IS it really more fun in the Philippines? In 2014, the government has recorded 34 million domestic and international arrival and departures at the country’s premier gateway. Despite a “worst airport” tag, it is a welcome development. But if you ask 56-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Gloria Ortinez, she would blatantly say “No.” After her…
I WRITE all the time. It’s a metabolic necessity for me to put words down. For me, it is more fun than anything else to feel that tactile, physical pleasure. I am not one of those who despairs about printed words, as they are the primary carriers of ideas. But, when I get impatient, depressed…
OVER 160 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) groups have filed amicus briefs calling for equal opportunity and for the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action policies. Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), filed three separate amicus…
A 77-year-old Filipino-American bound for Los Angeles was the latest victim in an alleged “laglag-bala (bullet planting)” scheme targeting passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Santiago Peñaflorida was stopped after Department of Transportation and Communications-Office for Transportation Security personnel saw a bullet inside his backpack on the x-ray scanner, Inquirer…
“No faith is potent unless it is also faith in the future, unless it has a millennial component. So, too, an effective doctrine: as well as being a source of power, it must also claim to be a key to the book of the future.” — From The True Believer by Eric Hoffer ELECTION is the new preoccupation of the…
CHANGES in the economy and in the employment lanscape has made it more difficult to pursue certain traditional paths to obtaining permanent residency in the United States such as employment based. H1-b visas has been affected by the visa annual visa cap and does not lead to a green card. In addition, it is a…
MEDIA coverage on IRS abuses and subsequent tax laws put pressure on the Service to revamp the Offer in Compromise (OIC) program for taxpayers who could not pay their tax liabilities. The IRS has just proposed regulations which, for the first time, provide relief if present collection activities create economic hardships. Previously, the IRS could…
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,…
