81 PERCENT of the viewers, who voted in our daily poll in The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America, said their families are not ready to accept same-sex marriage. They reiterated their belief that marriage should only be between one man and one woman. These kababayans echo the sentiment of many other religious and morally-conservative Americans, who…
AS if it were not enough that Dan Brown pointed to them as one of the reasons Manila is the “gates of hell,” squatters (well, okay, informal settlers) have been blamed for the floods in the metropolis because their shanties and trash are clogging up the esteros and waterways. For this reason, the MMDA and…
STATISTICS show that approximately 1.5 million people file bankruptcy in the United States every year. There are different reasons for filing- unemployment, foreclosure, medical bills, overwhelming credit card debts, etc. Some of these reasons are beyond anyone’s control. But some of them are also self-caused (example: lack of planning, mismanagement of finances). No one is…
ON Wednesday, June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in Windsor v. US, which ruled that the Federal DOMA, passed in 1996, is unconstitutional. The decision, in holding that each of the 50 states may define “marriage” according to their own terms, should allow for the extension of immigration benefits based…
The Philippines is endowed with diverse natural resources. Across the country, locals continue to struggle in developing all these to better use regardless of economic instabilities. Filipino discoveries are certainly making waves throughout the world. The province of Laguna is one of the many places in the country that has a lot to offer. Its…
LOS ANGELES – Eric Garcetti officially assumed office as the next LA City Mayor and took his ceremonial oath of office on the steps of City Hall on Sunday afternoon, June 30. “You’ll have a local government that’s off your back and on your side,” Garcetti promised in his inaugural speech. The former Council District…
In his book, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, Matthew Kelley asks: “Have you wandered what God is really like? How would you describe him?” He then answers his own question by saying: “ One word I would use is generous. In everything we attribute to God, I see immense acts of generosity. Creation is…
SOMETIMES there’s no explanation why people choose the profession they are in. It just happens as though it’s a blessing from God: a baseball pitcher with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball, or a concert pianist with a pair of dexterous fingers and a deft ear. If it’s in your heart, you just know it’s meant to be….
ON Thursday (June 27), the US Senate made a historic move — passing a comprehensive immigration bill through a 68-32 vote and giving hope to 11 million undocumented immigrants, who would finally be able to attain legal status and a 13-year path to citizenship. The bill also promises to fortify security in the US-Mexico border,…
AFTER reviewing the challenges (to both nationwide restrictions placed on gay couples under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and California’s Proposition 8 or same-sex marriage ban), the US Supreme Court ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional, and that same-sex marriages can now resume in California, after the SC dismissed the appeal of anti-gay marriage…
(Part 1) IF YOU have debt problems, think of Samson. Samson lived in Israel about 1200 B.C. Before he was born, the Israelites betrayed the one true God again by going back to their ungodly ways. God punished the Israelites by delivering them over to the Philistines who worshipped the false god Dagon. Thus, the…
CALIFORNIA law prohibits discrimination based on disability or medical condition. An employer may not terminate or discriminate against an employee in compensation or other conditions of employment based on the employee’s disability or medical condition. Arkady Kivman worked at Aeros Aeronautical Systems Corp. as a production technician. In 2007, he was injured and had surgery….
A CONCERN that is growing rapidly is the cancellation of mortgage foreclosures. Although these are leading causes, they are not the only ones; cancellation of debts could be from consumer debts, bank and finance companies as well. For debt cancelled due to a mortgage debt, the option I would suggest homeowners to know about is…
“Federal and state collection laws prohibit abusive collection tactics but the reality is that a lot of bill collectors do not follow these laws and will make your life miserable by harassing you for payment.” IF you are delinquent on your debts, you may be able to avoid dealing with the bill collectors for a…
LOS ANGELES – If the Council District 6 Special Primary Nominating Elections in May are any indication, Cindy Montañez is likely to become the frontrunner in the coming CD6 special elections in July. During the May special primaries, Montañez garnered 43 percent of the votes, while her next opponent in the race, Nury Martinez, only…
LOS ANGELES – A broad coalition of immigrant rights, labor, and faith groups gathered in Los Angeles on Wednesday and held a 24-hour vigil calling for real immigration reform. With their core message focusing on the importance of protecting immigrant families, the vigil was held in time to coincide with the Senate’s voting and historic…
Words are mere grace notes. All my life I have dealt with words. They are adequate for many of our purposes, indispensable for most. They can be immeasurably beautiful and graceful. But they can’t do everything. The power of a photograph, with its vivid communication of reality, is a tapestry which tells a story, through…
This early, weeks before his formal inauguration to office, Jersey City mayor-elect Steven Fulop has his hands full with a “things-to-do list” already full of bright ideas and strategic schemes to implement in order to move the city forward. Focused like an arrow in flight, the amiable mayor also plans to restructure the Jersey City…
QUESTION: I got into a minor criminal situation and now I am very afraid that I will be placed into deportation proceedings. What can I do? Answer: There are several forms of relief that you might be eligible for in proceedings. However, one very effective tool that I would look into would be known as…
This early, weeks before his formal inauguration to office, Jersey City mayor-elect Steven Fulop has his hands full with a “things-to-do list” already full of bright ideas and strategic schemes to implement in order to move the city forward. Focused like an arrow in flight, the amiable mayor also plans to restructure the Jersey City…
LOS ANGELES – With barely two weeks to go before the 8th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour (ACGTDT) to the Philippines, the Department of Tourism’s Promotions Board shifts to high gear as they prepare to welcome tour participants coming from various consular posts in Canada and the United States. This year a total…
SUSAN Roces, the original and legendary Queen of Philippine Movies, heads the list of July birthday celebrants. Inday Susan, as called by her close friends and relatives, will celebrate her 72nd birthday on Sunday, July 28 with her daughter, the newly elected Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares. Madam Roces is the widow of the late undisputed…
“In Lahaina everybody took care of everybody.” These were the memories of Rozita Villanueva Lee about the little village in Maui, Hawaii where she grew up and where she spent her early childhood. Decades later, “taking care of everybody” is still what keeps her busy. In Las Vegas where she has lived since 1979, Lee…
A comedian once noted that many of us want to get to heaven without dying. While this sounds funny, it is also a reality especially when it comes to our health and disease prevention. Majority of us want to acquire the best health effortlessly, without the sacrifices needed to achieve it effectively and safely. We…
June 26, 2013 is a historic day for gay and lesbian couples. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, and that same – sex marriages are once again valid in California! What this means is that it is now possible for same – sex couples,…
WHEN justice is delayed, is justice denied? This pithy aphorism seems to be fitting for relatives of some of the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao killings. On June 24, activist lawyer Harry Roque reported that families of 14 Maguinadanao massacre victims, have agreed to monetary settlement and demanded P50 million from those charged in the…
THIS week may very well be the moment that will change the way America defines marriage. The Supreme Court has been reviewing challenges to both California’s Prop 8 and the nationwide restrictions placed on gay couples under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). At the core of these two landmark gay marriage cases is…
THE debate over the United States economy and dearth of high-tech workers has spotlighted the H-1B professional working visa in the press. Nonetheless, Congress has been slow to respond in the face of economic problems throughout the World and the FY 2014 H-1B quota is sure to be reached within just a couple of weeks…
We bid farewell to the hot days in the Philippines as Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services or PAGASA officially announced last week that the wet season is here. Our country is endowed with infinite natural abundance and the rest that come from it. With the prevalence of the monsoon winds in our country, Filipinos…
The quest of every heart — for a measure of happiness and security in the noisy confusion and pressure of today’s world, against the great canvass of economics and politics and far-reaching world affairs — makes us long for warmth, tenderness, understanding, kindness, love and affection. For all these seem to be strangely out of…
