THIS mild, sunny morning charmed me into happiness and I realized my cheer was partly because I was alone. I thought for an awful moment that perhaps I was essentially unloving, perhaps had never loved. But years of joy made me think that yes, I have loved. However, the question is that was it enough? …
LOS ANGELES – Top officials of the Philippine Social Security System (SSS) kicked off their US outreach mission with a community briefing at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles on Friday, October 11. Headed by SSS President and CEO Emilio S. De Quiros, Jr., the SSS delegation consisted of Vice President Maria Lourdes N….
ASKED what he would miss most about his home for more than three years, outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas recently told Inquirer.net that it would be “Its people (Filipinos).” In previous interviews, Thomas said the Filipinos are the number one asset of the country and is the reason why the economy…
BEGINNING October 21, same-sex couples in New Jersey will be able to wed. This, after a New Jersey judge rejected the state’s appeal to halt same-sex marriages. Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson cited the US Supreme Court’s June rejection of part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a move that ensured that same-sex spouses…
OVER the past several years, the USICE and related law enforcement agencies have embarked on an aggressive campaign to apprehend and remove from the United States thousands of aliens against whom “final orders” of deportation or removal have been entered. Most of these individuals actually appeared in Immigration Court and were informed of the order…
VISITING different places have helped individuals expand their world. Getting away from the usual daily setting can be a good way to end a rough week and a great start for the new week ahead. Traveling has become a lifestyle for most people—both young and old. And in our culture, it is something we, Filipinos,…
Partnership with literacy non-profit Reading is Fundamental will give an additional 100,000 books to kids nationwide. McDonald’s two-year book offering: anytime access to reading with new interactive digital books through 2014, second installation of Happy Meal Books to be offered in 2015. OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 10, 2013 – In time for National Family Literacy…
Jinggoy Estrada has apparently succeeded in diverting the attention of both mainstream and social media, from the P10-billion pork scandal to alleged anomalies involving Noynoy Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Malampaya fund. As I write this, the lead stories in the Manila dailies (excluding Business World which focuses on business and economic news)…
Nursing is most certainly a world into itself. Even as the debate in American healthcare rages, these remarkable men and women quietly continue to provide the day to day grit from the edge of life, each practicing in a variety of specialties including cardiac care, the ER, intensive care, obstetric, orthopedic surgery that holds the healing…
Overview A KEY element under consideration by Congress as it debates a comprehensive immigration reform bill is whether a “pathway to citizenship” for the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the US should be included. However, according to recent Homeland Security data, many immigrants that are already in the US lawfully and eligible to naturalize,…
RECENTLY, the Filipino community was abuzz as news spread about a 63-year old woman who was allegedly detained and harassed by US immigration officers for six hours at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The traveler, retired Asian Development Bank employee Cariza Yonzon Grande, was on her 13th trip to the United States in a span of…
FOR many kababayans visiting the United States, the most dreaded part of the trip is going through the immigration inspection. The recent news about a 63-year old Filipina being harassed and intimidated by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers in the point of entry in Seattle, Washington just validated the fear and apprehension of such…
DEBT problems can become a recurring nightmare for debtors who think they can handle debt problems by themselves. I have told you many times before that if you have debt problems you must rely on the one true God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and Beloved Son, Jesus…
1. File Electronically – Consider filing electronically instead of using paper tax forms. If you file electronically and choose direct deposit, you will receive your refund faster. 2. Check social security numbers – Make sure that SS numbers are correct for you, your spouse, and children. If you e-file, names used for your returns must…
(Employer’s Verbal Disclosure of Employee’s Medical Condition May Be Illegal) MELISSA Ignat worked for Yum! Brands, the corporate parent of several fast-food franchises, such as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Yum employed Melissa between 2005 and 2008 in the Yum Real Estate Title Department, in Irvine. Melissa suffered from bipolar disorder, for which she…
LOS ANGELES – “Filipino youth in Southern California celebrated the signing of California Assembly Bill 123 into law by Governor Brown on October 2, 2013. Introduced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, the bill requires the state curriculum to include the contributions of Filipino Americans to the farm labor movement in California. The signing of AB123 recognizes…
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Filipino Association of City Employees (LAFACE) commemorated the Filipino-American Heritage Month last October 11 at the Los Angeles City Hall. The event began with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the art displays held by Council Member Mitch O’Farrell of Council District 13 and Philippine Consul General Maria Hellen Barber-De…
LOS ANGELES – An attorney for a Filipino-American woman convicted of mail fraud and of advising undocumented Filipinos to remain in the country illegally has filed a motion for an acquittal. Daniel Cook, a partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP, on Oct. 7 filed the motion in the US District Court in Northern California…
ROSEMEAD – In July 2013, Southern California Edison (SCE) filed a Notice of Dispute with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in an attempt to recover all damages caused by what the power giant is calling as “Mitsubishi’s failed design and manufacture” of the San Onofre Replacement Steam Generators (RSGs) that led to the shutdown of the plant….
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a motion to provide a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests in solving a fatal hit and run case in Hollywood. In the incident, the victim was identified by LAPD detectives as Keymontae Mackenzie, a 22-year old transgendered woman. On September 27, the victim…
“WE are worthless servants, we have only done our duty,” a secretary of a Cardinal referred to these words of the gospel years ago during a dinner-tribute for his superior. Obviously, he was expressing his loyalty and obedience to the Cardinal. I have also thought of this gospel verse recently when I learned that my…
On Sunday, October 13 at 1:00 PM at the grand ballroom of the Ramada Plaza Hotel along Frontage Road in Newark, NJ, the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc. (PACCAL), a Jersey City-based 501 (c3) non-profit organization, will holds its 21st founding anniversary with a dinner-dance gala highlighted by its annual awards ceremony. As…
Almost every week, my office gets phone calls from people in debt who have been taken advantage of by so-called “debt settlement companies”. These are the companies who advertise on TV, newspapers and on the internet who tell people that their debts can be settled for “pennies on the dollar” and that they should avoid…
On Sunday, October 13 at 1:00 PM at the grand ballroom of the Ramada Plaza Hotel along Frontage Road in Newark, NJ, the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Inc. (PACCAL), a Jersey City-based 501 (c3) non-profit organization, will holds its 21st founding anniversary with a dinner-dance gala highlighted by its annual awards ceremony. As…
The government shutdown which began on October 1, 20013 and continues on without an end in sight has worried many with immigration concerns. We have received numerous inquiries from clients anxious about the effect of the government shutdown on their pending or soon to be filed immigration cases/applications/petitions. USCIS. Since the USCIS is a fee-based…
Some people, desperate for a better future in America, rely on the help of unscrupulous immigration consultants, who promise to “solve” the person’s immigration problem, secure them a work authorization, get them a green card, or the like. These people pay their hard earned money, but may not even know or understand what the consultant…
IT was the shortest relationship for Derek Ramsey and Cristine Reyes. Just a few weeks after admitting their relationship, the handsome actor then recently announced that he and Cristiine have broken up. In an interview with Pep.ph, during a press conference for Derek’s new series on TV5 For Love Or Money, the actor explained that…
Innuendos concerning his association with alleged Queen of Pork Barrel Scams, Janet Lim-Napoles, his insistence on retaining his humongous presidential pork barrel-in-disguise, and recent allegations of bribery to ensure the impeachment by the Senate of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, have raised doubts about the avowed incorruptibility of Benigo S. Aquino III. His vaunted Daang…
For years physicians have suspected that snoring is generally associated with sleep apnea, and sleep apnea was linked to sudden cardiac death. Unlike heart attack not related to sleep apnea, which could occur anytime of the day, cardiac death from a common condition called sleep apnea which happens while the patient is asleep. A 69-year…
Passports, documents lost, asks for public’s help WHAT should be an uplifting and exciting time for a young group of performers from Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila, turned to be a heartbreaking experience. Just a few days after arriving in San Francisco for a series of performances in the Bay Area, the group’s mini-bus was…
