CALIFORNIA lawmakers approved and sent to Governor Jerry Brown a plan to help low-income residents have greater access to legal services. The bill, known as Senate Bill 134, would allow the State Bar to collect unclaimed donations from members to fund a student loan repayment program for public interest attorneys. “Every year, thousands of young…
THE Philippines and South Korea on Monday, Sept. 14, signed a five-year accord that regulates and safeguard exchanges of classified military data regarding regional security. The accord, signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and South Korean Defense Minister Han Minkoo, would allow the Philippine government to be more informed about what happens on the…
A TREMENDOUSLY beneficial change to the Visa Bulletin was announced by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Department of State (DOS) on Sept. 9, 2015. The change assists those needing a work permit and advance parole travel document by allowing individuals to file these applications earlier than before. The changes to the…
Senior with $24K debt seeks Chapter 7 relief; Senior protects house with Chapter 13 Chapter 11 CLIENT presents himself as an importer & nationwide distributor of electronic items with gross annual sales $5.0M. He has a warehouse in Los Angeles with 15 employees. His business is actually doing well. But due to a business dispute with…
Q: I work for a large company and recently took a leave of absence due to pregnancy disability. My pregnancy was high-risk and I used up all of my 4 months of leave. However, due to some health complications, after the birth of my child, my doctor says I still cannot return to work, and…
THE news from USCIS: In an important departure from the current rules regarding when someone can apply for a Green Card, USCIS has announced that starting October 1, 2015, I-485, Applications for Adjustment of Status will be accepted earlier than the date on which a priority date is current. This is a major change in…
TOO good to be true? Perhaps, but read on. The IRS cannot deny your application if you satisfy all of the following requirements: 1. The tax is not more than $10,000. 2. You timely filed and paid all income tax returns for the past five years. 3. You did not enter into any installment agreement….
INDIVIDUALS who have accumulated excessive debt are often left to ponder whether they should file bankruptcy in order to get out of debt. Sometimes, these people feel that somehow, they’ve lost, failed, or that they will never have a chance to rebuild their credit again. Because we are living in a society where having a…
Hello everyone! I am so thrilled by the influx of your emails! And as I am so happy that you trust me with your concerns, I would also like to share something close to my heart. Recently, my beloved daughter Cristalle is finally engaged! As a mother I always wanted my daughter to be happy…
POPE Francis received overwhelming support among Filipinos in America on the reforms he will implement in the Catholic Church to make marriage annulment faster and cheaper for Catholics. 100 percent of the viewers who voted in the online opinion poll of The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” agreed that the following changes announced last…
GOVERNOR Jerry Brown faced setbacks on Wednesday, Sept. 9, as his plans for climate change legislation were stripped of initial goals for reducing gasoline use, delayed efforts to fix decrepit roads, and a deal funding for public healthcare was non-existent. Brown, who typically gets his way in Capitol, started his historic fourth term this year….
FILIPINO-American Los Angeles Laker guard Jordan Clarkson is “very disappointed” that he will not be playing for the Philippines in the upcoming FIBA Asia Championship. The final roster for Gilas Pilipinas, announced Tuesday, Sept. 8, by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), did not include Clarkson due to a conflict in schedule due to his commitment…
LAST Sunday after my Mass in a parish, a Nicaraguan woman spoke to me. She said, “Father, our new priest is wonderful. He is good. He says Mass with a great deal of reverence and proper pace; he transmits spirituality without any air of superiority or arrogance; he preaches and connects well with us. He…
WITH systemic police reform gaining momentum on both the state and national levels, California is leading the charge with the first-ever bill to combat racial profiling and police brutality. Assembly Bill 953, also known as the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015, is the first bill of its kind to collect basic information on…
CLIMATE scientists say powerful tropical storm El Niño is on track to become “one of the most powerful on record” – also strongly suggesting that the West Coast could face heavy rainfall this winter. “But El Niño still hasn’t sealed the deal, and there still needs to be a dramatic change in the winds in…
THE California Senate on Friday, Sept. 11, passed a contentious bill that would authorize terminally ill patients to legally end their lives. In a 23-14 vote, the legislative chamber cleared AB X2-15, following approval from state Assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 9. “Californians by an overwhelming majority – across all groups, religious, ethnic, geographic, no matter…
A new one-stop hotline for Filipinos with concerns about their working conditions, rights and other related issues was unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 8, during the announcement of an alliance between community and non-governmental organizations, the Philippine Consulate General, and state and federal agencies. Through EMPLEO – Pinoy, members of the Filipino community now have access…
IN 2014, a report by the Association of Southeast Nations ranked the Philippines the second shortest race in the region: the average Filipino male stood at 5 feet and 3.7 inches, and the average Filipino female was at 4 feet and 11 inches. While Filipinos’ shorter stature has typically been assumed to be attributed to…
The People’s Champ is calling for a rematch FILIPINO boxer Manny Pacquiao, 36, called for punishment and a rematch on Friday, September 11 after his rival Floyd Mayweather was accused of violating anti-doping rules before their long-awaited May 2nd “Fight of the Century.” The eight-division world champion, who lost to Mayweather by unanimous decision in…
If laughter is truly the best medicine then Ai-Ai Delas Alas could easily be an effectual stress-reliever by merely injecting a dose of her own brand of comedy which is, of course, addicting! The Queen of Comedy remains unrivaled because of her consummate capability to tickle her audience’s funny bones and leave them dying of…
EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
A person may acquire US citizenship either at birth or through naturalization. A person born in the US and subject to its jurisdiction acquires US citizenship at birth but, under certain circumstances, a person born outside the US may also acquire US citizenship at birth. Under INA 309(c), a child born abroad to a US…
A new plan from the Philippine government would offer free wireless Internet access to people across the country, but would limit annual data revenue prospects of the nation’s largest telecoms. According to Bloomberg Business, the government plans to roll-out its free Wi-Fi services roughly half the country’s municipalities over the next few months, and has…
The California Assembly on Wednesday, Sept. 9, advanced a controversial measure that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives. After a lengthy emotional and passionate debate, lawmakers voted 42-33 to send AB X2-15 to the state Senate, which is expected to endorse the bill, the Associated Press reported. Assembly members cited their…
TIME heals all wounds, they say. This is pretty much true for ex-lovers KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual, especially after their controversial breakup in 2011. For years, the two never talked and probably avoided each other like the plague. But the showbiz industry is a small world, and most likely, you will run into people…
The growing threat of international terrorism, which apparently is without territorial boundaries, has prompted the Department of State (DOS) to tighten its rules of entry into the US. DOS is the governmental entity that works hand in hand with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is in charge of prospective immigrants to the US. …
As an overseas Filipino who loves his homeland, I am puzzled, sad, and disenchanted to see our beloved Philippines hopelessly entrenched in a quagmire and culture of graft and corruption involving government officials, including top legislators who had plundered the nation’s meager coffers and practically go unpunished. Evidently, even the Supreme Court was not immune…
“But he himself is not corrupt, right?” That is a common refrain in conversations with Filipinos concerned about rising sleaze under President Benigno Aquino 3rd. Ironically, the same thing was once said about Ferdinand Marcos, a frugal Ilocano unlike his extravagant wife Imelda. After five years of Tuwid na Daan, many are disturbed, if not…
AN action under the DVPA (Domestic Violence Protection Act) seeking a restraining order often is necessary to protect parties from abuse or domestic violence perpetrated by the other spouse or significant other. At times, it is effective in preventing harm to one of the parties. At the same time, this process is sometimes…
THANKFULLY, the protest rallies of the Iglesia ni Cristo at EDSA have been called off. INC’s leaders have declared that they have reached an “agreement” with the government – without providing any details – while a Malaca ñang spokesman has insisted that “no special concessions” were given for the cessation of the rallies. That, of course,…
