September 24, 2025

Enough is Enough!

September 24, 2025/ Staff

For many sectors of the Filipino diaspora, the most compelling (read: emotion-triggering, disbelief-baiting, thought-provoking) drama nowadays is not on Netflix or Hulu or the usual streaming services.

It's the ongoing investigations on high corruption among government officials happening in the Philippines (usually on YouTube). What started out as outrage against the sub-standard or completely absent flood control projects (that nature exposed with rainfall so devastating) has now ballooned into a new national passion that pervades all sectors: looking for evidences of corruption in every nook and cranny of government.

The effort is multi-generational (the tech-savvy Gen Zs are in the forefront), multi-sectoral, unencumbered by class, age and ideologies. During the massive rallies on September 21, families including small children filled up EDSA and to a certain extent, Luneta. The mood, according to reports, is angry, impatient, no longer willing to accept cover-ups or half-hearted efforts by investigators. It goes with a lot of skepticism -- will Congress have the guts to punish their own? Will the powerful be exempt? Along with these are the high expectations that will determine the fate and legacy of the Marcos II administration.

Of course there are efforts by certain groups to derail and debunk, single-minded as they are to effect a regime change. But their activities have been epic fails, powered as they are by their delusions. So far.

Our homeland right now is teetering on a tightrope and we who are watching from afar can only hope that the next month or so will be a game changer. As the rallyists chanted last Saturday, "Tama Na, Sobra Na, Ikulong Na!" This is the closest to "off with their heads" that the Filipino nation -- generally a forgiving lot -- can muster.

Stories This Week

First Filipino Photographer Felix Laureano and his Milieu by Vicente Salas

Baguio’s Timeless Souvenirs by Rene Astudillo

FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 71 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Read It Again]

Remembering Nora Daza, 1929-2013 by Noel A. Añonuevo

Halo-Halo? In Hungary? by Jennifer Fergesen

[Video of the Week] Filipino Professor Talks to a Descendant of Jose Rizal

Pinoy scientist returns home after studying at Harvard University
https://www.pep.ph/lifestyle/extraordinary/187977/pinoy-scientist-home-after-studying-at-harvard-a717-20250804?

Fil-Am dad killed in Louis Vuitton burglary crash in Chicago
https://usa.inquirer.net/179728/fil-am-dad-killed-in-louis-vuitton-burglary-crash-in-chicago?

How a Filipino educator became Arizona’s top history teacher
https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2025/9/20/-for-sat-8-am-how-a-filipino-educator-became-arizona-s-top-history-teacher-0800?

Jessica Sanchez Transforms “Die With A Smile” Into Pure MAGIC!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMB3674nFOY

June 28, 2023

For Kids' Sake

June 28, 2023/ Staff

Giving up a successful business to engage fulltime in volunteer civic action is a giant step for anyone. That's what Vicky Vergara Wieneke did when she set up Kabisig ng Kalahi, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that started as a feeding program for malnourished children in Batangas and has since expanded as a full-fledged nutrition and livelihood program in various provinces. Kabisig's projects has the support of both the Philippine government and private corporations. PF contributing writer Gia R. Mendoza gives a first-hand report on Kabisig and her sorority sister, Vicky VW.

Collecting trading cards of sports heroes is arguably a rite of passage of young people interested in sports. But for FilAm collector Mark John Sanchez, who teaches Asian American Studies at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, trading cards of 20th century Filipino and FilAm sports personalities are a valuable source of history and nostalgia. He gives us a glimpse of his collection and the historical information it provides.

If you're searching for a meaningful book for children in the first- to fourth grade, here's a highly recommended one: Philip Vera Cruz by Karen Su, a fitting introduction to the Filipino working class hero who was a leading light in the US labor movement.

Stories This Week

Vicky W And Kabisig Ng Kalahi’s Story by Gia R. Mendoza

Filipino Sports History: It’s In The Cards by Mark John Sanchez

A Hero Kids Should Know by Elaine Elinson

[Partner] NVC Foundation, The Little Philippine-Based Foundation That Could

Read Agains:

Pieces Of The (Midnight) Sun: Sketches Of An Alaskero by Oscar Peñaranda

When Lolo’s Debating Team Vanquished America by Liana Romulo

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Nora Daza's Humba by Nora V. Daza

[Video of the Week] The Rise of Ube

In The Know

Asians in early America

https://aeon.co/essays/asians-were-visiting-the-west-coast-of-america-in-1587?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4c4af1c0c4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_06_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-b43a9ed933-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Uncle Bob’s Place honors activist Bob Santos’ legacy with 12 balcony railing designs

https://iexaminer.org/uncle-bobs-place-honors-activist-bob-santos-legacy-with-12-balcony-railing-designs/?fbclid=IwAR0cFOlbDdC5WewzCFKVraywwvimSYGa2Mayt3M3o0DWLb3UUg_nnWfgFtk

Who helped Ponce De Leon find Luna’s lost painting?

https://tribune.net.ph/2023/06/20/who-helped-ponce-de-leon-find-lunas-lost-painting/?fbclid=IwAR2dtL-sg_3Xlcy0hmZUh6hdTwM84N5lG3QHuB7fdSwYyvJYdQjk6KfP_NE

The Story of the Southern Tagalog 10 by Boni Ilagan

https://bantayogngmgabayani.org/southern-tagalog-10-boni-ilagan/?fbclid=IwAR06aX7ouv6NAMibNtSmLeFs917uk8OZeUwgjuZ-nGiP6St8Wyh5vBkxlrQ

May 12, 2021

Famous Moms and the Bayanihan Spirit

May 12, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

That was an enlightening and heartwarming session with "Loving Kids Talk About Their Famous Mothers" yesterday, Positively Filipino's Mother's Day webinar. The four articulate panelists paid tribute to their mothers while revealing some pretty interesting insights and anecdotes about the persons behind the celebrity. If you missed the event or want to view it again, here's the link: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/webinar-video-loving-kids-talk-about-their-famous-mothers

Community pantries continue to sprout in the Philippines as the Filipino bayanihan spirit flourishes during the pandemic. In Baesa, Quezon City, the Sombillo family pooled their resources and generously shares with the less fortunate in the area. Toronto-based contributor Patria Cabatuando-Rivera shines the spotlight on them in "Bayanihan to the Rescue."

Veteran scriptwriter Marina Feleo-Gonzalez gets a comprehensive tribute from regular PF writer (and her former student) Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. in "Songs Her Father Taught Her."

And from a cooking event in the Bay Area, Miguel Carrion writes about Chef Rocky, the personal chef of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and her luscious french toast that she serves through her company, BriqueLA. Crave the treat in "Chef Rocky Rocks French Toast for The Rock."

The continuing violence against Asian Americans begs the question, if you see it happening, what can you do? Here's a must-watch video on the "5Ds of Bystander Intervention." I hope you take it to heart.