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.

*****

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.

*****

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"]

*****

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.

*****

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.

Read It Again

Minda D. Azarcon: Her Musical Talent Was Off the Scale
By Janine B. Castillo

Give This Pampangueña a Memorial in the West Philippine Sea
By Robby Tantingco

Linda Ty-Casper, Master Storyteller
By Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard

We've been doing a lot of remembering these past months: September was martial law stories, October the history of Filipinos in the US. This month, we begin with undas (All Saints Day) when we honor our beloveds and our heroes who have passed on. It has been almost three years since the pandemic started and most of us have known one or two or three deaths that were arrows in our hearts.

Literary titan Linda Ty-Casper, she who has written 10 acclaimed historical novels and four short story collections and has won some of the most prestigious literary prizes, lost her husband, the renowned literary critic Leonard (Len) Casper, in 2018. How does a writer deal with grief, when her partner of more than 60 years, passes? She collects everything that has been written -- by, to and about Len -- and puts them in a book that is as much a chronicle of a life as it is of Philippine literature. Will You Happen, Past the Silence, Through the Dark: Remembering Leonard Ralph Casper by Linda Ty-Casper is a weighty book in heft and significance. The book's publisher, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, herself a literary star, gives us a preview.

Another book, this one a good gift for a child is Peeled Fruit, by Filipino Canadian actor Xavi De Guzman who is one of the founders of Let's Play On Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about brain aneurysm. If you watched the Jo Koy movie, "Easter Sunday," you'll remember Xavi as the hoodlum. But there's nothing hoodlum-y about his dedication to honoring his friend who died early of the ailment, and this book is not only a tribute to him and to Filipino culture, but is a way to raise funds for the cause.

Ten FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous made it to our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's 40th list this week, each of them with wow-inducing creds.

Last week, we published the article by M.T. Ojeda, "Fact-Checking the History of San Francisco's Manilatown," and it elicited some interesting responses from FilAm activists and historians. One of them came from Estella Habal and Jeanette Lazam, both stalwarts of the Bay Area community, which we are publishing in full here, along with the response of M.T. Ojeda.

Those who grew up with OPM (Original Pilipino Music) are mourning the death this week of one of OPM's most beloved icons, Danny Javier of the APO Hiking Society. Danny is credited for coining the term OPM and for composing and performing some of the best songs of the genre. Fittingly, Danny signed off from this world with a witty original composition which he first sang a cappella on Facebook and, in his last few days, was enhanced with an apt arrangement by musical director Lorrie Ilustre. Here's our Video of the Week: Danny Javier's "Lahat Tayo".