March 19, 2025

What a Week that Was

March 19, 2025/ Staff

What an incredibly eventful week -- and we're not (just) talking about the current state of the United States.

In the Philippines, what was previously unthinkable actually happened: the arrest of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte at the behest of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the Interpol. Arriving from Hong Kong with his entourage, Duterte was immediately whisked to the VIP lounge of nearby Villamor Airbase after being read his Miranda rights. At the last hour of Tuesday, March 11, just 12 hours following his formal arrest, the former president was on a private jet to The Hague to await trial for crimes against humanity. The loud howl and hullaballoo (rallies, a deluge of fake news, threats) from his supporters are of no use. Duterte is no longer protected by Philippine law; it is only the ICC now that can determine his fate.

To get a grip of the whys and implications of this monumental event, here's an excellent piece written by veteran journalist and Columbia University journalism professor Sheila Coronel ("On the Arrest of an Autocrat") which the Columbia Journalism Review gave PF full permission to repost.

What's next for the Philippines? Go to our In The Know section below for the link to Walden Bello's article in The Nation. We are also reposting some stories on Duterte's reign of impunity that we published.

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Our other stories this week:

FilAm nurse Menchu de Luna Sanchez proved that some heroes don't wear capes, they wear scrubs. The FilAm founding editor Cristina DC Pastor writes about Sanchez's amazing bravery during Superstorm Sandy's devastation in 2012, a feat honored by the Obama administration.

A 94-year-old Filipina, fondly called Lola Naty, wrote a children's book about her beloved dog, thus fulfilling her lifelong dream to be a writer. PF contributing writer Claire Mercado-Obias pays tribute to the late author of My Dog Carter.

Though Visayan pop -- a sub-genre of Filipino pop music -- still has a small footprint in people's consciousness, it's nonetheless making waves with some innovative tunes and creative lyrics, mostly in Cebuano, from its talented propagators on Tiktok. First-time PF contributor Julienne Loreto introduces Vispop with love.

Read Agains:

Where Will President Duterte and His War on Drugs Take Us?
By Criselda Yabes

The Making of Edgar Matobato By Sheila Coronel

Leni and Leila By Criselda Yabes

Banished But Unbowed By Fiona Basile

[Video of the Week] The History of Pancit in the Philippines

In The Know

Rodrigo Duterte Is at The Hague. What’s Next for the Philippines?
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/rodrigo-duterte-hague/

Duterte provided ‘overwhelming evidence’ for his conviction: expert
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/17/duterte-provided-overwhelming-evidence-for-his-conviction-expert-1948

Dane’s Post
https://www.facebook.com/danecusto/posts/2920647618089679

Collateral Damage: How Duterte's Alleged Crimes Followed a Manila Cop to Canada
https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/duterte-alleged-crimes-manila-cop-a3690-20250314-lfrm

Rappler Talk: PNP’s Nicolas Torre III on arresting Duterte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCPWtIi5sjs

August 02, 2023

We're With the Campaign Against Hate

August 02, 2023/ Staff

While official stats from California's Department of Justice show a decrease in hate crimes against Asian Americans, AAPI communities know better than to relax their guard. Last month alone, four incidents of assaults -- one of which resulted in the death of the victim -- happened to elderly Asians in San Francisco. See: Has Anti-Asian Hate Crime Really Decreased? By Sunita Sohrabji

How do we stem the rising tide of hate? California's Stop the Hate campaign is a statewide initiative that funds community organizations, including ethnic media, in "providing direct services to victims of hate and their families, and prevention and intervention services to tackle hate in our communities."

Through the California State Library, the Department of Social Services and the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, Positively Filipino is one of the ethnic media organizations awarded a grant. For the next 12 months, this online magazine will take an active role in providing historical and current information about anti-Asian hate crimes, with particular focus on Filipino Americans. With grant resources, readers will learn about the importance of reporting crimes, how to report crimes and what services are available to support both victims and their families. We will assist in the documentation of incidents, and disseminate strategies on prevention and de-escalation through a series of free webinars. Our Act Against Hate section in the magazine and social media will be a valuable community resource for everyone who supports the struggle against hate, racism, discrimination and violence against FilAms.

Have you or someone you know experienced an instance when you felt targeted and afraid? When and where did it happen? How did it happen? Do you think you were targeted because you're Asian? Tell us about it by clicking this link: actagainsthate@positivelyfilipino.com. If you feel that you are a victim of a hate crime, report it to https://stopaapihate.org/

Together we can stop, prevent, document, and de-escalate ethnic tensions while making sure that we ourselves are free of anger and prejudice.

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Home caregivers or domestic workers -- those who are employed to provide home care to the sick, disabled and others who need them -- are not provided the basic health and safety protections under Cal/OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Act). Now, California Senate Bill 686 hopes to change the situation, but the bill requires a push by the community to enact it into law. Community activist Susan V. Tagle tells us what's at stake.

The results of the 2022 presidential elections in the Philippines was not as clear-cut as it seemed, according to a group of analysts led by General Eliseo Rio, former head of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Inquirer columnist Randy David summarizes the questions brought forth by the inquiry.

PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela deep dives into a discussion of the mental health issues confronting Filipino Americans with author/activist Jen Soriano who just came out with a book called Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing.

Stories this Week

Fighting To Protect California’s Domestic Workers by Susan V. Tagle

Has Anti-Asian Hate Crime Really Decreased? by Sunita Sohrabji

Lingering Doubts About The 2022 Philippine Presidential Election by Randy David

Jen Soriano Plumbs The Depths Of Filipino Heritage And Healing by Anthony Maddela

Read Agains

The Last Night Of I-Hotel by Veronica Versoza

10 Survival Tips For Summer Travel To Europe by Cherie M. Querol Moreno

[Recipe of the Week] The Happy Home Cook: Liver In Bistek Sauce by G. B. Korten

[Video of the Week] The Island Of The Living Dead

In The Know

Filipinas take entire basketball-crazed country to a football journey to remember

https://sports.inquirer.net/521720/filipinas-end-first-world-cup-stint-with-a-loss-but-not-after-taking-entire-basketball-crazed-country-to-a-football-journey-to-remember?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2s4RxK6QowhWgkmy5cMyr0Ooh8vvjpIgyy8yWFkFI-ZCIdVfq1QP_Av2Q#Echobox=1690749252

This Filipino-American CEO Earned More Than Apple's Tim Cook

https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/wealth/filipino-american-ceo-kiwi-camara-a00203-20230727?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20230103-fbnp-money-filipino-american-ceo-kiwi-camara-a00203-20230727-fbnew&fbclid=IwAR2k5DEetDW8ohH9Am8qsUwU1bQo4XDvP2vRgkrCRwMrxxJxX4JP8XC63x8

Calls grow for official designation of Filipino cultural district in SF SoMa neighborhood

https://nextshark.com/official-designation-filipino-cultural-district-sf-soma

She drove solo around the Philippines for 121 days and it was the ride of a lifetime

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/travel/destination/07/29/23/she-drove-around-the-ph-for-121-daysheres-what-happened?fbclid=IwAR0HK9J5BHl_MMJt_Y_RrkP01Z7pfW-msGI3PL-QX8JJc6lHgetV8edTdD0

Look: Barbie and Ken Reimagined as Filipinos – Complete with Barbiefied Jeepney and Bahay Kubo

https://www.wheninmanila.com/look-barbie-and-ken-reimagined-as-filipinos-complete-with-barbiefied-jeepney-and-bahay-kubo/?fbclid=IwAR1vh5r0N8sfh05obldHMdwErigcVM6Jdx9n76Z_Be9l61et0c5s6HKMLIY

May 18, 2022

Feelings

May 18, 2022/ Staff

Political hatred.

Such is the state of our current world that this phrase is now being uttered in public more frequently. And felt privately by many. Ukrainians in the midst of war with Russia feel it, citizens of Middle Eastern countries have been suffering through it for decades, Filipinos still reeling from the results of the recent elections are working their way out of it, and yes, a growing number of Americans are acting on their toxic feelings with tragic consequences.

Already. there have been 198 mass shootings in the US in the 19 weeks of 2022, the latest of which was perpetrated by an Asian man against fellow Asians in a church in Southern California last weekend. The stats are truly scary: a 339 % increase of crimes against Asian Americans including Filipinos in 2021 (compared to the previous year). Not a happy thought for this Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month of May.

What causes someone to snap and run amok? It's a highly complex brew of mental, psychological and yes, political (including racism) issues that only trained mental health professionals can mitigate. But we can help by being vigilant in recognizing early indicators: if someone you know is exhibiting signs of extreme distress and unbridled emotions, it is time for an intervention. Getting that person to seek mental health treatment is important, but equally important is to make sure the person has no access to firearms. Or poison.

May is not just AAPI Heritage Month, it is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Let's do our part in celebrating both.