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Prof. Ismael Jampayas, 89
By Cristina DC Pastor Another pillar of the community has died. Ismael Jampayas, Honorary Grand Marshal of PAFCOM 2023, passed away on December 28 from cardiac arrest. He was 89 years old. Jampayas — fondly called Mike by close friends — told me he worked as a Professor of Clinical Pathology and Coordinator of Clinical […]
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ON GLOBAL FILIPINOS Dado Banatao: Modern Filipino hero
By Loida Nicolas Lewis On Christmas Day, 2025 the Philippines lost our modern Filipino hero. Diosdado “Dado” Banatao died peacefully in the presence of his family in his Alma Mater Stanford due to a neurological condition at 79 years old, five months before his 80th birthday. But what a life of eight decades! Dado was […]
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JP Fernandez’s body is home; family thanks NJ detectives
By Cristina DC Pastor “After 3,258 days of searching and praying, our beloved son John Paul Fernandez, who had been missing since December 13, 2015, was found on November 14, 2024 — after nearly nine long years. His identity was confirmed through DNA testing on October 14, 2025.” With these tearful words from mother Ninia […]
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Rev. Msgr. Oscar A. Aquino, 88
The Filipino community of New York and New Jersey mourns the passing of the beloved Msgr. Oscar Aquino on September 1 due to a lingering illness. We are republishing below this piece written about him when he was awarded the People’s Ball Empowerment Award in 2023 by Fiesta In America. The statement “Jack of all […]
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Nora Aunor: How she aspired for artistry
By Joel David In terms of her health issues, Nora Aunor was only revived once after her vital signs had stopped last year, ironically on the day when she was supposed to find out she’d been finally declared National Artist. This meant that she could attend the awards ceremony under the new President, whom she […]
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When legends become family: My love letter to Tita Guy
By Brendan Flores What could a young Filipino American, raised far from the glitz of Philippine showbiz, possibly know about a national treasure like Nora Aunor? Plenty—because in our household, she was everything. Before I ever met her, before I fully understood what it meant to be Filipino, I already knew her name: Nora. Or, […]
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Remembering Nena del Rosaro Villanueva, the 1st Filipina prodigy who performed at Carnegie Hall
The family of Nena del Rosario Villanueva, the first Filipina to play at Carnegie Hall, hosted simultaneous concerts in Manila, Philippines and New York City, to celebrate her 88th birth anniversary on September 22, 2024. The concert featuring four global Filipino musicians who played Nena’s favorite classical numbers was held at the Klavierhaus store in […]
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Honoring a community activist and documentary filmmaker
By Jon Melegrito Noel “Sonny” Izon and wife Kathryn were waiting to board their flight in Milan, Italy on October 25 last year after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They also attended a special screening of “An Open Door: Holocaust Haven in the Philippines,” Izon’s award-winning documentary about the acceptance by the Philippines of more […]
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Mother knew best
By Joel David One of the first things that elderly netizens remarked when news of Lily Monteverde’s death broke out last August 4 was “how fittingly dramatic,” or variations thereof. Her husband, Leonardo “Remy” Monteverde, had died barely a week earlier. Even the later qualification that “Mother” Lily was also in serious intensive-care condition when […]