Of Philippine Democracy and Heroes

This issue marks the 8th year of Positively Filipino's publication. As some of you know, there are only four of us putting this e-magazine to bed but we are supported by our writers pool of over a hundred contributors (and counting). To them and to all of you, our readers, we owe our continued existence. Thank you for sticking with us.  

We begin 2022 with the continuing dissection by the former chair of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Andres Bautista of the realities of the Philippine electoral system.  For this issue, he continues debunking "the Big Lie" of 2016, which has real-life repercussions on the 2022 election. 

A controversial decision by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to redesign the 1,000-peso bill by replacing the images of three WW II heroes -- Josefa Llanes Escoda, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, and General Vicente Lim -- with the Philippine Eagle has triggered an uproar. Historical researcher and author Desiree Ann C. Benipayo makes a case for keeping the three in the 1K bill.

Aside from the martyrdom of Escoda, Abad Santos and Lim in the hands of the Japanese conquerors, they have another thing in common as history professor Jose Victor Z. Torres states. Find out more in "The Last Time They Were Seen Alive."

One of the best memoirs I've ever read on growing up a Fil-Am male is the late Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex Tizon's Big Little Man, published before he wrote that highly controversial essay, "My Family's Slave." Retired Philippine Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, a regular PF contributor, writes about Tizon's heartbreaking deep dive into the psyche of being male, gifted and brown in a society that values white the most. 

New Year toasts may be over and done but a Meyer Lemon Frozen Margarita is timeless. For the Happy Home Cook, Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her concoction.

Our Video of the Week  offers a good start to the New Year: a frank, painful and ultimately inspirational TED talk by former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach on her mental health challenges. 

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In The Know

Yssa Mei Panganiban talks Hawkeye and representing her Filipino Heritage in exciting interview
https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/12/30/yssa-mei-panganiban-hawkeye/?fbclid=IwAR2nyjlAaHSxWFbiT6rYRqPMdWC7okbuM4b3KoIqDhNv0KY4zUNAPWlsCcc 

Everybody’s Favorite 24-Hour Filipino Bakery Has Finally Reopened
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896138/ling-nam-starbread-filipino-bakery-senorita-bread-24-hour-daly-city-open?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=202101127Arts&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xHmruUAC

The Untold Story of the Igorots' Revolt
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20211211-fbnp-long-reads-the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2DyzvtS3H8THJ1OWk4Shzc14iQiek905O2XFPf5Q7h82Yq47-Vn0xAiSY

Listening to the lost peoples of Philippine history
https://philstarlife.com/geeky/482691-philippine-history-regalado-trota?page=3&fbclid=IwAR2axT4AMVCY48c-OxOjrJJlzDTkhY3HWZudUWVfNI12SnLjHsVmEUrIIEU

Scars of Empire: Harvard’s Role in U.S. Colonialism in the Philippines
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/12/13/wikstrom-scars-of-empire/?fbclid=IwAR2TNvBMUBtkW4mrHAo4P2NJkx6NEyex3CVqbbx_J5pLrwbx0U3qJ4WCQX0

Quezon City: The History of New Manila & Doña Magdalena Hemady
https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/quezon-city-the-history-of-new-manila-dona-magdalena-hemady/?fbclid=IwAR1QT7NOv452xdsVnZ6wRhOs2wsqN4EFa98xsefvNDWEZSEctEsB-rgzB7Q

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31 Years Ago This Month

Let's join our homeland in commemorating the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a tragedy that changed the course of history. Read again "Ninoy's Final Journey," the up-close-and-personal recollection of then-ABC News correspondent Ken Kashiwahara, the martyr's brother-in-law.

Meanwhile, what do Portugal and the Philippines have in common other than Ferdinand Magellan (who was, in fact, Spanish)? A growing worldwide diaspora, that's what. Our regular contributor, Tiago Gutierrez Marques, who is Filipino-Portuguese, gives an insightful analysis of the two countries' labor export market in "Brain Drain, Portuguese Style."

Another good dissection, this time on the issues confronting the Asian male in America, is presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Alex Tizon in his book, Big Little Man.  In "Race and the Asian Male in America," another regular contributor Anthony Maddela offers an incisive review of Tizon's frank and fascinating memoir.

The yoyo's Filipino component is told by Luisa Igloria in "The Yoyo: A Story of Downs and Ups," which also provides a brief history of Filipinos in Chicago in the early- and mid-20th century.

Robin Williams is never far from our mind, just as he will always be in Chary Ozaeta-Gohh's memory of her encounter with the late lamented comedian. "A Moment with Robin Williams" is one of those testimonials on his goodness of heart.

Our Video of the Week is a BBC report that shows why the Philippines will always be a fascinating place.

And finally, my blog this week is about a recycled romance that many readers are probably familiar with.