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Foreign students taking only online classes told to ‘leave the country’
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced modifications on July 6 to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online classes due to the pandemic for the fall 2020 semester. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to publish the procedures and responsibilities in the Federal Register as a Temporary Final Rule. Temporary exemptions for […]
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Post-war romance between a journalist and a soldier depicted in new book
By Allen Gaborro It is at distressing times that people look to some diversion to enable them to temporarily forget what’s going on in the mad, mad world around them. Myrna Lou Jastra, a pseudonym for Filipino American writer Ludy Ongkeko, has provided just such a diversion with her paperback novel “When Writing Morphs into […]
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TheFilAm.net named among 50 immigrant media innovators
From news on the coronavirus pandemic to coverage of mass protests over recent police killings of Black people, immigrant news outlets have proven themselves vital sources of information for communities underserved by mainstream media. Even as they struggle with financial pressures to survive, resourceful outlets are thriving on livestreaming and social media with followings reaching […]
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My beautiful biracial ‘apos’
By Laura Garcia, DNP, RN It fascinates me, sometimes, when my daughter Teza styles my granddaughter Layla’s thick, frizzy hair. Teza lovingly applies an assortment of oil and hair creams to the hair, brushes it in long strokes, and gathers it into a ponytail. Most often, though, she just let Layla’s hair hang loose and drop into […]
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The Maria Ressa case and the role of the press we all need to understand
By Cristina DC Pastor A deafening outcry of “defend press freedom” greeted the guilty verdict slapped on Rappler’s Maria Ressa and co-accused Reynaldo Santos Jr. for supposedly violating the cyber crime law in the Philippines. The uproar came from many sectors that it became like a call to arms sounded by politicians, the Left, showbiz […]
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Alleged sex abuse of Filipino teen leads to arrest of N.Y. man
A Garden City, New York, man was charged on June 19, following an investigation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. The indictment filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charges Thomas Blaha, 64, with traveling to the Philippines with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, sexual […]
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Mabuhay mural unveiled in Queens
On June 12th, the Filipino community in Queens unveiled the colorful mural ‘Mabuhay’ (meaning ‘To life’) on the corner of 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue known as Little Manila. According to the organizers, the ceremony was dedicated to businesses and health care workers risking their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our […]
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Juliet Payabyab ‘honored’ to be appointed to Astoria community board
By Cristina DC Pastor On May 31, community leader and retired banker Juliet Payabyab became a member of the community board of Astoria in Queens. She will join 49 other individuals who will be advising elected officials and agencies about matters ranging from land use planning to scheduling of garbage collection. She was appointed to […]
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FilAm businesses reopen amid uncertainty
By Cristina DC Pastor Glenda Villajuan welcomed children back to her CitiTots day care in Brooklyn on June 8 as New York City began Phase 1 of its planned return to normalcy. In New Jersey, Amable Yalong announced his men’s wear shop in downtown Englewood will reopen on June 15, pledging to assure the safety […]