PHILIPPINE House lawmakers can vote on ABS-CBN’s new legislative franchise based on their “conscience,” Malacañang said on Tuesday, July 7. This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his “neutral” stance on the issue. “Ang Presidente naman po, ang sinabi niya (The president said) the members of Congress can vote according to their conscience dahil siya…
A Filipino American family from Southern California took a trip up north to Carmel Valley over the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate a birthday. What was supposed to be a happy occasion quickly turned into another example of pervasive anti-Asian hate caught on video. “We were having fun, playing games and when we were…
PHILIPPINE Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday, July 6 dismissed the number of petitions filed before the Supreme Court challenging the newly-signed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. “I do not think SC justices can be [intimidated] by anyone or the number of petitions,” Sotto said in a tweet. “It’s about content! So you are filing?…
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday, July 6, reported no new cases of the coronavirus among Filipinos abroad. It also announced that no new fatalities were recorded. The number of overseas Filipinos infected with COVID-19 remains at 8,679, while the official death count is still at 577. The tally of recoveries is 5,201….
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 will reopen for international flights starting on Wednesday, July 8. “As global aviation endeavors to return to normalcy, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) gears up by resuming international flight operations in NAIA Terminal 3,” read the statement posted on Facebook. It added, “After temporarily closing its doors on…
In this contemporary wave of civil rights and social justice, young Fil-Ams are questioning what American patriotism looks like 2020 was supposed to be about two key national events: the decennial census and the presidential election. But as the entire country is acutely aware of, those two issues somehow ended up in the back of…
Beaches, bars, indoor dining close in LA County FOR the sixth time in less than two weeks, daily coronavirus cases have reached a new single-day high as the Fourth of July holiday approaches. The United States reported a new high of 55,220 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, July 3, surpassing Wednesday’s high of 52,789. According…
The 15-year-old says she hopes to educate others on social justice issues This week, it was revealed that the 15-year-old daughter of top White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is an anti-Trump activist who’s been using her social media platforms to call out President Donald Trump and his supporters. She has more than 100,000 TikTok followers,…
A photo of a giant Philippine bat recently took the internet by storm, shocking netizens. Posted on Twitter, the image of a “human-sized” bat garnered over 103,000 retweets, over 260,000 likes and thousands of comments, as of this writing. “Remember when I told y’all about the Philippines having human-sized bats? Yeah, this was what I…
NOONG Hunyo 22, 2020, si President Trump ay naglabas ng Proclamation na nagsususpinde ng pagpasok ng mga dayuhang maaaring magdulot ng panganib sa U.S. labor market pagkatapos ng epekto ng COVID-19 pandemic. Ang Proclamation ay epektibo mula Hunyo 24, 2020 hanggang Disyembre 31, 2020. Ang mga lawful permanent resident o green card holders na nasa…
Shortly after the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag started to appear over social media, I overheard an Anglo say in riposte, “Well, all lives matter…” (I have also heard “white lives matter too.”) I do not quite remember the context of this conversation, but the remark stuck with me. The BLM campaign is not meant to minimize white…
When reporting for work does not mean showing up ALEXIA Herrera worked as a Sales Associate at Zumiez, Inc., a retail store in Chico, California. Zumiez scheduled Herrera and other employees for work according to two scheduling policies. First, Zumiez scheduled employees for “Show-Up” shifts, requiring the employees to physically report for scheduled work at…
WE discussed the benefits of divorce last week. Let’s discuss drawbacks this week. Medical insurance: It’s typical for one working spouse to carry medical insurance for the whole household. One spouse may lose coverage and end up paying for the whole cost of new healthcare insurance which can be very expensive. IRA for non-working spouse:…
OUR image of Jesus might often be that of a nice and sweet person who does not bring troubles. That’s not how the Gospels portray him. He was not always lovely and sweet. He didn’t keep his mouth shut when he saw things in disorder. He didn’t always appease people. He gave impassioned speeches against…
“To recover for past lost earnings, a person must prove the amount of income or earnings that he/she has lost to date.” 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…
THE clients are a husband and wife in their mid-60s. I asked them if they have started receiving social security benefits, and sadly they told me that they migrated less than 10 years ago so have not yet contributed at least 10 years to social security. They have contributed for eight years and need two…
GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
HAPPY 4TH of July! Today, we celebrate the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, which we now call our home in our adoptive country. As History.com chronicled: “The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence…
A Long Beach, California woman at the center of recent viral videos was arrested on Friday, July 3 in connection with a separate 2019 incident during which she reportedly assaulted a Filipina American inside a mall restroom. Lena Hernandez, a 56-year-old retired social worker, was taken into custody on Friday, a day after charges for…
By Ritchel Mendiola and Rae Ann Varona / AJPress PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the controversial anti-terrorism bill into law on Friday, July 3, despite local and international concerns about the measure’s potential effects on free speech and opposition in the country. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the signing,…
FORMER Vice President Joe Biden and former Guam Governor Eddie Baza Calvo, a surrogate for President Donald Trump, participated in a virtual presidential town hall on Saturday, June 27 to answer questions and address concerns of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The town hall was organized by APIAVote, a national nonpartisan group…
A Filipino father with sons in the U.S. Army was among the individuals who became a new citizen during a naturalization ceremony on Thursday, July 2 attended by Vice President Mike Pence. Two days before the country celebrated the Fourth of July holiday, 16 immigrants from 12 countries, including the Philippines, were present at the…
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, July 2, recorded 108 new cases of the coronavirus among Filipinos abroad, which brings the total number of infected individuals to 8,614. “Today, the DFA reports an increase in new confirmed COVID-19 cases among Filipinos abroad, mostly in Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East. This…
Malacañang on Thursday, July 2, announced that the controversial anti-terrorism bill is now with the Office of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for final review. “Wala na po sa lamesa ng Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, nailipat na po ‘yan sa tanggapan ni Executive Secretary for final review (It is no longer on the desk…
FILIPINO FOOD MOVEMENT’S ‘SAVOR FILIPINO’ SUMMIT WITH its goal to create a framework in order to innovate the business of Filipino cuisine in the time of the pandemic, the Filipino Food Movement held a virtual summit called ‘Savor Filipino’ on Monday, June 29. The meeting was attended by almost a hundred people across the globe,…
GOV. Phil Murphy stopped the supposed reopening of restaurants in the state this week for a few reasons, among them the violations in some restaurants that have opened for Phase 2 a couple of weeks ago soaring infection rates from the states that have reopened across the country. New Jersey allowed outdoor dining on June…
