Maniolas

SAN FRANCISCO — If all politics are local, then candidate Hillary Clinton may very well need to speak a little Korean and Tagalog in order to win the 2016 presidential election. Why? In 2014 Slate.com published a fascinating article with this headline, “Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas.” It is a survey of the languages spoken in each state. Of great political interest is the most common language spoken other than English or Spanish. In Alaska it is Yupik, In Nevada it is Tagalog (spoken by Filipinos), while Vietnamese is the third most popular language in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas. Korean fills that slot in Virginia and Georgia. Makes sense Spanish, of course, is the second most common language spoken other than English in most states. It makes sense then that Clinton’s VP pick, Tim Kaine, made his acceptance speech for the Democratic Party’s nomination partly in Spanish. His language skill will surely come in very handy when he goes stomping in battleground states like Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. After all, getting Latinos (along with African Americans) to come out and vote is an urgent and an absolute necessary affair.  “The growth among non-Hispanic white eligible voters has been slower than among racial or ethnic minorities in large part because they are overrepresented in deaths due to an aging population,” according to Pew Research Center. “By comparison, racial/ethnic minorities – who make up 31 percent of the electorate – accounted for 43 percent of new eligible voters born in the U.S. who Read More …

Juliana Gonzalez, left, and Ally Pendon, right, tap the sticks as Becca Pendon, second from left, and Lexi Gowan demonstrate Tinikling, the national dance of the Philippines at Heritage Park in Chattanooga, Tenn. The first wave of Chattanooga’s Filipino immigrants were nursing students who came here back in the 1970s to attend school and fill America’s urgent need for nurses at the time. Filipino nurses still come here to study but so do Filipino engineers, teachers and other professionals. (Angela Lewis Foster/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — The first wave of Chattanooga’s Filipino immigrants were nursing students who came here back in the 1970s to attend school and fill America’s urgent need for nurses at the time. Filipino nurses still come here to study but so do Filipino engineers, teachers and other professionals. These days, there is a big enough Filipino community in town to host a festival or a pig roast and also to form the 300-member Filipino-American Association of Greater Chattanooga, a number that doesn’t include spouses, children and friends who want to attend the colorful and tasty events hosted by the association. And now local Filipino Americans want to share their vibrant culture through three passions Southerners and Filipinos share — music, dancing and pork. Yes, pork. Lechon party The most glorious Filipino pork dish is the “lechon de leche” — a pig stuffed full of lemongrass and whole onions then roasted on a spit over coals for about four hours. The pig is Read More …

In this image released by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is photographed against a wall after his arrest in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan, Mexico. AP President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday confirmed the “active” operation of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel in the Philippines. During his speech before members of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in Malacanang, Duterte said the Mexican drug cartel has since been operating in the country.   READ: What Went Before: Lipa raid confirms Mexican drug cartel presence in PH “Is Mexico into us? Yes. Sinaloa iyong cartel nila, tayo ang transshipment. Kasi in-eradicate sila ng mga Amerikano. Binomba sila. Kaya dito sila active ang Sinaloa. I never, never, never hoist a lie. I’m telling you,” Duterte said. (We are the transshipment of the Sinaloa cartel from Mexico because they have been eradicated by the Americans. They were bombed. That’s why Sinaloa has since been active here.) The President said the notorious drug cartel has shifted its operation in the Philippines because of the United States’ strict policies on illegal drugs. He said the Philippines would be run by narco-politicians in the next seven years if the government would not address the illegal drugs trade in the country. In January 2015, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives arrested 39-year-old Mexican Horacio Hernandez in Makati City for selling P12-M worth of cocaine. Horacio was an alleged member of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Police authorities have earlier Read More …

LULL IN LIVELIHOOD Hundreds of fishermen in Subic town in Zambales have been frequenting the disputedScarborough Shoal to earn a living. They are eagerly awaiting a United Nations tribunal’s ruling on the territorialdispute between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea. ALLANMACATUNO/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON FILE PHOTO The Philippines might have won its arbitrated case on disputed areas in the South China Sea but it has yet to ensure the safety of its fishermen, at least based on the Department of Foreign Affairs’ advice for them to stay clear of areas where tension with China is still high. DFA spokesperson Charles Jose on Wednesday told reporters that the Permanent Court of Arbitration clearly declared Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) a common fishing ground. READ: Palace to fishermen: Sail with caution to Scarborough 
 However, he said the government still needs to discuss the issue with China, which has refused to recognize the arbitral tribunal’s ruling. Asked if the government is advising Filipino fishermen to stay clear of the disputed areas, he said, “Siguro yung muna ng mas para sa kaligtasan ng lahat (Perhaps we can do that for now for the safety of everyone.” His answer echoed that of Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza who said weeks ago that fishermen should exercise caution while local government units sort out guidelines and safeguards for their protection. Despite his advice, Jose insisted that fishermen have the right to fish in the area. “So as far as we are concerned malinaw Read More …