I was happy and proud to have helped facilitate this visit, having some close personal and professional ties myself to San Diego. San Diego also happens to be where a dear friend of mine, Mrs. Julie Hill, lives in a lovely home in Rancho Sta. De Castro helped to formalize that donation as our consul in San Diego, cementing our relationship. One of them asked: “What is the Filipino dream?” My UP colleagues responded to that in various ways, coming from different technical and academic disciplines. What I told them was that this America was no longer the America I once thought I knew and looked up to, despite its excesses.

Source: Philippine Star February 08, 2026 16:36 UTC