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Donations pour in for Balatbat children whose parents were killed in a tornado in VA
By Cristina DC Pastor Americans and Filipinos alike are opening their hearts, and wallets, to three children who lost their parents July 24 when a tornado swept through a campsite in Cheriton, Virginia. The tornado hit a tree that toppled on the tent of sleeping Jersey City couple killing Lord Balatbat and his wife Lolibeth […]
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Seven months after typhoon Haiyan, millions of Filipinos still need shelter
By Billy Dec On November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines and affected 16 million people, killing thousands and displacing millions. Entire villages and cities were destroyed, but the rebuild effort began quickly thanks to a global response. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. military were the […]
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DHS responds to calls for TPS via public engagement
One hundred days after Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines resulting in massive loss of life and destruction of property, the national movement for Temporary Protected Status for Filipinos in the U.S. received a response from the Department of Homeland Security, which announced its intent for public engagement around this issue. DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas […]
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Will denial of TPS harm PHL-U.S. ties? Will a decision be made before Obama’s visit?
By Maricar CP Hampton Advocates for the grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are getting impatient, but are they now resorting to threats and shaming the U.S. government? “A denial of TPS would have serious repercussions,” Loida Nicolas Lewis, founder of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance (USPGG), made this statement during a recent meeting […]
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Why they believe TPS will not be granted to the Philippines
By Maricar CP Hampton Any time now, according to some immigration advocates, the U.S. government will announce its decision to either grant or deny the request for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the Philippines. And though the decision can still go either way, skepticism is now creeping in as to its final outcome. “First and […]
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FilAms brave the coldest winter
By Maricar CP Hampton Bone-chilling temperature gripped much of the U.S. this week, causing travel problems and other hazards, but for nurse Jeannette C. Abella, “it’s just another day at the office.” “We are expected to show up for work even in the worst weather. Even if it looks like a war zone,” Abella, a […]
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Aquino finally makes TPS request, FilAms await U.S. response
The Philippines has formally requested Washington for additional immigration relief measures to allow eligible Filipinos to stay and work in the United States so they could support the country’s long-term post-typhoon recovery efforts, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Monday, December 16. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario said the request to designate the […]
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Armless pilot Jessica Cox offers to help survivors who lost their limbs to typhoon Haiyan
Armless pilot Jessica Cox, whose Filipino mother is from Guiuan, Eastern Samar, has offered to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan, especially those who have lost their limbs during the widespread devastation across the Visayas. Cox holds the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person in aviation history to earn a pilot’s certificate. She […]
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Taiwanese teen helped raise $17K from her community
“I was so shocked most when I saw that many of the children (were) without homes or food.” The images that Typhoon Haiyan’s unimaginable havoc left in the Philippines made a heartbreaking imprint in the mind of 13-year-old MeiJade Hsu, an eighth grader from Maryland. On November 16, MeiJade made an emotional appeal for donations […]