By: Alegre De Pilipnas
On September 21, 2026, I stood at Daley Plaza holding the Philippine flag alongside my close friend and collaborating partner, Janice Israel Delima. The occasion was the 48th anniversary of Peace Day Chicago, an annual gathering where flags from many nations fill the plaza in a shared show of goodwill. We were there to represent the Filipino American community. For both of us, it was also a personal milestone.
I have served as an official flag bearer for the Philippines at this celebration for nearly five years. This year carried added weight. The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago invited me to represent Filipinos across the Midwestern United States, and sharing that honor with Janice brought two separate paths of community service together in a single afternoon.
Why Does Peace Day Chicago Matter to Filipinos in the Midwest?
Peace Day Chicago gives immigrant and heritage communities a visible place in the city’s civic life. Each delegation arrives with its own flag, its own dress, and its own history, then stands shoulder to shoulder with the others in one of downtown’s best-known public squares. For Filipinos spread across many Midwestern cities, that kind of visibility counts.
Our flag at Daley Plaza said something simple. Filipinos are here, and we take part.
Surrounded by banners from so many countries, I kept returning to an idea the poet Maya Angelou expressed so well, that people share far more in common than the things that set them apart. A crowd like that one makes the point without anyone needing to say it.
We shared the day with Consul Melvin C. Almonguera and Consular Assistant Dennis Marnilego of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago. Later, Janice and I took photographs with Consul Almonguera and Tito Ruben Salazar, President of the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago. Those encounters were brief. Still, they connected two volunteers to the institutions that document and support Filipino life in the region.
From Mindanao and Leyte to Daley Plaza
I come from Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. Janice comes from Leyte, in the Visayas. Our home regions carry different languages, traditions, and histories, and those differences reflect the wider Filipino American community, which draws its people from many islands and faith traditions.
Growing up in Mindanao shaped how I think about dialogue and peaceful coexistence. Part of my preparation for coming to the United States was made possible by a scholarship connected with a U.S. Department of State peace initiative in the Southern Philippines. Years later, standing in downtown Chicago with our national flag, I felt that earlier chapter continuing in a new place.
Our attire told those regional stories, too. Janice wore a Filipiniana, the formal dress that celebrates the grace of Filipino craftsmanship and design. I wore my Knight Commander of Rizal medallion with a traditional Moro kupya, a cap that honors my Mindanao roots. Each piece said where we came from and what we still carry with us.
How Alegre De Pilipinas Brings Filipino Creativity to International Stages
Janice founded Alegre De Pilipinas in 2022 and serves as its CEO. The organization creates opportunities for Filipino designers, models, and creative professionals to reach international audiences, including through events associated with New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.
Her focus extends well past the garments themselves. Alegre De Pilipinas puts regional craftsmanship, and the cultural stories behind it, in front of audiences abroad. For a young designer from the provinces, that kind of platform can be the first real bridge to an international audience.
Watching Janice build this work, from Leyte to international runways, has shown me what cultural representation looks like in practice. It is patient, relationship-driven work, and it rarely happens by accident.
What Do Peace and Healing Have in Common?
Peace Day Chicago arrived during another meaningful chapter in my own life. It coincided with the launch of the first cohort of the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program through IBHIM, offered in consortium with Althash University. Through my work in education, integrative medicine, and community service, I see a direct thread between those fields and what happened at Daley Plaza.
For me, peace is part of healing. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed that real peace asks for more than the absence of tension, because it depends on the presence of justice. His words call us to build communities where people feel respected and supported enough to flourish.
That conviction also guides how I approach care. I try to consider the whole person, including body, mind, relationships, community, and spirit, rather than any single part in isolation.
Building the Filipino American Community Beyond One Day
Janice’s cultural work and my educational work take different forms, but they serve a similar purpose. Through creativity, learning, compassion, and service, we hope to strengthen a sense of belonging and open doors for others in the Filipino American community.
Peace Day Chicago lasts a single afternoon. Our collaboration does not. Representing a community means showing up consistently, maintaining relationships, supporting Filipino talent, and making room for the next generation to take part in civic and cultural life.
I am grateful to Ms. MJ Mortel and the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago for the invitation, and to Janice for standing beside me as a friend and partner. From Mindanao and Leyte to Chicago, we carry our heritage forward with a shared commitment to peace.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas. Mabuhay ang kapayapaan. (Long live the Philippines. Long live peace.)
