Blood Debts

In this episode we talk to Mark Pulido, who served as a councilman and mayor of the city of Cerritos, California. In addition to his elected roles, Mark is a long time community leader who has worked to gain more visibility on Filipino American issues and history especially with the manongs of the Delano grape strikes. We talk about his political journey and how Filipino Americans play a crucial role in bridging the gaps of history, time and what we owe to future generations in leading the way. 

In this episode we talk to the honorable Judge Rizza Palmares O’Connor. We talk about debt to your community, career and family in the motherland. We discuss blood debts and what debt looks like in the legal and public service space.

In this episode we talk to Jon Melegrito, who breaks down the negative and positive aspects of utang na loob and how shining a light on important issues is a storyteller’s debt. We talk about holding truth to power as one of the most impactful things we can do as storytellers of our own narratives.

In this episode, we talk to Yasmin Atienza, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) living in the United Arab Emirates. We talk about debt as an OFW, utang na loob and what debt looks like in the creative space. Yasmin has built a following of 37K Instagram followers under her handle @friday_illustrations, with a focus on nature, women and cosmos style affirmations graphics. As a creative, she discusses what creatives owe to themselves and their audiences.  

In this episode, we talk to Ben Reyes, who was born and raised in the UK and later moved to the United States and works in the tech industry as a developer and entrepreneur. We talk about personal debts like time and sleep, and how the notion of tech debt applies to other parts of life.

In this episode, we talk to Melanie Sabado-Liwag, an assistant professor in the Public Health department at California State University Los Angeles. We discuss how finances, respect and how debt can impact a person’s health and what happens when worrying becomes the stress.

In this episode we talk to Dr. Connie Mariano, who served as the White House doctor for three U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. We discuss debts in the military, health spaces and debts that are greater than ourselves such as with our family, our bloodlines.

In this episode, we talked Anna Marie Cruz, an economic development leader, business consultant and founder of Entrepinayship a network that seeks to uplift Filipina founders, creatives and visionaries through community, connections, and resources at all stages of the entrepreneurial journey.

We talk about good and bad debt and utang na loob. We also discuss debt from strangers who showed kindness during life’s most trying times.

In this special bonus episode, we focus on our Filipino WWII veterans who sacrificed their lives to ensure our freedom 75 years ago.

On a personal note, thanks to the work of Retired General Major Antonio Taguba and the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), my grandfather’s service in WWII as a member of the Philippine Scouts is being recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal. 

FilVetREP has awarded to eligible Veterans and their Next of Kin the Congressional Gold Medal that followed the presentation by the US Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 25, 2017.

In this episode, we talk to retired general major Antonio Taguba. He is chairman of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP), whose mission is to obtain national recognition of Filipino and American WWII soldiers across the United States and the Philippines for their wartime service to the U.S. and the Philippines from July 26, 1941 to December 31, 1946. We discuss duty and debt to country along with how to pay those debts forward. 

We also explore what it means to be indebted to our families and dealing with those who are culturally bankrupt.