The Filipino Press: December 31 - Jan 6, 2022

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San Diego’s No. 1 Source of News & Information for the Filipino Community • An Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1986 December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022

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Duterte signs P5.024-T nat'l budget for 2022 MANILA -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday signed into law the PHP5.024 trillion national budget for 2022, which will be used for the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette.

He signed the 2022 national budget in a ceremony at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace, which was witnessed by select members of the House of Representatives and Senate.

Next year’s PHP5.024 trillion budget is significantly higher by 11.5 percent than this year’s PHP4.5 trillion national budget.

According to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), PHP6 billion out of the PHP10 billion funds pledged by Duterte for the recovery of typhoon-hit areas in Visayas and Mindanao would be sourced from the 2022 national budget.

In his speech, Duterte said the passage of the 2022 national budget reaffirms the government’s strong commitment to providing “a more comfortable and productive life for each Filipino.”

“This will also cement this administration’s legacy of real change for future generations guided by the three main pillars of building resiliency amidst the pandemic, sustaining the momentum towards recovery, and continuing the legacy of infrastructure development," he

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signs the P5-trillion 2022 National budget during the signing ceremony at the Malacañan Palace on December 30, 2021 and delivers his message after signing the 2022 General Appropriations Act and the bill creating the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos. (MNS photo) said.

Since the signing of next year’s budget coincides with Rizal Day, Duterte enjoined Filipinos to emulate his heroism and courage by “serving the country with dedication, integrity, accountability, and by doing what is right and just”

for the people.

“There is no better way to serve the Filipino people than by giving them an honest, efficient, and responsive government that they deserve,” he added.

He also expressed appreciation to members of Congress for

ensuring the timely ratification of the budget bill as well as efforts of government agencies, partners from civil society, and other civil servants who took part in crafting the legislation.

“Indeed, the passage of the General Appropriations Act of 2022

reflects the healthy collaboration among all branches of government which is crucial to the attainment of our National Development Goals, especially during these trying times,” he said.

In the same program, Duterte also signed RA 11641 known as

“An Act Creating the Department of Migrant Workers.”

It was also announced that Duterte previously signed RA 11640 entitled, “An Act Extending the Availability of the 2021 Appropriations to December 31, 2022, Amending for the Purpose Section 62 of the General Provisions of Republic Act No. 11518, the General Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2021”.

Omicron worries Meanwhile, Duterte expressed concern over the “looming” threat of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as it is believed to be more transmissible than other strains.

“It’s just a little bit worrisome but takot ako nitong Omicron because pumuputok na sa lahat ng bayan sa buong mundo (I am afraid of this Omicron because it is spreading in all nations and parts of the world),” he said.

He feared that next year’s budget would again be depleted should Covid-19 cases reach alarming levels.

"I’m leaving the office in a few months, natatakot lang ako yung (I am just afraid about our) response na naman natin and how it would intrude into the budget," he added.

Duterte also enjoined Congress to pass laws that would help the country better cope with the prevailing health crisis.

See DUTERTE on

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WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN THE 3AF 2021 CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL APPROVES RECOMMENDED REDISTRICTING MAP EXCELLENCE AWARDS COMPETITION Annual Competition Recognizes the Best and Brightest Work in the Asian Advertising and Marketing Industry

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) announced recently the winners of the 3AF 2021 Excellence Awards competition. The awards are bestowed annually to recognize excellence and commitment by corporate marketers and Asian American media and the best and brightest creative, public relations and digital work by agencies in the Asian American advertising and marketing industry.

In the 3AF Creative Campaign of the Year category, top honor, or the Gold award for first place went to TDW+Co for their work on the 2020 Census entitled, "Shape Your Future. Start Here." Despite the external challenges and barriers caused to the nationwide count by the COVID-19 pandemic, their campaign managed to reach more than 99% of all households-including Asian--in the United States, with a 67% self-response rate and a total of 99.98% of all households responding.

More importantly, the U.S. Census Bureau recently released redistricting data in August 2021, which indicated that at 35.5%, Asians are the fastestgrowing racial group in the U.S. The demonstration could not have been possible without an accurate count of the Asian American population.

Second place in the creative campaign of the year award went to IW Group for their work on McDonalds (Famous Orders/BTS meal). Using the insight that "No matter how big or famous you are, everyone has a McDonald’s order,” IW Group collaborated with BTS, one of the world’s biggest musical

acts. The primary concept was to showcase the BTS meal itself, to entice younger, more discerning consumers to McDonald's, by taking core menu items (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets), and turning them into "curated" meals that are handpicked by celebrities and made widely available to the public for purchase for a limited time. The BTS Meal required no new food ingredients, but elegantly connected core menu items with today’s icons.

Quantasy received the bronze award, or third place, for their work on Wells Fargo entitled, “We Stand With You.” During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as 90% of small Asian American businesses reported losing revenue greater than those of Black, Hispanic, or white businesses.

The primary objective of the campaign was to show respect to this community's resilience and demonstrate Wells Fargo’s support for the Asian American community by connecting through compassion and championing the people and organizations making a meaningful difference.

The 3AF Marketer of the Year award was presented to McDonalds.

During the height of this year’s antiAsian attacks, the Golden Arches

was one of the first major brands to release a public statement and pledge a donation to combat antiAsian hate. They followed that brand action with an additional donation of $300,000 in national media inventory to air a PSA during prime dayparts on such major networks as ABC, NBC, ESPN and TNT. McDonald’s also made history by featuring Korean super group BTS and Filipina rapper Saweetie as part of their Famous Orders campaign, a general market initiative showcasing individuals who are shaping the country’s cultural narrative. Lastly, the brand celebrated key Asian holidays like Lunar New Year, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Mid-Autumn Festival and Diwali by collaborating with notable Asian American brands and artists like 88Rising and Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya.

ADMERASIA was recognized with the 3AF 2021 PR Campaign of the Year award for their efforts on "Racism is Contagious." The agency designed and developed Racismiscontagious.com, an ongoing platform with the coalition support of media, social movements and organizations around the country, including media platform NextShark and nonprofit movement Hate Is a Virus, designed to aggregate, map, visualize and address instances of targeted hate against the Asian American community.

Judges were very impressed with the campaign's results and, especially, its comprehensive nature.

See 3AF on

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CHULA VISTA, CA -- On December 7, the Chula Vista City Council approved by unanimous vote the Recommended Redistricting Plan map developed and submitted by the Chula Vista Redistricting Commission. The new districts will be in place for the June 2022 primary for City Council elections in Districts 1 and 2. City councilmembers and any candidates for council office must reside in and be elected by voters who reside in the respective new Council district boundaries.

In 2012, Chula Vista voters elected to create four geographic electoral districts within the City

of Chula Vista. The current Council District boundaries were approved in 2015. The Mayor and the City Attorney are elected at-large by all voters in the City. Following the Federal Decennial Census, the City’s Redistricting Commission is required to recommend, and the City Council is required to approve or disapprove, a Redistricting Plan map to adjust the boundaries of the four Council districts to take into account any population changes identified in the Census Report.

As part of the 2021 redistricting process, the City’s Redistricting Commission held 19 public meetings/workshops to obtain

input on potential adjustments to the current City Council District boundaries. The Commissioners and the City’s consultant demographer considered population changes, public comments, and other required redistricting criteria, including the location of “communities of interest” (areas of the City where residents share similar social, cultural, ethnic, geographic, economic and government interests), to develop the Recommended Redistricting Plan map.

Chula Vista’s new district See CHULA VISTA on

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2 • December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022

Filipino Press

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Manigong Bagong Taon!

We did it, my friends! We made it through 2021—another (more difficult than usual) year. Cheers to resilience, patience and innovation!

When reflecting on this past year as a community, I also recognize the great loss and great change experienced by many. I send you all prayers of strength, comfort, and peace.

For what it’s worth, this pandemic has put much of our life into perspective.

We’ve deeply contemplated the intentions behind our choices and questioned our priorities. Good health and quality time with loved ones top the list of things that deserve more of our effort. As we set goals and resolutions for 2022, let’s make sure to incorporate them. #kayantainto 1.

Choose one physical activity, like playing soccer with your kids, tutorial-led yoga or speed walking around the neighborhood, daily. Instead of simply working to “lose weight” you’re resolving to do something that boosts your health. There is the freedom to choose your physical activity, which is key to empowerment. You may lose weight anyhow, but your commitment breeds a positive, do-able habit. You

may also find that the exercise helps you relieve stress and clear your head. Winwin!

2.

Eat at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal. This could be a rainbow of veggies in your chop suey or an apple with the rest of your lunch. Again, it’s a do-able habit that allows for variety and freedom of choice.

Perhaps you’ll try fresh produce you’re unfamiliar with but come to love. Hello, vitamins and solid nutrition!

3.

Organize one drawer or closet a week. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by any kind of storage space. Take it step by step. Organizing can make like a neverending domino effect through your life.

Maybe your miscellaneous drawer in the kitchen is overflowing with spice packets, cooking tools you forgot you had, and mail you planned to shred before tossing.

Maybe your makeup drawer is cluttered by color trends that you ended up being uncomfortable with. (Don’t forget— makeup has an expiration date. Funny smells or a change in their color means it’s time for them to go.) Maybe it’s a pile of paperwork that you plan to file… someday. To make sure your efforts end well, keep an inspiration photo on-hand.

(Pinterest is great for that.)

4.

Label storage containers/areas.

Having a specific “parking spot” for items builds a sense of peace. No need to stress out about hunting down something or not having enough of something, whether an ingredient, tool or otherwise.

With labels, you’ll know exactly where to find it.

5.

Journal…or calendar… Maybe you’re not a diary person. (Though I’ve tried, I am not.) But what I’ve found through the years is that I enjoy looking at old calendars/planners. Reading through them, I am immediately transported back to those busy days, juggling a bazillion different responsibilities. My entries weren’t lengthy expressions of feelings. They were simply written notes reminding me of my schedule and anything I may need for my activities at the time. I know that the written calendar I keep now will be of interest to me in the future. (I’ve also found that writing reminders is more effective for me than typing them.) I’m sure you’ll look back one day, amazed that you were able to complete and accomplish so much!

Manigong Bagong Taon! …or as we say in my family…Maigueng Bagong Taon!! Wishing you all an abundance of joy, good health, opportunity and success in 2022 and beyond!! XO, Francine

Exclusively here in The Filipino Press--Follow Francine Maigue’s adventures as she represents our region with grace and honor as one of the "100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World" and the "Global Face of Pinay Power," as named by the Filipina Women's Network. Francine is the FilipinoAmerican History Achievement Award Winner in Humanitarianism, Arts, and Community Service and an Outstanding Filipino American Young Leaders Awardee as selected

by His Excellency Ambassador Cuisia and the Philippine Consuls.

Originally from Cavite City, Philippines and raised in Chula Vista, Francine Maigue received her master’s degree from Harvard University and bachelor’s degree from UCLA. Francine is the District Director for California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.

She is the Immediate Past President of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of San Diego County, Board Member for the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Foundation and Los Chabacanos of Cavite City, and is a former Miss Philippines of San Diego. Got an organization, business, or event Francine should know about? Email: thepamperedpinay@yahoo.com.

Patricia Javier, actress, singer, entrepreneur and philanthropist visited San Diego recently to organize the Noble Queen of the Universe pageant and to celebrate her 16th Year wedding anniversary with Dr. Rob Walcher.

Top photo shows the queens with their respective titles. Bottom photo shows the Empowered Women Leader Awardees. The event was held at Jasmine Restaurant in San Diego (by Zen Ply)

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December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022 • 3

4 • December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022

Filipino Press

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Philippines logs 1,623 more COVID-19 cases; positivity rate at 6.6% MANILA -- The Philippines on Thursday registered 1,623 additional coronavirus disease infections, increasing the nationwide tally to 2,841,260.

Of the new cases, 1,582 (97%) occurred within the recent 14 days from December 17 to December 30, 2021. Also, the top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were Metro Manila (1,063 or 67%), followed by Calabarzon (173 or 11%) and Central Luzon (101 or 6%).

According to the Department of Health's (DOH) case bulletin, the fresh infections also brought the active tally to 11,772, consisting of 577 asymptomatic cases, 5,737 mild cases, 3,315 moderate cases, 1,771 severe cases, and 372 critical cases.

The COVID-19 positivity rate also reached 6.6%—up from Wednesday's 4.5%—from a total of 30,933 COVID-19 tests. The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate of below 5%; above this indicates high transmission rate.

The DOH also said a total of 256 additional recoveries were recorded, pushing the total recoveries to 2,778,115.

The country's death toll due to COVID-19 reached 51,373, with 133 more fatalities.

Of the additional deaths, four occurred in December 2021 (3%), six in November 2021 (5%), 14 in October 2021 (11%), 20 in September 2021 (15%), 23 in August 2021 (17%), six in July 2021 (5%), five in June 2021 (4%), nine in May 2021 (7%), 21 in April 2021 (16%), 15 in March 2021 (11%), one each in February 2021 (1%) and in January 2021 (1%), two in October 2020 (2%), three in September 2020 (2%), two in August 2020 (2%), and one in July 2020 (1%) "due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya."

"This issue is currently being coordinated with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units to ensure information is up to date," said the DOH. The Philippines' nationwide healthcare system also showed that 20% intensive care unit beds are occupied and 11% mechanical ventilators are in use.

In Metro Manila, 24% ICU beds are in use while 15% of ventilators are utilized.

Meanwhile, the DOH modified the country's total tally after removing ten duplicates, including six recoveries and one death. Also removed were 143 cases, including 140 recoveries, that turned out to be negative.

Also, the recovery tally was revised after 126 recoveries were reclassified as deaths.

Two laboratories were nonoperational on December 28, 2021 while three laboratories did not submit their data to COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS).

In the last 14 days, DOH figures showed that the five non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 0.1% of samples tested and 0.0% of positive individuals.

PH receives last batch of gov'tprocured vaccines for 2021 Amid the upward trend in confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 cases in the Philippines, the national government on Thursday night received the last shipment of Covid-19 vaccines for the year — 609,570 doses of Pfizer.

The Pfizer vaccines, which arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 just before 9 p.m., complete the country's supply

agreement for 40 million doses from the US drug maker.

Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, special medical adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, thanked the United States (US) government for their assistance in the delivery of the vaccines.

“We’d like to thank the US government for their assistance for the delivery of about 40 million doses of vaccines, which we had procured,” he said in an interview with reporters.

Aside from the 40 million Pfizer doses procured by the government, Herbosa said the US has also donated more than 26 million doses of Pfizer to the Philippines.

“This last shipment, ladies and gentlemen, completes all the procurements of the Philippine government for the year 2021,” he added.

To date, Herbosa said the Philippines has more than 210 million doses of vaccine.

Of this number, 138 million were procured by the government while the rest were donated by different countries to the Philippines through the COVAX Facility.

Michael William Leach, US Embassy consul, praised the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for its effort to procure Covid-19 vaccines.

“It's an honor to be a small part of the solution to this horrible pandemic here in the Philippines and to see the IATF and all the officials here handle it so well,” he said.

Herbosa emphasized the need to boost the Philippines’ vaccination drive after the country logged 1,623 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday — the highest single-day tally since November 21.

As of Thursday, the country has more than 2.8 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, more than 2.7 million recoveries, and 51,373 deaths. "(It is) very important because our cases are rising. We are reminding people to get vaccinated, we are reminding people to get their booster doses,” he said.

He also encouraged the public to continue adhering to minimum public health standards as the country welcomes the New Year.

“We do hope that people will be more careful as we greet the New Year and say goodbye to 2021 and meet 2022, please continue to observe minimum public health standards, wear the face mask, congregate with only vaccinated people. If you’re going to hold a party on New Year’s Eve, make sure it’s outdoors like this and observe social distancing,” he added.

OCTA: NCR positivity rate at 14%, 2,500 new cases seen on New Year's Eve The National Capital Region's new COVID-19 cases could soar to more than 2,000 on New Year's Eve after its positivity rate reached 14%, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Thursday.

On Twitter, David also said the Philippines' new infections might reach 2,500 on December 31.

"More than 2,000 new cases is possible on December 31, with more than 2,500 new cases nationwide," David said.

"The rate of increase is dramatic, and we should really comply strictly with minimum public health standards and reduce social and mass gatherings," he added.

Earlier, OCTA also warned that Metro Manila was already at moderate risk for COVID-19, with a reproduction number of 1.476 A reproduction number above 1 meant the virus was being transmitted exponentially.

OCTA on Wednesday night projected that the new cases on Thursday, Rizal Day, could hit 1,600.

The Department of Health's case bulletin earlier showed that the country's new coronavirus disease cases on Thursday reached 1,623.

Despite these developments, Philippines will still be under a less stringent Alert Level System 2 until January 15, 2022.

The DOH said an increase in cases was expected because of the holiday season attended by increased mobility.

In a statement, the health department urged the public not to downplay the COVID-19, adding that health protocols should still be followed.

"Sa pag-doble ng bilang ng mga naitalang bagong kaso ng COVID-19 sa nakalipas na dalawang araw, hinihikayat ng DOH ang publiko na gawin ang lahat ng ating makakaya upang maiwasan na maging panibagong 2020 ang taong 2022.

Lahat tayo ay kumilos ng may lubos na pag-iingat na parang naririto na ang mas nakakahawang Omicron variant," read the statement.

NCR at moderate risk; COVID-19 reproduction rate critical at 1.47 -- OCTA The National Capital Region (NCR) is now at moderate risk for COVID-19, with its reproduction number spiking to a "critical" 1.47, independent group OCTA Research said Thursday.

In its latest update, OCTA said the latest reproduction number was higher from the previous 0.51.

Overall, the NCR was at "moderate risk" from December 23 to 29, from "very low risk" from December 16 to 22.

OCTA added that the Department of Health's reported 572 new COVID cases in NCR was 229% higher than the number the previous day.

Further, NCR's seven-day average in new daily cases increased to 215 (as of December 23 to 29) from 79 (from December 16 to 22).

The incidence or average daily attack rate (ADAR), or the number of new daily cases per 100,000 population, is still considered low to 1.52 from 0.56.

Meanwhile, the seven-day positivity rate increased to 3.86%, also considered low, from 0.69% the previous week.

Hospital utilization rate remained at very low level, which increased slightly to 19% from 18%.

An increase in the number of hospital beds occupied was also seen at 8% compared to the previous week, while the number of ICUs occupied increased to 12% during the same time frame.

The average number of RT-PCR tests conducted was 14,119, which is lower than 17,595 tests during the previous week.

On Wednesday, the Philippines logged 889 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 2,839,790.

Local government units are ready to impose granular lockdowns following the uptick of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila, an official of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) said Thursday. (MNS)

YEAR OF THE TIGER. A store owner displays a miniature golden tiger figurine at a stall along Ongpin St. in Binondo, Manila on Thursday (Dec. 30, 2021). According to the Chinese zodiac, 2022 is the year of the water tiger, which symbolizes strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. (MNS photo)

KOREAN DONATION. Korean Ambassador to Manila Kim Inchul (center) turns over a hygiene kit to Department of Social Welfare and Development Director Emmanuel P. Privado during the turnover ceremony of P2.5 million worth of rice and hygiene kits at the DSWD-National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City on Wednesday (Dec. 29, 2021). The envoy said the initial aid is on top of its upcoming USD2-million (approximately P100 million) humanitarian assistance to further help victims of Typhoon Odette. (MNS photo)

SoKor turns over P2.5-M rice, hygiene kits to 'Odette' victims The South Korean government on Wednesday turned over PHP2.5 million worth of rice and hygiene kits as immediate relief to the communities affected by Typhoon Odette.

The donation, delivered to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, includes 1,500 sacks of rice and 740 hygiene kits, all of which were sourced locally.

"The Republic of Korea, we know that four million people in 38 provinces and 11 regions are not just there as big numbers, they are people who are in desperate need of speedy and continuous assistance and relief, and I know every little bit counts," Korean Ambassador to Manila Kim Inchul said.

The envoy noted that this initial aid is on top of its upcoming USD2 million (approximately PHP100 million) humanitarian assistance to further help the typhoon victims recover.

The Embassy is currently working with different partners in the Philippines to evaluate where the additional contribution should be best allocated.

"With my short experience here in the Philippines in the past, we (contributed) a few hundreds of US dollars following Typhoon Rolly and the destination of that cash assistance was the Philippine Red Cross and with that, they built close to 200 permanent housing for the displaced people in Albay," he told the Philippine News Agency.

"So it will depend on what we will find here. We're contacting different departments and international organizations to see where they feel the need, the urgency because relief has to go along with recovery," he added.

Along with emergency relief packs, Kim stressed that housing, telecommunication, power have to come back altogether to allow the affected population to return to their daily lives.

"It's a comprehensive thing, so it will require a whole of the international community and the Philippine government approach," he said.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Myca Magnolia Fischer, meanwhile, thanked the Korean government for its support, especially as the government ramps up its relief operations for the Visayas and Mindanao.

"We're thankful for the solidarity and sympathy of the Republic of Korea. Korea has always been a steady partner of the Philippines and especially during this difficult time we can really rely on Korea to give their support," she told the PNA. DSWD Director Emmanuel Privado said the latest Korean rice donation will be able to feed about 6,000 families.

As of December 28, the DSWD has so far delivered more than 120,000 family food packs to the 11 regions hit by “Odette” with at least three trucks carrying 1,700 boxes each still in transit.

Donate to typhoon victims instead of buying firecrackers -- Palace Donate to victims of Typhoon Odette instead of buying firecrackers, a Palace official said on Wednesday.

Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, made this call after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 25 firecrackerrelated injuries ahead of the New Year.

“Tama po iyon, imbes na igastos natin sa paputok, sa firecrackers na bawal po, ibigay na lang po natin sa mga kababayan natin na nangangailangan. Those na tinamaan,

lubos na naapektuhan ng Typhoon Odette, doon na lang po natin ibigay ang tulong natin (That’s right, instead of spending it on firecrackers that are illegal, let’s just help our fellowmen in need. Let’s help those severely affected

by Typhoon Odette),” he said in a Palace press briefing.

Citing an executive order signed

by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, Nograles said fireworks should only be confined to community fireworks displays to minimize the risk of injuries and casualties.

He also noted that community fireworks should only be conducted under the supervision of a trained person duly licensed by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Dapat wala nga po tayong fireworks-related injuries na makikita dahil nga po community fireworks lang po ang puwede (In the first place, there shouldn’t be fireworks-related injuries because only community fireworks are allowed),” he added.

Nograles also reiterated the DOH guideline discouraging the use of torotot (horns) and items “that we use with our mouths” to avoid Covid-19 infection.

“Hindi pupuwede iyong torotot, hindi pupuwede iyong anything na wind instruments na lumalabas sa ating bibig iwasan din po natin iyan (Horns are prohibited, any wind instrument we use with our mouths are not allowed), so let’s just use percussion. You know, pans, tambourines, bells or iyong (those) light emitting devices. Ito po ay nasa DOH reminders sa public (These are the reminders of the DOH),” he said.

He emphasized that these guidelines were released for the public’s own good.

“Iyong mga guidelines na ito mga kababayan, hindi naman natin ginagawa ito dahil wala lang. Hindi po ganoon (These guidelines were not made for the sake of it. It’s not like that), they all serve a purpose, and we cannot serve its purpose if the people do not comply. So, let’s just all comply with the guidelines,” he added.

Interior Secretary Jonathan Malaya, for his part, said the DILG, PNP, and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are currently conducting efforts to crack down on the manufacture, sale, and use of illegal firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.

“Ang PNP po at LGU mayroon po silang katungkulan (The PNP and LGUs have a duty) to enforce national and local policies regarding the use of firecrackers at puwede po silang magsagawa ng mga inspeksyon (and they can conduct inspections) and they can also confiscate and sirain itong mga (destroy) prohibited firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices,” he said.

According to the DOH, fireworksrelated injuries increased by 108 percent with 25 reported cases from Dec. 21 to 29. Only 12 cases were recorded in the same period last year.

Most of the injuries are among minors aged nine to 16 while the leading causes of injuries were prohibited fireworks such as boga, 5-star, and piccolo.

Confirmed deaths due to 'Odette' rise to 63 -- NDRRMC A total of 63 out of 397 reported deaths due to Typhoon Odette has been validated, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday.

In its latest situation report, the NDRRMC also validated 74 injured and 12 missing.

Meanwhile, the remaining 334

reported deaths, along with 1,073 injured and 71 missing are still being validated.

The typhoon casualties were mostly from the Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga regions.

Families affected have been placed at 1,073,538 or equivalent to 4,176,567 persons residing in 6,087 barangays in Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

About 75,731 families remain in 1,201 evacuation centers while 74,924 are being helped outside with the remainder sheltering with relatives and friends.

Damaged houses are placed at 531,128 in Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga and the BARMM. Of these, 358,834 were classified as partially damaged and 172,294 as destroyed.

PAF transports 2.2K tons of relief goods to 'Odette'-hit areas The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has transported 2,275 tons of relief goods to areas affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

"As of today, the PAF transported a total of 2,275 tons of relief goods, such as rice, water, canned goods, and toiletries, as well as generator sets and water tanks," PAF spokesperson Lt. Col. Maynard Mariano said in a statement Tuesday night.

The PAF also ferried 99 "locally stranded individuals" from Siargao to the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on December 28 alone, he added.

"Meanwhile, personnel from the 355th Aviation Engineer Wing, along with several heavy equipment, were deployed from Basa Air Base to Mactan, Cebu to assist in the planning for recovery and rehabilitation of the typhoon-stricken areas," Mariano said.

On Christmas Day, PAF aircraft transported relief goods to Siargao, Surigao, Bohol, and Mactan, Cebu from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

The PAF's C-295, Fokker F-27, and NC-212i transport aircraft were used to bring 246 sacks of rice, five boxes of sardines, and 90 boxes of water, which will be distributed to those affected by “Odette”.

Two S-70i "Black Hawk" combat utility helicopters also delivered relief goods, 60 sacks of rice, and 30 sacks of assorted goods and medicine to Cagayancillo Island, Palawan.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Army's (PA) humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations continue in areas and communities ravaged by the typhoon.

Different PA units have intensified their HADR operations and participated in the rehabilitation efforts in Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Occidental, and other provinces in the Visayas devastated by the typhoon, Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Tuesday night.

"The Army Reserve Command and other engineer battalions committed to the road-clearing operations in collaboration with the local government units of the affected areas See

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FILIPINO MUSING ON A HALF CENTURY JOURNEY OF LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM SAN DIEGO, CA -- First and foremost, a Happy New Year to you all!

January 7th of this month will be a special day for me and an occasion for reflection and remembrance and absolutely a deeply personal celebration for me, too. You see, my dear folks - it has been for me a half century (and still counting) of living life as an American!

As you all might have already guessed by now, I have decided to write something on it - as I am also so very proud about it and it is a matter that I most value, too – so, to commemorate a very significant milestone in my life story – here goes it.

Immigrants to the United States frequently perceive America as the land of endless opportunities and prosperity, and this perception is very frequently a propelling force in the decision for immigration.

The “American Dream” has been a pervasive ideology in American culture for a long time. It has not only motivated countless native-born Americans, but it has also fascinated millions outside the borders of the United States and drawn them to the “land of opportunity.”

“In the beginning,” wrote English philosopher John Locke, “The entire world was America.” Indeed, it evokes the unsullied newness, infinite possibility, limitless resources that are commonly understood to be the essence of the “American Dream.”

The idea of the American Dream has been attached to everything from religious freedom to a home in the suburbs, and it has inspired emotions ranging from deep satisfaction to disillusioned fury. Nevertheless, the phrase elicits for most Americans some variant of Locke’s fantasy – a new world where anything can happen and good things might.

Millions of immigrants and internal migrants have moved to America, and around within it, to fulfill their version of the American Dream.

By objective measures and their own accounts, many have achieved success.

Probably just as many have been defeated and disillusioned. But one cannot address that subject, nor eventually move beyond it without knowing what the dream is and how it operates.

It is without doubt and very obvious that the American Dream consists of tenets about achieving success.

Americans believe economic wealth was possible and achieving it would ratify the American Dream whose promise of hard work (not good luck) is the path to prosperity. And people most often define success as the attainment of a high income, a prestigious job, or

economic security.

My treatment is no exception.

And like so many others, I lived and played my own American Dream by the rules.

In a speech to Democratic Leadership Council in 1993 President Bill Clinton had this to say, “The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one – if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far as your God-given ability will take you.”

S-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e!

I sincerely do believe that this philosophy genuinely lives in the heart, soul and mind of every Filipino immigrant, there’s no doubts and ifs about it. Practically, all of our “kababayans” (fellow country folks) back in the old homeland dreamed of a glowing, happy life, bright with the promise of a good future and education in America. They saw the long, twisting road that lay ahead of them and knew the challenges they would be forced to encounter.

Despite this, all persevered and embarked on their American Dream fearlessly and driven by the hope of their simple reverie.

And that includes yours truly!

I enlisted in the United States Navy in 1966 – January 7th to be precise – I will always remember that important date very vividly.

And it will be 56 years (and counting) since I took my first step onto my American trek in search of that fabled dream.

Yes, my journey to the American Dream had started in the old country with a newspaper ad inviting Filipinos to join the U. S. Navy. I pointed it out to my dad and said, “I want to give this a try.”

I was at the end of my second year at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City when I decided to do just that.

Starting in a group of about a thousand potential Filipino recruits, a series of tests whittled the pool to about three dozen. I have made it!

The Navy sent me next to boot camp training in sunny San Diego.

“I keep looking at these guys next to me,” I think of those initial few days in the Navy as my very first days of speaking American English full-time.

Honestly, I was originally planning on a four year Navy contract, go back home afterwards and take my GI bill for further studies but then decided to reenlist during the Vietnam War and settle down permanently here in the USA. Truly, when I first came here I didn’t plan on staying this long until I started to get to know all the wholesome opportunities and see what I can achieve by hard work.

Immediately, I started to see a fast

and spectacular improvement in my finances. So, I started thinking about getting married much earlier so that I could start my very own family and thereby stay much longer.

And the rest is my history, so to speak.

Absolutely, from the turbulent years of the 1960s to the end of the Cold War, I experienced almost every aspect of life in America’s Navy. I served on several deployments to Vietnam, was on the task force that proceeded to Korea following the USS Pueblo seizure by the North Koreans and was on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk when the ill-fated rescue attempt for the Iranian hostages was launched.

Hence, every Veterans Day I always pause and reflect on my own service time, my buddies and shipmates who I miss always, my own family’s collection of US military veterans and I thank all those who have ever wore a uniform and served to protect this great nation of ours.

(About 34,620 Filipinos – which include me - enlisted in the

Navy between 1952 and 1990, the only period for which figures are available according to records. Over the decades, the Navy has recruited about 400 Filipinos – all men – each year.

Filipinos were the only foreign nationals allowed to enlist in the U.S. armed forces without first immigrating to this country. And the Navy was the only military branch they could join.

Typically, we were described “as very good sailors who are dedicated to their jobs.”

The end of the military base agreement between the two countries terminated the nearly centuryold program. The Navy stopped recruiting Filipino nationals on 31 December 1991.)

I am very p-r-o-u-d to be an American!

And here’s my two cent’s worth take on it.

Before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, immigrants must take an oath that says, in part, “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure

With Dr. Dali Fan, UC Davis Health LOS ANGELES, CA -- A case of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, was confirmed at the end of November in California thanks to the state’s large-scale testing and early detection systems. This variant is a cause for concern, not a reason to panic, and public health officials are monitoring the situation.

Until we know more about the new variant, it is important to remember the four things we can do to protect ourselves and our families against COVID-19: * Get fully vaccinated and get boosted * Wear a mask in indoor public settings * Get tested if you have symptoms or may have been exposed, and * Stay home when feeling sick California and federal health officials are working around the clock to study the new variant, including how it spreads, the vaccine’s efficacy against it and impact on COVID-19 symptoms. The reality is that the longer COVID-19 remains a threat, the most variants we will have to overcome. That’s why it is critical Californians get vaccinated to slow the spread of the dominant strains.

Kids 5-11 are eligible for vaccines and adults who have already completed their vaccine series are able to receive

Dr. Dali Fan, UC Davis Health booters in time for the holidays.

Based on what we do know about this emerging variant, I’m answering your questions below: How can I protect my family from this new variant?

COVID-19 safety basics continue to be important tools to help slow the spread of COVID-19. First and foremost, everyone who is eligible should get vaccinated and complete their vaccination series. Get a booster when you are eligible. If you are sick, stay home and get tested for COVID-19. And wear a mask when it can protect you and others, especially in indoor public settings. N95 and KN95 masks offer the best protection.

Additionally, Californians are strongly encouraged to enroll in CA

Jesse T. Reyes

Filipino Potpourri

all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”

That language seems to firmly establish a principle of “one person, one country.” But even though it sounds unequivocal, it is not. In fact, it is entirely possible for naturalized U.S. citizens to retain citizenship in another country, or for a native-born American to claim citizenship in a second country.

On the face of it, this is an odd arrangement that somehow do challenge the notion that citizenship is an expression of national loyalty.

I am not saying that I have forgotten my country of birth or repudiate its language or culture.

Travels back and forth between the two nations certainly enrich the cultures and economies of both countries.

Rather, I believe that American citizenship should be an expression of allegiance to it, enforced not by pledge but contrarily by a desire to be part of this great country. Dual citizenship may have

a place in American society, but the goal should be the cultivation of undivided Americans, proud of their heritage and absolutely committed to this grand nation of ours.

This is just me realizing my American Dream.

And if success is measured competitively and defined narrowly, I have indeed fulfilled my own American Dream!

These days, quite a number of people say the American Dream is dead. Nowadays, holding onto the American Dream has become increasingly more difficult as it seems so to many.

I say the American Dream remains a vibrant concept that the majority of Americans comprehend and define in various ways as relevant to their own life experiences.

And trust and do believe me, it is very much alive and absolutely anyone can still live it.

I say you just need to make a choice about what you want in life.

Are you living the American Dream?

Cheers!

"HAZE GRAY AND UNDERWAY": A sea-bag inspection of Navy Recruit Company 061 (the author is seen second from the right) at the Naval Training San Diego circa January of 1966

"A BAND OF BROTHERS": The author (shown here 4th from the left) pose for posterity with other graduating "Pinoys" of Navy Recruit Company 061 at the Naval Training Center San Diego in April of 1966

AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OMICRON VARIANT, COVID-19 SAFETY BASICS REMAIN IMPORTANT QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH DR. DALI FAN, UC DAVIS HEALTH

By Ethnic Media Services

December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022 • 5

Notify to be informed when they have been exposed to COVID-19, or to anonymously report that they’ve tested positive. CANotify. ca.gov makes it easy for California to quickly alert others of possible exposure, allowing them to take the necessary precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 across the state.

Will the vaccines still work against the Omicron variant?

We are still learning about the new variant, including how it spreads and infects individuals as well as how it responds to vaccines. But we do know that variants will continue to emerge as long as there are large proportions of unvaccinated people. We have to remember that COVID-19 is a virus, it wants to live as long as possible by mutating into other variants, which is why vaccination is key to stopping it and its future variants in their tracks.

Right now, we know that all three COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death associated with the main variant circulating in California: the Delta variant.

Will the tests we have in California be able to detect the Omicron variant?

The Omicron variant can be detected with PCR and antigen testing that is currently available in California. Testing is being expanded by the state at international airports, prioritizing arrivals from affected

countries. The state is monitoring for the variant’s presence through COVIDNet, the unprecedented Whole Genome Sequencing Surveillance that utilizes sequencing data to help control the spread of COVID-19.

I have family overseas and I am worried about us and them traveling during the holiday season.

Travelers should follow guidance from the CDC. All air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than one day before travel to the U.S. starting December 6.

Additionally, the CDC recommends testing within 3-5 days after arrival, and unvaccinated travelers should quarantine for 7 days regardless of a negative test. If COVID-19 symptoms develop, travelers should continue to isolate and get tested again.

Where can I go to get tested if I have symptoms of COVID-19, or if I have been potentially exposed?

Californians can find a COVID-19 testing site online at MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling (833) 422-4255.

Where can families get more information about the vaccine and to make an appointment?

Visit the state’s websites at www. vaccinateall58.com or www.myturn. ca.gov for more information on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and to make a vaccination appointment.

"WHERE HAVE ALL THE SAILORS GONE?": A part of the Navy Recruit Company 061 of the Naval Training Center San Diego circa 1966 (the author is shown at the extreme left, bottom row)

CHULA VISTA

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boundaries reflect a number of adjustments to address the population changes identified in the 2020 Census Report, applicable federal, state, and local laws, and the required districting criteria.

• The new map keeps communities together and maintains the core of existing district boundaries.

• District 1 still includes the northeast portion of the City.

• District 2 expands farther east to gain a portion of the Rancho Del Rey community.

• District 3 is reduced by the area around Southwestern College, a

portion of the Eastlake Village area, and the Oleander corridor between Telegraph Canyon Road and Main Street.

• District 4 expands to add areas of the Oleander corridor east of I-805, reuniting the areas on the east/west side of I-805 that were split by the I-805 construction in 1975. L Street remains the northern boundary of District 4 and now includes the future development area of the Chula Vista Bayfront, south of F Street and west of I-5.

The approved Chula Vista Redistricting Plan map has been submitted to the County Registrar of Voters. For more information, visit www.chulavistaca.gov/redistricting.

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DUTERTE

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“I hope Congress, the lower and upper house, would…eventually Congress would be the one who would…you have to pass the laws needed to cope up with this new problem looming on the horizon,” he said.

Duterte signs law creating Department of Migrant Workers President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday signed into law a measure that aims to improve coordination among agencies concerned with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and OFW affairs.

In a ceremony at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace, Duterte signed Republic Act 11641 also known as “An Act Creating the Department of Migrant Workers”.

Duterte likened OFWs to the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal, for being the lifeline of the Philippine economy.

“The establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers happens on the celebration of Rizal Day. May we honor not only the exceptional love for country of Dr. Jose Rizal, but also the patriotism, excellence, courage of our modernday heroes including our overseas Filipinos,” he said in his speech.

The creation and establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers is one of Duterte’s priorities after he certified it as an urgent bill in March.

Duterte has repeatedly pushed

for the passage of a bill mandating the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers, even mentioning it in his final State-of-the-Nation Address on July 26 this year.

“I also ask Congress to pass a law creating the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos kailangan po ito (we need this) because they are suffering not on -- they suffered not only yesterday but they are still suffering now with so many inadequacies, in both our government response including the monetary assistance -- to ensure that there is a department that is solely focused on addressing the needs and taking care of the welfare of our countrymen abroad,” he said.

The Department of Migrant Workers is expected to benefit an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos abroad, based on the 2019 Survey on Overseas Filipinos released in 2020 by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the same event, Duterte also signed into law the PHP5.024 trillion national budget for 2022, which will be used for the country’s Covid-19 pandemic response and recovery operations after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

He previously signed RA 11640 entitled, “An Act Extending the Availability of the 2021 Appropriations to December 31, 2022, Amending for the Purpose Section 62 of the General Provisions of Republic Act 11518, the General Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2021”.

Gov’t to fast-track programs

in last 6 months of Duterte's term With the scheduled signing of the proposed 2022 national budget into law on Thursday, Malacañang assured that the national government will “fast track” all programs and projects meant to improve the lives of Filipinos in the last six months of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.

“Tomorrow, naka-schedule po ang pagpirma ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte ng 2022 general appropriations law (President Duterte is scheduled to sign the 2022 general appropriations law),” acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said in a Palace press briefing on Wednesday.

The signing of the second pandemic-era budget will guarantee that the government will not operate on a reenacted budget.

“Maasahan natin (We can expect that) in the remaining six months of the term of President Duterte, we will implement and fast-track lahat ng mga programa, proyekto, and activities na nakapaloob sa (all programs, projects, and activities stipulated in the) 2022 national budget,” he added.

Nograles said these programs and projects need to be carried out before the forthcoming 45-day ban on new projects ahead of the May 2022 national elections.

“Kailangan natin gawin ito dahil may (We need to do this because there is an) election ban so we have to already implement bago mag election ban para maramdaman

agad ng ating mga kababayan (implement these before elections so that our fellowmen could benefit from them),” he said.

Meanwhile, he also welcomed the results of a survey that showed that the majority of Filipinos will welcome 2022 "with hope rather than with fear."

Based on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, 93 percent of respondents said they would welcome the New Year with hope while only 7 percent of the respondents would enter 2022 with apprehensions.

Despite the prevailing pandemic, Nograles reminded the public to do their part in ensuring a better year ahead.

“Nandito ang gobyerno para gawin ang lahat ng makakaya pero kailangan din namin ang tulong ninyo. Sa pagtutulungan natin we can overcome yung challenges natin dito sa Covid. Patuloy natin gawin ang nararapat (The government is here to do its best but we also need your help. With everyone’s help, we can overcome the challenges related to the coronavirus disease 2019),” he said.

On Monday, acting Budget Secretary Tina Rose Canda said Duterte is expected to sign the proposed PHP5.024 trillion national budget by December 28, with some provisions up for veto.

Nograles later confirmed that the signing of next year's budget was postponed because the Office of the President is still in the process of vetting and reviewing it. (MNS)

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Duterte renews call to give unused gov't lands to poor MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed his call to give unused government-owned lands to the poor, including those displaced by Typhoon Odette.

In a pre-recorded public address aired Tuesday morning, Duterte directed the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to ensure that idle government-owned lands are distributed “within the next few months”.

“Kung mag-rehabilitate kayo ng isang (If you are going to rehabilitate a) community and you would want to look for the space if it’s government land, Ibigay na ninyo lahat. Those idle government land, better give it to the people right away,” he said.

“Lahat ng lupa na puwedeng ibigay sa tao (All the unused lands we can give to the people), whether they were victims of the typhoon or not, ibigay na lang yung kaya ibigay (let’s just give what we can give),” he added.

According to Duterte, most of those affected by the typhoon were “marginalized” and “very poor” and had no other place to go.

“Bilisan na ninyo nang konti (Just hurry up a bit),” he said.

He also lauded former DAR Secretary John Castriciones for his contributions in spearheading the distribution of more Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to rightful applicants.

“Castriociones made a good,

for the time when he was with the Cabinet, he made a significant act of giving so many lands,” he said.

Castriciones resigned from his post in October to run for senator in the May 2022 elections.

He was supposed to run for the Senate during the 2019 midterm elections but decided to stay as DAR chief.

‘Flaws in the law’ Meanwhile, Duterte also reiterated that the law requiring the assessment of reports on disaster areas before a state of calamity is declared should be repealed.

“The law on the proclamation of calamities should not be dependent on the assessment of damage because that exercise should come days after the catastrophic event,” he said.

“The period of assessment comes very much later. ‘Yan ang tingin kong (That is what I think is) the flaw of the law,” he added.

Duterte was possibly referring to Republic Act No. (RA) 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

He earlier described waiting for the assessment of reports as a “hindrance” and “legal obstacle” that delayed his declaration of a state of calamity in areas battered by the typhoon and prevented the government from acting immediately.

“It behooves upon this

Congress, if they want to, for the next President, may I advise, try to repeal the law so that government, there is already the warning, hindi na kailangan ng (no need for) assessment because the warning just too far away for us to prepare,” he said in a public address aired Monday night.

Recent reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that Typhoon Odette has caused over PHP28 million worth of damage in 506,404 houses; more than PHP16 billion worth of damage to 276 infrastructures, and over PHP5 billion worth of damage to agriculture.

Over 300 cities and municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao were placed under a state of calamity. (MNS)

8 • December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022

3AF

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In the PR category, honorable mention was given to Stamp Our Story Committee, who partnered with TDW+Co and Diane Suzuki on the campaign for "Go for Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of World War II," a Forever stamp that was published by the U.S. Postal Service after a 15-year effort led

by Stamp Our Story co-founders Fusa Takahashi, Aiko O. King, and the late Chiz Ohira, with co-chair Wayne Osako. The campaign's primary messaging focused on the Go for Broke stamp serving as the first Forever stamp to feature the image of an Asian American soldier and one of only a few stamps in U.S. postal history to feature a historical Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) subject. The stamp honors the service of the Go for Broke soldiers of World War II — including the late husbands of Takahashi, King, and Ohira — who in the face of great prejudice, rose to serve with distinction to become one of the most decorated units for their size and service. The team engaged multiple internal and external stakeholders in online and offline conversations through the implementation of virtual interviews (inclusive of podcast interviews),

print and digital media pitching efforts, phone conversations and high touch points with general market and ethnic press partners to secure stories, and especially to secure attendance of community stakeholder groups at the stamp’s unveiling ceremony in Los Angeles.

The 3AF media partner of the year award was presented to the Filipino Press. Since 1986, the Filipino Press has been the leading source of news for the Filipino community in San Diego and Southern California. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the newspaper, thanks largely to its owner, continues to build bridges and amplify the voices of various ethnic communities beyond the Asian segment in National City, Mira Mesa, EastLake, Chula Vista, Escondido, Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, El Cajon, Clairemont Mesa, Linda Vista and Oceanside, California on a weekly basis.

This year, the judges chose to recognize AARP with a special award: the 3AF Community Partner of the Year. The Asian American population is the second fastest growing segment of the age 50+and will grow in number from 4.3 million (as of 2012) to 13.2 million by 2050 (Source: AARP). By developing campaigns to support 50+ AAPIs and targeting adults between the

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age of 35 - 49, this also allowed the brand to build awareness among future AARP members, but also key decision makers and caregivers of 50+ adults in consideration of intergenerational roles in AAPI families.

The judges felt strongly that AARP's significant community-based marketing communications and outreach to raise Asian American community knowledge on such critical issues as COVID-19 safety and vaccine, 2020 Census, 2020 state by state voter engagement and anti-Asian violence was worthy of recognition.

Genny Hom-Franzen, Executive Director of the 3AF said, “The 3AF is proud to continue its work and amplify the message that our community is strong and resilient.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our member agencies and media partners are forging ahead, doing great work on behalf of their clients to reach and target the critical Asian American consumer segment.

Our annual awards competition recognizes the many 3AF member agencies, media, and other partners who are doing stellar work in our industry. Congratulations to this year’s winners for being a part of the 3AF and contributing to our mission to spotlight the power and influence of the Asian American consumer segment.”

Looks Can Cost

By Gerald Ligeralde SAN DIEGO, CA --San Diego is sprawling with fast, eccentric, modified, and potentially illegal cars soaring across the highway and many who own one of these modified cars drive and occasionally race these cars at their own risk. Because of this, many incidents involving these cars happen all the time Modified cars can cost a lot of money to customize, and this does not account for the cost of fines, tickets, or even potential accidents all for the sake of aesthetic and speed. Many drivers often receive citations known as “fix-it” tickets due to loud mufflers, tinted windows, or other vehicle modifications.

Luis Santiago is a college student who drives one of these modified cars, specifically a Scion model FR-S that he modified himself. Santiago recently received a “fix-it” citation for having his car louder than the legal limit.

Santiago explains, “two cops pulled me because he told me my car is too loud. He (The Officer) checked the back of my car and he saw my exhaust and he told me to change my exhaust back to stock. Thankfully he didn’t check under my hood because I had headers that aren’t technically allowed. One of my friends already got a “fix-it” ticket for having his car to low too which is kind of weird.”

When asked what he thinks is the main reason a person gets pulled over Santiago explains, “It’s usually how a car looks. How it sounds also is a reason but if a car is really low or its windows are tinted to dark than that sends a signal for cops to pull you over.”

Officers typically disregard most of these incidents because there are other more serious issues to monitor such as speeding, cell phone usage while driving, or red-light violations. There are far too many cars that have illegal

modifications, and it is impossible to ticket all of the cars that violate these rules.

It’s usually drivers that are overly flamboyant with their cars or they have too many modifications that make the car “riced out” which means they have extra unnecessary additions that draw a lot of attention which could lead to a eventual search.

So, the question becomes, how do officers determine what car is loud and what car is not? What about motorcycles and choppers?

According to The Drive, an online news website the focuses on all things automotive, in 2019 they passed a law that will fine any owner whose aftermarket exhaust is deemed too loud on California’s public roads.

The law on the website reads, “New California Law for 2019. As of January 1, 2019, a modified exhaust on an automobile or motorcycle, excessively loud, can no longer be cited as a correctable violation.”

This law applies to “modified” cars only and not cars who exhaust or other parts are stock. This means that if your car comes with a stock exhaust that violates the sound limit cops may not issue a fix-it ticket because there were no illegal modifications to the car or the motorcycle itself.

In addition to citations, more serious incidents can occur such as vehicle malfunctions or collisions due to these unregulated modifications.

Accidents like these can cost more than just your car, it can cost you your life.

Alvin Abanes is college student who drives a highly modified car, specifically a Nissan 370Z, and recently got into a severe car crash that involved 3 other cars due to the modifications he added to his car.

Abanes explains, “My lower left tire popped while shopping at San Ysidro. I had low tire pressure and

my car is rear-wheel-drive. My car is from South Carolina so most of my modifications like my intakes, my exhaust, and my headers were legal in North Carolina but I don’t know what California regulation is.”

MoneySuperMarket is a price comparison website that enables consumers to compare insurances.

This website conducted a poll about the cost of modified cars versus non modified cars.

MoneySuperMarket explains, “cars fitted with aftermarket parts are 27% more likely to be end up in a collision. Of the drivers who were surveyed, 28% of modified car owners had been involved in an accident over the last five years, compared with 22% of drivers of standard vehicles.”

Looks can cost, whether it’s just a simple fix-it citation or a more serious incident such as a total wreck crash.

Incidents involving modified cars happen more often than usual so drive safe and always remember cars are replaceable, lives are not.

Gerald Ligeralde is a Fil-Am journalism student at San Diego State University.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!!!

FROM THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF THE FILIPINO PRESS

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December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022 • 9

Physical Therapists Use Old Techniques to Manage New Symptoms Long COVID affects about 10% of people who are infected with COVID-19. It leads to months of extreme fatigue, and "crashes" of severe exhaustion hours or days after activity known as Post-exertional symptom exacerbation or PESE. For people living with this condition, simple activities like walking, taking a shower, or grocery shopping can leave them exhausted for hours or days.

Early in the pandemic, therapists started seeing people with these symptoms. They noticed these patients were different from others who had COVID-19. They also noticed that some of the symptoms people were describing overlapped with conditions they had treated before. Specifically, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) also caused severe fatigue and delayed symptoms after activity. This overlap led them to use techniques they knew worked to manage these diseases.

The first strategy PTs started to use was pacing. This is simply doing less activity than you have energy for. By keeping bouts of activity short with lots of breaks, pacing can help avoid severe fatigue immediately after activity. It can also avoid the delayed "crash" of PESE. A useful metaphor is to think of your energy level as a battery. When you do activities, you drain your battery. When you rest, you charge it back up a little bit. Physical therapists helped teach patients how much energy was in their "battery" and how to conserve it. This began to help patients with Long COVID accomplish more with less fatigue.

Another strategy from ME and CFS management that helped Long COVID patients was heart rate monitoring. With the huge number of wearable devices that monitor heart rate, this is an easier strategy to use than ever. Heart rate monitoring uses your heart rate as a gauge of how hard your body is working. It's based on your resting heart rate. The goal is to keep your heart rate within 15 beats of your RHR while you're doing activities. This minimizes how much lactic acid your muscles produce. Build up of lactic acid is what gives you "the burn" when you're working out really hard. It also causes your muscles to fatigue more quickly - by keeping activity light enough to avoid lactic acid, heart rate monitoring reduces fatigue.

What about exercise? That's the treatment most people associate with PTs. Some therapists tried starting a gradual exercise program for patients with Long COVID, but they found it made them worse. Just like people who have CFS, or ME, "toughing it out" or "pushing through it" doesn't make them stronger. It costs them days of their lives - leaving them barely enough energy to get out of bed or complete basic tasks. Using pacing, heart rate monitoring and other strategies like breathing exercises can stop the fatigue cycle and start to get the body responding to activity more normally. Only then can exercise be gradually and cautiously introduced.

As we learn more about the pathology behind Long COVID's symptoms, rehabilitation will surely change and improve.

But people who are living with Long COVID c Fortunately physical therapists have training and strategies that can help improve their lives right now.Fortunately physical therapists have training and strategies that can help improve their lives right now.

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Founded in 1956, the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association champions the success of physical therapist-owned businesses. Our members are leaders and innovators in the healthcare system.

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) represents more than 85,000 physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and students of physical therapy nationwide. For more information, please visit www. ppsapta.org.

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Touch me not: 500 Years of Christianity and 2022 Presidential Election Jose Rizal was executed by a firing squad on December 30, 1896. One and a quarter century later, we celebrate his martyrdom still looking for relevance to the present state of affairs.

Pilosopong Tasio in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere blockbuster novel made it clear that “I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages.” Was he alluding to this generation or the next?

Incidentally, this is also the year that Filipinos celebrated the 500th year of the arrival of Christianity in the country. To celebrate this important milestone, the Catholic Church wants Filipinos to confine their recollections from when Magellan landed in Mactan and planted the cross of Christianity.

But the “gift of Christianity” that made Filipinos a “people of faith” was the very object of Rizal’s writings that eventually led to his martyrdom.

In Rizal’s view that finds relevance today, Filipinos had “gradually lost their memory of their past heritage and culture” for “new doctrines that they did not understand and a culture much different than theirs.” He dreaded that centuries later, the “religious shows, rites that caught the eye, songs, lights, images arrayed with gold, worship in a strange language (of Latin), legends and miracles and sermons, hypnotized the already naturally superstitious spirit of the country,” could lead to the “ethical abasement of the inhabitants.” Did we reach that point?

Beyond Noli’s central place in Philippine literature and history, Filipinos should strive to understand Rizal’s prophetic view during his time. The Catholic

Church does not want to look back to the sins of the Church but as Rizal opined in “The Philippines a Century Later”, it is “necessary to open the book of the past” to understand the destiny of the Filipinos.”

Certainly, with the upcoming presidential election, Filipinos need to understand their destiny by discerning the past to help them choose the right candidate.

The electoral road to 2022 is shaping up to be a fight between a traditional politician who inherited his father’s mixed legacy of dictatorship; and a crusading human rights lawyer whose campaign represents the very crowd that Rizal fret about – the clergy, oligarchs, and the ilustrados. Will Rizal’s optimism that the youth will be the hope of the fatherland finds relevance in next year’s election where 53% of the electorate belong to the youth sector?

One of the key issues of the campaign is choosing which foreign country the next president should pursue to chart an independent foreign policy? Will it be China or the United States, or neither? As a retired Supreme Court justice would often remind Filipinos, Antonio Carpio cries wolf in every turn about an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion and to spurn President Rodrigo Duterte’s overtures with the Asian superpower.

History tells us that through Rizal’s novels, Filipinos should not get used to having the “yoke around their necks.” Former rulers, he implied, merely “endeavored to secure the fear and submission of their subjects to slavery” and caused Filipinos to “easily change

masters, perhaps hoping to gain something by the innovation.”

It is worth remembering that Rizal’s martyrdom in 1896 aroused Filipino nationalism and ushered the Philippine Revolution that brought them to the brink of victory against Spain. Spain, however, was also at war with the United States and the Battle of Manila in May 1898 was the opening salvo of the SpanishAmerican War that the Americans won shortly thereafter.

Spain, through the Treaty of Paris, ceded the entire Philippine archipelago to the Americans on December 10, 1898 for the sum of $20 million.

Two months later, Filipino nationalists were at it again but this time, they were fighting the Americans for the Philippine- American War in what turned out to be the second Battle of Manila. The First Philippine Republic that Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo established through the Malolos Convention in 1899 was short-lived when Aguinaldo was captured by the Americans thus ending the war (or the insurrection as the Americans called it).

American colonization officially lasted for over half a century, yet their influence and control is very much felt even to this day. History tells us too that Rizal’s death was in vain because Filipino revolutionaries woke up one day to a new colonial master, the United States, as part of the spoils of war. Their rule was marked by inequality and policies that were detrimental to the Filipino people. Filipinos, clearly, have gotten used to the “yoke around their necks.”

Duterte broke the usual mode by being chummy with the Chinese and tried to break up old friendships with the Americans.

His way of being free from the remaining colonial power was to start a new course for the Philippines. But along the way,

he realized that China is another power lusting for control of the Filipino’s future. He has slowly opened his eyes to the reality that America is the lesser evil.

Is this history repeating itself?

Are the Filipinos’ collective colonial mentality still so pervasive that it can’t break away from such bondage? What was the point of his novels Noli and Fili, if the Filipinos are still very much asleep on the wheel?

Perhaps it would help to revisit Noli’s biblical roots, to discern Rizal’s state of mind and find some redeeming values from it.

The other novel, El Filibusterismo, exposed the failures of Philippine sovereignty and the reign of greed and corruption by the Spanish. Yet the book might as well refer to the American misrule, and succeeding

Philippine presidents and their administrations for its currency.

“Noli me tangere” is a Latin word for “touch me not.” Literally, it means don’t touch me. Rizal’s inspiration for Noli according to Wenceslao Retana, a Spanish writer and Rizal’s biographer, was the Gospel of St. Luke based on Rizal’s letters. But, if Retana’s musing was correct, Rizal wrongly attributed it because it is actually from the Gospel of John where the bible speaks of Jesus’ command to Mary Magdalene to not touch him for “he has not ascended yet to the Father.” St. Luke talked about the joy of the Ascension.

Through Noli, Rizal unmasked the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church using the biblical passage from Jesus to highlight the impact of false religion in the

Philippines which according to him, “trafficked with the sacred word to make money, to make believe idiocies that would make Catholicism blush if it ever learned of them.” Rizal clearly had some notion of what true religion should be and that the “Catholic religion was employed as an instrument of domination in the Philippines.”

The biblical reference is profound because Jesus did not want Mary Magdalene to hold on to the earthly Jesus as much as Rizal did not want Filipinos to hold unto the “false religion” that the friars brought to the country.

Rizal was advocating for Noli to be viewed with a higher purpose as much as the biblical passage’s main message that Christ was risen.

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Spiritual Life Sharing Hymns of faith and inspiration When I am lonely or distressed, I start humming my favorite hymns, among them, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” The author of this well-loved hymn, Charles Wesley, was perhaps the most prolific hymn writer of all time. In all he wrote over 6,500 hymns. Many of which have become an integral part of church tradition.

In 1735, Charles Wesley was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church. In this capacity, he was assigned as secretary to the governor of the colony of Georgia in British North America. He seemed unable to adjust to his occupation. Sick both in body and in soul, he set sail for England.

On this journey, the ship encountered a tremendous storm and Charles underwent a spiritual transformation. In his journal he wrote, “In this dreadful moment, I bless God, I found the comfort of hope; and such joy in finding I could hope, as the world could neither give nor take away.”

With his newly- found faith, Wesley sought to comfort the other passengers and urged them to resolve, “if God saved them from this distress, that they would instantly and entirely give themselves up to Him.”

Aurora S. Cudal-Rivera

My Personal Testimony

When at last the storm stopped, the crippled vessel continued across the Atlantic, finally arriving back in England on December 3, 1746. Wesley writes in his journal, “I knelt down and blessed the Hand that had conducted me through such inextricable mazes.”

Charles Wesley had other lifechanging experiences which inspired him to compose “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”. Here are the first two stanzas: “Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly, While the nearer waters roll, While the tempest still is high; Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till the storm of life is past; Safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none; Hangs my helpless soul on thee; Leave, O leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me; All my trust in thee is stayed, All my help from thee I bring; Cover my defenseless head, With the shadow of thy wing.

There are so many beautiful hymns of faith and inspiration.

Some were popularized by those who found Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. One hymn stands out, “Amazing Grace” has become so popular, people thought that this is a secular song. It is not. It is a hymn of spiritual transformation.

Feeling lonely and distressed?

Try the above shared Hymns and Inspiration....it could help you be transformed....

Blessing on my knees

A friend had quadruple bypass surgery and his first hospital stay.

Instead of parking in the ministers' reserved area and visiting the sick, he lay in an airy hospital gown and received visitors. Later, his sweet wife listed the kindnesses extended from hospital staff, family, and friends because many rallied to "bless" this godly couple. Their helpers bowed their knees to them, not in worship but in service.

When God called Abram, one of the promises he made was to "bless" him. The primary root for "bless" means "to kneel" or "to bow the knee": [God said to Abram,] "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3).

The idea of blessing may come from several factors including that of bending the knees to give or to receive. Both elements of giving and receiving are present in God's call to Abram.

First, God bowed his knees and served Abram so Abram could accomplish God's will for his life. Eventually through Abram's lineage, God gifted the entire earth with Jesus Christ.

Abram believed God's promises, used God's provisions, and bowed his knee in service to his family and foreigners.

I easily imagine Abram bowing his knee to serve God and his contemporaries. However, I have difficulty when I picture God on his knees, serving Abram, not in worship but through the keeping of his promises to bless Abram.

While the picture of God kneeling to serve might be difficult to visualize, testimonies of God's gracious service appear all through scripture. From the earliest days, God has served his creation and expressed his allout love through provisions and justice. The Creator seeded the earth and set up an atmosphere to support plant life and humans.

He didn't let Cain get away with murder. For thousands of years, God has nurtured humanity, yet we as humans have continued to

Danny Hernaez

From Whom All Blessings Flow ignore or bite the hand that feeds us. In addition, God planned a complete demonstration of his love through Jesus Christ - a demonstration of love that would impact us like nothing before or since.

Ultimately, God let us view his servant heart through his Son Jesus, and his three year ministry held countless revelations of God's truth and grace (John 1:14-18). On the evening before his crucifixion, Jesus assured his disciples, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).

Earlier that night, Jesus had demonstrated God-as-servant, showing his disciples the "full extent of his love" (John 13:1).

When the Master Teacher had gathered to dine with his disciples in the upper room, street grime had come along on their feet.

That's when the God of Abram, "found in appearance as a man" (Philippians 2:8), got up from the meal, took off his outer garment, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After pouring water into a basin, the God of Abram knelt, and one at a time he would lift and clean 24 dirty feet. Wash and dry. Wash and dry. Wash and dry. Thomas. John. Thaddeus.

Andrew. James. Bartholomew.

Peter. Judas.

The cleansing wasn't brief: The meal stopped. It took time.

Minutes and more minutes ticked by as Jesus, found in appearance as a man, made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:6-8).

Servant God knelt. Moved from man to man, foot to foot, and physically touched each disciple.

Dipping water from a basin, scrubbing toes, toweling ankles, Jesus humbled himself one more time before he "became obedient unto death-even death on a cross!"

(Philippians 2:8).

When Jesus reached the

reluctant Peter, we find these words in John's story of Jesus: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (John 13:6-8). Later ... the disciples comprehended.

They remembered the night Jesus made himself of no reputation and took upon the form of a servant the night he declared most of them were clean and set in motion a perpetual cleansing. They learned from God "found in appearance as a man" that protocol couldn't hinder lavish love.

When Abram received his call, Servant God eventually furnished everything Abram needed to carry out the divine path for his life. Abram believed God and his belief equaled righteousness in God's court (Genesis 15:6).

I find it easy to picture looking up into the heavens and praying to God. I can even clearly picture God at my side walking in a garden as we talk about life.

However, the image blurs when I look down into the eyes of the God of Abram fashioned as a man washing my feet.

I am ready for a new portrait. I am praying that God will place in my mind and heart the knowledge of a towel-draped Savior at my feet who will equip me to bless bow my knees to others.

God knows that you can stand that trial; He would not give it to you if you could not. It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life, however bitter they may be.

God knows our strength, and He measures it to the last inch; and a trial was never given to any man that was greater than that man's strength, through God, to bear it. <(((><

STAY SAFE EVERYONE!!!

HAVE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!

Greetings in the Lord!

Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was the first day of the year 2022. So Happy New Year, too!. The first day of the year has always been dedicated by the Catholic Church as a day of prayer for peace in the world. Truly peace for the world cannot be achieved through force nor fear but by a long process of accepting all men as brothers and sisters in the divine plan, and with Mary as the Mother of all. In my reflections during the season of Advent and Christmas I gave importance to the reality that the birth of Jesus has also given us a valuable opportunity to become children of God, and be like God Himself by following Jesus.

Today we celebrate another feast within the season of Christmas. In the pat this feast was known ad the Feast of the Three Kings, giving importance to the gifts that the three wise men brought to the child Jesus in Bethlehem, namely, gold, frankincense and myrrh. Today this feast is known as the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christy. The focus, this time, is on the reality that Jesus reveals Himself to be the Savior not only of the Jewish people, but of all those who would open themselves to see and accept Him as the Light of all nations that shines like the Star that guided the three wise men and directed them towards the Child in Bethlehem.

The Epiphany of Jesus is the feast that tells us that, in truth, Jesus became man not for a single

SOKOR

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to ensure the speedy transport of relief supplies for the affected residents," he added.

Meanwhile, troops of the 30th Infantry Battalion (30IB) and 65th Infantry Battalion under the 4th Infantry Division supported the government's relief operation in Barangay Cuarenta, San Jose, Dinagat Islands.

The 30th Infantry Battalion also provided transportation assistance to the stranded individuals going to the Port of Dapa and airport in Del Carmen, Siargao Islands.

Other PA units in Eastern Visayas, northern and eastern Mindanao have been assisting the local government agencies in their disaster response efforts.

Army units not directly affected by "Odette" are focused on facilitating the donations of relief goods from private companies and individuals.

The 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th Infantry Divisions partnered with the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) to facilitate consolidations and distributions of relief goods from stakeholders.

These divisions also pursued donation drives as they opened their lines for willing donors. Army units also joined hands with other major services of the Armed Forces in transporting and distributing relief goods to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, PA Chief, Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. acknowledged the troops' efforts in helping “Odette”affected citizens.

nation but in order to save the whole world. The Gospel that we have read today clearly tells us how only those who are open to the Light that shines upon the whole world can go further and accept the message of Jesus. The Jews who are duly represented by Herod, the chief priests and the scribes of Jerusalem, who have been waiting for the Messiah, could not see Him in the child born in Bethlehem, and accept Him as the fulfillment of the promise, because their hopes were contrary to God’s plan. Their hopes for the Messiah were self-serving and not viewed for the welfare of the human race as a whole.

The irony of the reality began with the angels who announced the Good News first to the shepherds who, without doubt or questions, received the birth Jesus with joy and gladness. The shepherds of Israel were considered together with tax collectors as sinners and outcasts in the social life at that time. Similarly, strangers were not expected to understand the signs of heaven about the birth of someone who could bring salvation to all

men.

The feast the Epiphany of Jesus teaches us, once again, that as a people of faith, we must always be open to his continuous manifestation in the events and happenings in the world of today.

We need to cultivate the virtues of humility and simplicity of the shepherds of old in order to be able to accept the signs of the times that the Magi saw, perceived and accepted in order to discern the presence of God then and now in the current world.

I do believe that God continues to manifest Himself and express His will towards man in many different and diverse ways. The current situation to today’s world, such as the economic instability, the disturbing phenomenon of terrorists – both domestic and international, the war between religions, the judicial declaration of principles that often go against the natural law in many aspects of human life and society, the problems that many families face within themselves, the continuous menacing existence of the corona virus, are all opportunities of us men and women of faith to recognize that God has a message that is often not recognized nor accepted by humanity in general. Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany of Jesus, let us bow down once again and humbly open our hearts and minds so that we may recognize and understand the message that God desires to give us during this period of our human history.

He directed all units to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to use available resources to support the affected residents to return to their normal lives.

"To our soldiers, once again, the Filipino people need our services, especially during this trying time. Let us give them a little comfort by doing our best in continuing humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations. To our fellow Filipinos in affected areas, do not lose hope. Rest assured that we will stand with you during these challenges. Together, we will rebuild communities," Brawner said. (MNS) US announces add'l P950-M 'Odette' aid The United States government on Wednesday announced an additional USD19 million (approximately PHP950 million) in humanitarian aid to help communities affected by Typhoon Odette, bringing its total assistance to the Philippines to more than PHP1 billion.

“The United States is pleased to announce additional and significant assistance of PHP950 million, which brings our total amount of aid for Typhoon Odette to over PHP1 billion. We stand steadfast with our long-standing friend, partner, and ally in helping support communities devastated by the typhoon,” US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said in a statement.

Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the additional aid will provide food, water, hygiene supplies, and shelter assistance to the affected population.

The new funding is in addition to the PHP50 million Washington

DC announced earlier to support emergency logistics efforts to ensure aid is delivered to those in hard-toreach areas.

The US Embassy in Manila said it also builds on the PHP10 million assistance that the USAID provided immediately after the storm for food, water, and hygiene supplies, as well as to restore water supply services and sanitation facilities, and support hygiene promotion activities.

Variava, meanwhile, is expected to visit communities affected by “Odette” and see ongoing US relief activities.

“Odette” made landfall on December 16, bringing in destructive winds and torrential rains. The latest government data showed that more than 4.3 million people were affected across 11 regions in 6,115 barangays, with a total of 397 reported casualties and 1,147 injured.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, more than 561,000 people have also been displaced with 305,229 people taking shelter in evacuation centers.

The embassy said Washington DC would continue to partner with the Philippines to respond to natural disasters and support Filipinos in their recovery efforts.

Through existing programs, the USAID’s partners are transporting relief supplies, including food provided by the Philippine government to feed nearly 103,000 families.

USAID partners are also helping manage evacuation shelters, deploy mobile operations vehicles to support emergency telecommunications, and provide heavy-duty plastic sheeting to meet the shelter needs of 4,800 families. (MNS)

Fr. Agustin T. Opalalic

www.thefilipinopress.com

Filipino Press

Nadine helps set up solar stations for people in Siargao

MANILA -- Nadine Lustre has teamed up with independent organization Greenpeace Philippines in building solar charging stations in Siargao, which was badly hit by typhoon Odette.

Greenpeace Philippines shared a video of the actress on Twitter, who said she is elated to see the community

coming together especially during trying times.

“We are here in Barangay Malinao.

This is actually a solar charging station. They’ve installed a solar panel here. The locals here in Malinao use this to charge their gadgets, phones, lights or anything that would need power since there is still no electricity

here in Siargao. No one really knows when it’s going to come back,” she said.

“I am just really happy that everyone is helping each other and there’s a lot of people from outside the island who want to help as well. It’s really nice,” she added.

Lustre said even the kids are doing what they can to help their community to recover.

“Earlier, when we were setting up the charging station, there’s a table that’s a bit wobbly. It’s really the kids who were helping me fix the table.

They were the ones hammering the nails inside para mas stable siya. It’s good to see everyone coming together, helping each other out.”

Last week, Lustre’s rumored boyfriend businessman Christophe Bariou shared how they are participating in other relief operations in Siargao by coordinating supplies to be donated to typhoon victims.

Lustre, 28, has a home in Siargao.

She has been shuttling between Manila and the island, where she resides for weeks or months at a time. Bariou, meanwhile, owns a luxury resort in the island.

The rumored couple’s efforts have so far reached Malinao, Union, and Mam-On, according to Bariou.

(MNS)

Xian Lim, Glaiza de Castro on a possible music collaboration: 'Nasimulan na' MANILA -- With their passion in music, it’s no surprise that “False Positive” co-stars Xian Lim and Glaiza de Castro were easily about to write a song together — while on set.

In an online interview with the press, the two said music was one of the things that helped them get comfortable with each other, since it’s also their first time working together.

In fact, while filming for “False Positive,” among the stuff they talked about most were music theories. As such, members of the press asked if a collaboration between the two is possible.

Both Glaiza and Xian surprised everyone when they said they’ve already started on something, and that it’s almost finished.

“Nasimulan na. Meron na kaming kanya. Lyrics and music by Glaiza and Xian,” the latter said excitedly.

“Nagulat talaga ako. Meron akong kinanta, tapos the next day, meron siyang mga chords,” Glaiza added. “Ire-record na lang namin so I think ‘yon na yung start ng musical journey namin.”

Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Alex and Maia Shibutani are “Leading with a Champion Mind” AARP hosted panel of Winter Olympians to share how resilience helped shape their lives and careers

After a challenging year of navigating the “double pandemic” of COVID-19 and the rise of antiAsian hate, AARP brought together generations of Asian American Olympians who embody resilience and excellence on December 16 for “Leading with a Champion Mind.”

The live virtual panel celebrated the strength of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and shared how to be more resilient.

Olympic gold medalist speed skater Apolo Ohno moderated the uplifting conversation with panelists Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and two-time Olympic bronze medalist figure skaters, Alex and Maia Shibutani.

According to AARP, mindfulness can help one be more resilient because it keeps people in touch with what's happening in the moment.

Whenever someone practices mindfulness, it bolsters and protects them against feeling powerless and lacking control, especially during challenging events.

"Something that has worked for me, that I probably wouldn't have been able to articulate back when I was training, is the ability to pause and reflect," said Apolo Ohno, the most decorated U.S. male Winter Olympian of all time. “We are living in a time where we're always reacting to things. We can have more mindfulness over our thoughts and actions. Sometimes we react in a way that doesn't truly suit the outcome that we desire. We can [learn to] zoom out to gain a better perspective.”

Resilient people often seek social support to help them overcome

a difficult situation. They lean on family and friends or request assistance from experts.

“Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help. A lot of times we try to take things on ourselves. I've learned along the way that there are many people willing to be mentors," said Kristi Yamaguchi, founder of Always Dream, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance early childhood literacy.

"We are afraid to bother someone or ask for something, but I am certainly not where I am [today] because I did it on my own. All along the way, there's always been someone there as a support system. Surround yourself with some quality people and you'll learn quality.”

Although resilience is a quality that you possess, you can work on becoming more resilient by adopting certain habits or practices.

"Knowing the direction that you want to head in is important, then break it down into small goals so that you have a sense of time and direction,” said Maia Shibutani, who, with her brother Alex, was the second sibling duo in the history of the sport to win an Ice Dance medal.

“We both find it very helpful to communicate with each other. If you don't have someone that you feel that you can talk to, journaling can also be incredibly helpful and important so that you make sure that you're reflecting and checking in with yourself.”

When many things are beyond someone’s control, they can still make decisions that impact their lives that may help boost their resilience and help them learn to cope better

with adversity. When they tap into their reserves of mental toughness and inner strength, they can feel more positive and in control.

"For everything that we do, we set a feasible plan. When you have a long term goal that you're trying to reach, whether it's happiness or fulfillment, or the next chapter of your life, there are certain checkpoints along the way," said Alex Shibutani, who along with his sister Maia, became the first ice dancers of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. "And Maia will hold me accountable. Having someone who you feel you can share your fears with, and also celebrate your successes with along the way, makes it feel less isolating, especially during this time when we are so physically isolated from each other."

To be a part of their journey and hear about other upcoming events, or to access this recorded event, follow the AARP AAPI community on Facebook (@AARPAAPI) and Twitter (@AARPAAPI).

About AARP: AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment.

AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www. aarp.org or follow @AARP and @ AARPadvocates on social media.

Ask the DMV – Check some stress off your list and utilize some of DMV’s most convenient services According to the two, it all started while they were just talking casually and realized that they both have guitars on set.

“Nagkekwentuhan lang kami tapos sabi niya may maganda siyang naisip na kanta tapos nag-hum lang siya, ta’s pinakuha ko yung gitara ko, pinakuha niya gitara niya, nagjamming kami,” Xian said.

Though there isn’t formality yet, it looks like it’s gonna come sooner than expected. In any case, we’ll surely be looking out for it.

In the meantime, they are going to play newlyweds in the upcoming GMA-7 series “False Positive.”

It also stars Nova Villa, Rochelle Panganiban, and Buboy Villar, among others. (MNS)

Why Angelica Panganiban retired from teleseryes

MANILA -- Having brought to life dozens of teleserye characters in the past 30 years, Angelica Panganiban is now resolved to focus on her own, and to have a simple one with less time spent under the limelight.

“Mas simpleng buhay, mas tao,” Panganiban said when asked about the new direction she wants to take in her life, after retiring from teleseryes.

The acclaimed actress remains active in showbiz, with a mini-series just released this month, and another set to premiere in early 2022.

But those two projects, unlike starring in a teleserye, have allowed Panganiban to strike a healthy balance between work and personal life, Panganiban shared.

Panganiban’s final teleserye

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was the primetime drama “Walang Hanggang Paalam,” which concluded in April 2021. She then took on back-to-back limited series — the ongoing “The Kangks Show” and the upcoming “The Goodbye Girl.”

“Ganoon pa rin ang working hours mo, ganoon pa rin ‘yung speed ng work. Siguro lang, ang pinakaokay, alam mong may ending. Alam mo na pagkatapos ng isang buwan, makakauwi ka, makaka-recharge ka, makakalimutan mo, masasara mo ‘yung chapter na ‘yun, then move on ka sa iba.

“Hindi tulad ng sa teleserye, ang tagal mag-move on. Lalo na, ‘pag teleserye kasi, usually, talagang heavy drama, ‘di ba? May patayan.

Masama ugali mo kung kontrabida ‘yung role mo. Kung bida ka, iyakin ka. So parang hanggang bahay dala mo siya. Hanggang hindi tapos ‘yung buong series, hindi ka nakaka let go.

“So may kasama siyang depression, kasi nauuwi mo ng bahay, hindi mo nari-release lahat.

After a year ka lang makakamove on, doon mo lang mali-let go lahat ng pain ng character. So mas madaling kargahin ang mini-series kaysa sa isang mahabang teleserye,” she explained.

Panganiban, whose acting career traces back to 1992, announced her decision to retire from teleseryes after she wrapped filming “Walang Hanggang Paalam,” and weeks

before its run concluded.

Panganiban explained why, apart from the emotional baggage of carrying a teleserye portrayal, she is firm about no longer taking on the format for the remainder of her showbiz career.

“Thirty years ako sa industry.

Since six years old ako, na sa harapan na ako ng camera. Ngayon, hindi ko sinasabing okay ‘yung pandemic, pero hinanapan ko ng magandang kinalabasan, ng outcome, ‘yung nangyari. Naging in touch ako sa sarili ko, and mas naging simple ‘yung mga choices ko sa buhay. And mas naging masaya ako,” she said.

Among Panganiban’s life decisions during the pandemic is residing in Olongapo City, with her current boyfriend, businessman Gregg Homan.

“Ang dami ko palang hindi napansin,” Panganiban said.

“Ilang beses akong laging silaw sa industriya, dahil iyon lang ‘yung mundong ginagawalan ko. Noong tuminggil ‘yung mundo dahil nga sa pandemic, nakalimutan mong artista ka, nakalimutan mo ‘yung trabaho mo, naging tao ako.”

“And iyon ‘yung utang ko sa sarili ko, eh. Kailan ko pa ito babayaran? Kailan ko pa ibi-build ‘yung life na gusto ko? Ang dami mo nang teleseryeng ginawa, iba’t ibang buhay na ‘yung binuild mo at binigyan mo ng kulay. Pero ‘yung sarili mo hindi mo pala nabibigyan ng atensyon.”(MNS)

’Tis the season to…wait in line!

Whether it’s at the grocery store, the post office or the mall, we’ve all been there – but don’t let the DMV be one of those places. Now you can add DMV to the “nice list” for not having to wait in line for some online services.

Q2: I saw a DMV Now kiosk at my local grocery store. What is used for and how can I use it?

Can I use it if I can’t make it to the DMV office before the holidays?

A: Yes! If you are unable to make it to the DMV before the holiday season, you can use one of the hundreds of DMV Now kiosks located throughout the state to help complete your vehicle registration renewal, submit proof of insurance, receive a driver or vehicle record, and more. DMV Now kiosks are convenient and allow you to conduct

transactions quickly and efficiently.

Simply scan your document, pay the fees using a card or cash (where available) and then print your registration card and sticker, planned non-operation acknowledgment, and more, right on the spot.

DMV kiosks are freestanding self-service touchscreen devices that guide you through various DMV transactions, from registration renewal and payment to submitting proof of insurance. Locate the DMV Now kiosk nearest you.

Q2: My car registration is out of date and I don’t have time to visit the DMV before the holidays. Can I renew my registration online?

A2: Yes! Skip the line this holiday season and renew your vehicle registration online. The DMV offers a variety of online services that make completing your DMV business

easy and efficient, from renewing vehicle registration to changing your address, or driver’s license renewal – and much more! Find a list of online services, you guessed it, online!

In addition to online services, the DMV offers other methods for completing select transactions to help reduce your trips to the DMV and save you time this holiday season, including DMV kiosks and Business Partner Automation (BPA) locations: Our Business Partner Automation (BPA) program authorizes qualified partners to process vehicle related transactions, including vehicle registration and titling, from their remote locations. Learn more about our BPA program and what transactions can be processed.

For more information or answers to questions not listed here, please visit www.dmv.ca.gov.

Applications Opening Soon for Tuition-Free San Diego Promise Students enrolling at San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges for the fall 2022 semester can begin applying for the San Diego Promise program starting January 3, 2022.

The San Diego Promise, which was launched by the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) in 2016, offers up to two years of free tuition for first-time, full-time students who are recent high school graduates.

Thanks to funds raised by private donors, the San Diego Promise is also open to former foster youth, formerly incarcerated adults returning to school, those who cannot attend full-time due to unique circumstances, and DACA recipients. Along with free tuition and health fees, other benefits of the San Diego Promise program include book grants for eligible students, access to a peer mentor, and individualized counseling and guidance support. The Promise program helps students complete their educational goals whether they receive a certificate of completion and enter the workforce, earn an associate degree, or transfer to a university.

“The San Diego Promise is a lifechanging program that ensures that

San Diego Promise graduates from Miramar College any student who would like to earn a college degree can do so regardless of their financial situation,” said SDCCD Chancellor Carlos O. Turner Cortez. “I encourage that those who are able to take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity as they embark on their academic journey.”

Students must be a California resident or AB 540 (nonresident tuition exemption) eligible, complete a 2021-2022 FAFSA or California Dream Act application, and enroll

and complete a minimum of 12 units each semester to meet eligibility requirements.

Once accepted, students must attend a Promise orientation, sign a Promise contract (electronically), maintain a 2.0 college GPA, meet with a counselor each semester, and complete a comprehensive education plan.

For more information on the program and how to apply, visit the San Diego Promise webpage.

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Elsa Siverts ( in red gown), president of the newly chartered Star Lions Club, led the installation and gala celebration with the board of directors, officers and members of the service club in San Diego. (photo by Zen Ply) Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year from the officers and members of the Pilipino Nurses Association who celebrated their holiday get together at Admiral Baker's Field, San Diego with an ugly sweater contest. (by Zenply)

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December 31, 2021 - January 6, 2022 • 13

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