Philippine News Today

S. CHINA SEA CONDUCT CODE PRESSED AT ASEAN SUMMIT

PHL Navy expands patrols as Sino vessels swarm West Philippine Sea

By ALFRED GABOT, Editor in Chief

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia – Amid a pledge of an ironclad protection of the Philippines from US President Joseph Biden Jr. in case of an air, sea or land attack following their bilateral talks at the White House, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for a quick finalization of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia.

CA vs Hate hotline launched to report hate acts in California

By Claire Morales True and Jun Nucum

California’s AG Bonta to look into Chevron’s ‘misdeals’ in PHL gas fields

Page 9 AG

AAPI decries gun violence, mourns 8 killed in Texas

WASHINGTON — After the mass shooting that took the lives of eight people at a shopping center in Allen, Texas, on Saturday — including an Indian immigrant and three members of a Korean-American family — AAPI Victory Alliance issued a statement to mourn the lives lost and reaffirm the national outcry for gun violence prevention leg-

islation.

AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore issued the following statement:

SACRAMENTO, California –

In response to a rise in hate crimes and at the start of Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Governor Gavin Newsom, along with the California Civil Rights De-

partment (CRD), launched “CA vs Hate,” a new multilingual statewide hotline and website that provides a safe, anonymous reporting option for victims and witnesses of hate acts.

“Today, we remember the lives of Aishwarya Thatikonda, Christian LaCour, Dan-

Page 8

Human traffickers recruiting criminal elements?

By Be�ng Laygo Dolor, Editor

MANILA – Are the human traffickers now using the Philippines not only as a transit point but as a base of operations recruiting men and women with criminal records to make sure

they do not report their illegal activities to authorities?

This possibility came to light this week after the Department of Justice on Wednesday said it was Page 25

Page 8

Bonta

ALAMEDA, California – California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta met recently with a group of Filipino Americans to discuss shareholder complaints

DeSantis signs bills that bans Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida

By Joel Wong

TALLAHASSEE, FloridaFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed multiple bills on Monday (May 8, 2023) that prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing land in the state.

DeSantis signed bills SB 264, SB 846, and SB 258 into law, noting how he called on his state legislature last year to build upon its efforts to combat corporate espionage and higher education subterfuge carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agents.

Page 8

PHL, US fighter jet pilots hold air-to-air combat drills P2

Pagasa airs warning as heat index tops 40

Yulo, Obiena lead gold medal harvest at ASEAN Games

oC P3

$1.00= P55.55

ASEAN LEADERS meet on various issues and concerns during their summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. The mee�ng is hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. At le� is Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom (speaking at the mic) led California community leaders in the formal launch of CA vs Hate, a new mul�lingual statewide hotline and website t the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento.

Press freedom violations still rampant under Marcos regime

A A he situation may not be as bad as the time under the pre ious uterte administration but true press freedom remains elusi e under the re gime of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Press freedom iolations are a regular occurrence under the current go ernment o says the ational nion of ournalists of the Philippines (NUJP), which marked the th orld Press reedom ay this week by reporting no less than 60 cases of violations against media practitioners since the son and namesake of the late dictator assumed office last year

he P is the nationwide organi a tion of working ournalists in the country which e ists as a watchdog for press free dom.

The 60 violations were listed as:

harassment incidents including sur eillance and erbal assaults

12 cases of red-tagging by govern-

ment officials cases of libel and or cyberlibel

6 death threats against media workers instances when legitimate media practitioners were denied coverage of a newsworthy e ent other cases of udicial harassment arrests online attack harassment censorship

cyberattack and physical attack against pressmen

he most serious cases in ol ed the assassination of broadcaster Percy Lapid on ctober last year followed by the killing of editorial cartoonist Benharl Kalil a little more than a month later, on November 5, 2022.

f the total percent of the ic tims were indi idual media practitioners while the remaining 28 percent were me-

dia organi ations

P data showed that percent of the ictims were from u on includ ing etro anila percent were from the isayas and percent took place abroad.

ddly enough there were no docu mented cases of press freedom violations in Mindanao.

In a statement, the NUJP said: “On World Press Freedom Day, we remind oursel es that while there ha e been ictories in court with the ac uittal of aria essa and appler of ta cases for e ample many far too many of us are still facing threats and that our freedom is still fragile.

he organi ation howe er also noted that there have been restrictions on the freedom of the press, notably the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the SIM egistration Act that binds indi idual

freedom.

The NUJP added that there hangs the threat of the use of the tactics that the uterte go ernment used against the Philippine aily n uirer appler and A that continue to chill our community n a related de elopment the human rights group arapatan said the arcos regime continued the weaponi ation of laws against the media.

his weaponi ation of laws to attack the rights to press freedom and free e pression must stop said arapatan he group said the arcos go ern ment must support the decriminali ation of libel and also review the cybercrime law.

The Philippines is one of the very few countries in the world where libel is a criminal rather than a ci il offense

PHL, US fighter jet pilots hold air-to-air combat drills

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga

– After the joint military drills of the armies and navies of the Philippines and the United States, Filipino and American fighter et pilots conducted air to air combat training over the skies of Clark Air Base, Mabalacat City, Pampanga on May 10.

In a statement, Philippine Air Force PA spokesperson ol a onsuelo Castillo said Filipino pilots from the 5th ighter ing and their American coun terparts from the th ighter uadron of the United States Air Force (USAF) took part in a ope hunder training that focused on defensi e and offensi e coun ter-air operations.

uring the simulation e ercise as tillo said skilled fighter et pilots from both air forces showcased their e pertise in e ecuting both defensi e and offensi e counter air drills

hese were done with the PA using four A P s and the A using si s ying o er the intensi e military training areas in u on

“The whole goal was to teach them how we do our briefing e ecution and debriefs so that we can increase our in teroperability throughout the region as well as build a relationship with their pi lots on the ground A fighter pilot Capt. Frank Martin said.

Meanwhile, Capt. Ferdinand Jose of the PA said these e er cises enable the forces to simulate multiple threats react effecti ely as a co alition, and prepare themselves for any possible contingency.

e added that air power is critical in modern warfare, and these training e ercises are ital in im

proving the forces’ readiness and interoperability

he original ope hunder er cise was a multilateral Air orce e ent between the United States and its allied countries

t was first held in and contin ued annually in the Philippines until its discontinuation after the ount Pinatubo eruption in he multilateral e ercise was then

mo ed to Alaska and was dubbed ed lag Alaska

Relatedly, in 2016, the Philippine-US Air orces started its bilateral e ercises in dubbed A P or ilateral Air ontingent ercises Philippines

For this year, the BACE-P was named ope hunder thus essentially re i ing the ope hunder ercises after more than three decades. (Jeanne Michael Penaranda)

PP senior o ficials promoted

A P A ue on ity ight senior officials were formally inducted as ma or generals and brigadier generals at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headuarters in amp rame ue on ity

PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. led the donning of ranks for a or enerals arold u on ictor anchakan and udolph imas and rigadier enerals e phraim urat ictor Are alo Alfredo angani Roderick Mariano, and Redrico Maranan.

aranan is currently the P P chief information offi cer.

wish to inform you that per the endorsement of the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission and as recommended by the National Police Commission (Napolcom the promotion of Police olonel edrico Atien a aranan to the ne t higher rank of Police rigadier en eral is hereby appro ed President erdinand arcos

Jr. stated in a letter dated April 28 to Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.

u on and anchakan are from the Area Police om mand Eastern Mindanao and Western Mindanao, respectively, while Dimas is from the Special Action Force (SAF).

Mariano is the No. 2 man of the Police Regional Office araga

Arevalo, on the other hand, is the head of the Center for Police Strategy Management, which is in charge of directing the PNP to good performance management down to the lowest units

urat is the chief directorial staff of the ational api tal egion Police ffice

he appro al of the officials promotion was delayed due to the e aluation and assessment of all senior officers as part of the internal cleansing to eliminate ranking officials with drug links

Teves tries to hide in Timor-Leste but denied asylum

PASA CITY — Suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. continues hiding from the law enforcers as he tried to seek asylum in Timor-Leste but his request was denied.

“Today, the Ministry of Interior of imor este confirmed that epresenta tive Teves’ application for political asylum has been denied,” the DFA said in a statement.

“In accordance with the decision of the Timor-Leste Government, Representative Teves has been granted a period of fi e days to depart imor este ur ing this time he also has the option to file an appeal regarding the decision,” it said.

It was gathered that Teves, after leaving the United States and later South Korea, entered Timor-Leste about a week

Marcos

ago in an attempt to secure special asylum status, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, citing information from the DFA and the Philippine Ambassador to Timor-Leste.

The Department of Justice, through the DFA, had informed Timor-Leste that Teves is a person of interest in murder cases and is being considered for designation as a terrorist, Remulla said, resulting in the denial of the solon’s request for asylum.

Teves is accused as one of the possible masterminds in the killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and several others. He has denied these allegations, saying that he and his clan had nothing to do with the assassination.

hints at Cabinet reorg as appointment ban ends

By Jennifer T. Santos

MANILA – A reorganization of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet is in the offing after the one year appointment ban on those who ran in the May 2022 elections lapsed on May 9.

arcos confirmed this to the media in a briefing before the start of the nd Associ ation of outheast Asian ations A A Summit and Related Summits in Indonesia.

Marcos said he is considering appointing several politicians who lost in the May 9, 2022 polls to his Cabinet by the end of the first year of his term he first year has been enough he said

to determine and assess the performance of his Cabinet members.

“In a sense, tapos na yung OJT [on-the ob training ng lahat ng tao n a sense e eryone s is done e e seen who performs well and we’ve seen who would be important to what we are doing,” he said.

“Yes, there is still going to be… I don’t know about reshu e but reorgani ation sa abinete in the abinet he added

Under the 1987 Constitution, the losing candidates are barred from assuming positions in the government within a year after the elections.

he

heat inde from to degrees Celsius is expected to be felt across the country until ednesday the Phil ippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Pagasa said as it cau tioned the public against its harmful effects

In Metro Manila, the heat index is forecast to range from to degrees Celsius, it said.

Pagasa said according to an effects based classifica tion,” a heat index from 33 to degrees elsius would mean that the public should exercise “extreme caution.”

Under this category, heat cramps and heat exhaustion are “possible” and continuing outdoor activity could lead to heat stroke.

People experiencing a heat inde from to degrees Celsius are in “danger of suffering from heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

Pagasa airs warning as heat index hits 40 degrees Celsius

Taguig takes over Bonifacio Global City from Makati

By Jennifer T. Santos

A After winning their case in the Supreme Court, there is no turning back for the aguig ity go ernment in taking o er control from akati ity of the now highly progres sive Bonifacio Global City and some portions of the Fort Bonifacio Military eser ation aguig offi cials said the igh ourt has ruled with fi nality that terminated the longstanding land dispute between the city go ernments of akati and aguig o er the ast area

he aguig ity offi cials said they will now exercise territorial jurisdiction over the disputed property.

n a two page resolution dated ep tember the upreme ourt s

pecial hird i ision denied with fi nality the akati ity go ernment s omnibus motion for reconsideration of the ourt s ecember decision on the ground the basic issues raised therein had been duly considered and passed upon by the Court in the assailed decision.

he ourt also denied akati ity s omnibus motion to refer the case to the Court en banc, as the Court en banc is not an appellate court to which decisions or resolutions of a division may be appealed.

The Court also said no further pleadings motions letters or other communi cations shall be entertained in this case, as it ordered the immediate issuance of an entry of udgment

n its ecember decision

the Court denied the petition for review on certiorari fi led by the ity of akati that assailed the resolution dated March and the resolution dated cto ber of the ourt of Appeals he igh ourt reinstated with modifi cation the uly decision of the egional rial ourt of Pasig as follows:

ort onifacio ilitary eser a tion consisting of Parcels and is confi rmed to be part of the territory of aguig ity

he rit of Preliminary n unc tion dated August issued by the of Pasig e plicitly referring to Parcels and comprising ort oni facio, be made permanent insofar as it enjoined the municipality, now Makati ity from e ercising urisdiction o er

making impro ements on or otherwise treating as part of its territory Parcels and comprising ort onifacio

3. Makati City must pay the costs of the suit.

he dispute goes back to when aguig fi led a complaint against akati before the Pasig in connection with their territorial dispute over the areas comprising the nlisted en s aran gays and the entirety of ort onifacio Makati City elevated the matter to the A and ultimately to the igh ourt n a statement the aguig ity go ernment said: “The Supreme Court has decided with fi nality that urisdiction o er ort onifacio ilitary eser a tion by superior legal rights and his toric title belongs to aguig

Moratorium up on new Manila Bay reclamation; gov’t urged to revoke pending, ongoing projects

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda

MANILA

– “We are elated with this recent de elopment but our fi ght against reclamation is far from over. Currently, there are at least 21 reclamation projects across Manila Bay that have to be revoked.”

hus said the militant fi sherfolk group Pambansang akas ng ilusang amamalakaya ng Pilipinas PA A A A A on ay following the mor atorium on new applications for reclamation projects as a result of continued ob ection from the fi sherfolks and en i ronmental communities.

However, the moratorium will not cover the 21 reclamation projects in Manila Bay, which have already acquired environmental compliance certifi cates s from the epartment of n ironment and atural esources

“While we welcome the moratorium on new applications for reclamation, we demand that the ongoing and pending reclamation projects be unequivocally revoked. These approved projects are too many and destructive for our marine ecosystems and coastal communities,” the group said hat good is a moratorium on new applications if e isting ones continue to ra age our marine en ironment and the li elihood of fi sherfolk the group asked.

pecifi cally the should un conditionally cancel the environmental permits granted to reclamation pro ects in anila ay the group stressed

“We vow to continue our collective eff orts until e ery single reclamation across the archipelago is put to stop and the companies behind these destructive projects be held accountable,” said Fernando icap PA A A A A ational Chairperson, in a statement.

Among the reclamation pro ects with s are the hectare reclama tion project in Bacoor City, Cavite; the hectare ulacan Aerotropolis the hectare reclamation pro ect in Pasay ity the hectare reclama tion project in Navotas City; and the hectare ori on anila pro ect n ay PA A A A A partici pated in the perts orum on ecla mation held by the at the en tury Park otel in alate anila At the forum icap presented the group s position against reclamation and high lighted its negati e impact on the en i ronment and the li elihoods of fi shers and those li ing in coastal communities

P3.8-M shabu concealed as hair dryers, brushes seized in Pasay

PA A ustoms officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport

A A ha e intercepted grams of shabu worth P million concealed in a parcel containing hair brushes and hair dryers in Pasay ity

In a statement, the Bureau of Customs reported that both the shipper and consignee are currently undergoing in es tigation by the Philippine rug nforce ment Agency P A for the initiation of corresponding in uest proceedings for the iolation of the omprehensi e an gerous rugs Act of and the us toms oderni ation Act A

The contraband which was declared as eyelash sets, electric hair dryers, and electric hairbrushes was intercepted on onday at the press ateway Warehouse in NAIA.

Customs Commissioner Bienvenido ubio acknowledged the partnership with other go ernment agencies in apprehend ing the banned substance

“This successful interception is a testament to the effecti e oint enforcement of our ustoms and inter agency part ners against drug trafficking to pre ent the worldwide spread of illegal narcotics especially in the Asia Pacific egion he said.

e will continue to be igilant in our border protection efforts to pre ent dan gerous drugs and other contraband that come in and out of our country,” the BOC chief added.

The operation was also in coordination with P A and the A A nter Agency rug nterdiction ask roup

$2-B Laguna Lakeshore road network, solar projects pushed

By Jeanne Michael Penaranda

SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna - If plans do not miscarry, the ambitious project to build a multi-purpose roadway along the Laguna Lake covering Metro Manila, Rizal and Laguna provinces maybe realized soon.

This as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) disclosed it is pursuing a $2 billion loan from the Asian e elopment ank A to fund the first phase of the pro ect called officially as the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (LLRN) project.

Aside from providing a safer, faster, and more reliable transportation route in the ast region there will also be ood control component, among others, it was learned.

he pro ect in ol es first phase which is the construction of a 21.5-kilometer viaduct and a 15.9-kilometer embankment along the west shoreline of Laguna Lake, extending from Barangay Lower Bicutan in Taguig City to Calamba City in Laguna.

The Department of Energy (DOE),

meanwnile, gave the green light to six large scale oating solar pro ects with a to tal capacity of 610.5 megawatts (MW) in Laguna Lake.

In a statement, DOE said it awarded the Solar Energy Operating Contracts (SOEC) to SunAsia Energy, Inc. and its partner lueleaf nergy for their oating solar projects that will be installed on the water surface of Laguna Lake.

The facilities will span in the cities of Calamba, Sta. Rosa and Cabuyao and the towns of Bay and Victoria.

“The awarding of these contracts accelerates the implementation of the thrust of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to develop indigenous and renewable energy sources,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

Present in the awarding of the SOEC were Lotilla, SunAsia Energy president and chief e ecuti e officer etchi apel lan lueleaf nergy chief e ecuti e officer Raghuram Natarajan, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu and

Singaporean Ambassador Gerard Ho Wei Wong.

The DOE said these projects of Blueleaf here was an offshoot of the official trip of Marcos to Singapore in September last year, in which the company signed a letter of intent to the Philippine government to increase its sustainable infrastructure commitment in the country.

Blueleaf has 250 MW of solar projects in the Philippines. Its local partner Solar Energy has been putting up solar projects in the country since 2013.

“It also represents an additional strategic in estment and a firm commitment to strengthen the country’s renewable energy sector, especially the commercialization of oating solar as an emerging technology Lotilla said.

According to the DOE, a total of 237 solar energy contracts have been awarded by the agency. These contracts have aggregate installed capacity of 1,282 MW and potential capacity of producing up to 21,452 MW of clean energy.

First phase of the Laguna lakeshore road project includes construction of eight interchanges intended to connect municipal boundaries to the nearest public road along Lower Bicutan, Sucat, Alabang, Tunasan,Muntinlupa city and the Laguna cities of San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao, and Calamba, with a total project cost of P175.3 billion.

DPWH said the project’s completion will boost connectivity between Metro Manila and Laguna, which will reduce transport time and costs, provide better access to markets and wider employment talent pools, and attract tourists to the area.

Previous estimates by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) revealed that traffic congestion in the Philippines resulted in economic losses of P3.5 billion per day in 2017 in NCR and P2.5 billion in surrounding provinces, including Laguna. These losses are expected to increase to P5.4 billion per day in NCR and P5.9 billion per day in surrounding areas by 2035 if no action is taken.

Zambales mango festival returns after 3 years

IBA, Zambales - The Dinamulag Mango Festival of Zambales has returned after a three-year absence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A highlight of the festival is a parade featuring street dancers in mangoinspired costumes. The Ibaile Street

Dancers of the capital town of Iba bested other competing municipal contingents during the event, dubbed the Zambayle Street Dancing Parade and Showdown.

The Dinamulag Mango Festival also featured sporting events, mango-

picking at the orchards, an agri-tourism trade fair, motocross and bicycle races, a mango congress, concerts, socio-civil activities, and a beauty pageant.

The 9-day festival is named after the dinamulag or carabao variety which was declared by the Guinness Book of

World Records in 1995 as the sweetest mango in the world.

Zambales governor Hermogenes Ebdane Ebdane Jr. hopes that the festival will further boost the local economy in terms of registered tourism enterprises and visitor arrivals.

is alification o Lega pi ma or osal final, exec tor

A P he dis ualifi ca tion of armen eraldine osal as can didate for mayor of Legazpi City in the ay polls is now fi nal and e ecutory according to the ommission on lections omelec

In a press statement, the poll body said its en banc s ay decision dis ualifying osal became fi nal after as they did not recei e any restraining or der from the upreme ourt

In the same ruling, the poll body also ordered the proclamation of Alfredo arbin r who was the runner up in the polls as the duly elected mayor of ega pi ity

ith the case records showing that the en banc resolution has been duly ser ed to the parties on ay and with no restraining order ha ing been issued by the Supreme Court to date the same has become fi nal and e ecutory with the issuance of the ertifi cate of inality and will be entered in the Book of Entries of Judgment,” the poll body said in a statement ow therefore in iew of the foregoing the esolution of the om mission n anc promulgated on ay is hereby declared fi nal and e ecutory under the omelec ules of Procedure

arlier the ommission en banc said the order would become fi nal and e ecutory after fi e days from receipt of the parties, unless the High Court issues a n the other hand omelec chair person eorge arcia noted that the ertifi cate of inality issued by the poll body would not yet remo e osal from her post until the rit of ecution for the decision on the dis ualifi cation case has been issued “I will issue the Writ tomorrow, to gi e the respondent an opportunity to reiterate the prayer for in uncti e writ in the o my mind as a former prac

titioner this is part of due process ur resolution should be the full sub ect of scrutiny of the arcia added n its ay ruling the omelec en banc affi rmed the dis ualifi cation of Rosal as mayoral bet in Legazpi City in the ay polls hey found osal liable for gi ing money to in uence induce or corrupt the oters during the conduct of the two day ricycle ri er s ash Assis tance Payout in the city on arch which iolates ection a of the mnibus lection ode

A A he three member board of commissioners of the ureau of m migration is now complete with the appointment of eputy ommissioner aniel aogan

aogan assumed his post as depu ty commissioner immediately aogan completes the board of com missioners which is composed of a commissioner and two deputy commis sioners

t is presently occupied by ommis sioner orman ansingco and eputy

Commissioner Joel Viado who joined the BI in September 2022 and April

QUEZON CITY – Speaker Martin omualde disclosed that the ouse of epresentati es thics and Pri ileges ommittee may be forced to recon ene and consider another possible disci plinary action against egros riental epresentati e Arnolfo e es r for his continued absence in ongress omualde raised this possibil ity should e es continue to defy the ouse s return to work order after the lapse of the day period of his sus pension on une ee related stories his is our recourse in order to pre ser e the dignity integrity and reputa tion of the ouse of epresentati es omualde said in a statement his de elopment comes after it was reported by the epartment of oreign Aff airs A that imor este has de

nied e es re uest for political asylum and ga e the Philippine lawmaker fi e days to lea e their country omualde discouraged any attempt by e es to seek refuge in another country and abandon his sworn duty to ser e as a member of the ouse of ep resentati es e in the ouse of epresenta ti es iew with great concern reports from the epartment of ustice and the A epartment of oreign Aff airs that ep Arnie e es has ap plied for political asylum in imor este he said ather than e ade in estigation by Philippine law enforcement agencies ong Arnie should return home imme diately and face the accusation against him he added

omualde assured e es that the chamber will secure his personal safety upon his return to the Philippines

he ouse ommittee on thics and Pri ileges had earlier recommended the suspension of e es for failing to return to the country and report for work de spite the e piration of his tra el author ity since arch

n arch the ouse unanimously appro ed with affi rmati e otes the recommendations made by the panel e es was implicated in the killing of egros riental go ernor oel e gamo and eight others on arch ecretary esus rispin e mulla on uesday said the go ernment has taken concrete steps to designate e es as a terrorist under the Anti er rorism Act of

respecti ely Laogan, a lawyer, has a degree in ommerce from the ni ersity of an to omas e also took up aster of cience in ommerce under the same uni ersity e earned his law degree at Ateneo de anila ni ersity and was admitted to the Philippine ar in Apart from his e perience in both the public and pri ate sectors aogan also worked in the academe ha ing ser ed as the egent of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and professor of law in ta ation at the Adamson ni ersity ollege of aw

e pre iously worked as the director of the Philippine a ings ank the a tional ood Authority and the e elop ment ank of the Philippines e was a enior Ad iser for n estment and Pro motions and n estor elations of the anila conomic and ultural ffi ce

Prior to his appointment as eputy ommissioner he was the irector of the Philtrust ank and a enior Ad iser of the ederation of ilipino hinese hambers of ommerce and ndustry nc e also ser ed as president emeri tus of the hinese ilipino usiness lub nc and chairman and president

Ho se panel m lls more disciplinar action s e es ew immigration dep t commissioner named ew , o ficials ta e oath

of Addmore Group of Companies, as well as a managing partner of the an iel aogan aw ffi ces

A A ecuti e ecretary ucas ersamin administered the oath of office to two new officials appointed by President erdinand arcos r

According to a acebook post by the Presidential ommunications ffice ar orie amos amaniego took her oath as the go ernor of the oard of n estments

he an attached agency of the e partment of rade and ndustry is mandated to promote in estments in the

country

ormer anao del ur epresentati e Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman was also sworn in as Administrator of the Author ity of the reeport Area of ataan A A

he A A which is an agency under the ffice of the President is responsible for effecti ely managing the freeport area in ari eles town ataan pro ince

he P recently announced the ap pointments of amos amaniego and Pan gandaman

Negros Oriental Representa�ve Arnolfo Teves Jr.

OATHTA ING. E ecu�ve Secretary Lucas Bersamin (le�) administers the oath of o ce to new Board of Investments Governor Marjorie O. Ramos-Samaniego in Malaca ang.

BI Deputy Commissioner Daniel Laogan

Rojas is new PHL Marine Corps commandant

MANILA – Maj. Gen. Arturo G. Rojas formally assumed command of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC).

Rojas took over the helm of the PMC in simple rites at the Bonifacio Naval Station, Taguig City on May 8.

“Maj. Gen. Rojas held key positions, making him one of the fi nest senior of fi cers of his generation e was the commander of the Special Operations Command of the AFP before being appointed as the new commandant Philip pine arine orps P public aff airs offi ce chief apt arald ea said in a statement Wednesday.

Rojas replaced Marine Lt. Gen. harlton aerlan who was appoint ed as Armed Forces of the Philippines A P deputy chief of staff in arch he new P chief pre iously served as brigade commander of the nd arine rigade in awi awi and deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command before becoming the unit’s acting commander.

Rojas emphasized the PMC’s role in ensuring peace and security, noting that the arines would be the most ready

to protect the nation without fear and without fail

The 36th PMC chief, a native of Koronadal City, spent his early military career with arine anding attalion (MBLT) 3, MBLT-9, and 61st Marine

Force Reconnaissance Company. e speciali ed in special opera tions during this period and was de ployed to Sulu, Bulacan, Cotabato City, Quezon province, Basilan, Zamboanga, alinga and Apayao e spent three

years with the epartment of ational efense as a security offi cer and aide de-camp to then Secretary Fortunato Abat and Secretary Orlando Mercado,” Rea said.

Rojas also took up various courses and training, such as the Basic Airborne and umpmaster s ourse cuba Course, Scout Ranger Course, Intelligence ffi cer asic ourse ilitary Intelligence Collection Course, Explosive Ordnance Reconnaissance Agent Course, Sureshock Urban Warfare ourse ungle n ironment ur i al Training, Force Reconnaissance Orientation ourse and ffi cers Psychologi cal Operations Course.

“Maj. Gen. Rojas holds degrees in aster of cience in efense Analysis pecial peration ow ntensity on ict from the a al postgraduate school in Monterey, California, USA (2004) and a Master in Public Management a or in epartment and ecurity from the e elopment Academy of the Philippines e earned se eral awards and decorations throughout his military career,” Rea said.

Sustained rise in FDIs to PHL, GDP boost seen

A A oreign direct in estments s to the Philippines is e pected to further rise with the reopening of the economy and investment commitments secured from arious trips o erseas of President erdinand arcos r according to an economist.

ata released by the angko entral ng Pilipinas P on ednesday showed that s posted net in ows of P1.05 billion in February 2023, up by 13 percent from the US$926 million in the same period last year.

eanwhile the continued impro ement of the labor sector resilient o erseas ilipino workers s remit tances and go ernment s fiscal spending priorities are e pected to boost the pro ected economic growth in the first quarter of the year, according to an economist.

te e ochrane chief Asia Pacific economist of oody s Analytics said these factors along with the im pact of the government’s increased infrastructure spending, rebuilding from the impact of typhoons in Luzon last year, and recovery of the tourism sector, are the drivers for their growth forecast of percent gross domestic product

P for the Philippines from anuary to arch this year

Cochrane said the domestic employment environment remains robust and “should support improving income growth

Philippine tatistics Authority P A data showed that employment rate in the country was estimated to be at percent in March 2023, better than the previous month’s 95.2 percent and the 94.2 percent during the same period last year.

nemployment also went down to percent from percent last February and the 5.8 percent in March 2022.

Cochrane said prioritization of spending on infrastructure education and health ser ices also bodes well for the economy’s expansion.

hese factors are howe er can be offset by the e pect ed weakness in global trade he said

lobal trade in goods will remain weak as the and urope struggle to maintain positi e economic growth and China’s rebound from its zero-Covid policy is concentrated on domestic demand which does not support strong import growth of goods from elsewhere in Asia he added

The rise in interest rates due to government measures to address the ele ated in ation rate is also e pected to nega

ti ely impact domestic growth igh interest rates will constrain pri ate in estment in the short term, through 2023 and into 2024,” Cochrane said.

For one, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key rates have been hiked by a total of 425 basis points since May 2022 to cushion the impact of the faster rate of price increases.

he domestic in ation rate has slowed for the third con secutive month to 6.6 percent last April after hitting a 14year high of percent last anuary

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist ichael icafort said the latest net le el is among the highest since the pandemic started. or the coming months net s could pick up fur ther amid measures to further reopen the economy with no more restrictions as a policy priority, the Philippine economic P gross domestic product growth e pected to be among the fastest in the region, the country’s attractive demographics economic reopening of hina which is the world s second biggest economy since ecember and investment commitments obtained by the administration from overseas visits/trips in recent months,” he said.

Ricafort said the inclusion of the Philippines in the world s biggest free trade agreement the egional om prehensi e conomic Partnership P would help attract more s to locate in the country as a production and or marketing base as well as an access point to bigger export markets of the other RCEP member countries in the region and in other parts of the world

“Furthermore, the passage of reform measures in recent months/years, especially the CREATE (Corporate eco ery and a ncenti es for nterprises Act law that reduces the corporate income tax by at least 5 percentage points from percent retroacti e uly and pro id ing greater certainty on in estments would also continue to help attract more s to be more decisi e and locate in the country,” he said.

icafort said reforms and amendments on foreign own ership limits, such as those under the Public Services Act, Foreign Investments Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act would all further encourage and attract more s into the country.”

mpro ed foreign policy relations with ma or sources of foreign in estments by the administration would also help further boost more s into the country especially with more reform measures and policies that are friendly to business in estments as well as impro ed go ernance an ti-corruption/ESG (environmental, social, and governance) standards that have been encouraged and even required by some regulators worldwide as part of the re uirements cri teria before investing/locating in the country,” he added.

(From page 1) California...

against the alifornia based he ron orporation s role in the sale of the Philippine gas fields to a friend of odrigo uterte when the latter was president

oida icolas ewis national chair of ilipinos for ood o ernance met with onta after ha ing been allegedly stonewalled by he ron orporation when she and other shareholders sought docu ments regarding the sale of he ron s interest in the alampaya gas fields in the Philippines to ennis y a fa ored cro ny of former Philippine President odrigo uterte for a fraction of its alue

he ron s interests in the alampaya gas fields were estimated to be worth se eral billions of dollars but he ron report ed to its shareholders in their Annual eport that it sold the company s shares for only million

he Philippine enate s ommittee on nergy in estigated alleged anomalies in the deal with subse uent testimonies by officials of the Philippine epartment of nergy dis closing that the actual amount that the buyer paid to he ron was only million

he discrepancies in the amounts are staggering As a certified shareholder of

(From page 1) AAPI...

iela and ofia endo a ang hin oung ho yu ong and ames ho whose li es were taken too soon at the hands of gun io lence here is nowhere in America that feels safe today not school not mo ie theaters

(From page 1) DeSantis...

will prohibit go ernmental en tities from contracting with foreign coun tries and entities of concern and restricts con eyances of agricultural lands and other interests in real property to foreign principals which include the People s epublic of hina and other entities and indi iduals affiliated with the country referred to as Agreements of ducational ntities with oreign nti ties will bar state colleges and uni ersi ties and their employees and representa ti es from accepting any gifts in their official capacities from a college or uni

he ron orporation ha e been asking he ron since last year to pro ide me with documents about the alampaya transaction to determine if he ron lied to us its share holders about the sale ewis e plained in a statement ince they ha e not gi en a sub stanti e response felt compelled to ask for help from the tate of alifornia

onta responded he ron is indeed based in alifornia so will ha e my office look into this case as soon as possible ther leaders of the ilipino American community were also at the meeting with onta odel odis a member of the ali fornia state bar and former president of the an rancisco Public tilities ommis sion also asked he ron for an e plana tion about the discrepancies in he ron s reports n ctober

ewis and odis filed a complaint at the ffice of the mbudsman of the Phil ippines against former nergy ecretary Alfonso usi ennis y and se eral he ron officials in ol ed in the contro er sial sale n ebruary the Philippine enate also ga e the mbudsman a reso lution recommending the filing of charges against former nergy ecretary usi and other officials because according to the enate findings the appro al of the transac tion between he ron and alampaya

not at the shopping mall e are no longer the land of the free but a nation li ing in fear e can t wait any longer to act

AAP ictory Alliance stands in solidar ity with the entire ollin ounty community which is home to e as largest and fastest growing population of minority groups in cluding a si able AAP population e send

ersity based in a foreign country of con cern will re uire the state s epart ment of anagement er ices to create a list of prohibited applications owned by a foreign principal or foreign countries of concern including hina which present a cybersecurity and data pri acy risk

aipei hue President of A nit ed hinese Americans says that it is a ark ay in America

n its home page A compares it to the hinese clusion Act signed by President hester A Arthur almost on the same date years ago on ay

It prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers for years he hinese

owned by ennis y was indeed anoma lous and disad antageous to the Philippine go ernment and its people

As concerned citi ens we raised this issue to the ecurities and change ommission because he ron claims it had disposed of its interests in the Phil ippines referring to their alampaya shares said odis

owe er during the hearing conduct ed by the Philippine enate ommittee on nergy officials of the Philippine epart ment of nergy asserted that he ron s deal with denna did not in ol e any transfer of rights o what was the real deal then id he ron lie in their reports or did the Philippine go ernment odis added he ron s Possible iolations

According to ewis and odis he ron may ha e possibly iolated ederal ecuri ties aws As it is a publicly traded com pany sub ect to regulation by the he ron is re uired to be truthful in its representations and dealings with its share holders y misrepresenting the purchase price of the transaction it has allegedly misled its in estors and committed possible securities fraud

alampaya gas fields in the Philip pines omplainants want an in estigation into alifornia based he ron orpora

our sincere condolences to the families who ha e lost lo ed ones And we once again call on our elected officials at e ery le el of go ernment to take bold tangible steps toward protecting all of our communities from the threat of gun iolence banning assault weap ons and getting weapons

AAP ictory Alliance works to build

clusion Act was the first and only ma or law e er implemented to pre ent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the nited tates

A ark ay n America

Passage of the law was preceded by growing anti hinese sentiment and anti hinese iolence as well as arious poli cies targeting hinese migrants he act was initially intended to last for years but was renewed and strengthened in with the eary Act and made per manent in he law remained in force until the passage of the agnuson Act in which repealed the e clusion and allowed hinese immigrants to enter the nit ed tates each year hinese immigration

(From page 1) Human...

looking into the possible culpability of alleged human trafficking ictims of whom were rescued by the ational ureau of n estigation o er the weekend he large number of supposed ictims had been taken by local authorities from a call center operation inside the lark reeport one in Pampanga but only of them were willing to file complaints against the arrested suspects omplaints were filed against the maintainers last week hen first freed from what they said were working conditions akin to sla ery some of the workers said they had been lured to engage in cybercrime by selling cryptocurrency mostly to potential ictims in the anada Australia and ew ealand

According to ustice ecretary esus rispin e mulla hat was brought to use for in uest were ust people who were arrested with complainants against them

emulla added that the other who refused to file complaints is a mystery to me as to why they are also under hold departure order unless they are being held to account for other crimes e said he was willing to wait for a report from the Philippine ational Police since it was possible that some of the ictims were forced while some willingly

tion s role in the sale of the Philippine gas fields to a friend of odrigo uterte when the latter was president emedies for he ron s iolations emedies to the iolations include oid ing the transaction and returning share holders alues to the status uo preceding the transaction he ron should also be re uired to adhere to its obligations of offer ing the Philippine o ernment the right of first refusal according to the tripartite agree ment between he ron hell and the Phil ippine o ernment hould he ron be found guilty also of breach of contract and fair dealing as well as breach of fiduciary duties it will be held liable and accountable to their shareholders and the public for any damages arising out of these breaches he ilipino people are losing P mil lion pesos e ery day because of this disad an tageous deal that he ron and r y con ducted said ewis his goes beyond ust shareholders this affects the public too o put it simply we want he ron to return what rightfully belongs to the ilipino people odis pointed out that the misrepresenta tion is still ongoing as he ron continues to allow its reporting to stand without correction or clarification e hope that this will be in estigated at the least he said

Asian American and Pacific slander AAP political power across the country by pro id ing education on progressi e issues creating and ad ocating for policies that affect our com munities and building alliances with organi a tions to help AAP s e ert their power and be the margin of ictory at the local state and national le els

later increased with the passage of the mmigration and ationality Act of which abolished direct racial barriers and later by the Immigration and Nationality Act of which abolished the ation al rigins ormula

he deteriorating relationships be tween the and hina has led many politicians from both sides of the aisle to bash hina and by inference hinese and Asian Americans ne third of Asian Americans fear threats physical attacks and most say iolence against them is ris ing his is not the America that claims to be the citadel of democracy freedom liberty e uality ustice and opportunity they said

participated in the cryptocurrency scam f the less than were ilipinos with the rest coming from arious outheast Asian countries esides ilipinos onti eros said in yanmar formerly urma there were thousands of ictims com ing from such places as ndonesia ietnam ambodia and nations in Africa and outh Asia

t was minority enator isa onti eros who has been e posing the human trafficking that in ol es ili pino ictims As far back as late last year she had pre sented to the enate details of how scores possibly hun dreds of ilipinos had been recruited for alleged obs in such places as ingapore alaysia and ndonesia only to end up in yanmar

Philippine authorities from the epartment of i grant orkers and the epartment of oreign Affairs ha e been able to rescue a handful of ilipino workers there but they said there were still hundreds of ilipi nos still trapped in companies run by hinese nationals here they work as irtual sla es being forced to work for long hours but recei ing little to no pay if they fail to meet their assigned uotas

hey are also depri ed of food and in e treme cases sub ected to torture the rescued ilipinos said escuing the ictims was made difficult by the fact that yanmar is under a military dictatorship not too willing to assist foreign diplomats in rescuing their na tionals who ha e problems in that country

S. China... (From page 1)

Marcos said there is an urgent need to finali e the proposed code of conduct to ensure stability and peace in the outheast Asian region amid territorial con icts sparked by hina s e pansi e claims in the region including the continued swarming of hina war ships oast uard essels and militia ships some of which ha e encroached on the Phil ippine e clusi e economic one

hen we talk about the issues on the est Philippine ea the outh hina ea things won t calm down until we ha e a code of conduct arcos told reporters

he President said ha ing a bind ing will make things clearer and reduce the possibility of miscalcula tions hoping the regional bloc would be able to address the issues hindering the conclusion of negotiations which is a key element in the Association of outheast Asian ations A A centrality

He said he brought up the need for a new code at the th and st A A ummit in ambodia last year

arcos said he would urge his fellow outheast Asian leaders dur ing the nd A A ummit to find a way to push for the finali ation of ode of onduct in the outh

hina ea to ease tension in the contested waters

o yes will bring it up again be cause when we talk about when we talk about the issues on the est Phil ippine ea outh hina ea hindi magkakalma yan hanggang mayroon na tayong ode of onduct Presi dent arcos said

he Philippine a y meanwhile reported it has “increased the tempo of patrols in the est Philippine ea due to the presence of foreign essels in the area he a y is also finali ing details of oint patrols with the a y apan and possibly Australia and the nited ingdom

e ha e impro ed the fre uency of our patrols can t gi e you the e act figures but should say our opera tional commands ha e increased the tempo of patrols Philippine a y chief oribio Adaci said on the side lines of a aritime ecurity ympo sium

n a related de elopment epart ment of ational efense act ing chief arlito al e r said there is a need for the Philippines to sustain maritime security in the outheast Asian region to sustain the country s economic growth

nsuring maritime security in the region must not be iewed as our re sponsibility and contribution to the

ood s ficienc ital in attaining h man sec rit - arcos

A A he Association of outh east Asian ations A A could attain o erall human security once it succeeds in being food self sufficient President erdinand arcos r on ednesday said

Marcos issued the statement as he called on the A A member states to pursue inno ati e solutions to ensure food self sufficiency and food security in the region

uring his inter ention in the outh east Asian leaders nterface with the epresentati es of the A A usiness

Ad isory ouncil A A A A in ndonesia arcos urged the regional bloc to take ad antage of new technolo gies by using smart agriculture and food systems

As such the Philippines supports

A A s proposal on strengthening food security promoting sustainable produc tion enhancing information systems and identifying nutrition enhancing agricul ture mechanisms for sustainable A A food systems arcos said would like to reiterate the commit ment of the Philippine o ernment to work with the pri ate sector to ad ance

A A s goals and ob ecti es he add ed

This, as Marcos stressed that human security is at the heart of A A s eco nomic growth hard earned peace and stability in the region

uring the nd A A ummit Plenary ession arcos emphasi ed the

need to ensure that food and energy sys tems in the region are resilient amid the supply and price uctuations triggered by geopolitical instability and con ict pan demic climate change logistic chain dis ruptions and fuel shortages

arcos ensured that the Philippines is ramping up its efforts to attain food secu rity in the country by using new agricul tural technologies upgrading technical and ocational education and training and adopting climate and disaster re silient technologies nited together and stronger

arcos said A A must also keep pace with the rapid digital regional trans formation

n a region with citi ens who are enthusiastic adopters of digital solutions that are reshaping the way our countries do business we must capitali e on such assets as e commerce and digitali ation to ad ance the trade agenda enhance cross border trade and foster economic integration he said

arcos also echoed the A A A A s call for the regional bloc to take a leading role in shaping the regional and global economy by staying united together and stronger in determining its present and future economic agenda

e said the Philippines fully recog ni es the importance of pri ate sector in ol ement as the main engine of A A s economic acti ity especially in the delicate logistics chain of goods and ser ices across the region P A

larger international community e must iew it as a way to sustain our economic growth for the actual ben efit of our people al e said dur ing the aritime ecurity ympo sium hosted by the Philippine a y P at the rand yatt otel in aguig ity

n April a hina oast uard ship number allegedly blocked the path of P alapascua in waters around Ayungin hoal he Philippine oast uard reported that the foreign essel was yards from a deadly point of collision with the Philippine s much smaller ship

he P also said hinese maritime militia essels were detected near abina hoal he coast guard said it had dri en away other essels which appeared to be engaged in fishing acti ities from the territorial sea of Pag asa sland ome more s were also obser ed near ulian elipe eef the coast guard said

Asked about the challenges in coming up with a binding the President said what complicates things are the separate bilateral ne gotiations between A A member states and hina and these ha e to be resol ed

arcos acknowledged that the ne gotiations for the in the is

separate from the A A ummit

Ah no the ode of onduct the negotiation of the ode of onduct is separate from the A A ummits hey negotiate in another way o that s not something that we will be done here at this time hat we need to do is look kung wala pa ano ba talaga ang nagiging problema his is what we ha e to discuss amongst oursel es hat is the problem hat is the bottleneck here are we ha ing a hard time ow can we fi that problem he said hat s what these meetings should be for and think we ll get to that point because e erybody wants this to work e erybody wants to ha e a ode of onduct o what s getting in the way let s talk about it he added

uring the A A ummit last year President arcos r pushed for the early conclusion of a in the outh hina ea based on interna tional law which he said should be an e ample of how states manage their differences ou know iba ibang bansa yan eh and e eryone has a different agen da ut if we talk about it and with a common thought in mind think we will get there ut hope sooner rather than later because the tensions are increasing the President said

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EDITORIAL

Marcos finally admits that Duterte’s anti-drug war failed

It took a while for President erdinand arcos r to finally admit what the ma ority of not only the ilipino people but the world in general has known for years

he anti drug war of his predecessor odrigo uterte was a failure a compete and utter failure n arcos s own words abuses were committed by the uterte regime uch honesty regarding the many foul acts of the pre ious chief e ecuti e ha e been few and far between coming from the son and namesake of the late dictator erdinand arcos who knew a thing or two about leading an abusi e go ernment

ontinuing further this second President arcos said there were abuses by cer tain elements of the go ernment that has caused some concern in many uarters about the human rights situation in the Philippines

a ing said as much it certainly behoo es arcos to now do the right thing and this must necessarily include allowing the nternational riminal ourt to proceed with the in estigation of the thousands some say tens of thousands of mostly young ilipino men who were killed in the name of that drug war

n fact e ecution would be the proper word to describe the killings he o er whelming ma ority of those killed were not gi en the chance to surrender and they had been slain without so much as a warrant to make their false arrest ha e some semblance of legality

ragically e en women and minors were killed in the name of uterte s war on drugs

Allowing the to proceed with its in estigation is ust one matter here is still former senator eila de ima s case that must be dealt with he former ustice secretary has been depri ed of liberty for some si years now e en as most of the witnesses against her ha e already withdrawn their testimonies hey had publicly ad mitted that they had been forced threatened and coerced to gi e false witness against e ima

i years is too long a time to depri e a former senator of her liberty when most courts of law outside the Philippines would ha e released her or at least allowed her to post bail a long time ago

At this stage we are hoping that arcos did not admit that the uterte drug war was a failure only to appease officials and lawmakers nless arcos wants his own words to haunt him in the future he must take cor recti e action soonest

es this is easier said than done of course he second most powerful Philippine go ernment official only happens to be the daughter of odrigo uterte and it is uite clear that part of the deal that was brokered when arcos and ara uterte agreed to run together was that the former president must be protected at all cost his then is an issue that will test the mettle of erdinand arcos r t will be seen if he has the strength of character to do what must be done f not then his presidency will be doomed to failure

e can talk the talk but can he walk the walk are we e en belie e that arcos has what it takes to be a president who belie es in ustice for all

Hcome grew up hearing you re so different from your mom must ha e been the first time was compared to my mother the comment consistently following me through adulthood aturally d blurt out a ippant retort proud to ha e successful ly e tricated myself from my mother s shadow hat was not easy share her baptismal name with r attached to mine until grammar school when a busybody teacher shamed me into dropping it be cause only boys are called unior e followed her ournalism career which she had in common with my father notched some academic honors plus gold medals for declamation but ne er graduated aledictorian or summa cum laude as she distinguished herself in high school and college

As a child was her miniature grew up fitting her Pitoy ore nos but soon decided that recycled eans were more me tried on her pearls dabbed on her Pierre almain only to chuck those for beads bells carabao horn and patchouli oil nly once did my mother react to my taste

he wasn t amused that would proclaim myself a blabber mouth across my chest ut force me to toss the shirt an my chainsmoking friends alk me out of wearing blue at my wedding ot my om n the surface we were poles apart he refined and pious wild and irre erent identified with my ad the elo uent olatile and therefore this child of the then nascent omen s ib mo ement concluded the strong one

After years see the big picture tend to lecture about pri ilege and the responsibility that comes with it of taking pride in my race on standing against oppression hat s from my ad who was orphaned at consigned to ser itude by aunts and uncles who fought in orld ar and challenged the Philippine dictator till the end of his years

y mother had brighter beginnings A panish speaking classical pianist she is the eldest child of a doctor and a nurse oft spoken she e ades the spotlight and prefers playing support roles ducated in con ent schools before following her father to the ni ersity of anto omas where he was dean of the ollege of edicine she starts and ends her day with prayer some three hours worth in the morning and the rosary at lights out he will be in uly and has been silenced by a brain tumor but the sil er haired woman lying still in the hospital bed is the most courageous human being e e er known isitors cannot belie e her age mar eling at her smooth skin ust be the power of prayer her lifelong trust in the highest lo e her faith.

ruth is cannot remember e er hearing my mother e press fear or dread ea e it to the ord she often assures herself as that what she said when her father was captured for ha ing aided guerrilla fighters compelling her to find employment to help support the family id she say it when she arri ed from a press trip to find her mother had died while she was in ermany hen my ad recei ed death threats for e posing corrupt go ernment officials Perhaps when he was diagnosed with lung cancer f this m sure he uttered those words many times because of me And yet my mother always made me feel special lo ed ow many moms bothered getting an autographed picture of the eatles while the ab our were in anila r returned from a trip with the factory fresh oodstock soundtrack he conspired with my father to indulge my caprices he herself howe er was sel ess o this day ha e no recollection of my mother co eting anything other than the company of her belo ed grandchildren hile my father disciplined by military mode my(Continued on page 27)

Parenting isn’t easy

When a child turns out bad who s to blame any a time fingers are pointed at the parents who may or may not be partly to blame he ob of parenting admittedly is not easy especially in this day and age and in some countries where children can sue their parents for di orce and where spanking a child is con sidered a crime for one belie e in the dictum pare the rod and spoil the child but that s ust me also wish there were a school for parents but there isn t can understand now why modern couples are reluctant or do not want to ha e children esponsible parenthood re uires a great deal from parents food shelter clothing education discipline which entail additional e pense a limitation of their freedom of mobility and tremendous sacrifice

ood parenting means that parents should act as role mod els for their offspring which is sometimes difficult ow parents act whom they admire or dislike and what they think about the people and the world around them subconsciously in uence their children particularly at a young age hen parents curse or shout at each other bicker in front of their children or do physical harm to each other such acts remain in their children s minds fore er

Parents need to spend time with their offspring rue the fact that when eight children were growing up couldn t be with them as often as could due to my work

Parents should not fa or one child o er the others hile it is true that some children are more caring and thoughtful than their siblings parents must not show by word or deed that they ha e any preferences es indeed it is hard to be a parent he oy of bringing a new life into this world is incom parable t is a choice that for one will ne er regret

CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO

MANILA OFFICE: Le Marquis Townhomes, 51 P. Tuazon Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Tels. 8546.8426, 8451.1892, 8546.8421

R.M.Querol Sr. and Jr.

Open and free Indo-Pacific region

Over the past several weeks, Filipinos were bombarded with the phrase “open and free IndoPacific region as the nited States made a hard sell on its strategy to remain the dominant power in this part of the world.

IN THE TRENCHES

he Philippines willingly embraced the American IndoPacific strategy to push back on China’s growing sphere of in uence in this part of the world, as Manila showed too much concern over Beijing’s assertiveness in disputed areas in the South China Sea.

China’s gray-zone tactics have been escalating from shadowing Philippine navy and coast guard vessels to pointing military-grade lasers and nearly ramming a Coast Guard vessel, BRP Malapascua, twice smaller than the Chinese Coast Guard cutter.

hese incidents made headlines ashington readily e ploited them to demonstrate its willingness to show support to a weaker ally and former colony.

But no other Southeast Asian states attempted to weigh in on the issue: China’s bullying and US assurances.

It seems other Southeast Asian countries do not want to get involved in the increasingly big power rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

Since 1954, the United States has also had a treaty alliance with the ingdom of hailand

It also has strategic relations with Singapore where US planes and ships were allowed access. In return, Singapore multi role fighters were allowed to land and train in bases Washington has working relations with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, but testy relations with Myanmar and Cambodia.

he imposed sanctions on yanmar generals after a ebruary power grab and the ailing of former leader Daw Aung Suu Kyi and her NLD partymaters.

he has strongly opposed ambodia s decision to al low China to use a seaport as its potential naval base, strengthening its power projection in the region.

ndonesia chair of the nation Association of outh east Asian Nations (Asean), has been delicately balancing the bloc’s relations with the world’s two largest economies and military powers.

hen ashington un eiled its ndo Pacific strategy at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore a few years back, Jakarta came out with its own document to keep neutrality.

Asean wanted to keep its centrality, staying in the driver’s seat to set the direction of the bloc and avoiding choosing sides between the US and China.

Next week, Southeast Asian leaders will gather in the Indonesian capital for a leaders summit the first for the year under Jakarta’s leadership.

he and hina will not be in the meeting but their voices will surely be heard as they will be lobbying strongly for their interests.

China will prevent the US from dominating the summit’s agenda, accusing Washington of provocation to escalate tensions around the aiwan traits and outh hina ea

On the other hand, the US will have its plate full in rallying support to its defense of kraine aiwan and coastal states in South China Sea.

Washington will paint Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as the bad guys. Russia and China will do the same on the Americans.

Asean cannot simply focus on intra-Asean political, security and economic affairs he big power ri alry will always come up in the meetings.

he free and open ndo Pacific region phrase will cer tainly be discussed. Asean should avoid using the American phrase because it has to stick to its own security architecture.

Asean has a leading role in preserving peace and stability in the region. It has to keep its centrality, cohesion, and unity in diversity.

Asean should reject attempts by the US to hijack its agenda to counter China and other countries opposed to the West.

Coming from a series of bilateral meetings in Washington — the 2+2 ministerial meeting and the Biden-Marcos oneon-one discussion, the Philippines

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A Tribute To My Mother This Mother’s Day

By Dan E. Nino

In my book, mothers are the great heroes of humankind. We are nothing without mothers who bear their children as potential hopes of every nation and as future heroes for their heroic deeds.

Mothers carry their child for nine months in their wombs. And when they finally gi e birth they suffer labor pains and risk their lives for us – their children. And when for extreme medical reasons they miscarry their unborn child they suffer mental anguish for that loss. Such is the agony of mothers. And during our formative years, our mothers nurture us relentlessly until we can stand on our own.

I’m reminded of our Lord Jesus when he saw His Mother Mary near the cross said, “Woman behold your son!” In turn, he said to his disciple, “Behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her into his care. (John 19:25-29. I can just imagine how Mother Mary had agonized when she witnessed the suffering of her own son during is crucifi ion and death.

Since we are celebrating Mother’s Day on May 14, I pay tribute to my own mother, Silvina Ramos Estabillo-Nino whose unconditional lo e and sacrifices for her children knows no bound. My mother, a daughter of a Landlord from Mangatarem, Pangasinan was the second child in a brood of eight orn on eb she was the first sibling to grad uate from college at Dagupan Junior College, now University of Pangasinan. From stories I hear from the elders, her paternal granda did not really push his grandkids to be college educated because they have large farmlands anyway to be cultivated to get their rice and produce. Still, my mother and her fi e siblings attended college wo were not interested to pursue college education because of that idea that they won’t get hungry after all because of the land they till.

Spanish colonizers did not encourage education in the 19th century because of fear of turning the subjugated population rise up against Spain if they are well-enlightened. t was only the turn of the century when American homa site teachers inculcated the value of education to their new subjects.

My mother met my father when she was in high school in ingayen Pro incial igh chool hat was the only high school then in those years in our pro ince hey both pur sued their education through college and became professionals: my mom became an elementary teacher and dad a trial lawyer, politician and eventually a Chief Prosecutor of the ureau of nternal e enue at the ational ffice in Quezon City.

Mothers are paramount to our well-being while fathers have other pivotal roles. Let me count the ways: My mother’s presence when I was in distress was magical hen had my first dental e traction in my boyhood held her hand while my tooth was being extracted. She was there all throughout the ordeal. I survived the pain and agony with her comforting and reassuring presence. Second, when suffered rticaria with se ere stomach pain accompanied by skin rash and welts due to allergic reaction during my elementary days, I asked somebody in the household to summon my mother from the school she was teaching nearby that I was in pain. She immediately rushed home. Her presence, comforting words and empathy were therapeutic. Miraculously the pain disappeared hird when was picked up by a squad of military men from Military Intelligence Security Group (MISG) headed by new PMA graduate Lt. Arturo Lomibao who became general and PNP chief -- from our Quezon City home at 2 a.m. My beloved mother held my hand tightly before I was escorted to the military jeep in the dead of the night he ne t morning she went to uiapo hurch ac companied by my kid brother Ramon and kneeled her way to the altar to pray for my release from custody in Camp Crame. I was brought to a safehouse blindfolded somewhere in the East, most likely Mandaluyong, Pasig or Marikina where I was physically and mentally tortured while my hands were handcuffed and tied to a chair for hours hey tried to feed me but did not have the appetite due to so much body pain, stress and agony.

I believe, my mom’s fervent prayers saved me. Because at 8 p.m. I was released and survived the torture and drove me back to our home. For four months, my lungs were in pain and had a hard time breathing. She also accompanied me to Camp Crame once a week to report. After one month I stopped reporting.

My dear mother never scold-

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Deed of extra-judicial settlement of estate with waiver of rights

Last month,I received calls and text from my cousins Samson and Sonny residing in Stockton, California and Woodside, New York respectively, asking if I’m still accredited and commissioned Notary Public in California.

answered hey also asked if I can notarize and follow-up the apostille of the

Health & Wealth

A A A co ering the prop erties of their late father located in Alcala, Pangasinan and Binalonan, Pangasinan. I told them that our Mobile Signing Services (MSS) will take care everything for them.

In succeeding text, my cousin Sonny from Woodside, New York arranged and organized the signing of the DEED A A A A by his elderly mother and his siblings last aturday ay pm at the home of his brother Ross in San Jose, California.

Sonny informed me that their lawyer (who prepared the documents) needs three copies of the notarized and apostilled A A A A o ha e their own copies instructed onny to prepare copies of the documents copies of the A A of their father and copies of their s and be ready during the signing and notarization of the documents.

As accredited and commissioned Notary Public and founder of Mobile Signing, I personally commend my cousin Sonny for arranging, coordinating and scheduling the signing of documents in one time and one place in San Jose, California, by his elderly mother and siblings coming from Stockton, Lodi, Milpitas and San Jose, California. Sonny and his wife dith ew from ew ork to an ose alifornia for the sign ing of the documents.

Driving from San Francisco, California, my beloved wife Virginia Jimenez Madlaing and I arrived at the home of Ross in an ose alifornia before pm last aturday ay which was ery memorable because it was one day af ter our 49th Wedding Anniversary last May 5 (CINCO DE A

After some preliminaries, I had their elderly mother and all the siblings signed the copies of the A A A prepared by their lawyer in the Philippines. I also had them signed my Journal of Notarial Acts and put their right thumb marks.

After notari ation of the signed A A A A A submitted three sets of copies of the documents to the Secretary of State, Notary Public Section in Sacramento, California for apostille. Sonny, his siblings and his elderly mother were happy for the prompt, complete and unique serices we rendered ere are some ad antages and benefits from MSS:

SAVINGS ON GAS AND MILEAGE FEES – Instead of visiting the siblings one by one, it was a smart move by Sonny to arrange and coordinate for the signing of the documents in one place and time in the home of his brother Ross in San Jose, California. As a result, Sonny and his siblings saved on gas and mileage fees

A A ike our old and new clients onny and his siblings don t need to take off from work and drive to Sacramento just to submit and follow up on the apostille of the notari ed documents hrough our uni ue and complete services, MSS will take everything for you. P A P A ith multiple documents and multiple signatures onny and his sibling recei ed dis counts.

APP ith our ery e ible appointments onny was able to arrange and coor dinate for the signing of the documents for his elderly mother and siblings last aturday pm ay

A or those who can t come to our home office in an rancisco alifornia we can meet in your home like what onny and his siblings did ffice schools restaurants hospitals lobby of Post ffice A lobby and other locations.

ART GABOT MADLAING

MANNY MOGATO

Reviving a bad idea

Just when we thought that one of the worst ideas of the current administration had been abandoned for good.

erdinand arcos r fi nally admitted this week what many had suspected all along. He is 100 percent behind the bill creating the so called Maharlika Wealth Fund, or whatever it is they’re calling it now.

For a while, the idea seemed to have died a natural death. A number of senators had, after all, said that they were not fully supportive of the plan Among other arguments the anti aharlika senators said the time was not right, and besides why the apparent rush to create yet another fund?

There was a popular uproar over the initial bill coming from the House. The initial funding would have come from go ernment controlled corporations along with the angko entral hen there was the idiotic proposal to ha e the presi dent of the Philippines not only sit on the board, but to head it.

It was not meant to mean the current president, but every future president, the proponents said.

Such bull.

The Maharlika plan was, from the very beginning, fully supported by the current president whose knowledge in eco nomic and financial matters is as close to ero as can be imag ined.

act is the ery name of the fund aharlika has al ways been identified with the president s father and namesake the late dictator who even wanted to rename the Republic of the Philippines to Maharlika Republic.

The elder Marcos supposedly led a guerilla group named Maharlika during World War ll. It was his source of some of his fake medals, but he created his own legend through the use of fake news even back then.

The incumbent president has said that he ran to clear the Marcos name. So this is one way of doing it, by creating a sovereign fund when experts have stated that the Philippines simply does not ha e the funds nor the steady earnings to cre ate such a fund.

To make a long story short, proponents – including a few still respected lawmakers who should know better want to take funds from arious go ernment owned and controlled corporations to create the fund.

This itself makes little sense. Why get funds from, say, the ocial ecurity ystem or the Pag und for e ample when those organi ations are already self sufficient and oper ating profitably sans too much go ernment interference

It has also been pointed out that other countries with their own sovereign funds are so much bigger than the Philippines, which remains a developing country. Or Third World, if you will.

Only developed nations can properly handle sovereign funds. And even then, there’s no way of guaranteeing that it cannot fail.

There’s another reason why the foolhardy Maharlika fund cannot work aside from the fact that the country is not exactly swimming in excess cash.

or the fund to succeed it will re uire the best and bright est economic minds to handle it without go ernment interfer ence.

his will not be the case A lot of the members of the pro posed board to handle the fund are from the go ernment sec tor, or will be government appointees from the private sector. Another name for them is cronies.

The president of the Philippines may no longer be included as board member, but the Finance secretary will be there. o be perfectly honest the country s current inance sec retary is not exactly a paragon of competence and/or honesty. uffice it to say that in my book he cares more for himself and his bank account than the country he is supposed to serve.

am not singling him out either oo many abinet secre taries of the present and past regime were most unimpressive. They were bureaucrats, at best, and incompetent crooks, at worst, which is why the Philippine economy has never really taken off

It did in the Ramos and Aquino administrations, but both are long past.

Allow me to simplify the

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Poetry for all seasons Honor thy mother…let’s rememer e e acrificed for

“Poetry is the art of understanding what it is to be alive.”

-Archibald MacLeish

“”Poetry is the record of the best and happiest, moments of the happiest and best minds.”

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

There is an element of magic when you are home the first house you built with your beloved wife. There are enchanting memories that fill your mind and overpower your heart. Cascading reminiscences run like the crystal waters of the inangasan i er always re minding you of the past gone by. Ah, but it was only like yesterday when my wife and I were playing with our kids when they were just toddlers – Eileen, Happy and Erwin as Mark came thirty years later. And oh, how they have all grown with the years.

And as I walk into my garden seeing the pile of sand, a reminder of unfinished work and the lone orchid which sur i ed the rest after years of neglect ha e defied time and circumstances still with white ower and smelling sweet onders of creation o remember the poems memo ri ed a long time ago when as a line of a song goes my heart was young and gay es remember illiam lake writing in Auguries of nnocence o see the world in a grain of sand and a hea en in a wild ower old infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour it it is an hour that lasts fore er ndeed see ea en in the owers of the orchids who were cared for my wife and my mother with so much devotion as if they were rearing their own children. What could be more Heaven than that?

Rustling of the leaves: As I hear the rustle of the leaves of the trees in my garden and seeing them lively dancing to the soft gentle touch of the bree e oyce ilmer s rees reminds me that think that shall ne er see A poem as lo ely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet owing breast A tree that looks at od all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray, A tree that in the summer wear A nest of robins in her hair, Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me ut only od can make a tree oyce ilmer has written the indisputable and every time I see trees, I remember Joyce ilmer reminding me how futile is the challenge of the seem ingly powerful to the power of od a le the mind he wonders of creation da le the mind of the genius or the fool he geniuses who wrote po ems illiam hakespeare to alph aldo merson u dyard ipling to liot Pablo eruda to cta io Pa abriela istral to oni orison athew Arnold to homas ray Percy ysshe helly to illiam lake to Archibald ac eish Ale ander Pushkin to u sun ahlil ibran to enry adsworth ongfellow obert rowning to li a beth arrett rowning hristina ossetti to illiam rnest enley obert rost to dward it gerald obert urns to illiam ullen ryant omer to iguel de er antes ord yron to eoffrey haucer ohn onne to amuel llman ante Alighiere to eorge antayana illiam utler eats to alt hitman hristopher arlow to en ohnson il liam ordsworth to ohn reenleaf hittier scar de u ñiga to Rolando and many other poets whose names escape me for the moment. right and eautiful As continue to be ama ed by the wonders of creation, I get to remember a poem – All Things right and eautiful which chanced to memori e when was in grade school in my home town, Catarman , Misamis Oriental, now of that fabled island of Camiguin. It was one of my favorite poems, written by Cecil Frances Alexander, when I was young as it is supposedly for children, in the line of rank inatra from one to ninety one And so it goes All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful he ord od made them all ach little ower that opens ach little bird that sings e made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings. The purple headed mountain he ri er running by he morning and the sunset, That lighteth up the

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Mother s ay is a cel ebration honoring the mother of the family as well as mother hood, maternal bonds, and the in uence of the mothers in society. They deserve the best accolade in our society.

In the ancient times, there was a divine commandment saying onor thy father and thy mother”. It is one of the Ten Commandments in the ebrew ible he com mandment is generally re garded in Protestant and ewish sources as the fifth in both the list in Exodus 20:1–21, and in Deuteronomy (Dvarim) 5:1–23. Catholics count this as the fourth.

At that time, these commandments were enforced as law in many jurisdictions, and are still considered enforceable law by some odus describes the en ommand ments as being spoken by od inscribed on two stone tab lets by the finger of od broken by oses and rewritten on replacement stones by the Lord.

I will not delve on divine fatherhood or parenthood but motherhood in layman’s term because the month of May is the month associated with Mother’s Day!

Well, Mother’s Day was a holiday in ancient times but not in modern times. It is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of May. It is a day that commemorates motherhood and appreciates all mothers and mother figures including grandmothers great grandmothers stepmothers and foster mothers) as well as their contribution to society.

If my recollection is correct, the history of Mother’s Day dates back to the 19th century, when women’s peace groups in United States of America often tried to establish holidays and regular activities in favor of peace and against war. A common regular acti ity was the meeting of groups of moth ers whose sons had fought or died in the American Civil War.

In its present form, Mother’s Day was initiated by Anna Jarvis with the help of John Wanamaker following the death of her mother on ay he official ser ice was on May 10, 1908, and the next year the day was reported to be widely celebrated in ew ork

Jarvis then campaigned to establish Mother’s Day as a nited tates national holiday and then later as an interna tional holiday he holiday was declared officially by the state of est irginia in and the rest of the states fol lowed quickly.

To celebrate, children sent cards or gifts to their mother or mother figure or make a special effort to isit her as part of Mother’s Day traditions. They took their mothers out for a festive lunch or dinner to show their gratitude and respect. ome children e en went all the way to cook for their moth ers large and elaborate dinners, thus giving their mothers a break from preparing food for the family.

he official ower presented to mothers on other s ay is the red carnation, but it is also acceptable for a person to gi e ust about any kind of ower ther common other s Day gifts are chocolate, clothing, jewelries or treats such as a beauty treatment or trip to a spa or to the beach.

I won’t forget how my children treated their mom (my wife Delia) on Mother’s Day (happens to be her birthday on May 10), in 2016 by surprising her with a weekend escapade to Seattle, Washington.

n that day we celebrated her hard work and sacrifices in raising the six children and acknowledged the impact of her in uence in the family and society he raised the kids according to accepted norms which shaped them to become good citi ens and contributing members of our society

Actually, this week’s column is dedicated to all mothers, grandmothers and mother figures in the whole world espe cially to the three mothers in my life: my mom Leonor, my wife s mom ofia and my wife elia

My late mom (Leonor Reasonda Estioko) was a super mom he was a model of sacrifices and a symbol of uncon ditional love. Together with my dad, they ably raised their 13 children (10 boys, 3 girls) to be all professionals and good citi ens am the th of children

y wife s late mom ofia entura was likewise a great mom to her children girls boys he sacrificed a lot to provide food on the table, woke up late evenings and early dawns to change their diapers, and (Continue on page 27)

BETING DOLOR ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO

HOMOBONO A. ADAZA

Diliman Way

IMMIGRATIONS

Denied Adjustment of Status may be appealed

Is your marriage case denied for inconsistencies during the inter iew no sufficient documents submitted or some other reasons? Do not lose hope. There are many ways you can convince the government that you deserve approval. If the reason for denial is inconsistencies during the inter iew you can submit proof that the responses are consistent with respect to your case. This is called reconciliation of responses f your case is denied because of lack of sufficient e idence you can submit affida its proving that your marriage is in good faith. If your case is denied because the go ernment has been ery unfair dur ing the interview such as using threats of imprisonment or some coercive tactics during the interview, you need to seek a help from an immigration attorney to represent you on this matter because a simple mistake in analysis could be fatal n legal language you need to appeal on due process ground. Due process requires voluntariness in giving information of the part of the alien and the government adhering to the fair and just process in seeking responses. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants aliens the right to due process. enerally mmigration proceedings although not sub ect to the full range of consti tutional protections, must conform to the Fifth Amendment’s requirement of due process.” Salgado-Diaz v. Gonzales, 395 F.3d 1158, 1162 (9th Cir. 2005) (as amended); “A full and fair hearing is one of the due process rights afforded to aliens in deportation proceedings A court will grant a petition on due process grounds only if the proceeding was so fundamentally unfair that the alien was pre ented from reasonably presenting his case Gutierrez v. Holder, 662 F.3d 1083, 1091 (9th Cir. 2011).

The court reviews de novo claims of due process violations. Grigoryan, 959 F.3d at iu older d th ir as amended barra lores on ales d th ir he A s decision will be re ersed on due process grounds if (1) the proceeding was so fundamentally unfair that the alien was pre ented from reasonably presenting his case and the alien demonstrates pre udice which means that the outcome of the proceeding may ha e been affected by the alleged iolation barra lores d at

or those of you who recei ed a denial because your rights are iolated 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 ha e immigration problems the aw ffices of rispin o ano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and family separation.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

P A A

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Applicants Inside or outside the United States may qualify.

Bankruptcy Basics

We also process Bankruptcy cases. ankruptcy will actually impro e your credit within one year because your unse cured debts are discharged Although the bankruptcy will be in your records for years not filing bankruptcy will make your credit e en worse until most your debts are paid f you are being sued by your creditors most money udgment can be eliminated in bankruptcy

ollection actions continue and you can be sued if you are in debt settlement hapter will eliminate all unsecured debts f you are near retirement age you must eliminate most of your debts

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e can help you if you need an ndi idual a payer number e also pre pare income ta returns and if you are under audit and need a representation with need to reduce your ta liability or need to offer a payment plan to we can help you with that.

For the month of April, 2023, we received approval from USCIS for four naturalization applications, one Fiancée visa petition, two removals of condition on residence and fi e ad ustment of status applications

f you ha e immigration problems the aw ffices of rispin o ano can help you find a solution before your problem gets worse which could lead to deportation and fam ily separation.

hris aday o ano s is an acti e member of the tate ar of alifornia the American Immigration Lawyers Association and San Francisco Trial Lawyers. He has practiced immigration law bankruptcy personal in ury and income ta representation since une is contact phone is email info law net eb site www crispinlo anolaw com with offices in ayward and erritos A

400+ entrepreneurs and small business owners will gather to understand opportuni�es within the CHIPs and Science Act, staying compe��ve in a digital world, and accessing capital

A ay

— The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency

A is celebrating Asian American ati e awaiian and Pacific slander AA P eritage onth by hosting the National AANHPI Business Summit on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, from 9:00am to 1:00pm ET in Washington D.C. uring this business summit A and the ational Asian Pacific slander Amer ican hamber of ommerce and ntre preneurship (National ACE) will sign a memorandum of understanding focused on e panding opportunities to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific slander minority businesses his business summit will commemo rate the contributions and achie ements of the AA P business community and its entrepreneurs. The summit will also feature elected officials dignitaries and corporate partners, to discuss access to capital, access to technology, and opportunities within the CHIPS Science Act. In addition, the US Department of ommerce will be honoring ormer ec retary Norman Y. Mineta with a special announcement.

Asian American Pacific slander and ati e awaiian owned businesses are essential to the fabric of our commu nities and our Nation’s economy,” said onald ra ins r nder ecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. “This Business Summit gi es our AA P businesses the op portunity to meet with MBDA, our Administration partners, and private sector allies to discuss what matters most: their businesses and communities he Department of Commerce is making historic investments in our Nation’s

small mid si e and minority businesses through initiatives like the CHIPS for America Program and the apital eadi ness Program. MBDA will make sure our AA P owned businesses ha e what they need to secure these once-ina-generation opportunities.”

Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority usiness e elopment onald Cravins Jr. and the newly appointed Deputy Under Secretary Jessica G. Cavazos will host the event.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves, Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American Pacific slander i aison Erika Moritsugu, State Department pecial epresentati e for ommercial and usiness Affairs ilawar yed hil ing ong President & of ational ACE, and Ying McGuire, President and of the ational inority upplier Development Council, Inc. (NMSDC) will also attend.

To register and attend the 2023 National AANHPI Business Summit, please isit www mbda go he deadline for registration is May 10, 2023 at 11:59 P.M EST.

About the inority usiness e el opment Agency (MBDA)

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competi ti eness of minority business enter prises (MBEs). For more than 50 years, A s programs and ser ices ha e bet ter e uipped s to create obs build scale and capacity, increase revenues, and e pand regionally nationally and inter nationally.

GCash down, assures customers funds ‘safe, secure’

A A igital payment app

GCash assured its customers that funds are “safe and secure” following a temporary downtime.

In a statement, GCash said any deduction from accounts will be ad usted before 3 p.m.

e e tended our scheduled mainte nance to investigate and determined that no hacking occurred ash officials said in a statement . “We wish to further assure customers that their funds remain safe and secure. We would also like to remind customers ne er to share their P one time password and P mobile personal identification number

P is automatically generated and sent to the account holder’s registered mobile number while P is the numeric password to access the account from the app.

Some GCash users posted on social media about difficulty accessing the app or

deduction from their account.

GCash, which has over 79 million registered users is a wholly owned subsidiary of ynt a partnership among lobe elecom

The Minority Business Development Agency hosts 2023 National AANHPI Business Summit at U.S. Department of Commerce

Fil-Am Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel arrives, sizzles in Manila

By Claire Morales True and Jennifer T. Santos

A A he first ilipino American to reign as iss ni erse onney abriel is in anila and immediately si led in a warm welcome by supporters in cluding her ilipino father emigio abriel and rish American mother who ew in earlier from e as abriel who is proud of her ili pino heritage ew in to oin the iss ni erse Philippines coronation night on ay at the all of Asia Arena in Pasay ity

he year old beauty ueen will also grace the iss ni erse Philip pines gala night at the kada anila e watched it for pre ious years and it was so inspiring abriel was uoted by A saying to the members of the media who were among her welcomers t s such a big production and so to actually go to the pageant is a dream come true

And m e cited because my

family s here as well she added o to be able to spend a little bit of time with them is going to be nice abriel has always been ocal about her lo e for the Philippines which she has isited many times when she was young iss abriel was actually origi nally scheduled to isit anila last ecember but the trip was re sched uled iss ni erse Philippines orga ni ers led by hamcey upsup said the ilAm beauty ueen will be spe cial guest of the e ent to be hosted by Alden ichards and ian im oining im and ichards as backstage hosts will be iss lobe aureen ontagne and e ents organi er im ap iss ni erse o ibini un i will also be a special guest in the pageant of the Philippine franchise

ilipino American American dol runner up essica anche will be a guest performer along with

outh orean singer am oo yun during the coronation night

abriel is a proud half ilipino whose father emigio on on on abriel immigrated to ash ington state at the age of and went on to earn his doctorate degree in psychology at the ni ersity of outhern alifornia

n pre ious inter iews the e as nati e shared she feels a big respon sibility to share her multicultural background and empower others to embrace their identities As a oice for Asian Americans she opens the door for more di ersity and represen tation in society

Aside from abriel hai busi nesswoman and iss ni erse rga ni ation owner Anne akra utatip will also be in attendance

abriel whose father is a ilipino from arlac had said in an earlier inter iew that she can t wait to meet her ilipino fans

Actually she admitted that she has been in the Philippines at least fi e or si times while still young grew up going to the Philip pines ust as a child and ust going on a acation there and to actually be somewhat an inspiration to the people in the Philippines now is ama ing the ilipino American beauty ueen said in ouston e as

Actually will be isiting the Philippines soon in ay she said e re gonna ha e a huge e ent there as iss ni erse so m really e cited or all the ilipinos tuning

in cannot wait to meet you was able to go growing up e ery couple of years for summer time she told elson anlas in an other inter iew m good to go back would lo e to go back m hoping we can make it happen this year she said abriel also told elson anlas she lo es ensaymada

lo e to introduce people to ma mon or ensaymada and m actually eating a lot of ensaymada ate se en on aturday she said with a laugh abriel was born in e as to a ilipino father and an American mother

he was the th iss ni erse winner from the nited tates and was also the first ilipino American to win the iss A title

uring the iss ni erse pageant held an in ew rleans in the state of ouisiana abriel had ilipi no designers Patrick sorena and ian ernande make her national costume and e ening gowns respecti ely

n another early inter iew abriel disclosed that while she grew up in the her heart has always been ilipino a trait instilled in her by her doctor father emigio on on on abriel whose name she inherited as well

A fashion designer by profession abriel is the first ilipino American to be crowned iss ni erse and iss A he still holds the record with uninterrupted place ments from to

LA County Board of Supervisors okays $609.7 M to address domelessness

LOS ANGELES - Four weeks after declaring a local emergency on homelessness, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $609.7 million budget for the os Angeles ounty omeless nitiati e for fiscal year 2023-24, the largest investment in any given year to date to prevent and address homelessness.

The board said the budget will help fund a heightened focus on three key missions for the County in collaboration with cities and other local partners:

Reducing encampments to bring unsheltered people indoors

Increasing interim and permanent housing placements

Ramping up mental health and substance use disorder services for people experiencing homelessness

In addition to the $609.7 million budget funded by 2023-24 Measure H and state Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grants, the Board simultaneously approved an additional $76.9 million to expand housing and services that the County provides in collaboration with local cities, as well as for innovative new programs.

The $609.7 million represents an additional $61.8 million over last year’s allocation of $547.8 million, an increase of 11%. It includes funding for:

Wraparound supportive services for 22,130 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, expanding the total inventory by 4,630 units, the County’s largest ever yearover-year increase. PSH serves people who have the most

complex needs, including chronic medical and/or behavioral health conditions.

More than $60 million in time-limited rental subsidies to quickly house people who have recently become homeless and offer them ser ices until they can gradually take on the rent themselves.

5,029 interim housing beds to bring people indoors from encampments as quickly as possible. This is in addition to about 20,000 beds funded by LAHSA, local jurisdictions, and other County programs overseen by the Departments of Health Services, Mental Health, and Public Health, among others.

Increased homelessness prevention measures, including a ten-fold increase in funding for “problem solving,” which helps people identify viable temporary or permanent housing and other resources.

A 40% increase in funding for programs to help people gain stability as they secure housing. These can include ser ices to help them secure benefits they re eligible for as well as employment and income support.

The plan to reduce homelessness also relies on deepening collaboration with local jurisdictions, including the County’s 88 cities and local Councils of Governments (COGs). This budget includes $25.5 million to work with local jurisdictions to resolve encampments and co-invest in housing.

In addition to the FY 2023-24 budget of $609.7 million, the Board also approved $76.9 million to fund:

Mortgage Payment Assistance

Easy or quick cash loan solution is a basic form of loan, but there are still things you should know before you start taking on this type of loan when you need it in the future.

Most of us have experienced financial hardship at one point in our lives. It could be medical emergencies, family expenses, and bills to pay. And using cash to overcome the above cases has become a problem specially if you don’t have enough credit limit to use to available credit card. Lucky are those who have family and friends they can run to in case they need to borrow more money. However, it doesn’t always happen and the people we usually go to can’t offer cash either.

You may be thinking of getting an easy payment solution, which fortunately is always available. But before you decide to take out a quick cash loan, make sure you understand what it means and what its limitations are and if its worth the cost of the money you are borrowing.

If you are on a tight budget and need cash urgently, many options can help you uickly sol e your financial problems elow we’ve covered the pros and cons of an instant cash solution - factors that you need to consider before making your decision.

Advantages of quick cash loan solution

Easy application.

any lenders offer instant cash ad ance solutions a ailable hours a day, seven days a week and even have online apps for Android or iOS. Signing up is easy and approval is instant, making this type of loan attractive to those in dire need of cash.

Almost No conditions.

One of the reasons why instant cash solutions are such an easy option for an individual in need of instant cash is because it requires fewer requirements.

Unlike traditional loans, they require a lot of requirements to verify your ability to repay the loan. you only usually need the following:

Between 18 and 53 years old (female), or 58 years old (male)

Just ID card

Signed a labor contract with the enterprise worked for 6 months

Sometimes they will need a collateral of some sort

No credit check required.

Another good thing with the quick cash loan solution is that if you have a bad credit history or have a low credit score, you can still get a loan. For instant cash solutions, no credit check is reuired n addition there are already many online lenders that offer quick solutions for bad credit.

But be wary of this, you can get cash fast, but with high interest rates and big penalties if you miss any agreed repayment period. hat is the most significant drawback of fast cash ad ance and is sometimes the reason why many individuals accept criminal offenses in order to pay their debts.

Disadvantages of quick cash loan solution

If there are advantages, there are also disadvantages to payday loans and here are some of them:

Very High interest rate.

If you’ve tried taking out a personal loan or using your credit card, you probably know that the interest rates between the two compared to a quick cash loan solution are huge. Technically, payday loans are expensive, which is why some borrowers get stuck in a debt cycle because they can’t repay the total amount on schedule.

Time constraints.

Besides the high interest rates of payday loans, time constraints also become an issue ome financial institutions offer repayment periods of up to 12 months, but often, fast payment solutions are paid off immediately which makes it difficult for some borrowers There are monthly expenses and budgeting that need to take place, and repaying the loan in full can be ery difficult

Final conclusion

Easy cash loan solution is a form of quick loan; You will have the money you want without any hassle. However, it has some drawbacks that require you to be cautious. You can always take out a payday loan, but make sure you only use it for essentials and not for luxuries. In addition, you have used all possible resources to borrow money. That way, you know that payday loans are the only option left for you.

Thanks for your inquiries, please call Ken Go of 1st Innovative inance roup for your financing needs all en or write to kennethgo@verizon.net

CABRE 01021223 NMLS

Yulo, Obiena, other athletes deliver more SEAG gold medals medals

P P wo time world cham pion Carlos Yulo led the Philippines to three more gold medals in artistic gymnastics on ay in the nd outheast Asian ames at the National Olympic Stadium here.

ulo made up for his sil er medal finish in the rings by topping the parallel bars with a score of ahead of ietnamese Phuong hanh inh and alaysian g hun hen to become the first ilipino double gold medalist.

e won the men s indi idual all around gold on Monday.

Yulo admitted he was challenged by his teammates’ early victories in the other apparatuses.

hen an ru and iguel esana won gold medals, I really tried hard to win a gold so we can take home three,” said Yulo, who scored in the rings

Cruz, a second cousin of Yulo, topped the oor e ercise with points while e sana dominated the ault with points

The national artistic gymnastics team ended its campaign with four gold and two silver medals, the other silver coming from the men’s team event also on Monday.

Olympian Ernest Obiena also won a gold, repeating his haul in the last ASEAN Games.

Meanwhile, Fernando Casares defended the men’s title after Kim Mangrobang failed in her bid for a fourth straight women’s individual gold medal in the triathlon event at the nd outheast Asian ames here on on day.

Casares clocked 58 minutes and 33.5 seconds to clinch the gold medal, defeating Indonesia s ashif a in in the m swim km bike km run contest at ep each esort

Andrew im emolino finished third in for the bron e the ebuano s sec ond medal following a sil er finish in men s aquathlon on Saturday.

Mangrobang, who topped women’s duathlon on unday clocked to finish second behind Cambodian naturalized entry argot arabedian

Garabedian is a former French triathlete ranked th in the world

Singapore’s Louisa Marie Middleditch reached the podium in third

The Philippines bagged three out of the

possible se en gold medals in a uathlon duathlon and triathlon and a pair of sil vers from Remolino in men’s aquathlon and Mangrobang.

Four bronzes in pencak silat

Four Filipino pencak silat aces settled for bron e medals after losing their semifinal matches in the tanding competitions.

Angelone Abardo Virina, competing in the female lass A di ision k to kg absorbed a loss to ndonesia s adhrah inte ahrin and bowed out of the gold medal match.

odgielyn Parado suffered the same fate in lass kg at the hands of hi am hi of guyen of ietnam

It was a similar scenario in the male division for regmart enite lass and an hristopher alo lass or kgs Thailand’s Phiraphon Mittasan shut the door on enite while ndonesian ito endra urnia sent off alo

The four joined the silver-winning men’s artistic ganda double tandem of Alfau and Almohaidib Abad and the third-placed women’s artistic regu team of Franchette Elman, Sharia

Jizmundo and Jessapituan dela Cruz in Team Pencak Silat’s honor roll.

our more tanding fighters are seeing ac tion in the semifinals in Angel Ann ingh emale lass ines umaan ale lass

A enmark Abduradad ale lass and oash antoria ale lass

hey shoot for a finals seat against ndo nesia’s Atifa Fismawati, Vietnam’s Van Thong ui and uy uyen guyen respecti ely

Elusive gold

Woman International Master Shania Mae Mendoza delivered the Philippines’ fourth chess medal, a silver, following a secondgame setback to oan hi ong hung of Vietnam in the chess competition.

he two split the point in the first game before oan secured the win and the gold in the women s singles minute e ent

It was the Philippine team’s third medal in the ouk chaktrang event following the bronze of Venice Vicente in the men’s side and the silver of Mendoza and Woman Grandmaster anelle ae rayna in the double minute play.

The fourth medal is a bronze from the

men s uadruple minute courtesy of randmasters oey Antonio and arwin alylo and nternational asters Paulo ers amina and Jan Emmanuel Garcia.

The Philippines shoots for the elusive gold on hursday as ackson ong and Angelo Young plunge into action in the men’s singles and arie Antoinette an i ego begins her campaign in the women s fi e round singles.

Young and Jackson return to the chess hall in the rapid team event on May 14, to be followed by ersamina and arcia in the blit team on May 15.

In golf, Paolo Wong failed to recover from a frontside struggle and faltered with a 75, tumbling from joint third to a share of 19th in men’s play, while the ladies tandem of Lois Kaye Go and Rianne Malixi stayed too far behind despite a pair of 68s in the second round.

Although nri ue imayuga bounced back strong from an opening 73 with a nearimpeccable 68 in hot conditions, the new national team member remained seven strokes adrift of a steady hanh ung e who broke away from a first round tie with alaysian alcolm ung with a behind a solid eagle spiked backside 31.

The Vietnamese took the solo lead with a under total but braced for a daunting challenge in the last 18 holes as Ratchanon Chantananuwat bettered Le’s seven-under card with a 64, also highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 No. 11, as the fancied Thai, winner of an Asian Tour event last year, moved threateningly close at 136 for joint second with Malaysian Anzon Xiang, who also shot an eight-under card.

ung slipped to fourth at after a e en as imayuga mo ed from tied th to a share of se enth with ietnam s ang inh Nguyen, who shot a 69, but seven shots behind Le at 141.

Aidric Chan, the other member of the national team backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, also recovered with a 68 but still stood far off at oint th at while ong fumbled with a frontside 39 marred by a double-bogey on the par-5 No. 8 to fall to a share of th with teammate aden umdumaya who carded a 71.

Ramos bags 3 silvers, Diaz 4th in Asian Weightlifting Championships

SEOUL/MANILA – Rose Jean Ramos captured three silver medals in the women’s 45kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea on May 5.

The 17-year-old Zamboangueña registered 73kgs in snatch and 88kgs in the clean and jerk for a total of 161kgs.

Thailand’s Sirivimon Pramongkhol, who finished fourth kg at the ondon Olympics, pocketed the gold medal with a total lift of kgs kgs in snatch and kgs in the clean and erk

ndonesian iti afisatul ariroh a gold medalist at the slamic olidarity Games, settled for the bronze medal after submitting a total lift of kgs kgs in snatch and kgs in clean and erk

“She’s the youngest in her event and yet she grabs a silver. Much younger than the hai winner years difference ayang it s not yet an Olympic weight but who knows,

she’ll probably go up to 49kgs soon. I’m proud of her. Nowhere to go but up,” Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella told the Philippine News Agency P A

Puentevella serves as head of the Philippine delegation which includes coaches Nicolas aluag ohol Patrick ee Pampanga and hristopher ureros ebu

Last year, Ramos successfully defended the 45kg title at the World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Leon City, Guanajuato, Mexico.

he topped the clean and erk kgs came in second in the snatch kgs and reg istered the best total of 155kgs.

The Asian Weightlifting Championships is the second ualifying e ent for the Paris Olympics after the World Championships in ogota olombia last year

Other Filipino lifters in Seoul are Tokyo lympics gold medalist idilyn ia of am boanga City and Elreen Ann Ando of Cebu

women s kg osegie amos women s kg and ristel acrohon women s kg of amboanga ity anessa arno of ohol women s kg o ely nan of Angono i al women s kg and ohn ebuar eni a of ebu ity men s kg

ia placed fourth in her category but Ando also failed to oin the podium espite her fourth place finish ia is still in conten tion for a berth in the Paris lympics in ia and osegie amos trained for one and a half months in the United States and stayed in Japan for two weeks before heading to Seoul.

he year old ia oined and won the 55kg gold medal in Colombia but the category is not included in Paris, prompting the A ames and Asian ames champion to move up to 59kg where Ando is also trying the get an Olympic berth.

Ando got three medals at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent,

Uzbekistan -- a bronze in snatch and two silvers from the clean and jerk, and total lift in the women’s 64kg.

he placed se enth o erall at the o kyo Olympics, qualifying through the Absolute Continental Ranking. She won the silver medal in Vietnam.

Sarno, the reigning Asian champion, won the women’s 71kg category in the Vietnam SEAG, setting new records in snatch kgs clean and erk kgs and total kgs he bagged three gold medals at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Rosegie Ramos, a protégé of coach Allen rayfus ia also competed in bekistan where she took the gold medal in the 49kg event. She secured a bronze medal in the Vietnam SEAG.

Ceniza won the silver medal in the 55kg e ent at the anila A ames

ANOTHER GOLD. Two-�me world champion Carlos Yulo shows his winning form to claim his second gold medal by topping the parallel bars in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Na�onal Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He won his rst gold in individual

Canepa to tobacco sellers: Break the law and face stiff fines

DALY CITY – San Mateo County Supervisor David J. Canepa made the following statement today after the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance imposing mandatory fines and compliance checks for retailers who sell tobacco products to minors and banned and prohibited products such as e cigarettes and a ored ape cartridges.

“Big Tobacco has preyed on our youth with a ored products like bubblegum and

cotton candy for years,” Canepa said. “What we’ve done today is to tell our retailers that if you are caught selling to minors or selling banned a ored tobac co products you will be fined hea ily ecause we know tobacco is a highly profitable killer the county will now conduct two mandatory compliance checks every year at every retail establishment that sells tobacco products. This is another huge step toward saving lives and creating a world free from harmful tobacco products that are purely poison.”

he ordinance updates definitions to align with similar model ordinances across California. For example, the “Tobacco

Product definition will now include syn thetic nicotine, and align language, where appropriate, with the new statewide ban of a ored tobacco products

It also restricts where new retailers may be located: no new Tobacco Retailer Permit will be issued to a location within 1,000 of a Youth-Populated Area, or within 500 feet of a location already occupied by another tobacco retailer. “Youth-Populated Areas” is updated to include college campuses.

It prohibits posting of advertisements offering tobacco products unless the re tailer has a valid permit to sell tobacco products.

It increases the age for those who sell tobacco products to match the minimum age allowed to purchase tobacco under State law, currently 21 years old.

t increases fines up to fi e hundred dollars for the first iolation and up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for all subsequent violations within a sixty (60) month period.

It requires that a permit be suspended if a business is found to have sold tobacco products to persons under the age of 21.

It requires two inspections per year of each tobacco retailer by an enforcement designee to monitor compliance with applicable laws.

It increases the permit suspension and revocation escalation period for cumulative violations from 12 months to 60 months.

t mandates a fine at a minimum for any violations pursuant to the ordinance.

Contact for Supervisor Canepa is Bill Silverfarb at (415) 314-1737.

Asian-Americans warned to brace for continued discrimination

By Gilda P. Balan, Correspondent

SAN JOSE, California -- Speakers at a recent conference warned the Asian-American community to brace not only more discrimination, but worsening acts of hate and violence against them.

Panelists at the Committee of 100’s yearly conference in San Jose, California last week said the situation will worsen, and not only for Chinese and Chinese-Americans.

Anecdotal evidence shows that typical hatemongers do not know the difference among the various Asian-American communities, whether their roots are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Hmong, Vietnamese or Indian.

The Committee of 100 is a Chinese-American civic organization founded by the legendary architect I. M. Pei with members from business,

government, the academe, and the arts. It seeks to foster constructive relations between the US and China.

It is worth noting that Filipinos and FilAms have been mistaken for either Chinese or Mexicans – two of the communities frequently targeted by racists with violent streaks -- because they carry such surnames as Lim, Chan or Sy (from their Chinese roots) and Santos, Cruz, or Reyes (from their Hispanic background).

China and Mexico were also targeted by former President Donald Trump for discriminatory acts, notably with his vow to create a wall in the southern border as well as his China Initiative which fueled mistrust towards AsianAmericans.

Panelists at the conference warned that situation would likely worsen due to such factors as next year’s elections where Trump is likely

to seek a return to the White House, the recent incidents of Chinese weather balloons entering US air space, and de facto Chinese police stations discovered inside US and Canadian soil.

The US Justice Department’s China Initiative launched in November 2018 was supposedly aimed at stemming economic espionage and theft of trade secrets and intellectual property by China.

ut critics said the program racially profiled Asian-Americans and even ruined careers, notably of professors and researchers at US institutions of learning when they failed to disclose their affiliations with Asian institutions

“People look for someone to blame,” said Buck Gee, regional chair of the committee, adding that there are people who are suffering and see us as the enemy.”

Another panelist, Brian Sun, a partner with

the orton ose ulbright law firm said the at tacks on the loyalty of Chinese-Americans segued into hate crimes at Chinese-Americans and Asian-Americans because “they all look alike.”

Speaking for the law enforcement sector assistant special agent eff ields an African-American) said they do not investigate based on race or ethnicity, but acknowledged that the bureau could better address minority concerns.

Still, Fermin Gong, chairman of the Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association, admitted he was wary of appearing in a panel with an FBI agent.

Panelists pointed out that what is happening now is reminiscent to the ‘50s and the communist scare.

They agreed that Asian-Americans should “just beware.”

Social Security Update

PLAN FOR YOUR FUTURE DURING FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH

By G. Samson Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in the Bay Area

April is Financial Literacy Month. Social Security is a vital part of any finan cial plan. . Our online tools can help you understand your potential Social Security benefits and how they fit into your financial fu ture.

You should periodically review your Social Security Statement (Statement) using your personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Your Statement is an easy-to-read summary of the estimated benefits you and your family could receive, including potential retirement disability and sur i ors benefits

Our Plan for Retirement tool in your personal my Social Security account allows you to check various benefit esti mate scenarios. You can compare how different fu ture earnings and retirement benefit start-dates might affect your future benefit amount

Please tell your friends and family about the steps they can take to impro e their financial knowledge by exploring their personal my Social Security account. If they don’t have an account, they can easily create one at www. ssa.gov/myaccount.

Welcome to the Chris�an community, Noah The christening of baby Noah Es�oko, 8 months, was held last Saturday, May 5, 2023 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacraments in Sacramento, CA. He is the son of Michael and Michelle Es�oko from Sacramento. The main sponsors were Charles Jayson Es�oko and Rhoda Cordoza. Among those who attended were Les and Toesta Cordoza Juan Amy Es�oko from Bakers eld May Steve Law from Manteca Elpidio Delia Es�oko from Milpitas Valerie Carlos and Ma�hew Es�oko from LA. Recep�on followed at the New Happy Dimsum Restaurant in Sacramento.

Filipino kids win at Lego League competition in Houston

MANILA - A group of Filipino kids won a robotics Lego competition in Houston, USA last month.

Six students from De La Salle Santiago Zobel in Muntinlupa City represented the Philippines in the FIRST Lego League (FLL), a global robotics competition, particularly the FLL World Championship Explore Division (ages 6-10), where they won the coding category award.

The event was held last April 19-22 at George Brown Convention Center in Houston.

The group, called “The Brick Titans, Philippines”, is composed of Thoren Garcia, Markus Bellezza, Raphael Dollente, Brent Escalona, Carlo Ramos and Hugo Tan. They won the FLL national competition last February.

In line with the focus of the FLL this year on the global need for sustainable energy, the Philippine contingent’s model was a renewable energypowered community theme park, wherein wind turbines, solar panels, biomass facility, piezoelectric ceramics, and rain water collector (for hydro energy) serve as sources of energy, their camp said in a statement sent to ABS-CBN News.

They used Lego pieces with moving parts, developing a programming/coding that allowed such parts as turbines and ferries wheel in their model to function as they do in real theme parks.

Garcia, 8, a Grade 2 student, said he hopes that even at a very young age, they are able to help promote sustainable energy through their winning design.

“For now, we explain to our friends and other people about our theme park. And maybe later on, we can inform the government to try to build it because we’re helping our country,” he said in the statement.

“Because our country is starting to have pollution. And pollution is bad for our environment. If we continue using non-renewable energy resources, our plants will die and there will no longer be crops for food,” he added.

‘The Brick Titans’, a group of six students from De La Salle Santiago Zobel in Muntinlupa City, wore costumes for their presentation to the judges of the presented to the judges of the First Lego League World Championship Explore Division in Houston, USA last April 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of Athena Garcia

“The Brick Titans”, a group of six students from De La Salle Santiago Zobel in Muntinlupa City, wore costumes for their presentation to the judges of the presented to the judges of the First Lego League World Championship Explore Division in Houston, USA last April 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of Athena Garcia

The FLL aims to explore solutions to real world problems by asking the participants to come up with a unique solution by focusing on fundamental engineering as they design and code/program a model made of Lego bricks, the Philippine contingent’s camp said.

The next edition of the competition is expected to carry another theme, according to Garcia’s

mother, Athena, who accompanied the contingent in Houston.

Joyce Calica, the program coordinator for the Institutional Robotics team of De La Salle Santiago-Zobel, said the competition taught the students to gain real world problem-solving experience through a guided global robotics program.

“They were able to develop being patient with one another. They learned how to cooperate with one another. They knew that if they will be able to know the different brick parts how to build those Legos, their creativity are also developed,” said Calica.

We Need to Preserve, Strengthen, and Sustain Filipino Language Studies

By Maya Masagca and Ruby N. Turalba

Eighth-grade student Maya Masagca at Bessie Camichael PK-8 School/Filipino Education Center (FEC) recalls her experiences learning Filipino language, history, and culture at her elementary school:

“Filipino foods were part of my fondest memories as a student in the Filipino language program! During our 5th-grade camping trip, we had a kamayan dinner where tons of food is laid out on banana leaves and everyone eats the food with their hands. At school, we would have potlucks on birthdays, Flores De Mayo, graduation, and Christmas! We always

ate family-style with traditional foods like lechon, lumpia, and pancit. Food and celebrations helped our classroom community form stronger bonds with each other and with our culture.

The Filipino language program also helped my newcomer classmates from the Philippines feel welcome and safe. Many of my friends are immigrants and not strong in English. I saw how important this program was for them, especially when my teachers would explain math or instructions in Tagalog.

For a history research project, I discovered that Bruno Mars, Saweetie, and H.E.R. were Filipino. I was surprised because it was the first time that d seen someone who was of the same ethnicity as me that was famous.

My middle school Filipino elective teacher says ‘the Filipino language program specifically offers ilipino American students an opportunity to see someone who comes from the same background as them as a teacher. I think that ha ing a class like this offers stu dents of all backgrounds an opportunity to learn more about themselves and how they connect culturally and linguistically to other cultures.’

The Filipino language program helped me become closer to my immigrant parents and to my culture. The program impacted me so much that I wanted to keep learning about my culture when I went to middle school.”

Philippine Cardinal Antonio Luis (Chito) Tagle, who was recently appointed by Pope Francis to a top post in the Va�can, smilingly tells Philippine News columnist and cardiac surgeon Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, (le�), in their mee�ng in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, May 6, 2023, that the rumor he would be in line to be the next Pope “is fake news.”

While the K-5 Filipino language program at Bessie Carmichael/FEC has helped hundreds of students develop love for themselves, their culture, and community, the program has faced numerous challenges especially during fiscal crises ue to budget constraints and declining enrollment, the school recently announced consolidating two of the Filipino language classes in the next academic year.

As a parent, I have learned about and witnessed multiple top-down school district decisions to cut back Filipino language studies without involving community voice— this has been an ongoing struggle since the

1970’s. Combining the 4th and 5th grade Filipino language classes in the next school year contradicts the district’s mission to ensure ”meaningful consultation with the parents/ guardians students and staff impacted by those decisions.”

The decision backs down from the SFUSD’s commitment to strengthen the Filipino language program—a concession made after the 2019 Feasibility Study found the district lacks the capacity to offer a ilipino ual Language Immersion Program, which parents advocated for. Weakening the program also fails the district’s pledge of Cultural Competence and Multilingualism —outlined in their Vision 2025 statement—and the state’s Global California 2030 Initiative, whose goal is for students to be proficient in two or more languages.

Filipinos make up a third of the school’s student population. Filipinos are the third largest ethnic group in San Francisco with limited nglish proficiency an rancisco certified agalog as the third official language to be used in communicating essential city services. Over the years, the Filipino language program has helped Filipino newcomers adjust to life in a new country, feel more connected to their culture, and gain extra support as they de elop nglish proficiency he current Filipino program grew out of the Filipino ducation enter one of s first newcomer schools which began in response to Lau vs. Nichols—asserting a child’s right to learn in their primary language. FEC’s inception created equitable language access for Filipino newcomers, which continues today. Consolidating two grade levels into one classroom means that students would get less individualized support while working hard to adapt to a new setting, and limit available seats for students who immigrate during the school year.

The program teaches Filipino American (FA) students about their roots. Positive identity development is particularly important for our FA students who have higher rates of

suicidality, as indicated in the district’s 2017 Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In fact, students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to learn Filipino language, history, and culture—especially at our school site which is located in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District. Last September, the SF Board of Supervisors (BOS) passed a resolution adopting the Filipino Cultural Heritage District’s Cultural, History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategy Report which prioritizes Filipino arts education and programs teaching Filipino languages, history, and culture. A strong Filipino language program clearly aligns with the BOS resolution.

inally the program also benefits our new comer parents who can communicate with teachers in their shared language. The Filipino teachers and families are so proud to have such a unique and special program—one of two in the district and in the nation. The program supports the students’ and adults’ sense of belonging in the school community—it’s like an extension of our homes and families. To make cuts and changes to the program is an assault to all the students and adults who have fought hard to keep it going. Closing a Filipino language classroom takes away another opportunity from our students—many of whom are socio-ecomonically disadvantaged, English language learners, and live in the SOMA.

SFUSD needs to know that students, families, and community members oppose combining the 4th/5th grade Filipino language classes in the 2023-2024 school year! We need to preserve, strengthen, and sustain Filipino language studies!

Maya Masagca was part of the Filipino language program at Bessie Carmichael/FEC from kindergarten to 5th grade. She is now in 8th grade.

Ruby N. Turalba is a parent of a middle school student at Bessie Carmichael/FEC. Her child enrolled in the Filipino language program in the 3rd grade.

CA vs Hate...

n time for start of the Asian and Pacific s lander Heritage Month, CA vs Hate is in direct response to the rise in reported hate crimes in California, which in recent years, reached their highest levels since 2001 – jumping almost 33% from to he Asia Pacific slander community represents one of the most ictim ized sector of hate incidents and crimes.

No less than Governor Gavin Newsom, along with the alifornia i il ights epart ment (CRD), today, spearheaded the campaign sending an unequivocal message that hate will not be tolerated in the Golden State that also is an offshoot of ewsom and the legislature ear lier in estment of million into anti hate programs.

e stand firm for a alifornia for All and it is important that we hold perpetrators account able for their actions and provide resources for those individuals victimized by hate crimes. Now, Californians have another tool to ensure that not only ustice is ser ed but that indi idu als have access to additional resources to help deal with the lingering wounds that remain after such a horrendous crime occurs stressed ew som.

Present to represent him in the formal launch at the steps of the state capitol in ac ramento, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom underscored that “all should create a California where all our dreams are possible, where we all belong and Californians will feel safe and heard,

“And that is possible when we all commit to see the humanity in one another and eradicating hate before it further proliferates. In California, our diversity is what makes the nation’s most populous state a beautiful and ibrant commu nity highlighted iebel ewsom t s hor rifying that hate crimes are on the rise, and so let it be made clear: we stand with our diverse communities, and we are committed to ensuring

(From page 1)

they feel safe and heard. There is no room here for bigotry and hate fueled iolence

For his part, State Attorney General Rob Bonta in an email sent a stated that he is proud of this effort to help alifornia s di erse com munities report hate incidents and connect them to resources.

“Hate is not welcome in California. There is no place for hate in California and now more than ever we must stand united against hate and extremism,” underscored Bonta. “By utilizing e ery resource possible we will raise aware ness around the staggering rise in hate crimes and proactively prevent future extremism from occurring. Every Californian deserves to feel safe in their cities and communities and those responsible must be brought to justice.”

epresenting the state legislature Assem blymember Al uratsuchi orrance started the con ersation to create a state hotline to re port hate crimes in 2021 – this program will help individuals and communities targeted for hate including Asian Americans, Latinos, Black Americans, LGBTQ+ individuals, religious minorities, and other communities that make up California’s diversity and strength. Hotline ser ices are confidential and pro ided for free regardless of immigration status. These services are offered in a culturally competent manner and will help people identify options and next steps after a hate incident or hate crime has oc curred ate acts can be reported in different languages through the online portal and in over 200 languages when calling the hotline.

“With the launch of the Ca vs Hate Resource Line and Network, we unequivocally state that there is no home or place for hate in California,” said usiness onsumer er ices and ous ing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “We are doubling down on our commitment to combat hate by embracing the strength of

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our diversity and empowering alifornians with resources and support to pre vent and end hate in all forms.”

alifornia is strong because of our di ersi ty but hate fueled iolence remains a persistent and growing threat,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “With the launch of CA vs Hate, we’re taking action to help put a stop to hate and to provide support for victims, survivors, and their families. In the face of hate across the nation, we stand united in declaring: California is for everyone. I urge all Californians to know their rights and to take advantage of these important resources.”

The campaign through the hotlines with multilingual outreach to emphasize community engagement aims to support efforts that encour age reporting and access to resources through targeted public service announcements

t also seeks to o ercome reporting chal lenges – whether due to fear of retaliation, lack of trust or other issues by offering people tar geted for hate a community centered approach that does not re uire engagement with the crimi nal legal system.

it is important to note, however that the CA s ate esource ine and etwork is a non emergency, multilingual hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal. Reports can be made anonymously by calling or A onday to riday from a.m. to 6 p.m. PT or online at any time. For individuals who want to report a hate crime to law enforcement immediately or who are in imminent danger, please call 911. For more information on CA vs Hate, please visit CAvsHate.org.

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State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi

KEEPING CUSTOMERS SAFE: PG&E Wants to Help Customers Recognize Utility Scams and Avoid Falling Victim

Scam Reports at an All-�me High During the First Four Months of 2023

OAKLAND, Calif. — With reports of scams targeting utility customers at an alltime high Pacific as and lectric ompany P & shares tips with customers to help recognize the signs of a potential scam.

A typical sign of a scam targeting a utility customer includes a caller claiming to be from P & and threatening disconnection if immediate payment is not made ia a pre paid debit card or money transfer ser ice like elle As a reminder P & will ne er send a single notification to a customer within one hour of a ser ice interruption and we will ne er ask customers to make payments with a pre paid debit card gift card any form of cryptocurrency or third party digital payment mobile applications

f you e er recei e a call threatening utility disconnection if you do not make im mediate payment hang up the phone and either log into your account on P com or call our customer ser ice number to confirm your account details emember P & will ne er ask for your financial information o er the phone or ia email nor will we re uest payment ia pre paid debit cards or other pay ment ser ices like elle nd the call end the scam said att oley lead customer scam in estigator for P & ased on data collected so far in scammers are stepping up their efforts to

defraud customers n fact there ha e been o er scam attempts reported by cus tomers to P & and customers ha e lost nearly in the first four months of alone uring P & recei ed nearly reports from customers who were targeted by scammers impersonating the company and customers lost appro imately in fraudulent payments

cammers can be con incing and often target those who are most ulnerable includ ing senior citi ens and low income commu nities. They also aim their scams at small business owners during busy customer ser ice hours Another recent emerging scam trend in ol es scammers targeting real estate agents ia their listings and threatening to shut off power if immediate payment is not made owe er with the right information customers can learn to detect and report these predatory scams

Signs of a potential scam

hreat to disconnect cammers may aggressi ely demand immediate payment for an alleged past due bill

e uest for immediate payment

Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card then call them back sup posedly to make a bill payment

e uest for prepaid card hen the customer calls back the caller asks the cus

tomer for the prepaid card s number which grants the scammer instant access to the card s funds efund or rebate offers cammers may say that your utility company o erbilled you and owes you a refund or that you are entitled to a rebate and ask you for your per sonal financial information cammers mpersonating rusted

Phone umbers cammers are now able to create authentic looking numbers which appear on your phone display he numbers don t lead back to P & if called back how e er so if you ha e doubts hang up and call P & at A f customers e er feel that they are in physical danger they should call ow customers can protect themsel es ustomers should ne er purchase a pre paid card to a oid ser ice disconnection or shutoff P & does not specify how custom ers should make a bill payment and offers a ariety of ways to pay a bill including ac cepting payments online by phone automatic bank draft mail or in person f a scammer threatens immediate discon nection or shutoff of ser ice without prior notification customers should hang up the phone delete the email or shut the door ustomers with delin uent accounts recei e an ad ance disconnection notification typi

cally by mail and included with their regular monthly bill

Signing up for an online account at pge. com is another safeguard ot only can cus tomers log in to check their balance and pay ment history, they can also sign up for recurring payments paperless billing and helpful alerts.

ustomers who suspect that they ha e been ictims of fraud or who feel threatened during contact with one of these scammers should contact local law enforcement he ederal rade ommission s website is also a good source of information about how to pro tect personal information. or more information about scams isit pge com scams or https consumer ftc go scams.

About PG&E

Pacific as and lectric ompany a sub sidiary of P & orporation P is a combined natural gas and electric utility ser ing more than million people across s uare miles in orthern and entral alifornia or more information isit pge com and pge com news ou can read about P & s data pri acy practices here or at P com pri acy

e want to share some of the important uestions we recei ed from readers ope you will find them useful f you ha e additional uestions regarding the below or around the topics of edicare edicaid Affordable are Act or other senior benefits there are ways you can reach us e will answer all your ues tions in a timely manner.

all our enior Assistance enter at ng lish

mail ask AP A napca org

ail AP A enior Assistance enter

rd A enue uite eattle A

o still need to get the ac cine?

is still with us n late arch the still a eraged cases per day per month or older adults is still danger ous he risk of se ere cases that re uire hospi tali ation is pretty low for people under f you are and o er the risk is times higher and the older the higher o older adults are strongly recommended to stay up to date with the most current accine f your last shot was before ep you should get an updated bi alent accine and then it pro ides protection against both the original irus and the Omicron strains that are infecting people right now he irus changes like the u i rus so it is important to get the most recent updated accine to get the best protection

hat type of accine should

recei e And how many times ecause the protection pro ided by the accine fades much more uickly for people and older and people who ha e un derlying conditions enters for isease ontrol and Pre ention updated its accine recommendations to allow an addi tional dose of the updated bi alent accine for these populations.

o matter how old you are if you ha e not gotten a shot since eptember you definitely need one f you are or older or if you ha e underlying conditions it may be a good idea for you to get an e tra dose of bi alent accine alk to your healthcare pro ider or pharmacist to decide whether it makes sense for you hat is edicaid redetermination n winding of the edicaid ontinuous nroll ment Pro ision and how does it affect my edicaid edicaid eligibility is re uired to be re newed periodically but during the public health emergency edicaid disenroll ment has been paused in e ery state by federal pro ision owe er the continuous co erage re uirement ends on arch our state checks whether you still ualify for ed icaid co erage and will be able to resume ed icaid disenrollments starting April he disenrollments will not occur all at once as the process will be spread out across most of and the first part of o be prepared for

edicaid redetermination make sure your con tact information is updated so that you can re cei e any communications your state sends you hen you recei e a edicaid packet or letter in the mail you need to fill out the renewal form and send it with re uested documents if appli cable to the address pro ided f you are ineli gible to renew your edicaid you will ualify for a special enrollment period to find and enroll in a new health insurance plan in time for your loss of edicaid co erage hat option do ha e if lose edicaid after unwinding edicaid continuous enroll ment condition

here will generally be three options for those who are no longer eligible for edicaid as the result of the edicaid unwinding process ption ou can re apply for edicaid to find if you still ualify f your income le el or medical need changes you might ualify for edicaid in your state ou can apply any time and there s no limit to the number of times you can apply.

ption ou may be able to get low cost uality health co erage through the A A ar ketplace ubmit a new or updated arket place application and pro ide the proof of the last date of edicaid between arch and uly then you will be eligible for this temporary pecial nrollment Period

P ou will ha e a days window after you submit your application to select a ar ketplace plan

ption ou may be able to sign up for edicare without paying a late enrollment penalty f you now ualify for edicare but didn t sign up for it when you first became eligible you ha e a limited time P to sign up without paying the usual penalty our P starts the day your state notifies you that your edicaid co erage is ending and continues for

months after your edicaid co erage ends

Plus you can try to apply for edicare a ings Programs to get assistance for your edi care copays and or deductibles

am eligible for ocial ecurity retire ment based on my working credits and eligi ble for spousal benefits based on my husband s ocial ecurity credits am soon and trying to claim spousal retirement which is higher than my worker s benefit ow much would it be and how do apply for it

ou could apply for spousal retirement ben efit once you reach the age of if your husband already started recei ing his retirement he rule is that depending on your age upon claiming spousal benefit can range from to of your husband s primary insurance amount P A which is the monthly benefit the retiree is entitled to at full retirement age A hen you apply for spousal benefit at you will re cei e of the husband s P A permanently he longer you wait to claim the spousal benefit until your A the bigger the monthly amount grows he ma imum amount you can recei e is up to of his P A f your husband took his retirement earlier than his A your spou sal benefit in turn will be counted based on his reduced amount

hen you apply for spousal benefit you must apply for both your worker s benefit and spousal benefit at the same time ocial ecurity pays worker s benefit first then adds enough of the spousal benefit to make up the difference and match the higher amount

ational Asian Pacific enter on Aging AP A is a non profit organi ation dedicat ed to impro ing the uality of life of AA P older adults and their families e operate a AP A enior Assistance enter for lder Adults and aregi ers and is a ailable in dif ferent languages.

Upside...

(From Page 11)

mom is gentle and compassionate, raising neither her voice nor hand to me.

he ga e refuge from my father s fury her warm caress clear affirma tion of her love and understanding. I’m not certain who drew strength from whom but finally reali ed my mother s fortitude in my father s terminal illness. He refused to hire a nurse, letting only my mother, my sister and our longtime nanny to attend to him. She devoted herself to him, uplifting everyone around her as she protected Dad’s dignity.

After my father’s death, my mother came to live with my husband and son in Northern California, gifting us the family we craved. In the winter she d y back to anila and return when the mercury hit the sky he trea sured her independence tra eling alone until age

One morning we expected her to arrive later that night when the phone rang: It was mom. She had been waiting patiently for us to pick her up and where were we? So she asked a fellow passenger to please call us and let us know she was already here. Grace under pressure, she had heaps.

We worried how she would cope with loneliness when on top of her daily TV Mass, her novenas, the Chronicle, “I Love Lucy” reruns, needlework, TV Patrol, and her journal, she devoured stacks of novels she would recommend for our next read. We became pals, sharing Cabernet with dinner, nature-tripping, sharing jewelry, perfume - our wardrobe. We discovered each other.

In December 2006, she joined me in receiving the Philippine Presidential Award for Overseas Filipino Organizations and Individuals conferred on our domestic violence prevention outreach group, of which she was a volunteer. A few months earlier, the UST Thomasians USA named her an outstanding alumna and our family honored her for being a model of virtue, integrity and grace. I long to see my mother’s eyes open, feel her touch, listen to her play the piano, show her the orchids blooming in the kitchen, take her on our weekly shopping expeditions, and beg her to please please stay with us, but in my heart I know what she would say: Leave it to the Lord. ***

First published days before R. M. Querol Sr. died April 20, 2008, above is an Upside Mother’s Day tradition. Rosario M. Querol Jr. grew up as Cherie Querol Moreno, Executive Editor of Philippine News Today, San Mateo County Commissioner on Aging and Founder-Executive Director of ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment.

Offline

(From Page 13)

Maharlika fund in the simplest terms possible. At least simple enough for even a college dropout of a president might understand. Say your family lives in a house. You have money in your wallet, as does your wife/husband. Your kids have their respective alkansyas AKA piggy banks. All of you have GCash or whatever e-wallet you prefer.

Your total family income plus current accumulated wealth amounts to pesos.

Now what happens if you put some of the cash in your wallet to your wife’s GCash, and add all the coins in one of more piggy banks. ill your family s wealth increase tenfold o ow about fi e fold? No, also. Will it even double, at least? No, no, no.

All you’re doing is combining the money you currently have, but not making it grow. It’s a zero sum addition, iznit?

This is similar to what the proponents of Maharlika are planning on doing.

They are saying that in pooling together already existing funds, it can be invested in bigger projects resulting in bigger earnings.

Not so. The government – not just this government, mind you –has never been known for executing brilliant ideas that result in mega earnings for the country. This is why the Phililippine economy has had countless fits and starts or a cycle of boom and bust if you will

Now does anybody believe that the regime of this current chief executive is so much better than past administrations?

I submit that it is not.

The forementioned Ramos and Aquino2 regimes were pretty good, thank you. And the proof is in the record books. FVR not only reversed the ultra-serious power problems that country was having, he picked good men and women to lead the country’s economy to tiger cub status.

The president named Noynoy did even better, turning the Philippines into one of the fastest growing economies in the world, attaining tiger economy status in the process.

If a wealth fund was such a great idea, why didn’t the bright boys and girls of the two administrations tell FVR or Noynoy to create such a fund pronto?

It is, in other words, a fund whose time has not yet come for the Republic of the Philippines. If ever.

My biggest fear is that it will be yet another source of funds for the most corrupt people at the top to treat as their personal alkansya. Sadly, it may yet be approved by the bicameral Congress in the coming months because the country has run out of honest leaders who have a vision for its future.

As I See It

dress them to school during their elementary days.

I mentioned the surprise weekend escapade tendered by my children (Gigi, Jojo, May, Jayson, Tweety, and Paul) to their mom on Mother’s Day. It was a 3-day expression of gratitude and show of appreciation to their mom for all the things their mom did to them and in raising them as good children.

oarding the early riday morning Alaska Airlines a m ight from San Jose Mineta International Airport, we arrived at Seattle at 2:15 p.m. and immediately proceeded to the Enterprise Car Rental office and rented an seater ord pedition

With Jayson as the driver and May the navigator, the 3-day escapade brought us to places like Lola Restaurant at the city’s 4th Avenue; the 1st Starbucks Store (Original Starbucks) at the Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle; the Seattle Bubble Gum Wall near the Alibi Room which emerged as a tourist attraction instead of a mess and the fish market endor throwing fish selected by customer to another employ ee for packing before handling it to the buyer).

Then we visited the famous Space Needle up to the 520-feet observation deck; the Chihuly Garden Glasshouse in honor of artist Dale Chihuly who lost his sight in one eye; Chinese Restaurant at the Great Hall Shopping Mall; and checked in at Renton’s Marriott Hotel.

We also went to Washington Park Arboretum; the Snoqualmie Park ater alls a feet m water fall on the no ualmie i er be tween Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington.

We ate at Teriyaki restaurant for lunch and then to the Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse at Renton, famous for “Texas-style” steaks with their signature dish ungeness crab crawfish chowder baby ribs and many more, for dinner.

n unday afternoon we ew back to an ose ineta nterna tional Airport.

Children, thank you for honoring thy mother! It was indeed an excellent week-end escapade!

(Elpidio R. Estioko was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and an award-winning journalist here in the US. He just published his book Unlocking the Chain of Poverty: In Pursuit of the American Dream now available in Amazon, Barnes Noble and Xlibris Publishing. For feedbacks, comments… please email the author at estiokoelpidio@ gmail.com).

Health & Wealth

The last time Manila asked for help, Washington turned its back and abandoned its ally, allowing Beijing to take full control of Scarborough hoal he did not lift a finger

Before the Philippines jumps with ecstasy over the small US pledges, Manila should remember it also has the Asean to watch its back.

(Editor’s Note: Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Manny Mogato wrote this column originally for PressOne.Ph)

A Tribute to my Mother

(From Page 12)

ed me, uttered harsh word nor laid her hands on me. She was so patient and nurturing despite my annoying ways, imperfection and going out of bounds.

I still vividly remember when I was 5 years old, she brought me to her classroom. Perhaps, due to boredom, I made paper planes and threw them to y while her class was on going ut didn t hear any harsh words. She just admonished me gently to stop.

Perhaps to be disciplined, I found myself enrolled at an exclusive Catholic school to start my kindergarten in Dagupan City, about an hour by bus from our native town of Mangatarem. The school, Blessed Imelda Academy now named Dominican School was run then by American nuns stayed in the city fi e days a week and go home to our town every Friday afternoon aboard a Pantranco bus. I stayed in a boarding house with 12 rooms owned by my parents but mostly rented by college students.

My mom also taught me how to read, write and type using all my fingers y fa orite comic strips then were ancy utt & eff and Tarzan. I also read Pilipino Komiks to hone my Tagalog.

My dear mother was so thrilled and delighted to see me after fi e years sowing my seed in alifornia when isited her for the first time he was already in front of our ue on ity home with her hands stretched to hug her eldest son with tears of joy streaming from her cheeks.

Despite my faults, my dear mother did not give up on me. She was my protector sa ior refuge consoling person and confidante can still feel her presence in my dreams. – denino1951@gmail.com

(From Page 12)

Delia, my wife, is a wonderful and loving mom raising our 6 children (3 boys, 3 girls). She took care of them from day one to present. She makes sure they eat their breakfast before going to school and to work; she cooks three regular meals a day plus two light meals in between (merienda); does the laundry; and in the evening, calls them and traces their whereabouts when they are not yet home at about 9:00 p.m. She can’t sleep if one of them is not yet at home. She takes care of them when they are sick and attends to their daily needs. My children look at their mom with authority and respect.

(From Page 12)

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In the Trenches

(From Page 12)

should not allow itself to be a pawn by promoting the “free and open ndo Pacific region at the Asean summit

It can hurt the Philippines’s image as an independent and sovereign country.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr has been announcing to the world his administration will be pursuing an independent foreign policy, but buying the ndo Pacific strategy could pro e that the Philippines has become dependent again on the United States.

The Philippines has not gained anything from the United State after granting US military forces access to nine local bases — three of them staring across Bashi Channel.

What Marcos really got from his trip to Washington was a measly $1.3 billion in economic pledges. The military was promised three transport planes and four small cutters, which are second-hand equipment.

It is early to rejoice until the US makes good on its promise that it will really back the Philippines against China’s aggression.

Diliman Way

(From Page 13)

sky; The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell, How great is God our Father, Who doeth all things well.”

It is one of my habits to recite poems - when I am alone and lonely or with a group of friends. In a trip to Toledo City with my friends Raul and Verie Corrales, Cathy and Jen Manguni, our young and very intelligent legal assistant, I was provoked to reciting this poem while we were viewing atop a hill the beautiful landscape with a meandering river. They appreciated more the beauty of the landscape as they listened to me reciting the beautiful poem – a tribute to the wonders of God’s creations.

The dawn: While the dawn started to break and seeing it from the comfort of my garden in my residence in Cagayan de Oro City, I remember the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa with these lines, “For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow a vision, But today well-lived, Makes everyday yesterday a dream of happiness, And every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day such is the salutation to the dawn.” Such very inspiring and enchanting lines, indeed! Being a dreamer all my life and having realized some of my treasured dreams for this country, I continue to dream for the country and our people, with the prayer and hope, with God’s blessings we all get there. As I told President Ferdinand Marcos once at a wooden rattan sofa at the back of his table in a lonely passage leading to a place I didn’t know where, when he was trying to convince me to join him because, in his words, we both graduated from the UP College of Law, we dreamed dreams for our people, we were both ideologues and, on top of that, we are two of a kind. Very true indeed and Marcos was right but for reasons of principles and the issue of honor and integrity, I replied to him, “I’m sorry Mr. President, I can’t join you. There is no royal road to the Promised Land. You travel yours and I travel mine and one day, we might meet there.” Well, as the RAM and YOU leaders like General Ed Abenina and Colonel Oscarlito Mapalo used to say each other and the other officers who participated in that noble endea or in to establish a country worthy of our race, “Our dreams never die.” That’s Kalidasa for you!

The lonely task: After a hearty breakfast of hard boiled egg, a cup of Milo, a glass of milk, a piece of morado banana, few pieces of crispy danggit, and japonica rice ending with a pieces of durian and marang, I go to my lonely room trying to analyze the problems of the country. With the immensity of the problems, I remember these lines from Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold, “Ah, love, let us be true to one another for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful so new. Hath really neither joy, nor, nor light,, No certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; to And we are here as on a darkling plain wept with confused alarms of struggle and ight Where ignorant armies clash by night.” A very pessimistic picture like the current national situation!

Responses: Being an irretrievable romantic and unrelenting dreamer, I remember that life like poetry has its ups and downs, its light and darkness and its triumphs and tragedies. So despite the gloom and seeming hopelessness, I remember If of Rudyard Kipling telling me, “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise If you can dream—and not make dreams your master.

California awards $8 million to enhance security for reproductive health facilities

By Claire Morales True

SACRAMENTO – In keeping with the commitment to protect reproductive rights of patients and providers throughout California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced nearly $8 million in grants being awarded to bolster physical and data security at 21 facilities that provide abortion-related care and reproductive health services.

“All health care providers deserve to feel safe while offering resources and services to patients,” said Governor Newsom in a statement sent to Philippine News Today. “As attacks on reproductive health care continue, we’re providing resources to help ensure patients and providers feel safe and secure while accessing or providing critical reproductive health care.”

The Physical and Digital Infrastructure Security Grant Program, administered by the California Governor’s Office of mergency er ices al in coordination with the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), funds security enhancements at health care facilities and practitioner offices that may be the target of violence and vandalism. $7,879,108 will be awarded to 21 facilities that provide abortion-related care and reproductive health services, including Planned Parenthood facilities spanning from Redding to Long Beach and inde-

pendent practitioners across the state.

“This funding represents a key part of our responsibility to protect Californians from violence,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “By providing security at vulnerable healthcare locations, we can help protect everyone involved, from providers, to patients, and the surrounding community.”

“The program safeguards California healthcare facilities that offer abortion related ser ices and reproducti e healthcare services and serve socially vulnerable populations, including persons who are low income, Limitednglish proficient immigrants community members, and/or persons with disabilities,” said HCAI Director Elizabeth Landsberg.

he grants are part of a broader effort by o ernor Newson to champion reproductive freedom for anyone who seeks care in California.

In April, Governor Newsom created an emergency stockpile of medication abortion as legal challenges moved (and continue to) through the courts to ensure patients can continue to get care without disruption.

In February, Governor Newsom launched the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, which now includes 22 state

Avoid dying early!

and territory leaders fighting to protect and ad ance re productive freedom in the face of ongoing attacks from extreme politicians.

n ecember Proposition went into effect amending the state constitution to enshrine protections for reproductive freedom, including abortion care and contraception.

In September, Governor Newsom signed the largest reproductive freedom bill package in history in response to the overturning of Roe v Wade to ensure California remains a reproductive freedom state.

In September, Governor Newsom launched Abortion. CA.Gov to ensure people across California, and the country, can access essential information regarding reproductive health care, including resources available to support their efforts to access care

In June, Governor Newsom signed the Budget Act of into law which included a historic mil lion investment in reproductive health care. alifornia s efforts to back reproducti e freedom comes as other states continue their attacks to limit or outright ban access to abortion and other sexual and reproductive health care in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade nearly year ago. (Claire Rivera Morales True)

Heart of Hope

PHILIP S. CHUA

n 2005, a 128-page report from the World Health Organization in Geneva stated that “nearly 400 million people will die from heart diseases, diabetes and other chronic ailments over the next 10 years, but many of those deaths can be prevented by healthier lifestyles and inexpensive medications.” Of the 40 million deaths per year in the world, 28 million would be in developing countries.

WHO director-general Lee Jong Wook commented that “the lives of too many people in the world are being blighted and cut short by chronic diseases. He cited the latest WHO report “to draw attention to the increasing threat from diseases that can be prevented in part by healthier diets and giving up smoking,” writes the Associated Press.

his recent report also was the first to uantify the eco nomic burden of treating such conditions in individual countries.” China, for instance, will be spending $588 billion in the next ten years, Russia, $303, and India $236, in managing heart disease, diabetes and strokes.

The co-author of the study, Robert Beaglehole, lamented that this epidemic is preventable because “we know what to do, how to do it, and preventions are very cheap,” and yet people die unnecessarily.

The WHO report highlighted the fact that heart-diseasesrelated mortality is down 70 percent in the United States, England, Australia and Canada in the last 30 years because of effecti e national pre ention policies and campaigns in these industriali ed nations that cut the death rates significantly Citing Poland’s statistics which showed reduced death rates among young adults by 10 percent in 1990, “in part by making fruits and vegetables more available, and removing subsidies on dairy products, like butter.”

Philippine Statistics

The following tabulation of the Leading Causes of Mortality (Number and Rate per 100,000 Population) in the Philippines will show we are part of this pandemic of preventable deaths.

IA major part of our unhealthy lifestyle as a people is our diet of high-saturated fat, high-cholesterol (red meats, processed delis, lard, dairy products), high-carbohydrate, lowfiber foods and our sedentary life. Filipinos, in general, especially those who can afford do not seem to care for egetables fruits, nuts and grains. It must be our culture. We train our infants and our young children to eat red meats and other high fat foods, believing these proteins are “good for their young body,” so when they grow up, they continue with the same unhealthy “habit” and remain “hooked” to red meats, eggs and other high cholesterol food items.

The fast food chains all around us make matters even worse. Somehow, as parents, we have neglected to put more emphasis on fish which is actually the superior source of pro tein plus the added bonus of an ingredient in fish mega fatty acids, the oil that protects the heart, besides the brain. And many of us do not seem to accept the fact that smoking maims and kills, alcohol damages our liver and brain, and that daily physical exercise, besides the low-fat, low-cholesterol, low carbohydrate and high fiber diet is ital for a healthy lifestyle, to maintain good health and well-being.

In the name of love

Some of us may be shortening the life of our children without realizing it, unintentionally, unwittingly, all in the name of love, but nonetheless devastating to them when they reach middle age and beyond. Allowing them to live an unhealthy lifestyle, to be hooked on cigarette, alcohol, soft drinks (which are poison), is loving our children to death.

“Love not our children to death” is the message in my coffee-table book on disease prevention published in the United States and in the Philippines, entitled Let’s Stop “Killing” Our Children, which could be previewed on philipSchua.com

Alarming statistics

Obesity in children has doubled the past couple of decades, tripled the past 30 years. If the trend is allowed to continue through our parental neglect inaction or indifference it is concei able that obesity will uadruple in another ten years And since obesity increases the risk for diseases, like hypertension, diabetes and other metabolic illnesses, heart attack, stroke and cancer longe ity would ob iously suffer All the gains mankind has achieved the past six decades through the advances in medical science and technology -- preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic – could simply go to waste for this segment of the world population if wisdom does not prevail. oday among the a uent people around the world in cluding those in de eloping nations obesity a icts about percent of children aged 6 to 11, and more alarmingly, about 10 percent of those aged 2 to 5 are obese. Among those between ages 12 and 19, 18 percent are also obese.

he ama ing benefits of regular physical e ercise e en brisk or moderate walking (not jogging, which injures the joints in our hip, knees, and ankles), protect not only our cardiovascular system but also our brain (lowering the risk for Al heimer s t also reduces our risk for cancer he most fit animals in the wild are the ones who are physically most active. Those who are caged or who are in captivity are the ones prone to develop diseases like ours.

The Philippines is obviously not immune from these preventable deaths reported by the World Health Organization. It behooves our national, provincial and city governments to implement policies that will help cut down these deaths. Its time we adopted one.

ually essential if not more is for each and e eryone of us to make that wise decision, the choice to live a healthier lifestyle.

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, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

Igado with Olives Recipe of the Week

Ingredients:

kilo lean pork slice thinly kilo pork li er slice thinly rinsed marinate in cup inegar medium si e onion peeled chopped head garlic crushed peeled chopped cup cooked chick peas

cup cooked green peas

pieces green oli es medium si e green or red

bell pepper trimmed cut into strips

cup inegar

cup soy sauce

tbsp crushed peppercorns

pcs bayleaf

cup oli e oil

cooking oil

salt

Cooking procedure:

n a sauce pan or wok saut garlic and onions until fragrant Add in the pork and stir cook for to minutes Add in the inegar and soy sauce lower heat and cook unco ered for to minutes Add about cups of water the pepper corns and the bay leaf bring to a boil and simmer for to minutes or until the pork is tender hen add in the li er cook for another to minutes or until the li uid is reduced to an oily sauce and almost dry eason with salt and sugar to taste Add in the chick peas green peas bell pepper and oli e oil cook for another to minutes hen done keep at room temperature best ser e on the ne t day for the a ors to de elop eheat to warm touch only when ser e

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga –

The Clark International Airport (CRK)

officially soft launched its new termi nal building with a ceremonial water cannon salute to the first departing and ale ing ights from etstar Asia and ebu Pacific Air

he epartment of ourism said it sees a boost in tourist arri als in the coming months as lark nter national Airport added more ights in its new passenger terminal beginning ay ubbed as a new world class gate way lark nternational Airport s new passenger terminal building will ser e both domestic and international ights wo of outh orea s largest low cost airlines were among the new air carriers added to the list of airlines that would be operating direct ights from lark

he popular e u Air will launch its ncheon ncheon route e ery hursday and unday while in Air will offer the same route beginning ay e ery onday uesday ednesday ri day and aturday

ther foreign ights that will be using the new passenger terminal include desti nations to and from ingapore ia etstar and coot oha ia atar Airways Air Asia and ubai ia mirates

ocal air carriers ebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines will also ha e ights operating at the new passenger terminal he interior of the new terminal pays homage to the renowned t Pinatubo and its crater lake t Arayat and the acobia ri erbed three pro inces well lo ed tra el destinations ourism ecretary ernadette omu lo Puyat said the entire pro ince alone offers a ariety of tourism acti ities from culinary culture and heritage to ad enture he said the opening of the new passenger terminal is a boost to the reco ery of the pandemic hit sector lark is one of the destinations in cluded in the recently concluded orld ra el and ourism ouncil lobal ummit ore than ust a freeport one clearly this place is an emerging tourism hub that has great potential to bring huge gains for the tourism indus try she said perated by the u on nternational Premiere Airport e elopment orp the new erminal is a oint pro ect of the epartment of ransportation r and the ases on ersion and e elopment Authority his is the first hybrid public pri ate partnership under the uild uild uild program started and com pleted during the uterte administration he lights of etstar a tar Airways coot mirates ebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines P were able to use the new ter minal during its soft launch

espite and notwithstanding with the o id pandemic sige sige at tu loy tuloy ang trabaho para mapakinaban gan agad ng proyekto ng ating mga kaba bayan aya naman natapos sa kabila ng pandemya he works continues so that the pro ect will immediately gi e benefits to our fellowmen his pro ect is a li ing proof that if we work together and oint ly commit oursel es to pro ide a life of comfort and con enience to all nothing is impossible r ecretary Arthur ugade said in a statement chief e ecuti e officer i ong hungunco said with the state of the art facilities including superior accessibil ity the new terminal is ready to welcome both domestic and international tra elers

e said there are many ways to get to the airport depending on passenger pref erence

e ha e put a lot of effort into mak ing our passengers ourney as seamless as possible through the terminal and get ting to and from our airport she said in another statement

rom orth u on pressway ubic lark arlac press way passengers can take the lark orth it into lark reeport one A few meters away will be the first rotunda where they can take the third e it and straight into Air port oad

hose who are already inside the lark reeport one can take il Puyat A enue toward abalacat ate hey will reach a unction where they can take the first e it toward Airport oad leading straight to the new terminal irections to s new terminal can also be easily found on mobile apps such as oogle aps and a e

eanwhile Point Point P P bus ser ices from rinoma ue on ity and Parana ue ity as well as ta i ser ices from within Pampanga and other car rental ser ices are also a ailable he new terminal boast of a s uare meter area featuring state of the art facilities that situate itself as a premier Asian gateway for tourism and business alike

also features a touchless passen ger check in e perience

elf ser ice self check in kiosks and self bag drop systems are in place for passenger safety and autonomy

Clark airport’s new terminal building officially opens, increased tourist arrivals expected

Manila set to implement single ticketing system

said system.

The Manila local chief executive added that the city council has enacted the necessary ordinance that will adopt standardi ed fines on the iden tified common traffic iolations and another ordinance for traffic related offenses not stated in the traffic code Manila is one of seven cities that will pilot test the new system since they already have an existing system for the project.

MANILA – The city government of Manila is ready for the full implementation of the single ticketing system, which is set on May 2.

Mayor Honey Lacuna said City Hall personnel are prepared to implement the system starting May 2 which was agreed upon by several city governments in Metro Manila through the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Metro Manila Council.

acuna directed anila raffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB) head Zenaida Viaje to ensure that the personnel are already familiar with the

Metro Manila cities have adopted the single ticketing system through the establishment of the Metro anila raffic ode of which provides for a system of interconnectivity among government instrumentalities involved in the transport and traffic management in the metropolis with harmoni ed fines and penalties

Under Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Resolution No. the single ticketing system will harmonize the existing national and local laws on traffic enforcement to establish effecti e transport and traffic management in the metropolis

Lacuna said the new system is also

e pected to help address different procedures of apprehension, payment of fines redemption of licenses and plates and uncoordinated implementation of traffic laws resulting in confusion of the driving public, loss of money and productive hours.

She added that the single ticketing system provides convenience for apprehended motorists since they can now pay for their traffic related iola tions wherever or regardless of the city where they have been caught and issued tickets. (Jennifer T. Santos)

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna