July 1-7, 2013

Hope for Filipino TNT in America

OMAY RENTA
IMMIGRATION law advocates in the United States of America apparently reach the second to the last battle for the approval of US Immigration Bill as the Senate passed the historic immigration bill that offers a path to citizenship to most of estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US where 1 million there are Filipinos. At the end of the Senate debate held last Thursday, Friday in the Philippines, representatives from different i m m i g r a n t advocates who have supported the bill and labored decades for such moment had cheered from the public viewing gallery as it seen the light for better lives of the families who have been separated by the US broken immigration system. Fourteen (14) Republicans and 2 independents have joined the 52 Democrats Senators via vote 68-32 vote in sup-port of the bill. As the bill moves to the House of Representative, the last and final battle by the immigrant advocates including members of FilipinoAmerican Association have started to prepare. Spokesperson Bing Branigin of the National Federation of FilipinoAmerican Association, who had witnessed the historic vote in the Senate, said Its going to be a long and hard fight. Executive Director of the Migrant Heritage Commission Atty. Arnedo Valera stated that the bill is not perfect but it is a giant step in the right direction. He said that the bill will provide opportunities for the 1 million undocumented Filipinos to come out of the shadows and chart better lives for themselves and their families. Atty. Valara added that it needs to reach out the members of Congress and ask them to do the right thing. US President Barack Obama said in a statement that he has praised the senators who had supported the bill stating it contained tough border security requirements and earned citizenship for about 11 million undocumented US residents. He also stated that the senate did the job and it is now up to the House to do the same. The first victory of the Filipino-American advocates in pursuance of the bill was felt after President Barack Obama announced, day after Vargass article appeared, that his administration would halt deportations for undocumented immigrants under age 30 who would for DREAM Act relief, and provide work permits for them, and allowing them to remain in the US legally. The said article that opens the eyes of President Obama was published in 2012 by Filipino Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas who wrote a cover story for New Yorks Time Magazine about the uncertainly of his life in the year since he revealed himself publicly as an undocumented immigrant. He is also one of the advocates of the DREAM ACT who actually participated at the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in February 2013 that eventually leads to the passage of which by the US Senate. Vargas is an active immigrant activitst and the founder of Define American.

IT is the foresight of Japanese government to have an increase by 2.5 times or two million by 2016 the number of visitors from Southeast Asia. To realize this foresight, Japan is now allowing the issuance of multiple entry visas for visitors from the Philippines. Japan decided the same day to waive visa requirements for tourists from Thailand and Malaysia. The multiple entry visas will benefit not only Filipinos but also visitors from V ietnam starting this summer, the Kyodo News Agency reported. Tokyo will relax travel visa requirements for the fast-growing Southeast Asian nations as part of efforts to boost tourism to spur Japans economic growth. I ask for your cooperation to let many people from around the world directly experience beautiful Japan, Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a meeting of Cabinet ministers on tourism. Of the 8.37 million foreigners visiting Japan in 2012, there were

Japan beauty spots for Pinoys

780,000 from RUFO Southeast Asia. The Japanese tourism industry will cater to the needs of Muslims, such as those from Indonesia and Malaysia, by offering spaces for prayers at hotels and other places, as well as, catering to their dietary habits. Starting July 1, 2013, Filipinos can apply for multiple-entry visas for short-term trips to Japan. The Government of Japan has decided to begin issuance from July 1, of multiple entry visas for short-term stay to nationals of the Republic of the Philippines (ordinary passport holders) who reside in their home country, said Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The MOFA said applicants will have to meet certain conditions, like the submission of machine-readable passports that meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), or an ordinary IC passport. The multiple-entry visas will allow Filipinos to stay in Japan for a period of 15 days, and

The dreamer: Jose Antonio Vargas

AMPAT be valid for

the visas will

up to 3 years. The further development of Japan-Philippines exchange is expected as a result of the issuance of multiple entry visas, including increase in the number of tourists from the Phlippines who visit Japan and the enhancement of the ease of business transactions between the two countries, the MOFA said. Japan will continue to accept and deliver V isa applications for Japan through accredited agencies, Japanese Embassy in Manila said in a news release last June 27. The Embassy release also refuted a story circulating on social media that said the Japan visa has been waived. Citizens of Vietnam will also be granted the privilege, while Indonesians, who are already eligible for multipleentry visas for shortterm stays, will have their lengths of stay extended from 15 days to up to 30 days. V isa requirements for citizens of Thailand and Malaysia, mean-

while, have been lifted for short-term stays. For Malaysia, citizens must have an ordinary IC passport to use this privilege; those who do not have an IC passport will still be encouraged to apply for a visa. In the case of Thailand, there will be no visa requirements for Thai citizens who will visit Japan for 15 days or less; for trips longer than 15 days, visas will still be required. Prior to this, only citizens of Brunei and Singapore were allowed to enter Japan without a visa. The MOFA said Through the years, ASEAN and Japan have forged close cooperation towards peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia. They have established close business partnership with total bilateral trade amounting to 248 billion US dollars in 2011. ASEAN Member States are major foreign direct investment destinations for Japanese enterprises. For 2013, Japan and ASEAN Member States plan to carry out exchange projects in a wide range of fields, including political dialogue, economy, culture, youth, and tourism, the MOFA added.