FILIPINO American singer Francisco Martin on Sunday, May 3, made it to the Top 11 of “American Idol” Season 18, earning a spot after his rendition of James Arthur’s “Falling Like The Stars.” He took to Instagram to express his gratitude for everyone who supported him. “I just made top 10 and I feel speechless…
THIS Sunday, May 10 marks Mother’s Day — another major holiday that families will have to celebrate while sheltering in place and social distancing. While treating mom to a dine-in meal at her favorite restaurant or going to a church service may not be viable options, the Asian Journal asked Pinay moms and their children…
WITH our children based abroad, we always look forward to the annual trip to the U.S. for the Christmas holidays. But this year, we plan to stay home. For one thing, I don’t even know if we will be able to travel by December. The U.S. still has a ban on foreigners entering the country,…
IN THE TIME when the global community is attacked by the coronavirus pandemic — an invisible enemy that has killed more than 251,580 people and infected over 3,584,174 — we would think the leaders of the world would unite us all together. With the help and strength of different societal institutions, humankind could win over this…
by Momar G. Visaya and Christina M. Oriel In honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Organization declared 2020 as the “International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” The American Nurses Association followed suit by adopting the same observance for this year. Wednesday, May 6 marks National Nurses Day, the annual…
THE Philippines’ largest broadcast network stopped its operations on Tuesday, May 5 to comply with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)’s cease and desist order due to the expiration of its congressional franchise. ABS-CBN went off air after the broadcast of its primetime news program “TV Patrol” on Tuesday night around 8 p.m. Manila time. The…
FILIPINO Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been promoted by Pope Francis to the rank of cardinal-bishop, the highest position within the Church’s College of Cardinals. The Catholic Church on Friday, May 1, announced that the Pope elevated the rank of the former archbishop of Manila. “The appointment was made in an audience granted to Archbishop…
All international flights to and from the Philippines will remain suspended until May 8, following the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. However, official flights, emergency flights, cargo ambulance and medical supply flights, weather mitigation flights, maintenance flights, and international flights for stranded foreign nationals are exempted from…
As California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan this week to begin loosening some restrictions, Filipino American business owners whose retail stores have been closed for the past two months are mulling whether to reopen under new modifications. Newsom on Monday, May 4 unveiled stage two of reopening lower-risk workplaces — which were previously deemed…
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) announced on Sunday, May 3 that it is targeting a mid-August start for the 2020-2021 academic year, but it is unsure when campuses will reopen, LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a press conference. “We’ve made no decisions about the opening of school facilities by that date and…
The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles will now be able to distribute more Angeleno Cards to struggling families thanks to a $5 million donation from Filipino American tech entrepreneur Bobby Murphy, according to Mayor Eric Garcetti. Angeleno Cards, which were first unveiled on April 13, are prepaid debit cards specifically for lower-income Angelenos who were…
For the past 16 years, Celia Lardizabal Marcos was a telemetry charge nurse at a Hollywood area hospital — the same hospital where she died of complications related to the novel coronavirus on Friday, April 17. Two days before her death, the 61-year-old Filipina nurse was admitted to CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where she…
A LOCAL Filipino American organization in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown has launched a new nationwide program to provide working families with supplies and other resources during the coronavirus pandemic. The Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) unveiled its Community Care Program, which includes the Care Box Program, Care Fund, Care Meals, COVID-19 Relief Fund, Virtual Town Halls,…
After crowds of people packed beaches across Orange County during last weekend’s heatwave, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, April 30 shutdown beaches across the Orange County coastline, prompting ire from local officials. Newsom’s decision to close down Orange County beaches — in what he called a “temporary pause” — follows a weekend heatwave in which…
In a major development in Los Angeles’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that free testing at city-run sites would be available to all residents, even to those who show no symptoms. This makes LA the first major city in the United States to offer free testing to all residents regardless of…
NOONG Lunes ng gabi, si President Trump ay nag-tweet na siya ay pansamantalang magsususpinde ng immigration sa U.S. Kinabukasan, o noong Abril 22, 2020, ang Presidente ay nag-isyu ng proclamation na nagsususpinde ng pagpasok sa US ng mga sumusunod: Mga indibidwal na nasa labas ng U.S. ng Abril 23, 2020; • at Walang immigrant visa;…
YOU probably wonder if you will receive stimulus checks. Me too. Here’s a simplified piece on the Economic Impact Payments for seniors. Please read Q&A Questions and Answers on prior editions of the Asian Journal. A recent news release from the Internal Revenue Service announced that Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to…
Q: Because of the Stay-at-Home order in California, my employer has sent me home on a “work furlough” without pay. It has been more than a month and I still have not been asked to go back to work. Is a work furlough a termination? What are my rights? A: The COVID-19 pandemic threatens, not…
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 and stiff. I took some days off from work. After a week, I contacted the other driver’s insurance to report the…
WHAT is happening in Michigan is a microcosm of what is happening in our country, and perhaps, around the world, in this global war against the coronavirus pandemic. As of press time, it has claimed the lives of more than 235,290 people, with 3,303,296 confirmed cases and counting. Here in the United States, the number…
THE client is 50 and has two grandchildren living with her who are teenagers still in high school. She is married but separated. She is not divorced from her husband. They still live in the same house but they no longer treat each other as husband and wife. She takes care of her two grandchildren…
I’M praying that you continue to be strong in faith amid this pandemic. Like you, I often ask God to make his will and presence known, to put an end to this crisis. And there are times when I am tempted to think that he is not listening to our prayers, especially now that we…
THE COVID-19 Pandemic has changed our lives almost overnight. Not only has it changed our lives in terms of our daily routine, jobs, lifestyle, but also our relationship with our family members under the Stay at Home orders in place in major cities such as Los Angeles, Divorce caused by Financial and Emotional Stress China…
Working senior citizens in Luzon will not be placed on house arrest during the enforcement of the general community quarantine, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease clarified on Thursday, April 30. The task force reminded those with significant health risks and of certain age groups that they should remain in…
EAST West Players (EWP), the nation’s longest-running professional theater of color and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, announces that its 54th Annual Visionary Awards Dinner & Silent Auction will be celebrated online this May. Recognizing the achievements of individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community…
As one famous author said: “The ability to spin cocoons of language out of nothing.” It redefines news, the way it is reported, published and read. I MEASURE my life through sentences pressed out, line by line, according to what poured from it — cascading, elastic, susceptible — into an inexact heart. My heart hopes,…
HOW long will the coronavirus pandemic continue to scourge the world? We can only guess, based on empirical experience. Did God say how long the world would remain flooded and when Noah and the occupants of the ark could step out of it? Noah had to figure that out for himself. So must government and…
The annual immersion trip bringing young Filipino American professionals back to the Philippines has been postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For the past eight years, the program has been the signature piece of the partnership with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, the Ayala Foundation and the Filipino Young Leaders Program…
