From the Margins

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In the stand-up comedy world, Jo Koy is big. So big that he can fill up sports arenas and sell out shows. So big that even in a small community called Orillia in Ontario, Canada, he was able to draw a predominantly non-Filipino audience -- not his usual Filipino American constituency -- to his performance.

Behind Jo Koy’s comedy is a story familiar to many in the Filipino diaspora—the journey from the margins toward belonging. The things that once made him feel different—his Filipino mother, family stories, food, language, humor—became his greatest material. PF contributing writer Cesar Polvorosa Jr. calls this diasporic capital: the culture, memories, relationships and ability to move between worlds that immigrants carry with them, often without realizing their worth. Jo Koy turned that inheritance into a career, but his story also reminds us that no immigrant succeeds alone. Behind every achievement are families, communities and generations of stories carried across oceans.

Jo Koy's story is also a notable lesson in belonging. For years, immigrants were expected to soften their accents, hide their differences and blend in. Jo Koy defied this expectation and did the opposite. He made the Filipino mother louder, the family more familiar, the quirks more visible—and invited the wider world to laugh with us. What was once a source of marginalization became a source of connection, pride and possibility. ["Jo Koy: The Joke’s on Marginalization"]

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In another field of entertainment, British Filipina singer/songwriter Clarissa Mae is making waves after she became the youngest ever winner of Gigs, London's biggest busking competition. She has since opened for the sensational Filipino girl group BINI and produced an EP with her own compositions. Read Julienne Loreto's profile of this emerging star and listen to her compositions in "Clarissa Mae Ragrag: From Busking to the Concert Stage."

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Ten Filipinos in this month's lineup of Overseas Filipino Achievers are making their marks in eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Qatar, Canada, Dubai, Australia and Italy, proving once again that Filipino talent can shine anywhere and everywhere.

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Both a lament and a declaration of enduring love, a Filipino American balik-scientist gives voice to the weight of loving a country that keeps breaking his heart. [Roderick dela Cruz's "The Heartbreaking Weight of Loving a Country"] 

Our Video of the Week is a podcast: "Kamusta Mars" by Henni Espinosa and Keesa Ocampo featuring our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco. 

From our archives, read our stories about two women who are newly minted National Artists: Imelda Cajipe-Endaya for Visual Arts and Patis Tesoro for Design.

[Read It Again]

Presents from the Past by Serina Aidasani

Patis Tesoro Turns Up the Heat by Gemma Nemenzo 

Patis On My Mind by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week]
From Escaping Martial Law to Building Legacies with Mona Lisa Yuchengco

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Staff

Uncanny August

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There is something uncanny about August 21 in Philippine history. Three pivotal events took place on this date, each profoundly altering the country’s political and social trajectory.

On August 21, 1901, the SS Thomas arrived in Manila carrying nearly 500 American teachers. Known collectively as the Thomasites, they were sent across the archipelago to teach English and introduce American educational and cultural institutions. Their arrival helped establish the Philippine public school system—and made education a powerful instrument of American colonial rule, helping displace Spanish influence and consolidate the new colonial order.

Seventy years later, on August 21, 1971, two grenades exploded during the Liberal Party’s miting de avance at Plaza Miranda, killing and wounding civilians and seriously injuring opposition leaders including Senators Jovito Salonga, Gerry Roxas, and Eva Estrada-Kalaw.

The bombing became a watershed in the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. The Marcos administration blamed communist forces, while the opposition accused Marcos of orchestrating the attack. Decades later, some cadres of the Communist Party of the Philippines revealed the party’s involvement. The bombing was followed by Marcos’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and, a year later, the declaration of martial law.

Then came August 21, 1983.

Opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., returning after three years of exile in the United States, was assassinated at the Manila International Airport. His death galvanized public outrage and transformed resistance to the Marcos regime into a mass movement.

Three years later, the EDSA People Power Revolution brought the Marcos dictatorship to an end.

Three August 21s. Three turning points.

One marked the consolidation of a new colonial power. Another foreshadowed the death of Philippine democracy. The third became the spark that helped awaken a nation against dictatorship.

For Filipinos in the diaspora, August 21 is more than a date to remember. It is a reminder that the Philippines we know today was shaped by moments of profound disruption—and by generations of Filipinos who responded to those moments with resistance, courage, and an insistence that the country’s future could be different from its past.

To learn more about these three events, see our Read It Again stories below.

But first our lineup of new stories for this week:

Overseas Filipino Achievers, Part 7 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

When the AFAM Was Me by Maria Antonia Bosa Van Espen-Boonen

Riding to Save: An OFW’s Scooter Life in Dubai by Michael G. Lucero

From Small-Town Rotunda to Big-Time Rialto by Trish Muyco-Tobin

[Read It Again]

The Thomasites, America’s First ‘Peace Corps’ Volunteers by US-Philippines Society

August 21 Stories
The Ghosts of Plaza Miranda by Gregg Jones
August 21, 1971: A Testament to My Immaturity by Mila D. Aguilar 

Ninoy's Final Journey by Ken Kashiwahara

[Video of the Week]

Mountain of Youth

In The Know

This Bay Area city became a Filipino American haven. Now many can’t afford to stay
https://www.newsbreak.com/share/4833408878530-this-bay-area-city-became-a-filipino-american-haven-now-many-can-t-afford-to-stay

12 remarkable Fil-Am elders and their enduring legacies
https://usa.inquirer.net/206665/12-remarkable-fil-am-elders-and-their-enduring-legacies

A Filipino family: The Dantes squad 
https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/08/09/the-sunday-times/filipino-champions/a-filipino-family-the-dantes-squad/2401402

The truth about the ‘demonic’ Filipino bird our ancestors feared
https://radar.ph/the-truth-about-the-demonic-filipino-bird-our-ancestors-feared/

At QC's Carinderia Sefali, A Filipina Cooks Palestinian Dishes The Way Her MIL Taught Her
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/carinderia-sefali-quezon-city-a3284-20260408-bsc?

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Staff

Bright Spots

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What a difficult and emotionally draining past few days it has been — not only for our homeland, but for the world at large. In moments like these, it's tempting to just tune out, step away from the noise, and simply wait for calmer days ahead. Yet as an information outlet committed to keeping our community informed, we also have the responsibility to stay engaged and aware, even when the headlines are frustrating, unsettling, and exhausting.

Thankfully, amid the uncertainty, there are still bright spots that remind us of the strength and resilience of the Filipino spirit — especially among our kababayans who continue to make their mark in their adopted countries and chosen professions through talent, hard work, and dedication.

This week’s issue celebrates Filipinos who continue to inspire and make us proud:

• “Hard Hats: Filipino Civil Engineers in the Middle East” by Michael G. Lucero shines a spotlight on the Filipino professionals whose expertise and perseverance helped shape many of today’s modern Middle Eastern cities;

• Part 4 of publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco’s continuing series on Overseas Filipino Achievers honors Filipino men, women — and even a child — who have built successful lives overseas while remaining deeply connected to their Filipino roots;

• In Southern California, Anthony Maddela profiles “Santa Monica’s Uncrowned King of Real Estate,” Gary Limjap, whose story reflects both entrepreneurial grit and success in one of America’s most competitive real estate markets;

• Meanwhile in Manila, contributing writer Alma Cruz Miclat introduces us to “Sari Dalena: A Film Guerrera,” an acclaimed filmmaker whose artistic heritage, award-winning body of work, and fearless storytelling continue to elevate Philippine cinema on the global stage.

[Read It Again]

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

Sampling La Vida Local Along the Amazon by Chibu Lagman

La Vida Local on the Amazon, the Sequel by Chibu Lagman

[Video of the Week] Meeting Filipinos in the Arctic

Former Philippine ’drug war’ police chief runs away from government agents to avoid international arrest warrant
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/13/asia/philippines-dela-rosa-icc-arrest-warrant-intl-hnk

Fil-Am investigative journalist Pablo Torre wins Pulitzer Prize
https://peopleasia.ph/fil-am-investigative-podcaster-pablo-torre-wins-pulitzer-prize/?

For Moros, The Price of Peace is Life
https://www.rappler.com/features/newsbreak/in-depth/moros-price-peace-life/index.html

Hand-carried air fryer and other stories from a Dubai repatriation ballroom
https://www.rappler.com/people/air-fryer-stories-dubai-repatriation/?

Disney cruise workers busted in child porn sting, hauled off ships for deportation
https://www.ktvu.com/news/disney-cruise-workers-busted-child-porn-sting-hauled-off-ships-deportation?

Sharing Culture
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1161894039391470

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Staff