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?

November 30 is National Heroes' Day among Filipinos. Let's take the time to honor our national and personal heroes who came before us, recognize the heroes that live among us and bring out the hero within us.

As the World Cup grabs the world's attention and passions, here are some football history trivia with Philippine roots:

Did you know that...

* before the legendary Lionel Messi of Argentina established the record for number of career goals in world football, the record that went unchallenged for 87 years was held by Paulino Alcantara, a Spaniard born in Iloilo, who wowed as the star player in the Barcelona team (1912-1927?)? His Barcelona football career was interrupted for two years when he returned to the Philippines with his parents to settle personal matters between 1916-1918. While in Manila, Paulino joined the Philippine Commonwealth National (Football) Team which he steered towards the championship of the Far Eastern Championship Games in Japan in 1917. That feat remains unmatched in Philippine football history.

* Filipino-French Alphonse Areola, a backup goalie for the 2018 World Cup champion French team, is the only footballer of Filipino descent with a true World Cup victory and medal to his name?

PF Correspondent Myles Garcia regales us with Paulino Alcantara's story and more in "Bend It Like Paulino...and Friends."

In the predictable arena of beauty contests, an outlier has created waves by being herself. Such a strange concept, this refreshing authenticity, as noted by first-time PF contributor Ian Layugan who profiles one of the Binibining Pilipinas winners, Herlene Budol.

They were the soft power that provided the counterpoint to a basically brutal US colonial conquest of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. They were the American teachers largely responsible for shaping the Philippines and Filipinos in America's image. From the US-Philippines Society, a report on a new book that tells the story of the Thomasites.

And when we speak of heroes, we look at our own.

Read Again about our other National Hero, Andres Bonifacio:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/andres-bonifacio-the-other-national-hero

Read Again about some less-celebrated but no less worthy ones:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/six-profiles-five-in-valor-one-in-villainy

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a dish that can delight any day.

Cook Again: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-chicken-curry

Video of the Week: Maria Ressa Talks About New Book