This week, two kababayans made their fellow Filipinos proud. On Wednesday, migrant workers’ rights advocate Susan V. Ople received the 2013 Hero Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery award from US State Secretary John Kerry in Washington DC. “This is a pleasant surprise, a remarkable blessing. It’s the best belated Father’s Day gift ever for my…
WHEN we are saddled with seemingly insurmountable problems in our day-to-day life in America, we yearn for inspiration — one that will reassure us that all will be well. That there is light at the end of the tunnel. That we can use our challenges to become better human beings, not just for our own…
AFTER the tension, which flared after the shooting and death of a Taiwanese fisherman by a member of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on May 9, the Philippines and Taiwan have agreed to avoid resorting to force and preventing the recurrence of similar incidents. The two nations are also expected to meet in July for…
IN the past edition of this column, I shared with you some important information to help you understand teen depression and guide you in doing your best so that the heartbreaking loss of the Molina Family in New York (whose 12-year old daughter took her own life after being bullied in school and online) may,…
WHAT should the Philippines do about the “salami-slicing” and “cabbage-wrapping” strategy that China is applying in the Spratlys? It has left our armed forces looking like the skinny kid at the beach, in that old-time Charles Atlas ad, with the bully kicking sand on the weakling’s face. Like the quintessential bully, the Chinese are taking…
Based on the latest National Statistics Office (NSO) Labor Force survey released on June 11, the number of jobless Filipinos increased “to a three-year high in April,” reported Philstar.com. “…Unemployment reached 7.5 percent in April, up from 6.9 percent in the same period last year. The current unemployment rate was the highest since the eight…
“I FELT sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” – Jewish Proverb During these tough times, it is very easy to wallow in self-pity especially when we have lost so much because of the recession. The “good life” we see our own friends experiencing and…
THIS week is all color (blue, red, white and yellow) and splendor, as Filipinos all over the world once again gather to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898. “Ambagan,” which means “contribution, share in a collective affair,” is the highlight of this year’s celebrations. With the theme, “Kalayaan…
WE, Fil-Am parents, uprooted ourselves and our families from the Philippines with the dream of giving our kids a better life than we had growing up back home. All we wanted was for them to be happy and successful. But as we navigate our new life in America, many of our us would every now…
At the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia, President Benigno S. Aquino III told businessmen that the Philippines, as the “brightest spark” in Southeast Asia and as “Asia’s Rising Tiger,” is now ripe for investments, touting “the reforms and the new mandate his administration received from the Filipino people in the last midterm…
DURING the course of the heated and contentious debate about immigration reform, we have heard how many of our kababayans, who are already US citizens or green card holders characterize Pinoys without legal papers in America as law breakers, leeches sucking up taxpayers’ money, lazy, selfish, pabigat sa America, etc. This stereotyping is also among…
AS mandated by the Constitution, every individual is entitled to free and quality education. It is a right and not a privilege. From its P2 trillion budget for 2013, the Philippine government gave the biggest slice to the education sector. The P292.7 billion allocation is intended to improve the quality of education through the provision…
IT WAS truly heartbreaking to hear the news about the death of a 12-year old Filipina in Queens, New York, who took her own life because she could not take the cruel messages in school and online anymore. Authorities have confirmed that Gabrielle Molina, who was found hanging in her bedroom last week in Queens…
SOME detractors are saying that, as incoming mayor of Manila, Erap Estrada will be the new boss of City Hell. At any rate, whatever that idiot, Dan Brown, says, I’ll take Manila anytime. Did I call Brown an idiot? Yes, and I’m entitled to my opinion, just as he is entitled to his, even if…
THE past couple of days were most eventful for the Philippines — with the unfolding of a series of both fortunate and unfortunate events. On May 25, at least 14 Filipino marines and Abu Sayyaff militants perished during a gunbattle in a new US-backed offensive which aimed to rescue six foreign and Filipino hostages near…
NASALING na naman ang ating Pinoy pride! Kababayans in the Philippines and from different parts of the world have been buzzing about Dan Brown (famous author of Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) and how he referred to Manila, our beloved city, in his latest book, Inferno. Brown described Manila as the “gates of…
DESPITE the Philippine government’s continuous efforts to promote unity and stability in the country, all it took was one insurgence, to bring it back to the drawing board from all the strides it has made in fostering peace among its citizens. For the last decade, the Philippine army has hunted down Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)…
THE US immigration system is broken and is in need of a major overhaul. After one generation and since 1986, that may soon be coming, with the approval of the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform bill by the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a 13-5 vote by members of the democratic-controlled panel, the bill will…
UNTIL now, social media is being inundated by opposing feedbacks from Pinoys over best-selling author Dan Brown’s (Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol) description of Manila as “the gates of hell,” in his new book, Inferno. In Brown’s book, Manila is depicted as a city of “six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, horrifying sex trade.”…
IT WAS heartbreaking to see how a community in Moore, Oklahoma was reduced to rubble after it was hit by a powerful tornado on Monday. measuring top-of-the-scale EF5, with winds of more than 200 miles per hour. The tornado killed 24 people and injured more than 120. It also caused $2 billion in damages, and…
May 22, 2013 Dear Editor: Re: May 22, 2013 “Philippines fears for workers in Taiwan amid row” YOUR Journal’s past coverage of events related to the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been noticed. Amid the current tense relations between the ROC and Philippines following the recent fatal attack on a Taiwan fishing vessel, we look…
A SAD news greeted me when I arrived at the San Francisco Airport on May 7 on the way to my training. Mr. Felino Punzalan, our esteemed veteran leader in San Francisco died and was buried yesterday. I asked: “Why did you not inform me? I could have come.” “It was very sudden. And quick….
“THE government’s wrongdoing should not be shouldered by innocent people,” read a placard held by a young Taiwanese, during a rally on May 19, to support the plight of Filipinos in Taiwan. As the diplomatic spat between the Philippines and Taiwan (over the slained Taiwanese fisherman in the disputed waters of the coast of Bataan)…
WOULD you have both of your breasts removed if you find out you are genetically predisposed to have breast cancer, even if you do not have signs you have cancer at the moment? That was exactly what famous actress Angelina Jolie chose to do, as she disclosed via an op-ed article in The New York…
AS OF press time, nine senatorial candidates have been proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as winners of the 2013 midterm polls. The first six who were proclaimed earlier include Grace Poe Llamanzares, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Nancy Binay and Juan Edgardo Angara. Another three were proclaimed by COMELEC on…
FIL-AMS and kababayans back home may share the same love for Filipino food and follow the same teleseryes on The Filipino Channel, but when it comes to their discernment process when voting for candidates in elections – they seem to live in different worlds. Take the recently concluded midterm elections in the Philippines as an…
May 15, 2013 Dear Editor: California lawmakers are actively considering state legislation that could severely impact a wide array of Asian-owned and operated businesses throughout the state. The legislation, which is known as Senate Bill 622, was introduced by State Senator Bill Monning of Monterey, CA and is quickly moving its way through the California…
IT is a feat for a country that is infamous for its “dirty politics.” Within two days, ballots were in and results are almost complete in the Philippines’ second automated polls. Others were declared as runaway winners while some emerged after a neck-and-neck race, to fill the 18,000 positions in contest—from national legislators to local…
THE news is out. Our virtues shine through. Filipinos are a forgiving people. Yes, we abhor erring politicians. We even oust them from office. But time heals all wounds. We forgive and forget. People from other countries have taken notice. Americans, who follow politics in the Philippines, have been saying that had the popular Noynoy…
WE should be relieved that the Boston marathon bombing didn’t happen in Manila. Otherwise, we would have the officials and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation throwing up their hands in helplessness and admitting the “difficulty” of tracking down the terrorists, as did Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI Deputy Director for Intelligence Services. Here’s how the…
