February 04, 2026

Ride the Fire Horse

February 04, 2026/ Staff

We’re already in the second month of the year if you’re following the Christian calendar, but on February 17, the Chinese calendar flips the script with the start of the Year of the Fire Horse. It’s said to be a rare, high-energy year—one that shows up only once every 60 years—symbolizing bold moves, fast shifts, and fiery momentum. No hesitation, no dragging your feet.

Whatever calendar you live by and whatever traditions ground you, here’s hoping this surge of courage and change plays out with purpose—bringing progress that’s peaceful, meaningful, and good for our homeland, our adopted countries, and the wider world we all share.

For Positively Filipino, 2026—the Year of the Fire Horse—will be about both staying true to who we are and pushing forward. We’ll keep delivering the stories you’ve come to expect: deep dives into history and culture (we’ve got two historical pieces this week alone), profiles of fascinating Filipinos across generations, features on creative work, travel essays, first-person stories, and thoughtful looks at the people and politics shaping our communities.

And because we’re always down to level up, we’re adding something new: “Overseas Filipino Achievers”. This expands our long-running and ever-growing collection of short profiles spotlighting Filipino achievers—starting with FilAms, and now widening the lens globally.

That’s where you come in.

If you’re part of the Filipino diaspora outside the Philippines and the US, we’d love your help. Send us names, links, and supporting info about Filipino achievers making waves in your local communities.

This Week’s Stories

Alice Roosevelt, the Sultan of Sulu, and the Theater of American Empire
Alex S. Fabros, Jr.

A Guerrilla Ambassador Emerges from the Shadows
Ernesto M. Hilario

P-Pop’s Best in 2025
Julienne Loreto

[Partner] Nursing A Dream: A Manila Girl’s Lesson In Self-Reliance In The Land Down Under
Commission on Filipinos Overseas

[Video of the Week] Kapwa Kultural Center

[Read It Again]
Blackapina, Third Movement: The Blend by Janet Stickmon

Seeing Stars with Dr. Reina Reyes by Carleen Sacris

In The Know

The Night a Skyscraper Cried With a Nation
https://scorecardnews.com/ngoclambtv3/the-night-a-skyscraper-cried-with-a-nation-last-night-in-abu-dhabi-the-glass-and-steel-chill-of-the-mubadala-tower-dissolved-as-waves-of-emerald-cobalt-and-crimson-raced-across-its-facade-slowly/

Meet the Filipino lawyers who will represent victims in the ICC vs Duterte
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/filipino-lawyers-represent-victims-icc-vs-duterte/?

Mighty Magulang at Book Nook
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1382061533701365

The PICC Reborn: Reclaiming the Philippine International Convention Center as Public Space in 2026
https://www.spot.ph/arts-culture/the-latest-arts-culture/the-picc-reborn-reclaiming-the-philippine-international-convention-center-as-public-space-in-2026-a5138-20260109-dyn?

December 10, 2025

Teleserye Politics

December 10, 2025/ Staff

Filipinos love drama.

From the radio serials of the '50s and '60s (Eddie Ilarde's "Kahapon Lamang" and Dely Magpayo's "Mga Liham kay Tiya Dely" dramatizations come to mind), to the telenovelas of the recent decades, and the current rage over K-dramas and the daily "Batang Quiapo," ours is a homeland enchanted by high emotions, fairy tales and voyeurism.

This year, the biggest drama that befell our nation was the arrest and continuing detention at the International Court of Justice (ICC) prison at The Hague of former president Rodrigo Duterte. The riveting elements are all there: an 80-year-old lead character known to fake his demeanors, his immediate family of colorful (some say unsavory) characters that include the vice president of the country; a big army of trolls that hound social media spreading lies and fake news; and loyal supporters physically present outside the detention center that shatter the peace and equanimity of the usually staid The Hague. Add to the mix the Caucasian lawyer of the accused, obscenely paid a humongous amount of money to file legal petitions that he knows are dead in the ICC water even before the last paperwork is submitted.

On November 28, the ICC judges rendered Duterte's petition for interim release unacceptable, ironically using the convoluted and noisy arguments of his supporters as reasons for saying NO. PF's France-based correspondent Criselda Yabes travelled to The Hague to witness the drama of denial and disappointment at the actual courtroom. "High Drama in a Low Country: Duterte Watch in The Hague" would have been more distressful had saner minds not prevailed.

And so we shift back to the unresolved dramas in Manila, which are plentiful. And we're not even talking about the very public and disgraceful mental breakdown of a former high government official, yet.

As the radio scriptwriters of yore would say: Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

This Week’s Stories

High Drama in a Low Country: Duterte Watch in The Hague by Criselda Yabes

Crime and Comfort Food by Claire Mercado-Obias

‘Holesome’ Low-Carb Treats Selling Like Hotcakes by Anthony Maddela

[Read It Again]

On the Arrest of an Autocrat by Sheila Coronel

My Soldier Dad and the 1989 Coup Attempt Against President Cory Aquino by Buddy Cunanan

Tocino del Cielo: A Sweet Reward for Human Kindness by Elizabeth Ann Quirino

The Happy Home Cook: Tocino del Cielo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino

[Video of the Week] Best Coffee in the Philippines

In The Know

New US immigration policy
https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2025/12/07/2492418/new-us-immigration-policy

‘My legacy is not Charlie Kirk’: the university president building a culture of peace after violence
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/dec/06/utah-valley-university-president-charlie-kirk?

10 Hidden Cafés in Makati You Might Miss—But Shouldn't
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/10-hidden-cafes-in-makati-you-might-miss-but-shouldnt-

[Vantage Point] The P500 Noche Buena: Rewriting math, economics, and the laws of physics
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/vantage-point-noche-buena-budget-controversy-2025/

Filipino facing deportation from US pulled off flight to PH after protests
https://usa.inquirer.net/185201/filipino-facing-deportation-from-us-pulled-off-flight-to-ph-after-protests

July 24, 2024

Our Oxygen

July 24, 2024/ Staff

For a bare-bones operation like Positively Filipino, contributing writers are the oxygen of our existence. There are over a hundred of them listed on our website. Some are friends and former colleagues, but a large number started out as total strangers who reached out to ask if they could write for PF.

Take Dr. Patricio Abinales, a friend of ours from our alma mater, who is now with the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Jojo is one of our regulars, willing to take on assignments, eager to write reviews of books dealing with Philippine politics (among others). In this issue, he looks at a newly launched book, Unrequited Love: Duterte's China Embrace, by ace journalists Marites D. Vitug and Camille Elemia.

Gary Ferrington, a retired University of Oregon professor, is one of those who wrote to us out of the blue, asking if we were interested in profiles of three young, relatively unknown Filipino singers. Gary is a writer for Oregon ArtsWatch and identifies himself as an advocate for emerging artists. We have published two of his articles (on Francis Greg and Bugoy Drilon) and we have his third -- and final -- contribution this week, on a gifted Cebuano cover singer, Anthony Uy.

Odette Foronda, based in Toronto, is a world traveler and adventurer, who regularly contributes enticing travel essays that include her stunning photographs. Here she focuses on her adventure in Siargao in Surigao, one of the Philippines' most visited destinations for water sports.

With these three and the more than 100 other contributing writers, Positively Filipino survives and thrives as a chronicler of the Filipino diaspora, and a valuable repository of some of the best journalism pieces ever written.

We are ever so grateful.

Stories This Week

China And Duterte: ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ by Patricio Abinales

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 59 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Anthony Uy: A Musical Journey Rooted In Family And Faith by Gary Ferrington

Why Did The Chickens Go To Siargao? by Odette Foronda

[Video of the Week] Sylvia La Torre, Diomedes Maturan and Bobby Gonzales