A Lively Day With Our Nobel Laureate

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It has been a disturbing, infuriating, ire-inducing nail-biter of a past few weeks in our homeland. (It's hardly any better in the US.)

Investigations, accusations, scandals and lies are assaulting the sanity of those who have been assiduously monitoring the situation. As young Filipinos make their voices heard through social media, rallies and even during sports events, we wonder where all these will lead to. Will there be more revelations of scandalous corruption? Will there be prison sentences, as majority of Filipinos are clamoring for? An EDSA 4 people's uprising? A regime change?

Confronted with such existential question marks, it was quite a welcome break to listen to Fil-Am superstars Maria Ressa, veteran journalist and Nobel Laureate, in conversation with community icon/Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas at the University of San Francisco. Not that Ressa's presentation was less disturbing (there's nothing comforting about AI and social media scrambling our brains with disinformation). But the difference was that the level of rhetoric was elevating, the discussion truly informative. PF contributing writer Lorna Lardizabal Dietz provides a summary.

Also in this issue, Manila-based contributor Manuel "EG" Hizon profiles Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, one of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients. Fr. Flavie, as he is fondly called, went through hell-on-earth as a drug addict before he found his vocation as a Catholic priest. He has since devoted his time and passion to helping the downtrodden, particularly fighting for justice for victims of the Duterte regime's extra-judicial killings. During his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, Fr. Flavie dramatically brought out a list of the victims -- a lengthy document that spilled out beyond the lectern into the stage, illustrating that there were tens of thousands that perished.

It's always good to be reminded that there are Filipinos who inspire with their intellect and their commitment to the common good. 

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Staff

War, Family, Faith, and Pageantry

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We have quite a varied lineup this week:

In time for Veteran's Day in the US yesterday, a feature on the children's book, The Horse Soldier: A Wartime Secret by Sandie Oreta Gillis. It is the story of Lt. Edwin Price Ramsey, who led the last horse-mounted cavalry charge in U.S. military history during World War II. It is also the story of the author's grandparents who risked sheltering Ramsey in their house in Pangasinan. An inspirational story of courage during war but told for children. Leodivico Padua Masuli writes about the making of the book.

An American actor and scriptwriter married a Fil-Am movie producer and made a movie called "One Big Happy Family." Lisa Jenner, whose husband is Dean Devlin, found rich material in Filipino family dynamics that, along with co-star Dante Basco, made this 2025 comedy movie a joy to watch. PF's Los Angeles correspondent Anthony Maddela gives us a glimpse.

From North Texas, Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood introduces Yvonne Yngson Gochangco, the reigning Ginang Filipinas America, whose academic and career credentials -- a master's degree in public health, a certified nurse anesthetist -- surpass her 2025 beauty title.

A sobering testimony: when software engineer Michelle Moreno-Apolo was diagnosed with breast cancer, she dug deep into her Catholic faith, instilled in her by her mother, to navigate the harrowing journey of treatments. She shares with us her story of faith.

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Last Saturday, November 8, the Maria Elena Yuchengco Philippine Studies Program of the University of San Francisco commemorated its 25th anniversary with one of the most anticipated and well attended events in the city: a conversation with Maria Ressa, veteran journalist and the Philippines' second Nobel Prize winner. Moderating the discussion was another Fil-Am celebrity -- Pulitzer-prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas. Read all about the event here. 

Jose Antonio Vargas leads the Q&A with Maria Ressa

Congratulations to PF regular contributor of Fil-Am history stories Alex Fabros, Jr. for winning 2nd place in the International Affairs category at the 2025 American Community Media Awards (there was a first place tie between Kalynh Ngo of Viet Bao and Shahbod Noori of Tehran Magazine). Here’s the winning story: How Vietnam War Vets Wrestled with the Shadows of the Toxic Orange Mist

Alex Fabros, Jr. with wife Lorraine Wong at the American Community Media Awards last November 7, 2025 in Oakland, CA.

[Partner] FilVetRep Day

[Read It Again]

The General At Ease by Gemma Nemenzo
The Boogie Woogie Boys by Alex S. Fabros, Jr.

[Video of the Week]

'Lies Spread Faster Than Facts'—Maria Ressa at the UN 

In The Know

Sometimes heroes are in a small boat with a salbabida

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sometimes-heroes-are-in-a-small-boat-with-a-salbabida

Kaya Founders Secures $25 Million in Final Close to Back PH Startups

https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/kaya-founders-bags-25-m-in-final-close-of-fund-

Still recovering from #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth, but we wanted to share this news story covering the unveiling of Dr. Dawn Bohulano’s Portrait at Delta College

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3158291527686077&extid=MSG-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&ref=sharing&mibextid=wwXIfr

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Staff

Our Net Gain–Alex Eala

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The current darling of the Philippine sports scene is tennis phenom Alex Eala. The 20-year-old is now the highest ranking Filipino in Women's Tennis Association (WTA) history at number 56. Just a few weeks ago, Alex played at Wimbledon against defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czechoslovakia. Though she wasn't able to beat Krejcikova that time, the tennis world took notice. The general outlook is it will only be a matter of time before Alex will be vying for the championship. 

Here's a little known fact about her background: her first tennis trainor was her maternal grandfather, Bobby Maniego, who grew up in the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman. When Alex was a little girl, Maniego would take her to the UP tennis court for practice. Unfortunately, the grandfather passed away before his granddaughter started making her mark in world tennis.

Veteran sports columnist for Business Mirror Tessa Jazmines shares her story on Alex Eala.

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In another arena, a Filipino girl group is just as sensational. BINI, composed of eight multi-talented Filipinas, has exploded into the BINIverse and recently performed at London's OVO Wembley Arena. PF contributing writer Julienne Loreto was there and shares her unforgettable pride not just as a certified Bloom(s), often stylized as BL∞M(S), the BINI fandom, but as part of the huge Filipino community in the UK who came in hordes to support its own.

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The street heroes  of Binondo is the subject of a photo essay by a journalism student, Mikaelah Bianca Panopio, based on her interviews with the street vendors and workers, and her photos of them.

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"What to the immigrant is the 4th of July?" In this timely essay that clearly resonates in these days of extreme uncertainty, Jose Antonio Vargas eloquently dissects the effects of recent government actions on those who are the subject of unwarranted scrutiny and harassment. First published in Time magazine and reposted with the author's permission, the essay is food for thought and action.

Read It Agains: 
Boy Camara Superstar by Bella Bonner
Kapwa, Bayanihan, Makibaka! The FAJ Story by Susan V. Tagle
My Bacolod of Sights, Sounds, Smells by Lilia V. Villanueva

[Video of the Week] The History of Filipino Women That Schools Never Taught Us

In The Know

From Bohol to the World: The Heartfelt Journey of Song of the Fireflies
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/movies-and-tv/the-making-of-song-of-the-fireflies-a3690-20250703-lfrm2?

Today I Learned: The Makahiya Plant Is an Aphrodisiac
https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/sex-and-relationships/today-i-learned-makahiya-aphrodisiac-

First Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz hints she might teach at UP
https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/7/6/hidilyn-diaz-hints-she-might-teach-at-up-1115

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Staff