Malacañang on Thursday, July 23, announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management for Emerging Infectious Diseases has once again suspended non-essential outbound air travel of Filipinos. According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, only one travel and health insurance company agreed to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses should a traveler contract the novel…
OVER 400 Princeton University alumni on Tuesday, July 21, took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post calling on the United States government to convince Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration to drop all charges against Rappler, its co-founder Maria Ressa and former staffer Reynaldo Santos Jr. The letter, signed by a number of journalists,…
The Philippines can’t afford to test every Filipino for the novel coronavirus, Malacañang admitted on Tuesday, July 21. “If we can afford it, why not? But the reality is, hindi natin maa-afford ang testing sa lahat ng 110 million Filipinos (We cannot afford testing for all 110 million Filipinos),” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. “Pero…
Malacañang on Tuesday, July 21, reminded Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan that passing a legislation that will ban political dynasties is the job of Congress, not President Rodrigo Duterte. “Parang mali po yung paghamon niya kasi ang pagpapasa po ng batas ay isang katungkulan ng lehisletibo (I think he’s challenging the wrong branch of government because…
LAWMAKERS from the Makabayan bloc have asked the Philippine House Committee on Legislative Franchises to allow plenary action on the franchise bid of media giant ABS-CBN. In a letter addressed to Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez dated July 20 and released Wednesday, July 22, the lawmakers asked for the technical working group report as well as…
Filipina American model Kelsey Merritt is once again featured in the 2020 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The 23-year-old model took to Instagram to express her excitement. “Soooo excited for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit to come out on newsstands July 21st!” she wrote under a photo from her shoot in the Dominican Republic. View this…
THE Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco (PCGSF) announced on Tuesday, July 21 that it has suspended all applications for consular services that are done in-person effective Thursday, July 20 in a release sent out by its Cultural, Community and Public Information Section. The suspension is due to the directives by California Gov. Gavin Newsom…
City to add 1,400 testing slots at three COVID-19 testing sites and an expansion of CityTestSF; testing to be located in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed on Wednesday, July 22 announced new strategies for COVID-19 testing prioritization and availability to address the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations…
SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London N. Breed announced a plan to support investments in housing and shelter as part of a broader Homelessness Recovery Plan that will help the City create more housing and shelter for homeless residents as San Francisco endures and eventually emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Homelessness Recovery Plan, the City…
DEXAMETHASONE for COVID-19 New studies (2,100 patients in the UK) reported in the New England Journal of Medicine have shown that the steroid dexamethasone (6 mg once daily for up to 10 days) given to serious COVID-19 patients on a ventilator almost doubled the survival rate (41% versus 29% for those not given the steroid)…
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment-based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date is…
Third reported soldier death near base within past month A young Filipino U.S. soldier was found dead last week near the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, marking the third soldier death in the area within the past month. Private Mejhor Morta, 26, was found unresponsive on July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Lake,…
This past spring, Joshua Obra and his younger sister Jasmine moved to Anaheim, California to be closer to Disneyland. The siblings considered the theme park their “second home,” as they would visit at least once a week since getting annual passes five years ago. As a family, the Obras experienced the six Disneylands around the…
As the coronavirus pandemic rages on and continues to complicate nearly every system of bureaucracy, housing instability becomes an even greater threat to residents facing job and income loss and renters facing impending expirations on rent moratorium orders. At the pandemic’s beginning in March, most states enacted safer-at-home orders that sequester workers to their homes,…
Legal and civil rights organizations condemn Trump for blocking ‘undocumented immigrants from fair representation’ United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday, July 21 signed a memorandum that would exclude undocumented immigrants from census counts in what is the administration’s latest attempt to alter the way that populations are tallied and progress its stringent immigration plan….
ONLY foreigners with permanent or existing immigrant visas are allowed to enter the Philippines starting August, the country’s Bureau of Immigration clarified on Tuesday, July 21. The entry of foreign tourists, non-immigrant visa holders, and other categories of travelers are still prohibited. Anyone attempting to land in any of the Philippines’ ports of entry will…
NINE new cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported among Filipinos around the world, bringing the total number of infections to 9,145, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Tuesday, July 21. Meanwhile, the agency logged one new fatality, which brings the death toll to 645. Nine Filipinos have also recovered, raising…
A new survey by the Social Weather Stations revealed that the Filipinos’ trust in the United States, Australia, and China suffered a drop in the first half of the year. The U.S. earned a net trust rating of “good” +42, while Australia got “moderate” at +27. China, on the other hand, received a net trust…
By Nelson Garcia Having been born in Mandaluyong, and knowing the history of American influence in my country of birth, I have always felt an affinity and a deep appreciation to the United States for the opportunities given to me and my family. The success we had during the presidency of Ronald Reagan helped make…
MAYBE you’ve experienced this before. You’re driving down the road one cold, chilly day and before you know it, you find yourself surrounded by a thick white wall of dense fog. How did you react to the situation? If you’re like most people, perhaps you felt momentarily lost and confused or perhaps even panicked, not…
16th of a series “You can’t bring a U-Haul truck with you when you go to that wide blue yonder.” — Unknown BEFORE you begin checking off the fun, carefree and wonderful items of your personal bucket list, you have to put first things first. This means putting things down in writing. Yes, facing the…
RES IPSA LOQUITUR. The thing speaks for itself. I remember learning a lot about legal terms in Latin on the legal talk, public service and drama radio program on DZMM with the late Philippine Senator Rene Cayetano, the good father of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. The “Compañero ng Bayan”, as I fondly called him,…
The controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 took effect on Saturday, July 18 in the Philippines, despite the lack of implementing rules and regulations. “Considering that the law was published on July 3, it will take effect on July 18, which is the 15th day,” said Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday, July 17. He added that…
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 50 new deaths and 2,741 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, July 21. Of the latest positive cases, 57% occurred in people under the age of 41 years old. The numbers continue to confirm that younger people are driving new infections and the spread of COVID-19, the…
Jollibee opened the doors of its second store in Jersey City last week, more than a month after the inauguration of its Edison store, in the midst of the pandemic that has been slowing global economic growth. The new stores are part of the brand’s plans to grow to 150 stores in the U.S. by…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced that it will offer a webinar on Tuesday, July 21 to help employers and employees in Southern California’s Filipino communities understand the benefits and protections provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The webinar will be offered in Tagalog. The webinars will…
