LOS ANGELES – Filipino-American Rico Foz was only seven years old when he was first exposed to an environment of smoking. His father was a smoker who worked for a tobacco company. Often, Rico would be asked by his dad to buy cigarettes at the store. With very little knowledge on the habit’s negative impact…
Habemus Papam. “We have a pope.” The Vatican has finally chosen its new pontiff in 76-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has been named as Pope Francis. As the symbolic white smoke clears and rejoicing among Catholics linger, expectations from the new pontiff remain high — will he be able to revive the Catholic…
“REMEMBER not the events of the past, the things of long ago, consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:16). Aren’t these words that God spoke to the Israelites during their Babylonian exile relevant to our times now that we have a new pope? I…
I HAVE been following and writing about the conclave and the election of Pope Benedict XVI’s successor. But I was pleasantly surprised by my own emotions, when I saw white smoke coming out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. I was glued to the TV screen just before I drove to the TFC studio…
I was summoned by an invitation to attend a presscon at a quaint café called LA Rose. Green-topped tables groaning with mouth-watering dishes made an auspicious start of a thoroughly moving and inspiring launch for Greenfund Philippines (a 360-degree program which addresses livelihood, environmental protection, education and sustainability), where doing good makes good business sense….
MANY people, employers and employees alike, have been in our office recently requesting information on H-1B visas and whether or not that is an option for them. The rush to investigate H-1B possibilities is normal at this time of year. April 1 of every year is the date that US Citizenship and Immigration Services begins…
Q: I WORKED in a company for more than 10 years. A new supervisor was recently transferred to my department. This person and I do not get along. Last week, our human resources director informed me that the company was letting me go and gave me my last paycheck. I don’t have any disciplinary record…
FOR the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos working and living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dr. Rosario B. Tigno is widely known as a generous hero. The first Filipino doctor from the Philippines to practice in UAE, Dr. Tigno was issued a medical license by the Department of Health and Medical Services of Dubai…
THERE has been a lot of fines and penalties that the banks have assessed from all these claims of foreclosure abuses, including bungled loan modifications and wrongful evictions of borrowers who either current or still making their reduced modified payments. Federal regulators announced an $8.5 billion agreement with 10 mortgage servicers to settle these claims….
After a brief respite and heaps of social commitments that I had to cover, the continuation of my celebrity encounters resumes. Brace yourself for some more of my interesting nostalgic anecdotes. The “Fishnet & Minis” era gave Helen Gamboa an unprecedented popularity surge with the advent of musical films a fitting bifurcated avenue that showcased…
For 2013-2014 term CERRITOS – Filipino American Cerritos City Councilman Mark E. Pulido was elected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem for the 2013-2014 term by his city council colleagues at the Council’s annual reorganization meeting on the evening of March 13, 2013. The meeting began with outgoing mayor Jim Edwards being honored for his…
LOS ANGELES – A man wanted for criminal raps here in California was arrested by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Pampanga in the Philippines. Rodolfo Suacon, who is wanted in US for a multi-million dollar investment scam, was apprehended by NBI agents in his Pampanga home, where he had been hiding…
LOS ANGELES – For five Filipino-American sailors serving under the 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, it is a tremendous honor to take their Oaths of Reenlistment to the US Navy on Philippine shores. The Navy men took advantage of a recent port visit of the flagship to Manila, and had their reenlistment ceremonies done…
A young Fil-Am unprecedentedly shines in the recent staging of Lyman Frank Baum’s classic fantasy novel, The Wizard of Oz, at the Quibbletown Middle School’s Drama Club in Piscataway, New Jersey. A budding Broadway talent and potential beauty queen, Alyssa J. Shoemaker more than justifiably fits her role as Dorothy Gale to a T. As the…
Hepatoma is a common and deadly cancer among Asians. I lost a close friend, a Fil-Am physician, a couple of years ago, and a few others before that, all to hepatoma. They all lived for only about 6 months from the time of diagnosis. Also known as hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoma is the most common (70…
THE joke among so-called undocumented Mexicans in California is that they did not illegally cross the US border. The US border crossed them. The other joke is that Europeans were the original TNTs in the New World. The Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, might have a better appreciation of his chances to reclaim Sabah…
Each month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning that immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority…
VOTING in American Idol. Campaigning for Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle for the Papacy. Voting for a Pinoy to be CNN Hero of the Year. Participating in the Philippine and US Presidential elections. What compels Filipinos to momentarily drop what they are doing and deviate a little from their everyday routine in life (be it work, household chores, their…
And so the conclave begins. 115 cardinals, representing all Roman Catholics from all over the world, have gathered in Vatican City to elect the Church’s new pope. Only when a cardinal receives at least 77 of the votes and accepts the new position will the white smoke come out from the Sistine Chapel chimney-signaling that…
NEARLY everyone knows someone who is directly or indirectly affected by diabetes. Not only can diabetes be difficult to manage, but it can also increase a person’s risk for other major health problems—including oral health problems. It’s everyone’s obligation to help educate With over 300 million people worldwide suffering from diabetes, we want to be…
LOS ANGELES – As of press time, it has been confirmed that over 80 Filipinos will be attending a free citizenship workshop, to be hosted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) and the Office of Mayor Antonio R Villaraigosa on March 16, Saturday at the Los Angeles Public Library in Downtown LA. APALC’s…
LOS ANGELES – The trial for disgraced car dealer Eminiano Jun Reodica has been moved again, this time to May 21, 2013. Citing the case’s unusual and complex nature, United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge S. James Otero granted another continuance, so prosecutors and defense can effectively prepare their case…
Fire was an essential discovery that eventually helped man in taking control of his surroundings. If we trace the origins of fire, we might as well say that the first humans were blessed with it the first time tangible fire, being sunlight, touched their skin. But according to archaeologists, it was around the Lower Paleolithic…
Unlike the poisoned barb of satire and the killing point of wit, humor is healing. It is not only wholesome, but re-creative and rejuvenating — a jest that breaks no bones. Laughter is the best medicine. It doesn’t fly to assault the mind. It is warmly sympathetic, playful, sometimes light-hearted and sometimes hilarious — unlike…
WITH the US economy steadily improving over the past several months, US employers are hiring again. Last weeks Federal Jobs Report showed that US employers were again hiring at a vigorous pace, with 236,000 new jobs having been created during the month of February 2014. What this means for H-1B Visa applicants is that employers…
CHAPTER 13 is the section of the US Bankruptcy Code that allows individuals in the United States to reorganize their finances. If you are having difficulty paying your debts (credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, taxes, late mortgage payments and property taxes- all kinds of debts) due to insufficient income, don’t despair. Chapter 13 may…
An alien of good moral character who married and resided with a US Citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR) spouse but who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the USC or LPR spouse during the marriage may file a battered spouse petition under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provisions of the…
In the pugilistic arena, good stories are good stories, regardless of who tells them. Sports writers cobble these group of juicy pieces of fistic delights: vivid, immediate, firsthand, reported with the gluttony of an explorer. The doubts, the fears, the trials: foibles and fallibility from the greatest names in the boxing arena, to some of…
THE word “prodigal” means lavish, profuse, or wastefully extravagant. In the Gospel this Sunday, the younger son was prodigal because he profusely squandered his inheritance from his father on meaningless diversions. On the other hand, the father was “prodigal” because he lavishly forgave his wayward returning son: running to him even before he reached their…
AS THE world awaits the Cardinals in the Vatican to start the conclave and elect the next Pope, Catholics debate on the qualities they wish to be embodied by the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Before the Cardinals were ordered not to speak out about the impending election of Benedict XVI’s (who resigned…
