THEY are more than just statistics — these 800,000 people brought into the United States as kids by their parents or grandparents grew up in this country not knowing that they did not have all the required immigration documents to live in America legally until they had to apply for a driver’s license or for…
SOME say that in any political landscape, opposition is good. Opposition is more prevalent in a democracy as it keeps current leaders on their toes, and makes sure that no one has absolute power. While democracy allows the people to put into power leaders who will represent their interests, the opposition is present to avoid…
PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Aranal Sereno is now in the eye of the storm after an impeachment complaint have been filed against her, first by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) in the House of Representatives “for supposed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, other high crimes, and…
Raising our voices in proud solidarity this Labor Day, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers are joining with working people across the country to put the importance of unions front and center in our national conversation. Emerson Padua is a proud Filipino American and dedicated healthcare worker from Beaumont, Calif. He has been a dialysis…
“HOW will I succeed?” This was the question President Rodrigo Duterte emphasized when he humbly admitted to his constituents that he cannot fulfill his promise of eradicating the drug problem in the country in just six months after assuming office. The president said he was shocked by the magnitude of the drug menace and that…
AS the nation commiserate with Texas for the record rainfall and flooding brought about by hurricane Harvey, President Donald Trump announced that he was pardoning former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted last month of criminal contempt for the way he illegally profiled, hunted down, and jailed undocumented immigrants, particularly Hispanics, in his jurisdiction…
FOLLOWING outrage from people coming from different parts of the world over the death of 17-year-old Kian De Los Santos and thousands more in the hands of the police, President Rodrigo Duterte finally admitted in a press conference on Monday, August 21, that there may have been abuses in his administration’s war on drugs. The…
REST in peace, Kian delos Santos, who was 17 years young when he was killed by police during an anti-drug operation last Thursday, August 17. People all over the world, including international media organizations, government officials and even ordinary citizens, have expressed their outrage and called out Duterte for the gruesome killings in the Philippines….
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has been in office for only 30 weeks but his self-inflicted wound coming from his statement that counter-protestors share the blame with the hate groups — the White supremacists, Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and the “Alt-Right” — during their fatal clash on August 12, may be the worst in his…
I was 5 years old when Gen. Douglas MacArthur made good on his promise to return to the Philippines. I was, therefore, old enough to remember how my family and the residents of Tacloban coped with the Japanese occupation and the prospect of an American invasion. I vividly remember the fox holes and the air…
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP could have made this crisis an opportunity to seize a defining moment in his troubled presidency — to prove he is indeed the president of all Americans as he has promised on the campaign trail and in his inaugural speech. He could have used this as an opportunity to affirm what the…
NORTH Korea has been firing and testing missiles—18 test launches this year—at an unprecedented pace. Amid its rising tensions with the U.S., it recently announced a detailed plan to redirect some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles toward Guam, an American territory in Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean. Guam is one of America’s major military hubs…
THE TRUMP administration has intensified its crackdown on sanctuary cities — jurisdictions that provide a safe haven for undocumented immigrants by limiting how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration agents. There are about 300 sanctuary cities in the United States, some of which have already filed lawsuits against the Trump administration after President…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump ran on the campaign promise that he would intensify the crackdown on illegal immigrants — and he is doing just that. There are places in the country, though, that have declared themselves as “sanctuary cities” to provide a safe haven for undocumented immigrants in their jurisdiction by limiting limit how local law…
CONTRARY to popular opinion, none of the world’s top diplomats, who gathered in Manila on August 2-8 to attend the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings, brought up the alleged spate of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Not a single member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has indicated an…
DURING the Philippine revolution against Spain, the Katipunan had two mutually-hostile factions: the Magdiwang of Andres Bonifacio, and the Magdalo, which was identified with Emilio Aguinaldo. While they literally went at each other’s throat, the two groups continued to fight alongside each other, acknowledging that they were struggling for a common cause against a common…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s job approval rating dips further south to a new historic low of 33 percent, with 61 percent disapproving of how he is doing his job as president, according to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll. The right-leaning Rasmussen Poll reports a 39 percent approval rating. Meanwhile, a majority of Americans (62 percent) say…
THE White House is in chaos, but let us look at the glimmer of hope in President Donald Trump’s appointment of General John Kelly as chief of staff, replacing Reince Priebus, who reportedly served for the shortest time in White House history — January 20 to July 27, 2017. Kelly previously served as the secretary…
During the early morning of Sunday, July 30, members of the Philippine National Police and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), armed with search warrants, raided homes of alleged illegal drug personalities in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental. Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog Sr. and his wife died during the raid on their house, while 13 other…
SURPRISE! President Donald Trump woke up on the morning of Wednesday, July 26, and announced via Twitter that transgenders (those born with a certain gender but identify self with another gender) will now be banned from serving in the U.S. military in any capacity: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised…
Two weeks ago at the first meeting of Asian and European Political Parties in the Asia-Europe Political Forum (AEPF) held in Seoul, July 6-10, 2017, we listed the major conflict areas in Asia and some of their extensions in Africa and at the same time pointed to some of the successful but seldom mentioned geo-political…
MY HEART goes out to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. As you are reading this piece, the man President Donald Trump appointed to be his Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary may either have been fired or has resigned, following the barrage of tweets the president has made on Twitter over the past several days that publicly…
IN the Philippines, many Pinoys do not have a car. If they do — it is one car per family. There are jeeps, tricycles, taxis (calesas in the olden days), pedicab, etc. to help us go from Point A to Point B. But here in the U.S., that can be a problem especially if you…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump loves to win and he just would never give up even after his campaign promise to “repeal and replace Obamacare on Day One” has collapsed many times over in the Republican-dominated House and Senate, despite going through several revisions and incarnations within his six months of presidency. After not being able to…
FOR decades, the Philippines has been on a quest for lasting peace. While the country is spared from being left in turmoil, the lingering process also comes with debilitating consequences on the people and the environment in areas of conflict. There have been numerous attempts in peace and development interventions, but the country has yet…
MANY of our kababayans back home think America is the land of milk and honey, and offers opportunities for immigrants to live a life far better than in the Philippines. This is perhaps almost the story for every immigrant in the United States’ — the pursuit of the American dream. Many Filipinos have been fortunate…
THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN has, in many times, failed to disclose, mislead and lied about its alleged communications and ties with the United States’ adversary, Russia, and has even called any reports about it “fake news”, and the investigation as a “witch hunt”. It contends that the Democrats and the fake news media had been making…
BASED on projections by the Commission on Population (POPCOM) and data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Philippine population will continue to increase in 2017 and is projected to reach 105,758,850 by December 31, 2017. As of Sunday, July 9, the current Philippine population is 103,842,929 or 1.38 percent of the world’s total population,…
There is no doubt in my mind that Manny Pacquiao won against Australian Jeff Horn. The CompuBox statistics showed Pacquiao landing 182 punches vs. Horn’s 92, with 123 power punches against the 73 of Horn, plus 59 jabs finding their mark vs. Horn’s 19. Horn was also on the verge of being KO’d in the…
HAPPY FOURTH of July! As we celebrate Independence Day in America this week, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll study reveals that a majority of Americans — 70 percent — say the level of civility in Washington has declined since Donald Trump was elected president. Perhaps you felt the same exasperating toxicity in the political discourse…
