FVR to Fil-Ams: “Forget not our motherland Pilipinas”

“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….

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An Honor and A Privilege

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….

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Ripe for investments

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…

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Your debts and King David’s lust

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…

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Tax tips for students working at a summer job

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…

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Immigration consequences of a DUI conviction

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…

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What to do when injured on someone else’s property

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…

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Still no leads on Pinay hit-and-run victim’s death

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…

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Once upon a sad time in Las Vegas

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…

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The greatest miracle

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…

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Why does my Priority Date move so slowly?

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…

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For the ‘City of Our Affections’

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…

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Vicious cycle

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…

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It’s more fun in hell

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…

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The Samsung Galaxy Camera packs a punch

LOS ANGELES—If the Samsung Galaxy Camera were a professional basketball player, it would be the Lebron James of the point-and-shoot cameras league. Before this escalates into a heated debate on the Miami Heat forward, let me clarify that this is not a discussion of whether or not Lebron James – or for that matter, the…

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The serious side of comedy

THOUGH the few good TV shows back home are applauded, it is dismaying that these small islands of quality are almost lost in the sea of mediocrity and outright vulgarity, which characterize some current television fare. The best humor, when it is not simply playful, says something witty about the issue it confronts. The solution…

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