May 21, 2025

Polls Post-Mortem

May 21, 2025/ Staff

The Philippines' midterm elections are over, thank goodness. And the overall results are a mixed bag, some unexpected, some unfortunate, a few horrifying. We asked our Manila-based political writer Ernesto Hilario for a post-mortem and he sent us this comprehensive overview of what this election portends for the next three years, until the next cycle comes along. While there are rays of sunshine and hope, it's still generally a stalemate among the trapos (traditional politicians) and the political dynasties.

In the world of women's football, it's a different story. FilAm phenoms Alyssa and Giselle Thompson, aka the Thompson sisters, are expected to light up the roster of team Angel City FC. PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela writes of an optimistic future for the two, the progeny of a Filipino American father and a Peruvian American mother.

Launching this month is FilAm writer Monica Macansantos' book, Returning to My Father's Kitchen, a collection of 15 essays that tenderly honors the legacy of her late father, a Palanca-award winning poet. Novelist Patty Enrado reviews the book.

If you're planning to travel internationally this year and considering whether to go it on your own or join a group tour, read PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno's story on the satisfactions of being among new-found friends.

Read It Again

Postcards from Rome by Odette Foronda
When Spring Ran in Manila, a Sort of Book Synopsis by Amadio Arboleda
Six or Seven Meals a Day by Ralph Semino Galán

[Video of the Week] Heritage Houses

In The Know

Today I Learned: Filipinos Can Acquire Spanish Citizenship by Proving Descent
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/spanish-citizenship-a7994-20250516-lfrm?

[Edgewise] Racially slanted Trump immigration scheme bared
https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/celebritylife/news/122426/lea-salonga-and-her-child-nic-share-their-experiences-as-filipinos-in-the-us/story?

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend says he raped her, paid $20 million in settlement
https://www.reuters.com/legal/sean-diddy-combs-chief-accuser-resume-testimony-sex-trafficking-trial-2025-05-14/

Filipino Mothers and Their Famous Children
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/arts-and-entertainment/filipino-moms-a7942-20250511-lfrm?

View from Manila: A West Philippine Sea documentary one country doesn’t want you to see
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/view-manila-west-sea-food-delivery-documentary/

May 11, 2022

We'll Be Watching

May 11, 2022/ Staff

And so it went.

A campaign that was founded on lies ("golden age," the ownership of gold, the promise of distributing gold when it wins, a non-existent Oxford diploma, etc.), fueled by lies (the $203 billion tax debt is still being negotiated, when in reality the Supreme Court has declared it final and executable, among others) and sustained by lies has won.

And a Pink Movement has risen. How this new force will be harnessed is still to be determined, but it will. The proverbial genie is already out of the bottle and there is no putting it back in.

It will be interesting times, the next six years. Unlike the father's, the son's administration will have hundreds of thousands of watchdogs that will be alert to its doings. We anticipate civilian unrest, much like the early '70s with its First Quarter Storm. We also anticipate repressive measures to quell this unrest because the son is bound to follow the father's playbook without the benefit of the father's diabolic brilliance. And therein lies the lethal brew, this mediocrity and hubris.

PF, like all legitimate media outlets, will watch, document, fact-check and share the stories that we know are real and true. We will be part of the movement to correct the historical distortions that have proliferated online and have twisted the minds of many.

This Week’s Stories

What Now, Philippines? by Ernesto M. Hilario

Food-Tripping In Manila (And Nearby) by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Hardheaded Woman by Patria Cabatuando-Rivera

[Webinar Video] Hate And "No Dogs"

[Cook it Again] The Happy Home Cook: Paella De Adobo By Señor Anastacio De Alba by Elizabeth Ann Quirino

{Video of the Week] Last Week Tonight: Philippine Elections

Philippine Elections 2022

Philippine election: US$9.3 billion wiped off stock market as investors await Marcos’ economic plans
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3177191/philippine-election-us93-billion-wiped-stock-market

Private Meal With Kingpin Offers Clues to How Marcos Will Rule Philippines
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/private-meal-kingpin-offers-clues-100002158.html

What to Expect Under a Marcos Presidency
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsEa_LidKyM

Opinion Philippines election sends warning about authoritarian nostalgia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/09/ferdinand-bongbong-marcos-jr-philippines-election-authoritarian-nostalgia/

The Morning After
https://heneralunacy.wordpress.com/2022/05/10/the-morning-after/?fbclid=IwAR2_e2gSs9ISM22Xp4O140laQzJCPE0YWBAX_rA6dEnRIWsBma-9iOQhnc8

UK think tank says BBM win is bad for economy
https://opinyon.net/business/uk-think-tank-says-bbm-win-is-bad-for-economy?fbclid=IwAR2eHpQQNVHNxxGWjLgzJFukz2azZm4jDwnEJm5MXrIPMfL8Yfst2EpjKt0

Marcos rule to return to Philippines after election landslide
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/view-marcos-rule-return-philippines-after-election-landslide-2022-05-09/

Marcos Jr. benefited from Facebook -study
https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/ferdinand-marcos-jr-benefited-facebook-disinformation-study/?fbclid=IwAR3WFkDYfjIbAvv-6vthB92J7aeeK2ZfjNazZcksx_twSSoYeHBbyp4cjlw

In The Know

Which Country Issued the Most Schengen Visas to Filipinos?
https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/travel/which-country-issued-schengen-visa-filipinos-a2274-20181210?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220510-fbnp-life-which-country-issued-schengen-visa-filipinos-a2274-20181210-fbold&fbclid=IwAR17dUD6YEG2jsDTWDIAGK5PDu_Ki1lXO172Ia-XU2MCCevh2Of1hnUDLss

Toro y Moi opens up, embraces Filipino heritage: ‘No more acting or putting on that sad boy image’
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/toro-y-moi-shows-love-for-filipino-heritage-on-mahal?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_datebook&sid=53bb0669fdd5ac0b52000049

From IG to LA: How this Filipina home baker opened her first store in the US
https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/food-drinks/how-filipina-pajama-baker-opened-first-store-united-states/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1RhY-D8-OzAJGN4um5TwMfGI5fL87ktNXMIIQZf65hUNH_JKDOK1e_YPo#Echobox=1650957610

The Best Schools for Business Management in the Philippines
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/best-business-management-schools-philippine-a2749-20220428-src-candy-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220428-fbnp-culture-best-business-management-schools-philippine-a2749-20220428-src-candy-lfrm-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR0gQfMUOXj6HGTlD90cg3DDUWKzI4G36mzVb3lehayB4_XiGxVxJdJnz_s

10 Metro Manila Roads, Then and Now
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/photos-10-metro-manila-roads-then-and-now-a1729-20190812-src-spot-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220430-fbnp-culture-photos-10-metro-manila-roads-then-and-now-a1729-20190812-src-spot-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0Bi_36XA7ZhiM64aoWBMYS5Qe8xejaZWpf62t5wQeEHSTP14cT4R4ds0w

Filipino-made Card Games to Know
https://www.tatlerasia.com/culture/others/pinoy-boardgames-to-know?utm_campaign=PH_DIG_FULL20220501&utm_medium=email&utm_source=tatlerasia.com

How to buy a guitar? You need to feel it in person, says this Cebu guitar maker
https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/alegre-guitar-factory-lapu-lapu-city-cebu/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR25KETR7bSMQcAi4dHXF3fVidyx9UB1qlv_fY4SylNPZu6a9JjUDq8UauM#Echobox=1651538493

The Culinary Capitals of the Philippines: Food Writer Ige Ramos’ Guide to Cavite
https://www.tatlerasia.com/dining/journeys/ige-ramos-food-guide-to-cavite?utm_campaign=PH_DIN_FULL20220505&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

February 23, 2022

Life Choices

February 23, 2022/ Gemma Nemenzo

At certain points in our lifetime, we will come upon a crossroad (or several) that will force us to make a choice. Should I or shouldn't I? Do I get off the fence and risk a burning or do I stay put and risk irrelevance, or worse, regret?

The Philippine elections on May 9, 2022 is one such crossroad that calls on every Filipino to do his/her part in forging a better direction for the country. How to do it when one is far away? Former COMELEC chief Andy Bautista offers guidance in "How Overseas Filipino Voters Can Wield Clout in May ’22 Polls."

[To help you make your decision, check out the links we post below in the Philippine Elections 2022 section. And if you want to verify your registration to vote, here's our Partner post from the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco.]

Around this time 36 years ago, our homeland confronted the motherlode of crossroads with the People Power revolt (aka EDSA '86) which led to the ouster of a dictator and a different political path for the country. No one who was there during that three-day uprising, like first-time PF contributor Ed Garcia, can forget what they did to help history along. Read his "On the Eve of Insurrection" and another EDSA story in “Read Again” below.

On a personal level, the choice one makes when in a crossroad can alter the course of one's life.

A young lawyer's summer job in a country district attorney's office changed his career path. Now Pelayo A. Llamas is slated to become the Superior Court Judge in Alameda County, California (he's running unopposed).

A third-generation Fil-Am in Seattle chose to parlay her environmental science degree into actual farming, and now, Ari de Leña supplies Filipino produce to restaurants, civic organizations and households in the area.

And a college student in the activist '70s, forced to endure a painful breakup, decided to focus on her career dreams and raise a family in Australia. Almost half a century later, she faced another crossroad when her teenage love returned and promised to stay.

Read Again

77 Hours: The Behind-The-Scenes At The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution by Gemma Nemenzo

The Battle Of Manila, WWII by James Scott

This year is the 77th anniversary of the month-long (February 3-March 3, 1945) battle to liberate Manila from the Japanese in WWII. Here's how it happened.

Recipe of the Week: Pan-Seared Halibut Fillet

Video of the Week: Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo by Doctor Influencers for Leni