Maligayang Pasko po sa inyong lahat! I hope you are having a great time creating wonderful moments and memories with the people that matter most in your life, despite the hardship and challenges of our present time. Indeed, 2013 has gone by so fast, and as we celebrate Christmas, we are reminded once again that…
THE Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world, beginning from December 16 (the start of the Simbang Gabi) until the first Sunday after New Year’s Day, also known as Three Kings’ Day. During these times, it is easy to get caught in the hoopla of advertisements on making this holiday more grand and…
WITH Christmas and the new year only a few days away, the overall mood should be festive and celebratory. But with the spate of killings involving journalists and most recently, Zamboanga Del Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa and his family members, and the close-range shooting of Caroline Fortun (Atty. Raymond Fortun’s wife, who luckily survived the…
JUST a few days before Christmas, Filipinos in America (who may have expired visas) are hoping to be permitted to work in the US and travel to the Philippines through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS). In the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda and with the support of immigrant advocates they hope the Obama administration will…
TWO vibrant democracies that are committed to each other in strength and prosperity. This is how US Secretary of State John Kerry described the immutable partnership between the United States and the Philippines. Kerry, who arrived in Manila on December 17, said that he sees a bright future in the US-PH bilateral relations. He vowed…
I HAVE been reporting about Migrant Heritage Commission’s (MHC)advocacy, calling on the Obama administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Filipinos in America, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Last weekend, MHC Co-Executive Director Atty. Arnedo Valera emailed me the good news: Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III has joined their call to grant…
We will continue to hear horror stories in the wake of the devastation inflicted by typhoon Yolanda on Eastern Visayas, particularly Tacloban in Leyte and Guiuan in Samar. Riza, a niece of mine who works with the Tacloban fire department, related enough disturbing eyewitness tales to spoil anyone’s Christmas. But that’s nothing compared to what…
A DEVASTATING disaster can bring the best in humanity — and the worst in politics. After Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez’s tearful testimony before the congressional oversight committee on what he alleged was a lack of support from the national government, an 18-second “spliced” video of the Tacloban mayor’s meeting on November 14 with Department…
JUST weeks after the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) froze some of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s assets for allegedly owing P2.2 billion ($50 million) in taxes, now, our Pambansang Kamao reportedly finds himself in another tax battle — this time with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to initial reports from TMZ, tax…
“IT is difficult to overstate the profoundly negative impact that corruption has on society. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain does violence to our values, our prosperity, and even our security, “ said US Secretary of State John Kerry on this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day. In his address, Kerry also urged his fellow…
LAST week, I wrote about undocumented college student Ju Hong, who heckled President Barack Obama while he was making a speech on immigration reform in San Francisco. Hong also wrote the President to tell him he did not mean to disrespect him, but was just compelled to ask ask him to exercise his executive power…
MOST were amused and entertained, but there were others who were also disdained by the fiery exchanges made between Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile in their respective privilege speeches. The exchange of invectives and personal attacks has been called “unparliamentary” by Sen. “Serge” Osmeña III, saying that the senate “does…
LAST week, I wrote about how a young undocumented college student heckled President Barack Obama, as he was making a speech about immigration reform in San Francisco. Along with other immigrant advocates, Ju Hong was among those invited by the White House to hear the President’s message. Hong wrote an open letter to Pres.Obama, published…
AFTER almost a month of rescue and relief operations, uncertainty still looms in the Visayas region due to the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Since last week, multinational forces dispatched by their respective countries to aid the Philippines are gradually disengaging from relief efforts. Israeli forces have already pulled out, while the United Kingdom contingent…
YES, the supporters of Manny Pacquiao are right — the freezing of some of his bank accounts couldn’t have come at a worse time, just days after the Pambansang Kamao gave such a big boost to the morale of Filipinos after Super Typhoon Yolanda ravaged Central Philippines. After all, this was the boxing icon’s return…
I SINCERELY believe the entire country (particularly my home province of Leyte) should thank Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, as well as Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, members of the Philippine Military, the Philippine National Police and other cabinet heads and government workers for all of…
AS Benjamin Franklin once said, there are only two things certain in life: death and taxes. And no one, not even the great Manny Pacquiao, can escape these certainties. The gleam of Pacman’s victory over Brandon Rios quickly lost its sheen, after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued a freeze order on two of…
THANKSGIVING Day for most Americans is THE day for family to be together. It is an important family holiday, perhaps even more important to some, than Christmas day. Leading up to the holidays, he clamor for family reunification has become louder, especially for undocumented immigrants. During Pres. Barack Obama’s speech on immigration in San Francisco’s…
WITH his explosive punches and dynamic movements, Manny Pacquiao has proven once again that when it comes to boxing, he is still one to beat. “I’m so happy,” Pacquiao said after winning against Brandon Rios in a 12-round bout for a welterweight boxing title in Macau. “This is still my time. My time is not…
THE Thanksgiving tradition of coming together as one family, praying together while holding hands in a circle of faith before enjoying a sumptuous holiday dinner can be a sad and difficult time for many people, who feel there is not much to be thankful for. Understandably so, especially for those who lost a loved one,…
IT HAS been four years since the massacre of 58 individuals (32 of whom were journalists) happened in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province in Mindanao. Yet, justice still has not been served. Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte has filed a resolution which seeks to direct executive agencies to accomplish two things: “speed up the prosecution and…
THE relentless push of the Fil-Am organization Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) and other immigrant advocates for the Obama administration to grant the Philippines the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is gaining more support in Washington. In a bipartisan move, 20 US Senators have now joined in the call to accord TPS status to the Philippines, in…
WHEN there is despair, it is easy to dwell on the bad news. But from the rubble of tragedy, the best of humanity finds ways to bring back hope–especially for the people in need. On behalf of every Filipino, President Benigno S. Aquino III expresses his gratitude to every individual, organization and country who rallied…
THE US government has gone far and beyond relief efforts to help the Philippines recover and rebuild after being ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda. It has extended visa relief to kababayans in the Philippines and those in the United States with valid immigration papers. However, with the crisis the Philippines now faces in the aftermath…
I KNOW that Tacloban will rise, like the Phoenix, from its utter devastation. My beloved hometown and the province of Leyte have been through worse. It was in Palo, a few kilometers from Tacloban, where General Douglas MacArthur and the allied forces landed on October 20, 1944, on the way to the liberation of the…
I know that Tacloban will rise, like the Phoenix, from its utter devastation. My beloved hometown and the province of Leyte have been through worse. It was in Palo, a few kilometers from Tacloban, where General Douglas MacArthur and the allied forces landed on October 20, 1944, on the way to the liberation of the…
WHILE the typhoon victims are fighting the elements and struggling to survive, netizens are engaging in a “word war” on a bevy of topics related to Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda) in social media. From rants about the Philippine government’s inefficiency in implementing rescue and relief operations, to Korina Sanchez criticizing Anderson Cooper’s CNN coverage of…
AMID the chaos and desperation in the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), Filipinos in North America had the opportunity to reach out and lend a helping hand to our kababayans in the Visayas, whose communities have been ravaged by the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall. From November 13-14,…
MONDAY was met with a heavy heart, as the horrors of the tragedy that struck Central Visayas last Friday began to unfold. Whether firsthand experience at the site or at home through the media, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike shared the same sentiments — that of shock and sadness for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan…
PHILIPPINE officials say more than 10,000 Filipinos are feared dead, and about 800,000 are displaced because of super typhoon Yolanda. Despite all the local and international help being extended to the affected provinces in the Visayas, experts say it will probably take many years, even a decade to rebuild these areas, and the lives of…
