WITH any kind of tragedy that comes to the Philippines, artists will always find ways to help—either by donating cash and in kind, volunteering or both—their fellow Filipinos. Just last week, Leyte and other provinces was devastated by the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda. At present, the government, international aid and other non-profit agencies are trying…
Practically without exception, at least a dozen poisons (toxic chemicals) can be found in every home today, in the bathrooms, kitchen, garage, and backyards. Among them are phthalates. Phthalates are a family of very common chemicals used in a variety of products, from children’s toys, hard plastics or polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl), certain cosmetics,…
How, what and where to send donations SAN BRUNO— An outpour of donations and support for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda that hit the Philippines last Nov. 8 are continuously going on the Bay Area, especially from local Filipino organizations. Fundraising events are being organized, and most people believe that recovery from this kind…
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…
Out for a night from our ink-stained asylum, a college of crankers and museum of misfits with huge egos and even larger insecurities, herds of highly-educated dinosaurs planned a deliciously sharp and hilarious cooking as a farewell gesture for Deputy Consulate General Dan Espiritu. The night was a perfect metaphor time was a plateau for…
MONDAY was met with a heavy heart, as the horrors of the tragedy that struck Central Visayas last Friday began to unfold. Whether firsthand experience at the site or at home through the media, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike shared the same sentiments — that of shock and sadness for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan…
PHILIPPINE officials say more than 10,000 Filipinos are feared dead, and about 800,000 are displaced because of super typhoon Yolanda. Despite all the local and international help being extended to the affected provinces in the Visayas, experts say it will probably take many years, even a decade to rebuild these areas, and the lives of…
Dear Editor, AS I read in your paper (Asian Journal – Nov. 8-14, 2013 issue) Greg Macabenta’s column, “A Closer Look at Corruption,” it’s a sad thing to note that we lay the blame on corruption [as] the root cause of poverty and hardships in the Philippines. He cited the premise: “Kung walang corrupt, walang…
THE PR temperature has cooled down a bit since Sonny Coloma took over as presidential spokesman. His explanations about happenings in Malacañang, that are not as laborious and convoluted as that of spokespersons Edwin Lacierda and Abigail Valte, have been printed by the press with much less sniping. While Coloma comes with impressive credentials as…
The Philippines is one of Asia’s most populous countries and primarily a Christian nation where approximately a large percent of its citizens are devout Catholics. That being said, the Filipino community is widely known to have unique way of celebrating religious holidays. Christmas is perhaps the most awaited season for everyone. In some countries, preparations…
LOS ANGELES – On Monday night, President Benigno S. Aquino III declared a state of national calamity in order to expedite the government’s rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts in the provinces devastated by Yolanda. The state of national calamity will remain in effect until lifted by Aquino. According to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report, as much as…
Blame October’s lunar monsoons orbit last Wednesday. The much ballyhooed “Roast of the Decade” by no less than the meanest, cruelest, heartless and outrageous troika of Bobby Reyes, Bernardo Bernardo and Ka Larry Pelayo turned out to be a romantic evening for Deputy Consul General Dan Espiritu, whose tour of duty ends this month. The…
We briefly discussed in the last article the current rules for acquiring U.S. citizenship by birth abroad to U.S. citizen (USC) parents. Today, we’ll see some examples that illustrate both current and past acquisition laws. Let’s say A was an American soldier who remained in the Philippines after the end of the Philippine-American War in…
IN strolling through the shopping centers in our Office’s surrounding neighborhood, one cannot help but feel that the immigrant sprit of entrepreneurship is alive and well. Small IT start-ups, mom-and-pop Asian restaurants, franchise American take-out restaurants, hair salons, bookstores, and language and music schools, are owned and operated by immigrants—many of whom are recent arrivals….
THE outspoken senator strikes again. While Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was busy grilling Janet Lim-Napoles at the senate hearing on Thursday, her quips were also trending in social media. Leaving her sickbed for the senate investigation on the P10-billion pork barrel scam, Santiago was merciless in her line of questioning, albeit in a more composed tone….
OUR beloved Philippines has once again been tested by the wrath of nature, with the landfall of Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), which meteorologists say may be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in recorded history — even more intense and powerful than typhoon “Yoling” which caused massive death and destruction in…
THE Israelites have just ended their 40 years of wandering about in the Sinai Desert after God delivered them from 400 years of bondage in Egypt. God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, Who sent to us His only and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Who became man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, Who…
1. IRS wants you to keep good records to document your income and support your expenses. It does not require you to keep records in any specific manner, but there are proven ways to keep good files. Read on. 2. There are two basic types of filers: the rat pack that hoards files for the…
Q: I WORK as an assistant manager for a retail store. I am a salaried employee and exempt from overtime. Upper management requires me to multi-task and do the work of hourly employees such as stocking the shelves, data entry, and customer service – tasks which take up a lot of my time and force…
QUESTION: I’m in the military and I know somebody who was in the military years ago. Can we become US Citizens? Answer: Members and certain veterans of the US armed forces may be eligible for naturalization through their military service under a couple of different sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Additionally, the…
FULLERTON – A Filipina labor trafficking survivor testified at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, detailing how she was brought to the country and forced to work at an elderly care home. Angela Guanzon, 36, said she was so naive and excited to come to the United States in 2005 that she didn’t ask her recruiter…
BATON ROUGE – Nerelyn Soreta, a Filipina teacher in Baton Rouge, LA charged with assaulting a wheel chair bound student, is now out on a $10,000 bail. According to a Balitang America report, Soreta was charged with simple battery of the infirm. If convicted, Soreta will be face six months of incarceration for the offense. Earlier this…
LOS ANGELES – Amid ‘conflicting’ and ‘misleading’ information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in a press briefing, officials of Asia Pacific Health Care Ventures (APHCV) emphasized that proper education about the health reform law is vital, so that people can understand what they’re going to get under the law and be able to take…
Builds on gang prosecution success LOS ANGELES – A Filipina lawyer is banking on her success as a gang homicide prosecutor to serve as a springboard for her bid to become the next Judge for the LA County Superior Court. Teresa Pineda Magno, a 14-year veteran Deputy District Attorney in LA, seeks a seat on…
LOS ANGELES – Sharon Arlanza Yost, a 33-year-old Filipina based in San Diego, is suing the United States government for negligence, false imprisonment and for negligent and intentional infliction of distress. Yost claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wrongfully imprisoned her from May to December 2011. She also alleges that ICE officials then…
THE First Reading of last Sunday’s Mass from the Book of Wisdom still echoes in my mind. “For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it…
Are you struggling with debt problems? Are you doing your best to pay but simply can’t? Have you thought of filing bankruptcy but are afraid that this might not be the right solution to your problems? Filing bankruptcy is a personal decision that should be taken seriously. Whether or not it is necessary for you…
Who says nobody could equally serve two masters at a time? A majority of people fanatically subscribe to this adage but not the second generation Filipino-Canadian banker Marie Claire Lim Moore who, during the entire period of her pregnancy, was still able to utilize her mental faculties to the hilt by documenting her childhood memoirs…
By Peter Schurmann & Video: Jacob Simas – New America Media Ed. Note: In September former secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano took over as president of the University of California, the first-ever woman to hold that position. She now heads a $24 billion system of 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national laboratories….
LOS ANGELES—An alliance agreement signed on October 28 by the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (US DOL WHD), Western and Southwest Regional Offices, aims to educate Filipino workers, both legal and illegal, on their rights to fair wages and working conditions. The alliance agreement…
