Positively Filipino begins its week on Wednesdays in the US (Thursdays in the Philippines). This is the day we come out with our new issue.

We begin this second week of January 2024 by remembering distinguished Filipinos who passed on in 2023, not just in the Philippines but in another countries as well. This edition of "In Memoriam," compiled by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco, includes four caregivers who lost their lives in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. There are 113 names that include statesmen, civil servants, artists, writers, diplomats, performers, business people, health workers and OFWs -- Filipinos who all contributed, in their own way, to the enrichment of our heritage. May they all rest in peace.

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Visual arts in the Philippines is alive and well, what with such giants as Jose "Bogie" Tence Ruiz, whose art falls under the "social realism" genre but whose more than a half century of creation has produced a body of work so vast that it defies categorization. The ever-productive Bogie recently compiled his works into a giant of a book called Litanya, from which PF contributing writer Isabel Rodrigo draws information and inspiration for her story this week, "The Relevant and Irreverent Jose Tence Ruiz."

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In the performing arts, Lea Salonga is the biggest Filipino marquee star of the moment. But years before her shining, a number of Filipinas have gained a foothold on Broadway and Hollywood, playing roles that may not have made them big stars but which nonetheless paved the way for Lea and other Fil-Am performing artists. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia honors these women pioneers in "Before Lea Salonga, Filipinos Who Made It to Broadway and US Films."

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If you lived in Manila in the '70s, chances are you have an Our Tribe thingy tucked somewhere in your memory or in your closet. This leather goods store whose bags, wallets, sandals, and keychains (among others) are known to last beyond a lifetime, is still going strong despite some setback years. Our Manila-based contributing writer Bella Bonner talked to the Manalang-Tayag owners on how their tribe managed to thrive for more than 50 years in "How Leather Goods Brand ‘Our Tribe’ Increased."

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Hope springs eternal as the current Philippine government last November opened negotiation lines with the alleged leaders of the Left insurgency, one of the longest lasting on earth. The road to peace is of course laden with obstacles and controversies. Previous administrations have tried but failed to even get close to an agreement to end the fighting; will the Marcos II administration fare better? Retired Judge Soliman M. Santos Jr., a human rights lawyer, underscores the need for both parties to "address the fratricidal war’s human costs and the need to repair the tattered social fabric."

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Man in Chinatown called terrorist and sprayed with unknown substance
https://asamnews.com/2024/01/07/hate-crime-chinatown-suspect-called-victim-terrorist/

FBI says anti-Asian hate crimes less reported in 2022, but what does that mean?
https://www.mvariety.com/news/national/fbi-says-anti-asian-hate-crimes-less-reported-in-2022-but-what-does-that-mean/article_a70be704-a922-11ee-8a3b-dfce6d897d2e.html

Hate crimes overall are on the rise in Illinois and across the U.S. Who's targeted?
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/crime/2024/01/07/hate-crimes-are-on-the-rise-in-illinois-and-the-u-s-doj-data-shows/72119623007/

California restaurant’s comeback shows how outdated, false Asian stereotype of dog-eating persists

https://www.kron4.com/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-california-restaurants-comeback-shows-how-outdated-false-asian-stereotype-of-dog-eating-persists/

‘Our history matters’: California to develop Asian American and Pacific Islander history lessons
https://www.sacbee.com/news/equity-lab/representation/article283563003.html

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

‘There’s No Other Job’: The Colonial Roots of Philippine Poverty
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/30/business/philippine-economy-colonial-legacy.html?mwgrp=a-dbar&unlocked_article_code=1.J00.YJ4e.9ofGXo0h006c&smid=em-share

Surprise? Manila Is One of the Most Expensive Cities to Live in Southeast Asia
https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/manila-most-expensive-cities-to-live-southeast-asia-a00289-20210421?utm_medium=Echobox-Esquire&utm_campaign=Echobox-Ownshare&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR12l1onXeHhlSgMHyP-Aa4uMMYQwONrYq0n6m9uOpnME7u-MW_DUJG1gw8#Echobox=1704032357

The SPOT.ph 50 Great Restaurants of 2023: Best of Manila and Beyond
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/107367/50-great-restaurants-2023-a2793-20231210-lfrm8?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240102-fbnp-eatdrink-50-great-restaurants-2023-a2793-20231210-lfrm8-fbold&fbclid=IwAR1J061fZedW84mSE0JhBVRZX3f4hW_v4W3LK9Wijq3k62w7nidQPBaXNTw

10 Old + New Reliables in Pampanga for a No-Fail Food Trip
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/107524/pampanga-restaurants-to-visit-a3378-20231223-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240101-fbnp-eatdrink-pampanga-restaurants-to-visit-a3378-20231223-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2dtSnS6s3kSZEjd7UkqDkD6ruuXX5NCMg3EXKpNqh5Q0cZnCzcla9GfvM

ENDO buster: DALI shaking up industry not only in pricing but also in providing secure employment and competitive wages
https://bilyonaryo.com/2023/12/29/endo-buster-dali-shaking-up-industry-not-only-in-pricing-but-also-in-providing-secure-employment-and-competitive-wages/business/?fbclid=IwAR1Vl-uY-f1KySDr7rJ_tnxUKOQgjYOZetLxGTSOIRTyB_8cUFId5ubLMrY

Breaking Glass: Piolo Pascual on forging a path that goes nowhere but up
https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/entertainment/piolo-pascual-january-2024-tatler-cover-story?utm_source=tatlerasia.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PH_DIG_BREAKINGGLASS_FULL20240105&tId=7ee5e4e8f916fd76066a2703d3ca9ed9

It's going to be a slow and quiet holiday season this year, especially in the US, where the galloping numbers of covid cases and deaths have united health professionals and public officials (except for a minority) in pleading for people to stay home and forego multi-family gatherings and travel.

So between Zoom, Netflix and doing the stuff that gets you from one day to the next, we hope you'll spend time to peruse the stories, hundreds of them now, that we have posted since we started Positively Filipino in 2013. PF, as you are well aware, is an online-only magazine, thus all our posts are permanently stored on the web, available 24/7/365 to anyone who wants to read them.

If you're a new subscriber, PF posts new stories every Wednesday such as today. Our target readership are Filipinos all over the world, aka the diaspora, and we try to reflect that wide variety of interests in the equally wide variety of stories that we curate. If you click on our site, http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/ and click on Collections, you'll see the categories of articles that we cover. For quick look-sees on what's happening in our global community, we have our In Brief section, https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/in-brief that capsulizes important news daily. For those who want to look beyond our pages, we have our curated In The Know links to interesting stories in other publications included in our Wednesday newsletter.

However you want to fit PF into your life, we thank you for reading. We are truly appreciative of your continuing support.