A September to Remember

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September is the month to remember the full impact of the Marcos dictatorship in our homeland. Here are some reminders from our archives:

Marcos’ Legacy and the Philippine Military

Martial Law Stories: My Thriller in Manila

The island of Negros in the 1970s and 1980s fell on hard times when the US ended its market quota for Philippine sugar in 1974. Just two years after the declaration of martial law, President Ferdinand Marcos handed the reins of the industry to his cronies. What started out as an attempt to avert a crisis created the biggest crisis of all: the downfall of the once-formidable sugar industry which in turn led to families losing their farms and sugar farmers losing their livelihood. By the time the Marcos administration was forced to exile in 1986, social unrest and famine were widespread. Ian Rosales Casocot, whose family lost everything during the market crash, wrote about their descent to destitution (Read: "Raping Sugarland").

In February 1945, a daring rescue by US troops of prisoners of war (POW) at the UST campus happened. It wasn't exactly a clean operation -- while the POWs were freed, several of the rescuers were killed. Worse, the Japanese military retaliated with a massacre of civilians in Los Banos, Laguna.  Cecilia Gaerlan, head of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society tells us the story.

A Filipino/Indian/Canadian newscaster has been a constant presence in broadcast news in Vancouver, British Columbia for years. Jason Pires' recent career move confirms his upward trajectory in an industry and a market that reward hard work and talent.

In the US, the list of remarkable Filipino Americans in various fields continues to grow. Chapter 51 of our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco's, compilation is here.

Likewise, our series on Bridge Generation stalwarts by writer/historian Peter Jamero continues with a profile of Seattle-based civil rights activist Lois Fleming.

[Video of the Week] The Story of the Filipino: Dely Po Go

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Staff

Of Philippine Democracy and Heroes

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This issue marks the 8th year of Positively Filipino's publication. As some of you know, there are only four of us putting this e-magazine to bed but we are supported by our writers pool of over a hundred contributors (and counting). To them and to all of you, our readers, we owe our continued existence. Thank you for sticking with us.  

We begin 2022 with the continuing dissection by the former chair of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Andres Bautista of the realities of the Philippine electoral system.  For this issue, he continues debunking "the Big Lie" of 2016, which has real-life repercussions on the 2022 election. 

A controversial decision by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to redesign the 1,000-peso bill by replacing the images of three WW II heroes -- Josefa Llanes Escoda, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, and General Vicente Lim -- with the Philippine Eagle has triggered an uproar. Historical researcher and author Desiree Ann C. Benipayo makes a case for keeping the three in the 1K bill.

Aside from the martyrdom of Escoda, Abad Santos and Lim in the hands of the Japanese conquerors, they have another thing in common as history professor Jose Victor Z. Torres states. Find out more in "The Last Time They Were Seen Alive."

One of the best memoirs I've ever read on growing up a Fil-Am male is the late Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex Tizon's Big Little Man, published before he wrote that highly controversial essay, "My Family's Slave." Retired Philippine Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, a regular PF contributor, writes about Tizon's heartbreaking deep dive into the psyche of being male, gifted and brown in a society that values white the most. 

New Year toasts may be over and done but a Meyer Lemon Frozen Margarita is timeless. For the Happy Home Cook, Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her concoction.

Our Video of the Week  offers a good start to the New Year: a frank, painful and ultimately inspirational TED talk by former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach on her mental health challenges. 

In The Know

Yssa Mei Panganiban talks Hawkeye and representing her Filipino Heritage in exciting interview
https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/12/30/yssa-mei-panganiban-hawkeye/?fbclid=IwAR2nyjlAaHSxWFbiT6rYRqPMdWC7okbuM4b3KoIqDhNv0KY4zUNAPWlsCcc 

Everybody’s Favorite 24-Hour Filipino Bakery Has Finally Reopened
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896138/ling-nam-starbread-filipino-bakery-senorita-bread-24-hour-daly-city-open?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=202101127Arts&mc_key=00Q1Y00001xHmruUAC

The Untold Story of the Igorots' Revolt
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20211211-fbnp-long-reads-the-untold-story-of-the-igorots-revolt-a00293-20201023-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2DyzvtS3H8THJ1OWk4Shzc14iQiek905O2XFPf5Q7h82Yq47-Vn0xAiSY

Listening to the lost peoples of Philippine history
https://philstarlife.com/geeky/482691-philippine-history-regalado-trota?page=3&fbclid=IwAR2axT4AMVCY48c-OxOjrJJlzDTkhY3HWZudUWVfNI12SnLjHsVmEUrIIEU

Scars of Empire: Harvard’s Role in U.S. Colonialism in the Philippines
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/12/13/wikstrom-scars-of-empire/?fbclid=IwAR2TNvBMUBtkW4mrHAo4P2NJkx6NEyex3CVqbbx_J5pLrwbx0U3qJ4WCQX0

Quezon City: The History of New Manila & Doña Magdalena Hemady
https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/quezon-city-the-history-of-new-manila-dona-magdalena-hemady/?fbclid=IwAR1QT7NOv452xdsVnZ6wRhOs2wsqN4EFa98xsefvNDWEZSEctEsB-rgzB7Q

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Anti-Terrorism Law and You

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Two heavyweights in the civil liberties arena in the Philippines will weigh in on the impact of the Anti-Terrorism Law recently passed by Congress. Senator Risa Hontiveros and Attorney Theodore Te will discuss the nuances of the law and how it will impact overseas Filipinos in Positively Filipino's webinar tomorrow at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern (in the Philippines, 9 am Friday). If you haven't registered yet, please click on the link below for details.

Meanwhile, this week we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, pay tribute to a woman of substance, humorously expose a crackpot clan in Mindanao that claims ownership of the entire archipelago and includes Rizal and Hitler in its lineage, and introduce the new cookbook (and a recipe) of one of the leading lights of Philippine cuisine. We hope you enjoy them.

Our Stories This Week:

World War II In The Philippines - 75 Years After By Cecilia I. Gaerlan 

Gilda Cordero Fernando: Forever Groovy By Paulynn Paredes Sicam

Philippine Hoaxes: Of Cabbages And Kings, Grifters And Trolls By Myles A. Garcia

Sandy’s Handy Cookbook By Bella Bonner

[PARTNER] Byaheng Pag-Asa

The Happy Home Cook: Chili Coconut Squid By Chef Sandy Daza

Video of the Week: As the US prepares for an eventful presidential election, the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, including the Filipino American community, underscore our wholehearted participation in the charting of this country's future.

In the Know

From malls to banks: The pandemic’s domino effect
https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/coronavirus-pandemic-domino-effect-malls-banks

My Neighbor, The Roosevelt Statue
https://aaww.org/my-neighbor-the-roosevelt-statue-rene-g-ontal/?fbclid=IwAR0jokipkMGf65jn0XqEaIw2JaxQiNPpDZM6HRPyMBjhV45o8GNDyiNztcc

A father-daughter relationship blooms amid Philippine flora
https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/01/03/a-father-daughter-relationship-blooms-amid-philippine-flora/?fbclid=IwAR0BRoB9MX0ek1dEiC8FF4Wepa03rgvqRXfIoqwV-RLwf-UVhwSvnMaxCgg

Catholic poet, artist put spotlight on COVID
https://www.catholicregister.org/features/arts/item/32027-catholic-poet-artist-put-spotlight-on-covid

This Former Student Activist Now Owns the Largest Pawnshop Network in the Country
https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/palawan-pawnshop-owner-profile-a00289-20200902-lfrm?ref=article_aside_money

Sometimes, It Takes Time': Erina Alejo, the Third-Generation Renter
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13885733/sometimes-it-takes-time-erina-alejo-the-third-generation-rente?fbclid=IwAR0RQxecWk1hFn-FW9D65UIVuZGg-Dnl-KLZGnAKs9DiL-96H87rVWSveSU

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino