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Stories of Filipino America. Culture, diaspora, history, and identity — from the community, for the community.

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UC Berkeley Received 133,211 Applications for Fall 2026
Culture & Identity

More than 118 years after the first Sakadas landed in Honolulu, Filipino Americans are borrowing a Hawaiian word to describe their most Filipino value. What does that say about who we are — and what we may have forgotten?

UC Berkeley Received 133,211 Applications for Fall 2026
Learn Filipino

From a GMA fantasy drama to a pambansang anthem: how one OPM song became the gateway for Filipino Americans rediscovering their roots—and what the word tadhana reveals about our deepest values.

Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry
Learn Filipino

How an archaic Tagalog phrase meaning "may the visions of your heart come to pass" survived colonialism, powered a beloved 90s TV show, and is now reclaiming Filipino identity — one tattoo, one graduation caption, and one whispered prayer at a time.

UC Berkeley Received 133,211 Applications for Fall 2026
UC Admissions

What Filipino-American Students Need to Know Berkeley is not a "reach" — it is a fortress. But for Filipino-American students, the story of Cal starts in 1969, with a strike that changed American higher education forever.

Mel Orpilla Filipino American filmmaker profile
Community

A community profile of a Fil-Am martial artist ensuring that the Filipino presence in Vallejo—one of the oldest in Northern California—is documented, honored, and passed on.

Madonna of the Slums by Vicente Manansala
Art History & Heritage

Vicente Manansala's 1950 masterpiece reimagined the sacred Madonna as a Brown Filipino mother in the wreckage of post-war Manila.

Learn Filipino
Bawat Daan

The Filipino phrase for 'Every path.'

Language Is Identity

Why every Fil-Am family must keep Filipino alive

More Learn Filipino →
UC Admissions
UC Davis Filipino American admissions 2026

Fil-Am student life in the Central Valley

UC Irvine Filipino American admissions 2026

Orange County's Fil-Am campus pipeline

UC Santa Cruz Filipino American admissions 2026

Santa Cruz's growing Fil-Am community

More UC Admissions →
Community Profiles
Mel Orpilla Filipino American

Keeper of Vallejo's Filipino memory

Michael Dondi Reyes USMC

Photo essay: Hogan '85, Stockton

More Community →
Contributors
Mel Orpilla

Vallejo's Filipino memory keeper

Michael Dondi Reyes USMC

Photo essay by J.F.R. Perseveranda

More Contributors →
Immigration
OFW Iran ceasefire diaspora

What the U.S.-Iran ceasefire means for OFWs

Edu Manzano balikbayan guide

The balikbayan guide every Fil-Am needs in 2026

More Immigration →
History
Kagitingan Bataan Day of Valor

The valor was never repaid

Ides of March Bonifacio Aguinaldo

The betrayal that shaped the Philippines

More History →
Entertainment & Culture
Alex Eala Indian Wells WTA Top 30

Indian Wells 2026 historic run recap

Alex Eala Miami Open 2026

Dispatches Linette in straight sets

More Entertainment & Culture →
Explore by Region

History, community, and the NYC diaspora — the definitive guide.

From Stockton to Daly City — the heart of Fil-Am life.

J.F.R. Perseveranda, founder of PinoyBuilt

J.F.R. Perseveranda

Founder · Publisher · Editor-in-Chief

J.F. (Jonjo) left the Philippines at age nine, spending a lifetime bridging the gap between his Marikina roots and his Chicago/Vallejo upbringing. A proud Hogan Spartan from East Vallejo, he founded PinoyBuilt not just as a digital archive, but as a cultural compass for his three children to navigate their heritage, language, and identity with Pinoy Pride.

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4.6 million Filipinos in the U.S. One platform telling our stories. Salamat, kababayan.

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