Maniolas

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau October 21st, 2015 08:36 PM Justin Trudeau’s victorious Liberal party in Canada has pledged to lay down “more inclusive” immigration policies. CBC PHOTO SAN FRANCISCO—Canada dealt a big blow to incumbent conservatives by voting in its first new leader in nearly a decade in a general election that gave Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party an absolute majority. This is good news for immigrants. The Liberal Party has promised to make family reunification easier for new immigrants by doubling the number of parents and grandparents of immigrants admitted under the Canadian parents and grandparents program (PGP) that are granted permanent residency each year to 10,000, according to a report by Immigration.Canada. The number of immigrant parents and grandparents allowed into Canada under the PGP program is limited to 5,000 per year, imposed by the Harper government, which claimed that older immigrants place a burden on Canada’s health-care system. But Liberal leader Trudeau says that reuniting families was an important help to middle class families, with older relatives often assisting young parents by helping out with tasks such as child care, allowing them to go to work and save money on child day care costs. Liberals have also promised to double the budget for processing applications under the parents and grandparents (PGP) program, which will significantly reduce the current multiyear wait times for immigration applicants. The Liberals also promise to grant the spouses of immigrant’s permanent resident status as soon as they arrive in Canada. Currently, spouses receive conditional visas Read More …

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau October 21st, 2015 08:35 PM NEW YORK CITY— In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Verizon is donating a portion of every purchase from a Verizon store to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the company announced. With every online or in-store purchase of exclusive purple accessories, like a headset, phone or tablet case, HopeLine® from Verizon will donate $1, up to $100,000 to the national hotline. HopeLine is also trying to reach its goal of one million phone donations by the end of 2015. Consumers are encouraged drop off wireless phones, chargers and accessories, from any carrier, at a Verizon store to help support victims and survivors of domestic violence. Domestic violence is an issue rarely talked about in Asian American communities, but unfortunately it’s very prevalent: 41 – 61% of Asian women report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime. This is higher than the rates in a national study reported by all other races. “Going purple,” the color of Domestic Violence Awareness, is also a way of generating awareness of this serious problem. To show  support, sharing this announcement on your social media channels. Suggested Tweet: In the effort to end domestic violence, go purple to show your support. @verizon @hopelineverizon http://vz.to/1vNkopE Like us on Facebook  Latest LOOK: PH Air Force C-130 planes deliver goods to typhoon-hit Aurora UAAP: Ateneo topples UST Bongbong Marcos ‘forming a loose coalition’ with Santiago’s camp Brunei-bound aircraft returns to NAIA after engine conks out Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not Read More …

By: Emil Guillermo, September 17th, 2015 01:56 AM The Filipino Community Hall in Delano, California looks like an old gym with a clock on the wall that looks like it’s permanently stuck in the 1940s. That’s when the building was built, but it was in 1965 when this was the place where Filipinos made history. Forget the champagne, pop a fresh grape in your mouth, hopefully the kind from Delano that comes with a snap. You can find them at Costco. Fifty years ago this month, the Delano Grape Strike began. Hey, wasn’t that the strike that turned Cesar Chavez into an American saint? Yeah, sort of. Let’s take nothing away from the non-violent protest acumen of Chavez.But it all came at the expense of the veteran labor strategist who made the strike happen— Larry Itliong. You don’t have to be Filipino to make a mecca-like journey to 1457 Glenwood St. in Delano. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea. The Grape Strike was started by Itliong (left) and the Filipinos on September 8. Itliong asked Chavez (right) to join the strike Sept. 16. Together Chavez and Larry Itliong merged their groups to form the United Farm Workers. Courtesy of Filipino American National Historical Society-Delano chapter This is where where Itliong and members of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee made history. It’s a seminal Asian American/Filipino American story. Like many of the strikers, my father was one of the original Filipinos to arrive in America in the ’20s. He came Read More …

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau By: Carol Tanjutco, September 17th, 2015 01:54 AM Soledad by Greta Lood. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS NEW YORK CITY — An ongoing art exhibit dubbed “Res Ipsa Loquitur III,” a Latin phrase meaning “the thing speaks for itself,” is currently showing the recent works of artists Greta Lood, Rellie Liwag and Joyce Herrera-Wong at the Philippine Center here from September 8 to 18. The first of the Res Ipsa Loquitur series was conceptualized in 2005 by Greta Lood, a Manhattan-based, Philippine-born artist who was then curator for the Gardens Memorial Park in Boca Raton, Florida. Res Ipsa Loquitur II was launched in Makati, Philippines, in 2013 for the Michael Acosta, Christina Acosta and Cristalle Acosta-Laurel photography exhibit. . A scene from the Mountain Province by Joyce Herrera. Lood, whose second solo “Bakit Bilog?” was opened by Mrs. Imelda Marcos in Manila in 1999, will now present the RKBC series, standing for her three inspirational masters, Mark Rothko, Gustav Klimt and Ben Cabrera. Her paintings feature women dressed in traditional 1900 fashion, embellished with 22K gold leaf in Klimt’s ornate, flat form patterns, superimposed on Rothko’s floating color fields. The titled female subjects, with quaint names such as Soledad, Purificacion and Amparo, harken back to a more pristine moment in the Philippine culture. As such, the viewer, while absorbed by the abstract, minimalistic aura of the Rothko horizons, will experience a somewhat mystical counterpoint between the modern century and a time gone by, evoking a sense of serenity and spirituality. Read More …

INQUIRER.net U.S. Bureau September 9th, 2015 01:33 AM Toronto airline fraud suspect Lorna Natalie Arcega. TORONTO POLICE PHOTO SAN FRANCISCO – Police in Toronto, Canada, arrested a Filipina on fraud charges after she pretended to be an authorized travel agent, sold flights to the Philippines, but never gave clients the tickets they paid for. Lorna Natalie Arcega, 38, allegedly promised customers low fares on flights to the Philippines and took customers’ credit card information, according to CTV News Toronto. Arcega allegedly used the credit card information to make unauthorized purchases totaling approximately $150,000. She was arrested in Toronto on Thursday, August 27, facing a total of 18 charges including multiple counts of fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of credit card data, and false pretense over $5,000. The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) has also laid charges under the Travel Industry Act of Ontario. Arcega is expected to appear in court at the end of September. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2433, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477). Like us on Facebook Latest Filipina arrested in Toronto for alleged airline ticket fraud Golf, wine fundraiser reaps $150K for PH development education Unique Filipino orchestra in L.A. to perform pop, OPM in Nov. Early goals foiled Azkals’ gameplan, says Schrock Recommended Golf, wine fundraiser reaps $150K for PH development education Unique Filipino orchestra in L.A. to perform pop, OPM in Nov. PH Red Cross to buy Alaska borough’s idled ferry for $1.75M Groups urge immigrants to naturalize as U.S. Read More …