We're Building Lives Everywhere
/One of the challenges — and joys — of publishing a weekly online magazine like Positively Filipino for the global Filipino diaspora is grasping just how vast and varied that diaspora truly is. More than 10.2 million Filipinos — about 11% of the Philippine population — now live and work in over 100 countries, across every imaginable profession and walk of life. More than four million are in the United States alone. Imagine the stories they carry with them: stories of migration and memory, sacrifice and reinvention, longing and belonging.
We are only beginning to tell them.
To capture the full breadth and depth of the Filipino diaspora would take far more time, resources, and generations of storytellers. Still, in our own modest way, we continue the work of gathering, preserving, and sharing these lived experiences — one story at a time.
This week’s stories reflect the richness and complexity of that global Filipino journey:
In “The Elderly Filipino Men of ’A‘ala Park,” Dr. Federico V. Magdalena remembers the once-familiar sight of aging Filipino men gathering in an Oahu park. Many had arrived in Hawai‘i in the early 20th century as sakadas, laborers recruited for the sugar plantations. Long after their working years ended, they returned to ’A‘ala Park to swap stories, relive memories, and find community among fellow migrants who had shared the same difficult passage. Today, the men are gone, and the park is no longer what it once was.
“Why Baja? Why Not?” by Rudy D. Liporada explores a question many Filipino Americans wrestle with at retirement: where is home now? Rather than return permanently to the Philippines after decades in the United States, one couple chooses to settle in San Felipe, Baja California — close enough to drive to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Their choice reflects a growing but still uncommon path: remaining geographically near family while living outside both the US mainland and the Philippines.
In “When Waymo Stalls, Who You Gonna Call? Pinoy Agents, That’s Who,” Anthony Maddela highlights an unexpected intersection of American innovation and Filipino expertise. When Waymo’s driverless cars in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix run into trouble, they are often remotely assisted by Filipino fleet support agents working from the Philippines — a quiet but powerful reminder of how deeply Filipino talent is woven into the technologies shaping the modern world.
Meanwhile, “Siargao Locals Wearying of Growing Israeli Presence” by Rene Astudillo examines the diaspora story from the other side: what happens when foreigners establish their own enclaves in the Philippines. Set in the surfing haven of Siargao, the story explores rising local unease over the growing Israeli presence on the island and the tensions that emerge when global mobility transforms local communities.
And finally, our Video of the Week takes us to Barcelona, where Filipinos are building lives far from home while striving to recreate the warmth, solidarity, and community spirit that shaped them in the Philippines. Wherever they may be in the world, Filipinos continue to find ways to make home with one another.
[Read It Again]
Surprise! A Filipino Table in Tbilisi by Jennifer Fergesen
A Filipino Community Grows in Ireland by Diane Sabenacio Nititham
Positively Filipinos – in China by Jaime FlorCruz
In The Know
Mothers know best: How 2 Filipina nurses built a mom community in London
https://www.rappler.com/people/human-interest/filipinas-marian-gureng-mary-vergara-community-moms-london/?
During Cancer Treatment, Writing Kept Me Going. My New Book Offers Hope in the Age of AI (Exclusive)
https://people.com/during-cancer-treatment-writing-kept-me-going-exclusive-11971710
UP Mindanao opens School of Medicine to address physician shortage
https://mb.com.ph/2026/05/11/up-mindanao-opens-school-of-medicine-to-address-physician-shortage?
Got it from mama: Filipino athlete-mothers whose children also pursued sports
https://www.rappler.com/people/athletes/filipino-athlete-mothers-children-pursued-sports/?
What Can We Learn from ‘Filipino Time?’
https://joysauce.com/what-can-we-learn-from-filipino-time/
