With the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup happening in Manila now plus the visits of NBA superstars Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney (unrelated to FIBA), the already basketball-crazy nation is in a state of euphoria.

Time was when Filipinos' basketball heroes were homegrown, not imports, and teams carried the names of sponsoring corporations like the Toyota Tamaraws, the YCO Painters and the Crispa Redmanizers. For Filipinos of a certain age, Atoy Co was the superstar not only on the court but in ladies' hearts. Where is he now? PF contributing writer Bella Bonner visits the Fortune Cookie's present world and finds a family man, a grandpa and an avid golfer, not necessarily in that order.

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Many people have had life-changing travels but for FilAm artist/musician Conrad Benedicto, his journey to Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines' southernmost province, was mind-boggling, transcendental and unforgettable. His words and pictures afford us a glimpse of the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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Memo to the powerful in politics, education and media: If you want to multiply exponentially the number of readers of a news item that you'd rather remained secret, try censoring it. You can be sure that: a) like a genie out of the bottle, it's no longer within your control; and b) pulling out the story will only make things worse because those who didn't pay attention at first now have their interest (and speculations) piqued.

This is what happened when The FilAm, an online magazine based in NY, reported that Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, the first cousin of the current Philippine president, donated $1 million to Harvard to start a Filipino language course. The Philippines' biggest daily, the Inquirer, picked up the story only to pull it out later, presumably because the paper's bosses were displeased by its publication. Too late; other news outlets were already on to the censorship and wrote the story. So the bigwigs attempt at secrecy boomeranged. The story exploded and, because it involved a Romualdez, evolved into a feeding frenzy around ill-gotten wealth, corruption, power bullying and press freedom.

We are reposting here both The FilAm's original story and the report on its pull-out in the Inquirer, written by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Oh, and by the way, the Inquirer's publisher is the sister-in-law of the Speaker.

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On an entirely different matter, Positively Filipino is hiring:

Part-Time Social Media Consultant- Anti-Asian Hate Project

Positively Filipino, the premier digital native magazine celebrating the story of the global Filipino community is seeking a social media consultant for 12 months for public education about anti-Asian hate. The project is part of a California statewide project to raise public awareness when incidents and crimes occur, how to report, services available to victims and their families and what the public can do to address the problem.

The new position of social media consultant will work closely with Positively Filipino editors and journalists to identify content, create and post messages on Instagram and FaceBook and tweets on Twitter “X”.

This is a unique opportunity to work in collaboration with some of the most experienced journalists, scholars and activists in the Filipino community to raise awareness of the impact of this dangerous trend and how it is affecting Filipino Americans.

Planned level of engagement 4 to 8 posts per month for 12 months. Compensation: $500 mo.

Qualifications: Facility with Instagram, FaceBook and Twitter “X” preferred. Experience paid or volunteer with related nonprofit or advocacy organizations. Interest in or experience in journalism a plus. Some college helpful. The applicant must be US-based.

Please send your resume with a cover letter, links to sample Instagram, FaceBook and Twitter “X” postings and a writing sample to: filipinos@positivelyfilipino.com.

Funding provided by the State of California.

Stories This Week

Straight-Shooting Atoy Co Today by Bella Bonner

Memories Of Mindanao: Tawi-Tawi by Conrad Benedicto

The Stories Behind The Million-Dollar Donation by Carmela Fonbuena and Cristina DC Pastor

Little Miss Maddie, Gerber Baby 2023 by Claire Mercado-Obias

Writer Eileen Tabios’ Lines Of Work: The Hay(Na)Ku by Lynn M. Grow

[Partner] The Filipino Veterans Recognition And Education Project (FilVetRep) Announces Release Of 2023 Duty To Country Education Project by Leezel Tanglao

Read Again: Joe Mari Chan’s Enduring Heart Songs by Paulynn Paredes Sicam

Cook It Again: The Happy Home Cook: Gising Gising (Seafood Extreme)

[Video of the Week] The Mountain Ballers of the Philippines

In The Know

Multi-billion-dollar SF start-up Scale AI accused of exploiting Filipino workers
https://nextshark.com/scale-ai-start-up-exploits-filipino-workers

Erik Spoelstra's dual heritage: Exploring his Filipino roots and coaching role with Team USA
https://olympics.com/en/news/erik-spoelstra-dual-heritage-filipino-roots-usa-coaching-role?fbclid=IwAR0WXYBUnAwEpuURXJ8JMf8dw8gAkR4U9gMpsfVne5dwXN-MG5t3ZMM0d_Q

'Mabuhay Pilipinas,' Philippines 1st Women's World Cup diary
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/38277541/philippines-2023-womens-world-cup-diary-reina-bonta

Study Shows That Filipinos Value Personality Over Looks
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/this-study-reveals-that-filipinos-value-personality-over-looks-a00203-20171226?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20230827-fbnp-culture-this-study-reveals-that-filipinos-value-personality-over-looks-a00203-20171226-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0jJGl1CEjohbLkxm8Uk4X9oZOEyhmkz3U5VLug-vbeTGYGxtRgTy0L5_s

A Different Kind of Food Trip
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/filipino/en/podcast-episode/a-different-kind-of-pinoy-food-trip/igqc8vp63?fbclid=IwAR1CoLPb1w_GruBlaEHtlyJvYHE4tu3eYga1FEEgfiCoG9fecnQ-OsynyiU

The Extraordinary Story of Anna Bayle, the Filipina Who Became Asia's First Supermodel
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/anna-bayle-facts-a00007-20230823-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Cosmo&utm_medium=Siteshare&utm_campaign=20230827-anna-bayle-facts&fbclid=IwAR0IkDwLzQU1ttqJ4em-VQJthxqasslolN0MVcFR6C4KtFxP7jg_AiZFO3k

Fresh Grad Recalls How Selling Tie-Dyed Items Helped Her Finish College
https://www.businessnews.com.ph/fresh-grad-anne-recalls-how-selling-tie-dyed-items-helped-her-finish-college-20211127/?fbclid=IwAR0bM3eITt0mWOXrIgUZqVIvVOgo0EezI6MM8wuRinP1S0R5orsEHx4jitE

We're having another webinar next week featuring five super-accomplished Filipino women in health care, all acclaimed in their respective fields, coming from different states: Hawaii, Washington, California, Illinois and New York. Each one played a significant role in mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic in their communities and they will share with us their stories and their work. Join us as we celebrate Women's History Month by honoring these "Filipina Power Warriors in the Pandemic Front Line" this coming Monday, March 22. Details and registration information below.

Our webinar last week, "We Are Not the Virus: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans," triggered some visceral reactions from some attendees. If you missed it or would like to listen to it again, here's the recording of the event. http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/webinar-video-we-are-not-the-virus-hate-crimes-against-asian-americans

We also have some pretty consequential stories this week which we hope will inform, clarify, entertain and inspire.