Biden, Duterte in the 76th UNGA

“Whatever its flaws, the United Nations is still the only institution that brings together all the countries of the world. And it is the best forum for the United States to spur countries to act - and to hold them accountable when they don't.”

—Samantha Power

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to speak in the 76^th session of the United Nations General Assembly (76thUNGA) here in New York City in a pre-recorded speech at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon on September 21 (September 22 in Philippine time), as his violent anti-drug campaign faces renewed scrutiny from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Attendance in the assembly has been limited due to the global pandemic.

US President Joseph Biden will also address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday (September 21 US time) for the first time as president as world leaders gather in New York City for the 76^th session of the UNGA.

Mr. Duterte’s speech at the 76th UNGA had been confirmed by Malacañang several days ago.

"President Duterte will advance Philippine positions on global issues of key concern, such as universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change, human rights, including the situation of migrant workers and refugees, and international and regional security developments," the Palace said in a statement.

This will be the second time the controversial Mr. Duterte will take part in the 193-member strong UNGA. 

 

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In September 2020, the hard-hitting leader of the Philippines, who once threatened to withdraw from the UN, also addressed the world's most important diplomatic stage for the first time.

Mr. Duterte’s first speech in 2020 followed years of verbal assault against the UN—its attached bodies, officials, and experts—over their criticism of the drug war and other human rights abuses against the Filipinos. 

The UN meeting, meanwhile, comes as Mr. Biden faces outrage from France over a new submarine deal, looming safety concerns over COVID-19 and global vaccine rates and questions about the U.S. role in the world after the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Here are five things to watch as Biden addresses and meets with his counterparts, as pointed out by The Hill.

The Biden administration set off a feud with one of its closest allies last week when it announced a trilateral partnership with the United Kingdom and Australia on nuclear-powered submarines.

The announcement infuriated the French, who withdrew their ambassadors from the United States and Australia after the new deal scuttled their own $66 billion deal with Australia.

 

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President Biden has reportedly requested a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, a senior administration official said, but there was not one officially scheduled. 

The French leader is not attending the U.N. gathering in-person.

“The president wants to communicate his desire to work closely with France in the Indo-Pacific and globally and to talk about specific practical measures that we can undertake together,” the Biden official said. “We understand the French’s position, we don’t share their view in terms of how this all developed.”

The focus of the call will be about “reaffirming” the U.S. commitment to its partnership with France. 

But the administration has no intention of pulling back from the submarine deal.

Mr. Biden pledged during the 2020 campaign to restore allies’ faith in U.S. leadership, but the major rift with France will prove to be a test of that effort. 

French officials have described the move as something former President Donald Trump would have done.

This week will mark the first time in two years world leaders will gather in-person for UNGA after last year’s event was upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

New York City health officials said ahead of the general assembly that delegates must show proof of vaccination to enter the general assembly hall. 

But the policy will be tested by the likes of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is open about his refusal to take the vaccine. 

He tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

Destiny or ignominy?

 

“One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician's objective. Election and power are.”

—Cal Thomas

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao is destined to be the next president of the Philippines, who are we to question it?

In life there are infinite possibilities, and if fate and destiny have programmed Pacquiao’s life to where it appears to be heading, we must accept it with a grain of salt.

Destiny is a common synonym for what philosophers call teleology--the idea that events follow a set plan that has a purpose. 

Teleology is primarily defined as a belief in "final ends" or ultimate goals that constrain reality in such a way that those ends or goals will be reached.

Many people first laughed when the boxing icon ran for congressman in Saranggani province in Mindanao and won in 2010. 

They laughed once more when the ring superstar hinted he wanted to be a senator. He won in 2016.

Sometime in December 2008 in a press conference I attended at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum introduced Pacquiao as “the next president of the Philippines.”

As far as I can remember, Arum’s remarks became the unofficial launching pad for the succeeding announcements of Pacquiao’s possible presidential quest in 2022 when he would be 43.

 

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The wily septuagenarian even declared in jest he would be in the Philippines to campaign for his ward, who has collected eight world titles in eight different weight classes.

That was 13 years ago. 

Nobody took Arum seriously although reactions from the gallery were mix if not vitiated with demurral and pessimism.

In the Philippine presidential election set next year or 14^th year since Arum’s soliloquy, Pacquiao, who has announced his candidacy as standard bearer of the PDP-Laban in the May 2022 election, will be a step closer if he wins.

Arum’s prophecy may or may not happen, but the telltale signs are there: Pacquiao will run although he hasn’t yet filed his official certificate of candidacy.

Be it as it may, it’s also possible Pacquiao’s candidacy may turn out to be his date with ignominy especially if he is ill-prepared, ill-advised or misguided during and after the campaign period.

Sometimes if a candidate isn’t prepared for the big league, it’s when he wins that’s the hardest part of the matter, not whether he will run.

To borrow the late comedy king Dolphy’s famous quote when he was egged to run in the election: “Walang problema ang tumakbo. Paano kung manalo?”

 

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Although the constitution requires Pacquiao only to be at least 42 years old during the official filling of certificate of candidacy; he can read or write and born in the Philippines, a presidential derby isn’t like a boxing match where it’s not necessary to have the brains and brawn.

In boxing, the fists do the talking and decide the outcome. In politics or  public service for that matter, common sense, management skills and experience matter.

There will be a series of debates where the candidates are asked random and complicated questions meant to test their character and intellectual prowess.

It is during these debates where voters can scrutinize the candidates and place them on the hot seat.

If you spent your whole life cooking the best dishes and you suddenly competed in a hairdressing contest, it’s a huge embarrassment no one would want to experience.

There are many leaders in the Philippines who are more qualified to run for president, but the cat is out of the bag: PDP-Laban has officially fielded a popular and rich athlete to be its standard bearer instead of someone who’s articulate and scholarly when it comes to academic and professional backgrounds.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

Pinoy Carlo Biado wins the U.S. Open Pool Championship

 Carlo Biado has won The US Open Pool Championship beating Aloysius Yapp at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City in partnership with Caesars Entertainment and the Atlantic City Sports Commission, AZBILLIARDS.COM reported.

 

RESULT – Carlo Biado 13-8 Aloysius Yapp

 

Biado started the final the strongest of the pair going into a quick 2-0 lead with back-to-back break and runs. The Filipino got the crowd going in the third after jumping the four to cut the one in, but it was Yapp who took it to trail 2-1 early on.

 

Yapp broke in the fourth but struggled for any position off it leaving a simple 1 2 combo to allow Biado the chance to run the rack and have the break in the fifth. It was Biado’s turn to find himself stuck off the break and Yapp was soon back at the table where he executed the perfect table length bank on the 2 as he cut Biado’s lead to one rack.

 

As ever in the tournament so far, Yapp never looked fazed by his opponent’s pedigree racing into a 5-3 lead to put some breathing space between the pair for the first time in the contest. In the ninth rack it was all about safety as they did battle early on before eventually, Biado drew a foul from Yapp.

 

Yapp began to put daylight between the pair putting Biado in all sorts of trouble in the 10th rack where the two were tied up by the seven and with that Yapp lead 7-3. Yapp soon missed the nine which could’ve made it 9-3 and that’s when the contest turned entirely in Biado’s favour.

 

Biado ran the following two racks after the nine to only trail by two at 8-6. A pivotal moment coming in the following rack where Biado jumped the six effortlessly to pocket the one and soon pull it to 8-7. It was Biado’s fifth successive rack to make it eight all and soon Yapp was staring down the barrel of defeat.

 

Perhaps left cold after being sat at his corner for a while, Yapp had his chance when tied but he drew the cue ball the length of the table on the two scratching and allowing Biado to the table to take the lead for the first time since being 3-2 up.

 

At 10-8 up, Biado once again broke out the jump cue to pocket the one expertly and the bags of experience showed as he closed out the contest.

 

Everything was relatively plain sailing for Biado from there on getting onto the hill before missing what could’ve been a costly 1 9 combo in what was ultimately the last rack as Biado became the first Filipino to win the US Open Pool Championship since Efren Reyes.

 

Yapp said: “I am lost for words. I feel grateful to be in the final and all the fans have been awesome so thank you. I know I can do it; I am coming back stronger next year.”

 

Biado was elated with his win and struggled to hold back the tears: “I am very happy because this event is one of my dreams. I dedicate this to my family and to my baby. Thank you to all of you even during the pandemic you’re still here watching around the world. Thank you to Matchroom, my sponsors, and all of the Filipinos who support me always everywhere.”

 

The 2021 US Open Pool Championship will be partnered by Diamond, who supply the Official Table; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are ARAMITH Tournament BLACK pool ball set with Duramith™ Technology by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue of the event and Kamui are the Official Chalk and Tip. The US Open Pool Championship is sanctioned by the WPA.

‘Bakit sila meron, kami wala?’

“Adversity is a stimulus.”

—James Broughton

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

SHORT of running amuck, a 53-year-old Filipino female caregiver protested her “exclusion” from the Excluded Workers Fund, the pandemic “stimulus” largesse for undocumented workers in New York State only.

“Nag submit man ko papers pero asta subong wala gid reply kon na approve ako. Ang iban nga miga ko ya ara na ila kuarta. Nagbayad man ko taxes ko since 2016 dapat pasok papers ko eh (I already submitted my papers but until now I received no reply if I was approved unlike some of my friends who already received their money. I thought I was eligible because I paid my taxes since 2016),” lamented Rose Joy, of Iloilo City in the Philippines, who overstayed her tourist visa in 2018.

Rose Joy, a mother of two from Brgy. Tanza Baybay, Iloilo City who now stays in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC, said three of her fellow caregivers who applied together with her more than a month ago had already received $14,500 each.

“Nag abot na ila ATM cards may unod $14,500 gin mail sang Department of Labor. Galalain ko pagkabalo ko kay wala gid ya bati a ang papers ko. Yots unfair ni ya (their ATM cards arrived from the Department of Labor and they contained $14,500 each. It’s unfair because nothing has been heard of about my papers),” Rose Joy bewailed.

 

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“Bakit sila meron, kami wala? (Why were they given and we weren’t?),” cried Dolores, 63, undocumented worker from Silang, Cavite in the Philippines who babysits in lower Manhattan.

Dolores said she is willing to pay her taxes for three years (2018, 2019, 2020) “baka puede pa makahabol. Puede pa kaya?” (Can I still be approved if I pay my back taxes for 2018, 2019, 2020?)

Intended to provide much-needed relief to workers cut off from government unemployment benefits and stimulus checks during the pandemic, the Excluded Workers Find is now open for workers—including undocumented immigrants—who weren’t eligible for unemployment benefits. 

The funds reportedly do not need to be paid back.

The historic $2.1 billion fund was created by resigned Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany lawmakers to assist undocumented and nontraditional workers as part of last-minute state budget negotiations in April. 

The state recently released the official regulations laying out what it will take to qualify.

New York’s Excluded Workers Fund is the largest program of its kind in the United States dedicated to supporting workers who couldn’t qualify for government assistance during the pandemic with $2.1 billion of state money.

 

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The fund has the potential to be very helpful to about 300,000 of the workers hit hardest by COVID and who were deemed essential to getting New York through the pandemic. 

Among them: food service workers, domestic workers, construction workers, cleaners, farmworkers, care workers, street vendors and more.

At one point, more than half of the city’s immigrants were unemployed, experts estimated. 

But workers without legal immigration status couldn’t get unemployment benefits or stimulus checks to help make ends meet for the past nearly year and a half.

Some workers went on a hunger strike to advocate for this fund — and they won.

They can qualify for the Excluded Workers Fund if they:

Lived in New York State before March 27, 2020, and continue to live in New York State; Are not eligible for and did not receive unemployment insurance or COVID-19 income relief; Earned less than $26,208 in the year before April 2021; Lost income from March 27, 2020, through April 1, 2021, because they lost work, couldn’t work because of COVID or if the person making your household’s income died or became disabled.

In addition to the income limit, the state is now also requiring workers to show they lost at least 50 percent of their weekly income from the end of February 2020 through April 2021.

The Excluded Workers Fund has two tiers: Tier one: $15,600, which is what one would have earned through unemployment insurance for the past year; and Tier two: $3,200, which is how much someone would have gotten from the stimulus checks.

Tier one reportedly requires more documents.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

`Olympic diving queen Vicki was my wife`

"Sport allows us to engage in dialogue and to build bridges, and it may even have the capacity to reshape international relations. The Olympic Games embody perfectly this universal mission."

—Richard Attias

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I MET the late former U.S. Olympic coach Lyle Draves, husband of the first woman in history to win the Platform and Springboard gold medals in the 1948 London Olympics.

Victoria “Vicki” Manalo-Draves, who died in 2010 at the age of 85, was half-Filipina and half-British.

Had she represented the Philippines, we could have won our first Olympic gold medal after the World War II.

The highest we that have achieved, so far, were 1 gold medal produced by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz (2020 Tokyo Olympics), five silver medals courtesy of boxers Anthony Villanueva (1964 Tokyo Olympics), Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, Jr. (1996 Atlanta Olympics), weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz (2016 Rio de Janeiro), boxers Carlo Paalam (2020 Tokyo Olympics), boxer Nesty Petecio (2020 Tokyo Olympics), and seven bronze medals.

When Vicki was invited by President Elpidio Quirino in Malacañang in July 1949, she was feted like a Filipina Olympic champion, Lyle told this writer in a meeting in California in 2011.

Lyle, then 96, narrated his wife’s great exploits in an exclusive interview inside his unit in a retirement village in the City of Laguna Woods.

"My late wife was half-Filipina," Lyle volunteered.

 

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He accompanied Vicki in the Malacañang visit and they were given a red carpet welcome.

“We hardly had any sleep then,” mused Lyle, the first pure diving coach in history who produced three Olympic gold medalists: Vicki Manalo-Draves (1948 London Olympics), Pat McCormick (1952 Helsinki Olympics and 1956 Melbourne Olympics), and Sue Gossick (1968 Mexico Olympics).

“We were herded from one party to another like real celebrities and almost everybody recognized us, especially Vicki. Man, I can’t forget that moment.”

Husband and wife visited the Philippines a year after Vicki Manalo-Draves made history: she became the first woman in history to win the Platform and Springboard gold medals in the 1948 London Olympics.

“I was her coach and Vicki narrowly beat (fellow American) Zoe Ann Olsen for the gold in her last Springboard dive,” recalled Lyle, who had been permanently enshrined in the International Swimming Hall of Fame at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida on May 12, 1989. 

“I replaced the regular coach, Fred Cady, who got sick and could not make it to the Olympics that year.”

Lyle said Vicki was elected in the same highest sports pedestal in 1969.

 

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On October 27, 2006, San Francisco mayor and now California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a proclamation naming a two-acre park as Victoria Manalo Draves Park in her honor on Folsom and Sherman streets in San Francisco where she was born.

Vicki's father was a Filipino musician from Orani, Bataan who migrated to San Francisco, California. Her mother was British Gertrude Taylor, also a migrant in the same state.

Lyle and Vicki have four sons – David, Jeffrey, Dale and Kim – all divers. They have eight grandchildren.

Prior to competing in the 1948 Olympics, Draves won five United States diving championships. 

Draves turned professional after the Olympics, joining Larry Crosby’s “Rhapsody in Swimtime” aquatic show at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1948.

 

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When Vicki died on April 11, 2010 from complications of pancreatic cancer at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, Lyle relocated to a plush retirement village at the Rushmore Towers in Laguna Woods, California where he has been living alone.

“I missed Vicki so much. But every night I talked to her,” sighed Lyle, who was partly deaf.

Lyle coached female divers to 12 Olympic medals and 35 National Championships. His Olympic silver medalists include Paula Jean Myers and Zoe Ann Olsen, each of whom took a bronze. His divers’ Olympic medal count reads 7 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.

Lyle has been described as America’s first great diving coach beginning an era when diving coaches could specialize in divers and not coach swimmers too, or vice versa.

He was a Hollywood film editor and his showbiz background has helped his coaching or again, vice versa, since Lyle was diving in and then producing, top-rated diving water shows before he became a film editor.

An Iowa farm boy, Lyle met Fred Cady at a swimming meet in Iowa. Fred invited him to California where Lyle began coaching divers at the Lido Club at the famed Ambassador Hotel and at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

 

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One of his first pupils was a 12-year-old girl named Zoe Ann Olsen. Next, they both moved to the Athens Athletic Club in Oakland where he met Vicki Manalo. He later married Vicki, who was given away by 1948 and 1952 platform winner Sammy Lee.

After the Olympics, Vicki and Lyle toured the United States and Europe with Buster Crabbe and Dick Smith.

He described the tours as “our great opportunity to travel as husband and wife since we have been traveling a lot together as coach and diver.”

Lyle returned to his coaching, first at tennis champion Jack Kramer’s Athletic Club and then at UCLA.

The Draves boys are Acapulco and World Champion high divers who have followed the showbiz side of their father’s heritage doing high and trick dives in such places as Magic Mountain, Sea World and Marineland.

Lyle described Fred Cady as “the most brilliant man” he ever met.

“He was the team coach during the 1936 (Berlin) Olympics and he was truly a great diving coach,” Lyle said.

The secret to success in coaching diving, Lyle emphasized, is “to follow Sir Isaac Newton and his third law of motion.”

He said, “Divers should know how to utilize the muscles inside their bodies by following the third law of motion.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Kabul refugees in Western Visayas

“You know, those of us who leave our homes in the morning and expect to find them there when we go back - it's hard for us to understand what the experience of a refugee might be like.”

—Naomi Shihab Nye

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE people deserve to know the complete details of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.’s revelation that the Philippines has started taking in Afghan refugees on September 8, including women and children.

It’s been a week and no follow up report came from Locsin’s office in as far as arrival of Afghan refugees in the Philippines is concerned.

I’m sure our leaders in Western Visayas, or any other regions in the country for that matter, are ready to welcome these brothers and sisters from violence-torn Afghanistan for humanitarian reason.

Some of them can assimilate with the Ilonggos and become part of the community; they can help build the local economy if they engage in business and other productive activities.

That’s why we deserve to know at least how many Afghan refugees are there in Manila or in any parts of the Philippines now and if they have been apportioned.

We can’t just speculate just because we were given a limited information.

It’s Locsin’s primordial responsibility to tell us what’s going on and who’s in town. 

 

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When we prepare the plates, we need to know the number of “visitors” who will dine in the kitchen.

We need at least a figure or how many men, women and children have arrived.

For sure the refugees will not be living in Metro Manila alone. 

They will be sent to other provinces and cities, including the Western Visayas region if necessary.

Locsin cited the refugees’ “safety” and “privacy” as the reason why they couldn’t reveal further information about the matter.

What safety was Locsin talking about? 

The refugees fled Kabul because they feared the Taliban. 

Unless there are Taliban assassins in the Philippines waiting to waylay the refugees as they enter the Ninoy Aquino International Airport or the seaports, Locsin can invoke safety as valid reason not to reveal further information about the fleeing Afghans.

As to the issue of privacy, the moment they left Afghanistan and sought refuge in other kind-hearted and peaceful countries like the United States, Germany, and the Philippines, people around the world already know and fully understand their predicament, their fears and condition, and how they are expected to adjust to their new life and in the cultures they are now part of when they are accommodated and absorbed in certain countries and territories that aren’t predominantly Islam.

 

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Another thing Locsin must consider before keeping all the details of the refugees under wraps is the pandemic. 

Some of our overseas Filipinos workers and balikbayans are hard-pressed to come home due to strict quarantine restrictions and protocols imposed by Imperial Manila and the “rebellious” Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Some provinces and cities have tightened if not closed their boundaries until after everything is back to normal. 

Proper coordination and communication with the local government units is necessary before the refugees are deployed nationwide, if that’s part of the foreign affairs department’s policy on the refugees.

We need total transparency and the public should know.

“We stay steady where others waver: tonight (September 8) we welcome Afghan nationals including women & kids seeking refuge,” Locsin said in a tweet. “Our doors are open to those fleeing conflict, persecution, sexual abuse and death.”

He added: “The matter is closed. We’re not interested in publicity or thanks. This is done so one can look at himself in the mirror. Period.”

“I don’t want baduy (corny) comparisons to famous relief actions in the past,” Locsin said in another tweet.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

Don’t be ashamed to talk about politics

“Politics have no relation to morals.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

 By Alex P. Vidal

 

POLITICIANS excited to talk about politics and their political plans for 2022 but are ashamed because there’s pandemic, should stop worrying.

It’s OK to discuss politics. It’s fine if they intend to run and disclose it today.

People will understand. 

What isn’t OK is stealing the taxpayers’ money intended to buy masks and other clinical supplies while people are dying of Covid-19.

The truth is, now is the right time to talk about politics; for political wannabes it’s not a sin to reveal their cards since the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) for all elective positions will be on October 1-8, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

With or without the pandemic, the Philippine National and Local Elections have been set on May 9, 2022.

In eight months, many things could happen to any aspirant for elective public office.

Some of those who will dilly-dally and pretend they aren’t interested to run (for fear of being chastised because “it’s not proper to talk about politics during the pandemic”) but, in fact, are excited to run might regret it if they will fall by the wayside in the game of name recall.

 

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Many people will appreciate it if the discourse will shift from the boring and depressing Covid-19 stories that have dominated the news since 2020.

In the time of pandemic, what the people must hear and read from the mass media shouldn’t be only about ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ.

These alphabet restrictions or quarantine protocols are confusing if not irritating. 

I personally don’t understand these acronyms and how they were coined.

To some Filipinos, these alphabet quarantine protocols have become a curse, something that will frighten us when we think our movements and freedom to travel are being abridged if not totally crippled by authorities.

These alphabet soups may even be bad to the mental and emotional health of many people who have been distressed after being bombarded daily by such horrors in prime time and front page stories.

We aren’t saying though that we close our eyes and ears to the gnawing reports about the pandemic, which has continued to create bedlam in our society.

A little diversion from the statistics of death and infection to the exciting world of politics will at least make the events that unfold before our eyes everyday worth watching.

 

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JERRY Leandro (not his real name), 49, architecture graduate at Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila who overstayed his U.S. tourist visa in 2013, disagreed with a certain Rona, a caregiver, who warned that an association ran by Filipinos in New York City was charging a fee of $65 to process their money under the $2.1 billion Fund for Excluded Workers passed by New York State lawmakers in April.

“I just read this (the article I wrote about the controversy). Perhaps may maganda naman na objective ang Damayan. They will guide those senior people who don’t know how to file. If you get a minimum of $3,000, you pay $65 as a contribution to Damayan. Sana makakuha ako kahit na minimum. Marami naman purpose ang Damayan and not only the workers fund. Have a nice Saturday bro,” wrote Jerry.

In my story, I never mentioned the name of any organization; I never mentioned Damayan. 

Thank you, Jerry, for giving me an idea of what is going on there. 

Thank you for “confirming” that you and other applicants are being charged with $65 for the “registration.”

If true, I don’t agree that they should charge that amount for a “registration” or whatever purpose to all applicants.

The New York State lawmakers did not intend to pass that law only for any organization to make a killing out of the undocumented workers’ plight.

Bawal po iyan. Pinoy po tayo lahat. Magtulongan na lang without any fee, puwede?

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)