PLEASE allow me to deviate from my usual commentaries and discussions about current issues. I want to use this opportunity to pay homage to my younger brother, David Santos. He died unexpectedly on Saturday, September 28, at the young age of 44. I just came back from a short trip to Manila, to say goodbye…
FOR the first time since the Clinton Administration, the Federal Government began a partial shutdown on October 1, 2013, with the Senate and House of Representatives unable to reach an agreement on the budget before the commencement of the new fiscal year. The abrupt shutdown has placed perhaps one million Federal workers on unpaid…
With the cool season now in the country, never miss out a heartwarming bowl of hot Bulalo or beef shank soup especially when in Tagaytay, Cavite. It is an original Filipino beef stew cooked with beef shanks and marrow bones. With simple ingredients, the traditional Bulalo dish is definitely a great dish that’s easy to…
On Saturday, October 5, the California Republican Party will continue strengthening ties with California’s fastest growing ethnic group in it’s third Asian Pacific American Roundtable at the California Republican Party Convention. Spurred by the leadership of Board of Equalization Vice Chair Michelle Steel and California Republican Party Vice Chair Harmeet Dhillon, more than two dozen…
IF WE only knew fully what were getting into, perhaps we may not have taken a path or decided on a kind of life. It could be a marriage, a career, or a business. It could be as noble as the priesthood or the religious life. It could as grandiose as a decision to engage…
It’s been said that no people on earth are more fearful and anxious than the members of the press, when they are written about. Think about why doctors are known to be impossible patients and why pilots panic when they’re the passengers. Journalists spend their lifetime exacting information from people. When the tables are turned,…
DUE to the significantly shorter processing times than other categories, the EB-2 classification is highly sought after by talented immigrants. In comparison to the EB-3 immigrant category, which currently takes about seven years for Filipinos, the EB-2 category is now current for processing and the Green Card can typically be obtained in about one year…
PCG-LA joins in the forum discussion SAN PEDRO – The Office of Advocacy from the US Small Business Administration initiated the roundtable discussion on Food Safety Act on September 24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Pedro, CA. One of the participants in the forum event was the Philippine Consulate General from Los Angeles…
OPEN enrollment for Covered California begins on October 1st, with coverage beginning on January 1, 2014. Covered California is the state’s health insurance marketplace (created in congruence with the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare, which was made into law in 2010), where Californians can shop around, compare and apply for health coverage plans. In its…
WHAT is supposed to be a common aspiration– to end corruption in the Philippines and seek justice in the pork barrel scam — has now divided Filipinos all over the world. At the center of the debate is the question of whether alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam should testify in the Senate…
PEOPLE with debts problems are worried sick about their debts. Almost daily, clients tell me that they cannot sleep and very worried about their debts. They have long faces and look troubled. Sometimes, I tell them that God, my God, the God of Moses and Israel, who sent His only and beloved Son, Jesus Christ,…
OSFEL Andrade, an immigrant from Mexico, worked in the shipping department of Terra Universal, a laboratory equipment manufacturer in Fullerton, California when immigration agents conducted a worksite raid on June 29, 2010. During the raid, ICE agents arrested 43 workers and placed them in deportation proceedings. Andrade was not arrested that day, but instead of…
QUESTION: I’m an Australian Citizen. Are there any special visas from Australia that I might be able to qualify for as an Australian Citizen? Answer: Yes. The E-3 nonimmigrant classification is for Australian citizens who will perform professional “specialty occupation” assignments in the United States. E-3 status may be valid for up to two years…
NEWPORT BEACH – Ramon San Pedro wiped tears from his eyes as a parade of breast cancer survivors carried smiles and held up pink roses through a crowd of people on Sunday at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event on Fashion Island in Newport Beach. San Pedro, a 56-year-old Filipino from Norwalk,…
I STILL think fondly about my enjoyable trip to Guatemala and El Salvador. I think not so much about the places that I visited but the warm encounters that I had with the people there. I remember the times that I sat at dinner table with some families and friends and engaged in joyous conversations…
LOS ANGELES – With the open enrollment season for California’s health care exchange about to open on Oct. 1, consumers are using the Internet to acquire more information about the Affordable Care Act and Covered California (the state-run marketplace where Californians can shop around, compare and apply for health coverage plans). However, on Friday, a…
Filipinos have least incidence of poverty, low-income LOS ANGELES – In a report released by Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA) on September 25, the Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities LA County remained as the fastest-growing groups in the last decade — accounting for the county’s increasing diversity. The report (entitled…
LOS ANGELES – Filipino-American organizations are squabbling with one another over the direction of the denied claims of Filipino World War II Veterans (Filvets). Earlier this week, the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV), one of the leading advocates for Filvets, criticized the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) for the latter’s support of…
LA tycoon Dr. Soon-Shiong vows to fight ‘medical apartheid’ LOS ANGELES – Asian business leaders were honored for their work in giving back to the community at the recently-concluded Asian Business Association (ABA) 37th Annual Awards Banquet in Los Angeles. The ABA gala, held on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Westin Bonaventure hotel in Downtown…
A German-inspired celebration, Oktoberfest was established in 1810 following the unusual marriage of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Theresia. The festival is uniquely unusual because the King invited the whole public to attend his wedding and celebrate with him, something that never happened in the past. From then on, the event was celebrated…
LIFE just happens. Sometimes even the best laid plans can go wrong. How do you respond when this happens to you? Do you easily give up when you’re overwhelmed? Remaining calm can be difficult when things are chaotic so the usual reaction is panic. As a bankruptcy attorney, I often see this when people are…
An action for dissolution of marriage often involves the division of community property. Typically, this involves property that is in the control and possession of either spouse. However, community property is often in the control of a third party not involved in the divorce proceeding. This scenario commonly occurs when one of the spouses has…
A German-inspired celebration, Oktoberfest was established in 1810 following the unusual marriage of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Theresia. The festival is uniquely unusual because the King invited the whole public to attend his wedding and celebrate with him, something that never happened in the past. From then on, the event was celebrated…
IN 1973, Rizal Governor Adelina Rodriguez sponsored the first Green Revolution Trade and Exposition Industrial Fair in Pasig. It was highlighted by the nationwide search for Miss Green Revolution, which I was the pageant chairman. The winner of this beauty competition is none other than Rosario Navarro Santos, also known as Charo Santos, who is…
Dear Atty. Gurfinkel: My family and I came to the US before 2007, to make a better life and future for our children, who then were still under 16 years of age. We overstayed and are now out of status. I’ve read about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which may allow my kids to…
Physicians are no exceptions to public scrutiny. Just like corporations, universities, colleges, hospitals, automobiles, appliances, goods and other products on the market today, physicians are all being scrutinized and rated by the public and consumers advocates. This is going on for centuries, albeit not in the same “organized and business-like” system as they are being…
10-year-old Fil-Am girl waiting for match SAN BRUNO—Not all people know that race and ethnicity is a major factor in finding a match for someone who badly needs it. According to Fion See of the Asian American Donor Program (AADP), there are only 37 percent of minorities registered as bone marrow donors in the National…
No matter how many times a reporter walks into Malacañang Palace, she/he will always feel a sense of awe and wonder. How could so much power be concentrated in one relatively small building? The Palace is the starting point for a lot of things, with its bottomless pit of news. It is the greatest fishing…
ONCE described as a medieval institution, the Catholic Church (under the leadership of Pope Francis I) is no longer sitting on its laurels. The high prelate is encouraging the Church, along with its followers, to evolve and adapt to the changing world. “The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules….
WHAT is the role of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in the quest for truth and justice in the ongoing investigations for the pork barrel scam? What mandate does it have to fulfill this mission? These are questions in mind of the general public, as the plot thickens in the continuing saga of the pork…
