IF you are a parent like I am, would you do everything humanely possible to bring your children out of danger, famine, threats, oppression — just like what the Europeans did when they sought refuge and asylum and settled in the land of the American Indians that we now call the United States of America?…
The deaths of celebrities Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have once again put the spotlight on the issue of suicide, and many people wonder how people as famous, talented, rich as them could have taken their own lives. We could all talk about it in the medical, philosophical or spiritual or emotional realms, but we…
I NEVER thought that one day would come when the leader of the Free World, the bastion of democracy, the defender of human rights would attack the allies of the United States, only to sing praises and advocate for the cause of the very countries that attack the United States’ democratic values, institutions and processes….
FILIPINOS all over the world are talking about the controversial video that shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte playfully kissing the lips of an overseas Filipina worker, who is reportedly married, in front of a cheering crowd of kababayans when he delivered a speech on stage in Seoul, South Korea. Even legitimate international media organization reported…
LAST MIDWEEK, I shared with you through this column about the eye-opening experience I had when I attended the San Mateo Community College graduation here in Northern California. My own daughter Katrina was among the graduates as she decided to take this route before going to California State University to complete her bachelor’s degree without…
MY DAUGHTER Katrina just graduated with an Associate’s degree in political science from San Mateo Community College here in California, and will be transferring to California State University in the fall to continue pursuing a bachelor’s degree. This was a choice she made as she wanted to be personally invested in her education and in…
TEN KILLED. Nine high school students and one teacher were murdered, while 10 remain injured as of press time at Santa Fe High School in Texas on the morning of Friday, May 20, after a gunman opened fire. This comes just a little more than three months after the Valentine’s Day school massacre in Parkland,…
CHIEF JUSTICE Maria Lourdes Sereno was removed from the Philippine Supreme Court through an 8-6 vote by the justices on May 11, 2018, for what they conclude is her failure to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALNs) when she was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. Sereno denied…
U.S. NEWS organizations have carried the news about the ouster of Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The NEW YORK TIMES reported to its global readers: “The Philippines’ highest court on Friday forced out its chief justice, removing a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his brutal war against drugs, which…
MAY DAY. May 1 is International Workers’ Day, a day when many countries around the world commemorate the working class of their nation. The “obrero” or workers and their supporters took to the streets to fight for workers’ rights, better working conditions and equitable pay. In the United States, this year’s commemoration is especially significant…
GOOD NEWS for qualified young undocumented immigrants: On Tuesday, April 24, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates called the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program “virtually unexplained” and therefore “unlawful.” This will effectively resume the DACA program after President Donald Trump tried to shut down the Obama-era initiative…
BORACAY — consistently ranked as one of the best islands and beaches in the world, as it has been voted to the top many times by travelers worldwide. For me, Boracay is personal. This tropical paradise has been so much a part of my family’s history. That is why the news that Boracay will be…
CALIFORNIA, home to the biggest Filipino population in America, is divided, and so are kababayans in the Golden State, when it comes to the “sanctuary state” policy enacted into law by Governor Jerry Brown last year. The poll published by UC Berkeley’s progressive-leaning Haas Institute on Wednesday, April 18, revealed the paradox that while 70…
DEPORTATION. This is perhaps among the top stressors of kababayans in the United States, especially those who have already established new lives in this adoptive country. The fear is real, not only among undocumented immigrants, but even among those who have already been granted green cards, also known as Permanent Resident Status. Green card holders…
CALIFORNIA is home to the most number of Filipinos in America, thanks to its relatively mild weather and its west end location in the continental United States, being just the Pacific Ocean away from the Philippines. The Golden State is also the most populous state in the nation, with almost 40 million Californians calling it…
“It’s a disgrace. It’s, frankly, a real disgrace. It’s an attack on our country, in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for,” President Donald Trump lamented on Monday, April 9, in response to the news about the FBI raiding the office of Trump’s long-time personal attorney, Michael Cohen. As the New York…
Balitang America has confirmed that one of the kids who died when a 19-year-old man opened fire using an AR-15 war weapon in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day was of Filipino descent. Her name was Carmen Schentrup, a beautiful and intelligent senior high school student whose Filipina lola, Florenda…
Pope Francis is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why many Catholics have found renewed faith in the Church. This simple, humble, loving and inclusive spiritual leader has not only been preaching the Gospel of Jesus through his life and example, he also connects God’s teachings to the challenges we face in our everyday life….
“NEVER AGAIN.” “Enough.” Can you hear them now, President Donald J. Trump and the Republicans in Congress, as over half a million students and their supporters march in Washington DC and other major cities in America and around the world on Saturday, March 24, to demand for you to do your solemn obligation to end the…
WHEN will the murder of innocent children and civilians due to the gun violence epidemic ever end in America? Just on Tuesday, March 20, an armed student in Lexington Park, Maryland opened fire in a hallway shortly before classes began around 8 a.m, striking a female he reportedly had a previous relationship with, and a male…
When we see a lot of homeless children roaming the streets of Manila, or kids who have lost their parents tossed from one house or orphanage to another, we can’t help but think about well-off American couples who may have all the material wealth in the world but have not been blessed with children of…
‘No Collusion’ WHAT’S THE RUSH? Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee this week ended the year-long Russia probe without informing the Democrats in the committee, announcing that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not trying to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election. They also concluded, “there was no collusion” between the Trump campaign and…
AFTER months of kindergarten playground bickering and name-calling long distance between these two unpredictable and narcissistic leaders as to who has a bigger nuclear arsenal that works, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un have agreed to meet sometime in May in a location that has yet to be determined. This is…
WHAT hold does Russian President Vladimir Putin have on U.S. President Donald Trump that up to this day, despite U.S. intelligence reports and indictments against Russians, the hard-hitting, name-calling, and supposed defender of the United States against foreign adversaries has remained the number one guardian of Russia? During a joint press conference with Swedish Prime…
BRAVO President Donald Trump! That was quite a very moving televised meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as you spoke such powerful words that shocked the members of the Republican party and their best friends at the powerful and generous campaign contributors, the National Rifle Association (NRA). “I’m a big fan of NRA (National Rifle…
ENOUGH! This is the battle cry of Americans following the massacre of 14 students and three staff members in Parkland, Florida — one of the worst in U.S. history — and just another in the series of many mass shootings that have killed students and civilians in just a few years. President Donald Trump and…
IN the wake of one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States — committed by a white 19-year-old with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing 14 students and three school staff members in Parkland, Florida — survivors, their families, students from other schools around the country, and stricter gun laws and regulations advocates protested…
AMERICA celebrated Presidents’ Day last Monday, February 19, but there was something, someone missing — a real president with moral leadership in the White House. The events leading up to Presidents’ Day just exposed more of the character, or the lack thereof, of the 45th president of the United States. Fourteen young high school students…
Work on gun control laws, Pres. Trump and Republican lawmakers PICTURE your self even just for a while, and imagine how you would feel if you are among the grieving family members of a football coach, an athletic director and 14 young students who were killed by a lone deranged young gunman at a high…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump faced the press people and even tweeted about his praises for his former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, who resigned last week when allegations against him were made public by his former wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennie Willoughby, after they reportedly contributed to a delay in granting him a permanent security…
