Coping with Corona

The Duterte administration's draconian enforcement of stay-at-home orders during this coronavirus pandemic is adding to the stress of quarantine, especially among a large sector of the now-elderly population who experienced martial law. PF contributor Ernesto M. Hilario provides a timely situationer on the enhanced community quarantine that is in place until May 15. ["Fighting Fire with Fire Won’t Stop the Pandemic"]

In one country in the Horn of Africa where the pandemic is an added burden to an already dire humanitarian crisis, it's business-as-usual work albeit with tighter social restrictions for humanitarian aide worker Gerry Romay of Negros Occidental. Our Nairobi-based writer, Agatha Verdadero, reaches out. ["Horn of Africa: Social Distancing as a Lifestyle"]

More nimble than their brick-and-mortar counterparts, Filipino food trucks and pop-ups in California switch their focus to helping the frontliners and those in need. PF regular contributor Jennifer Fergesen reports. ["Filipino Foodpreneurs Keep on Truckin’ Amid Pandemic"]

They say if you have Covid-19, among the first signs are the loss of your sense of smell and taste. Well, if you cook Filipino food, as PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino suggests, and you're savoring the aroma and the strong flavors, then you're okay. ["Stop and Smell the Power of Filipino Cooking"]

And what better way to test your taste buds than "Becugan," the Kapampangan bagoong, our Happy Home Cook recipe this week.  

For those waiting to immigrate to the US, here are the basic facts about President Trump's latest directive suspending immigration. San Francisco-based immigration lawyer Maria Lourdes Tancinco writes our Partner post.  

Here are links to more stories:

Job Losses Drain Overseas Money That Helps Fuel the Philippines
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/job-losses-drain-overseas-money-210000713.html

This 81-year-old was L.A.’s most devoted museum-goer until COVID-19 shuttered cultural institutions
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-23/81-year-old-ben-barcelona-lives-and-breathes-museums-but-what-happens-when-culture-collapses?fbclid=IwAR1H8Na5TIC2jMZMUtfV1SjzsMnTf88n23ibsaK8QpF6-Ue-seB7779eO0E

Supplier of World’s Nurses Struggles to Fight Virus at Home
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-23/philippines-sends-nurses-around-the-world-but-lacks-them-at-home?srnd=premium-asia&fbclid=IwAR1zyKW0MWrg11tG7uj0TnIGd5Lu2-vN_FNMT5hkTgZ8kDIlE0-asMums40

Love story that started Peyups.com revives it as pandemic ‘escape’
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/361524/love-story-that-started-peyups-com-revives-it-as-pandemic-escape/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3FCmpteDj_4XI3sfFqVgry1Yyy15saZWNjHq9Mqko05cMlODs2eSOKFeE#Echobox=1587778400

Nursing ranks are filled with Filipino Americans. The pandemic is taking an outsized toll on them
https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/28/coronavirus-taking-outsized-toll-on-filipino-american-nurses/?fbclid=IwAR3yLDwQM2HF9IH0gw5X-eqHZSMMNp5IKIC4xO6wjfH-Yogua_8e_wWcBRs

A ‘Filipino soul food’ restaurant is reborn as a community kitchen
https://www.latimes.com/food/newsletter/2020-04-25/tasting-notes-escarcega-bebot-filipino-soul-food-long-beach-tasting-notes?fbclid=IwAR13AtMwL35EEym_p_fpC0u4j0ps6ccL9-TeyjTod5D4Mjyba7v3ghQoKB0

For video of the week, in celebration of Asian Pacific American History Month, CAAM launched the trailer of its 5-part documentary “Asian Americans” which premieres on PBS on May 11 and 12, 2020.

Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Good News and Bad News

First the sad news: Typhoon Kammuri aka Tisoy has wreaked havoc in the Philippines, particularly the Bicol region, with 175kph winds close to its center and gusts of up to 240kph.

And the good news: Filipino athletes are gifting the country with a deluge of medals in the ongoing SEA Games. As I'm writing this, the medal haul for the Philippines is 47 golds, 30 silver and 16 bronze, and still counting. Here are some of the gold medal-winning performances: 

Carlos Yulo in men's gymnastics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3CoBaPhn7Q

Agatha Wong in Wushu Taijiquan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJYoAS76gag

Hidilyn Diaz in Weightlifting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_jxiQLJQRI

The euphoria and pride for our athletes have allowed us to put the ugliness of the pre-games embarrassment in the back burner, albeit temporarily. For now, let's savor the excitement and lament nature's wrath -- the constant yin and yang of our homeland's fate.

On December 8, another Ms. Universe extravaganza will take place, a beauty contest that is dear to the hearts of Filipinos. And of course there's both a bright and dark history to this pageant as far as Philippine participation is concerned. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia ferrets out the details in "How to Stage a Billion Peso-Plus Beauty Pageant." 

Still thinking of what to give this holiday season? Books always make the best gift. Check out Walter Ang's "2019 Holiday Gift Guide: Books by Filipino Americans."

And if you're in Southern California or planning to go there, a new Filipino restaurant called Bebot - Filipino Soul Food (emphasis on "soul") in Long Beach will cater to your Motherland longing, as Los Angeles-based PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela reports in "A Filipino Restaurant for Filipinos." 

Bebot's chef/owner AC Boral shares his recipe for Mushroom & Kale Laing.

Some links for your reading pleasure:

The Lonely and Dangerous Life of the Filipino Seafarer
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/world/asia/philippines-mariners-cargo-ships.html?fbclid=IwAR1UsPcpG46wy2r3L_AoWPXQN-_GKNuspEqxl9skKGmy2p_1z8IDjBA-IpI

Jones Bridge
http://www.lougopal.com/manila/?p=472&fbclid=IwAR19gyYCR9XnnJ2wzadQdHRXz-a6NtSxBjXoUNI0xIH4gbR8YNhfxYIKK_I 

The first Filipino movie star in Hollywood is a woman
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/25/19/the-first-filipino-movie-star-in-hollywood-is-a-woman?fbclid=IwAR13QxyeetTsXobolZIRlHVpr0CGlZfxaHs9lndXyR2e3KF7NB408f-tRvo

Beloved Serg’s stages a comeback
https://business.inquirer.net/284034/beloved-sergs-stages-a-comeback?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR11I6QuS8EOnPhUdS8O7J9GELExmR5kceuOkUdnoWQ96SnpUQww-D_7eb0#Echobox=1574551044

For Video of the Week, Wunderman Thompson Philippines delivers a heartwarming Star Wars-themed ad for Globe Telecom.

Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino