Our Unhappy Homeland
/Though we are thousands of miles away, our motherland is never far from our minds and whatever tragedy and/or insanity that happens there affect us deeply. This week there are two issues that tug at our hearts and conscience: the unconscionable bombing of the Cathedral in Jolo during Sunday service that killed more than 25 people, and the pending legislation now being debated in the Senate lowering the criminal age to 12 years old.
On the latter topic, here's an Opinion piece by Fr. Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation, a non-governmental organization that protects children, entitled "Many Filipino Children Are Treated as Criminals."
And here's an astute analysis by author/social commentator Walden Bello on the underlying motivations behind this obnoxious bill: https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/222071-class-war-masquerading-as-war-on-crime?fbclid=IwAR084gUeqijGsEsUSGybiOjDX2QYpw0hNHEWs3NEDJMaqnnd5kXo4UHInyY
Not quite Jolo but close enough, Read Again veteran journalist Criselda Yabes' 2013 situationer on Patikul, Sulu, "Island of Hope."
As the US Midwest braces for the freezing polar vortex, here are two stories that can warm hearts and stomachs:
Millennial writer Christian Gabriel Pareja profiles Jamey Buencamino, a classical/rock guitarist who grew up in freezing Wisconsin {"Jamey Buencamino Strikes a Cord").
PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz writes about Cid's Ma Mon Luk, an eatery in Chicagoland that brings back warm memories of its namesake in Manila ("It's More Bun in Cid's Ma Mon Luk, Chicago").
From the restaurant comes our Happy Home Cook recipe this week for Lomi, a perfect treat for the snowbound.
For a touch of levity, here is Forgive Us Our Signs 13, culled from the Viber and Facebook postings of various friends.
A variety of topics are covered in our In The Know links this week:
Triumph, Then Tragedy in the Philippines
https://www.asiasentinel.com/society/triumph-tragedy-philippines-bangsamoro-mindanao/?fbclid=IwAR25uMz5mrdyBvhxwyGqs1fxaFsOYfWd9ksAaFCEEpKZ_jhK56h1Nea5Boo
Philippine church attack clouds outlook for peace in Mindanao
This Pixar Artist Is Creating a Comic Book About a Filipino Martial Art
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/arts-and-entertainment/bobby-rubio-neighborhood-legends-a1174-sa00220-20190130-src-spot?fbclid=IwAR3C_ZNX9MVNNoGnru_EPLNIHphb_-qHuP0LBwGVYTbEATY2CffNICYt3oE
Marc de la Cruz on his shot as first Fil-Am ‘Hamilton’
https://usa.inquirer.net/19324/marc-delacruz-on-his-shot-as-first-fil-am-hamilton?fbclid=IwAR1_2YR7LvCodfVga_2d0gBjgHc_-0dpWHQMipEaDsKHXhdmSyNR1vd1-l8&utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1
For Video of the Week, after the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, CNN Philippines featured a story on our Muslim brothers in the south.