[COLUMN] A border of bureaucracy has kept my family apart for 35 years
by Michael Milan I was born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents from the Philippines. My father served in the U.S. Navy and my mother was a registered nurse who…
Category: Features
Covering the week’s most noteworthy feature stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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[COLUMN] My mother’s journey: Chasing the promise of Easter in the age of coronavirus
IF Good Friday is here, can Easter be far behind? This is a rhetorical question that takes on a different meaning during these challenging times as we continue to fight…
[COLUMN] On dealing with racists, bullies and thugs
TWO instances of unprovoked attacks on elderly Asian women were featured on network TV in March — one in New York and the other incident, in San Francisco. The New…
[COLUMN] Getting vaccinated will help end the pandemic and get us back to the life we miss
Every Californian age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination on April 15. Vaccination is one of the most important ways to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and…
[COLUMN] COVID-19 is the cross we continue to carry this Holy Week. How do we move toward resurrection?
FOR the second year in a row, we are still in calvary, carrying the load of our cross brought by the escalating threat of the coronavirus pandemic. We thought it…
[COLUMN] The way of a conscious heart: Confronting unconscious bias in institutions and hate crimes
Part 2 of 2 “I see, above all, the pressing need to strengthen institutions, which are a vital reserve of moral energy and civic love. The hyperinflation of the individual…
[COLUMN] The life story of CA’s first Fil-Am attorney general Rob Bonta: A shining beacon of how immigrants build and strengthen the US
ONE silver lining during this period in our history when the violent physical and verbal attacks against Asian Americans have again escalated is the appointment of Rob Bonta, a 48-year-old…
[OPINION] Gun violence in the US: An epidemic politicians beholden to the NRA and gun-addicted Americans might not want to ever go away
INSANITY, an old age says, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. “Pag gusto, may paraan. Pag ayaw, may dahilan” (If you want…
[OPINION] Dear Filipinos in America: It is time to have a serious talk with the family about racism and the spread of the virus of hate
BREAKING NEWS about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) being massacred and assaulted because of their racial identity has dominated the headlines in recent weeks. Many of them are of…
[OPINION] A challenge and an opportunity against hate, misogyny & gun violence
The fatal shootings in Atlanta, Georgia of six women of Asian descent at businesses known to employ Asian workers are frightful and terrifying. It marks an escalation in the level…
[OPINION] It’s COVID-19 vaccine season. What are the options?
YES! President Joe Biden has announced that by May 1, ALL adults in the United States will already be eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This is made possible by…
[OPINION] The way of the conscious heart: Confronting racism, white supremacy, and hate crimes (Part 1 of 2)
“I confess that when I hear some speeches by someone responsible for public order or a government, I am reminded of Hitler’s speeches in 1934 and 1936. They are typical…
[OPINION] Heeding the call of Americans: Biden signs $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill into law to save lives, livelihood and rebuild our nation
THE LIGHT at the end of the long dark tunnel in the war against the coronavirus pandemic is now bursting through and leading us to the path toward defeating COVID-19…
[OPINION] After a year of coronavirus pandemic: Help is on the way to the American people to save more lives and rebuild our nation
YOU, yes, you. You and all the ordinary hardworking Americans will finally get the much-needed help to defeat COVID-19, save more lives and rebuild our nation — after a year…
[OPINION] ‘Coronavirus’ is now a racial slur against Asians
Jeremy Lin, an Asian American basketball star who helped add “linsanity” to our vocabulary a few years back, now adds “coronavirus” to our glossary of racial slurs against Asians. Lin…
[OPINION] California eases restrictions in many counties: What we need to do to move faster toward ‘normalcy’
MARCH 11, 2020. Almost one year has passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic. Many parts of the United States…
[COLUMN] Put more czars on the job
MY favorite anecdote about “improving operations efficiency” is that one about the kid who overheard his engineer father tell his assistants to “put more men on the job” in order…
[OPINION] Spring forward: Vaccine supply for every adult in the US by end of May
SPRING comes early with great news that brings us closer to our collective aspiration to defeat COVID-19, so we can go back toward “normalcy” and rebuild our lives and our…
[OPINION] A shot in the arm against COVID-19
After one of the most challenging years of our lives, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—the COVID-19 vaccines are here, and my administration is working to ensure…
[OPINION] To vax or not to vax
The vaccines are finally here! And they are excellent at preventing symptoms from COVID-19, including those severe and life-threatening cases that require hospitalization. I am grateful for having received my…
[OPINION] Being Asian American in the time of coronavirus racism, hate speech and hate crimes
THE majority of folks who experience racism are African Americans. But the pandemic has seen an upturn in incidents of racism, hate speech and hate crimes against Asians largely from…
[OPINION] Part II: New development in the US war against COVID-19 brings hope and relief to our Filipino nurses fighting on the frontlines
THIS week hit a sobering milestone. President Joe Biden marked 500,000 American deaths with a moment of silence at sunset last Monday, February 22, the National Public Radio reported. He…
[OPINION] The lines between us
How upcoming redistricting will shape Asian American communities for the next decade by Sonni Waknin and Alex De Ocampo If there is one takeaway from the Presidential and Georgia Senate…
[OPINION] Supreme Court ruling schools Trump: No president is above the law
DONALD TRUMP might have been “acquitted” by his power-hungry Republican minions in Congress twice after being impeached by the House of Representatives twice despite his abuse of power and obstruction…
[OPINION] New development in the US war against COVID-19 brings hope, relief to our Filipino nurses fighting on the frontlines
JUST as the Philippines has vaccinated zero health care workers, these frontliners have been battling fatigue, depression and stress as they risk their lives to help save the lives of…
[OPINION] The Republican Party of true conservative values is gone after being hijacked and terrorized by Trump
NO, the Senate acquitting Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial did NOT mean the 45th president was not guilty of inciting the deadly January 6 insurrection at the…
[COLUMN] Valentine trivia for the Filipino romantico: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
CUPID. Roses. Chocolate-covered strawberries. Valentine card and love letters. Romantic dinner dates. Wooing and cooing. And who knows what happens next? Valentine’s Day is perhaps second only to Christmas that…
[OPINION] My Valentine story
HAPPY season of love! Wherever we may be, we Filipinos are hopeless romantics, and therefore, Valentine’s Day is a month-long celebration for us talking about love and romance. “Humans of…
[OPINION] How do you know? Information vs mis-/dis-information
IT has almost been a month since the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, yet a pre-occupation on this event lingers as reports of who got identified and arrested…
[OPINION] Biden-Harris national strategy to beat COVID-19: What we need to know
THE United States of America is back, reclaiming leadership in combatting and beating threats to the lives of the people and the planet. The coronavirus pandemic is the most urgent…