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Does the PHL need a revolution to put an end to elite politics?
By Allen Gaborro Philip Bowring, a longtime journalist well-versed in Asia-Pacific affairs, puts forth his study of the history of the Philippines up to the advent of the post-Duterte period, “The Making of the Modern Philippines: Pieces of a Jigsaw State.” In reading Bowring’s book, we discern that the past can be retroactively instructive to […]
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Martial law: The past is prologue
By Allen Gaborro Filipinos have little patience for the past. They keep up the appearances of speaking to the past, of communing with it. However, Filipinos under this cover, to source a postmodernist’s response, “devour its absence”. When are Filipinos going to realize that their democracy was not exactly created equal with others, that this […]
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Why ‘Oppenheimer’ is relevant as the world confronts threats of a nuclear war
By Wendell Gaa “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds…” the very text from a piece of Hindu scripture which ran through the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the globally heralded scientist who led the Allied project which gave birth to the world’s first nuclear weapon that ended the Second World War in […]
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HLL is more than an immersive musical; it is my family’s story too
By Tricia J. Capistrano “You can only have one Filipino friend,” I responded to my Irish American bestie, Nancy, when she asked if she could invite Gigi–a Texas native and Filipino American mom who she met at her son’s high school–when we were making plans to watch the musical “Here Lies Love.” Nancy, Gretchen (Irish […]
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‘Every Ounce of Courage’ is a daughter’s story of her mother’s heroism in WW II
One night Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino received a phone call from a stranger that changed her life. “You don’t know me, but your mother saved my life,” the caller said. That late-night conversation with an American World War II veteran and POW revealed to Elizabeth Ann Besa Quirino the untold stories of her mother’s remarkable wartime […]
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Rizal descendant Anton Azurin: A sense of pride and responsibility (Part 2)
By Cristina DC Pastor The FilAm (TF): How exactly are you related to Jose Rizal? Anton Azurin (AA): I am a sixth generation Rizal, although I am not directly related to Jose Rizal, as he died without any children. Instead, I am descended from his lone brother Paciano, who served as a general in the […]
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The special brotherly bond between Jose Rizal and Paciano (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor To interview Jose Rizal’s descendants, I went through Paciano Rizal’s branch of the family because the unmarried Jose had no children of his own. Paciano and Jose are the two boys of 11 children of Francisco and Teodora of Calamba and Biñan, Laguna. I met Paciano’s great great grandson Paolo Antonio […]
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Mayor Eric Adams to Filipinos: ‘I see you. I recognize you, I respect you, I need you.’
By Lindy Rosales On June 16, the Philippine flag was raised over Bowling Green park in New York City in commemoration of the 125th Philippine Independence Day. It was a well-attended event with Mayor Eric Adams telling Filipino Americans: “I see you. I recognize you, I respect you, I need you.” It was a fiery […]
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Teen mom pursues her dream to become an NYPD detective
By Detective Angelica De Leon Velez I stand here today because of my parents. Most Filipino households take pride in their children. My parents worked two jobs each to provide an amazing life for my sister and I. I can honestly say that I was my parents’ pride and joy up until the age of […]