IN a previous article, I discussed how Pres. Biden and the Democrats introduced the “U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACT” of 2021. It was a massive bill, covering a variety of immigration issues and reforms, including a pathway to U.S. citizenship for approximately 11 million undocumented noncitizens now in the U.S. Unfortunately, that bill has stalled in Congress,…
The April 2021 priority dates, continue to provide great news for workers in the EB-3 (skilled/professional) and “other worker” (unskilled workers like caregivers). The priority dates for all countries (except India and China) are CURRENT! This includes the Philippines! This means visas are available, regardless of the person’s priority date. If a person is being…
SINCE the first case of COVID-19 was officially reported by the local authority in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, followed by the WHO declaration of this pandemic, medical centers around the world struggled to search for effective treatments, including vitamin-mineral supplements. No herbals have been found effective against this SARS-CoV2 virus. The following March…
LG Brings UVnano Technology to the Philippines LG Philippines has finally launched one of their most eagerly awaited Air Solutions products in the country. In a recent installment of the South Korean technology giant’s popular livestream event, long time LG Brand Ambassador James Deakin hosted the launch that was simulcast through Lazada and Facebook. The…
Manila, March 24, 2021 — Estimating over 100,000 deaths due to tuberculosis (TB) in the next five years, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III sounded the alarm for a swift recovery in TB care and services amid COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused enormous health and economic impacts, even affecting our…
CALIFORNIA is set to have its first Filipino American attorney general. Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), who became the first Fil-Am in the state Legislature, is making history again after Governor Gavin Newsom nominated him to be the next chief law enforcement officer on Wednesday, March 24. “Thank you, Governor Newsom, for the privilege and honor…
FOR Asian Americans across the country, the events that unfolded on Tuesday, March 16 at three Asian-owned spas in Atlanta punctuated a mounting fear: the community isn’t safe. A 21-year-old man entered three different massage parlors in the greater Atlanta area and gunned down workers and patrons, killing eight people in total, including six Asian…
ASIAN American lawmakers and community leaders are observing #StopAsianHate Virtual Day of Action and Healing on Friday, March 26 in the wake of the Georgia shootings that killed eight individuals, including six Asian women, and as nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents have been recorded across the country. The initiative, first started by Rep. Grace Meng…
LEYNA Bloom, a Black and Filipina American model, is making history as the first transgender woman of color to grace Sports Illustrated’s famed Swimsuit Issue. The 27-year-old model and trained dancer’s feat comes after Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, who became the first openly transgender model to appear in the magazine’s Swimsuit Issue last year. In…
CALIFORNIA Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye has condemned the violent attacks against Asians and Asian Americans in the United States. In a statement issued on Friday, March 19, the Filipina American chief justice shared that the recent hate crimes felt “more personal” since she is a member of the community being targeted. “Anti-Asian violence, like…
THE U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced its plan to offer funeral assistance to families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. We are dedicated to helping ease some of…
SISTER Fidelis Atienza, the Filipina nun behind Baguio City’s famous Good Shepherd ube jam, has passed away at the age of 102. In a Facebook post, the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) confirmed that Atienza died on Saturday, March 20, at the Good Shepherd Community in Quezon City “after 66 years in religious life.”…
CLAUDIA Conway’s ‘American Idol’ journey has come to an end. The 16-year-old daughter of former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and Filipino American conservative lawyer George Conway was voted off the show on Monday night, March 22. During the episode, the contestants who made it through the first solo round of Hollywood Week were paired…
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 something done, you will always find a way. But if you refuse to do what needs to be done, you will always find an excuse),…
MANY people try to file and open their own divorce case without an attorney in an effort to save on legal fees. Often, the self-represented divorce litigant would seek the assistance of the court facilitator’s office in preparing the papers to open their own divorce case. However once the divorce case is opened, many self-represented…
“The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy.” —Alfred North Whitehead (STORIES can teach, heal, entertain, remind and bring home a message with laser-like accuracy and oftentimes, with latent comment. They appeal to all ages. I like retelling the old classics and seeing how their lessons still apply to our lives…
Filing bankruptcy can be a big decision that most people put off until they realize that they have no other way out of debt. Unfortunately, however, sometimes people wait too long. When they finally do make the decision to file, they soon realize that they would actually have been better off if they had just…
OVER 80 registered nurses of Filipino descent have died from the coronavirus, making up 26.4% of total RN fatalities in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a new report. The National Nurses United on Thursday, March 18 released an update to its September 2020 “Sins of Omissions” report, finding that…
CALIFORNIA’S COVID-19 vaccine scheduling tool My Turn is now available in 12 languages, including Tagalog. MyTurn.ca.gov — a website that allows the state’s residents to schedule appointments and be notified when they’re eligible — has been updated to include five new languages in an effort to be accessible to more residents, the California Department of…
The Holy Week has always been a strategic opportunity for growth in the tourism sector. However, given the recent surge in COVID cases, our goals for the sector will have to yield to public health concerns. This will hopefully pave the way to a safer and more resilient resumption of tourism activities in the future….
UNITED States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Asian American leaders in Atlanta on Friday, March 19, three days after eight people, including six Asian women, were fatally shot at three spas in the area. “Racism is real in America and it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America, and…
FILIPINOS and Filipino Americans should ‘exercise vigilance’ amid the reported attacks against Asian Americans, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles advised. The Consulate General issued an advisory on March 15 expressing its “concern over the upsurge of reported incidents of aggression towards Asian Americans in various parts of the United States.” The day after…
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 Filipino descent. Here are some cases as the Asian Journal reported: In Georgia: Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were mercilessly shot by…
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 of violence associated with the spike in anti-Asian aggressions during this pandemic. How can a minority group that was touted as a “model minority” turn…
THE U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, March 18 overwhelmingly passed a pair of immigration bills designed to overhaul the American immigration system, including creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. Commonly known as DREAMers, these undocumented immigrants would earn permanent resident status that would lead to naturalization,…
THE Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an emergency use authorization (EAU) for Gamaleya Research Institute’s Sputnik V. “After a rigorous and thorough review, the FDA is granting EUA to the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Friday, March 19. “It is decided that all conditions for an EUA…
IT has been over year since California declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, many employees have stopped coming to their workplaces and have worked from home instead. However, those who were considered “frontline” workers do not have the option of working at home. Considered “essential” to the functioning of…
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (John 20: 24) IT’S hard to suffer—to face the unknown, to lose someone you love, or to think of the worst illness in one’s self or the people dear…
