ARE you overwhelmed with debt problems that seem insurmountable? Are you starting to feel hopeless about your financial future and thinking you’ll never get ahead? You may be at a critical point in your life where the decisions you make at this very moment will determine the kind of life you will have in the…
THE race to the second-highest post in government is a must-follow in Philippine politics. Unlike in the United States where the president and his/her vice presidential pick are elected as a team and from the same party, Filipino voters pick their choices for president and vice president, independently from one another. This is why the…
DESPITE the generally slow Internet connection and only half of its population having access to the World Wide Web, the Philippines has been tagged as a social media haven by digital experts. Filipinos are adoptive to new technologies. According to a survey by Wave 7, Filipinos are the most social people online. The poll found…
What a noble trade it is to be a street sweeper. It consists of sweeping the filth we produce, making our existence less infected. Mindless and ungrateful are those who use the word sweeper in a disparaging way, and who do not understand how extraordinary and precious the sweepers are. We would die of stench, dirt…
WITH affirmative action being used as a wedge issue in communities, ethnic community leaders and members are working toward expanding educational access, affordability, and ethnic diversity in public higher education. “[How] are we going to frame the discourse around education as a public good?” said Betty Hung, policy director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice –…
Our ever-changing world had been enormously manipulated and dominated by not only laudable men known for their commendable deeds that benefited mankind but also by their equally dominant female counterparts who have arguably defied the customary “men-power-rule” with their identifiably influential visions. If only for this, the month of March was specifically earmarked to celebrate…
Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr., born on April 7, 1938; heads the list of prominent personalities celebrating their birthdays for the month of April. Brown is currently the 39th Governor of the Golden State of California since 2011, and was also Governor from 1975 to 1983. Before being Governor, he served in numerous State…
EVERYONE is familiar with Starbucks coffee houses, which are located on virtually every street in every city. In some cases, there may be four Starbucks coffee shops on each of the four corners of an intersection. In other words, Starbucks has locations everywhere. Some people have the impression that in choosing an attorney to handle…
WE’VE all been through it, right? Can you remember when your baby teeth were falling out? Did one of your parents yank them out for you? Or, were you one of those do-it-yourselfers? Our advice: No viral video attempts at pulling teeth in crazy ways Have you seen some of the online videos out there…
UNDER the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), an applicant for adjustment of status can change his or her employer or job without the employer filing a new immigrant petition for the applicant if the applicant’s application for adjustment of status has been pending for one hundred eighty (180) days. On March 18,…
Since 2014 Bataan Legacy Historical Society (BLHS) has been working with the California Department of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to implement AB199, a legislation passed in 2011 (Sponsored by Ma and Yee) by the California Assembly and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown which encourages for the inclusion of the role of the Filipinos during…
Doomsday scenario at Ateneo While terrorist attacks in Brussels and Lahore occupied the world headlines, and suspected ISIS-trained jihadists were reported to have set up camp in Muslim Mindanao, a doomsday scenario momentarily descended upon Ateneo University in Quezon City on Monday after it got a text message at 8:30 a.m. saying a “large explosion”…
In today’s health-oriented world, the four major players — diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol abuse – are in the spotlight. Diet weighs heavily on this equation and has also been a subject of a lot of pervasive myths and misinformation. Today, we shall review some of the most popular misconception about diet. Fasting is the…
THERE are two important aspects that should be taken into consideration in your estate planning: 1. Asset reduction which reduces your estate and the amount of estate taxes that must be paid upon death; and 2. Asset protection which safeguards your assets from creditors and lawsuits. Gross estates over the following amounts are taxed at…
RUDY Rosal lived in the squatters’ area across the creek from our house in Paranaque when I hired him as a driver. But he had lofty dreams for himself and his family that he felt he couldn’t achieve by ferrying me and my family in our jalopy. Thus, at the first opportunity, he and his…
Roxas second, Poe third AFTER the March 20 Philippine presidential debate in Cebu, The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” asked its viewers in an online poll: “If the Philippine Presidential Election was held today, who would you vote for?”. The results of the poll aired on March 23 was quite a surprise. The “Dirty…
In private homes, we learn yet of another world—of quiet angels with gentle hearts. Back home, they used to be teachers, bank tellers, office workers, engineers, or registered nurses who handle with special grace the dignity of their “clients’” last moments. They help not to torment these people with meaningless chemical assaults in their last…
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, March 28, announced a deal reached with state legislators and labor leaders that would raise the minimum hourly wage to $15. The move would make California the state with the highest minimum wage in the nation, although this could change as other states such as New York are also…
I HAVE two chapter 7 cases right now where the trustees are aggressively pursuing debtor houses. Trustees are tasked with the responsibility of getting whatever non-exempt asset they can get their hands on and sell them to liquidate them into cash for distribution to creditors. When the values of houses are high, the calculation of…
Supreme Court upholds pay for employees’ work despite lack of records IN some industries, employees perform work-related activities before they clock in. Some do it after they clock out. These are called preliminary and postliminary work. It is important to know because time spent for these activities, although not recorded, should be paid to employees. However,…
FOR those of you who itemize, the table below should be of interest. For those of you who play the odds (you know what I mean), this table should be of special interest. Having claimed too many exemptions at work to increase your take-home pay or failed to pay estimated taxes, you suddenly find yourself…
BEING in debt can be pretty depressing. I understand how you feel. When you’re drowning in debt, you may feel that your situation is hopeful and you have no motivation to even plan for your future. Your self-esteem may be shot. You may be experiencing anger, depression, guilt- or a combination of all three. You…
HAPPY EASTER! Where ever you may be in your journey of life — mourning in your Good Friday or rejoicing in anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promise in resurrection — know in your heart that Easter morning comes after the darkest night. This is the gift of rebirth, of new beginnings, no matter how…
The primordial thread that links the feminine essence of every woman to nurturing and caring had been deeply rooted since the dawning of creation. According to Diane Mariechild: “A woman is the full circle…within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform!” Indeed, women in the world deserve nothing but only the best accolade…
Today, we stop and breathe because there it is, the scent of hope, love and lust — spring. It is land’s perpetual gift of sudden grace. It is upon us in a scent that grows deeper — dizzying, probably because of the trees that are starting to spurt out dark, green leaves in covered with…
PASADENA, Calif. — Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California (APIDC), a non-profit volunteer-run organization that assists with bridging the services and cultural barriers faced by the Asian and Pacific Islander community, hosted its fifth statewide conference on March 18 and 19, at the Westin Hotel in this city. With over 400 people in…
Evidence of link to Paris attacks mounting SEVEN people have been arrested in a series of raids in connection with the bombings at Brussels Airport and subway station earlier this week, according to Belgian prosecutors. The attacks involved three explosions in Brussels on Tuesday, March 22, that killed at least 31 and wounded about 270….
NEW York lawmakers are scheduled to vote on Friday, April 1 on a proposal that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. If approved, New York would become the first state in the nation to enact such a wage for all workers. A coalition of low-wage workers, immigrant activists, unions and other…
Holy Week or Lenten season is the time when Christians, Catholic and other religious denominations remember Christ’s passion (his suffering and death) and resurrection. Ash Wednesday (forty days before Easter Sunday) marks the beginning of this season, it is when you will see Catholics with ash smudged on their foreheads in the shape of a cross. Holy…
AN explosion of new life and hope happened on that Easter morning when Jesus resurrected from the dead after three days in the tomb. It was an explosion that brought conversion to billions of people in the world. Peter and John run fast to the tomb of Jesus that Sunday morning upon hearing Mary Magdalene’s…
