SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted the state’s request for expanded federal disaster assistance in response to the devastating mudslides that have impacted Santa Barbara County and the community of Montecito. “Our hearts break for the communities first ravaged by fires and now devastated…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, January 16 vowed to continue his drive to cleanse the government ranks from corruption by dismissing more corrupt officials. “I am on a purging spree. And I will continue to do this, I suppose, I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll be firing more people from government,” Duterte said during a…
Philippine media outlet Rappler is facing closure after the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) en banc revoked the company’s registration for allegedly violating the country’s Constitution. The watchdog has also accused them of violating the Anti-Dummy Law, the Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code. “The En Banc finds Rappler, Inc. and Rappler Holdings…
THE Justice Department said on Tuesday, January 16, that it would ask the Supreme Court to overturn a California judge’s ruling in a move it described as a “rare step.” The overturn would provide a way for the Trump administration to put an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has taken…
Two members of the Senate minority have expressed opposition against the possible abolition of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under the proposed shift to a federal form of government. This was after a former lawmaker warned that Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo might be ousted before her term expires in 2022 as the…
All members of the Senate agreed that Congress must vote separately in revising the 1987 Constitution should it convene as a constitutional assembly. According to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, senators are “unanimously” against the proposal for them to vote jointly with the House of Representatives on the Charter change (Cha-cha). “It is the entire…
New York Times, Wall Street Journal stand in solidarity with the PH outlet AS Rappler faces closure after the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) en banc revoked its registration for allegedly violating the country’s Constitution, some of the top media companies have voiced support for the Philippine media outlet. The company is also being…
It is legally possible for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to expand the scope of martial law nationwide, Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Wednesday, January 17. During the resumption of oral arguments on the consolidated petitions against the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao, Carpio noted that the threat posed by…
After suffering a controversial defeat in July last year, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is likely to make a comeback this coming April. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he’s planning to include Pacquiao in the same card that will feature a WBO welterweight title showdown between champion Jeff Horn and Terence…
Three Supreme Court (SC) magistrates appeared before the House committee on justice on Monday, January 15 to testify in the impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. They were Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Samuel Martires, and Diosdado Peralta. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, meanwhile, declined to attend the hearing despite being invited, saying he…
2017 versus 2018 tax rates: individual income tax rates in 2017 in percentage are 10, 15, 25, 28, 33, 35, and 39.6. The 2018 rates in percentage are 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35, and 37 and will expire on 2025, under H.R.1 “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”. The corporate maximum tax rate is…
AMID the growing partisan divide in President Donald Trump’s chaotic first year in office, any criticism against his action, words, policy, and character have been deemed by our Republican kababayans as a personal attack against the president by Democrats and liberals, who could not wait to bring down the Trump presidency because they could not…
As the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) this week began its oral arguments on consolidated petitions objecting the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao, a magistrate questioned petitioners for supposedly being “paranoid” about the military rule. SC Associate Justice Samuel Martires posed the question following statements from former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay who cited the…
“ Apart from becoming a cultural phenomenon, the phrase ‘me-too’ is actually found in the law, as when plaintiffs invoke ‘me-too’ evidence in support of their claims for damages involving sexual harassment and discrimination.” THE MeToo ampaign started about 10 years ago but only recently developed into a movement and exploded into public attention in the wake of news stories regarding Hollywood producer…
THE client is 74. Her husband passed away two years ago. Her only source of income is social security of $2,000 a month, which was her husband’s social security. Her own social security was $1,500 a month. So how come she only has $2,000 of social security and not $2,000 plus $1,500? Because when you…
1. THE standard deduction is doubled: Republicans want to simplify our tax code so more people can claim standard deductions instead of more complicated itemized deductions. This becomes a reality after the new law doubled the standard deduction from $6,350 to $12,000 for single filers, from $9,350 to $18,000 for heads of households, and from…
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 Petition…
IF you’re in debt and are considering bankruptcy as an option for you to get needed relief, perhaps just hearing the word “bankruptcy” makes you extremely nervous. Maybe the word conjures up images in your mind of losing everything you have and not having a financial future. Relax. It’s not what you think. Regardless of…
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would put an end to “chain” migration as a feature of immigration law is worrisome and ill-advised. What he really means is that he would eliminate “family reunification” — a proviso which enables naturalized citizens to petition for immediate family members to immigrate — as a feature of U.S….
TRUMP denied it. The president of the United States tweeted he did not describe certain nations from Africa as “shithole countries” during a bipartisan meeting on immigration when he rejected a bipartisan deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump also denied he demanded that people from Haiti be removed from negotiations…
“What are you looking for?’ they said to him, “Rabbi (which translated means teacher) “where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see. –John 1:35 WHERE shall we find God? In a distant space? In a sacred place? In the desert, the sea, or on a mountaintop? Where does he dwell? In…
The start of a new season means different things to different people. But as a hair expert, it primarily means one thing for me: new season equals new haircut.Winter is here and it’s the best time to hit up the salon and get your season haircut. But before you do, check out these chicest hairstyles and…
Pressures to pass immigration bill by Jan. 19 deadline heightened PRESIDENT Donald Trump took to Twitter Friday morning, Friday, January 12, denying reports of him using off-color remarks during an Oval Office meeting the previous day on immigration policies with both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. The remarks on Thursday, January 11 made headlines following a…
More Filipinos are opposed to the idea of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declaring a revolutionary government, according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). Based on the survey results released Friday, January 12, 39 percent of Filipinos opposed the proposal to establish a revolutionary government, while 31 percent supported it. The remaining…
The Filipinos as Roman Catholic devotees are known to be overly zealous and extremely “fanatic” believing that whatever their intentions will be duly answered and rewarded. Being a nation with a predominantly Roman Catholic population, the Philippines is consistently regarded as a very religious nation… the only (Catholic) one in the Far East and the…
Majority of caregivers were Filipino The owner of six adult care facilities operating in the San Fernando Valley’s quiet West Hills neighborhood has been slapped with citations of over $7 million for wage theft and other law violations. This makes it the largest wage citation in Southern California in the last three years. Adat Shalom Board…
In terms of economic growth, the World Bank (WB) expects that the Philippines will continue to outpace its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia for the next three years. In its January 2018 Global Economic Prospects report released Wednesday, January 10, the Washington-based lender said it expects the Philippines to sustain robust economic growth even as…
Ruling allows current DACA recipients to renew their enrollment AMID the intense fight over the protections of DREAMers, a federal judge issued a nationwide directive late Tuesday night, January, 9, ordering the Trump administration to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. United States District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco, likely halting…
Cause of Wednesday fire still undetermined AN Island Pacific supermarket in the Los Angeles Koreatown neighborhood has been destroyed after going up in flames just past midnight on Wednesday, January 10. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) received 9-1-1 calls from passersby starting at 12:30 a.m. early Wednesday morning, according to LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey….
CALIFORNIA has become the first state in the nation to be a “sanctuary state.” This means California will not cooperate fully with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in apprehending illegal aliens or in connection with enforcing immigration laws. However, this does NOT mean people who are out of…
