IN the midst of debates about the Obama administration’s policy to grant federal benefits, protection and services to all married same-sex couples in America (equal to those accorded to their heterosexual counterparts), multi-talented actress and singer Aiza Seguerra just proposed marriage to the love of her life, model-actress Liza Diño in the Philippines. Filipinos are…
Last Monday, US Attorney General Eric Holder released a memo which accords the same federal benefits, protection and services to all same-sex couples across the nation — even in the 34 states that have not yet legalized gay marriage. To clarify, the memo does NOT mandate that these states officiate or solemnize same-sex marriages, since…
IF you are still hoping immigration reform will pass this 2014, you may be in for a big disappointment. In a 180-degree turn from his more optimistic tone in January, House Speaker John Boehner now says that is not likely to happen this year, all because of President Barack Obama. Speaker Boehner said his colleagues…
YES, the National Football League championship game last Sunday, February 2, made us all want to snooze as early as the first quarter. The Seattle Seahawks, after all, “butchered” the Denver Broncos, 43-8! But thankfully, some side stories made Superbowl 48 especially memorable for us, Filipinos who watched the game! First and second headliners — …
IT CAN be deemed as a love-hate relationship. Despite protests against China’s so-called “bullying” in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, the Chinese influence is very much alive in Filipino culture — especially during the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Local newscasts in the Philippines cover how Pinoys celebrate the lunar new…
WE have been inundated with letters and emails, inquiring about the status of the Philippines’ call for the United States to designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which would give more visa relief to Filipinos in the wake of super typhoon Yolanda. TPS would help about 1 million Filipinos in the United States with expiring or…
(Part 2 of 2) LAST week, I shared the first part of the speech by Atty. Arnedo Valera, Legal Counsel of the Philippine Nurses Association in America (PNAA) and Executive Director of the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), delivered at the FIRST GLOBAL SUMMIT OF FILIPINO NURSES 2014 in Manila on January 16. Part 1 discussed…
(Part 1 of 2) WE may have heard of some horrific stories of abuse committed by a few Filipino nurses, but I hope we do not lose sight of the big picture. It is important for us to appreciate the very big role our kababayan nurses play in the economic, social and cultural system of …
THE nursing profession is a field that Filipinos are known to excel in. Patients credit and are most thankful for Pinoy nurses’ high level of knowledge, strong work ethic and remarkable degree of compassion. However, we also hear stories of abuse being committed by a few, which may taint or affect the image and reputation…
THE recent news about shoppers’ credit, debit and even personal data being stolen by hackers from big retail stores (like Target and Neiman Marcus) have left many of us feeling very vulnerable. We try to be frugal in our spending, especially during these tough economic times, and the thought of having thieves steal our hard-earned…
LAST Wednesday, I asked our readers: Will immigration reform pass in 2014? The Democrat-led Senate has already passed the bill last year, but it stalled in the Republican-led House of Representatives. The new year, however, ushered in more optimistic possibilities. The New York Timesreported: “Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio has signaled he may embrace…
THE passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform was among the campaign promises of then-presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential elections. On the second term of the Obama administration, the US immigration system remains broken. Republicans and Democrats continue to differ in solutions to the immigration problem. But even as the president supports…
WITH the US Supreme Court’s decision last June — effectively ruling that marriage in America isn’t just a union between a man and a woman — gays and lesbians are now free to marry the person they choose, and to petition their spouse to migrate to the United States, through the legal process. This principle…
As we start a new chapter in our lives, both as individuals and as a community, allow me to share with you these beautiful quotes that I hope will help you start the year right. Cheers to a new beginning! God bless us all. “The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its…
NOT even the festive and joyful spirit of the holidays could stop kababayans from sharing their sentiments, in response to the CCTV video that has become viral online. Such video showed how Makati Mayor Jejomar “Junjun” Binay, Jr. and his troop treated the security guards in Dasmariñas Village, who prevented them from exiting through the…
Maligayang Pasko po sa inyong lahat! I hope you are having a great time creating wonderful moments and memories with the people that matter most in your life, despite the hardship and challenges of our present time. Indeed, 2013 has gone by so fast, and as we celebrate Christmas, we are reminded once again that…
JUST a few days before Christmas, Filipinos in America (who may have expired visas) are hoping to be permitted to work in the US and travel to the Philippines through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS). In the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda and with the support of immigrant advocates they hope the Obama administration will…
I HAVE been reporting about Migrant Heritage Commission’s (MHC)advocacy, calling on the Obama administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Filipinos in America, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Last weekend, MHC Co-Executive Director Atty. Arnedo Valera emailed me the good news: Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III has joined their call to grant…
JUST weeks after the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) froze some of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s assets for allegedly owing P2.2 billion ($50 million) in taxes, now, our Pambansang Kamao reportedly finds himself in another tax battle — this time with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to initial reports from TMZ, tax…
LAST week, I wrote about undocumented college student Ju Hong, who heckled President Barack Obama while he was making a speech on immigration reform in San Francisco. Hong also wrote the President to tell him he did not mean to disrespect him, but was just compelled to ask ask him to exercise his executive power…
LAST week, I wrote about how a young undocumented college student heckled President Barack Obama, as he was making a speech about immigration reform in San Francisco. Along with other immigrant advocates, Ju Hong was among those invited by the White House to hear the President’s message. Hong wrote an open letter to Pres.Obama, published…
YES, the supporters of Manny Pacquiao are right — the freezing of some of his bank accounts couldn’t have come at a worse time, just days after the Pambansang Kamao gave such a big boost to the morale of Filipinos after Super Typhoon Yolanda ravaged Central Philippines. After all, this was the boxing icon’s return…
THANKSGIVING Day for most Americans is THE day for family to be together. It is an important family holiday, perhaps even more important to some, than Christmas day. Leading up to the holidays, he clamor for family reunification has become louder, especially for undocumented immigrants. During Pres. Barack Obama’s speech on immigration in San Francisco’s…
THE Thanksgiving tradition of coming together as one family, praying together while holding hands in a circle of faith before enjoying a sumptuous holiday dinner can be a sad and difficult time for many people, who feel there is not much to be thankful for. Understandably so, especially for those who lost a loved one,…
THE relentless push of the Fil-Am organization Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) and other immigrant advocates for the Obama administration to grant the Philippines the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is gaining more support in Washington. In a bipartisan move, 20 US Senators have now joined in the call to accord TPS status to the Philippines, in…
THE US government has gone far and beyond relief efforts to help the Philippines recover and rebuild after being ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda. It has extended visa relief to kababayans in the Philippines and those in the United States with valid immigration papers. However, with the crisis the Philippines now faces in the aftermath…
AMID the chaos and desperation in the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), Filipinos in North America had the opportunity to reach out and lend a helping hand to our kababayans in the Visayas, whose communities have been ravaged by the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall. From November 13-14,…
PHILIPPINE officials say more than 10,000 Filipinos are feared dead, and about 800,000 are displaced because of super typhoon Yolanda. Despite all the local and international help being extended to the affected provinces in the Visayas, experts say it will probably take many years, even a decade to rebuild these areas, and the lives of…
OUR beloved Philippines has once again been tested by the wrath of nature, with the landfall of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), which meteorologists say may be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in recorded history — even more intense and powerful than typhoon “Yoling” which caused massive death and destruction in…
FUTURE LEADERS OF TOMORROW (I have a guest writer in this edition of my column. She is my 17-year-old daughter Katrina Relos, a senior high school student from San Mateo High School in California. Katrina delivered a powerful and inspiring speech before Filipina leaders from different parts of the world in the Filipina Women’s Network…
