Traveling While U.S. Permanent Residents

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Once upon a time, in the good old days when the rule of law was respected and immigrants were welcome to the US, green card holders (aka permanent residents) shared the same rights and benefits with naturalized US citizens, except for the right to vote.

Today, green card holders can be stopped at ports of entry and deported, just like international students with valid US visas and other legitimate visa holders. If you're worried that, despite your green card, you might not be allowed back, here's valuable guidance from immigration lawyer Lourdes Santos Tancinco. Note of interest: there's a difference between "arriving alien" and "returning resident." Remember that not all green card holders are in danger of being denied entry. But if you are, you still have rights.  

April is National Autism Acceptance Month and two FilAm behavioral analysts from Jacksonville, FL -- Irene Batario (Tita Irene) and Redner Salonga (Kuya Red) -- mark the occasion with a picture book, "Bayani and the ABCs of Me," the first children's book on autism for Filipinos. PF contributing writer Claire Mercado-Obias interviews the two on the making of this landmark book.

Grilling is as Filipino as sinigang and different regions of the Philippines have their own way of grilling food. The town of Bayambang in Pangasinan takes the practice several steps higher with its own term -- inkalot -- and by setting the Guinness World Record of the longest barbecue grill in 2014. Writer Resty Odon celebrates his town's grilling tradition and gives us a lesson on grilling lexicon in this essay which won third prize in the 2023 Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award. 

PF Correspondent and intrepid world traveler Rey de la Cruz marks the island nation of Malta as the 125th country he has visited. And of course he meets Filipinos there. Read his Pinoyspotting account this week. 

For our Partner post this week, Washington D.C.-based writer/activist Jon Melegrito gives an account of the 2025 Bataan Memorial Death March, now on its 36th year, in White Sands, New Mexico. Today, April 9, marks the 82nd anniversary of the Bataan Death March.

[Video of the Week] South China Sea: Escalating tensions between China and the Philippines

In The Know

Kanlaon Volcano goes on explosive eruption; remains on alert level 3
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2050842/kanlaon-volcano-goes-on-explosive-eruption-remains-on-alert-no-3 

Filipinos make history on Broadway: Lea Salonga among 7 on world stage
https://usa.inquirer.net/169480/filipinos-make-history-on-broadway-lea-salonga-among-7-on-world-stage?

Cordillera’s cultural norms push back against political dynasties
https://pcij.org/2025/03/28/cordillera-indigenous-governance-pushes-back-against-political-dynasties/?

Lea Salonga and Her Trans Son Nic Chien Redefine Family, Identity, and Acceptance
https://asianjournal.com/features/lea-salonga-and-her-trans-son-nic-chien-redefine-family-identity-and-acceptance/?

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Staff

Intense

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The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the bible of the living, breathing English language, adds words from various languages annually. Last week, it added the Filipino word gigil to its more than 600,000 recognized words, listing it as one of the "untranslatable" words, meaning those that do not have equivalents in the English language. Indeed how do you explain gigil to a non-Filipino without using many words? The OED lists gigil as a noun and an adjective. 

Gigil (noun) is "An intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable, typically physically manifested by the tight clenching of hands, gritting of the teeth, trembling of the body, or the pinching or squeezing of the person or thing causing this emotion." As an adjective, "Of a person: overwhelmed by an intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable." The OED cites some awkward examples of the use of the term. Most writeups in media announcing the addition of the word focus on the cuteness aspect, which is understandable. But we Filipinos know that there is more to the word than that. 

We know that we are nanggigigil on something so outrageous that it triggers intense ire, like the vloggers who invent stories without any truthful bases, post fake news and cyberbully those who dare call them out on their lies. Philippine-based PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo writes this week about how his name was cited by a Duterte-biased fake news peddler as one of the cyberbullies that should be investigated by Congress, triggering an avalanche of hate messages on him. Read all about it and be informed about relevant laws in "The 'Bully' That I Am."

Another form of panggigigil: when we're overwhelmed by intense admiration of a person or a creative work, much like what we can anticipate when the Filipino movie "Sisa" comes out with the consummate actress Hilda Koronel in the title role. PF contributing writer Cathy Sanchez Babao talked to her friend Hilda (aka Susan Reid) after the latter wrapped up production of director Jun Robles Lana's historical thriller. 

And now that we're on the subject of history, there's a new book on the objects of plunder -- a vast collection of paintings and objets d'art -- owned by a certain Jane Ryan and William Saunders (ultimately exposed as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos). Authored by UK-based artist Pio Abad, the book Fear of Freedom Makes Us See Ghosts has a canary yellow cover, a political statement in itself, and is described by PF contributing writer, Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. as "handsome." That makes it worth buying.

World War II stories take center stage when April comes around because of the commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) on April 9. This national holiday remembers the Fall of Bataan, a significant turning point in the Pacific theater on April 9, 1942. 

Here's a first-person WWII story that chronicles the bombing and its aftermath in Iloilo, from the eyes of a young girl, Maja Teresa Concepcion-Guerrero. She wrote about the events upon the prodding of her younger brother, Rogie Concepcion (a PF contributing writer), who shares the excerpts with us, following Maja Teresa's recent passing at the age of 91. How her recollections were triggered by a random picture of a staircase is a story in itself.  

Read Again:

Death of an Army by Antonio A. Nieva

The Spies Who Came in from the Sea by Virgil N. de la Victoria

Re-enacting the Bataan Death March: A Personal Journey by Jon Melegrito

[Video of the Week] Mambo Magsaysay — The first viral campaign jingle

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Staff

And Along Comes 'Larry the Musical'

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A shout-out to Northern Californians: if you haven't yet, hie over to the Brava Theater in San Francisco to watch the superhit "Larry the Musical." Night after night, it gets a standing ovation from the audience, and that's quite a major statement in the [jaded] culture mecca of the San Francisco Bay Area. PF contributor and FilAm history enthusiast Elena Buensalido Mangahas, herself a theater veteran, hails the show for both its historical and theatrical significance.

April is Filipino Food Month, a celebration which started in 2018 in the Philippines and has since expanded to encompass the global Filipino diaspora, thanks to the foodie culture bearers who have elevated Filipino food to international standards. Veteran Filipino food writer Micky Fenix, who is also the president of the Food Writers Association of the Philippines, gives us a backgrounder on how this officially sanctioned (by the Philippine government) 30-day celebration and offers a path forward for future activities.

Retired FilAm professor James Sobredo attended the recent global summit on nursing held in Iloilo City where the real state of nursing as a profession in the Philippines and other countries was discussed extensively. While the worldwide appetite for hiring Filipino nurses continues unabated, working conditions are not always ideal. Filipino nurses in the US were at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in a disproportionate number of fatalities among them. The big income gap between nurses in Philippine hospitals vs. those employed abroad has resulted in a nurse shortage in Philippines. How to solve this conundrum is a question for the current and future generations of Filipino health workers and policy makers.

On an entirely different note, first-time PF contributing writer Yugel Losorata profiles Ted Reyes, the multi-talented former leader/composer and lead singer of the Filipino band The Freesouls. Reyes has since moved to the US to seek a wider stage for his considerable creative abilities. 

Though Women's History Month is over, we continue to honor women who played important roles in our lives. Toronto-based poet/author Patria Cabatuando-Rivera pays tribute to her unforgettable elder sister in "My Ate Nene, With Flowers in Her Hair."

Around this time every year, we commemorate the Bataan Death March which happened on April 10, 1942. Some 75,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were made to do the arduous trek of about 65 miles. Read Again the account of Filipino veterans advocate Jon Melegrito when we joined re-enactment of the march a few years ago in New Mexico. For him, it was personal. His father was one of the survivors of that WWII tragedy. https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/re-enacting-the-bataan-death-march-a-personal-journey

[Video of the Week] Tradisyon: Serving Accessible, Traditional Filipino Comfort Food At New York City

[Webinar] Nurse Unseen: The Role Of Filipino Nurses During The Pandemic And How They Became Victims Of Anti-Asian Hate

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Vandalism at Chicago mosque investigated as possible hate crime
https://asamnews.com/2024/03/19/downtown-islamic-center-chicago-mosque-vandalism-hate-crime/

A man was arrested after he verbally assaulted, pepper-sprayed an Asian gas station owner because the suspect wanted to pay in all coins
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/man-arrested-verbally-assaulted-pepper-014758333.html

Anti-Asian hate attack unites community in Portland, OR
https://asamnews.com/2024/04/01/senior-citizen-concussion-attacked-with-log/

As Attacks on Asian Americans Regain Spotlight, SF Group Seeks to Soothe Community
https://www.sfpublicpress.org/as-attacks-on-asian-americans-regain-spotlight-sf-group-seeks-to-soothe-community/

Sinophobia unmasked: The racism pandemic
https://mronline.org/2024/03/25/sinophobia-unmasked-the-racism-pandemic/

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

‘Tubaw-inspired’ provincial capitol building to rise in Maguindanao Norte
https://mindanews.com/top-stories/2023/08/tubaw-inspired-provincial-capitol-building-to-rise-in-maguindanao-norte/?

TIPS: What you'll need to apply for a US tourist visa
https://philstarlife.com/living/163945-tips-us-visa-application?page=2

Mall of memories: Greenbelt 1’s closure evokes fond memories
https://bilyonaryo.com/2024/04/01/mall-of-memories-greenbelt-1s-closure-evokes-fond-memories/property/?

BIZ BUZZ: PAL ready for takeoff to Seattle
https://business.inquirer.net/452746/biz-buzz-pal-ready-for-takeoff-to-seattle?

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Staff