Philippine News Today

CHINA THREAT RAISES TENSIONS TO NEW HIGH

American troops ‘battle ready;’ PHL eyes VFA with Japan, Canada, others

By ALFRED GABOT, Editor in Chief, and CLAIRE MORALES TRUE, Managing Editor

MANILA/WASHINGTON – Amid serious threat from China to retaliate against United States over the downing of its “spy balloons” and the blinding laser attack by the Chinese Coast Guard on the Philippine Coast Guard on its way to Ayungin Shoal within its territory or the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the Philippine military and the American troops have started gearing up for possible “confrontation” in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.

Filipinos shine in Chinese New Year Parade in SanFo

By Jun Nucum

‘Dark truth’ behind agri post for PBBM ‘exposed’

(First of two parts)

By Be�ng Laygo Dolor, Editor

SANDY CLOSE, the Founder and Execu�ve Director of Ethnic Media Services, has received a life�me journalism award for her work with ethnic media from the California News Publishers Associa�on (CNPA). The event was a�ended by publishers, editors, and government authori�es. The gathering tackled misinforma�on as a main issue and the all-�me low faith public has in mainstream media, and how to fix it.

Sandy started her career covering China and Vietnam as an editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review in the mid-1960s. She became editor of Pacific News Service in 1974 and was a pioneer in developing youth media.

In 1996, she founded New America Media, the first and largest collabora�on of ethnic news organiza�ons. Her work has received several awards, including a MacArthur Founda�on “Genius Award” and the 2011 Polk Award for Career Achievement. In 1996, a film she co-produced, Breathing Lessons, won an Academy Award for best short documentary. She founded Ethnic Media Services in 2017 to con�nue her work amplifying and eleva�ng the voices of ethnic media.

SAN FRANCISCO - A Filipino delegation made its debut in the stage of a lunar Chinese New Year celebration parade in San Francisco with participants only so eager and glad that they

joined and plans to come back for more in the coming years.

So glad were the Filipinos participants that they did not mind some hitches and snags they encountered along

MANILA – PressOne may not immediately ring a bell with most Filipinos, but the news and information website is fast becoming a reliable source of real news as opposed to the now prevalent fake news that occasionally appears even in the most established newspapers and broadcast media organizations.

Officially known as PressONE.PH, the young organization has assumed the mantle of leader in responsible journalism.

One reason is its fearless

Has East Coast fallen behind West Coast in addressing anti-Asian hate?

nature which jaded journalists expect will cause the company to soon be in the crosshairs of Malacanang.

As a case in point, PressOne recently came out with a column known as Razor’s Edge by Antonio J. Montalvan ll

Page 8

By Gilda Balan, Correspondent

NEW YORK - Asian Americans from the East Coast have been asking this question of late: has the West Coast done a better job of addressing anti-Asian hate than the East Coast?

Specifically, have

Pope names 3rd Filipino bishop in US

Fears of return to Chinese Exclusion Act as US-China tensions

P55.10

CHINA ENVOY SUMMONED. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian in Malacanang where he expressed his serious concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of ac�ons by China against the Philippine Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen in their bancas, the latest of which was the deployment of a military grade laser against our Coast Guard vessels.

Page 9

Charter change not priority, says President

PASAY CITY – Senators welcomed President Ferdinand . arcos r. s pronouncement that he does not see harter hange ha-cha as a priority even as several lawmakers push to amend the Constitution.

Senate a ority leader oel illanueva said there are laws already in place to attract more oreign investors and the Senate itsel is doing more work to improve the country s economy.

illanueva said the senators need to study the e ects o amendment to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign nvestments Act, and Public Services Act to encourage more oreign direct investments.

“Tuloy lang po tayo sa trabaho dito sa Senado at kasama po dyan ang mga pagdinig sa (We just continue the work here in the Senate and this includes hearings on ommittee on onstitutional Amendments,” he said in a statement.

Senator race Poe said the pronouncement of President Marcos will definitely a ect the consensus on the need for charter change.

“Kung hindi susuporta ang Pangulo, mas uunahin ng kongreso ang mga nasa priority list tulad ng (If the President will not support, the Congress will deal with priority list first like the nternet rans-

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda

PASIG CITY – The Department of Education epEd has amended a single word in the Panatang Makabayan which students are required to recite.

The term “nagdarasal” was changed to nananalangin which epE said is more inclusive and spiritual.

he change is embodied under epEd Order No. signed by Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte.

epEd spokesperson ichael Poa said epEd Order O No. was released ollowing consultations with linguistic soci-

actions Act or bill, Poe said in another statement.

Poe suggested that new laws intended or oreign investments like amendments on the Public Service Act, etail rade iberalization Act, and Foreign nvestments Act should also be discussed by lawmakers in charter change public consultations.

ung oreign investments lang din ang usapin it is about oreign investments , it might not be relevant to go around the public asking if they agree to term e tensions or other non-economic provisions, she said.

Also agreeing with President Marcos, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said he will ocus instead on pursuing measures pertinent to values, prices, obs and income.

Cayetano admitted that a lot needs to be changed in the Constitution but noted that some o it are very political.

“Ngayon galing sa (Coming from the) pandemic, additional distraction talaga really . adi-distract lang tayo e will just be distracted),” the lawmaker said.

ndeterred by the President s pronouncement, Senator Robinhood Padilla urged Filipinos to support his call for a Constitutional Assembly that aims to amend some o the onstitution s economic provisions.

eties and organizations.”

The DO dated Feb. 14 is set to be implemented immediately, as signed by Duterte.

he epEd pertains to the change o term used in the Panatang Makabayan phrase “Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin ng mamamayang makabayan, naglilingkod, nag-aaral, at nananalangin, which was previously termed as nagdarasal.

he consensus is that nananalangin, as compared to nagdarasal is more encompassing, inclusive, and spiritual. n a language, scan conducted, galanin or panalangin prayer is more commonly used across dialects. Even with our P in-

Sana mga kababayan, itong mga economic provision na ito maisagawa natin dahil ito ginawa ng mga kapitbahay natin sa Asya at sila masigabo na Hope ully my countrymen, we can work on these economic provisions because our progressive Asian neighbors have already done these , Padilla said in a radio interview also on uesday.

Padilla clarified he harbors no ill eelings toward Marcos.

Pag titingnan po natin ang dati niyang interview noong siya po ay mambabatas, naniniwala siya noon na kailangan ng economic provisions sa Saligang atas. Kailangan magbukas tayo sa foreign investment. Pero siyempre presidente siya, wala na ‘yan sa mandato niya, tama lang po ‘yan (The President, when he was a lawmaker, believed in amending economic provisions in the onstitution to bring in more oreign investments. Now that he is the President, this is not his mandate anymore so there s nothing wrong with it),” he said.

Senate President uan iguel ubiri told reporters that he sees no problem with what Padilla is doing.

“Trabaho niya yan bilang (It is his ob as the chairman o the onstitutional Amendments. Hayaan natin siya sa trabaho niya. Pero pagdating sa ple-

digenous people communities, dalangin is being used,” he said.

Poa said “nananalangin” is a Filipino term, which encompasses IP groups and even religions.

“Dasal is rooted from Spanish which is usually intertwined with Catholicism. alangin, however, is rooted rom agalog. Hence, the switch to dalangin is more Filipino and is more inclusive as it does not refer to particular religions,” he added.

t is more inclusive and appropriate as it does not re er to specific religions, and at the same time, it encompasses indigenous belie systems. Second, as e pressed by the ocal persons representing the ndig-

naryo, pagdating ng Rules Committee, pagbibigyan po natin ang priorities, ang nakabinbin pang (Let him do his job. But when it comes to the plenary, in the Rules ommittee, we will prioritize the pending E A egislative-E ecutive evelopment Advisory ouncil priority measures, ubiri said.

Senator Imee Marcos said changing the Consitution might be a good idea but noted that it is not timely given the country s current situation.

enous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples and the individuals belonging to Muslim and Moro communities, dalangin and its e uivalents may be more pre erred than dasal since dalangin is more spiritual and universal, the O stated.

Among the e perts consulted were the inguistic Society o the Philippines, Pambansang Samahan sa inggwistika at iteraturang Filipino and the Language Study enter o the Philippine Normal niversity, among others.

Apart rom inclusivity, e perts said the amended term is considered well-written, sufficiently rationalized, more solemn and e tensively researched.

AFP, Canadian Armed Forces host 7 nations’ military operational course

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City –

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Canadian Armed Forces will host a five-day military operational course in lark, Pampanga which kicked o on onday.

Some officers rom the AFP and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam are participating in the course, military public a airs office chie ol. orry L. Baclor said in a statement.

Ambassador avid Hartman, anadian Ambassador to the Philippines graced the event. he hie -o -Sta , AFP, en. Andres Centino, represented by (Marine) Brig. Gen. Noel D. Beleran, the Deputy hie -o -Sta or Education, raining and octrine, - e tends his appreciation to the Embassy o anada in the Philippines and the Department of National Defense

of Canada for sponsoring the course,” he added.

Baclor, quoting Beleran, emphasized that the AFP puts primacy on fostering stronger and broader collaboration with foreign counterparts.

his is truly significant or the AFP as this marks the robust partnership between the Philippines and Canada that particularly benefits the AFP in terms o capability enhancement,” Beleran said.

he anadian Embassy earlier said Ottawa is hoping to finalize and sign a de ense cooperation deal with anila on the margins o the Shangri- a ialogue in une.

Canada is also looking for opportunities to increase its participation in e ercises in the absence of a Visiting Forces Agreement or a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement similar to what the Philippines has with the United States or Australia.

Pres. Marcos

‘Nagdarasal’ changed to ‘nananalangin’ in Panatang Makabayan: DepEd

Private vehicle registration renewal now can be done online – LTO

QUEZON CITY - The and ransportation Office O announced that renewal o motor vehicle registration can now be done online.

O chie ose Arturo ugade said in a Facebook post that motorists may now use the agency s and ransportation anagement System S to avoid long lines and ollow the registration renewal which can be done in less than ten minutes.

a motorist s vehicle and registration details are inputted in the S, they can now use the online portal to renew their registration. However, those without records must create an account at the online portal and must visit any O district office or urther assistance.

he O chie also advised owners to secure a certificate o coverage and make sure that their vehicles have been inspected by a Private otor ehicle nspection enter P be ore using the online portal.

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Manila solon urges restoration

MANILA – The iconic Minor Basilica of San Sebastian in Quiapo, the only steel building church in the country and in Asia, is in a state of decomposition and needs to be restored soonest, a Manila lawmaker reported.

Rep. Joel Chua of Manila’s third district also pushed or the basilica to be finally recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and ultural Organization (UNESCO) as a heritage site in order to have it fully repaired.

“The irons are rusting and there a lot of bumps inside. The altar leaned back,” he said at the monthly forum “Balitaan sa ayni ove o the anila ity Hall Reporters’ Association at Mehan Garden.

The legislator noted that the San Sebastian Basilica is an important part of Quiapo, especially for residents who were born and raised there and who hold special occasions in the church, like weddings and baptism.

Chua also warned that the San Sebastian hurch may su er heavy damage or be destroyed like other old churches in the country in case of an earthquake.

He added that a huge amount is needed to have it restored and not even the national budget can a ord it.

However, the declaration o the church as a UNESCO world heritage site would help in its restoration.

He said NES O is helping world heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value as unique landmarks with

great historical, physical and cultural significance.

A world heritage site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO which also designates them as such for having cultural, historical, scientific or other orms o significance.

Built in San Sebastian Church is noted for its architecture and is an example of Gothic Revival architecture in the Philippines.

MRT-3 logs highest daily ridership at 408,000 since pandemic

QUEZON CITY – The Metro Rail Transit Line (MRT-3) continues to log a record number of riders and has since reached 408,259 passengers on Tuesday -- the highest number of passengers in a single day since the rail service resumed operation in June 2020.

In a Facebook post, the MRT-3 noted an increase in daily ridership in February, with a record 400,182 daily passengers on Feb. 1, then surpassed by 403,128 passengers on February 8.

“Mayroong average na bilang na 18 train sets na tumatakbo sa mainline tuwing peak hours (There is an average of 18 train sets running in the mainline during peak hours),” it said.

As the only steel church in the Philippines, it was designated as a National Historical andmark in and as a National Cultural Treasure in 2011.

The basilica is located at Plaza del Carmen at the eastern end of Recto Avenue.

The MRT-3 was also recognized by the nter-Agency ouncil or raffic -A on Monday and awarded the “Tapat na Lingkod (faithful service)” award for providing “safe and reliable” transportation amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The I-ACT recognized the big contribution of the MRT-3 that allowed commuters of the EDSA Busway to use facilities o the rail service or an e ective and afordable transportation system,” the MRTsaid in Filipino.

Vintage vehicle law takes effect in

April;

IRR out soon

QUEZON CITY – The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11698 or the “Vintage Vehicle Regulation Act” of 2022 which will take e ect this April is about to be released.

This was disclosed by Rep. Paul Daza of Northern Samar, one of the authors of the law.

In celebration of this milestone and to encourage the people to value historical assets, Daza, along with many other fellow vintage car enthusiasts, visited the Presidential Car Museum at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

“It’s the love month and our love for old things must be celebrated,” the lawmaker said.

The museum hosts 12 presidential vehicles, all of which have been restored through the e orts o the National Historical Commission of the Philippines NH P , with most looking sparklingly “new” while still proudly carrying their rich history.

“We’re here in the museum today not just to celebrate the law on vintage vehicles but also to encourage Filipinos especially the youth to honor history and the sacrifices o our heroes and ormer presidents,” the solon said, adding that seeing these presidential cars, carefully preserved, certainly makes him prouder of former Filipino presidents and the country’s rich heritage.

Minor Basilica of San Sebas�an in uiapo, Manila

SC upholds victory of Degamo as Negros Oriental governor

win o oel egamo and has unked the petitions filed by Teves and Grego “Ruel” Degamo against the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which Negros Oriental voters hailed.

“The Court found that the Commission on Elections en banc did not commit grave abuse of discretion in issuing its Resolution in SPA No. 21-085 (DC) dated September in favor of Roel Degamo,” the SC said. he omelec en banc affirmed the resolution o the Second Division, which ruled Grego “Ruel” Degamo as a nuisance candidate and annulled Teves’ proclamation as the provincial governor.

The votes obtained by Grego Degamo was credited in favor of Roel Degamo.

he final recount showed oel egamo got , votes while eves had , .

DUMAGUETE CITY/MANILA – The Supreme Court has dismissed the petitions questioning the result of the Negros Oriental gubernatorial election between Pryde Henry Teves and Roel Degamo.

In a statement, the high tribunal said it upheld the

Teves relinquished his post in October last year after the SC did not grant his motion for a temporary restraining order.

The SC echoed the poll body’s observation that it was only for the elections that Grego Degamo used

“Ruel” as his nickname.

There was no violation on the right to due process of eves even i he was not impleaded in the petition filed by “Roel” against “Ruel”.

“Moreso, the number of votes he has garnered will remain the same, with the Comelec proceeding merely on the appreciation of the votes cast by the voters and determine whether all of the votes obtained by the declared nuisance candidate will have to be credited in favor of the declared real candidate,” the SC ruled.

In a Facebook post which included a copy of the SC decision, the governor said “justice has been served to the people of Negros Oriental!”

“To the most powerful God, thank you so much! Happy Valentine’s everyone!!!” Gov. Degamo said

– The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday welcomed the decision of the Supreme ourt S dismissing the petitions filed by ormer Negros Occidental governor Pryde Henry Teves and losing local candidate Grego “Ruel” Degamo.

Army officers in Davao bizwoman slay charged in military court

DAVAO CITY – Copies of the charges have already been served to the two ranking officials implicated in the murder o businesswoman and model Yvonette Plaza in Davao City last Dec. 28.

“The pre-trial investigation is still ongoing and we (have) already (given) a copy of the charges to both (Brig.) Gen. (Jesus) Durante (III) (formerly of the 1001st Infantry Brigade) and Col. (Michael) Licyayo and they have given their counteraffidavits already, Philippine Army PA

commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr said.

“So our Provost Marshal and our Judge Advocate in the PA are (now) studying the affidavits o these two respondents, he added.

The two are charged in the military court or violating Articles o ar and

. Article is known as onduct nbecoming an Officer and a entleman while Article re ers to onduct Pre udicial to Good Order and Military Discipline”.

onviction under Article o ar will result in the dismissal of the guilty party from military service. Those found guilty o violating Article o ar shall be tried by court martial and punished at the discretion of the court.

He also said it is possible that other charges could still be filed against the suspect officers and enlisted personnel involved.

Enlisted personnel implicated in the case were identified as Sta Sgt. ilbert

Plaza, Corporals Adrian Cachero, Rolly Cabal and Romart Longakit. Also tagged were a certain “Alias Jr.” and “Alias Master Sergeant”.

“Basically these are the Articles of War and but there might be other charges also not ust against these two officers but also against the enlisted personnel, so we are still in the phase where (we) are conducting the initial investigation or pre-trial investigation,” the PA chief added.

Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo

Pope Francis names 3rd Filipino bishop in US

By Claire Morales True

EL PASO, Texas – Filipinos in Texas and elsewhere in the United States are happy after Pope Francis appointed a Filipino prelate as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, the third Filipino bishop in the United States.

he newest appointee o the Ponti is Filipino immigrant Monsignor Anthony elino, the first au iliary bishop o El Paso since its establishment as a diocese in 1914.

His episcopal ordination has been set on March at the St. Patrick Cathedral, according to the Vatican.

The bishop-elect is currently the pastor of St. Raphael Parish on the east side of El Paso in Texas and the diocese’s judicial vicar.

“We thank the Holy Father for his attention and care for the Diocese of El Paso,” said the diocese’s Bishop Mark Seitz in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.

He brings a uni ue e perience as a Filipino immigrant serving our border community as a priest for the past

years, a steadfast dedication to pastoral ministry, and fidelity to the ospel, he added.

Celino, who hails from Anda, Pangasinan, finished his studies in Philosophy at the Mary Help of Christians Seminary in Dagupan City in 1993.

Celino immigrated to the El Paso area, after college seminary where he pursued

his theology studies at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, earning a master of divinity degree and a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 1997.

He was ordained priest in and was assigned as Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso and then at the Our Lady of Peace in Alpine, Texas.

He also served as the Pastor of the former Santa Lucia Parish, now St. John Paul II Parish.

In he obtained a licentiate in canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington.

Celino has also served as the diocese’s vicar general, moderator of the curia, and chancellor.

He is the third Filipino-American priest to be named bishop in the US. The two others are Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City and Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro Aclan of Los Angeles.

Celino was assigned as Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso, and at Our Lady of Peace in Alpine and also served as the pastor of the former Santa Lucia Parish, which is now the St. John Paul II Parish.

He obtained a licentiate in canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington.

Celino served the Diocese of El Paso in various capacities as a vicar general, moderator of the curia and chancellor.

Celino, the youngest of seven children, holds an undergraduate philosophy degree from Mary Help of Christians College Seminary in the Philippines.

Overseas Filipinos’ remittance hits all-time high of $36B in 2022

MANILA – Money sent by overseas Filipinos to the Philippines posted a fresh monthly record-high of US$3.49 billion in December 2022, bringing the ull-year figure to an all-time high o US$36.14 billion, up by 3.6 percent.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that cash remittances last December registered an annual jump of 5.8 percent to US$3.16 billion, up from year-ago’s US$2.99 billion.

The bulk of remittances came from the United States, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Singapore

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael

Ricafort said he expects further improvement in remittances, citing more opening and recovery of economies hosting OFWs.

He said these developments open more opportunities for job creation that benefits the OF s, among others.

“OFW remittances at new record highs on a monthly basis, a bright spot for the Philippine economy in terms of spurring/supporting consumer spending, which accounts for at least 75 percent of the economy, and in turn, support faster GDP (gross domestic product)/economic growth,” he added.

Remittances account for around percent of the country’s annual out-

put for several decades now and these are among the structural sources of the country’s foreign reserves.

Ricafort said sustained rise of remittances as of last December “may be attributed to the relatively higher prices/ in ation that may have re uired the sending of more remittances to cope up with higher prices of goods and services for OFWs and their families/dependents in the Philippines.”

The rate of domestic price increases posted a new 14-year high of 8.7 percent last December due largely to the faster rise in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index.

Amidst the growth in remittances,

Ricafort said risks remain and among these include the possible recession in the United States, the economic impact of discovery of new and more contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) variants, as well as increased infection cases in China following its reopening in late 2022.

He said the elevated in ation in countries hosting OFWs “could potentially reduce OFWs’ disposable income and in turn, the amount of remittances sent to the Philippines.”

He added Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is another risk as could slow down global economic recovery prospects.

3 to 4 more subways in Metro Manila to Cavite eyed with Japan

MANILA/TOKYO Don’t look now, but the first etro anila underground railway, the 33-kilometer Metro Subway Project from Valenzuela to the

international airport in Pasay, is not yet completed but the government is already exploring the possibility of building three to four more subways in the metropolis that will extend up to Cavite, the country’s most populous province.

This was revealed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista while in Tokyo with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., saying the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are in planning to put up the other underground railway systems in Metro Manila all the way to

avite. A is unding the first subway which is undergoing construction.

“As early as now, we are already planning for more subways in Metro Manila because this will ease the traffic, autista said during the Philippine Business Opportunities Forum in Tokyo.

Later in an interview in Manila, Bautista clarified the discussions or more subways is still in the planning stage.

“Nasa planning stage... mga tatlo o apat na ‘’yun. Metro Manila lahat hanggang Cavite,” Bautista said.

Bautista said the planned subways maybe connected to the Metro Manila Subway Project, which is now under construction.

Asked when the subways will be built, Bautista said, “Matagal pa ‘yun…”

“We will have to prepare feasiblity studies,” he added.

Bautista said during the forum attended by the Japanese business community that the operations of the tunnel boring machines for the Metro Manila Subway is now ongoing.

“We hope this will be completed before the end of the term of the President,” Bautista said.

he Philippines first subway rail system is part of the former administration’s uild uild uild agship in rastructure program.

he first subway pro ect aims to cut travel time from North Avenue in Quezon ity to the Ninoy A uino nternational Airport from one hour and minutes to just minutes. It will traverse the cities of Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, aguig, Para a ue, and Pasay.

Monsignor Anthony Celino

close to rice self sufficiency in 2 years, taps hybrid seeds varieties

By Jennifer T. Santos

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared the country would be close to attaining sel -sufficiency in rice in two years if the government could carry out major reorganization involving di erent agencies.

The President made the statement following a meeting at Malacañang with the officials o the epartment o Agriculture (DA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), who briefed him on the state of the country’s irrigation system.

“From that discussion, we have begun to put in the timetable of what are the things that we need to do. And sa aming calculation, kung magawa natin lahat ng kailangang gawin kasi marami tayong kailangan ayusin, marami tayong irereorganize pero kung magawa natin lahat ‘yan, we will be close to self-sufficiency or rice in two years, President Marcos said.

“There’s a great deal of work to do

pero nakikita na namin kung papaano gagawin. So that’s what we will work on for now.”

The President said it requires cooperation, convergence, and coordination with other agencies such as the DA, NIA, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The President, who is concurrent agriculture secretary, said that during the meeting he and A and N A officials agreed on a “timeline” of steps that need to be taken to achieve their goal of selfsufficiency.

“Sa aming calculation, kung magawa natin lahat ng kailangang gawin kasi marami tayong kailangan ayusin, marami tayong ire-reorganize -- pero kung magawa natin lahat ‘yan, he said.

Earlier, the PCO Secretary Cheloy arafil announced that arcos has sought the implementation of a program that will promote the use of hybrid rice varieties to help increase crop production in the country following his meeting with

executives of SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) and farmer representatives from Central Luzon in Malacañang.

During the meeting, d the SLAC, led by its chairperson and chief executive officer Henry im on iong, proposed the conversion of about 1.9 million hectares of rice farming areas planted with certified seeds S to enable the planting o hybrid seeds in four years.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. agreed to adopt hybrid rice as a better alternative to the inbred variety for increased crop production. President Marcos said he will implement a program to promote the shift by providing subsidies and acilitating loan financing to armers,” she said.

arafil said arcos also pledged to apply the “best” practices being done by Central Luzon farmers to other areas in the country as part o e orts to strengthen support for rice farmers.

Currently, the PCO said that the government has been implementing strategies to increase rice production, such as

convincing irrigators associations (IA) and farmers to plant hybrid rice seeds, adopting alternate wetting and drying as a water-saving technology for irrigated lands, harvesting in September during the wet season, and ratooning after harvesting during the wet season.

Ratooning is the agricultural practice of harvesting a monocot crop by cutting most of the above-ground portion but leaving the roots to allow the plants to recover and produce a fresh crop in the next season.

Likewise, the NIA is implementing several measures to develop the Philippine irrigation infrastructure through public-private partnerships (PPPs) on irrigation infrastructure development, climate-proo in rastructure, ood control management and massive reforestation of NIA-supervised watershed areas.

NIA earlier received a total investment pledge of more than P1 trillion from potential private partners, which would allow it to pursue its irrigation projects without the restriction of limited funding.

PHL wins bid to host 2028 Rotary Int’l Convention

MANILA – Manila has won the provisional bid to hold Rotary International’s annual convention in June 2028, which is set to gather 25,000 participants from across the world, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) said.

The TPB, the agency tasked to market the country’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector, said the event would be the “largest and most multi-cultural gathering ever hosted in the country.”

“We are delighted and honored to receive the Rotary International’s vote of confidence to host its 119th convention, and we share with the Tourism Promotions Board the excitement of welcoming Rotary’s roster of dis-

tinguished members from around the world,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.

“We are known for our legendary hospitality and take pride in the Filipino brand of service. Our expertise in the field, our facilities, complemented by our natural wonders, rich culture, and heritage, make the Philippines a fitting destination for this event. Rest assured of the Philippine government’s commitment to delivering a most pleasant RI Convention experience in 2028,” she added.

The winning bid was led by Rotary regional leader, Past District Governor Samuel Pagdilao Jr. and supported by Rotary clubs in the Philippines.

The TPB said various public agencies, including the Department of Tourism and other MICE industry stakeholders also contributed to the successful bid.

“Manila’s diverse and lively culture reflects the global mosaic of our organization, making it the ideal city for our members and participants to connect and celebrate our friendships, cultures and the kaleidoscope of experience we bring to improving lives and strengthening communities around the world,” said Rotary International President Jennifer Jones.

More than 25,000 Rotary members and participants from around the world are expected to gather in Manila

for the convention, which will be held from June to 8, 2028.

The annual Rotary convention is held in different cities around the world, and Rotary’s 119th convention is the first to be held in Manila, said TPB.

Rotary members throughout the world develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment.

Over US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation to support these programs worldwide.

HONOLULU GREETING. Lawyer Emmanuel S. Tipon (3rd from right) of Honolulu, Hawaii presents to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong a Cer�ficate from the Honolulu City Council gree�ng the summer capital, Honolulu s sister city, and its ci�zens for the successful re-staging of the annual Panagbenga owers in bloom fes�val. The presenta�on was made on alen�ne s Day at the Burnham Park.

entitled His first act as Agriculture Secretary.

hat ontalvan wrote is nothing less than a haymaker, e posing as it did the real reason then newlyelected President ongbong arcos appointed himsel secretary o the epartment o Agriculture.

ontalvan started by asking the same uestion that must have been in the minds o countless Filipinos a ter arcos assumed a port olio that he had neither previous e perience nor aptitude on.

ess than a week a ter taking his oath as president o the republic, arcos released P million to open a tomato processing plant in arangay San oa uin in Sarrat, locos Norte.

he announcement was made by his nephew, locos Norte overnor atthew arcos anotoc, son o his sister, Senator mee arcos, rom her relationship with sportsman ommy anotoc.

he plant was the Northern Foods orporation NF , a company that was first set up by arcos when his ather and namesake was still president.

ong in a moribund state, NF had been driven to the ground due to the mismanagement o its e ecutives.

ontalvan cites as his source a research paper on the company primarily written by oel F. Ariarte r. o P iliman s hird orld Studies enter. Ariarte is also, incidentally, connected with era Files, another independent news organization which has been around or decades, and which concentrates on investigative reports.

ike any arcos story, ontalvan wrote in his column, the establishment o NF as a tomato processing plant was a amily a air.

he agri firm s beginnings can be traced to arch, when ongbong arcos was locos Norte governor. He had written a memo to his mother, then First ady and also inister o Human Settlements melda arcos.

he memo called or the immediate approval and release o unds to establish what was supposed to be a ood and vegetable processing plant in the arcos amily s home province o locos Norte.

hat memo was then orwarded by rs. arcos to her husband, the president.

eing a arcos pro ect, and a prestige one at that, it came as no surprise that NF was registered with the Securities and E change ommission a mere five days

be ore the memo rom the son was handed to the mother.

arcos r. credited the idea o setting up the NF rom Agriman onsultants, an agri-business company which had several oint ventures with melda arcos s inistry o Human Settlements.

he son o the dictator said in his memo that the tomato processing plant could generate new obs and business opportunities.

t might have achieved its lo ty goals at that, i only it were properly managed.

e erring to NF as a prestige pro ect o the overnor arcos r and the President arcos Sr. , the memo stated that the proposed company would be the first largescale processing industrial acility in locos Norte and Northwestern uzon.

t would, arcos r said, be a concrete mani estation o the wisdom o the President s and the First ady s program on industrial dispersal and rural mobilization. arcos r. asked or P million a substantial amount back in or his pro ect, which would be sourced rom investments, private loans, and public unds. He said the company would be operational by the end o the year.

arcos r. urther asked his ather or even more unds, to the tune o an e tra P million.

his would be in the orm o a P million e uity in usion plus a loan o P million at avorable interest rates.

His ather and mother agreed that the NF would be unded by the ilusang abuhayan at aunlaran, which was under the direct supervision o the First ady. he had been created in as a nationwide movement to mobilize local resources or the establishment i viable productive enterprises.

(From page 1) Has East...

the two states with the largest Asian and Asian American communities New ork in the east and ali ornia in the west taken opposite paths where addressing the problem is concerned Or are they taking the same approach

One man who brought this up did so because o the tragic situation he ound himsel in.

rian hin, a resident o hinatown in ower anhattan, was the landlord o orean-American woman hristina una ee, who was first stalked then stabbed to death by Assamad Nash, a homeless person.

he heinous crime took place e actly one year ago this week, on Feb. , to be precise. ee was inside her apartment when she was killed.

he killing o hristina una ee bore some similarities to another Asian American, ichelle Alyssa o, who was pushed to her death in the New ork ity subway station in imes S uare by a homeless person named artial Simon.

Simon had been stalking o, and the brutal killing o the student took place on an. , .

ast week, hin told a news organization that there seems to be a lot o hatred aimed at Asian Americans.

Hope ully, is better, but at least was a very bad year or all Asians, said hin.

it s a very troubling time, he added.

he data rom the New ork Police ept. is uite

here were, however, a number o red ags that ew uestioned back then. he s governing body would be chaired by the president himsel , while melda s ministry became is secretariat-cum-implementing agency. he dictator also created the Processing enter Authority via E ecutive Order No. and appointed his wi e as its head.

Finally, its budget was included in the eneral Appropriations Act A A the national budget.

he stage, it seemed, had been set. Not or the company to achieve its admittedly noble goal, but or its uick all rom grace.

he company would continue to e ist long a ter the arcoses were orced out o the country through the Edsa People Power evolution, all the way to the uterte regime. ut by then, it was ust a shell o its early sel , while also standing as a monument to the total lack o e ecutive and or managerial ability o Ferdinand arcos r.

Ne t week A private milking cow or the dictator s only son

telling.

he N P recorded hate crime complaints and made arrests last year, higher than the complaints and arrests made in . he numbers are probably much higher, given the attitude o some Asian American communities o re using to report hate crimes, especially when no serious physical harm is involved.

hile the numbers reported by the os Angeles Police epartment last year are close to the N P figures, hate crimes against the Asian Pacific and Pacific slander community which includes Filipinos and FilAms saw a percent drop compared to the previous year.

And ust like the hate crimes committed in New ork by homeless persons generally believed to have mental health issues, a significant number o o enders in os Angeles also have the same problem.

One rightening possibility is that with its ever increasing population o the homeless, top East oast cities os Angeles and San Francisco may see the number o assaults against Asians and Asian Americans rise dramatically in the months and even years to come, unless ederal, state, and local governments take concrete steps to prevent it rom happening.

hether in the East oast or the est oast, officials agree that hate crimes are spurred by hate speech, rom the likes o ormer president onald rump to musician anye est now known as e who recently aired a series o anti-semitic and conspiracy-filled rants. oth men re used to acknowledge much less apologize or their hate-filled speech.

China...

(From page 1)

Sources said American troops are “battle ready” especially in the ndo Pacific region as its US Navy 7th Fleet started its patrol in South China Sea to ensure free and peace ul navigation and travel by air, the area being the passageway o one o the biggest goods in the world.

he Philippine troops, meanwhile, are gearing up its biggest war games in years this April under the Balikatan e ercises with the Americans and observer nations like apan, South orea and Australia, among others.

Aware o the hina threat, President Ferdinand . arcos r. started talks with apan, anada, New ealand, Australia and South orea or possible signing o utual e ense reaty, isiting Forces Agreement or Enhanced e ense ooperation Agreement ust like its de ense and security pact with the nited States.

Also, r. arcos summoned in alacanang hina s Ambassador in anila Huang ilian ollowing the filing o diplomatic protest by the epartment o Foreign A airs. arcos expressed to the Chinese envoy his serious concern over the increasing re uency and intensity o actions by hina against the Philippine oast uard and our Filipino fishermen in their bancas, the latest o which was the deployment o a military grade laser against our oast uard vessels.

hina said the laser attack was made by the Chinese Coast Guard trying to protect hina territory, stressing the Ayungin Shoal is part o its territory.

Several countries led by the S, anada, apan, Australia, South orea and Germany denounced China or the military grade laser attack on Philippine territory, saying it is provocation and violation of international laws, including the arbitrary tribunal win by the Philippines in its dispute against hina.

arcos said he was open to de ense pacts with apan during his meeting with the apanese Prime inister in okyo as well as with other countries.

think i it will be o help to the Philippines in terms o protecting, or e ample, our fishermen, protecting our maritime territory, i it s going to help, i the results o our own study siyempre pag-aaralan pa natin yan eh kung talagang makakatulong, the President said.

he FA fired o a diplomatic protest against hina over its latest aggressive activities near Ayungin Shoal in the est Philippine Sea, including the dangerous maneuvers and use o military-grade laser on a Philippine oast uard P vessel as the S, Australia, anada, and apan protested hina s aggressive actions.

n a statement, Foreign A airs spokesperson, a. eresita aza, said the acts o aggression are both disturbing and disappointing as it closely ollows the bilateral summit between President Ferdinand . arcos r. and hinese President i inping in anuary.

he epartment o Foreign A airs FA said it filed the note verbale beore the hinese Embassy in anila on uesday.

The diplomatic note “condemned the shadowing, harassment, dangerous maneuvers, directing o militarygrade laser, and illegal radio challenges” by Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel against the P vessel, P alapascua, on Feb. .

e call on hina to comply with its obligations under international law, including the N OS and the Award in the South hina Sea Arbitration and direct its vessels to cease and desist rom its aggressive activities against Philippine vessels, she added.

n ashington . ., Ned Price, S State epartment spokesperson, said the “provocative and unsafe” use o military-grade laser light inter ered with the Philippines law ul operations in and around Ayungin Shoal.

he nited States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People s epublic o hina oast uard s reported use o laser devices against

Big quake, aftershocks hit Masbate

AS A E - A big temblor estimated with magnitude shook asbate province on hursday, causing some damages to in rastructure and properties.

he Philippine nstitute o olcanology and Seismology later recorded at least a tershocks. here were no initial report o casualties.

A tershocks will last or several days to several weeks, Phivolcs irector Teresito Bacolcol said he state seismology agency said the tectonic tremor occurred at a.m. appro imately km southwest o atuan with a depth o km.

the crew o a Philippine Coast Guard ship on February in the South hina Sea, he said.

He added that hina s dangerous operational behavior directly threatens regional peace and stability, in ringes upon reedom o navigation in the South China Sea as guaranteed under international law, and undermines the rules-based international order.

he FA asserted that the s actions constituted a threat to Philippine sovereignty and security as a state, and are in ringements o its sovereign rights and urisdiction over its exclusive economic zone EE .

“The Philippines has the prerogative to conduct legitimate activities within its e clusive economic zone and continental shel . hina does not have law en orcement rights or powers in and around Ayungin Shoal or any part o the Philippine EE , said aza.

n a separate tweet, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines H u oined in airing concern over hina s unsa e and intimidatory action.

e continue to call or peace, stability and respect or international law in the South hina Sea, a vital international waterway, she said.

he P report said P alapascua - was supporting a rotation and resupply mission of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin Shoal at the time o the incident.

As P alapascua reached a nm nautical mile distance rom Ayungin Shoal, the vessel was monitored appro imately nm o the ship s dead ahead maneuvering

rom the portside heading starboard side. he hinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the P alapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge. he hinese vessel also made dangerous maneuvers by approaching about yards rom the vessel s starboard uarter, the P said.

he Ayungin Shoal or Second homas Shoal is located about nautical miles o Palawan -- well within the Philippines -nautical mile EE .

he FA has already filed notes verbales against hina since , eight o which were lodged this year.

Admiral Artemio Abu, P commandant, said they will continue to e ercise due diligence in protecting the country s territorial integrity against oreign aggression.

ntensity was recorded in asbate ity, while ntensity was elt in imasalang, San Fernando, and son, asbate.

ntensity was logged in egazpi, Albay Aroroy, ataingan, Esperanza, ilagros, and Pio . orpuz, asbate rosin, and Sorsogon ity.

acolcol said his office has received reports o several houses that were damaged during the uake.

Photos rom oy illanueva, ocal isaster isk eduction anagement Officer o San Fernando, asbate also showed the temblor damaged the agallanes oliseum, asbate ity.

LASER ATTACK. The Chinese Coast Guard launched a military grade laser a�ack on the Philippine Coast Guard on its way to Ayungin Shoal, raising serious tensions in the region.

(From page 1)

the way in their e orts to make Filipinos represented in a ma or parade that puts much emphasis on unity and sense o belonging even among Asians themselves, they came rom di erent backgrounds and cultures and instead ocus on what similarities they have.

Parade organizer San Francisco For nity, Sa ety, and Education SF A SE hairman ennis u eplained that their group and participants are all about the whole community working together as an alliance or sa ety and education and that SF A SE e isted in response to the rise in hate crimes against Asian American Pacific slander AAP .

am glad that Filipinos eagerly oined this year s parade although this is only the first time they were invited, stated u. ecause we are all about the whole community, we have a song that we all belong that has been put into atin samba tune and it is led by razilian with their drums and their costumes ollowed by wonder ully-costumed Filipinos and we have representations rom other parts o the Northern ali ornia community.

u said one o their main purposes is to impress all the more that we all, Asian communities included, belong here in America.

e all came here in di erent ways and means. ou will see rabbit the symbol or this lunar year coming by sea, on an airplane and we all came rom many lands into this wonder ul place attracted by the Statue o iberty. And we all chose to come here. Nobody orced us to come here, u said. As part o the Asians o the San Francisco population or the whole ay Area , the message that we are trying to convey.is together with all the other communities, we all belong together in this lovely community and will continue doing this in unity together with other communities. .

San Francisco Filipino American hamber o ommerce hairman ose Pecho added that there is a commonality in all o us whatever culture that we have.

Parade organizer San Francisco For Unity, Safety, and Educa�on (SF CA SE) Chairman Dennis Wu

here is a love o amily, love o culture, love o community and a love o li e. And we come now to celebrate the ear o the abbit which is kind o poignant because it is a symbol o kindness. hat we are trying to do is do our part and make that eel good about ourselves because we deserve it. his is a celebration o community and we are thank ul to SF A SE or a diverse collaborative approach to celebration. e are happy to be here. ringing kindness as much as we can it does make an impact. Asian hate as it happens is unortunate and something where we do our part to speak against hate and violence, he said.

ead Advocate or the NaFFAA Hate rimes ask Force en enor affirmed that the hinese New ear parade organizers and the SF A SE want to make sure that Filipinos are represented because it is in an e ort to stop hate crimes that have impacted not only the hinese community, and all the Asian Americans and Pacific slanders as well.

SF A SE is working to get all o the di erent groups including the ewish community as well as the to stop hate against all o our groups. And we figured that this is the way to do it, enor said. he important thing that NaFFAA stated is that we cannot do it by ourselves to fight. e need to do it with everybody. ith Filipinos hinese and other groups usually holding back, we are not sharing, not reporting and that is the biggest challenge even though that in the last two years we have had , cases o hate crimes some o which ended up in death. .

enor said he was glad that the e perience in the

parade by Filipinos was awesome that even though the wind, rain, and minor chaos, were e perienced, it was e hilarating to be part o the greatest show in the world.

he pageantry and cultural pride among all the participants st generation to th generation, young, old, yellow, brown, black and white marching together, symbolizing the true America as these nited States, brought tears to my eyes. he sounds o trumpets, traditional drums, cymbals, voices o song rom the marchers, and the firecrackers warding o the bad spirits o hate made my heart swell with conviction and determination to stand or SF A SE, enor wa ed emotional. .

aly ity ice ayor uslyn analo thought it is so important especially now to be united in and to stand in solidarity with AAP brothers and sisters. hank you or bringing everyone together and showcasing diversity and inclusion, analo said.

ass shooting and gun violence incidents are tragic and am sad that they happened but think our communities are stronger. e need to continue to unite, need to have more mental health resources also look at ways around gun re orm. t is not an easy fi and think with everyone working together we can find solutions and hope ully prevent it rom happening in the uture. .

San Francisco Filipino American Chamber of Commerce Chairman ose Pecho

Lead Advocate for the NaFFAA Hate Crimes Task Force Ben Menor

Daly City ice Mayor uslyn Manalo

Ayala Corporation’s ‘Saludo sa Serbisyo’

housands of Philippine oast uard officers and sta now have access to Saludo sa Serbisyo, Ayala Corporation’s comprehensive and sustainable needs-based program for the community’s uniformed service personnel.

Launched in 2018, Saludo sa Serbisyo also covers personnel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire Protection.

SPEAKING OUT

he program o ers the ollowing services Housing assistance, financial education, employment or retired personnel, livelihood training, health and wellness, cooperative development, product discounts, equipment donation, internet connectivity and scholarship for dependents.

P Foundation provides the financial wellness sessions which cover the basics of savings and budgeting, credit management, fundamentals of investing, and avoidance of fraud and scams.

Last Feb. 2, Ayala Corporation and the Philippine Coast Guard signed their Memorandum of Understanding continuing the parties’ partnership.

Ayala Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA) affirmed Over the years, Saludo sa Serbisyo assisted amilies in availing o their first home, their first car, and even their first business. As we continue our partnership moving forward, we remain committed to further ramp up our engagement with the Philippine Coast Guard.”

For his part, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu, said he Philippine uard has been looking after our countrymen, and it is truly comforting that there are organizations in the private sector willing to look after our Philippine Coast Guard personnel.”

he O was signed by ommandant Abu or P and by Ayala Public A airs roup Head ene Almendras and hie egal Officer Solomon Hermosura or Ayala. A A, Ayala Security and Crisis Management Head Emmanuel autista a ormer Armed Forces hie o Sta and P oficers at the P head uarters in anila witnessed the event.

Food for thought

n an uncertain global economy, what will it take or a company to drive a business that is anchored and be agile for competitiveness? How will corporate leaders design and execute business models, organization structures and management teams that are able to contribute back to society and enhance profits

These are some of the questions posed during the inaugural Company of Good Singapore Summit 2023 sponsored by Singapore’s National Volunteer and Philanthropy Center early last month.

Among the speakers were Ayala Corporation’s Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA), Temasek Holdings Executive irector and EO ilham Pillay Sandrasegara, and Singapore Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong.

A A s response

he whole idea o corporate purpose is absolutely linked to longevity. y belie was as an institution we did not become more relevant to the changing nature of the country, if we do not align ourselves to the developmental needs, if we do not address the pain points, then as an institution we would not build trust in the society we live in.”

He shared how the Ayala group shifted from philanthropy to integrating a broader and deeper sense of social responsibility into its business principles and models, as evinced in products and services that are more inclusive, accessible, and meaningful.

JAZA also spoke on the importance of multisector collaboration, addressing the social in ES and the kind o leadership needed to build companies o good.

hese two words relevance and trust would be the driving orces in my sphere o in uence, A A said. we are to be stewards of our institutions over the long term, we must be looked at as an institution that is trusted. And that means not just by obeying the laws, it must mean that you are also part of the fabric of what makes civil society as a whole work and a contributor to that, not ad unct to it, ust there to make a return on investment that is divorced from a contribution.”

Transfer of technology, a key to progress

ransfer of technology is a method of sharing knowledge, skills, methods, systems or processes to another entity. Transfer of technology saves time and avoids re-inventing the technology to be shared with the other entity.

Responding to urgent calls and requests for notarization

Pusong Pinoy (The Heart of a Filipino)

Countries such as the United States, Japan, United ingdom and other first world countries are advanced in many technologies in many fields. hese includes communications, in ormation technology, health and medical fields, etc. hese countries have invented, developed and fine tuned these technologies to its perfection.

BY SEN GAETOS ART GABOT MADLAING Health

The Philippines do not have to re-invent the technologies that have been developed by the advanced countries. All that is needed is to develop a procedure to make these technologies adoptable to the working environment in the Philippines. But how can we (Filipinos here in the US and other countries) be able to transfer the technologies that we have been exposed to.

Here are some suggestions

Allocate a significant portion o vacation in the Philippines for technology transfer. I am sure that all of us working here in the US regularly spend our vacation in the Philippines to be with our families and friends. Take this as opportunity to help in the improvement of your country. Before going home to the Philippines, get in touch with your school (alumni) and volunteer to give a lecture or talk about a technology that you have learned in the US.

A clear example is the experience of my sister who have been trained and worked as an anesthetist here in the US. Whenever she goes on vacation in the Philippines, she gives lectures, workshops and demos about anesthiology anesthesist. This she has done yearly for over years that benefitted the various medical institutions in Baguio City (her birthplace) and other provinces in Northern Luzon.

How can you help the Philippines?

Write articles, newsletters, literatures and share them in any publications (newspapers, magazines, etc) in the Philippines. You may also give lectures or conduct workshops to any interested groups in the Philippines. Soon, can develop ideas that can serve as spring board to stimulate progress in the Philippines.

(About the Author: Arsenio “sen” Gaetos works as an IT professional, business consultant, and lecturer. On his freetime, he is a radio broadcaster, journalist and executive producer of some radio and TV programs in the Philippines.)

As accredited and commissioned Notary Public in California since , it was my first time to experience responding to urgent calls and requests from new and old clients for notarization of several important documents needed in the Philippines last New Year’s Eve and New Year.

& Wealth

Practicing the principle o walking the e tra mile, my beloved wife Virginia Jimenez Madlaing and I visited Lucy and her children and family members in Pinole, California last New Year’s Eve (Saturday, December for the notarization of important and urgent documents needed in the Philippines. Despite the storm and very heavy rain, my wife and I drove from San Francisco to Pinole, California in response to the urgent calls and requests for notarization by Lucy and her family.

I had Lucy, her children and other family members signed the sets of documents. Then, I had them signed my Journal of Notarial Acts and put their right thumbmarks. After review of the signed documents, I notarized the documents and subsequently submitted them to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section, in Sacramento, California for apostille. Lucy and her family were very happy to receive the apostilled documents on time.

On New ear s ay Sunday, anuary , , received an urgent call and request from Stella, old client from Pacifica, ali ornia or the notarization o very important documents needed in the Philippines. As active Evangelist with the O EN A E H H OF H S in San Francisco, California, I don’t normally work on Sundays, which is reserved for Bible Classes, Worship Services and the family. ealizing the urgency o the situation, told Stella that can meet her and her sister for the signing and notarization of the important documents after 5pm Sunday. I had them prepare three copies of the documents and three copies of IDs. My wi e and met Stella and her sister in their home in Pacifica, ali ornia e actly pm Sunday on New ear s ay. had Stella and her sister signed the documents. After review of the signed documents, I had Stella and her sister signed my Journal of Notarial Acts and put their right thumbmarks.

After notarization, we subsequently submitted the notarized documents to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section in Sacramento, California for apostille. Stella and her sister were very happy to receive the apostilled documents on time.

APOS E P O ESS N P A E Since last year until early January of this year, the normal apostille processing of submitted notarized documents to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section in Sacramento, California was 10-12 working days.

There is good news for our old and new clients. For the past two weeks, the notarized documents we submitted on Tuesday to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section in Sacramento, California for apostille were received on Friday and Saturday respectively. The apostille processing took only 4-5 days. This was the fastest apostille processing we experienced. We commend and thank Dr. Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., our newly-elected Secretary o State and her sta at the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section in Sacramento, California.

We, at the Mobile Signing Services (MSS) are committed, dedicated and will continue t assist and help new and old clients particularly the elderly, veterans and those physically handicapped in the notarization and apostille follow-up on Affidavits, Special Power o Attorney, EE OF ONA ON, aiver o ights, EE OF A SO E SA E and other documents needed in the Philippines and the other member nations of the Hague Apostille Convention. Here are some advantages and benefits with SS

.A O A E OFF F O O ou don t need to take o rom work and drive to Sacramento ust to submit notarized documents to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section, for apostille. MSS will take care everything for you.

. S O N S FO HE E E AN E E ANS

e o er special discount to the elderly, veteran and those physically handicapped.

. .SA N S ON AS AN EA E e encourage old and new clients to come to

IGNACIO TOTING BUNYE

Know what else isn’t a priority, Mr. President?

President Bongbong Marcos is right when he says charter change is not a priority at this time.

But there are other things that are also not a priority but which he has been paying too much attention to these days. This would be the small matter of his excessive travels.

He has just returned from a trip to Japan, which would be his ninth after little more than eight months in office.

Worst of all, a tenth and eleventh trip have already been announced.

This is an exorbitant number if he were simply the chief executive of a large corporation, unless that company were a travel agency or an airline. He appears to forget that he is CEO of Philippines, Inc. and his travels have not only been unnecessary for the most part, he has also been bringing with him progressively larger and larger groups.

When he went to Switzerland, he was accompanied by a party of 70.

es, he had an official delegation that was the largest among all the nations that attended. By comparison, the US had a delegation of only 17.

That deserves and exclamation point, but I didn’t put on because.

Not just because, but especially because his four-day trip to Japan was when he really went overboard. He took with him an unbelievable contingent of 114!

There. That exclamation point was called for, wasn’t it?

He gave the excuse that a good many of the folks who accompanied him to the land of the rising sun were businessmen out to seal some deals with top Japanese companies.

Upon his return, the Palace as expected announced that the traveling president had brought back with him billions on pledges.

Right. Pledges. Not outright contracts, not solid commitments. Pledges.

Those pledges were actually little more than polite business talk of companies maybe considering to plunk some money into the country, possibly creating hundreds if not thousands of new jobs.

Such bull.

Remember when he went to the US last year and claimed he had similarly received billions of dollars in pledges?

One of the biggies that he met with was Coca Cola. And yes, the global soft drink company did announce that they were expanding their facilities in the Philippines to the tune of several hundred million pesos. Or was it billions? I forget.

What I do know for a fact is that BBM’s trip had nothing to do with Coca Cola’s expansion plans in the country. I had gotten wind of if several months earlier, as I had been editing a co ee table book or oca ola Philippines.

That “new” investment announced by Malacanang after BBM’s US trip was already signed, sealed, and delivered long before he even set foot on the plane that took him to New York, which is incidentally his wife’s supposed spiritual home.

This Japan trip saw an announcement about the MVP roup finalizing a deal with the itsui orp or a multi-million dollar joint project in the country.

Think it was closed because of BBM’s Japan sojourn?

It was not, ladies and gentlemen. Such deals like the abovementioned Coca Cola investment was one hundred percent finalized months ago.

Such is the nature of mega deals or projects.

What is so appalling about Marcos Junior’s trips is that we taxpayers are paying for most of it, while everyone who joins must necessarily bring with them the international currency that is the US greenback.

There is only one legitimate source of those dollars, and they must come from the Bangko Sentral’s dollar reserves.

What is also bothersome is that BBM now has a tendency to bring along his family to his trips. From the onset, he always brought along his wife, the First Lady. Well and good, this is a standard practice of most world leaders. But bringing along his adult kids?

His eldest son, the whinny voiced Sandro, is a first term congressman given a high post in the House of Representatives by virtue of being the son of the president as well as the nephew of the Speaker.

(Continue on page 27)

NATO’s Indo-Pacific interests

Last month, Jens Stoltenberg, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) secretary general, toured South Korea and Japan to drum up support or kraine s e ort to stop the ussian o ensive.

Stoltenberg’s short trip to the Northeast Asian states highlighted NATO’s aim to strengthen ties with two of the United States closest allies in the ndo-Pacific region in the face of escalating con ict in Eastern Europe as well as rising competition with China.

He said the war in kraine had serious ramifications or Asia, pointing to North Korea’s military support to Russia. Russia and North Korea have denied NATO’s accusations that Pyongyang had been supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine.

He also expressed concern over North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear weapons development program as NATO began to show interest in the ndo-Pacific region.

Some NATO members, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany have started patrolling the disputed South China Sea. France has unveiled its ndo-Pacific strategy while the United Kingdom and Germany committed to send frigates to help patrol the disputed waterway, which is vital to global trade.

ith an estimated trillion worth o seaborne goods passing every year in the South China Sea, Stoltenberg’s trip to South Korea and Japan showed NATO’s growing security and political interests in the region.

NA O is no longer confined to Europe and North America but has e panded to the ndo-Pacific region, particularly in the Korean peninsula, Taiwan Straits, and the South China Sea.

Last year, Japan and South Korea even sat as observers in the NATO summit, an indication of wider cooperation between the two regions Europe and ndo-Pacific.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) could not be far behind as two of its members are considered by the United States as major non-NATO allies –the Philippines and Thailand.

Washington also has close working relationships with other countries, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Like the US, NATO also wanted to stress that it shares the values of freedom, democracy, and rule of law with most countries in the ndo-Pacific region, particularly with Asean, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India.

However, NATO’s moves to increase its presence in the ndo-Pacific region as well as play a bigger political role in the Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and advance its military agenda through exercises and opening offices in key cities in the region could escalate tension in the region.

In a way, NATO is trying to transform a military alliance designed to counter threats from Russia during the Cold War into a globalized alliance, including the QUAD security dialogue in the ndo-Pacific region.

NATO is also helping the United States build a global coalition against Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

The US and NATO have been using regional security cooperation to form a bloc to deter China’s excessive and aggressive behavior and the hostile activities of Russia and North Korea in the region.

There is danger NATO’s further involvement in the region could undermine Asean centrality, particularly the Asean regional forum if the US and its NATO allies succeed in dictating the tempo and agenda of the evolving security architecture in the region.

Asean will likely take the back seat as the more dominant US and NATO states take the driver seat to lead the charge against China, Russia, and North Korea. Once this happens, there is danger o a possible con ict over aiwan and a more dangerous arms race, which could see the rearming o pacifist Japan.

Asean states, including the Philippines, must resist NATO’s involvement in the region. It already risks escalating the con ict in kraine by supply-

Prioritizing priorities: Invest more in education, not in prison

As early as 2010, the issue of which to prioritize – education or prison – already propped up! For management, this is a difficult situation in continuing to manage their respective institutions.

This year-to-date, there have been 71 mass shootings in the US in just weeks, according to Kristi Tanners, Detroit Free Press. “There’s not been any year that we’ve had 67 in six weeks” this early in the year,” said Mark Bryant, executive director of the Gun Violence Archive, on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday evening, the number o mass shootings reported and verified by the un iolence Archive, a nonprofit ormed in to track gun violence in the U.S, increased to 71.

And the first mass shooting at a S school this calendar year happened on Monday at Michigan State University where three students were shot to death and five critically injured before a gunman took his own life.

Also, in 2021, after the return to in-person classes, school shootings rebounded. Nationwide, there were 90 school shootings at K-12 schools and on college campuses with at least one in ury or atality rom a firearm. Four o those incidents were mass shootings, according to the report.

Last year, the number of school shootings and people killed or in ured during those incidents hit a record high incidents, according to Gun Violence Archive data. Seventyour people died and were in ured by firearms at schools across the country. A dozen of the incidents were mass shootings, including the deadliest school shooting in a decade at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 22 people were killed, including the shooter, and 17 were injured.

More recent incidents were reported to include a January shooting after a high school basketball game at Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan where one student was in ured by gunfire. And onday, a -year-old student at alhart High School in alhart, e as died a ter a firearm accidentally discharged inside a vehicle in the high school’s parking lot.

So, is investing in education a priority over investing in prison? As I See It, in answering this question, we need to ask: “Is there a direct relationship between schools and prison?”

Victor Hugo’s 19th century remark seems to be relevant here. He said, “He who opens a school door closes a prison”. Going over crime statistics today and the people allegedly behind them, Hugo’s remarks seem to be true and the relationship is very apparent.

At that time, it was already observed that there were more money going to prisons than in schools, as high-crime neighborhoods are already mounting. Looking at Hugo’s observation, it might be true because the expenditures for education and prison come from the same budget source: the general fund.

Looking at the present time, there were many reported killings and active shooter incidents all over the country that happened, including in schools. So, how do we prioritize our investments?

Our state prisons are congested and this seem to be the way to cut prison population! Kathryn Hanson and Deborah Stipek, in their article published in Mercury News in 2014, titled Schools v. Prisons: Education’s the Way to Cut Prison Population, corroborates the fact that it is a way of cutting prison population. Kathryn Hanson, CEO of ALearn, an educational non-profit dedicated to getting underserved students to college and Deborah Stipek, Dean of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. in their article, posted this question: Why pay almost seven times the amount for juvenile detention as we do to educate our youth? We know what it takes to educate students well, and the cost is substantially lower than the cost of prison.

According to Steven Hawkins, in his article Education vs. Incarceration, “since 1980, the US Prison population has grown e ponentially, e panding rom appro imately , to . million people in ust three decades America spend almost $70 billion annually to place adults in prisons and ails, to confine youth in detention centers, and to supervise . million individuals on probation and parole . hat s a lot of money!

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO

MANNY MOGATO

How to appeal Marriage fraud charge

Is your marriage case denied for inconsistencies during the interview, no sufficient documents submitted or some other reasons? Do not lose hope. There are many ways you can convince the government that you deserve an approval. If the reason for denial is inconsistencies during the interview, you can submit proo that the responses are consistent with respect to your case. This is called reconciliation o responses. your case is denied because o lack o suficient evidence, you can submit affidavits proving that your marriage is in good aith. your case is denied because the government has been very un air during the interview such as using threats of imprisonment or some coercive tactics during the interview, you need to seek a help rom an immigration attorney to represent you on this matter because a simple mistake in analysis could be atal. n legal language, you need to appeal on due process ground. ue process re uires voluntariness in giving information of the part of the alien and the government adhering to the air and ust process in seeking responses. he Fi th Amendment to the .S. onstitution grants aliens the right to due process.

enerally, mmigration proceedings, although not sub ect to the ull range o constitutional protections, must con orm to the Fi th Amendment s re uirement o due process. Salgado- iaz v. onzales, F. d , th ir. as amended A ull and air hearing is one o the due process rights a orded to aliens in deportation proceedings. A court will grant a petition on due process grounds only if the proceeding was so fundamentally un air that the alien was prevented rom reasonably presenting his case. utierrez v. Holder, F. d , th ir. .

he court reviews de novo claims o due process violations. rigoryan, F. d at iu v. Holder, F. d , th ir. as amended barra-Flores v. onzales, F. d , th ir. . he A s decision will be reversed on due process grounds i the proceeding was so undamentally un air that the alien was prevented rom reasonably presenting his case, and the alien demonstrates pre udice, which means that the outcome o the proceeding may have been a ected by the alleged violation. barra-Flores, F. d at .

For those o you who received a denial because your rights are violated on due process ground you need to speak to an immigration attorney to discuss your individual situation.

Note: This is not a legal advice and presented for information purposes only. If you have immigration problems the aw Offices o rispin . ozano can help you find a solution be ore your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and amily separation.

ankruptcy asics

. ankruptcy will actually improve your credit within one year because your unsecured debts are discharged. Although the bankruptcy will be in your records or years, not filing bankruptcy will make your credit even worse until most your debts are paid.

. you are being sued by your creditors, most money udgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy.

. ollection actions continue and you can be sued i you are in debt settlement.

. hapter will eliminate all unsecured debts. you are near retirement age, you must eliminate most o your debts.

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Our aw Firm entered into agreement with nursing and care home acilities in the .S. to process applicants or aregivers in the S. e also process petition or caregivers rom the Philippines.

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he oronavirus ares Act Sick and Family eave or Sel -Employed provides big ta re unds or sel -employed individuals or ta years and . you have filed your ta return and failed to avail of this refund contact us for consultation. The refund ranges from to per individual sel employed depending on your income.

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Our aw Firm success ully settled a car accident or . .

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For the month o anuary, , we received approval rom S S our naturalization applications, three Fianc e visa petition, two removals o condition on residence and five adjustment of status applications.

you have immigration problems the aw Offices o rispin . ozano can help you find a solution be ore your problem gets worse, which could lead to deportation and amily separation.

Chris Caday Lozano, Esq. is an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers. He practices immigration law, bankruptcy, personal injury and income tax representation since June 1999. His contact phone is 1-877-456-9266, email: info@CCLlaw.net Website: www.crispinlozanolaw. com/ with officers in Hayward and Cerritos, CA.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT execs, face class action suit in US

OS AN E ES A A - A class action lawsuit has been filed against businessman and ormer P president anuel Pangilinan and other P eecutives with a nited States ourt over an alleged violation of federal securities laws.

he -page complaint was filed by Sophia Olsson on behal o others similarly situated with the nited States istrict ourt, entral istrict o ali ornia, on February .

Aside rom Pangilinan, other de endants named in the lawsuit were Al redo Panlilio, Anabelle hua, arilyn ictorio-A uino, Abner ito Alberto, il Samson arcia, a. ourdes ausa- han, Florentino abasa r., and heryl abalevilla.

At press time, Pangilinan and P declined to make a comment on the reported class action suit in the nited States against its e ecutives until a ter it receives copies of the complaint, according to a company statement.

The PLDT said it has not received a copy of the class suit which was related

to a P -billion budget overrun the company had disclosed last year.

he ompany does not have any information to verify or deny the statements in the news article and it is ompany policy not to comment on impending or pending litigation, P said in a company disclosure at the Philippine Stock E change.

eports rom the law firm ronstein, ewirtz rossman, indicated it has notified investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against P nc. P or the ompany N SE PH and certain o its officers, on behal of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise ac uired P securities between anuary , and ecember , , both dates inclusive the lass Period , adding such investors are encouraged to oin this case by visiting the firm s site www.bgandg.com phi.

n a statement, the law firm reported that the class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws.

rou finds ros ective oil gas deposits in East Palawan

A A Here s good news in the energy sector.

he epartment o Energy OE has disclosed that sraeli firm atio Petroleum, the operator o Service ontract S , has ound prospective oil and gas deposits in the north part o East Palawan asin as a result o its e ploration within the block.

atio Petroleum, the operator o S No. , has identified two possible petroleum plays with over leads delineated within their contract block ollowing the completion o the first phase o their work program in October , OE said in a statement.

A play pertains to a group o oil fields while a lead is a subsur ace with the potential to have entrapped oil or natural gas.

atio Petroleum s initial work program has resulted in the identification o numerous leads that emphasize the prospectiveness o the basin. Several leads show clear anomalies, which supports the concept o the basin being gas-prone, OE ndersecretary Alessandro Sales said.

he OE awarded S to the sraeli petroleum e ploration and development firm in October , with an initial investment o S . million or its studies, data gathering and drilling within its seven-year contract.

atio Petroleum s work program in the S will be in three phases, which include the ac uisition o seismic data, the ac uisition o seismic data and drilling of one of the wells.

Bureau of Treasury raises P283.7B from retail treasury bond sale

AN A he ureau o the reasury r has raised around P . billion worth o . -year retail treasury bond a ter the one-week o er period, according to National reasurer osalia de Leon.

e eon said P . billion o the amount is accounted or by bonds submitted or the switch o er.

e capped at P billion but given the strong demand, we accepted more, she said.

he total award in this latest sale is lower than the P . billion raised five months ago.

“It is a decision to reduce volume compared to last year, de eon said, adding that “we even closed earlier than

schedule.

O er period or the latest o ering was set until Feb. .

ut the r, in an earlier notice to government securities eligible dealers

SE s , said the o er period may be adjusted depending how the sale fared. s are intended or small investors, with minimum placement o P , . he latest o ering etched a coupon rate . percent during the rate setting auction last Feb. , while its average rate is at . percent.

his is the first o ering o the government or the year as part o its borrowing program, biased on domestic und sources to lessen the risks rom oreign e change movements

Airing of Willie Revilla show, others on AllTV to be suspended?

It appears the game show of popular television host Willie Revillame maybe o the air soon.

This as Filipino magnate Manny illar r., owner o the new All hannel, has reportedly backpedalled on support to the television station which took over the A S- N re uency due to continued rise in e penses.

Apparently, illar and his company have been bleeding with unds or operating the new television channel because no big advertising accounts has been closed to support the television.

evillame, host o owowin, however, re used to accept the supposed suspension o his show, as he showed to media the construction o a studio or the show where supporters can oin like his popular program and shows in the past.

Actress u a utierrez, meanwhile, confirmed that her A morning show .O. .s hies on A ission , which she co-hosts with ariel odriguez-Padilla and iara Sotto, will temporarily stop airing.

u a made the statement in a me-

dia con erence while promoting her upcoming film artyr or urderer by controversial director arryl ap.

According to u a, she and her ellow co-hosts were among the first individuals told about the temporary halting o their shows.

Apart rom .O. .s, A also airs Willie Revillame’s game show owowin and oni onzaga s eponymous talk show oni, she disclosed.

hey spoke to us and believe it s not a goodbye. think it s a see you later... So, para sa akin, kinausap kami, sabi magpa-pause daw muna sila or a couple o months or them to fi their signal, u a said.

he actress said she believes it is an internal matter, hat s e pected i you re launching a new business, a brand. hat more a station ou re gonna go through some pains. Hindi naman right away magiging successul kaagad yon so hindi naman po ako ang may-ari ng istasyon at hindi ko masasagot yan.

u a also e pressed her gratitude to the illar amily, who owns A , as she said all artists will

still be compensated even i their shows are not airing.

Para sa akin, napaka-grate ul ko kasi hindi naman namin kasalanan kung may problema sa signal, she said. Ang importante sa akin, kay ariel at kay iara, we do our best and maganda yung show namin, and naniniwala ako na pag naayos yung signal, magiging success ul din

yun.

An insider told Pep.ph that the shows could return in une . n addition, Advanced edia roadcasting System would not be making an official statement regarding the temporary closure o several A programs as it claims there is no issue at hand.

ABS-CBN’s G! Kapamilya Tour in Abu Dhabi sells out platinum tickets in less than a week

A , February , he star power and combustible cast chemistry o an oe arudo, aniel Padilla, athryn er-

nardo, oshua

arcia and host Eric Nicolas are e ing big time hese headliners or A S- N s apamilya tour stop in Abu habi on arch already sold out the highest tier, the Platinum level tickets, in less than a week.

Everyone is eager to party and have a good time over here. People are hope ul or and the positive energy that the cast o apamilya is emitting is generating great e citement in the community. hey are looking orward to celebrating with the un cast, said A S- N lobal Head o Events and anaging irector or Europe, iddle East and North A rica oseph Arnie arcia.

A ter the success ul return to holding events overseas last year ollowing the long pandemic, A S- N lobal levels up in with a new event brand, apamilya. he brand promises to be the ultimate event e perience or all ages, especially those who are un, hip and game.

his coming arch, A S- N lobal is bringing the new apamilya event brand on a three-city tour in Europe and the iddle East. he tour headlines international stars an oe arudo, aniel Padilla, athryn ernardo, and oshua arcia with host, popular comedian Eric Nicolas.

atch the ock and ollin oad to apamilya https www.youtube.com watch v o dH gAr

he e citing e perience combines a night o star power, super resh per ormances, and a uni ue meet-and-greet an session.

ucky ans in Europe and the iddle East can attend the debut o the apamilya tour on the ollowing dates, times, locations,

AiAi delas Alas happy with life in America

Actress and singer AiAi delas Alas appears to be enjoying her work and life in the United States.

The comedienne appeared on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” last, where she apologized to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte as well as explained their decision to migrate to the US, her network GMA News reported.

According to AiAi, they decided to move to the US because she has already petitioned her husband Gerald Sibayan.

“Una sa lahat, dahil kay Gerald kasi pinetition ko na siya duon,” began AiAi, who is a green card holder since 2015.

“Nung araw, ayaw niya magpa-petition kasi si Gerald, ‘di ‘ba nag-piloto siya so gusto niya, magpiloto siya dito,” GMA News quoted her as saying

But right after graduation, lockdown was declared.

“So pumayag na siyang i-petition ko siya. Kasi sa totoo lang din, dito hindi niya ko kayang buhayin,” she disclosed.

“At least sa Amerika, kaya niya akong buhay? nang kumportable,” she added.

AiAi also works as an activity director at a facility for the elderly in San Francisco, which she said she likes because she’s able to compensate for her shortcomings with her biological and adoptive parents.

“Yung mga pagkukulang ko sa biological at adoptive mom ko, nabibigay ko duon lahat,” she said.

In the episode aired on GMA Network, AiAi also talked about her absence when her adoptive mom passed away.

According to AiAi, they were even able to say exchange “I love you’s.”

“Sobra kaming nagmahalan. Tapos lumipad ako. Paglipad ko, namatay na siya kinabukasan. Parang inintay niya lang ako,” she said adding her mom doesn’t like seeing her cry. “Kaya siguro ayaw niya nandito ako kasi alam niya, sobra akong iiyak.”

Inmates’ artworks featured in Nat’l Arts Month celebration

CITY OF CALAPAN, Oriental Mindoro – Artworks by persons deprived of liberty (PDL) from the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) will be displayed in the town plaza of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro province as part of the National Arts Month celebration this February.

“In every artistic endeavor, the artist is reasserting his humanity, to remind himself and others that he is free and he exists. It is the artist’s way of proclaiming, ‘I am still here and I am free,’’ said Norman Novio, municipal administrator, in an interview on Wednesday.

This year’s Arts Month celebration with the theme, “Ani ng Sining, Bunga ng Galing,” will also feature the artworks

of town residents including students.

The activities lined up which started Feb. and culminates on Feb. include free painting and photography workshops, Art Fair at the plaza and town museum from Feb. 1-24 and the Cultural Night at the Sablayan Astrodome on Feb. 24.

The paintings, including those of the PDLs, may be purchased by enthusiasts at the Art Fair.

Novio, a literary artist himself, said “art is not only about popular forms like drawing and structures but anything one does in life like parenting and as a worker, can be arts if they come from creativity. In general, we can all be artists.”

The Sablayan Culture and Arts Section of the Tourism Office will be the overall acilitator o the events or this year’s Arts Month celebration.

The “Galing” in this year’s theme alludes to artistic excellence as well as the capacity of arts to heal, rebuild, and restore in a post-pandemic setting.

In then President Corazon Aquino signed Presidential Proclamation No. declaring February of every year as National Arts Month to celebrate the Filipinos’ artistic excellence and pay tribute to the uniqueness and diversity of the country’s heritage and culture. (Maria Tividad)

“FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” is newest teleserye primetime offering on TFC and iWantTFC

nando Poe r. s film atang Quiapo,” stars an ensemble cast of award-winning actors led by Coco, Lovi Poe, Charo Santos, Cherry Pie Picache, John Estrada, Christopher de Leon, Irma Adlawan, and many more.

The story revolves around the life of Tanggol (Coco), a small-time felon who grew up on the notorious streets of Quiapo, Manila. Despite his harsh upbringing because of his parents’ traumatic past, Tanggol remains resilient in navigating through life’s struggles out of his love for his family, as well as his childhood best friend Mokang (Lovi).

characters against Ian Veneracion’s mysterious role as Menandro.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., FEBRUARY 14, 2023ABS-CBN, the country’s leading content provider, is bolstering its primetime TV lineup with the launch of its newest teleserye “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” that started on Monday, February 13.

“Batang Quiapo” is top-billed by Primetime King Coco Martin, who

also starred in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” the Philippines’ longestrunning action-drama series that ran on-air for seven years.

The action-comedy series can be seen on TFC Cable and Satellite, IPTV, iWantTFC, and on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel.

ABS-CBN’s newest primetime o ering, which is inspired by Fer-

The highly anticipated premiere o FP s atang uiapo solidifies ABS-CBN’s solid primetime viewing on both broadcast and online platforms with currently airing hit shows “The Iron Heart” and “Dirty Linen.”

In “The Iron Heart,” more actionpacked encounters await viewers with the possible team-up of Richard Gutierrez and Jake Cuenca’s

Meanwhile, the much-talked about Janine Gutierrez-led revenge series “Dirty Linen” continues to send viewers on a frenzy as it amassed over million total online views across di erent social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Catch ABS-CBN’s primetime shows on weeknights on The Filipino Channel (TFC) on cable and IPTV, iWantTFC, and Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. For updates, follow @KapamilyaTFC on Facebook and Instagram or visit https://mytfc.com/.

PASAY CITY - Sen. Robinhood

Robin Padilla has condemned the “bad image” of the Philippines as portrayed in the Hollywood film “Plane.”

In his manifestation before the Senate, Padilla called on the Movie and Television Review and lassification Board (MTRCB) to ban the public showing o the film.

“Ginoong Pangulo, hindi po dapat ito tanggapin. Sana po, nakikiusap po tayo sa ating MTRCB na sana po sa mga ganitong ganap kumakatok tayo sa opisina nila, ‘di po dapat ito pinapalabas sa Pilipinas. Dito po dapat sa ating bansa pinagbabawal ito at kino-condemn po natin ito,” Padilla said as reported by ABS-CBN.

Padilla pointed out the reputation of the country is at stake particularly as the film narrates how the hero s plane crashed in Jolo which is run by separatists and militia, and the “Fili-

pino armies weren’t there anymore.”

“Reputasyon po ng Inang Bayan ang pinag-uusapan dito, Ginoong Pangulo. Alam niyo po, pagka tayo pag pinaguusapan natin ang bayan natin at mga diprensya, okay lang ‘yan kasi trabaho natin ‘yan. Pero pagka ibang bansa na po ang bumabanat sa atin dapat ‘di dapat tayo pumapayag,” he said.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri agreed with Padilla, saying the Philippines should protest the film.

“As a nation we should send our regrets this is not the real situation on the ground,” he said.

(L- ) Coco Mar�n in “FP s Batang uiapo ichard Gu�errez in “The ron Heart and anine Gu�errez in “Dirty Linen.

Sen. Robin Padilla condemns, calls for ban of US film ‘Plane’

 ENTERTAINMENT

John Arcilla, Sylvia Sanchez, Alessandra de Rossi bag acting awards at Star Awards for Movies

“Tagpuan”

Short Movie of the Year: “Basurero ucena Films, Autodidact F lms, Globe Studios)

Short Movie Director of the Year: Luisito agdameo gnacio yaheng adilim)

E HN A

A E O ES

Movie Screenwriter of the Year: Enri ue amos sa Pang ahaghari)

John Arcilla, Sylvia Sanchez and Alessanra de Rossi bagged the major acting awards at the 37th Star Awards for Movie.

The virtual awarding ceremony happened on Sunday, February 12.

An ABS-CBN report stated that Arcilla took home the Movie Actor of the Year award for his performance as a healing priest in the movie “Suarez, The Healing Priest.”

Sanchez and De Rossi tied for the Movie Actress of the Year award. Sanchez won for her per ormance in the drama film oming Home, while De Rossi got the nod for her portrayal in the movie “Watch List.”

The Movie Supporting Actress of the Year was given to actress Shaina Magdayao for her performance in the romance film agpuan, while Edgard Allan Guzman won Movie Supporting Actor of the Year for the movie “Coming Home.”

he film ntrue bagged the ovie o the Year award, while “Tagpuan” won in the independent film category.

Here is the complete list of winners: ovie o the ear ntrue iva Films, deaFirst Company, October Train Films)

Movie Director of The Year: Sigrid Andrea ernardo ntrue

ndie ovie o the ear agpuan Alternative ision inema

ndie ovie irector o the ear ac Ale andre agpuan

Movie Actress of the Year: Alessandra De Rossi atch ist and Sylvia Sanchez oming Home ovie Actor o the ear ohn Arcilla Suarez, The Healing Priest)

Movie Supporting Actress of the Year: Shaina agdayao agpuan

ovie Supporting Actor o the ear Edgar Allan uzman oming Home

Movie Child Performer of the Year: Yñigo

elen Suarez, he Healing Priest

New Movie Actress of the Year: Charlie Dizon Fan irl

New ovie Actor o the ear ake E ercito

oming Home

ovie Ensemble Acting o the ear he cast o sa Pang ahaghari

ndie ovie Ensemble Acting o the ear

ndie ovie Screenwriter o the ear icardo ee agpuan

Movie Cinematographer of the Year: Boy Yñiguez ntrue

ndie ovie inematographer o the ear av iaz ahi, Hayop

Movie Musical Scorer of The Year: Kean ipriano and rain oat On odka, eers, and Regrets)

ndie ovie usical Scorer o the ear Emerzon e on agikland

ovie Sound Engineer o the ear ennis ham ntrue

ndie Sound Engineer o the ear Albert ichael dioma and Ale omboc agikland

Movie Original Theme Song of the Year: “Hanggang Sa Muli” performed by Gerald Santos, composed and arranged by Emerzon e on sa Pang Bahaghari)

ndie ovie Original heme Song O the ear

“Yakapin Mo Ako” performed by John Arcilla, lyrics and music by Joven Tan, arranged by Sherwin astillo Suarez, he Healing Priest

Movie Production Designer of the Year: Maolen Fadul ntrue

ndie ovie Production esigner o the ear hammy Alcazaren and hesa ang eath o Nintendo)

ovie Editor o the ear ae arzon Nightshift)

ndie ovie Editor o the ear iza Espinas and Nick Ellsberg atch ist

SPE A A A S

Nora Aunor lirang Artista i etime Achievement Award r. onaldo aldez

lirang Alagad ng Pelikula sa ikod ng amera

Lifetime Achievement Award: Brillante Mendoza

Darling of the Press: RS Francisco

Movie Love Team of the Year: Ronnie Alonte and oisa Andalio ames And Pat And ave

Assessor

offers relief to those hit by storms

Filing a misfortune & calamity claim jumpstarts the process

LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County Assessor e Prang is reminding property owners in the path o the recent torrential rainstorms that they may be eligible or ta relie .

he recent spate o winter storms have caused significant damage and in some cases devastating losses, Assessor e Prang said. want to remind property owners that you may be eligible or property ta relie that could save you money on your ta es as you move orward.

y filing a claim or is ortune alamity relie within one year o the incident, properties that have sustained a minimum o , in damage or destroyed entirely may be eligible or a re und o ta es already paid and lower annual ta bills until the property is repaired or rebuilt.

laim orms or is ortune alamity relie can be accessed by calling the isaster elie Hotline at - or online at assessor.lacounty. gov disaster-relie or connect on social media

A Assessor.

Penalty ancellation elie

he os Angeles ounty reasurer and a ollector is aware that property owners impacted by the storms and first responders may not be able to pay their second installment o their - Annual Secured Property a es by the delin uency

date o April , , and will be sub ect to a penalty. hose constituents may file or a penalty cancellation at https ttc.lacounty.gov penaltycancellation-re uest- or submit a paper re uest by calling - , - or - .

Also, Assessor Prang encourages residents to use the ounty s general in ormation phone number o or online at https lacounty.gov recovery to get in ormation about other services o ered during the recent slate o heavy storm weather.

Why should you buydown your rate now?

n this common scenario, known as a buydown, the seller pays to cut the buyer s mortgage rate by percentage points or the first year o the loan and by percentage point or the second year.

As rates have surged to percent, that buydown helps reduce some o the sticker shock buyers are e periencing.

emporary rate buydowns have been around or a long time, but they re really only relevant in a market like this, where rates are ying o the handle.

A buydown is a way or buyers to eel a little more com ortable, but don t get ooled. he buyers usually is buying the rate through the sales price. nstead o negotiating the price lower, the sellers agents will usually recommend or you to buy down the rate, supposedly paid by the sellers.

uring the pandemic-driven housing boom, sellers hardly needed to do anything to unload their homes uickly and or a he ty premium. his year, the housing market has slowed sharply, and sellers ace a new reality. idding wars are starting to go away, you will see more Open House signs on the weekends. Homes are sitting on the market longer.

As the market starts to reset, buyers should be asking or concessions, eel less pressure to bid aggressively and have more time to weigh their options and negotiate or a better deal or wait.

How do rate buydowns work

Say a buyer plans to pay , or a home, make a percent down payment and finance the remaining , with a mortgage.

he monthly payment on a , loan at . percent is , . . ith a buydown, the interest rate would all to . percent or the first year, and the buyer s payment would drop to , a savings o . a month, or , that first year. he buyer still must uali y or the loan at the higher rate.

For the seller, the cost o a buydown varies, but typically is a bit more than percent o the amount o the loan. For a , mortgage, the seller would pay into a buydown account that belongs to the buyer. A portion o that sum would be released each month to reduce the buyer s monthly mortgage payments. the buyer decides to refinance while there s still money le t in the account, the remaining balance would be applied to the new loan.

ortgage lenders o er a variety o buydown options, including buydown he borrower s rate drops by percentage points in the first year o the mortgage and by point in the second year. buydown he borrower s rate drops by percentage point in the first year o the mortgage. buydown he borrower s rate drops by percentage points in the first year o the mortgage, percentage points in the second year and point in the third year. his option is costlier or the seller.

hy not ust lower the sale price

he most common way or sellers to close a deal with a reluctant buyer is to simply lower the price. Proponents o buydowns, however, say both sellers and buyers get more bang or their buck with a temporary rate buydown.

How is a buydown di erent rom an A

A temporary buydown has some o the same characteristics o an ad ustable-rate mortgage A he borrower begins making payments at one interest rate, then the rate ad usts at a predetermined

(Continue on page 27)

Marcial knocks out Argentine foe in 2nd round of Texas bout

LOS ANGELES - Filipino Olympic boxer Eumir Marcial scored a second round knockout of Argentine Ricardo Villalba at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas last Sunday, his fourth professional win.

ith the victory in his first eightround contest, Marcial, who claimed a bronze medal in the okyo Olympics, stayed unscathed in his professional career with a 4-0 slate.

“Glory to God! We are still unde-

eated Humbled to have won the fight against a tough veteran, Argentinian Ricardo Ruben Villalba via KO after the nd round. All my training has paid o and my hard work bore ruit o our labor,” wrote Marcial on his Facebook page after the win.

“Like I said during interviews, I have learned a lot in my last three professional fights. am most grate ul to have had a very productive training with my camp and I am just happy to have shown

the fans what I’ve improved on and prepared for over the last few months,” he said.

Marcial, in a Manila Times report, pulled o a vicious le t hook to the body that oored illalba with le t in the first round to set the tone or his domination. he -year-old arcial then sent Villalba to the canvas twice more in the second round.

Unleashing combinations that ended

in a right hand to the face of Villalba, Marcial dropped the Argentine for the second time in the middleweight contest. Villalba tried to get back up but was obviously still giddy after taking the brunt of Marcial’s force, prompting the re eree to stop the fight with still remaining in the round.

It was Marcial’s second knockout victory in his professional career, Manila Times added.

Toyota team celebrates its Golden Anniversary

By EDDIE G.ALINEA, Sports Editor

On Saturday, January the other half of the celebrated rivalry in the history Philippine basketball that served as one of the launching pads of why the shoot-and-dribble sport has remained the Filipinos’ favorite past time, marked the 50th year of its founding.

To commemorate that year 1973 when the Toyota basketball team came into being to wreck havoc on the country’s cage scene, surviving members of the franchise owned by the Toyota Motors, gathered or the first time in decades at the place where they used to hold important occasions -- the Alfresco Covered Lounge on Don Chino Roces Ave. (formerly Pasong Tamo Extension) in Makati City.

Heading attendees of Saturday’s affair were long-time mentor-owner Dante Silverio and, hopefully, local basketball’s “living legend” Robert Jaworski, to reminisce the teams’ rich and memorable winning traditions in both the amateur and professional ranks.

Jaworski, who, according the Gil Cortez, a oyota team member and first P A Rookie of the Year honoree, quoting Jawo’s son Robert Jr. or Dodot, now Pasig

City Vice Mayor, has just been released from the hospital due to a rare blood disorder he s been su ering or more than two years, is already in fine condition and can attend the gathering defending on advice of his doctors.

“Pipilitin daw, according to Dodot, na makarating si coach Jawo, kung papayagan ng doctor,” Cortez, assigned to coordinate the a air, told this writer on the former “King Warrior” of the Unversity of the East’s presence on the occasion.

Two years after its founding, while carrying the banner of the Komatsu Komets coached by Nilo Verona, ruled the 1973 Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) in Cinderella fashion, Jaworski and company, would migrate to the first ever pro essional league in Asia, the Philippine asketball Association P A , where oyota won the play-for-pay’s historic two inaugural conferences on the way to a total nine before the team was dismantled in early 1980s.

Members of that MICAA crown owners were Ronald Acosta, Fort Acuna, Francis Arnaiz, Orlando auzon, Edward Camus, Edilberto Canalao, Robert Concepcion, Ramon Fernandez, Cristino

Reynoso, Ulysses Rodriguez, Rodolfo Segura, Alberto ig oy and aworski.

Along with eight other MICAA members, Toyota abandoned its amateur status to orm the P A, bringing along aworski, Arnaiz, Fernandez, oncepcion, auzon, the eynoso brothers ig oy and ris, Acuna and Segura, while beefing up the roster with new acquisitions Joaquin Rojas, Aurelio Clarino and Oscar Rocha, And with 6-foot-8 America import yron Snake ones oining coach Silverio s aggrupation a ter the first hal of the preliminrfy round, the then kown as Comets, indeed, looked formidable in compiling an inviable 15-3 win-loss record going into the First Conference Championship at the expense of soon-tobe fiercest rivals rispa edmanzers, - , of their best-of-three gold medal series.

Coach Dante brought in 6-6 import Stan Cherry for the Second Conference, making his line up more balanced as the Comets, once again, beat the Redmanizers in the title playo a ter rispa, trailing the series the series, - , withdrew rom the title playo .

In the four-team Third Conference, billed as the All Philippine Championship, oyota lost to rispa in the first to win three series that went the full route to deny the Comets what could’ve been the first rand Slam triumph o the then first and only pro-league in the country.

In the overall win-loss picture of the

play-for-pay’s inaugural year, Toyota won gmes against losses. t had a winning record against all other pro clubs - over rsipa, - over oyal Tru-Orange of San Miguel, 6-1 over Universal e tiles, - over ariwasa Noritake, 3-1 over Concepcion Carrier, 3-0 over Seven-Up, 3-0 over CFC Presto, and 3-0 over Taduay Distillers.

Toyota scored the highest single game points its one-sided outing vs SevenUp on May 1975. Comets sentinel Francis Arnaiz was named pro-basketball Player of the Year in that year’s Seven-Up All-Filipino Sports Award with Silverio and rispa counterpart irgilio aby, Dalupan, co-coaches of the Year.

he P A was born and grew up in the shadow of the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the age-old Rizal Memorial Coliseum inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. Mild turbulences as player fights attended its first years of existence but action grew more frenzied games improved a lot. Attendance picked up and competition sti er.

e ore the maiden year, that was dignosed not to last to celebrate its second anniversasry, ended, the P A had grown into a full-grown adult that is now celebrating its 47th birthday.

Thanks to Toyota and Crispa whose storied rivalry that lasted a little over a decade, made the P A what it was be ore its disbandment.

Emily Ann Ramos Mountain View’s first FilAm in City Council

Progressive community leader will be sworn in at Tuesday, February 14 meeting

tions to our most challenging issues such as a ordable housing and environmental sustainability.

uring her interview, amos outlined her commitment to a displacement response strategy, solutions or middleincome housing, the owntown Precise Plan update, and the Parks and ecreation Strategic Plan, all o which benefit ountain iew s working amilies.

n her closing statement, she re erenced her ormer employer, the ech useum o nnovation, which uses the motto nspire the innovator in everyone.

Mountain View, CA - Emily Ann amos will become the first person o Filipino descent to serve on the ountain View City Council when she takes the oath o office on uesday, February at pm to kick o the ne t council meeting. amos was appointed through a public process to fill a vacancy le t by newlyelected ali ornia oard o E ualization ember Sally ieber.

Prior to the appointment, on anuary , the current ity ouncil held interviews with our finalists, including amos a member o ountain iew s ental Housing ommittee and three ormer councilmembers. amos was supported

or the appointment by ongresswoman Anna Eshoo, State Assemblymembers Evan ow and Ale ee, and Santa lara ounty Supervisors indy havez and Susan Ellenberg.

am honored and humbled to have an opportunity to continue my service to the community as a councilmember, amos said. As a daughter o Filipino immigrants who came to this country seeking a better uture or their amily, m grate ul to live in a city that osters an inclusive environment where anyone can make a di erence. look orward to working with my colleagues to keep our city at the ore ront o innovative solu-

Pro essionally, amos works as a Preservation and Protection Associate or S Home, a locally-based nonprofit advocating or a ordable housing and a more e uitable Silicon alley. Outside o work, she serves on the oard o irectors or the ommunity Services Agency o ountain iew, os Altos, and os Altos Hills. She also volunteers her time with the eague o omen oters os Altos- ountain iew Area s Housing Committee.

Prior to her appointment, amos served on ountain iew s ental Housing ommittee since it was created by voters in to implement and administer ity s ent Stabilization Program. n

, she was honored by State Senator osh ecker as ali ornia Senate istrict oman o the ear.

n a letter o support to the ity ouncil, ongresswoman Eshoo said

believe that Emily has the e perience, knowledge, and passion to continue ountain iew s tradition o e cellent, progressive governance. Emily is prepared rom day one to be an e ective councilmember. She has a deep understanding o ountain iew and its government and has been actively engaged in all acets o the community.

amos holds a .S. in echanical Engineering rom the ali ornia aritime Academy. orn and raised in the ay Area, she is passionate about keeping Silicon alley an innovative, inclusive, and e uitable community.

Social Security Update

SOCIAL SECURITY’S TOP 10 WEBPAGES FOR 2023

By G. Samson ocia ec rity ic A airs ecia ist in the ay Area

here s no better place to learn about Social Security programs and do business with us than on our redesigned website at SSA.gov. isitors to SSA.gov will eperience a new design to help them find what they need more easily.

Here are our top webpages

. my Social Security ou can open a personal my Social Security account to veri y your earnings, view your Social Security Statement, get benefit estimates, and more, at www.ssa.gov myaccount.

. Social Security blog Our hub or Social Security news and updates is our blog at blog.ssa.gov. ou can use social media to easily share these in ormative articles with others.

. Fre uently Asked uestions

FA o you need answers to Social Security-related uestions Our FA webpage is another valuable source o inormation at www.ssa.gov a .

. etirement Application ou can complete and submit your online application or retirement benefits in as ew as minutes at www.ssa.gov retirement.

. isability Application ou can conveniently apply online or disability benefits at www.ssa.gov benefits dis-

ability.

. Publications isit our online publication library or in ormation on key sub ects at www.ssa.gov pubs includes audio versions o publications . . edicare Sign up or edicare at www.ssa.gov medicare sign-up.

. Online Services ou can take care o most business with us by visiting our online services page at www.ssa.gov onlineservices.

. Forms Find and fill out our orms easily at www.ssa.gov orms.

. Fraud and Scam Prevention and eporting earn how to recognize Social Security raud and scams - and how to report them - at www.ssa.gov raud. emember, i you need in ormation or want to do business with us, the first place to go is our website. Please share these top resources with your loved ones.

FIRST FILAM City Councilmember of Mountain View takes her oath during the City Council session before the City Clerk.

Fears of a return to Chinese Exclusion Act as US-China tensions rise

By Rong Xiaoqin, EMS contributor

On the morning of Feb Charlotte Zhang turned on the news, part of a regular routine she shares with her seven-yearold daughter, Lydia to count the minutes before school. But that morning’s headlines would serve as more than a timekeeper for the pair.

That was the day news broke of the Chinese spy balloon over US skies.

“These days the news is full of wars and gunshots. Lydia is used to it,” said Zhang. “But when she heard the word ‘China’, she raised her head to look at me. I said, ‘Uh-oh, your grandparents may not be able to come any more,’ and she screamed, ‘Oh, no!’”

Zhang’s parents live in Beijing and were planning to come to New York to visit the family in April. While the Covid pandemic put a halt to direct ights between the two countries, the family had hoped that a pending visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing would change that.

News of the balloon—and the subsequent cancelation of Blinken’s trip— quickly dashed those hopes.

“For seniors who don’t speak English, trans erring is very difficult, said hang, who hasn’t seen her parents for more than three years. e finally saw some hope or direct ights, and who d have thought a balloon could smash it overnight?”

‘It could be very dangerous’

The Chinese surveillance balloon, which had been traversing U.S. airspace for about a week until it was shot down on Feb. has brought already frosty U.S.-China relations to a new low. With the House of Representatives’ passage of a resolution condemning China over the incident last Thursday and Beijing responding in a harsher tone, the tensions

don’t seem to be easing any time soon.

Chinese immigrants in New York, meanwhile, are bracing themselves for an even bumpier future.

Shaohua Yu is a craft vendor in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Recalling the wave of anti-Chinese hostility sparked by the rhetoric of former President Trump— who routinely referred to Covid as “the China virus”—he said he’s yet to see the same kind of public response to the balloon incident.

“No one mentioned the balloon just yet,” Yu said, adding that during the pandemic he had been subjected on several occasions to verbal insults from passengers on the subway. Combined with news of attacks targeting Asian Americans, it was enough to keep him indoors and out of harm’s way. So far, he says, the tourists frequenting his stand have been friendly.

But with tensions between the world’s two superpowers rising, many in the community fear a reversion to policies from a century earlier, when Chinese immigration to the US was curtailed in what many now agree was an act of xenophobia and racism directed at Chinese immigrants.

At the federal level the Biden administration has taken dramatic steps to limit Chinese companies’ access to critical technology. In states like Texas, lawmakers are considering bills to limit the ability of Chinese nationals to purchase property in the U.S. on national security grounds. All of this is happening amid the backdrop of intensifying anti-espionage operations targeting Chinese in the US.

Users on WeChat, a social media platform popular among Chinese, warn that a new Chinese Exclusion Act could soon be enacted.

“So far, the balloon thing and the real estate bills are only soundbites from American politicians. But once the fer-

vent nationalism among ordinary Americans is awakened, it could be very dangerous,” said Yu. “Ordinary people cannot do anything to the Chinese government, but they can vent their anger on Chinese Americans like us.”

On Taiwan and bilateral trade ties

For some, the ramifications o SChina tensions are already being felt.

“Do I worry about the balloon incident? Yes. But I worry more about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s trip to Taiwan,” said Ronggang Bao, who works for the United States Postal Service and is also a senior advisor to a Chinese community organization.

McCarthy has vowed to visit Taiwan and is e pected to ulfill the promise soon, although a date hasn’t been set. Bao believes the reaction from China will be significantly stronger than the response following former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit last year to the island, which Beijing considers its own. hat would set o a new round o animosity between the two countries and make the lives of Chinese in the U.S. tougher,” Bao said, adding many are already living in fear.

In recent years, Bao has helped international students rom hina file reports to the police after they lost large amounts of money to scammers who pretended to represent U.S. authorities.

“I asked the students why they fell into such obvious traps so easily,” said Bao. “They told me that the China-U.S. relationship is so bad that they worried they could be deported for any reason before finishing their studies, so they d pre erred to pay the money to resolve a problem that didn’t exist.”

While the picture appears grim, some see signs for optimism in bi-lateral trade ties, which reached a record high of

billion in 2022.

“The two countries both know economic decoupling is impossible,” said David Lin, a realtor. Lin, who focuses on properties in a uent neighborhoods on Long Island, said the number of his clients from China has not dropped compared to before the pandemic. “What you hear in the news is all political rhetoric,” said Lin. “The bill in Texas won’t pass, and even if it does, believe me, Chinese citizens can still find loopholes to buy houses.”

But even from an economic perspective, the frequent bickering between China and the U.S. has hit some people hard. “When I learned about the balloon incident, my first reaction was y stocks said iping u, who works in financial services. The Chinese stocks Wu owned dropped on the news of the balloon.

Wu said he still thinks Chinese stocks have potential, but he is wary of the uncertainty surrounding the future of the two countries. “Investors hate uncertainties,” said Wu. “Now we think the ChinaU.S. relationship will be uncertain, or getting worse, in the ne t five or maybe ten years at least.”

Maintaining Chinese identity

Even if the situation continues to deteriorate, Yu, the vendor, said there is nothing he can do but endure the situation. “I’ve been in the U.S. for more than years. My house in China was demolished and my parents have passed away,” said Yu, 60. “I have nowhere else to go.”

And for Zhang, among all the uncertainties, there is one thing she has determined. “I have no control of whether the future will be brighter,” said Zhang. “But no matter how prevalent anti-China sentiment is, I want my daughter to be proud of her Chinese identity and maintain her Chinese roots.”

Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson Introduces Groundbreaking Assembly Bill to End the Use of Police Canines for Arrest and Crowd Control

police canines has severe and potentially deadly consequences for bite victims, especially communities of color,” said Carlos Marquez III, Executive Director of ACLU California Action. “This bill sets a new standard for California and marks an important step in ending this inhumane practice.”

SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember

Dr. Corey A. Jackson, joined by co-author Assemblymember Ash Kalra, introduced a groundbreaking bill on Monday, February 13th, to prohibit the use of police canines for arrest, apprehension, and crowd control. The bill aims to end a deeply racialized and harmful practice that has been a mainstay in America’s history of racial bias and violence against Black Americans and people of color.

he use o police canines has in icted brutal violence and lifelong trauma on Black Americans and communities of color,” said Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson. “This bill marks a turning point in the fight to end this cruel and inhumane practice and build trust between the police and the communities they serve.”

ACLU California Action, a co-sponsor of the bill, echoed Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson’s concerns. “The use of

The CA/HI NAACP, a co-sponsor, emphasizes the historical significance o this bill. “Police canines have roots in slavery and have been used as tools of oppression for Black, Brown, and other communities of color,” said Rick L. Callender, ESQ., President of the CA/HI NAACP. “With this bill, we sever ties with the terrorizing past and move towards a brighter future.”

It is important to note that this bill will not prevent the use of police canines for search and rescue, explosives detection, and narcotics detection that do not involve biting.

The press conference was held on the

west side of the Capitol building, on the pathway facing the intersection of 10th and N, and was also streamed live on Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson’s Facebook page for those unable to attend. AB has been introduced and is pending referral in the Assembly.

Below is a link with audio cuts from Assemblymembers Dr. Corey A. Jackson and Ash Kalra, plus Entire Presser. https asmdc.org content assemblymember-dr-corey-jackson-introduces-groundbreaking-assembly-bill-end-use-police

Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson represents Assembly District which includes the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris, Hemet, San Jacinto and the unincorporated areas of Mead Valley, Nuevo and Good Hope. For more information about Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson, please visit https://a60.asmdc. org/.

Governor orders water resilience measures amid climate-criven extreme weather

SACRAMENTO – Governor

Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to protect the state’s water supplies from the impacts of climate-driven extremes in weather.

After years of prolonged drought, recent storms resulted in the wettest three-week period on record in California, he said. “The storms have been followed by an unseasonably dry February, however, and the state could see a return to warm and dry conditions during the remaining weeks of the wet season – just as heavy rains in fall 2021 gave way to the driest January-February-March period in over years,” he added.

While recent storms have helped replenish the state’s reservoirs and boosted snowpack, drought condi-

tions continue to have significant impacts on communities with vulnerable water supplies, agriculture, and the environment, the governor said in a statement sent to Philippine News Today. The latest science indicates that hotter and drier weather conditions could reduce California’s water supply by up to 10% by the year 2040, he added.

The frequency of hydrologic extremes that is being experienced in California demonstrates the need to continually adapt to promote resiliency in a changing climate.

To protect water supply and the environment given this new reality, and until it is clear what the remainder of the wet season will hold, the executive order includes provisions to protect water reserves, and replace and replenish the greater share of rain and snowfall that will be absorbed by thirstier soils, vegetation and the atmosphere.

The order helps expand the state’s capacity to capture storm runo in wet years by acilitating groundwater recharge projects. It also continues conservation measures and allows the State Water Board to reevaluate requirements for reservoir releases and diversion limitations to maximize water supplies north and south of the Delta while protecting the environment.

Additionally, the order directs state agencies to review and provide recommendations on the state’s drought response actions by the end of April, including the possibility of terminating specific emergency provisions that are no longer needed, once there is greater clarity about the hydrologic conditions this year.

Leveraging the more than $8.6 billion committed by Governor Newsom and the Legislature in the last two budget cycles to build water resilience, the state is taking aggressive action to prepare for the impacts of climate-driven extremes in weather on the state’s water supplies.

In the 2023-24 state budget, Governor Newsom is proposing an additional million or ood protection and million for drought related actions. (Claire Morales True/cmtpr1962@yahoo.com.ph)

of great service to the community,” said the son of Arline Bocaling. “Lighthouse collaborates with other churches in providing toiletries, clothes and food to the unhoused in San Francisco,” he said. – Adapted from original reprinted with permission from INQUIRER.NET

To be concluded

Tireless “Tatay Tony” Aguilar found life unbearable without his wife Lilia.

Tala Awards organizers Edd and icky Aguilar Palomar (first and 9th from le ) with awardees and their families. Photos by Edd Palomar

Governor Newsom, First Partner meet US leaders in Washington, D.C. visit

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom last week visited Washington, D.C. where he met with top Biden Administration officials, governors throughout the country, and members o the ali ornia ongressional elegation to advocate or key issues important to ali ornians, like homelessness, education, and health care.

ast ednesday, overnor Newsom spent most o the day at the hite House, where he met with Counselor to the President Steve ichetti, Senior Advisor n rastructure mplementation oordinator itch adrieu, and hite House abinet Secretary Evan yan.

While at the White House, Governor Newsom and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla met with senior hite House officials and top sta rom the .S. epartment o Health and Human Services to advocate or additional tools waiver to address the homelessness crisis happening across the country.

Obtaining the waiver will provide ali ornia with additional tools to address the homelessness crisis especially people needing to access mental health services, the governor said.

ater that day, overnor Newsom

met with several members o the aliornia ongressional elegation and Congressional Leadership on Capitol Hill. overnor Newsom met with ormer Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House emocratic aucus hair ep. Pete Aguilar, ep. obert arcia, and emocratic eader Hakeem e ries.

ith new House emocratic leadership, overnor Newsom o ered aliornia as a blueprint or key issues and identified ways the ederal government can work collaboratively with states to address the homelessness crisis.

he ollowing hursday, overnor Newsom attended multiple Governors’ Associations meetings, where he met with other governors to collaborate on key issues. hroughout the meetings, Governor Newsom, alongside other governors, heard rom e perts and national leaders on issues important to ali ornians rom health care to education. First Partner enni er Siebel Newsom oined overnor Newsom or a portion o the day.

With a split Congress, Governors will continue to play an outsized role in pushing or progress and fighting or undamental American values that are increasingly at risk, he said.

Prior to joining Governor Newsom, First Partner enni er Siebel Newsom met with Kathleen Buhle and other women thoughtleaders on her work to promote gender e uity, elevate more women into leadership, and advance amily- riendly policies the First Partner held similar conversations on amily- riendly policies with epresentative immy omez - A around the newly established ongressional ads aucus, and with Patrick aspard, EO o he enter or American Progress.

On Friday, First Partner Siebel Newsom attended the National Governors Association s First Spouses uncheon at the hite House.

Over the course o Friday, First Partner Siebel Newsom met with .S. epartment o Agriculture Secretary om ilsack on ali ornia s niversal School eals and Farm to School Programs and with aria eresa umar, EO o oto atino aya iley, EO o he eadership on erence on ivil and Human ights and Alyse Nelson, EO o ital oices on new and continued partnerships related to the First Partner s gender e uity work. hrough her ali ornia or A omen and ali ornia or A ids initiatives, First Partner Siebel Newsom is a leader in gender e uity and child well-being. Her attendance alongside Governor Newsom in Washington, . . reaffirmed ali ornia s commitment to addressing these critical issue areas.

MA Ma�hew Mahan has been sworn in as th mayor San ose, California, the capital of the Silicon alley, in well-a�ended ceremonies at the City Center for Performing Arts. A er serving on the City Council, Mahan won a �ght race last November against Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez. Mahan is shown taking his oath of o ce during the event with his wife Silvia and two children Nina and Luke in front of big crowd of residents, friends, supporters and o cials.

(From Page 13)

Offlinehat s his only ualification. Not too long ago, the youngest son o the president, a kid named inny, received a position in the Speaker s office. Nepotism may not be illegal, but it smacks o bad taste to oist on the people a person with no known ualifications, and receive a regular at paycheck courtesy o the Filipino ta payer.

eanwhile, the epartment o Agriculture remains headless, unless one would consider a Philippine president acting as Agri secretary as per orming the tough task o a ulledged secretary as being the leader the department needs. t is precisely because he is president that he cannot credibly per orm the task. He is no Superman. He is more like Ant an, which he said was the movie he and his wi e were watching when he decided he would run or president. hat too was total nonsense, o course. He later admitted that he had to run in order to save his amily s reputation. t had been in the planning stage or years, decades even. suspect has a deep-seated psychological need to travel. He did, a ter all, grow up having melda or a mother she who saw hersel as a globetrotting celebrity back in the day. he way he s going at it, will soon pile up his travel miles, which he will use once he steps down rom the presidency.

He is, in theory, president or a ull si -year term, isn t he ut the way he has been per orming, daresay he may not serve a ull term. he does not deliver the goods or the Agri department and he hasn t so ar, has he he is risking the anger o the Filipino armer. hey all see him travelling first class all over the globe, while they slave away to grow crops that are then purchased rom them cheap by traders, who then sell those crops at enormous profits.

he anger o the people at the first Edsa evolution was primarily supported by the middle class, as was Edsa os which toppled Erap Estrada and installed the very unworthy loria acapagal Arroyo as president.

A is, incidentally, a re uent ellow traveler o ongbong. Perhaps she is convincing him that anything and everything he does is fine, and he can get away with it the same way she did during her nine years in power.

aking along a disgraced e -president is yet another thing that should be the least o s priorities.

he does not shape up, and soon, he will very likely meet the same ate as his dictator ather a recipient o the ustified wrath o the people.

As See It

(From Page 12)

he relationship is even made clearer between education and incarceration in the Stan ord s ubberley ecture when Actress Anna eveare Smith, acclaimed or her roles on shows like he est ing and Nurse ackie, brought to li e the difficulties acing disadvantaged youth in American schools. She is known or bringing academic rigor to her theatrical creations by portraying the sobering reality o disadvantaged youth caught in the school-to-prison pipeline . he message was eveare Smith challenged us to do better.

he link between a poor education and incarceration was uncovered. Statistics show that dropouts are . times more likely to be arrested than high school graduates. Nationally, percent o all males in prison do not have a high school diploma. Only percent o ali ornia inmates demonstrate a basic level o literacy, and the average o ender reads at an eighth-grade level.

Okay, while there is no e act way to know the direct connection between education and prison, Hawkins pointed out in his article that, n os Angeles, A, percent o lowper orming schools are in neighborhoods with the highest incarceration rates. n contrast, per cent o the city s high per orming schools are in the neighborhoods with the lowest incarceration rates . his might be a yardstick we can use to e plain the connection.

o you know that our ailure to invest in education is costly or individuals and ta payers According to Scott raves o the ali ornia udget Pro ect, ali ornia is epected to spend more than , on each prison inmate in - almost times the , it will spend or each - student. Over the past two decades, ali ornia spending per prisoner has increased nearly three times aster than spending per - student.

athryn Hanson, EO o A earn, an educational nonprofit dedicated to getting underserved students to college and eborah Stipek, ean o Stan ord niversity s raduate School o Education. in their article, posted this uestion hy pay almost seven times the amount or uvenile detention as we do to educate our youth e know what it takes to educate students well, and the cost is substantially lower

than the cost o prison.

he same article raised some observations that may have direct connection with education vs prisons utoring helps students stay on grade level and increases the likelihood o graduation ounseling can also help keep students on track ali ornia s student-to-counselor ratio is th nationwide, and each ali ornia school counselor serves over , students, ar more than the American School ounselor s recommendation o ratio. Studies repeatedly show that high- uality preschool increases chances o high school completion and reduces the likelihood o incarceration. ut ali ornia lags ar behind in providing access to preschool. y colleagues in the education industry want to spend more or education than in prison. hey believe that there is a direct connection between education and prison that s the reason why they are prioritizing education spending compared to incarceration. heir education priorities on this issue is aligned with ictor Hugo s remark that He who opens a school door closes a prison .

So, despite the rise o school violence, in the long run, investing in education is more beneficial to the country than in prison

Agree or disagree

Ken Go

(From Page 20) time down the road.

An A carries a fi ed interest rate or a period o time, typically five years. A ter that, the interest rate and monthly payments can change every si months or year.

With a buydown, on the other hand, the interest rate is technically fi ed it s ust that the seller reduces the borrower s interest payments or a set period. oth buydowns and A s have grown more attractive as mortgage rates have swi tly gone up. However, buydowns look more appealing in the short run compared to A s.

ottom line

you re a seller looking to entice a buyer, consider paying or a temporary rate buydown. his move can cost you ar less than a price cut. Ask your listing agent or advice and keep in mind that this tactic has re-entered the mortgage market only recently, so many ealtors and loan officers are still learning how it works.

hanks or your in uiries, please call en o o st nnovative Finance roup - - or write to kennethgo verizon.net

In the Trenches

(From Page 13)

ing yiv with tanks and missiles. NA O s e ort to support the S and A states in the region will be highly doubt ul.

Asean has decided not to take sides between the nited States and hina, taking the high road to mediate between the two superpowers. Asean could disintegrate i members would be asked to choose to take sides because it is already divided on the support o the S against hina. runei, ambodia, aos, and yanmar would never allow the S and its NA O allies to dictate on Asean. NA O should not complicate things.

President Ferdinand arcos r should stick to his independent oreign policy o riends to all and enemies to none even i the Philippines has a utual e ense reaty with the nited States.

Allowing the nited States to put up logistics hubs in the country under the Enhanced e ense ooperation Agreement E A should be enough but the Philippines cannot commit combat troops in case o a con ict. he entire armed orce will be wiped out in less than an hour.

(Pulitzer

Prize-winning Filipino journalist Manny Mogato wrote this column originally for PressOne.Ph.)

Health Wealth

(From Page 12)

our hme office in San Francisco or savings on gas and mileage - .

. E F E E APPO N EN S e have very e ible appointments or old and new clients during regular office hours, a ter office hours and weekends.

. F E E O A ONS For those who can t come to our home office in San Francisco, we can do notarization in your home, office, schools, restaurants, A lobby, Post Office lobby and other locations.

. F EE PA N hen we had our Office near the Philippine onsulate in owntown San Francisco, our old clients were complaining or the e pensive parking ees. Now, with our home office, we have F EE Parking in our driveway and street parking spaces nearby or our new and old clients.

. P E O EN S AN P E S NAES S O N e o er discount on multiple documents and multiple signatures or new and old clients.

. O EN S P EPA A ON S O N ith our para-legal and lawyer- riends, we o er special discounts in the dra ting, preparation and copies o documents or old and new clients.

. ON EN EN E AN PEA E OF N ith the efficient, complete and uni ue services at SS, you can have total convenience and peace o mind. ost o the time, it is more convenient and economical or O to avail yoursel with the pro essional, complete and uni ue services at SS .

For immediate help and assistance in the notarization and apostille ollow-up o documents needed in the Philippines and other member nations o the Hague Apostille onvention, ust write or contact O E S N N SE ES, adrid Street, San Francisco, A el.or - or email artmadlaing hotmail.com

(ART GABOT MADLAING is accredited and commissioned Notary Public and licensed Real Estate Broker (DRE #00635976) in California since 1981. He is founder of MOBILE SIGNING SERVICES, FITNESS FOR HUMANITY (aka FITNESS FOR CHRIST) and ACAPINOY. Art is active Evangelist with the GOLDEN GATE CHURCH OF CHRIST in San Francisco, California USA.)

Newer COVID-19 strain XBB.1.5 now dominant in Los Angeles County as new cases, deaths reported

LOS ANGELES - A newer COVID-19 Omicron strain, XBB.1.5, has emerged as dominant in Los Angeles County, according to the most recent analysis of local COVID samples from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health).

The department said XBB.1.5 now accounts for 32.8% of sequenced COVID-19 specimens in Los Angeles County for the week ending Jan. outcompeting BQ.1.1, the previously dominant strain.

While new emergent strains have the potential to drive surges in transmission, Los Angeles County is currently reporting a steady number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations compared to the week prior, with deaths slightly lower from what was seen or most o anuary, department officials said.

Other parts o the country with significant transmission o . . also have not seen significant increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.

Los Angeles County remains in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection’s (CDC) Low COVID-19 Community Level for the fourth consecutive week.

Currently, Los Angeles County’s Low Community Level included a 7-day case rate of new cases per people, stable from the week prior. The 7-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per people is currently with no change from last week. And the 7-day average of the proportion o sta ed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 4%, the same as it was the week prior.

Because the new dominant strain has more potential to cause in ection, Public Health officials are asking residents, especially those who are most vulnerable to severe outcomes, to consider using common-sense protections, such as getting the bivalent booster, testing before large gatherings, and

Heart of Hope

seeking immediate treatment, if sick.

People over and those with common health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, kidney or liver disease, or being overweight, are at greater risk of having severe illness or death from a COVID-19 infection. They and the people around them should take extra precautions to stay safe and healthy.

ivalent boosters o er significant protection even against the newer COVID strains circulating now, including XBB.1.5. In Los Angeles County, unvaccinated people are more than six times more likely to be hospitalized and eight times more likely to die when compared to people who have received the updated bivalent booster.

The bivalent booster is free and available to adults and children ages months or older two months after their last COVID-19 vaccine or booster.

Vital med data OSA hazardous

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) “recommends the use of home sleep apnea testing or polysomnography for adults with daytime sleepiness or unrefreshing sleep, or other signs and symptoms that raise suspicion of moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).”

OSA is a condition where a person involuntarily holds his breath for a prolonged period of time (a dozen or hundred times) while asleep, resulting in low blood oxygen level, depriving vital organs essential oxygen. OSA increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer. About percent of these individuals do not even know they have OSA.

The incidence of OSA around the world is about million, in the United States, and about million in the Philippines. In the USA there is about percent among men and about percent among women. Obesity is a factor. Undiagnosed OSA is dangerous to health.

Whether snoring or not, if you usually have unrestful sleep, tired when you wake up and feeling “blah” or fatigued by early to mid-afternoon, consult with your physician, who would evaluate you and possibly refer you to a Pulmonologist-Sleep expert for a sleep study or home sleep apnea (self) testing.

Lessons from COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. As of February 4th, the average daily infection rate was average daily death rate of (a day!), average hospitalization rate, and percent positivity testing rate, according to the New York Times Tracker.

The current dominant subvariant, responsible for most COVID-19 infections is XBB.1.5, causing percent of the cases, followed by the BQ.1.1, percent. The original omicron variant is gone, leaving its subvariants: XBB.1., BQ.1., and BQ.1

With the arrogant posture and carelessness of a number of politicians and some people, inspiring society to lower its guard, COVID-19 will linger with us for an unforeseen future.

As long as we, as a nation and as a people, refuse to adhere strictly to science and the principles epidemiology in dealing with infectious diseases, like COVID-19, and willing to temporarily give us some civil liberties, like the right to choose, in order to save lives, we will never be ready and prepared for any future epidemic or pandemic.

We have more than a million lives lost to COVID-19 in the United States. If the government and our people continue to do the same in the next killer infectious disease we may encounter, and not learn from our COVID-19 experience, more millions will die, and the US economy may not survive (to recover) next time around.

Lower COVID mortality

Recent studies have shown that those in health care (physicians, nurses, techs, aides, etc.) have a significantly lower O in ection rate, hospitalization, and deaths, compared to the general population.

“Obviously, some of this is due to higher income, access to care, and other socioeconomic factors, but it’s also likely much of this protection came from workplace policies, such as use of personal protective equipment, vaccination requirements, infection prevention protocols, and other protective measures.” reported Mathew Kiang, ScD, MPH, of Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues, in MedPageToday.

Indeed, personal hygiene, masking distancing, and especially vaccination, are e ective in preventing infections and deaths, even with the current XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 subvariants.

Life is precious, and we’ve got only one. Let’s not play Russian Roulette with it.

Dangerously unprepared

All countries are “dangerously unprepared for future pandemics,” according to a report in Geneva (Reuters) by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) published on Monday, “calling on countries to update their preparedness plans by year-end.” The COVID pandemic has so far killed more people than any earthquake, drought or hurricane in history, says the IFRC in it World Disaster Report 2022.

In the United States, the main problem is the con ict between strict implementation o the evidence-

based long-proven epidemiologic protocol in fighting infectious disease and the constitutional rights of the people, who are invoking the freedom to choose (not to use mask, not to social distance, not to get the vaccines) and co-mingle with the rest of the population, many with subclinical COVID-19 or viral carriers, spreading the viruses to others.

Strictly speaking, to prevent transmission and save lives, the medical protocol calls for separation of those who have been vaccinated, those wearing masks and doing social distancing, those who are not carriers or infected FROM those refusing the above mitigation measures and demanding to have the freedom to choose what “to do with my own body,” as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Since the physical (geographical) separation of these two groups are not realistic, practical, nor feasible, the only option is federal mandates for these mitigating measures, especially vaccination. Those who refuse should stay home and not mingle with the rest of society until the pandemic is contained. This is an epidemiologic protocol to follow if we are to prevent the death of a million or more people. We must be understanding and compassionate enough to agree to temporarily waive our civil rights and follow the mandates to help save lives.

Of course, I am talking strictly medical and scientific here no politics , highlighting the same principles and practices in Infection Wards in all medical centers around the world, strict isolation. Unless we are willing to do this constitutional sacrifice and implement strict epidemiologic protocol, our e orts in our war against any infectious disease in the future will certainly fail (as we did with COVID-19) to prevent a million deaths or greater. Doing the same and expecting a better result is certainly being foolish, if not stupid, to say the least.

Philip Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He was a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, Astronaut Gus Grissom (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com,

PHILIP S. CHUA

INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE FOR THE WEEK

OUR GREATEST SOURCE OF MOTIVATION

By TIM PEDROSA

Our thoughts are the biggest source of motivation, so let us think big and motivate ourselves to win. Motivation is what gets us started to accomplish something; habit is what keeps us going. The fact that we have not accomplished, or are not yet where we want to be, should be enough motivation for us to keep going. We should always try to be optimistic. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, sailed to an uncharted land, nor opened a new heaven to the human spirit. I have learned to always concentrate on how far I have come, rather than how far I have left to go. It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward. Always concentrate on how ar you have come rather than how ar you have le t go. he di erence in how easy it seems will amaze you – Heidi Johnson. We may fall but we should always get up and make it through. No matter how hard the past, we can always begin again. he fi rst step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. Don’t wait for some distant day to come, it maybe too late before you’ve even begun. Not everyone will agree with all you decide. First and foremost be true to yourself. Realize that the only important thing in life is what you do with the time you spend here on earth. Determination is the strength that enables us to pass the barrier of useless thoughts in order to create positive thoughts and to be successful in whatever we wish. It comes from within and its partner is patience. Patience teaches us not to push but rather to wait and appreciate the game of life instead, knowing that nothing remains the same, and everything will change at some point. Yes, whatever our cross, whatever our pain, there will always be sunshine, after the rain.

Never Lose Hope

No one is immune to brokenness; betrayed and in pain, relationships destroyed, mind disturbed by problems, body weaken due to illness, frustrations and disappointments, expectations shuttered, and many other ways to describe brokenness. We all have a share in passing through moments of a broken heart. We all have the experience of brokenness the only di erence is the degree or intensity of it. But in every moment of it, the Su ering ord, the rucified esus is there with us. The undeniable truth is, God never abandons anyone, even a criminal who asks His mercy and compassion will receive His consolation and saving presence, ust like the criminal crucified with the ord esus. n whatever brokenness, be it spiritual or moral, due to vices and sins, or physical brokenness, or emotional brokenness, our ord esus knows how to deal with us and to heal us. an you remember, dear reader, the moment you can say you passed through brokenness – a particular experience broke your heart?

he Psalm - says, he ord is close to the brokenhearted, (He) saves those whose spirit is crushed. Many are the troubles o the righteous, but the ord delivers him rom them all. And in ohn , the ord esus tells us, do not let your hearts be troubled. elieve in od. elieve also in me. n moments o brokeness we are in anguish, like the Psalmist who says: “My tears have been my food day and night Ps. ut even in deep su ering we have no reason to lost hope, we cannot despair. Brokenness; for me, is even like a good school who can teach us many lessons about life, about ourselves, and about God.

i e can be rustrating i we do not build ourselves up in the virtue of hope. Hope gives us the view of the brighter future; even if, the present may seem to be dark and hopeless, but with the right disposition and with hope, all bad times pass away and always good times come without delay. We can be disappointed that in life we do not get whatever we want, or that we are not in the career that we originally planned and wanted or even worked hard for, or as one ended up in a career which was not what one graduated for from college. And on top of it, many people say, they even did not end up marrying the person they originally wanted. Indeed, many things in life can be heartbreaking, but hope gives us a pair of eyes to see behind and beyond these moments and events. With hope, we are also given the mind to understand deeper what is best for us, as what actually God wants for us. “Hope, as St. Paul says, never disappoints om. .

remember the movie, ast Away, om Hanks was the protagonist. This movie was for me about hope, for some years alone in that island, he persisted to survive. He fought against many odds, even the e ects o having no contact with people, one can be driven crazy in that situation, all of us know that. He never gave up; such is a person with hope. Words I like from the movie: “I stayed alive… and I keep breathing, because tomorrow the sun will rise, who knows what the tide could bring believe this movie is relatable with all those who have passed through di erent crucibles in li e but has emerged victorious because they have remained hopeful. For indeed, we all just have to keep hoping always for tomorrow will have a new sunrise, and who knows what the new day could bring? In our many forms of brokenness we cannot despair; we cannot lose hope, for as a theological virtue, it is from God Himself who bestows on us such capacity to endure and to see, and to capture, even from a distance, the coming of a brand-new day and great blessing from God.

et us take these words rom the ord esus Himsel saying have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, have con uered the world n. . et us put our hope in od s words and trust in His boundless love. Prayer ord od, let me always hope; so that, I can still smile in the midst of tears, I can see light in the midst o darkness, can find humor in difficulty, and most o all, can hold on to ou, ord od, though there may be strong currents that may want to push me away from You. Amen.

REV. JOSE PELAGIO A. PADIT, SThD

Recipe of the Week Pangasinan’s Hundred Islands National Park reopens

Mais at Patola, Sweet Corn and Luffa Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

young corn in a cob medium size patola, peeled, cut crosswise medium size eggplant, sliced into strips kilo pre-boiled pork, cut into strips cup small shrimp, shelled - long green chili head garlic, chopped small size onion, chopped medium size tomato, chopped cup fish sauce

salt to taste

cooking oil

Cookingprocedure:

sing a kni e cut o the corn kernels o the cob, keep aside, discard cobs. n a sauce pan suttee garlic, onion and tomato until lump. Add in the pork and shrimp, stir cook or a minute. Add in fish sauce and stir cook or another minute. Add to cups o water bring to a boil and simmer or to minutes. Add in the corn and continue to simmer or to minutes, add more water as necessary. Add in the vegetables and simmer or to minutes, correct saltines i re uired. Now add in the green chili and cook or another hal a minute. Serve with steaming hot rice.

ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan – The famous Hundred Islands National Park H NP here will reopen on uly to tourists rom the first district o Pangasinan.

ity tourism officer iguel Sison said the national park will accommodate , guests daily or -percent o its original capacity based on the guidelines under the modified general community uarantine .

He said that based on the city s guideline, H NP will only accommodate tourists rom the first district o Pangasinan within uly and August.

t will be reopened to the whole province by September, and to the whole o locos egion in October and November, he added in a PNA report by Hilda Austria and iwayway parraguirre.

And in ecember, depending on the situation, we might possibly be able to accommodate tourists rom all over the country, Sison said.

isitors are advised to bring proo o residences like identification and the like.

Sison said health protocols and other guidelines will be strictly implemented to ensure the sa ety o guests and employees, as well as prevent the possible spread o the coronavirus disease ovid- .

Aside rom the guests, boatmen themselves have to wear ace masks and regularly disin ect their boats. hey have to ollow all guidelines otherwise, they will not be allowed to sail, he said.

Sison added that ees like registration or entrance, and environmental ee to be charged per person remains the same.

However, guests are advised to bring e tra money or additional e penses in the rental o motorboats and other acilities.

Physical distancing will be strictly implemented thus boats or bancas are only allowed to erry percent o capacity. here will be thermal scanning and contact numbers and addresses o guests have to be listed.

he large boat can contain eight persons, five persons or medium boats, and two to three persons or the small boats. he rates, however, are the same since it is already in the city s ordinance and e penses o the boatmen are the same. Only one representative o a group is allowed to enter and transact business at the tourism office, he said.

ourists may take o to the island through the ucap har , olo each, and ued stations.

However, overnight stay and snorkeling in the islands will not be allowed in the meantime, but tourists may avail o the helmet diving, and accommodation establishments AEs at the city proper, Sison said.

e will prioritize those who have booked with AEs in the city, but then again health standards will be applied even within the accommodations. oitering outside o one s room will not be allowed, he said.

He added percent o the AEs in the city have already secured or applied or the certificate o authority to operate rom the epartment o ourism.

e advise tourists to ollow the health protocols as we aim to gradually open the H NP to tourists, ayor Arth ryan eleste said in a separate interview.

eanwhile, eleste said the city will continue to distribute relie packs to workers in the city whose works are still a ected by the pandemic.

oinciding with re-opening o H NP is the blessing and inauguration on uly o the souvenir shop and the three-dimensional artwork at the oor o the ucap port situated at the ourism and Entertainment enter.

he artworks painted by members o the anghalang Sandaang Pulo is an added attraction which will welcome guests be ore they board the motorboats going to the Hundred Islands