THIS week is all color (blue, red, white and yellow) and splendor, as Filipinos all over the world once again gather to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898. “Ambagan,” which means “contribution, share in a collective affair,” is the highlight of this year’s celebrations. With the theme, “Kalayaan…
WE, Fil-Am parents, uprooted ourselves and our families from the Philippines with the dream of giving our kids a better life than we had growing up back home. All we wanted was for them to be happy and successful. But as we navigate our new life in America, many of our us would every now…
BAY AREA – A Bay area news station believes a mechanical failure inside the limousine led to the fire which killed 5 Filipino nurses, who were on their way to a wedding party last month. San Francisco-based ABC7 News reported on June 5 the weight of the passengers might have ruptured the air springs in the rear…
LOS ANGELES – The Filipino student who emerged as a local hero on Friday’s grim shooting in Santa Monica remains humble, amid praises from fellow students and online netizens for his bravery. Marcel Khan, a 22-year old student and library staff of Santa Monica College, was on his last day of work when the shooting…
The president wears a prestigious crown. The protocol, the linguistic circumlocution are intimidating at first, but then become a second language. There is something about the aura of the President that makes everyone behave in a reverential manner. The air changes when you’re talking to the President. It alters the way you behave around him….
“Forget not your motherland and always endeavor to inculcate the Filipino values of sacrifice, valor, patriotism, love of God, country, people and the environment especially to the new generation of Filipino-Americans as you observe the 115th Philippine Independence Day here in the United States.” This was the core message of former Philippine President Fidel V….
In the United States Army, the term “commander” is officially applied to the commanding officer of a unit; hence, there are company commanders, battalion commanders and brigade commanders. On June 6, at a ceremony at General’s Field, Honolulu, Hawaii, a young Filipino-American Captain in the US Army was promoted to the position of Company Commander….
At the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia, President Benigno S. Aquino III told businessmen that the Philippines, as the “brightest spark” in Southeast Asia and as “Asia’s Rising Tiger,” is now ripe for investments, touting “the reforms and the new mandate his administration received from the Filipino people in the last midterm…
DURING the course of the heated and contentious debate about immigration reform, we have heard how many of our kababayans, who are already US citizens or green card holders characterize Pinoys without legal papers in America as law breakers, leeches sucking up taxpayers’ money, lazy, selfish, pabigat sa America, etc. This stereotyping is also among…
SOMETIMES you wonder why you acquire so much debt without really thinking about it. Client makes $20,000 a month which is high income. When his home increased in value in 2006, he obtained a home equity loan of $300,000 and used that as down payment to buy two McMansions. With 3 houses and $1.5 M…
HERE are 10 tips for students with summer jobs: 1. Fill out Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate). This form is used by employers to determine the amount of tax that will be withheld from your paycheck. If you have multiple summer jobs, make sure all your employers withhold adequate amount of taxes to cover…
DRIVING under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or narcotics is a serious threat to public safety. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for DUI in the US in 2010. In the same year, there were 10,228 fatalities in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Thus, law enforcement officials are…
WHILE visiting someone else’s home or place of business, a person may become seriously injured. Such injuries may have arisen as a result of wet floors, uneven steps or floors, falling objects, defective elevators, defective roadways and sidewalks, poorly lit staircases, inadequate security, dog bites, and other dangerous conditions on the premises. Building and home…
FANNIE Mae and Freddie Mac are the leading indicator and director of mortgage interest rates. You and I are at their mercy to keep rates low in order for more homeowners to be able to buy or refinance to a cheap rate. But when the company reports a quarterly profit of over $50 billion, it…
WESTWOOD – Acclaimed journalist and spokesperson for undocumented peoples Jose Antonio Vargas said the voices of Filipinos are missing in the comprehensive immigration reform debate and it’s time to be heard. “Is the Filipino-American community as awake as they should be when it comes to this? I don’t think they are,” said Vargas during a…
HEALTH CARE ADVOCATES WARN LOS ANGELES – California Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal for the state has been announced, and health care advocates are not happy. In Brown’s revised budget, counties across California could lose health care funding that would potentially leave millions of people without health care coverage. On Friday, May 31, the…
ARTESIA – Lakewood police investigators are urging the public for leads in the hit-and-run death of an 83-year-old Filipino woman who was walking to church on the morning of May 25. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a red car struck and killed Carolina Garnado Estrella around 4:40am Saturday morning (May 25) as…
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Municipal Election is over, and the city is now waiting for the certified results to be announced by the LA City Clerk’s Office. Although the results that came out on election night was not what John Choi hoped for, he nevertheless expressed his gratitude for the hundreds of volunteers…
The whole city is heaving, like a tired beast. Las Vegas is already hot. Its 115-degree temperature promised long sultry weekend. Bikini-clad ladies were oiled and gleaming in various stages of undress, tormenting men about in swimming pools. Cosmopolitan gamblers cruising the casinos, seniors in babyhood, short shorts waddles beside Armani cotton shirts casually unbuttoned…
AT ONE time or another in one’s life many of us had wanted a miracle to happen. It could be a healing of a friend from cancer, a completion of a seemingly impossible project, a spiritual vision that could take away doubt in one’s faith, or a big financial gain. We had experienced God as…
Question: I was ordered deported, but ICE is not deporting me. Can you let me know what is going on with this situation? Answer: You are probably on an order of supervision. This is when you are released pursuant to the proper order and you are released pursuant to an order of supervision. The Commissioner,…
After having seen a great number of diversely conceptualized Philippine ethnic and cultural stage presentations, I was certain that I’ve seen the best. But this changed when I was invited to watch Day By Day Christian Ministries’ KALOOB. A non-denominational evangelical mega-church organization headquartered in Makati City, Philippines, Day By Day Christian Ministries or DBD…
LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2013 – More low-income Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) customers are eligible to save 20 percent on their monthly natural gas bill and receive no-cost energy efficient home improvements as a result of updated income guidelines for the state-sponsored California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Energy Savings Assistance Program. “SoCalGas…
After having seen a great number of diversely conceptualized Philippine ethnic and cultural stage presentations, I was certain that I’ve seen the best. But this changed when I was invited to watch Day By Day Christian Ministries’ KALOOB. A non-denominational evangelical mega-church organization headquartered in Makati City, Philippines, Day By Day Christian Ministries or DBD…
Life should not be measured not by the number of years, but rather by the love shared with your relatives and friends. These moments are priceless memories — the joy and blessing that God has given to us. This love was felt during Ferdie Villar’s birthday celebration held last Saturday, June, at his residence in…
There are only so many immigrant visas available (or allocated) for your country each year. Many people under petition are confused and mystified about the priority date on their petition, why it moves so slowly, why it may retrogress (or move backwards), or sometimes does not move at all. In other words, why does it…
A few weeks ago, a certain fury was unleashed by Filipinos. The gates have been opened and out came a flurry of statements in defense of Manila. Dan Brown’s latest novel, Inferno, already making a killing at the bookstores, had one of his characters depicting Manila as the gates of hell with its traffic jams, smothering…
AS mandated by the Constitution, every individual is entitled to free and quality education. It is a right and not a privilege. From its P2 trillion budget for 2013, the Philippine government gave the biggest slice to the education sector. The P292.7 billion allocation is intended to improve the quality of education through the provision…
IT WAS truly heartbreaking to hear the news about the death of a 12-year old Filipina in Queens, New York, who took her own life because she could not take the cruel messages in school and online anymore. Authorities have confirmed that Gabrielle Molina, who was found hanging in her bedroom last week in Queens…
SOME detractors are saying that, as incoming mayor of Manila, Erap Estrada will be the new boss of City Hell. At any rate, whatever that idiot, Dan Brown, says, I’ll take Manila anytime. Did I call Brown an idiot? Yes, and I’m entitled to my opinion, just as he is entitled to his, even if…
