This is the Tagalog version of the open letter created by Letters for Black Lives, an ongoing project for people to create and translate resources on anti-Blackness for their communities in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter. The letter was written and translated collaboratively by hundreds of people who want to have honest and respectful conversations with their…
MGA KABABAYAN, we have seen the gruesome video and pictures recounting how Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on African American George Floyd’s neck last week while Floyd pleaded with him, saying he couldn’t breathe. Multiple videos reveal the white police officer knelt on the 42-year-old black man for eight minutes and 46 seconds in…
The Philippine Consulate General in New York — just as it was preparing to reopen — shuttered and boarded up its glass windows on Monday, June 1 as New York braced for more widespread looting and violent protests. “In light of reports of looting and break-ins in the vicinity of the Philippine Center, and as…
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, June 2, reported 12 new cases of the novel coronavirus among overseas Filipinos, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 5,230. It also recorded five new deaths from the Middle East, raising the death toll to 347. “With only a few countries across three major geographical…
PHILIPPINE Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday, June 2, said that the proposed anti-terrorism law is “as good as passed,” after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the bill as urgent. “It’s as good as passed. It will just need my signature if it comes back to us after ratification then I will transmit to the…
U.S.-based travelers who were slated to join this year’s Very Important Pinoy Tour to various Philippine destinations may receive a refund, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles announced on Monday, June 1. The annual tour — formerly called the Ambassador’s Tour — brings Filipinos from across the U.S. back to the Philippines, and was set…
by Anna Almendrala “You are the most selfish f—ing people on the planet.” I jerked my head to the left, where I saw a neighbor glaring at us from his driveway while unloading groceries from his trunk. “Where’s your f—ing mask?” he said. “Unbelievable.” My jaw dropped. I had just walked three blocks home with…
Last Monday, May 23, our nation joined our Muslim brothers in the Philippines and around the world in celebrating the Eid al-Fitr, or “Festival of the Breaking the Fast,” which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Indeed, this year’s observance of the Ramadan is unlike the previous years due to the raging…
SINCE March, 74 health care workers of Filipino ancestry have died of COVID-19 in the United States. The number is nearly double the fatalities of individuals working in the same sector back in the Philippines. In the United Kingdom, where around 20,000 Filipinos are employed in the national health care system, 41 deaths have been…
LOS Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently honored a Filipina American registered nurse who died of COVID-19 after coming out of retirement to rejoin the front lines once the outbreak hit the city. During his daily briefing on Friday, May 22, the mayor spoke about Rosary Celaya Castro-Olega, 63, the first health care professional to succumb…
Metro Manila will be shifting to a more relaxed general community quarantine on June 1, according to a recent announcement from President Rodrigo Duterte. “You know, the NCR (National Capital Region) will now be placed under the general community quarantine or the GCQ starting June 1,” he said in his public address aired over state-run…
NATIONAL carrier Philippine Airlines is finalizing plans for June flights, after President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Metro Manila will be transitioning to a more relaxed general community quarantine starting on June 1. “Philippine Airlines welcomes the opportunity to resume regular commercial operations following the Philippine government decision to upgrade certain areas of the country, including…
TWENTY-FOUR overseas Filipinos have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 2,845, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs’ latest tally on Friday, May 29. The agency also recorded six new fatalities in Europe and the Middle East, raising the death toll to 340. Meanwhile, 11 Filipinos abroad successfully…
CALIFORNIA Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday, May 29 announced that Los Angeles County — one of the most concentrated hubs for COVID-19 in the country — can now reopen restaurants, barbershops and salons, signaling a possible return to normal life with the addition of social distancing and safety guidelines that all residents should follow. “This…
A NEW Los Angeles City Council motion is seeking to use $100 million in federal funding for the city’s Emergency Renters Assistance Program. The proposal, filed by Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez on Wednesday, May 27, is said to be the largest rent relief program of any city in the U.S. “From the…
“However, the Order goes on to say that all persons living within the County of Los Angeles should remain in their residences whenever practicable.” Q: SINCE the shelter-in-place order, I have been working from home. Now that we are re-opening, I heard from HR that we will be going back to the office soon. My…
PENNSYLVANIA • Retirement income: No state tax on your 401(k), IRA or pension income except if you retire early. • Social security benefits: No state income tax on your Social Security benefits. • Income tax: low, flat income tax rate of 3.07% (but municipalities can tax earned income). • Inheritance and Estate taxes: Has inheritance…
THE client is in his 50s. Believe me, 50s is still young. He has been divorced more than 10 years ago and now lives by himself. He used to own a house but lost that house in the divorce to his ex-wife. Now he rents an apartment. He’s planning to marry again but he says…
ANG isang karaniwang paraan ng pagkuha ng green card ng dayuhang nasa loob ng U.S. ay sa pamamagitan ng family petition ng kanyang asawang U.S. citizen (USC). Dahil ang asawa ng USC ay tinuturing na immediate relative, ang dayuhan ay binibigyan ng pinakamataas na priyordidad sa ilalim ng Immigration Law –maaaring makakuha siya ng kanyang…
DEAR Attorney Tan, My U.S. Citizen mother filed an I-130 immigrant petition on my behalf, which has a priority date in February 2000 and which has been approved. She filed the I-130 petition after I came to the US in 1999 as a tourist from the Philippines. Since my arrival, I have lived in the…
I WAS happy to see two of my former students on livestream get ordained as transitional deacons last week for the Diocese of Monterey, California. But I felt sad that only their parents, a few priests and liturgical ministers witnessed in person this long-awaited event due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nonetheless, I saw how their faces…
IN previous editions of this article, the process of obtaining permanent residence through marriage was explored. Discussion of that procedure began with the supposition that the couple was married, and continued with the various steps to ultimately gain permanent residence. In many cases, however, a problem exists in even getting to the point at which…
I COULD only dream of an apple that fell far from the tree: a perfect news professional who is God’s little pencil. I would have taught her to begin each work by having real and passionate curiosity about how people behave in the infinitely various situations they find themselves in. I would have made her…
by Tammy Rassamekiarttisak [Editor’s note: Once a year, an essay competition is held at California State University, Northridge, amongst Asian American Studies and Education majors, as part of an endowment set up by Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz for her deceased mother, Asuncion Castro Abarquez and her deceased sister, Rosalinda Abarquez Alcantara, to provide a scholarship grant to…
100,000. That is the number of Americans who lost their lives to the coronavirus pandemic, as of the afternoon of Wednesday, May 27. Add to this, 40 million jobless Americans. The threat of COVID-19 was labeled as a hoax by no less than President Donald Trump. When we first knew about the first three patients…
Quit smoking while staying at home For many of us, the coronavirus means staying at home for an extended period of time. While it may be disappointing to hear that events are being cancelled, these measures are necessary to help slow down the spread of the outbreak. At the same time, being at home gives…
By Elisa Tong, MD, MS, Associate professor of internal medicine, University of California, Davis Doctors like me and many other health professionals are working to treat sick patients for the COVID-19 virus. The best ways for you to help are to stay home, wash your hands, and not smoke or vape. Here are three good…
