The Cost of Sacrifice

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For generations, Filipinos have left home carrying more than a suitcase. They carry the hopes of their families, the promise of a better future, and the quiet ache of being away from the people and places they love. We celebrate overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for their sacrifice, but we sometimes forget how much that sacrifice can cost.

Mary Jane Veloso’s long, agonizing journey as recounted by Rene Astudillo in “From Death Row to Freedom: Mary Jane Veloso’s Long Road Home,” brings that cost painfully real. She left the Philippines in 2010 to find work and ended up facing execution in Indonesia after drugs were found in her luggage—drugs she has maintained were placed there without her knowledge. She spent nearly 15 years in an Indonesian prison before finally being allowed to return to the Philippines in 2024 to serve out her sentence. Last week, she was granted absolute pardon by President Marcos Jr. 

Mary Jane's story reminds us that behind the OFW label are people who can be terribly vulnerable when they leave home in search of a livelihood.

For those of us in the diaspora, perhaps this is why Mary Jane’s story feels close to the heart. We know what it means to leave home—and to measure distance in missed birthdays, family gatherings, and years that cannot be returned. We call our OFWs heroes, but they deserve more than our praise. They deserve protection, dignity, and the assurance that those who leave home to build a better life will always have a safe way back.

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On a lighter note, make sure you watch Forgotten Island, the much-praised movie rooted in Filipino culture. It's showing now in theaters in the US, Canada and the Philippines and will open soon in other international markets. 

This Week’s Stories:

From Death Row to Freedom: Mary Jane Veloso’s Long Road Home by Rene Astudillo

‘Forgotten Island’ Animates Filipino Culture for the World by Anthony Maddela

FilAms Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 82 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Our Journey: Starting Over, Creating Spaces, Building Futures by Novie Luz Beramo-Minguez

[Read It Again]

Erwin, the Bartender by Migs Bassig

Lunatic Magnet by Lotis Key

[Video of the Week]

How 60,000 Filipinos Built London's Invisible Backbone

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Staff

A Fitting Curtain-Raiser

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This week, we celebrate the vibrant creativity of our FilAm community, from a forthcoming book exploring the manongs and their complicated relationships with taxi dancers in 1930s America, to a viral original song for tennis phenom Alex Eala, to an event showcasing Mindanao-inspired textiles and garments, and a grand dance production honoring our legacy artists and culture bearers. Across generations and artistic expressions, our community continues to enrich the American cultural tapestry in ways both profound and exhilarating. What a fitting curtain-raiser for Filipino American History Month this October!

And yet, even as we celebrate our blossoming cultural life here in America, our hearts remain tethered to the homeland. The Philippines is once again caught in the weighty proceedings of the vice president’s impeachment trial, where a seemingly technical question—the number required to constitute the voting members of the Senate impeachment court—could have profound consequences for the nation’s political future. In this issue, Ben Olivas, Esq. takes us through the constitutional history and identifies two words that, he argues, could have spared the country this controversy.

Finally, it is the time of year to revisit one of the darkest chapters in Philippine history: martial law. For us in the diaspora, the miles between us and the homeland do not diminish our duty to remember, to honor those who suffered and resisted, and to pass their stories on to the next generation. Memory, after all, is not merely an act of looking back; it is an act of standing guard. And wherever we maybe in this world, we must never allow the darkness of that era to be forgotten, diminished, or repeated. [Read Again our stories on martial law below]

This week’s stories:

What Does Two-Thirds of All Members of the PH Senate Mean? And What a Difference Two Words Make! by Ben R. Olivas, Esq.

Love and Hard Times by Titchie Carandang

A Fight Song for Alex by Gary Manalus

From Mindanao Dream-Makers, to the World by Elaine Joy Edaya Degale

A Crowning Ritual for ‘Living Ancestors’ Comes to San Francisco by Priscilla Cortez

[Read It Again]

Note From the Underground by Patricio Abinales

Martial Law Stories: The “Torture” of Playing for Miss Universe 1974 by Ceres Jacinto

My Years with Marcos (Opposing Martial Law) by Jose T. Almonte

Raping Sugarland by Ian Rosales Casocot

[Video of the Week]

Edjop (dir. Joe Cuaresma) (1987)

In The Know

Forgotten Island Is a Joyful, Manic Filipino Fiesta—Even With The American Accents
https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/movies-music-tv/forgotten-island-review-a6866-20260918-bsc?

H.E.R., Liza Soberano Celebrate Filipino Roots in ‘Forgotten Island’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxgaHYVRGto

LIVES WELL LIVED | The remarkable journalism journey of 'Eggie' Apostol
https://insiderph.com/lives-well-lived-the-remarkable-journalism-journey-of-eggie-apostol?

Husband appeals for information after OFW-wife hanged self
https://www.sunwebhk.com/2026/09/husband-appeals-for-help-after-ofw-wife.html?

Filipino cancer patient Tatay Loreto reunited with family after ICE detention | Agenda North America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms6ttB-R6H8

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Staff

From the Margins

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In the stand-up comedy world, Jo Koy is big. So big that he can fill up sports arenas and sell out shows. So big that even in a small community called Orillia in Ontario, Canada, he was able to draw a predominantly non-Filipino audience -- not his usual Filipino American constituency -- to his performance.

Behind Jo Koy’s comedy is a story familiar to many in the Filipino diaspora—the journey from the margins toward belonging. The things that once made him feel different—his Filipino mother, family stories, food, language, humor—became his greatest material. PF contributing writer Cesar Polvorosa Jr. calls this diasporic capital: the culture, memories, relationships and ability to move between worlds that immigrants carry with them, often without realizing their worth. Jo Koy turned that inheritance into a career, but his story also reminds us that no immigrant succeeds alone. Behind every achievement are families, communities and generations of stories carried across oceans.

Jo Koy's story is also a notable lesson in belonging. For years, immigrants were expected to soften their accents, hide their differences and blend in. Jo Koy defied this expectation and did the opposite. He made the Filipino mother louder, the family more familiar, the quirks more visible—and invited the wider world to laugh with us. What was once a source of marginalization became a source of connection, pride and possibility. ["Jo Koy: The Joke’s on Marginalization"]

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In another field of entertainment, British Filipina singer/songwriter Clarissa Mae is making waves after she became the youngest ever winner of Gigs, London's biggest busking competition. She has since opened for the sensational Filipino girl group BINI and produced an EP with her own compositions. Read Julienne Loreto's profile of this emerging star and listen to her compositions in "Clarissa Mae Ragrag: From Busking to the Concert Stage."

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Ten Filipinos in this month's lineup of Overseas Filipino Achievers are making their marks in eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Qatar, Canada, Dubai, Australia and Italy, proving once again that Filipino talent can shine anywhere and everywhere.

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Both a lament and a declaration of enduring love, a Filipino American balik-scientist gives voice to the weight of loving a country that keeps breaking his heart. [Roderick dela Cruz's "The Heartbreaking Weight of Loving a Country"] 

Our Video of the Week is a podcast: "Kamusta Mars" by Henni Espinosa and Keesa Ocampo featuring our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco. 

From our archives, read our stories about two women who are newly minted National Artists: Imelda Cajipe-Endaya for Visual Arts and Patis Tesoro for Design.

[Read It Again]

Presents from the Past by Serina Aidasani

Patis Tesoro Turns Up the Heat by Gemma Nemenzo 

Patis On My Mind by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week]
From Escaping Martial Law to Building Legacies with Mona Lisa Yuchengco

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Staff