Thousands of eager customers lined up for hours outside the new Jollibee store in Mississauga when it opened its doors on July 20, 2018.

Canadian Filipino Net, or CFNet for short, ended its first year of operation last year on a positive and optimistic note.

Almost five months after it was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading on March 19,2018 House Bill 7303, "An Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines" languishes on the Senate floor, its passage into law uncertain.

Expect to see more of the iconic Jollibee brand across Canada as the fast-food chain plans to open a hundred stores in the next five years.

Aside from the annual celebrations of June 12 as Philippine Independence Day, Canadian Filipinos in the province of Alberta have much to celebrate this month.

Last March 19, 2018, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 7303 “An Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines" voting 134 for and 57 against with two abstaining. Although its passage of the bill at the lower house of congress was relatively trouble free, its ultimately becoming a law is problematic and uncertain. This is because there are still so many obstacles from formidable forces to overcome.

History was made on May 12 as members of the Filipino Canadian community gathered for the launch of the Filipino Workers Network of British Columbia (FWNBC).

Michelle Eliot was only 12 when her family moved to Canada from Manila.

Marvi Yap and Anna Maramba, crowned “the multicultural moguls” by no less than the Financial Post, are the two Filipino women behind a successful niche advertising agency that links mainstream brands to the ethnic consumer.

The primary objective of the Act Establishing Absolute Divorce  in the Philippines is to give women and men, in a marital relationship that is beyond repair, the option to end the union and start a new life. The measure refers to absolute divorce as "the separation between married couples that is total and final where the husband and wife return to their status of being single with the right to contract marriage again.

The Edmonton-based Philippine Arts Council has initiated an online petition asking the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to designate a Filipino Heritage Month. According to the petition, June is the appropriate month for such a declaration.

The Filipino Catholic Ministry of the archdiocese of Vancouver held a day-long consultation meeting on April 28 at St. Matthew church in Surrey with heads/leaders of Filipino religious organizations and representatives of various parishes in the archdiocese. Its purpose was to begin the process of developing a comprehensive Pastoral Plan to fully integrate and encourage the full participation of Filipinos as active members and leaders in their respective parishes.

Ontario holds its next provincial election on June 7, and a few Canadian Filipinos are hoping to make a breakthrough.

No Canadian Filipino has been elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario so far.

The Philippines and the Vatican, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, are the only two countries in the world that do not allow divorce as a means to end a bad marriage. Currently, what the law allows in the Philippines are annulment and legal separation. The annulment option is expensive (costing upwards of Pesos 250,000) which only the rich can afford and a long one that sometimes takes years to process. On the other hand, legal separation does not allow separated couples to remarry.

Five artists of Filipino heritage are participating in a month-long exhibit aimed at encouraging dialogue around women’s roles, struggles, and triumphs. The exhibit titled Essence will open on April 26 at the CityScape Community Art Space at 335 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver.

Following the success of two locations in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jollibee opens a third Canadian location at #15 William Kitchen Road in Scarborough, Ontario on Easter Sunday, April 1.