A Filipino-American’s success is generally measured by the steady flow of balikbayan boxes that show up on our relatives’ doorsteps in the Philippines, as well as our ability to readily provide for their needs. Sadly, though, the real stories of our day-to-day struggles are hardly ever told. People come to the US with hopes of…
Barely a year into his presidency, Barack Obama was awarded the most prestigious Nobel Prize for Peace. In its citation, the Nobel Committee noted that: Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international…
ON SUNDAY, Sept. 21, 1972 former Philippine Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law. For today’s Filipinos, 42 years may seem like another lifetime—a bygone period with sketchy details of what martial law entailed for the people who had to endure it. But for those who lived through the wretched moments of this tumultuous era…
ONE of things that frustrates many Filipinos raising small kids in America is the thought that we cannot spank our kids to discipline them — the way we were disciplined growing up in the Philippines. Many Pinoy parents grew up with the belief, “Mabuti na yung may kinatatakutan ang bata,” so that kids will be…
ON Sept. 21, 1972, — 42 years ago — President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of communist takeover following a series of bombings in Manila. “My countrymen, as of the twenty-first of this month, I signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire Philippines under…
LAST week, I shared with you the “Health Care For All” bill” that is expected to be re-introduced by State Sen. Ricardo Lara in November, and like the previous bill, it is expected to be co-sponsored by Filipino American Assemblyman Rob Bonta. Explaining the bill to the public, Sen Lara said: “It’s going to save…
IN THE 1992 US presidential campaign, which pitted Bill Clinton against reelectionist George Bush (the elder), Clinton’s camp focused on the recession plaguing the country, while Bush was riding high on his successful handling of the war in Iraq. Thus the Clinton slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Bush lost. In the 2010 Philippine elections, corruption…
TODAY, Citizenship Day, we recognize and honor the millions of Americans who are naturalized US citizens, immigrants who hail from all corners of the globe but who have proudly taken the oath of US citizenship. The path to the oath is one that can be long and challenging – there are many requirements to become…
ON Saturday, Sept. 13, Pres. Benigno Aquino III embarked on a four-country swing in Europe and will have final stop in the US. Aside from cementing diplomatic relationships with the European countries, Aquino is expected to address issues related to security and protection of human rights. From Sept. 20-24, the President will be in the…
EVEN as America is still hurting from almost decade-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are again faced with another threat that has been calling for more aggressive military action from the US government — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Why is there a sense of urgency in destroying this group now?…
SENATOR and would-be presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano hurled this question at 2016 front-runner, Vice-President Jejomar Binay, in connection with the current Senate probe of the Makati City Hall Building II. It’s a trick question, really, like asking, “Have you stopped beating your wife lately?” It’s also obviously intended to cut Binay’s lead in the…
ON Friday, Sept. 12, President Benigno Aquino III rallied his allies to seek continuous support and trust in their unified goal of a “Tuwid na Daan (Straight Path)” policy. In an “agenda-setting with dialogue partners” at the Malacañang Palace with “fellow reformists,” Aquino slammed critics for politicking this early. The administration, in turn, persists on…
PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act aims to give health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, but community advocates say many are still left out, especially because of their immigration status. This is especially true for California, home to the most number of Filipinos living in America. This is what one California lawmaker is…
TODAY, there is a seemingly string of criminal incidents where policemen are involved as perpetrators instead of the ones solving them—a scenario you think you would only see in movies. It is an unpleasant picture to see officers you expect to uphold the law and apprehend criminals, as the same people the citizenry should be…
ELEVEN million undocumented immigrants, including many Filipinos, feel disheartened when the Obama Administration announced that the president would postpone using his executive power to stop deportation until after the 2014 midterm elections. The President explained that he did not want an issue as important and as consequential as immigration reform to be used by politicians…
NOT a single cent from the proposed Philippine national budget for 2015 was allocated for plebiscites on Charter change (Cha-cha) and the Bangsamoro political entity, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed on Thursday, Sept. 4. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. revealed that the commission had initially requested P36 billion from the Department of Budget and…
“I DON’T mind them. What’s important to me is my relationship with my family and the Lord,” Manny Pacquiao told Balitang America Las Vegas Correspondent Bev Llorente, when asked about his reaction to issues raised against him by his critics. One issue is not having enough time for boxing since joining the Philippine Basketball Association…
“DARING to take the MRT Challenge,” with Sen. Grace Poe, DOTC Secretary Joseph Abaya and Malacañang Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte taking the notoriously inefficient public transport system, may have translated into good photo ops and some brownie points for the officials, but I still can’t see what good it did for the suffering public. At…
IT is business as usual for the second most powerful man in the country. While the controversy about the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II heats up, Vice President Jejomar Binay remains unfazed. Amidst the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s on-site probe on the 11-story building on Monday, Sept. 1, Binay was busy fulfilling his…
WE Filipinos are known to be frugal — many of us will do what it takes to save money in our purchases. Unfortunately, one of the ways many of our kababayans choose to save a few bucks is by buying pirated and counterfeited materials, and they even take pride in the savings they make. While…
ON August 19, former president Fidel Ramos revealed in ANC’s Beyond Politics that there have been intelligence reports concerning the training of about 100 Filipino Muslims in Iraq to become jihadists. “The report has been reaching some of us who re retired people who are knowledgeable about Mindanao is that at least 100 of our…
ELECTED Congressman of Saranggani. Boxer in training for his next fight. PBA Coach. Entertainer. Husband and father. And now—Manny Pacquiao will be training professional boxers in China. Yes. The same country that the Philippines has a territorial dispute with in the West Philippine Sea, and has been deemed to be “bullying” the Philippines and other…
Confusing the enemy is an established tactic in warfare. Sun Tsu’s Art of War and Nicolo Machiavelli’s The Prince mentioned this as one effective means of making the enemy off-balance and vulnerable. Going by recent public pronouncements and “slips of the tongue,” coming out in media, one wonders if the Liberal Party’s strategists are applying…
AFTER the revelation brought upon by the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel controversy, there hasn’t been a more perfect time to call for greater and more meaningful participation and accountability of the government, particularly when it comes to how public resources are allocated. Some Filipinos strongly believe that pork barrel will still…
If you are active on social media or watch the news regularly, you must have already seen a lot of videos of people — ordinary folks and celebrities alike — taking on the ice bucket challenge. Former President George W. Bush did it, Kapamilya stars Anne Curtis, Newscaster Korina Sanchez, and many others have allowed…
Being from Tacloban, I’m understandably excited about the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis to my hometown in January 2015. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, according to Archbishop John Du of Palo, Leyte (the seat of the diocese to which Tacloban belongs), the Holy Father prefers not to have VIPs taking center…
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has appointed Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), amidst allegations of the latter’s ‘disloyalty’ to the Philippines. Though he was the president’s choice to fill the SC vacancy, Jardeleza was initially excluded in the short list of candidates. Based on the supplemental comment submitted by…
Federal laws say undocumented kids cannot be denied enrollment in public schools, and that they have the right to taxpayer-funded education in the United States just like US citizens and those who live and work in the country legally. With the influx of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Central America, who entered the borders illegally,…
“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” – Ndukwe Dike Kalu, American football player DEMOCRACY emphasizes equality. As one of the most popular ideologies in the world today, it gives the people the power to make demands for greater…
It is back to school for many students in America, including the young undocumented kids, who according to federal laws, do have the same right to enroll in US public schools as US citizens and those with legal status to live and work in America. The deepest recession that has recently swept the nation has…
