PROMINENT international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will join the legal team representing Maria Ressa, the award-winning Filipino journalist currently facing several criminal charges along with online news site Rappler. “Maria Ressa is a courageous journalist who is being persecuted for reporting the news and standing up to human rights abuses. We will pursue all…
Caltech seismologist and county officials urge residents to stay calm amid predicted aftershocks in the weeks to follow Mississippi has hurricanes, Kansas has tornadoes and California, as we in the Southland were reminded of last week, has earthquakes. In case you missed it, Southern California experienced two strong earthquakes last week: a 6.4 magnitude quake…
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s efforts to include a contentious citizenship question in the upcoming 2020 Census continues as the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed on Monday, July 8 that a new legal team would now be overseeing the census-related cases. DOJ Spokesperson Kerri Kupec announced the transition on Sunday, July 7, but did not give a…
Amnesty International on Monday, July 8, said extrajudicial killings related to the government’s anti-drug campaign continue to occur, destroying lives and devastating communities. The rights group released a report entitled “They just kill: Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines’ war on drugs” and urged the United Nations to immediately investigate possible rights…
A NEW website was launched this week as a part of an initiative to combat and prevent exploitation, abuse and trafficking of Filipino migrant workers who hold temporary work visas in the United States. The legal and civil rights nonprofit organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) launched Ang Karapatan Mo Sa America (Your…
President Rodrigo Duterte has reportedly accepted U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to visit Washington, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Romualdez said on Wednesday, July 3. In 2017, Duterte swore he would never step foot in America after a U.S. congressman said he should not be welcomed to the White House due to his lack…
Celebrated state delegate Ron Villanueva sentenced to prison Former Virginia delegate and Virginia Beach councilman Ron Villanueva was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday, July 2 on multiple charges of fraud against the federal government. Earlier this year, the Filipino American Republican pleaded guilty to a list of charges including “falsifying records and…
United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim on Wednesday, July 3 said the U.S. will “stand by” its obligations to the Philippines under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) should an armed aggression against the latter country happen. This response comes after Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s statement that the Philippine government should not wait for an…
WHILE nearly all articles relate to change, let’s depart from that norm and discuss a few deductions that won’t change. 1. Student loan interest deduction: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) allows student loan borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 on the interest paid for student loans every year. Student loan interest is interest you pay…
LOS ANGELES – As the country celebrated its independence this week on 4th of July, freedom takes on a new meaning for Fedelina Lugasan, a victim of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. For decades, the 83-year-old Filipina was enslaved and coerced into a life of domestic servitude without pay or any days off. Lugasan was…
I RECENTLY had a bout with profuse nose bleeding because a small vessel ruptured inside my nasal cavity caused by acute sinusitis. This caused me three trips to the emergency room and overnight confinement in the hospital. This was why I wasn’t able to write for a while since I had to be careful not…
Those who hit the road for the July 4 holiday in California may have noticed an increase in gas prices resulting from a new gas tax that went into effect on Monday, July 1. The tax hike brought California’s already high gas prices up an additional 5.6 cents per gallon. According to the AAA Fuel…
Philippine Senator Manny Pacquiao filed a measure this week seeking to establish a Department of Homeland Security to protect the country’s borders against terrorists and other transnational crimes. The bill, which was released to the media on Wednesday, July 3, said the government agency would “prevent terrorist attacks within, and the occurrence of transnational crimes…
Judge orders discovery on issue of racial bias to move forward AN order was made on Friday, July 5 to continue a court case looking into whether the pursuit by government officials to add a citizenship question on the upcoming 2020 Census was motivated by racial bias. U.S. District Court Judge George Hazel issued the…
In light of the recent incident in the West Philippine Sea, Senator Francis Tolentino filed a Senate bill that seeks to implement provisions in international maritime law for the safety of Filipino fishermen’s lives. In his explanatory note, Tolentino said the Bill 209 — also known as the “Good Samaritan at Sea Law — “was…
Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is urging all those who attended the 90th birthday party of former first lady Imelda Marcos to seek immediate medical attention if they start experiencing various symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This is in light of the suspected food poisoning that affected 261 guests on Wednesday, July 3…
Impeachment complaints against President Rodrigo Duterte are “baseless,” Malacañang said on Friday, July 5. In response to criticism over Duterte’s handling of the Recto Bank incident, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told media that any impeachment raps against the president may not have any merit. “An impeachment not only is misplaced, it is absolutely baseless in…
by Barbara Feder Ostrov THE California agency that regulates doctors is investigating at least four physicians for issuing questionable medical exemptions to children whose parents did not want them immunized. The Medical Board of California’s investigations are unfolding amid the nation’s worst measles outbreak in more than a quarter-century, as California lawmakers consider controversial legislation…
IT is hard to find words to describe photographers. They work long and hard on their photos that tell a story and accompany their dreams of becoming good press photographers. They have dreams doing good with their lives, of changing the world — at least small corners of it — as they imagine that perhaps,…
MY very first newspaper column came out in Business World, the leading business daily in the Philippines, on September 21, 1988, almost 31 years ago. Headlined, “Ah, those good old tabloid days,” it must have scandalized the usually straight-laced, prim and proper readership of the paper. It was about my experience as a 16-year-old cub…
UNDER the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) policy, USCIS allows certain beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions to request a grant of parole so that they may come to the U.S. as they wait for their priority date to become current. The policy recognizes the contributions of Filipino veterans who served in…
ANG isang dayuhan na may false claim ng US citizenship ay maaaring maging inadmissible sa US. Ang mga sumusunod ang mga elemento ng false claim ng US citizenship: (1) ang dayuhan ay nagsabi at naglinlang na siya ay US citizen; (2) ang kanyang pagsabi na siya ay US citizen ay hindi totoo; (3) alam ng…
YADIR Ontiveros worked as a technician for Safelite, a company which repairs and replaces vehicle glass for automobiles at various locations in California. Safelight’s technicians are classified as non-exempt employees. They are compensated under a Performance Pay Plan (“PPP”), which is a pay table that lists the amount employees will receive for performing particular tasks…
“We can see and feel the urgency of this call in this present time when many people have left the Church and do not feel the need to be affiliated to any religious institution.” I’M embarking on another new beginning in my life as a priest. This past week, I started my new assignment as…
“The alien spouse will have to file a petition to remove the condition 3 months prior to the expiration of the conditional greencard which is good for 2 years.” 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,…
THREE Filipino filmmakers were invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the governing body behind the Oscars wherein members vote for the winners of the prestigious awards show. Ditsi Carolino, PJ Raval and Baby Ruth Villarama were among the 842 new members invited by The Academy. In the…
FOOD companies from the Philippines began joining the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in 2014 under the branding initiative Food Philippines. That year, Filipino favorites including bananas, mangoes, coconut, coffee, single-origin chocolate, organic rice, pili nut, muscovado sugar, herbal tea and the roselle plant were showcased. Through the years, the Philippine Pavilion has…
“ Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the ground and die, It remains but a single grain with no life.” — From a hymn composed by Bernadette Farrell EMMA looked down at the busy huddle in the operating room. She was floating, hovering above the doctors and nurses in their blood spattered scrub…
President Rodrigo Duterte’s critics will not be arrested for filing an impeachment complaint against the Chief Executive, Malacañang assured on Tuesday, July 2, after Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said the PNP was ready to arrest those who file an impeachment complaint against Duterte if they commit any violation of the law. According…
