Category: Features

CELEBRITIES, who venture into politics, are not an uncommon sight in the Philippines — and Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is one of them. In the last three years, politics…

THIS is an exciting time to be Catholic, especially for those who have had doubts and questions about the Catholic Church’s relevance in their spiritual and faithful journey. After the…

TROUBLE in the Philippine Bureau of Customs has been brewing for months. In April, Pres. Benigno Aquino III sent feelers at a groundbreaking ceremony in Capiz. According to a report…

LAST Wednesday, I wrote a bit about Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago’s statement, where she lambasted lawmakers’ “obsession to bling,” and promised to file a resolution prescribing an official uniform for…

HOW wonderful it is to be a Filipino, in these times. These were the words left by President Benigno Aquino III on his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA)…

THE MMDA and assorted kibitzers have come up with all kinds of solutions to the infernal Metro Manila traffic problem. The dancing traffic cops. The color coding idea. The U-turn…

PHILIPPINE President Noynoy “PNoy” Aquino delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address(SONA) on July 22, before the joint sessions of the Senate and House of Representatives and before kababayans…

IN A recent series of investigative reports by the Inquirer.net, no less than 28 lawmakers from both houses of Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives – were…

AFTER George Zimmerman was found “not guilty” by the jury for the death of 17-year-old African American teenager Trayvon Martin, civil rights advocates, community leaders, and the family of Trayvon…

AMID the intensifying maritime impasse with China, the Philippines sought the intervention of neutral experts to help resolve the tension in the disputed South China/West Philippine Sea. The arbitration process…

“NOT guilty.” Many of those who have been following the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case could not believe the verdict. They could not accept nor understand that a 17-year-old was killed…

WHILE President Benigno S. Aquino III still strongly opposes amending the Constitution, advocates of Charter change (Cha-cha) are making their move. Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. filed House Resolution…

The news about the crash landing of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on July 6 made many people re-think how safe it is to fly. This…

THE Philippine economy is on the upswing and the numbers say it all. In the first three months, the country’s economy expanded by 7.8 percent, exceeding market expectations to become…

THIS is a very common scenario that usually starts with good intentions from both sides. Many Pinoys from the Philippines come to America as tourists, secretly hoping to find lucrative…

THE Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino is proposing the “rationalization” of the names used for our country, our citizens and our national language. Indeed, a lot of people – foreigners and…

ON July 1, Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III vowed to modernize the Philippine Air Force (PAF) before he steps down in 2016. The president said that a P75-billion fund will…

THE Senate may have passed their version of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, but most Filipinos in America cannot fully embrace victory. The reason: This legislation effectively kills the dream…

“Immigrants signed their names to our Declaration and helped win our independence.” – Pres. Barack Obama FOR many years, the “American dream” has been shared by people from all corners…

81 PERCENT of the viewers, who voted in our daily poll in The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America,  said their families are not ready to accept same-sex marriage. They reiterated their…

AS if it were not enough that Dan Brown pointed to them as one of the reasons Manila is the “gates of hell,” squatters (well, okay, informal settlers) have been…

ON Thursday (June 27), the US Senate made a historic move — passing a comprehensive immigration bill through a 68-32 vote and giving hope to 11 million undocumented immigrants, who…

AFTER reviewing the challenges (to both nationwide restrictions placed on gay couples under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and California’s Proposition 8  or same-sex marriage ban), the US…

WHEN justice is delayed, is justice denied? This pithy aphorism seems to be fitting for relatives of some of the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao killings. On June 24, activist…

THIS week may very well be the moment that will change the way America defines marriage. The Supreme Court has been reviewing challenges to both California’s Prop 8 and the…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…