“Joy is not found in the things which surround us, but lives only in the soul.” -Thérèse de Lisieux Two decades ago, I watched Ted Benito act in a Filipino Cultural Night at UCLA, also known as Pilipino Cultural Night. We regularly took our two then-teenagers to expose them to Filipino culture, year after year….
AS gubernatorial candidates for the California recall election make last-ditch efforts to appeal to voters, the highly anticipated vote on whether or not to recall and replace Governor Gavin Newsom is this Tuesday, Sept. 14. Tuesday’s election is the state’s first recall election since the high profile 2003 recall election in which action star Arnold…
By Fr. Benjamin E. Alforque, MSC The National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns in the Inland Empire (NEFFCON-IE) — a faith-based organization of Filipino Americans that promotes the rights and welfare of Filipinos in the Philippines and in the U.S. in dialogue with other national ethnic groups that compose American society — call on all…
IT’S going to be a battle of the teens at the U.S. Open Finals this weekend in New York as Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Emma Raducanu of Great Britain won their respective semifinal matches on Thursday, Sept. 9. The last time two teens duked it out for the championship was in 1999 between Martina…
STUDENTS aged 12 years and older in the United States’ second-largest school district will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before they can attend in-person classes next year. In a special meeting held Thursday, September 9, the Los Angeles Unified School Board voted unanimously to mandate vaccinations before the end of the year…
As the United States commemorates the biggest terrorist attack on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001, we continue to be threatened by another enemy — COVID-19 — that has killed more than 650,000 Americans since early 2020. In June of 2021, after we ramped up the vaccination rate and lowered new infection cases to 11,000…
SOME past homilies of priests are etched in our minds, shaping the way we think and live. In my experience, I remember two of them. One was from an American Jesuit priest who directed my high school seminary retreat. With his American accent, he impressed on us, young seminarians, in “Tag-lish” (Tagalog-English): “Believe sa sarili:…
DEAR Attorney Tan, I was driving home and was at a complete stop when another driver rear ended my car. I was not feeling well after the accident, as my back seemed very tight and stiff. I took some days off from work. After a week, I contacted the other driver’s insurance to report the…
SOME premises liability cases involve multiple negligent parties who cause the plaintiff to suffer one single injury. In representing a single plaintiff in such a case, it may be difficult for the attorney to prove which defendant was responsible for the client’s injuries. As an example, inside of a store that is undergoing construction, a…
BITCOIN and other cryptocurrency has become popular lately as a new store of value. It is decentralized and not subject to regulation in any jurisdiction. It can be stored in a digital wallet or hard drive. Due to its lack of regulation, it is easy for one to assume that it is not necessary to…
THE client is 45, married with two sons, 16 and 12. He used to own and operate, together with his wife, a small business, which started in 2014. They sold the business for $40,000 in 2019 just before the pandemic started. He says the business was barely breaking even so they decided to just sell…
CAN an employer fire someone simply for being gay or transgender? No, according to the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark decision in Bostock v Clayton County. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. “An employer who…
Biden tax plan series WHAT are capital assets, capital gains and long-term capital gains? When you sell a capital asset for more than you paid for it, you realize a capital gain. Capital assets include stocks, bonds, and real estate. The tax you’ll pay on the capital gain depends on how long you held the asset…
GERRY Apolinario’s (right) naturalization application was denied because he was outside the U.S. too many times during the five years before filing his application, and missed the 913-day minimum physical presence requirement by a mere 15 days. By law, a person is required to have resided continuously in the U.S. for at least five years…
OUTGOING United States Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires John Law is confident that the security alliance and cooperation between the U.S. and the Philippines will only continue to thrive in the years to come. “I am confident that our security alliance and our cooperative partnership will continue to thrive in the years to come, and that…
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A FILIPINO American man was fatally stabbed to death in his own home in Las Vegas on Friday, August 27, according to the authorities. Vergel Guintu, 48, had just returned home from dropping his son off at school when he heard a noise in his Summerlin residence located in the 10000 block of Kenton Place….
AT 60, “The Housemaid” lead star Albert Martinez looks incredibly young for his age. This was in full view during a recent press event for the film, which is the launching vehicle for beauty queen Kylie Versoza, according to an article in PEP.ph. “Thank you. That’s a compliment. I’m officially a senior citizen. I’m sixty…
WORLDWIDE, as of September 7, 2021, there have been more than 222 million cases of COVID-19, with around 4.6 million deaths. In the United States, there has been 40.8 million cases and nearly 667 thousand deaths, and in the Philippines, more than 2.1 million cases and around 34,500 deaths. The Delta variant has been found…
Leylah Annie Fernandez has been preparing for this big breakthrough opportunity her entire life. It’s not every day that one gets to beat two former US Open champions in one tournament, something that Fernandez has done in this fortnight. On Tuesday, Sept 7, she made history and continued her incredible run by booking her spot at…
DEAR Atty. Gurfinkel: My sister petitioned me in 2002 in the F-4 category (brother/sister of a U.S. citizen) when my child was still a baby. Recently, the priority date became current. We paid all the fees and submitted all the forms on behalf of my family, including my child, who is now over 21. At the…
FILIPINA Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez is making her mark at the U.S. Open this year as she toppled esteemed champions one after the other. A day before she turned 19, Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating 16th seed Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam winner, on Sunday, September 5, in New York City. The…
Flag carrier to continue operations, eyes exit from Chapter 11 before year-end NATIONAL flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has “voluntarily” filed for restructuring under a Chapter 11 plea in the United States amid the ongoing pandemic that has put a strain on global travel. PAL President Gilbert Santa Maria said in a video statement that…
LOS Angeles County health officials are continuing to monitor coronavirus variants as highly transmissible strains have been detected in the region. To date, the most dominant variant continues to be the delta variant, while the Mu variant is being closely monitored. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has identified 167 Mu variants in…
IF you were able to enjoy the last days of summer during the long Labor Day weekend with your family, consider yourself blessed. In many places around the United States, from coast to coast, there are people who are mourning the sudden and unexpected death of loved ones; the destruction of homes, farms, businesses and…
By Christopher M. Lapinig and Emily Ann Ramos ON September 14, California voters will decide whether to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. County registrars have already begun to send mail-in ballots to voters. We share our support for Governor Gavin Newsom and urge Filipino American voters to vote no on the recall. Governor Newsom has proven…
