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Dinner for Vicky Garchitorena not a fundraiser to overthrow Duterte: guests
About 30 people, including personal friends, attended a dinner reception for civil society leader Vicky Garchitorena at the Central Park residence of Loida Nicolas-Lewis. Garchitorena, former president of the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev), and Nicolas-Lewis are long-time friends and known supporters of Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas in the 2016 election. “It was a […]
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Juliet Payabyab journeys down NYC district politics, learns what ails her neighborhood
By Cristina DC Pastor All politics is local. This political aphorism, believed to have originated from former Speaker Tip O’Neill, is making Juliet Payabyab very involved and very busy. Juliet, a long-time leader in the Filipino American community, has been immersing herself in her local district in Astoria, Queens bringing good old-fashioned beating-down-the-pavement attitude. “I’m […]
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Maria Torres-Springer creating excitement among FilAms looking for greater representation in government
By Cristina DC Pastor The high-profile Housing Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer is stoking excitement in the community that would like to see more Filipino Americans seek higher political office. How about a Filipina in the mayor’s office someday? “As Mayor de Blasio once asked me, why are Filipinos so talented? I replied it’s really only our […]
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Cyrus Montesa of Queens now a securities attorney in Manila
By Wendell Gaa ‘The FilAm’ is beginning a series on U.S.-born Filipino Americans who now live and work in the Philippines. Some have never been to the country of their parents and are visiting for the first time. Others are returning after they left as children — all of them making a new life for […]
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Why FilAms don’t donate to political campaigns and what can be done to change that
By Cristina DC Pastor Salvador ‘Buddy’ Deauna is some kind of an accidental politician. His entry into politics was by a stroke of luck; his triumph, he believes, by the grace of God. Deauna was easily elected councilman of Bergenfield, New Jersey in 2016; he was 70 years old. The city boasts 20 percent Filipinos […]
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Acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco, son of a Filipino doctor, described as ‘disciplined’ and an ‘outstanding musician’
By Cristina DC Pastor If all goes well in the confirmation hearings, the next Solicitor General of the United States will be a prominent Filipino American lawyer who clerked for the late conservative firebrand, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Noel John Francisco of Oswego, New York, is reported to be Donald Trump’s choice to be […]
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Fake website, genuine friendship
By Cristina DC Pastor “Gary Abasolo for Jersey City Mayor.” @abasoloformayor. Founded June 2014. Dedicated to Jersey City’s favorite son. 156 Likes. Nothing about this Facebook page strikes the reader as amiss. But if you’re from Jersey City, you know that lawyer Gary Abasolo, 47, was never a candidate for mayor. Not in 2014 when […]
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Donald Trump and the courts: Are checks-and-balances working?
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. Hearing from Colorado Judge Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court pick of the 45th U.S. president is sober reality amid those sectors of the populace who have been keeping tab on the White House’s very recent executive orders. The Gorsuch commentary that the president’s criticism of independent judges is “demoralizing” and […]
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Duterte invites Donald Trump to ASEAN’s 50th anniversary
By Cristina DC Pastor President Rodrigo Duterte has invited Donald Trump to attend ASEAN’s 50th year anniversary which Manila is hosting this year. This was disclosed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano following a meeting with newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson where he “communicated a message from back home.” “I reiterated the invitation to […]