Tension in the Spratlys, Relaxing in Toronto

What's really happening in the western Philippines' chain of islands called the Spratlys, ground zero for Chinese expansionist ambitions? Contributing writer Criselda Yabes reports on the tense situation at Ulugan Bay where the US is supposed to build a military base for joint operations with Philippine forces. Right now, even as China has swiftly built a sophisticated airport in one of the nearby islands, the Philippine Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of the US-Philippine agreement. In "South China Sea Row - A Waiting Game," Yabes explains the problem and takes us to the 27-hectare Pag-Asa island ("Life Under the Glare of Chinese Territorial Ambitions") where 25 Filipino families live in peace and harmony with the Coast Guard.

In Toronto, Canada, a Filipino couple -- Roger and Tess Concepcion -- and their three children are successfully running a chain of inns, with the Baldwin Village Inn as its anchor. Regularly recommended by the top travel sites, the Concepcions' B&Bs are known for its home-away-from-home benefits. Read Noni Mendoza's "The Innkeepers of Toronto" to find out why. 

Filipino expats of a certain age will surely remember The Rolling Pin Bake Shop, which was the undisputed source of the best special-occasion cakes in Manila for years. However, chances are that you've never met the creative and entrepreneurial dynamo behind the success of the bake shop. That was the late Gloria Y. Nichols, and our contributing writer and food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino, in profiling her posthumously ("The Baker of Lasting Memories"), brings back memories of delicious pastries and beautiful cakes from The Rolling Pin.

The Happy Home Cook feature this week is Goldilocks' Leche Flan, another memory-laden delicacy.

Our Video of the Week: Another CNN Philippines feature that will surely please our Kapampangan readers. Yen Baet, an acclaimed Filipina photographer, is one of your own. 

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UPDATES

The documentary "Right Footed," which featured the amazing life of disability activist Jessica Cox, and our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco co-produced, won the Best Documentary Award at the Mirabile Dictu (International Catholic Film Festival), June 22-25, 2015 at the Vatican.

Watch Our Video Again: Inspiring Jessica

Aaron Isip, the young Filipino chef in Paris that we featured in our Video of the Week was awarded the Le Trophee Espoir of Ile de France by Gault and Milleu, a much-coveted honor in the city of gourmands. 

Watch Our Video Again: Chef Aaron Isip of Restaurant Dix-Huit

You read about "Right Footed" and Chef Aaron Isip first in Positively Filipino.

Watch Out World

This week we introduce a new twice-monthly section, "Watch Out World, This Is a Filipino" featuring short profiles of emerging and outstanding young Filipinos from all over the world who are making waves in a wide variety of fields. Elizabeth Ann Quirino, whose talents are not limited to food writing, handles this recurring section and she would like to hear from you. If you know of a young Filipino the world should hear about, contact her at info@ebquirino.com. For starters, she writes about journalist/violinist and now filmmaker Ida del Mundo and immigration lawyer Gino Barrica.

Like a wound that never heals, the issue of Filipino World War II veterans not getting the recognition they deserve continues to fester. Jon Melegrito, board member of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, makes a strong case for their getting a US Congressional Medal of Honor in "Filipino WWII Veterans -- Their Mettle Deserves a Gold Medal." Only 18,000 Filipino veterans remain out of the original 270,000.

In Sual, Pangasinan a few years ago, a 6'1" American woman from South Dakota named Brittony Hubbard taught English at the local high school as a Peace Corps volunteer. Contributing writer Lorenzo Paran III interviews Brittony as she talks about the challenging but grand time she had in that corner of the country where she literally towered over everyone.

In The Happy Home Cook this week, we feature popular movie and TV actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo's Lemon Cake with Thyme and Lavender. Juday, as she is fondly called by her fans, just came out with her own, fresh-off-the-press cookbook, Judy Ann's Kitchen,which features recipes for comfort food, baon and entertaining. 

We are also posting Goldilock's recipe for ensaymada.

Our Video of the Week: Jaime FlorCruz, recently retired CNN Bureau Chief in China, from CNN Philippines' The Story of the Filipino series.

Read It Again: Filipinos in Greece

From Cuba to Tagaytay

Have you tried the recipes we've been publishing weekly in The Happy Home Cook section? We'd like to hear back from you. Let us know how it worked out, or didn't. Just send us an email and tell us about it. Better yet, share your personal tested recipe with our readers worldwide.

As the US and Cuba prepare to restore diplomatic relations, Latin America specialist Chibu Lagman's photo essay gives us a peek into the mysterious island nation before the deluge of American businesses alters its landscape. Cuba is the Philippines' historical kin as both countries were ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 under the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War.  "Eternamente Cuba" illustrates the endurance of this kinship despite the two countries following divergent paths in the past five decades.

In Makati, the sordid tale of the Binay political dynasty is given a new twist in Rene Ciria Cruz's satirical piece, "The Grabfather (Excerpt)." Originally published in Inquirer.net, it is some sort of “remake” of Mario Puzo’s hit novel — a part of it, at least — Makati-style.

Speaking of altered landscapes, when visiting Tagaytay, make sure you visit Museo Orlina, a new and beautiful structure built by internationally acclaimed glass sculptor Manuel Orlina over his ancestral house. Regular contributor Omar Paz visited the place -- Tagaytay's answer to Baguio's famous landmark, the BenCab Museum -- and shows us yet another reason to enjoy Tagaytay.

In Chicago, when craving for homemade Filipino food, hie over to Merla's Kitchen where fresh is always the operative word. In "It's Always Fresh at Merla's Kitchen," Rey de la Cruz introduces us to Merla Birondo, the owner, from whose skillful hands come such delicious dishes as her version of pork menudo, the recipe for which she shares in The Happy Home Cook this week. 

Also, we feature another recipe of a Filipino favorite: Mamon from Goldilocks.

We have a Partner post this week from the Asian Journal: Teach For The Philippines: Committed To Nation-Building Through Education

In our Video of the Week, the Department of Tourism's Postcards from Paradise campaign aimed at former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, picks up steam as more Filipinos join in to invite him back to the Philippines after the band's disastrous exit after their 1966 tour in Manila.