America’s official involvement in the Philippines began in 1898 when Commoodore (soon to be Admiral) Dewey sailed the Asiatic squadron from Hong Kong and defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. With the help of[…]
Category: Philippines
Dec 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Remembered; The Attack on the Philippines — Forgotten?
For Americans of a certain age, December 7, 1941, will forever be, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt labeled it — “a day that will live in infamy”. It was on that day, at 7:48 am,[…]
Philippine President Elect Rodrigo Duterte — An Exciting, Disturbing, Contradictory Agent of Change
I have to confess, I’m struggling to figure out how I feel about the new President Elect of the Philippines, Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte. Western Media is calling him the “Trump of Asia” but that comparison[…]
Controversy over Indigenous Lumads Tests Power of Social Media and Resolve of #AlDub Nation
The headline in the Philippine Daily Inquirer read: ‘Yaya Dub’ misguided in support for ‘lumad,’ says military exec. The article then goes on to quote Brigadier General Joey Kakilala, who is the commander of the[…]
Two Years On, Thousands of Haiyan (Yolanda) Survivors Protest Slow Pace of Recovery
On the eve of the second anniversary of super typhoon Haiyan’s devastation of the central Philippines, thousands of survivors walked along a highway in Tacloban City from Leyte and Samar provinces. Many carried placards protesting the[…]
Goosebumps Time: Watch Philippines Defeat China With 11-0 Run – Historic Win
How cool is this? Thanks to Bing Credo for posting this video of the last 2 mins of the game between Philippines and China in the FIBA Asia U16 tournament. Phils. down by 5. Credo[…]
Geraldine Uy Wong Wants CNN’s Anderson Cooper to Return to the Philippines
Remember the imbroglio two years ago during the immediate aftermath of Haiyan/Yolanda, when Korina Sanchez called out Anderson Cooper of CNN, claiming his reporting was biased and disrespectful? The hero of that moment was Geraldine[…]
Maine Mendoza is More Searched than Yaya Dub — Google
For me there was never any doubt — Maine Mendoza fascinated me as a self-made internet star whose dubsmash genius includes not only what she does in front of the camera — but what she[…]
Janicel Lubina, Bb. Philppines International, Delivers a Powerful, Touching Speech
As is not unusual, I’m the last one to the party. I don’t follow the Binibining Pilipinas situation all that closely …. In fact, other than “Major Major”, I’m not sure I’ve ever notice or[…]
Dear Secretary Abaya re Laglag Bala: Please read and consider
Dear Secretary of Transportation Joseph Abaya I am taking this opportunity to reach out to you because as someone married to a Filipina who travels back and forth to Manila frequently, I am truly concerned by[…]
Blogger Explains “Why Men Go Gaga Over Maine Mendoza”
I just came across a blog post entitled “Why Men Go Gaga Over Maine Mendoza”from a blogger who goes by Vilo Velky in a blog called The Omelette Station. Now I’m obviously not the first[…]
Could the Eat Bulaga “Muslim Costume” Problem Be Fixed With Some #AlDub Goodwill?
Filipino Muslims are up in arms over Muslim garb worn by Joey De Leon and Tito Sotto in Eat Bulaga’s Halloween broadcast. The two hosts wore a thawb, an ankle-length garment with long sleeves usually[…]
More International Recognition for #AlDub Phenomenon — Straits Times
In one of the better intentational articles about the #AlDub phenomenon in the Philippines, the Singapore Straits Times headlines “Old Style Love Story has Modern Philippines in a Tizzy.” . The high point of the article[…]
Heneral Luna Reviewed in the New York Times
Jerrold Tarog’s epic historical film Heneral Luna, which will represent the Philippines in the Academy Awards Best Foreign Film Category, has been reviewed in the New York Times by Ken Jaworski. The review is mixed[…]
More International Recognition for AlDub — Bloomberg News Video
The latest international media outlet to pick up the story the Philippine #AlDub phenomenon is Bloomberg News. As international coverage goes, this is NOT the most exciting coverage I’ve seen. (That would be an understatement.)[…]
Great Rizal Collage Art by Jeff Huntington
Kudos to Fil-American artists Jeff Huntington for his beautiful Jose Rizal collage. Ironically — the best place to view this particular piece is on a eToday, a Russian website, where he is identified as a[…]
VIDEO: The Samar Island National Park and Samar’s Amazing Interior
Our family (well, my wife’s family but that makes it our family) is from Guinob-an, one of the coastal barangays of the municipality of Lawaan on the southern coast of Samar. Most of the time[…]
U.S. Embassy Staffers Ride the Pabebe Wave
As some of you know, I served at the U.S. Embassy in Manila from 1986-1989. Have to say I’m tickled to see the Embassy getting into the act and joining in the #AlDub fun. They posted[…]
Excellent Analysis of the AlDub Phenomenon by Veronica Uy, Elmer Gatchalian, Vincent Pozon
I’ve been searching for some cogent entertainment industry analysis of the AlDub phenomenon and in a Eureka moment, I’ve found it. It’s an article by Veronica Uy, senior editor of Interaksyon — and it’s an[…]
BBC Comes Out With a Long Article About the “AlDub Phenomenon”
More evidence that “AlDub” is making waves internationally — the venerable BBC has just published a lengthy article entitled: ‘AlDub’: A social media phenomenon about love and lip-synching Here’s what it says: It is a[…]
Supposedly “Shallow” AlDub Fans Explain Themselves — Beautifully
True confession number two about AlDub. When I wrote What The World Should Learn from the Aldub Phenomenon, I was aware, but not fully, of the charges of “kababawan” (shallowness) that were being leveled at[…]
Beginnings — by Lorena Llevado Sellers
My father is a quiet, hard man whose main work for half a century has been to paddle out to sea in a small boat and catch blue marlin, sailfish, and other great and small[…]
AlDub Nation and the Spirit of Bayanihan
When I wrote What the World Should Learn From the AlDub Phenomenon I felt like I was talking to a community of people who have a great capacity for love, for empathy, and for goodnatured joy. And then,[…]
Warriors of Samar
Warriors of Samar is also available via Amazon at this link — but as with Daughters of Samar, we decided to make it available to read online so if you go to Warriors of Samar,[…]
Daughter of Samar — Now Available to Read Online
As many but not all who visit here know — my wife Lorena Llevado Sellers is a native of Guinob-an, one of the barrios of Lawaan, Eastern Samar. Back in 1901 Lawaan was an[…]
Pastillas Girl vs Yaya Dub : A Filmmaker’s Thoughts on Maine Mendoza’s Dubsmash Technique
Well, while we’re on the topic of AlDub and Filipino pop culture. . . as a foreigner with a longtime relationship with the Philippines, I still struggle a bit keeping up what’s going on in Manila, and so[…]
What The World Can Learn from the AlDub Phenomenon
True confession time. I’ll admit it. I’ve just spent a joyous, kilig-filled weekend watching the inspired silliness (but is it really silly?) of the Filipino “AlDub” love team — Alden Richards and “Yaya Dub” Maine[…]
The Balangiga Massacre: 114 Years Ago Today
For Filipinos, the Balangiga Massacre (or Uprising, or Encounter, take your pick) on September 28, 1901, was a heroic explosion of pent-up resentment; a repudiation of a hated foreign occupier, perhaps even an assertion of nationhood. In America,[…]
Eviction Threat Looms For Homeless Haiyan Victims
by Ronald Reyes, Tacloban City, June 10: Things are piling up, literally, inside the makeshift shelter of Jerico Dulosa, 44, a father of four children in Palo town, Leyte province. “Eighteen months have passed since[…]
Goodbye to Mom Tarcila: Feeling the Spirit of Samar Today
My wife’s mother, Tarcila Bohol Llevado, died tragically and suddenly nine days ago, and in a few hours she will be laid to rest. Rena is there in Guinob-an, and I am here in Los[…]