WE congratulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo for his reelection as President of the world’s third largest democracy and hope he would reach out to his defeated rival Probowo Subianto, a retired general who has ran a second-time against him. Observers note a record 245,000 candidates ran for public office, from the presidency and parliamentary seats…
THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS in the Philippines have just concluded with the official announcement of the winners of the national senatorial race. How did the Fil-Am vote’s list of Top 12 senators compare with the overall winners in the Philippines? Despite protests among Fil-Am activists, community leaders and ordinary dual citizens and Filipino nationals living in…
OUR Marian pilgrimage group had just checked in on Sunday night at the Grand Hotel in Assisi, the town of St. Francis — after whom San Francisco, California and Pope Francis are named — when we tuned in to CNN. Fareed Zakaria, one of the network’s more incisive commentators, had a very interesting special report….
U.S. President Donald Trump is correct in rejecting the option to engage in war with Iran and to instead pursue the peaceful diplomatic route. He met with Swiss President Ueli Maurer whose nation has served as liaison between the U.S. and Iran which do not have diplomatic relations. Apparently ignoring some of his White House…
SUPPORTERS of President Rodrigo Duterte, either from the Philippines or here in America, have always been up in arms in defending the president, fighting against any form of dissent or nonsupport among Filipinos in America who openly criticize the Duterte administration. Legitimate factual news has been dismissed as “fake news,” despite videos and actual interviews…
FILIPINO AMERICANS are protesting from East to West to defend democracy, fight for accountability, and for many — to reject President Rodrigo Duterte. Kababayans from New York, Jersey City, Washington D.C., to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and many other cities took to the streets beginning the day after the Philippine Midterm Elections, Tuesday, May…
I AM writing this in Lourdes, France, the town of St. Bernadette to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary showed herself 18 times over a period of six months, from February to July 1858. My wife and I are part of a pilgrimage to holy sites where Mother Mary appeared before young children to deliver messages…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump is yet again engaged in a Twitter war with Filipino American attorney and conservative leader George Conway, after the president declared the 22-month long Mueller probe, “sick and unlawful.” Conway has called out Trump more than the president’s enablers in Congress and in the administration — including his own wife, Senior Advisor…
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION mandates that there are three co-equal branches of government — the executive, legislature and the judiciary — all tasked to provide checks and balance on each other to make sure that not one person, nor institution will abuse its power and put democracy at risk. It is the same spirit of the…
Is the Philippine government silencing the voices of the overseas absentee voters? FILIPINOS who are now working, are permanent residents in the U.S., or even dual citizens have been taking a more active role in participating in civic and democratic processes in the Philippines, never abandoning our love and concern for the Motherland, especially when…
I have just filled out my ballot as an overseas Filipino qualified to vote in the May 13, 2019 midterm elections. While we are outside the Philippines, dual citizens like me are entitled to vote for party list contenders and for national officials – in this case, senatorial candidates. Despite being relatively familiar with the…
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has been claiming he is the most transparent president in U.S. history. Any self-respecting U.S. citizen committed to the truth knows this is a lie. Transparency and accountability are values upheld by the principles of checks and balances mandated by the U.S. Constitution so that not one person nor institution accorded with…
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE is defined by U.S. law as an act that “corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice.” Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not and could not exonerate President Donald Trump of…
SPECIAL COUNSEL Robert Mueller’s redacted 448-page report has been made public. In excruciating details, it paints how the 45th president abused his power with corrupt intent through his campaign’s unethical and immoral communication with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election, and how he himself obstructed justice to defend himself, his campaign and his family…
One of the most touching chapters in “El Filibusterismo,” Jose Rizal’s sequel to the “Noli Me Tangere,” was when Padre Florentino asked plaintively, “Where are the youth who will consecrate their golden hours, their illusions, and their enthusiasm to the welfare of their native land? Where are the youth who will generously pour out their blood to wash…
HOLY WEEK is a good time for us to slow down a little and introspect on the meaning of this season in our life. This is particularly important these days when our day-to-day existence has been saddled with challenges, noise, hatred, doubts and fear because of the complexity and toxicity of today’s life. Most of…
First, Malacañang spokesman Salvador Panelo described as “futile,” the recent complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping filed by former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales over China’s transgressions in the West Philippine Sea. Now, President Rodrigo Duterte has issued a blunt warning to his erstwhile friend to back off from…
THERE IS a humanitarian crisis in the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump declared, but what is ironic is that he caused this crisis. Yes, there has been an influx of people coming in from Central America — thousands more are arriving as families with women and children in tow to seek refuge from violence…
POOR Nic Gabunada. He is being crucified for being good at what he does. Gabunada, a former ABS-CBN research specialist, is credited with harnessing social media to help President Rodrigo Duterte win in the 2016 elections. Recently, the administrators of the social media behemoth took down several Facebook and Instagram pages and allegedly fake accounts…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has been doing interviews and political events spreading even more lies that he has been exonerated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. He continues to call the Russia probe a “hoax” and a witch hunt, despite the fact that members of his campaign, Russian nationals had been indicted, given guilty pleas, sentenced…
MAKE THE FULL MUELLER REPORT PUBLIC! Disclose all documents and evidence to the American people. This was what Congress voted on in a rare display of unanimous bipartisanship, 420-0, in the spirit of transparency and accountability to the American people. This has been what an overwhelming majority of American people are demanding as evidenced by…
DEAR TRUMP supporters: How can you defend the current occupant in the oval office for again and again attacking late Senator John McCain, seven months after the death of this esteemed war hero and public servant who cannot anymore defend himself against Trump’s relentless tirades and character assassination? This is beneath the dignity of the…
President Donald Trump: “Why will they impeach me? I am doing a great job?” To which his supporters and fans say, “The American people elected Trump not because he is perfect. They elected him because they know the economy will boom under the billionaire business mogul reality show superstar.” Or, “Who cares about the issues…
President Donald Trump: “Why will they impeach me? I am doing a great job?” To which his supporters and fans say, “The American people elected Trump not because he is perfect. They elected him because they know the economy will boom under the billionaire business mogul reality show superstar.” Or, “Who cares about the issues…
NEWS headlines from recent weeks foreshadow an epiphany in the Republican Party. Finally. More and more Republicans in Congress are standing up to President Donald Trump to protect and defend the Constitution, a solemn vow they made when they were sworn into office. Finally. More and more Republicans in Congress are remembering the sacred truth…
We journeyed to Beirut, Lebanon and then to Homs, Syria from February 25 to March 2, 2019 on invitation by my good friend Alex Fu, a business leader in Australia, China, and the Philippines, and his business partners Tony Lam, a young Chinese business executive based in Sydney, and Sam Fayad, a Lebanese but has…
“SHOW me your budget and spending and I will tell you your values.” Sounds familiar? Life coaches say it, financial analysts say it, our parents say it, politicians say it. Indeed, with limited resources, where we put our money mostly reveals what matters more to us, what our priorities are. This is true among us…
WHEN two people notoriously who are known to have no respect for the truth get into a “he said-he said” public argument, who will Americans believe? President Donald Trump, who has been lying even before he entered politics just to grab attention, get high ratings, discredit his opponents, win the sympathy of his loyal supporters…
The recently concluded “Abuse Summit” at the Vatican convened by Pope Francis frontally addressed the problem of priestly sexual abuse – a problem and a challenge set against the extremely difficult-to-meet standard of priestly celibacy. Priestly celibacy, according to the rules of the Catholic Church, means being unmarried. In practical terms, it actually means sexual…
TWO YEARS. It took that long for Congress to finally do one very important function the U.S. Constitution has mandated it to do: to fulfill its oversight responsibility, making sure co-equal branches of government provide checks and balances among each other so that no one individual or institution abuses its power and betray the public’s…
