Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not abuse the special powers granted to him by Congress to address the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, Malacañang said on Tuesday, March 24. According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, the president would use the special powers in accordance with the 1987 Constitution. “The Filipino people are assured that…
There are now 552 coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed on Tuesday, March 24. It also reported two additional deaths, bringing the death toll to 35. Meanwhile, the number of recoveries is now at 20. According to health authorities, they are expecting the number of confirmed cases in the…
A Filipino father from Edison, New Jersey died on March 19 from the coronavirus, his son confirmed over the weekend. Peter Dario died from COVID-19 two days prior and was “alone because the hospital restricted all visitors in order to contain the outbreak,” his son Peter John Dario posted on Twitter on March 21. The…
A bill granting President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Philippines has been approved in a House of Representatives committee. The committee passed House Bill No. 6616 or the “Bayanihan Act of 2020” on Monday, March 23, seeking to declare a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The…
Tauhan ng America Counts – Nobyembre 13, 2019 Isang pagsubok ang pagbilang sa bawat taong nasa Estados Unidos sa isang senso na ginagawa bawat 10 taon. Ngunit ang pagbilang sa bawat sanggol at batang nagsisimulang maglakad sa bansa ay maaaring isa sa pinakamahirap na bahagi ng trabaho. Madalas na hindi napapagtanto ng mga magulang at adult na…
Two additional deaths and 59 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health confirmed on Saturday, March 21. The individuals who died were both older than 65 with underlying health conditions; one person lived in Miracle Mile and the other individual resided in Del…
The Filipino Voter Empowerment Project (FVEP), as part of its efforts to increase Census 2020 participation in the Filipino American community, has released a series of short videos produced as a send-up of teleseryes (the popular Filipino soap opera format, similar to telenovelas). The videos feature well known Filipino American actors including Dante Basco (Hook,…
Filipino Americans are reminded to follow the U.S. State Department’s latest advisory on avoiding all international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles said on Thursday, March 19. This comes after the State Department on Thursday issued a Level 4 travel advisory — the highest possible level — urging…
Testing in LA County gradually expands, but the criteria for obtaining a test remains stringent A FILIPINA from Orlando, Florida — who was in Los Angeles visiting family — died on March 10 from the novel coronavirus, making her the first death by COVID-19 in LA County. The woman, whose first name was Loretta and…
Foreigners will be temporarily barred from traveling to the Philippines starting Sunday, March 22, following the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’s suspension of visa issuances amid the threat of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The DFA announced the travel ban on Thursday, March 19, which cancels previously issued visas and those currently being processed for foreigners…
Thirteen additional cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Philippines, bringing the official count to 230, the Department of Health reported on Friday, March 20. The department announced that one of the patients with COVID-19 has died, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18. Ten of the new cases are…
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, March 20, appealed to the local government units (LGUs) to abide by the directives set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. “We are in a critical time [and] the national government needs your help during this time. Do not make this quarantine more…
Taxpayers in the United States will have three additional months to file their federal taxes, the U.S. treasury secretary announced on Friday, March 20. Tax Day will now be moved from April 15 to July 15 to give taxpayers more time amid the coronavirus pandemic. “All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to…
ANG H1B application process ay inumpisahan na noong Marso 1, 2020 sa pamamagitan ng H1B cap electronic registration. Ayon sa USCIS, ang electronic registration ay mananatiling bukas hanggang Marso 20, 2020 para sa 2021 fiscal year (FY). Ito ay sang-ayon sa pormal na pahayag ng USCIS noong Enero 9, 2020 ukol sa implementasyon ng H1B…
Q: I work for a company that provides 40 hours of paid sick leave. This is about five days of work. If I ever need to take leave due to COVID-19, five days may not be enough. What are my options? A: As of this writing, the recorded cases of COVID-19 is approaching 11,000 in…
MANY parents believe that if you are a working parent, then the other non-working parent will get physical custody of the minor children automatically. This is a misperception of the law and simplifies the law too much that it trivializes it. There are many more issues that a court must look at in determining which…
THE Covid-19 Pandemic is a scary reality which affects everyone globally and has shut down the global economy. Individuals over 65 are more at risk of having serious complications with this virus. Although we cannot completely control how we would respond to such virus, we can prepare our finances and estate incase the worst happens. …
DIGEST and follow this information if you hope and pray that you and your family will survive the coronavirus pandemic because your lives really depend on them. As of press time on Friday, March 20, COVID-19 has infected more than 258,000 people around the world and has killed more than 11,300. Here in the United…
“ This is now the best time for our light, our Christian faith, to shine!” AS I was praying in the rectory chapel last Tuesday morning, the glaring light of the sun came through the room and hit my face, prompting me to look out from the window. Then I saw the morning sun beaming…
“Loss of earnings is often a significant part of an injured person’s claim for economic damages.” 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…
‘SAFER AT HOME’ RESIDENTS in Los Angeles County can still go to the grocery store, pick up takeout orders at restaurants or go on hikes with proper social distancing, but trips to the shopping mall or other nonessential retail businesses will be prohibited for the next 30 days. LA County officials and LA Mayor Eric…
THESE are trying times indeed. We have been advised to self-isolate in the meantime that we are waging a war against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Sure, social distancing makes a whole lot of sense. But what happens to all those new bankruptcy cases I just filed on behalf of my clients with 341A hearings coming…
The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles has temporarily suspended its consular services indefinitely in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread. The suspension, which took place on Thursday, March 19, is in place until further notice. The services include passport renewal, notarization, dual citizenship, civil registry, visas, overseas voter registration and outreach. The consulate…
By: Seema Nanda, Rep. Grace Meng, and Bel Leong-Hong ACROSS the country, COVID-19 is taking its toll. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that despite the continued lack of widespread testing, they have identified more than 10,000 infections across all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin…
FILIPINO restaurants in New York are feeling the pinch as the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic forced them to drastically cut their operations, doing away with dine-in and focusing only on pick up, to go or delivery. Restaurants in the city are among the particularly hard-hit and the restrictions made by the governors of…
The Philippine Consulate General is set to reopen on March 27, Friday after the mandatory 14-day isolation period for close exposure incidents. Upon its reopening, the consulate will be implementing some limitations in order to conform to current COVID19 mitigation measures. Among these measures are the immediate suspension of dual citizenship applications and processing, personal…
Watch Atty. Gurfinkel’s latest immigration update on COVID 19, where USCIS is cancelling all in-person services until at least April 1, 2020, and Immigration Courts (EOIR) have cancelled all non-detained hearings (Master and merits).
