President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 22, delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) that lasted for an hour and 33 minutes. He arrived 55 minutes late at the Batasang Pambansa Complex and started his speech at exactly 5:15 p.m. After the initial pleasantries, Duterte thanked his supporters, threatened erring government agencies, and…
Punzalan returns to the screen in critically acclaimed film “Yellow Rose” THERE’S a scene in the 2019 coming-of-age indie film “Yellow Rose” where the titular character Rose (played by two-time Tony Award-nominee Eva Noblezada), a 17-year-old undocumented Filipina and aspiring country musician living in East Texas, looks in her bedroom mirror, dejected amid a creative rut. Her…
FOLLOWING his win, Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao experienced blurry vision during the post-fight press conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena last Saturday, July 20, according to trainer Freddie Roach. Pacquiao, 40, faced the media after winning against 30-year-old American boxer Keith Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) in a 12-round battle for the WBA Super Welterweight…
THE Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 on Tuesday, July 23 opened trial for the cyber libel case against Maria Ressa, the chief executive and executive editor of online news site Rappler. Known as a staunch critic against the current Duterte administration and a Time Magazine ‘Person of the Year’ in 2018, Ressa is…
THIS just in — after 12 years of delivering the daily news from the studios of The Filipino Channel (TFC) in California, “Balitang America” will be taping its daily newscast from the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation headquarters in Manila, Philippines, joining other news bureaus like “Balitang Middle East” and “Balitang Europe.” While the daily news stories…
CALIFORNIA boxing officials on Monday, July 22 lifted the suspension on Bulgarian heavyweight boxer Kubrat Pulev who kissed a Filipina American reporter on camera during a post-fight interview in March. Pulev, who was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), had paid the maximum $2,500 fine and completed a sexual harassment course. Through a…
THE heat is on at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, where the national tour of “Miss Saigon” has mounted for the next four weeks. Opening night was held on Thursday, July 18, which was attended by several Filipino American talent, such as Jennifer Paz (“Steven Universe” and first national tour of “Miss Saigon”),…
CITY of Carson, CA. – All roads will lead to the SouthBay Pavillion on Aug. 3-4 in this suburban city south of Los Angeles as industry players from both the U.S. and the Philippines are poised to participate as exhibitors and resource speakers. The multi-zone Travel Trade and Consumer (TTC) Expo is a multi-zone event….
THE California Supreme Court denied review of a lower court ruling on Thursday, July 18, ordering the return of $331 million to a fund for struggling homeowners. Led by the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC), a housing counseling organization, the case sought to restore money to the National Mortgage Special Deposit Fund, which was created…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Sunday, July 14 tweeted that four congresswomen of color should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” before criticizing the way the country is currently being run. He followed up his tweet thread by accusing members of Congress who are unhappy with…
Should I invest in individual stocks or mutual funds? Unless you are a seasoned veteran, it’s better to invest in pooled funds than individual stocks. There’s danger in picking stocks in your first years because stock prices rise and dive and create tension that you should avoid. Trading stocks should be fun, exciting. Pooled funds…
NEGATIVE energies will always be present anywhere and everywhere. Where there is yin, there will always be the yang. Where there is light, there will be darkness because that is the law of balance. Day in and day out we go through a lot of ups and downs. There are also a lot of different…
WORDS are mere grace notes, all my life I’ve dealt with words. They are adequate for many of our purposes, even indispensable for most. They can (of course) be immeasurably beautiful and graceful. But they can’t do everything. Testimonial to the power of the photograph to present a tapestry of history, told to the eyes…
SOME of our politicians have been threatening to leave the United Nations or one of its bodies, the UN Human Rights Commission. Such remarks should normally be dismissed as mumblings of politicians in search of public attention. In the case of Senate President Tito Sotto, I think he just wants to proclaim his loyalty to…
One of the perks of living in LA is that you are likely to spot a celebrity at some point. Since the Hollywood studios are here, a lot of celebrities live around Southern California. Not to mention, we have our SoCal beaches where they usually (try to) hide out or when they (try to) be…
KABABAYANS, I hear you. Some of you say President Donald Trump’s tirades against the four women representatives in Congress were not racist. You contend that this is just part of his fight against illegal immigration, and you elected and support him for that. I get it. I understand how strongly you feel about this issue….
A PERSON who obtains his/her green card via marriage to a US citizen spouse, and who is married for less than 2 years has conditional permanent resident status. A conditional permanent resident has a green card that is valid for 2 years. In order to continue to have permanent resident status after 2 years, the…
by Rachel Bluth THE House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesda, July 17, approved its version of legislation to curb surprise medical bills. Though this step was an important advance, there’s still a long way forward before Congress agrees on a legislative solution to this high-profile consumer concern. These bills, the unexpected and often high…
CHELSEA Hamilton and Alyssa Hernandez worked for Wal-Mart at its Fulfillment Center in Chino, California for several years. These employees sued their employer in a class action for, among other things, unpaid overtime and minimum wages. The employees claimed that Wal-Mart required employees to go through mandatory off-the-clock security checks during each meal period and…
ONE traditional way of obtaining permanent residency for most immigrants is through a petition by a US citizen spouse. As a spouse of a US Citizen, an alien is considered an immediate relative and entitled to immediately apply for a green card inside the United States. This is usually done by simultaneously filing an I-130…
ANG green card na tinatawag din na permanent resident card ang patunay na ang isang indibidwal ay may lawful permanent resident (LPR) status sa US. Subalit ang LPR status ay hindi talagang permanente sapagkat maaaring magkaroon ng determinasyon na ang LPR ay nag-abandona na ng kanyang LPR status sa US. Ang abandonment ay maaaring maging…
THE client is 60, while his wife is 58. He issued his check to pay rent of $1,200 but the check was dishonored for insufficient funds. The landlord called him to tell him that his rent check bounced. The client was surprised that his check bounced because he had at least $5,000 in the checking…
I’M merely in my third week of serving as pastor of Incarnation Church, and I love it. The people are warm, and the neighborhood is serene. I know that as time goes by, I will be busy with many ministerial and administrative duties. But I like to take my time now, slowly getting into the…
The 18th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) ran from June 28 to July 14, and film buffs in New York had an opportunity to watch some of the most exciting action, comedy, drama, thriller, romance, horror, and art-house films from East Asia. This year’s batch included a couple of films from…
