Longer build, lower cost for CA bullet train

CALIFORNIA’S high-speed rail, connecting Los Angeles with the San Francisco Bay Area, could take longer to build than previously estimated, and its overall cost is “difficult to predict,” said the head of the high-speed rail authority on Wednesday, Jan. 27. “It may take us a little longer than we said to do this,” rail authority…

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The wonders of Pegan diet

WE are what we eat and drink, philosophically and medically. Diet plays the most significant role in our health and longevity — more than genetics and exercise in most instances. Food provides us nutrition and also stimulates and controls the natural production of hormones, electrolytes, and other chemicals, good or bad, depending on our mood…

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The ‘Grace Poe’ dilemma

(Part 1 of 2) The issues surrounding the presidential candidacy of Senator Grace Poe will not seem to die down.  Whether it is purely an honest attempt to search for the truth and comply with constitutional requirements or a political ploy to keep her out of the race, the issues are worth the Supreme Court’s…

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Tax consequences of divorce, non-custodial parents

CONSIDER the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides  primary custody of the children  to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation.  The parties begin to file separate tax returns.  What are the tax consequences of the non custodial parents with regards to claiming the children in his or her return? A…

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Recurrence

IT has been a year since the bloodbath between the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), and elements of the  Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and private armed groups in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. That fateful Sunday on Jan. 25, 2015 left 44 elite policemen and 19 Moro rebels dead. The government’s…

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The Presidential guards and the press

“Once upon a time, the US Secret Service had to be an all-embracing elite force—self-respecting, fearless and valiant.  They took charge of the security and decorum of every event that the president attends, and still do.” As newbies covering the Palace, they followed security and protocol as dictated by the Presidential Security Group (PSG) religiously.  However, once in…

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A homecoming fit for a queen

Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach returns to the Philippines FANS lined the streets of Manila to Makati City as Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the newly-crowned Miss Universe 2015, traveled by float in her homecoming parade on January 25. The float traveled for more than three hours from the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila, down Roxas Boulevard…

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April deadline for H-1B visas

THE United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will once again begin accepting petitions for H-1B working visas on April 1, 2016.  Petitions may be submitted for employment to commence on or after October 1, 2016.  It is imperative that interested applicants have their petition submitted to the USCIS between April 1-7, 2016, or it…

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Business owners seek bankruptcy relief

Client 1: Garment Factory CLIENT presents himself as a businessperson, who has been in the garment business since 2002. He has a factory with ten employees where he pays his sewers a little over the minimum wage. When business was good, his factory was humming along. Orders for his garments were pouring in. He never…

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Should you sign that separation package from your employer?

A SEPARATION package or a severance agreement is a contract between an employer and an employee who is about to leave the employer’s employment.  In a typical severance agreement, the employer agrees to give the employee additional compensation (the severance pay) in exchange for the outgoing employee’s agreement not to sue the employer for any…

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Philippine banks that provide depositor data to US IRS

(Part 2 Of 2) J.P. Morgan Securities Philippines, Inc. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. – Manila Branch Land Bank of the Philippines Legazpi Savings Bank, Inc. Longmeadow Corporation Macquarie Capital Securities Philippines Macquarie Infrsture Advisory Philippines Malayan Bank Savings and Mortgage Bank Mandarin Securities Corporation Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corporation Manulife Financial Plans, Inc. Maybank ATR…

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Santo Niño and our childlike faith

A MAN was inside a church kneeling in front of a big statue of Santo Niño. In his prayer, he said: “Santo Niño, please help me win the lottery. I promise that I will be here every day after work in front of you to pray a novena in your honor.  And if I win…

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