Invoking the power of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee
WHAT is the role of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in the quest for truth and justice in the ongoing investigations for the pork barrel scam? What mandate does it…
Category: Features
Covering the week’s most noteworthy feature stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Of Pity, Pork and Pagpag
Aside from our inability, as a people, to sustain our anger, and our poor collective memory, we have one more trait that keeps us from exacting full retribution from public…
Fil-Ams take action: Pork barrel system is institutionalized plunder
THE first batch of plunder charges may have been filed against lawmakers and other officials allegedly involved in the P10-Billion Pork Barrel Scam in the Philippines, but Filipinos around the…
Never again
It was an era in history that older generations of Filipinos would rather forget. But lessons from this tumultuous period has taught us to commemorate the past — if only…
Plunder charges filed: What’s next in the long road to justice?
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada. They are but three among lawmakers recommended to be charged for plunder, after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)…
Botched attempt
WHILE the standoff between Philippine military forces and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) continues in Zamboanga City, Vice President Jejomar Binay took his share of the spotlight, after his failed…
Kababayans’ comments on the impending US strike on Syria
“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst…
Do your homework
Starting October 1, open-access markets for subsidized coverage under Pres. Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul may change your health insurance — and not necessarily for the better. According to the Associated…
Lessons from 9/11
“WE will never forget.” These words are forever etched in the hearts and minds of people across the world, as we recall that fateful day when the World Trade twin…
Should the US trust the proposal of Russia and avert US strike in Syria?
After the Obama administration’s all-out push for a limited military strike against the Assad Regime for using chemical weapons to slaughter more than 1,400 of its own people to hold…
Deniability and Passing The Buck
It was during the presidency of Ronald Reagan that “deniability” became a buzz word in international media. The US Congress attempted to hold Reagan directly accountable for the Iran-Contra scandal,…
Fil-Ams react to the pork barrel scam: ‘Tuloy ang laban!’
“ENOUGH with politicians pocketing people’s taxes, while the rest of the country are suffering from the devastation of the floods,” Los Angeles- based Fil-Am community leader Art Garcia said in a…
‘Daang matuwid’
THREE days before the scheduled ‘A Million People’s March’ of protest in Luneta [which calls for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more popularly known as “the…
Ang paglilitis ng ‘daang matuwid’
PRESIDENT Noynoy Aquino ran and won on his anti-corruption platform. While not all kababayans were happy about the way his administration pushed for plunder charges against his predecessor and now…
Airlines have a responsibility to keep airfares low and affordable
Three weeks ago, the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) was among the first, if not the very first minority organization in the nation, to protest the proposed merger of American…
Dark meat or dead meat?
EVER since a warrant was released by the Department of Justice for the arrest of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and her brother Reynaldo Lim, social media has been inundated with feedback…
It’s final: CA same-sex marriages are here to stay
The California Supreme Court justices’ unanimous ruling last Wednesday tossed out a legal challenge by supporters of Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by voters in 2008, which banned same-sex…
Pacquiao boxing diplomacy and other approaches against China’s intrusion
How do we solve a problem like China, with its continued “bullying” and claim on a million square miles of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea including some Philippine territories?…
Corruption, More Fun In The Philippines
What is it about Janet Lim-Napoles that reminds me of the Mafia? Oh, yes, Napoles sounds like Napoli or Naples in Italy, the original turf of The Mob, which subsequently…
The Asian American community must advocate for itself
Over 99 percent of all issues decided by the federal government that affect our nation’s 20 million Asian Americans are decided with little or no Asian American input. Largely, this…
Social media is now for the elderly
MOVE over, teenagers! Lolos and lolas are now on Facebook and it seems that they are here to stay! According to a new report from Pew Internet & American Life…
Language barrier
“Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda.” – Jose P. Rizal PURSUANT to Presidential Decree No. 1041(s. 1997), August has been declared as Buwan…
The Presidency and the Peter Principle
Some years ago, when Manny Pacquiao was just beginning to make waves in the boxing world, he starred in a full length Tagalog movie. A special screening of the film…
We want fairness and justice, not crumbs
Discrimination and racist laws from the US Congress Dear Editor, We write you this letter in light of some new developments in the US Senate last week. In a final…
Testosterone and politics
Joseph Estrada. Ramon Revilla. John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton. These are powerful men in the political arena, who are also known for philandering. Additionally, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, New…
Endless war
NATIONAL security is of paramount importance to any country and to everyone. One terrorist act/attack, no matter how small or localized, is enough to incite fear into the hearts and…
The Pinoy fascination with beauty pageants
WHAT is it with Filipinos and beauty pageants? I experienced firsthand the Pinoys’ love affair with beauty pageants, when I was invited to be among the esteemed panel of judges…