Where pawning doesn’t mean you’re down on your luck Story by: Harvey I. Barkinck SAN FRANCISCO – Most of the time, it’s hard to shake off that down-on-your luck feeling when you go to a pawnshop. But at Best Collateral, CFO and owner Robert Verhoeff says, “We pride ourselves in our service to our customers. We make sure that when they come in, they are dealt with respect. Even if we are unable to meet their needs, they walk out understanding why. Obviously, we hope t...

By Macon Araneta “Arrest me now! Jail me now, I'm here!" a visibly distraught Sen. Leila De Lima exclaimed, breaking into tears Wednesday  as she challenged  President Rodrigo Duterte to keep his promise to put her behind bars. Unleashing her wrath, De Lima in a  trembling voice, also told Duterte,"Do what  you wnat to do with me, Mr. President. I'll wait for you." "I wasn't raised by my father to be a coward. That's enough!"  said De Lima who also asked Duterte to s...

By: Katrina Palana-Soledad San Francisco, CA – Last September 17th, the Bay Area based organization, Club Royale, held its’ annual inaugural ball and gala dinner dance at the San Francisco Marriott Waterfront Hotel. This year’s gala was called “A New Beginning”.  It was a night of glamour, excellent food, great music and merriment – all for a good cause. Club Royale is a Filipino-American organization known for producing elegant social events, while at the same time provi...

By Daniel Llanto Confirming that authorities are taking a reported coup plot against President Duterte seriously, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced Monday that after due investigation it has so far not monitored any group hatching a plot to oust the President and destabilize the government. “We see no group or interest group that might destabilize the government,” said Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office. Malacanang revealed ...

By Daniel Llanto, FilAm Star Correspondent President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that he had been talking with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and had a brief discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the subject of breaking loose from the U.S. and bringing the Philippines to closer ties with Russia and China, both of which the U.S. is at odds with on several issues. “I’ve been talking with Prime Minister Medvedev. (We did a) one-on-one ... (without anybody kn...

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV called for a Senate investigation into the alleged involvement of President Rodrigo Duterte with the Davao Death Squad (DDS), a vigilante group allegedly responsible for more than 1,000 deaths when Duterte was Davao City mayor. In a privilege speech, Trillanes presented his own investigation into the testimony of Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed hitman of DDS who alleged that Duterte ordered the killi...

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent “I cannot resist asking the President, what do you see in me that you find so sexual? Why is your mind so fixated on my sexual aspect? You are so obsessed with me. Why?” Sen. Leila De Lima reacted to the latest tirades by President Rodrigo Duterte who even taunted that Jaybee Sebastian could be her “sexual object” and not a government asset. “The President’s foul mouth has again desecrated the hollowed grounds of Malacañan wi...

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent MANILA -- The peso closes on its 7-year low with P48.25 to the U.S. dollar on September 26 due to foreign fund exit and political and security concerns. The peso sank by P0.26 centavos from the closing rate of P47.99 last September 23, 2016 to Monday’s downgrade of P48.25. This tallied the weakest showingl of the Philippine peso against the dollar since September 16, 2009 when it sank P48.356 to $1. Monday’s weakest peso ...