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

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Philippine-church-attack-clouds-outlook-for-peace-in-Mindanao?fbclid=IwAR3oRyRSp9eyvISGaJES1jBKWmEGG798bF8j8c8P1raWe88CU720KWrJ4Vo

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.

Mindanao Peace In Our Time?

President PNoy Aquino's legacy-building effort to put in place the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as a major foundation for peace with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao has received mixed reviews, all of them fiercely emotional.

Those who are for it argue that while the BBL is not perfect, it's a necessary first step. Those opposing it say the current language of the BBL leaves a lot of gaping loopholes that will prove dangerous.

Writer/historian John Silva in "Islamic Law Poised to Gain Philippine Foothold," presents his own concerns regarding the vague provisions on human rights under Shariah law that the BBL stipulates. We have also included a link to a primer on the BBL so you can see for yourself what the big fuss is all about.

The story of Edita Balane, a Filipina caregiver in Dubai, is almost an everywoman's story on the personal and social costs of working as an OFW. Journalist Ana P. Santos tells her story in "Everyone's Children But Her Own."

As a teenager, our regular contributing writer Myles A. Garcia aspired to be a stage actor, an ambition given some sort of encouragement by the well-known Jesuit, Fr. James Reuter. In this touching and amusing tribute to his late mentor, Myles takes us on a nostalgic trip to the Broadway musicales that entertained the Manila theater buffs and discovered stage talents among the Catholic school kids. "Remembering Fr. Reuter, 'Broadway' Producer" will bring back memories, if you were there.

We also feature this week a pictorial on the liveliest, longest-running Filipino fiesta in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pistahan, which took place last weekend.

Our Happy Home Cook recipe for this week: a stylized Ensaladang Talong (eggplant salad) with Coconut Vinaigrette from the must-have book, Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, Second Edition.

Also in this issue, the recipe for Goldilocks' mango cake.

Our Video of the Week focuses on Filipinos' deep-seated love for basketball: "Ang Pambihirang Love Story ng Pinoy sa Basketball."