Global Nation is INQ7.net's website for the global Filipino community. This user-driven site caters to the needs of Filipinos abroad, offering a wide range of services and providing a venue for exchanging their views.

Global Nation invites Filipinos from all over the world to take part in building this online community and making this site their virtual home away from home.

For comments and suggestions, e-mail the Global Nation editor at
joeyalarilla@gmail.com.

Editorial cartoon contest on 100 years of RP-Hawaii ties IN COMMEMORATION of the 100th year of Filipino migration to Hawaii, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) is inviting all newspaper editorial cartoonists to join the "RP-Hawaii Centennial Editorial Cartoon Competition." read story

Xoom lowers fees, improves services for Filipino users SAN FRANCISCO-- Since partnering with Equitable PCI Bank in April 2004, Xoom has quickly become the leading online remittance company to the Philippines. Xoom president and CEO James Joaquin and his executive team visited Manila last month to strengthen their relationship with Equitable and Xoom's other partners. read story

ATF 2006 puts Davao on world tourism map WITH DAVAO CITY hosting the 25th ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) from January 13 to 21, this prestigious international event is already putting the emerging megacity on the world tourism map and drawing global attention to its economic boom. read story

Fil-Am to head advisory commission on Asian Americans WASHINGTON, D.C.--US President George W. Bush has designated Rudy Pamintuan as chairperson of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Pamintuan assumes the position of chairperson after previously serving as one of 14 members of the Commission since their swearing in at the White House in July 2004. read story

Fil-Am town hall meet discusses political future of RP THE PHILIPPINE Consulate General in San Francisco hosted the Town Hall Meeting with the Filipino-American community last Saturday with visiting UP professor Dr. Clarita R. Carlos as guest speaker. The gathering was also held in celebration of the first anniversary of the Town Hall Meeting, an initiative that was undertaken by the Consulate to empower the community and make it an effective partner in reaching out to growing number of Filipino-Americans in San Francisco and the Bay Area through open discussion of critical issues of the day. read story

Lucky Money launches online transfer service SAN FRANCISCO, California--Lucky Money is now available online at www.luckymoney.com, providing fast, secure and reliable money transfer services to the Filipino-American community from any computer in the US with an Internet connection. read story

Child health care advocates
hold annual confab

THE PHILIPPINE Pediatric Society Inc., the largest organization of Filipino pediatricians and child health care advocates will hold its 43rd Annual Convention on April 2-5, 2006 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
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RP overseas absentee
voter registration starts

AS the Philippines gears up for the elections on 2007, the Commission on Elections is hopeful that the next polls will draw greater participation from overseas Filipinos.
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NEWSFEATURE
Filipinos abroad pin
hopes on OAV list-up

SENSING a fresh drift of wind signaling the promise of change, Filipino expatriates are pinning their hopes on the start of overseas absentee voter registration starting October 3, 2005 and ending August 31, 2006. Various Filipino expatriate groups are urging overseas Filipinos, totaling about 10 million, to register as Philippine voters as a way of helping move the motherland toward constructive change.
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New model units
at Shang Grand Tower

NEW model units designed and furnished by Imperial House of Furniture and Butaka are now available for viewing at The Shang Grand Tower on Dela Rosa corner Perea Street, Legaspii Village in Makati City.
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PAL partners with INQ7
for Swingaround promo

SAN FRANCISCO--In a bid to boost travel to the Philippines and other Asian capitals, Philippine Airlines (PAL) has re-launched its Swingaround program in the US. By adding a minimal amount to the airline's airfare, a passenger will be flown to any of the eight designated Swingaround destinations in the Philippines -- Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Davao, Laoag, Manila, Palawan, or Tagaytay.
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Palanca Foundation
announces 2005 winners

LUIS Gatmaitan and Manuel Buising became the 17th and 18th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (Palanca Awards) Hall of Fame awardees when their entries were declared first prize winners during the awarding ceremonies held Sept. 1 at the Peninsula Manila in Makati City.
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PESO launches
business plan tilt

THE PHILIPPINE Emerging Startups Open (PESO) is launching its business plan competition at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall in Ortigas. PESO is an entrepreneurship competition modeled after the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition. The competition is open to anyone with a team composed of at least one student enrolled in a local university. PESO encourages and helps develop innovative entrepreneurship, which can generate employment, entrepreneurship can also show the world that the Filipino has the capability to innovate.
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Western Union sponsors
PNAA annual convention

DENVER--Western Union Financial Services Inc. is sponsoring the 26th Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) Annual Convention to be held on July 13-17 in Kansas City, Missouri. This four-day convention provides opportunities for Filipino nurses to network and share their views and experiences, and participate in the "Creating Partnership for a Preferred Future: Sharing Vision, Values and Leadership" seminar which will be presented on July 15.
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Connecting Filipino
products to the US

THE RELATIONSHIP between the US and the Philippines has opened the opportunity for Filipinos to establish new beginnings in America. The friendship between the two countries, which is attested to by the renaming of the former "Philippine Independence Day" of July 4 to Filipino-American Friendship Day, has given opportunities for Filipinos to establish their careers, open businesses, become American citizens and add the new culture to their already rich heritage.
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"Great Raid" movie
to be screened in DC

WASHINGTON, D.C.--On July 24, Filipino-American World War II veterans, students and community leaders will have a special screening of the much awaited movie, "The Great Raid," thanks to the generosity of Miramax Films.
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Fil-Am veterans hail
victory in Illinois

CHICAGO--Calling it an important step to help remedy a 60-year old problem, Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn saluted the Illinois House of Representatives for passage of the Filipino World War II Veterans Initiative.
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Filipino trumpet talent
plays in 'Just Brass'

FILIPINO kids who have ambitions of becoming a serious musician often look to the piano or the guitar as their first instrument of choice. Young Alaric Saludo's affinity for the trumpet was not usual for a young boy but then even at a young age there was nothing ordinary about him.
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Parents warned vs effect
of marijuana on youth

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The White House drug czar, John P. Walters, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) administrator, Charles G. Curie, joined with scientists and experts from the leading mental health organizations to alert parents about the danger marijuana poses to their teens' mental health.
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Banatao Fil-Am college
scholarships announced

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--The Asian Pacific Fund has announced the selection of seven recipients in the fourth annual Banatao Filipino American Education Fund college scholarship. Each student will receive $5,000 to apply towards costs at a four-year college or university where they will pursue science and engineering majors. Students are eligible to renew the scholarship for up to three years. Twenty students are now Banatao scholars and the fund will distribute $100,000 this year for Banatao scholarships to local students.
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Hiring of RP nurses
in US hospitals seen

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The resumption in hiring of Filipino nurses in the US hospitals is now possible with the amendment of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000. The amendment provides for the recapture of 50,000 EB-3 visa (employment-based immigrant visa) numbers which were unused from fiscal years 2001 to 2004 and which will be used exclusively for the "Schedule A" occupations such as registered nurses and physical therapists.
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Transplant donor
network goes online

SAN FRANCISCO--Registering to be an organ donor has become painless with a new online setup. California Transplant Donor Network community outreach coordinator Tessie Zaragoza has announced that interested parties can now just go online to become an organ and tissue donor at www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org for Spanish-language registration.
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FWN launches
anti-violence guide

SAN FRANCISCO--The Filipino Women's Network (FWN) has announced the publication of an anti-violence resource guide, V-Diaries, in connection with their production of "The Vagina Monologues." FWN stated that 33,000 copies of the Resource Guide will be inserted in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Bay Area BusinessWoman. The Guide will be distributed in select zip codes throughout the Bay Area. Currently, there is no resource, agency or organization in the San Francisco Bay Area specifically geared toward the needs and cultural considerations of Filipina women and girls in violent situations.
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US foundation holds
Zambo medical mission

US-BASED HOPE Foundation International came to Zamboanga City on January 25 to bring medical and dental care to the Muslim Badjao community of Arena Blanco in Zamboanga City. The medical mission was a combined effort with the Philippine Marines, and involved the active participation of the City Health Department, Ciudad Medical Center, the AFP Southern Command headquarters, and other public and private health care practitioners.
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Pinoy professor in Who's
Who in the World 2005

DR. J. Mark Muñoz, a Filipino professor of International Business at the Millikin University in Illinois, has been included in a biographical directory published by Marquis Who's Who, the leading biographical reference publisher of the highest achievers and contributors from across the country and around the world.
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'Hearts Afire'
in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO--The Senior Opportunities Center, a program of the Filipino American Council of San Francisco, will not be left out in the cold during Valentine this year. An affair of the heart called "Hearts Afire," a mini-concert and dinner-dance for the young and not so young, will be held on Feb. 19 at the Corpus Christi Church Social Hall at Santa Rosa and Alemany Boulevard in San Francisco. The event features the lovely Yoly Tolentino who starred as Lady Thiang in the Broadway production of "The King and I." Tolentino's repertoire will include beautiful kundimans, Broadway hits and, of course, endearing love songs.
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The dream of no more
slums in the Philippines

THE DREAM of living a better life is probably one of the most compelling reasons why millions of Filipinos have, in the past few decades decided to leave their native country to pursue brighter opportunities elsewhere. The Philippine Government has been plagued with corruption for decades, but recent years have seen a proliferation of injustice and massive abuse of money and power as demonstrated by the impeachment of a former President and scandals constantly unfolding involving powerful officials in elected and assigned positions. Poverty continues to define the nation as millions live homeless and hungry with no hope for a brighter future ahead. As millions of talented and educated Filipinos leave their motherland to seek better opportunities elsewhere, we ask ourselves, "Can we blame them?" It's sad to say but many have lost hope in the system and have thus decided to pack their bags and leave the country they grew up in, the place many still consider to be their real home. But what if there was hope? What is there was a reason for them to come back? How would this change things?
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Fil-Am youth program
accepting applications

INTERESTED parties have until Jan. 14 to submit their applications to the Filipino American Youth Leaders Fellowship Program, which will be held from June 24-Aug. 19, 2005. This is an eight-week summer work program for Filipino-Americans who want to contribute to social development in the Philippines through firsthand exposure, experience and action.
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