Life for Pinoys in USA

By Leonardo Micua

 

I got a call on my Messenger from my good friend Manny Zambrano who now lives and works in Chicago, USA who said Filipino immigrants like him and his family are being enticed to join the almost daily street marches that are now sweeping across many cities that at times end up into clashes between the police and the demonstrators.

But he said although they sympathize with the cause the demonstrators are fighting for,  the Filipinos and perhaps other Asians are not about ready to join the fray and would just like to play neutral out of respect to their host, Mother America, who welcomed them with open arms when they moved there some years back.

But he confessed that a few of them were not able to hold their restraint any longer, especially when they were asked by some demonstrators whether they experienced any form of discrimination at any time since they landed in America.

Well, let’s just pray that the tumult that is now rocking US of A will soon see its end in a peaceful way as there is still the coronavirus pandemic to face. US still remains the world’s epicenter of the disease, overtaking its staunch rival China, where COVID-19 originated.

Meanwhile, there is already a lot of saber-rattling in the South China Sea. The US Navy carriers and warships are now in virtual standoff with the Chinese Navy and Coast Guard standing guard over their man-made and now militarized islands in the Spratleys and the Paracels.

If images shown on YouTube are not deceiving, a bloody exchange by the two superpowers in the SCS may spark and trigger World War III.

That is why, bothered at home and overseas, US of A may not be able to effectively protect the democracies of the world as it has been doing for many years since the last world war.

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We heard from Dr. Ophal Rivera, the city’s COVID-19 focal person, that Dagupan has stopped administering COVID-testing for frontliners as it already runs out of testing kits.

After testing many frontliners, 14 were detected to be positive from the June 1 test after their results were known two or three days later. But this is not the issue we want to bring out even if the 14 were discharged from the hospitals all at the same time on June 12.

The issue is: How could Dagupan run out of testing kits when in fact Mayor Lim generously donated 500 Rapid Testing kits each to Binmaley, Lingayen, Calasiao and San Fabian at the beginning of the pandemic.

He did say on TV that he had to share testing kits to the neighboring towns as Dagupan cannot use all the testing kits that he had bought supposedly from his personal funds, and which he donated to the city government.

In doing so, was seen as lacking in foresight when he donated those test kits that already clearly became city government property by his donation, to the neighboring towns? You be the judge.

Somebody said the mayor ought to take care of his own backyard first before extending help to others in need. 

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By the way, my friend Joel Balolong complained that his privacy was violated when someone took his photo while being swabbed for COVID-19 testing at the City Astrodome without his permission, and the same was uploaded by a troll on social media and with the intent of shaming him no end.

You know where the trolls are coming from and, you’re right, they are in the payroll of a government office here in this city.

Joel knows who were allowed inside the Astrodome while he and his colleagues from Aksyon Radyo were being swabbed for specimens for COVID-19 testing (Not anybody is allowed to enter that facility when a mass testing is going on except those from City Hall).

He wants to seek redress not only before the court but also through the IATF and DOH that encouraged LGUs to do mass testing.  He believes he and his colleagues were set up to take the test to shame him without regard to his being a pastor.

This no-brainer troll did not realize that  though Joel’s congregation is not yet a force to reckon with, the votes of their members, wherever they  are, count during elections.

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