March 19, 2025

What a Week that Was

March 19, 2025/ Staff

What an incredibly eventful week -- and we're not (just) talking about the current state of the United States.

In the Philippines, what was previously unthinkable actually happened: the arrest of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte at the behest of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the Interpol. Arriving from Hong Kong with his entourage, Duterte was immediately whisked to the VIP lounge of nearby Villamor Airbase after being read his Miranda rights. At the last hour of Tuesday, March 11, just 12 hours following his formal arrest, the former president was on a private jet to The Hague to await trial for crimes against humanity. The loud howl and hullaballoo (rallies, a deluge of fake news, threats) from his supporters are of no use. Duterte is no longer protected by Philippine law; it is only the ICC now that can determine his fate.

To get a grip of the whys and implications of this monumental event, here's an excellent piece written by veteran journalist and Columbia University journalism professor Sheila Coronel ("On the Arrest of an Autocrat") which the Columbia Journalism Review gave PF full permission to repost.

What's next for the Philippines? Go to our In The Know section below for the link to Walden Bello's article in The Nation. We are also reposting some stories on Duterte's reign of impunity that we published.

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Our other stories this week:

FilAm nurse Menchu de Luna Sanchez proved that some heroes don't wear capes, they wear scrubs. The FilAm founding editor Cristina DC Pastor writes about Sanchez's amazing bravery during Superstorm Sandy's devastation in 2012, a feat honored by the Obama administration.

A 94-year-old Filipina, fondly called Lola Naty, wrote a children's book about her beloved dog, thus fulfilling her lifelong dream to be a writer. PF contributing writer Claire Mercado-Obias pays tribute to the late author of My Dog Carter.

Though Visayan pop -- a sub-genre of Filipino pop music -- still has a small footprint in people's consciousness, it's nonetheless making waves with some innovative tunes and creative lyrics, mostly in Cebuano, from its talented propagators on Tiktok. First-time PF contributor Julienne Loreto introduces Vispop with love.

Read Agains:

Where Will President Duterte and His War on Drugs Take Us?
By Criselda Yabes

The Making of Edgar Matobato By Sheila Coronel

Leni and Leila By Criselda Yabes

Banished But Unbowed By Fiona Basile

[Video of the Week] The History of Pancit in the Philippines

In The Know

Rodrigo Duterte Is at The Hague. What’s Next for the Philippines?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/rodrigo-duterte-hague/

Duterte provided ‘overwhelming evidence’ for his conviction: expert
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/17/duterte-provided-overwhelming-evidence-for-his-conviction-expert-1948

Dane’s Post
https://www.facebook.com/danecusto/posts/2920647618089679

Collateral Damage: How Duterte's Alleged Crimes Followed a Manila Cop to Canada
https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/duterte-alleged-crimes-manila-cop-a3690-20250314-lfrm

Rappler Talk: PNP’s Nicolas Torre III on arresting Duterte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCPWtIi5sjs

March 12, 2025

Justice Comes for Rodrigo Duterte

March 12, 2025/ Staff

Finally, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by Interpol and flown to The Hague to await trial for crimes against humanity. It's the first step toward justice for the families of thousands of victims of his extrajudicial killings. It's also a victory for international law and the relentless efforts of human rights activism, which has sought every available legal means to make this authoritarian pay for his inhumanity.

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To be mayor of New York City is to enter the national political stage -- no mean feat that can make and/or break those who dare seek the office. Such probability has not stopped Filipina Jewish American Deirdre Levy, an educator and community leader, from throwing her proverbial hat in the ring. Facing such formidable (though discredited) competitors as former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and the current (disgraced) Mayor Eric Adams, Levy's candidacy is definitely daring. PF contributing writer Elaine J. E. Degale looks at the big picture.

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Dr. Walden Bello, the intellectual giant of both the Philippine Left and the Global South, has come out with his memoir, Global Battlefields: My Close Encounters with Dictatorship, Capital, Empire and Love (as published by Ateneo Press in the Philippines; the international version is from Clarity Press with the title Global Battlefields: Memoir of a Legendary Public Intellectual from the Global South). This is Bello's 27th book, an impressive count by any standard. PF book reviewer, Prof. Patricio Abinales says he "enjoyed it a lot," meaning the memoir displays Bello's usual sharp intellect and wit, incisive storytelling and beautiful prose -- evident in his many writings. ["Our Trotsky"]

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Each of us has a woman or two in our lives to whom we attribute the shaping of our characters. For PF contributing writer Nanette Carreon-Ruhter, that woman was her grandmother, who she called "Edaw," whose passing ripped her heart apart. Many of us have gone through similar grief and this story lets us know that we're not alone.

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Our Video of the Week is a short documentary on the Filipino farm workers of the early and mid-20th century, our manongs. Produced by George Ow, Jr. and directed by Mark Schwartz, "Dollar a Day, 10 Cents a Dance" includes footages from Fred Cordova and Philip Vera Cruz, among others.

Read It Again

Minda D. Azarcon: Her Musical Talent Was Off the Scale
By Janine B. Castillo

Give This Pampangueña a Memorial in the West Philippine Sea
By Robby Tantingco

Linda Ty-Casper, Master Storyteller
By Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard

March 05, 2025

Women Making History

March 05, 2025/ Staff

A fitting beginning to Positively Filipino's March Women's History Month celebration is this week's collection of stories:

• A tribute to Florence Finch, born of a Filipina mother and an American father, a WWII heroine, the first female recipient of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal for her crucial work as a clandestine operative for the Japanese resistance (for which she was imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese forces), a 1947 Medal of Freedom awardee, and a US Coast Guard (USCG) officer thereafter. In October 2024, the USCG accorded Finch (who died in 2016 at 101 years old) the singular honor of naming its 57th Fast Response Cutter after her. PF contributing writer Marissa Bañez, a lawyer and children's book author, wrote the story.

• An introduction to a woman named Clang (Garcia), a food and travel writer/TV host and author whose book, Philippine Food Holidays (2023), won the 29th Gourmand Awards for “Best Food Tourism Book in the World.” PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz profiles. The story includes a recipe for Tinola Nga Isda.

• Books by Filipina authors that go beyond the usual literary and historical genres spark interest and creativity, as compiled by PF Contributing Writer Claire Mercado-Obias. If you're into calligraphy, mid-century modern home design and mindfulness coloring, this list is for you.

• Our Video of the Week focuses on Nobel Laureate and veteran FilAm journalist Maria Ressa as she weighs in on the uncanny parallelism of current US news and the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022). She speaks to PBS' NewsHour host Amna Nawaz.

• And finally, our previously posted stories celebrating outstanding Filipino women.

[Read Again]

Clemencia Lopez, Independista by Lyca Benitez-Brown

Why Women Rule Pampanga by Robby Tantingco

Pinky Valdes’ Winding Road to Healing by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Fil-Am Mayor Makes History in Daly City by Cherie M. Querol Moreno