IT may be perhaps the biggest challenge of his presidency. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III faces impeachment cases to oust him from office, following the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) that the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is unconstitutional. In a televised speech, PNoy responded to the highest court’s ruling, and tried to explain to the…
The noontime sunlight no longer keeps their brows frowned and the stars at night are already absent from their view. More importantly, beds become a favorite and cuddling becomes a hobby. All these are because the rainy season, although almost two months late, is finally in the Philippines. The heavy downpour and the flooded roads…
The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) allows an applicant for immigration benefit under a preference category, either as a direct or a derivative beneficiary, to retain his classification as a “child” even if he has reached the age of 21 by means of the following formula. First, determine the child’s age on the date his…
Women called it “pause.” It is a new perspective coming into view in every woman’s major life passage: A midlife agitation, literal and poignant. First, the gushing, like the reddening of a dying tree as it blazes out in the funeral autumn, and now reduced to basics, forced to lie fallow…in an emptiness watered by…
LOS ANGELES – A Filipino man being suspected of killing three people is now asking for a public attorney to represent him in court. Carlo Mercado, 30, is the primary suspect in an unsolved triple murder case in San Diego, and is charged with three counts of first degree murder in connection to the shooting…
DESPITE controversies surrounding the Philippine government and its leaders, Pinoys have always remained auspicious. With notable democratic icons as his parents (the late Former Sen. Ninoy Aquino and and Former Philippine President Cory Aquino) Pres. Benigno Aquino III had the “Yellow Magic.” It catapulted him from being Tarlac’s 2nd district representative, a senator and now…
AFTER kababayans found out via social media about how a Catholic priest from Cebu insulted and humiliated a 17-year old mother during the solemn sacrament of baptism of her baby, many ask: what right has this priest to do that, especially in front of the public to witness? Speaking in the vernacular Cebuano, the priest…
The physician MEMBERS of the professions are normally doing well financially in the United States because they are highly paid for their skills. However, even with high gross incomes, wrong decisions, or illness can result in financial problems that require bankruptcy relief. This is what happened to my client who is a member of the…
ON July 8, 2014, the Hon. Brian C. Yep, presiding Judge of Department A-10 of the Lancaster Superior Court, ruled that premises liability in Plaintiff’s second amended complaint is included in the general negligence cause of action and sustained the demurrer thereon of the defendant-licensee of a residential facility for elderly/dependent adult. The Author represents…
HERE is an interesting statistic from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): In the year 2012, “the US Department of Labor recovered $280 million in back pay for 308,000 workers. That amount – a small fraction of the total wage theft nationwide – far exceeded the total [amount of $139 million] lost to criminals in street…
ON March 4, 2013, the Final Rule on Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers for Certain Immediate Relatives took effect. The new law provided a significant benefit to spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens by allowing them to apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. This process allows individuals, who only…
YOU have just lost an audit and have decided to bring your case before the appeals office of the IRS. You have learned the basics of the appeals process and how to prepare for the conference from previous articles. Let me now give you 10 strategies as you face the Appeals Officer: 1. Respect the…
WITH the USICE Prosecutorial Discretion program under way, thousands of cases pending before the US Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) are ripe for review to determine whether such cases should be terminated or administratively closed and the Respondents in those proceedings should be allowed to stay and work legally in the US….
WHAT a noble trade, the sweeper’s trade. It consists of sweeping the filth we produce, of making our existence less infected. Mindless and ungrateful are those who use the word sweeper in a disparaging way, who do not understand how extraordinary and how precious the sweepers are. We would die of stench and shame and…
REMEMBERING Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “An Altar in World,” I caught myself saying to a friend as we were driving along California coast that the world is my “tabernacle.” By these words, I was referring to my favorite form of prayer. Absolutely, I like to pray inside a church, before the Blessed Sacrament, or in…
The Save Power Day will take place July 14. Customers who are enrolled in the program can earn up to $100 in bill credits each year. You may have noticed your thermometer hitting the 90-plus degree mark the past few days, as high temperatures continue to blanket Southern California. As a result, Southern California Edison (SCE)…
The road to success has always been hurdled with enormous encumbrances and impediments to test one’s endurance and capability to survive. We’re all brought to this world destined to bear what’s in store for us. The critical challenge for continuous existence only extenuates after putting in an empowering amount of persuasive assiduousness and wholehearted dedication…
About a year ago, we discussed inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i), which bars an alien from receiving a visa or admission into the U.S. if this alien has previously obtained or attempted to obtain a visa, other documentation, admission or other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), by means of fraud or by willfully…
Not a week goes by that our office receives inquiries as to whether a comprehensive immigration reform, or any type of immigration reform, is likely to happen soon. As immigration attorneys, we are hopeful that the government will come up with a workable solution for many concerned and hardworking aliens. But until such solution takes…
LOS ANGELES – Filipino groups in Los Angeles recently signed on for a letter of petition asking the US government for administrative relief to address the country’s broken immigration system. Among the things asked by the petition was the immediate designation of the Philippines with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), as way of helping the country…
Employment based EB-3 and OW also advances The August 2014 Visa Bulletin provides great news for Filipinos petitioned as single children of US citizens (F-1), as the priority date move forward from January 1, 2003 to June 1, 2004. Workers petitioned in the third preference (professional/skilled worker) and other (unskilled) worker categories, also had a…
ATTENTION girls—handsome actor, model and singer Sam Milby is available, single and still searching for the right girl. Mind you, he is not just looking for a one-night stand, or a temporary relationship. He is in fact looking for a more permanent, long-term thing. In an interview with PEP.ph last July 7, Sam admitted that…
South San Francisco—The Philippine American Press Club, U.S.A. (PAPC) proudly announced that they are now accepting submissions to the 3rd Annual Plaridel Awards excellence in Filipino American journalism. The Plaridel Awards was established in 2012 to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of outstanding writers and publishers in the Filipino American community, as they chronicle the…
THE Philippines will not be a free and independent country that it is today if it wasn’t for the groundwork laid out by a valiant organization formed more than a century ago. On July 7 1892, Filipinos formed Katipunan or Ang Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalang, Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) ng mga anak ng Bayan…
IF YOU are active in social media, you may have already seen the video or read about the shocking incident involving a Catholic priest from Cebu, who humiliated a 17-year old mother during the solemn sacrament of baptism of her baby in front of the public to witness. Fortunately, the baby’s Lola was able to…
IF YOU haven’t heard of BUB, you will be seeing a lot of its effects in the next several months leading up to the 2016 elections — P20.1 billion worth of effects. BUB is supposed to stand for Bottom Up Budgeting, which, in turn, is supposed to mean allocating funds according to the needs of…
AS WE continue to go through turbulent economic times, a lot of people are in a state of panic and anxiety. Thousands of families are overwhelmed with the difficult choices and situations that they face. The questions that I am often asked are: “Will my family’s increasing debt load result in bankruptcy?” “What happens if…
Where fishermen tossed their rods, where women laundered cloths and washed dishes, where children jumped off a bridge—that was Pasig River. Pasig River was a major source of food and water. It was a center for livelihood which made its banks a favorite site for residences of the rich. In fact, even the government elevated…
LOS ANGELES – The jury trial for a Filipino man suspected of killing three people in an Ohio bar shooting was moved to a month later than the original schedule. On July 7, a Sandusky county judge ruled that 33-year old Igmidio Mista’s jury trial be moved from August 4 to September 8, 2014. The…
THE apple that fell far from the tree…one I could only dream of—a perfect newshen. God’s little pencil. I would have taught her to begin each work by having a real and passionate curiosity about how people behave in the infinitely various situations they find themselves in. To be aware that no art can be…
