Journeys in Place

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With a force of more than 1 million ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines and over 23 million Filipinos of Chinese ancestry, our homeland can harness "people-to-people exchanges and solidarity ties" to cool down the tensions in the South China Sea, aka West Philippine Sea. This interesting though largely untested proposal is presented by UP professor Eduardo C. Tadem, who honors his Chinese roots in "Blood Could Be Thicker than Water in the South China Sea."

The pandemic lockdown in the Philippines, reportedly one of the strictest in the world, didn't faze five friends with interesting backgrounds to set free their creativity without leaving their homes. Channeling their common love of photography, the five men have come out with Journeyers, an impressive coffeetable book that our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, has been privileged to get. In "Journeyers: Five Men with Cameras Walk into the World," she give us a glimpse of the journeyers' journeys.

Speaking of journeys, now that the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, how about visiting Romblon, a relatively untraveled province rich in natural resources and beauty, which has bred a National Artist, among other distinguished native sons. Retired Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. describes the province's many attractions.

There have been many stories about the Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, but here's first-hand testimony about how good a tango dancer he was, from the famous Arthur Murray himself. History buff Erwin R. Tiongson of the Philippines on the Potomac project digs up this fascinating historical vignette in "MLQ Loved Tripping the Light Fantastic at Arthur Murray’s."

In Case You Missed These Stories:

Community leader and broadcast veteran Don Villar on how Filipinos and African Americans worked together in the Pullman Workers Union:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-black-and-filipino-unity-was-forged-in-the-pullman-workers-union

PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino on her visit to the Kipping house in Tarlac where Leonor Rivera lived:
https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/leonor-rivera-a-heros-sweetheart

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a post-Valentine treat:

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-chocolate-bark-crackers-with-salted-caramel

Our Video of the Week: popular movie star Angelica Panganiban's latest viral video on how to cancel a "mambubudol" from your life

In The Know

Nurses Who Faced Lawsuits for Quitting Are Fighting Back
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-02-02/underpaid-contract-nurses-who-faced-fines-lawsuits-for-quitting-fight-back?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

MacArthur Given $500,000
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/01/29/macarthur-given-500000/3ad863a3-8caa-4792-b038-d91bb3f804b4/?fbclid=IwAR3b82A37BoZOIlUffZbNLQoG6Q8S3XKjSwMDjLaJzjDzXMTEzFti6v-AZo

Jose Rizal’s Girlfriends and His Naughty Amusements
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/jose-rizal-girlfriends-and-amusements-a00293-20200305?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220214-fbnp-long-reads-jose-rizal-girlfriends-and-amusements-a00293-20200305-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0bqbvGM6qRVozSEXr74j-wvG4qw2q9LIhtlIjRVrpbSY9rATjF-t5svbY

Those Fabulous Filipino Brothers – the Bascos
https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/those-fabulous-filipino-brothers-bascos?fbclid=iwar2o7l0kdgwzsh-etprfpohlooshqv3ylnbwl_uhsesfq0tavniw3hpnoni 

Sta. Ana Cabaret, Where Manila’s Rich and Famous Partied ‘Til They Dropped 
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/sta-ana-cabaret-history-a2386-20200602-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220205-fbnp-long-reads-sta-ana-cabaret-history-a2386-20200602-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR01BKOFtwk5C6BeG_fZx05OQ8VWHR9F3K5pvrLRAUKOuPY0aCRJi-DKTfs

Dolly Perez: The first lady of landscape architecture
https://philstarlife.com/news-and-views/456041-dolly-perez-the-first-lady-of-landscape-architecture

"I didn’t know that these girls were prostitutes. I just thought about them as my aunts."
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/notes-and-essays/-i-didn-t-know-that-these-girls-were-prostitutes-i-just-thought-about-them-as-my-aunts-a2020-20171017-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220210-fbnp-long-reads--i-didn-t-know-that-these-girls-were-prostitutes-i-just-thought-about-them-as-my-aunts-a2020-20171017-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3UxBpf5JmHypmj3LDvVHHwd1rzPbnSE-FZlydD3irMMzQrCcFIe_uAakU

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

In the Company of Heroes

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Today is the 142nd birthday of Manuel Luis Quezon, one of the most consequential of Philippine presidents, who presided during the Commonwealth period and is credited with setting the stage for the eventual independence of the Philippines from the US. In recent years, Quezon is remembered for a singular humanitarian act in 1939 that offered 10,000 visas for Jews fleeing from the Holocaust to seek refuge in Manila. Some 1,200 took up the offer, thus creating a Jewish community in Manila, known as the Manilaners. Read more about this in our story below.

Read Again: Stories about the Jewish rescue and its aftermath:

"Quezon Saved Jews from the Holocaust" by Ambeth R. Ocampo
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/quezon-saved-jews-from-the-holocaust

"Memories of Rescue in Manila" by Lyca Benitez-Brown
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/memories-of-refuge-in-manila?rq=jews

"A Rescue Hatched Over Poker, Bourbon and Cigars" by Esperanza Catubig
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/4/a-rescue-hatched-over-poker-bourbon-and-cigars?rq=jews

In two days, we will be commemorating a contemporary Filipino hero, Benigno Aquino Jr., whose assassination on August 21, 1983 led to massive protests that eventually led to the downfall of the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. That fateful journey of Ninoy from his US exile to his landing at the Manila International Airport (which now bears his name) was documented in painful detail by his brother-in-law, Ken Kashiwahara, then ABC News correspondent, who traveled with him. We are reprinting here Ken's story from the New York Times on October 16, 1983.

Also in this issue, retired Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. writes about Leonor Orosa-Goquingco, National Artist for dance, whose Filipinescas dance company displayed her innovative choreography of traditional Filipino dances.

Likewise, PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino profiles Johanna Mirpuri, social media influencer, food blogger and cookbook author. From Johanna's recently released "Simple Salads" cookbook comes our recipe for the Happy Home Cook this week, Summer Garden Caesar Panzanella Salad.

For our Video of the Week, here's a live performance of Fanny, the acclaimed and pioneering all-girl rock band of the early '70s, headlined by two Fil-Am sisters, June and Jean Millington.

A reminder to join us for our next Positively Filipino webinar:

It's About Time

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A video that went viral of a transgender woman being prevented from using the women's restroom in a Quezon City mall has renewed calls for the passage of a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) legislation that will protect the LGBT community from being discriminated against. As usual, the voices for or against are strident and loud, as PF Correspondent Rene M. Astudillo reports in "A Transgender Restroom Incident and Filipino LGBT Rights."

In far-away Vienna, Filipina IT veteran Malou Soto Reininger commits her time and skills to the Philippine-Austria Cultural and Educational Society (PACES), an organization that provides scholarships to deserving Filipino students in the fields of science, technology, education and mathematics, aka STEM. Hawaii-based PF contributor Pepi Nieva profiles Reininger in "From Vienna, an Angel for Filipino Science Scholars."

August, or more specifically August 21, is a historically tragic day for our homeland. Two heinous crimes were committed on this day that upended the course of Philippine history. The August 21, 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing that almost decimated the entire leadership of the then-Liberal Party led to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus by President Marcos, which eventually led to the proclamation of martial law. In 1983, August 21 was the day Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated in the airport tarmac, a tragedy of enormous proportions that triggered massive protests against the Marcos administration and, three years later, led to its downfall. Read Again our stories on those two monumental events:

Gregg Jones' "The Ghosts of Plaza Miranda" 

Ken Kashiwahara's "Ninoy's Final Journey" 

On a more positive note, August is also the month we honor our homeland's Commonwealth president, Manuel L. Quezon. So here's another Read Again:

Ambeth R. Ocampo's "Quezon Saved Jews from the Holocaust" 

For the Happy Home Cook, here's Elizabeth Ann Quirino's Instant Pot Pata Tim recipe, guaranteed to be worth the calories.

Our In the Know links this week: 

Gina Lopez, Who Led Crackdown on Mines in the Philippines, Dies at 65
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/obituaries/gina-lopez-philippines-dies.html?fbclid=IwAR1MV-1GeJlvmOnuvMnF-DPUlWut4Y8FIDOO73EDM7p-xem2E2YcrTo5KHc

The Vigilante President
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/philippines/2019-08-12/vigilante-president?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_cta&utm_campaign=cta_share_buttons&fbclid=IwAR15L81WXDBJZ0GA1V5NNrphbjrf6hvyDKNJzrltqex30gPZdd3ihnw_NZw

Penguin Classics’ Pinay publisher puts the spotlight on PH literature
https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/07/29/19/penguin-classics-pinay-publisher-puts-the-spotlight-on-ph-literature?fbclid=IwAR3ZSdOt2nYt-IyZbTvUc_KgNeP0CyFIcA5QSAvbz83Fj1vGP3oI50nLdPo

Mayor Vico Sotto: 'The Rules of the Game Are Clear, But We Need People to Push the System a Bit'
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/profiles/mayor-vico-sotto-the-rules-of-the-game-are-clear-but-we-need-people-to-push-the-system-a-bit-a2212-20190722-lfrm2?ref=home_featured_big

Jia Tolentino on the ‘Unlivable Hell’ of the Web and Other Millennial Conundrums
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/books/review/jia-tolentino-trick-mirror.html?te=1&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20190816?campaign_id=69&instance_id=11703&segment_id=16236&user_id=a6813a01d20d50942afadad6c6f1e549&regi_id=47563992

For video of the week, KPIX SF Bay Area reports on the renaming of a Mountain View school after Pulitzer Prize winner and immigration reform activist Jose Antonio Vargas.