NVC erroneously sending notices to Filipinos on visa availability
DEAR Attorney Gurfinkel: I was born in the Philippines, and in 2015 my mother petitioned me in the F-2B category (unmarried adult child of immigrant). Recently, I received a “Notice…
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LA County’s immigrant services ‘from the womb to the tomb’
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services Los Angeles County officials from the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and Department of Health Services met ethnic media…
US Congress passes $900B COVID-19 stimulus package
FOLLOWING months of inaction, the United States Congress on late Monday, Dec. 22, passed the long-awaited stimulus package that includes $600 in direct payments to millions of American taxpayers as well…
Duterte on Tarlac shooter: Lock him up
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has condemned the police officer who shot a mother and son dead in Paniqui, Tarlac. In a taped speech, Duterte said Police Senior M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca…
PH to raise age of consent from 12 to 16
THE Philippines is set to raise the age of sexual consent from 12 years old to 16 years old. According to a recent report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the country…
Black Fil-Am Raiders player Josh Jacobs named to 2021 NFL Pro Bowl
LAS Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been named to the 2021 NFL Pro Bowl roster. The NFL on Monday, December 21, announced its 2021 AFC Pro Bowl roster,…
[OBITUARY] Perla Puzon, 80
PERLA Salva Puzon joined her Creator on December 3 at the age of 80 after suffering from complications associated with COVID-19 at 10:06 a.m. at the St. Joseph Medical Center…
[OPINION] Missing Pasko
MY wife and I would have wanted to spend this Christmas in the Philippines, but unfortunate circumstances prevented a trip. First of all, there is COVID-19 and the quarantine protocol…
LA County plugs in health care gaps as COVID-19 surges
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services With the COVID pandemic setting new records almost daily for the number of people dying or hospitalized, Los Angeles County officials met with ethnic…
[OPINION] Fil-Am elected officials to Gov. Newsom: Appoint Assemblymember Rob Bonta as California Attorney General
[Editor’s note: On December 18, 2020, several current and former Filipino American elected officials sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom endorsing Assemblymember Rob Bonta as the state’s attorney…
How Max and Lucy’s revived a family ensaymada recipe
Part I of a series on love-leavened Fil-Am small businesses Minyong Ordoñez, a Filipino anthropologist, wrote that the Filipino culture defines Filipino identity as [something] that “manifests goodness and virtues,…
DFA sees spike in COVID-19 infections among Filipinos around the globe
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is observing another spike in COVID-19 infections among overseas Filipinos as 198 more individuals have contracted the virus. The new infections reported on…
Supreme Court rejects Trump challenge excluding undocumented immigrants from Census
The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the calculations used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives. “At present,…
Fil-Am groups host blood, bone marrow donor registration drive in Historic Filipinotown
IN the spirit of giving and bayanihan, Filipino American organizations on Thursday, December 17 held a blood donation and bone marrow registration drive in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown for a…
COVID-19: New strain?
A NEW, 70 percent more rapidly transmissible, strain of SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) have been detected in up to three-fourths of cases in the United Kingdom today. PM Boris Johnson has ordered…
Stay-at-home order ‘very likely’ to be extended for certain California regions
GOING into the holiday week, California is still hitting record COVID-19 numbers, signaling that restrictions could remain in place into the new year. Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week said…
LA County surpasses 600K virus cases heading into holiday week
Places of worship permitted to hold modified indoor services DAYS before Christmas, Los Angeles County reached another grim milestone of hitting over 600,000 positive cases since the pandemic began. Based…
PH Consulate in LA closed until Jan. 2021 due to at least 1 COVID case among staff
THE Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles will temporarily shut down operations for the rest of the year following at least one confirmed COVID-19 case among its personnel. The Consulate…
Dissecting the classic Noche Buena spread
IF the long list of Christmas trends and traditions was any indication, Filipinos love celebrating the yuletide season. Be it decorating the house with lanterns and ornaments as early as…
A Christmas Story: The Innkeeper’s untold tale
“As he told the story of that wondrous night to Luke, Joshua carefully removed himself from the narrative. It was to be between him and God alone.” JOSHUA was excited…
[OPINION] Ronald McDonald House: Home away from home during the holidays for families with chronically sick kids and premature babies
THE WORST crisis that parents (and grandparents) perhaps have to face is to see our helpless babies and children fight for their lives. If only we can take their place…
Essential services for essential workers in the pandemic
By Mark Hedin, Ethnic Media Services In a time of COVID-necessitated lockdowns, if you’re working, you’re essential. In Los Angeles County, no one should allow an employer to rob them…
Letty Lopez-Viado ascends to West Covina, CA mayorship, becoming first Filipina-Mexican American in top role
WEST Covina, long considered home to one of the largest Filipino American concentrations in Southern California, now has its first Filipina-Mexican American mayor. Leticia “Letty” Lopez-Viado, who previously served as…
‘Spirit of hope’: Fil-Am health care workers among first to receive COVID-19 vaccine in LA County
FOR the first time since the pandemic hit Los Angeles County, Anna Medrano walked into work hopeful. With a quick jab to her left arm, the Filipina American nurse practitioner…
IATF allows foreigners to re-enter PH
THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved the re-entry of foreigners who left the Philippines on December 17 and onwards, Malacañang announced Friday,…
LA residents urged to skip holiday gatherings as virus cases spike
WITH the Christmas holiday nearing, Los Angeles County officials are pleading with the public to stay home and limit gatherings as the capacity of Southern California’s intensive care units hit…
Duque: No promise of 10M vaccine doses in Pfizer deal
PHILIPPINE Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday, December 18, maintained that the discussions with Pfizer reportedly didn’t include supplying the country with 10 million doses of its vaccine. “I…
Envoy: 2 American firms ready to supply PH up to 25M doses of vaccine
TWO U.S. pharmaceutical firms are willing to supply the Philippines with their vaccines against the coronavirus by the second half of 2021, according to Philippine Ambassador to Washington D.C. Jose…