YOUR credit card payments are past due. You’re confused and don’t know what to do. The bill collectors are calling you non-stop and writing you threatening letters. What do you do? Should you just file bankruptcy? Or are there other options? Most people are unaware that credit card companies will negotiate with you if they…
Marrying a U.S. citizen is one of the fastest and most commonly known ways to obtain a green card. It is also subject to much fraud and abuse, where people will enter into a marriage of convenience with a U.S. citizen solely for immigration benefits. The U.S. citizen might be a friend willing to do…
Individuals may be put in removal (deportation) proceedings for a number of reasons. Some of them may have been put in removal proceedings for committing certain crimes. Others are in removal proceedings because they may have filed applications with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and have had their applications denied by the USCIS….
What is cervical cancer? Cervical cancer is malignant tumor of the cervix (mouth of the womb). It is the second most cancer in women and the third most common gynecologic cancer, the second being cancer of the ovary. The most common gynecologic malignancy is endometrial (inner wall of womb) cancer, which is the fourth most…
WHEN the term “illegal immigrant” is used, some assume that the discussion is about someone who entered the United States without presenting themselves for inspection at the air, sea or land border. However, “illegal immigrant” can also apply to one who entered legally but whose status has expired. In fact, more people become “illegal immigrants”…
TAGALOGS have a term for approaching or solving a problem:santong dasalan or the soft, diplomatic way (dasal meaning prayer) and santong paspasan or the direct, tough way. We now know what approach President Rodrigo Duterte prefers. But wasn’t that why he was voted into office by a citizenry that had gotten exasperated with the way the administration of President…
The Filipino Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) is a world unto itself. Last Friday, as the energy levels started going up, members gathered talking, laughing and thinking. The brain power becomes formidable, cell phones ringing as the day begins to beautifully blur and becomes formidable. Fruits of brain storming, working against all odds or parallel…
HOW do you determine if the person visiting you either at your business or at home or calling you are not an IRS imposter? Look for two forms of credentials. IRS Knocks at your door – why it happens and what you need to do when it happens: • Reasons why an IRS visits you…
“ If you are saddled with debt, now is the time to get them discharged.Better now than later.” CLIENT is 48, married and has a good job paying him $100K gross a year. A family emergency has caused him some financial hardship because money meant to pay for the house and credit cards were used…
In Beijing, we said we were honoured to be asked to speak before the great Beijing Forum, for we subscribe to the founding principle of President Xi Jin Ping’s historic revival and expansion of China’s legendary Silk Road—which links today’s Europe, the Middle East, and Asia much as its history and legend had linked them…
AFTER the escalating conflict and attack by the terror group Maute in Marawi City, President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the much dreaded martial law in the whole of Mindanao to stop the “contamination” of the ISIS-linked terror group in Mindanao, in the whole nation, and in the Southeast Asia region. Duterte said the terror group…
“Worshiped, but they doubted.” “DOUBT isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith…Sometimes I think it is my mission to bring faith to the faithless, and doubt to the faithful.” –Paul Tillich It’s good to be critical of our faith. Otherwise, we’re merely blind followers, not fully understanding what we’re believing and…
President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent “friendly exchange” with Chinese President Xi Jinping over rights to exploit the natural resources of certain areas of the South China Sea (AKA West Philippine Sea) has alarmed Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, and several of our honorable senators, notably Senators Franklin Drilon, Richard Gordon,…
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte may have had the best intentions in declaring martial law in Mindanao following the escalating violence in Marawi City in Mindanao, but many Filipinos in America continue to be haunted by the ghost of Marcos-era martial law years. “Takot ako. In the horizon looms big and clear contamination ng ISIS,” Duterte explained…
He followed the footsteps of his father who sang for the group S.O.S. (A Society of Seven) in Hawaii. He went back to his birthplace in 1982 to pursue his musical career and released his first album that went platinum in a span of five months. Thus, began the journey of the man who would…
They say growing old is one exceptional privilege not granted to many as it is the crown of a full life… the final act in one’s role play on earth. During one’s youth, the days are seemingly short and years are quite long but as one grows old, days seem dragging while years are getting…
Aleksandra Flasz out-designed her competitors to walk away with the grand prize of $100,000 PHILIPPINES (May 25, 2017) – Without any professional background in interior design, Aleksandra Flasz, a Polish fashion design graduate and model was crowned the winner of Sony Channel’s first original production, The Apartment: Rising Stars Edition. In a grueling 40-hour design…
IF a person commits certain immigration violations (such as fraud, or overstaying in the US for over six months and then departs, etc.), the person may not be eligible to receive a green card, unless the person applies for, and is granted, a “waiver of inadmissibility” (or “forgiveness”) on a Form I-601. To be eligible…
Coconut water (buko juice) is a popular drink in Asia and South America. The top ten countries on the list of world-leading coconut producers according to volume are: Indonesia, Philippines, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Thailand, and Malaysia. The Philippines export more than $1 billion worth of coconuts to the United…
While most individuals are deep in their slumber at 2 a.m., Shanna Mendiola’s day is already beginning. By 2:30 a.m., like clockwork, she arrives at NBC4 Southern California, where she has been the meteorologist for the weekday morning newscast, “Today in LA,” since March. And for the next five hours, it’s nonstop as she prepares…
Thirty three years ago, my husband left me. He died. Leaving a house filled of daughters, young and adorable, innocent, with the world on their side. In the face of adversity, we were not permitted to ask, “Why me?” You can ask, but you won’t get an answer. Through the years, I’ve learned the hard…
Someone uses your social security number to file a fraudulent tax return to claim a refund or get a job. An employer’s tax identification is stolen to create a false Forms W-2 to support fraudulent refunds. When To Know Your Identity Has Been Stolen – The IRS Send You A Notice: • You filed more…
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…
I WAS out of the country for close to a month to join my husband as he fulfilled a promise: to take his parents to the faith-based Marian Pilgrimage Tour in Europe. This was my husband’s way of honoring his parents who are celebrating their birthdays this May as octogenarians. They have devoted their lives…
THE Philippines extends its condolences to the victims’ families and voiced solidarity with Britain in the fight against extremism following the deadly terror attack in Manchester, United Kingdom that left 22 people—including children—dead and 50 injured. “We are in solidarity with the United Kingdom in addressing and combating violent extremism,” Philippine Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella…
THE rooms of the dormitories are now clean and empty, and the seminary is quiet, for the academic year has ended and the seminarians have left for summer vacation. Some of them finished their long years of seminary formation — seven years for most of them — and they are now preparing for ordination, ready…
ON THE DAY President Donald Trump embarked on his first trip abroad, White House lawyers have reportedly been researching impeachment proceedings in preparation for what is now becoming more of a probability than just a possibility: removing Trump from office. This oversized baggage Trump took with him has been a consequence of his firing of…
“IT ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” — Mark Twain It is the time I prepare myself for worship on Sunday — by reading beautiful and poetic stories from the Bible. Our knowledge of the Bible was limited to memorizing…
ONE of the goals of bankruptcy is to allow debtor-filers to start anew. This means that after filing bankruptcy and getting a discharge of their debts, these debtors will be in a position to move on financially. Allowing these debtors to keep certain basic assets despite a bankruptcy filing is one way of helping debtor…
Q:I WORK as a nurse at a hospital that has a strict policy of no unapproved overtime, and no going on breaks unless we are relieved by another nurse. We are forced to skip our breaks if there is no reliever (which happens a lot because we are often understaffed). As for overtime, we don’t…
