Empowered Filipinas

In many countries, across a wide expanse of professions and vocations, Filipina women are smashing barriers and blazing trails, a phenomenon that has been assiduously documented by the Filipina Women's Network (FWN) with its annual Most Influential awards. This week, Positively Filipino is featuring the first batch of 12 awardees representing six countries who are elevating Filipino womanhood to new levels of excellence. [Read part 1 of "Filipina Movers and Shakers" as compiled by our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, from FWN's roster. Parts 2 and 3 will be in the next issues of PF.]

It's not an easy book to read. It will shock you, anger you. A nightmare or two is not far-fetched. But if there's one book that a Filipino should read today, if only to be aware of what our Motherland just went through and might go through again, it's Some People Need Killing by Filipino ace journalist Patricia Evangelista. The book lists in both the New York Times' and President Obama's rankings as one of the best published in 2023, which is a first for a Filipino author. PF book reviewer Patricio Abinales provides a guide to ease one's way into the book's 429 pages without getting drained by the sadness and your rage. 

What does it take to raise a future Attorney General of California? Ten years ago, Cynthia Bonta, mother of Rob (Robbie for her), talked to PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno about her family's journey that shaped the trajectory of her children's careers. Read Again https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/model-mom for a parenting guide.

Africa-based PF writer Agatha Verdadero found out the hard way the secret to making friends with Africans, specifically the proud Somali people, with whom she spent years as an international aide worker. "It was from them that I learned one of the most important truths about working in Africa: Never go to the continent with the romantic notion of being a messiah, of helping its people. You are not needed and wanted that way. Instead, be a trustworthy friend. Everything else flows from that fundamental relationship." Read Again her  article https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/friendship-worth-ones-life for some illumination. 

[Video of the Week] Asian Pacific America: Larry the Musical Premieres at Brava Theatre

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Anti-Asian Hate Watch

'You brought the 'kung flu' here': Man pleads guilty to hate crime, assault at UC
https://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/you-brought-the-kung-flu-here-man-pleads-guilty-to-hate-crime-assault-at-uc

Racist note left on receipt at Asian restaurant in North Carolina sparks outrage
https://news.yahoo.com/news/racist-note-left-receipt-asian-174213584.html

Suspect in Manhattan subway hammer attack charged with hate crimes, threatened to kill police: court docs
https://www.aol.com/suspect-manhattan-subway-hammer-attack-232400157.html?guccounter=1

Fear of Anti-Asian Hate as an International Medical Graduate
https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2023/04000/fear_of_anti_asian_hate_as_an_international.5.aspx

Funding provided by the State of California.

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In The Know

What we the Filipino audience lost when Jaclyn Jose died
https://www.thediarist.ph/what-we-the-filipino-audience-lost-when-jaclyn-jose-died/

In Pictures: 15 Manila Spots That Signal Beginnings of a Larger Walkable Heritage Zone
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/108008/manila-best-history-and-heritage-spots-a6883-20240210-lfrm?

Financial Adviser: 5 Business Lessons Everyone Can Learn from 'The Pretzel King' Mikkel Paris, CEO of Auntie Anne's Philippines
https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/auntie-annes-philippines-mikkel-paris-ceo-business-lessons-a2334-20230725

Here's How Much It Costs to Live in Manila's Most Exclusive Villages 
https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/manila-exclusive-villages-price-and-perks-a1868-a1910-20190625-lfrm10?

Spot Stays: This Palawan Resort's Water Villas Are Worth the Splurge
https://www.spot.ph/things-to-do/the-latest-things-to-do/107767/palawan-resort-setir-new-salepan-villas-a5138-20240117?

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Anniversaries of Political Violence

Yesterday, August 21, we marked the anniversaries of two cataclysmic events that changed the course of Philippine history:

* 47 years ago, August 21, 1971, the Liberal Party political rally in Plaza Miranda was bombed, killing some and permanently disfiguring some of the well-known legislators at that time. Public sentiment blamed President Marcos, then already increasing unpopular, who then declared the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus (leading a year later to the declaration of martial law). Decades after, some members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) revealed (and this was later confirmed by other insiders) that the Plaza Miranda bombing was ordered by the CPP leadership. Read Again journalist/author Gregg Jones account: The Ghosts of Plaza Miranda

* 35 years ago, August 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated upon arrival at the Manila International Airport. The heinous crime resulted in an upheaval so massive that for the next three years, the Philippines was like a cauldron just waiting to explode. Read Again, journalist Ken Kashiwahara's story of Ninoy's last minutes: Ninoy's Final Journey

This year, August, a shroud of sorrow envelopes the Filipino American community with the sudden passing of a beloved historian/author and community leader Dawn Bohulano Mabalon. Her friend, Mariel Toni Jimenez, tells us why Dawn's death is heavy as a mountain.

On a brighter note, PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino profiles Cathy Feliciano Chon, Captivating Communications Influencer, in her continuing series of outstanding young Filipinos.

And here's a look on the evolution of the cherished mythical figure, Ibong Adarna, by PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia.

Among our In The Know links this week is AARP's announcement that Washington DC-based community leader Jon Melegrito won the AARP AAPI Hero Award.

Jon Melegrito, AARP AAPI Hero Awardee
https://www.facebook.com/AARPAAPI/posts/1412613422208026

Typhoons and Tycoons: Disaster Capitalism in the Philippines
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/typhoons-tycoons-disaster-capitalism-philippines-180816065729201.html

Ninoy Aquino Remembered
http://opinion.inquirer.net/115456/ninoy-aquino-remembered

These are The Really Crazy Rich Asians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g01YnqH-2ek

Where I Come From South Bay | Mix of Cultures
https://video.kpbs.org/video/where-i-come-from-south-bay-mix-of-cultures-ejnyqy/

In the midst of summer in the Western hemisphere, how about cooking a traditional favorites: Inihaw na Baboy (Grilled Pork). Our Happy Home Cook recipe for the week.

And for Video of the Week, a rare footage unearthed by the Associated Press from its archives that shows a scene from the 1976 trial of Ninoy Aquino. 

Farewells

Positively Filipino shares the sorrow of the Filipino American community in the unexpected loss of Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, our highly esteemed historian and activist, whose lifework -- documenting the stories of FilAms of various generations -- is unmatched in its scope and reach. Here's our Video of the Week from TFC, paying tribute to this exemplary Filipina.

Another sadness brings about a deeply personal and heartfelt tribute to another great Filipina, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, from veteran journalist Sylvia L. Mayuga, whose friendship with the woman she calls Mama Chitang goes back several decades, political sides and personal reckonings.

An issue to ponder during Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month) is a common first question among Filipino expats. Contributor Dayyuman Marie Ngoddo makes a case of choosing the question "What Languages Do You Speak?" over "where do you come from?"

The language of film as spoken by filmmaker Mikhail Red is the subject of Joy Watford's interview.

Here are links to stories you may have missed in various publications:

Recovering Fil-Am History
https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2018/07/23/1835805/recovering-fil-am-history

Duterte: China should temper its behavior in disputed waters
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/duterte-china-should-temper-its-behavior-in-disputed-waters/2018/08/14/d7ec1f38-9fc8-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b7201d5d0e81

A Sisterhood of Nurses
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-sisterhood-of-nurses-1533992461

Manga Creators: Jose Rizal More Than A Filipino Hero
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/1025-profiles/207033-manga-artist-ryo-konno-writer-takahiro-matsui-on-jose-rizal

Yes, Champorado and Tuyo-Flavored Suman Exists!
https://www.yummy.ph/news-trends/budbud-gourmet-suman-a00260-20180803?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=080518-BudbudGourmetSuman

For our Happy Home Cook recipe this week, San Francisco-based foodie Voltaire Gungab does his own version of the Venezuelan national dish, Pabellon Criollo.