The United States State Department on Friday, May 31, issued a policy that requires visa applicants to provide the details of their social media accounts including their usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers. In an article from Rappler, the U.S. embassy’s visa application portal was revised to cover the “social media identifiers” that would…
EVERY year, Filipinos both in the Philippines and abroad celebrate Philippine Independence Day on June 12, also known as “Araw ng Kasarinlan” or “Araw ng Kalayaan.” In the Philippines, it is observed with a day off from work and classes. Meanwhile, the celebration across the United States often takes form in parades and festivals filled…
H.R. 6 would give millions of undocumented youth and other eligible immigrants under TPS and DED a path toward permanent resident status On Tuesday, June 4 Democratic-led House of Representatives passed legislation that would eliminate deportation proceedings against certain undocumented immigrants — including youth identified as DREAMers — and grant them permanent residence status for…
Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that the Consulate in Los Angeles will soon get its own overseas labor office during a recent town hall meeting with the local Filipino American community. “Pretty soon, upon the instruction of your consul general, we are going to put a Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) here. You…
Malacañang assured the public on Monday, June 3, that it would oppose any move by the kin of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to block the sale of the jewelry trove labeled as the “Hawaiian Collection.” Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier announced that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gave his go-signal to sell the Marcos jewelry and…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, June 3, certified as urgent the bill seeking the restoration of the mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program for Grade 11 and 12 students. In a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Duterte said that a law is required to restore basic military and leadership training for…
ROBERT Mueller finally broke his silence on Wednesday, May 29 to announce that he was ending his tenure as special counsel and that he was resigning from the Department of Justice. He clarified the truth behind the investigation that probed any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign….
President Rodrigo Duterte’s trip to Japan is proving to be productive as 26 agreements that could bring in P289-billion worth of investments were signed this week. The deals were read out by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez during a business forum on Wednesday, May 29, at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo where Duterte was the event’s…
Two months after being granted asylum in Canada, Filipina Vanessa Rodel and her 7-year-old daughter Keana, who helped shelter whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, are settling into life in Montreal. “For the first time I got a credit card and permanent residence, so I’m so happy,” 42-year-old Rodel said Wednesday, May 29, at a…
THERE’s no denying that Asian Americans are having a moment in mainstream entertainment after years of being marginalized or stereotyped into narrow roles. Last year, Asian Americans rejoiced at the August release of the romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was the first major Hollywood studio release since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. Featuring…
(Part 1 of 2) THE Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) makes major changes to the taxation of partnerships, S corporations, and pass-through income. Most of these changes are effective starting in 2018 (for this 2019 tax filing season). 1. Partnership loss limitation rule: Old law mandated that a partner can only deduct his…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved the sale of P700-million worth of jewelry from the alleged ill-gotten wealth of late President Ferdinand Marcos, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced on Thursday, May 30. “He wants the people to benefit from the proceeds of the sale of the jewelry. So I asked him, ‘Are you going to…
THE City of Carson will be a bustling hub of activity when the Travel, Trade and Consumer (TTC) show comes to town on August 3 and 4. This exciting weekend brings a variety of attractions of Filipino interest, from products and services to talents and fashion. The Southbay Pavilion will once again be the center…
Among the state’s many concerns, California Governor Gavin Newsom this week detailed the state’s plans for two of the most pressing issues plaguing the state: the cost of health care and the growing homeless community. In a teleconference with Asian American media, Newsom doubled down on his plan to move the state towards a universal…
A bill requiring students to plant trees as a prerequisite for graduation has been approved by the Philippine House of Representatives on its third and final reading. “Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act” (House Bill 8728) would require all elementary, high school, and college students to plant 10 trees each before they can graduate. “To…
“I’ve been working in this field (communities in schools) for 50 years and I’ve never seen a program turn around a life. Only relationships turn around lives. We adults in the group provide them an audience in front of which they can realize their talents. Their gift to us is a complete intolerance of social…
COUPLES get divorced for various reasons. California is a no fault state. The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case. Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families. However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, May 30, once again slammed the United States for its “lack of word of honor” when it recalled its rifle sales due to the alleged human rights violations in the country. The strong-mouthed leader slammed the U.S. government during his speech among the Filipino community in Tokyo, Japan. Duterte…
A WISE man once said, “Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual.” But it does come with some pretty basic rules on how NOT to be viral and hated in a span of 24 hours. This involves not wishing unemployment to anyone—or everyone, so to speak (direct or implied); not publicly accusing a major company…
ARE you seriously in debt and don’t know what to do? Individuals who have accumulated excessive debt are often left to ponder whether bankruptcy is their only realistic way to get out of debt. However, they hesitate to do so because of all the negative things they’ve heard about bankruptcy. Sometimes, these people feel that…
I CAN never quell a stir of fascination, dread and longing when the house lights dim and the curtain parts. But the enjoyment of an opera can begin, not with the rise of the curtains, but with the first bars of the overture. To understand and enjoy the opera is the recognition of certain irreconcilable…
99 RANCH Market held its annual awards ceremony in celebration of children and their mothers at the San Gabriel location (140 W. Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776) on Sunday, May 19. The event kicked off with an awards ceremony for children who participated in the annual drawing contest with the theme to design a…
Now that the Philippine midterm elections are over and new senators and local government officials are going to assume office, can we, the citizenry, expect the “promising” men and women who courted us for our votes and promised a Utopian government to please make good on some of those promises? No, we don’t expect you…
THE creation of technology-driven industries has given rise to new business models that may not follow the traditional employer-employee relationship. Companies, for example, may practice “outsourcing” or “crowdsourcing” where they obtain the services from the general public, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. This has led to the rise of the “on-demand economy” or…
THE Filipino Channel (TFC)’s mother company ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation was founded on October 23, 1953, and is now celebrating 65 years “in the service of the Filipino.” I first set foot in ABS-CBN headquarters in Quezon City in the early 70s, when I was just in grade school, tagging along with neighbors who wanted to…
by Ana B. Ibarra CALIFORNIA has some of the nation’s strongest protections against surprise medical bills. But many Californians still get slammed with huge out-of-network charges. State lawmakers are now trying to close gaps in the law with a bill that would limit how much hospitals outside of a patient’s insurance network can charge for…
THE first client is 34. She is recently married and now has a one-year-old son. She used to be employed making a gross of $50,000 yearly. At the same time, she was doing a home-based business using credit cards to finance the purchase of goods for people who had no credit. She would use her…
