Why a Filipino-American Narrative Matters
This story about a teenager’s cultural identity hits home.
As somebody who is permanently adrift on a cultural identity buoy, reading the novel, Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay made me feel so seen.
Jay Reguero, the novel’s protagonist, is a Filipino-American teenager in his senior year of high school. His world is shattered when he learns that his cousin Jun was murdered in the Philippines due to President Duterte’s war on drugs. Frustrated and angry that nobody in his family is willing to talk about what really happened to Jun, Jay travels to the Philippines to uncover the truth.
Background on Duterte’s Drug War
The context of the novel may not be familiar to everyone. It’s important to understand the background of this fictional story rooted in current events.
Rodrigo Duterte, the current Philippine president, was elected in 2016. His administration has engaged in a “war on drugs”, a campaign that targets anyone with a connection to drugs…
