FOR most Filipinos who have been away from home, the season brings loneliness, wanting to be with their families and friends, and missing the traditional Pinoy Pasko – the masses at dawn, the bibingka and puto bumbong, the festive Noche Buena and the constant echoes of songs by the carolers. This year, the Asian Journal Foundation and the first-ever Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra…
With the faltering economy and cash-strapped consumers, most are now wondering if the spirit of gift-giving will still be alive this holiday season. In fact, kids will probably be a little disappointed to find that ‘Santa’ didn’t give them the latest favorite (and expensive) toy under the tree. In a report by the New York Times,…
ACCORDING to the New York-based think tank, Global Source, resilient remittances and post-typhoon rebuilding efforts are sustaining the momentum for a rosier economy for the Philippines. The report also stated that the two leading presidential candidates, (based on the latest popularity polls) Sen. Noynoy Aquino and Sen. Manny Villar are both capable of managing the…
EVERYONE wants to get a piece of the action when Manny Pacquiao, RP’s pound-for-pound king goes into the ring with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto on November 15. Therefore, it’s not surprising to know that Philippine House Speaker Prospero Nograles and his cohorts are going on a side trip to the WBO welterweight match after their…
LAST week, a certain blogger started a firestorm, reporting that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been allegedly hoarding imported relief goods. To pacify the picketing mob of militant urban poor and labor leaders, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral explained that “the distribution of relief goods to typhoon victims is done upon…
THE much-awaited $5.5 million funding from US Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) was fi nally bestowed to the Philippines, MCC’s “model partner.” The memorandum of understanding between the Philippines and the US was signed on Friday by Ambassador Willy Gaa and MCC acting VP Darius Teter. The funds will be utilized to complete benefi t analyses,…
THE aftermath of twin typhoons, Ondoy and Pepeng left the Philippines devastated, with hundreds of people dead and others, still missing. Millions of pesos have been spent for damages and most areas in Luzon will never be the same again. According to Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves, damage caused by the storms may shave percentage…
CORRUPTION seems to be a fi xture in the headlines these days, and the numbers are increasing. Last February, the World Bank released a study that rated the Philippines as one of the worst among East Asia’s leading economies. It also placed the country at the bottom of the list of East Asia’s 10 largest…
TWO weeks ago, the Ombudsman cleared the Arroyos from any involvement with the $329-million NBN-ZTE contract, dismissing the evidence as “weak” and giving merit to Mike Arroyo’s counter-affidavit which states that complaints filed against him were fabricated. The first gentleman was earlier charged “with violation of the anti-graft law for allegedly brokering the National Broadband…
IT is not surprising to hear that the Philippines is in serious debt. During the post-Marcos era, it became very evident how the nation’s fi nances were mismanaged by the previous regime, and Filipinos felt the brunt. We, of course, tried to be hopeful – we all prayed that future leaders of our nation would…
THE Arroyos seem to be on a roll these days — in the hall of shame, that is. First were the lavish dinners in Le Cirque in New York and Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington, DC which created quite a stir among their detractors, especially since the cost of dinners could’ve fed 180,000 hungry and…
“THE vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” – Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson WITH only a few more days to go before the deadline to register for Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV), we would…
ACCORDING to an announcement made by the Department of Foreign Affairs, only 159,100 newabsentee voters have registered for the past six months for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) registration which ends on August 31. That’s roughly about only 16 percent of the expected one million registrants overseas. Lawmakers have fi led a resolution that extends…
“I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen.” – Corazon C. Aquino (1933-2009) The whole nation mourns the loss of an irreplaceable and most beloved leader. No words…
THE much-anticipated historic meeting between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and US President Barack Obama fi nally took place on July 30. Arroyo is the fi rst Southeast Asian leader to visit the White House since Obama was elected as president in November of last year. The ties between the two countries go a long way back…
ALONG with food, shelter and education, healthcare is imperative for anyone. However, the cost of healthcare in the United States has risen dramatically. For the past two decades or so, more and more people have been left without quality healthcare. President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform aims to cover between 94 to 97 percent of the…
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is all set to deliver her State of the Nation Address on July 27. Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. alleges that the Chief Executive will use this opportunity “to convene a constituent assembly and introduce amendments to the Constitution,” says Philstar.com. Senators Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Mar Roxas…
WHILE pundits are busy pummeling President Obama with criticisms and shaking their heads in dismay over his actions on Guantanamo, General Motors, the health care system and Iran’s civil unrest, the President makes himself even more vulnerable to flagellation by admitting a nasty habit – smoking. Pres. Obama ruefully admitted his fight with the big…
AFTER more than 60 years of struggle, the few surviving Filipino WWII veterans are fi nally in the process of claiming their well-deserved benefits. When the Philippines was a US commonwealth, President Roosevelt conscripted members of the Philippine Army into the US military to fi ght Japan. By the end of the war, as many…
AMIDST the political turmoil and outrage caused by the now infamous constituent assembly, amid the chaos being caused by the onset of the presidential campaigns, representatives from various sectors in the Philippines converged in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2024 Gawad Kalinga Global Summit 2009. The summit ran from June 12 -14, working towards a single-minded…
WITH the onset of new and more portable technology like laptops and cellphones with wireless internet, almost everyone is capable of getting information off the net, engaging themselves in intelligent discussions through blogs and social networking sites and doing it all singlehandedly with a push of a button. For kids and teenagers, this new technology…
There’s no better time to show how Filipinos value their hard-earned freedom. Two days before the 111th celebration of Philippine Independence, the nation convenes for another freedom fight — a rally to signify their protest against the constituent assembly of the House of Representatives. The passing of House Resolution No. 1109, which empowers the House…
ONE of the best musicians of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven, once declared, “Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.” And true enough, music has provided people inspiration throughout the years. It has been…
MOST would think that after a week, all the hype about Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao knocking out Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in Las Vegas would die down. Well, at least a bit. But then again, we could all be wrong—because despite of the A(H1N1) or swine fl u virus scare or the continuing downfall of the…
THE whole Philippines, plus Filipinos all over the world are showing their support for pound-4-pound king Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as he face Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in Las Vegas this Saturday. There is no doubt that Pacquiao remains a hero for most of us not just because he’s a champion in the ring, but he…
AFTER being incarcerated for than three years, United States Marine Daniel Smith, who was convicted in 2006 of raping Suzette Nicolas, aka Nicole, a Filipina, is fi nally free. In fact, he is no longer in the Philippines. The ruling by the Court of Appeals is fi nal, so Smith won’t have to be involved…
THEY say that the only thing that remains constant is change, and yet most of the time, it is the thing that we could hardly do – and that is, change for the better. In the running for the next president of the Philippines, many candidates have promised that they will bring change to the…
CALIFORNIA is experiencing 1,300 foreclosures every single day,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California offi ce of the Center for Responsible Lending, last year. Leonard explained that this is the result of loose lending practices. Last year, California Assemblyman Ted Lieu introduced his proposal on a bill that was designed to force Wall Street…
IT’S a bittersweet victory for our Filipino veterans to finally be acknowledged by the United States government for their bravery during World War II. The $198-million lump sum payment—contained in the US economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama last February 18—now awaits the estimated 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans. They waited for 63 years…
After months of political gridlock, California state lawmakers agreed on a series of budget measures lastThursday, February 19. The following day, February 20, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fi nally signed. The budget agreement came after a record-long fl oor session of nearly 46 hours. But is this the end of pain or again, just a start…
