Category: Features
Covering the week’s most noteworthy feature stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Taken for granted
MY San Francisco Bay Area colleague and dear friend, Rodel Rodis, has just written an opinion piece in the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled, “A sometimes clueless president.” It bewails what,…
Recognition
LAND of the free, home of the brave and a nation of immigrants. In one of his Independence Day speeches, Pres. Barack Obama said that immigration makes America stronger. “Immigration…
Protecting your family against Ebola: Handa ka na ba?
Kababayans in Texas have been feeling scared and vulnerable when the news broke about 100 people in Dallas were exposed to Ebola patient Thomas Duncan. There are about 35,000 Filipinos…
Demolishing Binay and the Erap phenomenon
WITH the September Pulse Asia survey on presidential preferences already hitting the papers, the ABB (Anyone But Binay) Brigade must be giddy with joy. I was furnished a copy of…
Kababayans respond to new immigration benefits for the undocumented
FILIPINOS have expressed mixed reactions over new bills enacted into law in California that will help undocumented immigrants be able to work and live in America without fear of imminent…
Negligence
AFTER weeks of ignoring reports of recruitment by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the southern part of the country, the Philippines has heightened its security in…
With new benefits for undocumented immigrants in CA, should other states follow?
Gridlock in Congress may have stalled the passing of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, but undocumented immigrants in California will now enjoy immigration benefits despite their status. This has been…
Flip-flop, flip-flop, flip-flop
IN THE 2004 US presidential elections, the Republicans portrayed George W. Bush as a man of firm conviction, steadfast, decisive, the kind of leader America needed in fighting the war…
Dead weight
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Monday, Sept. 22 challenged his administration’s critics to file charges against his allies if they really believe that these officials have been corrupt. “The Ombudsman…
Kababayans react to PNoy’s ‘snubbing’ of the Fil-Am community
“HE was already there and he have time to visit a gun store to satisfy his hobby. He’s able to satisfy his stomach by going into [McDonalds] but the community…
The accomplishments of President Peevey should not be ignored
Throughout California’s history, including the last thirty years, there is not a state or federal regulator that does not deserve some, if not substantial, criticism. The collapse of the banking…
Owning a piece of America
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…
Has Obama abandoned the leadership and vision that led to his Nobel Peace Prize?
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…
Hitting your child: Tough love or child abuse?
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…
Remembering Martial Law
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…
Readers’ comments: Free taxpayer funded healthcare for the undocumented?
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’s competence and compassion, stupid
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…
Citizenship Day: Celebrating the changing face of American citizenship
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…
International affairs
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…
Should the US send US troops to Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIS?
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…
Is there or isn’ t there corruption?
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…
Drawing the line
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…
Will you support free healthcare for undocumented immigrants?
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…
Will immigration reform ever happen under Obama’s term?
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…
More than meets the eye
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)…
Manny Pacquiao fires back at his critics
“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…