ARE national honors, such as the title of National Artist, appropriate for a comedian? The French thought it was proper to confer the Legion of Honor on Jerry Lewis. Queen Elizabeth named Charlie Chaplin a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. And Bob Hope not only received the Congressional Gold Medal, the…
California law on the nature of spouses’ rights and obligations with respect to management and control of community property has evolved over the last thirty years from less stringent “good faith” standards to heightened “confidential duty” and “fiduciary duty’ standards. Under current law, the duties owed between spouses in transactions between themselves are the same…
Let us begin by calling it the way Ifugaos call it, Páy-yo. It has been around for 2,000 years in the Cordilleras. As their masterpiece, it becomes more impressive considering that it was built using “indigenous engineering” way before the arrival of our colonizers, the Spaniards. We all know this place as the 8th Wonder…
ACCORDING to reports, President Benigno S. Aquino III’s second year in office will be met with “little fanfare.” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that unlike last year, when PNoy had a town-hall meeting to discuss his accomplishments so far, there were no scheduled activities for the Chief Executive’s second year. However, Malacañang has released…
(Part 2) QUESTION: If I am about to be 30 years old, but over 30 when it is ruled upon, will that be ok? Answer: That is unclear at this point. However, it would be in your benefit to immediately file while you are under 30 years old. Question: If I have a crime that…
IT STARTED out simple. A local restaurant was up for sale near their home so Flores, then a commercial real estate agent in 1976, purchased it. It was a gift from a son to a mother — a gift to fulfill her immigrant dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and owning a restaurant one day. The…
WHAT started out as a possible excuse to go back to the Philippines brought international recognition and honor for a Filipino-American instead. A scientist, genetic engineer, professor, researcher, and evolutionary biologist, Dr. Michael D. Purugganan has uncovered the secrets of rice that has made him a leading authority on the subject. His work documented the…
ON JUNE 15, 2012, President Obama announced that his administration through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will grant deferred action for undocumented youth that meet strict eligibility requirements. Deferred action is meant to address the immigration concerns of certain young people who were brought to the United States as children without any fault on…
EACH month, the visa Of- fice of the State Department publishes, in the visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that par- ticular 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…
It is very disheartening to witness children of immigrants work so hard to obtain good grades in school, achieve honor roll standing in high school, get accepted to top universities, only to find out that all doors to the American Dream are closed and locked. On June 15, 2012, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano…
Shoots down most others IN A 5-3 split decision, the US Supreme Court upheld one controversial provision of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, that allows police officers to inquire into a person’s US immigration status during routine stops. The provision, which the State had previously been enjoined from enforcing by lower-court rulings, will now immediately…
WHEN your financial circumstances are forcing you to declare bankruptcy, it is one way of dealing with debts that you can no longer manage on your own. Of course, the decision should not be taken lightly and it is best to consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney to see if it is best for your…
We know the man and his characters that are continually rolling on the film reels of our collective memories. He made us cry, whimper, ponder, and above all–laugh. Going beyond the five senses, having a knack for humor is an integral trait of the Filipino and Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr., aka “Dolphy” has given us…
SINCE I started informing my readers about the Harp Refinancing program, I have been getting a high volume of calls inquiring about this. Thanks so much for your support and I would like to further more explain the process and hopefully shed more light to your concerns. We started our recession in 2008 and the…
IF YOU owe a huge amount of taxes and are experiencing financial difficulties, don’t despair as there are remedies under the law which will help you avoid paying the whole amount. There are two ways to do it: either you propose a reduced amount to pay off the entire debt at a discount (what we…
LITTLE Gavin fixed his eyes on every ritual of the Mass that I was celebrating for our family a few weekends ago. A photo of him on Facebook shows his curiosity and awe. “How cute,” one of my priest-friends commented. The photo, indeed, worth a thousand words, is something to behold and to cherish for…
ESTATE planning is defined as “the process of putting an individual’s personal and financial affairs in order”, by Richard S. Kinyon and Genevieve M. Moore in their “Overview of Estate Planning Practice” in California Estate Planning publication of the Continuing Education of the Bar. The two main objectives of estate planning are: (1) the maximization…
SENATORS Edgardo Angara and Jinggoy Estrada have filed a bill that would provide a subsidy to political parties involved in an election, with funds from government coffers, and would penalize “turncoatism” among politicians. This is SBN 3214, “The Political Party Development Act of 2011,” which pundits have nicknamed “the Anti-Balimbing Bill.” For those still struggling…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alerts eligible individuals NOT to submit a deferred action request under the Deferred Action Process for Young People memorandum issued by Secretary Napolitano on June 15. If you submit now, your application will be rejected. The Secretary’s directive gives USCIS 60 days to create a process to accept these…
Since 1938, US immigration regulations have provided for the automatic revocation of the approved visa petition upon the death of the Petitioner. However, immigration regulations since 2006 provided that automatic revocation provisions does not apply to a spousal immediate relative petition if the deceased petitioner and the alien widower had been married at least two…
On June 15, 2012, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that “effective immediately,” certain young people would be eligible for “Deferred Action” (relief from removal) and work authorization, provided they meet certain eligibility requirements: Be between the ages of 15 and 30, and entered the US before their 16th birthday. Were physically present in the…
THE “automatic stay” in bankruptcy is a powerful tool available to debtors to prevent collection efforts from creditors, including foreclosures. Whether you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, an “automatic stay” is in effect immediately once a bankruptcy petition is filed, i.e., most creditors (with a few exemptions) cannot take any action…
ON FRIDAY, June 15, 2012, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the DHS would consider granting deferred action status (DAS) to many young people in the US who would have qualified for the ill-fated DREAM ACT. In the absence of any Congressional movement on Immigration Reform and Congress’ repeated failure to…
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. …
AS celebrations to Jose Rizal’s sesquicentennial came to a close on his 151st birthday last June 19, another chapter opens on his revered status as the National Hero of the Philippines. Knowing Rizal and the greatness attributed to him can be a tough task. It all starts in the formative years of Filipinos who are…
AT TIMES, we become blind to the enormous graces that are around us. It’s because we tend to measure grace according to the vain values of the world, particularly popularity, money, power, and prestige. We feel blessed if we have attained a high level of success in our profession; we feel blessed if we belong…
For qualified borrowers who might not have any equity to Refinance ASK about the the NEW FHA Streamline started June 11, 2012 with much lower PMI and almost 0 MIP. Finally The government’s new HARP 2.0 Refinance Program is available to US homeowners as of March 17, 2012. If you’re property has negative equity or …
MANNY Pacquiao didn’t lose to Timothy Bradley. That much is clear, no matter what Bradley says. Like a recently impeached midnight appointee, Bradley has to rationalize wearing his corona. But no one believes him. And until he fights Pacquiao again, he’ll always sense that folks are raising their eyebrows at him whenever he talks about…
A DEBTOR who gets a discharge in a bankruptcy petition is no longer personally liable for most of the debts listed in the petition. This means that creditors of the debtor are permanently barred from taking collection efforts against him such as lawsuits, phone calls and/or other forms of communication or contact. After all, the…
OVER the past three years, this Administration has undertaken an unprecedented effort to transform the immigration enforcement system into one that focuses on public safety, border security and the integrity of the immigration system. As DHS continues to focus its limited enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a danger to national security…
