POPE Francis received overwhelming support among Filipinos in America on the reforms he will implement in the Catholic Church to make marriage annulment faster and cheaper for Catholics. 100 percent of the viewers who voted in the online opinion poll of The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” agreed that the following changes announced last…

AFTER Pope Francis’s controversial statement allowing priests during the Year of Mercy to “absolve” sins committed by contrite women who have had abortions, the leader of the Catholic Church has now radically revised the process by which Catholics may annul their marriages to make it easier, faster and cheaper. This is especially significant for Filipinos…

POPE Francis once again shook the Catholic community and the world, last Tuesday, Sept. 1 with his announcement that priests around the world will be authorized to forgive women who received an abortion but have already repented with a contrite heart. A CNN report, however, clarified that the Pope’s policy does not change church doctrine…

THOUGH a candidate most Democrats outside of the state of Vermont have never heard of, Senator Bernie Sanders has proven a sustained upward climb in the polls, possibly threatening the frontrunner status of former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A new poll among Iowa caucus goers, the first to hold the primary…

Social media was on fire on Friday, Aug. 28 with comments and criticisms from kababayans who were caught in traffic on EDSA after thousands of members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members gathered in front of a shopping mall, reportedly following instructions from the INC leadership. While the rest of the commuting public had been…

WHEN I shared through this column what undocumented Filipinos in America may expect from a Trump presidency — and that Trump should recalibrate his message against undocumented immigrants so he will not be misconstrued as condoning violence against them — I got different reactions from kababayans from different walks of life. Here are some of…

Picture this: A homeless man was sleeping near a train station, then wakes up to two men urinating on him. Not satisfied, these men beat the homeless man with a metal pole repeatedly and walked away laughing. When apprehended, these men told police they attacked the victim because he was “homeless,” “Hispanic,” and an “illegal…

FILIPINOS in America are divided between two ends of the spectrum: those who believe Donald Trump is their “Messiah” who will help “reclaim” America (but from whom?) and all her glory; and those who abhor Trump and see him as a caricature, no more than a rich real estate mogul and reality star on TV…

After two candidates have publicly signified their presidential bids for 2016, the next question people are so curious to know is who UNA’s Jejomar Binay and LP’s Mar Roxas will pick for Vice President. In the past week, talks about Binay running with Bongbong Marcos energized both the Marcos loyalists and the Binay supporters. After…

It is GAME ON! Following the first Republican Party debate last Thursday, August 6, many kababayans who lean Republican have been energized to see the crowded slate of candidates they can choose from to be the next President of the United States. As the polls show as of press time, real estate mogul and reality…

VICE President Binay delivered what he called to be the “True State of the Nation Address” at the Cavite State University, following the official sixth and last SONA of President Noynoy Aquino. Binay used this platform to lambast the Aquino Administration and its alleged failure to serve the people, and took a swipe at his…

After President Noynoy Aquino finally anointed DILG Sec. Mar Roxas to be his successor and the Liberal Party’s standard bearer in the 2016 Philippine Presidential Election — which Mar has accepted in a gathering among friends and supporters at the historic Club Filipino — it is GAME ON in Philippine politics! Even Vice President Binay…

SUCH a catchy title posted on Facebook by my dear friend from Manila, Dr. Vivian Sarabia, a staunch supporter of President Noynoy Aquino and now of the Liberal Party’s official nominee, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas. Aquino’s anointment of Roxas could not have happened at a better place, as Club Filipino in the Greenhills area in…

President Benigno Aquino III delivered his sixth and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, touting the accomplishments of his administration. Though he admitted he is not perfect, he said he did his best in the past five years. A majority (64 percent) of Filipinos in America who voted in the…

It is indeed a great humanitarian advocacy to make sure every individual — regardless of race, gender, age, income, and yes, immigration status —  gets access to healthcare. But will your conviction change if you are asked to foot the bill through your income taxes,  to pay for health care coverage for those living in…

AFTER meeting again with President Benigno Aquino, Grace Poe—the polls frontrunner for both the Presidential and Vice Presidential races—has issued a statement that has people buzzing in the way they look at the political crystal ball: Here is how she was quoted by several news organizations, including my colleague Vicky Robles: “We talked for about…

LAST Wednesday, many kababayans rejoiced about the news that the Obama administration will be looking to reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their families sooner through a new policy. Balitang America Correspondent Rommel Conclara spoke to Fil-Vets who have been waiting for news like this for decades because for these heroes, time is of…

DONALD TRUMP: either you love the guy or hate him. This is especially true in the context of politics and the race to the White House. Filipinos in America are divided as well in how they look at this real estate mogul/reality TV show star, and now US President wannabe. Most Democrats and many Independents…

WE have often talked about how it is to be “Pinoy” in America, as other races/ethnicities would also have their own conversations about their unique experiences as they live new lives and get assimilated in our adoptive country.  This comes out naturally to us because this is OUR experience, our perspective, living in America. But…

I AM in a very sentimental and celebratory mood because last July 7, 2015, my husband and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. Humbled and with a grateful heart, I wish to share this article I found on Facebook from the website vamshare.com, hoping you will be blessed with God’s grace and mercy as we’ve…

THE highest court of the land has finally ruled: Marriage between people of the same sex is now legal in all 50 states of America. In a landmark decision on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court said same-sex marriage cannot be banned in any state of the nation, and married same-sex couples will now be…

“FILIPINO PIGS…with your faces in the trough.” This was how former American Apparel CEO and founder Dov Charney allegedly called some Filipino workers who were employed by American Apparel. This was revealed by court documents filed by the company against Charney as evidence of why he was fired last year. Charney reportedly even told his…

COULD the historic 6-3 decision of the Supreme Court (SC),  which saved the controversial Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), finally put a stop to the “repeal and replace” campaign slogan and all the lawsuits from those who oppose this signature legislation introduced by President Barack Obama? President Barack Obama said this historic decision reaffirms that in…

FIRST, there was Ralph DeLeon, a 26-year old Filipino-American who received a 25-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of three terrorism related charges last fall. Now, Balitang America Correspondent Steve Angeles reported about the arrest last Friday, June 19 of another Fil-Am, 19-year-old Justin Nojan Sullivan of Morganton, NC, for allegedly plotting…

IT has been amazing to see and feel the passionate support Filipinos have given the Warriors in their quest to once again be this NBA champion after 40 years. Yes, Pinoys love basketball. Yes, there are so many Filipinos in the San Francisco Bay Area and in California, in general, which explains why there are…

ABS-CBN International’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) has added more reasons for us Filipinos in the United States to be proud. We can now compete in America and around the worldagainst big broadcasting corporations and mainstream media companies in America when it comes to excellence in reporting news and stories that matter. What makes these awards…

THE 117th anniversary of Philippine independence was celebrated by Filipinos in America from coast to coast, shouting out a new mission: Defend Philippine sovereignty against China’s bullying by protest actions and a global boycott of goods made in China, as well as of companies that sell products that are made in China. The Filipino Channel’s…

JUNE 12 marks the celebration of Independence Day among Filipinos, a commemoration of the victory of our people against foreign intrusions and oppressors that denied Filipinos the freedom and liberties that are considered rights of any democratic nation. However, it seems the call to defend the freedom and liberties is an ongoing saga, especially in…

PERHAPS the surrogates of Vice President Jejomar Binay are scratching their heads over how their tactic of aggressively probing Senator Grace Poe’s nationality and qualifications to run for President in 2014 have boomeranged against them. They were, after all, doing the Filipino people a service to help them make the intelligent choice come May 2016,…

ONE of the very amusing things I have learned from following the political news here in the United States and in the Philippines is this: Do not discredit the power of the narrative during election season. In fact, most political campaigns revolve around how to best sell the narrative of a candidate, if only to…