Q: I WORK as an on-call employee for a healthcare facility. My employer often calls me to report for duty but when I arrive to work, my assignment is cancelled and I am sent home. This has happened several times and I was not paid for a single canceled work even though they scheduled it…
THIS week, the truth of this statement struck a chord with a prospective client who came to me for debt help. Keep reading as this may be the most important article you’ve ever read. Prospective client is seriously in debt, something in the neighborhood of $80,000, mostly credit cards. She is a single mother with…
ON Dec. 8, a new documentary that explores what it means to be Asian American through food is set for release on PBS. “Off the Menu: Asian America,” directed by Grace Lee, chronicles a journey from Texas to New York, to Wisconsin to Hawaii, where Lee delves into food traditions in Asian American cultures. In…
BEFORE Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao became a world boxing champion, he was known as Kid Kulafu. In a film titled after Pacquiao’s childhood boxing nickname, the rags chapter of the people’s champ’s rags-to-riches story is conveyed in a dramatization that focuses on his younger years. “Kid Kulafu” takes viewers on an in-depth journey through Pacquiao’s life…
RODRIGO Duterte fans won’t stop believing, and they have reasons to press forward. Turns out the speculations about the “substitution” theory may indeed happen — popular Davao City mayor “may” substitute the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) candidate Martin Diño. Mayor Duterte has made it clear when he failed to file his certificate of…
WITH the 2016 presidential election a year away, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is expanding outreach efforts to a key demographic: Asian American millennials. Through a six-week program called the Republican Leadership Initiative (RLI), volunteers will undergo “a series of extensive training workshops to equip Asian Pacific American grassroots community leaders across the country with…
According to report, over 4,000 people are dying each day DESPITE lower death rates, tuberculosis (TB) is now killing more people each year than HIV, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO announced that the fight against TB–one of the top infectious bacterial diseases, mainly affecting the lungs–has paid off, with…
IN the last 32 years, community leader Johnny Itliong has attended nearly 400 events to spread awareness about the role his father and the Delano manongs played in the eventual creation of the United Farm Workers (UFW). “My big picture goal is to get everybody educated about how a group of people can get together…
It is a knack of knowing how to live, the hearty enjoyment of life. It is the flush of happiness that can overtake a person anywhere. It took the French genius for formalizing the informal, to bring sticky, sacramental sanctity to the Fil-Am version of the French myth of pagan happiness. Toasts were toasted, dance…
“WHOEVER or wherever you are in life, as I see you in front of me in prayer, I feel very close to you, not in any sentimental way, but as a man who has lived your lives interiorly and knows about the pain and joy you hold in your hearts.” — Henry Nouwen The above…
Well-travelled men could frankly say London and Paris are undoubtedly two greatest European cities (aside, of course, from Rome) that have influenced the world over the last 2,000 years with their unparalleled historical accomplishments, immeasurable art collection, inestimable architectural preserves and consummately unmatched civilization that the world conscientiously regard in high esteem. And so, being…
Vilma Santos, know in Philippine showbiz as the Star for All Seasons and who is also the beloved Governor of Batangas, heads the list of prominent personalities celebrating their birthdays this month of November. She will be turning another year on Tuesday, November 3. Other personalities celebrating are: November 1 – Fr. Abraham Alonzo…
ONE of the most important requirements for naturalization is that an applicant must maintain residency in the US for the five years before filing a naturalization application. The person should have been physically present in the US for at least half of the 5 years prior to filing, and should not have been outside the…
IN many professions, bonus is a material part of a professional’s compensation. It is often a challenge characterizing bonuses in the context of a divorce case especially if the bonus has not yet been received by the employee spouse as of the date of separation. Marriage of Finby involved a wife who worked as a…
“GREG, how true!” This was the comment of a friend from Seattle upon reading my piece, “Insights from a small town politician,” particularly the part about the need for “mobilization” (a euphemism for vote-buying) in order to win an election. As a result of that column, other savvy individuals have come forward with their own first…
PERHAPS a lot of us Filipinos living abroad would have a collective memory of how “Todos Los Santos” was observed in the Philippines where many of us grew up. This would be totally different from the “Halloween” culture of today’s generation — no costumes or Halloween parades and party for us. October 31 and November…
A GREAT fight is brewing among four opposing names who dare to covet the highest political rank in the Philippines. While the top presidential aspirants are strong contenders – each carrying a political track record – one test they have to accomplish is being the most business-friendly. With a growing middle class, strong domestic demand,…
Welcome to the elections, Philippine style in 2016. As a lifelong spectator in an extremely politicized country in all these years, I can say that nothing much has changed. Politics had gradually vanished into a world of obscene, big money and bad manners. The early presidential campaign undeniably and gravely takes on a survival of the…
THE White House and congressional Republican leaders reached a budget agreement on Monday, Oct. 26, that would resolve the stalemate over funding federal programs, and could end the threat of another government shutdown until the end of President Barack Obama’s term. The two-year budget accord, which will cost roughly $80-billion, would increase spending somewhat on…
PROCESSED meat—including ham, corned beef, bacon and beef jerky—can cause cancer, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday, Oct. 26, putting the meat in the same danger category as smoking or asbestos. The agency’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France reached the conclusion after analyzing decades of research. It evaluated more…
A Filipina whose body was found Tuesday, Oct. 20, in a Las Vegas cryotherapy chamber, died in “seconds,” medical examiners told her family, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, 24, was found dead last week at Rejuvenice spa. She was discovered by her friend and colleague Elise Iverson. After working a closing shift Monday,…
LINCOLN Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Jim Webb. These five Democrats – these five leaders – took the stage in Nevada last week for the inaugural Democratic Party Presidential debate. The elevated substance and classy style of the debate reminded me of a favorite bit of wisdom from iconic American author Mark Twain: “There…
TWO different clients both landlords because they both own rental properties came to see me last week with different problems. The conventional wisdom why people buy rental properties has two points. First, the rental properties will provide a steady stream of monthly income to the landlord. Second, the value of the properties will eventually rise,…
ON June 30, 2015, the California Governor signed into law designating October 25 every year from hereon as Larry Itliong Day. Who is Larry Itliong and why does he matter? NPR says, “Cesar Chavez inspired the world. Larry Itliong inspired Cesar Chavez.” Cesar Chavez, the labor rights activist to whom Cesar Chavez Day is dedicated,…
AS you may be aware, the USCIS, in coordination of the Department of State (DOS), announced last September 2015, announced revisions as to the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status. This is part of the implementation of the November 2014 executive actions on…
IN many professions, bonus is a material part of a professional’s compensation. It is often a challenge characterizing bonuses in the context of a divorce case especially if the bonus has not yet been received by the employee spouse as of the date of separation. Marriage of Finby involved a wife who worked as a…
AN offer in compromise (OIC) allows you to settle assessments for tax, penalties, and interests at less than the assessed amounts. You can apply for an OIC if there is doubt as to liability or as to collectibility. The bases of an OIC are discussed in our other newsletters. Let me give you 12 tips…
CREDIT cards can be convenient and handy especially in times of financial emergencies but when the accumulated debt gets out of control, it can lead to long-term financial stress. Some people seem to be OK just making minimum payments for a while but unless they stop borrowing, they get to a point where the payments…
SOLID fans who adore not only the Pambansang Kamao in Manny Pacquiao but everything else about him will surely not like this question. But this is exactly what the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will have to determine and rule on after a certain Ferdinand Sevilla of Makati City, filed a petition case against Pacquiao, arguing…
CARSON, California—Every fight promotion takes on its character and you discover that there is more to the “who did what to whom.” What makes the fight world so intriguing is that lives involved are not usually as brimming with possibilities. From the few routine contenders that attain their moments, most fall short, in time becomes…
