YEARS ago, a parishioner was complaining to me that our church was not doing enough work to alleviate the sufferings of the poor in our neighborhood. Being the new pastor of the parish, I listened attentively to this person and made assurance that we will be organizing outreach ministries to the poor and needy. A…
TODAY, more Filipinos are tightening their belts to sustain themselves not only through the rainy days, but for as long as the prices of commodities continue to rise. Despite the tough economy, however, fewer Pinoys are labeling themselves as “poor,” according to a recent nationwide survey. A non-government social and research institution, the Social Weather…
A FEDERAL jury in Los Angeles recently awarded a former supervisor of the United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) more than $18 million in damages after he was fired for filing a claim for unpaid wages against UPS. It all began when Marlo filed a class action wage-and-hour lawsuit in 2003. However, after years of litigation,…
A client of mine said he never saw it coming. Everything he ever wanted in life, he always purchased on credit. The “pre-approved” credit cards just kept coming in the mail and he never said NO to any of them. Buy now and pay later, why not? As long as they allow you to pay…
OBVIOUSLY, the easiest way in stopping the IRS from seizing your property or rights to property is by paying the taxes you owe. In today’s economy, however, it is not surprising if taxpayers could not afford to fully pay outstanding tax liabilities. In its notices, the IRS aggressively demands that taxes owed are paid in…
Many people, desiring to save money, try to handle their immigration matters on their own. They may have a relative in the Philippines being processed for an immigrant visa, and when they have any questions, they call or email the National Visa Center (NVC) for advice and guidance on what to do and how to…
The abuse of alcohol is the leading risk factor for disability and premature death in the world. Alcohol-related deaths claim almost 80,000 lives each year in the United States alone. Worldwide, it kills 2.5 million annually. Besides the health and psychological impairment among drinkers, the abuse impacts negatively on the family members and society in…
EACH year, I consult with hundreds of individuals who have been ordered to leave the US by Immigration Judges. In the vast majority of these cases, the person had applied for some form of relief from removal, such as asylum, and the Immigration Judge denied the claim and either granted the person voluntary departure or…
Once again, they had their chances. Pitted against the competition, they fought it out, and the outcome was somehow satisfactory. With the afterglow of its successful golden campaign in the Jones Cup, they were poised to give opposing teams a run for their money. The recent fourth place finish of our Smart-Gilas National Team in…
IF YOU’VE ever been in a situation in your life where you had to file bankruptcy as a last resort in order to get out of debt, you know exactly what I am talking about. After having counseled thousands of people with debt problems over the years, I have learned that unresolved debt problems can…
To take the risk of possible death from surgery that is necessary to save life or to maintain or restore health makes intelligent sense. But to die from an elective cosmetic procedure performed for vanity, or for whatever reason, is obviously reckless and foolhardy. In medicine, one death out of 100,000-300,000 surgeries, or at most,…
WE often hear that “politics” exists not only in governments but also in corporations, schools, civic organizations, and even in churches. We find this contention to be true when we understand politics as “the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over government” and of “competition between competing groups or individuals for power…
Q: I HEARD that the Supreme Court recently decided a case about the employer’s obligation to provide lunch breaks. Some say the employers won the case. But others say the decision favored employees. Can you clarify this issue? A: The case you may be referring to is Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court. It was…
JUST one month into the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) more than 75,000 applications for deferred action and work authorization have been submitted to the USCIS. As of last week, the USCIS began granting approvals on may of the earliest filed applications. Experts predict that USCIS will have received over 200,000…
WHEN Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his appointments to the Senate in Canada, no one was more surprised than Filipino Canadian Tobias Enverga Jr. Enverga, a long-time bank executive, was one of the five people chosen by the Prime Minister to be a senator in Canada’s Federal Parliament earlier this month. “My first reaction…
On February 19, 2012 and May 26, 2012, respectively, two males of Filipino descent committed driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) as first offenders in Glendale, California. The Mercedez Benz of the first Filipino driver was subjected to enforcement stop by the Glendale Police Department for swerving within its lane. The Honda of the…
IF YOU are like a lot of people who have old, unpaid debts, collection accounts and judgments from their past that they don’t even remember, you may feel that it is too late to get a fresh start and rebuild your credit. Over the years, I have met a lot of people in this situation….
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…
Yes, billion microorganisms! That’s not a typo. That’s how many unwanted and potentially dangerous bugs there are on average in almost any kitchen. So, it is not the bathroom that is the germiest in any home. It is the kitchen! The germs are everywhere in the kitchen, from sink sponges, countertops, cutting boards, kitchen utensils,…
It is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current. This is usually the case with US Citizen parent petitions to adult son or daughter. This is also common among petition’s between Siblings. What happens when the Petitioner dies? Are all those years of…
THE mark of a great athlete is his ability to transcend generations of spectators. In the past, the glory of being an athlete was immortalized in poetry and the other arts. These works recreated the sporting feats that ordinary citizens could look up to. Verses flowed with dynamism. Vases were meticulously painted. Vigor was captured…
A FEW days ago, I was telling my parishioners in a homily about a Catholic priest who was traveling by train through Siberia. Sitting next to him in the train was a Buddhist monk. Both were praying according to their faith tradition – the Buddhist monk with his wooden beads and the Catholic priest with…
QUESTION: I want to petition an orphan. What must I do? Answer: A USC can petition for an orphan under age 16. In order to be an orphan, both parents must have died, disappeared, or abandoned the child. If there is a sole or surviving parent, he or she must be incapable of providing for…
OBVIOUSLY, the simplest way to refinance without extending the term is to select a new mortgage with a shorter term. How do you refinance your 30 year loan after paying for a few years to another 30 years loan without extending the terms is the questions. This is what banks don’t really want you to…
Lloyd Manglapus’ work is literally out of this world. The 42-year-old Manglapus is one of two Pinoys part of NASA’s historic and newest Mars rover called “Curiosity,” as it roams the red planet. Manglapus works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in La Cañada. He’s been at JPL for the past 12 years, with six…
FILIPINO physician Dr. Edsel Maurice Tanghal Salvana might as well have “outstanding” as his middle name. Recently elected as one of the 2012 Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) for his contribution in healthcare, Dr. Salvana was also awarded by President Noynoy Aquino as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in…
ARE you having problems paying your debts? Are creditors calling you day and night threatening you with a wage garnishment, repossession or foreclosure? Are you starting to feel hopeless and depressed about your situation and don’t know where to turn for help? The last few years have been tough for a lot of people. You…
In spite of the brickbats hurled at Noynoy Aquino by his detractors, I continue to believe he is sincere in his vow to carve a Daang Matuwid or Straight Path towards a reformed and resurrected Philippine government. But are we to accept liko-liko (curves) and baku-bako (bumps) as a natural, inevitable and acceptable part of…
The Democrats and Republicans have held their conventions where they nominated their presidential candidates and released their respective party’s platform – representing who they are, what they stand for, their vision and proposals for various aspects of American life, their positions on various subjects, and the types of laws they would pass, if elected. As…
After patiently waiting for more than 100 years for the government to provide them with automatic citizenship rights, the American Samoan community has filed suit against the US Government. Our nation’s almost 300,000 American Samoans have demanded what should have been granted long ago, automatic and full US citizenship rights. These rights already exist for…
