Fateful August

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August, particularly its third week, can trigger some somber memories among Filipinos of a certain age who were living in the Philippines during the administration of the first Ferdinand Marcos.

Fifty-two years ago, on August 21, 1971, the bombing of the miting de avance of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda happened. This heinous crime, which permanently injured some of the LP's leading lights, led to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, a precursor to martial law.

Forty years ago, on August 21, 1983, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was assassinated a few minutes after his plane landed at the Manila International Airport, another heinous crime that eventually resulted in the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship. [See our stories below on Ninoy Aquino.]

The killings have not stopped. Our lead story this week is about a concert tribute that poet/journalist/arts and culture impresario Pablo A. Tariman mounted last week to honor the memory of his daughter Kerima and her husband, Ericson Acosta. Both were felled by government bullets on August 20, 2021 and November 30, 2022, respectively.

A sad/horrific story but with a new twist: AsAm News reports that the Smithsonian Institute has arranged to return the remains of 64 Filipinos from the early 1900s that were unethically collected by an American anthropologist for his research (unsubstantiated) to prove that White people are genetically superior to other races. Take a deep breath before reading this story. 

This issue is not all grim, however. 

We have a delightful story about a 72-year-old who went paragliding and sky jumping. And lived to tell the tale.

Then there's this young Filipino artist who paints raindrops. 

This week, we are also posting a new section called Anti-Asian Health Watch that provides links to stories on Asian hate incidents. With our Act Against Hate section, Positively Filipino continues to be an information resource for California's anti-Asian hate campaign.

Anti Asian Hate Watch

Funding provided by the State of California.

Free program offers legal services to Californians facing racial discrimination in the workplace

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/community/race-and-culture/program-california-employees-victims-racial-discrimination-workplace/103-b5afc674-fd7b-4d45-bc1b-9d4f95a8ff90 

Discrimination during pandemic significantly harmed Asian American students’ mental health: study

https://nextshark.com/discrimination-during-pandemic-significantly-harmed-asian-american-students-mental-health-study

16-year-old girl charged with assault for viral attack on Asian family riding NYC subway

https://nextshark.com/teen-girl-assault-charge-nyc-subway-attack-asian-family

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Staff

Angsty August

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The death of a highly esteemed environmentalist and philanthropist coupled with the possible release of a triple life sentenced criminal made for an unsettled August week in the Philippines.

Many mourned the passing of Gina Lopez, the nemesis of miners and other ecological criminals. Veteran journalist Paulynn P. Sicam paid tribute to this complicated and committed earth warrior in “Gina Lopez: Rich Girl, Kind Heart, Woman Warrior.”

August won't end without commemorating the assassination of another outstanding Filipino, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., and our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco shares with us her speech for the occasion, delivered at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco (“Ninoy Changed My Life”).

And speaking of that earth-shaking assassination, one of those who were prominently mentioned in the investigations that followed was the late Arthur Custodio, then an Air Force colonel, who brought in the late Rolando Galman to take part in the crime of the century. Our Canada-based contributor Albert J. Lesaca writes about his infamous high school classmate in “Memories Are Made of This – My Friend, Arthur Custodio.”

Ahh, Coron. When things go awry, we imagine ourselves in this slice of Palawan paradise, although as PF contributor Willie Vergara writes in “Coron, Once Is Not Enough,” paradise could be too optimistic a word. 

For our Happy Home Cook, here's a Read Again recipe from our resident foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino, that has been part of my meal menu for quite a while now (read: easy and delicious): Pesang Salmon aka Filipino fish stew.

Our In The Know links that you shouldn't miss:

The Uncounted Dead of Duterte's Drug War
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/philippines-dead-rodrigo-duterte-drug-war/595978/?fbclid=IwAR3L29HpKIJsFNqNhdDx67NM4Pu9q3cP1sQjPBPm2evhz7yybooA1R5Zvp4

This impressive collection of Philippine religious imagery finally sees the light of day
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/05/01/19/the-intramuros-collection-of-religious-imagery-finally-sees-the-light-of-day?fbclid=IwAR19xhrUxYpHB6wiP5GnRw4kZ-Ozd_giGp_Fvi9ZJtNvqx0dcaHZTYHO4jc

‘Brutalist’ martial law museum to rise in UP Diliman 
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/08/25/1946123/brutalist-martial-law-museum-rise-diliman?fbclid=IwAR0_0hwM4TdbCVUCHEbjl9kEGIlyWerTj0iHC84MPGDF1g9WFWz3WnGGPNU

My Grandfather, A Killer 
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/18/749810572/my-grandfather-a-killer?te=1&nl=california-today&emc=edit_ca_20190820?campaign_id=49&instance_id=11769&segment_id=16314&user_id=a6813a01d20d50942afadad6c6f1e549&regi_id=47563992

For Video of the Week, GMA Public Affairs’ I-Witness features a documentary on the estuaries of Manila.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino