Goodbyes at Easter

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Just as we were still mourning the unexpected death of Asia’s Queen of Songs, Pilita Corrales, we were shocked by the news that the Philippines’ only superstar, Nora Aunor, died. Nora is Pilita’s balae: Nora’s daughter Lotlot was the long-time partner of Pilita’s son Monching Gutierrez, and the two big stars of the entertainment industry shared three grandchildren.

And as we were still witnessing the pomp and circumstance of National Artist Nora’s funeral (watch our Video of the Week), we got the news that Pope Francis who many Filipino Catholics idolized, passed away. At the end of the same day, another death – Hajji Alejandro, one of the biggest singing sensations of the ‘70s. In the US, 82-year-old Patrick Adiarte who as a young boy played the role of the crown prince in the much beloved musical, The King and I, passed a few days earlier. (PF Correspondent Myles Garcia updated his feature on him, link below). 

All this sadness happened within two weeks of the Easter season. It’s as if we don’t have enough stress and sorrow already as we watch the world as we know it implode before our eyes.

But we plodded on, searching for silver linings.

Like pride in our kababayans who have been elected or appointed to important government positions in their adopted countries. PF’s list, compiled by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco, is proof that Filipinos are a positive force wherever they may be. 

Like wonderment in the beautiful bonsai creations of ex-ad industry executive Angelito Pangilinan, who is not just a bonsai enthusiast but also an acknowledged advocate of the art.

The glut of empty condo units in metropolitan Manila at present, however, is a mixed bag. While the oversupply may mean prices may go down for the moneyed intending to buy units, there is also the glaring inequity issue, as Manila-based PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo points out.

Despite the contradictions in our realities, we hope you enjoy this issue.

Read Again:

We’re on a Pope Mobile By Nitz Almazora

The Manila Boy Who Would Be King By Myles A. Garcia

Pope Francis and My Brother By Gemma Nemenzo

In The Know

People Gather to Mourn and Honor Pope Francis
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/world/europe/pope-francis-photos-mourning-reaction.html?

Hajji Alejandro, OPM legend and balladeer, dead at 70 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSSg0DjX6uk

A Canadian Company Says It’s Fighting Pollution in the Philippines. Is It Cashing In Instead?
https://thewalrus.ca/plastic-credits/?lid=tyznz7alkt1s

Alexandra Eala: The reality of travel and difficulty of securing visas with a Philippine passport
https://www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/alexandra-eala-the-reality-of-travel-and-difficulty-of-securing-visas-with-a-philippine-passport?

Why the ICC should consider Sara in next round of arrests
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/why-icc-should-consider-sara-next-round-arrests/?

Clark County Commission establishes 'Filipino Town' cultural district
https://news3lv.com/news/local/clark-county-commission-establishes-filipino-town-cultural-district?

Joel Lamangan and Ricky Lee to honor Nora Aunor with biopic
https://tribune.net.ph/2025/04/20/joel-lamangan-and-ricky-lee-to-honor-nora-aunor-with-biopic

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Staff

Springtime and Justice

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Now that we're inching to spring, it's time to make travel plans. How about visiting Amsterdam, whose fascinating windows, artistic displays, cobbled streets, environmentally sound transport (bicycles) and intoxicating whiffs of legal substances guarantee a wondrous vacation for anyone. PF correspondent Criselda Yabes, now France-based, writes about this tourist friendly city that beckons and lures.

The fight against anti-Asian hate requires special efforts by various states to stem the insidious crime. In New York recently, as assault victim Vilma Kari, a Filipino American senior, was accorded justice with the sentencing of her attacker to 15 years in prison, NY Governor Kate Hochul pledged $30 million in support of the AAPI communities' (including the Fil-Am community) efforts to protect its constituents from hate crimes. The Filam.net founding editor Cristina DC Pastor reports.

It's never too early to teach children the principles of justice, and books such as Ang Hukuman ni Sinukuan are on hand to provide parents and educators the tools to explain the complicated concept via mundane and familiar stories. Contributing writer Ian Layugan elucidates.

We close Black History Month with two stories that solidify the solidarity between Fil-Ams and Blacks.

Justin Jones, an elected member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, made headlines in 2023 when he joined two other representatives in breaking decorum on the House floor in a gun control protest. Long before that incident, PF featured him as a community activist actively embracing his Filipino roots in https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/justin-jones-black-filipino-civil-rights-activist

A little-known but significant history: in 1925, the Pullman Company hired Filipinos as scabs when Black porters were trying to form a union. The train company didn't anticipate that the Filipinos would eventually join the Black porters in forming the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Read all about it in https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-black-and-filipino-unity-was-forged-in-the-pullman-workers-union 

[Video of The Week] EDSA On My Mind

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

California Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua Bill Would Establish Greater Penalties for Felony Hate Crimes
https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/54302-california-assemblymember-carlos-villapudua-bill-would-establish-greater-penalties-for-felony-hate-crimes

Group launches new campaign to fight anti-Asian hate
https://www.aol.com/group-launches-campaign-fight-anti-204000574.html

Seattle police officer who struck Jaahnavi Kandula won’t face charges
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/seattle-police-officer-who-struck-jaahnavi-kandula-wont-face-charges/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BNA_022124201042+BREAKING+No+charges+for+officer+who+struck+Jaahnavi+Kandula_2_21_2024&utm_term=Registered%20User

Man Pleads Guilty To Hate Crimes For Attacking Asian Family, Blaming Them For COVID-19
https://www.aol.com/man-pleads-guilty-hate-crimes-224853882.html 

Asian hate: Attacker of elderly Filipina sentenced to 15 years
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/558378/asian-hate-man-who-attacked-elderly-filipina-in-ny-sentenced-to-15-years

A New Chapter in Hell's Kitchen: The Resilience of Vilma Kari and the Fight Against Hate
https://bnnbreaking.com/breaking-news/crime/a-new-chapter-in-hells-kitchen-the-resilience-of-vilma-kari-and-the-fight-against-hate

More than half of Asian New Yorkers report feeling isolated or anxious, yet many don't seek mental health services: report
https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/more-than-half-of-asian-new-yorkers-report-feeling-isolated

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Justin Jones, One of Us

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Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D) has inadvertently become the symbol and voice of the nascent civil rights movement in the US, which has expanded from being predominantly Black in the '60s to now include all peoples of color and gender.

Jones, together with another Black colleague Rep. Justin Pearson, were expelled by the Republican-dominated Tennessee House of Representatives for disruptive behavior during a session discussing gun laws following the mass shooting in a Tennessee school that killed six, including three 9-year-old kids. Another colleague, Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white woman, was not expelled, bringing race to the forefront of the legislative action.

Jones identifies unequivocally with his Filipino roots [Read Leny Mendoza Strobel's story on him: Justin Jones – Black, Filipino, Civil Rights Activist — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora]. Many of PF's Fil-Am readers strongly support him. "This blatant racism is personal since Justin is one of us, " lawyer Ben Olivas wrote. " I explain to my American friends that I will not be silent in the face of the right’s embrace of authoritarian rule, given our own fight against autocracy back in the day.  There is nothing Christian about showing kindness only to those of your tribe."

Last Monday afternoon, following a worldwide outrage, the Nashville Metropolitan Council unanimously reinstated Jones as its duly appointed representative, bringing him back to the House that expelled him. [See our In The Know links section below for the Associated Press report.] Is this the end of this story on race and an assault on democracy? Not a chance. We think this is only the beginning.

Our new stories this week brings us to two places in northern Philippines that seldom get airtime in mainstream media: Batanes, the northernmost province, where ace food writer Micky Fenix was introduced to uvi, a non-purple root crop native to the area; and Benguet, where the Northern Blossom Flower Farm caught the attention of PF contributing writer, Ian Layugan. 

To commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan on April 8, 1942, here's a story for the ages: 

Death of an Army — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Before recently becoming the cover girl for a Philippine fashion magazine, Whang Od, the oldest living traditional mambabatok (tattoo artist), was the focus of Maia Almendral Esteves' first-person account on how it was to have a centuries-old tradition imprinted on her skin: 

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/from-brooklyn-to-buscalan-a-journey-to-whang-od

For Filipino boomers in Manila in the early '70s, Holy Week inevitably trigger memories of "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musicale whose Manila production made the lead performer, Boy Camara, still a remembered name. Where is he now? PF contributing writer Bella Bonner brought us up-to-date: Boy Camara Superstar — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Our Stories This Week

Rooted In Tradition by Micky Fenix

A Matriarch’s Legacy Flowers In The Mountains by Ian Layugan

Read Agains

Justin Jones – Black, Filipino, Civil Rights Activist by Leny Mendoza Strobel

Death Of An Army by Antonio A. Nieva

From Brooklyn To Buscalan: A Journey To Whang Od
by Maia Almendral Esteves

Boy Camara Superstar by Bella Bonner

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Thai Beef Lettuce Wrap by Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo

[Video of the Week] The Reliever (Full Movie)

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Staff