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October is Filipino American History Month, but why does it seem different this year?

Maybe it’s because Filipino history appears to be reverberating in real time in the U.S.–a harbinger of what could happen in our very own country.

The Philippines–America’s first colony that was transformed into a democracy made in our image–has turned into a negative model for America.

If you want to see how democracy can devolve into a lawless, autocratic mess, the Philippines is our American preview.

Remember the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines? This autocrat was responsible for more than 10,000 extra-judicial killings, according to human rights groups.

Then take a look at Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president, the twice-impeached, four-time criminally indicted former president. Recently, he was calling for Duterte-like things on social media, such as the execution of General Mark Milley, the outgoing Joint Chiefs Chair.

We see Trump in a speech in California calling for the killing of shoplifters when they attempt to escape.

We hear Trump at his fraud trial in New York disparage a sitting judge’s law clerk, to the point where the judge must issue a gag order.

We see Trump and consider what Duterte did to the rule of law in a democracy made in our image, and wonder aloud if Filipino history could repeat itself to some degree in America.

David Remnick, the New Yorker editor and writer, talked to Patricia Evangelista, a Philippine journalist, whose new book on Duterte, “Some People Need Killing” will be out soon.

Remnick’s latest essay quotes Evangelista saying that the autocratic rule of Duterte has left her “a citizen of a nation I cannot recognize as my own.”

Remnick asks if we Americans “are prepared to feel the same?”

He wonders what we will do about Trump’s violent rhetoric. The choices are stark, as we either “reject his rage or endorse it and thus transform this country beyond recognition.”

This is a view from the mainstream media at the start of Filipino American History Month 2023. It’s a time when American democracy seems to be creeping toward Philippine strongman rule with each unchecked outburst from the leading Republican candidate for president.

That certainly would be an historic twist if the Philippines, the U.S. built model of democracy, becomes America’s model for autocracy.

And we haven’t even mentioned the Marcoses, who through Duterte have been rehabilitated and restored to power. All that despite their crimes against democracy– from their own extrajudicial killings, assassinations and jailings of political opponents, and the looting of the national treasury. But that’s what happens to the rule of law when one man is above it all.

The relevance of Filipino American history just seems more real in 2023. So much so that maybe it’s time for Filipino American History 101. The Filipino American National Historical Society, the folks responsible for making October Filipino American History Month, will hold a two-day webinar event on Saturday,Oct. 7, and Sunday, Oct. 8 from 4-6 pm PT.

It’s free. Register here: https://forms.gle/WVxWG5RAoKtDG75B7

Saturday will cover everything to World War II and is hosted by FANHS founder Dorothy Cordova.

I will moderate and host the Sunday session and cover everything after World War II.

More than 30 speakers have been assembled. During the sessions, you’ll hear people tell personal stories about how Filipino American history impacted their lives. You’ll see how racism changes through the years and how it continues. And you’ll see how a closeness to the Philippines continues to leave us confused about who we are as an American community and people.

The Philippines and America have always been intertwined. Come hear Filipino American stories and feel the history.

And then consider the warning raised by the New Yorker's Remnick.

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NOTE: I will talk about this column and other matters on “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” my AAPI micro-talk show. Live @2p Pacific. Livestream on Facebook; my YouTube channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com.