QUICK, what do Vietnamese and Filipino Americans have in common? If you said that both communities hail from Southeast Asia, you’d be right. But the commonalities don’t stop there. Both communities also have sizable numbers of naturalized citizens, many of who are casting wary eyes on China’s ongoing aggression in the South China Sea. For Democratic…
MUST a Filipino be buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani just because he was a president and/or a soldier? Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte believes so, contending that this is what the law of the land says and that he, as the president, is duty bound to execute what the law mandates. This is the…
SOME U.S. politicians have spoken up in support of Filipinos against Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump’s plan to temporarily ban immigration from what he called “terrorist nations” to keep America safe from terrorism. In his speech in Portland, Maine, he named the Philippines as part of the list along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia,…
DONALD Trump has declared before that should he be elected President of the United States, he would ban immigration from countries identified to be a hub of terrorists so he could protect America from ISIS. The Philippines has been named by the State Department as one of those countries. However, it was when Donald Trump…
ONE can win races and break world records, but an Olympic medal is still the highest feat an athlete can accomplish. To conquer the Olympics is every athlete’s dream. On Sunday night, Aug. 7, Hidilyn Diaz feasted on cheesy pizza and adobo as her celebratory dinner. Earlier in the day, the 25-year-old was atop a…
Did Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump go too far when he defamed the parents of a Muslim American hero who was killed in the line of duty in Baghdad in 2004? Most Americans, and a majority of Filipinos in America, believe so. A poll released by Fox News revealed that 69 percent of respondents familiar with Trump’s…
IF all politics is local, then candidate Hillary Clinton may very well need to speak a little Korean and Tagalog in order to win the 2016 presidential election. Why? In 2014, Slate.com published a fascinating article with this headline, “Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas.” It is a survey of the languages spoken in each state….
Many years ago, in May of 1986, our family — my husband and three children — decided to leave our country when weexperienced too much chaos and violence after the Aquino assassination. However, only ten months after arriving in the US, another blow more devastating came to my life: a huge fire in my parent’s…
Donald Trump’s millions of loyal ardent followers, many of whom are Filipinos in America, would even question the title of this piece as they believe in their hearts that he can indeed “make America great again.” There are kababayans who find it unfathomable how there are people who could not see beyond what they call…
AMID President Rodrigo Duterte’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police (PNP) proudly reported that the country has also seen a downward trend in crime in the first half of 2016. “We are seeing the reduction of street crimes, particularly crimes against property metro-wide,” Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde said. Albayalde said that the…
I went through the transcript of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte with a sincere desire to experience the emotional impact that it had on Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar. He said a preview of the speech made him cry. At the risk of seeming like a cold-hearted individual, I felt…
IT is official! It will be Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton vs Republican nominee Donald Trump in the final stretch of the race to the White House after both were officially nominated in their respective party conventions during the past two weeks. After testimonial speeches and videos making the case as to why their respective candidate…
More than two weeks have elapsed since the international tribunal from the Hague unanimously decided in favor of the Philippines in the South China sea dispute with China. Much credit for the Philippine victory goes to former President Benigno Aquino who initiated the dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2013. Recent developments in China, including from its…
The fierce and contentious debates, criticisms and attacks among candidates of both parties and their supporters in the age of a 24/7 news and social media cycle present a very real challenge for both the Democratic and Republican parties: how to unite their voters who supported different candidates during the primary season and rally behind…
IN his 98-minute speech on Monday, July 25, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte made his administration’s agenda clear in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before the joint session of the 17th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City. What was supposed to be a rehearsed 38-minute delivery in English, extended as Duterte opened his…
LAST July 12 my wife and I joined a demonstration outside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco to add to the loud voices demanding that China vacate the areas in the South China Sea over which the Philippines has “sovereign rights,” based on the decision handed down that day by the Permanent Court of Arbitration…
AFTER being on hospital arrest for almost four years, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been released, after the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines ruled that there is no sufficient evidence to convict her of plunder. However, an overwhelming majority of Filipinos in America (78 percent), who voted in The Filipino Channel’s “Balitang…
HOWEVER the United States tries to goad China into accepting the ruling of the United Nation’s Permanent Court of Arbitration, in The Hague, what is certain is that the Philippines cannot rely on the Americans—or on our military alliance pact (the latest iteration of which is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA)—to test the…
Since President Johnson signed them into law on July 30, 1965, Medicare and Medicaid have helped millions of people receive necessary health care services. These programs are some of the most integral legislation ever passed and they continue to protect Americans throughout the country. Health care is not a luxury. It is a necessity no…
The killing of Dallas police officers by sniper fire marks a new escalation of race wars here in America and signals a higher level of frustration with the unabated killing of blacks by police under questionable circumstances. It is unimaginable anywhere else but in this country how a simple traffic stop for a broken tail…
THEIR political opponents from their respective parties might have conceded defeat following a long contentious primary season, but Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would remain to be called as presumptive nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties respectively — up until they both get officially proclaimed to be their parties’ presidential nominee for the general…
THE numbers are in his favor as it seems that majority of Filipinos are looking forward to the next six years of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership and are eager to see the changes he had promised. In a Social Weather Station (SWS) poll conducted from June 24 to 27, 84 percent of 1,200 adults or…
THE Philippines may have scored a moral and legal victory after the United Nations (UN)tribunal in The Hague ruled that China has no historical basis in claiming the resources-rich West Philippine Sea, but the debate continues even among Filipinos in America who are heavily invested on this fight: Should the Philippines negotiate with China? What…
KUDOS to former Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino III, former DFA Sec. Albert del Rosario and the whole team which, on behalf of the Filipino people, filed, argued, and won the case against China before the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal. The court found China’s claims illegal in its territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South…
A FORMER agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that the illegal drug trade in the country is thriving, and has become a P200-billion “industry.” An even more alarming report is that the Philippines has turned into a global hub for the distribution and increased production of illegal drugs for international syndicates. According…
I COULD list off the ways I’ve been lucky in life, but it all stems from my parents’ decision to leave home and become American citizens. The Vietnam War had ended in 1975, but five years later, the conflict was still fresh in people’s minds. The government was actively suppressing any suspected dissent. People were…
I WAS one of the most severe critics of Rodrigo Duterte as a presidential candidate. But now that he has assumed the presidency, I believe he should be given every chance and every reasonable support to succeed. And, boy, will he need a lot of support! In my own limited way, I’ve faced the challenges…
A RECENT “Balitang America” online viewer poll revealed that a large majority of Filipinos in America are feeling very hopeful under the Duterte presidency. Eighty-seven percent of kababayans who voted in The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast opinion poll feel the Philippines will be better off with newly sworn-in President Rodrigo Duterte stirring the country toward…
“TODAY, we continue the long journey toward an America and a world where liberty and equality are not reserved for some, but extended to all. Across the globe, including right here at home, millions of men, women, and children are victims of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. We remain committed to abolishing slavery in all…
THE 16th president of the Philippines — Rodrigo Duterte — has finally taken the oath of office on June 30, after a highly contro- versial campaign and election season. Many Filipinos in America who started out as not even knowing much about the former Davao City mayor, and those who were doubtful and even scared…
