Category: Features
Covering the week’s most noteworthy feature stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Uncle Sam now after Pacquiao for unpaid taxes?
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…
Anti-Corruption Day
“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…
Readers’ feedback on Obama heckler
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…
A heckler’s open letter to Obama, on the deportation of the undocumented
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…
Rehabilitation czar
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…
Manny Pacquiao: An icon should also be a role model
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…
‘The Convergent Approach’ to chaos
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…
Public hero
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…
Obama can’t and won’t stop deportation of undocumented immigrants
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…
The big comeback
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…
When giving thanks is hard to do
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…
Not forgotten
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….
Temporary Protected Status for PH gains support in US Senate
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…
Maraming salamat po!
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…
More visa relief from Uncle Sam to help Filipinos recover from Yolanda
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…
I weep for Tacloban
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…
I Weep For Tacloban
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…
Social responsibility
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)…
Magkasama Tayo sa Kuwento ng Pagbangon: A Sagip Kapamilya Telethon
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…
Bangon, Pilipinas
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…
An open letter to Pres. Obama requesting for Temporary Protected Status for undocumented Pinoys
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…
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, AS I read in your paper (Asian Journal – Nov. 8-14, 2013 issue) Greg Macabenta’s column, “A Closer Look at Corruption,” it’s a sad thing to note that…
Something’s gotta give
THE PR temperature has cooled down a bit since Sonny Coloma took over as presidential spokesman. His explanations about happenings in Malacañang, that are not as laborious and convoluted as…
No holds barred
THE outspoken senator strikes again. While Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was busy grilling Janet Lim-Napoles at the senate hearing on Thursday, her quips were also trending in social media. Leaving her…
Sagip Kapamilya from the wrath of Yolanda
OUR beloved Philippines has once again been tested by the wrath of nature, with the landfall of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), which meteorologists say may be the strongest…
While I’m young, I’ll start today
FUTURE LEADERS OF TOMORROW (I have a guest writer in this edition of my column. She is my 17-year-old daughter Katrina Relos, a senior high school student from San Mateo…
Senseless crime: Filipina kills her brother’s pregnant wife and unborn child
ALL Saints Day and All Souls’ Day, for many Filipinos who immigrated to America, are not so much about costume parties, nor trick or treating. It still holds the same…