PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

Negros Occidental • April 2026. Negros 19: Massacre or Legitimate Encounter in Toboso? negros 19 toboso, lyle prijoles filipino american, alyssa alano up diliman, rj ledesma altermidya, bayan usa, lfs sfsu, fil-am activist killed, philippine insurgency 2026, red-tagging, npa clash. Negros Occidental • April 2026 Negros 19: Massacre or Legitimate Encounter in Toboso? A 40-year-old Filipino American from California was among 19 people killed in a 12-hour firefight in Negros Occidental on April 19, 2026. The Armed Forces of the Philippines calls it a lawful encounter. BAYAN USA and rights groups call it a massacre. Here is what is verified, what is contested, and why this one should matter to every Fil-Am household. Northern Negros Occidental, where the 12-hour firefight in Sitio Sinugmawan, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, left 19 people dead on April 19, 2026. The first shots were fired at 3:58 AM. By ...

John Oliver discusses the current presidential election in The Philippines and why Bongbong Marcos is – albeit in a very limited and unflattering way – sort of like Ant-Man. Vice President Leni Robredo thanks and encourages her supporters to not give up even if her rival Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is leading the presidential race. #TheFilipinoVotes 🇵🇭 Read the story: https://t.co/yK4hVzam1z pic.twitter.com/kklN3FmlBR — CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) May 9, 2022

Former president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, came into power on the back of a populist campaign that promised to, among other things, make the country great again. He made close ties with the military, declared martial law in 1972, and was accused of countless human rights abuses. Marcos also began to siphon money out of state coffers while enriching his closest friends and allies at the same time. In this first episode of Big Steal, we learn how the former president, became one of the richest, and most corrupt men, in Southeast Asia, until it all came crashing down.

O n the night of October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie , Wyoming . McKinney and Henderson decided to give Shepard a ride home. They subsequently drove the car to a remote, rural area, and proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, and torture Shepard, tie him to a fence, and leave him to die–all because he was gay. It was reported that Shepard was beaten so brutally that his face was completely covered in blood, except where it had been partially washed clean by his tears. This crime was the impetus for the Matthew Shepard Foundation . Take a moment to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you today. Take a moment to erase hate in your community however you can. #MSF20 #EraseHate Follow @Pinoybuilt

Criticizing "state-sanctioned violence" under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, US Senator Patrick Leahy warned the Philippines of "further conditions" on US aid because of recent extrajudicial killings in the Southeast Asian country. Full story here . Senate Colloquy ( Sen. Leahy and @SenatorCardin ) On Recent Developments In The #Philippines And #Indonesia -- https://t.co/sADdoUQiGr — Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) September 27, 2016 Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Benjamin Cardin On Recent Developments in the Philippines and Indonesia Colloquy Senator Patrick Leahy and Senator Benjamin Cardin On Recent Developments in the Philippines and Indonesia Congressional Record September 26 2016 MR. LEAHY : Mr. President, according to recent reports, more than 3,000 people have been killed in the Philippines in the twelve weeks since President Duterte announced his campaign to wipe out illicit drug use. More than 1,000 ...

Posted Rappler's video yesterday at DUTERTE TO INVITE UN CHIEF, EU TO PROBE PHILIPPINE KILLINGS .  Watch the full speech/conference in the second video. Watch full conference: "Inauguration of FDC Misamis Coal Thermal Plant 9/22/2016" Chatted with a few friends and family who are still living in the Philippines. Almost all stand fully with President Duterte.

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares recalls how at 18 years old he suffered at the hands of his tormentors. At gun point, his life was put at the mercy of luck. "The worst thing that they did to me was the Russian roulette.  I can't forget that." Neri Javier Colmenares is a human rights lawyer and activist. He was an Associate of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne Law School when he was completing his PhD in Law on “ The Writ of Amparo and the International Criminal Court ”. He also lectured at the University of Melbourne on International Human Rights Law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares at  Bulatlat.com : A native of Negros Occidental, Neri began his activism at 15 as a youth organizer against martial law in 1976. During the ‘80s, he became an officer of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) and the Visayas Regional Chair of the St...

Source: CNN Philippines The Philippine president says he will invite the U.N. chief and European Union officials to investigate his bloody anti-drug crackdown, but only if he can question them in public afterward to prove their human rights concerns are baseless. More than 3,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since June and more than 600,000 others have surrendered for fear of being killed in the crackdown. Despite growing alarm, Duterte says he won't stop the campaign. #FilAmNY Duterte to Invite UN Chief, EU to Probe Philippine Killings - New York Times https://t.co/Lt9BiGhKAy #NewYork — #FilAm #NY (@filamNY) September 22, 2016 President Rodrigo Duterte is inviting United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and European Union officials to the Philippines to conduct their own investigation into extrajudicial killings. Full story here . President Duterte to European Union: 'Fuck you' Watch "Senate hearing on extraju...

'I don't give a shit about anybody observing my behavior,' said Duterte, defending his drug war before attending the ASEAN Summit where he is set to meet with Obama. Full story: http://bit.ly/2c2RDjq

At a G20 summit press conference, US President Barack Obama addresses his upcoming meeting with the Philippines' president.

How do you 'Define American'? Minneapolis, MN: Jose Antonio Vargas spoke to an audience at the University of Minnesota School of Law , on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 , at an event sponsored by the Advocates for Human Rights . Jose explained Define American 's mission, and participated in a brief Q&A session with the audience. He talked about the way media influencers frame the discussion about immigrants, his own life experiences, and explored some of the root causes and the unreported effects of immigration today.