Happy New Year!

We welcome New Year 2012 with excitement and anticipation. And despite the unpredictability of what lies ahead, we know that there will always be a wealth of new opportunities for personal and professional growth for us all.

In this first issue of 2012, it is with great pride that we add a distinguished and familiar name to our list of contributors in the Pilipino Express. The Honourable Dr. Rey Pagtakhan begins a column entitled Medisina at Politika where he discusses issues that are relevant to the Filipino-Canadian immigrant in our community. Dr. Rey, a Filipino-Canadian born in the Philippines, was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1988 to 2004. He also holds the distinction of being the only Filipino-Canadian to become a Federal Minister (during the Chretien and Martin eras). He has since retired from his political career but he is kept busy speaking as a resource person at various conferences in North America and the Philippines.

In our last issue, I wrote about the Super Visa for parents and grandparents of immigrant families – in particular the requirement to purchase the government required health insurance coverage of $100,000 for a period of one year. (See: Super visa or immigrant kryptonite?) I was overwhelmed with the feedback I received, not only from immigrant readers but also from some travel health insurance providers. The good news is there are some insurance providers who have amended and relaxed their rules and are now offering relatively affordable premium rates. As I mentioned to one of our readers, the Super Visa is very new and as such, there may be confusion in its implementation here and overseas. On a positive note, as we continue to give our feedback to the authorities, we expect them to get the kinks ironed out as we go along.

As always, we invite you to send us your feedback and let us know what you think.

We thank you for your support throughout the years and we look forward to serving you in the years to come. From all of us, yours truly Emmie Joaquin, Rey-ar Reyes, Paul Morrow and the Pilipino Express team of contributors, we wish you all a prosperous New Year!

Have a comment on this article? Send Emmie your feedback