It Can Happen Here

On Wednesday morning, January 6, I texted my daughter in the East Coast to watch the counting of the electoral college votes in Congress. We may never be able to watch this again, I said, because in normal times the process is procedural, quick and uneventful, not worthy of TV coverage. But these are not normal times so my husband and I settled in (which is a redundant phrase while in a California covid lockdown) and watched.

Little did we know that in a matter of minutes, the assault on the Capitol building would begin. We watched appalled, shocked and deeply saddened as the mob of Trump supporters vandalized, defiled and temporarily took over the seat of American democracy, presenting a clear and present danger to the lives of legislators and legislative police in the process.

This was one of those historical moments that will be indelibly imprinted in our memory, the kind that will trigger  recollections of what-I-was-doing-when-it happened details. Having lived a long life, mine is already a list:

• the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963

• the declaration of martial law in the Philippines in September 1972

• the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in August 1983

• the EDSA People Power revolt in February 1986

• the election victory of Barack Obama in November 2008

What are yours? Share your list with me at PFeditor@yahoo.com.

Our Stories This Week

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 13 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Ateneo Art Gallery At 60: Art Amidst Disruption By Rosa Concepcion Ladrido

Pedal Attraction In Iloilo By Vicente Salas 

The Happy Home Cook: Binacol na Manok (Chicken Stewed in Coconut Water)  

Video of the Week:: Pamana: Saving our Heritage

In The Know

Editorial: Catholics need to confess their complicity in the failed coup
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/editorial-catholics-need-confess-their-complicity-failed-coup

Why Filipino voters turn their lonely eyes to strongman leaders
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Why-Filipino-voters-turn-their-lonely-eyes-to-strongman-leaders?fbclid=IwAR2L9JjqEgaawD76fS83q4WywKWv9FrxYKW-A3dQ-FKU0XY-RG9_8IPL4QQ

How a team led by a journalist is fighting coronavirus misinformation in the Filipino community
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/how-a-team-led-by-a-journalist-is-fighting-coronavirus-misinformation-in-the-filipino-community/

Anna Maria: The Spaniard who survived 16 bayonet wounds during the Battle of Manila
https://english.elpais.com/arts/2020-08-28/anna-maria-the-spaniard-who-survived-16-bayonet-wounds-during-the-battle-of-manila.html?fbclid=IwAR003Rsx92LTzEuGC7hhj874F7IuWaLIAH6WBooz6tOgSJiy97TquCzn48k

The lonely legacy of Spam
https://theweek.com/articles/956644/lonely-legacy-spam?fbclid=IwAR07-jIIPmU-_4dpGbBKwVv7aE1x3Ux_PhgCmryam98aZ6yK17aymylRS48

---

Lockdown Lowdown

"Lockdown" "quarantine" "shelter-in-place" "shutdown" "recession" -- the new shared lexicons of the world are emotion-laden terms that stir a variety of reactions. And as the human race absorbs the effects of the pandemic on life as we knew it, each of us seek different ways to allay our anxieties.

Educator and policy analyst J.M. Luz ponders the problem of the class divide in the Philippines and offers suggestions on how to temper a possible social eruption in the midst of the pandemic. ["Metro Manila Lockdown: Finding Openings to Ease the Poor's No-Work-No-Pay Situation"]

From Palawan, Elise Suarez, a precocious teenager who writes a column for Palawan News, gets inspiration from a hit Korean teledrama even as she does her part in keeping the spread of the virus at bay. ["Crash Landing in Quarantine"]

In Los Angeles, PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela uses this time of lockdown to reflect on life's simple pleasures and challenges. ["A Time of Living Cautiously"]

PF contributor Patricia Araneta pays tribute to the legendary radio/TV host Leila Benitez, who passed away recently in New York. ["My Aunt and Friend, Leila Benitez"]

For Happy Home Cooks, here's PF Correspondent Rene Astudillo's "Fried Breaded Spam Musubi," a creative way of using a Filipino lockdown staple, Spam.

Don't fail to read our Partner posts this week:

Help Our Artists And Our Community

Filipino Food Movement Launches An Online Campaign, Supporting Filipino Chefs And Restaurants

And to further enhance your coronavirus knowledge, our In The Know links:

Meet the health-care workers spearheading the Philippines’s fight against coronavirus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/2020/04/11/meet-health-care-workers-spearheading-philippiness-fight-against-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR38UtJzT6LH8XI9STe69m4g9Jav2x8WVZieSshjWSm4lMZqaL2d1nWmqqk

The Anti-Virus Warriors in My Blood
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/142/howie-severino-the-anti-virus-warriors-in-my-blood/?fbclid=IwAR24MWyac6rBlagMmh2OagtmVfQraV-m7mZXlESYy096K8_5tOX1G9fN4bU

Life after lockdown: An infectious diseases expert on how we could avoid a surge in COVID-19 cases
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/04/13/20/life-after-lockdown-an-infectious-diseases-expert-on-how-we-could-avoid-a-surge-in-covid-19-cases?fbclid=IwAR3FMI8xA4093vDx6-NDDUf96AxhWLRKnDqkULKrHCvRBOurHkbyoJ-bA8A

Philippine jails are a COVID-19 time bomb
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/257640-philippine-jails-covid-time-bomb?fbclid=IwAR2YV1guhhmSmXgivXY3OdyjnAnPKbUGGrSZrZ4hj7Founthfa8YOACLTCA

Looking Out for Your Own in the Philippines
https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/looking-out-for-your-own-in-the-philippines?fbclid=IwAR3tfXWdoWwsZ6TRno_T7d0ndFUhfBn10B7vupanzGyXWBvem5LwYhElyl4

“Kindness station” in Sorsogon allows residents to get free food, clothes, rice for free
https://virtualpinoy.com/2020/04/kindness-station-in-sorsogon-allows-residents-to-get-free-food-clothes-rice-for-free/?fbclid=IwAR0eH897zz6I8eqmwk2nbSdV3qTxnOT8LD7So0WGxMYc2cpF66uRbmYyaVg

For our Video of the Week, the families of the medical staff of St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines made a tribute video for their loved ones battling on the frontlines of Covid-19.

Fil-Ams and the Political Arena

As many US states hold its election primaries this week, it's timely to look into the presence of Filipino Americans in the election process. University of San Francisco history major Amarjot Aulakh focuses on the issue and writes that indeed, the Filipino voice is rising in American politics.

One proof of this is the emergence of FilAms seeking public office, such as Cristina Osmeña, who has decided to throw her hat as a Republican in a congressional race long held by a well-regarded Democrat.

Across the ocean, UK-based writer Joy Watford sends  in a report of the good, courageous work of Fr. Danny Pilario, the parish priest of Payatas in Quezon City where a disturbing number of  EJKs (extra-judicial killings) have taken place. Fr. Danny founded Project SOW (Support for Orphans and Widows).

For more information about what's happening in Filipino communities worldwide, here are our In The Know links for this week:

She Stands Up to Power. Now, She’s Afraid to Go Home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/world/asia/hurman-rights-philippines.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Ruby Ibarra raps, unapologetically, about Filipina experience
https://www.sfchronicle.com/music/article/Ruby-Ibarra-raps-unapologetically-about-12934982.php

In racial conflicts, video becomes a megaphone
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/In-racial-conflicts-video-becomes-a-megaphone-12946997.php

More than 228,000 pounds of Spam recalled
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-228-000-pounds-spam-recalled-n877921?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Barbecue season is here so we're sharing our food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino's personal recipe for Pork Barbecue, a staple of Filipino picnics and house parties everywhere.

And our Video of the Week: meet Nephi Garcia, Designer Daddy.