The Pentagon withdrew its invitation for China to participate in a major U.S.-hosted naval drill after a strong evidence showed that Beijing has deployed weapons in the Spratly Islands, violating China’s promise not to militarize the South China Sea. “As an initial response to China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea we have disinvited…
For the second time in his presidency, President Donald Trump made way to Long Island on Wednesday, May 23 to convene a roundtable for tougher immigration laws. Central to the discussion were the gruesome crimes of the notorious MS-13 gang. “It’s a menace, a ruthless gang that has violated our borders and transformed once-peaceful neighborhoods…
FORMER Health Secretary Janette Garin said the Philippines is the only country letting “alarmists” cause uproar over the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy, on Thursday, May 24. The Dengvaxia vaccine, created by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, has been tagged in the deaths of over 80 Filipino children. During the preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice…
The United States and the Philippines want to move forward with a bilateral free trade deal, said the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The consensus followed a visit to the Philippines on Wednesday, May 23 by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jeffrey Gerrish and his delegation to further trade and investment ties…
Malacañang has dared human rights activists to prove allegations of human rights violations committed by members of the military in Mindanao under martial law. During a press briefing on Thursday, May 24 in Marawi City, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque called on the presentation of proof or “let us not accuse our soldiers.” “Many soldiers offered…
OZAMIZ City Councilor Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog was arrested in Taiwan for illegal entry on Wednesday, May 23. Parojinog is a younger brother of slain suspected drug kingpin Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. He been the subject of a 10-month police hunt for his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. He was placed on the Bureau of…
“This is the most opportune time where we are needed to fill up the huge barrenness that affects the lives of millions of less privileged children. Our assistance is judiciously on call. Let us not allow poverty to be wide-reaching while appallingly impacting our children’s lifelong struggles. Pulling them out of their abysmal situation through…
FRONT AND CENTER Filipino Restaurant Week (#FRW2018), that annual, much-awaited foodie event among fans of Filipino cuisine, has grown so much after its inception back in 2015 when 13 Filipino restaurants across the boroughs of New York as well as Jersey City offered fixed priced lunches and dinners. This was in reaction to the then…
A couple of students from the Philippines graduated Summa Cum Laude from their respective universities this week. Twenty one year-old Lara Andrea Montales graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Economics Major in Finance and Business Analytics from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, listed as Forbes’ 2017 Best Business School…
It’s nearly been two years since Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) was elected into office, making history as the first woman elected to represent Nevada and the first Latina in the Senate. Back in 2016, Cortez Masto — who previously served two terms as the state’s attorney general — told the Asian Journal that “it’s…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently issued a press release that they had a student removed/deported, when they found out that he was not attending class, as is required with a student visa. That student was enrolled in college as a nonimmigrant F-1 international student in an academic and cultural program. As an F-1…
WHAT makes a non-citizen deportable? An alien or non-citizen, including a lawful permanent resident (“green card” holder) is deportable for having a conviction relating to controlled substances. Title 8 U.S.C. Section 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) states: “Any alien who at any time after admission has been convicted of a violation of . . . any law or regulation…
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez made a brief visit to the Bay Area on Tuesday, May 22 to witness the opening of the Spark447 Workspace, the launch of the Spark*Connect*Empower and Spark447 websites, and attend a reception in his honor at the Philippine Center Building in San Francisco. Ambassador Romualdez had…
Decades after his accomplishments in the labor movement were largely ignored by history books, the Filipino leader behind the West Coast agriculture labor movement Larry Itliong as been formally recognized as one of history’s most pivotal figures in labor activism. On Thursday, May 17, the Labor’s International Hall of Fame honored the legacy and memory…
What is passive smoking? Secondhand smoke is the fume that one involuntarily inhales after someone who smokes exhales it (called mainstream smoke), or the fume that goes directly to the atmosphere from the burning tobacco (cigarette, pipe or cigar) called side stream smoke. When non-smokers breathe in these smokes or fumes from other people’s cigarettes,…
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) has suspended its recognition of all fraternities and sororities and similar organizations in the institution for the next academic year, eight months after law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III died from apparent hazing. UST’s school paper, The Varsitarian, tweeted a copy of the memorandum on Tuesday night, May 22, that…
From ‘Fresh Off The Boat’, to ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and beyond: The State of Asian American Representation in Film and TV WHEN the first trailer for the upcoming summer flick “Crazy Rich Asians” dropped on April 23, 2018, Twitter’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community went bananas. Based off the 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan,…
The Philippines is not abandoning its traditional alliance with the United States, Malacañang said on Monday, May 21. Leading the Filipino delegation was Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who met U.S. Admiral Harry Harris Jr., chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (Pacom), in Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday, May 18. Malacañang said the meeting between Philippine officials and…
Senator Vicente Sotto III became the 29th Senate President on Monday, May 21, after Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III stepped down. Sotto serves as the second Senate president of the 17th Congress, after 15 majority bloc senators last week agreed to move for the change of Senate leadership. Pimentel, who resigned on early Monday…
(Last of 4 parts) (Continued from last week …) “All God’s angels come to us disguised.”–James Russell Lowell AN angel is an invisible presence that must be acknowledged to become ever stronger. God sends angels to keep watch over human beings and help them in every human challenge. There is, however, the element of free…
According to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the eight Supreme Court justices who voted to grant the quo warranto petition to invalidate the 2012 appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno cannot be impeached. “I don’t think so, in exercise of kasiseparation of powers ehthey acted within their powers as provided for by the Constitution,” Alvarez said. Alvarez…
The Philippines has “serious concern” over the Chinese bomber planes that landed on an island along the disputed South China Sea, said the country’s presidential spokesman. He added that the Philippines’ foreign ministry had taken “appropriate diplomatic action” but did not give specifics. The statements come after the Chinese air force landed long-range bombers on…
A 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision reached Monday, May 21 made it so that businesses can now forbid their workers from banding together in class action lawsuits, and instead require individual arbitration. This comes despite roughly 25 million American workers not having union protections. Justice Neil Gorsuch, in writing for the conservative majority, said…
