Mark your date in October, Filipinos in the US. The multi-awarded Philippine Ballet Theatre brings to the US “Sarimanok” ballet in New York City on October 4, 2025.

A Slovakian schoolteacher has found a way to help students face problems of depression and anxiety which may have reached epidemic proportions globally in this day and age by sending them to leadership trainings and exposure trips.

Walking into the peace forest of South Korea’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) felt like entering the poster-perfect scene of ‘Crash Landing on You,’ the Korean drama that I avidly watched. It’s my walk of a lifetime, seeing and feeling for myself my joyous heart - peace is possible if we all decide it to be so.

This is how collaboration (among nonprofit organizations and government offices) looks like - an artistic creation of messaging for women’s empowerment by the youth.

Filipinos in the Big Apple successfully celebrated the 127th Philippine Independence Day on June 1, 2025 on Madison Avenue and Madison Park with a visibly larger participation in the post-pandemic celebrations.

There were 145 contingents in the parade on Madison Avenue and and estimated 100,000 participants and spectators.

The PAFCOM Parade and Festival begins with a Holy Mass at 10AM at the Lincoln Park and followed by a cultural parade at 11:30AM. “We will have a much longer route inside the park than the ones being traditionally done on the streets, thus there would be more fun and opportunity to watch the performers,” said PAFCOM chairperson Joyce Castillo.

PAFCOM, now on its 35 years of existence as the biggest Filipino organization in NJ, debuts the parade inside the park instead of the city streets to create a more compact and longer route for spectators and marchers.

Filipinos in New York welcome Pope Leo XIV, hopes run high for him to lead by “evangelizing, building bridges, including everyone.”

Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955. Much of his pastoral and ministerial work was spent in Peru, starting in 2015 upon the appointment of Pope Francis. Here’s his biography.

This is the second part of Michael Obenieta’s essay series on Philippine National Artist Nora Aunor who passed away on April 16, 2025.

Obenieta is a celebrated writer from Cebu and self-confessed big fan of Aunor (Nora Cabaltera Villamayor in real life).

In this essay, Obenieta itemizes the illustrious body of work of La Aunor in the performing arts locally and internationally.

We are republishing the essay of renowned poet and writer Michael Obenieta about Philippine National Artist Nora Aunor who passed away on April 16, 2025.

Obenieta is a celebrated writer from Cebu and self-confessed big fan of Aunor (Nora Cabaltera Villamayor in real life).

In this essay, he mentions La Aunor as having trailblazed in producing her epic movie Banaue, earning her the respect as a ‘proto-feminist’ in Philippine movies.

The Filipino American organization Philippine American Friendship Community (PAFCOM), a leading Filipino American organization based in New Jersey, concluded its community news writing workshop to enhance its capability to document and publish its own events.

Perhaps, the greatest take-away the attendees had would be the 5 Wives (what, when, where, why, and who) and 1 Husband (how) in data-gathering and writing.

Filipino-American journalists Rene Pastor and his wife Cristina DC Pastor released their book Living in China 2019-2023: A COVID Diary.

Our Earth Month special features Ms. Sue Phillips, a fragrance entrepreneur in NYC who customizes scents for international celebrities and brand names for over 35 years now. She fashions herself as a ‘scentrepreneur’ born in South Africa, and an actress and entrepreneur in New York. Her fragrances business began in 1990 and is located in Tribeca. Her products and packaging adhere to sustainability principles.

The international women’s group Women’s Federation for World Peace International accorded Phillips the Global Woman Peace Ambassador award for Leadership in Business and Economic Empowerment on March 9, 2025, at the New Yorker Hotel.

Women and Media (WAM) guest Carlos Conde, senior researcher of Human Rights Watch Asia, examines the political fever in the Philippines following the arrest and detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte at The Hague.

A Taiwanese scholar and champion for gender equality emphasized the importance of researched data in advancing social justice and gender equality. Dr. Lih-Rong Wang, a scholar of social welfare expert said that “development must be data-driven.”

Student-led organizations have always been the heart of any college campus - from cultural showcases and workshops to social mixers and frat parties. In the center of every student body are its student leaders, who take the responsibility of pouring mind, body, and soul into building community.

I’m approaching the end of my third year as well as my term as the president of PAO. As I look forward to stepping down and passing the torch, I use this opportunity as a time to reflect.

A Filipino American organization, PAFCOM, is currently conducting a community news writing workshop, in Jersey City to enhance its capability to document and publish its own events and programs. It is free for the community to join, until the second Saturday of April 2025.

On March 14, 2025, the Biddle Room of the Harvard Club was filled with young and not-so-young women leaders excited to listen to the panel composed of Patricia Licuanan, Philippines; Charlotte Bunch, USA; Carol Bellamy, USA; Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, Namibia; Patricia Espinosa, Mexico; Gertrude Mongella, Tanzania; and Soon-Young Yoon, USA. Irene Giner-Reichl was unable to attend. Gail Bindley-Taylor was the moderator. 

The Beijing veterans said that there have been setbacks in the gains of women’s movements because of the lack of political will on the part of government, lack of funds, ongoing wars, and the rise of authoritarianism.

The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York (SoFC) hosted its annual International Women’s Day Celebration at the Consulate General of India in New York on March 19, 2025, honoring 14 exceptional women from its member
consulates for their significant contributions in various fields, including business, government, academia, and community service.

Veteran journalist Olive Tripon of the Philippines remembers the Beijing Conference on women’s empowerment in 1995 and shares her insights on the gains and threats.