Meet the Scam Fighter

/

The numbers are staggering: $1.03 trillion lost to digital scams in 2024 worldwide and increasing exponentially every year. In the US, online fraud went up by 25 percent in 2024 from 2023, with a large number victimizing people over 60. 

The Philippines, where almost 80 percent of the population are digitally active in varying degrees, digital crimes are two-thirds higher than the worldwide average. The country has been described as the epicenter for online shopping scams, among others. 

It's quite a breath of relief that there are Filipino tech experts in-country who have made fighting online crimes their life mission. One of the more prominent ones is Art Samaniego, a journalist and co-founder of Scam Watch Pilipinas, a national citizen movement that educates the citizenry on cyber fraud. Samaniego's doggedness, vigilance and commitment in fighting online scams is heroic as it is necessary. PF's Manila-based correspondent Rene Astudillo profiles this admirable crusader.

*****

If you're in San Francisco, take the time to visit The Hinabi Project's exhibit of Philippine indigenous textiles and perhaps join the workshop on traditional Philippine weaving this month until September. "Hinabi's Woven Worlds" by Liza Suguitan Melnick and Almira Astudillo Gilles entices and provides details.

*****

Still thinking of where to go for a dream vacation this year? How about checking out Puglia, the less grandiose southern region of Italy, located on the map at its boot. Criselda Yabes, now based in France, chose the coastal towns and historic marvels of the region for a brief vacation, and was beguiled by the natural attractions and the food. "Puglia Pulls You" is both a promise and a come-on. 

Read It Again

The President Who Never Was by Susan V. Tagle
The Accidental Cheese Monger by Richard Cavasora
‘Time to Change’ – How It All Began by Atek Jacinto

[Video of the Week] Fr. Leo Patalinghug

In The Know

The tragic story of Gelo Dela Rosa as narrated by Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David
https://verafiles.org/articles/the-tragic-story-of-gelo-dela-rosa-as-narrated-by-pablo-virgilio-cardinal-david

Filipina lawyer in Netflix docu fights for women victims of sexual assault
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/series/filipina-lawyer-toni-jaramilla-netflix-documentary-trainwreck-cult-american-apparel/

'Utang na Loob' and Its Complicated Role in the Cycle of Poverty
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/notes-and-essays/sandwich-generation-in-the-philippines-meaning-opinion-

Meet Antonio Miranda Rodriguez Poblador, the Filipino Who Co-Founded Los Angeles
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/antonio-miranda-rodriguez-poblador-los-angeles-california-founder

Her father was a US Navy man who served in Vietnam. So why is ICE detaining her?
https://www.wrdw.com/2025/05/24/her-father-was-us-navy-man-who-served-vietnam-so-why-is-ice-detaining-her/

/ /
, , , , , , ,

Staff

Talking About Tariff

/

When Philippine President Bongbong Marcos met with US President Trump at the White House over a week ago, it resulted in a one percent reduction of tariffs on Philippine exports, from the original 20 percent to 19 percent. No tariffs will be imposed on US goods to the Philippines. A lopsided trade deal? Perhaps but, as our writer Rene Astudillo (who writes as Politikal Pinoy on Facebook) opines, it need not be the be-all and end-all of US-Philippine trade deals. In fact, the Philippines can turn it into a competitive advantage, he says. How? Read "Trump's Tariff Need Not Hurt PH" for a different take on this issue.

Kulintang in the Alps? Read about how Conrad Benedicto, a kulintang player, brought the traditional instrument of Maguindanao to Switzerland to celebrate Philippine Independence Day with the Filipino-Swiss community in Chur and Bern. 

More remarkable FilAms in PF publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's continuing and growing compilation, now in its 69th edition.

We wish you all a meaningful and comfortable August, weather-wise, as the world deals with torrential rains, flooding, extreme heat and war crimes.

[Read It Again]

Leaving Gaza by Chupsie Medina
June Dalisay, Art Healer by Serina Aidasani
Mark of Four Waves by Mel Orpilla

{Video of the Week] Filipino Couple Walks Down Flooded Aisle on Wedding Day

In The Know

Jollibee named best fried chicken in U.S. in editor-reader poll
https://asamnews.com/2025/07/18/fast-food-fried-chicken-poll-usa-today/ 

9 Independent Bookstores in the Philippines to Discover Your Next Read
https://rollingstonephilippines.com/culture/books/9-indie-bookstores-in-philippines/

The Tragic Story of the Passing of 24 Filipino Boy Scouts Involved in a Plane Crash
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/filipino-boy-scouts-plane-crash-true-story 

Kara David & Karmina Constantino on the Lola Who Taught Them the Power of Words
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/newsfeatures-peopleparties/111678/meet-the-woman-who-shaped-kara-david-and-karmina-constantino?

108-year-old Fil-Am shares tips for a long, happy life
https://usa.inquirer.net/154417/108-year-old-fil-am-shares-tips-for-a-long-happy-life

/ /
, , , , , , ,

Staff

A War’s Toxic Legacy

/

Agent Orange. An innocuous enough term for those who were not yet around during the Vietnam War or who are not aware of its folly. But for those who were there, like historian/writer and Vietnam War veteran Alex Fabros, hearing the term triggers a historical trauma, a deep-seated PTSD, an inescapable decades-long physical deterioration, hand-me-down genetic defects to offspring, a bureaucratic nightmare and a generational guilt that permeate the psyches of VW veterans. In other words, Agent Orange, the chemical weapon that the US unleashed in then-South Vietnam from 1962-1971 was, by any definition, a colossal bomb that may be as physically and psychologically destructive as the nuclear bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII.

"How Vietnam War Vets Wrestled with the Shadows of the Toxic Orange Mist" by Alex Fabros, our lead story this week, was not easy to write. Though he wrote the first version a few years ago, Alex had to set it aside several times. The memories and the pain that he endures to this day are just too much. We went back and forth with it for months as he rewrote, re-edited, tweaked. This while he was in and out of the hospital as he continues to bravely battle ailments related to, yes, Agent Orange.

As you read his story -- and we hope you will take it to heart --please take a moment to reflect on the immeasurable costs of war, not just to actual combatants and their families, but to nations and the future of mankind. 

*****

Our other stories this week:

"New Residency Fellowship for Fil-Am Writers Launched" by Elaine Elinson introduces the Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellowship for Filipino and FilAm writers and activists at the Mesa Refuge, a writing residency north of San Francisco. The fellowship, named after a FilAm author/activist who passed away a few years ago, now has its first three recipients.

"Trump Immigration Clampdown Facing Backlash" is PF editor Rene Ciria Cruz's column, Edgewise in Rappler, where he dissects the pernicious implementation and effects of Trump's ill-conceived immigration actions that have led to the rapid fall of his poll numbers.

"Soccer, Lola, and the Persistence of Memory" by Anthony Maddela talks about FilAm soccer player Reina Bonta's short documentary, "Maybe It's Just the Rain," which is essentially a love letter to her Filipina lola Cynthia Bonta whose consequential life is definitely film material. 

Our Video of the Week: Retired Stockton teacher continues to inspire her Filipino community

/ /
, , , , , ,

Staff