An Officer and a Gentleman

Philippine history never lacks for interesting personalities and many of them remain unheralded because they are only known in select circles. One of them is Major General Basilio J. Valdes who holds the distinction of being the only medical doctor who became Chief of Staff of the Philippine armed forces and Secretary of Defense. Here we pay fitting tribute to this important historical figure who was President Manuel Luis Quezon's personal physician and trusted adviser. His niece, Jessie Thompson Huberty, shares with us family stories about her esteemed uncle who was with General Douglas MacArthur at the famous landing in Leyte beach.

Mactan, Cebu is not exactly author Cecilia Manguerra Brainard'shometown but being a native Cebuana, she has enough lovely memories of this once-sleepy town, now a bustling metropolis. In "Mactan, 50 Years Ago and Now," she recalls the island of her youth and its role in providing R&R to American troops fighting the Vietnam War. 

San Francisco was treated to the colorful sight of representatives of Mindanao indigenous people in their intricately woven attire. They are in the city for The Hinabi Project's exhibition of Mindanao textile arts and culture. Read our Partner post about this one-of-a-kind exhibit that you shouldn't let pass, if you're in the area.

Aside from Filipino American History Month, October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month and we can always count on our friends from ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment to mark the month with a resource fair. It's 13th annual Free from Violence event will be on October 3. More details in our Partner post.

A variety of interesting stories comprise our In The Know links this week:

Philippine peso flashes warning signs for Dutertenomics
https://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/William-Pesek/Philippine-peso-flashes-warning-signs-for-Dutertenomics

For Isolated Philippine Town, a Planned Road Is a Lifeline and a Worry
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/world/asia/philippines-remote-road.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

An online museum that immortalizes years of martial rule
http://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2017/09/19/martial-law-museum-launch.html

Before Ayala Center, there was Quad
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/71404/14-nostalgic-images-of-old-makati-a1806-20170912-lfrm4

Soup weather is coming up and our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is a comfort food: Lentil Longganisa soup from Rene Astudillo who has a food blog called My Bay Kitchen.

For our Video of the Week: in a documentary directed by Ed Ou and Aurora Almendral, NBC Left Field features "The Kill List," a look into the current drug war in the Philippines (Warning: Graphic Content).

Commemorate and Celebrate

We're racing towards the busiest month of all -- October -- for Filipino Americans, but before that we pause to commemorate and celebrate.

Forty five years since the proclamation of martial law on September 23, 1972, a day and an era we can never forget. Read Again Patricio Abinales' personal essay, "Note from the Underground" to get an idea why the current rumbles of history redux are not to be taken lightly. 

There are of course reasons to celebrate: Philippine dance and culture take a front seat in San Francisco this weekend, as LIKHA Folk Ensemble, the most called upon Filipino folk dance troupe in the Bay Area, celebrates 25 years with KARANGALAN, a one-of-a-kind event. Manzel Delacruz features this amazing ensemble.

Filipino cuisine likewise gets the headline as the five-city North American tour of Chef Romy Dorotan and culinary historian Amy Besa takes place in Seattle this Friday. We are honored to feature as our Happy Home Cook recipe this week, Dorotan's signature dish for their tastings and lectures - Beef Shortribs Adobo.

As always, a touch of nostalgia, this time for the Manila of our memories. Veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. writes about Arsenio Lacson, the late, unforgettable mayor of the Philippines' premier city, whom he calls "the best president the country never had."

Our Toronto-based contributor Maripi Leynes recalls how it was to grow up in Santa Cruz, Manila before it became a crazy metropolitan district with lumpen sensibilities.

I haven't posted on my blog for a while now so here's my way of atoning for my negligence (aka laziness): The Fine Points of Aging (or things you won't know about being a senior until you're actually one). 

Our links for In The Know this week

The Philippines’ greatest female philosopher has died
https://qz.com/725370/emerita-quito-the-greatest-forgotten-filipino-philosopher-has-died/

Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte's drug war
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-duterte-police-specialrep/special-report-police-describe-kill-rewards-staged-crime-scenes-in-dutertes-drug-war-idUSKBN17K1F4

Caloocan Bishop Pablo David: Shepherd of his slaughtered sheep
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/182373-caloocan-bishop-pablo-david-profile-war-drugs-killings

ISIS Recruits Fighters for the Philippines Instead of Syria
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-uncovered/isis-recruits-fighters-philippines-instead-syria-n796741

For our Video of the Week, Filipinos have been sharing a tagalog version of the “Les Miserables” song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” on the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines.

DREAMers

The Trump administration's cancellation of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the Obama administration's immigration program that protected young people without legal status who were brought to the country as children, triggered a firestorm of resistance and protests not only by the DREAMers (as DACA recipients are called) but also from civil society groups and immigration lawyers like Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. Her exclusive piece for Positively Filipino, "What DACA Recipients Should Know Now and the Rights They Have," reassures and encourages those negatively impacted by this cruel and inhuman act of the current government. Attorney Tancinco also lists five tips on what NOT to do, now that DACA is under assault.

We are also posting, with permission, the opinion piece of Jose Antonio Vargas in the New York Times' Sunday Review entitled "'Dreamers' Put Their Trust in DACA. What Now?"

Returning to the national trauma of 16 years ago, Major General (Ret.) Antonio Taguba goes public for the first time about his extremely close call on September 11, 2001, when he was just about 75 feet away from the American Airlines Flight 77 that plowed into the Pentagon. Read his heart-stopping account of the tragedy and its aftermath.

On a lighter note, we have another Hometown story, this time about Isla de Convalescensia on the Pasig River and Parañaque. "Island in the Stream" is poet/writer Victor Peñaranda's memories of his boyhood. 

For our Happy Home Cook, we are sharing PF Correspondent John Silva's personal recipe for Adobong Antigo, which includes an ingredient that could make any cook happy.

In our In the Know links this week, we try to balance serious with levity:

War Machine: Will Goyo be the Biggest Filipino Film of All Time?
http://rogue.ph/war-goyo/

The Legend of Ma Mon Luk
http://rogue.ph/the-legend-of- mamonluk/

“Hiding and Hiding”: Undocumented Filipinx Americans Living in the Shadows
https://catapult.co/stories/ migrations-undocumented- filipinx-americans-hiding-and- hiding

Bayanihan Project gives contemporary Filipino art chance to shine http://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2017-09-09/bayanihan-project- filipino-art-gets-chance-to- shine/8843982

Our Video of the Week Miss Saigon US stars Eva Noblezada and Rachelle Ann Go perform this exclusive, reimagined version of "The Movie in My Mind."