INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Maria Cecilia Flores-Oebanda has been awarded the first Iqbal Masih award for the elimination of exploitative child labor, according to the United States Department of Labor.

Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Charlotte M. Ponticelli said the US agency is giving this award to acknowledge Flores-Oebanda’s lifetime battle against the use of child domestic workers and the trafficking of women and children for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation in the Philippines and internationally.

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By Yong B. Chavez

There’s a good chance Filipino-flavored food will stay in the Obama White House menu.

Though change is coming in the White House this January, there’s one area where Obama’s new administration isn’t likely to change, reports say.

Walter Scheib, White House executive chef for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, says in an AP interview that “there’s a 90 percent chance the new administration will stick with his successor, Cristeta Comerford.”

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By Lella Santiago

FILIPINAS never cease to amaze. They amaze with their talent. They amaze with their style. As proof of their exceptional ability three Pinay authors have done the country proud by making it to the bestseller list of Kinokuniya Bookstore in Singapore: Noelle Chua at number 2, Maya Calica at number 3 and Tara Sering at number 5.

These three savvy, cosmopolitan and bestselling Filipina novelists were likewise handpicked by International Publisher Marshall Cavendish to launch the first “Asian Chic” Lit books. Asian Chic is about Asian women set within the panorama of Asian locales and takes a lingering look at their distinctly Asian lives. And it’s absolutely thrilling that this new literary genre is spearheaded by Filipinas.

The chick lit hits that were recently launched under the Asian Chic banner are “Undercover Tai Tai” by Maya Calica, “Amazing Grace” by Tara FT Sering, and “Mrs Mismarriage” by Noelle Chua.

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