Pathways that Dado Built

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Dado and Maria Banatao are the Hermano and Hermana Mayor for the Pistahan Parade and Festival 2025. With Philippine Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer (Photo by Raymond Virata)

This first issue of 2026 is dedicated to Diosdado “Dado” Banatao—the legendary Filipino American tech innovator who changed the way the world uses computers. Dado passed away on Christmas Day 2025 in Stanford, California, but his impact is everywhere we look.

A lot has already been said about his groundbreaking work in technology, and for good reason. Without the chip sets he pioneered, computers might still be bulky, overpriced, and painfully slow. His breakthrough in graphics accelerator chips helped unlock the multimedia-rich digital world we live in today—from gaming and streaming to design and storytelling.

But this tribute goes beyond the tech. In these pages, we spotlight Dado, the generous donor to community causes, and the mentor, the visionary, and the believer in young minds. Through heartfelt testimonials from people who worked closely with him at PhilDev and who partnered with him in supporting community projects, we see the human side of a genius—someone who, together with his wife Maria, dedicated his life to lifting others up. Their tireless mission was simple but powerful: to inspire Filipino youth to dream bigger, break barriers, and lead the future of STEM.

Dado Banatao didn’t just build technology. He built pathways. And the next generation is already walking them.

Here's a video intro to this great man:

In The Know

Many Filipino healthcare workers in the US live in fear of ICE: ‘This is my place of work. I should feel safe’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/29/filipino-healthcare-workers-immigration-trump?

Rewriting Reality: The Information War That Defined 2025

https://pcij.org/2025/12/31/rewriting-reality-the-information-war-that-defined-2025/?

70-year-old Filipino grandma faces deportation after 4 decades in US
https://usa.inquirer.net/186652/70-year-old-filipino-grandma-faces-deportation-after-4-decades-in-us

Pinoy nagsilbing lead float decorator sa Rose Parade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFfCaxPQT1s

New York street named after José Rizal in honor of Filipino migrants
https://usa.inquirer.net/185624/new-york-street-named-after-jose-rizal-in-honor-of-filipino-migrants?

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Staff