Reptile Dysfunction

PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia regales us with the story of Lolong, the "Largest Saltwater Crocodile in Captivity" from 2011-2013, whose capture made Bunawan, a small town in Agusan, an item in the Guinness Book of World Records. Lolong's journey did not end there: after the reptile's death in 2013, some interesting twists and turns brought its carcass to the National Museum of Natural History in Manila where it now lies. Read all about it in "Lolong, the Giant Crocodile’s Legacy is a Wake-Up Call."

A Toronto-based Filipino couple's "apo-stolic" (babysitting a grandchild) brought them to Hanoi, Vietnam, where the vestiges of war and a country's amazing recovery made for some interesting observations and memories. Patria Cabatuando-Rivera, one-half of the couple, writes about the new Vietnam in "Hanoi Diary: Vietnam's Beautiful Peace."

PF Correspondent and resident foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino raves about the book of chef/artist/food historian Ige Ramos, aptly titled “Republic of Taste: The Untold Stories of Cavite Cuisine.”

Savor the stories behind the tastes in "Food Historian Ige Ramos Serves Cavite’s Unsung Cuisine" and actually taste a sample with our Happy Home Cook recipe this week for Pancit Choco en su Tinta, a vintage Caviteño dish from Ige Ramos himself.

Since it's All Saints Day, let me re-share with you a story I wrote about a tragedy that was common during martial law: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/gemma/the-end-of-her-world 

Our collection of links to must-read stories, ICYMI:

She Invented Banana Ketchup & Saved Thousands of Lives. Why Have We Never Heard of Her?
https://food52.com/blog/24700-maria-orosa-profile?fbclid=IwAR2VNP3XhDZOz3jaloLRsF5zYqeZs7QJ-F_uNr6yENRNbRWnx-4jbIe7pWE

Why We Need To Remember Stockton, California’s Filipino American Legacy
https://www.buzzfeed.com/paolamardo/stockton-california-little-manila-center-vandalism-history?fbclid=IwAR2iObIf-iPIyHBiE-HuXPLMiCbC3i7bdQRdcH24IFU1Am4R7sEWqbimbcc

Being Fil-Am in the age of Trump and Duterte
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2019/10/28/filipino-american-month-essay.html?fbclid=IwAR0hFlYVj-tOht5AurOtgFxjCIc92vw0fNL9eE2LgV1YC7RDuV7CxD25uYI

In Philippine slums, meat scavenged from dumpsters feeds those short of meals and hope
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3020306/philippine-slums-meat-scavenged-dumpsters-feeds-those-short-meals?fbclid=IwAR213NQkZ5JhEWrxnUqc-Uvp01zYwUFPWYXK1Br20WgKkagkkmjlQDL5sfU

28 Filipino Recipes That Are Absolutely Worth Feasting On
https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/easy-filipino-recipes?utm_source=dynamic&fbclid=IwAR2fo7RXdiRQIfnJRZGm2Yg9wTdrzHfeJVUhPEj7SM6iAnLo7HduIUmM45g

For our video of the week, ANC 24/7 talks to Filipino comic book greats Whilce Portacio and Rafael Kayanan.

Manila-Beijing Non-Reciprocal Admiration Society

Following President Duterte's recent trip to China (his 6th since he took office) to meet with President Xi Jinping (their 8th), veteran journalist Marites Danguilan Vitug gives us a summary of what these frequent meet-ups have gained for the Philippines. Hint: it's a lopsided picture. “Analysis: Duterte’s Pivot Mainly Benefits China”

As the 382nd anniversary of the martyrdom of the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, approaches, PF contributor BJ Gonzalvo points out the saint's image beside such well-known saints as Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Elizabeth Seton and San Juan Diego at the Trinity Dome Mosaic of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., the largest Catholic Church in the United States. “San Lorenzo Ruiz In America”

Hundreds of Maryknollers from all over the world returned to their Alma Mater (now renamed Miriam College) to celebrate their alumni homecoming and honor the milestone graduates, such as the college class of 1974 (Sapphire anniversary), to which PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno belongs. School jubilees are always joyous occasions as this one attests. “How Maryknoll-Miriam College Empowered Alums”

Lest we forget, martial law in the Philippines was declared 47 years ago on a sunny Saturday, September 23, 1972, although the official Proclamation 1081 was dated September 21, thus allowing the military to arrest prominent anti-Marcos dissidents before the public knew about it. Here are some memory triggers. Read Again:

Activist Nathan Gilbert Quimpo's hair-raising account of a military raid at their house
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/martial-law-stories-raid

FilAm activist Jeanette Gandionco Lazam's close call at the Manila International Airport
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/who-is-marshall-law

Circus Band vocalist Ceres Jacinto's amusing account of their command performance 
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/martial-law-stories-the-torture-of-playing-for-miss-universe-1974

Our In the Know links this week:

The millennials behind Isko Moreno
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/239045-millennials-behind-isko-moreno?utm_source=Rappler+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f314e07555-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_03_05_48_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d18b1557b8-f314e07555-96223989&mc_cid=f314e07555&mc_eid=0c0639d4af

City of the Dead
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/03/world/city-of-the-dead/?fbclid=IwAR1GCSYz0CZA2EU99PvcCIWjooIIYrhha0ZHxa5icln5E1jQ3iCzVobzjhs

An ingenious Filipino artist creates mosaics with dead leaves and garlic peels
https://qz.com/quartzy/1698682/filipino-artist-pando-maglipon-creates-art-from-dead-leaves/?fbclid=IwAR22GhiBRKopHpMGO4LZdCiRKyrQpTLB-I9svSqdPlY6eJqTJbrr_049IxE

Venice Film Review: ‘The Kingmaker’
https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-kingmaker-review-imelda-marcos-1203313788/

7 Rustan's Milestones That Changed the Country's Retail Industry
https://www.townandcountry.ph/people/heritage/7-rustan-s-milestones-that-might-have-changed-the-country-s-retail-industry-entirely-a00184-20171004-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-TC&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20190910-fbnp-people-7-rustan-s-milestones-that-might-have-changed-the-country-s-retail-industry-entirely-a00184-20171004-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR24tNbRFNAh_cJ2PjETsBnUrjmVOO8yDYC5NGSvedKaLiKH0ZL_cd4vEGw

In this week’s Happy Home Cook, we feature a Chef Richgail Enriquez’s vegan alternative to ginataang kuhol (snails in coconut milk): Oyster Mushroom Escargot.

And for our video of the week, KQED presents a video on the Philippine Coral Reef Twilight Zone.

Angsty August

The death of a highly esteemed environmentalist and philanthropist coupled with the possible release of a triple life sentenced criminal made for an unsettled August week in the Philippines.

Many mourned the passing of Gina Lopez, the nemesis of miners and other ecological criminals. Veteran journalist Paulynn P. Sicam paid tribute to this complicated and committed earth warrior in “Gina Lopez: Rich Girl, Kind Heart, Woman Warrior.”

August won't end without commemorating the assassination of another outstanding Filipino, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., and our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco shares with us her speech for the occasion, delivered at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco (“Ninoy Changed My Life”).

And speaking of that earth-shaking assassination, one of those who were prominently mentioned in the investigations that followed was the late Arthur Custodio, then an Air Force colonel, who brought in the late Rolando Galman to take part in the crime of the century. Our Canada-based contributor Albert J. Lesaca writes about his infamous high school classmate in “Memories Are Made of This – My Friend, Arthur Custodio.”

Ahh, Coron. When things go awry, we imagine ourselves in this slice of Palawan paradise, although as PF contributor Willie Vergara writes in “Coron, Once Is Not Enough,” paradise could be too optimistic a word. 

For our Happy Home Cook, here's a Read Again recipe from our resident foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino, that has been part of my meal menu for quite a while now (read: easy and delicious): Pesang Salmon aka Filipino fish stew.

Our In The Know links that you shouldn't miss:

The Uncounted Dead of Duterte's Drug War
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/philippines-dead-rodrigo-duterte-drug-war/595978/?fbclid=IwAR3L29HpKIJsFNqNhdDx67NM4Pu9q3cP1sQjPBPm2evhz7yybooA1R5Zvp4

This impressive collection of Philippine religious imagery finally sees the light of day
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/05/01/19/the-intramuros-collection-of-religious-imagery-finally-sees-the-light-of-day?fbclid=IwAR19xhrUxYpHB6wiP5GnRw4kZ-Ozd_giGp_Fvi9ZJtNvqx0dcaHZTYHO4jc

‘Brutalist’ martial law museum to rise in UP Diliman 
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/08/25/1946123/brutalist-martial-law-museum-rise-diliman?fbclid=IwAR0_0hwM4TdbCVUCHEbjl9kEGIlyWerTj0iHC84MPGDF1g9WFWz3WnGGPNU

My Grandfather, A Killer 
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/18/749810572/my-grandfather-a-killer?te=1&nl=california-today&emc=edit_ca_20190820?campaign_id=49&instance_id=11769&segment_id=16314&user_id=a6813a01d20d50942afadad6c6f1e549&regi_id=47563992

For Video of the Week, GMA Public Affairs’ I-Witness features a documentary on the estuaries of Manila.