“Do not sign personal guarantees for business loans because you will be on the hook if the business cannot pay the loan.” THE client is 45. He is actually a medical professional in his country of origin. It would have been great for him if he could practice his profession here in the U.S. Unfortunately,…
DEAR Attorney Tan, I have an approved I-140 immigrant petition which was filed by Company A on my behalf. Company A would like to employ me as a bookkeeper. Based on that approved I-140 petition, I filed an application for green card (I-485 adjustment of status) in August 2014. Since that time, my green…
(“Independent contractors” lose employment rights) EDUARDO Garcia worked 15-hour days as a port truck driver for Tradelink Transport. Even after working 15 hours, his boss would wave him back to work. If he said no, he would not be given work the next day. So he went back to work. Jovanni Castillo worked 20 hours…
GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760. How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…
MEDICARE, Medicaid, Medi-Cal. If your 65th birthday is on the horizon, then these terms may have begun to appear on your radar. Unfortunately, because the three are so similar in name, people tend to confuse one program with another. So what exactly are the differences? Medicare is a federally funded program that provides basic healthcare…
“WHAT, then, will this child be?” It was the question that Zachariah and Elizabeth’s relatives and neighbors asked one another at seeing God’s hand working in the life of this elderly couple. In their old age and through their persevering faith, God finally blessed them with a son. The relatives and neighbors could not help…
A LOT of people in debt often already know what they need to do once they realize that bankruptcy is their only way out. But they usually delay the decision to file because they try their best to avoid it if at all possible and will only rush to act when they face an immediate…
by Shefali Luthra and Marisa Taylor The Trump administration has detained 2,322 children 12 years old or younger amid its border crackdown, a Department of Health and Human Services official told Kaiser Health News on Wednesday. They represent almost 20 percent of the immigrant children currently held by the U.S. government in the wake of…
Malacañang on Thursday, June 21 said that the Philippines may not be ready yet for same-sex marriage despite the start of oral arguments before the Supreme Court (SC) for a petition to legalize it in the country. In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque believed that “there is a right time for these kind[s]…
These days, Maria Lourdes Baltazar — more often referred to as “Girlie” — spends a good amount of her time working at the Philippines’ presidential Malacañang Palace. However, she did not grow up having political ambitions, despite being surrounded by it for a good part of her life. “It’s a lot of phone calls…
FLOTUS visits Texas detention center, sparks outrage over “insensitive” jacket choice AFTER President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week to seize separating families seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, there is reportedly widespread uncertainty among federal agencies on how to enact the measure. As previously reported by the Asian Journal, the president signed…
More allies of former Philippine President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III should face charges in connection with the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), Malacañang said on Thursday, June 21. The statement was made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque a day after the Ombudsman ordered the filing of charges against Aquino for usurping Congress’ budgetary powers…
“A lot of traditional Filipino food has sour and bitter notes, which are very unfamiliar to American palates of a few years ago. American palates have changed drastically. I think there’s a really bright future.” – Anthony Bourdain Before his tragic demise a few weeks ago, world-renowned top chef Anthony Bourdain has prophesied the future of…
(Part 2 of 3) In my previous column, we had part one of resetting your life. Now here are the other tips on how to do it. Ready? Now let’s start RESETTING YOUR LIFE. First, we talked about breathing. Proper breathing will CLEAR your MIND. It will relax and slow you down a bit. When…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the long awaited Philippine Mental Health Law, which would equip Filipinos with accessible and affordable mental health services. “Help is finally here,” posted Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, June 21. “Everyday, seven Filipinos turn to suicide. One in five Filipino adults also suffer from a form of mental disorder.”…
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Channel 7, KABC was the last television show I developed an attachment for, which lasted 25 years. On her shows, she had a way of looking at her guests’ eyes, to which she would describe “lighting up,” when she would bring up something dear to their hearts or in tears,…
President Rodrigo Duterte slammed Senator Leila de Lima for criticizing his gesture of kissing a married overseas Filipino worker (OFW) during his recent visit to Seoul, South Korea. De Lima called it “sickening” — to which Duterte responded by threatening to release her alleged sex video. “There’s a lady nakakulong, sabi niya na bastos daw…
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu is optimistic of an initial judgment this year for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre as wished by President Rodrigo Duterte. “We look forward to that. We fought this battle the legal way because we believe that the court is the only venue where we can seek redress,” he said on Thursday, June…
Despite President Rodrigo Duterte voicing out his opinions against the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on multiple occasions, Malacañang announced that the Philippines will not be following the move made by the United States to withdraw from the body. In a press briefing on Thursday, June 21, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the…
In an interview with London-based newspaper Financial Times, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressed his desire to run for presidency and return to Malacañang after President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends. “My career is politics, and, in fact, you aspire to as excessive a stature inside your chosen area as you can possibly obtain—and that might be…
Inabrao, pinapaitan, tupig. Dinardaraan, igado, dinakdakan. These are just a few of the distinctly Ilocano dishes that guests sampled and devoured at the Ilocano Food Tasting event held last week at the Philippine Center. Sponsored by the Ilocano American Association, Inc., the event aimed to spotlight cuisine from the northern part of the Philippines along…
When he was a young boy growing up in the Philippines, Ariel Layug would look at his school’s atlas and collection of encyclopedias and wonder in general about life in other parts of the globe. “I never really thought back then that I would leave the Philippines, that I would travel the world. And now,…
THE persistent feeling of wretchedness, despondency, and loss of interest in regular activities are indubitably alarming signs of depressive mood and unusual behavioral pattern that are unquestionably signs of depression. “Major Depressive Disorder” or “Major Depression” is characterized by a combination of both symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat,…
ILOILO CITY—President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Wednesday, June 20, assured that funds for public projects are equally distributed across the nation under his administration. The President also assured that he is continuing the projects started by his predecessors. “In the scheme of things now, if you are just worried about the distribution of the wealth…
President reverses highly criticized practice in his ‘zero-tolerance policy’ AFTER weeks of heart-rendering coverage of children being separated from their parents at the border, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, June 20 to remove that practice from standard border protection procedure. Trump previously argued that he had no authority to stop the…
