Category: Features

ALONG with food, shelter and education, healthcare is imperative for anyone. However, the cost of healthcare in the United States has risen dramatically. For the past two decades or so, more and more people have been left without quality healthcare. President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform aims to cover between 94 to 97 percent of the…

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is all set to deliver her State of the Nation Address on July 27. Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. alleges that the Chief Executive will use this opportunity “to convene a constituent assembly and introduce amendments to the Constitution,” says Philstar.com. Senators Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Mar Roxas…

WHILE pundits are busy pummeling President Obama with criticisms and shaking their heads in dismay over his actions on Guantanamo, General Motors, the health care system and Iran’s civil unrest, the President makes himself even more vulnerable to flagellation by admitting a nasty habit – smoking. Pres. Obama ruefully admitted his fight with the big…

AFTER more than 60 years of struggle, the few surviving Filipino WWII veterans are fi nally in the process of claiming their well-deserved benefits. When the Philippines was a US commonwealth, President Roosevelt conscripted members of the Philippine Army into the US military to fi ght Japan. By the end of the war, as many…

AMIDST the political turmoil and outrage caused by the now infamous constituent assembly, amid the chaos being caused by the onset of the presidential campaigns, representatives from various sectors in the Philippines converged in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2024 Gawad Kalinga Global Summit 2009. The summit ran from June 12 -14, working towards a single-minded…

WITH the onset of new and more portable technology like laptops and cellphones with wireless internet, almost everyone is capable of getting information off the net, engaging themselves in intelligent discussions through blogs and social networking sites and doing it all singlehandedly with a push of a button. For kids and teenagers, this new technology…

There’s no better time to show how Filipinos value their hard-earned freedom. Two days before the 111th celebration of Philippine Independence, the nation convenes for another freedom fight — a rally to signify their protest against the constituent assembly of the House of Representatives. The passing of House Resolution No. 1109, which empowers the House…

ONE of the best musicians of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven, once declared, “Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.” And true enough, music has provided people inspiration throughout the years. It has been…

MOST would think that after a week, all the hype about Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao knocking out Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in Las Vegas would die down. Well, at least a bit. But then again, we could all be wrong—because despite of the A(H1N1) or swine fl u virus scare or the continuing downfall of the…

THE whole Philippines, plus Filipinos all over the world are showing their support for pound-4-pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as he face Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in Las Vegas this Saturday. There is no doubt that Pacquiao remains a hero for most of us not just because he’s a champion in the ring, but he…

AFTER being incarcerated for than three years, United States Marine Daniel Smith, who was convicted in 2006 of raping Suzette Nicolas, aka Nicole, a Filipina, is fi nally free. In fact, he is no longer in the Philippines. The ruling by the Court of Appeals is fi nal, so Smith won’t have to be involved…

THEY say that the only thing that remains constant is change, and yet most of the time, it is the thing that we could hardly do – and that is, change for the better. In the running for the next president of the Philippines, many candidates have promised that they will bring change to the…

CALIFORNIA is experiencing 1,300 foreclosures every single day,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California offi ce of the Center for Responsible Lending, last year. Leonard explained that this is the result of loose lending practices. Last year, California Assemblyman Ted Lieu introduced his proposal on a bill that was designed to force Wall Street…

IT’S a bittersweet victory for our Filipino veterans to finally be acknowledged by the United States government for their bravery during World War II. The $198-million lump sum payment—contained in the US economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama last February 18—now awaits the estimated 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans. They waited for 63 years…

After months of political gridlock, California state lawmakers agreed on a series of budget measures lastThursday, February 19. The following day, February 20, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fi nally signed. The budget agreement came after a record-long fl oor session of nearly 46 hours. But is this the end of pain or again, just a start…

FINALLY, it’s signed. Less than a month into his presidency, President Barack Obama achieved a huge victory when he signed into law the $787 billion stimulus package in the hope of reversing the country’s continuing downturn spiral into economic doom. But the victory also has its reality check, as Obama noted that it is not…

AFTER more than six decades of struggle and fighting for benefits, the Filipino veterans of World War II may now have reached the end of their long journey. This was after a provision for benefits for Filipino WWII Veterans was inserted by Senator K. Inouye in the American Recovery and Reinstatement Act of 2009 or…

WITH the approval of the House of Representatives, a supplemental appropriation of over P11 billion is now available for the planned automation election system for the 2010 general elections. According to Senator Edgardo Angara, the additional outlay for poll automation “will allow the country to conduct an automated national and local election and ensure an…

HE promised us change during his campaign, and in the first few days in office, President Barack Obama has been busy putting that in effect. But he does have a lot of work to do, and with the extraordinary wave of political goodwill he is riding on, he should be able to get a lot…

Filipinos might think that it’s too early to start narrowing down the list of potential candidates for the presidential election next year, but on the other hand, we should start thinking about who will best lead the Philippines into true progress and development. To date, we have about three or more politicians who have expressed…

It’s a few more days before the momentous inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. It is expected that up to two million people will flock to the nation’s capital to attend the various activities related to the historic event. Events like free concerts of famous performers will surely be…

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”—Hebrews 11:1 Being predominantly Catholic, most Filipinos have been brought up going to Mass every Sunday, praying the Holy Rosary or have the devotion, or panata, to at least one saint. So this, one would think, should be the basis of…

We hate to brag, but we have to—boxing champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is Filipino, and we are proud of it. And undeniably, the world knows about this. Even before stopping the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya at round eight last December 6 during their welterweight Dream Match, Pacquiao has already been in the limelight, both…

Most of us are looking for some sort of a sign this Christmas—something that could calm our fears about what lies ahead, given the unsure situation the country is facing today. We have seen the signs—thousands losing their homes, their jobs, shoppers cutting down their Christmas lists and people who just see the holiday season as…

The Church has spoken—and it said no—that is, no to Charter change, not until after the 2010 presidential elections. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has urged the government to forego any plans of amending the Constitution, stating that we should not allow selfish interest to undermine democracy. Change should come from the…

“In its mysterious past (the sea) encompasses all the dim origins of life and receives in the end…After many transmutations, the dead husks of that same life.” —Rachel Carson For most of us Filipinos who used to live in the Philippines, Manila Bay probably has given us good memories—walking along the breakwater, taking in the…

The United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a major report with grim predictions about global warming for the coming decades last February 2007. Based on IPCC’s recent track record, the predictions will be no exaggeration. As defined by National Geographic, global warming, or climate change, is a subject that shows no sign…

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”—John F. Kennedy With what is happening to the world today, most of us might have been thinking if there is still something to be thankful about. We look around us and we could…

“In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” —Albert Camus With the still unfolding realities, stories and uncertainties gripping us today, many of us may be wondering if there is still something to be thankful for. We watch CNN or FOX, or read the Times, and it becomes too easy to…

ALTHOUGH baseball is highly a popular sport here in the United States, in the Philippines, baseball still has to find its place in the hearts of Filipinos. For one, only a few Filipinos have made it in Major League Baseball (MLB), starting with Bobby Balcena, who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. Other…