Our emotions swerved from sadness to elation this past week, as we mourn two colleagues and celebrated a long-awaited vindication.

Philippine journalism had just lost two highly regarded thought leaders -- Conrad de Quiros and Rina Jimenez-David, both popular columnists of the Philippine Daily Inquirer until they fell ill (Conrad of a stroke in 2014 and Rina of a serious renal ailment not too long ago). Conrad's "There's the Rub" column served as an early morning jolt of pointed commentary written in luxurious prose for 23 years. Rina's "At Large" was a consistent beacon for women's rights and human rights for 33 years. [To read more, go to our In The Know links below, which includes a touching personal tribute to Conrad by veteran journalist Jo-Ann Maglipon.]

The release on bail of former Justice Secretary and former senator Leila de Lima on Monday was such a happy relief. She stayed in prison for 6 years, 8 months and 21 days on obviously trumped up charges, after she started investigating the drug war deaths in Davao City then under the helm of Mayor - later President -- Rodrigo Duterte. The evidence and testimonies presented in court were so ridiculous that those who were the so-called "star witnesses" eventually recanted their testimonies, revealing they were coerced by higher powers in government to utter the lies. "It's vindication," declared Sen Leila (Sen for senator, as her supporters refer to her) as she wept, talked to her 91-year-old mother in Bicol on the phone for the first time since her incarceration, and thanked those who were her pillars, all on live TV. She was even gracious to her tormentor/enemy Duterte ("God forgive him, God bless him"). Of her three cases, two have already been dismissed and the last one awaits a verdict. [Again, for more details, see our In The Know links below].

*****

Anti-Asian Hate continues to rear its ugly head in unlikely places, such as the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, where an obviously disturbed, 76-year-old man took a sledgehammer and broke the museum's glass windows while shouting racial epithets. PF Correspondent and Seattle-bred Anthony Maddela explores the issue of anti-Asian hate and its ramifications on a Pacific Rim city and on national policy.

From Ethnic Media Services, an eye-opener on school bullying as a civil rights issue.

Another Pacific Rim city -- San Francisco -- takes center stage this week as it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Still reeling from the combined impact of the pandemic (and its economic blight), rampant drug addiction, and homelessness, the beautiful City by the Bay hopes the international summit to be attended by top officials from 21 countries will be the start of the rehabilitation of its downtown. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia gives us a situationer.

We hope you enjoy the rest of our issue featuring amazing women: Vangie Buell, a Bridge Generation stalwart, still going strong as a musician and activist at 91; Jacqueline Chio-Lauri, a UK-based Filipina whose recently released book We Cook Filipino compiles healthy recipes from Filipino chefs in different countries. And then there's "Moral" - the late acclaimed director Marilou Diaz-Abaya's movie on four Filipinas navigating the realities of the '80s in the Philippines, the recent re-showing (in San Francisco) of which elicited a commentary by Michael Gonzalez.

[Video of the Week] Anjelah Johnson

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Why Asian Americans should care about what happens at APEC
https://asamnews.com/2023/11/11/asian-american-issues-apec-impact-effect/

Ethnic hate intensify in spillover of ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict
https://pnewstoday.com/ethnic-hate-intensify-in-spillover-of-ongoing-israel-hamas-conflict/

CAIR-LA got 300% more reports of Islamophobia last month
https://asamnews.com/2023/11/12/islamophobia-anti-palestinian-hate-massively-spike-due-to-israel-hamas-war/

Funding provided by the State of California.

In the Know

'Drug war' critic walks free after Philippine court grants bail
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippine-court-grants-bail-ex-presidents-top-critic-after-6-years-jail-lawyer-2023-11-13/?fbclid=IwAR0_PJQ-P2Q2YSFfdYs6BA5pBMFz6XpO7sy1f0nwISxfZzeeOs7B8uFsbPI

A visual guide to Filipino bakery staples
https://usa.inquirer.net/139515/a-visual-guide-to-filipino-bakery-staples?fbclid=IwAR0_PU9OD7kJ_KLk4PWvh_tSxPFimeD5wVWFLQn-1zXqBkGvi7qlHZZGJcM

How pro-China propaganda is seeded online in the Philippines
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/ways-how-china-propaganda-seeded-online-philippines/?fbclid=IwAR1OqcmmDIWMsMqSSHtxuag44k5JxvTsAwsZ_sia848kOYV2GvHESvh8YeI

A goodbye letter to Conrado de Quiros
https://www.pep.ph/news/local/177050/conrado-de-quiros-goodbye-letter-a710-20231111-lfrm3?utm_source=Viber-PEP&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20231113-vbnp-news-conrado-de-quiros-goodbye-letter-a710-20231111-lfrm3-vbfirst

Rina Jimenez David, journalist, women’s rights champion; 68
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1858739/rina-jimenez-david-journalist-womens-rights-champion-68?fbclid=IwAR2oNGaIZs6j8bZwyGn8kgTdbLTbr2ocxln_3lyoiH5dLbKwWzmuc6j9I44

'Here Lies Love' to end Broadway run this November due to low ticket sales
https://philstarlife.com/geeky/914392-here-lies-love-to-end-broadway-run-november?fbclid=IwAR15p7I3Dm1H2Q-ydfTpOr0HxHKir79vNsQ0osrwF8bK03ABF8_K08Pa7Vg

Five days ago, the US Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro announced that a still-to-be-built Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the type considered the backbone of the US Navy's surface fleet, will be named after Telesforo Trinidad, the Navy fireman 2nd class whose extraordinary heroism also made him the only Filipino in the US Navy awarded the Medal of Honor. In January 1915, Trinidad was aboard the USS San Diego when an explosion occurred and the ship quickly caught fire. Even as he was injured, Trinidad braved the flames to rescue two of his fellow crew members.

Why did it take more than a century to garner this honor for this Filipino serviceman? It was through the combined efforts of various individuals, and civilian and military groups in the US and the Philippines (among them the Bataan Legacy Historical Society which started the ball rolling in this campaign) that the Navy bigwigs took notice of this historical lapse. The number of Filipinos who have served in the US Navy for a century can fill up an entire US city, and this win is theirs as well. A good reminder that change can happen when there's unity.

The death of a beloved icon of Filipino movies, Susan Roces, this week brought a flurry of tributes from many who grew up idolizing her. But there was more to her than being "the face that refreshes." Following the questionable "defeat" (remember "Hello Garci?") of her husband, movie king Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections and his subsequent sudden death, Susan Roces became a feisty, outspoken critic of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. To pay tribute to the wholeness of her presence in Philippine cultural history, we are reprinting a story on her from Filipinas magazine.

Also featured in this issue: an expansion of a historical landmark in Quezon City, our continuing series on remarkable Fil-Ams, and profiles of a Filipino priest who worked among the Amazon tribes and a Fil-Am cultural historian in Seattle.

And if you haven't yet, do sign up for PF's next webinar on June 2. It will be an interesting discussion on an intrinsic Filipino trait that has been both boon and bane to our culture.