January 12, 2022

Meet the Indipinos

January 12, 2022/ Gemma Nemenzo

Filipino farm workers arrived in Bainbridge Island in Washington state almost eight decades ago to work in the strawberry farms. There they met and fell in love with indigenous women, berry pickers too. In the first year alone, there were 13 marriages. Their children have come to be known as Indipinos, a unique subset of the all-encompassing category, Filipino American. Indipinos in Bainbridge Island is the topic of PF's forthcoming webinar on January 19, which will also show in full the excellent documentary made by Gina Corpuz, herself an Indipino. You can register below.

The forthcoming Philippine elections in May is definitely the Big Story to follow this year. Former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chief Andres Bautista ends his illuminating series on the Philippine electoral system this week with words of caution in "Practice Mental Hygiene for Philippine Democracy."

Many of us have no more tears to shed due to the constant, seemingly endless, news of people we know who died in the past two years. Here we list some of the more public figures who have succumbed not just to Covid-19 (and there are many of them), but also to co-morbidities and age.

The early days of 2022 do not provide a respite. Already we have lost two prominent men of letters -- the literary giant F. Sionil Jose, 98, (eulogized here by his friend, Tokyo-based writer Amadio Arboleda) and renowned historian Dr. Samuel K. Tan, 88, (see link to a eulogy in our In The Know section). Another, the prominent lawyer Delfin Gonzalez, 107, who was the subject of our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's video documentary 11 years ago.

For cold, wintry days, how about trying out this recipe for "Almost Binignit," binignit being the Cebuano version of the popular merienda fare, ginataan. Cebuana PR specialist Lorna Lardizabal Dietz shares her abridged version of this sweet delicacy for the Happy Home Cook.

Our Video of the Week is about the making of Kora's Filipinos doughnuts, a humungous hit among New Yorkers, thousands of whom have lined up for the shop's waiting list. Kora is owned and operated by Fil-Am baker/entrepreneur Kimberly Camara.

Read Again:

A Bookstore of Filipino Aspirations by Larry Ng

In The Know (Philippine Election Edition)

Investor’s Guide to the 2022 Philippine Presidential Election
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/storythreads/2021-11-23/investor-s-guide-to-the-2022-philippine-presidential-election

Social Media Misinformation and the 2022 Philippine Elections
https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/social-media-misinformation-and-the-2022-philippine-elections/

Nomura: Why Leni is market-friendly
https://www.bworldonline.com/nomura-why-leni-is-market-friendly/?fbclid=IwAR2hqqnhLadvOxei-3YzXAzXnjXBzGi1_8sMNZmFqXr1SqmdGVoJ-I8C4FI

In The Know (Standard Edition)

Sulu’s Samuel Tan succumbs to COVID-19; leaves “a void no historian can fill”
https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2022/01/sulus-samuel-tan-succumbs-to-covid-19-leaves-a-void-no-historian-can-fill/?fbclid=IwAR2XvxjnTL1yNpLkBDhO-pisXrh_7dfy_HTRieLM1VtnoGOnZHH-bPbooCo

The First Year of COVID: Filipinos Were Among Hardest Hit, But Hidden by Data
https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/year-one-covid-19-death-toll/the-first-year-of-covid-filipinos-were-among-hardest-hit-but-hidden-by-data/

30 Photos of Makati During Its Early Days
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/best-makati-photos-a00297-20200524?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20211227-fbnp--best-makati-photos-a00297-20200524-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2hFHcxnAYQ3jN0h74A_WIESEmW_z0AE5NfqClp0UXyD0EED9JgFQiXKbQ

IN PHOTOS: This Cubao postwar home was brilliantly transformed into a boutique cinema
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/movies/01/30/21/in-photos-this-cubao-postwar-home-was-brilliantly-transformed-into-a-boutique-cinema?fbclid=IwAR0Y-F2nKIjVkhEOWD-8-7ndWy72SoNBRWUbiIRwgpIIl-B7anbRb9ha5cE

How this fruit vendor’s daughter rose to become IS Manila and Harvard scholar
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/01/05/22/how-fruit-vendors-daughter-became-is-harvard-scholar

Sarap Filipino Bistro: ‘Many of the dishes are real showstoppers’ - restaurant review
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jan/02/sarap-filipino-bistro-many-of-the-dishes-are-real-showstoppers---restaurant-review?fbclid=IwAR2ChFHirwsGbKfDsxYI7oR9dRaKGww7uQYo4PiCtPSpQ1rc91zNKjkIXP4

January 05, 2022

Of Philippine Democracy and Heroes

January 05, 2022/ Gemma Nemenzo

This issue marks the 8th year of Positively Filipino's publication. As some of you know, there are only four of us putting this e-magazine to bed but we are supported by our writers pool of over a hundred contributors (and counting). To them and to all of you, our readers, we owe our continued existence. Thank you for sticking with us.

We begin 2022 with the continuing dissection by the former chair of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Andres Bautista of the realities of the Philippine electoral system. For this issue, he continues debunking "the Big Lie" of 2016, which has real-life repercussions on the 2022 election.

A controversial decision by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to redesign the 1,000-peso bill by replacing the images of three WW II heroes -- Josefa Llanes Escoda, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, and General Vicente Lim -- with the Philippine Eagle has triggered an uproar. Historical researcher and author Desiree Ann C. Benipayo makes a case for keeping the three in the 1K bill.

Aside from the martyrdom of Escoda, Abad Santos and Lim in the hands of the Japanese conquerors, they have another thing in common as history professor Jose Victor Z. Torres states. Find out more in "The Last Time They Were Seen Alive."

One of the best memoirs I've ever read on growing up a Fil-Am male is the late Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex Tizon's Big Little Man, published before he wrote that highly controversial essay, "My Family's Slave." Retired Philippine Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, a regular PF contributor, writes about Tizon's heartbreaking deep dive into the psyche of being male, gifted and brown in a society that values white the most.

New Year toasts may be over and done but a Meyer Lemon Frozen Margarita is timeless. For the Happy Home Cook, Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her concoction.

Our Video of the Week offers a good start to the New Year: a frank, painful and ultimately inspirational TED talk by former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach on her mental health challenges.

In The Know

Yssa Mei Panganiban talks Hawkeye and representing her Filipino Heritage in exciting interview
https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/12/30/yssa-mei-panganiban-hawkeye/?fbclid=IwAR2nyjlAaHSxWFbiT6rYRqPMdWC7okbuM4b3KoIqDhNv0KY4zUNAPWlsCcc

Everybody’s Favorite 24-Hour Filipino Bakery Has Finally Reopened
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896138/ling-nam-starbread-filipino-bakery-senorita-bread-24-hour-daly-city-open?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=202101127Arts&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xHmruUAC

The Untold Story of the Igorots' Revolt
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20211211-fbnp-long-reads-the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2DyzvtS3H8THJ1OWk4Shzc14iQiek905O2XFPf5Q7h82Yq47-Vn0xAiSY

Listening to the lost peoples of Philippine history
https://philstarlife.com/geeky/482691-philippine-history-regalado-trota?page=3&fbclid=IwAR2axT4AMVCY48c-OxOjrJJlzDTkhY3HWZudUWVfNI12SnLjHsVmEUrIIEU

Scars of Empire: Harvard’s Role in U.S. Colonialism in the Philippines
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/12/13/wikstrom-scars-of-empire/?fbclid=IwAR2TNvBMUBtkW4mrHAo4P2NJkx6NEyex3CVqbbx_J5pLrwbx0U3qJ4WCQX0

Quezon City: The History of New Manila & Doña Magdalena Hemady
https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/quezon-city-the-history-of-new-manila-dona-magdalena-hemady/?fbclid=IwAR1QT7NOv452xdsVnZ6wRhOs2wsqN4EFa98xsefvNDWEZSEctEsB-rgzB7Q

December 29, 2021

Poll Dancers

December 29, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

After our Christmas stories last week, we're resuming the series on the Philippine electoral system by former COMELEC chief, Andres Bautista. For this issue, he focuses on "Gaming Philippine Democracy," which explains the manufactured controversy regarding the 2016 vice presidential election.

And since this is our last issue of 2021, here's our list and links to the most-read stories of the year based on Google Analytics.

Our Toronto-based contributor, Patria Cabatuando Rivera, sent us an inspirational story on the kind and generous doctor from Toclong, Imus, Cavite, the late Olimpio Hembrador whose patient list includes some pretty prominent people.

For your post-Christmas healthier meals, here are some suggestions from Chef Sandy Daza, borrowed from his acclaimed series of cooking demos called Casa Daza.

Here's wishing all of you a better year ahead.

Video of the Week: Auld Lang Syne