Maniolas

Walmart workers and union members marching in Milpitas to demand better wages and working conditions from the giant retailer. MILPITAS, California — For the third straight year, Walmart workers, including Filipinos, staged protests all over the country on Black Friday, a much-awaited shopping day of the year. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the protest in Milpitas on Friday, November 28, saw union workers joining Walmart employees who demanded a $15/hour wage and full-time employment, among others. A hundred protesters who wore green and blue union shirts carried placards signifying their support for the Walmart strikers. They gathered in a parking lot across the Milpitas branch and held a rally before proceeding to the main Walmart outlet where they marched around the compound’s parking lot area. Daz Lamparas, president of the Asian Pacific Labor Alliance (APALA) San Francisco, explained that about 30-40 percent of Walmart workers in the Bay Area are Filipinos, and their common complaints besides low wage are that they don’t have health benefits, no sick and vacation leaves and that their schedules are always changed, resulting in having less time to be with their families. “When they are sick, they have to go to the county hospitals. In effect, Walmart is being subsidized by the taxpayers because taxpayers are subsidizing our country public health clinics. Although they are saying that it is better to have a job, it is nothing much because of their very low wages,” Lamparas rued. In the rally, Mary Kay Henry, national president of Read More …

By Niki Yarte — More than a decade since his big break in Mel Chonglo’s Lagarista, Piolo Pascual is still making waves and headlines in Philippine entertainment. His latest film, Starting Over Again with Toni Gonzaga, was a certified box office hit, raking in around P400 million at the box office. Currently he can be seen opposite Nikki Gil and Iza Calzado on prime time soap opera Hawak Kamay. He also just recently signed on to do a romantic Valentine’s Day feature with pop star Sarah Geronimo. His face and persona is still used to launch new products or promote old ones – from vitamin supplements to financial plans – and he still attends to his recurring gig as host and performer on ASAP. However, when his 2013 self-produced film On the Job opened to critical acclaim but struggled commercially, raking in only P11 million, doubts were raised about his continued credibility to fill theaters. The film was the latest in a string of projects that counted on his bankability but performed less stellarly than expected, including his team-ups with Angelica Panganiban (Every Breath U Take), Angel Locsin (Love Me Again), Regine Velazquez (Paano Kita Iibigin), and Bea Alonzo (Dream Boy). Last year, the 37-year old actor opened up about feeling “used up”, empathizing with fellow actor John Lloyd Cruz, who had earlier expressed his own intentions for early retirement, citing “being married to the industry” for practically half his life as his primary reasoning. Piolo added that he wanted Read More …

“Felons and not families should be deported,” this is the clear message of President Obama last week during his speech on his executive actions relating to immigration. While the immigration policies coming from the President is expected to benefit an estimated five million undocumented immigrants, there is doubt on whether majority will indeed come out of the shadows to take advantage of the proposed benefits. One of the many undocumented Filipinos who will apparently benefit is Jane. She arrived in the United States in 2003 on a visitor visa and has been overstaying since then. Jane met Dan, who was her coworker at a care home facility. After a few months of courtship, Dan married Jane. Unknown to Jane, Dan also has immigration issues because of a prior deportation order rendered against him 10 years ago. The marriage of the couple was entered into in good faith and it did not matter whether Jane remains undocumented. Jane gave birth to two beautiful daughters, now ages 7 and 5. When Jane heard about President Obama’s policies, she got excited and was hoping to file for employment authorization document so she can obtain temporary legal status. However, she raised valid concerns. What will happen to her status after three years and will she eventually be deported if President Obama is no longer in office?   Executive actions The new immigration policies are very temporary in nature. Obama signed the memorandum to prevent certain undocumented immigrants from deportation and allow them to apply Read More …

SAN FRANCISCO — Any time immigration reform is in the news, advocates warn, immigrant families are vulnerable to scam artists and unscrupulous individuals who promise to help them for a fee. President Obama’s executive action on immigration revises enforcement priorities to focus on recent arrivals and those who had committed serious crimes. It would expand the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and create a new deferred action program for parents of U.S.-citizen or legal-permanent-resident children who have lived in the country for more than five years. I t would also revise the legal immigration system, with a special focus on science, technology and entrepreneurs. However, there is no new application available yet, and advocates are warning immigrants to stay tuned to trusted media sources and community groups to get accurate information. Spike in scams Earlier this year, NAM reported that the San Francisco District Attorney’s office had seen a spike in immigration fraud cases in 2013, prompting it to launch a multilingual campaign to educate immigrant families about how to avoid scams. NAM found that some people were seeking immigration advice from unqualified individuals, and that translation issues were contributing to the confusion. For example, in most Latin American countries the term “notario” means lawyer. But in the United States, a notary just means someone who is licensed by the state to witness and sign documents. “Notaries can’t represent a person in court, they can’t assist them in a formal legal process; they can only fill out forms. But anyone Read More …

Members of Hong Kong Journalists Association hold placards during a protest at the Philippines Consulate in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has lifted the entry ban against nine Hong Kong journalists who aggressively questioned President Aquino during the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia, last year, following criticism from media and Hong Kong’s government. “After a reevaluation, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) said they (the journalists) are no longer considered as threats and the ban was lifted effective today,” the bureau’s spokesperson, Elaine Tan, said on Tuesday. She said the foreign journalists may now visit the Philippines as tourists, subject to regular immigration inspection. The nine Hong Kong television and radio reporters, who allegedly shouted questions at Aquino concerning the Luneta hostage crisis in which eight Hong Kong tourists were killed in 2011, were placed in the BI’s blacklist last June 6 at the request of the Nica because they were considered “a threat to public safety” following “acts committed against the President” at the Bali summit. Denied entry A Hong Kong television cameraman was denied entry at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) last Nov. 20 and given a copy of the June 6 order banning him and eight others from entering the Philippines and covering next year’s Apec summit. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs subsequently said it had not been consulted about imposing the entry ban, and demanded a review. The blacklisting Read More …