TORONTO – A record number of live-in caregivers will be admitted as permanent residents of Canada in 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander Tuesday. The number – at 17,500 – represents the highest number of admissions through the Live-in Caregiver Program in a single year since the program started in 1993, he said in a press statement.… Read More »
~ An eighty-six-year-old grandmother was visiting from Manila to tell her horrific experience at the hands of Japanese soldiers during the Second World War. At the small reception and program set for her in Toronto, she tried to shed some light on what thousands of women in several countries in Asia had undergone as sex slaves. The forum… Read More »
~ “The land of the free and home of the brave” lies just south of Canada. America’s proximity, however, seems to fail to rub on some people in Toronto’s Filipino community who’d rather live in the Dark Ages. It’s not an exaggeration because self-appointed thought police are roaming around community organizations where censorship is most unlikely to happen… Read More »
Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) and Reporters Without Borders TORONTO – Seven out of 10 Filipinos 65 years and above live in poverty in Canada’s largest city and rely mainly on monthly government doleouts for their economic security, a study on Filipino seniors… Read More »
~ Philippine Independence Day Council’s Mabuhay Philippine Festival last weekend lived up to its billing as a showcase of the best in Philippine arts, culture, food and music. With the full support of Luminus Financial – the presenting sponsor known for its “remit now, pay later” remittance service to the Philippines – the three-day festivity at Toronto’s Harbourfront… Read More »
~ A body of work usually speaks eloquently of the person making claims of being such and such an achiever. In the case of a Voltaire de Leon, the self-professed tarsier, he name-calls and badmouths others to lift himself. He mentions a “whorenalist” without knowing it fits him to a T. He claims having written for Balita only… Read More »
“Let him without sin, be the first to throw a stone.” – John 8:7 TORONTO – The local press association is not exactly a monastery where vestal virgins live in seclusion, preaching and leading a life of sacrifice and denial. It is figuratively a shelter of men and women who either work in media or have links with… Read More »
“Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners” ― Laurence Sterne TORONTO – The event at Queen’s Park was supposed to be the proud and shining moment in our history – the crowning glory of all celebrations – after all, it was on June 12 that the Philippines finally severed the chain that had… Read More »
TORONTO – Media colleague Tenny Soriano was incensed. And so are some of the community’s patriotic citizens. From what I’m told, not since the centennial celebration of 1998 had the Philippine government been so extravagant in its support of an event that capitalizes on Philippine independence day as this one involving the fledgling Canada Philippine Fashion Week (CPFW).… Read More »
TORONTO – Officials were not answering questions about the extent of involvement of the Philippine government in a fashion show whose main beneficiary is a private foundation based here. Dubbed Canada Philippine Fashion Week (CPFW), it lists the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Tourism as “our partners”, essentially making it a semi-government affair. Queried initially… Read More »