The visit: The gift
MY best Christmas gift this year was not another gadget or a nice polo shirt or a sweater. It was not a gift card or a ticket to a concert….
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Foods to avoid
Poorly cooked pork/seafood Unlike beef which could be eaten rare or medium, pork is safe only when fully cooked, especially in barbeque. Improperly cooked pork could lead to a micro…
A period of reflection and determination
NO MATTER how good our intentions are in helping others, we will often find ourselves misunderstood, mistreated or misjudged by some people. I have found this true in my twenty…
Tax cuts program extended
THE Bush-Era Tax Cuts was set to expire on December 31, 2011 and one of those that would have been greatly impacted is the Child Tax Credit (CTC), one of…
Christmas ailments
Is there an illness called Christmas Disease? Yes, there is, but it has nothing to do with the Christmas season. Christmas Disease is a blood disease, also known as Hemophilia…
Season of giving
DURING this holiday season, we are bombarded with advertisements about the latest and greatest deals on how we can celebrate Christmas with awesome gifts and welcome New Year with a…
Tidings of (dis)comfort
IT’S the season of gift-giving. And President Benigno Aquino III (PNoy) wasted no time looking for the perfect gift for his nemesis, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) – a suite…
2012 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
DESIGNED to supplement the wages or earned income through self-employment of working families, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits taxpayers who are either low or moderate income earners by…
Anacleto ‘Lito’ Alcantara, Multi-awarded Founder and CEO of One of America’s Top Construction Companies
ONE of America’s top construction companies is Hawaii-based Group Builders, Inc., founded and owned by Filipino-American Anacleto “Lito” Alcantara. Group Builders Inc. ranked 186 among the Top 600 Specialty Contractors…
The Good News within
THE Good News is within us – within our minds and hearts. It’s the change that is happening within our lives, in the way we think about or perceive our…
Race for the numbers
Since Benigno Aquino III assumed the position of president, he made his intentions very clear of weeding out officials who did the country wrong during their terms. The aggressiveness of…
Holiday thoughts of hope
IT IS hard to believe that we will be greeting a new year in less than three weeks. If you are like me, you are in the midst of Christmas-related…
Laser gum surgery
Dear Dr. Val, My gums are irregular and they make some of my teeth smaller than the rest . What can I do ? Thanks Gummy Bear Dear Gummy Bear,…
Protect your teeth against enamel erosion
Enamel is the hard, protective outer layer of your teeth. If it erodes, it can be very uncomfortable, with symptoms ranging from tooth sensitivity and discoloration, to painful cracks in…
The redeeming factor
HEADING into a new year, things are getting to be quite polemic, as we see 2011 nearing its end with a succession of controversies. Philippine politics seems to be turning…
The practical side of hope
THE powers of hope and prayer should never be underestimated. Similarly, the power of practical action and the implementation of resolution should occupy a large part of your day. We…
Dr. Ben de Lumen, 2010 AAAS Fellow and UC Berkeley Scientist who discovered an Anti-Cancer Soy Protein
IN 1999, Dr. Ben de Lumen and a team of scientists at UC Berkeley were working on a project to improve the nutritional quality of soy proteins when they…
Emmanuel, God is with us!
MERRY Christmas and Happy New Year! Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon! Throughout the Simbang Gabi Masses in my parish, I never got tired of reading and listening to the stories…
New stool blood test for cancer
Is it normal to have blood in your stools? Blood in the stools is never normal. If the stool has blood in it, it is either from a bleeding from…
Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
Conditional residence is the immigration status of a foreign national who was approved for permanent residence (green card) within two years of getting married to a US citizen. During the…
Gregory G. Villar III, NASA Engineer at age 24
ON NOVEMBER 26, Saturday, NASA launched the biggest and best-equipped robot ever sent to explore another planet from the Kennedy Space Centre. Dubbed Mars Curiosity but more formally called the…
Deducting home office expenses
HOW much of their home office expenses can be deducted is one of the most misjudged tax questions faced by home workers. The reality of home office expense deductibility is…
Advent: A time of great expectations
“THINK BIG”, I shared the other day in a meeting with a group volunteers. Big: not in the sense of property or material wealth, but “big” in the sense of…
Let’s stop ‘killing’ our children
Autopsy findings on “healthy” children, as young as four and five, who were victims of accidents, already showed evidences of arteriosclerosis (hardening of their arteries), a condition we expect to…
Let’s stop ‘killing’ our children
Autopsy findings on “healthy” children, as young as four and five, who were victims of accidents, already showed evidences of arteriosclerosis (hardening of their arteries), a condition we expect to…
De Lima’s dilemma
DESPITE her rigid efforts in bringing the Philippine justice system to a reputable form, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila De Lima is now in hot water – with the…
Keeping the faith
57 INDIVIDUALS (32 of whom were journalists) perished on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province in Mindanao. A 58th victim, journalist Reynaldo Momay remains missing. Now, two years after…
Golf’s Next Superstar
Jason Day, Fil-Australian PGA Top Golfer and Number 8 in World Golf Rankings He’s 9th in the money leaders list in the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour with nearly $4…
The tax consequences of debt settlement or consolidation
TOO many times, taxpayers receive a surprise letter from the IRS, and even the Franchise Tax Board, on taxes owed from a cancelled debt acquired through debt settlement or debt…