Justice Comes for Rodrigo Duterte

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.



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