ALL Saints Day and All Souls’ Day, for many Filipinos who immigrated to America, are not so much about costume parties, nor trick or treating. It still holds the same sanctity and tradition — days to commemorate and remember family and friends who have passed on. This includes commiserating with families of kababayans, who have…

I HAD the privilege of meeting so many high achieving kababayan and kabaro in the Filipina Women’s Network Gala honoring the 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World. It was held in San Francisco on October 26. Celebrating Pinay Power, I got to listen to the leadership keynote speech of Cora M. Tellez , who…

ANOTHER Fil-Am mom created a firestorm online and on television because of her Facebook page picture, which showed her with her three very young sons, wearing a skimpy two-piece workout outfit that highlighted her svelte figure. A caption was posted on top:  “What’s your excuse?” The photo became viral. What was intended to be an…

IN the past, the epitome of the Filipina lola has been painted as an old woman in a rocking chair, gray hair in a bun (pusod), wearing eye glasses, a bit on the heavier side, holding a rosary and praying. Although loved and appreciated for doting on her grandchildren, the Filipina lola has been deemed…

WHEN is a woman too old to rock? When a Filipina becomes a lola, should she stop taking care of her self as she used to in her younger years when to look good and feel good? Is there a new “life” that awaits a woman when she becomes old and gray, and has earned…

BEGINNING October 21, same-sex couples in New Jersey will be able to wed. This, after a New Jersey judge rejected the state’s appeal to halt same-sex marriages. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson cited the US Supreme Court’s June rejection of part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a move that ensured that same-sex spouses…

FOR many kababayans visiting the United States, the most dreaded part of the trip is going through the immigration inspection. The recent news about a 63-year old Filipina being harassed and intimidated by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers in the point of entry in Seattle, Washington just validated the fear and apprehension of such…

YOU’VE got your US visa, excited to visit and tour around the United States, only to be subjected to harassing interrogation and threat of airport-to-airport deportation at the US immigration port of the entry.  What can you do? What should have been a happy and memorable visit to attend her daughter’s wedding turned out to…

IT WAS a three-day visit to the Philippines I wish I never had to take. I had to come back to my homeland for a reason most Filipinos living abroad dread and fear the most — the death of a loved one. My younger brother David died unexpectedly on September 28, 2013 at the young…

PLEASE allow me to deviate from my usual commentaries and discussions about current issues. I want to use this opportunity to pay homage to my younger brother, David Santos.  He died unexpectedly on Saturday, September 28, at the young age of 44. I just came back from a short trip to Manila, to say goodbye…

WHAT is supposed to be a common aspiration– to end corruption in the Philippines and seek justice in the pork barrel scam — has now divided Filipinos all over the world. At the center of the debate is the question of whether alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam should testify in the Senate…

WHAT is the role of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in the quest for truth and justice in the ongoing investigations for the pork barrel scam?  What mandate does it have to fulfill this mission? These  are questions in mind of the general public, as the plot thickens in the continuing saga of the pork…

THE first batch of plunder charges may have been filed against lawmakers and other officials allegedly involved in the P10-Billion Pork Barrel Scam in the Philippines, but Filipinos around the world are not letting up. “Tuloy ang laban” remains to be their battlecry, demanding for the swift, fair and impartial investigation, and conviction of those…

Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and  Jinggoy Estrada. They are but three among lawmakers recommended to be charged for plunder, after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) compiled evidence which proved that some legislators received kickbacks in the P10-billion pork barrel scam, devised and orchestrated by Napoles. In all, Department of Justice…

“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used,” President Obama told the American people in a primetime televised speech last Tuesday. “America is not the world’s policeman. Terrible…

After the Obama administration’s all-out push for a limited military strike against the Assad Regime for using chemical weapons to slaughter more than 1,400 of its own people to hold on to power, Syria now says that it will surrender all its stockpiles of chemical weapons to international control and destroy them. This surprising position…

“ENOUGH with politicians pocketing people’s taxes, while the rest of the country are suffering from the devastation of the floods,” Los Angeles- based Fil-Am community leader Art Garcia said in a press statement, voicing out the sentiments of many Filipinos all over the world about another scandal, which has rocked our kababayans’ confidence in public officials….

PRESIDENT Noynoy Aquino ran and won on his anti-corruption platform. While not all kababayans were happy about the way his administration  pushed for plunder charges against his predecessor and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and for the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, a majority of Filipinos are still happy that the son of democracy…

The California Supreme Court justices’ unanimous ruling last Wednesday tossed out a legal challenge by supporters of Proposition 8,  a ballot measure passed by voters in 2008, which banned same-sex marriage. This means gay marriages in California are here to stay. Advocates against gay marriages, however, are not giving up just yet. According to the…

How do we solve a problem like China, with its continued “bullying” and claim on a million square miles of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea including some Philippine territories? As we reported on Balitang America, community leader Loida Nicolas Lewis and the US Pinoys for Good Governance have spearheaded the “boycott everything about China”…

MOVE over, teenagers! Lolos and lolas are now on Facebook and it seems that they are here to stay! According to a new report from Pew Internet & American Life project, 43 percent of internet users aged 65 and older say they use social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This is a big leap, compared…

Joseph Estrada. Ramon Revilla. John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton. These are powerful men in the political arena, who are also known for philandering. Additionally, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner also engage in the same behavior. The question is: should this disqualify them from…

WHAT is it with Filipinos and beauty pageants? I experienced firsthand the Pinoys’ love affair with beauty pageants, when I was invited to be among the esteemed panel of judges in the first ever Binibining Pilipinas-USA. The pageant was held on July 27 at the Centinela Valley Performing Arts Auditorium in Lawndale, Los Angeles. Nineteen…

THIS is an exciting time to be Catholic, especially for those who have had doubts and questions about the Catholic Church’s relevance in their spiritual and faithful journey. After the resignation of Pope Benedict a few months ago, the emergence of Pope Francis as the new leader of the Catholic Church has been a defining…

LAST Wednesday, I wrote a bit about Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago’s statement, where she lambasted lawmakers’ “obsession to bling,” and promised to file a resolution prescribing an official uniform for members of Congress attending the State of the Nation Address (SONA). “I watched TV and could not stand it,” the fiery lady senator said, “…

PHILIPPINE President Noynoy “PNoy” Aquino delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address(SONA) on July 22, before the joint sessions of the Senate and House of Representatives and before kababayans worldwide. PNoy’s 102-minute speech heralded the achievements of his administration, focusing mainly on the economy and public service. Like his his previous SONA, Aquino slammed…

AFTER George Zimmerman was found “not guilty” by the jury for the death of 17-year-old African American teenager Trayvon Martin, civil rights advocates, community leaders, and the family of Trayvon Martin called on the Obama administration to file federal charges against Zimmerman. They say that Martin’s civil rights were violated by Zimmerman, stemming from racial…

“NOT guilty.” Many of those who have been following the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case could not believe the verdict. They could not accept nor understand that a 17-year-old was killed when he was just walking back home in Florida, and that the man who shot him was acquitted. The closing argument of the prosecutors resonated…

The news about the crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6 made many people re-think how safe it is to fly. This is a very serious issue for many kababayans, who have no other alternative to visit the Philippines with the motherland being almost 7,000 miles away…

THIS is a very common scenario that usually starts with good intentions from both sides. Many Pinoys from the Philippines come to America as tourists, secretly hoping to find lucrative job opportunities that seem elusive in the motherland. Some will find a kababayan who runs a business in America and will use all possible connections…