January 15, 2025

Good People

January 15, 2025/ Staff

It has only been 15 days since 2025 began and already our senses have been assaulted by the major disaster in the Greater Los Angeles and the impending doom of man-made disasters to come. Our ancestors believed that whatever happens at the onset of a new year portends what will happen in the year ahead. If we go by this superstition, we're in deep trouble.

But there's always a yang to a dark yin, the wellsprings of hope and optimism, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. When the going gets rough, good people always rise up to the moment of need and voluntarily do good deeds (as there are those who play the blame game -- however far-fetched their theories -- and do nothing). Canada, South Africa, Mexico and even Ukraine, among other states and countries, have deployed their firefighters to help quell the conflagrations. The LA fires have become sterling reminders of what global cooperation can do.

GoFundMe, the app for donating money, is busy receiving donations for families who've lost their homes. A word of caution though: GFM, however well-intentioned, also attract online scams, so be very wary. If you wish to donate to a family you know, it would be best to contact them first and get their actual GFM address.

As of yesterday, January 14, the Philippine Consulate has identified 150 Filipinos affected by the fire. We know this is a very conservative number and that's because the Consulate identifies Filipinos as only those holding Philippine passports. Those who have naturalized as US citizens no longer fall under the ambit of the Philippine government and are therefore not entitled to whatever assistance is available.

As Los Angeles continues to suffer hell on earth, we continue to storm the heavens for rain, respite and renewal.

Stories This Week

How Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan Were Nearly Lost to the United States by Dr. Federico V. Magdalena

Abra On My Mind: Tracing My Family Roots by Rene Astudillo

First Filipino Fire Survivor Report Stresses Financial Needs by Yiming Fu

Ramon Santos’ Intriguing World of Non-Music by Manuel Hizon

[Video of the Week] Flora Arca Mata

In The Know

Take these 10 Precautions Before Trump Takes Office
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/take-10-precautions-before-trump-takes-office-glenn-d-magpantay-qymze/

Philippines alarmed after China sends ‘monster ship’ to disputed shoal
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/philippines-alarmed-china-sends-monster-ship-disputed-shoal-rcna187557?

New report sheds light on why young Asian Americans are 40% more likely to develop allergies
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-americans-pacific-islander-native-hawaiian-allergies-rcna186695?

Roughly 150 Filipinos displaced by LA fires
https://asamnews.com/2025/01/14/displaced-filipinos-la-wildfires/

Jollibee provides free meals to Los Angeles wildfire victims
https://asamnews.com/2025/01/14/pacific-palisades-eaton-relief-aid-natural-disasters/

Displaced Filipino Families Affected by the LA Fires with GoFundMe Links
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17hqZniTXSkz2xCXg06dLL3bV7NCnp-JROBPESwnjsgw/edit?gxpyLncJALv8_aem_yEnfWfaPJ_C6Q8722P2Mnw&gid=0#gid=0

June 26, 2024

A Love Song's Sad Story

June 26, 2024/ Staff

Next to the Philippine National Anthem, the song "Dahil Sa Iyo" is probably the most familiar song among Filipinos of a certain age who have lived through the kundiman era, the Imelda Marcos era, and even the Nat King Cole/Lettermen (among others) times when they sang the song to please local audiences. Composed by Miguel Velarde Sr. with lyrics by Dominador Santiago, "Dahil Sa Iyo" got its first public airing in the 1937 movie, "Bituing Marikit."

In 1940, the song "Because of You" was introduced in the US and garnered a lot of traction for years in movies and recordings. PF Correspondent Myles Garcia did a deep dive into the provenance and the chords of both songs and, in consultation with a Filipino composer/musician, confirmed that both songs shared the same chord progression 75% of the time. Read all about this "appropriation" issue and the sad tale behind it. Hearing and singing the song will not be the same again.

*****

A memoir in poetry. That's what community leader and LGBTQIA+ activist Therese Rodriguez did in her newly launched book, Paranaque to New York City: 50 Poems. PF contributor Elaine Elinson gives us a taste of this "poetry of witness" which hopefully will lead you to savor the rest and help the Rodriguez-led Asian and Pacific Island Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA) in the process. (There's a QR code at the end of the review you can scan to buy the book.)

*****

Project Phil is a US-based nonprofit whose vision is to help Filipinos obtain education which it views as the way out of poverty. Founded in 2017, the 501(c)3 organization has already given out about 500 scholarships in the Philippines. For the schoolyear 2023-24, over 108 scholarships for high school and college students have been supported. Educator/writer Elaine Joy Degale reports.

*****

There's nothing hoodlum-y about Bugoy Drilon. In fact, the singer/performer is a standout when it comes to connecting emotionally with his audience, according to PF contributing writer Gary Ferrington.

Read Again:

Racism: Reflections of a Bridge Generation Filipino American

Fortune’s Call: Albert Samaha’s Family Saga

[Video of the Week] What Is Filipino Food?

In The Know

Hackers steal data of at least 11 million Jollibee customers
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/24/cybercrime-privacy-breach-jollibee-filipino-food-chain-hacked/

Filipino man jumps into ocean to save drowning boy in Japan, gives too-cool statement after
https://soranews24.com/2024/06/19/filipino-man-jumps-into-ocean-to-save-drowning-boy-in-japan-gives-too-cool-statement-after/

Politician who pushed Philippines natural gas boom is behind firm that planned to profit
https://apnews.com/article/liquefied-natural-gas-lng-methane-philippines-batangas

Melting Spots
https://meltingspots.calmigration.org/map?

Healthier harvests: Organic farming initiative flourishes in Benguet
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/luzon/organic-farming-initiative-flourishes-benguet

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Texas woman accused of attempting to drown young Palestinian American girl
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/23/texas-woman-accused-of-attempting-to-drown-young-palestinian-american-girl/

Seattle cop put on leave after hurling anti-Asian, sexist slurs at neighbor
https://nextshark.com/seattle-cop-audio-asian-slurs-neighbor

Columbia Univ spokesperson beaten in suspected hate crime
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/26/anti-asian-hate-assault-new-york-washington-diplomat-beaten/

Funding provided by the State of California.

August 30, 2023

What Makes a Hero?

August 30, 2023/ Staff

Today, August 30, marks the 160th birth anniversary of the Philippines' other National Hero, Andres Bonifacio. Last Monday, August 28, our motherland celebrated National Heroes Day as a national holiday, an omnibus celebration that covers all the country's heroes, regardless of generation. National Heroes Day began as a commemoration of the Cry of Pugad Lawin (aka Cry of Balintawak), when Bonifacio as the leader of the Katipunan (KKK), tore his cedula and declared the beginning of the Philippine war of independence against Spain. That happened on August 23, 1896.

So many historical transitions have taken place since then, of course, and so many heroes and heroines have passed through. Even the term itself - heroism- has undergone multiple definitions, many of them self-serving or partisan, thus often undeserved or untrue.

What makes a hero then, in this day and age? Perhaps instead of bestowing the title of hero to a person, which would beget intense scrutiny likely to unearth non-heroic elements, it would be better to use a description -- "heroic" to label a life commitment for a cause beyond one's self-interest. No more heroes, just heroic deeds.

Today would have marked the 72nd birthday of a woman who defied convention and chose to lead an altruistic life. Two days from now (September 1) is her first death anniversary. Nelia Sancho was more than just a beauty queen/activist as she was popularly labelled. Manila based artist/illustrator Lynett Advincula-Villariba tells us more about her sorority sister and lifelong friend.

Since September 1 is Labor Day in the US and September 8 is the 58th anniversary of the beginning of the Grape Strike in California, we pay homage to the Filipino farm workers who, in addition to working the fields, organized labor unions to fight for their rights. Read "From Spain to Delano: The Radical Roots of Farm Workers Unions" by writer/photographer David Bacon.