the United states through in-person and/or online block screenings of independent and socially relevant filipino films. the film screening of the Aunor-starrer “thy Womb” capped off the launch. the critically acclaimed and awardwinning movie tells the story of a tausug midwife who copes with her infertility as she helps women in her community. (PcGSF release)
Vice Consul Adrian Baccay gives his welcome remarks at EdukSine USA’s San Francisco launch and “Thy Womb” film screening at the Philippine Center.
held their annual Christmas gathering in Pittsburg, CA. Photo above shows (front row, from left) Ed Young, Steneli Boehner, Tess Gregorio, Evelyn Disco; (back row, from left) Em Roxas, Gina Picazo, Shirley Castro, Lynne Ybona and Jessica Geronimo.
Photo courtesy of Tess Gregorio
689-5160
P.E.P. (People, Events,Places)
medina
I Got randomly the innocent opinions of eight kids of Christmas (December 25) by asking two questions: (1) how do you spend your Christmas? and (2) What is your idea of Christmas? here are the kids’ replies: Kian Co, 11, Grade 5, who is part of the cast of metro manila film festival entry “espantaho”: (1) “We’ll be going to the church, then we’ll eat outside and later my mother and I will go to the cinema to watch a movie.” (2) for me Christmas is the birthday of Papa Jesus so we’ve to visit him in the church with our family.”
elia Ilano, 14, Grade 9, is this year’s fAmAs best child actress: (1) “I spend my Christmas with my family and loved ones po. Usually, we go out of town before Christmas but on Christmas eve we spend it in the house after going to mass. on Christmas Day, we go to my grandmothers’ houses... I prefer to spend Christmas with the most important persons in my life.” (2) “my idea of Christmas is spreading kindness, continuing our family tradition and a moment of gratitude. It is a time to share your blessings to others, to be with my loved ones on this very special day and a
Christmas in the eyes of 8 children
time where we reflect and thank God for everything he gave us po.”
Natalia rosen D. orsal, 9, Grade 3, is the daughter of photographer-writer Noel Benesisto orsal: (1) “my family and I always spend it in my aunt’s house in Bulacan. We buy gifts for each other, play games, and sing along. my cousins and I also play with our new gifts.” (2) “Big Christmas tree with lots of ornaments, gifts under the tree, and lots of decorations around the house. the birthday of Jesus. Lots of food. And baby Jesus in the manger.”
sofia D. mendoza, 8, Grade
3, is the granddaughter of oly delos santos, wife of the late PNP spokesperson Chief superintendent Napoleon delos santos Jr.: (1) “open gifts, play and pray.” (2) “sleep, go to church, eat... I am just a kid. I don’t know so much about the world.”
Lowella Jamima D. Gonzales, 13, is a Grade 8 student at st. Paul College Paranaque: (1) “I spend my Christmas with family and friends.” (2) “my idea of Christmas is the season of giving, it’s the time to be with your loved ones. It is also the time to give back and be thankful for the blessings God gave us.”
mark Deniz Cansino, 13, Grade 8, is a Philstagers actor: (1) “I spend Christmas with my family.” (2) “experience the magic of Christmas.”
sheanne marie faye Pedroso, 8, Grade 3, is the daughter of salvie Collado Paparon, golden awardee of the 2nd southeast Asian Premier Business and Achiever Award: (1) “I spend Christmas at home with my family.” (2) “Giving gifts and feasts.”
Allysa Domilyn Aquino, 12, is a leukemia patient from Pangasinan: (1) “I spend my Christmas with my family.” (2) “to have food as long as we’re together, to play games with cash prizes of P10 or P20 or biscuits and candies, and to sing and pray since it’s the birthday of Jesus.”
* * * for Chino hansel Philyang, author of 18 books on children, this is his Christmas viewpoint on the two questions above: (1)
“I spend Christmas as a time for meaningful connections and as acts of kindness. Apart from celebrating with family and friends, I dedicate part of the season to bringing joy to children through the gift of books. Visiting communities, schools, or charities to share storybooks has become a cherished tradition. there’s nothing more heartwarming than seeing a child’s face light up when they receive a book — a gateway to imagination, learning, and inspiration. this act not only spreads joy but also plants the seeds of knowledge and creativity in young minds.” (2) “for me, Christmas is about embodying the spirit of generosity, love,
and hope. It’s a season to reflect on what truly matters and find ways to touch the lives of others, especially children. Gifting books during this time symbolizes more than just a present — it’s a gift of opportunities, dreams, and empowerment. Books can transport children to faraway lands, teach them about different cultures, and inspire them to achieve their goals. By giving books, we’re not only spreading holiday cheer but also leaving a lasting impact that resonates far beyond the season. Christmas becomes a celebration of stories — both shared and created — that enrich lives and nurture the next generation.”
* * * Camille Coronel-ong’s education at De La salle College of st. Benilde has equipped her with the necessary skills to become a better person with a clear purpose and a drive to spread positivity in her endeavors. the school has instilled in her an open-minded approach towards life, enabling her to view situations from various angles and make well-informed choices.
“the diverse learning opportunities at Benilde have exposed me to a multitude of ideas, beliefs, and cultures, expanding my knowledge and understanding of the world and its diverse population. through my education at Benilde, I have developed into a responsible and respectful indi-
vidual, valuing the perspectives of others,” she told this writer. Camille took Bachelor of science in hotel, restaurant and Institution management major in Culinary Arts. “my time in college was truly memorable and among the happiest days of my life... Whenever our class gets cancelled, we would often head to tagaytay to relax and unwind. I feel incredibly fortunate to have formed strong bonds with some of my friends during college. most of them are now living abroad, pursuing their studies or careers, yet we remain in touch,” she revealed. she could not forget her prof, Chef Anton Gomez, who imparted culinary knowledge and life lessons: “even after our classes, he would take the time to talk to me and my boyfriend (who is now her husband) about being wise in life. I heard he left Benilde and is now teaching in madrid.”
Another prof is Chef
(“he had a way of making our classes enjoyable and uplifting, always reminding us to focus on the good things in life.”). Lastly, Chef sabrina Gan who supported her during her internship in Italy. she studied Italian food style education in turin, Italy and had her internship in a michelin-starred restaurant in Isola d’ Asti, Italy. After college, she started as a baker and later became a sous chef in a known steakhouse restaurant. Now she is running her own cake business, “tsokoñata,” known for its chocolate piñata cake in the Philippines.
* * * 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.
* * * rogeliocmedina@yahoo.com
Kian Co with Judy Ann Santos in a movie poster for “Espantaho.”
Chino Hansel Philyang, a writer of children’s books Camille and Christian Ong
Sisters Sheanne and Michaela in a New York City Times Square billboard (left photo); Sheanne Pedroso (right photo) Photos courtesy of Rogelio C. Medina
From left: Luis Jaime, mom Lheng, Lowella (with flowers) and Lara
From left: Stephenie Anne, Mark Deniz, Princess Denisse and mom Christina
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