More than a week after super typhoon Haiyan (locally coded Yolanda) severely ravaged Eastern Visayas, typhoon victims remain helpless despite ongoing relief operations courtesy of the different countries, concerned citizens, and local government. Still in shock, aimless, and hardly struggling to survive , affected residents just don’t know where to start to reconstruct lost properties…
District Cites “Financial Risk” in Decision to Settle Voting Rights Suit Cerritos – The ABC Unified School District Board of Education voted during Tuesday’s meeting to settle a California Voting Rights Act suit, citing risk of exorbitant lawsuit expenses and the need to ensure the District remains focused on student achievement. As part of the…
This great holiday of thanks and giving is not a date on a calendar, but a state of mind. It is about our capacity to realize things that we can, sometimes, only imagine. No matter how difficult the recession is for each of us, there are always others who are going through more severe hardships….
WHEN there is despair, it is easy to dwell on the bad news. But from the rubble of tragedy, the best of humanity finds ways to bring back hope–especially for the people in need. On behalf of every Filipino, President Benigno S. Aquino III expresses his gratitude to every individual, organization and country who rallied…
THE US government has gone far and beyond relief efforts to help the Philippines recover and rebuild after being ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda. It has extended visa relief to kababayans in the Philippines and those in the United States with valid immigration papers. However, with the crisis the Philippines now faces in the aftermath…
I KNOW that Tacloban will rise, like the Phoenix, from its utter devastation. My beloved hometown and the province of Leyte have been through worse. It was in Palo, a few kilometers from Tacloban, where General Douglas MacArthur and the allied forces landed on October 20, 1944, on the way to the liberation of the…
ON December 16, 2010, USCIS issued an official Memorandum to implement the provisions of INA §204(l), or the Surviving Relatives Law. The memo amends the USCIS’ Adjudicators’ Field Manual (AFM) to provide consistency in adjudications under the Surviving Relatives Law at USCIS offices throughout the Country. The memo should allow for immediate USCIS’ action on…
Typhoon Haiyan, the world’s strongest typhoon ever recorded, lashed the Philippines and has caused massive destruction and a large number of fatalities. It has wiped out towns, destroyed homes, infrastructures and roads leaving thousands homeless and wounded. Survivors now face the aftermath of the typhoon’s wrath as they struggle to hold on for their own lives….
Air pollution ‘chokes’ young boys and girls – Sen. De Leon LOS ANGELES – On Thursday, November 14, a diverse coalition of community-based, public health science and conservation groups launched, a campaign that looks to put one million light, medium and heavy duty electric vehicles on California roads within the next 10 years. In a…
Los Angeles, 14 November 2013 – The officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General participated in the 5K Walk spearheaded by the Philippine Disaster Relief Organization (PeDRO) together with Renew our Minds and Heart Foundation (ROHMA) on 10 November 2013 at Woodley and Balboa Park in Van Nuys, California. This fundraising event was participated…
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) – As Filipinos here in San Diego wait to hear from their loved ones, many are helping to gather supplies to send to their devastated homeland. Danny Short is passionate about two things — his work and his family. Danny, who grew up in the Philippines, tried to reach is wife’s…
I know that Tacloban will rise, like the Phoenix, from its utter devastation. My beloved hometown and the province of Leyte have been through worse. It was in Palo, a few kilometers from Tacloban, where General Douglas MacArthur and the allied forces landed on October 20, 1944, on the way to the liberation of the…
We have covered in previous articles the different ways of acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth. Aside from birth, the other means of acquiring U.S. citizenship is through naturalization. Under INA 101(a)(23), naturalization refers to the act of conferring nationality on a person after birth. Naturalization includes: (1) naturalization of an individual adult; (2) collective naturalization…
Walnut Mayor Tony Cartagena, Filipino- American and long time resident of Walnut, appeals for Disaster Relief Aids from various organizations, companies, and community members in the San Gabriel Valley to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (named Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines). A joint and collaborative efforts have been established by St. Lorenzo Ruiz…
Oftentimes, I get a feverish desire to go back to Tacloban — not the Tacloban in the face of total destruction, whose roads are strewn with corpses laying on the sodden grounds, with piles of debris, downed power lines and tin roofs blown away. Hungry orphaned children with their hands outstretched ask for help; battered…
IN THE aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the profound human toll and humanitarian crisis in and around Leyte is only beginning to come into full view. From an immigration perspective, some of those affected have turned to the US for help beyond the herculean relief efforts of the State Department, USAID and Department of Defense, and…
WHILE the typhoon victims are fighting the elements and struggling to survive, netizens are engaging in a “word war” on a bevy of topics related to Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda) in social media. From rants about the Philippine government’s inefficiency in implementing rescue and relief operations, to Korina Sanchez criticizing Anderson Cooper’s CNN coverage of…
AMID the chaos and desperation in the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), Filipinos in North America had the opportunity to reach out and lend a helping hand to our kababayans in the Visayas, whose communities have been ravaged by the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall. From November 13-14,…
GIVEN the devastation in the Philippines, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an article on November 15, 2013, to remind Filipino nationals impacted by typhoon Haiyan of possible immigration relief measures. Natural disasters and other extreme conditions can happen which are beyond anyone’s control. These unpredicted events may affect one’s USCIS application, petition or…
THE Bible has a strange story about a man being swallowed up by a whale. This man is Jonah. God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and beloved Son, Jesus Christ to us, and who became man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, and who willingly suffered and died on…
IN A landmark case, the Supreme Court has held that a conviction for willfully filing a false tax return is a deportable offense under our immigration laws. It reached the same conclusion with respect to a conviction for aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false return. Background – Tax evasion is a felony…
“ A person born in the United States with one parent or with both parent(s) no longer Philippine citizen(s) at time of birth is not a Philippine citizen at birth.” UNDER the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of…
Q: AS an onsite security guard, I am required to stay on the premises for 24 hours. My on-duty hours are from 6am to 6pm. I am off-duty and considered on “on-call” from 6pm until 6am the following day. I am given a sleeping area. I cannot leave the premises without permission. I am paid…
HOLLYWOOD – In a youthful show of solidarity, as many as 800 Filipino-American students gathered in Hollywood on Monday to show support for their lolos and lolas on Veterans Day. Led by Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV), a grassroots organization supporting the cause of WWII FilVets, Fil-Am students from as far as San Diego…
Appeals for add’l donations, body bags as rescue and relief efforts pick up pace LOS ANGELES – Overwhelmed with support flowing in from all over Los Angeles and other parts of her jurisdiction, Philippine Consul General Hellen Barber-De La Vega said that it was a ‘good kind of inundation’ that she was experiencing. Throughout the…
ARCHBISHOP Socrates Villegas has written a prayer in behalf of Filipinos on the tragic devastations of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. Here’s an excerpt of his prayer: Lord we are in great need. Like infants we cry to you, do not abandon us in our distress. We kneel in disbelief! How could you, Lord, have allowed this to…
Due to the massive devastation and destruction of unimaginable magnitude brought about by super typhoon Haiyan, the date November 8, 2013 will be etched in the history of the Philippines especially in the eastern part of the Visayas. The super typhoon, locally tagged Yolanda, was said to be the strongest typhoon ever recorded to make…
The decision to file bankruptcy is not an easy one but sometimes it’s the decision that could change your life for the better. When you are seriously in debt and have ran out of options, procrastination only guarantees that your problems will get worse before they get better. As this year comes to a close,…
I HAVE been watching and reading news stories about the horrific devastation and destruction of Typhoon Haiyan. As I write this, the death toll is rising and the extent of the destruction mounts. It was one of the strongest Typhoons ever, some people saying it was even stronger, and lasted longer, than Hurricane Sandy or…
The exact cause of canker sores is unknown. What we do know is that canker sores can be extremely bothersome! By better understanding some of the possible causes—and some treatment options—we hope to reduce the irritation canker sores may cause you. Possible canker sore causes These non-contagious lesions that appear on your gums, lips, cheeks,…
