Fil-Am leaders condemn Trump assassination attempt, call for unity
NEW YORK CITY — Just two days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a horrific incident took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. On Saturday afternoon, July 13, during a campaign rally for Donald Trump, gunfire was aimed at the former president in what the FBI described as an assassination attempt.
Reports indicate that the shooter was neutralized, and Trump, who survived the shooting, is safe and looking forward to attending the convention.
“This is a very sad day for our nation,” Ron Falconi, the Fil-Am mayor of Brunswick, Ohio, told Inquirer.net USA. “My prayers go out to President Trump and his family. We should also pray for the rally-goer who was killed, as well as those who were injured in the assassination attempt.”
According to Mayor Falconi, the attacks against Donald Trump are unparalleled in American history. “He has faced relentless media scrutiny since announcing his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election.
Support for Biden declines among Asian American voters, new survey
THE 2024 Paris Olympics is just around the corner, and the Philippine delegation is hopeful of surpassing their impressive performance from the 2020 edition.
Among the athletes representing the country is Filipina American gymnast Levi JungRuvivar, one of the four gymnasts alongside Carlos Yulo, Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo who are hoping to snatch a podium finish or gold for the country.
Here are some facts about this hopeful and determined young gymnastics prodigy.
She’s the youngest Filipina athlete
At 18, the Fil-Am gymnastics champion is the youngest Filipina athlete competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her journey to the games was secured when she clinched a bronze medal in the individual all-around category on May 24 at the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
She was born in Hawai’i
Born in Hawai’i, Jung-Ruvivar’s Filipino roots are through her father, Anthony, a former member of the US juniors gymnastics team. Her multicultural heritage and strong family ties have significantly shaped her athletic
PNP intensi es hunt for Quiboloy, others
by MARK ERNEST VILLEZA Philstar.com
MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is intensifying its efforts to locate and arrest persons wanted in the case involving Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy and four others.
“Our search for the remaining wanted persons in the case of Quiboloy and his associates is ongoing,” PNP spokesperson
Col. Jean Fajardo said during a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday, July 15.
Fajardo added that the recent arrest of Pauline Canada, a co-accused in the case, is a positive development that indicates the PNP is receiving the right information.
“Our hotline is very active and we are
Vice President Sara Duterte
showing her desire for presidency this early – lawmaker
MANILA
by DELON PORCALLA Philstar.com
— It may have been a slip of the tongue. The cat, nevertheless, is out of the bag, so to speak.
By mentioning the Netflix series
“Designated Survivor,” Vice President Sara Duterte has revealed – wittingly or unwittingly – that she really wants the presidency this early, or four years away from the next presidential elections, according to a lawmaker.
“Now, the true intentions and personality of VP Duterte are becoming clearer to us,”
House Deputy Speaker David Suarez said.
“Offhand, the VP’s statements are not
what we expected from someone holding the second highest office in the land,” Suarez added.
At the same time, the representative of the second district of Quezon province also noted that Duterte’s comment “seems to reinforce a growing belief that her past display of unity with President Marcos was merely superficial.”
Duterte was Marcos’ running mate in the May 9, 2022 presidential election under the UniTeam party.
Another administration stalwart, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, reminded the vice president that as a lawyer
getting numerous tips, though we need to vet this information carefully. Some may be accurate, but others might be intended to mislead us,” Fajardo said. She urged the public to cooperate by providing any information, giving assurance that their identity and security would be protected.
“We are not limited to their (Quiboloy and co-accused) known addresses. We are also investigating other potential areas where they might be staying or visiting,” Fajardo said.
On Canada’s custody, Fajardo said the PNP is still waiting for a court order, noting that the warrant of arrest was already returned to the Pasig Regional Trial Court.
In the meantime, Canada remains in the custody of the PNP Criminal Investigation
by FAITH ARGOSINO Inquirer.net
extended his well wishes to former United
President Donald Trump after an assassination attempt during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13.
“It is with great relief that we receive the news that former President Donald Trump is fine and well after the attempt to assassinate him. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” Marcos wrote on X account (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, July 14.
“Together with all democracy-loving peoples around the world, we condemn all forms of political violence. The voice of the people must always remain supreme,” he added.
According to media reports, the 78-year-old former president was rushed off stage with blood streaked across his face after the shooting, while the gunman and a bystander were killed and two spectators were
Why ASEAN stays silent on South China Sea ruling after 8 years
by CRISTINA CHI Philstar.com
MANILA — After major clashes between Chinese and Filipino vessels, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been trying to marshal support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take a more active role and lead diplomatic proceedings to ease tensions in the region.
The president has so far been consistent in invoking “ASEAN centrality,” suggesting the regional bloc be the primary driver of negotiations and conflict resolution among countries with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Countries in ASEAN, in Marcos’ words, must “resoundingly [reject] misguided interpretations that paint our region as a mere theater of geopolitical rivalries,” according to his speech delivered at the last Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense summit.
Meanwhile, ASEAN has remained largely muted about the 2016 Hague ruling that rejected China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea as having no basis in international law, choosing instead to call for peace, security
and stability with respect to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
What is keeping the 10-member bloc of Southeast Asian nations silent, and what does this mean for the Marcos administration’s plan to tap more regional allies to counter Chinese intimidation?
ASEAN members’ economic interests
Out of the 26 governments that have publicly called for the 2016 ruling to be respected, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian nation among them, according to the latest tracker of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative as of November 2023.
“ASEAN naturally has a hard time making a collective stand on the SCS issue because member states have divergent interests and economic dependence on China,” Justin Baquisal, a geopolitical analyst for FACTS Asia told Philstar.com.
Some ASEAN members have chosen to prioritize their relationship with China, making them hesitant to challenge Beijing’s intimidation to protect their own national interests, he added.
Not all ASEAN members, moreover, have a stake in South
PNP intensifies hunt for Quiboloy...
and Detection Group.
Addressing concerns about Quiboloy’s loyal supporters potentially obstructing law enforcement efforts, Fajardo explained that the PNP “anticipated the potential interference.”
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos on Monday clarified that the P10-million bounty being offered for the arrest of Quiboloy is still in the hands of the sponsors of the reward money.
“I do not have the money, just to be clear on that. It is in the possession of people who are offering the bounty. It was not given to me,” Abalos said in a chance interview at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Ferdinand Topacio, Quiboloy’s lead lawyer, earlier said the P10-million reward being offered by Abalos violates Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for government officials and employees.
But Abalos countered, saying that in 2017 Topacio also raised a reward.
“For those (more donors) who want to help, I told them to personally announce to avoid controversy. But the best help will be the information (to locate Quiboloy),” Abalos said.
He defended the decision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to allow donations for the
Pastor Apollo Quiboloy
reward against Quiboloy, saying funding from the government can be used for other purposes.
“We can source it (reward) from our budget, but we can use the money for other uses and operations within the government,” Abalos said.
He noted that the DILG and PNP have received information on the possible location of Quiboloy.
“There were already sightings on his possible location,” he said, refusing to disclose where this is exactly. He added that the tips need to be filtered as some are meant to mislead.
“One thing is certain, there is a lot of information, many are working. The police and military are working together, so all
of the things (on Quiboloy’s possible whereabouts), all of these are being checked even way before. The world is getting smaller for Quiboloy as sooner or later he will be located and he will have to face the court that issued the warrant of arrest,” Abalos noted.
Abalos also said it is possible that Quiboloy has already left the country.
“Anything is possible. It is not impossible when one is hiding. It can be far or near but we verify all of these. One thing I could assure those who are listening, despite the criticisms, we are just doing our jobs since there is a warrant of arrest. We need to serve the warrant. It’s as simple as that,” he stressed. g
Support for Biden declines among...
that the Biden campaign is currently embroiled in.
For Filipino American voters, 40% would have voted for Biden — among the lowest percentages of the surveyed groups — and 33% would have voted for Trump.
Although Asian American voters still prefer Biden over former President Donald Trump, support for Biden dropped from 2020, when 54% of Asian American voters planned to vote for Biden.
When it comes to favorability, 44% of Asian American voters view Biden either “very” or “somewhat” unfavorably while 62% view Trump either “very” or “somewhat” unfavorably.
Voting trends for other key congressional races remain the same with a majority of Asian Americans preferring Democratic candidates (51% for Democratic House candidates, 50% for Democratic Senate candidates) over Republicans (30% for GOP House and Senate candidates, each).
The survey also found that 86% of Asian American voters say that the job market and the economy are a top policy priority, and tied for second, were inflation and health care. Moreover, 85% of voters say that these issues were either “extremely” or “very” important factors in how they decide to vote.
Although the Asian American Voter Survey took place months before the infamous CNN debate between Biden and Trump, the survey shows that waning interest in Biden precludes recent instances of the president’s verbal stumbles.
“Even before the June presidential debate, President Biden had lost confidence among many Asian American voters,” Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data, said to Axios. “The diminished enthusiasm American Asian American Democrats and Independents could spell trouble for Biden in critical swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and Georgia.”
The survey was released at a time when Biden’s cognitive welfare has become a central focus of this race. Suggesting a declining lack of enthusiasm for Biden, the survey emphasizes the trouble
Historically, polls overestimate voter turnout overall, according to Janelle Wong, senior researcher at AAPI Data, who said that the results of this survey could represent problems for Biden going forward.
“Although we are not seeing a mass movement toward Trump in our community, we are seeing a potentially problematic trend for the Biden campaign among this fairly loyal bloc of Democraticleaning voters,” Wong said. Harris, AANHPI leaders addresses voters in Philly As previously reported in the Asian Journal , speculation over whether Vice President Kamala Harris may be a better fit as the Democratic candidate continue to percolate.
The survey found that 44% of Asian American voters have either a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of Harris, who has been making more appearances. The Biden-Harris administration earlier this month rolled out Asian Americans Native Hawaiians Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) for Biden-Harris campaign to court the vast voting bloc months ahead of the election. At the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 13, Harris — who is of Indian descent and is the first Asian American to serve as vice president— affirmed her confidence in the current administration.
Last week, Biden reinforced his intent to keep running — despite pressure from Democrats. At Saturday’s town hall, Harris continued to boost the Biden-Harris ticket for November.
“We always knew this election would be tough, and the past few days have been a reminder that running for President of the United States is never easy, nor should it be,” Harris said in her keynote address. “But one thing we know about our President, Joe Biden, he is a fighter, and he is the first to say, when you get knocked down, you get right back up. So we will continue to fight, we will continue to organize, and in November, we will win.” g
Marcos on Trump assassination attempt: ‘We condemn...
Philstar.com file photo
The 2024 Asian American Voter Survey released by AAPI Data, APIAVote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the AARP showed that 40% of Filipino American voters surveyed would be included to vote for current President Joe Biden, while 33% would vote for former President Donald Trump. and Chinese.
States set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes. Residents suffer when rules are ignored or waived
by Jordan rau KFF Health News
FOR hours, John Pernorio repeatedly mashed the call button at his bedside in the Heritage Hills nursing home in Rhode Island. A retired truck driver, he had injured his spine in a fall on the job decades earlier and could no longer walk. The antibiotics he was taking made him need to go to the bathroom frequently. But he could get there only if someone helped him into his wheelchair.
By the time an aide finally responded, he’d been lying in soiled briefs for hours, he said. It happened time and again.
“It was degrading,” said Pernorio, 79. “I spent 21 hours a day in bed.”
Payroll records show that during his stay at Heritage Hills, daily aide staffing levels were 25% below the minimums under state law. The nursing home said it provided high-quality care to all residents. Regardless, it wasn’t in trouble with the state, because Rhode Island does not enforce its staffing rule.
An acute shortage of nurses and aides in the nation’s nearly 15,000 nursing homes is at the root of many of the most disturbing shortfalls in care for the 1.2 million Americans who live in them, including many of the nation’s frailest old people. They get festering bedsores because they aren’t turned. They lie in feces because no one comes to attend to them. They have devastating falls because no one helps them get around. They are subjected to chemical and physical restraints to sedate and pacify them.
California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island have sought to improve nursing home quality by mandating the highest minimum hours of care per resident among states. But an examination of records in those states revealed that putting a law on the books was no guarantee of better staffing. Instead, many nursing homes operated with fewer workers than required, often with the permission of regulators or with no consequences at all.
“Just setting a number doesn’t mean anything if you’re not going to enforce it,” said Mark Miller, former president of the national organization of
long-term care ombudsmen, advocates in each state who help residents resolve problems in their nursing homes. “What’s the point?”
Now the Biden administration is trying to guarantee adequate staffing the same way states have, unsuccessfully, for years: with tougher standards. Federal rules issued in April are expected to require 4 out of 5 homes to boost staffing. The administration’s plan also has some of the same weaknesses that have hampered states. It relies on underfunded health inspectors for enforcement, lacks explicit penalties for violations, and offers broad exemptions for nursing homes in areas with labor shortages. And the administration isn’t providing more money for homes that can’t afford additional employees.
Serious health violations have become more widespread since COVID-19 swept through nursing homes, killing more than 170,000 residents and driving employees out the door.
Pay remains so low — nursing assistants earn $19 an hour on average — that homes frequently lose workers to retail stores and fast-food restaurants that pay as well or better and offer jobs that are far less grueling. Average turnover in nursing homes is extraordinarily high: Federal records show half of employees leave their jobs each year.
Even the most passionate nurses and aides are burning out in short-staffed homes because they are stretched too thin to provide the quality care they believe residents deserve. “It was impossible,” said Shirley Lomba, a medication aide from Providence, Rhode Island. She left her job at a nursing home that paid $18.50 an hour for one at an assisted living facility that paid $4 more per hour and involved residents with fewer needs.
The mostly for-profit nursing home industry argues that staffing problems stem from low rates of reimbursement by Medicaid, the program funded by states and the federal government that covers most people in nursing homes. Yet a growing body of research and court evidence shows that owners and investors often extract hefty profits that could be used for care.
Nursing home trade groups have complained about the tougher state standards and have sued to block the new federal standards, which they say are unworkable given how much trouble nursing homes already have filling jobs. “It’s a really tough business right now,” said Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive of one trade group, the American Health Care Association.
And federal enforcement of those rules is still years off. Nursing homes have as long as five years to comply with the new regulations; for some, that means enforcement would fully kick in only at the tail end of a second Biden administration, if the president wins reelection.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign declined to comment on what Trump would do if elected.
Persistent shortages
Nursing home payroll records submitted to the federal government for the most recent quarter available, October to December 2023, and state regulatory records show that homes in states with tougher standards frequently did not meet them.
In more than two-thirds of nursing homes in New York and more than half of those in Massachusetts, staffing was below the state’s required minimums. Even California, which passed the nation’s first minimum staffing law two decades ago, has not achieved universal compliance with its requirements: at least 3½ hours of care for the average resident each day, including two hours and 24 minutes of care from nursing assistants, who help residents eat and get to the bathroom.
During inspections since 2021, state regulators cited a third of California homes — more than 400 of them — for inadequate staffing. Regulators also granted waivers to 236 homes that said workforce shortages prevented them from recruiting enough nurse aides to meet the state minimum, exempting them from fines as high as $50,000.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared an acute labor shortage, which allows homes to petition for reduced or waived fines. The state health PAGE 4
Fil-Am pushed into BART train in SF honored
at memorial service
Corazon Dandan, who planned to retire in the Philippines, will be buried at Manila Memorial Park by Jun nucum Inquirer.net
SAN FRANCISCO – The elderly Filipino American who was killed after she was pushed into the BART train in San Francisco earlier this month was honored by her family and friends, and hailed by community leaders as the face of hardworking immigrants who supported their families.
The Newall Chapel at the Cypress Lawn Funeral Home in Colma was packed with people whose lives were touched by 76-year-old Corazon Dandan, who died on July 2 after she was pushed into the path of a Millbrae-bound train. The suspect – Trevor Belmont, 49, also known as Hoak Taing – has been charged with murder and elder abuse. Dandan, who fell onto the platform and sustained severe head injuries, was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.
“Life will never be the same,” the victim’s nephew, Dr. Alvin Dandan, told Inquirer.net USA, as he broke into tears. “I will remember her as my mom.”
Dr. Dandan said his Tita Cora helped raise him and put him through medical school.
He said his childhood was filled with memories of her aunt taking him to the Philippine Plaza (later renamed Sofitel) where she worked before migrating to the United States.
“I would run around the hotel together with the other kids and play. Going back to work, she would take me (then) bring me back to my parents. She (had) always been a second mom,” Dr. Dandan recalled.
She opened her home in Daly City to relatives and friends who needed a place to stay as newly arrived immigrants.
One of those relatives was Corazon’s niece, Elena Dandan.
“We used to live with her. She was our mother when we first got here. She generously helped us establish our lives,” Elena said.
“She settled here by herself and was a big help to many relatives and friends. She was an inspiration to many.”
Elena also remembers her Tita Cora instantly lighting up any room she entered. “She was a happy person and a ‘cowboy,’ easy to get along with,” she recalled. “Her smile, her sweetness was very contagious. We will never forget her.”
Consul General Neil Ferrer, who attended the viewing Thursday, paid tribute to Dandan as an exemplary immigrant who worked hard to support her family. “As we learned from her family, she was someone, like many OFWs, who migrated to the US, who worked very hard but at the same time did not forget their families,” Ferrer said. “She helped her siblings, nieces and nephews. She (was) really wellloved. We are saddened by her departure.”
The consul general also cited her sense of community and generosity to her friends and neighbors even during the pandemic. “She had a big heart for others,” he said.
Juslyn Manalo, the Fil-Am mayor of Daly City – where Dandan lived for about 30 years – called her a “bayani (hero),” an immigrant who touched many lives at her workplace and in the community.
“She touched many by how giving she was,” Manalo said. “Corazon really embodied what her name is.”
Dandan will be buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, said Dr. Dandan, who thanked the consulate for assisting with bringing her aunt’s remains to the Philippines.
“(Tita Cora) wanted to retire in the Philippines. I guess she’s getting what she wished for,” he said as he wiped his tears.
Dandan is survived by six siblings: Renato, Carmelita Esguerra, Ricardo, Danilo, Nicanor and Reynaldo. She is preceded by her oldest sister, Leticia Hernandez and parents, Ildefonso and Prudencia. g
This photo of Corazon Dandan was displayed during the memorial service. Contributed photo
From left: Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer Bernice Santayana, Consul General Neil Ferrer and Consul Jed Llona outside the Newall Chapel at Cypress Lawn Funeral Home in Colma, California. The consulate is assisting the family with bringing Corazon Dandan’s remains to the Philippines. Inquirer.net photo by Jun Nucum
Why ASEAN stays silent on South China Sea...
China Sea’s legal issues. Of the 10 ASEAN members, only four are official claimants against China, namely the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Julio Amador III, FACTS founder and the head of a geopolitical consultancy, said the Philippines’ decision to downplay the arbitral ruling under then-President Rodrigo Duterte has contributed to ASEAN’s subdued response.
In 2021, Duterte undermined the Philippines’ legal win against China in an attempt to court more Chinese loans and investments, calling the Hague ruling a mere “piece of paper” he can “throw away.”
“Since the Philippines was not going to be loud about it, the ASEAN member-states may have decided that it was not in their best interest to be more robust on the topic if the Philippines was not going to do so,” Amador told Philstar.com.
“If you look at the joint communiques and [statements] by the chairperson, there were some vague references to international law, and UNCLOS occasionally,” he added.
Sending China a message
But the Philippines is not isolated in its attempts to stand up against China’s increasing encroachment on its maritime areas.
Baquisal said: “Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam have repeatedly asserted the need for a rules-based resolution of disputes; like the Philippines, Vietnam has asserted the primacy of UNCLOS, which is the basis for the 2016 arbitration ruling.”
During the Shangri-La Dialogue, where Marcos
expressed his intent to continue working with ASEAN and China towards a code of conduct anchored in the UNCLOS, other Southeast Asian countries also “affirmed the need to be governed by UNCLOS.”
“Obviously such an affirmation may be perceived by the Philippines as too noncommittal and evades the issue of China’s violations of UNCLOS. Still, even if ASEAN countries do not directly support the Philippines, I think the regional climate now has more awareness about UNCLOS,”
Baquisal said. “It will take time - possibly years - for the region to slowly make assertions consistent with UNCLOS and the 2016 ruling.”
The analyst also cited Vietnam as an example of a country that may not directly condemn China for its actions, but remains open to engaging in maritime delimitation talks with Philippines for a diplomatic solution to their competing claims in the contested waters.
“So even if Vietnam does not actively confront China, the fact that it is willing to use UNCLOS to amicably settle with the Philippines is a victory for the Philippines too — that Southeast Asia understands that there is no way to go forward but with rule of law rather than coercion,” he said. “There is a normative statement there, and it’s a message for China.”
Way forward
While Southeast Asian nations have varying economic and political interests to protect, Amador said the arbitral award stands to benefit all ASEAN member-states by invalidating China’s invisible nine-dash line.
Nowadays, the Philippines has to work doubly hard to ensure that the arbitration will be included in the ASEAN’s joint communiques and statements issued by the chairperson, Amador said.
Fresh from its legal victory, the Philippines in 2016 tried to push for the arbitration ruling to be included in the ASEAN’s joint communique against China’s territorial expansion in the region. In the end, the ruling was left out of the joint communique after Cambodia, a staunch ally of Beijing, rejected its wording. This led the Philippines to back down from the effort.
Baquisal said that China is banking on a “divide-andconquer approach” with ASEAN members, who are expected to agree on the lowest common denominator on any issue. This is “hard to achieve for contentious issues like the South China Sea maritime disputes,” the analyst added.
Amador said the Philippines should take a more active role in promoting awareness of the 2016 arbitral ruling within ASEAN through public diplomacy efforts such as forums and workshops.
For Baquisal, the Philippines can also explore avenues for cooperation with other ASEAN members like Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, while being “realistic of the limits of partnership.”
“For example Indonesia and Vietnam have foreign policies of non-alignment, so realistically they will never become a military partner like what the United States is to the Philippines,” the analyst said. “But it’s worth exploring avenues where we can productively grow the relationship with them.” g
States set minimum staffing levels for nursing...
department said it had cited more than 400 of the state’s 600-odd homes for understaffing but declined to say how many of them had appealed for leniency.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation in 2022 to loosen the staffing rules for all homes. The law allows homes to count almost any employee who engages with residents, instead of just nurses and aides, toward their overall staffing. Florida also reduced the daily minimum of nurse aide time for each resident by 30 minutes, to two hours.
Now only 1 in 20 Florida nursing homes are staffed below the minimum — but if the former, more rigorous rules were still in place, 4 in 5 homes would not meet them, an analysis of payroll records shows.
“Staffing is the most important part of providing high-quality nursing home care,” said David Stevenson, chair of the health policy department at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“It comes down to political will to enforce staffing.”
The human toll
There is a yawning gap between law and practice in Rhode Island. In the last three months of 2023, only 12 of 74 homes met the state’s minimum of three hours and 49 minutes of care per resident, including at least two hours and 36 minutes of care from certified nursing assistants, payroll records show. One of the homes below the minimum was Heritage Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Smithfield, where Pernorio, president of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans, went last October after a stint in a hospital.
“From the minute the ambulance took me in there, it was downhill,” he said in an interview.
Sometimes, after waiting an hour, he would telephone the home’s main office for help. A nurse would come, turn off his call light, and walk right back out, and he would push the button again, Pernorio reported in his weekly e-newsletter.
While he praised some workers’ dedication, he said others frequently did not show up for their shifts. He said staff members told him they could earn more flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s than they could cleaning soiled patients in a nursing home.
In a written statement, Heritage Hills did not dispute that its staffing, while higher than that of many homes, was below the minimum under state law.
Heritage Hills said that after Pernorio complained, state inspectors visited the home and did not cite it for violations.
“We take every resident concern seriously,” it said in the statement. Pernorio said inspectors never interviewed him after he called in his complaint.
In interviews, residents of other nursing homes in the state and their relatives reported neglect by overwhelmed nurses and aides.
Jason Travers said his 87-yearold father, George, fell on the way to the bathroom because no one answered his call button.
“I think the lunch crew finally came in and saw him on the floor and put him in the bed,” Travers said. His father died in April 2023, four months after he entered the home.
Relatives of Mary DiBiasio, 92, who had a hip fracture, said they once found her sitting on the toilet unattended, hanging on to the grab bar with both hands. “I don’t need to be a medical professional to know you don’t leave somebody hanging off the toilet with a hip fracture,” said her granddaughter Keri RossiD’entremont.
When DiBiasio died in January 2022, Rhode Island was preparing to enact a law with nurse and aide staffing requirements higher than anywhere else in the country except Washington, D.C. But Gov. Daniel McKee suspended enforcement, saying the industry was in poor financial shape and nursing homes couldn’t even fill existing jobs. The governor’s executive order noted that several homes had closed because of problems finding workers.
Yet Rhode Island inspectors continue to find serious problems with care. Since January 2023, regulators have found deficiencies of the highest severity, known as immediate jeopardy, at 23 of the state’s 74 nursing homes. Homes have been cited for failing to get a dialysis patient to treatment and for giving one resident a roommate’s methadone, causing an overdose. They have also been cited for violent behavior by unsupervised residents, including one who shoved pillow stuffing into a resident’s mouth and another who turned a roommate’s oxygen off because it was too noisy. Both the resident who was attacked and the one who lost oxygen died.
Bottom lines
Even some of the nonprofit nursing homes, which don’t have to pay investors, are having trouble meeting the state minimums — or simply staying open. Rick Gamache, chief executive of the nonprofit Aldersbridge Communities, which owns Linn Health & Rehabilitation in East Providence, said Rhode Island’s Medicaid program paid too little for the home to keep operating — about $292 per bed, when the daily cost was $411. Aldersbridge closed Linn this summer and converted it into an assisted living facility.
“We’re seeing the collapse of post-acute care in America,” Gamache said. Many nursing homes are owned by for-profit chains, and some researchers, lawyers, and state authorities argue that they could reinvest more of the money they make into their facilities.
Bannister Center, a Providence nursing home that payroll records show is staffed 10% below the state minimum,
Meet the youngest Filipina Olympic athlete...
career and influenced her decision to represent the Philippines on the global stage.
“Growing up, Filipino culture has been a very important part of my life and I am beyond grateful to connect to my Filipino culture through my love of gymnastics,” she wrote in an Instagram post. Jung-Ruvivar spent her early years in the Philippines before moving to the United States as a young adult.
She switched teams
After representing the U.S. for several years, she’s now gearing up to proudly compete for the Philippines. The 18-year-old gymnastics sensation shared her decision on Instagram last year, expressing her excitement about this new chapter in her athletic journey.
“Being able to compete for the Philippines fills me with so much
pride, appreciation and joy,” she further expressed. Her decision to switch allegiances adds depth to the growing Philippine gymnastics scene and brings her into a group of talented Filipino American gymnasts, including Finnegan and Malabuyo.
She’s unstoppable At 18, Jung-Ruvivar is now headed to Paris for the Games, but her journey in gymnastics began with numerous accolades at a young age. At just 10 years old, she claimed first place in the all-around and uneven bars, and second in the vault at the CombsLa-Ville in France, following multiple victories in the American gymnastics circuit.
Her achievements also include a silver medal on the uneven bars in her first elite competition at the WOGA Classic, a third-place finish in the Desert Lights National Qualifier and another silver on the uneven bars at the American Classic.
The future looks bright for this Fil-Am gymnast, not just in the Olympics, but also in her career as she continues to aspire for success and inspire other young athletes. (Hans Carbonilla/Inquirer.net)
Vice President Sara Duterte showing her...
herself, she should know that she has no power to appoint herself, or anybody for that matter, much less as the so-called designated survivor.
“To begin with, nowhere in our 1987 Constitution is it stated that the vice president has the authority or power to appoint herself, or anyone else, for that matter. Furthermore, the term ‘designated survivor’ is not found in any of our statutes,” Dalipe emphasized.
Asked about her plans on Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address in a chance interview with reporters last week, Duterte remarked: “No, I will not attend the SONA. I’m appointing myself as the designated survivor.”
presidency in the event of the president’s death, incapacity, resignation or removal, serving the unexpired term, as exemplified by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s succession following Joseph Estrada’s ousting in January 2001.
This line of succession proceeds from the Senate president to the speaker of the House.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. also reminded Duterte that there is “no such thing as a designated survivor in the Philippines.”
“Is she spending too much time watching Netflix? She better read our Constitution. It’s as clear as sunlight. Is she really serious?”
least being forthright in public service? A career in government is not something anybody can play with. We’re dealing with people’s money and public resources,” he said.
Fond of joking After resigning from her government positions, Duterte has become fond of making jokes, according to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III.
In an interview with dzBB radio on Sunday, July 14, Pimentel said he was “not really” scared when he heard that Duterte would not attend the SONA and proclaimed herself as the “designated survivor.”
is part of Centers Health Care, a New York-based private chain that owns or operates 31 skilled nursing homes, according to Medicare records. Bannister lost $430,524 in 2021, according to a financial statement it filed with Rhode Island regulators.
Last year, the New York attorney general sued the chain’s owners and investors and their relatives, accusing them of improperly siphoning $83 million in Medicaid funds out of their New York nursing homes by paying salaries for “no-show” jobs, profits above what state law allowed, and inflated rents and fees to other companies they owned. For instance, one of those companies, which purported to provide staff to the homes, paid $5 million to the wife of Kenny Rozenberg, the chain’s chief executive, from 2019 to 2021, the lawsuit said.
The defendants argued in court papers that the payments to investors and owners were legal and that the state could not prove they were Medicaid funds. They have asked for much of the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Jeff Jacomowitz, a Centers Health Care spokesperson, declined to answer questions about Bannister, Centers’ operations, or the chain’s owners. Miller, the District of Columbia’s long-term care ombudsman, said many nursing home owners could pay better wages if they didn’t demand such high profits. In D.C., 7 in 10 nursing homes meet minimum standards, payroll records show.
“There’s no staffing shortage — there’s a shortage of goodpaying jobs,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since 1984 and they’ve been going broke all the time. If it really is that bad of an investment, there wouldn’t be any nursing homes left.”
The new federal rules call for a minimum of three hours and 29 minutes of care each day per resident, including two hours and 27 minutes from nurse aides and 33 minutes from registered nurses, and an RN on-site at all times.
Homes in areas with worker shortages can apply to be exempted from the rules. Dora Hughes, acting chief medical officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in a statement that those waivers would be “time-limited” and that having a clear national staffing minimum “will facilitate strengthened oversight and enforcement.”
David Grabowski, a health policy professor at Harvard Medical School, said federal health authorities have a “terrible” track record of policing nursing homes. “If they don’t enforce this,” he said, “I don’t imagine it’s going to really move the needle a lot.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces indepth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
“The authority to appoint is exclusively vested in our president, who makes appointments ranging from Cabinet members to directors of government agencies,” Dalipe pointed out.
Under the Constitution, the line of succession among the country’s highest elected officials is likewise unequivocal and clearly stipulated.
Article VII, Section 8 of the 1987 Constitution states that the vice president ascends to the
Gonzales asked, recalling that Duterte even joked previously that all members of her family – from her father to her two brothers, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte – will run for senator in the May 2025 midterm elections.
There was also a time when the vice president said that she would seek reelection as mayor in Davao City.
“I mean, which is which really?
We don’t even know if we can still trust her now. Whatever happened to some decency or at
“It seems like the vice president (has) become fond of making jokes lately,” Pimentel added.
Asked whether joking as the “designated survivor” is a bad or good joke, Pimentel said: “Maybe (she becomes fond of telling jokes) after she resigned. Although it is still effective on July 19, she has been like that since she resigned from the Cabinet and from all her other government positions, except being vice president.”
“It’s like she’s feeling informal. That’s why the vice president is joking. Well, it’s not just good in the context of SONA,” he said. g
Fil-Am leaders condemn Trump assassination...
Consider this: He has been impeached twice, and his political opponents have used the courts to entangle him legally, hindering his campaign efforts. He has been convicted of 34 felonies, with more legal battles still ahead. He is looking at the possibility of jail time. Now, he has become the target of an assassination attempt! When will this end? It is painfully obvious that his adversaries will stop at nothing to defeat him. This is why Trump’s followers look up to him. It seems like he is willing to take a bullet for us. He was trying to make a political speech, and someone wanted to kill him for it.”
Trump issued the following statement after the incident:
“I want to thank the United States Secret Service and all of Law Enforcement for their rapid response to the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed and to the family of another person who was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong when I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
‘Sympathy is power’
“Today’s assassination attempt on former President Trump and current Republican Presidential nominee is a criminal act that must be condemned by every American, regardless of political affiliation,” said a cancer survivor and co-founder of Filipino American Cancer Care based in Virginia.
Maria Luna Orth, a Fil-Am Republican from Seattle, criticized the security at the rally. “The security at the rally was not properly secured and verified. They were one inch away from a bullet through his brain. Now they have made President Trump a martyr. And no one can beat a martyr. That was a total of eight rounds of gunshots! Even people who were on the fence about Trump now sympathize with him. Sympathy is power! Trump will win in red waves. Thank God President Trump was not killed. This country would never be the same if Trump was killed today! July 13th will be remembered for thanking God for saving Trump’s life!” she said.
The Filipino American
Democratic Club of New York issued a statement condemning the political violence in Pennsylvania.
“FADCNY strongly condemns the act of political violence that took place in Pennsylvania today. We stand firmly against all forms of violence and wish for former President Trump’s full recovery,” the statement said. No place in our democracy Gina Ortiz Jones, former U.S. undersecretary of the Air Force, expressed her relief, stating, “I am encouraged to hear former President Trump is doing well following today’s awful events. Political violence must always be condemned because it has absolutely no place in our democracy.”
Assemblymember Steven Raga of Queens’ District 30 called on everyone to unite in light of the horrific incident. “Today, we must unite as a nation to unequivocally condemn all forms of political violence, especially in light of the recent incident involving former President Trump,” he said. “I wish former President Trump a swift and full recovery.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said she and her husband, Doug, are relieved that Trump is not seriously injured. “We are praying for him, his family and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting,” she said. We are grateful to the United States Secret Service, first responders and local authorities for their immediate action. Violence such as this has no place in our nation. We must all condemn this abhorrent act and do our part to ensure that it does not lead to more violence.”
President Joe Biden is also grateful to hear that Trump is safe and doing well. “I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information,” he said. “Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams described the events that unfolded at Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania as horrific. “No matter our disagreements, we must all agree that violence of any kind is unacceptable,” he said. “I am praying for the safety of former President Trump and anyone else who may have been injured in the attack today.”
Skepticism Meanwhile, amid the widespread condemnation and calls for unity, skepticism and conspiracy theories have begun to emerge. Some Filipino Americans, who chose to remain
anonymous, expressed doubts about the authenticity of the shooting incident. They speculated that the event might have been staged to elicit sympathy from non-GOP voters, suggesting that Trump is desperate to secure re-election in the upcoming November elections.
“How did the assassin miss?” asked one Fil-Am Democrat.
But a police officer, who identified as neither Republican nor Democrat, dismissed the doubt as “fake news.” He argued, “Trump was trailing Biden by 10 points this morning. One spectator is dead, and another is critically injured. Trump was two inches away from a headshot from a sniper rifle 200 feet away in an adjacent building that the Secret Service would have secured. There aren’t many buildings in that area to secure, unlike Manhattan. The Democrats need the sympathy, not Trump. They need to worry about a president who will soon be replaced. We have all been saying Biden (is showing) early signs of Parkinson’s and dementia. But Democrats have been lying all along, claiming that behind closed doors he’s energetic and on the ball. Lies! Biden called Zelensky ‘Putin,’ called Trump ‘vice president,’ and called Kamala ‘president.’ It’s the Democrats who need the sympathy, not the GOP. That was an attack on our freedom of speech; freedom to assemble and freedom to support any candidate.”
The shooting incident has not only shaken the political landscape but also raised serious concerns about security at political events. Many are questioning how a shooter could get so close to a former president and current presidential nominee. Security experts and law enforcement agencies are expected to conduct thorough reviews and implement enhanced measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Despite differing opinions and conspiracy theories, the overarching sentiment across the political spectrum is one of condemnation of violence and a call for unity. Leaders and organizations are urging Americans to come together and reject any form of political violence. This incident has underscored the deep divisions within the country, but it has also highlighted the resilience of its democratic values. As the nation moves forward, the hope is that this tragic event will serve as a catalyst for greater unity and a reaffirmation of the commitment to peaceful and democratic processes. (Elton Lugay/Inquirer.net)
Photo from Instagram/@levijungruivivar
Dateline PhiliPPines
US senators urge Biden for ‘visible’ response to help PH thwart China
by Cristina Chi Philstar.com
MANILA — Two ranking United States senators have urged U.S. President Joe Biden to present military, economic and diplomatic options to help the Philippines stave off China's further aggression in the South China Sea.
U.S. senators Jim Risch and Roger Wicker, ranking members of the Senate foreign relations committee and the armed services committee, respectively, wrote to Biden on July 12, seeking urgent action to aid the Philippines in thwarting China in the contested waters.
The letter comes just before the U.S.’ top military official arrived in the Philippines this week to finalize an intelligence-sharing deal with its longest treaty ally in the Asia-Pacific region amid China's growing presence there.
In recent years, Chinese militia vessels have steadily expanded their presence in the South China Sea based on Beijing's claim that it owns nearly all of the contested waters, including parts of the West Philippine Sea.
The U.S. has routinely backed the Philippines over its altercations with China and expressed its "ironclad" commitment to defend the country, sparking concerns over how the South China Sea could become the staging ground
for a violent showdown between the two powerful nations.
Risch and Wicker asked Biden in their letter to "respond with visible and concrete demonstrations" of the U.S.’ support to the Philippines following a violent altercation between Chinese and Filipino vessels on June 19.
“Your administration has repeatedly stated that an attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed forces – including its Coast Guard in the South China Sea – would invoke the U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT)," the senators wrote.
“Limiting our response to verbal assurances of the applicability of Article IV undermines the credibility and value of these commitments," the senators added.
The senators said that anything short of concrete support to the Philippines "risks our appearing unwilling to honor our bilateral commitments.”
In one of the worst escalation of tensions between China and the Philippines yet, the Chinese coast guard rammed and boarded Filipino navy boats on June 19 and caused injuries to at least eight Filipino crew members in an attempt to foil their resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre on the Ayungin Shoal.
Officials from the executive department had contradictory, at times flip-flopping, responses on dealing with the altercation.
While both Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro agreed that the incident was not an "armed attack," which would be grounds for the Philippines to invoke the MDT, Teodoro contradicted Bersamin in saying that the Philippines would now start publicizing the schedule of resupply missions.
Bersamin initially described the incident as "probably a misunderstanding," pointing out that the Chinese crew members only used bladed weapons.
However, Teodoro clarified days later that the incident was a "deliberate act by Chinese officialdom."
In December 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cited the need for a "paradigm shift" with the Philippines' policy of dealing with Chinese aggression, admitting that its diplomatic efforts with China were heading "in a poor direction."
Earlier in 2023, the Philippines announced four new military bases open to U.S. troops under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, prompting China to rebuke the Philippines for "[endangering] regional peace and stability." g
Manila sea level rising by 2.6 cm/year – study
by Bella Cariaso Philstar.com
MANILA
— The sea level in Manila has been increasing by about 2.6 centimeters per year from an average rate of 1.3 millimeters per year in the 1900s, with groundwater use in the city enhancing the risk of sea level rise in the country’s capital, according to a study. The Philippine Climate Change Assessment report was contained in the 268-page National Adaptation Plan (NAP) approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The implications of rising sea levels are compounded by the occurrence of land subsidence in certain areas, exacerbating the impact of sea level rise and
leading to increased vulnerability to flooding and extreme sea levels,” the report said.
Vulnerable
The NAP also cited a report from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration that Southeast Asia is often considered especially vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise, and local areas of the Philippines have been experiencing relatively high rates of sea-level rise. “About 60 percent of the Philippine population and over 50 percent of Philippine municipalities, including the country’s capital, Manila, are in
the coastal zone,” the report said.
“Manila has experienced a rapid increase in sea level, primarily attributed to long-term land subsidence caused by excessive groundwater extraction. In contrast, Legazpi and Davao have witnessed gradual sea level rises, while no clear trend has been observed in Cebu and Jolo, Sulu,” the report added. Groundwater use, subsidence related
The report said that the research utilizing satellite data has revealed a significant correlation between subsidence zones and regions with high groundwater usage, particularly in Regions IV-B, III, VII and XI.
u PAGE 7
by Red Mendoza ManilaTimes.net
MANILA — Vice President Sara
Duterte has no regrets running the Department of Education (DePed) during her two year-stint as she turned over the reins to former senator Juan Edgardo Angara who "hit the ground running" on Thursday, July 18.
"In fact, it is with a heavy heart that I will leave the Department of Education, minahal ko itong trabahong ito, minahal ko yung mga kasama ko sa DepEd, so, mayroon talaga akong regrets, dahil gusto ko talagang tapusin ang deliverables ng (Ferdinand R.) Marcos (Jr.) administration (I loved this job, I loved my colleagues in DepEd, so I really have regrets because I would have wanted to finish the deliverables of the Marcos administration )," Duterte said in a chance interview with reporters after the turnover ceremony.
Duterte said that her resignation was a combination of "personal," "professional" and "political" reasons but did not elaborate, noting that it would take a "sit down" interview to discuss them.
Speaking in Filipino, Duterte said the personal was between her and
President Marcos which stemmed from "what we talked about before I agreed to handle DepEd, the other concerns work, and another for the country." She also denied that her rift with first lady Louise Marie AranetaMarcos had something to do with her resignation.
Duterte is hopeful that Angara would continue some of her plans and projects at the DepEd, including the revision of the Senior High School curriculum and the DepEd Digital Classroom project.
In his speech at the turnover
ceremony, Angara said that it was a "huge honor" for him to be selected by President Marcos to serve as education chief and vowed to do whatever it takes to achieve the reforms and changes needed in the education system in line with "Bagong Pilipinas" (New Philippines). "As we assume our role and start a new chapter for DepEd, we will hit the ground running and learn as we go. Allow us some time to dig deeper. In the coming days, we will outline our key priorities," Angara said. g
Dereliction of duty
LAST week the Supreme Court clarified that contrary to a published report, it had yet to rule on petitions urging the tribunal to compel Congress to pass a law against political dynasties. The clarification inevitably led to people asking when the SC might rule on the petitions, which cite the constitutional prohibition on dynasties as may be defined by law.
That law has yet to be passed by Congress, where dynasty building has reached shameless proportions and may get even worse in the 2025 midterm elections. There’s no end in sight to the appalling growth of clans wanting to control all aspects of governance in their fiefdoms, from barangays to local governments to national posts.
Editorial
competitiveness and survival in a highly competitive globalized environment. Between the political clans and influence-peddling special interest groups that hold sway in nearly all aspects of national life, personal advancement is an uphill battle for ordinary Filipinos. Little wonder that the Filipino Dream is to leave the country for other lands where a person’s worth is measured based on capability rather than surnames or connections.
Isn’t this inability or unwillingness to pass the enabling law a dereliction of duty on the part of Congress? Dynasty building has short-circuited the system of checks and balances needed for a functioning democracy where transparency, accountability and good governance ensure the efficient delivery of basic services and judicious use of public funds.
Dynasty building has also doomed the creation of a merit-based society, which is needed for national
AMERICAN politics has been careening towards the abyss of political violence. The attempted assassination on candidate Donald Trump underscores this. In the immediate aftermath of this horror that saw Trump sightly wounded, the assassin and a spectator killed and two other critically wounded, both parties are engrossed blaming each other for the outbreak of political violence. The shooter has been identified as a 20-yearold nursing aide wielding an AR15 semi-automatic assault rifle. He is a registered Republican. Investigators are still plowing through all available information to establish a motive for this assassination attempt. From all the early indications, it seems the young shooter likely acted alone and was probably emotionally imbalanced. There are calls for inquiries into the failings of the Secret
Dynasts have argued that if people are unhappy with their clans, they can always be voted out of office. Many clans, however, have a stranglehold on nearly all the government resources for dispensing dole-outs and carrying out tax-funded projects in their fiefdoms, leaving little room for outsiders to challenge their political control. Dynasty building also undermines the criminal justice system, with clans controlling the police, prosecution, judiciary
Service platoon assigned to physically protect Trump. All the video evidence suggests numerous lapses, the most important of which is the failure to stop a man with a rifle perched on a rooftop with clear line-ofsight to the stage where Trump stood.
Establishing the dead assassin’s motive and correcting all the operational weaknesses of the Secret Service are important. But they are not as important as examining the context of political hate and the epidemic of lax firearms regulations afflicting American politics. They make political violence nearly inevitable. Trump bears an inordinate share of responsibility for poisoning American political discourse. In Trump’s version of political contestation, respect plays no role. He built a constituency on the basis of exaggerated grievance. He habitually caricatures his political rivals and, recently, seemed to be threatening partisan violence should he lose next November’s elections.
Recall that Trump did call out
Will
THOMAS Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., is the man the FBI has identified as the shooter at the Butler, Pa. Trump rally, in what law enforcement is calling an “assassination attempt.”
Some news organizations will choose not to say the name of the rally shooter, thinking that doing so would only glorify the now deceased suspect. But Thomas Matthew Crooks is a major part of what happened on Saturday. To keep him anonymous is to censor a key fact.
It was Thomas Matthew Crooks’ shocking actions that may be the thing that finally sobers up America.
We’ve been drunk with ideology and divided by politics for too long. Crooks was a registered Republican, according to voter records. Three years ago, he made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic politicians. The extent of his political activity isn’t known as I write. But from his high school photo, he appeared to be a clean-cut white kid from a Pittsburgh suburb, not some radical activist. As to his mental state, nothing yet has been revealed.
We do know Crooks had a car full of explosives and an AR-15 type weapon. He was a reckless and irresponsible firearms owner (shooting into a crowd?) and not
his most fanatical followers to assault the U.S. Capitol in order to overturn the results of the last elections. In the process, he unleashed a lynching mob on his own vice president who refused to play along with what was in fact a coup attempt. Trump faces charges relating to the Jan. 6 riots.
Completely unversed in the nuances of the policy questions of the day, Trump has mounted an electoral campaign driven by vilification and fueled by lies. This is a campaign abetted by the obscurantism of Christian nationalists and the menacing marches of armed right-wing militia groups. His campaign commissioned an extremely conservative think-tank to produce what is called Plan 2025, a truly disturbing program for replacing democracy with fascism.
In the face of adverse public reaction to Plan 2025, Trump tried to distance himself from it. But the manifesto was put together by dozens of individuals closely associated with Trump. It essentially puts into programatic
and jail facilities in their turfs. This has engendered impunity, as the nation has seen in so many brazen political killings.
The dynasty-dominated Congress cannot be
form the policy implications of all the things Trump has uttered during his public rallies.
We will not repeat here all the stupendous conspiracy theories that invariably proliferate after a shocking event such as last Saturday’s (July 13) assassination attempt. Most of these conspiracy theories emanate from partisan echo chambers and circulate rapidly through the magic of social media. It is not productive repeating them or even refuting them.
Hours after the shooting, President Joe Biden addressed his nation. He called for unity and for cooling the heated rhetoric.
Partisan hate has indeed poisoned the political well. This expands the possibility for political violence to happen. It crowds out a serious national discourse on the policy options open for the electorate.
For his part, Donald Trump went out to play golf the morning after he was shot at. He had no inspiring things to tell an anxious public – although he did promise to rework his speech for the Republican National Convention that went underway on Tuesday, July 16.
The shot that grazed Trump’s ear and was only a millimeter away from a truly tragic outcome ought to have put the question of gun regulations at the front and center of public debate. But the Republican Party is not likely to budge from its Wild, Wild West attitude towards casual gun ownership. With more guns in private hands than the size of its population, the U.S. has been experiencing a nearly daily incidence of random mass shootings. These mass shootings take an appalling toll on children in schools. The Republican Party’s preferred response to this problem is to arm school teachers. This is totally insane. More imminent than the threat of organized right-wing militia going on a rampage should they disagree with electoral outcomes, there is the persistent danger of lone wolves pulling off armed attacks inspired by some warped understanding of the world. The young person who shot at Trump last Saturday fit the profile of solitary and alienated characters pulling off random mass shootings. American society is increasingly inhabited by
solitary, disoriented and disillusioned individuals. Each of them has easy access to guns, including powerful assault rifles capable of inflicting mass casualties. The peril this poses will not be abated by improving the protection skills of the Secret Service.
Even if Trump echoes Biden’s call for cooling the partisan rhetoric, American politics is still careening towards the abyss of political violence. It is too late to reverse course. Last Monday, July 15, I listened intently to an American political scientist expound on his theory that his country’s institutions, checks-and-balances and all, are intended to divide rather than unite. The present campaigns that feature vicious personal attacks merely heighten what is institutionally designed. More than its American equivalent, Filipino political institutions incline our politics to personal attacks rather than policy discussion. (Philstar.com) * * *
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
an assassination attempt change politics in America?
The images of a bloodied Trump and the flag shouldn’t be politicized to unite one group of Americans against another
very skilled. His shots grazed the former president’s ear, killed one person, wounded at least two others and stunned everyone around the nation no matter what your political beliefs. This isn’t supposed to happen in America. In our country, the Constitution affords us a path to solve our differences. The First Amendment gives us free speech and the right to gather and express ourselves, which leads to debate.
It should not lead to gunfire.
Not in a land where politics is decided by the vote, and our voices are heard loudly by our ballots, not our bullets. Soon after the shots were fired, the FBI reported that Crooks had been “neutralized.”
That’s the euphemism used to indicate Crooks was killed and the threat was abated. Gone.
But was it?
The shooter may have been neutralized, but was America freed from its acrid sense of hate?
A chance to bring the country together?
Our politics has been so toxic, Saturday’s (July 13) horrific event should be seen as an opportunity for all of us to turn down the rhetoric – by a lot.
For a while on Saturday, it seems everyone was civil.
Democrats were praying for Trump to live. Republicans were just shocked. All the cable news
analysts were praying for Trump.
That’s unity.
Is that our cue? This is the chance to condemn the shooter and stand up as one country, neutralized from our own divisive politics and united against the senseless use of gun violence as any kind of arbiter.
Politics can be a matter of life and death, but that isn’t supposed to be literal.
After the Saturday shooting, everyone was rooting for Trump, and why not? He’s an American, after all, and a human being just like all the rest of us.
Wouldn’t he do the same for us?
Likely not. But I would hope so, if he truly wants to be president. We disagree on many fundamental points. And we will stay opposed on practically all policies. But we are not enemies. Or are we?
President Biden said it best at his news briefing Saturday night. Both the president and Trump reportedly spoke to each other after the shooting for the first time since their June 27 debate.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, it’s sick, it’s sick,” said President Biden at a post-shooting news briefing. “It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this.”
Later in an address to the nation on Sunday, July 14, the president asked “every American
to recommit to what makes America” so special.
“Here in America, everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and hate should have no safe harbor,” President Biden said on nationwide TV. “We need to get out of our silos where we only listen to those with whom we agree; where misinformation is rampant; where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests not ours.”
And, of course, there was an appeal that competing visions of the campaign “always be resolved peacefully.”
“Stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law,” the president said. “Call for action at the ballot. Not for violence on our streets. That’s how democracy should work.”
But we are already too close to the edge. We don’t have to go back to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to see how real a problem domestic political violence is in this country.
Think about the right-wing intruder who, on Oct. 28, 2022, went after Democratic Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi, then used a hammer to nearly kill her husband Paul Pelosi.
David De Pape was convicted on assault and attempted kidnapping charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Political violence? We certainly
saw it on Jan. 6, 2021 with the insurrection of the capital, which, ironically, was instigated by Donald Trump.
You might say this makes an assassination attempt on Trump just days before the Republican National Convention something Joe Biden might call an “inflection point.”
It would be if we could put the nasty politics aside, eschew our divisiveness, and realize what a massive step forward we could make as a country together.
Naive? Some think democracy is naive.
My optimism
Me, I want to hang on to that sliver of hope and optimism I noticed when good people saw the news on Saturday and just thought about the future of our country – and not about winning an election.
The unfortunate assassination attempt should be seen as a signal that it’s time to end the hyperpartisanship that ails us and to heal our open wounds. It is time to reach out, work together. To see each other not as die-hard enemies but as members of the same team.
Asian Americans know what it’s like to be seen as enemies and foreigners by our fellow Americans. From the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII to the scapegoating of Asians during the pandemic, we have stood up
to the hate.
Now all America must stand together and dare to be united as Americans for our democracy.
We must quickly condemn all those who will use this as an opportunity to fan the flames of division. Already on social media, Sen. J.D. Vance, a leading candidate to be Trump’s veep, is pointing fingers at Biden.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote on X. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”’
That’s just false and irresponsible. Have you seen the right’s Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation doc that is written by more than 100 Trump staffers and advocates such things as rounding up undocumented people and placing them in camps?
It’s been a part of Trump’s hate-inducing rhetoric for so long. Who else says immigrants “are poisoning the blood of our country?”
That’s Trump talk. Now here’s an opening for change on all sides.
This should be a unifying moment to lift everyone, not just Trump’s base. The emotionally charged remnants of Saturday, like the images of a bloodied Trump and the flag, shouldn’t PAGE 7
Emil Amok!
expected to change a system that has made politics a major family enterprise in this country. It’s up to the Supreme Court to open the doors to the longdelayed reforms. (Philstar.com)
Supreme Court asked to junk Quiboloy’s plea vs Senate arrest order
by Ian LaquI Philstar.com
MANILA
— The Senate, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition filed by fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy.
Quiboloy is challenging the contempt, arrest and detention order issued against him by the Senate on March 19. He also claimed that the Senate would violate his constitutional right against self-incrimination.
In a 45-page comment dated July 8, the OSG argued that Quiboloy's claim is "mere speculation" and "misplaced." The Senate maintains that if Quiboloy had attended the hearings as expected of all citizens, he would
not be in this situation.
The OSG stated, "Petitioner seeks to carve out an exception for himself. Armed with only a speculative and misguided claim, he has the temerity to seek judicial succor even as he is openly and obstinately defying the authority of not one but two great branches of government."
The OSG also noted that the right against self-incrimination may only be invoked by an accused during a criminal proceeding. A Senate inquiry, which Quiboloy was asked to attend, is not a criminal proceeding.
In January, the Senate invited Quiboloy to attend a committee hearing on alleged abuses committed by him and his church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Quiboloy did not attend
any hearings and instead sent his lawyer. This led the Senate to cite him in contempt and issue an arrest order on March 19.
Aside from the Senate's arrest order, Quiboloy faces charges in different courts:
The Supreme Court recently granted the Department of Justice's request to transfer child and sexual abuse cases against Quiboloy to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The Davao City RTC had first issued an arrest warrant on April 3.
One of Quiboloy's co-accused, Pauline Canada, was apprehended on July 11 in her home in Davao del Sur.
A non-bailable qualified human trafficking case is lodged against Quiboloy and his co-accused before the Pasig City court, which issued an arrest warrant on April 11. g
Most Pinoys believe gov’t efforts on WPS issues enough
MANILA
– Majority of Filipinos
believe that the Philippine government's actions on some issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are sufficient, the Stratbase ADR Institute said on Thursday, July 18.
This was based on the results of the Social Weather Station survey commissioned by the think tank, which showed 60 percent of Filipinos believe that the government’s efforts such as joint patrols and military exercises with allies, friends, and partners are enough.
The polling firm conducted the survey on June 23 to July 1, 2024 with 1,500 respondents nationwide.
The survey also showed that 72 percent of the respondents agreed that the Philippine government should form an alliance with other countries in defending the Philippines’ territorial and economic rights in the WPS.
The Philippines has launched several joint patrols in the WPS
with the United States, Australia, Japan, and France since late last year in wake of China's repetitive aggressive and coercive actions in the WPS.
Results of the survey also show that most Filipinos believe the government is doing sufficient actions in protecting Filipino fishermen in the WPS (57 percent) and in strengthening the military capability of the Philippines, especially the Navy (56 percent).
Most Filipinos believe that the government is doing enough in protecting the marine resources in the WPS (55 percent), in referring the issue to international organizations like the United Nations or Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for a diplomatic and peaceful negotiation with China about the disputed territories (54 percent), and in gathering evidence of China’s actions in the WPS and publishing them (54 percent). Meanwhile, 49 percent of Filipinos believe that the
government’s actions in demanding that China leave the artificial islands it illegally built and then occupied in the WPS are not enough.
Geopolitical expert Stratbase ADR Institute president Dindo Manhit said there is a need to launch more joint patrols with like-minded nations in light of China's increasing aggression in Philippine waters.
He said results of the latest Pulse Asia survey also show that 51 percent of Filipinos believe there is a need to reinforce alliance and elevate partnerships by conducting joint patrols and military exercises with allies, friends, and partners.
“We call on our friends, allies, and partners, who also value the rule of law to join us in our fight, and the Philippine government to reinforce cooperation and elevate partnerships by conducting more joint patrols and military exercises in the West Philippine Sea,” he added. (PNA)
Senator Padilla files anti-dynasty bill
by Bernadette e tamayo ManilaTimes.net
SEN. Robinhood Padilla on Monday, July 15 filed Senate Bill (SB) 2730 that seeks to fulfill the 1987 Constitution's mandate to prohibit political dynasties.
The senator, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, said it was "time to break the barriers that prevent the best and the brightest from serving the Filipino people."
"Given that this measure complies with the legislature's mandate to enact an antipolitical dynasty law and is a step towards leveling the playing field in politics and governance, the passage thereof is earnestly sought," Padilla said.
"Political dynasties, in effect, have exhausted resources to attain economic and political dominance while at the same time compromising political competition and undermining accountability," he said.
Under SB 2730, "No spouse or person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, whether legitimate or illegitimate, full or half blood, to an incumbent elective official seeking re-election, shall be allowed to hold or run for any elective office in the same city and/or province, or any party list
in the same election."
It provides that if the constituency of the incumbent elective official is national in character, such relatives should be disqualified from running only within the same province where the former is domiciled or in any, including the same, national position.
No person with "a political dynasty relationship to the incumbent shall immediately succeed to the position of the latter," the bill stated.
The bill requires any person running for any elective public office to file a sworn statement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that he or she does not have a political dynasty relationship with any incumbent public official running for an elective public office in the same city and/or province other than the position earlier mentioned.
A petition to disqualify a candidate on grounds of political dynasty may be filed before the Comelec, which should conduct summary proceedings. The Comelec should deny due course to any certificate of candidacy filed in violation of the antipolitical dynasty act.
While the votes for a respondent should be counted if the Comelec cannot decide on the petition before the completion of the canvass, his or her proclamation
should be suspended if the basis for disqualification is strong, the bill said.
If the disqualified candidate has been proclaimed, the candidate should forfeit the right to assume the office, the bill added.
Padilla cited a Harvard Academy research study in 2011 that showed how political dynasties stem from the tendency of elites to "persist and reproduce their power over time, undermining the effectiveness of institutional reforms in the process."
He said that Philippine local elections from 1988 to 2019 showed the number of governors with at least one relative in office increased by almost 39 percent, from 41 percent in 1988 to 80 percent in 2019.
The dynasty proportion of vice governors rose from 18 percent in 1988 to 68 percent in 2019, he said. The percentage of mayors in the dynasty increased gradually from 26 percent in 1988 to 53 percent in 2019.
Another study by Tusalem and Pe-Aguirre in 2013 noted that congressional funds are higher in areas with more political dynasties, but these provinces also have higher rates of crime and poor governance, as well as lower spending on employment, infrastructure, and health care, he said. g
Manila sea level rising by 2.6 cm/year...
“Given this understanding, an important adaptation strategy for reducing the effects of sea level rise and flooding in these vulnerable areas would be to manage water (including groundwater) usage effectively,” the report added.
It added that sea level rise poses a significant threat to the Philippines, particularly in terms of inundation.
A sea level rise of one meter would affect 7,000 square kilometers and 1.8 million people in 2,490 barangays, according to the report.
A three-meter rise would affect over 15,000 square km and 3.4
million people in 5,387 barangays.
“Sea level rise also affects natural systems, such as mangrove degradation, coral reef bleaching and saltwater intrusion,” the study said. According to the report, the scale of the potential impacts underscores the urgency of addressing and mitigating the risks associated with rising sea levels. “Human-induced factors, such as climate change and the subsequent warming of the oceans and melting of ice sheets, are primarily responsible for this phenomenon,” the NAP report said in its conclusion. The Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR) has said that around 13.6 million Filipinos would need to relocate amid the impact of climate change.
“It is projected that almost 17 percent of the Philippines’ islands will be submerged due to sea level rising by 2100, putting at risk 64 provinces… and (an) estimated 13.6 million Filipinos would need relocation,” DENR Undersecretary for finance, information systems and climate change Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said.
The country’s hosting of the Loss and Damage Fund Board gives vulnerable and developing countries representation, she said. n
by Mayen JayMaLIn Philstar.com
MANILA — Commission on
Elections Chairman George Garcia will not step down from his post amid bribery allegations concerning the purchase of new voting machines to be used in the May 2025 midterm elections.
Neither he nor any Comelec member will resign or take a leave of absence based on false and unfounded allegations circulating on social media, according to Garcia.
“That’s impossible. It is impossible for a member of the commission to take a leave or file a courtesy resignation. Are they crazy?” he said in response to media queries concerning calls for him to step down from his post.
“It’s like we’re saying that their accusations are true. For me, I won’t stoop to that level of being told to resign, take leave,” he added, his comment applauded by poll officials and employees.
The Comelec chief expressed belief that a troll farm was behind the online calls for his resignation. He said he is not used to such kind of attacks, but the poll body will continue to fight misinformation being peddled on social media.
On Wednesday, July 17, all the other six Comelec members as well as other ranking poll officials
and employees came in full force to express their support for Garcia.
Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said the ongoing demolition job is not just against Garcia, but the entire poll body.
“As you can see, we are united, so we will see to it that those persons who are doing these malicious attacks against our institutions will be responsible,” Casquejo added.
Commissioner Socorro Inting urged those behind the attack against Garcia not to “crucify” the poll body in the “court of public opinion.” Inting said Comelec members are ready to defend themselves in court.
She further assured Garcia that the accusations against him would be dismissed if filed in court, considering that four of the six local bank accounts claimed to be under his name were proven to be spurious.
Commissioner Aimee Ferolino turned emotional as she expressed disgust over the controversy and that Garcia, whom she described as “the most hardworking chairman,” is being subjected to false accusations.
Garcia said he is just awaiting the results of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) investigation and would soon file legal suits against those behind the demolition job. He added that at present, the NBI
already has a lead on those behind the false accusations being peddled against him.
The Comelec, however, declined to confirm whether technology provider Smartmatic is behind the misinformation against him.
He said charges of falsification of document is likely to be filed against the individual who is in possession of the document containing the list of spurious local bank accounts.
‘Baseless, careless’ Technology provider Miru System strongly condemned the bribery allegations being hurled against the company.
“This is a serious allegation that should not have been made public without any evidence,” Miru said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“We have nothing but a professional relationship with everyone in the Comelec,” it added.
The “baseless and careless” accusations not only malign the company’s name, but also distract them from their work with the Comelec, according to the company.
Miru expressed willingness to cooperate with any government agency that will conduct an investigation and legal action against those behind the misinformation drive.
Miru also gave its full backing for the Comelec’s call for redress in the proper forum. g
VEGAS&STYLE JOURNAL
R’Bonney Gabriel wants to shine global spotlight on Filipino fashion Hori7on: Bridging borders with music
by Armin AdinA Inquirer.net
FILIPINA American sustainable fashion designer and 71st Miss Universe winner R’Bonney Gabriel has been in the Philippines for months now, taking on hosting jobs and exploring the country’s fashion and culture. And she has gained new skills along the way, one of which is weaving indigenous fabrics.
The beauty queen tried using two different hand looms at the Pinas Sadya pop-up store in Rockwell Center in Makati City when it opened on July 15 — one machine was a conventional type with pedals, while the other one was designed for individuals with disabilities and had hand-operated levers instead.
“You know it was easy to learn. I know I only did it a little bit, but I can definitely see it being very therapeutic. Because when I’m at home, sometimes I’m just sewing, and I just listen to music. I could do that for hours and hours. And I think the same with a hand loom,” Gabriel told INQUIRER. net.
She will bring her finished fabric back to the United States to incorporate it into her design, but there is another thing that she wants to take home, the hand loom itself. “I would love to have one one day. I think it’s really cool. I’ve tried it before, but I learned a new technique today,” Gabriel shared.
The Texas-based beauty said there were several ideas coming to her mind already, and she could use the woven piece in a handbag or combine it with another fabric. “I love denim. So I would love to do something like that. But yeah, I could go on and on about different ideas,” she said.
“As a fashion designer, I think the design aspect and the craftsmanship should really be highlighted on the global stage. And I think it’s definitely possible. I hope I can help in doing that,” Gabriel said when asked about her thoughts on Filipino fashion pieces.
“Sustainable fashion design is more than just recycling materials. It’s also being purposeful and intentional with clothing. It’s not just making clothing because they’re beautiful. And all the designers here are really supporting communities, in communities where you came from as well. And these are slow techniques that can’t be made extremely fast and in big production, so they’re very special. And for me, I love seeing it,” she added.
The store showcases the con-
temporary weave of Soari, binakol by the Tinguian tribe of Abra, Manobo weave of Agusan del Sur, abaca weave of Sibagat, hand embroidery in Lake Sebu, inaul of Maguindanao, balud langkat of Marawi, t’nalak weave of South Cotabato, tangkulo of the Bagobo tribe, yakan of Zamboanga, pis syabit of Sulu’s Tausug tribe, leather tannery of Bulacan, metal works of Cebu, contemporary weave of Kabangkalan, kantarines of Isabela, barong embroidery of Lumban, silk cocoon and piña of Aklan, beadworks of Bulacan and bag artistry of Marikina.
“I’m going crazy. I love stores like this, they’re just so unique. I mean, all of the pieces really tell a story without even saying anything. You can look at the mixture of the patterns. And for me as a Filipino-American, I grew up in
America, and one of my goals coming here was to learn more about Filipino culture, and a store like this is doing just that,” said Gabriel of the Pinas Sadya store, which also carries curated pieces from Vesti and Wear Your Culture.
She said she has discovered a lot about Filipino fashion and cites abaca as her “newest obsession.” She has also observed that each region of the Philippines has different embroidery patterns and techniques, “so it’s so diverse as well.”
Gabriel said she believes the world needs to see more of Filipino fashion. “I’m always speaking about it. I’m always trying to wear pieces that are locally made. And I love to tell the story behind them because these pieces are so special,” she said.
by Iza IglesIas ManilaTimes.net
HORI7ON (pronounced as Horizon) is rapidly establishing itself as one of the top P-pop acts in the Philippines and making significant strides in the music industry.
Formed in 2023, this South Korea-based Filipino boy band — with members Vinci, Kim, Kyler, Reyster, Winston, Jeromy, and Marcus — has the unique distinction of being the first all-Filipino boy band to debut in South Korea, garnering the band considerable attention in both countries.
The group, formed by MLD Entertainment and ABS-CBN Corporation through the survival reality show "Dream Maker," made their official debut on July 24, 2023, with their album "Friend-Ship."
Prior to this, they released three pre-debut singles — "Dash", "Salamat", and "Lovey Dovey." Their first single album "Daytour," featuring the track "Lucky," followed in 2024, showcasing their musical versatility and appeal.
Hori7on's success is rooted in their rigorous training, blending K-pop and P-pop elements.
Trained by both Filipino and South Korean coaches, they underwent stringent routines typical of the K-pop industry. This unique combination of influences has helped them stand out, earning them the label of "global rookies" by Korean media outlets such as My Daily, and highlighting their "unique presence" in the industry.
Because of the growing influence, their journey has not only been about music but also significant endorsements.
R’Bonney Gabriel (right) learns new techniques with the hand loom from Saori Philippines weaving
trainer Becky Santiago (second from right) as weaver Jo Bernabe (left) and Vesti Bags designer Martha Rodriguez look on. Inquirer.net photo by Armin P. Adina
Hori7on is one of the top P-pop acts in the Philippines today. Photo from Instagram/@hori7onofficial
ThrivePoint Academy launches
free alternative education high school in Nevada to prepare students for the future
Public online and flexible schedule charter high school that mentors at-risk students opens fall in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – ThrivePoint Academy, a free, public charter school, has announced the opening of its first location in Nevada and marked it with a ribbon-cutting event and open house for the local community on July 10. Opening in time for the 2024/2025 school year, ThrivePoint Academy is unique in its approach in helping students who are struggling in traditional school earn their high school diploma and putting them on the path to their Next Big Step postgraduation. With six locations in Arizona and additional schools in California, ThrivePoint is an in-person and online school, designed to support students through a personalized approach, emphasizing credit recovery, mastery-based learning, and access to caring staff that
prioritizes the needs and goals of each student. ThrivePoint provides students with a personal coach/mentor to help them with their studies, and to nurture their future career interests with a unique curriculum offering technical and trade skills, internships, job opportunities with local community partners, or a clear path to either college or the military, depending on their interests and goals.
“ThrivePoint is going to help many students – up to age 21 –who have faced challenges and seek the opportunity to graduate high school,” said ThrivePoint Academy Principal Vincent Medina. “We are thrilled to be opening and to work with multiple students who need a helping hand in school and who want to achieve success in their future careers.”
ThrivePoint Academy’s new location is at 3802 Meadows Lane in Las Vegas, in close proximity to the Springs Preserve and a YMCA location. The school can accept student enrollments monthly and will have many collaborations with nonprofit community partners that assist youth. With Nevada continuing to face higher-than-average dropout rates among high school students, ThrivePoint prides itself on moving students toward high school graduation and a future post-graduation, rather than allowing them to simply drop out. Year-over-year, ThrivePoint experiences an increase in high school graduates that earn credits at an appropriate pace and matriculate into the local workforce, trade schools, college and universities, or military. g
The Miracle of Fatima The Musical in PH, Pilipinas Dream Team at
Rogelio Constantino Medina My P.E.P. (People, Events,Places)
RINA Ortiz, an animal welfare advocate and co-founder of Biyaya Animal Care, is a Filipina who never tires of rescuing stray animals.
Together with over 100 staff members and 15 doctors at three locations and five shelters, Ortiz is making a difference in local communities through rescuing and protecting “abused, neglected, lost, and mistreated animals while serving the veterinary needs of pet owners and individuals.”
LAS VEGAS – Filipino
boxer Blazen Rocilli (6-0, 5 KOs), a promising 21-year-old middleweight from Waipahu, Hawaii, now training in Las Vegas, NV, has officially signed a managerial agreement with Andrew Bocanegra, president of Boxing VIP.
Rocilli, standing at an impressive 6’3” and fighting out of the southpaw stance, is unique for his size. He is the tallest Filipino in the sport and is poised to make significant strides in his boxing career under this new partnership.
Rocilli is trained by highly respected coach Richard Barrientes at the Pound-4-Pound boxing gym in Las Vegas, known for hosting some of the best training camps in boxing. With an incredible work ethic, Rocilli has quickly become a notable figure in the super welterweight division.
“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Andrew Bocanegra and Boxing VIP,” said Rocilli, whose family back in the Philippines is from the city of Ilocos Norte.
“I believe this partnership will elevate my career to new heights and provide me with the opportunities I need to showcase
my skills on the biggest stages. I have a great team behind me now and I’m looking forward to my future in boxing.”
“Blazen Rocilli has the makings of something special in the boxing world,” said Bocanegra, confident in Rocilli's potential. “His talent, combined with his massive height and southpaw stance, makes him a problem for anyone in the super welterweight division. As a tall Filipino boxer, he brings a unique style and presence to the ring that I believe will captivate fans and
unite the Philippine community. In my opinion, he can become the next Filipino superstar.”
Rocilli, a promotional free agent, inspired by the legacy of Filipino boxing legends, expressed his aspirations for his career. “I want to follow in the footsteps of great Philippine fighters like Manny Pacquiao and others. They have set a high standard, and I am determined to honor their legacy by working hard and striving for greatness in every fight.” (Boxing VIP Release)
Sharon Cuneta declares: ‘I love my Kiko now more than ever’
by Anne PAsAjol Inquirer.net
AFTER overcoming a recent hurdle in their marriage, Sharon Cuneta said she loves Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, her husband of 28 long years, now more than ever.
Cuneta made her declaration of love for the former senator by sharing a reminder from American author Lewis Howes, through her Instagram Stories on Monday, July 15.
“When you choose a life partner, you’re choosing your eating companion for about 20,000 meals, your travelmate for 100 vacations, your retirement friend, your career cheerleader, and someone whose day you’ll hear about 18,000 times. Choose wisely,” Howes’ post read.
Cuneta then captioned it, “God helped me to choose really well! I love my Kiko now more than ever before.” In December 2023, speculations of Cuneta and Pangilinan’s
marriage being on the rocks surfaced after the actress-singer made cryptic posts on social media, including a family photo of them that was cropped to remove Kiko’s face and quotes about loyalty and “sidechicks.” Weeks later, Cuneta admitted that she had parted ways
with Pangilinan briefly over a misunderstanding but that they had since gotten back together. Cuneta then underscored on their 28th anniversary last April that while “it hasn’t always been easy being married to each other,” their marriage is worth fighting for.
She has also a regular podcast, The Rina Ortiz Podcast Season 2, that began with former Senator Leila de Lima. This was followed by Laila “Chikadora” Pangilinan (TV5’s cat mama). She also appeared in Dinah Ventura’s Pairfect of Daily Tribune. Recently, she had an outreach activity held in FPJ Studios in Quezon City for neutering, anti-rabies vaccination and micro-chipping of cats and dogs, courtesy of the Quezon City Veterinary Department, FPJ Panday Bayanihan, and Office of Sen. Grace Poe.
On July 27, 2024 at 1 p.m. at Ayala Malls Trinoma Cinema 1, her Biyaya Animal Care will have Marvel Studios’ Deadpool and Wolverine’s block screening for the benefit of rescued cats and dogs of Biyaya Animal Sanctuary in Alfonso, Cavite.
* *
American producer and writer Barbara Oleynick, a multi-faceted creative professional with a passion for evangelizing the Fatima message through live performances, will bring “The Miracle of Fatima The Musical” to the Philippines. She is a known playwright, composer, lyricist and executive director of Fatima Foundation Inc. Helping her is Dominican director Luis Marcell Ricart, founder of THEAMUS Teatro Musical and musical director of Iglesia Regina Angelorum.
The main characters are the three young visionaries: Lucia (to be enacted by Fatima Marie Mislang and 72nd FAMAS best child actress Elia Ilano who appreared in Vince M. Tanada’s “Maria Goretti The Musical”), Jacinta (to be played by Sophia Marie Banaag and Ramjean Entera who appeared in the recent film “A Thousand Forests”), and Francisco (to be played by Prince Espana who also appeared in “A Thousand Forests” and Kian Co who appeared in the “Mallari” film).
Others in the cast include Terrence Guillermo, Bem Sabanal, Radhni Tiplan, Bryant Aunor, Jerome Fugoso, Elinor Acorda, Jassy Calupitan, Malou Canzana, Sherryl Ilano, Karl Tiuseco, Joselito Reyes, Mary Grace Sy, Alex Payan, Amikah Brigette Aunor, Maria Krischellei Robles, John Nicolas Gamboa, Randy dela Cruz, Cielo Marie dela Cruz, Crystal Fae Manalac, and Matthew Joseph Escalante.
It will be premiered on October 13, 2024 (107 years ago, the “Miracle of the Sun” phenomenon happened in Fatima, Portugal on the same day) in Manila, running every Wednesday to Sunday until December 22, 2024.
* * * UNKNOWN to many, actress-singer Beverly Salviejo was once a teacher. She first became known in the sitcom “Urbana at Feliza” as the maid of comedian Lou Veloso, which starred
Mitch Valdez and Nanette Inventor. Since then she has appeared in some TV shows and movies.
Beverly has also appeared in ABS-CBN TV series “Forevermore,” with Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil and under the helm of director Cathy Garica-Molina. Likewise, she was seen in TV series “Imortal,” “Toda Max,” Pintada,” “Princess and I,” “My Little Juan,” “Got to Believe,” “FPJ’s Ang Probinsiyano,” “Pusong Ligaw” and “Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko.” Recently, she won in the 2nd Gawad Dangal Filipino Award as best supporting TV actress for her role in “Wish Ko Lang.” (Singer-actor Randy Santiago was also recognized by the same award-giving entity.)
Salviejo also appeared in Daryll Yap’s “Maid in Malacanang.”
* * * Nirro Marcelo of SIRBISU Channel, chairman of the Philippine Finest Business Awards and Outstanding Achievers, recently directed Lae Manego, hailed as Asia’s Queen of Fire, in her first solo concert this year at Pier 1 in Quezon City. It was a huge success
with Lae’s guests Ivy Violan, Jos Garcia and the Toshka Band.
I first met Lae, now Mrs. Querino Franzani (being married to a Dutch citizen), in September 2023 during PFBA. We were both awardees (thanks to La Visual Corporation).
Recently, she appeared in New York City Billboard, courtesy of Janice Israel Delima Tentler. Soon, she will have her concert in Paris, France and The Netherlands. Lae’s talent became known when she sang Aegis’ “Luha” on December 20, 2019 in GMA7’s Wowowin as part of the studio audience and which reached 16 million views on YouTube.
* * *
Ilonggo Bro. Vincent H. Fernandez, FSC of De La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) Alternative Education loves music and songwriting. He had able to compose 11 songs despite his hectic schedule, and I was fortunate to listen to two of his songs when I visited him at LSGH one Saturday morning. He said Louie Ocampo, a Filipino composer and arranger best known for his association with Martin Nievera, PAGE 10
The cast of “The Miracle of Fatima The Musical”
Rina Ortiz of Biyaya Animal Care Photos courtesy of Rogelio Medina Elia Ilano, who plays Lucia, with American writer-lyricist Barbara Oleynick.
Barbara Oleynick (standing, behind) with the young cast of “The Miracle of Fatima The Musical”
From left: Beverly Salviejo, Randy Santiago and Asian Journal columnist Rogelio Medina
Lae Manego with director Nirro Marcelo during rehearsals.
Kiko Pangilinan, Sharon Cuneta
Photo from Instagram/@kiko.pangilinan
New book of journalist-professor Alfredo Gabot out in California
LOS ANGELES
– Veteran
Filipino journalist, author and professor Alfredo G. Gabot has published his first of a series of books in the United States.
Gabot’s new book, “California: A Philippine Territory – Almost and Other Stories,” is now available at Amazon, its publisher, announced on July 7, in both hardcover and paperback editions. Later, the eBook edition will also be available.
The 293-page book is the first volume on the compendium of select columns and articles of Gabot with the title as its centerpiece. Since retiring as a senior editor at Manila Bulletin, Gabot has become a freelance journalist, writing and editing newspapers, magazines and books, part-time professor and broadcaster.
Gabot’s first three books published in Manila in 1975 and 1976 were the “Manila Revenue Measures” and “Manila Barangay Guidebook and Directory” and the best-selling “Barangay: Peoplepower” which
was an approved reference by then Education Secretary Juan L. Manuel in high schools and colleges and listed in the United States Library of Congress, among others.
The Amazon-published book is partly a tribute to outstanding Filipinos in America like Carlos S. Bulosan, a famous Filipino author and labor union advocate in the U.S. and a grand uncle of Gabot, noted for his autobiographical novel “America is in the Heart,” essay “Freedom from Want,” short story “The Laughter of My Father” and poem “I Want the Wide American Earth,” among others.
The book features the first translation in Filipino of the Bulosan poem “I Want the Wide American Earth” by journalist, poet, author and educator Jose Lad. Santos, former chairman of the Commission on the Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino) and former Commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) like Gabot.
Lawyer-CPA Maritess BarriosTaran, Director General of KWF and a professor at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), in her foreword stated the book captures the scintillating achievements of Filipinos in the Philippines and America like former California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Robert Bonta, sports greats Victoria Manalo Draves and Natalie Coughlin, and celebrity Vanessa Hudgens, among others.
The book also features two governors – Gavin Newsom of California and Ramon Guico III of Pangasinan – who, although miles apart, their fates are intertwined with a common mission of serving their constituents and one common bond – the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila) where they both have Doctor of Public Management (DPM) degrees.
The book cover was from a painting of artist and historian Florante Villarica of Oriental Mindoro where galleon ships were built and mounted for the long sail to the Americas centuries ago.
The book is set to be launched in California and Manila soon. The launch in California is being planned at the Los Angeles Public Library where Carlos Bulosan immersed himself in reading while confined at the nearby Los Angeles General Hospital and started writing poems and honed himself for writing short stories and essays.
“Gusto Ko ang Malawak na Lupaing Amerika,” the Filipino translation of Carlos Bulosan’s famous poem, is expected to be recited during the book launching.
Gabot, former president of the National Press Club (NPC), former NCCA commissioner, former Director and Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Postal Corporation, and a university professor, is in the final preparations for his next books, among them “Rising from Ruins and the Big Dreams Come True,” and “Carlos S. Bulosan: The Hometown He Never Returned To.”
“California: A Philippine Territory – Almost and Other Stories” is available globally through Amazon.com. The link to the book via Amazon is https:// amzn.to/4eXPO5U.
PhiliP S. Chua, MD, FaCS, FPCS
THE nobility, treasured peace, respect, and love of fellowmen and other Christian virtues that reigned over America after the second world war is now marred by extreme hate and violence from the liberal elements of our society, staining our soil with our own blood.
The radical shift in paradigm in the thinking and behavior of some of our own people, who had turned leftist, socialist, fascist, and terrorists, have severe health effects on our people and on our nation as a whole. The inordinate mental anguish and depression caused by this bitterness and hostility in our midst, some designed by our top politicians running for office and their socialist sponsors, have deep seated consequences on our body and psyche.
I am perplexed as to why even educated members of our society, from the Oval Office to Congress and to our people, could not agree, and are diametrically opposed on vital issues that are transparently clear: whether the borders are open or close; whether open borders allowing more than 10 million unvetted illegal trespassers, some of them rapists, child molesters, killers, drug smugglers, COVID-19 carriers, and terrorists, is a good or bad, right or wrong, policy; whether to allow illegal immigrants and non-citizens to vote when the Constitution clearly confers this sacred right only to American citizens; and on other controversies, whose answers are lucidly obvious to the majority and the international community. The issues are so plain and the choice so obvious, even a 5th grader could instantly provide us with the right responses.
Why and how some people cannot discern red from yellow and green, or the truth from falsehood, right from wrong simply because they belong to one political party or the other baffles me to no end. Obviously, party affiliation twists and corrupts the mind, disabling some people from seeing and accepting the truth and the goodness in our opponents.
People on either side of the spectrum who are fanatics and bigots are blind to the naked truth, casting wisdom, objectivity, principles, compassion, and justice aside. They are causing confusion and havoc in America, robbing the people and the nation of peace and security, exacting a grave toll on our physical and mental health, especially on our children.
Preparing for the November 6, 2024, national elections, spotlighting the wonderful brilliance of democracy when the American people will once again express their free will in choosing their leaders though the ballot boxes peacefully, without coercion and violence, the whole
world was stunned, appalled, and repulsed, by the cowardly attempt at assassinating President Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024.
The former president, at the podium at the rally in Butter, Pennsylvania, was uttering these words “take a look at what happens…” when shots rang out, one of the bullets grazing his right ear. He ducked instantaneously, signaling presence of mind, quick thinking, and agility. A few degrees turn of his head would have killed him on the spot. It was, indeed, a miracle, a divine intervention that saved President Trump.
Whether the bullets that missed his head by millimeters were the ones that killed Corey Comperatore, a Buffalo firefighter considered a hero, or injured the other two victims, no one knows yet. And neither do we know at this time the motive of the 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, PA, and if he had planned and acted alone in this contemptible act.
One thing is for certain, the false and dangerous narratives of the political enemies of Donald Trump, the liberal news and TV media and President Biden, who loudly proclaimed the former president deserved a bullet, to be a “bullseye” target on the crosshair, had to be terminated because Trump “is a modern Hitler”, that his election would mean the end of democracy, that he is an existential threat to the United States, that Trump would be a fascist dictator when elected and will refuse to leave office after his term, etc., had obviously played a significant role in inspiring TM Crooks to target President Trump.
Incendiary and disingenuous statements from either side not only disgust people who love this nation, who are intelligent and just, and who know the truth, but they also motivate criminal mentality and sinister behavior among mindless bigots, unhinged individuals, and demented fanatics.
For the health and survival of America as a people and as a nation and to regain the trust and respect of other nations around the world who are looking up to the United States as their powerful ally for political, economic, and moral leadership, America needs to heed the wake-up call amidst itself today. As the world leader, America should heal itself from within soon before it self-destructs in an Armageddon of our own doing, to the contemptuous cheers and joy of its four major foes around the globe.
As a people in this divided, confused, and volatile environment, we need to do some serious soulsearching to analyze ourselves individually and as a society, manage the anger within our heart, and motivate our fellowmen with our own Christian values to renew our faith in the goodness of man, to achieve understanding, compassion, and harmony in our nation.
People who blindly relegated their flawed priorities and
misguided loyalty to any political party first, placing their allegiance to our Constitution, fellow Americans, our nation, and to the truth second, have long been leading the United States to the wrong path of guaranteed self-desecration and eventual cataclysm.
Personally, as a citizen of this once great nation, I grieve as I witness the gradual decay of America for at least the past half a century. As I advocated in the Ode in my book on Amazon, “Where is My America,” which I dedicated to our beloved land of the brave and of the free:
“This madness must stop!”
“Where is my America of yesteryears, where godliness, respect for law and order, compassion, love of fellowmen, tolerance, and kindness abound, where ALL lives mattered and meritocracy valued, and when integrity and dignity were sacred, sometimes chosen more valuable than life?”
“I miss my America, land of the wise and the noble free, during its golden years of greatness, and the wonders of its tenderhearted souls.”
“In supplication, gripped by sadness, buoyed by a ray of hope, I pray for God to wake and shake us all from this repulsive and horrifying nightmare and bless us with wisdom, compassion, and care to fulfill our common aspirations and noble dreams as One, for America’s best eons yet to come.”
Let us all pause for a moment, take a good deep breath, look at the mirror, say a prayer for America, regroup as a nation, and start our healing…and allow God to bless the United States of America once again!
* * * The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal,
The Miracle of Fatima The Musical in...
is his friend. Louie is regarded as one of the pillars and icons of Original Pilipino Music and he is best known for “Tell Me,” “Kahit Isang Saglit” and “You Are My Song.”
“Louie helped me in doing the original arrangement of my compositions,” says Bro. Vince who is the former director of University
of St. La Salle’s Bahay Pag-asa for Youth Center in Bacolod City from 2006 to 2009, leading him to be acquainted and engaged in the Philippine Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System.
I was mesmerized by Bro. Vincent’s “Just Believe” and other musical compositions. “The songs were songs in the musical I also wrote entitled “Animo: One Man and a Dream,” a musical on the life of St. John Baptist De La Salle,” he said.
Rudy Aquino, or simply Jun, of the entertaining basketball team (Pilipinas Dream Team) said that the grand opening of the Perlas ng Silangan Basketball League will be on Sunday, July 28, at the Araneta Coliseum with the PDT vs PeekUp All Star Legends. In attendance will be El Gamma Penumbra, Jiji Plays, Cool Kids Crew, Lockdown Band, and Star Magic ABS-CBN Talents.
Jun, the son of the late veteran actress Naty Santiago and favorite visual artist of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, related during the presscon for Noble Life’s 18th year in the Philippines on the topic of lifestyle solutions for diabetes how his family “is thankful to NobleLife for extending for one year and a half her life. We made a good decision to trust Dr. Orteza and NobleLife product. We did not return to the hospital and she underwent no surgery procedures. Thanks too to Lila Macapinlac.”
However, his mom Naty passed on peacefully at age 90.
* * * 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
Lae Manego in a New York City billboard.
Composer Louie Ocampo (middle) with Bro. Vince Fernandez, FSC (left) and Nawaf Teody Castro (right), a graduate of LSGH-ALS.
The Pilipinas Dream Team
The Pilipinas Dream Team with NobleLife CEO Lila Macapinlac (seated, 3rd from left) and
