FOR the merry month of December, internationally known boxing champ, Philippine senator and presidential aspirant Manny Pacquiao heads the list of prominent celebrities who will be celebrating their birthdays this month. The eight-division world champion boxing legend turns 43 on Friday, December 17. Known by his monicker “PacMan,” Senator Pacquiao added to his list of…
SENATOR Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the United States is exploring the possibility of strengthening its Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the Philippines to prevent further incursions into its territory. The EDCA supplements the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines. It was signed in Manila…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo will not get in the way if the United States requests for the extradition of his friend and spiritual adviser Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, according to Senator Bong Go. The senator on Monday, November 22, noted Duterte’s close ties with Quiboloy, saying that the Chief Executive will offer moral support to his adviser….
Part 2 of 2 (Continued from last week’s issue…) Let’s do a reality check. So okay, your partner is the consummate slob and you have to pick up after him. He thinks he has a maid living with him for free. He has this maddening habit of not putting the toothpaste cap back on. That’s…
Amanda Kostroski, a 911 dispatcher in Madison, Wisconsin, leaves her busy job once a week to go to a county health clinic to be tested for COVID-19. She’s been making the 15-minute drive from work since late September, when Dane County mandated all employees get vaccinated or tested weekly. The testing is free, and she…
WHILE developing a rapid test that detects the coronavirus in someone’s saliva, Blink Science, a Florida-based startup, heard something startling: The Food and Drug Administration had more than 3,000 emergency use authorization applications and didn’t have the resources to get through them. “We want to try to avoid the EUA quagmire,” said Peb Hendrix, the…
I LIKE Gerald Darring’s down-to-earth description of the Kingdom of God in his book, To Love and Serve: Lectionary Based Meditations. He states: The Kingdom of God is a space. It exists in every home where parents and children love each other. It exists in every region and country that cares for its weak and…
Biden tax plan series WHAT is a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)? A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is used in estate planning to minimize taxes on large financial gifts to family members. An irrevocable trust is created for a certain period of time. The individual establishing the trust pays a tax when the trust is established. Assets are…
Establishing parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the child. Family Code §7610. Establishing parentage rights, including custody and visitation rights, becomes more problematic with unmarried Dads because proving yourself as the biological father…
AFROUZ Nikmanesh worked as a pharmacist for Walmart for more than 10 years. During her time as a Walmart pharmacist, Dr. Nikmanesh reported several noncompliance issues to management. These included Medicare patients being charged above reimbursement rates, Walmart failing to provide beneficiaries with Medicare discounts, and failing to report the dispensing of opioids and other…
AFTER the most disturbing rise in crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) of the 21st century, a national hate crime tracker reported this week that anti-AAPI hate continues to proliferate across the nation. Stop AAPI Hate, the national coalition of AAPI organizations dedicated to addressing anti-AAPI discrimination, released new findings on Thursday, Nov….
THE Philippines may soon welcome fully-vaccinated tourists from “green list” countries, according to Malacañang. Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Friday, November 19, said the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) is finalizing the guidelines for tourists coming from low-risk countries. “There are just a few things…
LOS ANGELES – After Diwata Komiks’ successful community launch at the end of October, the multicultural creative development and publishing group sets their sights on the world’s largest comics convention. They will be exhibiting for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) where they look to engage with new fans and introduce them to…
UNITED States prosecutors have filed sex trafficking charges against against Filipino televangelist Apollo Quiboloy for coercing young girls and women to have sex with him under threats of “eternal damnation.” The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, November 18, announced that Quiboloy — founder of the Philippine-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every…
Continuing the celebration of Fil-Am History Month, the Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI) in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown is holding an ongoing art exhibit until November 30. Named Pangitain at Pananaw 2021 (“Visions and Viewpoints 2021”), the art exhibit is a project of the FASGI Arts Incubator Program. “It all started when I had…
NOBEL Peace Prize winner and Rappler co-founder Maria Ressa on Tuesday, November 16, delivered the prestigious Salant Lecture on Freedom of the Press at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). In the hour-long lecture moderated by Kennedy School professor Latanya A. Sweeney, Ressa talked about disinformation, democracy, and freedom of speech. “In 2017, an invisible atom…
“PASTOR” Apollo Quiboloy, founder and chairman of the mega-church “Kingdom of Jesus Christ” in the Philippines, made headlines again globally on Thursday, November 18, not just because of his outrageous claims about his identity and how he “brands” himself to millions of Filipinos who follow him, but because he has again been implicated in serious…
THE first client is a senior who still earns $120K a year as a registered nurse but owes $130K of credit cards. The second client is also a senior who just lost her job as an accountant and now relies on social security of $2K a month. At first glance, you would think that the…
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut is a definite must-see for every film lover out there. If you adore musicals? Grab your popcorn. An adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson (who revolutionized theater as the creator of ‘Rent’), ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ is an honest-to-goodness love letter to musicals, and to…
THE November priority dates are typically the start of the new “fiscal year” for visas, where a new annual supply of visas is made available. Usually, with a new supply of visas, the priority dates move forward in the various family categories. However, for November 2021, the priority dates did not move at all. They…
IT seems like the holiday season this year is becoming breakup season when it comes to showbiz couples. First, Rayver Cruz and Janine Gutierrez, whose relationship became public in 2017, have decided to go their separate ways. According to news reports, there is no third party involved in the split. What is rumored is that…
Mother Cece (center) petitioned her son Vince in 2001. Because he was out-of-status, and had no section 245(i), he was not eligible to adjust status (apply for his green card) in the U.S. The family went through several attorneys who applied for political asylum, and later obtained an approved provisional waiver, after the regulations came…
IT’S official: Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio will run as a tandem in the upcoming 2022 national elections. Marcos made the announcement Tuesday, November 16, saying that he and Duterte-Carpio have completed the process for their partnership. “Naitawid na namin ni Mayor Inday Sara Duterte ang proseso para…
IT’S official: Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio will run as a tandem in the upcoming 2022 national elections. Marcos made the announcement Tuesday, November 16, saying that he and Duterte-Carpio have completed the process for their partnership. “Naitawid na namin ni Mayor Inday Sara Duterte ang proseso para…
WHY the COVID-19 pandemic will most likely be with us for years is vividly demonstrated by the following well-publicized news: “A federal appeals court has called President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses ‘fatally flawed’ and ‘staggeringly overbroad,’ arguing that the requirements likely exceed the authority of the federal government and raise ‘serious constitutional…
